texts: Grammarly website: "You can upload a document which size is under 4 MB." Is this grammatically correct?

texts:
On the Grammarly website, they have the following sentence:

You can upload a document which size is under 4 MB

As a fan of irony and grammar, I'm curious as to whether the bolded portion is grammatically correct. It sounds really awkward, and I've honestly never seen anyone use that phrasing. I would've opted for one of the following:

You can upload a document whose size is under 4 MB
You can upload a document which has a size of less than 4 MB
You can upload a document with a size under 4 MB
You can upload a document smaller than 4 MB

Is their version acceptable?


texts:
This weekend I learned all about blind baking a pie crust on the Cooking SE site. They were stumped on why, exactly, it's called "blind baking", however.
For the uninitiated — the highlights of the Cooking answer:

Blind baking is indeed just baking without a filling — it can be fully or partially. Typically you do this because your filling will either need to bake for a shorter time than your crust (a quiche for example) or not at all (a pie filled with some kind of pre cooked/set custard). It can also be done to help 'set' a crust against a filling that will make it rather soggy.
I have no idea why it's called blind baking, but the English.SE site is notoriously good at word origins.

Anyone have any theories or ideas?


texts: the meaning of the phrase"make an animal of you"

texts:
I saw a sentence in the novel of wind in the willows. I find something that I have trouble to understand, and the context is as below

  'Now, you dear good old Ratty,'said the Toad, 'you know you've got to come.I can't possibly manage without you, so please consider it settled, I want to show you the world！I'm going to make an ANIMAL of you, my boy!'

Additionally I have searched on internet and found a similar phrase which is "to make an man out of you" and it means to help a man be brave, but I am not sure that I can apply the same to my case. So could anyone possibly help explain in detail what it means by saying "make an ANIMAL of you" here? And many thanks!


texts:
Can you suggest some good metaphor sentences with reference to or relating to coronavirus??

A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison between two things that aren't alike but do have something in common. Unlike a simile, where two things are compared directly using like or as, a metaphor's comparison is more indirect, usually made by stating something is something else. A metaphor is very expressive; it is not meant to be taken literally. You may have to work a little to find the meaning in a metaphor.
Kids dictionary


texts: which English usage is more appropriate ''affiliated to/with'' or ''belongs to"?

texts:
Now I am doing research where its application lies in Engineering and computer science. So, which usage is more appropriate to say: "This research work belongs to Engineering and Computer science" or "This research work is affiliated to Engineering and Computer science" or "This research work is affiliated with Engineering and Computer science"?

Thanks!


texts: How does the word "that" function in this sentence?

texts:
It's the last sentence of the 6th paragraph from an article at yale.edu.

  In fact, as population grew, another pattern of human history emerged that of overpopulation, which led, unfortunately, to over-exploitation of resources.

I guess "that" is an appositive word refering to "pattern", but I feel somehow farfetched to understand it this way. Because I always subconsciously think the sentence should have ended at the word "emerged", and the whole sentence will be better without a "that of overpopulation" since it reads more comfortable and fluent. The way of this phrase showing up is so abrupt and uncommon to me, and I'm not quite sure about "that of overpopulation". There's no predicate, no punctuation, like the author just casually dropped it here, and I even doubt if this is a grammar mistake.

So how does "that" function? If you think it does refer to "pattern", could you please give me some more examples of using "that" in such a way?


texts:
Reading the last sentence of Ellison’s Invisible Man, I stumbled a bit on the phrase “but that:”

  Being invisible and without substance, a disembodied voice, as it were, what else could I do? What else but try to tell you what was really happening when your eyes were looking through? And it is this which frightens me: Who knows but that, on lower frequencies, I speak for you?

A compelling sentence, but I’m not so sure of the meaning of “but that.” My dictionary says another phrase, “to the contrary,” can be substituted for it. But if I were to guess now, Ellison’s narrator seems to be saying, with some apprehension: “Who knows for certain that, on lower frequencies, I don’t speak for you?”


texts: Is "plastic glass" as a container a valid expression?

texts:
In another question here (sanity of a plastic glass!) the term "plastic glass" is being used which sounds somewhat odd to me, but has not been brought into question by any respondents.

Maybe it is has to do with the fact that my mother tongue is German where a "Glass" is always made from glass, while a plastic cup would be be "Plastikbecher". (which would translate into plastic cup.)

Can anyone confirm this for me?


texts: What is the origin of the phrase, "Put two and two together?"

texts:
I used the phrase, "She put two and two together..." the other day and, shortly after saying, wondered about its origin. My understanding is that it means to "connect the dots" or to figure the answer to a question, but I'm uncertain why "put two and two together" became a synonym.

My guess is that it originally had a longer form, like, "She put two and two together to get four," but that the "to get four" part has fallen out of usage.


texts: Hyphenation question: two-week or two week follow-up?

texts:
Which one is correct?

two-week follow-up
two week follow-up


texts: What's the word for... [driving-related]

texts:
The question is too long for me to use it as the title.

