Forum: Author Hangout

So your suggestion is ... don't bother? When you write "He was mad" it can be either meaning? Pissed off, or nuts?

I always thought English was an exceptionally descriptive language, with virtually unlimited shades of meaning. So we can bag all that and roll it all up into a few lazy words.

Forgive me. I'm still rather pissed ... err, 'mad' ... that we've dropped a plain-spoken word, 'use,' in favor of the mealy-mounted faux-educated word 'utilize.'

While reading that I was struck by what seems a little odd.

When someone is pissed, the anger level doesn't necessarily require definition, but when they are pissed off then - to my mind - it requires a clarification of the degree which could be anywhere from mildly to extremely.

Is it just me, or do others have the same reaction to the useage requiring a clarification of the level reached?

When someone is pissed, the anger level doesn't necessarily require definition, but when they are pissed off then - to my mind - it requires a clarification of the degree which could be anywhere from mildly to extremely.

My feeling is that "pissed off" is not so strong as "mad" which itself pales before "furious".

a little nuts (see below); the squirrel might get hungry
pissed off; the china is safe but delicate ears might get upset
mad; china could get smashed
furious; someone will end up in hospital - or the mortuary

tempestuous is about parallel to furious
Wheezer ‎06‎/‎11‎/‎2015‎ ‎18‎:‎14‎:‎00
Lots of words in English have multiple meanings, depending on context. It's no big deal, although I imagine it can drive ESL speakers a little nuts.

Yes; English has about 800,000 words including technical ones; French 500,000 including technical European Spanish 350,000 including technical. Still English has almost 100 different meanings for "stock" and there is another word (forgotten) with even more. Ergo Spanish is relatively easy.
All three are tonal but Castillian Spanish seems less so.

Even easier, my Spanish pocket dictionary has 322 pages but my direct equivalent Lommerordbok has only 164 with the print nearly double size. Which language needs more words?

Don't forget Hindu as well. A lot of new words entered the language from there which are now used as specific terms, like Thug, Dinghy and Pyjamas.

I am trying very, very, hard to forget the use of words like "dis".

dis my ho, bro?

That was cruel in the extreme.
I will now go away and sulk.

I am trying very, very, hard to forget the use of words like "dis".

To me "Dis" & "Disrespected" are non words. They don't make sense.

Now that we've kibbitzed this, let's stick it in the kraal and see what we can teach a robot about a tsunami.

Yiddish (Kibitz), Dutch (eventually, through Afrikaans) (Kraal), Czech (Robot), and Japanese (Tsunami)

That's because English is an illegitimate child of several parent languages, some of which are from Latin but warped via other countries.

Even place names in England can be affected; in 1087 the language of England was French and at that date (and now) the main part of the name of this village is in French and describes the place as a field of ******

My son-in-law, recently posted to the grim reaches of Yorkshire brought a Yorkshire - English dictionary. One third of the entries were mispronounced English (like "dis my ..., bro"?) but on the four pages I looked at every single one of the other entries had identical meanings (and mostly identical spellings) in my Norwegian dictionary. Amazing how that has stayed over a millenium

I don't know how true this is in actuality, but one of my clients (a Yorkshireman) once told me that during the war he was captured and subsequently escaped. When making his way through Denmark he was able to understand a lot of the spoken language, but not much of the written, due to the accent/dialect being so similar.

I don't know how true this is in actuality, but one of my clients (a Yorkshireman) once told me that during the war he was captured and subsequently escaped. When making his way through Denmark he was able to understand a lot of the spoken language, but not much of the written, due to the accent/dialect being so similar

I can well believe it.

Go to the City of York and the main drag is Kirkgate: kirke = church, gate = street. Not far away are the Fells = Fjell. Vatn is close to water but in the context I know means a small lake.

My first job was in North Norway where they speak in a slow sing song manner. The accent was easy to copy and the grammer easy for a Brit. I went to my best man's wedding on the Denmark - German border and when they spoke slowly we could converse very easily (the beer helped!). My wife had a right rollicking go at me because of my accent from, I'm told by a Norwegian Henry Higgins, Bo in Lofoten(that is another story)

tempestuous is about parallel to furious

In my mind "Tempestuous" means volatility subject to emotional outbursts. Furious would be an instance of an emotional outburst.

English has about 800,000 words

A few months ago one of the organizations that keeps track of such things (OED?) announced that English had passed one million 10^9 words.

A few months ago one of the organizations that keeps track of such things (OED?) announced that English had passed one million 10^9 words.

I wonder if that was European English or the worldwide variations as well. I'm sure the US has added not a few from immigrants, Native Americans, film writers etc

Actually, to me "pissed off" is very angry, and usually about someone or some event. "Pissed" is just angry.

To me "Pissed off" generally means not happy or angry. Very, extremely, indescribably pissed off= Very, extremely, indescribably angry.
But if someone just says "I'm pissed" or "He was really pissed" it means they're drunk, or really drunk. "Totally pissed" = falling down, pants wetting, passed out, drunk.
For "pissed" to indicate anger, it has to be "pissed off".

Pissed, or hopping angry?

What's his being drunk got to do with it?

Or "I got totally piss-faced last night."

Yet the version I know from the UK is shit faced. I hadn't heard of piss-faced before.
Looks like the US drunks get off easier than the UK ones.

Looks like the US drunks get off easier than the UK ones.

That depends on who used the toilet last and for what when Mr. Hangover comes knocking.