texts: Is there an easy and succinct way to say this? (question regarding the relative pronoun: who/whom)

texts:
Say I wanted to shorten the phrase "It's on the back of the man who is over there" so that the first clause becomes "the man's back."
Is there any way to move from there with any kind of conjunction? I want to continue describing the man though, not his back.

It's on the man's back who is over there.
It's on the mans's back whom is over there.
It's on the man's back, his who is over there.

How can I do this? If it's possible at all...


texts: I encountered the question, "Which trait does a savings account and a checking account have in common?" I suggested that it should read, "Which trait do a savings account and checking account have in common?" For which I was rebuffed. Shouldn't the helping verb do agree with the compound subject, the two accounts?


texts: "before you leave" vs. "before you left"

texts:
In the movie, Good Will Hunting, the main character, Will, says to his ex-girlfriend on the phone, "I just wanted to call you up before you left." and the past tense "left" sounded strange to me as his ex-girlfriend has NOT left yet when he says that.

Which of the followings is grammatically correct?
1. I just wanted to call you up before you left.
2. I just wanted to call you up before you leave.


texts: English expression for chasing something insignificant / aiming for something small?

texts:
Is there a good expression for chasing something insignificant while missing the bigger picture? I was thinking something remotely related to "penny wise, pound foolish" but not quite. More like not raising the bar high enough, or settle for less. Focusing on the insignificant, in comparison to what else is possible out there.

An attempt for a context example: when repairing one's house, they are obsessing about small details like painting the door or fixing a loose board, while ignoring the fact that the ceilig is about to collapse and would need to be fixed urgently (i.e. there's much more to gain there).


texts:
Rest, Icing, Compression and Elevation after an injury, and repeat as needed for the first couple hours.

Using RICE, how would I type the answer to the question, "How's your twisted ankle?"?

"Not so good, I'm just RICEing it" or "Not so good, I'm just RICing it"?


texts: What does "hit me like a two-by-four" mean?

texts:
What does this sentence mean?

  This observation hit me like a two-by-four

Source.


texts:
I'm trying to state in one sentence several things that are lacking.

  There's no A, or B, or C.

What about

  There's no A, no B, and no C.

Are these both grammatically correct? What's the difference?


texts: I want to write that I have saved the file on the server. What should I write, on the server or at the server?


texts: Using plural words when mentioning something in general

texts:
I am extremely weak at English grammar. I would like to ask the following sentence:
'To identify the contents of the crates or boxes, packing list will be prepared and attached outside the crates or boxes'.

My question are the following:

Should it be 'crate or box' or 'crates or boxes', which is the original
question.
Regarding scope of 'or'. When I write 'To identify the contents of the' does this sentence apply both to 'crates' and 'boxes'. Or
since 'crates' precedes 'boxes' does the sentence apply only to
the 'crates'.
When I wrote 'My question are the following', should it be 'My questions are the following'. Also would I be using the word
'following', if I am to mention only one question.

Please bear with me. My weak knowledge of English grammar does not allow me to actually categorize my question in an appropriate manner. Perhaps someone would kindly enlighten me on the faults with my sentences.


texts:
I'm looking for the best term (or phrase) to describe the act of bowing to the crowd while onstage at the end of a play or performance.
I came by the terms "encore" and "curtain call", but I'm not sure if those truly fit in this context and if there's not a better way to describe this act.


texts: Is capitalization of the personal pronoun "I" a modern thing in English?

texts:
In an answer to a question I asked, the user included an extract from a text seemingly written in older English. Not Old English, but definitely older English, made evident by the fact it spelled e.g. own and owne.

But another thing I noticed in it was that I was written without capitalization, as in i. I was wondering if this was a typo by the user, a typo by the original author of the writing, or if it was a feature of English at the time of writing.

Considering the user's answer was devoid of any other typos, and considering he probably copypasted the writing onto his post, I didn't believe he had made the potential mistake. If it was a mistake by the author, then, less likely, the user could have included a "[sic]" behind to signalize it was a fault of the original author and not him.

So, this is why I find it circumstantially likely that it was perhaps a feature of older English. Is this the case?

EDIT: I believe it is from early-modern-English. Not sure though, it is for the experts to say.


texts: Should the main verb be singular or plural when there is a singular subject and a plural subject?

texts:
"The ways in which information is presented by the media shape how we view our world."

Or should it be as follows?

"The ways in which information is presented by the media shapes how we view our world."


texts: Where did the phrase "scat old cat" come from?

texts: I'm from north Alabama and grew up with the phrase "scat old cat your tail's in the gravy".  This was used when someone would sneeze.  Just was curious as to it where this originated.  Thanks, Ronnie


texts: Odd sounding phrasal verb splits with specific pronouns. Are there rules?

texts:
Give the examples...

A:

Did you check it out?
Did you check the book out?
Did you check Netflix out?
Did you check the recommendation out?
Did you clean it out?
Did you wipe it off?
Did you log it in?
Did you log the evidence in?
Did you wrap it up?
Did you wrap the gift up?
Did you lock the house up?
Did you lock it up?
Did you check out the book?
Did you check out Netflix?
Did you check out the recommendation?
Did you log in the evidence?
Did you wrap up the gift?
Did you lock up the house?

B:

Did you check out it?
Did you clean out it?
Did you wipe off it?
Did you log in it?
Did you wrap up it?
Did you lock up it?

All the above A's sound fine to me; but the B's don't.

The only pattern I see is, the sentences ending with the object it. But the other objects seem fine with the same usage.

Is there some rule why the B's shouldn't be used? Or are they just not common, so sound odd?

Update:

A:

Did you back up the car?
Did you back up John?
Did you back up everybody?
Did you back up nothing?
Did you back up any?
Did you blow up balloons?
Did you help me out?
Did you help them out?
Did you wipe that off?
Did you back the car up?
Did you back it up?
Did you back her up?
Did you back John up?
Did you back everybody up?
Did you back nothing up?
Did you back any up?
Did you blow balloons up?

B:

Did you back up it?
Did you back up her?
Did you help out me?
Did you help out them?
Did you wipe off that?

As I added more examples, I'm noticing this has more to do with the objects (it, me, her, that, them) than the phrasal verbs.


texts: Phrase for stage or step after "square one"?

texts:
"Square Two" would seem natural, but
not sure I've ever heard anyone say that ...


texts: Looking For a Simile For Something That Follows You Around

texts:
I'm writing a blog post about the impacts of an autoimmune disease. The sentence I'm trying to construct looks like this:
"The disease importunately follows me around like a god damn..."
I'm struggling to come up with something better than "... Puppy who lost his ball."
Any suggestions? The cruder, the better. A pop culture reference would be awesome!
I'm stuck.


texts:
I need to describe to a colleague in writing that a certain task, while possible, requires a lot of manual repetitive work.

I was hoping for a word to describe it but couldn't find anything that fits.

In Israel we commonly use the word סיזיפי which is borrowed from Greek Mythology (the story of Sisyphus). It is well-known and well-used to describe a task that is repetitive and tiring.

Does the English language have a word that I can use with the same meaning?

Example sentence: "This is a ____ task which requires a lot of time and repetitive work. We should consider automating it."


texts: Do I need "the" when refer to something that has its name or label?

texts:
I get confused about academic writing. Is it grammatically correct to say:

We will propose the X test.
The equation (1) is used for solving the problem.
The X test is defined in the equation (1).
According to the equation (1), ...

I would like to know if the word "the" is used correctly. Any help would be appreciated.
============update==============
Here is what the equation will look like(The image is from google)


texts:
I'm trying to guess if an English speaker says mean or tight when you are talking about a person who don't like to spend their own money.

Do you use different words depending on the friendship with that person?

UPDATE 2019/05/18

I'm asking for the use in UK but answers about how to say it in US are appreciated too.

Thank you very much for your reply.


texts:
I was having a walk when the dog suddenly bit me.

My colleague felt 'having a walk' is not appropriate, and that the correct expression is 'going for a walk' or 'taking a walk'.

Why is "having a walk" incorrect?


texts: Words for ordinal 5-point scale from normal to severe

texts:
What are good words for a five-point ordinal scale? The scale should represent increasing severity of disease, where 1 is normal and 5 is severe.

I thought of the following words (with their value in words in parentheses):

normal (= no disease)
mild (= low disease presence)
moderate (= between normal and severe)
moderately severe (= not the worst case, nor in the middle)
severe (= worst form of disease)

I'm not happy with moderately severe, though, and I can't find a good alternative. Also, I'm not fond of moderate, because it somewhat has the same value as mild. Another word that might be used in the scale is slight, which would be second to normal. I'd like to know if there are other words (especially single words, not multiple) that appreciate the values I'm trying to give the scale.

Because I'm not a native English speaker, I want to know if you feel like the option I present here are reasonable and if not what words you feel are better.

This is similar to a Likert scale which is used a lot for questionnaires. The words it often uses are: strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree, strongly agree.


texts:
Let's put it simply: If the central government wanted to "eliminate"
  the Dalai Lama, why has it waited for such a long time? Isn't it
  foolish to take action against Dalai at such an old age?

I read this in Global Times. I gave a second thought on the usage of put it simply here and suspect that put it simple would be a better choice. Am I right?

Edit: I have seen put it simple and simply put more often, which is why I asked here.


texts:
What is the meaning of distilled in the following sentence?

  It is from the contingent that the unchanging laws are
  distilled.

The Cambridge definition:

  distill verb [ T ] us  /dɪˈstɪl/

  1 chemistry to heat a liquid until it changes to a gas and then make it liquid again by cooling:
  distilled water/whiskey

  2 To distill something said or written is to reduce it but keep the most important part:
  She distilled the report into a paragraph.


texts:
I came across this word in an English test, where "hardwork" was marked as the 'correct' answer for a question. I know of the adjective hardworking, but I thought "hardwork" was always written as two words, like "hard work".
An online search for "hardwork" reveals some results, but most of them seem to use the two-word version ("hard work"). This page on Definitions.net is the only dictionary I found mentioning "hardwork" as a single word. Is that a valid alternate spelling, and if so, where/when has it been used in the past?


texts: Proper definition of validation and verification

texts:
I'm trying to find a definite, peer-reviewed and generally accepted definition of the words validation and verification when applied in the context of data acceptance (computer science).

