h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've noticed over the past few years a gradual creep towards people describing every surface we walk on, regardless of whether it is inside or outside, as 'the floor'. This *really* irritates me! The English language has always described 'the ground' as being outside and 'the floor' inside, has it not?

You hear it especially in the media; "he was shot and he fell on the floor". Um, no- he was shot in the street so he fell on the ground. Is this just language laziness in the most recent generations or is there some other factor at play here? I absolutely never in my 40 years heard this phenomenon up until about 2 or 3 years ago (around the same time people started calling 'drawers', 'draws'.)

I think we may have to start from the ground floor to understood this development.


Geggs

I thought I had a good grounding in language, but this question has me floored.

Well, it's decked me

Best have a sit in a deckchair, then.


Geggs

Well you and I know it as a deckchair, but suddenly, one day, out of the blue folk on the telly will be calling it a sofa.

What do you call the street level of a multi-storey building - is it the ground floor or the first floor?

I'd call it the ground floor. If it's cold, concrete and public, it's still the ground, even if there's a roof

When my daughter was about five I explained to her that it was floor for indoors and ground for outdoors.

"Why is it the forest floor, then?"

It floors me that anyone would get wound up about something so outside of their control.

Take a chill pill and the stress levels will become gradually grounded.

I haven't noticed this misuse of floor / ground in the UK media - is it the UK media you are referring to winnoch?

The floor is under something, the ground is not necessarily. Can anyone spot the flaw?

In the case of the forest floor, it is obviously under the squirrels.

Forests have a canopy (roof) so I can see how we could get a forest floor.

With regard to naming surfaces upon which one walks - as a child I oft. wondered what was meant by the ships poop deck.

I think Forest Floor has become the norm because of the alliteration.

Forest ground - no, I don't think so.

Similar to the examples mentioned in an article someone recently linked to - we don't say "fast shower", we only say "quick shower", and so on. English seems to be very much about the sound of things and then sticking to the set phrases. Probably all languages are like that.

Aye, the UK media, but I should clarify it's not the reporters saying it; more the random interviews with the public after an event. So at least it hasn't made it's way to broadcasting yet. My perception is that it's mainly English folk and mainly 'yoofs' who are confusing the words.

Floor has been used for outside surfaces in some contexts for many centuries - you mention forest floor, and there's ocean floor, of course.

In the sense of someone outside falling on the floor, I reckon this is used in a separate sporting context. In cricket we drop a catch on the floor, and in boxing we put a fighter on the floor.

The OED's earliest reference to 'floor' being used in the outside context is this quote from Morte Arthur (c1400):

With þe drowghte of þe daye alle drye ware þe flores!

(With the drought of the day all dry were the floors!)

There's a short storey in here somewhere.


~jwf~