texts: Is it correct to use the phrase 'It makes + sb + A + to ...'?

texts:
We've all known sentences like "It's kind of you to help me plant the flowers." are correct so I'm wondering if it can also apply to "It makes...". For example: "It makes me worried to see you watching TV all day."

Moreover, I've found this line somewhere and regarding this problem, I also want to ask if this is correct.

"It makes me unable to stop worrying about you to leave you on your own like this."


texts: Why is the noun for subscribe spelled subscription? ('b' vs 'p')

texts:
Why is the verb when paying for a service subscribe, but the noun form is subscription?

Is there a rule that changes "b" to "p"?


texts:
Which one is the right?
"Why are you hating me" or "Why are you hating on me"?


texts:
Where does the expression "rings a bell" come from?
e.g.

Bob: Have we met before?
Geoff: Well, your face rings a bell.


texts:
I saw this other question, but it's not quite what I'm asking.

A bell makes a sound. How would you write that sound in English? As an interjection, e.g. "boom!"

I'm sure it varies with the type and size of bell. I'd be happy to hear any and all variations.


texts: variations on overview: from fifty thousand feet?

texts:
To follow-up on an excellent related question, what are the varying distinctions between:

From x feet
x foot view

where x is commonly and variously between ten and fifty thousand.


texts: Idioms for 'borrowing others' resources to achieve one's own goal'

texts:
I developed a new online algorithm, where an agent is borrowing other agent's observations to achieve its own goal. I am looking for some idioms or short phrases to express "Borrowing others' resources to achieve one's own goal."
I find some like "Rally the troops", and "The fire is high when people gather firewood". But they are not exactly what I want to express... Hope I can get some help here.


texts:
I came across the phrase “He got a kick out of doing Uncle Sam,” in the following sentence of Jeffery Archer’s novel, “Not a penny more, Not a penny less.”

“It amused him (Harvey Metcalfe, a billionaire who climbed up from a NYSE messengerboy) to do a little business in Europe at the same time, giving him the opportunity to make some more money for his Swiss bank account in Zurich. He did not need a Swiss account, but somehow he got a kick out of doing Uncle Sam.”

What does “Do Uncle Sam" mean? I don’t find the head of “Do Uncle Sam” in Google Search, or on Ngram.

Does “got a kick out of doing Uncle Sam” mean “excited in doing American dream business”?


texts: In English, what bears more semantic weight, the tense of a verb or the time condition?

texts:
In English, what bears more semantic weight, the Tense of a verb or the time condition?

For example, if we compare these two sentences:

  This year, she continued being one of the most active employees.

and

  This year, she HAS continued being one of the most active employees.

It looks like "This year" here defines it all and the change from Past Simple to Present Perfect doesn't change the meaning, from which I gather that the time condition is more important than a Tense.

Is it true with regard to all cases in English?

Or is it like it all depends on the situation and there can't be one absolute answer here.


texts: Is the term 'put on his parts' used everywhere, or only in some dialects?

texts:
In Norfolk, when a child misbehaves in a demanding, or sulking way, they are often said to 'put on their parts'.
'She is putting on her parts again', means that she is following a pattern, typical for her, where she is being loud, difficult, insistent or awkward.
It can also be used for adults and has an added force since it suggests they are behaving like a child. But I am wondering if the expression is widely understood?
Presumably it derives from the following meaning of the noun 'parts':
Meaning 12 of on-line OED

†a. A character sustained, assumed, or feigned by a person, esp. for a special purpose. Also in extended use. Obs.
earlier references deleted.
a1732 J. Gay Fables (1738) II. vi. 47 The man of pure and simple heart Through life disdains a double part. 1885 Dict. National Biogr. at Thomas Blood, It is not improbable that he was at this time..acting a double part, keeping the government informed of so much as might secure his own safety.


texts: Inhabitants of Vatican City would be referred to as ____

texts:
Keep that blank clean. No religious flaming.

What I mean is this: inhabitants of America are Americans, inhabitants of Ohio are Ohioans, and inhabitants of Cincinnati are Cincinnatians. But what demonym would you use or have you seen used to refer to a resident of Vatican City? This site doesn't have one in its list, and the example for Sioux City, Iowa, found on this Wikipedia page would seem to suggest that maybe it's Vatican Citian, which just sounds awful.

Maybe it's one of those places that has never had a demonym. After all, "demon" does appear in the word…


texts: primary product, secondary product, next?

texts:
What follows after the words primary and secondary?
What's the English word for it (meaning 3rd basically)?


texts: "Amply funded, and consisting of many high born, wealthy gentlemen..."

texts:
Could you explain what the sentence bolded means in the following passage ?

  In the minds of the Royal Society's founders, the society was meant to
  serve a double purpose. Amply funded, and consisting of many high
  born, wealthy gentlemen, the society served to check the tendency to
  sacrifice the thorough search for truth to the prospect of immediate
  profit, and thus prod the Fellows to see their discoveries from
  conception to application in a continuous process, rather than
  exposing new theories as soon as they cropped up, without thinking
  them out fully. The second purpose of the society was to...

extra information

  One of the most prominent features of the Royal Society was that it
  admitted as Fellows men of all religions, professions, origins, and
  classes. It sought to promote a universal culture of peace throughout
  Europe, and shunned war and discrimination.

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/scientificrevolution/section9.rhtml


texts: What is the word for **to agree without questions**?

texts: I felt that maybe there is an alternate and concise way of saying She agreed to follow without asking questions in one(or two) word(s) ?


texts: Does "asinine" connote *willful* ignorance?

texts:
As a native English speaker, I've always been under the impression that "asinine" has a connotation of willful ignorance, or arrogance, on the part of the person so described.

For instance, some of the things Donald Trump does I might describe as "asinine", whereas I would not use this word to describe a mentally handicapped person's inability to figure out something simple, or an otherwise reasonable person's honest thoughtless mistake.

However, it's not a word I hear all that often, and I've been known to have picked up the occasional piece of idiosyncratically corrupt English, so I decided to check on-line dictionaries, and neither of those I checked were too clear about this connotation.

Dictionary.com gives:

  foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid
  It is surprising that supposedly intelligent people can make such asinine statements.
  of or like an ass
  asinine obstinacy; asinine features.

The example in 1. does hint at voluntary stupidity but is subject to interpretation (maybe they're actually not intelligent people), and it doesn't strongly suggest arrogance.

The first example in 2. is more interesting in that it invokes obstinacy, which is in some ways similar to what I'm thinking of.  But the target word is used as a modifier of the word "obstinacy", so unless it's a tautology, it doesn't mean that the word "asinine" itself implies obstinacy.

The Collins at the same site does get closer in 1. (so maybe it's a British connotation?):

  obstinate or stupid
  resembling an ass

Wiktionary.org says:

  Very foolish; failing to exercise intelligence or judgment or rationality.

  1922, Michael Arlen, “2/2/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

    They danced on silently, softly. Their feet played tricks to the beat of the tireless measure, that exquisitely asinine blare which is England's punishment for having lost America.

  Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of donkeys.
  ...

There is some suggestion of willfulness in 1. in the use of the phrase "failing to exercise".  But then, the quote, while fascinating, is also rather confusing since I'm not aware of the total context.

So I have a general sense that my belief could be at least partially true, but the evidence is equivocal.


texts: Is it ironic to write on a dry-erase board with a permanent marker?

texts:
There is a dry-erase board.  It has a shopping list on it.  At the bottom of the shopping list, I added "Dry-erase Markers".  But I did this in permanent marker, because we were all out of dry-erase markers.

Is this ironic?  Why or why not?


texts:
As far as I know these examples are okay:

A: I had bought a new blouse. I forgot to show it to you.

B: I bought a new blouse. I forgot to show it to you.

But what about this?
C: I have bought a new blouse. I forgot to show it to you.


texts: How old is the proclamation: “Here comes the bridegroom”?

texts:
Long before the German composer, Felix Mendelssohn, composed the “Wedding March” in 1842 for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and   Richard Wagner’s wrote the chorus “Here Comes the Bride” in 1850, it was customary to greet the husband-to-be with the words “Here comes the bridegroom”.

At least according to Noël Antoine Pluche's The History of the Heavens, written in 1740

  They all watched the time when the bride-groom was ready to go, and fetch his bride from her parents house, and to carry her to his own, with all the persons who were to attend and to be admitted into the banqueting room with him. So soon as he appeared, the two chorus's of young people taking their lamps, cried aloud: here is the feast, here comes the bridegroom. … so in like manner, a wedding day was proclaimed, by adorning with flowers and foliage the doors of both the bride and bridegroom, and…

The Greek god, Hymen, meaning the “one who joins”, was the god of marriages.  And the hymenaeus (also spelled hymenaios) was sang in the procession from the bride's home to that of the groom's. It was auspicious that Hymen attended the wedding, so the guests invoked his name for if he was absent during the ceremony, the marriage would be unhappy.

Can anyone shed further light on the origin of Here comes the bride and Here comes the bridegroom?


texts:
I found the following on a poster of a professional photographer:

  A smile cures the wounding of a frown

The sentence seems awkward and wrong to me. I think something can cure a disease and heal wounds. So, the object should be wound and not wounding, and the verb should be heal and not cure.

But if I say, "A smile heals the wound of a frown", is this still correct and does it sound right? (I am assuming that a lot of things may be grammatically correct but will sound awkward and weird, and so should not be used.). Or should it be "A smile heals the wounds of a frown"?


texts: Why is "that" preceded by a comma in this relative clause? What does it mean?

texts:
As you know, there are two types of relative clause:

Type 1

  The woman who lives next door is a doctor.

In this example,the relative clause tells us which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing ) the speaker means. We don't use a comma with this clause. Also, we can use that.

Type 2

  My brother Ben, who lives in Hong Kong, is an architect.

In this example, the relative clause does not tell you which person or thing the speaker means. We already know which thing or person is meant. The relative clause in this sentence gives us extra information about the person or thing. We use a comma with this clause. Also, we cannot use that.

