Re: CHAT: Our opinions of what can be called 'winter' (was: OT: Merry Christmas!)

Tristan McLeay scripsit:

> >As far as I'm concerned, it's Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn,
> >presumably for no
> >more profound reason than that the new year begins in early winter.
>
> That ordering sounds broken, but I suspected as much. Thanks.
I think of them as spring, summer, fall, winter in that order.
"Autumn" is well-understood, of course, but it's a foreign word.

> you're protected by your walls and doona (duvet, I think, is the
> standard word, but I make no promises).)
Stores carry "duvets" in America, but in conversation they are referred
to as "comforters".  This is part of an elaborate double vocabulary:
"bathroom tissue" vs. "toilet paper" (and for that matter "rest room" vs.
"bathroom" for the place of the stool), "facial tissue" vs. "kleenex" (a
brand name), and many other examples.

> It works very well with school uniform blazers because the
> inner lining stays cool, but they're too heavy to work well for long.
That's something else Americans aren't familiar with: school uniforms.
Since most people go to state-supported ("public") schools, uniforms cannot
be imposed; they are considered a violation of the First Amendment right
of self-expression.  Private schools may and commonly do impose uniforms;
a few public schools have attempted to impose them, but on legal challenge
have had to retreat to recommending them.

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and the Grey Company passed on into the         jcowan@reutershealth.com
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