word of the year?

[Laurence Horn]

On Aug 20, 2012, at 2:42 PM, Brenda Lester wrote:

> Euphemism? More like an oxymoron.
>
> How can you give legitimacy to an illegal act like rape?
>
>
>

I imagine for him "legitimate rape" is like "cocked an inquisitive eyebrow" or "former president" or "alleged rapist", with an adjective functioning as an adverb (typically a sentence adverb).  Offensive as the would-be senator is, he's not claiming that certain rapes (the ones he counts as real rape or rape rape) are legitimate, but that they're legitimately rapes, just as a former president is someone who was formerly the president or an alleged rapist is allegedly a rapist.  The real offense, besides the verbal one, is in classifying the other kinds of rape as *not* legimate(ly) rape.

LH
>
> ________________________________
> From: David Barnhart <dbarnhart at HIGHLANDS.COM>
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 9:43 AM
> Subject: FW: word of the year?
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       David Barnhart <dbarnhart at HIGHLANDS.COM>
> Subject:      FW: word of the year?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> What was going through the speaker's mind.  Legitimate rape!?!?
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> DBarnhart at highlands.com
>
>
>
> From: Hollis Barnhart [mailto:hbarnhart at highlands.com]
> Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 8:35 AM
> To: David Barnhart
> Subject: word of the year?
>
>
>
> worst euphemism maybe?  legitimate rape:
>
>
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/legitimate-rape-and-todd-ak
> ins-myths/2012/08/20/f8c048b4-ea76-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_blog.html
>
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