For anyone unclear on the meaning of the word "can", in the first
instance, it means "able to" and in the second, it means "put a stop
to". :)
(I went to dictionary.com for this one. The second is US slang,
although there is an entry in the OED for it; of course, the OED
identifies it as such.)
I don't really care where the whole "anti-semitism" discussion came from
right now. We seem to be at an impasse with it, and not really getting
anywhere.
I have suggestions for dealing with it in the future:
1) Try to avoid using "anti-semite" or any variant thereof.
2) If someone from the USA accuses someone from another continent of
anti-semitism, assume that that USAn means "anti-Jew", and address that
point. (Prefacing it with "I assume you mean anti-Jew", just to make
sure you start out on the same page, would be helpful.) Arguing about
the definition, we've discovered, may not get you anywhere.
3) If someone from the European side of the Atlantic uses the term
"anti-semitism", ask for clarification before assuming it does or does
not specifically target Jews.
4) Any discussion by USAns about a US public figure that includes an
indictment for "anti-semitism" should be assumed to mean "anti-Jew".
Folks from the other side of the Atlantic butting in with "helpful"
broadening of definition in this case will likely be met with being
ignored at best, and if something comes up later in the discussion in
which their input would be a valuable view, it would likely be
discounted by some as a result of that earlier butting in.
*************
On discussing the definition of words in general, if a USAn has used a
word and you're not sure just what they mean by it, consult a US
dictionary. (I'm sure someone will jump in with a reply giving links to
5 on-line ones or more, and I would recommend bookmarking at least 2 of
those if you think you might need it.) If someone on the other side of
the Atlantic is using a word whose meaning you're unsure of, consult a
UK dictionary. I'm sure William can provide us with a link if there's a
good one on-line. I would recommend bookmarking *that*, as well. I
have access to the OED on-line, but I don't want to end up in a position
of asking, "Is that all I am to you? A dictionary?" of anyone, so don't
abuse me. :) I also may be slow in getting to it, depending on various
factors, including where I am in my reproductive cycle, if I initially
read the e-mail while drunk half off my kiester with beer or fully drunk
from a "purple margarita" from Baby Acapulco, how swamped with work my
husband is, etc.
And when debating the meaning of a word, don't insult the size of
anyone's dic-tionary, or otherwise indicate that it's inferior, because
most people don't appreciate having their dic-tionary so insulted, and
may feel symbolically cast- in a bad light.
Julia
who now has to load *her* car so she can drive *it* to Brenham before it
gets dark and makes finding the hotel there that much harder, so we can
get to RenFest *tomorrow* bright and early, and on Monday, we can deal
with the transmission problem that cropped up in *Dan's* car in Elgin
(and thankfully, we hadn't got any farther than that) when Dan was
driving us in that direction earlier today. :P
(Oh, and I'm thankful that Parmer Ln. goes all the way to US 290 now,
because it saved us time and distance on the limping back.)
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