Search found 2627 matches
- Fri Oct 30, 2020 3:37 am
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: Tap water
- Replies: 5
- Views: 4450
Re: Tap water
We call them "drinking fountains". I guess it's a sign of the times, but when I was a kid they were everywhere... in department stores, bus depots, random spots on the sidewalk downtown...
- Sat Oct 24, 2020 9:01 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: Second to none
- Replies: 2
- Views: 3274
Re: Second to none
Most certainly, it can apply to a person. Your example is perfect. When you apply it to a person, you need some sort of qualifier, explaining in what way they you think they are second to none...as a cook, as a Mom , as a friend, as a bullshitter, etc. You wouldn't just say "Julia is second to none"...
- Fri Oct 23, 2020 8:30 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: Dodge to be
- Replies: 5
- Views: 4326
Re: Dodge to be
...and it probably won't be the last time!
- Thu Oct 22, 2020 4:00 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: Dodge to be
- Replies: 5
- Views: 4326
Re: Dodge to be
Is it just me, or does using "doctor" (change in order to deceive) in a statement about something medical seem to somehow detract from the statement? I immediately thought there was some (attempt at) humour injected in there and questioned how serious the statement was. For some reason, I would not ...
- Mon Oct 19, 2020 10:17 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: Alexander-esque moment
- Replies: 4
- Views: 4269
Re: Alexander-esque moment
Oh....that Alexander. I was racking my brain, trying to work out exactly how side-swiping your husband's car related to one of history's greatest military strategists...
- Sun Oct 11, 2020 12:56 am
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: Unbelievable
- Replies: 0
- Views: 5659
Unbelievable
Heard in the wild, at work:
" I have to say...I'm a little skeptable"
The funny thing is... I don't ever trust a word this guy says. He really is a little skeptable.
" I have to say...I'm a little skeptable"
The funny thing is... I don't ever trust a word this guy says. He really is a little skeptable.
- Tue Oct 06, 2020 8:46 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: 10th grade
- Replies: 5
- Views: 4577
Re: 10th grade
They both may be "grammatical and natural to use", but for some reason (that I can't explain), #1 seems a little oddly worded. There is something about the "only went to school until 10th grade" part that doesn't sit right with me. I'm not sure it's incorrect, but I wouldn't say it that way.
- Mon Oct 05, 2020 8:44 pm
- Forum: Word Origins and Meanings
- Topic: Hot Mess
- Replies: 1
- Views: 4763
Hot Mess
This is one of those phrases that just seemed to come out of nowhere and, very quickly, be everywhere. I heard it for about the tenth time in the last couple of days and wondered how and when it started. Here's a quick read, with some surprising facts for anyone else who is curious. https://www.merr...
- Sat Oct 03, 2020 6:47 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: Only ever
- Replies: 11
- Views: 5676
Re: Only ever
G. No one else buys eggs for my dog.
- Sat Oct 03, 2020 4:22 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: Only ever
- Replies: 11
- Views: 5676
Re: Only ever
F. If I need eggs, I always steal them. I only buy eggs for my dog.
- Sat Oct 03, 2020 5:58 am
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: probably the most unhealthy thing
- Replies: 7
- Views: 4773
Re: probably the most unhealthy thing
"I guess one way to read '1' is that dessert was probably the most unhealthy thing you could eat on the menu."
I don't really see any other way to read that.(I'm not up on my "colon rules") If the intended meaning was "she chose the most unhealthy dessert"... then just say that...easy -peasy!
I don't really see any other way to read that.(I'm not up on my "colon rules") If the intended meaning was "she chose the most unhealthy dessert"... then just say that...easy -peasy!
- Fri Oct 02, 2020 2:16 am
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: for something he didn't do
- Replies: 2
- Views: 3269
Re: for something he didn't do
The more I look at these, the more unsure I am of their intended meanings. It shouldn't be that hard to glean what someone is trying to say...if it is, then it should be expressed differently. Unless I have missed the point all these years, surely the idea is to communicate precisely and effectively...
- Wed Sep 30, 2020 7:36 pm
- Forum: Word Origins and Meanings
- Topic: hector
- Replies: 1
- Views: 2378
hector
While listening to a couple of US political pundits, after that schoolyard fight last night, I heard the word “hector” used to describe one of the debaters (guess who?). One of them was “hectoring” the other. I thought I had misheard “heckle/heckling”. That certainly seemed to fit what I seen on the...
- Mon Sep 28, 2020 7:27 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: LIDS
- Replies: 8
- Views: 5417
Re: LIDS
I guess it's like "putting a lid" on something:
https://politicaldictionary.com/words/lid/
https://politicaldictionary.com/words/lid/
- Mon Sep 21, 2020 6:13 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: Thanks a bunch
- Replies: 11
- Views: 5603
Re: Thanks a bunch
Steve, it was a joke...or at least, an attempt at one. I was referring to my life-long misinterpretation of the phrase "thanks a bunch" and hinting that now I have to reconsider what people really mean every time they thank me. You've made over 2800 posts here and I'd wager that about 50% of those w...