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Idiom about an equivalent explanation



Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara
Planned maintenance scheduled April 17/18, 2019 at 00:00UTC (8:00pm US/Eastern)Is there a word/phrase/idiom for temporarily satisfying strong feeling of hunger?What are some colloquial English expressions for comparing hot/cold weather to something else?Looking for an idiom to describe “a misunderstanding”Alternatives of 'a snowball's chance in hell'Equivalent for the Persian idiom “Khaste Nabaashid”Equivalent idiom for “turning in one's grave” for a living person?Idiom for explaining something too thoroughlyIdiom for “obligation to give answers when you do not believe you have to”A less morbid equivalent of the idiom “Giving someone enough rope to hang himself”Is “fight windmills” idiom common in modern spoken English?



.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;








0















When one asks for explanation of something, the other give an equivalent explanation. Examples: "the weather is hot because it is not cold", "I am smart because I am not stupid". So what is the common idiom to describe this case?










share|improve this question














bumped to the homepage by Community 7 hours ago


This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.















  • Neither of those sentences necessarily convey an equivalence. Just because it's not cold doesn't mean it's hot. It could simply be mild. Similarly, somebody could be of average intelligence, neither smart nor stupid. Are you asking about this particular form of error in deductive reasoning? (If it's not one thing, it must be the opposite?) Or are you asking about a tautology—even though your sentences really aren't? (If you're poor, you must not have any money.)

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 5:59












  • @JasonBassford at some extend they are not equivalent. By the way, I am not native english speaker so these are just examples to describe the idea. Do you know some idioms about an equivalent explanation ? Maybe I mean tautology

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:03












  • It still depends on what you're trying to express. Are you looking for an idiom that captures it's true because it's not false? (Where there can only be two possibilities?) Is it known that it's not one thing—or is it just being asserted without evidence?

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:06












  • I think I go to tautology (the saying of the same thing twice in different words,) do you know any idiom about tautology?

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:08











  • Perhaps you’re thinking of “circular reasoning”?

    – Scott
    Nov 17 '18 at 7:23

















0















When one asks for explanation of something, the other give an equivalent explanation. Examples: "the weather is hot because it is not cold", "I am smart because I am not stupid". So what is the common idiom to describe this case?










share|improve this question














bumped to the homepage by Community 7 hours ago


This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.















  • Neither of those sentences necessarily convey an equivalence. Just because it's not cold doesn't mean it's hot. It could simply be mild. Similarly, somebody could be of average intelligence, neither smart nor stupid. Are you asking about this particular form of error in deductive reasoning? (If it's not one thing, it must be the opposite?) Or are you asking about a tautology—even though your sentences really aren't? (If you're poor, you must not have any money.)

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 5:59












  • @JasonBassford at some extend they are not equivalent. By the way, I am not native english speaker so these are just examples to describe the idea. Do you know some idioms about an equivalent explanation ? Maybe I mean tautology

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:03












  • It still depends on what you're trying to express. Are you looking for an idiom that captures it's true because it's not false? (Where there can only be two possibilities?) Is it known that it's not one thing—or is it just being asserted without evidence?

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:06












  • I think I go to tautology (the saying of the same thing twice in different words,) do you know any idiom about tautology?

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:08











  • Perhaps you’re thinking of “circular reasoning”?

    – Scott
    Nov 17 '18 at 7:23













0












0








0








When one asks for explanation of something, the other give an equivalent explanation. Examples: "the weather is hot because it is not cold", "I am smart because I am not stupid". So what is the common idiom to describe this case?










share|improve this question














When one asks for explanation of something, the other give an equivalent explanation. Examples: "the weather is hot because it is not cold", "I am smart because I am not stupid". So what is the common idiom to describe this case?







idioms equivalence






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked Nov 17 '18 at 5:50









DatDat

101




101





bumped to the homepage by Community 7 hours ago


This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.







bumped to the homepage by Community 7 hours ago


This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.














  • Neither of those sentences necessarily convey an equivalence. Just because it's not cold doesn't mean it's hot. It could simply be mild. Similarly, somebody could be of average intelligence, neither smart nor stupid. Are you asking about this particular form of error in deductive reasoning? (If it's not one thing, it must be the opposite?) Or are you asking about a tautology—even though your sentences really aren't? (If you're poor, you must not have any money.)

