Don Marti

Sun 17 Apr 2005 08:33:51 PM PDT

Steal

I figured out why it bugs me to see "steal" used to mean "infringe" -- because it has always meant "plaigarize",

The word "steal" has long been used to mean "copy and claim credit". If a freelance writer says, "I sent them a query letter but they stole my idea and assigned it to someone else," that doesn't mean they copied and left his or her name on.

Anyway, I put this term on the Free Style Wiki a while ago, with an example from Tom Lehrer, so have a whack at it if you like.