trip over

A. There are something one the floor, like a piece of banana peel.

If I want to say that I pick up the banana peel because I don't want the kids sliding down while stepping on it. Can I say:

I picked up the banana peel so the kids will not trip over.
__________________________________________________________

B.The floor is wet. So I wipe it dry so no one will slide down while stepping on it.

1. Can I say:
I wipe the floor dry so one one will not trip over.

2. Shall I say :
Wipe the floor dry or simply wipe the floor
__________________________________________________________

C. John's mouth is full of left over food.

Can I say:

1. John needs to wipe the mouth clean with a towel.
2. John needs to wipe the mouth with a towel.
_____________________________________________________________

ju

:up: ('to slide' of course)

b

BobK said:

:up: ('to slide' of course)

b

Click to expand...

I wipe the floor so the kids will not slide.

Am I right?



Ju

:up:

Ju said:

I wipe the floor so the kids will not slide.

Am I right?



Ju

Click to expand...

If a floor's wet, you might slip and fall. But when mother has cleaned the floor and told the kids not to play on it because they might slip and hurt themselves, they might ignore her warning and see who can slide the furthest on it. ;-)

On a wet or otherwise slippery surface, slipping is accidental and sliding is intentional.

b

Do we say cars "skid" or "slide"?

Cars skid.

Perhaps this is a Br E/Am E difference :-? For us, cars skid. (There is some seepage from Am E though, when specialists adopt a US usage in compound words like 'powerslide'.)

b

BobK said:

Perhaps this is a Br E/Am E difference :-? For us, cars skid. (There is some seepage from Am E though, when specialists adopt a US usage in compound words like 'powerslide'.)

b

Click to expand...

I could not find the meanings of powerslide in online dictionary.


Ju

Ju said:

I could not find the meanings of powerslide in online dictionary.


Ju

Click to expand...

I don't have a reference for it - it's a term I've seen used when the only magazine in a doctor's waiting room is AutoCar. I imagine it's something to with putting the car into a controlled skid by applying gas (rather than braking - the cause of most skids). But I'm open to correction...)

b

Gillnetter said:

From the news -
"Six students went to the hospital Tuesday after a bus slid off a dirt road in the northeastern part of the county, school officials said."

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Which country? I don't see why you can't accept the possibility of regional variation. :-? ;-) Rover's L1 is Br Eng, but he's had more exposure to Am E than most of his countrymen.

Gillnetter said:

A car can slip (runs over some oil or ice and loses traction),[BK - *] it can skid (move in a direction that is not correctable by the driver), or it can slide (in my experience from driving in the Rocky Mountains a slide is more serious than a skid. A slide could end in a crash where a skid make just make the drive lose control for a short time)

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* In this case, in Br Eng, the wheels slip and the car - if not properly handled - can go into a skid.

But this isn't an issue I care to spend any more time on.

b