Contradictory Words

As I worked my leisurely way through the Sunday paper a week ago, one phrase stopped me in my tracks.  The New York Times, which should know better, referred to a “very mediocre” rock band. According to my dictionary, “mediocre” means “moderate” or “not very good.” So “very mediocre” means “very moderate” or “very not very good.” Aren’t you glad I cleared that up? Nice to know that something can be extremely not extreme.

That experience sent me to my picture files, to see whether I had any photos of signs with contradictory meanings. I found this one:

A specialized generalist.

A specialized generalist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I was a kid, my doctor was a “general practitioner.” He was good at many areas of medicine, but when things got interesting, he sent me to a specialist. This sign in a 24-hour, no-appointment-necessary, storefront clinic leads me to believe that the “multispecialty physicians” inside are, in fact, the 2016 version of  “general practitioners.” They may have the medical equivalent of several masters degrees, but I doubt it. I’m not complaining about the medical aspect of this sign. The docs inside may provide excellent care. I am complaining about the language, which is much less precise (I hope) than the diagnoses and remedies dispensed  there.

One more example of a contradictory statement comes from an official notice taped to a streetlight on my corner, announcing a public hearing on issues affecting the neighborhood. Here’s item three of the agenda:

Restricted to?

Restricted to?

Turning again to the dictionary, I found that “restricted” means “admitting only members of a particular class.” Thus a street “restricted to” vendors is a street where vendors are allowed — but nothing or no one else. No stores, cars, residents, annoying little kids on scooters — you get the point. I spent the rest of my walk trying to reword the agenda item to reflect the most likely intended meaning: how to keep hotdog carts, ice cream trucks, tables piled with “designer” handbags, and other such vendors off the block. Expressing this idea concisely was surprisingly hard. “Restricted from” doesn’t do the job, nor does “restricted against.” I came up with “barred,” in this revised wording: “Discussion of the process of barring venders from a street.” Alternate versions welcome.

I know I’m being picky (what else is new?), but I do believe that language should be precise. How different would our current political campaign be if every candidate followed this principle, even if their command of the language was “very mediocre”!

9 thoughts on “Contradictory Words

  1. Harry Woods

    Being the sign critic’s husband, I confess that I spend much more time looking at the blogger than the blog. However, I happen to notice that her snarky screed on street vendors ignores the reality that the greater majority of “street” vendors in our beloved city market their wares from our sidewalks and deserve the title “sidewalk” vendors. By the way, I hear that there is a great “sidewalk” vendor on 61st and Madison, across the street from Barney’s, written without an apostrophe according to Barneys.

    Reply
  2. Ann Wilson

    Maybe this was a truly enlightened attempt to make the vendors leave by eliminating their potential buyers.
    But hey, you keep being picky. The SOOOO many words in our language allow us to be very precise in our communication, so let’s ENJOY that !

    Reply
  3. Pilar Enright

    How about, “Discussion of the process for restricting vendors from a street”? As you see I’ve changed the preposition from “of” to “for,” which I think changes may be closer to the meaning the residents, probably, have in mind.
    Nice piece!

    Reply

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