Warning Signs

[tongodeon]

There's a story often repeated in science fiction programs like "Twilight Zone" and "Star Trek": the hero or heroes arrive in a city of happy hospitable people. Though charmed by idyllic village they notice inexplicably impractical quirks in their otherwise normal daily life: huge walls around the city, giant steel doors on all the houses, energy

Comments

[anonymous]

Certain kinds of crime are actually worse in Canada than in the States: rape, burglary, and grand theft auto, for example. It's a common misconception that Canada is fundamentally safer than the US. It's not.

The amount of murder per-capita is far worse in the States, though. -- Schnitz

[sambushell]

Yes! Heed the warnings, and the portents of unspoken warnings! Do as I say, not as I do! When in Canada, be ultra-paranoiiiiid! The ice! The ice!

[dmw]

Also: practice now: "au secours! j'ai blessé mon bras! je crois que c'est broken!"

[rimrunner]

cassé = broken, btw

[caitlinburke]

Just slotting the past participle into his sentence wouldn't make it idiomatic, though. I think if you need emergency care in a foreign language you don't know well, it's also useful to telegraph clearly, "I understand some things, but please don't assume too much."

So Soren, I'd definitely go with "broken" in that case.