texts: When and how is the word 'scene' used for a group of people, and what are alternatives?

texts:
In German, the word 'Szene', which translates literally to 'scene' and has an identical meaning in the context of a movie or a play, has a second use in referring to a group of people that form a community around a common interest with a high identification factor, in particular music genres.

In English, I've come across "drug scene", or "clubbing scene", which seems to match the German usage, but more often it seems to be "community", which appears to have a slightly larger scope, though. While a "community" can have many purposes, and particularly may well be of a professional nature (as in "programmer community"), a "Szene" would almost always be related to leisure activities, with a slight bias towards nightlife.

A good example for that is the German word "Schwulenszene", which would probably translate to "gay community", but the two terms don't match exactly. The German one would tend to not include gay rights activists, for instance, and mostly refer to bars, clubs or parties that are directed specifically at the gay community.

The German word is mostly neutral (in 2012 Berlin, anyway), has a slightly positive connotation of something fashionable in nightlife (the expression "Szenekneipe" might be used like the English "hip joint"), but shifts to clearly derogatory when used for political groups, usually of the more extreme sort ('Naziszene', 'Autonomenszene', 'Islamistenszene'). I'm hypothesizing, but it might be that it started out as a derogatory term and got its connotation transformed by some of the hipper crowds thusly described.

Some contexts where it would be natural in German to use "Szene", but where I haven't heard the English expression yet:

ballroom dancing (Tango, Salsa etc)
music genres with associated looks / lifestyles (Metal, Punk, Gothic etc.)
pastimes that form strong communities, like LARPing or various outdoor sports


texts:
I came across the phrase Gotten to like him in one of the English movies. Is it appropriate and grammatical to say the following:

  Sarah has gotten to like him.


texts:
This text is taken from a children's reader.  It's about some children who find a doll house that is an exact reproduction of their home.

  Biff opened the little house. Everyone looked inside. "It looks like our house inside," said Biff.

A student of English as a Foreign Language asked me what part of speech the inside in "It looks like our house inside," is.

I answered that it was an adverb of place, but it strikes me that there's something wrong with this sentence.  My intuition is that the problem is that look is a stative verb.  Can anyone confirm this?  Is there a rule in English grammar that adverbs of place cannot be added to stative verbs?


texts: What is the correct usage of arriviste/parvenu?

texts:
In one of the episodes of the TV show Rosemary & Thyme the word arriviste/parvenu was used.

Context how it was used: Person A considers person B as an arriviste/parvenu.

Person A is rich and has been growing orchids all his life.
Person B recently starts growing orchids.

My question is, can the words arriviste/parvenu be used for making political accusations? In the following context, Politician A considers Politician B as an arriviste/parvenu.

Politician A: very senior
Politician B: new to politics


texts:
I'm trying to find pictures of houses as they would be seen if looked directly down from a helicopter.

I tried "house from above", but it didn't bring me good results. Is there a better word for this?


texts: Term for marking stating the date or year something was built or established

texts: An arch might be engraved with "MCMLXII". A company logo might say, "since 1873".  A sidewalk might be stamped with "08/2012".  What do you call these markings?


texts: incongruent vs inconsistent vs nonconforming

texts:
I am wondering which term would be the proper one to describe the problem.
We have data sets that are named according to a certain naming convention. What should I call those names that don't follow this convention by, for example, having a dash instead of an underscore, extra characters, etc.?
I feel like incongruent is more of an abstract term describing behavior for example. Are the names then inconsistent, nonconforming? Or is there another adjective to better describe it?


texts: Articles' titles like "Facebook to buy Whatsapp"

texts:
I am new here. I am a Brazilian learning english and I'd like to understand these articles' titles:

Examples:

Bethesda to release Dishonored 2

Facebook to buy Whatsapp

Donald Trump to build solar panelled wall on the border

I mean, I can understand them, but when to use this type of sentence construction? For me it seems like something is missing.


texts: which type of conditional should I choose?

texts:
In a crowded market, I'm pushing someone in front of me aside in order to get my way through. The guy turns around, arguing why I'm pushing him. I reply:
 (1) If I don't push you, how can I get through?
 (2) If I didn't push you, how could I get through?
 (3) If I hadn't pushed you, how could I have got through?
 (4) If I weren't pushing you, how could I be getting through?

My main problem is: The decision of the push has happened. It can't be changed. It seems that I should use Sentence 3. However, the action of the push is happening and the action of passing through hasn't finished. It seems that using sentence 4 is logical, but it sounds weird, doesn't it? Also, if my intention to reply him is to put this situation in a objective situation, like when we discuss a decision a protagonist makes in a story, does Sentence 1 make sense to show my intention? Is Sentence 2 better to show the same intention?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.


texts: Is "skin and bone fighting it out and the bone winning" an idiom?

texts:
I found this sentence in Peter Orner's The Raft:

  They turned their backs to the light, so all we could see was their backsides, skin and bone fighting it out and the bone winning.

I think the meaning is “they are very thin”. But I am not sure if the expression, skin and bone fighting it out and the bone winning, is an idiom?


texts: What's the difference between "administrator" and "manager"?

texts:
I have a sense of saying an administrator is a person managing a website or a server, only because I hear it usually in the software field. But I am sure the word administrator was there before computers were invented.

While the term manager is called on a person "managing" a company or an organization.

Am I right?


texts:
I became curious about how to use 'as to.'
I remember I've seen it several times in many sentences, but I cannot be quite sure of its correct usage.
For example, am I using it right when I say
"Would you be so kind as to elaborate on the subject?" ?

Thank you in advance:)


texts: Feeling for rejection followed by acceptance?

texts:
Is there any good word/phrase/idiom for that feeling of scorn when you're accepted by someone/something after getting rejected the first time?

I remember a phrase being quoted by Nathan Fillion in Castle when Richard Castle's daughter is rejected to Stanford and later gets in. Still can't remember the lines, just the situation.


texts: Origin of the saying 'eyes like pissholes in the snow'

texts: What is the origin of the phrase eyes like pissholes in the snow?


texts: What's the meaning of "Lose money" on this sign?

texts:
English is not my native language and I am currently living in Singapore.
I encountered this sign in a stall:

I understand this sign as "By buying this, you'll lose money in an irrelevant product, what are you waiting for?" but it's obviously not the good interpretation. Can somebody enlighten me ?


texts: 'In' and 'among' of the title of a manuscript, which is appropriate?

texts:
I'm writing a manuscript for a medical journal, but I have trouble giving a title of it. The article looks into the effect (severe perineal injury) of episiotomy (a procedure done when delivering a baby) from a certain number of parturients who are all Koreans. I think the title should be

  "Episiotomy and the risk of severe perineal injuries in Korean women".

My colleague thinks that

  "Episiotomy and the risk of severe perineal injuries among Korean women"

is appropriate. Which one is better?
Please help.


texts:
I know that there are similar questions, but I'd like to know what's the "preferred" meaning of "just" in a specific sentence in this context.

I was watching a GTA V movie, called "Meltdown". In a given scene, the protagonist's tutor turns to be his enemy; he wants to "destroy honest capitalism" and he's using a laptop to perform the action. Then he presses a key and says, with an evil laugh: "I just pressed this button and now tense music is playing" (and tense music starts to play in the movie). Later, the protagonist and his friend pursue the guy to stop his evil plans.

I tried to translate the movie for my mother, and when "I just pressed this button and now tense music is playing" showed up, I couldn't decide if it was something like "I pressed this button a few moments ago and now tense music is playing" or "I only pressed this button and look what happened, tense music is playing".

Taking in account that the movie is a spoof of Wall Street themed movies, and the context given, what's the most probable meaning? Was he trying to be ambiguous on purpose?

It may seem silly, but it's something that made me think a lot about ambiguity in English and can't get out of my mind.


texts: What is the "thirsty" equivalent of "ravenously"?

texts: When you eat something very hungrily, you can use the adverb "ravenously" to describe it. But when you drink something very fast in a similar way to quench your thirst, what adverb can you use to describe it?


texts: would I say: Having a suitable Tone, Pace and Volume is or are integral to ensuring excellent quality over the phone.


texts: What is the term for both sided thinking?

texts: I see both sides in everything. What would one call this type of thinking?


texts: Are "after" and "before" inclusive or exclusive in common everyday language usage

texts:
In normal everyday language use:
following examples

exhibit a)Date of birth is after 13/2/2017

exhibit b)Date of birth is before 13/2/2017

does (a) mean 13/2/2017 is also included?
     (b) mean 13/2/2017 is also included?


texts:
I have been reading Tonio Korger by Thomas Mann, translated by David Luke. Here is a sentence about which I have a question:

  He worked in silence, in invisible privacy, for he utterly despised those minor hacks who treated their talent as a social ornament-who, whether they were poor or rich, whether they affected an unkempt and shabby appearance or sumptuous individualistic neck wear, aimed above all else at living happily, charmingly and artistically, little suspecting that good work is brought forth only under the pressure of a bad life, that living and working are incompatible and that one must have died if one is to be wholly a creator.

I think it is rather proper that one must die if one is to be wholly a creator.
Why the past perfect tense is used in this text?


texts: Word for the thing that's fixed on the wall and holds a (fire) torch in stories set in the distant past

texts:
What do you call the thing that holds a torch? They're used a lot in old movies. They're fixed on walls and used for holding the fire (torch).
Here's an image of what I'm talking about but it's not quite the same as the one used for holding the torch:

Here's the torch I'm referring to:

What's the name of the thing that is fixed on a wall and holds this torch?


texts: Is "to come up with smth." considered colloquial?

texts:
In my opinion, a sentence such as

  "Therefore, one should come up with another solution."

too informal for something like a technical report or scientific article. Is it indeed usually considered as colloquial language?


texts:
I'm trying to make an analogy, but struggling to put in clear terms what I'm referring to.

