http://www.englishforums.com/search/pro.htm?q=user%3aMrPernickety&o=DateDescendingSearch results for 'user:MrPernickety'en-USXMOD (Build: 3607.32596)http://www.englishforums.com/English/ShortOfLemonade/lpkdz/post.htm#995412Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:12:35 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:995412mrpernickety"short of" means "except for, other than" in your example http://www.thefreedictionary.com/short+ofhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfEnterIntoIt/lpwbb/post.htm#994794Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:25:25 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:994794mrpernicketyThank you, Avangi, for the help and for going to the trouble of reposting again after you got oopsed. That oops thing is really frustrating and off puting! There otta be a law against it! Thanks, John, for chiming in on the subject, I appreciate your help!http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfEnterIntoIt/lpwbb/post.htm#994779Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:03:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:994779mrpernicketyThanks, Avangi ! there are other problems in your sentences. Could you point out the problems, please?http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfEnterIntoIt/lpwbb/post.htmSat, 21 Nov 2009 09:41:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:994756mrpernicketyHi, Could you tell me if the following two sentences I just composed sound fine to a native speaker's ear? 1. I passed my driving test because I prepared all too well. Luck doesn't enter into it . 2. They are always asking me how studious a student should be to prepare for the finals, and I shrug my shoulders every time because in my book studiousness doesn't enter into it. Thanks !http://www.englishforums.com/English/HeadUpPosition/lpgrc/post.htm#994744Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:18:02 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:994744mrpernicketyModified Valsalva maneouvre is to be used with great precaution, the best in head up position, performed after each few meters of descent and before ? pain or discomfort appear s . Hi, Antonija You'd do well to use "best" without the article. This maneuver is performed best (or best performed) in a head-up position You can find many similar examples with "best" in this excellent American Corpus: http://www.americancorpus.org/ Just my two centshttp://www.englishforums.com/English/Love/2/jppvp/Post.htm#992841Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:36:20 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:992841mrpernicketyAhmed, if he wishes to insult, let him do it-Almost all Americans are like that. He's talking about a thing that doesn't exist. In America it's all about sex . Nothing more. It's a generalisation that makes you out to be very ignorant of American cultute. You'd do well to do research on American culture before casting aspersions on the people you obviously don't know a damn thing about.http://www.englishforums.com/English/YourRippedIt/lxqjb/post.htm#992522Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:11:00 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:992522mrpernickety(He ripped one over the fence.) This made me think of another similar expression "he ripped a good one", which I shall assume has quite a different connotation, right? Sorry, just couldn't help myself.http://www.englishforums.com/English/NotOnlyAboutBut/lnjhq/post.htm#990431Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:30 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:990431mrpernicketySpeaking English is not only about using proper grammar but ALSO about understanding the culture in which it is spoken. Maybe it's a matter of taste, but barring the missing "also", I find your phrase acceptable. What is speaking English all about? It's about using proper grammar and ... I've come across such use of "about" a great many times. For example, I found in http://www.americancorpus.org/ this example: It's not about having it. It 's about using ithttp://www.englishforums.com/English/AWordAboutSoftwareDevelopment/lnjcr/post.htm#990385Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:52:27 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:990385mrpernicketyYour use of "checked in" is a new one on me. OK, let me expatiate on it a bit more, I'm gonna go into details as best I can, so roll up your sleeves and brace yourself for some technical details. (I hope I won't bore you to tears.) We have a contraption called TFS in place (TFS stands for Team Foundation Server) . TFS is a humongous program (about as humongous as Visual Studio and it is an add-on to Visual Studio, in that you can opt for installing it and using it within the bounds of Visual Studio). Its primary purpose is to allow a slew of developers to work on a single solution, making changes to it that wouldn't clash too much (eliminating all possible clashes is impossible). The idea behind...http://www.englishforums.com/English/AWordAboutSoftwareDevelopment/lnjcr/post.htm#987111Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:57:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:987111mrpernicketyThis is probably Pernickety's area, but my understanding is that a given build is similar to a given "version," only more refined. Hi, Avangi Project building is a bit outside my field of expertise but I think I can let you in on how it's done . When you set out to compile a project (or better yet, a solution which embraces several projects. For instance the project I'm working on comprises as many as 22 projects), the programming environment (a humongous program that manages solutions, in my case it is Visual Studio) first tries to compile the solution and if no compiling errors have shown up in the process, it runs so called unit tests on the solution. If the tests haven't turned up any errors,...http://www.englishforums.com/English/AGrammarQuestion/lkqgq/post.htmSun, 15 Nov 2009 22:37:29 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:972603mrpernicketyHi, Could you tell me which sentences sound o.k. to a native speaker? 