Things I say unreasonably often
Criticism:
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disconcerting
-
mortifying
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tempting
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vexing
-
that ain't right
-
shenanigans
-
X is corrosive of Y
-
that isn't even wrong
-
X is maddeningly half-true
-
not even wrong
-
X is pernicious nonsense
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that's just wacky
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boneheaded
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doomed
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evil and doomed
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crazypants
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I'm against it
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worse than useless
-
that way lies madness
-
I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such an X
(classically, X is “question”)
Praise:
-
X is a Great American
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X is mighty
-
altogether fitting and proper
-
right and righteous
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admirable and recondite
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relevant to my interests
-
at the convergence of my interests
-
I don't know what that is
but I think I'm in favor of it
-
that's crazy talk
(used ironically)
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is it madness ... or is it genius?
-
probably not factual but definitely true
-
neither evil nor doomed
-
necessary for the progress of Western civilization
- hard truth
Analysis:
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I respect that
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I respect your life choices
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I submit X
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I suspect X
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implicit
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astringent
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animating principle
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X militates in favor of / against Y
-
X is not the same as Y, but they rhyme
-
that's X for all the reasons that it's X
(most often X equals either good or bad)
-
X with X sauce
-
if it seems like X, that because it's X
(e.g., “if it seems like a lie, that's because it's a lie”)
-
has the X nature
-
plausible
-
at least plausible
-
plausible ... but unlikely
-
implausible
-
wildly implausible
-
there's no profound reason for that
-
epistemologically challenging
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why is this good?
-
X is neither sufficient nor even necessary for Y
-
anti-X
(anti-helpful, anti-feature, et cetera)
-
reasonable people may differ about X,
but not about Y
-
a theory of vast explanatory power
(used both straight and ironically)
Other stuff:
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I don't want to know; in fact, I want to not know
-
I'm just sayin’
-
... but I digress ...
-
discourse
-
nourish
-
cultivate
-
using X-based technology
-
thanks for the word
-
mad science
-
X qua X
3 comments:
You would have been proud. Yesterday the 13yo kid was telling a clinician about the field day activities at her school.
She told them "With several dozen enthusiastic whippersnappers of ill intention running amok, you know it will not end well."
Said clinician had written this out and read it back to me with raised eyebrow. He asked "You are responsible for this?" I shrugged and said "Indubitably?"
We *HAVE TO* get out of Ohio...
Please add "Korman smash!" to your repertoire.
These all sound so familiar. So familiar.
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