Anyhow, what's the word for when someone on the road accelerates and goes in front of you because you're driving too slowly? I need an AmE term.

In French, it would be dépasser quelqu'un.


texts:
The product and the scale have changed from a small prototype to many production units.

The product along with the scale has changed from a small prototype to many production units.

Can sentence-1 be seen as incorrect, perhaps semantically, because it uses plural "have" but applies to "a" small prototype?
The issue that the plural "the product and the scale" is being applied to a singular predicate noun of "a small prototype." While the subject (product and scale) is plural and agrees with the verb (have), it does not agree with the predicate noun (a small prototype).


texts: A mathematics career but a journalist-ic career?

texts:
My question pertains to the rules, and more specifically the ostensible violation of the rules on the modification of nouns into adjectives.
I sometimes experience difficulty of knowing when to adjective-ify nouns when (1) the adjective immediately precedes the noun in question and (2) the adjective version of the noun exists and is spelled differently.
Take the two examples I came across, surfing on the web:
a) "A journalistic career"
b) "A mathematics career"
Both phrases convey the same relative semantic idea and an almost identical construction bar one detail : in (a) the adjective version of journalist is deployed however in (b) the noun form of mathematics is left unaltered even though it functions as an adjective. The adjectival form of mathematics is obviously mathematical.
Is there a rubric or custom to distinguish when to adjective-ify nouns in these contexts? Or is it completely optional and both camps are valid?
Edit: another illustrative example : Is it correct to say "a gallery of cow pictures" or "a gallery of bovine pictures"?
Edit: My question is about the broader use and abuse of adjectives beyond the examples listed. Is there a hard-and-fast rule?


texts:
I'm making wild guesses about what the future would/will be like.

Is either legitimate? If so what's the differences in meaning?


texts:
A conversation between me and my friend:

Friend: I was sleeping when you called. And I do  that everyday till 13:00.

Me: ok

~3 days later he replies to me at 10:00 already~

Now my question: Is it grammatically correct, if I say: “I thought you did sleeping everyday till 13:00!?” instead of “I thought you used to sleep till 13:00!?” / “I thought you slept till 13:00”

P.s Would be grateful if you correct any (english/grammatical etc.) mistake(s) in the question-text itself too! :)


texts: What is the origin of the phrase “guts for garters”?

texts:
Where does the phrase "guts for garters" come from?

Example:

  I'd better stop mucking around on the Internet or my boss'll have
  my guts for garters.

Someone having your guts for garters means you are in big trouble with them. Metaphorically to the extent that they will disembowel you and use your intestines to hold up their stockings.

phrases.org.uk says

  A printed reference to 'guts for garters' appears in Robert Greene's The Scottish Historie of James the Fourth, circa 1592:

 Ile make garters of thy guttes, Thou villaine.

Google n-gram viewer shows a peak in usage around 1850 and rising usage from 1960 to the present day, but I would like a definitive source if possible.


texts:
So, I've been reading A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin. I've come across the phrase 'less seldom' and I would be really glad if someone explained it to me:

  Even so, there was something in the air that made Tyrion uneasy. West of the Rhoyne, he knew, the wharves of Volantis teemed with sailors, slaves, and traders, and the wineshops, inns, and brothels all catered to them. East of the river, strangers from across the seas were seen less seldom. We are not wanted here, the dwarf realized.

In my opinion, 'less seldom' should mean something like 'more often', but here it is used as 'more rarely'. Is my thinking wrong?


texts:
My question is, is the use of the word "hence", used in it's most common sense as an alternative to "therefore", strictly acceptable in English usage in the following example:

  I like bananas, hence why I eat them.

I see a lot of people using the word "why" after the word "hence", and I have always considered it, at the very least, inefficient use of English. Happy to find out other views. Many thanks for all comments.


texts: 'There is the orange on the table' is this sentence correct?

texts:
What I know is this; if both speakers and listeners know what it is, we can use

article 'the'.

So, here's my question; 'There is the orange on the table'; is this sentence

correct? if there is only one orange on the table.

and if you don't mind, plz check this sentence too.
 'Joon likes the bike, he cleans it everyday.'


texts:
I only use it speaking of something that has just been done, i.e. in the very near past.

  I've finished washing the dishes just now.

Can it be used also speaking of something that is about to be done, i.e. in the immediate future?

  I am going shopping just now.


texts: What is the meaning of this wisecrack "If you can't beat members of the "birther" movement, join 'em."?

texts:
I'm not an English native speaker and have no idea what is the meaning of this sentence:

"If you can't beat members of the "birther" movement, join 'em."

Could someone give me an explanation?


texts: What is a synonym for "most frequently occurring"

texts: I'm trying to succinctly describe something that occurs most frequently, and the only single-word adjective I can think of is "commonest", but that sounds ridiculous.  Are there any other good adjectives I could use?


texts:
When you're writing a diary, you might start with "It's sunny today" or "It's cloudy today." When it comes to rain, which should it be?

