Buoyed = encouraged?

Forums: English, Esl, Grammar
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Context:
Buoyed by Wall St. Protests, Rallies Sweep the Globe
By CARA BUCKLEY and RACHEL DONADIO
Hundreds and in some cases thousands of people voiced discontent with the economy. In New York, at least 88 people were arrested.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/world/occupy-wall-street-protests-worldwide.html?_r=1&hp

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Type: Question • Score: 3 • Views: 1,217 • Replies: 19

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Yes, that's as good a synonym as any other. Buoyed means borne upward, specifically, floating on the water. I have one small quibble, and that is that the use of buoy as a figurative verb usually means that someone is encouraged to persevere, rather than that one is encouraged to instigate something. But that's hardly a reason to allege poor writing.

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@Setanta,

Thank you.

1 Reply

@oristarA,

As usual Setanta is right, his quibble too.
There's an old saying " Hope floats upon the sea of despair", thus the Buoy.

0 Replies

@oristarA,

Setanta 's mendacity and his ignoble tendency toward deception
did not extend to this particular point. I agree with what he said on this thread.

Buoys are used as SUPPORTS, because thay float.

Thay can support people floating in the water (to avoid sinking).
Thay can support products floating in the water (to avoid sinking).

David

2 Replies

How excellent a quibble.

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@OmSigDAVID,

Just out of interest, how do you pronounce it? I know you pronounce buoy as boo-ee, we pronounce it boy. Soy do you pronounce buoyed as boo-eed, or boyd?

2 Replies

@OmSigDAVID,

OmSigDAVID wrote:

Buoys are used as SUPPORTS, because thay float.Thay can support people floating in the water (to avoid sinking).
Thay can support products floating in the water (to avoid sinking).

I thought the main purpose of a buoy was to act as a marker, telling you there's something significant below the water, or you're a certain distance from the shore.

1 Reply

@izzythepush,

Before the nightmare of the language responds, allow me to point out that many Americans pronounce the word boy, and boyed. Keep in mind that you are asking this of someone who pronounces vanilla as though there were an "e" in the word.

2 Replies

@Setanta,

I'm sorry, I suppose we only notice what's different when watching American telly, not what's the same, so I may well have heard Americans pronounce it boy, but it's not registered.

1 Reply

@izzythepush,

It gets pronounced both ways. There was a brand of hand soap, Lifebuoy, which was heavily advertised for many years, and the ads used the "boy" pronunciation. I suspect that many who had pronounced it boo-ey may have changed their pronunciation at the time. I don't recall if that were true for me or not.

http://www.indiaretailing.com/upload/newsimage/lifebuoy.jpg

1 Reply

@Setanta,

We used to get it as well, and it prompted the awful soap joke. I can only remember two lines but it went on and on.
'Put that in your palmolive. Not on your lifebuoy.

0 Replies

@izzythepush,

izzythepush wrote:

Just out of interest, how do you pronounce it? I know you pronounce buoy as boo-ee, we pronounce it boy.
Soy do you pronounce buoyed as boo-eed, or boyd?

I don 't pronounce it ofen, at all.
When I do, its (as u said) boo-ey.

David

0 Replies

@izzythepush,

OmSigDAVID wrote:

Buoys are used as SUPPORTS, because thay float.
Thay can support people floating in the water (to avoid sinking).
Thay can support products floating in the water (to avoid sinking).

izzythepush wrote:

I thought the main purpose of a buoy was to act as a marker, telling you there's something significant below the water,
or you're a certain distance from the shore.

Thay can be versatile.

David

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A "boyd" refers to something that has feathers and lays eggs.

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OK, Max . . . what's a henway?

1 Reply

@Setanta,

Quote:

OK, Max . . . what's a henway?

It's French for the feeling you have when you are not buoyed.

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And here i thought it was two or three pounds . . .

0 Replies

@Setanta,

Quote:

Keep in mind that you are asking this of someone who pronounces vanilla as though there were an "e" in the word.

Both pronunciations, "illa" and "ella" are in use.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Quote:

You like vanilla and I like vanella, You saspiralla, and I saspirella
Vanilla vanella chocolate strawberry, Let's call the whole thing off

0 Replies

Buoyed = encouraged?

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