Tomorrow. Vaccines. Just saying.

[GoodTaste]

Does "Tomorrow. Vaccines. Just saying." mean "Vaccines will be available tomorrow. Oh sorry, I am just saying/kidding"?

==================


richard horton
@richardhorton1
·
Jul 20
Tomorrow. Vaccines. Just saying.


Edit: The tweet above is probably associated with another tweet by Horton:

richard horton
@richardhorton1
·
Jul 20
Here is a second COVID-19 vaccine trial, led by Chinese scientists. This recombinant adenovirus type-5 vaccine induces a rapid humoral and cellular immune response within 14 days. No serious adverse reactions. Again, congratulations to Feng-Cai Zhu et al. https://bit.ly/39ch6nD

And this:



richard horton
@richardhorton1
·
Jul 20
The phase 1/2 Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial is now published. The vaccine is safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic. Congratulations to Pedro Folegatti and colleagues. These results are extremely encouraging. https://bit.ly/2ZHqY5E

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

He's saying vaccines will be available soon.

The expression "Just saying" is a cliche. It does not mean he's kidding. It means he's stating what's obvious to him but might not be obvious to us. It's often written: Just sayin'.

Writing three words with periods (full stops) after each is also a cliche. The first time I saw it was when George W. Bush was the US president. People often wrote: Worst. President. Ever.

Since then, people have used the form for all kinds of statements. It adds emphasis.

 

[probus]

when George W. Bush was the US president. People often wrote: Worst. President. Ever.

Little did they know. I'm just sayin'.:lol:

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Did you see that, GoodTaste? Probus used "Just sayin'" exactly right.

 

[GoodTaste]

Did you see that, GoodTaste? Probus used "Just sayin'" exactly right.

But I couldn't understand it exactly. What does the expression Little did they know. I'm just sayin'.:lol: mean? Does it mean "They knew little about junior Bush, in my opinion/I'm having my say here"? (Today we know B is much better than T, because the former was defending traditional American values, defending American Democracy).

 

[Tdol]

He's just trying to introduce the idea of vaccines when many are being negative about them. And he is a serious scientist.

 

[GoodTaste]

He's just trying to introduce the idea of vaccines when many are being negative about them. And he is a serious scientist.

I understand "many are being negative about them" as "many people are negating the vaccines." Am I on the right track?

 

[probus]

Actually, GoodTaste, the phrase just sayin' is rarely if ever used where I live and I've never been quite sure what it means. When Charlie explained it so beautifully in the context of US presidents I couldn't resist trying it out.

 

[GoodTaste]

Actually, GoodTaste, the phrase just sayin' is rarely if ever used where I live and I've never been quite sure what it means. When Charlie explained it so beautifully in the context of US presidents I couldn't resist trying it out.

Do they（in your "Little did they know. I'm just sayin'"）refer to presidents, or common people？

 

[emsr2d2]

I understand "many are being negative about them" as "many people are negating the vaccines." Am I on the right track?

No. People don't "negate vaccines". If someone is being negative about vaccines, it means that they are expressing negative opinions about them.

 

[GoodTaste]

No. People don't "negate vaccines". If someone is being negative about vaccines, it means that they are expressing negative opinions about them.

Expressing negative opinions about them would mean that in action they will reject them (refuse to be vaccinated) Or they will negate the vaccines.

 

[GoodTaste]

That makes no sense in this context.

It seems that I've not understood the word "negate" correctly.

Negate: to cause something to have no effect. (Cambridge Dictionary).

The medical effect of a vaccine is decided by its medical power or scientific evidence that is objective and people can't negate them.

But it seems to work metaphorically. For example, some protestors shout: Bill Gates, kill me before you vaccinate me. Even if there is already an effective vaccine of COVID-19, only 49% American population are willing to be vaccinated. That is, antivaxxers practically negate the vaccine.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

But I couldn't understand it exactly. What does the expression Little did they know. I'm just sayin'.:lol: mean? Does it mean "They knew little about junior Bush, in my opinion/I'm having my say here"? (Today we know B is much better than T, because the former was defending traditional American values, defending American Democracy).

We knew a lot about Bush. We knew about Donald Trump back then, too, but we didn't expect him to get into politics. He was just a crooked real estate developer with bad taste.

Little did they know is a fixed espression. It means They did not know.

Probus meant that when people said Bush was the worst, they did not know we'd get one who's worse.

 

[GoodTaste]

That does not work. Forget 'negating' vaccines.

OK. I believe it doesn't work. But I would like to know why if you could tell me.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It seems that I've not understood the word "negate" correctly.

Negate: to cause something to have no effect. (Cambridge Dictionary).

The medical effect of a vaccine is decided by its medical power or scientific evidence that is objective and people can't negate them.

But it seems to work metaphorically. For example, some protestors shout: Bill Gates, kill me before you vaccinate me. Even if there is already an effective vaccine of COVID-19, only 49% American population are willing to be vaccinated. That is, antivaxxers practically negate the vaccine.

You're right, anti-vaxxers can cause vaccines to be less effective. Your figurative meaning is logical, but it's so unnatural that no English speaker would understand what you mean.

Here's why people would be confused: You can negate a vaccine's effectiveness, but you can't negate the vaccine itself. The vaccine will exist whether it's effective or not.

 

[Tdol]

Bill Gates, kill me before you vaccinate me.

He must be tempted. ;-)

You could say that anti-vaxxers impede herd immunity.

 

[GoodTaste]

Here's why people would be confused: You can negate a vaccine's effectiveness, but you can't negate the vaccine itself. The vaccine will exist whether it's effective or not.

Here's exactly the nub of the problem: Because "negate" is exactly defined as "to cause something to have no effect" - it does not say "to cause something to have no physical existence." So when you say "negate the vaccine", it, according to the definition, can only mean "cause the vaccine to have no effect rather than cause the vaccine to have ceased to be."

So it seems that dictionaries have hit a wall of limitation - it fails to deliver the true meaning in this case.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Here's exactly the nub of the problem: Because "negate" is exactly defined as "to cause something to have no effect" - it does not say "to cause something to have no physical existence." So when you say "negate the vaccine", it, according to the definition, can only mean "cause the vaccine to have no effect rather than cause the vaccine to have ceased to be."

So it seems that dictionaries have hit a wall of limitation - it fails to deliver the true meaning in this case.

I wouldn't call the definition wrong. But the meanings of words usually go beyond what a dictionary can say. Part of the problem might also be that negate isn't a word that people hear very often.

To me, negate means cancels out. Is the vaccine being cancelled out, or is its effectiveness being cancelled out?

It could just be that other people on this thread understand the word more or less the way I do.