Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 6 of 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
#100021 04/30/03 12:08 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
"Yousns"
dxb!!

Well, I never heard dish soap before. I call it dishwashing liquid, or by a brand name. But my English is kind of weird.


#100022 05/01/03 01:09 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Well, I knew what Zed meant. But in many bathrooms, er, washrooms, here, there is bar (or some other, usually decorative, shape) soap that actually IS in a dish--except for the folks who just let it reside on the edge of the sink--and we DON'T call that dish soap! I've gotten to where I say dishwashing liquid, as a way to keep the meaning separate from dishwasher detergent. From what I understand, woe betide the poor schmuck who puts dishwashing liquid in their automatic dishwasher. (Man, I hate my use of the word their, there! But couldn't bring myself to put 'his'.)


#100023 05/01/03 04:38 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
In reply to:

From what I understand, woe betide the poor schmuck who puts dishwashing liquid in their automatic dishwasher. (Man, I hate my use of the word their, there! But couldn't bring myself to put 'his'.)


Jackie, if you can't bring yourself to use 'his' and don't like 'their', what's wrong with 'in an automatic dishwasher'? Presumably the unfortunate results (whatever they may be) will occur whether or not the shmuck in question owns the dishwasher.

Do you use 'woe betide' to mean any disastrous result? I've always heard it used to threaten swift punishment.

Bingley



Bingley
#100024 05/01/03 12:40 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
I didn't use 'an', because a.) I didn't think to, because b.) it doesn't convey the meaning I wanted; it is not very likely that someone using a dishwasher in a home does not also own the dishwasher; and the disaster in a home would be emotionally worse than in, say, a restaurant.
Well, I never thought of or knew of woe betide meaning swift punishment, but I would consider having to clean up the resultant mess a punishment for being so sophomoric (hi, anchita) as to use dishwashing liquid in a dishwasher.


#100025 05/02/03 02:53 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Don't you ever help your relatives with the washing-up? I've loaded my parents' dishwasher on many an occasion.

Bingley


Bingley
#100026 05/02/03 12:48 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Actually, I load someone else's dishwasher on an average of once a year or less. Note that I didn't say "never"; I said "not very likely". My point was that I wanted to emphasize that the disaster would seem worse if: a.) there was only one person available to do the clean-up, and b.) if that person had messed up their own floor, countertop, etc. As opposed to, say, my having loaded and started my sister-in-law's dishwasher and waltzed home, only to hear later that I'd put dishwashing liquid in, and SHE had to clean up the mess. Therefore, had I put, "AN automatic dishwasher", my point would not have gotten across in the way I wanted it to. Sheesh!


#100027 05/03/03 05:06 AM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Akshully™,I've quite often seen the expression "stacked the dishwasher" in USn maunderings ... any of our tame USns use that one?


#100028 05/03/03 12:14 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
tame USns

Tame USns!? Whereat??


#100029 05/03/03 12:50 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Oh, sorry. I meant housetrained. Anybody?


#100030 05/03/03 08:39 PM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 104
R
member
Offline
member
R
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 104
Seeing Anna's mention of saying the actual brand name when referring to a household product (I do too, btw) reminded me of a book I happened across many years ago. It listed all of the brand names that have now become generic terms for products we use often. It was a very slim volume, and I cannot remember a single item listed, other than the one in the title: something about Aspirin.
It seems Aspirin was once an actual brand name, that we now use
generically.

I would like to see that little book again.....


Page 6 of 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 397 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5