What's "funnel into" mean? When's it used?

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Funnel into" is a phrasal verb which describes the action of passing through or moving to a focal point as if through a funnel. In this case, "allowing some of the particles to funnel into the Earth's atmosphere" can be understood as moving into the Earth's atmosphere as if passing through a funnel. Ex: The corrupt employee funnelled into public funds over the course of 20 years. Ex: The pipe funnels 20 feet deep into the ground.

How do native speakers use this expression?

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Popular Q&As

11/16

1
What does "grab a bite" mean? and is it commonly used expression?
"Grab a bite" means to get something to eat from a restaurant. It is a very common expression and is used often! Ex: Let's go grab a bite to eat. Ex: Should we go grab a bite to eat? Ex: We plan to grab a bite at that new restaurant downtown.

2
What does "fall away" mean? Is it something like "fade away" or "go away"?
"Fall away" in this context means to diminish or disappear. Steve Jobs says "things just fall away in the face of death" to mean that those "things" are hardly important when you consider how important life is. Ex: Work and responsibilities fall away in the face of death. Ex: The quality of the teaching at this school has fallen away.

3
Why does he say "Sixteen hundred and sixty seven", not use thousand?
Using "hundreds" to describe "thousands" is common in English and originates from English spoken in the Middle Ages. People back then likely used "hundreds" to refer to numerals that were in the thousands because it was simpler. Today, it is still common to use this when talking about numerals in the thousands. However this is usually only used for quantities between 1,100 and 9,900, or eleven hundred to ninety-nine hundred. Ex: Rent in the city is expensive. It can be around twelve hundred dollars per month.

4
What does "we so sure" mean? Is it grammatically right sentence?
"We so sure" is a shortened form of "are we so sure". It is common in casual spoken English to shorten some sentences in this manner. It is important to remember that native English speakers are prone to shortening words, informal or slang speech. And so spoken English does not always follow the rigid grammar rules written English does. Ex: You sure you wanna do that? (are you sure you want to do that) Ex: We sure this is where they said to meet? (Are we sure this is where they said to meet them).

5
I've heard that people on the East Coast love seafood like clam chowder however, is the oyster pie is a common recipe?
You are correct! The East Coast of the United States is known for its delicious seafood. There are many recipes for oyster pie; however, I'm unsure if it's a common recipe on the East Coast. I have not had it, but it does look tasty!

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