texts: Meaning of "clot" in the following sentence

texts:
I've searched all of the reasonable sources for a meaning of clot as the word appears in the following sentence.  I've also tracked down a couple of people who shear sheep and neither of them was able to help me.  Before going to the effort described above, I assumed that clot meant un-carded, unwashed wool, but there does not appear to be any text that supports my suspicion.  Here is the sentence:

  The wool produced by the pasturing of sheep was needed in ever-increasing amounts for the manufacture of clot.

After more-or-less coming to the conclusion that clot was a typo and that the correct word was cloth I got some push-back from editors who based their opinion on context.  Anybody know what is meant by clot?

The sentence comes from an historical account of enclosure in 16th century England.


texts:
Quoted from http://xml-tips.assistprogramming.com/sgml-xml-html-xhtml-all-together.html:

  XHTML is the basis for a family of future document types that extend
  and subset HTML.

I understand subset here is a verb. Does it mean XHTML is a subset of HTML or HTML is a subset of XHTML?


texts: Is "Deals you'll want to tell everyone" correct?

texts:
We have a VW billboard in here Melbourne advertising

  Deals you'll want to tell everyone

It's a fairly big-budget campaign so I assume the grammar has been thought out, but it just sounds off to me - can you 'tell everyone deals' or do you 'tell everyone about deals' or 'tell everyone of deals'? Can I tell someone deals the same way I could, say, tell someone facts?

The page I linked to above actually has the about in the title, but for the most part the campaign doesn't use prepositions in that location.


texts:
I've been wanting to use a slogan but I don't know if it makes sense. The slogan is:

Never forget 2013, the year of great elation.

It sounds okay but someone told me that I need to rewrite it as "the year which one experienced great elation" but that's too long and sounds like I'm trying to use "big words" if you know what I mean.


texts: I'm looking for a word for the thingy that's in the blue circle - ideally something not too complicated for a 3-year-old buddy. :)


texts: What is the origin of phrase "for fun and profit"?

texts:
Sounds like something a snake oil salesman on the wild west could come up with. Can the origins be traced?

Edit:

In a transcript of a state trial from 1798:

  What did you give it him for? Did he make use of it? Was it to protect his copper from being changed that you did it? — He was very officious to make things in a light easy way without much trouble, to make nis bread light. But I did it more in fun than profit.

This is clearly not the same phrase, but it seems to be more than an accidental use of those two words togather.


texts: How about Sunday vs How about on Sunday?

texts:
"How about" are followed by nouns, clauses or Verb+ing. But is it grammatically correct to say "How about on Sunday?"

I got more results Googling "How about on Sunday?" than "How about Sunday?" Which is weird. Is there any grammatical explanation for this?


texts:
Is it correct to say, for example: "She fed him on lamb" as well as "She fed him with lamb"?
Omitting the preposition and simply leaving the sentence as "She fed him lamb" sounds more acceptable to me, but I'm interested in the difference in meaning using either one preposition or the other. Thanks!


texts: Single word for something that is harmful, yet necessary

texts:
Can anyone please help me to substitute "something that harms us, but we which also we depend on" with an equivalent word or phrase?

An example: "Every year, river water causes flooding in its vicinity, but the people living nearby are continuously dependent on the river to make their living".


texts: "Amint I" is this correct? Would you use it? If not, I welcome suggestions

texts:
First question, am I seeing this slang correctly? amint I
Second, is there an alternative way I should say it?
And if not, how would you write it?
"Well yeah, I’m standing here amint I?"


texts: Usage of noxious, nocuous and their opposites

texts:
I came across the word nocuous. It seems that this word is rarely used (and even the spell-checking of my browser does mark it as a mistake). Noxious, in comparison, is used way more often.

Interestingly, the opposite statement can be applied to their antonyms innocuous and innoxious. Now the comparison between both shows a clear tendency to the use of innocuous (and my browser's spell-checking marks the latter).

The question is, in which contexts should I have a preference to nocuous/innocuous and when should I go with noxious/innoxious? Or are possibly only innocuous and noxious in practical use, while the others are rather formal? Perhaps, innocuous is the well-established opposite to noxious in colloquial?


texts: Word for having succeeded but acting as if you've failed

texts:
My friend just got a new job, but in order to fool others for some time, he acted sad and said he didn't get the job.

Is there a word to describe this behavior?


texts:
What is the slimy fluid from the throat called? It's quite clear, not green like mucus. Especially when you're crying, the fluid from your eyes flows down to your nose and throat, and when you spit, it can't be spit easily, but it runs down from your mouth and dangles from there like a long string of saliva.

PS:  Here are some images:

As you can see in the images, the fluid is as clear as normal saliva, not as colored as phlegm or mucus, but it's much slimier/oozier. There's an dependent word for this in my language. I wonder if that's the case in English.


texts: Is there any difference between the words embarrassed and ashamed? If so, could you provide some examples of usage?


texts: When you say "I was embarrassed by you", is it ever possible for you to mean that "you embarrassed me"? In other words, is it possible to convey the passive voice by "I was embarrassed by you"?


texts:
I came up with this question when I received an email from a committee with a sentence 'We have decided not to publish it', which seems really strange to me because the grammar I learned in English classes is 'decide not to do something' and 'decide to not do' was told incorrect.

I searched for answers to this problem online, but did not find a clear as well as persuasive answer. In terms of grammar, is 'decide not to do' correct ? If it is incorrect, is there a reason why people say 'decide not to do' even in official letters ?


texts: Why can we use words like today and tonight but not tomorning and tonoon?

texts: I wanted to tell my boss that I will finish a project "tonight" but mid-sentence I realized I only work until afternoon, so I tripped over my words and said "I will finish it to...noon?" we both laughed and it got me thinking, why can we use words like today and tonight but not tomorning and tonoon?


texts: What does the author mean here by referring to this character as 'the possibility and the promise'?

texts:
So I've come across this strange phrase in a novel I've been reading.

"Jim was splashing water on the girls. He was the Water God and they loved him. He was the possibility and the promise. He was great. He knew how to do it."

The context is that the narrator is jealously watching his friend impress a group of girls at a beach.

Now at first I assumed it meant that the girls viewed Jim as a potentially promising relationship, but I'm not so sure. Due to its strange phrasing I feel that I'm missing something.

Text is from the novel 'Ham on Rye' by Charles Bukowski.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: “Get something to do” vs ”Get something doing”

texts:
Having the following sentences:

  I did not get it to work.
   I did not get it working.

Is there a difference in the meaning? What usage of "GET" is this (I would be happy for dictionary entry reference). IMHO the first one is "cause" (like I got him to do that). But I cannot find a reference to "get sth + ing".


texts: What is the proper name for "AM" and "PM"?

texts: I know that AM/PM is for ante/post meridiem, but what is it actually called? Meridian indicator? 12 hour indicator? Something way more clever?


texts: How can I differentiate between the pronunciation of "w" and "v"?

texts: This something may be innately obvious to native speakers; however, to many outsiders, the difference is elusive. I only recently realized the difference and still have a hard time to distinguishing them. Please explain how to pronounce these two letters correctly, specifically lip/tongue movement (no pun intended).


texts: How do you explain usage of infinitive in "to hear all these large words, you would think..."?

texts:
I stumbled upon this quotation from Thomas Huxley:

  You have all heard it repeated, I dare say, that men of science work by means of induction and deduction, and that by the help of these operations, they, in a sort of sense, wring from Nature certain other things, which are called natural laws, ... To hear all these large words, you would think that the mind of a man of science must be constituted differently from that of his fellow men; but if you will not be frightened by terms, you will discover that you are quite wrong, and that all these terrible apparatus are being used by yourselves every day and every hour of your lives.

(From On Our Knowledge of the Causes of the Phenomena of Organic Nature, 1863)

Apparently, "to hear these large words" here means roughly the same as "upon hearing these large words". However, my intuitive is that when an infinitive is used adverbially it takes the meaning of either "in order to" or "so as to". In both cases the motion indicated by the infinitive happens after the main clause. However, in this case the relationship seems to be reversed.

I can scarcely recall similar usages of the infinitive elsewhere. I have also noted that this is pretty old text. My questions are:

Is there an alternative, more apparent explanation of the usage of infinitive here?
Is this usage common in modern English, or out-dated?

I would also love to see other examples of this particular usage of infinitive, from both modern and relatively old sources.


texts:
What is the correct spelling, dammit or damnit? And what is the difference?

Just writing this question brings up a red squiggly underneath damnit and the suggestions include dammit and damn it.


texts: What is it called when people wrongly anticipate something and their actions eventually make it happen?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What word means “to speak something into existence”?

This is probably something that economists would quickly recognize. It often happens that people would wrongly speculate something; for example, a sudden rise in gold prices, and as a result of that speculation, the buyers will rush to buy gold in a bid to escape the anticipated rise in price whereas the sellers will hold it back looking forward to the  price rise. The sudden demand for gold, on one hand, and the shortage of supply on the other, will eventually bring about the rise in its price.

I was recently reading about this phenomenon on some website and the author, stating that the trend applies to a variety of economic activities including foreign exchange, had called it something using a term which I now wish I had made note of.

Economics apart, I believe this is something that can happen anywhere where anticipation and speculation are involved. I request you to please share if you know what this phenomenon is called.


texts: Why "smashed avocado" rather than "mashed avocado"?

texts:
In the context of gastronomy, what is the difference, if any, between "smashed" and "mashed"? I'm familiar with "mashed" being used, such as in "mashed potato", but hadn't heard of "smashed" being used this way, until "smashed avocado" become a buzzword for young people spending too much money rather than saving up for a house:

  I have seen young people order smashed avocado with crumbled feta on
  five-grain toasted bread at $22 a pop and more. I can afford to eat
  this for lunch because I am middle-aged and have raised my family. But
  how can young people afford to eat like this? Shouldn’t they be
  economising by eating at home? How often are they eating out?
  Twenty-two dollars several times a week could go towards a deposit on
  a house.


texts: Should we use an em dash, en dash, or semi-colon

texts:
A sentence is causing some discussion in the office - it's about a Nylon product. We are not sure if we should use an en-dash, em-dash, semi-colon, or something else entirely. I thought an em-dash was in order for this one, but we cannot come to an agreement.

