UKC

Lost in the middle of nowhere
lost in mind
lost my book
lost in heaven
lost the plot.
any more?.

In reply to brixton climber:

You've lost me?

In reply to brixton climber:

You've lost me.

In reply to brixton climber:

I like the way this is mis-spellled AND makes no sense.

Good work.

In reply to steev:

mon cher steeeve
do you have any other world that you use to express something different but have the same spelling?
Brixton Climber.

In reply to brixton climber: the word "lost" in all your examples carries the same meaning, it is merely the situation that has changed

In reply to Ian Straton: oh and "lasy" is normally spelt with a z

In reply to brixton climber: how about: "the road winds up to the top of the hill, which is often blasted by winds blowing straight from siberia"

in that context "winds" is spelt the same but has completly different pronunciations and meanings! confusing as hell isn't it!

In reply to brixton climber:
I think you mean, 'lost in thought'? As opposed to mind. Or else 'lost your/my/his/her mind'. And 'lost in heaven' doesn't sound familiar to me.

Anyway. I'd not call it lazy, such plentiful usages of one little word, I'd call it poetic. The use of the same word in 'lost in thought', when you're more used to its everyday meaning as illustrated by 'lost in the middle of nowhere' gives little mental reverberations as to the taste of the experience.

In reply to Ian Straton:

Mon cher Staton
so what is the world who is used for the most different situation?
This is really my question.
Brixton Climber

In reply to brixton climber:

Before you disect and criticise the English language, writing it off as lazy, try learning to use it properly.

In reply to brixton climber: set

In reply to brixton climber:

I'm lost in music
I'm caught in a trap
There's no holding back
I'm lost in music

Just to confuse amtters further.

Lost in the context you are using above all emans the same thing.

At least you dont have to worry about if every thing you have lost is male or female.

In reply to brixton climber:

What is?

You lost me.

In reply to gingerkate:
A plentiful usages of one little word is lazy to me. Some of them sounde poetic i admit, but that a lasy way to create poetry
Brixton Climber

In reply to Papillon:

Mon cher Butterfly
Set?
Im loosing it.
Brixton Climber

In reply to brixton climber: The word F*ck I would think is the word most used in different situations, it often takes on a role as a verb, ad verb, adjective or noun, often in the same sentance if you listen carfully! However since it is one of the more offensive words in the english language it would probably be best if you didn't use whenever possible!

There aren't that many words that are spelt the same but have different meanings, there are far more words that sound the same but are spelt differently and have different meanings, like wear and where or we're and weir. There are also a huge number of words which mean basically the same thing but sometimes imply different subtles of meaning which is why we have a theasuarous as well as a dictionary.

nb word is not spelt with an 'l'

In reply to Chris Fryer:

Mon cher fry
What is the word used more than lost for different situation
Simple question.
Brixton Climber

In reply to brixton climber: Look in the dictionary...the word 'set' has a vey long entry, which sort of answers your question.

In reply to brixton climber:

(Sorry, that's not exactly what you wrote but I've put it into better english for you)

Trying to think ... I must admit, lost does have a heck of a lot of different usages, and whilst everyone is saying they have the same meaning, they don't really, now you point it out. 'Lost my pen' is not the same sort of thing as 'I am lost', even though it's connected. So in french you've got different words for all these usages?

In reply to gingerkate:

No, the meaning is the same, only the context has changed.

In reply to Ian Straton:

Mon cher staton
You to late there, i got the answer from gingerKate.

Mean while you pretend that the word F4k as the most use for different reasons/meaning/situation,bla,bla,bla.
How many can you cite?

In reply to gingerkate:

Yes it is, the subject of the sentance is in an uncertain location.

In reply to gingerkate:
ma chere Ginger
Exacly, but funny enougth, english seem to have far more bigger dictionary than the french.
Brixton Climber.

In reply to Craig_M:
Well I suppose so. They all mean 'the thing or person in question can no longer be orientated wrt the landscape, actual or emotional, in which it lies'... but still, I see Bressange's point.

In reply to brixton climber: I didn't pretend that word is the most used I stated that it probably was (pretend means to suggest something is other than it actually is). Posting to many examples will get the thread pulled for breaching forum rules on obsenity but you could try this sentance which makes gramatical sense (well at least it did to the person I over heard saying it!):

"you f*cking f*ckwit you totally f*cked up that f*cker!"

