0
MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary
this/that puppy
Hi,
Following is taken from a Longman dictionary:
-----
this/that puppy - American English spoken - informal - used instead of the name of a thing, especially when you do not know the name:
Example:
How do you turn this puppy off?
-----
What other words can be used for 'puppy' in this and similar context?
thing?
guy?
"How do you turn this guy/puppy/thing off?"
mus-te
Following is taken from a Longman dictionary:
-----
this/that puppy - American English spoken - informal - used instead of the name of a thing, especially when you do not know the name:
Example:
How do you turn this puppy off?
-----
What other words can be used for 'puppy' in this and similar context?
thing?
guy?
"How do you turn this guy/puppy/thing off?"
mus-te
Top answer
Yes - thing/gadget/machine/guy/dude can be used. ') Rover
- Yes - thing/gadget/machine/guy/dude can be used.
- ') Rover
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
6 Answers
0
Yes - thing/gadget/machine/guy/dude can be used.
'How do you turn this thing (computer/light/engine/radio) off?'
'How do you turn this guy off?' ('How do you stop him talking?')
Rover
'How do you turn this thing (computer/light/engine/radio) off?'
'How do you turn this guy off?' ('How do you stop him talking?')
Rover
00
Just to doublecheck that I got you right....
Imagine there is a certain unknown "machine" (with a few buttons on its front panel) before you.
You don't know how to start this machine. You have no idea which buttons should be pressed and in which order, etc....
Can I use "puppy" (or "guy", or "dude") for 'button', as in the example sentences
Imagine there is a certain unknown "machine" (with a few buttons on its front panel) before you.
You don't know how to start this machine. You have no idea which buttons should be pressed and in which order, etc....
Can I use "puppy" (or "guy", or "dude") for 'button', as in the example sentences
00
No. Just use guy or dude for a person.
Your question is about not knowing the name of something. You know the name of a button, so you don't need to call it anything else.
Rover
Your question is about not knowing the name of something. You know the name of a button, so you don't need to call it anything else.
Rover
00
Let me first say that this slang "puppy" sounds insufferably cutesy and flip to many of us and is best avoided in any event.
Longman got this one a little bit wrong. There are a lot of words for a thing you don't have a name for, such as doohickey, whatchamacallit, dingus, framus, and thingamajig, but "puppy" is not one of them. You use "puppy" instead of the noun when you want to exhibit
Longman got this one a little bit wrong. There are a lot of words for a thing you don't have a name for, such as doohickey, whatchamacallit, dingus, framus, and thingamajig, but "puppy" is not one of them. You use "puppy" instead of the noun when you want to exhibit
00
Rover_KEYou know the name of a button, so you don't need to call it anything else.I was watching a video lecture on linear algebra the other day. A professor of math (from the MIT) was explaining how to perform different operations on matrices. I noticed the lecturer occasionally refer to the coefficients of a matrice as "guys" (in fact, he was also using "fa
00
I also once had a teacher like that - an electronics lecturer who would use the word "guy" (or "fellow") as a placeholder in exactly the context you describe (he was talking about various electrical components).
By doing so, he was being very informal, and he was also assuming the audience already had confidence in his abilities and so would realise he really knew what he was talk
By doing so, he was being very informal, and he was also assuming the audience already had confidence in his abilities and so would realise he really knew what he was talk
0
Related Questions