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Troops on the ground

Posted by Gary on December 01, 2001

In Reply to: posted by R. Berg on December 01, 2001

: : : : The UK news today talked of ethnic Pashduns and 'troops on the ground'. Curious. I wonder if there are any non-ethnic Pashduns or troops who confound their enemies by hovering six inches above the ground?

: : : : Two non-war tautologies I enjoyed recently are 'local housing' and 'advance booking'. Anyone else who enjoys (or is it suffers?) from this kind of thing couldn't do better than read the inspired 'catechism of cliche' in Flann O'Brien's Best of Myles.

: : : : Gary

: : : The U.S. press also talks of "troops on the ground" to distinguish them from troops in airplanes.

: : : I often see "potentially dangerous" in reputable publications. Is there a difference between potentially dangerous and actually dangerous?

: : Oh, I can see that one. A clear and present danger (the guy with the knife) versus the guy who looks like he might have a knife....

: Well, here are some titles I found in a few minutes on Google:
: --"Coast Guard issues recall of potentially dangerous houseboats"
: --"Some candle wicks emit potentially dangerous levels of lead into the air"
: --"Why cancer is potentially dangerous"

Those might be useful to Tony Blackburn, one of the UK's DJ population. When cautioning on the dangers faced by the young he advised them - "It's so easy to have a fatal accident and ruin your life".

Gary

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