Talk:crawl

Slowed down to a crawl

I don't see a noun definitation that matches "My computer has slowed down to a crawl". Syced (talk) 03:53, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

 Done Equinox ◑ 03:54, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

RFD discussion: June–December 2021

The following information has failed Wiktionary's deletion process (permalink).

It should not be re-entered without careful consideration.

---

crawl

Verb sense #8 "To visit while becoming inebriated." The example given is "They crawled the downtown bars." which may include becoming inebriated, but the act is the same as sense #2 "To move forward slowly, with frequent stops." with the possible difference being that a bar crawl might not always proceed in a single direction ("forward"). The "while becoming inebriated" qualifier does not seem to be intrinsic to the definition. The only entry in the translation box for this sense is to the Finnish kontata, which doesn't mention anything about inebriation. Tcr25 (talk) 18:15, 4 June 2021 (UTC)

• delete: Ibid what you said. Moreover, the example given for #8 is transitive while the sense given is intransitive. Such mix-matching deserves the boot as a lexicographical matter of principle. --Kent Dominic (talk) 18:51, 4 June 2021 (UTC)

• Is there any connection with a bar crawl or pub crawl? DonnanZ (talk) 18:47, 12 June 2021 (UTC)

Yes, but pub crawl still fits with sense #2 (move forward with frequent stops). It's possible to engage in a pub crawl without "becoming inebriated," which is part of the sense nominated for deletion. Tcr25 (talk) 20:00, 12 June 2021 (UTC)

Having commuted on Los Angeles freeways half of my adult life, I'm quite familiar with sense #2, and that doesn't apply here. It refers to having your progress slowed down to the point that sometimes you don't move at all. The "stop" referred to here is a cessation of movement, not an intermediate destination during a trip.

The sense in question uses crawl instead of walk as a humorous allusion to inebriation rather than as a statement that becoming inebriated is a necessary condition- it belongs in the etymology rather than the definition. It would probably be more accurate to say "visit multiple places where one might become inebriated", since the idea is that one might become inebriated enough to have to crawl between locations. Chuck Entz (talk) 21:00, 12 June 2021 (UTC)

Living in the DMV and having driven along I-95 and the Beltway almost daily, I understand what you're saying about LA freeways. That said, the sense here is broader than bar crawl/pub crawl. It's the same meaning that is connected to dungeon crawl or hex crawl in RPGs, as well as other events like book crawls, dessert crawls, or coffee crawls. It's about moving forward in a methodical manner with stops. The traffic sense to me seems to be a difference of degree (although you're right that one "stop" is cessation of movement and the other is "destination" or "location"). Is that a distinction that can be clearly stated in a definition? The current one under consideration here doesn't fit. Tcr25 (talk) 13:29, 29 June 2021 (UTC)

Delete as per above. Good conversation! Facts707 (talk) 05:40, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

Comment. As Kent Dominic mentioned above, sense #8 is labelled "intransitive", yet the example, "They crawled the downtown bars", is transitive use. Nevertheless, the transitive example seems valid, and seems not to exactly fit any other existing sense, so we apparently need a new sense to accommodate it if inebriation-specific #8 is deleted. On the other point above, I personally always assumed that this kind of pub- or bar-related usage of "crawl" referred to moving slowly with frequent stops, rather than potentially moving along on one's hands and knees due to inebriation. Mihia (talk) 19:36, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

In agreement with Mihia, here; if we delete the intransitive sense, we may need a transitive sense to cover (citations like) its transitive usex. - -sche (discuss) 19:45, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

Provided we conclude that "crawl the bars" does not have a special inebriation-specific crawl-on-one's-hands-and-knees explanation, the existing example can probably go in another sense alongside uses such as "crawl the shops" or "crawl the sidewalks". Mihia (talk) 20:09, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

Comment. Interestingly, this blog traces the origin of "pub crawl" to early 1900s England with the sense of a political campaigner who travels from pub to pub to promote Conservative political policies. Less well documented is this claim of pub crawls originating in 1645 in Scotland or England with Sir Geoffrey Toppenbottom (who seems to be unknown to Google beyond this tale) and an epic night of carousing. Tcr25 (talk) 18:27, 6 August 2021 (UTC)

Delete the definition as it stands now. I could join a pub crawl as the designated driver. Vox Sciurorum (talk) 20:40, 20 October 2021 (UTC)

I deleted the intransitive sense.
I also added a transitive sense, based on the discussion above, with two examples of crawling dungeons and one of crawling bars. If anyone can improve the definition or add more kinds of citations (e.g. of crawling shops), please do. - -sche (discuss) 21:45, 5 December 2021 (UTC)