texts: Word for someone seeming deep and intelligent, but not really being that

texts:
What is the word for someone trying to seem/be deep and intelligent, but really they are shallow, and not at all being insightful.

Pedant is about rules, so that is disqualified, the closest I could find is pseudointellectual, but that feels like cheating and clumsy as it is a simple compound word.


texts: In this sentence is it "you and me" or "you and I"?

texts:
I tried reading online articles about this but I'm still not understanding when it is correct.

The sentence:

  "Logic is not for people like you and me."

Is this accurate and in which context could this change to "you and I"?

If the word "logic" was replaced by an adjective would that change anything?


texts: How widely-accepted is "What do you got?" to Americans?

texts:
Watching A Stranger Among Us, I noticed that Melanie Griffith twice asked

"What do you got?"

I recognise this as an American construction which sounds strange to me — Brits invariably say either "What have you got?" or "What do you have?". But I'd be interested to know if it's considered "normal" by most/all Americans, or if it's regionally or otherwise restricted.


texts: Name and rules of this construction: "A somber man privately, Johnson had an acid humor."

texts:
I'm reading a book right now that in my opinion overuses a certain construct. It's used so much that it distracts from the content.

Some examples:

  Eccentric and egotistical, Berkeley was not so much interested in dance steps as he was in camera movement.

And:

  A somber man privately, Johnson had an acid humor, quite different at the dinner table … from what reached the screen.

And:

  Solely a screen actor, Gary Cooper mastered his craft so that he knew exactly how to react for the camera.

1. Is there a term for this construct?

I'm thinking maybe it's some kind of topicalized apposition? So you could start with

  Gary Cooper, solely a screen actor, mastered his craft so that he knew exactly how to react for the camera.

and then pull the appositive phrase to the front to make the sentence interesting:

  Solely a screen actor, Gary Cooper mastered his craft so that he knew exactly how to react for the camera.

2. What is the relation between the phrases?

There does seem to be some relationship between the phrases in the particular constructs I quoted: Johnson's somberness and acid humor obviously contrast one another; Cooper's mastered the specific craft of the screen actor; I suppose Berkeley's eccentricity accounts for his interests. That last one's less clear to me.

But is this kind of relationship a requirement? Say I combine two phrases:

  A big man, John Doe loved the color yellow.

Could that just be one way of expressing two unrelated things in one sentence, or would the reader expect them to have a bearing on each other?

I'm curious about the "rules" (whether written down somewhere, or the conventional usage, or your intuitions) of the relationship between the phrases in this construct.


texts: Which is correct "women's clothing" or "womens clothing"?

texts:
When I typed the search into Google most of the responses were websites selling clothing and the ratio of womens versus women's was about 1:1. Searching for mens versus men's and the version with apostrophes appears almost 90% of the time. For boys versus boy's or girls versus girl's it is a 3:2 ratio in favor of no apostrophes.

So there's a general trend for leaving the apostrophe out. But "womens" looks wrong.

I suppose the same question applies to public bathrooms as well. Is the women's room or the womens room?


texts: I have received letters for years, and some of the most common things in letters are post-scripts, however, there are also these funny little "N.B." which obviously do not stand for Post Script. What are these letters and how are they used?


texts: Multiple nouns modified by a single adjective phrase -- singular or plural?

texts:
I have changed some of the specifics of the following, as technically I'm not allowed to disclose any details of the book I am working on.
I am editing a book and have come across the following sentence:
"The Urban Gothic: A Good Life CD and book are available from channel4.com."
To be clear, the CD and the book are products sold separately; however, the CD is an audio recording of the text of the book, which is itself an adaptation of a single, standalone work.
Should the nouns 'CD' and 'book' be plural: 'DVDs' and 'books'? Or am I missing another solution to render this sentence grammatical? Or is it grammatical already?
I feel like this is an embarrassingly simple question, but for the life of me I can't figure it out. Thank you for your help.


texts:
I was reading an English version of The Romance of Three Kingdoms (if anyone cares), and I came across this phrase:

I will be the death of his yet!

I have no clue about what this means. It might be an idiom or 'yet' has a rare meaning. I imagined it could be a noun but dictionaries only show 'yet' as adverb or conjunction. Any idea of what it is?
Edit: Thanks, KillingTime. If anyone reads this, it was a typo, 'him' instead of 'his', so the phrase is

'I will be the death of him yet'

, which should mean 'I will ruin his life from now on'.


texts: Use of "ever" instead of "more and more"

texts:
I wonder if I can use "ever" in place of "more and more".
For example, do the following two sentences have the same meaning?

  Software is getting more and more complex.
  Software is getting ever complex.


texts: "It is bad practice ..." vs. "It is a bad practice ..."

texts:
"At work, it is bad practice to go to lunch early."
  "At work, it is a bad practice to go to lunch early."

The noun "practice" is both countable and uncountable.  So, could both sentences be usable?


texts: Is there a word for anti - or complete lack of political beliefs?

texts:
edit
Basically, I'm trying to come up with a name for a new motorcycle club. I've been in others before and they seem to get ruined by politics and unnecessary alliances. I am hoping that there's a term (even if its Latin or something) that doesnt sound awful and describes a group of people who have no interest in politics or alliances or similar
end of edit

I'm looking for a word that describes someone or a group of people who either have an anti-political viewpoint or a complete disbelief in the workings of common politics. Perhaps a bit like an atheist with regards to religion.


texts:
Option 1- I am presently in Singapore on a Business Visa and will be returning to India on 9th May.

Option 2 - I am in Singapore on a Business Visa these days and will be returning to India on 9th May

My original sentence was option 2 but one of the answers to similar questions suggested the usage of "presently" which looked more logical.

What will the right place for these days in option 2?


texts: Name for phrase of words in increasing significance

texts: I'm looking at the phrase "THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY". The thing I'm trying to think of is the joke format where you list a bunch of things and then change the last word for humorous effect. I believe that this phrase fits the same format, as "ugly" can be replaced with something absurd. The reason I need the name for this is so I can articulate the significance of the phrase in an infographic.


texts:
What’s the proper name for the gadget used in salons to wash hair?  Picture a comb with a hose on it, maybe a strap for the hand.  Water comes out very gently across the face, not really a spray at all.

If it doesn’t have a distinct term in the industry, what would be a good name for it?

To clarify: suppose a spa has several “regular” un-dockable shower heads (e.g. Waterpick Elite) and one like I described. What does a word-concious person call the special one?

It doesn’t (in normal use) spray. Rather, the water runs gently (ooze, soak, seep).


texts: Is this punctuation correct? "Montana authors include:; John Brown, Mary Lamb..."

texts:
I am writing a press release, and I am stumped as to what punctuation I use for listing numerous names. The following is a sample.

  Montana authors include:; John Brown, Mary Lamb, Susie Sunshine, Tom Foolery, Bud Wiser, etc.

What punctuation is correct after the word include?


texts: When I want to describe the amount of water one can hold in a cup, I might describe it as  a "cupfull of water." Is is grammatically valid to extend this to other kinds of containers, like for example "a screenfull of text"?


texts:
I heard this sentence in a film:

  We are one step closer to ending this.

I do not know why we have to use "ending" instead of "end".

Is "Step to" a phrasal verb?


texts: How is she to describe how she likes him, when he doesn't know?

texts:
There's a friend of mine—let's call her Lily—and a guy—David. Lily told me that she feels very happy each time she meets, talks, plays games, dines (and so on) with David. I guess she's falling in love. But she is very perplexed these days, because she likes him, but can't be sure—wants to but is afraid to make sure—whether David likes her or not. So she has decided to write something about that emotion, rather than telling David directly (thus prompting him to say "yes, I like you too").

Here is my question—for what perplexes her has also perplexed me:

In what Literary and Artistic way can she describe that emotion?


texts: It's embarrassing for her, having me for a brother

texts: I found this sentence on a book. As I feel the part, 'having me for a brother' describes the pronoun, 'it', not 'she'. Shouldn't the sentence start with 'she'?


texts:
As a non-native reader, I stumbled upon the meaning of "get a serious reaming" and it seemed to be an idiomatic expression for being punished. At least the first Google matches seem to suggest this.

Is this the whole truth, or does this idiom implicate something important besides it?


texts: What is the meaning of 'this is not here'?

texts: What is the meaning of the phrase "this is not here"? I saw this on a door in a John Lennon video and wonder if this is a Zen phrase or specific English usage.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Can a hyphen be used without anything on the right side?

I'm trying to discuss types of semiconductor, there is P-type and N-type. Assuming my hyphenation is correct, should it be 'p- and n-type' or just 'p and n-type'?


texts:
In Douglas Adams' "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe," there is a passage about tenses. The author "explains" that the biggest problem with time travel is, in fact, the difficulties travelers have with using the correct tense when they wish to describe anything. I apologize in advance for the length of the quote.

  The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is one of the most
  extraordinary ventures in the entire history of catering. It is built
  on the fragmented remains of an eventually ruined planet which is
  (wioll haven be) enclosed in a vast time bubble and projected forward
  in time to the precise moment of the End of the Universe. This is,
  many would say, impossible. In it, guests take (willan on-take) their
  places at table and eat (willan on-eat) sumptuous meals whilst
  watching (willing watchen) the whole of creation explode around them.
  This is, many would say, equally impossible. You can arrive (mayan
  arivan on-when) for any sitting you like without prior (late
  fore-when) reservation because you can book retrospectively, as it
  were when you return to your own time. (you can have on-book haventa
  forewhen presooning returningwenta retrohome.) This is, many would now
  insist, absolutely impossible. At the Restaurant you can meet and dine
  with (mayan meetan con with dinan on when) a fascinating cross-section
  of the entire population of space and time. This, it can be explained
  patiently, is also impossible.

What language (or whatever) is being parodied here? How exactly does "meet and dine" become "mayan meetan con with dinan on when"? What is the author's method?


texts: What part of speech is "know" in "let us know"?

texts:
What part of speech is "know" in:

  Let us know.

