On Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:20:45 -0700, Mizter T wrote:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15227879
snip

Off-topic, but I've noticed recently that this use of "mull", which has
always struck me as distinctively American headlinese, has turned up more
and more in UK publications this year. I wonder why now, rather than at
any time during the last decade or so?

--
Bewdley, Worcs. ~90m asl.

On Sat, 8 Oct 2011 16:25:25 +0000 (UTC), David Buttery
wrote:

On Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:20:45 -0700, Mizter T wrote:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15227879
snip

Off-topic, but I've noticed recently that this use of "mull", which has
always struck me as distinctively American headlinese, has turned up more
and more in UK publications this year. I wonder why now, rather than at
any time during the last decade or so?

It has been around for longer than the last decade, usually in the
form "mulled over". According to the SED you can blame the 'Merks -
"colloq. US 1879", maybe derived from the action of reducing something
to small pieces etc. [for the purpose of examination] ("mull" being
not 'Merkan but ultimately Teutonic via Old and Middle English).

On 09/10/2011 01:09, Charles Ellson wrote:
On Sat, 8 Oct 2011 16:25:25 +0000 (UTC), David Buttery
wrote:

On Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:20:45 -0700, Mizter T wrote:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15227879
snip

Off-topic, but I've noticed recently that this use of "mull", which has
always struck me as distinctively American headlinese, has turned up more
and more in UK publications this year. I wonder why now, rather than at
any time during the last decade or so?

It has been around for longer than the last decade, usually in the
form "mulled over". According to the SED you can blame the 'Merks -
"colloq. US 1879", maybe derived from the action of reducing something
to small pieces etc. [for the purpose of examination] ("mull" being
not 'Merkan but ultimately Teutonic via Old and Middle English).


The complete (online) OED has "mull" (to consider, ponder upon) as
American but "to mull over" is not shown as American though most of the
examples quoted are American with the earliest 1874.

An older American meaning of the verb "mull" could perhaps be very
suitable for politicians, planners etc

"To allow a problem to be resolved by inaction, to let something 'stew'
Obs". Only quoted from 1857 so perhaps the original meaning.

I had a good laugh when i first heard this suggested, but perhaps
there's another way to look at it....

The BML needs relieving with a lengthy tunnel being suggested,
dedicated services to both Heathrow and Gatwick are under threat of
being at least partially absorbed into Crossrail/Southern services,
and the cancellation of Airtrack continues to leave Heathrow without
rail access from the South.

Throwing caution to the wind, might a high capacity 'Thameslink2/
Airport Express' from Brighton/Gatwick to Stansted (or elsewhere north
of London) via a SWML interchange (Surbiton?), Heathrow and Central
London be a [slightly] more practical idea?

Chris

On 9 Oct, 16:52, Chris Sanderson wrote:
I had a good laugh when i first heard this suggested, but perhaps
there's another way to look at it....

The BML needs relieving with a lengthy tunnel being suggested,
dedicated services to both Heathrow and Gatwick are under threat of
being at least partially absorbed into Crossrail/Southern services,
and the cancellation of Airtrack continues to leave Heathrow without
rail access from the South.

Throwing caution to the wind, might a high capacity 'Thameslink2/
Airport Express' from Brighton/Gatwick to Stansted (or elsewhere north
of London) via a SWML interchange (Surbiton?), Heathrow and Central
London be a [slightly] more practical idea?

Chris

On Airtrack, I really don't understand why they didn't just commission
the rail link from Heathrow Terminals to Staines - and forget about
the problems caused by increased through trains. Then I could catch a
train and change at Clapham Junction - like the vast majority of
people in the south / south west / south east can, and then at Staines
your change takes you right to the terminal. No different than
catching the mini shuttle at terminal 5 if you arrive by road, or
changing at Heathrow Central at the moment.

Oh, I know capacity problems - which then completes the circle, and
agrees with the arguement that the whole thing should have already be
built in the first place...

Ken