Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2008

I am a chinese girl. i am now writing my postgraduate thesis. it is
written in english. i want native speakers to help me polish my
language. who can help me ? thank you very much

I'm writing an article where the "multi-timescale" is a central term,
used as an adjective. How should I spell that?
a) This is a multi-timescale map (as opposed to a single-timescale
map).

What would be the exact meaning of
"To put a horse forward?"
"To make a horse start moving forward," perhaps?
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I have another question regarding distinguishing words: Is there a
particular difference in meaning between "mercy" and "quarter"?

Would "skylighted" here mean
"defined/contoured by light on the background of the sky (and thus
recognizable)?"
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Re:
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[The Mexicans are in hot pursuit of Grady and Rawlins]
You think they can track us on this ground?

Is this "bench out" from sports? "Take a break (on a bench)," perhaps?
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A hawk set forth below them and circled in the deepening haze and
dropped and they kicked their feet out of the stirrups and put the

I'd like to know the exact extra meaning brought by "back" here:
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Some dogs started up. John Grady mounted up and turned the horse and
went back up the road and sat the horse in the dark. Rawlings followed.

I'm not sure about the meaning of the part after the comma here:
"As if the rain were electric, had grounded circuits that the electric
might be."
The "be" at the end makes no sense to me, so I'm probably missing

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By now, I'm sure you've heard of the hair straightening process
invented in Japan that has swept America and made countless women
forever grateful to it's hair-transforming powers. It goes by several
different names - Japanese Straightening, Thermal Reconditioning,

I posted this question in alt.english.usage, while I meant to post it
in this newsgroup

Is "caveout" a ravine? Not found in my dictionaries.
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John Grady rode through the willows and down the arroyo following the
occasional footprint in the rainspotted loam until he came upon Blevins

Would you say that "should decide" is preferred **In AmE** in this
context, as opposed to "would decide?"
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[The husband wants to preserve evidence--the pills-- related to drugs