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 5:59












  • @JasonBassford at some extend they are not equivalent. By the way, I am not native english speaker so these are just examples to describe the idea. Do you know some idioms about an equivalent explanation ? Maybe I mean tautology

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:03












  • It still depends on what you're trying to express. Are you looking for an idiom that captures it's true because it's not false? (Where there can only be two possibilities?) Is it known that it's not one thing—or is it just being asserted without evidence?

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:06












  • I think I go to tautology (the saying of the same thing twice in different words,) do you know any idiom about tautology?

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:08











  • Perhaps you’re thinking of “circular reasoning”?

    – Scott
    Nov 17 '18 at 7:23

















  • Neither of those sentences necessarily convey an equivalence. Just because it's not cold doesn't mean it's hot. It could simply be mild. Similarly, somebody could be of average intelligence, neither smart nor stupid. Are you asking about this particular form of error in deductive reasoning? (If it's not one thing, it must be the opposite?) Or are you asking about a tautology—even though your sentences really aren't? (If you're poor, you must not have any money.)

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 5:59












  • @JasonBassford at some extend they are not equivalent. By the way, I am not native english speaker so these are just examples to describe the idea. Do you know some idioms about an equivalent explanation ? Maybe I mean tautology

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:03












  • It still depends on what you're trying to express. Are you looking for an idiom that captures it's true because it's not false? (Where there can only be two possibilities?) Is it known that it's not one thing—or is it just being asserted without evidence?

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:06












  • I think I go to tautology (the saying of the same thing twice in different words,) do you know any idiom about tautology?

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 6:08











  • Perhaps you’re thinking of “circular reasoning”?

    – Scott
    Nov 17 '18 at 7:23
















Neither of those sentences necessarily convey an equivalence. Just because it's not cold doesn't mean it's hot. It could simply be mild. Similarly, somebody could be of average intelligence, neither smart nor stupid. Are you asking about this particular form of error in deductive reasoning? (If it's not one thing, it must be the opposite?) Or are you asking about a tautology—even though your sentences really aren't? (If you're poor, you must not have any money.)

– Jason Bassford
Nov 17 '18 at 5:59






Neither of those sentences necessarily convey an equivalence. Just because it's not cold doesn't mean it's hot. It could simply be mild. Similarly, somebody could be of average intelligence, neither smart nor stupid. Are you asking about this particular form of error in deductive reasoning? (If it's not one thing, it must be the opposite?) Or are you asking about a tautology—even though your sentences really aren't? (If you're poor, you must not have any money.)

– Jason Bassford
Nov 17 '18 at 5:59














@JasonBassford at some extend they are not equivalent. By the way, I am not native english speaker so these are just examples to describe the idea. Do you know some idioms about an equivalent explanation ? Maybe I mean tautology

– Dat
Nov 17 '18 at 6:03






@JasonBassford at some extend they are not equivalent. By the way, I am not native english speaker so these are just examples to describe the idea. Do you know some idioms about an equivalent explanation ? Maybe I mean tautology

– Dat
Nov 17 '18 at 6:03














It still depends on what you're trying to express. Are you looking for an idiom that captures it's true because it's not false? (Where there can only be two possibilities?) Is it known that it's not one thing—or is it just being asserted without evidence?

– Jason Bassford
Nov 17 '18 at 6:06






It still depends on what you're trying to express. Are you looking for an idiom that captures it's true because it's not false? (Where there can only be two possibilities?) Is it known that it's not one thing—or is it just being asserted without evidence?

– Jason Bassford
Nov 17 '18 at 6:06














I think I go to tautology (the saying of the same thing twice in different words,) do you know any idiom about tautology?

– Dat
Nov 17 '18 at 6:08





I think I go to tautology (the saying of the same thing twice in different words,) do you know any idiom about tautology?

– Dat
Nov 17 '18 at 6:08













Perhaps you’re thinking of “circular reasoning”?

– Scott
Nov 17 '18 at 7:23





Perhaps you’re thinking of “circular reasoning”?