  The white polyurethane coated 70D Nylon fabric is hard wearing and waterproof – a very practical blend of weight, strength and handling.

Any expertise on this matter would be greatly appreciated!


texts: What's is called when you think something is better because it's newer/more recent?

texts:
I really feel like there's a word or phrase for this, but I honestly can't think of it. What's it called when you think something
is better because it's newer/more recent?

As an example, say an artist has just released a new album. On listening to it, you're absolutely sure this is the best work they've released. You could revisit it at another time when you're more used to it or something and think differently, but in that moment, when it's brand new and different, you like it best. What's that feeling called?

Apologies if this isn't necessarily the type of question you folks answer on here. I haven't been able to find what I'm looking for anywhere.


texts: Could someone kindly scan the word "idiot" for me, please?

texts:
Three syllables or two?

I mean, YES, it is three: officially. So the dictionary says.

Still, how would you scan it in an iambic line? Or would it make a good trochee?


texts:
Ok, I have a passport issued on 1 Dec 2014 and will expire on 1 Dec 2016. So I should say "The passport will expire in 2 years".

However "in" in the above sentence is a bit confused because "in" should mean "after", but I have never heard any one say "The passport will expire after 2 years". So:

  Does "in" mean "after" in "The passport will expire in 2 years"?


texts: Could you tell me whether it is adjective or verb at a sentence, "The mall is located..."

texts:
I am reading a vocab book to learn English.

There is a example sentence.

That is, "The mall is located his client's long-lost cousin in Mexico."

At the sentence, the 'located', I was sure it was adjective.

But my colleague said, it is verb, because 'located' is not only adjective,

it is also P.P. + verb. So it is verb.

I would like to make it sure.

Thank you very much for your help in advance.


texts: How to handle initials at the end of a sentence

texts:
I came across this sentence:

"They are only distributed in the U.S. Payment occurs in a similar fashion to mag-stripe, without a PIN and often in off-line mode..."

On reading the first time, I got confused by "U.S. Payment." It seemed to be the name of an organization, but the subsequent words were out of place. So I re-read and realized that "Payment" was the start of a new sentence.

Is there a way to disambiguate the period at the end of "U.S." so it is immediately obvious that the sentence has ended, or do we have to rely on context ?


texts: A word or phrase for "misrepresenting someone else's views publicly for personal gain"

texts: The politician claimed that my research showed that I supported the proposition, but really he was just _______ .


texts:
Which preposition to use here?"Of" or "among"?
prepositions
I came across a blank in a sentence which was:

The peacock is perhaps the most beautiful _____ male birds.

What should I fill there? Of or among?


texts: Is there a word or phrase for this kind of visitation-oriented room?

texts:
Let me give two examples:

Bank
You are a customer in a bank office making a loan. The room might look like a regular office, but really this part of the office is very limited. This part of the office deals with visitation-like business. If one of the staff here has sudden diarrhea he won't just drop top secret documents for anyone to steal from his desk, because anything high-level wouldn't be done from the same room.

Police
You are invited into a police office to leave a detailed report. It looks like an office but again only a division responsible for visitation-like business. You can't just sneak a peak at someone's monitor to see a spreadsheet of undercover police, because even if that cop has a high-security password, the risk of some unexpected contamination to the visitors is too high.

What I'm describing is not just a reception or visitation room (like prison), or storefront that's entirely meant for visitors. I mean kind of a working room/office where work is done, but with a lower level of security. The point being that if someone makes a mistake (like throwing his highly classified papers unguarded at his desk because he has to rush outside) then that mistake is greatly reduced in severity because his desk is in a completely different sector than the more public sectors.


texts: What does “scale” mean in “scale a media company / make media more scalable?

texts:
I was drawn to the usage of the word, “scale” appearing in the Washington Post (March 30) article that came under the title, “I worked for Jared Kushner. He’s the wrong businessman to reinvent government.” It reads:

  “Why would you buy a newspaper if you expect it to scale the way
  software does? Why assume that media and software have the same risk
  profile and dynamics? Kushner would argue that because Gawker started
  with one person, that meant you didn’t need head count to scale a
  media company. The Internet makes media more scalable, of course —
  distribution is unlimited and gained at little marginal cost. But that
  doesn’t mean a media company is just like Uber.”

Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary provides definitions of “scale” as a verb:

1.to climb to the top of sth very high and steep

2.to remove scales from a fish

to remove tartar from the teeth by scraping.
to change the size of sth.

To me none of the above definitions seems to exactly fit the nuance of “scale” used in the above quote.
It seems to me that “scale” in the above paragraph have something to do with making profit and “scalable” means profitable, but I’m not sure.

What does “scale” and “scalable” mean? Are the words, “scale” and "scalabe" used in such a way very often?


texts: "Arm stroke movements" vs. "arm stroke motions"

texts:
I have the following phrase:

  This article analyzes freestyle arm stroke movements.

However I wonder if using motions wouldn't be better:

  This article analyzes freestyle arm stroke motions.

Or are both forms interchangeable? The context is competitive swimming.


texts: Why is this sentence correct? “She suggested that he go to the cinema.”

texts:
Why is this sentence correct?

  She suggested that he go to the cinema.

I would definitely use goes instead of go.


texts: Is it ever okay to start a sentence with the word me?

texts: I get scolded a lot for saying "Me and Sal." What is actually wrong with that? While I have your attention, what about "I ain't got no pencil?" I am a proud product of the Parma City Schools.


texts: Is it necessary to discern between 'owing to' and 'due to'?

texts: I recently wrote a paper, and the examiner picked me up on using 'due to' when apparently I should have been using 'owing to'. I understand that there is some difference between them, as was discussed here. My question is however, should I worry myself with using one in place of the other? Has their distinction fallen out of popular discourse?


texts: Wherefore/whence the incorrect grammatical use of "code" ("a code was written")?

texts:
I've noticed a seemingly increasing number of students now refer to the end result of programming to be "a code" rather than "a program", "a script", or even "some code". For example, taken from a report I'm currently reading:

  Next, code was written to put all of the values in SI units. […] A new code was then written just to provide the density outputs […]

The first use of the word "code" I'd consider to be correct; the second not. (It goes without saying that they're not referring to literally a single command given to the computer.) My impression is that this error is a new mistake that "kids these days" are making for some reason.

This leads me to wonder:

Is this actually a new error that students are making, or have I just not hung out enough in the past with people that don't know how to refer to programming? (This might not be possible to answer.)
But on a more basic level, what is causing people to make this mistake in the first place? The use of the word "code" to me seems quite natural but evidently it's not (or is no longer).


texts: "Speak of the devil" neutral-sounding synonym for non-person scenario

texts:
Is there a neutral-sounding (i.e. doesn't mention the devil) synonym for the idiom "speak of the devil"?

The idiom "are your ears burning" or a derivative of that wouldn't be great for this case because it's referring a non-person event that occurred (i.e. which doesn't have ears).

For example, talking about a computer sending an alert about a possible issue, then not getting any alerts for a while, then talking about the alerts the computer had sent in the past and right after that getting another alert.


texts: Why do we call some full moons "blue" when they're not?

texts:
I've heard the phrase "once in a blue moon" used to mean "once in a great while".  Looking it up on Wikipedia revealed that "blue moon" originally meant the third full moon in a season with four full moons, but that a popular mistake caused it to mean the second full moon in a calendar month (which is a definition I'd heard before).

But that didn't dispel all my curiosity: I've seen a "blue moon", and it's not any bluer than any normal full moon.  So why is it called "blue"?  Wikipedia becomes vague here:

  The most literal meaning of blue moon is when the moon (not necessarily a full moon) appears to a casual observer to be unusually bluish, which is a rare event. The effect can be caused by smoke or dust particles in the atmosphere, as has happened after forest fires in Sweden and Canada in 1950 and 1951, and after the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which caused the moon to appear blue for nearly two years. Other less potent volcanos have also turned the moon blue.
  ...The key to a blue moon is having lots of particles slightly wider than the wavelength of red light (0.7 micrometre)--and no other sizes present. This is rare, but volcanoes sometimes produce such clouds, as do forest fires.

What does the color of the moon after forest fires or volcanoes have to do with its name when it happens to be the third full moon in a season with four full moons?


texts:
What do you call a spy's code name?
What do you call a spy's code name?


texts: Polite way to inform that there is no need to reply (business language)

texts:
I am often requesting my colleges via email to update a status of a case they work on. The update (note) should be provided in application they work on which is also explained in my request. There is no need to reply to my email but many off them do. So I decided to add a note in my request:

"If you can proceed with ticket update, there is no need to reply to this email."

But it just doesn't sound right to me. Correct me if I am wrong.
What is polite/bussines way to write that sentence ???


texts:
I have a question concerning use of more in comparative sentences when used with adjectives.

  I was more furious about my cat's death than you thought I would be.

Usually, or always, when more is used with an adjective in a comparative sentence, this more should be placed before the adjective it modifies as above, according to many websites dealing with this comparative adjectives.

But some people said it is fine to use it after the adjective like this.

  I was furious about my cat's death more than you thought I would be.

To me, it doesn't make sense because if I put more after "sad" with no prepositional phrase between them, it sounds strange to my ear.

  I was furious more than you thought I would be.

So, is it OK to use it like that? And if yes, why is that?


texts: What is the correct way to write a range of dollar figures?

texts:
What is the best way to express the range from $4.5 billion to $5.2 billion?

Is the following correct?

  ... between $4.5 and $5.2 billion ...


texts: Why do non-native speakers consider "bitch" to mean "prostitute"?

texts: Why do so many non-native speakers from very different linguistic backgrounds seem to understand the term bitch as being a synonym for prostitute?-- I have never heard a native speaker use the former to refer to "a person who has sex with someone for money", and, as a native speaker myself, the word has absolutely no sexual connotations whatsoever. Furthermore, I am familiar with a few other languages, wherein the terms for "a female dog" and "prostitute" are often not the same, so it doesn't seem to be some sort of traditional L1 interference.


texts: Word meaning a group of things contains both good and bad.

texts:
For example, if you had a bunch of strangers baking cookies, you might say

  The cookies produced were [adjective].

