texts: gerunds: difference between "on doing", "by doing", and "in doing"?

texts:
What is the difference between "on doing", "by doing", and "in doing"?

A difficult point to French learners of English as in all three cases, you would say "en faisant".

Example sentences, taken from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English:

What was your reaction on seeing him?

Howard had put his own life in danger in trying to protect the Queen.

She earns her living by selling insurance.


texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  In more recent years, she’s been teaching English for academic
  purposes to undergraduates at the university of Iowa.


texts:
When asked about the usage of a particularly obscure or academic word, one can respond with a definition, but then state an alternative, more commonly used word. One phrase I've heard used in this context is "in the colloquial". For example:

  Yes, my academic job involves student tutelage, but in the colloquial we usually say that I teach students.

Is this a proper phrase? The alternative, I think, is simply "colloquially":

  ...colloquially, we say I teach students.

Is this more appropriate? Thanks!


texts:
From "Be Nice — You Won’t Finish Last" — By Sarah Maslin Nir

  During the rosy years of elementary school, my inclination to share my
  dolls and my knack with knock-knock jokes (“Who’s there?” “Tank.”
  “Tank who?” “You’re welcome!”) were enough to elevate my social
  status. I was the belle of the playground. Then came my tweens and
  teens, and mean girls and cool kids. They rose in the ranks not by
  being amiable but by puffing cigarettes, breaking curfew and pulling
  pranks on unsuspecting nerds, among whom I soon found myself.

among whom refers to "They"
among whom refers to "nerds"

The following is a rewrite for the college entrance exam in china. And it retains the among whom.

  During the rosy years of elementary school, I enjoyed sharing my dolls
  and jokes, which allowed me to keep my high social status. I was the
  queen of the playground. Then came my tweens and teens, and mean girls
  and cool kids. They rose in the ranks not by being friendly but by
  smoking cigarettes, breaking rules and playing jokes on others,
  among whom I soon found myself.

among whom refers to "They"
among whom refers to "others"

Is there really an ambiguity about the "among whom" here? Or, is it just that I didn't get it?
If there is, how to avoid it?
Would be really grateful for your help.


texts: I'm a transcriptionist and also studying for my IELTS exam. I would like to know when is it correct to capitalize job titles such as receptionist, office assistant, general manager, veterinary assistant, etc. Thanks!


texts: Is there an adjective combining scientific and economic?

texts: I'm doing a piece of research and am looking for an adjective that combines the words scientific and economic, so a bit like socioeconomic but scientific rather than social.  I need to use it to describe the benefits/costs of multilingualism.  Any ideas?


texts: Why does the word "never" not contain an apostrophe?

texts:
If never is a contraction of 'not ever' why does it not have an apostrophe, i.e. why is it not written n'ever rather than never?

I can understand that the apostrophe has simply fallen out of use, but then why not the same loss of the apostrophe in other negative contractions, e.g. can't rather than cant or don't rather than dont etc. Curious.


texts: A word or expression similar to "handmade"

texts:
I would like to open my own store with leather sandals, and accessories such as necklaces, rings, bracelets, scarves, etc. I would like to know if there is any other suitable word than "handmade".

I want a strong word, a word that would make somebody who sees it, to cause wonder. Or even a small expression will do. The logo of the store will be the letter K (from my name).

From all the stuff I mentioned, some will be handmade but some will also be hand crafted. The store will be in a Greek island, if that can be a blink of inspiration.


texts: Origin of louse for the following: louse around--to idle and louse up--to ruin?

texts: I understand louse being singular for lice; however, I'm uncertain as to why louse around means to idle and louse up means to ruin. Any ideas?


texts:
I have to translate "ayudante de cátedra" from a Spanish document. This is a university job that a former good student of a course can take. The student's job is to answer questions from the current students of the course, do extra exercise solving sessions and help the professor with the test revisions.
I'm not sure if "professor assistant" is the right translation.
What do you think?


texts: I would like to know what is the origin of the expression "all over him/her like a cheap coat/suit". I Googled for it but didn't find any relevant entry. Anyone?


texts:
I seems to me the sound at the end is /tl/ or as far as I and most people I know pronounce it. This applies for most other -tal ending words. I know it could be /təl/ but the vowel is not present at all in my pronunciation.

This leads me to ask, is it therefore correct to say environmental is 4 syllables by the definition that a syllable is based on there being a vowel sound for it to be a syllable?

Or do we relax the syllable definition to include the /tl/ sound even though there is no vowel sound present?


texts: Which is correct: "with regards to," "in regards with," "regarding"?

texts:
I have been using the following phrases but I am still not confident that they are grammatically correct and sound right:

"in regards with something"
"with regards to something"
"regarding something"

I have also heard/read people using an arbitrary combination of the above (e.g. "in regards to"). Are those correct? If yes - are they equivalent or the usage depends on context?


texts: "Butt in line" vs "cut in line" vs "bud in line"?

texts: What's the proper term to use if you want to talk about trying to move up in the lineup or switch up?


texts: Word describing the smallest amount possible

texts:
The specific usage I'm thinking of is something like:

"He exerted a single ____ of effort to..." (blah blah blah).

The word I'm thinking of is "modicum" but after looking up the definition, that apparently just means "small quantity."  I'm looking for a single word describing the smallest amount - like modicum - but also implies "indivisible" or something like that.  Preferably a noun, so it fits the usage above without rewriting.

Am I crazy, or does a word like this exist? I swear a word like this exists.


texts:
I just answered a question on ELL.SE that made me (and the OP) wonder about something... Consider the following four question responses to these two statements:

1- "I know I'll marry young."
2- "I'm sure I'll die young."
A. Why sure?
B. Why so sure?
C. How sure?
D. How so sure?

My thoughts on the questions themselves:

B is correct and commonly used, but D is incorrect.
B and C are both grammatically correct, and both ask about the degree of certainty, but B asks about the reason for this degree of certainty, while C asks about the actual degree of certainty (and not the reason behind it)
A is technically correct, but would usually be used as Why "sure"?, and sounds awkward with the meaning of Why are you sure?

My thoughts on the questions as they relate to the statements:

For statement #1, only B is a suitable reply.
For statement #2, not only B, but also C and a modified A (Why 'sure'?) are suitable replies.

My questions...

Why is "Why so sure?" correct, but "How so sure?" incorrect? Is it just a matter of fixed expressions, or is there another underlying reason?

Why is "How sure?" correct, but "Why sure?" (without the quotations around sure) sounds incomplete?


texts: Meaning of “to wrap the ol’ noodle around”?

texts:
From http://css-tricks.com/css-font-size/ (the first paragraph is quoted for additional context):

  Setting font-size in pixels is the most accurate (and I find the most
  satisfying) method, but do take into consideration the number of
  visitors still using IE 6 on your site and their accessibility needs.
  We are right on the bleeding edge of not needing to care about this
  anymore.

  Em values are probably the most difficult values to wrap the ol’
  noodle around, probably because the very concept of them is abstract
  and arbitrary. Here's the scoop: 1em is equal to the current font-size
  of the element in question.

What does “to wrap the ol’ noodle around” mean?


texts:
I live in western Pennsylvania, US, and over the years I've heard quite a few natives use "I seen" instead of "I saw" or "I have seen", as in:

  I seen that movie.
  I seen him leave.

I haven't heard this substitution of past participle for simple past for other verbs that I can recall; it seems to be specific to see in my experience.

This answer here on EL&U suggests that this is a Texan or Southern US construct, and this Quora post also suggests that it is southern US.  I didn't find attestations for other locations (including PA) in searching, and did not find any origin claims.  It's possible that this usage arose somewhere else and then found its way to the south (and to PA).  Or it might be southern in origin and then found its way north.

Where and when did this usage originate?
Does it occur with other verbs too?  (I'm wondering if the fact that see has an irregular past-tense form is relevant.)


texts: What's the counterpart of the adjective 'pending'

texts:
The completion of task A cannot be achieved until task B is completed.

I can therefore say that task A is in a group of tasks whose completion is suspended 'pending' the completion of task B. I can classify them as 'Pending'

But I want an adjective for the group of tasks that task B belongs to. A group of tasks, the completion of which allows other tasks to be addressed.

Pended? Pendant? - just can't pin down a word that works for this!

Any ideas please!


texts: What is the difference between complacency and condescension?

texts:
Sometimes I get confused between complacency and condescension, thinking they are the same thing. I am trying to understand the difference.

Both seem to be attributes of a person who is more confident than others, or think less of others.

It seems to me that acting in a condescending manner and acting complacent are very much alike, although complacency seems to be a little bit more about carelessness than smugness.

Can someone explain what is the difference between these two?
How can I recognize that someone is acting some way or the other?


texts: Can "respectively" be used to refer to more than two items in a series?

texts:
Is the following a proper use of "respectively"? And if it is not, what is the proper construction of this sentence:

  Counts 10, 12, and 14 of the indictment charged Mr. Client, along with Mr. Co-client, with First Degree Murder While Armed (Premeditated), in violation of D.C. Code §§ 22-2101, 4502, 2104.01(b)(4), 2104.01(b)(6) (2001 ed.). Counts 11, 13, and 15 charged Mr. Client, and Mr. Co-client, with Possession of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence or Dangerous Offense, in violation of  D.C. Code § 22-4504(b) (2001 ed.). Each of those counts related to one of the homicide charges.
      Count 18 of the indictment charged with Mr. Client with Carrying a Pistol Without a License, in violation of D.C. Code § 22-4504(a) (2001 ed.). Count 29 charged Mr. Client with Obstruction of Justice, in violation of D.C. Code § 22-722(a)(6) (2001 ed.).
      When the charges were submitted to the jury, the above listed charges were respectively renumbered 1-6 and 8-9.


texts: What is the word for a person who is not stupid or a fool, but deliberately trivializes things?

texts:
What is the word for a person who is not stupid or a fool, but always purposefully:

makes fun of everything,
passes silly comments about everything,
responds to wise/deep questions with silly and useless answers and
underestimates the gravity of a situation to make the situation appear light?


texts: What is the term for replacing one word/phrase with one that is more friendly/appropriate

texts:
I apologize for such a simple and stupid question but the word is completely skipping my mind and my google fu seems to be failing me for this one.

