The head assembled the whole school and thrashed this youth from one end of the hall to the other with a four-foot cane, I often see reference to canes and caning. I've always wondered where school authorities got these canes. Was there a

If the word "behind" is used instead of buttocks, do you find it euphemistic? You have received several replies, and enough contradictory information to leave you as puzzled now as you were before you asked. The problem is that you

> Sorry, but this doesn't explain the derivation of the expression. It just shows that it was used in 1850. Some authorities believe that "face the music" comes from the musical theater, and refers to the pit orchestra that the

Not being a native speaker of English, I would very ... English dictionaries - I have consulted don't list the phrase. Did you really give us the whole sentence? For "on up" to make sense, there has to be a "from" ...

Not being a native speaker of English, I would very ... English dictionaries - I have consulted don't list the phrase. Did you really give us the whole sentence? For "on up" to make sense, there has to be a "from" ...

On 14 Nov 2003, Dr Robin Bignall wrote It would not have been used formally, in polite company. I'd say it still wouldn't be it'd still be considered a tad crude for a lot of social and business settings. Dead bloody right. (But the OP

Not being a native speaker of English, I would very ... English dictionaries - I have consulted don't list the phrase. Did you really give us the whole sentence? For "on up" to make sense, there has to be a "from" ... on

Not being a native speaker of English, I would very much appreciate it if someone could throw some more light on the phrase ON UP as used in the following sentence from a Newsweek article about family-friendly, kid-friendly holidays. Club Med?s

OK - why does fridge have a d in it, but you'd be considered an eejit if you put one in veg? Possibly because fridge is derived from the U.S. company name Frigidaire which claims to have invented the first home freezer. The company's been

In the upper Midwest, Must be a yuppie thing. I have heard of "interpretive" ... the English language.) Where is your upper Midwest source, please? Iron World in northern Minnesota would be a good example. No one there would call it an