texts: are astronomy and astrology apt names for their concepts?

texts: Or be switching them be correct, since the original assignment was a historical convention? Or do neither suffix convey enough meaning; we can create 'bionomy' if 'biology' was already taken?


texts: A word meaning a person who does something for the love of that thing without regard for recognition

texts:
I remember reading this word a few months ago and didn't write it down to research it.

I believe it started "auto..."

The idea was that this person did what they wanted to do, purely for the love of doing that thing, without care or regard for whether it brought them recognition.

The idea is a positive one, rather than somebody doing something and not caring about the consequences.  The thing they did seemed to have benefits for society, but that was not the primary reason for the person doing it.

Anyway, I hope I have explained it well enough.

Fingers crossed.


texts: Should 'traverse' word only be used to describe/tell the route to a place or can be used for a process or procedure even?

texts: Like 'you will have to traverse through all these steps again'.


texts:
here is the sentence:

We condemn such behavior that can risk damaging a company’s brand and reputation

risk or damage, which is the verb？
I remember that two verb ( one verb after another) must use the verb+Infinitive, so why not "risk to damage" ?


texts: Is "home patch" completely equivalent to "hometown"?

texts: I heard this expression "home patch" referring to "hometown" from a recent BBC Documentary. Since I am not a native English speaker, I am wondering about whether it is completely equivalent to "hometown". Is it widely used in both American English and Britain English?


texts: A word for support that is superficial, but not operational

texts:
I'm looking for a word to describe support that is shown only on a public level; it is declarative but not operational, more like an encouragement. For example, I might support all organizations that deal with deforestation, but I don't give them my money, my time, or anything else. But I will pat them on the back , or tweet my support, or tell the world that I stand behind what they are doing.

I first thought of declarative support, but I couldn't find that phrase on the internet.


texts: Where to get a set of common English phrase patterns?

texts:
I hope that this computational linguistics question is not an off-topic here.

For my little just-for-fun programming project I'm looking for common English phrase part-of-speech patterns to use to generate pseudo-natural-language phrases.

But, unfortunately, I'm lost in the terminology, and can't figure out the proper keywords to google up what I'm looking for.

What I look for is a set of patterns like this one:

<Noun> <verb> <adjective> <verb>.

...or this one (which does contain some actual words instead of placeholders):

<Adverb>, the <adverb> <adjective>, <adverb> <adjective> <noun>
and the <adverb> <adjective>, <adverb> <adjective> <noun>
<verb> <adverb> over the <adverb> <adjective> <noun>.

So, any clues?


texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically correct? The part that I am not confident about is the usage of "as". Can you please see the use of "as" in the parenthesis within the following sentence? Also if the following sentence doesn't sound smooth enough, can you please advise me why?

  Up to this point, the item is described (as) it has full warranty until 10/2013 but this is not true.


texts:
The most popular example would be the Oxford comma: for everyone knows that "dating Clara, the model, and the scientist" vs "dating Clara, the model and the scientist" can make all the difference in the world!

What are some other optional grammar rules in English?


texts: Help with describing constant superficial material.  I'm trying to relate the feeling of being overwhelmed by continual triviality. For example, pop culture, or celebrities' lives scrutinized and broadcast over multiple media.  Insignificant information aggressively promulgated to the detriment of society.


texts:
I think these clauses are both noun clauses but I'm not sure . I have doubts that the first one might be an adjective clause.

  I don't agree with the idea that money makes happiness.

(I think its a noun clause that acts as an appositive , but it also might be an adjective clause: I'm not sure)

  I don't agree with that money makes happiness

This clause seems weird to me (but I'm sure its a noun clause, though I don't know what's wrong with it ).


texts:
I assume that basically is an adverb of manner and I am not sure where to put it in the sentence below

  This table was made out of wood basically.


texts:
The massive influx of women cyclists-making up at least a third of the total market- was perhaps the most striking and profound social consequence of the mid-1890s cycling boom. Although the new, improved bicycle had appealed immediately to a few privileged women, its impact would have been modest had it not attracted a greater cross section of the female population. It soon became apparent that many of these pioneer women bicyclists had not taken up the sport as an idle pastime. Rather, they saw cycling as a noble cause to be promoted among all women as a means to improve the general female condition. Not only would cycling encourage healthy outdoor exercise, they reasoned, it would also hasten long-overdue dress reform. To feminists, the bicycle affirmed nothing less than the dignity and equality of women.

There is a sentence

  ... its impact would have been modest had it not ...

I can't understand what grammar of "would have been adj. had" is?


texts:
I'm trying to find information about the grammatical correctness of interchanging lighter and brighter in the sense of:

  I turned on the lamp and the room became lighter.
  I turned on the lamp and the room became brighter.

I think that 1 is wrong, but I can't find information backing that up. Could anyone explain why, especially as some dictionaries may list light and bright as synonyms (ex: Dictionary.com (def 24), citing Random House)?

[edit]

I think I can narrow my question sufficiently, especially per my comments below. I believe using the term lighter to refer to levels of light, such as in the first phrase, is incorrect as as lighter appears to mean paler, while brighter means more vivid, intense, or luminous; however the two meanings while similar, do not appear to overlap. I am try to get confirmation/refutation of this.

For example, brightness and lightness appear to refer to two separate, but somewhat related, properties of perception: brightness to radiance or luminosity, and lightness to value of tone. (Compare: bright red to light red)

Finally, and the primary basis of this question, is a reference from the OED:

a. Bright, shining, luminous. Of a fire: Burning brightly. Phrase, on (of, in) a light fire : in a blaze (very common in 16–18th c.). Obs.
 ["light, adj.2." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2014. Web. 30 October 2014.]

The key here being the "obsolete." The other two variants pertaining to the same topic - one an adjective and the other an adverb - are likewise obsolete.

For illustration, consider the two additional example sentences:

  The lamp is too light.
  The lamp is too bright.

Thus, I suppose, the question worded distinctly would be:
Is the first sentence incorrect? If not[/so], is it colloquially and/or grammatically [in]correct?


texts:
My dictionary tells me that there is no such word in English. So, what word would you substitute for unclearity below (please, don't change anything else):

  — There is still something not clear to me in this business. How do they get their profits back if they themselves never come back?
  — Well, this unclearity was in fact the very reason why I decided to call this meeting tonight.


texts: "See you Monday at 10AM" vs "See you on Monday at 10AM"

texts: Is it correct to say/write "See you Monday at 10AM"?


texts:
I'm not a native English speaker, but sometimes I get the feeling that the pronunciation of English words is random.

Why is "Yosemite" is pronounced as "Yoh-Sem-Ee-Tee" and written as "Yosemite" and not as "Yosemitee"?


texts:
Good day,

I found an old Melbourne, AU tram ticket from sixties. On the back of it there is a writing "Standing on your dignity is a very insecure footing".

Trying to decipher the phrase, I fail to understand what does "Standing on your dignity" means. It's one of those cases when I understand each word separately but not the phrase context :)


texts:
I am in a situation where i am expecting some data from my client. I want to write the same in a very polite manner that "i am expecting the data, even after my repeated intimations."

Here i wanted to use a sentence as

I'm just sending this mail to remind you that, currently i am awaiting for data.

I am confused i should use wait or await in this context.


texts: Is "the" pronounced as "thuh" or "thee" in this sentence

texts:
"the amount of fun"

Is "the" pronounced as "thee" before a schwa?


texts: "The number of steps is infinite" or "The number of steps is infinity"?

texts: In a mathematical paper about random-walks. Which is more correct: "The number of steps in the random-walk is infinite" or "The number of steps in the random-walk is infinity"?


texts:
In the sentence below, is the comma optional or should it (not) be there? I can hear it there when this is spoken, but I am not convinced it needs to be there in written form.

  In order to pass [...] data protection, the customer must correctly answer [...]

As one could simply reorder the elements of the sentence:

  The customer must correctly answer [...] in order to pass [...] data protection.

and no comma would be needed.


texts:
Is there any one word which can describe everyday things?

By this, I mean things we commonly regard as things most people do every day, like taking a shower, brushing your teeth, getting dressed, going to work or school, and eating dinner.


texts: What is the difference between "to view" and "to see"?

texts: Could you provide some usage examples when they both can be used and some in which only one of them is appropriate? In particular, which is better between "you can come and see the house" and "you can come and view the house"?


texts:
FCE activities I've been looking at include paraphrasing this sentence:

The last time she went to her grandmother’s house was three months ago. (Been)

The answer must be of the form:

She ______ her grandmother’s house for three months.

I tried filling the blank with everything that came to mind, but no answer was acceptable.

What you would write in the blank?


texts:
I'm describing a train incident (I've been through) on my blog, but I'm stuck at the above question. I want to say that 'we remained silent till the next station arrived'(n station can't arrive because it's a train which takes you there). and this is how I've stated it.

"Till the next station, we remained silent".

This doesn't sound correct to me.

Please Help me. Thank you in advance.


texts: Does "I seen that" really mean "I've seen that"?

texts:
"I seen it."
"I got it."

The two I can think of that are often (incorrectly) said. I guess "I got it" could be used to express that you got the new car you were looking at, but to me, "I seen it" is just "I've seen it" without the 've.


texts: Single-word request for words that do not mean quite the same thing as before

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes words that do not mean the same thing as before, for example, due to over usage.

For example, the word glitch.

  a sudden, usually temporary malfunction or fault of equipment.

'Somebody help Tom, he's glitching out.'

In this case, the word 'glitch' usually refers to the malfunction of machineries, but has been used in the context of humans. It still does embodies part of its meaning in this case, but definitely not the 'equipment' part.

So, I'm wondering is there a word used to describe this behaviour of usage of the words.


texts: "There is no place like" has two meanings

texts:
I've recently bought a shirt with motto There is no place like 127.0.0.1. I am usually asked (by people who don't understand english or ip address or both) what that phrase means. Sometimes, I put a bit effort in explaining what ip address is and what is special about 127.0.0.1. To sum up my explanation I end up with It just means "Home sweet home".

However, I realized it could mean two things.

