Oh Hey There

re idiom syntax

tristn:

We spent a good half hour of class-time brainstorming and testing predicates and raising constructions for cat-out-of-the-bag sentences: the cat is begging/itching to be out of the bag, it is possible/probable…, etc.

yoshang:

Oh man we did that too. Although I think we started using “kicked the bucket” after a while.

Did you do “the shit hit the fan”? That’s a fun one because there’s no messy mental-state-of-cat problems, but the idiom is thinner and it’s harder to differentiate the idiomatic and literal readings.

1. The shit hit the fan. / Shit hit the fan.
2. Shit’s likely to hit the fan.
3. Shit’s gonna hit the fan.
4. Shit’s ready to hit the fan.
5. #? Shit’s waiting to hit the fan.
6. # Shit’s eager to hit the fan.
7. # Shit’s reluctant to hit the fan.

Notes:

1. anxo liked this
2. yoshang reblogged this from tristn and added:

   Nope. I do remember explicitly avoiding “give a red cent”, because who actually says that?

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6. particularapparatus reblogged this from tristn and added:

   In ur idioms / reconstitutin ur language …?

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8. tristn reblogged this from yoshang and added:

   Did you do “the shit hit...fan”? That’s...fun one because...

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12. yoshang reblogged this from tristn and added:

    think we started using “kicked

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    The “fucking destined” one is an actual English subjunctive. Boom!

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