So, this is a very random one. We're having a debate in the office, that is quickly turning heated. But one of my colleagues claims that you can carefully drop something. After we got too literal with the various factors, including terminal velocity, we decided to turn to the world of forums to settle this argument to decide once and for all if it is possible to carefully drop something.
Yes? There's the option of just releasing something from a height, and then there's releasing it over a different surface, releasing it in such a way that it lands in a particular position, and even varying the height of the release... Of course it depends on the conditions you're placing on the definition of drop, but drop doesn't necessarily imply a lack of control.
Yes again I'm afraid. People carefully drop their phones all the time. Drop it on it's edge on to concrete, careless. Drop it on it's face onto a sofa while taking your coat off when you get home, careful. The OED doesn't define "drop" as necessarily accidental: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/drop
I'd think of it more as a controlled release- let the object carefully slip from your hands down onto the floor as you lower it say, rather than just release it from a height. Any release, careful or not, from the same ( large ) height, is gonna do the same amount of damage pretty much; I think it's just one of those old expressions that has a non-literal meaning...
I "carefully drop" my pets all the time. I just let em go a few inches off the floor. I only do this if they're on a bed or something high, instead of letting them jump off, i'll pick them up, lean over, and let them go as close to the ground as I can. I "carefully" drop my phone on my bed all the time. You could argue that depending what you're dropping it on could be considered careful. If you drop your phone on a floor, it isn't careful at all, but if you drop it on a bed, there really is no harm, so it's technically being careful. If something is light enough you can kind of just drop it anywhere since the weight won't let it do any real harm from falling short distances.
Yes, you can carefully drop something. Taking care to choose optimum height, angle, surface, spin, likely obstructions etc. etc. are all examples of taking care. A mate once claimed he had an unbreakable plate. I took hold of it and carefully ensured it dropped at the right angle, onto the right surface, to definitely break. And it did. Kudos to me for taking care.
I daresay most bombs dropped from aircraft can be regarded as being dropped carefully, they'd be a tad useless otherwise.
I think we are debating the adverb of manner with the verb. To drop carefully vs to drop with care. To drop carefully is a misnomer really whereas to drop with care means to be aware of the environment in which the drop is taking place. We are arguing semantics here and the meaning is more important but if we are to be pedantic then to drop carefully really doesn't make sense as to drop means to release, you release or don't release, it is not a verb to which an adverb of manner could really be assigned.
I carefully dropped my turd on to a waiting cushion of bogroll earlier, in a work toilet notorious for splashbacks.
You brought down the intelligence of the palaver in an instant, damn it Shirty. I 'carefully' drop my cat all the time from a foot or so. People carefully drop phones onto beds, carefully drop shoes on the floor.
You can carefully drop names in a conversion And I've known a few women that carefully dropped their knickers
I would have to say yes too as I also 'carefully' drop my phone on to my bed or occasionally sling it through the living (no, I'm not joking!) room onto the couch.
This, as many have said, is the most common example. I have a £700 phone which I "carefully drop" all the time. I even "carefully throw" it on the bed sometimes because it's in a case and it's impacting a soft fabric surface. Would I drop or throw it onto a marble worktop in the same way? No, obviously not! You made me laugh out loud, a lot! Thankfully I was in my own office and there was nobody around! There's another joke about carefully "dropping" things in relation to passing gas here too, but you've lowered the tone of the thread enough, I don't think anyone needs to go further
I have been known to carefully drop an air biscuit when in a crowded place, so I would say yes, one can carefully drop something To carefully drop? There's a pedant's dream. One problem has been touched on above, the other being a SPLIT INFINITIVE... In all seriousness, yes, I think it's entirely possible to drop something with care, as with the phone examples above
Is the objection to the word 'carefully?' You've asked if it is possible to carefully drop something. I'd like to ask if there is an alternative manner in which an object may be dropped. If you want to take a prescriptive approach, you can parse the phrase another way using definitions for the individual words. Carefully drop becomes make something fall in a manner that avoids potential danger, mishap, or harm. Taking this approach I would say yes, it is possible to carefully drop something. The alternative is to make something fall without giving attention to avoiding harm or error (i.e. carelessly drop).