  It's rainy today.
  It's raining today.

It may be raining at the very moment when you wrote down the words "It's raining today," but not necessarily the whole day. So which one is more proper in this case?


texts: What's going on in "I have been to the store many times"?

texts:
I thought been was the past participle of to be, but it seems to behave like the past participle of to go in this case:

I go to the store every Wednesday.
I have been/gone to the store many times.
*I am to the store every Wednesday.

Also

I go through the tunnel.
I've been/gone through the tunnel.
*I am through the tunnel.

What's happening?


texts: What’s phrase that people use to eat as much as you want?

texts:
I love expressions and phrases. But I was wondering and I could recall that when parents have their children eat, there are those who force the food down their throats and those who let them eat as much as they want, and I’m the latter. So what phrase is used a lot to express to someone, eat as much as you want.

“I didn’t know you were coming Phil. I guess since you are here there’s some food in so __________.”

I’m interested to hear what anyone thinks they should say, so give it a shot!


texts: Bare infinitive after "help" with intervening past participle phrase

texts:
Which is correct?

  Our mission is to help everyone touched by tragedy thrive.

or

  Our mission is to help everyone touched by tragedy to thrive.

I know that technically help can admit the bare infinitive, but something about the presence of the intervening past participle phrase makes it strike my ear as incorrect. Thoughts?


texts: What is the "gratitude" at the end of the letter or post called?

texts:
What is the "gratitude" at the end of a letter or post called in English?

For example:

Hi everyone,      <--- salutation

bla bla bla       <--- body

Thanks in advance <--- what is that called?


texts: Word or phrase for people who spend a long time in each others company

texts: I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe two people who would have spent long periods of time together, to the point where they know each other's idiosyncrasies, would have many in-jokes, finish each other's sentences etc.


texts: Descriptivism and widespread misspelling

texts:
If you search google for "fuscia" it asks "did you mean fuschia?". The correct spelling of the word is "fuchsia". (This was pointed out on the xkcd blog a while ago.)

So enough people are spelling fuchsia wrong that it's polluting Google's autocorrection algorithms. Now this got me thinking. If you're serious about your descriptivism, then it seems like you have to accept "fuschia" as a legitimate alternative spelling. Lots of people use it, so it's right, right? What do you think of this? Is "fuschia" acceptable? Is there some way to discount those misspellings and insist on the correct spelling?

This isn't some anomaly of the way google's autocorrection works. There are 10m hits for fuchsia, 4m for fuschia... Is this enough usage to make "fuschia" a legitimate alternative spelling? If not, what criteria do you use to decide when a misspelling becomes acceptable?


texts:
I'd like to say something like: I'm going to change the code in the future, according to this requirement.

Here is my version:

This code would need to be modified to satisfy this requirement...

I don't know if it is proper to use "would" here(or "will"?), or any better expressions?


texts: Phrase for experiencing a negative conclusion to a positive experience

texts:
Suppose I read a book and really enjoy reading it until I reach a certain point where I am suddenly not enjoying the experience anymore. I was trying to come up with a good phrase to describe this experience and couldn't really come up with a good one.

Things I've considered:

Left a bad taste in my mouth (doesn't really conote that the experience had been pleasant up until the negative point)
Turned to ashes in my mouth (a little better, but seems a bit harsher that what I'm looking for. It seems like this conotes an extremely bad ending, like someone dieing or something)
Unsatisfying experience (again, doesn't include the previous good)
Turned sour (Seems closer to what I want....)
Didn't pan out (Implies that I had high hopes, but no actual good experiences)

Are there any really good phrases/words that describe this phenomenon?


texts: "Center" or "centre" in sports vocabulary?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Similar words that change from “-ter” to “tre”

I am researching some stuff about football (soccer), and I came across the words center and centre, both of them seem to mean the same thing (i.e., middle area) but I don't know why they are different. I found a couple of sites referring to the centre-back (one of the defenders), and in the same sites they write center forward (one of the attackers).

If center/centre in the two positions mean the same thing (and they do), does anyone have any idea why they are spelled differently?


texts:
Which is correct in which contexts?

"My head is disproportional to my body."
"My head is disproportionate to my body."

"My head is disproportional."
"My head is disproportionate."

I have the same question for "proportional/proportionate".


texts: Difference in usage between 'If I were you, I would X' and 'If I were you, I would have Xed'

texts:
"If I were you, I would look for another job" and "if I were you, I would have looked for another job"
what is the difference between these two sentences?


texts:
I just saw someone write that they were a "die heart" fan. I always thought the term was supposed to be "die hard" but I decided to google it just in case I was wrong.

Google was unable to give me a definitive answer as there were folk on both sides of the fence. Anyone know the true answer?


texts: Is there a synonym for 'intefere' that has a positive connotation?

texts:
Interfere is defined by the Cambridge Online Dictionary as:

  to involve yourself in a situation when your involvement is not wanted or is not helpful

I am looking for a word that has essentially the same meaning but does not have the negative connotation of "not helpful."

