Joey_five  +  312438 Mon, 08 Jan 07 05:43 AM The job was a piece of cake... but 1a) The jobs were a piece of cake; or 1b) The jos were pieces of cake. How about: 2a) The movie was so scary that the children almost jumped of their skin; or 2b) The movie was so scary that the children almost jumped of their skins. Thank you in advance. Joey_five Joined on Mon, Oct 10 2005 Full Member 105 Plurals

	CalifJim  +  312462 Mon, 08 Jan 07 07:16 AM I'd say The jobs were a piece of cake.  (They were both easy.) And I'd say either jumped out of their skin or skins. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,389 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Plurals

	Joey_five  +  312562 Mon, 08 Jan 07 01:10 PM  CalifJim wrote: I'd say The jobs were a piece of cake.  (They were both easy.) And I'd say either jumped out of their skin or skins. CJ Thanks CaliJim. So it seems there is no rule concerning this?? Joey_five Plurals

	Lil' Ruby Rose  +  312642 Mon, 08 Jan 07 03:20 PM They are different constructions.  In the first, the idiom "a piece of cake" could be replaced by the word "easy", and so no agreement with the subject is needed.  Lil' Ruby Rose Joined on Wed, Dec 20 2006 Regular Member 879 Enlightenment is always preceded by confusion. Plurals, Constructions, Idioms

	CalifJim  +  312773 Mon, 08 Jan 07 07:08 PM no rule concerning this? No, not really.  There is only the general principle that idioms are extremely resistant to any sort of modification.  Just the change of a to the or a similar minor difference within an idiom will stand out as strange to a native speaker, much like a tiny particle caught in one's teeth can seem a boulder! CJ CalifJim Articles, Plurals, Idioms