  Amongst all places (including 127.0.0.1) 127.0.0.1 is unique and no other place is simillar to it.

or

  If we consider all places, there (sadly) is no such place like 127.0.0.1.

Where first would mean Home sweet home and second something like 127.0.0.1 is fake, nothing has such ip address (and eventually you can't hide on the Internet)

Which explanation is correct and how would one rephrase the motto to mean the other one.


texts:
If one has an interest in something and a fascination with something which one of the next is correct?

  I've always had an interest and fascination in something

or

  I've always had an interest and fascination with something


texts: Why the Simple-Present "closes" in "thousands will see the exhibit by the time it closes"?

texts:
Consider the sentence:

  Thousands of people will see the art exhibit by the time it closes.

The first part of this sentence is in Future Simple, which seems correct as it is something to be completed in the future. But I wonder how to explain the "closes" at the end of sentence.


texts: Should it be "no sign of" or "no signs of"?

texts:
I'd like to say:

The calm, balmy evening air showed no sign of the carnage that would ensue.

My question is: should it be "no sign of" or "no signs of"?

Obviously the word "sign" is countable noun in this context.  One sign.  Two signs.  But NO SIGN means zero sign.

Should I use sign in singular form "sign" or plural form "signs" here?


texts:
As a math and computer-science person, I use the phrase "more optimal" quite often, such as "This algorithm gives more optimal results."  However, I was recently corrected, and told that "more optimal" is incorrect grammar, since "optimal" means "best," and something can't be "more best."

I searched online, but this doesn't appear to come up very often.  In this pointless flame war, someone suggests that the correct phrase is "more optimized" or "better optimized," while this page suggests using "more nearly optimal."

However, aside from the fact that "more optimized" wouldn't actually mean the same thing to a computer programmer, Google NGram suggests that neither of these alternative phrases are widely used:

So, am I using the phrase correctly, or am I (from the first link) "showing my ignorance of the basics of English grammar?"


texts:
I was watching an Apple ad, and came across a sentence in which they form the plural of "no" with an apostrophe:

  There are a thousand no's for every yes

But shouldn't it be nos?  Or is this just for the sake of readability? Like,

  We need to dot the i's and cross the t's

Edit: Apparently this has been discussed all over the web.


texts:
This is everything about sinews.

  This is everything about armpits.

What does this simple structure really means? In my quotations the teller is talking about a book. Does he mean that the book is all about sinews and armpits? Or does he mean that everything you need to know about sinews and armpits is in this book. As far as I know both statements are not reasonable about that book. So I am wondering what he means.


texts:
I'm looking for the word or term for a hollowed-out book used to contain objects.  I've heard the terms book safe and the colorful term smuggler's Bible, but an acquaintance swears there's a single word for this that he does not remember.

Any ideas?  Any other terms?  Pic for reference.


texts: What is the preposition in the "She spoke in a low voice"?

texts:
I think it is , IN. but my books says it is LOW .

could you please explain me if LOW is right.


texts:
To continue the question started in identifying accents of British actors, there is one popular current cultural artifact with an excess of non-standard British accents, and that is The BBC series Downton Abbey.

For one very specific example, Anna Smith pronounces the word 'money' not as in standard English 'MUH-nee' (IPS /'mʌ nij/) but instead says something like 'moo-NAY' (IPA /mʊ 'ne/).

'Upstairs' I figure the accents are entirely RP except for Lady Grantham (with the well discussed General American/RP mix).

But I'd very much like to know what each of the 'downstairs' characters' accents are.

A google search says nothing more than what the IMDb FAQ about the show says:

  Some of the servants (eg Mr Carson, Mrs Patmore, Anna and Sarah O'Brien) speak with northern accents (either Yorkshire or Lancashire).

And there is dialog and/or plot that identifies Branson as Irish and John Bates as Scottish.

What I'm looking for is something more definitive.

So, excluding the upstairs characters, what are the regions/accents of the following? (if possible please be specific, that is if you can tell the difference between, say, Mancunian and Yorkshire).

(for identities, consult IMDb )

Charles Carson - butler
John Bates - the earl's valet
Sarah O'Brien - the countess's maid
Anna Smith - Lady Mary's maid
Thomas Barrow - footman
Mrs. Hughes - housekeeper
Daisy Mason - cook's aid
Mrs. Patmore - cook
Tom Branson - chauffeur
Joseph Molesley - footman
Dr. Clarkson - physician
Ethel Parks - maid
William Mason - footman

A simplified answer is sufficient. If all are Yorkshire (whatever that is) except for Branson and Bates, then I'd like that confirmed. But if more can be said then so much the better. (e.g. Dr. Clarkson sounds 'different' to me, but I just can't tell.)


texts: I'm looking through house listings and keep coming across "split plan." This is not a synonym of "split level," because the houses are pretty flat. What is a "split plan" house?


texts:
does a noun phrase followed by a prepositional phrase form another noun phrase?

Example:

  The road to hell

'The road' and  'hell' form two separate noun phrases.

Does, 'The road to hell'  constitute as a noun phrase in its own right?  if not why?

What about something like,

  The road of power

(i.e: using the preposition 'of' instead of 'to')


texts: I found it hard to understand the meaning of "propositions" in this sentence. Could you please elaborate on what the word means? Thank you so much!

texts:
"Anthropologist Jane Guyer has pointed out that a priori connections between different scales of value do not exist; rather, they are pegged together through the performance or enactment of propositions."
I found it hard to understand the meaning of "propositions." Could you please elaborate on what the word means? Thank you so much!


texts: As the title asks, which is grammatically correct? Simplicity is elegance? Or simplicity is elegant? If both are correct,in which cases they are correct?


texts: A word to describe an unexpected advancement in someone's learning progress

texts:
How to describe an unexpected or surprising advancement in someone's learning progress?

For example, in one teacher's class there are some students who were quite lazy in the first semester, but suddenly became extremely enthusiastic in the middle of the second semester. However, this sudden change did not happen with all the students. So, say, Jack is one of such "no-sudden-change" students. However, Jack was not at all a bad student. So, the teacher is writing in Jack's progress report in the end of the second semester:

  Although Jack hasn't shown any surprising upsurge in his learning
  progress as was the case with quite a few other students in this class during this semester, he has nevertheless been quite diligent
  and active.

I guess the word "upsurge" wouldn't fit in here as, as I perceive, it is usually used in reference to many people (like "upsurge in sales"), rather than to one person.

"Advancement" would probably not work here either as advancement, as far as I understand, implies a more steady process rather than a sudden one.

So, what word would fit in here then?


texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  Politics: singular or plural?
  What is the difference between a “singular noun” and a “plural noun treated as singular”?

Which is the correct form, "Robotics is no longer […]," "Robotics are no longer […]," or "Robotic is no longer […]"?


texts:
Which is better?

Grammatically, both appear correct to me, and I normally use the former.


texts:
I have looked at a few grammar books for explanations of the possible interpretations of "so-that" dependent clauses and here are two examples that the authors used to illustrate a "purpose" interpretation of these clauses:

  We're advertising the course so that everyone will know about it. (the
  author notes that a "result" interpretation is possible.)

  I have lit the fire so that the house will be warm when they return.
  (no notes about a possible "result" interpretation.)

I cannot understand either of the "so-that" clauses in the sentences above as having the meaning of "purpose". In either case I read them as expressing the result of what is stated in the introductory clause: ..and as a result the house will be warm.. and as a result everyone will know about it.

For the "purpose" reading, I'd expect the simple present "so that everyone knows about it" and "so that the house is warm ..".

Am I wrong (and how much wrong am I) that the salient (if not only) interpretation of these sentences is "resultative"?


texts: What does “Barack Obama’s real crime is presiding while black” mean?

texts:
I thought it’s unusual for me to be able to come to the end of Maureen Dowd’s’ article without any second thoughts on her particular turn of phrases when I’ve read today’s NYT article titled “Reindeer Games,” in which Dowd dealt with Michigan Congressman Kerry Bentivolio’s plan (or dream) to impeach President Obama for mishandling core issues from Benghazi to Obamacare to T.S.A. screenings.
- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/opinion/sunday/reindeer-games.html?hp

However, I had a hiccup at the very end of the article:

  “The Democrats never impeached W. and they had real grounds: starting
  a war on false premises and sanctioning torture. “The Republican Party
  is in a constant struggle between its ego and its id,” Axelrod says,
  “and the id has mostly won out lately.”

  It isn’t the president who should leave. It’s the misguided lawmakers
  trying to drive him out. For some of the rodeo clowns clamoring for
  impeachment around the country, Barack Obama’s real crime is
  presiding while black.”

It sounds like it's saying GOP extremists think it’s a crime for a black person to be President.

Putting aside nonsense of the argument, how can I interpret “while” as a conjunction in the line, “Barack Obama’s real crime is presiding while black”?

OALD at hand defines ‘while’ as a conjunction meaning;

during the time that sth is happening.
at the same time as sth else is happening.
used to contrast two things
(used at the beginning of a sentence) although, in spite of.

Although I think the definition 1. applies to the above text, I’m not confident.
Could you paraphrase “presiding while black” with more explicit or concrete wording?

By way of precaution, I’m simply asking grammatical and rhetorical interpretation of a word, ‘while’ used here. Please don't misunderstand. I haven’t the slightest intention to get into any of U.S related political or racial arguments.

P.S.

I found the article titled “Walking while black in the ‘White gaze’” in Sept 1 NYT, which begins with the following sentence:

  “Man, I almost blew you away!”

  Those were the terrifying words of a white police officer — one of
  those who policed black bodies in low income areas in North
  Philadelphia in the late 1970s — who caught sight of me carrying the
  new telescope my mother had just purchased for me.

  “I thought you had a weapon,” he said.

