The gorilla war. Gorillas Tactics. Group of gorillas.
Why do we often relate anthropomorphic apes in equatorial Africa when talking about war? To some extent, the idea makes sense: gorillas are powerful creatures, capable of great destruction and new worlds. Planet of the monkeys movies are great. But from gorilla as used to talk about human warriors, or their methods, is actually a mistake: the right word is guerrilla.
Nor are there many street (or street) teams in the rainforest.
They look different but sound the same, so it’s no surprise that people who aren’t used to seeing guerrilla in print may inadvertently mention Koko and co. guerrilla (also less spelled guerrilla) has been used in English since the early 19th century to refer to a person engaged in irregular warfare, especially as part of an independent unit that uses tactics such as raids and sabotage to take down enemy. It is of Spanish origin; guerrilla is a small number of guerrillameans “war.”
guerrilla also used as an adjective to describe things related to or suggesting guerrillas, modifying words like fighter, group, force, move, work, etc. The word is also used to describe things that are less violent but equally radical or unusual. For example, a guerrilla marketing campaign might use graffiti or giant inflatable mascots.
Apes, of course, have nothing to do with any of this—unless your marketing campaign uses a giant inflatable gorilla, in which case you have a “gorilla guerrilla marketing campaign” .
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn