Help with collocations, please

[Django Cat]

This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).

This is what I've got so far:

adverb + adjective
abundantly clear

adjective + noun
colossal explosion
substantial reduction
pleasant environment
admirable gesture
sound investment
fantastic opportunity
high quality
unmitigated disaster
heavy rain
deep sleep
strong denial

noun + adjective
proof positive

verb + adverb
rain heavily
sleep deeply
deny strongly

adverb + verb
richly deserve

Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected', which
is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is it "he
looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go there. [1]

Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

If anyone is interested, there's a rock paper about this stuff here:
http://tinyurl.com/6zgfrz


DC [1] Please.
--

[Jeffrey Turner]

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
adverb + adjective
abundantly clear
adjective + noun
colossal explosion
substantial reduction
pleasant environment
admirable gesture
sound investment

sound reasoning

Post by Django Cat
fantastic opportunity
high quality
unmitigated disaster
heavy rain
deep sleep
strong denial

heady days
drab vocabulary
stuffed shirt

Post by Django Cat
noun + adjective
proof positive
verb + adverb
rain heavily
sleep deeply
deny strongly
adverb + verb
richly deserve

foolishly consider

Post by Django Cat
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected', which
is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is it "he
looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.
http://tinyurl.com/6zgfrz
DC [1] Please.

[Don Phillipson]

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
http://tinyurl.com/6zgfrz

The draft defines the topic as

This paper aims to show the relevance of phraseology to an understanding

of non-native

speaker Academic Writing, an approach that needs to be tentative if not

stealthy at this stage

in the absence of large bodies of data. . . .
The term 'phraseology' has for a long time been used by Soviet

lexicologists (Ginzburg et al >1966; Arnold 1986, for example) to refer to
the branch of lexicology that studies such familiar >complexes as
collocations and idioms. There is still unfortunately a great deal of

terminological confusion and as yet no generally agreed superordinate term

for the study of >the full range of word combinations. This range embraces,
on the one hand, such structurally >well-defined collocations as address a
problem, jump through the hoops or play fast and >loose, and, on the other
hand, the much more disparate categories of expressions, such as >proverbs,
catchphrases and conversational formulae

Problems appear to include:
1. This 4600-word draft is about what editors call cliches:
but uses this term nowhere, and appears to rely for source
material on a bibliography of 28-odd items in technical linguistics.
No work on good writing style is cited.

2. This draft defines as its subject matter English written by
non-native English speakers, as distinct from English written by
native speakers. So far as written sources are concerned,
this separation may be impractical. E.g. Henry Kissinger's
mother tongue was German but he has since age 20 published
millions of words in English. Professionals in his community
have no disciplinary way of dividing source texts between
those by authors for whom English is a first or a second language.

3. The source idea ("phraseology" instead of cliche) is documented
to two Moscow publications of 1968. It is not clear whether the
objective is a typology of errors in English or a typology of correct
English with defective or deplorable style. Both are discussed as
if similar but we have no reason to suppose them similar.

[Django Cat]

Post by Django Cat

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies

skills for

Post by Django Cat
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about

how a

Post by Django Cat
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing

skills, and

Post by Django Cat
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks

of

Post by Django Cat
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with

adjectives

Post by Django Cat
and adverbs).
http://tinyurl.com/6zgfrz

The draft
defines the topic

Is that a cliche?

Post by Django Cat
as

This paper aims to show the relevance of phraseology to an understanding

of non-native

speaker Academic Writing, an approach that needs to be tentative if not

stealthy at this stage

in the absence of large bodies of data. . . .
The term 'phraseology' has for a long time been used by Soviet

lexicologists (Ginzburg et al >1966; Arnold 1986, for example) to refer to
the branch of lexicology that studies such familiar >complexes as
collocations and idioms. There is still unfortunately a great deal of

terminological confusion and as yet no generally agreed superordinate term

for the study of >the full range of word combinations. This range embraces,
on the one hand, such structurally >well-defined collocations as address a
problem, jump through the hoops or play fast and >loose, and, on the other
hand, the much more disparate categories of expressions, such as >proverbs,
catchphrases and conversational formulae
Problems

Is that a cliche?

