
etymology - Origin of "he's 6 feet tall if he's an inch" - English ...
Firstly, the meaning of "She's 6 feet tall if she's an inch" is not "She is 6 feet tall, which is very tall", but "She's definitely 6 feet tall" or "I'm very sure she's 6 feet tall". That is, it's an emphatic version of "She's [at least] 6 feet tall", with the emphasis being on the truth of the statement, not necessarily the great height.
idioms - Why don't we pluralize "foot" in measurements? - English ...
Thus "Bob stood five feet eleven inches tall" or "Joe stood six feet tall", but "Larry stood six-foot three". I would consider both "five foot eleven inches" and "six feet three" to be awkward. For measurements below two feet I would either use inches or, if reasonable in context, fractional feet (e.g. "a foot and a half" or "1.5 feet"). –
"Forty foot" or "forty feet"? [duplicate] - English Language
Shouldn't it be "forty feet"? And what if it is ... It's a 40-foot drop. 2) This drop is 40 feet in height ...
punctuation - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
dimensions Use figures and spell out inches, feet, yards, etc., to indicate depth, height, length, and width. Hyphenate adjectival forms before nouns. Hyphenate adjectival forms before nouns. [Relevant examples:] the 5-foot-6-inch man, the 9-by-12 rug
What’s the origin and history of the phrase “ten foot pole”?
Jun 7, 2018 · Finally, in the early 17th century, a list of units and standards was agreed upon and fixed. The result of which led to the calculation of the perfect acre of land as being an area of 40 rods (in length) and 4 rods (in breadth), i.e. 160 square rods. This explains why we come across written instances of 10-foot rod, and even 40-foot pole
Does one hyphenate height when given in feet and inches?
Hyphenated before a noun, open otherwise: a five-foot-ten quarterback, but five feet ten [inches tall] In a different section, CMoS gives this example: She is five feet nine (or, more colloquially, five foot nine or five nine). So, following these rules in …
what is the difference between the words "tall" and "high"?
Tall is used about people or things that measure more than is usual from their bottom to their top, especially things that are more high than wide, like a person or a tree: a tall lamp-post ♦ a tall thin bottle ♦ the tallest boy in the class. You always use tall when you describe the height of a person: My brother is taller than me."
What is the difference between a ravine, gorge and canyon?
Jan 14, 2019 · Tour Start here for a quick overview of the site
What's the origin of the stock phrase "tall, dark, and handsome"?
Jan 25, 2021 · Hester now looked at her aunt, who was the very reverse of what she had imagined : she had always thought she would be like her father, and fancied a tall, dark, and handsome face. According to an excellent post found at Wordwizard.com, and as seen in the citation above, the phrase was originally used to describe women as well as men up until ...
american english - How to express someone's height in metric
Oct 24, 2015 · If someone is 169cm tall, what is the most common way of saying their height in metres and centimetres in American/Australian/British English? I'm not interested in converting metres (meters) and centimetres (centimeters) into feet and inches, which would be “five foot six” (5'6"), I know how to say and write that.