- interview (n.)
- 1514, "face-to-face meeting, formal conference," from M.Fr. entrevue, verbal noun from s'entrevoir "to see each other, visit each other briefly, have a glimpse of," from entre- "between" (from L. inter-) + O.Fr. voir "to see" (from L. videre; see vision). Modern Fr. interview is from Eng. Journalistic sense is first attested 1869 in Amer.Eng.
"The 'interview,' as at present managed, is generally the joint product of some humbug of a hack politician and another humbug of a newspaper reporter." ["The Nation," Jan. 28, 1869]
The verb meaning "to have a personal meeting" is from 1548. - brinkmanship
- also brinksmanship, with parasitic -s-, from brink (the image of the brink of war dates to at least 1840). Associated with the policies advocated by John Foster Dulles (1888-1959), U.S. Secretary of State 1953-1959. The word springs from Dulles' philosophy as outlined in a magazine interview [with Time-Life Washington bureau chief James Shepley] early 1956:
"The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war is the necessary art. If you cannot master it, you inevitably get into war. If you try to run away from it, if you are scared to go to the brink, you are lost."
The quote was widely criticized by the Eisenhower Administration's opponents, and the first attested use of brinkmanship seems to have been in such a context, a few weeks after the magazine appeared, by Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson criticizing Dulles for "boasting of his brinkmanship, ... the art of bringing us to the edge of the nuclear abyss." - al Qaida
- also Al-Qaeda; name of a loosely structured jihadist movement founded c.1989 by Osama bin Laden; from Arabic, lit. "the base." A common Arabic term among Muslim radicals from the wider Islamic world who came to Afghanistan in 1980s and fought alongside local rebels against the Soviets, and who regarded themselves and their struggle not merely in Afghan terms but as the "base" or foundation of a wider jihad and revival in Islam. Used by Bin Laden's mentor, Abdallah Azzam (1941-1989), who refered to the "vanguard" which "constitutes the strong foundation [al-qaida al-sulbah] for the expected society." In U.S., the term first turns up in a CIA report in 1996.
"Every Muslim, from the moment they realise the distinction in their hearts, hates Americans, hates Jews, and hates Christians. This is a part of our belief and our religion. For as long as I can remember, I have felt tormented and at war, and have felt hatred and animosity for Americans." [Osama bin Laden, interview aired on Al-Jazeera, December 1998]