Typos

[tenpinkpiggies at hotmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 24263

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Bente13 at p... wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., A.E.B.Bevan at o... wrote:
> > 
> > What we have here is a colloqial expression - it seems in 'British 
> > English' as our US friends appear to be thrown by it. Its not a 
> > misprint.
> > 
> > If someone particularly large/fat/loudmouthed/whatever was at a 
> party 
> > and someone afterwards asked me if I had seen him there I might 
> well 
> > say " Of course - he isnt exactly hard to miss".
> > 
> > The idiomatic expression is exactly right as used by Harry about 
> > Madame Maxine. He intends to say, and does so clearly and in 
> standard 
> > and grammatically correct colloquial english, that If Madame M was 
> > ppresent at a particlar occasion she would stand out a mile.
> > 
> > Edis
> 
> 
> Ah! So what you're saying is that even if Harry is saying the exact 
> opposite of what it actually true, it's still right? Interesting! I 
> guess my understanding of colloquial English still isn't what I 
> thought it was. 
> 
> Bente

Edis,
Are you absolutely sure this is what you'd say? It seemed perfectly 
fine to me on the first few readings, and I couldn't see what others 
were talking about. It was so obvious what Harry MEANT that what he 
actual said didn't register. But as I thought about it, it seemed 
clear that it should be "She wasn't exactly easy to miss".  Now, I'm 
Canadian, not British, but here we would say the following:
He wasn't exactly Albert Einstein. (He was an idiot)
Peeves isn't exactly Mother Theresa. (He's, well, Peeves...)
ie. It is understandment used for effect, not sarcarsm. The blending 
of the two seems odd and confusing...It's not that I'm nitpicky; I'm 
just curious to know if this is common British usage, and if you have 
any other examples like this.

-Cornflower O'Shea
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"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" - Albus Dumbledore
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