texts:
I'm having a bit of a disagreement about the use of the words "best fit" vs "best - fit" (note the extra spaces suggested).

The sentence is "...and I enjoy analysing human behaviour and drivers to implement the best fit process and systems."

The suggested sentence is "...and I enjoy analysing human behaviour and drivers to implement best - fit process and systems."

The first seems correct to me. It is in the context of a resume so am I missing something?


texts: Is this a complex sentence or a compound sentence?

texts:
Below is the original sentence from a book:

  Such birds do us good, though we no longer take omens from their flight on this side and that; and even the most superstitious villagers no longer take off their hats to the magpie and wish it good-morning.

From the meanings of the content, It seems logical to me to interpret it as a complex sentence with a type of concession adverbial clause:

  Such birds do us good, (though we no longer take omens from their flight on this side and that; and even the most superstitious villagers no longer take off their hats to the magpie and wish it good-morning).

However, from the perspective of punctuation marks, it appears that a compound sentence structure is more reasonable.

  (Such birds do us good, though we no longer take omens from their flight on this side and that) ; and (even the most superstitious villagers no longer take off their hats to the magpie and wish it good-morning).

Your feedback is highly appreciated.


texts: What is it called when an informational clause is added in the middle of a sentence?

texts:
What is the name of this sentence format called, when a clause of information is embedded in the middle of a sentence?  I have highlighted the clauses of concern in bold.

  I first met George, my sister's husband, when he was staying, to my dismay, at our, my parent's, downtown home.

If this were spoken, then probably the bold text above would be said in a lower or softer voice.

In all of these cases, the clause can be removed and the sentence is still intact.

  I first met George when he was staying at our downtown home.

Note, I'm not debating if using this sentence structure is good or valid syntax.  I'm just wondering if there's a name for having a written or spoken clause within a sentence.  Is it simply just called a clause, or is there more to it?


texts: What is the exact difference between the meanings of “constitute” and “conduce towards” in this context?

texts:
What is the difference between the meanings of “constitute” and “conduce towards” in the following context? Based on the meaning of both, it seems to me that both mean something to the effect of “to amount to” or “contribute to the generation of”, but the “both” used by the writer seems to imply that they indicate two essentially different meanings.

This book considers films as philosophical investigations. And submits
that these investigations both constitute and conduce towards
(both) true intel- lectual freedom and ecological wisdom. And that
these two are in the end two sides of the same coin.


texts: What is the technical term for up & down, back & forth, and left & right?

texts:
When I of speak of direction, I'm speaking about our perception relative to the earth. We all intuitively know about all three directions. For instance, if we throw a ball, it is moving constantly forward, and simultaneously moves up and then down, but never left or right. What I need however, is a technical term for all three directions.

To add some context, I are studying the auditory system, and I need a shorthand term for each direction. Unfortunately, it seems that length/width are used interchangeably, with only height being used consistently. I want to work with the terms horizontal/vertical, but there's no term I can find to describe the z axis. Furthermore, from what I've read, many people define the horizontal direction as being the horizontal and vertical direction, with height being described as the vertical direction i.e, horizontal = area, vertical = height.

The thing is though is that everyone knows what left and right, backwards and forwards, and up and down are, everyone, and this I believe is because these directions relate to our own perception (rather than an objects).

So right now as far as my nomenclature, it's a huge mess. It would be so nice if there is a single word that describes each of these three directions without ambiguity.


texts: "he is too young to go to school, is he " or "he is too young to go to school, isn't he?"

texts:
Can you tell me which of the following sentences is correct? why?

a) He is too young to go to school, is he?
b) He is too young to go to school, isn't he?


texts:
Asking here because I'm having a bear of a time trying to Google this. Is there a name for the structure, often observed in spoken English, in which a sentence begins with a noun phrase followed by a comma and a pronoun that serves as the subject of the sentence, with the antecedent of the pronoun being the preceding noun phrase? It's similar to the way stress pronouns are often used in French (e.g. "Moi, je m'appelle..."). Here's an example of what I'm talking about:
"Students with more than one major, they tend to have very little free time."
Anyone aware of a consensus on the correctness of this structure in an informal register?


texts: What is best word to shout "hide him in safe place"

texts: A leader is delivering a talk on a dais and one of the security officers finds a threat to him and shouts from the distance to alert the leader or other security officers around him. What is best word or phrase he should use to alert them to be safe. I need a word like "crouch" or tuck him down"


texts:
As seen in quite a lot of video games:

What is the meaning/origin of this phrase?


texts: Which is correct: "This is her" or "This is she"?

texts: Upon answering the telephone, the person calling asks if Joan is available. If Joan is the person who answered the phone, should she say "This is her" or "This is she"?


texts: Is there an adjective to describe that someone is being brought somewhere?

texts:
I'm looking for an adjective to describe the girls in these sentences:

Girl gets a new boyfriend, so she no longer walks to school.

A daughter is driven to school everyday by her father.

A teenager does not go to work alone, her older brother walks her there on his way to his job.


texts: Detail or Details? Read on for more detail/details

texts:
I'm writing a newsletter and have been given the following text:

  New stock has arrived & we're giving you the chance to grab it at 20% off for this weekend only! Read on for more details.

I'm unsure if the word details should be detail or not.


texts: participle phrase or to-infinitive phrase

texts:
In response to the long-term measures recommended by the School Board,
  the then Principal initiated the Pledge Day on “Clean LA", to encourage
  all schools to make the “Clean LA” commitment on that day.

I wonder if it sounds better to replace the to-infinitive clause with a participle clause:

  In response to the long-term measures recommended by the School Board,
  the then Principal initiated the Pledge Day on “Clean LA", encouraging
  all schools to make the “Clean LA” commitment on that day.

because I think it is seldom to use to-infinitive clauses after a comma.


texts: What is the  structure of "Long time passing"?

texts:
WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE
  words and music by Pete Seeger

  Where have all the flowers gone?
  Long time passing
  Where have all the flowers gone?
  Long time ago
  Where have all the flowers gone?
  Girls have picked them every one
  When will they ever learn?
  When will they ever learn?
  .....

What is the exact meaning of "Long time passing"? What kind of construct is it?

NB: Of course I can infer an approximate meaning, but I can't recognize the structure
[adj] [noun] [present participle] as a stand alone one.


texts: Bike Race question - Loser gets to "be the girl"

texts: I don't remember which movie it was in, but there were two men (filled with testosterone), and they had this bet that the loser would be the girl. It was never specified what gets to be the girl means. Is there a fixed meaning to it in English?


texts: How would someone who needs to read a story from A to Z be qualified?

texts: When I'm beginning to watch a movie, or read a book, I tend to want to watch or read the whole story through, even if it is a story of questionable quality or if I know the end. And I don't want to miss a thing. What would be an adjective to qualify such a person like me?


texts: is gentile used to signify people of indigenous origin?

texts: While "gentile" is used to describe people of non-Jewish or pagan origin, can it be used as a synonym for "indigenous" (with regards to connotation?)


texts:
Educations Influence on Christianity

This is the title of my essay. Does 'educations' need an apostrophe?


texts: What is wrong with the usage "We will hold the slot for the next 5 minutes"

texts:
Following sentence is from an email template that goes out to our customers.

  "We will hold the slot for the next 5 minutes"

One of the customers said that the sentence should be:

  "We will hold the slot for next 5 minutes"

Which is the right one to use in an email ?


texts: Is there a phrase/idiom that refers to the irony of putting off a task or goal when it's easiest to achieve?

texts: Or one that refers to taking an opportunity for granted when it is right there in front of you?


texts:
I read this recently in The Economist:

  At the end of the summit, the French and European officials had
  claimed a points victory over the Germans by getting them to agree
  more firmly to a target date of January 1st next year to entrust the
  European Central Bank (ECB) with the ultimate authority to supervise
  the euro zone’s 6,000-odd banks.

"Points" is a plural, and I suppose it doesn't function as a noun in this sentence since it's following the article "a", so is it an adjective adorning "victory"?


texts:
"The Bank's information department is responsible for the related
  system maintenance, obstacle removal and backup process."

Does the adjective "related" modify all three items in the list or only the first item?

Is there room for interpretation?

If I wanted the adjective "related" to modify all three items, without adding "related" in front of all three items lest it feel redundant,

how would I go about it?

Thank you in advance for your insights!


texts:
This recently came up in my geometry class: why is pyramid pronounced PIR-uh-mid, while pyramidal is pronounced pi-RAM-idal?

From what I can tell, they both have similar roots and etymologies, so what gives?


texts:
This question is related to programming, but this seemed a better place to post it than Stack Overflow.

To style HTML pages, we frequently deal with positioning, and two common values for the CSS position property are relative and absolute. When answering questions on Stack Overflow, sometimes I wonder how should I refer to those values as adverbs. For example, take this sentence from a question I just answered:

  Unless you'll be absolutely positioning something inside the div later

Is this correct English? It sounds strange to me, but "absolute positioning` would also sound strange.


texts: An alternative way to say a "bioprotective suit"

texts:
I am looking for short ways to describe special suits one uses in a case of a virus outbreak.

I have already found: chem-bio suit, bioprotective suit, bio protective suit, biohazard suit, chem-bio suit, bio-protective gear, hazmat suit.

Any other suggestion that would be usable in American English?

Does anyone know of a site with a thesaurus, which is specialized in two or more words synonyms?


texts:
I'm reading "Cambridge Collocation in use" and find this sentence
( I’m bored stiff in this lesson!) so can I use Stiff with another word to make the sentence opposite?
Thanks


texts: Is it correct to say "He is good with flying to Europe"?

texts: I'm trying to say that someone agrees to fly to Europe, is it correct to put it that way?


texts: What does this answer to a negative question mean?

texts:
A: So, no party tonight?
B: No, there is a lot of discussion.
Is B saying there is no party?


texts: alternative (and usage-specific) word for a "condition clause" when speaking of conditional clauses

texts:
Is there any grammar-nerdy term that describes the condition clause of a conditional sentence, in terms of its syntactical interrelation to the so-called consequence?

