pronunciation - Is forte pronounced fort or for-tay? - English . . . Summary: The confusion may come from 'forte' as used in music for strong or loud, which is definitely pronounced 'for tay' = ˈfɔr teɪ In French, the same letters are pronounced 'fort' = fɔrt But those languages are not English, and English has its own rules, inspired by the originals but with no compunction to remain faithful, at least here with the French borrowing
Where does the phrase hold down the fort come from? I agree the original should be 'hold the fort' and 'hold down…' looks like an aberration Is it too much to speculate that 'hold down…' could have come from a land-lubbers variation on something like 'make all secure and batten down the hatches!" where the security is against the weather, not a human enemy?
Is forth and back more proper than back and forth? "Back and forth" is the more correct idiom, because, well, that's the idiom There's nothing to stop you from saying "forth and back" — a little voice is repeating the subtitle to The Hobbit, which is There and Back Again, to me — but you won't be using the English idiom, you'll merely be speaking words
etymology - What is the origin of the phrase forty winks, meaning a . . . William Kitchiner M D (1775–1827) was an optician, inventor of telescopes, amateur musician and exceptional cook His name was a household word during the 19th century, and his Cook’s Oracle was a bestseller in England and America Wikipedia The phrase forty winks, meaning a short nap, can be traced back to Dr Kitchiner's 1821 self-help guide, The Art of Invigorating and Prolonging Life
What is the origin of the term ginger for red-headed people? I'd like to know the etymology of the word "ginger" in reference to red-headed people In particular, if "ginger" in this context is related to the plant root used in cooking, I'd like to know how
etymology - English Language Usage Stack Exchange It will be put up to you time after time that the soldier men's forte is fighting, and that a different class of brains is required for parliamentary work That's the sort of guff and griffle the old has-beens, the ancient want-to-be's, and the slow-down Laborites are starring in the press and from the platform
Why isnt connoisseur spelled connaisseur? As to spelling, once English borrows a word from a foreign language, the connection to that word in its original language is broken It doesn't track "updates", it operates independently English dictionaries record "connoisseur" as "connoisseur", and so, in English, that's how it's spelled
Double negation: not, neither - nor in a sentence The last sentence is OK; the other two are overnegated The not in the first clause scopes the second one too, so you don't need to repeat the negative in it The first ones are OK because the negative doesn't scope the second clause, which needs some negation Though neither had he is very odd and archaic construction, especially in a supposedly parallel sentence
Origin of sleep like a log - English Language Usage Stack Exchange I'm nowhere close to answering this (etymology questions aren't my forte), but it might be helpful if you provided your Spanish-version source in the question (Either an actual link, or just a description of where you found it ) It could be useful for people looking into the English history