In a related question there are many definitions which I would consider correct but non I feel could act as a reference.

Therefore could you point me to any sources that would fit this criteria?


texts: Will my audience understand the phrase "lead time"?

texts:
...results in a relatively long lead time for our software products.

Should I use this expression in an article for average software developers? (i.e. an international Java magazine) Would it generally be understood?


texts:
I only heard "cleanness" for the first time yesterday - I did not know this word existed.

So what's the difference between cleanness and cleanliness?

I've read this http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=973672 but am not clear when I would use "cleanness"


texts: A word for a person who's mixed in two languages

texts: What do you call those whose mother is English woman and father Hindi or other?  a buddy of mine whom I've been seeing for one month and his mother is English and father Hindi/ Urdu, he says that he can speak English like British people. is it possible that he can speak like them? what would you call him native Hindi or English?


texts:
The last thing I ever wanted to do was pushed away from me.

Would the above sentence be interpreted as:
1. The last thing in life I wanted to do was pushed away from me.
OR
2. The thing I didn’t want to do was pushed away from me.

Or is unclear? Is this sentence grammatically correct?


texts: Is there an un-informed version of "etc."?

texts:
I'm updating my resume, and I'm explaining what fields of mathematics I have experience teaching.

I list a few, but I want to add something like "etc." to clarify that the list is "including, but not limited to" the mentioned examples.

Like if I say;

  [...] teaching mathematics, such as arithmetic, algebra, calculus, linear algebra, etc., [...]

It just seems like "etc." implies that the reader is aware of the rest.

I've considered "and more", but it seems like something you hear in commercials and sales-pitches.

I've also considered preceding it with "including, but not limited to...", but that makes it sound like something you'd read in a contract or another legal document.

I might be overly caught up in this, but it's my resume, and you will probably understand that it is quite important for me to get it just right.


texts: Which + Noun : is a noun following after which?

texts:
Recently I have been learning SAT sentence correction, there is one sentence I don't quite understand. Here ...
Begining in 1285, various commissions were set up in London to address the problem of coal smoke, which complainants said had "infected and corrupted" the air.
My question is - which complainants - I feel like it should have "that complainants" instead of "which + complainants". Is "which" normally used like "that"?


texts:
According to Google's dictionary (and MacOS/iOS dictionary), egregious has the following definitions:

I've seen words with multiple definitions, but not ones that are exact contradictions. Some references state that "remarkably good" is archaic - is it possible that the meaning of this word has changed over time to be the exact opposite of what it once meant?


texts: Is ‘Specialist’ lower in rank than noncommissioned or petty officer in military term?

texts:
In business and academic fields, ‘specialists’ are regarded and respected as persons with special knowledge and skill about their own professions, like medical specialist, research specialist and computer specialist.

However, I was amused to find the following lines of today’s Washington Post reporting that the suspect of OAK CREEK shooting rampage had been demoted from sergeant to specialist before leaving the Army.

"Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said Page, who lived in a neighboring community, served in the military from 1992 to 1998, received a “general discharge” and was “ineligible for reenlistment.” A Pentagon official said Page rose to the rank of sergeant before being demoted to specialist and leaving the Army. - Wade Michael Page, Sikh temple shooter, identified as skinhead band leader

Are specialists in the American Army regarded as lower than sergeants and corporals in the ranking order, unlike general perception of specialists vs general staff among ‘fellow Americans?’ Is it special to the Army, or common to other fields of occupations?


texts: "May those hoping to enjoy their future waste none of their present." Correct?

texts:
Is that sentence correct, or would "future" and "present" need to become plural ("futures" and "presents")?

Those as plurals sound weird to me.

If my original sentence isn't grammatically correct, what would be an acceptable way of saying what I'm trying to say?

I also want to avoid clunky phrases such as "his or her".


texts: what is the past tense of "I beat him" - here beat refers to striking a person

texts:
Lets say I am beating a person continuously, this is a present participle.
What do I say when I have to convey that I have been beating him in the past - "I beat him badly" ?? How do I pronounce it ?


texts: Synonym for personality in context of non-living things

texts: Something living has a personality or persona of its own. Similarly, is there a word that can be used in the case of describing a non-living thing, say, a portrait?


texts:
This question may be moderated as unanswerable, but I am interested in opinions.

Take this scenario: Most people I know will improperly correct "The ball belongs to John and me." to "The ball belongs to John and I." The simple rule I was taught is that you remove the other party and see if the sentence makes sense. Would you say "The ball belongs to I?" No. "The ball belongs to me." Therefore, the correct wording is "The ball belongs to John and me."

If I am giving a talk to a group of people and use the correct "John and me" construct, I will cause a good portion of my audience to lose focus as they mentally (improperly) correct my grammar.

My question is this: If the purpose of language is communication, what do you do when proper grammar is a barrier to effective communication?

Do you use the proper construct, causing over half the room to stop paying attention; do you use the improper construct that most accept and lose the respect of the more educated people in the room; or do you avoid the situation altogether by wording your thoughts such that you don't need to use the distracting construct at all?


texts: Assume by/by way of /toward contradiction

texts:
What is the correct/best way to start a proof by contradiction? The following three ways are quite common:

Assume by contradiction that...
Assume, by way of contradiction, that...
Assume toward contradiction that...

Is there any preference? Specifically, are any of the grammatically or semantically incorrect?

Also, are there other, preferable ways?


texts:
Does the verb "provide" always have to be used with "with"? For example,

Can you provide me with some good
examples?
Can you provide me some good
examples?
Can you provide some good
examples?

I suppose it's a transitive verb, isn't it?
Moreover, is the following type of usage correct?

You should provide food for your dog
before you go on vacation.

If you could give me some good examples regarding "provide" with different types of usage, I'd appreciate that.


texts: What does "Where Can I get 40 %?" mean in this context?

texts:
Context of the scene : In a bar, at night, she enters and there are only 3 men playing pool. The bartender asks her what she wants and she says a whiskey on the rocks and then he asks her if she is alone, she replies Yep and he goes "Where Can I  get 40 % ?" and she goes "I am only here for a drink".

I have to find a french translation.

I assume it is something sexual but I do not know what.

Thanks a lot for your reply.


texts:
I'm curious to find out why we talk of freshwater (or fresh water) when we refer to water with a very limited amount of salt dissolved in it.

Looking at various sources, both online and in books, I have learnt that the term sweetwater may also be used.

Do you know the origin of the expression and is sweetwater a valid alternative?


texts:
Problem

From the separable explanations of individual words (see enrich and skill set). It seems to be fine to write this way. However, after simple google search, there seems to be no similar usages.

I am wondering if this looks professional (since it is in resume). If not, what should I use if I would like to express "___ has improved my skills"?

Any input is appreciated.


texts: What does `who is but the form following the function of what` mean?

texts:
Can someone please break down that sentence of Alan Moore for me?
I can understand that it somehow means that who has the same function as what or something like that but I don't understand how that structure means that, I would also appreciate other examples of such structure.
I also understand something like I'm but a very brilliant guy to mean that I am nothing but a brilliant guy.

This is from the movie V for vendetta where Evey asks V(it's a name of a man who always wears a mask) about who he is when they first meet.

Evey: Who are you?
V. : Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.


texts: What is the difference between retrospect & hindsight?

texts: Can they be used interchangeably, or is there a difference?


texts:
I am a little unclear about the usage of will or would under these scenarios.
Will it get wet in the rain?
           or
Would it get wet in the rain?

Will food go through?
        or
Would food go through?

How will my clothes look under it?
         or
How would my clothes look under it?

Thanks.


texts: “Soul Food” as describing non-African-American Food

texts:
What is meant by “soul food” in the following text from the NYT?

  For the uninitiated, kimchi is a tangy, pungent preserved vegetable preparation, like sauerkraut. To describe it only as a fermented vegetable mixture or a pickle, though, is hardly fair. This is Korean soul food.

I thought “soul food” referred to a type African-American cuisine. Is the NYT article making some parallel to African-American food? Or can “soul food” have some other more universal meaning, although not described in the Wikipedia entry? Also, I have seen some Japanese food described this way, but I have never heard European or Middle-Eastern cuisine described this way. I ask this because I myself eat ramen, tonkatsu, and tempura (the food described in the book above), but it would never occur to me to call these soul food; likewise, I eat kimchi just about every day, but I would never think of calling this soul food either. So what's the deal?


texts:
We know that instead of saying "I have one thousand (dollars)" we can say "I have one grand". But what's the slang for a "hundred thousand"

Instead of saying "I have one hundred thousand dollars", how can we say "I have ___"??

That's all, thank you


texts:
The common saying "give an inch and they'll take a mile"
 means:

  Make a small concession and they'll take advantage of you.
  For example, I told her she could borrow the car for one day and she's been gone a week—give an inch!

It is a very old saying which originally had a differen phrasing:

  This expression, in slightly different form, was already a proverb in John Heywood's 1546 collection, “Give him an inch and he'll take an ell,” and is so well known it is often shortened (as in the example). The use of mile dates from about 1900. (Dictionary.com)

The same expression is common also in other languages where "the arm", unlike in English, is still part of the saying:

  Donnez-leur en long comme le doigt, ils en prendront long comme le bras (French)

  Dale un dedo y se toma hasta el codo (Spanish)

  Dai una mano e si prendono un braccio (Italian)

Questions:

What is the origin of the saying? Was it an original English one or was is "imported" from a foreign language?
Why was "ell" changed to "mile" (a very different measure) around the beginning of the 20th century?

Edit:

1) - the assumption that ell has fallen completely out of use does not appear to be supported by available reference: ( Ngran "take a mile vs take an ell". )

2) - idiomatic expressions don't typically rely on their literal meaning, so the need to change from ell to another common measure doesn't appear to be the only possible reason for the change.


texts:
Anime is pronounced ah-ni-may (specifically not a-nime), but why isn't it spelt that way?

