texts: Where does the English system of kinship terms for cousins ("Nth cousin K times removed") come from?

texts:
A recent question on our sister site made me wonder about something: where does the standard system of distinguishing different types of cousins in English via degrees and removals (as in "Nth cousin K times removed") originate?  Did English borrow it from another language, and if so, how far back can we trace it?  Did it develop out of an earlier, simpler and/or less regular system, and if so, when, where and by whom?
A quick web search did not turn up a clear answer.  I'm finding a lot of resources explaining how the system works, like this Q&A thread here and this Wikipedia page, but not where it comes from or why it works the way it does.

FWIW, this system has a number of features that make me suspect that it was likely deliberately invented (or formalized) for genealogical use:

It's verbose, and thus good for formal documents but not for casual use.  Nobody's going to use it in casual speech to address their relatives ("Hey, second cousin once removed, nice to see you!") the way closer and shorter kinship terms are regularly used.*
It's symmetric, i.e. if A is B's the Nth cousin K times removed, then B is also A's Nth cousin K times removed.  This is quite unlike most other English kinship terms, which are clearly directional: your aunt is not your niece, and your uncle is not your nephew.
It's also gender-neutral, which also seems rather unusual compared to other common English kinship terms.
The one thing it does seem well suited for is specifying the consanguinity or relatedness coefficient between two people, which for Nth cousins K times removed (assuming that they're not also related via other paths) equals ½ raised to the power of 1 + 2N + K (minus 1 if they're double cousins, plus 1 if they're half-cousins).

These features seem to make the degrees-and-removals system good for answering the specific question "How closely are A and B related?", but not the more general question "How is A related to B?" (for which one might resort to saying e.g. "She's the granddaughter of his aunt on the father's side" or something similar, depending on how complex the relationship chain is and which parts of it are considered most relevant).  Hence my guess that this system seems to have been developed specifically for genealogy, rather than arising naturally from casual use.
But this is only a guess, and a rather vague one at that.  Surely the origin of this system must be known, at least to some extent, but I'm having a hard time finding any information about it.

*) OK, I can totally see someone doing that, but only jokingly.


texts: A word meaning "a student who is repeating a class or grade"

texts: Is there a word in English for a student who is repeating a grade at school or a (university) student who hasn't completed a mandatory course successfully the first time and is retaking the class?


texts: What is the meaning of " such as" in this text?

texts: No difficulties had delayed the invaders but such as Nature had interposed to thwart them.


texts: What is the difference between need and necessity?

texts:
I was asked what the difference between need and necessity was by a non native speaker. It was in the context of the name of an article to do with global warming, i.e "The need/necessity for....". I was completely stumped and googling it only produced speculative answers.
In my mind a necessity is an absolute requirement, for example food and water is a necessity for survival. I would have said that a need is a requirement but maybe not an absolute one. For example, there is a need for an umbrella when walking outside in the rain.
Could you please give a definitive answer, if there is one?
EDIT - Attempting to address Edwin Ashworth's need for signs of research.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines need and necessity as follows

Need - Necessity, requirement.
Necessity - Constraint or determination by some external force; an instance of this.

In Fleischer's 1804 book "English Synonymous Or the Difference Between Words Esteemed Synonymous in the English Language: Useful to All who Would Either Write and Speak with Propriety and Elegance", need and necessity are given by

Need and necessity relates less to the situation of life than the other three words [in the context of poverty, indigence and want]; but more to the relief we expect or the remedy we seek, with this difference between the two that need seems less pressing than necessity.

although this is both contextual and dated. I am struggling to find other reliable sources, hence my post on this website.


texts:
My friend is a grammar enthusiast.

He has a particular problem with this sentence.

  Waze lets you allow, avoid, or avoid long stretches of unpaved roads.

Please correct and suggest a fix.

There are three options for this particular setting in Waze.

Unpaved roads - Allow, Avoid, Avoid Long Stretches

The intent is to combine:

Waze lets you allow unpaved roads.

Waze lets you avoid unpaved roads.

Waze lets you avoid long stretches of unpaved roads.

Gracias


texts: I came across a line "Once you decide to apply, make sure your CV is short, make sense and is without ___ of any kind". Is it "errors" or "an error" and why?


texts: What is the verb for earning money though bad ways or illegal?

texts: How to say if a person earns lot of money especially in a bad ways or through illegal business. I want to know the verb of earning money through illegally and how can we call such a person.


texts: "Position" is to "space" as what word is to "time"?

texts:
Is there an English word that is the temporal equivalent to "position"?  As position can be described as "where you are", I can think of "when you are" as the temporal meaning.

Information on how it will be used in order to be answered (quoted from a comment by the OP which has since been moved to chat):

  If a time traffic controller were to speak to a time traveller, though, can he say "I'll need you to supply your current moment please before we can arrange your landing."? Or does it only feel unnatural because we never use moment like that. Because we don't have time travel to require lingo like that?


texts:
I’m Spanish and I wanna get tattooed a phrase that I always say but in English instead. It’s something like ‘You can’t judge someone for something he hasn’t chosen’
I know it is not right like that, that’s why I want to find the right way to say it.
E.g
A person has a big nose and there is this guy always laughing at her because of that. That person was born like that, is not something that she could choose

The father of a kid is an alcoholic, but that doesn’t mean he is going to be an alcoholic too when he is older.

I don’t know if it’s a bit more clear now!

Thanks anyway


texts: "Despite not being" vs "despite of not being"

texts:
What's the different between despite not being and despite of not being?

Example:

  She wore a turtleneck sweater and a floral skirt that reached just
  above her knee. Despite (of) not being expensive clothes, they made
  her look elegant.

Will the meaning change if I choose one from the other? Or maybe one of them is ungrammatical?


texts: What's the correct word to use in order to prompt the user to enter the data in a computer app: "Enter" or "Insert"?

texts: When I write an application with a programming language and I want some inputs from the user, should I use the word "Enter" or "Insert"?


texts: One word to describe being 'committed to the environment'

texts: How can I say that I am committed to the environment in one word?


texts: Is "With a heavy heart and feet" correct?

texts:
As a bit of a background, I'd like to start off by saying that this is my first stab at writing drama.

My question is this - is the usage

  With a heavy heart and feet, he dragged himself to the nearest bar.

correct?

If not, what should the ideal substitution be? I feel as if writing 'heavy' twice in the same sentence would make it unnecessarily redundant.

Apparently, the use of 'heavy heart' has substantially declined after 1862. Also, the usage of 'heavy feet' is pretty minimal all the way from 1800 to 2000, with an exception in the early phase of the 1900s. Source - Google NGrams.

Should I be using the two phrases at all?

I could possibly substitute the entire sentence with something like

  With heavy feet and a heart full of grief, he dragged himself to the nearest bar.

A bit of context - The man is rejected and humiliated by his childhood crush in front of the whole class. Naturally, he locates the nearest bar in the vicinity and drinks the night away.

A bit cliche, I know.

Thanks in advance!


texts: Is it acceptable to say "full of baloney" in an essay?

texts:
I am a high school IB student taking AP English Literature. In my opinion, Brave Orchid is full of some balderdash talk-stories, which I would like to express as "full of baloney." Is this acceptable in an essay about The Woman Warrior?

  The reader is already past the idea that Brave Orchid's talk-stories are full of baloney, but the idea is now forming in Kingston.

Update: The reason for saying the "talk-stories are full of baloney" or any substitute is that they are actually made up stories that Brave Orchid told her children, not my opinion. In one of the stories she tells her only daughter she had two siblings who died in China. It is more of a fact than my opinion that her stories are fictitious (thanks for that word by the way). Think of Santa Claus flying to 2 billion houses in one night with the aid of nine reindeer--we're talking about that kind of baloney.


texts:
In the opening sentence of an article I am writing, I state something that would seem obvious to the reader, but that I will challenge (since I will be closing with a slightly different conclusion). The sentence is:

So I achieved the most amazing xyz feat... or did I?

Is the usage/grammar correct?

Thanks.


texts:
My apologies if this has been asked and answered before.

I know that word classes can either be open or closed; for example, nouns are an open word class and allow for new nouns to be created to communicate new meanings.

I also know that contractions are not a part of speech in themselves, but I recently had a debate with a friend over whether it was grammatically correct to create new contractions the same way other words are. I was arguing that it is acceptable, and I wanted to use the point that contractions are "open" as nouns or verbs would be, but that isn't quite right. Is it grammatically correct to create new contractions? If so, what grammatical rule or property would allow it? The word in question, if it helps, was "how're", as in "How're you doing?"

Thanks for your time.


texts:
I was recently reading a book and came across a sentence that says "Allow me to do the some of the same." Should it read "Allow me to do some of the same"?
It sounds completely wrong with "the" in there. However, it's in a book about writing by a professional editor. I'm wondering if this dude's some kind of grammar ninja or what. I've tried using Google and even ran it through several "grammar-checkers" and can't find any instance in which you would say it like that.
Any insight into this would be much appreciated, thanks!


texts: Is there a misnegation in the following example?

texts:
I have a question about an excerpt that I read online. Here it is:

  Having reviewed the posts that you have identified, I conclude that you do not have any non-frivolous defamation against any of the posters.

My doubt is related to the second clause: "do not have any non-frivolous..." Is this a case of misnegation, in which the actual meaning of the phrase is "do not have any frivolous"?


texts: The pronunciation of "was" has changed since the Seventeenth Century. When and why did it change"?

texts: In Chaucer and John Donne "was" is pronounced like "wahss" but nowadays we say "woz".  When did the change occur? and why?


texts: A possessive affix for words ending in 've'?

texts:
I was playing with my spell-checker, and decided to download up-to-date English (British) dictionaries from there.

One of the files that is essential for spell-checkers, in addition to the .dic files which stores the dictionary itself, is the .aff file which stores all possible affixes. More about the format of this file can be found here, and I pasted the list of affixes for the language en_GB here.