What I'm looking for is a word, phrase, or common pop-culture phenomenon, of a creature or entity that will try to be helpful, but since it's pretty dumb, too often its efforts will be useless to the situation at hand.

It MEANS well, but it doesn't always understand what the person wants, but will nevertheless try its absolute best to be helpful, desperate for approval.

I wanted to say puppy at first, as it denotes the general level of intelligence and general feeling towards it of "It means well, you can't be mad at it!", but it lacks the helpful nature.

Is there a word or phrase that embodies all this? I have the feeling it should be a common enough trope, but I'm just drawing an absolute blank.


texts: Is there a word like ‘genocide’, but for a specific family?

texts:
I swear I read such a word once, as does my partner; but no amount of Googling has been able to suss it out:

I’m looking for something that means “to extinguish a family tree,” in the sense of complete genetic extinction; to hunt down and kill all members of someone’s extended family.

(Dark, I know!)


texts: Why do they say "may not" for things which people shouldn't do

texts:
I have seen in so many place where they would have mentioned "You may not.." etc for the things people shouldn't do. For eg: in companies where USB is not allowed, they will mention like this "You may not use USB/CD etc", similarly "You may not download free softwares", "You may not tailgate the doors" etc.

These all things should be like this right "You should not use USB/CD etc", "You should not download free softwares" etc, this "May not" seems like saying "optional" it may indicate like "people may follow" etc

Can anyone guide me in this? I always get confuse in this.


texts: "We have stood" and using correct tense with the tone of an article

texts:
English Stack community, we're seeking help with an internal debate concerning tense use while considering the desired tone of an article.

In the following sentence, is the use of "we have stood" correct? There is argument that it is the correct present perfect tense and correctly conveys the author's reflective tone; however, others are arguing that this is incorrect:

"My husband and I are diehard Eagles fans. We have stood for hours in a field during the hot California summer just to hear them sing."

I believe that the use of "We have stood ... " is correct; however, if my colleagues and I are wrong, I'd love to be proven incorrect in order to bolster my own knowledge going forward.


texts: Proper way to pronounce and form the word for "The followers of Augusto Pinochet"

texts:
An article in this month's Monocle, discussing elections in Chile, referred to anti-Pinochetistas:

  The vote was attended by a throng of cheering anti-Pinochetistas.

I am wondering how the word should be pronounced and formed:

Pinochetista with a silent T, as one would pronounce Pinochet? (Pee-no-shay-ee-stah)
Pinochetista with an articulated T, avoiding an awkward diphthong? (Pee-no-shay-tee-stah)
Pinochista, formed like "Francista", the followers of Francisco Franco, by removing the last syllable "-et" and appending the suffix "ista": Pee-no-chee-stah


texts: Does the phrase 'human race' allude to the idea of a relay?

texts:
Describing the history of humanity as a 'race' might seem odd to a listener who hadn't heard it before.

Is the image behind this phrase alluding to the idea that human beings reproduce and pass on the responsibility for our culture and civilisation to our children, in the same way that a relay runner passes on a baton?


texts: What does this "and where possible localize" clause mean?

texts:
The intent is that an implementation should identify the nature of, and where possible localize, each violation.

This sentense is found in N1570, the latest draft of C11, which I cannot afford.


texts: Is the word "granular" a synonym for the word "specific"?

texts:
I often hear the words "granular" or "granularity" being used around colleagues at my office to specify level of detail. For example:

  Does the running category have to be more granular?
  We need to see these reports with more granularity.

Is this an appropriate use of the word "granular"? Most dictionary references online indicate the word being used for scientific contexts to grain size.


texts:
The missing eyeglasses are in the refrigerator, where Damien absentmindedly set them down while eating his roommate's leftover fried rice.

Is the bold part an adjective clause or adverb clause?
It seems to me that it's an adjective clause, since it's describing the place where he set the glasses down. What do you think?


texts: Is the use of the word 'hence' improper in business writing?

texts:
I'm a professional technical writer. I used the word 'hence' in my conclusions a couple of times. The client (from Canada) let me know that it sounds like something straight out of a "Shakespeare play" and that I should replace that.

With relevance to business audience in America and Canada, would you say the use of the word 'hence' is archaic?


texts:
I watch the TV series Glee to learn English and came across the phrase if anything. It's in a sentence Rachel said.

  If anything, she is gonna kill all of our chances to achieve that
  elusive goal (she means nationals by that).

The context is that Mr. Shue the teacher wants to recruit Sugar Mota who sings awfully.

At first, I thought that meant if anything happens but it didn't feel right. Then I thought of the phrase if nothing else, which means Mota might do a lot of damage to the Glee Choir and killing all the chances was only one of them and probably the most important one. But it didn't feel right, either.

What does the phrase mean here?


texts:
So I saw that "shutted" isn't an English word, but "I shut up" doesn't sound proper.

If you were to tell someone "I shut up", talking in past tense, would that be proper?


texts: Adverb-adjective compound premodifier with or without hyphen?

texts:
Remarkably low condensation temperature

or

Remarkably-low condensation temperature?

The focus of remarkable is that it is such a low temperature. We are having an office disagreement and any help is much appreciated.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How can I explain to people that the phrase “off of” is grammatically incorrect?

Is it just me or has the word combination "off of", and it's big brother "off of it", gained a certain prominence recently? People jump off of [something], they find a business model and make money off of it, you can eat off of it and some people request to keep your hands off of it (whatever if refers to, then). Intuitively, I'd rather jump off a chair, I'd make money of it, I'd eat off my plate and of course, I'd keep my hands off it.

So, please tell me: What kind of language is this? Is it the latest fashion, is it the street language, or is it the way the educated ones talk? Or has this feature existed since ages, and I just didn't notice it yet?


texts:
When do you say: "noun's noun", "noun of noun", "noun + noun" and "adjective + noun"?

For example there's an album called "demon days" by Gorillaz.  I think demonic is right, because demonic(adj) describes the noun. Or maybe 'these are the days of the demon'?


texts: Can I use "lest" in the following sentence?

texts:
I am not a native English speaker/writer, but I am working on a technical thesis written in English. To me, for some unknown reason, it feels natural to write the following:

  However, the simplicity of the theory implies that it is not possible in reality, lest someone would surely have already done it.

Googling for the definition of lest seems to imply that this is not a correct usage.

So, can I use lest like I do, and if not, do any of you also feel there is any merit to my spontaneous feeling that it actually is ok to use it here?
The first answer of this post (Is this usage of "lest" possible?) seems to support my case, but i am not sure.


texts: Is it “If money were not an object” or “If money were not an option”?

texts:
The phrase "If money were not an option" is often used to mean "Don't worry about how much it would cost".  However, I just noticed that the last word, option, makes it sound like saying "If spending money was not one of your options".

Should I keep using this phrase?  Or is it a mutation of the phrase "If money were not an object" ?  Going by exact quote searches with Google, they're about the same: "if money were not an object" (32,400 results) and "If money were not an option" (27,500 results).  Or would I be far better off using neither of these and just saying "If money were not an issue" ?


texts: Term pertaining to, similar to, or traits of Fish

texts:
What is the word for fish-like that is similar to these words:

Mammalian (mammals)
Reptilian (reptiles)
Avian (birds)
Amphibian (e.g. frogs)
Crustacean (e.g. crabs)
Saurian (e.g. dinosaurs)
Fungal (mushrooms)
Botanical, Floral (plants)
Insectoid (insects, arachnids)
Draconic (dragons!)
Cetacean (e.g. whales)

I know these are not all at the same level of classification, but I can't find the smart-sounding word for fishy. I think it probably should have a suffix like:

-oid
-an/-ian
-al
-ant/-ent
-ine

and a foreign root word like:

piscis (latin)
psári (greek)
pesce (italian)

... piscian? piscent? psarian? psarine? pescatarian? pescal?

I need an adjective that is like:

  The term _________ denotes any creature or object that shares a similar body or traits with common bony fish.

I have found the words:

marine
aquatic

...but they don't really help, since I want to distinguish fish from other marine life like starfish, jellyfish, cuttlefish, crayfish, etc. I've searched all over wikipedia's taxonomy section but can't find anything.

The term can include sharks if necessary, but I would prefer it without. (Bonus points for finding the term for sharks!)

I want to be able to use it like:

  The residue contained ____ DNA.

But using:

  The residue contained fishy DNA.

just sounds awfully stupid.

Thanks,

Edit:

I plugged the top 3 answers (fishlike, piscine, ichthyic) into Google's Ngram Viewer and it looks like piscine is the winner. I also checked scholar.google for ichthyic and piscine and got about 1,000 and 70,000 results respectively.

Thanks all!


texts:
I can think of new syndromes being added to English in recent times. For example, AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a syndrome, as is SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome).

By contrast, when thinking of diseases without "Syndrome" in its name, I can think of malaria, or heart disease, and Ebola, but nothing recent.

Are new diseases without "Syndrome" in its name being added to English?


texts: In a mortar or with a mortar? In a juicer or with a juicer?

texts:
Is there any difference in usage, or is one of them correct whilst the other not?

To grind an acorn in/with a mortar.
To juice an orange in/with a juicer.


texts:
Under what circumstances would I use one of these over the other?
Here is my current understanding/misunderstanding:

Agglomeration: This is a collection of unrelated items.  For example:  A white elephant stall could be an agglomeration of unwanted items.
Conglomeration: This is a collection of related items.  For example:  A conglomeration might be the parts of a dismantled motorbike.


texts:
The word, actually means to "emphasize a fact or a comment, or that something is really true."

So why is whatsoever used in this sentence

  You have no right whatsoever to read what is written inside.

Can I use the word "actually" to replace the word "whatsoever"?


texts: Are there single-word alternatives that indicate plagiarism of "ideas"?

texts:
As per Wikipedia, plagiarism is "wrongful appropriation" and "stealing and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions" and the representation of them as one's own original work.