1.1. He took a two week vacation. 1.2. He took two weeks' vacation. 2.1. It is a two minute drive from work. 2.2. It is two minutes' drive from work. 3.1. I went on a two day trip to Hawaii. 3.2. I went on two days' trip to Hawaii. Thanks in advance.http://www.englishforums.com/English/OneWord/lkpnb/post.htm#972439Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:42:59 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:972439mrpernicketyA workaholic? PS: your sentence should read "one who gets addicted to whatever he does"http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfSlamDunk/lkmjb/post.htm#971892Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:56:30 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:971892mrpernicketyIs it supposed to evoke the violence, the quickness, the sure thing, the ostentation, all of the above? It's supposed to evoke the quickness. It was uttered by Al Bundy from Married with Children. You must've watched it and you probably know from the horse's mouth how long it takes Al to do it with his wife, and how much he loaths doing it. I'm just watching reruns of the show on my PC. (I'm too lazy to write out "Urban Dictionary.") Oh, yeah. Thanks!http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfSlamDunk/lkmjb/post.htm#971544Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:51:23 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:971544mrpernicketyI can't seem to relate the verb usage to the noun usage. Somebody educate me. What part of the shot are we evoking? I can't make it work. I don't think it measures up to U/D's standards. Are we talking about a rape here? The player certainly rapes the basket. So far as I can tell, it was used as a euphemism for "to have sexual intercourse", not for a rape I deduced this meaning from the context. But again, a different phrase might've been said (although I'm positive that I got the phrase right), or I deduced wrong. PS: what does U/D stand for?http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfSlamDunk/lkmjb/post.htmSat, 14 Nov 2009 18:32:31 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:971483mrpernicketyHi, Could you tell me if the following sentence sounds idiomatic from a native speaker's viewpoint? "I need to slam-dunk her a quick one" I think I heard a sentence akin to that one, but I'm having doubts as to its correctness. I might've misheard what was actually said. Thanks!http://www.englishforums.com/English/OneWordSubstitution/2/lkjbp/Post.htm#971086Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:11:53 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:971086mrpernickety[]Your definition also applies to an agnostic. "a thinker who disclaims any knowledge of God" (AmHtg) Doesn't an atheist believe that there is no god? Stephen Colbert said that agnostics are just atheists without balls.http://www.englishforums.com/English/SentenceChecking/lkwvz/post.htmFri, 13 Nov 2009 11:44:01 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:970246mrpernicketyHi, And now for a slightly crazy example Could you tell me if the following sentence sounds natural from a native speaker's standpoint? I wish you would rot in hell Thanks!http://www.englishforums.com/English/AQuestionAboutTheWordDo/lkhph/post.htm#970219Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:13:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:970219mrpernicketyThanks, Avangi! I hear you loud and clear on this onehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/AQuestionAboutTheWordDo/lkhph/post.htmFri, 13 Nov 2009 09:19:26 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:970146mrpernicketyHi, I am curious if I can use the word "do" as a substitute for the main verb in the following way: 1. The guy in the first row swindled me out of a load of money, as he did his other victims. 2. Not only does it protect you, it also does me Could you tell me which of the two sounds normal to a native speaker? Personally, I'm in favor of sentence #1 But as for sentence #2, something about it doesn't sit well with me. Thanks in advance!http://www.englishforums.com/English/WorseOrWorst/lkvph/post.htm#969316Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:18:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:969316mrpernicketyDefinitely, the first one is correct It can't get any worse than this or It can't get any better than this The grammar behind this is that you need the comparative form of the word "bad" - "worse". The superlative form - "worst" - does not fit the context of the sentence. Although, you can say "this is the worst situation I've ever had."http://www.englishforums.com/English/WipeYouOut/lkcbc/post.htm#968500Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:38:46 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:968500mrpernicketyMy ideas: 1. They wiped out his savings in his account. In other words, there's no money in his account now. 2. To be taken = to be cheated.http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfBroadStrokes/ljxcv/post.htm#967594Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:27:19 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:967594mrpernicketyHe told her in broad strokes what he thought of her. This doesn't mean he whopped her. You mean "stroke" as in "hit, an act of striking"?http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfBroadStrokes/ljxcv/post.htm#967309Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:44:00 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:967309mrpernicketyHi, Avangi Thanks for taking pains to explain the phrase, I appreciate your efforts. Have you checked out any of the collected examples of great writing? (I'm afraid I haven't yet honed my skills at using them, in spite of Amy's able coaching.) You mean