texts: I'm in the "on-time" camp when it comes to describing, for example, delivering something by the deadline. Is this the correct usage?


texts:
I was watching the Secret Service Dentists sketch by Monty Python, and in the video, The Big Cheese says the following after shooting his pet rabbit:

  There -- poor Flopsy's dead, and never
  called me mother!

For the full context of the quote, you can use this link instead; it will skip past all the nonsense directly to the relevant part.

I was curious, what precisely does this phrase mean, especially in this context? Google didn't assist me a great deal -- there are lots of references to East Lynne, the novel that the quote is often attributed to, but I didn't see any actual explanation of what the phrase means.


texts: Jack London's punctuation choice of periods instead of semi-colons

texts:
The sled was without runners.  It was made of stout birch-bark, and
  its full surface rested on the snow.  The front end of the sled was
  turned up, like a scroll, in order to force down and under the bore of
  soft snow that surged like a wave before it.

What difference would it make (?) if I punctuated that passage with a semicolon instead, as follows:

  The sled was without runners;  it was made of stout birch-bark, and its full surface rested on the snow;  the front end of the sled was turned up, like a scroll, in order to force down and under the bore of soft snow that surged like a wave before it.

All the sentences come together to describe the sled. Why do you think Mr. London picked the period?


texts: Does "commute to" refer to both there and back from work?

texts:
I want to tell someone the following:
"I bring an e-reader with me on the bus every day so that I have something to do during my commute to work."
Does the phrase "commute to work" clearly refer to the trip there and the trip back from work? Or is it more proper to say "commute to and from work" in order to ensure that it is clear that I mean both directions?


texts:
In an article I see this phrase "Faustian bargain". Both I and my teacher were unable to translate or understand it. Can you help me and explain this phrase?

Context:

  The reason for linking all the modules together in a single address space, with no protection between the modules, is that designers have made a Faustian bargain: better performance at the cost of more system crashes. We will quantitatively examine the price of this trade-off below.

This comes from the first page of this work:  http://docs.huihoo.com/minix/reliable-os.pdf or http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:_sabEZ3IFvsJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5 (preloaded as google html view)


texts: What's the right punctuation for the following list?

texts:
Many cases of animal suicide were discused. A duck drowned
  itself after the death of its companion. A school of dolphins stranded
  on a beach with no reason whatsoever. A deer threw itself from a cliff
  to avoid being eaten by hunting dogs. And the list went on and on.

Should I use comma, semicolon, or just leave it as it is? If I chose the semicolon, where should it start?


texts: What is a good word for “best example”? I would like to describe a film as the greatest example of its features.


texts:
Which one is correct? For example:

  I am a member of Riverside Tennis Club.
  I am a member at Riverside Tennis Club.


texts: "That's who he was working for" - grammatical dissection

texts: In the sentence, "that's who he was looking for", how would you classify the contraction that's?  How is the sentence grammatically dissected?  Four words into the sentence, the reader is presented with three pronouns: that, who, and he - which is object, the subject and what is the third?


texts: What is the original last name of a man who adopts his legal spouse's last name?

texts: If a male marries (same sex or opposite sex doesn't matter for this question) and takes the last name of his spouse, is his previous last name still known as his "maiden" name?


texts: Resources for morphological etymology research

texts:
I am attempting to write a short paper on English etymology focusing on Germanic, French, and Latin morphology. I need to present a means of identifying these roots by common morphologies in English, rather than lists of words. As an example, all I've been able to find is an unscholarly article that states "Whereas Old English had the unvoiced fricative sounds [f], [s], [θ] (as in thin), and [∫] (shin), French influence helped to distinguish their voiced counterparts [v], [z], [ð] (the), and [ʒ] (mirage), and also contributed the diphthong [ɔy] (boy)." I need to find more scholarly sources with more content of exactly this nature for all three root languages.

I'm surprised at the lack of such resources, and this project does not call or allow time for extensive research, so I would be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction.


texts: Any connection between akimbo, askance and atremble?

texts:
I came across akimbo and askance today and wondered if they were related, with the opening 'a' signifying something. Apparently not:

Akimbo — to stand "with hands on hips and elbows projecting outwards", from the C15 in kenebowe, "literally: in keen bow, that is, in a sharp curve"
Askance — to look sideways, obliquely, especially with suspicion or doubt; origin obscure.

Other words take an 'a' prefix meaning a negative:

  a- or an- [Greek a- and an- un-, non-]
  Negative, not (abiotic,
  acaulescent, acephalia, aphasia, asexual, atrophy, anorexia).

  But 'a' is also used as a prefix in words that are not negative, for example his knees were all atremble. What is the meaning of 'a-' here? Could it have connections with akimbo and askance?


texts: Does a complement phrase always follow a be verb?

texts:
Summary question

Is there a formal name for the entire portion of a sentence that is connected to the copula?"
Is it "complement"?

Background

Be verb can be followed by various things: a noun (He is blue.), a be verb can be followed by a verb (Who is running?), etc.  But is what follows the be verb always a "complement", even if it is more than one word (e.g., is the emboldened all part of the complement in the following sentence: "They are happily distance running in the beautiful park.")?

Perhaps I should be asking: 'could a predicate phrase--the part of a sentence that is a predicate--also be called a complement phrase--the part of a sentence that is a complement'?  I'm wondering because a "complement phrase" would seem to be more specific to be verbs?

Additionally, how about this list:

Possible followings

to be/to have been +:

nothing.
gerund(s) (-ing).
past-participle(s) (-ed).
either of the above two + object(s).
noun(s)/noun phrase(s).
adjective.
0-valency prepositions.
combinations of the above two.
any of the above with adverbs (*except only adverbs) and/or prepositions.

to be/to have been (not followed by) !+:

simple past verb(s).
verb root(s).
adverb(s) (*unless preceded by commas).
one-or-more-valency prepositions.
conjunctions.
interjections (*except onomatopoeia).

Purposes

Software, education.


texts: Are there resources or tools for "reverse etymology"?

texts:
EtymOnline is an excellent resource for online etymology searches. If, however, I am looking for lists of words sharing a given Latin, Greek or other root (which I call "reverse etymology"), I do not know which tool I could use. Do you know any?

The only thing I could think of is, if I had access to an offline etymology dictionary, I could then perform a full-text search into its content.


texts:
Where is it appropriate to insert the definite article in a date? For example, how would I say that something will be delivered on Thursday, the 9th of July?
For example, are the following sentences idiomatic? I have placed the words I am unsure about in uppercase.

Something will be delivered THE Thursday THE 09/07

We will complete this task THE Monday THE 01/08.


texts:
All wet is    slang expression (mainly AmE) meaning:

  entirely mistaken. (TFD)

All wet: The Phrase Finder, referring to OED, suggests that its first usage was:

  "c. all wet: mistaken, completely wrong. orig. and chiefly U.S.
  1923 N.Y. Times 9 Sept. VII. 2/1 All wet, all wrong. 1931 Kansas City Times 29 Aug., Alfalfa Bill Murray may be 'all wet' in his state-line bridge and oil production controversies.

But what is the origin of wet meaning wrong?


texts: "The new line of vehicles benefits" or "benefit"?

texts:
I think "benefits" refers back to "The new line" and not "vehicles." Am I right to use benefits here and not benefit? Full sentence:

"The new line of vehicles benefits from a rear-motor short-course chassis."


texts:
Why use 'about them' in this sentence?

  I appreciate every kind of person, most notably those who have a good
  sense of humour, a positive outlook on life as well as a good energy
  about them.

Do not just write without "about them"?

  I appreciate every kind of person, most notably those who have a good
  sense of humour, a positive outlook on life as well as a good energy.


texts: What is the origin of "stir" meaning "prison"?

texts:
In these days of self-isolation the composite "stir-crazy" has come to the fore. Several instances of people saying they or others are "going stir-crazy" have been heard.

According to the OED it is principally a US idiom based on the slang word "stir" meaning "prison". But the OED does not seem to know why prison was ever known as "the stir".

Any ideas?


texts:
Two weeks ago I did an English test.
I was asked the following question:
(or something like this, I don't remember the exact question)

  A classmate is trying to do his homework, but he doesn't know how to do it. You do know how to do it. How can you say you can help him?

My answer:

  "Maybe I can help you?"

This was not the correct answer. The correct answer was:

  "Perhaps I can help you?"

I asked my teacher why my answer wasn't correct. She said: 'I don't exactly know how to explain that, but it has something to do with being polite. I'll come up with a better example next time.'

Is there really a difference between 'Maybe' and 'Perhaps'? And was my answer a valid alternative?


texts: Why is there a ‘y’ rather than an ‘i’ in the common surname “Taylor?”

texts:
The surname “Taylor” is common in the English-speaking world. Wikipedia mentions the following about its history:

  Taylor is a surname used in the British Isles of French and Latin origin which originated as a Norman occupational surname (meaning tailor) in France. It is derived from the Old French tailleur ("cutter"), which is in turn derived from the Late Latin taliator, from taliare ("to Cut").

The words in Old French and Late Latin use the letter “i” in the words that gave rise to the surname Taylor, and the modern English word “tailor” similarly uses an “i.” Why is it, then, that the surname Taylor doesn’t use an “i?”

(I’m curious about this because the surname “Smith” seems to have “Smyth” or “Smythe” as common variants, yet in my personal experience I’ve never met someone with the surname “Tailor.”)


texts: What does "confess" mean in this context?

texts:
The first two lines of Nancy Sinatra's song, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin’" written by Lee Hazlewood, are the following:

You keep saying you got something for me
Something you call love but confess

How is "confess" used here. I don't understand the sentence structure, especially because of the "but" used.


texts: "In a book store near my school" vs. "in the book store near my school"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Are there any simple rules for article usage (“a” vs “the” vs none)

Which article should I use in the following situations?

There is only one book store near my school, and I buy books there. Suppose that I'm having a conversation with a person who doesn't know anything about that book store, my school, how many book stores are near it, or if there are any at all. Which of the following should I use?

  I buy books in a book store near my school.
  I buy books in the book store near my school.

The same situation, but there are several book stores near my school, and I buy books in only one of them.
The same situation, but I buy books in all of the book stores without any distinction.