Now the question. My spell-checker doesn't seem to accept the possessive form:

  the objective's gradient

and indeed, I cannot find the corresponding rule in the affix file (there is no match for e's in that file). I have never heard anyone complain about this spelling before though, and I am wondering if this is the correct British spelling? If so, maybe someone would have an insight about how to add the corresponding rule to the affix file?

In comparison, the list of affixes for the language en_US (American English, pasted here) is much shorter, and does contain a simple rule for the possessive 's (cf line 105).


texts: When writing about a true court case. When should defense be capitalized?

texts: Example: Christine returned to the defence council with my refusal of the offer to settle.


texts: Can bacon or beans suggest some sort of alcohol?

texts:
I just read this poem:

  The Englishman
  by G.K. Chesterton

  St George he was for England,
  And before he killed the dragon
  He drank a pint of English ale
  Out of an English flagon.
  For though he fast right readily
  In hair-shirt or in mail,
  It isn’t safe to give him cakes
  Unless you give him ale.

  St George he was for England,
  And right gallantly set free
  The lady left for dragon’s meat
  And tied up to a tree;
  But since he stood for England
  And knew what England means,
  Unless you give him bacon
  You mustn’t give him beans.

  St George he is for England,
  And shall wear the shield he wore
  When we go out in armour
  With battle-cross before.
  But though he is jolly company
  And very pleased to dine,
  It isn’t safe to give him nuts
  Unless you give him wine.

My question is about the line about the bacon and beans.  The first stanza is about food and beer, the third stanza is about food and wine.  But the middle stanza seems to be about food and food, but are one of those words (bacon or beans) suggestive of beer?


texts: "to walk something" meaning "to carry something"?

texts:
This is from a book "Confess" by Colleen Hoover. "To walk something" meaning "to carry" or "to bring" - is this just a case of a missed word ("with") or an unusual phrasal verb?
I walk into the bathroom and look at her clothes, and I want to walk them back downstairs to her


texts: What is the meaning of an expression "Tufted titmouse"?

texts: I watch the show "The Good Doctor". It was used in season 2 episode 4. In flashbacks, Shawn had with his mother/caregiver (couldn't quite figure it out), she was dying and he had to move. They used it three times in this episode. I know its a bird, but what is the idiom behind that?


texts:
I'm reading "Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal" by "Nick Bilton"
At some point, CEO was fired and all employees are sad and confused. The author had used this paragraph to describes the situation:

But the mood wasn’t jovial. There was no laughing. There was only
tension that could have been sliced with a tweet and sadness, even
among the winning team.

What does the second sentence mean?


texts: Is "He should have gone running away" grammatical?

texts:
Is the use of the construction should have gone running away correct?
Would not a better answer be “should have run away”? A teacher at my school had this question on her students exam and is curious if it is an acceptable answer.

The full sentence from which the above was taken is:

  The cheetah tended to the sick lion and was eaten. He should have gone running away instead of helping the lion.

I'm not sure if the use of “...he should have gone running away...” is grammatically acceptable.


texts:
I am trying to find a more "optimised" way to say the below. Edna feels that Felix is being condescending but he is not so he shows it through his gesture but the whole thing feels very clunky...very clinical. Is there a better way to frame Felix's gesture ?

Like a library ? Edna arched an eyebrow, wondering if Felix was being condescending.
Felix raised his hands, displaying open palms, to show that he did not mean it. That would help.


texts: Should the "e" in "'ello 'ello 'ello" be capital at the beginning of a sentence?

texts: If the the sentence is started with "'ello 'ello 'ello" should the "e" at the beginning be capital or should I count the omitted "H" still and have it lower case? Because I don't want to be ungrammatical as well as being arrested for impersonating a police officer...


texts: Word for a computer user without administrative access/privileges

texts:
I'm looking for a suitable word to describe a computer application user, who has no administrator privileges.  To contextualize this, the application relates to the management of skills/abilities within a business environment, and this would be a level of access whereby a person could see their own data only.
The context is as follows:
Level  Term           Description
3      Super User     Highest level of access
2      Administrator  Medium/custom-level of access
1      ?????          Basic access

I found a similar question here, but the context is different and therefore the suggestions are not appropriate.
Words that have been considered but deemed unsuitable are:

User - too general, and a Super User and Administrator are also "users", so this was confusing
Basic - not contextual enough, and maybe construed as relating to "stupid"
Standard - not contextual enough
Student - the software is not academic, and this relates too closely to education
General - best so far


texts:
Looking for general information with regards to solicit vs elicit, as well as which would be the correct word for this phrase:

  Before spending time learning your system, I just wanted to [solicit
  or elicit] some feedback from you.

Some background:

A person had written an advertisement basically for their system, and I asked a question and then wrote the above phrase using solicit

I've seen both elicit and solicit used almost interchangeably in this kind of phrasing about getting feedback.  I've also read that elicit should be used if it is a process and/or it doesn't necessarily benefit the person.  There is definitely some confusion on my part with regards to the use of those two words in this example.


texts: What is the word that means -"to lose against a totally inexperienced opponent"?

texts:
I am looking for a word to explain the following idea:

  To lose any competition to an opponent who succeeds despite having no idea that they have overcome incredible odds against them to succeed.


texts: What literary term best describes the following phrase relying on the dual meaning of a word for humorous effect?

texts: "A sheep led astray rarely gets fleeced." The literal act of fleecing of a sheep alludes to the alternative meaning of fleeced - to get swindled, or stripped of money.  It doesn't seem to be a pun, but I can't think of what term would describe the dual literal and figurative meaning of this statement.


texts: Deconstruction of the phrase "some variety of" to refer to a single type or class of object

texts:
In informal English, I often see the phrase "some variety of" referring to a singular classification of a particular object of a sentence. For example:

That appears to be some variety of plant.
This class is just some variety of higher-level type.

Due to the boundedness of variety as referring to "a number or collection of different things, especially of a particular class," is this necessarily incorrect usage? Despite the numerous distinctions in the English language between an object's singular and plural forms, this might indeed be the case, but by that same token, the phrase can be easily satisfied by substituting a size of one for the number or size of the collection. This satisfies the definition, despite the further qualifier "of different things," in which it can be logically inferred that the single term differs from nothing at all.
I'm clearly over-thinking this, and the phrase is regardless vague and non-specific, but I'm more curious if it's correct according to the current, formal revision of the English language.


texts: in a green shirt, in green shirt, with a green shirt or with green shirt?

texts:
Suppose you want to describe a stranger in the distance to a friend standing next to you. The stranger wears a green shirt. Which is the best way to describe her?

  Look at that girl in a green shirt
  Look at that girl in green shirt
  Look at that girl with a green shirt
  Look at that girl with green shirt

She also wears a yellow skirt - Can you say: Look at that girl in a green shirt and a yellow skirt?  Why should you drop "a" from "green skirt" in this case?


texts: Do references to colloquial terms (or a term following A.K.A.) require quotation marks?

texts:
In the below sentence, does "taking the fifth" need to be in quotation marks?

A person may stay silent in order to avoid self-incrimination (commonly referred to as taking the fifth).

The style guide I'm working under does not allow for italics (it's reserved only for Latin/foreign terms). I like the way it looks without quotes, but just want to make sure that is okay.


texts:
I encountered the following two examples:

Moreover, the proposed scheme is designed in an ID-based setting and so the necessity for certificates and some related problems are eliminated.

Our scheme also achieves setup-freeness and so a user can enjoy the fairness provided by the fair exchange scheme without interacting with the arbitrator for registration.

Is this type of construction (and so) correct? Should there be some commas somewhere? Are they not just two independent clauses joined by and so?


texts: Is there a word or phrase for giving something to a highly respected person?

texts:
I am looking for a better word choice for give when we give something to a highly respected person (or an entity, such as an organization, a government, or a country).

The basic sense of the word give is usually sufficient to describe the act of giving something to someone. However, in most Asian cultures, we usually use different words for giving something to a person with equal or lower social status (in this case give is quite perfect), from giving something to a person who has higher social status, especially when that person is highly respectable in the society. (A venerable person might be an appropriate term here.) This "something" could be abstract, such as respect, loyalty, an honorable title, or concrete, such as money, a souvenir, a celebration, a tribute, and so on.

Some words I found in dictionaries are offer, dedicate, and consecrate are close, but not quite.

Is there a word, or a short phrase, for this verb in English?


texts: A word for someone that loves learning/ curious, has wonder about the world In general

texts: I need a word that describes the love of learning, discovering, or it could even be a word that describes a curious person.


texts: Why were "skin" and "niggle" slang words meaning to hurry?

texts: I've read in a book From Flappers to Rappers: The Study of American Youth Slang two words used commonly within the same decade 1900-1910 meaning to hurry were "skin" and "niggle". I'm puzzled as to why these words would be selected and used to mean hurry: "Let's skin!" or "Let's niggle!". Any ideas?


texts: A word for being troubled at others' potential schadenfreude against me

texts: Schadenfreude is "enjoyment obtained from the trouble of others." I'm not looking for the antonym of that, but instead if there is a similar word for the object of schadenfreude. For instance, is there a word for me knowing (or being troubled that) others are experiencing schadenfreude at my expense?


texts: Is it appropriate to say "Kindly send it through email address at"

texts: Is Kindly send it through email address at... an appropriate sentence?


texts: What does Mitt Romney’s “I only spent four years as a governor? I didn’t inhale,” mean?

texts:
I was arrested by the former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney’s remark, “I only spent four years as a governor. I didn’t inhale,” made in the Republican Presidential candidates debate on Fox News channel aired on September 22nd. I thought it means Romney hadn’t inhaled marijuana at top of my mind, but rethought it shouldn't be all what he meant.

Michael Scherer of the Time magazine reports that when Romney is asked if he thinks President Obama is a socialist by the moderator, he avoided the answer, and said:

“I love this country. I spent my life in the private sector, not in government. I only spent four years as a governor. I didn’t inhale.”

