orthent (orthent) wrote in linguaphiles,
orthent
orthent
linguaphiles

Missing

The other day, I came across an odd rant in the blog of a self-published true crime writer, who claimed that it was inappropriate to use the word "missing" in connection with a person who might have voluntarily disappeared or taken their own life. According to him, "missing" was properly reserved for those likely to be victims of a crime like abduction or murder. He actually got kind of indignant about it.

I realize that sometimes the connotation of a word may trump its dictionary definition, but I've never heard this writer's argument before and it just seems bizarre to me.

Any thoughts? Is he right?
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  • 24 comments

  • The Australian Vernacular... Mate

    Here's an article about Australian slang words, tacked onto a story about an ex-pat USA citizen grappling with what looks & sounds to be the base…

  • translations of the Bhagavad Gita

    An old friend was talking with C and me lately, and she expressed an interest in learning more about the ideas behind yoga, and particularly about…

  • Why say Sunday Blues?

    When you can use a German-derived term that Germans speakers themselves probably don't use