I get why lots of English words sound nothing like how they are spelt, or how words from other languages retain Latin characters that had a different pronunciation originally, but how has a Japanese word (spelt アニメ) ended up with a confusing and non-phonetic English spelling?


texts:
Is it possible to construct a comparative correlative sentence with 3 parts?

e.g.,

  The more he walks, the less energy he has, the more tired he gets.

or must it be split into 2 parts, e.g.,

  The more he walks and the less energy remains, the more tired he gets

or

  The more he walks, the less energy he has and the more tired he gets

(or maybe there is a different way to put this?)


texts: punctuation when a quoted question is followed by a reference

texts:
In my Closing Argument (for an administrative-type hearing), I invented a concise way of referring to page numbers in the Parent exhibit book, for example:

  There was no follow-up to R’s June 22 suggestion to meet in September (Q 202-203).

(Note there is no confusion between parent exhibits and respondent (school) exhibits because the respondent exhibits don't use letters, only numbers.)

Now for my question.  Is the following punctuated correctly?

  The parent responded on 10/13 to request clarification: "Bla-bla-bla.  What sorts of evaluations do you have in mind?” (Q 224)  The parent further expressed a preference for avoiding November due to the father’s work obligations (Q 224-225).

Would it be better to put a period after the reference to Q 224?

  The parent responded on 10/13 to request clarification: "Bla-bla-bla.  What sorts of evaluations do you have in mind?” (Q 224).  The parent further expressed a preference for avoiding November due to the father’s work obligations (Q 224-225).


texts: Word for "someone who doesn't want you to succeed"

texts:
I'm looking for a word for someone who doesn't want you to succeed or threatened by your success.

Particular for fear that your success will overshadow their own. Not so much for malicious reasons, but more from insecurity.


texts: Why the phrase "thunder and lightning", and not "lightning and thunder"?

texts:
So there was just a thunderstorm, and my sister came with a question I couldn't answer:

  Why is it "thunder and lightning", because the lightning comes before the thunder? Shouldn't it be "lightning and thunder"?

And now I wonder, where did the phrase "thunder and lightning" come from, and why isn't it "lightning and thunder"?


texts:
Why would minister be a function name for both a member of the government and a clergyman?

Is the religious usage of minister restricted to Protestantism or did it already occur in Latin?

Are there other domains where the word minister could be used?


texts: "Friend of my father" vs "friend of my father's"

texts:
What is the difference between this two sentences -
1. An friend of my father
2. A friend of my father's


texts:
I actually want to present this question in two parts:

1) First of all, xenos comes from ξένος. Nevertheless, it is pronounced with "z" instead of "ks" (/ks/). How come?

2) Let's take the word "xenocide" (the killing of xenos - strangers).  Should 'Xe' be pronounced as "ze" or "zee"? In popular culture, you usually see "zee" being used. But, in the context of xenocide, there is a clear connection with genocide (/ˈʤɛnəsaid/, [jen-uh-sahyd]). What should be preferred?

I always pronounced it "zee-no-cide".

For easy reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Greek
I recalled a very old discussion concerning the pronunciation of a FOSS game's title, "Project Xenocide": http://www.xcomufo.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1639

edit:

As another example, take "Xena".


texts: What is the specific term for this kind of pun?

texts:
In Shakespeare's Richard III Glouchester says:

  Now is the winter of our discontent

  Made glorious summer by this sun of York;

Study.com refers to this line with particular emphasis on the word sun:

  We can also ascertain from the first few lines that Richard is
  celebrating his family's victory. Richard's brother, Edward IV (they
  are the sons of the Duke of York, so in the second line 'son' is
  actually a pun for sun) has taken the English crown from Henry IV.

I understand that this can be referred to as a paronomasia--a synonym of pun, but I have a vague recollection that this is a specific kind of pun where a word is changed by a letter or two.


texts: An adjective for "in the wrong register"

texts:
I'm trying to fix this sentence:

  There's a lot of poor word and phrase choice that is either redundant,
  in  the wrong register, or flatly ungrammatical.

The problem is that the compound "either redundant, in the wrong register, or flatly ungrammatical" isn't parallel because the prep. phrase "in the wrong register" is being joined with two simple adjectives.

Is there a plain adjective that means "in the wrong register" to replace it with?


texts: Term for lots of people going to the same place

texts:
What is the term for lots of people going to the same place?
For example:

  Our ___ consists of 14 hundred people and 14 hundred horses


texts: "This paper" vs "That paper" in an abstract

texts:
I'm writing an absctract for a paper.

In Portuguese we write esse trabalho (that paper) to indicate that the paper is near the person that we are adressing.

We use este trabalho (this paper) to indicate that the paper is near the person speaking.

So, looks like when we refer to a paper, in portuguese, esse (that in English) would be better.

But, if we translate a phrase like

  "Esse trabalho propõe um novo método. (that)"

we get

  "This paper proposes a new method.".

So what's better to put in the abstract? Can we use that instead of this?

What's the correct/accepted way to say this in English?


texts:
I have come across the following sentence:

  The quickness of her ascent, and the fact that she revamped each orchestra’s administration before suddenly moving on, has led some in music business circles to charge her with wreckless careerism.
  Source

After having considered that The New York Times, as far as I know, does not use slang words in its written texts, I wonder what wreckless careerism means. My problem is that wreckless gets no support from any dictionary I have consulted, but this Ngram shows that this word exists, so it seems difficult to rule out the case as a mere typo.


texts: Is "British" a noun or an adjective in "British PM"?

texts:
While reading through this question another occurred to me. If a headline reads

  British PM says no to inflatable cars.

Is British a noun or an adjective? Granted, there are other noun forms of British but how about French in

  French PM says yes!

The example from the original question quoted

  Yemen PM Escapes Assassination

Since the adjective for the people of Yemen is Yemeni, this is clearly a noun adjunct. However, in those cases where the noun and the adjective forms are the same (British, French, Greek, Italian etc.) as in the example above, are these adjectives or nouns? They can be taken as either.


texts: Why is it "This is he" rather than "This is him"?

texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  Should I use a nominative or accusative pronoun when making comparisons (e.g. “I run faster than ___”)?
  “Me” versus “I”

I've been told that "This is he" or "This is she" is correct, while "This is him" or "This is her" is not.  For example:

  Caller: Hello, may I speak to Bobby Tables?

  Bobby: This is he.

Likewise, "We are we" is correct, but "We are us" is not.

On the other hand, you would say "I told him" or "I hate him" rather than "I told he" or "I hate he".

Why are linking(?) verbs and action verbs different in this regard?


texts: Does "you" in the sentence "I didn't know you could do that" actually mean the person you're speaking to, or an arbitrary person?

texts: I was asked this by my ESL friend and didn't know how to answer because I had never really thought about it. I always thought of the "you" in the sentence (and similar sentences) to mean an arbitrary person, including but not necessarily restricted to the person you're speaking to.


texts: What does mean by "to step aboard by [someone]"?

texts:
I know that "aboard" is a preposition as well as an adverb. It denotes:

on or onto a ship, aircraft, bus, or train: Cambridge Dictionary

Example sentence:

The ship sank, killing 155 people aboard.
I climbed aboard a ship.

But saying 'step aboard by [someone]' makes me doubtful to whether it means with someone or towards someone. Following is the excerpt from where I found the usage of 'by' and 'aboard':

THE HISPANIOLA lay some way out, and we went under the figureheads and round the sterns of many other ships, and their cables sometimes grated underneath our keel, and sometimes swung above us. At last, however, we got alongside, and were met and saluted as we stepped aboard by the mate, Mr. Arrow, a brown old sailor with earrings in his ears and a squint. He and the squire were very thick and friendly, but I soon observed that things were not the same between Mr. Trelawney and the captain.

Hence, what does the author mean to say? Do the narrator steps into the ship with the mate namely Arrow?


texts:
I need to translate the following citation from French to English:

  La seule révolution possible
  c’est d’essayer de s’améliorer soi-même
  en espérant que les autres fassent la même démarche

I tried this:

  The only revolution possible
  is to try to improve yourself
  hoping that others do the same approach

How can I improve my translation? The meaning sounds different.


texts: Why the "oo" in "noon" is pronounced sounding like "you" while the word "moon" isn't?

texts: I was taught to pronounce the oo in either afternoon or noon as /u:/ ~~the oo in nook~~ until I found some native speakers pronounce the noon sounding like new-n (videos). But the AmE IPA in the dictionary labels it as /nu:n/, instead of what I thought it as /nju:n/ if it's pronounced new-n. To my surprise, the IPA of new is /nu:/ rather than /nju:/. If /u:/ is equivalent to /ju:/, so why the word moon, whose IPA is /mu:n/, is not pronounced as mew-n?


texts: The boy the girl the man saw kissed jumped

texts:
My Japanese friend asked me to help him translate this sentence but I cannot understand it.
Can someone explain the grammar of this?


texts: Is 'As per our discussion' and 'As per your instructions' wrong?

texts:
Is As per our discussion, ... and As per your instructions, ... wrong, and are they poor grammatical constructions?

As per our conversation, I will tender my resignation on Friday.

Per our conversation, I will tender my resignation on Friday.

Do I use Per or As per in these constructions, or is neither preferred? If neither, what are viable, concise substitutes?


texts: Is there a word to describe mocking a list by extending it?

texts:
For instance, the quote from Douglas Adams:

  “In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.”

Where he takes a common phrase ([in the past] men were real men, women were real women) and extends it to small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri, thus making the list seem absurd by appending an element to it that jars with our previous impression.

Is there a word or phrase (ancient or modern!) to describe the method of making a list humorous by including an element that fits the pattern of the others syntactically ("X were real X") but not thematically?

I was thinking of "epizeuxis", but that doesn't seem right, as I'm thinking of when a pattern is repeated, not a single word or phrase.


texts: What does“low wattage” mean in “A politician not being mocked for low wattage”?

texts:
Time magazine (October 25) carries the article titled “The Populist Egghead” with a caption:

  “Sen. Cruz isn't being mocked for low wattage the way Palin and
  Reagan had been. He's being singled out for a lack of common sense
  born of his rarefied résumé.”

