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'Dirty Harry' S Truman

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J. J. Lodder - 21 Jul 2010 09:07 GMT
There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
on the in principle simple question:
Is the nickname 'Dirty Harry' for Truman contemporaneous,
i.e. was it used in his time as president,
or is it an invention after the fact,
which came after the movie with that title? [1]

Can anyone here speak the decisive word?

Jan

[1] Triggered by
<http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_sDemhFqf5aowS1
9cRZmhwJ;jsessionid=EAEFD741D353645957B57D20534803F2E>
R H Draney - 21 Jul 2010 09:56 GMT
J. J. Lodder filted:

>There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
>Can anyone here speak the decisive word?

I don't know if anyone called Truman "Dirty", but it wouldn't surprise
me...political opponents have been doing that since people starting joining up
and taking sides, Truman was known to be an "earthy" sort which might have
encouraged the association, and then there's the inevitable conflation of
"Harry" with "hairy"....

It's interesting that B Kliban used the name "Harry" for this cartoon:

 http://www.yahoodrummers.com/davey/kliban/images/neabtyh_chickentoes.jpg

....r

[2]  Truman anecdote reported in Time magazine, inter alia:

Truman once offended a friend of his wife's by referring repeatedly to "the good
manure" that must have been used to nurture the fine blossoms at a Washington
horticulture show. "Bess, couldn't you get the President to say 'fertilizer'?"
the woman complained. Replied Mrs. Truman: "Heavens, no. It took me 25 years to
get him to say 'manure.' "

Signature

Me?  Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.

James Hogg - 21 Jul 2010 10:07 GMT
> J. J. Lodder filted:
>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> encouraged the association, and then there's the inevitable conflation of
> "Harry" with "hairy"....

Google Books finds no references to Dirty Harry applied to Truman, only
a basketball player named Harry Hopkins in 1941.

Signature

James

John Dean - 21 Jul 2010 12:37 GMT
> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> <http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_sDemhFqf5aowS1
> 9cRZmhwJ;jsessionid=EAEFD741D353645957B57D20534803F2E>

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/808217/harry_truman_give_em_hell_harry_
or.html?cat=37

http://tinyurl.com/38es6g7
[nb - you make life easier for those wishing to follow your links if you
show an abbreviated version using one of the standard services - saves a lot
of farting around]

"He was called "Give-em-hell" Harry, but he might also have been called
"Dirty Harry""

Suggests it wasn't in use at the time.
Signature

John Dean
Oxford

J. J. Lodder - 21 Jul 2010 14:20 GMT
> > There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> > on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> show an abbreviated version using one of the standard services - saves a lot
> of farting around]

Ah I see, you are enslaved by the evil empire.
Destroying or not honouring norms is M$'s core business.
For those outside, enclosing a ref in  < > does the trick,
even with returns in between.
You might take the habit, and use < >
even if it doesn't work for you.

>  "He was called "Give-em-hell" Harry, but he might also have been called
> "Dirty Harry""
>
> Suggests it wasn't in use at the time.

Yes, unlike 'Tricky Dick(y)',
which was widely used,

Jan
John Dean - 21 Jul 2010 18:20 GMT
>>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> You might take the habit, and use < >
> even if it doesn't work for you.

I'll start as soon as you start using tinyurl, snipurl or something similar.
Signature

John Dean
Oxford

J. J. Lodder - 23 Jul 2010 12:44 GMT
> >>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> I'll start as soon as you start using tinyurl, snipurl or something similar.

Never. I have seen too much tiny abuse.
And just wondering:
Why have you internalized the evil empire's decrees
to such an extent that you refuse to do the right thing?

Jan
John Dean - 23 Jul 2010 14:04 GMT
>>>>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>>>>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
> Why have you internalized the evil empire's decrees
> to such an extent that you refuse to do the right thing?