I hope that I made myself clear enough.


texts: He looked the same “as she” or “as her”?

texts:
"He looked the same as her" or is it "He looked the same as she"

I thought the rule was to complete the clause to figure this out such as "He looked the same as she looked" in which case the answer would be "she" but I'm fighting this conclusion because it just sounds wrong.


texts: Does 'fall in with' always have a negative connotation?

texts:
Often people say,

  he fell in with a bad crowd,

meaning that the person happened to form relationships with an undesirable peer group or group of people.

Does the term 'fall in with' always have negative connotations?

Could you:

  Fall in with a group of classicists or knitters?


texts: Which is the correct idiom – "When worst comes to worst" or "When worse comes to worst"?

texts:
Which is the correct idiom?

When worst comes to worst
When worse comes to worst


texts: To state something to be a reason or as a reason

texts:
I'm writing a critical review. I have written the following sentence. I would like to know if there is some significant problems. Especially I have a problem with the expression "stated to be a reason in order to". Could it be "stated as a reason"? Or some other way? And could it be "reason for"?

"Thus, while an objective, which in itself is legitimate, would has been stated to be a reason in order to override a right, the restriction may nevertheless be in fact motivated by hidden or unacceptable reasons, in which case the stated reason is just the pretext."


texts: I find that good morning is used both at the beginning of conversations (as in, "Good morning! How are you today?") and as a means of saying farewell.  The same is true for good evening. In contrast, you never hear people greeting each other with good night then launching into conversation.  It's always used as a greeting on its own ( as when passing someone by in the street) or as a farewell remark.  I don't know if this is regional or not (I'm from Pennsylvania), but it seems quite arbitrary.  Any thoughts?


texts:
As I know,
I go to school every day,(because I am a pupil)
I went to the school yesterday to meet my first teacher.
But: what if I work there?
I go to school or I go to the school.


texts: Is "Wanting" a Gerund or Present Participle?

texts:
The conversation eventually makes its way around to him wanting to switch and do something new.

Is "wanting" in the sentence considered as a gerund or present participle?


texts: Do the lower part of underwears (panties, boxers, etc.) have a name?

texts: The term "lower part of panties" is common according to Google. Is that how it's commonly referred? Or the part under an underwear has a name?


texts: Should she have said that I stole the drink?

texts:
I'm Japanese and I live in US now.
I can speak English a little.

Today I went to a cafe and I mistook taking someone's drink.
(I already purchased, and it was same matcha).
A staff realized that and she told me that I took wrong drink.
And then she took it back from me.

When she gave it to the customer, I heard the staff said "someone steals yours". Maybe I couldn't catch exactly, but I heard the word "steal".

I know the correct sentence is someone *stole yours. But, I thought the staff was a non-native English speaker (maybe I'm wrong).

If the staff didn't say "steal", Do you have any possible sentence that instead of using steal?

In this case, is this expression suitable? Is that sarcasm?
In Japanese, steal is 盗む. It's same meaning the word "rob".
I felt she treated me like a robber. I think she could say it in a more polite way.
If I were the staff, I would say "Another customer accidentally (mistook) taking your drink". (他のお客さんが、間違えてドリンクを取ってしまいました)

Some people might think you are a just more polite person. But, in Japan, If a staff say "someone  steals yours" (誰かがあなたのを盗みました),  I think it hurts a customer. (my side) Also rude.

If you are the staff, what will you say?

Maybe my sentence doesn't make sense (I'm beginner of learning English) but If you can understand what I want to ask, please give me comments.


texts: a word for 'a firm conviction about existence following death, pragmatically keeping one from excessive this-worldliness, materialism, etc'

texts:
Provided it is clear enough, the title speaks for itself, I guess.To clarify though, I'm after a word or phrase, with positive connotation, that may denote:

a strong personal ideology or belief, inspiring the believer to think of life and its vicissitudes with reference to afterdeath and humankind's immortality, resulting in their taking worldly matters lightly, tolerate difficulties easily, etc.

It may be a synonym for a word in my native language whose exact translation could be death-mindedness, to my knowledge. Besides, it is not associated with any specific religious inclination, at all.

any suggestions?


texts: How can you say to a child not to pour water on you when she is taking a bath? My sister use the term don't wet me and it sounds off


texts:
A seemingly native English speaker said the following sentence on Youtube:

"...right now I'm not dead broke I don't have to skim by 4 any days"

Can "skim by" used this way as in "get by?"


texts: Alternatives to using "from - to" with dates

texts:
Is there a correct and formally accepted shorter alternative to "from ... to ..." when referring to a specific period of time?

e.g. They have their annual forum meeting in Las Vegas from 10 to 12 October

I've seen this next version often, but I'm not sure if it's correct usage:

They have their annual forum meeting in Las Vegas, 10-12 October (with the comma sometimes omitted)


texts: How do you pronounce "f(n) = Θ(g(n))" in English?

texts:
In Algorithm's Performance, if f(n) = Θ(g(n)), then we can say:

  g(n) an asymptotically tight bound for f(n)

How do you pronounce f(n) = Θ(g(n)) in English? Would it be correct to say "f(n) is the Theta of g(n)"?

bonus question: is there a different pronunciation depending on the location? e.g. US vs UK?


texts:
Layout is a thing.

It originated from sentences including "lay out" ("let us lay this out" "I am about to lay this out" "I like the way you laid out those pieces of metal").

You now have the word "layout" ("here is the layout" "change layout C" or just "Layout", an engine that makes the "layout").

When a layout happens...

Tricky one...

  "We must prepare the shapes for the expansion anime every time we are laid out."

.

  "We must prepare the shapes for the expansion anime every time we are layed out."

Personally I would only use

  "We must prepare the shapes for the expansion anime every time we are layouted."

just as with any of the other 20,000 words in English that started as sentences and became words. You don't suddenly go back to a sentence form when you need another part of speech.  But it's probably not time for that yet.

Consider "layout", historic origins of computing UX vocab in newspapers?, etc.


texts: What do you call the body of water into which a river flows?

texts:
For example, the Nile flows into the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is therefore the Nile's ____.

Edit: I'm looking for a way to name the Mediterranean in relation to the Nile. The Nile is one of the Mediterranean's affluents, so the Mediterranean is the Nile's ____.


texts:
I live in the south west of England and there are many villages and roads that feature the word "Clyst". For example, Broadclyst, Clyst St Mary, Clyst Honiton and so on.

What does clyst mean, and where does it come from?


texts: How did Shakespeare pronounce "hautboys"?

texts: Shakespeare calls for hautboys. How did he pronounce the word, more than 500 years after Hastings (think of it!)? ohBWHA? ohBOYZ? Or what?


texts: How is "World English" difficult for native speakers of English?

texts:
There is a newly used term, World English (WE). It is nobody's mother tongue. It is spoken across the world, for example, at check-in desks, airports, international trade fairs, world cup football seasons, etc.

I read an article about this topic and it says that native speakers are not privileged anymore and they can't really manage WE. Is this that hard for native speakers? What they speak is also English so they should not have problems, in my opinion; but I may be thinking wrong.

What about World English is difficult for native speakers of English to use or understand?


texts: Could anyone explain to me the meaning of the sentence and phrase?

texts:
That year we had planned to fish for marlin off the Cuban coast for a month. The month started the tenth of April and by the tenth of May we had twenty-five marlin and the charter was over. The thing to have done then would have been to buy some presents to take back to Key West and fill the Anita with just a little more expensive Cuban gas than was necessary to run across, get cleared, and go home.

Could anyone explain to me the meaning of the last sentence? What does the expression 'to run across' mean here? And do the words 'get cleared, and go home' go with 'necessary to' or with 'The thing to have done then would have been to'?
I suppose, 'Anita' is the name of the ship.


texts:
Is "the late Professor X gave a talk" correct?
I mean: Correct not in a Zombie sort of way, but to express "Professor X gave a talk while he was still alive, which he is not any more".)

If deceased is synonym for "dead", then one should rather say
"the now late Professor X gave a talk", which sounds just wrong?
Or do you have to say "Professor X, now deceased, gave a talk?"


texts: Word for a subordinate who also has subordinates

texts:
Adam is the boss of Ben, Carl and David.
Ben is the boss of Edward and Frank.
Carl is the boss of nobody.
David is the boss of George and Harry.

A word or short phrase that would distinguish Ben and David from Carl as they relate to Adam.

Adam's [WORD] are Ben and David.  His other subordinate is Carl.

If there is not a single word, a very short phrase might work.

Edit:
Answer a few questions:

1) Is Adam a CEO:
Adam is not necessarily the top level, although he could be.

2) In what company? Under what structure?
Private sector business.

3) Why do you need this word or phrase?
It is for a section title/header for a report that has information about how the direct reports are keeping up with managing the people under them. (How well their 'children' are keeping up with tasks related to their 'grandchildren' in the hierarchy)


texts: Word for the point where we stare when in a deep thought

texts:
As stated in the title. What is the word or phrase for the point where we stare at, when our mind is caught in a deep thought?

To a sanctum, past the reaches
Of my fancy and my whim
I sit, staring at the (??????)
My haggard face grim

The point of posting the whole stanza is that you can/should word the 3rd line just as you like, maintaining the fluency and rhythm. at the after "staring" are optional (can be removed or modified). But some mention of sitting and staring must be present.


texts:
I have a sentence here:

  Tom couldn't help but cursed when he saw Sam dressed like that.

I feel like there's something off about the sentence, but I don't know how to change it to make it sound better. It's meant to be in past tense, so if I change it to

  Tom couldn't help but curse when he saw Sam dressed like that.

