texts:
I am slightly confused about, when I can say:

  I am from a particular place, or I belong to a particular place, state
  or nation.

For example, If :

  I was born in New York?
  I grew up in New York?
  I grew up somewhere else and then came to live in New York?


texts: Is "in obeyance" a typo in reportage of recent Supreme court proceedings?

texts:
The term "in obeyance" seemed strange in the story reported via online outlets.
Was this mis-reported, or did they mean "in abeyance", or is this an example of American English differing from the variant on the other side of the Atlantic?

The high court said it would hold the Trump administration's request "in obeyance" to permit the district court judge to promptly consider other efforts by the administration
www.kuow.org, quoting NPR, who at the time had the same wording.

But corrected copy at NPR itself uses abeyance. The word obeyance is known as meaning "obedience", so it did not seem to make sense in the original copy.


texts: Is there a difference between "good" and "well" when they are connected to subject via linking verb?

texts:
John is feeling well.
  John is feeling good.

"well" is an adverb and "good" is an adjective.

Is #2 grammatically correct at all or is it ok to construct Subject + Linking Verb + Adjective    where adjective is describing the subject?

If #2 is grammatical, what is the difference between the two sentences?


texts: Why the writing and reading in English are different?

texts:
I do not encounter so big problems with the English language although I'm not a native English speaker. But I'm curious why some languages (like English or French) are written different from the way they are read? And the German or Slavic languages are WYSIWYG.
So especially for beginners (but I use them sometimes too) there are transcriptions in the dictionaries how to read the corresponding word.

Is this because in the middle ages the west European societies were separated in classes (castes) and some of them were privileged to be literate and some not?
Or this is a special way to save the pronunciation of the word?

Thanks in advance and regards!

PS: Some examples (the entire language is an example but... ;))

example [ig'za:mpl]
sometimes ['sʌmtaimz]
literate ['litərət]
language ['længwidʒ]
although [ɔːlˈðəʊ]
because  [bi'kɔz]
you [ju]
...

and in German the corresponding words:

Beispiel
manchmal
gebildet
obwohl
weil
du / ihr / Sie

And here (in German) you can see few exceptions too.

"ei" is actually [ai].
"sp" is [ʃp]
"ch" is [h]
vowel + "h" = long vowel / obwohl [obvo:l] / ihr [i:r]
"ie" is [i:]

In English:

"A" is [a] and [ei]
"C" is [s] and [k]
"E" is [e] and [i] and nothing at the end of the word
etc...

But in German "A" is only [a], "E" is only [e]...

I'll not give you examples in Slavic languages.


texts:
I'm trying to understand the meaning of I'm getting a job but I can't. I know that it doesn't mean I'm looking for a job nor I got a job.

I want to understand the meaning of it because I saw a few sentences using "I'm getting something" such as:
I'm getting a job.
I'm getting a car.
I'm getting a puppy.

So what does it really mean?
And when do you use it?


texts:
What is the most idiomatic way to put into words a situation where a recurring event happens every hour at a certain minute. For example, consider that some event takes place at the tenth minute of each hour: 0:10AM, 1:10AM, 2:10AM, ...

My first ideas were "every hour at the tenth minute" or "every hour at minute 10". Are these options idiomatic and if not, what would be an idiomatic way of expressing this matter?


texts: What’s the right term for "expensive things that have no real use"

texts:
The rich people buy many luxury things like expensive cell phones, gadgets with brilliants, bags made of snake skin and other such things. They buy it in order to separate themselves from the “crowd” and to show others their social status and wealth. There are other people that want to look rich (or VIP) so they spend their lifetime scraping and saving in order to buy these expensive things. However, these things have no real use, these things are just expensive “trifles”. But many people are still sure that these things will make them happy!

The question is:
What’s the right American English term for “things that have no use which people buy, spending their lifetime, to show others their importance”.

Maybe trifles or trinkets are the right words?


texts: "Personal Letter", is that "Personal letter from me" or "Personal letter to you"?

texts:
I have received a number of emails this christmas, all saying they're a "personal letter". They're all from past online accounts, like online learning services and similar.

I started to ponder the meaning of a "personal letter".

These emails are nothing personal, to me. They're obviously written by a person on the other end, but aren't all emails? (by "all" here I obviously mean all emails written by people...)

So the question is this;

What is the definition of the concept of a "personal letter"?

Is it a personal letter from a specific person? (ie. I'm writing a personal letter from me, to ... a huge list of people)
Is it a personal letter to a specific person? (ie. I'm writing this email to you, personally)

Am I wrong to react to all these emails? The only personal part of them is that they've mail-merged my name from the account data into a mass-market emails, is this personal? Again, obviously someone (that someone being a person) wrote these email, but is this "personal letters"?


texts: Why has "sware" become "swore", "bare" "bore", etc?

texts:
As far as I know, there are four verbs (swear, bear, tear, and wear) whose simple past forms used to be (archaically) sware, bare, tare, and ware; but are now exclusively swore, bore, tore, and wore.  There seems to be a pattern here — the simple past of -ear used to be -are, and is now -ore — but I've never heard an explanation of why that change occurred.

I tried graphing sware and swore together (since bare, tare, and ware are all ambiguous) on Ngrams.  According to this chart, the two forms were once coexistent, and swore has always been dominant; however, Ngrams has proven to be a less-than-satisfactory authority on issues such as this.

Why did -are switch to -ore?


texts: Products will be shipped in the same order they . . . ordered?

texts:
What is the correct word in the following sentence?

  Products will be shipped in the same order they [. . .] ordered.

I am guessing for are or have been, but I'm not sure. Can someone explain?

To clarify: the ordering of the products is both in the past and in the present. The shipping will take place after the ordering of all the products.


texts:
Does "labour-to-be" mean "the labour that is expected" or "the labour that is required for existence"?

  The world is made up of random encounters (Lucretius, Hobbes, Marx,
  Althusser). Art, too, is made of chaotic, chance meetings of signs and
  forms. Nowadays, it even creates spaces within which the encounter can
  occur. Present-day art does not present the outcome of a labour, it is
  the labour itself, or the labour-to-be. (Bourriaud)


texts: Modern replacement for checking frequency tables?

texts:
What is the most up-to-date, robust, and reliable way to check verb (or other POS) frequencies in current usage?

Is there any hope of an algorithm involving counting Google hits and dividing by some benchmark number (say 1,000,000,000,000) or is that so error-prone as to be out of the question?

(Any help with tags would be appreciated.)


texts: What does "Still, you weren't eleven every day" mean in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?

texts:
The context:

Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday—and you
could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of
television—then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry’s eleventh birthday. Of
course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys
had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon’s old socks.
Still, you weren’t eleven every day.
— Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
by J. K. Rowling

I am wondering if this sentence is grammatical and correct to use here. If it is, please explain its meaning.
I guess Harry had never had a pleasant birthday since he was a baby, but that the eleventh was not to be like past ones.


texts:
Even if at the peak of his power he had developed into a local king, his status would not have been equal to that of the Hellenistic kings<

Thanks


texts: What does “blink” in “G.O.P. blinks in standoff” mean?

texts:
Today’s (October 16) New York Times reported that “Congressional Republican leaders  conceded defeat Wednesday in their budget fight with President Obama over the new health care law.” under the headline, “At 11th Hour, G.O P. Blinks in Standoff,”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/17/us/congress-budget-debate.html?hp&_r=0

As I am unfamiliar with the usage of “blink” adopted in the way of the above caption, I checked Cambridge, Oxford and Merriam Webster online dictionaries to get used to it.

CED defines ‘blink’ as a verb;

1.When you blink, you close and then open your eyes quickly once or several times, and when an eye blinks, it does this:

2.If a light blinks, it flashes on and off.

OED defines‘blink’ as a verb;

1.Shut and open the eyes quickly:

2 (of a light) flash on and off in a regular or intermittent way:

Merriam Webster defines it likewise:

1.to close and then open your eyes very quickly

2 to shine with a light that goes on and off

None of the definitions of the above dictionaries seem to me to be very fitting to “blink” in “G.O P. blinks in standoff.”

I think the word in the above caption is used figuratively, perhaps to mean ‘flinched / recoiled’, but I’m not sure.

What does “blink” in “G.O P. blinks in standoff” exactly mean?

P.S.

FYI. Today’s (Oct 17) New York Times followed up the above article by rephrasing “blimp” with "back down" in the following headline:

"Shutdown ends; Debt limit rises. G.O.P. backs down after 16-day standoff.”


texts: Similar phrases/words meaning "it is worth mentioning"

texts:
What could be the other phrases/words with similar meaning of "it is worth mentioning"? e.g. I would like to start a sentence with exactly same meaning of

  It is worth mentioning that [......]


texts:
We usually say "Notes to financial statements" rather than "Notes on ..." However, for other uses, we often say "notes on (something)."

I think "notes on" means "notes explaining about something" and "notes to" means "notes written for someone or something."

Examples:

notes on the subject matter
notes to self

By extension, I assume we would say "Notes on financial statements," but we customary say "Notes to financial statements."

Could anyone explain why this is the case? Thank you!


texts: I'm going to use this word as a synonym of artwork, but some dictionaries seem to not contain its definition. So I'd like to know if that word is understood by the wide audience in the way I described, or they may confuse it with, for example, virtue?


texts: Am I thinking of "Roll Call", or something else?

texts:
"On the [missing word] were only kids from rich and connected families, who chose the school for its high level of education, but more so for the extracurricular activities and skills which were taught"

I'm looking for something to say - 'the list of kids attending a school'. I remember there should be something with "roll" in it.

TIA


texts:
In some regions of the U.S., can the term "coat" be used to designate what other native speakers of other U.S. regions -- and from farther out -- would call a jacket?

  Please consider this Ngram: source

  And this other one also...source


texts:
I came across the following phrase in a story (set in Australia):

  So the fact that I'm forty-five and you're eleventy-seven means nothing to me. If other people have a problem with that, then it's their problem, not ours.

The character is obviously talking about age difference, but is "eleventy-seven" translate to an actual number? Or is it an Australian colloquialism for "really old"?

