texts: Help me identify the structure of this excerpt

texts:
"Girls being kept out of the sciences and pushed into the humanities; the humanities being valued less in our society than the sciences;... "

This sentence is weird and I want to know why. I noticed "being" has no helping verb. The semicolons delineate subjects; it reads like a list.

My questions: What is the structure? Is this passive? What is the verb tense? Is there an object? Why is this terrible?
Thank you.

edit:

Here is the full quote:

  Girls being kept out of the sciences and pushed into the
  humanities; the humanities being valued less in our society than
  the sciences; and the humanities and sciences being looked at as
  stark opposites that couldn’t possibly be enjoyed for the same
  reasons

  are all problems that need to in some degree be tackled together.

All the "beings" stick out to me, as do the excessive semicolons. The transition from the final "being" into the "couldn't possible be" is strange, (is there a tense switch?), and then it ends weakly.


texts: What is an "indirect dialogue/discourse"?

texts:
I came upon this paragraph during my practice for a literature test.

"...Lin stood in the yard facing the front wall while flipping over a dozen mildewed books he had left to be sunned on a stack of firewood. Sure thing, he thought, Shuyu doesn't know how to take care of books. Maybe I should give them to my nephews. These books are of no use to me anymore."

In one of the questions, the answer categorized the above except as an "indirect dialogue". However, according to my research, indirect dialogue should be a conversation that can be summarized in a narrative, that is, letting the readers know what happened without showing them the exact words exchanged. (also corroborated by https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/ask-writer/what-is-indirect-dialogue) According to this definition, then, the above excerpt should not be an indirect dialogue since it is not a conversation?

Thank you very much for your help.


texts: What is the difference between 'as if it were nothing' or 'as if it was nothing'

texts:
I have two sentences. In the first I used were. A friend of mine said that you can also use was, as there is no difference. In my opinion the first sentence sounds more correct but I am not sure why.

The dog jumped over the couch as if it were nothing.
The dog jumped over the couch as if it was nothing.

Do you know what the different meaning is between these two sentences?


texts: What are the scenes in action movies where two cars try to ram each other head-on called?

texts: You know, like when one guy in one car "takes" on the other guy in another car "athwart" the alleyway in a deadly chicken-play and whoever "flinches" first is the "loser/pussy". Such scenes are present in Last Action Hero, Sense8 and a lot of other 80s and 90s action movies. I know there's a "proper" name for such scenes I just can't seem, for the love of me, to remember it.


texts:
Is fasten a correct word to talk about something that would fasten a process i.e. make it faster. Example sentence :

  Warming up before running will fasten the metabolism.


texts: [mystery word] is to "f" as sibilant is to "s", in other words. Please help me out. This is driving me mental.


texts:
I am looking for a one word synonym for the notion "Without signature" for the domain of computer science, where "unsigned" usually means "a numerical data type which proscribes negative values", so I do not want to confuse my users.

For my specific scope, the "Without signature" means that a component failed to provide a signed identification (the signature itself) which was signed by a central authority (signing: The component provides an identification text, some operations are performed on it by the central authority in order to generate a unique and valid ID which is the signature)...

A very specific use case (as per David's comments), and I am sorry for the deep technical details:

if(component.signature() == unsigned)
{
    // do something with unsigned components
}
else
if(component.signature() == company)
{
    // do something with company signed components
}
else
if(component.signature() == consultants)
{
   // do something with components singed by consultants
}

but unsigned is a reserved word in most programming languages :(


texts: How to translate the Romanian word "decrețel"?

texts:
Romanian language has the term "decreţel" coined after the 1967 communist regime decree.

The Wikipedia argues that the word means decree, but word morphology suggests the "a small thing born out of a decree" (the word contains a diminutive suffix). This meaning is emphasized by its pejorative/ironic usage: unwanted children born due do lack of access to contraceptive methods following the aforementioned decree.

I am thinking of something like "decreeling" (analogy to earthlings), but it sounds strange.

Question: How to translate in English the Romanian word "decrețel"?


texts:
I'm always surprised when I hear the term white noise.

White noise itself sounds a little more "evil" than anything else, I would almost expect it to be called black noise.

Why is white noise called white noise?


texts:
While reading Paulo Coelho's novel, I came across a word that left me doubting whether it was of English origin. Following is the sentence:

  She fell in love for the first time when she was eleven, en route from her house to school.

What is the meaning of the word en?

Please elaborate on its meaning, origin and usage.


texts:
When we want to say that something is inappropriate or an incorrect selection from several options, we often say that it is "the wrong [whatever]". For example:

Ten o'clock is the wrong time to have lunch.

I put on the wrong shirt this morning.

But this is surely incorrect logically, because the use of the word "the" implies uniqueness where there is none.
Ten o'clock is not uniquely the wrong time to have lunch; nine o'clock would also be wrong. So it's not the wrong time to have lunch, merely a wrong time to have lunch. And if I have a shirt that's not a good selection, then I may have several; yet even if I had several, I would still say that I put on the wrong shirt and not the more logically defensible a wrong shirt.
So why do we talk about wrong selections this way, using the definite article? How long have we been doing it? Is it something that arose from the history of the English language, or did it come to us from a precursor to English?


texts:
What's the difference between whatever and whichever?
I'm curious because to me those two words seem to have very similar meaning.

Here's one question, and the answer is whatever, not whichever.

  A: Is it OK if we listen to something else?
  B: Sure. I'll listen to _____ you'd prefer.


texts:
Is there a word for creating something whose subject is the same as the media used to express it. Such as:

books about writing,
songs about singing,
movies about movies,

and so on?


texts:
Does

"The idea of Carl André’s bricks still induces a shudder of disbelief in some areas of the British press."

mean

"The idea of Carl André’s bricks still makes people not to trust some areas of the British press"?

and does any one know why this series of brick artworks by Carl André should bring about such a thing?

Art and Science by Sian Ede


texts:
I came across the word weir today. It appears that we here in the USA refer to this same device as a low water dam.

I’m curious why we don’t use the same word the English do, instead preferring this unwieldy construction. Is it a matter of the people who emigrated here not coming from the parts of England that used weirs, and thus not personally having that word in their vocabularies? Or was there some subtle difference I’m not seeing that required a different term?


texts: Living in a neighborhood between a suburb and "the woods"

texts:
Is there a specific way to describe a very green suburban neighborhood, which has vegetation that looks natural/wild and relatively a lot of room between each house? It is just 1 mile away from the local main street.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about: https://goo.gl/maps/S12xc8ABkDtKr5Jt5

Looking up "green suburb" I get mostly pictures of carefully planned areas with lined-up homes.


texts: What does "have a year for every trombone that led the big parade" mean?

texts: In REVIVAL written by Stephen King, when its main character (who works at a recording studio) asks for a couple-of-months-break, his boss says with a sigh, "Come this fall, I'm going to have a year for every trombone that led the big parade." I have no idea what it means.


texts:
"deduction" is a synonym of "syllogism". "induction" is an antonym of "deduction"

I was wondering if there is a antonym of "syllogism" which share the same suffix as "syllogism"?


texts: Can I pronounce a "t" as a glottal stop in the word "Netflix"

texts: I am talking American English now. Usually when a "t" comes at the end of the word "wheat" or before "n" or "m" sounds as in "mountain" and "treatment", the t sound is not pronounced and i pronounced as a glottal stop instead. Can I do the same with the word "netflix"?


texts: Is there a single word that expresses "music end-users / enthusiasts"?

texts:
To help a soon-to-be sister site out here, I was thinking English.SE perhaps could lend a helping hand as this is the best place for "word choice and usage".

I'm not looking for "naming", but rather want to see what shorter words exist for expressing "music end-users/enthusiasts", these could be "journalists, reviewers, music fans and listeners".

I've tried, but can't come up with something... Audiophiles. From Urban Dictionary I have selvyn which is another word for a Music enthusiast of the Modern age; but yeah, it's UD and I don't think selvyn is really English to begin with...

So... do you know of a single word to express "music end-users/enthusiasts"?


texts: Single word preferable in business context to replace "for the sake of it"

texts:
Single word preferable in business circle to replace

  for the sake of it

again preferably which is commonly used so that every one (in the business circle) knows the meaning.

Explanation: It is seeming now that this business development department is established (opened) for the sake of it. It does not have the resources to actually run a show neither it has been given any significance in the company's work protocols. It just meddles with actual operations by bringing some sham business opportunities instead of a real projects which may actually realize in future and it actually wastes everyone's time and money diverting as the resources towards working on these pretentious assignments.

Usage: The ______ (for the sake of it) business development department has become a lame cost center just slurping company's funds without giving any real output.


texts: What's the difference between "diary" and "journal"?

texts: What's the difference between diary and journal? They seem like they could mean the same thing, but I'm probably wrong.


texts: "Yoga philosophy" or "Yoga's philosophy": Difference in meaning with or without the possessive apostrophe?

texts:
For me it feels like there's a difference in meaning but I'm unable to pin it down. It's clear that "Yoga's philosophy" would indicate possession while "Yoga philosophy" wouldn't but I'm unsure of the consequences.

Context: Currently analytically coding some interviews concerning Yoga.


texts: Can the word Gentoo be used in a derogatory way?

texts:
I was reading a Wikipedia article on Gentoo Penguin and came across the following Paragraph.

  The application of Gentoo to the penguin is unclear. The Oxford
  English Dictionary notes that Gentoo used to be an Anglo-Indian term
  used as early as 1638 to distinguish Hindus in India from Muslims. The
  English term originated from the Portuguese gentio (compare
  "gentile"); in the 20th century the term came to be regarded as
  derogatory.

I am particularly interested to know why the Portuguese word  gentio from which the English Term Gentoo originated is regarded as derogatory. In the similar context does the same English Term would also be regarded as derogatory similar to the root word?

Context
We have named our baby "Gentoo" and now I have realized that the term may be pejorative.


texts: 'Provided that' followed by two conditions

texts:
In a sentence where 'provided that' is followed by two conditions, is a second instance of 'that' required, optional or wrong?

