MSGID: 1:153/716.0 e1412f20   
   REPLY: 729.fido-englisht@1:3634/12 226d1c49   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   Hi, Mark!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
   AH>  I guess "pull to" makes more sense from the door's POV   
   AH>  than it did from mine at first.   
      
   ml>  then you have folks like myself... i use either "push   
   ml>  to" or "pull to" depending on which side of the door   
   ml>  the victim will be on when they exit ;)   
      
   ml>  "hey, push the door to as you leave" - door opens out   
      
   ml>  "pull the door to on your way out" - door opens in   
      
      
             In any number of other circumstances "pull" would mean your victim   
   is applying force toward him/herself.  If the verb tells us the direction in   
   which the force is to be applied & the adverb tells us where you'd like the   
   action to stop, you could theoretically use "push" or "pull".  I suspect "pull   
   to" may be an idiomatic expression, however... meaning it's an "exception" to   
   the "rules".  the usual rules in which casuch cases the rules are different.   
      
      
      
   ml>  in either case, the goal of closing the door but not all   
   ml>  the way is accomplished...   
      
      
             WRT the excerpt Alexander cited, I figure the narrator would   
   probably have closed the door all the way.  But I can see that if a bus stops   
   to pick up &/or discharge passengers or if a boat is being tied up at the   
   wharf it's usual to allow for a bit of open space between such expen$ive means   
   of transportation & any fixed objects which might potentially damage them.  By   
   the same reckoning my CANADIAN OXFORD defines "to" as "a nearly closed   
   position" when "pull to" is used in reference to a door... and it sounds to me   
   as if that's the way you use the adverb.  Other sources, if they list the   
   phrase, seem divided as to whether or not the action in such cases goes on   
   until the door is firmly shut.  As long as your family & friends know what you   
   mean, I guess that's what matters.  They can ask you in person if they don't.    
   But we can't ask Mr. Fitzgerald....  :-))   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
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