Scherer continues;

“This is funny. It seems like an attack on Bill Clinton who famously did inhale, but it is actually an attack on Perry, who not only has been in government for decades, but appears to have inhaled Benadryl dust.”

From the context of the sentence, I guess “inhale (dust)” means “being spoiled by bureaucratic atmosphere / trapped into trite, bureaucratic thinking patterns," but am not sure.

What does “inhale” or “inhale Benadryl dust” (I know Benadryl is a brand name of diphenhydramine hydrochloride) exactly mean? Is it understood to everybody for its own as “I didn’t inhale,” as Romney used without supplementing “what”?


texts:
What is the difference in meaning between perceived pain and observed pain?

To observe indicates that we watch carefully the way something happens or the way someone does something, especially in order to learn more about it, while perceive means to see or notice something.

Does this mean that perceived pain is that you can feel while observed pain is that you cannot?


texts: "Money for rope" ... meaning and derivation?

texts:
I was listening to John Lennon's song "Gimme Some Truth" just now, and in it there's a recurring line:

  ". . . money for rope."

I never thought about it much before, but it strikes me this has to be some kind of aphorism or at least a familiar idiom somewhere. Does anyone know what it means and where it comes from? I've found some things on the Web that say it refers to the rope trade, and driving a bad bargain, etc., but none of these seem entirely convincing. Or at least they left me feeling unsatisfied.

Does anyone have a clear line on this one?


texts: Why do we use 'up' as adverbs for verbs?

texts: Why do we use up as adverbs for verbs? For example, 'wake up', 'throw up', etc.


texts:
I've always put commas before and after "respectively", but am looking at the sentence below and feel like they're not necessary.

The Italian and French surveys were carried out respectively in 2008 and 2009.

Any informed opinions on this?


texts:
According to both my trusted sources (wiktionary and etymonline), the word debt ("something owed") traces to the Middle English word dette, which goes back to dett, from the French etymon dete. I was wondering how a silent b got placed into the word; how come we don't have det or something similar? I know the Latin word this stems from was debere; did this influence the evolution of the word, or was some medieval scholar trying to be fancy, as occurred to so many similar words?

Thanks.


texts:
What does "the systems of meaning… take over this absolutely plural text" mean in the following paragraph?

Is knowledge dispassionate and absolute, or forever ambiguously dependent on the slippery meanings we give to words? The postmodernist writer Roland Barthes encapsulates this in a piece of literary criticism: ‘the systems of meaning…take over this absolutely plural text, but their number is never closed, based as it is on the infinity of language.’
Art and Science, Sîan Ede; pub I.B.Tauris & Co, 2014


texts: I was writing a book about royalty and I needed to use the word suitor in it, but the "suitors" were female. Should I keep using the word suitor or suitress?


texts:
I'm angry.

I'm not angry.

Are both (1) and (2) affirmations?
I ask because Merriam-Webster defines affirmation as 'a positive assertion', so this make me confused as to whether (2), which technically is a negative assertion, is an affirmation.


texts: Is the comma necessary in this situation?

texts:
I was going through two questions on an ACT Practice test and was wondering about the choice of punctuation.

Problem 1:

To add to the confusion, every New Year's Day a person according to this Korean counting system, becomes a year older, regardless of his or her actual birthday.

According to the test, there should be a comma between person and according. Can anyone explain why?

Problem 2: Other letters are solemn; speaking of relatives and friends who had died.

According to the test, the semi-colon should be replaced with a comma. However, I thought that there are two independent clauses, so there should be a semi-colon or period. Please explain why there is a comma.

Thanks!


texts: As a noun, does the word 'laic' operate as a synonym for the word 'layperson'?

texts:
Based off of my Internet searches, it is not quite clear to me in what way this word operates.

Collins Dictionary, according to the page at which I looked when I looked up the word 'laic', said that the word 'laic' can operate as a synonym for 'layperson' in a clerical and non-clerical sense; but, according to Oxford Dictionary and some other dictionaries, the word 'laic' only operates as a synonym for 'layperson' in the clerical sense.

For example, would it be correct, if one didn't want to use the word 'layperson', to say: "no, my explaining that sort of thing to you would be an impossibility, as I am a total laic when it comes to this matter".

Can someone please clarify this for me, please?


texts: In this particular case, can I omit the "but" in a "Not only ... also" sentence construction?

texts:
I've looked at several threads about this, but I can't really get a feel for whether or not this sentence in particular is correct:

Not only is it important for us to protect our own data, we also have
a responsibility to protect each other's sensitive information.

Does the above sentence sound okay? It sounds like something I would say out loud, but I'm not sure whether it's grammatically correct. Is it essential that I add the 'but' in there after the comma? Like so:

Not only is it important for us to protect our own data, but we also have
a responsibility to protect each other's sensitive information.


texts: Meaning of "the couple that boops noses together in between makeout sessions and sweet nothings"

texts:
This is a sentence I've come across while reading 7 Things About Love That Make No Sense

  If you’re the couple that just stands on the sidewalk for extended
  periods of time and boops noses together in between makeout sessions
  and sweet nothings, you deserve to get breadcrumbs thrown at you.

Is a metaphor or some rhetorical device used? Why do they deserve breadcrumbs? What are boops noses and sweet nothings?


texts: What is the meaning of "as clear as a bell"?

texts:
What is the meaning “as clear as a bell”?

I met this expression long time ago but I have forgotten what it means.


texts: Difference between "presently" and "shortly"

texts: What is the difference between presently and shortly? They seem to have rather similar meanings.


texts: "will be exploring" or "will have explored"

texts:
I have a question about the future continuous and the future perfect. In this sentence:
Probably by the time you read this I will have unpacked, and I ________ the town before it gets too dark.
Is it correct to write "will be exploring"? Or is it "will have explored"?
Thank you :D


texts:
How do I list multiple things that are compound words?

In my own language I'm used to writing these lists like this:

"I kicked foot-, basket-, and volleyball"

The sentence is supposed to mean that I kicked all types of balls (football, basketball and volleyball). However, it does not seem correct to me. Should I write them as whole words, with or without hyphen, or how?


texts: What is the term for discriminating against someone for something they're not?

texts:
If person A is not gay, but person B calls person A gay while knowing that person A isn't gay, what is this type of discrimination called?

I used to call it "pseudodiscrimination", but I'm not sure if that word exists for something else. What is the word I need?


texts: Replicit? Or a word that sounds like it?

texts: I've looked up "replicit" and it's not a word, or so I can tell. But I could swear that there's a word that sounds like "rep licit" which means "full of" or "abundant." "Rimplicit"? Nope. Does anyone know what the word might be?


texts: Is it okay to repeat "to" in a string of verbs?

texts:
Is it okay to repeat the word "to" in a string of verbs? See the following sentence. Does repeating "to" serve an important function or should it be deleted?

  Throughout history, humans have tinkered with the world around them in an effort to learn, to discover, to wonder, and to invent.


texts: Sentence fragments as modifiers: "self-sacrifice incarnate, the 10th Doctor wavered..."?

texts:
I was recently asked to choose which of following two excerpts sounded better:

Emotionally vulnerable and incarnate of self-sacrifice, the Tenth Doctor wavered between romantic and intensely protective relationships with his companions.
Emotionally vulnerable and self-sacrifice incarnate, the Tenth Doctor wavered between romantic and intensely protective relationships with his companions.

I'm fairly certain this is a Dr. Who reference.
I argued that, even if the first one was changed to read "Emotionally vulnerable and incarnation of self-sacrifice," the second one was a better choice as "self-sacrifice incarnate" is an (compound?) adjective, where "incarnation of self-sacrifice" is a noun (right?).
But, even though I'm pretty sure the second choice is the better of the two, I can't explain why. In fact, I can't even explain what to call this whole thing. The programmer in me won't let me rest until I know what it is, how it should be used and, potentially/if necessary, why. I've spend the last 30 minutes Googling away for an answer to no avail -- primarily because I'm not sure for what it is I'm searching.
So, to summarize:
Which wording should be used and why? Moreover, what are these types of descriptors called?


texts: Compound adjective or short phrase to describe something that is affected by an issue

texts:
I'm looking for a word, compound adjective or very short phrase that could be used to describe something, such as a parcel delivery, that is affected by an issue.  What I'm looking for is supposed to sound formal or "technical". The only thing I could think of was "issue-affected" but Google showed me I had just made that up or "under issue" but the meaning of that (if it actually has any) is not what I'm looking for.

An example of use of the word would be:

  Deliveries which are complete, pending or issue-affected

Thank you very much


texts: What is the word for an unmarried female?

texts: An unmarried male is called a bachelor. Is there an English word for an unmarried female?


texts:
Among the earliest telescopes were Galilean telescopes, modeled after the simple instruments built by Galileo, the first person having used telescopes to study the stars and planets.

I know "having used" should be changed to "to have." Could someone point out the rule or reasoning behind this?


texts:
I've read a lot of novels written in English, and one thing I've come across many times is the phrase "I see not..." (e.g I see not how this plan is going to work). I am very curious as to whether "I see not" is a more "formal" or "literary" form of "I don't see" or not and would very much like to know more about how I can correctly use it.

Please excuse any grammatical mistakes I might have made, English is not my mother tongue.


texts:
In this sentence

  With the break-up of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity, Europe saw India recede into a mythical distance

Is mythical distance an idiom? What does it mean?


texts:
Where should I use the following symbols while writing something in English language?

! — exclamation mark
; — semicolon
` — grave accent


texts: Meaning of "the kynge gaf hem leue for fayne wold he haue ben accorded with her"

texts:
Here is a fragment of Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory:

  Thenne alle the barons by one assent prayd the Kynge of accord betwixe the lady Igrayne and hym / the kynge gaf hem leue / for fayne wold he haue ben accorded with her

Does accord between the king and lady mean marriage?
What's the meaning of the phrase in bold?


texts: I have seen examples of using prolonged with negative connotations. If a relationship between two countries is cordial and last for more than five centuries is it correct to use the phrase " prolonged relationship"?


texts:
I want to write that some specific philosophy "pervades" (or "permeates") my personal view of some topic.