  1:  [statement A], provided that
  [statement B] and [statement C]

  2: [statement A],  provided that
  [statement B] and that [statement C]

For example:

  Manchester United will win the title on Saturday, provided that Aston Villa beat Liverpool and [that] Arsenal beat Chelsea.


texts: Why do we say "last night" and not "yesterday night"?

texts: As from object, is there a rational reason for saying "last night" rather than  "yesterday night", though you would say "yesterday morning" and "yesterday afternoon"?


texts:
I'm reading some Sherlock Holmes stories (don't judge - it's good vacation reading) and Conan Doyle has Holmes saying things like "Sorry to knock you up, Watson..." which I'm finding very... odd.  From the context I'm gathering that it means "wake up," but my head immediately goes to the modern American meaning of "impregnate."

Is "knock up" ever used with this meaning anymore?  And if not, did it disappear around the time that the pregnancy meaning became common, or did it vanish on its own?


texts: "first applied to" - June 12th 1799 Letter by John Marshall

texts:
I do not immediately recollect any others among the old officers whom I coud name for so high an office as the command of a regiment. I am aware that those I have mentiond cannot, shoud you on further enquiry approve of them, be all appointed, but I have namd them because it is possible that those first applied to may be disinclind to enter into the army. (Source)

I'd surmise that those refers to the old officers named by Marshall. However, could someone please expound on and unravel first applied to?

Marshall didn't name any of these aforementioned old officers first? Or is Marshall referring to those officers who made their applications first?


texts: Singular/plural juxtaposition ? ("... was remarks ...")

texts:
There are many questions here on singular and plural controversies and one thing I have noticed is that many of these apparent contradictions are resolvable by grammar. However, sometimes, the ear (that is to say, in reading, the eye and the mind) find the juxtaposition of singular and plural unacceptable even if 'grammar' is satisfied.

In actual fact, what has got tongues wagging was remarks that Boris Johnson made about the UK's success with vaccines ...

BBC News 24th March 2021
This is Laura Kuenssberg on Boris Johnson's 'pharma greed' remarks which remarks Mr Johnson immediately withdrew as irrelevant to the question of 'political vaccine controversy'. Laura Kuenssberg is the Political Editor of the BBC and one of the leaders in expressing contemporary British English.
Yet, even from such a reliable and respected source, 'was remarks' sounds wrong (to my own ear) because of the juxtaposition of a singular and a plural, albeit that 'grammar' says it should be so.
'What has got' is singular. But 'remarks' is plural.
What is thought about this ? Does this seem, conceptually, wrong ? And, if so, should 'grammar' bow to the conceptual instinct ?

The sentence can be re-worded :

What has got tongues wagging is that Boris Johnson made remarks about ... etc.


texts: How to use title in salutation, when recepient's name is unknown

texts:
I'm sending a formal letter to an adjudicator but do not know his or her name. What would be the most appropriate salutation?

Dear Adjudicator:
Dear adjudicator:
Dear sir or madam:
To whom it may concern:


texts:
When i was a kid somone told me "i am sorry" is only used only in some situation amd should not be used  , instead you should use "I'm sorry".

Is really a different between the meaning of these two sentences?


texts: Correct spelling of 'timestamp': one or two words?

texts:
Something I'm wondering about is the correct usage of the word(s) 'timestamp'. I don't know whether it's one (timestamp) or two (time stamp) words, and googling for the answer doesn't help me in finding an answer.

Consulting two sources which I believe to be reliable ones:

Oxford Dictionaries (which looks like it's affiliated with the actual university) says it's 'timestamp';

whereas Merriam-Webster says it's 'time stamp'.

Oxford Dictionaries is British and Merriam-Webster is American, and I'm assuming these sites reflect their respective spelling rules. Which may explain the difference here. However, if I'm not mistaken, with words like these it's normally the other way around; i.e. the American spelling using it as one concatenated word, and the British spelling as two separate words.

Is my assumption about the American vs. Brisish spelling correct? Which, if any, of the two forms is correct?


texts:
How does one convey in a single phrase, the act of failing several times and succeeding finally?

I wrote something like "Several trials and errors later, I had found the solution"
Is this valid usage? Is there a better way to say this?


texts: Usage of the idiom you cant squeeze blood out of a turnip

texts:
Does the idiom you cant squeeze blood out of a turnip only refer to money or financial-related situation? Or could it be used for any other instances i.e. evidence. For example, would it be correct to use the idiom in the context of the sentence below?

The prosecution examined the victim thoroughly in court, but failed to get any implicating evidence against the accused. It is like squeezing blood out of a turnip


texts:
As the title says is "sunsetted" a valid word?

In my office, I heard one of the guy saying that this application is sunsetted. Is that valid?


texts: Do indirect objects in English always mean "to" or "for"?

texts:
"I gave him two dollars."

This tacitly means "to him".  Are there exceptions to the rule that an indirect object in English always means "to" or "for"?

In English, "I stole him two dollars" does not mean "I stole two dollars from him", and one does not say "I withheld him that information" (either of those usages would be valid in German).


texts: Is there a term for two differently phrased sentences with the same meaning?

texts:
Is there a term that describes the relationship between different sentences with the same meaning, in the way "synonym" describes the relationship between different words with the same meaning?

For example:

  He's heavier than I am.

and

  He weighs more than I do.


texts:
What is Middle English spelling of "narrow"?

Studylight says "narwy", but in my opinion the forth letter is "r".

Wycliffe's Bible (page 19)

Mt.7:14

Studylight:

"...hou streit is the yate, and narwy the weye, that ledith to lijf, and ther ben fewe that..."

King James Bible:

"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that..."


texts:
I have always spelled the word with which I address sisters of my parents as Auntie.  Of late I have noticed that just about everybody else around me seems to spell it as Aunty.

My ancestry is British but only two of my great grandparents were born there while the other six were born in South Australia.

I wondered whether the two variations in spelling were British vs American.

Can anyone enlighten me as to the origin of each?

Dictionary.com suggests the following which seemed to suggest that both are fine to use:

Word Origin and History for aunt-ie Expand
n.
1787, also aunty, familiar diminutive form of aunt. As a form of kindly address to an older woman to whom one is not related, originally in southern U.S., of elderly slave women.


texts: Is there a word to describe a conversation long past saving?

texts: What would be the right word or words to describe a conversation that has gotten so hopelessly confused and misunderstood that there is no hope of salvaging it?


texts:
What is the difference between unexplainable and inexplicable?  Are they exact synonyms or are there situations where one is preferred over the other?

Is unexplainable a clumsy modern variant (perhaps only existing due to uneducated usage) or an old word that's fallen out of fashion?


texts:
I am looking for a one word definition of all the tech stuff we use in our everyday life. PC, iPad,  cell phone, MP3 etc.

When I am on a trip I always want to have my....with me!!


texts: Use of "on the grounds" in the context of a government decision

texts:
The following sentence comes from a foreign publication. It sounds wrong to me, but I am not a native English speaker. Is it grammatically and idiomatically correct?

  The government banned demonstrations at the square on the grounds of safety and public order in a more polarized political atmosphere.


texts:
Are the verb tenses below correct? The first independent clause is a fact, therefore, it should be in the present. Am I correct?

Our goal is 100%, and we achieved a score of 90% last quarter.


texts: Is there a noun for the verb thrive/flourish/prosper/burgeon?

texts:
Consider the following sentence:
"The government strongly profited from the company's ..."

I could use the term "well-being" here, but it doesn't quite seem to capture the same meaning as a noun of the verbs thrive/flourish/prosper/burgeon (or a similar word) would. Does anyone have any suggestions?


texts:
Could I replace "The loved ones are happy." with " The loved are happy."
Is it possible to replace?

I learned that 'the' plus 'adjective' means 'prural normal noun'.
I think that Past participal 'loved' is a adjective.
Is it right?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the proper way to write the plural of a single letter? (another apostrophe question)

In the rosary, a Catholic sacramental composed of prayer beads, there is a short prayer concluding each decade called "Glory Be" ("Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit...").

Would the plural be Glory Bes or Glory Be's?

Likewise, do you say 10 Hail Marys?


texts:
I saw an idiom that is used to compare one person, group, etc. with another that is much better.

I forgot what it is, but I remember it can be used in a question form like 'How can you ___ ?', rejecting a comparison between, say, the Beatles and the Spice Girls.

It is not 'mention in the same breath', or anything to with 'in the same league'.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: When an adverbial phrase is placed near and before the verb, commas are required. Is there any rule for such the comma requirement?

texts:
Always find that when an adverbial phrase is placed near and before the verb, commas are required. For example:-
"We will, on or before 8 February 2021, provide you with the documents you have requested."
"We will, on request, provide you with a copy of this letter."
Is there any rule for such the comma requirement? If no, can those commas be omitted (without changing the meaning of the sentences)?
Thank you in advance.


texts: When did "a buck" start being used to mean any unit of 100? (E.g. "a buck fifty" for 150 lbs.)

texts:
Before you answer, please note: I'm only interested in when this usage was established in common (American) parlance. I know what the term means and I don't need it defined, nor do I require an etymology as to its origins.
That said, most of us probably already know that "a buck" in AmE is a slang expression referring to a dollar. As Etymonline notes:

buck (n.2)
"dollar," 1856, American English, perhaps an abbreviation of buckskin as a unit of trade among Indians and Europeans in frontier days (attested from 1748).

But for most of my life I've been aware that "buck" can be used broadly in the  sense of 100 of something, especially when that something involves weight and money.

He goes about a buck forty sopping wet. (Meaning: He weighs about 140 pounds at his heaviest.)
She says she's making a buck eighty in her new job. (Meaning: She says her salary is $180,000 a year in her new job.)

