texts: When independent clauses are not truly independent

texts:
If I write

My car can go pretty far and it gets good mileage

I have combined two independent clauses to create a compound sentence. I might just as easily write

My car can go pretty far. And it gets good mileage.

But if I write

Surprisingly, my car can go pretty far and it gets good mileage,

meaning that it is a surprise my car has both of these attributes, then the independence of each clause seems diminished, because one without the other is not surprising. In other words, I cannot write

Surprisingly, my car can go pretty far. And it gets good mileage.

Is there a way to describe this difference? Is there an overriding term for two or more independent clauses that actually do not mean the same thing when not joined?


texts:
Generally, a predicative complement (PC) comes after the predicand:

  (1) He laid his soul bare.

Here, 'bare' is the PC, and 'his soul' the predicand.

But when the predicand, genearlly a noun phrase, is relatively heavier than the PC, their order can change:

  (2) The book is an attempt to lay bare the secrets of this very powerful political family.

Here, 'bare' is the PC, and the predicand is a heavy NP 'the secrets of this very powerful political family'.

But strangely, even in (1) the order may change:

  (1') He laid bare his soul.

Granted that 'his soul' is relatively heavier than 'bare', but I don't think that the order change is purely because 'his soul' being relatively heavier than 'bare'.

If so, are their some other verbs than 'lay' that could have a PC in front of a predicand that is not so heavy?

EDIT

Along with presenting some such verbs, I'd like to know what allows verbs like 'lay' to have a PC in front of a predicand that is not so heavy.


texts: What is the word for the new wife of a widower?

texts:
Is there a single word to describe the new wife/husband of a widower/widow?

More Info:

In countries like Albania they have an official document called "Family Certificate", which is essentially a list of members of the immediate family, and their relationship to the head of household.

Something like:

Person 1 - Head of Household
Person 2 - Wife (deceased)
Person 3 - Daughter
Person 4 - (Word for new wife, which roughly translates to 'new one')

(If it cannot be one word, what is something that fits this meaning?)


texts:
I am looking for a word that would describe someone who is not just greedy but would go to extremes, someone who could take away the last piece of bread from starving children. Someone who is like a scrooge, thing is - one does not say scroogy...

I was thinking parsimonious but it still sounds a bit too light...

Is there a word for excessive greed?


texts: Looking for word describing Brave New World's consumerism practices and the reinventing of pre-existing products

texts:
I cannot remember the term for a system in which an existing product was redefined and developed into a new product and then marketed as better and sold to the public, even though it works almost exactly the same as the product that came before its generation.
I believe there is an ‑ism word in Brave New World which describes part of this about their society and I can just not remember what it is and it is killing me not knowing.
Does anyone know what this word is?


texts: Are constructs such with a hyphen and slash (e.g. "on-/offline") common?

texts: Are constructs using a slash combined with a hyphen to switch a prefix such as in "on-/offline" as a short-form of "online/offline" (or rather "on-line/off-line") which again stands for "online or offline" (which could be written as "on- or offline") something a native English speaker reader would understand right away?


texts: People sometimes use "political-savvy" to describe someone who is aware of what to do or what not to do in an organization or company. I wonder which word would be the opposite of that? i.e. someone who doesn't have that set of political (business, communication) skills.


texts: "General user", "End user" or "Normal user", which one is better?

texts:
On a website I am working on, people are classified into two groups: one is programmers who create programs with C# 4.0 and share with other people, the other is common users who use the programs to calculate.

I don't know how to name the "other" group: "general user", "end user" or "normal user"? Which one is better?


texts:
Over at the excellent Lowering the Bar there is a discussion on throwing alligators through windows:-

  Let’s apply that definition to our infenestrated alligator.

  Absolutely, but first let’s talk about “infenestrated.” This is a
  great word, even though it isn’t a word. As Christopher obviously
  knows, the word “defenestrated” does exist; “defenestration” is the
  act of throwing somebody out of a window. And we absolutely need a
  word for that. This one is almost always associated with the
  “Defenestration of Prague” in 1618, when some Protestants threw three
  Catholic lords out of a window and thus kicked off the Thirty Years’
  War. Fenestra is Latin for “window.” My first reaction was that the
  word should be “exfenestrate,” not “defenestrate,” because the prefix
  de- usually means to remove, reverse, or turn away (like “defend” or
  “delegate”), whereas I think of ex- for expelling something (like
  Catholic lords out of a window). But de- can also mean “down,” as in
  “descend” or “depress,” and I suppose the downward sense is the most
  important one here. It would then make sense that there is no word for
  throwing somebody back up into a window. (“Fenestrate” is a word, but
  that means “to create windows in” something.) Here the alligator
  didn’t change elevation (materially), and the important issue is that
  it went in the window. So although “infenestrate” is not in the OED,
  it should be.

As the writer concludes (and also according to the answer here states, defenestration is the correct formation for throwing someone or something out of a window.

But is infenestration right for throwing something into a window? Or would some other prefix be preferable?


texts:
I would like to link the following two ideas in one sentence:

1) "As a result wireless links are highly susceptible to environmental factors such as extreme temperature, atmospheric effects, and coexisting wireless networks."

2) "These factors are common in industrial networks."

To accomplish this, I created what I put in parentheses below with a comma (in brackets) to link the two ideas.  Is what I've done grammatically correct?  I'm worried that a comma isn't the correct thing to use here because of the preceding list.  If not how might I combined these two ideas so that the result is functionally equivalent to what I've attempted to do below?

"As a result wireless links are highly susceptible to environmental
factors such as extreme temperature, atmospheric effects, and
coexisting wireless networks[,] factors common in industrial
environments."


texts: Expression for something old deceptively offered as something new

texts:
What is an expression or idiom for something old that is sold or offered in a deceptive way as something new or innovative? Ideally, the specific instance of the thing is not what is old or new, but the design or concept, though I'd take either. Also, the object may be perfectly effective, just already very well known, possibly already owned.

There exist related common expressions such as:

"snakeoil" for something completely ineffective, but deceptively sold as an effective remedy.
"silver bullet" for something that is proposed to be a simple total solution to a particular difficult problem. Although usually used in the phrase "there are no silver bullets", I believe just the words "silver bullet" would be understood to identify a false solution even if the speaker did not qualify this with the "there are no".

But I'm looking for something that a charlatan or dishonest sales person is perhaps calling by a different name or repackaging or otherwise claiming is totally new and different. Possibly, but not necessarily, specifically replacing an instance of the thing already in your possession.

"Super Special Sea Salt" is obviously not a established idiom, but kind of illustrates the ideal properties of the target idiom: it actually is what it says it is (mostly), and what you already have in your kitchen is virtually indistinguishable from the proffered supposedly superior variety (if not exactly the same; I believe before it was trendy to buy "sea salt" quite a lot of table salt already was produced from evaporated sea water).


texts: Analogue of "to the best of our knowledge"

texts:
I have seen the following formula when writing an academic article:

  To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that shows how to
  optimize a non-submodular function for ....

I like this construction in a paper, and I am wondering if there is a way to replace "To the best of our knowledge" by a similar expression that conveys a similar message, i.e. novelty, as far as one can tell from the literature.


texts:
I think the English language is far beyond us, but, I'm curious:

Is it better to know the definition to a word, or is it better to know how to use a word?


texts: Why can't I use "easierly" instead of "in an easier manner" or "more easily"?

texts: Can you please explain why it is incorrect English?


texts: Punctuate a double question with the latter question in parentheses?

texts:
I know how to punctuate a parenthesized question within a statement (doesn't everyone?).

I imagine this is the correct way to punctuate a question (where a statement is interposed)?

But what about the case where a full question is within parentheses, as well as outside?

Should I use just one question mark at the end (or punctuate some other way, perhaps)?

These aren't great examples as the parentheses could be removed in all cases except the first.  A more real example is the situation I ran into with an actual work email:

  Hi John, could you please help me get the account access described below (or help me route this request correctly so it can be fulfilled)?


texts: "Saw me in the subway," vs "saw me on the subway."

texts:
What's the different between the two?

Example sentences:

  I saw you in the subway. You were following me.

  I saw you on the subway. You were following me.


texts: Why is there is no comma after "yet"? What does it mean compared to "however" and "but"?

texts:
Why is there no comma after the word yet in the following two sentences?

There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck.
She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them.

Also, what is the meaning of yet, and why is it used instead of however or but?


texts: "Testing started" versus "testing has been started"

texts:
I wish to notify my colleagues that they may start testing because I have prepared the  environment. Among the many ways to say this, I wonder whether I can say simply Testing started or Testing has been started.

I feel that passive voice is not appropriate here, but others vote for it.

Which one would be the correct version: one of these two or a different one?


texts: sink and sing...not rhyming but what is it called for rhyming the end of two words

texts: What is the definition of reverse rhyming of words where the last few letters of two words are different rather than the beginning letters of two rhyming words.  For example: cow, cop, coy, cot, con.  Or another example: beef, been beep, beer, bees.  So rather than rhyming sing with king, I'd use sing and sink for reverse rhyming....if that makes sense?  I know there's a term for that, but I don't know what it's called?  :( Help?


texts: If my birthday is on the 15th August and I tidy up on August 16th I can say: "I threw a huge party and tidied up on the morrow.". But if I prepared for the party on August 12th then what do I say? "I threw a huge party which I prepared on the ......". I don't want to use "the day before". Is there another more eloquent word/phrase? Some thoughts:on the yesterday, yestern, ereyesterday.


texts:
He expected as good of a performance as Sam's.

Or

He expected as good as performance as Sam. (sounds very wrong to me)

He expected as good of a performance as Sam.


texts: Do you know the reason why we must use the article a instead of the in the following?

texts:
A human ear responds to a wide range of frequencies.

My teacher already has said me, when you are speaking about a part of your body that it belongs to it- it is not artificial et cetera- you must say the following:

the eye

the ear
 .
 .
 et cetera.

But, I just have seen the above sentence.

Would anybody kindly elaborate it?

