re: #213 Alouette

Maybe she should have used the term “Witch Hunt” and Christine O’Donnell would take offense.

Was going to reply to you before, but I got pulled away…

I think there is a large difference between terms that have entered the general vernacular and those that haven’t. Hip Hip, witch hunt have been a part of the general English language for centuries now. Their original meaning is now more a matter of etymology than definition.

However, I do not think this process is necessarily a positive thing, nor do I think Blood Libel has become an accepted synonym for ‘murderous libel’. So while I do use the English language as it exists today, including a turn of phrase such as ‘witch hunt’, I won’t encourage such treatment for other words like Blood Libel, holocaust or genocide.