"Beg the Question"

[kane_magus]

It doesn't mean what you think it means.

(Yes, there are some out there who do know what it actually means and don't misuse it, but those people are in the tiniest of minorities.)

Comments

[rabbitucker.livejournal.com]

I was not even aware I was misusing the phrase.

This begs raises the question, how can I avoid this in the future?

[kane-magus.livejournal.com]

Honestly, it probably doesn't really matter. There are so many people out there who say this and who, like you, probably don't even realize that they're using it wrong. It's just something they heard or read someone else incorrectly using in the same manner, and I've seen rather prominent, famous people using it that way, so it likely never occurs to most people that it's being used incorrectly. And, admittedly, to point it out really is kind of pedantic and lame. :/ ("Language is fluid, you jackass, get over it!" and all that. I still think that particular argument is a lazy cop-out, but that's another rant for another time, and one which I've kind of already made (http://kane-magus.livejournal.com/328424.html).)

I guess the question should be how can I get used to hearing/seeing it (and other similar peeves) everywhere without letting it annoy me? Because these days, quite frankly, people as a whole are never going to stop using it that way.