security theater n. highly visible but ineffective anti-terrorism or other protection and precaution measures. Editorial Note: A security theater is also a geopolitical area of military operations (a theater of operations) or a local area, such as in a company or home, under protection and surveillance. This term was popularized by, if not coined by, Bruce Schneier. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Loretta in Shreveport, Louisiana, wants to know what lexical and dialectal clues linguists look for when guessing where someone is from. She also wonders: Do people with long careers in the military or who grew up in a military family have a...
A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It’s from a Latin word that involves voting. Plus: military cadences often include...