factoid

[Wilson Gray]

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 10:01 PM, Dave Wilton <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
> In my experience, their sense #2 is the more common: "A fact that may or may
> not be true, but is trivial in nature."

Mine, too.

1)  "African-Americans voted for Barack Obama for President because he's black."

A factoid: true, but irrelevant

vs.

2) "… because he's the Democrat."

A fact.

Cf., OTOH,

"African-Americans voted for Herman Cain for President because he's black."

No real-wotld interpretation.

vs.

"African-Americans voted for Herman Cain for President because he's
the Republican."

No real-wotld interpretation.
--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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