[Ads-l] retcon

[Nancy Friedman]

I wrote about an earlier citation (1988) in a 2013 blog post:
https://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2013/12/word-of-the-week-retcon.html

On Thu, May 13, 2021, 3:46 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Charlie Sykes, MSNBC:
>
> "They're trying to find a way to rationalize [Jan. 6]: 'Well, it wasn't so
> bad.' This is called 'retconning' - you simply rewrite the history. You
> pretend that what happened didn't happen, and you put your own spin on it."
>
> OED: (1989):
>
> "To revise retrospectively (an aspect of a fictional work or series),
> typically by means of a revelation which imposes a different interpretation
> on previously described events."
>
> It ain't just for fiction any more. And you don't need a "revelation."
>
> Just lie.
>
> JL
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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