While there are words that depict plagiarism in the context of "literature" and/ or "art/ music" (e.g. piracy, appropriation, borrowing, counterfeiting, lifting, literary-theft, etc.), I was not able to think of single-word alternatives that indicate plagiarism of "ideas".

Do such alternatives exist, or should I simply refer to it as "idea plagiarism"?


texts: Start sentence with "Second" and "importantly"

texts:
I am writing a thesis and want to emphasis the second point I make when presenting two arguments.

Second, importantly technology induced employment falls are not the result of an industry declining.

So importantly refers to the point I am making. The sentence seems weird to me. Shall I put the comma before or after importantly or is something else wrong here?


texts: Does "very much the same" have the same meaning as "identical"?

texts: Do the words "very much the same" have the same meaning as "identical" or do these words imply that it's almost identical, but not totally?


texts: “… , however; …” [instead of] “… ; however, …”

texts:
Should I place the semi-colon or the comma before or after the adverb ‘however’?

  It was all a facade, however; every Bloke and every Avaran knows that Martin would destroy them all whenever he decided to finish his conquest.


texts: Looking for a Synonym of "Movement" For a Game Attribute System

texts:
I'm looking for a better word that better illustrates "movement", such as how "Jump" is better illustrated as "Acrobatics". I'm already aware of the word "Athletics", but that seems more synonymous with general endurance and physical aptitude, instead of the act of simply moving/translating between point A to B. I am using this for internal naming conventions for my game, which is a 3D turn based strategy game. Each actor you control is capable of jumping to higher positions via their "Acrobatics" score, a value between 0-12, and moving to new cells of the map based upon their "Movement" score, up to a maximum of 12 cells away.

Edit: To further lessen the gap of ambiguity, here is how the attribute system works in my game.

In my game, you control a group of four units, ranging in various classes (Or Birthrights as I call them), such as Paladin, Warrior, Ranger, Rogue, Priest, Arcanist, Bard, etc. These "actors" as I internally call them, each have their own individual "Grimoire". A Grimoire is like a Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy. You can place various "Glyphs" into the nodes of your Grimoire. Such glyphs are "Strength Glyph" "Agility Glyph" "Stamina Glyph", etc. This is how your characters grow and become stronger. My game does not have a level up mechanic. You gain Glyphs, and it's up to you how you develop your Grimoire(s). The Grimoire also has special Glyphs that you can find/purchase, like ones that increase the probablity of scoring a Critical Strike, or increasing your ability to Jump to higher ledges, or even move further during your turn. However, these Glyphs are more rare than casual Strength and Agility Glyphs; you can only use 12 maximum Movement/Acrobatics Glyphs per Grimoire.

My Primary Attribute System is located here.

And the BattleAttribute System, which this question pertains to, is located here (Still in development).

And the list of how my attributes work is located here.

Here is an example of the word being used: "In this game you can increase your "movement" by gaining and spending "Movement Glyphs" in your actor's Grimoire."

What is a more viable synonym for "Movement" in this scenario?


texts: "when you are done" vs. "when you are through" vs. "when you are finished"

texts: I am in the habit of using the phrase “when you are done.” It has been suggested to me that “when you are through” or “when you are finished” would be more desirable.  Is any of these incorrect or less desirable than the others?


texts: When I first looked this word up on Dictionary.com, I found entries not for it, but instead stigma. I was baffled. Words in the English language usually follow the -(e)s and -us-to--i pluralization patterns, but why not stigmata? Why can't this word be its own or an alternative singular? I know there are other plurals in English that follow neither pattern which people tend to mistake for singulars, such as taxa (for taxon) and strata (for stratum).


texts:
Referring to this lexico definition of from, I'm aware of the usages 3 (Indicating the source or provenance of someone or something) and 6 (Indicating the raw material out of which something is manufactured).

I wanted to reassure myself by asking you if these interpretations of 'from' can also be applied to cases like the following? My understanding of the sentences comes after the equality sign (=):

This parameter was computed from experimental data = Experimental data was used to compute this parameter.
The model was created from experimentally measured data that served to parameterise Equation 10 = Experimental measured data that served to parameterise Equation 10 was used to create the model


texts:
I am trying to find a word for it different than "arguably better" because I am trying to avoid arguing or pointing out the reasons why it is arguably.

May you suggest me an alternative word?


texts: grammar question “If there is any other application step that I should take to be considered as an applicant or if you need additional information”

texts:
After the career fair, I found a position in the booklet distributed by one company. But I am not sure if only sending the resume to their email is enough for the application. So I emailed them to ask for clarification. Hence, I want to use a sentence like this.

  "If there is any other application step that I should take to be considered as an applicant or if you need additional information, feel free to let me know by phone at (xxx) xxx-xxxx or by email at xxx@xxx."

Is this sentence correct in grammar? Any ideas of different expression? Any thoughts or opinions would be highly appreciated.


texts: Is there a single word for the quality of doing good works for others without any selfishness?

texts: Can anyone give the exact single word for the feeling/quality of doing good works for others without having any selfishness?


texts: Is it correct to say: "A, B, then C" instead of "A, B, and then C"?

texts:
I sometimes hear people append the last item in an ordered list (especially a step-by-step procedure) with only "then" (without the preceding "and"). For example:

  Go to google.com, enter miserable failure, then click I'm Feeling Lucky.

I understand the saying, but in written form, it seems incorrect. Is it correct English to omit "and" in this case?


texts: Relationship between intelligence, thinking and knowledge

texts:
A quick google search defines intelligence as "the ability to acquire and apply knowledge" and thinking as "the process of considering or reasoning about something"

What is the relationship between intelligence and thinking?

Is thinking the thing you do to acquire and apply knowledge and if so how does intelligence fit into it?

PS - The background to this question is in regards to design thinking and design intelligence for a uni course.   Taking design out of the question I am trying to get to bottom of what thinking and intelligence is.  A simple concrete example to put it into context would be brilliant.


texts: Verb for when cats meow other than meow itself

texts:
If

a dog barks "woof" (or some other variation)
a frog croaks "ribbit"

is there a verb for when cats "meow" other than "meow" itself?

I am specifically looking for a word that is usually only associated with a cat's "meow" similar to how bark is usually only associated with a dog's "woof", so cry as suggested in "Term for “representative” animal sound?" won't work.


texts: Grammatical Rules of Construction or Logic to Resolve Some Seemingly Contradictory Legislation

texts:
One of the things attorneys, such as myself, do often is argue over the meaning of a statute. Often this comes down to grammatical arguments about the location of commas, the use of conjunctions, etc. This is particularly challenging when it comes to poorly written legislation. California law has many such examples, but a particular pattern I’ve seen a few times now is for the statute to read something like this:

  “(b) The policy shall do all of the following: …(3) Prohibit the
  surreptitious photographing or video-recording of pupils who are being
  investigated. For purposes of this paragraph, “surreptitious
  photographing or video-recording” means the covert collection of
  photographic or videographic images of persons or places subject to an
  investigation…” (Cal. Ed. Code § 48204.2(b)(3))

Must the policy prohibit the photographing, etc. of all persons or places, or just pupils?

Cal. Ed. Code § 48900.7 does the same type of thing:

  (a)…a pupil may be suspended from school or recommended for expulsion
  if… the pupil has made terroristic threats against school officials or
  school property, or both. (b) For the purposes of this section,
  “terroristic threat” shall include any statement, whether written or
  oral, by a person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will
  result in death, great bodily injury to another person or property
  damage in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000)…”

Does the statute require the threat be made against school officials or property, or simply against “another person”?

My general feeling is that although the definitions are broader than the scope of the initial provisions, their effect is limited to the term itself and does not extend to the qualifying language that follows the term’s introduction. That is, the policy applies only to pupils, and the threats must be made against school officials or property.

However, as I was not an English major nor even particularly good at English, I’m curious if there are other grammatical rules of construction or logic that definitively dictate the meaning of statements like these. Any help would be much appreciated.

As a side note, and in light of some of the comments, I'm willing to accept the possibility that I'm hoping for more than the rules of English Grammer can provide.


texts: a word for the existing state of affairs before you change something

texts:
I'm sorry for the question being so vague, I really don't know what to use for this. The word I'm looking for isn't status quo and the only way I can explain it to you is:
When talking about opt-in organs, if you don't choose to opt out, the (dash) state is that your organs will be donated after your death.


texts: Is there a business English word for cancellation after due date?

texts: A booking process has a cancellation option. People can cancel up to 2 days from the start date of a booking. If they cancel after the start date minus 2 days, we charge them for late cancellation. Is there an appropriate business word for this kind of late cancellation?


texts: Difference between "translucency" and "transparency"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Difference between “transparent” and “translucent”

Can some one tell me what is the difference between the words "translucency" and  "transparency" (maybe in context)? Or they are absolute synonymous and there is no difference of using.
Thank you!


texts: Does a pedestrian walk 'in' the road, or 'on' the road (both are correct, but which is right?)

texts:
Having a bit of a debate about this with some foreign colleagues of mine.

I've always used the phrase 'I'm walking in the road', they think that you should say 'I'm walking on the road'..

I'm not 100% sure why I use the word 'in', but there must be a reason for it!

So... which is right?


texts:
In the following image:

Do you see the water in a few feet radius around a land? How do you describe this? Let's assume that the land is a park and there is no fountain. Can I express it this way:

  A water circle of few radius is around the park.

I'm not sure if that sentence is grammatically and logically correct.

Or can I say it this way:

  The park is surrounded by a circle of water having few feet radius.


texts:
There are lines and when they intersect, there is a point. I am not sure if "make" is the correct here:

  With 4 points made by interesections of both vertical and horizontal
  lines.


texts: Sorry for the vulgarism, but is "motherf**ker" considered more insulting or racially offensive in some parts of the US?

texts:
This is more of a cultural question.

