Why are we using off here? What additional meaning does it add?
The meaning of off from http://tfd.com/off that suits this sentence is: "away (from a place, time etc.)".
-
1Please stop putting whitespaces before question marks. On a more general note, people put quite an effort into correcting your posts, so it would be nice if you started looking at the corrections and learning from them. Thanks.– RegDwigнtMay 1, 2012 at 10:01
-
1I will take care of it from now onward.– teenupMay 1, 2012 at 10:03
Add a comment
|
3 Answers
There's more than a hair's breadth of difference between these two statements!
The first simply means she had a haircut. Maybe she is now sporting a new style, or maybe she just had a trim.
The second means that her hair has been cut drastically short, if not completely shaved. It might be used if she once had very long hair, but, after her latest trip to the salon, it's now cut very short.
Note that the difference between cut and cut off can vary, depending on what's being cut.
She cut her finger means that she's bleeding, and may need to put a bandage on it. She cut her finger off means that, unless a doctor performs reattachment surgery, she'll only have four fingers for the rest of her life. He cut five pages from the back of the book might suggest an editor opted for a shorter ending. He cut off five pages from the back of the book could mean a bookbinder removed physical pages with an exacto knife.
For hair, however, she cut her hair is simply a common expression meaning she got a haircut. She cut her hair off suggests something far more drastic, which I've already explained.
-
5"unless a doctor performs reattachment surgery, she'll only have four fingers for the rest of her life" implies that she's cut off six fingers. Sorry, could not resist that! May 1, 2012 at 13:07
-
4@JeffSahol: that's quite alright, I'll have to give you a hand for that joke ;^)– J.R.May 1, 2012 at 13:22
-
1If we want to get really pedantic, then it actually means she's cut off four fingers, as the thumb is considered a digit but not a finger. ;) May 1, 2012 at 14:14
-
3True, but in general usage a thumb qualifies. I think we can give him the finger.– horatioMay 1, 2012 at 14:47
-
In English, the phrasal verb cut off is not the same as the verb cut. Cut certainly means "shorten, shave, shear, or slice". But off is not a preposition in the phrasal verb cut off - instead, the off modifies the meaning of the main verb. In this case off means something like "completely, drastically".
For another example, look at eat up. When you eat a hamburger, you simply ingest all or part of it. When you eat up a hamburger, you completely devour it.
The up in eat up does not mean "above, higher, or toward the sky". Similarly, the off in cut off does not mean "away", it means "completely".
answered May 1, 2012 at 12:10
The general meaning of cut off is "remove (something) from something larger by using a sharp implement."
When referring to hair, cutt off could mean the hair has been removed by cutting them completely, or the hair has been made very short.
answered May 1, 2012 at 10:18
-
Does this really emphasize the complete cutting or being cut to very short length? I don't feel so, 'off' here according to me signifies that after cutting, the hairs were dropped on ground (separated) rather than still lying on the person. Although, this would be nonsense that hairs are still lying on the person after cutting.– teenupMay 1, 2012 at 10:36
-
Its obvious, but 'off' just explicitly specifies this. I don't know, but this is my opinion. I put up a question just to confirm.– teenupMay 1, 2012 at 10:38
-
2@poorenglish No, "off" does not mean "away or onto the floor" in this situation. May 1, 2012 at 12:05