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New Oxford English Dictionary entries for 2013

2014-02-24T23:38:00.000+01:00

• apols, pl. n. (informal): apologies.

• A/W, abbrev.: autumn/winter (denoting or relating to fashion designed for the autumn and winter seasons of a particular year). (See also S/S)

• babymoon, n. (informal): a relaxing or romantic holiday taken by parents-to-be before their baby is born; a period of time following the birth of a baby during which the new parents can focus on establishing a bond with their child.

• balayage, n.: a technique for highlighting hair in which the dye is painted on in such a way as to create a graduated, natural-looking effect.

• bitcoin, n.: a digital currency in which transactions can be performed without the need for a central bank.

• blondie, n.: a small square of dense, pale-coloured cake, typically of a butterscotch or vanilla flavour.

• buzzworthy, adj. (informal): likely to arouse the interest and attention of the public, either by media coverage or word of mouth.

• BYOD, n.: abbreviation of ‘bring your own device’: the practice of allowing the employees of an organization to use their own computers, smartphones, or other devices for work purposes.

• cake pop, n.: a small round piece of cake coated with icing or chocolate and fixed on the end of a stick so as to resemble a lollipop.

• chandelier earring, n.: a long, elaborate dangling earring, typically consisting of various tiers of gemstones, crystals, beads, etc.

• click and collect, n.: a shopping facility whereby a customer can buy or order goods from a store’s website and collect them from a local branch.

• dappy, adj. (informal): silly, disorganized, or lacking concentration.

• derp, exclam. & n. (informal): (used as a substitute for) speech regarded as meaningless or stupid, or to comment on a foolish or stupid action.

• digital detox, n.: a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic devices such as smartphones or computers, regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress or focus on social interaction in the physical world.

• double denim, n.: a style of dress in which a denim jacket or shirt is worn with a pair of jeans or a denim skirt, often regarded as a breach of fashion etiquette.

• emoji, n: a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication.

• fauxhawk, n: a hairstyle in which a section of hair running from the front to the back of the head stands erect, intended to resemble a Mohican haircut (in which the sides of the head are shaved).

• FIL, n.: a person’s father-in-law (see also MIL, BIL, SIL).

• flatform, n.: a flat shoe with a high, thick sole.

• FOMO, n.: fear of missing out: anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.

• food baby, n.: a protruding stomach caused by eating a large quantity of food and supposedly resembling that of a woman in the early stages of pregnancy.

• geek chic, n.: the dress, appearance, and culture associated with computing and technology enthusiasts, regarded as stylish or fashionable.

• girl crush, n. (informal): an intense and typically non-sexual liking or admiration felt by one woman or girl for another.

• grats, pl. n. (informal): congratulations. • guac, n.: guacamole.

• hackerspace, n.: a place in which people with an interest in computing or technology can gather to work on projects while sharing ideas, equipment, and knowledge.

• Internet of things, n.: a proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.

• jorts, pl. n.: denim shorts.

• LDR, n.: a long-distance relationship. • me time, n. (informal): time spent relaxing on one’s own as opposed to working or doing things for others, seen as an opportunity to reduce stress or restore energy.

• MOOC, n.: a course of study made available over the Internet without charge to a very large number of people.

•omnishambles, n. (informal): a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations.

• pear cider, n.: an alcoholic drink made from the fermented juice of pears.

• phablet, n.: a smartphone having a screen which is intermediate in size between that of a typical smartphone and a tablet computer.

• pixie cut, n.: a woman’s short hairstyle in which the hair is cropped in layers, typically so as to create a slightly tousled effect.

• selfie, n. (informal): a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.

• space tourism, n.: the practice of travelling into space for recreational purposes.

• squee, exclam. & v. & n. (informal): (used to express) great delight or excitement.

• srsly, adv. (informal): short for ‘seriously’.

• street food, n.: prepared or cooked food sold by vendors in a street or other public location for immediate consumption.

• TL;DR, abbrev.: ‘too long didn’t read’: used as a dismissive response to a lengthy online post, or to introduce a summary of a lengthy post.

• twerk, v.: dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.

• unlike, v.: withdraw one’s liking or approval of (a web page or posting on a social media website that one has previously liked).

• vom, v. & n. (informal): (be) sick; vomit.

AAE Q161: 'would' and 'used to'

2013-07-13T14:26:00.002+01:00

Hi

What is the difference between would and used to?

