Discussion Groups / English Usage / June 2008

I could translate this expression literally, but I can't help feeling
there's more to it.
Could somebody tell me whether there is a deeper meaning to the term
"walks the earth"?

Safire’s NYTimes Mag column this weeks discusses gaffe and blunder at
some length, and concludes:
... One thing for which the millions of us who are mistake-prone can
be thankful: nobody descends to the baby-talk boo-boo any more. ..

Any idea what:
"barked sapling"
Could it be "killed youth?"
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One bit of American slang appears to be getting Shanghaied by
inflation – the common reference to betting dollars to doughnuts.
Just eight years ago a book came out that failed to take note of the
changing times:

Wonder if any of you knows the connection between Traherne and orient
wheat?
-----
Thomas Traherne had his orient wheat

Re: "his coercion of  the substance from green apples"?
Does this have to do with squashing and distilling some alcoholic
beverage from green apples?
Also,  the "boule" in the last stanza:  could this be the projectile of

The "half-doors," does it have any connotations in such a context?
Also,
"I would pull hay for comfort"
does it mean

In today's Guardian there is an article about the inventor of Scrabble,
which people might like to read, especially remembering Graeme.
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/wellbeing/story/0,,2287712,00.html

According to the UPS web site, my package has "experienced an
exception" because of "adverse weather conditions".

Several annotated classical literatures are now available for
download.  They are:
• 西游记 (Journey To The West) 吴承恩 (Wu2 Cheng2En1), ~1590
http://xahlee.org/p/monkey_king/monkey_king.html

I can't say i've ever understood the meaning of "à fortiori". Can anyone
explain it? I know the dictionary defines it as "for an even stronger
reason".. but can you just use it everything you want to substitute it
for "an even stronger reason"?

Hi,
can please anybody tell me
in which cases the expression or
better exlamation "Gee!" is used

Does anyone have access to the book  "In Love with Norma Loquendi" by
William Safire? Apparently he discusses the origins of "to hell in a
handbasket" (barrow, etc) on pages 286-288 and I'd like to know what he
found. Google view is snippet (for me anyway).

Thanks to those who emailed me. Also, I've read some (not all) of the
posts in the thread, even though I said I wouldn't. (I have no will
power.)
I haven't changed my mind so far, but wished to add this: