conspiracy = "a theory of conspiracy"

[Baker, John]

Actually, "co-conspirators" are people who specifically conspire with each other, as opposed to being, say, conspirators in two unrelated conspiracies.  It's a long-established legal usage, predating the Civil War.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of W Brewer
Sent: Saturday, April 27, 2013 5:15 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: conspiracy = "a theory of conspiracy"

<Co-conspirator> seems to be needed to unambiguously indicate non-extended meaning of conspirator: <<<IMDb, The Conspirator. Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.>>>

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