existential problem(As William Safire recounts in his On Language column in today's New York Times Magazine: Dick Cheney is just one of many politicians who have used the word over the past few years to mean "threatening the country's existence." The reasoning goes that "existential conflict" sounds more important than "fight for survival." Safire quotes a UC linguist who traced the trend back to the 1960s. goo.glArtjaazz)
