kinetic

[Jonathan Lighter]

A commentator on CNN describes operations against Libya as "a kinetic
military event."

In this instance, it's simply a pretentious, redundant description (with
"kinetic" essentially meaning "dynamic" or "fluid") and not (as some might
assume) a propaganda euphemism.
The context was something like, "Well, this is a kinetic military event and
so Obama needs to blah blah blah...."

JL
On Sat, Mar 26, 2011 at 8:52 AM, Ben Zimmer
<bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: kinetic
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Sat, Mar 26, 2011 at 4:50 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
> >
> > If you go to the video to about 2:51 mark, you will see and hear two
> > weasels in terminological heat.
> >
> > http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201103250045
> >
> > Luntz claims he's never heard "kinetic". Hannity mentioned "kinetic" at
> > 2:47, which is what set Luntz off. But Luntz's "explanation" of what he
> > thinks "kinetic" means is completely idiotic.
> >
> > Wasn't "kinetic" mentioned here a couple of weeks ago?
>
> "Kinetic event" was the winner in the Most Euphemistic category in the
> 2010 ADS WOTY voting (defined on the nomination list as "Pentagon term
> for violent attacks on troops in Afghanistan"). Jonathan Lighter
> brought it up here in September:
>
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1009B&L=ADS-L&P=R6716
>
> --bgz
>
> --
> Ben Zimmer
> http://benzimmer.com/
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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