Quote Originally Posted by CGM View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Oggie View Post
Quote Originally Posted by CGM View Post

uhhh just in case you are serious. It's because there are no trees in the desert.
Just in case you are serious too, desert island refers to a place of litte or no habitation (thus the word 'deserted').
And of course trees grow in the desert, The Joshua tree being the most famous example.

All I need on my desert island (apart from the supposed DVD player and sound system ) is a few rocks that I can carve into useful tools and then I can begin my boat building exercise.
Ellen should be a good help there too, even if she is as dry as a camel's leg.

yeah yeah yeah. Ok well I checked the wikipedia page for desert island, and it seems you are right. But the word is desert. A desert is a place without water and without water there are no trees. If you were to use the word desert and island together, then it can only mean a command to leave the place. This is an outrage. I'm gonna write a letter to the dictionary people.
Exactly man.
'Desert' can refer to a place with little to almost no vegetation. This kind of desert has a very small amount of rainfall (not particularly none) each year, but many types of flora, including trees, have adapted to the barren conditions.

'Desert' can also refer to an area that is lacking in something of any kind: The place was an artistic desert.
^^^ This is the term that is referred to in the phrase 'Desert Island,' due to the lack of habitation.

I sent an email to Dictionary.com, they replied:

Stop being a pain in the ass.
Thanks,

Dictionary.com