An example would be something along the lines of shit to poop or fuck to fudge.


texts: Meaning of “shelves” in an accounting ledger

texts:
I'm a Romanian student trying to translate one of George Orwell's essays, “Books vs Cigarettes”. I came across this:

Bought                               36    9    0
Gifts                                10   10    0
Review copies, complimentary copies  25   11    9
Borrowed and not returned             4   16    9
On loan                               3   10    0
**Shelves**                           2    0    0
Total                                82   17    6

I have problems with understanding what shelves refers to in the given context. While we’re at it, I would also kindly ask for help regarding review copies, complimentary copies. I'm having trouble with their exact meaning so I cannot find a proper equivalent in Romanian.


texts:
If I have a single object (example: the Ace of Spades) and a list of objects (example: A full deck of cards) which I would then attempt to match against the singular object, like in the game of snap.

What would I call the list of objects I'd be matching against?

Suitors works, in the context of dating, but I am looking for a more general term.


texts: What do we call an authority in charge of governing a village?

texts: We have municipality for cities, and government for the countries. What about villages?


texts: Is there a word to describe something that's perceived to be funny or clever only because it makes a reference that appeals to a certain group?

texts:
Consider the following pun:

  "What do you say when you see an empty parrot cage?" "Poly-gone"

It's funny in the way that bad puns are, but it had a sense of novelty when my grade school teacher told it shortly after we started learning geometry. The pun was relevant then, the concept it referenced was on the cutting edge of the classrooms knowledge. Now that I'm older and take the definition of a polygon for granted, the novelty of the reference is gone. Even if I'd never heard it before and it was presented in the proper context for a geometry pun (whatever that would be) it wouldn't be the same. I could say that I've become jaded to describe how I feel about the pun now, but is there a word to describe the original impact?

Edit: To clarify, I'm not referring to the fact that the pun wouldn't have been funny unless I understood it, like with an inside joke. I'm looking for a word to describe a concept that is perceived as being novel lending it's novelty to an otherwise uninspired joke or statement which references it.

Edit 2: A better example would be a remark about a current event. For example, if I was to watch a current episode of the Daily Show, it would be funnier now than it would a year from now even if I clearly remembered the news items that were being satirized. The jokes are funnier because I find the topics, which are not funny per se, interesting.

Edit 3: Another way of saying this would be a joke that is funny because it aligns with my interests. In the original example, students who were in the same class but found math boring would have found the pun boring, even though they understood it just as well.


texts: For the sentence, "I am going on a two month cruise", would "two month" be considered an adjective since it means two months long. Also, is the correct wording "two months" or is "two month" also correct. I have heard it used both ways (months/month).


texts: What's a word for a person who deals or takes care of other people's problems?

texts:
I need a precise word or title that describes a person who takes care of other people's problems.A person who covers up someone's tracks or cleans up someone's mess.

Imagine, a person who has too many connections, has an authority and everybody respects him, but always stays in the shadows and only reveals himself when someone asks him to do their dirty work.


texts: This is going to be hard because of him/his needing to be there very early

texts:
I recently read the following:

  This is going to be hard because of him needing to be there
  very early.

I would have written:

  This is going to be hard because of his needing to be there
  very early.

What is the grammatical difference between these two sentences?  Is there a sense in which one is more correct than the other or do they simply have subtly different meanings?


texts: A word meaning something familiar but which you can't put the right name to?

texts:
So I want a word that means familiar but which you can't put the right name to.  The context is I have discovered a tune on Youtube which I have heard many times (probably used for an advert) but I did not know name of.

So here is a link which illustrates what I'm talking about.

21 Songs You've Totally Heard, But Never Knew The Names Of


texts: Can you describe someone as a no-brainer?

texts: I understand the meaning, and to be sure I searched its definition: something that requires or involves little or no mental effort. This noun literally can have another meaning logically to describe a person, it makes sense to me. My question is, is it the right usage to use no-brainer to describe someone who don't use their brain to think at all?


texts:
We are debating the use of Whoever vs Whomever in this sentence "Thanks to whoever fixed this".

What is the correct form?
- Thanks to whoever fixed this
- Thanks to whomever fixed this!

Any explanation will be highly appreciated.


texts: What does the phrase 'blanket death' mean?

texts:
In The Firstborn, British author Laurie LEE – famous for his autobiographical novel Cider with Rosie – wrote – about his newborn daughter Jessy:

  Looking at those weaving hands and complicated ears, the fit of the skin round that delicate body, I can't indulge in the neurosis of imagining all this to be merely a receptacle for Strontium 90. The forces within her seem much too powerful to submit to a blanket death of that kind.

Try as I might, I cannot make sense of the phrase 'blanket death'… Is it a death that is slow in coming? a death that touches everyone? Does the phrase exist or did Lee use poetic licence?


texts: What's a word to describe the fear of social embarrassment in overreacting to a situation? In regard to coronavirus

texts:
What's a word to describe the fear of social embarrassment in overreacting to a situation?

For example, because of X, none of the offices in my work building have gone remote, because nobody wants to be the first to do so. Nobody wants to risk being embarrassed by being thought to have overreacted to the coronavirus pandemic.


texts: Synonym for "its right up my alley": "It's within my ____"

texts:
the word you use when you say "its right up my alley"
e.g
its inside my _______.
it means collection of interest or
range of interest.


texts:
Causative is used to say that you arrange for someone else to do a job for you. For example, "John has the car repaired". This is different from "John has repaired the car" because the latter sentence means that John did the work himself.

Now, I would like to merge the following two sentences, using a relative clause:
"John has the car repaired" - "Now the car works perfectly".

I mean something like "The car, which John has repaired, now works perfectly". But this sentence is wrong because it means that the car was repaired by John himself. However, I don't know how to get it right. Could you help me out please?

In relation to this question, I began wondering whether there is a way to transform the sentence "John has the car repaired" into passive voice. I know that it is already passive in some sense but it still has an object: the car. So, is it possible to say something like "The car was had/got/gotten repaired by John"?


texts: Word for something that can't be smelled?

texts: An invisible thing can't be seen, but what do you call something which cannot be smelled?


texts:
Which word formation is applied in the following sentence?

'I want to re-gift this piece of furniture.'


texts: Does one ride "in" a chariot, or "on" a chariot?

texts: Is the proper term for riding a chariot "on" or "in"?


texts: can we use thence the way we use therefore. As when an occurence led by an action. For example: "my mom forbid me to go to Amy's house" thence I cannot go". Is this gramatically correct. So the occurence is that I cannot go.


texts: Does an online tool exist that can find words of a certain length given an input of certain characters?

texts: Can anyone think of a tool with which I can pass it many optional parameters such as the length of the word I'm looking for, and a few letters in that word and have it spit out a list of words?


texts: Why do we say "at right angles", not "at a right angle"?

texts:
If two lines are perpendicular, we say that they are at right angles. This expression looks rather clumsy to me, and I'd prefer saying at a right angle. Like I would say intersect at a sharp angle, and not intersect at sharp angles.

Why does this expression at right angles exist?
Is it acceptable to use at a right angle instead of at right angles?


texts: Besides raisins, what other dried fruits and vegetables have their own names?

texts:
Dried grapes¹ have their own special word: "raisins". There are a few words for different types of dried meats ("jerky", "prosciutto", etc.). But other than "raisin", I can't think of any special words for dried fruits or vegetables. Dried apples are just "dried apples". Dried tomatoes are "sun-dried tomatoes". And so forth.

Is "raisin" the only word of this kind, or are there any others? Since this seems to be a scarce type of word, I would count foreign language words if they're used at least occasionally as loan-words.

¹ I see from the answer to this more-specific question ( Is there a word for dried blueberries? ) that "raisin" can also be used as a word for some other dried fruits. The question also reminded me that there are a few recently coined words such as "craisin", which suggests that older words of this type are scarce.


texts:
Which one is more appropriate in USA English? "Line of research" or "research line"?

Also, if there are individual "lines of research" for each person, is it correct to say:

Everyone's line of research

or should I say:

Everyone's lines of research


texts:
Is an app allowing or is an app that allows correct?

  XXX is an app that allows parents to monitor and restrict their children's food intake from the school canteen.

OR

  XXX is an app allowing parents to monitor and restrict their children's food intake from the school canteen.


texts: Is it correct to use the comparative adjective "blacker?"

texts:
You can find bluer, redder, greener, and whiter in the dictionary, but not blacker.  This seems mystifying.

In his "El Paso" song, Marty Robbins sang,

  "Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina."

During the recent Presidential campaign, some pundits asked,

  "Is Mitt Romney blacker than Barack Obama?"

NASA has created a new nanotube material that is

  "blacker than black paint," according to various published reports.

There are several official shades of black, such as taupe and ebony, leading to the presumption that some shades are "blacker" than others.

Since "blacker" is not in the dictionary, would the proper usage be "more black"?


texts: 'Should've seen it glow' or 'should've seen it glowing'?

texts:
Which one of the following is the correct one?

I should have seen it glow.
I should have seen it glowing.

Or are both correct? Would you parse them please?


texts: What do you call a person who is generous but on other's account

texts:
What would you call a invited person who comes in a restricted party hosted by a fellow collegian and then invites most of the uninvited members in the college and apparently blatantly shows off his generosity and the party as if his own?

That is, he invites others to party and says "feel free to have food" (the food which is limited due to restriction on invitees) and moreover it appears to the uninvited people who come to the party that he is the host of the party.


texts:
I bumped in a silly meme in facebook containing the following dialog (word for word):

A: "If I had said I love you would you say it back?"

B: "Of course!"

A: "I love you."

B: "It back."

To my understanding of the English grammar, the first sentence's construction belongs to a mixed conditional type and doesn't make sense in the context of the dialog. It seems to me that there should go type-2 conditional with simple past "if I said that I love you...".
However, some people claim that there is no mistake in the sentence and that it allegedly expresses an accomplished action "I have said" which transforms into "I had said" of the type-2 conditional.
I would love to see an answer from native speakers who could confirm my suspect that there is a grammatical mistake in that sentence or on the contrary disprove it.


texts: What is the antonym for the verb "support"?

texts:
For example: I support Bob's decision to quit his job.

