texts: What is the difference between ‘discover’ and ‘uncover’?


texts: Jane Eyre is the title of a novel. The hero of the novel is called Jane Eyre. Can you say "Jane Eyre is the title hero of the novel"? I know that titular hero or eponymous hero is correct, however I'm focusing on the noun+noun phrase here. Any input welcome :-) Thanks!


texts: What is the correct way to format an author's name in an APA citation when only a username is known?

texts:
I am trying to cite the image at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shoe-parts-en.svg.  However, how would I cite the autors/contributors, since I don't know their actual name.  Do I just cite their username?

Possible complications:

Some online services allow users to change their username.
Some services change the capitalization of usernames depending on the context.
Some services allow special characters to be included in usernames, which may include formatting marks (of the sort used to delimit the author's name from the rest of the citation).
Usernames are not necessarily consistent across different online services.

NOTE: I actually just found the page on wikipedia dealing with this, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_Wikipedia — it says to not cite any authors.  (So it doesn't actually answer the question I stated above, it just solves my situation)


texts: What is a noun for a bad/negative role model?

texts: Example of bad/negative role model: someone whose action (and its consequence) one should learn to avoid instead of emulating such as a gambler or robber.


texts: What's the right way to pronounce "why"?

texts:
My native language is Portuguese (Brazil), and I've been noticing in the past few weeks that I may not know how to speak "why" correctly. I've always pronounced it as "uai", but suddenly in every TV Show and movie I'm listening it as "huai" or something like "uhuai" (I know that "uai" is not pretty accurate as an example, but I've mentioned Portuguese and it's the closest way of showing it).

So, which one is correct?

I've checked on wiktionary, and I've discovered that I'm not crazy when I've actually listened to both versions. "huai" in the audio of "in accents without the "wine-whine" merger", and "uai" in the audio of "in accents with the "wine-whine" merger".

Do you native English speakers even care about, or notice it?


texts: "The author is by Katherine Patterson" — what is the term for the error in this sentence?

texts:
I am marking some student work and one of the sentences was

  The author is by Katherine Patterson.

What is the term for the error in this sentence?


texts:
I'm trying to determine whether I should use the ~er suffix or the ~or suffix for a person who improvises. What I've learned on the web is that technically one should say "improvisor". The ~or suffix is for words of Latin origin, and apparently the word "improvisation" derives from the Latin improvidus.

However, "improviser" seems to be the more common of the two, and I have to admit, it feels more natural to me.

I've been using both, but I want to be consistent and settle on one.

Which one should I commit to using, and why?


texts: Is it ok if I start an opinion composition with the word 'Indeed'?

texts:
I was just wondering, is it's OK to begin an opinion composition with the word 'Indeed' in the first sentence? For example:

  Indeed I believe people's consumerism is one of the main causes for our planet's demise.

(In case the opinion composition is about whether or not consumerism is a big problem.)


texts:
The English language as many phrasal verbs; e.g. "give up" does not mean to donate in an ascending direction, "He set out to write a novel" does not mean he put something in an exterior position, etc.
There are phrases like "ahead of" or "equal to" that can plausibly be considered phrasal prepositions, but one could just say there is an adjective or an adverb followed by a preposition.
Is there a standard concept of "phrasal prepositions"? Would such a concept be useful?


texts:
What’s the noun of well-defined (meaning that something is defined well in a mathematical sense). Also, could you show me more examples of the same structure/principle (of transforming the adjective form to noun)?

I guess it is well-definedness, but Google tells me that no one uses it.


texts: Is there a specific word for words that act as a noun and verb?

texts: Is there a specific term for words that can be used in the form of a verb and also a noun but pronounced differently? Example: Content, Record..


texts: Can "who" be used to start a predicative clause

texts:
I'm an ESL student and trying to writing a paper but I don't know should I use "are those who" or "are who" in this sentence.

  Although the literature suggested that there are controversies on how
  to define ecotourists, the ecotourists in this study are (those?) who
  report they are interested in ecotourism by themselves.

I had tried to search in the COCA corpus, and I found "are those who" is used commonly used. But I still confused why "are who" is not correct.

I searched the wikipedia and it has an example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predicative_expression "That is when it happens." It explained "when it happens" is a predicative clause. So I'm still confused can "who" be used to start a predicative clause? Why "are who" is not correct?


texts: "Ever + past perfect" vs "ever + simple past"

texts:
Hi there can any native speaker please tell me the difference between these two sentences. I have seen "past perfect" is rarely used In english. I know the first sentence is correct but in movies, conversations "simple past" is used instead of "past perfect". Does it sound natural to your ears?

1- That was the best movie I had ever watched until I watched The dark knight.

2- That was the best movie I ever watched until I watched the dark knight.


texts:
I'm not a native English speaker and I'm puzzled where the use of grammar nazi would be appropriate.

I have seen it numerous times around the SE network and was wondering when the use would be appropriate and whether it is likely that someone might get offended.


texts: Clause explaining "the requirement that..."

texts:
What should the verb form in that clause be?

Example: which of the following is correct?

They need to obey the requirement that their pockets are empty.

or

They need to obey the requirement that their pockets be empty.


texts:
The phrase “on your own head be it” is common-ish and has the well-attested meaning of roughly “I think this is a really terrible idea but you’re the one who will suffer the consequences so do what you like.”

But I cannot find any information as to the phrase’s origins. I’d kind of suspected Shakespeare or maybe the King James Bible, but neither seems to include it that I could find. Various online dictionaries list the phrase, but offer no origin. So I’m wondering if anyone here knows, or can dig it up.


texts: "Please do not repeat the mistake" and "Please do not repeat the mistake again"

texts:
Please do not repeat the mistake.
Please do not repeat the mistake again.

Should the again be omitted? “Repeat” means “do again”. So to “repeat again” means “to do again again”. Is the second sentence grammatically wrong?


texts:
I am not sure about the last bit of the following sentence whether it is grammatically correct or not. Isn't the usage of the two words "already" and "yet" tautologous? I think one of each is actually enough to express what I want to say

  Thus, to avoid any clashes I would be very grateful if you could
  inform me about any dates you may have already arranged yet.

Many thanks!


texts:
In a book about climbing technique (written by an American) I found the following expression:

  ...: floating a deadpoint from any one of a million different body positions.

While the meaning of any single word in the sentence is clear, I don't understand what "floating a deadpoint" means.


texts: "No spark of constellation, No Vela no Orion"

texts:
Can anyone tell me the meaning of these two lines in the lyrics?

  I look up to the heavens
  But night has clouded over
  No spark of constellation
  No Vela no Orion


texts:
Sometimes when writing I instinctively use "in order for" instead of "for" under the impression that this will make the sentence more readable, even though "for" would have been equally grammatical. For example:

  As Quine said, there is a potentially infinite number of things that must
  be true in order for that statement to be considered true.

Am I correct in assuming that it is better to use "in order for" instead of just "for" in this situation? Or am I wrong and it's actually worse to use "in order for" here? Or perhaps it doesn't matter at all and both options are equally good? I am not a native English speaker and a professor of mine who also isn't just corrected this sentence removing the "in order for" and leaving only "for", but I was not convinced that it's better with only "for". I'm curious about what native speakers or language specialists would have to say.


texts: What does "sq" mean when referencing page or verse numbers?

texts:
In the book I am reading (Patrick Fairbairn, The Interpretation of Prophecy, 2nd ed., 1865), the abbreviation "sq." is used sometimes in referencing both Scripture and other books (as "Typology of Scripture, vol. i. p. 100 sq." or "Ezek xxvi. 7, sq."). What does "sq." mean in this context?

(Instances of this abbreviation's usage may be found at Google Books here.)


texts:
Is there a term for words that have been altered in this way?

For example, when speaking about a dignitary that is a dog, using "dognitary"


texts: Tense for online instructions over the phone

texts:
What tense should we use for giving online instructions?

  Open your Kinlde application, click on the Cloud tab. Now, tell me what it's showing?answer:  It is showing the list of the books.

  Open your Kinlde application, click on the Cloud tab. Now, tell me what it shows? answer:  It shows the list of the books.

Which one is more accurate?


texts: like + gerund is these sentences are correct

texts:
I studied that I can use like in two ways which is :
like + gerund or like + to-infinitive .... I understand this grammar.
my question is when I use like in a sentence and there are not just 1 verb after it I mean if I said for example :I like shopping in malls and walk in parks and eat in restaurants,and meet my friends in cafes . >>> or should I say : I like shopping in malls and walking in parks and eating in restaurants,and meeting my friends in cafes . which one is correct .

another question : what sentence is more correct :
I prefer to have fun with my friend but I can have fun with myself or I can have fun alone >..
thank you


texts: Should I really not use the word 'bossy'?

texts:
I know for a fact that the word "bossy" is quite controversial and could be somewhat problematic in some situations?

Since I'm not a native speaker I don't fully get the nuance of this word. I thought it was just "boss" + "-y" so I found it so useful to use in everyday conversation at first. But I saw quite a lot of people in my country (whose first language is not English of course) say you should never use the word.

But then I heard Ariana Grande's song Moonlight where it goes:

  He's so bossy, he makes me dance-

And now it's so confusing? Because I know that the singer is also a  passionate feminist. So my question is, should I avoid using the word "bossy" no matter what?


texts: Where does the word "grateful" come from?

texts: If "grate" isn't a word, why is there a word "grateful" (and "gratitude")?


texts: Expression 'Europe as a whole' or only 'Europe'?

texts:
I have the following sentence:

"The share of renewable energy in Germany was 35 % and thus higher than the one of Europe as a whole"

Would you rather use 'Europe as a whole' or only 'Europe'? The thing is that Germany is obviously in Europe and if I only wrote 'Europe' this might suggest (at least to me) that Germany and Europe are two different regions. But at the same time the current formulation sounds kind of strange for me. What is your take on that?

