another (over)negation?

[Dan Goncharoff]

It sounds like two different thoughts where mashed together.

When I flew often, I remember being asked several security questions:

Did you pack your luggage yourself?
Did anyone give you anything to carry for them?
Did you leave your luggage unattended at any time, such that someone could
have placed something inside without your knowledge?

DanG

On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 1:35 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: another (over)negation?
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> It's more than tortured; it's crazy.
>
> One can only understand it through a background awareness of what prompted
> it.
>
> JL
>
> On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 10:47 AM, Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at bellsouth.net
> >wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at BELLSOUTH.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: another (over)negation?
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > During my travelling days, and after 9/11, the public address system at
> DFW
> > airport would make an announcement every 10 minutes that:
> >
> > "Passengers are warned not to accept packages from strangers without
> their
> > knowledge"
> >
> > I think I knew what they meant, but the phrasing always sounded so
> > tortured.
> >
> > Bill Palmer
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2010 6:27 PM
> > Subject: Re: another (over)negation?
> >
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail
> > > header -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: another (over)negation?
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Some people just can't handle more than one negative in a sentence. (I
> > > don't
> > > mean "double negatives" in the usual sense; I mean short-attention-span
> > > syntax.)
> > >
> > > I've heard similar confused statements on the news a number of times in
> > > the
> > > last few weeks. It's almost as though a new "rule" is being created in
> > the
> > > spirit of, but more insidious than, "is-is."
> > >
> > > JL
> > >
> > > On Sat, Nov 6, 2010 at 3:35 PM, Victor Steinbok
> > > <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:
> > >
> > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >> -----------------------
> > >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >> Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> > >> Subject:      another (over)negation?
> > >>
> > >>
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>
> > >> Twitter from Chuck Todd (NBC News):
> > >>
> > >> > Cannot believe reports about bogus cost of president's trip didn't
> > >> > pass smell test with so many folks. Ridiculous that it got any
> > traction
> > >>
> > >> I thought "not passing the smell test" was "being unbelievable". He
> > >> seems to imply just the opposite here--too many people /believed/ the
> > >> bogus report.
> > >>
> > >>     VS-)
> > >>
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> > >
> > > --
> > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > > truth."
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>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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