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me the book, I fumblemouth and say, "Bring me the rock on the table," using
"the rock" referentially and speaker-referring to the book, I have still asked
you to bring me the rock, and you would not be complying if you brought
me the book instead.
Or suppose I say to you, "I bet you $5 that the glorious winner [of a
big auto race] is over forty years of age." I am using "the glorious winner"
referentially, thinking of Dale Earnhart, completely confident that he has
the race won, and I have him very much in mind, clear mental image and all.
But, although he crossed the finish line first, Earnhart does not in fact win;
by a little-known technicality he comes in second to Fat Freddy Phreak, who
has got loose again and entered the race at the last minute. Fat Freddy is only
twenty-two. I owe you $5.
MacKay makes the general point that a speaker's intentions may be arbi-
trarily crazy