Thought of the Day

The phrase "fighting a war," in its common usage, is an oxymoron. Someone will say, "Didn't you hear? Soppeldoppelland and East Jibip are fighting a war." OK, so there's a war going on somewhere and Soppeldoppelland and East Jibip are trying to stop it? Doesn't "fighting a war" mean "stopping a war?" What people mean to say is "x and y are at war," or "x and y are warring," or "x and y are blowing each other up because x wants y's lemon merengue pie recipe." "Fighting a war" needs to be retired in favor of the aforementioned terms, unless you're referring to "stopping/preventing/mediating a war."