Hi, All!

-----Beginning of the citation-----
What was the good of magicking himself out of his room if Hogwarts would
expel him for doing it? Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time
low. Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit
bats, he had lost his only weapon. Dobby might have saved Harry from
horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, he'd
probably starve to death anyway.
----- The end of the citation -----

"Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit
bats, he had lost his only weapon."

What are "fruit bats" and what is so special in their waking up?

Bye, All!
Alexander Koryagin

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* Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/1.0)

Alexander quoted /Harry Potter/:

What was the good of magicking himself out of his
room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing it?

I think literary English requires "doing so" instead of
"doint it".

Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to
wake up as fruit bats, he had lost his only weapon.

I never read any of the Harry Potter books, but this
sentence seems to refer to a general sence of an
impeding or threatened punishment.

--- FastEcho/2 1.46.1 Revival
* Origin: nntp://rbb.fidonet.fi - Finland (2:221/360.0)

I wrote:

this sentence seems to refer to a general sence of
an impeding or threatened punishment.

Scratch that, and replace with:

this sentence seems to refer to a threatened or
impending punishment by magic in a generic manner,
i.e. by turning one into a fruit bat.

--- FastEcho/2 1.46.1 Revival
* Origin: nntp://rbb.fidonet.fi - Finland (2:221/360.0)

Hi, Anton Shepelev!
I read your message from 22.12.2025 12:25

(Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

What was the good of magicking himself out of his
room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing it?

I think literary English requires "doing so" instead of
"doint it".

IMHO you are sometimes too strict about English. It was Rowling after all, not me. And we should remember immortal Bart Simpson's saying "I didn't do it!" ;-)

Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to
wake up as fruit bats, he had lost his only weapon.

I never read any of the Harry Potter books, but
this sentence seems to refer to a threatened or
impending punishment by magic in a generic manner,
i.e. by turning one into a fruit bat.

Unlikely. If she wrote about fruit flies it sounded well in England. But as for "fruit bats"....

Bye, Anton!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2025

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* Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/1.0)

Hi Alexander,

23.12.2025 12:04:56, Alexander Koryagin wrote:

It was Rowling after all, not me. And we should remember immortal
Bart Simpson's saying "I didn't do it!" ;-)

"I didn't hit her! I did NOT! Oh, hai Mark." (c) Johnny

I never read any of the Harry Potter books, but
this sentence seems to refer to a threatened or
impending punishment by magic in a generic manner,
i.e. by turning one into a fruit bat.

Unlikely. If she wrote about fruit flies it sounded well in
England.

How do you know?

But as for "fruit bats"....

What's wrong with them? Besides the fact that being tropical critters,
they're not common at all in Scotland, and the writer could possibly
mean bats in general (as a type).


... "Lisa, do you understand life? Do you?!" -- Johnny
--- InterSquish NNTP Server/FTN Gate
* Origin: www.wfido.ru (2:5023/24.4222)

Alexander Koryagin to Anton Shepelev:

Alexander quoted /Harry Potter/:

What was the good of magicking himself out of his
room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing it?

I think literary English requires "doing so"
instead of "doing it".

IMHO you are sometimes too strict about English.

I try to learn and use correct English, and don't agree
that a thing can be too good, too correct, too perfect.
Things are usually insufficiently so, whence my
universal formula: The better the better.

It was Rowling after all, not me.

Yes, I know that she wrote /Harry Potter/, not you,
and was commening on Mrz. Rowling's English. I am not
accusing you of writing /doing it/ instead of /doing so/,
but I am reproving you for reading sub-par English,
and I dare say sub-par literature. If you don't start
with the greatest classics, you will never acquire
good taste (and arguing about taste is mostly useless :-)

And we should remember immortal Bart Simpson's
saying "I didn't do it!" ;-)

I for one abhor that animation, together with South Park
et al, because (to me) their characters are made
intentionally ugly -- to appeal to teenagers strugging
through puberty's hormonal explosions, for lack of
healthier emotional vents and more constructive energy
channels.

--- FastEcho/2 1.46.1 Revival
* Origin: nntp://rbb.fidonet.fi - Finland (2:221/360.0)

Hi, Anton Shepelev!
I read your message from 25.12.2025 20:11

Alexander quoted /Harry Potter/:

What was the good of magicking himself out of
his room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing
it?

I think literary English requires "doing so"
instead of "doing it".

IMHO you are sometimes too strict about English.

I try to learn and use correct English, and don't
agree that a thing can be too good, too correct,
too perfect. Things are usually insufficiently so,
whence my universal formula: The better the
better.

It was Rowling after all, not me.

Yes, I know that she wrote /Harry Potter/, not
you, and was commening on Mrz. Rowling's English.
I am not accusing you of writing /doing it/
instead of /doing so/, but I am reproving you for
reading sub-par English, and I dare say sub-par
literature. If you don't start with the greatest
classics, you will never acquire good taste (and
arguing about taste is mostly useless :-)

I think things should natural after all, and every time has its own pattern. Is a hop hat, a frock coat, together with a dandy walking stick is natural nowadays? Unlikely, although it is accurate and expensive. Suppose you put the mentioned things on and go along the streets. Certainly many people will note you, but not because of aesthetic reasons. Can a queer bird has a right on existence? Of course yes, although I would not put him as a head of state, as for instance the Czech President now. ;-) The President should look like a normal person. In this case, it is the better chance that he will do things normally, too. ;-) And President should not play piano with... ah, well.

Well, where did I bolt? ;-) Ah, I mean that if we want to learn a real English we should pay attention exactly to the real, present English, even if we don't like new words, phrases and idioms.

And we should remember immortal Bart Simpson's
saying "I didn't do it!" ;-)

I for one abhor that animation, together with
South Park et al, because (to me) their characters
are made intentionally ugly -- to appeal to
teenagers strugging through puberty's hormonal
explosions, for lack of healthier emotional vents
and more constructive energy channels.

I believe it is not correct to state that the Simpsons are for children.

Bye, Anton!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2025

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* Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/1.0)