Sanjay

Hi Sanjay

The difference between 'would' and 'used to'

'would' is used to describe actions or situations that were repeated again and again.
'used to' is used for any extended action or situation in the past including repeated actions or situations.

Here are some examples

1 - "I used to live in Birmingham, but I moved to Prague last year."

Can we use 'would' instead of 'used to' here? No, because 'living in Birmingham' wasn't repeated again and again. It's simply a situation in the past. Therefore, only 'used to' is good in this sentence.

2 - " When he was at school, he used to play tennis every Saturday."

Here, we're talking about 'playing football every Saturday'. This is an action that was repeated many times, so we can also say: "When he was at school, he would play tennis every Saturday".'Used to' and 'would' are both good here, and the meaning is the same.

Hope this helps

Phrase of the Day 193: 'to lose your bottle'

2013-07-09T16:17:00.003+01:00

"to lose your bottle"

definition: bottle- nerve; courage. So if you lose your bottle, you have lost your nerve and if you bottle out of something, you give up an attempt at something after losing your nerve. However you can also have a lotta bottle, especially after a few drinks.

origin: the most likely source is the earlier slang phrase 'not much bottle', or 'no bottle', i.e. 'useless; no good for anything'. This usage is recorded in a glossary of 19th century street English slang The Swell's Night Guide, 1846

AAE Q160: Negative prefixes

2013-07-08T16:06:00.004+01:00

Hello,

My question was that,why people use untouchable not intouchable, why non-terminating not interminating?

Supriya

Hi Supriya,

The reason that these prefixes are different is because of the influence of other languages on the English Language. Take a look at the table and text below.

Thanks

	Origin	Meaning	Productivity
*a- (an-)*	Greek	not, without	medium
anti-	Greek	against	high
dis-	Latin	not, opposite of	low
in- (il-, im-, ir-)	Latin	not, opposite of	medium
non-	Latin	not	high
un-	Germanic	not, opposite of	high

The prefixes a- and anti- are both of Greek origin. This explains why the very majority of the words that can use these prefixes also have their origin from Greek (e.g. chromatic, morphous, symmetric, typical, aerobic, hydrous, oxic).

The prefixes dis-, in-, and non- are Latinate in origin. Similarly, words that go along with dis- and in- are mostly from Latin/French. They include words like dishonest, discourteous, dissimiliar, inaccessible, inaccurate, insignificant, to name a few. On the other hand, while non- is also commonly associated with Latinate/French words such as non-negotiable, non-judgmental and non-specific, it has become more productive than the other Latinate prefixes. This prefix can form negative adjectives with many present participles and past participles regardless of the origin of the stem word, such as non-smoking, non-aligned, non-caffeinated, and even with participle phrases, such as non-profit making, non-man made. Another interesting fact about non- is that it can often form neagtive adjectives by joining verbs, to express the meaning that the thing described does not perform the action described by the verb. Examples include non-stop, non-shrink, non-slip

Un- is a prefix native to English. It is mostly attached to native words to form negative adjectives, such as unfriendly, unhappy, unfair, and so on. But it can also be attached to certain Latinate words, giving unable, unsympathetic, unconscious, unreasonable, etc. Like non-, it is a productive prefix and is ready to form adjectives with present and past participles, giving words like unfeeling, undecided, unjustified, etc.

http://www.linglish.net/2008/09/15/so-many-negative-prefixes/

Phrase of the Day 192: 'be on the pull'

2013-06-28T14:05:00.004+01:00

"be on the pull"

definition: to be trying to find someone to have sex with

example: John was out on the pull again last night.

Phrase of the Day 191: 'put a spanner in the works'

2013-06-27T14:59:00.003+01:00

"to put/throw a spanner in the works"

definition: to do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding, to deliberately cause mayhem.

example: "We were hoping to get the project started in June but the funding was withdrawn so that rather threw a spanner in the works"

Phrase of the Day 190: 'by the skin of your teeth'

2013-06-25T12:41:00.002+01:00

"by the skin of your teeth"

definition: Narrowly; barely. Usually used in regard to a narrow escape from a disaster.

"he escaped by the skin of his teeth"

origin: The phrase first appears in English in the Geneva Bible, 1560, in Job 19:20, which provides a literal translation of the original Hebrew:"I haue escaped with the skinne of my tethe."

