Falling over Vs having a fall

I had a fall the other evening whilst out with the dogs. There was absolutely no reason for it that I could see. One minute I was walking along. The next I was falling and hitting the ground.

I didn't fall over, as there was no obstacle in the way.

Incidently, the dogs could not have given less of a shit.

It would have been better to either : FALL and get straight up OR:
FALL and need AMBULANCE. But middle ground is elderly FALL. Sorry. Elderly FALL feels different.....

There is a caveat to this though - if you’ve had the 2nd type of fall and you’re below the age of about 40, then you’ve Had An Accident.

So you are basically in the same category as a toddler who has pissed herself?

If nobody laughed you are officially old - apparently!!!
Hope you are ok? It’s horrible falling over

The last time I fell over was in May 1998 and I was 25.

As it’s been so long, I really think it will be very depressing when i inevitably ’have a fall’.

To me, having a fall implies helplessness (eg passing out with for no apparent reason) or physical weakness (eg knee suddenly giving way) rather than the clumsiness (not paying attention to a step, nearby, when trimming a plant) or misfortune (some lazy tit leaving a crate in the middle of the path that I didn't see in time with the sun in my eyes).

I have falls. I’m 55 but have a progressive neurological illness and my balance is badly affected. No way I can get up on my own either. Last bad fall I landed myself in hospital for 3 weeks and am still recovering (walking with a zimmer, but now climbing stairs with 2 handrails). The rehab team hope to have me walking independently before Christmas! I hope so too, I’m far to young for all this.

Another topic, but it shows how tiny variations in language matter.

My friend had a rather precocious daughter who answered the phone and said 'Mummy's on the loo!' She was mortified.

'Mummy's IN the loo' would have been OK, but ON the loo - too much information somehow!

Maybe it implied being there for a long time, straining away, while reading - but it was a bit unsavoury.

I had an elderly friend (in his 80s as opposed to my 60's) who, when I hadn't rung or emailed him for a few days, rang me repeatedly. I, worried by all the missed calles, rang him back. He said 'Oh good, you're all right. I was worried you hadn't rung because you'd had a fall.'

I pointed out that 1) I am twenty years younger than him and he 'has a fall', I just fall over, 2) I do Pilates every day and am considerably fitter than him and 3) I HAVE A BLOODY JOB and am therefore not sitting on my laptop or phone all day!

He did laugh about it though.

This is definitely a thing, as we can see from the responses here. I was talking to a lady around 70 who had fallen over, her friend said she’d had a fall, she replied, that she FELL OVER! I’m with her on that, I think had a fall should be for ages 80 and over !

Relating it purely to age is ridiculous. There are some very agile 80 somethings. Meantime, MIL had a fall in her 70s, while closing her curtains. She was found by a neighbour. It was a symptom of the illness that killed her a month or so later.

"I fell over" = I fucked up the act of being upright, you can laugh at me

"I had a fall" = I was blamelessly ambushed by gravity, I deserve sympathy

To me, falling over is funny and you get straight back up and laugh. I’d say you had a fall as you face planted and ended up in A&E. It emphasises the seriousness. If they phoned your dh and said you fell over, he might have wondered why they were calling to tell him.

I am yet to hear anyone describe a young person as having a fall. Ever!

I will not hesitate to correct anyone who might refer to me that way. Can’t stand it and the WAY thst it’s usually uttered.

If you fall over in public and passersby laugh - you're young.
If you fall over in public and passersby are concerned and rush to help - you're old.

What if you fall over in the kitchen whilst pissed and over sixty? Asking for a friend.

I would say 'falling over' is a minor stumble & scraped knee type thing where you get up, laugh & carry on.

Having 'a fall' is where you really injured yourself.

Okay but what exactly IS a funny turn? I’ve heard it used before but never really understood what it means

It's passing out.

I've not "had a fall" yet, but i have "slipped and fallen" resulting in being taken to hospitals by ambulance. I made the distinction as I didn't trip over an uneven surface, I slipped on a wet surface. 2 broken bones in my lower leg and a dislocated ankle...and I hadn't even left my house.

Had a fall is whispered in hush tones usually to the relative of an older person who has randomly fallen to the ground. Fell over is anything else. Unless you are my elderly parents who have never had a fall or fallen over but have been actively sabotaged by aforementioned relative who has failed to remove all obstacles or has wrecked havoc by for exmple, placing the plate of biscuits slightly out of reach.

Probably if it's significant-if it was bad enough for work to call your husband, saying you fell over might sound like they were being dismissive.
But very fit people younger than you can get serious injuries/be off work ages/never able to do certain things, like sports they love, again from "a fall".

People are very patronising to older people. But 45 is a bit young for all of this.

You tripped over. You did not "have a fall".

Oh dear, this is a bit dispiriting.

I thought that, at 64, I was still too young to "have a fall". I am generally pretty active and well and DH and I do lots of walking. When I went down in the street a couple of weeks ago it was definitely a trip I just didn't manage to recover from. But, looking at your definition, I did spanner myself so spectacularly I drew a crowd and unfortunately I did not stagger to my feet insisting I was fine.

If you do the kind of face plant that leaves you stunned and momentarily motionless while you process what just happened, and it requires other people’s help to get you off the floor, then you’ve definitely Had A Fall.
This describes so accurately what happened to me I almost wonder if you were the nice lady who came to my assistance. Kind strangers called an ambulance and I ended up in A &E (nearly 8 hours on a trolley in the corridor 😒) but they eventually glued me back together and two weeks on I am more or less healed up.

Both boobs bruised incidentally.

Arse over tit , tits over tea-kettle ends at 30 (or older if you're still a pisshead) if that helps.