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Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by SimeVidas on Monday December 11, 2017 @05:36PM (#15901293)
A sex toy is by definition not a type of toy (yes, that’s possible). I’m literally just using the dictionary.
Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by rainbowmverse on Monday December 11, 2017 @05:47PM (#15901395)
You have the direction backwards. The dictionary imperfectly describes language. It doesn't define it.
Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by SimeVidas on Monday December 11, 2017 @05:54PM (#15901453)
A dictionary explains a word’s meaning. I‘m going by the dictionary. You’re free to make up your own definitions, but according to the dictionary, a toy is intended for children. Video game consoles are intended for all ages (equally), so they cannot be considered toys.
Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by rainbowmverse on Monday December 11, 2017 @05:57PM (#15901487)
A dictionary describes some common uses. It is not comprehensive or authoritative. It changes with the language, not the other way around. Language defines the dictionary, sometimes with a very long lag. Several people have told you of a definition not present in whatever dictionary you referred to. This is meaningful.
Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by SimeVidas on Monday December 11, 2017 @06:12PM (#15901615)
If you were to ask any group of people whether toys are intended for children, the majority would say yes. Do we at least agree on that? If would be more useful for all of us, if we, in discussions, used terms in ways that align with what the majority thinks those terms represent. Because if we don’t, we create confusion. This is unnecessary and just wastes our time.
Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by rainbowmverse on Monday December 11, 2017 @06:17PM (#15901653)
>> If you were to ask any group of people whether toys are intended for children, the majority would say yes. Do we at least agree on that?

No. This is, in fact, the point of contention here. I've heard ads and people calling boats, cars, tools, new games, and so on toys. A few dictionaries I checked agree. Several people in this very thread have the same opinion.

Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by SimeVidas on Monday December 11, 2017 @06:31PM (#15901755)
Well, fine. But as someone who has a lot of experience with people telling me to stop playing video game because I’m not a child anymore (as have many if not most young adult gamers), it seems to me that people who call video games toys just reinforce that narrative, so it‘d help if they didn‘t.
Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by dsr_ on Monday December 11, 2017 @05:57PM (#15901479)
Arguments about reality that resort to the dictionary are never satisfying. The dictionary needs to reflect reality, not the other way around.
Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by pasquinelli on Monday December 11, 2017 @06:26PM (#15901720)
what dictionary did you look sex toy up in? mine doesn't have it, because sex toys do not exist.
Re:Nintendo’s Resurgence by SimeVidas on Monday December 11, 2017 @07:20PM (#15902046)
I usually go “define <word>” on Google and use Wiktionary to get more details, if necessary.