Search found 10 matches
- Thu Jul 28, 2005 9:01 am
- Forum: Good Word Suggestions
- Topic: Lichtenberg Ratio
- Replies: 4
- Views: 11668
Lichtenberg Ratio
Having wrongly supposed that the standard dimensions for sheets of paper (US Letter, A4, etc) would approximate the golden ratio , I recently lost a bet while learning the definition of the Lichtenberg Ratio: The ratio of the square root of two to one. This ratio is the basis for the standard ISO pa...
- Wed Jul 27, 2005 10:20 am
- Forum: Idioms
- Topic: Monkey shines/or/Blame it on the animals
- Replies: 12
- Views: 42518
- Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:52 am
- Forum: Idioms
- Topic: Monkey shines/or/Blame it on the animals
- Replies: 12
- Views: 42518
- Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:02 pm
- Forum: Idioms
- Topic: smart cookie
- Replies: 6
- Views: 45903
- Tue Jul 26, 2005 8:12 am
- Forum: Idioms
- Topic: smart cookie
- Replies: 6
- Views: 45903
smart cookie
I'm curious about smart cookie , which was used in a recent broadcast of A Way With Words that focused on food expressions. Unfortunately, the show didn't give either the meaning or the origin of the idiom. The Online Etymology Dictionary says smart cookie goes back to 1948 but gives no specifics. M...
- Mon Jul 18, 2005 10:14 pm
- Forum: Good Word Suggestions
- Topic: TRINITITE
- Replies: 6
- Views: 12538
The -ite ending makes trinitite sound like a mineral. The same is true for fulgurite, which is the glass-like product of lightning striking sand or certain types of stone. My question is whether trinitite and fulgurite are minerals. Aren't minerals supposed to be crystalline in structure? And aren't...
- Mon Jul 18, 2005 8:55 am
- Forum: Good Word Suggestions
- Topic: pillion
- Replies: 2
- Views: 6315
pillion
As an inveterate motorcyclist, I'd like to suggest pillion , which enjoys prominent billing in the recent Chatham House report : "Riding pillion with a powerful ally has proved costly in terms of British and US military lives, Iraqi lives, military expenditure, and the damage caused to the coun...
- Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:38 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: GAS
- Replies: 4
- Views: 11694
- Thu Jul 14, 2005 1:41 pm
- Forum: Grammar
- Topic: "to hospital" vs "to the hospital"
- Replies: 24
- Views: 66148
- Thu Jul 14, 2005 10:02 am
- Forum: Grammar
- Topic: "to hospital" vs "to the hospital"
- Replies: 24
- Views: 66148
"to hospital" vs "to the hospital"
In the coverage of the London bombings, I noticed that the British say "to hospital." In American English, we say "to school" more often than "to the school," but we tend to retain the "the" in "to the hospital." What is at work here?
Thanks,
Cliff
Thanks,
Cliff