For example, if I have a teaching assistant who will be teaching a class, I could say:

  If I wish to, I will interfere.

I considered 'intervene' but it seems to be about solving problems or difficult situations which I do not want to imply. I want to say in the example that I can interfere (in the class) whenever I decide regardless of problems.


texts: Is this sentence wrong: "This method engages students participations..."

texts:
Is this sentence wrong:

"This method engages students participations in class and create a friendly atmosphere in class, through which improve the relationship between the students and I. "


texts:
Say somebody turns (or plays, fiddles with) the knobs of an old, analog radio with a tuning dial set to a station, resulting in loss of reception - what would that be called, analogous to negatively connotated verbs such as misalign, break? Maybe misadjust? Unset?

Sorry, I was too specific about the scenario, giving the old radio as example in the question body. Is there a more general term for "messing up" a setting? Unprogram a VCR? Misconfigure the microwave? It's not really breaking something. What about an alarm clock?
Maybe there isn't just one general verb for this?


texts: Semantic difference between "minimum suggested donation" and "suggested minimum donation"?

texts:
For example, admission to a benefit concert may be afforded by a suggested minimum donation.  Or perhaps by a minimum suggested donation.  To me, the latter feels not quite right, like the minimum qualifier is being applied to the wrong place.

In fact, I think that adding minimum and suggested should be mutually exclusive here.  Either the donation is a suggested amount, or it has a specified minimum.  I can see, though, that the intention is to not place a hard limit on the entry fee, otherwise it's not really more than a ticket price.  And at the same time, they want to encourage donations that are more than the minimum.

So, given that both adjectives are applied, is there a semantic difference when you switch the order?


texts: If I have a sentence, "No, dear, you should not." which is dialog second-person, does "dear" stay lower-case? It seems so, even though you would say, "No, Father, you should not." when the father is being directly addressed by his son or daughter. (What about "No, dear Father, you should not."?) Also, should I say "No, m'lady, you should not." when, again, Lady So-and-so is being directly addressed? Again, it would be "No, Countess, you should not." I'm confused.


texts: Is there a word to describe someone who creates many different things?

texts: Say I wrote books, made video games, created films and cartoons; is there a noun to describe someone who creates a multitude of things like the ones previously mentioned? "Creator" sounds cryptic, "auteur" I think applies more to film? Having to say "author, game maker, filmmaker, etc" is redundant to me. Any help? Thanks


texts: What is the history of the phrase 'mother tongue'?

texts:
Where does the phrase 'mother tongue' originate from?
Based on this phrase, in a literal sense is a language deemed to be feminine?


texts: Term for when someone interferes with another's authority?

texts:
For example, Bob is not very high ranking in the company, but he is the safety manager.  Bob tells Rich not to do something because it is not safe.  Jim is Rich's boss and tells him to ignore Bob.  Jim  ______ Bob.  Word or phrase would be great.

Edit:
For clarity, I'm looking for a word that what Jim was wrong, or at least not cool, for doing what he did.

Perhaps a better example would be one parent tells a kid to do something and the other parent tells the kid they don't have to do it.


texts: How to identify the form and function of the word "that"?

texts: I understand that "that" can be either a relative pronoun or a subordinating conjunction, I just don't understand when. I know that both of these create dependent clauses, and I am pretty sure that subordinating conjunctions create adverb clauses (is this the same as the conjunction functioning as an adverb?) and that relative pronouns create noun and adjective clauses (again, is this the same as saying that the relative pronoun functions as a noun and an adjective?). I have been recently been working on doing some sentence analysis (breaking down a sentence into its constituent word forms and functions), and I have been told to bracket off the dependent clause that the relative pronoun starts in order to find its function. However, this is much more difficult to do with "that", since I don't know how to find out whether "that" is a relative pronoun or a conjunction, and I then don't know how to decide the function for the conjunction or relative pronoun of "that".


texts: Word or phrase for something that generates more hype than it can possibly live up to?

texts:
Is there a word or phrase for something that generates more hype than it can possibly live up to?

I'm not thinking of something that was intentionally hyped, so overhyped isn't applicable. More like something mundane that just keeps getting postponed and discussed and wondered about until it builds into a bigger deal in everyone's mind than it could ever possibly be.


texts:
I want to acknowledge on receipt of a letter.

Which one is correct

  "we received" or "we had received"?

And please explain the usages too.
Thanks


texts: Word for two collections that do not have any elements in common

texts:
I'm looking for a word for when you have a collection A and a collection B and they have no overlap.