And yet my solution works for everyone and yours doesn't. What is good,
Phaedo, if we exclude some people or we exclude none?  And could you offer
documented evidence of this "abuse". And it is you who has refused - I have
merely postponed comditionally.
BTW, I sense you may be running out of tiresomely repeated cliches for
Microsoft so here are some more:
Microshaft, Microsloth, Microslave, Microslug ... heaven forbid you should
have to find some original terminology for the most widely used operating
system in the world or even, heaven forfend!, find something new to rail at.
Signature

John Dean
Oxford

J. J. Lodder - 23 Jul 2010 15:48 GMT
> >>>>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >>>>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
> documented evidence of this "abuse". And it is you who has refused - I have
> merely postponed comditionally.

Indeed Phaedo, it is a difficult question.
Should we do the right thing, or should we go with the masses?

We are not going to agree, it seems,

Jan
John Dean - 24 Jul 2010 00:16 GMT
>>>>>>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>>>>>>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 39 lines]
> Indeed Phaedo, it is a difficult question.
> Should we do the right thing, or should we go with the masses?

How pretentious, to think your choice of operating system is somehow
'right'.
But I understand your point - you don't care if people can't easily follow
your links because they are 'masses' using the 'wrong' system.
Signature

John Dean
Oxford

J. J. Lodder - 24 Jul 2010 09:59 GMT
> >>>>>>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >>>>>>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 44 lines]
> But I understand your point - you don't care if people can't easily follow
> your links because they are 'masses' using the 'wrong' system.

May I remind your noble person that it was you who injected
this most pretentious reference into this humble thread?

And as for the masses: if you sample I think you will find
that ordinary <correct> or otherwise references far outnumber
the rarely seen tiny-s,

Jan
John Dean - 24 Jul 2010 15:22 GMT
>> How pretentious, to think your choice of operating system is somehow
>> 'right'.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> May I remind your noble person that it was you who injected
> this most pretentious reference into this humble thread?

Which pretentious reference?

Signature

John Dean
Oxford

J. J. Lodder - 25 Jul 2010 12:08 GMT
> >> How pretentious, to think your choice of operating system is somehow
> >> 'right'.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Which pretentious reference?

You shouldn't snip first and ask for what you snipped next,

Jan
John Dean - 26 Jul 2010 23:26 GMT
>>>> How pretentious, to think your choice of operating system is
>>>> somehow 'right'.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> You shouldn't snip first and ask for what you snipped next,

Then be my guest and reinsert it for I have no idea what you're talking
about.
mm - 22 Jul 2010 03:25 GMT
>> [1] Triggered by
>> <http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_sDemhFqf5aowS1
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>show an abbreviated version using one of the standard services - saves a lot
>of farting around]

I find the easy way to get around these is to click on reply, then
delete two characters beween the first and second line, and then
click.  Does that work with OE?
'
Signature

Posters should say where they live, and for which area
they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in
Western Pa.   10 years
Indianapolis   7 years
Chicago          6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore       26 years

Don Phillipson - 21 Jul 2010 12:39 GMT
> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> <http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_sDemhFqf5aowS1
> 9cRZmhwJ;jsessionid=EAEFD741D353645957B57D20534803F2E>

The NY Post (web page) headline reads
"Dirty" Harry
not
"Dirty Harry"
and was probably written by a copyeditor (not author
Zachary Karabell) and the article was probably written
by Karabell to promote his latest book, about the US
presidential election of 1948.  The word "dirty" appears
nowhere in Karabell's article.

The dates are not at issue.  Truman was US President
1945-52 and died in 1972.  The eponymous Clint Eastwood
film was released in 1971.

During his years in Congress (from 1934) Truman was not
prominent and was generally regarded as a "machine politician,"
i.e. a mere agent of the Boss Pendergast political machine that
controlled local politics in Missouri.   He came to Pres. Roosevelt's
attention as chairman of a congressional committee monitoring war
contracts, thus was chosen in 1944 (by Democratic party powers,
not by FDR personally) to run for election as FDR's vice president.
His enemies no doubt despised him as a Pendergast stooge, but
I do not think anyone accused Truman of taking bribes (the usual
association of "dirty" in the US political lexicon.)

