Has anyone else noticed that "listen" is often used as a synonym for "obey"? [View all]

[Donald Ian Rankin]

I've lost track of the number of times I've heard people saying things like "we've tried to talk to them time and again, but they just won't listen!", when what they actually mean is "but they still won't do what we want!".

Listening is a very modest demand, so presenting it as being all you're asking is a good rhetorical trick. But if it really is all you're asking, then don't be surprised if, having listened, the people you're talking to still don't change their minds. And if it isn't, why not say so outright?