Talk:deep

Etymology would be helpful. --squadfifteen 3/10/05
 * There ya go. Straight from Webster's 1913.  -- [ Connel MacKenzie] 13:04, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

adverb [after a number, noun, or adjective indicating measurement] to a depth/breadth of (the number, noun, or adjective mentioned)
The fans were lined up three deep around the block. --Backinstadiums (talk) 19:08, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

RFV discussion: July–August 2021
RFV adj sense:


 * Immersed, submerged (in).

The existing examples are most likely adverbial, expressing "how far in debt / in the mud". Seeking unambiguously adjectival examples. Mihia (talk) 13:29, 2 July 2021 (UTC)


 * I wonder if an adjectival citation is even possible without rewriting the definition. I mean, there are plenty of citations of "deep debtor", but the definition probably needs to be revised beyond "immersed, submerged [debtor]". - -sche (discuss) 17:37, 2 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I would hazard an opinion that "deep debtor" is a figurative use of sense #1.7, under which we presently have the example "deep wreck". Mihia (talk) 17:58, 2 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Good point. Is it even possible for this "immersed, submerged" sense to exist separate from that sense, then? Like, even if we accepted "deep in debt" and "deep in the mud" as adjectives for a moment, for the purposes of discussion, they'd be adequately explained by "Positioned [...] far, especially down [...] into something", wouldn't they? It seems like these are just redundant senses that could be merged. - -sche (discuss) 18:15, 2 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes, I think you're right -- to justify a separate sense we would need uses that clearly focus only on the "immersed/submerged" aspect, not the "positioned far (down/into)" sense, i.e. almost uses that don't mean "deep", it would seem, so it is hard to see what would qualify, unless someone sees an angle that I can't at the moment. Mihia (talk) 18:52, 2 July 2021 (UTC)

RFV-failed Kiwima (talk) 21:52, 2 August 2021 (UTC)


 * Seems like a matter of analysis to me .... I would say that in a sentence like I was stuck deep in the mud, deep is an adjective, because it doesnt modify the verb (note that I was deep in the mud is still grammatical) nor does it modify the following phrase (I was stuck deep is also grammatical). Indeed the whole sentence can be stripped to give us I was deep ... not a thing people say very often outside a specific context, but still perfectly grammatical.  Again it reminds me of talking about drinking, saying I'm three bottles deep.  So unless we decide to call adjectives adverbs when they occur after a copula (are there people who would say green is an adverb if I say "I am green"?), I think this should have stayed. That said, arguments over parts of speech are unsettled and I think it's often better to let things lie than to continuously point and prod whenever I have an alternative point of view.  — Soap — 09:06, 29 August 2023 (UTC)

Deep Time
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_time --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:59, 27 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Has been since created as deep time. Thank you. — Soap — 12:35, 28 March 2023 (UTC)

surrounded by one's own kind
Is it just me? I've mentally thought of this term as short for someone or something who communicates only with their own kind, and where any contact with the outside world is through intermediaries. For example deep anarchists may accept ideas from other anarchists, but never from anything outside that umbrella. But perhaps I've just been misunderstanding it, since it's not that common. It seems it might be little more than an intensifier, perhaps something that sounds more respectable than "extreme" or "radical". — Soap — 12:35, 28 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I havent been able to find more information on this. It may be a recurring metaphor without a specific precedent, similar to used with languages (High German is so called because it evolved on high terrain, but High Icelandic is "pure" Icelandic and we talk about high registers of languages as well).   — Soap — 05:29, 26 August 2023 (UTC)
 * a possible use of what im thinking of is the concept of, but i'll have to read a bit to see if it really means what I imagine it as ... content in a story that hints at further storylines but does not relate to our world. — Soap — 08:49, 29 August 2023 (UTC)

in deep
1. Fig. deeply involved (with someone or something). ''Mary and Sam are in deep. Wilbur got in deep with the mob.''

2. Fig. deeply in debt. (Often with with or to.) ''Willie is in deep with his bookie. I'm in deep to the department store''.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/in+deep JMGN (talk) 17:39, 7 July 2024 (UTC)