Many thanks


texts: Word for a person who has no opinion about whether god exists

texts:
Oversimplification of definitions:

atheist: Believes in no god.
agnostic: that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable.

Is there a term for someone who just does not care, who has no opinion about the existence or inexistence of god?

They have simply not looked into it. They have not yet formed an opinion and because of this both terms atheist and agnostic don't seem to fit.

Question: What do I call someone who has not formulated an opinion about god? I'm looking for a word other than "atheist" or "agnostic".


texts: Present perfect or present perfect continuous with a participle?

texts:
I'm trying to figure out what tense (or tenses) are involved when you have a participle with "to be."  Examples:

Ballet is performed in the theatre.
Decorum is maintained in the ballroom.
English is used in the classroom.

It seems to me like present perfect continuous but I always thought those involved gerunds, not participles.  Passive present perfect?

EDIT:  I'm aware of that present passive is formed with -ed but was wondering if the above examples were somehow different from, say, He is intoxicated.  He is intoxicated indicates his present state of being, not how he was yesterday and how he will be tomorrow.  The decorum in the ballroom, on the other hand, indicates that decorum is, has been and will be maintained--that's why I wondered if these examples were some form of perfect tense.EDIT


texts: When referring to the British Empire, should the 'e' be capitalised?

texts:
When referring to the British Empire, or any empire with a specific title, should the 'e' of 'empire' always be capitalised?

If so, does the rule also apply even if only 'empire' of full 'British Empire' is used in the sentence?

For example (where empire refers to the British Empire):

  Glorious estates across the empire.

Or:

  Glorious estates across the Empire.


texts: Another word for key-points of a certain entity

texts:
I'm looking for another word for key-points of another object/entity.

Example:

The most important things of football are:

Teamwork
Speed
Condition

What do you call the three things I just summed up? Sorry for being vague, English is not my first language and truth be told, I'm going to have to translate the answer into Dutch, but I can't yet, because I don't have something to translate.


texts:
While reading Villette, a 19th-century novel by Charlotte Brontë, I came across the word guard used in a different way than I had known hitherto:

  I was up the next morning an hour before daybreak, and finished my guard, kneeling on the dormitory floor...

From the above sentence I infer that the word carries a religious connotation—a morning prayer, a sermon or perhaps a rite.

Finding it odd, I consulted numerous online dictionaries, amongst which are Collins and findwords, but alas the search yielded no fitting result, so I resort to enlist your help.

The closest definition was 'posture of readiness or defence'; however, it doesn't coincide with the overall meaning of the sentence as I, perhaps wrongly, understand it.

The woman speaking is a Protestant, a detail that may or may not prove to be useful.


texts: Which is correct..Nothing last forever? or Nothing lasts forever?

texts: Why is 'Nothing lasts forever' correct instead of 'Nothing last forever'?


texts:
I came across this phrase on Stack Overflow and I was a little confused as to its meaning:

  Every major browser now has a built in console which your would-be hacker can use with abandon...

I thought abandon meant to leave alone.  Word reference says the noun form would be "the feeling of an emotion in a strong and in a carefree way", but what emotion?  Where did this use of the word in this context come from etymologically?


texts: How do I use 'may', 'might' and 'could' in question forms?

texts:
I'm creating a lesson on 'may', 'might',  and could and just encountered the following (BBC)

Do you think Catherine might have curry for dinner?

Do you think Catherine may have curry for dinner?

Do you think Catherine could have curry for dinner?

The first sentence sounds fine, while the other two sound rather awkward to my ears. Are my instincts correct here? I would prefer to just give the student the first sentence as the correct question form for possibilities. Other examples include:

Do you think Asda might have Spinach?

Do you think Bjork might release another album this year?

I would not substitute 'might' for 'have' or 'could', as it does not sound idiomatic at all.


texts:
Many people in my area use the word "agreeance" and I find it irksome. Dictionary.com seems to be in agreement with me (har har): http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agreeance

  Main Entry:  agreeance
  Part of Speech:  n
  Definition:  the act of agreeing
  Example:  Usage of the site constitutes agreeance with these terms.
  Usage:  considered obsolete and a bastardization of 'agreement'

Do you use it? Do you think it's acceptable or obsolete?


texts: Although the rule was made by "him" or "himself"

texts:
Although the rule was made by ....., the director rarely enforced it.

Should it be "him" or "himself"?


texts: Separating dependent clauses and introductory phrases with commas in compound and complex-compound sentences

texts:
I know that you are supposed to separate dependent clauses and introductory phrases with a comma if they start the sentence. Examples:

If you are ill, you ought to see a doctor. (dependent clause)
After the adjustment for inflation, real wages have decreased while corporate profits have grown. (introductory phrase)

Reference: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/02/

However, the above reference does not give examples of punctuating compound and complex-compound sentences that include dependent clauses and introductory phrases in the second part of the sentence.

Example of such a sentence with original punctuation kept (I took it from Wiktionary — an example of usage for word particular in sixth definition):

  He is very particular about his food and if it isn't cooked to
  perfection he will send it back.

I think that there should be a comma after the word food, but that is not my question.

My question is if there should be a comma after the word perfection.

Similarly, sould there be a comma after an introductory phrase which comes after the first indepedent clause but before the second indepedent clause? (Although it is probably considered to be a part of that second independent clause.)

[independent clause], + coordinating conjunction + [introductiory phrase] + [independent clause].

Comma or no comma after an introductory phrase in the above structure?


texts: Meaning of phrase "to close the loop on this"?

texts:
I recently received an email from my colleague saying that "he wanted to close the loop on a task". I didn't quite get the context.

It would be great if you could let me know.


texts:
What's the meaning of this sentence? What's the grammar? "not that I'm complaining". I am offering some good benefits to my friend. Then this sentence appears in his response, which makes me confused. Does he like the benefits I gave? I guess he appreciates it, but he thinks that's too much?
He is going to work in another place for several weeks. Then I told him I can help him to book a hotel and other stuff. So if he was complaining, it means he doesn't like the things I offered.

He also said "well, maybe I'll consider it."


texts: Need help determining part of speech for word in a sentence

texts:
By blaring music at home, you will see that the neighbors will become annoyed.

What part of speech is blaring?


texts:
A poem from Whitman (song of myself, 2) uses the word perfume and also perfumes.

Both in different videos on the web or google translate pronounce perfume and perfumes in different way. Frequently the accent is in fu when pronouncing perfume, an in per when pronouncing perfumes. This seems to me the correct way, but I've found some videos with different pronunciation.

Is it correct? Is there a simple rule for pronunciation in those cases?


texts:
Why is a young surfer called a "grommet" or a "grom"?

This page suggests that "a possible etymology for the word may be from the Portuguese term 'grumete', meaning the lowest ranking person on board a naval ship - this word would have been used widely in South Africa in the period when surfing was becoming popular".

That sounds pretty implausible, to me.


texts: A request for a word similar to 'stumble in speech'

texts:
I am looking for a rather formal verb(phrase) to mean "involuntarily inserting a word from one's mother tongue in a speech made in one's foreign language because the person in question is in a very nerve-wrecking situation such as speaking in court"

Example:

  A person whose second language is English, and first language is
  French says the following:

  "I don't mean to blow things out proportion, but I think that what you
  said is, uh, uh, 'injuste', uh, I mean, unfair!" (Heart pounding hard)

Note the involuntary insertion of the French word injuste into the English speech is involuntary because the person was too nervous or self-conscious. The insertion does not come from a lack a competency or command of lexicon, only nervousness.

I thought of stumble but I don't think it serves the purpose well.


texts: Is there a term for discrimination without negative connotation?

texts:
The word "discrimination" carries in itself a negative connotation, implying that it would be unfair or unethical.

There are however, cases where "discrimination" would be justified and no one in their right mind would find the situation unfair. I'm not talking about lack of qualification (If I'm hiring a driver and I refuse someone for not having a drivers license, it's not discrimination), but about cases where the decision is made solely on ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or similar attributes, and could indeed be discriminative in a different context.

For example, in a movie about Napoleon the lead actor cannot be black, or a woman, etc. because he has to look similar to Napoleon. For a religious institution, or an organization of people of a certain political, ideological or social affiliation etc. it is also not unexpected to employ only people who belong to their group. I cannot become a rabbi if I'm not Jewish, and cannot become a Catholic priest without being Catholic. There are other similar cases where attributes which should not be considered a factor for an average job (like a factory worker) can be a factor and it's not unethical or unjust to discriminate in its case.


texts: What's the meaning of "for all that unwanted attention"?

texts:
It is a perfect day for a bike ride. And for wearing fitted sweats afterwards
to the supermarket for all that unwanted attention.

I'm not sure what she meant here with "for all that unwanted attention". Does it mean to get unwanted attention or to avoid it?


texts: "You are likely to [verb]" vs. "you are like to [verb]"

texts:
In a recent answer to another question, a fellow poster just used the following turn of phrase:

  The nearest you’re like to get is [word][.]

I only ever saw and used "you’re likely to..." myself, but something told me it wasn't a typo. So I started looking around and sure enough it wasn't. After some discussion in chat, here's what we have determined so far:

50–60 million Google hits for "you are like to"; 3 million for "you are like to get". (120 million for "you are likely to", 11 million for "you are likely to get".)
2 hits on BNC, 0 on COCA. The poster is from the UK. Seems to be a British thing. More stats follow:

                       COCA   BNC
you are likely to [v*]  150   167
you are like to [v*]      0     2
we are likely to [v*]   126    67
we are like to [v*]       0     0
I am likely to [v*]      18    12
I am like to [v*]         0     1

Until we come to this outlier:

he is likely to [v*]    143    92
he is like to [v*]        2     1

The two COCA cites looking legit:

  There's a danger that some of the weapons of mass destruction he is like to have had may have leaked out of the country.

— SPOKEN, 2003, CNN.

  A Californian! This is herring man, a favorite to vodka. He is like to have hammer and sickle tattooed on his chest.

— FICTION, 2001, Harper's Magazine.

