I'm begging you to stop

Once again, it's time to unite with my fellow pedants and blog about the all-too-common misuse of a popular phrase. All right, STOP. Grammar time!*

"Begs the question." The regularity with which this particular phrase has been mangled has transformed it into a phrase that currently carries dual meanings. Alas, "begging the question" had a perfectly acceptable and useful definition before it was hijacked by people who use it to mean something along the lines of "raises the question" or "provokes one to wonder."

Here's an example of the incorrect (albeit common) usage of "begs the question":

Susanna has an uncontrollable urge to shovel large quantities of chocolate into her mouth, which begs the question: how will she ever lose ten pounds?

To "beg the question," according to the OED, is "to assume the truth of an argument or proposition to be proved, without arguing it." In other words, you beg a question when you, in the course of making a point, skip over or assume something that is otherwise disputable. It's a logical fallacy, often encountered in the realms of philosophy or reasoning. For the origin of the phrase (this helps make sense of it all), check out Wikipedia's entry on "begging the question."

Are you ready for an example of the correct usage for this phrase? I knew you would be:

The statement "This painting is rubbish because it is obviously worthless" begs the question of the painting's worth.

The otherwise disputable item in this argument is the worthlessness of the painting. The statement above simply assumes the painting is worthless without providing evidence that this "obvious fact" is really true. (Thank you for letting me totally steal this example, Paul Brians. You should change your name to Paul Brains.)

I'm sure you will all sleep better tonight knowing this important information. You can thank me later.

*Note to self: Nerdily changing the already lame lyrics of MC Hammer might not be the best way to increase readership.