The sentence follows:

  The populist claims to possess the horse sense of the electorate and
  has no need for fancy schools, with their eating clubs, trays of
  sherry, and debating societies. That was Sarah Palin's (and Reagan’s)
  posture.
  http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/10/ted_cruz_is_a_populist_egghead_the_texas_senator_has_elite_credentials_but.html

I understand ‘low wattage’ is a figurative adaptation of electrical power, but what does it exactly mean in the above quote? Is it a common expression? Were both Sara Palin and Reagan really ‘low wattage’?


texts:
Saw this on Instagram.

  We've invited Google to WeWork Fulton Market for a hamburger
  throwdown. We're pretty confident.

What does throwdown mean here?


texts: Word for unprogressive or stuck in tradition. Starts with a D

texts: This has been bothering me for several days, I am so close to remembering it. There is a word that starts with a D that is often used by the younger left-leaning people to describe the older right-leaning people. It typically means stuck in tradition or unprogressive. It can mean backward also. Can anyone help me figure out what the word is? Example sentence: " My grandad and his "-" view of things is frustrating to deal with every thanksgiving."


texts: Fragmented Quotes and Bracketed Ellipses

texts:
I had a question about the use of the bracketed ellipses with fragmented quotes. Below is an example from CMOS 16. Please refer to it. My question is at the bottom of this thread. I'm hoping you understand my question. Chicago doesn't address this usage.

  Original Version: The spirit of our American radicalism is destructive
  and aimless: it is not loving; it has no ulterior and divine ends; but
  is destructive only out of hatred and selfishness. On the other side,
  the conservative party, composed of the most moderate, able, and
  cultivated part of the population, is timid, and merely defensive of
  property. It vindicates no right, it aspires to no real good, it
  brands no crime, it proposes no generous policy, it does not build,
  nor write, nor cherish the arts, nor foster religion, nor establish
  schools, nor encourage science, nor emancipate the slave, nor befriend
  the poor, or the Indian, or the immigrant. From neither party, when in
  power, has the world any benefit to expect in science, art, or
  humanity, at all commensurate with the resources of the nation.

  Condensed Version: The spirit of our American radicalism is
  destructive and aimless [. . .]. On the other side, the conservative
  party [. . .] is timid, and merely defensive of property. [. . .] It
  does not build, nor write, nor cherish the arts, nor foster religion,
  nor establish schools.

My question is, if the sentence ends in a fragment, how do we employ the usage of the bracketed ellipsis in this case? I would be writing just one fragmented sentence. How would I end it with the bracketed ellipses?

It would be similar to this usage of the unbracketed ellipses, which would simply end with three spaced dots.

The spirit of American radicalism . . .

Using the bracketed ellipses in like manner, would it be

The spirit of our American radicalism [. . .].
[Full stop outside the ending bracket?]

The spirit of American radicalism [. . .]
(No full stop outside the ending bracket?]


texts: What exactly does the phrase "moral authority" mean? I googled it, but each website kind of has it own definition. Since there are many definitions, what is the phrase most commonly used for?


texts: How to properly borrow words from other languages?

texts:
For example, if I took the Russian word "Toska" and transposed into an English word "tosk (pronounced as "təʊsk") and created such words and phrases  as "toskful", "tosk-stricken", "toskfulness", "to tosk", "tosk-inducing", "toskfully", "toskless", "tosklessly", "to make someone toskful", "in a state of tosk" etc., how would I go about getting it into dictionaries so that people could look it up?

Are there any procedures/rules that specify how to borrow words from other languages that either don't exist/are obsolete or not productive in the target language.

P.S. Here are a few examples of usage:

Marry has been staying in bed, in an obvious state of tosk,  if you ask me, for a few days now. I think,  you should stop by her place sometime soon. I reckon, it might really cheer her up...  a bit.
Little Garry was a truly toskless child. There was not a day that he would wear a frown on his face. He was always so full of vim and vigor and you'd never find him languishing at home in fair weather.
I don't know, man, she seemed a bit depressed, nay, toskful. I think, she still hasn't recovered from her son's death. She just needs more time to finally turn over a new leaf, I trow.
Have you ever felt a feeling of alienation, as if you didn't belong? Or have you ever encountered a feeling of apathy or ennui, had everything and yet felt like there was something missing, but you just  couldn't put your finger on it? Have you ever been listless and wistful? Have you ever pined and longed for something more, but you didn't know exactly what it was? Have you ever missed someone or something dearly? Have you ever been heartsick or downcast? Have you ever felt like you were in a rut or doldrums? Well, if you've ever felt any of the above then you know what toskfulness feels like firsthand.


texts: What is a single word for "wandering around a mall or a market"?

texts:
You know, young girls often do this.

They're wandering around a mall or a supermarket, seeing cute stuff, asking about the prices of things, doing chit-chat with friends, having lunch together with girl friends too, but end up buying literally nothing.

Is there a single English word that means this kind of activity?
I can only think of: hang out.

Or can shopping also mean "buying nothing"?


texts: What is the difference between "tone" and "impression"?

texts: Can somebody explain it for me?I do not understand the differences.


texts:
In school, we learned that in interrogative statements to use do (e.g. Do you want to go there?).

I'm wondering if there are any cases when do is not required.

For example, I'm thinking if this is this correct: Want to learn to code? I may help you.—meaning that if the asked person wants to learn programming, it could be possible that I'm available to teach her/him programming.

So, what is the difference between Want to learn to code?/Want to code? and Do you want to code?

Also, how can this be this question changed to have the same meaning, to be correct but still friendly and informal (e.g. it should be something that can be posted on Twitter)?


texts: "This practice can disrupt the children´s privacy, even though parents are not enough aware of its danger."

texts:
My EFL C1 (CEFR) students are writing an essay on the dangers of parents posting their children's picture on social media. One student wrote this sentence, it doesn't sound quite right, but I can't pinpoint what is wrong:

This practice can disrupt the children´s privacy, even though parents are not enough aware of its danger.

Is it the placement of "enough" or "enough + aware"?


texts:
What is the correct way?

Birds are not mammals like cats.
Birds are not mammals, like cats.
Birds are not mammals, unlike cats.

*Just in case, reminder: Cats are mammals. Birds are not mammals.


texts: Proper grammatical usage of 'had' vs 'having'

texts:
Mr. X was cast as Inspector Y, despite not being able to speak English and had no idea what he was saying in the film.

  Mr. X was cast as Inspector Y, despite not being able to speak English and having no idea what he was saying in the film.

Can someone please explain which of these two versions is grammatically correct, and why?


texts: What do you call people who give out awards, certificates and trophies?

texts: I give out awards on a daily basis. However, I never knew the actual terminology for the person who hands out awards. I was thinking of awarder but that doesn't seem right.


texts: The term "half-assed" is used to refer to something being sloppy or partially completed. For example, "You really did a half-assed job on those TPS reports, Bob." What is the etymology of this phrase? If half-assed means partial or incomplete, can something be "full assed" or "fully assed"?


texts:
Are there any questions I should be asking?
  Is there any articles available on the subject?

My instinct is that in the two questions above, it should be 'are' as the subjects of the sentences (questions/articles) are plural.

However I also recall being told that the singular 'is' is valid here too, and of course see it very often in usage online, and this has left me a bit unsure.

Update: I have stumbled upon the reason for the confusion.

  Is there any water?
  Are there any questions?

The sentence structure is the same but of course water is not plural, although it is not singular either.


texts:
This is for an item in a collection (like a bag), that may or may not be present. Basically, it's presence is not guaranteed, but it is valid to go search for it.

The exact situation I'm in is I'm designing a RESTful API and trying to describe a property for a route that could return a 404. It's not so much that it's optional, it's just that the item with this ID hasn't been created yet.

I'm using RAML to design this and want a good name for my trait.

The qualifier for a good name for my trait is: that it fits well with this sentence structure: "projects are X", where X is the trait name. So: "pluralNoun are adjective".

This is the qualifier because the trait is referenced in the markup like: is: [X]. So, I want something that flows well with is or are.

Is there a term for this? Right now, the only thing I've got is "missingable", which is obviously made up and... non-ideal. I'm not wild about optional, because the item isn't really optional, it just doesn't exist yet. I searched and searched online and couldn't find anything that fit my bill, so I came here!

Thanks in advance!

EDIT:

I ended up using potentially_absent as my RAML trait name, but I think I'll use unaccounted in the next revision!


texts: What is the meaning of "Sure as a winter's day in springtime". Here is an example of usage: "Sure as a winter's day in springtime, Little Charlotte, I'm going to win that competition for you."


texts: Why does 'suspect' only have one s where the syllables join?

texts:
The base is the prolific "spect" and the prefix, "sus," is an assimilated form of "sub"... So I can't account for that second 's.' There's no dropping the final s in prefixing!
Suspect:

early 14c., "suspected of wrongdoing, under suspicion;" mid-14c., "regarded with mistrust, liable to arouse suspicion," from Old French suspect (14c.), from Latin suspectus ....................... (see sub-) + specere "to look at" (see scope (n.1)). The notion behind the word is "look at secretly," hence, "look at distrustfully."

(Etymonline)


texts:
The word "ass" (usually marked as "vulgar"; the one that means "buttocks," "butt," etc.) comes from Sanskrit, one would think, since the old Germanic version is not a stand-alone, but has its colleagues in Latin, Greek, and Armenian.

Anyway, the Germanic original is ars; the modern German arsch; the current British pronunciation (to the best of my knowledge) is "arse."

I would have continued to assume that "ass" is an Americanism had I not encountered the word "asshole" in one of Douglas Adams' installments of the "Hitchhiker Guide." Now Adams was, when it came to language, a British patriot. He pronounced schedule "shedyule," was steadfastly opposed to splitting infinitives, called trucks lorries (and, I suspect, avoided words such as "elevator" and "faucet" as hopelessly Gallic, favoring instead such absurdities as "lift" and "tap"), and so forth. (I happen to agree with him on the infinitives, but that's beside the point).

