Know Your English - March 2004

• WHAT'S THE difference between "incidence" and "incident?
• What is the meaning of "knock your socks off "?
• Is it "eighty foot road" or "eighty feet road"?
• What is the difference in pronunciation between "beer" and "bear"?
• What is the meaning and pronunciation of "lingua franca"?
• On being antsy, miffed & so on
• WHICH IS correct? "None of us is impressed" or "None of us are impressed"?
• What is the meaning of "danseuse"?
• What is the meaning of "between the devil and the deep blue sea"?
• How is the word "franchise" pronounced?
• What is the meaning of "shot in the arm"?
• WHAT IS the meaning of the idiom "To set the Thames on fire"?
• What is the meaning of "chokers"?
• Is it ok to say "the shoe has a fascination for me"?
• Which is correct? "Relieved of" or "relieved off"?
• What's the difference between "endemic" and "epidemic"?
• WHAT IS the difference between "up-and-coming" and "upcoming"?
• What is the meaning and origin of "get on the soapbox"?
• What is the meaning of "second cousin"?
• What is the meaning and origin of "Faustian deal"?
• How is the word "repertoire" pronounced?
• Which of the following is correct? "One of the cars have run out of gas" or "one of the cars has run out of gas"?