Example sentence (based on the sample conditional sentence from WIkipediaIf it rains, the picnic will be cancelled):

  "If it rains" is the ________ of "the pic-nic will be cancelled".


texts: Should I use a comma or semicolon to separate these ideas?

texts:
I can no longer remember her face, too
  much time has passed.
  I can no longer remember her face; too
  much time has passed.


texts:
The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time.

(Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Are the highlighted two prepositional phrases one element, or is ‘over the edge of the sofa’ a parenthetical phrase?


texts:
The following sentences are error messages a software gives out, when insufficient parameters are provided. ('searchterm' and 'pageindex' are possible parameters.)

"You need to specify at least one of 'searchterm' and 'pageindex'."
"You need to specify at least one of 'searchterm' or 'pageindex'."

Which of these sentences is grammatically correct? If they are both correct, is there a difference in meaning?


texts: Difference between elapsed time and aggregated time

texts:
In my timeline diagram, there are 3 items

1st item started at 12Noon and finished at 2PM (2 Hrs)
2nd item started at 3PM and finished at 6PM  (3 Hrs)
3rd item started at 5PM and finished at 7PM (2 Hrs)

When descriping this timeline in a document how can i represet the total time? Example,

My total time : 12Noon to 7PM = 7Hrs
My active time : 12to2 and 3to7 = 6Hrs

My question is how to mention my total time and my active time? what are the correct phase to represent/differentiate those?

elapsed time / aggregated time/ total time / anything else?

Note: Not mathematical question. Just an example illustration.


texts: If we make the subordinate clause in "I wish he were here" nonfinite we get "I wish him to be here", right? Can we then change the voice? What I mean is can "He is wished to be here" be grammatical and why?


texts: Is "stemmed to" ok, and what does it mean?

texts:
Consider this:

Poverty and substandard infrastructure are present in almost every place in the India, especially New Delhi, its capital. Having been left unattended for decades, these problems have stemmed to more serious setbacks today such as pollution and illiteracy.


texts: Guideline for use of definite and indefinite articles in source code documentation

texts:
I have a doubt about proper use of definite and indefinite articles is source code documentation.
For example:
/**
 * Opens the door.
 *
 * @param speed The opening speed in cm/s.
 * @param alarm The alarm that is turned on while the door is opening.
 *
 * @returns The promise that is resolved once the door is fully open.
 */
 open(speed: number, alarm: Alarm): Promise<void>;

and
/**
 * Opens the door.
 *
 * @param speed An opening speed in cm/s.
 * @param alarm An alarm that is turned on while the door is opening.
 *
 * @returns A promise that is resolved once the door is fully open.
 */
 open(speed: number, alarm: Alarm): Promise<void>;

In the second example, the description of 'speed' is not right. However, I am not completely sure about the use of the articles in the 'alarm' description and in the return description.
Which is better in each case and why? Is there a grammar rule that justifies a decision or a best practice here?


texts: How do describe items where one action was done one more time compared to another action

texts:
I have items that can be installed and uninstalled. I have a list that contains all the items that were installed one more time than they were uninstalled.

My first guess to describe the list is: "The list contains items that were installed once more than uninstalled". To myself that sounds wrong. It sounds like a literal translation from german (I'm german) but I can't think of a way that sounds right.

How would you say this correctly?

EDIT: The phrase is a comment in source code. At first sight the code looks more complicated than it needs to be. The complete comment is:

  remove() (in contrast to removeAll()) only removes one instance of a component if the component is in the list multiple times. This results in a list that only contains components that were installed once more than uninstalled.


texts: "Today's news is tomorrow's history" -- are those possessives?

texts: In the sentence above, why is "'s" used? Is it considered a possessive? It seems strange to state that the news "belongs" to today or the history "belongs" to tomorrow.


texts: "Amount of boxes" vs "number of boxes" in non discrete graph

texts:
I have a graph where I show number of boxes that a machine can service per minute. The data may not always give a whole number (for example, a machine may be able to service 2.3 boxes / per minute).

I am wondering how to label the axes on this graph.

I have observed that number tends to be used for integer quantities (for instance, number of people, or *number of potatoes), whereas amount is used for uncountable quantities, that often have fractions (such as 1.5 gallons of paint).

Which should I use to label my graph, number of boxes or amount of boxes?


texts:
I saw him cross the road.

Is cross the road the object of saw? Or is it the complement of him?


texts:
A: Those are my wives

B: Well, my wife, I just have the one, ...

This conversation is taken from the series shameless, s07e03, min. 22:47.

What is the meaning of the definite article in B's sentence? I cannot find it in any major dictionary


texts: Verb transitivity in sentences with dummy subjects or with prepositions that look like dummy subjects

texts:
Suppose we put in play the rule that lay is used transitively and lies is used intransitively. How do you analyze constructions such as –

  Where the responsibility (lies/lay) has yet to be determined.

At first glance, I score this as dummy where subject of subject clause, the responsibility object of subject clause, and lay as a transitive verb; and all forming a subject of a passive sentence. Dummy subjects are notorious for appearing in anastrophic constructions. The fact that "where (lies/lay) the responsibility ..." also works (albeit awkwardly in the example above) seems to support this idea.

The alternative would be to treat "where the responsibility lies" as the subject and then call the verb intransitive. This doesn't seem to work –

  Remember that a prepositional phrase will never contain the subject of a sentence. Sometimes a noun within the prepositional phrase seems the logical subject of a verb. Don't fall for that trick! You will never find a subject in a prepositional phrase.

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/prepositionalphrase.htm

Beyond this, my attempts to figure out how the subject clause is working have left me in the weeds.

So is the verb (lay/lies) in the example transitive or not? What is the subject of the whole sentence?, and how is this subject broken down?


texts:
Urbandictionary.com says it means:

  To rob. Verb. Present tense of juxt.

It has 342 votes but I can't find any evidence of actual usage on a google or COCA search.


texts: Technical Term Specifically for Multi-Example Rhetoric

texts:
I'm looking for a technical term to describe a rhetorical device.
The device I have in mind is when multiple examples are used to support a claim.
(See the addendum for specific instances.)

My criteria for the ideal term:

Technical, like something you might find on a list like Robert A. Harris' A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices, which has items like epistrophe and zeguma
Describes any number of examples, unlike a tricolon, which describes only three.
Applies to ideas instead of words or rhythms. (Terms like Scesis Onomaton and isocolon nearly describe what I'm look for, except for this.)

The closest I've found is exemplum, which Richard A. Harris defines as:

  citing an example; using an illustrative story, either true or fictitious

WP says:

  An exemplum ... is a moral anecdote, brief or extended, real or fictitious, used to
  illustrate a point.

I am leery of using exemplum because of ambiguity.
If I use its plural form exempla: Do I mean multiple instances of exemplum strung together as one thought, or multiple instances of exemplum (each potentially illustrating their own point) in one or more speeches?
I want to describe the former but not the latter.

Is there a more specific, technical term for what I want to describe?

Addendum

The device I want to describe is used in the song Like Animals
from the musical Doctor Doolittle.
Dr. Doolittle backs his claim "We create [animals'] wretched status, then we use it to malign them" with:

  I mean,

  Why should we say, “treated like a dog,”

  Why should we say, “working like a horse,”

  Why should we say, “eating like a hog,”

  When what we mean is “eating like a man”?

  Don’t we? Of course!

  A man of ill repute is called a “weasel” or a “rat,”

  A woman you dislike becomes a “vixen” or a “cat,”

  A family that is blessed

  With healthy reproductive habits

  Occasions the remark,

  "Well you know them, they “breed like rabbits”!

  “He’s as stubborn as a mule!”

  “He’s as stupid as an ox!”

  “He’s as slimy as a snake!”

  “He’s as crafty as a fox!”

  Remarks like that really get my goat!

Another musical example could be Pirates of Penzance's Major-General Stanley, who provides us ample reason why we ought to think he is the Very Model of a Modern Major-General.

(If I remember right, Oh, The Thinks You Can Think by Dr. Suess, which provides its reader with "thinks" to think about, also falls into the category I want to describe.)

Similarly, web-comic xkcd uses snapshots of online Q&A sites to show to suggest where birds go when it rains is "the universal question."

It is also used in serious rhetoric.
The New Testament chapter Hebrews 11 presents case studies of Old Testament figures and provides brief descriptions of how they showed their faith.

The device has also been used recently on ELU Meta.
To support the claim that craftsmanship is not a gendered term, user tchrist says:

  As far as I can see, the answer is correct, because craftsmanship really is no more a gendered term than manikin is, whatever their origins. We don’t need a new word for
  manikins in store windows sporting women’s lingerie, either, and it is a fallacy to think
  that we somehow ought to do that. A manikin is just manikin; it is not a man any longer, not even a wee one.

  That’s the sort of thing that leads to nonsense like forbidding the use of alternate or between for more than two choices, or avoiding inculcate or connotation because they might appear to contain a somewhat rude word-element (well, if French) inside them, or being afraid to use seminal for ideas unrelated to procreation.

  Nobody expects unmanned drones to be carrying women in them, either. A “gay-rights”
  campaign against the Canadian practice of buying homo milk would be similarly misguided,
  just as one driven by a bunch of troglodytes to rename the genus of Homo sapiens to
  something more all-inclusive of women like Pan sapiens would be.


texts:
The 1950's song Fever (covered, among others, by Elvis Presley) contains the following lines:

  Now you've listened to my story
  Here's the point that I have made
  Cats were born to give chicks fever
  Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
  They give you fever when you kiss them
  Fever if you live and learn
  Fever till you sizzle
  What a lovely way to burn

How normal is it nowadays to refer to guys as cats, and where does it come from?


texts: To be more precise I mean a kind of mocking sympathy where the person is like "Aw. You poor thing.." but it's pretty sarcastic.


texts:
People on Reddit often comment "I lost it" while quoting the funniest part of a joke to highlight how funny that part is. As I don't speak English much, I am not sure if this is Reddit-specific, but I guess not.

