The next will not be crucial facet of the tragic homicide of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. But it surely does illustrate how utilizing the proper phrases and being aware of figures of speech assist keep away from confusion.
Technically, a firearm cartridge is made from (1) a casing, which holds gunpowder and a primer to ignite the latter, and (2) a bullet, which is a projectile fitted on the finish of the casing. A bullet is thus a part of a cartridge however it’s not the identical factor. Now, a determine of speech known as synecdoche consists in utilizing an element to signify an entire (or generally the entire to signify an element) like “boots on the bottom” to talk of troopers on the bottom. Individuals, particularly these not aware of firearms, could also be repeating a synecdoche by saying “bullet” to signify the entire “cartridge,” like Mr. Jourdain was doing prose with out realizing it; or they’re simply confused. Even dictionaries are sometimes not clear. When utilizing this determine of speech, one should perceive, and make certain his reader understands, that the boots usually are not marching by themselves and that the cartridge doesn’t go away the gun by way of the barrel at (or near) the velocity of sound because the bullet does.
A Wall Road Journal story (“Police Zero In on New York Hostel in Hunt for UnitedHealth Shooter,” December 5, 2024), signed by three journalists, talked about that the killer of Mr. Thompson had
used a Sharpie to depart coded messages … on bullets that got here out of his gun when it jammed, the [law-enforcement] official stated.
This sentence is a case of taking a synedoche actually. How may the killer write on the bullets when there’s not a lot area on a 9mm (diameter) bullet? If the killer had managed this inconceivable process, how may have his messages been deciphered after the deformed or fragmented bullets had been fired (“got here out of his gun”) and recovered, in all probability embedded in some object? Or had been bullets separated from the casings when the shooter cleared a jam? That’s additionally inconceivable. Or is it that the killer extra realistically wrote on the casing a part of his cartridges? Simply yesterday, the newspaper repeated its complicated assertion, however dropped the jamming half (“Particular person of Curiosity in Killing of UnitedHealthcare Government in Custody in Pennsylvania,” Wall Road Journal, December 9, 2024, up to date 12:31 pm ET).
The journalists had been talking not of bullets however of casings, that are ejected by way of the ejection port of the pistol slide after every firing (and presumably of 1 casing nonetheless half of an entire cartridge that may have been ejected by way of the journal effectively when a jam was cleared). The police would have discovered all these on the bottom the place the shooter stood when firing. After all, the confusion may have originated from the regulation enforcement supply, however these individuals have often seen a pistol in motion. It’s not inconceivable that the regulation enforcement official felt he wanted to dumb it down for the journalist, who ought to then have objected and requested clarifying questions.
The unique story in Monetary Instances was considerably much less obscure (“New York Police Examine Bullet Casing Inscriptions in Killing of Insurance coverage Government,” December 5, 2024):
Detectives in New York are investigating inscriptions of “deny”, “defend” and “depose” on bullet casings left on the scene of the homicide … in keeping with an individual aware of the case.
The FT at the very least distinguished the casings from the “bullets,” even when it used the complicated synecdoche as if the casing had been a part of the bullet as an alternative of being a part of the cartridge. If the casing is actually a part of the bullet, then the bullet is a part of the bullet.
One could say that each one this doesn’t matter a lot. But, it could not have been extra difficult to make use of the proper phrases and keep away from any confusion. By the way, a Monetary Instances story of yesterday talked about that the suspect’s pistol was a home-made (“ghost”) gun, which might clarify why it jammed (“US Police Detain ‘Particular person of Curiosity’ in UnitedHealth Government’s Homicide,” December 9, 2024). High business semi-automatic firearms do jam, however not usually.
Encouraging breaking information: In right now’s early morning story on the suspect’s arrest, the Wall Road Journal used the phrase “spherical,” an alternate however right title for a cartridge. If the journalists proceed to enhance, we could pardon their later incomprehensible “bullet cartridge” (like a “boot soldier”) by which they meant “casing.” I hope they purchase pistols and go taking pictures.
Typically, a synecdoche is extra treacherous and consequential. Saying “the USA” (or “France” or no matter nation’s title) “did this or thinks that” to confer with the federal government of the USA confuses the bullet (the federal government) with the entire cartridge (the nation), as if the federal government had been equivalent to the nation. In political-speak and social evaluation, synecdoche is harmful, maybe greater than metaphor or hyperbole. These figures of speech can disguise confusion or propaganda.
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A cartridge is made from a casing (and its inside parts) and a bullet