Note, however, that we never hear multiples of this, like "four bucks" to mean 400. And the usage always seems to involve a number between 100 and 200: "a buck fifty" and so forth (the term seems to be wedded to the indefinite article: "a buck something").
It's obvious where the 100 comes from: a dollar represents 100 cents. I'm just wondering when this particular usage crept into the lexicon.
Addendum
This question on EL&U demonstrates that responses involving "I've never heard that usage before" may mean this could be a regional usage, but not a non-existent one.
Azor Ahai adds this corroboration:

He cites Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, as an example: “He looks massive when he’s walking out of the water in the beach, but he’s just shredded,” he says, guessing the actor is “a buck 70,” or 170 pounds in gymspeak.
(Vanity Fair)

Full disclosure
I know this must date from at least the early '70s because of the following:
In my first job out of college (1974) my boss used to corrupt this usage in what he thought was a humorous way. For example, "We were going down the Dan Ryan at 3:00 a.m., must've been doing a buck two-eighty." I remember it because it used to annoy the hell out of me that he wouldn't give a "real" number in that context. I conclude from this that if the usage could be teased and played with at this point, it must have been extant for some time.


texts: What is the difference between "disparaging", "disdainful", "scornful" and "defiant"? And what is the most common word to use in daily life?


texts:
I am reading this tutorial, and run into the following statement:

  This is an SHA-1 checksum of the commit’s contents, which ensures that the commit will never be corrupted without Git knowing about it.

I don't know undetstand this sentence clearly, especially "... without Git knowing about it". Could anyone help to explain it?


texts: What is the meaning of the word "matches"?

texts:
I am studying regular expressions.

A regular expression is a pattern that you can match in a text. In books, I often read things like

  the period . matches any single character.

What is the definition of the word matches in this sentence?

There are two definitions that I've found that seem to be correct, but I'm not sure which one fits here:

to be equal, similar, suitable, or corresponding to in some way: "his looks match his character"

and

to make, show, produce, or get a competitor, counterpart, or equivalent to: "to match a piece of cloth"

I think the second definition makes more sense in this context since we're trying to find a pattern in the text.


texts:
Is there a specific term for when you combine two unrelated terms in a headline in order to grab attention?

For example:

  Bolivian Kick Boxer Meets US Marine

Or:

  Kickboxer Meets a Marine (1)

The high level concept here is pretty simple: two people fight; see who wins.

My question is about when you dig a little deeper.  It's pretty obvious that two unrelated terms are being compared in this headline.  Kickboxing is a form of martial arts (hybrid of several actually), whereas the Marines is a branch of the United States Armed Forces.

Is there a term for this tactic?

More explanation follows.

Some fans of martial arts love to debate which form would win in a real fight, say Wing Chun versus Jiu-Jitsu for example.

However, the aforementioned headline is not:

pitting one form of fighting against another (2)
pitting a member of one branch of the U.S. military against a member of a different branch of the U.S. military
pitting a member of the U.S. military against a member of the military in a different nation

In other words, it's an apples to oranges comparison.

One person in the fight is a practitioner in a certain form of martial arts, the other person is a soldier in the U.S. Marines (which means that person very tough, but for other reasons).

The goal of any headline author is to grab attention.  I believe that the author of this particular headline intended to gain extra attention points by stirring emotion in some readers, particularly readers in the U.S. that would feel a sense of patriotism.  Now it's not just about cheering for your favorite martial art form, instead it's about cheering for your country.

I'm trying to figure out what this headline writing tactic is called.

I hope this question wasn't too long winded.  There's many other examples of this tactic, but I think this one conveys my point well.  Perhaps this is more of a marketing or psychological question, so feel free to let me know if I should ask on another site.

(1) There happens to be a viral video going around with this headline today

(2) I do realize that the "Marine Corps Martial Arts Program" is a form of fighting also, but I'm pretty sure that's not what the author of the headline meant.


texts:
Got the following from this link.

  Award (n): a recognition of a personal achievement, e.g. a scholarship for winning a science fair, a plaque for volunteering 100 hours of community service
  Reward (n): compensation or incentive for doing something, e.g. cash for returning a lost wallet, getting to stay up late for tidying one's bedroom.

So, is there anything different for prize too? And what about medal? How are these words different from each other? Are there any particular reasons a committee might use one word instead of another when naming a particular achievement?


texts: Looking for a word that describes a word with a positive connotation substituted for a negative word

texts:
So I was watching Life with Lisa Ling, the episode about sugar daddies (lol). Almost every other "sugar baby" used the word "mentor" instead of "sugar daddy". What do you call the word (with positive connotation) that is substituted for another word (essentially negative) in order to make whatever they are trying to explain/sell sound better.

In the example above, what is the word, "mentor," called?


texts: Smart working, does this word even exist?

texts:
Lately I've been hearing and reading the term "smart working" a lot, every day, especially in the news, and now it seems everybody is using this word, including professionals and politicians. It's everywhere, like a new buzzword. English is not the first language in the country where this is happening. Now I'm wondering how this trend started, where that word comes from, if it was imported from some specific area or field, or if it was totally made up by a non-native speaker. Usually foreign words are borrowed from the English language and they kind of make sense, because they do exist. But in this case I'm not sure, I'm puzzled.

Example of how it's used: "Our business will be able to continue operating as usual during the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to smart working, our employees will be able to work from home". Basically, "smart working" is used to refer to any practices that let people work from a remote location.


texts: Is "lays important groundwork" appropriate usage

texts:
As in: "My project lays important groundwork for a future project."

Is my usage of 'lays' correct?  I'm not sure why I'm hung up on this, it just doesn't sound correct to me.


texts: Specific word for quick and short reminders

texts:
Is there an English word (noun or verb) for a quick and short reminder? Imagine a friend reminding you five times a day to take your medicine. He doesn't actually tell you, but rather gives a clue, so that you will remember it on your own.
The closest word I can think of is poke, but there are probably more possibilities. Maybe there are short and well-known synonyms.


texts: How does one use 'moue' properly in a sentence?

texts:
I don't understand how to use moue in a sentence. I know the definition of moue:

  noun - a little grimace : pout

It says it is a noun, but whenever I've seen it used, it always comes off verb-like, unless I'm misreading.

An example:

  With a moue of discontent, he set down his mug upon the table at his
  elbow and rubbed his hands through his hair, mussing it so that it
  would probably be horribly tangled when he tried to brush it later.

Either way, I still don't understand how to use this word properly. Do you always say 'moue of x' or can it be used by itself like 'His moue showed how unhappy he was'?


texts: Word meaning annoyingly ubiquitous or pithy and annoying?

texts:
I'm trying to think of a word that is something along the lines of annoying and ubiquitous or pithy and annoying.

Here is an example context:

Don’t you just hate it when you go to IT and you hear the same old [word] question: “Have you tried restarting your machine?”

Recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


texts: Are “vicar of bray person” and a “fair weather friend” synonyms?

texts: In my language these expressions are quite similar in meaning and I can't really make a difference between them only by looking them up in a  dictionary or online. Thanks for your help dear natives in advance!


texts: Is it still a metaphor if you say "if X was Y" first?

texts:
I was inspired to ask by the famous John Green quote:

  if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane

Is this a metaphor? Without the "if people were rain" it would be, certainly, but with it? Does it count as a simile?


texts:
I come across this sentence structure quite a lot, and every time again I wonder if it is actually grammatically correct. Example:

  In general, we know why groups mobilize in the EU, what strategies they tend to employ in the EU institutional setting, and what are their major points of access in the EU multilevel system and at the EU-level.

Is it exactly equivalent to and what their (...) are?

When to use which?


texts: What is the most appropriate noun for 'a person who is ostracized'?

texts:
Is there any variation/conjugation of the word 'ostracism' that refers to a person who is ostracized?

Similar to 'conviction' and 'a convict'.

The word ostracism is used by the author I am citing and I would preferably use his own choice of words, but I'm not sure it will be possible for this construction.


texts: I had a discussion with co-workers regarding correct usage of phrases relating to gold production. Namely, I suggested the following phrase: 'gold in bar production' that is, production of gold in the form of bars or ingots or bullions. In our field of operations, gold refining and recovery, we use 'bar (s)' only. The other two words,bullions and ingots are not used in the industry. However, googling doesn't show a single example of this phrase but gives many examples of 'gold bar' and 'gold bars' - plural 'bars' is used mostly in the context of gold sales, while in the gold recovery business singular 'bar' prevails. I prefer the phrase 'gold in bar (production)' based on the analogy with 'copper in concentrate', and I am sure that grammatically this phrase is absolutely normal and correct. I will appreciate any professional opinions in this regard.


texts: An approach to do something vs. an approach to doing something

texts:
What is the preferred way to express something like this:

  An approach to design a software system

(here design is a verb)

or

  An approach to design of a software system

(here design is a noun)

In other words, should word approach as a noun be used with an infinitive?


texts:
There's a saying I hear used which I've spelled as “wailing upon”, implying someone besetting someone else to such an extent they are overwhelming that person. I mostly hear it used in gaming, describing e.g. a player hammering away at an enemy.

Recently contrary to my experience I've come across people who think the correct spelling is “waling”. In looking up any of the words in OED or MW I failed to find any definitions with any relevance to the saying (which I found pretty strange — two major dictionaries mentioning nothing?).

What's the correct way to write this from a prescriptivist point of view, if there is one (and it's not just total slang)? If there is no prescriptivist point of view, is there a descriptivist consensus?


texts: Most Common Parses of the English language?

texts:
I hope I've got the right forum. I want to know about English specifically, although this is a linguistics question.

A common task in NLP and Computational Linguistics is to generate parse trees for various sentences.  How these sentences are parsed, for one, depends upon POS tagging which itself depends upon how to enumerate the Part of Speeches of the language.

What I am interested in is sort of a reverse view of the process.  Just as I can ask what are the most common words for the English Language, I wish to ask what are the most common parses for the English Language which are found, if in fact this can be measured or approximated?  I am interested in the fully expanded representations, not something as basic as NP VP.  For example: one might render:

The bat eats a cat

d    n   v   d  n

using one simplistic POS enumeration.  Looking at this parse, I would ask what percentage of sentences in English follow this exact pattern?


texts: Word or phrase to describe a sense of (living) community?

texts:
The word or phrase should bring the idea of living community to mind. It should be able to be applied to computer systems, as well.