What gives? The vowel is altered; the consonant is gone. To what end? Why? How?


texts: Meaning of "delight the heart of a wheelbarrow"

texts:
I found this sentence in The Green Fool by Patrick Kavanagh:

  I heard phrases of whimsical prophecy and exciting twists of language that would delight the heart of a wheelbarrow or a modernist poet

I'm not sure what this means. Why delighting the heart of a wheelbarrow?


texts: When should the word "master's" or " bachelor's" be capitalized with apostrophe s?

texts: When I'm specifically not mentioning if its MS or MEngg degree. What is the correct way to say -  pursuing master's/masters/Masters/Master's in Electrical Engineering and during my bachelor's/bachelors/Bachelors/Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering at Univ f Gotham?


texts:
Does to believe the impossible mean

to believe that everything is possible
to believe that something seemingly impossible is actually possible
something else?


texts:
The phrase: "A man among men."

We have been having a debate about whether this means:

unexceptional, common, like all others, ordinary
a superior example of one in a class

We have found examples of both uses. Does anyone know where this term originated and what it meant when first used?


texts: "This kind of things" vs "These kinds of thing"

texts:
I have a question about the following text:

  Last week Alex Knapp at Forbes published an article criticizing my Nikola Tesla comic. I don't normally respond to these kinds of thing, but since it's' Forbes I figured a proper response was in order.

I would rather say "this kind of things" rather than the version in the text above.


texts: What is more widely used in UK English: -ise or -ize?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “s” vs. “z” in BE vs. AE
  Are the endings “-zation” and “-sation” interchangeable?

I was asked on a translation assignment to use UK English but with -ize spelling.

What is the more widely used spelling in use in UK English?

What is the more correct form of using it: -ize or -ise?

You might like this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences#-ise.2C_-ize_.28-isation.2C_-ization.29


texts: If I were to say I was a former student of somebody, would I add an apostrophe s after their name?

texts:
If I were to say that I was a former student of a particular person (for this purpose let's pretend his/her name is Eve), would I add an apostrophe s to the name because I would be referring to them as being one of their students? In other words, would I say:

  "I'm a former student of Eve."
  "I'm a former student of Eve's."


texts: Is there a standard pronunciation for gender-neutral -@ or -x

texts:
More and more I see, especially in activist communities, Spanish-derived words ending in x or @ in order to neuter the gendering inherent in the original language. For example: latinx (or latin@) as opposed to latina and latino.
How, though, are these endings pronounced? Please provide evidence of how this orthography is most commonly pronounced.
Note 1: I recognize this is in an English Language site, rather than a Spanish language site, but this phenomenon is very much happening in English, albeit with Spanish loan words. Therefore the question is relevant to non-Spanish-speaking English speakers.
Note 2: A question like this can lead to politically charged or, at least, sarcastic comments. Please refrain from bringing in your biases for or against.
Note 3: This question is not seeking opinions as to how some people pronounce the suffixes. Answers should address evidence of a developing orthodoxy in pronunciation.


texts:
The following is from a reader's response to a book review. What does I.p. mean?

  The reviewer is pretty much right on target and helpful in his review;
      he nicely qualifies the benefits of the large book. I.p., his observation
      of knots repetition is correct--he is not citing "variations".

I find no listing in OED.


texts: Is there a verb meaning 'to fail to discern analogies between things'?

texts:
I'was looking for a verb meaning 'to fail to discern analogies between things', but, after a bit of searching, I realized that 'confound', which first came to my mind, is not the right term because Merriam-Webster defines it as 'to fail to discern differences between' things, not analogies.

Thus, my question is, is there a verb meaning 'to fail to discern analogies between things'?


texts:
From Wikipedia:

  In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional context.

Is there a similar but different word for the same which is placed instead at the end of a book?


texts:
I have looked in a number of places, with contradictory results.

The Urban Dictionary provides a whopping 73 "explanations", of which I will quote just a few. (Original spelling and punctuation preserved.)

  ZOMG is a variant of the all-too-popular acronym "OMG", meaning "Oh My God".
  ZOMG originated from the image-board 4chan.org and one of it's members Zardoz.

Even though 4chan is the Internet meme machine, I would like to see supporting
evidence for this particular claim.

  zOMG is a variant of the all-too-popular acronym "OMG", meaning "Oh My God". The "z" was originally a mistake while attempting to hit the shift key with the left hand, and type "OMG"

The first sentence is copied verbatim from the previous (and older) explanation,
with the "Z" changed into a "z". It appears that the author hasn't quite thought
it through — if you mistakenly hit Z instead of Shift, you'll end up with "zomg", not with "zOMG". Besides, on my keyboard, there's the > key between the Z and the left shift key.

  A more enthusiastic (if not sarcastic) way of saying OMG. The Z doesn't stand for anything, but rather is added onto the O, thus making it pronounced "ZOH MY GOD!!1"

Doesn't address the origin and is not very convincing anyway — why "Z" and not "S", "X", "W", "J", or in fact any letter?

  ZOMG was the ruler of the planet XYRZON until 2451 AD, when he was overthrown
  by KFOP after the battle of SHMUR.

Oh well.

  zombies! oh my god!

This is actually the most convincing so far, since over at the Wiktionary I am told that ZOMG is an initialism. Then again, I am not told anything about etymology, and in the usage notes for OMG, I am told that ZOMG is "emphatic, in the same sense of LOLZ". Which contradicts the idea that it's an initialism.

On the talk page for ZOMG, there's only this brief exchange:

  This entry should be amended to note that the "z" is added emphasis from the common
  typo committed when hitting the "shift" key. [Unsigned, but the history attributes this to
  Adjwilli, 19:50, 4 November 2008]

  Except that it's not: see [1].
  Unfortunately, although this FAQ is accurate, the fact that it has not been cited in
  a reliable source means that we cannot include it on Wiktionary. Shii 14:21, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

That last link is dead, so I went to archive.org and dug up an old copy of the page:

  ZOMG was originally coined in January 2003 by two individuals, James Curbo and Matthew Milan, over ICQ

  The following chat log may or may not be exact, so apocraphycal information has been used to recreate this event.

  Hannibal Smith:  d00der!
  Rick Feynman:  zomg!
  Hannibal Smith:  ZOMG!
  Rick Feynman:  fag! ZOMG!

I can see why reliable sources are hesitant to cite this FAQ, especially given the fact that it was written by Matthew Milan himself.

Lastly, over at The Free Dictionary, I am told that ZOMG is an acronym with the
following definitions:

  Zoh My God! (gaming, World of Warcraft)
  Zombies Oh My God
  Zeus, Oh My God
  Zerg! Oh My God!
  Zebras on my Grass (gaming clan)

Now I am utterly confused. Some of these suspiciously look like backronyms.

So, can anyone, by any chance, provide a definite answer on the origin of ZOMG? Or is it lost forever?


texts: Alternative to ending an sentence with "contribute to"

texts:
I have a bad habit of leaving ending sentences with prepositions. I'm inclined to write:

  Two communities I'm working to contribute to

Is there a phrasing, and possibly a grammatical rule, that could help me out of this formulation?

Note:
I found this conversation helpful, though not applicable to this case.


texts: Starting an independent clause with "more," to omit the use of the adverb "specifically"

texts:
Would it be incorrect English to do what I noted above? That is, if my sentence looked like this:
[..]; more specifically,[..]

Could I make it look like this:
[..]; more,[..]


texts: Exchanging Experience or Exchange Experience

texts: I am now studying at XXX University as an exchange student. Is this my "exchanging experience" or my "exchange experience"? Am I actually an "exchanging student"?


texts: Do Americans use the term "garburator" or is there a better equivalent?

texts:
Is it obsolete to use the term garburator to refer to a garbage disposal unit in a kitchen? If it is, do we have a better term to replace it with?

Also, what is the etymology of this word?


texts:
I know what spit means, and I know what rat means, but what does to spit a rat mean?
I was unable to find any idiomatic meaning in the dictionaries either in the entry for rat or spit. The literal meaning just seems too absurd or random.

I came across the phrase when I was rereading The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. When Zaphod Beeblebrox tries to remember why he has carved his own initials into his brain, he says:

  I don't seem to be letting myself into any of my secrets. Still I can understand that. I wouldn't trust myself further than I could spit a rat.

Will I have to attribute this weird combination of words to Zaphod Beeblebrox's eccentricity (or the author's, perhaps?) or does it have an idiomatic meaning?


texts: Word or phrase for non-linear-but-still-greater-than-linear?

texts:
I am looking to replace "exponential" in the following sentence:

"The development of new technology in this field tends to follow an (exponential) trend."

In mathematics, there are many functions which are not exponential but still increase faster than linear functions. What would be a good word/phrase to represent a trend that is growing faster than a linear function and is still open to the possibility of increasing faster or slower than an exponential function?

The first word that comes to mind is non-linear, but this term also leaves open the possibility that the trend is increasing slower than a linear function, and I would like to avoid this ambiguity.


texts: Word to describe something that opens like a book?

texts:
More specifically, something with bound pages that inherently has a "front" and a "back", in which you start by looking at the "front" and flipping the pages over to see the back of that page and the front of the next.  You know.. like a book.  Book-like?

Is there a single word or technical phrase to describe this unambiguously?


texts: Meaning of "due" in "when my second child was due"

texts:
What does due mean in when my second child was due?

I would interpret it in three ways:

just born.
about to be born soon.
just got pregnant.

Which is correct?


texts: What's a word or phrase for lacking the normal fear of a particular danger?

texts: The logical opposite of having an irrational fear (or phobia) is not having that fear. But what is the opposite condition, the condition of having an irrational lack of fear for something that should frighten, such as, let's say, being burned? It's not philia since there's no particular affinity for it either, and it's not courage as stated in this answer since courage is something mustered for a particular situation.


texts: Indefinite article in a parallel (?) structure

texts:
I'm confused as whether to use an article with the second noun in structures like this  (this is just an example, it's a person describing their profession):

"As a journalist and (a???) traveller...."

or,

"As a manager and (a???) teamplayer..."

There's no doubt I need the first 'a', what about the second one? Is there ANY context that doesn't suppose the usage of the second indefinite article in situations like this?
Thanks so much.


texts: Is "please let me know if otherwise" grammatical?

texts:
Is this sentence grammatical?

  "please let me know if otherwise"

The context for it is when I am sending an email to the boss saying:

  I am gonna do this and that, please let me know if otherwise.

