anyone who saw
anyone who saw
Are these correct:
1) Anyone who saw and recognized him should have reported him to the police, but no one did. I am sure many people saw him and knew who he was, but no one dared report him to the police.
2) Anyone who went up this sidewalk before me should have picked up that banana skin. This is a crowded street and a lot of people saw it before I did, and none of them picked it up.
Has 'anyone' been used correctly?
Gratefully,
Navi
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1) Anyone who saw and recognized him should have reported him to the police, but no one did. I am sure many people saw him and knew who he was, but no one dared report him to the police.
2) Anyone who went up this sidewalk before me should have picked up that banana skin. This is a crowded street and a lot of people saw it before I did, and none of them picked it up.
Has 'anyone' been used correctly?
Gratefully,
Navi
Re: anyone who saw
Yes, though if you'd written "banana-peel"; anyone'd've picked it up.
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Re: anyone who saw
Yep. Fine.
@gdwdwrkr: Seriously? You'd talk about banana peel rather than banana skin? As far as I'm concerned, it's "skin" in the UK.
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@gdwdwrkr: Seriously? You'd talk about banana peel rather than banana skin? As far as I'm concerned, it's "skin" in the UK.
Signature: Phil White
Non sum felix lepus
Non sum felix lepus
Re: anyone who saw
Yes, quite serious. It's "peel" here.
Especially among those of us with "one foot on the banana-peel".
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Especially among those of us with "one foot on the banana-peel".
Re: anyone who saw
So, in the U.K., they say, "Let's make like a banana skin and split." Doesn't sound quite right to me . . .
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Re: anyone who saw
Shelley : irrespective of the peel or skin question , what does "Let's make like a banana skin and split" supposed to be or mean? I have not heard the expression before.
But this topic has me thinking. So thoughts:
OED
PEEL
a. The rind, skin, or outer covering of a fruit, a vegetable, or (occasionally) a plant; esp. the skin of a citrus fruit, often used as a flavouring (cf. zest n.1 1).
SKIN
10. An outer layer or covering.
a. The outer covering of certain fruits and vegetables; the peel or rind; (also) the bark or rind of a tree or plant.
banana, orange, potato skin, etc
1 I use skin and peel differently.PEEL
a. The rind, skin, or outer covering of a fruit, a vegetable, or (occasionally) a plant; esp. the skin of a citrus fruit, often used as a flavouring (cf. zest n.1 1).
SKIN
10. An outer layer or covering.
a. The outer covering of certain fruits and vegetables; the peel or rind; (also) the bark or rind of a tree or plant.
banana, orange, potato skin, etc
2 I peel a banana, I don't peel a rabbit.
3. I don't skin a banana, I do skin a rabbit.
4. A banana has skin, I don't think it has peel except I might remove the peel.
5. The skin of a banana, once removed but still joined at the stalk, I would probably call the skin. A piece (maybe a lobe) of skin intentionally removed is peel or a peeling.
6. I risk stepping on banana skin or on banana peel.
7. An orange has skin.
8. I would add orange peel to the recipe. I wouldn't add orange skin. I only want the peel, not the skin.
Well, I'll stop now, but that hasn't resulted in a clear set of rules.

Signature: tony
I'm puzzled therefore I think.
I'm puzzled therefore I think.
Re: anyone who saw
Good points, Tony. I think there a couple of things we can narrow down, at least for UK usage:
But that which cartoon characters and politicians step on (literally or metaphorically) is, in the UK, always a banana skin as far as I am aware.
And Shelley, that use of "split" is known in the UK, but has never been particularly widespread. So the expression "let's make like a banana and split" is pretty well unknown here (and I for one have never heard the version with "banana peel".)
Ed.: It occurs to me that tomatoes also always have "skin(s)" and not "peel". Which is not predicted by my theory above.
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- Generically, we usually (always?) "peel" fruit and vegetables and "skin" animals.
- While the outer covering of a piece of fruit or a vegetable is still attached, it is usually referred to as the "skin".
- Once removed or during removal, the outer covering is usually referred to as "peel" (or, with vegetables such as potatoes, "peelings".
- Bananas in particular do not follow this pattern.
But that which cartoon characters and politicians step on (literally or metaphorically) is, in the UK, always a banana skin as far as I am aware.
And Shelley, that use of "split" is known in the UK, but has never been particularly widespread. So the expression "let's make like a banana and split" is pretty well unknown here (and I for one have never heard the version with "banana peel".)
Ed.: It occurs to me that tomatoes also always have "skin(s)" and not "peel". Which is not predicted by my theory above.
Signature: Phil White
Non sum felix lepus
Non sum felix lepus
Re: anyone who saw
Sorry, tony h -- if I'd said it right (like Phil White did above), it might have made more sense. Making like a banana and splitting is a reference to a "banana split", an over-indulgence involving:
a banana, split in half, lengthwise, as the base,
topped with 3 scoops (usually) of ice cream,
whipped cream,
fudge (or other) sauce,
nuts and
a maraschino cherry.
[one can reverse the order of the sauce and whipped cream]
At least that's what I've always thought, until this conversation. The skin of a banana CAN split, so maybe that's all that's going on here. Or, I suppose, one could say, "Let's make like a banana and peel", as in peeling rubber (stepping on the accelerator so heavily, that you leave a black stripe of tire on the pavement, like burning rubber).
I don't know . . . I'm confused. But anyway, where I come from, bananas are wrapped in peels, not skins.
Re: anyone who saw
I'm not sure if there is any science behind it, but I seem to differentiate then by thickness (or, at least amount of protection they offer) Tomatoes, grapes, onions and peaches have skins. Potatoes, apples, oranges, and bananas have peels. I know that some people say that an orange has a rind but I usually reserve rind for tougher coverings...cantaloupes, cheeses and bacon (ok, bacon rind is actually skin...but it's a pretty thick skin...isn't that a pithy?)
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Re: anyone who saw
Thanks, trolley. Grapes. onions and peaches were what I needed. So, with the exception of bananas in the UK, your theory seems to hold.
With the examples tomatoes, grapes and peaches, the skin is also eaten, whereas "peel" is not. This does not apply to onions or bananas.
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With the examples tomatoes, grapes and peaches, the skin is also eaten, whereas "peel" is not. This does not apply to onions or bananas.
Signature: Phil White
Non sum felix lepus
Non sum felix lepus
Re: anyone who saw
Now that set me thinking. Apples.
Some people peel apples and throw away the peel. Do those of us who do not do so eat the skin or the peel? Is peel only peel if it has been peeled?
This article from the Huff Post can't decide either:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/never-pe ... _n_4791328
It uses "skin" most of the time, but throws in a few dashes of "peel" to taste.
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Some people peel apples and throw away the peel. Do those of us who do not do so eat the skin or the peel? Is peel only peel if it has been peeled?
This article from the Huff Post can't decide either:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/never-pe ... _n_4791328
It uses "skin" most of the time, but throws in a few dashes of "peel" to taste.
Signature: Phil White
Non sum felix lepus
Non sum felix lepus
Re: anyone who saw
I was tending to think, along with Phil, that skin must be detached to become peel.
You cook potatoes in their skins or cook peeled potatoes and add potato peelings to the still.
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You cook potatoes in their skins or cook peeled potatoes and add potato peelings to the still.
Signature: tony
I'm puzzled therefore I think.
I'm puzzled therefore I think.
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