texts: general term for a group of species whose members are similar to each other?

texts:
I was talking with my friends about my food allergy.

There is a comprehensive word 'rosaceae', which covers many different species
such as strawberry, blackberry, peach, and cherry.
There is also 'pinaceae', 'asteraceae' and 'cactaceae'.

Is there any single word or a phrase that is not as technical as suffix '-ceae'?
I need, for example, something used as

... (of) rose

or

rose ...

which is (almost) the same meaning as rosaceae

I know "family" is a taxonomical term, but 'rose family (or family of rose)' sounds inappropriate or rather ambiguous to me.
Moreover, there I think is no adjective form of that.(compared to 'rosaceous')


texts: "Entertain of" - June 12th 1799 Letter by John Marshall

texts:
... Virginia has sustaind a very serious loss which all good men will long lament, in the death of Mr Henry. He is said to have expird on thursday last. The intelligence is not absolutely certain but scarcely a hope is entertaind of its untruth. With the most respectful attachment I remain Sir your obedt Servt ... (Source)

Could someone please explicate entertain[e]d of? My guess would be:
"a hope is scarcely entertain[e]d due to/owing to its untruth".

I appealed to these websites for an archaic definition. Howbeit, thefreedioctionary.com may be dubitable:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
http://www.thefreedictionary.com

Addition on Nov 1st: I thought to afford some instantiations of "scarcely entertain a hope of" which had perplexed me before Andrew Leach's sterling answer: Google Books, Example 1,
Example 2.


texts: How can I omit adverbs to impart a strong feeling?

texts:
I'm practicing replacing adverbs with strong verbs. I read about few strategies that help replace adverbs. (E.g. this). I understand that a lot of it depends on the context. Adverbs can be removed, replaced with strong verbs, or left as is.

Let's say, I want to replace the following adverbs with strong verbs. I tried to use online thesaurus but it is not designed for looking up synonyms for adverb + verb combinations.

hopelessly grabbed
intensely watched
intensely looked
abruptly stopped
slowly walked
slowly rotated
slowly let go
quickly turned
quickly closed
quickly raised
quickly covered
firmly secured
gently pressed
tightly pressed
slightly displaced
rhythmically moved

My approach so far was to take a verb (e.g press) and look up synonyms for it.  In this specific case, I can see right away the word "squeeze". I can confirm that this is the word I need by looking up its definition.

  squeeze - firmly press (something soft or yielding), typically with one's fingers.

Bingo! I can replace "tightly pressed" with "squeezed". Or "He tightly pressed his lips together." with "He squeezed his lips together."

However, this approach doesn't work well all the time (Actually, it doesn't work most of the time). E.g. I can't find anything for "gently pressed". Also, it is a time consuming process. I understand now why they say: "you are being lazy when you use adverbs" :)

I guess, I'm looking for "adverbs replacement dictionary". Does such a thing exist? Or a good guideline on omitting adverbs.

I have the same questions for the adverbs that describe adjectives:

perfectly symmetrical
strikingly similar
barely visible

Thanks.


texts: A word for someone who is concerned only about their career?

texts:
Is there a single word, idiom, or short expression, for someone who is ambitious but also egotistical?

What do you call a person whose only concern is their career and not that of their subordinates?

How can I use this word in a sentence?


texts:
Is a comma required after a direction (NE, NW, SE, SW) when a street name is used in text?

For example:

  One path would continue down the eastern side of the hill, terminating
  at the Maine Avenue and 9th Street, SW intersection


texts: It started with mail carriers on horses, but not sure if Postal carriers were the first to name Posting on a Horse. Who develop and name it?


texts: What is the origin of "that's using your noggin"?

texts:
I find myself using the phrase "that's using your noggin" in various situations, even though English is not my native language. Most likely I picked it up watching some tv show.

I understand that "noggin" means head, but it seems strange that "that's using your noggin" should be in widespread (in America, I assume) use, although it's not only used in this context.

What is the origin of this expression?


texts:
When I show screenshots and I want those who see the screenshot to focus on the area of the screenshot I marked as surrounded with a quadrilateral (usually a rectangle), I would say "see the area encircled in red".

It turns out that this is an incorrect usage of the word "encircled", as it means "to surround somebody/something completely in a circle".

Is there a word similar to "encircled", but meaning "to surround in a rectangle or a quadrilateral", instead of a circle?


texts:
The following question appeared in an Indian company's recruitment exam.

  Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.

  The Postmaster, a native of Calcutta. took up his duties in the remote village of Ulapur. He felt very lonely and homesick. At times he wrote verses. Ratan was his only companion. She was an orphan girl. She did odd jobs for him. He talked to Ratan about his mother, brother and sister. That gave him much comfort. Ratan got very much attached to him.
  One day the Postmaster fell ill. Ratan nursed him like his mother. Afterwards the Postmaster applied for a transfer. It was rejected. So he resigned his job. Ratan expected him to take her with him. The Postmaster simply laughed at her idea. The laughter haunted her throughout the night.
  The Postmaster promised to ask his successor to take care of her. It offended her more. Ratan burst out weeping and said there was no need for that. Before his departure he gave her some money. She refused to accept it. While crossing the river in a boat he felt an impulse to go back and bring the girl. It was too late. Meetings and partings are numberless in human life. He consoled himself with this philosophy. Ratan had no such philosophy to console her. She was wandering about the post office with tears in her eyes, fondly hoping that her Postmaster would return.

  Choose the most appropriate option.
  What is the theme (or main idea) of the passage?

  A) We should not care for the people who help us.

  B) Human relationships have no monetary value.

  C) We should appreciate those who help us in life.

  D) We meet so many people in our lives and we cannot remember all of them.

The answer provided by them is B but I think option C is more accurate than option B.

Postmaster tried to give money to Ratan. If he had thought human relationships have no monetary value, he wouldn't have done it. While crossing the river, he felt an impulse to go back. This clearly means that he appreciates those who helped him in his life.

He’ll always remember her because if he wanted to forget about her the return idea wouldn’t have crossed his mind; he'll miss her caring.

The company has provided a deadline till tomorrow to notify them if in case multiple/no options are matching for a question or if the question is ambiguous or if the answer provided by them is wrong. So, should I notify them about this question?


texts:
How do you expect a debate on the green new deal between Marjorie Taylor Greene and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to go?

Or

How do you expect a debate on the green new deal to go between Marjorie Taylor Greene and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?

Other better ways?


texts: Which future type (simple-vs-perfect) is correct for talking about an event that’s done?

texts:
Graduated, I started attending the degree course in Computer Science and Engineering in 2017, where I will graduate after two years with ⁹⁸⁄₁₁₀.

Is a simple will graduate ok here, or should I instead use the longer will have graduated perfect form?


texts: What is it called when your first and last name begin with the same sound/letter?

texts:
I believe there is a term for your first and last name beginning with the same sound/letter, but I don't know what it is.
Example:
Bobby Brown;
Cindy Cinnamon;
Graham Gusto.


texts: What is the correct one word for this sentence?

texts:
Which one is the correct one word for the sentence given below?

  Group of military operations with a set purpose, usually in one area

"Mission" ?  or "Campaign" ?

PS.  Not clear by their meanings given in the dictionaries.


texts:
Today’s horoscope on New York Daily News says (the link may be broken after tomorrow):

  If they should find out something before you had a chance to tell them, it could cause real friction.

How formal is it to say if and should in the same clause when expressing the conditional mood? Or is that redundant?

In speech, I say:

  If they find out something before you had a chance to tell them, it could cause real friction.

In writing, I say:

  Should they find out something before you had a chance to tell them, it could cause real friction.

I think I should avoid using them both in one clause if that’s redundant.


texts:
It surprises me when I hear someone using "do" in situations where I think it is unnecessary, as in these two examples.

  I do need help.

  I do have the strings.

Are these correct? Does this 'do' make any difference to the sentences I would expect to see here?

  I need help.

  I have the strings.


texts: Do prepositions at the end of sentences, and split infinitives any longer matter?

texts: In the 1950s we were strongly discouraged from placing prepositions at the end of sentences, and also from using split infinitives. Is this considered important now?


texts:
Do I need to use an article for the option word in parentheses?

  If you want to create a new design of a handle (flag), the outer
  diameter of the casing can be changed in the place of possible
  junction with a handle (diverter).

or

  If you want to create a new design of a handle (a flag), the outer
  diameter of the casing can be changed in the place of possible
  junction with a handle (a diverter).

or even

  If you want to create a new design of a handle (or flag), the outer
  diameter of the casing can be changed in the place of possible
  junction with a handle (or diverter).


texts: Difference between "the train" and "his train"

texts:
What is the difference in the meanings of the following two sentences?

  1) He may have missed the train.
  2) He may have missed his train.

Does "his train" in 2) mean the train he usually takes to go to school or work?


texts: What does the word "Fresh" mean in everyday conversation in America / UK / Australia? I am confused?

texts:
I am from Asia & English is not my first language.

When I was watching some TV ads in Australia, I often heard that "buy fresh meat in our supermarket" or "try our fresh apples" or "we cook fresh chicken".

Then I feel confused. In my country, the word "Fresh" means "have just harvested" (for vegetables or fruit) & means "have just slaughtered" (for meat).
Ex: In my country, if you say "I eat a fresh apple" means that u eat an apple that have just taken from the tree 5 mins ago". if you say "I cook fresh chicken" means that u slaughtered an alive chicken & then immediately (maybe after 1 or 2 hours) u cooked it then it is said that "you are cooking fresh chicken".

That makes sense cos in my developing country, refrigerator is very limited, not many people have equipment to store meat, so they have to cook meat immediately & thus they define "Fresh" ="have just harvested or have just slaughtered".

However, i asked some English people in Australia & in America, they means "Fresh" differently. For them, "Fresh" means "have not spoiled". Ex, the supermarket killed a chicken & then they put it into the fridge for 2-3 days, they then take the chicken out & sell it to you. Then the supermarket is saying that "I am selling a fresh chicken to you". It means "I am selling not-spoiled chicken to you though the chicken was dead for long period of time, it just has not spoiled cos the supermarket stored it in the fridge.

