Taka  +  125868 Thu, 11 Aug 05 05:05 AM Why does "fat chance" have almost the same, negative meaning as "slim chance"?? Taka Joined on Tue, Sep 7 2004 Japan Senior Member 2,625 Negatives

	Clive  +  125872 Thu, 11 Aug 05 05:34 AM Hi Taka, I have to tell you, I admire your question. Native speakers tend not to notice these little quirks of the language. Slim chance means very little chance, almost no chance. It's also acceptable in formal English. fat chance means no chance, so the meaning is not quite the same. It's for informal English only. I think that 'fat' as the opposite of 'slim' is used ironically. It's like saying, ironically, 'Oh yes, there's a good chance of that' when you know there is no chance at all. Best wishes, Clive     Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,630 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	Taka  +  125885 Thu, 11 Aug 05 06:36 AM Hmm...an irony. Interesting. So, getting back to the topic here (http://www.englishforums.com/English/BadBadly/bwjxp/Post.htm), isn't it possible to use 'bad' in 'a bad effect' as an irony, meaning something positive? Taka Irony

	Mister Micawber  +  125923 Thu, 11 Aug 05 09:00 AM Here is a copy of that original question: That movie influenced the audience badly. I don't think that 'badly' necessarily means something negative. Maybe, depending on its context, it could be 'influence strongly', right? So if the sentence was 'That movie had a bad influence on the audience,' could it be also ambiguous between 'a strong influence' and 'a serious influence'? Here, I think that badly can only mean disagreeably.  (Is that still your question, Taka?) Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,805 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' Negatives

	Clive  +  126080 Thu, 11 Aug 05 04:17 PM Or how about 'unsuccessfully', in the sense that the film-maker had little or no success in making the desired impact on the audience? Like 'He sings badly'. Clive Clive

	Taka  +  126150 Thu, 11 Aug 05 07:36 PM My book says 'influence X badly/be influenced badly' is rarely used, perhaps because it's ambiguous between 'strongly' and 'negatively.' Is it true? Taka

	Mister Micawber  +  126248 Fri, 12 Aug 05 10:25 AM Possibly, Taka.  Badly as an amplifier tends to appear with certain verbs more often-- I badly need a drink!-- and it is sometimes a mere matter of placement that will clarify the ambiquity.  But often, placement doesn't really help too much: I badly misspoke myself. I misspoke myself badly. But I still cannot read influenced strongly into either badly influenced or influenced badly-- it seems  to me only a negative connotation, however we wish to paraphrase it. Mister Micawber Verbs, Negatives