[Ads-l] Euphemism of the Year candidate

[Laurence Horn]

Oops, I obviously have been leading a sheltered life (thanks to my
trusty rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation shield).
Thanks for the clarification, Garson.

There's nothing worse than an unenergetic, dare I say lackadaisical,
disassembly.

LH

On Thu, Apr 20, 2023 at 2:38 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> "Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly" is a colorful euphemism. Here is a
> 2010 tweet with the expression. It has been used in rocketry for a
> while. Elon Musk used it when discussing a SpaceX explosion in 2015.
> The nuclear power industry used "energetic disassembly" and "violent
> disassembly" in the 1970s. I think there are earlier examples with
> "disassembly", but I do not recall the details.
>
> [Begin tweet information]
> https://twitter.com/firasd/status/25158774692
> Firas Durri @firasd
> today I learned my now-favorite euphemism: ‘Rapid Unscheduled
> Disassembly’ (i.e. explosion)
> 6:49 PM · Sep 21, 2010
> [End tweet information]
>
> [Begin tweet information]
> https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/555981841476227072
> Elon Musk @elonmusk
> @ID_AA_Carmack Full RUD (rapid unscheduled disassembly) event. Ship is
> fine minor repairs. Exciting day!
> 1:56 AM · Jan 16, 2015
> [End tweet information]
>
> Year: 1971 (GB date may be inaccurate)
> Periodical: Nuclear Science and Engineering: The Journal of the
> American Nuclear Society
> Volume 44
> Page GB 135
> Database; Google Books snippet match; must be verified with scans of
> hardcopy
> https://books.google.com/books?id=-_AWAQAAMAAJ&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Early in the history of fast reactor design, recognition was given to
> the potential of meltdown and subsequent compaction of the core,
> leading, eventually, to an energetic disassembly of the reactor.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Thu, Apr 20, 2023 at 1:42 PM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
> >
> > a tough one to beat:
> >
> >
> https://wraltechwire.com/2023/04/20/spacex-starship-explosion-rapid-unscheduled-disassembly-before-stage-separation/
> >
> > Yup, it underwent a "rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage
> > separation", a.k.a. an explosion
> >
> > LH
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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