Post by Django Cat
but uses this term nowhere, and appears to rely for
source material

Is that a cliche?

Post by Django Cat
on a bibliography of 28-odd items in technical linguistics.
No work on
good writing style

Is that a cliche?

Post by Django Cat
is cited.
2. This draft defines as its
subject matter

Is that a cliche?

Post by Django Cat
English written by
non-native English speakers,
as distinct from

Is that a cliche?

Post by Django Cat
English written by
native speakers.
So far as ... are concerned,

Is that a cliche?

Post by Django Cat
this separation may be impractical. E.g. Henry Kissinger's
mother tongue

Is that a cliche?

Post by Django Cat
was German but he has since age 20 published
millions of words in English. Professionals in his community
have no disciplinary way of dividing source texts between
those by authors for whom English is a first or a second language.
3. The source idea ("phraseology" instead of cliche) is documented
to two Moscow publications of 1968. It is not clear whether the
objective is a typology of errors in English or a typology of correct
English with defective or deplorable style.

Well, that's because it's not about either thing.

The paper is not about overuse of hackneyed expressions - cliches. It's about
collocations - multi-word combinations such as the ones you're using above, and
which native speakers use every day - 'mother tongue' is a good example, as is
'abundantly clear'. These combinations are neither defective or deplorable,
they just exist.

Though Howarth doesn't use the term, it's also about 'chunking'; the way we
learn language in multi-word elements and learn which words go together. So
blonde might mean 'pale browny-yellow', but even if you had a pale
browny-yellow car, you wouldn't say 'I've got a blonde car'; we learn that
blonde is an adjective that only goes with hair, by extension with people with
blond/e hair (usually women), and, at a push, some continental lagers. If
you're looking for a place to stay for the night you may want somewhere to
sleep and a meal the next morning, but you're going to get strange looks and
not get very far if you ask for *'breakfast and bed' instead of 'bed and
breakfast'.

It's unfortunate that some of the first examples he gives - 'when in Rome'
'Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking...' are also pretty cliched, and may
have given you the wrong impression of what the article is about - and if I was
to teach these expressions I'd think of them as 'idioms', not collocations.
How about two better examples from the next page - 'make a claim' and 'redress
the balance' - should those be avoided as cliches? Next time you need to claim
on your insurance policy are you going to think of another way of saying 'make
a claim' so as to avoid sounding cliched? And isn't the person who reads you
writing, lets say, *'propose a claim', going to think "that sounds a bit
weird... must be a foreigner"? Are you going to try to find another way of
saying 'mother tongue' now? How about *'maternal language'? That may mean the
same thing semantically, but nobody's going to have a clue what you're on
about. Like our man says:

'Pawley and Syder' s widely quoted study of lexicalization of word combinations
comes to a similar conclusion: "Memorized sentences and phrases are the normal
building blocks of fluent spoken discourse .... The attempt to find a novel
turn of phrase to describe the familiar is ... likely to produce dysfluencies:
it is easier to be commonplace." (1983: 208)' (But note they aren't saying that
'the attempt to find a novel turn of phrase' is a bad thing in all
circumstances - see what Howarth says later about newspaper leader writiers)

Lack of knowledge of collocation is one of the things that makes non-native
speakers - and writers - sound non-native. Here's Howarth again:

"Acceptance of the broad foundations of this approach would mean at the minimum
that 'phraseological competence' is recognised as a component of a native
speaker's knowledge of the language. As Bolinger says: "a speaker who does not
command this array [100s of 1000s of memorised sentence stems] does not know
the language." (1985:69) If phraseological competence is essential for native
speakerness, what does this mean for language learners? Do they have it? and if
not, do they need it? and if so, how do they get it?"

