October 03, 2003, 17:04
WinterBranchRevanchism
I'm reading Jonathan Franzen's
The Corrections, and I learned a new word.
Revanchism: the policy of a nation to aggressively regain territories that have been lost.
October 03, 2003, 18:42
<Asa Lovejoy>Does this mean that Dubya will soon be a Mexican?
October 03, 2003, 20:04
KallehI hadn't heard of it, either, WinterBranch. I wonder if it only has to be used politically. I also read that it can mean "the act of retaliating; revenge." I wonder if, for example, you could say, "The dean's
revanchism caused three faculty resignations."
October 03, 2003, 20:49
tinmanI've never heard the word before, so I looked it up.
M-W Online dates
revanche to 1882 and says it means " REVENGE; especially : a usually political policy designed to recover lost territory or status."
Tinman
October 03, 2003, 21:42
<wordnerd>Interesting word. I like it.
Etymology on line says, "revanchist - 'one seeking to avenge Germany's defeat in World War I and recover lost territory'." (1926). It traces the word back to "revanche" = revenge (1856)
I'm guessing that the word first meant revenge, then came to mean the specific avenging of the loss of WWI, and final broadened to include a government avenging any territorial loss. But I'm unable to find anything else that ties the word or its history to that German situation.
October 04, 2003, 19:01
WinterBranchquote:
Does this mean that Dubya will soon be a Mexican?
Good lord willin' and the creek don't rise, Asa
Can you imagine how entertaining his Spanish would be when his English is that bad?
October 04, 2003, 19:03
WinterBranchquote:
I hadn't heard of it, either, WinterBranch. I wonder if it only has to be used politically. I also read that it can mean "the act of retaliating; revenge." I wonder if, for example, you could say, "The dean's revanchism caused three faculty resignations."
I don't see why not, Kalleh. What's so beautiful about the English language is its flexibilitarianism.
October 04, 2003, 19:06
WinterBranchI finished
The Corrections today when I got home from work. I cannot recommend it enough to everyone. Franzen has a wonderful command of language and rhythm.
I've spent an hour browsing it and trying to find the use of revanchism with no luck. Grrrrr!
October 10, 2003, 15:55
WinterBranchquote:
OK, but some details please? Whatzit about?
Well, geez, CJ! Shall I come to Strolinville and chew your food for you too, little bird?
The Corrections is a novel about a family with three adult children. The father has Parkinson's and is slowly sliding into a dementia that evidently sometimes accompanies it. (I've been very lucky in that I've never had to learn anything about Parkinson's first hand.) The mother wants her three children home for one last big midwestern Christmas. I know it sounds rather bland, but it couldn't be less so.
Here's the Amazon.com entry for it.
quote:
I've spent an hour browsing it and trying to find the use of revanchism with no luck. Grrrrr!
How about: "I'd like a bowl of alphabet soup with some revanchism dressing on the side"?
I'm glad to see, CJ, that you are a firm believer in the saying, "It's better to be a smartass than a dumbass."
