Skunked

Chester Tumwater of Olympia, Washington, a thoughtful reader of newspapers and magazines, writes:


Dear Grammer Genious,

When did the phrase “to beg the question” change its definition from a precise reference to a specific kind of flaw in logic to a trite cliche misused over and over by stupid people who are completely ignorant of its actual meaning?
  
Signed, Chester Tumwater

Dear Chester,

About the third week of October in 1992. It coincided with the final and ultimate bafflement of the world scientific community at the discovery of “Spooky Interaction” in quantum theory, and the consequent collapse of all logical thinking.

The Grammer Genious