Teeth don't have skin, of course, so the writer may have been alluding to the teeth's surface or simply to a notional minute measure - something that might now be referred to, with less poetic imagery than the biblical version, as 'as small as the hairs on a gnat's bollock'.

New English words from the Oxford Dictionary

2013-06-20T15:51:00.002+01:00

Bling (n): Expensive, ostentatious clothing and jewelry.

Bromance (n): A close but non-sexual relationship between two men.

Chillax (v): Calm down and relax.

Crunk (adj): Very excited or full of energy.

D'oh (ex): Exclamation used to comment on a foolish or stupid action, especially one’s own.

Droolworthy (adj): Extremely attractive or desirable.

Frankenfood (n): Genetically modified food.

Grrrl (n): A young woman regarded as independent and strong or aggressive, especially in her attitude to men or in her sexuality (A blend of “Grrrr” and “Girl.”)

Guyliner (n): Eyeliner that is worn by men.

Hater (n): A person who greatly dislikes a specified person or thing.

Illiterati (n): People who are not well educated or well informed about a particular subject or sphere of activity.

Infomania (n): The compulsive desire to check or accumulate news and information, typically via mobile phone or computer.

Jeggings (n): Tight-fitting stretch trousers for women, styled to resemble a pair of denim jeans.

La-la Land (n): A fanciful state or dream world. Also, Los Angeles.

Locavore (n): A person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food.

Mankini (n): A brief one-piece bathing garment for men, with a T-back.

Mini-Me (n): A person closely resembling a smaller or younger version of another.

Muffin Top (n): A roll of fat visible above the top of a pair of women’s tight-fitting low-waisted trousers.

Muggle (n): A person who is not conversant with a particular activity or skill.

Noob (n): A person who is inexperienced in a particular sphere or activity, especially computing or the use of the Internet.

Obvs (adv): Obviously.

OMG (ex): Used to express surprise, excitement, or disbelief. (Dates back to 1917.)

Po-po (n): The police.

Purple State (n): A US state where the Democratic and Republican parties have similar levels of support among voters.

Screenager (n): A person in their teens or twenties who has an aptitude for computers and the Internet.

Sexting (n): The sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone.

Textspeak (n): Language regarded as characteristic of text messages, consisting of abbreviations, acronyms, initials, emoticons. (wut hpns win u write lyk dis.)

Totes (adv): Totally.

Truthiness (n): the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true.

Twitterati (n): Keen or frequent users of the social networking site Twitter.

Unfriend (v): Remove (someone) from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site.

Upcycle (v): Reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.

Whatevs (ex, adv): Whatever.

Whovian (n): A fan of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who.

Woot (ex): (Especially in electronic communication) Used to express elation, enthusiasm, or triumph.

Phrase of the Day 189: 'talk the hind legs off a donkey''

2012-10-24T13:28:00.000+01:00

"he can talk the hind legs off a donkey!"

definition: A person who is excessively or extremely talkative can talk the hind legs off a donkey

origin: During the history of this expression numerous other animals have featured in it: a horse, a dog, a cow and a bird (which of course has no hind legs). It was originally an expression of admiration for a person's powers of successful persuasion - a suggestion that one could bring about the impossible by talking. Nowadays, though said of a person admiringly, it is more usually a complaint.

http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingst.htm

AAE Q159 'nice seeing you'

2012-10-23T10:42:00.001+01:00

When must i use "nice seeing you"? just for the first meeting?
Nima

Hi Nima

This expression is used when you meet/see someone you haven't seen in a long time, in the following ways.

'It is nice to see you' - This would be used at the start of the conversation when you meet each other

'It is nice seeing you' - This would be used during the conversation

'It was nice seeing you'/
'It was nice to see you' - These would be used at the end of the conversation as you say goodbye.

Matt

AAE Q158: "You'd better be sorry!!."

2011-08-18T19:57:00.006+01:00

If sorry is replied by "you better be sorry" than what does it mean?

Thanks

Dipak

Hello,

The correct response in English is "You had better be sorry." or "You'd better be sorry.". This is an angry response which is sometimes aggressive and threatening.

For example, my friend spilled his drink on me and said "Sorry". I angrily responded, "You'd better be sorry, this shirt cost me 100 euros!"

However it is possible to use this expression as a joke between friends.