A little while back, I was playing basketball at my pickup league - a friend of mine who is white (and from New Hampshire) got whacked pretty bad in the face by a different friend who is black (and from Georgia), it was a hard foul but I don't think the guy was trying to cause injury - it gets fairly competitive.

The guy who got whacked - out of pain more than anything yelled "Motherf**er!" - it didn't seem to me that it was directed at the other guy.
However, the guy who hit him - who is usually very easy going  - flipped out thinking the swear was directed at him. Then the other guy got pissed off because he was, after all, the one who got whacked.

I guess my NH friend was confused at the reaction and it got to the point where they had to be separated. However, they did cool off after a minute. Afterwards my friend from GA said something like "where I come from you don't call people that".

It got me wondering if Motherf**er is more of an insult in certain parts of the country or if there are racial connotations in the South? I grew up in a fairly diverse area in a northeast city and that word was thrown around fairly casually and nobody ever took too much offense to it.

I'd feel comfortable asking the guy from GA, but I haven't seen him that much in the past few weeks.

Sorry for the odd question.


texts: When correcting somebody on the application of a word, could it be said that you are being critical of their use of semantics?  For example, calling the tool used to pick a lock a "tension wrench" is incorrect because the force being applied is actually "torsion," not "tension."  In this situation, it could be said that there is a malapropism; however, does this malapropism fall under semantics?


texts: What kind of error is it considered when a person uses the wrong form of a word?

texts:
I guess I asked the question in the title. Basically, when it comes to using the wrong form of a word (to instead of too, there instead of they're, etc.), what kind of error is this considered? Grammar, spelling, syntax, semantic, orthographic.

Thanks!
Brian


texts: Saying "thank you" when something is taken from you, or when you take something from someone?

texts:
Often, when I am visiting some sort of community event where there is a large group of people, each person of the group may be given something to look at, or to reference to throughout the event.

For example, at a play: most of the time, visitors are given a small booklet/guide to things about the play. And, sometimes, the people running the play will collect this booklet upon your departure from the venue.

However, this is the part that confuses me: using the example, when I hand in my booklet, the collector often says:

  "Thank you"

Why are they saying "thank you"? Shouldn't I be the one saying "thank you" to them for taking the booklet from me, because then I no longer have to carry around a potential piece of trash that will most likely just get thrown away later?

When they say "thank you", I think it expands to:

  "Thank you for giving me your booklet."

When I say "thank you", I think it expands to:

  "Thank you for collecting my booklet from me, so I no longer have to worry about where this goes later."


texts: How can one transform a compound sentence into a direct question?

texts:
I have a compound sentence:

  It's bad, and we should not do it.

How can transform it into direct question? Should I invert the word order in both parts of the sentence or only in the first one?


texts:
Some software programs provide helper functions which guide you through a certain process, and traditionally these are called wizards.

I wish to provide this functionality in the administration-side of a game I am creating, however the game is about Wizards (you know, the more stereotypical magic-type wizards xD)

So I was wondering if there are any reasonable alternative words I can use in place of "wizard" to describe a software routine that guides a user through a set of instructions?

Note: I know that the link I provides mentions that some OSes call them "assistants" already, but I am not as fond of this word as I am of "wizard," so am hoping here to find even more alternatives I could use, maybe something original and less common, but equally effective ;)


texts: How does definite article modify a noun?

texts:
I have a translation course this term and in it we review the English  translation of various texts of eastern civilizations. We were stuck with translation of the opening verse of the Quran.

"In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful."

the Beneficent is the equivalent of an attribute of God which roughly means that his mercy is due to all creatures. And the Merciful for a word that means his constant mercy is due to the believers. Note that in the source text both words are from the same root. One translation tried to convey this by simply using the merciful for both words and modifying it with adverbs the Entirely, the Especially [Merciful].

the problem. I want to know how does the article the modifies an adjective. I know that in general it denotes a set e.g. the blind, the poor etc., but when one use it in this form: In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful how do you hear it as native speaker of English. In parenthesis I shall say that note that the first letter of the attribute is Capitalized. I'll be grateful if you could explain to me the function of the plus an adjective, not in this one particular use but various usages of this structure and comparing them. And also the capitalization the first letter.

Also if you could introduce me to a book that elaborates on this aspects and other marginal aspects of grammar I really appreciate that.
Thanks in advance.


texts: What report is given to a boss at a higher rank by bypassing the immediate boss?

texts: Is there a single word that can be put before "report" meaning a report given to a boss at a higher rank by bypassing the immediate boss?


texts: Meaning of "lead" in the context of knots/ knot tying

texts:
In The Ashley Books of Knots (ABOK), Mr. Ashley frequently refers to various knots having or giving good or bad "lead" in a given situation.  Two examples:

  The ANGLER'S LOOP has an excellent lead and is easily tied...
  The BOWLINE KNOT is often used for the same purpose, but it has a poor lead, ...

I am not familiar with this usage of the word "lead" and it is not totally clear from context.  Also, if ABOK provides a meaning elsewhere within, I have not found it.  Likewise, various dictionary entries are not helpful, as most focus on the sense of "leadership" or "dull malleable metal."

It feels like it has something to do with fishing, but I am not a fisherman, so if this is correct, please try to explain the concept in your answer.


texts: -t- and -tt- in present participle and past participle of words

texts:
Why present participle and past participle of some verbs have -tt- and others have -t-?

Examples: accept -> accepted, interpret -> interpreted, elicit -> elicited have -t-.

Admit -> admitted, submit -> submitted, spot -> spotted have -tt-.

Why does it happen?

I have searched many words but I didn't find any pattern. It's very confusing because the vowels are the same before -t-/ -tt- and yet it varies. also, some words have the same origin but they're differently written. for example, elicit and submit are both from Latin, submit has -tt- while elicit has -t-. I can't understand how it works.


texts: Is there any word to describe a person who is always unlucky?

texts:
Assuming an individual is always unlucky in all walks of life- education, relationship, employment etc.

Is there any word that can be used to describe such a person?


texts: Kiwi (New Zealand) Pronunciation of "Moscow"

texts: So I was watching some Flight of the Conchords just a moment ago (classic), and they're from New Zealand. In one of their songs, they said "Moscow". I'd assumed that Kiwis would say it "Mos-co" (like "to and fro") as us Brits do, but they said it "Mos-cow" like the Americans do. Is this standard for those from NZ, or is this maybe because they're doing an American show (on HBO) and their primary audience is the US?


texts: What is the difference between "nothing but", "anything but", and "everything but"?

texts: What is the difference between these phrases? When is it valid to use which? Should they be avoided as being ambiguous?


texts:
I am trying to fill in this sentence:

  “My company is looking to ___ a consultant”.

Is the correct term “hire” or is there a different word that is more fitting when talking about a consultant?


texts: Does this kind of bag have a specific name?

texts: Does this kind of bag have a specific name in the English language?


texts: What is the difference provider vs. caregiver, in a medical context? According to the dictionary definitions, the former provides, the latter cares… but in a medical context providing is pretty much caring, and by caring one provides care. So I am a bit confused.


texts:
Facebook just sounds like a social media site, but the word facebook originates from something. I looked online and found nothing relevant to the origin of the word. Would you please shed a light?

Note: The question is about the noun facebook and it is not directly asking the origin of the proper noun Facebook (the company name).

Although, as a side note, it is mentioned that the trademark of the company is in lowercase but it starts with upper case most of the time:

  The official trademarked name of the social-networking service and website is spelled “facebook,” all lowercase letters. Formal writing style—as exemplified by most news and book publishers—is to treat such names as regular proper nouns, in this case “Facebook,” using an initial capital letter. dictionary.reference.com

The noun facebook is not easily searchable in Google and Google Books (because of the vast amount of "Facebook" results). Additionally, Google doesn't offer case sensitive search.

It is not in OED also.


texts: Is there a corpus of synonyms that is classified by connotation (or sentiment)?

texts:
I am a software developer working on supervised document classification. In this case, a classification system for movie reviews. I need to determine with an acceptable degree of accuracy, whether I am dealing with a positive or negative review. So far I do this by extracting word count and frequency distribution data on already labeled "positive" and "negative" posts.

However, I am trying to test whether using a lexicon would help. The problem is that I lose precision because when I am trying to pull out synonyms I lose the embedded positive or negative connotation of the terms.

Thanks in advance! (bare with me, I am not a native English speaker)


texts:
I was listening to a dialogue/interview on the radio about a researcher in Africa, and she used an expression similar to:

  I have been in country for around three months now, and in that time...

It sounded like a deliberate expression, not that she missed or omitted the word "the" before "country".

Of course, there is an obvious face-value meaning, such as "staying in the country", but it also seems to carry some other kind of connotation I can't express.

Am I over-analyzing this, or is there a meaning/connotation beyond the obvious?


texts: Which one is right — "He works at company X" or "in company X "?

texts:
I usually use "at a company" but I have encountered some articles using "in a company", "in XYZ firm" or "in an organization".

Which one is right?


texts: Words that mean "obsessed with theory" and "obsessed with data"

texts: I'm looking for one-word terms to describe someone obsessed with theory and someone obsessed with data. We use the Spanish terms 'teoricón' and 'datoso' which roughly translate to 'theorophile' and 'dataphile' (respectively) but I'm not sure if these are acceptable/clear to native English speakers.


texts: What's the word for an underlying theme/message in media?

texts: Like, If you want to say "this movie had liberal themes that weren't that obvious, but you can tell If you pay attention." I think the word I'm looking for starts with "sub."


texts: Word for Someone Who Watches Mountain Weather

texts:
I've been working on a paper regarding the Himalays. As part of that, I've been learning about sherpas. I feel like I see these kinds of people watching or monitoring mountains. Either for weather or signs of trouble. I'm trying to figure out if these people that watch these mountains have a title or a name? I'd like to use it in my paper. Does anyone know what these people are called?

