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PaperclipPerfector  15hr ago (text post)   522 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 21, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Baby boomers and Gen Xers described a woman of average attractiveness (neither ugly nor hot) as "plain". Gen Z describes such women as "mid".

Does no equivalent word exist for Millennials?

Basic?

I think that has more to do with someone's interests than their appearance.

True, technically. But I think a lot of the time it's just a thinly veiled excuse to comment on someone's physical appearance.

Probably true, now that you mention it.

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


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