Fluther: Is it "reign" of destruction, or "rain" of destruction?

Is it "reign" of destruction, or "rain" of destruction?

Asked by Dutchess_III (46814

) December 22nd, 2020
15 responses
“Great Question” (2

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A CNN blurb came across my FB feed. It read Trump threatens reign of destruction on the way out. been puzzling ever since. We can rain destruction down, but we don’t “reign” destruction down.
What are your thoughts?

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Topics: rain, destruction, Reign

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Answers

His remaining “reign” (term in office) will be one of destruction. It is correct. Your wording could be correct too if used in a metaphorical sense.

janbb (62877

)“Great Answer” (4

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It’s “reign”, though Trump only qualifies for regality in his imagination.

“Rain” of destruction would be about projectiles or hail (or maybe toxic tantrum tears?), not the abuse of authority that the writer intends with “reign”.

Zaku (30365

)“Great Answer” (3

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Got cha

Dutchess_III (46814

)“Great Answer” (0

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Curious. I would have said the opposite.

Jeruba (55831

)“Great Answer” (2

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Well it sounds like they just took some artistic license.

Dutchess_III (46814

)“Great Answer” (0

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Actually the headline makes it pretty clear what was intended:

“Trump threatens 30-day reign of destruction on the way out of office”

No artistic license at all.

janbb (62877

)“Great Answer” (1

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Response moderated

And for further explication, you can recall Robespierre’s “reign of terror” which was not about the weather.

janbb (62877

)“Great Answer” (3

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“reign of terror [Reign of Terror, a period of the French Revolution that was conspicuous for mass executions of political suspects] (1798) :a state or period of time marked by violence often committed by those in power that produces widespread terror”
-from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th. ed.
reign (of destruction) is probably spelled the same, and meant to be used in the same context.

kritiper (25757

)“Great Answer” (2

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I don’t know why I’ve always envisioned it like destructive things crashing down on people. But you guys are right. “Reign” makes much more sense.

Dutchess_III (46814

)“Great Answer” (1

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It could be either. We’ve certainly experienced both. Trump’s reign has been more than destructive, and he has threatened more times than I can count to rain one scourge or another on the country. So were you to only hear this tidbit, both interpretations are right on the money.

stanleybmanly (24153

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