[MD] Precious ?

[Horse]

Hi Ian

To return to your original post and put it in context of later ones!

Precious is, mainly, a state of mind - it's a way that you are about 
something not something you do necessarily and it is, for the most part, 
bestowed upon you by another. Also described as the 'negative adjective'.
It seems to be something that pertains to English english (and 
Australian/Kiwi english) - it looks like our transatlantic cousins 
either didn't take it with them or have failed to import it in the meantime.
English/Aussie/Kiwi english all seem to have evolved similarly - could 
be down to the Commonwealth link maybe - as these also share an 
understanding of the way 'fair' is used (as referenced by Pirsig). There 
are probably a lot of other instances, which is why I made the comment 
"Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language"!

Here's a good link:

http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21951


Cheers

Horse

On 19/01/2012 10:27, Ian Glendinning wrote:
> Pirsig revealed his Anglophile love of the English language and the
> many uses of the word "fair" from his earliest experiences.
>
> Question - does the English use of the word "precious" translate into
> US / abroad ?
> As in one person describing another as being "precious" or "precious about X" ?
>
> I wanted to pick up on the "words as gravestones" point in the quality
> context - not sure what language to use.
> Ian

> On 21/01/2012 11:16, Ian Glendinning wrote:
>> Jan-Anders,
>> Huh ? is that a correction or a suggestion ?
>>
>> DMB, no, not sarcastic nor mocking, nor even about self-importance
>> either, about attaching importance to a particular aspect of a
>> particular thing, [in English that is not Coloradoese, anyway in the
>> "being precious about .." sense. Even as a generalized trait of an
>> individual, I wouldn't see it as needing to be sarcastic or mocking.
>> Ho hum.]
>>
>> Jo,
>> Your is is an example of why no conversation ever seems to get to
>> square one, let alone have even a chance of passing go in this place.
>>
>> #Fail - due to my being over precious about setting up a thread topic
>> (not even mentioned yet) - as only Marsha and possibly Horse
>> recognized so far.
>> Ian
>>
>> On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 10:48 AM, Jan-Anders Andersson
>> <jananderses at telia.com>  wrote:
>>> Hi
>>>
>>> Someone misread the word pretentious to be precious?
>>>
>>> "My pretentious! Oh, you stole my Picky! Gollum! Gollum!"
>>>
>>> Beast regards
>>>
>>> Jan-Anders
>>>
>>> 20 jan 2012 kl. 23.11 skrev moq_discuss-request at lists.moqtalk.org:
>>>
>>>> Horse said:
>>>>
>>>> Perhaps a good example of the quote: ?Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language.?
>>>>
>>>> Because...  Ian Glendinning wrote:
>>>> ..I was talking about the sense of someone "being precious ... about something".  [Ian's original question]  = does the English use of the word "precious" translate into US / abroad? As in one person describing another as being "precious" or "precious about X"? "Precious about X-thing" I don't recall reading or hearing here. The phrase "He/she is so precious" is occasionally used, usually by doting mothers or grandmothers to refer their young children meaning something like "precociously endearing"
>>>>
>>>> dmb says:
>>>> What you've probably encountered is a sarcastic kind of slang. It means the person is being too picky, too fussy or taking themselves too seriously. I once heard someone insult Boulder, Colorado by saying, "it's a little too precious." It can also be used in a condescending way, wherein you say "isn't that precious?" in the same way you'd say it to a three year-old child. It's a sarcastic way of mocking self-importance or some other misplacement of values.
>>>

-- 

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