Where does this come from? Is it related that laughing from a joke is similar to "losing your mind"? That seems far-fetched. "I lost it" would intuitively mean "the joke stops making sense here" (i.e. "I lost track of the joke here"), which is the exact opposite of what it actually means.

What is the etymology of this phrase?


texts:
When I use Microsoft Word, it shows me that the word proceed is wrong with the following sentence:

  This is the only way I can proceed with school

and it corrects it to the following:

  This is the only way I can precede with school

Which one is correct?


texts:
We are arguing about the following phrase:

"Being the density of the graph a common requirement, both for the regularity lemma and for meaningful metric estimators in large graphs, our experiments are addressed to answer two scientific questions: ..."

Our friend asserts that the correct sentence is

"The density of the graph being a common requirement, both for the regularity lemma and for meaningful metric estimators in large graphs, our experiments are addressed to answer two scientific questions: ..."

Which one is the correct choice?


texts: sentence structures using different degrees of adjectives

texts:
I am not a native speaker. I feel very confused whenever I write sentences like the following using comparative or positive degree.I want native speakers to guide me which of the following sentences are right and why.

Dogs are better than any other animals. (or)
Dogs are better than any other animal.

I know when it comes to a single dog it is right to say 'A dog is better than any other animal.'

No other animal is as faithful as dogs. (or)
No other animals are as faithful as dogs.
No other person is as good as them. (or)
No other people are as good as them. (or)
No people are as good as them. (or)
No person is as good as them.
No other student in the class is as good as them. (or)
No other students in the class are as good as them. (or)
No student in the class is as good as them.

I know with a singular subject it is right  to say 'no other student in the class is as good as John.'

And one more question, I heard many people saying 'I don't want anyone better than you'. Is it more correct to say 'I don't want anyone else better than you.'?


texts:
In engineering contexts, one often does not actually implement a design, but rather uses an existing implementation. The process of getting an existing solution to work might require some time and effort, and I'm looking for the verb describing this effort.1

You haven't implemented anything yourself, and you're not integrating anything yet either, but this still may take up a lot of time. So, how do you describe what you're doing?

  I was busy ______ing the solution company X gave us.

1. For fellow programmers: As an example, consider getting someone else's library to compile successfully on your system.


texts:
To liquidate stocks means converting them into cash. The origin for this expression seems clear enough, because the metaphor of cash as some sort of liquid is quite common and readily understood.

But how about the other meaning of liquidate, which is to murder someone? How did the word acquire that meaning? And why does it carry the specific connotation of murder in a political or organised crime context?


texts:
Is rank a copulative/linking verb in This ranks fairly high on my list ?
What Part of Speech is high here?
High (adjective) https://www.oed.com/oed2/00106032
High (adverb) https://www.oed.com/oed2/00106033
Rank (verb)  https://www.oed.com/oed2/00197225


texts: Is there an idiom or saying meaning the opposite of "the grass is always greener on the other side"?

texts:
I'm looking for an adage that describes a situation where a group is blind to their own faults or situation but readily discerns those same faults and situations in a rival.

This picture basically sums it up:

The grass is browner on the other side?


texts: "...the Black Camel will kneel at your door" is a reference to time of death. What is the origin of this metaphor?

texts:
I was reading the "Life-Line" by Robert Heinlein. His writing is beautifully decorated with allegories and metaphors and it is pretty obvious to me that he refers kneeling of black camel to imply the time of death in the below passage.

  "I will repeat my discovery. In simple language, I have invented a technique to tell how long a man will live. I can give you advance billing of the Angel of Death. I can tell you when the Black Camel will kneel at your door. In five minutes' time, with my apparatus, I can tell any of you how many grains of sand are still left in your hourglass."

I did find another reference in a movie from 1931 with the name Black Camel.

  Death is a black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate.

Can someone help with the inception of this analogy or the associated symbolism--religious, literal or cultural?


texts:
What's the proper English translation for the degree name "计算机及应用"?

Literally, 计算机=computer, 及=and, 应用=application. I think the name means computer and how to use computer in different scenarios. The courses of this major include subjects related with computer system architecture, computer algorithms and data structures, programming languages, software engineering, and many more.

Is one of these correct?

Applied Computer
Applied Computer Science
Computer Application
Computer and Application
Computer Science

If none of above is correct, how should I translate it?


texts: Double 'not' in questions - how is it correct?

texts:
Suppose the following sentence:

"Aren't the headers not covered by copyright?"

Is this sentence correct?


texts:
Which is better and is one of them invalid? Are they equivalent or do I have to  specify that we talked about the project everytime in the second phrase?

During my internship, I had weekly meetings where we discussed about the project.

or

During my internship, I had a weekly meeting where we discussed about the project.


texts: Could someone deconstruct this sentence and explain where it is right or wrong grammatically?

texts:
The sentence is:

I'm of the fuck covid opinion.

A friend of mine stated it and I would like to know if someone could explain why it should or should not be written differently.


texts: Indirect questions: Can you explain how you will or how will you?

texts:
Do you say:
"Can you explain me how you will do that?" or "Can you explain me how will you do that?"
Thanks for clarifying.


texts: What's the term for the feeling of anguish one feels before leaving for a long trip?

texts:
I often get a growing feeling of anguish and discomfort and why-did-I-put-myself-into-this-perhaps-tomorrow-morning-will-be-a-day-like-all-other-days-ever on the day before leaving home for someplace else. It's like preemptive home-sickness. This occasionally spreads to my familiars. This typically stops once I do leave, however, so it appears to not really conform to the definition of homesickness I found on Wikipedia:

  Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from the specific home environment or attachment objects. [...] Homesickness is especially common in youth. Young people may experience a sense of dread, helplessness, or separation anxiety on their first day of school, summer camp, or on a protracted summer vacation away from the family.

(Emphasis is mine.)

Does this feeling have a name?


texts: What word defines a category suited for both header and footer?

texts:
So there I was, trying to ask a question (now on SO) on Webmaster.SE partly involving a 'header' and a 'footer'. One part of my code defines shared aspects of both the header and the footer.

Anyway to cut a long story short, I became somewhat stuck as to what I wanted to name the class they share. All I could come up with was Xer, HeaderFooter and sandwich. Similar word groups like 'suffix' and 'prefix' give me the same issue, coming up with Xfix which is just awful nomenclature!

  What categorically describes both headers and footers?

Commentary: I am *not* concerned about the web design/coding aspect of this at all.
I could easily just use:
div.CantThinkOfName

for my particular case if that were the issue. I'm referring to header/footer as it
applies to any document or setting in the English language.

  Final Results:
  Best coinage is Running Marginals with runner-up, Horizontal Ribbons. I've chosen Running Sections as the correct answer as this phrase is already in use while awarding bounty to Marginals (which eventually became running marginals) as this is a more relate-able terminology.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Hear hear or here here?

I don't know if this is a common expression anymore. The first time I encountered this expression, it was in a book.

It is obviously used to convey the listener's approval of the speaker's words, but why do people say "Hear! Hear!" instead of something like "Here! Here!" (just to let the speaker know where his supporter is?)

Does anyone know the origin of this expression?


texts: Non-vulgar way to express an "Oh shucks!" moment?

texts:
That muscle-tensing moment in time when you realize that you are watching a disaster unfold before your eyes and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.

An "Oh, Shit!" moment is the perfect way to capture this, but I need it for formal correspondence where the vulgarity is unprofessional.

Here's an example of the sentence I want to use:

  It was not an "Oh, Shit!" moment for him, so I did not respond with an "Oh, Shit!" sense of urgency.


texts:
Could I use "As for me" in the beginning of the sentence?

For example, when somebody asks the whole group of people what was done, and one in that group answers what he did: "As for me, I did that and that...".


texts: What's the English name for this three-wheeled manual pedal vehicle in China?

texts:
What's the English name of this transport vehicle commonly used in China?

Note this vehicle is commonly used to transport items, such vegetables by sellers, a TV bought from a shop, etc.

If no English word exists, what's the best approximation?

Thank you


texts: What do you call a document whereby someone promises to pay back borrowed money?

texts:
I am translating a legal document from Persian into English. It is a loan certification thereby the borrower promises to return the borrowed money in specified period of time.
It has two paragraphs in addition to specifications of both parties. The first one specifies the amount of money paid as loan (the lender is not a bank) and the second paragraph states payback conditions.
I need a title for second paragraph. Its Persian title is "تعهدنامه". I thought of guarantee, warrant, and assurance. But, I am not sure if any of them are legally applicable to this document.


texts: Is there a word for someone who loves meeting new people?

texts: I am looking for a word that is more specific than "friendly" or "amicable". Thank you for your help!


texts:
I wanted an adjective word that describes the state of being surrounded/encircled by support.
For example, the way a very important person might be surrounded by 8 lawyers or advisers.
The opposite word that comes to mind is beleagured which captures the 'encircling' element but carries the meaning that those who are surrounding you are foes rather than allies.
Example sentence : "I was ***** by a throng of lawyers."


texts:
I've been reading The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carré and the following extract confused me:

  "Are you English?" she asked on the way.
  "Pips, core, the lot," Jerry snorted furiously, which was the first time he saw her smile.

Is "Pips, core, the lot" a common phrase? And what does "pips" mean anyway? My dictionary tells me it means "seeds". Would that be correct? Thanks!


texts: Should I capitalise "or" between examples?

texts:
On this site, there are often many different options as an answer, for example both with and without the Oxford comma.

When giving multiple options, should I capitalize the word "or" between them?

Option 1:

  Eggs, butter and milk are dairy products
  Or
  Eggs, butter, and milk are dairy products

Option 2:

  Eggs, butter and milk are dairy products
  or
  Eggs, butter, and milk are dairy products

Notice in Option 1 the "or" is capitalised. In Option 2 the "or" isn't.


texts: A simple word or phrase that describes a non-conflict "day in the life" story introduction

texts:
I tell my students that I want their stories to start out as normal "day in the life" explorations of the world they're writing about. I'd like to find a better way of saying that. I'm not looking for a technical writing term necessarily but a simple easy to understand description of a type of story introduction or even a state of being where nothing outrageous is happening, no conflict or big changes.