I got a clue.


texts:
Consider the following two sentences which use Parallelism:

(A) "He manages to get in and arranges the books"
(B) "He manages to get in and arrange the books"

I feel both are correct and the Parallelism may be as follows:

(A1) "He manages to get in" & (A2) "He arranges the books"
(B1) "He manages to get in" & (B2) "He manages to arrange the books"

(1) Are both sentences grammatically "correct" ?
(2) If yes, then how to indicate what is the common part ? In (A), only "He" is common in (A1) & (A2), whereas in (B), "He manages to" is common in (B1) and (B2). Are there ways to punctuate the sentences to show the common part ?
I ask this because, in some cases, there may be many ways to parse sentences and get Different Parallelism Structures, probably with Different Meanings.


texts:
I'm quite used to using the phrase "at your earliest convenience" to express urgency but also polite sensitivity to others' schedules and deadlines. It means "Please do this as son as you can without dropping something else."

Lately I've heard more and more voice mail greetings and written notes that use the phrase "at my earliest convenience."  To me, this is rather rude, since it means "I'll do it when I feel like it."  More to the point, politeness requires minimizing the bother of a request on oneself while expressing appreciation for the bother of a request made on someone else.

Am I reading too much into this?  Is it polite to use "at my earliest convenience?"  It certainly sounds rude to me.


texts: Need a single-word term for "an artist who produces drawings"

texts:
All my life I've been looking for a single word in English to describe someone who draws.  It would be the equivalent of "a painter", or "a ceramicist", or "a sculptor".

"Draftsman" has a technical slant to it.
"Illustrator" implies that the drawing accompanies text or implies a particular meaning.

A "Drawer" is part of a piece of furniture.

Haven't found anyone on either side of the Atlantic who has a good answer.

Sample sentence:

Hello, everybody! My name is Emily and I am a ______________ (someone who draws pictures, as in produces drawings as an art form).


texts: Does the sentence "taxi is a business card of a city" make sense to native speakers? Or better alternatives?

texts:
In Chinese, we often say X is a business card or showcase of a city to indicate that X is often the first thing a visitor will see/experience upon the arrival and X might determine the visitor's first impression of the city.

Does the literally translated "taxi is a business card of a city" make sense? Or if there is already an alternative in native speakers's everyday English?


texts: The word/phrase I'm looking for would be an antonym for Term of Endearment. It would be a nickname given to something out of fear, rather than admiration


texts: Is there a word for when a logo uses an image for one of the letters?

texts:
There's a million examples of this, but the one that comes to mind is "smoke shop" with images of pipes in place of the "S"s, like this:

Is there a word for this?

Edit, September 26, 2018
Thanks, @tmgr, for the detailed and informative response, but maybe I should clarify a bit. What I'm referring to doesn't have much in common with a rebus, wherein the names of the images are used to form the resulting word. (In my example above, that would be "pipe-moke pipe-hop")

I often see it in lazy or sometimes terrible graphic design. "Visual pun" comes close, but in many cases there doesn't seem to be any punning at all, or maybe they're just unfunny. In the worst cases, the word is rendered nearly incomprehensible or ambiguous.

More examples, all of which are fairly "punny". (I can't find any examples of the unfunny/downright-incomprehensible ones, sorry.)

  Name Tag Wizard

  Born Social

  Skilled Scholar


texts: Is there a word for a party leader whose outlook might as well be the party's slogan?

texts: This person does not even have to hold an official rank. However, he or she would be sufficiently well-known to be appealed to, or referenced, when doubt arises in regard to this or that decision about to be made.


texts: Is this present continuous or present simple? “There are children playing on the street.”

texts:
“There are children playing on the street.”

Tense-wise, how would you categorize this?

Should this be accepted as an example for the present continuous tense? My first instinct was no, but the omitted “who are” is throwing me off.


texts:
I'm having some hard time deciding on the types of a few ellipses I've got to analyze.

Let's consider an example such as this one:

  Then Rosemary came out and said that Daddy was going to jail, and I hit her." "[Did you hit her] Real hard?" "[I hit her] Real hard."

In case of this example, I would say both of the ellipses are clausal since the deletion of the subject,the predicate and the object affected the whole clause; the only element of that remaind being the adverbial. These two ellipses would fall into the category of bare argument ellipsis, as far as I know.

But what if there is an ellipsis such as this:

  She loved the child's pink nightie, [she loved] the stack of white pillow slips edged with embroidery...

Here, the coordinating "and" is replaced by a comma for a more dramatic effect and the second clause presupposes the subject and the predicate from the first. Would that still count as an example of clausal ellipsis, since without these two elements the second clause is technically incomplete, or would it be better to label it as an example of verb phrase ellipsis? The problem with that would be the fact that subjects are not considered constituents of verb phrases.

Thanks everybody in advance.


texts: What’s the difference between formula and method?

texts:
What's the difference between formula and method?

Their definitions given by a dictionary are pretty similar to mine:
a set of actions taken in order to achieve something.

My understanding is that formula is more specific than method like we need to do what when and how. Is my understanding correct?


texts: Positive adjective for comparisons between incommensurate objects

texts:
I am looking for a positive adjective to describe a conversation motivated between objects or ideas of different orders? 'Incommensurate', 'unlikely' et c. come to mind, but is there a positive adjective that appreciates the ingenuity of it?

In short, to institute a creative comparison between apples and oranges is a __________ comparison.


texts: What does “stuff one's nose into another's orifices” mean?

texts:
According to Maureen Dowd's article in New York Times (May 20) under the headline, “Remember to forget,” the European Court of Justice ruled last week that Google and other search engines can be forced to remove search results about ordinary citizens linking to news articles, websites, court records and other documents if the information is deemed “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant” - even if it is truthful.
She wrote;

Jaron Lanier, the author of “Who Owns the Future?” and a man known as
“the father of virtual reality,” vehemently agrees (the ruling). He
thinks the ruling rebuts Big Data’s “infantile desire for immediate
gratification" where you get to know everyone else’s secrets even as
you seek to keep your own. In order for others to be free, that means
you don’t get to stuff your nose into all their orifices all the time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/opinion/dowd-remember-to-forget.html?hp&rref=opinion

I was unable to find out the meaning of the phrase “stuff one’s nose into (all) one’s orifices” in either of CED and OED, nor on Google search.
What does it mean? Is it an idiom?
Is “you don’t get to stuff ...” the same in meaning as “you don’t have to stuff ...”?


texts: Which is correct: "not less than" or "no less than"?

texts:
Which is the correct idiom: "not less than" or "no less than"?
Example (edited):

There were no less than fifty people at the meeting.
There were not less than fifty people at the meeting.


texts:
I believe that these five sentences may be correctly punctuated. Do you agree? I'm using quotes around the movie title (as The New Yorker does) instead of italics. Although it may be ugly, I’m banking on all punctuation as being correct. Please, no suggested recasts. I thank you for any feedback.

  He said, “I thought I heard Judy say, ‘ “Gone with the Wind” ’s cast was unparalleled.’ ”
  Joe said, “ ‘Gone with the
  Wind’ ’s cast was unparalleled.”
  “Gone with the Wind” ’s cast was unparalleled.
  “ ‘Gone with the Wind’ ’s cast was unparalleled,” Joe said.
  Joe said “I thought I heard Judy say, ‘It was "Gone with the Wind” ’s’.”


texts: Term to describe fictional texts written in a non-fiction style

texts:
The term "creative non-fiction" is the opposite: a non-fiction work expressed in a fiction style, such as a historical novel.

It may be a little less common, but is there a general term for the opposite?

In film it might be called a "mockumentary" (e.g. This is Spinal Tap), or "pseudo-documentary" (e.g. War of the Worlds), but the use of "documentary" concerns a particular non-fiction medium. One wouldn't use it for Scarfolk Council (a fictional history blog), for example, or Welcome to Nightvale (a fictional news radio show).

So is there a more general term I'm missing?


texts: What does a predator feel when spotting its prey?

texts:
Many basic and everyday emotions have an origin that is somehow comprehensible from an evolutionary perspective, i.e. regarding situations which they originally were related to and originated from:

happiness – "(joy of) having (found) food"
sadness – "(sorrow about) not having (enough) food and diing from starvation"
greed –  "(greed for) having food" (experienced when spotting it)
fear –  "(fear of) getting killed by a predator" (experienced when spotting it)
disgust – "(aversion against) getting killed by poisonous plants"

What I wonder about is:

  Which everyday emotion (today) is most strongly related to the feeling a predator experiences when spotting its prey?

Some remarks:

Among predators this is a rather common situation.
Preys – when spotting a predator – experience simply fear.
The feeling is different from mere "(joy of) having found food", which can also been experienced when spotting a green meadow as a grazer. (Note: The meadow won't run away.)
The feeling is different from mere "(greed for) having food".
In German, there is the common word "Jagdfieber" ("hunting fever"), but it doesn't describe an everyday emotion today.


texts: To make a noun to describe everything that is known well, would it be 'the well-known'?

texts:
For example, would there be a hyphen in the following sentence: "What exasperated him most was the well-known"? Or would it be: "What exasperated him most was the well known"? I know there may better/different ways to express the same sentiment ... But I'm interested in this particular usage. Does the hyphen belong there?

Thanks!


texts: Until yesterday, I didn't know today "is" or "was"

texts:
Until yesterday, I didn't know today is Christmas day.

Or,

Until yesterday, I didn't know today was Christmas day.


texts:
I am looking for a noun that means the thing substituted.

  These substitutions are not perfect. There are material differences between the substitutes and ______________.


texts: What's the meaning of "concave" in this context?

texts:
What's the meaning of "concaved" in this senctence:

  As long as voters’ utility functions are concave, voters prefer policies that do not change drastically.


texts: Does a laser “etch” things, or does it “engrave” them?

texts:
Which (if any) of these adjectives would you use for describing a surface that has been cut using a laser beam:

a laser-etched surface
a laser-engraved surface
a laser-(something else) surface
a something else surface

So far I have found out that etched is generally lighter and made with acid, while engrave refers to a deeper trace, usually done with some physical tool.

But in the context of lasers, I have seen both words used.  Are they interchangeable, or is there some difference in nuance?


texts: Verb for replacing common words with unnecessary jargon?

texts:
Some people like to exchange common words for unnecessarily technical jargon. For example,

Your friend: I partook in ornithological observation
You: You mean you went birdwatching?