Meaning there were both good and bad results in the set.

Or:

  Jean went out in a tight fitting short skirt. The reactions she got were [adjective].


texts:
Gorilla babies and elephant babies and human babies are not so different, except that a gorilla gets to spend the day riding on his mother's back.

What does get to mean in this sentence?


texts: If dextrad, sinistrad, and mediad mean towards the right, left, and middle respectively, what would the related terms be for up and down/top and bottom?


texts:
Here is a question that may be ridiculous, but I was curious if there is an answer other than, "That's just how it is."

A student of mine wants to know why he/him/his is not consistant with she/her/hers.

My answer was that "hims" sounds bad.


texts: I'm not sure how to distinguish these three words, they all have in common to fill something empty or missing. Are they interchangeable, or are they used in different contexts?


texts: Is there a word for the use of words which, phonetically, create another word?

texts:
In the board game "Scotland Yard" one player attempts to thwart capture by the others through misleading them as to his true whereabouts. In the rules, this player is referred to as "Mr. X".

Saying this out loud sounds a lot like "Misdirects" - which is what the player is trying to do.

On learning this, I became curious if there was a single word for this particular form of word-play, where the phonetics of a group of words reminds us of a different word or phrase. It's not uncommon, after all.

Wikipedia lists it as:

  Janusism: the use of phonetics to create a humorous word (e.g. BOREneo
  from Borneo))

But the link indicates there's no article for this work and indeed a search returns very limited results that are relevant, none of which appear to be from dictionaries. Which makes it entirely plausible the existing articles all derive from Wikipedia.

Is Janusism the word for this kind of word-play? If not, is there one, and what is it?


texts: "I'm always going by bike" vs. "I always go by bike"

texts:
Premise
I hate translation work. On the other hand, proofreading somebody's English written work is fine as long as I can speak to that person face-to-face. Nuances, ambiguities, false friends etc. get ironed out, and a satisfactory text will be produced. So, whenever a blatant proofreading question appears on ELU, I happily click off-topic, and forget about it. But not always…

An excerpt of the original translation by a German speaker

  I can go by suburban train, that’s only five minutes. Then, I still have to walk ten minutes. But I am always going by bike, then I am in quarter an hour at my desk.

My edited version (which was a bit rushed).

  I can go by suburban train, that’s only five minutes. Then, I still
  have to walk another ten minutes. But I always go by bike, then I am
  at my desk in fifteen minutes.

I know the phrase I'm always going by bike is grammatical, it expresses a habitual action; however, many grammar books suggest that the present progressive tense is used in conjunction with always to emphasize the speaker's annoyance and irritation. The classic phrase churned out being:

  He's always forgetting his keys.

Michael Swan in PEU (point 503) writes

  However, there is another way to use always: when we want to say that something happens often and (probably) unexpectedly. In this case, we use progressive tenses.

  She's always giving people little presents
  My grandfather was always forgetting things.

  This structure is often used to talk about irritating, annoying things that happen frequently. Instead of always, other words with similar meanings (e.g. forever, constantly and continually) can be used.

When I hear myself say “I'm always going by bike” aloud, it's in a chirpy upbeat voice because the speaker doesn't strike me as being annoyed or wearied. If the speaker came across as being irritated, I might have left that phrase alone.

Question No.1

Which version would be more appropriate? And Why?

  “I'm always going by bike”
  “I always go by bike”

Then I would like to hear what others think of changing the expression ‘quarter an hour’ to ‘fifteen minutes’. Although the expression should be written ‘quarter of an hour’, the preposition of is usually elided in speech (at least that's my impression). Yet the original translation, “in quarter an hour”, to me looks awkward.

By comparison, the Italian un quarto d'ora (a quarter of an hour) and quindici minuti (fifteen minutes) are interchangeable in speech. In my opinion, native speakers prefer to say fifteen minutes as it's shorter and more idiomatic-sounding.

Question No.2

Is my preferring “fifteen minutes” a question of style and convenience, or do native speakers actually say “a quarter of an hour”?

Finally, here is the version which I came up with. Is it OK?

  I can take the suburban train, that’s only five minutes, but I'd still have to walk another ten, so I always go by bike. That way I'm at my desk in fifteen minutes.


texts:
Recently, I was involved in a conversation and said something to the effect of:

"I didn't eat breakfast this morning. I didn't eat dinner last night either".

A. Is this grammatically correct? and if so,
B. Why? (Why wouldn't we say "I didn't eat dinner last night neither")

It certainly "sounds correct" to me to use "either", but I don't understand (gramatically) why.

Thanks!


texts: You play the Nintendo Switch? Or you play to the Nintendo Switch?

texts: When you play a game on a videoconsole, do you "play the console" or "play to the console"?


texts: Is “Know how to cook leeks”an idiom? What does “Read “Hamlet” and know how to cook leeks” mean?

texts:
There was the following sentence in New York Times’ article (February 28) titled “What you learn at 40s.”:

  "Victor Hugo supposedly called 40 “the old age of youth.” - - The
  conventional wisdom is that you’re still reasonably young, but that
  everything is declining: health, fertility, the certainty that you
  will one day read “Hamlet” and know how to cook leeks. Among my peers
  there’s a now-or-never mood: We still have time for a second act, but
  we’d better get moving on it."
  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/opinion/sunday/what-you-learn-in-your-40s.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

What does the line -“Read Hamlet and know how to cook leeks” mean? Is “Know how to cook leeks” an idiom, for instance, to mean to get 'the worldly knowledge'?

Readers English Japanese Dictionary at hand carries “eat the leek” and “not worth a leek” as idioms, but don’t include “know how to cook leeks.”


texts:
1.The earth moves round the sun.

2.We live on earth.

3. The space shuttle returned to earth.

I know that the definite article  the is  used  before the word earth when it is considered a planet.

When we think of earth as human habitation, we do not use the definite article the.

3.I know that the definite article is not used in idioms such as come down to earth.

But in sentence 3 the space shuttle returned to earth , is earth considered a planet or human habitation? It seems that it is considered human habitation.

I have taken all the sentences from Longman's Active study dictionary. Page number 276.

Is it wrong to say The space shuttle  returned to the earth?


texts: Usage of "sitting still", "standing still" etc

texts:
I'm occasionaly came across the phrases:

"sitting still";
"standing still";
"lying still";
etc.

For most cases the usage is clear (humans for example). But sometimes it is not clear what verb to use with "still":

for an spherical objects - I have no idea;
birds - I think they are "standing";
fish - again, no idea;
and so on.

Is there any advice on how to choose an appropriate answer?


texts:
Which word out of the above three suits this sentence?
"If I got such amount of money, I would ______ it for the project of....."


texts: Can "blossom out" be used to describe a person that laughs happily?

texts:
I read a sentence online like this:

  There is a moment when girls blossom out in the twinkling of an eye, and become roses all at once.

Is "blossom out" used properly here ? Are there any words or phrases that can be used to describe someone who laughs happily?


texts:
As I understand it, comparatives compare with something. But which of the following sentences is correct.

  It wasn't busy tonight at the club? can you say next week will be busier?
  It wasn't busy tonight at the club? can you say next week will be busy?

Both are correct right?


texts: Citing a name with punctuation at the end

texts:
I'm using IEEE citation and the title of the work I am trying to cite has punctuation at the end. I'm unsure how to proceed because part of the citation includes putting a  period at the end of the title.
For example, I am citing this webpage and am not sure if the title should appear with a question mark and period when I cite it.

Editor. “What is a Hypervisor?.” Internet: ....
Editor. “What is a Hypervisor?”. Internet: ....
Editor. “What is a Hypervisor?” Internet: ....

Also, I've seen others claiming to use the same style of citation but having the period appear after the closing quote. Is there some flexibility in citation or are people really supposed to follow it exactly?


texts: Should we use the word "Actually" before a sentence?

texts:
Someone asked to me about some particular information. I replied to the email like this:-

Hi,
"Actually I was assigned the following task by my Manager"........

Is it grammatically correct to start a word with actually?


texts:
I have read many online articles. I've read questions and answers on this site. I still can't get my head wrapped around the difference between past simple and present perfect

I know the difference is between finished time (use past simple) and unfinished time (use present perfect). But as a non-native English speaker, this still makes no sense to me. I am not implying any kind of time period.

  I have posted on SE
  I posted on SE

I just want to convey that the action completed in the past. I don't want to provide any connotation whether the action just completed, or completed at certain period in past.

Maybe with "I", I know the time period, but what if I am talking about someone else.

  He has posted on SE
  He posted on SE

I don't know the time frame that "he" did the action. I don't know what "he" was planning (continuous action, or at specific time). I just know the action took place in the past. I don't know if it just finished. I don't know if there is a consequence to the action or not.

It seems to me that I am forced to imply a time frame. So my question is: if I don't want to imply any time frame, or at least to imply as little as possible, what should I use?


texts: When reading something that has a quote in the middle of it, is it proper to say "end quote" or "unquote" to signal the end of the quote? I've heard both ways.


texts: describe health without using the word health

texts: I'm looking for a word (or short phrase) that describes a continuum of health, without using the word "health" (or the word "wellness").  We are developing a construct that places people on a continuum depending on their physical state.  At the far right, extremely high level, task specific, physically demanding jobs/hobbies that require physical optimization; at the far left, individuals who present with complex disease states which severely impact health and physical functioning.  My suggestion is "health-performance continuum" but my colleague dislikes this use of the word health.


texts: What's a good word for hope instilling, as in "it is (hope instilling) to see that the first thing we teach our children is to say hello"..


texts: Does a bare plural imply "(nearly) all" as a quantity?

texts:
Sometimes you'll see various assertions or claims made which go something like:

  Doctors say that eating chocolate is good for you.

