this post was submitted on 14 May 2025
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me_irl
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"wet - covered or saturated with water or another liquid."
I gotta go with the people you're arguing with on this one. Something has to be able to be dry to be able to be wet. Certain liquids can make other things wet, but cannot be wet themselves.
Wet can also mean consisting of liquid. You wouldn't bat an eye if I said not to touch the wall because the paint is still wet. The inclusion of a clause about something being "able to be dry" is an arbitrary inclusion specifically meant to exclude water itself, not based on how we use the word, but based on a facile desire to force the definition to fit the way you think it should.
I'm gonna do the thing this meme is talking about and just say you're right.
The inclusion of a clause about something being "able to be dry" is an arbitrary inclusion specifically meant to exclude water itself, not based on how we use the word, but based on a facile desire to force the definition to fit the way you think it should.
English is my native language. The phrase "water is wet" is ubiquitous for a reason. I'll happily link to a particular dictionary, if you promise not to accuse me of cherry-picking.
I found this, but it looks like it's referring to Old English, not modern, unless I'm misunderstanding. Do you have another source? Just curious at this point; I always considered the "water is wet" thing to just be a common misunderstanding of the actual meaning of the word.
EDIT: It looks like it's referring to origin, not usage, so I'll concede your point.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wet is my favorite source
Works for me.