– Scott
Nov 17 '18 at 7:23










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















0














I can think of no idiom that directly captures a tautological utterance itself. Not unless you want to imbue the tautology with a nonsensical meaning. In which case, there's A nod is as good as a wink (to a blind horse / to a blind bat).



But there is an expression that captures a response to a tautology.




"It's hot because it's not cold."

"I don't care what you call it—I still have to wear a T-shirt."




The response can be captured with: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.



This is the common quotation from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The actual two lines, as quoted from BookBrowse, are:




What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet




In comments below your question, you said you weren't interested in anything related to reasoning or fallacy, just an idiom that expressed the idea of "the saying of the same thing twice in different words."



This expression can have a broader interpretation than just a tautology, but it can be used in the case of a tautology.






share|improve this answer























  • You make me so confused. Do you have any idiom that mocking about "circular reasoning"?

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 11:10











  • @dat I can think of idioms that mockingly tell somebody they aren't making sense (the first one I gave does that, although I think differently than you want)—but none that say they aren't making sense because of circular reasoning specifically.

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 15:04











  • @Jason Bassford - Note that the link you give re 'blind bat' gives an incomplete explanation and the phrase isn't in itself nonsense. A blind creature can't see a nod or a wink so they are indeed equivalent to that creature. Sorry this is going off at a tangent!

    – chasly from UK
    Dec 17 '18 at 18:09












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1 Answer
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1 Answer
1






active

oldest

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active

oldest

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active

oldest

votes









0














I can think of no idiom that directly captures a tautological utterance itself. Not unless you want to imbue the tautology with a nonsensical meaning. In which case, there's A nod is as good as a wink (to a blind horse / to a blind bat).



But there is an expression that captures a response to a tautology.




"It's hot because it's not cold."

"I don't care what you call it—I still have to wear a T-shirt."




The response can be captured with: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.



This is the common quotation from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The actual two lines, as quoted from BookBrowse, are:




What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet




In comments below your question, you said you weren't interested in anything related to reasoning or fallacy, just an idiom that expressed the idea of "the saying of the same thing twice in different words."



This expression can have a broader interpretation than just a tautology, but it can be used in the case of a tautology.






share|improve this answer























  • You make me so confused. Do you have any idiom that mocking about "circular reasoning"?

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 11:10











  • @dat I can think of idioms that mockingly tell somebody they aren't making sense (the first one I gave does that, although I think differently than you want)—but none that say they aren't making sense because of circular reasoning specifically.

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 15:04











  • @Jason Bassford - Note that the link you give re 'blind bat' gives an incomplete explanation and the phrase isn't in itself nonsense. A blind creature can't see a nod or a wink so they are indeed equivalent to that creature. Sorry this is going off at a tangent!

    – chasly from UK
    Dec 17 '18 at 18:09
















0














I can think of no idiom that directly captures a tautological utterance itself. Not unless you want to imbue the tautology with a nonsensical meaning. In which case, there's A nod is as good as a wink (to a blind horse / to a blind bat).



But there is an expression that captures a response to a tautology.




"It's hot because it's not cold."

"I don't care what you call it—I still have to wear a T-shirt."




The response can be captured with: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.



This is the common quotation from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The actual two lines, as quoted from BookBrowse, are:




What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet




In comments below your question, you said you weren't interested in anything related to reasoning or fallacy, just an idiom that expressed the idea of "the saying of the same thing twice in different words."



This expression can have a broader interpretation than just a tautology, but it can be used in the case of a tautology.






share|improve this answer























  • You make me so confused. Do you have any idiom that mocking about "circular reasoning"?

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 11:10











  • @dat I can think of idioms that mockingly tell somebody they aren't making sense (the first one I gave does that, although I think differently than you want)—but none that say they aren't making sense because of circular reasoning specifically.

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 15:04











  • @Jason Bassford - Note that the link you give re 'blind bat' gives an incomplete explanation and the phrase isn't in itself nonsense. A blind creature can't see a nod or a wink so they are indeed equivalent to that creature. Sorry this is going off at a tangent!