Does this imply "all doctors" or "nearly all doctors"?  I instinctively think that it does but I want to see whether this is a widespread interpretation in English or something that I made up.  Could it, on the other hand, reasonably be read as meaning "some doctors" or "a few doctors"?


texts: Location of day of week in non-U.S. long format dates?

texts:
In the United States, the long/expanded/full form of a date with day of the week is:

Monday, February 24, 2014

I understand in other countries the long date form is often:

24 February 2014

So where does the day of week go with this format and is there a comma between the month day and day of week?


texts:
How can I possibly call a person whose job is to train (not teach!) people to speak English. It's like Question-Answer, Question-Answer. They don't teach grammar, vocab, reading, writing. They only get people talking. I've been googling it for ages but nothing fits. Speaking trainer - usually refers to public speaking trainers, English speaking trainer - refers to trainers who speak English, Talking trainer - it's like for budgies...
I guess, I'm not quite correct with my search inquiry. Thank you.


texts: "Indispensable for" vs, "indispensable to"

texts:
What is the difference between "indispensable to" and "indispensable for"?

Likewise, between "it is important to me" and "it is important for me", which one is correct?


texts:
Tom: "Hi this is Tom, May I speak with Linda please?"
  Linda: "Yes, she is speaking"

Can Linda say "yes, she is speaking" or does she have to say "yes, I am speaking"?


texts: Is there a phrase in English that means an apology for banality?

texts: In Russian there is a phrase that literally means "sorry for triviality (banality)". It is used when a person wants to say something very simple and common like "everyone is mortal" or "love is the cure", etc. Is there something like that in English and if it is, how often do people use it?


texts:
In what situation would you use 'forewarn' instead of plain old 'warn'?

The 'fore' part seems redundant to me.


texts: I don't understand what is wrong with this sentence. Can anyone help?

texts:
The sentence is:

  The bank manager was told not to hold him back, so this man could
  escape

It is illustrated in a book as containing an error. The writer reports how judges responded to it and writes:

  The problem with it for many judges was the past tense form could,
  which was ungrammatical with the one-off meaning while being good with
  the 'habitually in the past' meaning. It would also be unobjectionable
  if negative: couldn't is fine with the semelfactive meaning"

My problem is I don't see what is wrong with could and what is right with couldn't. Does anyone know?


texts: What is the difference between "repeat" and "reprise"?

texts:
reprise: to repeat the performance of  MW
repeat: to make, do, or perform again MW

Is there a difference in their connotations? For example, are both of the following appropriate?

We shall not repeat/reprise our failure last year.


texts:
What does fancy mean? I'm interested in positive and negative meanings, and when to use it. I've tried to search it by myself, but there are lot of variants.

EDITED:

I have an example of usage. If I show some project, or new feature to my customer, and he comments it something like "It's kind of fancy". As I understand from the context, it has positive meaning, but how can I more precisely identify his thoughts?


texts:
In the textbook I read the following sentence: "A monopolist who can fix the price or output (but not both) may want to find out the response of the demand for a product to changes in price."

Are not these two words response and changes misaligned in the number?

According to my understanding of the English sentence structure  it either should be responses or change in price.

The reasons why I think they are misaligned is that it creates ambiguity. For example, imagine that monopolist changes price twice. Once it increases by one dollar and another time decreases by 2 dollars. Is monopolist interested in the overall response of the demand (total change in quantity demanded) after the second change in the price or is monopolist interested in the response of the demand for each particular change in the price? Which one do u think is meant by this sentence? Or equivalently to which case is it associated for native English speaker?


texts: Is ''blurt out'' synonymous to ''jump the gun''?

texts: Because they both mean to say or do something quickly isn't it synonymous?


texts: Is there a word for describing the shoulder and/or neck pain caused by bad sleep postures?

texts: There is a simple word in my native tongue for this symptom but it is somehow hard to find a corresponding term in English despite how common this type of pain occurs in our daily life.


texts: What is the origin of the suffixes "statin" and "medin"?

texts:
In medicine, there are the terms "statin" and "medin". For example, there is somatostatin and somatomedin (growth hormone).

It's obvious that somato- is Latin, but what about the rest? Were "statin" and "medin" made up out of thin air in the 1970s by pharmacologists?


texts: Put your shoes on and Take your coat off

texts:
I have often heard the following statements when someone talks about shoes, cloths, etc. I don't know which one is more appropriate or grammatically correct.

Hey, put your shoes on.

Hey, put on your shoes.

Take off your coat, please.

Take your coat off, please.

Any thoughts?
Can we also say "take out your coat"?


texts: using (or not) "The" before the name/title of the non-goverment organization

texts:
I'll be very grateful if you could help me solving this problem:
Should a definite article be used before the name of the non-goverment organization?
In a printed poster of an event, should an organization be mentioned as "The Smiths Cultural Foundation", or rather, "Smiths Cultural Foundation"?

Thanks a lot!


texts: Can a clause have more than one (in)direct object?

texts:
I am fairly convinced that any English clause (and it probably also counts for other languages, but I can't be sure about that) can only contain 1 subject, 1 direct object, and 1 indirect object. This seems lower-grade common knowledge to me, but I don't know if this is an official rule and I can't really find any linguistic authoritative source that says so. Is this indeed true? And if not, what would be a counterexample?

Obviously, a sentence can have a compound subject/object such as in:

  John and Mary are walking down the street.

But in that case, I would argue that there is 1 subject that is "John and Mary".


texts:
I have a question related to punctuations. Please tell me whether the following sentences are correct or not.

Innodata is a company that provides BPO and KPO services.
Innodata is a company providing BPO and KPO services.
Innodata is a company, providing BPO and KPO services.

Is it always correct to replace "that" with a comma after changing the verb into "ing" form?


texts: Can the word 'BFF' be applied to decent adults like Senate members?

texts:
The beginning lines of today’s New York Times article titled “As State of the Union Nears, Congress Plays Musical Chairs” provided me with a set of interesting acronym, word, and idiom new to me, such as “BFF,” “play musical chair” and “good hair,” whose meanings I was able to find out by UrbanDictionary. However, UrbanDictionary defines BFF as ‘an abbreviation mostly written on binders or notes by girls in grade school, however, over the last few years, people who use to use the term in grade school have actually started saying ...’
Is it appropriate or natural to apply an acronym (BFF) being used primarily by gradeschool girls to dignitaries like Senators as exampled by the following sentence. In addition, do you use “BFF” in your colloquial conversation?

  Mary from Louisiana asked Olympia from Maine because they are BFFs, but had a backup in Bob from Tennessee in case she was rebuffed. Kirsten from New York went the Sadie Hawkins route and asked John from South Dakota, and thus the deal between two members of the Senate with seriously good hair was sealed.


texts: This is my, Tom, and Alex's poster which we made for last Monday's lesson

texts:
Is this right?

How do I show ownership by the group of three of us?


texts: What made the usage of the figurative meaning of "resilience" popular?

texts:
According to the Oxford Living Dictionary the meanings of resilience are:

  The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
  ‘the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions’
  The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
  ‘nylon is excellent in wearability, abrasion resistance and resilience’

According to Ngram the term usage took off especially from the'80s and is now commonly used in every context, from finance to psychology. Its original meaning appears to refer to  a specific quality of materials:

Resilience (n.)

  1620s, "act of rebounding," from Latin resiliens, present participle of resilire "to rebound, recoil," from re- "back" (see re-) + salire "to jump, leap" (see salient (adj.). Meaning "elasticity" is from 1824.

(Etymonline)

Questions:

What is the context in which the term was originally used? Was is a typically used in chemistry or physics for instance?
When did its figurative meaning start to become common, was is from the '80s as Google Books appear to suggest? But mainly,  what contributed to its usage outside scientific fields?


texts: Words for movie/book/etc series with more than four items?

texts:
As discussed in this other english.SE post, dilogy/duology/etc. can be used to describe a series of two items, and trilogy and tetralogy exist for three- and four-item series, but I couldn't find any words for series with more than four items.

Specifically, I'd like to see words for up to eight-length series. (The thought came about when trying to find a word other than saga/series/etc. to describe the Harry Potter book and movie series.)


texts: Do these two sentences mean the same thing or is there a grammar rule I am unaware of that distinguishes a difference?

texts:
What's the difference in meaning between the following two sentences and is one more correct than the other?

  I was wondering if it's OK to once in a while come to Wednesday
  morning running practices?

  I was wondering if it's OK to once in a while come to a Wednesday
  morning running practice?


texts:
When is it academically correct to use "&" ?
In university standard writing can you every use & instead of the word "and"?


texts:
I know in some cases a prepositional phrase can be a complement to another prepositional phrase, but this sentence just sounds like it is missing a noun.

  So I made myself this little promise that I would reserve my lies for other than my public life. (a line from Primal Fear)

It sounds jarring as it seems to be missing a noun after the preposition "for", for example, "things":

  So I made myself this little promise that I would reserve my lies for things other than my public life.

It seems strange to me to have "other than my public life" function as the object/complement to "for". Is a noun necessary here?


texts: What is a general term for or expression for posing or taking a stance before a physical challenge?

texts: I'm thinking of the way someone squats before shooting a basketball, or gets into the push off position for a race, or even taking a breath before singing a loud note. What would be an good word or idiom to collectively describe the moment where one physically prepares for a challenge?


texts: When should I use each other and when should I use one another?


texts: What does Dickens mean by "servant" in A Christmas Carol?

texts:
In the following quote from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, why does Dickens describe himself as a servant to the reader? What does he mean here?

their faithful friend and servant, C.D.


texts: Is there a word that describes the separation of dollars and cents?

texts:
Take the following amount:

  $ 12.54

I am looking for a term that describes the separation of dollars and cents.  Of course there is a term that describes the character that does the job which most people would call decimal or period.

Another example:

  John, Adams, Male

This is a small comma-separated list of values.  In this case, a comma separates the values "John", "Adams", and "Male".  The comma is also called a delimiter.

