which death is it - Wordsmith.org

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#115162 - 11/03/03 07:51 PM which death is it
belMarduk Carpal Tunnel Registered: 09/28/00 Posts: 2888	Is it dead as a doorknob or dead as a doornail Since both a doorknob and a doornail can in no way be dead, the answer isn't obvious.
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#115163 - 11/03/03 07:57 PM Re: which death is it
Jackie Carpal Tunnel Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 11580 Loc: Louisville, Kentucky	I've never heard the -knob version, Belle. :-)
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#115164 - 11/03/03 08:17 PM Re: which death is it
wwh Carpal Tunnel Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 13858	Dear belMarduk: Dead as a doorknob is a poor copy of dead as a doornail, which is very old. Here is URL to Quinion's discussion of it: http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-dea1.htm
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#115165 - 11/03/03 08:22 PM Re: which death is it
Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/24/02 Posts: 7185 Loc: Vermont	I have heard tell of people being called doorknobs... _________________________ formerly known as etaoin...
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#115166 - 11/03/03 08:29 PM Re: which death is it
Jackie Carpal Tunnel Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 11580 Loc: Louisville, Kentucky	Oh yeah, eta--dumb as a doorknob. I'd forgotten that.
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#115167 - 11/03/03 08:31 PM Re: which death is it
belMarduk Carpal Tunnel Registered: 09/28/00 Posts: 2888	Hmm, thanks for the link Bill and the answers all. I have heard tell of people being called doorknobs... but not here And maybe you're right eta, I have heard that expression also..maybe that's why I mixed it up.
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#115168 - 11/03/03 08:41 PM dumb as a doorknob
Father Steve Carpal Tunnel Registered: 09/06/00 Posts: 2788 Loc: Seattle, Washington, USA	dumb as a doorknob There was a guy in my fraternity pledge class who we all called Stump ... because he was as dumb as a stump. One suspects this to be a localism.
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#115169 - 11/03/03 08:48 PM Re: dumb as a doorknob
belMarduk Carpal Tunnel Registered: 09/28/00 Posts: 2888	I would think so. Usually, that is the nick-name given to somebody who's missing a limb. Stumpy. It's a guy thing from what I can see.
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#115170 - 11/03/03 08:49 PM Re: dumb as a doorknob
Jackie Carpal Tunnel Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 11580 Loc: Louisville, Kentucky	There was a guy in my fraternity pledge class who we all called Stump Gee, I wonder who that could have been, S... I mean, Father Steve.
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#115171 - 11/03/03 09:42 PM Re: dumb as a doorknob
Father Steve Carpal Tunnel Registered: 09/06/00 Posts: 2788 Loc: Seattle, Washington, USA	Gee, I wonder who that could have been, S... I mean, Father Steve. Nope. It wasn't me. It was a guy from a small town in north central Washington where the high school graduated maybe ten students at a time. Stump was a wonderful character, who did our house grade point average a lot of damage. He joined the Marines without receiving his degree and we never heard from him again.
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