Is this understandable or does exist a better word to express this?


texts: "One for," or "one to," or perhaps something else

texts:
Say I am a die-hard communist (I am NOT!) and I want to grudgingly admit that there's this one thing capitalists are right about. I believe I could say something like "now that's one for Adam Smith" or "...one to Adam Smith," but for the life of me I can't remember which one.

Or perhaps I'm wrong and none of those is the correct usage, in which case I'd like to know what the appropriate expression is.


texts: Grammar analysis: [We] [two brothers] are responsible for this act. [We] [both] are responsible for this act

texts:
We two brothers are responsible for this act.
We both are responsible for this act.

—What is the function of two brothers and both in these sentences?
Are they "appositives" or "subject-complements"?


texts:
A thought occurred to me during a tedious journey yesterday, when travelling why do we use the word jam when describing being

  …caught in a traffic jam?

It is just a queue, in this case, it happens to be composed of traffic but if I was in a shop waiting in a queue of people I wouldn’t say I was in a people jam or queue jam... why not?


texts: "fraction of relevant instances that are retrieved": Should it not be 'those are'?

texts:
I was reading a Wiki page which had this statement:

  recall is the fraction of relevant instances that are retrieved

Shouldn't it be the following?

  recall is the fraction of relevant instances those are retrieved


texts:
Source: A kid held up a sign with his Venmo ID on ESPN and thousands of people sent him money.

Each Saturday during the college football season ESPN hosts College GameDay, an pre-game show with a bunch of football experts and hundreds of screaming college kids in the background.
Today one of those screaming college kids was Sam Crowder, a student who brilliantly decided to hold up a sign with his Venmo username asking his mom to send him beer money.
Cue the Internet, and instead of of getting a few bucks from his mom more than two thousand people sent him money on Venmo, including $50 from Venmo themselves.

I checked OED and there are many definitions for cue. I'm not sure how it is used here.


texts: Politician says he will vote in favor of legislation that he hasn't read and will change once elected

texts:
Can anyone come up with a few good synonyms/idioms/expressions for a person or politician that will say whatever he/she believes will get him/her the most votes?

For example:  He/she will vote in favor of a piece of legislation, without having read the legislation and then change the legislation to protect citizen's freedoms after elected.

His/her answers to every political question are answered in such a way (vague) that proponents for both sides of the issue could claim that he/she sided with each proponent?


texts:
a word for an element of a design, or an object, that appears overtly functional but is decorative.
ie, 4x4 rugged styling that is not functional; plastic bull bars.
Lots of buckles or oversized, clasps, giant rivets, on 'rugged''utility' combat style clothing or backpacks.


texts: Difference between "remainder of the text" and "remaining text"

texts:
While reading one of the technical books I encountered "the remainder of the text will explore how the .NET framework...". From the context I understood it means "the remaining text of the book will explore ...".

Is there any difference between them or why is one used over the other?


texts: I heard the sentence “I is free” in the movie Django Unchained. But is that really a well-formed sentence grammatically? Could I use it myself in regular conversation?


texts: Double contraction possible with possessive noun + is?

texts:
Can one shorten, in informal writing, a phrase like “Smith’s is the best among the ones I’ve seen” to “Smith’s’s best among the ones I’ve seen”, using double ’s contraction?

I myself doubt it’s possible—I’ve never seen something like this in the wild. That said, it’s non-trivial to look this up online for obvious reasons (search engines are not of much help with one-letter apostrophe combinations), so I thought I’d ask.


texts: Support for/of/to a specific standard or norm

texts:
I already checked this answer: "Support of" vs. "Support for" but since the context is not the same, I am not sure of the right answer.

Here is the context: say that you are talking about a specific software which integrates a specific standard or norm. How should I express it ?:

"The current version of the software comes with a support for the XYZ norm/standard"
"The current version of the software comes with a support of the XYZ norm/standard"
"The current version of the software comes with a support to the XYZ norm/standard"

Thanks,


texts:
Say, previously I received a payment of $100 from Party A, and NOW I am describing the amount of the payment: "The amount of the payment was $100" (past tense).

Must the past tense be used? Is it possible to use the present tense ("The amount of the payment is $100")?


texts:
Recently I was informed that 'Always' can be used with continuous verbs but only if it is used on situations with bad implications, such as teenagers are always causing trouble. But what about these examples that aren't necessarily bad?

  He was always trying his best.
  The lad was always taking care of the kids.
  She is always giving things to the poor.
  He is always thinking of you.

I restructured examples without using continuous verb.

  He always tried his best.
  The lad always took care of the kids.
  She always gave things to the poor.
  He always thought of you.

I believe there is no strict rule but I hope to get more feedback about this.


texts: What's a word for "widespread," but not so wide?

texts:
I want to say that something is trying to attain widespread use.

However, when I say widespread use, I really want to say that it is trying to be used by a few people (not necessarily that widespread).

Is there a word, or an expression for this?


texts: "Leave for better" or "Leave for the better"?

texts:
I would like to say something like "Go out and play great outdoors" using different words.

Thus, I would like to use these words: "leave, enjoy outdoors, better life".

Here I made it, but does it make any sense?

  Leave for better!
  or
  Leave for the better!

Another suggestion was "Leave it better" which means "stay as it is better, or protect".

What can I say?


texts: I want to read whatever book that he wrote

texts:
In this sentence, I think "whatever" itself introduces the relative clause, so you shouldn't put another relative pronoun "that."

What do you think about my idea?


texts:
Which is correct/preferred:

There is no such thing as a base -1 or base 0 number representation.
There are no such things as base -1 or base 0 number representations.
There is no such thing as base -1 or base 0 number representation.

For the intended audience, "base x number representation" is a term of art, so both "There is no such thing as base -1 number representation" and "There is no such thing as a base -1 number representation" (with the indefinite article "a") would be used, with the former perhaps being more common.


texts: Why is the misspelling of "its" (possessive) so widespread?

texts:
It happens everywhere: blogs, forums, newspapers, ...

Example:

  “Regrettably, the time President Trump spent sharing sensitive
  information with the Russians, was time he did not spend focussing on
  Russia’s aggressive behaviour, including its interference in American
  and European elections, it’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and
  annexation of Crimea,” he said.
  Independent

It is so prevalent that even being 100% certain that it should be spelled its, I (as a non native speaker) start to think that it's is an accepted variant.

Am I wrong in thinking that the only correct spelling for the possessive is its? Is it's an accepted spelling somewhere in the Anglosphere?
Are people not aware of this, or they do not care? Very often people make this error repeatedly in a single article.
Is it simply a very widespread typo? (really, so widespread??)
Should I correct people in forums / comments about this?


texts: What is the difference between 'tweaking' and 'fine-tuning'?

texts: When I say  'after some tweaking and fine-tuning', are they different processes, or am I just being redundant?


texts: Word/phrase for "things that are too much for us to bear"

texts:
I have a theory. We created laughter to protect us from things
  that are too much for us to bear.

I'm sure there's a word or a shorter phrase for the bolded part.


texts: Redaction error in book 'I am Pilgrim' or something else?

texts:
For starters English is my third language so please excuse any grammar/voc errors. I am currently reading the book 'I am pilgrim' and I stumbled upon a weird sentence.

A small voice inside, a child's voice, kept telling me something I've never forgotten: I would have such as to have known her.

I googled the sentence multiple times but only found one site that does reviews of books where someone had the same problem. The link is at the bottom. Appearently it's a key sentence in the book and I interpreted it as: 'I would have liked to have known her'. I believe that's correct but in the link down below the author agrees with me and doesn't understand the sentence too.

Can anyone help me in how the original sentence is gramatically correct and maybe the rules behind it? Thanks in advance

http://clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2013/07/i-am-pilgrim-by-terry-hayes.html


texts: Alternatives to leading a sentence with the conjunctive adverb "However"

texts:
The word "however" is used to lead off a sentence that counters a previous thought. Are there any alternative words or phrases that can substitute? I'm even looking for old English and obsolete words and phrases. I'm trying to add some creativity to my writing.

I'll start by including words that are nearly as tired:

Nevertheless
Moreover (not exactly the same thing as "However" and "Nevertheless", but can in limited cases be used)

Anyone have anything better?


texts:
I was doing an exercise and I found this one: Correct one word in the incorrect expression "In that moment, the door opened" (the exercise highlights "In that moment" part). However, I think it is good, I don't know what is wrong with this.

Thanks.


texts: How to answer when an American asks "Which part of ___ are you from"?

texts:
I'm an alien worker here in USA.
This happens a lot when I start chit-chatting with a stranger, he/she would ask "Where're you from?"
"China" I say.
Then chances are the following question would be "Which part of China are you from?"

I never figured out the best answer to the "which part" question. I guess average Americans don't know world geography as good as the rest of world knows about America, so why bother asking "which part"?

Then I thought this might just be a polite way of keeping on the conversation. Sometimes I tried to give a specific answer like my province or the nearby famous city, but almost always got a "I don't know where the heck is that and not interested in knowing" face. Otherwise, I'd just give a general direction like Southeast, but that makes me feel I'm being too perfunctory to the nice guy. Either way, the topic is quickly switched over with a bit of awkwardness.

What do Americans expect when asking the "which part" question? Is there a short yet nice way of answering that question without having to give a geography lecture?


texts: Do "without being disturbed" and "as being undisturbed" have similar meanings?

texts:
In one school's mid-term English exam, there was a question that had three blanks to fill in.

  When you sleep, it is important to get a good night's sleep  _______ _______ _________
  by 'sleep thieves'such as night lights, TV, computer, or cell phone.

