Wordwizard

I was wondering the same thing, WOz!

I'm waiting for August 21, 2017, when a total solar eclipse will be directly over St. Louis (and, I'm hoping, Springfield, too). I already have it on my calendar! (OK, I admit it, I'm a geek when it comes to certain astronomical events. Every time there's a partial solar eclipse--or a lunar eclipse-...

In Illinois, we usually call them "potholes," but I have heard them called "chuckholes." Of course, after a heavy rain, we just call them "lakes."

But do you say "the Queen Elizabeth"? *G*

I agree with Ken, although a spell-checker wouldn't necessarily help Yash. I was trying to figure out why the company would have apparel-makers ("costumers") from around the world. I guess YashWANTs to have the best-dressed online company around! Or perhaps the company is hosting a masquerade ball!

Actually, Erik, the preferred term (especially for a double-wide as opposed to a single-wide) is "Manufactured Home." And, although I live in a double-wide in a "Manufactured Home Community" (formerly known as a "trailer park"), the recent Springfield tornadoes managed to miss my house completely. I...

Both ways sound awkward to me. I would suggest re-wording it slightly to avoid the singular/plural issue with "team." How about something like this: The experienced professionals on our team: -Know and believe . . . with their whole hearts . . . ! That gets the general idea across and emphasizes the...

There is a town in Illinois (in suburban St. Louis) called New Baden. I used to work with a woman who had grown up there. She once told me that a tornado ripped through the town several years ago and destroyed nearly half the town. Some of the locals decided that when they rebuilt, they should chang...

Partridge notwithstanding, I really can't imagine using "brand [-spanking] new" in a formal context, such as a business letter or memo. I would use the term only informally. I agree with Erik that such terms are simply intensifiers, and their use expresses the attitude of the speaker/writer.

While we're on updates, Shelley, our local Snooze Channel (oops, I mean "News Channel") TV station had a FOLLOW-UP report on the pigeon problem at one of the downtown buildings the other night. Once again, they had a reporter talking about the "bird poop" as the camera zoomed in for a close-up (righ...

Actually, Debz, the "schizophrenic dialogue" to which I was referring was the constant back-and-forth between you and waterworks, aka "Debz's mom." I was really beginning to think I was watching a conversation between Norman Bates and HIS mother! lol If you want to talk pronunciation, I have some re...

Here in the US, our meteorologists tell us that the seasons begin on the solstice or equinox. I have never understood this, because wasn't the summer solstice originally called Midsummer (and the winter solstice called Midwinter)? How can the solstice be MID-anything if it's the BEGINNING of the sea...

Although in downstate Illinois, we usually refer to "restrooms," Chicagoans almost exclusively use the term "washrooms." In fact, the directional signs at Chicago's Union Station all use "washrooms."

Hope I'm not intruding on Debz' possibly schizophrenic dialogue, but my mother has always talked about a "skift" of snow (meaning a slight ground covering), and she's NOT from the Ozarks. She was raised (so was I) in South-Central Illinois. I used to use this expression, too, until I tried to find i...

Russ, do you mean to tell us that you actually UNDERSTOOD whatever the heck dale was asking??????? If so, perhaps you should really have your sanity checked! None of the rest of us has any idea what he's rambling on about! lol