Talk:second opinion

RFD discussion: December 2023

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second opinion

I know it's a common collocation and there's even a Wikipedia article about it, but it still sounds completely SOP. Compare third opinion, opinion of a second X. PUC – 11:22, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

I don't see any reason to delete this. Firstly, amongst the meanings for second, it is an ordinal number; as for opinion, Oxford describes this as a "statement of advice by an expert on a professional matter: if in doubt, get a second opinion". Besides the fact that a second opinion may agree with the first one, we don't seem to cover that definition. So, keep. DonnanZ (talk) 16:57, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

"amongst the meanings for second, it is an ordinal number": yes, but what's your point? PUC – 17:36, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

My main point, which you obviously missed, is concerning the definition of opinion. DonnanZ (talk) 22:06, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

I think what he's saying is that a "second opinion" may in fact be identical to a first opinion, which would seem (according to the definition of opinion) to make it a single opinion. Yet we would still call it a "second opinion" if it came from a second person. Andrew Sheedy (talk) 00:01, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Well. that's an interesting (and apt) analysis, but what I was really driving at is the Oxford def: "statement of advice by an expert on a professional matter". Do our definitions cover that? I don't think so. DonnanZ (talk) 00:17, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Keep per WT:FRIED & possibly WT:PRIOR. It's also in MW & Collins, and seems to be listed in the OED (I unfortunately do not have full access). AG202 (talk) 22:37, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

Keep. The term second opinion means “the opinion of another expert”, which cannot be readily inferred from the parts of the term. In the context of healthcare, the diagnosis or treatment plan of the first professional consulted appears not to be referred to as their “opinion”, even when a “second opinion” is being sought.  --Lambiam 18:45, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Keep per Lambiam. 2804:1B0:1901:5FD7:6060:15B5:AFC5:BD81 13:16, 5 December 2023 (UTC)

Keep per AG202 and Lambiam. lattermint (talk) 20:04, 5 December 2023 (UTC)

Keep: I found this online: "In my case, I got two second opinions, one from a surgeon and one from an oncologist." This person would not have said "I got a second opinion from a surgeon and a third from an oncologist." Equinox ◑ 20:07, 5 December 2023 (UTC)

Kept by a landslide. PUC – 17:33, 6 December 2023 (UTC)