Re:I'm Wil Wheaton. I Live with Chronic Depression and Anxie...
by xanthopan on Friday August 24, 2018 @07:31PM
(#17838602)
> In most other contexts we encounter, stuffing an adjective in there means "NOT".
I think that's less a comment on grammar and more about how there's a tendency to name stuff that is similar to other stuff, yet markedly different, in oxymoronic ways. For example:
"virtual reality", "business ethics", "educational television", "military intelligence", "magic realism"
Re:I'm Wil Wheaton. I Live with Chronic Depression and Anxie...
by mc32 on Friday August 24, 2018 @09:33PM
(#17839058)
To me, none of those on their own, without context are oxymoronic. Yes, their meaning is often stretched without that being realized by the speaker, but at the same time they have a useful baseline meaning.
No, in most contexts in English, modifying a noun with an adjective doesn't invert the meaning of the noun.
A “respiratory infection” is a real infection.
A “premeditated homicide” is a real homicide.
Or, from your post:
A “big part” is a real part.
A “better word” is a real word.
The “scientific method” is a real method.
“Real study” is real study and “real treatment” is real treatment.