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Noted in Passing: “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” ***

*** Bill Clinton and the meaning of “is”Here’s what Clinton told the grand jury (according to footnote 1,128 in Starr’s report):

“It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If the—if he—if ‘is’ means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement. … Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true.”

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Gagdad Bob August 6, 2022, 8:51 PM

    In the beginning was the word, and the word was redefined.

    • julie August 6, 2022, 11:38 PM

      Speaking of the pathologies of language…

    • BroKen August 8, 2022, 6:04 AM

      I am confused because when I went to Wikipedia and search for “definition” I got: “A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols).” Was the tweet just a joke that went over my head?

  • ThisIsNotNutella August 6, 2022, 9:28 PM

    So I look forward to the Progs cheerfully departing on Return(*) Helicopter Flights then.

    * I don’t think I need to draw a diagram here.

    • ghostsniper August 7, 2022, 4:41 AM

      As long as they are packed in tight I see no problem.