I tried to search for the phrase, but all I found were pages about a musical group of the same name :)


texts: Is there a single-word verb meaning “to perform cunnilingus on”?

texts:
The single word for to perform fellatio on is the verb fellate.

Is there an analogous word for cunnilingus?


texts: A term describing a majority that is bigger than 85% or 90%?

texts:
Is there any term in English for describing a majority that is equal to or greater than 90% ?

Let's say out of 100 classmates 97 voted for John to be the class leader. What would be the right term to describe such a great percentage of those who voted for John?

Until today I thought that the correct term was "absolute majority", but having read the Wikipedia article just now, I realized that absolute majority is merely 50% of voters voting "in favor" plus one more "in favor" vote.


texts: There's always going to be that one more thing to fix, ... what will be left of you?

texts:
There's always going to be that one more thing to fix, but if you fix everything, what will be left of you?

Are there any mistakes in that sentence? It doesn't seem that bad, but I don't know if a semicolon or quotation marks or something would make it better. Any suggestions?


texts: Why is "dare" used in "One of you dare not fight with him"?

texts:
The sentence is :

One of you dare not fight with him.
One of you dares not fight with him.

I have read that we should use singular verb with "one of +plural noun+ singular verb" but here dares is not correct usage. So what is the correct usage?


texts:
In terms of motorcycle, the forecast sales is expected to experience an ascending trend from 2006 to 2017, with a significant surge of approximately 75k in the fist two years and ______ continuous rise to $400k in the next 9 years.

Question: Is "a" needed here? Can it be omitted here considered that we used "a" in "a significant surge" before the "and" already.


texts:
The other day, I heard someone saying, "I'd very much say the opposite."

Is that the alternative way to say "I'd rather say" or is it just one of those non-native concoctions?


texts: This expression is usually used in past tense ("little did he know") but can it also be used in present tense?


texts: Is there a term for when a well-known noun such as Google, Yelp, Snapchat, etc. become a verb. People now say, let's google it and it is understood that they will use google to search something. Or let's yelp it to check nearby restaurants or information pertaining to nearby restaurants. It usually only happens to popular companies, as no one says let's yahoo this. Is there a term that describes this phenomenon?


texts: Word for "the capacity of habituating to new environment"

texts:
I am in search of a word that has the meaning of 'capacity of a person to habituate to a new environment'.

I can use adaptability. Like he is more adaptable than others. But 'adaptable' may not necessarily imply to a place, it may imply adapting emotions also.

So is there any word that signifies the capability of a person who habituates to a new environment quickly. f I call it X. I can say as. He is Xer than others.


texts:
I don't know how to say it but "at all" used in yes or no questions has a specific function. I would maybe call it "asking for a basic reality" but I don'T know if that makes sense to anyone.

  Do you drink milk at all?

I feel like "at all" does not work with w-questions.

  Where is the bar at all?

Are there examples where it does work?


texts: What does "she was deploying her famous pipes" mean?

texts:
I'm stuck with the precise meaning of the following phrase I read on the Web:

  "When she took the stage at the Grammy Awards this year, things were no different — except that she was deploying her famous pipes in the service of another artist's music".

What exactly does "was deploying her famous pipes" mean here?


texts:
come crashing down:  to fall down with a lot of noise and force

  The whole stack of cans came crashing down.

According to M-Webster's come crashing down is an idiom. Otherwise, how is such a pharse analysed?

Seconldy, is come down used in the idiom come crashing down? Merriam-webster's doesn't include "fall down" as a meaning in its entry of  come down.


texts: What would be a word for describing a tendency to take the literal meaning of words above the accepted meaning?

texts:
For example someone accused of homophobia would answer that isn't correct as he is not afraid of homosexuals.  The accepted meaning of homophobia is, of course, a much wider range of negative attitudes, least of them being actual fear.

What would be the term for such a person?


texts:
People say:

  • English verbs can be placed in various classes depending on their
  meaning. In other words, they can be classified “semantically.” The
  most important of these classes are: event verbs and state verbs.

  • Event verbs refer to events—happenings that begin and end at a
  definite time. For example, the verb build as it is used in the
  sentence Jack built a beautiful house by the beach is an event verb.

  • State verbs refer to states—conditions or situations that are seen
  as not having any definite beginning or end; they are seen as
  permanent, in other words. For example, the verb own as it is used in
  the sentence Jack owns a beautiful house by the beach is a state verb.

Why state verbs are seen as not having any definite beginning or end?

Now see this sentence "I am at home" ("to be" is a state verb in this case). And, if you have a good watch, you can pinpoint the precise time you enter your house & the precise time you walk out of your house.

Another example, "I see her! I see her!" ("to see" is a state verb in this case). If you have someone watch your behavior, that person can define the specific time that you start seeing her & the time you stop seeing her.


texts: When was the word "terrorism" first used?

texts: When was the word "terrorism" first used in the world? I did some research but, the internet gave me two answers. The first one said it was first used in 1794. But, the second one said it was first introduced in 1160. I want to know when was it first used in the world. Does anyone know when the word "terrorism" was first used?


texts: What is the difference between hand it over to and hand it to

texts:
I need to know the difference between these two sentences:

  Hand it over to the police
  Hand it to the police


texts:
I came across a sentence which read

The bill bogged down after being passed by Congress

I am a little curious as to this use of being.

Shouldn't it be

The bill bogged down after it got passed by Congress ?


texts:
It might sound like a newbie question, but...

Today on my English lessons I argued with the teacher whether you can say 'think in' or not. For me it's obvious that you can (there's even a book 'Thinking in Java'), but now I have to find it in a reliable source (I don't even know what is a reliable source, since she said that oxford's internet dictionary is not one).

Thanks in advance.


texts: Should there be a comma before ‘and’ with respect to different nouns?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Should I put a comma before the last item in a list?

  What is the difference between tomato puree, paste, and sauce?

OR

  What is the difference between tomato puree, paste and sauce?

Do we need a comma before and in this case?


texts:
As a software developer I regularly develop webbased applications commissioned by a client. I sell the intellectial ownership with it. As soon as it in production, this party lets his clients use it. They are my client's clients. It even happens that my client is a software publisher, selling licences of my production to companies which have clients using the software. They are client of a client of my client!

Using English as a non-native language, I wonder what could be valid, self-explanatory and nice definitions I could use in my documents and models, distinguishing clients and their clients. One way is to use the opposite term of client. In Dutch we have a term "opdrachtgever" which means something like order giver. On the web I found terms like client, customer, consumer, member, user, provider, contractor, mandator, principal... but I don't know how and when to use them at best. An extra complication for a software developer is that the term client is also used in technique as a consumer of a server.

I imagine no right answer, but I am hoping for inspiring suggestions how to make use of these kind of terms. Thanks in advance.


texts: The thing that adds a trait to another thing?

texts:
Say A does something to B that causes B to have an additional trait.

For example, A cooks B to add the trait "cooked" to B; A damages B to add the trait "damaged"; or A hugs B to add "hugged"; etc. as in "B is cooked/damaged/hugged".

What is a word to describe A?  ...I'm thinking "applicator"?  The main effect that I'm going for is that A is adding something new to B's list of adjectives.

EDIT: the word for the action that A takes, ie. "drive", needn't be the root word for the trait that B is given, ie. "driven", which is a valid interpretation of how I posed the question.  I am, however, looking for the general term, just to clarify :D


texts: Punctuation to separate clauses: "What is X _ now that Y?"

texts:
In sentences like:

  What is your name _ now that you have changed it?

  Where do they live _ now that the coal industry has collapsed?

  Why are we still here _ now that the election is over?

is any punctuation needed in between the clauses?  The only options I can think of:

  1) What is X now that Y?

  2) What is X, now that Y?

  3) What is X; now that Y?


texts:
I always thought "I hardly doubt it" was a correct sentence, but it seems that it isn't.
I do find a lot of occurrences though.

Should it be "I highly doubt it"?

I know the difference between hardly and highly, but just wanted to know if it can be used in this context.
This made me doubt it (pun intended).


texts: What's another way to say "its been said time and time again"?

texts:
I often find myself at a shortage of words to properly describe my thoughts. Usually, I just use the "Define" function of google, however, Google cant provide synonyms for  for idioms/sayings such as this.

Anyway, I'm looking for another way to say "its been said time and time again"

btw, if anyone knows of a website/app that aids you in looking for "other ways to say ____" I'd appreciate it if you would share it here. Thanks.


texts: How do you properly say "missing each other" (that's SO the wrong word!)?

texts:
Imagine I sent a message to someone over Instant Messaging, and then went offline.

5 minutes later, they come online, send me a message and go offline.

10 minutes later, I come online, find their message but see they are now gone.

So what I want to express in this scenario is: "Ack! We keep "missing" each other in the space of minutes!"

However 'missing' is the wrong word to use here, obviously, I mean more like a 'missed catch' but it looks more like a 'I miss you' thing.

What is the right way to express what I want to?


texts: How to use Present Perfect Continuous in Passive form?

texts:
Although Present Perfect Continuous is less commonly used in its Passive form. I want to know if it's possible to use a sentence below in its passive form.

Active:

  I have been telling him a long story and not finished yet.

Passive:

  He is being told a long story by me but not finished yet.
  He has been told a long story by me but not finished yet.

Is No.1 correct?

What I want to know is whether if I could use the option one as a Passive form of the original statement? or how would a native speaker express that statement in its Passive form?


texts:
What do you call people who answer to the point? (irritatingly, annoyingly)

Example

Mr. Hermez is the boss and has an office and his secretary sits in same location with his workstation just outside mr. Hermez's office door.

AMN on phone: Is Mr. Hermez there in the office?
Mr. Hermez's secretary answers back: Yes he is there.

Hermez's secretary knows AMN is desperate to meet Mr. Hermez since morning and has called in for the same reason.

AMN walks quarter mile to Mr. Hermez office to find Mr. Hermez was already busy with top managers from same the office even before the call between AMN and secretary.

In this case as Mr. Hermez's secretary knew AMN was coming, it made sense to inform AMN about Mr. Hermez's prior engagement with some people. So in this case the person i.e. Mr. Hermez's secretary just answer to the point.

AMN is annoyed with the secretary.

