When I was in high school, one day the English teacher purposefully strode into class and carefully wrote the word “abstemious” on the blackboard. She then turned to the class to announce that this is the only word in the English language in which all the vowels appear and they also appear in alphabetical order.
So naturally I raised my hand and asked her if she was being “facetious.”
Let’s talk about “edible” words. What does ‘corny’ mean? (Think about it; that’s not an easy question to answer.) You can fudge something. You can stew over something. You can egg someone on or butter someone up. You can milk a person or a situation.
You can take someone’s statement with a grain of salt. You can pepper your conversation with idioms. You can use your noodle. You can ride the gravy train. Someone can be a fruitcake. The person may be nuts. You can have a nutty idea. You can do doughnuts with your car in the parking lot. Maybe you can have your cake and eat it too. A tall, skinny person is a string bean.
An adored child is the apple of his parent’s eye. A ham is a bad actor. An egghead is an intellectual. A good egg is not the same as an egghead, and a bad apple is not necessarily rotten fruit. A couch potato doesn’t like to get off the couch and the Big Cheese doesn’t like to make his own coffee. Why does fishy mean suspicious? Why does chicken mean scared? Why can certain intoxicants leave you fried or baked, but not half-baked which is something else entirely? What does ‘cheesy’ mean? How can someone have nice buns without having any bread rolls?
What has any of this got to do with food? This is a tough nut to crack. It’s no piece of cake. That’s not my cup of tea. – I think I’m going bananas.
Is it the Netherlands or is it Holland, and why are they called the Dutch? Why doesn’t Buick rhyme with quick? Why isn’t the word "fish" spelled “g-h-o-t-i,” (“gh” as in enough, “o” as in women, and “ti” as in caution)? And why isn’t "phonetics" spelt the way it sounds?
If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent? If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the “terminal?”
Finally, why are there more horse’s asses in the world than there are horses?
Originally posted by lionessI enjoyed that.
Now this............ my friends, is totally brilliant and worth the read or is that read or possibly Reid!
This is for those who think German or Dutch is hard.
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He c ...[text shortened]... p it UP, for now my time is UP , so........... it is time to shut UP...
"
Most of us can't speak it, or write it correctly anyway, so don't feel inferior 🙂
Originally posted by PolicestateEnglish is much more difficult to pick up as a second language then as a primary language.
I enjoyed that.
Most of us can't speak it, or write it correctly anyway, so don't feel inferior 🙂
Then again,a great number of people in this country speak lousy English as a native language anyway, look at our own president.