Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009

This is the growing season for grass here, but my brother was visiting
last week so I didn't get around to mowing the lawn.   The grass is
high and thick.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we had very hard rain.  So hard that

The Compact Oxford gives one definition of public school as "a private
fee-paying secondary school."
Why does British English call a private fee-paying school public?
James

This pertains to USA usage.
An example:
John and Jane are not married to anyone.  Both are single.  John and
Jane have sexual intercourse.

I was surprised to find that "gasometer" can mean "tank for gas,"
seemingly in this context too:
-------
[...] a wide territory, loosely enclosed by inflexions of the river,

Most language-lovers are book-lovers, and most book-lovers are library-
lovers.
In that spirit, I share the following....
While browsing the web, I stumbled upon this remarkable collection of

Some radio show from the 50's, Dragnet or Gunsmoke, listening to on
WAMU.org tonight, included  "bring Jim and I" or some use of I where
me should be.   Another error that predates me.

Is anyone free for a curry in London W1, 12 noon Sunday 7th June?
Stephanie and her YM and me and my OM will be meeting at a location
which will be revealed to those who email me.

Seen in Leeds Market on Saturday:-
Cauli's 60p ea.
In spite of my vow never to take Lynn Truss seriously, this one started me
musing about something that I consider a trivial matter. On the one hand,

In case you've ever wondered about the origin of the phrase...
http://snipurl.com/ioa93

Here's a good one.  We all know that we don't know if a burger is a
sandwich.   Now we can discover whether a Pringle is a crisp.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8060204.stm
Mind, 42%? Honestly?  What on earth is the rest?

ITS'
I saw this in the paper today - don't recall the sentence, but I
started to wonder if there IS an obscure use of this word.  Or is it
merely a typo?

Several questions, please:
1.
"To be to more than one a bed"
is this about bawdy women come in pairs to man's bed?

I don't think David Sherman will mind me posting the following email:
  Subject: Tom Swiftie I came up with as we arrived in L.A. today
  "I'm flying into Los Angeles for the second time", said Tom relaxedly.

An application to place 'Cornish Sardines' on the register of Protected
Geographical Indications was published in the EU Official Journal last
week.
These are what used to be known as pilchards.

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