[Ads-l] Antedating of "Cold War" in General Sense

Laurence Horn laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Mon May 29 15:28:40 UTC 2023


> On May 29, 2023, at 11:16 AM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM> wrote:
> 
> On Mon, May 29, 2023 at 11:05:01AM -0400, Laurence Horn wrote:
>> "Japanese duel" seems more like a
>> reference to hara-kiri and/or seppuku (I've never understood the
>> difference, assuming there is one).
> 
> While both terms etymologically denote cutting the belly, traditionally _hara-kiri_ refers to the act of disembowelment itself, while _seppuku_ refers to the entire suicide ceremony, which includes the disembowelment but usually ends with decapitation by one's second.
> 
> Jesse Sheidlower
> 
Ah, I see I should have said that I *didn’t remember* the difference, and now I remember why.

LH

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