Now, I came across a sentence that doesn't follow these rules:

  Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another.

(It comes from the Illiad translated by Samuel Butler, and I thought that grammar rules haven't changed much since then.)

Please explain this contradiction, as far as you are able.


texts: Capitalization of "tribe" and its derivatives in the United States

texts:
In these examples, when should "Tribe" or "Tribal" be capitalized?

"This rulemaking will preempt State, local, and Tribal requirements but does not propose any regulation that has substantial direct effects on the States, the relationship between the national government and the States, or the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government."

"The Federal hazmat law contains an express preemption provision [49 U.S.C. 5125 (b)] that preempts State, local, and Indian Tribal requirements on the following subjects:"

My assumption is that because they aren't proper nouns, they shouldn't be capitalized.


texts:
Occasionally I hear native English speakers, typically those from outside the U.S., say things like:

  Are you going to the concert this weekend?
  Yeah, I might do.

That is, rather than saying I might go or just I might, substituting do for the verb when it'd otherwise be repeated or omitted after a modal. What's this called, how standard is it, and is it newer or older than the other forms? I just don't know how to search for something like this.


texts: Are there any rules as to why the letter 'r' is silent in some words?

texts:
How do I know when to keep r silent in pronunciation?

Examples:

Not silent

cry
free
friend

Silent

German
iron
learn


texts:
Does it sound OK to a native ear when a preposition is repeated like this?

I want to move in in the first week of August. – where the first in is part of move in and the second in is part of in the first week.

Would you try to reconstruct the sentence to avoid the repetition? Would it make a difference whether you're writing vs. speaking?


texts: Is "put in place" a correct English expression?

texts:
I'm French and work with a German colleague. I often hear the expression "put in place" which to me corresponds to the French expression "mettre en place".

This expression means more or less "set up things to get something to work". For example:

  I put in place all the shelves  so you can store your books.

Is this grammatical and idiomatic?


texts: "When I am 18, I will..." or "When I will be 18, I will..."

texts:
Should I say:

  When I am 18, I'll take my driving test

or

  When I'll be 18, I'll take my driving test

Which one is the correct sentence?


texts: Is there a name for the verbs that can precede other verbs?

texts:
What are the names of the these following verbs in bold?
I want to eat food
I have to buy shoes
I like to know things
I need to find love
They are all verbs that, as far as I can tell, can precede other verbs and make complete sense.


texts: A word that means "lacking meaning/context because displaced" (besides "anachronistic")

texts:
If something is out of place in time, we call it anachronistic.  I want a word that means something lacks meaning or context because of geographic or conceptual displacement rather than chronological displacement.

Searches on websites like Stack Exchange have suggested:

anomalous
incongruous
unmeaning
uncromulent

Anomalous and incongruous seem wrong to me because they imply something is abnormal.  I want to say something is done whose meaning is lost or unknown because of displaced context without implying it is abnormal.

I'm not sure about "unmeaning" or "uncromulent".  Anyone have other suggestions?  Or can you suggest a neologism formed from a- or an- !

EDIT:

I should have given an example...

Imagine you go into the home of someone who only speaks English and has a strong penchant for interior decorating. The person has placed a Chinese language cookbook in their kitchen to decorate the kitchen. The cookbook is not truly out of place because it is where it is supposed to be. However, its original purpose has been lost by being removed from the context of Chinese language speakers. This is the kind of situation I am trying find a word for.

My actual use would be describing Xmas decorations in Asia, but I don't want to get sidetracked by the accusation I am suggesting Asians can't put up Xmas decorations. That is NOT what I'm suggesting, just that the decoration's original or intrinsic meaning is lost when nobody knows anything about Xmas.

I think perhaps "anachorism" is closest, although the thing is not really in an incorrect place.

I tried to come up with some neologisms by combining ana- with Greek words meaning "understandable" or "dwelling place" but nothing really sounded good.

I did find another word "enchorial", but unenchorial would mean non-native, and focus on the place rather than the object. I don't want to say the objects don't belong here but that this place doesn't make sense of the objects.


texts: "be any good" meaning + articles omission in case of 3 nouns conected with "and"

texts:
I have some questions  regarding this fragment of Philip Roth's American Pastoral:

"The Swede started as end in football, center in basketball, and first baseman in baseball. Only the basketball team was ever any good - twice winning the city championship while he was its leading scorer - but as long as the Swede excelled, the fate of our team didn't matter much to student body"

1) The Swede started as end in football, center in basketball, and first baseman in baseball.

1) why there are no articles before end, center and first? I know, there's a rule that says articles can be omitted when nouns referring to two contrasting people or things are joined by 'and'. Is it also a case here?

2) Only the basketball team was ever any good - twice winning the city championship while he was its leading scorer (...)

2) Does this sentence mean that the basketball team was good or not?

I've noticed that be any use/any good is mostly used in a negative context, e.g. A boat like this wouldn’t be any good in a storm. or It isn’t any use complaining – they never listen.


texts: Which one should I use, past simple or past perfect?

texts:
In November 2001, he ran onto the pitch to play for Inter Milan against Lecce. The fans cheered; he hadn't played almost two years, since he _______ (damage) his knee... He fell down and didn't get up. He___ (injure) his knee again.

So the answers are： had damaged, had injured. I don't understand. Why can't I just say damaged, injured?


texts:
In a live-streamed speech, the Vermont senator made it clear he is no longer actively challenging Clinton and that the goal is to ‘defeat Trump badly’
   …
  “The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly,” Sanders told supporters in a live stream video. “And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time.”

  The Guardian

Would defeat Trump thoroughly be less ambiguous-sounding? If someone performs something ‘badly’, it usually means they are not very successful, i.e. The action is not done well.

  I sang badly = I didn't sing well
  He speaks Spanish badly = He doesn't speak Spanish well
  They defeated him badly = They didn't defeat him well

Oxford Dictionaries first definition under the entry of  badly is:

  In an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unsuccessful way

  England have played badly this year
  the war was going badly

Although the expression,

  a badly sprained ankle

will mean an ankle that is severely (thoroughly) injured.

I know what Sen. Bernie Sanders meant, that Trump has to be thoroughly defeated by a wide margin, but did he say it ‘badly’?

I was struck by the Senator's choice of words, and I am hoping for a clear explanation which would also hint at the semantic evolution of badly over the years.

Allow me to present the following Ngram chart displaying the British English corpus from 1750 to 2000, the following expressions totally defeated (blue line) and badly defeated (red line) are compared. Google Ngram tells me that there are no instances recorded for defeated badly.

I narrowed down the search between 1800 and 1850 and Google presented the following graph.

The expressions defeated badly and badly defeated are flatlined, compared to "totally defeated" which at the beginning of the 19th century peaked just below 130%.

I am surprised at the results, and I would appreciate hearing an English language explanation that might shed some light on this.

There appears to be no evidence to support StoneyB's statement in the comments that "badly" in conjunction with defeat has been around for two hundred years, I haven't found any supporting evidence.

However, if we look at the 110-year span that covers 1900 to 2008, the expression badly defeated overtakes that of totally defeated  around the 1920s  only to begin a steady and constant decline around the 1970s. Whereas the expression defeated badly barely raises above the ground.

What do the Google Ngrams above tell us about the usage of badly in the last two hundred and sixty years or so?

P.S. I am not criticizing Senator Bernie Sanders, an American Senator whom I greatly admire. He is an eloquent and coherent man who speaks from the heart. I only want to hear from others what they think about the usage of badly in that specific context. And whether there are better alternatives.


texts: It was the best decision I have / had ever made

texts:
I'm a little bit confused about the grammar used in the following two sentences:

1.) (...) looking back at it, it was the best decision I have ever made
2.) (...) looking back at it, it was the best decision I had ever made

I personally would choose the former one simply due to the reason that it sounds more natural to me! However, I have heard using native speakers (England) the second form as well!
I'm not sure now if that's just bad grammar on their part or if it's actually grammatically correct!

Thank you in advance


texts: Does the telecommunication “last mile” derive from the jail “last mile”?

texts:
The expression last mile appears to have been first used in a figurative sense in relation to  capital punishment:

  the walk of a condemned person to the place of execution
  like the shaving of the head before the last mile —Saul Levitt (M-W)

It is not clear when the above usage started, but in more recent decades, apparently from the ‘70s,  the expression started to be applied in completely different contexts such as technology and commerce:

Last mile:

  (commerce) the last stage in a process, especially of a customer buying goods:

  One major problem of online shopping is "the last mile" - the delivery to the customer at their home.

  (communicarions) the last stage in providing services such as cable television and broadband to homes and businesses:

  The firm offers an inexpensive and practical way of uncorking the bottleneck of the "last mile", bringing vast amounts of bandwidth to any business that wants it.
  (Cambridge Dictionary)

and, by extension,  the expression has recently found new usages, as suggested by Wikipedia:

  In recent years, usage of the term "last mile" has expanded outside the communications industries, to include other distribution networks....The term has also been used to describe education and training providers that more tightly link individuals with job opportunities.

According to Ngram the expression last mile is from the second half of the 18th century, but early usages appear to be mostly literal.

Questions:

when did the usage of “last mile” in relation to capital punishment start? and did it originally refer to a real distance?
is the later figurative usage (communications/commerce) related to the previous one or does it have a different origin?


texts: introducing, picking up, or influencing the lifespan of [,] discourse referents (last comma necessary?)

texts:
Is this comma (last one of the phrase in the bold) mistakenly left in? I don't think it is needed there because the last element of the parallel structure is 'influencing the lifespan of discourse referents,' or so I think. Is it there so that the readers could easily tell 'discourse referents' is shared by 'introducing,' 'picking up,' and ''influencing the lifespan of'? What do you think?

