You didn’t mention its cousins “no problem”, “no problemo”, “no probs”, etc. I think that all of these sound a bit weird. But the conventional responses “don’t mention it” and “you’re welcome” sound too formal / snotty for my liking. I don’t mind if someone says that to me, but I don’t want to use them phrases outside of an email to a higher-up.
Not to nitptick, but does it really? Why begging the question? I do accept the older meaning (circular argument), but it’s an idiomatic phrase for me — I don’t see any particular “sense” in this usage that’s missing in the vernacular usage (“raise the question”). Apparently, the phrase was the result of a mistranslation of Aristotle’s work into Latin. I’m not surprised.
Sure. But, honestly, I’ve never heard it used that way outside an academic setting. Perhaps I should mingle with a more intellectual crowd. (I think I know exactly one person in my close circle whom I could use that phrase in the technical sense with. And these are mostly college grads, some with Ph.Ds. or M.D.s.) That said, that is a phrase that I almost always avoid and replace with “raises the question” to just sidestep the issue.
Yes, if you parse it literally, it’s a bit odd, but idiomatically, it’s pretty straightforward: “begs [that] the question [be asked]” or something like that. The first time I heard the phrase used colloquially, it was clear what it was intended to mean. It never even occurred to me until this thread that when parsed literally, it’s not quite sensical.
Still, I avoid the usage so as not to get into a discussion about it.
For me, “trigger warning” has been bugging me. And (since it looks like single words and not just phrases are allowed for this thread), “supposably,” though this is typically in speech, not writing. I never noticed it before, but after a thread on it here at the SD, I started hearing it everywhere. (What’s that effect called again?) I wish I had never clicked on that thread.
You can’t beg a question. You can’t ask anything of a question. A question can’t do anything. Also, “beg” needs an preposition. If you could beg a question, you’d “beg of a question.”
Yes, it’s better to say that something is a circular argument, or that two arguments are predicated on each other. But “Begging the question” has been part of logic for a long time. It’s semantically null outside of logic, no matter what you think you are hearing.
Same with “Cheers.” It’s become both “Thank you” and “You’re welcome”. I first noticed it in Toronto a few years ago and it seems to be migrating to the one-horse town I live in about an hour away.
Most of the phrases I dislike just annoy me, but for actual revulsion I’d have to say using the word “gangbanger” to mean “gang member.”
I also hate the construction, “I’m not trying to be racist/sexist/etc, but” that is invariably followed with something racist/sexist/etc. Or any similar type of construction (“Don’t mean to be an asshole/No offense/I know it’s not PC, but” and so on) as if that short disclaimer indemnifies the speaker from the clause to follow.
“Masculine”, “alpha male”, “real/macho/manly man”, “be a man”…
A couple of recent threads in this forum have reminded me how tiresome these social & linguistic constructions are. Being a man is a neutral attribute of a person; you don’t win a medal for being (or showing that you are) one.
I used to show movies in a restaurant/bar. “Last call” meant the kitchen was going to close in 15 minutes, and so if you wanted to order anything to eat besides popcorn (which they made as long as the bar was open) this was your last chance. What’s wrong with that? Do people use it in some other context?
I think that all of these sound a bit weird. But the conventional responses “don’t mention it” and “you’re welcome” sound too formal / snotty for my liking. I don’t mind if someone says that to me, but I don’t want to use them phrases outside of an email to a higher-up.