Thanks


texts: What word means "the feeling of discomfort caused by watching people's ineptitude"?

texts:
I am watching a UK TV programme called "The Apprentice".  The candidates have to sell guided tours.  Some candidates are terrible at giving these tours.  They fluff their lines, or they haven't researched, or they make up "facts".

Watching their ineptitude cause a feeling of discomfort.  What is the best word for this discomfort?

The German word schadenfreude means roughly "the pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others".  The word I want would be almost an antonym of schadenfreude - "the discomfort derived from the mosfortunes of others".  Except not the misfortunes but the uselessness of others.


texts: Use of the word "Dutchy" to describe a personality trait

texts:
When I first became interested in genealogy and started asking my grandparents about their parents and grandparents, they both described my grandmother's grandmother as "Dutchy". I initially thought I had stumbled on a family connection to the Netherlands that I never knew existed but then it became clear they were talking about her personality or mannerisms. The sense I got was that they both were very fond of her, but...(she was "Dutchy").

Both of my grandparents were born in 1914 and this great-great grandmother died in 1933, so I'm wondering if this was an expression from their youth (in the Midwest U.S.). I did a Google search and there are several expressions that incorporate the word Dutch, usually in a pejorative sense. I found this page, which includes the expression "His dutch is up," meaning dander/temper. Is anyone else familiar with this usage?


texts: In my native language, we have this obscene saying - don't take a dump in the barrel of honey

texts: The implication is that one must not display a disrespectful behavior in regards to his/her friends or the people he/she knows very well, because as the honey in the barrel won't be edible anymore after someone defecates in it, so the friendship or relationship can no longer last, in case one of the sides does something totally unacceptable. One must not exhibit such a behavior that will outweigh all of his/her good deeds. Is there a similar kind of idiom or profane saying in English?


texts:
Can we use please and never together in the same sentence like ...

Please never do that while you're walking.

or something like

You may get it from whichever store you like but please never visit that grocery store.

And what about this sentence:

Please don't ever do that.

Thank you


texts: Is there a word for someone who does something specifically to use it against someone else?

texts:
The best word I can think of to describe the person would be to call them a martyr, but I do not know if that is the proper use of the word, or if there is a better one.

I say martyr because someone with a martyr complex is someone who uses their suffering and sacrifices against someone compulsively, but someone with that condition does not have to be sacrificing specifically to use it against the person, it just happens.

I was wondering if there was a word that meant the person did it specifically for that purpose.


texts: US news articles missing out "on" when referring to a day

texts:
When watching US television news or reading US news articles there is this affectation where instead of saying:

  "Spotify music-streaming service to launch in U.S. on Thursday" (CNN)

or

  "Leading credit rating agency Moody's said on Wednesday that the U.S. government's impeccable credit..." (Fox)

The on preposition is missed out.

Is this just a peculiar US journalistic "news speak" shortcut or do American non-journalist writers write this way too?


texts: What does 'against' mean in the phrase 'Execute against a MySQL database'?

texts: I've encountered this strange and rather odd (to me) usage of the preposition 'against', which I quite can't grasp as of now. I've tried to look it up in several dictionaries to no avail.


texts: Term to describe relationship between one and single, two and double, etc.?

texts:
Is there a specific term used to describe the relationship between the words:

One and single,
Two and double,
Three and triple,
Etc.

I don't quite think that the term synonym fits here, and was wondering if there was a more specific term.


texts: Word for when someone pretends to be weak, but is really strong

texts: What is a one-word substitute for when someone outwardly shows that he is weak, just to deceive others, but in reality he is strong? And what is a person called who performs such a trick?


texts: "Hundred-thousands" or "Hundreds of thousands"?

texts:
Which word choice is correct?

  The company saved several hundred-thousands of dollars.

or

  The company saved several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I apologize. I did no prior research other than 4 years of scholars level English in college. I did not ask Google or Bing before asking an English language enthusiast group because I work in IT and have an ample grasp on a computer's natural language processing abilities.


texts: What is the strange taste feeling that one gets when eating a quince or unripe plum or persimmon?

texts: There is a particular taste that I could never quite translate in English. It is not bitter, although it sometimes occurs with it. The best example is eating a raw quince fruit. The mouth and tongue get a sort of dry feeling. Similar taste can be experienced with some persimmon fruit, and unripe plums. I know the word in French (âpre) and Bulgarian (стипцив). Google translates these as rough, but that somehow seems unlikely. Any ideas?


texts: Word for an Origin and Destination without regard for route

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes an origin and destination, regardless of the route taken.

The words I've come up with so far, route, trip, travel, etc. all imply a specific set of directions.

To clarify: I'm interested in a noun that describes a set of two points, one of which is an origin, and the other a destination. It does not care about how, or even if, the travel is made.

Additional clarification: The motivation for the question is the naming of a software class. This class holds information about traveling one point to another. Those travels can occur along multiple routes (another class), hence the desire for a path-agnostic noun.

Despite the original motivation, I am now very curious for a word to describe this, regardless of the software development context. The best I've found so far is 'commute.'

As a thought... I'd imagine the airline industry must have a term for this. Travel from Hong Kong to New York - one route may have a layover, another may be direct, though the origin and destination are the same.


texts: Looking for a term like "fundamentalism", but without a religious connotation

texts:
I am looking for a generalized term for "the belief that there is a single or narrow range of correct interpretations of events or a circumscribed set of permitted actions in a particular situation as prescribed by an unquestionable authority."

Fundamentalism fits to some degree, but has a religious connotation whereas people can hold the above belief without also believing in a deity or god. Also, people who identify as fundamentalist have a much different usage for the word.

Any suggestions for a term that captures the belief without referring specificity to the religious?

ETA: Very good suggestions.  To clarify a bit more, what I am looking for is a word or short phrase that emphasizes a reliance on an unquestionable authority.  Many words that have that connotation also seem to to be used to mean a steadfast  belief.


texts: Usage of beat someone at and beat someone in?

texts:
Some confusion regarding beat... at or beat... in.

Is  saying

I beat him at an English test.

or

I beat him in an English test.

is the right one?

Both seems correct.

I personally think that beat ... in  something is the correct one.


texts: Words rhyming with "ear" pronounced with the vowel as in "eat"?

texts:
For words like ear, year, hear etc., most dictionaries only give the pronunciation /-ɪr/ (with the vowel as in the word it). But I think some native speakers pronounce them /-ir/ (with the vowel as in the word eat).

Is my observation correct? If so, are both pronunciations acceptable, and what is the difference between them? Are they specific for any dialects?


texts: The correct word order in "Dear My Love"

texts:
The phrase "Dear My Love" is found in this page made by keepcalm-o-matic in the UK.

I would assume all English teachers say that possessive adjective always comes first, as in "my dear friend" and "my private idaho", and we never say "dear my friend". So the correct word order is possessive adjective, attributive adjective, and noun. Then could you tell me why in the UK saying "dear my love" is possible?

I have learned that, in a non-English speaking country, Japan for example, word order is sometimes off and people there usually accept both "my dear friend" and "dear my friend" as correct English. "Dear my friend" in particular is acceptable in their English and I suspect that's because "dear" in this phrase is not an adjective but an adverb to mean "with love and respect" (Merriam-Webster), or they regard "dear" as a preposition and mistake "dear my friend" for "to my friend". Is this type of misunderstanding also the case in "dear my love" by a UK designer? Or is there any other explanation?


texts:
Can someone please explain the meaning of this quote?

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself. - A. H. Weiler.


texts: What does “crisis-an-hour mentality” mean?

texts:
There was the following sentence in the article of Washington Post (November 9) that came under the title, “For Obama, and Democrats, it’s crunch time.”

  Obama is dismissive of the crisis-an-hour mentality that often
  grips the political chattering class. He has endured low moments
  throughout his political career and has found a way to ride them out.
  He is famously patient. But he is now in a hole of his own making.
  (Source)

I understand 'crisis mentality' means the disposition / attitude of someone who is always thinking the worst will happen, but what does “crisis-an-hour mentality mean? Why is it the hot topic in political chattering class?


texts:
I read this sentence in a description to a podcast from https://www.eslpod.com/website/index_new.html

  Batter, “batter,” when we talk about cooking is a liquid, made usually
  with eggs, and flower, and perhaps milk, and you combine these things
  together and you get a thick liquid, which we call batter

Why do I need to use a before liquid? What makes liquid countable?


texts: Why isn’t the definite article used in "The commission commanded that work [...] should cease"?

texts:
In this sentence:

  The commission commanded that work on the building should cease.

Why isn't the used before the word work? It seems that the work is specified by on the building.

Another example is,

  Construction of the building will start next week.

I understand construction here is something like putting up the building,
and so the construction isn’t general in meaning. But the definite article isn’t used here, either.

I’ve asked about this several times, but none gave me a good answer.


texts:
Which is correct
Option A: The university should be the students' main community.
(with apostrophe)
or
Option B: The university should be the students main community.
(no apostrophe)


texts: Looking for a technical term that goes hand in hand with the strategy used in the joke

texts:
Here's the joke:

Tom's Dad:(in Bill Gates's office) My son Tom wants to marry your daughter. Are you interested?

Bill: No, my daughter is still too young.

Tom's Dad: What if my son is a VP at Google?

Bill: Wow, that should be out of any question!

Tom's Dad:(in Larry Page's office) My son Tom is a talented young man. He wants to work for you as a VP at Google.

Larry: Too much talent here already.

Tom's Dad: What if he is Bill Gates's son-in-law?

Larry: Wow, we welcome him on board!

