To be ploughed

Question

Just a simple question:Does the following expression"to be ploughed at an examination"exist in the english language??I mean, can you use it, in spokenlanguage, instead of:"to fail an examination" ?Thanks a lot, Roberto

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Does the following expression "to be ploughed at an examination" exist in the english language?? I mean, can you use it, in spoken language, instead of: "to fail an examination" ?[/nq]
Yes, although it's no longer in common usage and was always colloquial (informal).
Matti

Usenet · Answer

on 31 Oct 2003:
[nq:1]Just a simple question: Does the following expression "to be ploughed at an examination" exist in the english language?? I mean, can you use it, in spoken language, instead of: "to fail an examination" ?[/nq]
There are at least two meanings to the sentence "I was ploughed at the exam". The first is "I was drunk at the exam" and the second is that "I got questions I couldn't possibly answer because I hadn't expected them and hadn't studied that part of the of the course material".

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]There are at least two meanings to the sentence "I was ploughed at the exam". The first is "I was ... I couldn't possibly answer because I hadn't expected them and hadn't studied that part of the of the course material".[/nq]
Neither of these definitions is convincing.

1. Ploughed is not among the standard wordsfor drunk.

2. Ploughed in an examination simply meansjudged by the examiners to have failed. It includes no excuses or explanations.

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]on 31 Oct 2003:[/nq]
[nq:2]Just a simple question: Does the following expression "to be ... in spoken language, instead of: "to fail an examination" ?[/nq]
[nq:1]There are at least two meanings to the sentence "I was ploughed at the exam". The first is "I was ... I couldn't possibly answer because I hadn't expected them and hadn't studied that part of the of the course material".[/nq]
A third meaning is simply "I flunked". Everything I know about Oxford comes from Gaudy Night (well, a little from What's Bred in the Bone ), so see that enjoyable book for several examples.

Jerry Friedman

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]There are at least two meanings to the sentence "I ... hadn't studied that part of the of the course material".[/nq]
[nq:1]Neither of these definitions is convincing. 1. Ploughed is not among the standard words for drunk. 2. Ploughed in an examination simply means judged by the examiners to have failed. It includes no excuses or explanations.[/nq]
I can't find either of those definitions in any dictionary at my disposal, although I have used the word for the "drunk" meaning. In AmE, it is usually spelled "plowed".
For meaning 2, I might say that I was "plowed under", meaning that I was overwhelmed, or something.

Skitt
who was plowed for one of his finals, but not plowed under. I got the only 100% achieved for that test.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]1. Ploughed is not among the standard words for drunk.[/nq]
[nq:1]I can't find either of those definitions in any dictionary at my disposal, although I have used the word for the "drunk" meaning. In AmE, it is usually spelled "plowed".[/nq]
I've heard "plowed" used to mean "drunk" and have so used it myself. A little googling reveals many instances of the usage.

Bob Lieblich
Sober at the moment

Usenet · Answer

on 01 Nov 2003:
[nq:2]There are at least two meanings to the sentence "I ... hadn't studied that part of the of the course material".[/nq]
[nq:1]Neither of these definitions is convincing. 1. Ploughed is not among the standard words for drunk.[/nq]
Okay, so we spell it "plowed" in the USA, and as you have seen, many other Americans know and use the expression.
[nq:1]2. Ploughed in an examination simply means judged by the examiners to have failed. It includes no excuses or explanations.[/nq]
When one is defensive, excuses are always in order. And, if you take the definition I gave one step further, you'll see that I failed that exam.
In my junior year, I took American History D101. I studied selectively for the final, and when the exam came round, I discovered that I had studied the wrong things. My first sentence was "I cannot answer this question, but I can talk about X." I proceeded to write everything I knew about X, and I got plowed on that test.

When I took the Foreign Service Officer exam in 1965, I scored 67 points, three shy of passing. I didn't get plowed; I just failed.

There is a difference between "I failed" and "I got plowed". The former is a statement of fact. The latter is a plaint, a moan that either I hadn't studied at all (This happens often enough) or that I had not bothered to study what I thought would not be asked on the exam, or that the questions were just so unbelievably difficult that I didn't even know what they meant; the exam "plowed me under" because it hit me with things I didn't even know I needed to know. There's an element of surprise.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Neither of these definitions is convincing. 1. Ploughed is not ... examiners to have failed. It includes no excuses or explanations.[/nq]
[nq:1]I can't find either of those definitions in any dictionary at my disposal, although I have used the word for the "drunk" meaning. In AmE, it is usually spelled "plowed".[/nq]
COD 10:
"plough (US plow) <<

=
· n.

1 a large farming implement with one or more blades fixed in a frame, drawnover soil to turn it over and cut furrows in preparation for the planting of seeds. Ø land that has been ploughed.

2 (the Plough) a prominent formation of seven stars in the constellationUrsa Major (the Great Bear).
· v.

1 turn up (earth) with a plough. Ø chiefly N. Amer. clear snow from (aroad) using a snowplough.

2 (often plough into) (of a vehicle) move in a fast and uncontrolledmanner.

3 (of a ship or boat) travel through (an area of water).
4 (often plough on) advance or progress laboriously or forcibly.
5 (plough something in) invest or reinvest money in a business.
6 Brit. informal, dated fail (an examination). <<

==? DERIVATIVES ploughable adj. plougher n.
? ORIGIN OE plZh, of Gmc origin."
"plow
· n. & v. US spelling of plough."
This has come up before, and seems to be a jenyouwine Pondian difference.

wrmst rgrds
Robin Bignall
Quiet part of Hertfordshire
England

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Just a simple question: Does the following expression "to be ploughed at an examination" exist in the english language?? I mean, can you use it, in spoken language, instead of: "to fail an examination" ?[/nq]
I'm familiar with it in the active voice, not the passive.

"I ploughed" means I failed.
But I haven't heard it for many years, so it's probably outdated schoolboy slang. Where did you find it - in a book? If so, when was it published?

Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

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