It sounds better, but I not sure if the sentence would still be in past tense. It seems more "presenty".


texts: Does ‘sugarplum’ have the meaning of ‘honey’ or ‘sweetie’?

texts:
There is the following advice for ‘defusing an argument with one word’ in a website:

In an argument in which the fight systems are fully armed you need to
provide an abrupt interruption. Have a look at the effect one word can
make and choose your own:
“God dammit why do you do that?”
"Sugar plum why do you do that?"
That single phrase, spoken softly can completely change the flow of
energy in the conversation. It lets someone know the attack is over,
communication can continue. Some will of course continue to go off the
rails, so you'll need to use some judgment.
http://www.learnmyself.com/LT-45/defuse-an-argument-with-one-word

I’ve seen ‘sugarplum,’ the word representing for a candy being used in this way for the first time.
Both OED and Wikipedia define ‘sugarplum’ only as ‘a small round sweet of flavored boiled sugar,’ or ‘a piece of dragée candy that is made of dried fruits and shaped in a small round or oval shape. No other meaning.
Does ‘sugarplum’ have an extended meaning like ‘honey’ or ‘sweetie' as an addressing word?


texts:
"asking" - In this case this kind of language element is called gerund, right?

In high school my teacher firmly told us two verbs can never be together (25 years later I can still remember her angry face).

But I do see a lot of sentences like this, in some literature:

  All he did was ask a question.

I am pretty sure my English teacher wouldn't be happy with this and would put a big "X" next to it. She told us you either convert the latter verb to an infinitive or a gerund, so it is either:

  All he did was asking a question.

or:

  All he did was to ask a question.

So is the first writing grammatically right? And if it is, is there any difference in meaning of the three sentences?


texts: Is there a word for some kind of incorrect empathy?

texts:
Is there a word or phrase that means thinking or claiming you're in the same situation as someone when you're actually not? For example, if two people seem to be suffering in the same way, but then it turns out one of them has a means of getting out of the situation that isn't available to the other and they simply choose not to use it. The person without the option might turn around and say they're not really in the same situation, contrary to the other's belief/claim.

The more fortunate person isn't necessarily pretending they understand or trying to trick the less fortunate one, they're just seemingly-ignorant of how they're actually better off. Insensitive, perhaps.


texts: Is Headline correct? Can we use two should in a simple sentence


texts:
no coffee, no workee

What exactly does this expression mean? And how do you pronounce it?


texts:
Consider the following sentences:

  Enough are present to form a quorum.
  Not enough are present to form a quorum.

M-W and Wiktionary both label enough as a pronoun in this usage, but they also label not as an adverb. How can not be an adverb, if it's modifying a pronoun?

Perhaps more importantly, is this question about anything semantically meaningful under the surface, or is this just an arbitrary decision?

(Here is the thread on ELL that inspired this question.)


texts: Senior programmer in my team in developing hotel management program and there is something about hotel rooms limit, how many room the hotel can provide to customer. He want to add option to indicate that hotel is sure to welcome any amount of customer and he was asking me that should we use "No Limit" or "Unlimited"


texts:
The more you learn, the lesser mistakes you make.

Is this sentence grammatically correct?
Can lesser be used to refer to the quality of the mistake?


texts: I'm looking for an aphorism communicating the thought that "this works, but we can do better". Some high-falutin language like Shakespeare or Blake would be ideal.


texts:
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair culture critic, wrote a piece on the HBO series True Detective, including the following segment:

  What lifts creator Nic Pizzolatto's show above the misabilerist monotony and addiction pathology of Nordic noir and its derivatives is Proustian time-shifting, sharp, sneaky-funny writing, and even sharper, sneaky acting from Matthew McConaughey, whose detective Rush Cohle is so stick-figure insectile, his man-who-fell-to-earth alienation and perceptions ("I can smell the psychosphere") so cryptic and deflective, that he could have come across as a David Lynch scarecrow if it weren't for the real, ground-in, damaged-goods pain that McConaughey communicates on a deeper frequency, between cigarette drags and beer sips: a redneck existentialism that Flannery O'Connor might have summoned from beneath the rotting floorboards.

I've been looking for a definition of "misabilerist" or a different with the same root, and I can't find anything. Is this most likely just a misspelling of "miserabilist" or is it a real word? Or, considering Wolcott's pension for esoteric language, is it a play on words or subtle reference?


texts:
If it is clear from the context that we are referring to USA, we might simply say

  Many states have deserts/laws against gay marriage/more men than women.

But if it is not clear, and I prefer not to say something awkward like "Many states in the United States", can I say instead:

  Many of the United States have deserts/laws against gay marriage/more men than women.


texts: "out of court" alternative meaning in this sentence?

texts:
Is there any alternative meaning of "out of court" than the one we knoe linked with real life court situations. The sentence which I sense it should mean something else is as follows:

  However, its real purpose is not to encourage controversy but to draw
  the committed student of true philosophy away from this discussion
  altogether, to leave out of court matters of opinion and belief, and
  to move on to the more serious concerns which can be treated according
  to the principles of demonstrations and hence of philosophy proper.

quoted from the 21st page of the following article:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1595834?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents


texts: How do you relate "paranoia" to something?

texts: To cut a short story shorter, I'm not entirely sure how to use the word "paranoia" in relation to a specific subject. That is, if one is paranoid about the government, would they have a paranoia "over" the government, a paranoia "about" the government, a paranoia "concerning" the government, or something else entirely?


texts: I've seen some use "shine on" to close a letter. What does this mean?


texts: Another way to say "open to public view"

texts:
Is there another way to say

  The article was open to public view.

I want to describe a blog posted to a webpage.


texts: Can you give me an idiom which means to take advantage?

texts: Eg- He took advantage of the enemies weaknesses.


texts: Is 'Joshua' a proper English name for an atheist?

texts:
I'm a radical atheist from China, or to be specific, a Marxist.

When I first tried to look up the dictionary to find myself an English name, I thought that 'Joshua' would be a good choice since it sounds like my Chinese name.

After I got to learn more about its religious meaning, I wonder if people with Christian beliefs would feel offended that an atheist names himself Joshua.


texts:
I always see the word in sentence like, "it's a tad faser".
Or people say "tad", as if they are frustrated.
So, what's the meaning of the word? When to use it?


texts: Is there an adjective for "originating and persisting continuously until now"?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that would fit the space below:

  Even as a(n) [adjective] city-dweller, I recognize the importance of the haystacks.

I have searched to no avail and restructured the sentence in case no such word exists, but I'm still curious and would love to keep it in the structure above.

"Native" conveys the origination I'm after, but not the continuous perpetuation
"Perpetual" is too eternal, as is "eternal" (I want to convey "until now")
"Perennial" doesn't convey origination or, necessarily, continuousness
"Longtime" has the same problems as "perennial"


texts: What is another word for when a mechanical door-lock clicks in?

texts:
I'm talking about those doors that have mechanical locks that 'click' automatically when the door is closed and need a handle/knob to be moved to open them again. I'm using this in a sentence:

He walked towards the door to check in case it hadn't clicked in.

I made 'clicked in' up. I'm not sure if there is a better word/phrase out there to replace 'clicked in'.


texts: Is there a name for phrases like "faint of heart" or "fleet of foot"?

texts:
I've noticed that English seems to have a set of adjectival phrases like "faint of heart", "fleet of foot", "narrow of mind", or "strong of will" of the form {ADJ + "of" + N"}, where it seems the noun is most often if not always in the singular (e.g. "wide of eye", "broad of shoulder") and always refers to a part of the body (or some other inalienably possessed trait like "voice" or "soul").
Purely for the sake of curiosity, I'd like to know: Is there a name for this type of phrase and/or the use of this specific construction?
Something that might be worth mentioning is that with every example I've been able find, there appears to be an equivalent compound adjective (or "parasynthetic adjective") to go along with it — for instance, in addition to the forms listed previously, "faint-hearted", "fleet-footed", "narrow-minded", and "strong-willed" all exist as well. The two constructions seem to be so semantically linked that I've even seen some authors use this fact for poetic effect; even though the idiom is "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed", there are nevertheless several results for "bright of eye and bushy of tail" when searching on Google Books.
While I don't have a comprehensive list of examples, here are just a few more that I've dug up: "short of stature", "quick of wit", "pale of face", "fair of skin", "pure of heart", "deft of hand", "sharp of claw", "long of tooth", "deep of chest", "slim of waist", "slight of frame", "hot of temper", "silver of tongue", and "nimble of finger", among others.
Once again, any and all help with my request is very much appreciated. And even if nothing else comes of this, I'm honestly just happy to be compiling all this information in case it might come in handy for anyone out there learning English. God knows there have been plenty of times as a French learner that I've wished there were this kind of documentation for whatever random, obscure quirk of grammar I'd stumbled across, but I digress~


texts: Word to call a person that works in a store

texts:
I seem to always have a trouble with this one; what do you call a person that works in a store? A clerk? A sales person? Neither of these sound right. Saying "person that works in the store" doesn't work that well either.

Is there a general single word that I can use that represents "a person that works in a store".


texts: How does 'on' + 'against, toward' compound to mean 'again'?

texts:
again (adv.)
      late Old English agan,
  from earlier ongean "toward, opposite, against, in exchange for,"
  from on "on" (see on) + -gegn "against, toward,"
  compounded for a sense of "lined up facing, opposite," and "in the opposite direction, returning."
  For -gegn, compare Old Norse gegn "straight, direct;" Danish igen "against;" Old Frisian jen, Old High German gegin, German gegen "against, toward," entgegen "against, in opposition to." .....

What does "on" mean here?
How doesn't -gegn (when compounded with on) contradict the meaning of 'again'? Being against X connotes negativity:  so why'd you wish to do anything with X, let alone 'again'?

Footnote: My reading of gainsay's etymology inspired this question. I tried the OED.


texts: "A of B" or "B A" Noun Adjunct vs. Prepositional Phrase

texts:
English, having originated as a germanic language, uses premodifier noun adjuncts (is this the right terminology?) to form compound nouns like "science fiction writer". However, English also says "table of contents", where "of contents" is a prepositional phrase I would think. Now, I write texts or translate and get corrected by reviewers and proof-readers, who are English and serious people, while I am not. For example, recently I wrote "density of water" and was corrected to "water density". It gets worse, I feel, when there are several premodifiers e.g. I wrote "plant of the Cimenterie Nationale d'Haïti" and was corrected to "Cimenterie Nationale d'Haïti plant".

What is the rule? Is there a recommended limit to the number of premodifiers? Perhaps not more than two? Science fiction writer sounds OK. What is the correct terminology talking about this issue?