Some hits on Google Books. For example, from Burke, Paine, Godwin, and the Revolution Controversy, Marily Butler (ed.), 1984:

  Can I be blamed to point out to him in what manner he is like to be affected, if the sect of the cannibal philosophers of France should proselytize any considerable part of this people, and, by their joint proselytizing arms, should conquer that Government, to which his Grace does not seem to me to give all the support his own security demands?

Again, Cambridge University Press, so could be a British thing, if not for the spelling of proselytize that suggests otherwise.
The quick straw poll in chat produced reactions ranging from "Really? Never heard of." through "It's an odd one. I suppose it's fine colloquially." to "I have heard this, and I think it is a modern mal-back-formation of likely when the sentence structure resembles a copula."

So, my questions are:

Is this or is this not a strictly British thing? Does it sound grammatical to Americans? And what about Indian/Australian English?
How recent is this use of like? Who knows — does it perhaps even predate the corresponding use of likely?


texts: What is the tense ot the sentence "The problem has been solved"

texts:
1) I always use the sentence "The problem has been solved" at my work but now I want to be sure my usage is correct. From my point of view, this tense is the present perfect, am I right?

2) Can I use the word "solved" if the main tense is the present perfect?

3) Shall I use "The problem is solved" instead of "The problem has been solved"?


texts:
Ligaments connect bones to each other. This is so they can help stabilize the joints and provide structure to the skeletal frame.

source

Parsing one:

"So they can help..." is predicative.

Parsing two:

"So" is predicative and there is a "that" omitted, i.e. "This is so （that）they can help stabilize...". That-clause is a
 adverbial clause of result.

Which parsing do you think is correct?


texts: What's the difference between "finance hub" and "financial hub"?

texts: Though the phrase "financial hub" is much more widespread (according to a Google search), I have seen "finance hub" as well on news sites. Does the second have a different meaning?


texts: How do I say this - Girl waving her hair sexily?

texts:
Look at this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GVNnkhGAiE
How do I put it into words?

For example : Girl waving her hair sexily?


texts: A long sentence that begins with word "Using"

texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

  Using data on A and B, I study X by doing Y.

My concern is that, the word "using" already states how "I study X", which might conflict with "by doing Y".


texts: Connection between "wiseguy" and the Cantonese slang 古惑仔

texts:
"Wiseguy" can mean a made man in the mafia or a smart ass who acts like they are smarter than others. What I find interesting is that the Cantonese/Chinese slang term 古惑仔(Gu Wac Zai) has basically the same dual meaning. In this case, it's someone in the Chinese triad, or a mischievous/cunning person.
Pure coincidence? Or does anyone know if there's a connection between the two slangs in different languages?


texts: What do you call superfluous filler words like 'So' 'Anyhow' 'Anyway'?

texts:
Examples:

Anyway, after that I went home and went to sleep.
Anyhow, do you want to go for a drink?
So then, I was chatting to this girl and...
Now, Bob was a nice guy, but socially inept.
Her cooking was, well, terrible.

These words are distinct from fillers like 'umm' and 'err' because they are often used intentionally in written, usually informal, English, such as writing expressing a conversational tone.


texts: What is the nuance of the phrase “have never not liked”?

texts:
I was drawn to the phrase, “Anne Hathaway, who, for the record, I have never not liked, is extremely appealing” in the following paragraph in the review of movie, “The Intern,” of which source I forgot to take notes.

  "The adages of “The Intern” are delivered in a comedy package that,
  for the most part, is sane, sweet, and smart, and a lot of the time,
  actually funny. A budding romance between Ben and the company’s
  in-house masseuse  is fodder for two groan-inducing visual
  gags. But a silly set piece in which Ben enlists some of the younger
  goofballs of About The Fit on a housebreaking mission, replete with
  latter-day “Ocean’s Eleven” references, is actually a tolerable bit of
  rompage. And everyone in the cast, including Hathaway, who, for the
  record, I have never not liked, is extremely appealing."

I don’t think I’ve ever heard the expression, “I have never not liked somebody.” Does this mean “I like her” as a double negative? If so, what is the difference of nuance between them? Is this a very common turn of phrase?

By the way, isn’t rompage a typo of rampage?


texts: Words are to parse as pictures are to...?

texts:
What is the analogous word to 'parse' in the context of seeing things?

That is, how do you refer to the process of working out what it is you are looking at?

eg. When I opened my eyes, it took me a few seconds to (blank) the scene.


texts:
This is from a song that Johnny Cash sang. I want to know what runners in her hose means:

  Back when we could laugh and play
      On family reunion day
      Didn't we all look funny
      In our 1950s clothes?
      Your daddy wore that greasy stuff
       Your brother drank more than enough
       Your mom wore penny loafers
       With runners in her hose

I guess hose is short for pantyhose but despite having many alternatives for runner my dictionary doesn't have any that fit into this sentence.


texts: What is "Heuristics for understanding" meant here?

texts:
This research paper talks about a term called Heuristic for Understanding Gaming (HUG) but it doesn't say what it actually means by the term. It provides no definition. It only says what the advantages are.
The paper also gives the following diagram.

So, my question is: What does "Heuristics for Understanding" mean here?
Is it a diagram? Is it a flow-chart? Is it a process? Or, something else?


texts: Adjective to describe something that tastes unpleasant because it has too many flavors?

texts:
How would you call something that tastes sweet, salty, sour, all at the same time? And in an unpleasant way?

Example:

  I didn't like her cake. I didn't like its [...] taste.

I could only think of the word over-complicated, but I think it doesn't fits food very well. Maybe muddled?


texts: what do you call someone who refuses to provide training when they should?

texts:
Example:

The employee went to their manager for help on how to perform a task that was new to them. However, the manager told them that they should know how to perform this task and refused to train them.

The manager is ...

Note: In this context, the manager should have no expectation that the newly hired employee should know how to perform this task.

Bonus:
The employee is ...


texts:
I see such sentences all the time and I'd like to learn more about their grammatical structure (e.g. how they are described in grammatical terms), their meaning and how to use them in different contexts.

  Please let me know whether I can be of help.

The part that I am interested in learning about is be of.

There is a similar question here but the questioner was asking only whether it was correct or not, but I would like to learn the meaning more broadly as I described in my opening sentence.


texts:
So...

I am seeking a new job and several recruiters are helping me. Instead of saying 'Thank you', should I say 'I appreciate'? Which one is more polite?

Could someone please tell me how to express one's gratefulness to someone else in English?


texts: Why is it correct to say "He came and said something to me" but not "He came and said to me something"?

texts:
This question was just posed to me and I couldn't give a clear answer beyond that the second just feels wrong and one would generally use a direct or indirect quotation, as in "he came and said to me that he can't come." However, I'm led to believe that it's just a matter of usage, as it feels OK to say "He came and said to me something I'll never forget," or something along those lines.

Is this incorrect or just a matter of usage?


texts: What is a catchy word that means (non-)self-descriptive

texts:
I'm having fun with paradoxes, and I'm trying to come up with a catchy word for non-self-descriptive.  Maybe "autosemantic" fits the bill for self-descriptive (definitely open to other suggestions!), but I'm having a hard time negating it in a natural way.

For an example of the sentence I'm trying to construct:

  Is "inautosemantic" inautosemantic?

It just isn't flowing.


texts: Please explain the meaning of this sentence

texts:
Please explain to me the meaning of the following sentence:

  I hope such readers will be persuaded that the profundity and value of these ideas more than repay the intellectual struggle they require [...].


texts:
I am reading the book Lord of the Flies and I don't understand the phrase below:

Now the sea would suck down, making cascades and waterfalls ofretreating water, would sink past the rocks and plaster down the seaweed like shining hair: then, pausing, gather and rise with a roar, irresistibly swelling over point and outcrop, climbing the little cliff, sending at last an arm of surf up a gully to end a yard or so from him in fingers of spray.


texts: What is the difference between “scenery” and “view”?

texts: Sometime I find a sentence and then I confused what is the difference between "scenery" and "view" because both of that word have same meaning.


texts: Is it correct to simplify common verbs in an ordered sentence?

texts:
Today, I came across a sentence pattern in a well-accepted technical document, as follows:

  Their X1 are too A1, their X2 too A2, and their X3 too A3.

Is it correct to use only one are in this kind of sentences? Is it applicable for all verbs? Also, what is the English grammar topic that includes this kind of sentences?


texts:
What does this mean:

  Good Grief!

Is it a formal or informal expression?


texts: Is "12:30" (the time of day) an abstract noun?

texts: Nothing else to add, I just want to make sure.


texts:
I know that we can say: You have the same book as me/I do.

How about:

You and I have the same books.
You and I have the same book.

What are the differences between them?

Thank you


texts:
In Heinlein's A stranger in a strange land, there is a moment when nurse Jill kisses Martian man named Mike and another man, Jubal, puts a comment on it. It comes as follows:

“Son,” he said, “you amaze me. I would have expected you to curl up in one of your faints.”
“I so did,” Mike answered seriously, without letting go, “on first kissing time.”
“Well! Congratulations, Jill. A.C., or D.C.?”
“Jubal, you’re a tease but I love you anyhow and refuse to let you get my goat. Mike got a little upset once—but no longer, as you can see.”

The only meaning of AC and DC I found was alternating current and direct current, but it is about electric power distribution and is definitely not my case. I have no idea about meaning and genesis of Jubal's mockery. Can anyone, please, explain it to me?
Don't pay attention to Mike's strange language - he is the Man from Mars and has a different native language and way of thinking.


texts:
The book 'English Grammar in Use, Murphy' contains the following exercise under the Present perfect/Present perfect continuous chapter:

Are you OK? You look as if ____ (you / cry).

I have not found any explanations why 'have been crying' is the correct answer.

Based on my understanding, the action has already been completed (the person has cried and now we're asking her by focusing on the result of the action). Other words, I can't imagine a situation when we're asking someone who's crying right now by focusing on the activity and not the result.

Would anyone explaining the Present Perfect Continuous choice here?


texts: Is there a word that can describe all real people and fictional characters?

texts:
My family and I play a sort of twenty questions-esque guessing game where one player must think of something other players must reason to with yes or no questions.

