4 ms·
Not a native speaker, but doesn't mediocre mean average? Surely most people are working for a mediocre salary or less?
by Thiez 8y ago
Not a native speaker, but doesn't mediocre mean average? Surely most people are working for a mediocre salary or less?
- consp 8y agoNormally yes, but it is also used as a degenerate term, though in this case other words might have been a better choice.
- thaumasiotes 8y agoIn modern American usage, mediocre is a pejorative word. To Horace, aurea mediocritas was a good thing, but we translate that as "golden mean" because mediocrity is, by definition, bad. The sense of "middle" has been lost.
- sam0x17 8y agoIt goes deeper than that. Average is viewed as negative in American culture. When people say mediocre they are thinking "eww average" in the back of their mind.
- roel_v 8y agoDidn't you get the memo? Our goal is to pay everyone above-average wages! Anything else is a terrible injustice!