In my head, it should be something like ecosystem, which is connected to both systems in general and life. It's not great, however, as it is already too widely known to mean  "an actual community of living beings" and thus will not be suitable for computing or information systems.

Other examples might be quorum, commune, organism, network. They work on some level but don't have the nice, aesthetic, poetic connotation I'm hoping for that relates to life.

Thanks so much!


texts: Similar phrase to 'rhetorical device' for 'strategy of convincing others'?

texts:
I'm trying to find a phrase that means "the way he convinces people".  It's similar to "rhetorical device".

Someone has a strategy for convincing people (for example, speaking in a friendly tone, trying to scare them, appealing to their sense of reason or humor, etc.).  What is this called, formally?  Can you think of a few words?


texts:
Is there a way one can determine whether to use the definite article before an abstract noun? For example:

  little room for imagination
  such concepts as subjectivity and imagination
  the power of the imagination.

Why is there no article in the first two examples? I'm aware that 'the' points to a specific instance, and it is clear to me why one would say

  the imagination of the author or
  a reticent imagination.

However, in all the three examples that confuse me imagination is used in a general sense, and yet it takes the definite article in the 3rd instance.


texts: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the following words

texts:
I need to complete the two sentences with the correct form of the following words: offer, make. The sentences:

Your exam grades _______ a big difference to your future career.
The supermarket _______ a good deal on frozen food at the moment.

How should I do this? I know phrases like "make a difference" and "make a deal" but I don't know phrases with "offer" and either of the two above words.


texts: Relationship words for a 'Semantic Network' and also a Sentence Dilemma

texts:
The two sentences below are for a user input form for a semantic network. It is a standard, HTML-based form with two drop down menus (the square brackets represent the drop-down menus). Users use the form to correlate their new 'knowledge nodes' into the network.

  1) "This new node [points to, is pointed at from] the existing node. "
  2) "The 'pointer' is [a, a kind of, prerequisite to, a part of, an example of] the 'pointee'."
  (Phew, it hurts to read those.)

I would like to accomplish two things:
1)I would like to combine those sentences into one sentence (I think it will read easier).
2)I would like to know of any lists of words/phrases for the 'relationship' words that are typically associated with a semantic network (two common ones are 'is a' and 'a kind of').


texts:
Emoji is a small digital image or icon used in electronic communication. It is also mentioned as a standardized emoticon (emotion + icon) but emojis are usually depicted as pictographs and emoticons are depicted as characters.

Etymology of emoji:

  From Japanese 絵文字 emoji (emoji, emoticon), from 絵 e (picture) + 文字 moji (character) [Wiktionary]

Wikipedia mentions the creation year of the first emoji:

  The first emoji was created in 1998 or 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita, who was part of the team working on NTT DoCoMo's i-mode mobile internet platform.

But I'm asking when the term "emoji" first used in English language? When it entered technical jargon, did it enter English also? Or did it enter after it was used in Japan for a while?

♥


texts: What is the longest English word that starts and ends with the same letter?

texts:
I've found "enterprise", which is 10 letters long. Does anyone know of any longer words that start and end with the same letter?

That letter doesn't have to be 'e', by the way. It just means that the first and last letter of the word have to be identical.


texts:
I am writing some text for software that we are developing and I can't make up my mind about which word to use for "mobile phone". For example in the sentence "You need to install the app on your [blank]"

From some googling I understand that cell/cellphone is used in the US, while mobile phone may be preferred in Britain. And I know similar questions have been asked before but I have a feeling that this is a word that is actively evolving.

I'm leaning towards using just "phone", since its very clear from the context that we are not talking about landlines.


texts: What is the meaning of "shout observations"?

texts:
The  women  who  sold  their  bodies  at  bargain  prices  until  dawn  moved  around  the
  house after eleven in the morning, when the heat from the stained glass became unbearable, and they were obliged
  to  live  their  domestic  life  walking  naked  through  the  house  while  they  shouted  observations  on  the  night's
  adventures.

  [Source: Garcia Marquez, Memories of my melancholy whores, translated by E. Grossman]

I cannot make sense of the part saying "...shouted observations on the night's adventures". What does it mean for one to shout observations?

I looked up the verb shout which basically means:

  to cry aloud and say something

and observation which means:

  process of watching something or something that is being watched.

So, what I conclude of "shout observations" is that they described scenes of lovemaking at night by shouting. Am I correct?


texts:
I have heard a professor say:

  The behaviorism sentiment is uncommon within this academy.

It is not clear to me.  I could take it to mean that some people within this academy are sympathetic to this theory, not yet rationally committing to, or that some have become followers of behaviorism.

So what does the professor actually mean?


texts: Is there a name for the repetitious use of the word "of"?

texts: In the Bible, one can read about "the tree of knowledge of good and evil," which was situated in the "garden of Eden." This seems to me as though it may be an artefact of translation from Hebrew, possibly on account of the fact that English doesn't have a specific genetive case. Is there some particular name for this phenomenon, or is it just that the word happens to be more common than average sometimes?


texts: Use of semi-colons vs commas when listing items with colons

texts: I have a list of classes (titles) which have colons as a part of the titles, in this list should I use commas or semi-colons to separate them? (there are no items which have commas internally to them)


texts: Is there a phrase for "I cast a glance" but as in an accident?

texts:
I want to say

  "I accidentally cast a glance at my watch... shoot!  It's 10:30"

except I don't want to use the word "accidentally" (or cast for that matter...). Is there a way to maybe combine them with a word that encompasses both, an unintentional seeing of the time?


texts:
From "Stranger in a strange Land", Robert Heinlein

"My passenger must not, repeat, must not be subjected to the strain of a public reception. Provide
low-gee shuttle, stretcher and ambulance service, and anned guard." (ref.)

What could "anned" mean in this sentence?


texts:
The following excerpt is taken from a best-selling vocabulary workbook: Check your English  Vocabulary for IELTS

  page 52, Q7. The Cornucopian government made this sudden decision to dissuade / rescind / sever diplomatic relations with their neighbouring countries.

The answer is sever.

I admit I had to look up the adjective, Cornucopian. Although I knew what cornucopia meant: the basket or container shaped like a horn (from the Latin cornu copiae, ‘horn of plenty’) filled with the fruits of the land, a symbol representing fertility, prosperity, and abundance, I had never seen the expression Cornucopian government before.

It seems that a Cornucopian government (it is capitalized in the workbook) believes that mankind is the single most important element in the world; animals and nature exist in order to be exploited by humans. It sustains there can be no shortage of natural resources and any problem that presents itself, e.g. food shortage, can be resolved through either technology or the free-market. The ingenuity of mankind has always met and overcome environmental and social issues.
Encyclopædia Britannica

In order to explain its meaning to my private students, could I say that the USA is currently governed by Cornucopian ideas?

Why is the adjective capitalized in “Cornucopian government”? Should it be? Is the term C/cornucopian used by British or American TV newsreporters, how well-known is it? Does it largely have positive or negative connotations? What would be a more common, more easily understood, equivalent term?


texts: The number of people who do not know an odd number of people, part 2

texts:
The answers to the following question have puzzled me: The number of people who do not know an odd number of people

I am 100% certain that in whatever version of English I speak, the two sentences

  I do not know an odd number of people.

and

  The number of people I do not know is odd.

are unambiguous and cannot possibly have the same meaning. Is this specific to any dialects of English or is it really just my own idiosyncrasy?


texts:
" The pyramidalis is a small, insignificant triangular muscle that is absent in approximately 20% of people."

OR

" The pyramidalis is a small, insignificant triangular muscle that is absent in approximately 20% of the people."

Now to me The people means an individual entity (as in a group's name maybe).

Then also, what is be the difference between people of the world and the people of the world

Could someone throw light on this?


texts: Is the phrase "blind someone with science" understood or used in America?

texts:
This definition states (with my added emphasis),

blind with science  (British & Australian)
If you blind someone with science, you confuse them by
using technical language that they are not likely to understand.
I think he decided to blind us with science because he didn't want us
asking any difficult questions.
theFreeDictionary

This expression is so common in Britain, where I live, I was surprised it is defined as being limited to certain areas.
Is this phrase really so unfamiliar to, say, U. S. English speakers?


texts: Legality of sentence involving the word "real"

texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?

  I bought a real heavy book.

I feel it should have been a really heavy, but I heard people use a real heavy all the time.


texts: Is it correct to say "times" in this context?

texts:
Consider the following:

  Math teacher: "How can we turn 42 into 420 through multiplication?"

  Student: "You times it by ten!"

Is this usage of times correct? I hear it so often that I suspect it may be correct. I'm sure the reason for this (potential) mistake is that it is correct to say:

  "Ten times four is forty."

Does anyone know if this is correct or not?


texts:
I'm not a native speaker so my apologies if this question is dumb. Which one of these is correct?

  I didn't know what to do, so I asked my sister whom has done this before
  I didn't know what to do, so I asked my sister who has done this before

I guess, the first one is correct.


texts: Is it a proper way to say:”I hope it wouldn't rain tomorrow?”, or should one say: “l’d hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow?”


texts: An adjective which means “the father of a bride gives her away”?

texts:
What adjective could I use to describe the typical ‘Western’ wedding custom, whereby the father of the bride  gives his daughter away? I need an adjective that describes this tradition, in order to distinguish it from weddings of other cultural traditions.

  Today, "giving the bride away" has a very different meaning. The bride's father accompanies her on her walk down the aisle to show approval of the groom. Centuries ago, fathers actually did give their daughters away to their future husbands, since females were property of their fathers
  Wikipedia: Weddings in the US

I am reluctant to use "European" because of some European exceptions, e.g. Frisian culture.

