>>> What's the 6 letter English word that Americans shorten to 3
> >>letters?
>>> (There may well be many such, but this one doesn't fit through my
>>> euphony filters).

>>Oh you are a tease!  The only one that springs to mind is "fitted".

> 'fit' is a perfectly good verb,  though Russel didn't mention which 
> participle irked him so much ;)
>
> "I only fit that last week"

Ack.
Euphony melt down.
Yankee detection alert.
Queen's English integrity breach.
Armed troops to sect.....

That's the one!

> "I only fit that last week"

In English that would read

    I only fitted that last week.

Also eg "I tried it and it fitted".
"He fitted into the group well."

Proper usage allows:

Will it fit?
Yes, it will fit.
Did it fit?
Can you fit this in.

It fitted in well.
NOT: It fit in well.

He fitted the tailpipe assembly.
NOT: He fit the tailpipe assembly.

Note - the following are OK:

    Did it fit?
    Yes, it fitted.

    Did he fit in?
    Yes, he fitted in well.

No amount of protests will alter this.
Fitted is English as she is spoke and writ.
Fit, in the contexts where I have fitted, is something else.

Not that there's anything (too :-) ) wrong with anything else. It's 
just that it's not English.

Do the USAites have a class of trades-people called "fits and turns"? 
:-)



        RM


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