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
Whats the difference between to and fro and back and forth? In the example you cite, to and fro is essentially identical in meaning to back and forth However, to and fro can also carry the less specific sense of ‘moving about in different directions,’ similar to here and there, as in The lambs frolicked to and fro on the grassy hill To and fro is alive and well in present-day English usage, but it sounds somewhat antiquated and may seem unduly
Differences between propensity, predilection and proclivity 0 They're essentially synonymous: Proclivity is 'leaning to', propensity is 'nearness to' and predilection is 'preference for' Worry about something more significant like the misuse of the words irony and disinterest or the mispronunciation of the the words route and forte
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
Is there a collective term to describe coffee and tea? Any term to describe both of them — coffee and tea collectively? I wanted to call it beverages but that also includes drinks outside coffee and tea Also, I could call it hot drinks but that would
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