What word could you use in place of support to make that sentence have the opposite meaning?


texts: An adjective for a person who "is looking for problems"

texts:
How would you describe a person who "is looking for problems" with one adjective?

Examples:

"A person who purposefully does something unnecessary for a particular reason (i.e. curiosity?), from which they won't get any joy or profit, but which might start an argument or cause problems/complications."

Elaboration:

Imagine the situation when you are in the underground parking lot, where places are grouped by 3 and each of this groups is partitioned with pillars. Now, there are 2 ways of parking your car. One is to park it at the place of the group, where all 3 places are free. This is a regular behavior. Another one is to park your car on the place next to another car, which is not parked right between the markings on the ground (taking up some space of your parking place), so if you park your car on the place next to it, it will probably partially obstruct driver's door opening., while you can enter/leave your car with ease. It is the only way to park your car at this particular place, you can't park it so that the driver of the adjacent car won't struggle to get into their car (they should be able to get in, but they will struggle a bit), you haven't done anything "against the law", you didn't really get any profit from it, but you might have caused a problem to another person (especially if they are not skinny), who is not keen on parking their vehicle correctly. How could you describe yourself in this situation with an adjective?


texts: Term for all landmasses connected to Europe?

texts:
I'm looking for one phrase that refers to the entire landmass that makes Europe, Africa, and Asia without having to name each continent separately, much like how I can say the Americas to refer to both North and South America.

If anyone has a suggestion for a term like continent but which implies large land masses regardless of continents they make up, thus grouping the Americas together as one entity and the other three continents as a separate entity, that would be nice as well, but I'm mostly interested in the above.


texts: What does "When you get out to California" mean?

texts:
I’ve found  this sentence in a book:

  I told my friend in New York, if you ever get out to California, please visit me.

I have found an explanation: "if you come here, a place that is in a western part of where you are."

Is it right?

Is it considered a phrasal verb, or is this just an American expression?


texts: I'm writing bios for a company newsletter. If I were to write Mr. Smith is a graduated engineer in electrical engineering or Mr. Smith holds a PhD in Electrochemistry - how do you know when it is appropriate to capitalize these things?


texts: Difference between "Upscale", "high-toned/tony", "fancy", "high-end", "select", and "exclusive"

texts:
Can these terms denoting something expensive, elegant and/or fashionable be used just about interchangeably, or are there any subtle differences to them?

E.g.

  Alone in a tony restaurant...source

  In a high toned restaurant...source

  People have to be taught how to behave or dress in a fancy restaurant.source

  The novel's claustrophobic premise is the gathering of two couples for dinner in a high end restaurant.source

  We had a leisurely dinner in an exclusive restaurant...source

  One could assume they were in an upscale restaurant...source

  Dinner at a select restaurant...source>/


texts:
Save up to 50% off!

Is this correct? To me, it makes it sound like a double-negative, of sorts; you are saving something that has been reduced, therefore increasing it, if that makes any sense. Anyhow, would it be more correct to say this?

  Save up to 50%!


texts: How to indicate possession by e.g. passers-by, mothers-in-law

texts:
I'm quite fond of internal pluralisation, such as passers-by, mothers-in-law, or even Chambers of Commerce.

However, I've recently realised that I've no idea how to indicate possession in such a case.

Neither "Mothers-in-law's" nor "mothers'-in-law" seem right.

Is there a corrct way of doing this, or should it just be avoided?


texts:
This is gonna be pretty vague, but hopefully by listing examples, someone will understand what I'm grasping for. I'm searching for a metaphor to describe a tool, weapon, vehicle, set of techniques, environment - something that supports what you do, that you build yourself, or at least "make your own" over time.

Here are some examples I've considered, to give a sense of what I'm looking for. I guess the problem is that I don't know whether these are actually "things" - traditions that I can refer to. Or that I don't know whether there's a specific name you'd call them, or maybe a cultural reference that would best convey the idea.

Becoming a warrior by forging the sword you will use in battle.
Building a canoe or raft from materials you have gathered.
Science fiction trope where people build their own robotic armor or spaceship.
A souped up OS configuration that one has evolved over the years, with a specific set of utilities and modifications, e.g. a bash profile, or the kinds of things people would talk about on usesthis.com or thesweetsetup.com, or answer to a "The first things you install on a new Mac/PC" question.
An office or workplace that someone has arranged to facilitate their own productivity.
A hot rod car.
A musician's favorite guitar.
A knowledge management system, or "outboard brain" as I've heard people call it.
Your grandmother's cookbook with her "secret" customizations to recipes scribbled in.

Basically, things that feel like extensions of yourself. Inanimate things that you feel an emotional attachment to. Things that augment you, help you tackle life, that you'd feel naked without. The elements of a craft that aren't taught or handed down, but created and/or acquired.

Does this make sense? I hope it's not too broad. I have a feeling that there's not one specific answer to this that I'm looking for, but I don't really know how to define the category either (obviously). I'd love to hear as many ideas as people have to offer.

Thanks!

EDIT: Thanks for the answers so far. To be clear, I'm not only looking for suggestions about a general name for this category. I'm looking for a shorthand way to convey the sense of this. For example, if I said I'm "building my canoe" or "it's like my Iron Man suit".

For what it's worth, in the specific case, I'm trying to describe my new interest in designing a system/scaffolding/infrastructure for my own life - a collection of tools, automated scripts, habits and "lifehacks" - to help me overcome issues with chronic procrastination and ADHD.

And as I write that, I realize that it's comically typical of my ADHD that I've gotten hung up on this particular question. But hey, no point backing out now. ;)


texts: Is there a single word to indicate someone with a migraine?

texts: You can say "people with a migraine", or "someone with a migraine", but is there a single word to express that concept as an adjective? Like, instead of saying "someone suffering from schizophrenia" we just say "schizophrenic".


texts: What is the first mention/use of the word "America" in print in an English written/translated source

texts:
I am aware of the fundamental history of the etymology of the word "America" in regards to the land it represents: how Leif Eriksson first-named the Brave New World Vinland, and afterward Columbus and the rest of Spain mistakenly regarded it as part of India, and then finally how Waldseemüller coined it in favor of homaging the voyages of Italian explorer Americus (Latinized variant of Amerigo Vespucci), and that it is well-believed the first occurrence of the word "America" in reference to the country, in print (a woodcut printing) is found on Waldseemüller's map from 1507, which introduced to Europe the concept of the Brave New World as being considered a separate continent, with Waldseemüller's illustrious words imprinted onto the map:

America ab inventore nuncupata

Source for image: Wikipedia
But where my interest really sparks in is the first mention/use of the word "America" in regards to the country in the English language specifically. I certainly understand revealing the very first usage of the word, or any word for that matter, in an English-written/translated book/map, etc., is improbable, unless the word is so distinct as to be able to dissect the exact coinage, and even then there may be numerous sources where the word is used "earliest", and furthermore since the word "America" was not invented by an English-speaker, nor was imprinted into English until, surely, some notable time after its birth, but nevertheless I will try my luck here and see what happens.
I am also aware of the different, archaic variants of the word "America", but I am very distinctly looking for uses of the exact word "America" and nothing else, although if a book contains an early, strange-spelling of the word, but still evidently intends the use of the word "America" in describing any part of the country whatsoever, that would be entirely acceptable.
Any insight on the topic would be exceedingly appreciated.
P.S. Since I am already on the subject of the word "America" in early print, and if you clicked onto my question one could safely assume you have some at least interest in the subject, I thought this would be appreciated to many:
Master William Shakespeare makes reference to America numerous times (it is believed The Tempest makes reference to Bermuda) but more distinguishly, in the Comedy of Errors the character Antipholus of Syracuse says:

Picture cut from a facsimile of the First Folio (1623)


texts: Usage of "elder" and "eldest" in degrees of comparison

texts: If one has two elder brothers, is it OK to say "My eldest brother is this and the second eldest is that"?


texts: Do "My vote goes for…" and "My vote goes to…" have different meanings? Can they be used interchangeably?


texts: Is there a single verb for 'to make positive'?

texts:
What SINGLE verb means 'to make or turn positive (something)'? Urbandictionary.com contains positify, but I prefer a verb accepted by a worthy dictionary like the OED.
I seek only 1  SINGLE verb; please exclude phrasal verbs or verb phrases.

Also, what of 'to make or turn something negative'? The transitive verb 'negative' doesn't mean this; it has 2 different definitions (first, to reject'; second, 'to neutralise').

Some sample sentences of my own:

1. I wish to learn how to make positive clauses of negative polarity.

2. How can we make negative comments (or experiences) positive?


texts: What is the origin of the phrases "stairway to heaven" and "highway to hell"?

texts:
Where did these two phrases come from? Why stairway and highway?
My own research didn't turn up results on Google that traced the origins of the phrases. I can only speculate (as stated in the comments) that the "stairway to heaven" phrase may derive from Jacob's ladder in Genesis 28 of the Bible, and that "highway to hell" may have just meant "the main road to hell" more than a century ago. Wikipedia says that highway once may have meant "the main road", as modern highway systems, that differ from ancient roads, are 20th century constructions;  and I can find the phrase "highway to hell" as far back as the 1600s.


texts: Which one is the correct dialogue punctuation format?

texts:
I am writing my first novel and this the very first confusion I would like to clarify. As I am not a native English speaker, I find it very hard to understand the punctuation scheme in direct speeches.
Which one of the following is correct? Please explain why the other one is wrong.

“I did what I needed to do.” He lowered his head to look at my face.
“You should've waited for me,” she replied.

or

“I did what I needed to do,” he lowered his head to look at my face.
“You should've waited for me,” she replied.

Also, how well does this punctuation rules apply for action tags like - he shrugged, he smile, he scoffed and similar tags.


texts: What is the difference between "till" and "until"?

texts:
What is the difference between till and until?

When to use till or until? Please explain with examples.


texts: What's difference between "I like it." and " I like that."? I wonder the difference.


texts: Proper punctuation and quotation marks when 2 separate quotations

texts: “It doesn’t have to be a huge event to make a difference, Jones said. “Any kind of activity-related event that can include a fundraising component can be directed toward charity.”


texts: What is the correct pronunciation of Costa Coffee?

texts:
Personally I would say the correct way is Cost-a Coffee but I've heard some people use Coast-a.