Is there a word for what your friend here is doing?
That is, if you asked your friend to stop _______ing, you would be asking them to stop using convoluted wording for no reason.
EDIT: I'm not referring here to the amount of detail, only to the unnecessary substitution of jargon into an otherwise straightforward sentence.


texts: Should I end with "Yours sincerely" or "Yours faithfully" when writing to editor?

texts:
I've read from other questions here that we should use "Yours sincerely" when we know the name of the recipient and "Yours faithfully" if we're writing to "Sir/Madam". Then what about "Dear Editor" and "Dear Parents" or "Dear Teachers"? Which one should I end with?

Can anybody help me out here? Thanks a lot!


texts:
If we refer a textual content in a footnote, should it be capitalized or not?

Here is an example:

  The proposed method is only working well with homogeneous space and it fails if the space is heterogeneous1.

Then for the heterogeneous we have a footnote which is :

  1  Which is the case for the ambiguous queries.

So, should it be which or Which in the footnote?


texts: What's an umbrella term for the two words "temporary" and "permanent"?

texts: I'm creating a form, by which a user can request access for a specific camera's surveillance tapes.  The user can specify the permanence of the access: either "temporary" or "permanent".  What's a hypernym of the two words? That is, what should I call the form field? Some examples that are off or inaccurate sounding would be: "Access Type", "Access Duration", "Access Permanence"


texts: What is this decoration called that's found around ceilings and doors?

texts: What is this decoration called that's found around ceilings and doors, as shown in the images below?


texts: Do I have to add "one" to refer to a last used noun?

texts:
While reading George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones I stumbled upon this sentence:

  His voice cracked like a boy's.

I think to remember from my English lessons in school that one should be added at the end to refer to the last used known noun, like so:

  His voice cracked like a boy's one.

Which is deemed grammatically correct?


texts: Correct use of exclamation mark in 'wham wham wham'

texts:
Please let me know in which of the two sentences below the exclamation mark is used correctly:

  I then slapped the fisherman three times, wham, wham, wham!
  I then slapped the fisherman three times, wham! wham! wham!


texts:
I wonder about the use of as a and as (only)  in writing. Can you explain when it is correct to quantify the noun when presenting oneself? I will paste some examples for clarity.
Are there any rules to follow?
Example 1

a) As teacher, I meet many children.
b) As a teacher, I meet many children.

Example 2

a) Working as pilot, I fly airplanes.
b) Working as a pilot, I fly airplanes.


texts: What is the expression for the process of getting over the loss of a loved person?

texts:
The term mourning usually  refers to the sorrow felt because of the death of a person:

  Great sadness felt because someone has died:

  Shops were closed as a sign of mourning for the king.
  He was in mourning for his wife.

(Cambridge Dictionary)

What is the expression that indicates the process, which may vary from person to person, during which the deep sorrow for the death of a friend or family  member is 'elaborated' and the death is finally accepted?

I am referring to the process we all undergo after the loss of a loved person (a parent, a friend, a family member). It is neither positive or negative, it is just a natural way to face a personal loss. We all may react differently and may require more or less time. It generally ends when you "accept" the loss.

I use "get over" in the title, it is a good expression but a generic one.


texts:
Petya and Vasya are competing with each other in a new interesting game as they always do.
At the beginning of the game Petya has to come up with an array of N positive integers. Sum of all elements in his array should be equal to S. Then Petya has to select an integer K such that 0 ≤ K ≤ S.
In order to win, Vasya has to find a non-empty subarray in Petya's array such that the sum of all selected elements equals to either K or S−K. Otherwise Vasya loses.

This is a problem statement. Now, I am having trouble in understanding third paragraph. Who is In order to win statement referring to?
According to me it should be Vasya, beacuse the paragraph was changed so subject also changes from Petya to Vasya.


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "not to mention ..."

texts:
Of course whatever follows would seem to be precisely the thing that isn't to be mentioned.

EDIT: I'm assuming that the phrase must have evolved from something more complete/cumbersome, like "and of course I don't need to tell you ...", or "and of course we know ...".


texts: The term for a song that people quickly become tired of on the radio?

texts:
Recently I was listening to the radio and the host used some expression (that now evades me) to explain that the song 7 Years by Lukas Graham quickly becomes uninteresting to listeners after a few plays - in other words the first few times you hear the song it is interesting but after that it becomes less interesting, compared to some songs that the user enjoys listening to over and over again.

I seem to recall that he used the word burn .e.g. the song's 'burn rate' however googling that only brings up references to a companies burn rate (the rate that it looses money), but not a song's.

So my question is just that, what is the term for this?


texts: What is the  difference between the words "unbiased" and "impartial" in terms of formality, usage, meaning?


texts: Adverb order: 'has largely been' or 'has been largely'

texts:
Does the placement of an adverb affect its meaning or application? Does each paired sentence here mean the same as the other?

  1.1 Mobile technology progress has largely been consumer-driven rather than enterprise-driven.
  1.2 Mobile technology progress has been largely consumer-driven rather than enterprise-driven.

  2.1 Mobile technology progress has largely been shaped by consumers.
  2.2 Mobile technology progress has been largely shaped by consumers.


texts: What is the difference between "Rest of the things" and "Remaining things"?

texts: In which context these words find their use? are they synonym to each other?


texts:
Imagine you're walking on a pedestrian path, you see a shady person coming towards you and you cross the street to continue walking on the other side.
In German, there's a short and easily comprehensible phrase for this:

  die Straßenseite wechseln

but I can't think of an English equivalent - "change street side" brought no google results and doesn't sound right.


texts: Comma after introductory phrase followed by a verb

texts:
While researching the use of commas after introductory prepositional phrases, I came across a document from a university in Texas . In the section for prepositional phrases, it stated, "Never place a comma after a phrase that is immediately followed by a verb."

The given example was

"Into the raging river plummeted the raft with its frightened occupants."

Is this a commonly followed guideline? I've never heard it before. Also, is this guideline the case for any introductory phrase or just prepositional phrase?

For example, if I understand the university's guideline correctly, I should not use a comma in the following sentence because the introductory phrase is followed by a verb. (As a side note, my guideline at work is to place a comma after introductory prepositional phrases of four or more words.)

"With the blue feather write each spelling word in the air." (This example is a spelling activity for children.)

But if it were worded this way, it would take a comma:

"With the blue feather, please write each spelling word in the air."

Or, worded as a statement rather than an imperative--in case that matters:

"With the blue feather, the girl will write each spelling word in the air."

Would I use a comma after this introductory phrase, though, which I believe is a participial phrase? Or does the same guideline apply to all introductory phrase, and I should leave the comma out because this phrase is directly followed by a verb?

"Using chalk, write each word on the chalkboard."

Versus wording it this way which does not have a verb following the introductory phrase:

"Using chalk, Harry wrote each word on the chalkboard."

TIA!


texts: The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the English alphabet. What is the main usage of these pangrams?


texts: Bring down the hammer definition/meaning/etymology

texts:
The only definition I found for this phrase is:

Bring down the hammer: To treat very harshly.

This is from the Wiktionary.

However there is no etymology. So I kept looking and it lead me to the gavel of the judge in this article. However looking at the comments below, there are more options, such as the hammer of a rifle, linking it to the phrase “drop the hammer” and also the mallet of Charon to finish off the fallen gladiator, which is now thousands of years old.

The context is: Documentaries bring down the hammer on psychiatry’s agenda.

Update: The Word-Detective and its comments give a good insight into the different meanings, though inconclusive.

Can somebody give a definitive explanation, please?


texts: Can't get the meaning of "score mondo points"

texts:
I'm stuck with understanding the following sentence from Effective Modern C++: 42 Specific Ways to Improve Your Use of C++11 and C++14

  yes, the syntax looks toxic, but knowing it will score you mondo points with those few souls who care.

What are these mysterious "mondo points"? I googled it and it relates to shoe size which seems kind of weird.
Do I understand correctly that these points are represented by souls? I also found that there is a phrasal verb "score with" which means to please somebody or someone. So in this case, knowing will score with (please) few souls and you is now irrelevant?


texts: Quick question: "It does not fly, but hop" or "It does not fly, but hops". I'm certain, it is the first one, my teacher claims, the second one is correct. Which one is correct and why?


texts:
I'm doing a formal writing essay and I'm using a phrase from an online source. The phrase is:

You’re screwed.

What is an alternative, more formal term I could use?


texts: Is there are word that means "contrived example" without a negative connotation?

texts:
I have been using the word strawman to describe source code that is extremely simplified or contrived to illustrate some syntax or usage of something where the actual source code is irrelevant and the contrivance is not important much less a negative connotation.
Motivation:
I want to convey that the specific example is not relevant as a discussion point for criticism and that the focus is the syntax usage of the annotations that start with @ without having to give a long disclaimer. That said, it is for StackOverflow so either one is probably a waste of time since 99% of the time over there people do not read for comprehension.
Here is a(n) ?????? example:
I would like to replace the word strawman with something more semantically positive. This is just showing how to use the annotations, the actual code is irrelevant. Pseudo is not semantically correct here as this is actual correct executable code.

Here is a strawman example:
@JsonCreator()
public static Item construct(@JsonProperty("col1") String col1, @JsonProperty("col2") String col2) {
  this(col1, col2, col1 + col2 + "some other stuff");
}

private Item(final String col1, final String col2, final String col3) {
  this.col1 = col1;
  this.col2 = col2;
  this.col3 = col3;
}

I have researched here and the general internet and can not find anything suitable. I would even accept a non-English term if it was semantically what I am looking for.


texts: Punctuation of a subtitle starting with "Or"

texts:
I have a main title of a chapter: "Eureka!"

My subtitle, right below that, is: "Or, Archimedes in the Bath"

I'm not sure about that comma.

What are common practices? Are there any authoritative rules for how to punctuate a subtitle?


texts: A word or phrase for a non-military attack on a country's home soil

texts:
EDIT

The fact that my question remains unanswered suggests that such a term doesn't exist. That, by itself, is valuable information.