Is there a term that describes the decimal point as a separator?
Is it a separator?


texts: Should an antecedent of "everyone" take "their" or "his" or "our" as its corresponding possessive pronoun?

texts:
I am still confused about how to use the word everyone.  I have this sentence on a test:

  Everyone wants to do their  part.
  Everyone wants to do   his  part.
  Everyone wants to do  our part.

I think the answer is version with their.


texts:
Do I need to place an article in a phrase like:

You could find it on [a/the] page seven.

What is the corresponding grammar rule?

Thank you in advance


texts:
There is an app that I recently used that had music playback functionality. Among other things, one of the features it provided was that I was able to adjust the speed of the lyrics using two buttons. However, I have marked the following irregularities in its prompts:
As I press the forward button repeatedly, the following is shown:
0.5 Seconds Early
1.0 Second Early
1.5 Seconds Early
2.0 Seconds Early
...

However, when the reverse button gets pressed, the prompts are as follows:
0.5 Second Delay
1.0 Second Delay
1.5 Second Delay
2.0 Second Delay
...

As we can see here, the pluralization of "second" is simply not used for the "second delay" phrase(if this be a phrase). I have wondered whether this is a mistake on the translator's  part or that this is indeed some obscure grammar where "seconds delay" would actually be wrong in this context.
I know this app is translated and not developed by English-speaking people, but this is the EXACT REASON that I am a little unsure of myself. If this app were made by English natives, this could, with a high chance, be a grammatical error since native people generally don't know the grammar of their own language well. On the other hand, professional translators will rarely make any grammatical mistakes, since they must have studied the language well before obtaining whatever licence that may be required.


texts: How should I use hyphenation in the following case?

texts:
I am writing an article about continuum mechanics and I would like to understand how to use hyphenation correctly. In continuum mechanics, you have objects called tensors (which are generalizations of vectors and matrices). E.g., we say that $a_{i}$ is a first-order tensor, while $a_{ijk}$ is a third-order tensor (the dollar signs are use in TeX for math stuff). Refer now to the order of a tensor through the symbol $r$, i.e., $r = 1$  holds for $a_{i}$ and $r = 3$ for $a_{ijk}$. In my article I have passages mainly based on the following 2 examples:

(1) The evaluation of such averages might be cumbersome, if the tensor order is high.

(2) Functions only up to tensor order $r$ need to be considered in the corresponding integrals.

Question: when do I need to use hyphenation? In (1) "tensor" describes "order" and my guts tell me, NOT to rewrite (1) as follows, although I use "tensor order" very often in my article:

(1A) The evaluation of such averages might be cumbersome, if the tensor-order is high.

For (2), "tensor order" describes the symbol "$r$", such that I am not sure if I should use "tensor-order" in (2),

(2A) Functions only up to tensor-order $r$ need to be considered in the corresponding integrals.

but also in (1) in the whole article. I am inclined to use "tensor-order" throughout the article for consistency, but I do not know if that would be correct. If this question rather belongs to math (due to the technical language), then please let me know and I will delete my question and ask it in https://math.stackexchange.com/ .


texts: Most appropriate pronoun to refer to something that claims to be human

texts:
... prevent claimed users (which/who are in fact bots)...

In the above sentence, what's the most appropriate choice to refer to the users that are in fact bots? I think, which is correct one, however I'm afraid of grammatical mismatch. Of course, using that can solve the problem, by the way.


texts: Is there a single word which means "turned out to be''?

texts:
I am trying to shorten a sentence which is somewhat structured as follows:

  {something} turned out to be {something}

Is there a single word that could replace turned out to be?

(example):

  I thought the food was real, but it turned out to be plastic.


texts:
Does the underlined sentence mean "the act of using phrases in language is similar to the act of following a path in walking"?

(Sound and Image in Western Art By Yael Kaduri)


texts: Plural of an initialism that ends with the letter S

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?

I was answering something on Super User and wrote OSes as part of my normal flow without really thinking about it. On a re-read I decided that it didn't look right, so I changed it to OSs, which still felt incorrect. I also considered OS's, but that didn't feel right either, so I thought I'd ask on here.

In this specific case, what is the written plural form for OS?
The intention is to mean multiple Operating Systems.

And, is there a general rule for the plural form of an initialism that ends with the letter S?


texts:
Planting a tree will help the environment. And, as a [positive] side
  effect, you will have a nice decoration in your backyard.

Is there a word I can use to describe a side effect that is also positive?

I considered bonus, like:

  Planting a tree will help the environment. And, as a bonus, you will have a nice decoration in your backyard.

Is there something else I can use?


texts:
I'm curious if the order implies anything here. I'm pretty sure "Mom and Dad" is standard in English. The issue was hard for me to google, so I'm asking it here:

Is using "Dad" before "Mom" incorrect, or is it just not often seen/bad practice? I see both, but "Mom and Dad" is far more prevalent.

Edit: What puzzles me is that usually masculine comes before feminine. The given umich article on word order is quite instructive, and I have yet to read all of it. In Chinese and I think Spanish, the father comes first usually.

Now that I think of it, I think German features
"Mutter & Vater" more often. Probably carried over into English.

Edit 2: Some power googling reveals that "Mom and Dad" is far more prevalent during 2005-2013.

It can make a difference though, as in an example I found: "I became my girls’ Dad and Mom when one was four years, the other three months old." This is quite clearly in the voice of the father, as shown here.


texts: Is there a word for an individual spark in a firework?

texts: For example, what would the single spark in the red 'circle' be called?


texts: In the U.S., why is octothorp used to signal an apartment at a particular address?

texts:
In the book "Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers" it says:

  The octothorp ("8 fields" ) has been used in cartography as a symbol for "village "... .

But the octothorp, as a number sign, is used in the U.S. to signal an apartment or unit within a block at a particular address. For example:

  Mr. M Murphey72 President St #4NORTHFOLK

Is it possible that this use of the octothorp has its roots in its use in older cartography to mark the site of a village?


texts: Why does English have 'interception'/'intercept' instead of 'interception'/'interceive'?

texts:
A recent EL&U question about the word inception led me to look into discussions of the (theoretical but not actual) verb inceive, which turned up a discussion in Harry Bochner, Simplicity in Generative Morphology (1992), of words that follow the pattern conception/conceive, deception/deceive, perception/perceive, and reception/receive. As Bochner observes, the gap at inception/inceive may hold some interest, but a more challenging issue for a person trying to identify predictable patterns of back formation involves the existence of interception/intercept where a person seeking regular and relatively uncomplicated patterns might have expected to find interception/interceive.

Bochner attempts to formulate relevant morphological rules for various word pattern families, but (as he says) "The less regular the rule is, the more expensive it is to learn words that exemplify it." (Unfortunately, his discussion is made harder to follow by the omission of several pages from the relevant section of the book that is available in Google Books.) Eventually, Bochner concludes that "while it remains true that we can predict the form of the -ion noun given the root, we cannot predict the form of the root given the -ion noun." He also argues that, absent a special-case grammatical rule to handle -ceive/cept words consistently, "we get the result that it is cheaper to learn the word intercept than interceive."

Analytically this argument may make sense, but I don't think that it satisfactorily explains why English adopted interception/intercept in the first place; perhaps it (the argument) doesn't attempt to do so. In any event, my question remains:

Why does English have interception/intercept instead of interception/interceive?


texts: Which is proper grammar: “Ice possible drive with care” or “possible ice drive with caution”?


texts: What is the difference between 'comment' and 'remark'?

texts:
She made a helpful ___________ on my work.

I'm of an impression that remark is casual though comment is more formal. Is it correct? What should the above sentence be considered then? - formal (because it is on someones work and it is helpful too!)

Please provide reasons.


texts: What is the origin of the verb "to nurdle"?

texts:
I was surprised to find that the OED had an entry for nurdle, and had never associated it with either tiddlywinks or cricket (see below).

However I feel certain that it originates from a Goon Show script, and found this from Michael Bentine. I remember the hilarity when it was first performed in the 1950s. "Nurdling" referred to an imagined pub game.

Now the Goon Show ended in 1961 - and the first example below is from 1963 - so I am pretty sure, that this is the etymology - and the Oxford English Dictionary should be advised of the etymology.

Does everyone agree about this?

  transitive. Tiddlywinks. To shoot (a wink) into a position too close to the pot to be easily potted. Also intransitive.

  1963   Winking World No. 4. 11   Nurdled: counter so near the beaker
  that it is not possible to flick it in.

  1984   P. Beale Partridge's Dict. Slang (ed. 8) 1397/1   Nurdle, to
  play a wink into a position so near the pot it cannot be potted.

  1994   Re: Postal Tiddlywinks in alt.games.tiddlywinks (Usenet
  newsgroup) 7 Nov.   Green plays first. Green nurdles under the far
  side of the pot.

  2010   Winking World (Electronic ed.) No. 93. 7/1   If you've tried to
  pot and missed, there's also a good chance of a wink being nurdled.

  transitive. Cricket. colloquial. To work (the ball) away gently, esp. to the leg side; to accumulate runs slowly by this method.
  Frequently in nudge and nurdle. Also to nurdle one's way and
  intransitive.

  1985   Times (Nexis) 24 Dec.   He crept, nudged and nurdled his way
  towards the total.

  1992   Sunday Times (Nexis) 17 May (Sport)   Russell, in a two-hour
  stint, nicked and nurdled to such advantage that 50 priceless runs
  were added in 20 overs.

  1993   Manch. Guardian Weekly (Nexis) 31 Jan. 31   After struggling to
  locate the next dozen he tried to nurdle Raju's left-arm spin square
  on the leg side and was trapped in front.

  2001   Evening Post (Nottingham) 10 Sept. 48   His hundred came from
  just 65 balls; Brown wisely electing thereafter to nudge and nurdle
  the ball into gaps.


texts: Which is correct: "when you have finished" or "when you will finish"?

texts:
From an English test on Facebook:

  When you have finished to move the furniture, let me know.

or

  When you will finish moving the furniture, let me know.

