As I sit in Sue Towers, trying to think of yet another cliff hanger for one of my stories, my significant other has just said goodbye as she goes off shopping.
I said ‘Bye,’ and carried on cogitating.
Then I thought about what I just called out — ‘bye.’
I wonder if someone from another place like Wherethefookarewe, for instance, perhaps here on an exchange or something and trying to get to grips with our language, would make of my brief utterance.
Would they understand what I meant; bye, by or maybe buy?
As J. Gustav White said:
Our language is funny - a fat chance and slim chance are the same thing.
There are many other examples of similar problems with our wonderful language and how something you say could easily be misunderstood.
Then I got to thinking about a thing I heard on the radio the other day. I had heard it before on one of those pub night quiz evenings. It was the one about the number of common words ending with ‘gry’.
I could only think of two off the top of my head, angry and hungry. Others struggled too — and I still can’t think of the third one. Maybe I should ask the person from Wherethefookarewe...
Now, where was I?
Oh yes, Samantha was hanging from the cliff by her fingernails and............................
Comments
I get it...
Every time I say goodbye to my husband as I'm leaving the house I wonder if it's the last time I'll ever say that, or kiss him....
Life is so fleeting...
Abby
You forgot...
bi
:)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
If the proverbial alien finds "Buy/bye/by" confusing...
...what about "Set"? Dictionary.com lists a convenient 100 definitions, 160 if you include phrases and idioms.
Then there are the cases of "Lost in translation" - Formidable means "causing fear, apprehension or dread" in English, yet in French and Spanish it translates as "tremendous, wonderful". And they both have the same Latin root...
And it doesn't take much more than a casual stroll around the internet to find numerous other examples of the daftness of our language:
Some reasons to be grateful if you grew up speaking English:
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
You cannot buy boots in Boots, You cannot buy virgins in Virgin, You cannot buy threshers in Threshers and the Superdrug chain is a great disappointment.
For more delights, view Richard Lederer's English is a Crazy Language. (Note: this version is the original - numerous extracts can be discovered on the 'net, most unattributed).
Meanwhile, trawling further through the archives discovered a discussion of the third person singular pronoun. Although you'll probably forget the contents of that if you scroll down to the load of bullocks that follow...
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
GRY
Wikipedia gives some interesting explanations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-gry
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