It's Common To Use "Not Uncommon"

[Fate]

Really, though, I don't get it. Why use not uncommon when one could just simply use the word common? I mean, they practically mean the same thing--to me, anyway. Is there some degree of commonality between common and uncommon? To me, it just seems that something is either common or it's not, in which case it'd be uncommon.

For example, "It's not uncommon of find a three-leaf clover." (x3)
In my mind, that's not any different from, "It's common to find a three-leaf clover."
Common is the opposite of uncommon, so not uncommon would basically be common, wouldn't it?

Also, not uncommon would be like a double negative, right? But I know there are ways to use them effectively to emphasize something, which I suppose is the point in this case.

Again, I don't know if there are certain degrees of commonality, since there are those likely, not likely, impossible, certain things, but I was always curious about this. Anyone with good knowledge on this? x3

[loaf]

One sounds better then the other in a sentence.

[Che]

Because you're supposed to think "oh that's uncommon", but then you read "actually, it's not uncommon...".

You can say it whichever way you want, but basically what Loaf said. It's a style of writing and you could choose to use whichever way you want according to the context to get your point across in a certain way.

[Andromeda]

I generally don't hear it used alone. It is usually when the frequency of something comes into question. It usually starts out saying that it is uncommon, which generally is considering occurring more often than if you had said rare or rarely. And then someone may contest the uncommon quality and it comes into the well it is not common, but its not uncommon either. So it ends up holding some middle ground between common and uncommon. We have quite a few words in the English language to try to quantify something that is not an exact number, because we are usually trying to inform without a certain degree of accuracy the occurrence of something. It is often important to us to know how likely something is to happen whether good or bad.

Then again the English language is pretty screwed and we have exceptions to every single rule in our language. But hey language is a thing of fluidity.

[Treize]

I say both, I guess. I usually say "it's not uncommon" when I'm rebutting something that someone else said. I'll say "it's common" if I'm just making a statement. I suppose I say "it's not uncommon" more often because when I say something like this, it is more often when I'm going against what someone else said. It provides more emphasis.

I probably say "it's not common" more than I say "it's uncommon," so that might make up for it?

[Sinister]

What you are speaking of is called linguistic drift.

From Uncommon to Not Uncommon is the next natural step. The simple person progresses from expectations of finding something to be uncommon, only to find that it isn't. The sentence would've been used to show that the object was expected to be uncommon only to find that such wasn't the case. Then through drift and overuse the meaning changed to a 'common' phrase of speech.

Such things happen... Just look at the supposed word "Irregardless."

-Sin

[Tiffany]

What you are speaking of is called linguistic drift.

From Uncommon to Not Uncommon is the next natural step. The simple person progresses from expectations of finding something to be uncommon, only to find that it isn't. The sentence would've been used to show that the object was expected to be uncommon only to find that such wasn't the case. Then through drift and overuse the meaning changed to a 'common' phrase of speech.

Such things happen... Just look at the supposed word "Irregardless."

-Sin

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking of while I was reading the OP. "Irregardless" popped into my mind.

The origin of irregardless is not known for certain, but the speculation among references is that it may be a blend, or portmanteau word, of irrespective and regardless, both of which are commonly accepted standard English words. By blending these words, an illogical word is created.

Another possibility is that when people say "irregardless" they are following the pattern of words like "irrelevant", "irrational" and "irregular". "Since the prefix ir- means 'not' (as it does with irrespective), and the suffix -less means 'without,' irregardless is a double negative."[1] According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Irregardless was first acknowledged in 1912 by the Wentworth American Dialect Dictionary as originating from western Indiana.

[chikala95]

Common-not uncommon
significant-not insignificant
responsible- not irresponsible

You could reverse it.

Not common-common
not significant-insignificant
not responsible-irresponsible.

There are so many words in the English language that you can choose from that are like common, not uncommon. Depending on what people are speaking about, they use a specific one. They use not uncommon to emphasise what they are saying, but if it isn't a vital/important part, they just use the simple common. That's what I think, anyway.

[Sasquatch]

"Not uncommon" is used (at least, by me) when something is neither common nor uncommon. For example ... it's not uncommon for me to eat sushi. I don't do it all the time, so it's not common. But I do it more often than rarely, so it's not uncommon.

Like ... it's not uncommon to see snow in Tennessee. It's common to see snow in Wisconsin, and uncommon to see snow in Florida, but it's neither common nor uncommon to see snow in Tennessee.

[RagnaToad]

'Not uncommon' is in a way an example of a litotes. Instead of using a word, you use a negation of its opposite. It is a deliberate understatement to emphasise something.

A litotes can also be a tool to add a slightly humorous tone to an utterance. For example:

"Resting my face between her boobs was not uncomfortable."

EDIT: Sasquatch is right too.

It's all semantics.

[Pete]

"Not uncommon" is used (at least, by me) when something is neither common nor uncommon. For example ... it's not uncommon for me to eat sushi. I don't do it all the time, so it's not common. But I do it more often than rarely, so it's not uncommon.

Like ... it's not uncommon to see snow in Tennessee. It's common to see snow in Wisconsin, and uncommon to see snow in Florida, but it's neither common nor uncommon to see snow in Tennessee.

Bingo.

common- happens often
uncommon- rarely ever happens
not uncommon- more like a "might"

[Block]

Really, though, I don't get it. Why use not uncommon when one could just simply use the word common? I mean, they practically mean the same thing--to me, anyway. Is there some degree of commonality between common and uncommon? To me, it just seems that something is either common or it's not, in which case it'd be uncommon.

For example, "It's not uncommon of find a three-leaf clover." (x3)
In my mind, that's not any different from, "It's common to find a three-leaf clover."
Common is the opposite of uncommon, so not uncommon would basically be common, wouldn't it?

Also, not uncommon would be like a double negative, right? But I know there are ways to use them effectively to emphasize something, which I suppose is the point in this case.

Again, I don't know if there are certain degrees of commonality, since there are those likely, not likely, impossible, certain things, but I was always curious about this. Anyone with good knowledge on this? x3

I don't think there's a true answer to this conundrum, and it's not uncommon to run into that problem a lot of in life.