Lay or Stick - Page 2

jinx · 01-29-2007, 07:20 PM

Both I think. Neither sounds strange anyway...

Griff · 01-29-2007, 07:21 PM

Stick

footfootfoot · 01-29-2007, 09:25 PM

"It's starting to snow."
"Is it sticking?"

"It snowed last night, there's about an inch on the ground."

"...While the snow lay round about deep and crisp and even..."

rigcranop · 01-29-2007, 09:51 PM

I'm with jinx. Both.

wolf · 01-29-2007, 11:49 PM

Small amounts "stick".

Once it gets over an inch-and-a-half, it lays.

xoxoxoBruce · 01-30-2007, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

But seriously, there's a lag between posting the post and posting the poll. Am I doing something wrong?

OK, hit the "New Thread" button and write the post including title.
Then instead of hitting "Submit New Thread", skip down to "Post a Poll" and fill that out.
When you're happy with your poll choices, hit the "Submit New Thread" button under that which will take care of both sections.

Sundae · 01-30-2007, 06:02 AM

Neither. It settles.

Spexxvet · 01-30-2007, 09:04 AM

When it just comes down and accumulates, it definitely "lays" ... if it "stuck", it wouldn't be able to blow into drifts. Sometimes, though, it adheres to a wall, or other vertical surface, so in that case, it would "stick". But I still always say "lay". I'm not really concerned with the snow that "sticks" to a vertical surface, I'm concerned about the snow that "lays", because that's the snow that I have to fucking shovel!

Shawnee123 · 01-30-2007, 09:13 AM

We have an old joke with my 94 year old grandmother...when it snowed she would call my brother and tell him "the ground's covered" whether it was or not. Her theory was that it's always covered with something...grass, dirt, asphalt. So my brother keeps up the tradition and calls her every season when we get significant snow.

We say the snow "sticks" around here, meaning it isn't hitting the ground and melting away.

Urbane Guerrilla · 02-01-2007, 11:55 PM

The snow lies. Lays is ungrammatical.

Unless maybe that's how you get your eggs in the winter.

In which case being the omelette fiend I am, I might want to move there.

Spexxvet · 02-02-2007, 09:36 AM

Maybe

Maybe not

Shawnee123 · 02-02-2007, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

Maybe

Maybe not

From your second example: Snow lay thickly over the fields.

Cloud · 02-02-2007, 11:05 AM

I've never even heard "lay" for snow.

fargon · 02-02-2007, 11:09 AM

Here in beautiful La Crosse on the Mississippi, we say accumulate, and we know a lot about about SNOW

Shawnee123 · 02-02-2007, 11:14 AM

The two are confused because of the conjugation of the two verbs:

lie: lie, lying, lay, (have) lain
lay: lay, laying, laid, (have) laid

Lie: to be in or move into an esp. horizontal position on a surface:

The mechanic was lying on his back underneath my car.
The cat just loves to lie in front of the fire.
She lay back in the dentist's chair and tried to relax.
Lie still a moment, John.
He lies awake at night, worrying.
He lay down on the bed and cried.
I usually lie down (=rest/sleep) for an hour after lunch.
Snow lay thickly over the fields.

The verb lay means to put (something) in esp. a flat or horizontal position, usually carefully or for a particular purpose:

She laid the baby (down) in its cot.
I'll lay your coats on the bed upstairs.
Perhaps we should lay paper over the floor while we're decorating the room .
She laid aside her book and went to answer the phone.
The dog laid its ears back (=put them flat against its head) and howled.
He laid down his knife and fork, saying he couldn't possibly eat any more.
Lay the rug flat on the ground.
There will be some disruption for the next few weeks while contractors lay a new cable/sewer.
We're having a new carpet laid in the hall next week.
They've been laying bricks (=making a wall with bricks) for two weeks and the first floor is already finished.

As we are not "putting" the snow into a horizontal position, the verb "lay" is correct, not as the original unconjugated "lay" but as the conjugated tense of "lie" as shown above.

So lay is correct, though in a sense UG was correct in that it is a form of the verb lie.

Clear as mud?

View Poll Results: Does snow "lay" or "Stick"
Lay	4	16.00%
Stick	17	68.00%
I don't know from snow	4	16.00%
Voters: 25. You may not vote on this poll

01-29-2007, 07:20 PM	#16
jinx Come on, cat. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: general vicinity of Philadelphia area Posts: 7,013	Both I think. Neither sounds strange anyway... __________________ Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good.

