I'm looking for just the right word...
What adjective correctly (and tactfully) identifies clothing that has been worn and is ready to wash?
I like to use the word "fresh" for the clothes I'd put on after a shower, but "stale" implies an odor. "Old" connotes out of style or of little remaining value. "Used" can describe the freshly washed clothing you'd take to Goodwill. "Soiled" and "dirty" imply a stain (or worse, if it's underwear).
Is there 'le mot juste' to describe your dress shirt after you return from church and change clothes?
Lance ==)--------------
lavo lavare or lavere lavi lautum or lotum or lavatum, to wash, bathe; to moisten, wet; to wash away. Hence partic. lautus -a -um, washed; hence fine, elegant, sumptuous, refined; adv. laute.
I'm not sure what the gerundive of "lavare" would be, but if it were something like "?lavandum?" meaning "to be washed" it might be what you want.
"Laundry" seems to follow.
Abultable as a variant of ablution?
Around our place it always seems to be a function of time and previous actions. We refer to the "washing" both before and after the actual deed, and because it's pretty hard not to notice that the washing machine has been in action (it has a spin cycle that any rap artist would die for), the implications of "washing" are just obvious.
So "I'm going to do the washing" and "Will you fold up the washing" don't really need an extra word; context is everything!
Ask Pontius Pilate about the uses of "washing". JuanMaria, he came from your neck of the woods. How does Spanish deal with it?
[clean-e]
It’s amazing the similarities one can find on different languages. We use to say “ropa sucia” dirty clothes and really have not a milder word for it.
On TV ads they use a word that nobody uses in common conversation that is “colada” its use is identical as CK’s washing but out of TV its almost inexistent.
Another of those TV words/expressions that nobody uses is “tener agallas” to have gills(?). This expression has been used as a translation of “to have guts” since the first American films come here and until a few decades ago. Our equivalent expression refers to some organs a little below of the guts and it was not acceptable when we were “Occident spiritual reserve”.
juanmaria contributes: On TV ads they use a word that nobody uses in common conversation that is “colada” its use is identical as CK’s washing but out of TV its almost inexistent.
Is this meant to imply that a piña colada tastes like pine-scented laundry water?
a piña colada tastes like pine-scented laundry water
Faldage, really! Juanmaria is obviously referring to pineapple-scented laundry water - clearly the preferrred alternative when one is sitting on a hot tropical beach.
Our favorite tree frog points out:
pineapple-scented laundry waterYou mean they don't make them with Metaxa?
Juanmaria is obviously referring to pineapple-scented laundry water
But to be “colada” also means to be in love and, since coconut is a component of this beverage, I suspect that there’s something between “la piña y el coco”.
pineapple-scented laundry water
really, hylacolada, between this and your strange bathroom cleaning habits.....
for some reason when i read faldage's 'pine-scented' comment, it took me a minute to realize that pini is likely the spanish word for pine (i'm assuming this, though, only because of the Pini de Roma->Respighi->Italian->romance/Latin->Spanish connection).
so that leads me to the totally nonthreadical question of why on earth we call the fruit a pineapple (and evidently italians and or/spanish speakers do as well) instead of a palmapple. or a palmcone, for that matter.
palmapple?
I was not aware that the plant on which pineapples grow was a palm. So far as I know, coconuts and dates grow on palm trees, not pineapples.
"I was not aware that the plant on which pineapples grow was a palm"
My encyclopedia surprised me by saying pineapples are one of the bromeliads, which include Spanish Moss!
Lance -- Oh, be quiet and listen to all of the helpful suggestions offered to you. I like your "name"
Scribbler
In the tradition of Helen's "Name Your Sex" thread, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of salaciousness here.
That said, around our house laundry is either "clean" or "dirty". *That* said, considering the frequency (or lack thereof) that the laundry gets done with, my wife and I are often forced to resort to wearing items that have been worn and not yet rewashed. This is all to say that a common exchange between us is, "Where are my jeans?"
