Re: Wet
work
Posted by masakim
on February 28, 2003 In Reply to: Re: Wet work
posted by ESC on February 28, 2003
: : : In a recent article in
the New York Times this passage occurs: '... the Albanians ... did
: : : wet
work for the K.G.B.' Does 'wet work' mean 'dirty work'? If so, why?
: : It
means more than dirty work. "Wet work" is spy slang (and allegedly CIA slang)
for missions involving killing someone - also known as "sanctioning" someone.
I imagine it's called "wet work" because it sometimes gets a bit messy.
: Here's
a source:
: Wet Work: Western slang for intelligence operation involving murder
or assassination. COVERT TERMINOLOGY http://www.geocities.com/s75j88w68/covert_speak.html
WET
WORK
An operation involving the shedding of blood. KGB term.
[Cf. _Mokryye
Dela_, the KGB department of wet work --masakim's note]
From _The Dictionary
of Espionage: Spookspeak into English_ (1986) by Henry S.A. Becket.
wetwork
noun
An espionage assignment that calls for murder.
[From _Wetwrk_, a
novel by Christopher Buckley]
From _Trash Cash, Fizzbos, and Flatliners: A
Dictionary of Today's Words_ (1993) by Sid Lerner et al.
wet-job a murder.
But not necessarily by drowning: "If anyone fancied the idea of doing a 'wet-job'
on me then the bomb would go off in hours." (Ted Allbeury, _Pay Any Price_, 1983)
Also as _wet operations_: "Max was an expert at what the chekists tactfully
described as mokrie dela, 'wet operations'." (Robert Moss, _Carnival of Space_,
1987)
From _A Dictionary of Euphemisms_ (1995) by R.W. Holder
- Re:
wet work ESC 03/02/03 (0)
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