Talk:pine

RFV discussion: July–August 2019

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pine

"To feel irritated; to reflect on a problem; to think something over." This bears no relation to my understanding of pine, which is to languish or feel depressed (see our other senses). If it can really mean "feel irritated" or "think something over", aren't those two separate senses? They don't seem like one single thing. And how would it be used? Can I "pine" over my Rubik's Cube, as I logically (with happiness and pleasure) try to solve it? Can I "pine" (with irritation, but not sadness) over muddy footsteps left on my carpet? Equinox ◑ 20:42, 27 July 2019 (UTC)

Sole contribution of User:Masters1955, from 2016. No such sense in Century 1911. DCDuring (talk) 21:31, 27 July 2019 (UTC)

The big OED has "To complain, moan, fret. Now English regional (eastern) and rare." but the last cite is from more than a hundred years ago, and it's not a usage I have ever heard. Dbfirs 15:16, 28 July 2019 (UTC)

I hope we are brave enough to say sometimes "OED you are bullshit" and just NOT copy them. Equinox ◑ 03:37, 31 July 2019 (UTC)

(At first I was going to disagree, and say that the OED is superbly researched—but, on examination, their quotations for that sense are entirely unconvincing. Each usage but the oldest could be easily taken to denote the usual sense.) —Piparsveinn (talk) 06:38, 31 July 2019 (UTC)

I like the idea of interpreting the phrase "pining for the fjords" to actually mean "being irritated about the existence of fjords". - TheDaveRoss 12:58, 31 July 2019 (UTC)

Irrespective of the OED's foibles or merits, "complain, moan, fret" (also in the EDD) does not really mean "feel irritated; to reflect on a problem; to think something over" in any case, so its a moot point. I think that whoever added this definition was recording their own idiolect and that we should remove the def. ... unless of course someone can turn up reliable cites. - Sonofcawdrey (talk) 08:59, 31 July 2019 (UTC)

I wasn't suggesting that we should copy the OED, just trying to fathom where the suggestion came from. I'd be happy to see the questioned definition removed. There's better evidence for adding the curing fish or meat sense, though it is probably restricted to Scottish these days. Dbfirs 08:24, 1 August 2019 (UTC)

RFV-failed Kiwima (talk) 22:23, 31 August 2019 (UTC)