"You" is the implied subject, "let" is the verb, and "us" is the indirect object.

But I'm confused about "know" - what is its grammatical function in this sentence?


texts: Is saying the Queen grew up in a "council house" a very dry joke?

texts:
In this CBC article from before the Brexit, they discuss what view Queen Elizabeth II might have of Brexit, stating,

  But that hasn't stopped some from speculating how the Queen would vote. "As an elderly woman who didn't study at university and lived in a council house, she is in a demographic more likely in which to leave … I doubt we'll ever really know for sure," [pollster Joe] Twyman said. (emphasis added)

Wikipedia describes a "coucil house" as

  A council house is a form of public or social housing built by local municipalities in the United Kingdom and Ireland

My understanding is that the royal family lives in Buckingham Palace, is saying she lived in a council house a reference to that, just being underplayed? Wikipedia has very little on her early life, so maybe I just don't know enough about the Queen.


texts: Webster says that the word "slave" goes back to the word "Slav", as the early slaves in Europe were all from among Slavs. Is this etymology generally accepted, or are there some other theories?


texts:
"douche" means shower, and "gauche" means awkward, and lacking social experience or grace.

Does "-che" in "douche" and "gauche" have meaning?


texts: “I’d like a refund ____ something”: Which preposition most normally connects "refund" to another noun?

texts:
Which prepositions normally collocate with “a refund  ____  something” ? For example, if you were to return a product you purchased from somewhere, would you ask for:

a refund on the product
a refund against the product

Or would you use something else than either of those two?


texts: Why was gerund not using in this sentence as parallel balance?

texts:
In the following sentence, why the author uses 'stole' and 'stood' instead of 'stealing' and 'standing', since the author use 'seeing' the gerund at the second clause.

An elderly seaman came to the gate and paused irresolute, then seeing all was quiet, stole cautiously on to the jetty, and stood for some time gazing curiously down on the deck of the billyboy Mary Ann lying alongside.


texts: "I don't bother to do" vs "I don't bother doing"

texts:
Which one of these sentences is correct?

  I don't bother to study.
  I don't bother studying.


texts: Should "artifact" be plural in this sentence?

texts:
I asked someone to review this sentence and they said that the word artifact should be plural:

  We interact with any number and variety of artifact in our daily lives....

I can see where the word number would cause it to be plural, I accept their rationale for why it should be plural, but for some reason it strikes me better as singular. How incorrect am I? What are the reasons?


texts: Does the part of the sentence that comes after "support"- to enable then ... - refers to "support" or it refers to the whole sentence?

texts: This chapter also discusses the role of the refuge workers, the approach they took to their work and their needs for support to enable then to work effectively with women in a stressed and pressurized environment.


texts: Is there a one-word adjective for "needs moderation"?

texts:
When forum posts get flagged for some of the several reasons (offensive, copyright violation, etc.",) and are waiting for a moderator to look at them, they are [adjective].

I'm not looking for "offensive," I'm looking for something like "moderation-queued."

The word will be in a sentence describing a system behavior: "Given an offending post, it is marked as ..."


texts: Word for "An event being self perpetrating in the absence of initial cause"?

texts:
Basically, something causes something else and persists even after the original cause is removed.

Google has turned up nothing.


texts: I found an unusual usage of adj, please tell me how it works

texts:
Following the terror attacks in London on July 7, 2005, the then Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted those responsible were motivated by an "evil ideology," ...

From CNN. It uses those responsible; I searched on the Internet and found out that responsible is not a noun but an adjective. Can anybody tell me how to use such an expression?


texts:
What is the meaning of significata?

I'm a native English speaker who feels a little silly asking this, but for some reason I can't find it in any dictionary.

I'm guessing it's a (pluralized) synonym for signifier in a signifier-signified relationship, but I'm reading a complicated text so I want to make sure.

"The Obvious Aspects of Ritual". Roy Rappaport. (1979) Ecology, Meaning, and Religion

  While some words may have places in both ordinary and liturgical language, there are important differences between litrugical signs, even when they are words, and the words of ordinary discourse. ...[L]iturgical symbols are likely to be "multivocalic," that is, they have a number of significata and ... these significata are likely to have bipolar distribution.


texts: A more appropriate word for feeling "high"?

texts:
What is a more formal or appropriate word to replace the word high when writing "feeling high"?
By feeling "high", I don't mean the person has to be smoking weed or taking crack. So the person is not in a trance, feeling dizzy or feeling psychedelic. He is perfectly healthy.

For example, a person dancing in a club, jamming on his guitar, having lots of fun, etc, he could say he is feeling "high".

But the word "high" sounds colloquial. What is a better word to replace feeling "high" in this context for writing?


texts:
My question is about usage of perfect infinitives with main verbs e.g.

  I would like to have lived in the 13th century.

  She was going to have worked in her mother's business, but decided
  instead to continue her studies.

It's particularly the second sentence that I don't understand. How does it differ from the following?

  She was going to work in her mother's business, but decided instead to continue her studies.

PS: Are these forms actually used in speech? They seem quite unnecessarily long and cumbersome to be used in ordinary everyday conversation.


texts: I wonder if "ape" is the generic, more general term than "monkey". Can one say that all primates (including monkeys) except lemurs, humans and some other few species are apes?


texts: When listing features of something, do I need to use "it" before "has"?

texts:
For example:

The smartphone is blue, small, lightweight, (it) has three buttons, two cameras...

Is the "it" relevant? Can I omit it?


texts:
What are some synonyms for 'the extent to which'?

E.g. I want to say:

  The extent to which electoral fraud occurred will affect the
  validity of the result.

But having used 'the extent to which' about a dozen times in my essay it would be good if there were some alternatives I can use. However, apart from 'the degree to which' I can't think of any similar expressions.


texts: Is it appropriate to omit some part of a sentence in scholarly writing like this?

texts:
It is tempting to suppose that the traditional mountaineer had a civilizing sense of proportion that is lost on his modern counterparts. Tempting, but perilous, I think. Less perilous,I hope, to suggest that a sense of proportion is characteristic of the best mountaineer of every epoch.(Is mountaineering a sport? in Philosophy and Sport, ed. by Anthony O'Hear)

The last sentence in this paragraph, obviously, is not a complete sentence, is it appropriate to omit some part of s sentence in scholarly writing like this?


texts: Linking verbs with passive voice, or not?

texts:
Here I am again.

Well, cutting to the chase: I was reading about linking verbs and saw an example: Opportunity is missed by most people, so one question arose: Are all statements in passive voice used with complements?

Check it:

I sent a letter
A letter was sent

In the first example, send is a transitive verb taking a direct object (letter).

In the second example, was is a linking verb, and sent is acting as an adjective.

So, I realized that no passive voice can be used with a direct object, does it mean that they are always used with subject complements, is it right?


texts: A word to describe the relationship between a child and its parent?

texts:
I'm keeping a list of relationships between children and their parents:

{
  child A -> parent A,
  child B -> parent B,
  ...,
}

I want to find a word that describes the relationship between a child and its parent. In plural, the word could be used to describe the list itself.

For context, the children and parents in question are not humans, or even living things. The relationships are figurative, but I think it is safe to ignore that distinction.

Here are some thoughts I've had so far:

A fraternal relationship (i.e. a relationship between siblings) could be described as a "fraternity".
The relationship between two married people is often described as a "marriage".
If a person is a dependent on someone (say financially dependent on their parent) you might declare that relationship a "dependence".

The ideal word will allude to the fact that the children are on the left side of the list, and the parents are on the right side.


texts: what is the slang word for rich but uneducated people? especially those who live in rural areas and who like to show off?

texts: What is the slang word for rich but uneducated people, especially those who live in rural areas and always like to show off?


texts: Explain the choice of the verb "dip" in "dip your lights"

texts:
Does the phrase "dip your lights" mean to turn them off or something else? Why is the word dip used?

Quote:

  If you drive with your headlights on full beam in fog, the light will just reflect back on you. Dip your lights — it will be much easier to see.


texts: We say "person responsible", so would we also say "site responsible"?

texts:
A responsible person is someone who acts in a responsible manner, and the person responsible is the person whose job it is to deal with something.
What if I want to say that a particular company site or location is responsible for something? Would it be "site responsible", or is "responsible site" more natural in this case?
This is for the title of a field in a form, so there's no other text before or after "site responsible".
Thanks!


texts: Is there a name for words like "hearsay"

texts: This is obviously a combination word, more so than a contraction, of two verbs, and the definition is almost on point for when you put the definitions of the component  verbs together.  Almost.  One could almost intuit the definition.  Another word like this is skiptrace. So is there a word for this type of word, and are there more examples?


texts:
I will help you when you grow up

Which sentences are correct? (I think the 1. is the correct one in a grammatical sense. The second may not be the best version, yet I have seen/heard this construction many times already.)

1. She said that she would help him when he grew up

2. She said that she would help him when he grows up

By the way is it common to report a speech using the present perfect? She has said that vs She said that


texts: Are "smith" and "blacksmith" synonymous?

texts:
Dictionary.com says

  noun
  1. a worker in metal.
  2. a blacksmith.

Does this mean that they are the same?


texts:
The difference between the meanings of the word "pavement" in British and American English is quite stark: in British English it usually means sidewalk, whereas in American English it usually refers to the asphalt on the road.

Since I learned of this difference, I've always imagined it could be dangerous in a peculiar emergency. For example, an American family adopts a British child, and one day the child is walking on the street and there's a car coming. His parents yell "Get off the pavement!" and he stands there confused. "But I'm not on the pavement," he thinks, and while pondering this he gets hit by the car.

Is there any example in literature where something like this is described?

I've added the ODO definition of pavement:

  British

  1A raised paved or asphalted path for pedestrians at the side of a
  road. ‘he fell and hit his head on the pavement’

  as modifier ‘a pavement cafe’

  1.1 Any paved area or surface. ‘the pavements and columns of these ancient ruins provided the material for more recent structures’

  1.2 North American [mass noun]

  The hard surface of a road or street. ...

