Quick Fire Questions (A Place to Ask and Answer)

[Ursa major]

That's probably because your cat believed the myth (common amongst cats) about how "cheese breath" helps in catching mice.

[alchemist]

The term "fish trimmings" conjures up some pretty awful images. I think I'll go for tuna. My girl would never be able to contemplate going to a chipper. Although, maybe in the sequel...

[Ursa major]

I assume the trimmings are merely off-cuts from the fish pieces we eat, and skin and stuff. (Would a chippy be sent fish to gut? Or the heads? I doubt it, not when the supplier probably has other customers for the innards, etc. Cod liver oil, anyone?)

[TheDustyZebra]

It's only caricature if you give her more than two cats. One should be ok, unless it's pregnant, in which case she might be in trouble.

[odangutan]

Originally Posted by alchemist

B) What do cats eat, apart from cat food, that would be available in a corner shop (local convenience store, for the otherwise inclined)?

If you don't know basic stuff like what cats eat then I do wonder if you should be putting one in the story.

Cats will eat pretty much anything, if they've a mind to. Mine used to have a wee Christmas dinner with sprouts and everything. They also like cheese, yoghurt and most dairy (although it's not great for them in excess). Biscuits, some kinds of crisps, cured meats, banana...

[Quokka]

Depending on breed, mice, rabbit and wildebeast are also options.

[odangutan]

I never understand why cats get tuna-flavoured cat food. You ever seen a cat running an open-ocean trawling operation? No. No, you haven't.

Cat food should come in Mouse's Head, Dreadful Innards and Grass flavours only.

[springs]

Easy one, esp. if Chrispy sees it;

Lichio looked up to see he'd reached the end of the walkway, and shrank back from the crowd's coldness, glad of the protection of the guard's.

Should I have the 2nd apostrophe, I'm pretty sure I should if it's guard's protection, but wasn't sure if I should here.

[Ursa major]

If the word, of, is there, you don't need the (second) apostrophe. At least, not in this case.

However, consider this sentence:

Lichio looked up to see he'd reached the end of the walkway, and shrank back from the crowd's coldness, glad of the protection of the guard's sword.

Now if the crowd was armed, and so were the guards** (go figure ), you would have:

Lichio looked up to see he'd reached the end of the walkway, and shrank back from the crowd's weapons, glad of the protection of the guards'.

Clunky, I know (I'd probably want to contrast the weapons the crowd have - clubs, kitchen knives - with those of the guards, i.e. swords, pikes, AK47s), but I wanted to show that the use of grammar does depend on the context.


** - I've used the plural of guard in the last example as one guard might have trouble deterring an armed crowd.

[springs]

Thanks kindly, that makes sense; I've been looking at a bit of tricky prose all morning - between inane witterings - and I think a cup of tea time is looming!

[odangutan]

Originally Posted by springs1971

Easy one, esp. if Chrispy sees it;

Lichio looked up to see he'd reached the end of the walkway, and shrank back from the crowd's coldness, glad of the protection of the guard's.

Should I have the 2nd apostrophe, I'm pretty sure I should if it's guard's protection, but wasn't sure if I should here.

"Crowd's coldness" sounds weird and, in a way, not actually very threatening. "The antagonistic/bellicose/threatening crowd" might be better but "baying mob" is always a winner.

"...the protection of the guard's" leads me to ask "the guard's what?". I would just say "the protection of the guards".

[springs]

No, I definitely want the sense to be more cold, potentially threatening than an all out riot, they're under the thumb of a pretty mean cookie and there's no sense of overstepping the mark here. No baying mobs allowed, I'm afraid.

Pity because I like the term, too.

[odangutan]

Ah, OK. I would say 'shrank back from the crowd's cold stares' or something similar.

Originally Posted by springs1971

Lichio looked up to see he'd reached the end of the walkway, and shrank back from the crowd's coldness, glad of the protection of the guard's.

Should I have the 2nd apostrophe, I'm pretty sure I should if it's guard's protection, but wasn't sure if I should here.

Just saw this point, which I mentioned in my post.

You don't need the second apostrophe. You either have "the guard's protection" or "the protection of the guard" (or, for a plural, the "guards' protection" or "the protection of the guards"). The apostrophe indicates possession and is used instead of saying "of the".

This also illustrates how bizarre a word 'guards' is when you type it loads of times.

GWARDS! GWARDS! AWWEST THIS VIWWAIN!

[springs]

Yes, that's probably the way I was feeling I posted it! Losing the plot, quite literally - not good halfway through.

[Hex]

Hello. Is anyone living in/ familiar with London able to suggest a bridge that goes over a river but has enough space on the ground underneath it for a coffee van and for a few people to drink a coffee? (ideally, while watching lights come on across the river)