I was just looking for one joke to share in classroom, and this one caught my eye. Obviously, some business strategy is involved in this great piece. I'd like to expand a bit on the strategy in the classroom, but I can't come up with a technical term or some universally recognized term to introduce the strategy.

I'm no business student, nor did I see the joke in a business context or textbook. It's really hard for me to think of one. Help!

EDIT: It's NOT joke construction help. I just use this joke to describe the strategy (due to lack of a better one).

I really like the "play X off against each other" answer, which however is not EXACTLY what I want. I am looking for an English expression (if any) which conveys the idea that I have nothing myself (am a nobody) and I employ other people's reputation or strength to achieve my own goal.


texts:
Is there an English equivalent of the Slovak saying:

  Someone else's wounds don't bleed

?

This is literal translation of a saying, meaning "someone else's loss doesn't bother me".


texts: What’s a good substitute for “if that happens”?

texts:
English is not my native language.

I am writing a text where I have to explain some technical stuff and give some examples.

Giving a simple example, I would write something like:

"To make current flow through air, a huge amount of energy is required. If that happens... bla bla"

"Bob and Mary should not eat more than one piece of cake. If that happens..."

My problem here is the "if that happens" part. I don't like the expression "if that happens", which is a precise translation of how I would speak in Portuguese, my native language, but does not sound good in English.

How do I connect a second phrase explaining what happens if the first sentence is true?

"in that case"? What more sophisticated options do I have here?


texts:
As far as I am aware no other countried are used an article before them, but people usually refer to Ukraine as "The Ukraine".

Why?


texts: A word that means pertaining to both art and science?

texts:
I was inspired by a visit to the Art and Science Museum in Singapore, and wondered if there was a word that can be used to describe something that relates to both art and science.

For example, this word can be used to describe someone like Leonardo Da Vinci who was someone that mastered both art and science, or a place like the Art and Science Museum that was dedicated to both art and science.


texts:
There's this article on the NY Times about Dylan's nomination for the Nobel Laureate last week. In it the authors say

  Mr. Dylan’s set at that show was almost identical to that of the first weekend, with an intriguing addition: “Why Try to Change Me Now?,” a chestnut written by Cy Coleman and Joseph McCarthy that Mr. Dylan included on his 2015 album “Shadows in the Night.”

I took chestnut to be a short article. Article because of the context, short from the expression in a nutshell. Is that correct?


texts: Does the position of the adverb in a sentence change anything?

texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  I ate the sandwich quickly.

The word "quickly" modifies "ate the sandwich."

Should the adverb be placed up front, as in

  I quickly ate the sandwich.

would it still be modifying the "ate the sandwich" part?


texts:
There's a whole bunch of lists of "greatest ..." in the world of art. Does it mean influence, artistic excellence, ...?

edit: I've seen a number of greatest movies lists and I wonder what they mean if they don't specify what they mean by great.


texts: Another word for "consume" that's clearly about incorporeal things?

texts:
I'm looking for a single verb with similar meaning to gaining, consuming or gathering, but only in a context of information, knowledge or ideas. So the word itself should make clear that I'm talking about immaterial goods. It shouldn't frequently be used for material goods.

Which word in the English language fits that best?


texts: Indefinite articles used with plural nouns: It was AN amazing TWO DAYS

texts:
The indefinite article a(n), derives from the old English word an meaning "one". Generally this word only occurs in determiner function before noun phrases which are singular. However, there seem to be some cases where this determiner occurs before plural noun phrases. I say that, but actually these noun phrase seem so bizarre to me, in terms of their structure, that I'm not sure they're definitely noun phrases at all. Here are some examples:

a full three months before we left
an amazing two days
an awkward ten minutes

Ignoring the article here for a moment, these noun phrases are odd because the adjective is occurring before the numeral. We would normally expect to see:

three full months
two amazing days
ten awkward minutes

Even given the oddness of the word order in the original phrases, I can see no reason why the normally singular indefinite article is licensed here.

Can anybody give an account of the syntactic structure of these phrases, and/or explain why the semantically singular article is able to be used with such phrases - even if they compulsorily trigger plural verb agreement?

Here is an example of one of these instances which seems to demand a plural verb:

An amazing two million people attend every year.
*An amazing two million people attends every year. (ungrammatical)


texts: Did "Pokédex" recently become a slang term for iPhone?

texts: Suddenly everyone is calling their iPhone a "pokédex". And not just comments in reddit.  Actual industry people. How did I miss this?


texts: Can the verb number be unknown in an interrogative sentence where the subject is unknown?

texts:
"Who appointed him mayor?"  Who is an unknown, so would the pronoun number  be unknown?

Part of my question entails sub-verb agreement.  If verbs are classified as being singular or plural, can they be unknown, hence because the subject who is unknown then would the verb appointed be classified as with the number as unknown?

I am looking for a specific grammar rule or concept for this question.  I have looked at many old grammar books on Google Books to no avail.


texts: Which is correct: "Real Madrid compete very well," or "Real Madrid competes very well?"

texts: I think there's a difference in the ways in which sports announcers from the U.S. and U.K. refer to the teams. If my memory serves me correctly, I think announcers in FIFA from the U.K. will use forms of verbs corresponding to a singular noun; in the U.S., I believe it's the reverse. Please, correct me if I'm wrong about the two different styles across countries, but I think my question's clear enough.


texts: A Simple explanation on what the letter ë actually is and how it is pronounced? I know it's not an English letter so why does it appear in English names like Chloë for example?


texts: What's the difference between these sentences?

texts:
He walked out, Rachel's words indelibly etched into his memory.

vs

  He walked out, Rachel's words being indelibly etched into his memory.


texts: How do you look up what lexical set a word belongs to?

texts:
(I mean phonological lexical sets, if that wasn't clear.)

How do you look up what lexical set a word is in? Is there any sort of open database anywhere?

Like, say I have the LOT/CLOTH merger, and I want to know group the word "long" is in.

Apparently it's "CLOTH" according to that wikipedia page, but they have only three words listed for every group, with no mention of how to verify the information if you don't happen to have a speaker of that dialect handy.


texts: About /t/ glottalized before (schwa + n)

texts:
Why is it that /t/ is glottalized before (schwa + n) but flapped before (schwa + any other consonant)?
Examples:

button -> "buh-n" but not "budden".
kitten -> "kih-n" but not "kidden".
flatten -> "fla-n" but not "fladden".
straighten -> "stray-n" but not "straiden".
eaten -> "ee-n" but not "eaden".

But meanwhile,

"butter" -> "budder"
"better" -> "bedder"


texts:
I'm having some difficulty parsing this sentence:

  "The old beggar ran after the rich man."

Is the verb "ran" (intransitive) with no object, or is it "ran after" (transitive) with the object "man"?

Are there any rules to figure out what is a phrasal verb and what isn't?


texts: Term for alternative spelling, which is not incorrect, but very sparsely used

texts:
First to be clear this is not a shameless plug for my company, for that reason, I will only use the first word even though the full question should include the 2nd word to provide the better example.

When I came up with my company name using the word "Eutopian", I thought I was just playing with the phonetics of the word "utopian" or using "Sensational Spelling", something I just learned about tonight, from using this site. Since it was used to represent a name for my company, I wanted something that would be easy to remember based on the misspelling, or possibly "Satiric misspelling" because I thought that I could also represent the name with a play on the misspelling since my company is 90% an online retail company aka an E-commerce company.

I actually did a search on Google, which lead me to a link to this site where someone actually burst by bubble and explained that according to the Oxford Dictionary, "eutopian" is not spelled incorrectly at all and is defined in that dictionary, which is very strange because while I verified the entry, every search engine (especially Google) is constantly asking me if I meant "Utopian" and if I ask Google to use it's dictionary to define "eutopian" it spits out "No definitions found. Search the web."

Then all of a sudden everyone says the definition is in their dictionary, but it's still trying to suggest I am spelling "utopia" or "utopian" and if I want to search that term instead.

So I guess my question is this: what would you call (if anything) a word which spelling was altered for phonetic / marketing reasons, only to find out that the word is not misspelled, yet 98% of the world insists it is, and even Google (in whatever resource they use for their Dictionary) states it's not a defined word.

Does my question actually make sense? I guess a follow up would be how can I get Google to recognize the spelling of Eutopian since I guess technically it is actually spelled correctly? Thanks!

Sample sentence for single word request: The name of my company is a < insert word >


texts: I am puzzled about the word "inhomogeneous." Isn't "heterogeneous", strictly speaking, more correct? Do correct me if I'm wrong, but to me, "inhomogeneous" looks like the Latin prefix "in-" added to a Greek word. As such, it sounds a bit like "aquaphobia" to me.


texts:
When writing scientific articles, I often feel that, for example,

  Note that the model can be solved exactly.

and

  The model can be solved exactly.

are equivalent. Other, similar phrases that are often used but seem to be not strictly necessary include "let us mention" and "let us point out". While including such phrases makes the language a bit more personal and engaging for the reader, the longer sentences may outweigh these benefits.

I would appreciate some guidance regarding when to use such phrases.


texts:
I understand that first person is written from my perspective, so I would be using the words "I, me, my, mine" a lot.

I also understand that third person is written from no particular perspective, but is instead an overview. I would be using words similar to "he did this, she did that, he said to her", etc.

What is second person? I seem to have never heard of it despite taking English at school.


texts: What are the rules when you use the conjunction "and"?

texts:
I'm actually quite confused. Let's see...

I have eaten and drunk.

Or

I have eaten and have drunk.

I know the first one sounds... well, I think it sounds right, but...

Another one-

Azel is growing up and eating more.

Or

Azel is growing up and is eating more.

How do you know when to repeat the conjunction "and"?


texts:
I give an example below.

"They've got the kind of weapons that can zap the enemy from thousands of miles away."

How to determine here that "away" is adjective or adverb?


texts: What does the phrase "Follow that!" mean?

texts:
I've heard that nice phrase and assume it is kind of an idiom.

