Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009

Please examine the following:
1. John gave every child a cake.
Can this mean mean John offered one cake such that the children shared
it?

I've always thought of the phrases to be used when loosely reporting
the content of someone else's speech to be as discussed in the Merriam-
Webster's Learner's Dictionary:
to that effect or to the effect that —used to indicate that the

A question  out of my curiosity,   what is 3/3  language writing
proficiency and how to define the level ?
Thanks.

Are they, the following two sentences,  different meanings?
We have different views on the subject.
We have differing views on the subject.
Thanks in advance.

There have long been jokes about exactly what kind of meat appears
in some Chinese dishes, but here we have a new suggestion from the
front page of The Washington Post for Friday, 1 May 2009.
Photo Caption:  "Shuhui Chen, left, and Yi Cai get ready for a

Logically, "its" can refer only to the "bush," however its being placed
in front of it could lead to some ambiguity, such as the "thirdmost
perch from those it, the bird, normally takes," couldn't it?
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I apologize first, I know this subject is not related to English
usage.
International Herald Tribute provided the text news and audio
listening option on their web site before,

In a newspaper article today about a police officer's alleged
over-enthusiastic restraining of a suspect, the officer is quoted as
saying he used an "arm bar" to take the suspect down and "re-direct
her to the ground".

To coin a phrase is not the hardest bit;
To make it circulate is vital too.
The market must esteem the minter's wit.
You can't hoard money once you've minted it;

Is a Google improvement imminent?
<www.google.co.uk/ig>
Say what?
--

What do you call the stuff forming at the corner of our eyes at
night?  We wipe it off or wash it away when we wake up in the morning.

The phrase "Chain of Custody" is used in reference to timber from
"certified forests". This use appears to be closely analogous to the
forensic use of the phrase:
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/op/COC_popup.jsp

Is "sack-coloured" a variant of gray?
Confirmed its existence at Google Books, but couldn't get a hand/handle
on its definition.
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I know this comes nowhere near JH's mini-masterpieces, but ya gotta
start somewhere.  And a little self-reference never hurt anyone.  So,
in the spirit of what it says, here's my first "published" attempt:
'Tis difficult to coin a villanelle,

Do you think that:
1) "To lose weight, the doctor has ordered me a new diet."
means "that the doctor plans to lose weight by ordering a diet for me,
better that he go on the diet himself," as I was told by someone?