Original[intended] answer is without being disturbed

Would ‘as being undisturbed’ also work?

I think it a little awkward, but possible.

Thank you for your kind opinions in advance.


texts: Should the phrase "Man up" be considered offensive?

texts:
Liverpool Football Club have recently released a list of banned phrases, that they want the fans to avoid using. (Read the story)

One of these phrases is "Man up".

Why is this phrase considered offensive, and who is likely to take offense?


texts:
When entering a place or meet a group of people or starting a speech, how do you say hello to the audience (from a few to thousands of people). I know that this depends on the situation. I think it is common to say

  Hello, folks!

But what are some appropriate ways to say hello to initiate a connection with a group of people in different situations?

Formal
Formal but friendly
Informal

Apart from common salutations, can you also suggest creative solutions, which may be unusual but acceptable to a native speaker?


texts: Proper way to handle plurals with “whose”

texts:
I came up (re)phrasing a question like this:

  What's so special about directories whose name begins with a dot?

But now, I'm wondering whether this is the correct handling of plurals or not. Should the following be preferred?

  What's so special about directories whose names begin with a dot?

(In French both are correct and have different meanings — singular suggests that each directory has one name, plural suggests each directory can have several names, but it might be different in English.)


texts: How do you break down the meaning of a person's name?

texts:
I have been trying to figure out what the name "Krew" means, and have had little luck with common "name-meaning" websites. It got me curious about how to break the name down myself.

Is there a standard process for determining the meaning of a name? Could it have to do with another language, or will the meaning vary from language to language?


texts:
What's up?  The word "deposition" in the following quotation from the article on microwave ovens in Wikipedia seems to have a meaning that I am not familiar with and that I do not find in MW Unabridged or American Heritage Dict:

  Depending on water content, the depth of initial heat deposition may be several centimetres or more with microwave ovens, in contrast to broiling/grilling (infrared) or convection heating—methods which deposit heat thinly at the food surface.

(Maybe I am making too much of it and the writer just means how far the heat penetrates.  If so, I think he/she is guilty of using fancy language instead of plain English in order to sound oh-so-technocratic.)


texts: Etymology of the phrase "Shiver my timbers"

texts: I've been trying to search for the origin and meaning of the phrase "Shiver my timbers", but can't seem to find anything.


texts: Do exclamation and question marks always end a sentence?

texts:
It is true that exclamation and question marks end sentences in the same way a period does.

Don't do that!
Would you like to go out to eat?

However, in a more complex sentence, do exclamation and question marks replace commas?  It would seem this is most common with dialog.

"Don't do that!" he said.
"Would I do that? because I don't think I would."
In a more complex sentence, do exclamation and question marks replace commas? meaning they don't end the sentence.


texts: "monobjective" vs "monoobjective": should it be "mon" or "mono-" before a vowel?

texts:
I do not know which of the following words is right in English: monobjective vs monoobjective. The context is scientific/formal. Example: "monoobjective optimization".

Is there any general rule in English about whether one of the two o's should be omitted in such a situation ('mono' + word starting with an unstressed 'o') or not?

Some facts:

According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mono, 'mono-' can be 'mon-' before a vowel.
In Google, both terms are equally frequent, more or less.


texts: Is there any pattern or heuristic that can be used to identify a yes/no question, with reasonable accuracy?


texts: Why have some plural pronouns replaced singular pronouns?

texts:
While today we use for example the word "you" for second person singular and plural in objective and subjective manner, there were actually words to differentiate this usages like "thou" and "thee", along with many other pronouns and irregular verbs (that can be looked up in this table for example).

How come this parts of the language, especially specifying forms basically does not exist in today's language?


texts: Is the use of the phrase 'tip of the iceberg' correct in the following sentence?

texts: The dimensions of learning are indeed endless, and the more we learn, the more we realize that we have only scratched the tip of the iceberg.


texts:
There is a related question here, but it's different because that relates to dates whereas I am talking about specific times.

Compare the sentences "The assignment is due by 8:00am" and "The assignment is due before 8:00am".

My native speaker intuition is that Before 8:00am means 7:59:59am is on time, while 8:00:00am and later is late.

Regarding By 8:00am, I think here clearly 8:00:00am is OK and 8:01:00am is not. But what about 8:00:01am or 8:00:59am?


texts:
I'm translating two poems into English and I have two questions -- hopefully someone will be able to help me with them...

First, I needed to know whether I can simply use "See!" as a sentence (imperative). I tried to do my own research, but it's hard to google this because google does not read punctuation. I know I can say "Look!" or "See??", but could I say "See!" in English? (In Portuguese we can say that even though the correspondent verb is transitive).

Second, I needed to know if I could use the verb 'defeat' as intransitive even though it is transitive. I need to say something along the lines of "the light that kills" (a luz que mata) but it hardly sounds poetic like that and I managed to work around the rest of the poem so as it would rhyme with "defeats" (light that defeats). Does that sound alien to native ears? I usually have a good ear for matters related to the English language, but, when it comes to poetry, it is hard for me to draw the line because so much of what I read in poetry sounds weird to me anyway (in Engl or Port)... Can anyone help me with that?


texts: Eytymology of the expression "Pissy Pants McGee."

texts:
What is the origin of the expression "Pissy Pants McGee"?
Thanks!


texts: A word to describe somebody with smartphone-only tech skills

texts: I'm stuck finding a word to use for somebody who thinks he has tech skills because he can use the latest trendy mobile apps, though in fact he knows nothing about technology (e.g. how an app is made: how to create it).


texts: When a government decide to 'do' a referendum, what's the word/verb for it?

texts:
When a government decides to 'do' a referendum, what's the word/verb for it? Run, establish, form... etc?

Here is the sentence I need it for:

"The Catalan government disobeyed the Spanish constitution when they ______ a referendum in hope that Catalonia could become independent of Spain."


texts:
There is a very specific word for the nervous tic involving splaying the hand flat, fingers outstretched as far as possible.  I have seen the word, but have lost it from my list and can’t find it online either.

It’s not a common word, and is only used to describe this one thing. Does anyone know it?


texts: What does "length of acquaintance" means?

texts:
My (non-English) teacher encountered this question in a recommendation form and asked me for it's meaning. Does this mean how long I've known someone, or how close I am with him?
It'd be awesome if you could give me a sample response to a question that asks me about the length of my acquaintance with someone.

Thanks in advance


texts: Word meaning "someone who does all the work"

texts: Is there a word for someone who does all of the work? Or for the person who is exploited when someone else steals the credit?


texts:
I struggle to explain the situation when a person asks me about someone who has been sick and has become a bit better.

For example: Peter has been sick and after a period of time he becomes better.
For that situation if James comes to me and asks me "Joseph! How is Peter? Is he sick now?"

I want to say that his sickness is improving to mean that he is getting better. Does that mean that? Or do I need to describe his sickness in a different way?


texts:
I noticed in a TV show that the phrase "I want a refund" is pronounced like [I wanna refund]. I think the /t/ is dropped and /n/ is blended into the vowel. But how do Americans differentiate between wanna (want a) and wanna (want to)  in this situation? Do they differentiate by the stress position on the word 'refund'?

I want a refund [sounds like: I wanna refund] refund used as a noun

I want to refund [sounds like: I wanna refund] refund used as a verb


texts: What is the origin of the phrase shit-eating grin? How did it come to mean showing smugness or self-satisfaction of an individual's actions?


texts: Is there a name for the practice of dropping articles in legal writing?

texts:
I see this a lot in legal writing.

  "The defendant will be required to pay $1000 in restitution."

vs.

  "Defendant will be required to pay $1000 in restitution."

Or,

  Upon arrival, police noticed a foul smell in the air.

vs.

  Upon arrival, the police noticed a foul smell in the air.

Similarly, sometimes the article "a/an" is dropped.

Does this have a name? Lots of lawyers write this way, but I don't know if its a legitimate style or just bad form. I'm not referring to one line confirmations, as mentioned in a previous question.


texts: I am wondering whether the word genocide can also be used for the killing of a group of people based on their religion, for example: 'the Sikh genocide'. I have never seen it used that way, I have seen 'Armenian Genocide', 'Kurdish genocide', so on and so forth.


texts: Which was the original word- "pock" or "pox"?

texts:
I once laughed when a child with chicken pox pointed out to me a single spot, calling it a "pock". I had been under the impression that they had mistakenly thought the word "pox" was plural, and so could be singularised.

Turns out I was wrong. "Pock" is a perfectly valid word.

That got me thinking about which word came first. Was the word "pock" invented, based on the existing word "pox"? Or did "pock" always exist, and "pox" is merely the shortened version of the plural "pocks"?


texts: Does this sentence need something else to identify the husband as the one who smashed the window?

texts:
The woman states that her husband punched her, and he smashed her windows.

Is there something else that needs to be added to identify the husband as the one who smashed the window?


texts: Can I answer someone's request with: "That, I can do."

texts:
A friend asks me to do a task, is it proper to reply "That, I can do" in speaking form? or Should I still say "I can do that" ?
To provide more background, a friend asked me to do "A" task, but I did not want to do that, then he asked me to do "B" task, then I reply: "That I can do".... Is it proper?


texts: What is a term for someone who is bad at communicating with other people?

texts:
Is there a word for someone who is incapable of getting their point across clearly or understanding other people.

I can only think of longer phrases.

e.g.

  Don't worry about Geoff's manner. He's not a people-person.

But I'm sure there's a more succinct term.


texts: Putting someone or something down to bond with others

texts:
I have seen a behaviour whereby people will criticize or be mean about others in an attempt to bond or find common ground with the person they are speaking to.

Is there a word for this behaviour?


texts: Are cheap talk and gossip close synonyms or are there instances where one cannot be used to substitute the other?


texts: English words that are both nouns and "connectors"?

texts:
I am trying to solve a word puzzle that contains several sentences, two of which are presented below, and I have to figure out the missing words represented by the variables W1–W3:

  There is a W1 in the W2 W3 is near where the road bends which contains very important items.
  For instance, the top of the W3 is on the counter.