What I am trying to say is "please let me know if you disagree with my approach," etc.


texts: Looking for a word that describes the manufacturing date format of 1Qxx

texts:
At our manufacturing company we frequently use expiration or cure dates in the format of nQxx

Ex1. 2Q18 = second quarter 2018
Ex2. 4Q17 = fourth quarter 2017

I think this date format is common enough to have a name in the manufacturing world but I don't know what the name of this format could be so I can refer to it easily. Nobody seems to know what to call it. Thus, what is a word that describes the manufacturing date format of 1Qxx


texts: What's the verb that describes "the act of using your hand to illustrate your words"?

texts:
Example:

  He extended his arm, [...] water rushing out.

At first I thought about imitating, but it doesn't sound right to me (I could be wrong, though). Then I tried simulate, however, a simulation is different from an illustration.

What's the right verb to use in these situations? Mimicking?


texts: Is using "she" when the gender is unknown ungrammatical?

texts:
I often come across the use of "she" not as an gender neutral pronoun as such but as the pronoun of choice when the gender is unknown. This is particularly common in scientific/technical documents but not exclusive to them. The following are four of the first google hits when searching for "the user can" "if she":

Example 1:

  The user can type anything to identify the file. When coming back to the data she would expect to see exactly the same string she typed in.

Example 2:

  In this page the user can add a new entity, if she follows the link labelled Add entity.

Example 3:

  To continue with our ergonomic program, imagine that you would really like the user to sit down and your program would continue only once she answers that she is sitting down, you can use the do…while statement to wait for the user to sit down;

Example 4:

  The user can program the alarm to go off at a particular time -- for example, the user can enter the time when she expects to get home.

I do not call this gender-neutral because she clearly has a gender. However, that is in no way implied by the context. Traditionally, we would have used he instead but the use of she in these contexts has been rising (at least that is my impression).

I raised this point in the comments section of this question and was told that such use of she is ungrammatical. I was also told that it is annoying which is the reader's prerogative, but ungrammatical?

So, is such use of she ungrammatical and, if so, why?

CLARIFICATION: I am not asking what the gender-neutral pronoun is in the English language but why she would be ungrammatical if he isn't.


texts: 'A / One / At least one student entered the room.' Are these the same? (truth-conditionally)

texts:
I just wonder if the two following sentences are truth-conditionally the same. Sentence 1 essentially means there existed a student who entered the room, and this situation includes two, three or more students entering the room. Hence, I believe these two sentences are truth-conditionally the same. Are they?

  A student entered the room.
  At least one student entered the room.

How about

  One student entered the room

I gather this is different, as sentence 3 only means one student, not more and not fewer?

Any and all insights would be welcome.


texts:
Let's say that, for the reader's convenience, I want to repeat in Chapter 7 an equation that I stated in Chapter 2.
What is the correct way of saying "for the reader's convenience"?:

a) For the reader's convenience
b) For reader's convenience
c) For reader convenience

Thank you.


texts: Word for the state/condition of feeling that one's life is meaningless?

texts: If someone is depressed you can say, "We knew about his depression." How about the feeling of meaninglessness? I think you can't say, "We knew about his meaninglessness" (since it's not a state or condition).


texts: How to specify when receiving payments, that customer should pay bank fees for international payments?

texts:
On my invoice I have statement like this, which is saying when client is doing international payment, client must pay bank fees for international payments:

  The cost of bank fees for international payments shall be borne by the
  customer.

Is this semantically and grammatically correct for native and non-native English speakers?

Please note, that I am not native English language speaker.


texts: Correct use of the terms "posting" and "booking" in accounting

texts:
When translating phrases for a commercial software system, I encountered a few uncertainties with accounting terms (my native language, as well as the system's source language, is German.)
I know that the verb that describes creating an entry in a ledger can be either "posting" or "booking". But which term would be best to describe, for example, the processing of a file of payments that you have received, and creating the ledger entries from it? Would you use "The file has been posted", or "the file has been booked"?
In German, there is just the catch-all term "Buchen", but my feeling is that the closest translation "to book" would be more associated with a reservation (as in "booking a table")...
I wasn't able to find a really good accounting dictionary yet, most resources I found online are very basic and didn't give me a good aswer to this question.


texts:
In the Jerusalem Post headline, Palestinians split on Itamar, the statistics cited in the article say that approximately two-thirds of the Palestinians who were polled opposed the attack (Itamar is the name of an Israeli town in the West Bank that was the site of a terrorist attack).

Can split mean divided in a manner other than 50/50?

When contacted, the Jerusalem Post editorial staff defended the headline. Do you agree? If so, is there a limit to the ratio; for instance, if 90% were opposed, would it still be called split?


texts:
/**
 * @returns {string} The type of the variable that you checked/have checked.
 */
function check($var) {

}

Should I use checked or have checked in the above comment? Why?

Note: I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to understand the past simple and present perfect.


texts: How and when did “give it up for someone” start to mean asking for applause?

texts:
I recently attended a meeting where the speaker frequently used the phrase give it up for someone. I understand that this expression means to clap for the person or group mentioned. It is similar to give someone a hand.

Where did this phrase originate? I don’t exactly get why giving it up means clapping.


texts: Underlie, Underlay, Underlying and Underlaying

texts:
What is the difference between "underlay", "underlie" and their present continuous forms (and adjectives) "underlying" and "underlaying"?

And what is the right word to say something like:

  The actual behavior of something depends on the underlying platform.


texts: Word that means make something available to the working classes

texts:
I am seeking a verb that essentially means ‘Bring to the reach of everybody’. For example:

  Travel was for the wealthy but the introduction of the package holiday xxxx travel.

Xxx is a word, like ‘democratised’, but it’s not democratised and I can’t think what it is! Any thoughts?


texts: Slashes for hyphens in compound modifiers

texts: Take the phrase "a joint FBI-SFPD task force" for example. According to my boss, a slash can stand in for the hyphen. I tend to disagree. Is this grammatically correct? Stylistically acceptable?


texts: Word for a person who succumbed to their bad habits

texts:
I'm looking for a single English word that refers to:

A person who has bad habits
And used to do those bad habits
Tried to escape them but then fell into them in perpetua

I'm not sure if such a word exists. I've thought of:

Hypocrite (but that doesn't contain any connotations of habit)
Habitual (an adjective; whereas I want a noun)

Any ideas? I'm pretty sure there's a word for a person who relapsed back into their bad habits.


texts: What's the difference between fabled and legendary?

texts:
I'm currently preparing for proficiency test and I came across the following sentence:

'Wilfred Thesinger, the ... explorer once said, 'We live our lives second-hand''. The right answer is legendary

I looked both up at collins dictionary and saw legendary was regarded as a synonym of fabled (which was also one of the four options). Ever since I saw it I'm confused with.

If anyone could throw some light on the accurate difference, I would be grateful.

Thanks


texts: Difference between "fluency" and "fluidity"

texts:
Fluent seems to most commonly refer to language mastery, but in that context isn't it just saying that its delivery is fluid?

If so, am I communicating something different when using one over another or are they essentially interchangeable?


texts: What's the grammatical principle behind the use of 'for' with an adjective?

texts:
The following common expressions are in the form of for in conjunction with an adjective:

(give/take) for granted
(leave) for dead
for better/worse
for sure/certain

There doesn't seem to be anything else of the same pattern in modern usage. I guess they're just set expressions handed down to us from the olden days. But is there a rationale behind the construction at all, from either historical or contemporary grammar?

I had a look in the OED for clues, but couldn't find any. In fact, Definition 19b under for shows more specimens that make me even more curious of the underlying logic that perhaps you could provide or speculate. For if I were to encounter phrases of such construction in the wild, in old books most likely, how would I attempt to understand their meanings?

Maria Edgeworth, Moral Tales, 1801:

  Frederick, as soon as he had finished this speech, which he pronounced in a peremptory tone, left the room; and Laniska's friends, who perceived that the imprudent words he had uttered in Berlin had reached the king's ear, gave the young man up for lost.

Coventry Patmore, The Angel in the House, 1858:

  She had forgot to bring a book.
  I lent one; blamed the print for old;
  And did not tell her that she took
  A Petrarch worth its weight in gold.


texts:
in the following sentence:  The same holds true for children who suffer from the disabling effects of childhood trauma. However,  additional interventions targeting individual's needs will often be necessary"
Do I use individual's or individuals'?


texts: What is the correct verb-form to use in this sentence?

texts:
This is the sentence: Out of these two what is the correct grammatical order to express the sentence.

1.) Watching cartoons, movies, dramas develop the human brain

2.) Watching cartoons, movies, dramas develops the human brain

What is it? Develop or Develops?


texts:
If I say, "IwilldocardiologyHoney........Will I get richer today?
By default, since there is no increased pause between cardiology and Honey, must the words "I will do cardiology" automatically become addressed to Honey, even if this was not my intent?
Or can it be the case that I was saying to myself "I will do Cardiology" then without pausing said "Honey" out loud to to get her attention so that she will listen to whatever I say after saying her name, Honey. This was my original intention however, I am not sure if this interpretation would be possible to discern.
Basically I want confirmation or reassurance that if you say something out loud and then say someone's name, you are not automatically addressing those preceding words to that person unless that was your original intent. However, I am not sure if this reasoning is true or not.


texts: Is there a word mirroring common usage of "proportional" (which I characterize as "monotonically increasing as a function of")?

texts:
In mathematics, a and b are proportional if their ratio, a/b is constant (DEFINITION 1).

In common language, proportional is often used to mean something more like "when a goes up, b also goes up (and vice versa)" (DEFINITION 2).

I'm looking for a word other than "proportional" which matches DEFINITION 2.


texts: THOU gave me wisdom, even though I am a child or THOU gave me wisdom even though I am a child. Should I put comma before the even though?


texts:
From The Haunted House of Dickens. He is travelling by train from north towards London when he says this:

  It was a cold, dead morning (the sun not being up yet), and when I had outwatched the paling light of the fires of the iron country, and the curtain of heavy smoke that hung at once between me and the stars and between me and the day, I turned to my fellow traveler and said:


texts: "It is fun to write letters" vs. "It is fun writing letters"

texts:
Grammatically, "It is fun to write English letters." is correct. But is the following also grammatically correct?