With many thanks!


texts:
I'm not an English native speaker, and I have this memory in my head that less could be used like else, like this:

  He doesn't want to overdo it, less it ends up backfiring.

I looked up online, and I found nothing, most likely am wrong but can't help ask.
please help me clarify this issue, thank you.


texts:
As the word "advance" is used as a verb in the following context:

  "Advance to the next page"

what would be an appropriate antonym that would make the most sense in a user interface and have neutral connotation?

Is "Go back" the closest thing? I can possibly see "return to", but that doesn't seem to fit very well.

I know there's quite few antonyms, but most of them seem to have a negative connotation.


texts:
What does "jagged Lines" imply here?

Does "visual evidence of a world-view in dislocated shards" mean that all these images, that the writer can remember of the world war scenes, are only a few parts of a larger world-view?

Context:

Far more immediate to the constituencies of both art and science was the First World War and, if any imagery predominates for me, it is that of the jagged lines, the upheaval of mud and the dismembered bodies of the trenches, visual evidence of a world-view in dislocated shards.
— Art and Science by Sian Ede


texts: What is the reason for the 'royal' order of adjectives?

texts: Why do we say "a big ugly cat" and not "an ugly big cat" according to the order of adjectives (opinion first then size)?


texts: Is there a proverb/saying which means “good people are always treated terribly and unfairly"?

texts:
In English, is there a proverb/saying  that means

  good people are always treated terribly and unfairly  ?


texts:
I think I should use broke because it is in past tense. Am I correct? If incorrect, can you explain to me briefly which case is correct?

I was thinking about punching him and breaking his teeth.
I was thinking about punching him and broke his teeth.


texts: What are the "double-door lock mechanisms" on many vending machines and postboxes called?

texts:
Many of the newer stock vending machines (see photo) have a "double-door lock" mechanism in their dispensary. Postboxes and book returns also employ this mechanism.

The principle of the device is to keep the inside of the vending machine completely sealed and inaccessible at all times. Reaching into the machine through the frontal door (lock) automatically forces the more distal door shut, which (for example) prevents a piece of wire from being forced up inside the machine to pilfer the goodies.

Is there a recognized name for this type of double-door lock mechanism?

Web searches for "vending machine locks", "vending machine doors", "vending machine dispensing devices", etc. have proven fruitless due to the fact that "vending machine" refers to a remarkably broad range of devices, all of which have a variety of locks, doors, latches, and dispensary mechanisms.


texts: The meaning of 'In the six years since the contract was first awarded'

texts:
I am a student learning English.
I read an article and found the expression 'In the six years since the contract was first awarded'
but i was confused about what does mean,
ex)

contract was first awarded 6 years ago
or
for 6 years, since the contract first awarded

which one is a right thing?
Thanks all


texts: How do you indicate a past from the perspective of a future, when that past is in a "when"-clause?

texts:
Question
Which of the following is grammatical (maybe more than one), and which colloquial?

(a) I won't do it when you tell me not to.
(b) I won't do it when you have told me not to.
(c) I won't do it when you told me not to.

For context imagine that the speaker is a child who ran into trouble by ignoring his mother's previously given instructions.  He now says this would not happen again.
Background
I came to have this question while reading different versions of this passage from The Little Red Riding Hood.

Rotkäppchen aber dachte: Du willst dein Lebtag nicht wieder allein vom Wege ab in den Wald laufen, wenn dir's die Mutter verboten hat.
Le Petit Chaperon Rouge cependant pensait: "Je ne quitterai plus jamais mon chemin pour aller me promener dans la forêt, quand ma maman me l'aura interdit."
And Little Red Riding Hood thought to herself: "As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to."


texts: Can you please explain the use of “in what” in this sentence below?

texts:
I couldn’t figure out the grammatical role of “in what” in the sentence below. What does “in” refer to in this case? Can someone explain it please ?

  Burroughs killed Vollmer in what he first admitted to and shortly thereafter denied as a drunken attempt at playing William Tell.


texts: Unambiguous adjective for an event that happens once every two months

texts:
I organize an event once every two months:
January 5th, March 5th, May 5th, etc.

I want to convey that frequency to an international audience.
Is there any unambiguous adjective for this?

I would say "It is a bi-monthly event" but I am afraid by the fact that is also seems to mean "twice a month". Is there anything better?


texts: The grammatical accuracy of this sentence "The best things in life are free wifi"

texts:
I saw a printed T-Shirt with this sentence:

  The best things in life are free wifi

I think it is not quite right. My arguments are:

"Free" modifies "wifi", which means that "free" is an adjective and has no bearings on the verb form. "Wifi", however, is an uncountable noun, which means that it should always take a singular verb form. And this sentence used "things", that means it is a grammatical error. This sentence should be:

  The best thing in life is free wifi

Because if "free wifi" should always take a singular verb form, in this case To Be -> "is", then the verb should belong to a singular subject, that's why "things" is wrong here.

So if the subject is still "things", then the object has to be plural (the list of things), something like:

  The best things in life are cookies

or, for example

  The best things in life are free wifi and free education

Of course, if the original printed text has a special meaning to make us confused.


texts: Is "increment" perfectly synonymous with "increase"?

texts: My advisor replaced all the occurrences of "increment" with "increase" in one of my papers. Is it true that "increment" can always be replaced with "increase"? If not, please show me some examples.


texts: Is it "non linearized" or "nonlinearized"?

texts:
As the title says. I am wondering what is grammatically correct .

"non linearized" vs "nonlinearized" (or maybe "non-linearized")

Same for

"non linear" vs "nonlinear" (or maybe "non-linear")


texts:
"Sounds like a plan (, Stan!)"

(idiom, used to agree to a suggestion that you think is good: OxfordLearnersDictionariesOnline)

It seems to be of relatively recent origin, if there's really a sound origin, that is.

Main Q: What is the etymology of the expression?

Also,

How well-received (understood and appreciated) is it as an idiom?
Is it a regionalism?
Is it slang?

UrbanDictionary gives no etymology; nor does OLDO cited above.


texts: What's the difference between "lingo" and "jargon"?

texts: To what extent, if any, do lingo and jargon differ?


texts:
What's the correct pronunciation of "influence"? Specifically, which syllable is stressed?
I always thought it was INfluence, but recently I heard it pronounced inFLUence by some people.
Which one is correct, or is it a matter of accent?


texts: Under what circumstances can the name portion of an eponymous invention be considered a word?

texts:
I am aware of great debate over whether a name, in general, is a word in any language.  For purposes of this question, let's take the negative side of this debate.  For certain, I would never claim that my nom de plume of "cobaltduck" could be considered a word.  Nor do I claim that something like "Jason" or "Carl" is a word.

What about a name when applied to an eponymous invention?  There are many objects and ideas out there named after the inventor.  Let's consider just a couple examples:

The Ferris wheel, invented by American engineer George Washington Gale Ferris.
The Diesel engine, invented by German engineer Rudolph Christian Karl Diesel.
The Wankel engine, invented by German engineer Felix Heinrich Wankel.
The Heimlich maneuver, developed by American surgeon Henry Judah Heimlich.
And giving credit where due- inspired by a question by user Sadiq- the Schottky diode, invented by German physicist Walter H. Schottky.

Can any of ferris, diesel, wankel, heimlich, or schottky be called a word?  If so, when and why?

I can see an argument for at least one definitely functioning stand-alone:

  Today in health class we learned how to do the heimlich.
  Look!  Alice is choking.  Quick, somebody give her the heimlich.

And another is a maybe:

  I'm thinking of buying a pickup, and can't decide whether to get a diesel.
  I need to fill this rig up with diesel. (referring to the fuel)

But another just doesn't work at all without the second part:

  Did you hear about Alice?  She went to the fair and got stuck on the ferris.

The others are also less certain, i.e. I don't know enough about the vernacular to know whether a motorcycle builder would ponder, "Should we put a wankel or a v-twin on this baby?" or one electrical technician would ask another, "Can you hand me that schottky over there?"

To summarize:  When, if ever, is the name portion of a name-object phrase describing something and its inventor, considered a word?


texts:
Various American grape varieties are commonly called "fox grapes".

I was under the impression that this term originated from the term "foxy" to describe the aroma of wines produced from these grapes, alluding to the musky scent of the animal (fox). However, the Wikipedia page indicates that the derivation goes the other way, where "foxy" in wine terms describes the characteristic aroma of wines from "fox grapes", and is not directly connected to the animal.

Is there any reliable evidence for the origin of the term "fox grape"?


texts: Is there a word or phrase for questioning authority?

texts:
I'm looking for a word or phrase that questions authority but not to the point of open defiance. As an example:

Boss: I think my plan is the best plan and we're going with it.

Employee: Well, it may be the best plan, however, what about it makes it the best plan? What about other plans that haven't been looked at? Maybe we should look at them before making a decision.

In this scenario, the employee wasn't angry but also at the same time just didn't submit and go along with what the boss said (A.K.A. not a yes man).


texts: Shooting day - when having a photo shoot - correct?

texts:
A lot of my friends work in the creative field and often they use " shooting day" when they have a photo shoot planned...
It's actually very irritating as I don't think that's correct... I mean you're not getting shot... hahaha

As I am not a native English person, I would like to ask if this is correct, why it's correct and if not, well, why not. :)

thank you very much!!


texts: A single word to encompass both "generation" and "annihilation" concepts

texts:
In the context of metallurgy and material science, there is a well-known process called differently but commonly "vacancy generation/annihilation" where a vacancy or void (or simply a tiny hole) is generated or annihilated in a piece of a material (due to some external factors such as temperature and pressure).

People (are struggling to) use different phrases to describe such process in a concise and terse way. While "vacancy generation/annihilation" has gained more attention and support in the community, I was wondering if there exist any word to capture and encompass both "generation" and "annihilation" in one professional encapsulating place. Any advice or comment is highly appreciated.

My own effort before asking: I have gone through a wide spectrum of words in various dictionaries. None of them looked thorough and accurate to me. My best pick, however, is apparition but I'm not quite sure. You can assume that I'm qualified to add a new but correct term to the community.