Signature

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Django Cat - 21 Jul 2010 13:53 GMT
> > There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> > on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
> I do not think anyone accused Truman of taking bribes (the usual
> association of "dirty" in the US political lexicon.)

Though, interestingly, that's not what makes the Clint Eastwood
character, Harry Calaghan, 'dirty' - it's taking the law into his own
hands.

DC
--
James Hogg - 21 Jul 2010 14:02 GMT
>>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
> character, Harry Calaghan, 'dirty' - it's taking the law into his own
> hands.

His own explanation in the film:
"Now you know why they call me 'Dirty Harry'. Every dirty job that comes
along."

Signature

James

Murray Arnow - 21 Jul 2010 13:26 GMT
>There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
><http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_sDemhFqf5aowS1
>9cRZmhwJ;jsessionid=EAEFD741D353645957B57D20534803F2E>

I always had an interest in the life of Truman. He died when I was a
graduate student, and my memories of him are vivid. At no time did I
ever hear or read of anyone calling him "Dirty Harry." He was called
"Give 'em hell" Harry, but that was for a short time during the '48
campaign. I hadn't heard "Dirty Harry" until the Clint Eastwood
character appeared. I think you are witnessing the birth of an urban
legend.
J. J. Lodder - 21 Jul 2010 14:20 GMT
> >There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> character appeared. I think you are witnessing the birth of an urban
> legend.

Thanks, leaves no room for doubt.
I forwarded your reaction,

Jan
tony cooper - 21 Jul 2010 15:34 GMT
>>There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>>on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>character appeared. I think you are witnessing the birth of an urban
>legend.

I don't think he was ever called "the buck stops here Harry", but that
phrase and "Give 'em hell" are always associated with HST in my mind.

Signature

Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

John Dean - 21 Jul 2010 23:14 GMT
>>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> I don't think he was ever called "the buck stops here Harry", but that
> phrase and "Give 'em hell" are always associated with HST in my mind.

Those two and "What does the 'S' stand for Mr Truman?"
Signature

John Dean
Oxford

J. J. Lodder - 23 Jul 2010 12:44 GMT
> >>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
> Those two and "What does the 'S' stand for Mr Truman?"

And don't ask him about the . following the S

Jan
mm - 22 Jul 2010 03:28 GMT
>>>There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>>>on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>>character appeared. I think you are witnessing the birth of an urban
>>legend.

Let's hope not.  Maybe peoplle like her, who care about the facts, can
quash it.

>I don't think he was ever called "the buck stops here Harry", but that
>phrase and "Give 'em hell" are always associated with HST in my mind.

"I don't give them hell.  I just tell the truth and they think it's
hell."
Signature

Posters should say where they live, and for which area
they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in
Western Pa.   10 years
Indianapolis   7 years
Chicago          6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore       26 years

Maria Conlon - 21 Jul 2010 16:41 GMT
>>There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>>on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> character appeared. I think you are witnessing the birth of an urban
> legend.

Note: In today's politics, the term "Dingy Harry" (but not "Dirty Harry") is
used  by conservative talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh, to describe Democrat
Senator Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader).

Pronunciation of dingy: 'din-je
definition: dirty, unclean, or shabby, squalid.

One's political views probably determine whether the sobriquet/nickname is
funny or unfunny, true or false.

Signature

Maria Conlon
"I have wondered at times about what  the Ten Commandments would have looked
like if Moses had run them through the U.S.. Congress." -- Ronald Reagan

Mike Lyle - 21 Jul 2010 22:40 GMT
[...]

> Note: In today's politics, the term "Dingy Harry" (but not "Dirty
> Harry") is used  by conservative talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh, to
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> One's political views probably determine whether the
> sobriquet/nickname is funny or unfunny, true or false.

I'm a damlibrull, as you know, and I think it's funny. I  guess I'd use
it of somebody who was fairly grubby, but not sordid enough to be called
straight-out "dirty"... in fact, I can't wait for the opportunity to say
that far too many of our elected representatives may not actually be
dirty, but they're certainly pretty dingy.

Signature

Mike.

