Fin1990  +  275654 Tue, 03 Oct 06 01:40 PM Recently  I read TIME and came across some sentences that I don't understand. 1. "He immediately placing me in the marzipan (almost uppermost) layer of the British social fruist cake. " 2. "People make assumptions: men think I 'll try and run the place, strangers think I'll look down on them- so they get the boot in first." 3. "So is lazy RP (received pronunciation) in the cards of me?" What are the meanings of the highlighted  words? Thank You. P.S. the above three sentences are quoted from "Why Can't the English Learn How to Speak?"  September 25, 2006 , TIME  Fin1990 Joined on Tue, Oct 3 2006 New Member 03 Pronunciation

	Marius Hancu  +  275665 Tue, 03 Oct 06 02:02 PM 1. "He immediately placing me in the marzipan (almost uppermost) layer of the British social fruist cake. "[See the society as as a cake with several layers. You're at the top, in the (presumed) best layer. Or perhaps it's the most crusty/most rigid layer. Not sure. But I think you've cut the sentence at the beginning, it doesn't start well, perhaps you had a comma before that. 2. "People make assumptions: men think I 'll try and run the place, strangers think I'll look down on them- so they get the boot in first."[be fired in the first instance 3. "So is lazy RP (received pronunciation) in the cards of me?"[to be expected of me Marius Hancu Joined on Wed, Apr 26 2006 Veteran Member 11,673 Commas, Pronunciation

	nona the brit  +  275682 Tue, 03 Oct 06 02:50 PM 1. The marzipan is the second layer from the top on a fruit cake, so you are nearly on the uppermost level, but not quite. This is being used as a metaphor for 'class'. 2. get the boot in first - attack first (get the boot in - kick) 3. in the cards for me - in my future nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member 11,713 The name says it all. Metaphors

	nona the brit  +  275775 Tue, 03 Oct 06 07:17 PM That sentence looks ok to me. nona the brit

	J Lewis  +  277722 Sun, 08 Oct 06 09:21 AM I agree with Nona about 2. in 3 I'd say "on the cards for me", but it's certainly a strange sentence. I can't imagine why a certain pronunciation should be in somebody's future. J Lewis Joined on Tue, Sep 5 2006 Italy Regular Member 518 Pronunciation

	Grammar Geek  +  278220 Mon, 09 Oct 06 02:49 PM "in the cards" - I believe it's a reference to fortune telling and Tarot cards.  Definitely IN. It doesn't appear to be in the cards. = Not very likely to happen. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,651 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!