A Dictionary of Cont..

Socratic irony
capitalized form of the word may also appear
as part of the name of an organization or
persons associated together for religious, benevolent,
literary, scientific, political, patriotic, or
other purposes (The Royal Society was formed
for the purpose of encouraging the advancement
of scientific learning).
Socratic irony is the assumption of ignorance for
the purpose of leading (or misleading) another
into an untenable, absurd or embarrassing position
in discussion. This kind of disingenuousness
was practiced by Socrates in his arguments
with the Sophists. The irony lies in the discrepancy
between the stated ignorance and the
true knowledge.
By assuming ignorance, Socrates was able to
unmask pretentiousness in others and to indulge
his own sense of humor while doing so.
Socratic irony is a device often employed in
satire for the opportunity it provides of disarming
an adversary and then ambushing him.
From Chaucer to Aldous Huxley, it has been
a favorite device of the English satirists.
There is no such term as Socratic luck, but
there ought to be. For whereas his victims
always gave him the exact answer that enabled
him to proceed to the next step in his course of
reasoning, anyone who has ever tried the Socratic
method in the classroom knows that this
rarely happens. If one feigns ignorance, the
student eagerly and sincerely agrees. When his
contradictions are pointed out to him, he is
unable to perceive them. Most teachers soon
abandon all attempts at such subtle teaching.
soft; softly. Softly is always used as an adverb,
as in I will lead on softly. Soft is ordinarily
used as an adjective, as in a soft answer turneth
away wrath. But soft may also be used as an
adverb if placed before the subject of the verb.
Soft has both functions in soft went the music
the soft air along.
soft place in one’s heart. As a way of saying
that one is inclined favorably towards someone,
with overtones of affection, to say one has a
soft place in one’s heart for him is to employ
a clich6.
sold. See sell.
solecism. A solecism is a violation of grammatical
structure or idiom, the intrusion of an unaccepted
form into standard speech.
solicitor in England is one properly qualified and
formally admitted to practice as a law-agent.
His services consist of advising clients, representing
them before the lower courts, and preparing
cases for barristers to try in the higher
courts. The American equivalent for solicitor
in this sense is lawyer. In America a solicitor
is one who solicits trade or personal attention.
The term may be applied loosely to a salesman,
a peddler, canvasser, or beggar. It is so used to
some extent in England also. In some American
towns the officer who has charge of the town’s
legal business is called the solicitor. See also
attorney.
solid; stolid. Solid means having three dimensions,
with the interior completely filled up (a
solid ivory ball), without openings or breaks
(The walls were solid, not a crack to be seen),
uniform in tone or shade (The car was painted
a solid black). Figuratively, when applied to
persons, solid may mean sober-minded, sensible
(a solid citizen) ; when applied to groups, unanimous,
united in opinion (General Eisenhower
was the first Republican to crack the solid
South). In American slang solid may mean “on
a friendly, favorable, or advantageous footing,”
especially in the phrase in solid (To win the
daughter, he got in solid with the mother).
Applied to the playing of jazz music, as a slang
word, solid means vigorous, exciting, harddriving,
fast.
Stolid has only one sense. It means not easily
moved or stirred mentally; impassive, as from
dullness or stupidity.
solidarity; solidity. Solidarity is primarily a social
term. It means union or fellowship arising from
common responsibilities and interests, as between
members of a class or body of persons, or
between classes (The war reconciled all factions
and gave us as a nation a solidarity we had not
had during the depression). Solidity is primarily
a physical term, meaning the state, property, or
quality of being solid, of possessing substantialness.
In geometry it means the amount of space
occupied by a solid body, or volume. In a figurative
sense, applied to persons, it means strength
of mind, character, or finances.
soliloquy. See dialogue.
solo. The plural is solos or soli.
some. This word is used in order to speak of particular
quantities, persons, or things, without
specifying what ones. It may be used as an adjective
before a singular or a plural noun, as in
some man, some butter, some books. When used
before a number word it means “approximately,”
as in some six or seven men, it was
some thirty years ago. It may also be used alone
as a pronoun, as in I have some here and some
say. The pronoun may refer indefinitely to
human beings. When not used in this way it
must represent a word mentioned previously.
It may be treated as a singular when it represents
a mass noun, as in “Where is the butter?”
“There is some in the kitchen”; otherwise, the
pronoun is always plural. The phrase some of
us requires the pronoun our and not their, as in
some of us lost our heads; and the phrase some
of you requires your.
Some may be used as an adverb of extent
to qualify a verb, as in “Do you play golf?”
“Some.” This use of the word is standard in the
United States but not in Great Britain. Some
used with the same meaning before the comparative
form of an adjective, as in he is some
better today, is a Scottish idiom, and the word
somewhat is preferred in this country and in
England. Some used merely to indicate approval,
as in my dog is some dog! and that’s going
some!, is slang. It has never been standard in
the United States but is acceuted in Great Britain
as an interesting Americanism. See also few;
part.