i think lin and i (even azmi i dare add who suggested 'no names and brands' at all) are not interpreting the rules differently from each other so it is you who have to see the rules the way we do.

you didn't have to tell everyone that 'yesterday' is in the dictionary. the point is, you played Yesterday as a NAME and Yesterday is not recognised by the dictionary as such - not a place, not a song.

dictionary.com is not a world atlas but it does list places other than those in america. Kalahari Desert, Christmas Island, Great Barrier Reef, Yangtze River are just 4 examples. indeed, like you said, they are popular places in the world and had Yesterday Gully been in the same status, it too would appear in the dictionary.

the difference between Yesterday and Yellowstone is that only the latter is in the dictionary, referred to as a NAME.

Yellowstone National Park (there are more gullies than you can count) is in the dictionary because it is well known, not simply because it is in america. being the world's first national park and housing the exceptional old faithful led to its fame.

dictionary.com is not an american atlas either, as you had implied. remember i played Kern Mountains recently? it would have been a strike now with our present rules cuz although AMERICAN, Kern Mountains, Nevada, is NOT in the dictionary. so you're wrong there.

i have been referring and subscribing to dictionary.com for about two years now and have noted that its sources are not solely american.

you're also wrong here. two (or more) word entries are accepted by the dictionary search. try 'purple shell' or 'crazy bone' or 'to let the cat out of the bag'. don't bother checking 'purple rain' cuz it's a song and you won't find 'crazy man' either cuz 'crazy' is an adjective hence too many nouns may follow.

you agreed with the rules and by agreeing, you should have realized that the eligibility of putting names in this game is now extremely limited. Yesterday is one of those names not accepted. as i remember it, you yourself said on the tagboard "ok, dictionary da judge".

ps: i already know about "quotation marks", but thanks anyway