Re: CHAT: Hymn to Ikea (was: Re: Re: CHAT: F.L.O.E.S.

Tommie L Powell wrote:
>
> Nik Taylor wrote:
> > In the US, "engaged" is almost never used except to mean
> >"in the state between proposal and marriage"
>
> I would have agreed if you had specified that you meant we
> almost never use it as a adjective except in that sense.
Sorry.  You're completely right, of course.  I hadn't thought about that
when I wrote it, but certainly "engage" as a verb is completely normal.
Although, as an imperative, it makes you sound like Jean-Luc Picard.
;-)

And, of course, there's the military use mentioned by Roger Mills.
"Rules of engagement" is also another common military usage, whereas, as
far as I can tell, outside of the military, "engagement" can *only* mean
"being in the state between proposal and marriage".

--
"There's no such thing as 'cool'.  Everyone's just a big dork or nerd,
you just have to find people who are dorky the same way you are." -
overheard
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