  Still, it has remained puzzling in many ways just what discourse
  referents are and where they fit into semantic theory. It seems
  appropriate to say that we are describing some aspect of the meaning
  of a word or construction of English when we talk about its capacity
  for introducing, picking up, or influencing the lifespan of, discourse
  referents. But is that an entirely separate aspect of meaning, or is
  it dependent upon other aspects of meaning, such as the referential
  and truth-conditional aspect? --- (page 225 of 'File Change Semantics
  and the Familiarity Theory of Definiteness' by Irene Heim)


texts: What do you call a school with elementary, secondary and college department?

texts: I want to know what do you call a school that has elementary, high school and college department? I once read a manga, one character said the -term- but I forgot what the -term- is, so... I searched the internet but the answers given were about three different types of education and so on,.. I see some magnet and charter school but I think it's not what I'm looking for. If it helps the manga I was reading was about a Japanese school.


texts: What does the phrase "end over end" mean here?

texts:
Please help me figure out the meaning of the phrase "end over end" in the following text from the description of the game "Flip Runner":

Select the starting angle, then launch yourself end over end as you try to nail the perfect landing. Miss a mark and it’s rag-doll city, with your runner becoming a parkour pancake. (source)

Thank you for your time.


texts:
In Bertrand Russell's autobiography, there is a sentence that reads, in part:

  My dream on her birthday; my subsequent discovery that my people had deceived me as in that dream; their solemn and reiterated warnings; the gradual discovery, one by one, of the tragedies, hopeless and unalleviated, which have made up the lives of most of my family; above all perpetual gloom which hangs like a fate over Pembroke Lodge, and which, struggle as I will, invades my inmost soul whenever I go there,taking all joy even out of Alys's love;...

What's the meaning of "struggle as I will"? What's the structure of this sentence?

Is "Pembroke Lodge" the subject of the last sentence?


texts: Has the English language changed since 1854?

texts:
I've started reading a book named Walden, published in 1854.  I am not a native English speaker, I am Persian, and I want to read this book for two reasons:
to improve my English and because I think I'll enjoy it.
But the words and the grammar the author uses look difficult for me and I presume it may have been written in Old English.  Am I right?

(note: I'm reading this book with the help of a dictionary and I'm writing each word what I learn in a notebook.)


texts: Should I drop the hyphen in the following sentence?

texts:
I bought a small cake, plus a lighter and a number one and number six
  shaped candle.

The original words are number-one shaped candle and number-six shaped candle. Is it correct to drop the hyphen when used as in the sentence above?


texts:
Legislation seems likely to pass, enabling Britain to be the first country to offer 'three-parent births' (two mothers and one father) to overcome genetic defects associated by faults in mitochondria. This will involve replacement of part of an egg with material from a donor egg.

If this happens and baby Jack or baby Jill has one father and two mothers, what will be an appropriate name for the second mother?


texts:
In Hebrew there is a difference, although often overlooked in spoken Hebrew, between the word "to borrow" for something that is intended to be returned "as is" such as a tool or a vehicle, and the word "to borrow" for something that will not be returned, but an equivalent replacement such as money (the money returned will probably not be the very same coins or bills but different ones carrying the same value).
To my understanding, "borrow" and "lend" don't have that difference in meaning.
Is there any English equivalent?


texts: After and on 2020/03/30 is it correct for writing grammatically?

texts: Is there any difference "please use this template after 2020/03/30" between "please use this template as of 2020/03/30". Actually, I want to say "please use this template on and after 2020/03/30" Is it correct?


texts: "Tell me which is your favourite one" or "Tell me which your favourite one is"?

texts:
in a situation where I'm showing three pictures to someone, what is grammatically correct to say (and with what difference in meaning)?

Tell me which is your favourite one.
or
Tell me which your favourite one is.

I would really appreciate any help you can provide.


texts: Where do I put the question mark if a question has a parenthetical statement at the end?

texts:
What would you have me do (given some factor is a and another factor
  is b and some other statement-y thing follows as well -- I'm not even sure what to make of the whole thing, not to mention that she said "screw you, you PIG!")?

I suspect the question mark goes at the end as above, but depending on the amount of stuff between the parens, it starts to feel like it should just follow the question part.


texts: Can “take fruit in” something mean you enjoy it?

texts:
Consider

  to take fruit in something

For example:

  I take fruit in my life.

I feel like I have heard this term used before, but because I couldn't find an example with Google, I wanted to check whether this makes sense to other people or whether I’m just conjuring this out of my own brain.

The intended meaning here would be “to enjoy”; is this acceptable and correct?


texts:
I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe an impostor who is in cahoots with the actual person whose identity they are assuming, and they benefit from it.

In this case, I'm talking about "conspiracy" theories about the authorship of Shakespeare's work, where people think some educated or upper-class person actually wrote the works, instead of William Shakespeare.

If that were true, then Shakespeare would benefit from this false attribution, being credited for such masterpieces. This would be contrary to being a "fall guy", "scapegoat", etc. where the false identity harms the imposter.

What word or phrase would describe such a person?


texts: What is the proper plural of the word "freshman"?

texts:
Would it be proper to say freshman students, freshmen, or freshmen students?

Edit:

It is worth noting that I have since learned it is more acceptable in educational circles to use the term "first-year students" instead of "freshmen".


texts: What is the correct way to style academic degrees after a name in British English?

texts:
What is the correct way to style academic degrees in British English?

I've got a name:

  Jane Doe RN Dip HV BSc

My question is: How should I style the degrees?

  Jane Doe, RN Dip., HV, BSc.

or:

  Jane Doe RN Dip., HV, BSc.

or totally in another way?


texts: Is the usage of word, “Deck” as a package of paper limited to cards?

texts:
I felt nostalgic to find the word ‘copy deck’ in the latest EL& U question, “Is subcopy a word?”followed with the statement:

  “A copywriter just sent me over a copy deck that had the word
  subcopy to describe the text immediately after the page title.”

I remember that when I was working in an ad agency, expatriate staffs, particularly my senior who happened to be British liked to use the word “deck” for the package of presentation documents and a set of handouts at the meeting. I followed his suit.

Seeing the word, “Copy deck” again after long time, I checked online dictionaries to reconfirm whether I had rightly used the word, ‘deck’ around that time, and was embarrassed to find none of Cambridge, Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and OALED registers the definitions of “Deck” other than (1) a floor of ship, (2) a package of cards, and (3) a component or unit for playing records, or recording tapes, or compact discs.

Beside ‘a floor of a ship,’
Cambridge English Dictionary defines ‘deck’ as: (mainly US) a set of cards used for playing card games.
Oxford Dictionary defines: (1) chiefly North American, a pack of cards. (2) a component or unit for playing or recording records, tapes, or compact discs: a cassette deck
Merriam -Webster Dictionary simply defines: a pack of playing cards.

Is it far-stretched to use “deck” for a package of items (documents, exhibits, and writings) as we had used to and as used in the question other than cards?
Were we using the word wrong way?


texts:
Is there a term for "from X to Y" that includes everything?
Like every animal, "from snail to elephant."
Or "through thick and thin."

Added later:
Sorry, I think I was misunderstood - I meant to ask for a technical term to describe that concept, rather than a parallel term for the concept. So, for example, a merism is a way or referring to a whole by its parts, but is there a term that means "a way to refer to the whole by saying 'from X to Y'?"


texts: What's the opposite of "grow up" when used as an interjection?

texts:
In casual conversation, one is often told to "Grow up!", ie be more mature and more like an adult. What would be the most accurate phrase to express the opposite sentiment - you need to loosen up, embrace your inner child, appreciate the fun in activities usually seen as frivolous, etc?

"Grow down" is humorous but I'm not sure if it's correct, and it's definitely not widely used.
"Loosen up" works but doesn't have quite the same "child-like" connotation.
"Relax", "chill" and other such common words also fall in the same category, but don't express a need for childishness.


texts: Is it ever correct to say 'I wish I was'...something?

texts: I think it is grammatically not correct to use the phrase 'I wish I was' in any sentence or, any situation. The correct phrase for its substitute will be 'I wish I were'. For instance, I wish I were on the first floor (I am actually staying on the ground floor).


texts: In the two noun phrases, 'People living overseas' 'People who live overseas', is there any difference in meaning?


texts: What's a good term for source code that could theoretically still run, but is purposefully not?

texts:
I'm a software engineer. There are many times when I write a good chunk, or even the entirety of, a feature, but opt not to make it actually run in the program for some reason or another. This code is still there, and could theoretically work, but it never will because it's inaccessible.

What's a good one-word term for such code? I want to use it, or a form of it, like this:

  "This is ______ code."

  "I am going to ______ this code".

Terms I considered (but don't seem to fully-convey the purpose) include:

frozen/freeze (implies it causes the program to freeze?)
isolated/isolate (implies it can be run in some isolated environment)
vitrified/vitrify (implies it's changed to something else and can't change back)
fossilized/fossilize (implies it's old and broken and should only be observed. Same problems as vitrified)


texts:
Sometimes rules may not have a positive influence on children if those parents who set strict rules focus too much on children's obedience. Children will/would rely heavily on rules and may not be able to solve problems independently.

Which word should I use here? I think they are both acceptable but there is a difference in meaning; will is more affirmative while would is more tentative; will is like describing a fact whereas would is giving a personal opinion. Am I right?


texts: What does the phrase "going well in the soft" mean?

texts: Does anyone know what does this phrase mean: "Piper going well in the soft, lads. Down to fourth". I think it was about bets. The phrase was from a tv series "Peaky Blinders".


texts: Dilution of the word "hero" to include sports personalities

texts:
I have often wondered what makes sports personalities heroes. I have always thought of hero referring to someone who risks their life to save others. For example soldiers and to a lesser extent emergency services.

Is it accurate to describe athletes as heroes?


texts: Is there a better word than "scene" when talking about books?

texts:
From the dictionary it seems the word "scene" is appropriate for describing a part of a book:

  a sequence of continuous action in a play, film, opera, or book.
  "a scene from Tarantino's latest movie"

To me, it feels natural to use the word for plays, films and operas but it sounds strange to use it when referring to a book. Is there a better word or is "scene" indeed correct for books?


texts: When to use “the“ with the word “church“?

texts:
my question is:

When can the article “the“

be used with the word “church“?

