Word PSA

refute, v. To disprove and overthrow by argument, evidence, or countervailing proof; to prove to be false or erroneous

A politician or a rapper saying "that story is false" without evidence for the claim isn't refutation, it's just denial. There's a difference.

Word PSA

vacation, n. Intermission of a stated employment, procedure, or office; a period of intermission; rest; leisure.

Tamara is on vacation.

I noticed she was on her computer, and asked what she was up to.

Work stuff, she said.

But you're on vacation, I said.

I know, she said.

So, I asked, why are you doing work stuff?

Work doesn't stop just because I'm on vacation, she said.

I know, I said, but when you're on vacation, someone else does the work. That's what vacation is.

Shut up, she explained.

It reminds me of something.

Word PSA

cowardly, adj. Wanting courage; basely or weakly timid or fearful; pusillanimous; spiritless.

George W. Bush in particular seems to have a problem using this word properly.

In 2001, he used it to describe 19 men, armed with nothing but boxcutters, seizing control of multiple airliners and crashing them at the inevitable and predictable cost of their own lives. The 9/11 hijackers were certainly evil, but they were hardly "cowardly."

Over the weekend, Bush doubled down on the word, using it to describe a 20-year-old who climbed up onto a roof with (so far as I know) nothing but a single rifle and attempted to assassinate a politician with one of the most well-armed, best-trained bodyguard details in human history, said detail including a counter-sniper team. I have no idea what Thomas Matthew Crooks's motivations were, but the suggestion that he lacked courage is clearly stupid. Doubly stupid coming from a guy who got Daddy to swing an Air National Guard billet for him to avoid fighting in Vietnam ... then deserted.

Word PSA

majority, n. a number or percentage equaling more than half of a total

Incorrect usage I noticed today:

As it stands, the majority of Bitcoin mining already takes place in the U.S., accounting for 37.8 percent share of the entire network by hashrate ...

Any percentage not greater than 50% isn't a "majority."

Lots of other things wrong with that article, but the particular one just kind of jumped out at me.

Word PSA

austerity, n. the trait of great self-denial (especially refraining from worldly pleasures)

Some synonyms: Frugality. Leanness. Miserliness. Paltriness. Parsimoniousness. Scrimpiness. Self-denial. Unwastefulness. Voluntary poverty.

James K. Galbraith at The Nation: "The debt-limit agreement entrenches long-term austerity."

Barry Grey at the World Socialist Web Site: "Biden-McCarthy austerity debt ceiling bill moves to vote in Congress."

And so on, and so forth.

In what universe is keeping to the same idiotically bloated government spending/debt levels in 2024 as applied in 2023, growing them by 1% in 2025, and exempting military ("defense") spending even from those caps (3.3% increase in 2024) anything like "austerity?" Government spending (and borrowing) has grown MASSIVELY since 2019, and was already so galactically far beyond "austerity" levels as to make use of the term meaningless.

Not spending more than you take in -- which this "debt ceiling deal" doesn't even come close to accomplishing -- isn't "austerity."

The government stealing more than 25% of all wealth generated within its jurisdiction, then borrowing still more in the name of the victims, isn't "austerity."

The only "austerity" involved here is on the part of those victims, not of the government.

Word PSA

A small, but representative, selection of recently published statements:

"A failure to convict on the electioneering charge may encourage others to flaunt the law going forward."

"For judge candidates to flaunt the law, to say the law doesn’t apply to them, is the worst kind of duplicity."

"[T]he council has not issued a single fine or taken any legal action to prosecute drivers who continue to flaunt the law."

Flaunt, n. the act of displaying something ostentatiously ... v. display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously

The word these writers are looking for is:

Flout, v. treat with contemptuous disregard

Word PSA

ship, v. to put or take on board a ship or other means of transportation; to send or transport by ship, rail, truck, plane, etc.

Do you see anything in that definition about printing a label?

No?

Then how about you stop sending me "your order has shipped" emails with tracking links that, two days later, still return the status "shipping label has been printed?"

That's like telling me you're pregnant when what you actually mean is  you're entertaining the idea of a roll in the hay some time next week.

