(October 19, 2010 at 2:58 pm)Existentialist Wrote: You guys probably need to direct your comments to those on this thread who want to prevent freedom of expression by restricting the definition of a bribe to any "illegal" incentive, in defiance of all the usual dictionaries. The same people ironically seem to be happy accusing me of redefining words. It's a funny old world, isn't it? In the meantime some others here might want to spend a bit of time writing to the following publications to get them to rein in their usage of the word bribe, if they really think they have a point, which they don't.
Really? I saw definitions of bribery coming from a variety of sources, from "Do What I Tell You" dictionaries to the cultural definitions exemplified in wide spread media, which is a measure of how the culture defines the language.
Maybe you "forgot" this part:
(October 18, 2010 at 5:58 pm)Rhizomorph13 Wrote: Definitions of bribe on the Web:
•make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence; "This judge can be bought"
•payment made to a person in a position of trust to corrupt his judgment
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
•Bribery, a form of pecuniary corruption, is an act implying money or gift given that alters the behavior of the recipient. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bribe
•The Bribe (1949) is a American crime film noir directed by Robert Z. Leonard and written by Marguerite Roberts, based on a story written by Frederick Nebel. The drama features Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, and others.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bribe
•The Bribe: variations and extensions on Spillane is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, consisting of music created for three half-hour radio plays produced by Mabou Mines theater company in 1986. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bribe_(album)
•Something (usually money) given in exchange for influence or as an inducement to dishonesty; To give a bribe to
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bribe
•bribery - the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain an illicit advantage
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
•bribery - the making of illegal payment, or bribes, to persons in official positions as a means of influencing their decisions
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bribery
•offering something such as money or a favour to influence a decision or action of dishonesty.
http://www.sacc.to/glossary/glossary.htm
•A payment made to person, often a government official such as a customs officer, to induce favorable treatment.
www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/glossary/b.html
•f. far away
http://www.bangkokpost.com/education/lat...fb1599.htm
•The act of paying a secret commission to another individual. It is also used to describe the secret commission itself.
education.qld.gov.au/strategic/eppr/legal/lgspr007/definitions.html
•a payment made to somebody as a bribe ( informal )
encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861724352/payoff.html
•bribery - Involving a company from an industrialized country offering an illicit payment to a developing country's public official with perceived or real influence over contract awards. Bribery may range from gifts to large amounts of money.
wps.pearsoned.co.uk/ema_uk_he_hollensen_globalmark_4/64/16425/4205002.cw/content/index.html
(October 19, 2010 at 2:58 pm)Existentialist Wrote: As in all other cases where this vacuous crap alleging that I have used incorrect definitions has been produced, the objections are deeply motivated by the objector's politics, not any sincere concern for the preservation of the English language or clarity of communication. As many others have clearly already concluded, these payments are what I've said they are: a bribe.
Because other people object to your thrashing and redefining of a common word to mean what /you/ wanted in a specific circumstance, it's all their fault?
If 99% of your audience isn't getting what you said, it's not their fault.
It's yours.