For perhaps a better example (from the comments), we could imagine an American tourist about to get hit by a car that for some reason is on the sidewalk in London, and someone shouts at them something appropriate; the equivalent of "Watch out, there's a car on the pavement!" And the American is not on the pavement as far as they are concerned, so they figure they don't need to worry about the car and they wonder instead why someone should be urgently pointing out something commonplace like that.


texts:
Is there any pattern to predict whether to use -ant or -ent, in words such as those below?

abundant / attendant / arrogant VS abhorrent / absorbent / dependent

I find -ent seems to be more common... Some associate -ant with noun and -ent with adjective, but that does not always hold.


texts:
What's the different between would and will? For example:

  How would it be?
  How will it be?

When should I use one vs the other?


texts: There is a phrase in Daddy-Long-Legs: "in a whirl of excitement". I searched for its meaning but I could not find something precise for that. Please let me know what does exactly that mean?


texts: Can I Switch from "it" to "he" or "she" when referring to an animal in a story?

texts:
This one is a question I can't seem to find an answer for. I do have a friend, a professional editor, who told me she saw no problem with me switching from "it" to "he" or "she" when referring to an animal in the situation I'm about to lay out, but I'd like to know if others feel the same way.

Here's my dilemma. I am writing a novel in which the main character has a cat. Its name is immediately known and I refer to it as "he" throughout the book. However, later in the book, my main character sees a horse in a pasture he decides he wants. I refer to it as "it" because he doesn't know the gender of the horse and there is no reference to its gender or name until later. Fast forward, and my main character has learned the horse is male and I reveal its name. Later, he buys the horse and often the horse's name is referenced in the book.

My question is this: Is it okay to refer to a particular animal as "it" and later switch to "he" or "she" once the gender is known, especially when the name is used at that point? Referring to an animal, especially one that is a pet, as "it" once the name is revealed feels very unnatural to me. I personally feel that it's okay to switch the pronouns once there is more known about the animal.

Here's a sample of what I'm talking about:

(My character sees the horse for the first time)

  The blue roan stood out against the backdrop of snow like a moving painting, its mane and tail long and flowing like heavy strokes from a paintbrush.

Later, the horse's name is known (Braveheart):

  Now, with the warmer weather, Braveheart spent most of his time in the pasture.

Your input is much appreciated! Thank you!


texts: Is there any subtle difference between "to study" and "to learn"?

texts: I don't know how to phrase my question better, but I just want to know if there will be any little difference if I directly replace one with the other.


texts:
Glucose lowering agents consist of multiple subcategories of drugs, including metformin, DPP-4 inhibitors, and insulin and analogues.

My question is how should I write a list with an "and" in one of the items? in this example: is "and 'insulin and analogues'" right?


texts: Comparison between to have the good luck "of getting" and "to get" (a thing)?

texts:
I am not a native speaker of English and it's a little confusing for me to differentiate between phrases of the type:

  I had the good fortune / hap of getting ...

versus

  I had the good fortune / hap to get ...

and their equivalent - e.g. "I was fortunate ...", "I had the stroke of luck ...".

I am used to perceive the gerund form as indicating a prolonged experience, and the to+inf form - general events or events which occur only once; however, I'm not sure whether this is the case here. For example, I've heard before people saying:

  Yesterday I had the fortune of meeting SB.

which is clearly an once-occurring event, or:

  I was lucky to sit next to SB (during my flight to London).

which is a prolonged event.

So I'd like to ask what's the rule in the situations above, if there is one?

PS The interpretation that I gave above is based on analogy with the phrase:

  I had the pleasure to do something (once) / of doing something (for a period of time).


texts: Is there a word that means "standard of activation" or "trigger condition"?

texts:
Imagine you want to promote a certain behaviour in your offspring, say, to keep their room tidy. So, you set the following rule, (foolishly) thinking it will get the result you want: if I cannot see the floor in your room, you're grounded (i.e., the punishment only triggers if the room gets so messy you cannot see the floor).

Obviously there's quite a bit of mess to be made without reaching that extreme, so, we want too say that the rule is too lax. However, the perspective I want to highlight is that the "trigger" or "conditions for activation" of the punishment (what has to happen for it to come into effect) is too restrictive: that many legitimate cases of untidy rooms need to be punished/covered by the rule, if we want to get a desired result. We want the rule to apply/address/remedy more cases than it currently does.

A sample sentence would be: "This punishment, while potentially useful, is burdened with an overly restrictive standard of activation/trigger condition: it fails to apply in many cases where we'd like it to do some work."

After re-reading, I'm wondering whether "trigger" alone works well here? If so, is it the best word?

(I'm setting aside the positive/negative incentive discussion, since it's tangential...)


texts: What is the determiner in the phrase "Plenty of my books are rarities"?

texts:
I could never get a grasp on what is and what isn't a determiner in some cases in English. Grammar books often contain contradicting explanations.

For example, based on the Graeme Kennedy book "Structure and Meaning in English: A Guide for Teachers", plenty of my is the determiner. Chapter 4.3.1.4 there says that plenty of is the phrasal quantifier part of the determiner.

But what if I generalize the phrase, and consider this one: Plenty of my books and of my magazines are rarities ?

Obviously, plenty of is split here, and it isn't really a separate instance of the phrasal quantifier. I would say, the word plenty is the noun, and of X is some modifier. But these two phrases are directly related by generalization, and should fall under the same pattern.

So is Graeme Kennedy's classification wrong? Are there any books that describe determiners more precisely?

And is there really a determiner in this phrase?


texts:
I was wondering what is the difference between pent and pent up.
Because google translate different explanation and translation to both of them i was wondering if there is any difference considering that they are both adjectives
``.


texts: What's the difference between heavyset and heavy set?

texts:
Adjective: heavyset or heavy set? With or without a seperator?

E.g. a heavy set male, or a heavyset male?

Could I say a male is heavy set? (space included)


texts: What's the difference between "on the contrary" and "in contrast"

texts: Is there any difference between these two phrases? Is there any context in which we only can use one rather than the other?


texts:
Having seen one sentence in "Practical English Usage" by M.Swan (a very popular grammar book), I was really puzzled.

  I waited until the rain had stopped.

The past perfect is generally used to show that one past action was completed before the other one, but here, trying to analyze the sentence, we can't say that first the rain stopped and then she waited. I can't grasp the use of using the past perfect in this sentence.

Why does this sentence use the past perfect?


texts: Motorcycles, bikes, motorbikes, mopeds, motorcyclists, bikers, and motorbikers in AE

texts:
As far as I know, "motorcycle" is the formal term -- and "bike" the informal one --  for a powered two (and occasionally three) wheeled vehicle resembling a bike but larger, heavier, and a heap more powerful, chiefly for one rider but sometimes having two saddles and a sidecar for passengers.
Besides, motorcycle riders are referred to fornally as "motorcyclists", and informally as "bikers".
Now, "motorbike" is the generic term for a lightweight, less powerful motorcycle with a smaller frame.
The thing is " motorbike" can both designate a lightweight motorbike (which I roughly equate with a dirt or pit bike stylewise), and also a pedal bicycle propelled by an attached motor (which, I guess, looks more or less like a moped).
Hence my question: how does what you Americans call a motorbike differ from a dirt (or pit) bike style vehicle, and from a moped?
Also, if "motorcyclist" and "biker" are both specific terms to refer to a motorcycle rider, what do you call someone that rides a motorbike? A motorbiker, or something else?

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/motorcycle
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/motorbike
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/minibike
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/moped


texts: A word or expression for "behaving badly because he wants her to hate him”

texts:
Sometimes we deliberately behave badly just to make the other person hate us because it will benefit the other person.
Example: a boyfriend has some health problem and knows that he can't continue his life with her with his bad health. Then he behaves like he is not loving his girlfriend because she has to live a happy life with another.
I need a phrase or expression for behaving so.


texts: "The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh would like to be remembered to you." - what does that mean?

texts:
What does "would like to be remembered to you" mean in the statement: ""The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh would like to be remembered to you." ?

This was later released by the Royal Household to a member of the public who was injured in the accident also involving Prince Philip's vehicle.

I should point out that my question is:

not to pass judgement or assign fault to any party in the accident
not to pass judgement on a person's fitness to drive or required use safety facilities whilst driving
not to debate the need for the Royal Family. From a personal perspective I'm not opposed to them. Sources elsewhere on the internet can do a much better job than myself to point out how the UK benefits from having a Royal Family.

My question is:

To understand the meaning of the phrase: "would like to be remembered to you.".

I'm not the only one to observe the peculiar grammar as well to not understand what the message was saying. You'll find articles on this but I've not found one that disects the meaning, hence posting the question here.


texts:
Are there any words that mean "of or relating to songs"?

I can think of audio, which means relating to any sound, or melodic, which is relating to just the melody within a song, but nothing about songs in general or musical compositions in general.

For example, I want to say

  This song is the ___ equivalent of Donald Trump - superficially attractive, but with no depth, and with disastrous consequences if it wins.


texts:
I'm taking an English academic writing course. My teacher recommended using today as it is more accepted compared to nowadays. I asked her if this is accepted in American English (she's from US) or in general. She said in general. Then I asked her why it was recommended. Her reasoning was:

  When you publish an article your audience will be the whole world and not everyone in this world is a native English speaker, so it is recommended to use simple English.

Is replacing nowadays by today really recommended? I'm looking for a source that can prove or disprove the above statement. I am a non-native English speaker myself, trying to learn English from different sources.


texts:
For example, what would it be defined if used in this sentence:

  We share the passion in reading fantasy adventure book series.

Also, should in be replaced with of?


texts:
What is meaning of the phrase "to name a few" in below sentence:

  Our clients include Commonwealth Bank, Lexus, Tourism Australia to name a few

I rarely see this phrase, so I think there's an alternative for its meaning. Could some one can show me one?


texts:
A recent ELL question contains a catchphrase which is utterly novel to me.