I've used the words innocuous, boring, and mundane in the past, but those have a negative feel to them and I have to re-explain that I still want the story introductions to be engaging, but no big changes right off the bat.

Appreciate any suggestions of words or short simple phrases that might help me out. Thanks.


texts:
"What would have been your chances?" vs "What would your chances have been?"

Which one is grammatically correct and why?


texts: "Size" is to "resize" as "capacity" is to what?

texts:
Is there a (different) word that has the same relationship to capacity as resize has to size?

Edit in response to comments: I'm looking for a different word for capacity because I need to make a distinction between changing the size of something and changing its capacity.

The situation originally came up as a software term as an answer mentions, but I'd be more interested in an answer that could work in other situations as well. (E.g. the size of a container is always bigger than its capacity in real life; I can change the capacity of many things without changing their size. Exactly the reverse in software.)

It may well be that there is no such word, in which case that's also a valid answer.


texts: History of the idiomatic usage of vanilla

texts:
Vanilla is often used figuratively and according to Collins Dictionary:

  If you describe a person or thing as vanilla, you mean that they are ordinary, with no special or extra features.

  ...just plain vanilla couples like me and Tony.
  The tensions of the Nixon presidency were replaced by the plain vanilla administration of a friendly, middle-aged, middle-class man from the Middle West.

Vocabulary.com suggests that the term vanilla has a “slightly insulting” nuance:

  This word has another, slightly insulting, meaning: a vanilla movie is plain and kind of boring. A vanilla song is on the blah side. Maybe it's because vanilla food tends to be white and plain that we use this word for other things that are bland.

According to Etymonline this connotation  is  recent and was , apparently, initially used to refer to sex:

  Meaning "conventional, of ordinary sexual preferences" is 1970s, from notion of whiteness and the common choice of vanilla ice cream.

Questions:

1) Was the  figurative usage of “vanilla”, as suggested above, first used with sexual reference, and later spread  to more ordinary contexts or was it already used in more general context before the ‘70s?

2) Does the term convey a neutral or disparaging, however slight,  connotation,  when used referring to people, for instance: a vanilla guy, a vanilla couple etc.


texts: A synonym for "don't omit" not including a negativiser

texts:
I have a technical document with a lot of sentences like "Use X." or "Don't use Y."
Instead of "Don't use ..." I sometimes use "Omit ...". Whether to choose the former form or the latter depends on whether "bad thing" could be "removed" without any additional changes.

Parentheses to make operator precedence explicit
Omit them.
(2 * 3) - 1   // Wrong

2 * 3 - 1     // Correct

Else and Else If after jump statements
Don't use them.
// Wrong
if (a = b)
  return x
else if (a = c)
  return y
else
  return z

// Correct
if (a = b)
  return x
if (a = c)
  return y
return z

But sometimes I need to say "Don't omit ..." and such a wording is somewhat very close to a double negative. Since the document discourages double negatives in code, it's not a good idea to have them in the document itself.


texts:
Is there a word that describes a person who is usually not too drunk and takes care of the rest of the folks at a party?

Typically, they're the ones who drag the sloshed ones back to beds, clean up the house and generally maintain a bit of sanity.


texts: 'Supposing', 'Let us suppose': differences in hypothetical sentences

texts:
Are there differences in meaning between the sentences below?

Supposing they had taken your car without asking you, what would you
have done?
Let us suppose they had taken your car without asking you, what would
you have done?

In my opinion (I am non-native) the latter sentence is less hypothetical than the former on the fact that they, really, had taken the car.


texts: Could you let me know how to pronounce “1/12” properly ?


texts: What grammatical role is "blood" playing in the phrase "blood red"?

texts:
"Blood red" can be both a noun and an adjective:

Blood red is my favourite colour. [noun]
The wall was blood red. [adjective]

The "blood" is optional in the sense it can be removed without grammatical effect:

Red is my favourite colour. [noun]
The wall was red. [adjective]

When "blood red" serves as a noun, then "blood" is a noun that's modifying another noun, "red", attributively (i.e. in the same phrase)  and is optional, so by my understanding "blood" is acting as an attributive noun. But when "blood red" is an adjective, "blood" seems to be a noun modifying an adjective instead. Is "blood" still an attributive noun in this situation?
My question also seems to cover compounds like "brick red" or "forest green" (though I suppose not "royal blue" or "deep velvet" and presumably not "racing green" — is this correct?) and is somewhat related to this question about hyphenation.


texts: What is the logic of having ‘not’ in the usage, “be not above doing something”?

texts:
I came across the idiomatic usage, ‘not above doing’ in the following sentence of Jeffery Archer’s fiction, “Kane & Abel.”
Allan Lloyd, a banker and Chairman of William Kane’s trust tells William’s mother Anne:

  “Although he (William Kane, the heir of deceased bank chairman) has no
  authority over the trust until he is twenty one, we discovered through
  sources of our own that he is not above going to an independent lawyer
  to find out his legal position.”

No dictionary at hand shows ‘not above ...ing’ as an idiom. But according to wordreference com., it means (Someone) will do anything and won't be ashamed to do it. So I understood that the speaker meant William went so far as to consult the lawyer to his trustee’s surprise.

I’m intrigued to find why it is in negative form. i.e. why ‘not’ is necessary in “be not above doing something,” because the subject here, 16-year old William Kane is doing something more than expected. I hope my point of question is clear to you.


texts: What is the difference between "environment" and "geography"?

texts:
I'm writing a paper on how environmental and geographic factors influence economic development and, having already established that as my research question early in the semester, am having trouble actually defining the difference between the two.  It seems like there's a lot of overlap.  This is a slightly more subjective question than just the straightforward English definitions, but I'd appreciate any help you can give me.

Edit: I just realized that maybe the relationship between environment and geography is a sort of micro/macro relationship, where environment encompasses more of the micro-level details of an ecosystem and geography is more a macro-level analysis.  Thoughts?

Edit 2: I should clarify that I'm writing about the features of the natural environment, rather than environment in a more abstract sense.


texts: What is a word to mean "when bad is good"?

texts:
I'm looking for a single word (adjective or adverb) to describe a person who acts "bad", but in an admirable fashion.  Examples of this abound from history and literature.  Here are just a few I could think of :

pirates
vikings
Batman
Bonnie & Clyde
Captain Nemo
James Dean

Note that these characters are not (necessarily) acting to achieve any greater social or moral goal.  They are simply breaking rules, and they are respected for it.

The word I am looking for will complete this sentence:

Jim Stark was such a ___ kind of guy.


texts: Do you take a break between words, when pronouncing?

texts:
This question is all on the title.
English is written in the way that each word is separate.
Then how about pronunciation?
Does a break appear, separating words while you pronounce?
Or is it not necessary in physical world as real sounds, but it is always true in your mind?

Because, I'm native in Japanese and usually, and don't care about separation of words both in speaking and writing, this question comes to me. And many people in Japan seem true of the case, not caring about the separation.

Please think about it.


texts:
I can't decide. In a formal letter, addressed to somebody I don't know, which one would you go with?...

  Dear Sir/Madam

or

  Dear Sir or Madam


texts: How do teens in Northern England greet each other?

texts: Do they say "hi" or "hey" or "hello", or what do they say when they meet someone they know on the street?


texts: Meaning? "One of a kind. Top of the line. A real doggone keeper"

texts:
One of a kind. Top of the line. A real doggone keeper

This a phrase spoken by Walter to Chris in the movie "Get Out". YouTube link

I think I can understand the first two phrases...

"One of a kind, top of the line" means the best female among all other females.

Okay, but what does "A real doggone keeper" mean?

A girl can keep a boy? Control a boy? Attracting the mind of a boy? so that the boy will never betray her?

Is that what it means?


texts: A company's most important person in a specific task

texts:
Please suppose that the following image is a company including all of its staff, supporters, leaders and key members where the bowman and the bow and the arrow are the whole company including all the parts I mentioned and the final goal is hitting the target with the arrow at hand. This arrow as a simile can be comprised of some quite significant members, (e.g. some ambassadors of a diplomatic group which are supposed to go abroad for some vital negotiations with one of the worlds leading manufacturers in a specific industry for the most beneficial contract ever in the history of the company.)

As you see, the arrow is composed of three main parts:

Tip (The most important part in direction.)
Shaft
Fletching

Can we be inspired by this fact and use it as a simile in English for a very key member (the arrow's tip) in an organizational activity who may/may not have the most important position in the company's hierarchy, but acting the lead role in a particular task/department/mission etc.?

I can think of several similar terms in English, but I'm not sure if we can use them in this sense:

  a. I'm in the vanguard of company's whole affairs and the second person after the company's owner/ CEO.
  b. I'm at the forefront of company's whole affairs and the second person after the company's owner/ CEO.
  c. I'm at the foremost position of the company's whole affairs and the second person after the company's owner/ CEO.
  d. I'm in the leading edge of the company's whole affairs and the second person after the company's owner/ CEO.
  e. I'm in the cutting edge of the company's whole affairs and the second person after the company's owner/ CEO.

If none of them works, then I wonder what idiom/expression or probabely fixed phrase would you say in idiomatic and normal way for this situation.


texts: The difference between "poetic" and "poetical" in usage

texts:
I came across a sentence on grammarist.com:

Blest is an archaic form that shows up mainly in references to old, mostly poetical texts and as a poetic affectation.

I find the alternation between the two words poetic and poetical interesting. Between the pair, poetic is of course much more common. According to ODO, poetical is defined as

Relating to poetry.
Written in verse rather than prose.
Having an imaginative or sensitively emotional style of expression.

And the definitions of poetic are, well, quite similar if not the same:

relating to or used in poetry.
written in verse rather than prose.
having an imaginative or sensitively emotional style of expression.

