A question where 'yes' and 'no' both mean the same thing

[begbert2]

And that joke reminds me that in a general sense, a sufficiently sarcastic ‘no’ can be mean yes regardless of what the question is.

[panache45]

@Hail_Ants

Actually, agreeing with any ‘negative’ by answering with a no is incorrect. As in:

“You mean you’re not going?”

You should answer, “Yes, I’m not going”, but instead everyone inevitably says, “No, I’m not going”.

“Yes, We Have No Bananas.”

[Blkshp]

Are you incapable of saying yes?

[_Undecided_Adrian]

@Hail_Ants

Actually, agreeing with any ‘negative’ by answering with a no is incorrect. As in:

“You mean you’re not going?”

You should answer, “Yes, I’m not going”, but instead everyone inevitably says, “No, I’m not going”.

That’s because with all its pilfered vocabulary, English is still missing an important word, like French si or German doch, meaning the opposite of both yes and no.

[SDMBKL]

@drewtwo99

So as I was laying awake in bed the other night, I was thinking about the question, “Can you hear me?”

If the person responds yes, then they were answering truthfully and can hear you. If they respond with no, they are being a wise ass and are effectively signalling that they can hear you. The only way to respond with a negative to this question would be to say “what?” and even then, the person might just be pulling your chain.

But anyhow, it’s clear that both a yes and a no response to the above question effectively mean yes.

Are there any other questions you can think of where both yes and no as a response would carry the same meaning? Is there a name for this type of thing?

Well, there is that English phrase where “No means yes.” For example, Person A says, “No, blahblahblah.” Person B thinks, “No means yes,” so effectively Person B assumes that Person A has replied with a “Yes” instead of a “No”. Though, I think in this special scenario, Person B is really in denial of the truth, or is not really paying attention to Person A.

[Jamicat]

“…There was yes , Yes, in her eyes…”

But…

There was no NOSE on her face. :mad:

[Muffin]

Q.: What is Jason’s last name?

A.: Yesno.

(Yesno is a surname in my region.)

[santorum]

@drewtwo99

So as I was laying awake in bed the other night, I was thinking about the question, “Can you hear me?”

If the person responds yes, then they were answering truthfully and can hear you. If they respond with no, they are being a wise ass and are effectively signalling that they can hear you. The only way to respond with a negative to this question would be to say “what?” and even then, the person might just be pulling your chain.

But anyhow, it’s clear that both a yes and a no response to the above question effectively mean yes.

Are there any other questions you can think of where both yes and no as a response would carry the same meaning? Is there a name for this type of thing?

WAG Maybe a rhetorical question.

The rhetorical question is usually defined as any question asked for a purpose other than to obtain the information the question asks.

[chacoguy]

Do you want me to rape you?

[Son_of_a_Rich]

Leonard on Big Bang Theory often says “yeah no” for some reason.

[tellyworth]

That’s common in Australia too: “yeah, yeah, yeah… nup.”

[ftg]

(31 posts in and no one mentions “Have you stopped beating your wife?”)

@Son_of_a_Rich

Leonard on Big Bang Theory often says “yeah no” for some reason.

The “yeah” means “I heard you/I understand/I’ve thought about it.”, i.e., a vague acknowledgement and the “no” means … “no”. It’s a bit politer than a blunt “no”. Leonard doesn’t want to seem too direct. (Unlike Sheldon.)

[Kizarvexius]

Here’s a conundrum that a linguistics professor of mine presented:

"Is this door unlockable?"

The word “unlockable” is ambiguous, and can mean two different things:
[ol]
[li]incapable of being locked (un-lockable).[/li][li]capable of being unlocked (unlock-able).[/li][/ol]

If we go by the first meaning, and you respond “yes”, that means the door is, in effect, permanently unlocked. If you respond “no”, that means the possibility exists that the door is locked.

Going by definition two, a reply of “yes” indicates that someone who possesses the key will be capable of opening the door. A reply of “no” would seem to imply that, no matter what, the door is and will remain locked.

Fun!

[Chronos]

If you were speaking Latin to the ancient Roman equivalent of Michael Phelps, and asked him whether he swims, the answer would be “no”.

[Fiendish_Astronaut]

Can you say the word ‘no’?

[Leo_Bloom]

THE FAN
(Folding together, rests against her left eardrop.) Have you forgotten me?

BLOOM
Nes. Yo.

THE FAN
(Folded akimbo against her waist.) Is me her was you dreamed before? Was then she him you us since knew? Am all them and the same now me?
–Ulysses, Circe
I think this answer trumps all.

[drewtwo99]

@Fiendish_Astronaut

Can you say the word ‘no’?

Ha! I like that one.

[Ashley_Pomeroy]

@ftg

(31 posts in and no one mentions “Have you stopped beating your wife?”)

That’s a different conundrum, though - it’s a loaded question, rather than a redundant one. If you actually have beaten your wife, “yes” and “no” would convey two different bits of information.

Yeah, but what if you were playing mixed doubles in tennis? You could say “yes, my backhand isn’t what it was”. Which would be horrible out of context.

“Yes, until I switched to catgut. Now I beat her all the time.”

[Sigene]

Any number of …
“Do you mind if I…?”

questions are typically answered ‘Yes’ colloquially to convey permission or a ‘go ahead and do it’. While gramatically and technically a ‘yes’ would mean ‘please don’t do it.’
Answering ‘No’ will convey giving permission also.

[BlankSlate]

If a yes or no answer is meaningless, then essentially they mean the same thing. As in: Why do birds fly?