I'm going to go home and unthaw the meatloaf.

eberntson
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I'm going to go home and unthaw the meatloaf.

Postby eberntson » Thu Feb 10, 2005 12:28 pm

I grew up in Maine where unthaw is in regular usage, but everyone makes fun of it. Any ideas? I think it is idiomatic since I suppose the correct spelling would be "un-thaw."

KatyBr
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unthaw?

Postby KatyBr » Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:01 pm

"To unthaw is to freeze," she observed drily, inspecting her fingernails.

Katy :)

Apoclima
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Postby Apoclima » Fri Feb 11, 2005 2:34 am

Yeah, but pitted olives don't have pits, aren't they really unpitted?...no wait, that's with the pits.

Very confusing!

Apoclima
'Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination.' -Max Planck

anders
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Re: I'm going to go home and unthaw the meatloaf.

Postby anders » Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:11 am

I grew up in Maine where unthaw is in regular usage, but everyone makes fun of it. Any ideas? I think it is idiomatic since I suppose the correct spelling would be "un-thaw."
Not being a native speaker of English, I still think that the hyphen is uncalled for. The confusing "un" bit may be influenced by usages like Swedish "töa upp/tina (upp)" 'thaw-up', Dutch "ontdooien" and/or German "auftauen".

It deserves to be mentioned that several prefixes are used in a confusing way. I don't remember any good examples just now, but there are those that in different words may mean repetition, or infer an opposite meaning, or just induce an intensifying notion.
Irren ist männlich

KatyBr
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now is the time to post this again

Postby KatyBr » Wed Feb 16, 2005 1:55 pm

Enjoy!
How I met my wife" by Jack Winter
Published 25 July 1994 - The New Yorker

It had been a rough day, so when I walked into the party I was very chalant,
despite my efforts to appear gruntled and consolate.

I was furling my wieldy umbrella for the coat check when I saw her standing
alone in a corner. She was a descript person, a woman in a state of total
array. Her hair was kempt, her clothing shevelled, and she moved in a
gainly way.

I wanted desperately to meet her, but I knew I'd have to make bones about
it since I was travelling cognito. Beknownst to me, the hostess, whom I
could see both hide and hair of, was very proper, so it would be skin off
my nose if anything bad happened. And even though I had only swerving
loyalty to her, my manners couldn't be peccable. Only toward and heard-of
behavior would do.

Fortunately, the embarrassment that my maculate appearance might cause was
evitable. There were two ways about it, but the chances that someone as
flappable as I would be ept enough to become persona grata or a sung hero
were slim. I was, after all, something to sneeze at, someone you could
easily hold a candle to, someone who usually aroused bridled passion.

So I decided not to risk it. But then, all at once, for some apparent
reason, she looked in my direction and smiled in a way that I could make
heads or tails of.

I was plussed. It was concerting to see that she was communicado, and it
nerved me that she was interested in a pareil like me, sight seen.
Normally, I had a domitable spirit, but, being corrigible, I felt
capacitated--as if this were something I was great shakes at--and forgot
that I had succeeded in situations like this only a told number of times.
So, after a terminable delay, I acted with mitigated gall and made my way
through the ruly crowd with strong givings.

Nevertheless, since this was all new hat to me and I had no time to prepare
a promptu speech, I was petuous. Wanting to make only called-for remarks,
I started talking about the hors d'oeuvres, trying to abuse her of the
notion that I was sipid, and perhaps even bunk a few myths about myself.

She responded well, and I was mayed that she considered me a savory
character who was up to some good. She told me who she was. "What a
perfect nomer," I said, advertently. The conversation become more and more
choate, and we spoke at length to much avail. But I was defatigable, so I
had to leave at a godly hour. I asked if she wanted to come with me. To
my delight, she was committal. We left the party together and have been
together ever since. I have given her my love, and she has requited it.
Katy

anders
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Postby anders » Fri Feb 18, 2005 7:48 am

Loved it, and saved it for future use. But shouldn't it be "her clothing hevelled" rahter than "her clothing shevelled"?
Irren ist männlich

KatyBr
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Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:28 pm

gruntled and chalant

Postby KatyBr » Fri Feb 18, 2005 10:31 am

This was on the 'old' Agora, someone had posted it there, I drag it out every so often for newer members of the Agora.

Katy

Brazilian dude
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Location: Botucatu - SP Brazil

Postby Brazilian dude » Fri Feb 18, 2005 2:44 pm

I think it is shevel(l)ed because dishevel(l)ed is pronounced with an sh sound, so that means that di, not dis, is the prefix in this word. Well, that's just my gut feeling, I have no PhD on that.

I really liked that story, but I was stumbled on choate, which in my mind I pronounced as chote, only seconds later did
I realize it was ko-ut, from inchoate.

Brazilian dude
Languages rule!

anders
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Location: Sweden

Postby anders » Fri Feb 18, 2005 7:29 pm

Seems that you're right, despite two possible pronunciations. The origin seems to be OFr deschevelé from dis + French chevel, old word for 'hair', from Latin capillus. So, the primary meaning would have been '(of hair) in disorder, ruffled' and then '(of persons) untidy, with clothes, hair &c, in disorder, unkempt'.
Irren ist männlich

Brazilian dude
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Posts: 1464
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Botucatu - SP Brazil

Postby Brazilian dude » Fri Feb 18, 2005 10:09 pm

Two possible pronunciations? I wasn't aware of that. And I wasn't aware that it came from French (and I should have guessed that). In Portuguese we have the word descabelado, which is not too different. Thanks for the etymology, Anders.

Brazilian dude
Languages rule!

anders
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Location: Sweden

Postby anders » Sat Feb 19, 2005 4:25 pm

At least the way I interpret my dictionary, it can be pronounced dishévld, with no indication that the 'sh' should be regarded as one sound. But I may be wrong.
Irren ist männlich

frenchgeek
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back to (un)thaw...

Postby frenchgeek » Sat Feb 19, 2005 5:03 pm

I grew up in Maine as well, and I always put thaw and unthaw in the same category as flammable and inflammable. :)

à+
frenchgeek

KatyBr
Wordmaster
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Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:28 pm

ravel and unravel

Postby KatyBr » Sat Feb 19, 2005 7:07 pm

we've discussed before the relation between ravel and unravel, (which oc means to knit, Ahem!)

see: here
and here I think the ravel part starts on page 2 but it's an entertaining little thread!

Katy

dex
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Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:22 pm

Re: I'm going to go home and unthaw the meatloaf.

Postby dex » Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:35 pm

I grew up in Maine where unthaw is in regular usage, but everyone makes fun of it. Any ideas? I think it is idiomatic since I suppose the correct spelling would be "un-thaw."
Hi ebertston,
I think a better word un-thaw(which i've never heard),
would be "re-freeze". :)

KatyBr
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Postby KatyBr » Fri Mar 11, 2005 11:29 pm

Welcome dex, I agree!

Katy


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