I've spent much of the last 25 years wondering what the answer to that last
question is. What a bloody waste[1]; I could have been a brain surgeon[2].

Anyway. One of the early things we teach is collocation with 'make' and 'do' -
'do the shopping', 'make the beds' 'do the washing up'. Is 'make the bed' a
cliche? Or shall we all start doing the beds, instead?

Cheers

DC

[1] That's one.
[2]So's that.

--

[Fred Springer]

Post by Django Cat
The paper is not about overuse of hackneyed expressions - cliches. It's about
collocations - multi-word combinations such as the ones you're using above, and
which native speakers use every day - 'mother tongue' is a good example, as is
'abundantly clear'. These combinations are neither defective or deplorable,
they just exist.
Though Howarth doesn't use the term, it's also about 'chunking'; the way we
learn language in multi-word elements and learn which words go together. So
blonde might mean 'pale browny-yellow', but even if you had a pale
browny-yellow car, you wouldn't say 'I've got a blonde car'; we learn that
blonde is an adjective that only goes with hair, by extension with people with
blond/e hair (usually women), and, at a push, some continental lagers. If
you're looking for a place to stay for the night you may want somewhere to
sleep and a meal the next morning, but you're going to get strange looks and
not get very far if you ask for *'breakfast and bed' instead of 'bed and
breakfast'.
It's unfortunate that some of the first examples he gives - 'when in Rome'
'Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking...' are also pretty cliched, and may
have given you the wrong impression of what the article is about - and if I was
to teach these expressions I'd think of them as 'idioms', not collocations.
How about two better examples from the next page - 'make a claim' and 'redress
the balance' - should those be avoided as cliches? Next time you need to claim
on your insurance policy are you going to think of another way of saying 'make
a claim' so as to avoid sounding cliched? And isn't the person who reads you
writing, lets say, *'propose a claim', going to think "that sounds a bit
weird... must be a foreigner"? Are you going to try to find another way of
saying 'mother tongue' now? How about *'maternal language'? That may mean the
same thing semantically, but nobody's going to have a clue what you're on
'Pawley and Syder' s widely quoted study of lexicalization of word combinations
comes to a similar conclusion: "Memorized sentences and phrases are the normal
building blocks of fluent spoken discourse .... The attempt to find a novel
it is easier to be commonplace." (1983: 208)' (But note they aren't saying that
'the attempt to find a novel turn of phrase' is a bad thing in all
circumstances - see what Howarth says later about newspaper leader writiers)
Lack of knowledge of collocation is one of the things that makes non-native
"Acceptance of the broad foundations of this approach would mean at the minimum
that 'phraseological competence' is recognised as a component of a native
speaker's knowledge of the language. As Bolinger says: "a speaker who does not
command this array [100s of 1000s of memorised sentence stems] does not know
the language." (1985:69) If phraseological competence is essential for native
speakerness, what does this mean for language learners? Do they have it? and if
not, do they need it? and if so, how do they get it?"
I've spent much of the last 25 years wondering what the answer to that last
question is. What a bloody waste[1]; I could have been a brain surgeon[2].
Anyway. One of the early things we teach is collocation with 'make' and 'do' -
'do the shopping', 'make the beds' 'do the washing up'. Is 'make the bed' a
cliche? Or shall we all start doing the beds, instead?

Thanks for that very interesting clarification. From my own experience
of learning foreign languages, I'd say that learning set phrases and
trotting them out in appropriate situations is a good way of making
native speakers believe your competence in their language is greater
than it really is. The only problem is, you can then find yourself in
deeper linguistic waters than you'd bargained for, when your
interlocutor stops making allowances for your learner status and
launches into high speed fully idiomatic mode -- but that bracing
experience does motivate further learning.

A German-speaking friend commented once on an interview given by the
then British Ambassador on German TV: "He's impressively fluent, until
you realise all he's doing is repeating cliches". I thought she was
rather underestimating his ability, but I got her point. (There's
another one for you).

