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Discussion Groups / English Usage / October 2008Mavericks & Renegades
> > Etymology does not explain why rebel, maverick and similar terms are > > popular in US culture Also Oct. 18: > I forgot to add the shibboleth viz. renegade. The source meaning > is turncoat, viz. someone who changes sides during a war or quarrel > to fight against his former party or people. Everyday British culture > still evaluates "renegade" as someone deplorable because disloyal. > American culture esteems renegades as rebels, ipso facto > romantic, and several sports teams proudly call themselves Renegades. > I think no European team would choose such a name. The US Secret Service now guards US presidential candidates on campaign (since the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in 1968.) Its code name for Barack Obama is Renegade (news Oct. 29.)  SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) >The US Secret Service now guards US presidential candidates on >campaign (since the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in 1968.) >Its code name for Barack Obama is Renegade (news Oct. 29.) According to this blog: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2008/sep/12/sarahpalin.uselections2008 Obama is named Renegade, ... His wife Michelle is Renaissance, McCain's name is Phoenix, ... His wife Cindy is dubbed Parasol Biden's code word is Celtic,... His wife Jill's name has not yet been reported, Palin has perhaps the cleverest name of all: Denali, the name of Alaska's lovely national park but also of the natural-gas pipeline that major oil companies are building in her home state in a bid to undercut her authority. One wonders what she makes of the symbolism there. Speaking of symbolism, Todd Palin's code name is Driller. Yes, he works on oil rigs, but it's still a little bit funny. Palin's codename, Denali, is an anagram of "denial". This all a bit puzzling. I would have assumed that one purpose of a codename is to conceal the identity of the person being mentioned. Using descriptive names works against this. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >>The US Secret Service now guards US presidential candidates on >>campaign (since the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in 1968.) [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >is to conceal the identity of the person being mentioned. Using descriptive >names works against this. I would think the code names are not to conceal, but to specify. When two agents are communicating by those sleeve microphones and earbuds, the message that "Palin is leaving" is ambiguous but "Denali is leaving" is not. "Sarah is leaving" is a bit presumptuous, "Sarah Palin is leaving" is too long", and "Palin is leaving" could mean any member of the family. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida Peter Duncanson: >> This all a bit puzzling. I would have assumed that one purpose of >> a codename is to conceal the identity of the person being mentioned. >> Using descriptive names works against this. Not to mention the little matter of allowing them to be made public. Tony Cooper: > I would think the code names are not to conceal, but to specify. When > two agents are communicating by those sleeve microphones and earbuds, > the message that "Palin is leaving" is ambiguous but "Denali is > leaving" is not. ... So they're more like call signs, except they aren't call signs because the people themselves don't use them. That does make some sense, I suppose. SignatureMark Brader | "[Your orders are] to figure out what I would have ordered msb@vex.net | you to do, if I really understood the situation ... [and] Toronto | to follow those orders I hypothetically would have given." -- Shan (John Barnes, "Earth Made of Glass") > Peter Duncanson: > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > the people themselves don't use them. �That does make some sense, > I suppose. It's like the nicknames given to teachers in junior high to inform the fellow students that "Darwin and Einstein are approaching, discard your cigarets pronto!" > > Peter Duncanson: > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > the people themselves don't use them. That does make some sense, > > I suppose. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Service_codenames> says the names are chosen by the White House Communications Agency (which I'd never heard of--it's an agency of the White House Military Office, ditto), It has some discussion of what's considered a good name, but nothing on why some names are appropriate ("Halo" for Pope John Paul II), some appear to be arbitrary ("Kittyhawk" or "Redfern" for, I guess I should call her Brenda), and Sen. Obama's could be an insult or a compliment. > It's like the nicknames given to teachers in junior high to inform the > fellow students that "Darwin and Einstein are approaching, discard > your cigarets pronto!" New one on me, though I recall having insulting nicknames and catchphrases for some of my junior-high teachers. And later teachers. How fortunate I am that in my absence, my students refer to me with the greatest respect. I can just tell. -- Jerry Friedman >> > Peter Duncanson: >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >appear to be arbitrary ("Kittyhawk" or "Redfern" for, I guess I should >call her Brenda), and Sen. Obama's could be an insult or a compliment. Not to be confused with G.W. Bush's code names. Putin is "Pootie-Poot", Blair is "Landslide", Howard is "Man of Steel", and - as is widely reported - Karl Rove is "Turd Blossom". Colin Powell used to be "The World's Greatest Hero", but recent developments in Powell's allegiance may have resulted in a new name for him. