Ludwig Wittgenstein thought people might have a private language and private meanings for words. Later philosophers said, that's now how language works. But I've met people with private meanings for words. I think the motivation is to show rank. People in the chain of command can not bother to care about what words mean, it's up to the lesser to figure out what is being said. Words-have-no-meaning is both "don't care" and "contempt" at the same time.
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February 6, 2026