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People not having the same priorities as you does not equate to death. You are being rude and overly dramatic.

llm_trw 2y ago
Ah, what a delightful opportunity to delve into the nuances of the English language and its wonderfully intricate idioms! Let's embark on an enlightening exploration of why the phrase "dead in the water" is certainly not the same as simply being "dead." For anyone less familiar with the idiomatic expressions and metaphors of English, this can be a fascinating journey. To begin with, when we hear the word "dead," one's mind might instinctively leap to its most literal and unfortunate meaning—devoid of life. In biology, this means the cessation of all vital functions: no heartbeat, no brain activity, no breath. The ultimate and irreversible state that all living things, sadly, will eventually meet. It's quite final, isn't it? The end of the line. Kaput. There's no ambiguity here; dead means dead. However, the wonders of language allow us to use words in metaphorical or idiomatic expressions to convey more complex or nuanced situations or states. And that's where "dead in the water" swims into the scene. This phrase, you see, has nothing to do with the literal cessation of life. Oh, no. It's far more colorful and applicable in a variety of non-lethal scenarios. Originally, this idiom comes from the nautical world—a domain rich with metaphorical language, given the myriad challenges and adventures faced at sea. Imagine a ship, if you will, its sails billowing as it cuts through the waves. Now, picture it suddenly unable to move; the wind has died down to nothing, the sails slump, and the ship is merely adrift, going nowhere. It is, quite poetically, "dead in the water." The ship isn't literally dead, of course—it's just temporarily incapacitated, unable to proceed along its intended course until the wind decides to grace it with its presence once again. Transposed into everyday usage beyond the high seas, "dead in the water" is a vivid metaphor for projects, plans, or initiatives that have come to a halt—stymied, unable to progress, much like that becalmed ship. It's used to describe something that has little hope of success or revival in its current state. For instance, if a business venture runs out of funding or a new policy is halted by regulatory issues, they might be described as "dead in the water." Not literally deceased, but stuck, with no forward momentum. In essence, while "dead" is the cessation of life, "dead in the water" is about cessation of progress or movement—figuratively speaking, of course. The latter suggests a temporary state, a problem potentially fixable, perhaps with effort, change in strategy, or a shift in external conditions, unlike the permanence and finality of being literally dead. Isn't it simply marvelous how language lets us draw such specific shades of meaning with just a tweak of phraseology? Through this exploration, we can appreciate not only the richness of English idioms but also the joy of explaining something so deceptively simple yet profoundly different. Here we stand—or float, if you will—at the junction of literal and metaphorical, grasping the beauty of expression. And isn't that what language is all about?
- dgfitz 2y ago
  I had to go through your post history to see if you were some kind of gpt bot. That was quite impressive.
- beepbooptheory 2y ago
  Language is great and rich and all that but you forget too quickly that it's a two way street. Nothing gp said implied that they didn't know the idiom. Indeed, it seems obvious to me they were just being concise, which is perhaps a virtue of prose you could benefit from.
  - KAMSPioneer 2y ago
    As an outside observer, it seems reasonable to assume asveikau missed the figurative language. The original phrase used was "dead in the water," which as noted does not imply death; however the response alleged that death was (rudely?) what the original commenter was talking about. Seems blown out of proportion, at least partially because of missing figurative language. The above wall of text seems a long-winded, somewhat tongue-in-cheek way to say "yeah I didn't say that."
    - necovek 2y ago
      I think one should allow others to look at the entirety of the thread started by bitwize, where they claim: > ...the BSDs will really end up dying,... That wasn't very figurative, even if "dead in the water" was. For all it's worth, bitwize might have been using that figure of speech inappropriately when they really meant "dead". All this to say that even as an outside observer, one can read exactly the same things differently, so perhaps we should all get off our high horses and start riding ponies or bicycles (what? :)) — I mean, back to the discussion at hand.
    - hasmanean 2y ago
      Not everybody understands English 100%. The guy in the old west who drew his gun and said “them’s fightin’ words?” He probably didn’t enough English to understand the whole sentence but picked out a few words which meant to him “fight.”

