If you can't unlock it, is it really a lock?
this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2026
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Bro solved it using philosophy. Actually the smartest thing I’ve seen on this platform so far
/showerthoughts, no?
For me, personally.. it means able to be unlocked. If I want to say the other thing, I say "it doesn't lock."
Yes
It means it gives the illusion of being locked, until an Israeli tech company plugs into it and unlocks it for the cops.
*None-lockable
You are able to undo the locking. It's almost like reading comprehension is shit nowadays.
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I'm pretty sure one of those has a hyphen
Yes.
Now I'm trying to think of a circumstance where something can be unlocked but not relocked. Like in a game you can just make a new account and achievements are relocked.
I would say "un" implies a reversal of some state. More clear would be "not lockable", so most people would use this. Unlockable is much more likely to mean able to reverse the state of being locked.
Depends on the cawntex
Yep. Language can be funny like that. You are either modifying the adjective "lockable" with the prefix "un-", or you are modifying the verb "unlock" into an adjective by adding "-able" at the end. Words can have multiple definitions, yay!
@The_Picard_Maneuver You know we are... every rule gets a 'but maybe', 'except for when', 'never mind, nothing means what you think and everything means something AND nothing at all but also whatever you want it to mean.'
I don't think I've ever used the word "unlockable".
"The closet doors in my house don't have locks", is probably what I'd say.
I've only ever seen it used for video games where there's content that you can unlock through some achievement or feat or something.
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both, but not at the same time. words change meaning with context. thats why there often are several definitions of a single word.
Can we discern via stress?
UNlockable - can be opened.
unLOCKable - cannot be locked
Both definitions refer to the same thing, right? A locked lock is unlockable. It cannot be locked further, AND it can be unlocked.
Vice versa for the unlocked lock.
Nothing is unlockable with the right epoxy.
Or with enough epoxy.
Locks should always be able to be reversed. Locking something is restricting access, not denying it entirely. You don't weld a door shut and call it locked.
Poe didn't write a tale about Fortunato being locked downstairs.
"Sealed", "buried", "entombed", "immured" - all perfectly good terms for closing access to something with the intent of the closure being permanent.