Some words are dangerous. Words like dynamite and Nazi. Other words are safe like bunny and fluffy. Today we're gonna talk about a pair of the dangerous ones.
Some words are dangerous. Words like dynamite and Nazi. Other words are safe like bunny and fluffy. Today we’re gonna talk about a pair of the dangerous ones. Not that.
That is very, very, dangerous. Should I mention it’s a adverb, some adverbs are dangerous.
People misuse not that all the time, when they say things like, it’s not that bad, I’m not that old, I am not that fat.
The problem here is by saying it that way it means, it is bad, you are old, and I am fat.
The word that is being used as a adverb and it means very or extremely, putting not in front of it you think you’ve canceled that out. But you haven’t. You see that is very hard to get rid of.
You’ve just limited its power, it’s like saying hey, your not extremely, bad, old, fat. Your just a little, bad, old, fat.
Some adverbs are dangerous, for real.
Here’s an example, you look over to your friend and you say I am so dumb, and then he says nah, your not that dumb.
Initially you’d think he was trying to make you feel better, but he hasn’t disagreed with you, he said you are dumb, just not that dumb.
It’s sort of like a back handed compliment, he wants you to think your not quite as dumb as he thinks you think you are.
[Short Pause]
On the other side of the coin not that gets even trickier, when you use nice words like good and cool, it ends up being good, but just not that good, which is a nice thing to say I guess it’s just not that nice.
So be careful out there people, words aren’t toys, and they can be tricky, but when you get the hang of it, there not that hard to use.
Transcribed by: Joshua Y.
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4 Comments
Meandering
I like saying its not THAT bad when I know it really is!Allan
But hey, my friend that's "not THAT dumb" won't ever figure out what that really means. So, it all works out. I don't have to lie, and (s)he doesn't feel insulted.Deelighted
That wasn't that bad. No, really, I enjoyed it. I also appreciate the statements since lots and lots of people use that in the wrong way, along with lots of other words. Thanks so much for the show.Fran
Yay, more language awareness. There isn't enough of it around! Keep up the good work. I bet you, loads of people never even knew what an adverb was before now! Thanx again.