The possible usage I can recall:

  Follow that! I just did [insert something here].

Is that true and if so what does it mean?


texts: How close to birth does "at birth" indicate?

texts:
I had a twin brother who died as a result of complications during delivery and lack of necessary hospital equipment. When someone asks, I never know how to correctly phrase this.

My twin died:

at birth (This feels contradictory).
while being born (again contradictory, dying while being born).
while our mom was giving birth to us.

...

Would at birth cover perinatal death, or does it mean while being born?


texts:
There is a French idiom, which translated word-for-word is

  Let's cut the apple in two

It means both parties will benefit from 50% of the requested initial negotiated deal.

Can this idiom be also used in English with the same meaning:

  ‘Let's cut (split) the apple in half’ ?


texts:
I understand that you must use past tense when writing minutes. However, there are some instances when I am not sure if past tense should be used as it would either change the meaning of the sentence or sound weird. Below are some situations which I have trouble with:

1.When something is in progress.

Example:

The team is checking on the machine. (Should it be: The team was checking on the machine)
Checks on the system are being done. (Should it be: Checks on the system was being done)

2.When Something is not Certain.

Example :

If there is sufficient data to support the efficiency of the new system...
(Should it be: If there was sufficient data to support the efficiency of the new system...)
If the project is successful...
(should it be: If the project was successful)

Thanks for helping.


texts: Is there a word for a portion of information presented at once?

texts:
A webpage chooses to present information a bit at a time, rather than all at once, like this: http://mathinbrief.com/algebra/arithmetic-series. So the user is invited to consider an initial chunk of information, then to press a button to see more. After that, the user might press an additional button to add more information to the page.

My question is -- is there a natural name for those pieces of information? Ideally, it would convey they idea that they are relatively small chunks.

A couple of sentences:

A page on this site consists of multiple xxxxx, which will be presented to the user one at a time. When writing your own xxxxx, it could be helpful to consider how much information you wish to encourage a reader to absorb before asking for more.


texts:
In the culturally referrent 1970s USA TV show "MASH", about the Korean war, character Corporal Klinger acts "crazy", specifically wearing female clothing,

... because he is bucking for a section 8 discharge from the Army. (For non-native speakers, in that era in the US Army, a "section 8" (wiki) discharge was for basically mental problems.)

So, Klinger is making a very large effort (he expends a huge effort on getting and wearing dresses and otherwise pretending to be crazy) pretending to do something (pretending to be crazy) with his goal being to get a (on the face of it) negative thing the discharge in question.

Again, he's deliberately acting in in a way as to try to get something that is undesirable (for his own reasons, he wants it).

This is described universally in English, certainly AmE, as "bucking for" a discharge, "bucking for" a section 8.

It's difficult for me to make other examples of this, but for example, you might say of a kid "are you bucking for punishment?!"  (So, the kid, for some sneaky reason, is deliberately acting badly so as to get punished.)  Or you can imagine someone in prison "bucking for" solitary (bizarrely, misbehaving to get even more punishment) because - say - the prisoner knows actually food is better in solitary.

My questions,

1) is this one of those annoying single-use phrases?  I can't think of any other use of "bucking for _ _", but it's perfectly understood in the military (or, because of MASH, generally) use of "bucking for a discharge".  Is it ever used (in this meaning) in any other context?  {Note, of course, obviously, "buck" has many other senses, please do not laboriously provide the other senses of "buck".}

2) what is the origin?

3) And finally  ... what the heck other phrase or word could you use to describe Klinger's actions?  "Klinger is _ _ _ to achieve a section 8."  The only other thing I could do is spell it out in full, "Klinger is putting great effort into a ruse/sham where he pretending to do something, even though that course of action would seemingly only bring him negative effects because surprisingly he actually wants the outcome."  Is there perhaps a BrE military slang? (Surely not!  who would "buck for", as our American friends would have it, LMF?  :) )

If you wanted to say "bucking for a mental discharge" without using that slang, I can't really think of anything else.  Perhaps "posturing for..." but it's not really right.

PS, I just learned that there's a sense "adjective, US military slang,
lowest of a particular rank: a buck private."  I had no idea about this. Perhaps it is related.


texts: What does the phrase "all but" signify in following text?

texts:
What does the phrase "all but" mean in this sentence?

  Interpol has all but ruled out terrorism.


texts: Should I use "will have" here or "would have"?

texts:
In response to "Michael said in a meeting last week that this is an easy task", my gut feeling is to respond like this:

"That sounds like something Michael would have said. But I don't agree with that"

But looking at this, this is "looking back from the present", so it should be:

"That sounds like something Michael will have said. But I don't agree with that".

The latter sounds weird and unidiomatic to my ears. I find that I often use "would have" to imply uncertainty even when looking back from the present like this example. Am I wrong?


texts:
I don't really know whether I should use "distinction" or "difference" or something else!

My sentence goes like this:

  For a better distinction among them,
  people were given  nicknames, which
  reflected their character traits, or
  people assigned to themselves some,
  often, prominent lineage.

Also — what about the rest of the sentence? Does it look fine to you (i.e. is it clear that the meaning is that people assigned themselves names from famous families)?

Any help is appreciated.


texts: Relation of Semantic in literal and figurative context

texts:
When studying Semantic meaning, I got confused about the interpretation of Semantic in such a sentence:

  You are as fat as a pig

In such sentences, how should I interpret the Semantic meaning:

As: "You are very fat" or simply "You are as fat as a pig" ?

I think, in my interpretation, semantics opposes to literality.


texts:
Which is correct, "because" or "that"?

  My motivation for doing things is because…

or

  My motivation for doing things is that…

I know to use "that" with "reason": "My reason is that..." But I'm not sure about whether "that" or "because" is correct with "motivation."


texts: Idiom or proprietary eponym for a common useful thing

texts:
Is there an idiom / proprietary eponym for a common useful thing? More specifically, in a class of objects for sale, if someone were to order the most common one, which is overwhelmingly the most common example used, it would be the ____ of that class of objects.

Use examples (which sound awkward):

It's the Coca-Cola of battery-powered mousetraps.
It's the Kleenex of sorting algorithms.

except that I want to replace "Coca-Cola" and "Kleenex" with something that is less awkward-sounding.

The phrase the Cadillac of ____ is common for indicating the most luxurious / highest-quality in a class; I'm looking for a similar word but with connotations of common, useful, reliable, ordinary, dominant.


texts: Adjective for something that can continue to grow versus being terminal

texts:
I am looking for a single word that can describe something that is continuing to grow.  The only term that comes to mind is viral but I am looking for something different.

For an example, an activity that continually spawns other activities.

  The smaller tasks continue to grow because of the ______ task.


texts: “Everything you want (to do)” vs “All you want (to do)”

texts:
On a language-exchange app I use, a non-native speaker said (emphasis mine):

  When you are absolutely sick and tired of exams and everything you want is to listen to music

One person corrected everything to all, and the non-native asked why they made the change. I’ve tried googling the answer for a while now, and read up a little on pronouns and determiners, but I still don’t know how to explain it.

So my question is: How do you explain why you’re supposed to use all instead of everything here?


texts:
I’m interested in understanding what is the unique identity of the preposition ‘on’ (if there is one) behind all its different uses.

So, I would be grateful if someone can explain me this or provide me with some bibliographic source.


texts: Is this a Grill door? how do you narrate if some one opens or closes it?

texts:
Is this a grill door? if not what do you call this type of doors?
Old elevator systems uses this door.
If a hinged door is opened, we use "push open", "pull open", "heave open", "dash open", "bang open" etc...
How will you narrate the operation of this type of door.


texts:
What is the difference between the two? Example:

  As the oldest member of the club, he should be the most responsible
  one.

  Being the oldest member of the club, he should be the most responsible
  one.

Do they mean the same? Or there's a subtle difference?


texts: I cannot figure out this sentence...need a little help

texts:
I came across this complex sentence taken from an article. I guess I am having hard time understanding it due to its complicated punctuation marks. I'd appreciate it if I could receive some help with this.

"...where C1.5S1 – the product of synthesis after grinding and burning; Q – quartz; C1.5S(1+y)H  – the products of hydration; ΔH – heat; x – molar content of quartz in binding material; y – molar content of reacted quartz in hydrated cement stone."


texts: Is there a term for words that indicate "direction"?

texts:
For example, words like "left", "right", "close to", "above", "across from" etc.  I've found on a lot of websites they're called "directional words" but I was wondering if there was a more technical term.  I'm thinking of it as a subset of prepositions, words that only indicate some kind of relative position.

EDIT: I think one possible term is spatial adposition.


texts:
What phrase or term may be used in semi-formal writing (e.g. a news article or opinion essay) to refer to someone whose area of study or research is women's studies?  I considered "women's studies person", "women's student", and "women studier" but, while amusing, none of these seem adequate.

Example usage:

  Women's studies person Jane Doe coined the term "mansplaining", arguing that explaining something while being a man is inherently sexist.


texts: Suppose somebody has wronged me, and I want them to make amends. Say I ask for an apology. What are my efforts called? Am I also making amends, or is there a word/phrase that describes the action of trying to get somebody else to make amends?


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "History teaches, never trust a Cecil"?

texts:
I've come across the phrase "History teaches, never trust a Cecil!" in different places (among others, in the Netflix series "The Crown" with regards to Lord Salisbury).

While the sentiment is easy to appreciate, given the illustrious history of the Cecils as courtiers, I feel that the shared form points to a literary origin of sorts. I just haven't been able to find it.

