4 ms·

The term itself is inherently confusing. If only the best products are 'recommended', are the rest 'not recommended'? That's how it was interpreted, by the main

• mattmanser 16y ago
  How is recommend a difficult term to understand? They don't recommend it. Simple. I find the idea refreshing that someone can still speak plain english as well as hold up high standards.
  • DLWormwood 16y ago
    > How is recommend a difficult term to understand? Because Consumer Reports is using the term with the correct denotation, while being oblivious to the media and population at large using this term connotatively. Most people think the word “recommendation” is a binary term, similar to “good” versus “bad,” when it really is meant to be relative term referring to a continuum. If you tell somebody that something “is best of breed, but still not recommended,” they would either look on you with suspicion or even accuse you of being contradictory, even though you technically aren’t. http://itsfiveoclocksomewhere.blogspot.com/2006/09/grammar-moment-denotation-vs.html http://itsfiveoclocksomewhere.blogspot.com/2006/09/grammar-m... A connotation mutates a word’s original denotation over time, as anybody who has heard of the “euphemism treadmill” can attest. (FWIW, I have no intention of buying an iPhone, just not for this reason...)