0

Example:

Person A: If I needed to save $400 a week, what would be the best savings plan?

Person B: That doesn't make sense, how are you able to save $400 a week if no one here makes more than $500 a week?

What can I say to person B to point out that that is not what I'm asking and that they are not answering the question and to just take the question as is in an eloquent manner?

Justin
  • 10,186
4mays1
  • 9
  • 2
  • The title question and the question in the body are different, which one do you want answered? – KillingTime Feb 25 '22 at 18:28
  • Dodge the question? – user 66974 Feb 25 '22 at 18:58
  • 1
    That the reply to the question happens to be in question form seems to me beside the point. It could be "I'm surprised you're able to save that much," which serves the same purpose of not answering. Vote to reopen. – DjinTonic Feb 25 '22 at 19:12
  • 1
    @EdwinAshworth: The duplicate answers the title question, but not the question in the body. I tried editing the title to match the question in the body. Vote to reopen. – Justin Feb 26 '22 at 04:36
  • “Never mind that. Suppose I had $400 a week to save. What should I do with it?” – Jim Feb 26 '22 at 06:53
  • As edited, the question is a narrowing of formal expression for talking about something unrelated. I consider duplicate answers (eg Going off-topic / Getting off track / ... / Losing focus / Digressing / Tangential to the discussion / Not relevant to the topic at hand / Diverting the conversation / Subject is not pertinent to the conversation (Ellie Kesselman) //// "That's beside the point" / "That's irrelevant." (Irene} bloat. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 26 '22 at 14:36
  • @EdwinAshworth: Good find. I'd recommend reopening the question and directing it to the correct duplicate. – Justin Feb 26 '22 at 16:07
  • 1
    I've just added that as a candidate duplicate. I seem to remember yet others (one directly related to picking up on a non-germane issue that could be a follow-on topic, when politeness dictates that one answers the question the first speaker wants answering. On ELU, of course, the CV-system allows for the fact that the initial question itself may be off-topic ... and a side issue may be well worth addressing. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 26 '22 at 16:40
  • The question is not a duplicate of the other one either: Person B's wondering how A is able to save $400 is not unrelated to A's question, it's just that it doesn't answer it. It's not as if B started talking about the weather; that would be 'talking about something unrelated'. Some of the material that appears in the answers to that question may admittedly be helpful to answering this one, but that only makes the questions related; it doesn't make this one a duplicate of the other. – jsw29 Feb 26 '22 at 17:18

1 Answers1

3

Person A: If needed to save $400 a week, what would be the best savings plan?

Person B: How are you able to save $400 a week?

Person A: That's irrelevant / beside the point.

beside the point

Irrelevant.

Eliot's arguments are wholly beside the point

The fact that the law has not been used for 12 years is beside the point. Lexico

beside the point (idiom)

Irrelevant to the matter at hand. AHD

For me, beside the point is a bit more diplomatic than the single word

irrelevant (adj.)

Not connected with or relevant to something.

an irrelevant comment Lexico

In some circumstances it may be hard to know if the person is being evasive or merely curious/prying and not adverse to (eventually) answering.

DjinTonic
  • 21,299