Pentagon Gang
- proper noun
- NSFW
:
Pentagon Gang
- After splitting from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Pentagon Gang continued violent activities in the region.
Examples
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The Pentagon Gang became notorious for a series of high-profile kidnappings in the southern Philippines.
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Authorities launched a crackdown to dismantle the Pentagon Gang and restore security to affected communities.
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The Pentagon Gang was responsible for several kidnappings in the region.
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Have you heard about the Pentagon Gang and their activities?
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After splitting from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Pentagon Gang continued violent activities in the region.
-
The Pentagon Gang became notorious for a series of high-profile kidnappings in the southern Philippines.
-
Authorities launched a crackdown to dismantle the Pentagon Gang and restore security to affected communities.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The word 'gang' clearly signals an illegal group, so a B1 learner would expect some criminal organization, but 'Pentagon' (commonly understood as the U.S. Department of Defense or a five-sided shape) does not transparently point to a Filipino terrorist group or the group's history. Because this is a proper name with an idiosyncratic reference, learners may guess it's a gang associated with something called the Pentagon but cannot derive the specific referent or background without prior exposure.
Etymology
Pentagon Gang may get its name from the word Pentagon, a five-sided shape, and Gang, meaning a 'group'. One story says it began with 'five' leaders who worked together like the five sides of a pentagon, so the name points to an organized 'group' that later became known for violence, kidnapping, and taking money by force.
