barmar Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 I was going to let this go, but my thoughts returned to it. Why do some people react this way upon being caught out after making pronouncements on matters about which they know fu ck-all?If you know *****-all about something, and someone who seems knowledgeable says something, are you always expected to go research it for corroboration before repeating what you heard? If it's important to your life, that might be appropriate. But if it's just some random trivia or gossip, that's more work than people should be expected to do. Yes, I realize this is how urban legends propagate -- no one thinks it's important enough to look for independent confirmation. After a while, there's been so much repetition of the original claim, that someone who DOES look for confirmation will find it, not realizing that it's also derived from the same rumor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 If you know *****-all about something, and someone who seems knowledgeable says something, are you always expected to go research it for corroboration before repeating what you heard? The OP stated that he read his erroneous information; this may well have been on the internet, so... Anyway I do think that it is a good policy not to make assertions unless you know you are correct. In other cases, it is prudent to say something like "I heard" "I read" "I seem to remember" "it is my opinion that" etc. But I guess some people think that this makes them sound weak, and it is better to present everything as fact and when proven wrong to get defensive and try to demean the person who corrected him on such a trivial matter. But my point was not that the OP made a mistake and looked foolish, it was his disrespectful and perhaps character-revealing reaction, as opposed to "oops, my information was wrong; didn't mean to misinform anyone" or the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbrr Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 you must be a lot of fun at parties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 But my point was not that the OP made a mistake and looked foolish, it was his disrespectful and perhaps character-revealing reaction, as opposed to "oops, my information was wrong; didn't mean to misinform anyone" or the like.Isn't that essentially what he said? He explained what happened: he read something that seemed plausible, and believed it. "So sue me" is a way of saying "oops" for something that doesn't really matter much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffford76 Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Isn't that essentially what he said? He explained what happened: he read something that seemed plausible, and believed it. "So sue me" is a way of saying "oops" for something that doesn't really matter much. Clearly the phrase "so sue me" reads differently to different people if that's what you hear. I hear a tone of "I don't care that I was wrong, and I'm not going to take any blame for it [unless you file a lawsuit to force me]" when I hear someone say that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Since I think I've used the phrase myself, my intent is something like "What are you going to do, sue me over such a trivial matter?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Nathan Detroit to Adelaide: Call a lawyer and sue me, sue meWhat can you do me, I love youGive a holler and hate me, hate meGo ahead, hate me, I love youRead more: Guys And Dolls - Sue Me Lyrics | MetroLyrics Admittedly, Nathan Detroit might not be everyone's idea of a role model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Since I think I've used the phrase myself, my intent is something like "What are you going to do, sue me over such a trivial matter?" It wasn't trivial when the OP started a whole new thread about it. It was trivial only when he was shown to be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helene_t Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 The semantics of "sue me" is more useless than interesting. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted September 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Back in Apple Computer's early days, Apple Records sued or threatened to sue, I don't remember which, over the former's use of the latter's name. They struck a deal which was essentially that the latter would stay out of the computer business, and the former would stay out of the music business. Some years later, Apple Computer had come to be a really big company, and they started in with iTunes and the iPod and such. IOW, they broke the agreement and got into "the music business". They also put a new "alert" sound on their computers. They named it "Sosumi". I saw something I thought might be mildly amusing, maybe even interesting. I posted it. You don't agree. That's fine. Beyond that, I'm not getting into any more discussions on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamford Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 I saw something I thought might be mildly amusing, maybe even interesting. I posted it. You don't agree. That's fine. Beyond that, I'm not getting into any more discussions on it. No, surprisingly perhaps to you, completely erroneous information was not all that interesting, LOL. OOPS sorry that was Vampyr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffford76 Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Since I think I've used the phrase myself, my intent is something like "What are you going to do, sue me over such a trivial matter?" But why is that ok? Clearly if someone brought it up, *they* don't think it's trivial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 There are many things where it is "maybe sort of interesting" that there is common mis-usage. I recently finished reading Gone Girl. A fascinating psychological thriller and I am looking forward to seeing how they handle all the interior mental aspects in the movie. Along the way, I learned that "the hoi polloi" is incorrect, sort of like a VIN number. The Wikipedia agrees, saying that "Hoi polloi (Ancient Greek: οἱ πολλοί, hoi polloi, "the many"), is an expression from Greek that means the many or, in the strictest sense, the majority." So "The hoi polloi" translates to "The the many". Sort of interesting. I guess. And now:Let's shoot craps. For the culturally deprived, this is the universal response to everything for Big Louie from Chicago in Guys and Dolls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WellSpyder Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 And now:Let's shoot craps. For the culturally deprived, this is the universal response to everything for Big Louie from Chicago in Guys and Dolls.Have you ever wondered what it would be like playing bridge the way Big Louie plays craps? - with a pack of cards on which the faces have all worn off, but Big Louie remembers which is which.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 Have you ever wondered what it would be like playing bridge the way Big Louie plays craps? - with a pack of cards on which the faces have all worn off, but Big Louie remembers which is which.... This has definitely occurred to me. Big Ken isn't big enough to pull this off, at least not big enough in a useful way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 It wasn't trivial when the OP started a whole new thread about it. It was trivial only when he was shown to be wrong.A whole thread whose title admits to its unimportance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winstonm Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 If you know *****-all about something, and someone who seems knowledgeable says something, are you always expected to go research it for corroboration before repeating what you heard? If it's important to your life, that might be appropriate. But if it's just some random trivia or gossip, that's more work than people should be expected to do. Yes, I realize this is how urban legends propagate -- no one thinks it's important enough to look for independent confirmation. After a while, there's been so much repetition of the original claim, that someone who DOES look for confirmation will find it, not realizing that it's also derived from the same rumor. Not just urban legends - unfortunately, this is now how many of our news organizations work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 A whole thread whose title admits to its unimportance! Well, since what he wrote was entirely wrong, he should have said "less than useless" :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted September 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Well, since what he wrote was entirely wrong, he should have said "less than useless" :)Kick him harder, he's still moving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Kick him harder, he's still moving! I was responding to a post that quoted me, though perhaps I should admire the sympathy he has with people who deliberately make fools of themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted September 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 He's still moving! Kick him again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffford76 Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 Blackshoe, you aren't the victim here. You posted something that wasn't true, and essentially have said that you don't particularly care that it wasn't true. Pretending like you are the one being picked on for no reason is incredibly disingenuous. People would have stopped posting long ago if you had simply said "I was misinformed, and I'm sorry for spreading information that wasn't accurate." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 Blackshoe, you aren't the victim here. You posted something that wasn't true, and essentially have said that you don't particularly care that it wasn't true. Pretending like you are the one being picked on for no reason is incredibly disingenuous. People would have stopped posting long ago if you had simply said "I was misinformed, and I'm sorry for spreading information that wasn't accurate."He admitted to being misinformed. You then continued to beat the dead horse, just because he added the coda "so sue me". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted September 30, 2014 Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 He admitted to being misinformed. You then continued to beat the dead horse, just because he added the coda "so sue me". Well, this showed extreme disdain for those who corrected the information, and in fact the whole admission attempted to relieve the OP of any possible responsibility. I have to say that your participation is stirring up the issue rather then letting it die down. Has the OP come crying to you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted October 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 I am beginning to regret ever posting anything on this board. You folks want to keep beating the horse, have at it. I'm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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