this mother lode of examples of American writing? www.americancorpus.org If you do, then yes, I checked it out the first thing. To my disappointemnt it is not teeming with examples containing "in broad strokes" - the search I ran turned up all of 37 samples, some of which allude directly to the process of painting, such as this one: he will sweat the specifics for a boss who likes to paint in broad strokes His phrases are crafted...http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfBroadStrokes/ljxcv/post.htm#967197Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:50:27 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:967197mrpernicketyI usually hear the expression in the context of complimenting someone's style, not as a criticism about lack of detail. You mean when I compliment someone on how spiffy/perky they dress/look, I can use "in broad strokes"? I'm having a hard time coming up with a prime example for this phrase. The best I can manage today is this: In broad strokes, he looks spiffy today Could you supplement my lack of imagination and maybe whip up an example of your own, that would contain the "in broad strokes"? Thanks again!http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfBroadStrokes/ljxcv/post.htmTue, 10 Nov 2009 07:47:26 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:967032mrpernicketyHi, Is "in broad strokes" a common substitute for "generally, without going into details" in American English? From a native speaker's standpoint, would it sound out of left field if I said these sentences: 1. In broad strokes, when a car rams into a bus stop at high speed people inside the car get badly hurt. 2. In broad strokes, to draw up a contract, you take a sheet of paper and a pen. In detail, you have to have a lawyer nearby and to be in compos mentis to enter any legal agreements. Thank you in advance for assistance!http://www.englishforums.com/English/GoodLuckToOrOn/ljlhx/post.htm#966265Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:55:26 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:966265mrpernicketyGood luck to you. Good luck on your test. For reference, use this site: http://www.americancorpus.org/http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockWielding/ljkhr/post.htm#965975Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:17:27 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:965975mrpernicketyThe adjective "Rock-wielding" describes a person who has rocks in his hands and is ready to pitch them at you at a moment's notice. (in other words, he uses the rocks as a weapon) Compare it to "a knife-wielding mugger" - a mugger who has a knife in his hand and who uses it to intimidate you into handing all your money over to him.http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfMeet/ljwzb/post.htm#965500Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:46:02 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:965500mrpernicketyThanks, Philip Your answer squares well with the examples I found at COCA, that corroborate both versions. That's interesting because before I considered only #1 to be correct.http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfMeet/ljwzb/post.htmSun, 08 Nov 2009 18:17:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:965346mrpernicketyHi, Could you tell me which sentences sound o.k. to a native speaker? 1. His proposal was met with opposition 2. His proposal met with opposition Thanks in advance!http://www.englishforums.com/English/ABeatCop/lwpxd/post.htm#962660Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:56:01 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:962660mrpernicketyThere's also a quite common expression: "on the beat" This is an example I found on COCA: I think it's time for us not to be the policemen on the beat in the city of Baghdadhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/TheLawsConcerningBreedingAnimals-Research/lwndp/post.htm#962235Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:03:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:962235mrpernicketyAnd choosing "preference" would run counter to common sense here. The intended meaning is "the laws could turn out to be to the research team's disadvantage". "Preference" has little to do with "disadvantage".http://www.englishforums.com/English/English/lwmzp/post.htm#961736Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:17:27 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:961736mrpernicketyI would add the word "the" to the left of "U.S.A". Absent that, it looks good to me.http://www.englishforums.com/English/Words/lwmlc/post.htm#961732Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:14:30 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:961732mrpernicketyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_Englishhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HavingTroubleTheseSentences/lwhjb/post.htm#960818Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:10:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:960818mrpernickety3. ??? I'll hazard a guess: he meant "whether a man can keep his desire for specimens of the same sex in check, to a large extent depends on his upbringing, education"http://www.englishforums.com/English/PbsAmericanMastersAndy-Warhol/4/lggdj/Post.htm#959215Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:36:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:959215mrpernicketyI think the speaker does actually say "he would", though both words are said very quickly -- which is why I initially suggested "he'd". But in the louder recording, I think there's enough there that you can't really say it's "he'd". Something in between "he'd' and "he would", perhaps? lol Amy, I just noticed that you solved the first clip before I did (and with asolute precision at that !). Your post escaped my ever watchful eye, when I made my go at clip#1, for the most part because the clip somehow FOLLOWED your post. Apparently it ended up being posted twice in the same thread. What a mix-up !http://www.englishforums.com/English/PbsAmericanMastersAndy-Warhol/4/lggdj/Post.htm#959210Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:26:57 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:959210mrpernicketyListening to the tape a second time, I heard "he would" too.