The game generally starts with the person, place, or thing question, but contention arose when I argued with someone else about including non-human (not a person) characters like Micky Mouse, or the teapot in Beauty and the Beast in the person category.

I argue they should be included because they will have more similar characteristics with things in the person category than others, but the word person is not apt to describe a talking teapot.

Is there an English word that is fitting to describe all real people, fictional people, and anthropomorphized things?


texts: Could "The flesh of the god" be an ambiguous title? Why?

texts:
Is the phrase "Flesh of the god" grammatically and semantically acceptable, or should it be "Flesh of the gods"?

I am writing an article and I'd like to use it for the title. I am from Finland, so I really don't know if this is the correct way to say this.

I'm speaking about any god. In my article, I'm describing a man as if he were a god. He's a normal human being, but he's placed himself upon a pedestal so as to be worshipped as a god. The story then goes on to say that someone kills this man and cuts off a piece of his flesh.

If I used the definite article, "the" before god, would it imply a specific god? Should I use an uppercase letter for "God"? What do you think "Flesh of the god" means? I mean, how would this story go, if the title were "Flesh of the god"?


texts: What is the tense used in a phrase such as "He is trapped"?

texts:
I've read that the -ed suffix usually indicates a "past participle" (as in "I was trapped"), but:

I'm not sure what part-of-speech "trapped" functions as in the phrase.
Indicating present state using something called "past participle" seems odd. (sources indicate this is a legitimate form though).
If trapped is a verb here, isn't this a compound tense due to the verb chain "is trapped"?

Edit: To clarify, I am asking for general help in making "grammatical sense" of this phrase and not just "tense" specifically, as hinted at by my listed bafflements.

Edit: If it helps to disambiguate sense: "He is trapped!"


texts:
While watching the latest episode of 'Poirot' series, I came across this Goethe quote in the beginning of the episode.

  Beginnings are always delightful; the threshold is the place to pause.

What is its meaning?


texts:
Definition of Divot:

(1) a piece of turf cut out of the ground by a golf club in making a stroke.

(2) a small hole left by something.

(sample usage): "After getting my wisdom teeth extracted, they left a small divot in my gums to heal."

As a native English speaker, I would commonly use the word "divot" to explain a small hole left by something. Evidently, this is not a common definition of the word.

What can explain this usage I hear so often?


texts:
I will like to know the various uses of seek and its past participle sought. for instance, is it right to say;

It is advisable the secretary seeks clearance from her boss before issuing permit.  OR
It is advisable the secretary sought clearance from her boss before issuing permit.


texts: Best verb to use for formation in strategy formation

texts:
I am writing an article about strategy formation and have trouble finding the right verbs. For instance, I would like to say something about the process of forming a strategy but have some serious doubts about using 'forming'. Would there be a better word, formating for instance?

I had a hard time looking for duplicates, since strategy as well as formation are very often used in a different context. My excuses if the answer to this question is already somewhere I did not find.


texts: How should one say times aloud in 24-hour notation?

texts:
A couple years ago, I switched all my personal clocks 24-hour notation. I live in the US, and 24-hour time is used very, very rarely. So, I haven't been able to listen to anyone say times aloud.

Here's my question: What is the proper way to say a time aloud in 24-hour notation?

"Fifteen o'clock" sounds bad to me. I think I like "Fifteen hours" best, but it sounds a little formal.

"Fifteen twenty-two" sounds okay to me, but still strange.

Is there a 'best practice' here?


texts: What is the difference between who closed the door and who did close the door?

texts:
I was teaching past simple and there is this exercise in which we have to conjugate verbs to the past form. I know that we add an auxiliary to make a question, but do we sometimes omit this auxiliary for one reason or another.

The question that made me wonder is with (who).

  Who did close the door?

or

  Who closed the door?


texts: Can “cloven” be used instead of “cleaved”?

texts:
Can cloven be used in its verb form like the way broken or eaten is used?

gets cloven to give rise to
is cloven by

Cleaved is a perfectly fine word in this context, but can cloven be used instead?


texts: Word meaning you are describing something as if to a child

texts: Looking for a word that describes the feeling of being told something in an overly simplified manner that feels offensive.


texts:
A question mainly for Americans:

Could you please confirm if some Americans indeed pronounce the "e" of "obesity" as the "ea" of "steady" rather than the "ee" of "bee" (o-be-si-ty instead of o-bee-si-ty? Merriam-Webster lists it as a variant pronunciation, yet, i haven't heard any American say the word this way. Thanks a lot!


texts:
I'm reading a book about Distributed Systems (Computer Engineering).

I faced with following context :

  Full transparency will cost performance, exposing distribution of
  the system

What does "Cost" mean?


texts: Single word for "enclosed in parenthesis"

texts:
X(1)
The number enclosed in parenthesis in the superscript signifies the first slice of the tensor X

This is my sentence. I want to replace the italicized phrase with a single word that demonstrates that the number is inside the parenthesis. I'd write the sentence as it is but for some reason, the repetition of "in" is annoying me.
I faintly remember a word that started with en- that'd do the trick but I can't recall now. Is there a word that means "enclosed in parenthesis"?


texts: think it fair criticism (grammar question, can't understand)

texts:
In the past, SQL has been criticized for having an inappropriate name. Structured Query Language lacks a proper structure, does more than just queries, and only barely qualifies as a programming language. You might think it fair criticism then, but let me make three comments...

I can't grammatically understand think it fair criticism. Is it the object of think and fair criticism an adverbial phrase or something like that? Is this grammatically similar to the construction deem it necessary? Please, break it down for me, maybe, with examples.


texts:
I want to describe a player who is not officially the captain of a team but shoulders as much responsibility. I have read the phrase in name only being used when a person holds a title, but doesn't perform or is unable to perform the duties typically associated with it. I would guess that in my case I am looking for a phrase which is opposite of in name only. The person is performing the duties but doesn't officially hold the title.

I searched for the opposite on Google but couldn't find one. Ended up with a similar result from a couple of dictionary searches as well.


texts:
I want to use in my ad poster "Be mild" slogan in the meaning of "Be calm."

Is "mild person" positive or negative characteristic?

As I know, a mild person is humble and meek — the opposite of bold. And some people use "mild person' in the meaning of dumb or stupid person.

Will you have associations with some boring or simple if you will see the "Be mild" slogan? Will you see something like "Be boring" or "Be simple"?


texts: What is the common way to say "the rain reduced in intensity"?

texts: If I had to say - "as soon as the rain reduced in intensity" , what word should I use in casual everyday speech? I'm not looking for another word like subsided etc. I need to know the commonly used word here.


texts:
In this article by the Houston Chronicle we see

  "It is my belief we are in the middle of a police campaign to tamp down on demonstration and protest after the election," Harrison said

It looked like a typo, but "tamp down" seems to exist.

  tamp down - to reduce the amount, level, size, or importance of something: As the price of gasoline rose above $3 a gallon, consumers cut their spending elsewhere, tamping down profits in retail, travel and other industries.
  The party retained power by boosting the economy and tamping down corruption.

I always hear "clamp down" though. Which is correct?


texts: Is there a different grammatical term for "If I was" than for "If I were"?

texts:
Many people would say the correct form is "If I were rich ...".

In modern colloquial English though most younger people would say "If I was rich ...".

Prescriptivists might say the latter is "the subjunctive mood" and the former is "just plain  wrong".

Both forms "were" and "was" are identical to English past tense forms. There are no distinct subjunctive forms I am aware of in Modern English though I do not know if Old English had them.

When learning foreign languages such as Spanish or German we are often told "English doesn't have the subjunctive". Such languages usually do have distinct forms for the subjunctive.

So my question is what terms are used in English linguistics to cover each case? Is it just "subjunctive" or are there also now terms such as "colloquial subjunctive", "informal subjunctive", "formal subjunctive"? Or are there people who insist that English is unlike Spanish and German and name these constructions something distinct from "subjunctive"? Also how do the terms "counterfactual" and "irrealis" fit in?

UPDATE

I didn't find this related question when I was writing mine:  Why have the subjunctive and indicative converged in Modern English?

UPDATE 2

After much Googling I've noticed the phrase "marked subjunctive" seems to have some currency but I haven't yet seen it specifically defined to mean the use of "were" rather than "was" so the hunt continues but it's the closest so far.


texts: Which usage of the word "Gravity" came first?

texts:
The link between the two definitions for the word gravity (a generally downward acting force, and a sense of danger/seriousness) seems obvious. However, I'm curious as to which usage came first.

Was the word gravity first coined to describe Newtonian forces and later used in a figurative sense; or perhaps physicists named the force using a metaphor based on the emotional weight connoted by the term?

Anyone know?


texts:
how are you doing?
I know the following two employ different types of conditional, but, for me, the two seem almost exactly the same in their meaning, regardless of the conditional structure. Could anyone please help explain the difference?
"If any policy could be justified by those appeals to tradition, it would be the policy of determining the length of the school year."
"If any policy is justified by those appeals to tradition, it is the policy of determining the length of the school year."
Thanks!
Leon


texts: Reschedule meeting due to the unavailability of one participant

texts: I'd like to reschedule the meeting due to the unavailability of one of the participants. He's an important element for the meeting. I am looking for a sample e-mail to inform all participants that the meeting will be postponed by two hours.


texts: I don't understand what this sentence means

texts:
Investors are grateful that the attorney general has stepped in to pursue inquiries into the misfeasance in the financial markets, given that the regulators officially charged with policing the industry have been diffident.

Even if I looked up for each new word I met, this sentence still doesn't make sense to me. You can answer some questions I have for the answer of this question:

What does "given that" mean?
How to slice the sentence up after "given that"?


texts: How to refer on the property of a line which has a sudden change in its direction?

texts:
There is sudden (sharp, this means, it's not differentiable at that point) change in the gradient of a line:

What is the proper way to refer to it, to not sound too mathematical.
For example, "this line has a kink in it" seems odd. "The line has a break in it" might mean that there is a gap.