I remember once hailing a taxi in Paris, and being treated after a
brief exchange of courtesies to a long diatribe about the iniquitous
taxi-driver strike that was just about to start. I only understood about
a half of it, but made appropriate interjections from time to time, such
"alors!" "vraiment?" "merde!" and so on. Paying him after 25 minutes of
this, he said "Vous parlez tres bien Francais Monsieur".

[Django Cat]

Post by Django Cat
Anyway. One of the early things we teach is collocation with 'make' and
'do' - 'do the shopping', 'make the beds' 'do the washing up'. Is 'make
the bed' a cliche? Or shall we all start doing the beds, instead?

Thanks for that very interesting clarification. From my own experience of
learning foreign languages, I'd say that learning set phrases and trotting
them out in appropriate situations is a good way of making native speakers
believe your competence in their language is greater than it really is. The
only problem is, you can then find yourself in deeper linguistic waters than
you'd bargained for, when your interlocutor stops making allowances for your
learner status and launches into high speed fully idiomatic mode -- but that
bracing experience does motivate further learning.

I've had exactly the same experience, especially in Greek, where I've got an
impressive range of restaurant phrases - 'can we see the kitchen?', 'what's
good tonight' and so forth. Like you say Fred, this sometimes makes native
speakers overestimate your competence in their language...

DC

--

[Adam Funk]

Post by Fred Springer
Thanks for that very interesting clarification. From my own experience
of learning foreign languages, I'd say that learning set phrases and
trotting them out in appropriate situations is a good way of making
native speakers believe your competence in their language is greater
than it really is. The only problem is, you can then find yourself in
deeper linguistic waters than you'd bargained for, when your
interlocutor stops making allowances for your learner status and
launches into high speed fully idiomatic mode -- but that bracing
experience does motivate further learning.

I've had the disconcerting experience (especially in Italian) of
asking someone a question and getting back a reponse that I couldn't
even tokenize, much less understand.

Post by Fred Springer
A German-speaking friend commented once on an interview given by the
then British Ambassador on German TV: "He's impressively fluent, until
you realise all he's doing is repeating cliches". I thought she was
rather underestimating his ability, but I got her point. (There's
another one for you).

That's often true about politicians, even in their native languages.

Post by Fred Springer
I remember once hailing a taxi in Paris, and being treated after a
brief exchange of courtesies to a long diatribe about the iniquitous
taxi-driver strike that was just about to start. I only understood about
a half of it, but made appropriate interjections from time to time, such
"alors!" "vraiment?" "merde!" and so on. Paying him after 25 minutes of
this, he said "Vous parlez tres bien Francais Monsieur".

Especially if you shrug and say "bof".

[Glenn Knickerbocker]

Post by Django Cat
Anyway. One of the early things we teach is collocation with 'make' and 'do' -
'do the shopping', 'make the beds' 'do the washing up'. Is 'make the bed' a
cliche? Or shall we all start doing the beds, instead?

I don't see how this is a matter of collocations and not simply of
meaning. These two words are difficult for many non-native speakers
because their meanings are rolled up into one verb in so many languages.
Sure, each one has a whole host of idiosyncratic uses, of which "make the
bed" might be one, but "do the any-verb-ing" isn't a specific
collocation, it's an application of the most basic and general meaning of
"do." Even the difference between "make the bed" and "do the dishes"
seems better to me to explain in terms of meaning than specific uses.
I'd save the list of collocations for things like doing a performance but
making an appearance.

¬R \\\ http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/bsinl.html /// T E A M W O R K
Together Everyone Achieves More Worthless Objectives, Reducing Knowledge

[Nick Spalding]

Post by Glenn Knickerbocker

Post by Django Cat
Anyway. One of the early things we teach is collocation with 'make' and 'do' -
'do the shopping', 'make the beds' 'do the washing up'. Is 'make the bed' a
cliche? Or shall we all start doing the beds, instead?