AMN to secretary: You should not be so _______ (answering to the point)

What would you call such a person irritatingly.


texts:
Is the Oxford comma restricted to the use of "and"? Or can/should it be also applied in sentences with "or"?

  I would choose physics, mathematics or biology.
  I would choose physics, mathematics, or biology.


texts: Please help me understand why "put up with" means "stand, endure"

texts:
I'm a student learning English. Whenever I get stuck on phrasal verbs, I imagine the idiomatic meaning with the literal meaning and figure it out.

  put up with
  Tolerate; endure.
  ‘I'm too tired to put up with any nonsense’
  (Oxford Dictionaries)

However, based on its literal meaning, I'm finding it difficult to understand how ‘put up with’ means "endure", "tolerate" or "support" as its synonyms suggest.

It'll be really helpful for me, if someone could explain.


texts: Word that describes a problem that is missing a precondition

texts:
I'm an engineer, and sometimes I want to describe a problem that is unresolvable in its current state. The problem might be easy, or somewhat complex, but the key aspects of it are understood and it cannot be solved without changing some other condition.

An example:

Deliver this physical letter from our location in the US to this address in Cambodia.
It must arrive within 10 minutes.

This problem is understandable, but it is not (practically?) possible. If the requirements are changed to allow digital transmission, it can be done.

Another example, emphasizing that the problem is not too little information, but competing requirements which are incongruent with a single solution:

Describe a physical object which meets all the following criteria:
Is as big as bread basket
Is colored red
Is invisible

In this case, coloring the thing and having the thing be invisible are incompatible.

Or the classic:

Car Repair:
Fast
Cheap
Done Right

Choose any 2, as the joke goes. All 3 are at the same time are... insoluble? irresolvable? This is the word I'm looking for.

Hopefully these analogies communicate my point, I wanted to avoid tech jargon.

These problems could be described as:

Inextricable -- "Too involved or complicated to solve. Extremely intricate." Not really. Complexity is not in the way of a solution here.
Inscrutable -- "Incapable of being investigated, analyzed, or scrutinized; impenetrable. Not easily understood; mysterious; unfathomable:". Closer, but the definition implies some complexity in the problem itself which I don't want to communicate.
Unsolvable -- "[Not] capable of being solved, as a problem.". Completely accurate, but could be more descriptive. Why isn't the problem solvable?

Similar:
Insolvable, insoluble, and unsolvable


texts: Word for the noise made by a helicopter?

texts:
I once read about a nice word that describes the specific noise made by a helicopter in flight.

It wasn't a generic verb like "rattling" or "juddering", but one that only applies to helicopters.
It may have been onomatopoeic, but I'm not sure.
I'm almost sure it was a verb (as in "the [...]ing noise of the helicopter"), but it could have been a noun (as in "we could hear the helicopter's [...] from a mile off").

I've hunted on the internet to try to find this word again, but to no avail. I'm sure I'll know it when I see it though. Does anyone else know this word?


texts: Is "prevent it in the future" redundant?

texts:
In the following sentence, is it redundant to say “prevent it in the future”? Deleting “in the future” strikes me as abrupt. Is there anything I could change it to that wouldn’t be redundant?

  To avoid [this problem], companies need to understand its causes and develop a plan to prevent it in the future.


texts:
I am familiar with the question Neutral word for half-hearted
But I am looking for a negative word.
Consider the case:
Patient is brought to emergency ward in hospital. The Doctor knows that they have 1 hour to administer medication. Doctor goes socializing for 50 minutes - because that was more short term fun for the doctor. And at the 50th minute comes back and administers the medicine. When asked the Doctor claimed, that there is still time.
The 1 hour is however an average, and for this patient, it was too long. His body rejects the treatment.
I am looking for a word to describe the Doctors behavior.
More generally : Putting off your call of duty, or long term goal, or your dream as long as possible only to scramble at the 11th hour.
It would be nice, if the same word can also capture the defense / claim that there is still or enough time / resource etc left. If not then maybe we will find a companion word that fits well.
Word form : I want this to be a single word , possibly a verb, please. If the single word does not capture both the meanings I mentioned, then two words are also OK.  I would be open to phrases, in worst cases as well.
Words that i have considered :
Half hearted action, acting at the 11th hour: Does not quite catch the negligence and drooling after a different short term hedonistic fulfillment (like the socialization for 59 minutes ignoring the patient)
Ignorance, Carelessness, disregard : Very broad terms. I would like the word / phrase to be specifically capture the general meaning above.
Lukewarm : There is no shortage of enthusiasm here. The main issue is that the action is delayed as far as possible with excuses of "still enough" / "still time left" etc.


texts: Asking for an idiom according to literal translation

texts:
I translated a sentence into English:

  When the details are ignored, the whole problem will be ignored unintentionally

Seems like a logical sentence that says when you don't consider all details while solving a problem, it'll affect the result and the whole problem. I'd like to know if there's an idiomatic expression meaning the same.


texts:
In a job interview, I want to ask the interviewer about work hours. We are talking in the present. In this case which sentence is correct, and why?

  I was wondering, what are the work hours?
  I am wondering, what are the work hours?


texts: Why do some people prefix people's names with "the"?

texts:
Lately I've been seeing a trend that I find disturbing for some reason, mostly in Indian publications but also in some American ones - prefixing people's names with "the". For example: The Mr. Gandhi said that taking the Narendra Modi's name was tantamount to committing a crime in the party.

Is this proper usage? It surely doesn't sound right.


texts: Is there a significant difference between “sorry,” “pardon” and “excuse me”? Are they interchangeable?

texts:
I was amused with the line, “Stand-alone 'sorry' may have dressed like a gentleman, but his heart was made of India rubber” in the article titled “A poor apology for a word” in December 13 New York Times.

It says “the average British person says 'sorry' eight times a day — or “204,536 times in three score years and ten,” in the reporter’s Old Testament idiom.”

Is “sorry” predominantly used in both the UK and the US when you are apologizing for something, or asking somebody to repeat something that you have not hard clearly (OALD) in comparison with “pardon,” and “excuse me”?

Are there any significant difference of meaning and nuance among “sorry,” “pardon” and “excuse me,” or they are perfectly interchangeable?


texts: Correct usage of "verb+ing" used as an adjective

texts:
Sentence -

It's literally annoying to tell someone to do all the work.

I have a doubt regarding the implication of this above mentioned sentence , who's being annoyed here the person who's being told to do all the work , or the person who's telling the other one to do all the work .
From what I know , it should mean that it's annoying to be told to do all the work . But it's said in a different way .. and it doesn't matter how you say it implication remains the same


texts: Should I use a semicolon or comma in these statements for greater impact?

texts:
I am struggling with the use of semicolons, commas, and periods in my writing of a specific passage of my personal statement.  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

“What is the worst thing you have ever seen?”  This question inevitably arises when others learn that I work as a paramedic on a helicopter.  I hate this question; I always struggle to answer it.  Yet this wasn’t always the case, as I have come gradually to understand after greater than a decade in emergency medical services (EMS).

The other way I have written this is as follows:

“What is the worst thing you have ever seen?”  This question inevitably arises when others learn that I work as a paramedic on a helicopter.  I hate this question for I always struggle to answer it.  This wasn’t always the case, as I have come gradually to understand after greater than a decade in emergency medical services (EMS).

The second entry seems much more cumbersome and doesn't flow as well.  It also does not seem to have the same impact as the first.

UPDATE: In response to F.E.---I am trying to discuss that I have gradually come to dislike this question because my interpretation of the question has changed.  As a novice provider I answered this question in the same way that rhetorician described-gore.  In an attempt to not become too philosophical, my impression of the "worst thing I have ever seen" really doesn't matter.  Due to the nature of 911, every event is the worst thing that has ever happened to that patient, at that particular time.  I am attempting to say, without sounding cynical or jaded, that my experiences have led me to disliking the question because I have discovered a much deeper meaning to it.


texts:
Any help with my question will be appreciated.

Does a hummingbird just hover, or can it be described as, “Hovering stationary?”
Excerpt from my new manuscript."Hooter Hornbuckle and Barnabus Belmont. The Best of friends.
"Then, with a buzz of her wings, and in the blink of an eye she had moved, hovering stationary once more in front of another grimy window pane."
James A Bresco


texts: "Its" or "It's" user interface is primitive

texts:
When referring to a system. Which of the following is correct?

  It's user interface is primitive

or

  Its user interface is primitive

The reason I'm confused is because I was taught that in this situation apostrophe "s" means "is" or "has". You cannot therefore say "it is user interface is primitive" or "it has user interface is primitive". Can it however be argued that the user interface belongs to the system and therefore the apostrophe is required?


texts: Is asking for the "proper" use of the word "chemical" a case of linguistic prescriptivism?

texts:
Another Skeptics.SE user and I are discussing the meaning of the word "prescriptivism". (Yes, we are aware of the recursion involved.)

In particular, I have cited a couple of examples of scientists objecting the usage of the word "chemical" by the general public and in marketing, to refer to "artificial additives" rather than the standard scientific definition.

$2.3 million bounty offered for “100% chemical-free material”
Hell to the no! Chemical-free chemistry kit

I argue that these are two cases of linguistic prescriptivism.
He disagrees:

  What linguists term prescriptive usage are those elements of grammar/pronunciation that are perceived to be "proper" and are typically associated to the speech of the speakers of the language who have the most power (in the west, educated middle class/upper middle class speakers). Often times they are in fact out of sync with what people actually say (even in the prestige group). So the scientifically driven ones are really not part of what linguists characterize as prescriptive language. I would say that's scientific pedantry...

I'm no expert, and I am happy to be corrected, but this doesn't go along with my understanding.

Should demands to only use the word "chemical" in the scientific sense be considered "linguistic prescriptivism", "scientific pedantry", both or neither?


texts: What is the source of the quote "Dream in a pragmatic way."?

texts:
As the title says, what is the source of the quote:

Dream in a pragmatic way.

Is it from Aldous Huxley? If it is, I would like to know the source: if it is a book or poem or whatever.


texts: words derived from French that have re-entered French from English

texts: I am looking for a few examples of words that originated in French (or in Latin and then entered French), entered English and were reimported into French.


texts: Word or phrase for set of events with no context as to timing

texts:
What is a word to use for a set of events that are reported with no context in terms of date or time, or frequency? The speaker claims, "someone told us you did X", but we don't know if they're claiming this happened one time or fifty times, and whether it was days ago, months ago, years ago or spread over some other span of time.