Follow-up question:
What if I compare the two 'Germany' and 'Europe' in a paragraph but not in a sentence. I would like to write a sentece about Europe in that paragraph like this one "Nuclear energy was the main fuel for electricity in Europe ". Would you also use 'Europe as a whole' in this setence?


texts: I am writing about activity happening inside an organization. Should I use the word in or within their organization?


texts: Pronunciation of w at the end of a word - and what does ʊ mean?

texts:
I noticed that when I pronounce words like Show or fellow I seem to drop the w and just say Sho or Fello. My countries English is similar to British English. I wonder if that is normal or if maybe I just can't pronounce W at the end of a sentence. I am a native English speaker by the way.

British: /ʃəʊ/   American:  /ʃoʊ/

British: /feləʊ/ American: /feloʊ/

What does ʊ mean?


texts: Making screwdriver plural, or keep it singular

texts:
Compare the two sentences below.

I need a philips head and flat head screwdriver to finish the project.
I need a philips head and flat head screwdrivers to finish the project.

As a native English speaker, I feel that #1 is correct, but I can't explain why or find the specific rule explaining why. Am I wrong? If I am right, can someone help me to explain why #1 is correct?


texts: "The train will leave" vs. "is going to leave" vs. "leaves" vs. "is leaving"

texts:
From the grammatical point of view all are correct, just the meaning are different, please bring your clarification, thank you.

  The Train will leave at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
  The Train is going to leave at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
  The Train leaves at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
  The Train is leaving at 10:00 tomorrow morning.


texts: what does this mean “Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds. Gordon B. Hinkley”

texts: “Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds." – Gordon B. Hinkley


texts: Are "Conditional apology" and "poisoned apology", rude?

texts:
I've heard

  I'm sorry your frog is dead.
  I'm sorry if your frog's death causes you pain.
  I'm sorry my taunting you about your frog's death caused you pain. You should seek therapy.

Do the second and third type of apology ("Conditional apology" and "poisoned apology") have something with it? I mean, does the speaker really feel sorry?

Are these kind of apologies, more rude than polite?

EDIT:

I asked the question cause of this article:

  An apology should give the sense that you actually feel some form of regret. "Sorry if" is a conditional apology. Conditional apologies make things worse, not better.


texts: Is there a difference between "brainstorming" and "mindstorming"?

texts: Some people use brainstorming, others use mindstorming. I could not find the difference between the two words.


texts:
I'm looking for an event title for a reception at which an organisation will introduce itself to the attendees. It will be an informal drinks reception.

At the moment the working title is: "XYZ Organisation Drinks Reception".

However, this doesn't really say what the event will be about. Are there any better suggestions? For example, "XYZ Organisation Introduces Itself" – any better wording would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.


texts: Should I say "have a good night" at 5:00 PM?

texts:
We're off work at 5:00PM. I've never tried to say "have a good night" at this time of day. In fact, I wouldn't even say it at all unless I'd like to say it to someone who is heading to bed.

When I'm done at 5:00PM, I usually say "see you tomorrow". Until recently I've never started saying "have a good night" to my colleagues. Even if I say it every day now, I don't feel it's right. However, most of my colleagues will keep saying "have a good night" to each other, so it's better for me to do the same thing.

Also, sometimes when it feels really weird or awkward to say, I will say "have a good one" instead.

Is it appropriate to say "have a good night" to colleagues when done at work? Any better way than saying "see you tomorrow"?

EDIT: I've considered saying "have a nice evening", but I feel it's even worse than saying "have a good night" because people might get the impression that you only wish them well for the evening, and that you don't care if they are good or not after the evening.


texts: The distinction between "over there" and "over yonder."

texts:
For most native English speakers the word 'yonder' is either archaic or poetic. For many native speakers in the Southern United States however, it is still a word in common but declining use. Those who still use the term rhyme it with 'wonder' rather than 'wander.'

Having used the term all my life I notice that there is a distinction between the meaning of the phrases 'over there' and 'over yonder' which I have never seen mentioned in a dictionary.

One may say "The ball is over there where you are" but not "The ball is over yonder where you are." However, one can say either "The ball is over there in the bushes" or "The ball is over yonder in the bushes."

The distinction appears to be that 'yonder' is somewhere distant from both the speaker and the 'spoken to' whereas 'there' just means somewhere distant from the speaker.

Can anyone who also uses the term 'yonder' in everyday speech or someone familiar with English dialects verify this distinction.


texts: Appearance or appearances: Ambiguity in meaning?

texts:
People care way too much about their appearance/ appearances?

Google provides much more evidence for the singular but I have learnt not to trust it. In a formal essay I would opt for the plural since people do not share the one appearance, but I would like some clarification with this if possible.

The older question "On their back" or "on their backs"? is different from mine because the plural form has no other meaning. Whereas the word appearances, the plural can mean physical appearances as it can multiple looks.
Furthermore, it would be incorrect to use the sentence "people love their life" as it implies they share one. Yet lives has two meanings as well. Why is the plural correct in that context?
So I was hoping for an explanation on this.


texts: Would I say, "All he needs is his blanket, hammock, and pillow." or "All he needs are his blanket, hammock, and pillow."?

texts: The difference is after the word 'needs'. is it 'is'? or is it 'are'? Thanks to anyone who can answer this.


texts:
Let me give you an example where I want this "mystery" word to fit.
There are two person "A" and person "B". A had installed an air conditioner in his house long ago and has called in the customer care services for servicing it. B is the technician who went to A's house for troubleshooting. As per the rules, A is supposed to show the purchase bill to the technician after he finishes his job. But A had kept the bill in his office and even though A knew this was mandatory, he still did not bother to bring the bill because he thought that once the job is done, it cannot be reverted back to it's undone state and B would have no choice but to return back to the station with disappointment and anger because of the customer satisfaction and user experience policies which requires him to be polite and friendly to the customers. So he(A) is reluctant to bring the bill and he doesn't care about B. He just wants AC to get fixed. Mind you, A is not lazy.

So, the sample sentence is:

This was an act of _______ on the part of A.

One word that springs from my mind is "unjust". I am not sure though. Other ways to describe the situation in a sentence?


texts:
I came across this line in a site:

  Can u make sth effective for a sports betting related product?

I can't understand what is meant by sth effective here. I tried to google it but was unable to understand. Can anybody explain to me what is meant by this word? Is it an English word or is it from another language?


texts: meaning of "Snuffed its rich scent" in "Animal farm" book

texts: What's the meaning of "snuffed its reach scent" in "they kicked up clods of the black earth and snuffed its rich scent" in "Animal Farm" book?


texts: What is a good word for all sentient races?

texts:
I'm creating a historically inspired campaign where the standard fantasy races are extremely intermingled, and conflict is usually based on politics or religion, rather than species divisions. I can't, however, think of a good word to separate the PC races (Elves, dwarves, humans, halflings... you guys know.) from the monsters and creatures who live outside society. Basically, if in the real world someone would say: "I refuse to kill another human." in this setting I need a catch-all word to replace human.

Sentient sounds too sci-fi. Kindred sounds too... Vampire-y. Any suggestions?


texts: How would you substitute English vulgar words in foreign phrases?

texts:
Subquestioning "Substitute for F*** in emphasizing disbelief, anger, etc":
How would you substitute the vulgar English word in foreign phrases like in:
1) brand name:
 "Fucking beer"?

or
2)in village name


texts: Capitalization of "Gothic" as a genre descriptor

texts: In the context of genres such as Gothic literature and Gothic music should "Gothic" be capitalized? Although names of genres are generally not capitalized, these happen to share the name of a historic ethnic group. My confusion comes from the fact that these genres have essentially no connection to the Gothic people, so should they still retain the capitalization given to names of ethnic groups?


texts: What's the origin of "qu" in the word "masquerade"?

texts:
I've noticed that the word masquerade is spelt with qu instead of c in mascarade like in French or mascarada in Spanish. According to Online Etymology Dictionary, the word is of French origin.

I'd be very interested to know how it came to be spelt with qu instead of c or k like in mask.


texts: If you say "We need some manpower tomorrow to move some of the stuff downstairs." could you mean both "moving stuff down the stairs" and "move stuff that is downstairs"? Which is the more common understanding of it?


texts: a brother/sister of mine - one of my brothers/sisters

texts:
I have been told by native speakers that "a brother/sister of mine" is almost never used except in poems or old literature and should therefore always be "one of my brothers/sisters".
Is it a valid opinion?

I have found a few example, though.

1) A sister of mine had a ‘big’ birthday last week and I wanted to make a special card for her >     Fancy Fold Card with Bouquet Blooms ( Annette Sullivan: Independent Stampin' Up!® Demonstrator, Australia – )

2) Can a sister of mine, who is a lawyer, go to jail for filing a false police report about me in March of 2019? >     https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/can-a-sister-of-mine--who-is-a-lawyer--go-to-jail--4442448.html > (Highland Park, IL)> >

3) a sister of mine came down with polio >     https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Ha...3D6351C7D048256602000FB1A7/$file/C1125008.PDF > (australia)

What do you think of it?


texts: Meaning of “have the greatest of difficulty”

texts:
I’m learning a passage talking about William Shakespeare. There’s a sentence in it which I’m confused about the meaning and usage. Here’s the sentence:

  It is a popular place for tourists from all over the world, even
  though many of them would have the greatest of difficulty in
  understanding Shakespeare’s Elizabethan English.

I have no idea why the author use “the greatest of difficulty” instead of “the greatest difficulty.”


texts:
I am currently documenting a web interface. What would you recommend as a more friendly way of saying:

  This will display the last n entries.

Where n is the number they have entered. I've been trying without success to find a solution that is not too wordy, yet remains clear.


texts: mixed tenses: present perfect + future will

texts:
Can we use present perfect and future tenses in one sentence to talk about a project that had started in the past and is predicted to be completed in a particular year?

e.g.

  The implementation of one power substation has begun and will be completed in 2019.


texts: Nouns which change meaning in question/statement form

texts:
Most questions, when converted into statements, retain their overall "meaning", i.e. the statement is asserting what the question is asking.

Question: Can you grate the pears?
Assertion: You can grate the pears.

Yet, I recently came upon the following sentence (it happened to come out of my own mouth) that doesn't follow this pattern:

Question: Can you play anything by Kapustin?
Assertion: You can play anything by Kapustin.