Consider this definition of asymmetric warfare:

  Asymmetric warfare is war between belligerents whose relative military
  power differs significantly, or whose strategy or tactics differ
  significantly.

(Wikipedia)

Classic examples include the U.S. invasions of Vietnam (which beat the U.S.) and Afghanistan (where freedom fighters are still putting up a stiff resistance).

Now imagine a scenario where another country wages a non-traditional war against the U.S. not on its own soil but in the U.S. For example, the U.S. government has complained about China's cyberwarfare capabilities, and there are also concerns that China is capable of attacking America's infrastructure.

We could broadly describe such an attack as asymmetrical warfare, but I'd like to find a distinct word or term for such an attack, something that distinguishes it from the more traditional asymmetrical warfare we see in the various countries invaded by the U.S.

The term blowback comes to mind, but I think that's a little too broad. Can you think of a better term for a non-conventional attack on a country targeting not its military, but its infrastructure or other assets on its home soil?

Feel free to coin new terms.

UPDATE

My question is apparently confusing to some, so I wanted to add an example to make it more clear.

Suppose you could travel a hundred years into the future, and you read the following in book titled History of the 21st Century.

  "World War I and World War II were the biggest 'conventional wars'
  ever fought. In the face of continuing U.S. aggression, smaller,
  weaker countries turned to guerilla warfare and what came to be known
  as asymmetric warfare, which was stunningly successful in Vietnam.

  "Towards the end of the 20th century, Afghan freedom fighters
  practiced asymmetric warfare against the Soviet Union, then against
  the U.S. during the first two decades of the 21st century.

  "Though the Afghans enjoyed some success, the tide didn't really begin
  to turn until the advent of ________, first employed on a large scale
  by Iran, which launched a cyberattack against Israel in 2018. Two
  years later, the U.S was dealt a stunning blow by a massive
  cyberattack and an equally massive attack on its infrastructure,
  apparently a joint Russian-Chinese operation with support from some
  other countries, notably Latin American."

What word or term would you fill in the blank with to describe this new type of warfare?


texts:
I know that there are differences between increase and increment and decrease and decrement in general. E.g. increase/decrease can be used as verbs whereas increment/decrement cannot, and increment may not necessarily imply an increase in some contexts (Mathematics).

However, I am not aware of any differences in meaning between them when used as a noun in a context similar to this:

  The expected increase in global temperatures
  vs. The expected increment in global temperature

I checked the usage in the English corpus with Google Ngram Viewer and the pair increase/decrease seem to be used more frequently.

Is there a subtle difference in meaning between these two? Would there be a subtle difference, if I used decrease and decrement in the previous comparison?


texts: What is the meaning of lemniscate related with clothing?

texts:
Here is lemniscate is used as a part or feature of clothing. What doses it mean ?

TIA


texts: Can I say "No other mountains in Europe are higher than Mont Blanc"?

texts:
In my text book there is a sentence

  No other mountain in Europe is higher than Mont Blanc.

Can it be paraphrased as

  No other mountains in Europe are higher than Mont Blanc.

?

If so, is there any difference in the meaning between them?


texts: Why are reveries sometimes called "brown" studies?

texts:
Though this idiom is by no means very common, one comes across it now and then.  (I just came across it again today, which is why I'm asking this question.)

Why is a "brown study" so named?


texts: Is there any idiom which is exactly opposite of 'head start'?

texts:
I am searching for an idiom which means

  to have a disadvantage that makes your chances of winning bleak

It should appropriately fit in this analogy:

  Head Start - Win
  ___ - Lose


texts: Was there a /t͡ʃ/ to /k/ sound change from Old English?

texts:
I stumbled upon a strange thing while looking up the etymology of words ending in "le". I looked up "kettle" and saw that it was pronounced with /t͡ʃ/ in Old English and also in Middle English.
An entry from Wikitionary:

From Middle English ketel, also chetel, from Old Norse ketill and Old English ċietel

The pronunciation of Old English ċietel is  /ˈt͡ʃi͜y.tel/ where /t͡ʃ/ can be seen.
In Middle English, wikitionary gives three pronunciations: /ˈkɛtəl/, /ˈtʃɛtəl/, /ˈtʃitəl/. One of the pronunciations has /k/, the other two have /tʃ/.
I searched many other words starting with "k" in Modern English, that are from Old English but none of them show the same change. Also, I can't find anything on Google.
Can someone explain why it happened? Was it a one-time change or it applied to other words too?


texts:
Imagine a mother who's lost her child recently. She's vocalizing and singing beautiful and tearjerking love songs to herself all the time, because she loves to reminisce about her lovely departed child. Sometimes the rest of the family join her: she sings and they all cry and sigh and stuff. You might say that she has a nice voice, but that's not the point in what she does. There's no intention of amusement or entertainment or showing off. It's all about remembrance and grief and (subconsciously) taking solace.

What is the term for that?

Edit:
I want a verb that describes what she does.
I know of such verbs in Persian and in Arabic, but couldn't find a good English equivalent for them.


texts:
The meaning of a sentence

The passage comes from The Glamour of Grammar.

  There was one language distinction I found almost impossible to master
  until I tripped over an alternate terminology: the difference between
  a restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clause. Restrictive and
  nonrestrictive sound a little like the language you might see in ads
  for girdles or jockey shorts.

I don't think I do understand the following part of the last sentence, "the language you might see in ads for girdles or jockey shorts."
I mean the implied meaning under the literal surface.


texts: Should "stranger" be capitalized when addressing someone in an email?

texts:
I am emailing someone who I don't know the name of, so I am addressing the email with "Hello Stranger". Should I capitalize "stranger"?

Thanks


texts: What is the origin of High Street (and Highway)?

texts:
I'm trying to find out how the name High Street and Highway came about and I have found two conflicting meanings of high.

One is that it comes from Roman roads as they were built higher than their surroundings.

  "The word highway goes back to the elevated Roman roads that had a
  mound or hill formed by earth from the side ditches thrown toward the
  centre, thus high way."

https://www.britannica.com/technology/road
http://www.surveyhistory.org/how_the_road_got_its_name1.htm

And the other is that it comes from high meaning principle, as in the main street.

  "The name seems to have emerged in the 12th century when the word
  ‘high’ began to be used to indicate something or someone of a higher,
  or more important, status than others."

http://www.historyextra.com/qa/high-street
http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/more/1645/
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=highway

Which of these origins is correct?


texts:
Is there any terminology or wording to describe the type of fundamental change of a system that is not the result of a single cause, but rather caused by many influences at interplay pushing from several directions that jointly make the status quo unsustainable, reaching a tipping point to force change?

So in a way, the opposite of a simple cause and effect relationship in say physics, and more the sort of causation in society or politics.


texts:
I found this phrase in the following excerpt from a novel (emphasis added):

  New York cabbies were a unique breed. Fearless to a fault, they sped
  and swerved through crowded streets with unnatural calm.

I googled it between quotation marks and found almost 100.000 results. This somehow leads me to think that it is some sort of idiom or set phrase. Is it the case? Again, I can't understand its proper meaning: is it "so fearless that they may be faulted for that"?


texts:
In Australia, most people of my age call someone who cheats in any form (sport, relationships, whatever) a "cheat", not a "cheater".

In American English, I only hear the latter ever.

Why? Is there a difference or nuance that I'm missing?


texts: candid candor, splendid splendor, squalid squalor, rigid rigor -- finding examples

texts:
The etymological fallacy is exposed by examples as humid/humor, liquid/liquor, and, I think, some others.

This pattern, at least as applied to the examples in the subject line, is familiar to speakers of English, but not productive.  There are lots of patterns in the English language of which that can be said.

My question is: What sorts of reference works or web sites or whatever, enables one to find such phenomena and somewhat comprehensive lists of instances?


texts: When can past indefinite tense be used instead of past continuous tense?

texts:
"I answered the phone in my apartment and heard the sloping drawl of one of my students , Travis. " Miss Diana , " he said , "Could you come on down the stairs a minute?"

It was early May on the Great Plains . The University of Nebraska had just let out for the summer, and there was an aroma of pasture and cow everywhere, even - when the wind was right - - at the center of the city. I didn't want to be in Nebraska. I was 26 years old , and I wanted to be writing novels , not grading papers on detasseling corn."

These sentences have been recited from the following link:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/2004/07/11/the-goddess-of-flowers/f0ca69bf-fb03-47e2-bd6a-460073fbdf52/

1) In first sentence why has past indefinite tense been used? My opinion is- we should use past continuous tense in this case, i,e we could say- I was answering the phone.....". Please, tell what you think.

Thanks to everyone of this forum.


texts: Grammaticality of "the near-term pain a trade battle would impose on U.S. workers will prove worthwhile"

texts:
In the last August edition of TIME Magazine, I stumbled across this sentence. I am not a native speaker and am interested whether the unusual structure without any comma is correct. I am also unsure about the meaning of the word impose in this context.

  But there's a catch for the Trump team. If you want to be sure the near-term pain a trade battle would impose on U.S. workers will prove worthwhile in the long run, you'd better have allies — both political and military.


texts:
I was corresponding with someone about the misuse of a Latin phrase, puto qui, during which I said,

  Instead of peppering his sentences with incorrect puto quis, he should have used the infinitive verb form in the subordinate clauses.

How are phrases or groups of words like this normally pluralized? I italicized the puto qui and not the s, but I am not sure if there is a conventional way to do this.


texts: Do I need to have experience with something to have a preference?

texts:
If I prefer something over something else, does that imply that I have had a prior experience with one of the two things?

OED has preference defined as 'A greater liking for one alternative over another or others.'

