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Messier42 Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

Ragged breathing/moutain/jeans

Ragged breathing/moutain/jeans
Are they not used in the U.S.?
If so, what are the words equivalent to them in the U.S.
  

Top answer

All three are used, but I think that 'ragged' might be used more often to describe a cough rather than breathing in general. That is not to say that its use with breathing is incorrect.

— Philip

  • All three are used, but I think that 'ragged' might be used more often to describe a cough rather than breathing in general.
  • That is not to say that its use with breathing is incorrect.
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5 Answers
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All three are used, but I think that 'ragged' might be used more often to describe a cough rather than breathing in general. That is not to say that its use with breathing is incorrect.
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ragged breathing = labored breathing of someone who is very sick or near death
ragged mountains = No. Use "rugged mountains" for the general term. There are mountains with the name "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragged_Mountains," but that is a proper name.
ragged jeans = OK, these jeans are torn and
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AlpheccaStarsragged mountains = No. Use "rugged mountains" for the general term. There are mountains with the name "Ragged Mountains ," but that is a proper name.
I'm sure I was thinking "rugged" when I first replied to this post, but now, come to think of it, if I look at a two-dimensional picture of a mountain range, the term "ragged" seems oddly appropriate
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"Ragged breathing" would be unusual today in the US, since the word "ragged" has such strong connotations in the sense of worn-out clothes. You'd more likely hear "labored breathing."

"Ragged mountain" would be very unusual in ordinary speech or writing - however, this quite metaphorical and might be heard in poetry, or in literature if the writer was trying to be very colorful in his na
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