Wednesday, 15 July 2015

usage - “defeat Trump badly”


In a live-streamed speech, the Vermont senator made it clear he is no longer actively challenging Clinton and that the goal is to ‘defeat Trump badly

“The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly,” Sanders told supporters in a live stream video. “And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time.”



The Guardian




Shouldn't it be: defeat Trump resoundingly, or just plain well? If someone performs something ‘badly’, it usually means they are not very successful, i.e. The action is not done ‘well’.




I sang badly = I didn't sing well
He speaks Spanish badly = He doesn't speak Spanish well
They defeated him badly = They didn't defeat him well




Oxford Dictionaries first definition under the entry of badly is:




  1. In an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unsuccessful way



    • England have played badly this year

    • the war was going badly




Although the expression,




a badly sprained ankle




will mean an ankle that is severely (thoroughly) injured.



I know what Sen. Bernie Sanders meant, that Trump has to be defeated by a wide/large margin, but did he say it badly?

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