Which is correct?


texts:
The concept of the opposite of a word is well known, for example black/white, on/off.

In mathematics, there is the concept of 'orthogonal', meaning geometrically perpendicular.

Is there a metaphorically related concept to 'opposite', but means something like 'not opposite, not the same, not on the same axis even, but on the same plane'

For example, could 'orthogonal' be used to describe the following pairs red/green, left/forward, wrong/left?


texts: Word for something being calm and weird at the same time

texts: I'm looking for a word that describes a scenario that feels both calm and odd at the same time. Like it's weird that it's so calm right now, but it is. Sort of like calm before the storm, but there may or may not be a storm. I thought it was eerie but eerie includes fear or frightening.


texts:
The instructions will be up during today.
The instructions will be up during the day.

Which one is correct?


texts: Is "indifferent" a postpositive adjective in "leaves no one indifferent"?

texts:
Does this sentence contain a postpositive adjective?

It leaves no one indifferent

I thought "indifferent" here is a postpositive adjective. Am I right?


texts:
Is it ok to use "their" as a general reference to the pronoun "one"? For example in a sentence as follows:

One should be aware of the differences between spreadsheets and databases to choose the right one for their case.


texts: "To Put the flag up the pole and see who salutes"

texts:
Is this a common expression?
Is it used in an ironic way nowadays?
If the latter is the case: Is there a similar phrase that is usually not used ironically?


texts: I suspect that the parent term is "half of a dozen" which is just being shortened to half-a-dozen. But I caught myself using half-dozen earlier today and wondered which of the variants are considered valid. Both half-dozen and half-a-dozen seem odd written out even though they sound fine to my ear.


texts: What English word can be used to describe someone indirectly helping you?

texts:
For Example, I want to date a girl but can't seem to get to meet her in order to ask her out. Then suddenly we get invited both to a party of a mutual friend who has no idea I want to date the girl. During the party I ask the girl out and she says yes.

So what happened here is that the mutual friend was sort of a wing-man, but he didn't know he was one, so I wouldn't use that word.

There is a word that is sort of the opposite of this one in slang, "Cockblocker", but not exactly.

Can anyone help me find a word for "Reverse Indirect Cockblocker"? I know this is a ridiculous question but I would appreciate help, Thanks :)


texts: Usage of "audacity" in contractual letter

texts:
I'm new to the forum and would like to make a query about usage of the word "audacity".

  "In spite of repeated verbal and written instructions,---------- has shown the audacity to submit incomplete documents again"

Will this be appropriate?

Please suggest some alternate words also


texts: Is there a word for general envy for the rich?

texts: In the past few months, I've observed that there is actually a thing like general envy for the rich. They tend to be blamed for the slightest bad events that is connected to them in anyway even if it is completely out of context or insignificantly related.


texts: "When needed": Passive voice or adjective?

texts:
I've just read this sentence:

  ...As long as they have their own independent lives and help out only when needed, mothers-in-law can play a very useful role in any family...

My question is about "when needed". Is it correct? It shouldn't be "when is needed"?


texts: What happened first: "ye"/"you" merging to "you", or "thou"/"thee" falling out of common use?

texts:
Simple subject "I":

  I went.

Replacing it with "me":

  Me went.

That sounds strikingly wrong. We use it for fake "caveman talk".

However, there was a time when it worked like this:

1st person singular, subject/object:

  "I"/"me"

2nd person plural (or polite, formal etc 2nd person singular, yes), subject/object:

  "ye"/"you"

Speakers at that time would say:

  Ye went.

and would find:

  You went.

to sound wrong and weird in the same way we currently find:

  Me went.

So what I'm wondering is, how did this "ye"/"you"-->"you" merger happen?

Was the "ye"/"you" form just much more rarely used at the time?

If so, I would expect the merger would have happened before the dropping of the "thou"/"thee" pronouns.

Is it known if this the case?

I would guess the question might be a little complicated by dialects developing differently in isolation, and then influencing each other later, but still, is there a general clear answer to:

Was "ye"/"you" merged before "thou"/"thee" was dropped?


texts: What Character Was Removed from the Alphabet?

texts:
From:

http://blog.dictionary.com/ampersand/

  the ampersand today is used primarily in business names, but that small character was once the 27th part of the alphabet.

Is this true? Are there any more 'letters' removed from the English alphabet?


texts:
Is it possible to describe the relation between two countries as "negative" and "tepid"?

Are there any better alternatives usually used in media texts?


texts: 1 or 2 words for 'completed on our own accord, without said individual's request/expectation'

texts:
This sentence

  This x is a proprietary idea from John Doe.

is used, as you might expect, to indicate that descriptions of x should not be shared without just cause.

However, I want to change the sentence to indicate that it is our idea to keep the idea close, and that Mr. Doe isn't even expecting us to take this measure.

Can you suggest any short modification to this sentence that would not be confusing, and not be long. A word that says 'effected without request', 'on our own occord'.

I hope I am not too far off topic. I ask this because I have a hunch that there is a really cool way to say it that I hadn't thought of.

Edit: My current solution: Thanks, I couldn't think up that word for some reason.

  We are voluntarily keeping this x proprietary for Mr. Doe.

I expect the audience will understand it unambiguously.

The only thing remaining is that it doesn't clarify that Mr. Doe is unaware we are doing this for him. This is a minor imperfection, but I welcome suggestions.


texts: What is difference between timetable and schedule?

texts:
I'm building an application, that shows schedule/timetable for university students.
I'm confusing, what is the correct word for it: schedule or timetable?
How should I name it?

Here is the result of GitHub search for different queries:

university timetable - 359
university schedule - 742
students timetable - 329
students schedule - 1100


texts: What does the word "momentarily" really mean?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When and how did “momentarily” come to mean “in a moment”, rather than “for a moment”?

Almost every time I fly, shortly (!) before arrival I hear a flight attendant say something like "We will be landing momentarily, please return to your seat."  I understand that what is meant is "we will be landing a few minutes from now," but what I hear is "we will be landing for a short time, then immediately take off again."

So, what is the real meaning of "momentarily"?


texts: Could “Instead,” be used as the first word of a sentence without any following “of”?

texts:
Would the following sentence be correct? If not, I am looking for an adverb to express the meaning of “instead”.

  Our team could have won the match if our coach had interchanged the goal keeper after the collision. Instead, our coach decided to interchange an attacker, which proved to be a bad team management decision.

Can “Instead” and comma be used to begin a sentence, without any following “of”?


texts: Definite article: Subject verb agreement

texts:
What is the correct form:

  The President and host greets the guests at the door.

or

  The President and host greet the guests at the door.

I am told that if we do not add the definite article 'the' in front of 'host', then 'The President and host' refers to the same person. Is that assumption correct?


texts: A noun for the act of misinterpreting a word

texts:
When someone says a word that is superficially similar to, but means something different from, what they really mean, we call it a malapropism. I'm looking for the counterpart to this—a word for the act of wrongly interpreting a correctly spoken or written word.
When the problem is purely acoustic, as in this example:

OLD GEEZER #1:  It's windy today!
OLD GEEZER #2:  No, it's Thursday.
OLD GEEZER #3:  Me too! Let's get a drink.

then we call it a Mondegreen (thank you KJO for the term) but I'm looking for a word that covers failures of the hearer's vocabulary (just as a malapropism is a failure of the speaker's vocabulary).
One example might be from Stanley Holloway's 1931 monologue "The Recumbent Posture" in which the instructions on Albert's bottle of medicine dictate that it is to be taken "in a recumbent posture" leading to his parents scouring the town to find such an object.
Of course, sometimes it can be done deliberately:

MRS FUSSEY: Joan may think you're a gentleman but personally I've got sore misgivings.
SID BOGGLE: You ought to put some talcum powder on them.
(Carry on Camping, 1969)


texts: Appropriate use of comma with a mid sentence "or..."?

texts: In a sentence beginning, "The head officer[,] or his designee[,] shall..." are the bracketed commas appropriate? If so, could you explain the formal grammar rule that would require them? I'm a legal proofreader; if I suggest commas, it must be ascribed to a formal grammar rule, rather than personal choice. (And as a bonus question, is the comma I placed before "rather" necessary?)


texts: In the following sentences, are the commas in the right place?

texts:
"Ideas such as the FM modulation, in which the information is put in the frequency of a carrier signal, and doing experiments, for instance, implementing the QAM  algorithm in the electronics lab received my attention."

I think the comma after "for instance" should be after "lab". Am I right?


texts:
This is a sentence from Dickens's 'A Tale of Two Cities'. It's from Chapter 11 of Book II. Mr. Stryver accused Sydney of not being agreeable in a women's society and he told Sydney that he felt ashamed of Sydney when they were both with Lucie. Then Sydney rejoined:"It should be beneficial to a man in your practice at the bar to be ashamed of anything."

This ironic sentence should mean:'It's good for a lawyer like Mr.Stryver to actually feel ashamed about something.'

But then why did Dickens use the preposition 'to' here? Should he have used 'for'?

As an ESL speaker, I usually think that 'it is beneficial to somebody to do something' means that 'Doing something does somebody good.'

Is it still a valid prepositional use in modern English?


texts: Can I say that a scientific field has been "polymorphic" if it has changed dramatically over time?

texts:
The field of artificial intelligence, abbreviated as AI, has been
  quite turbulent and polymorphic since its creation.

If not, what other word or construct could I use?

By polymorphic I meant that it had changed its subject and scope over time.


texts: Is there a familial term for apples and pears?

texts:
The term Citrus Fruit covers oranges, lemons, and grapefruits; all of which are very similar in skin & flesh.

Is there a similar term to cover apples and pears (outside of Cockney rhyming slang)?

I realise that Citrus comes from biological classification (i.e. it's the common genus of these fruits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citrus).

Whilst apples and pears it seems are less closely related / you have to go back to the Rosaceae family (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosaceae) for their mutual branch, which also includes anything that blossoms (roses, cherries, almonds, and more).


texts: What is the etymology of "oil"? Is the cute description of oil and petrol in the poem Autogeddon fiction?

texts:
Extract from Autogeddon - by Heathcote Williams.

