Lexigame Community
General Category => Words => Topic started by: Jacki on October 06, 2019, 07:06:15 PM
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Are you kidding - unmeant is common let alone a word? I'm just sitting here with my dad - a retired schoolteacher who has never heard of it.
Wouldn't you say "That is not what I meant", not "That is unmeant."
It shouldn't be a word and certainly not classed as common.
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It’s definitely a word, an adjective meaning not meant or unintended, and is in even my smaller dictionary. I got the word and have no issue with it being classed as common. Neither would I have an issue with it being made rare.
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It shouldn't be a word ...
Don't tell me about it, Jacki. Tell the Oxford Dictionary - and Merriam-Webster, Collins, Macquarie, American Heritage, Dictionary.com, etc.
Writers have found unmeant to be a useful word at times. An example from the Melbourne Age a few years ago was in a review by Barry Dickins of the 2008 film Australia: "Each scene possesses its secret gaucheness and unmeant hilarity."
But you may have a point about it not being common. I'll consider that in due course.
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Doesn't seem uncommon to me - I've certainly seen it often enough.
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Apart from antigen with 35 players, it was the next least commonly found common word and that was not unmeant!
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I'm with you & your Dad Jacki! It seems wrong & a bit clumsy to me. Like you I would say 'that's not what I meant'
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Like you I would say 'that's not what I meant'
I agree with you, Hobbit, and I'm sure I would use that phrase if I were speaking to a person who took exception to something I said. I would probably not use "unmeant" in conversation, but might in writing. But I certainly have seen it in written form.
Is this one of those cultural divides? I'm east coast USA, I know you are in England, not sure where Jacki is.
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I'm in the land of Oz Birdy and so far I don't think that many would disagree that this is certainly not a word that deserves to be classed as common - I hark back to T-Rex's definition which is something along the lines of kicking yourself when you see the word you missed because you had heard of it and yet missed it.
Unmeant certainly is not in that category for the majority of people I would think.
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You might be right Birdy. I think I would probably use unintended instead of unmeant. I do have to confess that my reading matter is fairly lightweight & my vocabulary nowhere near as extensive as a lot of the Forumites. I'm a middle of the table player with an occasional rosette :)
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I do have to confess that my reading matter is fairly lightweight & my vocabulary nowhere near as extensive as a lot of the Forumites. I'm a middle of the table player with an occasional rosette :)
I could probably count my rosettes on three fingers (and maybe I'm overestimating). I am not good at anagrams! But in spite of the fact that most of my reading matter is more than fairly lightweight (romance, science fiction, historical (including bodice rippers and regency), fantasy - though I draw the line at mysteries :)), I usually know most of the words that others question as common or rare. That may be partly because I'm superficially interested in lots of different subjects, and because I've had a lifetime to accumulate the vocabulary.
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I am not good at anagrams! But in spite of the fact that most of my reading matter is more than fairly lightweight (romance, science fiction, historical (including bodice rippers and regency), fantasy - though I draw the line at mysteries :)), I usually know most of the words that others question as common or rare. That may be partly because I'm superficially interested in lots of different subjects, and because I've had a lifetime to accumulate the vocabulary.
I love cryptic crosswords & anagrams. I'm with you on romance & historical books but would swap your science fiction & fantasy for a good old fashioned Agatha Christie or similar.
Like you I've had a lifetime to accumulate vocabulary but my memory isn't what it used to be so I'm not so hot at remembering the words which I'm not so familiar with.
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I love cryptic crosswords & anagrams. ..... but would swap your science fiction & fantasy for a good old fashioned Agatha Christie or similar.
Me too! I'm just reading The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude and it's a lovely 1930s crime novel - I'd recommend it if that's your thing. No blood and gore involved - a bit Sherlock Holmes, a bit Miss Marple, a bit Midsomer! >:D
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I just love the anagram word games. And all types of crosswords. Any word games in fact. Always have since I was a teenager many hundreds of moons ago. As for Midsomer Murders and its ilk; again, can't get enough of them. Even the endless repeats. What is it about them that appeals so much? But I do also love all the spy type stuff. Spooks was one of my favourites. There are so many nowadays that I'm thinking I may not have enough time left to view them all.
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Oh Val you're a lady after my own heart! I watch & re-watch Midsomer Murders over & over. Just after Christmas ITV3 here started right back at the beginning. Not that many episodes but it was brilliant because I hadn't seen them for yonks. I love a bit of Poirot & Miss Marple too. I've been re-watching a bit of Inspector Morse lately. Enjoyable but not Inspector Barnaby! I'm sure you will have plenty of time to watch all of the Spooks & plenty more besides.
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Me too! I'm just reading The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude and it's a lovely 1930s crime novel - I'd recommend it if that's your thing. No blood and gore involved - a bit Sherlock Holmes, a bit Miss Marple, a bit Midsomer! >:D
Thanks Linda that sounds right up my alley. Perfect! I will investigate. Not the same thing but I did enjoy the Agatha Raisin books by M C Beaton. They're only little books but I found them quite entertaining. Especially the earlier ones.
Pen
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Inspector Morse
My favourite! Know them off by heart! >:D
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Indeed! All those wonderful British shows. Just love them. Currently raining here (thank goodness!) so am bingeing on yet another repeat of DCI Banks. With a glass of red of course (well, it IS only 6C outside)! I'm finding old age quite enjoyable because I can watch favourite shows over and over without ever remembering them!
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I'm so glad I'm not the only one who loves these classic old programmes :)
Raining cats, dogs & stair rods here!
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Not the same thing but I did enjoy the Agatha Raisin books by M C Beaton. They're only little books but I found them quite entertaining. Especially the earlier ones.
I haven't read the Agatha Raisin books, but I did love her Hamish series. I liked her Regency romances too that she wrote under the name Marion Chesney - made me laugh (lots of slapstick humor), as did the Hamish books.
Have you read Mary Daheim's "Alpine" series set in the small Washington (state) town by that name? And here I said I don't read mysteries.
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I haven't Birdy! I will add it to my list with the Cornish Coast Murder
Thanks