Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2022 January 12

= January 12 =

Outside of something
Is there a difference in meaning between these two sentences? Thanks, cm&#610;&#671;ee&#9094;&#964;a&#671;&#954; 10:59, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
 * More people live inside this circle than outside it.
 * More people live inside this circle than outside of it.
 * No, though the second one is slightly more explanatory. As with the old quip (usually credited to Groucho Marx), "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." --←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:06, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
 * There is some doubt that the joke originated with Groucho. While outside of&thinsp; is synonymous with the preposition outside, it has a second meaning, which it does not share with outside: "except for", "aside from". The joke exploits this dual meaning. --Lambiam 15:24, 12 January 2022 (UTC)


 * For consistency, you should probably use "of" twice, or omit it twice. --←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:48, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
 * "Inside of" is possible but not usual, and I wouldn't use it merely for consistency with "outside of". --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  20:53, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
 * "Inside of" sounds okay to these Canadian ears (although I prefer the more colourful "innards of", preferably with "outards of"). Clarityfiend (talk) 22:04, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

Thank you very much, everyone. I'll thus omit of in my redrawing of File:Valeriepieris_Circle.jpg. Cheers, cm&#610;&#671;ee&#9094;&#964;a&#671;&#954; 01:08, 13 January 2022 (UTC)