# Tricks of language



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Some things we hear all the time and nod. But if we think about them, they make no sense.

A Canadian politician (and a rather naughty one) died a couple of days ago. The news mentions that his casket is being taken to the Toronto city hall rotunda, where he will lie in repose. They always seem to say that! Here's what "repose" means:

NOUN: a state of rest, sleep, or tranquility
VERB: be lying, situated, or kept in a particular place

Lie in repose? How else is a dead person supposed to lie?


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## mstar (Aug 14, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Lie in repose? How else is a dead person supposed to lie?


I don't know... Maybe sitting upright? What other poses do they tend to assume?


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

When Kurt Cobain died in 1994 I heard someone say 'Life's too short for suicide...'. Still not sure if I've totally got my head around that one.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Some things we hear all the time and nod. But if we think about them, they make no sense.
> 
> A Canadian politician (and a rather naughty one) died a couple of days ago. The news mentions that his casket is being taken to the Toronto city hall rotunda, where he will lie in repose. They always seem to say that! Here's what "repose" means:
> 
> ...


I think 'in repose' is a technical term here - like lying 'in state' - meaning that the dead person will 'rest there' for a while so that people can pay their respects. If you just said 'taken to the Toronto City Hall Rotunda, where he will lie' it would sound a bit fatuous...

Looks like a fab thread, though - I love picking words to pieces.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

elgars ghost said:


> When Kurt Cobain died in 1994 I heard someone say 'Life's too short for suicide...'. Still not sure if I've totally got my head around that one.


Meaning, it's only a matter of a few years, so why not wait till Death gets round to bumping you off - he'll probably make a neater job of it?

PS Will there be some examples *not* connected with death? I'm beginning to feel nervous...


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

"Can I have a minute of your time?"

It's a normal expression, and a polite one, but if you think about it...it's weird. I don't "own" any amount of time, how can I literally "give" someone time? And i don't mean the figurative, instead of doing something else, I'm "spending time" talking to this person, I mean, "Sure, here's all 60 seconds for you"

Ok this sounds dumb, but I recently read an article arguing the different ways different cultures perceive time, and I found it interesting. The author talked about the American sense of time, driven by a sense of "time = money" and how rigid schedules are and stuff


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Cosmos said:


> "Can I have a minute of your time?"
> 
> It's a normal expression, and a polite one, but if you think about it...it's weird. I don't "own" any amount of time, how can I literally "give" someone time? And i don't mean the figurative, instead of doing something else, I'm "spending time" talking to this person, I mean, "Sure, here's all 60 seconds for you"
> 
> Ok this sounds dumb, but I recently read an article arguing the different ways different cultures perceive time, and I found it interesting. The author talked about the American sense of time, driven by a sense of "time = money" and how rigid schedules are and stuff


But I've also heard "Can I borrow a minute of your time?", which seems even sillier.

"Sure, return it tomorrow."


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