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The answer is in the question

Posted by Ramofski on February 03, 2004

Hi,

Ref. "the answer is in the question"

Can this be called a phrase at all, or is it more a concept? It occurs with "why?" and "how?" questions where a closer look renders the questions self-answerable.
Typically, it occurs like so:

- You said your dog didn't bite! The answer is in the question. It's not my dog. (Insp. Clouseau)
- Why is that hotel empty continuously? The answer is in the question. i,e. maybe because it's something other than a hotel.
- How did the clown carry so many bricks up the ladder? The answer is in the question. They're not real bricks he's carrying.
- Why does my software fail all the time? The answer is in the question. May be it isn't "your" software (windows fan). May be it isn't software (Linux fan).

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