I don't think there is a single sentance in the english language that could not be embellished with the use of f*ck or one of it's derivatives. Which I personally think is a shame as it's over use is robbing us of a powerful lingusitic tool.

In reply to Ian Straton:
the subject of the sentance is in an uncertain location.

Mon cher Staton
So its not the same
Brixton Climber

In reply to brixton climber:
Well tell me your words for them then, because what I'm thinking is, a lot of them we probably have more than one way of saying. And if you tell me your words, I might be able to think what words are words are that we could use but don't. As they quite likely have the same roots.

In reply to gingerkate:

Context is an important part of any language and until you understand that language it can be difficult to identify. His efforts would be better directed towards a better grasp of the language than a criticism of it. Having said that, his English is far better than my French, although I am not criticising the French language.

In reply to Ian Straton: interestingly, or perhaps not, I think f*ck can be more parts of speech than any other word

verb - to f*ck
noun - a f*ck
adjective - f*cked
adverb - f*cking
participle - f*cking
pronoun - (tell that to) f*ckwit (over there)

there are probably more

In reply to brixton climber:
english seem to have far more bigger dictionary than the french.

I have a similar conversation every few days with my partner (she's French) about how stupid it is that french/english has one word where the other has several. I think french seems to be worse (mais Sylvie pense l'anglais est pire)- plenty of examples in both directions

In reply to brixton climber:

Try here:

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Set

for all the different and varied meanings of 'SET'

In reply to Craig_M:
He's not really criticising it, that'd be silly, what would be the rationale in criticising a language? What he's doing is, making us think about how our language works. I think it's really interesting that my un-locatable pen is deemed to be in the same situation as a disorientated me. When you come across similar things in other languages it makes you sit up and take notice of how your thoughts work...
sorry, I just find this sort of stuff fascinating...

In reply to Ian Straton: Homonym confusion is a good way to win an argument when all else has failed; especially when on paper.

In reply to gingerkate:

Fair enough, but the word "lasy" (sic) sounds critical in this context.

In reply to Doug:

Why is it stupid?

In reply to Craig_M:
Yeah, but that's how people post, innit? Stir stir, see what bubbles up...

In reply to Swirly:
I always think Homonyms are those lovely horses in Gulliver's Travels...

In reply to gingerkate:
Thank you,You a good embassador.I dont feel so lost Know.but i lost my pen, 2 completly different think happenned there.

In reply to Craig_M:

cher Craig
You are rigth i made it critical,because i think its lazy to use a word twice for differents action.
Brixton Climber

In reply to gingerkate:

because its often difficult to know the sense, especially if you're speaking in a second language (which for me is most of the time)

But more often amusing more than anything else

In reply to brixton climber:
Main Entry: lost
Part of Speech: adjective 1
Definition: missing
Synonyms: absent, adrift, astray, at sea, cast away, disappeared, disoriented, forfeit, forfeited, gone, gone astray, hidden, invisible, irrecoverable, irretrievable, irrevocable, kiss goodbye, lacking, minus, mislaid, misplaced, missed, obscured, off-course, off-track, strayed, unredeemed, vanished, wandering, wayward, without

Main Entry: lost
Part of Speech: adjective 2
Definition: extinct
Synonyms: abolished, annihilated, bygone, consumed, dead, demolished, destroyed, devastated, dissipated, eradicated, exterminated, forgotten, frittered away, gone, lapsed, misspent, misused, obliterated, obsolete, out-of-date, past, perished, ruined, squandered, unremembered, wasted, wiped out, wrecked

Main Entry: lost
Part of Speech: adjective 3
Definition: dreaming
Synonyms: absent, absentminded, absorbed, abstracted, bemused, bewildered, distracted, distrait, dreamy, engrossed, entranced, faraway, feeble, ignorant, inconscient, musing, perplexed, preoccupied, rapt, spellbound, taken in, taken up, unconscious, wasted

Main Entry: absent-minded
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: unaware
Synonyms: absent, absorbed, abstracted, bemused, day dreaming, distracted, distrait, dreaming, dreamy, engrossed, faraway, forgetful, goofing off, heedless, inattentive, inconscient, lost, mooning, moony, oblivious, pipe dreaming, preoccupied, remote, removed, spacey, unconscious, unheeding, unmindful, unobservant, unthinking, withdrawn, woolgathering

