cabal

familiar word / vague understanding of the meaning

Definition of cabal: kə-băl', -bäl'
n: "A conspiratorial group of plotters or intriguers: 'Espionage is quite precisely it—a cabal of powerful men, working secretly' (Frank Conroy). A secret scheme or plot." (answers.com)

Where I ran across it:
1/14/08 - NYT article, "The Uses of the Humanities, Part Two" by Stanley Fish in his "Think Again" opinion column.

"...Some who posted put forward a negative reason for supporting the teaching the humanities. They say things like, 'if only the cabal running our government...had known a bit of history, we might not be in Iraq..."

My two cents:
Kinda like that age-old, iconic Charlie Feathers country classic, "I Forgot to Remember to Forget," this is one of those words I just keep forgetting to remember to remember. What an awesome word, cabal. I must remember it!

In his column/blog, Stanley Fish talks about the humanities, and his life's work as a humanist, that being "someone employed in a college to teach literary, philosophical and historical texts. ... The satisfaction is partly self-satisfaction – it is like solving a puzzle – but the greater satisfaction is the opportunity to marvel at what a few people are able to do with the language we all use." Well, say Hallelujah. I'm all over that. But Professor Fish is not only brilliant, he's feisty as hell. To read Fish's article is to hear not only about the validity of the humanities, but moreover, a plucky, well-argued debate over the deep, intrinsic value of/justification for humanistic studies.