[VyseofArcadia]

My beloved calico who passed away near the beginning of the pandemic suffered from stomatitis. I opted for full dental extraction after pharmaceutical intervention proved ineffective. She eventually passed away from an aggressive mouth cancer, which is not uncommon in cats with stomatitis.

I loved that cat, she got me through grad school, and losing her was miserable. My gratitude to anyone working on stomatitis treatments.

[klevertree]

I'm sorry to hear about your calico. Stomatitis is really a terrible disease.

[jjtheblunt]

aggressive mouth cancer? my calico ten years ago succumbed to a horrible oral bone cancer's complications. to hell with cancer, and it's kinda retarded (literal meaning of the word) how slowly progress is made.

[OJFord]

> it's kinda retarded (literal meaning of the word) how slowly progress is made.

Well the way to say that without redundance, parenthetical, and the sibling tree about whether or not it's offensive is 'it's kinda depressing/<emotion> how retarded the progress has been' (or similar).

[gkop]

Huh? Retarded just means "slow" literally. So, if I get your meaning, it's absolutely not "kinda" retarded, it's depressingly/horribly/saddeningly/hopelessly retarded. And I do not recommend putting "kinda" together with "retarded" if you want to be received positively.

(I'm sorry for what you and your calico endured. F cancer)

[OriginalPenguin]

According to both Merriam Webster and Oxford (not the OED, but the regular one) there are two definitions for retarded, both of which are offensive, and neither of which mean slow.

[iratewizard]

Don't use dictionaries that change the definitions of words for political means. Retard means slow. A retard chamber, for example, contains retardant that is meant to slow the spread of fire.

There is a perpetual movement to take words and shuffle them around as a form of purity spiraling. People who don't want to work build entire careers out of pretending moral outrage. Play their game and you give them power. Next thing you know, the words that were okay to say are verboten and you're the next one crushed under the wheel of progress.

[huimang]

This is a thorough misunderstanding of how dictionaries work. There is no all-powerful movement (composed of people who don’t want to work…?) dictating language changes.

People update usage over time and dictionaries reflect that. It’s extremely common and not just a modern effect.

It’s just a property of human language and it occurs in every language.

[iratewizard]

Your belief stems from a nativity of the power systems and how they operate. Ideological zealots do try to dictate changes all the time. Look at history and understand the reason behind China and the replacement of the four olds. Look at what happened behind the scenes during the replacement of the Russian Tsars. Look at critical theory as a framework for gaining power.

Now understand some simple fundamental realities. Dictionaries have always been expensive and almost never turned a profit in history. They were created as loss leaders for name recognition, passion projects by eccentrics, heavily subsidized by fundraising or (most often) a combination of the three. They are subject to corruption through funding, through people, and through the will of their parent company.

Merriam-Webster should be focusing on language and it's use. Not subtly accusing Kyle Rittenhouse of fake crying during trial. It's corrupted at the personally level at the very least. Not to mention their cozy relationship with Google.

Oxford, like most universities, has had biased hiring policies since my parents were children. Today, it's filled with the out of touch, weak and over-socialized. They have received a mountain of criticism regarding their "woke score" hiring policies, "woke" additions to their dictionary and many other issues.

It's unfortunate that you and others trust such biased sources. Like being "the dictionary" gives it some sort of official authority on the way you can communicate.

[eyelidlessness]

> Don't use dictionaries that change the definitions of words for political means.

I never thought I’d come across a sincere call for banning all dictionaries, but… well I never thought it, it doesn’t make me surprised.

[iratewizard]

There are plenty of dictionaries that don't manipulate you 1984 style. I don't recall calling for any bannings, either.

[markdown]

> Next thing you know, the words that were okay to say are verboten

So what? There are a hundred words your ancestors used that you never will. How has it changed your life one iota to have never uttered cockalorum, twitter-light, or grumpish?

> There is a perpetual movement to take words and shuffle them around

Yes, this has happened for all time.

[iratewizard]

> Yes, this has happened for all time.

No, that's a modern side effect of critical theory and grievance agitators. Nice try, though.

[aaaaaaaaaaab]

Oh no! Someone must tell pharma companies because extended release pills have "retard" plastered all over their boxes! How offensive!

[gkop]

Good to know! I was interpreting parent generously.

[Jon_Lowtek]

try this one: https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retard

Personally i prefer: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/retard

[gnulinux]

I mean, it depends on the accent, but some people use "kinda" as a filler word without any strong meaning. I didn't perceive "kinda" to qualify "slow" in that sentence to imply it's "a little slow", given the sentence was written to assert that progress is slow.

[gkop]

Then just say "kinda slow". Easy. If you want to use a charged word, it's on you to make your intention easily understood. If that's too much for you, then just use a safe and well-understood word.

[Jon_Lowtek]

Then just say "unspeedwise". Easy. If you use ungood words, it's on you to not lead others to thinkcrime. If that's too much for you, just use the safe and well-understood A vocabulary.

[jjtheblunt]

good catch (seriously) of the inadvertent cliche reinforcing "kinda". (yeah eff cancer)