The devolution of English language and slothful c.l.p behaviors exposed!

[Chris Kaynor]

On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 3:23 PM, Rick Johnson
<rantingrickjohnson at gmail.com>wrote:

> On Jan 25, 3:45 pm, Ian Kelly <ian.g.ke... at gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 1:14 PM, Rick Johnson
> > In all seriousness, the idea that "very" and "somewhat" are somehow
> > better in this context than "pretty" just because "pretty" has another
> > meaning in other contexts is flatly ridiculous.  The editors at
> > dictionary.com disagree with you too:
> >
> > """
> > Usage Note
> > The qualifying adverb pretty,  meaning “fairly or moderately” has been
> > in general use since the late 16th century. Although most common in
> > informal speech and writing, it is far from restricted to them, and
> > often is less stilted than alternatives such as relatively,
> > moderately,  and quite.
> > """
>
> So you have no capacity to reason on your own without outside
> influence? I feel horrible for you. All of the classical philosophers
> would have gulped poison like some college student at an all night
> kegger if they knew the shameful outcome of our wasted centuries of
> evolution.
>
> > Not that dictionary.com is the final authority on the English
> > language, but I'll but a lot more stock in what they say than in a
> > [...].
>
> Of course. Because as we all know, dictionary.com has the worlds best
> philosophers, linguist, sociologist, and PR departments (apparently).
> Let's see what intelligent words we can find here...
>
> """
> doohickey
> a name for something one doesn't know the name of, 1914, Amer.Eng.,
> arbitrary formation.
>
> thing·a·ma·jig
> a gadget or other thing for which the speaker does not know or has
> forgotten the name.
> """
>

Would you prefer the Oxford or Merriam-Webster dictionaries. They are a bit
more established than dictionary.com in terms of standardizing the
languages.

Definition 4 of the Merriam-Webster dictionary for "pretty" as an adjective
says:

moderately large *:*
considerable<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/considerable>
 <a very *pretty* profit><cost a *pretty* penny>

See:  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretty


The only definition for "pretty" as an adjective in the Oxford dictionary
says:

*[*as submodifier] *informal*
to a moderately high degree; fairly:
he looked pretty fit for his age

See:  http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/pretty?q=pretty

As such, I would say using pretty as an adjective for fairly, considerably,
or other, as in the sentence "That was pretty easy." is well established
and accepted English. So far there have been three dictionary entries
saying it is valid English, including one of the most widely accepted.

   -



>
> Wow, this dictionary has high standards. i stand humbled!
>
>
> --
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
>
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