February 21, 2008, 06:56
shufitzI don't mean to pry, but ...
Do Brits still use 'to prize' to mean 'to pry,' as in "He prized it from the man's grip."?
February 21, 2008, 08:15
Richard Englishquote:
Do Brits still use 'to prize' to mean 'to pry,' as in "He prized it from the man's grip."?
Yes. But I would spell it "prise".
February 21, 2008, 19:33
<Asa Lovejoy>And what about "purchase" meaning "grip?" I used to hear this colloquially in South Carolina as a child.
February 22, 2008, 01:51
Richard EnglishA perfectly good word to my mind.
February 22, 2008, 03:44
arnie Purchase is a perfectly good use to mean 'grip' in my opinion. OneLook defines it (
inter alia) as "the mechanical advantage gained by being in a position to use a lever". I wouldn't say it's especially colloquial.
February 22, 2008, 05:23
Duncan HowellSeems to me that this thread has quickly come full circle:
SHU: prize/pry/grip
R.E.: prise
Asa: purchase/grip
Arnie: purchase/grip/lever
D.H. (me): lever =
pry as in "pry bar" or even as in the local colloquial "bait and pry" meaning "Fulcrum and lever".