"A Factoid is NOT a Fact"

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM
Fri Feb 3 15:10:57 UTC 2006


ZDNet is correct here.

  But, hey.

  JL

Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Wilson Gray
Subject: "A Factoid is NOT a Fact"
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More from ZDNet:

"A Factoid is NOT a Fact"

"A Factoid is NOT an interesting bit of factual trivia. It is
information masquerading as fact, thus the -oid suffix. As in
human-oid."

"Please, people, get this straight! Factoid is, in fact, the exact
opposite of what you want to say. A factoid is something that pretends
to be true, but isn't."

"I know, I know, everybody and his grandmother is committing this same
mistake - it's factoidal behavior - don't do it!"

"Factoid is to Fact as Truthiness is to Truth."

-Wilson Gray

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