Earth v Dirt
 

Soil = Earth = Dirt

Yes or no?

Mike

--
------------------------------------------------
Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rnshipmates.co.uk

Earth v Dirt
 

"Mike" wrote:

Yes or no?

Arguing definitions is a fool's game, best played after liberal doses of
your favorite beverage.
Mine involves dark-roasted malted barley.
Your mileage may vary.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

Earth v Dirt
 

In article ,
Gary Woods writes:
|
| Arguing definitions is a fool's game, best played after liberal doses of
| your favorite beverage.
| Mine involves dark-roasted malted barley.
| Your mileage may vary.

As the editors of the OED have maintained since its inception, despite
political pressure from dogmatic academics and polemicists, the English
language is defined by its users. I am happy to argue definitions with
anyone who wants to compete with me on pedantry, but am always prepared
to admit that they are entirely context-dependent.

And, in the ultimate analysis, one can always fall back on the Humpty-
Dumpty defence.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Earth v Dirt
 

"Mike" wrote in message
...
Soil = Earth = Dirt

Yes or no?


Mike = Crap = Shit

Yes or no

P. H.

Earth v Dirt
 

"Peter Harris" peterhome@home wrote in message
...

"Mike" wrote in message
...
Soil = Earth = Dirt

Yes or no?


Mike = Crap = Shit

Yes or no

P. H.



I find that comment very misleading
C or S do have a useful gardening purpose

Earth v Dirt
 

Mike wrote:
Soil = Earth = Dirt

Yes or no?

Mike

The best definition of dirt I ever heard is 'Dirt is matter out of place'.
If you come indoors from the garden in your muddy wellies and walk
over the best carpet, then it's dirt.
If it is in the garden it's not.
It takes a thousand years to make one inch of soil.
Don't waste it on the carpet.

Earth v Dirt
 

"Mike" wrote in message
...
Soil = Earth = Dirt

Yes or no?

A Horticultural lecturer I knew of used to go ballistic if any student
made the mistake of referring to soil or earth as being dirt.

Earth v Dirt
 

Farm1 wrote:
"Mike" wrote in message
...
Soil = Earth = Dirt

Yes or no?

A Horticultural lecturer I knew of used to go ballistic if any student
made the mistake of referring to soil or earth as being dirt.

I sympathise with him, now that I speak fluent Pom; but it really is
only a matter of which version of the language one speaks. In England,
"dirt"="soil" goes back to the seventeenth century. Looking at the
examples in OED, my impression is that it was at first used this way in
distinction from the raw material in industries which used stone or
pure clay, and so extended to soil in more general use: not at all
unreasonable. "Soil" itself has in some contexts shifted meaning in the
other direction; and "earth" is a bit ambiguous.

One of the minor problems of being a young Australian is learning the
strange word "girt", and hence that the national anthem does _not_
contain the bizarre claim "our land is dirt by sea".

--
Mike.

Earth v Dirt
 

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
Farm1 wrote:

One of the minor problems of being a young Australian is learning
the
strange word "girt", and hence that the national anthem does _not_
contain the bizarre claim "our land is dirt by sea".

Part of the motto of the CWA is
"through Country women
for country womn
by country women"

One of the children who came along always thought this was
"Three country women
Four country women
Five country women"

Earth v Dirt
 

Farm1 wrote:
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
Farm1 wrote:

One of the minor problems of being a young Australian is learning
the
strange word "girt", and hence that the national anthem does _not_
contain the bizarre claim "our land is dirt by sea".

Part of the motto of the CWA is
"through Country women
for country womn
by country women"

One of the children who came along always thought this was
"Three country women
Four country women
Five country women"


"And if one country woman should accident'ly fall..." I wouldn't be at
all surprised.

--
Mike.