In mathematical terms: the relation between two sets where the intersection is empty. Like in this Venn diagram:

The word that keeps popping up in my mind is disparate sets, but I don't feel that completely covers the meaning when I look at the definition, because that doesn't seem to preclude overlapping sets that are different:

  disparate
  1. distinct in kind; essentially different; dissimilar:
  disparate ideas.


texts:
It seems to me that commas for conditionals are falling out of favor. I often see the comma dropped in sentences like:

  If you get stuck in a passive sentence always ask the question:

I would put a comma after sentence. But I think my writing ends up with too many commas. How do I decide which ones to drop? Do I just arbitrarily get rid of a few that come after reasonably short conditionals?


texts: Is there an idiom that conveys the meaning of the French “mi figue mi raisin”?

texts: The French idiom “mi figue, mi raisin” (literally: “half fig, half grape”) refers to someone or something that is neither entirely good, nor entirely bad. I guess the meaning of the expression can be rather well conveyed by translating it as “neither good nor bad”, “not entirely good or bad”, or “part good, part bad”, but… is there a common English idiom that express this idea?


texts:
Which is the (more) correct response?

  Me - "We have more tweaks for the ABC job"

  Other - "Really? I thought we'd completed that job!"

  Me - "As did I / So did I"

Thank you for any suggestions you can offer.


texts: How to say: "I will try to move it to an earlier time" or what is the opposite of "delay"

texts:
I have a meeting that I think should be moved to an earlier time. What is the best way to say it?

E.g. if I wanted to move it to a later time, I can use the word "delay":

  "I would like to delay the meeting"

How do I say the oposite?

  "I would like to __ the meeting" (to
  advance? to precede? none of them
  sound right)


texts: Equivalent proverb in English for falsely blaming other things for your lack of ability

texts:
There's a proverb in Hindi which literally translates to:

  (He/she/You/they) doesn't know how to dance and falsely blames the
  floor for being crooked/broken/skewed

What is an equivalent English proverb for this? Obviously, it need not be about dancing as long as the point is conveyed, which is:

the target doesn't have the skill/ability/knowledge for the dance.
the floor is perfectly fine and it shouldn't be blamed.

EDIT: I've been forced to add this bit to convey that the idiom 'A bad workman blames his tools' doesn't fit in this context.

The workman blaming his tools would be like a dancer blaming his shoes. A dancer blaming the floor would be like the workman blaming the floor or something that disturbed him while working or even the weather. Hope that can convey the difference.


texts:
The roulette players silently watched the wheel spin around/round

Which use spin but not span in past tense? Thank you.


texts: Is "moonstruck adventure" an actual term/expression?

texts: Encountered the phrase "moonstruck adventure" repeatedly in a text i'm dealing with (in the context of bad decisions made by someone that nearly led to disastrous results) - is that a proper term or expression? Because I've never heard it before and couldn't even find it online...


texts: Is there a word for an anniversary when you're not married?

texts: Date-aversary? Or do you just say "We've been dating for X years?"


texts: Is the logical system of punctuation becoming more prevalent in the US?

texts:
Is the logical system of punctuation becoming more prevalent in the US with regard to the placement of periods and commas outside the quote marks?

For example:

This:
He called me a 'purveyor of malicious quips'.

Not:
He called me a 'purveyor of malicious quips.'

This:
When she labeled me a 'profligate philander', a 'debauched disciple of decadence', and a 'purveyor of malicious quips', I was very offended.

Not:
When she labeled me a 'profligate philander,' a 'debauched disciple of decadence,' and a 'purveyor of malicious quips,' I was very offended.

This:
'That', she said, 'is an abomination.'

Not:
'That,' she said, 'is an abomination.'

BUT:

'When I go to the hearing,' she said,
'I am going to expose him.'
The comma goes inside the quote marks after the word 'hearing' because the sentence requires it at that point.

Thank you.


texts: Is there a word for the person that's giving the promise?

texts:
For example, if I said, I promise I will do something. Is there a word for me? Promise giver?

Is there a one word noun for this?


texts:
Can anyone tell me what does the word "bound" mean in here: "Osaka bound"?

Thanks!


texts:
What does "butt in excessively" mean?

  I am just trying to be friends with the transfer student, but you are butting in excessively.


texts: English word for Norwegian "skaresnø" - snow with a hard crust

texts:
Is there an English word for what Norwegians call "skaresnø" ('skare'-snow) - or just "skare"?

It's the hard crust/lid you get on top of snow, where the top layer has started to melt a bit before freezing again - often due to the sun shining on the snow all day or temperatures just above freezing.  It's not ice - it's still snow - but it's been bound together when freezing.

If the crust is strong enough, you can ski - or even walk - across it without sinking into the snow underneath.  Of course, there's always a danger that the "skare" isn't quite strong enough to bear you...

We also talk about "skareføre" - where "føre" is more about the condition of the surface we want to move across... here it's snow, but it's also used for road condition.  "isføre" (icy conditions) implies you'll have to be careful when driving and walking... "klisterføre" ("sticky"-condition refers to a type ski wax used for snow above freezing - which is rather sticky itself)... and "skareføre" implies that the "skaresnow" is at least strong enough to ski across - if not also to walk across.


texts:
I'm a software developer, and as such I often use an IDE to fulfill my goals. For those who don't know:

  An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development.

