3 ms·
As I said in my first post this particular example seemed so stridently wrong that I thought I'd missed something, that there was a level of irony in the articl
by zwp 15y ago
As I said in my first post this particular example seemed so stridently wrong that I thought I'd missed something, that there was a level of irony in the article that apparently doesn't exist.
> "locate" rather than "find"
As it happens... I disagree this example is any better. To locate is to "discover the position" of something; to find is to "meet with or discover by chance" (that's my emphasis, but both are primary definitions from Collins English).
Could be it's just hard to meaningfully extrapolate those class-based connotations forwards 1000 years in an enjoyable pop-sci article.
- jacobolus 15y agoAll of these synonyms have subtly different connotations. In most uses, however, “locate” and “find” (like the other pairs on the list) can be used interchangeably, and the main difference is which one sounds “fancier” (for instance, “I located my keys” instead of “I found my keys”). Often, multisyllabic french or latinate words are used instead of simpler Saxon words by speakers or writers who are trying, consciously or unconsciously, to sound important; almost as often, in aiming for sophistication they just sound awkward.