There's attentato in Italian meaning 'attack' and of course English attempt from the same roots. I'd heard this word a couple of times prior to this citation where it was used to mean booby-trap bomb and logic bomb. My main beef is with the nuances. If he's talking about the attacks of 11 September 2001, attentats is a pithy, flat and awkward choice of word. I find the dysphemism, when he is talking about a critical and emotionally-charged moment in modern history, to be unfortunate.
I've heard 'Attentat' used in German to mean 'terrorist attack'. But I agree that it doesn't work in English, in part because of the awkwardness of that plural.
Related to the attacks of September 11th, see once-m (I don't have a separate entry for 'once-s').
There's attentato in Italian meaning 'attack' and of course English attempt from the same roots. I'd heard this word a couple of times prior to this citation where it was used to mean booby-trap bomb and logic bomb. My main beef is with the nuances. If he's talking about the attacks of 11 September 2001, attentats is a pithy, flat and awkward choice of word. I find the dysphemism, when he is talking about a critical and emotionally-charged moment in modern history, to be unfortunate.
I've heard 'Attentat' used in German to mean 'terrorist attack'. But I agree that it doesn't work in English, in part because of the awkwardness of that plural.
He's certainly using it in that sense but it smacks of being a too-cleverism. Attentat means bomb.
an attack
Since the attentats of 2001, the Middle East has occupied the front of the world-political stage -- perry anderson