Edit: what I would like to finally express is how one adds this property to the line. E.g: "With this method, you can add a [noun] to the line", or "you can [verb] the line."

I don't need to emphasize the abruptness (but don't want it to be misunderstood as making a curve out of it). I would just like to make it clear, in simple terms, what would happen to the line.


texts: Plus sign before or after hyphenated word

texts: Let's say there's a set of buildings with differing numbers of units in each. I would like to describe them as two or more unit buildings. Writing it out with the number, would I write "2+-unit buildings," "2+ unit buildings," "2-unit+ buildings" or something else entirely?


texts: Looking for a word or phrase to describe the "scars" left behind from any form of "good time"

texts:
Scars could be used metaphorically, and a good time could be anything anyone considers to be fun.

For example:

After a night out with friends you might have a hangover or a negative bank balance
After an off-road outride you might be have some physical scars from falling
After a good session at the gym you could be stiff or have a case of jelly legs
After staying up all night playing games you might feel fatigued the next day

Edit (I'm on my phone, and don't know styling off by heart)

So these scars are meant to have a positive side, definitely, like a sort of bade of honour, although it might have inflicted physical harm, to a personally preferred level of comfort.

Repercussion and such words probably describe the scar well enough, but I'm looking for something catch,  almost like "battle scars," as someone mentioned.

Something like, no pain no gain. I like the Piper one. Something like the Piper's Price.

I was hoping for a word/phrase you can use, and everyone knows the feeling of the good time scars; the emotion of whatever good time, and the bad-but-tollerable scars that often results, but hopefully, without the negative reference to conflict, as battle scars.

Perhaps the Dictionary of Eternal Sorrow should be consulted. I don't know if I'm allowed to say that here.


texts: What are old, special and well protected books in the library called?

texts: I am translating a text into English about library guidelines concerning "protected" documents, i.e. books prior to 1850. I wonder if I can use the term "protected documents" for these kind of materials or if there is another, more appropriate term for them.


texts: Parentheses around more than one paragraph

texts:
Does English allow one to put parentheses around more than one paragraph? Example:

  Paragraph 1.

  (Paragraph 2.

  Paragraph 3.)

  Paragraph 4.

(Of course, this is just a simple example. In reality, it looks more clean since the paragraphs are more than one line long, and are not separated by an empty line.)


texts: What is the word to describe pseudo-elite people who despite being wealthy have low standards of behavior?

texts:
What I mean is being uncultured, not necessarily evil.
This is often the case with people who have recently climbed the socio-economical ladder and newly gained huge wealth in a short amount of time, without developing the culture and character. In my native language we have a term to describe these people who lose themselves when they become rich but in English I haven't encountered such a categorization.
Edit: Please stop making false accusations against me. I agree that these examples may be inappropriate but I have no intention of humiliating any race or class in this question. You can read my answers in the comments below this question.
Edit 2: I removed the examples.


texts: Is there a rule how to punctuate adverbial modifiers of time in their front position?

texts:
I have a couple of sentences from a Macmillan coursebook by Malcolm Mann and Steve Taylore-Knowles 2007 going like this:

  Once a week, Helen watches a film at the cinema.
  In the evening, Helen usually meets her friends for coffee.

Which makes me think that we should always use a comma if the adverbial modifier of time is used in its front position compared to its position at the end of the sentence.

Am I right in thinking this way?


texts: A word for someone paid to do an unpopular thing

texts:
I'm looking for a word (or perhaps a couple of words) to describe a person who willingly takes on the job of doing something unpopular or unkind so that they become the target of resentment for this, rather than their boss/employer.

Example:-

  People still trust the politician as he always gets Bob, his ~ to announce the tax rises for him.

"Scapegoat" isn't quite right, because they are usually an unwilling victim.

"Goon" implies the person has low intelligence and implies violence.


texts: Why is "bangs", meaning fringe, used in the plural?

texts:
Bangs is the AmE for fringe when we are referring to hair.

Bangs are hair that is cut so that it hangs over your forehead.

  My bangs were cut short, but the rest of my hair was long. ( Collins Dictionary)

Its origin is probably from the bang-tail of horses and its original usage was in the singular as stated  by Etyonline:

Bangs:

  "hair cut straight across so as to form a fringe over the forehead," 1878 (in singular, bang), American English, attested from 1832 of horses (bang-tail), perhaps from notion of abruptness (as in bang off "immediately, without delay," though this expression is attested only from 1886).

The plural form seems  to  have appeared just a few years later according to Grammarphobia:

  A Google search turned up a plural reference in an 1883 article from the New York Times. A Catholic priest, lecturing Sunday school children, “condemned the fashion of wearing ‘bangs’ in severe terms.”

Is there a reason why the usage of this term, unlike in BrE, took the plural form to refer to a fringe?


texts: "factoring" subordinate clauses with verbs that require indicative and subjunctive clauses

texts:
For some verbs a subjunctive form is used in the subordinate clause, and I would write

  I demand that he read the appendices.

Other verbs demand that you use an indicative form, for example

  I expect that he will read the appendices.

So how do I terminate the sentence

  You cannot demand nor expect that he...

I know that you can always avoid that sort of construction, but I was just wondering about the grammatical rule in this case.


texts: If I change "have left" to "leave", does it change the meaning?

texts:
The original sentence is:

  Don't worry. We wouldn't have left without you?

What if I say:

  Don't worry. We wouldn't leave without you?

If I take out "have", will the meaning be changed?

Sorry, I'm not a native.


texts: Direct Object vs Indirect Object in "I taught my cat"

texts:
In the sentence "I taught my cat some tricks", the direct object is "tricks" and the indirect object is "cat".

In the sentence "I taught my cat", what are the direct and indirect objects, if any?


texts: Why do some Americans pronounce K and B after vowels sounds like G and P

texts: For example, ‘speaker’ sounds like ‘speager’ and ‘Stop it’ sounds like ‘stob it’.


texts: What is the difference between the suffixes -ize and -ify?

texts:
The dictionary ascribes the same purpose to both these suffixes: to denote 'to make, or become'.

However, for some neologisms, -ize seems much more appropriate than -ify does, and vice-versa.
There must be some reason for this.

Is there a rule that governs, or describes, when to use one over the other?


texts: Naming a figure axis: Proportion offered to locals/residents of county/

texts:
Context: study describing regional health service provision/offer/utilisation
This plot should describe how large proportion of these services are used by locals (residents of particular county).

How to name Y axis so that it would understandable to readers?

Proportion offered to locals/residents of this county/.....

Proportion used by locals


texts: Why should a copula link two noun phrases of the same case?

texts:
https://english.stackexchange.com/a/30392/50720 motivated this question:

  To quote from the clear explanation:

    The rule for what [Fowler] and others consider technically right is ... that "to be" should link two noun phrases of the same case,
    whether this be nominative or accusative. ...

    Sometimes in English, though, "to be" does seem to have the force of a transitive verb. ... The occurrence of "It's me", etc., is no doubt
    partly due to this perceived transitive force. ...

    The final factor is the traditional use of Latin grammatical concepts to teach English grammar.

Grammar Girl similarly broaches this rule, but does not explain it:

  ...The traditional grammar rule states when a pronoun follows a linking verb, such as "is," the pronoun should be in the subject case. It’s also called the “nominative.” ...

So I'd like to ask about the genesis or rationale for this rule? How can I rationalise it?


texts: A word for someone who you share a half-sibling with

texts:
This is probably best explained with an example.

Alice and Bob have a child, Erin. Bob and Carol have a child, Frank. Carol and Dan have a child, Grace. Clearly, Erin and Frank are half-siblings, because of their father, Bob. Similarly, Grace and Frank share their mother, Carol.

Erin and Grace have no parents in common, and are thus not half-siblings. However, is there a term for their relation?


texts: What do you call a person who hates own offspring?

texts: Is there word in English that describes a person who hates or dislikes his/her own children?


texts: what's the right expression to say ' you can take our wine in cups'?¿

texts: I want to indicate that in our restaurant we offer the wine in bootle (as always), but you can take cups of wine too. How to say This cups of wine? thanks.


texts: Was "the mother of all" a common expression before Saddam Hussein used it?

texts:
The  popular idiomatic expression the mother of all (something) means:

  an extreme example of something. Donny's car crash was the mother of all crashes. Hundreds will travel to Stonehenge, the mother of all places to celebrate the longest day of the year.

From: Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms

It appears that it was originated during a famous speech by the president of Iraq in 1991:  Etymology:

  Calque from Arabic; popularized in 1991 after its use by Saddam Hussein, then president of Iraq, in reference to the Gulf War as ام المعارك (umm al-ma‘ārik, “mother of battles”).

From: Wiktionary

Ngram shows earlier usages  but was the phrase commonly used before 1991, and if not, what alternative idiomatic expression, if any,  was used to convey the same concept?


texts: Word/phrase for when someone places a bet which is similar to your own

texts:
If you are making a bet or wager with someone, and you are both trying to guess as close to a particular value as you can (for example, date, weight or similar) then one particular strategy is to wait until the other person has guessed, and make your guess as close as possible to theirs, but, say, slightly above. This essentially guarantees that you will beat them if they have underguessed, and guarantees you will lose if they overguessed.

For example: My mother and I are trying to guess the date and time of when my sister will give birth, and whoever gets closest wins. I have guessed 8pm on a particular date, and my mother guessed 8.01pm on the same date.

I consider this frightfully unsportsmanlike, and I was wondering if there was a word/phrase to describe this sort of behaviour?


texts:
I am trying to use this statement but am unsure if I am using the colon correctly. I am trying to write

" He quotes one of Job’s religious sayings, it being: "

(context: this is to introduce the fact that Benjamin Banneker is quoting Job, a man from the bible.)


texts: A noun for "someone who pays/compensates a part of a bill"?

texts:
I'm developing a web application that will be used by medical clinics. Clients get an invoice for the treatment(s) they got. However, sometimes a part of the costs will be paid by a third party, like a coupon company (if the client has bought a coupon for a treatment) or a health insurance company. How should I call these companies?

