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I suppose you could say it's 'brave', though, in the same way that trying to swindle someone and hoping they don't notice is brave.
by julio_the_squid 16y ago
I suppose you could say it's 'brave', though, in the same way that trying to swindle someone and hoping they don't notice is brave.
- jrockway 16y agoThat's not what "brave" means.
- bonaldi 16y ago/pedant: it is, actually. Definition is "ready to face danger or pain". "Brave" is mostly used approvingly, but it's also completely proper in sentences like "He decided the app should be IE-only, which was a brave move but one he felt was justified by ..." Similarly with "daring" -- you often hear of "daring robberies" and the like.
- orborde 16y agoInteresting point. "Brave" is usually considered to be a virtue, and people don't want to attribute virtues to scoundrels.
- jrockway 16y agoAh, the joys of learning English from dictionary definitions instead of literary use.
- james2vegas 16y agoBecause dictionary definitions aren't based on literary use at all.
- bonaldi 16y agoSorry, you don't get to be all prescriptivist in telling someone what "brave" doesn't mean, then suddenly produce a descriptivist defence when you're called on it; they're incompatible.