Words are not subject to interpretation. They have clearly defined meanings. Some have multiple meanings but they are usually suitably distinct so as not to cause confusion. Retro does not mean ‘old’. If you think it does, they you are either misinformed (idiot) or attempting to modify the language with an unsuitably indistinct usage of the word (idiot).

There is a certain degree of condescending piety in your post (though years of reading your whitterings lead me to expect nothing less). I do not consider people different to me to be idiots and I suspect that it is you that is a little jaded, not I. Maybe it is because you are so retro. Sorry, old.

Words are not subject to interpretation. They have clearly defined meanings

funniest post yet :o)

what of irony, double entendre, punning, metaphor ? Bending words to mean different things is one of the great pleasures of language!

There is a certain degree of condescending piety in your post

sounds good though I’m not sure what it means. One might say my postings are somewhat disingenuous when my usage is quite studied, but I’m not trying to enforce my own standards on anyone else, or expecting them to follow suit

irony – where the intended meaning is different to the written meaning, nothing to do with the definition of the words, merely the spirit in which they are written.

double entendre & punning – surely that is where the dual meanings of some words are exploited for comic effect? A pun would make no sense whatsoever if the original meaning of a word could not be nailed down to a very specific set of meanings.

metaphor – a way to draw meaning from seemingly unrelated topics. No word bending there from what I can see.

Language is a gas man and and I am fully aware of the disingenuous nature of your postings, which is why I always enjoy your whitterings. On this matter though I am afraid you are wrong.

and I suspect that it is you that is a little jaded, not I.

I never suggested anyone was either jaded (which I’m certainly not) or an idiot which seems, at least to me, to be unlikely too.

perhaps your definition of idiot is ‘someone who thinks differently to me’ ?

If that were the case then I would consider my self jaded.

I think I will come back again tomorrow, I forgot how good this place was for the pursuit of sophistry and banter.

X

haste ye back for more countdown style nerdage….

On this matter though I am afraid you are wrong.

I think perhaps we’re both right. Certainly, most words DO have clearly defined meanings, or at least definitions even if unclear, but these are just nominal, and subject to continual elision and redefinition

My central thesis in this, as in so many other topics, is that if you concentrate on the minutiae of a process or thing, you can easily miss the point of it. So, for example, unless you are only using language to sound good, picky details about the exact form of expression are irrelevant, and would better be ignored, as in speech, which is often littered with errs, umms, and mistakes. And with language, the distortions are fundamental to its development. New words are either made up on the fly or hammered out of old ones, and new arrangements (grammar) also emerge, or are copied from other languages, partly because younger people want to sound different to (and wind up) their elders 🙂

If that were the case then I would consider my self jaded.

well, I don’t understand how ‘jaded’ can be made to mean ‘contemptuous’, but it’s your right to promote that interpretation, and time will tell if becomes popular. My understanding of it is: bored or disenchanted (which might be wrong too)