To me, these sentences ask and assert different things. The first asks if there exists a thing by Kapustin which you can play. The second asserts that for all things by Kapustin, you can play them.
And yet, the noun phrase "anything by Kapustin" didn't change, nor, I would argue, did its grammatical context in the sentence. But somehow "anything" takes on a different meaning when in a question vs. a statement. It doesn't have to be the object, either - look to the sentence "Can anything happen?" vs. "Anything can happen".
Are there more of these nouns? A complete characterization of them, or a name for them? Is there some underlying grammatical explanation for their existence or is this just a quirk of colloquial English?


texts: Could "Hats off!" be insulting in some situations?

texts:
What are true situations and structures to use Hats off! as an exclamation?

Could this idiom be insulting in some situations?


texts:
I wanted to ask if it would be accurate to say that "The phone must have fallen off my person!"

Meaning it fell from a purse or a pocket that I carry with me.


texts: How to punctuate abbreviation of a hyphenated middle name (Charles-Moore) on a plaque?

texts: How do you punctuate the abbreviation of a hyphenated middle name (Charles-Moore) on a plaque? Some thoughts include: C-M ; C - M ; C.-M. ; C. - M.


texts: Singular noun objects of plural subjects

texts:
What is the rule for singular noun objects of plural subjects? For example I and google N-grams agree that

  They gave their word.

is better than

  They gave their words.

To my mind, this is because each has but a single word to give and cannot give more. However, google seems to disagree with me on

  They gave their life.

vs

  They gave their lives.

As you can see in the linked N-gram, the second is far more common than the first. What's going on here? People (cats excluded) only have one life and it seems passing strange that they would be able, let alone willing, to give more.

If pressed, I would claim that the object should only be plural if each of the subjects has many. For example

  They called their friends

If each of the "they" in question has only one of whatever object we are talking about I would call it ungrammatical to have that object in the plural form. Am I wrong?

EDIT:

This question was prompted by a comment on this post on S&F.SE defending the use of consciousnesses as the plural form of consciousness by referring to this page. The word was used in this sentence:

  Looking for a story where people download their consciousnesses into bodies

It occurred to me that whether or not consciousnesses is correct, it should not be used in that (admittedly bizarre) context since each person only has one consciousness to download. I would have therefore said

  Looking for a story where people download their consciousness into bodies

This to me seems like an equivalent sentence to they gave their word or they gave their life. In all three cases I would use the singular form of the noun since each of the subjects can only give (or download as the case may be) one.


texts:
Why do the Middle English words, that stay after "to" haven't got the Middle English infinitive ending "n"?

Wycliffe's Bible

Luke.16:3

Studylight:

"And the baili seide with ynne him silf, What schal Y do, for my lord takith awei fro me the baili? delfe mai Y not, I schame to begge."

King James Bible:

"Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed."

The Middle English Infinitive form:
beggen


texts: What would be proper grammar for this sentence?

texts:
Could you please tell me how to properly write the following sentence?  I believe I know the grammar rule but I must not be creative enough to think of an alternative sentence structure.  Here's the sentence:

  I would love to see houses you've been looking at.

I've never really figured out how to change a sentence like this without sounding really pompous.  Such as, "I would love to see houses at which you've been looking". This sentence sounds weird and awkward to me.


texts: To determine if or to determine whether?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When are “if” and “whether” equivalent?

Do these two have the same meaning:

To determine if something is correct.
To determine whether something is correct.


texts:
I'm trying to reduce the following sentence in size so it sounds more like a slogan: "We have been around before the [technology name] has become an industry standard".

Would it be correct if I spell it like "Since the time before [something]"? Also, what about pluralization? Like, "Since times before digital photography"? No?..

The catch is, I want it to play nicely with the visual identity of a brand, so what I'm basically looking for is a way of saying "Established [Year]", just a bit more wordy and fun. The name of said technology would be very specific and is expected to spark a bit of nostalgia in those who read it.

Thank you.


texts: What's the difference between "full" and "fullest" in this context?

texts:
The importance of living life to the full.
The importance of living life to the fullest.

Do these sentences mean the same thing? Is "full" or "fullest" more appropriate in this contest?


texts:
I am looking for the appropriate term or phrase (I think there is one ) that is used to refer to the practice of artificially increasing the Internet traffic on a subject, a product or an ad, for instance, (with more views, likes etc. ) to make them appear more attractive and more popular.

I am not familiar with Internet terminology so I can't do appropriate research on my own.


texts: What's the capitalization rule for tabulated entries?

texts: Do I have to capitalize each cell in a table, or only be consistent throughout the table?


texts:
If the result of creating is creation
then what is the result of getting?


texts: What is the first documented use of the gay culture term "daddy"?

texts:
According to Wikipedia, "daddy" is a slang term in gay culture meaning an (typically) older man sexually involved in a relationship or wanting sex with a younger male.

There are currently, however, no references whatsoever on the Wikipedia page.

What is the first documented usage of this term in this context?

For context, I am puzzling over the following lines from Finnegans Wake.

  What a quhare soort of a mahan.
  It is evident the michindaddy.

If I follow "quhare" to queer, I am wondering if this
queer-kuvar-cook mahan-bear-man
is merely a
michen-underhand- michers-pilfering-poaching-father, or if I am missing something deeper in "michindaddy".
I am asking myself if I am seeing a father or a "daddy", "daddy" being rare in Finnegans Wake, as opposed to say "pa"?


texts: "Influence of media in our lives," or "influence of media on our lives?"

texts: Which one is correct, "influence of media in our lives," or "influence of media on our lives?"


texts:
This is the homepage of XXX department of tamilnadu.
I need to know whether I had used "of" correctly in the above sentence.


texts: Why weren't "our", "their" and "my" labelled as possessive pronouns?

texts: I was doing a grammar exercise in the book Mastering Advanced English Language by Sara Thorne. Now, the exercise consisted of a paragraph of text where the reader has to label the pronouns in the text under various headings. When I checked the answers the pronouns "our", "their" and "my" were not listed as possessive pronouns - "ours", "mine" and "hers" were. Aren't these first set of pronouns (our, their, my) and the others like them (eg. your) still possessive pronouns, just in different forms, or not?


texts:
I will illustrate this question with an example, since I think it's much easier to see what I'm asking there, rather than from an abstract question.

I am a native English speaker. I was, for a while, an expatriate living in Luxembourg. On wikipedia articles about Luxembourg and Luxembourg-related things, the adjective "Luxembourgian" was often used. I edited this out whenever I saw it, since it was a word that no one (native speaker or otherwise) ever says in the English speaking community in Luxembourg. (Luxembourgish or sometimes Luxembourgeois are accepted). However, despite my fairly limited efforts, "Luxembourgian" still gets used on wikipedia, and I've heard people (when forced to guess what the adjective might be) plump for this ugly sounding word.

So here's the question: do the native English speakers living in or near Luxembourg have some kind of privileged status when determining what constitutes correct usage for Luxembourg related words? Or to put it another way, if enough people who know very little about Luxembourg think it's probably "Luxembourgian", does that trump the ex-pats considered opinion?


texts: Difference between "always" and "all the time"

texts:
Do always and all the time mean exactly the same thing in these sentences?

Why are you always so busy?
Why are you so busy all the time?


texts:
Is there a word for:

'have to do first'

For example I can't do this task because I have a task that I have to do first. That task that I have to do first is a "_____ task".

The second task, which is blocked, is contingent or reliant upon the first. I don't want to call the first task independent or sovereign because the only reason I am doing the first task, is to get to the second. They are still linked, but have to be completed in a certain order.

I thought about using the term 'preceding' but I want to emphasise not just the positioning, but the fact that the first task actively blocks the second.


texts: How did English get the "What is your name?" construction?

texts:
As a dabbling polyglot, I've found myself learning the basics of several languages over the course of my lifetime.  One of the first things that is taught in any language is personal introductions.  I was struck recently by the fact that English is the only language I have learned that uses the construction

  What is your name?

Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Chinese all use some variation of

  How are you called?

I'm told that Russian has something approximating "What is your name?" but it is sounds archaic to use it.  The modern version is closer to "What are you called?"

So I'm curious.  How did English end up with a phrase that is so different than the rest?

N.B. I am not interested in opening a can of worms regarding social conventions.  Regardless of how blunt we may consider the use of "What is your name?" in a social context, English speakers would find it exceedingly odd to use "How are you called?" in its place.  If it helps, let's forget the introductory aspect, and think of "What is his name?" versus "How is he called?"

UPDATE:  So far it looks like Old and Middle English used a phrase similar to German and Scandinavian countries.  Monica Cellio says that Modern Hebrew has this "What is your name" construction as well.  Is there any evidence that this new phrasing might have been picked up in Early Modern English, perhaps after the introduction of the King James Version of the Bible?


texts:
On the matter of "self" in "myself", "himself", etc.

Myself seems to be formed from the possessive (my)and "self".  That appears at first blush to be a single word that is formed from the "self that belongs to me".

Himself seems to be formed from the objective (him) and "self".  That appears to be a single word from the plain "him" and an extra word that indicates a kind of reflexive.  Italian and Spanish use that form by using the word for "same" (stesso, mismo).

Herself is the same as himself, but you can't tell, since the masculine object and possessive pronouns are different (him, his) but feminine are the same (her).

But, in the case of the second person, we use the possessive again -- yourself. (The self that belongs to you.)

Now, the hobgoblin of this particular small mind would like to get the history of how this happened. You see, in MY acquired language, to say "He did it by hisself is dialect and WRONG", yet it seems perfectly reasonable to regularize the whole scheme into something coherent.  I have read "meself", but only when regional dialect is in play.  It sounds wrong to me, but it would regularize the scheme.

I'd like to get a handle on this, because we have the neuter "they" coming up, when he/she is inappropriate.  In my fantasy grammar, I'd say

In the convent: Let everyone do as she wants.
   In the monastery: Let everyone do as he wants.
   In the public place of indeterminate gender: Let everyone do as they wants.

