LauraM

What is a metonymy? It's a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is a stand-in for another. It's easier to see this through examples from sentences. A famous metonymy is "The pen is mightier than the sword." Both "pen" and "sword" are examples, as both are stand-ins: Pen = the written word Sword = military force A metonymy is often used when referring to a government or a representative of a government or any kind of organization or institution. The White House = the people who work there, i.e. the U.S. President and officials. "The White House issued an official statement." So therefore: "The State Department warns against travel to that region." "Several countries around the world are under the British crown." Here are other examples of the use of metonymy. "Hollywood has influenced pop culture for decades." Hollywood = movies or the movie industry "Since childhood, she knew she was bound for Broadway." Broadway = theater Can you think of some other examples?

Actually "eyewinker" is in the dictionary and it mean "eyelash" and "eyelid." It has a third meaning, too; it refers to a foreign object that gets into the eye and causes irritation, leading someone to start winking to try to dislodge it. I think it's a great word; I hadn't heard of it before. I think it's kind of poetic.

Yes, those are the current British spellings versus American spellings. In Canada it's "tires" as it is in the U.S. But in Canada "behaviour" is spelled just as it is in the UK. Here are a few more Canadan vs. American spelling differences: travelling vs. traveling labelling vs. labeling modelling vs. modeling clamour vs. clamor Can anyone think of some others?

Yes, that's a great one. Thank you so much for sharing. It's quite powerful. It brought to my mind a quote from Nelson Mandela: "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

Yes, onomatopoeia words can be lots of fun, to pronounce and even to see on the page. I agree, lots of them refer to animal sounds. I find it interesting how some of them, in that way, don't really come close to the actual sound. For instance, for "dog" in English, it's "bow-wow." It's a far cry from the actual sound. But "woof, woof" is a little better. The crowing rooster sound is "cock-a-doodle-do" which sounds more comical than accurate. I think the "cat" sound, "meow" comes pretty close. Likewise "moo" for cows, as you mentioned. Also, before we had Twitter, we had birds that would "tweet." And we would say they were "twittering" away up in the trees. We also had the cartoon character "Tweety" before Twitter!

Yes, I agree. I've been reading comic books since I was a child. And as an adult, I've also read graphic novels. I think comic books and/or graphic novels would be a great way to improve one's language skills. And also, I think the lines are quite blurred these days with the popularity of graphic novels, which some might still call "comic books." There are some graphic novels that are widely considered to be literary masterpieces. An example that comes to mind is "Maus" by Art Spiegelman, which is based on his own experience as a Holocaust survivor.

For non-native English speakers -- and native speakers, too -- let us know which movies have helped you in your study and mastery of English? Are there any specific movies or movie genres you have enjoyed and found beneficial? Please share your favorites with us.

I'm a native speaker of English, and I would be very happy to help out here. The subforum is the place for English practice so your topic is perfect. If you have questions or concerns about anything, ask away. Feel free to start a conversation on any topic of interest as you practice. If you have any questions about grammar, vocabulary, etc. be sure to check out the other subforums devoted to these topics and feel free to ask your questions. If you like, please let us know when you started studying English and how it's going for you thus far.

But there are plenty more! I think there must be dozens still out there...staggering, of course! Here are a few: Loaded Three sheets to the wind Crunk Dead to the world Goosed On a bender Feeling no pain

This a truly a case of the sum being greater than the parts; that whole string of words is extremely amusing. I also find some one-syllable words that can be pretty funny. There is "spats" for instance, which are footwear accessories. I always thought that one sounded very silly. "Quiz" is a fun one even though taking a quiz might not be so much fun! "Squash" -- a type of vegetable but also a verb meaning to crush or to squeeze -- is another one that seems very goofy to me.

The two words are similar, but not quite interchangeable in my view. The definitions have some subtle differences that are worth keeping in mind. "Iterate" means to perform or utter repeatedly. "Reiterate" means to say something again, or many times, especially for emphasis or to clarify. If someone were to say "Let me reiterate again" that would be redundant as the "reiterate" already means to say "again." As for "boisterous" pronounced as "voicterous," I've never heard that one before. Maybe that's a regional difference? But yet, it's definitely incorrect! Same with the mispronunciation of "asked." People get into these bad habits of mispronunciation.

I would stick with "I couldn't care less" as it is grammatically correct. It's true, as you say, that "I could care less" is used as sarcasm or irony. But in my opinion, it's a lame excuse for poor grammar. If one wants to be sarcastic, the tone of voice is enough to do it. There are unfortunately too many instances in which poor grammar becomes acceptable over time. But I think it never hurts to be grammatically correct!

This is an expression meaning "take a look at this." The implication is that it is something worth seeing; it is special or it is a spectacle. So there's an undercurrent of excitement as if to say, "Stop whatever you're doing. You've got to see this right now!" It would make perfect sense in the context you're describing as I imagine that cost must have somehow been noteworthy.

