Subverting the genre?

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

"dungrollin" <spotthedungbeetle at h...> wrote
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_old_crowd/message/3400 :

> So I had to resort to an online dictionary (UK English).

www.onelook.com is One-Look Dictionary, which looks the word up in
MANY dictionaries for you. It gave me 20 links for 'subvert'. It
always pleases me when 1828 Webster is one of the hits:
http://65.66.134.201/cgi-bin/webster/webster.exe?search_for_texts_web1828=subvert
<< SUBVERT', v.t. [L. subverto; sub and verto, to turn.]
    1. To overthrow from the foundation; to overturn; to ruin utterly.
The northern nations of Europe subverted the Roman empire. He is the
worst enemy of man, who endeavors to subvert the christian religion.
The elevation of corrupt men to office will slowly, but surely,
subvert a republican government.
    This would subvert the principles of all knowledge.
    2. To corrupt; to confound; to pervert the mind, and turn it from
the truth. 2 Tim.2. >>

> "To try to destroy or weaken something, especially an established 
> political system."
> 
> I suppose I should come clean and say that my understanding of the 
> word was somewhat different, more like manipulating a system from 
> within for one's own ends. 

Their Definition 1 is like your on-line dictionary and their
Definition 2 is like your definition and my definition. I really think
there SHOULD be a difference between 'overthrow' and 'underturn' (with
'overturn' in the middle? 'underthrow'?).

By the way, there are a TON of reference books on-line at
http://www.bartleby.com/

> Oh Carolyn, I never expected to hear you sound so sentimental on the 
> subject!! The war starts well before birth m'dear, diabetes in 
> pregnancy is the little parasite readjusting a woman's (already 
> heartily abused) hormones to pinch more of her blood sugar.

The latest I read somewhere claims pregnancy diabetes is Bad for the
foetus's future, causing it to be born larger and therefore more
suspectible to diabetes and obesity during its life. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
obesity wasn't available back when humans were evolving and famine was
the real danger.