Search found 15 matches

by Verbum
Tue Jul 19, 2005 12:09 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: BEVY
Replies: 1
Views: 5724

Dictionaries also give us "a bevy of roes". A roe is a roedeer or roebuck, a small European deer. I looked up "bevy" in Harrap's Shorter French-English Dictionary. For " a bevy of girls" it gives "essaim de jeunes filles" - a swarm of girls! Bzzzz! Bzzzz! Ouch...
by Verbum
Mon Jul 18, 2005 11:27 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: TROTH
Replies: 13
Views: 26594

Hi Garzo, It is not so long ago that in many jurisdictions of the Western world, a woman could not contract without the authorization of her parent, guardian or husband. Indeed a woman could not open a bank account without the consent of these males. In this context, "plight" would seem to...
by Verbum
Thu Jun 02, 2005 10:28 am
Forum: Res Diversae
Topic: What's wrong with "Suddenly"?
Replies: 30
Views: 61737

Hi Gailr, No, I don't know Michener. Thanks for warning me. I will never try to make his acquaintance. There must have been a time when people liked this sort of stuff, because some of these writers were popular... well perhaps with the "élite". I suppose that before photography, cinema an...
by Verbum
Fri May 27, 2005 10:52 am
Forum: Spelling
Topic: Know why "kn" is used where "n" would su
Replies: 16
Views: 74658

Hi Eric, Of course English words are not symbols, and it is ordinarily possible to guess the pronunciation of a word from its spelling through a process of comparison and analogy. This is of course not the case in Chinese, where every symbol (usually) has to be learned individually In reality, what ...
by Verbum
Thu May 26, 2005 4:52 pm
Forum: Res Diversae
Topic: What's wrong with "Suddenly"?
Replies: 30
Views: 61737

I once started a book by Balzac that spent a whole chapter getting from the mountains surrounding the town to the doorknob. I put the book down and never opened it again, nor did I ever read anything by Balzac after that. But I gather that kind of stuff was frequent in the 19th C. I suppose we have ...
by Verbum
Thu May 26, 2005 4:43 pm
Forum: Spelling
Topic: Know why "kn" is used where "n" would su
Replies: 16
Views: 74658

Excellent post, Verbum! 8)
by Verbum
Sat Mar 19, 2005 11:05 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: History of Grammar
Replies: 14
Views: 30019

Hi Phil, Grammar seems to get simpler over time. How did the earlier complex grammars come about from presumably the very simple grammars used with man's first grunts? The old English grammars followed the pattern of Latin grammars. They had conjugations and spoke of subjunctives. They tried to fit ...
by Verbum
Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:55 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Different from, Different than,
Replies: 11
Views: 31375

Tim,

Granted that excellent writers have used "diiferent than", I will not serve my best sherry to those who favor that construction. One has standards. :wink:

Verbum
by Verbum
Sat Mar 12, 2005 11:03 pm
Forum: Spelling
Topic: Know why "kn" is used where "n" would su
Replies: 16
Views: 74658

Hi Eberntson, While you're at it, why not drop the "w" as well? It does not serve any useful purpose! When you start talking about simplification of spelling, you're opening the ultimate can of worms. What your question is really saying is that spelling should follow pronunciation.This cre...
by Verbum
Sat Mar 12, 2005 9:04 pm
Forum: Spelling
Topic: Dilemma/dilemna
Replies: 36
Views: 189423

Dilemma/dilemna

As a result of a remark made by someone on another forum, I did a search on dilemma vs. dilemna and was surprised to discover how many people were actually TAUGHT to spell d-i-l-e-m-n-a. Can anyone throw light on the origina of this tenured error?

Verbum
by Verbum
Thu Mar 03, 2005 6:08 pm
Forum: Etymology
Topic: I don't want to look stupid, but irregardless I want to know
Replies: 135
Views: 1979662

"Regardless" means "without regard to". "Irregardless" simply says the opposite. Webster's says the latter originated under the influence of "irrespective". It does not however condemn it, merely recording that it is used primarily in speech.

Verbum
by Verbum
Thu Mar 03, 2005 5:59 pm
Forum: Etymology
Topic: Some thing WICKED this way comes!
Replies: 38
Views: 222666

In Québec, "écoeurant" (disgusting) is currently used by teenagers to mean "wicked good". Go figure!

Verbum
by Verbum
Thu Mar 03, 2005 1:07 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: "Question Tags" they are important, aren't they?
Replies: 28
Views: 104347

Can a "tag" be at the beginning? In French, you can turn any statement into a question, if you begin with "est-ce que" : "Est-ce que le gouvernement devrait baisser les impôts lorsqu'il est engagé dans une guerre qui luli coûte un milliard par jour ?"

Verbum
by Verbum
Thu Mar 03, 2005 1:00 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: What is the correct usage of "affect" & "
Replies: 12
Views: 32625

The most common use of affect, which is a verb, is in the past passive participle : affected , as in "She was strongly affected by the unkind remarks." Used in other senses, the verb applies to results on the physical or mental condition. Physical : "The accident severely affected his...
by Verbum
Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:34 pm
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: TROGLODYTE
Replies: 13
Views: 32144

Interestingly, the wren, which builds covered nests, is called a troglodyte in French, from its Latin name : troglodytes.

Verbum

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