> > > Well, the Brits only scorched the White House.
> > > (It was painted white to hide those marks.)
> >
> > Er, no. It was built of sandstone. You managed to
> > burn everything down the to sandstone. So, no roof,
> > no interior walls, etc. Just a shell. It took 3
> > years to rebuild.
>
> Yes, that sounds like "scorched" to me.
Obviously, you have been in Europe too long, and have forgotten how to speak American. The only time "scorch" means anything other than "burnt superficially" is when you say "scorched earth" -- which implies that you burned everything right down to the ground, to the point that event the dirt was lighly burnt.
Chris
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