Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009

The thread "Like Joe" reminded me of how one person got upset, when
I told him on the phone, that "I've been getting calls from people like
you, looking for that guy". He, clearly upset, said "How do you know
they were like me? Maybe they were fatter than me, or shorter?". At

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contains tests on grammar reading comprehensionand more

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This headline caught my eye, from the Telegraph online:
"Primary school children read to dogs to improve skills"
Whose skills? I wondered. The next line explained:
"Primary school children are being encouraged to read to dogs to improve

I'm unhappy to report I'll be away from AUE until the facility I'm
moving to tomorrow gets wireless Internet capability. AUE discussions
were an important part of my life and, in time, I trust they will be
again. Good luck to all of you.

Not sure if anyone posted this story about the OED Historical
Thesaurus; sounds interesting:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8135928.stm

Ladies and Gentlemen:
I know that "bread" has a verbal use after a look-up in the online
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, but I fail to contextualized the
situation.

Dear English teachers:
I am trying to think of simple expressions that can describe a
following situation.
Let's suppose I am describing a chemical reaction.  My outcome

Ladies and Gentlemen:
I like to drink icy water and go heavy on the ice whenever ordering
beverages or juices, because I dislike hotness.
Is it idiomatic to say "I dislike hotness"?

There was a news item on a British TV channel about a young woman who
had applied for tickets for the Michael Jackson Memorial Service in Los
Angeles. She was realistic about her low probability of getting them.
We were shown her rear view. She had the MJ monogram tattooed on her

What's the difference between "centered on" and "centered around" ?

A message has just arrived from the local police via our Neighboorhood
Watch coordinator. It alerts readers to a recent burglary in the area in
which the intruder was chased away, leaving behind clues to his identity.
"Police do know who the offender is but so far have been unable ...

So, if relay B's coil was set up to run on, has been running on 16
volts AC, is there any chance it can run just as well on 24 volts AC?
Is this sentence okay?

Your names look WRONG!
Apparently the actor Shia LaBeouf's family name is genuine, but it keeps
niggling at me that it should be LeBoeuf...
And the O in Thelonious (Monk) doesn't seem right either, but his father

(A) The doorman held the door for her passing through.
This seems grammatically OK, but doesn't seem to be supported by
usage.
How about it? Am I right.