Tag Archives: rug

01 Apr

rediscovering a word series 6: rug

Who taught: Audrey

toupee rug

toupee rug

I just sent an email to my coworker, Amber, and made a dummy mistake. When I meant to say, “Thank you very much, Amber! – Terry,” I wrote, “Thank you very much, Terry!”

These two mean so different. How dummy does it sound? I was thanking myself. Arghhh….

Luckily, I realized my mistake very quickly and sent another email to her to clarify. She understood and gave me an example where a comma can make a big difference.

“Let’s eat, Grandma!” vs. “Let’s eat Grandma!” The only difference is a comma here but they man very different, right, like my mistake?

English…. English…. How can I not love you?

Anyway, today, I want to continue the series of rediscovering a word. Today’s word is “rug.”

 

So, what is a rug?

A rug is a floor covering of shaggy or woven material, typically not extending over the entire floor. It’s similar to carpet but there is a difference. You want to read this post to understand the difference.

Great… Well…. Let me ask again! What is a rug? I know.. I already told you what it is. But, there is another definition.

I am a man. When a bold man wants to cover his bold head, they would wear a thing. That is “toupee.”

Well, when you are in front of those men, you want to be careful about saying “rug” because rug also means toupee. A few days ago, I was watching an episode of a TV show, Rules of Engagement. Audrey in the show used this word to mean “toupee” that another guy was wearing but I had a hard time to understand why it was supposed to be funny because she and her husband did talk about a rug for their apartment a few seconds ago.

You may think you can speak English? But, until you live here in the U.S., you do not know how hard English can be.

13 May

rug vs carpet

Rug (source: cb2.com)

For the first time in my life, I bought a rug for the living room. When I was trying to buy, shopping around online which means I did not see it physically, I used this word, a rug.

But, when it was delivered to my house which means I was able to see it physically, I kept calling it a carpet. So, I had to ask myself. What happened? Why do I call it a carpet from the moment that I can really see it physically? Here is my thought about the reason.

So, in Korea, my parents used to put a rug in the living room in front of a sofa every winter. When it comes to that time, my mother called me and my brother, saying “Boys! It is the time to put the carpet down in the living room.” I hated that time because we need to pull it out from the storage and clean and put it down. Well, the point is that she has been using the English word, carpet, all the time to mean, I think, a rug.

Actually, that makes me ask another question. What is the difference between a rug and a carpet? Is it the size? I bought a 4’*6′ rug. Can I also call it a carpet?

I am confused. I feel like carpet should cover the whole floor, not part of it. My friends, I need your help here.

Speaking of carpet, I learned an expression that is related with a carpet but it has nothing to do with meaning a carpet. Let me give you an example when I can use this one. Suppose that you are my son and you managed to drive my car without telling me and got an accident. I would be totally unhappy about it, right? Then, as you got home back, I will definitely call you. Here is the moment that you can use this expression. What you can say is “Oh no! I am sure my father calls me on the carpet for the accident.”

CAN YOU FEEL IT? I guess not.

It means “to question someone for his/her action.” No wonder why these days people like wood floor, not carpet, huh? 🙂