(Get it?  Third person singular.  "They" works fine, since the conjugation defines the singular/plural issue.)

I like my little scheme for the neuter "they", but if I start mixing that with "self", it's going to get sorely non-standard, but at least it's unambiguous.

I LOVE clarity, and will be willing to sacrifice some conventions to make it happen, but it will be weird.  If I have to mix in a "self" to that, my speech will become incomprehensible, so I tread slowly.

Any thoughts on the matter?


texts:
I'm having some issues with a sentence that is part of the purpose in a report that I'm writing. I'm not sure if the word "communicate" (in bold) should be singular or plural.

The applications in the "set" will communicate with each other, not with other "sets".

  The purpose of this report is to develop a sample set of applications
  that communicates between services on the internet, mobile devices
  and a central processing unit in a motor vehicle.


texts:
I-dem or Id-em ? And po-tent or p-t'nt ?

I've commonly heard the two combinations: I-dem-po-tent and Id-em-p-t'nt.

It looks like idempotent comes from the root for the words identical and potency so the first should be "right" (in British English locale), or at least make sense with our existing words...?


texts:
I am writing a scientific paper on physics. I hesitate to write that my observations and their interpretation is a 'discovery', so I am considering using the word 'finding' instead.

Is this the common practice?


texts: Should the verb of the independent clause come before or after the dependent clause?

texts:
Which of the following is correct?

The Boeing 777 crashed, carrying 227 passengers and a crew of 12 members, into international waters.

The Boeing 777, carrying 227 passengers and a crew of 12 members, crashed into international waters.

Any elaboration would be very much appreciated.


texts: "The man in glasses" or "The man with glasses"?

texts:
The man in glasses

or

  The man with glasses

Is it grammatically correct to say with or in glasses? I've heard both, but the first seems to prevail a little bit more, though.

Googling didn't help a lot, I found one discussion only (*) where many native speakers said 'in glasses' didn't sound strange, yet they'd use 'with glasses'.

*
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2499988


texts:
This is clearly an ungrammatical sentence:
"Freddy would like to see the home-opener, but tickets are unable to be purchased by him."

An obvious correction would be: "Freddy would like to see the home-opener, but is unable to purchase the tickets."

But how does one describe the grammatical problem in the original sentence?
That tickets do not possess the property of "ability"?
But then: "Tickets enabled Freddy to enter the gate."

I apologize for the inartfulness of how I pose this question, and I hope someone is able to get past that and offer clarification.
Thank you.


texts:
I just finished watching The Legend of Tarzan film and am in a disagreement with my son over the meaning of the word rubber in the following sentence spoken by Lord Greystoke/Tarzan: "And when you're finished, chew the flowers into a poultice and wipe it on the cut with a rubber."

Does rubber mean a spatula-type instrument?


texts: What do *foreign films* mean for an American?

texts: What do foreign films mean for an American? Is it any film produced outside the US or any film from not English-language country (US, Canada, Australia, NZ, UK)?


texts: This was made in China in 2004. / This was made in 2004 in China

texts:
1a. This is a book written in English in America.

1b. This is a book written in America in English.

2a. This was made in China in 2004.

2b. This was made in 2004 in China.

edit: sorry, may I add

3a. This movie was made by Studio Ghibli in Japan.

3b. This movie was made in Japan by Studio Ghibli.

Which is better, which sounds off, which sounds weird?
Or is it best to split them into separate sentences altogether?
(This is a book written in English. It was written in America.)

I started feeling unsure about this since I bumped into 3a and 3b.
A friend just told me the right order should be manner-place-time but (3a) could be misunderstood as "This movie was made by Studio Ghibli, and Studio Ghibli is in Japan."

I'm a teaching assistant in Japanese schools, grading some of the students' homework right now and I can't figure this out. I've had too much exposure to Japanese-English and my ability to discern correct English has been diminishing!

Thanks in advance.


texts: as strong and fast as you might be, a wise ninja knows his greatest strength comes from the people who care for them

texts:
I was wondering "as... as you might be" refers to "even though you think you are strong.
And if I change "as strong as you might be" to " to "as strong as you can be", I'm not sure if the meaning completely changes.
Furthermore, can I use it like this?
As rich as you might think, the most important thing in life is to keep you healthy.
Thank you in advance!!!


texts:
I'm wondering how to pronounce the acronym for Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

PIP eh duh?
pie PEED uh?
other?


texts:
My native language is German and although many people find German to sound like a coughing fit, the language totally lacks an onomatopoeia for coughing (real coughing).
Nor can I think of one in English.

Is there an onomatopoeia for coughing?
If not, how can I capture it in writing?


texts: Phrase request: Something you don't want to do, but you have to, and situation will keep happening until you learn how to deal with it

texts:
I am looking for a phrase (can be multiple words) to describe following situation:

  Even if you do not like to do something, and try to avoid doing it, circumstances would keep repeating until you will learn how to deal with it, and accept it.

In my native language we have saying "Odriekaneho chleba hruby krajec", literal translation is "from the bread you do not like, (life) will keep giving you a thick wedge as long as you keep refusing it".

In real life: junior automated test developer (not assertive enough) is afraid (again) to ask senior developer for some changes (again) in the code which will make writing tests easier. Developer knows how it should be done, but keeps not doing it because it saves him some time, and it was agreed to make the changes. There is no good workaround, and junior needs to learn how to be assertive and request adding such agreed-upon hooks.

I am not looking for a workplace-related solution (I know it), but for a phrase to describe such situation.

I found necessary evil, is there something else? With the meaning that it will keep repeating, and in the end it is good for you to master it.

Edit: Answers so far have dark, negative connotations: "uphill task (battle)", "necessary evil", "bitter pill". I was hoping something more positive, almost karmic associations. Maybe it does not exist... :-(


texts:
I came across this sentence,

  "Modi understands only one alphabet, and that is the capital I"

in the Indian writer Dr. Shashi Tharoor's recently published book "The Paradoxical Prime Minister".

When I looked the word 'alphabet' up in dictionaries, I get the definition as 'a set of letters or symbols in a fixed order used to represent the basic set of speech sounds of a language, especially the set of letters from A to Z'. (Oxford Living Dictionaries)

Is it correct to call a letter an alphabet?


texts: In "renders loose talk about a European army ridiculous", what is "ridiculous" modifying?

texts:
In this sentence, what does ridiculous modify?

Slow progress towards common defence procurement, let alone a shared
doctrine, renders loose talk about a European army ridiculous.

Source


texts: Is there a word for the opposite of magnify?

texts:
Specifically to do with lenses / magnification, but making something appear smaller rather than larger.

Example:

If her glasses make her eyes look larger:

  Her glasses magnify her eyes.

If her glasses make her eyes look smaller:

  Her glasses ______ her eyes. (opposite of magnify)


texts: Certain and inseperable results: is the phrasing "Make for yourself inevitabilities reality" valid?

texts:
Make effort towards your goals, which at present seem improbable, until they become inevitable.

I wish to mean this, is "Make for yourself inevitabilities reality." valid? I would understand it when spoken with a pause after "inevitabilities", as in 'these things which are inevitable, make them for yourself'.

I'm a native speaker of English, though I find myself using odd sentence constructions, would this be understood by others?


texts: "Yet while the lowering of the wealth prerequisite provided an easy target for modern liberals..."

texts:
In the following passage, in which sense was the phrase easy target used ?

1.Lowering of the wealth prerequisite was an easy job to succeed.

2.Lowering of the wealth prerequisite issue could be used for manipulating the political scene and igniting protest .Because it was obvious injustice in the country.

  The extension of the voting franchise that began in England in 1832
  with the Great Reform Bill initiated, albeit slowly, a process of
  liberalization unseen in the history of the British Parliament.
  Previously, power rested in the hands of the few aristocrats with
  enough property and wealth to pass a relatively high property
  requirement for voting and holding office.

  Yet while the lowering of the wealth prerequisite provided an easy
  target for modern liberals when arguing for the democratization of
  Parliament, this democratization at first did not extend to the
  working class.

  Most representatives in the Commons came through Eton to either
  Cambridge or Oxford where, under the tutelage of the same professors,
  these future leaders developed a similar outlook on the world: the
  superiority of the British system, the rightness of imperialism, the
  power of industry, the benefits of trade, and the value of general
  isolation from the Continent. These views, though subject to some
  slight degree differences between Liberals and Conservatives, remained
  common through most of the House. Such views did not square with the
  new concerns of the workers who had neither received an elite
  education, nor, in some cases, an education at all.


texts: Position of interrogative auxiliary verbs as replies to statements

texts:
Imagine someone states the following to you:

I think you're mistaken. We've never traveled to Italy together.

What's the difference between the following two responses, if any?

Haven't we?
We haven't?

I feel like there's a certain nuance between the two, but in reality, I can also see myself interchanging the two without any confusion. The difference I imagine is that former phrase has an implication of I feel we actually have traveled together, whereas the latter suggests more of a willingness to cede to the first person's statement.
Does anyone feel similarly? Is there any literature to suggest that I've drawn a logical conclusion?


texts: The Swung Dash ~ Has Anybody Heard of It?

texts:
Has anybody ever heard of the swung dash? Friends tell me that this is being used by writers in lieu of the dash. See examples below. Has anybody ever seen this usage? If so, is it new?

You are the friend ~ the only friend ~ who offered to help me.

Never have I met such a lovely person ~ before you.

I pay the bills ~ she has all the fun.

I need three items at the store ~ dog food, vegetarian chili, and cheddar cheese.

My agreement with Fiona is clear ~ she teaches me French and I teach her German.

Please call my agent ~ Jessica Cohen ~ about hiring me.

I wish you would ~ oh, never mind.

Two oaks ~ Cassidy had never seen such amazing trees ~ provided shade to the backyard.

Levi wondered how anyone could live like that ~ and why.

John ~ blood dripping from his nose ~ stepped into the room.

I scrubbed the dog ~ and what a chore it was! ~ only to have the cat arrive covered in mud.

When I picked up Karen ~ oh my gosh ~ I was stunned by her beauty.