Likewise, the supermarket can use some preservatives to store apple for many months & now they are selling not-spoiled apples to you, then they can say "I am selling fresh apples to customers".

But How English people define "Fresh" in old time when fridge has not invented yet?

Do they mean "Fresh"="have just harvested or slaughtered"?


texts:
This appeared in the NYT the other day: "...creating a quality product is challenging."

I've always been under the impression that one should say "high-quality" or "low-quality" or have some modifier(?) before "quality". It seems weird to just say "quality" on its own. Is it?

I don't know the grammatical terms for what I'm trying to express (and if someone could fill me in with some explanation I would greatly appreciate it!).


texts: In the sentence "dogs are man's best friend", why is singular "man" used instead of plural "men"?

texts:
If I remember my high school grammar correctly, when we are denoting a class or a category, we should either use "a + singular" or "plural" form.

THe sentence quoted in the headline, which seems to be the correct version based on Google search, instead uses man as opposed to men to indicate human being.

Is it one of these things that can be explained as "idiomatic" or is there a deeper grammar point that I should be aware of?


texts: When to spell out non-alphanumeric characters?

texts:
If a term contains non-alphanumeric characters, when (if ever) should these characters be spelled out? For example:

C++   written as   C Plus Plus
C#      written as   C-Sharp

If they are spelled out, what are the conventions regarding capitalization and hyphens (e.g. C Plus Plus or C-plus-plus)?


texts:
I have some problems to understand the true usage of “would” and “would have pp”. I have already reviewed many forums and websites, but I have not managed to come to any conclusion. For instance, in these sentences:

1- People in the area had never seen this phenomenon before, but they also reported that there less mosquitoes than they would have expected, given the amount of standing water.
Why “would have expected”? And to be precise: Why not “would expect”?

2- Another reason to use a hybrid format is when you want to highlight skills and achievements from earlier in your career that would otherwise be buried at the bottom of the second page of your resume
Why “would be buried”? And to be precise: Why not “would have been buried”?

3- Without SuperM, I would never have trusted my memory to keep a word for 10 days.
Why “would never trusted”? And to be precise: Why not “would never trust”?

4- People in the area had never seen this phenomenon before, but they also reported that there less mosquitoes than they would have expected, given the amount of standing water.
Why “would have expected”? And to be precise: Why not “would expect”?

5- My life would have been completely empty without you.
Assuming ‘without you=if you were not in my life”, is this sentence correct as well: My life would be completely empty without you (if you were not in my life)

Please forgive me if my question is a bit basic.


texts: How can I express my appreciation for something that I don't enjoy?

texts:
Films like the Clockwork Orange and Requiem for a Dream make me feel uncomfortable. I find them disturbing and it's not an accurate description to say that I 'enjoy' watching them. However, I do find films like the Clockwork Orange and Requiem for a Dream extremely interesting and powerful. To say that I 'like' or 'enjoy' these films doesn't adequately mirror my feelings.

Edit: I'm looking for a word or a phrase to better describe my appreciation?

Thank you!


texts:
On a slightly more serious note, what do you call a kid who goes to his first communion?

Surely not a communist, right?


texts:
My teacher said "I am going to have a walk" today in class and to me it seems incorrect. Correct variants that I know are:

Going for a walk
Going to take a walk
Going to walk
...

Is this correct? If so, why?


texts: Need a word that describes an assembly of related types of data

texts:
I'm looking for a word that would describe a kind of "container" or a "repository" that holds related objects of various data types.

Here's a rough outline of the scenario how that "container" is used.

User can create entities of various types - it could be a form, a description of person or anything you can come up with
User can sell all objects he creates via "marketplace" by exporting them with the help of a "container", meaning that a container can be purchased and it will hold various types of entities

Essentially, a "container" is a bin that can hold entities of multiple types. "Marketplace" only accepts containers, and cannot be used to sell entities themselves.

I like the word "cabinet" to describe it, how does that sound to you?

Thanks!


texts: Do you use "going to present" or "will present"? -The Future

texts:
I'm currently preparing a speech for a debate for my school subject "Global Studies" and during that speech I have to explain our teamline so I thought about starting with "I'm going to start with..", then go on with "Our next speaker is going to continue with.." and so on.
Well, now I was wondering if it's possible to use the "will-future" too or should I only use the "going to future" in that case?
I'm not sure if it's okay to use the "will-future" since the "going to future" is used if you have planned something and since we have planned out our teamline I thought it's only possible to use the going to future.

Am I right with that?


texts:
Godfather,  often with initial capital letter,   in the sense of a powerful leader, especially of the Mafia, appears to be relatively recent usage in English:

  In the Mafia sense from 1963 in English; popularized by Mario Puzo's novel (1969) and the movie based on it (1972).(Etymonline)

The English usage, probably American, appears to predate only by a few years the most famous book by the American writer  Mario Puzo, but  actually it dates  a few decades later than the earliest activities of the  Mafia in the United States.

So, if Al Capone was not referred to as a Godfather in the ‘20s, whom was the epithet first used for in the early ‘60s?  Was it originally used in AmE or in BrE?


texts: Does omitting the coordinating conjunction in a parallelism merit a semicolon? (not only, but also)

texts:
Which is correct?

  "Silicon Valley not only cornered the social media market; it created
  it."

or

  "Silicon Valley not only cornered the social media market, it created
  it."

I understand a comma is usually required in not-only-this-but-also-that sentences, but in my example, I've omitted the conjunction as I want to convey a sense of potency and impressiveness. Does this merit the use of a semicolon?


texts: What is wrong with saying "pleased to meet you"?

texts:
I read an article1 in The Telegraph, where it mentions that the phrase "pleased to meet you" was used inappropriately.

When I was little, my mother collected me from a school friend’s party. As I clutched my goody-bag and balloon, I shook the hand of my friend’s mother and said: “Thank you. Pleased to meet you.”
I remember silently congratulating myself on having said something so grown-up and polite. But, to my confusion, my mother blushed slightly and bundled me into the car. “You don’t say 'pleased to meet you’,” she scolded.

Is it because the person was a child, or in which context is this inappropriate?

1 Jessica Fellowes, "Etiquette: Mind your 'please’ and cues", The Telegraph, 24 Jun 2010


texts: What's the word for enticing someone and eloping with them?

texts:
What word(verb) should go in the blank in the sentence below?
He----X's wife/girlfriend and married her.
Basically I need a word that means enticed, and later eloped with (X's wife/girlfriend.)
I cannot think of a proper word for this context, and so I would appreciate any help forthcoming.


texts: "Definite ninety-nine" - UK English meaning

texts:
I've been browsing through older lyrics of Judas Priest songs, namely Rocka Rolla, which has the following lines in a verse:

  Barroom fighter
      Ten pint a nighter
      Definite ninety-nine
      Diamond cluster
      Knuckle duster
      Feline on the borderline

Context: the song is basically about a woman with "tough" image, i.e. frequently abusing alcohol and drugs, breaking the law, which probably would be a good pair for some kind of same thug-like "tough" guy.

Timeline and origin: this song was written and published around 1974 in UK.

I understand almost everything in this verse, except for "definite ninety-nine". I've done some homework, crawling around for the ideas, but being no native UK English speaker, I'm kind of at loss for what's the original meaning of this phrase. My guesses:

"99" being "99 miles per hour", i.e. "going very fast"
"99er" as in "a person who exhausted all of their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits", but this is most likely incorrect, as this is US term and was introduced relatively recently, i.e. it didn't exist in 1974
"99" in some sexual context?
"99" as in slang for cocaine
"99" as in hot body temperature in Fahrenheit, i.e. meaning just "hot"


texts: Is there a special common term for the name of a film?

texts:
In the beginning of a film (or in the end) there are credits, or information about creators of the film: actors, producers, production designers and so on. The example. And among credits there is the name of the film in big letters. Is there a special term for the name of a film?

For example, this:


texts:
I found these terms while doing some research about insurance:

  Agents must usually be licensed in the province or territory in which
  they do business.
  Brokers must usually be registered in the province or territory in which
  they do business.

What is the difference between licensed and registered?


texts:
What is the difference between "I am gonna have to" and "I have to"?
When would you use the first one?

update: I am specifically asking about situations like the one described here.


texts: What does Susan Sarandon’s remark, “you can’t just vote your vagina” in distancing from Christine Quinn mean?

texts:
I’m often startled with, and at the same time enjoy finding unordinary expressions and
 quotes in Maureen Dowd’s column in New York Times. But I batted my eyes
when I saw the actress, Susan Sarandon’s line, “You can’t just vote
 your vagina,” Dowd quoted in her August 20 NYT article under the title,
“Bill’s turns at bat.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/opinion/dowd-bills-turn-at-bat.html?hp&_r=0

  “Bill de Blasio, the 52-year-old public advocate has spent the last
  few days surrounded by the liberal glitterati of New York: Cynthia
  Nixon and her wife; “Boardwalk Empire” king Steve Buscemi; and
  ping-pong queen Susan Sarandon, who said she decided not to support
  Christine Quinn because “you can’t just vote your vagina.”

I’m confounded with the word; “vagina” being used in reference to vote and political decision and made by a female celebrity. What on the earth does it mean? Does it mean you can’t vote for someone simply because of the candidate being the same sex?

Are such rhetorical and public remarks as “you can’t just vote your vagina” accepted as a matter of course today?


texts: How to say these words in academic writing?

texts:
grab attention
the talk of the town
fly in the ointment

How to transfer these words in an academic way?


texts: How do I describe the change adding "to be" makes to a verb

texts:
I tutor student in SAT Reading.    One of the SAT tests has the following sentence:

"With their dark dungeons and damp living quarters, medieval castles offered few of the comforts to be found in royal palaces."

The student thought this must be wrong as "to be" seemed superfluous.  To me, there's a subtle difference in meaning if the sentence was changed to "few of the comforts found in royal palaces."  The only way I could describe it was that "to be" adds a more theoretical and abstract quality to the sentence.

Is there a clearer way to put all this and the change "to be" makes?

Thx in advance,  J


texts: A clock or watch using a digital display to show an analog clock face

texts:
What is a term or phrase to describe a timekeeping device that uses a digital display medium to show the time by displaying hands, dots, or other indicators like an analog clock would?

