texts: Plural/singular verb agreement with units

texts:
When writing about specific quantities, should the verb reflect a singular or a plural value?  Do abbreviations vs. spelled-out words make any difference?

I took 2 ml of water, which was/were then added...
Six microliters of protein solution was/were placed in a centrifuge...


texts: Meaning of "Do Ay understand you tew say thet may _sonn_ .

texts:
I'm studying English fiction and don't understand the statement below (which I've put in bold), which I found reading a short story written about 50 years ago by an English author: Till September Petronella by Jean Rhys.

  "You’re mean," she said to Julian, "and you hate girls really. Don’t
  imagine I don’t see through you. You’re trying to get me down. But you
  won’t do it. If you think you’re the only man in the world who’s fond
  of me or that I’m a goddamned fool, you’re making the hell of a big
  mistake, you and your mother."

  She plucked a hairpin from her hair, bent it into the shape of
  pince-nez and went on in a mincing voice "Do Ay understend you tew say
  thet may sonn—" she placed the pince-nez on her nose and looked over
  it sourly "—with one connection–"

  "Damn you," said Julian, "damn you, damn you."

Context: A young woman is arguing with a man (her close friend) and mocks his mother, who belongs to upper class and lives in countryside. Settings: 1914, somewhere near London.

Can this be read "Do I understand you to say that my son -- with one connection --"?  Though it's not a complete sentence, what does this statement seem to mean?


texts: Which is better in this sentence, "maintain" or "continue"?

texts:
"If a conversation starts angry, it will almost certainly _____ angry."

This is a question from a cloze quiz, the two options are "maintain" or "continue".

The answer key says that "continue" is the correct answer, but I never heard someone say:"continue adj.", only "continue to be adj." I do however believe that "maintain adj." is a valid structure.

Which is the real correct one, and why?


texts: Substitute teacher is an adjective and a noun, where substitute is an adjective as defined in the dictionary. However, what about replacement teacher? Replacement is defined as a noun in the dictionary. Does that make replacement teacher a compound noun or is replacement in this situation an adjective nevertheless?


texts: Is there a -phile suffixed word for love of devices/tools/equipment?

texts: I'm trying to come up with a play on words with sociopath and audiophile, specifically as it pertains to audio recording devices. I've been searching for a word that I swear I've used before but have not been able to recall or find via searching, and am now afraid that the word I'm searching for is non-existent.


texts: What does "shreds dirt" mean in this context?

texts:
I came across the expression "shreds dirt" in the following sentence in a story:

  Rocky is a rock star who shreds dirt with his guitar.

I found the following meaning of "shred" on "The Free Dictionary":

  To play fast solos accompanied by special techniques on the electric
  guitar.

However, I am still clueless about the meaning of the phrase "shreds dirt with his guitar".


texts: What is name of the action for when your fingers "caress" one another because you're shy?


texts: What’s a term that means argue on behalf of someone?

texts: I cant think of the word. It would mean that a person would stick up for someone verbally.


texts: Refer to something belonging to someone else and I

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  My wife and I's seafood collaboration dinner

How do I refer to something that belongs to both myself and someone else?

Example:
- My friend's and I's party.
- Mine and my friend's party.
- My friend's and my party.

I can't figure it out :/


texts:
If I define the word risk as "chances of losing" what would be a word for "chances of winning/gaining"? Mere antonyms of "risk" such as "safety" are not acceptable.

EDIT: This question drew more attention than I expected; therefore, I feel I should have given more background of the need for this word.

In an hypothetical situation, a supervisor offers two compensation packages to a subordinate of his: one consisting of more stock, and less cash, and the other consisting of the opposite. Stocks, by their nature, carry more risks not only because of its variability in value, but also that usually there is a wait period (maturity). But it has possible advantages as well, not only because it could go up in value, but also in this hypothetical organization, employees investing more in its stock are considered to be taking ownership of it more and deemed to possibly stay longer, and thus, are more likely to be promoted. Therefore, this supervisor as he/she offering the packages, would like to say: Here they are, please weigh your risks and X's (one word that he is after)?

The first impression "risk" gives, in my opinion, is the possibility of something bad happening; or at least that is what he means. Therefore, being an eloquent person he is, he would like to say the opposite in word. Any yea, by the way, he is an ESL person :)


texts: Are both "**listing** of items" and "**list** of items", grammatical and idiomatic? If yes, when should I use the former?

texts:
This post says

  It gives you an alphabetical listing of valid names (attributes) in the scope (object). This is pretty much the meaning of the word directory in english.

As a non-native english speaker, I would say "It gives you an alphabetical list of valid names".

I've no clue whether it is a gerund or a present participle, I don't know if the expression listing of valid names is idiomatic either.

Are both "listing of items" and "list of items",  grammatical and idiomatic? If yes, when should I use the former?

Any help would be appreciated.

I know both list and listing could be used as an noun, and they are synonyms. I've searched these on Oxford dictionary and didn't get a guide when should I use listing.


texts: How to overcome this awkward structure, given that I won't use the structure "natural object + whose.."?

texts:
We really have abundant false names and hypocritical  formulae,
  especially in some formal and public speeches the truth of which is
  not the concern of the speakers. （self-made）

Many people feel uncomforatble with the use of the structure "natural object + whose +xx". So I will stick to use the incontroversial structure. But the way it is used here makes the whole sentence too long and awkward. How to write it in a more fluent way?


texts: new difficult question or difficult new question?

texts:
I want to know which one is correct ?
"New" is age and "Difficult" is observation so it should be difficult new question but I think it's not ! why?


texts: Be vs being in "Being in a great team" when answering "the best things in our company".

texts: I am asked to list "the best things in our company". I want to say that the team I am in is great. But I think it should be a noun to be filled in the blank to answer the question. So I think "being in a great team" should be filled in, am I correct?


texts:
I asked my American friends about the meaning of this word, but none of them could answer definitely. Some of them said that you can say though if you're not sure about something. Some of them said that it couldn't be explained because it is slang.

I was in the restaurant one time and went to the bathroom. There were two closed doors and a girl standing in front of them with her cellphone. I asked if she was in line and she answered:

  I'm not in line, but they are both occupied, though.

What did she mean? Was she not sure about the doors?


texts: What word could be used to describe the sound of hovercraft propellers?

texts:
In a composition that I am writing, I am describing the sound of a very large hovercraft, namely its propellers. I've listened to a video of one such hovercraft, and it's not a whir, or a buzz, or a drone. I just can't quite put my finger on what to call it. The best I thought of was "roar", but I think there's probably a better word than that.

I suggest you have a look at the video (Skip to about 15 seconds in) and see if you can think of a word to describe the sound.

Sample sentence: "I yelled under the ______ of the three vast propellers."


texts:
I see an event is being organised in Washington, DC, called the Million Muppet March. In British English, at least, muppet has no very positive connotations:-

  muppet  (ˈmʌpɪt)     — n     slang  a stupid person

Is that also the case in American slang?


texts: Which is correct: “I’m done” or “I have finished”?

texts:
Which of these alternatives is grammatically correct?

  I’m done.

or

  I have finished

Like I’m done sounds very American, but is it grammatically correct?


texts: What is a more striking, more hurried verb for 'press', as in a button?

texts:
Example sentence: Not much time left. I close my eyes and press the PC's on button, willing it to comply.
The reason I don't want to use 'press' is because -while it is commonly employed- it is trite, and does not convey the sense of hurry that I desire. Most thesauri(?) provide synonyms for press, as in to pressure or coerce.


texts:
From http://blog.peta2.com/2011/05/coming-out-twice.html?c=peta2_enews:

  I had been trying to keep my vegan
  tendencies on the DL for years by that
  point, but it was getting harder and
  harder to come up with excuses for why
  I didn’t want my dad’s scrambled eggs
  or my mom’s chocolate cake. Looking
  back on it now, I hate how much I hurt
  my parents by rejecting their cooking
  for what can only be described as (and
  excuse my delicate and ladylike
  etiquette) not having a pair.

I can't make any sense of it.


texts: Is there a neat expression for this situation?

texts:
I'm stuck for an expression that describes this example, which is similar to a "self-fulfilling prophecy" but is more complicated:

  Someone claims, falsely, to be a dentist. Someone who likes
  that person, but doesn't realize he's not really a dentist, claims,
  falsely, that the guy did a fantastic job on his implants. He's sure
  his friend would do a fantastic job, he just needs a "helping hand" to
  get started.

So it's not a self-fulfilling prophecy (a prediction that causes itself to become true), it's a little white lie that unwittingly advances a deception. Self-serving (one's own interests, often in disregard of the truth) is close but in this case it looks like there's no "self" in the action.


texts: What's the difference between "I've just " and "I just "

texts:
What's the difference between

  "I have just started working on something..."

And

  "I just started working on something..."


texts:
For example, method 1 of doing something (say A) requires something else (say B). And I invented method 2 to do A but without the prerequisite of B. I can say:

  The disadvantage of method 1 is its requirement/need of B.

Now I want to introduce my method by saying

  the advantage of my method 2 is its (the phrase).

What should I put in there to represent the meaning of "no requirement/need of B"?

I don't choose to say "the advantage of my method 2 is that it doesn't require B" because I want to also introduce other advantages, like "the advantage of my method 2 is its speed, efficiency, and … ". What should I put here?


texts:
Which of the following correct and why?

  The student felt nervous before first day of class
  The student was nervous before first day class


texts: Time and "look back on" as a phrasal verb

texts:
When using this tri-part phrasal verb, i.e., "look back on," what is the length of time it refers to or can refer to? For example, it's common to say:

"When John looks back on his childhood, he can seen what a wonderful life he has had."

But using it for something recent "seems" intuitively odd:

"When John looks back on his meeting with Jane a minute ago, he realizes what he said was a bit rude."

So, is the general rule, use it with at least a week regarding past reference?


texts:
I know that "wage war" is an idiomatic expression that the American Heritage Dictionary defines as:

  To engage in (a war or campaign, for example).

and Dictionary.com defines as:

  to carry on (a battle, war, conflict, argument, etc.):
  to wage war against a nation.

