coventrate

[ostap77]

"To coventrate every town under the sun — such is the wild dream of the war-mongers — and is there much difference between them and the brink-mongers?"

It might be a teacher's mistake. But what would it mean in this sentence?

 

[JMurray]

ostap.
I've been trying to put up the link but it doesn't look right when it posts, so here's the explanation from everything2.com.

Coventrate. Verb meaning to 'utterly destroy'. Coined from the German verb 'Coventiren'.
On the moonlit night of November the 14th, 1940, the city of Coventry was the target of the biggest German raid to date. Over 500 bombers were sent to strike at the industrial heart of Britain's war production engine.
This was the The Blitz.
The word was first heard on a broadcast made by William Joyce (known to the British as "Lord Haw Haw"), a German radio propaganda broadcaster during World War II, shortly after the strike.
Of course, the word quickly fell out of usage, and was considered to be used under bad taste.

not a teacher

 

[ostap77]

ostap.
I've been trying to put up the link but it doesn't look right when it posts, so here's the explanation from everything2.com.

Coventrate. Verb meaning to 'utterly destroy'. Coined from the German verb 'Coventiren'.
On the moonlit night of November the 14th, 1940, the city of Coventry was the target of the biggest German raid to date. Over 500 bombers were sent to strike at the industrial heart of Britain's war production engine.
This was the The Blitz.
The word was first heard on a broadcast made by William Joyce (known to the British as "Lord Haw Haw"), a German radio propaganda broadcaster during World War II, shortly after the strike.
Of course, the word quickly fell out of usage, and was considered to be used under bad taste.

not a teacher

Come to think of it, why would our teachers give us sentences with such words for translation?:?: I've looked it up in 10 realy good monolingual dictionaries and it "ain't" there!