Perhaps bad candidates:

apparition
existence
presentation (does not convey "getting produced")
manifestation
nucleation
sprout
semblance

Why bad candidates? Not feeling right to me. Correct me if they are good, indeed.


texts:
While browsing the tvtropes.org entry for Archetypal Characters, this sentence jumped out at me:

  A related concept is the 'ectype', a distorted or flawed version of the archetype.

Ectype does not appear in my local dictionary and online searches seem to provide a completely different definition:

  ectypal — Copied, as contrasted with an archetypal original. Has a specialized sense when used by the philosopher George Berkeley. (wiktionary)

This does not seem to be a common word and I get the feeling that it is still jargon from one field or another. The tvtropes article considers an ectype a specifically flawed copy; the dictionary definitions don't mentioned the quality of the copy. I have no idea what Berkeley's philosophies are — is this something he coined?


texts: Does the word "therefore" always require a comma if it is in the middle of the sentence?

texts:
I would like to know if the following sentence is correct. My primary question revolves around the word "therefore" and whether or not it requires a comma.

Understanding why ex-prisoners renew their criminal involvement is therefore an important social issue for scholars, decision makers, and corrections officials.


texts: Do people really say "What is that mean" or it just sounds like that?

texts: I often hear people saying something that sounds like "What is that mean" on TV and the Internet but I am wondering whether they really mean that or they actually say "What does it mean". If the latter, why is it so common?


texts: The precise meaning of "to have something to do with"?

texts:
Her depression has something to do with her marital problems.

  Global warming has something to do with deforestation.

In these examples and a lot of other examples, what comes after "have something to do with" is somehow the cause of/a contributory factor in what comes before it. My question is if "to have something to do with" might mean the other war around, that is, what comes before it being the cause of/a contributory factor in what comes after it.

Online dictionaries that I checked are ambiguous on this. Some of them like Macmillan say the meaning of the expression is a connection, but then the examples they give has the meaning of causality in the first sense mentioned above. Others like Cambridge actually mention causality but again in the first sense mentioned above.

My question is about the direction of the causal connection/contribution, as far as such a connection is part of the meaning.


texts:
I am confused by this sentence:

  You can not go without taking permission.

How can I convert it into the passive voice? I tried this:

  You can not go without permission being taken.

But I'm not sure that's right.


texts: all time or all-time, not sure which one it is. Are they different in different scenarios?


texts:
Anthony Martin, assistant accountant, PwC, and associate editor, Washington Post.

The commas above look a little too much.

Are they technically all correct?

Which would you recommend removed? I was thinking of removing the one before "and" since it looks the most clunky, but feel that comma is necessary here.


texts: How do you pronounce these Greek letters in English dictionary definitions?

texts:
Dictionary definitions for the English language usually have the word spelled out in Greek letters to indicate how the word is pronounced phonetically.

Examples highlighted:

What are these Greek phonetic words called? And more importantly, where is it writ how these should be pronounced? I find them unhelpful because of my ignorance and I'd like to learn.


texts:
Please tell me what crutch words are.

I think they are used to fill spaces  between  sentences like a filler word, but I am not sure.


texts:
I'm writing something that involves the upmost, the righmost, the leftmost and the... damn. It was coming along quite beautifully.

What would your choice be?


texts: Why is a word starting with a vowel sound proceeded by 'an'?

texts: I have read that the the modern 'an' derives from the Old English 'ān', which is also the source of 'one'. So I guess I can see how "one hour; one apple" could work, but that doesn't explain 'why'. What is the function of having one indefinite article for words starting with consonant sounds, and another of words starting with vowel sounds? I did some searching around but the entries I found cited when you use should 'a' vs 'an' but not the why.


texts: What word or phrase means "a loss of what was on your mind"?

texts:
Sometimes, in the middle of a conversation, a "loss of mind" can affect the speaker. What is the word for that situation and that person ?

Are there more specific terms or phrases than:

the loss of mind (or)
empty mindedness?


texts:
I read this NY Times article, and I am not sure what does "while not a direct answer..." mean. I think it could be rephrased as "while the show is not a direct answer to Fox News or Breitbart.com", but what does a direct answer exactly mean?

My friend said it meant the show would be different from Fox news or Breitbart, but I do not understand how it means this.

Please help me.
Thank you.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/us/politics/obama-netflix-shows.html

  Mr. Obama does not intend to use his Netflix shows to directly respond to President Trump or conservative critics, according to people familiar with discussions about the programming. They said the Obamas had talked about producing shows that highlight inspirational stories. But the Netflix deal, while not a direct answer to Fox News or Breitbart.com, would give Mr. Obama an unfiltered method of communication with the public similar to the audiences he already reaches through social media, with 101 million Twitter followers and 55 million people who have liked his Facebook page.


texts: Is describing something as 'detailed and concise' an oxymoron?

texts:
For example:

  The instructions must be detailed and concise.


texts:
The preface to John Calvin's Sermons on Deuteronomy says this:

  For sufficient proofe whereof, and to the end it should not be thought that we do wrongfully & without cause giue inkling of the things afore said: we will briefly touch what hath bin doone herein a fewe yeares since: namely that there haue bin certaine men, who without any forecast, haue bin so bolde as to cause certain sermons vpon the Prophet Danyel to be printed, without vouchsafing to see the originall copie, or to be aduertised there of from hence. And to couer their whole doings the better, they alledge that their so doing was for the glorie of God. Yea marie: but that should haue beene done without the hinderance of other men.

I think I still have not understood clearly the meaning of this expression. Some say it is an expression of surprise, but I still couldn't get its meaning.

Also, it would be good to have some modern expressions with the same meaning.


texts: Is "The amount by which something has changed length." grammatically correct?

texts:
The full sentence is,
"Strain:  The amount by which something has changed length, measured as a percentage of its original length."

Shouldn't it be incorrect?, or else please explain further, thanks!

From : http://www.aleckassociates.co.uk/glossary-of-structural-engineering-terms/


texts:
Please explain the difference between especially and specially ?

Especially:

  ADVERB

  1 Used to single out one person or thing over all others:

  2 To a great extent; very much:

Specially:

  ADVERB

  For a special purpose:

The definitions make sense on their face, but the way we use the words is confusing. I was reading The Journal of Henry David Thoreau today and came across this his of specially that I might have used especially:

  September 7, 1851

  We can, perchance, then direct our nutriment to those organs we
  specially use...

  February 23, 1853

  The Secretary for the Advancement of Science requests me, ... to fill
  the blak against certain questions, among which the most important one
  was what branch of science I was specially interested in ... I felt
  that it would be to make myself the laughing-stock of the scientific
  community to describe to them that branch of science that specially
  interests me...

Is there no difference or one is more prominent than the other?


texts: Why isn't "chez" used as a preposition in English?

texts:
From consulting a number of online English dictionaries, "chez" means "in the home of" or "at the home of" in French. So, for example, "Chez Panisse" translates to "at the home of Panisse".

But, as far as I can tell, everyone treats it to mean "the house of" without any leading preposition. For example, if that's where you were going to dinner, I don't think anyone would say, "We're going Chez Panisse tonight".

If that's the normal English usage, why does every English dictionary define it as "at the home of"? If that were the case, wouldn't "We're going to Chez Panisse," read like "We're going to at the home of Panisse"?


texts: Why is the current unrest in the Arab world called the "Arab Spring"?

texts: Does spring in "Arab Spring" refer to the season - or something else?


texts: Why is it that a period of one thousand years is a millennium, but one million is a thousand thousands?


texts: "However, this book is anything but" meaning

texts:
What's the structure and meaning of this sentence in the following text:

  A friend lent this to me before I headed over to Italy and France this summer. I was a bit skeptical at first as he's heavily into the technical aspects of architecture. However, this book is anything but.


texts: "on the National Mall" - why "on" and not "in"?

texts:
From the news:

  NASA is hosting a series of events on the National Mall.

The National Mall is a national park, and we usually use the preposition in:

  The events in the national park were magnificent.

Here are some numbers from nytimes.com:

"on the National Mall" site:nytimes.com 1290 results

"in the National Mall" site:nytimes.com 3 results

Why doesn't the National Mall take the preposition "in" like other national parks? And what does it mean to have "on" for the National Mall?


texts:
A student of mine has asked me if there is any difference, both in meaning and usage, between point of view and viewpoint. Now, according to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, there is indeed no difference in their meaning.

Point of view

a particular way of thinking about or judging a situation
someone's own personal opinion or attitude about something

Viewpoint

a particular way of thinking about a problem or subject [= point of view]
a place from which you can see something

However I could not ascertain whether there was any difference in usage from the examples provided. Personally, I find "point of view" much more familiar and "viewpoint" often awkward when I try to compare their use, for example:

It was seen from a child's point of view.
It was seen from a child's viewpoint.

But that's a highly impressionist take based on my exposure to the terms and one mustn't forget I'm not a native speaker, which means my impression could be eschewed.

So, is there any usage particulars concerning the two terms?


texts:
I came across this sentence,

”The vibrations from the jet caused the vase to fall and crack”

I am confused on what type of sentence it is: “simple, compound, compound-complex, or complex.”

“Vibrations caused vase” doesn’t make to much sense if you simplified the sentence, so would it be “vibrations caused vase to fall and crack?”

Except, in the second example, I’m not really sure what the direct object would be, or if there is some type of object complement.


texts: "The box of candies" or "The box of THE candies"

texts:
I understand that

  "Look on the table. Take the box of candies."

is ok. But is this ok?

  "Take the box of the candies."

If so, is there any difference?


texts:
The Online Etymology Dictionary reads:

  flounder (v.)
  1590s, perhaps an alteration of founder (q.v.), influenced by Dutch flodderen "to flop about," or native verbs in fl- expressing clumsy motion.

Thus, the origin of flounder is not certain. However, after reading that dictionary entry, I wonder if flounder can be simply an embellishment of founder, where the sound unit fl might be used in order to carry a subliminal meaning of heavy movement, according to J. R. Firth's theory.

Can this origin be realistically considered?


texts: Is there a name for a word that physically sounds the same backwards and forwards?

texts: Not a word that reads the same, a word that actually sounds the same whether it's pronounced forwards or backwards.


texts:
I have a question

  He was to be home by now.

Does it mean he was supposed to come home either before now or maybe by now?