I don't see how this is a matter of collocations and not simply of
meaning. These two words are difficult for many non-native speakers
because their meanings are rolled up into one verb in so many languages.
Sure, each one has a whole host of idiosyncratic uses, of which "make the
bed" might be one, but "do the any-verb-ing" isn't a specific
collocation, it's an application of the most basic and general meaning of
"do." Even the difference between "make the bed" and "do the dishes"
seems better to me to explain in terms of meaning than specific uses.
I'd save the list of collocations for things like doing a performance but
making an appearance.

Many years ago, ca. 1960, there was a letter in The Times from someone who
had spent time as a volunteer in a refugee camp in some devastated part of
Europe shortly after the war. In the bumf they were handed before going
was 'Volunteers will be expected to make their own beds'. On arrival they
were given wood, saw, hammer and nails.

[CDB]

Glenn Knickerbocker wrote, in

[to do the chambermaid is to make the bed yourself]

Many years ago, ca. 1960, there was a letter in The Times from
someone who had spent time as a volunteer in a refugee camp in some
devastated part of Europe shortly after the war. In the bumf they
were handed before going was 'Volunteers will be expected to make
their own beds'. On arrival they were given wood, saw, hammer and
nails.

It may have been the norm in the past, at least in some places.
Didn't Barbara Allen want her bed made long and narrow? This argues
that it was made up from scratch, although maybe without framing
tools.

[h***@gmail.com]

Post by Glenn Knickerbocker

Post by Django Cat
Anyway. One of the early things we teach is collocation with 'make' and 'do' -
'do the shopping', 'make the beds' 'do the washing up'. Is 'make the bed' a
cliche? Or shall we all start doing the beds, instead?

I don't see how this is a matter of collocations and not simply of
meaning. These two words are difficult for many non-native speakers
because their meanings are rolled up into one verb in so many languages.
Sure, each one has a whole host of idiosyncratic uses, of which "make the
bed" might be one, but "do the any-verb-ing" isn't a specific
collocation, it's an application of the most basic and general meaning of
"do." Even the difference between "make the bed" and "do the dishes"
seems better to me to explain in terms of meaning than specific uses.
I'd save the list of collocations for things like doing a performance but
making an appearance.
¬R \\\ http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/bsinl.html /// T E A M W O R K
Together Everyone Achieves More Worthless Objectives, Reducing Knowledge

Have you looked at Swales/Feak and their excellent book called
"Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills
(2nd edition) yet? It includes an impressive collection of
collocations that you might add. Another useful text, geared more
toward intermediate and advanced ESL students, is In Focus: Strategies
for Academic Writers by Myra Shulman. Again, you will find long,
detailed list of appropriate collocations.

As for the distinction between cliches and practical language chunks,
I'm not sure that is most useful paradigm here. ESL teachers need to
tailor their instruction and class materials on the actual needs of
students, and they need to know these common expressions to understand
their textbooks, their readings, and write appropriate research
papers.

Good luck!

[Woody Wordpecker]

On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:22:05 GMT, "Django Cat"

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
adverb + adjective
abundantly clear
adjective + noun
colossal explosion
substantial reduction
pleasant environment
admirable gesture
sound investment
fantastic opportunity
high quality
unmitigated disaster
heavy rain
deep sleep
strong denial
noun + adjective
proof positive
verb + adverb
rain heavily
sleep deeply
deny strongly
adverb + verb
richly deserve
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected', which
is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is it "he
looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

acid test

[Bob Cunningham]

On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:37:59 -0700, Woody Wordpecker

Post by Woody Wordpecker
On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:22:05 GMT, "Django Cat"

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).

[...]

