Meaning – Understanding “Innocent” in “Innocent of Any Logical Coherence”

meaningmeaning-in-contextword-meaning

This song is, in my opinion, completely innocent of any logical coherence and must be interpreted emotionally.

In this sentence, I think "innocent" could be interpreted as "not at all, entirely lacking", right?

If you look at the Longman English Dictionary, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary,
there are only meanings associated with crime.

Best Answer

You are correct, it means "entirely lacking" but carries a slight sense of humour: if it was logical it would be "guilty of making sense".

OED gives innocent of as "Free from; devoid of" with a humourous sense. The earliest recorded use in 1706 is very similar to your quotation:

The Opera .. Enrich'd with songs, but innocent of thought (J. Addison Rosamond)

A similar construction is "untroubled by":

[This politician] is as untroubled by facts as by logic (The Guardian).

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