>Actually, Marv said "some 30,000."
Marv didn't say anything. He was quoting.
> This use of "some" denotes "an indeterminate number of
> something". As an indeterminate number of
>something , it would seem to make his statement somewhat equivocal
>rather than unequivocal.
Thanks Professor, but no cigar.
What the source said:
>an estimated 30,000 people, many of them reading, listening to and
>analyzing an
>endless flood of intercepted conversations 24 hours a day, seven days
>a week."
is not the same as what the editorial said by adding the word exclusively:
>"Some 30,000 people...now employed exclusively to listen in on phone
>conversations and other
>communications in the United States."
I didn't mean for this to get so tedious. And I have no problem with simplify and exaggerate. But I don't think that should be extended to second hand exaggerations.