I read the following today: "The talks haven't advanced past the initial stages because they are said to be 'less than enamored' with the idea...."

What is that usage called anyway? Why not just say "lukewarm to the idea?" I find it annoying when people say they are "less than enthused" or "more than a little annoyed." Why not use real words that express what you mean?

The usage is called litotes. It uses the negative of one sense to mean the opposite: no fool, no slouch, no mean dancer, not behindhand, hardly a youngster, less than honest.

Thanks, aput. I must say I have never heard of "litotes." I suppose they have their place, but it seems to me that using them indicates that your vocabulary is limited.

Now, I must say that I hadn't heard of "not behindhand," either. What does that mean?

I suspect that this construction is more common in UK English than it is in US. As with the use of the passive voice, it is a way in which we can adjust the level of directness of meaning of a communication in order to make it less offensive or more diplomatic.

I would not regard it as indicative of any poverty of vocabulary, just a different way of expression.

It would be considered quite normal for an English man to write something like, "...Although she was no longer young, he found her not unattractive and decided there and then to invite her to a half-decent pub for a pint..."

The direct manner of speech, "...Although she was old he found her fairly attractive and decided then and there to invite her to a good pub for a pint..." would seem to many British eyes to be a rather more course way of explaining the situation.

I can only guess which of the different methods would be preferred in the USA.

I suspect that this construction is more common in UK English than it is in US.
No, I don't think so. I don't happen to like that way of expressing oneself, but that's just me. Variety of expression is important, I guess.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

Generalisations are risky, I know, but I think it's fair to say the the "average" American will be more direct in speech than the "average" Briton.

A likely exchange at table:

Englishman, "...I wonder whether I could trouble you to pass the salt...?"

American, "...Pass the salt, please..."

Both perfectly polite but with different levels of directness.

R.E. is being diplomatic. An all-too-typical American might instead say "Bitch! You gonna sit on that damn salt all night?! Don't make me get up!!"

Again, this certainly doesn't mean one version is more correct than the other. Visitors to the states are reminded, however, that any American may be heavily armed and ready to defend to the death (yours) the right (his) to bear salt.


More seriously, though, I was taught Spanish in a military school and, as such, learned pretty much all the verb tenses but then was transferred to Panama to discover that the locals use maybe three or four tenses to cover everything. When ordering in a restaurant, in English, I use the conditional tense as in "I would like a steak." In Spanish, this tense exists but was rarely used. Instead, the more direct "I want a steak" would be the norm.

Having learned the "proper" way of speaking, I was reluctant to abandon it for the local way of doing things and, as a result, on two different occasions I was told that I talked "like a priest"! (Guess who didn't score in a big way with Panamanian women...)

Once, when I was younger and proud that I spoke a foreign language, I recall causing great hilarity in a German bar with my over precise

"Darf ich die Quittung haben, bitte ?"

"May I have the bill, please?"

I can top that.

I was once in a tiny Chinese restaurant located in Panama where I ordered for myself and my friends in what I considered better-than-average Spanish. The waitress listened closely to my extended recitation and then politely advised me that she didn't speak English!

We ended up ordering in the age-old way of pointing to pictures in the menu and smiling.

Quote "...The waitress listened closely to my extended recitation and then politely advised me that she didn't speak English!..."

Maybe she was Chinese and couldn't tell one Indo-European language from another!

I recall trying to converese with a waitress in Belgium in French (assuming she was a French speaker) only to find that she didn't understand a word. I assumed she was therefore a Dutch speaker and was about go give up when she addressed me in Spanish - which country was her origin!

When I was in Italy, I was looking for the departure gate. Their signs gave no clue. So, I looked up "gete" in my phrasebook and asked someone. The confusion prompted getting others involved, when I realized that they thought I was looking for a "fence gate!"

Yes, R.E., that was very likely the case, but I neglected to mention that I had heard the woman speaking with other customers in Spanish.

Serves me right for trying to show off in front of my friends.