Round our way to get a bit of ‘sniff’ is to get some cocaine. So i prefer to ‘snuff’.
@ brigstowe - As far as I know, that is the case. We seem to have recycled the words to different meanings instead of making new ones for a different way of doing things.
This is a little off-topic, but have any of you guys tried using dry snuff orally? Can’t imagine it would be to my taste, but I bet you could find the occasional Good Old Boy who dips his Scotch.
Yes I have… not very tasty. Most people in America who use scotch snuff dip it. Only one person I have ever spoken with has even been aware that people actually snort tobacco into their noses (on purpose). This individual (in his late 50’s) told me his grandparents would fill their nostrils with Bruton and then pour some into their lip.
@Pennangalan: Well, I stand corrected. Living throughout the North East, I’ve never heard it referred to as snuffing, only as dipping, packing a lip, or using dip. I guess some people do say it like that. @PieterClaasen: What exactly are you taking issue with? People by howdydave ARE ignorant of the meaning of snuff, based on what he’s said. It’s not putting them down, they genuinely don’t know about other forms of snuff. And I stand by my statement that this is a debate for the benefit of folks who likely will never be aware it took place, and likely don’t really care. Also, from my experience on this forum and others, when people come to snuff or snus, they generally want to share their new discovery with others, the majority of which seem to feel they’d rather we just let them do their thing and not constantly try to get them on board with what we’re doing. I’ve done it myself, where I was the guy constantly trying to get people to give it a whirl. I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing. The comparison to a new diet or religion only served to emphasize the point about this being a debate for the benefit of those who don’t really care. I don’t mean any offence towards howdydave or others, but that was the most concise way I could think of to get my point across. I think howdydave got what I meant, and realised that I didn’t say anything with malice, but I enjoy talking with you on here, so if you take issue with something I post, let me know so I can avoid bothering you in the future. Apologies to anyone who took offence, but none was intended.
Successful communication requires more than clarity on the part of the speaker/writer. It also requires an attentive, open, and active mind to receive the message. Without the latter, regardless of how specific the message is, the listener/reader is likely to misunderstand.
I think that rather than Pieter failing in any of those regards, he was either annoyed because either I could have phrased things better in his opinion, or that this is another of those moments where being able to convey tone of voice over the internet would’ve helped avoid confusion, with text and the internet not conveying emotion/tone as well as speech can.
Oh, I wasn’t speaking about Pieter, or of anyone in particular. It was just a general observation on the nature of the communicative process. I merely wanted to point out that a message can fail despite the best efforts of the one who composed it (and in fact, often does).
I’ve got to take shikitohno’s side on one issue. As long as we do not confuse “ignorance” with “stupidity,” then I totally agree that the people in my parts are ignorant when it comes to nasal snuff.
BTW: In case you have not yet caught on… Agitating and promoting debates (preferably heated) around me while just sitting back and watching the show is a favorite sport of mine.
@shikitohno, when one takes up a new “hobby” and is serious about it, one tends to talk a lot about it. We’ve all done that. For “old timers” it might get irritating but we should not let it show. I’m always weary to “preach” to newcomers because I don’t want them to leave the forum. That’s why I’ve asked you whether you thought it was necessary to talk to howdydave like you did with the emphasis on “necessary”. I do not want to “fight” with anyone, I’m already to old for that. What I would like to see here is respect for one another, even if you do not always agree. We should give everyone room to move in. I’m pretty sure you will understand what I’m saying because you are an intelligent young man
I’m pretty sure the verb “to snuff” orignated before the noun. One “snuffed” tobacco into one’s nose, then said tobacco eventually became known as snuff. Therefore, I snuff. I snuff snuff. I snuff snuff tobacco. I’m not going to deliberatley modify my speech for the ignorant. To do so dumbs down the language. Furthermore, those that use moist snuff, as shikitohno points out, NEVER use the word “snuff” they invaribaly refer to it as “dip” or simply “tobacco”. Somwhere back in their race memory, they know that what they are using is not actually snuff, even though it says so on the label.
@Pieter: Its cool. I don’t think anyone here is angry or was out of line. Its just debate.
@Pieter, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Although Dave may not mention it out of modesty, he is hardly a newbie. When I first started snuffing in the late 1990’s, his was one of the first webpages devoted to snuffing (along with that of Prof. Griffiths). I daresay howdydave has been snuffing longer than most on this board.
For the record, I favor the infinitive “to snuff”
To me “snuff” always seemed to be a past tense (of some form or another) of “sniff.” Probably all in my head. Then again, maybe that is one of the many inadequacies one must learn to endure when one learns English in the USA. Basing on how they learned me English: I ain’t never made but one gramatical error in my life and I seen it when I done it and I taken it back. As Winston Churchill said: “We are two peoples separated by a common language.”
Snuffed would be past tense. To snuff and to sniff are both present tenses and both are correct, although I would suspect that “to snuff” is the more archaic usage. Of course, we are engaged in a fairly archaic hobby, so I think old fashioned usage is appropriate. To each his own.
Pieter sniffed the snuff the snuff he snuffed…
I’m the man!!!
I hate to break it to you Xander, but the phrase “hang-on while I get a dip of snuff” is heard daily all around my geographic region. It may be localized, but I’ve heard it all my 36 years. I guess that’s just how us hillbillies roll 