Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010

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What could the ginger-haired man do to her anyway?
Resurrection‎ - Page 85
Tucker Malarkey - Fiction - 2007

McDonalds' language error
27/01/2010 18:06:47
London - A new advert for McDonald's has come under fire over its inaccurate
use of the English language. The advert, which promotes the Pound Saver Menu,

I saw this headline today
'Lost' better absent expectations
I read it a few times before I figured out that the writer was trying
to say the show would be better in the absence of expectations.

I m starting a chain story. Interested please join in. http://5minstoend.blogspot.com/

What would "toking" mean?
"Sampling?"
Also, "joint;" can it only mean "marijuana cigarette," not just
"cigarette?"

I get the BBC headlines sent to me regularly. There are two ways in
which they seem to differ from the Canadian equivalent. The first is
that they seem to be unusually obscure. I'm not sure if I'm just not as
familiar with the references as I am to ones closer to home, or if the

"You're one bent penny"
is this
"You're crazy?"
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I myself or the company act(s) as an IB for XYZ company.
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Is there a 's' behind 'act'?

Have you met
"his tongue had gone to chalk" (prob dry from speaking)
somewhere else?
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Yes, it's a bit OT, but since this is a bibliophilic group to some
degree....
What do YOU do with the dust jackets of books?
Frankly, I am not a big fan of dust jackets.  Yet I do feel as if I'm

"Capped her in the noodle"
is this
"shoot in the head"
or

Hi. Community development is a profession, and workers are called
community development practitioners or workers (CDW). The main
jist is that CDW's work involves facilitating community groups in their
efforts to tackle problems that they (groups) have identified. Much of

Does
"potty"
mean here
"crazy"

I suppose there have always been hackneyed political phrases.
In my opinion, the most overused phrase (by far) among American
politicians is the phrase "the American people" -- a phrase that is
often used when the simple phrase "the people" would be more natural.

Amusing passage by H. W. Fowler (from "Modern English Usage", I
believe):
[entry on "Hermetically"; italicized words are enclosed in asterisks]
=== begin quoted text ===