I would agree tht "skirt around" is more often used in the sense of avoiding a controversial or unpleasant subject in conversation, negotiations, etc.

I don't know what a more colloquial phrase would be in Britian, but how about "audition"? I'll have to give more thought to the other question.

I had never heard of this, but my daughter says it's the name of a tv show and basically means "tricked." (Punk'd = punked) Apparently if someone has played a trick on you, you've been punked. Definitely slang!

A yowl is a long, drawn-out sound, much like a howl. Dogs and wolves howl, while cats (especially cats in heat) yowl. A yelp is a sudden, shorter sound. A cat or a dog might yelp if you accidentally step on its foot. Actually both words are

Hi, X. - I'm glad you're back. I would agree that "this house is more little than mine" sounds awkward.

The third word in "the English language" is "language"! And yes, I do try to use it every day.

I meant to ask this in my last post - what do you call dust bunnies in France? Or don't you have any?

I think the Db/KK are the initials of the secretary who actually typed the letter and the person who composed and signed the letter. In other words, this letter might have be from King Kong, but it was actually typed by his secretary, Dust Bunny.

"The same T-shirt as the one that you bought" is fine. To shorten it, you are removing (the one that) and I would remove (as the one). I think either result sounds all right, and I am willing to believe that your version is more correct. Obviously

I think you would have a hard time convincing anybody that he is pronouncing his own name incorrectly. On the other hand, if most people pronounce it the other way maybe he should stop getting mad, and just say "my family pronounces it differently."