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  #1
Old May 06, 2010, 03:13 AM
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Whirl

Would you say that whirl and coil are synonyms? And turn or go around?

Thanks.
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  #2
Old May 06, 2010, 03:31 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irmamar View Post
Would you say that whirl and coil are synonyms? And turn or go around?
No, they are not. I assume you are asking about the verbs -

to coil: to twist into a circular shape
to whirl: to move in a circle; to to cause to rotate; to hurl etc. etc.

To whirl usually suggests some fast motion or disorder:

The snake coiled itself round the tree
The dancer whirled around the dance floor.

Note Whirlwind.
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  #3
Old May 06, 2010, 08:50 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irmamar View Post
Would you say that whirl and coil are synonyms? And turn or go around?

Thanks.
Whirl = remolino - rotar - dar vuelta (dentro de su eje)

Coil = enrollar - rollo - dar vuelta (en espiral )
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  #4
Old May 07, 2010, 01:35 AM
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Ok, thank you.
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  #5
Old May 08, 2010, 10:12 AM
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Thank you for the new contribution.

Whirl means Girar or rotar.

And then it isn't like to turn around.

And coil means erollar, rollo as you have said.

Therefore I can say, the cable has coiled above the tube.
The car gave whirl twice in the street.

I hope that you can clear my question.
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  #6
Old May 08, 2010, 12:13 PM
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whirl = turn around

The car turned around twice in the street after hitting the other car.
The car whirled twice in the street after hitting the other car.

The cable was coiled so much, it took them days to unwind it.
wind = coil unwind = uncoil
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  #7
Old May 09, 2010, 12:07 AM
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So, could I say "turn around" instead of whirl?
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  #8
Old May 09, 2010, 02:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irmamar View Post
So, could I say "turn around" instead of whirl?
That's not really very good. I can turn around to see what is behind me, but that is definitely not coiling. I would think "to twist into a circular shape" is much more accurate.
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  #9
Old May 09, 2010, 07:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irmamar View Post
So, could I say "turn around" instead of whirl?
Can you give a complete sentence, so that a better answer can be given?
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  #10
Old May 09, 2010, 08:29 AM
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If 'turn around' is further modified (to repeat the action), then whirl and 'turn around' are synonymous.

The dancer turned around and around. The dancer turned around six times.
= The dancer whirled.

The 'turn around' that Perikles mentioned is not a 360-degree turn. Whirling means that you turn completely around.
In America, we wouldn't use 'coil' as a synonym of 'whirl'. Snakes coil. A cable can be coiled. Dancers don't coil. Cars that are spinning out of control don't coil. However, we say that they coiled around a tree if it looks like they got twisted around one after spinning out of control.
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  #11
Old May 09, 2010, 10:47 AM
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Sorry to introduce extra noise, but what's then the difference between to spin and to whirl?
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  #12
Old May 09, 2010, 11:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irmamar View Post
So, could I say "turn around" instead of whirl?
More confusion. I was taking Irma's question as an extension of her original post as meaning that she was looking for a short definition of 'to coil', for which 'turn around' is not very good.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
Sorry to introduce extra noise, but what's then the difference between to spin and to whirl?
I think whirl has an element of disorder which spin does not. A dancer can whirl round the dance floor, spinning and moving position in a chaotic manner. An ice dancer can spin on one spot, and a planet spins on its axis.

A whirlwind spins, but also moves around in an unpredictable manner.
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  #13
Old May 09, 2010, 12:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty View Post
whirl = turn around

The car turned around twice in the street after hitting the other car.
The car whirled twice in the street after hitting the other car.

The cable was coiled so much, it took them days to unwind it.
wind = coil unwind = uncoil
The whirl means the same that turn around.
Wind, coil unwind and uncoil finally means completely the same.

I'll write an any examples to know if I'm well in the definition of the words mentioned here.

I will gave a twice of whirl for the home tonight for that I can see if the home is secure with the new wall.

I'll uncoil the UTP or network cable of my tube, because I've to build a network in the company this week.
I will be grateful with you if you correcting me my examples.

Thank you for clearing my question.

Have a good day.
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Last edited by CrOtALiTo; May 09, 2010 at 12:34 PM.
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  #14
Old May 09, 2010, 01:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Perikles View Post
More confusion. I was taking Irma's question as an extension of her original post as meaning that she was looking for a short definition of 'to coil', for which 'turn around' is not very good.

I think whirl has an element of disorder which spin does not. A dancer can whirl round the dance floor, spinning and moving position in a chaotic manner. An ice dancer can spin on one spot, and a planet spins on its axis.

A whirlwind spins, but also moves around in an unpredictable manner.

Right, spin has that fixation feature added to it.
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  #15
Old May 09, 2010, 03:38 PM
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Tal vez porque conozco un poco del baile y estoy influido por eso, diría que la mayoría de los bailes tienen "spins" y no "whirls" - incluso el vals vienés, que es muy progresivo además de tener muchas rotaciones.
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  #16
Old May 09, 2010, 09:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo View Post
I will gave a twice of whirl for the home tonight for that I can see if the home is secure with the new wall.
You are correctly using coil/uncoil.
I'll uncoil the cables. I'll coil the cables.

I removed 'give a whirl' from your previous post because it didn't quite fit. The same goes for the sentence I quoted from your last post; 'give a whirl' doesn't fit.

I'll take a couple of spins around the house tonight ...
I'll take a spin around the house twice tonight ...
I'll drive around the house twice tonight ...

... to see if the new wall makes the home more secure.
... so (that) I can see if the new wall makes the home more secure.
... in order to see if the new wall makes the home more secure.
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  #17
Old May 19, 2010, 05:46 AM
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And 'to reel' and 'to coil'? Are they synonyms?
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  #18
Old May 19, 2010, 06:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irmamar View Post
And 'to reel' and 'to coil'? Are they synonyms?
They can be, because to reel can mean to wind on to a coil.

Unfortunately, it is not a good synonym because to reel also means:

To whirl around
To become giddy or confused
To waver, become unsteady
To sway or stagger
To swing about with the whole body
To shake
To fall
To move rapidly
etc.
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  #19
Old May 19, 2010, 09:39 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Perikles View Post
They can be, because to reel can mean to wind on to a coil.

Unfortunately, it is not a good synonym because to reel also means:

To whirl around
To become giddy or confused
To waver, become unsteady
To sway or stagger
To swing about with the whole body
To shake
To fall
To move rapidly
etc.
These synonymns are definitely valid, but in reality it is very simple. Common use the term reel is generally used among fishermen. Using a fishing reel they may reel in a big fish. In this case coil would never be used.
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  #20
Old May 19, 2010, 11:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poli View Post
These synonymns are definitely valid, but in reality it is very simple. Common use the term reel is generally used among fishermen. Using a fishing reel they may reel in a big fish. In this case coil would never be used.
True. The more I think about it, the less I like the idea that coil and reel could be synonymous. Of course, Scottish dancers would disagree with you that the most common use is by fishermen.
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