Example:  The speaker's accusation to my friend that "someone told us you did this," was, I assured her, of limited value given that it was unattributed, [unquantified], [undated] and [_______].


texts: Is there a difference between "started to go" and "started going"?

texts:
Is there a meaning difference between started to go and started going in this example sentence?

  "...", he said and started to go/going away.


texts: Attention span means the amount of time one can concentrate on a certain task. I am wondering what is the spatial equivalent to describe one's attention "space" as we are capable of perceiving and paying attention to a lot of different things simultaneously. Some like attention range/ attention realm came up in my head but I do not think they are the correct ones.


texts: Protection 'from' germs vs Protection 'against' germs?

texts:
Which of the two is grammatically correct?

Also, would the usage change if I change 'protection' to 'protects'?


texts: Should contractions be avoided in formal emails?

texts:
In a formal email of the kind where you begin with "Dear Mr. Surname" and finish with "Best regards", for example, should we use the following contractions? Or are the non contracted forms more appropriate?

We have -> We've
We would -> We'd
There is -> There's
etc.


texts: Can a person be (at the?) state-of-the-art [on/in/of] something?

texts: I'm writing a recommendation for a fellow IT expert, and I want to say that this person loves to investigate the state-of-the-art technology, always checks out the most recent things on the market the minute they are released, and is always on top of what's happening in the technology world. What's the concise way of saying it?


texts: Difference between article, tutorial, how-to, course, track

texts:
I find these words(keywords) article, tutorial, how-to, course, track...etc some what same but CS people always use them (even my tutor) in different ways..

Don't assume this is about the programming context, I am asking this in any context possible or applicable but most of these words are used in coding sites like code.org I really think of how these words make difference..


texts:
I'm familiar with phrase "Tell somebody apart" used with "could" in negative, i.e. :

  They were so different that I couldn't tell them apart.

My questions are:

Can "Tell apart" be used with objects? E.g. :

  I couldn't tell these keys apart

Can "Tell apart" be used with "could" in positive? E.g. :

  I can easily tell them apart

My student gave me this sentence:

  I’ve duck-taped my toothbrush, so we could tell apart which is whose.

Do you think it sounds correct?


texts: What is the meaning of the phrase "as they relate to..."?

texts:
e.g. in the following sentences:

This section presents recent developments in climate change as they relate to oceans.
Two UN publications present the activities of the organization as they relate to the Articles of the Charter.

and in the following title of an article I found:

Effects of short- and long-course antibiotics on the lower intestinal microbiome as they relate to traveller's diarrhea

Could you please explain the meaning of the phrase "as they relate to"? As a non-native speaker I've come across it many times; I think it means something like "in terms of their relation to", but I'm unsure. Thanks in advance.


texts: Is 'what to do' grammatically incorrect?

texts: I have been given to understand that the sentence 'After waking up, she lay on bed thinking of what to do' is grammatically incorrect. The phrase 'what to do' should be replaced with 'what she should do'. So I'm curious about the validity of the said phrase now. Is it incorrect in all contexts?


texts: Is it "useful information" or "the useful information"?

texts:
I am replying an email and don't know which of the following is correct.

Thank you for ∅ useful information about the books.
Thank you for the useful information about the books.


texts: "We must eat to live, not live to eat." — What kind of rhetorical figure is that?

texts: In this kind of sentence the second half is an inversion of the first half. Is it a rhetorical artífice? What kind?


texts: Why doesn't English employ an H in front of Ares?

texts:
While watching the movie The Martian, a question arose regarding the name Ares:

Greek Gods were metaphrased into Latin when Romans took over. Ares (from the Greek Άρης) was now named Mars, and so on. And, as such, NASA uses the name Ares for their mission to Mars.

They also have a spacecraft named Hermes, an import of Ερμής. By this convention, shouldn't it be Hares then instead of Ares, since both start with a vowel, followed by a consonant (character "r")?

'A' might be an exception or something, yet, I remembered Hagia Sophia (in Constantinopolis), from the greek Αγιά Σοφία. This follows the same convention as Hermes, rather than that of Ares. Similarly, we have the name Hades.

Why is there variation in this convention?


texts:
Note: This question is only apparently a dupe of preceding: "Is Yankee derogatory?".

I have heard of the term "Brave" often referring to people in the Southern U.S. by Northeners.

Is it true? If so, is this term considered derogatory or offensive and should it be avoided in formal settings?

ADDENDUM: as choster say in his/her comment, probably I am confusing the terms with the names of two major league baseball teams which were rivals in the 1990s: the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves (cities which are associated with the North and the South).

Probabily this rivalry might be reverberated in Europe to the point of distorting the really meaning of the terms.


texts:
Is there a common expression to describe a situation where everything comes together perfectly?

UPDATE: The phrase that kept going through my head was "perfect storm," but that holds more of a negative connotation.


texts: Single word for : never accomplished anything in his life

texts:
Is there a specific word to :
what you can call a person that never accomplished anything in their life


texts: "I give it to him who came first" vs. "to he who came first"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Which is grammatically correct: “Let he who…” or “Let him who…”

Should the pronoun be "him" because it's the object (gave it to him), or should it be "he" because it is subject of the subordinate clause "he who came closest."

Also, what is "who came first" described as, grammatically?

I should know, but I don't, and it bugs me.


texts:
Is there a good word like halcyon except in the future rather than halcyon's more commonly used reference to the past? Basically, a single word that will mean something like "future days will be better/peaceful".

Edit: The context would be "We're struggling now but _______ days are coming."


texts:
I'm trying to write this parable:

  Just as knowledge alone of a language doesn't make somebody a poet...

Questions:

Does one write "doesn't" or "don't"? From what I know of grammar, I would go with "doesn't", but it doesn't sound right.
"somebody" or "anybody"? Which one is correct in this case? My intended meaning is "a given person".

Thanks!


texts: Meaning of the idiom "keeping my head out of the oven"

texts:
What does the idiom "to keep one's head out of the oven" mean? I heard the phrase in this context:

"Hey John, how's it goin'?"
"Oh, you know... keeping my head out of the oven."


texts: Differences between "very" and "very much" as adjective modifiers

texts:
The following examples are clearly wrong:

  × I am very much tired
  × She is very much clever

But the following sounds fine (at least according to OALD):

  I am very much afraid that ...
  I am very much aware of ...

Worse, the following sounds awkward to me:

  × I am very aware of ...

I wonder some sound ok while the others do not. Does it have to do with the type of adjectives being used? Or is there a subtle nuance between "very" and "very much"? Is "very much" the same as "extremely" (I would guess not, at least in the "afraid" example)? When should/can one use "very much", as opposed to "very"? Are there differences between spoken and written uses?


texts: Does French past participle PRISE explain Modern English meanings of "comPRISE"?

texts:
compose, comprise. Compose means “to make up” or “to constitute.” Comprise means “to be composed of” or “to consist of.” The American Digest System comprises nine units and a current supplement (or is composed of). Nine units and a current supplement compose the American Digest System (or are comprised in).

I just noticed that "pose" in comPOSE is present tense. But PRISE in comPRISE is French past participle. What extent does PRISE explain the above Modern English meanings of comPRISE? PRISE means "taken" or "seized" in French.
Just curious why comPRISE was formed with French past participle of comprendre, not present tense. This makes me guess Modern English meanings of comPRISE are related to PRISE?
Bahrych, Merino. Legal Writing and Analysis in a Nutshell 5th edition (2017). 357.


texts: Utilizing the words "may" or "can" in vocabulary

texts:
My grandmother is slowly teaching me aspects of proper grammar. Sadly, I sometimes question her judgment since we both live in the southern United States. However, I would like to clarify when is the correct way to use the words:
may or can.
May I open this door? or Can I open this door? I am under the impression one means capability, but some movies that use such words are contradicting what my grandmother is saying is incorrect grammar.
She stated, which I agree may is asking permission and can will be acknowledging if possible to do so, this is my own understanding. Is this a correct analysis?


texts: Term for paying beyond the contract limit

texts:
I am looking for one word for situation explained as under:

We (My Company) have a contractor.
His contract amount is $ XYZ per annum.
As the year ended he was already paid an amount "beyond contract" limit.

What should this amount be called? "Extra amount paid" or "Amount paid beyond contract limit" or what?

Is there exists any single or hyphenated word for this situation?


texts: "Licenciatura" x "Bacharelado" as "bachelor's degree". How to say it in English?

texts:
In Brazilian Portuguese, there are two kinds of graduate courses: "Licenciatura" for those who will work as high school teachers, and "Bacharelado" for those who will work in research. Looking for an English translation, I've found only "Bachelor's degree" for both.

How can I say "Licenciatura" (the name of the course) and "Licenciado/Licenciada" (one who's concluded this course)?


texts: See picture -- is there a better term than glass elevator?


texts: What is the proper term for the abbreviation of a team name?

texts:
I've been working with a group to make a custom website for displaying player and team information for an e-sports league, and in my table columns I've been using "Team Abbreviation" for the heading where a team's three-letter abbreviation is displayed, e.g. CHI or SFC.
Is there a proper term for this designation?


texts: How to correct/improve 's-' pronunciation at the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
As a native Spanish speaker, I tend to mispronounce some letters or words in English. One of them is the 's' sound at the beginning of a word, for example, I pronounce:

'slang' as /eslaŋ/ instead of /slæŋ/, or
'Spanish' as /ˈespan.ɪʃ/ instead of /ˈspæn.ɪʃ/, or
'standard' as /ˈestandaɹd/ instead of /ˈstændəd/

I can easily hear the difference between /es/ and /s/, or between /eso/ and /es/, but I find really difficult to hear the difference between /espi/ and /spi/, because, I think, there is no /s/-CONSONANT-VOWEL sound in Spanish and my ears aren't use to hear such combination (so, my mind just create the /e/ sound at the beginning for consistence).

So, my question is: Are you aware of any technique that help me to correct my pronunciation?, or any technique that help me to rewire my brain to be able to hear and pronounce better?

