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eager or intent on, example: he is keen to get to work on time. desirable or just right, example: "peachy keen" – "That's a pretty keen outfit you're wearing." (slang going out of common usage) keeper a curator or a goalkeeper: one that keeps (as a gamekeeper or a warden) a type of play in American football ("Quarterback keeper")
For example, it is common to explain an unfamiliar term by using "or" and a familiar synonym in parentheses: "the orca (or killer whale) ...". To someone unfamiliar with the subject this can be ambiguous, suggesting an alternative; compare the valid sentences "A seal pup may be eaten by an orca (or killer whale)."
This example further shows that the effect, whether pleonastic or only pseudo-pleonastic, can apply to words and word-parts, and multi-word phrases, given that the fullest rendition would be "I am after putting it on the table".
"Not that even a Dachshund would stoop so low, of course!" she quipped. Standard: The speaker droned on, his words like a powerful sleeping gas slowly diffusing through the stuffy air of the auditorium. Standard: The spotlights went dark, leaving the scene lit only by the diffuse glow of the lanterns.
As in other English dialects, it can be used instead of am not, isn't, aren't, haven't, and hasn't. However, some speakers of AAVE distinctively use ain't instead of don't, doesn't, or didn't (e.g., I ain't know that). [88] Ain't had its origins in common English but became increasingly stigmatized since the 19th century. See also amn't.
An unpaired word is one that, according to the usual rules of the language, would appear to have a related word but does not. [1] Such words usually have a prefix or suffix that would imply that there is an antonym , with the prefix or suffix being absent or opposite.
Examples of words created or changed through folk etymology include the English dialectal form sparrowgrass, originally from Greek ἀσπάραγος ("asparagus") remade by analogy to the more familiar words sparrow and grass. [8] When the alteration of an unfamiliar word is limited to a single person, it is known as an eggcorn.
A formerly common refrain in Yorkshire dialect for admonishing children who misused the familiar form was: Don't thee tha them as thas thee! In modern English: Don't you "tha" those who "tha" you! In other words: Don't use the familiar form "tha" towards those who refer to you as "tha". ("tha" being the local dialectal variant of "thou")