The difference between "complete" and "finished"

Earion

Moderator
Staff member
No dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED. However, in a recent linguistic conference held in London, England, and attended by some of the best linguists in the world, Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese, was the clear winner.

His final challenge was this:

Some say there is no difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED. Please explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way that is easy to understand.

Here is his astute answer:

"When you marry the right woman, you are COMPLETE.

But, when you marry the wrong woman, you are FINISHED.

And when the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are COMPLETELY FINISHED!"

His answer was received with a standing ovation lasting over 5 minutes and it entitled him to receive an invitation to dine with Queen, who decided to call him after the contest. He won a trip to travel around the world in style and a case of 25-year-old El Dorado rum for his answer.

:whistle:

Από εδώ.
 

nickel

Administrator
Staff member
Ναι, καλά...

Κάνει διάλεξη ένας φιλόλογος, και μεταξύ άλλων λέει τα εξής:
«Σε πολλές γλώσσες δύο αρνήσεις μάς κάνουν μια κατάφαση. Σε άλλες γλώσσες δύο αρνήσεις δίνουν άρνηση. Δεν υπάρχουν όμως γλώσσες στις οποίες δύο καταφάσεις να δίνουν άρνηση».
Οπότε ακούγεται από το ακροατήριο μια φωνή: «Ναι, καλά...»



Καλημέρα!
 

daeman

Administrator
Staff member
wordsbybob said:
I don’t know whether the following story is true or not. It is floating around on the internet and is very clever. It made me laugh, so I thought I would share it with the readers of wordsbybob.

[...] A woman is incomplete until she is married. Then she is finished. [...]

Από εδώ, στη Λέξι. :inno: :)
 
And when the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are COMPLETELY FINISHED!"

Shouldn't this be the other way round? If you're already with the right woman, why would you be out with the wrong one? :-) On the other hand, if you're married to the wrong woman and then met the right one and then got caught, well... :-)
 

daeman

Administrator
Staff member
Shouldn't this be the other way round? If you're already with the right woman, why would you be out with the wrong one? :-) On the other hand, if you're married to the wrong woman and then met the right one and then got caught, well... :-)
a. We're talking about men, right? And you know men, sometimes the lower head gets the upper hand and judgment goes down the drain and they're not true to the right woman and it's all wrong, right? Could be.
b. On the other hand, if a man is married to the wrong woman and then meets the right one and... and then gets caught, well, serves him right for not being true to himself in the first place, right? Maybe.
The bottom line is:
perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. :p
 
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