  Boys rule, girls drool

Wanting to know more, I searched online and found a female variant.

  Girls rule and boys drool

The meaning here, interestingly, appears to be quite different. Girls who are physically attractive  make boys drool because their mouths, figuratively speaking, are open in admiration.

Not being American and not remembering if this slogan was used in the UK during the 1970s or 80s,  I posted a comment asking @James K which version was the older: the boys rule or girls rule.

Unfortunately, I never got a reply, all the comments were swiftly deleted, so here I am asking on EL&U.

The original slogan, from what I could gather, appears to be the "girls rule". The earliest instance in print I found was October 1997 from the magazine American Motorcyclist Oct 1997

  Fifteen-year-old Stephanie “Stevie” Welch is waiting while her father readies her Yamaha YZ125. A large banner spanning the front of her family's race transporter takes a good-natured jab at her male competition: “#43, Stevie Welch–Girls Rule, Boys Drool.”

Which slogan came first: "Girls rule, the boys drool" or "Boys rule, the girls drool"? What is its origins?
Does inverting the gender change the meaning significantly?
Is either one used in the UK or in Australia?


texts: What's the origin of the expression "peanut gallery"? When was it first used? I know there is a similar expression in Spanish "gallinero", I wonder if they are equivalent.


texts: What is the right word for an "instance" of a course?

texts: I am trying to say that a course has been run two times and I have taught in it on both occasions, but I want to say it as "I taught in two ____s of the course." "Instances" sounds weird and too generic to me and I feel like I am having a mind-blank and there is already a proper word for this. If I just said "I taught in the course two times" it sounds like I am saying I just taught two lessons. If I say "I taught the course two times" it sounds like I taught the whole course, but I was in fact only one of the instructors.


texts: Where does the name "Workshop" come from?

texts:
I have searched, found no answers, but why is a workshop called a workshop?

In academia, workshops are being held where you learn stuff and calculate stuff. It has nothing to do with a shop (where you buy stuff) and not so much work IMO. So why workshop?


texts: Word for a thing with positive and negative consequences

texts: What word can I use for a thing with positive and negative consequences? For example, taking a cab rather than driving has its advantages and disadvantages.


texts: Can "as much as..." be used instead of "no matter how much..."?

texts:
For example, is it correct to use

As much as they tighten the shackles, we will never surrender.

instead of

No matter how much they tighten the shackles, we will never surrender.

and if it is not correct, is there another alternative to “No matter how much…” ?


texts: What's the term for a person who eats at a restaurant?

texts:
I'm not a native speaker and I'm trying to find a very specific term for a person who eats at a restaurant (from the owner's perspective).

In my native language, there's a word for 'client' and another word that exclusively means 'person who eats at a restaurant.' 'Customer' and 'client' came to mind, but they don't seem to fit, as they're broad terms (they can refer to multiple products / services, not just restaurants).

I already know of the term 'diner.' But it may also refer to a location, not just a person.

Is there any other term I could use? I want the term to be very formal and I don't know if 'diner' is formal / professional / clear enough.


texts: "Not only should I" in declarative sentence

texts:
There is a phrase "Not only should I succeed but others should fail". And I saw it many times in similar structures that the order of words "should I" are as if they were in a questioning sentence. (In a declarative sentence the order is "I should")

Can anyone give me an explanation why that is?


texts: I'm creating a web page (intranet) where administrators can add customers to scheduled "follow-ups" by phone (we'll call them in the future and ask how it goes). So I used google translate and the web to find a good word for my menu tab. When using Google Translate I got "follow-ups" as a suggestion. This don't seem appropiate enough to me, so is there synonyms or better word for my purpose? Or is it the right word?


texts:
In the classic C++ book Modern C++ Design, I come across such statements:

  You have the round-trip problem, the not-enough-code-worth-generating problem, the inflexible-generator problem, the inscrutable-generated-code problem

What does it mean by "the round-trip problem"?


texts: What is preferable way to say the phrase "changeble weather"?

texts: I'd like to know what is the best way to express the situation when the weather changes very often  in American English and in British English. For example: "The weather is changeble/irregular/fluid/capricious in spring here."


texts: How to avoid repeating a word already contained in "RAID"?

texts:
I was recently answering a question on Super User about RAID. In this context RAID means "redundant array of independent (or inexpensive) disks". I wanted to point out to fellow user that he should make sure that computer is set to boot from the array.

I used syntagma "RAID set" but I'm not sure if it fits. I felt that the best way to say what I wanted would be to use "RAID array" but then we have the array array problem.

I've seen that the automated teller machine machine problem is solved by simply dropping the second machine, but here I also had RAID card so using just RAID wouldn't work and I wanted to avoid just saying array because I think that it's unlikely that any of the settings which would need to be changed would contain RAID in its expanded form.


texts:
The family of Dashwood had been long settled in Sussex.

(My question) What does 'had been long settled' mean?

Here my ideas.


texts:
There is an art/science to turning data from a collection of numbers on a page into something that the mind can understand through the brain's ability to recognize patterns with the different senses.  For example, associating numbers or letters with specific sounds can enable a human to listen to the data as "music" and hear auditory patterns.  There is a word for the act of translating the numbers into sound (that is just an example, not my question).  Similarly, numbers can be represented visually, such as in a graph, so that humans can recognize the numerical patterns through sight.  I'm looking for the word that means translate numbers into a visually recognizable form.

Like a song that you can't get out of your head, I keep thinking I have seen the word "visualize" used in the sense of "make visually intuitive for other people", but I'm pretty sure that's not a recognized usage of the word.  "Illustrate" is not the word I'm thinking of.  That has a meaning more related to "make pretty" or "clarify with an example".

Edit: "Chart" or "graph" (verbs) are similar to the kind of word I'm looking for, but they refer to a specific type of representation.  I'm looking for a more general term that applies to translating into any visually recognizable form.


texts: Is it okay to use "to have a picture of something" when you mean having an idea and a qualitative understanding of sth?

texts:
I want to use "to have a picture of ..." in a sentence like this:

  to have a picture of this process we applied some theory to the system ...

Which by "to have a picture" i mean to have a qualitative understanding of the process. does this phrase makes sense and is used with this meaning? if not what are the appropriate phrases instead?


texts:
1) The discount rates applicable to items may vary.

2) The discount rates to apply to items may vary.

Those 2 sentences are both grammatically correct? Or, Which is more preferable?


texts:
What does the phrase "it is up to us to ﬂesh it out" mean?

Can you suggest any synonyms?


texts: Difference between "abbreviation" and "symbol" in scientific contexts

texts:
I've noticed that the shorthand notations for chemical elements, such as C for carbon, are called symbols, not abbreviations. This also seems to be the case in several other scientific contexts, such as physical constants.

What special meaning does the term symbol carry in these contexts? How is a symbol distinct from an abbreviation?


texts: Is "I'll be John Brown" a common phrase?

texts:
The phrase:

  I'll be John Brown!

is an occasionally-used term in North Carolina. Mostly thought to replace taking the Lord's name in vain (GD).

Is it used elsewhere? How long has it been around?


texts: Idiomatic expression meaning to not reveal emotions

texts:
In Swedish - which is my native tongue - there's an expression "hålla färgen" (literally: "hold color") which means to not reveal oneself or to not reveal ones emotions or thoughts about something. Quite similar to having a poker face I guess.

I'm looking for an english equivalent in verb form i.e it should be something you do instead of something you have.

Edit:
To address the comment about context with an example:

"A month after the bad break-up they met again but he was trying his hardest to ... " (hålla färgen).

In this example he tries not show his emotions, in a way he's "keeping up appearances". He tries to act as if this has not bothered him. Maybe keeping up appearances is what I'm looking for here.


texts: The centrality that does not need to be named

texts:
Suppose we are looking at Internet domain names. Every country has its own two-letter abbreviation (.fr, .uk, .ca, .za, etc.) — except for the US, as far as I know. They have .com, .org, .edu, .gov. I assume there's an historic reason for this, but what I'm wondering is: is there a term to describe the assumed centrality of the US in the domain-name world — the country being so "central" that it does not even need to be identified. Only the other needs to be identified.

Now suppose we are in Europe or North America. I'm asked to describe a man. "He's five foot eight, brown hair, wearing a beige suit..." I know in North America and I presume in Europe, that unless I specifically state otherwise, he is assumed by most of my listeners to be white. In other words, whiteness like the US, is assumed to be so central that it does not need to be identified.

I could give many more examples of the margin vs. the centre, but hopefully these two illustrate what I mean.

My Question: Is there a term that describes this centrality — the centrality of not needing to be labelled, if you will?

I don't know how to research the question either on this site or elsewhere.


texts: "Build a PC", "assemble a PC", or something else?

texts: When you have all the parts of a PC and you need to connect them into a working PC, which is the appropriate verb to describe this action: build, assemble or something else?


texts:
In New York Times,

  The first hint of television’s unbundling actually came back in the 1980s, when viewers snapped up videocassette recorders.

I found defintions of unbundle in the dictionaries (Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com), but it seems they are not quite fitting in this context. What's your understanding of unbundling here?


texts: Does "prior word" means "information about something that is going to happen" in some contexts?

texts: I'm confused by a phrase "prior word" in an article. Does this phrase means something like "information" or "military intelligence" about something that is going to happen? Such as in the sentence "FDR didn't have prior word of Pearl Harbor".


texts: Conveying Data Collection/Storage Using One Word

texts:
I am writing software whose purpose is to allow users to enter in a set of data to be analysed and stored, among a few other things.

I'm looking for a one word solution to let my users know that a button will take them to a page to allow for the collection(and storage of data). I've been wracking my brain for a while about this now and cannot come up with anything close, let alone elegant.

I am currently using "Record Data" as the phrase but am unhappy with it and hope there is a better fitting option.

