New2grammar  +  525960 Wed, 11 Jun 08 06:06 PM Thanks, GG, Huevos and Optilang. Huevos, can I use the layman term 'piercing hole' as I'm not confortable with the unfamiliar term fistula? Thanks in advance. New2grammar Joined on Tue, Nov 21 2006 Veteran Member 7,676 Who wants to go sailing around the world with me?

	nona the brit  +  525965 Wed, 11 Jun 08 06:17 PM I agree that it is best to talk of stretching the hole or piercing as otherwise it does sound like it is the entire ear. In this case I think being less accurate will confuse people (everyone knows you have to plug things into an electrical socket, but not everyone knows much about enlarging piercings). Fistula - not appropriate as this is a hole that results from an infection/absess, not something you do to yourself deliberately. It's a medical problem. I wouldn't say 'piercing hole' either though as it's a bit repetitious. Just 'piercing' is the normal noun for this. nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member 11,713 The name says it all. Nouns

	Huevos  +  525990 Wed, 11 Jun 08 07:22 PM nona the brit “Fistula - not appropriate as this is a hole that results from an infection/absess, not something you do to yourself deliberately. It's a medical problem.” According to Steadman's Medical Dictionary, which lists 97 different types of fiscula, a fiscula is any abnormally existing or artificial passage connecting organ to organ, organ to skin or skin to skin. A skin to skin fiscula is known as a complete fiscula and that is what a piercing is. This terminology is also used by Wikipedia in its entry on body piercing: Piercings that penetrate cartilage are often pierced one or two gauges larger than the jewelry, to reduce pressure on the healing piercing, allowing for a fistula (internal "skin tube" that connects the two ends of the piercing) to properly form. Huevos Joined on Tue, Mar 25 2008 Regular Member 626 British Native Medical Dictionary

	Grammar Geek  +  525992 Wed, 11 Jun 08 07:27 PM Okay, perhaps that's what the dictionary does say, but I assure you that no one in normal conversation would EVER refer to their pierced ear has having a fistula.   Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,660 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! Conversations

	Huevos  +  526000 Wed, 11 Jun 08 07:45 PM GG, why not just call everything a thingy? Every field has its own specialist vocabulary and in order to discuse such a field in depth one needs to learn that vocabulary. Just because the layman may not be familar with such vocalulary does not make it wrong to use. Huevos Vocabulary

	Huevos  +  526004 Wed, 11 Jun 08 07:55 PM New2grammar “Huevos, can I use the layman term 'piercing hole' as I'm not confortable with the unfamiliar term fistula?” Of course you can. Use piercing. In my suggestion: A stretcher is a tool used to deliberately expand a piercing. They come in different gauges and are worn to gradually increase the diameter of the fistula., I used the clinical term in the second sentence because I had already used the word piercing in the first sentence and didn't want to appear repetitive. Using fistula though doesn't make it confusing for the layman as context makes it obvious what it is. Huevos Grammar

	Grammar Geek  +  526008 Wed, 11 Jun 08 08:13 PM Huevos “GG, why not just call everything a thingy? Every field has its own specialist vocabulary and in order to discuse such a field in depth one needs to learn that vocabulary. Just because the layman may not be familar with such vocalulary does not make it wrong to use. ” Because my goal here is to help people learn how to communicate and sound natural! There's a HUGE difference between calling everything a "thingy" and using extremely specific vocabulary known by fewer than 5% of the population and used by fewer than 1% (obviously estimates) and then wondering why people don't understand you. The vocabulary you use will depend on the contexts you are in. If I were a medical professional, I would use the specialist vocabulary of medical professionals. When two teenage girls are discussing their pierced ears, they don't use "fistula."       Grammar Geek Vocabulary, Difference Between

	Huevos  +  526010 Wed, 11 Jun 08 08:26 PM Grammar Geek “my goal here is to help people learn how to communicate and sound natural!” Mine too! Huevos Grammar, Images

	nona the brit  +  526878 Fri, 13 Jun 08 03:39 PM OK H, possibly if a doctor had to talk about a piercing he might use the word fistula. But it is a medical term. No-one else is going to use it in this context, honestly. I know plenty of people with piercings and 'piercing' is the only term I've heard. nona the brit