Word PSA

retaliation, n. action taken in return for an injury or offense

A couple of headlines:

Bloomberg: Syria-Fired Missile Strikes Israel, Triggering Retaliation

US News & World Report: Syrian Missile Explodes in Area Near Israeli Nuclear Reactor, Israel Retaliates

From the US News & World Report story:

"An Israeli military spokesman identified the projectile as an SA-5 surface-to-air missile fired by Syrian forces against Israeli aircraft. He said it overflew its target to reach the Dimona area, 200 km (125 miles) south of the Syrian border. ... In public remarks on Thursday's incident, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said the anti-aircraft missile was fired from Syria during an Israeli strike there against 'assets that could be used for a potential attack against Israel.'"

The Israelis weren't "retaliating" for the missile that landed near Dimona. There was no "injury or offense" by the Syrians to "retaliate" for. The Syrians were doing the retaliating, and the Israelis were punishing them for having the gall and temerity to defend themselves.

Word PSA

right, n. That to which one has a just claim. (1913 Webster)

rite, n. The act of performing divine or solemn service, as established by law, precept, or custom; a formal act of religion or other solemn duty; a solemn observance; a ceremony; as, the rites of freemasonry. (Op. cit.)

There can certainly be such a thing as a "right of passage" (for example, if I contracted with you to build and use a road across your property, I would have a just claim to build and use that road).

But usually when I come across the phrase "right of passage," what's actually being referred to is a "rite of passage" -- some act or event seen as ceremonially/ritually marking a change point in a person's status from childhood to adulthood, amateur to professional, etc.

Word PSA

Radical, a. 1. Of or pertaining to the root; proceeding directly from the root. [1913 Webster] 2. Hence: Of or pertaining to the root or origin; reaching to the center, to the foundation, to the ultimate sources, to the principles, or the like; original; fundamental; thorough-going; unsparing; extreme; as, radical evils; radical reform; a radical party. [1913 Webster]

I often see the word "radical" mis-used to mean "extreme" or even "knee-jerk contrarian," including by libertarians who complain that this or or that person or organization in the libertarian movement isn't "radical" enough.

For example, this morning at the Libertarian Institute, Peter Quinones argues that libertarians should be against not just mask mandates, but against mask-wearing as such.

His argument is not that masks are ineffective (which is not a question libertarianism could be expected to address), but rather that anything "the enemy" is for, libertarians should be against. Otherwise we're just playing respectability politics. After all, "the ideology of libertarianism you promote is radical to the normie to say the least. Or it should be! Do you want to be democrat or republican lite?"

Libertarianism is inherently radical insofar as it addresses all issues from one root holding: The unacceptability of aggression. Everything else is irrelevant to, or at most orthogonal to, libertarianism. 

"The libertarian position" on masks is that unless wearing one or not wearing one would constitute an initiation of force, it's impermissible to either require or forbid wearing one.

Any problem vis a vis libertarianism with "the enemy's" position on mask mandates has nothing to do with masks and everything to do with mandates. Being against masks because "the enemy" is for them isn't "radical," it's just dumb.

Word(s) PSA

Well ...

The comic strip Non Sequitur in Sunday’s Orlando Sentinel and others papers across the nation included a vulgar comment directed at President Donald Trump. ... Julie Anderson, editor-in-chief of the Orlando Sentinel and the Sun Sentinel, said the cartoonist’s action was "a breach of trust with our readers."

Hmm ...

breach of trust, noun 1. Law . a violation of duty by a trustee. 2. a violation of duty or responsibility.

I doubt that there was ever any agreement, explicit or implicit, between cartoonist Wiley Miller and the readers of the Orlando Sentinel, under which he was obligated to never, ever, ever use a word that most of those readers probably occasionally use themselves and that 99.x% of them would never have noticed the use of if the Sentinel's editors hadn't called the matter to their attention.

Such an agreement might have existed between Miller and his syndication agent, or between that agent and the newspapers to which it provided Miller's work, I guess, but that's a different matter entirely.

Readers who require fainting couches and smelling salts when exposed to one of the most common "swear words" in the English language probably gave up newspaper comics long ago lest they put their souls at risk of eternal damnation or whatever.

Word PSA

complimentary, a. Expressive of regard or praise; of the nature of, or containing, a compliment; as, a complimentary remark; a complimentary ticket.

... does not mean the same thing as ...

complementary, a. Serving to fill out or to complete; as, complementary numbers.

