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“A dubious distinction for a horrible event, no matter the real numbers” Not sure what’s dubious about it…

• happyopossum 2y ago
  > Not sure what’s dubious about it… A dubious distinction is one that is doubtful or possibly untrue. Given the lack of hard data, the aporcryphal nature of the stories, and the fog of war etc, dubious seems like a perfectly cromulent word to use here.
  • quesera 2y ago
    That's not correct. A "dubious distinction" is a distinction which is undesirable. West Virginia has the dubious distinction of being the US state with the lowest average educational achievement.
    • 00N8 2y ago
      IMO both usages are correct, although yours is probably more common. 'Dubious' here means something like questionable/uncertain & it can apply either way: The distinction can be 'questionable' in terms of whether it's something to be proud of, or in terms of whether it's even true in the first place.
      • quesera 2y ago
        The phrase "dubious distinction" only means one thing though. If you parse the words separately, the other meaning is literally correct, but will not match the speaker's intent.
        • FabHK 2y ago
          I had a similar discussion here with someone who thought that "dynamic programming" was the act of programming in some sort of dynamic manner. Not sure I managed to disabuse them of that notion.