Discussion Groups / English Usage / December 2009

So Cathy and I heard the end of a TV commercial, and the products'
slogan claimed that it would "make you like vegetables".
And Cathy immediately commented, "But I don't want to be like a
vegetable."

I invite you to contribute a recipe for any Christmas treat of your choice.
It can be a savoury course, a dessert, a confectionery, or a drink, or
anything else you think appropriate. The only stipulation that I would ask
is that the recipe should not contain any ingredient so ...

Just read a review essay in which the reviewer criticizes certain
academics not merely for their ideas but also for the sesquipedalian
language they use to express those views.
I think this is a good word, and I must have learned it a long time ago

Of the four sentences below, #1 sounds "off" to me while the others
sound okay. What do you think?
1. I have the intention to work hard.
2. It is my intention to work hard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:R%C3%A9sum%C3%A9_frauds_and_controversies
One accent acute, not two, because the correct pronunciation is rezuumay.
There is a bot for correcting this error, somewhere.

The subject line is what they announce in my company's phone conference
system when a conference leader has not yet arrived. I just love that.
Joachim

I came across the following sentence today and  instinctively thought
"tumble flu" to be a typo for "terrible flu."
Bur does "tumble flu" make any sense?
"Unfortunately she was not used to northern weather and was infected

Ah, they don't make copy editors the way they used to.
Here is an answer to what I sent to a writer at a local newspaper.  I should
note that previous errors I have pointed out to other news writers have also
been blamed on their copy editors, after the writers had left.

I have just been proofing an order form for books and related
materials. The term "eg." was used with that solitary full stop. Some
say that it needs two as in "e.g." while others argue that it can do
its job with none: "eg".

Item from the Guardian on getting to sleep:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/dec/01/dr-luisa-dillner-sleep-guide
"Don't eat much, drink alcohol or anything with caffeine in (hot chocolate
and milk are no good either), smoke or exercise within four hours of going

I heard a lady say (not said, :)) "Can you not xxxx?"
I wonder if this is another form (informal? or idiomatic usage?) of
"Can't you"? or another thing that is different from "can't you"?
Kevin in Hong Kong

In BrE the word "bird" is sometimes used to mean a female.
In recent days there has been a rash of punning newspaper headlines
about rumours that the golfer Tiger Woods has been romantically involved
with a woman who is not his wife.

From BBC:
The jury has heard prosecution claims that Mr Ferguson killed her in
temper in cold blood after she ended their relationship.
Surely if you kill someone while in a temper you can't simultaneously

"reminders ... he had borne them"
Would this sense of "bear" still be used in such a context?
Or would "carry" or "tolerate" be more current?
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I seem to recall reading once that words like forward(s), downward(s), etc.,
take a final -s when used as adverbs, and drop the -s as adjectives. Is there
such a rule?  Or is there any rule?  Or just user preference?