Good sense of humour
April 25th 2009 08:01
We have five basic senses, but people speak also of a "sense of humour", "sense of self", etc -- there's countless "senses" really.
When you say that so-and-so has a good sense of humour, what you probably mean is "Their sense of humour agrees with mine -- they laugh at the things I find funny" (cf good judgement, good taste...). So in this respect a GSOH isn't so different from good eyesight -- it's a question of perceiving aright.
But it isn't just perceiving. "GSOH" could have plenty of other implications -- that the person can tell jokes as well as recognize them, that they have an appreciation of quality jokes, that they laugh frequently, that they're optimistic, that they don't take themselves or life too seriously, that they can be the butt of a joke without raging, and so forth.
What you have is a nexus of qualities, abilities, skills related to perceiving. "GSOH" comments on personality in a way that "good eyesight" doesn't.
The word "sense" here is closer to "sensibility", "mentality". To say that someone has a "Victorian sensibility" means that they view the world a certain way, they have certain (moral) beliefs, aesthetic values, prejudices, they're inclined to react in certain ways...
When you say that so-and-so has a good sense of humour, what you probably mean is "Their sense of humour agrees with mine -- they laugh at the things I find funny" (cf good judgement, good taste...). So in this respect a GSOH isn't so different from good eyesight -- it's a question of perceiving aright.
But it isn't just perceiving. "GSOH" could have plenty of other implications -- that the person can tell jokes as well as recognize them, that they have an appreciation of quality jokes, that they laugh frequently, that they're optimistic, that they don't take themselves or life too seriously, that they can be the butt of a joke without raging, and so forth.
What you have is a nexus of qualities, abilities, skills related to perceiving. "GSOH" comments on personality in a way that "good eyesight" doesn't.
The word "sense" here is closer to "sensibility", "mentality". To say that someone has a "Victorian sensibility" means that they view the world a certain way, they have certain (moral) beliefs, aesthetic values, prejudices, they're inclined to react in certain ways...
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Comment by Anonymous