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Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

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Peace out
deaconB
744 Posts
(Offline)
1
2015/12/15 - 5:23am
from today's Skimm:

WHY THE CONTROVERSY?

Because there are conflicting opinions on why he peaced out. Bergdahl said he was unhappy with leadership at his base, and left to walk to another base to draw attention to those issues. But fellow soldiers say the decision to leave his post put their lives in danger when they went to look for him. And a lot of people weren’t so pleased that the US let go of five Taliban members to get him back. Then earlier this year, the Army charged Bergdahl with desertion and endangering troops.

Dictionary.com defines peace out as

verb phrase
May you have peace or be at peace.

Urban dictionary says it's 

A slang term telling someone good-bye, used with a hand gesture in which you pound your chest with your fist twice, then give the peace sign.

I'm wondering if Skimm perhaps meant piece out, like one does with a car not worth repairing, aka part out.  He was separating himself from the US military.  Or is this a new definition of peace out that's not made even the fringe dictionaries yet.

I don't suppose when he deserted, he imagined his legacy would include a neologism not referring to him in particular (as in pulling a Bergdagl, etc.)

 

 

Robert
553 Posts
(Offline)
2
2015/12/15 - 7:54am

No, it's not likely that they meant  piece out,  a pretty common usage for    clarify a sketchy idea.  Given the context of war and charge of desertion, they must've meant to use that same word that they did.  

Except what exactly does that mean?  This usage sounds rather glib and irresponsible because it seems to imply some anti-war idealism that may not have any real basis (reminiscent of the old hippy mantra  'turn on tune in drop out' ).

deaconB
744 Posts
(Offline)
3
2015/12/15 - 2:40pm

Bergdahl has said he was walking to another base, to gain the attention of those much higher in the chain of command, because he wanted to tell them how they were mismanaging things.  Some people have portrayed him as a Hawkeye Pierce, but I haven't heard him describe his motives in those terms, more of a guy whose's upset at how Mickey-Mouse is killing and woundng the wrong people.

I wonder how Walt Disney felt about people using "mickey mouse" to describe bureaucratic nonsense.  Mickey struck me as a fairly sensible mouse.

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