Post by Woody Wordpecker

Post by Django Cat
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

acid test

foregone conclusion

[Tom P]

Post by Woody Wordpecker
On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:22:05 GMT, "Django Cat"

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
adverb + adjective
abundantly clear
adjective + noun
colossal explosion
substantial reduction
pleasant environment
admirable gesture
sound investment
fantastic opportunity
high quality
unmitigated disaster
heavy rain
deep sleep
strong denial
noun + adjective
proof positive
verb + adverb
rain heavily
sleep deeply
deny strongly
adverb + verb
richly deserve
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected', which
is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is it "he
looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

acid test

Is that a litmus test?
I was going to add: foregone conclusion

T.

[Woody Wordpecker]

On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:03:16 +0200, Tom P
[...]

Post by Tom P

Post by Woody Wordpecker
acid test

Is that a litmus test?

See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acid%20test ,
where it will tell you that an acid test is a severe or
crucial test, and that the term was first attested in 1912.

But the _New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary_ says that
while an "acid-test" is figuratively a crucial test, it's
also a test for gold that involves nitric acid.

[Mike Lyle]

Post by Woody Wordpecker
On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:03:16 +0200, Tom P
[...]

Post by Tom P

Post by Woody Wordpecker
acid test

Is that a litmus test?

Seehttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acid%20test,
where it will tell you that an acid test is a severe or
crucial test, and that the term was first attested in 1912.
But the _New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary_ says that
while an "acid-test" is figuratively a crucial test, it's
also a test for gold that involves nitric acid.

Aqua regia: a mixture of nitric and either sulphuric or hydrochloric
acid, which is the only ordinary thing which will attack gold. See
Arthur Ransome, /Pigeon Post/ for a cock-up based on the theory.

--
Mike

[LFS]

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
adverb + adjective
abundantly clear
adjective + noun
colossal explosion
substantial reduction
pleasant environment
admirable gesture
sound investment
fantastic opportunity
high quality
unmitigated disaster
heavy rain
deep sleep
strong denial
noun + adjective
proof positive
verb + adverb
rain heavily
sleep deeply
deny strongly
adverb + verb
richly deserve
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected', which
is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is it "he
looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

Reaching for the topmost paper on my "To read" pile I find:

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Post by Django Cat
http://tinyurl.com/6zgfrz

Word 2007 won't let me read this. "Rock paper" somehow implies the
existence of scissors...

[Mike Lyle]

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
adverb + adjective
abundantly clear
adjective + noun
colossal explosion
substantial reduction
pleasant environment
admirable gesture
sound investment
fantastic opportunity
high quality
unmitigated disaster
heavy rain
deep sleep
strong denial
noun + adjective
proof positive
verb + adverb
rain heavily
sleep deeply
deny strongly
adverb + verb
richly deserve
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected', which
is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is it "he
looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. �The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Post by Django Cat
http://tinyurl.com/6zgfrz

Word 2007 won't let me read this. "Rock paper" somehow implies the
existence of scissors...

(What, apart from that, does it mean?)

Just a few quickies:

properly so called

set phrase (!)
stock epithet
prime object, primary object, principal object

hard and fast

--
Mike.

[j***@yahoo.com]

Post by Mike Lyle

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
adverb + adjective
abundantly clear
adjective + noun
colossal explosion
substantial reduction
pleasant environment
admirable gesture
sound investment
fantastic opportunity
high quality
unmitigated disaster
heavy rain
deep sleep
strong denial

Denials are also firm or even categorical.

Post by Mike Lyle

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
noun + adjective
proof positive
verb + adverb
rain heavily
sleep deeply
deny strongly
adverb + verb
richly deserve
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected', which
is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is it "he
looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. �The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Post by Django Cat
http://tinyurl.com/6zgfrz

Word 2007 won't let me read this. "Rock paper" somehow implies the
existence of scissors...

