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ol bofosh wrote:

ObsequiousNewt wrote:

Rhetorica wrote:"Lithe" is the traditional, unambiguous and non-euphemistic term, I'm pretty sure.

I always had the impression that was more like "slender".

Yeah, me too. Like someone that has very little gravity of their own and just floats around like a cloud.

I considered "slender," (probably more common!) but it's a lot rarer to see "lithe" used to describe anything other than a figure, whereas "buxom" isn't used for anything else at all—so they're closer to being exact antonyms.

I've only seen lithe written, and never really heard it, so I've lacked a context to show me exactly what it is. It was just an archaic word for slender. And until the other day when I looked in Wiktionary I always imagined it to be pronounced /li:T/.

Edit: and buxom I don't assosiate with the general figure, just the size of the breasts.

ol bofosh wrote:I've only seen lithe written, and never really heard it, so I've lacked a context to show me exactly what it is. It was just an archaic word for slender. And until the other day when I looked in Wiktionary I always imagined it to be pronounced /li:T/.

Edit: and buxom I don't assosiate with the general figure, just the size of the breasts.

Same for me.

I've been getting some fun replies to this elsewhere, so I'm curious to hear y'all's responses:

Wardrobe. I had to look at a bit to make sure it wasn't a designer side by side fridge and freezer combo.

It kind of reminds me of...one of those pantries that you...build yourself from pieces that are provided to you? My brother has one of those. I'm not sure how to describe it.

If it's in a bedroom it's a wardrobe, anywhere else it's a cupboard (and that was my first reaction to seeing it, too)

I would assume it's a wardrobe. It might perhaps be a full-length cupboard, but those aren't very common. It could be built-in fridges, freezers, or other household appliances. I can't think of any other possible names. Except that there are some functions that might override its form - if you keep guns or ammunition belts in it, it might be a gun locker or a magazine? If it were in the changing room at a stadium, I might call it a locker, even if it doesn't lock, just on the basis that it would be taking the role traditionally filled by a locker?

First word into my head, before I read anything you said, was cabinet. Then I thought of pantry (I typically think of pantry as a specific room/closet, but if this thing was in a kitchen and food was stored in it, I could still call it a pantry--my parents' house is like this, and their cabinetry looks fairly similar to that picture, which is probably why I thought of this so quickly).

Interestingly enough, plain ol' "cupboard" didn't occur to me until I read Kath and Sal's posts.

I would not call it a "wardrobe"; to me, that implies a piece of furniture with legs that is detached from the wall that you could move around and such. (also, "wardrobe" always makes me think of Chronicles of Narnia anyway) If it were in someone's bedroom and they stored clothes in it, I suppose I might call it a "closet".

I honestly feel like half the problem with that thing is knowing what the hell it is. Like, what is it for? Is it for storing clothes, food, papers, or what?

alynnidalar wrote:I would not call it a "wardrobe"; to me, that implies a piece of furniture with legs that is detached from the wall that you could move around and such. (also, "wardrobe" always makes me think of Chronicles of Narnia anyway) If it were in someone's bedroom and they stored clothes in it, I suppose I might call it a "closet".

We come from the same dialectal region and I'd be inclined to agree with you but there's no other word for this thing for me, even if a wardrobe should ideally be detached from the wall. The only other word is a clothes closet or something.

Salmoneus wrote:It might perhaps be a full-length cupboard, but those aren't very common.

I suppose not, but we have one at home for the mop, ironing board, and some other things I can't think of.

linguoboy wrote:I've been getting some fun replies to this elsewhere, so I'm curious to hear y'all's responses:

https://www.babbo.hu/upload/image/pictu ... -juhar.jpg

szafa

Vijay wrote:I honestly feel like half the problem with that thing is knowing what the hell it is. Like, what is it for? Is it for storing clothes, food, papers, or what?

One of the fascinating things about asking this question is that it's exposed the lack of a general term based on form. One of my native German-speaking friends (for whom this is a Schrank, qualified by contents as necessary, e.g. Kleiderschrank "wardrobe") found it odd that most people need to know what's in it or what room it's in before they can venture an answer.

I mean, I guess on some level, it's basically a box. We just wouldn't really call it that.

It's not a box! Boxes are made of paper, are less durable and give significantly worse access to the items, if you want to put them in and take them out frequently!

And boxes made of wood are not boxes, but crates, and they are only ever used in Worms.

If what I just wrote sounds weird to you, that's basically how the last few posts here sound to me.

Okay, I'm gonna have to ask you what these wooden crates in Worms are.

Well, crates? Wooden containers with some useful things in them?

* * *

Another question: how would you call this thing?



(Let's suppose I've already put all my in a wardrobe/cabinet/cupboard and I want to store food in this one.)

Pole, the wrote:Another question: howwhat would you call this thing?

A mistake.

Pole, the wrote:Well, crates? Wooden containers with some useful things in them?

I mean why specifically Worms. Or was that just a random thought to you?

Vijay wrote:

Pole, the wrote:Well, crates? Wooden containers with some useful things in them?

I mean why specifically Worms. Or was that just a random thought to you?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum

linguoboy wrote:

Vijay wrote:

Pole, the wrote:Well, crates? Wooden containers with some useful things in them?

I mean why specifically Worms. Or was that just a random thought to you?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum

Okay, now I'm even more lost.

Vijay wrote:

linguoboy wrote:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum

Okay, now I'm even more lost.

You've just been reduced to absurdum. Booyah!

NOOOOoooo

Pole, the wrote:Well, crates? Wooden containers with some useful things in them?

* * *

Another question: how would you call this thing?



(Let's suppose I've already put all my in a wardrobe/cabinet/cupboard and I want to store food in this one.)

A curio cabinet, I believe. Though if you're storing food in a curio cabinet, well...

If this were in a kindergarten instead of a living room, however, it would be called a "cubby." :p