J. J. Lodder - 23 Jul 2010 12:44 GMT
> >>There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >>on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> One's political views probably determine whether the sobriquet/nickname is
> funny or unfunny, true or false.

Looking at it from the outside I would say
that it is typical of the dirty style of US politics
that this kind of name calling is used at all,

Jan
Maria Conlon - 25 Jul 2010 21:53 GMT
>> >>There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>> >>on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> that it is typical of the dirty style of US politics
> that this kind of name calling is used at all,

1. Name-calling? I wouldn't call it that when the term used is, more or
less, a joke.
2. Making fun of the political opposition is a time-honored tradition in the
US.
3. However: Telling the full, nasty, hard truth about a dishonest political
foe is something rarely done. (Too dangerous to politicians as a whole.)

IMO,
Maria Conlon
J. J. Lodder - 26 Jul 2010 09:23 GMT
> >> >>There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >> >>on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
> 1. Name-calling? I wouldn't call it that when the term used is, more or
> less, a joke.

Sure, you are used to it.

> 2. Making fun of the political opposition is a time-honored tradition in the
> US.

I know. In other parts of the world the same
may be seen as a lack of civilization.

> 3. However: Telling the full, nasty, hard truth about a dishonest political
> foe is something rarely done. (Too dangerous to politicians as a whole.)

Beware of politicians (or anybody else) telling 'the truth',

Jan

Signature

"Seek the company of those who are searching for the truth,
and avoid those who have found it."          (Vaclav Havel)

Maria Conlon - 29 Jul 2010 06:08 GMT
J. J. Lodder wrote.

> Beware of politicians (or anybody else) telling 'the truth',
>
> Jan

But that seldom happens. (Is that why you put 'the truth' in quotes?)

Signature

Maria Conlon

J. J. Lodder - 29 Jul 2010 08:55 GMT
> J. J. Lodder wrote.
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> But that seldom happens. (Is that why you put 'the truth' in quotes?)

Huh?
You really don't have any politicians peddling the truth
over there? It seems to me they all do.

Just one example:
"I don't give them hell."
"I just tell the truth and they think it's hell."

Jan
Murray Arnow - 29 Jul 2010 10:19 GMT
>> J. J. Lodder wrote.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
>Jan

Why limit this to politicians?
J. J. Lodder - 29 Jul 2010 11:36 GMT
> >> J. J. Lodder wrote.
> >>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> >
> Why limit this to politicians?

"(or anybody else)"?

Jan
Murray Arnow - 29 Jul 2010 16:49 GMT
>> >> J. J. Lodder wrote.
>> >>
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
>Jan
"Everybody lies.".
              -- Greg House
Peter Duncanson (BrE) - 29 Jul 2010 17:13 GMT
>>> >> J. J. Lodder wrote.
>>> >>
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>>
>>Jan

>"Everybody lies.".
>               -- Greg House

But not all the time.

Signature

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

R H Draney - 29 Jul 2010 19:42 GMT
Murray Arnow filted:

>>> >"I don't give them hell."
>>> >"I just tell the truth and they think it's hell."
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>"Everybody lies.".
>               -- Greg House

Not Vulcans....r

Signature

Me?  Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.

Maria Conlon - 30 Jul 2010 04:29 GMT
>>> >> J. J. Lodder wrote.
>>> >>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>>
>>Jan

> "Everybody lies.".
>               -- Greg House

Murray: thanks for mentioning Greg House. The actor, Hugh Laurie, and the
series "House," are faves of mine.

And Yes, "everybody lies," but sometimes it's harmless, or even kinder than
not. In the case of presidents, it's possibly necessary for some reason we
only learn when the history books reveal it.

But as I just indicated in a reply to Jan, politicians are not generally
deemed to be truth-tellers, and they are not necessarily lying for good
reason (unless getting elected is considered a good enough reason).

Maria Conlon,
Possibly being too negative.
LFS - 30 Jul 2010 08:45 GMT
>>>> >> J. J. Lodder wrote.
>>>> >>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> Murray: thanks for mentioning Greg House. The actor, Hugh Laurie, and
> the series "House," are faves of mine.

