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yendi"We've crossed that Rubicon," he said.
No, no, no! "Rubicon" is not one of many objects (like a bridge, a word that would have worked perfectly in this sentence). "Rubicon" is a specific river. You cross the Rubicon, not that Rubicon. Crossing it is what committed Caesar to the fight against Rome.
I'm also fuzzy on whether the phrase was used correctly, anyway. "Crossing the Rubicon" does not mean having stepped over the line. It means having committed oneself fully to a course of action (or, alternatively, committing to the use of force within your own country, but I don't think that meaning's on the table here). It sounds more like this guy means that he and his colleagues feel the leadership has gone too far (and thus stepped over the line), but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here.
No, no, no! "Rubicon" is not one of many objects (like a bridge, a word that would have worked perfectly in this sentence). "Rubicon" is a specific river. You cross the Rubicon, not that Rubicon. Crossing it is what committed Caesar to the fight against Rome.
I'm also fuzzy on whether the phrase was used correctly, anyway. "Crossing the Rubicon" does not mean having stepped over the line. It means having committed oneself fully to a course of action (or, alternatively, committing to the use of force within your own country, but I don't think that meaning's on the table here). It sounds more like this guy means that he and his colleagues feel the leadership has gone too far (and thus stepped over the line), but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-07 02:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-07 02:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-07 03:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-07 04:56 am (UTC)Your other objection is better-founded.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-07 05:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 01:59 am (UTC)When I use "Lead on, MacDuff" I am quoting a Robert A. Heinlein character.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-07 06:55 am (UTC)Not to mention his approaching impeachment and trial for war crimes in Gaul ;)