
British usage of “cha”, “char” or “chai” to mean “tea”
By happenstance, I stumbled upon the words cha, char and chai in the dictionary today, all defined as meaning tea in informal British English. I lived and worked in London for some time, …
What does 'gotcha' mean? - English Language & Usage Stack …
Jun 17, 2011 · Gotcha actually has several meanings. All of them can be derived from the phrase of which this is a phonetic spelling, namely " [I have] got you". Literally, from the sense of got = …
contractions - Are what-cha and arent-cha examples of elision ...
Jun 12, 2021 · Are these words examples of elision? What effect do they create? If a child says them what does this suggest about their language development? Thanks for any help!!
pronunciation - Rules to pronounce "cha-" words - English …
Closed 9 years ago. I am puzzled on how to pronounce cha- words. For example, I know that "chameleon" or "chamomile" are pronounced with a hard "c" like in "camel", not with a soft "c" …
terminology - Why use BCE/CE instead of BC/AD? - English …
When I was a kid, I was always taught to refer to years using BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini / year of our Lord). However, I somewhat regularly hear people referring to years as in …
Are "w/o", "w/", "b/c" common abbreviations in the US?
May 30, 2013 · I remember when staying a few months in the US years ago that I saw some people using the abbreviations below. However, I can't exactly remember in which contexts I …
What’s a non-vulgar alternative for “covering one’s
Nov 5, 2017 · Oxford Dictionaries Online writes in their U.S. section that the phase cover one’s ass is an informal phrase meaning: Foresee and avoid the possibility of attack or criticism. ‘I …
meaning - "Changes in" , "Changes of" or "Changes to" - English ...
Aug 13, 2017 · I am confused about the selection of in, of or to I want to explain that "changes in hydrological variables and changes in landscape variables in wetlands can change the …
What is the origin of 'riding a gravy train' idiom?
Jul 11, 2021 · 'Riding a gravy train' idiom means getting a job or other source of income that generates abundant money with little effort. However, what is the origin of this phrase and why …
etymology - Origin of the phrases “third time’s the charm” and …
Jun 26, 2024 · What is the origin of the saying “Third time’s the charm”? I’ve also heard “third time lucky” used as well. Are these two expressions related to each other?