Welcome to “Off the Clock,” a little something that lands somewhere between Timeless & Timely.
I send out this fun look at language and words every other Saturday as bonus content. If someone sent this to you, please consider subscribing.
As someone who is interminably interested in words, I’m always looking for ways to expand my vocabulary.
The trouble with writing a newsletter that asks people to think and to learn is that there is a temptation to err on the side of erudition and showcase my dialectical prowess.
While such a mellifluous spectacle might delight the similarly-inclined, the goal here is to learn together. To ignore that is simply rude.
“There was no treachery too base for the world to commit.”
— Virginia Woolf, 1927
I had heard the word perfidious long before I understood it. It was one of those terms that floated in the air of educated disapproval — an appropriately dressed up term of reproach. I knew what it meant, or thought I did: faithless, not to be trusted. It dripped of reproach.
What I did not know — until just last week — was that perfidy is not merely a moral judgment but a legal one. Not a flourish. A term of art.1
In the law of war, perfidy describes a very specific offense: the use of deception to induce an enemy to believe you are protected under the laws of war — civilian, wounded, medical, or surrendering — and then killing them once they rely on it.
In other words, it names a crime committed not just against an opponent, but against the idea that rules mean anything at all. Perfidy is one of the most serious violations of the laws governing the use of military forces.
That led, as it almost always does, down a rabbit hole. This one was tinged with words for wickedness, and I thought we might explore some polite terms for disgraceful conduct together.
A Lexicon of Disrepute
Treachery
Treachery refers to a deliberate and willful act of betraying trust and confidence. It signifies a conscious decision to violate a reliance or faith that was placed in someone. Examples include corporate espionage, betraying a business partner or financial misconduct.2