Clients are called 'clients' in the system. I've thought about calling the companies 'debtors', but clients can be debtors as well. Does someone know a word that would fit this meaning?


texts:
I am trying to figure out which of the following two is correct:

I don't know who is whom in this chat?
I don't know who is who in this chat?

I tried to figure it out myself, but it quickly get's really complicated. Thanks for your help!


texts: Idiom for preparing very very thoroughly. ( take a lot of stuff for doing smth)

texts: In Russian we have: Why did you take a lot of clothes and equipment? Are going to go to war? But what about English idiom?


texts: Using "would" when narrating a story in simple present

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
Why the use of 'would' in the following

When we tell a joke or narrate a story in simple present can we use 'would' in some cases? For example:

He goes up to this man and punches him in the face. The man looks straight into his eyes and tells him that he will take revenge
He goes up to this man and punches him in the face. The man looks straight into his eyes and tells him that he would take revenge


texts: Should adjectival phrases that are hyphenated when they modify a noun, e.g. a case-sensitive password, be hyphenated when they are predicate adjectives, e.g. The password is case-sensitive?


texts: Why are nouns sometimes pejorative when used attributively?

texts:
Certain nouns can often be used as noun adjuncts in place of a corresponding adjective, with no change in literal meaning, where:

The noun is not pejorative when used nominatively by itself.
Nor is the corresponding adjective pejorative.
But the noun used attributively is pejorative.

Is this a common pattern in English (besides the 2 examples below), and if so, what's the reason behind it? Also, is the phenomenon specific to proper nouns?

Examples

Here are some examples of such usages that should be typical according to what I'm claiming:

Jew

Generally not pejorative when used nominatively (though that may depend on the company you keep...):

  Who is a Jew?

Corresponding adjective is not pejorative:

  The Haggadah (Hebrew: הַגָּדָה, "telling") is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder.

But an anti-Semitic slur when used attributively:

  I shoulda known they'd stick me in a room with a Jew cop.

Democrat (the US political party)

Not pejorative, used nominatively:

  President Barack Obama is a Democrat.

Not pejorative, corresponding adjective:

  The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States[.]

Pejorative, used attributively:

  Democrat Party

  DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS' LUST FOR TAX MONEY OUTWEIGHS THEIR SUPPOSED COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL JUSTICE


texts:
Is "butting" the term for tidying up loose pages to fit in one stack so none stick out?  What is a better term?

Picture a loose pile of pages, that you assemble to fit mostly together, then handle loosely and "pack" by dropping them through your hands to the desktop, narrow edges down, while handling the vertical edges to fit them all into one sheaf.  Maybe the stack has to be turned 90 deg and the action repeated on the long edges.

We all do it. But ;0 what do we call the action?


texts: What is a word for the number of failures of a system?

texts: Most systems are designed to have a fixed amount of failures and for each failure a solution/maintenance provided by the manufacturer. What is the name of this property of a system which indicates the number of failures? Is there a single word for this?


texts: Novice programmer who wants to implement everything themselves

texts:
There is this phenomena where novice programmers have a strong desire to always write their own code for everything, completely shunning third-party code libraries. They typically believe that their method is more secure, more controlled, and more productive. These novice programmers often graduate from this stage as they realize that code written by others is often better than what they can write themselves.

How do you describe novice programmers who want to build everything themselves?

I used to call it "DIY programming". I've also heard of the "Not invented here syndrome", but that seems to apply to institutions rather than novice individuals.


texts:
The Reginald Punnett Wikipedia article quotes from the 31 March 1901 British Census as follows:

  Reginald Crundall Punnett Age:26. Estimated Birth Year abt 1875. Relationship:Boarder. Where born:Tonbridge, Kent, England. Address 83 North Street.FIFE.Scotland. Occupation:Lethuel In Zoology...

The article says Punnett worked as a demonstrator and part-time lecturer at University of St. Andrew's at a time between 1898 to 1902, so lethuel may refer to demonstrator and/or part-time lecturer.  However, I haven't been able to verify the meaning, either online or in printed works such as Webster's Third New International Dictionary.  What might the definition of the word be?

Update: The Wikipedia page refers to "31 March 1901 Census" and I wrote "31 March 1901 British Census" in my question. I've now struck out British due to zpletan's census-records-of-Scotland comment.


texts: Word or phrase meaning 'Misinterpretation of tone due to language or cultural barrier'

texts:
I am looking for a word or phrase to describe a misinterpretation of tone due to language or cultural differences.
For example, this is an answer from Arqade, the gaming StackExchange site

Sir it would appear that you have encountered something called a "bug",which is no wonder since DayZ is early access game.
This one is known bug and it is even reported on the DayZ feedback site so it will be fixed sooner or later...It doesn't seem to have a high priority for now however.
For now reconnecting should fix this problem,sadly it isn't viable long term solution.
Here is the link to the ticket if you want to track the progress.

The answer is perfect, explaining not only what is happening, but why it is happening, how to fix it and links to further reading. However explaining  what a 'bug' is in a game seems condescending in any type of gaming community. After further research the poster is from a Middle Eastern country and it seems that he was trying to be verbose in his answer (which should be encouraged) instead of condescending.


texts: Difference between "their dependencies" and "their respective dependencies"

texts:
This came up when I'm writing deployment instructions for virtual machine operating system software packages.

Suppose the goal is to install php, perl, and python along with any dependencies required, using the default package manager of the system, what's the difference (however subtle) with writing "their dependencies" and "their respective dependencies" in the instruction?


texts:
I need help. I'm trying to find the phobia names of these fears:

Fear of your own identity
Fear of not knowing


texts: What word could be used to describe a person who seeks and seems to depend on constant positive feedback from the people around him.


texts:
With count nouns, "no" is more often followed by plural nouns to mean "not any" or "zero". It is more idiomatic to say:

(1a) There are no animals in the field.
(2a) No dogs are allowed here.

than:

(1b) There is no animal in the field. (2b) No dog is allowed here.

................

If you visited a restaurant to see a friend and found no people there, you could say either one of these:

(3a) There are no people here. (3b) There is no one here.

Most agree that both are correct. Confusingly enough, however, many native English speakers say that in this example, (3b) is more idiomatic than (3a).

Why is (3b) more idiomatic?

Why does the preferred variant switch, when they are pretty much the same construction?


texts:
“It’s quite scary to think how these models can manipulate people’s
behaviour,” he says. “With Cambridge Analytica the scandal was really
about misuse of data. We’re not there yet, but when you have
self-learning models that can automate that process, that automation
puts it in a different category. We need to look at our value
structures, so that when we use the technology we are using the tools
to do things we want to do.”

I'm not sure whether the bolded part is talking about the future. I know it uses present tense verbs but the phrase, 'we're not there yet' makes it sound like the future.
Is it okay to understand the author is talking about the things that are not yet happened?


texts: what does the sentence "all is not the moon surrounded by stars" mean?

texts: I saw this sentence when watching Leonardo (2021). It sounds archaic and I'm confused. I've seen sentences like "all that glistens is not gold" and "all is not lost", but this one is nothing like those right?


texts: Do I need a comma before as in this sentence: does as start a nonrestrictive element?

texts:
The second part of my argument is that, as an English naval captain, Avery has a duty to focus solely on defeating the enemies of the King.
OR
The second part of my argument is that as an English naval captain, Avery has a duty to focus solely on defeating the enemies of the King.


texts: I know how to pronounce less. But in words with the suffix -less, it sometimes sounds like /lis/, other times like /les/. Which is true?


texts: Words choice , describe how essay starts from broad idea and narrowed down

texts:
I want to describe how essay starts from broad idea and narrowed down in one one/two word(s) something like evolution of essay

Thanks


texts: What does teleology/teleological mean (ie a teleological explanation)?

texts:
A doctor (while giving me a physical) recently said to me that we needn't have to look for teleological explanations for my condition. I looked at many web sites, but not one could provide a simple and succinct definition of what a teleological explanation means. All the definitions seemed to be written in a sort of philosophical "double talk" involving ends, purposes, design. I have to believe that a very simple and universally understandable definition exists.
(As Einstein once said, genius is taking the complex and making it simple.)

Here is an example sentence from the New Yorker magazine "One natural objection to the search for Dyson spheres is that it presupposes an endlessly consumptive technological teleology". What does teleology mean in that sentence ?

Here is another example sentence from Slate: "Committed to a teleology of progress, albeit open to the reality of historical irony, this liberalism lacks a visceral sense of the tragic." What does teleology mean in that sentence ?


texts: Necromancy and nigromancy descibe the act of black magic/ spiritualism. It comes from Greek originally and laterly Latin, according to Wikipedia. The question is, is this the ancient source of the term used in modern times with a derogatory intent towards Afro American  slaves and their decendents? I stumbled across the word, and it would make sense that it is in our collective psyche after international witch hunts since before Roman times. This word meaning 'dead man' which conjures moral fear of 'black magic' links neatly with Niger/Nigerian to suit the context of slavery in America at the time. Surely? Please don't mock! Am no academic!


texts: A word for people who hate others success

texts:
What is a word for people who hate other people's success?

Let's say there is the following scenario:
A is telling B that his success should not be considered an achievement.  B's acknowledgement of his achievement as a success shows how B has nothing left to add. A can be said to impose a highly dictatorial behaviour, to deny something that falls outside A's acceptance/hate of B's success.

What single word can define A's behaviour? Hater is just too generic.


texts: Difference between the prefixes "pre" and "ante"?

texts: Thinking of the words "precedent" and "antecedent" led me to this question. They seem to mean almost exactly the same thing in their more general usages, but "antecedent" seems to imply causation while "precedent" does not. Is there some difference between "pre" and "ante" that I don't understand, or am I just misunderstanding the definitions of "precedent" and "antecedent"?


texts: What Charles Ingalls was really going to say?

texts:
Here is full paragraph:

  Pa was on top of the walls, stretching the canvas wagon-top over the skeleton roof of saplings. The canvas billowed in the wind, Pa's beard blew wildly and his hair stood up from his head as if it were trying to pull itself out. He held on to the canvas and fought it. Once it jerked so hard that Laura thought he must let go or sail into the air like a bird. But he held tight to the wall with his legs, and tight to the canvas with his hands, and he tied it down. "There!" he said to it. "Stay where you are, and be—" "Charles!" Ma said. She stood with her arms full of quilts and looked up at him reprovingly. "—and be good," Pa said to the canvas. "Why, Caroline, what did you think I was going to say?" "Oh, Charles!" Ma said. "You scalawag!"

