This week's theme: words borrowed from German.

putsch (pooch) noun

   A secretly plotted, sudden attempt to overthrow a government.

[From Swiss German Putsch (thrust, blow).]

Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=putsch

An infamous example was the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Hitler and his
cohorts stormed a beer hall in Munich where a meeting of the Bavarian
government was taking place. The  putsch failed and they were sentenced
to prison. This attempt gave Hitler national attention and he decided
to gain power by legal means. It was during this imprisonment that he
wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle).

-Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)

  "Another mini-coup, 2003's shopping mall putsch aimed by young officers
   at Arroyo was yet another reminder of the restive military."
   Where Has the Hope Gone? The Standard (Hong Kong); Feb 18, 2006.

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Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/putsch.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/putsch.ram

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