Discussion Groups / English Usage / March 2010

Friends,
I'm new here so, first things first, hi to everyone.

I'm an English (as a foreign language) teacher and I wanted to submit you a

I have a chat with a younger friend and we mentioned the term "Pidgin
English", which he is not familiar with, while I knew this term for
decades.  Now the question is, does the term no longer prevail? I
guess so because globalization/internet helps people improve their

1. How many candles did you buy?
2. How many candles you bought?
3. How many candles have you bought?
Which is/are acceptable to you?

Growing up in NY, the really "slow" kids went to a special school
in, well, the short bus.  I forget what it stood for, but the
letters "B.O.C.E.S" were on the side of the bus.  The word boce,
pronounced bow-see, was thus born as a sysnonym for retard.  I

"I came all the frigging way from California."
"You did?" The man is very curious now and steps out into the hallway.
"What for?"
"What do you mean, what for?" Marino recovers enough to snap at him,

[My original post seems to have never shown up, so here I go again,
sorry.]
1. The balloon in
"The white-tailed hornet lives in a balloon"

Taken from a comment under the disturbing article about the fight
against dumbing down at degree level  where at one point a course pass
level was effectively reduced to 26% to ensure a greater number of
students passed; (or at least that's how that bit to mean);

"lifted out of the ground"
indicates
"from _inside_ the ground"
in opposition with

1. What's the meaning of "budded" in
"Budded by grouse?"
2. "And such as is done to their wood with an ax"
means plainly cutting them down, right?

[My original post seems to have never shown up, so here I go again,
sorry.]
1. "And saving that its weight suggested gold"
could that be "saying" instead of "saving?"

1. "He eyed her for a while
For a woman"
does this mean
"... As (being) a woman"

I was talking to a friend yesterday who mentioned to me that he was
going to see [a well known comedian] in concert. That got me to
wondering. One, is it correct to apply the word concert to a
non-musical act? And two, is it correct to apply the word concert to a

Can someone explain me what the "not free of play" phrase mean. There is
the whole sentence:
"A slight disadvantage is that it is not free of play"
Thank you very much in advance.

I’m trying to find the meaning of private waters.
When you hear private waters does is mean a private property with
access to a lake, river or the ocean.
Should it be use in singular or plural like water or waters?

"backing it off through the mufflers"
could this mean
"drive with the back low to the ground, roughing up the mufflers?"
Common use of "back off?"