Thanks Vee.

Okay, so why is Phillip called Prince married to Queen Elizabeth ? Why isn't he titled King since he is married to the Queen ....if Elizabeth was titled Queen when George V1 became King ?

Would Wallis Simpson have been called Queen if her husband hadn't abdicated?

Will Camilla be called Queen when Charles becomes King ?

What are the rules ?

Does it have to do with royal lineage ?

Thanks for the Rennies answer, Vee.

Yes, Carolyn - "y'all" is my go-to term for groups of people. :)

Donna

yoyo, not sure about all the ins-and-outs but . . .when a King is crowned his wife becomes Queen automatically.

When a Queen is crowned her husband doesn't become King. I understand Queen Victoria wanted Albert to become King but Parliament wouldn't grant it . . . probably because as King he would have too much power, especially as he was from a foreign court. I think the same would have applied for a 'foreign' husband of any Queen. So the same 'rule' applies to Prince Philip.

re Wallis Simpson. Difficult one and probably partly why the abdication happened. Edward VIII refused to be crowned without her 'at his side' The United Kingdom and the 'Empire' wouldn't accept a twice divorced woman as Queen . . . he chose/was pushed, to go.

As for Charles and Camilla . . . times have changed . . . maybe she will become Queen. Of course there is always lurid speculation in the Press. Time will tell.

I'm another American who hates being called "Honey", "Sweetie", "Luv", etc. by strangers, often far younger than myself. I know they mean no harm but still it grates. In one part of rural VA that I used to frequent, this was prevalent everywhere. I learned to ignore it.

Like Carolyn, as a Southerner, I like using "y'all" for a group address. But many not from the South denigrate the use of this and make derogatory remarks, as if it showed a lack of finesse. I like the sound of it far better than "You guys" (which is used to cover both sexes oddly).

My understanding was that a king outranks a queen, so if the monarch is a queen, her husband cannot be king. Prince Philip was a Greek prince, so I think he already had that title.

I loathe being called 'honey' 'love', 'dear' or 'darling' by anyone who doesn't know me. I'm always told that the person is being nice, but men don't have to put up with this - mate is the worst they get - and I feel it is condescending.

Astro....here in the US men do have to put up with these fake endearments. I find that men of a certain age are frequently spoken to as "hon" or "sweetie".

Yes, Yoyo. "Can I hep you, Hon?" is non-generic waitress-speak where I live.

And I reply " Yes, HON, you can....thanks !! :0)"

Bless her heart. ( I love that southernism )

When did the word 'pushback' become the newest way to say reject ?

Why do we have to invent words......don't we already have quite enough?!

So that we will sound clever and in-the-know, of course!

Bon, did someone “reach out” before they encountered the “pushback”? LOL. I can’t stand people “reaching out”.

Donna

Donna, also....

I use the term " back off ! " but many say " step off ! "

.....' at the end of the day '

'Going forward'. What happened to 'in the future'?

And come to that, what about 'conversation'. "Let us start/have a conversation about so-and-so." Why can't we just talk about it.

Do your pundits start their sentences with "So . . ." or "Listen . .. " and then expound at length on their pet political theory?

I don't think pushback has reached us yet nor do I know what it means.

or ..... " to that point" referring to an opinion offered.

The use of " so" to begin an answer a question posed is very common.

I recall an elementary teacher telling us that we should not "so" our sentences together.

Vee, pushback is resistance. As if I told you to go do something and you said you didn't want to do it. :)

We do hear sentences starting with "so" a lot. Many people also throw in, "...right?" at the end of every sentence, i.e. "So she took her dog to the park, right?" when they are making a statement.

Donna

Or...."ya know ? "

No, I don't know, but do tell !

And let's not even talk about " like ".......arrgggh.

I applaud Judge Judy for the way she corrects people who say "basically" when giving their statements! JJ, you rock!

My grandson begins his sentences with so. It's one of the things he learned in college, lol.

Anyone else remember the lampoon someone here (Marco, I think) did of Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf translation beginning with ‘So’ (rather than the 2-syllable Listen; BTW, I never understood what was wrong with Hark, Crossley-Holland’s choice). One of the funniest posts here ever!

Perhaps someone has it archived.

I remember the Beowulf translation - I wish I'd kept it! Maybe Martin did? I'd love to see it again.

That must have been well before I joined RP. I remember hearing a lot about 'Marco."

I just discovered that Sheri saved Marco’s Heaney post, and copied it into the RIP Marco thread from 2008, which is still available. Reading it again just now, I laughed all over again.

