Off Topic Knife , knifing , knifed ! Prejudicial language , loaded with negative assumptions , by definition .

Have to throw in with @ shane45-1911 shane45-1911 on this one. NO ONE calls 911, and says "Send help. I've just been knifed", or "I've been involved in a knifing". Common terminology is "Send help, I've just been stabbed", "I've been involved in a stabbing", or "I've been attacked with a knife".
 
CyberRacer said:
Have to throw in with @ shane45-1911 shane45-1911 on this one. NO ONE calls 911, and says "Send help. I've just been knifed", or "I've been involved in a knifing". Common terminology is "Send help, I've just been stabbed", "I've been involved in a stabbing", or "I've been attacked with a knife".
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Agreed. Words like "knifing" are media words to sensationalize the act of stabbing someone. It sounds more evil, apparently. And Webster got sucked into making it official, even though a perfectly good and logical word for the action already existed. We don't need a synonym for "stabbing" - it is pretty self-explanatory.
 
DocJD said:
www.merriam-webster.com

Definition of KNIFE

a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp blade fastened to a handle; a weapon or tool resembling a knife; a sharp cutting blade or tool in a machine… See the full definition
www.merriam-webster.com www.merriam-webster.com

So in the kitchen or at dinner : spooning , forking your food is fine .

And you can cut , but you'd better not start knifing . 🥷

In the shop or on the job : hammering , sawing , scraping and even screwing is OK ...but knifing won't cut it . :confused:

The whole verb usage is primarily violently negative . To knife , knifing , knifed . 🗡️

This makes some sense for the word "gun" , but the overwhelming use for knives ,in the modern word especially, has nothing to do with violence .

It's difficult to overcome prejudice when it is encoded in your native tongue .

Maybe this is partly why some people get upset with anyone carrying almost any knife ?

After all , who wants to be "knifed" ! :eek:
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It's as if people are afraid of being hurt by someone carrying around multiple large stabinator 3000 mall ninja pocket swords...

😁
 
Sheesh. This is simple. “Knifing” and “knifed” are perfectly respectable words. It’s not just Webster’s, but also the venerable and authoritative OED that says so. That settles it. Nothing more to the story.

Nor are they “media words”. They have been used since at least the 1800’s, and variants like “kniving” have been around since the 1700’s.
 
It definitely seems to have negative connotations. Like the word "conniving. "
 
It's getting late . 🥱

I gotta go be knifing up , spooning and forking down a late night snack . :)
 
Knives are a inherently dangerous object,that has the capacity to cause harm even sitting on a bench, your actions can get you cut.It is a hazard Some people see potential danger or risk as the same thing,as a hazard they see something that could cause injury and instantly think of the worst situation and outcome if they were injured by that hazard, they often then express this verbally by talking about stabbing an poking an such. This is often from people that are not comfortable handling or using knives beyond the necessary, like me with a chainsaw, sure I've used one, but dont like to, and when I talk about them because Im a bit scared of them I usually am compelled to mention, the awful havic they can wreak if something goes wrong.
I think as knife nuts we need to get that this perspective is based on lack of knowledge,experience,and that we are the best ones to share the positive side of mankinds oldest tool
 
There is nothing wrong with using contrived words. Some people will just think you are not as educated as they wish. Best example of that in my place is the over-use of the phrase "level-up."
 
DocJD said:
www.merriam-webster.com

Definition of KNIFE

a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp blade fastened to a handle; a weapon or tool resembling a knife; a sharp cutting blade or tool in a machine… See the full definition
www.merriam-webster.com www.merriam-webster.com

So in the kitchen or at dinner : spooning , forking your food is fine .

And you can cut , but you'd better not start knifing . 🥷

In the shop or on the job : hammering , sawing , scraping and even screwing is OK ...but knifing won't cut it . :confused:

The whole verb usage is primarily violently negative . To knife , knifing , knifed . 🗡️

This makes some sense for the word "gun" , but the overwhelming use for knives ,in the modern word especially, has nothing to do with violence .

It's difficult to overcome prejudice when it is encoded in your native tongue .

Maybe this is partly why some people get upset with anyone carrying almost any knife ?

After all , who wants to be "knifed" ! :eek:
Click to expand...
In the context of video games, I see the term ‘knifing’ used quite a lot, where the player switches from his firearm to his fighting blade. In real life though, be it news or casual conversations, I don’t really encounter this term, Doc.

I don’t really see an issue here. Folks who think of knives as evil inanimate objects will always think the same regardless of a silly verb. Just use slice, carve, drill, or chop when referring to knife tasks.
 
This thread is on fleek. I dig discussions of rad alternative definitions.

People who take issue with “knifed” might also take issue with terms like “gunned”, “gunning” or “gun it”. Just be glad the noun came first, or we might call the act “to knife” and the implement would be a “knifer”. Cleave, cleaver…


… cleavage.
 
EngrSorenson said:
This thread is on fleek. I dig discussions of rad alternative definitions.

People who take issue with “knifed” might also take issue with terms like “gunned”, “gunning” or “gun it”. Just be glad the noun came first, or we might call the act “to knife” and the implement would be a “knifer”. Cleave, cleaver…


… cleavage.
Click to expand...
My hot journalist teacher back in high school preferred “shot dead” over “gunned down” in news writing, lol. “Knifing” just doesn’t sound professional from a technical writing perspective. “Stabbed” is the way to go. The focus should be on the heinous act, not the inanimate object.
 
Trying to be a linguistic prescriptivist and dealing with English is setting yourself up for frustration and failure. This language is a living organism that evolves and mutates wildly and without regard for our tastes or inclinations. The only thing you can control about it is how YOU use it, so it's not worth wasting much time or worry about how others do.
 
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