What's stumping me is W3. The only words I can think of that would syntactically fit for the first sentence are which and that:

  There is a W1 in the W2 which is near where the road bends which contains very important items.
  There is a W1 in the W2 that is near where the road bends which contains very important items.

But neither of those is syntactically correct for the second sentence:

  For instance, the top of the which is on the counter.
  For instance, the top of the that is on the counter.

It seems as though W3 is both a noun and a "connector word" (not sure what the proper term is). It seems to be a noun because it apparently has a top side ("...the top of the W3..."). And it seems to be a "connector" because it can be used in a similar context of which/that (which out of ignorance I am referring to when I say "connector word").

So my question is:

Are there words in the English language that fit the bill of being both nouns and "connectors"? If so, what are they called and what are some examples of them?


texts: Are items not on a list Implicitly or Explicitly not members of a group?

texts:
If someone is a position of authority makes a list they say is complete, are items NOT on the list implicitly or explicitly NOT members of the list?

Ex: if a person is NOT on a class roster, can they said to be implicitly or explicitly not a student in the class?


texts: What's the meaning of "it was a tidy bow"?

texts:
I found this expression in a news article:

When Vermont’s first coronavirus case was detected last month, it took two state health workers a day to track down 13 people who came into contact with that single patient. They put them under quarantine and started monitoring for symptoms. No one else became sick.
“It was a tidy bow,” recalled Daniel Daltry, one of the two health officers who did the work.
Within days, new cases were “coming in like dominoes,” Daltry said. By late March, his team was racing on a single day to trace the contacts of 12 patients, when an additional 30 cases landed on their desk.

I tried but couldn't find any dictionary entry or good explanation for the phrase. I guess, from the context, it could mean something manageable or doable, but otherwise I have no clue.
This is my first post on this forum. Any help would be appreciated.


texts: Philosophical idea for repetition of doing things leads to loss of interest in subject?

texts: I am searching for a term that refers to doing something will eventually result in boredom from that something.


texts: Difference in Negative forms( also Archaic English)

texts:
Imagine this, my baby brother was making annoying weird noise to irritate me, so I'd tell him

"Can you NOT do that!" {But here I can't say "CAN'T you do that!"}

Now,imagine my big brother was making me to go to the store just after I entered the house from school,so I'd tell him

"CAN'T you do that!" {But here I can't say "Can you NOT do that!"}

But the grammar rules state that if "not" isn't contracted then it must come after the subject but in these cases it obviously makes notable difference. What are the present rules to this and what should I generally use in modern times? Also I have seen this in archaic/older English, what were the older grammar rules when it came to negatives?


texts: What is the subject in the following sentence here?

texts:
sorry for the vague title; I can't think of a clearer one.

You are listening to Friday Music World. Coming up next is a song sure to give you inspiration to heal the world: "Heal the World" by Michael Jackson.

See the second sentence in the paragraph above. And I can see two point of views:

1) The full sentence should be something like 'The song coming up next is~'. The subject is 'song', and 'coming' functions as adjective which modifies 'song'. Since the sentence is colloquial, 'The song' can be omitted because it's too obvious.

2) 'Coming' is a gerund, and it implies the meaning 'the next song' in this sentence. Therefore, 'coming' should be the subject here.

I think 1) is correct, but I am not sure about it. What is the right opinion? Thanks in advance.


texts: Is there a word for satisfaction in others receiving justice?

texts:
Is there a word for satisfaction of hearing about justice that does not affect you?

e.g. you hear on the news that a diet foods company has been ordered to compensate customers for deliberately misleading customers into buying their products by making false claims about its benefits.

This makes you pleased as justice has been served however

you have never bought or attempted to buy any of the diet products
you will not receive any compensation
no-one you know has been affected

I suppose this is a mix of satisfaction, a restoring of faith in karma and a sense of the world being "put to rights" and better as a result..?


texts:
During an argument one person capitulates, not because they agree, but just to irritate the other with phrases like:

Yes, of course you are right etc.

Is there a specific word to describe this person?


texts:
Is it grammatically correct to use "among whom" in the sentence that follows and if not, then what's the alternative?

  79% of the students didn't participate in these projects among whom 45% didn't hear about the project courses before.


texts:
I am proofreading an essay by someone whose first language is not English. The following sentence I know, just by reading, is not right:

  All of the Algerians are still one of the individuals who make up a
  group.

What they are saying in a convoluted way is that Algerians are individuals who make up a group.

But is anyone able to list the specific linguistic or grammatical or logical rules the sentence violates?


texts: What does 'gatekeeper' mean in most cases?

texts: The sales in our company use gatekeeper to indicate the market leads dispatcher. But I am not sure why gatekeeper is not for those who sanitize the leads. I want to know the most common usage of this word.


texts: I am looking for an expression, idiom or proverb for a Hindi saying "ulta karobar" which literally means "turtled business" or "upside-down acts"

texts:
I am looking for an expression, idiom or proverb for a Hindi saying "ulta karobar" which literally means "turtled business" or "upside-down business" and relates to the disorderly handling of an issue or passing of foolish twisted laws that cause inconvenience or commotion/annoyance for the population.

After reflecting over such above mentioned doings, one can say with a sigh, "This is "ulta karobar."

What is the equivalent expression in English?


texts: Is this usage of “luxury of knowing” correct?

texts:
I would like to use "luxury of knowing" phrase. I searched for its meaning in internet. It seems that it is used in a song Lori McKenna – The Luxury of Knowing and a movie A Few Good Men

Lori McKenna Song:

  Turns to ice and your whole world just starts snowing
      And I don’t have the luxury of knowing

A few Good Men uses following:

  You have the luxury of not knowing what I know:
      that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives.

Is following usage is correct in meaning?

  We do not have this luxury of always knowing true answer in XXX domain.

What I mean is sometimes we know an answer, and sometimes we do not, but always knowing an answer in this domain is a privilege or luxury.


texts: Should I Use “these” or “those” When I Refer to Something in the First Sentence?

texts:
I’ve posted 5 photos on my timeline. Have you seen these/those
  photos? You’ll love these/those photos! These/Those photos were taken in France.

Should I use “these” or “those” when I refer to something in the first sentence?

Are there any simple rules that I should follow?

NOTES:

I know that I should use “this(singular)” and “these(plural)” for things that are near me.

I know that I should use “that(singular)” and “those(plural)” for things that are far from me.

In my example there is no “distance”.

What should I do? Changing the sentence is not an option.


texts: Idiom/metaphor for an abrupt end of a dream

texts:
I am looking for an idiom or a metaphor that denotes an abrupt end to a dream. For example, one has a nightmare and they wake up abruptly, having a very unpleasant feeling from this sudden change in one's consciousness (from a state of dreaming to a state of wakefulness).

The closest metaphor I could think of is "abducted from the dream" or "abducted from dreaming" as in being pulled out suddenly and unpleasantly from the said dream. However, the word "abducted" does not seem to be the best option.


texts:
Consider this statement.

  A function F may have a derivative G which exists at every point, but is discontinuous at some point.

To which function does the phrase 'discontinuous at some point' refer to? F or G?


texts:
In Russian language there are 2 different words that are translated into English as "Russian".

The first is nationality. For example (in English), Russian man (even he's Tatar or Chechen, but has Russian passport).

The second is "Russian language" that means "language of ethnic group of Western Russia" (there are 24 official languages in Russia: Russian, Abaza, Adyghe language, Altaic language Bashkir language, Buryat language, Ingush language, Kabardino-Circassian, Kalmyk, Karachay-Balkar, Komi has Nogai language, Mari, Moksha language Ossetian language, Tatar language, Tuvan language, Udmurt, Khakas language Circassian, Chechen language Chuvash language, Erza, Yakut) and 174 languages in all (including non official).

In Russian, words "Russian man" mean that the man has ethnic group of Western Russia. How can I say it in English?


texts: Difference between adjective and gerund - he loves playing

texts:
He loves playing

In this statement - is playing a noun(gerund) here or an adjective?

According to me it should be adjective as it telling additional information about the subject ("he" here).


texts: What does the dash ("—") in this sentence do?

texts:
Does "–" between methods and documenting have any function in this sentence? What is it trying to say?

  Moreover, multi-lingual texts, like vernacular works, have traditionally had strong affinities with realist methods – documenting speech forms as they are spoken – but avant-garde, musical, parodic, sci-fi, psychic-interiorist, artificial/invented, machine, and digital multilingual works have also long followed non- and anti-realist logics.


texts: If someone is writing in pictographs, would the correct verb to describe the action be, "to write"? Or would it be to depict or something along those lines?


texts:
My pupils often write "My first pro/con argument is..."
To my ears that doesn't sound natural, but is it wrong or just bad style, or maybe even correct?


texts: What is another way to express something that is idempotent?

texts:
I understand the word "idempotent" to describe an action where the second time that action is applied, it has no additional effect. In other words, redundant operations have no effect.

The first usage of the word seems to have been made in a mathematical context, but it is also widespread in computer science (see usage here). As a computer science student this terminology is very useful, but it can also feel odd saying the word. There are even stackexchange questions asking how to pronounce it!

I'd like to be able to express the meaning of the word idempotent in a casual setting using only one word without sounding too technical (a two-word solution may also be interesting).

I tried to find synonyms in a dictionary but found none. I tried to translate to other languages to see if I could adopt a new word, but I couldn't find one.

As a last resort, I don't mind if I have to create my own word or phrase. I was thinking of saying something has "null redundancy". Maybe I could shorten it to be "nullred", but that sounds silly.

Sample Sentence

  A credit card transaction should be < word > so that you don't get charged twice.

Another example

  Instead of saying "It doesn't do anything the second time", shorten to "It isn't < word >"

I don't care whether the word is a noun, verb, or adjective as long as it makes sense. I think it is best suited as a noun and adjective though.