Examples:

http://www.digitalwatchlibrary.com/images/made/a201_400_500_f9f9f9_imageswatermark.png_140_60_80_r_b_-10_-10_all_15_s_c1.jpg

More modern example:


texts:
I have a sentence.

There was a dramatic decrease of sales in November.

Is it alright to change it to:

The decrease of sales in November was dramatic. Or In November, the decrease of sales was dramatic.

And

The decrease of sales in November seemed dramatic. Or In November, the decrease of sales was dramatic.


texts: Professional term for "useless: should be omitted"

texts:
I need a way to say something is useless, in that including it is actually harmful, but not so harshly.

As in,

  "The last sentence is useless and should be omitted"

Where the last sentence in a paragraph is run-on, blather, useless, not interesting, misleading, something like that, kind of like this one ;)


texts: How to overcome confusion of contrasting word?

texts:
Actual sentence-
As a result, while patients are not being cured, the malaria parasite continues to spread further.

My Explanation-

This sentence seems to me wrong, because while is contrasting word, it is not creating any contrast. With contrasting one side will be positive and other is negative and above sentence both side are negative. How it possible.

I think in this form sentence is right --
As a result, while patients are being cured, the malaria parasite continues to spread further.

In this sentence while is contrasting word, but "not" is going to counter that,
can we say this sentence in this way

As a result, patients are being cured, the malaria parasite continues to spread further.


texts: What is the difference between "found" and "establish"?

texts:
In the sentences below:

Quora was established in 2009.
Quora was founded in 2009.

They seem interchangeable in the sentences above. I was told that 'found' was informal form of 'establish', is that correct? How do you differentiate them?
Edit:

considering these two words are put into specific sentences in comparion to each other and;

more importantly, the answer of the other related question seemed didn't have a explaination and conclusion regarding their difference.

their synonym causing many confusion in English usage and it's so hard that even my English teacher couldn't find any difference in usage, if this question regarding their difference is closed again, its confusion might never be solved.

Therefore, please give this question a chance so the difference of their synonym could be clear up , thanks.


texts: What does the word “short” mean in “two feet short”？

texts:
This is from Randall Jarrell’s The Bat-Poet:

“Oh yes,” said the mockingbird. “And it was clever of you to have that last line two feet short.”
The bat said blankly, “Two feet short?”
“It's two feet short,” said the mockingbird a little impatiently. “The next-to-the-last line’s iambic pentameter, and the last line’s iambic trimeter.”
The bat looked so bewildered that the mockingbird said in a kind voice, “An iambic foot has one weak syllable and one strong syllable; the weak one comes first. That last line of yours has six syllables and the one before it has ten; when you shorten the last line like that it gets the effect of the night holding its breath.”
“I didn’t know that,” the bat said. “I just made it like holding your breath.”


texts:
i.e.,
"The new agricultural reforms gave way to controversy."
Does it mean that the public unanimously disagree with the reforms, or they disagree within themselves as to the subject matter?


texts:
When should I use for [a time] and when just [time].

The examination lasted two hours.
The heat will last for a few days.
She was suggested waiting a few years.

Why are sentences 1 and 3 without for.


texts: Terms for group of cards in a game. eg. cards in hand, on boards

texts:
If deck is the group of all the cards in the game, how all the other groups are called?

looking for a meaningful and short terms for:

Cards in hand
Cards on table / board
Cards in trash

The player takes a card from the "cards in table" to "cards in hand", and throws away one to "cards in trash".

more related terms can be further added


texts:
is there a word to identify a song where the music is happy but the lyrics are sad?

What about the opposite a song where the music is sad but the lyrics are happy?

Thanks


texts:
Is there a word meaning both import and export?

So I can ask "Is this product both importable and exportable?" like "Is this product ____?"


texts: Capitalization of software terms--design pattern

texts: I'm editing a software blog, and the author is describing a design pattern called the "abstract factory pattern." He capitalizes the 'A' and the 'F' in some places and not in others.  The Wikipedia article is guilty of doing the same thing, and other software blogs are not proving to be reliable sources of grammatical correctness. I simply can't figure out if this is a proper noun or not.  Can anyone help?


texts: What is the tense/modality of these two sentences?

texts:
He be like “I know a spot” and then drag you through miles and miles of forest to show you a tiny meadow.
From Reddit
Tora be getting impatient. * wink*
From top comments on Webtoon

I know this is not proper English. And the first one looks like they just left out 'would' but what about sentence 2? I am very big into how English is actually used by people in everyday life. And it was apparently not a mistake by whoever left the comment. I come from a language that doesn't express tenses through verb conjugations. So I'd like to look into what aspect,tense,or mood 'be getting' conveys here and why similar uninflected phrases like 'be like', 'be V-ing' have been gaining traction over the recent years. Thanks!


texts: Does “periodic” imply regularity or just recurrence?

texts: If something happens repeatedly, but irregularly, at uneven intervals, can it be described as “periodic”? I know the strict sense is regular, especially in math or science. But uneven intervals are still intervals. And if someone colloquially refers to their “periodic” house parties, which come around at intervals of anywhere from 6 weeks to 18 months, I’m not apt to complain.


texts: "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer" meaning and etymology

texts:
In my experience, referring to someone in an organization as "chief cook and bottle washer" has multiple possible meanings:

person has a wide variety of duties in the organization
person is very, perhaps uniquely, important to the organization in a non-obvious way
person is almost useless to the organization

#1 seems to be the most common usage, and I'm not sure whether the others are misusages, and, if not, if #3 is ironic or just one of those weird "has two opposite meanings" things.

Also, it's unclear how to parse it.  Are "chief cook" and "bottle washer" two distinct professions?  If they are, is he chief cook and chief bottle washer, or is he a subordinate bottle washer?  Or is "cook and bottle washer" a single profession, of which he is the organization's chief member?  Each of these interpretations could imply different ultimate meanings.

And lastly, if anyone knows of an etymology, that would be great.  From my failed research, it seems that it might be military in origin.


texts:
Are the following sentences correct:

I am an English home tutor.
I give home tuition for English to students of classes up to 12th.
I offer English home tuition to housewives.
I provide home tuition in English for/to children under 10 years of age.


texts: "If I knew you're coming I wouldn't have come"

texts:
Is the statement

  If I knew you're coming I wouldn't have come

correct? Should we use

  If I had known you're coming, I wouldn't have come

instead? Please consider American-British differences.


texts: Am I using "If it’s not too much to ask" correctly in the following sentence?

texts:
So why are you here alone and crying? If it’s not too much to ask.

I think you usually use if it’s not too much to ask when asking for a favor, but I could be wrong.


texts: What is the meaning of this phrase, "my deal breakers get longer"

texts:
In full context: "Every year my deal breakers get longer and my skirts get shorter"

It was on an advertisement posted at a female hair waxing salon, specifically for Brazilian waxes.

Urban dictionary has the typical meaning for "deal breaker," that is, "non-negotiable," but it wasn't well phrased if it was supposed to mean that. I would think it would have been more like, "my list of deal breakers."
If referring to female anatomy, clothing or jewelry, nothing makes sense to be getting longer, with the possible exception of eyelashes, but there are no correlations in searches AFAICT.

My wife and I are totally at a loss. Any ideas?

UPDATE: I contacted the HQ for the company and they apparently didn't know either. "Thank you for contacting European Wax Center. We strive for our marketing to reflect our mission of revealing beautiful skin. Sometimes we’re a bit cheeky and playful, sometimes we’re a little more serious in our approach. Great catch hope to see you and your wife son!"


texts: What is the word meaning "going on and on for miles and miles"?

texts:
Edit: I was walking down an intolerably long sidewalk one day, and every time a mounted another hill, I saw more of it seeming to stretch out before me. It got me to thinking: is there a word for "going on and on for miles and miles?"

I'm looking for a single adjective that is aptly descriptive of a road that stretches for miles and never seems to end. I tried various words already; for example, it can't be ramifying because that word means branching out in different directions. Neither is it redounding, which has the idea of repetition. Long or lengthy would be too plain, while at the same time not saying enough.

So what I'm asking for is a single adjective (or present participle) that applies to a road or path and describes it as stretching out ahead for miles with no end in sight in a single word. Does this word even exist? If it does, what is it?

Example: It was a long road, stretching and ___ing as it went, and it seemed like it would never end.


texts: Use of the word "chance" to mean a number

texts:
In the Song I'm a Good Ol' Rebel the lyrics include the verse

  But I killed a chance of Yankees

I'm unable to find a definition of chance that fits this usage. I presume it means a number but I'm curious, does it mean relatively few or many or something different? I also assume the use of the word as such is archaic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAfHigPsC_s


texts:
/ˈɛɡzɪmə/, /ˈɛksɪmə/, /ˈɛksmə/

As I no longer live in the UK I don't usually hear how eczema is pronounced, so I've always pronounced it as ig-zee-muh but recently my English boyfriend told me that the only correct pronunciation is ˈɛksmə (the second e- is silent), and he's quite adamant about it!  He considers my pronunciation as nothing short of an abomination. Listen to the first British speaker on Forvo to  hear the "correct" pronunciation of eczema.

However, when I checked online I saw that there are three ways of pronouncing this term.

I would like to know which pronunciation is most dominant in British English and in American English. And why the second e- is sometimes silent in eckz(e)ma.


texts: Someone asked me for something and I said, "Do you need it right now, or do I have a couple hours to monkey around with it?"  They got really quiet.  While certainly unprofessional, is this also somehow offensive?


texts: Is there there a word to describe fall out between friends without any argument or quarrel?

texts: If two people who used to be friends just stopped being friends with out any reason? Like they used to talk before but now they slowly stopped talking or contacting each other?


texts: differentiating between all that and what

texts:
Original (extracted from the book The Scarlet Letter):

Like all that pertains to crime, it seemed never to have known a youthful era.

My own rephrased sentences:

Like whatever that pertains to crime, it seemed never to have known a youthful era.
Like what pertains to crime, it seemed never to have known a youthful era.

