How much for a ferret?

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How much for a ferret?
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Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 3:43 pm Post subject:
Gervase could have a long distance adoption of one of mine . He could send him postcards when he went on holiday and things like that. To whiff one is to love one.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 3:45 pm Post subject:
I was really tempted to buy one a couple of weeks ago. But we don't have any rabbits here so I couldn't really justify it.

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 3:56 pm Post subject:
Put bycle clips around your trousers and they'll sort your rats out as well Judith.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 3:59 pm Post subject:

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:01 pm Post subject:

bodger wrote:

Gervase could have a long distance adoption of one of mine . He could send him postcards when he went on holiday and things like that.
To whiff one is to love one.

I suppose he could sponsor one of yours...

And just retreating into pedantry for a moment or two - 'whiff' is not a verb, it's a noun.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:06 pm Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

And just retreating into pedantry for a moment or two - 'whiff' is not a verb, it's a noun.

To be even more pedantic, actually it is a verb. It is just normally used intransitively rather than as a transitive verb.

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:10 pm Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

bodger wrote:

Gervase could have a long distance adoption of one of mine . He could send him postcards when he went on holiday and things like that.
To whiff one is to love one.

I suppose he could sponsor one of yours...

And just retreating into pedantry for a moment or two - 'whiff' is not a verb, it's a noun.

Ahem. https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/whiff

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:27 pm Post subject:
One does not whiff a bloody ferret! One gets a whiff of a ferret...

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:34 pm Post subject:

judith wrote:

To be even more pedantic, actually it is a verb. It is just normally used intransitively rather than as a transitive verb.

I don't disagree - it's just that it depends on the context in which the word is used. Here Bodger is using it (incorrectly) in place of the verb to smell. A whiff can be a smell, but one cannot 'whiff a ferret'. One can however, 'get a whiff of a ferret'.

Ergo, in the context of being a smell it is in fact a noun.

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:35 pm Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

One does not whiff a bloody ferret! One gets a whiff of a ferret...

Madam, from the page I linked to:

The Dictionary wrote:

# To inhale through the nose; sniff: a dog whiffing the air.

Reverse decline 'whiffing' and you yet 'whiff'.
Where's Sean when you need him...

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:41 pm Post subject:

Northern_Lad wrote:

Where's Sean when you need him...

Don't think you need Sean. You are doing very well on your own.

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:45 pm Post subject:

Northern_Lad wrote:

Mary-Jane wrote:

One does not whiff a bloody ferret! One gets a whiff of a ferret...

Madam, from the page I linked to:

The Dictionary wrote:

# To inhale through the nose; sniff: a dog whiffing the air.

Reverse decline 'whiffing' and you yet 'whiff'.
Where's Sean when you need him...

Sir, on the basis and context in which you place 'whiffing' then Judith is quite correct. It is a verb used intransitively.

But 'whiffing' in the Bodger-ferret context is incorrect. Whiffing is to generally inhale air through the nose (usually associated with dogs) and is a completely different act to directly smelling a particular odour. To pass air through the nostrils in a whiffing sense is an act of expectancy, not of a definitive purpose.

I stand by my original argument - one can receive a whiff of an odour, but one cannot whiff an odour.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:47 pm Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

I stand by my original argument - one can receive a whiff of an odour, but one cannot whiff an odour.

Nope. Can't let you get away with that. Your original argument was that "whiff" is a noun, not a verb. There was no mention of context.

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:50 pm Post subject:

judith wrote:

Nope. Can't let you get away with that. Your original argument was that "whiff" is a noun, not a verb. There was no mention of context.

Then I apologise Madam for my careless post in reply to Bodger's own post. I clearly should have pre-fixed my clarification with the words "In the context you are using the word 'whiff' here..."

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 06 4:52 pm Post subject:

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