Sometimes while programming I find myself making certain errors. One of them is creating a variable (A name that holds a certain value) that is never used. An IDE can show a certain message and underline the error for me so that I notice it quickly and fix it.

I have been using multiple IDE's that have shown me the error shown above, but I just noticed something. In one IDE, the message is shown as "Unused expression", while the other says "Useless expression".

Which IDE is saying it right? Is it supposed to be "Useless" or "Unused"?


texts: Is there a word for someone who is their own villain?

texts:
Someone who fills the role of the villain for themselves? Or at least a phrase/way to describe this?

E.g. By using the word 'penanced', meaning that she has inflicted a punishment on herself, the poet is suggesting that she is a XXX, filling the role of both the hero and the villain

Thank you


texts: What sound do non-native speakers tend to produce when they mispronounce /f/ and/or /v/ in English?

texts:
In other words, when someone natively speaks a language that doesn't include /f/ or /v/, and they try to pronounce those sounds in English but don't entirely succeed, what sound do they end up producing?
Context: I am writing a story about harpies, whose language is roughly based off of Ancient Greek. (In the story, their language and writing system greatly influenced proto-Greek languages, from Phoenician to Attic.) In Ancient Greek, there is no "f" or "v" sound; those sounds only exist in Modern Greek. I am wondering, when trying to pronounce an English word, what sound are these harpies likely to produce when trying to mimic the /f/ and /v/ sounds, which do not exist in their native language?
Obviously, I don't expect to find native Ancient Greek speakers, but hopefully there are those of you who speak languages with similar phonologies, who are better versed in phonetics than I am, and/or who know more about Ancient and proto-Greek languages than I do.
Thank you in advance!


texts: Teachers and students sometimes refer to homework assignments as "homeworks". Is that an acceptable usage?


texts:
I just searched the meaning of “incentive” and I have a question regarding making sentence with the word “incentive”.
This is my sentence “The extra money for hardworking employees is my incentive to work hard.” Is it ok to use “my incentive” or is it better/more common to say “an incentive for me to work hard”?
Thank you!
[Corrected]


texts:
What's the difference between “to validate” and “to confirm”? What is more natural to use in day to day situations. Can you confirm this for me? Can you validate this for me?
For example, if there is a person who states that she has done something, but cannot provide material evidences of the completed action, and I would like to know if the completed action actually happened and in case it happened, was is completed as described by the person.
In this situation what should I ask a witness – third unbiased person who saw the action? "Could you please confirm if the action happened as described?" or "Could you please validate if the action happened as described?"


texts: What is the root word of Yahoo? Is there any truth to the claims by some that it was used by Hebrews as a safe word to use instead of Yahweh?


texts: Can we say "I can't not go" or for instance "i couldn't not look"

texts:
I've seen this in an English Learning Facebook page that we can say:

I can't not go
I can't not tell her
I couldn't not eat
I couldn't not look

Are they true? Is it formal or informal? What structure is this?


texts:
Again, from Le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy:

  [George Smiley] had schooled himself to admit that in those last wretched months of Control's career, when disasters followed one another with heady speed, he had been guilty of seeing things out of proportion. And if the old professional Adam rebelled in him now and then and said: You know the place went bad, you know Jim Prideaux was betrayed - and what more eloquent testimony is there than a bullet, two bullets in the back? - Well, he had replied, suppose he did? And suppose he was right? 'It is sheer vanity to believe that one, fat, middle-aged spy is the only person capable of holding the world together,' he would tell himself. And other times: 'I never heard of anyone yet who left the Circus without some unfinished business.'

What is the author trying to convey here with the expression "professional Adam"? Wiktionary offers the figurative use of Adam to denote human frailty, but that doesn't appear to be a good fit here. ODO provides nothing along those lines.


texts: What does the highlighted part mean in the context of the paragraph?

texts:
Much the same applies to the expression 'What a word has escaped you by the fence of your teeth!' This is intelligible, but unidiomatic, English for 'What nonsense!' Must we flout English usage to preserve it, if we feel, covinced, as I do, that Homer took it over, as an idiom discounted by familiar use, from a long line of bardic ancestors, much as he inherited the epithet 'fast' for ships, and has, as a result, to talk of a 'swift fast ship' when he means a real clipper?

Context - The author is emphasising the need to preserve the meaning of a sentence or idiom while translating it from Greek to English. He is partial towards achieving the same effect in the translation as desired by the author in the original text, rather than preserving the idiom and syntax of the Greek.

Please note that I have noticed some ill placed commas in the text but I have chosen to preserve the original punctuations of the book I am reading from, lest I remove a comma that was really meant to be there.

P.S. - I think that 'clipper' means a slow ship but not sure.


texts: Which grammar to talk about daily tasks?

texts:
I am not native English speaker and I'm a bit confused about a basic grammar situation.

