[Ads-l] "Evil Empire" in Bartlett's Quotations

[Pete Morris]

Isn't "Evil Empire" a Reaganism, frequently said during the
1980's?  I think it was popularized by Reagan's use, if not
actually coined by him. And Regan also promoted "Star Wars",
a proposed space laser that would shoot down incoming missiles.

So 1980's political discussions would frequently include "Star Wars"
and "Evil  Empire" in the same sentence.  Maybe that's where the
confusion comes from.

Example:
https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Convention_Proceedings/T15ZAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22evil+empire%22+%22star+wars%22&dq=%22evil+empire%22+%22star+wars%22&printsec=frontcover




------ Original Message ------
>From "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Date 27/12/2022 15:35:59
Subject "Evil Empire" in Bartlett's Quotations

>I've been studying the new edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.  This new edition continues to be a wonderful anthology of literature.  However, it continues to be surprisingly uninterested in getting the facts of quotation sources right.  There is little evidence that the editor or his assistants consulted the Yale Book of Quotations or quoteinvestigator.com or other reliable quotation reference works.
>
>One example of the weak research in Bartlett's is that it sources the phrase "evil empire" to the film Star Wars.  I am pretty sure that the phrase in the movie is actually "evil galactic empire."
>
>Fred Shapiro
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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