That is not what “unstop” means. You unstop a drain that is clogged, you don’t unstop something you want to restart.

  • @Gradually_Adjusting
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    English
    82 days ago

    Sorry, it seems like I failed to acknowledge your point adequately. I cede fully the point about professionalism in this context, and agree that it isn’t up to snuff. I only hoped to stand up for the larger value of creativity and expressiveness of language in other contexts. I’m a fan of English, as I think you are too; to have a language as complex as ours is a high price, and I think it would be a shame not to enjoy the benefits. I know of no language more capable of shadings of connotation, and freedom of form, nor any so idiomatically rich.

    Personally, I make a point to enjoy my language, and I don’t mind any newcomers getting things wrong here and there, as long as they manage to bring their own idiosyncratic creativity to it. Language is such a powerful tool that I feel the word itself has too mundane a connotation. I am obliged to write very boring emails for my work, and it is so stifling that I tend to spread my wings more in other contexts. If I seem defensive, it is because I do get complaints. I respectfully stand by it though, people should speak artfully more often - if artlessness in professional contexts is as much of a stylistic commandment as it seems to be, anyway.