Canary Trap

[nq:1]Tom Clancy, in his novel "Red Rabbit", attributes the invention of the Canary Trap to his hero Jack Ryan. That's ... wonderful dictionaries of colloquial and slang usage can tell me when the term 'Canary Trap' was first seen in print?[/nq]
As far as I'm concerned, I first saw in it print (or pixels) January 22,
2005.

Cassell's Dictionary of Slang has no entry for "canary tra

[nq:2]Tom Clancy, in his novel "Red Rabbit", attributes the invention ... when the term 'Canary Trap' was first seen in print?[/nq]
[nq:1]As far as I'm concerned, I first saw in it print (or pixels) January 22, 2005. Cassell's Dictionary of Slang has no entry for "canary trap". It has a dozen different entries for "canary" what are we talking about, here?[/nq]
If a government agency is exp

[nq:1]Tom Clancy, in his novel "Red Rabbit", attributes the invention of the Canary Trap to his hero Jack Ryan. That's ... wonderful dictionaries of colloquial and slang usage can tell me when the term 'Canary Trap' was first seen in print?[/nq]
Is this the same as a "honey trap"? If so, Le Carre was using it decades ago. Fleming used the concept, maybe even the expression, in his James Bond n

[nq:2]Tom Clancy, in his novel "Red Rabbit", attributes the invention ... when the term 'Canary Trap' was first seen in print?[/nq]
[nq:1]Is this the same as a "honey trap"?[/nq]
No, the "honey trap" was a good lookin' broad,
a-la the Profumo scandal.

[nq:2]Tom Clancy, in his novel "Red Rabbit", attributes the invention ... when the term 'Canary Trap' was first seen in print?[/nq]
[nq:1]Is this the same as a "honey trap"? If so, Le Carre was using it decades ago. Fleming used the concept, maybe even the expression, in his James Bond novels.[/nq]
John, I've seen your explanation (quite a different sort of trap) and seen the ploy used in

[nq:1]Tom Clancy, in his novel "Red Rabbit", attributes the invention of the Canary Trap to his hero Jack Ryan. That's ... wonderful dictionaries of colloquial and slang usage can tell me when the term 'Canary Trap' was first seen in print?[/nq]
I suppose it would be sorta interesting to know when it first appeared, but of much greater interest to me would be an explanation of the reason for i

[nq:2]Tom Clancy, in his novel "Red Rabbit", attributes the invention ... when the term 'Canary Trap' was first seen in print?[/nq]
[nq:1]As far as I'm concerned, I first saw in it print (or pixels) January 22, 2005. Cassell's Dictionary of Slang has no entry for "canary trap". It has a dozen different entries for "canary" what are we talking about, here?[/nq]

[nq:1]I doubt very much Clancy invented the technique but he seems to get credit for the term. Why "canary trap"? I can see no logic to the phrase. Was it once "Canaris trap"?[/nq]
Miners used to take a canary with them into a mine to detect bad air. If the canary died, the air was bad. Could there be a connection between that and "canary trap"?

[nq:2]I doubt very much Clancy invented the technique but he ... no logic to the phrase. Was it once "Canaris trap"?[/nq]
[nq:1]Miners used to take a canary with them into a mine to detect bad air. If the canary died, the air was bad. Could there be a connection between that and "canary trap"?[/nq]
Canaries "sing." So do those who spill the beans. I think that's all there is to it.

[nq:2]Tom Clancy, in his novel "Red Rabbit", attributes the invention ... when the term 'Canary Trap' was first seen in print?[/nq]
[nq:1]I suppose it would be sorta interesting to know when it first appeared, but of much greater interest to me ... bad air. If the canary died, the air was bad. Could there be a connection between that and "canary trap"?[/nq]
If you see a flock of birds sitt