Skeeter Lewis
Joined: March 16, 2012
Number of comments posted: 88
Number of votes received: 9
No user description provided.
Questions Submitted
Medicine or Medication?
When I first heard the lyrics, “Wake up to reality, use your...
Recent Comments
on: “Anglish”
British authors in the past eschewed latinate words on the g...
on: You’ve got another think/thing coming
Geoffthing - fifty-six? - you're just a baby! No wonder you'...
on: You’ve got another think/thing coming
I'm an older person and I've only heard the 'think' version....
on: Apostrophes
Very well researched, Will. I concede defeat....
on: Orally Aural. Oh Really?
Robert: yes, there are many regional accents but I was assum...
on: Orally Aural. Oh Really?
We British pronounce them the same. Americans say 'au' diffe...
on: Apostrophes
Thanks, Erin, for that post. I wondered where you lived. I ...
on: Apostrophes
Re: 'Jane and John's house.' If this is standard usage, it ...
on: Apostrophes
Erin - a couple of suggestions. One can't say 'me and my si...
on: Adverbs better avoided?
Some writers aim for a stripped-down style. Others like to e...
on: “ton” in the Victorian era
"Must not head mobs?" Will - what does that mean?...
on: “further” vs. “farther”
In British English both words are used. I wouldn't say that ...
on: “ton” in the Victorian era
The American word 'toney' meaning 'fashionable' is also deri...
on: “ton” in the Victorian era
'Ton' can mean either 'fashion' or 'people of fashion'. It's...
on: Is there any defense of capitalizing after a semicolon?
Bucky, that rule doesn't obtain in British English. It looks...
on: Is there any defense of capitalizing after a semicolon?
Senior moment I'm afraid, Will. I was referring to colons, n...
on: Is there any defense of capitalizing after a semicolon?
Unfortunately, Will, capitalizing after a colon is creeping ...
on: Is there any defense of capitalizing after a semicolon?
Tome, as a Brit, capitals after a colon are barbarous. ...
on: optimiSe or optimiZe ?
Thank you, Will. Very interesting. It's true I don't remembe...
on: O’clock
I'm pretty sure I've come across the usage 'a quarter of thr...
on: hanged vs. hung
Why make personal comments? I don't see the necessity. ...
on: Impact as a noun
Noisenet - I'd say you were right, not your professor. Yes, ...
on: optimiSe or optimiZe ?
Sorry - grandparents and great-grandparents. Please may we h...
on: optimiSe or optimiZe ?
As several correspondents have said, the 'ize' spelling is t...
on: Plural proper nouns ending in consonant-y
That great hunter Teddy Roosevelt - after whom the teddy bea...
on: Cow Eyes
"Hot to trot?" That would be 'bedroom eyes'....
on: Plural proper nouns ending in consonant-y
'Pony' makes 'ponies'. 'Donkey' makes 'donkeys'. But I thi...
on: Preferred forms
Perhaps 'eat' in the past tense is more standard than I allo...
on: Preferred forms
While Mr. Wilks, therefore, was thundering out, "Where are a...
on: Preferred forms
I'm sure Fielding in Tom Jones used 'eat' (so spelled) in th...
on: Preferred forms
I pronounce it to rhyme with late. The 'et' pronunciation is...
on: Preferred forms
I'm half-Welsh, brought up in Lancashire, went to a public s...
on: Preferred forms
I would say that RP is the accent associated with Oxbridge a...
on: Preferred forms
It's 'Received Pronunciation' - what in Britain is perceived...
on: Preferred forms
Agreed. I'm English and I've never cared for the 'paw' rende...
on: Preferred forms
Americans, I notice, drop the 'l' in solder. It comes out as...
on: Preferred forms
Yes, "an 'otel" was correct Englisn until not so long ago. M...
on: Someone else’s
'Passers-by' and yet 'passer-by's'. I got an ignorant red sq...
on: The Best Euphemism for Shithouse?
Other possibilities, I see belatedly, are 'petits cotes' (wi...
on: The Best Euphemism for Shithouse?
In fact, the contribution of French to Scottish English woul...
on: Past tense of “text”
'Brings in', blast it....
on: Past tense of “text”
'Text' is 'written', surely? 'I wrote you a text.' Back i...
on: Preferred forms
'Inform' is nice and simple 'Envision' is virtually unknow...
on: The Best Euphemism for Shithouse?