You're welcome.

Word PSA

de jure, adverb/adjective 1. by right; according to law (distinguished from de facto).

!!! NOT THE SAME THING AS !!!

du jour, adjective 2. fashionable; current.

You're welcome.

Word PSA

At The Intercept:

NANCY PELOSI RAMS AUSTERITY PROVISION INTO HOUSE RULES PACKAGE OVER OBJECTIONS OF PROGRESSIVES

The details:

Despite pressure from progressive Democrats, the House rules package for the 116th Congress will include a pay-as-you-go provision, requiring all new spending to be offset with either budget cuts or tax increases, a conservative policy aimed at tying the hands of government.

The definition the headline implies -- but the story belies -- per Merriam-Webster:

austerity, n. 2. enforced or extreme economy especially on a national scale

Pelosi's "pay-go" rule doesn't involve any "economy" at all. It neither imposes any spending cuts nor prohibits any spending increases. It just requires Congress to either make do with the revenues it has, or openly raise taxes to cover new spending, instead of hiding its profligacy by increasing the amount of money it borrows.

Word PSA

mandatory, adjective 1. authoritatively ordered; obligatory; compulsory: It is mandatory that all students take two years of math. 2. pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing a command. 3. Law. permitting no option; not to be disregarded or modified: a mandatory clause.

Apparently Fox News needs dictionaries:

As more than a million people head for higher ground, South Carolina officials say they have no plans to move 650 inmates at a medium-security prison -- opting instead to have them take their chances with a monster Category-3 hurricane barreling towards them.

Current plans call for a pre-planned crew and inmates at MacDougall Correctional Institution to stay put as Hurricane Florence -- expected to gain strength Wednesday night -- heads right for them.

...

MacDougall is located in Berkeley County, one of five counties under a mandatory evacuation from the governor.

Word PSA

victim, n. 1. One who is harmed or killed by another, especially by someone committing a criminal or unlawful act: a victim of a mugging.

When you launch a sudden, surprise, unprovoked* physical assault on someone, knocking him to the ground, and your victim then shoots you in self-defense, it stretches that definition well beyond the breaking point to describe you as, or at least exclusively as, the "victim."

*No, talking to your girlfriend from several feet away, absent an offer to do harm, does not create a legitimate "defense of self or others" claim on your part.

Word PSA

Lieu \Lieu\ (l[=u]), n. [F., OF. also liu, leu, lou, fr. L. locus place. See Local, Locus.] Place; room; stead; -- used only in the phrase in lieu of, that is, instead of.

Not too terribly long after 9/11, some friends received a note to the following effect (paraphrased from memory except for the phrase "in lieu of") from their kids' school's administration:

Dear parents,

In lieu of the war on terror, [school] is implementing the following measures:

[insert a bunch of silly security theatrics here]

I came across the same bizarre usage this morning in another context.

This one isn't complicated: "In lieu of ..." means "instead of ..." not "because of ..." or "due to ..."

Word PSA

Over the last few months, I've noticed a trend on e.g. talk radio. Many people are beginning every (or nearly every) answer to any (or almost any) question with the word "so."

Q: What's your name?

A: So, it's Bob.

Q: What do you do for a living?

A: So, I am an Uber driver.

Q: What kind of car do you drive?

A: So, I have a Mazda.

If this took place in my physical presence, I would have to mightily resist an urge to start slapping the "every answer must start with so" person around the room.

Usually in Word PSA posts, I include the relevant dictionary definition of the word in question. This time, I am stumped. At dict.org I find 11 definitions for "so," none of which resembles "a word intended for meaningless insertion at the beginning of every answer to any question."

Word PSA

capital, noun: The city or town that functions as the seat of government and administrative centre of a country or region.

Capitol, proper noun: The seat of the US Congress in Washington DC.

Correct -- Capitol Hill
Incorrect -- capital hill

Word PSA

succession, n. A series of persons or things according to some established rule of precedence; as, a succession of kings, or of bishops; a succession of events in chronology. [1913 Webster]

Example: The War of the Spanish Succession

secession, n. The act of seceding; separation from fellowship or association with others, as in a religious or political organization; withdrawal. [1913 Webster]

Example: The Referendum on Catalonian Secession