Full Idea
Ordinary language is reduced to logical form in two ways: reduction of the variety of idioms and grammatical constructions, and reduction of each surviving idiom to one fixed and convenient interpretation.
Gist of Idea
Reduction to logical forms first simplifies idioms and grammar, then finds a single reading of it
Source
Willard Quine (Mr Strawson on Logical Theory [1953], V)
Book Reference
Quine,Willard: 'Ways of Paradox and other essays' [Harvard 1976], p.148
A Reaction
Is there a conflict between a 'fixed' and a 'convenient' result? By 'fixed' I suppose he means it is a commitment (to not waver). What is the logical form of a sentence which is deliberately ambiguous?