MrPernickety  +  762202 Tue, 02 Jun 09 07:49 PM Hi,   I take it that "To fall short of the mark" means "not to perform up to expectations" (to use an analogy in sports, as if the javelin, flung by an athlete, fell short of the desired mark) Am I right?   Also, could you tell me if you have any problem with this sentence: I bought a new laptop and gave it a swirl at home but it fell short of the mark and I choked it out the window   Thanks ! MrPernickety Joined on Sat, Oct 25 2008 Regular Member 731 Amendment XXX to the US Constitution: No man shall be held accountable for any promise he makes while drunk unless it was a bet. Analogies, Sentences

	Mr Wordy  suggested by Patrick Lockerby  +  762239 Tue, 02 Jun 09 08:28 PM MrPernickety “ I take it that "To fall short of the mark" means "not to perform up to expectations" (to use an analogy in sports, as if the javelin, flung by an athlete, fell short of the desired mark) Am I right? ”   Yes.   MrPernickety “ Also, could you tell me if you have any problem with this sentence: I bought a new laptop and gave it a swirl at home but it fell short of the mark and I choked it out the window ”   "fell short of the mark" is OK. I imagine you mean "chucked" not "choked". "out the" is kind of sloppy (though native speakers do say it); the correct form is "out of the window". I've never heard the expression "give it a swirl" used in this sense.* The expression I'm familiar with is "give it a whirl".   *Edit: Having said that, though, I'd understand what it meant, and I guess it's an acceptable coinage for humorous variety. Mr Wordy Joined on Tue, May 27 2008 Senior Member 2,359 Native British English speaker

	Clive  +  762630 Wed, 03 Jun 09 01:16 AM Hi, I feel like choking my PC sometimes.   Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,594 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	MrPernickety  +  763120 Wed, 03 Jun 09 08:11 AM Thank you guys for weighing in with advice !   Out of some strange coincidence I wrote "choked" when in fact I had "chucked" in mind. I have made this mistake all of five times, all told - haven't the faintest why I keep mistaking "choked" for "chucked" )))) Yeah, I also meant "give it a whirl", don't know what'd gotten into me and made me write "swirl" in place of "whirl". Thanks for pointing that out !   Thanks again for the assistance ! MrPernickety Mistakes

	Patrick Lockerby  +  763146 Wed, 03 Jun 09 08:33 AM Clive “Hi, I feel like choking my PC sometimes. Clive ” I get an image from a thriller or horror film.  The poor old computer is on a window ledge, being strangled by a half-crazed nerd.  Patrick Lockerby Joined on Sat, May 23 2009 Full Member 126 Patrick