Warsaw Will
Joined: December 3, 2010
Number of comments posted: 536
Number of votes received: 173
I'm a TEFL teacher working in Poland. I have a blog - Random Idea English - where I do some grammar stuff for advanced students and have the occasional rant against pedantry.
Questions Submitted
You’ve got another think/thing coming
If you’re over a certain age, you will probably be familiar ...
When “one of” many things is itself plural
There are all sorts of things I believed in then which I don...
Recent Comments
on: “ton” in the Victorian era
I'd forgotten all about "ton"; its a long time since I read ...
on: Difference between “bad” and “poor”
Both "bad" and "poor" have several meanings. Oxford Dictiona...
on: optimiSe or optimiZe ?
@jacksalemi1 - And your point is?...
on: “If I had studied, I would have a good grade.”
Just to add to what jayles and dyske have said, this is what...
on: Capitalizing After the Colon
@Levant - Although "there is a quick succession of ..." is t...
on: “As per ....”?
Both Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage and the New...
on: “my” vs. “mine” in multiple owner possessive
@annp - it is indeed what Fowler called the fused participle...
on: hanged vs. hung
@Hairy Scot - "chuffed" is in one of Merriam-Webster's lists...
on: On Tomorrow
@Zee - Just to complicate things, what we call "soda" in the...
on: Team names — singular or plural
@AnWulf - Good on you for backing singular they. However the...
on: cannot vs. can not
@Henri - OK I misunderstood your argument. I thought you mea...
on: cannot vs. can not
@Henri - do you have any evidence to back you up there. Ever...
on: “Anglish”
The perils of writing late at night. The second part of the ...
on: “Anglish”
As this thread now seems to have left the realms of what I w...
on: Idea Vs. Ideal
@daniel owens - nice of you to drop by and give us your fasc...
on: “deal to”
@HS - Yes, of course (even with to!). Life would be very bor...
on: “deal to”
More on "to". 1) I discovered via another thread here that ...
on: “deal to”
It's not that strange really; think of - "Perhaps it’s time ...
on: “deal to”
I googled "it's time to deal to" and came up with 16 hits. A...
on: Defining a proper noun
Hi porsche, I've had very similar ones on my blog, so as soo...
on: Correct preposition following different? Redux
@HS - to see how it is being used just do a site search of ...
on: “no end” and “to no end”
@bradmontreal - It looks as though I spoke a bit too quickl...
on: Defining a proper noun
I know I occasionally link to my own blog, but that last com...
on: Correct preposition following different? Redux
HI Hairy - I'm sorry, the tone of my last comment was a bit ...
on: Correct preposition following different? Redux
@Hairy Scot - "I still await proof of correctness". Is the o...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
D.A.W. says (said) - "I didn't say anything about the "histo...
on: “no end” and “to no end”
I would stand that on its head and ask. Is "This amuses me t...
on: Correct preposition following different? Redux
@Hairy Scot - 'I do of course include "different to" in that...
on: As of
@jayles - I think you mean "fings" I was taught on my t...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
@D.A.W. - I was going to let this drop, but I think I'll fol...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
@D.A.W. A propos apologising: You originally wrote (just ...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
@D.A.W. - I knew it would be fun! And with such a gentleman,...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
@D.AW. - I don't see why are you are still going on about a ...
on: “Anglish”
@Holy Mackerel - "Mostly they have no clue what they're talk...
on: As of
@jayles - OK, I do check with Swan now and then, and the OAL...
on: As of
@jayles - Why do we need more concrete benchmarking? I'm sur...
on: “Anglish”
@jayles - you do know about grannies and sucking eggs, don't...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
Unfortunately I can't claim to have had a mother who was a t...
on: “Anglish”
@Holy Mackerel - Here's one Brit saying that any Brit that t...
on: As of
@jayles - I don't think your definition of Standard English ...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
@D.A.W. - Well, it no doubt makes a first that we are in agr...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
Apparently even newspapers (well, the Sun) get confused with...
on: “Anglish”
@HolyMackerel - I appreciate what you say, but I wouldn't re...
on: “Anglish”
@Gallitrot - of course anyone can say what they like about t...
on: Is there any defense of capitalizing after a semicolon?