TL;DR

Do any synonyms of the word idempotent actually exist?

Using latin roots or some other method, can you make a substitute word that you think makes sense?


texts: Are two (or more) to-infinitives treated as singular?

texts:
A friend said to me that two (or more) to-infinitives are treated as singular (whereas gerunds can be treated as plural depending on the situation). Is it true?

Or, in this example sentence, which verb should I use?

"To control the process and to make improvement (was/were) my objectives."


texts:
This cultural form originating/originated from Japan has a name which means "whimsical or impromptu pictures".
In this sentence what is correct ORIGINATING OR ORIGINATED.


texts: Can I change the suffix of a work in a direct quote?

texts: Okay so the quote I am using is "... shielding the public from the messy, imprecise consequences of a war—making the coverage incomplete, and even deceptive." Am I able to change shielding to shield? If so, do I have to show that I changed it and how would I do that?


texts: Is having "a past" always refering to a bad history?

texts:
If someone has a past, does that always mean a bad history?

For example: is it appropriate to say "He is a photographer, with a painter's past" or it would be a bad introduction even in an informal context.

Thanks.


texts: What is this phenomenon called, "I had a dream that I was having a dream"?

texts:
I don't know if anyone of you have these kind of dreams before; I'm dreaming then suddenly I dream that I wake up from that dream.

Then, sometimes (admittedly rarely, though it's rather fun) it could chain a couple of times, like I dream that I wake up from my dream, then after that I dream that I wake up from that dream in which I am dreaming I wake up from my dream. And the cycle repeats once more.

What's this phenomenon called?


texts: General term for content available on web page or as paper/pdf?

texts:
I am writing a document that I hope to show as a web page, and make available as a PDF that people might print. In the opening I have:
"This document is an annotated guide to foo bar."

While I presently referring to it as a 'document' that seems the wrong word for a web page. Is there a general word/phrase to categorize such something that someone might be reading on a web site/paper/pdf on computer? Words I have considered:

document - close, but a bit too redolent of traditional paper document.
paper - doesn't capture web page dimension.
site - only works if they are online.
content - anemic and too generic. Could be a painting for all we know.
material - is very close, but suffers from similar shortcoming to content.
work - also close, but a bit academic and generic.
[nothing] That is, just write "This is an annotated guide to foo bar." I am leaning toward this solution, which isn't a solution as much as avoiding the issue.

**Related post*

Synonyms for "content" in publishing


texts: Is there a difference between "Who necessarily do not exist" or "who do not exist necessarily"?

texts:
This is from the English version of the book "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco.

Brother William was arguing that the non-Christian people should also be given the right to rule. Here are some sentences before the one that I have question with:

  And could it be denied that many Roman emperors - Trajan, for instance - had exercised their temporal power with wisdom? And who gave the pagans and the infidels this natural capacity to legislage and live in political communities?

My question is on the following sentence:

  Was it perhaps their false divinities, who necessarily do not exist (or do not exist necessarily, however you understand the negation of this modality)? Certainly not.

I think here he used these two different expressions to express slightly different inferences. Is that true? So what is the difference? Also the clause "however you understand the negation of this modality", does it confirm the difference?

Thank you for your help!


texts: Word describing the feeling of being lazy about doing something

texts: In my language we can express the feeling of not willing to do something because we feel lazy about it. Is there any word in english that allows us to express this feeling?


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "Life is too short to ..."?

texts:
As the title says, what is the origin of the phrase "Life is too short to ..." used with things conventionally expected, but which you do not want to do?

Example: Life is too short to find a pair of matching socks.


texts: Is there a single word for 'without a beginning'?

texts: Is there a single word for: something that has no beginning or without a beginning


texts: In which cases is a comma/period placed inside or outside of parentheses?

texts: Are there cases where a period is placed inside parentheses? In which cases the period (or a comma) should be placed inside the parentheses?


texts:
I’m trying to sort out the full meaning of the word nation, specifically the degree to which it means a place versus a group of people.

The question and answers here are specific but divided. User waiwai933 reports that nation is the people (“identical to State [a group of people where at least one person has power and authority]; alternatively, a group of people identified by one culture (less common).”). User kiamlaluno quotes the NOAD that a nation is “people … inhabiting a particular country or territory.” Finally, user T.E.D. quotes Wikipedia saying that “The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity.”

So already there is disagreement. Various dictionaries I’ve consulted seem divided on the matter. If I write that a small child “fills his tiny nation” will it be read as “he fills his territory” or “he fills his ethno/cultural group”? Or could it be read either way?


texts: Is ‘USAers’ just an ordinary English word today?

texts:
I saw the word, ‘USAers’ in the lead copy of Reuter’s news titled ‘Gippered’ in Time magazine (September 6), which says:

  “More than 1/3 of USAers say they are worse off under Bam.
  Warning-sign numbers galore in fresh WashPost/ABC poll.
  Conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 1, error margin 3.5 points.”

I think I’ve met the word, ‘USAers’ for the first time. Is this a day-to-day English word to substitute for Americans? Can I say ‘You USAers’ as a vocative in conversation with Americans?

In the same token, can I say ‘UAEers’ instead of the nation of the United Arab Emirates?


texts: Need help understanding a sentence using "to which" repeatedly

texts:
I encountered this sentence: "The funds shall be used to pay all redemption payments due on such date as between each Class A Preferred Share in proportion to the full amounts to which the holders to which such redemption payments are due would otherwise be respectively entitled thereon."

The sentence structure is complex enough to confuse me. Any help?


texts: Is there a single word for "towards the equator"?

texts:
Is there a single word for the direction towards the equator wherever you happen to be standing?

Suppose, you wanted to convey the following message:

  If you are in the Southern hemisphere, orient yourself facing North; if you are in the Northern hemisphere, orient yourself facing South.

The message appears clumsy. Is there a single word that means "towards the equator"?


texts: What means "jungle`s creep" in the following sentence?

texts:
In the near distance, hulking concrete bunkers, ugly and indifferent, held back the jungle’s creep.

Jungle as a forest or rather jungle as a mess/muddle? What do you think?


texts: Word or Phrase for a lack of "manual dexterity" (overall, including animals and humans)

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes the lack of "manual dexterity" (humans, apes, similar animals).

Basically, most animals with paws, fins or hooves would usually fit into that category but it should also be applicable to a person with no fingers, hands or limbs.

Or, alternatively, a word for "(physically) unable to use tools due to lack of appropriate limbs (usually fingers)"

Is there a word or term for this?


texts: Which to use in a research article: single-child or only child?

texts: I've seen both, and notice that only child is more common, but not sure which is better in an academic setting. Especially when it comes to the term "loss of single child"?


texts:
A: Is there a passenger?
B: Well, this (camera's)angle’s not helping us. Maybe this(another camera) will. See if I can lose the funhouse.

I looked up 'funhouse' in a dictionary.
It says 'funhouse' is a ghost house.
I also looked up 'lose the funhouse' in a dictionary, and there is nothing.
Is there a special meaning for 'lose the funhouse'?

I can't understand what it means.
They(A & B)'re looking for a criminal who run away through CCTV footage.

Help me. T_T


texts: When to use a question mark for "I beg your pardon"

texts: In writing, to mean 'Say that again please?', do I have to use '?' at the end of the sentence 'I beg your pardon'?


texts: How are basement levels in shopping malls designated?

texts:
In a mall or somewhere with multiple basement levels, what is the proper way to designate each underground level?

We have: first floor, second floor, etc. for above ground floors.

Underground levels are usually referred to as B1, B2, etc.

If we are going to say something:

  The food court is on ____.

What would be the full way to say B1?

The first basement floor
The first basement level
Or something else entirely?


texts:
Which preposition is correct in the following sentence?

  Now I am at/on/in the railway station.


texts: Is the noun "liar" considered offensive? Would it be offensive to use it with a proven liar?

texts: Is the noun liar considered offensive?  Would it be offensive to use it with a proven liar?


texts: Any alternatives for the word "deservability"?

texts:
The word "deservability" officially doesn't exist in dictionary. But, we might come across few situations where you need to make sentences like this one.

  You deserve that job. But sometimes, capability is also required along with deservability.

I was discussing with my friend this morning who lost his job very recently and I had to say something like the above sentence but couldn't find the right words.

Are there any alternatives for the word "deservability" and if so, how to use those words in the situations like above?


texts: Generally we say "You made me confused". I've heard from somewhere that we use "confuse" if an object would be present there. I don't know when it happens; could you give me an example for that (usage of "confuse" other than "confused")?


texts: grammatically - what's wrong with these sentences

texts:
The sentence does not make sense, but it does have a subject and a predicate. So what is grammatically wrong with it?

We felt the cats that she had on her house.


texts: What does this sentence mean? "I want to do me. I'm going to do me."


texts: Idiom/expression for "responsible for what happened."

texts:
Example:

  I doubt the kids are responsible for what happened.

What idiom/expression can I use to replace the responsible for what happened part? Something that isn't as straight forward as the example.


texts: What should I call this kind of animation?

texts:
On opening this link you will see a car that has a kind of glowing bulb on it.

I am talking to my client and we both are not good in English. I have to find this kind of animation from a search engine. I have tried the keyword glowing bulb but didn't get my desired results. What do we call this kind of animation; what should I search for? A glowing bulb or glow or alert or what?


texts: Meaning of "all the shadows had crept under their proper trees"?

texts:
From Melisande, by E. Nesbit.
(emphasis mine)

  They stayed talking in the garden till all the shadows had crept under
  their proper trees and the sun-dial said it was breakfast time.

What's the meaning of the highlighted sentence?

It's a bit confusing to me.


texts: Gender-independent replacement for “fiancée” and “fiancé”

texts:
I can use child to replace son or daughter, sibling for sister or brother, and parent for mother or father.

What is the unisex replacement for fiancée and fiancé?

