[Ads-l] Eyewash

Cohen, Gerald Leonard gcohen at MST.EDU
Tue Feb 2 02:11:18 UTC 2016


A few days ago Jesse Sheidlower and I replied to a journalistic request for information on the 
origin of  slang "eyewash" (likely euphemized from "hogwash," which in turn was euphemized from 
horse----).  It turns out our information didn't make its way into the article the two authors wrote up, but their article is still very interesting; "eyewash" is now a term in spy talk.

The article's title is: "Eyewash: How the CIA Deceives It Own Workforce About Operations",
by Adam Goldman and Greg Miller. Washington Post, Jan. 31, 2016. The link is:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/eyewash-how-the-cia-deceives-its-own-workforce-about-operations/2016/01/31/c00f5a78-c53d-11e5-9693-933a4d31bcc8_story.html

Gerald Cohen 
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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