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Start the thread Scotty, you know you want to...I have done my limit this week !!
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
I thought that it was mainly closed on most days, especially Sundays - and that this was why the dilatory service that I (though evidently not you) have experienced on Arriva Trains Wales didn't really matter all that much to people travelling from one point with the country to another.
As in: "Our thoughts are with the family at this time"
What does it add? I suppose an implicit "at this terrible/tragic time"
But it's become such a mantra that it does indeed set my teeth on edge.
It's akin to "at this moment in time"
As in [cue Policeman voice]: "We have no further comment at this moment in time"...
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
"So" is the current unthinking filler word that is travelling from person to person like influenza. I don't agree with those who have suggested that a sentence should never begin with it. That itself isn't ideal but it can at least help to break up a long sentence or to emphasise the word's meaning. In that instance, "so" should mean "for that reason", "therefore" or something similar. There is also a common usage of "so" that is rather more theatrical and often in the middle of sentences rather than at the start of them.
The current usage, though, is very different. It is an instinctive non-word and it is in the same category as the phrase "know what I mean". Suddenly it seems to be everywhere, particularly among the most educated. I keep hearing it on Radio 4 and indeed on Radio 3 but generally not on the bus. I think it has emerged from scientific circles - but I am not sure why or how. Listen out for it. I guarantee that you will hear it in one third of editions of "Today" or "You and Yours", if not more. It will drive you crackers.
It works like this:
Interviewer: We have heard a lot of hysteria about ash dieback but could you explain in layman's terms what it is.
Professor: So chalara dieback of ash is a serious disease of ash trees caused by a fungus called chalara fraxinea The disease causes leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees, and it can lead to tree death. Ash trees suffering from symptoms likely to be caused by C. fraxinea have been found widely across Europe. These have included forest trees, trees in urban areas such as parks and gardens, and also young trees in nurseries.
Interviewer: Before we hear the 4th symphony by Vaughan Williams, I wonder if you could give listeners some background.
Professor: So the work was first performed in April 1935 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult. Its first recording, made two years later, featured the composer himself conducting the same orchestra in what proved to be his only commercial recording of any of his symphonies. The work is in four movements with the third and fourth linked. It is the only Vaughan Williams symphony to have received as many recordings by non-British conductors as by British ones.
Interviewer: For people who were not aware of the ERM in 1979, could you explain what it is please.
Professor: So the ERM was a system introduced by the EC in 1979 as part of the European Monetary System to reduce exchange rate variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe, in preparation for Economic and Monetary Union and the introduction of a single currency, the euro, which took place on 1 January 1999. After the adoption of the euro, policy changed to linking currencies of countries outside the Eurozone to the euro, having the common currency as a central point. The goal was to improve stability of those currencies, as well as to gain an evaluation mechanism for potential Eurozone members. This mechanism is known as ERM2.
“All right” as said with a snarl by TV news anchorpersons after some poor so-and-so standing in the pouring rain outside no. 10 without an umbrella has finished his spiel. It always sounds like “That’s enough – now get back in your box and let me get on with the important part of the show”. I suppose it’s supposed to sound snappy, but to me it just sounds rude.
“All right” as said with a snarl by TV news anchorpersons after some poor so-and-so standing in the pouring rain outside no. 10 without an umbrella has finished his spiel. It always sounds like “That’s enough – now get back in your box and let me get on with the important part of the show”. I suppose it’s supposed to sound snappy, but to me it just sounds rude.
"We'll leave it there"..........."I believe Rob has the sports news for us. Rob?"
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