"They're dirty." (meaning in the clothes hamper or on the floor somewhere)
"I know, but they're not *dirty*, are they?"
I'd like to propose the categories "clean", "wearable", and "stanky".
Since this thread seems to be slowing down, perhaps I may be forgiven for a small sociological comment. I wonder how many Americans realize how powerful the effect of being deprived of free use of soap and water while in military service overseas was on our passion for clean clothes and frequent showers when we got home.
> something like "?lavandum?" meaning "to be washed" it might be what you want.
(After seeing the staid and refined repartee hereabouts, I quickly re-registered with a less conventional handle.)
"Lavandum" does seem to be an appropriate word, and it rolls off the tongue nicely, but it just doesn't sound adjectival to my parochial ears.
Lance ==)-------------
P.S. I think I'm going to like it here. L-
I'd like to propose the categories "clean", "wearable", and "stanky".
Well, here, and I believe in Britain, we would say skanky.
categories "clean", "wearable", and "stanky".
I am reminded of the old criteria we used to use to categorise the clothes. If they didn't climb into the laundry basket of their own accord they were wearable. Further into the cycle, if one wanted to reuse an item that had inadvertently been misfiled in the laundry basket, you threw it at the wall. If it stuck to the wall, you tried another item. Trousers that stood up by themselves were probably past their best, but very convenient.
Rod
if one wanted to reuse an item that had inadvertently been misfiled in the laundry basket, you threw it at the wall. If it stuck to the wall, you tried another item. Trousers that stood up by themselves were probably past their best, but very convenient.Ewww-wwww...please, I just finished eating. I guess all your friends learned to stand upwind...
Speaking of eating, and throwing things against a wall--
a friend and I went to a seafood place for lunch the other day, and I asked for some of that red shrimp cocktail sauce.
It was brought in one of those little plastic containers with lids. It had obviously been stored on its side, because half the container was empty. When I took the lid off and set the container on its bottom,
the "sauce"
stayed put--with a vertical wall at the halfway point.
I ate my fish sauceless.
If it stuck to the wall, you tried another item. Trousers that stood up by themselves were probably past their best, but very convenient.Ah, those wonderful, never-to-be-forgotten and hopefully-never-to-be-repeated students days!
I'm not sure skanky would go over very well here when refering to laundry. Skanky usually refers to someone who is not too picky about who they sleep with and who doesn`t really wash very well after having slept with a slew of people.
Hi, bel! You said:
I'm not sure skanky would go over very well here when refering to laundry. Skanky usually refers to someone who is not too picky about who they sleep with and who doesn`t really wash very well after having slept with a slew of people.It can have similar connotations here, but when used to refer to clothing it's the condition of the garments that's under discussion, not the circumstances of their removal ...
Well, I tried to keep this centered on the *clean* aspect of the question (see previous post) but around here it is obviously a losing battle.
Well, if you can't lick 'em -- join 'em!
Has anyone else noticed that the threads with "not *clean*" and "Name You Sex" titles have received a LOT of hits!
See what I mean?
Leaving, now, to ponder naughty titles for innocuous threads
Our NH seagulless has it:
Leaving, now, to ponder naughty titles for innocuous threads.Okay Wow, former editress-in-chief, you've had your five minutes. You used to do ambiguous headlines with double entendre for a living. Let's see the professional output!
you've had your five minutes. You used to do ambiguous headlines with double entendre for a living. Let's see the professional output!
It was a long while ago Cap! But : one feature on a newly formed cricket club in the Seacoast, which was having trouble finding people who could play the game,I headlined :
Finding players a sticky wicket for new cricket league.
If I recall any others I'll let you know.
One of the more famous ones was in Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover, N.H.) when a manned space capsule landed within several hundred yards of the Naval ship on retrieval duty:
Navy misses snatch by a hair
Gutter Police : don't yell at ME, I'm just quoting a real headline!
