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Triple negative leading to a positive

English Language & Usage Asked on September 5, 2021

I think there are exceptions about rule that odd number of negatives make a negative.

Look at this example:
No uncommon insecure guy. Does it mean a common secure guy. Is it correct?

One Answer

The core concept is insecure guy. Call it {A}.

An uncommon {A} is an {out of the ordinary {A}}. Call it {B}.

No {B} is {not B}.

Hence we have:

{not {out of the ordinary {{insecure guy}}}}

which reduces to:

{not {out of the ordinary {insecure guy}}}

out of the ordinary and insecure as two adjectives qualifying a noun should be combined with and. Hence:

{not {{out of the ordinary and insecure guy}}}

{not {out of the ordinary and insecure guy}}

So he is not out of the ordinary and insecure, leaving only three possibilities for the sort of guy he is:

ordinary and insecure, out of the ordinary and secure, or ordinary and secure.

The last of these three is the one you suggest, but the other two are also valid possibilities.

Correct answer by Anton on September 5, 2021

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