tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post3822641184815666039..comments2024-03-10T23:01:51.493-05:00Comments on Stupid Motivational Tricks / Bemsha Swing: Orwell's Second RuleJonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09371893596402673898noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-31499343909003831462010-12-09T08:45:45.528-06:002010-12-09T08:45:45.528-06:00Yes, exactly. You can't call something yellow...Yes, exactly. You can't call something yellow "not ungreen" because that's not how the trope works, so the mantra is unfunny.Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09371893596402673898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-89577349267362892492010-12-09T00:00:10.896-06:002010-12-09T00:00:10.896-06:00Isn't the problem really that he doesn't k...Isn't the problem really that he doesn't know what litotes are and how they work? He talks about what he calls "the not un- construction" and constructs, as Jonathan rightly says, a silly mantra to "cure" us of it by "laughing it out of existence". But his sentence isn't funny at all. It just completely misses the point.Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04858865501469168339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-14945015616436462002010-12-08T22:49:10.016-06:002010-12-08T22:49:10.016-06:00In partial defense of "unblack", it'...In partial defense of "unblack", it's actually "not unblack", and he's not offering it as an example of litotes so much as a mantra to ward off the "not un-" construction, even when properly used for litotes, e.g. "not unknown".Vance Maverickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07477306994564623348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055932257464975902.post-52700102314566680982010-12-07T16:14:03.674-06:002010-12-07T16:14:03.674-06:00Your last point reminds me of Pullum, who often co...Your last point reminds me of Pullum, who often concludes his Language Log posts with warnings about the kinds of comments that he will find ludicrous. Then people make them anyway, and you can hear the shaking of his head about them ...Andrew Shieldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02804655739574694901noreply@blogger.com