I have also seen the question below and I'm hoping my use case is different enough. One word for data collection and data dissemination


texts: A gender-neutral, informal alternative to singular 'guy'

texts:
When referring to an online comment, I want to say

  I agree with this guy.

However, it's not gender neutral (See this ELU post.)

What other informal alternate word is there? 'User' seems too formal, so does 'person' or 'fellow.'


texts: What is a one-word opposite of "submerged" in the physical sense

texts:
I'm looking for a one-word opposite of "submerged". The context is a study where I'm looking into species that live below the surface and thus can be conveniently labeled as "Submerged" in my plot. However I can't find a good word to describe those found living on the surface (of a peat bog).

Emerged or surficial(?) comes to mind but since I'm not a native speaker I'm not too sure that I can use it that way.


texts:
Which is correct?

  He promised that he will be home tomorrow.

  He promised that he would have been home tomorrow.


texts: What Is a Noun for Something Which Morally Improves Us?

texts:
What Can Be a Noun for the Quality of Something to Improve us Morally?

I am looking for something along the lines of the word "edify", but a noun for a quality rather than a verb.The context I want to use this word in is "Religious Knowledge which has applicability and … can be considered as having high quality". The ellipsis points should be replaced by the noun I seek for to indicate that religious knowledge which has the quality of morally improving us can be considered as having high quality.

The word 'edification' does not work for me because it I need a quality rather than a process. For example, usefulness and universality are two qualities I am using for the religious knowledge, but I cannot say: "High-quality religious knowledge has usefulness, universality, and edification" because that would be a process, which would not fit into my context.

I have checked the Apple Dictionary, as well as synonyms for edify suggested by Google and Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus on thesaurus.com. Synonyms I considered include educate, instruct, improve, teach, and enlighten. However, none of those options encompass the moral improvement part and do not fit in with religious knowledge, like the word edify does.


texts: Word that describes something purposefully unrelated to a theme

texts:
In my efforts to come up with a bowling team name for the upcoming season, I've found myself gravitating toward names that are totally unrelated to the normal bowling theme that most teams go for. For example, team names that fit the common theme are:

"We Three Strikes"
"Gutterballs"
"Ball for One, One for Ball"

Whereas this year I want to suggest something like:

"Squirrels"
"Trees"
"Mass Transit System"
"Comfy Shoes"

There has to be a word that describes the type of name I'm looking for. Something similar to irreverent maybe, but that implies disrespect which I don't believe this team name would be. I can feel a word buzzing around my head but I can't pluck it out of there.


texts: What does “There’s nothing bulldog about Britain” mean?

texts:
I came across the phrase “There’s nothing bulldog about Britain hovering somewhere in the mid-Atlantic,” in the following sentence of New York Times (December 12) article, titled “The British Euro Farce” commenting on British PM Cameron’s veto of Europe-bolstering treaty change:

  “After uncertain mumblings, the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, managed to reach beyond this theater to something approaching strategic reflection. Declaring himself “bitterly disappointed” at Cameron’s decision, he said: “There’s nothing bulldog about Britain hovering somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, not standing tall in Europe, not being taken seriously in Washington.”

From the preceding line of the article:

  “Since Cameron’s “No,” there’s been much chatter about the return of Britain’s “bulldog spirit.” Self-delusion is a lingering attribute of former imperial nations adjusting to a lesser reality,”

I can interpret “bulldog” as “British-ness i.e., British persistence” or “going UK’s own way,” but I’m not sure.

What does “There’s nothing bulldog about Britain doing something” mean? Is the expression, 'nothing bulldog about Britain doing' grammatically right? Is this expression (animal name / country name combination) exclusive to Britain related description?

Can I extend this analogy to “There’s nothing shepherd (bear, Uncle Sam) about German (Russia, America) behaving ..,”?


texts: What is another way of saying "final solution?"

texts:
"Final Solution" is not the optimal phrase to use because it has a negative historical reference.

When working on a project, I'd like to find a phrase that describes the process of evolving solutions (see, for example, Agile software development).

Additionally, the phrase should fit well with phrases like initial solution, intermediate solution, etc.

Update: Doesn't necessarily have to be a 'solution.'


texts: Explanation of a sentence in "Adam lay ybounden"

texts:
In the carol "Adam lay ybounden", there's a line that goes:

  As clerkes finden, written in their book

Is "finden" the infinitive form of "find"? I thought it should be "found" or maybe "would finden".

Also, why not "ywritten"? It seems the "y-" prefix appears exactly once in the title.


texts:
I've come across multiple answers on this forum about the correct usage of the word 'though'. Despite all this, I am still not confident about my following sentence. Is 'though' correctly used? -- separated with a comma from its preceding clause. Is it good usage of the word in that context?

  Clearly, this is in contrast with the Big Bang Theory, though it is conceivable that the total energy of the Universe is zero.


texts: Why do we say "I win" instead of "I won"?

texts:
For a long time I was wondering why there is I win instead of I won. I met such usage in a lot of games and movies.

For me, it's logical to say I won, because this winning action is done already. I win for me seems like I'm winning right now.

Can anyone clarify this for me?


texts: Word Request— word for fumbling and being clumsy with pronunciation

texts:
I was wondering for a long while, and I can't seem to find the word.
I'm thinking of the way people, when feeling strong emotion, replace 'r's with 'w's, and generally are clumsy with their pronunciation.
Maybe, as I mentioned above, clumsy with words— but I feel that has another meaning.
I can do well with just explicitly telling them their pronunciation was tumbling all over the place, but I believe in the show don't tell technique and wanna follow it throughout my writing.
Edit: trill?


texts: what is the meaning of "dry up and blow away" in these sentences?

texts:
"The Canadian flag's supposed to be a symbol of power... it's a leaf!
Yeah, don't mess with us or we'll dry up and blow away!"-Jeremy Hotz
Suppose that truth had simply dried up and blown away in the blasting wind of nuclear anxiety, cultural relativism,and psychological self-reflexiveness?
If Immermann ever dies or leaves, the settlement will dry up and blow away without the  trading post to keep it going.


texts:
Could anyone please tell me if I used "themselves" properly in this sentences:

  Such artificial samples can also potentially reduce distortions ... that are due to varying properties of the samples themselves.

I'm not a native speaker but my sprachgefühl tells me that there should be this "themselves" at the end of the sentence -- can't really tell why though. If this is wrong, please let me know how you can tell. Thanks!


texts:
I am non-native speaker.

I saw the ad 'sip sign green-light' of Smart water on WIRED.
But I have no idea what the copy means.

Is there any connection between the copy and the product?


texts: joint venture agreements OR joint-venture agreements

texts: Are there any issues hyphenating "joint venture" as a modifier? e.g., "joint-venture agreements" or "joint venture agreements"?


texts: Please suggest a better transition phrase as compared to "Coming to"

texts:
Excerpt from my essay:

  Coming to my industrial experience, I am currently working in...

My professor's comment on my essay:

  I think you want to transition to industrial experience from undergrad
  exp... but use a better starting phrase maybe."

Can someone suggest a better transition phrase than "Coming to"?


texts: More general phrase for "putting name to a face"

texts:
The situation is you read a book by a famous person. Then later, you meet people from the company founded by the author of the book you read. Here it would not be appropriate to use "Putting a name to a face" since you are not actually meeting the guy who wrote the book.
Best I could come up with was: "Meeting the people behind the company." but it sounds very prosaic, was wondering if there is a more witty phrase or maybe an idiom of sorts for this situation.


texts:
Does this sentence make sense?
"I can't sympathise with the many people who are impatient."
Should "the" be dropped from the sentence? I couldn't find a similar answer anywhere else.


texts: How does one identify cacophonous and euphonious words?

texts: As I understand it, euphonious words are those with pleasant sounds, and cacophonous words are ones which sound harsh.  Knowing this, does one have to strip the meaning from words before being able to classify them as cacophonous and euphonious?  Are there any best practices to utilizes when classifying the words or is it a wholly subjective process?


texts: Which is correct: "__ is different from __" or "__ is different than __"?

texts:
As someone who learned English later on in life, I was taught that different from is the correct grammar to use: this is different from that. However, it seems these days everyone uses different than instead. I know it's incorrect usage, but does the language evolve if the majority wins?

Edit: Some commented different than is American English and different from is British English, both are OK. IMO, this isn't like color versus colour, though.

Than is used after a comparative adjective, e.g. taller than, whiter than. The word different isn't a comparative adjective, unless used in more different than. Logically, it makes no sense to say different than.


texts: Do all syllables belong to open syllable or closed syllable?

texts: Is there any other category for a syllable which is neither an open nor closed syllable?


texts:
Lets say we are talking about a book about teens that drink. In the book, the teens have fun and nothing bad ever happens. It's disguising it as a good thing, it's supporting it and it's making it sound good.

What word would you use to describe what the book is doing to teen drinking?


texts: Is there a word to describe an extremely exaggerated and ridiculous counter-example to the argument you want to make, that makes yours look good by contrast? e.g. "Yes, climate change is so serious that we should all stop breathing to reduce the global CO2 burden" or "I think drug companies should be free to just make chemicals at random and test them on the public". It is a combination of sarcasm and hyperbole, but I suspect there must be a precise word for the idea. Thoughts welcome. Thanks!


texts: Is the question 'When to remind you about the meeting?' correct?

texts: I saw this question and it seemed a bit strange, the 'when to' part mostly.


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

texts:
In math we learn about the "totient function".  It rhymes with "quotient" when math teachers pronounce it.

But I cannot find the definition or etymology of this word in any dictionary, nor on any web-site.

Anyone have a clue?


texts: "White" vs. "a white" vs. "a white person"

texts:
Should I say that "Will is white" or "Will is a white" or "Will is a white person" to refer to his race?

Also, is it considered acceptable to say someone is black or white in a college paper?


texts:
Someone turned down my invitation for visit to our university for some private reasons. I am not sure what he meant by that. The situation is like he used to work for a company and there might be a conflict of interest if he come to our university to give a talk. But I specifically said to him that this should not be a problem since he is now retired and also that the talk is a purely academic one. Therefore, if it is because of the conflict of interest, there is nothing so private and he could just tell me straightly.

