October 09, 2006, 06:41
wordcrafterHiding and Secrecy
This week we will present furtive words: words of hiding and secrecy.
camarilla — a group of confidential, often scheming advisers; a cabal
… 'a camarilla of all-powerful Ustashi officers and scheming politicians', who had taken control of what remainded of the disintegrating state of Croatia, …
— Stephen Dorril, MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service
… tell a camarilla of anti-Diem generals that, if they overthrew Diem, the United States would recognize their new regime.
— Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr, Robert Kennedy and His Times
October 10, 2006, 07:56
wordcrafter doggo — 'lie doggo'
Brit. informal, dated: remain motionless and quiet to escape detection
I though, my God, he is trying te hypnotize me; and then, I must play by the rules, but I'll lie doggo and pretend I am hypnotized.
— John Fowles, The Magus
October 11, 2006, 07:43
wordcrafter in camera —
1. in secret; privately
2. law: in private with a judge rather than in open court
Queensland Health employees had only been willing to give their evidence in camera for fear of retribution.
— Sunshine Coast Daily (Australia), Sept. 30, 2006
October 11, 2006, 17:30
<Asa Lovejoy>quote:
in secret; privately
How does this contrast with
sub rosa?October 12, 2006, 05:15
wordcrafterHere's a rare one.
latitation — lying in concealment; hiding; lurking
latibulum — a concealed hiding place; a burrow; a lair; a hole
The warden took a key ring from his pocket. … "We have the Major in the latibulum. It's where we keep the most gruesome cases, out of public viewing …*
— Peter Quinn, Banished Children of Eve
Extra, added bonus word:
sub rosa — happening or done in secret
I run my boat into New York, buy from Yankee firms, sub rosa,of course, and away I go.
— Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind
Foreign countries in the region who were supplying sub-rosa assistance to the U.S. were about to make decisions that would put them at even greater risk …
— Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack
October 12, 2006, 05:26
zmježd How does this contrast with sub rosa?
Offhand, I'd say that
sub rosa originally meant in private by convention (i.e., standing under some ornamental architectural device), while
in camera meant in private because people meeting so were separated from the rest in a different room (or chamber).
The Latin preposition
in is an interesting one. With the accusative, it meanings motion
into, but with the ablative it can mean either
on top of or
inside.
October 12, 2006, 05:38
arnieThe rose was a symbol of secrecy, and was usually painted or moulded on the ceiling of a king's privy chambers. Anything that was said
sub rosa, "under the rose", was secret.
Sub rosa, therefore, meant "in secret".
In camera means "in private" - not necessarily the same as "in secret".
October 13, 2006, 07:11
wordcrafter priest's hole — a secret chamber or hiding-place for a (Roman Catholic) priest (in times of the penal laws)
Miss Marple didn't see how architecture could come into it, though it might, she supposed. A priest's hole, perhaps? One of the houses they were going to visit might have a priest's hole which would contain a skeleton.
— Agatha Christie, Nemesis
The priest's hole and the concealed staircase are at your service.
— Dorothy L. Sayers, Murder Must Advertise
October 14, 2006, 07:11
wordcrafter star chamber — characterized by secrecy and often being irresponsibly arbitrary and oppressive
The Motion Picture Association of America's film rating system … is a joke. It will slap a restrictive rating on the mere flash of a woman's breast and not even blink at the most gruesome violence imaginable. It's much easier on large-budget studio productions than low-budget independent films. And it operates as a star chamber, dispensing its judgments in total secrecy.
— Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sept. 22, 2006
November 07, 2006, 10:16
missannI have noticed that journalists and officers reporting from Iraq will say they uncovered a (phonetic) "ca-SHAY" of weapons. They mean a cache - a hiding place, which is pronounced as in cash bar. They are confusing it with the word cachet (pronounced ca-SHAY)-meaning prestige, style or stamp of approval.
November 07, 2006, 14:34
BobHalequote:
Originally posted by missann:
I have noticed that journalists and officers reporting from Iraq will say they uncovered a (phonetic) "ca-SHAY" of weapons. They mean a cache - a hiding place, which is pronounced as in cash bar. They are confusing it with the word cachet (pronounced ca-SHAY)-meaning prestige, style or stamp of approval.
Maybe they mean that finding the weapons gets the General's approval.