I have a book were the explanation is that we don't use the with the words school, church, bed, hospital etc. When we refer to the purpose for which they exist.

What do they mean, when they say purpose? When can I actually use it?

Thank you very much!


texts: When did "for days" start meaning "marvellous"?

texts:
I'm sure we're all aware of the literal meaning of "for days", as in "I haven't seen him for days", or "after Christmas we'll have turkey curry for days".

However, I've heard, over the course of the last year or so, "for days" used to say that something is great, usually (but not always) with regard to physical attractiveness, for example "she's got abs for days". Another popular phrase is "legs for days" (definitely Urban Dictionary).

I've struggled to search on this, as most use of "for days" is related to the literal meaning.

How long has this usage been around? The UD entry is from 2007, so obviously for longer than I've been noticing it.

From what culture did it emerge?

Also there is a potential related meaning of "a lot of", for example in this tweet: "I have puns for days", but that could also mean marvellous, I'm not sure.

Again in this tweet: "got mix ups for days".

Is that a different meaning or the same?

NB: for a topical reference for all three meanings, the Twitter tag #fordays is a good place to start.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Alternatives to “and/or”?

This has bothered me for a long time.  As a software developer, the or is inclusive (xor is exclusive and rarely used / not needed).  However, in speaking English, "or" is traditionally exclusive.

  You can have an apple or an orange

The above would imply that you can have one or the other (without the "either," it is not strictly clear, but it is implied).

Is there any preferred way to say an inclusive or?

  We can restrict registration and/or purchase

"and/or" is kind of clunky, especially when speaking.

Is there another inclusive or word or a way of phrasing a sentence to make options inclusive?


texts: What is a word that encompasses the sentence "I don't mind asking for help when I am struggling"?

texts:
I am writing a college essay and I would like to make it more concise by finding a word that encompasses the sentence

I don't mind asking for help when I am struggling.

I would like this word to substitute the bracketed portion of the sentence,

My curiosity to learn beyond the syllabus and [the fact that I don't mind asking for help when I am struggling] are 2 traits that helped me stand out in their class.


texts: Why is "can I get" replacing "could I have"?

texts:
I noticed the other day when serving the public that when asking for something, people were saying "Can I get an xyz, please". The previous time I had such a job it was "Could I have an xyz", or "May I have..." if they were being very polite.

Does anyone know when this trend started and what caused it?


texts: Single word to define a person who thinks that there is always a scope for improvement

texts:
I am looking for a word that defines a person who thinks that there is always a scope for improvement.
Just like the term "perfectionist" that defines a person who always looks for perfection. Is there a term to define who always looks for improvement?


texts: Hyphenation of compound adjective as object complement

texts:
Consider these three cases:

Here is the up-to-date information.
Mark this information up-to-date.
This information is up to date.

Those are spelled the ways that feel correct to me, but I'm not certain.
The standard rule for hyphenating compound adjectives is that you hyphenate them only if they appear before the noun they modify. By this rule, #2 is incorrect.
But I also found this:

Some established compound adjectives are always hyphenated.
Double-check with a dictionary or online. Example: The design is
state-of-the-art.

By this rule, #2 is correct and #3 is incorrect, but I'm not sure if this rule applies here. While up-to-date (as well as its counterpart out-of-date, which I'm also concerned with) do appear in the dictionary with hyphens, I'm not sure they fall into the same category as state-of-the-art because they are still grammatical without hyphens, as ordinary prepositional phrases with the prepositions up to and out of. #3 feels correct to me.
In particular, in #2, up-to-date is an object complement, and my instinct says that in this construction it should be hyphenated even though it's after the noun. None of the hyphenation guides I've found include an example with an object complement. Is there any difference in hyphenation between an object complement and any other compound adjective that follows its noun?


texts:
Is it "a delivery service's terms and conditions" or "a delivery service' terms and conditions"?

Follow-up question: If the answer is "service'", how is it pronounced, just as "service"?


texts: "Cannot help" is used with a present participle to roughly the same effect as a verb form in -ing

texts:
According to the American Heritage Dictionary,

Cannot help is used with a present participle to
roughly the same effect as a verb form ending in -ing in a sentence
such as We cannot help admiring his courage.

However I do not understand what the author refers to by "to roughly the same effect as a verb form ending in -ing".


texts: What's the appropriate term for a non-annual commemoration of an event?

texts:
The word "anniversary" literally means a day that commemorates and/or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event.  The "ann" in "anniversary" comes from the Latin word "annum," meaning "year." As such, it kind of bugs me when people refer to the "six-month anniversary" of an event.

Is there a more appropriate word that means something like an anniversary, except for not a year?


texts: Capitalization of a word after an ellipsis

texts:
Should I capitalize the word "don't" in the following sentence?

  Listen... don’t panic.


texts: How to use "know" and "realize" correctly

texts:
Are they just actually the same? Especially as in the following examples:

  I realize then whom I love.
  I know then whom I love.


texts:
I've seen the expression in some company names; for example All things data, All things gym.

Is the expression "All things X" a parody of some other popular phrase, or does it have its own meaning? Or is it just a misuse of grammar?


texts: Are sentences starting with "that" (conjunction) standard English

texts:
In Dutch one could say things such as

Dat hij dat durft!
That he that dares!

(An exclamation of astonishment)

Which would be roughly translated as: that he dares to do that.
Is that initial that standard English? If not, how would a native English speaker translate that sentence?


texts: speaking about conditional past event using had (verb)... would (verb)

texts:
If the author had spent any time in China, they would know that an “engineer” in China is NOT the same as an “engineer” in the USA. This is a mistranslation. An “engineer” in China is equivalent to a “technician” in the USA.

Is this correct, or should would be followed by have known?

Please explain the rule.


texts: A word that means the way that one person sees another?

texts:
‘Perception of’ was the first way of saying this that came to mind, but I used the word recently in my context and I would like a word that more clearly conveys the entirety of the way that one person perceives another, as in, their mental image of them, of both personality and experiences.

‘Mental image’ is listed as a synonym of ‘perception’ on Merriam-Webster, but this term is too clunky for my sentence and I still don’t feel that it properly expresses what I’m trying to say.

Definition of Perception from Merriam-Webster:

  a mental image

Also: a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something

I feel like there should be a specific word for this, but don’t know what it is.

For Context: My character has just learned more about another character in my book; specifically, her back story. Hearing about it has cleared his ‘mental image’ of her a bit more. In my sentence, I used the word ‘perception’ by saying ‘...his perception of her cleared further and further...’ exactly.

Is there a word I could use as a substitute for ‘perception’ that gets my meaning across? Again, I realize that mental image would work here, but it doesn’t sound right to me (basically, it makes my sentence flow awkwardly)

*Update (and apologies for being picky): While ‘perspective’ means:

  the interrelation in which a subject or its parts are mentally viewed

(definition from Merriam-Webster)

and seems to work perfectly by definition, it doesn’t flow smoothly in context; if there is another form of this word that would work as well, I’d appreciate hearing it.

Outlook defined by Cambridge Dictionary as:

  a person’s general attitude or way of thinking about something

also has the right meaning, but when I see this word, I think more of a general point of view on life or a situation.


texts: What does it mean to "start from scratch"?

texts: This question speaks to the "start from the beginning" meaning, but in yesterday's USA Today, there was a headline about Obama and Romney starting from scratch because they were even in a poll.  Have you heard it mean to be at a tie?


texts: Word to describe this kaleidoscope-like motion

texts:
I'm looking for a word which describes a certain motion, a way of moving. Namely, I'm searching for a word which describes how a kaleidoscope moves when you turn it, or how a web moves when you pinch it in one location and drag that point around. This motion is distinctive in that if one location in the object moves then every other point moves in a complicated but, nonetheless, a systematic and fluid way.

I will be very sad if no such word exists.

EDIT

I'm going to ask that everyone ignore my web analogy. That motion is distinctive to the idea I'm trying to capture. Here are a couple gifs that exemplify what I have in mind:

Sphere
4-d Rotation
Kaleidoscope

In addition to what I have said, this movement is interesting in that moving one point
causes all the other points to move, but changing the root point you move does not alter
how the other points were moving when you were moving the original vantage point.

I think I'll have to give up and just go with kaleidoscopic.


texts: What is the proper name to call "non-developer bloggers"?

texts:
I am looking for a proper name to address a group of people who is not proficient in coding a website (HTML/CSS/JS). A suitable call so not to offend anyone.
Example quotes (that I don't yet feel is correct):

"Useful codes for regular bloggers."
"Copy-paste solution for unskilled bloggers."
"Code snippets for non-technical developers."

Update:
A blogger is technically a website publisher too. Despite his coding skill / knowledge, one might prefer not to code and use available publishing tool as is.
After receiving some good suggestion on the topic, I think I should broaden the term
"non-developer" to something like bloggers who prefer not to code.
Do we have a suitable short name for that in English?


texts: The meaning of “rack” or “rock” in “The Peasant Poet” by John Clare

texts:
From “The Peasant Poet”, a poem by John Clare:

  He loved the brook's soft sound,
  The swallow swimming by.
  He loved the daisy-covered ground,
  The cloud-bedappled sky.
  To him the dismal storm appeared
  The very voice of God;
  And when the evening rack [rock?] was reared
  Stood Moses with his rod.
  [...]

I wonder what is the meaning of evening rack here, and why does it bring up thoughts of Moses with his rod in the hero’s mind? The word rack has too many meanings and I'm at a loss here.

Note: I initially thought the word there is rack. But as FumbleFingers pointed out, the word is actually rock in the majority of the  books (searchable online) containing the poem. That does not detract from the mysteriousness of the sentence though.


texts: What does 'jealous' mean in 'the Courts are bound to be jealous, lest they should turn contracts of service into contracts of slavery'?

texts:
Paul Davies. JC Smith's The Law of Contract (2018 2 ed). p. 454.

As this case was published in 1890, I don't know if Fry LJ were using an older meaning of 'jealous', let alone try to guess which meaning on OED fits here.