Would "Roman" or "Feudal"  be appropriate here? I found an answer on a Wikipedia article: Pater familias wherein the term "manus marriage" is used, I believe this  has the meaning I require. Would the Latin expression, manus marriage, be understood by native speakers? Is it used today?


texts: Which term is correct — "Afghan" or "Afghani"?

texts: I was talking with a friend who told me that Afghani is an offensive term for someone from Afghanistan, and I should use Afghan instead.  Is this term offensive?


texts:
Loosely speaking, the mode is the highest bump, the median is where half the area is to the right and half is to the left, and the mean is where the histogram would balance, were it a solid object cut out of a uniform block of metal

Here is the source.


texts: Common usage of semicolons instead of commas

texts:
Please can someone tell me whether the following sentence is correct:

If you want to help; this challenge could be the perfect opportunity for you.

My understanding is that it's wrong; the sentence should instead use a comma before 'this challenge'.

The reason I'm asking this question is because I see this everywhere (in books, marketing materials for big companies, etc.) and it's making me question my own logic. Could someone clarify?


texts: Could the word "stringent" ever be used to describe a person?

texts:
Last night a person in our group was describing another fellow as stringent. I told him I had never heard a person described with this word and instead stern or exacting might be better. I Also said that only rules, guidelines, laws, etc are usually modified with this adjective. This person has been a school teacher in the past and I was the only one in the group who had any problem with his usage of this word in this fashion. Could anyone give me any help with this question?

To include exact context as best as I remember, he was referring to people who have a stringent personality (as being very religious, legalistic) saying they are usually very insecure people. I immediately said, "don't you mean strident instead of stringent? to which he quite correctly answered that the two words have different meanings and he does mean stringent.
  Thanks for the answers. I really agree with hot licks, that it is certainly unusual. I love reading and have always been a bookworm and have never seen the word used like this before.


texts: Is there a word for people who always act too friendly in order to curry favor with their acquaintances?

texts: Is there a single noun or adjective for a person who is always flattering friends and acquaintances, not only to be liked and accepted but, at other times, to curry favor with them as well ?  I'm not looking for regionalisms but a word that will be understood in any English speaking country.


texts: What is the difference between "in-between" and "in between"?

texts:
Which of the following two is correct?:

  The man is sitting in between the two women

or:

  The man is sitting in-between the two women.

What is the general rule?

Related but different questions: What is the difference between "in-between" and "between"? and Is single-word "inbetween" becoming more acceptable? How far can it go?


texts: Is that a correct usage of present perfect?

texts:
What do you think about this sentence?

  Do you have bought the lesson book?

Is that a correct usage of "Do you have bought"? Or should I say "Did you buy"?


texts: Difference between the verbs "appropriate" and "expropriate"?

texts:
Expropriate has the following definitions (Merriam-Webster):

  to deprive of possession or proprietary rights
  to transfer (the property of another) to one's own possession

For example, in the following sentence:

  The Government's motion seeks to expropriate the company's private intellectual property to facilitate an investigation. (emphasis added)

At first I thought the difference between appropriate and expropriate was who the benefit was going to. In other words, you would appropriate property you had possession/ownership of, but if you were to use someone else's property, that would be an expropriation.

But appropriate is defined as (Merriam-Webster):

  to take exclusive possession of
  to set apart for or assign to a particular purpose or use
  to take or make use of without authority or right

That third definition seems to imply you can appropriate both property that belongs to you or property that doesn't belong to you. In the later case, the definition is the same as expropriate.

Can anyone sort out this mess?


texts: What does it mean for RFC 3339 to be "a profile of" ISO 8601?

texts:
RFC 3339 says:

  This document defines a date and time format for use in Internet protocols that is a profile of the ISO 8601 standard for representation of dates and times using the Gregorian calendar.

The same terminology is used in this Stack Overflow answer comparing the two standards.

What does it mean for a document / standard to be "a profile of" another?


texts: "To get something done" versus "to have something done"?

texts:
What is the difference between these two words in the following examples:

Why don't you get your hair cut?
Why don't you have your hair cut?


texts:
Does the sentence "take care of the dishes" mean just cleaning them? There's something more implied? Could it mean cleaning the whole kitchen?

Context: He cooks and takes care of the dishes.


texts: Riches-to-Rags Emotion? Is there a word for when people get accustomed to a higher quality and then have to go back to less?

texts:
Searching for a (preferably) single word or expression that describes when a person used to "better" things (in life) has to live with less.

For example: if someone gets used to fine dining/wine or other luxury lifestyle and then has to "downgrade" to ramen noodles.

Its a mix of nostalgia (for the old/better times), depression (nothing will ever be as good again) and disgust (at having to put up with worse quality).


texts:
For example in the sentence

  All datapoints, except for one, lie on a line.

to me (not a native English speaker), the "except for one" part sounds too heavy. Are there other, lighter ways of saying this?

Is the following correct?

  All datapoints, less one, lie on a line.


texts:
The following is an English comprehension task, and we can't agree upon the correct answer. According to the textbook, answer B is correct. However, in my opinion, it is clearly lacking the word not.  If the word "not" is put in, then it makes sense - otherwise it doesn't make sense for me. Could a native speaker confirm this?

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a condition characterized by an Inability to focus on any topic for a prolonged period of time, and is especially common among children five to ten years old. A recent study has shown that 85 percent of seven-year-old children with ADD watch, on average, more than five hours of television a day. It is therefore very likely that Ed, age seven, has ADD, since he watches roughly six hours of television a day.

The argument above is flawed because it:
(A) cites as a direct causal mechanism a factor that may only be a partial cause of the condition in question
(B) fails to indicate the chances of having ADD among seven-year-old children who watch more than five hours of television a day
(C) limits the description of the symptoms of ADD to an inability to focus for a prolonged period of time
(D) fails to consider the possibility that Ed may be among the 15 percent of children who do not watch more than five hours of television a day
(E) does not allow for other causes of ADD besides television watching


texts: A verb meaning "Answering question in a way that doesn't answer it"

texts:
Take an example:

Me : Where can I find the best pizza in the city?

Friend:1000s of people are dying of hunger and all you care about best pizza.

In this case he does reply to my question but it doesn't help me.

Is there a word/group of words to express this?


texts:
Is it possible to say in English, "With us this morning is Peter"?

What is the Subject in the quoted part of the sentence?


texts: Why have Jack or John have been used as euphemisms to refer to a toilet in particular?

texts:
I was watching an American show called Breaking Bad and they use this phrase:

  Can I use your John’s?

to mean

  Can I use your toilet?

As it stands the origin has been mentioned here, courtesy to @Jason Bassford and @user067531 in the comments below, but I feel it doesn’t adequately discuss why the particular name John is used, only on a probability that it is linked to the archaic euphemism of “Jack’s” to mean toilets.

What I’m asking goes deeper: it is why Jack or John have been used as euphemisms to refer to a toilet in particular?

Why Jack or John as euphemisms, can toilets only be euphemistically named after names beginning with J?

Also for clarification, several sources on its etymology say different things and it’s mostly speculation. Since that linked “similar” question was asked in 2011, I was hoping for more insightful answers. Perhaps modern usage of these phrases has also changed over time, and hence its meaning, so it will be interesting to learn about those too, if any.


texts:
We have two sentences given below:

'I have an idea in my mind'

'I have the key in my pocket'

In the above examples, what are the prepositional phrases modifying? Are they Modifying the verb phrases like:

I [have an idea] in my mind.

I [have the key] in the pocket.

Or are they adjectivally modifying  the objects of the verb 'have' as:

I have [an idea which is in my mind]

I have [the key which is in the pocket]

Although the last two don't sound good to me.

Or are there other ways of analyzing them?


texts:
I'm onto translating an article about a chef who has several restaurant around the globe and the original sentence (Turkish) included an idiom like following to indicate the chef's omnipresence and popularity in the culinary scene:

  "Thus he's currently waving his flag around the globe."

or in a more direct translation:

  "He has his banners waving in every corner of the world."

Yet, I cannot translate the idiom directly and I don't have any alternative to use instead.

Can you help me find the closest translation?


texts: "You ain't able to be sure about anything."

texts: Does this sentence make any sense to you as a native speaker? The one who said this actually meant to say, "People like you can never be sure about anything" (implying the opposite side is very ignorant), but this usage of "ain't" has never appeared anywhere I have seen; does it make any sense to say so?


texts: A word or phrase for rigging a request or situation for failure (despite appearances to a third party)?

texts:
Imagine we have three individuals: Alice, Bob, and Carol.

Bob asks Alice to write a letter to Carol asking for a favor.  Alice wants Carol to refuse to do the favor for Bob, but for it to appear to Bob that she is trying her best to serve Bob's interests.  So Alice writes the letter mentioning or saying something cryptic, which Bob won't pick up on, but which will cause Carol to refuse to perform the favor.  E.g. perhaps Alice casually mentions something about Bob that seems benign to Bob but will lead Carol to have a strong negative reaction to Bob.  Carol then refuses to perform the favor, Alice shows Bob her letter and the response, and Bob is disappointed but thinks Alice tried her best to help him.  Alice is smiling.

Is there a specific word or phrase for Alice's actions as described above?


texts: "A hundred percent" vs. "hundred percent"

texts:
Which sentence is grammatically correct:

  I'm a hundred percent sure
  I'm hundred percent sure

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


texts: Where did the word "alphabet" come from?

texts: I heard that it is the names of the first two Greek letters put together.  Is this true?


texts: Word for being "determined to do something despite knowing that you are doomed"

texts:
Looking for a word that would describe, for example, a soldier who is willing to climb up out of a trench and charge to his death at the order of the commander. Or a person who, through some supernatural power, learns their fate, but attempts to push against it anyway. Or Frodo and Sam hopelessly marching alone against Mordor. Or Theoden and his entourage charging out the gate of Helm's Deep when they believe that there is no longer any hope of winning the battle.

Sort of the Finnish word Sisu but without the belief that the impossible odds can be overcome.

A kind of grave determination to at least 'give it a shot.'

