See plait fog in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for plait fog meaning in English (3.9kB)
{
"etymology_text": "From the fact that fog is too insubstantial to be plaited.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "plaits fog",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "plaiting fog",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "plaited fog",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "plaited fog",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "plaits fog",
"2": "plaiting fog",
"3": "plaited fog"
},
"expansion": "plait fog (third-person singular simple present plaits fog, present participle plaiting fog, simple past and past participle plaited fog)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "British English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "64 36",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1999, Michael Carroll, Elizabeth Holloway, Counselling Supervision in Context, page 189",
"text": "The result for the supervisee is an experience like 'plaiting fog', that is, trying to hold together the different strands in a unified whole — and holding the tension between the needs of client, counsellor and organization.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2003, Cathy Davis, Housing associations - rehousing women leaving domestic violence, page 57",
"text": "He believed that the project was largely \"plaiting fog” and making too much of what it had achieved.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2019, Craig Hallam, Down Days",
"text": "Like my life is one long session of plaiting fog.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2023, Nick Oldham, Death Ride",
"text": "'Currently, I'm plaiting fog,' Henry admitted.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To perform an action in which the result falls apart immediately or to work on organizing something that cannot be organized."
],
"id": "en-plait_fog-en-verb-QZVObXVA",
"links": [
[
"perform",
"perform"
],
[
"action",
"action"
],
[
"result",
"result"
],
[
"falls apart",
"fall apart"
],
[
"immediately",
"immediately"
],
[
"work",
"work"
],
[
"organizing",
"organize"
],
[
"organize",
"organize"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK, figurative) To perform an action in which the result falls apart immediately or to work on organizing something that cannot be organized."
],
"tags": [
"UK",
"figuratively"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "British English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2010, Cath Irvine, Graham Firth, Ruth Berry, Understanding Intensive Interaction, page 19",
"text": "Just as you can't plait fog, you can hardly have an informed debate about something that means quite different things to different people.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2011, Philip Serrell, Sold to the Man With the Tin Leg",
"text": "I though H had more chance of plaiting fog than coming back with an affirmative to his request.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2015, J.R Stephenson, Barclays - Bankers or Bandits, page 152",
"text": "\"This is like trying to plait fog,” said Robson, now showing his frustration. “You can't have it both ways.”",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2016, David Nixon, Stories from the Street: A Theology of Homelessness",
"text": "Trying to pin down the meaning of the words themselves— 'spiritual', 'spirituality', 'religious experience'— is like trying to plait fog, but the endeavour is necessary, not least because interviewees will hear and use all these terms in different ways.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2019, Kathryn Hughes, Her Last Promise",
"text": "Never going to 'appen, love. I'll plait fog if it does.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used as a metaphor for accomplishing an impossible task."
],
"id": "en-plait_fog-en-verb-CDGMLDsW",
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK) Used as a metaphor for accomplishing an impossible task."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "knit fog"
},
{
"word": "plait sawdust"
}
],
"tags": [
"UK"
]
}
],
"word": "plait fog"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English verbs"
],
"etymology_text": "From the fact that fog is too insubstantial to be plaited.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "plaits fog",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "plaiting fog",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "plaited fog",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "plaited fog",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "plaits fog",
"2": "plaiting fog",
"3": "plaited fog"
},
"expansion": "plait fog (third-person singular simple present plaits fog, present participle plaiting fog, simple past and past participle plaited fog)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"British English",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1999, Michael Carroll, Elizabeth Holloway, Counselling Supervision in Context, page 189",
"text": "The result for the supervisee is an experience like 'plaiting fog', that is, trying to hold together the different strands in a unified whole — and holding the tension between the needs of client, counsellor and organization.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2003, Cathy Davis, Housing associations - rehousing women leaving domestic violence, page 57",
"text": "He believed that the project was largely \"plaiting fog” and making too much of what it had achieved.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2019, Craig Hallam, Down Days",
"text": "Like my life is one long session of plaiting fog.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2023, Nick Oldham, Death Ride",
"text": "'Currently, I'm plaiting fog,' Henry admitted.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To perform an action in which the result falls apart immediately or to work on organizing something that cannot be organized."
],
"links": [
[
"perform",
"perform"
],
[
"action",
"action"
],
[
"result",
"result"
],
[
"falls apart",
"fall apart"
],
[
"immediately",
"immediately"
],
[
"work",
"work"
],
[
"organizing",
"organize"
],
[
"organize",
"organize"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK, figurative) To perform an action in which the result falls apart immediately or to work on organizing something that cannot be organized."
],
"tags": [
"UK",
"figuratively"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"British English",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2010, Cath Irvine, Graham Firth, Ruth Berry, Understanding Intensive Interaction, page 19",
"text": "Just as you can't plait fog, you can hardly have an informed debate about something that means quite different things to different people.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2011, Philip Serrell, Sold to the Man With the Tin Leg",
"text": "I though H had more chance of plaiting fog than coming back with an affirmative to his request.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2015, J.R Stephenson, Barclays - Bankers or Bandits, page 152",
"text": "\"This is like trying to plait fog,” said Robson, now showing his frustration. “You can't have it both ways.”",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2016, David Nixon, Stories from the Street: A Theology of Homelessness",
"text": "Trying to pin down the meaning of the words themselves— 'spiritual', 'spirituality', 'religious experience'— is like trying to plait fog, but the endeavour is necessary, not least because interviewees will hear and use all these terms in different ways.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2019, Kathryn Hughes, Her Last Promise",
"text": "Never going to 'appen, love. I'll plait fog if it does.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used as a metaphor for accomplishing an impossible task."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK) Used as a metaphor for accomplishing an impossible task."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "knit fog"
},
{
"word": "plait sawdust"
}
],
"tags": [
"UK"
]
}
],
"word": "plait fog"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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