Der Hildebeast knew that the classified marker was in letter form. When she said that she never sent anything marked “classified,” that was no lie because she knew the classified emails were marked with a “[c].” It is the same as der Slickmeister saying he “never had sex with that woman.” To him the word “sex” had the more common reference to copulation.
Textbook examples of sophistry.
- sophist
- 1542, earlier sophister (c.1380), from L. sophista, sophistes, from Gk. sophistes, from sophizesthai "to become wise or learned," from sophos "wise, clever," of unknown origin. Gk. sophistes came to mean "one who gives intellectual instruction for pay," and, contrasted with "philosopher," it became a term of contempt. Ancient sophists were famous for their clever, specious arguments.
- philosopher
- O.E. philosophe, from L. philosophus, from Gk. philosophos "philosopher," lit. "lover of wisdom," from philos "loving" + sophos "wise, a sage."
"Pythagoras was the first who called himself philosophos, instead of sophos, 'wise man,' since this latter term was suggestive of immodesty." [Klein]