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06-17-2006, 01:39 PM Dollywagon vbmenu_register("postmenu_652460", true);
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Sidewalks n stuff
So, in the US it is a sidewalk and in the UK a pavement.
If we have a kerb in the UK, what do you have in the US?
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06-17-2006, 01:44 PM Puma vbmenu_register("postmenu_652467", true);
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If you're meaning the edge of the street, it's a curb. Puma
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06-17-2006, 01:45 PM UnforgottenCountry vbmenu_register("postmenu_652469", true);
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Is it 'curb' that you're looking for? (The bump-up to the sidewalk from the road)
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06-17-2006, 01:47 PM Dollywagon vbmenu_register("postmenu_652474", true);
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Ah ha. Sounds the same, just a different spelling.
While I'm on a roll, is it
Passers-by
Passers by
Passersby
The last one looks completely wrong, but then none look great.
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06-17-2006, 01:55 PM Maryn vbmenu_register("postmenu_652482", true);
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dollywagon
While I'm on a roll, is it
Passers-by
Passers by
Passersby
The last one looks completely wrong, but then none look great.
The last one, which looks wacky to Americans, too, is what's deemed correct by the two spell-checkers I've got on board. They tend to be somewhat conservative, slow to join compounds, so if they buy it, it'll work in the US.
IMO, it is just a little bit stiff. I would (and do) say it, but our adult kids, whose speech is less formal, wouldn't.
It sounds like you're going to want an American beta reader at some point, but until that time, we're happy to help out.
Maryn, monolingual
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06-17-2006, 01:55 PM UnforgottenCountry vbmenu_register("postmenu_652483", true);
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Hmmm, to the internet! *googles*
The last one seems to be the most popular, and Dictionary.com lists the first and the last (but not the second). Looks like it's a tossup between 1 and 3... *ponders*
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06-17-2006, 02:16 PM Dollywagon vbmenu_register("postmenu_652514", true);
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Well I never!
Who would have thought that horrible, clumpy spelling would have been correct?
Ho hum, in it goes then.
The jobs done as far as this one is concerned Maryn, I was just tidying up a few loose ends.
Actually, I'm sooooo happy because I asked three different people to look it over and all of them cried.
That's my interpretation of success
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06-17-2006, 06:13 PM reph vbmenu_register("postmenu_652861", true);
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dollywagon
Actually, I'm sooooo happy because I asked three different people to look it over and all of them cried.
It isn't a humor piece, is it?
I prefer "passers-by."
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06-17-2006, 08:14 PM Sandi LeFaucheur vbmenu_register("postmenu_653044", true);
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The Collins Dictionary says passers-by.
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06-18-2006, 07:34 AM Dollywagon vbmenu_register("postmenu_653488", true);
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... actually, Reph, I fink it mynt ave bin me spellin wot don it
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06-19-2006, 04:38 PM Cat Scratch vbmenu_register("postmenu_656242", true);
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Technically it is passers-by, but if what you're trying to do is sound American for your book, I'd leave it out completely because I rarely (if ever) hear Americans use the term (properly or otherwise).
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06-19-2006, 08:27 PM Jamesaritchie vbmenu_register("postmenu_656592", true);
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passers-by
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cat Scratch
Technically it is passers-by, but if what you're trying to do is sound American for your book, I'd leave it out completely because I rarely (if ever) hear Americans use the term (properly or otherwise).
Funny, but I heard a local news anchor use the word this evening. First time I can recall hearing the word in quite a while.
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06-21-2006, 08:40 AM CaroGirl vbmenu_register("postmenu_659468", true);
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In North America, "passers-by" is spelled "onlookers" or "bystanders".
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06-21-2006, 08:49 AM Rod Munch vbmenu_register("postmenu_659490", true);
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Passers-by and bystanders give me different images of an action. Surely one is moving and the other.....well......isn't
While we're not on the subject, what about sidestreet or side-street?
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06-21-2006, 12:22 PM reph vbmenu_register("postmenu_659883", true);
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod Munch
...what about sidestreet or side-street?
A side street, a main street, a through street, a back street. At least, those look right to me.
I'm North American, and I write "passers-by." Weird, huh?
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06-21-2006, 12:47 PM Tish Davidson vbmenu_register("postmenu_659942", true);
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod Munch
Passers-by and bystanders give me different images of an action. Surely one is moving and the other.....well......isn't
Same here. He was rescued from the burining house by a passer-by has a slightly different meaning from He was resuced from the burning house by a bystander. I hear passer-by used in local US television news fairly often. The passer-by just happened to come across the burning house and rushed in to see if someone was trapped. The bystander was standing there gwaking at the house burning before realizing someone was inside.
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06-21-2006, 04:32 PM Jamesaritchie vbmenu_register("postmenu_660380", true);
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaroGirl
In North America, "passers-by" is spelled "onlookers" or "bystanders".
No. Different words with different meanings, even in North America. I'd fire any writer who tried substituting either of these words for passers-by. By definition, an onlooker or a bystander is not a passer-by.
