Largely because the general populace outside Eastern Europe seems to dismiss any news related to Ukraine with an “oh dear”. But the meaning is perfectly clear to those who do pay attention. (For example, I wouldn’t have realized there was anything unusual or ambiguous about the phrase if not for the image used to illustrate this post.)
1 Like
I thought they were going after these guys:
With Explosive Space Modulators.
Maskirovka is a less ambiguous term for the “little green men”.
1 Like
"It’s like living in the mind of a depressed hippie.’
Oh dear.
1 Like
The role of the journalist is to explain.
1 Like
One of Trump’s sons?
Something about the complexion…
Could it be these guys? Hiding up in Canada they thought they could take you by surprise.
Nah. Snake men all get snapped up by the Secret Service.
1 Like
I just read that as unknown unknowns.
Aw crap, it’s a warning about a bio-terrorism threat: a fungus that attacks your “little man.”
And before that, as well:
Is it possible to get more context for a ngram search? It would be interesting to know if the primary meaning changes over time (say a shift from SF to irregular combatants).
1 Like
Click on the links below the graph.
“Irregular Combatant” is a slippery term though-- it suggests “militia” or “volunteer”. Many articles on the “Little Green Men” suggest that they are essentially Spetznatz-- regular army troops, equipped with the most advanced Russian weaponry. but operating covertly.
http://www.jhuapl.edu/ourwork/nsa/papers/ARIS_LittleGreenMen.pdf
1 Like
As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.
Little Green Men is far more specific.
However, many critics of Russia have noted a general obscurantist theme-- it is impossible for an individual to find an objective truth against which the actions of the state, the church, the elites, etc can be measured. It is all unknown.
yeah, I needed a near-enough synonym for LGM. I failed : )
Thanks, I didn’t know this! Skimming the Google books results (first two pages for every period since 1950) I see LGM used only in the alien/SF sense.
3 Likes
Hee hee–no, I figured @jerwin covered it, and I didn’t have anything good to add (other than wondering if the phrase came about as a reaction to the development of airplanes). If anything, I missed it!
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