What would a real pioneer say back then?

Edit:
It's clear that he was going to say something not appropriate for the kids to hear. I want to know what phrase he would've used, maybe there are suitable idioms in the pioneer's jargon or it would've been just common expression. I just can't guess it, nothing sounds right.


texts: Capitalization of words with dashes in titles

texts: How would you capitalize a word in a book/article title when that word has an en dash in the middle of it? For instance, should "protein-protein interaction" be capitalized as "Protein-protein Interaction" or "Protein-Protein Interaction"?


texts: "They don't use either of them" versus "They don't use any of them"?

texts:
If there are only two alternatives, which is more correct,

  "They don't use either of them"

or

  "They don't use any of them"?

I am pretty sure than "any" is more correct, but can I use either "either" ?


texts: What is the definition/usage of make out?

texts:
What is the definition and usage of make out?

It is hard to search for definition/usage of phrases(as it is not vocab) over the internet


texts: Did English have any plural articles in the past?

texts: I am curious as to whether English had any plural articles like in French with "les" and "des".


texts: Term to describe such conversational phrases

texts:
Is there a term to describe colloquial, chatty phrases such as:

Weird, I know.

Who knew there was a place called Pikachu.

You may be wondering...

I'm doing a written assignment and I have to explain why I've chosen to write in a certain style. I am writing a blog and therefore want it to sound intimate and casual.


texts: Difference between 'kludge' and 'kluge'?

texts: As far as I can tell the two have different etymologies and have both possible pronunciations, CLUH-J and CLOO-J but seem to be used interchangeably. I had not idea CLOO-J even existed until my school business librarian used it.


texts:
I recently noticed that the honorific "The Honorable" is often followed by just a name ("The Honorable James Lloyd") rather than a noun ("The Honorable Judge James Lloyd"). That seemed fairly reasonable, as "The Honorable" is usually applied to specific classes of people, and we can drop out the noun without confusion.

But then I realized that this happens sometimes with other adjectives--take, for example, the television program The Wonderful John Acton. It seems strange to have the definite article there, because without the adjective, "The John Acton" just doesn't make sense.

Can anyone shed any light on the grammar behind this construction?


texts:
I saw a sentence in a book that goes like this: "If it so please the gods, so be it".
Why "please" is used instead of "pleases"? I suppose, that's some archaic stylization, but I'm not sure.
Thanks for your help!


texts:
"But--" Boris tapped his pocket-- "your hotel."
Is this use of dashes correct? Donna Tart uses this construction all the time. The speaker is interrupted with a dash, then the narrator is interrupted with a dash, then the speaker finishes. Not a PAIR of dashes, but two singles. Here's another:

"Yes, but--" wiping his nose--"global warming, I suppose."
"That said--" he closed his eyes-- "I cannot say about those guys."


texts: Using "use" with "to" and "for" when expressing purpose

texts:
I recently wondered about the use of "to use" and other verbs when expressing the purpose of an action.
I noticed that purpose is often expressed by having a verb followed by "for" and a progressive form, as in the following example:

For memorizing her shopping list, my grandma started using a cell phone.

Alternatively, this seemed acceptable, too:

(In order) To memorize her shopping list, my grandma started using a cell phone.

However, I recently received corrections for a text in which I frequently used to former version in conjunction with the word "to use".
This was changed by the corrector every single time, and I do not quite understand the reason for that.

Consider the following sentences:

I used a short example to explain my main ideas.
I used a short example for explaining my main ideas.

Is one of the two phrases incorrect or somehow discouraged? If so: Why is that, and what is the difference between "to use" and other verbs?

NOTE:

The example above may be more clear when switching to passive phrases:

A short example was used to explain the main ideas.
A short example was used for explaining the main ideas.

I think having "was used to" in that sentence makes it sound weird. That is why I preferred the version with "for" until now.


texts:
After spending so many years working in hospitals, one would expect the doctor to have retired.

After spending so many years working in hospitals, one would expect the doctor to retire.

Q1) Do they both mean the same?
Q2) What is the subject of "spending". Is it "one" or is it "the doctor"? In other words, is this a case of "dangling modifier"?


texts:
"She would cry at the thought of it, sometimes scream about it, either of the two bore no fruit."
I know we can use, "neither of the two helped" but I wanted a different style.


texts: Word for overusing superlatives and hyperbolic speech

texts:
When the use of certain descriptors are continuously used exhaustively that continue to espouse the greatest, best, smartest, strongest, prettiest, etc etc always being the best of something, it is known as _______.

When a person continuously keeps using adjectives that describe something, someone, or themselves as always being the insert superlative.

Words that are, although flattering, actually so overwhelmingly 'over the top' and impossibly based in fact they are examples of _______.

Superlatives, hyperbole, and hyperbolical speech in the extreme!

What I am looking for is the general descriptor of the routinely repeated usage of this extremely over-exaggerated, hyperbolical speech found in one's daily communications.

(Exaggerating or diminishing beyond the fact; exceeding the truth; bordering on delusional)


texts: Difference Between "View" and "Viewpoint"?

texts:
Suppose the context is people giving their opinions in a discussion.

How are "view" and "viewpoint" different?  Some dictionaries seem to say they are the same.  What do native speakers think?


texts: which preposition sounds more idiomatic and natural?

texts:
which one to use to mean  that people die because of flu ?

1- People die from flu.
2- People die of flu.


texts: Which indefinite article to use if the noun starts with a non-letter character?

texts:
In the Perl programming language, symbols in front of variable names are called a sigil. When reading code out loud, the sigil is spoken. $foo becomes dollar foo. The sigil for functions is the ampersand &, but it's mostly omitted because using it explicitly does special things that you mostly do not want.

In the following sentence, does the indefinite article in front of the &foo need to be a, or an when it is written out?

  What happens if the package does not have an &foo?

The above looks weird to me, but I believe that's because I'm reading the & as und in my head (which is the colloquial name in my native language German for this symbol), but I think it is correct.

Some people might read this does not have a foo, while others might read does not have an ampersand foo.

I'm aware that I could rewrite this so it's less ambiguous and the sigil can be omitted, but I am curious.

  What happens if the package does not have a method foo?


texts: What is the word that means there is a difference in import of the same words when the exact same words are spoken by a different person

texts:
I have come across this word in a book; it gives the example:

  If a layman says “I now pronounce you man and wife,” it doesn't make
  the couple husband and wife.

  But when the same words are spoken by a priest, it makes them husband
  and wife.

The word possibly starts with either "i" or "l".


texts:
Can I write "Who will you preach then?" (after something has happened)

Or should I write "Who will you preach to, then?"

Also, is there a shorter way to say it?


texts: What does "Works" of Ontario Works mean?

texts: I live in the province of Ontario in Canada. The ministry of community and social services here have a type of welfare called Ontario Works, and this provides financial and employment assistance to individuals in need. And I'm wondering, what does Works of Ontario Works mean? I've looked up the term in the dictionaries, but couldn't find anything relevant to the context.


texts:
I was reading 16th century texts with early descriptions of the Americas for a poem I am writing and came across this delightful, yet quite cryptic and arcane phrase: "log life"

but this Mappe of the discripcio of terra florida in america, haue
reioysed me, there the gold &; precious stones, and Balmes are so
plentifull, siluer and spice are nothing with them, no labor is in
that land, log life thei haue

I would partly assume the phrase "log life" in context refers to the repetitive and brain-numbing act of the cutting of wood, which would be something I suppose pleasurable for one looking to have all thoughts whatsoever murdered into nothingness, in an "ignorance is bliss"-like way (a kind of self contradictory to the "no labor is in that land".)--(p.s. I mean no offense to any one who gets the old axe out and cuts wood). But I have to wonder if the phrase was a common expression in Elizabethan England meaning something else.
For context, the text derives from 1564, titled "A dialogue bothe pleasaunte and pietifull wherein is a goodly regimente against the feuer pestilence with a consolacion and comfort against death / newly corrected by Willyam Belleyn, the autour thereof."
EDIT:  Though this question has now been marked as answered, with the answer being a mere typographical shorthand, rather than a delightful phrase like "log life" (thus making the initial question invalid)-- I am deciding to not close it, as I believe the use of "ō" representing the "on" for "long" is, at the least, an intriguing 16th-century typographical choice which perhaps might come in handy if anyone comes across this self-same oddity when reading early-modern-English pamphlets.


texts: What is a woman who make a lot of fuss but does little or nothing called?

texts:
According to a web log article, titled "Weird Words Starting With 'M'", published on Squidoo, the "word" maulifuff means:

  maulifuff n. a woman with little energy, a fussy female who does
  little or nothing

Thus, I'm looking for an English word or expression meaning "a woman who make a lot of fuss but does little or nothing."

Frankly, after some searches and after having verified that Merriam-Webster Dictionary and MacMillan Dictionary don't have that entry (malifuff), I surrendered, and, now, I'm not able to search something that can help me to solve the problem.

Can anyone help me?


texts: I am not a native speaker, I do not know how to say this properly: "It should be always on", or "It should always be on"? Is there any difference?


texts: What is the meaning of expression "zen and the art of.."

texts:
Over the years I have come across a bunch of book titles and blog posts that goes "Zen and the art of X", and X being any damn thing. What to deduct when you see such a title?

My research lead me to this question, but it is not exactly what I am looking for.


texts: Please help me with these if conditionals

texts:
If I studied, I wouldn't fail the exam

If I had studied, I wouldn't have failed the exam

What is the difference between the two? Please explain.


texts: Are litotes more common in Australian English?

texts:
Are litotes more common in Australian English, especially colloquial speech, compared to other dialects of English such as American English?

