Timeline for Term for the colloquial "random" in the sense of "of unknown origin"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
12 events
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| Apr 13, 2017 at 12:38 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
replaced http://english.stackexchange.com/ with https://english.stackexchange.com/
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| Jan 9, 2017 at 5:21 | comment | added | TTT | @Drew No, I've not searched for other instances, nor am I defending its use in that context. After all, that's not what I'm asking about here. | |
| Jan 9, 2017 at 4:56 | comment | added | Phil Sweet | Regarding random as meaning identityless, a point not mentioned in the other questions you linked to: random functions as a detensifier with respect to the importance of identity. "I spilled my coffee when I hit some random pothole". (It's not about the pothole, it's about the spilled coffee). | |
| Jan 9, 2017 at 4:29 | comment | added | Phil Sweet | I think it means something like some undifferentiated or identityless (thing). Trash is reborn when it hits the bin and prior existences are lost to our awareness. Trash is an agglomeration, and the individual components of an agglomeration are nameless, but have class identities. I would say "[...] some random paper towel [...]". A is confusing the issue as a definite article. | |
| Jan 9, 2017 at 1:30 | answer | added | Tom22 | timeline score: 0 | |
| Jan 9, 2017 at 0:30 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackEnglish/status/818253517907443713 | ||
| Jan 8, 2017 at 22:46 | comment | added | Drew | In my experience random is not used colloquially in the way you suggest. I think you are just misusing it. Any evidence that it is often used that way, i.e., to mean of unknown origin? | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 18:22 | comment | added | Lambie | In colloquial speech, we say: some paper towel or some paper towel or other. /I hate it my hand brushes against some wet paper towel in the trash./ some wet paper towel does not imply you know its origin. But even if you did, wouldn't it still be icky? | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 17:47 | answer | added | alwayslearning | timeline score: 2 | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 17:38 | history | edited | NVZ♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 6 characters in body
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| Jan 8, 2017 at 17:29 | review | First posts | |||
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| Jan 8, 2017 at 17:27 | history | asked | TTT | CC BY-SA 3.0 |