On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 17:13:12 +0100, Chris Croughton
<chris@keristor.net> said:
> On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 14:12:57 GMT, Miss Elaine Eos
> <Misc@*your-shoes*PlayNaked.com> wrote:
[...]
> > [about things like "not unfriendly" to
> > mean "sorta friendly"]
> > At any rate, does anyone know where this
> > form originated, and whether or not it is
> > considered proper?
> It is considered to be not improper <g>.
It even has a name, "litotes". See
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm .
The _New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary_ dates "litotes"
"L16", late 16th century.
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