My friend Vinny used to live on a street called ____ Mews before. Didn't occur to me, and I still don't know what makes a mews a mews. A high concentration of stray cats?
Originally a 'Mews' was a street of stables behind the 'posher' houses where the horses belonging to the folks and the carriages etc. were housed. With the loss of horses and carriages the mews became empty and have been tarted up and sold as 'yuppie homes'.
A mew was where they kept hawks to mo(u)lt. Later that term was also used for the place to keep horses confined (and also in a figurative way in the meaning of being locked away). Later those stables were altered so they could be used as houses, though the name lingered.
molting used to be called to mewe (mue). If you like to read some middle english, 15th century quotes I enjoyed reading it personally. 99% understandable imo, interesting to see how words have changed.
Right?!! Just goofing, I started to write "meandering..." I don't even know what I was going to type next. Nearly fell out of my chair when it accepted it.
Not sure what definition of common they're using. I live there and don't remember having ever heard it. If I have, it was probably from some writer trying to sound intellectual. It's not used regularly.
As someone who lives in this region, I normally only say “Midwest”, however, I have heard a lot of people refer to it as the “middle west”, so I second this. If you live there, you’ve probably heard that phrase thrown around.
They're houses above stables behind large town houses in big cities like London. They're just normal houses now and stables have been converted into a ground floor.
Probably. I visited Madrid this December and those buildings, while very distinctive, are not familiar to me. Can anyone suggest a better picture from Wikipedia?
Maybe this one? https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madrid_13.JPG
There are a lot of pictures from Madrid here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Madrid
Since I haven't been there yet it's hard for me to tell which is something typical and not a random street / building. I apologize if you've already seen them.
I have walked down that street between the leaning buildings a few times but didn't get it. Now, had the picture been of the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium...
Because such terminology doesn't emerge from central planning ex post facto. It evolved as the country grew. At one time "the west" meant anything west of the Appalachian Mountains, for example. Terms often change, but sometimes they stick.
I'm British and I don't know any British people who would describe that as a news. It's what linguistics calls a fossil word and is only used in street names these days, or in the term 'mews house' for a tall house in a terrace
molting used to be called to mewe (mue). If you like to read some middle english, 15th century quotes I enjoyed reading it personally. 99% understandable imo, interesting to see how words have changed.
There are a lot of pictures from Madrid here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Madrid
Since I haven't been there yet it's hard for me to tell which is something typical and not a random street / building. I apologize if you've already seen them.