Klarinet Archive - Posting 000169.txt from 2005/11

From: William Kelly <kell0786@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] The Use of English
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2005 18:17:05 -0500

No, it won't kill me. In fact I don't care a quarter as much as you
probably think. I just don't think it's an unreasonable request.
"They like to have sex with" would have meant precisely the same thing in
the context of what was written, or any number of similar sentences I could
think up in 2 seconds. This really has nothing to to with Puritanicalness,
and allegations of prudishness are silly. The worst thing, however, of far
more concern than someone dropping an f-bomb, is the absurd description of
"most men."

On 9 Nov 2005, Joseph H. Fasel wrote:
> Please, lighten up! It won't kill you to see _that_word_ in print every
> now and again. It's use was not gratuitous, but quite deliberate and
> appropriate. "make love to" would have had quite the wrong
> connotation. "have their way with" would have been closer, but what a
> silly euphemism!
>
> As an American, I love the comment supposedly made by an Australian to
> one of my countrymen during the Monica Lewinsky thing: something like,
> "I'm glad we got the convicts and you lot got the Puritans."
>

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