Don't skunk me, bro!
Neal Goldfarb,
Language Log,
Mar 16, 2018
To 'skunk' a term is to recommend that it no longer be used because some people misconstrue it. As Bryan Garner writes, "When a word undergoes a marked change from one use to another.... it's likely to be the subject of dispute.... A word is most hotly disputed in the middle part of this process: any use of it is likely to distract some readers.... The word has become 'skunked.'" But I agree with the response offered by Neal Goldfarb here. I don't heed the skunkers' advice. "In advising against the use of expressions that he thinks are skunked, he's not acting solely in the interests of those who think the expression is just fine, thank you. He also wants you to avoid the expression because he thinks it's wrong."
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