Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006

All right, let's get to it. Here is the statement and the spin:
"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do
your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If
you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Adam Scott, golfer, said:
"On 11, I hit probably the best shot of the day I could hit with a
6-iron and I thought it was going in the hole," Scott continued.
"It comes up short in the bunker face. It's unexplainable."

I have some problems in understanding the text quoted below. There's anybody
who can reformulate this text making it more clear and understandable?
The efforts made by official historians and linguists to trace back the
history of standard English also applies to the early Middle ...

Earthlink seems to have fixed its problems, so I have now been able to
view Coop's recently posted photographic display.  As usual, Coop, it is a
tour de force, and I hope you will continue to provide us with these
highly educational works.

Although the sentence below sounds better to me with "it is"  in it, I
was wondering if i should leave these words out in the interest of
conciseness.
"The whale is not only as related to the dolphin as its anatomy

Need I say more?

It's not that difficult to suss out their meanings; in fact, OED makes
the s-word quite intelligible.
As for the other, OED apparently can't be arsed to illuminate this
usage for me, and I can't be arsed to do the work required.

I'm hoping the experts here can settle a dispute. Is the following sentence
correctly punctuated? If not, please tell me the correct punctuation.
Thanks!
John is full of sh.t, anyway, so why even respond?

I wonder what the little Mercuries are doing here:-)
Are they small representations of Mercury, the god (Hermes)?
A trademark for bulbs?
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As this is BrE, I would've expected "shall" with the 1st person in:
"I will really not interfere."
Any reasons for having "will" instead? Matter of preference or not?
Is is just in order to confirm aunt's willlingness/intention/will of

I've been trying to decide which, if either, of these sentences is
correct or  preferrable:
"Jim, having found himself unable to perform the task himself, asked
Bob to help."

What does
"That tune fairly gives me the hump"
mean?
Is it "it makes me sick" or "it gives me the creeps?"

German has two subjunctive moods, called "Subjunctive I" and
"Subjunctive II" in the grammar book I used, the first derived from the
present infinitive, and the second from the simple past.  For example:
Er kommt -- er komme -- wenn er kämme

The Wikipedia item on Emma Goldman says that she spent some years in
"Southern France" (capitalized thusly).
I have often heard of the South of France, but I have never heard of
Southern France and I am surprised that such a place exists. It sounds

In the UK one sees signs in public places that say "WAY OUT" where the US
observer would expect "EXIT".  Yet I think one also sees signs that say
"EXIT" in the UK too, does not one?  In which case, is there some
difference between "way out" and "exit" in BrE?  Does the occurrence ...