I had no idea the old posts are still available but was able to find RIP Marco, thanks to donnamira. Marco’s post is still just as funny but it makes me sad all over again to read about Marco’s death. We never found out why. It was good to see posts by so many people I remember from those days.

Thank you, Donnamira! Before I posted yesterday I looked through the handful of posts I'd saved and couldn't find it. I certainly didn't remember I'd posted it before! I still miss Marco, he was the first person to reply to something I posted as a (very shy) newbie back in the 90's.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2805275/rip-marco#n=62

Thanks for the URL, Sheri. What good old memories from such a sad event.

What does it mean when the writer says someone is "all nines and sixes" ?

yoyo, I heard of "all sixes and sevens" meaning "all over the place" but not the eg you give.

Vee.....my example was a wild stab at recalling what was written....but yours was the correct version ;0) Thanks !

Is this a common word : outlier ?

I find it is used frequently instead of " outsider" referring to someone not welcomed into a select group.

yoyo, I 'looked it up' and it is originally a term used in geology (a rock standing alone among other types of rock) but now as someone/thing 'apart' . . . but 'outsider' does the job just as well!

There is a well known book by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers.

Vee, Louise Penny uses the word when referring to a person who is not a part of the group. I read that the odd rock among other rocks ( geologically speaking ) is called an erratic. ( does that have one r or two ?)

I've always felt that "outlier" is normally used to refer to data points. So if you've got a collection of, say, heights of people at a school in a year who are between, say, 4ft 6" and 5ft 6" in a nice bell curve, but there is a single person who is only 4ft, he/she would be an outlier. Basically, a data point which doesn't fit with the usual set.

(Erratic definitely has two r's - it would look wrong as eratic !)

I think of "outlier" as martin does. I don't consider it is a synonym for "outsider".

I wonder why Louise Penny chose to use it in that context .

In researching the word I found a secondary definition is " someone who lives away from the place where they work ".

That meaning of outlier would fit in with the idea of outlying districts, away from the center of things.

Two queries: what does this expression mean: "he's too clever by half."?

Also, what is the meaning of "cheeky."?

"Too clever by half" just means a show-off/a big-head.

Cheeky is such a common word over here I'm surprised it is not heard in the US. Used to describe impertinent/impudent children.

It's a favorite British expression of mine used to describe anyone who has the nerve to say /do something sassy or obnoxious. In fact the expression might be from that Austin Powers movie ....did he say " you cheeky little monkey." ? (or something like that)

"Cheeky" has been around a _lot_ longer than Austin Powers, as has "cheeky monkey".

I was called "cheeky" in the 1940s by a Stewed Eel purveyor. It was a misunderstanding, he thought I was mocking his Cockney accent by saying Stewed Hills but my grandmother was a Londoner who added an H to some words so I thought the delicacy was called that. I was quite upset.

I still remember that in the way you do, when there has been a misjudgement.

Cheeky is quite a nice word. It's almost always used by an adult to a child. If it's said in an angry tone, it means impertinent.

For example, Stewed Eel purveyor above might well have said "You cheeky little bugger!" (Actually, in the forties, he wouldn't have said that to a girl, but he would to a boy, probably accompanied with a clip round the ear!)

But if it's said in an affectionate tone (particularly to a small child) it means cute and endearing.

Indulgent grandmother to small grandchild "Oh, aren't you a cheeky boy!"

There is also the noun "cheek" - "The cheek of him, saying that to me !" Particularly rude or blatant "cheek" is usually "bare-faced cheek" !

Thinking about "cheek" as opposed to "cheeky"..

"Cheek" CAN be used by adults about adults. So, if someone is rude to you, you might say "Bloody cheek!" to them, or refer later to "The damn cheek of him, talking to me like that!" But an adult is never "cheeky" - that is reserved exclusively for children (or perhaps teenagers).

I didn't get a clip over the ear but a very baleful look while we sat eating. I honestly thought the Hill name came from the dollop of starchy potato mash that was stuck on the inside of the bowl that the stewed eel was served in. I never thought the stew contained actual eels. I may not have known what one was anyway! I was around six then as it was while we still lived in London.

I seem to remember that the stall was set up in a station, perhaps in the Tube and we went there when we were occasionally visiting a relative.

Here "cheeky" can be used of adults as in "Fred breezed in and helped himself to a slice of pizza before I could put it on the table" - "That's a bit cheeky!"

Yes, that would work in the UK too. And you might even say to Fred "You cheeky so-and-so!"

OK - it's MAINLY used for children...!

and childish behaviour...