On page 228 of Ron Chernow’s “Washington” it says ‘By bestowing on him (Washington) an a honorary degree, Harvard supplied the long-standing defect in his education.’ I don’t understand how the author can use the word ‘defect’ in this way. I would have expected something like ‘closing an educational gap’ as opposed to ‘supplying a defect’. I don’t understand the logic here of supplying ‘a long-standing defect’ in someone’s education. Am I misreading it? Perhaps it’s a tun of phrase I’m not familiar with. I look forward to your feedback.
Unless of course it means, covering for the defect by supplying an honorary degree.
I think “…supplied the thing that had long been lacking in his education” is fine.
So I suppose “…supplied the long-standing deficiency in his education” might be ok, although it sounds a little odd to me.
And I agree that the actual text “…supplied the long-standing defect in his education” is very odd, because it’s sounds as though they are providing the thing that is wrong, rather than fixing it.
“Remedied the long-standing defect” would be much better.
So there are sentences that seem fine to me with supplied, and other sentences that seem fine with defect, but they just don’t go together, event though the intended meaning is obvious from context. Perhaps it’s just a typo, where drafts with different phrasing got muddled together.
The word “supply” can mean “fulfill”, as in “We can supply that need.” Deficiency is another word for need.
Thanks Riemann. I do see many examples of the phrase “supply a defect in” something needed/required, just as the author uses it. So it does seem to be an established phrase.
Google ngram suggests that it’s an archaic phrase.
Perhaps “defect” could historically more naturally have been taken to mean a deficiency, a lack of something. As I said, to my ear it sounds odd because “defect” now tends to mean something that is wrong, rather than just something that is lacking.
The intended logic is OK, if old-fashioned and hi-falutin, but the underlying idea is cock-eyed in the first place, which might be another contributor to the sense of discomfort around the sentence.
By definition, an honorary degree does nothing to the substance of someone’s education - any deficiency or defect in that substance would still be there, honorary degree or not. What is being supplied or remedied is the academic status and recognition given to whatever personal and educational achievements of the person concerned that the institution seeks to honour.