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Cake day: June 6th, 2023

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  • It’s colloquial and you’ll hear it when people talk about making food. Like if you’re making a sandwich. You put mayo on the bread, then you put the cheese, then you add meat and lettuce or whatever.

    It’s kind of like “on” is implied and you don’t bother to say it. I just mentioned it, so I don’t need to say it again. That’s how it feels to me anyway.

    I could see myself saying “First you put mayo, then you put cheese.” That would be like if someone was standing next to me, watching me make the sandwich. They can see exactly where I’m putting things. But normally you do want to specify where you’re putting something.




  • Yeah, it really is. “I’ll have the pig, please” sounds kind of humorous. “I’ll have the pork chop” sounds totally normal and way more elegant.

    What really fascinates me is how English lost its cases and endings. Old English could outdo modern German, but then the Vikings came along, and later the French.

    I think most of the declinations were already gone by the time the Normans invaded though. Supposedly Old Norse and English were pretty mutually intelligible, so if you drop the pesky endings, you end up with something that everyone understands pretty well.


  • It can be pretty confounding, the words that look the same but are pronounced differently. Through, though, thorough, tough, trough.

    There are no rules, you just have to learn it. And it could be confusing if you mix them up. Through and throw, for example.

    English has never had a spelling reform, but you can see the “real” spelling in informal language sometimes. Through = thru (in texts and chats). Tough = tuff (in slang and brand names).



  • FWIW, “handy” in the sense of “handjob” isn’t that common (U.S., over 25). I mostly hear it and use it in the sense of “useful, good to have or know.” That’s pretty handy, that could come in handy.

    Plus, I can’t imagine I would ever interpret Handy as a handjob if you pronounced it the German way (Hendy). I would just go “huh” because that doesn’t register as a word in English. I’ve been told that the vowels in the German Handy and the English handy sound really similar to native German speakers. But as a native English speaker, they’re worlds apart.

    Not trying to change your mind or anything. Just thought I’d give you a different perspective.