Looking for a single word, preferably a noun that could be used like "The captain's speech filled him with _______" or an adjective that could be used like "Despite knowing that he would be dead before the day was out, the _________ man marched on."


texts: Sentence correction and Recommendation needed

texts: Can I write " the juxtaposition of the two contrasting dispostions , is merely  two sides of the same coin." ? Is the sentence gramatically correct?  Also, does it succesfully convey the notion that benefit of mixing cultures both can be viewed from two different angles producing contransting opinions. Both merits and reasons to carp about, depending which angle you chose to see it from.


texts: Is "fight windmills" idiom common in modern spoken English?

texts: Is "fight windmills" ( In meaning of fighting imaginary enemies) idiom common in modern spoken English?  And what is the modern equivalent for the idiom if not.


texts: word order of here + adverb + noun, e.g. here used method

texts:
I have been encountering several examples (in scientific papers), where people used constructions like "the here used method", "the here investigated case", etc.. I have been thinking that it is grammatically wrong, but could not come up with a complete and definitely correct explanation though and wonder if it might be correct in the end. (I'd rather write something like "the method used here", "the case investigated here".)

There is for instance this page with other examples:

http://www.wordpower.ws/grammar/gramch24.html

Strangely, in some examples I can hear myself saying it in an order similar to the questioned one, but in other cases I can't. Am I just confused or is there a grammatical reason for this?

Thanks for your answers!


texts: How to conjugate verb in relative clause where case changes?

texts:
I'm not sure how the following sentence should be built:

"She gives a blanket to me, who (am/is/?) cold"

I can't come up with anything that sounds right, and I'm not certain there is a right. Can this be done in English? Obviously in this example sentence, it should be restructured to sound normal, but I'm looking for a rule on this structure.


texts: English proverb for a person or a thing with limited capabilities

texts:
ఎలుక పరుగు ఎందాక? కలుగు వరకే

This is a proverb in Telugu which translates to 'A rat runs only till its burrow.'

It indicates the abilities or the limited capabilities of a person.
i.e., a rat runs till it finds its burrow. It cannot do anything beyond that.

What is the equivalent English proverb of the same?


texts: I need to know why a hyphen was used in this sentence

texts:
I just found this sentence from the book I am reading now.

"The revelation reminded of Stacey J., a would-be assassin I know well."

I think I got a nuance, but I need some logical explanation of the usage of hyphen in this sentence.


texts: What is the proper way of using brackets and periods in quotes?

texts:
I'm writing an essay. I know that I can alter or add words by using square brackets. However, I'm not sure if changing a case of a single letter applies to that rule. I didn't actually use square brackets in the past, so I'm not completely sure about it.

I have this direct quote: “Sometimes that meant we kept things from you, lied to you. Yes, in many ways we fooled you.”

I'm planning to write it likes this. Miss Emily shares that “[s]ometimes that meant we kept things from you, lied to you. Yes, in many ways we fooled you.” This is without an in-text citation, for example.

Should the period be outside of the quotes or inside?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
I use a lot of first person and second person when writing, like you, we, our, etc. However, I want to write strictly using passive voice. I noticed that I use the phrase, "we can", "we have" and "now we have" a lot. What are substitutes I can use to replace those phrases to passive voice?

Here are some examples of my writing that I am having difficult converting to passive voice:
"We can apply this technique by introducing a polarization filter which restricts light into a single plane."
"Now that we have a basic understanding of unpolarized light, we can now take a dive into polarized light."


texts: Is it correct to use "straight through" in the following sentence

texts:
I want to say that I watched a video from the beginning to the end without stop. In this case, can I say "I watch it straight through" ?

I googled the meaning of "straight through" and came across this article (Do you read books straight through?
https://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/10/do-you-read-books-straight-through) where "straight through" is used as "in order" or "page by page". It seems to me that "straight through" doesn't have the meaning of "nonstop" which I want to emphasize in the previous example.

Thanks.


texts: What is the meaning of "apprehension" in the following context?

texts:
"We respond to apprehension linked to potentiality rather than to the certainty of success."
According to dictionaries, "apprehension" means both "anxiety" and "understanding", but I'm not sure which meaning applies to the sentence above.


texts: Is there any relation between the suffix "-ship" and actual ships?

texts: I am curious if there is actual relation between all nouns ending in -ship, such as relationship, citizenship, sportsmanship, etc. with the vessel for transporting people or goods over the sea?


texts: Since when has "J" been sounding like [dʒ] and no longer "Y"

texts:
There are words that have "j" where in most languages it would be pronounced like romaji "y".

Take for example "Jesus", "Jehovah", "John". It should be pronounced "Yesus", "Yehovah", "Yohn".

Slavic languages and Esperanto have "j" sound like romaji "y" so if you'd write "Jessica", it would be pronounced "Yessica". Now, why isn't that in English? Why does also in Spanish "j" sound like "h"? How did this transformation start?

Also, why is "halelujah" not written like it's pronounced: "haleluyah"? Ironically "trojan" is not just an English word, but a Croatian word too that sounds like "troyan". Why is the "j" there if it sounds like "g" and not "y"? Why isn't "Troy" "troj"? I'm so confused! When is it "j" and when is it "y"!?


texts:
I am trying to label a graph with two terms. “Directly relevant Environment” and “Indirectly relevant Environment”. These two terms are meant to describe the collections of factors that directly and indirectly relate to the operations of a company.
Should I use hyphen before the “relevant”? Also does it make sense to label it that way or would I need to use “Directly Relevant Stakeholder Environment”? In other words, should I include a subject for the title to make sense?


texts: Is there a pair (at least) of really absolute synonyms in English?

texts:
Are there two words that in the same grammatical form have the same set of meanings? In meanings here context of use and necessary construction about the word are included.

For example, if one word is used by children and other by scientists, they are not really absolute synonyms.

If one verb is used as is and the other needs a preposition, they do not fit, either.

If one word has only a verb meaning and the other has a noun meaning, too, that is not a problem.

Edit:

An answer is found, but I'll upvote any further relevant answer.


texts:
On dailymail.co.uk there is a news article titled "Can love survive when a woman earns MORE than a man?" Obviously, I don't want to spend my time asking silly questions, but the journalist  confuses me when she writes both  "...nearly half of women are paid as much as or more than their man"  and "It means that almost half of us now earn as much or more than our husbands and partners."

So, I am wondering if (or when) as should appear in the phrase "as much [as] or more than."


texts: Use of "massively" in this specific sentence

texts:
Instead of using massively in the following sentence, what else can I use?

  I am massively running out of time now!

I have tried "terribly", "horribly", "incredibly", "unbelievably", and "almost". The first words seem strange to me because this is the first time I have heard of them. The two later are fine since I heard native people use them before. But still, I would like to know your opinions over how they are correctly used both in writing and speaking cases.


texts: Use of the present continuous to refer to timetabled events

texts:
One of the things that is constantly confusing for English language learners, but comes with ease to native speakers, is when to use present continuous and when to use present simple.

Because of this, there are long lists of specific situations where students have to learn which tense is used for what.

For example, we use present simple for a re-occuring or habitual event "I walk home with Josh at 5:00pm" (implies this is a regular occurrence), whereas we use present continuous for a one off future planned event "I'm walking home with Josh at 5:00pm" (I'm doing that later today).

However, one thing that I keep seeing crop up in textbooks is the idea of "timetabled events".  This is always left undefined, and is not really clear what it means.  The typical example given is "the plane leaves at 3 tomorrow".

But honestly, I'm sure I'm just as likely to use the expression "the plane's leaving at 3 tomorrow."

Which tense to you think you would use, and should the use of the continuous here be viewed as "incorrect"?


texts: What do I call a building with a variable number of storeys?

texts:
I'm translating the description of a city block design. The city block (in this particular case) is basically a single building with a variable number of storeys: different sections of this block-sized building have different floor counts.

There's the expression "peremennoy etazhnosti" (переменной этажности) in Russian for this, meaning "of variable floor-count". In a verbatim translation, "of variable storicity".

What could be an English expression for this? Is there a commonly used expression, or should it be translated as-is, "with a variable number of storeys"?

  The general design concept of the Solnechny city district provides for the construction of City Block 1.3, a perimeter block with a variable number of storeys.

I've been googling using different word combinations, but failed to find commonly used English expressions for these types of building.

For instance, I googled for "building with sections of different height", but still the result is gibberish.


texts:
I have to translate the title of my college work and I can't decide whether it is correct to say "Colleagues rating system" or "Colleagues' rating system", because I have often seen examples where genitive/possessive is used without apostrophe or character 's' appended to the noun. Unfortunately I have failed to find any resources for this so as a non-native speaker I must ask for your help!

How it really is? Is it possible to omit apostrophe or s in genitive?


texts: Is there anything wrong with this sentence?

texts:
I'm focused on the punctuation. If anybody can help point out if there are any errors, I'd appreciate it.

  The two characters in the band are
  James (left—who I worked with
  previously for his old group, Typhoon
  Loco) and DJ Siphon (aka
  “Siphonator”—right). Below are
  reference photos given to me by the
  guys.


texts: A word or multiple words to describe someone asking a question but not meaning to where the subjects know it from the start

texts:
Is there a collective word or words I can use in writing that can describe phenomenon where someone asks a question they have no intention of knowing the answer purely for a negative purpose?
I can reply to them when they ask me. You are ______. Or your are using _____ (psychology trick)
Context:
Before smartphones when someone asked "do you know the time". They meant it as they needed to get somewhere or turn on the television to watch a TV program. They are not wearing a watch.
Today if a person asks you do you know the time; they mean something else.  There is no point in asking for the time if I just saw you use your smartphone.
It's like a "unique sales pitch" but this means to much with sales and doesn't indicate the hypocrisy of it. I don't know their motivation yet, they don't mean it, I 100% know its a lie. It is like a hidden question. They lure you in with question that has a totally different goal without being interested in the answer. Like when a tourist goes to a city and a scam artist asks "What country are you from" to build rapport before they start with their scam. They don't mean it and have no interest in knowing the answer.
Scam or dishonest doesn't fit as it is before the scam or dishonest part. It is a pitch to lead up to something else. Almost like being probed for weakness. Psychological trick to seperate the weak from the herd.
What I tried:
The closest word I can think of is  circumlocution (the act of speaking around)
You are circumlocuting doesn't sound right.
The meaning isn't exact as it means taking around when I want to say you are saying something intentionally false with another goal in mind.
dilly dallying means waste time through aimless wandering or indecision so also doesn't fit.
There is a saying "Talking past each other" but it means two sides are raising different issues, where in this case it is one sided as I am not a participant in a discussion. It's almost like I want to say you are "talking through me"


texts:
Ok, it all starts with this thing we learned back in our elementary school that is called parallelism.  What it basically says is that you can’t compare a thing to a person and vice versa.

