BOF Posted January 13, 2023 Moderator Share Posted January 13, 2023 Just now, mjmooney said: You mean uninterested? Disinterested means neutral, unbiased. Another one for my list (and that's before I even start on 'bias'). I do! And consider me appropriately admonished. Thank you sir 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 29 minutes ago, GarethRDR said: Yikes, in that case I've been misusing it for years as I always took it as the Yank meaning. Same, I always referred to being “nonplussed” as not being bothered about something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentVillan Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 40 minutes ago, BOF said: It could equally be a thing that pisses me off too, and reminded of it by @GarethRDR's post in the cat thread. My thing that cheers me up is the fact that the word 'nonplussed' has effectively 2 exactly opposite meanings depending on which side of the pond you're on. In the States it means basically not bothered, completely disinterested, whereas over here it means very bothered (surprised), bewildered. It amuses me that this makes it an almost useless word in the global age, as each audience completely changes the meaning of the sentence In a similar vein, I discovered recently when dealing with a US client that "out of pocket" can mean "unavailable" there. Confused the hell out of me. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted January 13, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted January 13, 2023 19 minutes ago, Seat68 said: Its a well known fact that Aircraft Engineers universally don't know the names of planes and refer to them by nicknames, big planey, small put put, zoomy zoomster. Anyone that says otherwise probably isn't an expert in this field. And they ALL forget to fit the Phalange 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted January 13, 2023 Moderator Share Posted January 13, 2023 24 minutes ago, sidcow said: And they ALL forget to fit the Phalange This one doesn't know what that means! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted January 13, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted January 13, 2023 2 minutes ago, blandy said: This one doesn't know what that means! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted January 13, 2023 Moderator Share Posted January 13, 2023 33 minutes ago, KentVillan said: In a similar vein, I discovered recently when dealing with a US client that "out of pocket" can mean "unavailable" there. Confused the hell out of me. That's so stupid it sounds like someone took the saying, didn't know what it meant and just made up their own meaning and ran with it. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentVillan Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 2 minutes ago, BOF said: That's so stupid it sounds like someone took the saying, didn't know what it meant and just made up their own meaning and ran with it. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/68729/where-did-the-unavailable-meaning-of-out-of-pocket-come-from Quote The Oxford English Dictionary says out of pocket meaning "out of reach, absent, unavailable" dates back to the US of the early 20th century: 1908 ‘O. Henry’ Buried Treasure in Ainslee's July 69/2 Just now she is out of pocket. And I shall find her as soon as I can. Kind of aligns with your hypothesis tbh, as I think the meaning we use it for is much older. https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/the-many-meanings-of-out-of-pocket/ Quote But Crittenden's usage is the oldest, albeit probably the least known to Americans. To be "out of pocket," or short of money, usually because of some transaction, first appeared in 1679, according to the OED: "He was Seven hundred pounds out of pocket." A corollary phrase, "in pocket," having enough money, showed up about 70 years later, the OED says. (Never mind the movies showing people of those olden times carrying money in pouches, not pockets … the word "pocket" itself arises from words for "pouches.") And, of course, there's another meaning to having something "in pocket": A wealthy or stealthy person might have a politician "in his pocket," meaning under his control. A primarily American meaning of "out of pocket," "to be unavailable," traces to a 1908 O. Henry story, the OED says: "Just now she is out of pocket. And I shall find her as soon as I can." The Dictionary of American Slang says it first appeared in the mid-1970s: "I'm out of pocket for a bit, but I'll get back at ya." One more: The American Slang Dictionary (yes, a different slang dictionary) defines "out of pocket" as "out from under someone's control; not manageable. The guy is wild. Completely out of pocket." More evidence that American English should be called "American" and we should have sole naming rights to our correct usage of the language. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 4 minutes ago, sidcow said: It will forever amuse me that Jim Rash (panicking passenger) has an Oscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted January 13, 2023 Moderator Share Posted January 13, 2023 Just now, KentVillan said: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/68729/where-did-the-unavailable-meaning-of-out-of-pocket-come-from Kind of aligns with your hypothesis tbh, as I think the meaning we use it for is much older. https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/the-many-meanings-of-out-of-pocket/ More evidence that American English should be called "American" and we should have sole naming rights to our correct usage of the language. Heathens. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted January 13, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted January 13, 2023 1 minute ago, GarethRDR said: It will forever amuse me that Jim Rash (panicking passenger) has an Oscar. I'm getting a strong sense of deja vu on this. Have I posted this before and you've responded on the same fashion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 Very possibly. Or are we perhaps stuck in an escapable time-loop, destined to repeat this conversation forever? That would nonplus me greatly! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Xela Posted January 13, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 13, 2023 Was bored this afternoon, so went out and got myself licensed as a taxi driver from Wolverhampton. Easy peasy. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 20 minutes ago, Xela said: Was bored this afternoon, so went out and got myself licensed as a taxi driver from Wolverhampton. Easy peasy. It notoriously easy to get a license from them so pipe down. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 39 minutes ago, Xela said: Was bored this afternoon, so went out and got myself licensed as a taxi driver from Wolverhampton. Easy peasy. Don't forget your brown envelop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 I like to buy a lot of shite drunk. It's like Christmas when the delivery calls me up. Usually, I have have a sudden recollection of what I've bought and go 'ah ok, yeah". Tonight the bloke rings me up and says you've got 3 packages. A new dish rack for the sink. A fruit bowl with a special arm to hang bananas off. 3 magnetic boards with a week/month/habit tracker thing. 6 mint shower gels. (In with the dish rack) Genuinely had no idea this time. I don't really know what to think. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted January 13, 2023 Moderator Share Posted January 13, 2023 Just been out the back to put something in the bin, on the single story roof are two partidges sat with their backs to the wall of the house, just sat there, not a care in the world. Obviously clever little buggers because they are on the lee side of the roof out of the wind and sat up against the house wall getting some of the warmth. They really look like they have not a care in the world, I'm about 3 feet away and neither of them flinched, they look quite serene even if it is cold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 5 hours ago, BOF said: Heathens. Has it got a plethora of meanings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Dogg Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 6 hours ago, Genie said: Same, I always referred to being “nonplussed” as not being bothered about something. Same. Although I'm sure I've never used the word! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 32 minutes ago, AVFC_Hitz said: I like to buy a lot of shite drunk. It's like Christmas when the delivery calls me up. Usually, I have have a sudden recollection of what I've bought and go 'ah ok, yeah". Tonight the bloke rings me up and says you've got 3 packages. A new dish rack for the sink. A fruit bowl with a special arm to hang bananas off. 3 magnetic boards with a week/month/habit tracker thing. 6 mint shower gels. (In with the dish rack) Genuinely had no idea this time. I don't really know what to think. Mint shower gel will be for ya posh ones in the bath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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