You said you loved me, or were you just being kind?

[venta]

On my desk at work, I have a calendar of Lost Language. Technically, for long and boring reasons, it's a 2011 calendar, which means I'm in danger of thinking today is Tuesday.

Every so often, the word of the day turns out to be a word I use all the time. Well, fair enough, I have a somewhat rapacious and eclectic approach to words. Gems from this week include "ruriculous", "gloppened" and "sevous" (none of which I knew).

Today's word (which is actually a phrase):

To be in a huff: to have a fit of petulance or offended dignity.

Is there any meaningful sense in which that particular bit of language is lost?

Comments

[lnr]

Definitely not lost to me: one tends to go off in a huff even more than just being in one, but still. Now I am imagining a huff as some old-fashioned sort of one-person taxi carriage, only ever called when you were in too much of a sulk to share one :)

Tell me that our true love hasn't died?

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

If it is lost, I'll leave in a huff. If that's too soon, I can leave in a minute and a huff.

(© Groucho)

Is it an American calendar?

Or am I losing my mind?

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

I wondered whether it's American, and the word (phrase, whatever) has died out there but not here.
I discovered this week that Americans don't use the word "fortnight", which surprised me. But then, we don't use "Sennight" any more, so fair enough, I guess.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Going off in a huff in Brougham?

Oh, except Wikipedia tells me that isn't pronounced "Bruffam", which spoils the effect.

It sounds like your lyric is from You Were Always On My Mind, in which case no kudo for you.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Um, it might be American. I no longer have the cover for it (it's a tear-off-each-day style job), so I can't determine the publisher.

I had wondered if it might be a US thing, but I don't think I've noticed American spelling on it. The pages I have lying about on my desk don't contain any words which (as far as I know) I'd expect to be spelled differently.

[venta.livejournal.com]

One kudo for your mislaid mind.

I was surprised to find that Americans don't really know the word "rubbish". I mean, I know they say trash, but I expected people to at least know that rubbish was a synonym, but some didn't. (From the small subset of New Englanders with whom I checked.)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

They might have done a UK-spelling (and UK-bank-holidays etc) edition without bothering to also revise for UK-appropriate vanished-word content, I suppose.

[zotz]

Or, if you're very posh, a High Dudgeon.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

(or) Are you losing your mind?

That phrase is definitely not lost, and I'm not sure it's lost to Americans either. If you can't get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. Groucho Marx, still quoted. (Often as an example of a zeugma, which strictly speaking it isn't, but never mind.)

[lnr]

Yes, I see my mind has rather misled me on that one!

[venta.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't know "zeugma", so I that can be my word of the day instead.

And I now also know (courtsey of Wikipedia) that "he hastened to put out the cat, the wine, his cigar and the lamps" is a prozeugma.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I'm not posh enough, I'll have to remain in Nether Dudgeon.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

I never covered zeugma properly in MRIWFSORD, because it's kind of dull. Syllepsis is good though.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

I didn't know zeugma was a word except there are two Turkish restaurants with the same owner on London Road and they are called Zeugma and Zeugma Iki (iki means 2). Zeugma Iki is more of a cafe that does takeaway.

[venta.livejournal.com]

MRIWFSORD

Mo's Really Informative Words For Sort-Of Rhetorical Devices?

[venta.livejournal.com]

Ah, having followed the link I now know what it stands for.

I think syllepsis is what I'd inferred zeugma to be. Do you have a zeugmatic, non-sylleptical example to hand?

[venta.livejournal.com]

I hope zeugma doesn't mean something different in Turkish, because I like the idea of someone naming restuarants after obscure rhetorical devices :)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

I'm glad Iki does mean something different in Turkish.

Ickiness and food = not good combo.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Zeugma is just where one word governs two or more parts of the sentence, a very simple eg being "I like eating lunch and picking flowers" where "like" governs both activities. Or "We climbed Great Gable and descended Kirk Fell", where "we" governs both verb clauses.

So it's only really interesting when people do clever things with it – syllepsis is the clever thing where the governing word is used in two different meanings re the two parts that it works with.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

It's sort of a pun. There is a town called Zeugma where there were beautiful mosaics, one of which is copied on the front of the restaurant: http://www.artnet.com/magazine/features/acar/acar8-29-00.asp but the word zeugma also means bond so it's a play on words for having two of them.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Oh. Yes! You're right. It's quite dull and prosaic :)

[hjalfi.livejournal.com]

For some reason I am now visualising a huff as being a close relative of the alot.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

[sammason.livejournal.com]

I'm even posher. When you've really gone beyond the pale I might be a little bit miffed. But that's bordering on the unnecessary so let's whisper Noblesse Oblige and enjoy a nice cup of tea.