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OP This may be a YART, but I got too many hits on the word "alarm" to figure that out. My Turkish friend and I were talking the other day about smoke detectors...
Why does a fire alarm "go off", meaning that it begins to sing? And when it stops singing, what do you use to indicate that? It doesn't "go off"; I would probably say "It stopped". Does this have something to do with the way alarms originally worked? We also say "I set off the fire alarm". (Or the burglar alarm.) Why, oh why?
Are there other situations where a "backward" verb is used like this?
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted Alarms Bean 04/30/01 11:03 AM Re: Alarms wwh 04/30/01 12:58 PM Re: Alarms Geoff 04/30/01 01:07 PM Re: Alarms Jackie 04/30/01 01:22 PM Re: Alarms Bean 04/30/01 02:29 PM Re: Alarms Anonymous 04/30/01 02:37 PM Re: Alarms rodward 04/30/01 03:08 PM Re: Alarms of troy 04/30/01 03:18 PM Re: Alarms rodward 04/30/01 03:37 PM Re: Alarms Hyla 04/30/01 03:19 PM Re: Alarms rodward 04/30/01 03:30 PM Re: Alarms wwh 04/30/01 07:38 PM Re: Alarms wow 05/01/01 07:16 PM Re: Alarms Anonymous 05/01/01 07:44 PM Re: Cop talk wow 05/01/01 08:13 PM Re: Cop talk Sparteye 05/02/01 02:25 PM Re: Cop talk Bobyoungbalt 05/02/01 03:56 PM Re: The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton Faldage 05/02/01 04:17 PM Re: Cop talk Bingley 05/03/01 06:49 AM Re: Cop talk Flatlander 05/03/01 05:19 PM Re: Cop talk Bingley 05/07/01 12:09 PM Re: Cop talk of troy 05/07/01 02:32 PM Re: Cop talk wwh 05/07/01 03:49 PM Re: Cop talk Max Quordlepleen 05/07/01 07:02 PM Re: Cop talk of troy 05/07/01 07:29 PM Re: Cop talk Max Quordlepleen 05/07/01 11:58 PM Re: Cop talk rodward 05/08/01 08:57 AM Re: Cop talk Bingley 05/08/01 10:29 AM Re: Cop talk Max Quordlepleen 05/08/01 07:54 PM Re: Cop talk Capital Kiwi 05/09/01 09:32 AM Re: Alarms AnnaStrophic 05/03/01 09:16 PM Burgling Bean 04/30/01 05:26 PM Re: Alarms wwh 04/30/01 03:34 PM Re: Alarms Anonymous 04/30/01 03:38 PM Re: Alarms Geoff 05/08/01 12:16 PM Re: Alarms wsieber 05/07/01 02:14 PM Re: Alarms Bean 05/07/01 05:42 PM Re: Alarms : Off and On wow 04/30/01 01:36 PM Re: Alarms belMarduk 04/30/01 07:10 PM
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