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Phrases like "dead drunk" or "dead simple" use "dead" as an adverb. That usage dates back to the 15th century as is equivalent to "utterly, completely". A more
by Nadya 11y ago
Phrases like "dead drunk" or "dead simple" use "dead" as an adverb. That usage dates back to the 15th century as is equivalent to "utterly, completely". A more curious case of "What... why?" come from certain non-literal idioms.
"Raining cats and dogs", "by the skin of one's teeth", "steal someone's thunder".
Regarding the article, I thought it was going to allude to things like "implicit microaggressions". Was glad to see it was focused more on credibility and use of "uhm", "ah" and other natural stumbling blocks of speech.
The more someone pauses, to me, the more sincere they appear to me. As if they are trying to think of the best way to phrase something for their audience. Even if in reality they're frantically trying to remember what they were about to say...
- austinjp 11y agoI like the notion that we are all, to some degree, synaesthetes. Hence the colourful similes and metaphors that add spice to speech. See? Can similes be colourful? Can speech be spicy? To me this chimes with human brains being pattern seeking/matching machines. Enough meaning leaks across discrete word definitions that we can freely use phrases such as "an icy stare", "a prickly relationship" to appeal to senses that are not directly involved in stares or relationships. I have heard language theorists suggest that this appeal to multi-sensory communication may have influenced the evolution of language among early humans. Unfortunately I have no memory of who said this. Still. I enjoy the theory.