Note: I took the IPA transcription from https://en.wiktionary.org


texts: Is it correct to say "mission completed"?

texts: Is it correct to say  "mission is completed" or I should say  "mission completed"?


texts: AAVE deletion of alveolar stops before the ending -ing

texts:
They riding for us  /ˈɹaɪjɪn/

I'd like to know whether whether it's represented somehow in writing.

Secondly, what phonological process enable it?


texts: Where was the idiom "long face" first used?

texts:
I am scattering around to find the first use of the idiom "long face" or "long-face" as in "why the long face?", meaning to show in one's facial expression a low, drooping melancholy or blue sadness. This idiom has always been a favorite of mine as the imagery of it is quite fantastical and wondrous indeed, I can't help but think of Edvard Munch's The Scream when I hear it.
Distionary.com sets the etymology of the expression "long face" to 1780-90, and Merriam Webster to 1747 (a very particular year to say the least, so I would indeed not doubt the first use has been discovered previously)- but of course, as is common in seeking to discover the origins of idioms, they are in many cases untraceable.
Online Etymology Dictionary states:

A long face, one drawn downward in expression of sadness or solemnity, is from 1786.

I unearthed 27 examples of "long phase" from 1571 to 1700, all being mere physical description, so I am assuming, although I have no conviction on this assumption, that the word is probably younger than 1700.
Here is a delightful example of the physical description use of the word 1666:

it is accounted beauty to have a long face, lean cheeks, and excessively big legs:

Upon further research, I too, like @Sven Yargs found my earliest example in "Philosophical Transactions and Collections:" from 1743 which mentions the word as "commonly used".
Any insight on this would be humbly appreciated.
Thank you most sincerely in advance.


texts: If there is a phone call I forget to make, can I say this call is a "due call"? Or is there a better word which can describe it?


texts:
It makes you consider the  difference between driving down that road in a car, versus riding down that road on a bicycle.

(Is the comma here accurate?) What would be the main clause and the term for this type of sentence? 'The difference between/contrast type''.

It's not which path you choose, it's how you'll reach your destination that matters.

Why is this usage not considered a comma splice?


texts: Using ‘later’ when the amount of time is a complex phrase

texts:
In sentences like ‘The speed 10 seconds later is 3 m/s’ the amount of time is easy to specify. But what can I do if it is a complex phrase? In particular, I should like to express v(t + dt) in words, where v is speed, t is an instant and t + dt is a later instant in which dt reads ‘the amount of time it takes for the picket fence to travel 5 cm’. I cannot just squeeze this phrase in front of ‘later’, can I? Is there a phrase like ‘later BY an amount of time’?

Thank you in advance for any useful tip.


texts:
[i] Equi
  Billᵢ wants [[(for) Billᵢ] to leave at noon]
  [Billᵢ wants [ __ ᵢ to leave at noon]]
  [ii] Raising
  [[(For) the casserole] to be done] seems
  The casserole seems [to be done]
  (Prof.John Lawler's article)

[case 1] She was last to arrive.(OALD)
[i] Equi: She was last [[for her] to arrive].
[ii] Raising: [[For her] to arrive] was last.

[case 2] They were the last to arrive.(OALD)
[i] Equi: They were the last [[for them] to arrive]].
[ii] Raising: [[For them] to arrive] was the last.

Are both, case 1 and case 2, Raising’s?
I tilt my head once one way, then the other. May I get the idea clear?


texts: What part of speech is "do not," in, "Dude, if you do not sweep the floor, then...'

texts: So, i'm doing a project for school, writing a letter, and figuring out what part of speech each word is, and i'm having difficulty with "do not" and "to take" in, "I will start 'to take' more of your chicken...". I would also like help with "for now", "But, for now, i will stay."


texts: Well, I always get confused over the use of this phrase. Basically, it means taking credit for the performance done by artists by bowing their heads down, and I know that but what about using it for myself for showing respect to others who have done something great? Just consider a sentence - " The soldiers have done a tremendous job in rescuing thousand lives,I take a bow".Can I use it like that?


texts:
Take a look at this sentences:

1 I usually try not BE  so rude.

2 I usually try not TO be so rude.

3 I usually try not BEING so rude .

4  All I need is  TAKE  a rest .

5 All I need is TO take a rest.

6 All I need is TAKING a rest.

Which of these sentences are ok?

Is there a rule for that?

My English teacher has given me some very very ambiguous answers.


texts: What's the difference between a dangling modifier and a gerund phrase?

texts:
This was the first sentence of a New York Times article:

Petro O. Poroshenko, a pro-European billionaire confectioner, was sworn in on Saturday as the fifth president of Ukraine, promising to put an end to a separatist insurrection in the east that has divided the country for months.

Why doesn't the portion "promising to put an end..." have to be placed next to "Petro"? Why isn't this a misplaced modifier?
Whereas something like this is considered to have a modifier error:

Living beneath the ground, scientists discovered a bat colony.

Are participial phrases at the end considered okay?


texts: Correct words for transitional and non-transitional

texts:
I'm trying to explain two different ways of doing something and can't remember the correct words.

I have a stock room full of items

Way 1:

  Every week count how many of each item there are, write this down.

Way 2:

  When items come in/leave; add or take from the current stock level.

I want to call these transitional and non-transitional but am certain there are correct words to describe these two different approaches. What are they?


texts:
It seems like only "Lolita" uses this word.

According to Google, solipsism is "the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist."  From this definition, I conclude that for one to be solipsized means that they only acknowledge their own existence.


texts: How do I name a room in a logistics hub where some goods are being accepted for storage and some goods are subjected to the "sending" procedure?

texts:
How would one call a room in a warehouse where some goods are accepted for storage and some goods are "shipped away" to the customer? Would "room for the acceptance and shipment (shipping) of goods" fit?

The Russian phrase is

  • Помещение для проведения приёмки и отгрузки товара;

(from a list of logistics hub design requirements)

I always have trouble translating the Russian term "отгрузка" = "withdrawing of something out from storage and placement of it into a transportation vehicle in order to be directed to the customer/client". I'm unsure whether the word "shipping/shipment" really corresponds precisely to the Russian word.

The Russian word does not imply the actual process of transportation, only this initial bit of getting the goods out of storage, filling the necessary papers, and placement of the goods into vehicles, maybe owned by another firm, some third-party transportation company.

Maybe "dispatch of goods" would correspond, but is it really used? It looks and sounds odd. "Sending away of goods" is simplistic. Hm... "Room for the acceptance and sending of goods".. I dunno.


texts: Is there a single word for 'internet dissociation'?

texts:
I responded today on a Stack Exchange site and later realised that my words had been of a slightly different character than if I had, say, left a post-it note on a colleague's desk whom I knew by face-to-face conversation.

This is not because of anonymity as I choose not to be anonymous on the internet and my personal details are freely available to anyone who can be bothered to look.

I was not being deliberately discourteous or disrespectful, nor was I being consciously confrontational or abrupt. But my written response was just lacking in humanity, merely because that person's presence is limited to being transitory (yes, I know it is archived - I mean what is visible) text on a screen.

I have already exhausted my own - related - vocabulary in the preceding paragraph, so what else might fit in the following sentence ?

Because it was an internet communication, my attitude was somewhat _________.


texts: Should you say RIP when you know someone commits suicide?

texts:
I've been told that "RIP" is not suitable in this case.

Is that true or there is a better saying?


texts: They're a person that believes in everyone loving everyone. Advocates for everyone caring about and respecting each other.


texts: I am wondering if you would consider the word hitherto to be outdated. I prefer it over its definition, "until now" and know of no equal alternative. I have been marked down (on papers) for using this "archaic" word. So, is this word outdated? If so, what is a good alternative?


texts: First mention in print of "magic smoke" (electronics)?

texts:
In electronics, "magic smoke" is the stuff that lets components work: once the magic smoke leaves the component, the component ceases to work.

What is the earliest reference in print to "magic smoke"? Internet posts don't count. The Jargon File v2.8.1 (1991) mentions Jay Maynard referencing magic smoke, so I'm looking for print references prior to 1991.


texts: Can a bare infinitive ever modify (“act as an adjective”) a noun?

texts:
While browsing a set of lecture slides, I encountered this line:

Catch up/overtake rate

in which overtake rate looks odd to me.  As far as I know, a verb may act as an adjective in a couple different ways, e.g., in its gerund (present participle) or past participle forms.
But this line takes the imperative form of the verb (so its ”bare” or to-less infinitive) and uses it as an adjective (or noun?) to modify the noun rate.
So, I'm just wondering whether the lecturer had meant to write overtaking rate here and this was just a mistake, or whether overtake rate is indeed a legit piece of composition in English.
Background
In space dynamics, when two objects are in non-co-orbital circular orbits, the one which is rotating in the lower orbit overtakes the one in the higher orbit because the former’s velocity is higher than that of the latter. The lecturer tries to call this phenomenon its overtake rate.
So the question is, can overtake, which is listed in the dictionary only as a verb, ever be used as a noun and/or adjective the way it appears to be being used here?


texts: Polite ways to ask for quotation agreement

texts:
To ask my client if he is agree with the price and time I quote for my service, I often say:

Please let me know if you are ok with this price.
Please let me know if you are comfortable with my quotation.

Are these sentences ok for business?

Please suggest me any other ways to ask.


texts:
This is the excerpt from J.D. Beresford, The Looking Glass. Originally published in 1921.

"She was, she had often told herself, "a born sceptic; an ultra-modern." She had a certain veneration for the more distant past, but none for her father's period. She had long since condemned alike the ethic and the aesthetic of the nineteenth century as represented by her father's opinions; so that, even now, when his familiar comment coincided so queerly with her own thought, she instinctively disbelieved him."

My exercise demanded me to determine the word with closest meaning to the word "Veneration". Four words were listed as "distate","reverence","deference","awe". I figured out immediately that one of the two words "reverence" and "deference" would be the answer. However, I stuck here because as far as I knew, both "reverence" and "deference" mean "respect", regardless of the meaning of the word "defer" being "to comply with" or "to put off". To elucidate this, I decided to look up both words in Oxford Dictionary.