  OIL.
  From the Sanskrit root -il, light, illumination,
  And petr, Peter, the rock.
  Thus, petrol is―remarkably―light from the rock.

The part about Oil is cute but seems to be made up.
Petr is rock, yes, but -il/light/Sanskrit ? Doesn't seem to be true. Is it?

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=oil

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=olive . . . " from Latin . . . from Greek elaia "olive tree, olive," probably from the same Aegean language (perhaps Cretan) as Armenian ewi "oil." "

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=petrol


texts: A word for being trasferred from one customer rep to another?

texts:
Have you had a simple request but because you were talking to a call center, the simple request turned out into a big chain of transfers to all kinds of different departments and all kinds of specialists because the person you talked to either didn't have the authority or the expertise to help you from start to finish?

Example Sentence: When I called for tech support I got trapped inside a _____________

Is there a word for this?


texts:
Since June 2015, use of the word lit has exploded on Twitter. Here's some recent examples.

Nena Marie:

  My Year is starting off lit af ...but is gonna be TD by Monday morning

Nick:

  Jason got lit last night. Was the show for at least half the snapchat stories this morning.

Summer Monae':

  When you and bae both lit and give each other that look

The @lovihatibot Twitterbot routinely finds it in searches for "I love the word [X]" and "I hate the word [X]", in fact it's the third most hated) and eighth most loved over 30 days, and fourth most hated and 10th most loved in all of 2015. That's a lot of love and hate for a little word, it can't be random babble to cause such a reaction.

Similarly it regularly shows up in @favibot's searches for "[X] is my new favorite word" and came in as third favorite for all 2015.

What does lit mean here?

Where does it come from and when was it first used?

Was there a single person or event which popularised it, and when was it? Or if it's an older word, what accounts for its recent popularity?


texts:
This question comes directly out of this comment on Law.SE, on an answer discussing restrictions about who can practice law.

The legal profession is a cartel, protected by laws.

Is there a term that is similar to "cartel" but omits what Dawn describes as "a generally pejorative connotation that implies a purpose of controlling prices or limiting competition," especially looking for a term which would apply to lawyers?


texts: appeal a sentence VS appeal the sentence VS appeal against

texts:
A.

  a defendant can appeal a sentence if it's illegal, unconstitutional,
  or unreasonably excessive.

B.

  a defendant can appeal the sentence if it's illegal, unconstitutional,
  or unreasonably excessive.

C.

  a defendant can appeal against a(the) sentence if it's illegal, unconstitutional, or unreasonably excessive.

Which one is correct?


texts: Term for someone worried about health after reading health information online

texts:
Is there a term to describe someone who becomes very worried after reading health
information online? They think they have developed those health problems and are always on edge.


texts: When did dogs start "wagging" their tails?

texts:
An earlier question of mine What does a cat's tail do? got me thinking.
When did dogs begin to wag their tails? And do any other animals wag?

According to Google, very few books have ever been written with the phrase cats wagging tails. A catastrophic two, no less. On the other hand, dogs wagging tails fetches 95 hits on Google Books, which might surprise you until I reveal how many hits ‘wagging tails’ retrieves, an impressive 5,250. But it appears that authors prefer to write stories, and tales, about our four-legged friends in the singular. The phrases, ‘a/the wagging tail’ gets 15,200 hits, while wagged its tail peaks at 74,400 hits.

So, what is the petymology of ‘wag’, as in

  (Especially with reference to an animal’s tail) move or cause to move rapidly to and fro.
  [no object]: his tail began to wag
  [with object]: the dog went out, wagging its tail

Was it the brainchild of a writer? Perhaps it was created by a children's books author? Or maybe, it originated from a nursery rhyme.

EDIT

I mentioned a children nursery rhyme in my question because I distinctly remember one called Little Bo Peep. The verse which I reproduce here, is taken from Wikipedia

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And doesn't know where to find them;
Leave them alone, And they'll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them

According to the article the rhyme first appeared in print in 1805 but there is evidence to suggest that a children's game existed in the 16th century with the same name. Shakespeare's play, King Lear also contains a reference. The phrase "to play bo peep" was used since the 14th century to describe the public humiliation and punishment given to minor offenders that was the pillory.


texts: If I am acting based on a compulsion, then I am acting because I am forced to do so.  I have given up my power to chose.  What is the opposite of this?  If I decide to act after careful analysis and decision, what is this called?


texts: "Notes from my heart", what do you call these writings in English?

texts:
There are many blogs in which people including who are in love, write their own opinions, stories ,... about life, love ,... ( good or bad aspects)

  We call these kind of writings "notes from (my )heart" in Persian, and it implies:" I have written these words just for the sake of my own heart and from the bottom of my heart, no one is obliged to accept or read them!"

PS:
These people /bloggers might write to the God, to an imaginary beloved, to a dead person, ..., and they don't necessarily write love notes, they might complain, or confess, or just simply report their daily life events. Actually,they don't care for the number of visitors of their blogs, they write because this gives them, kind of, tranquility.

What do you call these kind of writings?

Something like this:
http://littleremindersoflove.blogspot.com/2011/05/to-my-beautiful-mother.html

Please don't close my question!, I'm not looking just for "Billet Doux" , I want to know a more general phrase!


texts:
In the Song I Started a Joke by The Bee Gees (I recommend watching this cover – it's amazing), the lyrics contain phrases like

  […] which started the whole world crying […]

This seems to be non-standard usage. What does it mean?

How would you classify it? Is it some kind of slang?


texts: Antonym of nature, that implies the cities and infrastructure constructed by man

texts:
I want to use a noun to describe the buildings and roads etc constructed by man ... as opposed to the forest and sea that exist on Earth naturally. Something besides "man-made".

ETA: Many of the answers take the examples too literally. I mean to say everything constructed or caused by humans. Not specifically the roads and buildings, not a particular object, nothing in context of a city, or organisation.

I want a generalised term, but also not a collective noun like 'assemblage' ... like nature implies everything not created by us and isn't a collective noun.

A word that can fit into this sentence :
"I took a brief retreat from (the) ______ (created by man) to enjoy the Earth gifted to us by Nature."


texts: Tenses with regards to leave / holiday / vacation absence

texts:
I have a question based upon the information below:

1) today's date: 21 Feb
2) Jane (someone in some office) takes leave from 1 Feb to 31 Mar (2 months)

My question:

If someone is looking for Jane in the office, can I say something like:

A) Jane is taking leave for 2 months and she will only be back to work on 1st of Apr (Monday)
B) Jane is currently on leave and she will only be back to work on 1st of Apr (Monday)
C) Jane has taken leave since 1st of Feb and she will only be back to work on 1st of Apr (Monday)
D) Jane took leave for 2 months and she will only be back to work on 1st of Apr (Monday)

Can any English teacher please explain which reply is correct and which reply is wrong?

Many thanks.


texts: Started early because I had some lectures to attend later on. OR Started early because I have some lectures to attend later on

texts:
Which one of the following sentences is correct?
I started early because I had some lectures to attend later on.
OR
I started early because I have some lectures to attend later on.


texts: What is the word for the movement you make when you give someone your hand?

texts: When someone falls down and you give your hand to her but she doesn't hold your hand, what's the proper word for the gesture you've done. You extend your hand? Is "extending a hand" right usage as a verb? Is there a better saying for the movement that you make when you are giving your hand to someone?


texts: Gerund vs Present participle: "We’re depending on him finishing the job by Friday."

texts:
I'm not a native English speaker, and although I know the general rules to identify whether it is a gerund or participle, sometimes I'm still confused about how to distinguish the gerund and present participle, particularly in the example as below. This is a sentence which I saw in the usage of phrase "depend on" from the Longman Dictionary. My question is that whether the "-ing" form in this sentence is a gerund, in which case it functions as a noun, or this is a present participle which refers to the pronoun i.e. "him" and modifies this pronoun.

depend on somebody/something doing something
We’re depending on him finishing the job by Friday.

(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online)


texts: Swiss made or Swiss-made? Swiss quality or Swiss-quality

texts:
As indicated above, do we need to hyphenate said words?

The same questions apply to other "country-related terms" like Singapore quality, German precision, etc.

Thanks in advance


texts: Lge or Lrg as an abbreviation for "Large"?

texts:
I have an application which has not enough horizontal space, so I want to make some words shorter.

A drop-down list has the options Small, Medium, and Large.

I'm thinking of changing it to this:

Sml
Med
Lge

Is this the best choice of abbreviations?


texts:
"2020 is said to be a darkest year"
I learned in my book that the superlative with most is sometimes used when there's no idea of comparison but to show the existence of a quality of a very high degree. I read in one of the posts here that the is omitted before it is used in this way and the article a is place instead.
Is sentence my correct?
Forgive me if I made any grammatical mistakes.


texts: Do I have to add LLC every time write my companies name in the same document?

texts: I'm working on a quality manual for my company "Joe Blow, LLC"...do I have to use the LLC every time the company name appears in the manual?


texts: To make malice overly clear (in Hollywood)

texts:
This is something that has bothered me for a while and probably the answer is something really simple. Nevertheless. In their depiction of evil, mainstream Hollywood films often humanize their villains. They often offer the audience some explanation of why a person turned to his/her evil ways (social circumstances, personal tragedy, loneliness). OK. But usually, at the culmination of the film, all this turns out to be a red herring. The villain says or does something evil that goes beyond what could be redeemable by these structural explanations (kills an innocent Bond-girl or a child, is actually after the money an not after seemingly legitimate revenge). I'm looking for a verb or idiom to describe the way such (usually conservative) Hollywood films over-identify the villain or how they "overly mark" the villain. It is as if the filmmakers want to make sure that we wouldn't succumb to any sympathy with the evil (or accept any social explanation for the evil); to safely bring the moral message home and leave no ambiguity or ambivalence.

Sample sentence would be something like:

Often in mainstream Hollywood films, the villain is ....

