Today I’m going to beg the question.

When I do radio interviews, callers often ask me about the phrase “begs the question.” They often hear “begs the question” used to mean “raises the question,” and if they took a formal logic class in college or had a particularly diligent English teacher, they think the “raises the question” meaning is wrong.

But it’s much more complicated than that.

The right way to use ‘begs the question’

“Begs the question” is a term that originally comes from formal logic. It’s a translation of the Latin phrase “petitio principii,” which Merriam-Webster says is best thought of as meaning “assume the conclusion.” An argument that begs the question is often circular: the support given for an argument is actually just the argument stated in a different way.

For example, if I say, “Walking on the beach is good for your mental health because getting out in nature makes you feel better,” I’m begging the question in terms of formal logic because although I 100% believe that walking on the beach is good for your mental health, I haven’t made an argument to back up that belief. All I’ve done is say the same thing again in a different way: getting out in nature makes you feel better.

If I want to argue that walking on the beach is good for your mental health, I need to give some proof, such as studies have actually shown that staring at the ocean changes your brain waves in good ways. Now you may or may not believe that’s a good study, or you might say that staring at the beach is different from walking on the beach, but I’ve given a rationale for my assertion, as opposed to just saying that being out in nature makes you feel better — which most definitely isn’t any kind of proof. It’s just a restatement of the point. It begs the question.

Here’s another one that’s even more obvious. “Chocolate is delicious because it’s yummy.” You have to ask, What’s the support for your premise? If I don’t already accept that chocolate is delicious, I’m not going to accept that it’s yummy just because you say it’s delicious. They’re the same thing. It’s circular reasoning. If you don’t make some kind of argument, you’re said to be begging the question.

The wrong way to use ‘begs the question’

So now that we have that out of the way, we all know it’s rare for “begs the question” to be used in that traditional, “formal logic” way.

When I was working on my book, “101 Troublesome Words” a few years ago [Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound], I tried to find examples of people using “begs the question” the traditionally correct way, and I went through thousands of search results without finding one.

But “begs the question” is used the quote-unquote wrong way a lot. It took me about two seconds to find “begs the question” being used to introduce a clever or obvious question. For example, a headline on Yahoo reads:

• A $250 melon begs the question: Is fruit the new caviar.

The writer is using “begs the question” to mean something like “makes me wonder.”

Here’s a headline from The Daily Beast:

• ‘The Mandalorian’ Begs the Question: Do We Need More ‘Star Wars’?

Again, the headline writer is using “begs the question” to mean something like “raises the question” or “leads us to ask.”

Common usage versus established meaning

This newer, traditionally wrong usage is so common that Merriam-Webster lists it as a meaning without any kind of qualifying comment such as “nonstandard” or “slang.” In a Words at Play blog post, they say using “begs the question” to mean “raises the question” is ubiquitous and fully established. Garner’s Modern English Usage still highlights it as an error, but also concedes that it’s ubiquitous and not something an average reader will notice.

Words and phrases do change their meanings in English. We just talked about how “egregious” used to mean good, and now it means “bad.” When thousands of people use a word or phrase the “wrong” way, and almost nobody is using it the “right” way, it’s a clear sign that the meaning has changed.

Now if you’re a long-time listener, you might notice that my feelings have changed over the years. In 2008, I said it was wrong to use “begs the question” to mean “raises the question.” And in 2014, I still said it was wrong, but that it was a lost cause and not to get too worked up about it. Today, I agree with Merriam-Webster that in the great big world, “begs the question” legitimately means “raises the question” or “invites the question.”

I could argue that it’s just as easy to say “A $250 melon raises the question: Is fruit the new caviar?” as it is to say “A $250 melon begs the question: Is fruit the new caviar?” But “begs” does have a more emphatic feel than “raises,” and it’s more crisp than something like “A $250 melon begs us to ask if fruit is the new caviar.

I think that’s why people use it, that’s why it’s so popular. “Begs the question” serves a purpose. It’s useful.

Now, because I’m Grammar Girl, I still don’t use it that way myself, and I recently noticed it when I was reading a draft of a friend’s book. I didn’t say it was wrong, but I did suggest that she might want to change it. As an editor, I want to highlight it and give her the option because a few “linguistic stalwarts,” as Garner calls them, will still notice and think it’s an error.

As I was thinking about the conclusion for this segment, I was talking about it with my husband over breakfast and mused, “Can I really just say, ‘So my advice is do whatever you want?’” And he actually tends to be more prescriptive than I am, and asked incredulously, “Has the language really changed in just 15 years?” And I said, “Yes! And then also … No. I think it’s really just that the experts have caught up with what was already happening with the language. It was very likely just as ubiquitous 15 years ago.”

Ultimately, he reminded me that my argument is usually that you should do whatever your boss wants! And he’s right; that’s where I land. Because my goal is not to be on the leading edge, but to give you advice that’ll help you get ahead at work and at school.

If your boss or your teacher or a significant percentage of your readers would think it’s wrong to use “begs the question” to mean “raises the question,” or if you want to be perceived by absolutely everyone as the most precise writer possible, don’t do it. Otherwise, it’s probably fine. I feel about you the same way I feel about my book writing friend: I want you to understand the background and the current landscape and then make your own choice. So go! Be empowered with knowledge!

Additional Sources

“Begs the Question,” Brians, P.  Common Errors in English Usage. (accessed April 8, 2023).

Cochrane, J. “Between You and I.” Sourcebooks, Inc.: Naperville, Illinois. 2004. p. 11-12.

“beg the question,” Garner, B. Garner’s Modern English Usage, 4th edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2016, p. 103.

“Take My Question.” Safire, W. The New York Times. July 26, 1998. (accessed April 8, 2023).