01-29-2007, 07:21 PM	#17
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Stick __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

01-29-2007, 09:25 PM	#18
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	"It's starting to snow." "Is it sticking?" "It snowed last night, there's about an inch on the ground." "...While the snow lay round about deep and crisp and even..." __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

01-29-2007, 11:49 PM	#20
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Small amounts "stick". Once it gets over an inch-and-a-half, it lays. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

01-29-2007, 09:51 PM	#19
rigcranop Resident Denizen Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: s. jersey Posts: 62	I'm with jinx. Both.

01-30-2007, 06:02 AM	#22
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Neither. It settles. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

01-30-2007, 09:04 AM	#23
Spexxvet Makes some feel uncomfortable Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 10,346	When it just comes down and accumulates, it definitely "lays" ... if it "stuck", it wouldn't be able to blow into drifts. Sometimes, though, it adheres to a wall, or other vertical surface, so in that case, it would "stick". But I still always say "lay". I'm not really concerned with the snow that "sticks" to a vertical surface, I'm concerned about the snow that "lays", because that's the snow that I have to fucking shovel! __________________ "I'm certainly free, nay compelled, to spread the gospel of Spex. " - xoxoxoBruce

01-30-2007, 09:13 AM	#24
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	We have an old joke with my 94 year old grandmother...when it snowed she would call my brother and tell him "the ground's covered" whether it was or not. Her theory was that it's always covered with something...grass, dirt, asphalt. So my brother keeps up the tradition and calls her every season when we get significant snow. We say the snow "sticks" around here, meaning it isn't hitting the ground and melting away. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

02-01-2007, 11:55 PM	#25
Urbane Guerrilla Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 6,674	The snow lies. Lays is ungrammatical. Unless maybe that's how you get your eggs in the winter. In which case being the omelette fiend I am, I might want to move there. __________________ Wanna stop school shootings? End Gun-Free Zones, of course.

02-02-2007, 09:36 AM	#26
Spexxvet Makes some feel uncomfortable Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 10,346	Maybe Maybe not __________________ "I'm certainly free, nay compelled, to spread the gospel of Spex. " - xoxoxoBruce

02-02-2007, 11:05 AM	#28
Cloud ... Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 8,360	I've never even heard "lay" for snow.

02-02-2007, 11:09 AM	#29
fargon Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: La Crosse, WI Posts: 8,924	Here in beautiful La Crosse on the Mississippi, we say accumulate, and we know a lot about about SNOW __________________ Annoy the ones that ignore you!!! I live a blessed life I Love my Country, I Fear the Government!!! Heavily medicated for the good of mankind.

02-02-2007, 11:14 AM	#30
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	don't know much 'bout trigonometry, but I do know... The two are confused because of the conjugation of the two verbs: lie: lie, lying, lay, (have) lain lay: lay, laying, laid, (have) laid Lie: to be in or move into an esp. horizontal position on a surface: The mechanic was lying on his back underneath my car. The cat just loves to lie in front of the fire. She lay back in the dentist's chair and tried to relax. Lie still a moment, John. He lies awake at night, worrying. He lay down on the bed and cried. I usually lie down (=rest/sleep) for an hour after lunch. Snow lay thickly over the fields. The verb lay means to put (something) in esp. a flat or horizontal position, usually carefully or for a particular purpose: She laid the baby (down) in its cot. I'll lay your coats on the bed upstairs. Perhaps we should lay paper over the floor while we're decorating the room . She laid aside her book and went to answer the phone. The dog laid its ears back (=put them flat against its head) and howled. He laid down his knife and fork, saying he couldn't possibly eat any more. Lay the rug flat on the ground. There will be some disruption for the next few weeks while contractors lay a new cable/sewer. We're having a new carpet laid in the hall next week. They've been laying bricks (=making a wall with bricks) for two weeks and the first floor is already finished. As we are not "putting" the snow into a horizontal position, the verb "lay" is correct, not as the original unconjugated "lay" but as the conjugated tense of "lie" as shown above. So lay is correct, though in a sense UG was correct in that it is a form of the verb lie. Clear as mud? __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

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