  He was to have been home by now.

That means he was supposed to have come by the time specified that means before that time, not at that time.
Am I right?
Please tell me when should I use them?

If I say it the following day, should I use No. 2?
I am utterly confused by them.


texts: Use of quotation marks in nonstandard narrative

texts:
I'm working on a book that is narrated by a young boy in the hills of North Carolina in 1960. It's written in first person. Careful and judicious use of misspelled words and imperfect grammar convey a lot about his character and does not overwhelm the reader.

Yet he soon describes a conversation among adults and I'm not sure how to handle the quotation marks and content of the dialog. Use indent, quotation marks, and correct spelling within the dialog? Or continue to present the story as told by the young, uneducated man, with no quotes and imperfect spelling?

I think it might be harder for readers to suspend disbelief when the young man's writing is suddenly interrupted by grammatically-correct quoted dialog. But it might be too extreme to not use quotation marks at all.

Thanks in advance for your help.


texts:
Is there a name to differentiate abbreviations that come before or after the word it refers to or relates to?

For example:

St. Michael's Church (In this situation St. always comes before St. ____ )
I picked him up on 5th st. (In this situation st. comes after its related word ____ st.)

Some abbreviations typically come before (Mr., Mrs., Mt.)
Some abbreviations typically come after (st., Inc.)
Some abbreviations might be in the middle (vs.)
Some abbreviations won't fit these categories (i.e., e.g., etc.)

Are there any terms to differentiate the different types of abbreviations (e.g. something like prefix and suffix abbreviations)?


texts: Term for the suppresive effect / tactic of over-requiring proof?

texts:
Much like the pestering child asking "Why?" over and over, one can demand proof (or examples) of an argument as a means to slow it down, trivialize it, or out-right block it.

I'm looking for any term to describe this sort of effect / tactic.  To give an example:

"The [baby-step technique] is a way of suppressing forward movement of an idea by requiring it to put excessive effort into every step."

As another example:

There is a scene in Futurama where an ape argues with a scientist that evolution isn't real by constantly asking "What came before that stage of evolution," until eventually reaching a missing link at which point this is taken as proof that the argument of evolution is lacking sufficient evidence.

"If you can't prove this thing ad-nauseam, it is false."

P.S. I strongly believe in having proof for things, this is not about being anti-scientific, but more about overdoing it to undermine the very pursuit.


texts: "Hard to understate" versus "Hard to overstate"

texts:
Which is the correct expression - "hard to understate" or "hard to overstate" when trying to use for emphasis? Searching on Google, both expressions appear popular but overstate has about 10x the results.

For example, the Washington Post writes the sentence "It would be hard to understate the positive effect the manufacturer has made in the area." where the effect was legitimately very positive. This seems counter intuitive.

Is either variant correct in the same way "could/couldn't care less" are both common expressions?


texts: Which of the following sentences uses a subject complement?

texts: What about C, isn't a bit anxious about the test tomorrow also a subject complement following the linking verb am?


texts: Semicolon as a super-comma preceding “etc.”

texts:
I was wondering which punctuation to use preceeding etc. in an enumeration with semicolons as supercommas (as formulated here: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon).

  People with dichromatic colour vision will usually find it difficult to distinguish between similar tones and shades: deep red with black with dark green or dark purple; medium shades of red with similar tones of green and orange; etc.

Should I use a semicolon or a comma before the etc.?


texts: What is the origin of the phrase “liner notes”?

texts: Liner notes is a phrase describing a written description on the cover of an LP record. What is the origin of this phrase?


texts: Word for a person that is being taken advantage of financially / leeched off

texts:
In English there is the concept of somebody who is a 'leech', and takes advantage of a second person's resources or generosity, financially or otherwise.

What word or phrase could be used to denote the one who is leeched from?

I don't mind whether there are positive or negative connotations to the word - "sugar daddy" is a good American example but not suitable for my (British / Scottish) context. To me this is a good example because it explicitly implies the ongoing leeching relationship, and is not simply an attribute of the person.

edit: In the specific usage I'm looking for, the provision is given consciously by the second party. Beyond that, I don't mind whether the giving relationship is willing or reluctant, personally (e.g. parent) or impersonally (e.g. bank). The word or phrase must function sensibly in the following sentence: "I am not your _____"


texts: Name of the used mins during time other than night and weekend in cell phone plan?

texts:
My current cell phone plan includes 200 minutes, and free calling at night (from 6PM to 7AM) and on weekends. Is there a term in the mobile industry to mean the minutes used during time other than weekends or nights? Is "airtime" exactly for that purpose? Similarly, what is the term for used minutes during weekends and nights?

For example, in my latest bill, I used 30 minutes at nights and weekends, and 108 minutes during times other than nights and weekends. Since 108 is less than 200, I don't have to pay extra money other than my basic plan fee. If I had used more than 200 mins during other times, I would have had to pay additional fees for the extra minutes.


texts: Is the definition of browser generally poor?

texts:
In regards to this question on meta Stackoverflow I had a look at what definitions one find for "browser".

My definition of to browse is in short looking for information or things of interest. In this question I concentrate on computer based browsers.

One can for example have:

web-browser
file-browser
code-browser
image-browser
meta-browser
(browser-service)
...

But, if one look at various definitions for "browser" one find:

Merriam Webster: a computer program used for accessing sites or information on a network (as the World Wide Web)
Oxford: A program with a graphical user interface for displaying HTML files, used to navigate the World Wide Web: 'a web browser'
Collins: a software package that enables a user to find and read hypertext files, esp on the Internet
Cambridge: a computer program that makes it possible for you to read information on the internet
Google: a program with a graphical user interface for displaying HTML files, used to navigate the World Wide Web.

From these examples I'd say Oxford and Google is furthest off, esp. as it does not require a graphical user interface, nor is it limited to display HTML files.

Why is this? Why does seemingly all dictionaries limit "browser" to some software for sifting through The World Wide Web when it comes to computing?


texts: Is it wrong to use these adverbs 'a bit, a little, too' with adjectives 'good, nice, cheap, clean, new, comfortable.'

texts:
I was looking through an English book and came across a rule that has confused me; I dont remember reading it anywhere before(but I am not that well read anyway);

Don't use these adverbs(a bit, a little, too) with these adjectives-good, nice, cheap, clean, new, comfortable.

I haven't been able to find something about this on the net. If anyone here can shed some light on it, that would be great!

edit: Name of the book is, 'English Result Pre intermediate student's book, Mark Hancock and Annie McDonald, Oxford University Press'. In a lesson on adverbs of degree, there is an exercise where students have to match Rules with examples: The above rule matches with 'They're a bit nice'. There is a cross next to this sentence suggesting that this is wrong usage.

12  Match the rules with the examples
Rules
        1  Put enough after the adjective.
        2  Put the adverbs of degree before the adjective
        3  Don’t use the  adverbs with  adjectives:
    good   nice   cheap   clean   new   comfortable

Examples
a  It’s very small  ✓
b  They’re a bit nice ✗
c   It’s big enough ✓

 adverbs in the above exercise are - 'a bit, a little, too'

edit: this is the page in the book to give the context, maybe I have missed some detail
Couldn't get it right side up, sorry about that.


texts: What's the word for the facial expression over an unexpected disappointment?

texts: If your friend says something sarcastic to you unexpectedly when you are talking about something that makes you exited or your innermost feelings and makes you feel stupid. What's the most widely accepted idiom for your facial expression? Does your face falls or your face clouds over? Is there a more appropriate word that describes it?


texts: Categorized dictionary of the English language

texts:
What dictionaries are there available which offer some kind of classification of words into different categories? I am looking for a free alternative to WordStat.

I would like to use the categorization of the dictionary as some kind of map to be able to get some sense of the "location" of a word in respect to other words in any kind of a coherent distribution, such as categorization.


texts:
I'm about to submit my thesis, and to do so I have to translate the title of the thesis into English. My main concern is about the use of the. My title reads as follows:

  On relations between sth1, sth2 and sth3.

Is it correct or should it be "On the relations between..."?


texts: Formal version of "stuck in one's old ways"

texts:
I want to convey the meaning of "stuck in one's ways" or "stuck in one's old ways" in a formal way.

Consider the sentence:

  The organizations are, for now, very much _______________.


texts:
The adjective 'well-known' used in the following sentence modifies/qualifies which noun  i. e. either the  'Ruskin Bond' or the 'writer' ?

  Ruskin Bond is a well-known writer.


texts: Can the word 'sumptuous' be replaced by 'luxurious'?

texts:
Can the word 'sumptuous' be replaced by 'luxurious' in the following sentence:

  Kevin's classmates were invited to his birthday party where a sumptuous meal awaited them.

Thanks!


texts:
Which one of the following sentences would be correct (or both):

Only a few friends came to his party yesterday.
Only few friends came to his party yesterday.

Why I am asking this is because we had this sentence in a competition paper in my country and according to them, the second one is correct although it sounds wrong to me.

Edit: The first one was said to be incorrect.


texts: What is the difference between "shopping online" and "online shopping"?

texts:
For example:
1. I like shopping online
2. I like online shopping

Do both have the same meaning?
Which one is commonly use?


texts:
Now I am going to trace back this historical process in order to further illuminate on the moral implications of “bonds” and“constants”.

The context is Chinese ethics. "bonds" and "constants" have their own meaning , but when used in the domain of morality, they have many special meanings.Through a research into the history, these meanings will become clearer. So which word shall I use?


texts:
I've wonder that in some sentences, or words, even though phonetically you don't have a 'W' sound, you can still hear some type of extra w' sound. So for example.

The phrase: "Do it". /du ɪt/ will sound more like /du wɪt/

same with the verb= "doing" ˈduɪŋ becomes /ˈduwɪŋ/. Am I crazy?

Hope you can help me!


texts:
I would like translate a Portuguese phrase into English:

  Esta técnica é bem poderosa, podendo ser extendida para várias outras questões.

In English I got:

  This technique is very powerful and can be extended to several other questions.

