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> No, it's just a bit complex, but it depends on use - and today it is for a number of reasons more common to see "silver bullet" for "ineffective but seducing"

> No, it's just a bit complex, but it depends on use - and today it is for a number of reasons more common to see "silver bullet" for "ineffective but seducing". It is a (non-)"solution" that /is believed/ to «work incredibly, almost magically, well». It works in a fable and not outside. Yes, you're re-asserting that, but I still disagree, at least in my dialect of General American English. Maybe you're in the UK and it's different there? In my experience, you almost always hear it as part of the negative: "X is not a silver bullet". That phrase has your meaning of "ineffective but seducing". The implication then is that the silver bullet is effective. Magically so. Everyone associates it with the only thing that can kill a werewolf. The thing that began this whole inane conversation was the mildly interesting use of "silver bullet" in the positive: > ChatGPT is the silver bullet, you can't convince me otherwise. The poster is taking the "no silver bullet" idiom and flipping it on its head. The "standard" usage would say "ChatGPT is no silver bullet", meaning it's not a magical solution to all problems. By negating it (and using the idiom unusually in the positive), they're saying that it is magically effective and can work on all problems.

mdp2021 4y ago
> inane Well, if you find it uninteresting, do not make it happen. I just showed you a bit of history of the expression, including the warning - do not assume that (especially globally) it is used your way. (Yes, if you are Tennessee it may be more frequently one way, in Singapore maybe the opposite...) You write «Everyone associates it with the only thing that can kill a werewolf» - and I am telling you that in fact that covers the slice of the population that also holds that silver bullets are in fact completely ineffective, in spite of the story, although it has consideration among people who mentally live in the world where werewolves roam. > The poster is It is clear what the user did: in fact, posts ago, I noticed that it is «ironic». The poster said "it is a silver bullet", and that is peculiar because some would reply to that "do not forget your magic cloak to approach more confidently", or similar.
- losvedir 4y ago
  Look, there's nothing unusual or ironic about the use of "silver bullet" in either the top level comment or the first response. That's just how the idiom is used. I would be curious if you could offer an example of "silver bullet" used as you're saying some people do. All the examples I can find are the the way I've been saying. For example, the top three Google News hits for "silver bullet": * Be excited about EPR, even if it’s not a silver bullet [0] * Immigration: Silver Bullet for Nursing Shortage? [1] * Offsets Are Not A Silver Bullet [2] In all of these, "silver bullet" could be replaced with "totally effective solution". That's how OP used it as well. You're saying that a "silver bullet" could mean "ineffective but seducing". If that were the case, the headlines would instead be: * Be excited about EPR, because it's not a silver bullet. * Offsets Are A Silver Bullet. I've never seen it used that way. And that's not how the OP used it or the first commenter interpreted it. It's not impossible it's used differently somewhere, if so I'd be curious to know. I know, for example, that "the point is moot" and "let's table the discussion" have opposite meanings in British and American English, for example. [0] https://www.greenbiz.com/article/be-excited-about-epr-even-if-its-not-silver-bullet https://www.greenbiz.com/article/be-excited-about-epr-even-i... [1] https://www.globest.com/2023/04/11/immigration-silver-bullet-for-nursing-shortage/?slreturn=20230315140156 https://www.globest.com/2023/04/11/immigration-silver-bullet... [3] https://eugeneweekly.com/2023/04/06/offsets-are-not-a-silver-bullet/ https://eugeneweekly.com/2023/04/06/offsets-are-not-a-silver...
  - mdp2021 4y ago
    > ironic No, I meant that it comes to be ironic (not that it was used ironically by the poster. > It's not impossible it's used differently somewhere, if so I'd be curious to know I would gladly provide: in fact, I did check on my RSS DB before my last reply - but I had rotated it only days before, so it contained a fraction of the usual data. I only found an interesting occurrence on the National Interest, but it was ambiguous, and an ironic use on the Guardian, but again it was not exactly in the way that I meant. Let me assure you: there are authors that use directly the expression without the negative, e.g. "Populists always have silver bullets to propose". You can see that the expression makes sense: silver bullets work in tales, but this is reality. But the foremost example I have in mind does not write in English. I will check: if I can find a few references, I will post.
- olddustytrail 4y ago
  Nope, you made up some history of the origin of the phrase. Practically everyone uses "silver bullet" to mean something that works incredibly well. If you have examples of your alternative usage, feel free to show us some. You're the only example so far.
  - mdp2021 4y ago
    > you made up some history of the origin of the phrase Providing information that you can directly check - you can find sources around with a search engine?! Unbelievable. Post scriptum: and there we are with a sniper. Sniper, the poster accused of "making things up", very gratuitously (even Wikipedia contains references). This is very offensive. And if you have anything to say, say it directly instead of just being uselessly irritating.