  It is fun writing English letters.


texts:
A quote from Oxford Advanced Learer's Dictionary of Current English:

avenge vt
 get or take vengeance for: ~ an insult; ~ oneself / be ~d on an enemy (for an injury, etc). He ~d his father’s death upon the murderer, punished the murderer.

My question is:
Why does 'be avenged' (in the passive voice, though) mean 'get or take vengeance' (in the active voice)?
Why is 'avenge' used in the passive voice?


texts: My cards associated with the bank account

texts:
My cards associated with this bank account include a debit card, a credit card, etc.
My cards which are associated with this bank account include a debit card, a credit card, etc.
My cards which are associated with this bank account include a debit card, a credit card, etc.

Can anybody tell me the difference between these sentences? Do we need a comma after 'which' in the second sentence. How do we know whether the inflected form of the verb 'Be', that is 'are', in the 2nd and 3rd questions is the main verb 'Be' or the auxiliary verb 'Be'?


texts: The choice between "for gerund" and "to infinitive"

texts:
I am trying to sort out the issue dealing with the choice between "for gerund" and "to infinitive".
For example,

They took her to the warehouse for questioning. (IDIOMATIC)

He came here for fishing. (WRONG) - 2a He came here to fish. (OK)

He came here for opening a business. (WRONG) - 3a He came here to
open a business. (OK)

They bought an oven for cooking food. (OK?)

We send the strawberries there for producing jam. (OK?)

My question is this: What are the factors influencing over the choice of the gerund and the infinitive?
Why is it OK to use "for gerund" in 1 and not OK to do so in 2 and 3?
Sentences 4 and 5, I think, some people accept, others don't. They would switch the gerund to the infinitive in them. Any advice on how to find the right way?


texts: Difference between "hypnotic" and "hypnotizing"

texts: Is there a difference between hypnotic and hypnotizing? I believe they are synonyms but I think of hypnotic as being more metaphorical, and hypnotizing as being used, at least sometimes, as a clinical (or at least factual, non-metaphorical) term.


texts: Synonym for restrictions that are cumulative

texts:
I'm looking for the proper word to describe restrictions that "add" up in computer talk.

Let's say that someone can set the authorization to get into a system as:

password: User must provide correct password
origin: Request must come from a specific domain/host

If the admin was to set both - a password and a restriction on origin - how would you describe that to user? Something like "password and origin restrictions are cumulative"-  but thats not quite right. Is there a better term?

This is for some technical docs I am writing to let the developer know that if they set both methods they will be compounded and are not independent of each other. There can certainly be one (or even none) of the methods selected but it's the option of selecting both that leaves my docs a little confusing.


texts: What is the difference between "I believe it is true" and "I believe it to be true"

texts: Can anyone point out any large differences between the two sentences? I'm trying to see what nuance using the verb "is" vs "to be" could bring. Maybe the latter is more emphatic?


texts:
A colleague and I are writing some software and we're looking for some advice on the usage of the word "archive". Currently, we're using archive as a marker to state that the entry in our database has been put to one side (i.e archived away), but that we can still access it at any point.

Currently, we're using archive as a (sort of) synonym for hidden, in that archived items will be hidden from view when a user accesses the database. This is because, more often than not, our database will include hundreds of entries, and allowing the user to arbitrarily hide/archive entries from view should help them.

As an example:

  When the user archives Entry 15, it is no longer listed in the standard database view. Another view of archived entries will be provided.

The problem we're having is thinking of a correct and succinct word or phrase for the opposite of archiving an entry in our database. We've looked at "un-archive", "un-hide" and "retrieve from archive" but these don't seem to fit entirely ("un-archive" and "un-hide" seem slightly unwieldy and "retrieve from archive" feels too long). Perhaps "restore" would work, but we're leaning away from that as it has connotations of the entry having being deleted or removed completely.

Our target audience includes people who do not speak English as their primary language, so we're striving for simplicity and focus.

I was wondering if anyone has ever come across this situation before or if there are any useful suggestions for our situation?


texts: What are the two tenses used in this passage?

texts:
Which are the two tenses used in this passage?

I have known my friend Rebecca for a long time. We first met at a friend's birthday party five years ago. We found out that we both liked techno and Green Day, so I invited Rebecca over to my place. We listened to music together and soon became best friends.
Three years ago, Rebecca's parents invited me to go on holiday with them! It was great. We spent three wonderful weeks in a little cottage in Ireland. Rebecca and I loved walking along the beautiful beach. We took a lot of photos and had a lot of fun.
Two years ago I spent a week in hospital and Rebecca came to see me every day. But then, last year, Rebecca's father changed his job, and they moved to another town. Since then we haven't seen each other very much, but we've talked on the phone and written emails to each other.


texts: Is there a name for the relationship between a movement and a follower of that movement?

texts:
Movements and philosophies often have a specific term that is used to describe followers of it.  For example, Islam and Muslims, the Society of Jesus and Jesuits, Communism and Communists, even the Grateful Dead and Deadheads.

The analogous relationship between person and place is called Demonymy.  Is there such a term for the relationship that I've described?


texts:
From Le Morte d'Arthur:

  (modern edition)
  And when Sir Ector was come he made fiaunce to the king for to nourish
  the child like as the king desired;

  (original edition)
  And whan syre Ector was come / he made fyaūce to the kyng for to
  nourisshe the child lyke as the Kynge desyred

According to Wiktionary, fiaunce means confidence, fealty.

Does it mean Sir Ector swore to the king that he would nourish the child?


texts: How would you describe a sound "appearing"?

texts:
The idea behind something appearing is more visual in nature; it comes into sight.

What would I say if something "appeared audibly"? The sound of the oncoming car appeared to my ears!

Synonyms for appear all seem to stick to visual, material, or abstract concepts; nothing for auditory elements stand out.


texts:
It seems to me that most English words similar to lutherie (crafting stringed instruments) end in ‑y.  That is, nouns for professions or activities that are used instead of gerunds with objects.  (That is, lutherie is a noun, crafting is a gerund, stringed instruments is the object.)  For example, forestry (managing forests) or archery (shooting arrows).

Why does lutherie end with ‑ie?


texts: Is there a polite way of saying "sh** happened" or "sh** hit the fan"?

texts:
I googled a synonym for it, but all found was this on Reddit:

  The outhouse has collided with the windmill.
  The excrement has impacted the rotating blades.

I'm looking for a "classy" or professional phrase that means the same thing as it's "impolite" counter parts to use in my reflection essay.

Any suggestion would be appreciated.

PS. "sh** happened" meaning there being a disaster is now the main concern.


texts: Is there a difference in meaning between "from the beginning" and "since the beginning"?

texts:
He’s been with us from the beginning.

Is there a difference between from and since in the context of the quoted sentence?


texts:
How I use en dashes and em dashes

En dashes:

Sybrand Engelbrecht (1814–2177): Unspaced en dash.
January–December: Unspaced en dash.
Sybrand loved three things – soccer, jazz, and living forever (he unfortunately couldn't.): Spaced en dash instead of an em dash.

Em dashes:
I don't use em dashes; I use spaced en dashes.

Is it wrong to space en dashes and em dashes?


texts: Word to define someone who makes friends easily?

texts:
What do you call the person who makes friends easily? The only words I can think of, are "charming" or "social", but those are not the words I'm looking for.

Someone's help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Can you rephrase this sentence (about storing files)?

texts:
Starting from this date all such files will be stored in folder B.

Is it possible to re-phrase this sentence without changing its meaning in such a way that it would start from "Starting from this date the storing of all such files will ..."


texts: why "thus was"? is it correct gramatically?

texts:
in a sentence, I saw "thus was" and I wonder if its grammar is corretct or not?

Thus was the basis created for a strong presidential system


texts:
Which statement is correct?

Alcohol, drug abuse and work equipment is a lethal mix.

or

Alcohol, drug abuse and work equipment are a lethal mix.


texts:
Let's say that for example, people thought Chris was a bad person and he killed many people. A group of people vote for Chris to be lynched. Race has absolutely nothing to do with this; it's because of Chris's actions. This is the context for the use in question of the word "lynch".

My friend says the term "lynch" is such a racially-loaded term that we should use the word "hanging" instead. He says that the word "lynch" carries specific connotations of racist violence.

Please English experts tell me your insight on this! Is it actually racist or is he going overboard?


texts:
I mostly see the word "commemorate" used for people or events in the past. To me it makes most sense in the context of something historical, recurring or continuous.

Can you also commemorate something new, like the opening of a hospital? So, not commemorating the opening of a hospital that took place 100 years ago, but next Sunday we will commemorate the opening of the hospital?

Can I have a party to commemorate my raise or my new car?

Or is there another word that would make more sense in this context?


texts: To avoid ambiguity, what is your opinion about how to use reduced relative clauses?

texts:
There are many rules in using reduced relative clauses to avoid ambiguity. These rules appeared in different reference respectively. However, there are no unified rules. One reference often gives examples which break the rules from other references. For example：

Rules:

  Reduced relative clauses can modify the subject NOT the object of a sentence.
   (1)

Example break it:

  Origin:  I like the paintings that hang in the SASB North lobby.

  Reduced: I like the paintings hanging in the SASB North lobby. (2)

  Origin: We stood on the bridge which connects the two halves of the city.

  Reduced: We stood on the bridge connecting the two halves of the city.(wwwdotgrammarbankdotcomslashreduced-relative-clausesdothtml)(Sorry, I can add only two links .)

Rules:

  Non-defining relative clauses can use most relative pronouns (which, whose etc,) but they CAN’T use ‘that’ and the relative pronoun can never be omitted.(learnenglishdotbritishcouncildotorgslashenslashquick-grammarslashrelative-clauses-non-defining-relative-clauses)

Example break it:

  Origin: The product, which seemed perfect in many ways, failed to succeed in the market.

  Reduced: The product, perfect in many ways, failed to succeed in the market.(1)

  Origin: I am moving to Louisville, KY, which is home to the Muhammad Ali Museum.

  Reduced: I am moving to Louisville, KY, home to the Muhammad Ali Museum.(2)

So I am confused how to use it.