Here the situation:

My job consists of building websites. I  have been working on a project for 2 weeks and still have a couple of weeks to go.

I want to share the current result to a friend:

  "Hey guys, I'd like to share the website with you..."

  I am making -> Because the website is still in developement right now
  I have made -> Because I started to make it in the past and it is still in    development
  I make -> Because I work on it all days; it's habitual work.

Are any of these the correct phrase?
What is the best/(only ?) way to say it ?


texts:
A friend of mine has a bad habit of undermining people who are not the best in their respective fields.

If in a car-race, player A wins out of 26 players (A,B,C...Z). He would claim 'A' to be the best but then he would start calling all the other players stupid, pathetic, unworthy of respect heck! even a small appreciation and acts as if the other players don't even deserve to live on this planet.

In every competitive aspect of life, someone would lose and someone would win. That's the nature of the law. The person who came out as 2nd perhaps lagged by an insignificant time interval. He would start to worship the winner and would start calling all the other players as 'worst player' each (starting from B,C,D,E,F...Z).

There are only two categories: Winner(A) and losers(B,C,D...Z) with absolutely no distinction between, let's say player 'D' and 'V'. I would like to add that the field may be and usually is something which he knows very little of.

What do we call this attitude? I would prefer a colloquial word.

The sentence which I would like you to fill up would be:

  Stop acting so ______; It's not okay to be so critical about the other
  players.

If you have any alternative equivalent of this sentence, possibly humorous, do suggest. Thank you.


texts:
Which is correct?

To back up data.
To back data up.

The context is the following:
He was careful enough to perform tests and [back up data | back data up] to avoid any problems.


texts: Is there a term for words like 'frenemy'?

texts:
I read the word 'frenemy' for the first time in a BBC news item which described the current relationship of President Trump and Kim Jong-Un as 'frenemies'.

A person with whom one is friendly, despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry; a person who combines the characteristics of a friend and an enemy.

Oxford English Dictionary - (requires subscription or library card)
Is there a term for the joining of opposites into one word like this and are there any other examples of this ?
The entry in OED (which also gives the alternate spelling 'frienemy') is sparse for references, listing only one usage :

1953   W. Winchell in Nevada State Jrnl. 19 May 4/4   Howz about calling the Russians our Frienemies?
1977   J. Mitford in N.Y. Times 13 Sept. 31/1   My sister and the Frenemy played together constantly,..all the time disliking each other heartily.
2001   Daily Tel. (Nexis) 22 Mar. 69   The new rules require working with competitors or ‘frenemies’ to survive.
2007   M. L. Jacobs How to Jump from Ferris Wheel & Land on your Feet 57   I cannot continue to allow myself to be stifled by the pressures of life and the people around me and this is in respect to work, lovers, associates, friends, enemies and worst of all frienemies.


texts: Is there a synonym for nickname including '-onym'?

texts:
Words suffixed by '-onym' relate to different classifications of word, or more often, name.

They refer to myriad different names from endonym to theronym but I cannot find an appropriate term for a nickname.

Is there one?


texts: What kind of question-tag is this: "I was in the bath, wasn't I?" Is it polite? rude?

texts:
Context: (BrE) -  a friend is complaining...

a- "I phoned you three times this morning but you never answered."

b- "I was in the bath, wasn't I?

Why the question-tag, if the listener had no idea what the other person was doing?

I've searched and found that Brown and Levinson regard this use of question-tag as being characteristic of positive politeness. Then again, John Algeo says it's impolite and expresses great annoyance.

What state of mind does it convey?  Is there a word or phrase for this form of rhetoric?


texts:
I'm having trouble with the grammar of this sentence:

  In urban areas, the graduation index of general high school and higher education was greater than 1, while that of compulsory education and secondary vocational education was smaller than 1.

Should I change "index" to "indexes", and thus "was" to "were", and "that of" to "those of"?


texts:
What is the difference between "I never was" and "I was never"? It seems that there is a subtle difference, but I can't quite grasp it. Is one of them informal?

For example:

  I never was a good cook.
  I was never a good cook.


texts: What does “sign the final flourish” mean?

texts:
There was the following sentence in Time magazine’s a bit old  article (December 11, 2013) titled, “Pope Francis, the people’s Pope,” in which I was drawn to the phrase, “sign the final flourish”:

  “He returned o Buenos Aires and looked to retirement. - - He handed
  his letter of resignation to the Pope when he turned 75 in 2011.”I’m
  starting to consider the fact that I have to leave everything behind,”
  he said in 2010. “It makes me want to be fair with everyone always, to
  sign the final flourish ... But death is my thought every day.” He
  insisted he was not sad, and he went on posing for pictures with the
  faithful.”

  http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/person-of-the-year-pope-francis-the-peoples-pope/

I thought “sign the flourish” an idiom, but I don’t find the phrase in dictionaries I use to consult, or on Google.”

