I will never not resent

[Alexey86]

Interesting. But worth remembering the essential trilingual nature of British Classical Scholarship.
I will never not resent having to have read so much French and German as a student.
On a Classics course. Jesus Christ. Why bother translating/redoing when you can just cite?
https://twitter.com/PhiloCrocodile/status/1315025486247071747

Is it a typo, or what?

 

[emsr2d2]

No, it's not a typo. "I will never not resent" means the same as "I will always resent".

 

[Alexey86]

No, it's not a typo. "I will never not resent" means the same as "I will always resent".

I got him wrong, then. I thought he considered reading French and German an advantage freeing him from the need to translate.

 

[Tarheel]

Alexey86, your confusion was understandable. It's a rather roundabout way of saying it, and it's not immediately clear.

 

[Alexey86]

It's a rather roundabout way of saying it.

Some might call it a British way.

 

[Tarheel]

Some might call it a British way.

You might be right. I do know that when I read something phrased in such a manner I have to pause and think about what it really means.

 

[Alexey86]

Who might 'some' be?

Connoisseurs of British humor.

 

[Glizdka]

Not a teacher
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It's a beautiful example of how double negatives can be used to show ridiculousness.

It makes me recall what Jay Foreman said about tactical voting, "(...)It means that for the foreseeable future, this is how we'll be voting, tactically, not necessarily for the party we like best, but for the party with the best chance of winning that we least don't unhate the most"

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

To me, it's a perfectly good choice of phrasing.

Double negatives, when used grammatically, add emphasis and can make a sentence more memorable. That line is a good example.