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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Ben Marshall

A welcome Dictionary of Fashionable Nonsense

The Dictionary of Fashionable Nonsense is the work of Ophelia Benson and Jeremy Stangroom, who together run the news and opinion website Butterflies and Wheels. It is a near perfect summary of the banality of postmodern discourse.

Accuracy, for instance, is defined as an "exploded concept. Foolish, Platonic notion that we can get our facts straight." While argument is labelled "unpleasant, testosterone-driven method of supporting one's assertions, to be avoided in favour of acceptance". Alongside the Woolly-Thinker's Guide to Rhetoric, which teaches you how not to put your mind to things, it makes for a painfully funny read.

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