But here is something I personally think is different from parallelism, but am not so sure if it is. Is it correct to say:

  I am in accord with your opinion.

Or it should that instead read:

  I am in accord with you about your opinion.


texts: What is a more eloquent way to say "I hope I'm not asking too much"?

texts:
I've been emailing back and forth with another professional who has been very generous in sharing a workflow developed at their institution. This professional has gone to great lengths to answer my questions. Given that he has no obligation to answer my questions, I'm starting to feel that I'm overstepping boundaries by asking for more details that would require a higher level of investment for him to answer.

I feel that "I hope I'm not asking too much" is cliche at this point in the discussion. What would be a more sincere way to communicate that the effort is appreciated and helpful, and then follow up with another request while making it clear that he has no obligation to reply. It may also be helpful to note that this would be the last question.


texts:
In the collection of essays, God in the Dock, C. S. Lewis uses the word "mellontolatry," which is defined as "worship of the future."  This is the first instance of the word I can find.

In other places, Lewis makes up words, but he explicitly says that he is coining a term.  E.g, "Bulverism."  But he uses "mellontolatry" as if it were a known, but rare, word.

A few years ago, I went on a determined hunt for the origin of this word.  OED had nothing.  The UT Austin library had a 7 or 8 volume dictionary and it had nothing.  I enlisted one of the senior librarians (whose eyes lit up at the challenge) in the hunt.  We found nothing preceding Lewis.

Today, Google have me this hit:

http://worship.wikia.com/wiki/Mellontolatry

which also lists:

Pareltholatry – worship of the past

Nynolatry – worship of the present

Chronolatry – worship of time

and, frankly, I file that website under "too silly."  All other hits derive from Lewis.

So that's my question:  Did Lewis coin this word?  If not, where did it come from?


texts:
In the urban dictionary, I read

Groak :
Verb. To stare silently at someone while they are eating, in the hopes that they will give you some of their food.

Always careful not to establish eye contact with potential groakers, Mark wolfed down the last of his mother's famous apple pie.

My question is about knowing if this verb is a new word, its supposed etymology and (possibly) get quotations of it in the literature.


texts: Is it suitable to use "trump card" in scientific papers?

texts: Suppose you improved an old method with a novel technique. Is it OK to say that it (your technique) is your trump card in paper? If not, what is your suggestion?


texts: Has "Extraordinary" Ever Been Spelled with an A-O Ligature?

texts:
For example, instead of spelling it as extraordinary, you would write it as extrꜵrdinary.

This also applies to its derivations, such as instead of extraordinaire, you would write extrꜵrdinaire.

I'm aware that in the early days of European metallic typesetting, ligatures were often used as an effort-saving method (less matrices would need to be made). Gutenberg started using his printing press commercially around 1450 CE, and the earliest known usage of the word extraordinary according to the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1460 CE (see below). So it may have been a plausible option for them to have done this for the same reason.

Note: The OED entry requires a subscription, so I included the quote it references here: c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1714) 39 "The Kyngs yerly expencs stondyn in chargs Ordynarye, and in chargs Extraordynary."


texts:
Seeing as I'm new I apparently have to start a pseudo-duplicate thread rather than comment on an existing thread, so here it goes:

If the reason for it being "a uniform" rather than "an uniform" is to do with the consonant-like sound made by the diphthong "u" in modern english, then why do we still have to say that it was "an historic journey" rather than "a historic journey"?


texts: History of "Above and Beyond" and other similar phrases as English and French

texts:
In an editing lecture, I learned about how some phrases are filler because they are literally just repetition of the same idea. Above and beyond is the only one I can think of now.

The lecturer said that such phrases came about when the French and English started living side-by-side and they would repeat the same thing twice, once in English and once in French, so everyone could understand.

Does anyone know what these phrases are called or where I can read more about this? I can't find any info Googling.

Thanks


texts: "What/when is the right time for doing this?"

texts:
Which one of the following sounds more natural?

  What is the right time for doing this?
  When is the right time for doing this?

It seems like these both mean the same thing. If they convey different meanings, what is the difference?


texts: What is the meaning of being politically monochrome?

texts: I recently read an article about how a state had become politically monochrome. I know what monochrome means. But I am unable to associate it with the phrase "Politically Monochrome"


texts: In special cases, can you use "one such family are" vs. "one such family is"?

texts:
Is it correct to say "one such family are..." as opposed to "one such family is..." in some circumstances?

Say, for instance, as used in this article on gene families:

  [...] One such family are the genes for human haemoglobin subunits; [...]

The problem occurs when the family is a collection of things. It sounds weird if you say "One such family is the genes for human haemoglobin subunits" and saying "One such family is the family of genes for human haemoglobin subunits" is too wordy.

Does the problem make sense?


texts: Is 'I will definitely be living away from the shop' correct?

texts: I want to say that I'm definitely going to change my address and live elsewhere, but I don't know the exact day when I'm going to live there, it will happen in a time of one year. Or should I use: 'I will definitely live'? Thank you.


texts: What is the difference between the adjectives/adverbs "broad" and "wide"? the nouns "breadth" and "width"?

texts:
Broad and wide are near synonyms but only near, since "a broad smile" is a more common collocation than "a wide smile", and you can say "eyes wide open" but not "eyes broad open".

Breadth and width seem to be closer synonyms since both are defined in Collins Dictionary Online as:

  the linear extent or measurement of something from side to side

Why are the adjectives/adverbs broad and wide not as interchangeable as the nouns breadth and width seem to be?


texts: Help with CD title for Swedish historical society

texts:
I would be very grateful for some help with this title for a CD.

"Andrew & Elsa Peterson – the genuine pioneer story"

The CD issuers from a historical society want to put the above as title.
I'm wondering if there should be a genitive construction? like: ...the genuine pioneers' story. Is there another better title considering that they have to add "The real people behind the fictional characters from the famous Emigrant novels" somewhere at the bottom of the CD? to explain why this story is the genuine one. Do you think they should add Swedish or Scandinavian, since Andrew & Elsa were from Sweden? should they write "the people that the fictional characters were based on" ...etc instead?


texts: What adjective describes following a clockwise direction?

texts: Or anti-clockwise direction. I want to contrast the difference between the order in which the Japanese say the cardinal directions, compared to the order Western countries say them. They say 'east west south north'. Personally, I think of this mode of thought as dimensional. But our mode of thought involves starting from a fixed point (north) and then listing the directions going in a clockwise direction. Is there an adjective which describes this?


texts: Phrase for observing a rule in a malicious way

texts:
I know this phrase, but for some reason it is blocked in my mind.  What is the term for observing a rule, but doing so in a way that subverts it?  I'm almost certain that malicious is one of the words in the phrase, but I’m not positive about that.

As an example, suppose there is a rule that in your workplace, you must put boxes to be mailed out in a certain place.  Ralph considers this inconvenient, so he puts his boxes there, but he places them so they are in the way when you walk down that aisle, or in a way that makes the mail people work harder to organize the boxes before mailing them out.  Ralph does this as a sort of protest against the rule.

I don't think the phrase is malicious observation, and it’s not passive aggressive, but it’s something that means that.  Help, this is worse than hearing a particular song in my head for hours!


texts: Is the sentence correct? "During the meeting that ... , I had ..."?

texts:
"During the meeting that Dr. Edward Smith coordinated last month, I had the chance to meet with you and hear the possible projects ..."

English is my second language, and I usually feel that my sentences sound weird and ambiguous, so I need your help.

Is the top sentence meaningful and grammatically correct?  Do you have any suggestion to improve it if necessary?


texts: Being mighty a master, being a father and fond: what "fond" is?

texts:
I'm not sure of the meaning of the last word in the last line of G.M. Hopkin's "In the valley of the Elwy":

 God, lover of souls, swaying considerate scales,
 Complete thy creature dear O where it fails
 Being mighty a master, being a father and fond.

Is that an adjective, i.e. fond = affectionate?
Or is that a noun, since father is a noun too?
If that's a noun, what's the meaning? Foundation?


texts: Do you call it the 'at' symbol or at the rate of or something else? I know the dictionary answer, more interested in the colloquial. Has a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_sign but it just lists many. Context: a requirements document where I'm listing allowed characters for a user name.


texts: Verb meaning 'to use as a starting point for, opportunistically' or 'use as a pretext for'?

texts:
I'm looking for a verb whose meaning is approximately "use as a starting point for, opportunistically" or "use as a pretext for". For example,

  She's using her safety presentation to [             ] her campaign to increase employee wages.

Meaning: She's exploiting her presentation to launch her campaign.

  My friend loves [               ] mall expeditions (onto/on) grocery shopping trips.

Meaning: My friend loves to opportunistically turn grocery shopping trips into mall expeditions.

I used to think the word "bootstrap" ("bootstrapping") served this purpose, but have since come to learn that it refers more to autonomy than opportunism.

I also considered "piggyback" ("piggybacking"), but this carries the strong connotation of attaching something minor to something major, which isn't the case for the desired verb.

"Segue into" was a third candidate, although it refers more to transitioning than to starting something new.

Finally, I considered "kickstart" ("kickstarting"), but this doesn't always imply opportunism, and furthermore sounds awkward in many situations (e.g. "kickstart my complaint", "kickstart his request for tax returns").