My question is: does "wage war" mean also 'declare war" or does it refer only to the development of war operations? (Sorry but I have this doubt).


texts: "Plural" is to "pluralize" as "possessive" is to...?

texts: I recently asked a question where I used the word "possessivize" because I didn't know the appropriate word. Is there one that's more appropriate?


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "hunky dory"?

texts: What is the origin of the phrase “hunky dory”?


texts: Which perfect tense for habitual action?

texts:
If an action started at some point in the past and still hasn't been completed, we are supposed to use the present perfect progressive, for example "I've been watching TV for two hours."

Which tense should I use if I want to say that I only watch TV on the weekend and have done it for five years?

If the answer is the present perfect progressive "I've been watching TV on the weekend for 5 years," wouldnt it be a contradiction to the rule that says progressive tenses are used for actions that are in progress, not for habits?


texts:
So I was talking to my fiancee and she said "more sharp" to which I said "you mean sharper?". This is in context of talking about her current earrings being "more sharp" then her usual ones. She then insisted that "more sharp" is a proper phrase. I disagree.

So we come to you, oh interwebs, to determine whom is correct.

Is "more sharp" a proper phrase, especially in this context, or is it an improper phrase?


texts: Hypothetical declarative with the present subjunctive

texts:
So there's this usage of what seems to be the present subjunctive that I haven't been able to find references on:

A: "He said he was going to kill you."
B: "What? He kill me? Fat chance!"
Or,
B: "What? Him kill me? Fat chance!"

Now, I was under the impression that the subjunctive no longer appears in contemporary English outside of idiom and specific subordinate constructions. But here, kill appears in the main clause and seems to be a free use of the subjunctive (entertaining a hypothetical future action). I also can't imagine the present indicative being used instead, unless one is asking a declarative question about a future progression of events.
Does this usage have a name? Any references would be much appreciated.


texts: What's the difference between “reliable” and “dependable”?

texts:
Do the adjectives “reliable” and “dependable” have the same exact meaning?
If not, what is the difference and when is best to use each of them?


texts:
Let me start by saying what is written in grammar books on this issue and after that I will put my question. (Take heed that this usage of "could" ONLY refers to the past and ONLY to affirmative sentences)

1) "Could" shouldn't be used to address a single action/achievement in the past but it can be used to address a general ability in the past.

The examples are from M. Swan's grammar.

a) When I was younger, I could run 10 km in under 40 minutes. (CORRECT)
b) I could run 10 km in under 1 hour yesterday. (WRONG)

It's all been clear so far. But here are a few answers of native speakers which I have got trying to elaborate.

Examples and opinions of native speakers on which is correct/incorrect.
*1) First native speaker's examples*
   "I could visit you yesterday" - (incorrect)
   "I could do it yesterday" - (correct)
   "I could see you yesterday" - (correct)

My thoughts
I don't quite understand why "I could visit" is incorrect while "I could do/see" is correct. Does it have to do something with single/multiple action?

That is,

"I could visit you (only ONE TIME) yesterday" if (only ONE TIME) then it's (incorrect)
"I could do it (MANY TIMES) yesterday" if (MANY TIMES) then it's (correct)
"I could see you (MANY TIMES) yesterday" if (MANY TIMES) then it's (correct)

2) 1) Second native speaker's examples

"I could visit you yesterday, but I didn't want to" - (correct)
"I could kill everyone at work last week, but I couldn't have done it." - (correct)

My thoughts

I am confused as for why in this case "I could visit you yesterday" is considered acceptable. Does it mean that: "I could visit you yesterday" may have more than one meaning?  Does it mean that "I could run 10 km yesterday" can also mean something and be correct?

Plus one more question. What does it mean? Does it refer to the future or the past

You could ask me before calling him. (WHEN? yesterday or in general?)


texts: 'in" word in title - Should it be written with a capital letter?

texts:
I'm developing an iOS app. At one of my screen the titles should be:
"4 videos in total" (intentionally lowercased).

What would be the right way to write it:

4 Videos In Total
4 Videos in Total
4 videos in total

Any help will be highly appreciated!


texts: In places such as cafeterias, there are people who put food on our plates, and I want to know what I can call them.


texts:
I think "was" is used for events , prettiness isn't an event , I expect : he told me that I'm pretty , why do we need the past tense with beauty ?

another question :

is there a book that talks about prepositions ? sometimes I dont know what to use after certain verbs , like : she gossips about me , at me , to me , crush into /in , it is bad to me / for me .. etc
I wish I could find it .


texts:
Is there any difference between "each" and "a" in the following context? It is assumed that there is a game that consists of several levels and we need to describe the objective of each level.

  To finish each level, you need to collect all the orbs and get to the exit door.

or

  To finish a level, you need to collect all the orbs and get to the exit door.


texts: Is there a proper way of talking about a negative "privilege"?

texts:
I'm writing about a video I watched at the moment. I want to ironically describe "having had the privilege of watching it". The video is terrible, hence my writing about it, so I'd like to put something in front of "privilege" to describe that feeling.

Any ideas?


texts:
In a physical/technical context, I (being not a native speaker) am looking for an adjective that describes the absence of tilt and found “untilted”, which seems however not widely used. More precisely, I want to describe an array of tiltable mirrors in the state where the individual mirrors are not tilted, i.e. lying in the plane of the array.

I feel that “plane” and “flat” are not equivalent synonyms, since they refer to the surface shape, not its orientation. For example, each mirror in that array could be spherically shaped (i.e. not plane/flat), but be untilted at the same time, and vice versa.

“Horizontal” also does not seem applicable, because the overall orientation of the array is not fixed and thus a reference to the horizon/earth makes little sense.

Another idea is to say “all mirrors have zero tilt”, if that is correct English?

Is my understanding of the meaning of these words correct? What might be other precise and comprehensible synonyms for “untilted”?


texts: What verb can I use to describe someone who is talking very quickly?

texts:
I have a situation where two characters run into each other by coincidence, and they're very surprised to see each other. One of them is hurt, which the other notices pretty quickly, and she shows concern for him. It goes something like this:

  Her eyes widened. In a rush, she stumbled out, "Jonathan, what
  happened to you?"

I want to replace "in a rush, she stumbled out" with something more appropriate. I'd like to convey how surprised she is to see him again and how desperate she is to help him.


texts: If you use semicolons to separate quotes, do you use a period at the end of the sentences within the quotes?

texts:
Here is the sentence in question:

  The worst scenario is when your friend refuses to bear any responsibility for their cancellation: “We weren’t really sure we were meeting tonight, were we?” ; “Good thing I see you all the time anyway” ; “I know you understand how demanding my job is,” et cetera.

My question is: Should there be a period at the end of the second quoted comment ("Good thing I see you all the time anyway")?

If it were a question, then there would be a question mark; so why would there not be a period, since it is a non-interrogative sentence?

I assume the comma belongs at the end of the third quote—"I know you understand how demanding my job is,"—because it is the last quote, so the comma would replace a period.


texts:
They came, four by four, down the vast hall between double rows of columns. The drum beat  dully. No voice spoke, no eye watched. Torches carried by black-clad girls burned  reddish in the shafts of sunlight, brighter in the dusk between. Outside, on the steps of the Hall of the Throne, the men stood , guards, trumpeters, drummers; within the great doors only women had come, dark-robed and hooded, walking slowly four by four towards the empty throne.
Two came, tall women looming in their black, one of them thin and rigid, the other heavy, swaying with the planting of her feet. Between these two walked  a child of about six. She wore  a straight white shift. Her head and arms and legs were bare, and she was barefoot. She looked extremely small. At the foot of the steps leading up to the throne, where the others now waited in dark rows, the two tall women halted. They pushed the child forward a little.

From "The Tombs of Atuan" by Ursula K. Le Guin
It seems to me (and I'm not a native English speaker) that a lot of verbs from the above passage must be continuous.

The drum was beating dully.
... were burning reddish ...
... men were standing ...
... was walking a child ...
She was wearing straight white shift.
... others were waiting ...

Are both Past Simple and Past continuous interchangeable in this case? Would both of them mean the same thing? Is one preferred over the other stylistically?
Thanks,


texts: Is a phrase "You couldn't just miss the opportunity to do something?" valid?

texts:
Is a phrase "You couldn't just miss the opportunity to do something?" valid in English?

If not, what rules prohibit that?

UPD: the question is not regarding negation, sorry to misguide.


texts: Vault or safe? Which of the two nouns can have a connotation of a place where valuables were stored in ancient time?

texts: I am looking for a word that gives a clear idea of a place where valuables were stored in ancient times. Both, vault and safe give a modern sense of storing valuables where the container is made of metal. Is there a word which is more rustic, basic, and less sophisticated than vault or safe?


texts:
Just because he’s charming? Look, we’ve seen this before, alright? We
  have the "D.N.A." - - Liv and I were in the "boxing room".

The speaker and Liv believes that 'he's a suspect.
They already interrogated him.
But the other detectives doubt that he committed a crime.
So, the speaker is saying this dialogue when the other people is raising a question.

I googled it and found it on dictionaries, but I couldn't find a single answer that help me understand this dialogue.

Maybe it means interrogation room?
Or is there another meaning of 'in the boxing room'?

Help me!

(My native language is not English. Please be kind to me. :-))


texts: Informal way to say "contrary to popular belief"?

texts:
Example:

  Contrary to popular belief, depression is more about 'hows' than
  'whys'. And sometimes we even use logic to try to justify it.

I think contrary to popular belief is too formal. Is another way of saying it? (I thought about phrases with unlike, but I think that word is kind of formal, too).


texts:
I am a programmer and sorry if this sounds stupid.

If I have to specify the same value for both the right and the left property of something, I usually refer it as the SIDE property. Is there a similar generic word to use for a value for both the top and the bottom property?

