>However, modern linguistics has shown that idiomatic past and current usage consists of the word less being used with both countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
pixelpoet · 2h ago
Modern linguistics will also say that literally meaning the same as figuratively is fine, and "I could care less" is perfectly acceptable to convey not caring; if you dare question it, you're just declared wrong by the descriptivist cargo cult. Proof by authority, the modern linguist's favourite logical fallacy!
bookofjoe · 2h ago
But is prevalent usage not a valid measure of acceptability? And is acceptable not the equivalent of correct?
For example, "nonplussed" has evolved to mean — correctly — not only its original meaning of "surprised" but also its polar opposite.
pixelpoet · 1h ago
> But is prevalent usage not a valid measure of acceptability?
It's exactly this central dogma that I question; an arbitrary number of people can be wrong about something without it magically becoming correct.
The final nail in the coffin is: if anything goes as long as it's popular, then I can just go right ahead and be "wrong" with my preferred usage of logic (could care less) and consistency (up means up, you can't suddenly declare it now also means down) anyway.
Before literally came to mean figuratively, there was a transition period where that usage was wrong, and then suddenly became correct when some imaginary threshold was crossed; so I'm just temporarily wrong and will, any day now, also see my preferred meaning of "up" (to mean down, of course with no new word for the original meaning of down because why bother with anything sensible) come to be canon. I just need to make enough viral tiktok videos and then truth vs falsity is my plaything :)
qwe----3 · 1h ago
Go read some prose from 200 years ago and tell me that consensuses don’t chsnge
bediger4000 · 5h ago
Pulling up the ladder after getting in to the tree house.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_versus_less
>However, modern linguistics has shown that idiomatic past and current usage consists of the word less being used with both countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
For example, "nonplussed" has evolved to mean — correctly — not only its original meaning of "surprised" but also its polar opposite.
It's exactly this central dogma that I question; an arbitrary number of people can be wrong about something without it magically becoming correct.
The final nail in the coffin is: if anything goes as long as it's popular, then I can just go right ahead and be "wrong" with my preferred usage of logic (could care less) and consistency (up means up, you can't suddenly declare it now also means down) anyway.
Before literally came to mean figuratively, there was a transition period where that usage was wrong, and then suddenly became correct when some imaginary threshold was crossed; so I'm just temporarily wrong and will, any day now, also see my preferred meaning of "up" (to mean down, of course with no new word for the original meaning of down because why bother with anything sensible) come to be canon. I just need to make enough viral tiktok videos and then truth vs falsity is my plaything :)