I’m sorry if this seems dumb. I tend to take things literally and “mutual” and “exclusive” seem to be antonyms but mutually exclusive is a term used a lot and it confuses the crap out of me. I’m a native English speaker also.
Does it mean that the two things CAN exist together? I feel like my brain does gymnastics trying to understand the term; I’m not a dumb person but this term just totally eludes me!
Please don’t attack me, just trying to not feel stupid.
In: 49
Skimmed the replies, didn’t see anyone dealing with the definitions so here you go. I think you’re getting hung up on “mutual.” Definition:
>experienced or done by each of two or more parties toward the other or others
So if I hate you but you don’t hate me, that’s not mutual. Hence the phrase “the feeling is mutual.”
This also works for other kinds of relationships such as categorization. Let’s look at the phrase “mutually inclusive.” All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares. The definition of rectangle is inclusive of squares but that RELATIONSHIP is not mutual in the way that squares and circles would be mutually exclusive.
Now let’s say I make a pub that requires all customers to wear a specific branded shirt at all times. Down the street is another pub with no such restriction. Any given customer of that other pub would (likely) be banned from entering mine, but all of my customers would be welcome there regardless. Exclusive but not mutual.
Important to remember that both of the terms are about relationships between things. In/exclusive is pretty easy to notice, then it’s simply mutual if that status is reciprocated between both parties.
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