Talk:exactly what one did not want

RFD discussion: April 2021
"The precise outcome hoped to be avoided". Same thing in different words. Seems SoP. Equinox ◑ 00:52, 22 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Delete. Imetsia (talk) 01:03, 22 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Delete as SoP. — SGconlaw (talk) 03:16, 22 April 2021 (UTC)


 * Except that (as amply demonstrated by this Ngram) it's a set phrase, which is exactly why someone would not say "the precise outcome hoped to be avoided". Also, the phrase implies that there is always one specific thing not wanted, but it can be used for a wide range of outcomes resulting from the same situation. Therefore, it is idiomatic because it isn't really "exact". bd2412 T 03:51, 22 April 2021 (UTC)
 * How "set" is it? Just off the top of my head.I can think of: {the very thing|the same thing|exactly the thing|the exact thing|the selfsame thing|precisely what} one {wanted to avoid|was hoping to avoid|was afraid of|was afraid would happen|didn't want to happen} . Sure, one formulation is more common, but there's no barrier against any of the others- it's just a matter of style. I think the reason the paraphrase in the definition is awkward is that the wide range of variation made it hard to come up with anything natural that was clearly outside that range. Chuck Entz (talk) 04:49, 22 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I think the approximate rhyme and matching syllable count and tense between "exactly what" and "I did not want" is what makes this the most attractive version of the phrase to speakers and writers. There is, of course, also the matter of the literal distinction between not wanting something and wanting something not to happen. For example, if you've always wanted a blue Lamborghini, and one day I surprise you with a red Lamborghini, that is not what you wanted, but also not something you hoped to avoid. bd2412 T 13:48, 22 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Delete. That a sequence of words is a collocation is not sufficient grounds to include it. And I find the argument for idiomaticity above very weak. As Chuck points out, the phrase permits a large degree of substitution. Colin M (talk) 20:18, 22 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Delete 🔥 शब्दशोधक 🔥 04:35, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

Deleted. bd2412 T 06:15, 25 April 2021 (UTC)