Discussion Groups / English Usage / April 2007

A goosegog is a gooseberry. Are there other kinds of gogs?

The _Washington Post _ today is carrying usage I've never heard before.
In a profile of the Virginia Tech gunman, _An Isolated Boy in a World of
Strangers_, it says the killer's father "worked long hours pressing
pants at a dry cleaner in Manassas." Some US dictionaries limit a dry

May I say "nappy leather" when referring to suede? Or should I avoid
"nappy"  altogether, like I avoid the word "niggardly"?
Unfortunately this is a genuine question, for I really don't  know the
etiquette usage of words falling out of grace in certain contexts.

Sudan man forced to 'marry' goat
A Sudanese man has been forced to take a goat as his "wife", after he
was caught having sex with the animal.
http://link.toolbot.com/bbc.co.uk/75057

I have an in-born skin problem, ichthyose, as it is called in (the)
medical term.
Do I need the definitive article "the" in the sentence above? Why?
Thanks!

Last Revised 2006-05-14 (14 May 2006)
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Today's "Far Side" calendar cartoon: two frogs in a car. The "wife"
frog is saying:
"Watch out for that tree, you idiot! ...And *now* you're on the wrong
side of the road! Crimony! You're driving like you've been pithed or

Just came across this line from the song "Common Ground" by Rhythm
Corps.
One line reads:
 "While the brats start blighing..."

Pattern 1: Compound sentence: semicolon, no conjunction.
(two short, related sentences now joined)
S V ; S V   Subject  Verb ; Subject Verb
Gloria, try on these jeans; they seem to be your size.

which of the following is correct/prefered:
It is well to note that a is p.
It is good to note that a is p.
thanx,

Which of these two sentence would you prefer as the past tense of  "I do not
have a car."/"I haven't got a car."?
1) I did not have a car.
2) I hadn't got a car.

I heard an obsolete farewell in an 80's video.
One of the characters bid goodbye with a "Stay Cool".
This reminded me that no one has recently suggested I "Rock On".
Party On!

Hi there ...
Thank you for reading this message .
Did you here about Islam? I mean the real Islam...
Do you have some questions in your religion and you don't have the

We don't know if the fox in Aesop's fable was habituated to
floccinaucinihilipilification, though we do know he indulged at least
once. As an optimist, I find the sour grapes approach a useful way to
approach the world, albeit a self-deceptive one. I wonder, though,

How old is the phrase "mind your own beeswax"?
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-min1.htm
(For some reason that phrase is attached in my memory
with Ramona Quimby.)