osman@sprite.DEC (Eric, 617 273-7484, Burlington, Ma. 01803, USA) (05/13/85)
I know of some cases where something seems like it ought to be an opposite but it's not. For instance, What's the difference between LOOSENing your shoelaces and UNLOOSENING your shoelaces ? For another example, We chop trees DOWN and then we chop them UP ! Douglas Hofstadter was once asking readers to submit a particular brand of sentence (probably a self-referential one), and his request started like this: Submit a not unreasonably long sentence that . . . He went on to comment that "not unreasonably long" does NOT mean he's looking for "reasonably long" ones ! Then of course there are synonyms that sound like antonyms, such as flammable vs. inflammable. And personally, I can NEVER remember which way the words sectarian, non-secular, nonsectarian, secular mean. Not to mention the word nonplussed. /Eric
training@rtech.ARPA (Training account) (05/14/85)
> I know of some cases where something seems like it ought to be an opposite > but it's not. For instance, > > What's the difference between LOOSENing your shoelaces and > UNLOOSENING your shoelaces ? > > For another example, > > We chop trees DOWN and then we chop them UP ! My French teacher told us that when he was teaching English in France, his students just couldn't understand why "THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN" means exactly the same thing as "THE HOUSE BURNED UP." Robert Orenstein Relational Technology
krs@amdahl.UUCP (Kris Stephens) (05/15/85)
> > What's the difference between LOOSENing your shoelaces and > > UNLOOSENING your shoelaces ? I daresay "unloosening" bothers me as much as "irregardless". ("Not without regard"?? Reminds me of "I could care less".) Yes, the American Heritage Dictionary lists "unloose(n)", but I shiver whenever I hear or read it. (Brrr.) They do, however, refer to "irregardless" as "Nonstandard" and "Never to be used other than with humorous intent". > > We chop trees DOWN and then we chop them UP ! > "THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN" means exactly the same thing as > "THE HOUSE BURNED UP." Right! Flammable items are inflammable, 'though I suspect "inflammable" comes from "enflame" and should probably have been spelled "enflammable". My mother's favorite mix-up is "reckless" and "wreckless", as auditory opposites. She'd gladly be accused of wreckless driving. -- Kris Stephens (408-746-6047) {whatever}!amdahl!krs [The opinions expressed above are mine, solely, and do not ] [necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Amdahl Corp. ]
pnv@homxa.UUCP (P.VERMA) (05/18/85)
>> I know of some cases where something seems like it ought to be an opposite >> but it's not. For instance, >> >> What's the difference between LOOSENing your shoelaces and >> UNLOOSENING your shoelaces ? >> >> For another example, >> >> We chop trees DOWN and then we chop them UP ! > >My French teacher told us that when he was teaching English in France, >his students just couldn't understand why "THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN" means >exactly the same thing as "THE HOUSE BURNED UP." > >Robert Orenstein >Relational Technology > In India, the opposite of "postpone" is widely accepted to be "prepone". Even newspapers use this apparently correct word. However, I have not been able to locate it in any dictionary. Raghu Yadavalli AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, New Jersey
leban@hplabsb.UUCP (05/29/85)
From: Roy_Leban%UMich-MTS.Mailnet@MIT-MULTICS
From /The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language/:
scan v. -tr 1. To examine (a small area) closely; scrutinize.
5. To look over or leaf through hastily.
Usage: Scan (transitive verb) is applicable both to close examination
of something and to quick inspection. The context in which it appears
must make clear which of these opposing senses is intended if ambiguity
is to be prevented.
The word "bad" is also sometimes its own opposite.
Bruce Leban hplabs!lebantodds@orca.UUCP (Todd Stewart) (06/01/85)
> From: training@rtech.ARPA (Training account) > Subject: Re: words and their opposites > Date: 14 May 85 15:10:06 GMT > > For another example, > > > > We chop trees DOWN and then we chop them UP ! > My French teacher told us that when he was teaching English in France, > his students just couldn't understand why "THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN" means > exactly the same thing as "THE HOUSE BURNED UP." > Robert Orenstein > Relational Technology Doesn't the UP imply that the house was consumed by the fire, while the DOWN implies that the house was leveled (razed, given 0 height (-: ). I suspect that the distinction is similar for the tree-chopping example. Dave "ice on vax bang dps" Friday, 5.17 -- Todd Stewart (503) 685 2508 { ucbcad,decvax,hplabs,uw-beaver }!tektronix!orca!todds
art@think.ARPA (Art Medlar) (06/04/85)
This discussion is Priceless!!! But what about words that are their opposite with the letters rearranged? Three that come to mind are UNTIE --> UNITE, CASUAL --> CAUSAL, and (pushing it slightly) PRESERVATIVE --> PERVERSATIVE Art Medlar Thinking Machines Corporation Cambridge, Massachusetts (617) 876-1111
pablo@dartvax.UUCP (David Cohn) (06/05/85)
[wogga]
I remember flying on a particular, unnamed airline a few years back and
noticing that the baggage cart that loaded the airplane had had two of
the letters on its logo reversed. The side of it said:
"UNTIED AIRLINES"
Perhaps that's a bit more pertinent nowadays....
