# "Terminate with extreme prejudice". What does it mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310 "2004-10-21T00:06:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310/21 "2004-10-21T16:23:04Z")
Boy was I off. I always thought it meant kill messily, so if it was just termination you’d use a poisoned dart, but if it was extreme prejudice, you’d use an axe. You know. So everyone would know he’d done a bad thing and pissed someone off. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310/22 "2004-10-21T16:42:25Z")
> [@micco](#): > > As it was explained to me, the prejudice means that the target has been pre-judged to require killing. In many combat theaters containing civilians, soldiers would be required to use some judgement in deciding who to kill. In the case of an assassination mission, the target has been designated so even if the assassin finds him peacefully minding his own business, they still execute him. Yup. Works with the movie action this way as well–in a sensible world, Kurtz would have been an exemplary leader because he stopped all enemy activity in his area. The “errand boy” was not to take this, nor his perfect military record into account. There was to be no use of judgement, no conversation, no wining & dining, just permanent termination of command. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310/23 "2004-10-21T18:49:21Z")
> [@jawdirk](#): > > “Terminate with extreme prejudice” was used in Apocalypse Now, by the CO giving the protagonist the assasination mission. \ The phrase is actually said by what [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/quotes) refers to as Civilian, probably for his civilian dress in a room of military types. The best guess is probably that he’s CIA, but you’re never really told much of anything about him. He just kind of exists in the background while Capt. Willard receives his assignment and then utters his one and only line. \ ---
**Author:** ![mattysd83](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@mattysd83](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattysd83)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310/24 "2017-03-30T15:20:40Z")
It basically means Terminate as if you were paying someone back for a personal wrong they committed against you. So “to terminate with extreme personal opposing hatred” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310/25 "2017-03-30T15:46:21Z")
> [@mattysd83](#): > > It basically means Terminate as if you were paying someone back for a personal wrong they committed against you. > So “to terminate with extreme personal opposing hatred” What’s with only having two total posts, and exactly two years apart (almost to the minute)? Is this some kind of performance art? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310/26 "2017-03-30T16:02:34Z")
Thing is, even guys who give orders to go and assassinate such and such a guy don’t like to say flat-out “assassinate such and such a guy”. They like to give orders in vague terms so that if people outside the group overhear there’s ambiguity about what exactly was ordered. So a mob boss will tell his guys “I need you to take care of this situation we talked about”. And his guys know “the situation” means a particular troublesome person, and they know "take care of " means to kill him. But if the tape is ever played in court it’s very vague. Nobody agreed to do anything criminal, nobody ordered anything criminal. It just happens. And so even CIA deathsquads don’t just say “Hey, you need to assassinate Col Kurtz”. Of course nobody in a CIA deathsquad today would use the phrase “terminate with extreme prejudice” because it’s such a well known euphemism for assassination. But back when they were actually using the term, it wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310/27 "2017-03-30T16:49:48Z")
I believe the current term is _take out high value target_ ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310/28 "2017-03-30T16:57:56Z")
I always thought it meant kill with extreme accuracy and care, denoting a surgical hit - make sure you kill Subject X, but discreetly, tidily and no one else directly affected. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310/29 "2017-03-30T17:05:43Z")
> [@mattysd83](#): > > It basically means Terminate as if you were paying someone back for a personal wrong they committed against you. > So “to terminate with extreme personal opposing hatred” This is incorrect. **mattysd83** , we prefer that old threads in General Questions only be reopened to provide new factual information. Since the correct answers were given 13 years ago in posts #11 and 15, I am closing this. Colibri General Questions Moderatro [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminate-with-extreme-prejudice-what-does-it-mean/270310.md?page=1)