Uninterested or Disinterested?
Do you find yourself saying “I am disinterested in going to the movies”; or “I am disinterested in saving the polar bears”? If so, in the interests of gooder grammar, please note that this is an error. (Croakers please note: “gooder” is a deliberate solecism or “clanger”, as it were, to illustrate that I am no better than you.)
If, for whatever reason, you are not interested in going to the movies or in saving polar bears then you must say “I am uninterested in going to the movies…saving the polar bears” or whatever.
When do you use the word disinterested? The answer is: whenever you are unbiased. So, the umpire of a sporting match must be disinterested in, but must not be uninterested in, the match. That is, the umpire must not care who wins or loses but she must care a lot about how the game is played and make sure it is played within the rules.
Quite possibly most people ignore the distinction between disinterested and uninterested. We rarely talk about whether an umpire is disinterested. Umpires are usually “mugs” or “should be given sunglasses and a white cane”.
Lawyers, however, should be careful to use these words in their proper sense. Otherwise, educated people, such as yourselves, will think a lawyer is quite a dill, a real dimwit, if he bleats about being disinterested in going to the movies or saving polar bears. In such a case, scoff, jeer and lambast said lawyer as a skulking oaf without the brains of a gnat and even less of an education. Do so with as much malevolence and vigour as you can muster. Because, for once, right is on yor side.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Thanks, I enjoyed your post immensely. It’s nice to see someone writing something worth reading
September 9th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.