Re: a new concept: unintending passengers

[james_shugg@my-deja.com]

In article <3A373AEF.2317B53D@efs.mq.edu.au>,
  Eddie Oliver <eoliver@efs.mq.edu.au> wrote:
> Heard at Sydney Terminal 13/12/00:
>
> "The Newcastle train is due to depart in one minute. Unintending
> passengers please leave the train."
>
[snip]
>
> Could someone explain the difference between an unintending passenger
> and an intending non-passenger? There are obviously some subtleties
> here.

In a literal sense, an "unintending passenger" is an "intending non-
passenger" who did not get off the train in time. That is, once the
train has departed, someone who was intending not to be a passenger,
has unintentionally become a passenger.

You could argue, therefore, that the announcer got his syntax mixed up,
unless he meant that unintending passengers should jump from the moving
train.

But I would suggest that "unintending" is not a real word, just a
clumsy proxy for "unintentional".

James


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