UnclGhost comments on Illusion of Transparency: Why No One Understands You - Less Wrong

57 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 20 October 2007 11:49PM

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Comment author: chesh 21 October 2007 12:05:32AM 7 points [-]

Google found the actual meanings of "the goose hangs high" (the future looks good), and the reason it means that (there is a goose in the larder, therefor you will not starve), and "to go by the board" (to be completely destroyed or overthrown), but not the reason behind it. What do "to come an uncle over someone" and "to lay out in lavender" mean?

Comment author: UnclGhost 17 January 2011 07:05:05PM 3 points [-]

To "come the uncle over someone" means, according to this highly-trustworthy-looking site, to "overdo your privilege of reproving or castigating" someone.

Comment author: pure-awesome 31 May 2013 10:19:16PM 10 points [-]

As an example of illusion of transparency: On first reading, I interpretred your phrase 'highly-trustworthy-looking site' as sarcastic. Since it's a Webster's site, I'm going to guess that you were not intending to be sarcastic?

Comment author: UnclGhost 04 June 2013 12:04:42AM 4 points [-]

I think I did mean to be sarcastic, since it doesn't seem to be actually affiliated with the publishers of Webster's dictionary and the design of the site looks generally sketchy, but coming back to my comment now, you make a good point.

Comment author: pure-awesome 04 June 2013 09:45:55AM *  3 points [-]

Ok, thanks for clarifying. It actually makes a lot more sense for you to be sarcastic and I read it that way at first. I only got confused once I started considering the non-sarcastic possibility.

Comment author: arundelo 04 June 2013 01:27:11AM 6 points [-]

The name Webster's Dictionary may refer to any of the line of dictionaries first developed by Noah Webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added Webster's name just to share his prestige.

-- Wikipedia

Comment author: pure-awesome 04 June 2013 09:45:45AM 0 points [-]

Ah, good to know.