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From: rwl@uvacs.UUCP (Ray Lubinsky)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Re: words and their opposites
Message-ID: <2152@uvacs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Jun-85 16:29:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: uvacs.2152
Posted: Sat Jun  8 16:29:42 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Jun-85 03:45:36 EDT
References: <1542@orca.UUCP> <584@adobe.UUCP>
Organization: U.Va. CS in Charlottesville VA
Lines: 18

> How about words like "flammable/inflammable", or the fact that "fat
> chance" and "slim chance" mean effectively the same thing?

Well, not *really*.  "Slim chance" seems  to  be  used  as  a  literal  remark,
whereas  "fat  chance"  is  used  sarcastically.   Maybe there's seems to be no
difference, but the choice of using one phrase over the other is  made  by  the
emotional intent toward whatever you're refering.

This reminds of an English professor of philosophy who said that he ran into  a
problem  in  writing  a recommendation by saying that the ex-student was "quite
good."  This was misconstrued by the hiring committee; the professor had  meant
that  the  student  was  not very good at all.  He told us that the English say
"rather good" to mean what we Americans say by "quite good."  "Quite  good"  is
reserved for sarcasm.
-- 

Ray Lubinsky		     University of Virginia, Dept. of Computer Science
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