lol - sorry I'm late to the party today!! A " terroir " is a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation, and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes and wine making savoir-faire, which contribute to give its specific personality to the wine. Terroir (French pronunciation: [tear-war]) comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties. Agricultural sites in the same region share similar soil, weather conditions, and farming techniques, which all contribute to the unique qualities of the crop. It can be very loosely translated as "a sense of place," which is embodied in certain characteristic qualities, the sum of the effects that the local environment has had on the production of the product. Terroir is often italicized in English writing to show that it is a French loanword. Long before the French, the winemaking regions of the ancient world already developed a concept of different regions having the potential to create very different and distinct wines, even from the same grapes. The Ancient Greeks would stamp amphorae with the seal of the region they came from and soon different regions established reputations based on the quality of their wines. For most of its history, Burgundy was cultivated by the literate and disciplined members of the Benedictine and Cistercian orders. With vast land holdings, the monks were able to conduct large scale observation of the influences that various parcels of land had on the wine it produced. Some legends have the monks going as far as "tasting" the soil. The concept of terroir exists in other drinks categories too, notably in Cognac, where the chalky soil, climate and distance from the Atlantic are all factors influencing the grapes, and in Armagnac and Absinthe. Many of the historically famous absinthes were originally produced in the foothills of the French/Swiss Alps where most of the plants used in absinthe grew well, and Pontarlier and Val-de-Travers are again centers for both the plants used in absinthe and for production. In the United States there is some confusion over the use of semi-generic names like Champagne and Port but in recent years there has been more effort by the American wine industry to recognize the unique association of place names with the wines produced in those places, such as the 2005 Napa Declaration on Place agreement. While appellation systems and the protected designations of origin can be a way of protecting "unique terroir", the commercial importance of terroir has been a much debated topic in the wine industry. And you know, I could go on and on, and usually do, but will hold myself there!!! Now as to terriers: A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just a couple of pounds to over 70 pounds and are usually categorized by size or function. There are five different groups with each group having several different breeds. Most terrier breeds were developed in Great Britain and Ireland. They were used to control rats, rabbits, and foxes both over and under the ground. Some larger terriers were also used to hunt badgers. In fact, the word terrier comes from the Middle French terre, derived from the Latin terra, meaning earth, same as terrior. Cause I knew you wanted to know!!! Thanks for playing guys. That was fun, and I really thought I had screwed it up with the dog thing!!! Woo-hoo, who knew it was so close. Now to stars: - for Cyn Annette and mnswgal. Thanks for playing!!

My wife asked me what "refulgent" meant - she'd found it in a magazine article. I was able to tell her that it turns up in a song in the Mikado, but I didn't know what it meant. So we looked it up - it means "shining, brilliant or radiant" - and it's marked in my dictionary as "Literary". I've just looked up the G&S - I was actually wrong! This is the song I was misremembering. The sun, whose rays are all ablaze With ever-living glory, Does not deny his majesty He scorns to tell a story! He don't exclaim, "I blush for shame, So kindly be indulgent." But, fierce and bold, In fiery gold, He glories all effulgent! And what does "effulgent" mean? Radiant, brilliant... I have to say that in my opinion, both effulgent and refulgent sound downright unpleasant - it's a surprise to me that they don't mean as they sound. Is there a word for the opposite of onomatopoeia?

I have mentioned the following pet peeve before on RP. I find it irritating when people, especially those in the media, substitute the word orientate for orient. The two words mean essentially the same thing, but the latter is shorter and more familiar. My Oxford Concise Dictionary has a whole paragraph listing the many uses of the word orient, including to "settle or find the bearings of". Yet only a few weeks ago I heard a reporter state that newly-arrived athletes were "orientating" themselves in Olympic Village. The word orientate is in no way an improvement in meaning to orient. In fact the former sounds awkward and affected (to me). In a backhanded way, the above reminds me of the slow death of the perfectly-acceptable noun quotation. You almost never hear someone under 45 use this word, unless they are referring to the title of a specific reference book. The word quote is now commonly used as a catch-all, to be used both as a verb and a noun. It is now commonplace to hear/read people say/write sentences like: "This is my favorite Shakespeare quote." I am old enough to remember when there were two specific words (quote, quotation) both of which had slightly different meanings and uses. Okay, I have to got to lighten up about things most people don't care about.

I've never heard anyone say "am I not" except in the most formal speech (perhaps by a lawyer or member of the House of Lords). Certainly people in rural areas use words such as am 'e for 'is he' or be 'e for 'is he'. Talking to a neighbour the other day, a woman who has lived in this area all her life, and asking if her husband was in she told me "He's upstairs and will be down in a minute." Shortly after a friend of theirs arrived and asked the same question to which she replied "Him's upstairs" . . . she spoke in standard English to me but local dialect to the friend! Annpan as you know we in the UK think expressions such as "I guess" or "gotten" to be introductions from the US. If they aren't here already it wont be long before they catch on. ;-( yoyo, I read an article on 'tripadvisor' . . not a place to go for good grammar or fancy use of language but noticed someone had described the service in a hotel as tentative when the word should have been attentive. Easy mistake but quite a different meaning.