Hello there,
I heard the following in a movie where two men are arguing angrily. What's the difference:
Employee: "I'm very frustrated with you!"
Employer: "You mean you'r giving up?
Employee: "No, I'm giving out!"
Thank you
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#1 27-Apr-2016, 05:21Difference between give up and give out
Last edited by Fredenglish; 11-May-2016 at 19:26.
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#2 27-Apr-2016, 07:48Re: Difference between give up and give out
In Irish (Hibernian) English, to "give out" is to complain angrily or strongly.
“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”
— Arthur Schopenhauer
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#3 27-Apr-2016, 07:52Re: Difference between give up and give out
Welcome to the forum.
Originally Posted by Fredenglish
See my corrections above.
In BrE, "to give out" can mean "to stop functioning", although it normally refers to things, not people. It can refer to specific parts of the body - "I'm going to have to stop. My legs are giving out".
I'm not entirely clear what the employee is trying to indicate in that dialogue. Maybe there's an AmE meaning I'm not aware of which might make more sense.
(Cross-posted with bhaisahab - that was a meaning I wasn't aware of.)Remember - if you don't use correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing, anything you write will be incorrect.
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#4 27-Apr-2016, 15:04Re: Difference between give up and give out
I've heard give out used with that meaning in the UK.
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#5 27-Apr-2016, 18:33Re: Difference between give up and give out
Originally Posted by Tdol
I've only heard it from Irish people.“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”
— Arthur Schopenhauer
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#6 05-May-2016, 01:14
Re: Difference between give up and give out
Thank you all for your answers and correction.
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#7 05-May-2016, 07:39Re: Difference between give up and give out
You're welcome but please note that there is no need to write a new post to say "Thank you". Simply click on the "Thank" button in the bottom left-hand corner of any post you find helpful. It saves time for everyone.
Remember - if you don't use correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing, anything you write will be incorrect.
Re: Difference between give up and give out
