Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2007

WAMY Series: On Islam No.9.Introduction
God's Attributes
The Oneness of God
The Believer's Attitude

I will, unusually, be spending the night of Wednesday 28th November
in Oxfordshire (close to Witney, but not close to Houston), with no
plans for the evening.  Are any nearby Members free to join a boink
that evening?  I'm happy to drive to Oxford or Burford or any other

This is a link to a NY Times article titled "Being Skeptical of
Green", By DAN MITCHELL, Published: November 24, 2007.
http://link.toolbot.com/nytimes.com/95446
Here's an excerpt:

There seems to be a word that means an unnecessary accessory that goes
with a car. What is it?
I'd appreciate your help.
Ray

I was asked a few questions by "Robert Carnegie" in another group and rather
than crosspost and draw the ire of many, I thought I would repost and draw
the ire of many more.
I had asked James Follett, "Which true event did you base your book on, Mr.

One of my students had a different opinion about the answer to the
test question, but my colleague didn't agree. Would you give me a
second opinion. Thanks in advance. The test question is as follows,
He is such a good detective that he can catch people's reactions from

What is the Qur’ân?  | The Discover Islam Project|
The Qur’ân is the name given to Allah’s speech that He revealed to His
servant and Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him); speech that is
recited as an act of worship, is miraculous, and cannot be imitated by

I can think of uses of "pretension" where "pretentiousness" wouldn't do:
       It's merely a pretension of his.
- but I can't think of any examples of the reverse.
Unless, that is, "pretentiousness" properly refers to an aspect of

I usually enjoy Talk of The Nation on PBS, but yesterday's discussion turned
into a victimology session as folks crawled out of the woodwork to decry
teachers who had sexually abused them. What further raised my objection flag
was the guest who insisted that women who have ...

SEXY GIRLS ARE WAITING FOR YOU         http://rexmier.blogspot.com/

What do you think of the expression "accumulative total" rather than
the more common "cumulative total"?
Of the three definitions given in the OED for "accumulative" the first
would seem to apply to this phrase, though the examples given don't

Sunday again on CBC,
Pee Po Belly Bum Drawers.
And Norman Mailer is coming to tea,
Pee Po Belly Bum Pants!

In case Jerry F. is reading, no claim that this is an eggcorn.  But
it's funny.
I was just watching a previously recorded "Steven Colbert Report"
where Garry Kasparov was the guest.  Garry was promoting his new book.

I have a question I'd like to ask on the subject of when it's
appropriate to use the pharse "in to" over "into" and vice versa.
I've been looking for an explanation while searching through google,
but a lot of what I've read on the topic is vague.