Someone please teach these people a little English. Just a little...

I can forgive sentence fragments if used to hint that the rest of the sentence is unprintable or that the logical conclusion of the thought is unspeakable. My pet peeve - well, the list of my pet peeves is long enough to be a peeve menagerie. Today I'm irked by the misuse of a common English expression. I copied this right out of my Inbox, which is why it's a little blurry. I meant to apologize, but, on second thought, blurry strikes me as appropriate.


Oh, dear. To beg the question does NOT mean to raise the question.

A few brave souls maintain a Web site dedicated to stamping out this abuse of the term. I direct your attention to www.begthequestion.info.

Here, taken from begthequestion.info, is a definition of the term:
"Begging the question" is a form of logical fallacy in which a statement or claim is assumed to be true without evidence other than the statement or claim itself. When one begs the question, the initial assumption of a statement is treated as already proven without any logic to show why the statement is true in the first place.
The site also tells us what "begging the question" doesn't mean, which for most of us ordinary mortals is probably a bit more helpful than the above definition. Examples are provided.

Finally, the site provides cards that explain the correct meaning, which you may print out and hand to strangers if you hear them misusing the expression. These people are serious!


If passing out cards to strangers doesn't appeal, you may buy the t-shirt.

Oh, if only we had a mailing address for the Copywriter from Space!



13 comments:

  1. Hello:

    We fear that this is the tip of a very big iceberg!!

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    Replies
    1. Hello, Hattatts, it is indeed, but this is only a very little blog, so i can only work for goodness, righteousness and correct usage one little ice cube at a time.

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  2. Oh WFF, I believethat we are kindred spirits. In another lifetime, when I had spare time, I used to pore over William Safire's books on language- not politics- language. In this lifetime, I would be gratified to see the words your and you're used correctly. Although it is possible they will both become ur .
    The cards made me laugh. Last night my younger son showed me an ad for very elegant cards which said very succintly- Please. Just stop.

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    Replies
    1. I love your son's find! We may have kindred children too.
      If you haven't read it already, suggest Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. It's not the kind of book that should be read in one sitting, but little bits at a time are very amusing.

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    2. I took it out from the library last year, and couldn't wait to devour it. Unfortunately, too many deadlines meant that I couldn't give it the proper attention it deserved. Therefore, it is in a mental pile of things to I hope to enjoy eventually-alongside transferring old videos to dvds, sorting out photos, finishing projects. That day may come. Or, at least I hope it will.

      Delete
  3. Similarly, just pored over and loved Bill Bryson's book on language, though he did not go into dreaded begging. I have a friend who prefaces everything with "ironically" when it's not even close to ironic. Also dislike use of the question "why" - and other double dipping. Also dislike How are you? I'm good, I did good and other good stuff. As you can see I drive myself crazy living in the US. Having said that I'm useless with grammar.

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    1. A friend of mine never took a drink in her life until she subbed for a ninth grade English teacher and got herself tangled up in explaining to the class why they shouldn't say "the reason why is because...". She got so loud that the principal stopped in, listened a few minutes, and told her there was nothing wrong with "the reason why is because...".

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  4. Oh lord I must write a million disasters!! But I'm an amateur...these folks should know better. One thing I detest...ask a guest in your home if they're hungry and they answer, "I'm fine". Well I didn't ask how they were, only if they are hungry.

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    Replies
    1. Exactly, Jennifer, these people are being paid to get it right.

      "How are you?" -- "I'm good." Only works as part of that game where you insert "in bed" in every sentence.

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    2. That is so very funny. That brings me to my peeve. How do you you feel? I feel badly. Although, perhaps that would improve with the addition of "in bed".

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  5. Funny find, WFF! I believe you can send anything to the 247 email address. Goes straight to John O'Dell or Mickey, or both, I believe.

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    1. Alas, Rose, the suppressed premise of your suggestion is that those individuals would read and understand the definitions I found. Sigh.

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  6. The mistake that infuriates me is the expression " I could care less " instead of " I couldn't care less". If one can care less then one is saying that one cares to some extent, which gives the opposite impression to that which is intended. And don't get me started on " lay" instead of lie. I had to stop reading a blogger I liked because of her " laying in bed"!

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