4 ms·
Someone hasn't heard of sex toys.
by fizx 9y ago
Someone hasn't heard of sex toys.
- SimeVidas 9y agoA sex toy is by definition not a type of toy (yes, that’s possible). I’m literally just using the dictionary.
- rainbowmverse 9y agoYou have the direction backwards. The dictionary imperfectly describes language. It doesn't define it.
- SimeVidas 9y agoA 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.
- rainbowmverse 9y agoA 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.
- SimeVidas 9y agoIf 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.
- rainbowmverse 9y ago>> 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.
- SimeVidas 9y agoWell, 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.
- dsr_ 9y agoArguments about reality that resort to the dictionary are never satisfying. The dictionary needs to reflect reality, not the other way around.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- pasquinelli 9y agowhat dictionary did you look sex toy up in? mine doesn't have it, because sex toys do not exist.
- SimeVidas 9y agoI usually go “define <word>” on Google and use Wiktionary to get more details, if necessary.