I think the correct one is the former, but (if so) why exactly is the second one wrong?


texts: "Will shortly appear automatically" — what is the correct order of words in this fragment?

texts:
I want to say that an answer will appear shortly, and automatically, on the screen. I'm not sure whether the correct sentence is:

  The answer will shortly appear automatically.

or maybe:

  The answer will automatically appear shortly.

And I'm not even sure either of these sentences makes sense.
Which is the way to go?


texts:
Is there an English word to describe the relationship between me and my child's parents in law?

My daughter's father in law is my ...
My daughter's mother in law is my ...


texts:
when we say "For entertainment, she couldn’t go to
the movies at $8 a pop", what "a pop" means?


texts: "I am happy because I am rich." Exactly which part does the subordinate clause modify?

texts:
"I am happy because I am rich."
Is it the adjective "happy" or the verb "am" or the entire predicate "am happy" that the subordinate clause "because I am rich" modifies?


texts: Is there a verb that means "to act with honor" or "to follow a code"?

texts: To add context, I'm creating a skill for a RPG that covers interacting with a organized crime organization in a somewhat ritualized fashion. This is done to avoid giving offense essentially. This ties in to the sociological concept of "face" as any slight against your honor must be remedied, in extreme cases by duel's to the death. The skill allows you to act without giving offense/slighting honor and to personally "save face".


texts:
Let's say that there is a wall which is, for lack of a better word, "hollowed out". Hollowed here meaning a chunk is removed to leave behind an empty space (orange coloured block) in the image. Now, you cannot call this hollowed out as it would imply that the entire exterior is intact and an empty space is created in the interior. But in this instance, a part of the exterior along with the interior is removed out. What will you call this ?

e.g. sentence - The wall had been "______" to make space for the new installation.


texts: Is it correct to say "gather and collect"?

texts: The two words sound good together, however, I am not sure if it is appropriate to use them together. Suppose I was using it as "To gather and collect data".


texts: "Food" vs. "foods" — spelling and meaning

texts: I've been looking around the Internet. Some websites say that foods is incorrect but others say it is correct.


texts: How to Punctuate Two Quoted Independent Clauses Within a Declarative Sentence

texts:
I'm wondering the best way to punctuate and/or format this sentence, especially the part concerning subjunctive case, in which two examples are put in quotes:

In this book, I kept finding irregular verb tense problems (especially lie/lay, sit/set and run), lack of subjunctive case (i.e., "He wished he was,"  instead of [the correct form] "He wished he were.") and repeated typos (e.g., "were" instead of "where," and vice versa).

(Note: This is for an online review and italics is not available.)


texts:
In constructions like the following ones, could the way be replaced with how? Is there any difference between them?

  I like the way she eats peaches.
  The way he looked at her...

Can anybody provide examples of any phrase where replacing the way with how (or vice versa) changes the meaning of the sentence?

To me, the way sounds better, but when I use soulless Google to translate it to my native language, it tells me there is no difference.


texts:
Stephen Colbert was taking about the CIA Interrogation Report when he said, "unfreeze your heart!" @6:12 in the video.

What does that mean? How can I use that term? Does it mean, 'forget about it"?


texts: What is the difference between ‘silviculture’ and ‘forestry’?

texts: What is the difference in usage? What associations does the former word trigger that the latter does not (and vice versa)?


texts: "Critical in" vs. "critical for" vs. "critical to"

texts:
I am confused about the correct preposition to use before achieving in this sentence:

  Tracking service delivery is critical in achieving the goals of the health program.

I feel "critical for achieving" or "cricial to achieving" sounds better.


texts: Can common prepositions following a verb be dropped freely?

texts:
Specifically, within the sentence "to sing along to/with", can to/with be dropped freely?

While searching for information I found out this seems to be an idiom, so possibly my question should be extended to: "Can common prepositions following a verb be dropped freely when used within an idiom?"

The full sentence which inspired this question was: "But I'll write a song for one day we'll sing along". The intended meaning behind this is the following: "I will write the song, and here's why: one day we'll sing it together". The original phrasing sounded incorrect to me both in regards to the usage of 'for', as well as it sounding weird since 'with' or 'to' is missing.

The question is whether or not this is grammatically correct. Can the phrasing 'sing along' be used without 'with' or 'to' following it?


texts: Why 'prefecture' for Japanese administration areas?

texts:
There are many ways of labeling the smaller administrative areas of a country: states. For the US, provinces for Canada, counties for Ireland for English speaking countries, and departments (or départements) for France, states (or Länder) for Germany as direct translations from the native languages.

But for Japan, the areas are called 'prefectures'. This has always struck me as bizarre. It is obviously of Latinate etymology. And the Japanese word has no cognate whatsoever for even a chance at a calque.

Also 'prefecture' (and prefect) are fairly low frequency English words. Not archaic, not rare, vaguely understandable, but also pretty much mostly associated only with Japan.

So my question is: why prefecture over state/county/shire/department or some other more natural English word? Was it a word recognized for Japan before the isolationist Tokugawa period? Or was it a recent neologism (or really ascribed use new for Japan) afterwards? Was it a natural adoption or did one particular author just happen to start using it? Or was it really a loan translation somehow?  Or what?


texts:
Limerence is basically a word coined in 1979 by American psychologist Dorothy Tennov. It's a very obscure term, even among psychologists. In fact Tennov's followers in 2010 remarked how few professional clinical psychologists even were aware of the concept. Nevertheless the Wikipedia article on it is about 3300 words long. The word basically means a crush/infatuation with someone that is often unrequited and obsessive.

Whenever I look up the word, its etymology is usually given as:

  coined by Dorothy Tennov (1928–2007), American psychologist

This doesn't help that much.

Wiktionary gives the etymology of:

  From arbitrary first element + -ence.

This makes no sense to me. The website Wordnik gives an etymology, which purportedly is sourced from Wiktionary, and says:

  The coinages are arbitrary; there is no specific etymology.

This has me confused, as I don't understand what these mean.


texts: What would be a good way to describe a person who is too spoiled and finds fault with everything she is offered? I keep thinking "she turns up her nose at everything" but turning up one's nose suggests disdain rather than displeasure/dislike. Many thanks to everyone who can help!


texts:
I'm reading a Aesop's fable, The Kingdom of the Lion. I cannot understand the last sentence in the fable:

  And after the Hare said this, he ran for his life.

What's the meaning of the phrase "ran for"?


texts: Is there a term for extreme distaste of certain textures?

texts:
Many people have an extreme distaste for certain textures. For example, the feeling and even just the thought of fingernails rubbing on some kinds of cloth makes my skin crawl. After talking to coworkers, some other examples from around the office include:

Putting a hand into a container filled with cotton balls
Bare, dry feet on wood or linoleum

Is there a term for this?


texts: What does 'get something about me' in this context?

texts:
I am reading 'The Invisible Man' by H.G.Wells and there is this scene.

Griffin(the invisible man) broke in Dr.Kemp's house and they met. After Griffin finally made Kemp understood that he is actually an acquaintance of him from the university, Griffin asked for food and Kemp got it for him. As Griffin started eating the food he said:

  "I always like to get something about me before I eat, Queer fancy!"

In this sentence, what does "Get something about me," mean? In fact, I'm not sure about "Queer fancy," either. Yet, I assumed that it would mean "It is queer of me." Would that be right?

I add some more, extracted from the book:

  "Invisible!" said Kemp, and sat down on a bedroom chair.
  "I always like to get something about me before I eat," said the Invisible Man, with a full mouth, eating greedily. "Queer fancy!"
  "I suppose that wrist is all right," said Kemp.
  "Trust me," said the Invisible Man.
  "Of all the strange and wonderful—"
  "Exactly. But it's odd I should blunder into your house to get my bandaging. My first stroke of luck! Anyhow I meant to sleep in this house to-night. You must stand that!"


texts: Serial Punctuation in multiple complex clauses, with references

texts:
I am trying to edit an academic paper, with a complex sentence which includes an interpolation within em dashes. The interpolation terminates with a reference in brackets, and is also the first item in a list of three.  The existing punctuation at the end of the interpolation is as follows:

  Given the noticeable cultural differences between xxxs and yyys in religion — most xxxs are aaas (Markoglou et al. 2006), while most yyys are Christians (Mylo et al. 2006) —, in dress code, and social mores, it was suggested that xxxs in Nomansland would choose integration and separation over assimilation and marginalization.

Should I omit the comma or the em dash?  Or put the whole interpolation in brackets instead of em dashes, which would then end in a double bracket and comma?

Any guidance welcome!


texts: Why are some "-ist" suffixed words used as the adjectival form over the more common "-istic"?

texts:
Generally speaking, for any kind of "-ism", the suffix "-ist" produces the nominal form and "-istic" produces the adjectival form.  But there are some "-ist" suffixes that are acceptable or even more commonly used as an adjective.  Examples include fascist, humanist, racist, socialist, absurdist, etc.
Why do these adjectives not take the usual derived form, i.e. fascistic, humanistic, racistic, socialistic, absurdistic?


texts:
Is there any difference in term of emphasis between:

  "I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to be working with you"
  "I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to work with you"


texts:
Is this grammatically correct?

Definitely awkward, but is it grammatically sound?

You can say

  "Who got Jack followed/eaten/marked/killed/etc"

You can say

  "Jack got followed/eaten/marked/killed/etc by Jane"

But can you ask:

  "Who got Jack followed/eaten/marked/killed/etc by?"

Edit:

The question's equivalent is:

  "Who was Jack followed by?"

but I am playing around with get constructions.


texts: Parentheses vs. commas vs. hyphen or dash in a list of people

texts:
In a list of people published in a bulletin, which is correct?