Examples:

"The rectangle has 3 pixels left and 3 pixels right margin" = "The rectangle has 3 pixels side margin."
"The image is 40 pixels high and 40 pixels wide" = "The image size is 40 pixels."


texts: Compound adjective that contains an acronym + parentheses?

texts:
Hey fellow grammar nerds! I need opinions. When using a compound adjective that contains an acronym, where do you place the hyphen and parentheses? I am describing a gene which contains cAMP response element (CRE). So is it:

1) cAMP response element- (CRE) containing gene
2) cAMP response element (CRE)-containing gene
3) cAMP response element-containing (CRE) gene

or something else? Thanks!


texts:
My WordChecker marked this sentence as erroneous, stating that "are" should be "is":

  Listed below are some typical courses of a J.D. program.

Yet when I replace "Listed Below" with "There", the blue underline disappears. Why is this? Using "is" would sound wrong to me.


texts: A companion to McCawley's The Syntactic Phenomena of English?

texts:
What would be a good syntax book to read as companion to James McCawley's The Syntactic Phenomena of English?

As great as McCawley's book is, at times it makes for challenging reading, particularly for those of us with no formal linguistic background.

So, is there a syntax book that works particularly well with McCawley's work? Sometimes, reading two (or more books) on the same subject can help you get a better grasp of things.

Thanks


texts: Are there any definitive sources for English word forms?

texts:
My interest in English grammar began because of learning about the rules of grammar while learning Latin. In inter-language dictionaries, it's common to mention the declension of nouns, conjugation of verbs, etc.

In English, however, I'm often hard pressed for a source to turn to when I want to know what the past participle of a verb or the comparative of an adjective is. I frequently turn to the Oxford English Dictionary, and it is occasionally useful (there is a nice note about the comparative and superlative of little), but it doesn't appear to be at all consistent (there is no mention of the comparative and superlative forms of stupid).

Are there better sources for this information?


texts: When a company drops or deaffiliates with a representative/promoter

texts:
It is often the case that a company sponsoring, endorsing, or otherwise affiliated with an individual, will "drop" their support of said individual for PR reasons, usually in the case of offensive or controversial remarks that the company wants to distance themselves from.

XYZ company announced their intention to ["drop"] John Smith in light of his controversial remarks.
XYZ company ["dropped"] John Smith in light of his controversial remarks.

I am looking for a word more specifically referring to "the termination of a contract", i.e. complete severance of any relations between the company and the individual, than the less-specific word "drop".
Words that come to mind are "de-affiliate", "renounce", "disavow", but so far I think "repudiate" works best.


texts: "Since" being used in conditional sentences

texts:
I've come across this line in a movie:

Ever since she got her test results back, she'd get mad whenever someone asked her about it.

I've known about how "since" can only be used in present/past perfect tense but in this case, it's a conditional sentence.
Is it true that "since" is usable here? If not, how else should the sentence be rewritten?


texts:
I seek a word to describe the reduction in steepness of a slope. The context is climbing a hill that is less steep further up.

I have rejected "levelled" and "flattened" because they suggest the slope became near to horizontal when in fact it remained steep.


texts: What is the purposes of the past perfect tense in the paragraph?

texts:
A third coatless man wiped his bald head with a striped kerchief while he growled at them.

      "Easy with it.  Easy, I said!  You motherless weasels knock a lens out of alignment, and I will knock your brainless heads backward to front.  Fasten it tight, Jol.  Tight!  If it falls while the Lord Dragon is looking through it, you both had better jump after it.  Not just for him.  You break my work and you will wish you had broken your fool skulls."

      Jol and the other fellow, Cail, worked on, quickly but not very visibly perturbed.  They had had years to grow used to Kin Tovere's way of talking.  It had been finding a craftsman who made lenses and looking glasses—and his two apprentices—among the refugees that had first given Rand the idea for this tower.

  —from The Fires of Heaven, by Robert Jordan.

When I learned English Grammar, I was told that the purpose of using Past Perfect tense is to imply the time between the actions. However, I am confused in these paragraphs.

I was confused by 3 sentences:

1) "They had had years to grow used to Kin Tovere's way of talking."

What is the difference if I change it to "They had years to grow used to Kin Tovere's way of talking"? How about "They had grown used to Kin Tovere's way of talking."?

2) "It had been finding a craftsman who made lenses and looking glasses—and his two apprentices—among the refugees that had first given Rand the idea for this tower"

I assume by using the word "find", the writer meant "discover". But you can't use continuous tenses on "discover" because the action cannot be prolonged.

3) Finally in the last sentence, the phrase "that had first given Rand the idea for this tower" does not have a counterpart in the correct of Past Perfect tense.

As far as I read, this is how Past Perfect was used - to describe one thing happened before another.

In the context of the text, obviously Rand found the craftsman before he had the idea. It makes no sense to me to use past perfect tense on the clause "that had first given Rand the idea for this tower."

Could you please help to answer my questions? I really have difficulties understanding English tenses because they are so complicated.


texts: Meaning of negation in embedded yes/no interrogatives

texts:
I suppose we can say that the meaning of

  I asked him if he likes beer

is essentially identical to

  I asked him: "Do you like beer?".

But what if I say:

  I asked him if he didn't like beer

Is this question even grammatical and does it make sense at all? If yes then what direct question would it entail? Is it

  I asked him: "Don't you like beer?"

Or

  I asked him: "You don't like beer, do you?"


texts: Is the phrase "hard bark on [someone]" just a Hollywood invention?

texts:
The only times I have ever heard the description "hard bark on [someone]" was in film. Specifically, just two films.

The first was a 1967 film, inspired by some short stories by Elmore Leonard, called Hombre:

  Grimes: Mister, you've got a lot of hard bark on you walkin' down here like this. Now, I owe you. You put two holes in me.
  John Russell: Usually enough for most of 'em.

The second was in 2007's No Country for Old Men:

  El Paso Sheriff: He's just a goddamn homicidal lunatic, Ed Tom.
  Ed Tom Bell: I'm not sure he's a lunatic.
  El Paso Sheriff: Yea well what would you call him?
  Ed Tom Bell: Well, sometimes I think he's pretty much a ghost.
  El Paso Sheriff: Oh he's real all right.
  Ed Tom Bell: Oh yea.
  El Paso Sheriff: Yea all that over at the Eagle Hotel? Huh, it's beyond everything.
  Ed Tom Bell: Yea. Got some hard bark on him.
  El Paso Sheriff: Well... well, that don't hardly say it. He shoots the desk clerk one day, walks right back in the next and shoots a retired army colonel.

Now, I infer from these two passages that this is a colorful way of saying someone has behaved in a manner that is beyond audacious. It means someone has a lot of effrontery, or what some call "crust," which The Free Dictionary calls

  Informal Insolence; audacity; gall.

In any case, please don't respond to tell me the meaning. I feel I already know it. The important thing is, I have never heard this expression outside of these two movie instances.

Moreover, a web search only yields references to these two films. And an NGram search yields no instances of either, though there are some instances of the unadorned "hard bark" (almost always involving literal trees, but occasionally used metaphorically, as in a translation of Yukio Mishima's novel Decay of the Angel, which refers to "a hard bark of contempt.")

So my question is this:

Is referring to someone who demonstrates a certain egregious indulgence in effrontery or gall as having "hard bark on him" a cinematic neologism, or did it arise from actual usage? It certainly sounds like it could be a rural expression, but how can we know whether it is or not?

Note: The fact that it appears in two films is not sufficient for me to decide that these cases arose independently. The Coen brothers, who created No Country for Old Men from Cormac McCarthy's novel, are attentive students of film, and McCarthy himself may have heard the expression from the 1967 Paul Newman film. [It is worth noting that I have read all of Elmore Leonard's published work, yet don't recall reading that expression there, though Leonard was certainly capable of taut, expressive dialogue.]

Addendum I just read an article in The Guardian about Elmore Leonard, written by American novelist Dennis Lehane, in which he says, "Leonard's voice was the outgrowth of the most finely tuned ear for urban speech that American letters has produced." And I don't think that statement needs the qualifier "urban," either.


texts:
I was reading G.K. Chesterton's stories of Father Brown, and in the story "The Mistake of the Machine" (c.1914), I saw this phrase :

  It seemed to be an extract from one of the pinkest of American Society papers, and ran as follows:

What does "pinkest of papers" mean? I did a little bit of research, and it seems that in Chesterton's time, people who were of high society standing had their note-papers tinted pink. In Sherlock Holmes, one of his very rich clients send in a letter on:

  a sheet of pink-tinted note-paper which had been lying open on the table.

So, does "pinkest of American Society papers" here imply a society newspaper that was of very high social standing, something like The Telegraph or Washington Post? Or does it mean something else?


texts:
I have a question about using subordinate clauses. Here are the following examples:

This book is about how to control your emotions in difficult situations;
How they love each other is felt even through photos.

And I want to ask:

Is such use of sub.clauses grammatically correct? I mean, subordinate clauses equal nouns in my examples, is it possible and normal in English?
What about punctuation in such cases as mine?


texts: siphon vs. syphon - any reason to prefer one over the other?

texts:
I've come across two spellings for this word. Siphon and syphon are apparently both correct. English is not my first language and this word is not used often in practice, especially in written form. I am very curious about this. Is there any reason to prefer one over the other? And which spelling would be more common? Is it a regional thing (like maybe American like one and British the other) or something else. I wonder if this is a specific case of more common interchange between i and y in some words - which would be interesting.

Wikipedia suggests that siphon may be more common spelling.


texts: Does it matter whether as goes at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence?

texts:
As Sam only watched TV all day, he got low marks on the test.
Tom got high marks on the test as he studied English a lot.

Apparently, one of these sentences has 'as' in the wrong position.  Both positions seem fine to me, although I would probably rephrase the first sentence to something like "As Sam watched TV all day instead of studying, he got low marks on the test." because the 'only' doesn't sound natural to me.
What am I missing?
Thanks for any suggestions! :)


texts: How to avoid using redundant words like "not so", "quite" or "sort of"?

texts:
Today I find an interesting table in Writers Write:

I wonder do we have the same table, but for the words "not so", "quite", "sort of", etc?


texts: “Shooting themselves in the foot/feet”: Which is preferred?

texts:
To “shoot oneself in the foot” is to do something harmful to oneself by accident.  How should this phrase be worded to apply to several people?

This is provided to stop people from shooting themselves in the foot.
This is provided to stop people from shooting themselves in the feet.