Can I like something without having any experiences with it?


texts: We could describe the jewel set at the highest points of the crown as at its "peak" or "cap". What is it a "peak" or "cap" of, in the context of the object, in jeweling? For example, if this were a natural formation, the gemstone would be the peak of the moutain. How can I describe the arch here, so that I can say, the gemstone is set atop the word?


texts:
Should I use a comma or a semicolon before always? For example,

  I consider my family to be a happy and caring one; always finding the time to share special moments together.

or

  I consider my family to be a happy and caring one, always finding the time to share special moments together.


texts: declining reputation, worsening reputation

texts:
I am trying to write a two-word phrase. The second word is "reputation." The first word is a modifier; it will signal that a reputation is getting worse. "Worsening reputation" fits this description -- but it seems clunky and unidiomatic to me. Is there a better alternative?
"Declining reputation" came to mind, but I am not sure that it's appropriate. A reputation can be in decline, but can it be declining? Perhaps it's fine; I am not sure.
"Decreasing reputation" is not appropriate here. I wouldn't write "increasing reputation" to suggest that someone's reputation is getting better (though I might consider it if I wanted to suggest that someone was becoming better-known).
"Deteriorating reputation" might make sense, but "deteriorating" is just too many syllables.


texts: Is there a word that means "to walk slowly"?

texts:
The only word that comes to my mind is tiptoe. However, this word implies that you are walking stealthily or cautiously.

Is there a word that just means to walk slowly?

Example sentence:

  Without knowing what I was doing, I _ toward her.


texts: SIMILE HELP: Gripping the wheel tightly like

texts: I need an expression to be a simile to gripping the wheel of a car tightly.


texts: Confused about "I can’t in good countenance continue..."

texts:
Taken from the article's title in Independent:

Fox news cuts away from McEnany press conference: ‘I can’t in good
countenance continue showing this’

As I understand it, countenance means facial expression. So in this case, the title's meaning would be, "I can't with a straight-face continue..." or "I can't continue composed..."
Do I have that right, or would the phrase "in good conscience" be more suited here?


texts: Subjunctive Usage: If there were your help

texts:
I am an assistant English teacher in Japan.  My JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) was asking me questions about the subjunctive mood.

We were talking about sentences such as:

  Were it not for your help ... If not for your help ... But for your help ... (This one actually threw me for a loop at first)

These sentences all use "your help" as a noun.

Then he proposed the sentence:

  If there were your help, I would finish quickly.

My immediate reaction was nope nope nope nope nope.  It sounds so wrong to my ears.  But, not having an English degree, and only going on being a native speaker, I can't explain WHY this is wrong (or if it is actually wrong).

My suggested versions were:

  If you were to help me ... If I were to have your help ...

So now I need YOUR help!  Is "if there were your help" wrong and why is it wrong?


texts: What does 'shaping touch' mean in this sentence?

texts:
I found this sentence:

  Don't despite training. Even you would be worthless without the shaping  touch of drills and studies.

What does 'shaping touch' mean?


texts: What is the female equivalent for "handsome"?

texts: In the first days in a relationship, a girl welcomes a guy with "hey handsome". Would be "hey honey" an appropriate response?


texts: I saw this in one book: Her cheeks were too big and outrageously red-red to bear looking at. What does red-red mean here? Where can I read more on this particular hyphen rule?


texts:
What is the word used to describe a job given to a person just to give him/her the status of being in employment? The role does not effectively fulfil a purpose other than status and prestige. I read this word in an article months ago and have not been able to find it. I am referring to an adjective, not nepotism or tokenism, and the concept is more general.

Example sentence:

  Jim has a |word| job, it was given to him just to give him status and prestige.


texts: How should I understand the meaning of 'start' in this sentence in Virginia Woolf's Orlando?

texts:
I'm reading Virginia Woolf's Orlando, however in the first paragraph in Chaptet 1 I ran into this sentence

Orlando's father, or perhaps his grandfather, had struck it from the shoulders of a vast Pagan who had started up under the moon in the barbarian fields of Africa.

See, I went to all the dicts (all the ones I can find) to see whether there is such a phrasal verb as 'start up' or not, but surely 'start up sth such as business' isn't logically comprehensible considering the context.
I am now wondering if this 'start' means 'a slight movement of body because you've been surprised or excited'.
Thank you for your help.


texts: Difference between "Aligned with" vs "In Alignment With"?

texts:
Is there a difference between "aligned with" vs "in alignment with" ?

Context:

you will align US with OUR Inner Truth; clearing all the ways and reasons WE may not be in alignment with OUR Inner Truth

vs

you will align US with OUR Inner Truth; clearing all the ways and reasons WE may not be aligned with OUR Inner Truth

Is there a difference in meaning and intent? if so, which one is better? Do you have a better alternative altogether?


texts:
In Diana of the Crossways, Lady Dunstane does not like her new house: she thinks it is too ugly. Her friend Diana, however, says that many people would be happy to have a house like that. My question is: what is meant here by indemnities?

  Her cat's love of the familiar inside corners was never able to embrace the outer walls. Her sensitiveness, too, was racked by the presentation of so pitiably ugly a figure to the landscape. She likened it to a coarse-featured country wench, whose cleaning and decorating of her countenance makes complexion grin and ruggedness yawn. Dirty, dilapidated, hung with weeds and parasites, it would have been more tolerable. She tried the effect of various creepers, and they were as a staring paint. What it was like then, she had no heart
  to say.

  One may, however, fall on a pleasureable resignation in accepting great indemnities, as Diana bade her believe, when the first disgust began to ebb. "A good hundred over there would think it a Paradise for an asylum: she signified London."

I undestand the literal meaning of indemnities, but do not understand what does it signify here: an indemnity is a compensation, but who pays it in this context? Or maybe she refers to the landscape of the estate which, unlike the house, both of them find beautiful?


texts: Is there such a thing as Intrusive-L (as opposed to Intrusive-R)?

texts:
Most of us have heard plenty of examples of the so-called Intrusive-R. It is a feature of non-rhotic dialects, including British RP and some New England dialects. It occurs between two vowels that are normally articulated, such as a vowel ending one word followed immediately by a vowel beginning another word, presumably to avoid having to produce a glottal (or other) stop. Or, according to Wikipedia:

  The phenomenon of intrusive R is an overgeneralizing reinterpretation[10][11] of linking R into an r-insertion rule that affects any word that ends in the non-high vowels /ə/, /ɪə/, /ɑː/, or /ɔː/;[12] when such a word is closely followed by another word beginning in a vowel sound, an /r/ is inserted between them, even when no final /r/ was historically present.[13] For example, the phrase bacteria in it would be pronounced /bækˈtɪəriərˌɪnɪt/. The epenthetic /r/ can be inserted to prevent hiatus, two consecutive vowel sounds

That passage goes on to note one of the more famous examples, which occurs in the second verse of The Beatles' song "A Day in the Life" as John Lennon sings:

  I saw[r]a film today oh boy
  The English Army had just won the war

Instances of this phenomenon are legion and, as far as I am aware, uncontroversial. Nevertheless, I have recently noted instances, in the speech of a woman I know, of what can only be called Intrusive-L, because it occurs in the same place and under the same circumstances as Intrusive-R.

For example, the other day she described her children, as she watched them on an amusement park ride, like this:

  And I saw[l]'em waving at me as they went by.

Now, she could merely have said "saw them" instead of trying to produce "saw 'em" and the problem would have been obviated, but that's not what happened. There have been other instances as well. Note that she never mixes up /r/ and /l/ in speech, as some people do. She grew up in Southern California, by the way.

My question is this: Is this merely the product of her own idiolect, or is Intrusive-L actually a recognized feature of some dialect(s)?

Note: I went looking for it, but searches for Intrusive-L all seem to assume I really mean Intrusive-R and only return articles about that well-known feature.

A resolution

Based on the evidence in Araucaria's excellent answer I pursued the matter a bit further,  contacting the woman and asking her if other family members produced the same intrusive-l sound in everyday speech. She said her mother and grandmother both do. And where is that branch of the family from? Why, Pennsylvania just west of Philadelphia.


texts: the use of the word "of" in the sentence

texts:
Could you tell me the grammatical function of the word "of" in the sentence below?
"You're just clearing it of all the filth and just putting it somewhere that's outside of you."
I can guess it means the same as "You're just clearing all the filth..."
But I don't understand why "of" is used in the sentence.
I'd appreciate your explanation of the grammar rule and some examples.


texts:
Is the usage (someone) is off for lunch correct?

I think the preceding usage is right but I am not pretty sure.

Related question


texts:
I heard this one on TV, too. Here is the quote:

  Narrator: Sara is isolated geographically and emotionally from her
  family and friends.
  A friend: Five years had gone by where we were
  doing the mom-husband-wife thing. And she's on a yacht swimming in the
  ocean.

I gave a lot of thought to what she might be meaning here but couldn't figure it out. Any help appreciated :)


texts: "should think" vs "think" - What's the difference?

texts:
Are they just actually the same?

I'm not sure how much the trip will cost, I should think $500 will be ample.
I'm not sure how much the trip will cost, I think $500 will be ample.


texts: Is "completely" in "completely equal" a redundancy?

texts: Is "completely" redundant in "Women and men are completely equal"?


texts: When should I capitalise the first inital after a colon?

texts:
I've read a few question and answers on this topic but, to make assurance doubly sure (as it were), here goes.
Is the capitalisation correct in the following two instances?

Chapter 7 examines the impact of intra-household inequalities in access to food and addresses questions such as: How do poor agricultural families cope with food insecurity during seasonal troughs in the agricultural production cycle? How do they cope with calamities such as drought and famine? Does the burden of coping fall equally on all family members?

This is justified on the grounds that: ‘In the African way, we speak to the man who is the head of the house and assume he will pass on the information to other members’; and again, ‘Being men, it is of course easier for us to persuade men’ (Staudt 1975–76: 91).

In instance (1), had there been only one question, should I have lowercased the initial h?
Chapter 7 examines the impact of intra-household inequalities in access to food and addresses questions such as: how do poor agricultural families cope with food insecurity during seasonal troughs in the agricultural production cycle?


texts:
At university, it was drilled into us to avoid comma splices like the plague, but I keep seeing them in all different types of famous, best-selling novels.

I read things (all in dialogue, in inverted commas) like:

-You wouldn't like it, believe me.

-Trust me, I know what I'm taking about.

-I'm not going, I don't care what you see.

