rectangle vs. square

[Terry Irons]

To follow Garson's findings, builders and masons have long distinguished
the "oblong square" and the "perfect square."  The trick is getting the
right angle.

Garson O'Toole wrote:

>Laurence Horn
>
>
>>This context brings out the likelihood of
>>exclusive readings in which the implicature
>>becomes part of the meaning.  "What's the
>>difference between a finger and a thumb?"
>>"What's the difference between a lion and a
>>lioness?"  "What's the difference between a goose
>>and a gander?"  "What's the difference between
>>gays and lesbians?" or even "What's the
>>difference between cats and kittens?"
>>etc.--doesn't prove that there aren't other
>>contexts that bring out the fact that ganders
>>*are* geese, thumbs *are* fingers, kittens *are*
>>cats, etc
>>
>>
>
>I certainly agree that the issue is complex and context is important.
>Consider the following example in the domain of architecture. The
>writer assumes that the set of rectangular objects includes squares.
>Therefore he or she must explicitly rule out the inclusion of squares.
>
>[1] ... what Pliny tells us is that the building was rectangular (but
>not square), that it was surrounded by a colonnade of thirty-six
>columns, ...
>
>The parenthetical remark "(but not square)" would be redundant if the
>speaker thought that the set of rectangles already excluded squares.
>Here are another two examples:
>
>[2] Lumber is used that has rectangular, but not square, cross
>section, and is always oriented so that the longer dimension is
>parallel to the load (ie, usually is vertical).
>
>[3] This room was rectangular, but not square with the sepulchral
>chamber, as it lay 25° east of north ; …
>
>Perhaps these are not ordinary speakers/writers. I did trawl through
>the massive Google Books database to find these examples. It is also
>easy to find examples like the following:
>
>[4] Not only is the cross equal-armed, but the official flag of
>Switzerland is unusual in being a perfect square (not a rectangle),
>further accentuating the symmetry.
>
>This statement would be incoherent if the speaker thought that the set
>of squares was a subset of the set of rectangles. It would be similar
>to saying "The animal is a poodle (not a dog)."
>
>Garson
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>

--
Fraternally, Terry
(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)
Terry Lynn Irons        t.irons at morehead-st.edu
Voice Mail:             (606) 783-5164
Snail Mail:             150 University BLVD UPO 604 Morehead, KY 40351
(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)=(*)

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org