I believe he was mocking Gulliver. Because usually, any mention of the indistinguishableness of gravitation vs. acceleration locally is usually followed by Gulliver mentioning tidal forces, followed by something about a closet.
Why people change locally to suit their interests is strange though. In mathematics, you know that subject that people like to use as proof, locally has its own usage. People should instead state what they are doing accurately instead of utilizing their own definitions outside of math.