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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13750
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Overbalancing means you stay upright
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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saben
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On fire! |
Registered: May 2003
Messages: 1537
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For a start Merriam-Webster site http://www.m-w.com lists the definition of 'overbalance' as follows:
Main Entry: over·bal·ance
Pronunciation: "O-v&r-'ba-l&n(t)s
Function: transitive verb
1 : OUTWEIGH
2 : to cause to lose balance
Whereas they don't list underbalance at all, though I do think that is just a legitimate a word. The word over balance does not refer to staying upright, but rather to falling over in a forward manner. Think of someone on a unicycle, in my mind, if they put too much of their weight forward then they are overbalancing, whereas if they lean back too far, then they are underbalancing, balancing is actually the point where they stay upright.
As another example of a similar word, take 'over-rotate' as used in diving and such sports. When someone does 3.2 revolutions instead of 3 they are over-rotating, when they do 2.7 they are under-rotating. They have applied too much rotation in a forwards or backwards direction. Similarly when you overbalance you apply too much of a balancing motion in the forward direction. This leads me to conclude that most falling is the result of overbalancing, after all, how often do you see people trip on a step and go falling backwards?  )
Look at this tree. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time [...] No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Oogway
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13750
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"over" is doing something too much. If you "overstay your welcome" you stay too much. Ergo overbalance is balancing too much, or remaining rigidly upright. A dictionary is no use. It lists comman parlance, not logic
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Over and Under when it comes to balance should only aply to a scale where overweighted and underweighted could be easily defined. The way I see it, many other uses are being applied improperly.
Just my two cents,
Kevin
P.S. Hope to see you on there soon Lenny!
:-*
"Be excellent to each other, and, party on dudes"!
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saben
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On fire! |
Registered: May 2003
Messages: 1537
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Yes, it is a question of logic, agreed and as you say 'over' denotes excess.
If to balance is to stay upright then to overbalance would be to stay too upright?  I believe there is some name for that condition, but I can't for the life of me think what it is.
Back onto the actual discussion, though, 'over' to me, not only denotes excess, but it also denotes excess to the point where something becomes a NEGATIVE thing. Using your example, to 'overstay your welcome' is to stay too long; or to overcook something is to burn it; to overfill something, is to cause a waste of whatever it is that overflows. Following this same logic, overbalancing would have to denote something negative. If you aren't falling over due to overbalancing, then how does it become a negative thing? Hence, I can see the only possibility of overbalancing as to be falling over.
Also, what do you consider the definition of 'balance' as a verb, to me 'balance' indicates a process by which one reaches a point of absolute balance (noun). To balance (verb) is not to be absolutely stable, to balance is to wobble back and forth until you achieve a point where you are totally centered. In that sense over-balancing is in fact balancing too much, or wobbling too much and failing to meet the desired point of balance as a result.
Look at this tree. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time [...] No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Oogway
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You only fall over when you UNDERbalance 
I disagree 
Re: I disagree 