I like Scattergories. As a native English speaker, I find it to be a fun and challenging game. If you're learning Enlish, I think it could be useful, too, for vocabulary building, and for recalling the vocabulary that you do know. There are very strict time constraints so you are forced to think quickly to name words in various categories. Then later on, for learning purposes, you could always look back and find words that you were not able to recall.

Yes, this is a great resource. It's one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing. I like how well organized it is. It makes searching very easy. I find it's also fun to just browse through and see all the colorful and striking uses of the language and to find out the origin. Just a random example: "Barking up the wrong tree" which means you have made a wrong assumption or a mistake in something. The site says it alludes to hunting dogs who stand at a tree barking, thinking that their prey has climbed the tree, and that the phrase was first used, as an idiomatic expression in 1832 in the book "Westward Ho!" by James Kirke Paulding. Yes, a great site!

In college, I had a Spanish literature professor who was very strict in the classroom, and sometimes confrontational. If she saw that students were distracted or not paying attention -- or perhaps even dozing off -- while she was speaking she would call on them and ask them questions. Sometimes it created an uncomfortable environment, and we would feel bad for the student called on. But at the same time, collectively we realized that we had to stay focused. And even more importantly, that we had to read the assignments, understand what we had read, and be able to discuss them in class.

In the case of spelled vs. spelt, "spelled" is used in the U.S. whereas you will see "spelt" used in the UK. The same is true of learned vs. learnt. With burned vs. burnt either form is acceptable everywhere, but you will see "burned" more often in the U.S. Additionally "burnt" can be used as an adjective, as in "burnt toast." It's also interchangeable with "burned toast."

Eudora13, your use of "irritate" was correct. Daedalus, yes, you're right about the distinction. It's a very slight distinction, as the two words in English are very similar and people tend to use them interchangeably. But "irritate" can also refer to a physical sensation. If someone is allergic to wool and wears a wool sweater by mistake, she might say, "That sweater irritated my skin." And even when we use it with a non-physical reference -- as in this case "The sound of his voice irritates me" -- it implies that the person is so troubled by that sound that she almost feels a physical revulsion.

Yes, portmanteau words are fascinating. I find it particularly interesting to see the ones that arise in pop culture and/or media and over time become acceptable as standard English. Here are a few that started out that way, and are standard English nowadays. guesstimate = guess + estimate edutainment = education + entertainment infomercial = information + commercial mockumentary = mock + documentary cosplay = costume + play

The problem arises because "you" can refer to one person or several persons or, collectively a group of people. Some other languages have a separate singular and plural form of "you" but English does not. So what happens is that people think they need to modify "you" to make it plural when it's actually not necessary. These modifications vary by region. In the American South, people tend to say "you all" which winds up being pronounced "y'all." In the New York City metro area you will sometimes hear people say "yous." And more universally we hear "you guys" and also "you folks." At least "you folks" is not gender specific. But no modifier is needed. It's acceptable -- and correct -- to use "you" by itself.

I'm also in the U.S. and I never hear or see anyone from the U.S. using "whilst." Online, I do find that people use it. I see it occasionally in social media -- as others have mentioned on this thread -- and in blog posts. When I do see it, I take it as indicative that the writer is from the UK, and typically that turns out to be the case. Yes. Also: unbeknownst / unbeknown Does anyone know of other such pairs of words?

Yes, we do "think in" French, or any other language. By the way, the idiom is "think outside of the box." There are other prepositions that go with "think." Such as: We "think through" something when we give it careful consideration. When we plan we "think ahead" of what might happen in the future. We "think back" when we remember something in the past. We "think up" something when we need to be creative. If you are alone you might "think to" yourself that you could invite your friends over. "Think to" has a different meaning in this context: You realize you didn't "think to" check your voicemail so you missed that party invitation. There are probably other prepositions that go with "think." But I can't think of them right now. Perhaps someone can add to the list?

Yes, it should be "adjective." Thus: "Lighted is often used as an adjective (" a lighted candle") while lit is often used as a verb ("the candle was lit")" It's great info, SarahRTW and much appreciated. It's good to know that we are correct with either word. That's a relief, isn't it? After all, we have so many other pairs of words where this is not the case!

Yes, you are correct. The rules are according to how the word is pronounced. Any vowel sound -- regardless of spelling -- will use "an" as in "an FYI." (The "F" is pronounced as "Eff.') A vowel pronounced like a consonant will use "a" as in "a unanimous decision." (The "U" has a "Y" sound.) As Eudora13 mentioned, there was a detailed discussion about "a" and "an" which began with the a question about "hour" -- which should be "an hour." You might want to check that thread out, too, as there were many good examples. http://linguaholic.com/english-language-general-discussion-thread/an-hour-or-a-hour/

This is a question for both non-native and native English speakers. I'm curious to know what motivates or inspires you to continue your study and mastery of the English language -- grammar, vocabulary, etc. You may have started because it was mandatory in school, but beyond those requirements what is your motivation to keep learning? How do you stay motivated if and when you are pressed for time, or facing other such challenges? Perhaps in sharing we can encourage one another.