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  3. One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

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  • 0xC0DEC0DE07EAC 0xC0DEC0DE07EA

    @Flisty @CarstenBoll @DamonHD @afewbugs ah! Trolleyed (or troll-eyed even for that matter) could have some logic behind it for drunk. “Want to rely on public transit to get home because we won’t be fit to walk any real distance let alone bike or drive?”

    CarstenC This user is from outside of this forum
    CarstenC This user is from outside of this forum
    Carsten
    wrote last edited by
    #16

    @c0dec0dec0de @Flisty @DamonHD @afewbugs I figured it's because you'll end up moving about like one of those shopping trolleys with a wonky wheel.

    FlicF 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

      RE: https://mstdn.social/@sodslawyer/116056688380387248

      One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

      Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF This user is from outside of this forum
      Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF This user is from outside of this forum
      Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of York
      wrote last edited by
      #17

      @afewbugs hahaha our kids used to do this as a way of ending a conversation they were bored with.

      "You're a <last noun used in the preceding sentence>."

      It made no sense whatsoever and eventually I called them out on it when I could stop laughing.

      Jules she/herA 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of York

        @afewbugs hahaha our kids used to do this as a way of ending a conversation they were bored with.

        "You're a <last noun used in the preceding sentence>."

        It made no sense whatsoever and eventually I called them out on it when I could stop laughing.

        Jules she/herA This user is from outside of this forum
        Jules she/herA This user is from outside of this forum
        Jules she/her
        wrote last edited by
        #18

        @FourT4 "Your Mom is a last noun used!"

        Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF 1 Reply Last reply
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        • CarstenC Carsten

          @Flisty @afewbugs

          I am now imagining someone sensuously feeding a lover baked beans. Thanks a lot.

          FragarachF This user is from outside of this forum
          FragarachF This user is from outside of this forum
          Fragarach
          wrote last edited by
          #19

          @CarstenBoll @Flisty @afewbugs

          Steady on old thing, you don't feed them to the object of your affection, you persuade them to bathe in beans. In public.
          Or so I'm told ...

          FlicF 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • CarstenC Carsten

            @c0dec0dec0de @Flisty @DamonHD @afewbugs I figured it's because you'll end up moving about like one of those shopping trolleys with a wonky wheel.

            FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
            FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
            Flic
            wrote last edited by
            #20

            @CarstenBoll @c0dec0dec0de @DamonHD @afewbugs yeah what the US calls trolleys we call trams. This is a shopping trolley/cart situation

            FlicF 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • FragarachF Fragarach

              @CarstenBoll @Flisty @afewbugs

              Steady on old thing, you don't feed them to the object of your affection, you persuade them to bathe in beans. In public.
              Or so I'm told ...

              FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
              FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
              Flic
              wrote last edited by
              #21

              @Fragarach @CarstenBoll @afewbugs red nose day is coming up ...

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • FlicF Flic

                @CarstenBoll @c0dec0dec0de @DamonHD @afewbugs yeah what the US calls trolleys we call trams. This is a shopping trolley/cart situation

                FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
                FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
                Flic
                wrote last edited by
                #22

                @CarstenBoll @c0dec0dec0de @DamonHD @afewbugs I once raced in a shopping trolley down a street in Brisbane when on a trip there as a student. Classic international activity apparently

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • QuixoticgeekQ Quixoticgeek

                  @cassana @afewbugs the crazy thing with this is you can also use it to describe being drunk. "Got utterly trousered yesterday" "totally gazebod"...

                  JenJ This user is from outside of this forum
                  JenJ This user is from outside of this forum
                  Jen
                  wrote last edited by
                  #23

                  @quixoticgeek @cassana @afewbugs or mix and match!

                  "You're totally tabled, you utter biro!"

                  Cassana 🍻C 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • JenJ Jen

                    @quixoticgeek @cassana @afewbugs or mix and match!

                    "You're totally tabled, you utter biro!"

                    Cassana 🍻C This user is from outside of this forum
                    Cassana 🍻C This user is from outside of this forum
                    Cassana 🍻
                    wrote last edited by
                    #24

                    @jetlagjen @quixoticgeek @afewbugs The funny thing is that it only works with a solid British accent. I used to get mistaken for Canadian when talking English for a long time, but then I moved to the UK, and all that shifted to modern RP with hints of Essex and London. And suddenly this magical world of creative vocabulary and wordplay opened up to me.

