Re: CHAT drinking soup: (was: Malat (on behalf of Garrett))

Nik Taylor wrote:
>
> Laurie Gerholz wrote:
> > In my particular dialect (Minnesota, American English), yes, it's
> > commonly said to drink poison (if it's a liquid)
>
> Even if it's accidental?  I would use "swallowed" or a similar verb,
> never drink.  If poison were intentionally taken, as in suicide, *then*
> I would use drink (kind of a metaphorical usage, i.e., it's being taken
> *as if it were* a beverage intended to be drunk), but not if it were
> accidental.  "He died from drinking poison", to me, would imply suicide.
>
No, not if it was accidental. But I wouldn't call it "drink" if actual
beverages were ingested accidentally. Imagine the unpleasant scenario of
a frat party where an unlucky pledge has alcohol forcibly poured into
him. I'd say that the pledge was forced to "swallow", as you suggest,
but I wouldn't use the verb "drink" unless there was volition involved.
I guess I never perceived it as a metaphorical use.

That's the semantic breakpoint for me. To me, "to drink" refers to
voluntary ingestion of liquids. I knew an idiot who drank liquid glue
(yes, this was in kindergarten); the glue was liquid enough for me to
call it "drink".

BTW, I asked my Japanese teacher today about the use of the verb "nomu"
with cigarettes. As others have stated, "nomu" is usually translated
into English as "to drink". There is another verb "suu", which also
means to inhale and to breathe. It is used also with cigarettes, but
takes a more casual connotation where "nomu" is considered more
polite/formal. The verb "nomu" is also used for all medicines, even if
they are solids like pills. I think someone else mentioned that too.

Laurie
---
Laurie Gerholz
milo@winternet.com