Oleg
What is the difference between ridiculous and ludicrous. In my opinion these words have the same meaning. Another question is there are a lot of words which describe an act of throwing: hurl, fling, throw, toss. What is the difference between them?
12 juin 2021 07:12
Réponses · 8
5
To hurl - implies throwing something really forcefully, using your entire body in an exagerrated motion to generate as much power as possible. To fling - for me, this is when you bring an object towards your body and make a short, sharp motion as if you were throwing a frisbee. Normally you fling something at someone out of annoyance. It's also a lot less controlled than a throw or a toss. You fling something in a general direction without caring where exactly it ends up. To throw - this is just the general purpose verb form. To toss - This is a more measured, underarm type of throw. Normally with the arm straight or nearly straight. You don't toss something very far, it's a light throw. You would ask someone to "throw" or "toss" you the remote, but not "fling" or "hurl" you the remote.
12 juin 2021
Invité·e
2
I'm going to answer based on my colloquial experience: Ridiculous = Something silly but still possible. Ludicrous = Something silly and pretty much impossible. Hurl: Throw far and slightly inaccurately. Fling: Throw a medium distance inaccurately. Throw: The default verb with no nuanced meaning. Toss: To throw casually a short distance.
12 juin 2021
1
I think "Throw" is very general and could be used to mean a lot of things. "Hurl" implies something really heavy like a catapult hurling a stone at castle or superman hurling a bus. "Toss" is when you throw something lightly, with an underhand motion, like when you toss someone your car keys, or when you at a carnival and "toss" the rings and try to get them to land on something. .
12 juin 2021
1
Spangola's answer is exactly what I would have said about hurl/fling/throw/toss. (Spangola is from the UK, and I'm from the US, but apparently we both have exactly the same impressions of all four of these words.) I agree with Dr. Duncan James about ridiculous/ludicrous. "Ridiculous" means that something is absurd or silly; "ludicrous" means that something is so absurd it's unbelievable. "Ridiculous" is a much more common word.
12 juin 2021
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