Podendo is the gerund, in Portuguese, of the verb poder (can, in English). It looks like there's no gerund for the verb can, in English. Is this correct? What's the suggestion to translate this phrase?


texts: Why is neither singular, but none plural?

texts:
neither | Origin and meaning of neither by Online Etymology Dictionary

"not one or the other," Middle English neither, naither, nether, from Old English nawþer, contraction of nahwæþer, literally "not of two," from na "no" (from PIE root *ne- "not") + hwæþer "which of two" (see whether).

none | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

Middle English non, none, from Old English nan "not one, not any, no person; not the least part," from ne "not" (see no) + an "one" (see one). Cognate with Old Saxon, Middle Low German nen, Old Norse neinn, Middle Dutch, Dutch neen, Old High German, German nein "no," and analogous to Latin non- (see non-). It is thus the negative of one, an, and a (1).

Why is neither singular, but none is plural?  I know language can be illogical, but any logic here?


texts: What's the word to describe an imaginary situation that forms the basis of an argument?

texts:
I'm looking for the word as stated by the title?

E.g. "Hey imagine if cats actually had 9 lives. Cats would have a bigger population than humans. "

"But they don't."

"I know but in the context that they actually did have 9 lives".

What word should replace in the context? Basis,premise,conjecture??


texts:
I want to say

  provides a better option than 'choosing one over the other'.

Or something to that effect; it's the 'choosing one over the other' or 'choosing one over another' that I'm not a fan of.

I was wondering if there was a more concise way to say this?

Thanks


texts: Alternative names for a non-religious, anonymous game of "Secret Santa"

texts:
The game of "Secret Santa", which is usually played by Westerners during Christmas, consists of each participant being randomly assigned one person to whom they give a gift. The entire game is done anonymously.

I'm planning on hosting a game like this, however the name cannot be tied to any religion and/or holiday.

I've considered using "White Elephant", however the rules of that particular game—though it consists of gift-giving—is not the same as the classic "Secret Santa" rules.

Are there any alternate names available for me to use? I'm open to already-known names as well as some creative options.


texts: Relative Pronouns are ALWAYS added right after antecedent?

texts:
Is is a rule that relative clauses should be added right after the antecedent(the noun relative pronouns refer to)? What if it is confusing?

For example:

"I went for a spin with a handsome boy last night."

"The handsome boy went out with my friend."

"I went for a spin with a handsome boy who went out with my friend last night ."

"I went for a spin with a handsome boy last night who went out with my friend."


texts: "Shag" for "chase and bring back, fetch" in AE

texts:
Does "shag" have any currency in modern day AE to mean "chase and bring back, fetch (an escaped animal/prisoner)"?
Is its use limited to the pursuit of runaways, or can it be extended to a broader meaning to "chase and bring back, fetch"?
Also, can it be followed by "after", and then switch to the sense "chase in order to bring back or to stop/catch) as in "He shagged after the ambulance", and (with reference to a baseball game) "He shagged after the ball"?
Consider the following examples:

One day one of my squad managed to shag a runaway camel. source
What Mr. Richter does is shag the escaped four wheel buffalo. source
I don't run bases and don't shag after the balls. source
...to shag runaway frogs...source
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/shag


texts:
I just deleted my own question about the sentence in the Time magazine (July 8) article titled “The Happiness of Pursuit” (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2146449,00.html) as I noticed that I overlooked a word (poor) in the quoted sentence.

However, I came across another line I cannot make out in the same copy block:

  “Rich isn’t just better; it’s much better. That is how things shake
  out at the national and global level. At the individual and community
  level, it can be much different. If you’re rich, your experiences are
  not the same as every other rich person’s, and the same is true if
  you’re poor. “A reporter once asked me, ‘Yes or no, does money make
  people happy? No scientific waffling, Just yes or no.” says
  psychologist Edward Diener of the University of Illinois, “I hit
  Delete.”

What does the ending phrase, “I hit Delete” mean? Is it the same as the 'Delete’ practice as we do, and I did on my question an hour before in EL&U site?


texts: Is there a specific word for a non-linear range of choices?

texts:
I feel like there is a special word for this but I don't remember what it is.

Here is an example, a poll often has the following choices:

A) Strongly Disagree ... B) Disagree ... C) Agree ... D) Strongly Agree

And now take a look at the following set of choices:

What is your favorite fruit?
A) Apple ... B) Banana ... C) Orange

Is there a word for the above set of choices? Notice that it is not a linear set of choices like the one above it.

Someone might say that Banana is in between Apple and Orange, but I want to respond with "those choices aren't linear, they are ____". What is a word that I can use to fill the blank?


texts: Why is it "make sure that" (no 'it') but "make it so" (with 'it')?

texts:
Once again, y'all can blame my boss. Well, him or Captain Picard. He (my boss, not Picard) has the annoying habit of saying "Make it sure that", instead of "Make sure that". No matter how many times I correct him (usually via a post-it note thrust in his face while he's on the phone), he keeps making this mistake.

Today, he clarified the root of his confusion: if there's an it in "Make it so" (he's a big ST:TNG fan), then why shouldn't there be an it in "make sure that", also? As a native speaker, the best I can come up with is "because it sounds wrong", and that's never enough to appease my boss. Help? How can I explain the difference to him? Is there logic behind it, or is it merely idiom?


texts: How to punctuate a direct question at the end of a sentence?

texts:
Can someone help me punctuate this sentence?
Here's the sentence:
Based on your experience which type of paint do you suggest we use glossy or matte?
I was thinking that it should be punctuated like this:
Based on your experience, which type of paint do you suggest we use–glossy or matte?
But that looks totally wrong to me. Can anyone help me figure out the correct way to write this?


texts: Term for the reverse of hijacking a meeting?

texts:
When someone says hijacking a meeting, it usually means that someone has made the meeting all about his/her agenda.

One time, I was invited to a meeting to talk about "ABC", but they only discussed ABC for the first 5 minutes, then they all switched to talking about something else.  I was told we will discuss "ABC" which I prepared before I met with them, but from the start it appeared that they had no intention of talking about that. I also realized that the original agenda wasn't not what they were interested in discussing, so I guess word I am looking for is that I got bamboozled in the meeting or something?

I would always describe that to my boss/peers as "I got sideswiped in the meeting". I googled, and it's not used that way, so I guess somehow I made up that term and everyone understood what I meant anyway. Is there a term for this experience?


texts: what is correct way to write this sentence? Ragen's and Connor's graduation (both boys are graduating from different schools

texts: Both my boys will be graduating from two different schools and in an invitation  I'm inviting everyone to "Ragen's and Connor's graduation".  So I show possessive for with both boys and would the word "graduation" be singular or plural??


texts: Ye olde english alphabet question: Any other letters lost besides thorn, edh, and yogh?

texts:
According to this link, we are missing (in Modern English) at least three letters that used to be in common use in English. These are thorn, edh, and yogh.

Are there others that were clearly in the English alphabet at some point and then not in it, or would the others simply be short forms and things that exist in some documents but which are not clearly known as “another letter of the English alphabet”?

The link mentions that kids used to include ampersand in the recitation of their ABCs in English schools at some point, but let’s leave that aside for now, too.


texts: What determines whether a sporting event is a game, match, contest, or something else?

texts: There are many sports and other events that are contested, but why are some contests called matches, like tennis match, golf match, and soccer match, and some contests called a game, like baseball game and football game? It's not a baseball match, or a tennis game, so is there a rule of English that differentiates a match from a game?.


texts: "how soon I get" vs. "how soon I will get"

texts:
What is the difference between the following:

It depends on how soon I get my visa.
It depends on how soon I will get my visa.


texts: What does "Nothing is too good for him to eat." mean?

texts:
I don't exactly know what it means. Which is the correct form below?

All are good enough for him to eat.
There is not any good thing (or food) for him to eat.

From The Forsyte Saga: The Man of Property: The full sentence is

"Living as he does from hand to mouth, nothing is too good for him to eat, and he will eat it."


texts: What is this word in a sample of blackletter script?

texts: What is this word "seneney"? Am I right?


texts: Does the verb "omit" imply intent? If, for example, I write that the authors of a book "omit details of research that are problematic to their argument" is the implication that they did so intentionally (i.e., willfully)? If so, is there a word that means to "leave out" but does not necessarily imply intent?


texts: Change in meaning with or without a comma

texts:
I'm writing a cover letter and I'm wondering if I should put a comma before "which" in the following sentence:

  All in all, this position offers a unique opportunity to use and hone the skills that I have and gain invaluable experience, which I hope will be of benefit to your company and myself.

I want the relative clause beginning with 'which' to apply to all that goes before it. But if I take the comma out, will it not only apply to "invaluable experience" and change the meaning altogether?


texts:
I am writing a poem and I would like to convey that something is desecrated into nothing, so to speak, so I decided to go with something in the ilk of: 'twas ground (ground being past tense conjugation of grind) to sand (or) meat. my question is: would "Ground to meat" be correct? or would it be "Ground into meat"?

This question was asked previously but was "off-topic" so this is the corrected and revised variant.


texts:
Many times I heard people say that "beat up someone". But on the internet, I can only found this definition which does not seem matching with the word beat up in the above sentence

"beat-up:(of a thing) worn out by overuse; in a state of disrepair." https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=what+is+beat+up

So, what does the preposition "up" mean in "He got beaten up by other kids in school"?

Note:
"beat" means "strike repeatedly" & "beat up" also means "strike repeatedly". So, "up" should have a certain meaning and what is the difference between "beat" and "beat up"?


texts: ‘With me being one of them’—grammatically correct?

texts:
Would the phrase 'With me being one of them' be grammatically correct? Sounds a bit odd in my head and I triple-checked mentally but couldn't tell if it was correct or not.

'With I being one of them' doesn't sound correct either. Has to be 'me' or 'I'. Those two are the only first person pronouns... if I recall correctly.


texts: Syntactic function of "available" in a specific case

texts:
In What is the largest size available?, what is the syntactic function of available? And do you know any structure similar to this one?

Thank you,

Teresa


texts: Should "in" be used with "aiding and abetting"?

texts:
Aiding and abetting, also sometimes aiding or abetting, is often found in legal definitions of accessorial liability for crimes, for example "aiding or abetting a felony."

Is it proper to use "in" after "aiding (and/or) abetting"?  Is either of the following examples more proper, or is either improper?

