ESL: use of "pretty"

[Drizzt]

I've noticed I've begun using the world "pretty" pretty (<- ) often.
I must have inherited (<- ?) it while reading around and did start using without noticing it...but I admit that even if it sounds good in a lot of context, I dunno what the hell it means! (the form "pretty + something else", for "pretty" I know what it means).

[Sasq]

tired, long day, so correct me if i'm wrong.

It gets used as a modifier. so 'pretty often' has same basic meaning as 'fairly often' or 'usually'.

I sentance like 'I go to the bar pretty much every night' would have the meaning of 'I go to the bar almost every night'

[VJ]

Pretty good explanation, it pretty much explains it in pretty sufficiant detail!

Jörg

[Marshmallowman]

but what about all the pretty flowers

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pretty

[Brian Ellis]

SOED:
pretty, adjective & noun.

/"prIti/

[Old English prættif corresp. to Middle Low German prattich capricious, overbearing, Middle Dutch (ghe)pertich brisk, clever, roguish, Dutch †prettig sportive, humorous, from West Germanic base meaning 'trick': ult. origin unkn.]

A. adjective.

1. Orig., cunning, crafty. Later, (of a person) clever, skilful; (of a thing) cleverly made or done; ingenious, artful. arch. OE.

2. a. Of a person: excellent or admirable in appearance, manners, or other qualities; spec. (chiefly Scot.) (of a soldier) brave, gallant, warlike. arch. LME.

b. Of a thing: fine, pleasing, nice; agreeable, proper. M16.


A. F. Douglas-Home A master of English..with as pretty and sharp a wit as any politician. iron.: W. Black Well, young lady..and a pretty mess you have got us into!

3. a. Of a person, esp. a woman or child: attractive and pleasing in appearance; beautiful in a delicate, dainty, or diminutive way without stateliness. LME.


Shakespeare Winter's Tale My prettiest Perdita. V. Brittain A pretty young Scotswoman, pink-cheeked..and dewy-eyed.

b. Of a thing: pleasing to the eye, the ear, or the aesthetic sense. LME.


G. Catlin A pretty little town. E. Bowen A black dress with pretty touches of white.

4. Of a quantity or amount: considerable, great. Now rare exc. in pretty packet, penny below. L15.

Phrases: a pretty kettle of fish: see KETTLE 1. (as) pretty as a picture extremely pretty. as pretty as paint: see PAINT noun. come to a pretty pass: see PASS noun2. not just a pretty face colloq. intelligent as well as attractive.

Special collocations & comb.: pretty-boy slang a foppish or effeminate man; a male homosexual; iron. a thug. pretty-by-night US = marvel of Peru s.v. MARVEL noun1. pretty-face (wallaby) = whiptail wallaby s.v. WHIPTAIL adjective. pretty fellow arch. a fine fellow, a fop. pretty packet, pretty penny a considerable sum, a good deal of money. pretty please: a wheedling form of request.

B. noun.

1. A pretty thing, an ornament. M18.


J. D. MacDonald 'Here is a pretty I got for you...' She..gasped at the lovely ring.

2. A pretty man, woman, or child; a pretty one. Chiefly (also my pretty) as a form of address. L18.


Goldsmith If you would but comprehend me, my pretty.

3. = pretty penny above. US. M19.


G. Stratton-Porter I'd give a pretty to know that secret.

4. The fluted or ornamented part of a glass or tumbler. M19.

5. The fairway of a golf course. E20.

• prettyish adjective somewhat pretty M18.
• prettyism noun studied prettiness of style or manner; an instance of this: L18.

[Gurm]

You could substitute the word "almost" for the words "pretty" or "pretty much". You could also use the word "relatively".

That's "pretty good"... could be restated:

That's "relatively good"...

or

That's "decent".

"Pretty much" means "almost".

"Pretty", as an adverb, is nonstandard but indicates that something isn't excellent but better than not.

So "pretty good" is better than "fair" or "decent", but not as good as "excellent" or "very good".

Am I helping?

- Gurm

[cjolley]

Originally posted by Gurm

Am I helping?

- Gurm

I'd say you did a pretty fair job.
chuck

PS in this case pretty and fair add like two negatives to equal a positive ("very").
Explain that

[Brian R.]

Overall, this thread is pretty lame...

[Gurm]

Actually Chuck, I'd disagree. I think that "pretty fair" is NOT the same as "very good", it's of a lesser degree.

Bad < Pretty Bad < Fair < Pretty Good < Very Good

- Gurm

[cjolley]

Originally posted by Gurm
Actually Chuck, I'd disagree. I think that "pretty fair" is NOT the same as "very good", it's of a lesser degree.

Bad < Pretty Bad < Fair < Pretty Good < Very Good

- Gurm

That just means you're not from 'round here.
Here in Oklahoma "pretty fair" used that way is an ironic way of saying "excellent".
chuck

[KvHagedorn]

When I was in college, I had a friend from Mexico. He insisted it was proper to use the word "cute" to describe everything. He would say, "That's a cute theater" or "That's a cute bus." He was pretty stubborn, so he refused to stop doing it until I told him it made him sound gay. I never heard him use the word again.

[cjolley]

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
When I was in college, I had a friend from Mexico. He insisted it was proper to use the word "cute" to describe everything. He would say, "That's a cute theater" or "That's a cute bus." He was pretty stubborn, so he refused to stop doing it until I told him it made him sound gay. I never heard him use the word again.

That's a pretty cute story.
chuck

[Drizzt]

I don't remember to have ever used the word "cute"...

[Tempest]

I've always thought of "pretty good" as "quite good". What it means exactly... Well it could mean a lot of things since it can be used both seriously and non-seriously.

[Brian Ellis]

Cute has been around for ~200 years and was originally derived from 'acute mind' which some people heard as 'a cute mind' and it stuck. A cute person was therefore someone of well-above average intelligence or, at least, very shrewd. Over the years, the meaning has changed, especially in US English, to someone or something (esp. animals) that is physically appealling, even if they have zero intellect, the poles-apart-opposite of the original sense!