So I think maybe he really meant "personal reasons"? I have found this post on the forum. But I still want to confirm that I am not understanding it in a wrong way.


texts:
In computing, a locale is an identifier for a user’s language or region.

As a non-native speaker, I somehow came to pronounce it low-kale, while it seems it’s rather enunciated lo-kaal (avowing its French origin).

Unfortunately, I don’t understand IPA differences, like between /ləʊˈkɑːl/ and /loʊˈkæl/; it looks like leu-kal and lou-kel to me.

Is lo-kaal how to exclusively pronounce “locale”? Is it rather British?

Is it entirely wrong to say low-kale? Or is this how it’s used in the US?

Maybe there are distinctions in vocalization depending on meaning (computing, geography).


texts:
I came across these questions in an old English Language book from the 70s and was wondering if one form of the following sentences is more correct than the other.
Only the team with the lowest service ratings (is/are) referred to training with human resources.
and
The person whose engine is sputtering is usually the person (who's/that's) most inclined to visit the mechanic.
and
Because of the amount of gas in the canister, the fumes spread (rapidly about/quickly through) the room.
In reference to the first question, I like the use of "is", because I am under the impression that if you remove "with the lowest service ratings", then the sentence would still be grammatically correct?
Regarding the second question I feel that "who's" is more grammatically correct because "The person", and "who's" are in more agreement than "that's." I feel "that's" refers more to an object, whereas "who's" in this case, is more appropriate since we are referring to "The person."
For the third sentence, I like the usage of "rapidly about" more than "quickly through." I feel that "quickly through" is implying that the gas is starting at point A, and exiting at a point B. "Rapidly about" suggests the gas expands and spreads without a definitive end, if that makes sense.
Am I wrong in any of my assessments? Again, these came from an English learning book dated 1972, so their rules regarding grammar might be different from present day!


texts: Is it OK to say "The situation is pregnant with a crisis"?

texts:
I am translating a sentence to English that literally means:

  The world seems to be pregnant with an environmental crisis.

By looking up pregnant in dictionaries like Cambridge and Merriam Webster, I found no example usage similar to my sentence.

Coming from the source language, I find it natural and it means that there is potential environmental crisis coming up in future for the world, but I am afraid this might sound weird in English.

As an alternative, I can write for example:

  The world is moving toward an environmental crisis

However, I am curious if there is any usage for pregnant as mentioned in the first sentence in English literature and if it is legal from grammatical point of view.
 Any tips?


texts: How to say I have played the main story of a game?

texts:
I just played a game from the start to the end of main story, there are many other challenges in the game left untouched, so I think I can't say 'game completed', can I?

I know the following possible candidates

'completed'
'ended'
'walked through'
'cleared'(well, in Japan they use this word)

But I'm not satisfied with these ones, what is(are) the right word(s) to describe that I have seen the outro of a game? Thanks in advance.


texts: What is the word that means how a pen or pencil feels or sounds on paper?

texts: Is there a word that describes how the nib or tip of a pen or pencil feels or sounds on paper as one writes? It occurs to me that there might be a technical term.


texts:
"Well out of the city, out where the first of a crop of white windmills, lazily turning, wound sky down to desert, Driver sailed without warning onto an exit ramp and into a one-eighty." [Drive, James Sallis]

In the sentence above, is the bolded phrase talking about the turning direction of the windmills, or about something different?


texts: Can "them" be used to indicate uncountable noun like "information"

texts:
I met this sentence:

"There's a lot of information regarding how to motivate yourself out there but most of them are not that effective."

"information" is a uncountable noun. Why in the latter sentence used most of "them" to indicated it?
If such usage is correct, why?


texts: Can someone explain why this sentence is correct?

texts:
'The secretary of state, Boris Johnson said that...'

It has always been my understanding that there would be a comma again after Boris Johnson, but I've just read it in The Telegraph and therefore I assume it's correct? If so, it doesn't follow any comma usage rule that I know so could someone elaborate?


texts: What's the difference between "you wasted" and "you've wasted"

texts:
I've got a question about this topic. So, about the context. I've just watched a video and in the end, the author said thank you as follows:

  Thank you for all the time you wasted on this video.

I wonder if instead it could or should be

  Thank you for all the time you have wasted on this video.

Which is more suitable in this situation?


texts:
Here's a sentence that's quite confusing to me:

  You should provide a strategy that is based on the criteria specified in the document,and a formula calculating the return.

What are the two parts that are connected by the word 'and'? Are they

'strategy' and 'formula'

or

'criteria' and 'formula'?


texts: What does "blazes" mean in "Stay the blazes home!"

texts:
Canada Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil's war cry against COVID-19, "Stay the blazes home", trending #1 in Twitter Canada today (April 4, 2020).  See news article coverage.

What does "blazes" here mean?  Is it a euphemism for a curse word?  Has it been in use before, or was it the Premier's invention?

If it was in common use before:

Was it restricted to certain regions in Canada?
What's the etymology?


texts:
John Ayto, Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms (2009) has this entry for "rule the roost":

rule the roost be in complete control
The original expression was rule the roast, which was common from the mid 16th century onwards. Although none of the early examples of its use shed any light on its source, we can surmise that it originally referred to someone being the most important person at a banquet or feast. Rule the roost, found from the mid 18th century, has now replaced the earlier version.

I recently came across this occurrence of "rules the roast" in Annabel Gray, Amaranth's Mystery, serialized in Tinsley's Magazine (December 1880):

[A]nd the honest fellow, feebly conscious that he ought to talk, frighten, or beat Nancy into submission, but lacking the moral courage even to remonstrate, sighed, and seated himself in the corner of a Clapham omnibus, with that injured expression of countenance we frequently see imprinted on the features of gentlemen in the corners of omnibuses, whose 'worse' half rules the roast, goes in for brougham-hire, and gives no quarter.

This example suggests that "rule the roast" and "rule the roost" were in competing use many years before the idea of the King Chanticleer routed the idea of the King Carver in the popular imagination.
But while the OED's coverage of "rule the roast" within the entry for roast is quite extensive, I couldn't find any comparable coverage of "rule the roost" within the entry for roost (or the one for rule). I have these questions about the two phrases:

When and in what publications did instances of "rule the roost" first arise?

What caused the crossover in popular usage from "rule the roast" to "rule to roost"?

Is it still the case that "none of the early examples of its use [that is, the use of "rule the roast"] shed any light on its source"?

Notwithstanding the OED's decision to place its coverage of early instances of "rule the roste" and "rule the rost" under the heading "rule the roast" and to place that heading beneath its first definition of roast ("A piece of roast meat, or anything that is roasted for food ; a part of an animal prepared or intended for roasting"), might those early instances of "roste" and "rost" originally have been intended to signify roost, not roast?


texts: I'm writing a description for a photograph, and I'd like to place the emphasis on the scarf that the person in the picture is wearing. The description would be something along the lines of "__ the scarf that's been everywhere from New York to London". Which word would be more appropriate, starring or featuring?


texts: Understanding the archaic grammatical structure of the Westminster Confession of Faith in Chapter 27

texts:
The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 27, Section 4:

  Private masses, or receiving this sacrament by a priest, or any other
  alone; as likewise, the denial of the cup to the people, worshipping
  the elements, the lifting them up, or carrying them about, for
  adoration, and the reserving them for any pretended religious use; are
  all contrary to the nature of this sacrament, and to the institution
  of Christ.

Common understanding & practice in most Presbyterian churches indicates that the middle statement in this sentence is to be read as referring solely to the Roman Catholic practice of Eucharistic adoration, and that "the lifting them up" does not prohibit the minister from holding the communion elements up for the congregation to see.

Under that common understanding, a possible gloss on the middle statement could be:

  as likewise, the denial of the cup to the people, worshipping the
  elements--the lifting them up or carrying them about for
  adoration--and the reserving them for any pretended religious use

However, while the gloss seems reasonable in following with the intent and practice of the authors, I do not know of any grammatical or usage rule that could justify such a gloss. The structure of the sentence seems to be such that each phrase in the middle statement is to be understood as a separate clause, so "worshipping the elements" and "for adoration" are different cases than "the lifting them up" and "or carrying them about". In that case, does "the lifting them up" actually mean that you physically cannot hold the elements up for the congregation to see?


texts: Is the word “etymology” correct when looking for the origins of a phrase?

texts:
I wasn't sure, so I looked it up, and it would seem it's specific to single words.

  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/etymology

  1.) the derivation of a word.
  Synonyms: word origin, word source, derivation, origin.

  2.) a chronological account of the birth and development of a particular word or element of a word, often delineating its spread from one language to another and its evolving changes in form and meaning.
  Synonyms: word history, word lore, historical development.

  3.) the study of historical linguistic change, especially as manifested in individual words.

Obviously the following sentence would be easily understood, but is it technically correct?  Or is there a better way to ask the following question?

“What is the etymology of the Baseball term 'meat hand'?”

As in a first-use, or how the phrase came to be, or what made it popular – etc.  What I think of as “etymology”, but perhaps that word is more technical, and specific to the linguistic breakdown and origins of individual words.


texts: What kind of English that the narration of the starting part of A.I. movie?

texts:
I'm watching the A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
And I just realized that the pronunciation and intonation is special.

The pronunciation is very strict. Hear the part .. economic link the c ends with k before the l is said.

I thought that's some England's style but the intonation is not what I've known.

Is it just an elegant way to speak?


texts: Using Not before and between To infinitives

texts:
I made excuses to not go to school.
I made excuses not to go to school.

Are both of them correct?


texts:
The English article for Paraguay in Wikipedia mentions that Paraguay is pronounced as /ˈpɛərəɡweɪ/, which matches the pronunciation recommended by Merriam-Webster. However, inogolo recommends /paɾaˈɣwai/ which is similar to the Spanish and Guarani pronunciations. I have heard both pronunciations in the U.S. but I could not find the preferred pronunciation in other places.

