Tall or high ?

I can mess with the "leet" if I feel like it. :p

I use tall and high as described above so long as I'm not using either to describe something. If I'm describing something, I tend to interchange them. i.e. "That building is too tall" and "That building is too high" have a 50-50 chance between 'em for me actually saying it.
 
I occasionally slip up and say 'high' when I mean tall - but I'm always irritated with myself when I do so.

What can I say, I'm a bit of a linguistic nit-picker...
 
In my little mind you just said two different things. In the first case you are saying that the building is too tall itself whereas in the second you are saying that the top of the building is at too great an altitude. For example if you get a little queazy when you are up in the air you might say "too tall" about an offer to go to the top of a sky scraper but "too hight" when talking about an Anasazi cliff dwelling.

Edit: I was replying to Darkshadow, Brian snuck in.
 
Right. The weird thing is, I'd think the same thing if I heard someone else saying it, but then I myself will interchange them when I use them. Just as in my above example, though. I wouldn't ever say "He's six feet high" or something like that.
 
Interesting. On reflection, I agree with the consensus that's coming out here - tall for distance from top to bottom, high for distance from a location to the centre of the earth (or the local ground level, or whatever).

But I don't think that's how I use it. I would say "a tall building", but I would also say that a building is "eight storeys high". Generally I would only use tall in the latter form when talking about a person or animal.

Of course, now I won't be able to use either word without doubting myself for the next few days...
 
Heh... indeed.

The Empire State Building is taller than a hypothetical shack at the top of Mt. Everest, but the roof of the shack is higher than the roof of the ESB. ¿Claro?
 
Scruffy... if you think about it in terms of "stories high" as a measurement, then the use of the word "high" is not weird at all.
 
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