MEANING

I need to know the meaning of the cliche "urban guerilla" for a school assignment.

Not intending to put you down for your honest inquiry, but a quick look-up in any of the on-line dictionaries (assuming you don't have access to a printed one at home) would have saved you some time.

Mine defines "guerilla" (derived from the French word "guerre" - meaning "war") as an independant soldier who preys on the enemy by harrassment, surprise attacks, and so forth. Urban, of course refers to cities. Thus -- if you're still with me, urban guerillas are like the Irish Republican Army whose members further their aggendas by illicit and undercover attacks on the current powers.

Then, again, this term could be applied to the American Revolutionaries who opposed and overthrew the British rule of the early colonies.

Not to put you down for your well-meaning answer, but the origin is Spanish, not French, and is spelled with two r's. (You're not alone in this. 99% of the population would misspell this word one way or another....)