I fell ~ oh no! ~ all the way to the ground.

I chased his car ~ was it his? ~ all the way to town.

Cars built in Europe ~ particularly in Germany ~ are stylish and sporty.

Are you sure" ~ you lying jerk ~ "that you didn't take my car?"

He has only one thing on his mind ~ girls!

Only one person is qualified for this job ~ you.

Thank you.


texts: What is "plaice" in the US? Would love a good fish and chips

texts: When we went to the market, at the fisherman's counter we asked for plaice with which we would make fish and chips. Now here in the States when we ask for plaice, they don't understand what we mean. Can anyone tell me with confidence what plaice is called in the northeastern United States?


texts: Idiom for: managing to solve a big problem only to be frustrated by a smaller problem

texts:
What would be an idiom for solving a massive problem and then only getting hindered by a small problem?

So after solving a hard problem, getting stopped by the easy problem.

It would not be: out of the frying pan (and) into the fire. Because it means: from a bad situation to a worse situation.


texts:
I'm referring to Benidorm, Season 2, Episode 1 (Jacqueline):

This structure:

  If it were me who had picked up that ******, I wouldn't have come
  back.

This sentence sounds (and looks) strange. I am used to standard 2nd and 3rd, as well as mixed, conditionals.

Is this sentence grammatically correct?

Massimo

Is this a non-defining relative clause in the past perfect, dropped into the middle of a 2nd/3rd mixed conditonal?


texts: Which is correct, "ready to give" or "ready to take"?

texts:
A company which develops a particular application for business persons has on their website the following:

  Ready to give a test drive? Request a Demo Now.

In my opinion, the correct sentence should be

  Ready to take a test drive? Request a Demo Now.

I think the customer would take a test drive, not give one. Which one is the correct sentence? Or are both okay?


texts: How can I use equation or formula or expression under different situation?

texts:
I have noticed that these three words all have the meaning that use several letters, numbers or symbols to represent some.

But I always misuse them in some context? Such as how to describe a mathematical expression? use equation or formula? Or in a programming language. I noticed that most of the code, we call it expressions. Can I describe it as equation?


texts: Would this statement mean 'all' or 'some'?

texts:
The sentence is

"Steps taken towards equality are, in fact, segregating us further."

Very simple question. Does this sentence mean All steps previously taken towards equality are resulting in more segregation, or just that multiple steps have been taken which are currently resulting in increased segregation? Basically, is it all steps which have been taken, or just more than one steps.


texts:
The Context

  Important rules of job interviews:

  A. Repeat to yourself: "It's not in the bag."

  B. To answer the question, "What would you do?" think of the correct
  answer to "What should I do?" and give that as your response.

  C. Laugh at their jokes, but don't offer your own.


texts:
Is the dictionary wrong? Here's an example; you decide (use the rules of grammar and common human natural-language sense, not the rules of logic, which rely entirely on antecedent definitions):

  The United States, England and Canada have a lot in common. The
  former, for example, used to own the other two!

Former here seems to me to be a noun. But according to m-w.com and wiktionary.org, this can't be true because it is just an adjective! How can this be?


texts: Using 'acquiesced' in a sentence, is 'acquiesced into' valid?

texts:
I have a sentence that is framed as

  I know I did, especially when I’d be acquiesced into something like listening to a boring lecture or playing soccer.

I've been told that this is incorrect, or 'not kosher'. How can I rewrite this to be more appropriate without changing the meaning?


texts: What's an idiom for making something too obvious?

texts:
I'm looking for an idiom that means something like "making something too obvious", specifically hinting at an event in the future in such a way that it spoils the surprise. "Spelling something out" is very similar, but not quite the idiom I'm looking for. The context I'm using it in is describing a badly-written plot twist, where the foreshadowing was so obvious that it ruined the twist itself.

It's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't seem to find it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


texts: Where does the phrase "on end" come from?

texts:
The phrase "on end" means "without end". It very much sounds like the German "ohn End" which itself is the short form of "ohne Ende".

Is this etymologically the right direction? (Sometimes these similarities are misleading!)


texts: Which is correct? "build a new habit" or "make a new habit" or create a new habit?

texts: Which sentence is correct? You should build a new habit, or you should make a new habit, or you should create a new habit.


texts:
For the first sentence in the picture below:

There were times, listening to Arnold and narrowing his eyes in the same heat-struck gaze, when Jack felt turned about.  Away from the Bay and its red rocks, away from their gangs, their games, this particular...

what is the function of present participle here?
And why is the restrictive relative clause separated from its antecedent?
Please help me, thanks!


texts:
Which is grammatically correct

  What can you tell about something?

or

  What can you say about something?


texts: Looking for equivalent of Indian saying " Apne gali mein kutta bhi sher hota hey" which means Every dog in his own territory is/becomes a lion

texts:
I am looking for equivalent of Indian saying " Apne gali mein kutte bhi sher hota hey" which is "In their own lane ( or street or area) dogs also are  lions". the meaning is when the territory/terrain (or may apply to "circumstance") is favorable any dog (underdog) can become a king-of-its-jungle (as a leader).

Hypothetical Example: In a battle between American Army and say Thailand or Vietnam Army on the latter's land, American will have to accept defeat because _____________________ (Every dog in his territory is/becomes a lion)


texts: Is it correct to use a form of "be" before "better"?

texts:
"These mistakes are better be corrected by a professional editor."
I've talked to two native speakers of English about the correctness of this sentence, one of whom suggested that I remove "are". The other one, however, suggested that the original sentence can be considered correct if it's intended to sound like a threat. I was wondering what others think.


texts: What is it called when two senses of the same word are etymologically independent?

texts:
Sometimes different senses of the same word have different etymons. For example,  mole  as a small burrowing animal and mole as a chemical quantity are etymologically unrelated.
Is there a name for this situation?


texts: Which verb is used for the word "activity" - "do" or "play"?

texts:
In an English test I had recently, there was this multiple choice question:

There were lots of different activities for Jay to ... there.
A - Make  B - Do  C - Play

There was no extra information for the exercise, just the word to complete.
I chose do, but it turns out both do and play were accepted.
Why is the word "play" accepted to complete this sentence?
Are they both correct? Why?
If there was a question on the SAT telling me to complete the sentence with the verb that best suits the sentence, which should I choose?


texts: What is a suitable word to describe an event that marks the beginning of something terrible?

texts:
I am looking for a word that describes an event which marks the beginning of an apocalypse or era of darkness. It shouldn't describe the aftermath itself, but rather the instigating moment.

However, I'm looking for contextual suggestions, so a little background might be appropriate. The word is meant to describe the reopening of a gate/barrier or the breaking of a seal, which was closed long ago. This reopening portends terrible times.

So far, I've thought of calling it "the Fracture", but I'm hoping to use that term for something else in the story, so alternative suggestions are welcome. Words like calamity, cataclysm etc. won't work, because they don't actually describe the specific event which I mentioned above.

Sample Sentence 01: "The Fracture has led to thousands fleeing south to escape the devastation."

Sample Sentence 02" "I was born after the Fracture, but I've heard enough stories to appreciate what little I have today. For others, it was much worse."


texts: entry requirements and entrance requirements

texts:
Are there any differences between ENTRY requirements and ENTRANCE requirements? Is it interchangeable?
In this sentence below, which one do you think is more suitable or both of them are acceptable?
In fact, applying to study abroad could even work to your advantage. You might encounter lower _________ requirements, or you could benefit from a longer application window.
Thank you so much for your time.


texts:
I've seen a couple of references to the combination of "Dj" as part of a word, normally in names, such as Django and Ramin Djawadi. Is the "Dj" always pronounced as a "J" and where is the origin from? Seeing that Ramin has Persian descent, I'm curious if this steams from areas around Iran?

Google was next to useless, as it like to reference disc jockey sites. :) Any information is appreciated.

Update

As Dan pointed out, once the origin is know, why did English select the digraph dj?


texts:
I have had a disagreement with my ten year old about the pronunciation of dirigible, which she was saying 'dirgible'. When I queried this, she explained that an animated movie on Netflix had it as 'dirgible'. I checked the ODO and 'dirigible' is right, with the second 'i' clearly pronounced. However, the Netflix source may be American English, with the second 'i' chopped out.
So, is dirgible good American English?


texts: Is there a single word or expression for "off and on"?

texts:
"To fix your router, turn it off and on."

One could use the phrase power cycle but it still seems inelegant. Is there anything more succinct?


texts:
Whether the halfway word is defined on English dictionaries as an adverb/adjective mostly used to indicate that someone or something is At or to a point equidistant between two others, I'm usually drawn to sentences such as the following:

I'm half way finishing the translation.
I'm half way in to the second season.
I'm half way there.
When I'm half way home. The distant voices fade away.

halfway or half way? Which one is grammatically correct/accepted in order to indicate that someone/something is in the middle or in the course of an action not yet finished?

In case both halfway and half way are correct, How/When do I know which one to use?


texts: How is this solved?! is it Essential or Non-Essential?

texts:
while I've been prepping for the SAT using The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar Workbook by Erica L. Meltzer I encountered this question:

Sentence:
 Before a vaccine was finally discovered by an American scientist Jonas Salk in 1955, more than 80% of polio patient received help from the foundation

Question:

NO CHANGE
Scientist Jonas Salk,
Scientist, Jonas Salk

4. Scientist, Jonas Salk, (right answer)

Comment:
why isn't the right answer is B since we don't know who the scientist was so it's essential info, also we have before


texts:
Someone wrote to me as follows.

  (a) If the lava comes down as far as this, we will evacuate these houses.

  (b) If the lava will come down as far as this, we will evacuate these houses.

  Syntactically, both (a) and (b) are correct.
  But semantically, (a) is not understandable because if the lava ( from the volcano ) comes down as far as THIS, it will be too late to evacuate THESE houses.
  So if the lava WILL ( = is likely to ) come down as far as this, we must evacuate these houses immediately.

I think interpreting (a) as the person does is unnatural.
I would like to know native English speakers' opinions.

