Mike Scott writes:
>You certainly seem to be suggesting that imprecise constructs such as
>"hopefully" have no place in the language, and that only precise ones
>should be allowed.
-If- Steven were suggesting that (which I do not think to be the
case), then he'd be wrong -- "hopefully" and the like are useful
words, which would have somewhat improved a recentish movie by its
addition (as in "by now, my cousin -should- be able to welcome us to
Moria").
>My position is similar to your position on knives -- I
>like both of them, as long as they're used for an appropriate task.
Quite.
Though...with some exceptions, turning a precises word -into- a more
generic one can be problematic (and not useful), just as turning a
precise word into an offensive and avoided one can be.
--
Joshua Kronengold (mneme at io.com) "I've been teaching |\ _,,,--,,_ ,)
--^--him...to live, to breathe, to walk, to sample the /,`.-'`' -, ;-;;'
/\\joy on each road, and the sorrow at each turning. |,4- ) )-,_ ) /\
/-\\\I'm sorry if I kept him out too late"--Vlad Taltos '---''(_/--' (_/-'