"-less" means "less than"? Or "lacking"?

[Wilson Gray]

So, "stainless" has no real-world referent with respect to steel? A
seller can advertise carbon steel as "stainless steel," as long as he
includes a disclaimer _inside_ the packaging that notes that his
"stainless" steel may actually stain, under normal use?

I don't know, Dave. It still seems kinda shady to me.

-Wilson

On 6/1/05, David Bowie <db.list at pmpkn.net> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       David Bowie <db.list at PMPKN.NET>
> Subject:      Re: "-less" means "less than"? Or "lacking"?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> From:    Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM>
> >> somebody else wrote:
>
> >>> I recently bought "stainless steel" forks and knives from Crate
> >>> and Barrel. The product description (included inside the box, not
> >>> posted outside) read "Will It Stain? Yes. The name says it all.
> >>> It's stain-less steel, not stain-free steel! Nevertheless, it
> >>> will stain much less than other steels: silver, bronze, etc. With
> >>> proper care, staining can be minimized or eliminated."
>
> > To me, this looks like a scam. In all my born days, which are
> > uncomfortably close to seventy, I've never known a single instance in
> > which stainless steel has become stained. This is also the
> > experience of my 94-year-old mother. It's probably not impossible to
> > stain stainless steel, but ordinary kitchen use won't stain it. I'd
> > return that junk to C&B and, after I'd gotten my money back or
> > received a credit ["received a credit" - is that right or should it
> > be "received credit" or another construction?] suggest to them that
> > they no longer deal with that company.
>
> It depends, actually, on what you're calling a "stain". Stainless steel
> can certainly discolor (it gets a rainbow-ish surface pattern if it's
> used over very high heat, such as a reasonably powerful stovetop burner
> on high, for a length of time), and if they'd had people complaining
> about their stainless steel "staining", it makes sense to deal with it
> that way.
>
> This seems particularly likely to me given the "it will stain much less
> than other steels: silver, bronze, etc." (BTW, was there *really* a
> colon in there, such that silver and bronze are types of steel?) Silver
> and bronze don't generally stain as much as they develop a surface
> discoloration, whether one wishes to call it a patina, tarnish,
> oxidation, or rust.
>
> And speaking of rust, stainless steel rusts very readily in the presence
> of ordinary table salt. If rust is viewed as a "stain", that's another
> reason for the manufacturer to include the disclaimer.
>
> --
> David Bowie                                         http://pmpkn.net/lx
>      Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
>      house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
>      chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.
>


--
-Wilson Gray