Margaret Serious
I have a question: Why does anyone use ‘the ask’?
I feel the urge today to write about an expression I keep hearing, “the ask.” It seems to me to be threatening the perfectly good word “question.” You ask a question, so I suppose I’m questioning the ask.
Everything from requirements for masks and social distancing to policing protesters is getting described as “a big ask,” and various groups’ instructions or demands are being summarized as “that’s the ask.”
No. If something’s uncertain, it is a question, or questionable. That means you get to ask about it. Strange things are questionable, not ask-able.
Are people really that forgetful about language? Am I alone here?
Please keep using the word “question” for when you ask a question. I have yet to hear or read anyone “asking an ask,” and I hope I won’t.
Save “question.” It’s not too much to ask.
For more fun with words, stop by the Margaret Serious page on Facebook.
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Expressions, Words Worth Defending
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Meet The Blogger
Margaret H. Laing
I moved to Chicago from the south suburbs in 1986. I have diverse interests, but I love writing about what I’m interested in. Whether it’s a personal interest or part of my career, the correct words to get the idea across are important to me. I love words and languages — French and Scottish words enrich my American English. My career has included years as a journalist and years working in museums, and the two phases were united by telling stories. I’m serious about words and stories. So here I am, ready to tell stories about words and their languages.
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