Eating crow and humble pie?

[Torsten]

In his latest newsletter essay Alan says that the phrase 'eating crow' is an American phrase and that he always strives for 'Transatlantic Harmony'. I pretty much wish Angela Merkel and Barack Obama will be doing the same -- striving for Transatlantic harmony of course. Anyway, Alan's essay contains a lot of interesting words and expressions such as 'numbles', 'apron' and 'an ewt'. At this point you might guess the topic of his essay -- it's saying sorry.

Now, how often do you apologize and what phrases do you use?
Regards,
Torsten
PS: You can read the essay here: I didn't mean to do that, honestly.
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Sylla]

I thank you very much , I read the essay is very good howevwe , some words are difficut to understand for me . But is excellent I will refer to my dictionary .
Thanks

[SkiIucK]

Incredible and enchanting.

Oh, missed to answer Torsten's question. I do offer my apologies quite often.

Cheers

[Mambeltz]

I greatly enjoyed Alan Townend' essay. 'I didn't mean to do that, honestly' is so intelligent and delightful! Ta very much!

I'm Cristina, from Uruguay (South America)
Cheers

[Annapurna]

I am very enjoyed to read the essay. But I am sorry, That my English is not better so I can not write appropriate sentences.you know , this essay is some difficult for me but how I did understand , it's good

[Rosap]

Great essay!!

I enjoyed it very much.

I'd say ¨sorry¨ is what I normally use to offer my apologies.

I would like to know how the expressions ¨eat humble pie¨and ¨pie in the sky¨could be used in an everyday conversation. If you could give some example sentences would be great!

Thanks.

Take Care

[Recep]

firts of all ı would lıke to thank you for such a enjoyable essays t indeed very benefical writing have good time with your writing.
recep işeri from turkey

[Jps]

I really enjoy all the articles written by Alan.I'm always learning some interesting and wonderful things from his writings.I'm a lover of the English language and its beauty!My dream is to master this language at all costs.I'm giving English Grammar tuition classes to school students as well as working adults.I'm so 'hungry' to learn everything there is about English.

[Enrique Muñoz]

I think Alan is one of the best writters nowadays. I enjoyed this essay a great deal. It is not just useful information, but vocabulary, history, literature... Congratulations, dear Alan! I am not a posh person, so I like numbles and humble pie more than anything in the world.

Cheers!!!

Enrique

[Emil]

hy
interesting story thougt for me there are some difficult parts;probable they use too often this word sorry , but if that improve social life ,then it is ok; here ,especially in bucharest , when somme one say sorry in the street it will bee looked like a silly ,weak person;it is sad but true

[Svitlana]

1) Very interesting historical-linguistic explanations of some idioms. I don't understand all nuances of the essay but in common understanging even some facts is also usefull for me. Thanks a lot.
2) I often say "sorry" in the situations like examples about supermarket. But I never hear the expression "I'm sorry for you...", I'm afraid that I understand it incorrectly.
Thanks.
Svitlana.

[Annapurna]

This is a great essay but some difficult for me . I could understand little . I could not understand the meaning of some words .
Thanks

[Laimeai2006]

Hi Alan,

What does it mean- a. the English are primarily a taciturn lot

b. a pie in the sky

c. the unsung hero

d. a nitpicker

Regards,
Lee

[Alan]

Hi Lee,

Let me explain:

a. the English are primarily a taciturn lot = The English don't talk a lot

b. a pie in the sky = something you dream about having or achieving but probably never will

c. the unsung hero = someone who ha been very brave but has never been appreciated

d. a nitpicker = someone who worries about small details

Hope that helps,

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A day in the life of a driving instructor

[Torsten]

Hi Lee,

In addition to Alan's explanation you might also want to read Are you a nitpicker?

Regards,
Torsten
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary