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Jackson6612 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip
Hi
There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip.
1: What does "slip" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slip?show=1&t=1322388649 in the context of above proverb?
2: Could I say, "What does "slip" mean in the proverbial context above?"?
3: Doesn't the underlined part constitute a plural form "There's many a slip"? "many a slip" is equivalent to 'many slips'. If it really functions as a plural, then shouldn't it be 'There are' instead of "There's". Perhaps, "There's" functions as "There are" because as far as I know there is no such contraction as 'There're'. Thishttp://english.stackexchange.com/questions/12865/is-therere-similar-to-theres-a-correct-contraction might help you to understand what I'm saying.
Please help me with the queries above. Thank you.
Regards
Jackson
There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip.
1: What does "slip" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slip?show=1&t=1322388649 in the context of above proverb?
2: Could I say, "What does "slip" mean in the proverbial context above?"?
3: Doesn't the underlined part constitute a plural form "There's many a slip"? "many a slip" is equivalent to 'many slips'. If it really functions as a plural, then shouldn't it be 'There are' instead of "There's". Perhaps, "There's" functions as "There are" because as far as I know there is no such contraction as 'There're'. Thishttp://english.stackexchange.com/questions/12865/is-therere-similar-to-theres-a-correct-contraction might help you to understand what I'm saying.
Please help me with the queries above. Thank you.
Regards
Jackson
Top answer
1. Mistake, error, clumsiness 2. No.
- 1.
- Mistake, error, clumsiness 2.
- No.
- You can only talk of the proverbial slip, the proverbial thorn in the lion's paw, the proverbial frying pan , etc.
- 3.
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4 Answers
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1. Mistake, error, clumsiness
2. No. You can only talk of the proverbial slip, the proverbial thorn in the lion's paw, the proverbial frying pan, etc.
3. No. 'Many a (one)', like 'more than one', idiomatically takes a singular verb.
2. No. You can only talk of the proverbial slip, the proverbial thorn in the lion's paw, the proverbial frying pan, etc.
3. No. 'Many a (one)', like 'more than one', idiomatically takes a singular verb.
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Mister Micawber1. Mistake, error, clumsinessThank you, Mr Micawber.
2. No. You can only talk of the proverbial slip, the proverbial thorn in the lion's paw, the proverbial frying pan, etc.
3. No. 'Many a (one)', like 'more than one', idiomatically takes a singular verb.
So, this sentence is correct: There's many an idiot out there.
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