I found a discussion on Word Reference Forum which doesn't have much information but rather makes the topic more confusing.
How do they differ in usage? What is the rationale behind the alternation of words in some texts, e.g. the Grammarist post.


texts:
The term gotcha is familiar. But what about "gotcha moment"? Could I use it in a formal paper?

Edit: English is not my native language, but I heard it multiple times. From what I read in the comments, it doesn't seem that common. It means "Eureka moment".

Edit 2: I guess I'm wrong about the meaning of "gotcha moment". Maybe I was thinking about "gotcha", as in:

https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-common-errors-or-gotchas-in-CSS
https://facebook.github.io/react/docs/jsx-gotchas.html
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3926610/javascript-jquery-gotchas


texts:
Original sentence: "What are new here are (1) XYZ and (2) PDQ."

Correcting this sentence in a text and it just feels wrong. In order to make sure I change it correctly, I tried searching for:

The type of inversion this structure is, and thus,
The rule for verb agreement.

Alas, no luck. The best I could do was try different combinations in Google Scholar, among which I found 138 instances of "What is new here are" (and, of course, 3940 results for "is ... is").

"Is ... are" feels much better, and the only explanation I can think of is that "is" agrees with "what", while "are" corresponds to what follows. Still, I can't really face the world with confidence in that explanation.

Can anybody point to the specific rule regarding this structure?


texts:
Is there any word that could be used as an alternative to "of utmost importance".

Looking for synonyms.


texts: Live event on/about Oracle 12c Release 2

texts:
I'm trying to write a short descriptive email title for an event's invitation.

Do I say

Live event on Oracle 12c Release 2

or

Live event about Oracle 12c Release 2 .

In case it is relevant, Oracle 12c Release 2 refers to a specific version of the Oracle Database.

Thank you for your help.


texts:
I often find lawyers describing an area as “admeasuring xx square feet”.

How is admeasuring any different from just plain measuring, or do admeasuring and measuring mean the same thing?


texts: has me beat vs. has me beaten vs. beats me

texts:
An LA Times column titled "A Word, Please: Microsoft unveils top 10 grammar mistakes, but its editing tools aren’t perfect" has this passage:

...
Microsoft’s No. 1 most common grammar mistake is putting an extra
space between words. Not between sentences (which is a no-no in
professional publishing), but between words.
Well, that’s not a grammar mistake. But it is a common mistake, and it
is easier for a computer to catch it. So I suppose Editor Bot of
Tomorrow has me beat there.
...

Can the last sentence be replaced with either of these to convey the same meaning?

(1) So I suppose Editor Bot of Tomorrow has me beaten there.
(2) So I suppose Editor Bot of Tomorrow beats me there.


texts: Possessive pronoun/object pronoun + Gerund

texts:
I have been thinking about this for quite a while and have done some research on it. What I have learned is that possessive pronoun+gerund is a structure that's more "formal", while object pronoun + gerund is less formal. Also, some people suggest that using the structure of possessive noun+noun might be more idiomatic and make the sentence easier to understand.

What I want to know is whether in the formal writing style the structure of "object+gerund" should never be used.

It just sounds quite clumsy when the "formal style" is used.

For example:

Soldiers walking slowly in two lines toward the enemies might look crazy to people nowadays.
Soldiers' walking slowly in two lines toward the enemies might look crazy to people nowadays.

Note that in the first example I am not talking about "soldiers who walked slowly in two lines toward the enemies" but "the fact that soldiers walked slowly in two lines toward the enemies"

And also,

Do you mind me telling you the truth?
Do you mind my telling you the truth?

Do the sentences that contain the structure of "object pronoun+gerund" confuse you or make you think it's so informal that it should not be seen in newspapers or prestigious magazines such as the Times or the Economist?

Thanks in advance! Any opinions are welcome!


texts: Is there an English equivalent of the proverb 水清ければ魚棲まず (if the water is clear, fish won't live there)?

texts:
The proverb's meaning is that just as fish prefer muddy waters and avoid clear streams, people generally do not associate with those who are too ideal in terms of ethics, manners, and habits. In other words, being strictly honest and always making the right choice from the standpoint of society-imposed values will result in you being isolated and having no friends.

I will now elaborate to better explain the idea. The idea is that there are some good reasons to keep very upright people at arm's length:

If someone is too strict towards himself or herself, he or she is likely to judge others by his or her high standards, which may lead him or her to make big deals out of minor matters, criticize others, report them, and refuse to forgive even small accidental wrongdoings. In contrast, those who are not ideal have no difficulties accepting that others are not, too.
Very upright people are hard to cooperate with on matters where ethical flexibility is required. The ability to cooperate on such matters is important because problems sometimes arise whose only practical solution is to bend rules.
Brutally honest people tend to create awkward and problematic situations by being too direct and honest. Friedrich Nietzsche said about it, "If you want to offend somebody, just tell him the truth."
Strict people often lack common sense and human understanding on the emotional level and, as a result, tend to take decisions based on abstract logical considerations. This can sometimes lead to awful practical outcomes because of a failure to take the feelings of others into account and see all circumstances and nuances of a situation.
Since there is no reason to be honest and upright just for the sake of being honest and upright, those who are always blindly honest and upright are likely to be close-minded, dogmatic people in the broad sense.

Intuitively led by the above reasons, many avoid associating with people who are too ideal from the standpoint of society-imposed values, and this is what the proverb is about.

I am curious whether this idea is commonly or idiomatically expressed in English. I did my own research, but found no close equivalent. One website says that the English equivalent is "too much of a good thing," but that phrase is too generic and is even not specifically about human behavior, so I humbly hope that native English speakers can help me find a closer expression.


texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  Is “guy” gender-neutral?
  What is a feminine version of 'guys'?

Almost of my fellows are male, so I usually say "See you man" or "Guys, I have some problems and need your help". It seems very strange if I use those sentence with my female friend. I want to know, can I use "man" and "guy" in this case? If not, what should I say?


texts:
I'm having a hard time explaining to my students "Can you marry me?" is not the right question to ask while proposing to someone.

Likewise; "Will you dance with me?" sounds perfectly natural while "Can you dance with me?" sounds unnatural to my ears and I cannot tell why.

Is there a hard rule to apply when choosing between "Will" and "Can(or Could)" in such circumstances?


texts: prepositional phrases combined with "and" or "or" - style & punctuation

texts: "Project X17 must not be confused with, and is totally independent of, project X107." - Is this stylistically acceptable? And what is the correct punctuation: is the second comma obligatory, optional, or wrong?


texts: What is the term used to describe the relationship between two words that are both the opposite of another word, but also the opposite of each other?

texts:
To start this off light, I was initially thinking about this with Oreos. There are fresh Oreos, and then there are two different ways they can go stale: dry/hard (in low humidity) and soft/mushy (in high humidity). To me, the dry/hard stale and the soft/mushy stale are opposites of each other, but they are also opposites of fresh as well.

Now to give another example is apathy. The opposite of apathy is to feel strongly. Which could be both love and hate, which are both opposites of each other. I could love stale Oreos, I could hate stale Oreos, or I could feel completely apathetic about stale Oreos. All three of these seem to be mutually opposite of the other.

But also think of something too with things like sexism and racism and other political correctness where it's possible to go so over-corrective that it becomes its own offensive antithesis to both PC and non-PC alike. (I can't really think of a way to lighten this one with Oreos...)

I found the term autoantonym which seems to help a little bit with the relationship. I also know that in art and design you would call it a color triad where three colors are as far from each other on the spectrum as possible. However this still seems to come up short in trying to solve my existential Oreo issue...

*EDIT Ah! So let me add one last element to the question. In each instance where I think this situation could apply, I think we go from two words, A and B which appear to be binary opposites. It can either be A or not A. But when you add word/concept C which is both not A and not B, you either have a natural transition where it's possible to smoothly take the conversation to a broader or narrower scope (like emotions with love, hate and apathy). OR you could have a more unnatural transition where there isn't a clearly defined word for C (as far as I can tell there really isn't a word for that humid kind of stale. And that sad state of affairs really should have its own word, right?). And at the end of all this, it seems like we're trying to find a Word C even now...


texts: Khreshchatyk and Kostyolna streets, no definite article

texts:
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26868119

  The interior minister also showed a number of slides and photos illustrating where he said police snipers were firing from. He named two buildings on Khreshchatyk and Kostyolna streets, saying other spots were still being investigated.

I would like to know why is there not a definite article such as the in front of Khreshchatyk and Kostyolna streets? Or, do you think, it's totally alright as far as grammar goes? If so, could you please explain the rules governing this particular usage?

An example where street names are used along with articles.
Source: http://rt.com/news/157884-shooting-mariupol-eastern-ukraine/

  The outlet also reported that “on the Lenin avenue, two people were seriously wounded – one in the head and another in the stomach. A huge pool of blood is next to the “Arbat” café. It’s not known whether the wounded people have survived. Witnesses say they were driven away in a passenger car. The fighting is on next to the main police department, gunfire is heard. Two armored vehicles blocked the Artyom street.”


texts: What do you call an out-of-schedule speech in a conference?

texts:
In some conferences there may be some out-of-schedule guest who has some valuable insights to share with the attendees (e.g. some government official or member of a legislative authority) who is allowed to address the audience with a short speech to present the above-mentioned insights.
What is the proper way to describe that kind of speech in English? Is there a standardized phrase or word for such things? The equivalent in some other languages is something like "intervention" but it doesn't sound correct to me in English.


texts: What would be a colloquial word for using public transport for free?

texts: My English roommate and I were just having a conversation about what colloquial word(verb) you would use if you used public transport for free. In German we have the term "schwarzfahren." The translations the dictionaries were giving for that German verb did not really convince my English roommate (such as to fare-dodge). Does anybody know of an appropriate term?


texts: What's the difference between “delay in” and “delay of”? I have seen many examples of both, but I can't guess the difference.


texts:
This question had a sequel to the question just below.
The meaning of 'blow me down'

Thanks to WS2's reply and link I draw my conclusion for the phrase 'blow me down.'
But to my surprise I think I have reached a different answer than you.

