For the uninitiated or the forgetful: http://www.chakoteya.net/movies/movie6.html That was a complete non sequitur; they weren't sabotaging a thing, they were just lying!
I'd read Valeris' explanation before, and by the time of the film, even that origin of the word was in dispute.
Could somebody explain the Shatner connection to this word for me? It was doing the rounds back in 2009 when the first JJ-Trek came out. Does he have a unique way of pronouncing it or something? Because I can't say I've ever noticed. Unlike my fingernails across a blackboard reaction to Orion in the Animated Series...
During the actors voice recording session for the PC game "Star Trek: Judgment Rites", one of Shatner's line is, "Spock, sabotage the system." But of course Shatner pronounces it his way with "sabataage", and berates the recording assistant for trying to correct him. Hear it at http://www.celebrityrants.com/premium/celeb_shatner2.html
^ The folks at celebrity rants certainly overstated Shatner's so-called "brow beating" of the lowly sound guy. Maybe he can get some advice from Shatner's former supporting players on how to turn the "berating" into a 40+ year whine fest.