Skating is useful.

[towcats1]

Hello.
Skating is useful. Is it possible to say? Is it correct to use the word "useful"?

 

[SoothingDave]

Sure, it's possible to say. But I'm not sure how is it useful.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello.
Is it possible to say "Skating is useful"? Is it possible to say? Is it correct to use the word "useful"?

It's possible to say just about anything. We have no idea if "useful" is the correct word for the situation because we don't know to whom or why you're saying it. Please provide us with a lot more context. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any situation in which skating would be useful. (Also, are you talking about ice-skating or roller-skating?)

 

[SoothingDave]

I supposed if you lived way up north and skated across a frozen lake to get to town for supplies, it would be useful.

 

[emsr2d2]

I supposed if you lived way up north and skated across a frozen lake to get to town for supplies, it would be useful.

In the US, that's probably true. However, someone living in Manchester (that's somewhere "up north" for me!) isn't going to have to worry about frozen lakes any time soon!
I'm looking forward to hearing towcats1's context.

 

[SoothingDave]

I was actually thinking like Canada or Norway.

 

[probus]

In Canada, when we want to jokingly urge someone to make haste, we often say "You'd better get your skates on".

 

[Tarheel]

This is probably off-topic and will be deleted. Did you know that most of the players in the NHL are Canadians? (That's probably not a big surprise.) In the case of ice hockey, skating is not only useful. It's essential.

 

[jutfrank]

Playing hockey on ice? Interesting idea.

 

[Tarheel]

There's probably not a lot of ice hockey in the UK.

 

[SoothingDave]

Playing hockey on ice? Interesting idea.

Yes, it's like soccer, but fast and violent.

 

[jutfrank]

In spite of our conspicuous lack of water in its solid form, we Brits also use 'get your skates' on to mean 'hurry up'. My mum used to use it with me a lot, and as a kid growing up in the 1970s, I always playfully imagined putting on roller skates, as if we were going to a rollerdisco!

And as someone who also happened to be a teenage boy during the extensive resurgent skateboarding craze of the late 80s, my most immediate and natural interpretation of the word 'skating' in the original post was actually as a synonym of 'skateboarding'.

 

[probus]

Yes, it's like soccer, but fast and violent.

Also, ice hockey isn't boring.

 

[jutfrank]

Also, ice hockey isn't boring.

If you think soccer is boring, I can't imagine you've watched much cricket.

You Canadians don't play cricket on ice too, do you?

 

[probus]

There isn't a great deal cricket in Canada, although many of our Caribbean and South Asian immigrants are incurably addicted to the game.

 

[Skrej]

Although they're not as popular as during their heyday in the 50's and 60's, there are still a number of drive-in restaurants throughout North America where you pull your car into a stall and order over an intercom. The food is subsequently then brought to your car, where you sit and eat. The person bringing you your order is called a car-hop.

One such chain still in operation today is Sonic, and their gimmick is that their car-hops deliver on skates. Nowadays not too many carhops still use skates, but the company does still sponsor a car-hop skating competition. Car-hops who do work in skates get a slight hourly wage increase over walkers. I'm not sure if they're allowed to use more modern roller blades or have to use traditional roller skates.

This is an older video, but it shows the layout of a typical Sonic restaurant well, including the stalls.

So I'd say yes, it's a useful skill if can earn you more pay and/or prize money.

We have a Sonic here where I live which I frequent more than I should. I haven't seen any skaters lately, but I've seen at least one within the last few years. He seemed to be trying to learn how to skate though, because he wasn't especially competent. I'm guessing he was just doing it for the pay hike.

 

[towcats1]

It's possible to say just about anything. We have no idea if "useful" is the correct word for the situation because we don't know to whom or why you're saying it. Please provide us with a lot more context. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any situation in which skating would be useful.

Skating is useful to be in good health/shape.

 

[Tarheel]

Skating is useful to be in good/shape.

Skating is useful for helping you get in good shape.

 

[emsr2d2]

Skating is useful to be in good health/shape.

I wouldn't use "useful" in that scenario at all. I might use "helpful".

Skating can help you get in shape.
Skating is helpful if you're trying to get in shape.
Skating can help you improve your health.
Skating can be helpful when trying to improve your health.