mdp2021 4y ago

> inane Well, if you find it uninteresting, do not make it happen. I just showed you a bit of history of the expression, including the warning - do not assume that (especially globally) it is used your way. (Yes, if you are Tennessee it may be more frequently one way, in Singapore maybe the opposite...) You write «Everyone associates it with the only thing that can kill a werewolf» - and I am telling you that in fact that covers the slice of the population that also holds that silver bullets are in fact completely ineffective, in spite of the story, although it has consideration among people who mentally live in the world where werewolves roam. > The poster is It is clear what the user did: in fact, posts ago, I noticed that it is «ironic». The poster said "it is a silver bullet", and that is peculiar because some would reply to that "do not forget your magic cloak to approach more confidently", or similar.

losvedir 4y ago
Look, there's nothing unusual or ironic about the use of "silver bullet" in either the top level comment or the first response. That's just how the idiom is used. I would be curious if you could offer an example of "silver bullet" used as you're saying some people do. All the examples I can find are the the way I've been saying. For example, the top three Google News hits for "silver bullet": * Be excited about EPR, even if it’s not a silver bullet [0] * Immigration: Silver Bullet for Nursing Shortage? [1] * Offsets Are Not A Silver Bullet [2] In all of these, "silver bullet" could be replaced with "totally effective solution". That's how OP used it as well. You're saying that a "silver bullet" could mean "ineffective but seducing". If that were the case, the headlines would instead be: * Be excited about EPR, because it's not a silver bullet. * Offsets Are A Silver Bullet. I've never seen it used that way. And that's not how the OP used it or the first commenter interpreted it. It's not impossible it's used differently somewhere, if so I'd be curious to know. I know, for example, that "the point is moot" and "let's table the discussion" have opposite meanings in British and American English, for example. [0] https://www.greenbiz.com/article/be-excited-about-epr-even-if-its-not-silver-bullet https://www.greenbiz.com/article/be-excited-about-epr-even-i... [1] https://www.globest.com/2023/04/11/immigration-silver-bullet-for-nursing-shortage/?slreturn=20230315140156 https://www.globest.com/2023/04/11/immigration-silver-bullet... [3] https://eugeneweekly.com/2023/04/06/offsets-are-not-a-silver-bullet/ https://eugeneweekly.com/2023/04/06/offsets-are-not-a-silver...
- mdp2021 4y ago
  > ironic No, I meant that it comes to be ironic (not that it was used ironically by the poster. > It's not impossible it's used differently somewhere, if so I'd be curious to know I would gladly provide: in fact, I did check on my RSS DB before my last reply - but I had rotated it only days before, so it contained a fraction of the usual data. I only found an interesting occurrence on the National Interest, but it was ambiguous, and an ironic use on the Guardian, but again it was not exactly in the way that I meant. Let me assure you: there are authors that use directly the expression without the negative, e.g. "Populists always have silver bullets to propose". You can see that the expression makes sense: silver bullets work in tales, but this is reality. But the foremost example I have in mind does not write in English. I will check: if I can find a few references, I will post.
olddustytrail 4y ago
Nope, you made up some history of the origin of the phrase. Practically everyone uses "silver bullet" to mean something that works incredibly well. If you have examples of your alternative usage, feel free to show us some. You're the only example so far.
- mdp2021 4y ago
  > you made up some history of the origin of the phrase Providing information that you can directly check - you can find sources around with a search engine?! Unbelievable. Post scriptum: and there we are with a sniper. Sniper, the poster accused of "making things up", very gratuitously (even Wikipedia contains references). This is very offensive. And if you have anything to say, say it directly instead of just being uselessly irritating.