[lit-ideas] My Cup of Tea
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 1 Jan 2014 20:08:30 -0500 (EST)
In a message dated 12/31/2013 2:09:22 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx writes:
Well, just as we can intelligibly say 'a bottle of vodka,' without
specifying the quantity, so it seems to me that we can intelligibly say 'a box
of
pizza' without specifying the quantity. A box of pizza being delivered is
not necessarily equivalent to what you get when you order 'a pizza' in a
restaurant. It may be that, ehem, there are 'deeper' philosophical issues at
stake that escape me at present.
Similarly, Grice raises doubts as to the expression,
'cup of tea'
with or without the qualifying, 'nice cup of tea'.
Strictly, it should be, he notes, 'cup WITH tea'.
I follow his argument: 'of' is etymologically, 'off', even if the Brits
pronounce it 'ov'. A cup off tea would thus IMPLICATE (to use Grice's
parlance) something like what is implicated by 'a trip OFF shore'.
Wittgenstein ("Philosophical Grammar") speaks of a 'pint of beer' within
what he calls a 'form of life'/'language game' that provokes the same kind of
linguistic puzzles.
Cheers,
Speranza
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
