[ih] Fwd: [IP] EFF calls for signatures from Internet Engineers against censorship

[Dave CROCKER]

>> A 'couple' is by definition two (of anything) and two only except when
>> means a link between two things (as in a chain).
>
> Well, this is super off-topic, but 'by definition' claims are always
> pedantic and often wrong.  "couple" has also meant "a few" or "a small
> number" for quite some time.  As in "We've only gone to the movies a
> couple of times this month".


Vernacular usage is often highly imprecise.  It's one of the processes that 
produces changes in definition, over time.

That doesn't make a current definition wrong, since a current definition 
provides a basis for careful and precise language usage.

However it does mean that a discussion of meaning needs to be precise about the 
requirement for precision...

d/

-- 

   Dave Crocker
   Brandenburg InternetWorking
   bbiw.net