Could you throw a light on the difference between the bolded parts of the sentences above? Or could you give me a vivid explanation or example? Or explain the difference in meaning of the sentences?


texts: Résumé conventions: present, past, and continuous tenses

texts:
When writing a résumé or CV, I’ve read that:

Use the present tense when referring to accomplishments that are
ongoing.

Use the past tense (ending in –ed) when referring to accomplishments
that you have completed.

Does present tense mean “present simple” only, or is “present continuous” also right?
For example, I want to add a new entry on my CV saying:

Awaiting a new assignment as an external consultant.

Researching and taking training on. . . .

Is that right, or should I use the present simple instead?


texts: my problem is in omitting the auxiliaries i want to know when do we omit an auxiliary verb

texts:
I saw a movie in the movie there was a question : how was he like and the answer was he's so nice and there was another question: how she like the the answer was:pretty. well i want to know if i didn't hear the auxiliary or it is omitted in the second question
.
Sara:how was he like?
Lele:he's so nice

Then

Jonh:how she like
Alex:pretty


texts: City name without demonym in "Belgrade journal Philosophia"

texts:
The apparent peculiarity of the phrase mentioned in the title is that the city name itself is used at the beginning of the phrase instead of its demonym Belgradian. Is there a rule of English grammar regarding this situation?

Here is a sample sentence containing the above-mentioned phrase:

  Review of the first part of Husserl's Krisis as published in the Belgrade journal Philosophia ...


texts: Is ‘No detail is too small’ a frequently used phrase, or just a cliche?

texts:
I came across a headline of the article of today’s New York Times (Feb.22) giving tips for selling a second-hand apartment, that says

  To sell an apartment, no detail is too small

I think ‘‘No detail is too small’ means ‘you cannot be more attentive to the details of things to do it better.’ The phrase reminds me of the old cliché, ‘The God resides in details’ used in secular sense. But ‘No detail is too small’ sounds novel to me. Is ‘No detail is too small’ a common English phrase?

The headline is followed by the following sentence:

  Jamella Swift, a Citi Habitats broker, was trying to anticipate every detail that would prevent a potential buyer from purchasing the two-bedroom condo she was selling in Brooklyn. She put a full-size bed in the bedroom so buyers wouldn’t think the room was too small. She dragged in a Lucite coffee table to create the illusion of a larger living space and set up three floor lamps to supplement the recessed lighting. Ms. Swift hoped that the $5,000 she had spent would help her land $395,000 to $425,000 for the apartment.


texts:
We are attending a developer conference.

The host has arranged various talks. They are scheduled in specific time slots.

We are attending that event as a team. One of us has assigned who should attend which talk and prepared a list...

What to call "that" list? Sessions manifest? Attendance manifest?

PS: not sure why I like the word manifest...


texts: Would you capitalize these words: dean, vice-dean, vice-dean of external affairs, and academic council?

texts:
In this text:

  The Dean's Office consists of the Dean, the Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Studies, the Vice-Dean for External Affairs, the Vice-Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, and the Secretary General.

What would you capitalize (or what wouldn't you capitalize) and why? How about in future references?

I've found plenty of style guides and examples, but then also plenty of actual documents that don't follow what I've found in the style guides.


texts:
"screenshot" vs "screen capture"

context : the picture of the screen of a cellphone / desktop

1) Which is the most commonly used ?

2) Is one of the two confusing for some not native speaker ?

Note: Google return way more result for "screenshot", but some official documentation use "screen capture".

EDIT:
Thanks guys. You helped me a lot.
I choose to use "screenshot". reasons:

to avoid confusion with the picture and the action of taking the picture.
screen capture could refer to video. I do not want this double meaning.
it seem more used (google result count)


texts: Is there a phrase for situation where animal is suffering, and then someone kills it because that person don't want that animal to suffer anymore


texts:
I am really upset now, experts. I said there were two acceptable answers to the following, but my superiors said there was only one. Below is the question.

I really wanted to talk to him in person, but he was not available at that moment. His servant said he was working. She gave me his number, but I (don't/didn't) want the number. I know he doesn't like being called during working hours.
*the bracketed one is the question.


texts: One takes an exam, but what about a job interview?

texts:
As far as exams go, you take one, and then you pass it or fail it.

How about job interviews? If you succeed, you can say you passed the interview. But what if you don't know the result? What's the right verb for participating in a job interview as the interviewee?

  Yesterday I ??? my first interview at Bloomberg but I don't know if I have passed yet and therefore if there is going to be a second one.

NGrams shows there is this valid phrase - to take an interview, but it seems to mean to interview someone.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Word meaning coincidence of reference to the unusual

What is that psychological bias called when you come across a particular term and then end up finding it everywhere for the next few days?


texts: How do you tell if the description of an abbreviation is a proper name (and thus capitalized)?

texts:
I work in tech, so I'm continually running into terms that aren't standardized in a dictionary. This is the one in question:

Change Data Capture (CDC)

When defining an abbreviation such as CDC, it is incorrect to capitalize any words that are not proper nouns. Thus, if "change data capture" is not a proper name, it should be written "change data capture (CDC)." In other words, my question is not about how to capitalize descriptions of abbreviations, but rather about how to determine whether a phrase is a proper name.

I've searched for "change data capture" and have found it both capitalized and lowercase, and even the Wikipedia article is inconsistent. It seems to be referring to a process and not a product...but how can I tell if it is proper or common?


texts:
I am very curious to know if:

  “ She probably should have had the cake"

is grammatically correct.In other words Iam in doubt whether we can use adverbs of certainty, like probably,  along with modals of speculation, like should.


texts: How to order food that is hot (temperature) but not hot (amount of capsaicin)?

texts:
Some food contains capsaicin which is a substance that comes from chili or pepper and gives food its burning taste. In english you call this type of taste "hot". In German (my native language) we say "scharf" which literally is "sharp" in english (sharp like a knife).

I am suffering form a capsaicin intolerance. To me even low amounts of chili or pepper make my mouth feel like burning in hellfire. Sweat flows out of every pore of my skin even when I taste food that contains very small amounts of this substance that others won't notice.

So in a restaurant I want to order food that contains no capsaicin. In German I can say "Bitte nicht scharf!" But in english this is "Please not hot!"

Last year I spent 2 month in London and very often I got food that was cold and tasted like burning fire (they gave me the normal spiced food but didn't heat it). To make clear what I want I can say in German "Bitte nicht scharf, aber heiß!". How do you say that in english? "Please not hot, but hot!"?

EDIT 1:

This question is different form How to say that food is hot (temperature) without the listener thinking that I mean "spicy"? because the answers to the other Question doesn't help me to order food that contains no capsaicin.

The other question hat its focus on the aspect of temperature in the word "hot". This is not my focus. My focus is the amount of capsaicin in the food that is expressed by talking about "hot food", and how to avoid getting served such food.

EDIT 2:

Obviously I didn't make it clear enough: I love spicy food. I love mustard, horseradish, onions, garlic, wasabi, ginger and so on. I hate food that tastes boring and bland. And I hate cold food that usually is served warm. I just want no capsaicin in my food. Capsaicin is in Chili, Cayenne pepper, Piri piri, Tabasco pepper, Jalapeño and many other fruits from plants of the genus "Capsicum". Also Hungarian paprica (used for Goulash) and Peperoncini (you often find them on pizzas) contain capsaicin, not really much, but too much for me.

There is no capsaicin in horseradish, wasabi, onions, garlic, and most other spices. I have no problem with those spices. I like to eat food that is spiced with them.


texts: Present Perfect and Simple Past in the same sentence

texts:
I have a short and simple question for you.
I know that in some circumstances I can use the Present Perfect and the Simple Past in the same sentence, but I am wondering if the following example is the case.

"During my studies I have taken part in several group projects, both in Italy and abroad, which required the use of Office Suite."

Thank you.


texts:
Their physiological arousal also declined quickly to the same levels as those of the control subjects.
For example, high noise levels interfered with the performance of subjects who were required to monitor three dials at a time, a task not unlike that of an aeroplane pilot or an air-traffic controller

In the 1st sentence, does the word those replaces for physiological arousal to avoid repetition?
 And in the 2nd sentence, that replace for which word?


texts:
This the last paragraph of a composition:

  In sum, protecting the environment should always be an important concern of all the countries. However, when it's possible to minimize the harm to environment in the exploitation of these valuable natural resources in the wilds, it is at best unwise and at worst heartless to leave all the treasures sleeping in the bleak wilderness while billions of people are suffering from extreme poverty and starving to death.

I'm not quite sure about "an important concern".

BTW: Do you think there's any other problem in this paragraph?


texts: it's strange that he * it's strange for him to

texts:
My wife and I are waiting for a friend. It's late. I say to my wife:

It's strange that he should be late. He's always on time.
It's strange for him to be late. He's always on time.
It's strange that he is late. He's always on time.

Would the three of them sound natural?


texts: Brief words to describe people who are not able to shop because of old age and / or absence of shops nearby

texts:
I’m looking for the English counterpart to the Japanese word, “ショッピング難民” - shopping refugees by verbatim translation.

Because of the rapid graying of Japan’s population, the population in the remote rural areas is in sharp decline, and retail shops such as grocery stores, supermarkets and gas stations are all closed.

Not only old people, but the healthy residing in depopulated places are now suffering difficulty / inconvenience in shopping.

I don’t know if there are similar situations happening in other corners of the world, but I would like to know how to describe both these people - those who are unable to shop due to old age and those who cannot shop due to the disappearance of shops in two or three English words.


texts:
I've come across the following usage of "behooves" in a scientific paper (don't worry about the content).

Deriving approximation guarantees for CLASH behooves us to assume the restricted isometry property (...).

I always thought that "behoove" was equivalent to "be necessary for". For instance:

It behooves us to take their words into account.

In the example, however, "behooves" seems to mean "forces", as in

Deriving approximation guarantees for CLASH forces us to assume the restricted isometry property.

