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I recently had an email discussion with a friend. We were speaking about someone who got a promotion. My friend said, "I can't think of anyone who didn't deserve it more." I took that as meaning, "no one deserved it more than he". He meant it to mean the opposite; he didn't deserve it at all. Did I misunderstand or did he misstate his thought?
He misstated it, but he's not alone.
Kay Kyser once told us:
I got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle
As I go ridin' merrily along
And they sing, "Oh, ain't you glad you're single"
And that song ain't so very far from wrong
If you break that down and cancel out all the double negatives in the last line, the singer is clearly disagreeing with the spurs and is not glad to be single.
Similarly, I often hear people say things like "I miss not seeing my parents".
The easiest way to understand this is to undo two negatives at a time:
"I can't think of anyone who didn't deserve it more."
becomes:
"I can think of anyone who did deserve it more."
or, more clearly:
"I think everyone else deserved it more."
I don't like multiple negatives, because they are so difficult to parse. One negative per sentence is my maximum.
I agree with telemath. As stated, everyone else deserved it more. He was the person of all who deserved it least. One could easily infer that he didn't deserve it at all.
Still, I agree with Ron's observation that it is misstated because it is so hard to decode. A version that seems clear to me with the fewest changes is: "I can't think of anyone who deserved it less."
But, to be fair to your friend, when the universe is so topsy-turvy as to promote the least deserving, some jumbled word choices are sure to result.
If I may be so bold as to suggest some congratulatory words for your friend to offer his colleague:
"When I consider the others who might have been promoted, your name certainly stands out."
"Since your promotion means you will be leaving our group, I naturally have mixed feelings."
Glenn said:
If I may be so bold as to suggest some congratulatory words for your friend to offer his colleague: "When I consider the others who might have been promoted, your name certainly stands out."
"Since your promotion means you will be leaving our group, I naturally have mixed feelings."
Glenn, my friend's original thought was that the guy getting the promotion didn't deserve it so there's no reason for him to congratulate him.
Thank you, everyone, for your inputs. I brought up the confusing statement to my friend and he agreed that he had difficulty getting his statement right. He said he was tired (he's out to sea and working long hours). 🙂
JasmineJazz said:
Glenn said:
If I may be so bold as to suggest some congratulatory words for your friend to offer his colleague: "When I consider the others who might have been promoted, your name certainly stands out."
"Since your promotion means you will be leaving our group, I naturally have mixed feelings."
Glenn, my friend's original thought was that the guy getting the promotion didn't deserve it so there's no reason for him to congratulate him.
Ah, yes. But these congratulations are intentionally ambiguous. Read them again with the perspective that the promotion was undeserved. So, if your friend is in a situation where he is forced to say something, he could employ one of these, and remain perfectly sincere.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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