Comment on Can I trust things)/people as far as I can throw them?
Bougie_Birdie@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
As confusing as it might seem, “I trust you as far as I can throw you,” and “I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you,” essentially mean the same thing.
One could probably argue that the negation is explicitly saying “I don’t trust you,” while the standard phrase implies a limited amount of trust. But in practice, throwing ability is never considered, and both mean that trust is in short supply.
button_masher@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I hear you and yep, since throwing ability is limited, trust is in short supply.
Which is why I wanted to consider that throwing ability can vary and therefore the amount of trust. And what can I extrapolate from this scale!
lemmyng@piefed.ca 2 weeks ago
The implication of the phrase is not that trust is variable depending on the subject’s or object’s physical abilities. Its meaning is more that one doesn’t trust the other person’s motivation, so the trust only goes as far as one’s own ability to affect the other’s figurative position ("throwing” them.)