Main Entry: absent-minded
Part of Speech: adjective 2
Definition: out to lunch
Synonyms: absorbed, airheaded, careless, daydreaming, distracted, dreaming, dreamy, engrossed, forgetful, head in the clouds, inattentive, lost, oblivious, preoccupied, scatterbrained, spacey, unmindful, unobservant
Antonyms: alert, observant

Main Entry: absorbed
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: captivated
Synonyms: captivated, consumed, deep, engrossed, fascinated, fixed, gone, held, immersed, intent, involved, lost, preoccupied, rapt, really into, wrapped, wrapped up
Antonyms: bored, disinterested, distracted, indifferent, restless, unfocused, uninterested

Main Entry: astray
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: lost
Synonyms: adrift, afield, amiss, awry, badly, gone, lost, off, off course, roaming, straying, unfavorably, vanished, wandering, wrong
Antonyms: accurate, on course, on the mark, right on, straight

Main Entry: bewildered
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: confused
Synonyms: addled, agape, aghast, agog, appalled, astonished, astounded, awe-struck, awed, baffled, befuddled, bowled over, confused, dazed, dazzled, disconcerted, dizzy, dumbfounded, dumbstruck, flabbergasted, flipped out, floored, flustered, giddy, lost, misled, muddled, mystified, perplexed, punchy, puzzled, rattled, reeling, shocked, shook up, speechless, staggered, startled, struck speechless, stumped, stunned, stupefied, surprised, taken aback, thrown, thunderstruck, uncertain, unglued

Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)
Copyright © 2006 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

In reply to Doug:
Cher Doug
Im French and she is English,what a combination,talking of ironie.

In reply to TRNovice:
Cher Novice.
whaou i take it all off.ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS NOT LAZY.
Thanks
Brixton Climber

In reply to brixton climber:

I think it's arrogant to criticise a language that you don't fully understand.

In reply to brixton climber:
homonyms and homophones, double entendres for the literate

In reply to Doug:

I don't think there's any doubt that English has the larger vocabulary of the two languages. This is all down to the various groups of people that have invaded Britain over history. The French-derived words in English are a result of both the Norman language after 1066, and direct assimilation from French in the following centuries. Nowadays we tend to use the 'French' words for specific, sometimes technical meanings, whereas the older anglo-saxon words usually have more basic functions. Having said that, the number of words in the day-to-day vocab of the two languages are probably fairly similar.

Oh, and it should be "Sylvie pense _que_ l'anglais est pire"

In reply to jimbo g:

The OED has nearly a million entries. The Oxford University Citations Database has nearly 50 million entries, which are established English usages or candidates for inclusion as English usages, many of them gathered from foreign variants of English. We have, far and away, the largest vocabulary of any language. Happily, 97 of the 100 most commonly used English words derive directly from Old English.

In reply to brixton climber:

Hé man - t’es pété?

Et tu deviens aveugle - elle est française

Si tu veux t’amuser avec l’anglais (et embêter les glaousch), regardes
Bow, bow, bough, buff, row, row, rough, ruff, etc.

In reply to Carless: It's not amusing, it's sheer class!

In reply to brixton climber: The following is a gramatically correct sentence. It is a comparison of the use of 'had had' and 'had' by a young boy called Hadrian and a young boy called Hadley.

"Had, where Had had had 'had', had had 'had had'. 'Had had' had had the better effect on the teacher.'

OK.

In reply to rotsoscooper:

I can do more:

John, where Had had had 'had had,' had had 'had;' 'had had' had had 'had had? had!' appended to it in red ink by the teacher.

In reply to Steve Parker: Smart arse. Gold star.

In reply to brixton climber:

how about expressing the same thing with different spellings (continuing a trend started by others on this thread)

Main entry
idiot

part of speech: noun
definition: one who makes foolish decisions, lacks intelligence or appears ridiculous

synonyms: ass, clown, muppet, buffoon, fool, simpleton, numpty, cretin (offensive), moron (offensive) poltroon (archaic), dunderhead, diddipol (extremely rare)


(no thesaurus involved - these are just publishable synonyms I can think of on the spot from this internet cafe

In reply to gingerkate:


It's called metaphor. I wasn't aware that it didn't exist in French.