Mine too, and he's almost family as he is married to the daughter of my
cousin's wife's cousin...

> And Yes, "everybody lies," but sometimes it's harmless, or even kinder
> than not. In the case of presidents, it's possibly necessary for some
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> deemed to be truth-tellers, and they are not necessarily lying for good
> reason (unless getting elected is considered a good enough reason).

As I get older, I seem to be more and more surprised when I find that
someone - politicians and all sorts - has been telling the truth.

> Maria Conlon,
> Possibly being too negative.

Signature

Laura
(emulate St. George for email)

HVS - 30 Jul 2010 09:07 GMT
On 30 Jul 2010, Maria Conlon wrote

> But as I just indicated in a reply to Jan, politicians are not generally
> deemed to be truth-tellers, and they are not necessarily lying for good
> reason (unless getting elected is considered a good enough reason).

Although I'd not disagree with that, I think that politicians have learned to
avoid telling the truth because the electorate *hates* being told the truth
unless it already agrees with what they think.  

Indeed, on the (few) occasions that I've heard politicians tell an
unpalatable truth about something, they've more often than not been slated
for it and have had to grovel with an apology -- even in cases where everyone
you talk to will say "He's right, y'know".

Signature

Cheers, Harvey
CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed

Maria Conlon - 30 Jul 2010 04:10 GMT
J. J. Lodder wrote: .
>> J. J. Lodder wrote.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> You really don't have any politicians peddling the truth
> over there? It seems to me they all do.

My point: politicians seldom tell the truth (unless under oath, and even
then -- well.....).

> Just one example:
> "I don't give them hell."
> "I just tell the truth and they think it's hell."

Ah, yes. Harry Truman. He may have been more honest than most, though that
particular example seems (to me) rather short of proving anything.

Maria Conlon,
Who may or may not be right.
J. J. Lodder - 30 Jul 2010 08:39 GMT
> J. J. Lodder wrote: .
> >> J. J. Lodder wrote.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> Ah, yes. Harry Truman. He may have been more honest than most, though that
> particular example seems (to me) rather short of proving anything.

It proves to Vaclav Havel
(who had lots of experience with Marxist possessors of the truth)
that he was company that is best avoided.

I tend to agree with Havel,

Jan

Signature

"Seek the company of those who are searching for the truth,
and avoid those who have found it."          (Vaclav Havel)
(not an original btw, others have said more or less the same)

Cece - 21 Jul 2010 18:52 GMT
> >There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> character appeared. I think you are witnessing the birth of an urban
> legend.

My mother disliked him intensely (not as much as she disliked FDR, and
I never heard her call him "Dirty Harry."  Not even after our elevator
ride with him (during which she shook his hand) when she had lots to
say to his detriment.  .  (Mayflower Hotel, Washington DC, 1962.)
Evan Kirshenbaum - 21 Jul 2010 23:24 GMT
> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Can anyone here speak the decisive word?

The phrase doesn't occur in either Google Books or the _NY Times_
archive before 1971, in reference to the movie, so I'd I'd say it's
quite unlikely that it was used in reference to Truman.

Signature

Evan Kirshenbaum                       +------------------------------------
   HP Laboratories                    |The bathwater, in this case, does
   1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141   |not appear to ever have contained
   Palo Alto, CA  94304               |any baby.
                                      |
   kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com             |          ronniecat
   (650)857-7572

   http://www.kirshenbaum.net/

mm - 22 Jul 2010 03:25 GMT
>There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>on the in principle simple question:
>Is the nickname 'Dirty Harry' for Truman contemporaneous,
>i.e. was it used in his time as president,

No, not at all.

>or is it an invention after the fact,
>which came after the movie with that title? [1]

Yes, probably the phrase was first used in the movie, or if the movie
came from a book, in the book.   Or maybe some other source, but few
had heard it before the movie.

As to Harry Truman, I only heard about this in the past year, in the
same question you are asking.

>Can anyone here speak the decisive word?

Yes, someone brought this up six months ago.