Deference: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/deference?q=deference
Reverence: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/reverence?q=reverence

Both of them have more or less the same meaning with "respect". However, the official answer turned out to be "reverence". As a result, can somebody help me figuring out this problem? Perhaps there is some problem with intonation of the word or something more intricate?


texts: "number of students rises up slightly" – is this correct?

texts: Is this sentence correct? "From 1995 to 2002 the number of students rises up slightly but hold steady from 2002 to 2005"


texts:
Dear respectable audience

I am not a native English speaker, though with some amount of experience and proficiency in its use.

Here is what I would like to ask:

does the following sound natural or not for native English speakers?

  Spinach is a vegetable I don't like the most

in a sense of

  Spinach is my least favorable vegetable


texts: Is "trough value" the antonym of "peak value"

texts: "Peak value" is widely used. I was told its antonym is "trough value", which is however rarely used on the Internet. Is there a better word group?


texts:
I know 'go figure' is used commonly, I would like to know if 'figure that!'  can be used alternatively too?

Pls advise.
Thanks


texts: Genetic condition that leaves open gaps between teeth?

texts:
You would think this would be something a dentist knows.  I've asked scores of dentists this very question and no one has an answer.  It's got to have a name.

It's fairly common.  The teeth don't touch the ones adjacent.  There's a tooth and then an open half space and then another tooth and so on.  The whole mouth is like this.  LOL  I'm sure there MUST be a name for this.  I've been trying to find the name for this for more than 20 years.


texts:
Nelson Mandela just passed away today. Many of my friends are writing tributes on their Facebook pages. One goes like this:

  I typically have an aversion to joining the masses on these matters,
  but far be it from me not to add to honouring of such a
  history-making, extraordinary man. If anyone deserves peaceful rest,
  it's you, Mr. Mandela. A job well done.

(Emphasis mine)

I've never seen such sentence structure as far be it from me.... Can someone please help me analyse it?


texts: Is 'take a sauna' the correct expression?

texts: I'm not a native English speaker and I was just wondering if take a sauna is a correct way to say that I'm going to sauna, the same way you can say take a shower. I have tried to search this up online, and the expression appears in some forum posts and guides but I can't find anything official.


texts: Is this sentence correct with "irreverent"?

texts:
You people were irreverent to POP's speech.

irreverent = disrespectful - flippant - impious

Is it a correct sentence according to syntax and semantics?

If it can be written in a better way, please post your example sentence.


texts: How to use "Knock [him/them] out of the water" — is this a common (if at all used) expression?

texts:
I can't seem to find much about this expression online, and its usage eludes me somewhat.

I'm guessing that it's supposed to mean that someone is being overcome by another party, a winner in a debate or some form of sparring?

Example sentence:

  They could swing their big money around and knock them out of the water.

Does that make sense?


texts:
So, I was reading this book titled 'Word Power Made Easy', and encountered a question in the exercise as:

  We thought the actress to be (she, her), but we weren't sure.

From natural intuition, I inferred that it must be 'her', but the book claims 'she' as the answer. Any reason for this? Some insight would really help.


texts:
A book I'm reading has this sentence in it:

"How dared you go and see her without me?"

Is the usage of the past tense 'dared' here grammatically wrong or just odd given the established phrase "How dare you?"


texts: Is there a correlation between "bad" and "bat"?

texts:
I saw something about Batman somewhere online, and for a very brief moment it crossed my mind that it sounds like 'bad man'. A fraction of a second later I noticed the bat logo. Bats are usually considered scary animals, so I came to wonder:

  Is there a correlation between the animal bat and bad?


texts: How do I abbreviate a phrase with an abbreviation?

texts: Suppose I want to abbreviate British SEO Market. Which is the right way? BSEOM or BSM?


texts:
According to thefreedictionary, "transferrer" is someone who transfers something. However, it also lists the alternate spelling "transferer", with only one r in the middle. For the related "transferred", it does not list a variant with only one r.

So, which one is correct? Is there a geographical preference to using one or the other?

This reminds me of a famous misspelling in the specification for the HTTP protocol used by the internet, "referer", which as generally established should have been spelled "referrer". Now as "referrer" relates to the verb "to refer" and "referral", and there is "transferral", it seems logical to me that "transferrer" is spelled with two r as well. However, thefreedictionary again also lists "transferer".

Note that I am not asking about why the consonant is doubled, but which of both variants that seem to be common is the correct one.


texts: A word for the application of a solution to an altogether different problem

texts:
I am looking for a word that describes one or both of the following situations:

A researcher presents a new solution to a problem of his/her field of research by applying a strategy or idea used in an unrelated field of research for the first time.
The solution to problem A or a derivative is applied to problem B, which is not related, but structurally similar in a way that the solution can be transferred.

Noun or adjective are both acceptible:

The solution was found through X=noun with the research field of Meteorology.
The X=adjective solution was inspired by the research field of Meteorology.

I have considered synergy, interdisciplinary, knowledge transfer and analogy. None of these fits.


texts: I am looking for cool one-word adjectives for a character in my story who is the "odd-one-out", "misfit", even a smart weirdo in some ways who is unable to pair with others due to divergent way of thinking.


texts: Looking for a word or phrase that means a type of substance plus how much of it

texts:
In a recipe we might have: "Flour: 2 cups".

In chemistry, the analog is like: "2 drops of water".

Similarly, In medicine: "Aspirin: 80mg".

The name of the substance by itself has names like "ingredient", "reagent", "medication". Likewise, the amount can be called "amount" or "dosage".

But I need a name for both together and haven't been able to think of what to call it. Is there a word or phrase that means that?

Perhaps it would be used like this: The third ???? in the recipe is "2 cups flour"

EDIT:
A word that is really close is the medical usage of "prescription". For example, "The prescription was for 80mg of aspirin."


texts: What is the meaning of the vernacular "beasted"?

texts:
Is anyone familiar with the vernacular term "beasted", used as a verb?

  e.g. I beasted my exam.

My colleague's teenaged son used this exact phrase in a text-message. And she had no idea whether this was a good or bad thing.


texts:
Is

  I am sure

and

  I feel sure

having absolutely the same meaning?

Thanks!


texts: Does the term "Postal Authority" Make sense?

texts:
I have received a parcel today, from Israel, and the box is branded "Israel Postal Authority".

In Hebrew the same body has the word "Reshut" in its name, a term I believe originated from the Hebrew word for "permission" (the postal authority is a governmental body, thus it got a permission from the government to do what it does). So I can see why "authority" was picked as a direct translation (it is a government authorised body). Similarly, Israel has "The Broadcast Authority".

I live in the UK, where we have the Royal Mail, or the British Broadcast Association, but I fail to think of a single business or body that has "authority" in its name. I can't help feeling "postal authority" being somewhat of totalitarian nature.

Is it just a bad translation, or is it common and sensible for bodies as such to carry "authority" in their name?


texts: What is a word for "made more complicated"?

texts:
I am looking for a word that means "made more complicated/complex" but not as simple as "complexified", which I don't think is a very popular word.
Example usage:

The inclusion of Shichimi togarashi, a Japanese spice, "complexified"
the already intricate mixture of ingredients.


texts:
By the definition that:

A homonym is a word or phrase that sounds the same as another
A synonym is a word or phrase that means the same or similar to another

A possible example of homonymous synonymic phrases may be:

"An ice-cold drink"

and

"A nice, cold drink"

My questions are:

1) Is there a proper name for these

2) Are there any other examples of these

3) If there are other examples can either a) You provide a list or b) You provide a place where I  can find more

Thanks :)


texts: What is measurement of the right angle assuming the figure is a square?

texts: Usually, the right angle is 90 degrees but in a square using the Centroid Formula creates a right angle that is quite different from the normal angle. Centroid Formula= X̄A = ∑(XiAi) or. ȳA = ∑(YiAi) Here is the breakdown of the variables in the equation for the X-Axis centroid, X̄ = The location of the centroid in the X-Axis. A = The total area of all the shapes. Xi = The distance from the datum or reference axis to the center of the shape i. I have been searching for about 2 months and I still am stumped.


texts:
I encountered the word prohibited in some software documentation and am curious if this is an example of a double negative:

Prohibit requests for PROHIBITED parts

(This is an option in a piece of software; names omitted to protect the guilty.)

I found the wording confusing, though it sorta makes sense because I know that "PROHIBITED" is a type of status for parts in this system. I'm mostly curious from an educational POV.

Question: Is prohibit a negative word?

(This word must've been invented by a Marketing department: "because disallow sounds too negative!")

Follow-up question #1: Is there a better term for negative word in this context?

Follow-up question #2: Is there a[n exhaustive] list of negative words, or a guideline for identifying words as such?

By negative word I mean words such as not and no, and that can result in double negatives when used in a sentence.


texts: "Keeping moving forward is important" - felicitous or not?

texts:
Is the following sentence felicitous or not? If it is, why?

  Keeping moving forward is important.

The "keeping moving" is what bothers me, it sounds pretty weird to me. I am a nonnative speaker, though, so I'd like to hear some feedback from native speakers.


texts: Replacement for the phrase "Online Represence"

texts:
I'm writing a CV. I have a section which I've currently named "Online Presence" in which I give details of my online accounts like twitter, linkedin, github, stackexchange etc.

But the phrase "Online Presence" seems little awkward and uncomfortable, is there any better phrase to use instead of "Online Presence"?

Thank You.


texts: "Alligator pear" and "sparrow grass" for "avocado" and "asparagus"

texts: Do "sparrow grass" and "alligator pear" have any currency in spoken AE, or are these terms chiefly dialectal?


texts:
Which of the sentences below is correct?

My son used to play video games a lot when he was a child.
My son played video games a lot when he was a child.

Are they both correct? If not, is there a difference in their meaning?

Thanks!


texts:
In the October 2015 issue of National Geographic I read on page 43 (page 42 in the printed edition)

  […] Berger invited more than 30 young scientists […] for a blitzkrieg fossil fest lasting six weeks.

A German friend was astonished and revulsed about the usage of the Nazi wartime word blitzkrieg in such a non-historical context. I am therefore asking about the meaning and appropriate usage of blitzkrieg and its implied connotations.


texts: Difference among Show as, Show with, and Show by

texts:
Is there any differences among theses sentences? Which one is better?

