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points by prmph 1 day ago | 0 comments

Both are high-speed trains regardless of whether they are in motion or not.

High-speed is a descriptor of the type of train, not their current speed.

Just like a racing cars is still such even when stationary.

"racing cars" actually would not be stationary. "Race cars" are the class of vehicle, which can be stationary. If the cars are racing, they are not stationary.

"High-speed" is ambiguous. It can be used to describe the class of vehicle, or it can be used to describe the state of motion of the vehicle.

[–] robotresearcher 1 day ago

Race cars are called racing cars in UK English, and maybe other places in the Anglosphere.

[–] adrianmonk 1 day ago

Yes, same in US English: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racing%20car

[–] jazzyjackson 1 day ago

Am American, grew up as a NASCAR fan, I’ve never heard someone say “racing cars” as a noun

[–] brewdad 17 hours ago

America is a big place. Common terminology in one place is unheard of in another, especially in the age before the internet.

I saw a discussion thread the other day about the word for a pile of blankets and pillows at a kids sleepover. Every Southerner knew the term “pallet”. Pretty much everyone else didn’t have a word for it at all, other than a “pile”.