I found this odd report [in the title above] on CNN’s main site, and it struck me as the sort of tiny puzzle many of us grew up on. They do go on to explain:
Posted: August 19th, 2009 04:52 PM ET…Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is slated for a four-day stay in Bermuda this weekend with husband Bill, the Bermuda Sun reports. …
The Clintons will instead stay at Cambridge Beaches Resort and Spa, a facility where, according to the resort’s Web site, room rates can run as high as nearly $2,000 a night
Not only are they relentless about the details, but of course the trip is no longer secret, thanks to the paper. So how should we describe what is going on? It’s like trying to announce an unannouced trip. Is the headline the result of an illocutionary act that falsifies its content? Do we need perlocutionary uptake if the secret is actually no longer such?
What do you think?