                    JenJ 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                      RE: https://mstdn.social/@sodslawyer/116056688380387248

                      One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

                      Ludwig VielfrassL This user is from outside of this forum
                      Ludwig VielfrassL This user is from outside of this forum
                      Ludwig Vielfrass
                      wrote last edited by
                      #25

                      @afewbugs also nearly every alliterative “verbing the noun” construction sounds like an euphemism for masturbation.

                      Piers CawleyP OblomovO 2 Replies Last reply
                      0
                      • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                        RE: https://mstdn.social/@sodslawyer/116056688380387248

                        One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

                        Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈C This user is from outside of this forum
                        Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈C This user is from outside of this forum
                        Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈
                        wrote last edited by
                        #26

                        @afewbugs See Australian usage of "mate" ...

                        Simon LandmineS 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                          @FourT4 "Your Mom is a last noun used!"

                          Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF This user is from outside of this forum
                          Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF This user is from outside of this forum
                          Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of York
                          wrote last edited by
                          #27

                          @afewbugs exactly this. "You're a dog brush", that sort of thing.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • QuixoticgeekQ Quixoticgeek

                            @cassana @afewbugs the crazy thing with this is you can also use it to describe being drunk. "Got utterly trousered yesterday" "totally gazebod"...

                            robR This user is from outside of this forum
                            robR This user is from outside of this forum
                            rob
                            wrote last edited by
                            #28

                            @quixoticgeek @cassana @afewbugs you got wallpapered, didn't you

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                              RE: https://mstdn.social/@sodslawyer/116056688380387248

                              One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

                              GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺E This user is from outside of this forum
                              GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺E This user is from outside of this forum
                              GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺
                              wrote last edited by
                              #29

                              @afewbugs I should say this is, in fact, a strength of any language. 🤷🏻‍♂️

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • Cassana 🍻C Cassana 🍻

                                @afewbugs New grammar module:
                                British english insultative vocative: “You (insert random creatively applicable noun).
                                Emphatic insultative vocative: “you absolute …”
                                This one is of course related and regularly combined with the common exclamatory vocative: "Oy!", e.g., "oy, you absolute disco light!"

                                Piers CawleyP This user is from outside of this forum
                                Piers CawleyP This user is from outside of this forum
                                Piers Cawley
                                wrote last edited by
                                #30

                                @cassana @afewbugs note that, without the “you”, exactly the same nouns can be used as a term of affection.

                                “Hello, gazebo!” — affectionate
                                “You table!” — insulting

                                As Pete Seeger noted, English is crazy.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • Ludwig VielfrassL Ludwig Vielfrass

                                  @afewbugs also nearly every alliterative “verbing the noun” construction sounds like an euphemism for masturbation.

                                  Piers CawleyP This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Piers CawleyP This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Piers Cawley
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #31

                                  @lerxst @afewbugs “Are you verbing the noun in there Billy? You’ll go blind if you’re not careful!”

                                  Doesn’t have to be alliterative.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • Cassana 🍻C Cassana 🍻

                                    @jetlagjen @quixoticgeek @afewbugs The funny thing is that it only works with a solid British accent. I used to get mistaken for Canadian when talking English for a long time, but then I moved to the UK, and all that shifted to modern RP with hints of Essex and London. And suddenly this magical world of creative vocabulary and wordplay opened up to me.

                                    JenJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                    JenJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                    Jen
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #32

                                    @cassana @quixoticgeek @afewbugs that's delightful! I hope you're having fun with it.

                                    Although it only works in British accents, it does work in *all* of them.

                                    "Ahm bluddy loo rawlled, eh?" (Cumbria)

                                    "Ye buzz seat!" (West Midlands)

                                    "We'll gan get bridged" (Geordie)

                                    "He is such a bookcase!" (RP)

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈C Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈

                                      @afewbugs See Australian usage of "mate" ...

                                      Simon LandmineS This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Simon LandmineS This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Simon Landmine
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #33

                                      @caity @afewbugs That's not just limited to Australia - still practiced in the UK, too ...

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • Ludwig VielfrassL Ludwig Vielfrass

                                        @afewbugs also nearly every alliterative “verbing the noun” construction sounds like an euphemism for masturbation.

                                        OblomovO This user is from outside of this forum
                                        OblomovO This user is from outside of this forum
                                        Oblomov
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #34

                                        @afewbugs @lerxst «verbing my noun» especially

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                                          RE: https://mstdn.social/@sodslawyer/116056688380387248

                                          One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

                                          Amro has beenA This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Amro has beenA This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Amro has been
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #35

                                          @afewbugs
                                          Haha, not only the English language. My mom freaked when I called my brother "een aangebrand stuk protoplasma" = a piece of burnt protoplasm in my teens.
                                          🤷‍♀️

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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