[Ads-l] intrigue > palace intrigue

Ben Zimmer bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM
Sun Mar 11 13:04:45 UTC 2018


I wrote about "palace intrigue" for Slate last year.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/08/09/the_etymology_and_origins_of_palace_intrigue.html
We likely owe the more compact expression palace intrigue to the German
equivalent, Palast-Intrigue, in print since at least 1808. One early
example appeared in an 1825 account of a foiled insurrection in Spain. A
seized document laid out a “plan of a future Government, solid and stable …
which may not be subject to the chances and variations resulting from
palace intrigues.” Two years later, a correspondent for the Times of London
reported from Lisbon that one Portuguese nobleman, the Viscount of Vila
Nova de Cerveira, was “one of the permanent pivots of all palace intrigues.”

Linking to:
https://goo.gl/BaAqPP (1808 "Palast-Intrigue")
https://goo.gl/XqPKYp (1825 "palace intrigues")


On Sat, Mar 10, 2018 at 2:33 PM, Peter Reitan <pjreitan at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Flugel's Complete Dictionary of the German and English(1843) (
> http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044106312200) has an entry
> for the German expression "Palast Intrigue", which it translates as
> "intrigue of the palace."
>
> The expression "palace intrigue" appears in English as early as 1839, and
> seems relatively common after 1875.
>
> That's not to say that Game of Thrones hasn't spurred a revival.
>
> If there's an uptick now, it may be because Trump critics like to play up
> the perceived, or supposed, monarchical nature or aspirations of the
> President and his court.
>
> But the expression has been used regularly over the past couple decades
> with respect to several administrations, and perhaps most frequently with
> respect to the Clintons.
> ________________________________
> From: Barretts Mail<mailto:mail.barretts at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: ‎3/‎10/‎2018 10:16
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: intrigue > palace intrigue
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      intrigue > palace intrigue
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> -------------------
>
> The word =E2=80=9Cintrigue=E2=80=9D is frequently modified with =
> =E2=80=9Cpalace=E2=80=9D, which doesn=E2=80=99t seem to add anything.=20
>
> I lost interest after 1.25 books, but it seems possible that this change =
> is being pushed by conversation around =E2=80=9CGame of Thrones=E2=80=9D. =
> Another possibility is that his has arisen due to the semantic =
> separation of =E2=80=9Cintriguing=E2=80=9D from =E2=80=9Cintrigue=E2=80=9D=
> .=20
>
> Neither Wiktionary nor the English OLD have an entry for =E2=80=9Cpalace =
> intrigue=E2=80=9D, though Wiktionary has an entry for palace politics =
> (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palace_politics =
> <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palace_politics>).=20
>
> 1. The Wall Street Journal
> By Valentina Pop and Laurence Norman
> 8 March 2019
> =
> https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-sudden-promotion-sparks-an-
> uproar-in-europe=
> -1520540968?mod=3Dnwsrl_u_k_news&cx_refModule=3Dnwsrl =
> <https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-sudden-promotion-sparks-an-
> uproar-in-europ=
> e-1520540968?mod=3Dnwsrl_u_k_news&cx_refModule=3Dnwsrl>
>
> An episode of palace intrigue inside the European Union=E2=80=99s top =
> institution has reinforced criticism of the bloc among those who see it =
> as the plaything of unelected bureaucrats or the tool of Germany.
>
> 2. The Guardian
> By Ross Barkan
> 6 March 2019
> =
> https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/06/
> west-virginia-strike=
> -teachers-rare-hope-dark-times =
> <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/06/
> west-virginia-strik=
> e-teachers-rare-hope-dark-times>
>
> Beyond the gross cacophony of the Trump White House, where inane palace =
> intrigue continues to transfix the nation, a very important story is =
> taking place.
>
> 3. The Guardian
> By Jamiles Lartey and Julia Carrie Wong
> 7 March 2019
>
> =
> https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/07/donald-
> trump-white-house-r=
> esignations-firings-full-list =
> <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/07/donald-
> trump-white-house-=
> resignations-firings-full-list>
>
> The former Republican National Committee chairman was supposed to bring =
> inside-the-beltway savvy to the Trumpian outsiders, but his tenure was =
> largely notable for palace intrigue, political blunders and all-around =
> chaos.
>
>

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



More information about the Ads-l mailing list