Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009

Is this an usual/recommended place for "so far as I knew it?"
I mean, the way it is placed in the quotation, it seems to me to have
the capability of referring both to "attempting" and to "describing."
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In William Safire's column in the Sunday NY Times, the term "Janus
verb" pops up.  It refers to verbs that can have opposite meanings,
just as Janus is the chap with two faces looking in opposite
directions.

Here's a link to an essay about Andy Murray and the decline of the
West that's so perfect it's enough to make a grown man cry in public.
<http://www.socialaffairsunit.org.uk/blog/archives/001957.php>
But that bit at the end:

Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old
buildings?

How about "measure" in
"moving hand in hand in intricate measure"
Would you assign to it only a musical meaning?
I'm associating  it with both "rhythm" and "manner."

I wonder about the meaning of "found" in "found to possess" here. Does
it simply mean "seen?"
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[On Widmerpool's strange coat]

First, Alan Truism posted:

I was watching 'It's in the Bag!' (1945) starring Fred Allen on TV
yesterday and a lawyer said his 'grand uncle' 'piddled his money
away'! :-D
I was amused cos in England 'to piddle' means 'to spend a penny'!

"In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people –
the only time
in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me.
I was sub-divisional

i'm Pooya.A and i'm student of art and i work for at home by my
computer . i want to make movie and i need to money . i repair old
photos and i can make nice postal card with your photos.you can repair
old photos or make a clip with photos for a gift. i can make a digital

I received a comment to an article I recently wrote arguing that I
misused the phrase in the subject. The commenter argues that "10 times
smaller" means "1,000% smaller", where 100% smaller is already no size
at all and suggesting that "90% smaller" was more accurate. I

Someone's asking:
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Can I use present progressive tense to express future in complex
sentences? Example:

Shrek 2 cartoon:
[Donkey] -How 'bout a side of sugar for the steed?
Any takes on the meaning of "side" here?
I assume this is butcher- or animal-grower-speak and means a large

From yesterday's Indie:
'Thirteen out of 20 world class university websites analysed by
Australian spelling software Spellr.us were found to have miss-
spellings of the word "university".

According to this:
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8139322.stm>
"Monkeys recognise 'bad grammar'"
I propose that the Committee insist upon all posters to AUE declaring