Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Begs the Question

Found in a Slashdot post, a link to Common Errors in English. This ridiculously cool site, which appears to be one of the first five or six ever online, is
concerned only with deviations from the standard use of English as judged by sophisticated users such as professional writers, editors, teachers, and literate executives and personnel officers. The aim of this site is to help you avoid low grades, lost employment opportunities, lost business, and titters of amusement at the way you write or speak.

For example, the entry linked from Slashdot was for the phrase "begs the question", in which the error-corrector says
Since we never use “begs” with this odd meaning ("to improperly take for granted” ) in any other phrase, many people mistakenly suppose the phrase implies something quite different: that the argument demands that a question about it be asked—raises the question.

I now feel fully armed, and ready for my daily battle against titters of amusement.

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