Originally posted by Queen of the Capes:
Again, we have both, and they are mostly the same. Yeah, we do have both, but no, I wouldn't say they're used in quite the same contexts. Pavement tends to refer to the literal hard surface - and I'd apply it equally to sidewalks and paved roads. As opposed to, for example, telling a child to "be sure to stay on the sidewalk" - where I'd never say pavement.
(Unless the kid was walking on the side of the road and beyond the paved surface was a ditch and I was saying don't go on the unpaved/risky ditch portion. But then I'd be clearly referring to the road, not a sidewalk.)
And then there are phrases like "pound the pavement" - defined as "walking the streets, especially in search of employment." Whether one is doing said walking on the sidewalk or the road, Google search does not tell me.
I love these discussions.
Oh, and Terry - ta for the "row" example. I knew it could refer to an argument, but I (a) didn't realize it was pronounced like "now' and (b) didn't realize it was still currently used in Britain. I'd always associated it with "old-fashioned" speaking, having mostly encountered it in older literature.
Bethy
