Misunderstood concepts/phrases that make me crazy

[Nappa]

I thought the phrase was "begs to question."

 

[Fontaine]

*** is wrong with you, need a doctor??

 

[DanielleMuscato]

*** is wrong with you, need a doctor??

No, most people just need a junior high education, that's all

 

[Warpticon]

Dave, here's a link to The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.


http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/

Beat me to it.

 

[DanielleMuscato]

Ahh, a home for my gripe. I've been getting bugged lately by people saying, "At any rate...". What the hell does that mean? They throw it anywhere...

I was washing my car yesterday, at any rate... we went out to eat afterwards.

I love playing bass... at any rate, I'm going to stop writing now.

There are appropriate uses for the phrase "at any rate." E.g., "I'm considering investing in real estate, or, I might put all my money in bonds. At any rate, I intend to retire before I'm 60." The rate at which the speaker builds his nest egg depends on his choices, but at either of those two rates (or an unspecified other rate, or combination of rates), he intends to retire at x age. Substitute "whatever the case may be," if you'd like.

 

[DanielleMuscato]

Thanks for the unnecessary quotes link. However, that site doesn't seem to be taking into account emphasis quotes, which are an entirely legitimate aspect of English writing. For circumstances in which emphasis cannot be added with italics (for example, marquees), this is a common and, I think, acceptable practice. I think, if possible, we should make use of a richer vocabulary first, and if that doesn't work, and emphasis quotes would not send the wrong message (e.g. that child is "special"), it's alright.

What I love about language is that it's always changing. I don't know if I'd call it progress, but English is a living language.

 

[Eric Perry]

It bugs me when I hear "I could care less" when someone means to say "I couldn't care less".

That one always irks me.

And Dave, I think you may have forgotten your Ritalin today.

 

[peterbright]

My head is hurting. Why are you making me think?

 

[DanielleMuscato]

...Dave, I think you may have forgotten your Ritalin today.

You're confusing Ritalin (attention-deficit disorder drug) and Xanax (anti-anxiety drug) If I'd needed and forgotten Ritalin, my first post would read:
--

I'll start.

"Begs the question" - For some reason... oo, Seinfeld is on TV!

--

Haha

No, seriously, I have a good one. And while I realize this is being picky, because I am referring to the second definition (in Merriam-Webster), when the first definition is obviously also correct, I still think it's an important distinction.

I work with animal shelters a lot (in a volunteer capacity), and the accepted convention is that "feral" means "formerly tame/owned, but now wild," and wild means "never domesticated."

It's a minor point, but if you're talking about a wild animal, you can just call it a wild animal. I know that "feral" is a cool-sounding word, but it has two meanings and can confuse people, whereas "wild" is pretty clear.

GET OFF MY LAWN!

 

[Eric Perry]

Ritalin dude. Ritalin.

 

[DanielleMuscato]

Is that still even prescribed? I remember hearing about that maybe 15 years ago... I'm surprised they haven't come out with something new & improved by now (if that's the case).

 

[bassteban]

...was the feral kid in The Road Warrior truly feral or wild?

Edit:

 

[Stumbo]

Humans only use 10% of their brains.

By my estimation, the theory on the law of cranial usage, as it applies to my conceptual brainial usage (in a kind of circular logical way), I only use about 6.790% of my brain.

I mean the physical part. Not the theoretical part.

 

[steve21]

...was the feral kid in The Road Warrior truly feral or wild?

Edit:

at any rate that begs the question "who knows?"

 

[Eric Perry]

Is that still even prescribed? I remember hearing about that maybe 15 years ago... I'm surprised they haven't come out with something new & improved by now (if that's the case).

Ritalin came out in '57. It's generic name is Methylphenidate Hydrochloride. It is still used today, although there are time-release versions of the same chemical called Concerta and Metadate that are used pretty frequently as well. Other drugs for ADHD that are still stimulants are Dexedrine and Adderal. All are prescribed FAR too frequently, IMO.

Regardless, they all works worlds better than the non-stimulant class of medications.

 

[Jared Lash]

Is that still even prescribed? I remember hearing about that maybe 15 years ago... I'm surprised they haven't come out with something new & improved by now (if that's the case).

As long as we're talking about pet peeves about phrases, "New and Improved" is as ridiculous as they come. Something can be new or something can be improved. By definition it cannot be both.

 

[SpankyPants]

Gravity is a theory, too.

Nope, it's a law.

 

[Eric Perry]

As long as we're talking about pet peeves about phrases, "New and Improved" is as ridiculous as they come. Something can be new or something can be improved. By definition it cannot be both.

Zingage!

 

[AlphaMale]

I'll start.
People use this logical fallacy all the time in casual conversation and in debates, and there is a common and valid use for the phrase. However, merely saying something that simply invites a follow-up question is NOT "begging the question."

Argh.

Not quite.

Circular Reasoning is the basing of two conclusions each upon the other (possibly with one or more intermediate steps). That is, if you follow a chain of arguments, the conclusion of some argument is used as a premise in one of the earlier arguments that eventually led to that conclusion. Begging the question can occur within one argument; on this understanding, begging the question occurs if and only if the conclusion is implicitly or explicitly a component of an immediate premise.

Meanings of things change over time.

Take for granted or assume the truth of the very thing being questioned. For example, Shopping now for a dress to wear to the ceremony is really begging the question--she hasn't been invited yet. This phrase, whose roots are in Aristotle's writings on logic, came into English in the late 1500s. In the 1990s, however, people sometimes used the phrase as a synonym of "ask the question" (as in The article begs the question: "What are we afraid of?").

But at the same time

More recently, "begs the question" has been widely used as though it is equivalent to "invites the question," "prompts the question," "raises the question," or to indicate that "the question ought to be addressed." In this usage, "the question" is stated in the next phrase. For example: "This year's budget deficit is half a trillion dollars. This begs the question: how are we ever going to balance the budget?" This usage has met with substantial resistance among prescriptive grammarians.[2][3][4][5][6] . Argument over whether this usage should be considered "incorrect" is an example of the debate between linguistic prescription and description.

Proper usage

John: "Legalization should not happen, because no one in their right minds would allow that to be legal!"
If John were to say this, his argument would beg the question, namely whether legalization is justified.

 

[AlphaMale]

I hate when people say "my friend is so random"

Unless this is your friend

And sounded like static also.

Your friend is spontaneous.