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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Filed under:
Expressions, Words Worth Defending
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