h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dogs and their dinners

I would like to end the dog's dinner discussion by saying that the phrase dog's dinner is just more popular due to its alliterative quality.

cats and their dinners

Our cat screams for food and when she gets it she walks off and leaves it.

BTW could someone have a look at my question on the American use of past tenses. In the Harry Potter forum. There's quite a bit about British vs American English there. Have only just posted it. Would like authoratitive comments from both sides of the Atlantic please

Sorry, not the Harry Potter forum, it's the one about "What does RSVP stand for?"

Make your mind up!!!!

Interesting phrasal verb that. Which of the following do you consider correct?
Make up your mind / Make your mind up / Make up your quarrel / Make your quarrel up / Make up your face / Make your face up / Make up an excuse / Make an excuse up / Make up the work (hours) / Make the work up / Make up a party / Make a party up

As they say on TV game shows...

Its 'Make your mind up time'..............I guess!!!!!

Your choice of phrasing would depend for the most part on whether you subscribe to the 'don't end a sentence with a preposition' school of thought. Others, such as 'Make up your quarrel/make your quarrel up' seem to have different meanings. The first I took to mean 'let's be friends again' whereas the second at first reading meant 'invent your quarrel'. However, now that I read it again, I realise that both interpretations could be applied to both phrasings.

Sorry that this is such a pointless posting.

[meaning units having more than one word] are interesting things, though aren't they. Some can't be turned round to get rid of the preposition endings eg Talk it over ; some can't put the preposition at the end eg Put up with it. Get over it and get it over don't mean the same thing.
To return to Trillian's muttond I'm English and I would say "It's a long time since I was a baby" I would "since I have been" means I'm back there. eg It's a long time since I've been in Paris implies I'm back there sitting outside the cafe or at least that I'm on my way there. Isn't English great?

Sorry about that. I'm on a different computer from my usual one. I'll have to go back to reviewing everything or stop being so pedantic about everybody else. What I meant to say was "I wouldn't mark 'since I've been' wrong" and "Muttons" not muttond - I'll have to get my fngernails cut.

Gooday Wandrin'star,

Hey it has been a long week for you, what with all that longueur and stuff, homesickness and marking papers. I liked muttond even though it didn't make much sense to me (and even less now that you have corrected it). Take care and haveagoodweekend,

Walter.

Hi Walter
"To return to our muttons" means to go back to what we were talking about previously. Phrase used by (some) English people. It's a poor translation of the French "Retournez a nos moutons" = let's get back to our sheep.

Gooday again, Wandrin'star,

Just time for a quick reply to your latest. I didn't know the French coined the phrase 'let's get back to our sheep' - I had always thought it was the New Zealanders. Must fly, we are heading off to the watering hole for a few suds. Take care,

Walter.

PS,

Of course, it was an Australian who stuffed a jolly jumbuck etc.

Walter.

I knew an Arab who, confused about conventions for differentiating the name of meat from the animal it comes from, happily referred to "fields of grazing muttons...".

Bull (cow) - beef, calf - veal, sheep - mutton, Sir Walter Scott reckoned this was because the Normans ate the stuff and the English peasants looked after it in the field This may be a canard (French for "duck") as in that case why is there no word for cooked rabbit which were fiendishly expensive when first introduced and were kept in special warrens. Yet we have never had the equivalent of "lapin"

Odd how "lapin the rabbit" or, "lapin the bunny" have been missed!
Don't " 'picene' la picene "* though, please!

*For folks for whom La Francais is not Federally Legislated:
(As in, "Most Folks" - Howdy! <&gt

Anyway, 'picene' means, "swimming pool" en Francais.
"Rocket " ; "Flower Power" and "The Great One" all mean, "Hockey!!"


If you find this confusing, ask any Canadian.
It will be explained to you; cheerfully and without nuclear weapons.
Please Don't Hurt Us --- That's our Defense Policy... OK with me...
PLT, Mick.

RSVP ? - don't know ... can I get back to you on that ?

I think the phrase you were looking for is "Never use a preposition to end a sentence with"

To which you probably know Churchill's annoyed marginalia "This is a sitaution up with which I will not put."

I must say I'm continually fascinated by my native language (as it is spoke & as it is wrote), so I'll share some more little gems with you all (and hope my poor typing doesn't get in the way).
I recently came accross the opposing implications of "in action" and "inaction" - does anyone know of any others like this ?
At the week end stumbled on the idea of "rampant apathy", which I like.
More later.