|
This is something that's been bothering me for a long time. People do this all the time, every time they use it, and I've held back on calling people out on it only because it would make me look like a douche who gets off on nitpicking. But here it is.
The phrase "cop out". You guys are doing it wrong.
A "cop out" never has and never will describe the action of giving an (often weak) excuse for something. That is not its definition. I know some of you are feeling anger and shock at this revelation, but stay with me here.
When somebody "cops a plea", he is admitting guilt to a given charge, in exchange for better treatment. That's all a cop out is: an admission of guilt (not necessarily for lighter punishment, but such is often the case). That's not the same thing as an excuse; the difference arises when the subject makes an excuse that contains some amount of self-incrimination. And I know some of you are thinking, "Well, popular usage has changed the meaning of the phrase over time." And to those people, I say:
Fuck you!
+ Show Spoiler [An example] +EXCUSE: "I failed the exam because the professor has a grudge against me and marked me down on the essay portion."
COP OUT: "I failed the exam because I was too apathetic to study as much as I should have for the essay portion."
I'm prolly fighting a losing battle here, but I refuse to surrender to the godless people who misuse trivial phrases.
 
|
That's nice Aeres, I hope you feel better soon. I'm pulling for you
|
-.- I am going insane trying to figure out whether your sentiment was sincere, or just sarcasm. It's infuriating because it could plausibly be either one.
I hate you, Die.Jokes. 
|
On June 20 2011 13:59 Aeres wrote:-.- I am going insane trying to figure out whether your sentiment was sincere, or just sarcasm. It's infuriating because it could plausibly be either one. I hate you, Die.Jokes.
I would be more concerned with what exactly he is pulling...
<_<
|
I guess I've been using cop out incorrectly then... I hope you aren't too angry at me.
+ Show Spoiler +
|
I look at it differently, hear me out. When you talk about how when someone "cops a plea", admitting guilt in exchange for better treatment, rather than summarizing it as an admission of guilt I look at it as "the easy way out". It might be wrong, but I never used the term anyhow so it really doesn't matter to me lol. I'll gladly accept your version of it as correct having said that, just thought I'd post what I've always thought it meant, right or wrong.
EDIT: And to clarify, I mean that I looked at it as:
copping a plea = the easy way out = cop out. So therefor an excuse would indeed be a cop out, the way I looked at it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