I could find on ELU a comment stating that this is the case, but nothing else.

I like to think they are more common in Australian English, but that could be nationalistic bias on my part.


texts: "work with" X or "work at" X, which is better?

texts:
Context: We are planning to run promotional campaign for hiring engineering talent, and thinking which one these promotional sentences are more correct/connecting or simply better?

Sentence 1

20 Reasons to work at X.

Sentence 2

20 Reasons to work with X.

Sentence 3

20 Reasons to work for X.

Which of the above sentence is more promising and correct for our campaign or website?


texts: Is putting "for a moment" between subject and verb grammatical?

texts:
I'm not a native speaker of English. When I was reading The Da Vinci Code, I encountered the following sentence.

  He for a moment looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

I heard that a sentence can be unnatural and grammatical at the same time in linguistics. Is the sentence in this case, or the sentence is ungrammatical but allowed in literature?


texts:
I'd appreciate it if someone would answer my question. Thank you in advance.

I'd like to know about the usage of "at present" and "in the present".
 Which is right A or B?

A:  At present the earth is overcrowded with human beings, and they need more residential areas. However, I think in the future humans will solve this problem by colonizing other planets.

B:  In the present the earth is overcrowded with human beings, and they need more residential areas. However, I think in the future humans will solve this problem by colonizing other planets.

Which is right C or D?

C:  In the past dinosaurs roamed the earth. At present we can see the fossils of them in the museum.

D:  In the past dinosaurs roamed the earth. In the present we can see the fossils of them in the museum.


texts: “Connect to” vs. “Connect with”: Which is better?

texts:
Which is better for this situation?

Connect to your target audience.
Connect with your target audience.


texts: Is there a word that means "make someone (or something) redundant"?

texts: For example, by improving some system, some function is now redundant. So the improvement XXX that function.


texts: Is it always possible to say ‘he was (time) in doing’ instead of ‘it took him (time) to do’?

texts:
I’m not so familiar with the expression ‘he was (time) in doing’, but it seems to be used here and there and obviously mean ‘it took him (time) to do. When would you want to use the phrase? Are they exchangeable?

Here’re the examples.

(from Google search)

  He threw a famous feast which he was a year in preparing for and invited all the warriors of Ulster to it but…

(Harry Potter 3 [US Version]: p.327)

  They reached Hagrid’s cabin and knocked. He was a minute in answering, and…


texts: The expression “It is one thing to ... , but another to ...”

texts:
I’ve just used this expression in the sentences below, and I wonder if the use of it can be somewhat misleading. More specifically, I’m talking about the “to” preceding “fully appreciate”.

I’ve used it to mean “in order to”, but the usual pattern of this expression seems to lead the listener to another interpretation.

  “It is one thing to passively learn about ... but to fully appreciate how and when ... is quite another”.

Here, the “to” is used to form a subject noun phrase instead.

What’s your take on this?

  “It is one thing to passively learn about all those various commands in JavaScript by poring over online materials. But to fully appreciate how and when to use each one, I need to try them out in my own code and have them corrected by someone in the know.”


texts: Are "there is" and "there are" with a compound subject, both correct?

texts:
Good pm, I would like to be further clarified if the following sentences are correct or incorrect, but I believe both are correct.

  There is a cat and a dog.
  There are a dog and a cat.

My point is, are these sentences correct? Yes or no? And why?


texts:
In the 4th episode of the 3rd season of Silicon Valley HBO show, the following dialog happens between the landlord and a guy who want to rent a room:

  Guy : Uh, this is not even a room. This is a hallway.

  Landlord : Uh, it can't be, because that is a bed, thus, this is a
  bedroom. Two entrances and exits, cross drafts ahoy.

I can't figure out what does the "cross drafts ahoy" stand for. Any ideas?)


texts:
What is the difference between job title and job role?

For example, from the Google documentation on rich snippets:

  title — The person's title (for example, Financial Manager)
  role — The person's role (for example, Accountant)

I can't see a difference in meaning between the two.


texts:
What's a missile in this case?

  Would you rather a cop grab a quick nap while not on a call if they're exhausted or drive around a two ton missile with a gun on their hip while half asleep.


texts: What is correct: grades 7 to 12 students or grade 7 to 12 students?

texts: When you are referring to a program for students in grades 7 to 12, do you write "grades 7 to 12 students" or "grade 7 to 12 students"?


texts: What's a word or phrase to describe something that quite literally assimilates from its surrounding

texts:
I'm trying to talk about fashion as art/science. What could a be good word/phrase to say it's omnipresent and you see it everywhere around you.
(i want to mention how fashion accommodates every vocation, that as an industry you will find it around you in some shape or form eg. trends forecasting, visual merchandising, big data collecting user information)
Sample sentences: Like many, I thought of it as insubstantial; as its stereotypical preceding reputation of being frivolous or vain. But fashion draws/absorbs/assimilates from life around it. The clothes we wear on our backs carry stories from around the world.


texts: Is there any differences between "defined by" and "defined as"?

texts:
Is there any differences between "defined by" and "defined as" ?
In my textbooks, the authors use both interchangeably.
I am afraid that I am accepting both the same even though the authors are using them with different intentions.
For example,

Ohm's law is defined as
V = I * R,　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(1)
where V is voltage, I current, and R resistance.

and

Ohm's law is defined by
V = I * R,　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(1)
where V is voltage, I current, and R resistance.


texts:
...which is of course zero.

  ...which of course is zero.

Which one is preferred?


texts: What is it called when punctuation changes the meaning of a sentence?

texts:
Is there a word describing a sentence whose meaning is changed by moving the punctuation? For example,

  Let’s eat, Mommy!

and

  Let’s eat Mommy!


texts: Is there an equivalent of diaeresis, but for consonants?

texts:
I know that diaeresis is used to show that two adjacent vowels are not a diphthong but should be pronounced separately, as in naïve or Zoë. Is there an equivalent mark or format in current or historical use that shows that a pair of consonants that usually form a digraph (e.g. "sh" or "th") should be read separately?

Cases where a word is is made up of identifiable parts are easy to deal with. One can do nothing and rely on the reader's understanding of the separate morphemes (e.g. knighthood) or with true compounds one can put in a hyphen, e.g. pot-hook.

However there is more of a problem when transcribing a word or personal name that comes from an unfamiliar foreign language (so the reader is unlikely to know its spelling conventions), is not a compound, and yet contains a syllable ending with "s" or "t" immediately followed by a syllable beginning with "h", or or another easily misread combination.

Right now I can't think of any words either from English or a from a foreign language which present this problem, but among all the vast multitude of proper names and languages in the world that sometimes need to be written in English it must sometimes occur. It also would come up in transcribing fictional constructed languages so as to sound "alien" yet still be easily readable. In fact my question here was inspired by this question on Writers' Stack Exchange , in which it was asked how to represent words from a fictional language that would be likely to be mispronounced in English.

Inserting a hyphen into a word that is a single unit of meaning seems wrong. Inserting an apostrophe might be better, but an apostrophe suggests either a glottal stop or the marking of omitted letters, neither of which might be present. I seem to recall once seeing a full stop placed between letters to show this but that might have been a quirk of an individual writer. Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, explanations in brackets, or asterisks all disrupt the flow of reading.

Is there an existing convention or a better solution?

Added later: Some real life examples of words whose pronunciation would be clearer with a consonantal diaeresis:
- posthumous
- shorthand
- Mathias (German proper name)
- Kuthumi (name of a nineteenth century Indian mystic)
- methemoglobin / methaemoglobin / methæmoglobin (medical term, in which the prefix "met" means "change in")
- Ishak (Arabic proper name).
In practice with the exception of the occasional hyphen these words seem to have no orthographic device to mark the correct pronunciation, thus answering my question in the negative, unless there are counter-examples I haven't yet met.


texts: What conjunction to use in a question sentence, if use any at all?

texts:
Consider these sentences for example.

  Did anyone check they're working?

  Did anyone check that they're working?

  Did anyone check if they're working?

What conjunction is right to use here or no conjunctions can be used? And why?


texts:
I am working on a software project where I have a location in 3d-space ("it can be found at the mathematical point X/Y/Z") as well as an orientation in space ("it is tilted 30° around the X axis"). Some objects have a location, but no orientation (like a unidirectional light source), others have an orientation, but no location (like sunrays), and the majority of objects have both (a table, a ship, a bird, etc.).

I managed to call the first group Locatable and the second group Rotatable, but I'm having trouble coming up with a concise name for the last group. Currently I'm using Positionable, which could be mistaken for the first group, and was wondering if anyone had a better idea.


texts:
Which word order should I choose in noun phrases with a proper noun component and a common noun component?

  the Elvis Presley singer v. the singer Elvis Presley

  the Star Wars movie v. the movie Star Wars

  the Thames River v. the River Thames

  the Lisp programming language v. the programming language Lisp

  the x variable v. the variable x


texts:
Just putting together a lexical lesson on making life changes and thought I'd use a sentence with 'end up'. However, when I ran through various sample sentences I noticed that it is quite an unusual beast in that it licenses verb+ing phrases, adjective phrases and prepositional phrases and noun phrases.

So:

  I ended up drunk and broke. (AdjP)
  That's how I ended up here. (PP)
  I ended up without a penny to my name. (PP)
  I ended up running the company.  (V+ing)
  He ended up a hero. (NP)

Thus it would seem to form complex transitive clauses, the complements describing the state of the 'subject' (or predicand). Kind of meaning 'at the end of the story [the subject] was'.

Yet because it ends with 'up' (a preposition) - you'd expect it just to licence verb+ing or a noun phrase.

So what is it exactly - any ideas?


texts: In the opposite direction to - OR - in the opposite direction from?

texts:
Which of these is correct? The second feels more logical, but I'm really not sure.

Here's the context:

'They took a path away from the house that Jack was glad to see struck off in the opposite direction from the lake.'