huff and snuff and doornail

[keannu]

What kind of action is "huff" and "snuff"? Do you huff not to sneeze? Why did he snuff? What is a doornail? Is it an antique thing? Can someone describe it briefly?

ex) From 3 little pigs.
...I was just about to go home without the cup of sugar for my dear old granny's birthday cake. That's when my nose started to itch. I felt a sneeze coming on. Well I huffed. And I snuffed. And I sneezed a great sneeze.
And you know what? That whole darn straw house fell down. And righ in the middle of the pile of straw was the First Little Pig-dead as a doornail.

 

[5jj]

As dead as a doornail

 

[iKitty]

NOT A TEACHER

To huff means to breathe out heavily, as you do when you have been running. As far as I know the only meaning of snuff as a verb is the act of extinguishing a candle – however,to snuffle is to breathe noisily as you do when you have a head cold with a runny nose. In this context, the writer is using snuff to rhyme with huff, but with the meaning of snuffle.

Dead as a doornail is a saying, which means dead or useless. The exact meaning of doornail has been slightly lost, but the nail part likely means a nail that has been bent or had its head hammered to the point that it could not be used again.

 

[JohnParis]

Wow - this sure isn't the "Three Little Pigs" I learned as a kid (The Three Little Pigs) !

 

[keannu]

NOT A TEACHER

To huff means to breathe out heavily, as you do when you have been running. As far as I know the only meaning of snuff as a verb is the act of extinguishing a candle – however,to snuffle is to breathe noisily as you do when you have a head cold with a runny nose. In this context, the writer is using snuff to rhyme with huff, but with the meaning of snuffle.

Why does dictionary describe "huff" as "behaving in a bad-tempered way as you are annoyed and offended", it doesn't seem to say "you are breathing out". And for "snuff" isn't it "you breathe in hard", Didn't he do both the actions to stop sneezing?

Dead as a doornail is a saying, which means dead or useless. The exact meaning of doornail has been slightly lost, but the nail part likely means a nail that has been bent or had its head hammered to the point that it could not be used again.

Why does dictionary describe "huff" as "behaving in a bad-tempered way as you are annoyed and offended", it doesn't seem to say "you are breathing out". And for "snuff" isn't it "you breathe in hard", Didn't he do both the actions to stop sneezing?

Is it a big nail not a round doorknob? Can you explain what it is in the picture?

 

[birdeen's call]

It's a rapper or a knocker.

Doornail.

 

[JohnParis]

Keannu, the following is the definition of "huff" from the Oxford Dictionary:

huff |həf|
verb [ intrans. ]
1. blow out loudly; puff : he was huffing under a heavy load.
• [ trans. ] express (one's annoyance or offense) : he huffed out his sudden irritation.

Please note that the first and preferred definition (marked, for your convenience, by the number "1"), is to blow out loudly.
Please tell me if there is there anything you do not understand in this definition.

From the same dictionary, here is the definition of "snuff": note that the word "snuff" is primarily used as a verb, but it is also a noun, with a completely different meaning.

snuff |snəf| verb

• extinguish (a candle or flame):a breeze snuffed out the candle
• trim the charred wick from (a candle).
• informal kill or put an end to in an abrupt or sudden manner:his life was snuffed out by a sniper’s bullet
• [no object] (snuff it) British informal die:the old girl’s snuffed it

snuff 2 |snəf| |snʌf| noun

• powdered tobacco that is sniffed up the nostril rather than smoked : a pinch of snuff.

If the author of your story used the word "snuff" to refer to an act of breathing, he was employing poetic license to describe the physical action necessary to inhale snuff (the noun) into the nasal passages. This action is "to sniff", not "to snuff". But since they sound so close, the author may have just used snuff because it rhymes with huff.

Concerning your picture, it appears to be some sort of apparatus used to pull shut or to pull open something (a door or a window cover, perhaps?). The metal loop seems to be for inserting a finger or two to exert a pulling action. It is not a nail.

John

 

[birdeen's call]

It's a rapper or a knocker.

Now that I've taken a better look at the picture, I'm beginning to doubt it's a doorknocker. The metal loop seems a bit too small to be convenient. John Paris may be correct, but perhaps you do know for sure, Keannu, how this object is used? This would help us find a proper word. Is the heart-shaped part a head of a bolt?

 

[Raymott]

Now that I've taken a better look at the picture, I'm beginning to doubt it's a doorknocker. The metal loop seems a bit too small to be convenient. John Paris may be correct, but perhaps you do know for sure, Keannu, how this object is used? This would help us find a proper word. Is the heart-shaped part a head of a bolt?

It looks very much like a bell - shaped like a bicycle bell, but in this case you lift the ring (loop) and twist it.
(Or not, of course).

 

[keannu]

Keannu, the following is the definition of "huff" from the Oxford Dictionary:

huff |həf|
verb [ intrans. ]
1. blow out loudly; puff : he was huffing under a heavy load.
• [ trans. ] express (one's annoyance or offense) : he huffed out his sudden irritation.

Please note that the first and preferred definition (marked, for your convenience, by the number "1"), is to blow out loudly.
Please tell me if there is there anything you do not understand in this definition.

