New answers tagged british-english
3
votes
Should we say "insisted that we attended" or "insisted that we attend"?
In A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, Quirk et al. have a footnote on p.157 about the verb insist:
The use of the subjunctive after insist depends on meaning. When
the verb introduces ...
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0
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Accepted
Should we say "insisted that we attended" or "insisted that we attend"?
Though the question has been covered before, perhaps the regional and registral variations could be better addressed. Paraphrases are shown using equals signs:
[A1] She insisted that we attend the ...
- 80.6k
1
vote
How widespread is the usage of Senior, Junior, III in British English?
Sen and Jun are often used in parish burial records. I transcribe English BMD
parish records and in the 1705-1782 Norfolk Burial records both are quite regularly used.
Also it is very common for a son ...
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0
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"Ginger for Luck..."
I don't know how relevant this is to the question of where "Ginger for luck, ginger for pluck, ginger is never afraid" comes from, but an item in the August 20, 1892, Notes and Queries ...
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"Ginger for Luck..."
My mother used to say "Ginger for pluck the red headed duck" when referring to a red haired person. This was in the 1960s.
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'Go on a binge' in British English?
The Cambridge English Dictionary gives, as it first definition of 'binge', the following.
an occasion when an activity is done in an extreme way, especially eating, drinking, or spending money:
a ...
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1
vote
How to be 'ornery' in BE?
OED
Contrary (adj): 3.b.Of antagonistic or untoward disposition, perverse, obstinately self-willed; contrarious. (Commonly pronounced
conˈtrāry.) colloquial and dialect.
1850 ‘Gals is nat'lly made ...
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What British accent do I have?
For those wanting to know where I come from...
Manchester!
I spent my entire childhood and teenage years there, before moving out to Birmingham/Oxford/London for university/work. I later moved to ...
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1
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Proper hyphenation of “technologies”
I cannot go back and ask whoever came up with that hyphenation, but I can guess at their thought processes.
In your comment, you say
"The book says tech|nol¦ogy, tech|nolo¦gist, techno|logic¦al, ...
- 87.7k
1
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Changing usage of past-perfect constructions in American and British usage
I think along with all these wonderful answers, it's important to note that the use of the past perfect for the preterite is a standard and common feature of AAVE that can easily spread to other non-...
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Have got + adjective (Present Perfect)
Yes. As Ngram shows, while it's gotten worse is far more common than it's got worse in American English, it's got worse is more common in British English. That said, gotten has rapidly gotten more ...
- 15.8k
0
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Origin of the exact phrase "cold iron"?
"Cold iron" in the U.S. Navy is when your moored ship has secured its steam boilers from operation and is now receiving all electric and steam service from connections to the pier.
0
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Is "bugly" used in British English?
It's a portmanteau, following the trend of 'fugly' [f*cking ugly].
A portmanteau is essentially a combination of two [or more] existing words to form a new word, whilst retaining the joint meaning of ...
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-1
votes
revise/revision (British)
Upon reviewing the various responses here, I find it necessary to revise the record.
NO native AmE speaker ever uses “revise” to refer to the act of preparing for an examination. It isn’t “rare,” it ...
1
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Is the phrase "put paid to" widely understood outside of the UK?
I am a multi-published author in the US who lived in the UK for 3 years growing up. No one I know here ever uses the phrase put paid, and I only read it in the British online newspaper I subscribe to.
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