Originally Posted by Hitch
Yeah, sure, I'll lose out. That's a given. However, I'd like to point out that the problem isn't actually in the dictionaries' definition; it's in the interpretation of what the dictionaries actually mean. (Back to that pesky, "precision in language" argument.)
(For clarity, what the OED says, precisely, is: "A publisher's brief, usu. eulogistic, description of a book, printed on its jacket or in advertisements; descriptive or commendatory matter.")
What the OED, et al, all say is more or less along the lines of "a eulogistic description of a book." Historically--and today--being "blurbed" (love it when we make a verb out of a noun..) means that a fellow writer or expert in the field you've written about, etc., praises your book (eulogizes) and talks about how much they loved it. Frequently, that praise includes a description of the action of the book. E.g., "When Bob meets Sally, your hair will stand on end and your life's meaning will become clear to you. When Sally meets Ally, though, your heart will sing and your soul will be fulfilled. When Bob marries Ally, the end is nigh. You don't want to miss the roller-coaster ride of the summer in Bob and Ally." (Sorry, but, y'know...). In that, as dreadful as it is, you have praise, opinion, and description/plot elements. Most blurbs DO.
If you read MOST commercial blurbs, fully half have some type of description in them. (I'd also note that the skill of writing good blurbs [would that be, "giving good blurb?"] is also going right down the toilet.)
To me, the difference is not specifically whether or not a blurb contains a description of the action or story or...?, but whether or not the content we're discussing praises the book (blurb), generally written by a third party, or is simply a description intended to entice the reader into the book (description).
My feeling is that a blurb is praise; a description is not, other than making the description sound as good as one can.
Otherwise, as noted--you end up with this exact scenario. A bunch of confused people, not knowing what is being discussed. Is this not the entire point of language? To convey ideas, theories, concepts? Rather than muddle them?
Hitch
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