[Mick]

[quote author=Mick link=topic=4405.msg31247#msg31247 date=1315001544]

And because it's been bugging me for ten years, I had a nitwit blond secretary who kept insisting it was a "mute" point when she meant that it was a "moot" point.  I told her that I wished her point was mute instead of moot and she just looked at me and cocked her head like my labrador does when the lab absolutely has no clue as to what I'm saying....

Well, since this seems to be a gathering of the pedants' society--"moot", of course, means the exact opposite of how it's commonly used. It's used these days to connote something that doesn't need to be discussed; the origin of the word has to do with a meeting to discuss important things. People do recognize this when using moot as a verb ("I moot that we go there for dinner) but not as a noun.[/quote]

It's still listed as a meaning for "moot," but it's now in the #4/#5 slot as opposed to the #1 or #2 slot.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/MOOT

[Mick]

[quote author=Mick link=topic=4405.msg31247#msg31247 date=1315001544]

And because it's been bugging me for ten years, I had a nitwit blond secretary who kept insisting it was a "mute" point when she meant that it was a "moot" point.  I told her that I wished her point was mute instead of moot and she just looked at me and cocked her head like my labrador does when the lab absolutely has no clue as to what I'm saying....

Well, since this seems to be a gathering of the pedants' society--"moot", of course, means the exact opposite of how it's commonly used. It's used these days to connote something that doesn't need to be discussed; the origin of the word has to do with a meeting to discuss important things. People do recognize this when using moot as a verb ("I moot that we go there for dinner) but not as a noun.[/quote]

It's still listed as a meaning for "moot," but it's now in the #4/#5 slot as opposed to the #1 or #2 slot.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/MOOT