Lost? No, the laptop's not *lost*

Alice Faber faber at HASKINS.YALE.EDU
Sat Jul 21 19:46:57 UTC 2001


Mai Kuha said:
>Attorney General John Ashcroft's term for the FBI's lost guns and
>laptop(s): "assets that are not subject to location"
>(http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/fedagencies/july-dec01/fbi_7-18.html)
>...perhaps a handy way to discourage people from jumping into the
>conclusion that someone could be blamed for this characteristic associated
>with certain objects.
>
>Hey, maybe people who are reluctant to ask for directions would find this
>expression useful: "Excuse me, I'm currently not subject to location.
>How do I get to the post office?"

Under those circumstances, it's clearly the *post office* that's lost.
After all, you can say "I can't find the post office".

(Back to packing boxes...)
--
Alice Faber                                       tel. (203) 865-6163
Haskins Laboratories                              fax  (203) 865-8963
270 Crown St                                   faber at haskins.yale.edu
New Haven, CT 06511                               afaber at wesleyan.edu



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