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WordSlumped/lwdkh/post.htm#959095Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:06:09 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:959095mrpernicketyPlease correct my spelling misstakes plz. That's a rather odd favor to ask of us. Don't you have a spellchecker to do this job for you? For all I know, the firefox browser has a spellchecker build in. Apart from that, you can google a word you're having doubts about, and if your version is not all too skewed, you will be given the heads up on how to write the word you're inquiring about, correctly.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PbsAmericanMastersAndy-Warhol/3/lggdj/Post.htm#959080Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:51:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:959080mrpernickety#1 You come of age as America itself finished coming of agehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/InformationInformation/lhnjv/post.htm#957102Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:57:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:957102mrpernicketyThat we can't tell you due to lack of context. What we can tell you, though, is that you should capitalize the pronoun "I" at all times.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ConsciousnessAwareness/lhhnq/post.htm#956161Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:01:02 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:956161mrpernicketyFrom a grammatical standpoint, they may form different collocations. For example, you can lose consciousness at the hospital and they will be resusitating you. I don't think anyone uses "lose awareness" the same way as "lose consciousness", although I can't speak for native speakers. The old adage is "there's not a pair of words that would be 100% equal". There are slight differences in usage.http://www.englishforums.com/English/Redeeming/lhdqm/post.htm#954296Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:32:06 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:954296mrpernicketyAcc. to http://thefreedictionary.com/redeeming Redeeming - making up for some fault or defecthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/Hook/lhrqq/post.htm#953512Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:13:47 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:953512mrpernicketyIt means that her capacity to use her voice to act, to express herself and convey words captivated her when she was a young girl, made her addicted to singing. See definition #4 http://thefreedictionary.com/hookedhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfTheWordWorthy/lgpmk/post.htm#953377Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:38:20 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:953377mrpernicketyHehe. That takes some doing, but where there is a will there's a way.http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfTheWordWorthy/lgpmk/post.htm#953252Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:39:33 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:953252mrpernicketyThanks, guys ! I admit I went a little overboard in saying that I was worthy of a knighthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/OnASchedule/lgplx/post.htm#952789Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:55:41 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:952789mrpernicketyThanks, that makes a lot of sense!http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsageOfTheWordWorthy/lgpmk/post.htmSun, 25 Oct 2009 19:08:36 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:952758mrpernicketyHi, Which one(s) sound(s) o.k. to a native speaker? (you can be called a knight because your valiant deeds speak volumes about your spirit) 1.1. You have proven to be worthy of a knight 1.2. You have proven to be worthy a knight (a tentative OK) (you can take on this job because you've just proven that you're fully qualified for it) 2.1. You have proven to be worthy of this job (a tentative OK) 2.2. You have proven to be worthy this job Thanks a bunch !http://www.englishforums.com/English/GrammaQuestion2/lgpcd/post.htm#952747Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:52:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:952747mrpernicketyThanks, guys ! I guess that native speaker who uttered that sentence was not up on what the pluperfect tense washttp://www.englishforums.com/English/OnASchedule/lgplx/post.htmSun, 25 Oct 2009 18:49:52 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:952745mrpernicketyHi, If I'm on a schedule , does it mean that I'm in a hurry ? Does " on a schedule " mean the same as " on schedule "? Thanks in advance !http://www.englishforums.com/English/GrammaQuestion2/lgpcd/post.htmSun, 25 Oct 2009 15:03:20 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:952581mrpernicketyHi, I've stumbled across this dialogue: A: You sent her to die B: And I wouldn't have had to if you didn't screw up. I wonder why speaker B used "didn't screw up" in leu of "hadn't screwed up", as it is quite obvious that the screwing up took place in the past. From a native speaker's viewpoint, "didn't screw up" referring to the past is a natural choice in that sentence? Or should it be "hadn't screwed up"? Thanks !http://www.englishforums.com/English/PbsAmericanMastersAndy-Warhol/lggdj/post.htm#951219Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:30:05 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:951219mrpernicketythe 2-nd one: Cause he's probably one of most complex people I've ever met The third one is nonsensical to me, so I won't post what I heard