P.S. The verb/idiom I am looking for could be used in any of the art forms


texts:
In most languages, the word used for a single caryopsis seed is a good equivalent of grain — it is not only the translation for this kind of seeds, but also the translation for other meanings of the word, such as a grain of sand. In English, this is used for grain of rice and other cereals, and even for botanical non-grains like amaranth. But then suddenly, other similar seeds are called by other words whose primary meaning is much less suited than that of grain. The examples I have in my head are kernel of maize and wheat berry.

Why this strange mixing of words? A grain is well aligned with maize and wheat not only in its meaning as a caryopsis seed, but also the other meanings like grain of salt exhibit some similarity, as this is a single very small discrete dry piece of something encountered as a large mass, which has fluid-like dynamics as a whole (you can pour salt, and you can even have phase separation with two different sizes of grains). Many other languages follow this logic.

A kernel as I understand it is something which is at the middle of a thing, somehow giving it definition. If you want a look at it, you have to extract it from its outer layers. Also, there is definitely only one of it, just like a human has many bones, but only one skeleton. This is true to some extent for both “normal” plant kernels (like peach kernels) and the new meaning of an OS kernel. I think that the mathematical meanings of kernel follow this metaphor, like the kernel of a matrix. But maize — which should logically have grains — has kernels, which are unlike all the other objects I have heard being called kernels.

A berry is a word I like, too. While I am aware that botanically, the fruits we call berries belong to different categories of fruit, they have very similar culinary properties. They are always juicy, taste best when raw, combine a sweet and a sour taste, are small, not starchy at all, and make good jams. The color is also mostly somewhere between red and blue. But they don't have a shape in common — compare the classically heart-shaped strawberry, the round blueberry, and the agglomeration called a raspberry. And then we have wheat, which differs from true berries in all points I listed — and somebody calls its grains wheat berries.

Edit:
I was probably too mired in descriptions to state the question clearly. While there probably isn’t an all-encompassing reason for all existing cases (but if there is one, I’ll be glad to hear it), I’d like to hear the reasons for the two specific cases I listed, as in kernel of maize and wheat berry. Why was an exception made for exactly these two, and why was the specific word chosen for them?


texts: What does the phrase "recommend to" mean in this paragraph?

texts: This is an excerpt from The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith.


texts: Words whose pronunciation remains the same with the last four letters removed

texts:
A friend told me that the English word queue is the only word whose pronunciation remains the same when the last four letters are removed.

I tried to think of others, but just couldn't.  However, I don't feel this is true! (Just like when someone says the only word without rhymes is orange.)

I was wondering if anyone can help?

Edit: I am going to broaden things to allow more possibilities. The shortened version does not have to be an English word. For example, thorough and thoro I feel are close enough to count as removing three letters. Also, things like though and tho definitely count! (This is the best example so far by my standards.)


texts: Word that covers Games, TV, Movies and Music

texts:
Is there a word that covers Games, TV, Movies and Music?

Entertainment seems to be fitting but it's a bit too long for my needs and I'm looking for alternatives.

I searched and found 'Media' and 'Fiction' but I'm unsure if these two terms covers it too.


texts:
I'm writing an assignment on how a poem of my choosing represents a person in my life. I'm trying to use the word "my crush" in the essay, but I looked it up in a dictionary and it's an informal word. Is there a formal word for "a crush"?

An example sentence would be:

  "The speaker of the poem describes a person that closely resembles my
  crush".


texts: Word meaning "clear" or "remove" and starting with an O?

texts:
Is there a word with a meaning similar to "clear," "clear out," or "remove," or perhaps "fight," but starting with the letter O?

I want to start an initiative at work to gradually clear out warnings from our source code base. I really like acronyms, so I'd like to name it with one. I was thinking of a "grass roots" initiative about "warnings" and came up with "GROW" for the acronym (which is also nice as it will improve the software), but I'm having trouble finding a suitable word for the O. (The whole phrase would then be "Grass Roots O-doing something with Warnings.")

I've thought of "ousting," but it doesn't really fit. "Obliterating" feels a bit too strong (especially as the process will be gradual). Is there a better word?


texts: What is the role and meaning of "posing" in this context?

texts:
Context:

the article began with the news that he had been incapacitated since 1990, with his followers posing pictures of him and signing his correspondence with an automatic pen.

Question: what does the second 'with' mean and also 'posing picture'?


texts: Do I use an apostrophe if I'm referring to several medical IVs?

texts:
First sentence (with apostrophe):

  The IV's continued to drip as she thrashed on the bed.

OR

Second sentence (no apostrophe):

  The IVs continued to drip as she thrashed on the bed.

Which one of these sentences is correct? Why would you or why wouldn't you use an apostrophe in this case?


texts:
I'm trying to say that I stopped working at this place because my spring semester started.
Would it be okay to say, very briefly, "Left for the beginning of the spring semester?"
Thank you!


texts: Apostrophe usage in "your order's been dispatched"

texts:
Your order's been dispatched.

Is this contraction (not to indicate plural, but as a contraction of "order has") correct?  Or would it be better to just simply write:

  Your order has been dispatched.

I've looked through quite a few examples, but couldn't quite decide so thought I'd ask the community.


texts: What is the term for an integer one larger than a given integer?

texts:
I'm looking for a concise term to say a number must be exactly one higher than a previous number.

None of "subsequent", "incremental", or "next" seem to convey the restriction that it must be contiguous to the previous number. "Contiguous" does not convey that it must be larger rather than smaller.

Is there a specific term for this or am I going to have to use a phrase like "contiguous to and larger than"?


texts: I've read about how the word 'aisle' and 'isle' each came from the French 'aile' and 'ile', respectively. I also read how the there was confusion between the two words, such that when 'isle' gained its 's', 'aisle' soon followed. Does anyone know the full story?


texts: What is a revisionist grammar (English)?

texts:
What is a "revisionist grammar", with reference to English grammar?
How does such a grammar differ from other similar things, such as descriptive, prescriptive, and conventional English grammars?
Do web-based English grammar sites (including EL&U) tend to reinforce or undermine revisionist, conventional, descriptive, or prescriptive grammars?

My own understanding of "revisionist" is neutral, neither pejorative nor complimentary. I borrow my understanding of "revisionist grammar" (such as it is) from my understanding of so-called "revisionist histories". All histories are stories; these stories are different each time they're told by a different teller at a different time; likewise all grammars are stories, etc. The truth value, if any, of the stories of history and grammar varies.

Two examples of uses of the phrase in question, "revisionist grammar", taking care to cover the range, including apparently non-pejorative along with pejorative uses.

  Russell found that when we let the visible grammar lead us, we are soon
  trapped in what he considered an ontology of semantical referents that
  consist of rather "paradoxical objects." It seemed to Russell that we
  cannot satisfy at once the two natural ideas of (i) syntactic faithfulness
  (keeping the visible grammar intact) and (ii) semantic faithfulness
  (keeping the semantics referential). To escape this predicament, two major
  philosophical (and soon adopted in formal linguistics) methodologies, both
  revisionist, have been pursued.

  On the first grammar-revisionist policy, ....

Referential Mechanics: Direct Reference and the Foundations of
Semantics, Joseph Almog, Oxford University Press, Feb 17, 2014

  "Feminist revisionist grammar" (the use of feminine pronouns as gender indefinite) is a pet peeve of mine, because according to the rules of standard English it changes the meanings of sentences to imply that all of those the sentence describes are female ....

TNIV: The Neutered International Version

Various other examples from the web. These examples are not intended to be comprehensive.

Phonological Representations: Their Names, Forms and Powers, John Coleman, Cambridge University Press, Jan 29, 1998.

These Rough Notes, "Interview: Patrick Evans", Thursday, 8 October 2015.

Sir Thomas Wyatt and the Rhetoric of Rewriting: 'Turning the Word', Chris Stamatakis, OUP Oxford, Mar 15, 2012

"Pastor Ted @ HCC:  Bad Religion", Monday, September 13, 2010.

"Alphaville is stalking me"

"Vegas Fandom Weekly"


texts:
I know that Street is abbreviated as St. But does the t in St represent the first t or the last t in Street?

Drive is abbreviated as Dr, which means it could be the first t, but Road is abbreviated as Rd, which means it could be the last t, if we were following the same pattern.

(Please note that this question is not opinion based. By looking at the patterns of other common abbreviations we can conjecture as to, or even deduce, the origin of St.)


texts:
appologies if this is a very simple question, but your help would be appreciated.

I asked a question a couple of days ago regarding the usage of comma within sentences. I have been reading various rules regarding comma usage but still somtimes have a bit of difficulty knowing exactly where they should be placed.

In the following sentence would sombody be kind enough to give a brief overview regarding why each individual comma has been used.

Sometimes, though, a simple subject can be more than one word, even an entire clause.

I'm under the impression the first two are used to introduce introductory elements. I would also guess that "A simple subject can be more than one word" is the independant clause. But why is this clause seperated from the final element "even an entire clause".

Once again apologies if this is basic.

Many thanks.


texts:
Every kindergartner knows that a sheep says baa, a cow says moo, a cat says meow and a goat says maa. But this is just in English. In other languages, they say other things.

When did animal sounds get their canonical English form? Did it happen before the Great Vowel Shift?  Did cows "originally" say /moː/, or /muː/?  What about consonants? Basically, what accent should my animal sounds be in?


texts: Not mines, but mine's (mine is). As in, "You cooked a good turkey, but mine's better."


texts:
In the UK (and sometimes Australia), a vacuum cleaner will be called a hoover, regardless of its brand. Likewise, the verb "to vacuum" is replaced with "to hoover".

With a brand name being used in such a way, does it still require a capital letter? Why or why not? Does its capitalisation depend on region?


texts: What is the word that describes ethical smartness?

texts:
Intelligence can be used as a means to deceive and exploit vulnerable people. I believe, however, that proper thinking should always lead to righteous deeds.

What is the word that describes the intellectual ability which produces only virtuous acts?


texts: Child who was cast out but ended up succeeding?

texts:
I'm looking for a word for a child who was cast out, cast aside, ignored or discriminated against relative to other children, but ended up succeeding despite it all.

Used in a sentence:

  Alice winced at the mention of Bob's name. Hearing strangers extolling her _________ brought more pain than even the thought of him lying half-dead in some ditch, before he had returned.

