| 词汇 | sheep-dipping |
| 词源 | sheep-dipping. In military slang sheep-dipping has nothing to do with real sheep. A character defines the term in Tess Ger- ritsen’s novel The Apprentice (2002): “It refers to the CIA’s prac- tice of occasionally borrowing the military’s operations soldiers for certain missions. It happened in Nicaragua and Afghani- stan, when the CIA’s own special operations group—their SOG—needed additional manpower. In Nicaragua, navy SEALS were sheep-dipped to mine the harbors. In Afghani- stan, the Green Berets were sheep-dipped to train the muja- hideen. While working for the CIA, these soldiers become, es- sentially, CIA case officers. They go off the Pentagon’s books. The military has no record of their activities.” In days past sheep-dipper was a contemptuous name rustlers gave to a cow- boy loyal to his employer, the reference to dipping sheep in sheep dip vats filled with disinfectants. Today sheepdip can also mean “cheap rotgut whiskey.” |
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