Re: A ravening of ravens

Mark J. Reed wrote:
>
> I'm sorry, but I completely fail to see how either
> "to rent" or "to cleave" is its own antonym.  What
> am I missing??

"To cleave" can mean "split in two" as in "a meat
cleaver," and it can also mean "to adhere together"
as in "a man shall cleave to his wife and the two
shall become one."

"To rent" is not really its own antonym, but perhaps
the original poster was referring to the fact that a
landlord rents a property (so he's "giving" it to
someone else) and a tenant rents a property (so
he's "taking" it from someone else).

--Ph. D.

Reply