FAO BWOD
"Disinterest" is an answer in the Times Quick Cryptic today, defined as "indifference" ("Indifference of residents, it’s out of order (11)").
The blogger says "Disinterest meaning lack of interest rather than impartiality is in the dictionaries and, of the big three, only Collins has a usage note: 'Many people consider that the use of disinterested to mean not interested is incorrect and that uninterested should be used'."
Contributions from solvers:
"I would like to point out that disinterested and uninterested swap meanings about once every two hundred years, like variable stars with very long periods. So perhaps we’re about due for another era of transition."
"I don’t know about swapping meanings, but the ‘incorrect’ use of disinterested predates the ‘correct’ use. Currently about 20% of instances of the word are ‘incorrect’. (I’ve never come across ‘uninterested’ meaning ‘impartial’.)"
"Re DISINTERESTED, having available two words meaning two distinct things facilitates communication more than erasing the distinction between them. Usage will prevail, of course. Meanwhile, I continue to use them differently."
"I’m no longer irked by disinterested = uninterested as it seems to be common parlance"
"I didn’t overthink DISINTEREST knowing that if I did I’d tie myself in knots with UN vs DIS and quietly predicted it would the centre of some discussion"
"Good to see DISINTEREST used in the sense of indifferent, although I prefer impartial, as a referee should be"
So general sentiment among Times solvers seems to be on your side!
Posted By: Old Git on June 27th 2022 at 11:44:47
Message Thread
- FAO BWOD (General Chat) - Old Git, Jun 27, 11:44:47
- Sorry to interject but as not marked “private” this reminded me of a joke… (General Chat) - Ruttles, Jun 27, 13:20:45
- Nice interjection (n/m) (General Chat) - Jumbo1, Jun 27, 21:27:23
- I can’t work out if that’s supportive of me or not. (General Chat) - Bravo win or die, Jun 27, 13:04:02
- It is supportive of you! (General Chat) - Old Git, Jun 27, 14:10:29
- Have you done duotrigordle today? (n/m) (General Chat) - camcan, Jun 27, 13:08:31
- 34 (n/m) (General Chat) - Legacy Fan, Jun 27, 16:33:59
- Yes! I tell you, one of them is stalking The Roth and having a giggle each day 😄 (General Chat) - Bravo win or die, Jun 27, 13:18:53
- I'm wondering (General Chat) - camcan, Jun 27, 16:53:18
- can I just add (General Chat) - Henclrikus, Jun 27, 11:57:39
- Sorry to interject but as not marked “private” this reminded me of a joke… (General Chat) - Ruttles, Jun 27, 13:20:45
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