The people don’t all share a single foot; on the other hand, using feet just doesn’t seem right.

Are there parallel examples?


texts: Is "diversified" really a suitable translation for what Germans call "abwechslungsreich"?

texts:
I need a word to describe a meeting or conference or other event which was the opposite of boring due to the variation of activities there.*

German language has abwechslungsreich, literally rich-of-changes. All dictionaries I have available recommend diversified, but then, more precise definitions all meander around "diversifying a business" etc., and that's quite a different thing.

So, what would native speakers use to describe a meeting that is pleasant for attendants because there is enough (but not too much) variation in activities?

Note: abwechslungsreich is very often used also for landscapes. Would

  Bulgaria has a diversified landscape.

be a good sentence? My feeling is: rather not. But what could be used instead?

*) I do not mean interesting, which one could claim is the primary opposite of boring. Interesting is regarding the contents of a meeting and the attitude of an attendant towards it. Abwechslungsreich however is about the agenda of the meeting.


texts: What does it take for a colloquial meaning to become canon?

texts:
I've been listening to Alanis Morissette, so I started thinking about why there is such a fuss about how she used the word "ironic" incorrectly.  In my experience, literary irony is generally just as well described by the term "sarcasm", but there is no one word that really describes the "unfortunate coincidence" meaning that "irony" has in the song.

So now I'm wondering why it's such a crime to use this word in a way that is colloquially understood, even if it's not the meaning the word has had in the past.  English is an ever-changing language, and we have plenty of examples of word meanings getting garbled, so I'm wondering why so many people rebel against this specific change.

Thus my question: What does it take for a colloquial meaning of an English word to become canon, and what will it take for people to get over the fact that "irony" has a new colloquial use?


texts:
I've seen this addressed a lot with "and", but not with "or".
In the three following sentences:

It isn't John's or Mary's fault.
It isn't John or Mary's fault.
It isn't John's or Mary's faults.

Which would be correct, and why?


texts: Ellipsis in noun phrases with possessive case

texts:
Can you omit the second occurrence of the word "poems" in a sentence like the following?

I like Lord Byron's poems, and also enjoy a number of Percy Shelley's [poems].


texts: "as.....as" structure when not making comparison

texts:
Below is part of a recent article in the New York Times about Donald Trump's public lies.

  Many Americans have become accustomed to President Trump’s lies. But as regular as they have become, the country should not allow itself to become numb to them. So we have catalogued nearly every outright lie he has told publicly since taking the oath of office.

English is not my first language and I was wondering why the writer chose to come up with the clause "as regular as they have become" instead of "as they have become regular."

I'd like to know what the point of using the "as ~ as" structure would be when the writer didn't intend to make any comparison. Or is it a rhetorical expression? Or could it be a way of intensifying the meaning of the adjective "regular"?


texts: What rhetorical device is useful but handy?

texts:
So my mother sent me an amusing passage from some Robert Parker novel:

  I sat in a tweed chair with wooden arms that rocked on springs against a solid wooden base. It was ugly but it was uncomfortable.

In the bolded sentence, the protagonist points out a flaw in the chair, then follows that up with a "but", which being contrastive creates the expectation that he'll now mention some redeeming feature, which he then subverts by mentioning a yet greater flaw, creating a humorous little thrill of surprise: a punchline.

Is this "non-contrastive but" a more widely-deployed rhetorical device? Does it have a name? How can we account for or analyze its humor syntactically?

Has it or any of its many potential cousins enjoyed any particular fame in a more renowned quotation? I can imagine a Wodehouse or Pratchett (over-) using it.


texts: Is "fleabag" as a derogatory term for an unpleasantly dirty person a Britishism?

texts:
I have always heard and used "fleabag" as referring to a shabby hotel/motel room, a dump of a place, so I was kind of surprised to see it also has a separate meaning of a dirty person. This usage is not listed in some dictionaries, but does occur in some others.
Google/Lexico:

A shabby and unpleasant person or thing.

NORTH AMERICAN a seedy, run-down hotel or lodging house.

It is interesting to note that Lexico considers the hotel meaning North American and the other one general usage.
Cambridge, on the other hand, says:

UK informal a dirty and/or unpleasant person or animal
US a cheap, dirty hotel

So is the person meaning a BrE. usage? Or was it used as well on this side of the pond at some point?
For reference, "fleabag" doesn't have a separate entry in the OED, but under flea it says:

flea-bag  n. slang a bed; also, a soldier's sleeping-bag; also applied to a shabby building, place, etc.


texts: In a project, what is the relationship between dependent tasks called?

texts:
If I have two tasks, called "Design" and "Development", what are the relationships between the two called?

Clearly, this is a type of dependency, but I need to be more specific.

That is, I need to be able to say:

  In this relationship, "Design" is the A and "Development" is the B

My wife and I have been discussing this for quite some time now, and here are the few we have come up with, and why they don't work for me:

Depender/DependeeFeels awkward, and doesn't really disambiguate the parties involved.  Also implies that the dependee provides something to the depender, whereas this is not necessarily always the case in project tasks.
Dependent/SurrogateAwkward and implies providing some sort of utility.
Parent/ChildIncorrect.  The "Design" task may have children tasks, like "Write-up" or "Gather Requirements", but "Development" is not a child of "Design".
Predecessor, Precursor, etc. / SuccessorHas hierarchy implications that make it quasi-incorrect.

So, the best we have right now is:

Prerequisite/???Project tasks are related in exactly the same way that some educational courses are.  This does imply providing some sort of utility, but not necessarily and the relationship is well understood.


texts: Can prone always be used as a synonym of sensitive? For example, is the sentence "Rabits are prone to humid conditions." equivalent to "Rabits are sensitive to humid conditions."? The first sentence seems to use "prone" incorrectly, but I'm not a native speaker, so I can't tell for sure.


texts: A Winter's Tale Help, 'He something seemed...'

texts:
There is a children's copy of A Winter's Tale at work with a line I didn't understand (browsing whilst waiting for the microwave!).  It says 'He something seemed unsettled' (Hermione talking about Leontes).

I haven't read any Shakespeare (apart from Romeo and Juliet at school) so I'm sure there's much more I wouldn't get but this keeps bugging me!

Thanks,

Gary


texts: Are "streak" and "ambush" really the collective nouns for tigers?

texts:
I am interested in British English collective nouns for tiger. The wikipedia offers "streak" and "ambush". However, when I search google ngrams I get nothing at all for "streak of tigers" or "ambush of tigers".

Are these collective nouns actually in use and if so, when did they start being being used and are there any respectable examples of their use in printed material? Alternatively are there more common terms?


texts: Often I talk with people and they say "yeah". What do they mean? I'm only in USA recently and everyone says "yeah". I gather it means "yes", but I also hear "yeah" when it doesn't mean "yes"?


texts: “Experimentally determined” vs. “determined experimentally”

texts:
Which of the following sentences is correct?

  The numbers are experimentally determined.
  The numbers are determined experimentally.

Are both (not) correct and if only one of them is correct, what is the underlying rule?


texts: Word for a guess that turned out to be correct? (Ex-conjecture)

texts:
In mathematics we have a problem. Unproven guesses are often referred to as "conjectures" - for example, the Poincaré conjecture, or the Tait conjectures. (Notable exceptions: the Riemann hypothesis, which gets the word "hypothesis" instead for some reason, and Fermat's last theorem, which was called a "theorem" even before it was proven in 1995.) Sometimes, someone eventually proves these conjectures, turning them into theorems. Unfortunately, the name doesn't get updated. Case in point: both the Poincaré conjecture and the three Tait conjectures have been proven, and yet we still call them "the Poincaré conjecture" and "the Tait conjectures" because that's the name they've gone by for such a long time.
I find this situation less than optimal. The simplest solution would be to refer to them as "the Poincaré theorem" and "the Tait theorems", but this doesn't let the reader know that these famous problems had a different name in the literature for a long time. It also wrongly implies that they were solved (proven) by Poincaré and Tait. I think the current standard is to use a phrase like "the Poincaré conjecture (now a theorem)", which is less a solution and more an apology for not having one.
My suggestion is to create a new, separate word that means "this used to be a conjecture for a while but it's proved now". For example, let me invent the word accepture: the Poincaré accepture, the Tait acceptures. This simultaneously lets the reader know that (a) this used to have another name and (b) it's now been proven. (If it's been disproven: perhaps "rejecture" or "disjecture"?)
But it would be a lot nicer if there were an existing word I could use rather than having to invent my own word. One reasonable suggestion is "ex-conjecture" (or "exconjecture", since mathematicians like to leave out hyphens). But this doesn't tell the reader if it's been proven or disproven. So my question is,
Is there a word out there that means a guess that turned out to be correct, especially a guess that had been unresolved for a very long time?
(Disclaimer: I'm not a mathematician)


texts: Difference between "I wish..." and "I wish...would+"

texts:
What is the difference of meaning between the 2 expressions below which use the subjunctive?

I wish he didn't speak so loud.
I wish he wouldn't speak so loud.

I cannot see the difference between "I wish...[past simple]" and "I wish...would [verb in infinitive]".


texts: Grammatical name for BEFORE HE COULD REACT

texts:
The man was instantly awake, but before he could react, I had snatched the crutch and escaped with it.

In this sentence,  what is the grammatical name for before he could react?


texts:
Recently, I had to use the following sentence:

"The paths of the php and html files are as follows..."

It's about one html file and one php file. Both have one path and they are separate files.

When I refer to "the paths" of these two different files, does it need to be plural, or singular since it's one path for two distinct entities?

What about "files"? Does that need to be plural? Or should it be singular, since it's one html file and one php file?


texts:
Paul Simon's zydeco-flavored song That Was Your Mother starts like this:

A long time ago, yeah
Before you was born dude
When I was still single
And life was great ...

