Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010

In the thread titled "Upgrade" an issue of usage was raised concerning
"burglar" and "thief" -- a burglar, it is supposed, breaks into your
home but need not steal anything to be a burglar; whereas a thief must
steal something to be a thief.

According to my survery of a couple of English speakers in the US, the
question sentence
"What quickly did John read today?" (With stress on quickly)
is ungrammatical for most speakers, but acceptable to one. Is there

Folks, I need some more help with my screenplay.
I'm dealing with dialogue again. Here's the set
up: A boy is infatuated with a girl, but she
doesn't know; the boy informs a friend that he

I find a sentence in a magazine quite puzzling to me.
Here it is:
"This knowledge can be used to detect genetic problems
earlier than is currently possible."

It's been bothering me for several days now, but I can't think of
what I am sure must be a common word.
What's the word for the ends of my trouser legs?  In the old days it
would have been "cuffs", but that's no longer accurate.

"The Times" today tells us that "[Alexander] McQueen's eponymous brand
struggled to make a profit". Surely that would only be correct if Mr McQueen
had been named after his brand - which seems unlikely. Or am I wrong?
What is the opposite of "eponymous"?

He has a PhD in chemistry.
He's a doctor of chemistry.
Are these statements synonymous, or rather could you use both
alternatively in everyday language? If so, is either one preferred

Are the following sentences both gramatically-okay?  I only know (2)
is but saw (1) in a book. With thanks for advice.
1. President Hu appears to wield less political power than did Jiang
Zemin.

I'm very sorry for inflicting a private mail on the newsgroup. I
cancelled it as soon as I realized my mistake, but I'm afraid
GoogleGroups doesn't hour cancel messages.

From Mr Fothergills recent online offer
Representing the latest developments in plant breeding, this new
variety is just superb! Unlike many everbearing varieties, Delician F1
is easy to grow and quick to establish, producing an abundance of

I note that in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, USA, the word
"asian" is often used to refer to someone who comes from a far-eastern
region that traces its history back to China/Mongolia, etc.  So, a
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Mongolian, or Burmese person

What do we call a person in American od British English slang who
wears tracksuit all the time, or sports clothes, or hooded tops?
Thx a lot for help

I wonder if "Merry Christmas" is something brought over by
the Elizabethans and then retained by the Americans,
whereupon the British  switched to "Happy" Christmas
in later generations.  I don't hear "merry" in the States

Another stupid phrase, snow event instead of snow storm.
From the tv weather.
As good as "with steer by wire, since there is no steering column,
during an accident, the steering wheel, won't be forced into your

"An outbreak of mumps that started in a summer camp last June has
sickened more than 1,500 people in New York and New Jersey, state and
federal health officials said on Thursday."
I would never have used "sickened" in that sentence. Insofar as I use