Sitting, standing, lying, resting....

[SimonSays]

English can be a strange fellow when you really examine it. Native speakers don't really notice the oddness.

e.g...

Time flies like the wind...but fruit flies like a banana.

We chop a tree down, then once it is down, we chop it up.

For something to be sitting, it must've made a choice to do so, as it could easily be standing otherwise. So shouldn't inanimate objects just be wherever they are without the need for such descriptors?

...the furniture is just IN the room. The chair is near the fireplace. The table is by the window. The carpet is on the floor.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I guess I just lack imagination since the furniture just IS, there in a location. Clothes are another matter, they can hang, lie crumpled in a heap, etc..

 

[Judge]

A "thing" can be situated or located.

So if a house can sit on a hill, why can't a chair sit in a living room? Case closed.

sit
(sĭt)
v. sat (săt), sit·ting, sits
v.intr.
1. To rest with the torso vertical and the body supported on the buttocks.
2. a. To rest with the hindquarters lowered onto a supporting surface. Used of animals.
b. To perch. Used of birds.
3. To cover eggs for hatching; brood.
4. To be situated or located: a house that sits on a hill.
5. To lie or rest: Dishes were sitting on a shelf. See Usage Note at set1.
6. To pose for an artist or photographer.
7. a. To occupy a seat as a member of a body of officials: sit in Congress.
b. To be in session.
8. To remain inactive or unused: Her expensive skis sat gathering dust.
9. To affect one with or as if with a burden; weigh: Official duties sat heavily upon the governor.
10. To fit, fall, or drape in a specified manner: The jacket sits perfectly on you.
11. To be agreeable to one; please: The idea didn't sit well with any of us.
12. Chiefly British To take an examination, as for a degree.
13. To blow from a particular direction. Used of the wind.
14. To keep watch or take care of a child.

 

[Suzette]

@Judge, winner, winner chicken dinner (I love that line)

 

[Calrid]

Etymology is fun. The way words develop is of course never ending, so they never quite rest like in a seat or sit.

 

[Aspychata]

A "thing" can be situated or located.

So if a house can sit on a hill, why can't a chair sit in a living room? Case closed.

sit
(sĭt)
v. sat (săt), sit·ting, sits
v.intr.
1. To rest with the torso vertical and the body supported on the buttocks.
2. a. To rest with the hindquarters lowered onto a supporting surface. Used of animals.
b. To perch. Used of birds.
3. To cover eggs for hatching; brood.
4. To be situated or located: a house that sits on a hill.
5. To lie or rest: Dishes were sitting on a shelf. See Usage Note at set1.
6. To pose for an artist or photographer.
7. a. To occupy a seat as a member of a body of officials: sit in Congress.
b. To be in session.
8. To remain inactive or unused: Her expensive skis sat gathering dust.
9. To affect one with or as if with a burden; weigh: Official duties sat heavily upon the governor.
10. To fit, fall, or drape in a specified manner: The jacket sits perfectly on you.
11. To be agreeable to one; please: The idea didn't sit well with any of us.
12. Chiefly British To take an examination, as for a degree.
13. To blow from a particular direction. Used of the wind.
14. To keep watch or take care of a child.

I have also heard "that went sittingly well, don't you think? Probably incorrect.

 

[Streetwise]

I have also heard "that went sittingly well, don't you think? Probably incorrect.

Some areas of England English in the early 20th century that went swimmingly (well) were you referring to?