So, is the first example a proper usage of "behooves"?


texts: What's the term for speech that *unintentionally* conveys the opposite of its literal meaning?

texts:
A small child is lost in a dark forest at night. He hears a wolf howl and says out loud, "I'm not afraid."
The key here is that the true meaning is unintentionally conveyed. The child is afraid, but thinks he isn't supposed to be, which is why he felt the need to say out loud that he was not.
I understand it's a form of irony, but I feel as if irony requires either (1) intent of the speaker or (2) a detached observer's perspective. If the child had said, "what a cheery place this is," that would be irony/sarcasm, because the child is intentionally saying the opposite of what he means. An author writing this scene in a story might consider it irony in the literary sense.
But the child speaking the words in real life doesn't intend them as irony, and may not even realize the irony after he has spoken. Is that still irony? It feels like a different phenomenon to me, somehow.
It's not apophasis. That's when you intentionally raise a subject by denying it, like: "I won't make age an issue in this campaign."
And it's not antiphrasis. That too implies intent: "Take your time, we've got all day."
Thoughts?


texts: What is the correct way to spell "biochemical oxygen demand" and "dissolved oxygen" in the middle of a sentence? Should the initial letters be capitalized?


texts: What is the word for a person who is better than me but jealous of my mere achievements?

texts: There's this girl who is wayyyy better than me but keep on commenting on the little things I get more than her and tries to pull me down using those chances which is so irritating...


texts: A verb for a more precise way of showing a puzzle?

texts:
I have talked about a puzzle in a more general way. Now I want to identify a more precise and specific formulation of that puzzle. What verb should I use?

Example:

  Life in this world seem to be a puzzle. One way to ... that puzzle is
  to ask whether life has any purpose at all.

I had "cast" in mind, but @terdon in a comment on another page suggested "recast". Since the puzzle has not been cast yet, I think "re-cast" might not be the best choice. The puzzle is "cast" for the first time, isn't it?


texts:
Few years back, one of our English teachers told that,

  In India, we [typically] pronounce "of" as "of" or "off". But the real pronunciation is "ov".

When I try to listen the same in Google dictionary, it indeed sounds like "ov" :-). But I am not sure, if I am listening it correctly.

Since my native language is not English, can someone suggest what is the right pronunciation?
If it's really "ov" then it would be interesting to know, why is it so?

It has also been mentioned that this word has different vowels according to its environment. Is this true?


texts: A unique case of capitalising mid-sentence and using apostrophe 's'

texts:
Firstly, I know there are several questions on here about apostrophe-s, as well as capitalising mid-sentence, but I think this is quite unique.

I have the below sentence:

"With an expanding fanbase, collaborations with several artists and support from the likes of the Roots drummer Questlove, she is on her way to success."

Now, "The Roots" is a band i.e. a noun so shouldn't "the" be capitalised? When I looked at a similar sentence in the Guardian, they seem to not capitalise:

  The afro comb has long been associated with the 1970s, the accessory
  of a hairstyle that represented counter culture and civil rights
  during an important era for both. These days it makes a regular
  appearance on mainstream TV in America – the Roots drummer Questlove
  is fond of wearing one while performing as part of the house band on
  Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Second of all, since "the drummer" belongs to the band, does there need to be an apostrophe-s? Many publications seem to think so, such as the below from NME Magazine:

  The Roots' drummer Questlove has apologised for an Instagram post
  which caused controversy and offended...

Lastly, if the above case is correct, shouldn't it be: "The Roots' drummer, Questlove, has..." with commas around his name, as in the following example:

  The singer showed off his skills during an appearance on ‘The Tonight
  Show,’ and even took on  The Roots’ drummer, Questlove, in an epic
  battle.

Similar occurrences would occur if talking about a band like "The Beatles", for instance.

I was tempted to just follow conventions of the Guardian, but there are a low of conflicting uses so I'm not sure. I suppose a solution could be to just omit "the" and say "...support from the likes of Roots drummer Questlove", but "the" is part of the actual title of the band and I would like to know for future reference too.

Your expertise is greatly appreciated!


texts: What is the exact meaning of this excerpt from Chapter 52 of "Pride and Prejudice " by Jane Austen?

texts:
While elaborating on the arrangement between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham in her letter to her niece Elizabeth Bennet, Mrs. Gardiner mentions the following:

  ...His debts are to be paid, amounting, I believe, to considerably more than a thousand pounds, another thousand in addition to her own settled upon her, and his commission purchased...

I realize that this means that Mr. Darcy, in addition to other incentives, had offered Mr. Wickham a sum of thousand pounds to marry Lydia but how exactly do this meaning fit into the line "another thousand in addition to her own settled upon her", especially the phrase "her own settled upon her", I am not entirely certain

If someone would be kind enough to provide the word-by-word explanation of the above mentioned line and phrase in terms of grammar (For example, what does her own and her refer to here, and how and for whom are they used; basically I want to build sentences like these so I need to know how everything fits), it would be a great help.


texts:
We are developing modules in a ticket assignment system and most of the labels are in French. Someone has translated the label for unassigned tickets  to "Non-Assigned" in English. I'm not sure this is correct, can you please advise if I should have them change it to Unassigned? I think that sounds a lot better... "Unassigned" tickets vs "Non-Assigned" tickets.

Thanks for your help,
Patricia


texts: Why is it "Heating Degree Day(s)" but all others are degrees like zero degrees as in a thermometer?

texts: I have read other questions about zero degrees or zero degree but why is it heating degree days and not degrees? It makes sense to say one degree but zero degrees holds true in until you use absolute zero.


texts: Parallelism question: “it is . . . yet is” vs. “it is . . . yet it is”

texts:
Florida’s Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, a mixed-use recreation trail paved over an old rail bed, is a curious paradox: it is not only completely man-made but also designed exclusively for human use, yet is classified as a state park.

[source: GMAT sample]

Why does there not need to be an it in between yet and is?


texts:
I found this sentence in some book:

  Imagine a young child who already knows that creatures that live in water are fish, they have gills, and their skin is covered by scales.

Saying “their skin is covered by scales” sounds so strange to me. Why isn’t it “their skin is covered with scales”? Which version is better, and why?


texts: what do you call someone performing below their potential

texts: What do you call someone who doesn't know their worth or is under-performing their potential?


texts: What is the meaning of the phrase "all the more impressive"?

texts:
Vestager has a reputation for toughness, stemming from her time as economics minister and deputy prime minister in Denmark. She managed to push through the Radikale Venstre party’s centrist agenda in the face of strong opposition, earning her another nickname: “Margrethe III” — implying she was almost as powerful as Danish Queen Margrethe II and had more political influence than the then-prime minister.
Over her career, the 47-year-old has racked up a laundry list of accomplishments, from becoming Denmark’s youngest-ever female minister to being its first politician to give birth while serving in cabinet.
So it’s all the more impressive she comes across as sweet, polite, open and thoughtful — the kind of politician you could share a sandwich with.

What does the phrase all the more impressive mean? Are the words of that phrase in the correct sequence? How does it function in the sentence/passage?
quote here


texts:
What is the origin of the slang phrase hating on?

Google Trends suggests that the phrase did not enter the lexicon until early 2009. I'm curious where the phrase originated.

As Stefano Palazzo noted, it appears that the Google Trends data is suspect. I did a search on a lyrics search engine and found a reference to a 2003 song named Hatin' On You by American R&B singer-songwriter Amerie, released July 30, 2002. So the phrase goes back at least that far, and probably farther.


texts: "...mustn't have done..": can it mean reproach for a past action or prohibition of a future action?

texts:
Can "You mustn't have done that" have a similar meaning to "You shouldn't have done that" / "You were not supposed to do it (but you did)"?
(not logical probability but obligation)
Since we have the imperatives like "Have done with that!", wouldn't it be possible to use must to express prohibition of a future action: "You mustn't have done that (by the time the bus reaches here tomorrow)"?


texts: What answer is expected by "May I have your name ?"

texts:
I'm quite fuzzy about the information asked on the phone by people asking "May I have your name ?"

Do they want the first/given name or the last/family name ?

Please answer for both UK and US culture.


texts: Is this sentence correct?: "I can leave a little irresponsible image on the people's who assign the job, mind."

texts:
I'm trying to improve my English as soon as I can. According to the online English level exams, my English level is between B1 and B2. I want to upgrade it to C1. Therefore, I write a diary every day. Also, each day I'm trying to write more complex sentences. While I was trying some sentences like that, I couldn't be sure of the sentence I made.
Basically, I just want to say: "I can leave a little irresponsible image on the people's minds.". Then I want to write a little detail about people: "people who assign the job".
My sentence:
I can leave a little irresponsible image on the people's who assign the job, mind.
In here, I am not sure at 2 points. The first one is "people's", and the second one is ",mind". Should I use comma(,) before "mind"?
Can you please help me? Your help will be really valuable for me. Thank you very much in advance.


texts:
Why do some people say things like "Would you like the salt and pepper" when they are in fact wanting it themselves? Or "would you like to turn on the ABC news" when it's they who want the news on?
I live in Australia, I heard not long ago that certain schools used to teach their pupils this format. But why?!


texts:
During an internet chat, one of my American friends said:

"Two books is enough"

I instantly felt weird about the verb and asked him "shouldn't the verb have been 'are'?"
But he said he feels perfectly natural about that and also, cannot explain the reason why.


texts: Is the "wit" in "to wit" the root of any other English words?

texts: ...and if not, where'd it go? One obvious venture is that the noun "wit", in the sense of cleverness and general know-how, has an etymological affinity with the Old English witen, "to know", and which Merriam-Webster informs me the "wit" in to wit is a conjugation of.  I can kinda-sorta see it, but the connection isn't very transparent to me.  However, I can certainly appeal to the learnèd scholars here! Are there any other surviving words witen bears etymological affinities to?


texts: Should a name that is capitalized contain a lower case letter, for example, McDONALD or MCDONALD?

texts: If the name is capitalized, for example, should it be McDONALD or MCDONALD?


texts: I have a doubt of using article a before pain.As pain is not countable there should not use article a but mostly book used article "a".can any one explain why?


texts: The usage of "was" before "down the line"

texts:
The sentence: from NPR transcript

  WOOD: John Derbyshire is - so he was a writer for the National Review. He has made claims such as intelligent, well-socialized African-Americans are as rare as fancy commercial jets - right? - so things like that, very inflammatory, very incendiary. And he was a Trump supporter down the line.