Here are examples that you presented in your link.

  I'm absolutely blowed if I know what to do.

  I think this sentence means that I would be shocked if I know what to
  do. That is, I think I have no chance of knowing what to do.

  Blow me tight if ever I saw such a thing in my life before.

  I would be shocked if I saw such a thing in my life before. There's no
  chance of my seeing such a thing in my life before. That is, that's my
  first time that I saw such a thing in my life.

  Blow me if I do!

  I would be shocked if I do.  That is, there's no chance that I do
  (it).

Am I right in my description of the three sentences above?

And on the sentence in question, I draw my comprehension based on your explanation.

  "Blow me down if she didn’t just run off!"

  I would be shocked if she didn’t just run off! There's no chance that
  she didn’t just run off. That is, she must have just run off. If not,
  I would be shocked.

The last line is my conclusion that I drew on your explanation.

Here is your sentences.
"When she just ran off, you could have knocked me over with a feather!"
"She's run off ? - well blow me down!"

These two sentences implies that I am shocked because she runs off.
That means the speaker didn't expect she would run off.
If that is your thought, that's just the opposite of mine.


texts: What is the word for the reflected sun light?

texts: I can't remember what is the word for those funny light spots created when you take a mirror or any reflecting surface and make a spot of light that can be moved all over the room, walls, etc. Does anyone know?


texts:
Goats have interesting, rectangular Pupils. Is there a single-word scientific name for this?

I'm looking for a word much like Haloquadratum ("salt square"), or ventromedial ("toward the middle of the ventral side").


texts: Adjective/phrase for a situation that requires fast and accurate decisions

texts:
My sentence is At the individual level, it seeks to provide an objective risk estimate for medical decision making in the highly charged and emotional environment of intensive care

I want to rephrase the bolded parts so as to give an effect of the intensive care being a place where decisions needs to be made fast and accurately because there is so much to lose if something went wrong. I thought of high stakes but I find it a little informal


texts: Which one is correct "Can I please call in few minutes" or "May I please call in few minutes"?

texts:
While having this conversation with my manager, my manager wanted to discuss few things with me. So since I was busy with another project which one is appropriate to use?
"Can I please call in few minutes" or "May I please call in few minutes"?


texts:
How to say:

  Comment was already voted by you

In this sentence I mean that someone made some choice about a comment and I want to tell him about it. Please help me to make my sentence correct and explain to me the correct grammar being used.


texts: A present day adjective for "cannot be taken away"

texts:
I'm looking for a word that denotes the fact that something cannot be taken away (or deprived of) once it is acquired (like an experience) as in:

  Your experiences cannot be taken away from you, man, they stay with you forever.

I was thinking of something along the lines of: "experiences, as a rule, are indivestable so much unlike rights and dignities", but only in a more modern non-obsolete kind of way (very few people in my control group actually knew what "indivestable" meant). I need this stuff for an ad, meaning it must be easily understood by both the young and the old, the bright and the dim, the rich and the poor, well, you catch my drift, right.

I am in need of a word that says that once you acquire something, through investing time and effort, it is yours forever, no matter what it just cannot be taken away from you. It is not granted to you by anyone, and it is something you must "take" to have.


texts: "We are software tester" - is it grammatically correct

texts:
In the sentence

  "We are software tester, and we are proud of it",

should it be tester or testers?

I Googled and found usage of both the form. I got examples like "we are incredible", even when "incredibles" is a valid word. Here "software tester" is a profession, and adjective, but somehow I find it wrong. I like "we are developers", not "we are developer".

Does it have to do with American vs British? Does singular "software tester" emphasize a more united and coherent team whereas the plural form "software testers" signals individuality?

This sentence is to be put in a corporate brochure, so I am a bit paranoid.


texts: What semantic notions underlie 'hook' and 'blunder'?

texts:
gaffe (n.)
      "blunder," 1909,
  perhaps from French gaffe "clumsy remark,"
  originally "boat hook," from Middle French gaffe (15c.),
  from Old Provençal gafar "to seize,"
  probably from a Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *gaf-,
  which is perhaps from PIE root *kap- "to grasp."
  [1.] Sense connection between the hook and the blunder is obscure; [2.] the gaff was used to land big fish.
  Or the Modern English word might derive from British slang verb gaff "to cheat, trick" (1893); or gaff "criticism" (1896), from Scottish dialect sense of "loud, rude talk" (see gaff (n.2)).

Despite the obscurity, what might explain 1?

Per 2, hooking (or catching) fish is  difficult, and so can be blundered; but the semantic shift still appears too chasmal or remote. I don't believe how 'hook' (with an inanimate, neutral connotation) can be shifted to 'blunder' (with an animate, negative connotation).


texts: "When people do make changes" - which tense is this?

texts:
Which tense are sentences like:

"When people do make changes good things happen"
"Even if monkeys can play an important role, their actions can pose risk to the general public"


texts: Present Perfect Continuous vs. Present Simple

texts:
Do I clearly understand difference between this two sentences?

"How long do you dance?" - As I understand I can use this sentence to ask a person about his expirience in dancing.
"How long have you been dancing?" - As I understand it is good for case when someone is dancing in the club (right now) and I am asking him about how much time he is dancing there?

The question is: Can I use the second sentence in situation when I want to ask a professional dancer about years of his dancing expirience?


texts:
How do you pronounce changed?

Its pronunciation is /tʃeɪndʒd/ but I often notice that people don't pronounce dʒ in it. Is it acceptable not to do so?

I often hear tʃeɪn_d without the dʒ sound. Also it becomes difficult to pronounce dʒ in fast speech.

The only thing I can do is to pronounce it as tʃeɪntʃt instead of tʃeɪndʒd. Is this acceptable?


texts:
Is it possible to write "'s" instead of "was" in a sentence or is completely wrong?
For example:

  She was at home yersterday.
  She's at home yesterday.


texts: Can I use 'do' ('did') for emphasize main verb in phrase in passive voice?

texts:
So, can I use something like this:

  This issue did be fixed.

instead of this:

  This issue was fixed.

?


texts: The usage of " inside-out and outside-in "

texts:
Do we have both the usages of inside-out and outside-in?

inside-out means: with the inner surface turned outward.

So basically they are the opposite meaning? Perform inside-out and then perform outside-in on an item A, then I suppose geometrically that we can turn A back to A itself?

And can we call this process of inside-out and outside-in as the $2\pi$=360 degree self-flipping?

Thanks.


texts: Singular word request: Word that means 'to attempt to fit in/be as a normal person would, though failing'?

texts:
I am a writer, and for this story, all chapter titles will be one word long. This is the first chapter, and I'm looking for a word that means something in the nature of "attempting to fit in" or the sort.

I'll give you a little insight:

It's about a girl who, a week before, had run into a man who had threatened her and wanted her to be his girlfriend. This occurs in the prologue. She doesn't want this to get in the way of her normal life, but she's anti social anyway. So she decides to go to the beach, just to find a plane flying around with a banner that reads 'This is your last warning, my little bird.' Or something of the sort. I only have a rough draft of it so far. It's hard to fit in with a banner flying over your head and threatening you.

It doesn't have to fit exactly. But anything even remotely close to my description is appreciated. Thank you!

EDIT: I'm sorry I was a bit unclear. As for a sentence, well, I don't particularly intend to use the word in a sentence, but rather as a standalone word to describe the main character in this chapter, as described above. I kind of feel that an adjective would fit best, but I don't really mind if it is or is not. This said, I can't really give a solid sentence that I would use, unless you count an average adjective sentence such as: 'I saw the [blank] woman walking around,' or something like that for nouns/verbs/advervs.


texts:
In the following sentence, is using "more similar" correct?

  I learned JAVA in school; it's more similar to C++ than C.

Is there any better way to say it?


texts:
Is anyone bothered by the slovenly use of "based on" or "due to"?
If you don't have a tin ear or are concerned about logical sentence construction don't use either one unless it's between two nouns, two things: THIS is "due to" or "based on" THAT. Saying "I did it 'based on' or 'due to'..." is mangling logic: "I did it" is a locution, an action, and neither a subject nor object. If you say this, what part of "I did it" is based on whatever it's "based on" or "due to" that follows it? Is it "I" or "did" or "it"?
A badly built house will crumble, just as, logically, this construction does. Grammar and logic, not to mention spelling, exist only to make expression clearer and more vigorous, not to annoy those who don't think through or care about what they're saying.


texts:
Help to understand the grammatical logic of having 'are' at the end of this sentence would be much appreciated:

I am surprised at how well organized they are.


texts: Is this misplaced adjective ok, even though it is technically incorrect?

texts:
I am writing a technical how-to manual on a hardware/software system, and I've written the following phrase:

  "To avoid taking up unnecessary storage space on your computer, ..."

Looking back at it, I know it's technically incorrect, since "unnecessary" is describing the storage space, not the act of "taking up."

I know I could say,

  "To avoid unnecessarily taking up storage space on your computer,..."

but that carries a slightly different connotation, implying that taking up any storage space (related to the product or not) may be unnecessary. The first version, although definitely wrong, definitely provides the correct idea.


texts: Where did the word "brat" in reference to a spoiled child originate?

texts: I've heard that the etymology is unknown as the original word refers to a garment and the old English word bratt a cloak. None of these seem to point to how it came to be used derogatorily.


texts: Can collective nouns technically refer to only one noun?

texts:
For those who don't know, collective nouns are words like "family" that refer to a group of things. As I understand it, "stuff" is also a collective noun; that is confirmed by this question.

Essentially, my question is: "Can I say 'my stuff' when referring to a single item that I posses?"

If I can, does this technicality apply to other collective nouns, or just "stuff"?


texts: Dealing with tricky subordinate time clauses in sequence of tenses

texts:
Your help would be very much appreciated with the following sentence:

"When I first visited Berkeley in spring 2015, I knew immediately that when I attempt an MBA, the school is going  to be at the top of my list".

