Is there a difference between something being ‘possible’ and ‘not impossible’?
Just #AskingForAFriend
@JohnPhilpin I think of language like "not impossible" being emphatic. So I might use "not impossible" to mean that not only is a thing possible, it's likely. But I could imagine someone else using it to mean that something would be possible but difficult.
@KimberlyHirsh @JohnPhilpin I would think the latter— "It's possible" would mean it could happen, while "It's not impossible" implies "but don't get your hopes up." But maybe all this depends on a tone of voice that is only in the mind of a reader?
@JohnPhilpin @dwalbert Yeah, I think David's suggested usage is more likely. My usage comes from a particular pop culture idiom, so I would only use it that way if I trusted the other person was familiar with that idiom too. Similar examples would be saying something was not unhelpful to indicate that it was helpful, or that someone is not wrong to indicate that they are right without being so direct.
@JohnPhilpin @dwalbert @kimberlyhirsh I think it depends on context, tone etc. David’s suggestion is certainly how I would take it sometimes, but not invariably.