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> On HackerNews, Reddit and in public places you're loath to find someone vouching for Apple's privacy practices FYI loath means "unwilling", so it doesn't mak
by cormacrelf 4y ago
> On HackerNews, Reddit and in public places you're loath to find someone vouching for Apple's privacy practices
FYI loath means "unwilling", so it doesn't make sense here. "Loath to X" is like "I would loathe doing X". The word you're looking for is "likely".
- lbotos 4y agoNot op, but I wondered if this was a Britishism. My partner recently introduced to me to "lousy with" meaning "abundance"...
- mgerdts 4y agoMy mom who is not British and has spent almost no time outside of the Great Plains uses this term. I think the “lous” come from louse, the singular form of lice. A great abundance of not a great thing.
- lbotos 4y agoTIL! But my partner has heard it used in the UK like "I'm lousy with options" as in, I'm overflowing with choice. That was a fun convo as I was like ... What??
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- diputsmonro 4y ago"Lousy" also has a definition of being infested with lice (the singular form of which is louse); according to the Etymology Dictionary this may be the original meaning (https://www.etymonline.com/word/lousy https://www.etymonline.com/word/lousy) From there, it seems to have developed as an American slang to describe "infestations" of other kinds.
- jackconsidine 4y agoHad my negatives flipped- thanks for pointing out!
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Xeronate 4y agoI see you were right, but I think both choices (loathe and likely) are acceptable. I originally thought jack was saying "its unfortunate to find" or "it's disgusting to find".