Deltoid

If Andy had claimed that the Earth was flat and standard references on the subject and most other people were wrong, it is conceivable, if unlikely, that he could be correct. However, when he tells us that the dictionary and everyone else is wrong about the meaning of the term "Saturday Night Special" he cannot possibly be correct. Usage defines meaning.

Andy Freeman writes:

That's an interesting leap by Lambert. A dictionary has a definition so he assumes that "everyone" uses it that way. The dictionary's definition is wrong BECAUSE usage does define meaning and the usage is "guns owned by niggers".

Charles Scripter said:

An interesting (and correct) concept, Andy. I wonder if Tim can explain why my Webster'sUnabridgedDictionary calls "Saturday Night Special" SLANG.

Gee, Charles, is that the entire definition? I'm going to go WAAY out on a limb here and suggest that Webster's defines it the same way as Random House, else you would have told us about it. Let's just review what happened:

1. Andy claims that Random House definition is wrong. Check.

2. Charles looks up the definition in his Webster's. Check.

3. Charles discovers that Webster's gives the same definition as Random House. Check.

4. Charles concludes that Andy is right and Random House is wrong. Whee!

Hey Charles, you do realise that you could have saved yourself the bother of actually opening the dictionary? If the dictionary had agreed with Andy, you would have concluded that he was right. It didn't agree with him, but still you concluded that he was right. Notice that what the dictionary actually says is irrelevant to your conclusion that Andy is right. So don't just stop with Webster's -- you can cite every dictionary that you haven't looked at in your proof that Andy is right.

Could it be because it's definition is is not unique, or widely accepted?...

Gee, when you opened up the dictionary at the S's, I think you should have looked up "slang" instead of "Saturday Night Special" (we already know that you were wasting your time when you looked up SNS). Since "slang" does not mean that the definition is not unique or widely accepted, the answer to your question is NO.

Does "cheap" mean "shoddy", or "inexpensive"?

An interesting point is that when they were banning import of "Saturday Night Specials", one of them included in the list was the Walther PPK. Now there is nothing SHODDY about Walther's manufacture, and they make some very fine hardware; Likewise, there is nothing INEXPENSIVE about a Walther, either. They were generally some of the most expensive pistols on the market. Nor was the PPK "readily available"; It was quite popular (as fine equipment tends to be), and getting delivery was difficult. I can only assume that the PPK's CRIME was that it is "small and easily concealable".

Since you claim that a SNS is a handgun used by a black, this is irrelevant. Now if you could demonstrate that Walther PPKs were owned exclusively by blacks, you would be on to something.

Now, Tim, what exactly is a "Saturday Night Special"?...

a cheap, small caliber handgun that is easily obtainable