In the bold sentence quoted above, isn't it that "was" indicates past tense (things that happened), so won't that contradict with "down the line" (in the future)?

And shouldn't it be like this:

  "And he "might be" a Trump supporter down the line."


texts: In an office environment answering a customer with the response "I will work on your project in my spare time". I feel there is a more professional way to answer. Suggestions?


texts:
A mail carrier delivers mail to the nineteen houses on the east side
of Elm Street. The carrier notices that no two adjacent houses ever
get mail on the same day, but that there are never more than two
houses in a row that get no mail on the same day. How many different
patterns of mail delivery are possible?

I need help understanding the question. I am unable to see how the houses are arranged.I don't need any help regarding the solution to the problem.


texts: What is a word for a long period of hibernation before growth?

texts: I am looking for a word or phrase that would describe something as existing but waiting for a catalyst. Or growing very slowly until a a large growth spurt. I'm thinking of the way that seeds can sit healthy until they get wet and planted and then grow quickly.


texts:
I came across the term "logo schmogo" and went researching its meaning and usage, and have a vague working-theory, but am still confused. Would be great to learn the exact meaning and primary usage of the term. Thanks.

I get that this is a form of reduplication (repeating a word or adding a second word that sounds similar to the first word) (e.g. easy-peasy, hurly-burly, super-duper) The dictionary gives definitions for some of them, but not this one. Could be that this one is fairly new or still a bit niche.

My working theory. I think it's one or a combination of the following, but I am having a hard time summing it up in a clear sentence.

It is used to criticize or mock the "logo is the be-all-and-end-all of branding", or "logo=brand identity" attitude.
It means "You think your new logo will solve all your problems? You are wrong"
"Your logo is missing substance, it's just a layer on top."

It's harder to take a guess because this term is mostly used in titles (for chapters, blog posts), or as an exclamation (e.g. Logo schmogo indeed!) or opening of a social media post (e.g. Logo schmogo, blablabla)

Here are some use-cases I was able to collect:

An article titled"School District Logo Schmogo:Board Not Happy with the New Emblem and Its Price Tag", an interview in the article says “The idea of a communication plan is much more than an image, a logo,”
A twitter conversation
Political party X posts: We will put Y first. That is what our new logo will symbolize for everyone.
Voter Z posts: Logo schmogo. I'll still never vote for X.
A blog post with a quote that says:
"Stuart Elliot of the NY Times summed up the prevailing opinion of design when he once said to me,
Logo schmogo
Can a logo drive business results?  Absolutely.
There is one brand that saw a 20% change in their business within 7 weeks of changing their logo and packaging design.
Yes, that’s right, CHANGE IN LOGO RESULTS IN 20% CHANGE IN SALES IN 7 WEEKS.
Logo schmogo indeed!"
Then the post goes on explaining that the change in logo resulted in 20% PLUNGE of sales in 7 weeks.
A blog post titled "Logo schmogo", and the first sentence is "A corporate brand is many things to many people. But it isn’t a logo."

Related links

reduplicative: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/easy-peasy-jiggery-pokery-reduplicative-words
use-case: https://www.independent.com/2016/07/14/school-district-logo-schmogo/
use-case: https://narrativebranding.wordpress.com/tag/peter-arnell/

Thanks for taking the time to look into this.


texts: What word describes when an image or thought gets stuck in your head?

texts:
Is there an English word that describes when you do the something all day and then it gets stuck in your head.

Examples of what I'm describing:

You spend 12 hours straight solving crossword puzzles and afterwords,
you look at a restaurant menu and find your self counting the letters
of the words and thinking of synonyms
You spend all day on a rocky boat and when you get back to land, you
still feel rocking - even hours later.
You spend all day at a theme park, wading through people, and later
in bed, when you close your eyes, you see people everywhere even if
you try to stop the thought.

The closest word I've found is "earworm", but this is only for music replaying in  your head, not images, thought processes, or tasks.


texts:
I failed to find a way to reconcile the gap between reality and my ideal.

I tried two expressions, 'bring down the gap' and 'overcome the gap', but I realized that the gap cannot be brought down or overcome. Therefore, I changed it to 'reconcile'. What would be the right word instead?


texts:
I'm looking for a word for the thing or phenomenon that opposes its origin like in Lenz's Law which states that:

  If an induced current flows, its direction is always such that it will oppose the change which produced it. [Wikipedia]

So, if a magnetic field generated in response of another magnetic field opposes the field it is caused by, it opposes its origin.

Another general example I can think of is when we tie up two ropes together. Now, to separate them if we pull them apart; it makes the tie stronger. We wanted to separate them but instead made the tie more stronger.


texts:
Is there a word for words formed of repeating sounds?

Mama, Papa, ... Any other such words...


texts: What is the semantical difference between reliable and trustworthy?

texts:
When one literally translates the Dutch word betrouw-baar (dash added) one gets trust-worthy (dash added). But when one uses Google translate, it generates reliable.

Based on my experience with English, I would say trustworthy is used to characterize a human: "can you trust a human when he says something?" whereas reliable is more used to describe the state of an object, for instance "a reliable machine".

In Dutch the term is used to describe both persons and objects.

Is this correct? If not, what is the semantical difference?


texts: What was "static electricity" known as before the discovery of electricity?

texts:
People must have dealt with static electrical discharge for thousands of years; well before they began to understand the principles of electricity.

What would a static discharge be called in early modern English and old-English?


texts: "at all the vertices", what does this mean?

texts:
My professor has written a statement like this:

  function is non-negative at all the vertices of the structure S and positive at some vertex

for a publication. It is a peer-reviewed publication so it should not have mistakes but I find at least two different meanings for this statement:

Does it mean "function is non-negative at all of the vertices in the structure S and positive at some vertex"?
Or does it mean "the function is not non-negative at all in the vertices of the structure S"?


texts: Word or phrase for "to create again, but better"

texts: Is there a word or phrase that means both to "re-create" and "improve"? I would like to say "___ our language", meaning to create a new lingua franca from scratch. The word should imply starting over as well as improving over the current state.


texts: Difference between "Fire Sword" and "Sword of Fire"?

texts:
I did some searching and found this post
"Goblet of Fire" vs "Fire Goblet". But I'm not sure I understand the distinction in fantasy context.

For example, I'm making an RPG game where there are stuff like "Fire Sword" and "Lightning Egg". Is there any difference in meaning between those names vs "Sword of Fire" and "Egg of Lightning"?


texts: How many clauses are there in this sentence?

texts:
"These allegations, if proved, would be a wonderful indictment to the club."

I wanted to know how many clauses there were in this sentence, more precisely if "if proved" was considered as one clause or just a part of the bigger clause because the verb "to prove" was employed as an adjective.


texts:
I have to present a medical case, and I feel a little odd about the sentence below:

  Because of her prolong stay and multi-organ involvement, I will present this case as simple as I can.

I feel like using 'as simple as I can' is wrong. Should I use 'could'?


texts: Is an 'ideolect' peculiar to just one person, or are there national/communal 'ideolects'?

texts:
The OED definition of idiolect (see below), would suggest it is something personal. but I have seen it used, including on this site as a word which describes the common idiomatic content of a community. It is used like dialect but referring specifically to idioms. This post for example talks about  the Indian idiolect.

So does the OED reflect the way the word is used or not?

  The linguistic system of one person, differing in some details from
  that of all other speakers of the same dialect or language.

  1948   B. Bloch in Language 24 7   The totality of the possible
  utterances of one speaker at one time in using a language to interact
  with one other speaker is an idiolect.

  1964   M. A. K. Halliday et al. in J. A. Fishman Readings Sociol. of
  Lang. (1968) 158   A person's idiolect may be identified, through the
  lens of the various registers, by its grammatical and lexical
  characteristics.

  1975   R. L. Williams Ebonics p. vi,   Ebonics..includes the various
  idioms, patois, argots, ideolects, and social dialects of black
  people.

  2001   S. S. Mufwene Ecol. Lang. Evol. viii. 193   Every new speaker
  replicates their target communal language imperfectly, starting with
  the trivial fact that they couldn't possibly replicate all the
  idiolects of which it is an ensemble and no idiolect replicates
  another.


texts: The model presented or the presented model?

texts:
For example, when referencing the model we presented in the paper,

  The presented model is helpful to many other related
  researches.

or

  The model presented is helpful to many other related
  researches.

If it is proposed, I think both is OK, and proposed model might be slightly better in academic writing? What about presented?

I also see sentences like

  The model presented in this section gives a brief introduction on the
  use of the COMSOL ECRE Version.


texts:
I'm writing a statement letter (SOP for graduate school), and I wanted to use "mind-blowing" in a less-formal segment of my letter. Is that too informal for a personal statement or cover letter, or is it just giving a more casual/friendly tone at an acceptable level to my writing?

(I'm using "mind-blowing" as an adjective that is supposed to mean "very impressive".)


texts:
How can I use gerund form and to infinitive with go? I found out in the Cambridge dictionary that go is used with -ing when we speak about general activities that involve movement.
If the activities have a clear beginning and end, then go + to-infinitive is used.
I also found out in another dictionary that go gerund is used with activities and we do not use go to inf with activities.
In another dictionary we use go to inf to move ot travel place for a particular purpose and they suggest we use shopping or fishing or dancing with go.
But why do we use shopping with go and not say go to shop or go to dance or go to watch or go watching?
Can you explain As for me, they are the same, and I do not understand what these dictionaries mean. How do I know to differentiate between them and use them in a correct way?


texts: When asking readers to consider a question, what punctuation is needed?

texts:
If a quote is preceded by "consider" or "think about", what punctuation is needed?

I have some sentences like this:

Consider "What will you do next year?"
Think about "What are your plans for the holiday?"

The sentences ask the readers to think about an answer to these questions themselves. What is the proper way to punctuate these? Is quotes suitable? Should commas be placed?


texts: *X is not available in A and(?) so(?) neither/nor(?) is it available on B*

texts:
Let the semantics of A and B be such that something that is not available in A is consequently not available in B (e.g. because B is contained in A).

