floor 'ground'

[Jonathan Lighter]

Yeah, but the "deck" in the Navy and Marines means "the ground" too. Also
"the floor."

And in flying, it's as close to the ground as you'd care to go.

JL

On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 11:52 AM, Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: floor 'ground'
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> There is a "forest floor", so a tree in the forest can fall on the
> floor--with or without sound. And, of course, one falls on the "deck"
> aboard a ship, not the floor or ground.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_floor
>
> Eric
>
>
>
> On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 11:08 AM, Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: floor 'ground'
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > =0A=
> > The current war against ISIS is boots on the floor?=0A=
> > =0A=
> > --Charlie=0A=
> > =0A=
> > ________________________________________=0A=
> > From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> Joel
> > S=
> > . Berson <Berson at ATT.NET>=0A=
> > Sent: Friday, September 26, 2014 11:05 AM=0A=
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU=0A=
> > Subject: Re: floor 'ground'=0A=
> > =0A=
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -------------------=
> > ----=0A=
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>=0A=
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>=0A=
> > Subject:      Re: floor 'ground'=0A=
> >
> >
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> > ----=0A=
> > =0A=
> > At 9/26/2014 10:15 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:=0A=
> > >I've never encountered this substitution, or the conflation in this=0A=
> > >direction, but I remember it in the opposite direction.  I don't=0A=
> > >know if it's specifically New York area, like "stand on (line)" and=0A=
> > >"take"/"bring" reversals, but I remember people, including I think=0A=
> > >me as a child, being corrected for saying "(fall on) the ground" for=0A=
> > >"the floor" when inside--=0A=
> > >=0A=
> > >"Don't eat that--it fell on the ground"=0A=
> > >"You mean the floor"=0A=
> > =0A=
> > I (also a New York Citier) sometimes use the "wrong" word (both=0A=
> > ways), but I'm always embarrassed after it emerges and sometimes=0A=
> > correct myself.  Perhaps, however, that's because my mother was a=0A=
> > high school English teacher.=0A=
> > =0A=
> > Joel=0A=
> > =0A=
> > ------------------------------------------------------------=0A=
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org=0A=
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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