Could anybody please help?


texts: What adjective would you choose if you want to elevate a workaholic to a higher degree?

texts: I want to refer a hard-working person something far more than referring him a mere "workaholic". What adjective should I choose with "workaholic", if I want to refer him as someone working even harder than a workaholic? What adjective would be proper: "ardent workaholic", "unstoppable workaholic", "hyper workaholic", "super workaholic" or any other adjective with "workaholic"? I agree that "workaholic" is a negative term: used for a person who obsessively work for long hours and thereby neglects other aspects of his life. The context in which I want to use the word "workaholic" is a positive one: I want to heap praise on him. What if I refer him a "relentless taskmaster"? Is there any better alternative? Please suggest.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Appropriate dash to use when attributing a quotation

What kind of dash character should I use at the end of a famous saying to mark of the author? Should I use "en dash" or the normal and shorter "dash"? Or two "en dashes"?

  You are disoriented. Blackness swims toward you like a school of eels who have just seen something that eels like a lot. - Douglas Adams

  You are disoriented. Blackness swims toward you like a school of eels who have just seen something that eels like a lot. — Douglas Adams

  You are disoriented. Blackness swims toward you like a school of eels who have just seen something that eels like a lot. —— Douglas Adams


texts:
There are two sentences

She appears to be stupid.
She appears stupid.

What is the difference between the two sentences?


texts: Was or is or both? A line from the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales

texts:
"He was as fresh as is the month of May".

The above is the 94th line from 'The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue'.

Questions:

Why are 'was' and 'is' in the same line/sentence?
If it is taken as a sentence, what type of a sentence is it? Simple, Complex or Compound?
What figure of speech is applied in the line? Simile, Metaphor (perhaps other than the poetic licence)?

I hope someone may help me to figure them out. Thanks in advance.


texts:
Case 1)
A : That girl with Mike. who is she?
B: That would be his sister.
Case 2)
A : I saw a guy who has a british accent. And he goes to your school.
B : That would be Brad.
can "would" be used as a possibility ?


texts: Contrary-to-fact conditionals usage error

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “If I would have lost you” vs “If I had lost you”

My question is about a usage error involving contrary-to-fact conditionals. Instead of something like this:

If I knew French, I would go to Paris.
If I had known French, I would have gone to Paris.

People sometimes say/write something like this:

*If I would know French, I would go to Paris.
*If I would have known French, I would have gone to Paris.

My sense is that the second kind of error is more common than the first. Ten years ago, the error was committed by ESL students only, or at least that's how it seemed to me. But now I frequently encounter it in the language of native English speakers. Here are some examples of the error, taken from Google:

*"If I would set up the punishment you describe, I would at least grease or oil the hemp."
*"If they would have seen it they would have known it was not."
*"If I would have I would never have experienced the happiness that I have now."
*"I have learned a hard lesson but still continue to torture myself, mostly with the thought that if I would have pushed harder and more sincerely to be there for her, she probably would have had the baby and we'd be together."

I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this error and written about it (e.g. whether the error has become more common in recent years). I'd especially like to see discussion by real linguists (e.g. Language Log or Languagehat). At least I'd like to find some searchable phrase referring to the error (e.g., "dangling modifier").


texts: When do I need to have a preposition before whether?

texts:
I often see prepositions that come before whether and I feel that most of the time these prepositions are unnecessary.

I'm confused as to whether a preposition is required before whether.
I haven't decided on whether to put a preposition before whether.
I don't know about whether a preposition is required before whether.

The times where I feel a preposition is preferred involve a noun coming before whether.

There's no news as to whether Jane will show up to today's meeting.
We haven't received an update on whether the party will arrive on time.

Is a preposition ever required before whether? If so, what are the circumstances where one would have to use a preposition before whether?


texts:
How would the grammar of this construction be analysed? I am trying to identify and define the difference between using this and the regular way of saying the same thing.

Examples:

You took this place and you transformed it / You transformed this place
You took that song and butchered it / You butchered that song
You took my trust and abused it / You abused my trust
Alcohol took my life and destroyed it / Alcohol destroyed my life
The internet took society and transformed it / The Internet transformed society


texts: Is the phrase 'one pair of' considered a singular noun or a plural noun?

texts: Which is correct, "One pair of eagles build a nest." or, "One pair of eagles builds a nest."?


texts:
I am going to present you some news.
  I am going to present to you some news.

Are both these sentences correct? If they are both correct, then why in the first sentence is there no preposition (to) after a verb (present). I have come across many sentences in this format where to me it appears like a preposition should have been used but I do not know why it is like that.


texts:
When a court orders for taking control of a property or real estate by the government in exchange of money, what is the best word for the court action?

For example:

  The court maintains that his real estate shall be ______ by the time he pays his debts.

Apprehend, seize, detain ?


texts: Word for the feeling of perfectly describing a concept?

texts: Is there a word for the feeling (possibly of satisfaction) caused by describing a concept or idea with perfect clarity?


texts: Would "pentaminutely" reflect an event that occurs every five minutes?

texts:
Would the compound pentaminutely (from penta- and minutely) be correct in describing an event that occurs every five-minutes? Or is there a better word?

Edit: For clarity, I'm looking to name an object in a programming model so it is clear by the name what the object represents. I am trying to avoid writing a short novel to describe the name in the object model.


texts:
Here's what "cock-a-hoop" means -

  Cock-a-hoop

    : triumphantly pleased or boastful : happily exulting

    // Are agents
    and builders cock-a-hoop that more money is coming into the housing
    market through building societies and local authorities? — Audrey
    Powell

Basic research showed that it comes from the mid 17th century -

  : from the phrase set cock a hoop, of unknown origin, apparently
  denoting the action of turning on the tap and allowing liquor to flow
  (prior to a drinking session).

(From Lexico)

But etymonline.com doesn't have an entry for "cock-a-hoop".

Therefore, I would like to know more about the history and etymology of "cock-a-hoop".


texts: How should I phrase a question that must be answered with an ordinal number (e.g., the third prime)?

texts:
I want to make a question having an answer as follows:

  5 is the third prime number.

The bold part is the answer. How to phrase the question?


texts: Why is it "the UEFA board" not "the UEFA's board"?

texts:
As far as I know, the rule goes that 's is used to make possessive forms of abbreviations. But I've noticed some inconsistencies:

... as it was announced that the Uefa's Executive Committee had overwhelmingly voted to award...

...a member of the UEFA's HatTrick Committee.

vs:

Women to be represented on the UEFA board for the first time.

The UEFA board decided to introduce a new...

The decision was made by the UEFA executive committee at a meeting in Nyon.

The Uefa Executive Committee decided to amend...

All the above come from .uk sites, the last one from thetimes.co.uk. Can anybody provide some explanation, please?


texts: How is the phrasal verb stand by used in a sentence? It should convey the meaning, "to be available and ready to act if needed or called upon".


texts: 'Delays expected until November'; what ought they to say instead?

texts:
Where there are major roadworks on British roads you often see signs which say something like Delays expected until November. Everyone knows what it means i.e. that between now and November, if you use this piece of road you can expect delays.

However the wording suggests that if it is now only July, that you could be sitting in crawling traffic for four months. It just sounds ridiculous and there ought to be a better form of words which could be used.

How could the wording be improved to encapsulate the proper meaning more succinctly?


texts: What is the blurring of pixels for fidelity called?

texts:
In most computer graphic design, when detailed images are drawn at the pixel-level the pixels are blurred with those next to them to make the border look more natural and less pixelated. I know in some things such as text rendering this is called 'anti-aliasing', you can see an example of what I'm talking about in one of the first diagrams on the Wikipedia article.

The term 'anti-aliasing' and 'aliasing' seems to refer to more than just blurring pixels to produce a more realistic image though.

In the game Lethal League, this technique is not used so as to give the graphics an interesting aesthetic, where the art seems particularly pixelated even though the pixels are no bigger than normal (you can see what I mean here on the Lethal League website)

So, is there a name for this technique used to make lines look more like lines and borders look less pixelated etc.? I don't think 'anti-aliasing' is the term I'm looking for as sometimes it's not used to avoid an 'alias', as seen in the Lethal League art where it is specifically avoided to produce a specific aesthetic.

You would use the word like "Most images are/use [word] to make them look less pixelated" or "Some graphic designers avoid using [word] to create a pixel-art aesthetic" or something like that.

EDIT:

Just to clarify why I didn't want to use the term anti-aliasing: this term is used for the removal of aliasing, where the jagged edges are an unintentional and unfaithful representation of what you are trying to make an image of. This is why I gave the Lethal League example, there's no aliasing there as it's an intentional aesthetic. So the real question I was trying to ask is that if someone were to blur the lines on a piece of pixel art to make it more realistic, what would that be called? It's not anti-aliasing as the pixelisation was intentional, aliasing is caused by the computer attempting to pixelise something that's not pixelised. I'm simply looking for the word to describe blurring the lines rather than removing computer-generated unwanted aliasing.


texts: Is this construction correct? "Today is [(pro)noun] [gerund]"

texts:
"Today is [(pro)noun] [gerund]"

Context: Some time ago, my friend and I were messaging each other and then I used this construction. He immediately said that my sentence should've been "Today [(pro)noun] is [present participle]". I replied saying that that construction changes the meaning I originally intended. I said that "Today" should be the subject, not the adverb. Then there was a back and forth of arguments. I then made up an instance in restaurant where there will be a guest singer. A manager says "Today is Madonna singing". That didn't work either. I then told him to think of it like a list (yesterday was x x-ing, today is x x-ing, tomorrow will be x x-ing). I told him to also think of "Madonna singing" as a noun phrase, not noun + verb. He asked some of his friends too and none of them have heard of this construction.

So, is this construction something that exists or is it something I made up? I don't think I made it up because I have a definite feeling I picked it up from somewhere and I have kept it because I think it's correct.

Edit 1: Another example I thought of is "Tomorrow will be him doing it" (which seems correct to me).

Edit 2: Thanks to everyone that answered! (I am not going to put the tick mark on anyone because many people helped; putting it on only one person would be unfair).