The main clause here being in Past Simple (I knew), it would be logical to expect the subordinate clause to be in the past as well "the school was going to be". If we eliminate extra time clauses, everything looks good: "[...] I knew immediately [...] the school was going to be at the top of my list".

However, I am confused by the "when I attempt an MBA part".

The latter obviously indicates the action in the future expressed through present tense - quite a widespread usage, I'd say (as in "When I start driving, my dad will by me a car"). In our case, however, if this part of the sentence ("when I attempt an MBA") stays in present tense, in my opinion, it does not go well together with the rest of the subordinate clause being in the past, i.e. "...that when I attempt an MBA, the school was going to be". Sounds off.

Should I use future, instead, for the "when I attempt" part, and change it to conform with the sequence of tenses? This would make for something like "I knew that when I would attempt an MBA..." This tense, in turn, seems to go better with the rest of the subordinate clause being in the past, as SoT requires.

Many thanks in advance!


texts: When a car on the edge of a cliff slides toward the precipice shortly and then stops, can we say that it "heels"?

texts: The car stopped and started to heel (to bend).


texts: Word meaning relating to or involving humans or people

texts:
I need a word to fill the blank in this sentence: "The hurricane was one of the most blank-deadly events in history."

The human death count was recorded, but not the death count not for other species, so it was definitely a deadly event for humans, but the toll taken on other species was not known.

At the moment I'm using human for this purpose, but human-deadly doesn't sound quite right, nor as good as possible.

I understand that without the word, the statement would generally be taken as  referring to humans but I would prefer to specify.


texts: Terminal "f" versus "ff" in anglicized Russian surnames

texts:
Today, foreign names are anglicized more or less systematically from their original spelling: the Russian surname "Петров" generally becomes "Petrov", not the calqued "Peterson" or the more phonetic "Petrof" or "Petroff" (which  reflect final-obstruent devoicing). The phonetic type of surname anglicization was apparently in style at least as recently as the early 1900s, when Rachmaninoff (Рахманинов) started coming to the United States.

Insofar as writers sought to anglicize -в surnames by their sound, what norms and influences guided the choice between -ff and -f? Was -ff influenced by German or French orthography?  Does -f "look wrong" to some readers? Is the -ff supposedly a longer sound, and if so, why would one be called for? Was either spelling ever more canonical?


texts: Words for the tendency of a system to either accelerate or reduce changes

texts:
Dynamic systems often have feedback mechanisms whereby changes in the system can either be self-reinforcing, causing the system to change more once it has started changing, or self-opposing, causing the system to reduce or reverse changes.

There are two words for systems with these two properties, the two words effectively being antonyms, and I have forgotten them for lack of usage. What are they?


texts: An assumption for a scenario that is typically true in practice

texts:
Which adjective in the sense of 'typically true, safe to assume' fits into the following sentence:

  The crucial but _______ assumption for our experiment is that the steel sample does not contain more than 2% carbon.


texts: What's the proper way to punctuate inches when recording the dimensions of something?

texts: When punctuating the dimensions of something, if both dimensions share the same units, does the punctuation occur after each measurement or just after the last one. For example, if I'm looking at a sheet of paper, which is correct: {8 1/2 x 11"} or is {8 1/2" x 11"}?


texts: Why are some long vowels transcribed with single, short IPA vowels?

texts:
When transcribing English vowels phonetically, long vowel sounds are usually written with two IPA vowels when the vowel is at the end of word or syllable:

  paper /pei-/

But sometimes long vowels are written as a single, short IPA vowel instead; for example:

  be /bi/

Why is this?


texts: Correct spacing used between numbers and abbreviations

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Punctuation with units
  How to write units?

I see many people don't use a space between a numeral and an abbreviation, such as "7lb" or "5mm".  Shouldn't it be "7 lbs." and "5 mm"?  Otherwise, a baby may be confused to weigh "71 lbs." rather than "7 lbs."  Also, is there a period used after millimeter? (Ex. mm.)


texts: Is there a difference between a maker and a builder?

texts:
I have a German degree "Cembalo- und Klavierbauer". This degree is given to persons that are capable of designing, drawing, constructing, building, repairing, restoring, regulating and tuning of a complete harpsichord or piano (from the very first step picking the wood in the forest). I am working in a piano factory and actual busy with the design, drawing, measuring, construction, assembling, and building the complete piano.

I translated this on my business card as "Piano builder” because (with reference to What is the difference between "building" and "making"?) there are deliberate and possibly complex steps with the intention of (quality) and permanence (approx. or over 100 years). Some piano technicians (not builders!) in other countries tell me this is a wrong translation and it should be piano maker.

I asked some English and American people on my journeys but got several different answers. It seems people make the connection to manufacturer is there is a process of more steps to build something like a car or ship, then this professional would be called car builder or ship builder. Some people defend that it concerns manufacturer of instruments and therefor it should be a maker. But in my research there are also people that speak about shipmakers. Also in other languages is seems there are differences between making and building, depending of the profession and the products that are made. Also depending of the timeframe of the profession.

So… what would be the most defendable translation?


texts:
"In March 2014, I led a team of students to campaign against the way in which a society election at my university had been conducted."

In this sentence structure with a date at the front, is it correct to use "had been" in this way?


texts: It is possible to reduce this relative clauses

texts:
I'm wondering if this sentence

  Optical fibres, which are made from very pure silica
  fibre, are the form of transmission line which is most often used these days.

that the relative clause is which is most often used these days (if I'm not wrong).

So I have three guess to reduce:

1.- most often used these days

2.- being most often used these days

3.- no possibility to reduce

What is the correct guess? And why?


texts: "And was Jerusalem builded here" - in the early 1800's was "builded" standard usage?

texts:
In the poem "Jerusalem" by William Blake the line ...

  And was Jerusalem builded here

... appears.

Today I think most people would write that line as ...

  And was Jerusalem built here

.

I'm curious to know when Blake wrote the poem, in the first decade of the 1800's, was using 'builded' in that way an accepted usage or did Blake invent that usage to fit the rhythm of the poem ?


texts:
One would use the word 'serendipity' to characterize something that happened out of the blue, without a prior expectation for it to happen. For example, a person finding a $100 dollar bill on the floor of a public corner would be serendipitous.

Assuming this definition of 'serendipity', which certainly has a positive connotation, what are some antonyms? For example, the word (antonym here) would describe a person working hard for a full day to earn a $100 dollar bill.


texts: What language function does profanity serve?

texts:
I know that the use of profanity has a number of social and psychological functions like pain relief, a sense of control over helpless situations, intimacy and group bonding through release of social norms, and various physical benefits.  Used incorrectly (in the wrong type of situation or to an inappropriate level of vulgarity), it can also have negative impacts (mostly social).

In terms of language itself, though, is there any particular function served by profanity?  Or is it just a shortcut to expressing concepts like "this is extra important to me" or "I am angry" or "I perceive this as a comfortable and informal social situation" which could otherwise be expressed without the profanity?


texts: succinct description for circuitous and unnecessary, wasteful, or odd

texts:
Is there a word or idiom for coming to a solution through unnecessarily convoluted means?
I think similar to the question Is there a word or phrase for "taking the long way around a square"? but where the circuitous route isn't forced but a result of error or ignorance.
I have a particular illustration that frequently comes to mind when describing unnecessary transformations (y = x - 2; y += 2).
While reviewing counterproductive strategies that all arrived at the correct answer, a lecturer said "you can solve the problem like this, just like you can eat like this". He put his arm over his head and bent it around to the other side of his face and touched his upside down hand to his mouth.
"Eating with an upside down hand" isn't yet ubiquitous enough for anyone to know what I'm talking about
Edit: Oops! I think this is a duplicate
What's an idiom for doing something in an unnecessarily complicated way?


texts:
question: for the second blank, because of "But" we can decide to put "justified" and it's clear that the others do not make sense. but for the first blank I think all three answers can be placed there.
the answer is "surprising"!


texts: What would you call someone who makes no lasting impression?

texts: What word would describe someone who doesn't generally leave much of an impression on people?


texts: What is the word for a hard-to-solve solution spoken intuitively, relaxedly and playfully?

texts:
I'm trying to translate the word "khoáng đạt" in Vietnamese. It is translated as "broad-minded" or "liberal-minded", but I think the word "khoáng đạt" is more than that. Say there is a profound question that is very abstruse when thinking about it, let alone finding the solution, but the speaker says it intuitively, relaxedly and somewhat playfully, as if it is very straightforward, effortless and carefree.
Example

Most philosophical works are abstruse, even esoteric, but reading Zhuangzi you will find it _______.
I find that words like "straightforward" or "warmhearted" is more straightforward than "uncomplicated" or "benevolent". Of course within a mastered hand every word is powerful, but for a non-native English speaker like me, they usually express that the speaker has escaped the suffering of finding the correct words. They feel more intuitive and _______.

Related: Is there a term for someone who "can see multiple perspectives"?


texts:
The following sentence my friend came up with seems wrong to me:

(1) "The vulnerability is due to insufficient sanitization of user-supplied data before being used to execute commands."

Compare that with something from nytimes.com, which sounds ok:

(2) "Today, tourists go through an elaborate screening process before being allowed to visit."

In (1), "before being" connotes "A of X before X is Y", where A = insufficient sanitization, X = user-supplied data, and Y = used to execute commands

In (2), "before being" connotes "A of X before X are Y", where A = elaborate screening, X = tourists, and Y = allowed to visit.

What exactly is wrong with the grammar of (1)?


texts:
I am in communication with a friend who is learning English.

I noticed her using "to" in the wrong context, but I'm unable to explain which rule she is breaking.

  I can't access to Gmail.


texts: What's the origin of the swear words like the 'F' word?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How long has the f-word been in use as an abusive term?

Sometimes I wonder what is the origin of some of the swear words such as the 'F**K' word which English speakers passionately use.  I know this query may sound distasteful, but I would appreciate if someone can shed some light on this.


texts:
Firstly, sorry if this is a very specific question.

