Re:Hydrochloric Acid is more complicated than you think
by zimpenfish on Wednesday December 28, 2022 @01:53AM
(#34158255)
> The -less suffix means "present in the quantity zero"
Prescriptively, sure, maybe, why not. Descriptively? Nah. Otherwise anyone using the world "endless" would be lying because nothing can be "endless". Most people using "penniless", the same, although some people may truly be "without a penny" (depending on your definition of "having a penny" - do material assets count?)
Re:Hydrochloric Acid is more complicated than you think
by thaumasiotes on Wednesday December 28, 2022 @02:42AM
(#34158567)
No, descriptively that is what it means. You're trying to argue that people who say "the best thing since sliced bread" actually mean something different by the word "since" than everyone else, or indeed than what they themselves mean in other contexts, but that is obvious nonsense. People make false hyperbolic claims all the time; hyperbole is not expected to be true.
It seemed like you were making a joke until you talked about "realizing" something. So on the off chance you weren't, you should know that "___less" and "___ free" have identical meaning. The -less suffix means "present in the quantity zero", not "present in a quantity which is smaller than some unspecified other quantity".