Re: [OT] Terrific - was: [tlug] email programs

[Matt Doughty <wyndigo@example.com>]

On Tue, May 27, 2003 at 12:15:00AM -0400, John Limouze wrote:
> 
> I have some thoughts on the role of the dictionary.
> 
> >If those 200,000,000 semi-literate Americans
> >mistakenly assume that the following sentence:
> >
> >When the building exploded it made a "terrific" mess.
> >
> >to mean...
> >
> >When the building exploded it made a "good" mess.
> >
> >Then of course the dictionary is right, and they are illiterate.  Unless
> >of course you consider the Humpty Dumpty approach to language somehow
> >valid.  Common misusage doesn't make it correct.
> 
> As an American, I think those two example sentences are roughly the 
> same.  Terrific is a little more colorful, but "good" can often mean 
> "big."  And "bad" for that matter.  Sometimes both at the same time.  For 
> instance, I could say "my girlfriend is a good-sized girl," and it really 
> means she's fat and unattractive.  You could say that I am illiterate, I 
> guess, but then you're just calling names rather than arguing your 
> point.  I enjoy a good amount of written communication.  I also think 
> common misusage DOES make language correct, though not immediately.  But 
> certainly dictionaries are only a temporary yardstick by which we measure a 
> set of vocabulary which is constantly in flux, both in terms of its size 
> and the links between its members and their external referents.
> 

I have a few points of disagreement:

1. I have rarely seen good mean bad. It would have to be extremely contextual.
2. good != good-sized anymore than life == life-sized, and even if they were
   somehow equivalent this is euphemism talking here.  I could just as easily 
   say "your girlfriend is a (solid build|well rounded| big boned) girl".  
   It hard to argue that any of those mean big or good out of context.
3. I would say many people would consider someone who uttered the second sentence
   in my example to be uneducated, but perhaps I will be a bit more selective in
   my next example:
   We passed a "terrific" accident where a whole bus of school children had been
   burned alive.

   vs.

   We passed a "good" accident where a whole bus of school children had been
   burned alive.

4. If common misusage eventually redefines every misused word then could
   will eventually be synonomous with couldn't.  If for no other reason than
   how often I hear people say "I could care less"

Bottom line is that while common usage often does change the meaning of words
over time it isn't a quick process, and we really can't afford it to be either.
Given the level of education today I will throw my vote in with the dictionary,
and I bet I end up on the winning side most of the time.

--Matt