Thanks

New Words in the Oxford English Dictionary 2011

2011-08-18T19:53:00.002+01:00

alternative vote: an electoral system whereby voters rank candidates in order of preference, candidates being eliminated and votes redistributed until one candidate achieves the required majority.

domestic goddess: (informal) a woman with exceptional domestic skills, especially cookery.

mankini: (pl. mankinis) a brief one-piece bathing garment for men, with a T-back.

retweet: (on the social networking service Twitter) repost or forward (a message posted by another user).

sexting: (informal) the sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone.

woot: (especially in electronic communication) used to express elation, enthusiasm, or triumph

AAE Q157: 'so have I, 'so do I'

2011-07-25T14:05:00.003+01:00

Hi,

I came across this problem when studying grammar of 'So do I', 'Neither do I'.

If there is a verb 'have got' in a asentence, e.g. "I have got lots of sweets.", what is the auxiliary that I have to repeat when I want to agree.

Is it: 'So have I', or 'so do I'? And what happens in the negative, e.g. I haven't got many friends. Is it: 'Neither have I' or 'neither do I'?

Thank you for answering me.

Eva

Hi Eva,

"I have got lots of sweets."
"So have I"
"I haven't got many friends"
"Neither have I"

In both sentences the auxiliary verb is 'have'.

AAE Q156: 'as per'

2010-08-24T12:16:00.003+01:00

Hi

What is the origin of "as per" and is it outdated to use it ?

Lim

Hi,

'as per'

definition: according to

example: 'as per your instructions'

origin: 'per' originates from Latin, 'as per' dates back to 1782

I don't think it is old fashioned although it is used in academic writing and journalism more than in spoken language.

M

AAE Q155: relative adverb/pronoun

2010-08-24T11:50:00.003+01:00

Hi,

What is the difference between a relative adverb and a relative pronoun?

Haidery

Hi,

Relative Pronouns

relative pronoun	use	example
who	subject or object pronoun for people	I told you about the woman who lives next door.
which	subject or object pronoun for animals and things	Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof?
which	referring to a whole sentence	He couldn’t read which surprised me.
whose	possession for people animals and things	Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse?
whom	object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer who)	I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.
that	subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)	I don’t like the table that stands in the kitchen.

Relative Adverbs

A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the sentence easier to understand.

This is the shop in which I bought my bike.
→ This is the shop where I bought my bike.

relative adverb	meaning	use	example
when	in/on which	refers to a time expression	the day when we met him
where	in/at which	refers to a place	the place where we met him
why	for which	refers to a reason	the reason why we met him

AAE Q154:sentence without a verb

2010-08-24T11:20:00.003+01:00

Hi,

Can a sentence be completed without using a verb?

Amit

Hi Amit,

As a general rule, sentences without verbs are incomplete sentences, i.e., sentence fragments.

However, exclamations are considered grammatically correct even without a verb:

"How sweet!" or "What a mess!"

Hope this helps

M

Phrase of the Day 188: 'The hair of the dog'

2009-09-11T13:02:00.002+01:00

"The hair of the dog"

definition: A small measure of drink, intended to cure a hangover.

origin: The fuller version of this phrase, i.e. 'the hair of the dog that bit me', gives a clue to the source of the name of this supposed hangover cure. That derivation is from the mediaeval belief that, when someone was bitten by a rabid dog, a cure could be made by applying the same dog's hair to the infected wound.

