# Does 'scheme' have a negative connotation for you?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-scheme-have-a-negative-connotation-for-you/794638>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 25, 2017, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-scheme-have-a-negative-connotation-for-you/794638 "2017-08-25T11:33:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-scheme-have-a-negative-connotation-for-you/794638/21 "2017-08-25T21:33:28Z")

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I find the concept of “[Scheme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheme_(programming_language))” to be no more negative than the idea behind any [LISP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisp_(programming_language)) implementation or derivative. 😃

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**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-scheme-have-a-negative-connotation-for-you/794638/22 "2017-08-25T22:17:16Z")

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My favorite example of the British neutral/positive usage is the old All-Up Empire Tuppence Airmail Scheme. [Cite.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Air_Mail_Scheme) [Another cite.](http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/great-britain/all-up-mails/)(Can’t seem to find a cite for the 2p/tuppence part, though.)

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**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-scheme-have-a-negative-connotation-for-you/794638/23 "2017-08-25T23:28:02Z")

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Any word can have positive or negative connotations depending on the context, just like “scheme”.

1. My wife is always scheming to get me to repaint things.
2. I depend on her to help plan the color scheme.

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-scheme-have-a-negative-connotation-for-you/794638/24 "2017-08-26T00:44:55Z")

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> [@jtur88](#):
>
> Any word can have positive or negative connotations depending on the context, just like “scheme”…

Surely most words _don’t_ have so much context-dependence, that’s why “scheme” is rather unusual and merits this discussion.

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**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-scheme-have-a-negative-connotation-for-you/794638/25 "2017-08-26T03:55:35Z")

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> [@jtur88](#):
>
> Any word can have positive or negative connotations depending on the context, just like “scheme”.

This particular word tends to have more negative connotations depending on which side of the Atlantic you are.

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