I'm not certain if a verb with this precise meaning exists in the English language, although I can't shake the feeling that one does.


texts:
It may sound like a silly question but I am a bit confused about the usage/meaning of paper towel. According to the dictionary, a paper towel is ONE sheet of paper. So if you want to refer to a whole roll you would say "paper towels"? I cannot understand why it makes sense to use it in the following ways:

a piece of paper towel (is this still a sheet?, an alternate way to say just "paper towel"?)
From a series (TAAHM): Q: Do you know where your uncle keeps the paper towels? A: I think there IS some up there. (Why is he using IS when he is referring to paper towelS?).

Thanks for any help.


texts:
I am not sure about the following use of the term lowercase:

  Their approach is decidedly lowercase […] Through the lowercase abstinence and erasion lies an unfathomed vastness […]

Context: esthetics of sound art.
There is also a (sub)genre of electronic music of a minimalistic and highly reduced esthetic with that name.

So, from the context, it seems quite clear to me that the meaning of ›lowercase‹ is close to that of low-profile, and yet I was not able to find any reference for that meaning.

How common is this use of the term – is it a recent or ad-hoc coinage within this specific context, or does it have a more general, e.g. colloquial, use?


texts: Synonyms for "Low","Medium","High" that sort alphabetically

texts:
In database queries, clients often asked to group values into ranges, "Low", "Medium","High" which make sense when read by a human.  But if the computer returns strings, they sort alphabetically not conceptually, e.g. "Low","High","Med" since 'L'<'H'<'M'.

We could prepend numbers, "1-Low", "2-Med","3-High", etc. but wonder if there's a  sequence of short simple English words that also sorts correctly.


texts: What synonyms exist for the word 'harmfulness'?

texts:
After looking at the options provided by Thesaurus.com (they had none; they didn't recognise the word), as well as those provided by the native thesaurus on DuckDuckGo, I'm looking for a word which can be used in place of or interchangeably with 'harmfulness'. Preferably, I would like to avoid the '-ness' convention altogether, though the only synonyms I've been able to come up with thusfar all end with '-ness'.

EDIT:

To clarify a couple of things that have come up since this question has been posted, the reason I'd like to avoid the '-ness' convention is that I'm writing an article for academic audiences, and the manipulation of words with technically-correct grammatical conventions to conform language in ways which are infrequent and bloated sounds sophomoric at best and pedestrian at worst.

An example of a sentence which uses the word in question would be this:
"An analysis of the harmfulness of these poisons yielded a moderate cascade."


texts: What do we call the brown-colored paper found in old books?

texts: I want to know what that brown and slightly roughly-textured paper is called, or whether there even is a word for it.


texts: Collective "linens" vs. "linen" in AmEng vernacular

texts:
What's the difference in using the uncountable noun linen either in the plural or in the singular to refer to articles or garments, such as sheets, tablecloths, or underwear?
How did originally singular linen for "underwear/household textiles" come to take a plural form in the 1800s United States? Ngram

LINEN:
also linens Articles or garments, such as sheets, tablecloths, or underwear, formerly made of linen and now usually made of other fabrics, especially cotton. (AHD)
Often, linens. bedding, tablecloths, etc., made of linen cloth or a more common substitute, as cotton. (Random House)
The Free Dictionary
Linens are fabric household goods intended for daily use, such as bedding, tablecloths and towels. "Linens" may also refer to church linens, meaning the altar cloths used in church.
Wikipedia
(also linens [plural]) sheets, tablecloths, etc. made from linen or a similar material: bed linen; table linen
CDO
(collective n.) (sheets, tablecloths etc.; often US linens) linge (de maison); (underwear) linge (de corps). dirty or soiled linen linge sale.
Source: Collins-Robert French and English Dictionary, Ed. 1985
Ngram


texts:
Should "building blocks" be hyphenated? I am using the two words (or perhaps one word) as a noun. E.g.,

  These axioms serve as the building-blocks of the English language.

I understand that hyphens should be used to avoid ambiguities, but in this case, a hyphen makes the sentence easier to read, rather than lessen the ambiguity of it. The actual sentence I'm using the words (or word) in is quite long, and consists of many clauses, so one might accidentally read the sentence incorrectly the first time, but once the sentence is read entirely, the reader will understand what is meant. I know this is a stretch.


texts:
In "The Mark: A Real Sales Guy Approach to Selling Corporate Accounts" by Bryan J. Seck it is written:

  I know this is a blow-off answer, and now I ask this in my first meeting so I don't have to hear it ever again as an excuse.

After reading the Merriam Webster's definitions "to refuse to take notice of, honor, or deal with", "to end a relationship with", "to outperform in a contest" and "to fail to attend or show up for" I'm still confused about the correct interpretation of "blow-off" in that context—i.e., what is a "blow-off answer"?

Also, if a definition of "blow-off answer" exists, I intuitively guess, even if I cannot prove it, that it must exist a definition of "blow-off question", too.

So, can anybody explain how "blow-off" is used in such contexts and what is its meaning?


texts: Does the suffix in "lipolysis" and "ketosis" have the same meaning in both the words?

texts:
Lipolysis and ketosis both end in ‑sis.

Does that suffix have the same meaning in both the words?


texts: What is an inverse phrase for “topping-off”?

texts:
I’m looking for a term or phrase that is the inverse equivalent to the action of “topping-off”, like a gas tank, but meaning “to completely empty.”  Not a steady state (empty, depleted), but more a phrase implying readiness.

Example: If going for a long drive and you want to tell your girls to go to the bathroom first (even if they don’t have to.)

Something that means exactly the inverse of “topping-off”.


texts: Is this translation of the original text correct?

texts:
I was reading a translated copy in modern English of The Tempest. And one of the sentence of the original text which was

  All things in common nature should produce without sweat or endeavour.

Was translated into:

  Nature would produce everything people needed, and all of it would be shared equally by all.

According to me, the original sentence just means that the nature should produce everything by itself without any human attempt. But there is no implication that it will be distributed equally. So, is the translation incorrect? English is my third language so I tend to take analytical approach while construing sentence-meaning. But I'm having unprecedented trouble in doing so with "The Tempest". Is there any tip?


texts: Asking somebody to select between two or more options

texts:
Assume we want to ask somebody to choose between two options. Each option is a phrase like "stay home" or "come with me". What is the correct form of asking such questions?

  Do you want to stay home or come with me?
  Do you want to stay home or do you want to come with me?
  Do you want to stay home or you want to come with me?

Any better form? What if there are more than two options?


texts: Can a non-human “reason” in the sense of inferring

texts:
I have again a word usage problem. I wonder if a non-living sentence subject can reason. According to Wikipedia:

  Reason is a term that refers to the capacity human beings have to make
  sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or
  justify practices, institutions, and beliefs.

And from the conjugator, I found that I can us it in this context:

  You have not reasoned about that

I have used that verb in a precise context in an old text and I wonder if it was correct. The truth is that I believe the sentence come from my native language (French). So here is a shortened version of that sentence:

  Spatial reasoning uses concrete numbers to reason.

I also have to say that WhiteSmoke corrector do not find any problem with that.


texts: What is the definition of a proletariat. The dictionary tells me any working person, but in the roman empire it was a lower class citizen. Can middle class be considered proletariat?


texts: English equivalent of saying “Don’t get in between the nail and the flesh”?

texts:
The saying “Don’t get in between the nail and the flesh” from my own language is typically addressed to someone who likes to provide unsolicited help by barging in on a heated conversation between two people; usually ending up making things worse by adding more oil to the fire.

I’m looking for an equivalent expression in English.


texts:
"It is his job to stand there"

What's the function of the infinitive phrase in this sentence? I'm leaning towards it being an appositive of the complement "his job" or of the subject "it", but I'm not certain.


texts: Can you use "return" with noun adjuncts?

texts:
My friend used a phrase "the dark side return" meaning "the return of the dark side".

I have a feeling native speakers would never put it that way, but can't articulate my position. Is that true? Can anyone help me?

I have a vague idea that maybe action nouns (here "return") don't take noun adjuncts or attributive phrases (here "the dark side") something like that.

Edit for more context: It was a Pink Floyd cover band concert, so "The Dark Side Return" was the concert headline.


texts: Adjective-Denoted Nationalities without "the"

texts:
I came across the following in the Wall Street Journal, as part of the main story (not the headline),

... Swiss voted narrowly against more hunting, by 52% to 48% ...
... Last year, Swiss voted on increasing the stock of low-cost housing, ...

Does that mean I can refer to adjective-denoted nationalities without "the," e.g.

French love good food.
Spanish know how to have fun.


texts: A synonym for 'army' that does not carry the military connotation?

texts:
Usually people relate 'army' with the military connotation.

But sometimes you can say 'army of robots' which not always you mean they've military backgrounds or they're armed, but friendly one. Another example includes 'Army of Jesus' or 'Salvation Army', and of course they've nothing to do with weapons and real army either.

Is there any alternative term which aims to describe the huge number of entities (like people or robots) in similar matter as 'army', but without being ambiguous that it has something to do with military, but to not lessen its meaning of its force?


texts: What are the British and American expressions for “falso d’autore”?

texts:
A Falso d’autore,  literally “author’s fake”,  has the following characteristics:

Riproduzioni di opere note non solo pittoriche, ma più in generale figurative, eseguite da artisti contemporanei che ne rilasciano una certificazione di non autenticità e la cui vendita è perfettamente legale.

(Reproductions of not only famous paintings but more generally of figurative works made by contemporary artists who will release a non-authenticity  certificate and whose sale is perfectly legal.)

A couple of examples:

Leonardo Da Vinci, falso d‘autore, Dama con Ermellino; from Accademiadeglialterati.

Jan Vermeer, falso d’autore, Ragazza con turbante; from Accademiadeglialterati.

"Author’s fake", "copy", and "reproduction" are generic terms for these works, so what are the specific British and American-English definitions for “falso d’autore”?