Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

esholloway

Member Since

June 24, 2006

Total number of comments

1

Total number of votes received

3

Bio

Latest Comments

Cut on/off

  • April 13, 2009, 2:52pm

Good for you, Ally! I'm glad you asked.

I still don't know, but I am wondering then whether it is just because we are so habituated to the phrase "turn on" and "turn off," and that "cut" is not viewed as a termination of something, but just another verb serving the function of indicating some action with a preposition, as "turn" might be. Or maybe there is the sense of "cut" as a "shift."

Not an explanation, but an attempt. Have a great spring break!