"... is nigh on impossible, ..."

[Odessa Dawn]

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"The conflict in Syria has become a civil war. Contrary to Freedland's claims that western intervention is nigh on impossible, the west and its supporters – Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar – are already directly intervening, providing arms and other military support."

More: There is no hypocrisy or silence in Stop the War's stance on Syria

"nigh on impossible" means almost impossible, isn't? Is it an idiom?

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[SoothingDave]

It's "nigh" not "neigh."

Yes, this is idiomatic. "Nigh" is an archaic word meaning "near." It's nearly impossible.

 

[emsr2d2]

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"The conflict in Syria has become a civil war. Contrary to Freedland's claims that western intervention is nigh on impossible, the west and its supporters – Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar – are already directly intervening, providing arms and other military support."

More: There is no hypocrisy or silence in Stop the War's stance on Syria

"nigh on impossible" means almost impossible, innit? Is it an idiom?

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Please please please do not use the horrible "innit"! It's used by uneducated chavs in the UK and is the bane of many of our lives.

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Ali G certainly used it to great effect :-D... but then again, he also said stuff like:

Has you ever interviewed Shakespeares?

Why did Jesus go around with all them reindeers?

If you use "innit", your education may be called into question. As emsr2d2 said, it's best to avoid it altogether, unless you know what you're doing and what kind of effect you're creating.

 

[Odessa Dawn]

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Thank you, emsr2d2 and Chicken Sandwich, for your comments. Believe me that I think ten times before thinking of writing in English. I utilized that word because it has been used in The Guardian, but I will listen to you. Yes, I have to understand not only English grammar but also the culture in which it is spoken. In a nutshell, I will not use it even at the cost of my own life. Your forgiveness, dears.

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[Chicken Sandwich]

I utilized that word because it has been used in The Guardian, but I will listen to you.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Yes, and they also used "enuf" in the headline. Do you see why they used these words?

 

[Odessa Dawn]

To attract others' attentions that English language is being neglected because some people who don’t care about it or they need us to read between lines since there is a problem needs to be taken into account. Also, people have changed. If I am not mistaken, the whole idea is to take care of words that are not standard.
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[emsr2d2]

To attract others' attentions that English language is being neglected because some people who don’t care about it or they need us to read between lines since there is a problem needs to be taken into account. Also, people have changed. If I am not mistaken, the whole idea is to take care of words that are not standard.
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When you said "to take care of words that are not standard", did you mean "to be careful of ..." or "to look after"?

 

[Odessa Dawn]

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When you said "to take care of words that are not standard", did you mean "to be careful of ..." or "to look after"?

Thank you. "to be careful of ..."

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[emsr2d2]

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Thank you. "to be careful of ..."

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Then that is what you should say. Or you can say "Beware of ..."
If you say "take care of" then we read it to mean "to look after".
If you say "take care with" then that is closer to the correct meaning.

 

[Odessa Dawn]

Then that is what you should say. Or you can say "Beware of ..."
If you say "take care of" then we read it to mean "to look after".
If you say "take care with" then that is closer to the correct meaning.

take care To be careful: Take care or you will slip on the ice.

take care of To assume responsibility for the maintenance, support, or treatment of.


Thank you so much. I was deceived by preposition of. I do mean the above one; take care. However, it seems that preposition is the decision maker. Again, thank you for pointing that out.

 

[BobK]

Please please please do not use the horrible "innit"! It's used by uneducated chavs in the UK and is the bane of many of our lives.

:up: And besides, the correct question tag here is not 'isn't it?' but 'doesn't it?' ;-)

b

 

[emsr2d2]

:up: And besides, the correct question tag here is not 'isn't it?' but 'doesn't it?' ;-)

b

I note your ;-) but for the sake of the learners, I want to point out that "innit" is rarely used as a replacement for "isn't it". It is tagged on to the end of just about any sentence you can imagine.

I robbed a bank last night, innit.
Where we gonna eat, innit?
Can you nick me a Ferrari, innit?
My sister's got four kids by four different blokes, innit.

I could go on. I won't.

 

[5jj]

I could go on. I won't.

I am relieved, innit?