At least these are the lyrics that I find online.
The use of "dude" strikes me as unlikely, incongruous, and sort of funny.
Anyway, I don't hear "dude", I hear "doo".
It seems to fit the song better if that phrase is a Cajun term of endearment.
Is there such a term in the Cajun dialect?


texts: Are there any exceptions to the rule of adjective order?

texts:
What is the rule for adjective order? addresses the rule but does not state if there are any exceptions in common use.

http://theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/13/sentence-order-adjectives-rule-elements-of-eloquence-dictionary goes further and claims, "Unlike many laws of grammar or syntax, this one is virtually inviolable, even in informal speech."

Is it really inviolable?


texts: Looking for a word that describes something that is of or relating to an empire

texts:
Is there a word that describes something that is of or relates to an empire?
I was thinking empirical, however empirical has to do with logistics and measurement. Here is the context of how I am trying to use this supposed word:

if something is of or owned by an empire, it would be ____, as something that is owned or is of a federation is federal.


texts: Double negative in "...the most dangerous threat was not not getting..."

texts:
I created this sentence:

  For your ancestors, the most dangerous threat to survival was not not getting the social vibe of your group.

I am confused because, as grammar websites say, double negatives create a positive one. So this means that "For your ancestors, the most dangerous threat to survival was getting the social vibe of your group". And the meaning of that one is not the same as the first one because "getting the social vibe of your group" is not a dangerous threat, just "not getting it" is not dangerous.

I am really confused. Is there any other sentences that you guys can suggest? I am really getting tired of this English thing lol, seems like a complex language. Also if you encounter any mistakes, feel free to tell me because I am a foreigner.


texts: Why are dictionary transcriptions contradictory for the phonetic representation of oranges?

texts:
I am a native U.K. speaker with a strong Midlands dialect, and I am very aware of other dialects and regional accents from around the world of English speakers, and I really enjoy this.

I am a data scientist, with a strong interest in natural language processing, and I have a problem with the phonetic representation of the word oranges. NOTE: Not singular orange, I am specifically referencing the plural word oranges.

So here is my problem, illustrated with references from different online resources:

youtube pronunciation video | How to Pronounce Oranges
forvo pronunciation audio files | How to Pronounce Oranges
youdao dictionary definition | [ɔrɪndʒs]
baidu dictionary | 英 ['ɒrɪndʒs]  美 ['ɒrɪndʒs]
phonetic link | /'ɒrɪndʒɪz/
phonetic link | ˈɑrɪndʒəz
CMU pronouncing dict, ARPABET | AO R AH N JH AH Z .

I live in China, and Chinese internet resources such as 3. and 4., show that dʒ is followed straight away by s, meanwhile, other websites such as 5. and 6., show at least some phonetic "e sounding phoneme" in between dʒ and s.

From a native speaker perspective, I feel that 5., 6. and 7. are correct in the final stages of the word in order to make it plural, while 3. and 4. are incorrect. So as a native speaker, with almost 30 years of experience with the language, tend to believe my instincts in a lot of circumstances.

Now when I try to persuade colleagues that resources 3. and 4. are not correct, I fail straight away because these corporations tend to be treated as the truth. As such they do not believe me, emulate the phoneme suggestions of 3. and 4. and proceed to say the word from what I see as incorrect, which brings up more problems in the app we are building, described further below.

I know my mouth can produce the sound /s/ straight after /dʒ/, so my first theory that it is just a natural reflex of the mouth to add a slight vowel sound in between /s/ and /dʒ/, thus not needing to actually include this vowel phoneme in the phonetic representation of the word, was disproved.

My second thought that as a native speaker, have I learned this addition of a vowel from the natural evolution of language? Was it many many years ago pronounced without a final vowel sound? As such, the phonetic representation of oranges has now changed?

So with different resources providing different information, is there a more definitive way or better solution as to better accurately describe how the word is said, or in part, said by the vast majority? And I'm really not talking about accent based, like U.S.A vs UK banana, but more like the word oranges, that so far to me, is not regionally bound for the addition of a vowel near the end to make it plural.

We have a phonetic analysis tool in our app, where the user can say some words and it will try to determine whether these phonemes have been uttered, but with these different definitions and expected phonemes present in the word, this becomes even more difficult because right now I am unclear as the what phonemes should be expected to be uttered for that word, if an additional vowel is picked up, should that be treated as the correct ending, or not?

This post was fairly difficult to write, as phonetics are very much an audio-based thing, so if anything was unclear, please let me know and I'll try to re-word it better.


texts: How do you describe movement of abdomen wall?

texts: When you inhale, you can make your abdomen expand. What's the best way to describe such movement of the abdomen wall?


texts:
"Give him a box that everyone knows what it contains."

Is this correct English? It sounds wrong to me.


texts:
I'm not sure which one I should use:

  Created in ____

or

  Created at ____


texts:
The verb for love at first sight (idiom or word) that is loving or liking them nearly instantly.

Love at first sight is an experience and therefore a noun. I wonder if there's a verb close to, if not exactly, what that means

Example - The kid ____ every supermodel he saw that weekend.


texts: Which adjective describes the "either ... or ..." relationship?

texts:
Is there an adjective that describes the "either ... or ..." relationship between two concepts?
Here by "either ... or ...", I mean mutual exclusiveness and exhaustiveness. Or logically speaking, the "either ... or ..." relationship can be thought of as the relationship between a proposition and its negation.
Let me use two examples to clarify what I need.

Suppose I'm an elementary school student and I just learned about odd and even numbers. I'm don't know if a integer can be both odd and even (multual exclusive), and I don't know if every integer must be odd or even (exhaustiveness). So I go to my teacher and ask "is a integer either odd or even?". Can I rephrase my question like "are odd and even numbers ____?"?
Suppose instead I'm a college student now and I just learned about open and closed sets. Misled by the their names, I thought that a set must be open if it's not closed and vice versa, until my professor told me that "open sets and closed sets are not ____".

I want an adjective that fits into those blanks above.

After reading all the answers and comments, as well as related questions, I think the "either ... or ..." phrase might be the simplest and most suitable way, as least for everyday usage. Just say "an X is either A or B" instead of "A and B are ____"


texts:
I am writing from the point of view of a soldier in WW1 and I have a sentence:

  I am in constant fear for my life, and nearly every second that bullets and shrapnel are not (insert word) I am praying that this war will end soon.


texts: Word to describe something difficult to remember?

texts: This would be used when someone has to memorize certain information, but the nature of that information is difficult to grasp and recollect or a large set of numbers. Is there a particular word for these?


texts:
I'm editing materials for a TOEIC test and the following answer came up: "Leo is quite vigorous."  The picture shows a boy on a bicycle struggling to get up a hill.

There is a discussion in the office about "vigorous."  I looked online for usage examples and found most (if not all) were of the sort vigorous NOUN or vigorous used as an adverb.  I prefer the answer be "Leo is pedaling vigorously" or "Leo is having a vigorous workout." or something that uses "vigorous" in the way that makes sense to me.

My question: Can vigorous be used in this way?  If so, why? and if not, why not?


texts: Should one enclose variable names in commata?

texts:
In scientific writing, when should one enclose variable names in commas?
Take the following example sentences:

1a) "For a set of pixels S, two pixels p and q from S are said to be connected if there exists a path between them."
1b)"For a set of pixels, S, two pixels, p and q from S, are said to be connected if there exists a path between them."

and

2a)"The 4-neighbors N4 are marked in light gray, and the diagonal neighbors ND are marked in dark gray."
2b)"The 4-neighbors, N4, are marked in light gray, and the diagonal neighbors, ND, are marked in dark gray."

Which would you prefer and why? (Or are both bad?) More generally: is there any hard rule for this?
EDIT: My field is computer science.


texts:
Why is in this sentence didn't use past participle of the verb give:

  He'd give a doorman a 100$ just for opening the door.

Sentence if from the film Goodfellas.


texts: Why is 1 hand-written without a serif and 7 without a dash?

texts:
I've noticed that people coming from English-speaking countries tend to write "1" without the upstroke and "7" without a dash:

which differs from the way the numbers are usually written in continental Europe1:

Is there any particular (historical?) reason for this?

1 According to Wikipedia, "most people in Continental Europe, Latin America, and New England write 7 with a line in the middle ("7"), sometimes with the top line crooked."


texts: English equivalent for "Just eat the cake. Why count the holes?"

texts:
In Malayalam/Indian, there's an expression:

  Appam thinnal pore, kuzhi ennano!

It literally translates to:

  Just eat the appam (Indian pancake). Why count the holes!

It implies that one should just enjoy the final product and need not bother how it originated.

It is usually said by an impatient person when asked too many questions about his product or method.

What could be an equivalent expression in English?


texts: Is an indentation needed for a new paragraph?

texts:
Is an indentation (Tab button in Word) needed for a new paragraph when you start one? I was told to do that a long time ago but 3 years after I stopped doing it and have done it since.

Are you meant to indent when you start a new paragraph?


texts: Choosing Past Simple or Past Perfect: Do I need "had" here?

texts:
Do I need "had" here? If yes, do I need to change "did" to "done"?

  A: Lucy accidentally broke her mum’s favorite cup yesterday.

  B:  Oh! I think her mom was really angry at her, right?

  A:  Not really.

  B:  Why not?

  A:  Well, as soon as she broke the cup she began to clean in the house. By the time her mom came back from work Lucy had cleaned three
  rooms, did all the dishes in the kitchen, and even mopped the
  staircase! Her mom was very happy when she got home.


texts: Do serious grammarians endorse the "Can I"/"May I" distinction?

texts:
Just now, I wanted to ask a question that was something like, "Can I get a thorough list of all the parts of speech that a sentence can be broken down into?" But then a nagging voice appeared in my head and said,
"Of course you can! You certainly have the capability -- but that's not what you want, is it." "You're asking for help, so use may."

My question is: Should I invariably trust that voice, instilled in students by grammar school teachers everywhere? What do serious linguists and language enthusiasts think about the "Can I"/"May I" distinction?  Would they agree, or is it fair to say that using "can" there has become proper idiomatic English? I ask because I couldn't really think of a quick way to rephrase that sentence using "may", and began to wonder whether it was just another one of those kludgy myths megalomaniac teachers enforce on their students...


texts:
Is the expression "to have merchant's ears" an idiom or a recognized adage, meaning "pretending not to understand"?