I don’t need it for speech, but for formal or semi-formal writing.


texts: How to correctly name a list-like element in electronic forms?

texts:
How to correctly name this in English (in an official documentation for IT system):

Should I name this:

a listbox,
a list box,
a list-box,
a combobox,
a combo box,
a combo-box,
a dropdown,
a dropdown list,
a dropdown-list,
a drop down list,
a drop-down-list,
other name.

Similar question resulted with an answer that form with space is much more popular and often used.

Simiral Google Ngram search reveals that:

"listbox" is most popular,
"dropdown", "dropdown list" and "combo box" are less popular, but usage is still significant,
usage of all others falls below significance level.

It seems that "listbox" more popular than "dropdown" and "dropdown list", but this still doesn't answer my question, as I don't know, if "listbox" can be used correctly for pictured element?


texts:
Recently I came across a phrase, “two-by-six crashing” in the following paragraph in Dan Brown’s fiction, “Inferno”:

  "Langdon had feared as much; the last thing they needed now was to
  send a two-by-six crashing through a Vasari canvas – P.265"

I know the word, “two-by-four” as a finished wood used for building that measures two inches wide and four inches deep, but I’m new to “two-by-six (crashing, explosion, shock, impact).”

Google provides a sequence of headings of “two-by-six” as a quote from Dan Brown’s “Inferno” without any definition or meaning of the phrase.

Google N-Gram shows that the phrase has existed since 1820’s. The usage peaked during 1900 to 1920, and is dwindling off to 0.000.000.20% incidence level today.

It seems to me the phrase means an enormous impact, but I’m not sure.
What does “two-by-six” something mean? Is that usage coming back to life?


texts: What’s the word for a multi-outlet extension cord?

texts:
Is there a term for an extension cord with multiple outlets on one end (other than something like “multi-outlet/n-outlet/n-way extension cord“)? Something like this. I’d almost call it a tiny power strip.

Example sentence: you call up a store and ask,

  Do you have any _________?

Or more realistically,

  Fun factoid: that kind of cord is called a _______.


texts:
Is compulsory reading an appropriate name for books that you have to read at middle and elementary school? I read here

https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/3715/differences-between-mandatory-and-compulsory

that compulsory is more often used in contexts of education,  business and employment, while mandatory is mainly used in legal contexts, so, by this logic, compulsory reading should be right, but at the above page there also are  commenters who argue that mandatory means the attributee is required to be done but not enforced, while compulsory implies that if one does not do the required thing then some external force will compel him.

So, by this second logic, I think mandatory reading would be a better way of calling books that one has to read in school since not doing it won't incur serious consequences (other than maybe receiving bad marks)


texts:
What is the word for when anachronisms are used in movies set in modern day? This is deliberately  done to produce a distinct style.
This style is used in the TV show "Pushing Daisies" and the film "The Brothers Bloom".


texts: 'Have a possibility' vs. 'have the possibility'

texts:
When trying to say a sentence with the following structure:

  You also have [x] possibility to open a savings account

When is it appropriate to use 'a' and when is it appropriate to use 'the'?


texts:
I'm curious about the logical implications of phrasings of the form:

not given or received

In my mind, this can parse as either "not (given or received)" or "(not given) or (received)", which clearly differ in meaning.

My theory is to prefer the second interpretation, as the first can be expressed more unambiguously by: "neither given nor received".

Is there an official ruling on this?


texts: A word for someone asking too many questions..?

texts:
I'm typing an email, well my 3rd to the same person, where I've been asking one question after another instead of putting all of them in a single email. I'm very much entitled to ask questions and the other person (not a team, an individual) is obligated to answer them. But I just want to be polite this time and say, "I don't want to be a ____ but there is this other question" or something to that effect. Help?

PS: It is not that I'm asking a question on top of the previous' response, I just think of a new question to ask in the same context.


texts:
Her compassion and devotion is/are second to none.
I'm guessing "is" since "Her" is singular?
"Are" just sounds better.


texts:
From Ordinary World 2016:

  Hey, today's my birthday, man.

  Um, and I'm thinking about having a party,like a daytime blowout kinda
  party.

  So... Yeah, dude, um, as soon as you get this, or...

  I'll call you back. As soon as I get a location, I'll call you back.

  It's gonna be sick.

Is "It's gonna be sick." an idiom? or is it a common expression?

Thanks a lot


texts: O.K. abbreviation for "On Key' in telegraphy?

texts:
I have a background in amateur radio and the story was always told that O.K. stood for On Key, which is what telegraphists would send in Morse Code when they returned from a break. ie I am now On Key and ready to receive.

When I went looking for confirmation of this story today I could find none.

Has anyone else heard this or is it a local myth?  What we Australians would call a Furphy.  (look that one up :-)  )

I have of course read the many other derivations for O.K.


texts: Where can I find words and expressions which are dated and not found in today's dictionaries?

texts: I'm having trouble understanding Charles Dickens book called The Haunted House. Could anyone tell me in which dictionary I can find parts I don't understand? Is there a dictionary for nineteenth century literature?


texts: How can one determine if the opposite of an agent noun exists?

texts:
We know that the employer employs the employee and that the tutor tutors the tutee, but how do we know if the shooter shot the shootee?

Is there a simple way to determine if an agent noun can be made into the object of the agent noun's action? In some cases, this is plainly obvious. We have runners but definitely not runnees and we have jumpers but not jumpees. There ought to be a way can we easily determine if the shooter shoots the shootee since a shootee is intuitively the person who gets shot by a shooter.

Note: Since the meaning of shootee can be intuitively determined by any English speaker, it isn't technically incorrect according to a descriptive linguist, but how would a prescriptive grammarian feel about it?


texts:
I want to tell in the story something like "Every ring had either red or blue stone in it".

But I don't like that facility. Is there a way to say it better?

The full set of sentences looks like this

The woman moved her left hand. Kenta saw several rings on her fingers. Every ring was embedded with one red stone. Then Kenta saw that the woman had also rings on the right hand but with transparent ones.


texts: What is a word or expression for a convenient and unsupported answer?

texts:
Specifically, I want to know the word most often used in debates and the such.

Let's say two individuals are arguing about God. One of them asks something like,

  "Then how do you explain...?"

The other responds with something like,

  "God could do... or..."

One could, and the opposing individual likely would, label that answer as a

  "_____ answer/argument"

Another example: the one individual may say,

  "How did Moses survive on the mountain, if he didn't eat or drink?"

The other may respond with,

  "God could have kept him alive."

The opposing individual may then respond with,

  "That's a _____ answer," (I think)

denoting how convenient that answer is because of course God could do that, but that really doesn't have much explanatory power. I think it describes how you could use the argument that "God did it" to describe pretty much anything and it would be seemingly valid, so it ultimately isn't a good or satisfying answer.

The blank word means something to the effect of "conveniently desirable" or "all-encompassing" or "easy" or "thoughtless (due to the answer being all-encompassing)" or "conveniently effective".

Basically, the word describes how convenient and "golden-hammer"-like the answer is and how it ultimately doesn't answer the question, as you ask the question to attempt to gain an (at least partial) explanation for the thing they end up providing as the answer.

Although, maybe I don't understand the word entirely. No, the word is not circular (I know that in that last bit, that's the word I described, but it's not the word I'm looking for). It's bugging me. I've heard it used in debates, but I can't easily find it.

Edit:
I should have explicitly stated this: the word is a single word, not a phrase. I really don't think that the word is a highly rare one, or a "scholarly" one like tautology. Unfortunately, this may be a word that you wouldn't necessarily expect to be used in this way (even though it is perfectly valid and is certainly used in this way) and one that would be extremely difficult to find just by searching synonyms (though, I could be wrong).

An example of a word that is like that is "humor" as in "humor me". This is fairly irrelevant, but I once couldn't think of the word humor to mean "giving me indirect permission to continue by feigning interest" as in, "Why are you telling us this story?" "Why are you humoring me by engaging with the telling of the story?" I could not find that word through synonyms. The word I'm now seeking may be similar in this way (that it can't be easily found in synonyms and that the definition of the term being used is not the most common one). Hopefully this helps.

Edit:
The answer is "cop-out". See my own answer below.


texts:
The meaning for Champagne, which one is better? I found both in different reference books.

A white sparkling wine.

A sparkling white wine.

:-)


texts: Is it correct and natural to respond with "interested in" in this context?

texts:
I was told:

  Glad to come across someone who knows Theology.

My (proposed) response:

  It's my pleasure to find someone else interested in Theology on the other side of the World.

I am unsure whether to use interested in or interested by. Google Translate gives me the impression that I may be wrong.


texts: 'Alright' or 'All right' in a quote (tattoo)

texts:
I am about to get a tattoo of a quote which means a lot to me. English is not my mother tongue, but I just love the language, so I decided to get it tattooed in English. Now I am unsure about one word. The quote is:

  Everything will be all right in the end. If it's not all right, it's not the end.

So generally, I would prefer the look of the word alright, which is a 'non-standard' word. Would it still be acceptable to use in this context? Thank you for your opinions.

EDIT: Man, I just checked Amazon out of curiosity. There are so many songs that use alright in the title... This is really, really confusing...


texts:
Source of the phrase:

  Player Union Strikes Called Off
  "And looking along the table, really, there should be more smiles than you're seeing. I think people are tired. The reason there should be more smiles is, quite simply, there will be no strike. And that has got to be for the good of the game, for the good of everybody"--a quotation from Richard Scudamore


texts: What is the proper plural of “a series”?

texts:
In math, we use the term series a lot, and there are many types of series.

How should I craft my sentence when I have three different ones in mind to talk about? Should I settle down for a less mortal alternative of “list of series” or something like that?

The existing question on The possessive and plural forms of “series”  suggests the usage of series’. But is that all?

If that’s the only solution, then could you please explain the usage of apostrophe symbol at the end?  Is that a plural marker or a possessive marker, or both?