A similar(but different) question was asked here(https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/60972/if-the-lava-will-come-down-as-far-as-this-we-will-evacuate-these-houses).

EDIT(21 July 2015)
Perhaps explaining the backgound of my question might help.

We were discussing which sentence is correct, (a) or (b).
I think (a) is correct and (b) is incorrect,
because there is the following grammar rule. http://www.englishcafe.jp/englishcollege/etense2/e1-2-4.html "In the time and the conditional clauses, both of the present tense and the past tense are used, but "will" and "shall" is usually not used even if it means the simple future. It is inevitable that the present tense is used instead."

However some people say that there are exceptions that we use "will" in if-clauses.

  Practical English Usage §260 If … will

  We normally use a present tense with if (and most other conjunctions) to refer to the future.
  I’ll phone you if I have time. (NOT … if I will have time.)
  But in certain situations we use if … will.

  1 results
  We use will with if to talk about what will happen because of possible future actions – to mean ‘if this will be the later result’. Compare:
  –
  I’ll give you ￡100 if I win the lottery. (Winning the lottery is a condition – it must happen first.)
  I’ll give you ￡100 if it’ll help you to go on holiday. (The holiday is a result – it follows the gift of money.)
  –
  We’ll go home now if you get the car. (condition)
  We’ll go home now if it will make you feel better. (result)

  2 ‘If it is true now that …’
  We use will with if when we are saying ‘if it is true now that …’ or ‘if we know now that …’.
  If Ann won’t be here on Thursday, we’d better cancel the meeting.
  If prices will really come down in a few months, I’m not going to buy one now.

  3 indirect questions: I don’t know if …
  We can use will after if in indirect questions.
  I don’t know if I’ll be ready in time. (NOT … if I’m ready in time.)

  4 polite requests
  We can use if + will in polite requests. In this case, will is not a future auxiliary; it means ‘are willing to’.
  If you will come this way, I’ll show you your room.
  If your mother will fill in this form, I’ll prepare her ticket.
  Would can be used to make a request even more polite.
  If you would come this way …

  5 insistence
  Stressed will can be used after if to suggest insistence.
  If you WILL eat so much, it’s not surprising you feel ill.

EDIT 2(21 July 2015)
Some people say it all depends on context.
They say (a) may be incorrect and (b) may be correct depending on context. But I cannot imagine such a case.


texts:
Are telecommunication and telecommunications interchangeable, or are there some contexts where one is preferred?  For example, the Wiki page on “Telecommunication” has a section entitled “Telecommunication networks,” but the main article on this topic is called “Telecommunications network.”  Is it that the singular is used when the main concern is the act of transmitting information in the abstract, but the plural when the writer wants to stress the various media involved?

There might be a similar issue with communication(s) as well.


texts: What does "GQ" mean in this scholarly context?

texts:
I searched the acronym but it apparently stands for all sorts of phrases. Here's the context:

  Imāmīs also claim that the Sunnīs omitted or suppressed Sūrat
  al-Nūrayn, “The Two Lights”; cf. Ar. text and trans. in Nöldeke, GQ,
  ii, 102-7) as well as other passages that testify to 'Alī’s distinct
  role as Muhammad’s spiritual and political heir.


texts: Please, why can’t I use "the below example"?

texts:
I used “the below” in a previous answer I wrote and a fellow member of this Q&A site, tchrist ♦, changed it to not include the below.

Fifthly (or any final thing in the list) would be interchangeable with Finally in the below example.
You could use semicolons or comma-separated lists. The below example uses semicolons:

Why can’t I use “the below”?


texts:
Suppose G is finite.

or

  Suppose that G is finite.

whats the difference?


texts: "Fight with the grape": what does it mean?

texts:
I am reading Why the West rules---for now and found the idiom "to fight with the grape":

  Like the Medes before him, he fought with the grape: he let the Massagetan vanguard loot his camp [...]

I just did not get it. What does it mean?


texts: Attention, focus, and respect as distributable resources

texts:
I'm curious about why we say things like, "If I could have your attention please", "Please give me your focus", and "Please give me the same respect you want for yourself". When did these become distributable resources?

Does anyone have insight into how this came about and why we use these as we do?
We don't use other intangible nouns like this, so why do we use a select few in this special way? ("Could I have your kindness?" sounds weird, as do things like, good humor, and excitement".)


texts: English is my second language.  I have a problem.  Is this statement correct:  Please read Martha's story and forgive me if I interrupt your schedule.  Should it be INTERRUPTED?  Thank you.


texts: A single word to describe someone who is both old and wise

texts: I am trying to find a word which describes someone who is both old and wise. I would like the word to describe someone who is extremely frail and infirm. It might also have the connotation that their counsel is odd or hard to follow, even if it is sound advice.


texts:
Is the following phrase grammatically correct:

Suffering from anxiety and depression, life has been a tremendous challenge for him ever since he was a young boy.


texts: Are the pronunciations of Korea and Career identical?


texts: What do you call someone who has gotten a mental disorder


texts:
I already heard Americans use the term "mobile" for "cellphone" -- which I thought was chiefly BE -- and so I wish you could tell if such usage of "mobile" has any currency in GAE?

Unless it might be called a "mobile" by Americans outside of the US or frequently traveling to Europe.


texts: Advice vs. Suggestion Why is the latter countable?

texts:
From an outsider, I think advice and suggestion have similar meanings.

But I don't understand why the noun suggestion is countable whereas advice isn't. We can ask:

  Can you give me two or three suggestions on how to improve my English?

But not

  Can you give me two or three advices on how to improve my English?

In order for sentence 2 to be considered grammatical, we have to say

  Can you give me two or three pieces of advice...

Which seems redundant to me.

Is there an explanation behind this difference?


texts: meaning of "Calmly and deliberately, she cut up his suits one by one."

texts:
In the definition of "deliberately" in Cambridge English Dictionary, the second meaning which is "slowly and carefully" has an example: Calmly and deliberately, she cut up his suits one by one.
I don't understand the meaning of "cut up" and "suits" in this example sentence.


texts:
When it's windy out as the wind is blown against a large standing tree, its trunk moves and makes a noise similar to that creaking noise that a door or a floorboard in a house makes.

Do we use creak to refer to this noise in this case, or what is the typical way of describing this sound?


texts: Word for high volume but low information density communication

texts:
I'm trying to find a single word to describe a communication style that is high volume, low information density that is more formal than windbag.

Loquacious is the best I've come up with so far but I don't feel like it captures the low information density by itself.

Basically trying to find a an eloquent way to capture Homer's "You take forever to say nothing."


texts: "Need" in the sense of obligation - how new?

texts:
A recent tweet from Senator Chuck Schumer (quoted for linguistic purposes only) says

Trump needs to sign the bill to help people and keep the government open and we're glad to pass more aid Americans need

In this sentence, "needs" seems to be used in the sense of obligation or necessity and not personal need; Schumer is not saying that Trump's interests require that he sign the bill, he's saying that this is something necessary to do, that Trump should do it.
My question is: is this a relatively new meaning of the transitive verb "to need"? I seem to perceive it as recent and markedly conversational; is this intuition correct? (I'm not a native speaker).
For example, imagine a policeman saying to someone who's agitating and panicking: "Sir, you need to calm down NOW". This feels to me like a phrase that could be said within the last 30-40 years, say, but not in 1920.
I'm aware that "need" as a modal verb carries the meaning of impersonal obligation ("you need not do X"), but I'm asking specifically about the transitive verb.
To provide partial support, I see that the American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd edition (1994) defines the transitive sense of "need" only as "To have need of; require", whereas the current online AHD, 5th edition adds a meaning "2. To have an obligation (to do something): You need to clean up your room.", which pinpoints exactly the meaning I'm referring to. Is this an omission in the 1994 edition or a real indication that this meaning is relatively new?


texts: Do any UK place names have non-ASCII characters?

texts:
Are there any place names in the UK that have non-ASCII characters?

I’m looking for any cities, towns, villages, etc. in the UK that use characters that aren’t in the basic ASCII range (code points 0—127). This is for setting up test data for address character conversions on a website. This question is specific to UK addresses, as the international address tests have already been written.

As a bonus question, could anyone come up with any of the following with non-ASCII characters:

House name (should be easy as house names often seem to be in a foreign language)?
Street name?


texts:
I'm looking for a word to describe the other face or trait of time which is not man-made and has no time-stamp to it.

A (very) general example is that there are "morning" and "night" people who react (to time) and perform differently at different hour of the day.

Is "organic" a fitting word to use?

I would like to say something along the lines of "time is an organic resource". Would that be wrong?

Thank you in advance.


texts: Did English ever admit the 'to have X years' verbal phrase?

texts: This verbal phrase remains grammatical in Romance languages (eg: 'avoir X ans' in French).


texts: In publishing, what does the acronym "P/U" or "PU" mean?

texts: I have come across this acronym in reference to a project I have been given to revise.  Usually it is in a context such as "PU and modify."


texts: Help with comma after coordinating conjunction

texts:
When a comma and a coordinating conjunctions are used, both sides of the comma should be independent clauses. However, I have seen many examples in reputable sources where this is not the case. Is this occurrence due to writers treating coordinate conjunctions as part of a parenthetical phrase? Is it correct to do so? Any guidelines in regards to this in American English? Thanks.

Example: "She was the mother of three other foals, and was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2009."

Example: "So profound is our ignorance, and so high our presumptions,that we marvel when we hear of the extinction of an organic being."

Shouldn't there be no comma before "and" in both examples?


texts:
"Word"
This can refer to at least three things:

A textual representation of a _
A sonic representation of _
_ , the superconcept containing 1 & 2.

What are specific...words for each of these concepts?


texts: what's the word for when you don't resist doing something you don't want to do?

texts:
What's it called when you unenthusiastically do something that you have reservations about. You might consciously resist participating in something because you're ethically opposed to it or because it conflicts with your personal ideals. But in the end you submit either because you're compelled by duty or obligation, you realize your ideals aren't pragmatic, or your method keeps failing, or you realize you were wrong. Whatever the reason, you might not be happy about it and you might not want to admit it, or maybe you're simply being forced. But in the end you relinquish control or subdue your inclination to resist, and you cooperate or comply.