Please explain with examples or provide a better idiomatic phrase.


texts: Is it commonly accepted using the slash to mean "as well as", rather than "or"?

texts:
I hope this is the end of blind US/UK support for a state with a shocking record of human rights. (BBC)

As is well known, the most common use of the slash is to link words which are alternative, as in, as an instance, "Everyone must submit his/her name."

But, is the above a general convention? Or, is there a regional difference between the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand usage?

I know, as John Lawler says, that there is neither standard English nor international English, but wouldn't be better to replace the slash with an hyphen in the above BBC's sentence in order to avoid confusion among readers, at least in an international context?

  I hope this is the end of blind US-UK support for a state with a shocking record of human rights.


texts: I know the common usage of the word rider is for motorcycles and bicycles, but I would like to know if you can call a person who drives a car a rider?


texts: The word inorganic is patently inappropriate for describing food, even if that food wasn't produced in a manner consistent with organic farming. Wikipedia points this out, but doesn't really offer an alternative. While the phrase food produced through chemical farming may leave some people with a bad taste in their mouth, I doubt it carries the same connotation as food that is not organic food. Is there a better word to use here?


texts: Is there a visual equivalent of the word "overhear"?

texts:
I love the word overhear. I often want to communicate a similar concept, but visually - with somebody looking over my shoulder at my computer screen, for example.

"My husband (overheard) me shopping for his birthday present" - except if he used his eyes, not his ears.

"Oversee" obviously means something completely unrelated. So does there exist a word that means what I want?


texts:
So I see there is another question asked here before about the different pronunciations of -ough but my concern is not quite the same.

So I am preparing for my presentation tomorrow on interesting facts about the English language and I would like to talk about the different pronunciations of -ough.  I came across this image online that is a popular example for the various sounds:

Supposedly, the -ough in every word sounds different. However, I don't see how slough and plough are different. If they intend to use the pronunciation of slough as in "sluff", then I don't see how it is different from rough. Even if they mean "slew", it rhymes with through.

So how does it bear a unique pronunciation? Can any experts here shed some light?


texts: Is it possible to "defy the laws of physics"?

texts:
Assuming that it's impossible to circumvent the laws of physics, is it possible to defy them?

That is, in order to defy something, do you necessarily have to have some success in resisting it, or can your defiance be totally futile?


texts:
Soon, we will lie awake to talking and laughing until the sunrise

Soon, we will stay awake for talking and laughing until sunrise


texts: When a zombie groans “braaains”, what type of speech is this?

texts: Is the zombie asking for brains? Demanding? It seems like a compulsion that they can't control, but is it an exclamation? A declaration of intent? How would you classify it?


texts:
I am looking for expressions roughly synynymous wtih 'to risk death'.
The following are some examples. Can you think of others?

to risk one's life

to put one's life on the line

to flirt with death

to dice with death

to mortgage one's life

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Right use of expressions like 'Is today any match'?

texts:
I recently went to the US and one day I was talking with one of my colleagues about sports and I asked "Is today any match of World Series?" which was definitely incorrect judging by her reaction (which was, "Are you asking 'Are there any matches today?'") but fairly common in India where I hail from. My question is, we use "Today is my birthday", and "Today is the match between abc and xyz". Are all of these incorrect? Should it be "It is my birthday today"?

And speaking of birthdays, I was recently watching a movie, and one line was "Is it your birthday?". That did not go down with me because I think it should have been "Is it your birthday today?" I am not really sure what is the difference between these two.

Can anyone help with this?


texts: What does ‘alpha’ mean in the phrase, “A plea came for the President to be more alpha.”

texts:
I find the articles of New York Times’ columnist, Maureen Dowd, a treasure house of English expressions unfamiliar to non-native English learners. It’s stud with knotty expressions and new words to me. In her article titled Dystopia and Alpha (August 2), I stumbled on the word alpha in the beginning line

  President Obama was on the way to Alpha when a plea came for him to be, well, more alpha.

The first Alpha is obviously the name of a town in Illinois, but what does the second alpha mean? Is it used as a noun, or adjective?

I checked the Cambridge Dictionary to find the meaning of alpha and simply found its definition as ‘the first letter of the Greek alphabet.’ Aside the same definition, Merriam-Webster provides the meanings as adjectives:
(1) closed in the structure of an organic molecule to a particular group of atom
 (2) socially dominant, especially in a group of animals.


texts: Is "prepper" a word that an average English speaking person understands?

texts: Is prepper a word that an average English speaking person understands (and also uses)?


texts: Usage of “odyssey” versus “saga” – is travel the distinguishing difference between these two words?

texts:
In usage, what is the key difference between an odyssey and a saga?    Both seem to refer to long accounts of adventures, with struggles and dramatic events along the way.    Sometimes I see the two words used in the same context, e.g., The Saga of the White Russian Refugees in the Philippines by Ricardo Suarez ... that details the White Russians' odyssey from Russia to China

One difference might be that a saga doesn't necessarily involve a journey, but in practice most of the sagas that I've read (and granted, the original sagas involved Vikings) did seem to involve journeys.

So are the two words more or less interchangeable or are there key distinctions I should be aware of when using them?


texts:
Recently, reading Edgar Allen Poe, I came across the phrase "thus much" and am struggling greatly to figure out its exact meaning. The first context in which it's written is in the poem A dream within a dream.

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow -
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
...

The second place in which he seemed to have used "thus much" in such a way was found while searching through the internet yesterday, so I'm just going to copy paste the part of the question from a forum where I'd found this.

I have thought proper to premise thus much, lest the incredible tale I have to tell should be considered rather the raving of a crude imagination, than the positive experience of a mind to which the reveries of fancy have been a dead letter and a nullity.

Edgar Allan Poe - Message in a bottle

Now, "thus" in the first example could hold a similar meaning to "therefore", but surely he would have used a comma after it then, wouldn't he? "Thus much" in the second example, however, appears to mean something more along the lines of "this much", but again, why wouldn't he just write that instead, were that the case.


texts:
What is the origin of "hang tight"? When did it first appear in the American lexicon? It's meaning is well defined:

To remain in one's current location.
To wait patiently.

Checking Etymonline shows origins for "hang" and "tight":

hang — Teen slang sense of "spend time" first recorded 1951; hang around "idle, loiter" is from 1828, American English; also compare hang out. To hang back "be reluctant to proceed" is from 1580s; phrase hang an arse "hesitate, hold back" is from 1590s. Verbal phrase hang fire (1781) originally was used of guns that were slow in communicating the fire through the vent to the charge. To let it all hang out "be relaxed and uninhibited" is from 1967.
tight — From 1670s as an adverb; to sit tight is from 1738; sleep tight as a salutation in sending someone off to bed is by 1871.

Is "hang tight" just a simple combination of previous meanings that eventually became its own idiom? A few informal sources suggest it originated in surfing communities but it seemed like speculation.


texts:
Temporary reopen note:

Pleas note that this other question here does not address what or compare it to which or that:

When to use “that” and when to use “which”?

Original Question

Which sentence would you use more, which is just simple wrong and why?

This is the speech, that my father wrote.
This is the speech, which my father wrote.
This is the speech, what my father wrote.

This is the speech, that my father wrote down.
This is the speech, which my father wrote down.
This is the speech, what my father wrote down.


texts:
I have recently read the following quote from a famous vegan activist:

  How would you feel if the moment you were born someone else had already planned the day of your execution?

However, I think that there is an "at" missing:

  How would you feel if at the moment you were born someone else had already planned the day of your execution?

Is this correct? Also, I think there should be no commas, right? Thank you very much.


texts:
Include logo on the header of all the pages.

In that sentence, is it correct to use on or should it be in?

I have a decent idea of where to use on and in most of the time. But in the above sentence, both seem to be correct.


texts:
Should I use a comma before and after "it seems" in the following sentence?

  "The reason to the financial crisis, it seems, is the greediness of bankers."


texts:
I am reading Charles Bukowski's Pulp and as non-native English speaker I am finding decoding certain expressions challenging. For example the main character, Nicky Belane, often refers to himself using the phrase "best dick (in L.A.)". Given the context, it seems to me the word "dick" is here used as for "detective", but I couldn't find this meaning anywhere else - in other books or on the internet.

One example:

  The next day I took a chance and went back to the office. After all, what's a dick without a office? (p. 16)

Or:

  'Hey,' said McKelvey, 'where'd you get that damned thing?'
  'A dick without a gat is like a tomcat with a rubber. Or like a clock without hands.' (p. 13)


texts: How should I interpret “case” in the headline, “Obama Case Against Ground War: 100 U.S. Deaths a Month”

texts:
There was the article with a headline, “Obama Case Against Ground War: 100 U.S. Deaths a Month” in New York Times (December 17) followed by the paragraph:

  “President Obama acknowledged that Americans worried he was not doing
  enough to prevent terrorism but said the cost of sending ground troops
  to the Middle East was too high.”

I am a bit at a loss to interpret the word, ‘case’ in the phrase, “Obama case against ground war” though I presume it means Obama made out a case against ground war to a group of news columnists in a private session recently held in White House.

Is ‘case’ here used as a noun, or verb? Can ‘case’ be used as a verb on the earth?
If it is a noun, don’t we need a possessive case ‘s?
If it is a verb, don’t we need a third person, singular, present tense s?
Is some words (eg. made, made out) dropped before ‘case’ just for the purpose of contraction?

I suspect this is a very primitive question. But I’m asking this as Japanese saying goes – Asking question is a momentary shame. Not asking question is a lifetime shame.


texts:
In Russian language we have this joke:

-- Is this a taxi?
-- Yes
-- Why isn't the car yellow then?
-- Do you want a yellow car or do you need a ride?

We often use the last phrase of the joke as an idiom, meaning "you can do something right now quickly even if it sounds/looks unusual or incorrect, OR you can wait for a 100% legit opportunity which might take forever". The closest analogy in English I found was written by Shakespeare:

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.

William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. Act II. Scene II.

However I'd like to know if there's a simpler everyday saying maybe? Maybe something like "You want brands or goods" will do?


texts: What english verb is used in the most phrasal verbs

texts:
This is just for fun. I've recently learned about phrasal verbs.

