Date:    Thu, 7 May 1998 08:53:40 -0400
<br>From:    Gregory {Greg} Downing <downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]IS2.NYU.EDU>
<br>Subject: Re: cod fax
<br>
<br>At 09:55 AM 5/7/98 -0700, 951208[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]fudan.edu.cn wrote:
<br>>Has anybody there ever come up with a definition for  cod fax :
<br>>
<br>>cod fax        When the same editor was exposed forging a letter and a
<br>>signature on stolen writing-paper, the Guardian treated that as a joke
<br>>too. It was not a forgery, it was a  cod fax . (The Spectator 7/26/97
<br>>p24)   The crime is euphemistically described as  a cod fax , a
<br>> stratagem , a  ruse  and a  formula . (98/2 Atlantic Monthly p79)
<br>>
<br>
<br>"Cod" (noun and verb) is a long-standing UK term for a trick or various
<br>other kinds of insincerity; the word appears in Joyce's work from the early
<br>20th century. "Cod fax" would be pretty transparent to someone familiar with
<br>"cod" in the sense of trick. To my knowledge this "cod" is not in vernacular
<br>use in the US, but I could be wrong.
<br>
<br>Gregory {Greg} Downing, at greg.downing[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nyu.edu or downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]is2.nyu.edu
<br>