Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[joyapple]

I think "myth" means "a lie" here, because from the whole article, I can know that "mobile phones can cause explosions at petrol stations" is not truth. Then what does "no less" and "for that" mean? Are they fixed phrases?



(context: Do mobile phones cause explosions at petrol stations? That question has just been exhaustively answered by Adam Burgess, a researcher at the University of Kent, in England. Oddly, however, Dr. Burgess is not a physicist, but a sociologist. For the concern rests not on scientific evidence of any danger, but is instead the result of sociological factors: it is an urban myth, supported and propagated by official sources, but no less a myth for that. Dr Burgess presented his findings this week at the annual conference of the British Sociological Association.
from http://www.igreens.org.uk/anatomy_of_a_technomyth.htm)

[bud]

You're mostly correct about "myth." They're not really lies, as the people telling them believe them to be true. Here's Wikipedia's definition for "urban myth" (even though "urban legend" is used in the definition, the search term was "urban myth" - they're synonymous):

"Urban legends are a kind of folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. Urban legends are sometimes repeated in news stories and, in recent years, distributed by email. People frequently say such tales happened to a "friend of a friend" - so often, in fact, that FOAF has become a commonly used acronym to describe this sort of story. Urban legends are not necessarily untrue, but they are often false, distorted, exaggerated, or sensationalized."

In your sentence, there are no hidden meanings for "no less" and "for that." Perhaps the grammar is a bit rare. You could think of it as shorthand for: "but it is no less a myth for that reason.

Note: for that reason = because it is supported and propagated by official sources

[joyapple]

What does "no less" mean? Is it a fixed phrase?

And why does the author say "It is an urband myth because it is supported and propagated by official sources. It is no less an urband myth because it is supported and propagated by official sources"?

[bud]

Hmm... I guess "because" should be "even if." Sorry about that.

"It is no less an urban myth even if it is supported and propagated by official sources."

It means that any support and propagation by official sources does not lessen the fact that it is an urban myth. It's an urban myth whether or not official sources believe it.

"No less" is not a "fixed phrase" in this sentence. It is the opposite of "no more."