Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010

By saying, "I'll get right to the point.", I failed to get right to
the point.

Would a British person ever say of himself/herself, when trying to
present in opposition to the Americans, and as part of Europe, that he/
she is "a Continental?"
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Dear Everyone:
In the Italian film, "Gli uomini, che mascalzoni!" (What Scoundrels
Men Are!, 1932), there is the famous song, "Parlami d'amore
Mariù" (Mary, speak about love to me).

I'm not quite getting:
"you could have knocked me over,"
as I expected something like:
"this was so surprising, it knocked me over."

<<The awful mysteries of the Christian faith and worship were
concealed from the eyes of strangers, and even of catechumens, with an
affected secrecy, which served to excite their wonder and curiosity.>>
Gibbon

"It liked to killed the woman"
seems to mean:
"It killed, like, the woman."
Is the original standard, or dialect?

Just curious if any of you have words/morphemes that you can't stand
hearing?
Mines are words that words that end in -cious, like delicious,
luscious, viscious.

Does anybody in the English speaking world still use these terms
outside of a conversational context?
I'm aware that in German, the "du" is somehow similar to the "thou".

What does "tar" mean here?
"Wheel/tire?"
----
[Tool is doing some undercover work from a minivan. A woman passes by,

I am reading "Generosity" by Richard Powers, a novelist who I much
admire for his breadth of scientific, musical literary knowledge. I'm
sure I miss many of the allusions in his work but I find myself swept
along by the ideas, although his characters are sometimes cypher-like.

Would you call a communist or very left-wing politician a red politician
or just a Red? I know that "commie" is an insulting word for a communist.
Many thanks in advance,
Ho

1. "His English is proficient."
Is this use (i.e. about a skill, not about a person) validated by the
OED, or it can be said only as:
2. "He's proficient in/at English?"

I was watching QI (Quite Interesting) on English TV last night and the
host, Stephen Fry, mentioned a game called Fraggle or something which
is another name for the above.
Fraggle is not the right name, but close - are there any bright

Imagine that a thief breaks in to your home.  He doesn't steal
anything -- he simply rearranges everything: everything in your
closets, in your drawers, on your tables and desks, even in your
refrigerator!

In view of the current popularity of Sodoku puzzles, it is interesting
to see that the OED entry has not caught up.
sodoku
Path.