An example is, you might be a passionate, publicly outspoken opponent of euthanasia for many years; adamant that your way is the best and only way until a day comes that you have to watch as someone dear to you suffers.

Another example is, you might be in the military, and your commanding officer gives you an order to do something that you disagree with but you decide to just grit your teeth and do as you're told.

It's a word that I learned only recently, and I have used it in context before, but have forgotten. I believe it's a verb. Actually, I recall there being two similar, but distinctly etymologically separate words that both can be used to basically mean the same thing.


texts: Can you have more than one 'best' of something?

texts: For example, can you say 'I have more than one best friend' and is that grammatically correct given that these friends are equally good?


texts:
I came across a line that reads:
The options were limited. The alternatives unattractive.

Why there is no verb "were" after the word alternative? Shouldn't it be The alternatives were unattractive ?


texts: to switch up, to change up – why are these now taking the preposition "up"?

texts: Does anyone know the root of the emergence of usage of the preposition "up" with the verbs "to switch" and "to change"?


texts: Is it correct to say that the "premise" of the show The walking Dead is that people turn into zombies when they die?

texts:
I was talking to a friend and when I told her I was watching TWD, she asked me about the show. I told her the premise of the show is that people die and turn into zombies. She immediately wrote "premise?". I thought I might have used the wrong word and it made me feel embarrassed. So I quickly checked for it's meaning on Google.
Here's what showed up

A previous statement or proposition from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion.

Base an argument, theory, or undertaking on.

I still feel like I used the word correctly. Can someone please tell me if I was wrong?


texts: Killed or Expired to use while using with someone we know

texts:
For insurance say, sombody I know was killed in a tragic accident. So in that situation what should I use to covenvey this message to someone.
"She was killed in an accident."
Or
"She expired in an accident."
Which one is more formal?


texts: How to understand the pronunciation of informal English?

texts:
I moved to English speaking country a while ago. I always thought that my English is pretty well in both speaking and listening (understanding) parts.

I understand 100% what is being said for example at planning sessions at work, on a meeting, during the working day. But when it comes to informal English I just stop understand a half of what has been said. I hear that almost all words are pronounced looks like they've been 'eaten' in half.

For example: "in there" sound for me like "innair" or "how do you handle that?" like "howdu hanledat'?".

I there somewhere Lungmoon Dictinoory or something?

It really bothers me a lot :(


texts:
We have a little dispute about this in our team at work.

Rolf is a German male name. But someone said, he saw online, that "to rolf" is a verb in American Slang, which means "to vomit".

And indeed on dict.cc there is an entry in the dictionary saying that.

But in virtually every other source I tracked down, there is no mention of this.

I found three different meanings:

Male Name
Rolling on laughing floor (?)
using a special massaging technique (Rolfing)

So, my question is, is there a possible meaning in any kind of English for "to rolf" that equals "to vomit" or something similar?


texts: What does "program to" mean in "Program to an interface, not an implementation"?

texts:
This is a design principle in object-oriented programming:

  Program to an interface, not an implementation.

At last now I know for sure what the principle means (thanks to @DanBron in the comments) but as a non-native speaker I fail to understand what the phrase "program to" means in that sentence.

It has been suggested that it means "write to" or "program against" but I still can't risk an interpretation: which example usage of "write to" would be similar? Is "program against" a phrasal verb? What does "against" mean in that case?


texts: When did "floored" become used to mean "surprised?"

texts: My go-to resource, Etymology online, has plenty of information about "floor" as a noun, but not as a verb to mean "surprise" or even "knock over." I just want to know if it would be anachronistic to have a character from the 1920's use the term.


texts:
I've seen this sentence here.
Shouldn't it be "your Christmas fashion"? If it's right, what does it mean?


texts: Is “I (you) don’t have to go any further than the mirror,” well-used phrase, or John Edwards’ invention?

texts:
Today’s Washinton Post reported that John Edwards, Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004 was aquitted of one count, and the judge declared a mistrial on five other charges on his campaign fraud trial on May 30th.
It says:

“Edwards emerged from the courthouse to deliver remarks that sounded more like repentance than triumph. He lamented his “sins” and said he would not have to go far to find who is responsible. ‘I don’t have to go any further than the mirror,’ he said. ‘It’s me and me alone.’”

I was attracted to his remark, “I don’t have to go any further than the mirror. It’s me and me alone.”

We also have a Japanese stereotype, “Look (your face) in the mirror” when asking somebody to consider a thing in light of his conscience. This phrase is also used to remind someone of his / her being not so handsome as he / she thinks.

Is “I (you) don’t have to go any further than the mirror.” a stereotype or a phrase well-used in the case when you are placed in a position to search your conscience, or just a John Edwards’ improvision before press corps?


texts:
Is the following sentence in active or passive voice?

  The document had three errors.


texts: One word for "to take advantage of company resources (that one works for) for one's personal intents"?

texts:
This happens a lot at work, and I don't think there's a single word for it - or is there?

Examples:

Browsing the web for content unrelated to work
Taking company time for personal grooming (like painting nails, shaving, etc.)
Using the company refrigerator to temporarily store one's groceries purchased at lunch.
Printing stuff not related to work (worse yet, if it's material for employment somewhere else.)

Stealing is not specific enough.


texts:
Ben Marcus in Watching misteries with my mother writes:

She will have spent her entire life having no control whatsoever of what happens inside her body, with her blood and cells and bones, not to mention the organs and nerves, and now, 86 years into this seasoned indifference [...]

What does the use of these "tecnical" lexical items imply?
The short short has nothing to do with the medical field and this is the only sentence with words regarding this semantic field.
Has the writer used this lexis to create a certain ambiance?

Thank you


texts: "There wasn't among X a more beautiful creature"

texts:
I'm having trouble constructing a sentence. Which sounds more natural (and which is plainly wrong):

1) There wasn’t among angels, humans, gods, or any species a creature more beautiful than her.

2) There was neither among angels, humans, gods, or any species a creature more beautiful than her.

I think both are grammatically correct, but I'm not sure. Any help is appreciated.


texts: Is this the right meaning of this sentence?

texts:
I am trying to find an original way to say "Conquer the Justice". Looking on the dictionary, I found that "storm" not only means something like a tempest but also to "conquer with weapons".

Supposing that to me the Justice means a fortress that can be conquered, is it grammatically correct to say "Storm the Justice"?

Thanks in advance for any help.


texts: Need a word similar to 'slight difference' but its not really in the 'slight' to 'medium' range

texts:
The word probably is in the 'slight' to 'none'  range.

Scenario is I have a pie chart.
Majority is 55 percent, secondary is 40 percent and I need to compare the majority to the secondary.


texts:
Could you please tell me what “hooking up” means in the following dialogue (from Hemingway’s newly discovered short story "Pursuit as Happiness")?
“Hook her up, Josie!” I yelled. “He’s taking all of it.” [i.e., the marlin is pulling all the line out.]
“She’s hooked up, Cap. There he goes.”
As you surely see, ‘her’ and ‘she’ refer to their fishing boat and ‘he’ is the big marlin that has been hooked and is pulling the line out.
Meaning of hooking up is clear in sentences like “. . . forgot to hook the boat up to the trailer!” and “Did you ever hook the boat up to the tow vehicle?” but I can’t get the meaning of it in the above-mentioned dialogue.


texts:
I have a program that does a job on batches of 100 items.  It's too slow on its own, so I'm going to write a program that runs multiple copies of that program, giving each one a batch of 500 batches, so 50000 items in each batch-of-batches.

I'd like a single word for the batches of batches.  I'm not looking for just any old synonym of "batch", but for a word which includes the sense of being batched at a higher level - though if such a word doesn't exist for "batch" and does exist for a synonym, I'd be happy with the pair.


texts:
Is this phrase used at all by native speakers? After almost 20 years of studying and speaking English, I've been told this is a phrase that almost every Czech speaker gets wrong - it seems that even my university english teachers got it wrong, which is mindblowing to me. The fact that I did not get this corrected by anyone during my whole life makes it very surreal - "Can I ask a question?" sounds correct to me, however "Can I have a question?" feels better.

Is this phrase really incorrect? How foreign does it sound to a native speaker?


texts: Why is there not a hyphen between "natural" and "language" in the phrase "natural language processing"?

texts: Natural language processing is a field of AI that deals with tasks related to processing natural languages such as English and Spanish, in order to understand and extract data from them. Based on my understanding, the processing is done on a language which is natural and not on a language in a natural manner (possibly opposed to an artificial manner); thus, there should be a hyphen between natural and language, making it "natural-language processing"), yet I have never seen it being written like this. In a similar manner, the phrase "observation coding system" does not have a hyphen, and in a somewhat similar way, there is no hyphen used when writing phrases including words such as approach and method; phrases such as "oil processing method" and "law practice approach."


texts:
First question:
Yesterday it was . . . terrible weather that there were hardly any people out in the streets.
A) so
B) too
C) such
D) such a

In my opinion, it should be D but the answer's A. Nevertheless, my teacher says it is not a good answer! Please help, am I right or not?


texts:
I saw several posts about usage of "the" before acronyms, but I still haven't found any answer on my question. Let's say I developed a System for Definitions' Retrieval (SDR). So, should I refer to it as "the SDR" or just "SDR"?

The sentence is:

  Integration of (the/a/?) SDR database with lexical (synonyms, antonyms, etc.) databases.


texts:
Please help me understand whether I need an article and why.
*"Companies I have worked with:

Wolfestone, translation agency (Swansea, UK)
[...]"*

Do I have to place an article before "translation agency"? I feel that if it were in a sentence, I would need an article, but in a list like that (it's from my CV) I'd better omit it. Is this feeling right or wrong? Are there any rules for such situations?
Thanks in advance!


texts: Why can we add "a number of" before nouns?

texts:
In the following sentence:

  The city is populated by many people.

"many" can be replaced by something like "a great number of" (let us leave the perceived differences between the meanings of these two modifiers out of discussion):

  The city is populated by a great number of people.

