non sequitur

[RCP]

Can somebody tell me what this means please. Have tried a dictionary.

[Quizmonster]

It's Latin for 'it does not follow' and is used to refer to an illogical conclusion. We often see football fans involved in violence...however, one cannot say "football fans are violent"...that would be a non sequitur.

[geofbob]

Strictly speaking, as Quizmonster says, a "non sequitur" is a conclusion that does not follow from the preceding argument; but the expression is also often used in a more general sense for something that doesn't follow from what went before. For example, suppose two people are discussing the weather, and one mentions how hot it gets in Spain. A third person hears the reference to Spain, and says that bullfighting should be banned (ie nothing to do with the weather) - that also can be called a non sequitur.