What is the proper way to assert that X is not available in A ,(?) and(?) so(?) neither/nor(?) is it available on B ?

I have seen related questions with neither/nor, but here I would like to express consequence as well as consecutive negation.


texts: Use of "promise", "guarantee", "swear" and "assure" for future and past

texts: Can verbs such as promise, guarantee, swear and assure be used to mean convince others that something will (not) happen in the future or did (not) happen in the past? In other words, are they used for things both in the future and in the past, or just one of them?


texts:
Does "payless" mean "for zero price", and "free" (as in beer)?

I searched the dictionaries but could not find the word.

I also wonder whether "cost-free" means the same.


texts: Is there a word for 'to do until it no longer fazes you'?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that means 'to do or see, etc. something until it no longer fazes you'.

For example, a doctor who is used to seeing blood will not flinch or faint at the sight of it. Usually that 'something' is unpleasant.  Acclimatize doesn't quite hit the mark. If memory serves right, the word perhaps begins with an 'i'. Of course, I could be wrong.


texts:
Is there a difference in meaning of the following sentences?

It will take two years to build a bridge on this river.
It would take two years to build a bridge on this river.


texts: William Faulkner's "Soldiers' Pay" first paragraph

texts: The second line of the first paragraph says: "He suffered the same jaundice that many a more booted one than he did, from Flight Commanders through Generals to the ambrosial single-barred". I cannot wrap my mind around this after "that", i.e. "many a more booted one than he did". what does it mean? What is the sentence structure?


texts: Can you say "to pursue a program," as in "I am currently pursuing a program in Chinese language"? What are other suitable verbs to use in this case/are there any synonyms for "to take classes"?


texts:
You can hear different pronunciations of the mechanical component lever. Sometimes it is pronounced with an i-sound, similar as in "leave", and other times you hear it with a clear e-sound almost as in "heavy".
Why is that? I doubt it could be explained by regional or personal differencies, since the same person can shift between the pronunciations. My guess is, that this difference lies in where the lever is in use. I haven't been able to see any clear pattern, though.


texts:
Is "volumn" a correct word? or there is only "volume" only, and "volumn" is just a spelling mistake?

Cannot find volumn on any online dictionary.


texts:
The word progeny is defined as

  A descendant or the descendants of a person, animal, or plant;
  offspring

by Oxford Dictionary.

My question is that if I can use it instead of  "children" to sound formal as in the following contexts.

Second hand smoking has  pernicious effects on progenies if their parents smoke in the home.
Two out of three progenies in Africa are left out of secondary school.

or the word can only suitable for using in a context in which there is reference to the relationship between parents and children.


texts: Is there any word, alternative to the idiom, "rack one's brain"

texts:
What word can I use in place of the idiom "rack one's brain," which means to strain in mental effort, esp to remember something (from Collins)?

For instance, a teacher put a chalk box in the principal's office yesterday, but today he is trying his level best to remember where he put that box.

Can I use the verb remind along with a reflexive pronoun, as in: "he reminded himself... ."

  A teacher [verb] for where he put that box.

The post (here), which was proposed as duplicate to this question, is irrelevent here. I am just asking about a verb which denotes thinking very hard to remember anything, not the verb that denotes solving problems, like in Maths.

  Have a look at this image.


texts: How to say "a player whose turn it is now" in one word?

texts: Say there is a turn based strategy video game or any turn based board game. Is there a single word to call a player whose turn it is now?


texts: What does the expression "If we're on the money" mean?


texts: Changing subject and verb positions in statements and questions

texts:
We always change subject and verb positions in whenever we want to ask a question such as "What is your name?". But when it comes to statements like the following, which form is correct?

  I don't understand what are you talking about.
  I don't understand what you are talking about.

Another example

  Do you know what time is it?
  Do you know what time it is?

Another example

  Do you care how do I feel about this?
  Do you care how I feel about this?


texts: A word/phrase for when something is very close to closed but not completely

texts:
I am trying to describe a situation where the protagonist has intentionally left a door almost closed to make it appear closed, but has left enough of a gap for them to look through and spy. Therefore when describing the door I want it to read as though it is closed (because that is how it appears to the other characters), but at the same time subtly hint to the reader that it may not be completely closed. Otherwise if I describe it as closed, when the protagonist bursts through the door, the reader will feel cheated and wonder how the protagonist could see through the door to know when to attack. I have come up with the following examples:

The door was apparently closed.
The door looked closed.

But I'm not sure if there is a better way to describe this. It is a delicate balance between suggesting but not spoiling the element of surprise for the reader.


texts:
I am reading a math books and i cant understand this

  the xz plane is perpendicular to the y-axis, and the yz plane is
  perpendicular to the x-axis.

On googling perpendicular means two lines intersect to form a 90 degree angle.

SO in my understanding if im right. does that mean that  x and z axis intersects to y axis to form 90 degree and y and z axis intersects to x axis?


texts:
What is a word for having been very sick, as with the flu or pneumonia? For example, it should fit into the sentence

  A few days after the event, I became ___ and couldn't get out of bed for a few days.

The word needs more intensity than "ill", "unwell", "poorly", "ailing", or "indisposed". It should also not require the word "very". Is there such a word?


texts: The difference between comparably and comparatively

texts:
I'm currently studying for my proficiency exam and I just came across a vocabulary problem that I need some help with:

In one of the exam questions the correct solution to a 'fill-in-the-gap'-exercise was the following:

'..., but it is in fact a habit which is COMPARATIVELY easy to acquire.'

Before looking at the solutions I had the word 'comparably' instead of 'comparatively' in the gap. I tried to look at some sample phrases using 'comparably' to get a feel for the difference between the two words here but I can't seem to get the hang of it.

If anybody could shine a light on the use of these two words, that'd be great.


texts: What does “There’s less to the deal than meets the eye,” mean?

texts:
There was the following passage in New Yorker’s (November 18) article that came under the title, ”Is China really going green?”:

  “But here was President Xi Jinping pledging that, by 2030, his
  country’s carbon emissions would max out, and energy from renewable
  sources would meet twenty per cent of its total energy needs.

  In a sense, there’s less to the deal than meets the eye. It’s
  non-binding, and, as the White House statementabout it makes clear,
  the dates aren’t necessarily firm. --Clearly, there’s wiggle room on
  both sides.”

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/can-china-really-go-green?

I also found the same phrase,

  “There’s less than meets the eye in the latest “blockbuster”
  realignment of leading Canadian media assets unveiled Friday”

in;

http://www.thestar.com/business/2010/09/10/olive_theres_less_than_meets_the_eye_in_the_bellctv_deal.html

I think I can guess what “There’s less to the deal than meets the eye” means from its context, but not very sure. How could it be replaced in straighter words? Is this a common expression or popular saying?


texts: If "smell" is to "reek", then "taste" is to "?"

texts: If "reek" is used as a term to describe something that smells bad, what word of equivalent meaning would describe something that tastes bad?


texts: Which is more preferable: We have deemed it x or we deem it x?

texts:
Consider these examples:

We have deemed it proper to let you handle this matter.
We deem it proper to let you handle the matter.

Which one is more preferable?


texts: Spelling of one syllable changes pronunciation of another

texts:
I've been fascinated by word pronunciations where changing the spelling of one syllable doesn't change its pronunciation, but rather changes another syllable in the word. The only two examples I can think of have very similar structures... the same vowels in both sets, where the changing of the second syllable vowel to either "a" or "e" changes how the "o" is pronounced in the first syllable.

The examples are:

Woman and Women

Modal and Model

Are there other examples of this? What are some possible reasons why the spelling is different for the unchanged syllable?

Thanks


texts: Pronunciation difference between "Mayonnaise" & "Vase"

texts:
I've seen quite many people pronounce "Mayonnaise" with "-s" at the end, although its phonetic alphabet is written as '/meɪəneɪz/'. So at first I thought /eɪ/ + s could be versatile as /eɪs/ or /eɪz/, before I noticed the word 'Vase', which I've never heard in my life anyone pronounce "veɪz"(/va-z/ maybe).
So I was wondering if there's any phonetic law or something with /eɪ/ sound, or is only mayonnaise ok either way because it's just a foreign word(French).


texts: Should you capitalize incomplete proper nouns?

texts:
In my book, a character is falling asleep while trying to speak, so is having trouble getting her words across.

She says "Aley and Om" (Ashley and Tom).

Should "Aley" and "Om" be capitalized?


texts: Has the word terrorist evolved in meaning  or context in recent times?


texts: Are the expressions “career day" and "career-high five runs" particular to sports?

texts:
I found the word ‘a career day’ and ‘a career-high five runs’ in the New York Times article (July 16) reporting Scott Hairston’s dramatic play against Philadelphia Phillies under the headline, “Hairston Fills in With a Career Day, and the Mets Thwart Hamels Again.” The article is followed by the following sentence:

  “Playing in right field and batting third for the first time as a Met, Hairston did his best impression of the All-Star Beltran, knocking in a career-high five runs, including a three-run homer, as the Mets pounded the Phillies, 11-2.”

I interpret ‘Career day’ means the best day in one’s life and ‘Career-high five runs’ means best home runs in the player’s life.
Can we use ‘Career day,’ and ‘Career event’ like high-five performance’ for any other occasions than baseball or other sports. If I am awarded a summa cum laude at the commencement, can I say ‘It’s a career day for me’? Can I say 'I got a career-high 15 up-votes today'?

I’m asking this because dictionaries at hand including Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary I always consult give definitions of the word, ‘career’ no more than (1) the series of jobs that a person has in a particular area or work. (2) the period of time that you spend in your life working or doing particular things as noun, and (3) to move forward very quickly, especially in an uncontrolled way as verb.


texts: A word that describes me being unable to understand a situation

texts:
There are times when I want to apologize for not knowing the full situation. I am not sure the word is naive, but I want to say "I apologize for being naive, but I would like to make a suggestion while excusing myself for possibly missing why it is being done the way that it is."

Is there a better word to use than naive?


texts: Which pronoun should be used with "anyone"? "They" or "you"?

texts:
Sample sentence: If anyone has the files, could (they or you) please upload them to a file-hosting website?