I understand that this replacement does not change the object "populating the city" from the original "people" to a "number", but rather shows the ability of expressions in the form "[numeral] of" to provide information about the quantity of nouns they modify.

Is this ability due to some special qualities of nouns such as "number", "quantity", "fraction", &c., or is it just one usage of the preposition "of"?


texts: I have certain confusions regarding the Verb Abound. Abound is a verb which means to exist in large numbers or amounts. What we generally understand from a Verb is Action. However the Verb abound seems like an aberration where it is depicting a condition or situation.                                Why is this the case? Why we need such Verbs in English Language when we can simply use Adjectives like abundant?


texts: Difference between deformable and flexible

texts:
Part of my work is the following sentence:

  we limit the scope of this work to static, non-deformable and non-flexible objects.

However I wonder whether there is a difference between the words non-deformable and non-flexible. Or are they just unambiguous synonyms?


texts:
I would like to say that the project was going well and so it was decided that the scope would be 'made bigger/enlarged'. Is this correct or how else can I say it?

Thanks in advance.


texts: I really don't understand why others are using "forename" instead of "first name". Can someone explain the difference to me?


texts: I was asked this question by a friend today, and the question really beats me. I know that gracias and merci are like practical workarounds, but is there no synonym for Thanks in English?


texts:
I saw a photograph of Chris Robshaw, the Harlequins captain, in the paper yesterday sporting a magnificent shiner, and naturally started to wonder where the term originated.

Consulting Etymonline revealed a date (1904) but no explanation.

I also turned up a question on Answerbag stating that it is derived from the derogatory word shiner meaning a black person. The dates given in Etymonline make this quite plausible, but Green's Dictionary of Slang dates the first usage of shiner for black eye at 1797, which would tend to militate against this etymology.

The comments also suggest the name derives from the shiny skin of a black eye; I have some personal experience of these things and I can't say I've ever noticed.

Urban Dictionary has a different explanation:-

  Term is of Irish origin where it was a punishment for not keeping
  machinery shiney delivered from the boot of a British officer.

I can't say I'm convinced by this.

So, does anyone know why a black eye is called a shiner?


texts: Which English words feature reduction of diphthongs like /eɪ/ to /i/?

texts:
Consider the following examples:

karaoke as /ˈkæ.ɹiˌəʊ.ki/
Israel as /ˈɪz.ɹi.əl/
al-Qaida as "alky aida"
Monday as "mundy"
Friday as "fridy"

and possibly:

Capernaum as /kəˈpɜːɹ.ni.əm/
Sinai  as /ˈsaɪniaɪ/

I was unable to find much information about this phenomenon. It seems that in most cases the phonetic environment triggering this reduction is the diphthong being followed by another vowel.

Are there other words that feature this reduction?


texts: Word or phrase that means "to make something extremely awesome"

texts:
I was wondering if there's a verb or phrasal verb that means "to make something awesome to the extreme."

Consider:

A: This place looks terrible.
B: Just wait until I'm through with it. I'm going to make-it-awesome

Sorry if this question seems a bit narrow for SE. I hope it's not.


texts: What kind of punctuation should I use to embed a question in another sentence?

texts:
How should I punctuate this sentence? It seem that I should somehow distinguish the question part of the sentence from the main part of the sentence.

  If I didn't know the answer, I would first ask, "Which one of these is more important?"

or

  If I didn't know the answer, I would first ask, which one of these is more important?

or

  If I didn't know the answer, I would first ask which one of these is more important?

Or something else?


texts:
Hello I have a question about sequence of tenses.

This is my sentence:

"I put my keys down before closing the door, head to the the kitchen and grab something to eat"

My question is : shall I use the -ing form for all verbs that come after "before"?


texts: 'give something your all' and 'go all out' difference

texts:
Are there any differences in the meaning of or when we use these idioms?

give something your all
go all out
go out of your way


texts: Word for one who likes to share knowledge when asked

texts:
Working in an organization where your coworkers like to share information and knowledge.

What can we call someone who likes to share knowledge when asked?


texts:
While reading up on todays match, there was this line:

  Thomas Muller wants a penalty before Algeria counter and have a chance but Germany survive. Breathless!1

I would have written this as either before the Algerian counter or before Algeria counters and has.

Is there some grammar rule or even basic knowledge I'm missing, or is this phrasing special to sports reports and possibly known to be off?


texts: What does it mean to say that a lexical item is specified for semantic negation?

texts: What does it mean to say that a negative morpheme is specified for semantic negation while another negative morpheme is not?


texts: Is there a synonym for the word "surroundings" which describes the closest surroundings of a spaceship in space (to specify scales lets say distance between planet and ship when ship is on geostationary orbit) and synonym which describes somewhat greater surroundings with radius comparable to distances between planets?


texts:
I encountered this expression when reading John Adams by David McCullough,

  Adams is not known to have recorded any of his thoughts during the voyage home, but earlier he had said his great desire was " to lay fast of the town of Braintree and embrace it with both arms and all my might. There live, there to die, there to lay my bones, and there to plant one of my sons in the profession of law and the practices of agriculture, like his father."

The context of the above excerpt is in 1788, when Adams's were recalled from London as U.S. ambassador back home to Braintree, Massachusetts.

The closest fitting definition I found out comes from Dictionary.com, which gives "Nautical. to take up a specified position, direction, etc". But I am not sure. Any other takes?


texts: When should one use the comma versus the semicolon, and vice versa?

texts: I cannot understand the difference between the comma and semicolon. Can you please clarify?


texts: What is the "ism" in which people are respected/entertained on the basis of people whom you know

texts:
What is the contemporary "ism" in which people are respected on the basis of people whom you know. The meaning is suppose if I (Jim) know some one (Jack) and he (Jack) introduces me to John. Then only John will entertain me for any of social or business deals. Else if i approach John directly he will discriminate me over whom Jack and people like jack whom John knows. In other words, John would be entertaining people whom he knows thru Jack and alike.

PS: Discriminat-ism on the basis of people whom you know or don't.


texts:
Dutch has the verb zwijgen, which means remaining silent. Ik zwijg means I remain silent or I say nothing.  It is also often used as an imperative, similar to shut up.

I have been discussing this with some native English speakers who have sound understanding of Dutch, and we couldn't come up with a verb in English.

Does it exist?


texts: "You are welcome" or "You are welcomed" or "You welcome"

texts:
What is the right thing to say ?

"You are welcome"

"You are welcomed"

"You welcome"


texts: More formal word for the chronic state of being in a snit

texts:
This question relates to my previous question: More formal word for "know-it-all"

I would like to describe the general attitude of a particular witness, in my closing argument.  This will help me comment on her reliability as a witness.  She was very negative about everything, and came across as being in a snit about everything.  I need a word for this idea of being in a snit.  She was opposed to everything.  She got herself tied into contradictory knots because she was opposed to so many things.

The word could be an adjective describing her constant oppositional state.  Or it could be a word to mean the oppositional state itself.  It should show that it comes from a desire to show that everything the parent speaks, acts, dreams, or breathes is wrong.  That was her guiding principle.  But it was an emotional (visceral) thing for her.  She's too stupid to be analytical.

Oppositional doesn't work because two-year-olds are oppositional.  They say "no" to everything.  This person had a negative attitude only regarding whatever she thought the parents were saying or trying to accomplish.

The closest I've gotten so far is that she was pathologically anti-parent.  But I can't say "pathologically" in the closing argument.  I need a less offensive sounding word.

(Being in this perpetual snit affected her memory and her judgment.  She ended up speaking total nonsense.)


texts: "Analysis of..." or "An analysis of..." - how should I start a title of an academic paper?

texts: I'm writing an academic essay and I'm wondering whether I should start like "An analysis of sorting algorithms" or "Analysis of sorting algorithms", the question is about the article "an" versus no article. What's the correct way? Or does it depend on a context?


texts:
Taken from the Barron's SAT prep book:

  "Ron liked to play word games, of which he found crossword puzzles particularly satisfying."

According to the answers this is an unidiomatic phrase that is too wordy and they fix it by adding a semi-colon and making the second clause into an independent one:

  "Ron liked to play word games; he found crossword puzzles particularly satisfying."

My question: how is and which part of the first sentence unidiomatic, and how is it better than the second one?

In the first sentence the "of which" conveys the idea that the second clause is a part of the first, as opposed to the second sentence in which the semi-colon only expresses a connection between the two clauses.

Here's the exact copy of the question for those who are interested:


texts: word describing "people who can very quickly think what to say"

texts:
What is a word to describe "people who can very quickly think what to say". I mean like funny people who have great timing. Is there one exact word for that ability. Not "smart", "canny", "savvy" or "shrewd".
Thank you.


texts: Past passive tense for smite without connoting infatuation, or an alternative

texts:
TL;DR: What is the past tense of smite in the passive voice? Is there an alternative word or series of words with the intended nuance?

I am trying to find an alternative to the past passive tense for smite that doesn’t have the connotation of love. For example:

  I was smitten by the hand of justice.

instead of

  Jimmy has been smitten with Carla. Cupid must have come early.

It seems that, at least in American vernacular, the majority of use is defined by Dictionary.com's 7th definition.

An alternative word all together would be acceptable as well. I am looking for a word that doesn't connote love to an average speaker, while indicating the gravity of the institution performing the smiting.

The context in which this discussion sprang up was a discussions about a role playing tabletop game (Pathfinder). In it, one of the divine spells is Holy Smite. We were trying to figure out how to talk about being on the business end of that spell in the past tense.

Understandably, it appears to have fallen out of common usage in all aspects in the last century (Google's Ngram Viewer).

Forgive my possible breach in protocol. This is my first post on this exchange.


texts: What is the rule for shortening people's names? (E.g. Michael → Mike)

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Changes in English names of people

How do we shorten names in general? For example, Almond → Al, Michael → Mike.

I remember seeing a Wikipedia page on which frequently used name abbreviations were listed. I also remember that that page mentioned the technical name for this kind of personal name abbreviation. However it was quite a time ago, and I'm not able to find it now.

Can you give me information about this?