August 27, 2008, 19:51
shufitzWhat kind of deal is this?
The radio has been airing an annoying ad-jingle that puns on the word
deal.
When you buy a used car
From your new-car store,
You get a great deal,
And a great deal more.
The
deal in line 3 has the familiar meaning of "a bargain", but the
deal in the last line means "an amount".
We
never see the word in the latter sense, except in the phrase "a
great deal" of this or that, meaning "a lot". You might say that you've made "a
great deal of progress," but you'd never say that you maded "a
large deal of progress" or "a
small deal of progress."
This sense of the word "deal" [= an amount] has become obsolete, except in the phrase "a great deal".
Was it ever used more generally? Have you ever heard it so used?
August 27, 2008, 20:10
<Asa Lovejoy>I still hear the phrase, "...no big deal."
August 28, 2008, 05:58
<Proofreader>You've all given me a good deal of grief.
August 28, 2008, 06:04
ValentineI also hear the phrase "It was a deal of trouble", which I had heretofore assumed derived from the dealing of cards.
August 28, 2008, 07:27
<Proofreader>Can't we deal with this later?
August 28, 2008, 08:24
zmježdEnglish
deal < Old English
dǣlan 'to divide, share' < PIE *
dail- 'to divide' (
link) :- related words German
teilen 'to divide',
Urteil 'judgment', English
ordeal.