We show the quantity with n.

We show the quantity as n.

We show the quantity by n.


texts:
I have a physics book and am having trouble understanding this sentence:

When we say we are a pile of atoms, we do not mean we are merely a pile of atoms, because a pile of atoms which is not repeated from  one to the other might well have the possibilities which you see before you in the mirror.
— Richard Feynman, Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics by its most brilliant teacher

There is no comma between words which makes the sentence very complicated. Could you explain what he really wants to say?


texts: Should a hyphen be used when constructing words using suffixes such as "-ly" and "-wise" when the resulting word isn't in the dictionary?

texts:
Should a hyphen be used when constructing words using suffixes such as -ly and -wise when the resulting word isn't in the dictionary? For example:

  money-wise
  moneywise

Which one is better?


texts:
"After hearing that Ramin’s father was in the shah’s secret police who were responsible for killing millions..."

I thought the word would be "who" because police are people, but MS Word corrects is as "that". I was wondering why "that" is the correct modifier?


texts: Was the adjective 'Soviet' more commonly used than 'Russian' during the cold war?

texts: Watching 'The Crown' made me wonder whether the usage of 'Russian' is anachronistic in the show. I.e. whether common usage in the UK and the USA would have been 'Soviet Tanks' or 'the Soviets' when referring to armed conflict and political intrigue. Does anyone have any evidence for that from newspaper clippings or official transcript? One example I found supporting my hypothesis was the NY Times headlines "... Kennedy ready for Soviet Showdown" from the Cuban missile crisis.


texts: Does the sentence "What the fox say?" mean anything?

texts:
In the lyrics for the song "What does the fox say" the following sentence appears.

  "What the fox say"[sic]

It uses the word "say" and not "says", and there is no "does". Does the sentence make sense and is there any meaning to it?


texts:
In my grammar book,
A little is defined as positive and little is defined as negative.

For eg:
A little common sense can bring you success.(positive)

then why do we say :
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

and how is the use of just 'little' wrong here?


texts: A term that describes high-order ordinal numbers

texts:
primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, quinary, senary, septenary, octonary, nonary, denary, duodenary, etc.

are ordinal numbers as answered in this question. However, I'm looking for a word/phrase that refers to these terms in general, as in the following sentence:

  Are there any secondary or word_or_phrase equity offering from this company?

Currently I'm considering replacing word_or_phrase with higher-order, higher-tier or n-ary, with the intended meaning of "from tertiary onwards".

Any help will be much appreciated.


texts: Is this correct usage of "pursue a degree"?

texts:
Is the following sentence correct? If no, how should I say this sentence correctly?  Many Thanks.

  My excellent mathematical skills led me to pursue a mathematics and physics diploma.


texts: "for X to debate Y" or "for X to debate with Y"

texts:
I posted the following on Facebook earlier today:

  For a moment, I thought that Newsnight had arranged for Zizek to debate Farage.

only for a friend to reply "debate with, surely?".

Is this something I've picked up from American English (I'm British), is either form acceptable or is what I've written just plain wrong?

I've tried a couple of online style guides, but none of them had anything to say on the matter. Thanks!


texts: How to reference a specific named version/edition of a work like the NIV Bible?

texts:
I am aware that there are well-defined referencing methods, such as the MLA format. However, without adhering to MLA format, I wrote the following sentence in an answer on ELU.SE:

  Here's a poetic proverb from Solomon's compilation, older than the English language to be sure, but translated idiomatically enough to English in the NIV version of the Bible.

The phrase in question is

  the NIV version of the Bible

which, once written, I wanted to revise. I vacilated between leaving it alone and writing

"the NIV Bible"

and after some deliberation, ended up choosing

"the NIV of the Bible"

because expanded, this reads:

"the New International Version of the Bible".

Well, after I was done, a moderator on clean-up duty did a wonderful job tidying up my text and fixing formats. One of the edits included my reference, which is now:

  the NIV edition of the Bible

which I had not considered when I was writing, but seems excellent anyhow. However, fully expanded, it reads: "the New International Version Edition of the Bible", which seems repetetive. Version comes from a word meaning "spilling" or "turning over" (https://www.etymonline.com/word/version), very similar in sentiment to edition.

So my question is this: Is there existing custom or a rule in regards to acronym expansion for this style of informal citation? Or is my mod's edit just a correction of style?

I wrongly posted this question on ELU first, but now looking at it again, I do not know if it belongs here. Feel free to opine if it's in the way, but my first impression is that it corresponds to SE's style experts.


texts: “There have been many inventions” Is this Present Perfect Continuous?

texts:
I'm uncertain whether this sentence is in the active or passive voice.

  “There have been many inventions”

Can someone help to understand the grammar behind this? If it is passive, I'm expecting the PP or the verb. If it is present perfect continuous, then, it should have the suffix '-ing'.

  In the past 100 years, there have been many inventions such as antibiotics, aeroplanes, and computers.

The part I'm particularly unclear about is; ‘there have been many inventions such as...’

Please explain which tense and voice this phrase is written in. When it is used, and its grammatical construction.


texts: Why do we pronounce "disease" like that?

texts: What is the rule of pronunciation in this case? Why do we say like if there was an "e" in place of the "i"?


texts:
I've seen many people using 'my bad' for an apology,
so is it alright to use 'his bad' or 'her bad' by the same token?


texts: Is it common to use “totally” in such a way as “Michelle Obama’ s totally running in California.”

texts:
Vanity Fair magazine (October 23 issue) carried an article titled, “A brief history of Michelle Obama career-goal rumors,” and wrote as follows under the caption, “She’s totally running in California.”

  Rumors that the Obamas will relocate to Southern California have been
  around for some time. But the idea of her gearing up to replace
  Feinstein is somewhat novel. One of Richard Johnson’s unnamed sources
  offered this insight into politics in the Golden State: “It’s a
  shoo-in. A ham sandwich could get elected on the Democratic line in
  California.”**
  http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2014/10/michelle-obama-california-senate-future

I was drawn to the expression, “She’s totally running in California,” more than the figurative use of "a ham-sandwich."

Oxford Advanced Learners’ English Dictionary defines “totally” simply as “completely.”

Does “She’s totally running in California” mean Michelle Obama will completely, i.e. definitely / very likely run in California?

“She’s totally running” sounds a bit awkward to me. Is it common to use the word, ‘totally’ in this way?


texts:
Example:
The result is trivial if g = 0, for then any basis serves as a set of z's.
Does the phrase exist, or should be there them instead?


texts: Term for poetry that mimics what it describes

texts: I'm blanking on the term for when a verse mimics that which it describes - for example, a poem talking about a confusing encounter would become confusing itself - each time I search for it I keep coming up with onomatopoeia and it's starting to frustrate me.


texts: Word for 'Point where you have to start or not finish

texts:
Today's comic for Piled Higher and Deeper (PHd Comics) posed a question:

  I've reached the point where I have to start writing or I'm not going to finish on time.  The point where...  Hmm, I wonder if there's a name for reaching that point.

So I pose the question for all of you.  Is there a word for reaching that point where, if you don't start now, you'll never be able to finish.


texts: Is "unsane" a word understood by a casual English speaker?

texts:
I have heard it used by some people e.g. Jacque Fresco, for example here.

I know that people understand the meaning of the word "insane", but what about an average Joe and his understanding of the word "unsane"?


texts: "I'm sure" vs. "I'm for sure": Who uses which, and when?

texts:
I hear both (and their negatives: "I'm not sure" and "I'm not for sure"). I want to classify the "for sure" variety as regional Southern, since that's the context I most often hear it.
For example, take the "gimp" scene from Pulp Fiction. (Not that usages in the movies prove anything, mind you, but this is an example most people will recognize.) The character Zed is asked which of the captives he wants to "do" first, and he replies, with a distinct Southern accent, "I ain't for sure yet."
Can anyone point to evidence that this usage is regional, or class-based, or particular to any group of speakers?
EDIT:
Since @MrHen asked for more examples, I googled "I'm not for sure" and picked these off the first page:

"I'm really not for sure ~ what to do with you."
"I'm not for sure if I'm allowed to bump this ..."
"I'm not for sure which religion I am?"
"I'm not for sure when ..."

I think it's heard more in the negative than the positive. But I do hear it a lot. In the positive form, it's usually used in the form of a question? "Are you for sure?" instead of "Are you sure?"
UPDATE
I was listening to NPR last night and someone from Alabama who was being interviewed used "for sure" in the positive, as in "I was for sure that I wanted to do that."


texts: Do you put an 's' at the end of acronym?

texts:
For example, is it FAQs or just FAQ?

I guess it's either:

  Frequently Asked Questions

or

  "Frequently Asked Question"s


texts: Can somebody help explain this sentence from the novel Crytonomicon?

texts:
The sentence is as follows:

  Over the safety-engineered nubs molded into the jetway floor, their rolling suitcases drone like fighter planes. They graze the backs of his knees as they bank around his husky columnar body.

What situation is the author trying to describe here?
jetway floor?
safety-engineered nubs?
bank around?


texts: A word for someone who shows great interest/love for something that they know very little about

texts: I'm searching for such a word so I can use it for myself. I'm still young and I sadly have numerous passions for many things but sometimes find myself at a loss, for I know very little in the subject, and I can't find the time to learn all about my interests. Please help me find the word to describe this.


texts: Which phrase is more natural to a native speaker?

texts: "The underlying notions of the problem" or "The problem underlying notions"? Please consider the brevity principle too.


texts: Subordinating conjunctions "who" & "when" as subject clause?

texts:
I understand who and when can be used to introduce adjective clause for sure like the following sentences.

The time when it is good for us to meet has not been decided.
The person who is qualified for the job will be appointed soon.

However, can subordinating conjunctions who and when be used to introduce subject clause?
For example,

(1) [When it is good for us to meet] has not been decided.
OR
(2) [Who is qualified for the job] will be appointed soon.

Are the two sentences grammatically correct?


texts: Is there a word to describe the state of believing you know something that is false?

texts:
When you do not know a fact you are ignorant.  My question is what would you call the state of   believing you know something that is false.

