day soldier
n.— «But they will continue to provide insurgents, I’m sure. What has to happen here is to drive a wedge between the extremist leadership and what I call the “day soldiers,” [insurgents] those who sign up not because they are ideologues but because they need money.» —“US Marines Not Deploying to Afghanistan” by Al Pessin Voice of America Dec. 5, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous 19th-century British paleontologist. Dubious perhaps, but the story of her rise from seaside...
Is there something inherent in English that makes it the linguistic equivalent of the Borg, dominating and consuming other languages in its path? No, not at all. The answer lies with politics and conquest rather than language itself. Plus: a new...