Well, Peter...there are more of us (who cannot understand your usages) than there are of you (who cannot understand ours). Rule, Britannia? All in good humor (humour), of course - Ellen On Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 2:41 PM, Peter Taggart <petersirises@gmail.com>wrote: > Yes Mike, > it is a fair representation, but every time somebody in the U.S. writes > "back yard" I have a vision of rubbish bins and log piles! > I was after getting people to think about their words meaning different > things in other parts of the world. "Bloom" was the word which started the > discussion. My use of it is much more specific than the general American. > "Back yard" was a more provocative example. > As an aside, I have a feeling that the word "garden" has something to do > with "guard house", in the days of castles and fortified houses. It would, > perhaps,have been the area between the inner and outer defended walls of a > dwelling? > In British English, the American term "yard" would probably translate as > "curtilage". The word is more often used in legal circumstances though. > Peter (UK) > > > On 10 February 2014 18:28, Michael Mace <michaelcmace@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > But, please, what is the U.S.A. English term for the British back > > yard???? > > > > It occurs to me that in all of our essays on this subject (including > mine), > > we haven't decided what term should be used when trying to describe this > > sort of space to an American. > > > > So, since there is no specific term in American English, what I recommend > > is > > that you use the generic phrase "work space." As in, "that's my work > > space, > > where I chop wood and wash the car." > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > -- Ellen Hornig 212 Grafton St Shrewsbury MA 01545 508-925-5147