List of English prefixes

2009-09-09T23:46:00.001+01:00

List of English prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Example
A-/an-	lacking in, lack of	asexual, anemic
A-	verb > predicative adjective with progressive aspect	afloat, atremble
Ante-	before	antebellum, antediluvian
Anti-	against	anti-war, antivirus, anti-human
Arch-	supreme, highest, worst	arch-rival, archangel
Be-	equipped with, covered with, beset with (pejorative or facetious)	bedeviled, becalm, bedazzle, bewitch
Co-	joint, with, accompanying	co-worker, coordinator, cooperation
Counter-	against, in opposition to	counteract, counterpart
De-	reverse action, get rid of	de-emphasise
Dis-	not, opposite of	disloyal, disagree
Dis-	reverse action, get rid of	disconnect, disinformation
En-/em-	to make into, to put into, to get into	enmesh, empower
Ex-	former	ex-husband, ex-boss, ex-colleague
Fore-	before	forearm, forerunner
In-/il-/im-/ir-	not, opposite of	inexact, irregular
Inter-	between, among	interstate, interact
Mal-	bad(ly)	malnourish
Mid-	middle	midlife
Mini-	small	minimarket, mini-room
Mis-	wrong, astray	misinformation, misguide
Out-	better, faster, longer, beyond	outreach, outcome
Over-	too much	overreact, overact
Pan-	all, worldwide	pan-African
Post-	after	post-election, post-graduation
Pre-	before	pre-election, pre-enter
Pro-	for, on the side of	pro-life
Re-	again, back	rerun
Self-	self	self-sufficient
Step-	family relation by remarriage	stepbrother
Trans-	across, from one place to another	transatlantic
Twi-	two	twibill, twilight
Ultra-	beyond, extremely	ultraviolet, ultramagnetic
Un-	not, opposite of	unnecessary, unequal
Un-	reverse action, deprive of, release from	undo, untie
Under-	below, beneath, lower in grade/dignity, lesser, insufficient	underachieve, underground, underpass
Up-		upgrade
Vice-	deputy	vice-president, vice-principal
With-	against	withstand
Afro-	relating to Africa	Afro-American
Ambi-	both	ambitendency
Amphi-	two, both, on both sides	amphiaster, amphitheater, amphibian
An-, a-	not, without	anemic, asymmetric
Ana-/an-	up, against	anacardiaceous, anode
Anglo-	relating to England	Anglo-Norman
Ante-	before	antenatal
Anti-	opposite	anti-clockwise
Apo-	away, different from	apomorphine
Astro-	star	astrobiology
Auto-	self	autobiography, automatic
Bi-	two	bicycle
Bio-	biological	biodegrade
Circum-	around	circumnavigate
Cis-	on this side of	cislunar
Con-/com-/col-/cor-/co-	together or with	confederation, commingle, colleague, correlation, cohabit
Contra-	opposite	contradict
Cryo-	ice	cryogenics
Crypto-	hidden, secret	cryptography
De-	down	depress
Demi-	half	demigod
Demo-	people	demography
Di-	two	dioxide
Dis-, di-, dif-	apart	differ, dissect
Down-	to make something lesser, lower or worse	downgrade
Du-/duo-	two	duet
Eco-	ecological	ecosystem
Electro-	electric, electricity	electro-analysis
Epi-	upon, at, close upon, in addition	epidermis
Euro-	European	Eurocentric
Ex-, e-, ef-	out of	export
Extra-	outside	extracurricular
Fin-	kinship	affinity
Franco-	French, France	Francophile
Geo-	relating to the earth or its surface	geography
Hetero-	different	heterosexual
Hemi-	half	hemimorphic
Homo-	same	homosexual
Hydro-	relating to water, or using water	hydroelectricity
Hyper-	above, over	hyperthermia
Hypo-	under or below something, low	hypothermia
Ideo-	image, idea	ideograph
Idio-	individual, personal, unique	idiolect
In-	in, into	insert
Indo-	relating to the Indian subcontinent	Indo-European
Infra-	below, beneath	infrared
Inter-	among, between	intercede
Intra-	inside, within	intravenous
Iso-	equal	isochromatic
Macr(o)-	long	macrobiotic
Maxi-	very long, very large	maxi-skirt
Mega-, megalo-	great, large	megastar, megalopolis
Meta-	after, along with, beyond, among, behind	meta-theory
Micro-	small	microbacillus
Midi-	medium-sized	midi-length
Mon(o)-	sole, only	monogamy
Multi-	many	multi-storey
Neo-	new	neolithic
Non-	not	nonexistent
Omni-	all	omnipotent, omnipresent
Paleo-	old	paleolithic
Para-	beside, beyond	parallel
Ped-/pod-	foot	pedestrian, podiatrist
Per-	through, completely, wrongly, exceedingly	permeate, permute
Peri-	around	periphrase
Photo-	light, photography, photograph	photoelectric
Poly-	many	polygon
Post-	after	postpone
Pre-	before	predict
Preter-	beyond, past, more than	preternatural
Pro-	substitute, deputy	proconsul
Pro-	before	procambium
Pros-	toward	prosthesis
Proto-	first, original	protoplasm, prototype
Pseudo-	false, imitation	pseudonym
Pyro-	fire	pyrokinetic
Quasi-	partly, almost, appearing to be but not really	quasi-religious
Retro-	backwards	retrograde
Semi-	half	semicircle
Socio-	society, social, sociological	sociopath
Sub-, su-, suc-, suf-, sug-, sum-, sup-, sur-, sus-	below, under	submerge, success, support, surreptitious, suspect, sustain
Super-	above, over	supervisor
Supra-	above, over	suprarenal
Sur-	above, over	surname, surreal, surrender
Syn-, sy-, syl-, sym-, sys-	together, with	synthesis, symbol, syllable, system
Tele-	at a distance	television
Trans-	across	transverse
Tri-	three	tricycle
Ultra-	beyond	ultraviolet
Uni-	one	unicycle
Up-	to make something greater, higher, or better	upgrade

