both of my boomer parents that lived through the cold war, and were those children sheltering under fucking desks as of that would make a damned difference, didn’t think it was related to a nuclear weapon at all.

In the 80s we still did the air raid drills. Lived near a bunch of SAC bases - we basically knew that in the age of thermonuclear weapons and adjacent targets (whiteman, offut, carswell etc), we were fucked.

The reason I dislike the terminology being muddled is that I don't want Russians to have it as a talking point if they escalate. And since Ukraine is taking Kursk at an astounding rate, never underestimate the bullshit RU will spout to justify their panicked responses.

the terminology predates you but it's not esoteric knowledge at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon