Infer to mean imply?

Question

I am watching this video, and at 3:45 Justice Scalia says he gets upset when he hear "infer" used to mean "imply"

Is there any real world example of "infer" used to mean "imply"?
Why "infer" cannot be used to mean "imply"?
What's the correct usage of "infer"?

The linked question on infer vs reply covers it all, but "infer" has another, old meaning, "to point out, indicate", which can be mistaken for "imply" as in Shakespeare: "this poor show doth better: this doth infer the zeal I had to see him." https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imply — Stuart F, Mar 29 '21 at 11:19
Can someone explain to me the joke by @HotLicks? I am a foreigner — robertspierre, Mar 29 '21 at 11:43
@raffaem We are asked countless questions which could have been answered with the use of Google or a dictionary. If a chap is utterly baffled and confused he may say he doesn't know whether he's coming or going. Perhaps Hot Licks got out of bed the wrong side this morning :-) — Old Brixtonian, Mar 29 '21 at 14:02
Related: Difference between “inferred from” and “inferred by”. — jsw29, Mar 29 '21 at 15:25

Old Brixtonian · Answer 1 · 2021-03-29T02:42:42.333

3

Using infer rather than imply is quite a common mistake. A dictionary will tell you that imply means 'suggest' or 'indicate', while infer means 'deduce'.

The difference is explained in the 1989 film of Tom Sharpe's Wilt.

Police Inspector Flint has read Wilt’s lecture notes in which he discusses the low level of intelligence of the average policeman.

Police Inspector: "You're inferring that we're all thick."

Wilt: "No, I'm implying that you're all thick. You're inferring from what I've written that I think you're all thick."

If the cream's gone and the cat's licking its lips one may infer it has had the cream.

edited Mar 29 '21 at 02:42

answered Mar 29 '21 at 02:34

Old Brixtonian

5,546

This is one difference. The other is that infer requires as its subject a term for a human or human-like being: there has to be somebody who does the inferring. Imply can take such a subject, but it can also be said that some statement (sentence, proposition, etc.) implies something. – jsw29 Mar 29 '21 at 15:32

Infer to mean imply?

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