"KevinS" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Mar 19, 2007, Chatty Cathy wrote:

Average Brit scoffs 2,960 portions of spaghetti bolognese in a
lifetime....

Disclaimer: I'm not intending to be a spelling/grammar/usage
maven with this post.

I was interested in the word "scoff". In typical USA usage,
it means to mock or sneer. There is a similar sounding word
which means roughly "to consume in abundance or to excess".
The pronunciation is "scarf" or "skarf". I have several dictionaries,
but they're old enough that this usage is not shown.


Kevin, you are channeling me. EVERY time I see someone use "scoff" for
"scarf" it galls me. But then, I have made similar mistakes, so pfffft.

"Scarf it up" was such a classic hippy-dippy phrase, I thought the term
originated in the late 60s!