For instance suppose I see a black box and having opened it earlier, I know there is a rabbit in it.  Some time later unbeknownst to me someone   removes the rabbit.  I still 'know' there is a rabbit in the box.

What do you call this state?


texts: What was Ꝧ (thorn with stroke through descender) used for in middle/old english?

texts: I was doing some research online and I saw that a thorn with a slash through the ascender was a common abbreviation for "that," but the same website (wikipedia) also listed this character: "Ꝧ". What was it used for? I tried to find out, but the best I could find was that it simply existed and had a lot of regional variance as to its usage.


texts: Hyphenation of tidally enhanced wind mass loss

texts:
I am correcting my thesis on stellar evolution, and I was wondering what the correct hyphenation of 'tidally enhanced wind mass loss' is. The meaning of it should be mass loss originating from a wind, and that wind is tidally enhanced.

I would go for: tidally-enhanced-wind mass loss, but I also found tidally-enhanced wind mass loss, and tidally-enhanced wind mass-loss.
What is correct?


texts:
This is kind of a follow up to "in regard to" or "in regards to".

I have always considered that regards to means sending well wishes, while regard to means "concerning". Hence with regards to or in regards to, meaning "concerning", are erroneous and should be with regard to or in regard to.

Yet just looking at the recent Presidential debates, we have the following quotes from Governor Romney:

  And then, of course, with regards to standing for our principles, when -- when the students took to the streets in Tehran and the people there protested, the Green Revolution occurred, for the president to be silent I thought was an enormous mistake.

  The — the greatest failure we've had with regards to — to gun violence in some respects is what — what is known as Fast and Furious.

  Number two, with regards to Iraq, you and I agreed, I believe, that there should have been a status of forces agreement.

  And finally, with regards to that tax cut, look, I'm not looking to cut massive taxes and to reduce the -- the revenues going to the government.

  Well, President, you're -- Mr. President, you're absolutely right, which is that, with regards to 97 percent of the businesses are not -- not taxed at the 35 percent tax rate, they're taxed at a lower rate.

In all these cases, he means concerning and is not sending well wishes. Is this a Romney disfluency? Is this a regional variation? Is my intuition just completely wrong and this is generally accepted as standard?


texts: Meaning of 'be bond to' in "since ye are bond to that magic" in 19th-century poem

texts:
I am reading a poem by Rudyard Kipling, Kitchener's School (http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_kitchener.htm) and I am wondering about the precise meaning/possible connotations of the verb 'be bond to' in the last line of the penultimate stanza, which goes:

  Certainly they were mad from of old; but I think one new thing,
  That the magic whereby they work their magic — wherefrom their fortunes spring —
  May be that they show all peoples their magic and ask no price in return.
  Wherefore, since ye are bond to that magic, O Hubshee, make haste and learn!"

("Hubshee" is a derogatory term essentially meaning 'negroe')

I am wondering if this is just a (19th century?) variation on 'bound'? Then of course 'spell-bound' comes to mind. I can't overstate the importance of this word for the interpretation of this poem. Especially in terms of the level of inevitability, if that makes sense. Being spell-bound is very different from being bound as if by ropes by someone, or be bound for a destination, for example.. But perhaps it was always already meant to be overdetermined.

Grateful for any thoughts!
cheers,
alina


texts: Is there any fixed rule as to when we should use the structure "the + noun + of + name" instead of "name + noun"?

texts:
Is it "the jungle of Amazon" or "the Amazon jungle"? "the university of Oxford" or "the Oxford university"?
Sometimes both structures seem fine (to me) (e.g. I've heard both "the tower of London" and, maybe less formally, "the London tower"), but sometimes only one pattern seems to be correct (e.g. in "Parallax restaurant". I assume we cannot say "the restaurant of Parallax").
Also, I've come across a different pattern with certain nouns in which the word "of" is removed altogether (e.g. in "Lake Michigan". It doesn't sound correct to say "the lake of Michigan", but I assume we can say "Michigan lake", right?)
Is there any solid rule on when to use which?
P.S. as a non native speaker of English I may have made some speculations. Please do tell me if I was wrong.


texts: Definition clarification for "effervesce"

texts: I was wondering about one of the meanings of effervesce, "give off bubbles". I wonder if you could use effervesce for a solid, and how it's used in a sentence.


texts: Is a preposition of place required when replacing "where" with "that"?

texts:
A preposition appears to be needed when that is used in sentences such as:

  That's the store where I bought my computer.
  That's the store that I bought my computer (at?).

with exceptions occurring, per page 483 of Oxford Practical English Usage, for "somewhere, anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, and place."

  That's the place where I bought my computer.
  That's the place that I bought my computer (at?).

A comment on a related question at ELL states:

  In practice, most native speakers wouldn't get bogged down in prepositions and relative pronouns here - we'd just say "We need a place to stay". But for no specific reason that I can identify, if I replace place with house there it seems to require the preposition: "We need a house to stay in".

I agree with the notion that the preposition is required following that. What I can't do is wrap my head around exactly why that should be.

What difference is there between where and that in these sentences that calls for the omission of a preposition when using where and the inclusion of a preposition when using that?


texts: What exactly does it mean to say something is "grammatical?"

texts:
I often see the expression "That's ungrammatical" used to explain why something is not OK.  For example, a user might post a question: "Is it OK to say, I are go to New York?"  Most people would answer it is not OK because it is "ungrammatical" and then depending on their level of knowledge give reasons or site references to back up their claim.

However, if the sentence is "I am owning a car." or "I will speak with your pony yesterday." it is suddenly not so clear.  In the first case, that's just not how native speakers learned to speak (although many ESL learners might say "Why not?  It makes perfect sense and doesn't violate what I learned in school!), and in the second case, the sentence doesn't make sense.  But, I would contend that they are both grammatical.  Sentence order is standard English, the verb and subject agree, the prepositions are in the correct place, etc.

I ask because I think it's important to have a clear idea of what "ungrammatical" means.  But I also ask because from time to time we get questions such as "Why is it incorrect to say "I have written a book since 2001."?" and they don't get much attention and when they do the answers are "Sounds wrong." "To my ear..." or "It's just plain ungrammatical."

So what does it mean to say something is "grammatical" or "ungrammatical?"  Does it mean that the sentence follows "standard" syntax rules (whatever those are) or does it mean that the sentence is logical and "makes sense?"


texts: What is the etymology and correct usage of the phrase "for the good of the order"?

texts:
Sometimes I hear this phrase at the end of the meeting, as in "anything else for the good of the order?".

The context implies that it means "Does anyone else have something to say?".  But I wonder what the origin of the phrase is, and if there is any meaning beyond what I am inferring.

I would have just intuititvely guessed that the "order" was referring to a sort of masonic / Knights Templar sort of "order".  But when researching this myself, I came across this link which suggests it derives from parliamentary procedure.  I also found this, which suggests its a way of asking for off-topic "general conversation" topics to be raised.

Can anyone here speak more authoritatively on the origin and correct usage of this term?


texts:
I think changes to phrases that don't change their meaning are interesting. Example: an ice cold beer and a nice cold beer mean pretty much the same thing.

I heard another one this morning on the radio in a story about coal. The phrase used is fluctuates widely, but I know I've also heard fluctuates wildly. Looking at the ngram, I'm surprised to see that "widely" is far more popular (although with 0 smoothing, it does fluctuate wildly ;-).

Any idea where either of these phrases comes from, which came first, and/or which is more correct? wildly makes more sense to me in most contexts, but widely makes sense too.


texts:
Can somebody confirm if the correct spelling is cheeseslicer or cheese slicer?

I always thought in English words are not written together when combined, but some online dictionaries are contradictory for this word.

Also, what are the rules for adding a space when combining words?


texts: Word for lover of war, beginning with a B?

texts: I know there is a word beginning with the letter B for someone who loves war and loves to conjure up support of war?


texts:
I have been wondering if this particular speaking device had a specific name.  My wife uses a speaking technique where, instead of just making a statement, she presents it in the form of a question, and then immediately answers her own question.  For example, instead of saying

  I think you are wrong.

she would say,

  Do I think you are wrong? Yes.

Or, similarly, instead of

  I hate when he does that.

she would say

  Do I hate when he does that? Yes.

Does this particular technique have a name?  I have been trying to Google this, but have been stumped as to exactly what to search for.


texts:
I am currently working on my essay and I am not too sure whether deeply or extremely fascinated is correct.
It would be nice if somebody explained this to me because I think these two adverbs sound perfectly fine since they both mean or elucidate the same.

To clarify my problem, here's the sentence:

  ...And hence, I am (deeply/extremely) fascinated by Musk's career and personality.


texts: What is the proper noun for the guy sitting beside truck driver?

texts:
I cannot find the proper noun for the guy who is accompanying the truck driver throughout the journey?Is he considered a truck driver? His responsibility is to drive the truck when the main driver is tired or sleepy.

Also, is there a website or a book that has collection of such jargon?


texts:
I have written sentence like this

  The resulting property models from cooperative inversion honor the geophysical data

My Professor wants me to reformulate the sentence, in particular he raised a concern about honor the data. Physical property models produced by cooperative inversion are in accord with data.
How to do this?


texts:
My girlfriend is going through resumés and thought this sentence fragment was grammatically incorrect:

  "One plus years experience in..."

She thinks it should be either:

  "One plus years' experience..."

or

  "One plus years of experience..."

Which one is correct?


texts: Term to represent "prejudice against ugly people" or "favouritism towards beautiful people"?

texts:
So, I have been noticing (disturbingly of late) that there is a lot of favouritism being shown towards beautiful people in all walks of life. One of the most visible of such fields is all forms of advertising where we rarely see ugly people being hired for promoting a product or a service unless of course, they are the target audience.

Is there a term to denote such prejudice against ugly people or favouritism towards beautiful people much like "racism" has come to denote "prejudice directed against someone of a different race"?

I have Googled a lot of phrases which can denote such a phenomenon, but haven't been able to find an appropriate term to represent it, much less know if it exists at all.


texts:
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Computer-aj_aj_ashton_01.svg

How would I describe the part of the desktop computer in this picture that isn't the monitor, keyboard or mouse? The part that contains the CPU, hard drives, CD drives, and other components.