# You don't know what you're talking about = direct insult? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 4, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-dont-know-what-youre-talking-about-direct-insult/724194 "2015-07-04T04:35:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 98
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-dont-know-what-youre-talking-about-direct-insult/724194/98 "2015-07-08T01:35:44Z")
> [@camille](#): > > I don’t see the problem. It is clear cut in the example you provided. Accusing someone of making something up is the same as accusing them of lying. > > You say he admitted it, but that’s not how it sounds in your description. If he “simply stated something that he _believed_ to be correct and axiomatic” he didn’t “make it up”; he was _mistaken_. No, he wasn’t “mistaken”, nor was he lying, nor did I accuse him of such. It may be instructive to look at the actual exchange from the link below. The poster made the statement “And Kantian ethics permits retroactive abortion up to age 13”. I said “I want to see a credible cite for that.” Poster acknowledges that he doesn’t have a cite, but alleges that it follows from Kantian ethics. I argue that it doesn’t. Clearly this is the poster’s own interpretation, hence my observation that he “just made it up”. [Which he freely acknowledges](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18299086&postcount=133) in so many words: “I made it up but I think it follows from what Kant said.” The upshot here is that we’ve established that his view is his own interpretation and not something that can be cited from authority. Yes, “you made it up” is a blunt and direct way of saying that, but in this context that **is** what it says, and nothing more. In a completely different context such a phrase _ **could** _ be used to imply that someone is lying, sure. But not here. That’s why, as always, context is important. This specific incident was no big deal and I only bring it up now as an example supporting my earlier concerns about blanket prohibitions on specific phrases because of what they _ **might** _ mean. I’m trying to promote reasonable use of language here, not trying to a jerk advocating the use of gratuitous insults. > [@camille](#): > > Here’s an easy solution to your dilemma: Don’t make accusations that begin with “You…”. Like “you’re right”, “you’re wrong”, “you have a point”, “you misunderstand me”? That doesn’t seem like a very practical rule, or one conducive to natural conversation. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-dont-know-what-youre-talking-about-direct-insult/724194)._