Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2019 March 16

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March 16

Half-soaked

What is meaning of expression "half-soaked"? Is it about some parched peas which are soaking over the night? Thanking you. 86.187.174.171 (talk) 13:27, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

You'd need to give the context in which you have seen the expression to get an answer. --Viennese Waltz 13:36, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

Agreed. I once walked across/through the Grand River and emerged the side almost exactly half-soaked, but I suspect that's not the answer required. "Half-soaked" is apparently a slang term to mean foolish or forgetful (probably an extension of being half-drunk) according to Urban Dictionary. The OP's mention of peas, might mean they are referring to split peas. Matt Deres (talk) 13:55, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

I've only come across it in the sense of half-drunk. --Khajidha (talk) 21:10, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

Personally I have never come across that particular meaning. I've only ever heard it used to mean apathetic, unenthusiastic or lacking in awareness. Maybe that's just a South Wales thing? I can't recall ever seeing it written down before now. I see now that it has been claimed as a Brummie phrase meaning "stupid or slow-witted." But there's no etymology at all suggested there, let alone peas, whether whole or split. Martinevans123 (talk) 23:22, 16 March 2019 (UTC)

No idea about its usage in Wales, North or South. Or even in the UK. I'm in North Carolina, US. --Khajidha (talk) 00:06, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

I would use it literally to mean "wearing clothes considerably dampened by rain", short of "soaked to the skin". Jmar67 (talk) 01:18, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

Did you try Googling the phrase? "etymology half-soaked" got me: "dozy, forgetful, slow witted, of limited intelligence, a day dreamer", "someone who is, or appears to be, partially (hence 'half') drunk" [1]; "Slow witted or slow in movement, laid back. (South Wales/W. Midlands use)" [2] Bazza (talk) 14:06, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

(edit conflict) My mother (who studied in Edinburgh) would remark that what she most remembered about the city was that the driving snow would come at you horizontally. So without an umbrella your clothes would be "half-soaked". 2A00:23C1:CD81:F01:A54E:9AA0:DDA9:747F (talk) 14:10, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

Native Brummie speaker here. "Half-soaked" refers to someone who is thick, slow on the uptake, not fully there. The implication is that they are neither one thing (soaked) nor the other (not soaked) so aren't functioning fully, and agree with Martinevans 123 who has given the quote I would give. I would add that it's probably a less offensive way of saying "half-arsed". --TammyMoet (talk) 21:02, 17 March 2019 (UTC)