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Listenever Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

It can't not hurt us ever again

https://youtu.be/D86RtevtfrA?t=35

At 35 seconds into the clip, Deadpool says to his girlfriend:

Sorry I'm late. I was rounding up all the gluten in the world and launching it into space where it can't not hurt us ever again.

I do hear it's 'can't not', but it doesn't make sense to me.

I think that 'it can't not hurt us ever again' mean 'it's not possible that it doesn't hurt us ever again', which again means 'it will definitely hurt us again'.

But how can it hurt us again when it's in space??

What am I missing?

  

Top answer

" Deadpool is being sarcastic by saying that it does not hurt us in the first place (not hurt us), and so people who make a big deal about the harmfulness of gluten are being ridiculous. Your interpretation is logically correct as far as the syntax goes, but you aren't supposed to think that hard about it. He just drops the "not" into the expected expression.

  • " Deadpool is being sarcastic by saying that it does not hurt us in the first place (not hurt us), and so people who make a big deal about the harmfulness of gluten are being ridiculous.
  • Your interpretation is logically correct as far as the syntax goes, but you aren't supposed to think that hard about it.
  • He just drops the "not" into the expected expression.
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1 Answers
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The usual expression would be "where it can't hurt us ever again." Deadpool is being sarcastic by saying that it does not hurt us in the first place (not hurt us), and so people who make a big deal about the harmfulness of gluten are being ridiculous. Your interpretation is logically correct as far as the syntax goes, but you aren't supposed to think that hard about it. He just drops the "not"

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