Ah, what a delightful opportunity to delve into the nuances of the English language and its wonderfully intricate idioms! Let's embark on an enlightening exploration of why the phrase "dead in the water" is certainly not the same as simply being "dead." For anyone less familiar with the idiomatic expressions and metaphors of English, this can be a fascinating journey. To begin with, when we hear the word "dead," one's mind might instinctively leap to its most literal and unfortunate meaning—devoid of life. In biology, this means the cessation of all vital functions: no heartbeat, no brain activity, no breath. The ultimate and irreversible state that all living things, sadly, will eventually meet. It's quite final, isn't it? The end of the line. Kaput. There's no ambiguity here; dead means dead. However, the wonders of language allow us to use words in metaphorical or idiomatic expressions to convey more complex or nuanced situations or states. And that's where "dead in the water" swims into the scene. This phrase, you see, has nothing to do with the literal cessation of life. Oh, no. It's far more colorful and applicable in a variety of non-lethal scenarios. Originally, this idiom comes from the nautical world—a domain rich with metaphorical language, given the myriad challenges and adventures faced at sea. Imagine a ship, if you will, its sails billowing as it cuts through the waves. Now, picture it suddenly unable to move; the wind has died down to nothing, the sails slump, and the ship is merely adrift, going nowhere. It is, quite poetically, "dead in the water." The ship isn't literally dead, of course—it's just temporarily incapacitated, unable to proceed along its intended course until the wind decides to grace it with its presence once again. Transposed into everyday usage beyond the high seas, "dead in the water" is a vivid metaphor for projects, plans, or initiatives that have come to a halt—stymied, unable to progress, much like that becalmed ship. It's used to describe something that has little hope of success or revival in its current state. For instance, if a business venture runs out of funding or a new policy is halted by regulatory issues, they might be described as "dead in the water." Not literally deceased, but stuck, with no forward momentum. In essence, while "dead" is the cessation of life, "dead in the water" is about cessation of progress or movement—figuratively speaking, of course. The latter suggests a temporary state, a problem potentially fixable, perhaps with effort, change in strategy, or a shift in external conditions, unlike the permanence and finality of being literally dead. Isn't it simply marvelous how language lets us draw such specific shades of meaning with just a tweak of phraseology? Through this exploration, we can appreciate not only the richness of English idioms but also the joy of explaining something so deceptively simple yet profoundly different. Here we stand—or float, if you will—at the junction of literal and metaphorical, grasping the beauty of expression. And isn't that what language is all about?

dgfitz 2y ago
I had to go through your post history to see if you were some kind of gpt bot. That was quite impressive.
beepbooptheory 2y ago
Language is great and rich and all that but you forget too quickly that it's a two way street. Nothing gp said implied that they didn't know the idiom. Indeed, it seems obvious to me they were just being concise, which is perhaps a virtue of prose you could benefit from.
- KAMSPioneer 2y ago
  As an outside observer, it seems reasonable to assume asveikau missed the figurative language. The original phrase used was "dead in the water," which as noted does not imply death; however the response alleged that death was (rudely?) what the original commenter was talking about. Seems blown out of proportion, at least partially because of missing figurative language. The above wall of text seems a long-winded, somewhat tongue-in-cheek way to say "yeah I didn't say that."
  - necovek 2y ago
    I think one should allow others to look at the entirety of the thread started by bitwize, where they claim: > ...the BSDs will really end up dying,... That wasn't very figurative, even if "dead in the water" was. For all it's worth, bitwize might have been using that figure of speech inappropriately when they really meant "dead". All this to say that even as an outside observer, one can read exactly the same things differently, so perhaps we should all get off our high horses and start riding ponies or bicycles (what? :)) — I mean, back to the discussion at hand.
  - hasmanean 2y ago
    Not everybody understands English 100%. The guy in the old west who drew his gun and said “them’s fightin’ words?” He probably didn’t enough English to understand the whole sentence but picked out a few words which meant to him “fight.”