        Contracts for personal services are also not, generally speaking, specifically enforceable.
  In De Francesco v Barnum, Fry LJ insisted that ‘the Courts are bound to be jealous, lest they
  should turn contracts of service into contracts of slavery’.70 The courts should clearly not
  force a person to work where that would be tantamount to slavery.

  70 (1890) 45 ChD 430, 438

Here's more context from Westlaw UK:


texts: Can I proactively look for a solution but use an idea put forward by someone else?

texts:
I took a look at a graduate reading comprehension, cos I'm worried I'm poor at it. The test, to me, makes no sense. E.g.

Surely, I'm thinking, an organisation can be "proactive", yet not "put forward" the idea which is used.

Can anyone show me that this isn't me lacking business speak, but my poor reading comprehension?


texts: Use of titles in English language, can we use title Mr if we use the designation like Secretary Sports Mr Saleem Akhtar, etc, or we skip it. i am asking in reference to make a news report or news article.


texts: "Slit one's wrists" vs. "cut one's wrists"

texts: Which one is used more often? You can cut your leg, hand etc. but do you slit or cut your wrists? Is the correct word related to the method of action that causes wrists to bleed?


texts: How do you describe someone who is in a middle scale often?

texts:
How do you describe someone who is always in the middle? For example, One person is always angry and another really calm and this person is both at times. Or they are shy and outgoing. Like science and art. Basically, they don't fit in a description cause they're always in the middle cause they do both or are both.
Does this make sense?


texts:
Which one is correct?

You better visit your family.

You have better visit your family.

You had better visit your family.


texts:
Scrambled eggs don't keep the form of eggs, and yet they are used in the plural.
Are they countable? If so, how do you count them? One scrambled eggs and so on?


texts: What is the future equivalent of the word "Heritage"?

texts:
For example, you could say the phrase "Their cultural heritage" to refer to the culture of your ancestors. What would be the equivalent phrase ("Their cultural ______") to refer to the culture of your descendants?
Is there such a word in English? Or does the minimal terseness require constructing a descriptive phrase?


texts:
Which is correct and why?

  'a proposal that the resolution be adopted'

or

  'a proposal that the resolution is adopted'


texts: What's another phrase for "word for word"?

texts: It's a sudden random question I have but I distinctly remember there being another phrase, probably of another language, which means exactly the same as "word for word". What is it?


texts: What do you call the person in charge of a district?

texts:
In the Middle East, each district has a chief recognized by the authorities. He/she is not a government employee but usually the longest residing citizen in the area.
Their duties include verifying people's identities or place of residence. For example, if you want to register your child in school and you are living in a friend or relative's house and don't have a proof of residence, this person would provide you with a letter stating that you do reside in the area and the district school would accept it.

Is there such system in the west? If yes, what is the appellation of such person?

I thought of "district chief" but I can't say I am 100% sure...


texts:
Is the phrase "help with digestion" equivalent in meaning to the phrase "easy to digest", i.e. can I replace the former phrase with the latter in this sentence:

  Apple juice helps with digestion.

Additionally, can the phrase "help with running" be replaced by "easier to run" in this sentence:

  The shoes released just a couple of days ago really helps me with running.


texts: Is "more quickly" grammatically correct?

texts:
Can you use "more quickly" in the following context?

  I can move more quickly than she can.


texts:
Imagine an example.xml file that contains some data.

Then there's a website where you can type or upload this data, so there are a few links such as "Manual Input" or "Upload from XML".

Which one of these options is the best, do they all seem valid to you?

"Upload from XML"
"Upload from list of values"
"Upload from CSV"
"Upload from comma-separated values"
(aren't they both horribly wrong?)

And this looks valid to me:

"Upload XML"
"Uload list of values"

Unfortunately lots of pages uses "Upload from XML/CSV" so I'm a bit confused. It's basically "Upload from  Extensible Markup Language", I might be wrong but it just feels awful.


texts:
Some tips to help with homesickness.

Q1) Is the clause in bold a relative-infinitival? (some tips that can help with homesickness)
Q2) Can I replace the to-infinitive with for+ving? (Some tips for helping with homesickness)


texts: "what hair colour have you got?" or "what colour hair have you got?"

texts:
EDIT: This question concerns British English.

I've been teaching English for over fifteen years and the books have always agreed that you pose the question as "what hair colour have you got?". This year, though, I'm working with a book that teaches it quite insistently (meaning it offers no alternatives) as "what colour hair have you got?".

I admit I have never heard anyone in real life enquiring about one's hair colour so the books I've used both as a student and as a teacher are the only sources I can fall back to. Also, the 'new' structure sounds incredibly jarring to me and flat out wrong (understandably, after so many years working with only the former).

My first instinct was that the book had been written by a non-native and some influence had seeped into the book's English structures (I have seen it before, though it's rarely something scandalous). But no, the book was written and coordinated in the UK and by very much native speakers.

My second instinct was to run an Ngram... and it turned out the British spelling of the structure I've known all my life isn't even found in its database!

Is the Ngram viewer eschewing how common one structure is over the other? Or is it the books that have eschewed my view of which is the preferred structure? Should I be telling my students that both structures are fine or that one is more commonly used?

To make this worse, I teach at a private language school and all of my young students have English classes in public school with books that teach the "What hair colour" structure.

Note:
This book I'm currently using is a title that is being used in my country for the first time. Many books used in the public system are produced by national publishers with British consultants. I often tutor children so I see a lot of different titles and, again, this is the first time I've come across this structure. On the other hand, my school uses books produced in the UK by British companies and the titles I've previously used also taught the 'what hair colour' structure.

EDIT:

In reference to some of the comments, I decided it might be useful to explain the circumstancs in greater detail.

These kids are about 10 years old and some have had no contact with English before. They first learn 'to be' and 'there be', and then they learn 'have got' before moving on to everyday routines and Present Simple.

I suppose most book editors just think that the most practical topics to use with 'have got' are personal possessions, body parts and appearance, and clothes. This may lead to constructions that are less than natural but, due to the need of practising the 'have got' structure, it becomes a lesser evil (I suppose).

Also, at this age and level, formality is not an issue. If a kid can say 'teacher, step aside, please' or 'please, repeat', it's great. The following year, the use of 'can you' will be added and, a couple of years later, 'could you' will be incentivated.

Moreover I have come to realise that most books (wherever they're written and produced) will lean towards informality. For instance, they will flat out consider wrong to use 'many' in positive sentences while requiring 'a lot of' to be used instead. Only in the most advanced levels (C1 and C2) have I come across an explanation referring to 'many' as an appropriate possibility in positive sentences alongside 'a lot of', pointing out that one is more informal than the other. So 'have got' being coarse in relation to 'have', if it stems from its informality, will not be an issue at a lower level where the informality seems to be encouraged.


texts:
Telling the Centre that  it is an act of “basic fairness ,” the Supreme Court on  Monday directed it to hand over to deposed Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister NabamTuki documents, equipment, data, and personal papers seized  from the offices and residences  of Mr. Tuki and his ministers  on the orders of Governor  J.P. Rajkhowa, hours after  emergency was declared in  the State on Republic Day.

In this passage I am unable to understand to whom "Centre" will give the documents - the minister, or the court?


texts:
A blogger writes of the artisanal movement that it is born out of a preference for things that are hand made. He points out (presumably as a criticism of this) that in the 16th century a gentleman would distance himself from manual industry. He later avers that "...it is as if we now believe artisans are 'free range', happier in their work, and more likely to deliver quality," and that he is mystified as to what this "dangerous assumption" means.

Nevermind the slipperiness of calling it the artisanal "movement", but what is it called when you use an out-dated (from the 16th century!) example to refute a position?

And is his final comment a straw man argument, positing something superficial, general and easy to mock that his opponents (cleverly disguised as "we") supposedly believe? Or just an example of a 'dangerous assumption' on his own part?

Apologies in advance if this is covered elsewhere.


texts: what does the phrase "Nothing you won't see in the hills" mean?

texts: When asked about a place in a video game, the NPC gives this answer.


texts: What does the phrase "putting them in time out" mean?

texts:
I have a sentence, but there is an expression I can't understand. Could someone explain it to me? Here it is:

  "You should treat your employees like adults instead of putting them in time out like a child."

Could someone direct me to a list of explanations of similar expressions: come out, take off, and so on


texts: I saw a sentence like "Some coastal waters and rivers can have such a high concentration of suspended sediment and floating plant material that light only penetrates surface a foot or so" In this sentence, is "a foot or so" meaning as "a little bit"?


texts: Difference between "get rid of" and "rid of"

texts:
What is the difference between the two? Would the following sentence work with "get rid of"?

  We need to rid the world of hunger.


texts: I want to know about usage of 'make fun'

texts:
Here I want to mean that-- I enjoy(without mocking anyone).
Q.Then are these sentences correct?

I make fun.
I do fun.
I make it fun.

Q.Everywhere I see 'make fun of'. Can't I use 'make fun' without the preposition 'of'?


texts:
When I am ill, I go to the doctor.

  If I am ill, I will go to the doctor.

  If I am ill, I go to the doctor.

Which is correct?


texts: I plan to use this approach to do something or doing something

texts:
I know if we say "This is an approach to doing something" we should use "to doing" after approach.
In the case "I plan to use this approach ", should I say "to do" or "to doing" something?


texts:
We have created a game where children can learn Vegetables and Fruits. When the child answers a question they receive a notification to tell them whether they got it wrong or right.

My opinion is that the capitalization of the letters should not be in sentence case, so for example,

  Wrong Answer - Try Again

is incorrect in my opinion. I think it should be

  Wrong answer - try again

i.e. written as a normal sentence.

Is there a particular way it should be?

For reference purposes, here is the game just in case my question does not make sense.
Click on a vegetable to see the message. http://freeteacher.co.uk/game.aspx?qf=game_vegetables


texts:
I have the following sentence:

  Overfitting is meant to be a situation when the learned model has too strong a connection with the training set which can negatively affect accuracy in a new dataset.

