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Your Quirks and Why-Do-I-Do-Thats

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pwhodges:
A culvert is a tunnel carrying water - a stream or open drain - under an embankment (possibly from Fr. couler, to flow); OED and Webster's agree on that.  The illustration was a pedestrian underpass of rather crude construction.

Zingoleb:
I've never heard of a culvert used in that manner; I'm largely used to The Culvert Tunnel.

http://www.exploreny.net/orleans.php3 This page mentions it, if you can get past the gross site design.

jwhouk:

--- Quote from: Barmymoo on 26 Feb 2012, 05:42 ---Totally irrelevant but -

The subway is called the underground in the States? What are we talking about here? Trains which run under the ground? Or footpaths for pedestrians which go under the road?

I always thought that subway was the American word for what we call the Underground - as in the London Tube train. Subways are either sandwiches from a well-known chain or the footpath under a road, more commonly called an underpass. Am I totally wrong? Perhaps I have unconciously absorbed an Americanism.

--- End quote ---

My mistake. I meant to say "What we Americans call your "Underground". Fixed it.

Barmymoo:
Aha! That clears up a lot :)

DrPhibes:
I very much dislike the use of subway as substitute for the word underpass. Why not call it subwalk?
A tunnel in my mind can be an underpass or a motorway tunnel. The picture was just that of a bridge. A tunnel is through a mountain or going under a river.
The word subway is the same thing as the underground in my mind becuase I connect them both to being trains in cities.

American words are taking over though, much to my dismay.

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