Notes:

Could be either a noun, or an adjective you can place before "son" or "daughter".
Didn't really have a good search term for thesauri (I tried thesaurus.com with "successful bastard" and "successful orphan")
Doesn't matter if it's a gendered expression or not.
I don't have obvious criteria for choosing the best word.


texts: Why is linear interpolation called lerp?

texts:
In the field of computer graphics, linear interpolation is called 'lerp'. This is very widely used.
I'm curious about why it is called so. I know it is listed in the Jargon file. The file says it is quasi-acronym of linear interpolation but why are L, E, R, and P chosen? In the first place, is it linear interpolation? or linear interpolation? or other?
I want to know exact origin.
Multiposting: https://ja.stackoverflow.com/questions/71189


texts:
"My team has prepared a website"

There is a synonym for "prepared" that fits better on this sentence?


texts: Is there a word for repeating the starting syllables of a word before completing it, in song?

texts:
In Coldplay's song Paradise, for example, the chorus goes "Para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise."

Is there a term for this?


texts: Saying "tomorrow" vs saying the actual day of the week that tomorrow is

texts:
Today is Wednesday and I received an e-mail asking that a task be done on Thursday. After further question the sender did mean Thursday as in tomorrow.

What is the correct way to describe the next day in this situation either saying "tomorrow", "Thursday", or does either one work? Since most of the public including me, usually don't follow rules what is the most common way?

I feel since the sender was being more descriptive by saying Thursday instead of tomorrow they were meaning Thursday of next week.


texts: "Strange as it may sound" vs "Strange sound though it may be"

texts:
I'm trying to write something and this question popped up.

Which would be more correct?

"Strange as it may sound ~" or "Strange sound though it may be ~"

Thanks.


texts:
I saw a sentence in a movie Big Fish.  One sentence of it says: "I need you to tell me that I'm not crazy".
Originally, I understood the sentence as:

"I want you to tell the fact that I'm a sane person to me."
YOU tell the fact to ME. crazy=insane

But some books translate it as:

"I am required to tell you the fact that I'm not pissed off."
I tell the fact to YOU. crazy=mad at

Which one is right? And how can I understand the nicety of the usage of the verb: NEED?
Plus, how could you distinguish the meaning of CRAZY? Just depending on the context?


texts:
It seems that historical definitions of the word "racism" use it to mean something similar to "racial prejudice" and "racial discrimination", without any reference to which race has power or doesn't have power. Whereas there seems to be a growing movement in some sectors to define racism as always being about a race with more power or privilege oppressing a race with less power or privilege in a given society. For example, here was a recent article I read: http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/08/racist-against-white-people/

So, is there any general usage guidance we can give for the word "racism"? Should it now only be used to mean racial oppression of the powerful on the less powerful even though most dictionaries haven't caught up with that sense yet? Or should it only be used in the older sense that most dictionaries list for it? Should it be avoided because of this controversy? Should any user be careful to define his exact meaning if he uses it?


texts: What does “showed why he is feared on” mean?

texts:
Sorena Ali Madadi showed why he is feared on the counterattack,
  breaking through in the middle and scoring for Princo after 35 minutes
  to make the score 4 - 0.

What does it mean?


texts: Say you want to refer to your project which you have chosen the name "X" for it. What is the difference in referring to it as "Project X" or "X Project"? Is the first one more suitable for branding? I am not a native English speaker so I am not sure if they feel and/or have grammatically different usage.


texts: Is it correct to say "I'll share it for the millionth time"

texts:
If I want to share something on social media with others, something that I've extremely enjoyed listening to or watching. would it be correct grammatically if I said:
I'll share it for the millionth time?


texts: What's the difference between index and indicator?

texts:
My phrase is: "The main (indexes / indicators) of regional development".

Which noun should I use?

I have searched for any difference in their meanings on the Internet, but didn't find anything certain.

From my point of view (and I suppose it may be totally wrong), an indicator is something what tells us about the presence or absence of something, and nothing more. If so, then as my (indexes / indicators) are all different numbers (different values, not just "present" or "absent"), should I use the word "indexes", not "indicators"?

I will be very grateful for your help.


texts: Is this sentence grammatically correct ? Use of present participle

texts:
Looking for a way to choose the proper modules for the system, I reviewed all my notes taken in class.

I know looking is present participle, but I feel it is improper to be used in this meaning. The participial phrase functions as an adjective modifying I (the subject), but the meaning expressed in this sentence is not like an adjective. I think it is clearer if expressed in adverbial clause of purpose.


texts: What is the antonym of opposite of "times/multiplied" in this case?

texts:
One can say that muscle is 3 times as dense as fat. [citation required]

What is the term for the opposite? Fat is 3 times less dense than muscle? That doesn't sound quite right. Is there a better way to say that?


texts: Distinction between prefixes 'super-' and 'extra-' in similar contexts

texts:
From my understanding, both the prefixes super- and extra- can mean above or beyond, though a possible distinction could be as follows (from the answer to this question):

  ...using super-something would be to say that it was "very something." While extra-something would mean "beyond something"...

While a useful dilineation, this isn't always the case for English words. For example, supernatural and superliminal both seem to adhere to the latter definition, so why use super- instead of extra-?

There are two aspects of the question that I'd like to be addressed if possible:

How is it decided which of these prefixes is more appropriate when
constructing a new word intended to mean above/beyond the root word (or what has the reasoning been in the past)?
For existing words with specific cultural connotations, such as supernatural, is it appropriate/useful to compose a new word to avoid those connotations, such as extranatural, of which the literal meaning is essentially redundant with the original?


texts:
I remember discussions of flour and butter - different subjects. What if the subject were the same but its two facets are meant:
as the amount and variety of data increase(s)..?


texts: Is it safe to use "old" to mean "previous" for a person?

texts:
Is it safe to use "old" to mean "previous" or "former" for something like "my old teacher"? Or is it a bit risky, because "old" also has a meaning with respect to age (i.e., chronologically gifted)?

Wiktionary doesn't give any warnings about "old" potentially causing offense. But should it be avoided in this context anyway?


texts: Adjective of proper noun containing "and"

texts:
A person from The Turks and Caicus Islands is known as what? Likewise with Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, São Tomé and Principé, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. http://www.un.org/en/members/

I've heard of "Trinidadian", but isn't that specific to one island? Then again I've heard of Bosnians but not Herzegovinians. In some cases, it isn't even clear what someone from specifically one group of islands is called. Turk? Caicasian?


texts: Interchangeability of strike and establish

texts:
Can I use strike instead of establish? Like in this sentence:

  We don't know about the deals it may have struck with the other countries.


texts: Does calling an app "the Instapaper" with a definite article suggest a non-technical speaker?

texts:
Listening to an episode of a tech podcast with very tech-literate persons talking, I noticed them saying things like "I use the Tweetbot", for the iPhone app "Tweetbot", or "building the Instapaper", for the iPhone app "Instapaper". They don't use the definite article all of the time: they mostly talk about apps without "the".

As a non-native English speaker, this sounds wrong to me. I interpret it as a parody of someone not very familiar with technology, but I'm not sure my intuitions are accurate.

I certainly see how a tech-literate person would say "I used the calendar" for the iPhone app "Calendar", but with a less generic name like "Tweetbot" or "Instapaper", I get the impression they're aiming to be funny. Or that they were at one point aiming to be funny, and now they do it by rote, as with "funny" expressions like "What can I do you for?"

Would you say I have this right, or does "the Instapaper" not suggest a non-technical speaker to you? I'm guessing users of this site are technical enough to tell.


texts:
Examples often feel detached from the text if I introduce them after a full stop, so I'm looking for different ways of introducing them.

I throught of introducing an example after a colon, because the text that comes after a colon is supposed to explain or expand upon the text that came before the colon. I believe that an example does just that, but I wonder whether I can use the words "for example" or "for instance" to introduce an example if it follows after a colon. Consider the following example text:

  Some shapes are symmetrical: for example, when cutting a circle or a square through the middle, two identical shapes are produced.


texts: Is there a term for ordering items by color by wave length?

texts:
I tried looking for the word "chromologically", but didn't find any evidence to its existence.

Further answers about sorting not by wave length, but by other factors, such as saturation, or brightness, are also welcome.


texts:
Is there a single word for when a 'nerd' or expert talks so in depth about a topic that it leaves everyone else behind?
I have looked in the reverse dictionary and cannot find one. A phrase could be 'they talked over every one's head'.


texts: Difference between I'll be home 'by ten' and 'at ten'

texts: I have a question. What does this phrase mean "I'll be home by ten", because it is confusing, especially when used with "at" instead of "by". When it comes to sentence stress which words should I stress more?


texts: "Mr. Smith, John" or "Smith, Mr. John" Title location in reversed name

texts:
When writing a name in reverse order (following the commonly used [Last Name], [First Name] [Middle Name(s)] format) where is the most appropriate place to put the title?

For example, is it Mr. Smith, John or Smith, Mr. John?

I'm particularly confused about this since I know that a title like "Mr." or "Ms." is appropriate for both the first and last name. For example, both "Mr. John" and "Mr. Smith" are correct.

Edit: For context, this is for a list of teacher names at a high school. It will be included in various publications such as newsletters and timetables.


texts: Put two and two together...and got five?

texts: I know the phrase "put two and two together", and in fact someone has already asked a question regarding its origin. However, I recently heard someone say the phrase with an addition of the humorous "and got five". Is this part of the original saying? If not, was it coined and by who?


texts: What does "I would not put a thief in my mouth to steal my brains" mean?

texts:
I just want to ask you a question that I stated above at my title section... What does 'I would not put a thief in my mouth to steal my brains' mean?

It's a quote from a book called True Grit, a typical classical literature about the western genre/Manifest Destiny.

  "This is the real article. It is a double-rectified busthead from Madison County, aged in the keg. A little spoonful would do you a power of good."
   "I would not put a thief in my mouth to steal my brains."

I would really appreciate you for answering my question whoever that is.


texts: What does "lean forward" means in that context

texts:
Firm that I work in started a new marketing campaign. There are some posters with slogans and one of them has words: "Forget your comfort zone lean forward build an amazing career". What those words mean according to you (especially "lean forward")?