Example A1:  "The law creates criminal penalties for aiding or abetting in the preparation or commission of a murder."

Example A2:  "The law creates criminal penalties for aiding or abetting the preparation or commission of a murder."

Does it make any difference if you drop "preparation or commission of"?  Examples:

Example B1:  "The law creates criminal penalties for aiding or abetting in a murder."

Example B2:  "The law creates criminal penalties for aiding or abetting a murder."

One thought is that it may be proper to use "in" in these circumstances, when referring to the  act; "in" would be improper when referring to the actor.

Example C1:  "The law creates criminal penalties for aiding or abetting a murderer."

The dictionary example usages I've found omit "in."  See, e.g., here.  But while searching for an answer, I see a lot of use of "in."  That said, much of that use is in the context of legislation, and I never assume the intelligence of a politician, and especially not a group of politicians!


texts: Is "Tomorrow good?" a complete sentence?

texts:
Is this a complete sentence:

  Tomorrow good?

As I understand it, first you change the interrogatory to declarative so the question becomes whether Tomorrow (is) good is a sentence.


texts: Use of object pronouns after the verb "to be" and in the presence of a conjunction.

texts:
The other day my friend and I were playing darts with several other players.  We selected teams.  When I learned that my partner would be Jordan, I enthusiastically announced,

"Hey Jordan, it's you and me!"

My friend objected that I should have said "Hey Jordan, it's you and I," for the same reason that one announces at the door of a friend who wonders who is outside, "It is I."

I find "It is I" rather pompous, but it seems correct.  "Hey Jordan, it's you and I," on the other hand, seems incorrect.  What is the rule here?


texts: What does the following statement by Richard Dawkins mean?

texts:
I am reading “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins in which the writer has to say this:

  ‘Welfare’ is defined as ‘chances of survival’, even if the effect on actual life and death prospects is so small as to seem negligible.


texts: Give a word for momentarily touching something repeatedly

texts: I have an application to write where a tree is touching an electric wire. Please suggest a suitable word.


texts: What is the etymology of the word 'khan' (as in Genghis Khan)? Is it related to the word 'king'?

texts:
The words "Khan" and "King" seem too similar in spelling, pronunciation, and meaning to be coincidental. I'm not sure if Mongolian (or whatever language Khan originated in) is in the Proto-Indo-European language family or not. Are they related at all?

EDIT:
So after the comments on my question I looked a little closer at King and Khan etymology and the language families mostly on wikipedia; the answer below is also what I found. Basically, they don't seem to be related. But, I do see that "king" came into being quite later than khan and makes me wonder what people used for "ruler" before they said king.


texts: One word equivalent to "play with someone's hair"

texts:
In the sentence:
Her head was in his lap, and he was playing with her hair.

Given that what the verb really defines is him brushing her hair with his hand or stroking it gently, is there a better way to express that ?


texts: Why do we say " 'a' unit instead of 'an' unit

texts:
As title suggest, wondering what the literary rule is for "A unit." Unit being a noun would need an article. I have generally understood that the a/an decision is if the vowel sound if the lead sound ex: "an hourglass, but a glass".

it seems to me very clearly the "U" sound is the lead here, but for word that start with the 'you-enn' sound (unit, uniform, unabomber), we use "a".


texts:
Authentic means: “of undisputed origin, made or done in a traditional way”.

But I’m confused because every product made had some origin from a previous product or idea. The way I see it, buy authentic actually just means buy real but why should people buy real?

So, what does it mean to buy authentic?


texts: Is the following quote from the Kite Runner an allusion or metaphor?

texts:
And the cleft lip, just left of midline, where
the Chinese doll maker’s instrument may have slipped; or perhaps he had simply
grown tired and careless.


texts: Incriminating others vs. Incriminating the others: Is this sentence correct?

texts:
From Oxford dictionary :

  He was careful not to say anything that might incriminate the others.

Should it not be "He was careful not to say anything that might incriminate others"? If the sentence in the dictionary is correct, what does "the" signify here?


texts: Under what circumstances should I use 'requisite' and 'required'?

texts:
The context of this is in the writing a technical document. The statement I am writing is something of the ilk:

  The package then updates the [requisite/required] number of tables.

I was wondering which is more appropriate here, and more broadly, which circumstances each should be used.


texts: "has a wrong format" or "has the wrong format"

texts:
If I want to say that the content of a file is not right, should I say:

  The file has a wrong format

or

  The file has the wrong format

I am not referring to file extensions. I am referring to the content. For example, if an HTML file is missing a ‘>’.


texts: What is the difference between a vocative and an epithet?

texts:
I've seen them used in almost similar circumstances, and I'm not sure what the difference is.

The victim cried out in despair.

He was a real idiot.

Are those vocatives, epithets, or neither?

Thanks!


texts:
What is a word that describes something that is easy to understand?

Just looking for a word that means something that is easy to understand.


texts: Is "Lingo" appropriate in a formal context?

texts:
Is the word "Lingo" appropriate in a formal context?

It sounds much more professional to me than "jargon", but I still have it in the back of my mind that it is slang.

Is there a synonym that would be better?


texts: Use of "and" and "or" in lists when intent is to dissallow all items

texts:
Sometimes it is unclear to me whether "or" or "and" should be used in a list. For example I have seen the following lease agreement:

  The dwelling may not be used for illegal activities: including drug
  manufacturing and distribution, prostitution or gang related activity.

Assuming the intent is to disallow drug manufacturing, drug distribution, prostitution and gang related activities; is it correct to have the word "and" between "drug manufacturing" and "distribution"?

What about in a grocery list intended for someone with soy allergies "do not buy soy products such as tofu, miso soup or pies containing soy beans like x and y". Assuming "x" and "y" are names of pies containing soy beans, would it be correct to have them separated by "and" instead of "or"?


texts: What does "It is warmer on the peaks than those in the valleys will ever know" mean?

texts:
I was looking for a phrase to put at the end of a worksheet just as a nice to have for the students when they were doing work and I came across the phrase:

  "It is warmer on the peaks than those in the valleys will ever know".

It was unreferenced and the site did not explain its meaning either, can anyone tell me who said this, what it means and if possible, even how to use it?


texts: So I am taking some english lessons on grammar and vocabulary and the teacher said that there was a difference between the meaning of travelling and commuting. He did explain it but I can't seem to remember it now and even  when I did hear it, couldnt understand it properly. Could someone kindly help me out with this.


texts: Is cheque and check interchangeable when referencing a checking account?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Checking” vs. “chequing” vs. “chequeing” with regards to types of bank accounts
  Do we ask for check or cheque in restaurants?

I believe the original spelling for it was cheque, but when used in context of an account, it appears to the the form of check.  Are these two words interchangeable or is there some background story as the two spellings?


texts:
The merger plan must win approval from shareholders with two-thirds of
  the voting rights, and a third of outstanding shares in order to pass
  a shareholder meeting scheduled for July 17.

I quoted the above sentence from the article about the M&A of Samsung C&T.

I'm not sure about the meaning of "with two-thirds of the voting rights, and a third of outstanding shares".

Does this mean that the approval requires share holders whose shares add up to more than one third of total shares to participate in the vote and two thirds of voters to agree with M&A?


texts:
Handy said he had been inspired by a chance meeting with a woman on the streets of St. Louis distraught over her husband's absence, who lamented, "My man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea", a key line of the song.
what does "cast in the sea" mean here?

(Source - W. C. Handy, explaining how he came to write the song Saint Louis Blues)


texts: Direct and indirect objects in the sentences

texts:
In the sentence,

  There is a full moon in the sky.

... will the sky be treated as the object in the sentence?


texts: Is there a term for a word that's recursive in its meaning? (see example for clarification)

texts:
For example, when someone uses the word "pedantic," he actually comes off as a pedant. Putting aside my opinion that "pedantic" is, in itself, pedantic, along with the obvious irony, is there a word, expression, or phrase that captures this sentiment?

I will edit my post accordingly if I am being unclear. Thank you in advance.


texts:
I would like to know if "as because" is a correct usage. It feels so wrong, yet I see people using it.
e.g. She couldn't come, as because she was ill.

I suppose only because should serve the purpose here.


texts:
I am trying to communicate that I wish I could have done something.
That "something" would be a ____________ for me.
Since I speak Spanish as a first language, I am biased to think of the direct translation of our idiom. That would be something like "pending account" or "pending assignment". "Unfinished business" also comes to my mind but it sounds too gangster-friendly. These are "pending tasks and/or goals", but I don't believe that is the correct term to use.
I was wondering if those translations fit there. Some examples that come to my mind:

Learning how to dance is a __________ for me.
I still have to re-write the ending of that story; it is a _______ for me.
I should have done something for her at the time. I'm doing this now to pay off that _________.

EDIT
The answers are great. I was looking for something that could be written in a book.
I add some more formal examples.

We have made progress working with mouse models but working with a primate model for this disease has been a ________.
Decreasing the gap between the highest income quantile and those under the poverty line has been a __________ for this government.


texts:
I couldn't get much on this phrase. It is a weird one I know but I just can't stand not knowing it. How did the current use of "at all" come into being?

Take a look at this:

  "in any way," mid-14c., originally used only affirmatively (as in I Sam. XX:6 in KJV: "If thy father at all misse me"); now it is overwhelmingly used only in the negative or in interrogatory expressions, or in literary attempts at Irish dialect.

Can this be trusted?


texts: Single word to express an object having the capacity to stretch a larger radius than another object?

texts: If one circular object A (such as a hair rubber band) has the same radius at rest as another B, but stretches to a larger radius than B is able to, is there a way to say "A is xxxxxer than B"?


texts: How do you refer to the period from 2000 to 2009?

texts: It's so natural using "the 90's" and similar to refer to decades in the 20th century. But what about 2000 to 2009? It feels strange to use "the ones" or even "the tens" for 2010 to 2019.


texts: English equivalent to Spanish idom "to discover America/the Mediterranean"

texts:
In Spanish we have got an ironic expression which is: "You've discovered America!" or "He thinks that he has discovered the Mediterranean Sea" to say that someone has said something obvious or well known as if it were novel or original.

Is there any equivalent idiom in English?