Know Your English - September 2003

• WHAT IS the difference between "all right" and "alright"?
• What is the meaning of "downplayed"?
• What is the meaning and origin of the idiom "to put a spoke in someone's wheel"?
• What is the meaning of cowboy?
• How is the word "poignant" pronounced?
• Know Your English WHAT IS the meaning and origin of "carrot and stick approach?"
• Does the expression "in short supply" mean the same thing as "in short order"?
• Can I say, "Harsha is a flibbertigibbet?"
• What is the difference between "dispute" and "quarrel"?
• WHAT IS the difference between a "vendor" and a "seller"?
• How do you pronounce the word "envelope"?
• What is the meaning and origin of the expression "red herring"?
• How do you greet someone who has just had a baby?
• WHAT IS the origin of the word "T-shirt"?
• Which of the following is correct? "At weekends/ on weekends"?
• What is the meaning of the expression "just the tip of the iceberg"?
• What is the difference "loath" and "loathe"?