From the Word Fugitives archive...

'Do you know?' 'Do you?'

Please note: This page is a read-only archive of messages posted in the Word Fugitives conference of Post & Riposte.

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (1 of 20), Read 114 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Barbara Wallraff ([email protected])
Date:	Thursday, September 09, 1999 09:41 AM

E. C. White, of Poway, California, writes: "My father has wondered for years if there is a word for the practice of answering a question with a question. One linguist whom I queried said that it is not possible to answer a question with a question; so I suppose I should rephrase and ask if there is a word that describes the act of responding to a question with a question."

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (2 of 20), Read 108 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Aaron Reneker ([email protected])
Date:	Thursday, September 09, 1999 04:58 PM

I am unsure exactly which of the two Greeks engaged in this practice, but either Plato or Socrates often answered questions with questions. If it was Socrates, then I believe that answering a question with a question is called either the Socratic Method or Socraticism.
I am not familiar enough with Plato to know what (if any) methods of logical thinking were associated with him. Aristotelian logic does not exactly fit this query, as Aristotle was famous more for syllogisms such as A=B, B=C, therefore A=C.
I'll go with Socraticism.

Aaron

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (3 of 20), Read 110 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Ben Auburn ([email protected])
Date:	Thursday, September 09, 1999 05:03 PM

The famous section Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead in which the two title characters spar, speaking only in questions, has come to be known as the "verbal tennis" scene. [The recent film, with Gary Oldman and Tim Roth, set the scene on an Elizabethan tennis court, in fact.]

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (4 of 20), Read 103 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Dan Chall ([email protected])
Date:	Thursday, September 09, 1999 10:44 PM

On 9/9/99 9:41:48 AM, Barbara Wallraff wrote:
>E. C. White, of Poway,
>California, writes: "My father
>has wondered for years if
>there is a word for the
>practice of answering a
>question with a question. One
>linguist whom I queried said
>that it is not possible to
>answer a question with a
>question; so I suppose I
>should rephrase and ask if
>there is a word that describes
>the act of responding to a
>question with a question."
>
>

Why do you ask?

--Dan

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (5 of 20), Read 111 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Barbara Wallraff ([email protected])
Date:	Friday, September 10, 1999 09:34 AM

What do you mean, Dan, why does he ask?

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (6 of 20), Read 100 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Aaron Reneker ([email protected])
Date:	Friday, September 10, 1999 04:33 PM

Socratic method...answering a question with a question. You get it now, don't you? :)

As a side note, I recommend that all of you watch "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" on Thursday nights. Drew Carey and company will have a game from time to time where everyone who is participating has to improvise a conversation in which the next person's statement must start with the succeeding letter of the alphabet. This also works as a party game (particularly if you only allow the participants to use questions). Lots of fun, and not as easy as it looks (or sounds)!

Aaron

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (7 of 20), Read 100 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Chris Tozier ([email protected])
Date:	Friday, September 10, 1999 06:11 PM

They also do a skit fairly often where every line you say must be in the form of a question.

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (8 of 20), Read 97 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Rus Bowden ([email protected])
Date:	Friday, September 10, 1999 07:12 PM

Aaron,

As I understand the Socratic method, it has more to do with leading with questions. He used to probe others with questions and after their positions were clearly on the table, he would assert his own.

Answering questions with questions is more what Jesus would do, for example, Luke 10:25-26: Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?"

I am a salesman and we are famous for answering a question with a question. But is there a word for it? How should I know?

Rus

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (9 of 20), Read 75 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Aaron Reneker ([email protected])
Date:	Sunday, September 12, 1999 04:14 PM

Rus,

I guess my definition of the Socratic method was a bit cut-and-dried, as much more goes into this form of debate and search of knowledge than just answering a question with a question.
I'm not sure where, but I heard the term "query logic" also mentioned once before, and this is a mode of conversation in which knowledge is gained by probing a person's query with other questions. I honestly don't know of a single, specific term to describe what you are asking for (forgive the pun). Maybe "querying?"

