Macquarie Dictionary Blog: Archives
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Breakwaters and breakwalls
Sep 18, 2015 | 2 Comments
It seems that breakwaters are called breakwalls. In a way I can see the logic of this. The term breakwater comes from the function, the term breakwall comes from the construction. Has breakwall replaced breakwater? Or is there some subtle distinction? Read more...
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How our interactions with animals affect language
Sep 11, 2015 | 0 Comments
Human interactions with animals have given rise to many phrases in the English language. The animals may be wild, domestic or farm animals but, over the centuries, we have observed their behaviour and made reference to them in various ways.
Dogs and cats have been companion animals for so long that they have produced a number of such expressions. Read more...
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Is it 'myriad' insects or 'a myriad of' insects?
Sep 04, 2015 | 2 Comments
The use of myriad is often debated. Myriad was actually used as a noun in English long before it was used as an adjective, and today it's considered both a noun and an adjective which means it can be used with an 'a' before it (as a noun) or without an 'a' before it (as an adjective). Some argue that myriad should never be used with ‘of’ as it should only be used as an adjective. Read more...
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