# Prisoner vs. Jailer **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 1, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444 "2008-08-01T01:42:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/21 "2008-08-01T14:51:03Z")
Double post ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/22 "2008-08-01T14:53:49Z")
[[blank]EE isn’t [blank]ER](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=376931) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/23 "2008-08-01T14:56:34Z")
My WAG: “jail” is a verb and prison isn’t. A jailer means one who jails, an imprisoner. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/24 "2008-08-01T15:04:15Z")
If vegetarians eat vegetables, then what do humanitarians eat? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/25 "2008-08-01T15:08:41Z")
[QUOTE=pravnik] My WAG: “jail” is a verb and prison isn’t. A jailer means one who jails, an imprisoner. [/QUOTE] Makes the most sense of anything I’ve encountered. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/26 "2008-08-01T15:22:14Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Makes the most sense of anything I’ve encountered. [/QUOTE] I agree. ETA: … So that means I would be a hospitaler. And the guy who put me there, the beat-upper. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/27 "2008-08-01T15:27:07Z")
Yay! I’m helping, I’m helping! (clap clap) ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/28 "2008-08-01T16:47:46Z")
As stated, “jail” is the verb. So a jailer is one who jails. In the same way a carpenter is one who carps, a butcher is one who buthes and a lawyer is one who laws. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/29 "2008-08-01T21:22:07Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] What, exactly, does a teller tell? [/QUOTE] Money. > [@Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary](#): > > Main Entry:1tell > Pronunciation:_tel > Function:verb > Inflected Form:told \*t_ld\ ; tell£ing > Etymology:Middle English, from Old English tellan; akin to Old High German zellen to count, tell, Old English talu tale > Date:before 12th century > > transitive verb > 1 : COUNT, ENUMERATE _tell the stars, if thou be able to number them — Genesis 15:5(Authorized Version)_ This is also the etymology behind “all told,” as MW11 explains in its example at that entry, “eight guests all told.” ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/30 "2008-08-01T21:38:34Z")
[QUOTE=Scarlett67] Any others? [/QUOTE] “Reader” can refer to a type of book, as well as to the person who peruses its pages. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/31 "2008-08-01T22:25:23Z")
[QUOTE=Eva Luna] If vegetarians eat vegetables, then what do humanitarians eat? [/QUOTE] Modern texts of 500 year old literature. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/32 "2008-08-01T22:43:52Z")
Personally, I love the weirdness of the English language. Like in the sentence, “It is raining” what noun does the pronoun ‘it’ replace? It’s fun to watch people working really hard to come up with an answer to that one. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/33 "2008-08-01T22:56:55Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Okay, why is a _prisoner_ someone who is kept confined in a prison, while a _jailer_ is someone who keeps someone else confined in a jail? 😕 [/QUOTE] Frankly, I’m a bit disappointed… I was hoping for another “You people won’t believe what I deal with at work” thread from **QtM** … :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/34 "2008-08-01T23:18:58Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] Frankly, I’m a bit disappointed… I was hoping for another “You people won’t believe what I deal with at work” thread from **QtM** … [/QUOTE] Oh, I’ve got _tons_ of stuff to tell, but every time I do, I get hammered by posters who accuse me of violating **HIPAA** (which I don’t violate, as I’m quite well versed on what’s both legal under HIPAA, and ethical among physician/patient relations). I just eventually got sick of fighting about it. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/35 "2008-08-01T23:45:27Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] There really should be a word _prisonies_. These are people who marry prisoners, derived from groupies. [/QUOTE] groupies marry groupers? Gay marriage really is a slippery slope! ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/36 "2008-08-02T00:19:42Z")
Old, I know, but it fits: The opposite of _Pro-_ is _Con-_. So the opposite of **progress** is **Congress**. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444/37 "2008-08-02T16:18:59Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] There are dressers who dress people, and theater sets too. [/QUOTE] I’ve been to plenty of theaters and never once did I see one theat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-vs-jailer/458444.md?page=1)