I'm interested in a total count of actual phrasal verbs for a given base verb. For example, "throw" is used in the formation of "throw up", "throw out", and "throw in", for a count of 3 (maybe there are more I'm missing).

If you think this question doesn't belong here, I apologize. Let me know and I'll delete it.


texts:
Lets's say we have a simple sentence about a fact that always (almost) applies, such as: 'Birds make their nests on the trees'.

There is no article before 'Birds' as it is a generalisation. What about the other nouns? Could we just say: 'Birds make nests on trees', as all the nouns are referred to generally?

Do we always need an article when talking about positions, such as 'Under the bed' or 'On the table'? Or could one get away with saying just 'You should never sleep on tables'?


texts: Is there a precedence of clauses in a sentence without commas, or is it just ambiguous?

texts:
I have been asked to make symbolic translation of an English sentence during a formal logic exam, which I believed to be rather ambiguous. The TA asserted that the sentence is not ambiguous, and the reason why we cannot see the clear meaning is that we are not native English speakers. The sentence is exactly as follows:

  If either a war or a depression occurs then neither science nor music and literature will flourish unless the government supports research and provides patronage for artists.

Here I see two connectives, if-then and unless, and no commas what-so-ever, which allows me to interpret the sentence in two different ways:

If either a war or a depression occurs, then [neither science nor music and literature will flourish unless the government supports research and provides patronage for artists].

if (either a war or a depression occurs) then
|   unless (the government supports research and provides patronage for artists)
|   |   neither science nor music and literature will flourish
|   end-unless
end-if

[If either a war or a depression occurs, then neither science nor music and literature will flourish] unless the government supports research and provides patronage for artists.

unless (the government supports research and provides patronage for artists)
|   if (either a war or a depression occurs) then
|   |   neither science nor music and literature will flourish
|   end-if
end-unless

My question is: Does one of those two connectives have some sort of precedence over the other to disambiguate the sentence? Is one of those two any stronger than the other?


texts: Appropriate start of Email except Dear/Hi

texts:
Mostly emails start with Dear or Hi, I m writing an email to senior  and I think I should not use Hi, but even dont want to use Dear as well, it makes me uncomfortable, Is there any other alternative to start an email except Dear/Hi.

P.S

We dont use words like sir or madam in our office , we are required to take their names.


texts: Is this usage correct: "The late Professor Emeritus Professor Johannes Kinfu dies"?

texts: I saw it as a headline on the Addis Ababa University website. Does late in this instance mean something else?


texts: "I don't have what to do/where to put it"

texts:
Lately I've heard a couple people using the words "what" and "where" in a strange way.

They would say things like: "I don't have what to do" or "I don't have where to put it".

I'm pretty sure this is wrong, but hearing multiple people saying it made me doubt.

Am I right that this is simply wrong and they should say: "I don't have anything to do" and "I don't have anywhere to put it" instead?


texts: If America has a woman President, will her husband be known as 'The First Gentleman'?

texts: If, for example, Hilary Clinton becomes President, will Bill re-enter the White House as 'the First Gentleman of America'?


texts: Is there a rule why the correct spelling for "Marketing" is not " Marketting"?

texts:
I have always assumed that you doubled the consonant when the vowel preceding it is short.

bet and betting for example; Why is this different for market and marketing?


texts: Why use the word "chasm" instead of just "gap" or "hole"

texts: With every example sentence I've read so far, I can't see why we can't replace chasm with gap. Is there any other meaning of the word?


texts: is there any proverb for "being insanity is better than suicide"

texts:
when people do not have any option to do then they go for worst option even person knows that it hurts him or it is not the solution even to escape from that problem... than we have one proverb which literally means that "being insanity is better than doing suicide"
is there any proverb which has similar meaning


texts: What is the word for a tactile satisfying feeling? Some examples include the feeling of magnets gently clicking together, the sound of a car door closing, or the feeling of pressing/clicking a really nice button.


texts: Is it common to call some kind of figures "visual"?

texts:
This post call this figure

"LotArea visual".

Usually, I see people call this a figure or a plot. "Figure" is perfectly acceptable, since almost all of textbooks call it "Figure".

The question is: is it common to call this kind of figures "visual"?


texts: Success thanks to ignorance or inexperience

texts:
Is there a word for success because of (as opposed to in spite of) ignorance / inexperience / unfamiliarity with the field in which you made your attempt, where a more experienced / knowledgeable person would have failed.

Will of course usually involve a degree of luck.

e.g. being ignorant of a field, you weren't aware of the difficulty of a task, and showed enough determination and actually succeeded, whereas someone who knew it better might have given up or reduced their efforts at a certain point knowing that it was too difficult to continue

Alternatively, you made a bad decision, which through a stroke of luck, turned out to be the one that worked (e.g. for Poker players - a bad Texas Hold'em player may call with a 2 & 7 and then win the hand because 2, 7, 7 appears on the flop)

Edit

(in light of some of the answers)

The phrase is not intended to be meant as complimentary (e.g. "the ability to think out side the box").

Also just wanted to emphasise that ignorance is a contributing factor to the success - i.e. someone more knowledgeable would have been likely to fail.

At first I was thinking a bit like "Pull a Homer" which is a fictional phrase defined in The Simpsons when Homer, through pure luck, presses the correct button to prevent a nuclear melt-down. But that's not quite correct because a knowledgeable person would have known the correct button to press.


texts: Adjective - Having the quality of at-least-one-of-a-subset-ness

texts:
For example: let us say we have two form fields, name and surname. Both need to be filled out to complete and submit the form; we say these two fields are required.

We also have two other fields, email and phone number. At least one of them needs to be filled out to submit the form. We say these two fields are (???).

Does English have a singular adjective which expresses this quality? The only one I can think of is disjunctive because the concept is related to logical disjunction (OR). However, having consulted the Cambridge online dictionary it seems the word has a meaning closer to exclusive logical disjunction (XOR).


texts: The history of the English "postmeridian"

texts:
There's a question on English Language Learners that's been making the rounds recently, it's been on the Hot Network Questions list since January 5 this year and has attracted something like 36,000 views (all credit to tchrist's exhaustive and flawless answer for this extraordinary phenomenon).

I posted an answer, and from a comment, it seems I've done something terribly wrong, but I don't understand what exactly.

Until January 5, I believed that PM, P.M., p.m. or pm was short for post meridian and that it was spelled as two separate words. That's how I've always pronounced it. but it was pointed out to me that the correct Latin spelling is post meridiem. So, I edit the post and add the following reflection

  … in English spelled postmeridian [emphasis mine].

Shortly after, a user posted the following comment

  'Postmeridian' (single word, no space) may be English (although it is certainly antiquated by 'afternoon') but 'P.M.' is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase 'post meridiem'. There is no 'English spelling' of Latin phrases, there are only translations, but even then 'postmeridian' is actually worse of a translation than 'after noon', because of its archaic status. […]

Was I that wrong to say that ‘post meridiem’ is spelled ‘postmeridian’ in English? Is postmeridian an English translation? That doesn't make much sense to me, it looks very much like a loanword that's been anglicized (?) not translated.

The following definitions are from Merriam-Webster

post meridiem
adjective : being after noon —abbreviation PM
First Known Use: 1647

postmeridian
adjective : occurring after noon : of or relating to the afternoon the postmeridian hours of the day
Origin and Etymology
Latin postmeridianus, from post- + meridianus meridian

Can someone explain if the original Latin expression consists two words and is spelled “post meridiem”, why is it spelled as a single word in English with a different suffix, dian, postmeridian?
Is postmeridian (or post meridian) a bastardization?
What is the history of the word postmeridian and its spelling?

Related (paullum) What is the proper name for "AM" and "PM"?


texts: One word meaning "good wish" or "well wishing thought"?

texts:
Is there any one word in English that means a "good wish" or "well wishing thought"?

For example, "It's a good wish/well wishing thought, and I hope it comes true."


texts:
Is there anything wrong in this sentence?

"He was nether unsatisfactory nor, exceeded the expectations."

I was trying to say.
He is not very good

or

also , he is not very bad

He is neutral.


texts:
I'm familiar with the definition of intrinsic: belonging to a thing by its very nature.

Recently, I came across the following in a CV:

Intrinsically involved in setting up and running British courses

What does this mean to you?
Is 'intrinsic' necessary?

I have noticed this word popping up more and more often. Isn't it a matter of time until it becomes a cliché?


texts:
The OED and other sources suggest that playoff is a construction from the late 19th century, while the following source suggests that it was originally used by Shakespeare in  Henry IV.

  What does that have to do with the word playoff, then? and most importantly Shakespeare? Well, the word playoff comes from Shakespeare himself,  and, even more relevant to our league—it was used colloquially in terms of drinking. The expression to play it off or to play off, used in Henry IV, meant “to finish what you started,” specifically to drain or finish an alcoholic drink.

and the following extract from Word Detective appears to support such usage:

  This “play-off” invoked a very old sense of “off” meaning “exhaust or finish completely” (as in our modern “finish off”). It wasn’t until 1932 that “play-off” came to mean (first in the US, of course) “a series of games, matches, or contests played to decide a championship, competition, etc.” (Oxford English Dictionary).

The points here are the “old sense of off meaning finished” and this long periond of time (from Shakespeare’s till the 19th century) during which the above usage apparently disappeared to reemerge later  in expressions like play-off.

Questions

Was “playoff” really coined by Shakespeare with the meaning of “finish something”?

Are there other usage instances or phrasal verbs of “off” meaning finished before play-off reappeared in the 19 century?


texts:
I'm dubious about word order in a situation of adverb plus phrasal verb. My specific question is the following. I want to refer to an article that deals with a certain topic. That topic is not the only one covered in the article but it is the most important one.

Which of these sentences is correct?

Your article deals mainly with [TOPIC].

Your article mainly deals with [TOPIC].

Your article deals with, mainly, [TOPIC].

Your article deals with [TOPIC], mainly.

Mainly, your article deals with [TOPIC].

