I've always found it interesting that there are two substantially different interpretations of the adjective moot, most commonly found in the phrase "a moot point." One takes it as meaning 'debatable, arguable,' and the other 'academic, not worth taking seriously.' The AHD has a good summary of the history in its usage note:The adjective moot is originally a legal term going back to the 1500s.
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The QE 3 debate has been raging ever since the Fed announced QE 2 in November 2010. However, this debate is moot. The reason is because the Fed HAS to perform QE 3 in some form or another. Indeed, the market has not operated without... Read Post
Rodney Huddleston points out to me a remarkable development in English that seems to both of us fairly new (though of course we may be in the grip of the Recency Illusion). English adjectives generally don't take noun phrase (NP) co... Read Post
The adjective “moot” means “open to debate.” Yes, really. This is a dramatic difference from its common usage (at least in America), which basically means “not worth debating.” A famous example comes from Rick Springfield’s lyrics i... Read Post