For me it suggests that the woman from photo builds her career basing on some sexual relations with employers, but I believe it was not the message.


texts:
In the movie Source Code is a guy who's got control over another man's body and gets to talk to a woman who's traveling with; she becomes unconvinced about the man's behavior which is not qutie the same as she's known and says:

  Who are you and what did you do to Sean Fentress?

To which the man murmurs to himself:

  It's the new me.

Why did he say the new me instead of a new me?


texts: What's the difference between uncertainty and noise?

texts: In particular, what's the difference between uncertainty and measurement noise in engineering?


texts: Another way to say "hot" as in "hot peppers"?

texts:
I am making this sauce, which is extremely hot (as in hot peppers) that is being served cold (as in temperature). People who try it ask me what it is, so I say it is "cold hot sauce", which is a bit problematic, as the two are literal antonyms, even if not in the particular context.

So is there another world I could use for (extremely) hot that makes it clear it is indeed very hot? "Spicy" comes to mind but it is a big understatement. Anything else?


texts: Can "comply with" here be replaced by "abide by"?

texts:
The key explains that when using the phrase "abide by" you must ensure that "a person" serves as the subject of the sentence. Is that true?

6 All the activities of a joint venture shall ____ the provision of laws, decrees and pertinent regulations of the People's Republic of China.

a obey ... b abide by ... c comply with ... d observe
[istack:imgur]


texts:
Is there a word for the sum of society's law, moral value and personal beliefs?

a word if I do it, I can't be wrong, won't go to jail.

Like no stealing, no raping, no bullying family members,stay postive, always happy,  do well at school...
Anything long as it equals to what I should do


texts: Word for descriptive complimentary closes in letters

texts:
I've tasked myself with writing more letters (of the dead tree variety); because of this, I was intrigued by a certain take on complimentary closes, whilst enjoying a re-read of Dracula:

Your loving
Mina

And:

...no more just at present from your loving
Lucy

Is there a name for this (admittedly subtle) variation on the usual complimentary close, wherein the signature is an extension of the close itself? I don't recall ever having seen this used in modern writing, but I'm curious as to when it fell out of favour. Naturally, it's rather hard to search for this sort of thing.


texts: Is Lewis Carroll correct in his suggestion on some abbreviations?

texts:
The following is quoted from the preface to Sylvie and Bruno Concluded by Lewis Carroll:

Other critics have objected to certain innovations in spelling, such as ‘ca’n’t’, ‘wo’n’t’, ‘traveler’. In reply, I can only plead my firm conviction that the popular usage is wrong. As to ‘ca’n’t’, it will not be disputed that, in all other words ending in ‘n’t’, these letters are an abbreviation of ‘not’; and it is surely absurd to suppose that, in this solitary instance, ‘not’ is represented by ‘’t’! In fact ‘can’t’ is the proper abbreviation for ‘can it’, just as ‘is’t’ is for ‘is it’. Again, in ‘wo’n’t’, the first apostrophe is needed, because the word ‘would’ is here abridged into ‘wo’: but I hold it proper to spell ‘don’t’ with only one apostrophe, because the word ‘do’ is here complete. As to such words as ‘traveler’, I hold the correct principle to be, to double the consonant when the accent falls on that syllable; otherwise to leave it single. This rule is observed in most cases (e.g. we double the ‘r’ in ‘preferred’, but leave it single in ‘offered’), so that I am only extending, to other cases, an existing rule. I admit, however, that I do not spell ‘parallel’, as the rule would have it; but here we are constrained, by the etymology, to insert the double ‘l’.

I have discussed with my English teacher about writing "cannot" as "ca'n't" but she disagrees as she insisted only one apostrophe is allowed in each word. Does Lewis Carroll's advice on the abbreviation make sense?


texts: Words that indicate the reverse of or the opposite of?

texts:
is there a list of all words to indicate the reverse of something? Is there a term for such words?

Examples

Un: unpopular (lack of popularity) / uninstall (to delete)
Non: nonsense (making no sense)
Less: senseless (making no sense)
De: dehumanize / decrease

Edit: For clarification, I am not asking about antonyms. I am asking for portions of the words (eg. Un, Non, Less, De) that help indicate the opposite of something and whether there is a term for these words.

Thank you


texts: Less of something (British English Probably)

texts:
Less of this noise, guys!
Less of that funny talk!
Less of talking nonsense!
Less of working late!

Does it mean less or stop doing something?


texts:
Which is more correct to say: in todays' classes or in today's classes?
Can we consider that today represents the days that we live in general, so it might be considered as plural, and add the apostrophe after the s and not before?

Thanks in advance


texts: What does "made it up on the spot" mean?

texts: What does the phrase "made it up on the spot" mean?


texts:
I was posed a question the other day:
"Can you think of a word that can be used as a Noun, Verb or an Adjective?"

One such word would be "light".

Is there a rule for identifying such words?

(See also: What word can fulfill the most parts of speech?)

Along a similar line, is there any rule (or name) for words that could be a Noun, Verb and Adjective (and other parts of speech) depending on the interpretation of a single sentence?

An example of the above that satisfies two out of three could be "This is a rubbish pile." i.e. Is it a pile of rubbish, or a poorly constructed pile?

(Whether [a version of] this question is on topic is discussed on meta, please close/edit if appropriate.)


texts: "if it wasn't for..." vs "if it weren't for"

texts:
Should it be "if it weren't for holes, a bagel would be a bun" or "if it wasn't for holes, a bagel would be a bun"?

I've been reading about the subjunctive and how it is generally used with "if" where "if" expresses a wish or refers to something that doesn't exist - but I'm not sure in this case. 'Holes' exist... but the sentence is talking about what it would be like if they didn't exist.


texts: Meaning of the phrasal verb "wheeled on"

texts:
The phrasal verb mentioned in the title, wheeled on, can't be found in
any* dictionary. Usages:

In fact it was the experts, or at least those wheeled on by the remainers who didn't get it. -- Roger Scruton
Most of the "experts" wheeled on by the Beeb are Scottish. -- Ann Widdecombe
She suspected Daddy had been wheeled on by Letitia to keep her in play, to enable his daughter to concentrate and judge in silence. -- Barbara Anderson, Portrait of the Artist's Wife

From the usages above I guess it is an expressive way of saying "appointed".
If you are familiar with the expression, would you define it and perhaps elaborate on its meaning?
* As @Clare pointed out, it is defined in the Oxford dictionaries.


texts: Pronunciation of the second syllable in “ancient” and “conscience”

texts: I have looked up the pronunciation of these two words, ancient and conscience, in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as well as other online dictionaries such as dictionary.com and dictionary.cambridge.org. Their pronunciations are given as /ˈeɪnʃənt/ and /ˈkɒnʃəns/. However, I have heard a lot of American people pronounce them as /ˈeɪntʃənt/ and /ˈkɒntʃəns/, meaning they pronounce the starting sound of the second syllable as /tʃ/ instead of /ʃ/. Is this considered a mispronunciation by some people or is it actually a correct pronunciation in American English?


texts: What does "it’s the head of the fish that stinks" mean?

texts:
In a text regarding the meeting of the members of a automotive company appears:

  In the past, there was one clear rule at our plant, I hope I’m not going to make anyone uncomfortable, but it’s the head of the fish that stinks. If we want to really make sure that safety becomes a priority, everyone needs to be aware of it, including middle management, but also the cleaning staff.

I have found a similar saying: the fish stinks first at the head. This means that "if the servant is disorderly, it is because the master is so" - see www.phrases.org.uk

Do you think that it’s the head of the fish that stinks also means that?
Or does it have another meaning in that context?


texts: Is the tense called “Present Progressive” or “Present Continuous”?

texts: What is the correct term used to describe this tense in English — Present Progressive or Present Continuous? I see both terms used in grammar books.


texts:
We're having a debate about how to properly refer to our software product when it is installed on someone's computer and they're having trouble with it. Assuming our app is called WhizBang, there is a contingent here who would say, "Open your WhizBang and choose 'Options'". I argue it should be, "Open WhizBang and choose 'Options'".

For some reason I don't have a problem saying "I drove my Ford Explorer" but I wouldn't say "I read my Pride and Prejudice". The difference, I believe, is that my Ford Explorer is a physical object. I own one of many Ford Explorers that have been built. Pride and Prejudice, however, is an abstract thing. My copy of Pride and Prejudice is an instance of, or manifestation of, the abstract object. Software is similar: WhizBang is an abstract object; you may have an instance of it installed on your computer. You don't own WhizBang; you own a copy of it. So "your WhizBang" is incorrect (it implies that you are the owner of the abstract thing, not an instance of the thing).

Is there a right answer to this or is it just personal preference?


texts: Noisy customized exhausted motorcycle pipe

texts:
In Thailand, some of bikers customize his exhausted pipe to increase noise pollution and it is extremely loud!

What is the brief and concise with negative wording for them?


texts: I'm translating an interview of two musicians. At certain moment, discussing jokes hidden in lyrics, one of the speakers says "I think there's always been a couple of jokes in my work. It's not a primarian interest". And that's where my problem lies: I can't figure the meaning of "primarian". Dictionaries doesn't help much as neither of those I looked up seem to have this adjective. Google also doesn't suggest anything that would clarify the meaning for me. I'll be grateful for any help.


texts:
I'm reading a biography of Giuseppe Verdi, and there's a decade and a half long part of his life that is referred to as his "years in the galleys".

I've tried to find the exact meaning and history of this idiom, but keep drawing blanks. It's possible this is a direct translation of an Italian idiom that is not commonly used in English, as Verdi himself said it ("anni di galera") regarding this part of his life. Could anyone shed some light on this?


texts: Does the word 'nab' necessarily have negative connotations?

texts:
I was about to use this word in an email to refer to its recipient, as in:

I was the guy who nabbed you as you were leaving to ask about ...

I'm going for a friendly, familiar tone. Is my usage of 'nab' inappropriate?
Looking it up in the Oxford Dictionary:

verb (nabs, nabbing, nabbed) [with object] informal
catch (someone) doing something wrong:

the Feds nabbed a suspected terrorist
take, grab, or steal (something):

Dan nabbed the seat next to mine