(What, apart from that, does it mean?)
properly so called
set phrase (!)

fixed phrase, stock phrase, stock formula (see below)

Post by Mike Lyle
stock epithet
prime object, primary object, principal object
hard and fast

fine line
seriously wrong
executive summary
exact word
precise definition
strongly reminiscent
now discredited
term of art
fuzzy/sloppy thinking
inspired guess
leap of faith/logic
ironclad logic
succinctly worded
(a minimum of) technical jargon
unmistakable tendency
suffice it to say
hopeless case
forlorn hope
sincerely repentant
close reading
rigorous/thoughtful analysis
useful/valuable discussions
prompt reply
deeply grateful
fresh look/approach/idea
innovative approach/idea
received ideas
conventional wisdom (possibly skunked by /Newsweek/, at least in
America)
trenchant criticism
intimate relationship
love-hate relationship
total loss
waste of time
strict criteria
hard work
revolutionary fervor
undeniable/incontrovertible proof
widely publicized
unmitigated disaster
exhaustive list/catalog(ue)
deadly dull
utterly exhausted

--
Jerry Friedman
hope that helps

[Lorna May]

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
adverb + adjective
abundantly clear
adjective + noun
colossal explosion
substantial reduction
pleasant environment
admirable gesture
sound investment
fantastic opportunity
high quality
unmitigated disaster
heavy rain
deep sleep
strong denial
noun + adjective
proof positive
verb + adverb
rain heavily
sleep deeply
deny strongly
adverb + verb
richly deserve
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected', which
is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is it "he
looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. ?The things I've
got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Post by Django Cat
http://tinyurl.com/6zgfrz

Word 2007 won't let me read this. "Rock paper" somehow implies the
existence of scissors...

(What, apart from that, does it mean?)

Just a few quickies:

properly so called

set phrase (!)
stock epithet
prime object, primary object, principal object

hard and fast

--
Mike.
Late husband?

[Django Cat]

Post by Mike Lyle

Post by LFS
Word 2007 won't let me read this. "Rock paper" somehow implies the
existence of scissors...

(What, apart from that, does it mean?)

Rock - solid, reliable... BrE slang, and me being flippant, as per usual.

Post by Mike Lyle
properly so called
set phrase (!)
stock epithet
prime object, primary object, principal object
hard and fast

Thanks for some excellent examples.

DC

--

[Mike Lyle]

Django Cat wrote:
[quoting somebody]

Post by Django Cat

Post by Mike Lyle

Post by LFS
Word 2007 won't let me read this. "Rock paper" somehow implies the
existence of scissors...

(What, apart from that, does it mean?)

Rock - solid, reliable... BrE slang, and me being flippant, as per usual.

When my thirty-somethings were at school, "rock" meant "very hard":
e.g., "The history paper was rock!" IIRC, "solid" acquired the same
meaning, but ICBRW.
[...]

[Django Cat]

Post by Mike Lyle

Post by Django Cat

Post by Mike Lyle
(What, apart from that, does it mean?)

Rock - solid, reliable... BrE slang, and me being flippant, as per usual.

e.g., "The history paper was rock!" IIRC, "solid" acquired the same
meaning, but ICBRW.
[...]

Well, that's sort of what I meant. As a piece of scholarly research I felt it
was a well tasty paper.
DC

--

[TsuiDF]

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
adverb + adjective
abundantly clear
adjective + noun
colossal explosion
substantial reduction
pleasant environment
admirable gesture
sound investment
fantastic opportunity
high quality
unmitigated disaster
heavy rain
deep sleep
strong denial
noun + adjective
proof positive
verb + adverb
rain heavily
sleep deeply
deny strongly
adverb + verb
richly deserve
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected', which
is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is it "he
looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists.  The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a piece
of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Post by Django Cat
http://tinyurl.com/6zgfrz

Word 2007 won't let me read this. "Rock paper" somehow implies the
existence of scissors...

I was able to read it but I got as far as 'There are many things you
can do with a trumpet' and fell about laughing and that was pretty
much it for my concentration. I shall try to remember to look at
things in the office with a more sober eye tomorrow and see if
anything jumps out.

Oh, dear, there it goes again....

