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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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>This thread has gone a bit pear-shaped. not to be confused with turnip-shaped. (napiform) http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
Whence (and from whence) and whilts are very uncommon in US speach and writing.
i used to have UK produced instruction manuals that suggested Whilst holding with a spanner...
these direction alway were fun.. Our staff was such a mixed bag-- about 25% understood (from UK, or Jamaca, or other island that has british based schooling.) but many of the other nationals (pick a country!) who's first language was not english, really had a problem.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
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Dear of troy: Forgive the quibble, but "whilst" is not Brit slang. And I think USns might be less likely to know what a "spanner". I know it only from having read such books as Nevil Shute's "Trustee From the Toolroom".
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Joined: Nov 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
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That must have been a bit of a wrench, Bill!
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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No, CK: the wrench is the painful sensation of discovering my erroneous pronunciation of some common English words or names of eople or places.
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addict
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addict
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 477 |
you would say "It's all gone pear-shaped" when things go wrong
My colleagues and I working on Y2K called our manual "What to do if things turn pear shaped". If nothing else, it lightened up an otherwise contentious issue. 
Hev
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2002
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DA da DAAAA! Thank you, Bean, for nobly taking up the cause of "from whence" (a few posts back). "fully authorised by the use of good writers" Hey, I'm a good writer! Must go celebrate with some two-bite brownies.... but before I go, some more Brit slang (sort of): What are you like? You git! Town bike Taking in laundry and the rather rude  "You twat!" - which, interestingly enough, is pronounced differently in the UK - where they make it rhyme with "cat" - from how it is pronounced in (scary loaded word coming up) the colonies, where it rhymes with "what."
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 163
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member
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Two words to add to the list:
chuffed: happy, pleased
tabbed: from what I can gather to walk or march
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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nd the rather rude "You twat!" - which, interestingly enough, is pronounced differently
in the UK - where they make it rhyme with "cat" - from how it is pronounced in (scary
loaded word coming up) the colonies, where it rhymes with "what."
Dear MG: This word interests me, because I think it is related to the cross-wise plank in a skiff, which is called a "thwart", on which you rest your butt. It is also used to refer to the female pudenda. I have seen a quote in that sense dating from about 1200. And I have only heard it pronounced like 'not'.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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"You twat!" - which, interestingly enough, is pronounced differently in the UK - where they make it rhyme with "cat" - from how it is pronounced in (scary loaded word coming up) the colonies, where it rhymes with "what."
Obviously the colonies does not refer to where USns live since USns pronounce it to rhyme with "squat". "What" rhymes with "hut".
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