Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2007

The slang phrase, "hot potato," in AmE has usually referred to a
certain accent in the NY- PA area associated with elitism.  Now it
appears that genetically modified ("GM") potatoes are "hot"
politically -- the suppression (for eight years) of a study showing a

Hi all, this IS NOT a spam nor scam, i just wanted to share with you
this website which i find great. I can get all the news i need onto 1
single place and my brother even found a job from it. Looks like it
pulls the latest Jobs around London. You can even submit your website

May be of interest.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/content/articles/2006/11/29/black_country_dial
ect_academic_feature.shtml
or
http://tinyurl.com/3aa8bu

Disgusted of Florida strikes:
"A theatre in Florida had to change the title of a charity production of The
Vagina Monologues on its marquee, after a woman complained that it was
offensive.

I could ask "How does one ask questions?"; but often I hear "How to
ask questions?". Is the latter wrong?

Can somebody please confirm that British people use the same or different
patterns compared to Americans when it comes to typing? Translations done by
Americans always show 2 spaces at the end of a sentence. For Brits it looks
quite mixed...

What does "Off the Beaten Path" do with travel?
History stuff?
I am not sure, please tell me more..
Thanks for that

dizzy
witty
diversity
intensity

just wondering if the following is acceptable
.... it requires to compute the mutual information.........
it just doesn't feel right.
also which of the following is correct

Which of the following is correct?  If both are correct, which is preferred
usage?
I think that this is a...
I think this is a...

What are all of the official ways that computers and people name
backup copies of their files?
I got a computer in probably March 1993 and in Word Perfect (probably)
3.1, the software would automatially put a "bk." at the end of my

I've permanently removed the individual poster history files
from my Web site.  You can read a little more about this at
http://www.exw6sxq.com/sparky/aue_related/individual_history_termination.html
(Some Bcc's)

Why won't the dirty filthy bastards at dictionary.com tell me what
"homologue" means?
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=homologue
Jade

What is the figurative meaning of Scotch mist? I don't mean the drink or
cocktail. I found "to turn Scotch mist" - to vanish (into thin air). I would
be grateful if you could give me some more examples in context.
Thanks,