    – chasly from UK
    Dec 17 '18 at 18:09














0












0








0







I can think of no idiom that directly captures a tautological utterance itself. Not unless you want to imbue the tautology with a nonsensical meaning. In which case, there's A nod is as good as a wink (to a blind horse / to a blind bat).



But there is an expression that captures a response to a tautology.




"It's hot because it's not cold."

"I don't care what you call it—I still have to wear a T-shirt."




The response can be captured with: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.



This is the common quotation from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The actual two lines, as quoted from BookBrowse, are:




What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet




In comments below your question, you said you weren't interested in anything related to reasoning or fallacy, just an idiom that expressed the idea of "the saying of the same thing twice in different words."



This expression can have a broader interpretation than just a tautology, but it can be used in the case of a tautology.






share|improve this answer













I can think of no idiom that directly captures a tautological utterance itself. Not unless you want to imbue the tautology with a nonsensical meaning. In which case, there's A nod is as good as a wink (to a blind horse / to a blind bat).



But there is an expression that captures a response to a tautology.




"It's hot because it's not cold."

"I don't care what you call it—I still have to wear a T-shirt."




The response can be captured with: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.



This is the common quotation from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The actual two lines, as quoted from BookBrowse, are:




What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet




In comments below your question, you said you weren't interested in anything related to reasoning or fallacy, just an idiom that expressed the idea of "the saying of the same thing twice in different words."



This expression can have a broader interpretation than just a tautology, but it can be used in the case of a tautology.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Nov 17 '18 at 7:04









Jason BassfordJason Bassford

20.8k32750




20.8k32750












  • You make me so confused. Do you have any idiom that mocking about "circular reasoning"?

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 11:10











  • @dat I can think of idioms that mockingly tell somebody they aren't making sense (the first one I gave does that, although I think differently than you want)—but none that say they aren't making sense because of circular reasoning specifically.

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 15:04











  • @Jason Bassford - Note that the link you give re 'blind bat' gives an incomplete explanation and the phrase isn't in itself nonsense. A blind creature can't see a nod or a wink so they are indeed equivalent to that creature. Sorry this is going off at a tangent!

    – chasly from UK
    Dec 17 '18 at 18:09


















  • You make me so confused. Do you have any idiom that mocking about "circular reasoning"?

    – Dat
    Nov 17 '18 at 11:10











  • @dat I can think of idioms that mockingly tell somebody they aren't making sense (the first one I gave does that, although I think differently than you want)—but none that say they aren't making sense because of circular reasoning specifically.

    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 17 '18 at 15:04











  • @Jason Bassford - Note that the link you give re 'blind bat' gives an incomplete explanation and the phrase isn't in itself nonsense. A blind creature can't see a nod or a wink so they are indeed equivalent to that creature. Sorry this is going off at a tangent!

    – chasly from UK
    Dec 17 '18 at 18:09

















You make me so confused. Do you have any idiom that mocking about "circular reasoning"?

– Dat
Nov 17 '18 at 11:10





You make me so confused. Do you have any idiom that mocking about "circular reasoning"?

– Dat
Nov 17 '18 at 11:10













@dat I can think of idioms that mockingly tell somebody they aren't making sense (the first one I gave does that, although I think differently than you want)—but none that say they aren't making sense because of circular reasoning specifically.

– Jason Bassford
Nov 17 '18 at 15:04





@dat I can think of idioms that mockingly tell somebody they aren't making sense (the first one I gave does that, although I think differently than you want)—but none that say they aren't making sense because of circular reasoning specifically.

– Jason Bassford
Nov 17 '18 at 15:04













@Jason Bassford - Note that the link you give re 'blind bat' gives an incomplete explanation and the phrase isn't in itself nonsense. A blind creature can't see a nod or a wink so they are indeed equivalent to that creature. Sorry this is going off at a tangent!

– chasly from UK
Dec 17 '18 at 18:09






@Jason Bassford - Note that the link you give re 'blind bat' gives an incomplete explanation and the phrase isn't in itself nonsense. A blind creature can't see a nod or a wink so they are indeed equivalent to that creature. Sorry this is going off at a tangent!

– chasly from UK
Dec 17 '18 at 18:09


















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