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"They gave the Prime Minister a cool reception."

You know 'cool' has both 'postive and negative meaning'

The dictinary says the meaning of the sentence is negative, which means they gave the prime Minister a cold shoulder, which means the reception was not warm.

I came across a cognitive disorder when I read(past tense) the sentence because 'cool' is very frequently used in a cool way — I hope 'in a cool way' is idiomatic.

Is the sentence vague(positive or negative) or definitely negative?

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  • This idiom always means the negative sense. The positive sense of‘cool’ is not intended when using this idiom.
    – jwpfox
    Apr 10, 2021 at 7:46
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    Cool in the sense of 'fashionable' is informal language, and is unlikely to be used in this context.
    – Kate Bunting
    Apr 10, 2021 at 7:58
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    @KateBunting - When the Prime Minister arrives somewhere to be greeted by a rock band with dancing girls, a loaded-up bong, and a fridge full of beer, and he says to the Foreign Secretary, "Hey man! Cool reception!", I will then definitely know I have lived too long.
    – Michael Harvey
    Apr 10, 2021 at 8:22
  • @Michael Harvey, what's the bong? 1. A bong is a long, deep sound such as the sound made by a big bell(Collins) or 2. A device used for smoking various substances, but most commonly marijuana.
    – gomadeng
    Apr 10, 2021 at 8:37
  • Either could be quite cool, but I meant (2).
    – Michael Harvey
    Apr 10, 2021 at 8:46

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This is pragmatics. Yes cool has multiple literal and metaphorical meanings. But only one is understood when the sentence is read in context: The meeting was unfriendly.

We know this from lots of clues: There is a co-location "warm reception/cool reception" these words go together idiomatically to give a particular meaning.

"Cool" meaning fashionable is still rather informal, and doens't match the newspaper-like tone of the sentence.

Reception here means the greeting that the PM received. The sense of "fashionable" doesn't seem to apply to the manner in which two people greet each other, but the sense of "unfriendly" does.

The context of senior political leaders, usually old men or women in suits, and a formal context: welcoming a political leader to a meeting. This means that being fashionable is irrelevant, but the friendliness of the reception is relevant.

When understanding any language, meaning is always understood in context. And the context here only permits one interpretation. No cognitive dissonance.

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  • Thx. I would say my cognitive dissonance as "a learner's cognitive dissonance" or "learner's cognitive fallacy".
    – gomadeng
    Apr 10, 2021 at 9:35

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