As a non-native speaker, all this sentences (except the second) sound more or less fine to me. Nevertheless, I'm not completely sure about their correctness. Feel free to add some more options. And please, comment about the placing of commas as I may be fooled by my mother tongue intuition(Spanish).

Thanks!


texts: What is a term for an invalid comment which is claimed to be the cause to something?

texts:
A comment that isn't related and ultimately doesn't make sense. E.g., someone doesn't clear the garden and another person calls him by "dude, are you a woman/dog/cat...etc. (you could put any word here)?"

Another example to clarify this question, is when a person A doesn't do or complete a certain task, B. Another person, C, claims a D to be the cause of A not doing B. However, D couldn't, logically, be claimed to be the cause for A not doing B, since it doesn't make sense, logically (D and A are not related, so D couldn't be claimed to be the cause for A not doing B.)

The calling person saying something which he thinks is the typical cause of that other person not doing something (as clearing the garden), but actually it's unrelated.


texts: Differences in antonyms of "balance" with negative prefixes

texts: Most words only have one correct negative prefix out of "in-", "im-", and "un-". Why are both "imbalance" and "unbalance" both grammatically correct (but "inbalance" is not")? What are differences in meaning and usage of these two opposites of "balance"? Can they be regarded as synonyms of each other? Are there any other examples of such co-existing variants with different uses?


texts: What does "rather to" in the sentence "the contrary is rather to be supposed" means?

texts:
I know the meaning and usage of the phrases "rather than" or "would rather", but how to explain the sentence "the contrary is rather to be supposed"? And how to use the phrase "rather to"?

It would be better if someone can explain it in Chinese and give some examples.

Thanks.


texts: A word to describe the desire to climb a mountain

texts: I'm looking to find a way to describe the feeling of seeing a mountain and thinking, I want to climb to the very top of that in one word. I know it is a common feeling but there does not appear to be a succinct way to describe that emotion/sensation. I've looked in websters, OED, online and have found nothing.


texts:
"Stand to it," in my understanding, is a slightly archaic expression. What does it mean?
I have seen it in a book title and a sentence written in the 18th century.

"Stand to It and Give Them Hell": Gettysburg as the Soldiers Experienced it from Cemetery Ridge to Little Round Top, July 2, 1863 (A book title)
Therefore my friends, stand to it one and all, refuse this filthy trash. (1724, Jonathan Swift, The Drapier's Letters, Letter I)


texts: Do I use the "and also" in this sentence correctly?

texts:
I wrote a sentence:

  There is interesting daily life in the streets and alleys, and also unique places such as old or coloured houses and attractions between streets.

But a senior colleague rewrote it:

  On the streets and alleys, we see interesting daily life and unique buildings such as the old or coloured houses, attractions between the streets.

The main difference between these two sentences is the usage of "and also". So I'd like to know if I used this phrase incorrectly or unnaturally?


texts: Does "Much of the work towards this end" sound natural?

texts:
Would the following sentence sound natural to native speaker? If not, what would be the modificiation?

Much of the work towards this end focused on [some concept].


texts: Term for phrases that combine abstract and concrete elements

texts:
Is there a term for words that are a combination of abstract and concrete nouns?

For example: Mental floss, Pipe dream, Relational glue


texts: The meaning of the word nonce in a specific context

texts:
I came across this word in a biography of the Beatles and I can't grasp its meaning, so I would be grateful to anybody who could try to explain it to me. I looked up various definitions in a dictionary, but none seem to fit this. The following is an extract from the book:

  She said Michael was going to be a leader of men. I think this was because he was always arguing. Paul did things much quieter. He had much more nonce. Mike stuck his neck out. Paul always avoided trouble.


texts: What is the term for the language used to refer to a citation?

texts:
Is there a technical term for the language that is used when someone cites a text?

For example, this language appears in the sentence "According to White (2017), the Earth is 40,075 km in circumference, the language used to signal to readers that a citation is being used it "According to".

In another example, in the sentence, "White (2017) claims that the Earth is not entirely round", the phrase "claims that" is another such phrase that indicates to readers that a citation is appearing.

The portion with the name and date could also possibly be considered part of the sentence which also helps indicate this.

What term best refers to this?


texts: Using seriatim and respectively in a sentence?

texts:
Folks, i need to know if we can use seriatim and respective in a sentence like this:

The speakers in seriatim thanked Company A and Company B respectively to support the event.

What i want to say is that Mr. Speaker A is grateful to Company A and Mr. Speaker B is grateful to Company B. The names of the speakers are shown on the top of the document and not in the footnote where i am documenting the acknowledgement.


texts:
How would I describe lighting a campfire before it becomes a campfire?   Saying "I set a campfire on fire" just sounds very odd, and I've been trying to reword that to make sense.  I've tried "I set a camp on fire" but that sounds off (obviously), and "I set a bunch of sticks on fire" which provides no context to what the bundle of sticks were used for.

In any case, how can I best describe lighting a fire for a campfire that hasn't become a campfire yet?

EDIT:  As Illmari Karonen points out:

  Basically, you seem to be looking for a word that means "unlit
  campfire" or "pile of wood that will become a campfire once you light
  it". Alas, I don't think English really has a natural word or phrase
  for such a concept


texts: is it correct "go off" is "stop liking something"?

texts:
I'm learning English with my favorite singers song.
when I was listening to Taylor Swift' song "you belong with me" , I could not understand a part of it's song.
This song has lyrics like below.
"
You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset
She’s going off about something that you said
"
unknown point is "going off".
I tried to appreciate this meaning with a dictionary.
it taught me the "go off" is stop liking something, so changed the lyrics to "she stop like something that you said"
but after change of it , I felt something is wrong for it...
is it correct "going off" is "stop like something"?


texts: People who treat living things with kindness and love: word/term

texts:
I'm looking for a word (or term) that specifically and exactly describes someone who loves all living things. I'd prefer something that isn't extremely technical (a word/term hat is mostly understood) but at the same time, not too simple (i.e. animal-lover).

I don't think context is necessary in this case, but regardless...

  before going to bed, a teenage girl visits the washroom where she finds a moth. Rather than killing it, she gently releases it outside.

Perhaps this can be described as kind, but I'm looking for something that specifically refers to a love or kindness towards beings of life (except for maybe single-cell organisms).


texts: I know you would normally say, "I don't have any cash on me". But would it be grammatically correct to say, "I don't have any cash with me"?


texts: What is the actual meaning of these lines and what time (Past/Present/Future) it indicates?

texts:
These lines have been taken from Shakira's Whenever, Wherever song lyric,

"Never could imagine there were only
Ten million ways to love somebody".

Thanks in Advance.


texts:
Is there a difference in meaning and/or connotation between "can not" and "cannot"?

I have read and seen both used interchangeably, but I know people who argue for a slight difference in meaning. That is, cannot indicates that there is an incapability whereas can not indicates the possibility of absence. Is this a real difference?


texts: English: looking for a common phrase that means "solving one problem yet causing another"


texts: Is there any idiom or expression for someone who gets something without any kind of effort?

texts: Is there any idiom or expression for someone who gets something without any effort? like a guy got a job without doing anything.. I want a idiom by which i can mock him


texts: Which one is correct: "students' birthday" or "students' birthdays"?

texts:
I know that "children" is a plural noun and "birthday" is a countable noun, but I saw this sentence in a book:

  Children have a birthday cake at their birthday.

Why is "children" (which is a plural noun) followed by "a birthday cake" instead of by "birthday cakes," and why is "their" followed by "birthday" instead of by "birthdays"?


texts: How to write in letters numbers that have symbols in between?

texts:
I am translating a document that has the identification numbers 2017-976 written in letters this way: two thousand seventeen-nine hundred seventy-six. I was doubting about placing the dash like that between seventeen and nine. Should I write "dash" instead? What would be a proper way of writing said numbers with the dash in between? And how to write them with other symbols (+, x, @, etc)?

It is a legal document and the document identification number is, say, FRG-2017-976, but in the original document they both write it like this in parenthesis and spelled out in letters.


texts:
In the following context, what does "listing" mean? I couldn't find its definition online, there were a few suggestions but none of them fit.

  There has been considerable external demand to buy into it but this privilege is currently exclusive to our current shareholders under their preferred OPTIONs only. On completion of the listing, any OPTIONs not exercised by our shareholders may be allocated to non-shareholders, institutional investors and investment banks.  In reality, this corporation will ultimately raise more funds by selling its shares to the public prior to listing.


texts:
I have seen them grow up.
  I have watched them grow up.

Though the intended meaning is conveyed in both sentences, I want to know which in this case is a better fit, see or watch.


texts: A GRE verbal sentence equivalence question

texts:
I have a question concerning about the following GRE exercise:

In noting that critical and popular opinions about Li’s art coincided, Chuang _____ the existence of an exception to her general theory of art criticism, which posits that critics’ views do not intersect with those of the general public.
A.asserted
B.conceded
C.acknowledged
D.doubted
E.pondered
F.questioned

The official answer is BC, while I believe that DF is also correct. Does "In noting that critical and popular opinions about Li’s art coincided, " give any useful information for deciding to choose BC(positive) or DF(negative) for the second half of the sentence? If the first half was

Since he/she believes that critical and popular opinions about Li’s art always coincided, ...

Then I would have no doubt in choosing DF, and if the first half was

Although critical and popular opinions about Li’s art always coincided,...

then the answer would surely be BC. But I think the meaning of "in noting that" lacks the essential emotional tendency for deciding the answer.


texts: What did "cinema" mean before cinema was invented?

texts:
I was attempting to find out the other day why cinema is spelt with a 'c' and not a 'k', as its etymology would seem to require. While doing so I noticed that the word cinema was used long before it could have had the current meaning, because cinema hadn't been invented. See here:-

Looking for definitions in the online dictionaries turned up the current meaning, variously dated C19, 1895-1900 or 1909, and no other meaning.

So what did cinema mean in the earlier 19th Century, and briefly around 1705?


texts: Using 'generify' to mean 'to make generic'?

texts:
Can one use the term generify to mean 'to make generic'? E.g. a software programmer being told: 'generify this segment of code'.

If not, what may be a single word replacement of this phrase?