'Gardez l'eau' may be a popular etymology like 'Port Out Sta...
on: intend on doing?
I know, Jasper. This forum needs an 'edit'....
on: The Best Euphemism for Shithouse?
Most terms in 'polite' use are euphemisms - restroom, bathro...
on: Correct preposition following different? Redux
Will - I would not presume to cast doubt on your learning, w...
on: Correct preposition following different? Redux
Of course many Brits use 'different to'. I hear them doing s...
on: Correct preposition following different? Redux
'Different to' is still avoided by educated Britons. The fac...
on: Pled versus pleaded
I have never in my life heard 'pled' being used by a Brit. I...
on: “He gave it to Michelle and I”
Okay, objective.......
on: “He gave it to Michelle and I”
Prepositions take the accusative.....
on: Heaven or heaven?
Percy - thanks for your post. It's an interesting point abou...
on: Heaven or heaven?
The word 'city' is not capitalized but the British refer to ...
on: “If I was” vs. “If I were”
" If I was the prime minister" suggests that he can't rememb...
on: Verb-tense agreement for a quote that is still true
You're right, Will. Many authorities acknowledge backshiftin...
on: Verb-tense agreement for a quote that is still true
You don't need to backshift with universal truths, e.g. "Cop...
on: Verb-tense agreement for a quote that is still true
It's not relevant that the situation still exists. Her state...
on: Resume, resumé, or résumé?
Caché? Did someone write that?...
on: “I’ve got” vs. “I have”
This question has been around for a long time. Let me quote ...
on: Pronunciation: aunt
As an Englishman, I've heard 'ant' and 'ahnt'. There is cert...
on: Medicine or Medication?
Will Thanks for your response. I agree that differences be...
on: Loose = Lose?
It's odd that 'to' and 'too' are confused so much on line, a...
on: I’ve no idea
Interesting, Partial. Perhaps it's a question of the distin...
on: I’ve no idea
'I've no idea' is fine because there is no emphasis on 'have...
on: Difference between acronyms and initials?
The vogue for pronounceable acronyms has swept the board. In...
on: Medicine or Medication?
Yes Hairy, I'll have to teach my keyboard who's boss. 'Even...
on: Medicine or Medication?
There I go again with the spelling mistake. Time for me to s...
on: Medicine or Medication?
Everyone says 'usage' to mean 'use' but that doesn't mean I ...
on: Medicine or Medication?
Signs Signage....Nice one, Hairy....
on: Medicine or Medication?
Sound 'off', blast it. Why does one always make a spelling m...
on: I dove my hat
"I dove my hat" is not English. It's 'doffed'. I believe ...
on: Reason Why
The phrase 'the reason why', as pointed out, has a long his...
on: Pronouncing “gala”
Hi Will, I see you got there first. I missed your comment on...
on: Pronouncing “gala”
Gayla is, I believe, an earlier pronunciation that lives on ...
on: Not just me who thinks... or Not just me who think... or Not just I who think... or Not just I who thinks...
My apologies, Agustin, for talking rubbish. 'Who' is the sub...
on: Rules for -ise and -ize
Our grandfathers and great grandfathers in Britain used the ...
on: “in regards to”
All these 'regards' phrases sound a bit laboured to me, the ...
on: First Generation vs. Second Generation
The traditional use of 'first generation' refers to those bo...
on: Abbreviation of “number”
For those of my generation (ahem) the plural is nos. either ...
on: Not just me who thinks... or Not just me who think... or Not just I who think... or Not just I who thinks...
There is a surprising assertion above from Agustin. "Whom is...
on: obliged or obligated?
I was about to suggest that Americans enjoy the fancy longer...
on: obliged or obligated?
I was about to suggest that Americans enjoy the fancy longer...
on: obliged or obligated?
The words 'oblige' and 'obligate' both have a long history b...
on: Not just me who thinks... or Not just me who think... or Not just I who think... or Not just I who thinks...
It is not only I who think.... You are saying, "I think so-...
on: Capitalizing After the Colon
Yes - nice point, D.A. I should have learned by now never to...
on: Capitalizing After the Colon
Capitalization is never used, under any circumstances whatso...
June 13, 2013, 4:38pm • 0 vote
on: “reach out”
To me, 'reach out' smacks of feel-good Oprah-speak....