Has anyone else's work attracted trolls?

[meeera]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You've got me interested to know what the meaning was. In British English it either means "lazing around", or the room in your house in which you engage in such an activity (ie the living room).

Sofa. It's not exclusive to eastern Australia - some in the West use it too.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by meeera

Sofa. It's not exclusive to eastern Australia - some in the West use it too.

Interesting - I hadn't come across that usage. Thanks!

[gmw]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You've got me interested to know what the meaning was. In British English it either means "lazing around", or the room in your house in which you engage in such an activity (ie the living room).

In eastern Australia it can refer to a piece of furniture - equivalent to sofa or couch. I can even direct you to Australian furniture stores that sell lounges. Curiously, meeera told me that sofa is more common in the west, although she understood my usage.

BTW: It was a UK friend of mine who kindly agreed to review drafts of my books that found this - along with many other issues. It pays to have good attentive friends in diverse locations :-)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by gmw

BTW: It was a UK friend of mine who kindly agreed to review drafts of my books that found this - along with many other issues. It pays to have good attentive friends in diverse locations :-)

Absolutely - an international perspective is always useful. There are many words that can either be misunderstood, or not understood at all, in other countries. I was interested to discover, for example, that the word "fortnight", which is extremely common in Britain, is not known to many Americans.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by gmw

In eastern Australia it can refer to a piece of furniture - equivalent to sofa or couch. I can even direct you to Australian furniture stores that sell lounges. Curiously, meeera told me that sofa is more common in the west, although she understood my usage.

They're both used, and I have suspicions that it might be a (soft) class marker as well. The occasional Pommy import might still say "settee". Possibly the most common word around here is "couch", though "couch" users will still talk about a "lounge suite".

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by meeera

They're both used, and I have suspicions that it might be a (soft) class marker as well. The occasional Pommy import might still say "settee". Possibly the most common word around here is "couch", though "couch" users will still talk about a "lounge suite".

"Settee" and "sofa" are probably used pretty much equally in Britain. I was interested to note a couple of years ago when I was proof-reading one of the Jane Austen books I created for the MR library, that she used the word "sofa" (although spelt "sopha"); for some reason I'd (wrongly) assumed it was a modern word!

[gmw]

Originally Posted by meeera

They're both used, and I have suspicions that it might be a (soft) class marker as well. The occasional Pommy import might still say "settee". Possibly the most common word around here is "couch", though "couch" users will still talk about a "lounge suite".

To my mind a sofa is a very soft (lots of cushioning) two-seater. A couch is a large quite hard seat (like a bench with a bit of upholstery stapled to it), while a lounge is a more luxurious version of a couch. When I grew up with had a couch and only fussy older (female) relatives had sofas ... I don't remember using "lounge" as a piece of furniture back then, not sure if that's because it wasn't in common use or if I just didn't know anyone that had one.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Absolutely - an international perspective is always useful. There are many words that can either be misunderstood, or not understood at all, in other countries. I was interested to discover, for example, that the word "fortnight", which is extremely common in Britain, is not known to many Americans.

a 'fortnight' is around 2 weeks isn't it?

[crich70]

Originally Posted by meeera

They're both used, and I have suspicions that it might be a (soft) class marker as well. The occasional Pommy import might still say "settee". Possibly the most common word around here is "couch", though "couch" users will still talk about a "lounge suite".

Here in the U.S. sofa, couch, and davenport are all used.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by crich70

Here in the U.S. sofa, couch, and davenport are all used.

It must be awkward sitting more than one person on a davenport (I always thought it was a small writing-desk - though I see the OED gives me the American definition too).

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by gmw

To my mind a sofa is a very soft (lots of cushioning) two-seater. A couch is a large quite hard seat (like a bench with a bit of upholstery stapled to it), while a lounge is a more luxurious version of a couch. When I grew up with had a couch and only fussy older (female) relatives had sofas ... I don't remember using "lounge" as a piece of furniture back then, not sure if that's because it wasn't in common use or if I just didn't know anyone that had one.

I always think of a two-seater as a 'love couch' or 'love seat'.

The image below is not my love couch, but I invite anyone to come and visit me and plop your tail end right down next to mine!

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by gmw

To my mind a sofa is a very soft (lots of cushioning) two-seater. A couch is a large quite hard seat (like a bench with a bit of upholstery stapled to it), while a lounge is a more luxurious version of a couch. When I grew up with had a couch and only fussy older (female) relatives had sofas ... I don't remember using "lounge" as a piece of furniture back then, not sure if that's because it wasn't in common use or if I just didn't know anyone that had one.

I grew up calling the full-sized three-seater, fully padded, a couch. I later heard people call it a sofa. The two-seater we called a loveseat, but isn't that one of those things that keeps two people separated? Lounge meant a verb, a room and a piece of furniture, and I suspect it's responsible for the common misspelling of chaise longue.

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by E.M.DuBois

Quick guide to get trolls:
1. Get a Twitter account.
2. Tweet a link to your book.
3. Pin Tweet to the top of your profile.
4. Show support for whatever political party you're with. That's a sure-fire technique. Or just express an intelligent opinion in general. No, screw that, just say anything you think is fact and can't be argued. Seriously. "The world is round," will suffice.
5. Sit back and wait. It won't take long, I can assure you. Political-party opinions guarantee results anywhere from seconds to about ten minutes.

I'm afraid step one eliminates me from this gay pastime. Although I am intrigued by the prospect of using my tweets to twit twerps, I've never actually taking the step of joining the Twitter club. Am I to be forever left behind?

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by crich70

a 'fortnight' is around 2 weeks isn't it?

Exactly two weeks.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

Exactly two weeks.

Yes. The word originates from an Old English phrase meaning "fourteen nights".