I was given advice about using an article with "too strong a connection" but I am not sure about it. What do you think; should it be there?


texts: The right verb about satisfying or not someone's right in this context?

texts:
They are going to do this surgery on the man. The man has right to be
  informed about the side effects of the surgery. The man is entitled to be informed on that. They don't give him that information. They ____ the man's right to be informed on the side effects. That is wrong. They should ____ the man's right to be informed on the side effects.

When we are talking in such contexts of such kinds of right or entitlements, what verbs are good to use?

On the one hand, do we violate, break, or contravene the patient's right to be informed on the side effects of his surgery?

On the other hand, do we satisfy, respect, or fulfil one's right to be informed on the side effects of his surgery?

Or maybe other verbs?

We don't know why they don't inform the man of the side effects; it can be because they are too ignorant, or for their own interests.


texts:
What type of rock is a "slide-rock"?

  In those days we had never heard of passing up a chance to kill a wolf. In a second we were pumping lead into the pack, but with more excitement than accuracy: how to aim a steep downhill shot is always confusing. When our rifles were empty, the old wolf was down, and a pup was dragging a leg into impassable slide-rocks.

Context: Thinking Like a Mountain By Aldo Leopold


texts: What can we call " an employee who is under-productive but the quality of his work is enviable"

texts:
A pleasant expression for an employee who has remained
  under-productive despite several feedback.

(QUANTITATIVELY WORST)

  There are workers who are unable to churn up BIG numbers but the
  quality of their work is enviable/unmatched by peers.

(QUALITATIVELY BEST)

A noun, an adjective or matching idioms.


texts: Which subject does the author try to indicate in this extract?

texts:
The extract:

  "That freedom can never be attained by a nation without suffering and sacrifice, has been amply borne out by the recent tragic happenings in this sub-continent," said Jinnah.

The above second sentence does not contain the subject or agent, as it says:

  "...has been amply borne out by the recent tragic happenings in this sub-continent." said Jinnah.

But, I could not understand that which subject (e.g. He, she, it) is being used.


texts: Is there a word for evoking jealousy or wanting to?

texts: I see this behavior in my dogs probably the most, where it wants to flaunt something it has, like a toy, in order to try and make me jealous. It's not just the ask for attention, but the behavior to try and incite an emotional response.


texts:
Is there a word or phrase to express something that may or may not be ironic, but is certainly humorous beyond just coincidental? I'm thinking along the lines of a weaker form of irony. My goal is to use this word or phrase in place of "ironic" or "irony" to avoid the inevitable claim of, "That's not ironic". I want the situation to be enjoyed for what it is, and not clouded by someone trying to determine the validity of my statement.

The word/phrase should make sense when describing things that actually are ironic, and also when describing situations such as:

  A self proclaimed IT security expert that is constantly getting
  hacked.

  You bring your dog home from the groomer and he immediately gets
  skunked.

  Someone who is extremely poor and for years struggles to make ends
  meet, yet spends $2/year on lottery tickets, eventually wins two different
  lottery jackpots on the same day.

Perhaps the entire lyrics of the song "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette could be described by this word/phrase too.

I think we can do better than coincidental or humorous coincidence or even just funny or sad.


texts:
"Dividend on share of profit which is exempted from calculated income tax"

I'm Japanese and I'm trying to translate my husband's withholding tax certificate into Japanese to apply for his visa in Japan.

My husband is from Thailand, so the tax certificate was originally issued in Thai, and I'm trying to put it into Japanese based on an English translation of it. A non-native English speaker first translated the original thing into English for me.

I just can't figure out what "calculated income tax" is.
The whole sentence of it is

"2) In the case where the recipient of the dividend is not entitled to a tax credit because the dividends is paid from
(2.1) Net profit of business that is exempted from income tax.
(2.2) Dividend on share of profit which is exempted from calculated income tax."

I'm struggling with (2.2).


texts:
A perfectionist is:

  a person who wants everything to be perfect and demands the highest standards possible. (Cambridge Dict.)

What noun could be used to refer to the opposite of the above definition? Someone who doesn't care about doing things the proper way , who tends to accept low standard of executions.

The thesaurus has no  suggestion for an antonym.

Jim is a perfectionist in everything he does while  his brother, on the contrary, is just a (the opposite).

I'm looking for a term that describes this: a "non-perfectionist" would usually perform his job/task with little interest and little care. He is not irresponsible but he is going to devote as little as he can to do it, he just doesn't feel the need, unlike a perfectionist, to do the best he can. I want a term that a term would be used mainly referring to poor execution of a job/task rather than house/personal order and cleanliness.


texts:
In S05E04 of BoJack Horseman TV-series BoJack appeared in a "Feminism is BAY" t-shirt, emphasizing his pro-feminist attitude. I don't know for sure whether it's the creators of the show who came up with that idea or it's a well-known phrase. Such t-shirts are now available for purchase online.
Could someone explain the original meaning of the phrase, if there is one? Apart from bay being a horse-themed play of words.


texts: Subject pronoun or object pronoun in a particular case?

texts:
When referring to the Oxford dictionary, I found a usage of the word "Condone" like this: "Condone sb doing sth" which means forgiving or pardoning some action of somebody even when that action is probably wrong or immoral. However, when I tried to plug this structure in my sentence, I got hindered!

Her mother condoned her doing illegal transaction.

Or

Her mother condoned she doing illegal transaction.

Which one is correct?

Personally, I think that "she" is suitable since it serves as a subject of the successive phrase "doing illegal transaction". Since I got flummoxed, I would like if someone can explain explicitly this situation explicitly for me? I will appreciate any help.


texts:
What would the noun form for despise be?

My current two ideas are despite and derision.

According to Google, the etymology of despite is

  Middle English (originally used as a noun meaning ‘contempt, scorn’ in the phrase in despite of): from Old French despit, from Latin despectus ‘looking down on,’ past participle (used as a noun) of despicere (see despise).

For derision, I get

  late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin derisio(n-), from deridere ‘scoff at.’

Thus, I think that despite makes more sense based on its etymology, but what would be generally accepted?


texts: Is there a word for "about to be mentioned"?

texts:
I'm curious whether there is a word for it or not.

For example: "The problems that will be mentioned are going to be analyzed..."

And: "The xxx problems are going to be analyzed".


texts: Feel confused about the use of "seem" or "seems" in these two sentences

texts:
I saw the first sentence in a book, and I thought it was a mistake. I googled it and realized that many writers had used it on the websites. But then I googled the second sentence and found many people saying it that way. For me, the first one makes more sense, but after I saw the second one, I felt confused. Do they have the same meaning? If so, which one is grammatically correct?

He was one of those people who seem fated to be hurt and thrown aside in life.
She is one of those people who seems to be able to withstand anything.


texts: Does "commit " always imply a negative moral judgement?

texts:
The word "commit" has a couple of uses: "to commit (oneself) to X", or "to commit X". The former seems to generally imply commitment to doing something good, while the latter seems to generally be negative.
Examples:

commit a crime
commit murder
commit suicide*
commit a felony
commit treason

Is there any case, contemporary or archaic, where this structure is used without negative connotations? Why, historically, did this pattern develop?
*This example is somewhat anomalous, since in modern usage, though negative, it may not imply a moral judgment.


texts:
I'm pretty sure it's not correct to say I with my friends go to the cinema every weekend. However I sometimes hear it from other Russians.

I have to use "and" instead of "with" and put this like this My friends and I go to the cinema every weekend. I'm still wondering what if...

Am I right or wrong?


texts: Difference between "prodigal" and "profligate"

texts:
I have researched this topic a bit. One site suggested that prodigal is having reformed after being wasteful, while profligate is still engaging in such behavior.

However on studying the origin of the words, I found that this might not be correct. The parable of the prodigal son was the first reference of prodigal (from the resources I came across), and the parable is also referred to as the parable of the profligate father. Seems like prodigal is related to immorality somehow.

And studying the etymology of profligate, it seems to be linked to downfall.

What exactly is the difference between the two?


texts:
This is the classic usage of neither/nor:

  I would neither hide nor run away.

But is the following construction grammatical? (More than two choices, no neither)

  I wasn't going to play dead.
  I wasn't going to hide.
  Nor was I going to run away.


texts: Is the expression 'Never Meet Your Heroes' an adage?

texts:
When the expression "Never Meet Your Heroes" is used, is it used as an  adage? If so, what is its origin?

In other words, why should we not meet our heroes?


texts:
Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf
  clovers.

I have no idea what the quotation means. Is there any special meaning about four-leaf clovers that I may be unaware of?


texts: How does "bluebird weather" get its name?

texts:
In Maryland and Virginia, bluebird weather is a brief period of warm weather in autumn.

https://www.waywordradio.org/bluebird-weather/

How does “bluebird weather” get its name? This article explains the spiritual meaning of bluebird. I don’t see how it is related to “bluebird weather”.

  Bluebirds are known as “Spirit Animals,” who carry messages from the
  spirit world. The bluebird meaning is happiness and pleasure. Any
  positive sentiment is always attached to the bluebird; whether it is
  happiness, pleasure, prosperity, or good health.

  https://www.guardian-angel-reading.com/blog-of-the-angels/bluebird-meaning/?media=BLOG&campaign=bluebird-meaning


texts: What's the meaning of the word "Roger". Over and out

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What does “Roger” mean in war movies?

In some movies, when they are talking from base-camp to a plane for instance, they end their sentences with "Roger" (I hope it's written like this). In french, we are using "à vous", meaning that it is your turn to speak.

From where does this surname (if it this) come from ?


texts:
The context is about the sacred direction of Muslims or the qibla by David A. King:

  Frequently over the years other folk have introduced the factor that the Earth is not a sphere into the qibla discussion, which is not helpful.

The Cambridge dictionary defines the meanings of the term 'sphere' as:

  1- an object shaped like a round ball.

and

  a subject or area of knowledge, work, etc.

