The English Language

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Now the problem is 2!


What does 'latest round' mean in:
Martin Pernick has shown that concern about establishing the time of death is not new but rather is the latest round in an ongoing historical debate, repeatedly revitalized in the wake of new medical discoveries.
?

[Mike Truran]

The most recent episode.

[Roger de Coverly]

What does 'latest round' mean in:

Boxing or even chess metaphor to convey the continuation of the debate or struggle.

You might write of a chess tournament.

In the latest round at A, x beat y

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Thanks.
What does "is ours" mean in:

Bauman suggests that the knowledge and fact of mortality drives the cultural construction of the idea of immortality – ‘‘mortality is ours without
asking – but immortality is something we must build ourselves.
?
Thanks in advance

[Mike Truran]

Belongs to us.

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Thanks

[soheil_hooshdaran]

What does "at once" mean in:
...although human beings die from many causes at once, it is always possible to isolate a single and precipitate cause of death.
?

[MartinCarpenter]

Simultaneously

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Thanks.
What's the difference between
The boundaries which divide Life and Death are at best shadowy and vague.
and
The boundaries which seperate Life and Death are at best shadowy and vague.
?

[Mike Truran]

Little or none.

Don't you have an English dictionary??

[Thomas Rendle]

Maybe that's his latest translation...

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Little or none.

Don't you have an English dictionary??

There are lots of dictionaries over the web, but none state the difference clearly and in the context.

[soheil_hooshdaran]

What's the difference between
to colour an alibi
and
to whitewash an alibi
?

[IM Jack Rudd]

I can't say either is a phrase I've used. What's the full sentence?

[Michael Farthing]

In so far as one can guess:

to colour (an argument):
slightly change the facts or the language to change how the argument sounds (usually to support your own point of view)
comes from the idea of coloruing a pencil drawing to make it look better. But the original drawing is not basically altered.

to whitewash (the facts)
totally change something to hide all the bad things that might be there.
comes from the idea of painting your house white once a year to cover up all the dirt and damage of the past year