But : one feature on a newly formed cricket club in the Seacoast, which was having trouble finding people who could play the game,I headlined :
Finding players a sticky wicket for new cricket league.Careful, wow, you used the "cr.." word,
twice - expect to get harrumphed!
Fuhgeddaboutit, Max. Our wow is like unto Cæsar's wife: above reproach. (besides, all she did was quote some good headlines, not go into a lengthy dissertation on rules and teams. Or clubs. Or whatever)
Harrumphingly® yours, etc etc,
I remain,
AnnaS
PS How about them Braves??
like unto Cæsar's wife: above reproach.
Faint praise, since Cæsar's wife was not above reproach, so he divorced her.
I'm talking Platonic ideal here, Dr Bill (wasn't it obvious?
)
I'm talking Platonic ideal here, Joining in this spirit of this feast of pedantry and nitpicking, surely the concept of the "platonic ideal" would have significantly predated the concept "Cæsar's wife"?
Joining in this spirit of this feast of pedantry and nitpicking, surely the concept of the "platonic ideal" would have significantly predated the concept "Cæsar's wife"?Well, if I remember my history correctly, there was bugger-all platonic about Calpurnia ... so it either pre- or post-dated her, for sure!
Joining in this spirit of this feast of pedantry and nitpicking
That's what happens. One starts wearing dirty clothes and ends picking nits.
[reproachful e]
One of the privileges of being anastrophic is in anachronism to indulge.
I fail to see how someone's being described by an existing concept could be considered anachronistic (Harrumph®!)
One might as well say that since the Greeks invented democracy the idea of referring to any present government as being democratic was anachronistic*.
And even if Cæsar's wife predated Plato's exposition of the Platonic Ideal, does that mean that there was no Platonic Ideal of the Platonic Ideal until that point?
*There may be other reasons for not referring to any present govenment as democratic, but that's beside the point.
That's what happens. One starts wearing dirty clothes and ends picking nits.Right on, Juan Maria. Or as they say in your country, "La ropa sucia se lava en casa."
"there was bugger-all platonic about Calpurnia "
When does "platonic" become "platoonic"?/
I was surprised to see "speculative or theoretical" as a viable (not specified as being obsolete) definition of 'platonic'. while it's easy to see the connection, in light of the ideal theories, i've never heard 'platonic' used in this way, and wouldn't expect to except perhaps in specifically philosophical discussion. has anyone noted this alternative use? if so, in what situation would it be applicable?
Dr. Bill asks: When does "platonic" become "platoonic"?
She did that many? All at once? Shades of Yekaterina Bolshoya!
(And the horse they rode in on)
trousers that stood up by themselves
As to clothes that would stand up by themselves, there were some of a very different kind. When my wife was in nurse's training, at Church Home and Hospital in Baltimore ca. 1960-62, the uniform included a long white apron, only a couple inches shorter than the hem of the uniform frock (which came 3 inches above the shoes), going halfway round the body with a high bib and wide straps crossing behind, made of heavy cotton. It had to immaculately laundered and, literally, starched so stiff that it would stand up in a corner of the room. The uniform frocks (blue for students) had detachable white collars which also had to be starched so they were stiff as celluloid and which were often felt to be instruments designed for self-decapitation. Dr. Bill probably remembers uniforms of this type. The school kept these uniforms until it closed, in the 70's, but only the oldest nurses, like the teaching faculty and the director, wore the old-fashioned uniforms; graduates wore something more bearable, and nowadays, of course, hardly any nurses wear uniforms or the distinctive caps any more.
lengthy dissertation on rules and teams. Or clubs. Or whatever
[Heavy sigh emoticon] Don't you Us'ns know anything about cricket? They are NOT clubs, they are BATs.
Rod
They are NOT clubs, they are BATs.You have a bunch of people form a bat??
They are NOT clubs, they are BATs.
You have a bunch of people form a bat??
Yeah. You can hear them shouting "Me, Me. I want to be the wings this time!" and "Why not a vampire? I feel real mean tonight!" and "If we hang around upside down any longer, I shall be sick". Happens all the time over here.
