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 Thu Dec 13, 2007 14:59 pm Expression: "My tongue caught my teeth." |
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| Tom wrote: | My tongue caught my teeth. To me, this would only be possible to say if some of your teeth had fallen out of the gums and landed on your tongue.
My tongue caught between my teeth. Possibly
My tongue caught in my teeth. Possibly, but it sounds a little odd. I guess additional context might help, though.
My teeth caught my tongue.
This sounds as though your tongue was attempting an escape. |
Are you only trying to say "I bit my tongue", Tom? 
I suppose your sentences are all possible, Tom, but they sound unusual/unnatural -- particularly because there isn't any context.
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| Fri Dec 14, 2007 13:30 pm Expression: "My tongue caught my teeth." |
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| Amy wrote: | | Are you only trying to say "I bit my tongue", Tom? |
Yes, Amy, that's exactly what I was trying to say. 
But, don't we say something like:
| Quote: | | I caught my finger between/ in the door |
?
Or am I out of order?
Tom |
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Tom
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| Fri Dec 14, 2007 13:32 pm Expression: "My tongue caught my teeth." |
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Please see: How do you find these?
| Quote: | It's so painful when you bite your tongue.
It's so painful when you catch your tongue in your teeth.
It's so painful when you catch your tongue between your teeth. |
Tom |
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Tom
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| Fri Dec 14, 2007 14:07 pm Expression: "My tongue caught my teeth." |
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| Tom wrote: | But, don't we say something like:
| Quote: | | I caught my finger between/ in the door |
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Tom |
Hi Tom,
Yes, pinch/squeeze/catch one's finger in a door  |
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| Fri Dec 14, 2007 14:53 pm Expression: "My tongue caught my teeth." |
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| Even in my language we have the same 'bite one's tongue' but 'pinch/squeeze/catch one's finger in a door'. |
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| Fri Dec 14, 2007 15:31 pm Expression: "My tongue caught my teeth." |
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| Tom wrote: | Please see: How do you find these?
| Quote: | It's so painful when you bite your tongue.
It's so painful when you catch your tongue in your teeth.
It's so painful when you catch your tongue between your teeth. |
Tom |
I guess the problem is that it is simply so obvious what teeth do that people rarely use any other verb. Therefore, using a different verb suggests to the listener that you chose that verb because you in fact mean an action that is different from the usual biting action. The verb catch also has a wider variety of meanings than bite does, so using catch rather than the usual bite leaves the listener hopelessly wondering which of the shades of meaning you were aiming at.
One of the meanings for catch is "become entangled in". A tongue simply does not become entangled in teeth. (Sometimes, however, it seems to become tangled up with itself -- when you try to say a "tongue twister", for instance).
Another meaning for catch is "capture or seize (especially after a chase)". When have you ever chased your teeth?
Another meaning is "to overtake", but that meaning doesn't work.
Yet another meaning of catch is "to grab so as to stop the motion of", but that's not quite right either. That's an intentional activity. When you bite your tongue painfully, it is unintentional and also very quick.
| Tom wrote: | | I caught my finger between/ in the door. |
You cannot use the word between. Your sentence might be OK with in, but I'd probably say it a little differently: "My finger got caught in the door". In this case, "caught" conveys a meaning similar to "stuck". In other words, the door does not close on your finger and then immediately release it. Until you or someone else opens the door again or you manage to pull your finger out, your finger will remain stuck in between the door and the door frame.
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| Fri Dec 14, 2007 16:03 pm Expression: "My tongue caught my teeth." |
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yes... and if "stuck" is used, it should be written thusly:
My finger is stuck in the door/My finger became stuck in the door/My finger was stuck in the door
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