-He's a straight shooter, I'll give him that.

-I'm warning you, don't test me.

-I told you, he doesn't work on Mondays.

-Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.

I keep seeing this type of things in really well-known novels.

I know a lot of editors like to avoid using semi-colons and colons in dialogue, and wonder if this is why so many comma splices are creeping in?

Are comma splices more acceptable in dialogue than in regular text, in the way that commas can indicate pauses and so mimic more natural sounding speech?

Is there also an argument that says that commas in dialogue, even if they cause comma splices, are less distracting to the reader than a semi-colon in the middle of a sentence, which they may not fully understand or that may take away from the natural flow of the words?

I was wondering if any writers here would use comma splices in dialogue as above.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you.


texts: A word/idiom/phrase to describe something(idea, concept, information) that doesn't gel with the rest of the content

texts:
The words/idioms/expression I am looking for is to describe the suddenness of the information presented in either visual or audio context that does not fit into the general theme.

Exaggerated example

  You are tasked to write an article about the latest solar eclipse, your boss wants you to insert a piece of information about insurance and insist you link the two matters together in the same article.

Other than asking your boss Are you alright?, is there an expression/word/idioms to tell your boss it is not a good idea to forcefully insert a different subject matter, it will be too abrupt for the readers, and explain/describe the mismatch of subjects?

Other than simply stating they don't match, is there a more eloquent, professional and diplomatic way to express it in regular idioms/expressions/words?

Or in the shoes of the readers, the phrase/expression/idioms you would use to describe shoved in your face kind of selling or a sudden switch of subject matters in reading materials?

Thank you


texts:
I am editing my brother’s paper, and I realized I am unsure about the possessive form of Marine Corps, such as

  The best kept secret of the Marine Corps

Is it

  the Marine Corps’ best kept secret

or

  the Marine Corp’s best kept secret

I am leaning towards the first because the s is part of the word corps.


texts:
What is the right tense of highlighted words in the sentence below? I feel that I'm writing it wrong.

Perhaps you've been contacted before by a customer who screams that his site isn't working only to find out later that the problem was with his connection.


texts:
What is the difference of 'needy' and 'poor'? In the context of helping (needy|poor) people from country XY.

First I dismissed the use of needy, because I heard it in negative context  (like "That guy was so needy, he was almost begging for her number..."). So I preferred to use "poor" instead. But this is probably a stupid argument, as I found later.

I've been trying to find the difference and I only found that many times these adjectives go together, like in this dictionary
or in the phrase "Caring for the Poor and Needy". But the fact that they are used in such a way means that there must be some difference in the meaning; otherwise who would put two synonyms in one term?


texts: Hence vs Therefore in casual conversation

texts:
Trying to be concise, I have been using hence instead of therefore for some time.
In the context of a casual conversation, which should be used (and why)?


texts: Can you use the plural "affairs" when (Solitary) talking about an individual?

texts: He tangled in many affairs with his mistress.


texts:
Which is correct:

  Today is one of the warmer days this month.
  Today is one of the warmest days this month.

I hear the first used almost exclusively on television news.


texts: In what book was "the oldest joke in the book"?

texts:
I'd like to understand the derivation of the phrase "oldest X in the book."  Was this referring to a particular book, or was it an idiom that developed without a particular object in mind?

If it is just an idiom, how old is the idiom, and how did it develop?


texts:
Do you add a comma after an adverb in a dialog sentence, such as

  "Stop it!" she yelled, loudly.

Should there be a comma after yelled?


texts:
I'm planning to develop a brand identity, which will be creating revenue through clicks! The whole idea is ethical, no deceptive tricks involved.

I want to add a gimmick to traditional boring form of articles. To do so I will create a group of characters affiliated with actual article writers. These characters are more of anime style fighters ..... like samurai, ninja, boxer etc ....

The name I came up with is " Scarlet Clique "

The reason behind the name is that I will draw the characters in charcoal pencil sketch form with a cloth element of scarlet color. As they are a group of character having a common purpose or aim so I thought to call them clique instead of clan.

I feel that "Scarlet clique" rhymes better than " scarlet clan " does. Also "clique" will point to "click" which is an important aim!

I now have some concerns about "clique" as after reading a previous answer about the word here on this forum. I learned that the world "clique" can have a negative meaning which I am afraid might be an issue in future!

Is there a Positive alternative for the word Clique?

Please ignore any language mistakes as English is not my first language :)


texts: Using correct indefinite article before (in-line) parentheses

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “A/An” preceding a parenthetical statement

This is rather question of readability:

Which article should be preferred?

  There is an (seemingly) easy correction to this issue.

favoring "an easy" or

  There is a (seemingly) easy correction to this issue.

if you hear "a seemingly easy".


texts: Etymology/history of "dib-dob" as military slang for foreign currency

texts:
Dib-dob is used as a generic term for foreign currency (I've come across it for Euros and Dollars).

I've recently heard this used by some RAF types, and had heard it before, from someone presumably influenced by family members in the Royal Navy.  The Guardian has it as submariner's slang, though the naval influence when I heard it was shore-based and, I seem to recall, surface ships.

I don't know whether it's specifically UK military, or even whether it extends to the army (the RAF has some significant naval influences which may be surprising to those who haven't read its history).  I can't find it in any dictionary I've tried online, and Google isn't being much help even with "-scout -scouts". Urban Dictionary does have a definition (for what it's worth), but a different one "A retarded child. A window licker. A boss eyed dribbler. A Currys or Comet staff member."

I've tried looking at the currencies of places where the Navy (and later RAF)
might have been stationed, but haven't seen anything obvious.
I'm interested to know where it came from and how long it's been around.


texts: I'll chase this up for you and I'll let you know at my earliest opportunity.

texts: is this sentence correct? Please let me know what you think


texts:
Of all the words ending in 'ware', housewares is the only one that gets an ending 's'.

cookware
earthenware
flatware
glassware
hardware
shareware
silverware
software
stoneware
tableware
tupperware

What is the reason for this exception?  Or, what is the grammatical explanation for it?

The definition of 'ware' is plural: manufactured articles

Putting an 's' on the end of ware seems redundantly plural, as in housewares.


texts: “The Gaussian elimination” or “Gaussian elimination”?

texts:
I have seen it used without a quantifier in my textbook, but I don’t see how it doesn’t need one.

Some example sentences:

The LU factorization leads to another perspective on Gaussian elimination.

It is no more efficient to use this than to use Gaussian elimination.


texts:
As such, the central management objectives of this study are: to determine whether site XXXXX should be considered a non-site or, if not, provide NRHP eligibility recommendation; and to identify and assess project impacts to site XXXXX.
I'm 99% sure the colon is used incorrectly, but what about the commas and semicolon?


texts: What's the meaning of "if anything else"?

texts:
I don't seem to understand the exact meaning of "if anything else" in the beginning portion of the sentence below. I think I could use your help to understand what it actually means.

  If anything else, the government's job is to protect the safety and health of our citizens.


texts: "Teaching assistant" referring to a student

texts: Can I use "teaching assistants" to refer to students teaching peers in lower grade levels as their extra activities? What is the best word in this case?


texts: Can we have non-finite clauses with overt subject without "for"?

texts:
I read the following in a comment to an answer to another post of mine:

"What’s the difference between expect for things to improve and expect things to improve? Is that for part of expect for, or is it part of the infinitive? You can do the same thing with need for him to call and need him to call, so I imagine there are others like this. You can ask that he call you and you can ask for him to call you, but you ask also ask him to call you. How come a for isn’t mandatory here in these to-infinitives with overt subjects?"

I think these are very interesting observations, and I too would like to have an answer to this. My very tentative theory is that these are, in fact, different syntactic structures – not simply the same structure with an optional for.

(1a) I expect for things to improve

(1b) I need for him to call

(1c) I asked for him to call

(2a) I expect things to improve

(2b) I need him to call

(2c) I asked him to call

My question is as follows: Could it be that whereas the structures following the finite verbs in (1a-c) are indeed non-finite clauses with overt subjects introduced by for, functioning as catenative complements, the words following the finite verbs in (2a-c) are, in fact, two constituents, where things, him and him respectively is a direct object in the form of an NP, whereas only the remaining structure constitutes a catenative complement in the form of a non-finite clause (without an overt subject)?

As for the construction with that, finally – as in I asked that he call you – I would've thought we're simply dealing with a finite that-clause (which happens to be in the subjunctive rather than in the indicative mood) functioning as a direct object – or am I completely lost here?


texts:
The experience of transition1 requires negotiation between sacrifice and opportunity

I asked this on philosophy.SE a while ago.

Most agreed that the statement is nonsensical: You cannot negotiate between sacrifice and opportunity, as these are not mutually exclusive as implied by the conceptually linking 'and'.

1(Transition: To enter new social or academic contexts or phases of life, etc.)


texts: Any other way of saying "I share your opinion"?

texts: "I divide your position" is the first that came to my mind, but I think it's definitely incorrect. Is there any phrase like this with "position", not "opinion"?


texts: "Repairable" vs. "reparable" vs. "irreparable" vs. "unrepairable"

texts:
I've been looking online at these three words, but I'm not able to determine their relationship and the rules surrounding their usage.

I believe this is true:

Repairable: Just what you'd think, "capable of being repaired".
Reparable:  Exactly the same as repairable (modulo spelling and pronunciation of course).
Irreparable: The opposite of the above.
Unrepairable: The same meaning as irreparable, but seems to be less commonly used.

Is all of this correct?


texts: Why isn't the verb to be used: The house sold for more than expected.

texts:
I'm trying to understand the construction of these two sentences and would appreciate any help/thoughts:

  The house sold for more than expected.
  The house fetched more than expected.

To me both sentences seem to convey the same meaning,that is, the value that was obtained after selling the house was greater than expected.

What I'm really trying to determine is why the verb to be isn't necessary to form the passive here, in either sentence and whether it has something to do with sold and fetched being used in an intransitive form.


texts:
I received an email from my advisor and he uses the verb "scale out". Since I am not an english native speaker, I tried to find the definition on the web but didn't find anything useful.
The context is the following. Somebody asked my advisor this:

We have set all constants to one and only focused on the shape of the plot. In the final paper, can we keep doing this or how does it work?

