On 6/25/2010 8:18 PM, sf wrote:
> On Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:26:16 -0400, "J. Clarke"
> > wrote:
>
>> On 6/25/2010 10:39 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
>>> J. Clarke wrote:
>>>
>>>>> Sounds reasonable. I'm a little confused by this whole thing, and have
>>>>> been waiting for somebody to post a URL with the facts. What's this
>>>>> "berm" thing? The California Driver Handbook does not have the word in
>>>>> it. My dictionary does, but I have trouble relating those definitions
>>>>> to a major freeway in Southern California.
>>>>
>>>> Colloquially it is the shoulder of the road, or on modern US
>>>> controlled-access highways the "breakdown lane".
>>>
>>> Having worked for the government department responsible for building and
>>> maintaining highways I can deal you that it is called the shoulder.
>>> There are paved shoulders and gravel shoulders. A berm is either a
>>> section of ground that has been elevated, and can be a man made berm
>>> either as a sound barrier or just a place to dump earth that has been
>>> removed from another location or as a sound barrier. It is also the
>>> elevated earth next to the shoulder which can be from natural
>>> development or an accumulation of winter sand spreading or bad grading.
>>> Road graders usually trim them back to to prevent ponding and to improve
>>> drainage.
>>
>> Google "colloquially".
>>
>
> You have been told twice that "shoulder" is not a colloquial term in
> California.

The word at issue is not "shoulder", it is "berm". Do try to pay attention.