Category: Language Matters
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‘Islamophobic’
Well, if you are 'Islamophobic,' then, given that a phobia is an irrational fear, you have an irrational fear of Islam or of certain Muslims. Is that really what you want to say? Do you really want to announce to the world that you are proud to have a phobia? I should think that fear…
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On ‘Illegal Alien’ and ‘Illegal Immigrant’
Liberals, whose love of political correctness gets the better of their intellects, typically object to the phrase 'illegal alien.' But why? Are these people not in our country illegally, as the result of breaking laws? And are they not aliens, people from another country? "But you are labelling them!" Yes, of course. Label we must if…
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‘Transpicuous’
When I encountered 'transpicuous' for the first time today, I thought the writer was either neologizing by combining 'transparent' and 'conspicuous,' or else just confused. But the word, though rare, has been in the English language since the 17th century. Use it or lose it! Companion post: What is Language? Tool, Enabler, Dominatrix?
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Woman Shot By Oven
She didn't know a friend stored his ammo there. Will liberals call for oven control? Or perhaps demand that ovens come with warning labels: Do not store ammunition in ovens! Or perhaps: Remove all ammo, fuels, cats and babies before preheating! Is there anything so stupid that some liberal won't jump to embrace it? That last…
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Quantificational Uses of ‘Crap’
Crap, diddlysquat, squat, shit, jackshit, jack. Crap and cognates as universal quantifiers. It is indeed curious that words for excrement can assume this logical role. 'No one owes you crap' = 'No one owes you anything' = 'Nothing is such that anyone owes it to you' = 'Everything is such that no one owes it…
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Benedict XVI: “A Conservative Not in Favor of Reforms”
A Fox News anchor's reportage from earlier today betrays presumably inadvertent bias. The anchor said that Pope Benedict XVI is "a conservative not in favor of many reforms." A reform is not merely a change, but an improvement. The Wikipedia article gets it right: "Reform means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc."…
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An Apology to the Shade of William Safire
Language matters, but so does accurate quotation. I thank the illustrious Mr. Lull for his contributions to the high level of quality control here at MavPhil. Dear Bill, William Safire came up with a list of what he called "fumblerules." "A fumblerule contains an example contrary to the advice it gives . . . ."*…
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William Safire
He is supposed to have said somewhere, "Avoid stock expressions like the plague." Ah yes, the perils of giving writing advice. Even the great Orwell stumbles.
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‘Leftist,’ not ‘Liberal’
Whenever I speak of liberals sans phrase I mean contemporary liberals. But contemporary liberals are leftists, so perhaps I should drop 'liberal' and use 'leftist.' As Roger Kimball remarks, Usage note: attentive readers will register the fact that I say “leftists,” not “liberals.” Conservatives, I know, often speak about the depredations and bad behavior of “liberals.”…
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Quick and Dirty: Ten Random Notes on the Gun Debate
1. Is anybody against gun control? Not that I am aware of. Everybody wants there to be some laws regulating the manufacture, sale, importation, transportation, use, etc., of guns. So why do liberals routinely characterize conservatives as against gun control? Because they are mendacious. It is for the same reason that they label conservatives as anti-government. Conservatives…
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“Environmentalists are by Definition Extremists” More on the Misuse of ‘By Definition’
Regular readers of this blog know that I respect and admire Dennis Prager: he is a font of wisdom and a source of insight. And he is a real Mensch to boot. (If I were a Jew and he a rabbi, he'd be my choice.) But I just heard him say, "Environmentalists are by definition extremists." …
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On the Illicit Use of ‘By Definition.’ 2012 ‘Gun’ Version
What follows is a reposting of an entry that first appeared in these pages on 19 July 2010. The reposting is prompted by the following surprising statement by Joe Nocera: "But it is equally true that anyone who goes into a school with a semiautomatic and kills 20 children and six adults is, by definition,…
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Gun Lovers and Abortion Lovers
One often hears liberals refer to gun owners as gun lovers. Would they refer to pro-choicers as abortion lovers? I don't think so. Why the differential usage? Is it just liberal bias? If you are pro-choice, then you stand for the right of a woman to have an abortion. You want abortion to be legally…
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Chauvinism and Male Chauvinism
In her President Obama's Silly, Sexist Defense of Susan Rice, Kirsten Powers writes, It's absurd and chauvinistic for Obama to talk about the woman he thinks should be Secretary of State of the United States as if she needs the big strong man to come to her defense because a couple of Senators are criticizing…