rock hardy otm, kinda, but a little dark in his interpretation.
My specialty.
― Rock Hardy, Thursday, 24 January 2008 05:42 (sixteen years ago) link
no news is better than bad newwsss
― rockapads, Thursday, 24 January 2008 07:45 (sixteen years ago) link
News is rarely neutral. It's often filtered through the news provider's world view.
So in the UK when Radio 4 Today programme says 'And here is the news', the tone is all too often:
'The word is going to hell - and here's the latest reasons why...'
(Not that they really believe it, but their loathsome presenters love the acquired gravitas of 'this is serious/doom and gloom')
― Bob Six, Thursday, 24 January 2008 08:18 (sixteen years ago) link
* ahem - 'world'
― Bob Six, Thursday, 24 January 2008 08:20 (sixteen years ago) link
The other day my wife mistakenly said "Nothing is news under the sun," -- which is only a subtle difference but I kind of like it.
― Hurting 2, Thursday, 24 January 2008 16:30 (sixteen years ago) link
None of the above.
Of course you can get good news, that's just silly to think otherwise. but hearing nothing, yeah bad things could still be happening.
― Ste, Thursday, 24 January 2008 16:52 (sixteen years ago) link
What I want to know is what about newts?
― Laurel, Thursday, 24 January 2008 16:54 (sixteen years ago) link
I mean they are pretty cuet in their way.
― Laurel, Thursday, 24 January 2008 16:55 (sixteen years ago) link
I used to think it meant #2 and was v.confused, but then realised it was actually supposed to mean #1.
― Alba, Thursday, 24 January 2008 18:46 (sixteen years ago) link
It's obviously number one.
There are quite afew of these common phrases that have to be untangled a bit, though - I only figured out 'have your cake and eat it' fairly recently.
― chap, Thursday, 24 January 2008 19:14 (sixteen years ago) link
'Keep your cake and eat it' would be better phrasing.
― chap, Thursday, 24 January 2008 19:19 (sixteen years ago) link
This is just a misheard version of "No snoose is good news." Which, if you've ever known a snoose chewer makes complete sense, if only from the pov of the onlookers.
― Aimless, Thursday, 24 January 2008 19:31 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― ILX System, Friday, 25 January 2008 00:01 (sixteen years ago) link
Laurel,
I love newts. They would make homes in my basement bedroom window well. So cute! But sometimes in winter I'd find mummified newts. :{ Which I thoufght were really neat, but I am one of 'those people.'
― Abbott, Friday, 25 January 2008 00:04 (sixteen years ago) link
Can someone untangle the common phrase 'chickens coming home to roost'? Why is this a bad thing?
― Bob Six, Friday, 25 January 2008 00:22 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― ILX System, Saturday, 26 January 2008 00:01 (sixteen years ago) link
dude chickens are some asshole animals
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 26 January 2008 00:05 (sixteen years ago) link
Yes, the cake one always used to irritate me!
― Hurting 2, Saturday, 26 January 2008 00:08 (sixteen years ago) link
I still don't really get what "The exception proves the rule" is supposed to mean. It seems flat out wrong to me.
― Hurting 2, Saturday, 26 January 2008 00:09 (sixteen years ago) link
it means that looking at exceptions is the best way to understand the validity of a rule
― and what, Saturday, 26 January 2008 00:14 (sixteen years ago) link
although yeah its been corrupted into an excuse to just throw inconvenient stuff under the rug
― and what, Saturday, 26 January 2008 00:15 (sixteen years ago) link
So shouldn't it be "The lack of exceptions proves the rule"?
― Hurting 2, Saturday, 26 January 2008 00:16 (sixteen years ago) link
Or is it an archaic sense of "prove" that actually means "test" or something.
yes.
― energy flash gordon, Sunday, 27 January 2008 04:43 (sixteen years ago) link
Not really (and I only found this out a couple of weeks ago). It's more like and what says. It's kind of a circular logic. For something to be an exception, it means there must be something there to be an exception to. If you see an exception such as "Only guide dogs allowed on the premises", that's an exception that proves the rule that, in general, dogs are not allowed.
― Alba, Sunday, 27 January 2008 09:09 (sixteen years ago) link
(but yes, it is usually just used in a folksy way that doesn't really mean anything, so no wonder everyone gets confused)
― Alba, Sunday, 27 January 2008 09:14 (sixteen years ago) link
It's difficult to use in a non-folksy way...
Otherwise professional philosphers would use it a kind of joker card : "My Grand Unifying Theory of Everything is clearly true - your objection being the exception that proves the rule."
― Bob Six, Sunday, 27 January 2008 12:18 (sixteen years ago) link
Yeah, in philosophy, it would be uselessly circular, but not when there's any kind of authority making the rules (as with the guide dog example).
― Alba, Sunday, 27 January 2008 14:08 (sixteen years ago) link