Cricket is fowl in English: Just for laughs 

The English language will ever be the source of puzzlement for the learner. And every newcomer must volubly wrestle with the customary buts and puts before he attains a degree of proficiency. But the unsuspecting eye can jolly well end up in folly over the idiosyncrasies of English – like the husband who branded his wife’s taste in upholstery cheap while meaning economical.  

You could count your boxes but not your oxes, and there’s a sea of a difference between a cat and a kitten if it’s a girl on your mind. Be assured that if you stick to the dos and the don’ts there’s none going to bat an eyelid while you parry. And if one works hard enough (the adverb of which is not hardly, mind you), one might make it to the proficiency club by the skin of one’s teeth.  

While you ponder over your fouls and howls, let’s bowl you over with this verse by Harry Helmsley: 

Some words have different meanings 

And yet they are spelt the same 

A cricket is an insect 

To play it – it’s a game 

On every hand in every land 

it’s thoroughly agreed 

The English language to explain 

is very hard indeed.