A sentence from Salinger

From the context, we can infer the intended meaning; but my original post relates to the literal meaning.

1. I was probably the only normal *** in the whole place – and that isn't saying much.   

As I said in the thread in your original link, I have no doubt that the speaker in #1 meant to imply that he was only "normal" by comparison with the other people there.

If statements #4 and #5 are reasonable, then these statements presumably have different implications:

A: P is the only tall person in Room 101.

B: P is the tallest person in Room 101.

Does that also seem reasonable to you?

MrP

MrPedantic wrote:

I was probably the only normal b'stard in the whole place – and that isn't saying much.    [from The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger] Q: Why isn't it "saying much", to say "I was probably the only normal b'stard in the whole place"? A: — What answer would you give to this question? MrP

My 2 cents':

Q: I was the only normal *** in that place, but it isn't saying much.

Saying much about what? About how many normal ***s there are in the Universe?

A1: -- (I know I'm a normal ***)

A2: Because I still do not know if all ***s are abnormal in the Universe and I am the only normal ***.

--------

Q: I'm the tallest in that place, but it is not saying much.

A1: Because I do not know if I'm tall.

A2: Because I do not know if I'm the tallest man in the Universe.

MrPedantic wrote:

Milky wrote: So, do you think it was Salinger who messed up on your idea of the literal meaning, or did Salinger intend to say something about the character by putting it in the way he did? On the other, to propose that Salinger intended to say something about the character by "messing up" the idiom is to accept that the idiom is "messed up" in the first place. So either interpretation suits me. MrP ________

Case closed, then...we hope.