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"Having waited so long, Colonel Qaddafi seemed determined to spare no offense."
1) Is the "L" pronounced in the word "colonel?"
2) What does the phrase "spare no offense" mean?
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1) Nope. "Colonel" is a homophone of "kernel", at least in U.S. English. (The "L" is never pronounced in other dialects either; it's just that I don't know if it'd be pronounced with the same vowel in the first syllable in all of them.)
2) Hmm. I haven't heard this expression before. It sounds like "spare no expense" and might be a play on that expression. "We spared no expenses" (or "no expense"; it could be said either way) means that a lot of money was invested -- that is, all possible expenses were made; they didn't restrain themselves from making purchases or whatever in order to accomplish their task, the implication being that the job was done with the very highest quality. Similarly, I would take "Qaddafi spared no offense" to mean that Qaddafi planned every sort of attack possible.
- Kef
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2) could also mean that Qaddafi tried to be as offensive as possible verbally (at the U.N., for example), rather than launch all sorts of attacks.
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Hmm, how would a Scot pronounce "colonel"?
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I don't care that many words are homonyms but I hate homophones which words don't rhyme or have nothing to deal with the spelling.
colonel kernel
quay key
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<< 2) could also mean that Qaddafi tried to be as offensive as possible verbally (at the U.N., for example), rather than launch all sorts of attacks. >>
True. I'm not sure why that didn't occur to me.
<< quay key >>
Whoa, I didn't know that "quay" is pronounced "key". But I looked it up and you're right (although the dictionary lists "kay" and "kway" as well). It's a word that I've only ever seen in writing and never had to say myself. You learn something new every day...
- Kef
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thanks Kef. I've always had a difficult time with the pronunciation of "colonel"
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Kernel for colonel is closer for coronel in Spanish because of the r.
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Off topic, I know, but where did that thread go with the German person from Heidelberg trying to learn American English? I put a fair bit of effort into my reply.
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<<Hmm, how would a Scot pronounce "colonel"?>>
I would guess /kVrnVl/ (with whatever realization of /r/), but I don't know for sure.
I don't know what happened to that thread BTW. I think it must have been deleted while I was away.
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It's convenient not to debate some spelling reform. That's why mine was deleted.
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<< English might have a new good spelling but native English speakers don't support that reform coming from a foreign learner or speaker. >>
Native English speakers generally don't support reform at all.
<< To learn Spanish is tough for English speakers. >>
I don't find it very difficult.
- Kef
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@ El Conquistador:
Please don't derail every thread that mentions spelling with your spelling reform proposals. If you want to talk about spelling reform, start a thread about it. I should warn you that we've had several threads in the last month or so on the subject, so I don't know if anyone's still interested. I will be deleting your off-topic posts, so again, if you want to discuss spelling reform, start a thread.
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