Although I am a native Spanish speaker, I prefer /ˈpɛərəɡweɪ/ since it seems more natural in U.S. English. This is analogous to pronouncing Florida as /ˈflɒrɪdə/ instead of the Spanish-based /flo.ˈri.da/.

Does one region prefer one pronunciation over the other? Is there a pronunciation that is preferred overall?

This question also applies to the pronunciation of Uruguay.


texts:
The following are the two main definitions of the verb peruse that the editors at Merriam-Webster.com have put forward:

  : to look at or read (something) in an informal or relaxed way

  : to examine or read (something) in a very careful way

In my humble opinion, those two acceptations of the said verb contradict each other. Wonder what on Earth is going on here; it's like saying "peruse is A" and "peruse is not A".

Why did the more modern-day definition make it to the top of a page in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary?


texts: Has technology slowed or stopped the development of the core English language?

texts:
What follows is a hypothesis of mine. I'm wondering if there's historical merit for my hypothesis.

It seems the English language has a much bigger change between the documents produced in the early 1800s to those produced in the early 1900s, than the early 1900s documents have until now. For example, in the late 1700s/early 1800s, the letter u was still sometimes represented as v (i.e. as in the US Constitution), but no such changes in the glyphs used to represent the language, nor "structure words" (words critical to language structure, i.e. "is" or "the" or "a"), have occurred in the last hundred years. There have been significant changes in typical vocabulary, but not in language structure.

I suspect that a large reason for this is the spread of mass communication systems, such as office typewriters, Xerox machines, rail transportation, telegraph, and (most recently) computers. My guess is that the reason is that when you have mass communication at the scale these technologies span, standardized language becomes much more important. Consider if the letter u being represented as v (as I pointed to earlier) -- this would be a monumental change which would be unlikely to appear in the modern era, simply because of the number of standards (i.e. ASCII, Unicode, most all information exchange definitions, fonts, most programming language definitions, etc) which would be affected would be enormous. Couple this with the fact that English is already easy for computers to work with (no letters running together (like those which require complicated typesetting systems i.e. Uniscribe), relatively small number of glyphs, no stackable accent marks, etc.), and it seems like major changes to the language itself would be prohibitively expensive in the modern era.

Does any of this make sense, and is there historical justification for it? Or is this my own subjective babble? :)

EDIT: To clarify: I think the typical vocabulary of the language is still going to change (who ever heard of Googling something 15 years ago?), but that the glyphs and structure will not.

EDIT: The reason for the bounty is that at this point th only posted answers have merely been opinions; I'm interested in historical precedent in either direction.


texts: Word for knowing what to do and not doing it

texts:
I think most will agree it's a really common human condition:

  Knowing what to do and not doing it.

I recently found a word that describes this condition and now have lost that word. I would absolutely love it if somebody knows it. I think it may be a psychology term, or it might be something originated from Plato.

One word to describe humans' inability to do what we know we should do.

Anybody?


texts: How can I replace the most popular cuss words with words which don't sound overly deliberately euphemistic and outright childish?

texts:
It's not that I curse a lot, even when I'm angry, but I don't particularly like the origin of certain, particularly the most popular English ones, cuss words, so I am trying to stop using them altogether. However, in my endeavour to do this I have encountered many an obstacle: too many, virtually all in fact, of the most popular English cuss words sound too purposely euphemistic or childish, e.g. instead of "fuck", some people recommend "fudge"; instead of "shit" or "shite" or whatever, words like "snap" or "shoot" are recommended; or instead of "asshole" or "asswipe" words like "dog-do" may be recommended according to certain sources.

I want words which still really express my anger, upset, frustration, suprise, etc., at something or someone or whatever without lapsing into the use of cuss words.


texts: Is there a term to describe a suspended exterior door in a building?

texts:
Is there an accepted term to refer to an exterior door in a building which is suspended above ground level so anybody exiting the building would immediately be met with a sheer drop? (Having been installed through miscommunication or building modification or deliberate design)

I've seen the term 'door to nowhere' or 'nowhere door' used to refer to a door that has an unusual position like this, but it also seems to refer to doors that open onto solid walls, and purely decorative non-functional doors set into walls, ceilings or floors.

The context is that I would like to be able to search for images and articles about these doors, their history and so on, but without a common term I haven't had any luck.

Is there a term specifically referring to elevated dangerous useless doors?


texts: What word means the opposite of "supportive"?

texts:
I mean supportive in the sense of "giving help or assistance". Unsupportive denotes a lack of aid, but I'm looking for a word that expresses the opposite of support. This word would be used to describe someone who is impeding my efforts or hindering me in some way. Ideally, this word would not imply villainous behavior, just perhaps working at cross purposes.

I might use it to say, "Not only are you not being supportive, you are being ...." or "Can we work together on this? As it is, your ... actions upset me."


texts: In English Language usage is there anything which ought to make a careful writer avoid the phrase "historical context?"

texts:
Thank you all so much for the responses. I appreciate it a great deal.

This question was initially phrased in a way which was determined to be too subjective, so this is an attempt to make this a very clear question with a factual basis, and to which I believe that the answer is, "No."

By "ought to make a careful writer avoid the phrase" I mean that it is considered by at least some usage experts to be problematic. Perhaps they consider it trite. Perhaps they consider it infelicitous wording.

So:

In his essay/review "Tense Present: Democracy, English, and the Wars over Usage", Harper's Magazine, April, 2001 (also reprinted in expanded form in Consider the Lobster and Other Essays), David Foster Wallace says:

  But the really distinctive and ingenious features of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage involve issues of rhetoric and ideology and style, and it is impossible to describe why these issues are important and why Garner's management of them borders on genius without talking about the historical context2 in which ADMAU appears, and this context turns out to be a veritable hurricane of controversies involving everything from technical linguistics to public education to political ideology, and these controversies take a  certain amount of time to unpack before their relation to what makes Garner's usage guide so eminently worth your hard-earned reference-book dollar can even be established; and in fact there's no way even to begin the whole harrowing polymeric discussion without taking a moment to establish and define the highly colloquial term SNOOT.

...with the footnote:

  2 Sorry about this phrase; I hate this phrase, too. This happens to be one of those very rare times when "historical context" is the phrase to use and there is no equivalent phrase that isn't even worse. (I actually tried "lexico-temporal backdrop" in one of the middle drafts, which I think you'll agree is not preferable.)

Is there anything which ought to make a careful writer avoid the phrase "historical context?"

FWIW, Garner's Modern English Usage, 4th edition, does not appear to object to the phrase; in fact, Garner uses it several times (e.g., "Rime still appears for rhyme on rare occasions. But unless it's in a historical or jocular context (or there's an ancient mariner involved), use the modern spelling...").

After others' comments and further consideration, I believe that the answer is "no."

Source: Gardner doesn't seem to have a problem with it; see above. None of you think there is anything wrong with it.

A more definitive answer would at least require a review of all of the major usage guides, I suppose, but I suspect that one of you would have pointed it out if there are usage guides which object to the phrase; for that matter, you would know that the phrase is best avoided when possible.

This is more lit crit than usage, but my best guess is that Wallace is sort of playing a joke on the reader here, by apologizing for the use of a non-widely-objectionable phrase and claiming to assume that the reader (who is probably at least a bit of a language/usage/grammar nerd) also finds it objectionable. The reader, like me, might think, "Geez, I'm a bit of a language/usage geek, but I'm no DFW, but here he is apologizing for using a phrase which I didn't even know was a problem. How come I never knew there was a problem with "historical context," and what is the problem? Because there must be a problem, or Wallace wouldn't apologize and assume the reader objects, too."

TL;DR: I got trolled by DFW.


texts: Meaning of "constituted" as an adjective

texts:
In Norman Lewis's Word Power Made Easy, I found the following sentence:

  It is only the few who are so constituted that lack of learning becomes a nuisance.

What does "constituted" mean in this context?

Source: Google Books


texts:
I was recently having a conversation with a friend from England. During the conversation I described someone as being cool, but he seemed confused by the term and asked me what I meant.

I couldn't really explain to him that well what it would equate to in UK English. Does anyone know of a good way to explain "cool" to someone who isn't familiar with the term?


texts: Looking for the word that means "You believe other people are like you"

texts:
I remember this applying in marketing and history, where people tend to think that the beliefs of others are similar to their own, often leading to mistakes when developing advertising campaigns, political messaging, etc.

  "Due to Adam's xxxx, he believed that everyone shared his passion for astronaut fan fiction."


texts: What is the meaning of "Twice yet, carle, I'll come to Spain!"

texts:
The phrase "Twice yet, carle, I'll come to Spain!" occurs in the obscure fairy tale Molly Whuppie (more original version?) after a princess tricks a giant by stealing his sword. Contextually:

"Woe worth you, Molly Whuppie! never you come again."
"Twice yet, carle," quoth she, "I'll come to Spain."

This is the second time the giant has been tricked, which I believe may link to "twice." It's an idiom, though, so I can't be certain. What is Molly trying to communicate, and where does this idiom come from?
Edit: I think "twice yet" is a reference to the fact that she'll show up twice more - though I have no idea how she would know this.


texts: “Astronomy images” vs. “astronomical images”

texts:
Are there any differences between the two?

A Google search says that astronomy images is much more used, but I think that astronomical images sounds better.


texts: Why is "appreciate" pronounced as though the "c" is an "sh"?

texts: Why is it that "appreciate" is pronounced as though it were "appreshiate?"


texts: "The decision affects people at large/in general" what role does the phrase 'at large/in general' perform here? Are they used as adjective modifier of noun 'people ' or adverb modifier of verb 'affects'.Thanks


texts: What is the best way to describe a progressive, advancing cycle?

texts:
Commonly, individuals talk about how two opposing interests will invent "game changing," technology that renders the other interest useless until that interest, in turn, invents a new technology. The best example I can give is with weapons and armor:

[with some simplification]

Simple weapons resulted in Leather Armor
Metal Weapons outmoded Leather Armor
Metal Armor outmoded Metal
Weapons
Simple Firearms outmoded Metal Armor
Tanks outmoded Simple Firearms

I'm looking for a term similar to "a vicious cycle," but that I can use to describe how a business could play increasingly complex games with income reporting, forcing 3rd party auditors to spend more time checking their work.