Stephanie
in Brussels

[Django Cat]

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected',
which is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is
it "he looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go
there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a
piece of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Thank's, Laura, those are the sort of academic examples I was looking for. I'm
going to come some random papers to find more examples in the wild.
DC

--

[Django Cat]

Post by Django Cat

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected',
which is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is
it "he looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not
go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got
so far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from
a piece of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Thank's, Laura, those are the sort of academic examples I was looking for.
I'm going to come some random papers to find more examples in the wild.
DC

Or even 'comb'.
DC

--

[unknown]

On Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:28:48 GMT, "Django Cat"

Post by Django Cat

Post by Django Cat

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected',
which is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is
it "he looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not
go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got
so far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from
a piece of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Thank's, Laura, those are the sort of academic examples I was looking for.
I'm going to come some random papers to find more examples in the wild.
DC

Or even 'comb'.
DC

With thanks.

Aspasia

[John O'Flaherty]

On Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:25:10 GMT, "Django Cat"

Post by Django Cat

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected',
which is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why is
it "he looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets not go
there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and melees'
suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The things I've got so
far are OK, but none of them sound as though they might have come from a
piece of academic writing, and that's the sort of example I'm after.

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Thank's, Laura, those are the sort of academic examples I was looking for. I'm
going to come some random papers to find more examples in the wild.

This is the seminal study thing, right?

[Django Cat]

Post by John O'Flaherty
On Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:25:10 GMT, "Django Cat"

Post by Django Cat

Post by LFS

Post by Django Cat
Then a moment ago I posted a reply with the words, 'I stand corrected',
which is verb+adjective and reminiscent of the recent and regular 'why
is it "he looks sad" and not "he looks sadly"?' thread, but please lets
not go there. [1]
Anyway, I'd be very grateful if I could sample auers', aeurs' and
melees' suggestions for further inclusion in the four lists. The
things I've got so far are OK, but none of them sound as though they
might have come from a piece of academic writing, and that's the sort
of example I'm after.

highly relevant
wide diversity
active market
seminal study
closely monitored
empirical inquiry
national culture
statistical link
risk management (noun+noun?)

Thank's, Laura, those are the sort of academic examples I was looking for.
I'm going to come some random papers to find more examples in the wild.

This is the seminal study thing, right?

Brings tears to your eyes...

--

[Nasti J]

Post by Django Cat
adverb + adjective

sick and tired

Bill Cosby: And tired always followed sick. Worst beating I ever got
in my life, my mother said, "Well I am just sick," and I said "And
tired." I don't remember anything after that.

[R H Draney]

Post by Nasti J

Post by Django Cat
adverb + adjective

sick and tired
Bill Cosby: And tired always followed sick. Worst beating I ever got
in my life, my mother said, "Well I am just sick," and I said "And
tired." I don't remember anything after that.

They're the opposites, contrarespectively, of "hale" and "hearty"....r

[unknown]

Post by R H Draney

Post by Nasti J

Post by Django Cat
adverb + adjective

sick and tired
Bill Cosby: And tired always followed sick. Worst beating I ever got
in my life, my mother said, "Well I am just sick," and I said "And
tired." I don't remember anything after that.

They're the opposites, contrarespectively, of "hale" and "hearty"....r

True, but the colloquial phrase actually means something like
"disgusted" or "fed up".

"I'm sick and tired of your leaving the toilet seat up."

Aspasia

[j***@yahoo.com]

Post by Django Cat
This fine morning I'm working on the e-learning project on studies skills for
Doctoral students I've been commissioned to develop. I'm writing about how a
knowledge of collocations is essential to develop academic writing skills, and
I'm putting together a table of examples. (Collocations are words which
commonly hang out with each other in phrases which form accepted blocks of
meaning. In this context I'm looking especially at collocations with adjectives
and adverbs).
adverb + adjective
abundantly clear

...

"This whole subject" "is part and parcel of" something "your average"
writer should "leave severely alone".

--
Jerry Friedman