Re: "write him" was Re: More questions

On Thu, Nov 27, 2003 at 09:51:54PM +0000, Stephen Mulraney wrote:
> Let me get a quick poll of another (to my mind) oddity.
>
> Does anyone employ phrases like "The water will stop immediately the
> stop-cock is turned"? (I've just noticed it in some anti-frost precautions
> the Uni sent around). I'm refering to the lack (to my mind)
> of a word such as "when" or "after" following "immediately. I've only ever
> noticed it in England, and it really suprises me each time I see it.
I'm with you; that's one of several Britishisms which seem to me
to have missing words.  Also in that category are the
previously-discussed time-telling phrases such as "half six" to mean
"half PAST six".

But the whole phrase is something that would never occur in my 'lect,
or I suspect in most US dialects, even with a preposition
inserted.  First of all, I never hear the word "stop-cock" over here;
it's a "faucet".  And that term doesn't refer to the thing you turn,
but to the whole assembly as a unit.  So I would talk about "turning the
faucet off", or less specifically turning the "water" or "sink" off.
If I *were* going to refer to the thing you turn directly, I'd call it
a "valve".


-Mark

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