@JohnN - Yes, you're absolutely right, as I found out later ...
on: “Anglish”
Damn, I hit the wrong button! That unfinished sentence shoul...
on: “Anglish”
OK jayles, and I usually try to avoid these words, but in sc...
on: “Anglish”
@Gallitrot - I'd also quibble with the word "supercilious" b...
on: “Anglish”
@gallitrot - (belatedly) by all means substitute Anglo-Saxon...
on: “would of” instead of “would have” or “would’ve”
@Carl - as this excellent post by linguist Stan Carey at Sen...
on: “gift of” vs. “gift from”
In answer to the question, I agree with mshades, and this di...
on: “gift of” vs. “gift from”
@mshades - On the contrary, you were quite right to use "bet...
on: “Anglish”
@jayles (who for some reason comes up in Google reader as ja...
on: As of
@Jo - that ending was a bit harsh, so I'll add a couple of t...
on: As of
@Jo - Ah, "correct English", that's a topic and a half, and ...
on: As of
@jo - Google brings up plenty of examples "quitting as of", ...
on: from among
Hi andreea. it wasn't meant to be a dig at you, but at all t...
on: from among
Interesting question. I can't think why it took so long for ...
on: “Bring” vs. “Take” differences in UK and American English
@v pinches - Few commentators nowadays see any problem with ...
on: Actress instead of Actor
@Tom Rose - I have to confess it always amuses me when the ...
on: “Anglish”
@Gallitrot - you're quite free to use what language you want...
on: Idea Vs. Ideal
@Jan Morrow - does that mean you have no ideals (noun)? :)) ...
on: “Anglish”
@HolyMackerel - I understand your position, and certainly do...
on: “Anglish”
@Gallitrot - according to David Crystal, the period of great...
on: “Me neither.” or “Me either”
@Hairy Scot - "Nor I", would be pretty formal, I think. "Nor...
on: “Anglish”
@HolyMackerel - The beauty, no, I grant you. But the size an...
on: “Anglish”
@Holymackerel - As far as I can see, apart from poem (1540s ...
on: “my” vs. “mine” in multiple owner possessive
@John Gibson - and your second example has the advantage tha...
on: “Anglish”
@John Gibson - I think you've got a very good point. Instead...
on: Impact as a noun
@Anthony123 - Sorry, that link doesn't work any more. The pu...
on: gifting vs. giving a gift
@David Teangue - it's not an advertisement, it's simply the ...
on: Impact as a noun
@Anthony123 - Yes, some people have problems with "impact" a...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
Something strange happened in that first sentence - it shoul...
on: “all but” - I hate that expression!
Hola Jose. Are you sure you didn't mishear? I don't really s...
on: Is there any defense of capitalizing after a semicolon?
@Skeeter. Perhaps you're right. Here's a capital after a com...
on: Is there any defense of capitalizing after a semicolon?
Sorry Skeeter, I didn't read your comments very well. I see ...
on: Hi all vs. Hi everybody
@ Brus - "Here in Thailand, we bow ..." - Well, you certainl...
on: Is there any defense of capitalizing after a semicolon?
Hi Skeeter. I doubt that it has anything to do with the Amer...
on: Is there any defense of capitalizing after a semicolon?
That's a pretty big convention you want to overturn there. T...
on: Where used you to live?
@BigD - I have vague memories that I was taught at school so...
on: Where used you to live?
@Big D -"before you came here" is a specific time in the pas...
on: “I’ve got” vs. “I have”
@Curious indeed - that should read - not many people contrac...
on: “I’ve got” vs. “I have”
@Curious indeed - you might, but it would seem that not so m...
on: Team names — singular or plural
@BrockawayBaby - 18 months later. I'm afraid it's not as sim...
on: Team names — singular or plural
And it equally pains me to hear that the family, a bunch of ...
on: optimiSe or optimiZe ?
I had a look at that Metadyne piece linked to above and have...
on: hanged vs. hung
@Hairy Scot - You've got a thing about this, haven't you? Ni...
on: hanged vs. hung
@dracula - could you perhaps enlighten us disgraceful, naive...
on: “and yet”
I'm with porsche, JMMB, nigel and douglas.bryant. And so, it...
on: misnomer
@EW Thornton - Sorry, but I beg to disagree. Mr Blues specif...
on: Computer mouses or computer mice?
Hi, Brus. Back from your travels already? I could always try...
on: misnomer
I still think No 2 at Oxford and 2b at the American Heritage...
on: “my” vs. “mine” in multiple owner possessive
Hi porsche, I'm still not so sure. I totally agree that all ...
on: misnomer
This is the definition of 'misnomer' at Oxford Online Dicti...
on: optimiSe or optimiZe ?
@WW - I hate to say it, but I misread some of those graphs -...
on: Computer mouses or computer mice?
@LG - being facetious, on that basis there is no plural of M...
on: Comparisons and Superlatives of Colours
You're quite right, Kingsley, reder and redest are not accep...
on: Impact as a noun
A propos of 'verbing', you may have heard of the game 'buzzw...
on: “get in contact”
@HS - if you're ever back this way, this graph from Ngram sh...
March 26, 2013, 9:58am • 0 vote
on: “ton” in the Victorian era
re: WW's last paragraph.I meant we're only allowed to see on...