What does it mean "you're just spinning donuts on the lawn"?
spiritual matter
I took it from here:
http://www.brazzilbrief.com/viewtopic.php?t=7963038&start=180
Skitt
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KB1UALlUlE
It's not on a lawn, but you can take it from there.
--
Skitt
Seen it all, done it all.
Can't remember most of it.
tony cooper
"Spinning donuts" is driving an automobile in a tight circle. When
you do it on a lawn, the tires cut up the grass and leave tracks.
Vandals - usually teenagers - do this.
I can't begin to understand why the writer of the sentence used it.
The full sentence is "If you want to know more about Marxism, go read
the excellent book "Marx for Beginners" and THEN try to tackle some of
the commentaries and criticisms. Otherwise you're just spinning donuts
on the lawn, intellectually speaking.".
I think it might be a translation problem or a person trying to insert
a metaphor in a language he isn't really comfortable with. It would
make sense, in that sentence, to say "...you're just spinning your
wheels". That would mean wasting time and effort, and that seems to
be what he's trying to get across.
However, by adding the donuts and the lawn, he's referring to
vandalism and that doesn't follow. The vandalism involved is imposed
on someone else, and that makes the usage even less appropriate. The
sentence seems to be saying that if you don't prepare yourself by
reading a book on the subject, you are intellectually damaging
yourself.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Default User
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut_(driving)>
Brian
--
Day 120 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
I interpret "just spinning donuts on the lawn" in this context to simply
mean using a lot of energy, doing a lot of work, but not making any
useful progress.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Frank ess
Yes.
I like Tony's example, immediately preceding.
--
Frank ess
tony cooper
To an American, doing donuts on the lawn means vandalism. Just using
energy but not making progress is spinning your wheels. We don't
state where the wheels are spun.
Jerry Friedman
> On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 13:16:59 -0700 (PDT), spiritual matter
>
> >What does it mean "to spin donuts on the lawn"?''
>
> >I took it from here:
>
> >http://www.brazzilbrief.com/viewtopic.php?t=7963038&start=180
>
> "Spinning donuts" is driving an automobile in a tight circle.
I'd say specifically skidding in circles.
> When
> you do it on a lawn, the tires cut up the grass and leave tracks.
Especially if you skid.
I imagine you remember living where one could do this in parking lots
in winter.
> Vandals - usually teenagers - do this.
ObAntipodes: 'In the Australian outback, doughnuts performed in the
dust or mud areas of land are colloquially referred to as "circle
work".[1] Displays are usually performed at Bachelor and Spinster
Balls.[2]'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut_(driving)
> I can't begin to understand why the writer of the sentence used it.
> The full sentence is "If you want to know more about Marxism, go read
> the excellent book "Marx for Beginners" and THEN try to tackle some of
> the commentaries and criticisms. Otherwise you're just spinning donuts
> on the lawn, intellectually speaking.".
>
> I think it might be a translation problem or a person trying to insert
> a metaphor in a language he isn't really comfortable with. It would
> make sense, in that sentence, to say "...you're just spinning your
> wheels". That would mean wasting time and effort, and that seems to
> be what he's trying to get across.
>
> However, by adding the donuts and the lawn, he's referring to
> vandalism and that doesn't follow. The vandalism involved is imposed
> on someone else, and that makes the usage even less appropriate. The
> sentence seems to be saying that if you don't prepare yourself by
> reading a book on the subject, you are intellectually damaging
> yourself.
I think it's more "You are annoying everyone while indulging yourself
childishly." The comparison to costly vandalism would be
overstatement but maybe not out of line.
--
Jerry Friedman
tony cooper
<jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On Jun 2, 2:51�pm, tony cooper <tony_cooper...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 13:16:59 -0700 (PDT), spiritual matter
>>
>> <solidst...@rocketmail.com> wrote:
>> >What does it mean "to spin donuts on the lawn"?''
>>
>> >I took it from here:
>>
>> >http://www.brazzilbrief.com/viewtopic.php?t=7963038&start=180
>>
>> "Spinning donuts" is driving an automobile in a tight circle.
>
>I'd say specifically skidding in circles.
>
>> When
>> you do it on a lawn, the tires cut up the grass and leave tracks.
>
>Especially if you skid.
>
>I imagine you remember living where one could do this in parking lots
>in winter.
Not really, but I see the marks of cutting donuts down here.
Teenagers seem to think it's a cute prank to do donuts on the golf
course that I live on.
I looked on quite heartened last year as two fathers watched their
sons replacing sod on the golf course where they had done donuts a few
nights before. Someone noted the license plate and turned the driver
in. The driver ratted on his accomplice. Rather than just pay for
the damage, the two fathers insisted that their sons do the physical
work of replacing the sod.
Way to parent!
Richard Bollard
<tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>On Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:18:50 +0100, "Peter Duncanson (BrE)"
><ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:51:22 -0400, tony cooper
>><tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
...
>>>
>>>However, by adding the donuts and the lawn, he's referring to
>>>vandalism and that doesn't follow. The vandalism involved is imposed
>>>on someone else, and that makes the usage even less appropriate. The
>>>sentence seems to be saying that if you don't prepare yourself by
>>>reading a book on the subject, you are intellectually damaging
>>>yourself.
>>
>>I interpret "just spinning donuts on the lawn" in this context to simply
>>mean using a lot of energy, doing a lot of work, but not making any
>>useful progress.
>
>To an American, doing donuts on the lawn means vandalism. Just using
>energy but not making progress is spinning your wheels. We don't
>state where the wheels are spun.
Only to an American. The writer may or may not have been aware of this
usage so to say that "by adding the donuts and the lawn, he's
referring to vandalism and that doesn't follow" is wrong. He was
(obviously) referring to wasted effort and the metaphor, while poor,
is valid elsepondially.
--
Richard Bollard
Canberra Australia
To email, I'm at AMT not spAMT.
tony cooper
This is one of those times I'm glad I wrote "To an American...". Too
often I make a statement that does not include that phrase, and it
comes back to bite me in the arse and I look like a bum.