Alternatively, a less pejorative phrase similar to "If you make something idiot-proof, God designs a better idiot." would work.


texts: What is a person called if they study poems but do not write them?

texts: I am doing a research paper for Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson. I do not know the term to use if I'm trying to talk about someone who studied the poems they made before they died. Can anyone help me find a term closest to this or a definition to help me?


texts: Just wanted to ask if in your opinion the word "ignition" can connect to emotions in some way (like boosting emotions), or if it's too far...


texts: Is there a word like "ambidextrous" to describe mixed hemisphere brain dominance?

texts:
In brain dominance theory, the terms left-/right-brained, left-/right-minded, and left/right hemisphere dominant are often used to describe a particular lateral dominance within the human brain.  Many also use these terms to help generalize the patterns of thought that such a dominance might connote; that is, an aptitude for "logic, language, and analytical thinking" for left-brained, and an aptitude for "expressive and creative tasks" for right-brained.

Likewise, when referring to hand dominance, we say left-handed and right-handed, but there are some cases of cross-dominance in handedness, in which we refer to individuals as ambidextrous, meaning "able to use both hands equally well."

Is there a word, in the same vein as ambidextrous, which can be used to describe having an equal aptitude for traditionally left- and right-brained tasks?


texts:
I came across this sentence online:

  C extensions are a big part of the Ruby ecosystem.

Now, the word "C extensions" is the subject of the sentence and it's in plural form. The writer wants to say that the ability to write extensions in C (a popular programming language!) is a major part of programming practices inside Ruby (another programming language) environment. With this meaning in mind, is it correct to use the plural auxiliary 'are' to refer to a subject, although in plural form, functions as one unit or as a whole?!

If I were to write the same sentence, I would probably say:

  C extensions is a big part of the Ruby ecosystem.

correct?


texts:
Mail : "Who will be doing the validation?"
Reply : "Myself and Sarah will be doing validation"

I believe the usage of myself is incorrect here. It should be "Sarah and I will be doing validation". Correct me if I am wrong.


texts: What is the plural of the noun "go" (as in “have a go”)?

texts:
If I were to try to achieve something you could say I "had a go".

If I tried it multiple times, how would I write that down?

  I had many goes

or

  I had many go's

or

  I had many gos


texts:
I'm doing some maintenance work on some software - whose original developers are unknown. There is a report called the "All Zingo Report", which basically dumps all the data for the primary "entity" in the database (the primary entity represents a person that has been referred to a government-associated medical program).

Why would the word "zingo" be used to describe such a report?


texts: Which is correct: "Grails" or "The Grails"?

texts:
Should it be

  Grails has integration with jUnit

or

  The Grails has integration with jUnit

If the correct answer is the one without the "The", then why?

P.S. (The) Grails is an open source web application framework.


texts: does the phrase "After failing the vocab test, they drowned themselves in jolly ranchers" have a gerund?

texts:
Question

  "After failing the vocab test, they drowned themselves in jolly ranchers"

Part 1 of Question

is "after failing the vocab test" a gerund phrase?

If it is why? how do you identify whether it is a gerund phrase? Because someone told me it was but I dont think it acts as a noun

Part 2 of question

is "failing the vocab test" a prepositional phrase?

Question 2

Question

in

  " While preparing for the speech, Joe couldn’t help but worry about his entrance. "

is "While preparing for the speech" a gerund phrase?

Because I know that gerund has to be a verb acting as a noun.

But If we have the word "while" before something, doesnt the next string of words have to be a verb?

Question 3

in

  Hoping for a miracle, the doctors continued the surgery.

What does the particpial phrase "Hoping for a miracle" modify?


texts: Is x plotted against y or is y plotted against x?

texts:
Given a diagram where the x axis is the horizontal one and the y axis is the vertical one. Which of these alternatives are the right and or best way of writing it:

plotting x against y
plotting y against x
plotting x versus y
plotting y versus x

My (Swedish) brain wants alternative 1 or 3 but there are sources pointing in other directions. Could this be a case where different languages do different ordering? I would expect these mathematical 'things' to be standardized among languages but now I am not so sure...


texts:
While reading a book, I came across this sentence:

  [...], finishing with a slither of lemon tart or apple cake.

Looking up the word slither I didn't get any satisfying results.

On OALD I found the definition of "to slither" which means to move forwards either in a smooth way (to slide) or uncontrolled (to glide).

In the given sentence this would only make sense if it's about how smooth this lemon tart goes down the gullet. But I don't think that it is meant like this. Moreover, wouldn't it be "a slithering lemon tart"?!

Thinking about the sentence and what it could be I'm assuming that it could mean "a part of", but I don't find any proof.

So, which is the correct meaning of "a slither of" and which words are best synonyms for it?


texts: How to interpret a Benjamin Whorf quote?

texts:
“We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe
  significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement
  that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the
  patterns of our language … we cannot talk at all except by subscribing
  to the organization and classification of data which the agreement
  decrees.” Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941)

What does it mean largely because we are parties to an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language?

What I understood is we just build our value with our language. But we can not talk and understand each other except we have the same culture things. Right?


texts: Phonetically, "lanapeel," what is this word? (marine animal)

texts:
My ex-wife, who speaks what might best be described as a “distinctly rural” dialect of American English (she sounds like she grew up near Larry the Cable Guy), has related stories to me of a marine animal she calls a lanapeel (phonetically, like banana peel).

This is (allegedly) an aggressive and venomous (or otherwise poisonous) fish or fish-like animal sometimes mistaken for a catfish or dogfish, with yellow and white coloring, and which is possibly able to convey itself on land if out of the water.

I’ve had no luck finding any of several variant spellings I’ve tried, so I thought perhaps this word might be familiar to someone in this community.

What is the word I’m hearing, if not lanapeel, lanipeel, lanopil, or some such related term?  Is it perhaps a common mispronunciation of the correct term, whatever that might be?

Update:

As it turns out, the animal in question appears to be a Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus).  Indeed, has legs and can run on the ground, and is incorrectly (but apparently somewhat commonly) believed to be poisonous.

  Did you know?

  Fishermen who hook mudpuppies will often cut their line rather than touch these extremely slimy amphibians, believing incorrectly that they are poisonous.

  — http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/mudpuppy/

With the animal now identified, the question of the actual word that's being associated with them remains open.


texts: Difference between "doesn't seem to rain" & "doesn't seem to be raining"

texts:
What's the difference between 'It doesn't seem to rain.'
and 'It doesn't seem to be raining.' ?

Is it that the first means "the rain didn't occur often", and the second means "it doesn't rain in the current moment" ?


texts:
I found in the free dictionary the various meanings of plumb as a verb and mainly it seems to have the meaning of explore/study/delve into.

However, within the title of an article of the International Herald Tribune (Aug. 11, 2011), namely Spanish case plumbs trans-Atlantic divide on Web privacy, it seems to have the meaning trigger. Is that right?


texts: Is there any grammar rule for the usage of the re- prefix?

texts:
I've read carefully this question posted 4 years ago:
Adding "re" prefix

You can't use the prefix re- in any verb. Rebe, rebelieve, rehave, etc.
However there are plenty of verbs that use such a prefix.

The dictionaries do not help:

Relearn does not appear in online dictionaries such as:

Macmillan (http://www.macmillandictionary.com/spellcheck/british/?q=relearn)

or Cambridge (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/spellcheck/english/?q=relearn).

Unlearn , for instance, appears in both :)

It seems a trivial issue for a native speaker but sometimes is hard for an English learner to guess whether verbs can have the re- prefix or not.


texts: Why is the pronoun "I" written with an uppercase letter, even when it's not at the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
In the following sentence, the pronoun I is written capitalized, even if it is not at the beginning of a sentence. Why?

  What kind of questions can I ask here?

should I capitalize all the pronouns?


texts:
I'm working on some lyrics here, and I'm not sure what would be correct/best:

  After the sun has shined its shine

  After the sun has shone its shine

Google returns more results for the latter, but still I'm not completely sure. Seems like both are in fact correct?


texts:
Here Penny McCarthy is talking about her memories of his father working with other famous scientists on DNA studies decades ago:

My father worked alongside Watson and Crick in the 1960s. He has
stories about the discovery of the double helix, stories about
scientists who plunder other scientists’ research, stories about Crick
and his flirtation with my mother, stories about parties and ladies
jumping out of cakes for Crick’s birthday, stories about Watson always
tripping over his shoelaces. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s my father
worked on DNA so as a child my life sort of fitted in around this
obsession. In our house his clones lived in the fridge and in
searching for the butter you always ran the risk of knocking them
over. For me the letters D, N, A are the fragments of an overheard
conversation, incompletely understood.

(Penny McCarthy)
Does when she says "For me the letters D, N, A are the fragments of an overheard conversation, incompletely understood." imply that:

She unintentionally listened to the conversations between her father and his colleagues on DNA related subjects without completely understanding what they were actually talking about. And whenever she hears the word DNA the first thing she remembers is those conversations?
Or

Is it a metaphor for the fact that subjects related to DNA are nonsense for her today?


texts: Can a text read itself or can it only be read?

texts:
Is it correct to write or say for example that

As it reads on the first page of the book, ...

or only the following sentences are acceptable?

As it can be read on the first page of the book, ...
As one can read it on the first page of the book, ...

(Maybe i'm mixing up English with some other language in which the verb read can be used like this or I don't know... Though this usage of "read" sounds quite strange to me but as if I've already heard or seen it somewhere, and also the Google seems to give some results on that, so that's why I'm asking.)