Aaron

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (10 of 20), Read 81 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Rus Bowden ([email protected])
Date:	Sunday, September 12, 1999 06:14 PM

Aaron,

Your offering of "query" got me thinking. My offering can be borne out by doing a simple search on the internet. I used google.com. I offer "counterquestion". It is used as a single unhyphenated word as well.

Rus

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (11 of 20), Read 41 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Matt Swift ([email protected])
Date:	Tuesday, September 21, 1999 12:46 PM

On 9/12/99 6:14:05 PM, Rus Bowden wrote:
>Aaron,
>I offer
>"counterquestion". It is used
>as a single unhyphenated word
>as well.

That would then be `counterquestioning' to answer the need, specifically. `counterquestion' is in random house.

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (12 of 20), Read 92 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Dan Chall ([email protected])
Date:	Friday, September 10, 1999 09:09 PM

On 9/10/99 9:34:03 AM, Barbara Wallraff wrote:
>What do you mean, Dan, why does he ask?
>
Does Aaron's post answer your question--the one with which you answered mine? Moreover, if one answers every question with two questions, how many posts will it take to crash the web board?
--Dan

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (13 of 20), Read 81 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Michael Fischer ([email protected])
Date:	Saturday, September 11, 1999 02:57 PM

"Moreover, if one answers every question with two questions, how many posts will it take to crash the web board?"

thirty-seven?

today's wwftd is...

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (14 of 20), Read 86 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Matt Swift ([email protected])
Date:	Saturday, September 11, 1999 06:46 AM

"aporia" is close but not quite right. "aporia" might describe the state of someone who engaged in the practice of responding to questions with questions. this is a tantalizing fugitive, as it seems that somewhere in some collection of greek rhetorical terms is the perfect word.

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (15 of 20), Read 40 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Michael Christian ([email protected])
Date:	Tuesday, September 21, 1999 10:08 PM

"Vollinquisition" might be what we want.
Sorry to offer so many cheesy hybrid words.

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (16 of 20), Read 27 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Joss Randall ([email protected])
Date:	Thursday, September 23, 1999 04:30 PM

There are two different situations, so you would need two different words. In general you could say "painintheass". But if it is in a negotiation "whatsheupto"?

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (17 of 20), Read 14 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Dave Hedenstrom ([email protected])
Date:	Wednesday, September 29, 1999 04:07 PM

In the case of the "painintheass" usage, how about an appropriately obnoxious word like "quanswer"? As in, "Do you know?" she asked. "Why should YOU care?" he quanswered.

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (18 of 20), Read 9 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Joss Randall ([email protected])
Date:	Wednesday, September 29, 1999 05:38 PM

On 9/29/99 4:07:15 PM, Dave Hedenstrom wrote:
>In the case of the
>"painintheass" usage, how
>about an appropriately
>obnoxious word like
>"quanswer"? As in, "Do you
>know?" she asked. "Why should
>YOU care?" he quanswered.
>
Very Good!

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (19 of 20), Read 11 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Shisa Powitt ([email protected])
Date:	Wednesday, September 29, 1999 04:31 PM

Quanswered might be even better as "quasi-answered".

For some reason, this reminds me of the famous quote,
"Are you lost daddy I asked tenderly.
Shut up he explained."
(The Young Immigrants, by Ring Lardner.)

S.

Topic:	7) 'Do you know?' 'Do you?' (20 of 20), Read 9 times
Conf:	Word Fugitives, with Barbara Wallraff
From:	Joss Randall ([email protected])
Date:	Wednesday, September 29, 1999 05:41 PM

On 9/29/99 4:31:54 PM, Shisa Powitt wrote:
>
>Quanswered might be even
>better as "quasi-answered".
>
>For some reason, this reminds
>me of the famous quote,
>"Are you lost daddy I asked
>tenderly.
> Shut up he explained."
>(The Young Immigrants, by Ring
>Lardner.)
>
>S.
>

Oh, so true.

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