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida [snip re Secret Service code names] > Palin has perhaps the cleverest name of all: Denali, the name of Alaska's > lovely national park but also of the natural-gas pipeline that major oil > companies are building in her home state in a bid to undercut her > authority. One wonders what she makes of the symbolism there. Denali is the mountain. Mount McKinley. The tallest mountain in the United States. The park surrounds it. I don't know much about the pipeline, but I suppose any number of Alaskan enterprises are named Denali... Macrae's Blue Book finds thirty businesses with "Denali," about half in Alaska. Denali Commercial Management Anchorage, AK Denali Winery & Brewery Anchorage, AK Denali Anesthesia PC Inc Anchorage, AK Denali Drilling Inc Anchorage, AK Denali Lighting One Shelby Township, MI Denali Advisors LLC San Diego, CA Denali Software Inc Palo Alto, CA Etc. SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux Peter Duncanson: > > Palin has perhaps the cleverest [code] name of all: Denali, > > the name of Alaska's lovely national park but also of the > > natural-gas pipeline ... Donna Richoux: > Denali is the mountain. Mount McKinley. The tallest mountain in the > United States. The park surrounds it. The mountain used to be known to English-speakers only as Mt. McKinley, of course, and the park bore that name until it was renamed as Denali. > I don't know much about the pipeline, but I suppose any number of > Alaskan enterprises are named Denali... I wouldn't deny it. But you can't deny that the pipeline bit is interesting. SignatureMark Brader | The last 10% of the performance sought contributes Toronto | one-third of the cost and two-thirds of the problems. msb@vex.net | -- Norm Augustine >[snip re Secret Service code names] > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > >Etc. Some googlisms: denali is falling denali is for sale denali is recognized as the industry standard in memory selection denali is the west buttress denali is commonplace or doesn't offer much denali is quite attractive with a prominent front denali is home to a number of grizzlies denali is a game denali is one of the most repugnant winter challenges in the world I assume these are not about her. SignatureRichard Bollard Canberra Australia To email, I'm at AMT not spAMT. Richard Bollard filted: >Some googlisms: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >I assume these are not about her. Only one for your own name: richard bollard is a heritage adviser for the new zealand historic places trust and a self confessed rug addict ....r SignatureLittle-known fact: About 2% of the famous quotations credited to "Anonymous" were actually originated by Jasper D Anonymous, a 14th-century maker of carriage wheels. > Richard Bollard filted: >> >> Some googlisms: [...] >> denali is one of the most repugnant winter challenges in the world >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > richard bollard is a heritage adviser for the new zealand historic > places trust and a self confessed rug addict I've always been fond of gardening: I'm a trug addict. SignatureMike. >Richard Bollard filted: >> [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >richard bollard is a heritage adviser for the new zealand historic places trust >and a self confessed rug addict Damn! my cover is blown (or was that the rug?). SignatureRichard Bollard Canberra Australia To email, I'm at AMT not spAMT. Peter Duncanson: > Palin's codename, Denali, is an anagram of "denial". "Palin" is an anagram of "plain". Less interstingly, "Obama" and "Biden" also each have an anagram in the online "Webster's 2nd" word list, but they are "aboma" and "inbed". "McCain" has none. Turning to Canada, "harper" is itself a word in the list, but has no anagrams, "Layton" also has none, and "Dion" has only "nodi". SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | Let me know if that is a convincing argument. msb@vex.net | If it is, I'll try it on myself. --Maria Conlon My text in this article is in the public domain. On Oct 29, 8:28�am, "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <m...@peterduncanson.net> wrote: > >The US Secret Service now guards US presidential candidates on > >campaign (since the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in 1968.) [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Palin's codename, Denali, is an anagram of "denial". Also an anagram o "nailed". |
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