A "rubbernecker," on the other hand, is usually a passer-by.
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06-21-2006, 05:47 PM Sandi LeFaucheur vbmenu_register("postmenu_660488", true);
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie
A "rubbernecker," on the other hand, is usually a passer-by.
Yeah, although they pass by sooooooo sloooooowwly you could mistake them for a bystander or onlooker......
(As you can tell, rubberneckers really irritate me.
)
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Yesterday, 12:21 AM Jamesaritchie vbmenu_register("postmenu_661150", true);
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandi LeFaucheur
Yeah, although they pass by sooooooo sloooooowwly you could mistake them for a bystander or onlooker......
(As you can tell, rubberneckers really irritate me.
)
I hear you. I've seen traffic backed up for miles because of rubbernecking. I'm usuualy at the back of the line, and by the time I get to whereever the accident was, not only is the car gone, but the occupants have had time to heal, find a lawyer, and sue each other.
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Sidewalks n stuff
So, in the US it is a sidewalk and in the UK a pavement.
If we have a kerb in the UK, what do you have in the US?
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If you're meaning the edge of the street, it's a curb. Puma
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Is it 'curb' that you're looking for? (The bump-up to the sidewalk from the road)
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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Ah ha. Sounds the same, just a different spelling.
While I'm on a roll, is it
Passers-by
Passers by
Passersby
The last one looks completely wrong, but then none look great.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dollywagon
While I'm on a roll, is it
Passers-by
Passers by
Passersby
The last one looks completely wrong, but then none look great.
The last one, which looks wacky to Americans, too, is what's deemed correct by the two spell-checkers I've got on board. They tend to be somewhat conservative, slow to join compounds, so if they buy it, it'll work in the US.
IMO, it is just a little bit stiff. I would (and do) say it, but our adult kids, whose speech is less formal, wouldn't.
It sounds like you're going to want an American beta reader at some point, but until that time, we're happy to help out.
Maryn, monolingual
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Hmmm, to the internet! *googles*
The last one seems to be the most popular, and Dictionary.com lists the first and the last (but not the second). Looks like it's a tossup between 1 and 3... *ponders*
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Well I never!
Who would have thought that horrible, clumpy spelling would have been correct?
Ho hum, in it goes then.
The jobs done as far as this one is concerned Maryn, I was just tidying up a few loose ends.
Actually, I'm sooooo happy because I asked three different people to look it over and all of them cried.
That's my interpretation of success
__________________
I've taken the rejection pledge - 5/50
Dances with Words
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dollywagon
Actually, I'm sooooo happy because I asked three different people to look it over and all of them cried.
It isn't a humor piece, is it?
I prefer "passers-by."
One of the Locals
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Location: Orangeville, Canada
Posts: 43
The Collins Dictionary says passers-by.
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... actually, Reph, I fink it mynt ave bin me spellin wot don it
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Technically it is passers-by, but if what you're trying to do is sound American for your book, I'd leave it out completely because I rarely (if ever) hear Americans use the term (properly or otherwise).
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passers-by
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cat Scratch
Technically it is passers-by, but if what you're trying to do is sound American for your book, I'd leave it out completely because I rarely (if ever) hear Americans use the term (properly or otherwise).
Funny, but I heard a local news anchor use the word this evening. First time I can recall hearing the word in quite a while.
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In North America, "passers-by" is spelled "onlookers" or "bystanders".
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Caro
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Passers-by and bystanders give me different images of an action. Surely one is moving and the other.....well......isn't
While we're not on the subject, what about sidestreet or side-street?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod Munch
...what about sidestreet or side-street?
A side street, a main street, a through street, a back street. At least, those look right to me.
I'm North American, and I write "passers-by." Weird, huh?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod Munch
Passers-by and bystanders give me different images of an action. Surely one is moving and the other.....well......isn't
Same here. He was rescued from the burining house by a passer-by has a slightly different meaning from He was resuced from the burning house by a bystander. I hear passer-by used in local US television news fairly often. The passer-by just happened to come across the burning house and rushed in to see if someone was trapped. The bystander was standing there gwaking at the house burning before realizing someone was inside.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaroGirl
In North America, "passers-by" is spelled "onlookers" or "bystanders".
No. Different words with different meanings, even in North America. I'd fire any writer who tried substituting either of these words for passers-by. By definition, an onlooker or a bystander is not a passer-by.
A "rubbernecker," on the other hand, is usually a passer-by.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie
A "rubbernecker," on the other hand, is usually a passer-by.
Yeah, although they pass by sooooooo sloooooowwly you could mistake them for a bystander or onlooker......
(As you can tell, rubberneckers really irritate me.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandi LeFaucheur
Yeah, although they pass by sooooooo sloooooowwly you could mistake them for a bystander or onlooker......
(As you can tell, rubberneckers really irritate me.
I hear you. I've seen traffic backed up for miles because of rubbernecking. I'm usuualy at the back of the line, and by the time I get to whereever the accident was, not only is the car gone, but the occupants have had time to heal, find a lawyer, and sue each other.