English language questions

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by mild pump milk, Sep 12, 2017.

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  1. Lambchop

    Lambchop Banned

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    Where did you see that used? It sounds weird (wrong article, for one -- "cut out the fat," or better just "cut the fat," meaning get rid of everything unnecessary, usually in a nasty sense, like getting rid of friends who are no longer useful).
     
  2. mozee

    mozee Audiosexual

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    To cut out the fat is generally an idiom mean to represent reducing waste and wasteful parts of anything.

    Now if there is a Russian idiom that literally states Cut out a fat and - 'is it a idiom for "to eliminate accidents/chances"' something similar in English might be ... to dot your Is, and cross your Ts...
     
  3. Rasputin

    Rasputin Platinum Record

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    If the intent is to imply chasing someone then you would say, "the scorpion crawled after him" or "the bugs were creeping toward him." Something like "the crab crawled away for its own safety" or "the centipedes crept silently to remain unheard" but those are much more specific cases.
     
  4. Rasputin

    Rasputin Platinum Record

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    You want 'towards'. You could say 'to' but it implies a verb such as "the bugs will crawl to eat you" (think: "in order to") and not 'to' as used in the sense of a destination, although you could say "the bird flew to its home in the mountains" but even that is sloppy English as what you'd really mean is "the bird flew back to its home in the mountains" or similar.

    Even more specifically I would reserve the use of 'to' for constructions like, "the bugs are crawling to get you." If you're trying to convey movement (being hunted, being pursued, etc.) and not intent/motive (why the bugs want to go somewhere) then I'd definitely choose 'toward'.

    "The bugs will crawl over you" means that they are swarming onto your body, and is used in mostly the same sense as 'on' here, although that's still imprecise. The implication is that 'over' means over/across the surface of something (the floor, skin, a table, etc.) in a spread out manner. "The bird will fly over you" would certainly mean 'above' because the context of the word 'over' is specifically determined by what verb is used (crawl versus fly).
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2017
  5. Rasputin

    Rasputin Platinum Record

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    Oh, God... 'innit' is used so incorrectly and in such a bastardized way that I can hardly stand it. It's a slang version of "isn't it", as in a question which requests confirmation (read: right?) but often people throw it in there in nonsensical ways like, "Had a lot to drink at the pub, innit?"

    If you substitute the word 'right' then it makes sense, but innit is not a 1:1 substitution for 'right' or 'correct' because you'd really be asking "Had a lot to drink at the pub, isn't that so?" -- in which case, 'isn't it' doesn't not work, therefore 'innit' doesn't work.
     
  6. Rasputin

    Rasputin Platinum Record

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    "Trim the fat" is an idiom which would mean to get rid of some kind of excess, such as reining in an out-of-control budget, "we can't afford all those expenditures. Let's trim the fat."
     
  7. Mmmm...not exactly. It is more like, "cut or trim the fat" which intones ridding oneself of excess, dumping excess weight, getting rid of a burdon that has nagged you, etcetera. In usage: "The musical instrument rental part of my business was losing money so I cut the fat, sold both stores and am now concentrating on expanding the recording studios as they are my true money makers".
     
  8. No Avenger

    No Avenger Audiosexual

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    Maybe he's talking about "cut out the fed"? [​IMG]
     
  9. Recoil

    Recoil Guest

    I understood the three languages, and I know it's not much :trolls:

     
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