So the problem I have is that I can't quite figure out the exact meaning of the term based on the sentence. Does it mean that earth is not considered as a sphere-like shape in the qibla discussion, or, the earth is not considered as one of the subjects included in the qibla discussion? Or maybe even something else?

I know that my question might have a simple answer, but I'm really stuck on this and as a translator (English to another language) I have to know the exact meaning, so I would really appreciate your help.


texts:
I'm looking for a certain word, usually being said about the current generation,
something like attention deficit caused by over stimulation (like people don't want to wait for more than 30 seconds for a video, etc).

Update:
The word I was looking for was desensitized


texts:
I've heard a few people (all native English speakers) recently use "otay" in place of "okay", both in writing and when speaking. Where does that word come from? For that matter, is it a word at all?

I'm guessing it means the same thing as "okay", but are there any nuances in its usages that I'm missing?


texts: Family engagement is crucial to developing children’s emergent literacy skills because children who are raised in homes that promote literacy do better in school and they grow up to be better readers.


texts:
I am currently in the process of collaboratively editing a research paper, and participated in a meeting about it today.  During the discussion, the head of the group made a blanket statement about commas, to the effect that it is not fashionable to use too many commas anymore, and that the goal should be to eliminate as many of them as possible.

Is this a valid argument?  I thought that the rules for using commas were relatively clear and unambiguous.  Is the phrase, "Use commas sparingly" a valid piece of advice?  Do I need to quote the "Little Brown" handbook every time I insert a comma into this document?  Or has the use of commas become more an issue of "common practice" than one of rigid rules?

Here is an ambiguous sample from the paper, to which I have added a comma for clarity:

  This process makes use of commercially
  available software to read the data
  files, and custom software to convert
  the files to a different data format.

...and here is a sample that I consider unambiguous (the comma is required to separate two independent clauses):

  The organization does not regulate the
  data products it receives, and the
  software application cannot always
  read the data due to errors resulting
  from different vendor implementations.


texts: "There is" OR "There are" an unusual number of bees this summer?

texts:
Can you show me which one is the correct sentence?

"There is an unusual number of bees this summer."

or

"There are an unusual number of bees this summer."

I suppose that "There are" is more appropriate, but can you help me to chose the correct answer?


texts: Do I need an extra "about", or does one suffice?

texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  I have a lot to talk about with John about his project.

Since I can swap the position of the first about to make it 'I have a lot to talk with John about', then I would end up with:

  I have a lot to talk with John about about his project.

My question is, can I consolidate the two instances of about, giving me:

  I have a lot to talk with John about his project.

Or do I have to keep two prepositions there, but change the second about to something else in order to make it sound less-awkward, as in:

  I have a lot to talk with John about regarding his project.

Related question (now that I'm thinking more...er...about this): is the first about really an adverb, in which case, of course, I cannot ever consolidate the two?


texts: Correctness and spelling of "misscheduled"

texts:
I'm sure I've heard the word misscheduled used multiple times in my life.  But just now, my spell checker threw a fit.  Since I wasn't sure if it should be misscheduled, mis-scheduled, or mischeduled I started searching - but I'm not finding it in any of my digital dictionaries.

Is misscheduled a proper English word? If so, what is the proper spelling? If not, what is a concise word that means someone scheduled something at the wrong time?


texts:
Consider the following two sentences:

Statement 1:

  The parameters were calculated a priori, and the other variables
  were calculated iteratively.

Statement 2:

  The parameters were calculated a priori, and the other variables
  were calculated iteratively.

This may seem trivial, but the only difference between the two sentences is the way in which the , has been formatted. In the first statement the , is in italics. In the second, the , is not in italics. Does it depend on the writer whether or not to italicize the punctuation marks adjoining the affected words? Or is there a definite rule governing this? The same question can be extended to other types of formatting, e.g. bold.


texts: Is it proper to refer to a clothes dryer as a drying machine?

texts: A clothes washing machine is commonly referred to as either a "washer" or a "washing machine" but I have only ever heard of a clothes dryer being referred to as a "dryer". Is it a regional thing? Is "washing machine" preferred over "washer"? Is there anyone who does use the term "drying machine"? I am from Chicago.


texts: How do I express the plural of a letter in writing?

texts: My last name has two occurrences of the letter "s" in it, so in speech I tell people all the time that it's spelled "with two esses". However I don't know how to express such a thing in writing. I can see half decent reasons for any of "s's", "S's", "ses", "Ses", "ss", "Ss", or "esses" . Which is/are correct?


texts: Use of "trying to" in place of "wanting to" in the US

texts:
Is the use of "trying to" in place of "wanting to" occurring nationwide or regionally?  What is its prevalence and when did it start?

I'm in my late 20s and live in New England.  In the past 2-3 years, I've noticed people starting to use this phrase.  I've heard this in people from New England, Brooklyn, and Pennsylvania for scope.  Here are some examples of how I've heard it, immediately followed with the response it invokes in me.

You trying to play golf after work?
^No, at this moment, I am not actively attempting to play golf.

You trying to grab some lunch?
^No, I am not actively trying to grab lunch, but I would like to get lunch.

Hey, I'm not trying to have a hangover tomorrow!
^Of course nobody would try to have a hangover tomorrow.

But in these instances, the speaker is not asking or declaring about an intentional attempt to do something; they are indicating a desire to do something.

This use just strikes me as odd.


texts: When was the concept of “junk” first applied to finance?

texts:
The term  junk,  used figuratively referring to  something of little value, has been used in different contexts in recent decades. According to Etymonline junk food is from 1971,  junk art is from 1961,  junk mail is first attested in 1954 and in financial context the term junk was apparently first used in 1979 with the expression junk bond.

Actually a Google Books search yields a much earlier usage, from West's Rhode Island Digest, 1952:

  ... it was one of very few firms specializing in “high yield debt" or "junk bonds," and that there were no similarly qualified in-state firms; committee could have hired suitable counsel in state market, and counsel's particular skills were not critical to...

Questions:

Were bonds actually the first financial intrument to be described as “junk”?
What are the earliest common usages of “junk”  referring to   financial instruments or institutions?


texts: "Hwyl" - Is the letter "Y" counted as a vowel in this case?

texts: While reading the answers and comments of When is "Y" a vowel? I thought of a few other words that seem to have "w" as a vowel but am not sure. In addition to "cwm" there is also "crwth" and "hwyl." My question is specifically about "hwyl." Is the "y" or the "w" in "hwyl" the vowel or both?


texts: The construction of "verb1 or verb2" as in "win or lose"

texts:
When 'verb1' and 'verb2' are opposite in meaning, can you freely use the construction "verb1 or verb2" to mean "whether + subject + verb1 or verb2", if the meaning of "whether + subject" is recoverable from context?

For example, the expression 'win or lose' is listed as an "idiom" in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

  whether one succeeds or fails

  Win or lose, we'll give it our best effort.

If it's an idiom, the following should be ungrammatical:

  Succeed or fail, we'll give it our best effort.

But I do find some attested examples having "succeed or fail" used in this way:

  a. What else could he do? They had talked of escaping, which was against the rules, conscience told him. Also, succeed or fail, the attempt would result in his torture and death as a blood relative of the schemers.
  ("Essay Review of Adam Johnson's The Orphan Master's Son and Blaine Harden's Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Journey from North Korea to Freedom in the West")

  b. The master turned down his mouth and shook his head. 'Succeed or fail, he will never be finished with you. You are his, for bad or for good.'
  (Lord of Slaughter)

  c. Sometimes, it takes more than one extra shoot to resolve the issue, but every time, succeed or fail, you learn a lot.
  (How Do-It-All-Yourself Shoots Can Improve Your Photography)

Granted, this type of 'succeed or fail' is not as productive as 'win or lose', but the former does seem to be in use. I know of no grammar rule where you can elide 'whether + subject' in the construction "whether + subject + verb1 or verb2", if the meaning of "whether + subject" is recoverable from context.

Is this type of elision always possible, albeit not always idiomatic, when 'verb1' and 'verb2' have opposite meanings? Or is "succeed or fail" just another less frequently used "idiom"?


texts: Are the endings "-zation" and "-sation" interchangeable?

texts:
What is with words that have forms that end both in -zation and -sation, such as localization and localisation?

Many spell checkers recommend -zation.


texts:
Where did the phrase "itsy bitsy" come from?

According to Wikipedia,

  [It] is sometimes linked to Hungarian ici-pici ("tiny") by popular sources,
  but is regarded as an unrelated English formation by English
  dictionaries.

If it's not Hungarian in origin, how did it come about?


texts:
This BBC article says

  Anfield has also been nothing but a theatre of pain for Guardiola
  since he arrived in England

What is the origin of this phrase? It sounds quite gruesome. I'm aware of phrases like "security theatre" or "political theatre" - which are metaphors for actual theatre - but this sounds like a reference to something specific (besides a Mötley Crüe album).


texts: What is a word that means when people only contribute or speak when they have something of merit to say or add?

texts:
Kelsey wanted to add to the conversation, but she wanted to be ________ and didn't want to add any noise to the conversation as the people talking in the debate were considered experts in the field. She didn't want to ask any ignorant or mis-informed questions.

Alex and Logan were having fun at the party speaking to the dj while he was playing music, but Logan didn't want to add any small talk or anecdotes that weren't funny into the conversation. She wanted to be ________

I only want people who are ________ on my Q&A website. Too many idiots contribute opinions when they don't know anything on the topic. They don't consider the factors from the opposing side, just their own.


texts: Difference between "without" and "with no"

texts: What is the difference between the usage of without and with no? For example, without sound and with no sound.


texts:
Through a quick Google search, it seems that "accurate information" is more common than "correct information".
When is it better to use correct information?
For example:

Provide people with correct information on this matter.
Provide people with accurate information on this matter.


texts: I can think only of havoc. What other things can be wrought in the present tense?


texts: I have recently watched a Vsauce video titled 'Juvenoia'. In video he says that Juvenoia is fear of an older generation that the generation after them is worse and less wise than them. After trying to translate that word in various languages, I failed. So, is Juvenoia a real word?


texts: Is alcohol called spirits due to linking of imagery?

texts:
I was wondering if there is any correlation between the way alcohol burns and a common view of a spirit?

