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which is the right word - can or could or may or might
it was built by an emperor as a memorial to his beloved wife.
Jan 30, 2005 02:21
19 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term

to career right off the rails

Non-PRO English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
In the sentence:
I was beginning to feel I'd careered right off the rails.

Is just a different way of saying or is there more to it?
Responses
5 +1 essentially the same - more active verb
5 +5 wrong word, it should be " careeN"
5 +3 headed off track/ derailed
4 -1 almost the same.. see exp.

Discussion

Non-ProZ.com Jan 31, 2005:
To all answerers - thank you.

Responses

+1
4 hrs
Selected

essentially the same - more active verb

The more colorful verb used here (in place of "go") emphasizes the fast, out-of-control manner of leaving the rails. Not that one usually goes off the rails in a gradual, dignified manner...

career: Function: intransitive verb
: to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner <a car careered off the road> (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

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Note added at 4 hrs 57 mins (2005-01-30 07:18:34 GMT)
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HTH!
Peer comment(s):
agree Nesrin
1 hr
Thanks, Nesrin.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you.Discussion was great too."
-1
3 mins

almost the same.. see exp.

"career off the rails" describes a somwhat more gradual derailment than just "go off", which describes a more sudden event, but the end result is the same.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Laurel Porter (X) : As I mention in my answer, the action verb "career" gives a more specific and out-of-control impression of the event. "Go" is a generic verb that doesn't give any information on the manner in which one has left the rails.
4 hrs
Perhaps, but the text says "go right off", which is not quite the same as simply "go off." Regards
neutral juvera : I would like to agree, but "go 'right' off" is not referring to the speed of it happening (the "go off" expresses that), but that it is 'really' off, in a serious way.
11 hrs
possibly
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+5
11 mins

wrong word, it should be " careeN"

Here are the 2 defs.
1. Move headlong at high speed; "The cars careered down the road"; "The mob careered through the streets".
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/career

2. Move sideways or in an unsteady way, as of a ship or a vehicle out of control.
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/careen
Peer comment(s):
agree George Rabel : that's right, "careen". I knew it sounded odd, but the right word eluded me
8 mins
thanks, George. It happens to me all the time.
agree Anna Maria Augustine (X)
10 mins
thanks, Anna
agree Martine Brault
34 mins
thanks, la traviata, my favorite opera
agree Daniel Mencher
1 hr
thanks, Dan
agree Craft.Content
1 hr
thanks, Sanjay
agree Maria Chmelarova : carrer - to go at top speed esp. in a headlong manner ( a car careered off the road )
1 hr
thanks, pretty
agree Refugio : But it may be a play on words, if it is his career that is off-track.
2 hrs
thanks, Ruth. Possibly.
disagree Laurel Porter (X) : Please see my reference below...
4 hrs
thanks, Laurel. Noted.
disagree David Knowles : "to career" in this sense is perfectly OK. See Tegan's ref below.
7 hrs
thanks, David.
neutral Charlie Bavington : AE uses careen in this sense. BE does not. We only use it to refer to ships falling over! We would definitely be much more likely to use "career" here. So perhaps the Asker's text is BE.
10 hrs
Thanks, Charlie. This is what is great about KudoZ. Such a discussion on a seemingly simple word.
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+3
5 hrs

headed off track/ derailed

from the Oxford English dictionary online:

career

• verb move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way in a specified direction.

— ORIGIN originally denoting a road or racecourse: from French carrière, from Latin carrus ‘wheeled vehicle’.

A google search of "careered off the track" gets about 200 results, some of them CNN and BBC sites- so it is fairly standard usage.

"Careered down" gets more than 1,000 results.

So, in essence, you are right- the author feels like s/he is going off track.
Reference:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/4/newsid_2515000/2515219.stm

http://www.askoxford.com/results/?view=dev_dict&field-12668446=career&branch=13842570&textsearchtype=exact&sortorder=sco

Peer comment(s):
agree David Knowles : Saved me looking it up! Good verb - same root as "career" in the sense of "job progression" or "path through life"
2 hrs
agree Charlie Bavington : Indeed.
5 hrs
agree NancyLynn
6 hrs
neutral juvera : I agree with what you are saying, but here "headed off" is misleading, because it means, that it is going in the wrong direction, but it still might change direction. The original sentence is "right off the rails", period. In your other word, derailed.
6 hrs
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