I list all the possible cases in relative clause below.

What's your opinion and advice for them? Which is clear in meaning? Which will lead to ambiguity?

Which rules should I obey？ Which should be ignored? Or ignore all the rules, and just be really careful when using reduced relative clauses?

  1.Restrictive relative clause modifies the subject of the main clause, the relative pronoun acts as the subject of the relative clause.

- The cat that was raised by Tom caught a mouse.

- **Reduce**: The cat raised by Tom caught a mouse.

  2.Restrictive relative clause modifies the object of the main clause, the relative pronoun acts as the subject of the relative clause.

- The cat caught the mouse that was raised by Tom.

- **Reduce:** The cat caught the mouse raised by Tom.

  3.Restrictive relative clause modifies the subject of the main clause, the relative pronoun acts as the object in the relative clause.

- The cat that Tom raised caught a mouse.

- **Reduce:** The cat Tom raised caught a mouse.

  4.Restrictive relative clause modifies the object of the main clause, the relative pronoun acts as the object of the relative clause.

- The cat caught the mouse that Tom raised.

- **Reduce:** The cat caught the mouse Tom raised.

  5.Nonrestrictive relative clause modifies the subject of the main clause, the relative pronoun acts as the subject of the relative clause.

- The cat, which was raised by Tom, caught a mouse.

- **Reduce:** The cat, raised by Tom, caught a mouse.

  6.Nonrestrictive relative clause modifies the object of the main clause, the relative pronoun acts as the subject of the relative clause.

- The cat caught the mouse, which was raised by Tom.

- **Reduce:** The cat caught the mouse, raised by Tom.

  7.Nonrestrictive relative clause modifies the subject of the main clause, the relative pronoun acts as the object of the relative clause.

- The cat, which Tom raised, caught a mouse.

- **Reduce:** The cat, Tom raised, caught a mouse.

  8.Nonrestrictive relative clause modifies the object of the main clause, the relative pronoun acts as the object of the relative clause.

- The cat caught the mouse, which Tom raised.

- **Reduce:** The cat caught the mouse, Tom raised.


texts: Differentiate - *legitimated* vs *legitimized*

texts:
Please analyse and differentiate the two sets of participles

legitimated / legitimating
legitimized / legitimizing

What are their overlaps, and what are exclusive to each.


texts:
I need synonyms for the word 'the use of' in my sentence.

  Also, the use of commonly available solutions contributed to cost
  reduction.

Thank you in advance for your help.


texts:
Looking at Why not add ‘the’ before the last ‘steps’ word? as recently asked on ELL, I was struck by the realisation that it's very difficult to find contexts where we would include both articles in noun phrases of the general form the number of the [things, steps, whatever]. But there's no such restriction with other "attributes", such as the colour of the steps, the size of the steaks, the age of the mountains,...

1: Find the average length of words in this sentence  (fine)
2: Find the average length of the words in this sentence  (also fine)
3: Find the number of words in this sentence  (fine)
4: Find the number of the words in this sentence  (DOESN'T WORK)

Is there any identifiable reason why number should work like this? Are there any other "attribute" words (apart from number and near-synonymous quantity) that are similarly "averse" to being attached to a plural noun phrase prefaced by the definite article?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to name a part of a piechart

What is the correct name for a shape which is like a triangle but with one edge circular, like a slice of cake?


texts: Clear and succinct way to say "don't have to"

texts:
I'm looking for other ways to express that something may be a certain way but doesn't have to be so. Are there any - preferably with a smaller number of words - ways for saying that?

Example phrase:

  The model doesn't have to fulfill the mentioned criteria. (It may though)


texts: Which words or grammar forms are likely to cause a collision between American and British English?

texts:
For all the Mickey-taking on both sides of the water I suppose British and American speakers understand one another 99% of the time.

Can anyone think of any areas of vocabulary or grammar where serious confusion could arise?

The only word of which I am aware, which in America is the near antonym of its British meaning is nervy. To an American, saying someone is nervy means they have nerves of steel such as a high-wire performer. In Britain it means they are of a nervous disposition almost to the point of breakdown.

This question has been inspired by a European OP who has queried which form of English it is desirable to learn to avoid his worlds colliding.

Edit
Clearly one could look up one of the many books on sale that provide translations from American to British and vice-versa. It was not my intention in asking the question, that we should compile yet another of those. What I thought would be interesting would be to hear of some actual instances of where you could get into serious difficulty, perhaps an anecdote or two.


texts:
I want to know which word I should use in the following sentence:

  How many/much feces does a human produce in one year?

I found that both versions exist on the Internet.

Any help would be appreciated!


texts:
My curiosity here arises from the fact that it seems bizarre that "fox" and "dog" (not terribly dissimilar creatures - see Belyaev's fox experiment) would have such opposite meanings when used in reference to women.

According to the online etymology dictionary fox n.

  Meaning "sexually attractive woman" is from 1940s; but foxy in this sense is recorded from 1895.

In addition to the noun form, foxy, "stone cold fox" and vixen (a female fox) all carry connotations of sexually-alluring women (though vixen, as seen below, seems to have a more negative origin):

  The figurative sense "ill-tempered woman" is attested from 1570s. The spelling shift from -f- to -v- began late 1500s (see V).

Referring to a woman as a dog or a "female dog" is an insult (for the most part).

dog n.

  Slang meaning "ugly woman" is from 1930s.

Assuming that humans do not find foxes more sexually attractive than dogs as a matter of course, I'm wondering how the origins of these meanings may have shaped their divergent connotations.


texts: A word or phrase to be used as a seasonal enantiomer, a Winter equivalent for 'The garden of Eden'

texts: A dozen miles up the Chilkat River near the village of Klukwan AK (in The Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve) is a short stretch of river where thousands of Bald Eagles overwinter (known as The Council of Eagles). A population of Chum salmon spawns at this location.  Incredibly, salmon numbers peak in the middle of December! There is a geological reason why this section never freezes. Huge #'s of Salmon swim to the Bald Eagles and spawn out in shallow 'refrigerated'water.  A Garden of Eden. But it’s not, it's dark, overcast freezing, snowing. These airborne predators become terrestrial scavengers. Different sides of the same coin? 2 peas in a pod?


texts:
What's the difference between must and should when  used for logical deduction? Can they be used interchangeably? Here's an example:

"You must be tired after your long journey."      - MUST

"I've revised so I should be ready for the test." - SHOULD

Is it correct to write "You SHOULD be tired after your long journey"  ?

Is it correct to write "I've revised so I MUST be ready for the test" ?


texts:
Two characters, Scythe Master and Claudia, are having a conversation in this book I'm translating. The first speaker is Scythe. (Bolded part is what I'm 87% sure is a rhetorical question, based on what comes before and after it's said.)

  “Already arrangements to locate his immigration documents are underway, in addition to a method of erasure. Before long there will be no trace of him for anybody to pursue. The secrecy is flawless.”

  “…I think that is agreeable. Scythe Master. I’ll leave this young man to you. However, Ein and Zwei…. Your students’ names at least, perhaps they should have been given a bit more thought?”

  Saying as such over her shoulder, Claudia also leaves the room. At her back the silver-haired man scornfully laughs until she is out of sight.

A friend of mine suggested that I change Claudia's second line to

  However, Ein and Zwei.... Perhaps your student's names should at least have been given a bit more thought.

I think this suggestion is due to the reader (my friend) not realizing that the question was rhetorical, as kiamlaluno states in their answer here, "...whoever asks the question is not interested in an answer, but wants to remind somebody else of something they should, or could do" (kiamlaluno).

How do I clarify to readers that the bolded dialogue question is a rhetorical question?


texts: Does "X was sick the past two weeks" mean X is still sick?

texts:
How would I say I was sick for two weeks before now (because now I am not sick anymore)? Would it be like this:

  I was sick the past two weeks.

I ask this because from what I have found ‘the past’ includes now because I know we can say ‘I’ve been sick the past two weeks,’ which would mean that I am still sick. I’m confused!


texts: Is the phrase "make the grade" correctly used in this context?

texts:
I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in an article titled “How My Child Skipped the State Tests" by Robert Kulesz in The New York Times, School Book, (May 9, 2012).

  To be fair, I’m sure she felt
  she acted in the best interest of her school, given Mayor Michael R.
  Bloomberg’s insatiable desire to shut down public schools if they fail
  to “make the grade.” [note that the double quotation marks are of the journalist, NOT MINE]

Can someone clarify if the idiom, or idiomatic phrase, "make the grade" is correctly used?

I have found (The Free Dictionary) the below meanings for this phrase, but no one is referred to academic grading:

  to be satisfactory; to be what is expected. I'm sorry, but your work doesn't exactly make the grade. This meal doesn't just make the grade.
  It is excellent.
  McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
  to succeed at something, usually because your skills are good enough (often negative). He wanted to get into medical school but he failed to
  make the grade.
  Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006.
  to be good enough An excuse like â€œI didn't call because I couldn't find your numberâ€ doesn't make the grade for most women.
  Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003.

(Apologize in advanced if the question is not good for this site or if it is a dupe of another question. If so, please delete rather than close. Thank you.)


texts:
I would like to write that a certain group of participants have larger Heschl's gyrus on average when compared to another group.

Is it correct to write that

  Type A participants have been reported to have larger Heschl's gyri's than type B participants.


texts: What's the difference between "lonely" and "lonesome"

texts:
Both words seem to be used interchangeably. E.g.,

  I'm feeling lonely tonight.
  I'm feeling lonesome tonight.

I guess I always felt "lonesome" was somehow more severe and heart-wrenching, but is there any real basis for that interpretation?

It looks from google n-grams that like both have coexisted for some time.


texts: Origin of the usage of "late" to mean deceased

texts: I guess I can somewhat see the connection, but it seems tenuous at best. How did this phrase originate and become so widely used?


texts: Is a vector of symbols used as singular or plural?

texts:
I am writing a technical report and having trouble with singular/plural. For example, A is a vector composed by a number of components:

A = [x, y, z]

Then should I used A as plural or singular? Which one of the followings is correct?

A is the output signals from [...]
A are the output signals from [...]