Expressions do change in time. For example, "Give him an inch and he will take an ell" has become "Give him an inch and he will take a mile". The ell ceased to be a legal measure in the United Kingdom in 1824 (I think). I don't know if it was ever a legal measure in the US. Anyway, very few people today know what an ell is.
_____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Harry Wyeth Sent: 11 July 2007 17:46 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:39056] Re: Non-metric idioms and figures of speech I think it is a waste of time to be concerned about changing traditional English language expressions. I don't give a hoot if people measure "mileage" in either km/L or L/100 km. It is hard enough just getting folks to accept liters and kilometers without asking them to change everyday expressions. One of the (few) good things about the traditional U.S. system is that the words tend to be short and useful as parts of everyday expressions; they are easy to say. Why bother to change that? HARRY WYETH
