There has been a recent tendency in England to give the word fair (in the sense of "rural marketplace" or "fête") the archaic spelling fayre . This is now probably the more common British spelling of the word in that sense. (Where the emphasis is on entertainment - as in "fu...

A syllogism is an argument with two premises from which a conclusion logically follows. The following syllogism is sound: All mothers are female My friend is a mother Therefore my friend is female. And the following syllogism is faulty: All birds have two legs My friend has two legs Therefore my fri...

Sap's example is just an alternative construction--which is still the subjunctive, but which stresses the unlikely nature of the situation. Both 'should' and 'were to' are used for this. OK, but "I should get lost" or "I were to get lost" make the sentence sound very wordy, even...

What about this one? I left home early to make sure I would have extra time in case I were to get lost. The uncertainty of getting lost seems to call for the subjunctive. Sounds stuffier, but the meaning is certainly clear. But surely "I got" is already subjunctive here. "I got"...

I think the problem lies with this particular font (which I don't much like anyway). It tends to make a single space after a period look like less than a single space, particularly when it is followed by a wide initial letter. Like sluggo, I would prefer to be able to double-space. This problem does...

Actually, "very" is an augmentative (i.e. it increases the intensity of an adjective). "Fairly" is a diminutive (it reduces the intensity). "Pretty" and "quite" can be either, depending on the context and/or tone of voice. "Quite" is a curious word. ...

The Oxford English Dictionary states: [ Between ] is still the only word available to express the relation of a thing to many surrounding things severally and individually, among expressing a relation to them collectively and vaguely. It points out that between has been used with more than two items...

Low light: gloaming, gloom, glimmer.
High light: gleaming, gleam, glamour.

'Between' and 'Among' Tchaa, I was taught that 'between' was between two items, and 'among' was, well, ja, among more than two items. 'Between' can be used with more than two items to make the following distinction: 1. The plate was passed between the guests who were seated in a circle. (= it was p...

Regarding the use of yall, yous etc, I wonder if a similar process took place with the Spanish vosotros, which simply means 'you' (plural), but is formed from the words vos otros ("you others"). They also say nosotros for 'we'.

Thanks. I took the test and came out very Southern (no surprise there). How does a Britisher come out on a test like that--or do you?

4% Southern.

I would love to see a thread on regional pronunciation, as well as one on regional uses of words, such as see-saw vs. teeter-totter.

You may like to peruse the 'Rebel-Yankee Test' section. There is a lot of that kind of discussion there.

The first two senses are the only ones I know properly. I have only heard sense 3 in the term "Truck Acts" (historical statutes relating to payment in goods), and I have never heard sense 4.

In some sentences, it is possible to replace a word with its opposite while keeping the meaning of the sentence the same, or almost the same. Here are some examples: He slowed up./He slowed down. The aircraft landed down in a valley./The aircraft landed up in a valley. Our team was well beaten./Our ...

Yes, there is a contrast. But the correct form of the above sentence is "...but just not the best...", not "...but this is just not the best...". Interesting that you say this. Why do you think it is a reduction of your sentence and not mine, Audiendus? Because the contrast is b...