No, no one ever referred to Harry Truman as Dirty Harry except maybe
his mother when he was 3 years old and playing in the mud.

>Jan
>
>[1] Triggered by
><http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_sDemhFqf5aowS1
>9cRZmhwJ;jsessionid=EAEFD741D353645957B57D20534803F2E>

Signature

Posters should say where they live, and for which area
they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in
Western Pa.   10 years
Indianapolis   7 years
Chicago          6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore       26 years

RichardMaurer - 23 Jul 2010 00:09 GMT
   There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
   on the in principle simple question:
   Is the nickname 'Dirty Harry' for Truman contemporaneous,
   i.e. was it used in his time as president,
   or is it an invention after the fact,
   which came after the movie with that title?

   Can anyone here speak the decisive word?

There is mention on the web that "Dirty Harry" was a
nickname used by the Japanese.  I would guess that the time
was while he was president.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Maurer            To reply, remove half
Sunnyvale, California     of a homonym of a synonym for also.
-------------------------------------------------------------
(Ancient wisdom needs booster shots.)
Hatunen - 23 Jul 2010 02:28 GMT
>    There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>    on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>-------------------------------------------------------------
>(Ancient wisdom needs booster shots.)

We went through all this a while back. Did JJ post the question
again, or are you answering a very old post?

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J. J. Lodder - 23 Jul 2010 09:24 GMT
> >    There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >    on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> We went through all this a while back.

Not that I remember.
What I do remember is a longish piece of thread
resulting from Chuck Riggs' saying that
Truman's  S  stands for 'Shameful'.

> Did JJ post the question
> again, or are you answering a very old post?

I asked, but not again,

Jan
Hatunen - 24 Jul 2010 19:53 GMT
>> >    There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>> >    on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
>I asked, but not again,

You've forced me to check it out and I see that the discussion
was in alt.english.usage beginning on 21 March 2010. I can see
why I was confused.

My current news server does not carry alt.english.usage, but if
yorus does you might want to see what was said there. Or go to
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.english.usage/browse_thread/thread/15aa55eaae
16dfc7/feb0f4042accb81e?hl=en&q=Truman+%22Dirty+Harry%22
#

http://tinyurl.com/2crsax3

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  * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

J. J. Lodder - 24 Jul 2010 22:50 GMT
> >> >    There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> >> >    on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
>
> http://tinyurl.com/2crsax3

No need to, I have it archived for myself,
since google can no longer be trusted,

Jan
J. J. Lodder - 23 Jul 2010 09:24 GMT
>     There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>     on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> nickname used by the Japanese.  I would guess that the time
> was while he was president.

No known connnection with the Japanese.
That's just American bad conscience playing up,

Jan
Donna Richoux - 25 Jul 2010 17:45 GMT
> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> <http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_sDemhFqf5aowS1
> 9cRZmhwJ;jsessionid=EAEFD741D353645957B57D20534803F2E>

I never heard of it used for anything before the movie character, but
Wikipedia says that a nuclear test of 1953 was nicknamed Dirty Harry.

--
Donna Richoux
Evan Kirshenbaum - 25 Jul 2010 19:31 GMT
>> There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
>> on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> I never heard of it used for anything before the movie character, but
> Wikipedia says that a nuclear test of 1953 was nicknamed Dirty Harry.

"... when details were released publicly."  Even allowing snippets, I
don't see anything in Google Books that mentions this before 1981.
It's not clear when the "Harry" designation became publicly known, but
I see a 6/3/1979 _NY Times_ article that talks about Utah ranchers
suing the US government "armed with newly-released Government
documents".  If this is when it acquired its nickname, it's safely
in the context of the movie title.

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J. J. Lodder - 25 Jul 2010 19:48 GMT
> > There is a discussion raging in another forum (nl.taal)
> > on the in principle simple question:
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> I never heard of it used for anything before the movie character, but
> Wikipedia says that a nuclear test of 1953 was nicknamed Dirty Harry.

The sites I see say that it was code-nemed Harry,
and -later- nicknamed 'Dirty Harry'.

They don't say how much later,

Jan
 
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