SodaPop
March 16, 2004, 10:58 PM
While searching the net for the orgins of the term "fifth column".........................
http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorf.htm
Fifth Column
This term for a group of insurgents, traitors, or spies is a calque from Spanish. It dates to 1936 and the Spanish Civil War. That year, Nationalist general Emilio Mola had surrounded Madrid with four military columns and declared that he had a "fifth column" ("quinta columna") within the besieged city. The quotation was widely reported in British and American newspapers and the term quickly caught on and generalized.
Add in "cowards" to the 2005 edition.
http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorf.htm
Fifth Column
This term for a group of insurgents, traitors, or spies is a calque from Spanish. It dates to 1936 and the Spanish Civil War. That year, Nationalist general Emilio Mola had surrounded Madrid with four military columns and declared that he had a "fifth column" ("quinta columna") within the besieged city. The quotation was widely reported in British and American newspapers and the term quickly caught on and generalized.
Add in "cowards" to the 2005 edition.