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Post by Pete on May 25, 2008 11:52:42 GMT
In an earlier post I mused whether the opposite of doing something inadvertantly was doing it advertantly. But there are lots of words or possible word pairs that seem to have different results.
Opposites Do any of these opposites exist?
Inept therefore ept?
Incognito therefore cognito?
Uncouth therefore couth?
The same
We have discussed previously the fact that inflammable and flammable are the same thing. Are there any other examples of this?
Completely different
Sensible and insensible are not opposites, are they? One means not stupid, the other means unconscious. Again, there must be other interesting examples out there.
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Post by Barry on May 25, 2008 12:55:04 GMT
You need to read some P G Wodehouse, Pete - his writing is full of these ('although he was not disgruntled, he was certainly far from gruntled').
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Post by Pete on May 25, 2008 12:56:10 GMT
Thanks, Barry. Over to the Amazon website, then.
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Post by Paul Doherty on May 25, 2008 16:26:43 GMT
"She turned me down like a bedspread."
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Post by Tone on May 25, 2008 20:58:11 GMT
It's odd that "with ruth" is the opposite of "ruthless" -- but most people don't know it.
Tone
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Post by Barry on May 25, 2008 21:19:43 GMT
Indeed - it's biblical (it harks back to the story of Ruth and Naomi, the former being noted for her compassion and willingness to help out).
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Post by goofy on May 26, 2008 3:31:48 GMT
We have discussed previously the fact that inflammable and flammable are the same thing. Are there any other examples of this? ravel - unravel bone - debone thaw - unthaw radiate - irradiate all mean the same. |
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Post by Verbivore on May 26, 2008 7:44:39 GMT
peel / unpeel?
skin / unskin?
I never hear/see unpeel, but isn't that what one does when removing the peel from, say, a banana? Yet we say we peel it. Ditto skin.
To peel (skin) it ought, logically (okay - logic and English don't mix well), to be to add some peel - similarly to paint (verb), where one adds paint to an object.
Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise ...
to apply logic to English!
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Post by SusanB on May 26, 2008 8:41:58 GMT
When you peel fruit, you end up with two things: the fruit and the peel. When you paint the wall you end up with a painted wall - uniting the wall with what cam out the paint tin. (This is not an attempt to give an answer - it's probably nonsense! It's just something that came to mind when I read Verbivore's posting.)
When I unpeel an apple, I replace the skin around it because I have decided to eat it later instead (though it's brown and not very pleasant by the time I get back to it).
What really irritates me is that within is not the opposite of without; and to a lesser extent, I am annoyed by take over and overtake...
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Post by Pete on May 26, 2008 8:50:38 GMT
When you peel fruit, you end up with two things: the fruit and the peel. When you paint the wall you end up with a painted wall - uniting the wall with what cam out the paint tin. When I unpeel an apple, I replace the skin around it because I have decided to eat it later instead (though it's brown and not very pleasant by the time I get back to it). Susan, I agree with you. But inconsistency is that to peel and to skin mean to remove the peel or the skin, while to paint or, indeed, to wallpaper, mean to add paint or wallpaper to a surface. What really irritates me is that within is not the opposite of without; and to a lesser extent, I am annoyed by take over and overtake... I think that the older meaning of 'without' is the opposite of 'within'. Remember the Xmas carol which starts: "There is a green hill far away, without the city walls ..."? This is a lesser known use these days, although I do use it occasionally, especially if I am deliberately contrasting 'within' and 'without' . |
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Post by amanda on May 26, 2008 9:14:50 GMT
Remember the Xmas carol which starts: "There is a green hill far away, without the city walls Er... that there's an Easter song.  |
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Post by SusanB on May 26, 2008 9:28:44 GMT
Yes, I'm aware of the earlier connection between within and without, but it's now that I'm annoyed that they are not opposites! Scottish has the rather nice 'outwith', which would probably satisfy me if I were Scottish. Since I'm not, my use of that may sound "a trifle affected", to pick up on a previous phrase.
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Post by Trevor on May 26, 2008 9:32:54 GMT
If we're counting cross-atlantic nuances (are we?), how about Slow Down and Slow Up, which appear to mean the same thing, as do fill in and fill out (as in "fill in this form").
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Post by Pete on May 26, 2008 9:35:03 GMT
Remember the Xmas carol which starts: "There is a green hill far away, without the city walls Er... that there's an Easter song. Whoops!!  |
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Post by Pete on May 26, 2008 9:40:44 GMT
Yes, I'm aware of the earlier connection between within and without, but it's now that I'm annoyed that they are not opposites! I agree that it is an archaic (is that the right word?) use. I am happy, however, that it is not completely dead. And I have no concerns about occasionally coming over as a trifle affected, using 'without' as the opposite of 'within', for example, if it has the effect I am looking for. |
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