Alcohol burns with a wavering blue flame that looks almost ethereal.

Spirits are often pictured as blue and wavering (think of the will-o'-the-wisps in brave).

Coincidence? To be clear: I am asking if alcohol is called spirits partially due to this imagery, not about whether spirit's images are based of burning alcohol.


texts:
I came across an odd thing. I searched "nice" in Lexico and see what it says about its origin: Middle English (in the sense ‘stupid’): from Old French, from Latin nescius ‘ignorant’, from nescire ‘not know’. Other early senses included ‘coy, reserved’, giving rise to ‘fastidious, scrupulous’: this led both to the sense ‘fine, subtle’ (regarded by some as the ‘correct’ sense), and to the main current senses.

https://www.lexico.com/definition/nice

How did it take the meaning of "Giving pleasure or satisfaction; pleasant or attractive"?


texts: What is the word that functions as an object in a string of prepositions?

texts:
I noticed someone asking about using three prepositions in a row. I have a question related to this, but I can't post it as a comment to the same post (not enough reputations :-().
In examples like: "He jumped out from behind a dustbin" or "come on out from behind there to over here in front of me", what is the object of each preposition? Can we say that for each preposition it is the following one (which can be a noun in other context)? Or do they share the same object?


texts: Does an antonym of ''freezing'' as a descriptor of weather exist?

texts: On very cold days, someone can say that it's freezing outside. On very hot days of summer, can someone use cooking or any antonym of freezing, if one exists?


texts: a single word for someone who does a routine but important job

texts:
someone who performs a job on daily basis, but his job is important and vital for normal procession. like the one who checks the cards at a casino before it is played, one who test drives the bike that is gonna be used in MotoGP, the one responsible to bring the tyres in time for Ferrari so that the assembly line is not slowed down and similar types.

an assistant doesn't fit the job and a worker is too common. I can recall it being another word, that is less than 6 letters. I can't find it on internet.


texts:
This is quoted from an U.S. TV series.

Warden: Brad.

Brad (Captain): Any updates?

Warden: None.  They were last seen at that cemetery in Oswego.

Brad: They'll get them.  They'll get them.

Warden: It's been handed over to the FBI.

Brad: Well, that doesn't mean we can't work it.

Warden: It does, actually.  You and I have been pulled off the pursuit.

Brad: Why?

Warden: We're going to find out shortly.  We have to report to the DOC headquarters.  I will meet you there.

Brad: Sir, we can get these guys.  Just give me a couple more days and I swear I'll get them.

Warden: Brad!  We've got to go.


texts: Is this clause the passive or present perfect?

texts:
Is this clause 'it's met with utter confusion' the passive or present perfect?

  Have you ever talked with a friend about a problem, only to realize
  that they just don’t seem to grasp why the issue is so important to
  you? Have you ever presented an idea to a group, and it’s met with
  utter confusion? Or maybe you’ve been in an argument when the other
  person suddenly accuses you of not listening to what they’re saying at
  all? What’s going on here?

http://blog.ed.ted.com/2016/03/31/how-to-avoid-miscommunication-in-ted-ed-gifs/


texts: What is the word for 'saying more than you intended'?

texts:
What is the word for saying more than you intended?
For example: When a criminal refers in casual converstion to the place or method of a crime because it is playing on his mind.


texts:
Which is correct?

Please submit your ideas in text form.
Please submit your ideas in text format.

Format looks like it's derived from form, so what is the difference between these two words?
I consulted a dictionary, but the definitions look somewhat similar to me — both seem to refer to the way things are organised / configured / presented.
I'm not asking for writing advice or suggestions to rephrase or substitute words, I'm simply curious about the difference between the two words.


texts:
Silly question, not sure if this is the appropriate forum to voice this in, but here it goes. I've noticed over much of my life that between exposure to my peers, television, and internet, I've become quite good at being able to toss together a half-decent insult. However, when it comes time for me to compliment someone, I am for a lack of words...usually limited to something in the single adjective category.

Now, when you're trying to praise someone for a job well done, or tell your girlfriend that she really is something special to you, this experience can be quite trying, and it tends to come off rather badly. So, might I implore of you linguists which books I should be reading that might help me in this area? Perhaps something you read, that contains some phrases you felt embodied the meaning of the kindness you felt? Do you understand what I mean?


texts: How do I ask a question and make a comment in the same sentence?

texts:
For example, if I wanted to ask somebody a question and call them an idiot would I write:
"What do you know about grammar? You Idiot" or "What do you know about grammar you idiot?"

Or is it done completely differently?
Thanks.


texts: Equivalent synonym for successor as precursor is for predecessor?

texts:
I've been using the words successor and predecessor a lot in the context of computational feature tracking[*], which is to say, in a context not involving people (in case that makes any difference). Now I've stumbled upon the word precursor, which would be a handy alternative to predecessor because of it's equally long as successor (programmers will understand), so I've decided to look up if there is any difference.

According to this source (though not mentioned here), there's a slight difference between predecessor and precursor:

  A predecessor is something that's basically the same as what's in
  place right now; a precursor is something that's less developed than
  what's in place right now. So basically a predecessor gets replaced by
  the current one, a precursor not only gets replaced, but actually it
  has "grown" into the current one.

Both these definitions are defensible for my use case, so that's not the issue. However, I want to be consistent, and predecessor seems like the more appropriate counterpart to successor than precursor.

Yet, I have not found an equivalent synonym to successor as precursor is to predecessor. Is there one?

[*] If two features at consecutive timesteps correspond to each other, then the first/second is the predecessor/successor of the second/first.


texts:
The following quote is from "American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964":

  [MacArthur] was ambushed by two guerrillas.  A bullet tore through the
  crown of his campaign hat and into a sapling behind him.  Drawing his
  .38 pistol, he shot both ambushers.  An Irish sergeant inspected the
  bodies, saluted  the twenty-three-year-old officer, and said "Begging
  the lieutenant's pardon, but all the rest of the lieutenant's life is
  pure velvet."

I've never heard this expression ("the rest... is pure velvet") and don't understand how it's supposed to apply here.  "Velvet" is sometimes used as a synonym for "smooth"; was the sergeant suggesting his life would go smoothly?  That makes little sense, as "you're living on borrowed time" might be a more appropriate given that context!


texts:
If 'ageism' is the prejudice or discrimination against aged persons, 'sexism' discrimination against a person's sex and 'racism' discrimination against someone's race, then why is not Semitism the word of choice to express prejudice or discrimination against a Jewish person ?

Why and when did the 'anti-' become added ?

EDIT : Ngram (1860-2008) for semitic, semitism, anti-semitic, anti-semitism. I am not certain whether the Ngram is seeing 'semitism' within 'anti-semitism' and thus getting a skewed value.


texts:
I found the phrase in the article of the Time magazine (July 6 issue) dealing with the Casey Anthony Verdict, under the title, The Casey Anthony Verdict The Jury Did the Right Thing.

  And yet, why would Anthony kill her daughter? When Caylee died in 2008, her mother was young and blithe, 22 going on 16. Anthony lived with her parents, dated lots of guys and wasn't thrilled about having to care every day for a 2-year-old. And so she chloroformed the girl? Or duct-taped her face?

I know Casey Anthony was 22 when her 2-years old daughter was killed, but I have no idea about “going on 16.” What does it mean? “Is the phrase, “going on 16” understood without question to any native English speakers?


texts: I know it means to go to sleep but where did it originate from. I'm looking for first use. Just curious.


texts: Is the misuse of "literally" an example of a malapropism?

texts:
The new Father John Misty album takes up the "people keep misusing the word 'literally' and I'm mad as hell about it" cry and calls its misuse a malapropism. I think of things like "french benefits" for "fringe benefits" when I think of malapropisms.

Is there any sense in calling literally a malapropism in the sense that, as dictionary.com defines it, it's a "ridiculous misuse of a word"? Does "ridiculous" imply constant misuse and blatant disregard for the word's meaning, as people are wont to claim is occurring with literally?


texts: What dash should be used for attribution of authorship?

texts:
Say I want to mention an author and their work, i.e. The Beatles—Abbey Road or Herman Melville—Moby Dick, which dash should go betwixt the two?

This question has been marked as a possible duplicate of Appropriate dash to use when attributing a quotation? However, my question is very different as I want to attribute a work, not a quote. The dashes are used quite differently in the opposing scenarios.

What can be inferred from the other question is that em dashes are used for quote attribution.


texts: What does "You thought I was out of your league" mean in the lyrics of Next to You by Jordin Sparks?

texts:
I asked around and I heard that you were talking
Told my girl that you thought I was out of your league What a fool, I got to get next to you
Does the girl, who represents the speaker, is too good for the guy, or the other way around?
Definition:
To say that someone is “out of your league” means that someone else (or something else) that you want to date or have some kind of connection with is smarter than you, better-looking than you, younger than you, makes more money than you, is of a higher social class than you, or is more advanced in their careers than you, or any combination of the above. Basically, it refers to a giant gap between you and this other person or thing you want.


texts: Word for a real-time counter of something

texts:
Is there any better word than just "counter" for a tool that counts/calculates something according to some rule and displays the result in a real time?

Examples of such tools:

national debt clock
number of people in the world (start with X and add f(X) every minute)
average salary of our employees (they come and go, so it changes)
my savings (I put away $10 a day; how much I already saved?)


texts:
How would I write the following sentence in active voice?

  I have never been impressed with the Netflix app.

I am using Hemingway app to write a piece and it complains (highlighting been impressed) a couple of sentences in the above format.

I find it odd to re-write as follows:

Netflix app does not impress me

Thanks for your suggestions


texts:
Is there a difference between the two sentences in meaning or syntactical correctness?
Analyze, in your own words, the difference between the authors.
and
Analyze in your own words the difference between the authors.