I am trying to translate A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace and I stuck at this phrase "bit-bearing":

  In China, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Italy and the United States, you are trying to ward off the virus of liberty by erecting guard posts at the frontiers of Cyberspace. These may keep out the contagion for a small time, but they will not work in a world that will soon be blanketed in bit-bearing media.

Unfortunately I couldn't find anything using Google but one similar question at this site. From the answer in at the link, I assume it means “media which uphold or to some extent control the way the bits operates”.

Thanks!


texts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkXnhlCkVPM

In this video he says "put baby in" and not "put the baby in"
Also, in other baby type videos they say "place baby inside" or "now you can see that baby and mom are happy"

There is no "the baby" or "the baby's mom" or "the mom".

The video is one example of many. I asked someone who said it is something to do with the agenda of keeping people happy and not offended by mentioning a gender. I don't think this is true though.


texts: Is the usage "can able to" wrong? I believe it's wrong. But where can I find some reference on the same?

texts: I hear a lot of people use 'can able to' in their daily talk. I believe it's entirely wrong. Both 'can' and 'able to' hold the same meaning. Where do I get more information on the same and also the exact places where I should use 'can' and where I should use 'able to'?


texts: What is the differences between these three words?

texts:
tell apart
say apart
speak apart

please tell me about differences between these words.
And also what do they mean?
Are they expressions?


texts: What is an adjective to describe a person who watches a lot of porn?

texts:
Sorry not a native speaker. Trying to translate a word to English.

Like in a situation where you walk in on your brother and his friends watching porn.

You yell: 'You _________ kids!

Preferably in the derogatory or pejorative sense.

I thought horny was the word but both definition in Wiktionary does not apply.


texts: Noun replacement: Shortlisting a costlier candidate as a placeholder to reject later?

texts: Is there a word in English, for the act, where a recruiter shortlists a better candidate as a placeholder to please the Client, only to later reject him and hire a cheaper candidate?


texts: How far back does the distinction between "interpreter" and "translator" go in English?

texts:
I see it's stated in many websites that "interpreter" refers to someone who does oral translation (often bi-directionally) whereas "translator" refers to someone who translates written material.

How far back does this distinction in terms go?

Wikipedia currently says:

  Interpreting is an ancient human activity which predates the invention of writing.[1] However, the origins of the profession of interpreting date back to less than a century ago.[2]

So I'm inclined to think the rigid distinction may go back only as far "interpreting" was recognized as a distinct profession, but it'd be nice to have some harder information to confirm or refute this.


texts: What is the word for assigning or passing into a function in programming?

texts:
I have two cases that I'd like to cover. For example you can either assign to a variable:

var x = 3;

Or you can indirectly assign to a variable with a function (passing function arguments):

my_func(3);

Is there a word to refer to both of these cases? Basically, these are the ways to "use" a value in programming, via variables or function scoping.

I want to use the word like the following:

  This syntax alone is not useful but when you <WORD> it, yadda yadda...

which would be equivalent to:

  This syntax alone is not useful but when you assign it to a variable or pass it into a function, yadda yadda...

The closest words I could come up with were either "use" or "store", both of which are a little bit too ambiguous. Thanks in advance!


texts: Is it right to use 'Statesman' to modify an organization and corporation?

texts:
I found a case of using statesman in modifying AOL Inc. in the following sentence of New York Times (February 8). Statesman to me means a leading politician_ and I understand the word here was used figuratively. But the phrase, AOL is the elder statesman of online access sounds somewhat odd to me. Is this standard or within the range of received usage of stateman? What does statesman mean in this case?

  Huffington Post, the liberal-leaning online news site that has been one of the Internet's start-up success stories, said it agreed to a $315 million buyout late Sunday night from AOL Inc., the ‘elder statesman’ of online access and digital content.


texts: Can a linking verb be omitted in a parenthetical expression?

texts:
He saw us coming, and being unaware that we had learned of his
  treachery, greeted us with a smile.

In my textbook, there is no "being", I want to know the logic or rules behind.


texts:
"To you (Right Honorable my very good Lord) of right do they belong: for to whom shall I rather present the first fruits of my learning than to your Lordship: who nourished then both me and them, when there was scarce any being to me or them? And whose just and upright carriage of causes, whose zeal to justice and honorable courtesy to all men, have purchased you a reverend and worthy respect of all men in all parts of this kingdom, where you are known. And to your good Ladyship they do of great right belong likewise; whose religion, justice, and honorable admittance of my unworthy service to your Ladyship do challenge at my hands the uttermost of what ever I may be able to perform."

This is from a 1612 text and I'm having a hard time understanding it. I think first and second bolded 'whose' represent the addressed lord and lady respectively, but then is it grammatically possible to put a relative pronoun at the beginning of the sentence in modern English?


texts: Phrase that means "mastery of a system without understanding the underlying principles"?

texts:
Is there a word or phrase to describe a situation where a person masters a system, but does not understand the underlying principles?

Here are a few examples of such situations:

Person A is expert at finding mathematical functions of almost any
shape, but person A only has elementary mathematical knowledge.
He/she is only expert at this particular task because of a massive amount of experiments.
Person B is a very good player in a business simulation game (which
happens to be based on realistic economic models). He/she is an
excellent player despite being completely ignorant of economic models.
Person C knows how to replace electrical plugs, but has very poor knowledge of electricity. He/she only knows about the proper placement of wires. If you ask him/her what "live", "neutral", and "ground" actually do, you will be met with a blank stare.
Person D programs computers by "poking".  He/she has no idea what the programming constructs actually do, and has learned to program computers only through a large amount of failures (program results in error, program will not compile, etc.) and a large amount of examples (the memorization of idioms, and the copying of code). This person is capable of producing useful programs, but is still clueless about what the programming constructs really mean.


texts: What does "any or any" mean in a legal text?

texts:
I have been going through several legal documents lately and have realised that a lot of them use the fragment "any or any" within some sentences.

  Failing to place a guard or fence or warning signs so as to give any or any adequate warning it was in a dangerous condition and a trap to persons lawfully using the same

Any ideas what purpose "any or any" serves here? I mean, when one uses the word "any" that doesn't need to subsequently be qualified as it is all-encompassing; well, at least that's what I thought.


texts:
If you're able to read and understand the written word, you're literate.

If you're able to count and understand mathematical concepts, you're numerate.

If you're able to play games and understand essential game tropes/concepts/mechanics, you're...?

Example: John could pick up and play any game without much difficulty, because he was very (game literate).

I would think the technical latin-derived equivalent would be approximately ludate, from ludus (game), which would probably be bastardized into luderate, similar to the way we do words with -aholic from alcohol, which is etymologically incoherent.

Having said all that, the words I've suggested above don't seem to exist. Is there anything else that would fit this definition?


texts:
Up until recently I was firmly convinced that the expression "youse guys" originally came from Brooklyn, New York. A couple of days ago I ran across an essay that mentioned (in a disgustingly nonchalant manner) that it's been in active use in Philadelphia since before the Pilgrims. Last night I watched an episode of a slow and muddled British series in which it was suggested that it was popular among 19th Century guttersnipes in London. Now I'm confused.

Please ... uh ... elucidate.


texts:
What is the difference between Operative and Operational?

Research shows no other such question https://english.stackexchange.com/search?q=operational+operative.


texts: Is there a general expression similar in meaning to "at the rate things are going" or "at the rate at which x is going"?

texts:
Notice that those expressions are specifically about rate.
Like "if the way things have gone so far mean anything" but less awkward. Like "the way things have gone so far" but with the implication that this pattern has inertia.


texts: when native speakers pronounce the phrase "Have a good time" do they tend to drop the "d" in the word "good"? The "t" and "d" are in the same tongue position and the only difference between them is that one is voiced and the other is unvoiced. I'm wondering, do Americans tend to drop the "d" in this situation in connected casual speech? or they link the two words together holding the airflow on the "d" and releasing it on the "t".


texts: Is it always necessary not to use the plural verb when "or" is used?

texts:
The mountainous or woodland areas with dust storm are amazing.

"areas" or "area" ?
"are" or "is" ?

Here I used "or", but i think "is amazing" seems odd.


texts: Early Modern English second person present tense when verb ends with ‑st

texts:
In Early Modern English you normally would add ‑st or ‑est to verbs to conjugate them to the second person singular indicative tense (past and present), but what do you do for verbs that already end in ‑st or ‑est? Would you just add another ‑est?

For example:

you jest > thou jestest
you jested > thou jestedst
you rest > thou restest
you rested > thou restedst

Doing this makes the words really hard to say, especially with the past tense, so is there an exception for words like these?


texts: How to politely begin an email to a professor and a doctor?

texts:
Suppose I need to write an letter (email, actually), addressed to two academicians. One is a full professor, and the other does not yet have this title. What is a polite way of opening the letter?

If the letter was to be addressed to just the professor, it would certainly be proper to open with "Dear Professor Smith". If the letter was just to the not-yet-professor, I suppose it would be acceptable to open with either "Dear Professor Jones" (using a higher title for politeness) or "Dear Doctor Jones" (using his proper title).

What happens if you need to address the two people at once in a polite way? It seems that addressing Jones as Doctor would draw attention to the fact that he does not yet have professorship. On the other hand, addressing Jones as Professor leads to him and Smith being given the same title, and Smith might not like that.

Of course, in almost all circumstances this is a non-issue, since neither Jones nor Smith will pay much attention. But given how many conventions there are for writing letters, I somehow feel there should be a rule also for situations such as this one. Is there one?


texts:
In some translations of the Holy Quran, the following translation comes up:

  And if you decide on a foster suckling-mother for your children, there is no sin on you, provided you pay (the mother) what you agreed (to give her) on reasonable basis.

Emphasis is mine.

I wonder if this usage of sin is common in contemporary English.


texts: The word for an image that is only there to drag attention

texts:
Is there a word for the image that is only intended to draw attention?
Attention catcher? Attention grabber?
Those are usually very bright and eye-catching, may be placed as a thumbnail of the article or a video to attract people's attention.