[anupmathur]

Thanks, Nikhil.
My conclusion is that it is a word that is best avoided.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Thanks, Nikhil.
My conclusion is that it is a word that is best avoided.

Your conclusion warrants fulsome praise

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by nikhilb2008

Your conclusion warrants fulsome praise

That is the problem. I don't know which way you mean it!!

[Nikhilb2008]

lol.... Here, it is used in the positive sense.

I did a search just now for "fulsome" and according to M-W,

4: excessively complimentary or flattering : effusive <an admiration whose extent I did not express, lest I be thought fulsome — A. J. Liebling>

fulsome - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

usage The senses shown above are the chief living senses of fulsome. Sense 2, which was a generalized term of disparagement in the late 17th century, is the least common of these. Fulsome became a point of dispute when sense 1, thought to be obsolete in the 19th century, began to be revived in the 20th. The dispute was exacerbated by the fact that the large dictionaries of the first half of the century missed the beginnings of the revival. Sense 1 has not only been revived but has spread in its application and continues to do so. The chief danger for the user of fulsome is ambiguity. Unless the context is made very clear, the reader or hearer cannot be sure whether such an expression as “fulsome praise” is meant in sense 1b or in sense 4.

[Sam Kapasi]

For example:

It is a known fact that the Yeti likes fulsome women.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I was going to agree that the word is old-fashioned and best avoided, but Sam has caught me out.

I now have to upgradualize my position on this! Gently and slowly

[Sam Kapasi]

Ah yes, a fulsome woman can be more nourishing than a wholesome meal.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I now have to upgradualize my position on this!

Underfortunately this is the overstated truth.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Isn't known fact tautological*?

Just it is a fact would do, or it is well known that might express your sense better?


*Maybe not, just to argue with myself: I guess facts may be secret!

[Thad E Ginathom]

There are lots of slightly odd (to the British English eye) phrases used by the newspapers, but here is one frequently-used journalistic analogy that is just plain wrong.

In the Eye of the Storm

A storm is a circular weather system, with the winds blowing around it. As it passes overhead, the wind direction changes accordingly. In the very centre there is no wind.

The correct use of this phrase as an analogy is to indicate a place of peace, or an unperturbed person, in the midst of turmoil.

[ajitkommini]

Originally Posted by akshat

What was the sentence for which "until and unless" was used ??

Hmm... don't remember the exact sentence now, but it was something like: "Until and unless x does <something> we cannot do <something_else>". The thing in question (that x was supposed to do) was not time-bound, so "until" really didnt make sense there.


I'm not sure there's any sentence where "until and unless" makes sense. Maybe it's meant to add emphasis or something?

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The correct use of this phrase as an analogy is to indicate a place of peace, or an unperturbed person, in the midst of turmoil.

This sounds logical, but I'm not sure it is used in this sense, Sir!

the eye of the storm
the center of a disagreement. The man in the eye of the storm is accused of selling secrets to the enemy.
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of the eye of the storm (= the middle of a mass of severe weather)
See also: eye, storm
Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms © Cambridge University Press 2003

It might help to bear in mind that getting INTO and OUT OF the eye of a storm is a highly life-threatening proposition, even if the eye itself is a zone of tranquility!

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

In the Eye of the Storm
The correct use of this phrase as an analogy is to indicate a place of peace, or an unperturbed person, in the midst of turmoil.

Originally Posted by anupmathur

This sounds logical, but I'm not sure it is used in this sense, Sir!



It might help to bear in mind that getting INTO and OUT OF the eye of a storm is a highly life-threatening proposition, even if the eye itself is a zone of tranquility!

I concur. However in my research over the years I have found that phrase to be used both ways.

As the calm centre (sometimes perpetrator) of the storm around you.

Alternatively- Sometimes it can be used to denote a presence in the thickest of things, in the extreme centre of a intense situation. Which is quite opposite to the peaceful centre.

I guess this depends on usage and interpretation.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms ---

Maybe that's the problem.

Brits use this saying correctly !

You're quite right about the getting in and out.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

It is a known fact that the Yeti likes fulsome women.

If what the Yeti says is to be believed then what about buxom women? Are these the same as fulsome ones? Then why such a difference in the way each is spelt? And why would any generic Yeti prefer fulsome to buxom? Are the fulsome ones easier to eat? Does the Yeti have them for breakfast or for dinner? Or are Yetis like lions, who eat when food is available and do not enjoy the luxury of four meals a day?
Oh I'm so full of questions!

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

If what the Yeti says is to be believed then what about buxom women? Are these the same as fulsome ones? Then why such a difference in the way each is spelt? And why would any generic Yeti prefer fulsome to buxom? Are the fulsome ones easier to eat? Does the Yeti have them for breakfast or for dinner? Or are Yetis like lions, who eat when food is available and do not enjoy the luxury of four meals a day?
Oh I'm so full of questions!

Oh yes, you're so full of questions, lol.

A beautiful fulsome woman is one of even abundance. One tends to use buxom as a more top-heavy description.
No, not a lady of a deep mind, but more of a fulsome chest.

While a fulsome lady will probably be buxom, a buxom woman may be slim (wouldn't the boys love that? lol)

The Yeti does not eat women (well, not for a meal anyways)
He merely chooses against anorexic feminity, preferring Rubenesque beauty instead.