No English dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between these two words.

 

In a recent linguistic competition held in London and attended by, supposedly, the best in the world,

Samdar Balgobin, a Guyanese man, was the clear winner with a standing ovation which lasted over 5 minutes.

 

The final question was: 'How do you explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way that is

easy to understand?

 

Many  people say there is no difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED.

  

Here is his astute answer: 

 

When you marry the right woman, you are COMPLETE.  

 

When you marry the wrong woman, you are FINISHED. 

When the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are COMPLETELY FINISHED

 

Nobody has ever called me a finished moron, and I've never completed a beer.

I guess it could be as simple as a task can be finished, but there are more tasks do do before your education is complete.

The first 2 lines were first spoken by Ava Gabor - many years ago... with a slight variation... 

Images of romantic man going hammer and nails on his victim err I mean wife "you complete me darling" she replies " you finish ka I lub you."

English is far from a finished work and is a complete bastard to learn with all the "rules" that don't always apply, depending on the word.

The thing I like about English is that it is an evolving language. The French, on the other hand, are so afraid that their language will be polluted that they try desperately to control it. Karaoke, Deja vous, Rendez vous are perfectly acceptable in the English language even though they are obviously NOT English. You've got to love it. On the other hand, English is probably the hardest language to learn and understand but the easiest to fake and be understood. eg: "I dindo nufins"