Talk:weak spot
Latest comment: 7 years ago by BD2412 in topic RFD discussion: May–July 2016
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Testicles are one particular weak spot, but that doesn't make "weak spot" mean "testicles". (Similarly, we don't have an entry for "green fruit" defined as "kiwi".) Equinox ◑ 12:34, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
- Something like "a vulnerable area; a place that is more vulnerable than others". Donnanz (talk) 17:15, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
- Delete as defined. No strong objection to a general definition of this term as a point of vulnerability. bd2412 T 21:30, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
- That's what I meant. Redefine and keep. It is probably a subject for the Tea Room. Donnanz (talk) 22:44, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
- P.S. Used in a sexual context (susceptible body parts) as well as for the Achilles heel in fights. Equinox ◑ 22:50, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
- Delete the above-mentioned sense. I'm not sure if a general definition would be idiomatic or not; Cambridge has an entry but defines it as "a weak part in something", which makes it sound perfectly SOPpy. Collins' definitions are as overspecific as ours. - -sche (discuss) 03:55, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
- I don't think that other dictionaries have the exact sense for spot in its use in the sense "a weak part in something". It is certainly not among our definitions.
- Moreover, I don't think that spot is used with other adjectives (or alone) to mean "part". It is used to mean "place". It is indicative that an antonym of "weak spot" is "strong point" (eg of an argument, probably using a non-spatial sense of point) and that "weak location/place/region/setting/situation/venue/locus/locale" are not synonyms, being mostly spatial or relying on non-spatial definitions of the nouns.
- That it is a small leap from "location" to "part" for some, especially native English speakers, is probably why other (monolingual) dictionaries don't usually have entries. I believe that we usually don't assume that all of our users are capable of such a leap, however modest. DCDuring TALK 10:51, 6 May 2016 (UTC)
- Redefine and keep per Donnanz and bd2412. There should be an entry, but not with this definition. What constitutes a "weak spot" varies depending on what it's applied to. People in combat can have various weak spots, but so can walls and other inanimate objects. P Aculeius (talk) 13:31, 6 May 2016 (UTC)
- Redefine and keep the entry with the new definition, deleting "(fighting, slang) the testicles". As for lemmings, present in Collins[1] and in Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus[2]. I added definition: A location where the defenses are weak or the vulnerability is great. --Dan Polansky (talk) 06:43, 8 May 2016 (UTC)
Kept as redefined. bd2412 T 21:00, 20 July 2016 (UTC)