Then my advisor replied:

We usually scale out and express in terms of dimensionless parameters

I guess he meant "we scale out the plot", but what does scale out mean in this context


texts: When can verbal passives be used in secondary predicates?

texts: In a paper I read, on the fifth page (labelled "359"), it says resultative secondary predicates can only be stative adjectival passives. For example, "John hammered the metal flat" is valid but "John hammered the metal flattened" is not. However, there are other secondary predicates that don't follow this rule. "I prefer my food salted" uses "salted," a resultative, as a secondary predicate. Also, "This software comes pre-installed by the manufacturer" is a valid sentence, but I don't think "pre-installed" is an adjectival passive, so I am not quite sure about the rules on secondary predicates and passives.


texts: How should I pronounce "Worcestershire" as a rhotic English speaker?

texts: I'm aware that the English county of Worcestershire is pronounced in Britain as ['wu:stəʃə], more or less. However, this is a non-rhotic pronunciation, and it feels very unnatural for me to use this pronunciation when speaking in my native dialect. There are three /r/s in the spelling, and it seems like at least some of those should be reflected in the pronunciation. What is an appropriate way for a rhotic English speaker to pronounce the name?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “You was trouble”?

In the movie "Thelma & Louise", Thelma says:

  You said we was gonna have some fun, so let's have some!

So my question is why does she say "was" instead of "were"? Is it meant to indicate something like the woman is illiterate?
And what would people think of me if I talked like that?


texts: When to use 'on' and 'with' with homework

texts:
I am teaching a class and a student asked why "on" changes to "with" in the second sentence.

  I need help on my homework.
  I'll help you with your homework.

"With" works fine in both sentences, but I feel that "on" doesn't feel natural in the second sentence. I couldn't give a student a grammatical rule about this.

Can anyone explain why "on" doesn't work in the second sentence as in:

  I'll help you on your homework.


texts: Structure of "As I passed by there looked out from it the face I showed you this afternoon"

texts:
While reading Oscar Wilde's The Sphinx without a secret, I came across the following passage:

  'One evening,' he said, 'I was walking down Bond Street about five o'clock. There was a terrific crush of carriages, and the traffic was almost stopped. Close to the pavement was standing a little yellow brougham, which, for some reason or other, attracted my attention. As I passed by there looked out from it the face I showed you this afternoon. It fascinated me immediately.

Although the broad meaning of the emphasized sentence is clear to me, I fail to understand its precise structure. The main point on which I stumble is the use of there, prefixing the verb to look.

First, to make sure that I understand it correctly: could this sentence be rewritten As I passed by, the face which I had showed you this afternoon looked out from it?

Second, is the use of there in this sentence similar to its use in such constructs as there is, or there was? It seemed to me that this was specific to the verb to be1, but I was basing on nothing but personal experience.

Can you help with examples?
1
I thought I might mention that I'm not a native English speaker, although this question alone makes it quite obvious. We have a construct in French similar to there is, namely il y a, but it's a construction figée; that is, a remnant of the past.


texts: The use of BECOME in Jack London's The Call Of The Wild

texts:
Far more potent were the memories of his heredity that gave things he had never seen before a seeming familiarity; the instincts (which were but the memories of his ancestors become habits) which had lapsed in later days, and still later, in him, quickened and become alive again.

Hello guys, I want to figure out the reason why Jack London used the verb 'become' in its present form in the part of the quoted sentence that lies within the brackets : which were but the memories of his ancestors become habit.

From my reading, I had expected it to be modified into 'which were but the memories of his ancestors becoming habits." Only by that way could it fit into into my understanding of this great quote. But I always came to realize that it was just a shortcoming in my own grammar skills that prevented me from understanding Jack London's writing.

Please help me analyse the wording of the above sentence. Thanks a lot!

P/S: Also, in my kindle free edition of The Call Of The Wild, the last 'become' near the end of the sentence is also in its present form, not 'became'. This stands odd besides 'quickenED' and thus puzzles me a lot.


texts: Is "fly like a bird" an example of collocation?

texts:
Is the simile phrase:

  flying like a bird

an example of collocation, with the close ‘expected’ relationship between flying and bird?


texts: What's the opposite for "steep learning curve"?

texts:
[Inspired by the What is meant by "steep learning curve"? question]

Is there a phrase similar to steep learning curve (i.e. [some-word] learning curve) describing something that is easy to learn?


texts:
I was wondering if there is a word in English to describe the quality of things we stick with.

For example, if a training is well designed, people will tend to keep using it. Meanwhile, if it's not, they will tend to use it less and less until they give up on it completely.

There is the informal word "stick-to-itiveness" (also spelled "sticktoitiveness"), of course, but it is used as a noun, as a synonym for determination, a quality that a person has -- meanwhile I'm interested in the quality that an object or product would have.


texts: What's the meaning of "thin blood" in this context?

texts:
I don’t understand the meaning of this expression that I found in a novel I’m reading. A woman who lives in a hot country is speaking with a girl living in England. It’s summer, the girl is warm, the woman instead is cold. The girl is surprised, so the woman says:

Maybe my blood has been thinned by the tropics

I found this expression only in a medical context. A thinned blood is a blood made thinner by an anticoagulant, but I don't think this is the meaning of the expression in this dialogue. Is it an idiom? Or a common way to say that her blood is accustomed to hot weather?


texts: Word for trade name that has become synonymous with the proper term for an item?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is a word/phrase for using a term for a popular special case instead of a generic term?

As the title of this question indicates, I was wondering if there is a specific term that means a trademarked product name that has become synonymous with the 'proper' name of an item.

For example:

the word perspex, which is used to describe PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), even if it is not made by ICI,
biro, which is more often than not used to describe a ballpoint pen, and
super glue, which seems to be the common name for cyanoacrylate adhesives, or any other type of liquid/paste-form bonding agent of similar strength.


texts: Should this word be in quotes or in italic?

texts:
Let's suppose there exists a standard that documents fruits.
This standard has already accepted apple and peach. Banana has just been accepted as a standard. When I say:

The proposal of banana has just been accepted as a standard.

How should banana be written? In quotes ("banana") or in italic (banana)? Because it is not the fruit banana that entered the standard, but the word.


texts: Why is the pronoun required in the sentence "I know it is..."?

texts:
I am volunteering for an ESL program and one of my students wrote:

  I know is very rare.

As a native English speaker, I know that "it" is required.  But I'm struggling to come up with an explanation of why.

Is the subject/verb/object "I know it" or "it is rare?"  The two nouns & two verbs is confusing me.


texts:
Could you please give explanation of word "curled" in the next sentence

  I curled it and it correctly returns status code 400.

And please provide characteristic of it (how much is it slangy?), and another examples of usage in this meaning.


texts:
I am trying to come up with a title for a journal. I am thinking about

Mycoviruses as a powerful tool to study plant diseases.

I am concerned whether "a powerful tool" would make it incorrect as mycoviruses are plural.
Is this grammatically correct?


texts:
During the June 13, 1954, episode of American television's What's My Line, the panel was blindfolded and had to identify the guests, Les Paul and Mary Ford, by asking a series of questions that the guests would answer. The panel didn't know from the outset that there was more than one guest. This conversation ensued (from timestamp 18:55 of this video):

Panel: Are you in television?
Ms. Ford: Kinda.
…
Panel: "Kind of." Does that mean that you're in television by way of movies?
Emcee: … it means they're in television — they appear on television screens, etc. — without any specific reference to time, date, etc.… It just means that you asked "Are they in television?"; the answer to that would be "Yes".…
…
Panel: Well, is this, um — hm, I think there's more than one person there.
Emcee: Well, if you do, all you have to do is ask the question.
Panel: Is there more than one person?
Ms. Ford: Yes.

Now, I would've thought the emcee had given it completely away: that, in 1954, referring to the guests as "they" would make it clear as day that there were multiple guests. Yet the panel asked. So am I wrong: was singular "they" at least somewhat acceptable (at least when trying deliberately to conceal the sex of a person)? Or am I right that "they" was only plural at that time, and the panel was merely being extra-cautious (or polite in pretending the emcee hadn't flubbed)?


texts: Why couldn't I  that dragon when I found him in the woods?

texts:
Here's the first paragraph of the plot of the movie 'How to Train Your Dragon' in Wikipedia:

The Viking village of Berk, located on a remote island, is attacked frequently by dragons, which take livestock and damage property. Hiccup, the awkward fifteen-year-old son of the village chieftain, Stoick the Vast, is deemed too scrawny and weak to fight the dragons, so he instead creates mechanical devices under his apprenticeship with Gobber, the village blacksmith, though Hiccup's inventions often backfire. During one attack, Hiccup uses a bolas launcher to shoot down a Night Fury, a dangerous and rare dragon of which little is known, but no one believes him, so he searches for the fallen dragon on his own. He finds the dragon in the forest, tangled in his net, but cannot bring himself to kill it, and instead sets it free.

The emboldened last sentence corresponds to a first YouTube video, which I suggest you watch in order to fully understand the context.
Now, later in the movie, there's this scene (the whole script is here):

Astrid: It's a mess. You must feel horrible. You've lost everything; your father, your tribe, your best friend...
Hiccup: Thank you for summing that up. [sadly] Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods? Would've been better, for everyone.

In the emboldened sentence, Hiccup is referring to his earlier action described in the last sentence of the above plot and the first YouTube video.
And this later conversation is shown in this second YouTube video, which I think you must watch to answer this question.

Question
Why did Hiccup say have killed instead of kill in the second YouTube video?
Would there be any difference in meaning if he used kill instead?

Why couldn't I kill that dragon when I found him in the woods?


texts: is there a word to describe someone who is running out of time to complete a task?

texts: Specifically, I'm looking for an adjective that describes someone who is aging and realizes there are more days behind them than in front of them.  Ideally, the adjective would have a positive connotation to it rather than a negative one. Maybe I'm asking too much?  lol