Terminate with extreme prejudice
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Terminate with extreme prejudice is a term used by Bernard Conners in his novel Don't Embarrass the Bureau[1]. In context it is understood to mean assassinate. Since the novel, the term has been used in other literature in a similar context, particularly in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, in which Martin Sheen's character is ordered to terminate the insane Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) with "extreme prejudice."
The extraction "extreme prejudice" is popularly thought to have originated in military circles and to mean a "take no prisoners" or "show no mercy" attitude by military forces. However, the U.S. Military denies using the term or supporting any actions as depicted in any of the literature. "Extreme prejudice" has since become a humorous term meaning to take any action to absurd limits, such as to "borrow with extreme prejudice" meaning to steal.
"Terminate with extreme prejudice" was also used in the movie "The Amateur" 1982 starring John Savage. In context it was used as an order to assassinate him.
Dr Cruces, the head of the Assassin's Guild in the Terry Pratchett Discworld novel Men at Arms issues an order to his underlings to catch an alleged tresspasser and inhume him "with extreme impoliteness", a parody of the concept and a play on the general Discworld notion of organised, polite assassins.
The term is referenced in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. When HK-47 joins the players party, he will occasionally say (while fighting), "Prejudice set to maximum."
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Conners, Bernard (1972). Don't Embarrass the Bureau. ISBN 0-672-51688-8 (hardback), ISBN 0-380-00722-3 (paperback).