Rod
Yeah. You can hear them shouting "Me, Me. I want to be the wings this time!" and "Why not a vampire? I feel real mean tonight!" and "If we hang around upside down any longer, I shall be sick". Happens all the time over here.And I thought this problem only affected cows...
And I thought this problem only affected cows...That's okay, JuanMaria. You can take your foot out of your mouth, now!
Dear CK: I am mystified that you should accuse juanmaria of having foot and mouth disease.
Well at least Foot 'n mouth disease is not fatal-- neither kind.
At least he didn't use hoof instead of foot...
Returning to Q&A, is there another English word for FMD?.
We know it in Spain as “fiebre aftosa” or “glosopeda”.
“Fiebre” is fever and we call “afta” to those blisters or boils that appear mainly on the mouth.
I will left the etymology of “glosopeda” for those who know Latin better than me.
glosopedaShiny shoes?
And I thought this problem (people trying to be bats and being sick) only affected cows
JuanMaria, you are so very nearly right. Some of these Bat forming groups couldn't decide if they wanted to be bats or cows, so tried both, and became known as Batty Cows, and thence to Mad Cows. Over most of the countryside however these people are known as "Cow Bats".
Rod
Over most of the countryside however these people are known as "Cow Bats".
The ones you shouldn't step in?
people are known as "Cow Bats".
The ones you shouldn't step in? You got it.!
One of the unforseen (and very few) benefits of FMD is that there are lots of buckets of disinfectant at convenient points round the countryside, to clean your boots if you do step on a cow bat.
Rod
And I thought this problem only affected cows... became known as Batty Cows, and thence to Mad Cows. Over most of the countryside however these people are known as "Cow Bats".The ones you shouldn't step in?You got it.!Oh man, you guys are killin' me!
Oh that why we have been Okay so far-- we don't have Cow Bats Our cows make Cow Pies.
(in other part of the country, the plural of cow is cattle, but in dairy country like NY, most herd are collections of females -- (cow -- s., female bov-- bull, s. male bov) so you get herd of cows.)
the plural of cow is cattle
Or beeves if they're eating type cows.
the plural of cow is cattle....if they're eating type cows.
Dairy cows eat too-- but are not grown (raised) for their edible meat–
Our cows make Cow Pies.
otherwise known in UK as Country Pancakes. (that is if we are still on matters scatological, or even scatterlogical)
Desperate Dan in the Beano (?Dandy) comic always ate Cow Pie (note the important loss of the "s") with a whole cow in the dish with pastry over it, but you could still see the horns. Not quite as subtle as the snake having eaten the elephant!
Rod
Ledasdottir remarks: Dairy cows eat too
And then there are those who differentiate between eating apples and other kinds (e.g., cooking apples).
plural of cow
There's the archaic and poetic plural kine
How'd it get changed to "wicked" when we were still discussing cricket?
And have cow-chip tossin' contests (think Frisbee) around there here parts. No, I've never participated. But yes, I have called pigs. [straight-man]
All this talk gives me an oblique slant to the old rhyme
"patty cake, patty cake, baker's man..."
yes, I have called pigs. [straight-man]Well, that makes sense. You probably haven't dated or been married to a gay man...
Heard tell that during the Great Depression, kids used to collect them in Southland and they were dried off in the corner of the hayshed. They were then burned for fuel. And still are in Africa. So they do have their uses ... provided you don't STEP IN THEM!
BTW where did cricket come into this thread, AnnaS?
And have cow-chip tossin' contests (think Frisbee) around there here parts
Is that true or bull****?
My mother used to work at a Boy Scout Camp, she ran the Cow-chip toss on Fridays. The key is to find a really dry one.
yes, I have called pigs.Babe, or Wilbur?
You probably haven't dated or been married to a gay man..You mean they've all been sad? I suppose I'd be too if some girl started chucking organic frisbees at me.
