"change out a window", "paint out a shelf"

[Stvan, Laurel S]

“Change out” seems to work like a phrase that is growing in use here in north Texas: “swap out”.  I never encountered “swap” with a particle till about two years ago. Now all around me people are swapping out the dishes in the dishwasher, or the laundry in the washer, or they swap out old carpeting for new, or an old hard drive for a new one.  The window change-out seems to share this “out with the old, in the new” reading.

“Paint out” is a new one on me, though.

Laurel Smith Stvan


-----Original Message-----
From: James Smith [mailto:jsmithjamessmith at YAHOO.COM]
Sent: Thu 7/20/2006 10:58
Subject: Re: "change out a window", "paint out a shelf"
 
Change out a(n)...  part, piece, component, etc.
sounds natural to me.

Paint out ...  never heard such an expression.

SLC, UT


--- neil <neil at TYPOG.CO.UK> wrote:

> > From: "Mark A. Mandel" <mamandel at LDC.UPENN.EDU>
> > Reply-To: American Dialect Society
> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 10:45:53 -0400
> > To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Subject: Re: "change out a window", "paint out a
> shelf"
> >
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society
> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Mark A. Mandel"
> <mamandel at LDC.UPENN.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: "change out a window", "paint
> out a shelf"
> >
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------>
> -
> >
> > "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU> wrote:
> >
> >>>>>>
> >
> > A house painter today asked me about the addition
> of "out" to verbs that
> > don't seem to need it.
> >
> > Sample:
> > "Do you want these windows painted?"
> > "No, we're gonna change out these windows."
> > And:
> > "We're gonna paint out that shelf."
> >
> > He tells me that he's heard these sentences from
> contractors and adds "I
> > find that kinda annoying."
> >
> > Is this use of "change out" and "paint out" more
> than a localism?
> >
> > Gerald Cohen
> > (in south central Missouri)
> >
> >  <<<<<
> >
> > I see your point about the shelf. But "change out"
> looks like it means
> > 'replace". "Change these windows" could be used to
> describe modifications on
> > the existing windows, and in other contexts the
> modification interpretation
> > would be as salient as the replacement
> interpretation or more so. That gives
> > good motivation for adding the particle to
> "change" 'replace'.
> >
> > -- Mark A. Mandel
> > [This text prepared with Dragon
> NaturallySpeaking.]
>
> I always wondered about the addition of 'of' to
> 'off'.
>
> I find 'get something off of someone' grating.
>
> I much prefer the simple 'get something off
> someone'.
>
> --Neil Crawford
> >
> >
>
------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society -
> http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society -
> http://www.americandialect.org
>


James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
South SLC, UT                  |it is that we will be sued
jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
                               |or slowly and cautiously.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org