Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009

I have occasion to refer repeatedly to lightwells in a report.  My
default tendency is to spell it as one word, which gets a sniffy
response from the spellchecker;  the OED hyphenates it (which makes
it look like an adjective to me);  Collins appears not to recognise

I am an English to Turkish translator in Turkey (native speaker of
Turkish). I’ve been translating for quite some years now; and although
I prefer translating in to my native language only I often have to
translate in to English because of Turkey’s legislation (only Turks

<
THE NEW RUSH LIMBAUGH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW66cFlCTVM&feature=related
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In the following sentence, is it "reach" or "reaches"?
They have improved access to higher education - currently 40% of the
population _____ university  level.
Thanks

For Rightpondians who may have been watching the football/The Apprentice
last night, I recommend the programme on Milton and Paradise Lost -
catch it on the BBC iPlayer. I loathed Milton when we read him at school
but I found Ianucci's enthusiasm infectious and it was very ...

Is there any reason the following introductory clause isn't correct?
"In terms of the substantive topics where focus groups make a
difference,..."
To me, it would sound better to say, "in which" instead of "where."

It looks like albasani news server has been down for about four hours now.

I wonder if there is ALWAYS a preposition before a single noun.
There are two cases that make me confused.
1/ I have a car. But today I don't have it because my brother borrowed
it yesterday.

What on earth is that thing a misprint for?
"Onslow’s lyric scores were dense and unusually complex for the
audience, and since their libretto were not of great value (a
redhibitory defect in those days, especially in France), the operas

A few months after noticing that the head writer of "King of the Hill" is Dan
McGrath, I bought a car last weekend....
The salesman was Bob Cunningham....
Comments?...r

Forwarded messages:
Kin Amuricuns spell? This survey sez NAW.
Many Americans vexed by spelling
By Jennifer Harper

In the German language group there is a question related to two
words corresponding to "must" and "may". The question has to do
with those verbs combined with a negation.
For those who understand German, here is the original question:

What is the origin of the term German Measles?
I've heard two different origins for the term. One is that
it was identified by German doctors. The other is that
it is the word 'german' in the sense of being similar or

The pseudo-title, that long attribute --
"Slain protest-organizer So-and-So" --
Is loathed by any writer of repute:
"Disgruntled office-seeker Charles Guiteau"

Does anyone know of a book that defends the "false title"
construction, as in "a Ph. D. under famed New Left philosopher Herbert
Marcuse"?  I'm writing a Wikipedia article on it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_title_(English_usage)