The Grammar Commando has been lured out of a long hiatus by QOC absent-mindedly posting as her Facebook status, "After spending the whole morning scrubbing, our new house suddenly seems plenty big enough."
"Ha!" says GC. "The house was scrubbing, was it? How lucky of you to get a self-scrubbing house!"
(A more logical construction: "After spending the whole morning scrubbing, I think our new house is plenty big enough." It's QOC that was spending the whole morning scrubbing, and nobody else. Well, except the ducklings for about three minutes. His Majesty is busy taping and wielding tools.)
But, now that GC is out of hiding, she will add an error QOC would never commit.
"Chalk full"
Really? Full of chalk? What on earth is full of chalk except an unopened package of sidewalk chalk?
No, what you're thinking of is "chock full," i.e., full to the point that they had to chock (carefully wedge) in the last bits. Which could apply, metaphorically, to a book being chock full of ideas. But it probably doesn't have chalky ideas in it.
2 comments:
A house obviously gets itself dirty, so why cannot it clean itself? I would think the ducklings would assure you that they did not get the new house dirty - nor did they get the old house dirty.
I am certainly glad the Grammar Commando is back. It is great fun. Does that mean it is having fun or am I having fun?
I'm sorry I missed this post. Grammar snobs of the world, unite!
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