Swearing off English

Posted by ESC on December 14, 2003

In Reply to: Rudeness in any language posted by Word Camel on December 12, 2003

: : : : : : : hi,
: : : : : : : need to know the meaning to the following phrases, could you give examples?..Thank you.

: : : : : : : 1.The Orwellian qualities.

: : : : : : : 2.en masse.

: : : : : : : 3.witch-hunt.

: : : : : : : 4.to shore up its position.

: : : : : : : 5.veggie libel.

: : : : : : : 6.clean-cut couple.

: : : : : : : 7.her biggest hold on fame.

: : : : : : : 8.has come full circle.

: : : : : : : 9.trail-blazing female.

: : : : : : : 10.lurch into

: : : : : : : 11.booby-traped assignment.

: : : : : : : 12.spelled out red lines.

: : : : : : : 13.trotted out some cold war rhetoric.

: : : : : : : 14.you don't poke a lion.

: : : : : : : 15.calling the shots in the current crises.

: : : : : : : 16.to fend off someone.

: : : : : : : 17.grinding down his economy.

: : : : : : : 18.to worked the phones.

: : : : : : : 19.de facto

: : : : : : : 20.to gobble something up and move on

: : : : : : Nope, I can't help you this time. Maybe someone else can. I am still waiting for some acknowledgement from you for the last time you asked for help. Several people, including me, gave you information on 147 phrases. Never heard a word from you.

: : : : : Kathaab, I would be glad to help, but my band-aids would not solve the basic problem, nor could the combined efforts of the Phrase Finder gang. You obviously are not a native English-speaker, and you need a strategy for extending your knowledge of the language. Many of the words and phrases you have asked about are easily available in almost any dictionary. You need, besides a good dictionary, an immersion program in English, or any course at all in English literature that has a professor willing to explain allusions, or even a reading program in English literature just for yourself. English isn't easy, but it's not that hard, either. Keep in touch. SS

: : : : Kathaab, the people who answer questions here aren't paid. We give our time because we like language, we like to help people, or both. That may help to explain why some of us set limits on how much we're willing to do.

: : : And setting limits -- boundaries -- on what we're willing to do here is a healthy action, it shows we value ourselves enough not to feel that we MUST comply with requests.

: : ESC..if you see carefully, I do say THANK YOU at the end of the question..anyway if you don't want to help, that's fine with me..I can forget about the english language all together..I don't need it..GOODBYE.

: Just because you said 'thank you' after your initial request doesn't excuse you from thanking people for the (really extraordinary) effort they put in on your behalf. You may not need the English language but you certainly need a lesson in common courtesy. I think you'll find it applies no matter what language you speak.

I feel a little bad that the postee has sworn off English all together.

• Taking ourselves too seriously??? Lotg 15/December/03