To be ploughed
Roberto del Noce
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" ?
Thanks a lot, Roberto
Matti Lamprhey
>
> 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" ?
Yes, although it's no longer in common usage and was always colloquial
(informal).
Matti
CyberCypher
news:50050478.03103...@posting.google.com on 31 Oct 2003:
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".
Don Phillipson
news:Xns9425E9488...@130.133.1.4...
> 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".
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.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)
Jerry Friedman
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
Skitt
> "CyberCypher" wrote:
>> 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".
>
> 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.
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.
Robert Lieblich
>
> Don Phillipson wrote:
[ ... ]
> > 1. Ploughed is not among the standard words
> > for drunk.
[ ... ]
> 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".
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
CyberCypher
news:pjxob.10342$f7.557660@localhost on 01 Nov 2003:
> "CyberCypher" <cybercypher2...@NOSPAM.net> wrote in
> message news:Xns9425E9488...@130.133.1.4...
>
>> 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".
>
> Neither of these definitions is convincing.
> 1. Ploughed is not among the standard words
> for drunk.
Okay, so we spell it "plowed" in the USA, and as you have seen, many
other Americans know and use the expression.
> 2. Ploughed in an examination simply means
> judged by the examiners to have failed. It includes no
> excuses or explanations.
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.
Dr Robin Bignall
>Don Phillipson wrote:
>> "CyberCypher" wrote:
>
>>> 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".
>>
>> 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.
>
>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".
>
COD 10:
"plough (US plow) <<=========================
· n.
1 a large farming implement with one or more blades fixed in a frame, drawn
over 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 constellation
Ursa Major (the Great Bear).
· v.
1 turn up (earth) with a plough. Ø chiefly N. Amer. clear snow from (a
road) using a snowplough.
2 (often plough into) (of a vehicle) move in a fast and uncontrolled
manner.
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
Steve Hayes
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