  We continue in prayer for:  Amy B.(cancer), T. Jones(nephew of Tim), Lillie (on the death of her brother), Sally(Nursing Home),
  We continue in prayer for:  Amy B.,cancer; T. Jones,nephew of Tim; Lillie, on the death of her brother;Sally,Nursing Home;
  We continue in prayer for:  Amy B.-cancer, T. Jones-nephew of Tim, Lillie- on the death of her brother,Sally-Nursing Home;


texts: What is the word describing in a plot the protagonist realizes his previous actions all wrong

texts:
I remember reading this word in a commented version (Norton Critical Edition, to be exact) of "A Clockwork Orange". It is used to describe the last chapter, in which the protagonist, Alex, realizes that all his previous doings of violence all wrong and he wants to change a lifestyle.

It does not seem to be an easy word to look up. I googled about it and resulted in vain. Apparently my vague definition of the word does not help either. I read the book in a library, and the word was in one of those supplementary parts after the main story, so it would not be realistic for me to look it up in the book.


texts: Do we need commas after "she/he said" in a dialogue?

texts: If a person is saying "And then, she/he said '________'", do we need commas after "said"? It's written in a dialogue, not a narrative. Please help. Thanks in advance!


texts: Should I say flip, switch or flick the switch?

texts:
Suppose I have a switch with two positions, something like an interruptor, and two light bulbs. Switch on position A turns on the first light bulb, changing it to position B, turns on the second light bulb.

Should I say:

I have flipped the switch from A to B

I have flicked the switch from A to B

or

I have switched the switch from A to B

?


texts: According to the Wikipedia page, GOAT in GenAm is realized as a slightly fronted [ö̞ʊ]. I have also heard some GenAm(-like) speakers produce that variant, though others produced a completely back variant. What I wonder is the significance of the slightly fronted variant, and if it means that GOAT-fronting is spreading to GenAm (together with GOOSE-fronting, which is more advanced in GenAm).


texts: What's the word for a tiny sharp piece of wood under your skin?

texts:
When you work with crude wood (or iron) without gloves, you easily get injured with a tiny sharp piece of wood which remains under your skin and needs to be removed.

What is the word for this small piece of wood used in that particular case? I've found several words in the dictionary but without the collocation: splint, splinter, sliver.

And what is the whole phrase for the injury? Something like to get a splint?


texts: Is knowledge of the meaning of the word “ubiquity” ubiquitously considered to be ubiquitous?

texts:
Please pardon the pun.

I was in a conversation on a game’s online chat, talking about how common an item was, and used the word “ubiquitous” to describe it. But, much to my surprise, the point of contention for one user was not my assertion, but my use of the word “ubiquitous”.

In the words of this user (censorship mine):

  the word ubiquity in place of, say, “how common it is” is being assh**ish and pedantic

I’ve always used the word in natural speech, and it’s not one I consider to be overly “advance”, yet this user insisted that the only reason to use it would be to “seem intelligent”.

Question:
I do agree there are some words that are somewhat uncommon, or outdated. And that these words might elicit a response implying that their usage is “just for show” (not that I’d agree with one). But is “ubiquitous” one of them?

Notes:

The context was in a game’s chat, and the average age of a user that
was present would be around 20. I’d like to know if the word is
commonly known in general, but noting if the fact it was a casual
environment affected the validity of the user’s clam would be
appreciated.
The user’s response was arguably immature, and how vehemently they
argued their point might have to do with their anger, as opposed to
actually supporting their own stance, but I’d like answers to ignore
this.
This user referred to reference.com’s difficulty index on the
word, which
claims “Few English speakers likely know this word”. While my
experience with the word might not be indicative of all people, I
know most people to understand it, and use it. Additionally, I
couldn’t find a source on how that index is calculated, so it might
be the opinion of an editor.


texts: what’s a word for ‘dilemma‘ except between two desirable things?

texts:
a single word that fits best with the definition of internal indecisiveness between two very desirable things. Kind of like the word ‘friction’ but even that doesn’t sound quite right.
An example would be “his constant word like friction between going to Paris or London”


texts: Is there a term for polishing something too early?

texts:
I imagine there must be a term/idiom/phrase for polishing something too early...

For example:

Painting the walls of a room before completing other work which may accidentally damage them.
Adding detail to a section of a drawing that you may likely need to radically change later (and lose the detail work)
Optimizing a software function which might be deemed unnecessary before it's even used

Though I can't seem to think of what this is called (no luck with searching either).

Originally I posted this in the 'workplace' stack exchange but was recommended to try here.


texts:
I've seen three different peer reviewers criticize parts of scientific manuscripts as being "too simple", with little elaboration as to what changes are desired or what it means to be "too simple". For example, a reviewer told me that a method section of one of my papers "was too simple and not clear".

To my ear, "too simple" sounds like a mistake, but is it a feature of some dialect, such as Indian English? Or is it perhaps an established custom among non-native speakers, like beginning a question with "How to"? And what does "too simple" mean, anyway? Maybe "simplistic" is meant, but my best guess based on context is something more like "too short" or "insufficiently detailed".


texts: What is the expression that means : Try to stop crying

texts:
Sometimes, when I get emotional. I get in a situation when only talking can lead in a burst of tears, so I try to prevent it and I feel like crying is on hold inside my throat.

Is there an expression in English that sums it up? or a sentence that describes it well?

I hope I could define well the situation. Thank you.


texts:
I'm pretty sure all of the following are correct and "normal":

You are obligated to wash your hands before returning to work.
The government obligate hand-washing of restaurant staff.
I am capable of washing my hands without reminders.
I think that's something most people are capable of.

But which of the following is correct, or better?

[x] is something everyone should be capable of, but no-one should be obligated of.
[x] is something everyone should be capable of, but no-one should be obligated to.

They both sound wrong, and I'm struggling to figure out why or what a better choice would be.


texts: Are two question marks correct in a sentence?

texts:
Is it technically correct to use two question marks in the sentence below, i.e. one for the quoted question and the other for the overall question?

  Did she say, "Where's the coffee?"?


texts: Is it "consumer savings" or "consumers’ savings"?

texts:
In the previous year, consumers' savings had decreased.

or

  In the previous year, consumer savings had decreased.

Which one is valid and why?


texts: "As .. as I am" in the beginning of sentence

texts:
Is this sentence gramatically correct? How does it sound? I suppose that nobody would probably say it this way in a casual conversation, but does it sound awkward or rather poetic to native speakers?

  As perfectionist as I am, I think the trip was just perfect! And thank
  you all for making it so!

Thanks


texts: Why are "using" and "user" pronounced with "s" as "z" while "use" just uses "s"?

texts:
I recently learned that use (the verb, synonymous with utilize),
using, and user are pronounced with a /z/.

Why?  When the corresponding nouns use
(the act or practice of using, analogous to utilization),
which is spelled exactly the same,
and usage, which is based on the same root, are pronounced with an /s/?

Is there a law to this?  Are there other words like this?


texts: Why do we say Salt to taste and don't say salt according to taste or salt for taste?


texts: Conversions between "though" and "however", both used at the beginning of the sentence

texts:
I've come across a sentence conversion question of the following type and am getting stumped.

We need to change the following sentence to a construction starting with "However...".

  Though she is eccentric, she deserves to be respected.

Using "however" in the middle of the conversion would be straightforward, as in:

  She is eccentric; however, she deserves to be respected.

The only option starting with "However" I can think of, is:

  However eccentric she may be, she deserves to be respected.

But I can't help but feel that my construction introduces an element of 'degree' to the quality in question (ie. eccentricity) that is not present in the original sentence - the original sentence talks about respect when we're talking about the specific eccentricity present in the person in question, while my conversion is about respect no matter how much the eccentricity (all degrees of eccentricity).

Am I just overthinking this? Is the conversion wrong because of some other reason? Or is it just fine? Any help?


texts:
On the internet, I only read about participial phrases acting as noun modifiers.
But when I read various newspaper articles, it seems that participial phrases are also used as verb modifiers, or even as clause modifiers.

Suggested example for verb modifier: He came to town, driving in his new car.
Suggested example for clause modifier: EQZCO posted a quarter loss of $10 million dollars, causing its stocks to decrease by $5 per share.

Can that be?


texts:
How would someone who goes hunting/shooting a lot describe a gun? (in UK, not USA) Any casual terms that non-hunters would not know, e.g. would they refer to the make - as in I've just bought a new "Smithy" (fictional) or whatever?
Any class based differences?


texts: What do we call a person in a war who holds the army's flag?

texts: I am translating a history context talking about the Cold War and I am stuck with a word for the person in a war who holds the army's flag. This flag is used to show the mates that the army is still fighting. Usually when the flag is down, it could mean that the army is being defeated.


texts:
I want to say that something is not transparent.

Which is most correct: "untransparent", "un-transparent", "intransparent", "in-transparent", or something else?


texts: When would I use "transience" vs "impermanence"?

texts:
I was looking for the translation of the German word "Vergänglichkeit", and the most suitable candidates from the contexts I looked at seemed to be impermanence and transience.

I found the following text samples via linguee.com where the two words are used in contexts comparable to mine. From those, I can't determine a significant difference, so I'm wondering if the words are interchangeable.

transience:

  [...] - now and then in the film, one can see a train passing, a car or a pedestrian on the road -, and makes the viewer aware of transience and the passage of time.

impermanence:

  Who lets matter become his master will also never overcome matter and to whom the loss of earthly goods was not a help to overcome these will rush towards these possessions with increased eagerness to increase them again and if he is to be helped again then this can only happen through renewed loss so that he learns to recognize the impermanence of matter and mentally profits from this.

Overall, transience seems more common, and impermanence seems to be preferred in texts related to Buddhism.


texts: What does it mean to be "clipping an r"? Why is that a qualification for celebrities to be invited to the royal wedding?

texts:
The Washington Post (April 24) ran an article about the royal wedding under the title, “In London, the royal wedding haters have had enough.”

I was interested in the expression, “the wedding ate the world” which appeared in this article. But I was more puzzled about what “famous person who has ever clipped an ‘r’ is booked for wedding,” implies in the following sentence.

Can somebody teach me what to “clip an ‘r’ means, and why clipping an “r” should be considered a qualification for becoming enough of a celebrity to be invited to royal wedding?