Context: I am writing an email to a group of people requesting that if anyone has the files I mentioned, to please upload those files to a file-hosting website. "Anyone" could be one person or more.


texts:
Michael Lewis wrote this in Liar's Poker:

  Still, the tale has a happy ending. Lehman Brothers eventually went belly up. A battle between the traders and the corporate financiers caused the firm to collapse in early 1984. The traders won, but what was left of the august house of Lehman wasn’t worth living in.  The senior partners were forced to go hat in hand to Wall Street rival Shearson, which bought them out.

I'm not sure what "august house" means in the sentence.  Wikipedia has this explanation of "august house":

  "August House is an independent children's book publisher established in 1978 and currently headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. August House principally focuses on publishing children's folktales, picture books, early-grade chapter books, and storytelling resource materials."

But that explanation of "august house" doesn't make sense in the context of the sentence written by Michael Lewis.

Can someone help me?


texts:
I am looking for a bunch of verbs to denote various variations of a specific kind of singing, where the singer essentially… wails?  There are no lyrics of any sort, the voice is essentially used as an instrument.

So far, I know of ‘howling’, which is close enough for emitting an ‘uuuh’ sound (like the vocal in ‘moon’).  Imagine a pack of wolves howling towards the midnight moon.  It might not be the best choice of verb to describe singing, but in some cases, it comes close (I can’t find an example right now, though).

Also, there is ‘chanting’, which associates with an ‘aaah’ sound.  ‘Guild’ and ‘Fresco Dome’ are textbook examples of that.

How would one call something similar, but using an ‘iiih’ sound (like the vowel in ‘beep’)?  To give an example, consider the female voice recurring throughout ‘The Beginning of a Journey’ and especially ‘Naia’.

Same thing, but with an ‘oooh’ sound (like the vowel in ‘whore’)?  ‘Fresco Dome’ fits to some degree; if I find a better example, I’ll link to it.

I’m not looking for ‘to vocalise’ or similar verbs—I already know about them, and it’s the superclass of the kind of words that I’m looking for.  I want to know whether there are other  words similar to ‘to chant’ or ‘to howl’ for some specific cases of vocalising that might be useful for my purpose.  If such words actually exist, that is.  It might just as well be that there aren’t, and that this is the reason why I can’t find any.


texts: 'Is also on the works' or 'is also in the works', which is correct?

texts:
An android version of the app is also on the works.

or

An android version of the app is also in the works.

Which is correct?


texts: Opposite of epicanthic fold (not occidental)

texts:
There are families that have a certain genetic marker of the eyes, looking more or less like the opposite of the epicanthic fold of Asian eyes. I have seen it in some Native Americans and some people of French descent.

If you look at the outer and upper corners of this Native American  girl’s eyes, you will see it.

The royal family also has this. It is not common, and is a marker in my (native american) family. The older one gets, the more pronounced it becomes, and it tends to droop in the upper corners of the eyes.
What is this called?


texts: Perhaps this word doesn't exist.  I'm looking for the word to describe the last final thing you want to put in a container but it won't fit.  There is always one of those.  You have ten items but always only nine will fit into the container you have.  Often occurs with a toolbox which has one too many tools to go into it.


texts:
I feel like I have seen fidgety people described as being in perpetual motion before, however when I googled it to see if this was the correct usage of the term all I could find where perpetual motion machines. I was fairly certain this was an actual phrase you could describe people with, but could not find any evidence to suggest it was. Does anyone know if you can use the phrase like that? If so where have you seen it used?

I'm aware of the what the words mean seperately, I'm asking as they seem to have a different connotation/meaning when used together as a phrase


texts: How to express glass word in different context?

texts:
So glass can mean glass where you pour some liquid and it can mean glass itself as material.

So for example when you say "does glass float or sink?", how to understand what it means? Let say I want to ask for actual glass material, not glass (of water).

What is the best way to specify it, so people would understand what I am talking about?

P.S. in my native language those are different words, so it is easy to understand.


texts: Help with the following words in a sentence

texts:
Hi should I say "I am declaring [a country] my children and I’s ordinarily resident country" or should I use another phrase for "my children and I's" ?

Thank you


texts:
I forgot how exactly the rule in English is called where you can omit the usual possessive case 's and s' if we're speaking about a row of nouns and instead just put them in front of each other (with the main noun ahead of the dependent ones).

Let's look at this example:

  The redesign of units

It's a process of taking models of the old units and redesigning them to increase their quality / fix issues - gaming.

Using possessive case we can shorten it and put is as:

  Units' redesign

Using the rule I mentioned in the first sentence, we can omit the s':

  Units redesign

However, as far as I understand, in this case we can also omit the plural form of the word units as in this form it looks unclear whether we're talking about one unit or multiple units (which is fine):

  Unit redesign

On the other hand, if we're to list the units that are about to get redesigned, can we keep that last form? I.e.

  Changelog:

  Unit redesign - unit 01, unit 02, unit 03

Or should it be units redesign or even unit redesigns?

Update: this isn't merely about the apostrophe rule, it's about it being omitted in certain cases too.


texts:
I'm looking through some text in a software application I work on. We give the user several options for when they want to calculate their social security. One of these options is "Retirement or 62 (latter of)".

It's a pretty minor issue, but I'm wondering if that is correct usage of the word latter. My understanding is that "latter of" means the second thing mentioned, whereas in our software it's like we're trying to use it to say "whichever is later".

My idea for changing it would be to just put "Retirement or 62 (later of)" which I think might be a bit clearer.


texts:
What is a word for being indifferent but not in a negative way?

When I look for synonyms all the words are negative, meaning "I don't care" or apathetic. But that's not what I want.

I want a word that describes someone who believes it doesn't matter who you are, what you like, who you love. Someone who lives life believing everyone is entitled to their opinion and doesn't get stressed out or angry when things don't go exactly to plan. Someone who goes with the flow.

Is there a word for this that's not negative?


texts: What is the meaning of "I don't give a damn for someone that can only spell a word one way."

texts:
What does it mean when a person says "I don't give a damn for someone that can only spell a word one way" when talking about give and take relationship?

The situation goes like this: My friend helped her classmate with her research paper. Then, after a week when my friend asked for help from her classmate, she refused to help back. That's when he said "I don't give a damn for someone that can only spell a word one way."


texts: Adjective for someone who disregards ideas and opinions of some people but not others?

texts:
I am struggling to find an adjective for someone who disregards the ideas and opinions of anyone that they think are not at the same level as them.

For example, a brother or husband who disregards the ideas and opinions of his sister or wife but he will listen to the ideas and opinions of a parent, friend or mentor (who may be male or female).

It is not a problem of class. It is more of a familial attitude, though it could border on patriarchial.

I have looked at the following words but they don't seem to convey what I want to say: arrogant, superior, patronizing, condescending.

I appreciate your input.


texts: The meaning of "the spaces" in the sentence

texts:
What does "the spaces of 77,438 words" mean?

An Italian doctor named Paolo Mantegazza promoted the
medicinal and recreational use of the leaves of the coca plant in
the mid-nineteenth century. He was so enthralled by his discovery
that he wrote: “I sneered at the poor mortals condemned to live in
this valley of tears while I, carried on the wings of two leaves of
coca, went flying through the spaces of 77,438 words, each more
splendid than the one before . . .”


texts: What is a term with a negative connotation that can be used to denote someone who became rich through unscrupulous means?

texts:
What is a word of phrase which one can use to define someone, or group of people who profited/ became rich by borderline illegal/Immoral/unscrupulous means.
I want a term which can relate to below situations and examples

Russian oligarchs who profited by siding with the communist regime at the expense of the people
Middle eastern royal families who use their oil wealth to circumvent global laws to commit human rights violations.
African warlords who profit from human trafficking and the 'blood' diamond trade


texts: If I 'will' have the chance to go to the US

texts: Is it wrong to say "If I will have the chance to go to the US..."? This is in the context of expressing one's dream/plan in the future. Is it better to say "If I have the chance (in the future, say 10 years from now) to go to the US..."? Not sure if it should have 'WILL' or not. If both are grammatically correct, which is better? Thanks.


texts:
What does it mean when someone says, for example,

  That problem was "as intuitive as mud".


texts: What rhetorical device is used in the sentence?

texts: What rhetorical device is used in the sentence "They are unconventionally rich and richly unconventional"?


texts: tenses of a sentence, but with a qualifier date

texts:
Tried searching for this but not sure what to call it...

So I have three sentences and I'm wondering what their tenses are (I'm learning another language and I think it will be easier to understand English grammar better so as to use the "rules" to learn the other);

1.) On Sunday, all our friends *will go* to the summer home.
2.) On Sunday, all our friends *are going* to the summer home.
3.) On Sunday, all our friends *went* to the summer home.
4.) On Sunday, all our friends *had gone* to the summer home.

By looking at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_tense I think that;

1.) simple future
2.) continuous present
3.) simple past
4.) perfect past

But I'm afraid that the "On Sunday" has an influence on the test-aspect of the sentence. Some context;

1.) Maybe this first sentence is said to a friend a couple days before Sunday.
2.) Is this still future (of which type?)? Or is it present?

In the present tense (of what type I don't know), I can think this sentence being stated by two friends who are in the process of going to the summer home, and one says this to the other in order to emphasize that that is what they are doing. Kind of obvious and a little strange but still a valid context.

3.) This could be the sentence stated a couple days afterwards.
4.) Same as 3.)

Summary: What effect does "On Sunday" have on the sentences and their tenses?

Thanks in advance!


texts: “provide X to someone” vs “provide X for someone”

texts:
I am confused by the different explanations in the following two dictionaries.

Macmillan says “provide A to B”, while The Free Dictionary says it is wrong and tells us not to say “provide A to B”, insisting that we not use any prepositions except FOR. That is why I am much confused.

Which of the two is GRAMMATICALLY correct in the States and Britain regardless of whether it is used or not in daily life? And could you suggest any authentic sources about this?

  We provide legal advice and services to our clients. (Macmillan)
  The animals provide food for their young. (TFD)
  Be Careful!
  Don't use any preposition except for in sentences like these.
  Don't say, for example 'The animals provide food to their young'.