AAE Q153: I

2009-09-09T23:28:00.002+01:00

Hi,

Is 'I' an abbreviation or not?

Abdul

Hi,

Yes it is from from Old English 'ic'. It was reduced to 'i' by 1137 in northern England, it began to be capitalized c.1250 to mark it as a distinct word and avoid misreading in handwritten manuscripts.

Thanks

M

AAE Q152: Imply

2009-09-09T23:21:00.002+01:00

Hi

What's the meaning of imply?

Thank you so much

Rachid

Hi Rachid,

Imply

to suggest that sth is true or that you feel or think sth, without saying so directly. Are you implying (that) I am wrong?
to make it seem likely that sth is true or exists syn suggest. The survey implies (that) more people are moving house than was thought.
(of an idea, action, etc.) to make sth necessary in order to be successful. The project implies an enormous investment in training.

Thanks

M

AAE Q151: 'in/at school'

2008-09-04T11:03:00.001+01:00

Hello!
Which is more correct?

We studied basic English in school? vs. We studied basic English at School?
Thank you!

Hi,

The only difference is that "in school" is American English and "at school" is British English.

M

AAE Q150: order of adjectives

2008-09-04T10:58:00.002+01:00

Hi Matt,

I'd like to ask you about order of adjectives in sentence. In Czech, when we have two blue shirts and one is dirty, we say "the dirty blue shirt". When we have two dirty shirts and one is blue, we say "the blue dirty shirt". The more outstanding attribute can be emphasised by moving to the beginning. But at school I was learnt that English has this constant order:

number -> judgement -> size, length, height -> age -> colour -> origin -> material -> purpose

So, in our case, English would always say "the dirty blue shirt" (since "dirty" is a judgement?) without a possibility to emphasise one of attributes? Is it really so strict?

Thanks,
Vlada

Hi,

Thanks for your question.

I would say that it is possible to emphasise one of the attributes if you need to differentiate between similar objects. Referring back to your example, if there were two or more dirty shirts and one of them was blue it is possible to refer to this one as "the blue dirty shirt".

M

AAE Q149: 'wet-eared'

2008-09-04T10:46:00.003+01:00

hi,

I wonder the meaning of the word 'wet-eared'.

Thanks

Hello,

This is from the expression "to be wet behind the ears" which is used to describe a person who is either very young or inexperienced. It originates from the fact that newborn babies are still wet (and obviously inexperienced).

Therefore to describe someone as wet-eared is to say that they have little experience.

M

AAE Q148: can't get a hold of him

2008-09-04T10:40:00.001+01:00

Hello.

I heard the phrase : "I can't get (a) hold of him" twice. At first, there was an "a", but in the other situation, there wasn't. Are there any differences? Which sentence is correct?

Thanks Bara

Hi Bara,

Basically, both sentences are correct and there are no differences in meaning.

M

AAE Q147: G.I.

2008-09-04T10:29:00.002+01:00

Hi Matt,

I'd like to ask you about a "G. I. soldier"

Thanks Mirek

Hi Mirek,

GI or G.I. is a term describing members of the U.S. armed forces or items of their equipment. It may be used as an adjective or as a noun. The term is often thought to be an initialism of "Government Issue" or "General Infantry" but the origin of the term is in fact galvanized iron after the letters "GI" that used to denote equipment such as metal trash cans made from it in U.S. Army inventories and supply records.

During World War I it was somehow assumed that GI stood for "Government Issue" and the term was applied to all military equipment and the soldiers themselves (another incorrect interpretation is "General Infantry"). The term reached even further as its usage spread with the American troops during World War II.

Hope this helps

M