Sometimes people can be annoying.  You ask a simple question and get a convoluted answer.

Sometimes people can be so concerned to protect their credentials or to avoid being caught out that they do much the same thing.

"it all depends what you mean by...."

Theologians are particularly good/bad at this...

It all depends what you mean by...

• vicarious
• sacrament
• punishment
• god/God
• sin
• evangelical
• liberal
• charismatic
• eternal
• penal
• substitution
• ordinance
• grace - or means thereof
• theology
• infallible/fallible
• hermeneutic
• interpretation
• mission
• Christian
• Baptist

To name but a few that I've heard recently.

I seem to remember a time when words were less slippery, when objectivity was permitted and I knew what I meant... but of course it all depends what I mean/meant by 'objecitivity' 'permitted' 'knew' and 'meant'.

And all this prompted by reading a couple of pages of an introduction to philosophical hermeneutics which talks about the interpretation of the word interpretation in different contexts and a different times... Aaaaargh!