Vincent Teo  +  502242 Fri, 18 Apr 08 01:15 PM What is a polite way to say..when you want to say someone is farting. Can I say, He smelt something... (how do I say?)   Vincent Teo Joined on Sat, Mar 31 2007 Veteran Member 5,660

	Mister Micawber  +  502254 Fri, 18 Apr 08 01:31 PM . The polite thing to do is ignore it. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,805 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

	Grammar Geek  +  502266 Fri, 18 Apr 08 01:54 PM In connection with being polite? You do not. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,681 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	khoff  +  502297 Fri, 18 Apr 08 02:53 PM Vincent, as two gurus have already told you, there is no "polite way" to talk about someone else "farting".  The word is (rather crude) slang and the whole subject is not discussed "politely."  However, if you want to discuss your own bodily functions with a doctor, a reasonable non-slang equivalent is "passing gas."  And the medical term is "flatulence". khoff Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005 Senior Member 3,273 Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert)

	Kooyeen  +  502382 Fri, 18 Apr 08 07:43 PM I think I heard "passing gas" several times on radio commercials. My dictionaries say "breaking wind", but I have no idea if it's used, is it? And by the way, "to fart" is not slang at all, because everyone knows what it means and everyone uses it. Merriam Webster classifies it as "often vulgar", that is, you might consider avoiding it in several situations. Kooyeen Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005 Italy Senior Member 4,976 Parental Advisory / Explicit Posts

	New2grammar  +  502387 Fri, 18 Apr 08 07:59 PM I agree with MM. But if the person keeps doing it and I get upset, I'll say "Are you all right?". If I sense he's doing it to annoy me, as the others have said, I would choose to be rude "Did you fart again?"     New2grammar Joined on Tue, Nov 21 2006 Veteran Member 7,676 Who wants to go sailing around the world with me?

	Vincent Teo  +  502561 Sat, 19 Apr 08 10:17 AM Oh Ic. I think the more polite way is "break wind". But , how do we say? Anyone can give me in a dialogue to show that how to use it?   Vincent Teo