hors de combat

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 2, 2008 is: hors de combat • \or-duh-kohng-BAH (the "ng" is not pronounced, but the preceding \ • adjective or adverb : out of combat : disabled Examples: With their best pitcher hors de combat with a shoulder injury, the team faced a bleak season. Did you know? We picked up "hors de combat" directly from French back in the mid-18th century. Benjamin Franklin put the term to use in a 1776 letter, observing that an "arrow sticking in any part of a man puts him hors du [sic] combat till it is extracted." But you don't have to use the word as literally as Franklin did. "Combat" can refer to any fight or contest, not just fighting in a war. A politician who's out of the running in a political race could be declared "hors de combat," for example. But the adjective (or adverb) need not refer only to humans or animals: if you own a car, chances are your vehicle has been hors de combat at least once. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.