tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315629333109868789.post2430114335286769585..comments2024-03-17T22:59:24.273+00:00Comments on Peter Household - things that have interested me: Milliband eschews 20/20 hindsightPeter Householdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04537256881744236389noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315629333109868789.post-91086056058439263932017-08-04T23:21:11.164+01:002017-08-04T23:21:11.164+01:00I can now verify that 20/20 is not just in America...I can now verify that 20/20 is not just in American usage. This week Eileen was told by an optometrist that her repaired eye has 20/20 vision.Peter Householdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04537256881744236389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315629333109868789.post-40894429365986880022011-11-12T22:46:03.817+00:002011-11-12T22:46:03.817+00:00A further example of misuse of 20/20. By a law pro...A further example of misuse of 20/20. By a law professor no less: Barak Obama. <br /><br />Under pressure for giving federal funds to a solar energy company that subsequently went bankrupt (and moreover was run by one of his prominent supporters) President Obama told ABC News that he doesn’t regret touting the solar company Solyndra as a model of his jobs program, or loaning $535 million to the company.<br />"Hindsight is always 20/20," Obama is quoted as saying. "It went through the regular review process and people felt that it was a good bet." <br /><br />ABC NEWS Oct 3, 2011 <br /><br />http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/obama-solyndra-hindsight-2020/story?id=14656360Peter Householdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04537256881744236389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315629333109868789.post-85489468385376442422011-08-19T13:31:30.575+01:002011-08-19T13:31:30.575+01:00Well, words do change their meanings over time, of...Well, words do change their meanings over time, often by becoming weaker; for example tremendous used to mean something that caused you to tremble with fear, now it just means very big. And you can't do much about that. But 20/20 vision is an example of a phrase which lacks any merit whatsoever except to make the speaker look superior. Were it used correctly then maybe it would have a small amount of merit, though I'm inclined to doubt it. Quantum leap is an example of technical term that’s often used correctly, but, I suspect, not always understood; which defeats the object of using it in the first place. You’ve raised an interesting point and one day I'll write a considered blog post on it.Peter Householdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04537256881744236389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315629333109868789.post-83855599681627654562011-08-18T22:26:04.004+01:002011-08-18T22:26:04.004+01:00I always thought 20/20 vision meant perfect vision...I always thought 20/20 vision meant perfect vision too - I've heard the phrase "20/20 hindsight" before and this certainly implies that meaning. So - if a term is continually wrongly used like this does it at some point take on the meaning people think it should have, or sounds like it should have, irrespective of its original meaning? Another example I can think of is when someone is described as being "one of a kind". To me that's always meant the person shared characteristics with a group of people, a "type", or "kind" of person (so they were one of that kind). However it now seems to be more commonly used in almost the exact opposite sense - usually now if someone says a certain person is "one of a kind" they are actually describing that person as unique. Maybe it got mixed up with a "one-off"? However, as language is constantly evolving, am I a pedant for picking people up on this? Can a phrase come to mean what it sounds like it should mean, even if it didn't?!Nogginnoreply@blogger.com