Expressions of the form *full, e.g. cupful, bag full, screenfull

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the usage and spelling of expressions that end with "full," such as "cupful," "screenfull," and "bag full." Participants explore their personal practices and perceptions regarding these terms, touching on variations in American English and the distinctions between different types of "full" expressions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses uncertainty about the rules governing the spelling of "full" expressions, noting personal habits without a general rule.
  • Another participant argues that there are distinct genres of "full" expressions, separating them into categories like "playful" versus "cup full," suggesting that they should be treated differently.
  • A different viewpoint emphasizes that the suffix is typically "ful" with one "l," providing examples like "headful" and "spoonful," while acknowledging possible exceptions.
  • Participants discuss the subtle differences in emphasis when keeping "full" as a separate word versus using it as a suffix, with examples like "manful" versus "man full of bad ideas."
  • There is a humorous exchange about the phrase "chock full," with one participant suggesting it should be "chocked full," while others engage in playful commentary about the phrase's usage.
  • One participant mentions that Linux spellcheckers recognize two words ending with "full" and lists a larger number of words ending with "ful," indicating a broader linguistic context.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the rules or preferences for using "full" expressions, with multiple competing views and interpretations remaining throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying degrees of familiarity with the rules of English spelling and usage, and there are references to personal habits and preferences that may not align with formal guidelines.

Stephen Tashi
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What is your personal practice in dealing with expressions of fullness that end with "full"? (I'm just curious what other people do, I'm not likely to change my own habits.)

I don't know if USA English has a rule about writing expressions like "cup full" (two words) vs "cupful" (one word sans an "L") vs "cupfull" (one word that the internet says is a misspelling. ). Perhaps each attempt to suffix a word by "full" is separate case. I don't follow a general rule. To me, "screenfull" looks ok, especially in talking about computers. Something like "fountainfull" looks wrong. Situations like "playful" are (to me) special cases. I don't think of "playful" as meaning a play that is full of something.
 
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Seems to me you are mixing the apples with the oranges. Words like playful (vengeful,delightful,awful) are a separate genre from cup full (screen full, head full). The first are transmuted versions of play-filled delight-filled
Personally I use these two different genres as written above. Since there is no Academie Americaine, and so we are chock full of lawful uses.
 
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Generally, the suffix is ful (with one "l"): headful, pocketful, cupboardful, spoonful. There may be some exceptions, I don't know.

You could draw a distinction between, for example, he was manful (brave, resolute) and he was a man full of bad ideas. Keeping "full" as a separate word may have a subtly different emphasis.

I would say chock full is no different from stuffed full or even filled full.
 
hutchphd said:
Since there is no Academie Americaine, and so we are chock full of lawful uses.

- and awful uses.
 
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PeroK said:
I would say chock full is no different from stuffed full or even filled full.
I'm filled with thoughtful agreement here, but, I'm also mindful of what is a seamful

and insightful, yet not a fully discernible, very minor error. . . chock full should actually

be chocked full. . . . :wink:
Then we might could say, in a truthful and shameful, or, even disgraceful way. . ."Sometimes, even my Goodyears are chocked full of inactivity. . ."
1603846506467.png
Lol. . . . :-p

.
 
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English dictionary built in Linux spellcheckers lists two words ending with full - overfull and bellyfull.

It lists 161 words ending with ful.
 
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