  “The onslaught continues. The pundits
  are only just arriving. --They have
  already readied their Team of People
  With British Accents to comment, and
  comment they shall. Every famous
  person who has ever clipped an “r” is
  booked for the wedding. This includes
  Sharon Osbourne, Hugh Jackman
  (Australian, close enough), Cat Deeley
  and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”.


texts: Is there a phrase(or a metaphor) that describes a person who has a restless mind?

texts: I'm looking for a phrase that describes a person who always thinks about too many things at once and, therefore, looks(and acts) sloppy. Something like: "he has a swarm of vasps in his head". I can't think of anything similar to compare at the moment and I will be sure to update the question when I remember something.


texts: Can I refer to a period of more than 24 hours as "my day"?

texts:
Can I use "my day" to refer to a period of more than 24 hours? Let's say I worked non-stop for 30 hours, could I refer to this period as "my day"?

From a dictionary, the only two usages I was able to find were:

period of 24 hours
the part of a day given to work


texts:
I am struggling to find out what the best and shortest way is to describe the opposite of a legacy system (especially in software architecture, where legacy means the system used previously).

I need to use it in software so I can create methods such as:

find_legacy_record and
find_[opposite of legacy]_record

I tried looking in a thesaurus for synonyms of old, but nothing really fit well with my use.

Legacy is a good term in programming, because you're less likely to confuse it to something else (old can also mean a previous state of the record, not necessarily belonging to an old system).


texts: ‘Due to’ vs ‘Because of’ — Which is correct in this sentence?

texts:
“Because of the graphic nature of this footage, viewer discretion is advised”, to me, is correct grammar with “because of”.

But you'll often see it written and used on TV as: “Due to the graphic nature of this footage, viewer discretion is advised.”

I thought due to was used only to mean attributable to, as in:The bad weather was due to [attributable to] the icy roads.

In the sentence below,

Because of the graphic nature of this footage, viewer discretion is advised,

we need because of. We wouldn't say Due to [Attributable to] the graphic nature of this footage, viewer discretion is advised.

Is because of the truly correct grammatical choice in that sentence?


texts: "Dabbler", without the negative connotation

texts:
According to dictionary, a dabbler is "an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge".

I want a word that means a person genuinely interested in something, wishing to learn more, but currently not having much knowledge about it and not able to make it their primary activity.

I used to use the word "dabbler" for this meaning but I recently discovered it has the above-mentioned negative connotation. What is the word that I should be using instead?


texts:
Do we say :
 - we could go to see the match on Sunday.
                  Or
 - We could go and see the match on Sunday.


texts: What are the application conditions of the phrase "the same name"?

texts:
Suppose my brother is named Bob, my father is named Robert, and my mother is named Roberta. Do these three people all have the same name? This is obviously not a question about their birth certificates but about the permissible usages of the expression "the same name."

I understand there is a narrow usage of this expression which would require exact match of orthography. But is there also a wider usage that counts the names as the same? It's clear what etymological connection these expressions have to each other; they share an etymological lineage. But do people ever use the term "one name" to pick out these lineages? Would you ever say these names are the same, or would you always resist that and insist on saying they only descend from the same name?


texts: Can someone explain why they omitted 'of the' in the second second sentence after the word 'majority'?

texts:
A Vast Majority of the World’s Population Breathes Unsafe Air
But the truth is that as it stands at the moment the majority population do not believe this.


texts: What do I call people in between friends and acquaintance? I want to refer to my classmates who I know somewhat well and are friendly with, but not friends.


texts: How can one include all people in one's written and spoken language irrespective of one's gender identity(s)?

texts:
I am totally in favour of including non-binary folks in my written and spoken speech, though I'm not sure exactly how I go about doing it competently without sounding like I am trying to avoid particular forms of speech, etcetera. Whenever I have tried to do such a thing it has always come out as being too ambiguous that the reader(s) and or listener(s) are genuinely confused. This is probably minimally due to my still being a learner of English. I'll provide you with a few examples so that you can see where I am going with this:

Instead of saying something like "all genders'", "genders", "the genders", "all gender identities", "gender identities", etcetera, how can one include everyone without using those kinds of words? Using "all genders'" and "genders" is very exclusionary as it is omits people from the equation who don't feel like they have a gender identity(s), as well as people with multiple gender identities and or with a fluid gender identity. Utilising "the genders" --- due to the way in which, for example, "the sexes" are used (despite sex and gender being distinct, in my estimation) --- generally only produces thoughts and images of women and men in one's mind, so that is just as bad. For one to deploy "all gender identities" and or "gender identities" is, too, terrible as it sounds rather one-sided and for people who don't believe in transgenderism or who are unsupportive of it, I want them not to feel like they are listening and or reading about a political and or ideological agenda as that may possibly distract them from my message(s) and make them feel excluded as well which I don't want at all. Words like 'several', 'few', 'either', 'either and or', etcetera, are, too, entirely useless.

Any helpful tips?


texts: Is "much" used in affirmative sentences?

texts:
Is the word "much" used in affirmative sentences?

Example:

  I want to buy much milk.

I know that "much" is used in negative sentences and questions, but I am not sure if using it in affirmative sentences is grammatically correct.


texts: During the assembly of the Surveyor 3 probe, someone _sneezed_ a TV camera

texts:
Can someone sneeze a camera,
or should they sneeze AT the camera?

This is an extract from an IELTS practice test. Because the dictionary says "sneeze at smt", I had to put another word from the text, i.e. "installed", which fits better grammatically. However, I then suddenly found in the answer keys that the correct answer is "sneezed".

It is obvious by the context that the question is focusing on sneezing at a camera, but the grammatical structure confused me.

Please could you comment?


texts: Which is better and correct, 'It is not yet, or, it is yet not?'

texts:
I want to know which of the two phrases is better
It is yet not
or
It is not yet


texts: "Upright he held it, lords, that held it last", meaning?

texts:
In Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus when asked to become emperor Titus refuses answering that the sceptre to control the world (i.e., power) "upright he held it, lords, that held it last".

What is the meaning of this last sentence?


texts: Does "positive" mean good and "negative" bad?

texts:
Some examples are a negative connotation, Don't be so negative!, or Be positive!

Is it proper to use these words this way? The denotations of negative and positive support this use weakly. However, I frequently correct people (being a semantics freak) and tell them that a negative statement is a statement that denies, while a positive statement is one that affirms.

An Ask.com question is very ambiguous on this issue. It seems that these two words are more useful in these meanings in a very casual setting.

What are the best meanings for these words, and the best words for these meanings?

How about (un)desirable or (un)favorable or eulogic/panegyric: are these words suitable alternatives for positive/negative in formal settings?


texts: One word for monthly maintenance payment

texts: If I am the landlord, and I am collecting monthly payments (in addition to the rent) from the tenants to save them for future (lift, light, gates, etc.) maintenance. Is there a single word/phrase with this meaning for the payment collection?


texts: which is the suitable preposition for the end of " keep/stay in touch"?

texts:
Is there any other preposition that we can use after "stay in touch"+with, instead of with?

thank you


texts: What does "Gay as Dad's old hatband" refer to?

texts:
I have seen the phrase "Gay as Dad's old hatband" more than once in twentieth century American fiction.  I think it is playing on the double meaning of gay, but what is the happy (bright colored?) hatband that is being referred to?

Edit:

Quote found in "Needful Things" by Steven King (1991)
"George T. Nelson, the high school wood shop teacher.  George T. Nelson, who, under his bluff, macho exterior, was just as gay as old dad's hatband."

Edit #2:

Steven King must really like this phrase.  A Google Books search also lists it in "The Dark Tower" and "Mile 81".


texts: I addressed a customer as Dear “X” and replied to me by using only my first name Dimitris. Do I need to reply the same or to keep the expression Dear “X”?


texts:
Is there a specific word to describe the "consistent" nature of a person's ability to repeatedly write the same word in the same way, eg. as per a signature. Something like "style" but less generic.

It's kind of like the gait describes a persons walk.

So an example might be: "John wrote his signature but the ink was feint. He took another pen and, due to his [something], traced the earlier contours subconsciously."


texts: Is there a word for telling someone all your thoughts? For example, when you've been trying not to talk about something but you end up blurting it all out in one big mess of emotion and it's all over the place and almost desperate. Or just a word that describes someone desperately yelling all their thoughts to no one in particular; they are just getting their thoughts out.


texts: The difference between using a comma or a full stop

texts:
What's the difference between "I see, I see" and "I see. I see"? Can one use a comma in between?

The first sentence could be used in formal writing, right?

What about this one: "My house, my rules" instead of "My house. My rules"? What's the difference between these two sentences and are both grammatically correct?


texts: Why does a negative adverbial phrase trigger inversion?

texts:
When a negative adverb (or adverbial phrase) is placed at the beginning of a sentence, we exchange the normal placement of subject and verb.

Why is that?


texts:
Is "memorise" or "memorize" used more often around the world?

Curious which is more popular, memorise or memorize.


texts: How does Should/Could/Might/... affect the following verbs

texts:
Which sentence is correct?

(1) One should avoid the configurations indicated by (i) and (ii), and focuses on setting the values of ....

(2) One should avoid the configurations indicated by (i) and (ii), and focus on setting the values of ...


texts:
What is the meaning of "out of curiosity"?

Could it mean out of ideas? Or maybe it means he is curious? How should I know what he means?


texts: What did Jeremy Hunt mean by "slipped" to miss a vote?

texts:
Today in the UK House of Commons, Conservative MP and PM candidate Jeremy Hunt failed to take part in an important vote. He said:

  I missed votes today because I thought I was slipped and it turns out I was not.Apologies to my colleagues & Whips Office.

What does "slipped" mean in this context? It seems to be an unusual and possibly specialist meaning - I can't find any meaning in the usual dictionary sources which covers this. It might be a term from UK parliamentary jargon, or as one person on Twitter claims from UK private school slang.


texts: What is "pseudo-future" in English grammar?

texts: Searching Internet for pseudo-future with the reference to English grammar did not yield any meaningful result. Is pseudo-future a term referring to subjunctive mood or future-in-the-past?