Showing posts with label patrol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patrol. Show all posts

Friday, October 10, 2014

petrol, petrel

Petrol or petrol means gasoline or petroleum. British speakers are more likely to say "petrol" when Americans would say "gas"--
The lorry is almost out of petrol.
We need to stop for petrol at the next exit.

Petrel or petrel ( rhymes or nearly rhymes with petrol ) means a kind of sea bird, one said to be able to walk on water--
Look at the petrel bobbing up and down in the water.
He took a photo of a petrel in flight; he wants to enter it in a contest.

Now that you know that, you can say--
They rescued a petrel that had been soaked in petrol after the oil spill."

Note--no to be confused with "patrol", meaning to maintain order and security by passing through an area--
He wants to work for the border patrol.
"Patrol" may also mean a small group of persons; a division of a troop--
There will be eight men in each patrol.