That may be worse than writing "per say".
Then again, it depends on the context. "If you drive in that direction for, say, 200 miles, you will run out of gas."
Vocabulary rant
- Thread starter Macfrommichigan
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Then again, it depends on the context. "If you drive in that direction for, say, 200 miles, you will run out of gas."
Well, he wrote it about a century ago. People talked funny back then, and understood each other a lot better than we understand them with all that time between us. That's probably just how academics talked back then in all but the most lucid of cases.
So I think you agree with Fowler on that one.
It's interesting, since it's a word I hadn't examined in depth previously, and personally had imbued it with a certain added layer of meaning of not just being a course of action that can be accomplished but one which, in comparison to other courses of action, is more sensible. (Or perhaps not necessarily in comparison to other specific courses of action but in consideration of a general "reasonableness" standard. It might be "possible" to play a PGA golf tournament without a putter, but it's not a feasible strategy for victory.)
Now I will pay more attention to that word. I think that's feasible.
"di-" from the Greek, for two.
But Fowler's Modern English Usage in 1926, and the OED now, allow for "two or more" unpleasant options. I see where you are coming from, but then we would presumably need a word for a "trilemma" for three bad options, and ... um ... "quadrilemma" for four? Quintilemma? And so forth? Yuck. Let's just stick with dilemma. I guess all those ugly and hard-to-remember words were the dilemma ... *ahem* ... facing linguists all those years ago.
Because there are gas stations in every other direction?
See what you started @Macfrommichigan?
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Like, whatever.
Dude, not the response I expected.
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Several more clever responses sprang to mind, however they would have violated B & B rules.
Well, I just did a trip around the net looking at various on-line dictionaries definitions of feasible and dilemma. Looks like Fowler and I are out on all counts, depending on which specific defintions one looks at. In 2019 "feasible" can apparently mean "probable" or "most feasible."
"Dilemma" cannot only mean a choice between two or even more undesireable things, but can also mean simply a predicament or tough situation.
"Dilemma" cannot only mean a choice between two or even more undesireable things, but can also mean simply a predicament or tough situation.
Mute point instead of
Moot point
Moot point
That does make me crazy. A similar one is "precedence" when they mean to say "precedent."
Oh, and it's not a "happy medium". But if enough people misuse the term, then eventually it becomes "accepted".
Basically, the custodial staff of our language have to put different hinges on the door so the kids can get in.
See above. My head literally exploded when I read this.
Well, that would be "a debate in which one ought to STFU" rather than "a debate which has been already decided or is no longer of import".
Basically, the custodial staff of our language have to put different hinges on the door so the kids can get in.
See above. My head literally exploded when I read this.
Well, that would be "a debate in which one ought to STFU" rather than "a debate which has been already decided or is no longer of import".
Middle English got it's start when Norman knights wanted to get lucky with English barmaids, and things haven't improved much since.
Irregardless
"moot" and the phrase "moot point" are actually interesting with respect to the unnecessary ambiguity we have been talking about. "A moot point can be either an issue open for debate, or a matter of no practical value or importance because it's hypothetical. The latter is more common in modern American English." I would actually say as to the latter not so much because it is hypothetical, but because it is insignificant or irrelevant for whatever the current concern happens to be. In any event, the two meanings seem widely divergent. Makes it harder to write or speak precisely!
Apparently "moot" can mean
Apparently "moot" can mean
- subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty. or
- having little or no practical relevance, typically because the subject is too uncertain to allow a decision
That's a whole nother can of worms right there, that is.
I hate unnecessary qualifications, like "flax linen", or "cotton denim" for example.
I see a bit of circular definition there. If "feasible" can mean "most feasible". That could mean "most, most feasible".
I see a bit of circular definition there. If "feasible" can mean "most feasible". That could mean "most, most feasible".
<I hate unnecessary qualifications, like "flax linen", or "cotton denim" for example.>
I am guessing you do not like "ink pen" either, which one does not hear very often any more. I suspect ink pen comes from "pen" and "pin" being pronounced quite similarly, if not the same, in some parts of the country. "Neck tie" grates on my wife as being similarly redundant. It does not to me. There is more than one kind of tie, although I agree in context the word "tie" is not likely to be ambiguous as to what kind of tie is meant. From the Department of Redundancy Department.
I am guessing you do not like "ink pen" either, which one does not hear very often any more. I suspect ink pen comes from "pen" and "pin" being pronounced quite similarly, if not the same, in some parts of the country. "Neck tie" grates on my wife as being similarly redundant. It does not to me. There is more than one kind of tie, although I agree in context the word "tie" is not likely to be ambiguous as to what kind of tie is meant. From the Department of Redundancy Department.
Surely there is nothing wrong with "ink pen."
We have female swans called pens, sheep pens, and penitentiary pens for prisoners in the USA.
Things could become confusing if we do not give the reader a clue.