From the same dictionary, here is the definition of "snuff": note that the word "snuff" is primarily used as a verb, but it is also a noun, with a completely different meaning.

snuff |snəf| verb

• extinguish (a candle or flame):a breeze snuffed out the candle
• trim the charred wick from (a candle).
• informal kill or put an end to in an abrupt or sudden manner:his life was snuffed out by a sniper’s bullet
• [no object] (snuff it) British informal die:the old girl’s snuffed it

snuff 2 |snəf| |snʌf| noun

• powdered tobacco that is sniffed up the nostril rather than smoked : a pinch of snuff.

If the author of your story used the word "snuff" to refer to an act of breathing, he was employing poetic license to describe the physical action necessary to inhale snuff (the noun) into the nasal passages. This action is "to sniff", not "to snuff". But since they sound so close, the author may have just used snuff because it rhymes with huff.

Concerning your picture, it appears to be some sort of apparatus used to pull shut or to pull open something (a door or a window cover, perhaps?). The metal loop seems to be for inserting a finger or two to exert a pulling action. It is not a nail.

John

Okay, in the story, why did the wolf huff(exhale) and snuff(sniff=inhale) before sneezing? To stop sneezing?
For the picture, I just happend to get it on the internet, but I want to know what "doornail" is used for. Is it an ornament attached on the doorknob for decoration or practical use?

 

[5jj]

I want to know what "doornail" is used for. Is it an ornament attached on the doorknob for decoration or practical use?

Did you go to the link I provided in post #2?

Apparently not.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm baffled completely by this version of the 3 Little Pigs. In the version I know, the phrase used over and over again is:

I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down!

There was no sneezing involved. I think you've been reading some strange alternative version so it's hard to tell why the writer has used "huff", "snuff" and "sneeze".

As far as a doornail is concerned, it's not used for anything more than any other nail. It's a nail used in a door or a doorframe. You hit it with a hammer until it goes all the way in and it hold the wood together. This is one.

 

[JohnParis]

Okay, in the story, why did the wolf huff(exhale) and snuff(sniff=inhale) before sneezing? To stop sneezing? No, not at all. The story you have is some sort of parody of the original story entitled "The Three Little Pigs". If you follow this link you can read the original in less than 5 minutes The Three Little Pigs. The wolf is the bad guy in this tale. He was there to destroy the homes of the little pigs (and eat them) and I'm almost certain he had no problems with sneezing.
For the picture, I just happend to get it on the internet, but I want to know what "doornail" is used for. Is it an ornament attached on the doorknob for decoration or practical use? The Oxford Dictionary defines doornail as a stud set in a door for strength or as an ornament.

John

 

[keannu]

John

Can you just roughly guess why the wolf hufffed and snuffed from your stand point of view? Just a wild guess, I mean, as I have to explain to my students. hkhkhk

 

[emsr2d2]

Can you just roughly guess why the wolf hufffed and snuffed from your [STRIKE]stand[/STRIKE] point of view? Just a wild guess, I mean, as I have to explain to my students. hkhkhk

The only plausible explanation I can think of is that sometimes before we sneeze, we make a series of strange little noises with our nose and sometimes our voice so maybe that's what he meant by "huff and snuff" before sneezing.

But really - I'm just making it up. My best advice would be for your students to read the real version of 3 Little Pigs instead! ;-)

 

[keannu]

The only plausible explanation I can think of is that sometimes before we sneeze, we make a series of strange little noises with our nose and sometimes our voice so maybe that's what he meant by "huff and snuff" before sneezing.

But really - I'm just making it up. My best advice would be for your students to read the real version of 3 Little Pigs instead! ;-)

Okay, it makes sense, that's probably the reason, a physiological reason, I guess. It's related to a pre-symptom before sneezing.
Last question, how can a plain doornail, just a long nail function as an ornament of the door? They must drill it to a door probably on the doorknob just to help fix the door firmly, and if it's fixed deep inside with just the tip seen from outside, how can it be an ornament?

 

[birdeen's call]

Okay, it makes sense, that's probably the reason, a physiological reason, I guess. It's related to a pre-symptom before sneezing.
Last question, how can a plain doornail, just a long nail function as an ornament of the door? They must drill it to a door probably on the doorknob just to help fix the door firmly, and if it's fixed deep inside with just the tip seen from outside, how can it be an ornament?

Here's a very little picture of an ornamental doornail: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQt6zHfi1EWAnJ9Y_GZBQNTXutD8bZkiI7exLR7_ejfs4Y5eO5FBTXShiy1

 

[keannu]

Here's a very little picture of an ornamental doornail: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQt6zHfi1EWAnJ9Y_GZBQNTXutD8bZkiI7exLR7_ejfs4Y5eO5FBTXShiy1

It's almost like a doorknob, do you use it to open the door as well or just for watching?

 

[birdeen's call]

It's almost like a doorknob, do you use it to open the door as well or just for watching?

It's not like a doorknob. A doorknob is a mechanism. It has moving parts. The doornail in the picture is just a nail. Using a nail to open and close a door, while possible, isn't a common practice.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's almost like a doorknob, do you use it to open the door as well or just for watching?

No, it's nothing like a doorknob. It's a nail. The only difference between it and a "normal" nail is that has a slightly more attractive design on the round flat end. That means that once it has been hammered into the door, if the round part is flush against the door (instead of hidden in the wood) it will look nicer than a normal nail. That's what makes it "ornamental".