Phrases/words that set your teeth on edge.

[kernelbogey]

....Surely one arrives at one's destination?

Though often a train will arrive 'at', say, King's Cross - but wait just outside the station for a signal to change. Once that happens, you are safely 'into' your destinatiion station!

[Serial_Apologist]

That all takes me back to the late 1950s, when I was encouraged to concentrate on modern languages because I was rubbish at science subjects (except biology for some reason).
Surely one arrives at one's destination?

Famous last words?

[Serial_Apologist]

Though often a train will arrive 'at', say, King's Cross - but wait just outside the station for a signal to change. Once that happens, you are safely 'into' your destinatiion station!

But surely once you're into it, you're right in it!

[LMcD]

Comforting to learn, from Priti Patel, that the government is 'surging capacity', especially as she doesn't really seem to believe that there are any Covid testing problems.

[ahinton]

Comforting to learn, from Priti Patel, that the government is 'surging capacity', especially as she doesn't really seem to believe that there are any Covid testing problems.

Just about anything that emerges from that lady's mouth would seem to warrant the description implicit in this thread topic...

[oddoneout]

Comforting to learn, from Priti Patel, that the government is 'surging capacity', especially as she doesn't really seem to believe that there are any Covid testing problems.

While looking for the context of that I came across this

https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/mscc/handbook/chapter1/Pages/whatismedicalsurge.aspx

I got to the bottom of the page before realising it was USA...the PHE.gov had me fooled.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I noticed Georgia Mann pronouncing “lieutenant” the American way on this morning’s Breakfast. It does seem to be one of the more sensible of US pronunciations.

[LMcD]

I noticed Georgia Mann pronouncing “lieutenant” the American way on this morning’s Breakfast. It does seem to be one of the more sensible of US pronunciations.

We charge our loo tenant £150 p.w. which I think is very reasonable, as he's not that flush at present.

[Pabmusic]

I noticed Georgia Mann pronouncing “lieutenant” the American way on this morning’s Breakfast. It does seem to be one of the more sensible of US pronunciations.

The US Army said "leftenant" till the 1890s, even though Noah Webster had banned it.

It came into English in the 1300s from Burgundian French, whose pronunciation was something closer to "leevtenon" with the U pronounced like a V (sort of). But modern French stems from Parisian French,

[cloughie]

We charge our loo tenant £150 p.w. which I think is very reasonable, as he's not that flush at present.

To keep it Covid safe is the loo tenant’s key Jeyes fluid!

[gurnemanz]

Lieutenant is not the only oddity in pronunciation of military ranks: colonel, sergeant.

[Pabmusic]

Lieutenant is not the only oddity in pronunciation of military ranks: colonel, sergeant.

True. Colonel entered English twice - once in the 1300s, when it had a L (Latin colonna, through French) and again in the 1600s as coronel. Being unpredictable, English eventually settled on the L spelling, but the R prononciation.

Sergeant is different. The sound "ar" was written "er" until it changed during the Great Vowel Shift (sat 1400=1700). It's why we have places such as Berkshire and Derbyshire, and why we pronounce "clerk" as "clark".

In The Miller's Tale Absalom sticks his "ers" out of the window to be kissed.

[gurnemanz]

True. Colonel entered English twice - once in the 1300s, when it had a L (Latin colonna, through French) and again in the 1600s as coronel. Being unpredictable, English eventually settled on the L spelling, but the R prononciation.

Sergeant is different. The sound "ar" was written "er" until it changed during the Great Vowel Shift (sat 1400=1700). It's why we have places such as Berkshire and Derbyshire, and why we pronounce "clerk" as "clark".

In The Miller's Tale Absalom sticks his "ers" out of the window to be kissed.

I wonder why the Americans stuck to "sergeant" as in "are", while keeping to the older pronunciation for clerk, Berkeley etc. No doubt Webster had a role to play.

The older, now anomalous spelling, is more likely to be retained in place names, I suppose, as in Derby. For some reason "clerk" kept the old spelling, whereas most of the time otherwise the spelling changed to the new pronunciation eg, derk>dark, fer>far. With reference to the latter it is interesting to note the unshifted vowels which are still there in cognate forms in other Germanic languages:

eg German: fern/far, Stern/star, Herz/heart, sterben/starve, merken/mark etc

[french frank]

Colonel entered English twice - once in the 1300s, when it had a L (Latin colonna, through French) and again in the 1600s as coronel.

Interesting. Coronel is the Spanish and Portuguese word.

My harrumph phrase is 'reach out to' when it doesn't mean anything more than 'contact'. "We have reached out to the government for a response." I've seen that a couple of times lately.

[Bryn]

Interesting. Coronel is the Spanish and Portuguese word.

My harrumph phrase is 'reach out to' when it doesn't mean anything more than 'contact'. "We have reached out to the government for a response." I've seen that a couple of times lately.

Does "reached out to" not go a little further and suggest contact with the hope of a positive response?