______________
David Cohn (pablo@dartvax)arnold@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Ken Arnold%CGL) (06/06/85)
In article <1542@orca.UUCP> todds@orca.UUCP (Todd Stewart) writes: >> > We chop trees DOWN and then we chop them UP ! >> My French teacher told us that when he was teaching English in France, >> his students just couldn't understand why "THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN" means >> exactly the same thing as "THE HOUSE BURNED UP." >Doesn't the UP imply that the house was consumed by the fire, while >the DOWN implies that the house was leveled (razed, given 0 height (-: >). I suspect that the distinction is similar for the tree-chopping >example. The only generally available (and even then not very generally) work on this field is "Metaphors We Live By", by G. Lakehoff and sombody (my copy is at home; I can provide more particulars on request). Unfortuantely, this form of trailing modifier (whose technical name escapes me) is not very well covered in the book; the field of language metaphor is rather recent. Todd's summary for this is basically right. Unfortunately describing how these metaphors seem to work is best done with pictures, not words, so until everybody gets a standard graphics scope on their desk to read news with.... One of the more fascinating things is how the opposites you normally associate with a word are sometimes wrong. For example the opposite of "out" is "in", is it not? We rolled the carpet out. We rolled the carpet up. Well, maybe not always... Ken Arnold
dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady) (06/06/85)
The "UNTIED AIRLINES" sign on the baggage cart was, I suspect, a
deliberate joke by an employee. Some employees are like that. For
years somebody at the Kroger near Duke has been turning off the K and
the R in the sign and leaving OGER.
Which brings up an interesting puzzle: What other famous signs can be
amusingly corrupted by selective darkening of individual letters?
--
D Gary Grady
Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC 27706
(919) 684-3695
USENET: {seismo,decvax,ihnp4,akgua,etc.}!mcnc!ecsvax!dgarydgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady) (06/08/85)
This worked better back in the days of disco, but...
In the morning we get up, and at night we get down.
Yours funkily,
--
D Gary Grady
Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC 27706
(919) 684-3695
USENET: {seismo,decvax,ihnp4,akgua,etc.}!mcnc!ecsvax!dgarygwyn@brl-tgr.ARPA (Doug Gwyn <gwyn>) (06/09/85)
> Which brings up an interesting puzzle: What other famous signs can be > amusingly corrupted by selective darkening of individual letters? After a hurricane in Pasadena, TX, a SHELL service station had lost the S.
rlr@avsdS.UUCP (Rhode L. Roberts) (06/11/85)
> Which brings up an interesting puzzle: What other famous signs can be > amusingly corrupted by selective darkening of individual letters? In the Bay Area of San Francisco Ca. along highway 101, a sign can be seen; SAN JOSE STEEL COMPANY At Christmas time, and at night when the sign is lit, selected letters have been turned off to read; N O E L
matt@oddjob.UUCP (Matt Crawford) (06/12/85)
In article <1429@ecsvax.UUCP> dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady) writes: >Which brings up an interesting puzzle: What other famous signs can be >amusingly corrupted by selective darkening of individual letters? My friend oddjob!adrian sent to the National Lampoon a photo of a sign advertising: CHRIST AS DINNER WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS You can guess what letter had been lost. _____________________________________________________ Matt University crawford@anl-mcs.arpa Crawford of Chicago ihnp4!oddjob!matt
steve@siemens.UUCP (06/12/85)
****** WARNING ****** The following might, in some bizarre set of circumstances, offend an incredibly offendable person. In a small town near where I grew up, someone would always remove the H and the n on the sign at the edge of town that was supposed to read "Welcome to Hancock".
jt@nrcvax.UUCP (Jerry Toporek) (06/23/85)
In article <1429@ecsvax.UUCP> dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady) writes: >The "UNTIED AIRLINES" sign on the baggage cart was, I suspect, a >deliberate joke by an employee. Some employees are like that. For >years somebody at the Kroger near Duke has been turning off the K and >the R in the sign and leaving OGER. > >Which brings up an interesting puzzle: What other famous signs can be >amusingly corrupted by selective darkening of individual letters? My favorite has always been at the Ramada Inn by the airport in Rochester, NY. The bar there was a notorious pick-up joint. For some reason they couldn't keep the last "A" lit, so the sign would bekon to folks on their way home on the expressway: "RAMAD INN".
wjhe@hlexa.UUCP (Bill Hery) (06/27/85)
(w)reckless driving ?
avr@CS-Mordred (Andrew V Royappa) (07/05/85)
>Which brings up an interesting puzzle: What other famous signs can be >amusingly corrupted by selective darkening of individual letters? Here in West Lafayette there's a place called the "FOOD BAR" (in big neon letters). The D was off, though leaving "FOO BAR". Andrew Royappa Purdue University CS Department {ihnp4, pur-ee, decvax, ucbvax}!purdue!avr
glen@intelca.UUCP (Glen Shires) (07/11/85)
> >Which brings up an interesting puzzle: What other famous signs can be > >amusingly corrupted by selective darkening of individual letters? > A nearby restaurant actually darkened letters on purpose: In Santa Clara, CA (at Lawrence and El Camino) there was once a place called: LUTHER'S BBQ Well, I guess Luther got bought out, because it's now simply: THE BBQ -- ^ ^ Glen Shires, Intel, Santa Clara, Ca. O O Usenet: {ucbvax!amd,pur-ee,hplabs}!intelca!glen > ARPA: "amd!intelca!glen"@BERKELEY \-/ --- stay mellow