Date:  Thu, 14 Dec 1995 08:40:25 EST

From:  Larry Horn <LHORN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]YALEVM.CIS.YALE.EDU>

Subject: Question-begging



I'm passing this along from a non-ADS colleague, who wonders whether anyone

else has noticed what she calls



 'this new quasi literal use of "beg the question" to mean something like

'strongly prompt one to ask the question', as in e.g. "Your lateness begs

the question 'What kept you?'"? I think there was an occurrence of it in

The American President (which we saw (and at least I enjoyed) last

weekend), and I also heard one last night on TV.'



I haven't noticed it myself, but it strikes me as a plausible addition to add

to our stock of folk-etymologized collocations and proverbs.

--Larry