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A Crash Course In Non-Equivalence

May 22nd, 2009 by Oskar Kennedy

I’d like to introduce you to our good friend the synonym. A synonym is a word that means something nearly the same as another word. For instance, take the word “prick.” It can mean an eensy-weensy stab wound, or a slang term for male genitalia. And “jerk,” which can mean an abrupt pulling motion, or a delicious way to prepare chicken. In the correct context, both of these words can mean something approximating “obnoxious asshole.” That meaning shared between the words makes them synonyms. (And they are both, in turn, synonymous with “Dick Cheney.”)*

Synonyms, used appropriately, can make writing more interesting by allowing a writer to express a concept in slightly different ways. Instead of saying that something is “good,” you can describe it as “wonderful,” splendid,” “awesome,” or “made of WIN.” Instead of “creationism,” you can call theology masquerading as science “intelligent design,” or “teaching the controversy.”

I’m flogging this fifth grade English lesson because of a comment PZ Myers made at the end of a recent post. He was writing about an investigation into awful, systematic abuses perpetrated by the Irish Catholic Church. After a quick rundown of the findings – sexual abuse, ritualized beatings and serial pedophiles protected from justice by the church – Myers asks a question that I wanted to expand on: (more…)

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