I wondered if it’s similar with Japanese idiom, “一花咲かせる－hitohana sakaseru” meaning to bloom the last blossoms at the ending, at the last stage of one's career, or before retiring, like a baseball player who passed his peak hitting a streak of homeruns before retiring, but then, the word, “sign” seems to be incongruent.

Or, does “sign the flourish” mean “sign by using decorated-letters”?

What does the phrase, Pope wanted to “sign the final flourish” mean?


texts: The Oxford online dictionary defines "pre-plan" as to "plan in advance". But isn't that generally the point of planning - to do it in advance?


texts: Word for letters that aren't typographically similar

texts:
For example I, 1, or l (lowercase L) can be indistinguishable from one another depending on the persons writing style. The same for the number 0 and the letter O.

Is there a word for letters that are visually distinct and are not easily misread due to handwriting or character display?


texts:
As I understood so far with the help of Urban Dictionary, it means to act in an overly embarrassing way. Am I right? The whole sentence is:

  Every week, we think Succession has hit peak cringe.


texts: What is a kippered computer? This phrase appears in a novel. My only guess is that "kippered" refers to the appearance of having been stitched together.


texts: Is this hyphenation use considered correct?

texts:
I made a ham-and-Swiss sandwich.

I'm wondering if this sentence might be misunderstood as referring to two sandwiches if written without the hyphens. Which form is considered correct?

Thanks for your help!


texts: What does it mean when someone says to "deliver the eyeballs"?

texts:
Skimming through the following article on Guardian I stumbled upon the following sentence:

  So if someone asked “What’s your space?” and you had a deeply unfashionable job like, say, writer, it behooved you to say “I deliver eyeballs like a fucking ninja”.

What exactly does it mean to deliver the eyeballs in this context?

Thanks in advance


texts: Why is a strange person called a fruitcake?

texts:
Fruitcake is an insulting word for someone who you think is strange or crazy (the Macmillan Dictionary).

Why does the word have this meaning? What is the similarity between a strange person and a heavy cake containing dried fruit?


texts: Is there an American English equivalent for the British "moggie" for a non-purebred cat?

texts:
I'm an American (and fond of cats). I'm familiar with the British term "moggie" for a non-purebred cat--basically the equivalent of "mutt" for a dog. I've never heard any American English equivalent of "moggie." Is there one?

(If there isn't, I'll use "moggie," because we have a need for it.)


texts: "I had a dinner" vs. "I was having a dinner"

texts:
A friend of mine showed a video on her Facebook wall post. She posted this:

  I had a dinner with Chinese friends, I was happy at that moment!!

Should it be "I was having a dinner" instead of "I had a dinner"?


texts: Phrase describing reading only fragments of a text

texts:
I'm looking for a phrase to describe reading only those fragments of a text/paper/book/etc. that I need to know i.e. not reading the whole thing but only a part of it that will be useful to me.

I've thought about "selective reading" but it looks like it has negative connotations and describes a lazy reader rather than one who chooses appropriate fragments wisely. What are your ideas?


texts: Is "I've seen a lot (of them) using..." grammatical without the object?

texts:
During a conversation about programming, I meant to say:

I've seen a lot of programmers using that pattern.

I accidentally omitted the object and wrote:

I've seen a lot using that pattern.

For some reason that doesn't sound wrong to me. From context it is clear that I'm talking about software engineers without explicitly mention them, thus I don't need it for understanding. Quite the contrary, it would even be fine without repetition.
However, is that sentence OK without the object or should I use one of the following sentences?

I've seen a lot of them using that pattern.
I've often seen the use of that pattern.


texts: Terminology for sentence with heterographs that can be read at a different starting point with a different meaning?

texts:
There's a song lyric that, when repeated, becomes a different sentence even though it's pronounced the same:

  You're worn out sole to heel

becomes

  To heal your worn-out soul

You're worn out sole to heel / you're worn out sole / to heal your worn-out soul

Is there a specific name for this kind of sentence where it completely changes meaning because of the heterographic homonyms?


texts: Why is φύσις often used for "body" in today’s English?

texts:
The Greek root φύσις means natural or of nature, but in present-day English it is often used as if it meant bodily or of the body:

a physical examination
physiotherapy
physique

Why is the root used this way? Why not use the Greek word for body in these instances?

In an informal poll of three educated adults, I asked them what they thought the roots of tele, physi, and micro mean. All properly guessed tele and micro, and all improperly guessed physi meant body or some form thereof.


texts: Pronunciation of "Personally" and "Finally"

texts:
I always hear people say "personly" and "finely" instead of "personally" and "finally" when they speak.

I wonder whether this reduction can apply to other words ending with "-nally"?

Just like "basically" is pronounced "basic-ly" and "usefully" as "usef-ly".


texts:
I gave a script I wrote to a professional proofreader, and one correction she gave me, I just can't understand (and she doesn't seem to agree with me).

This is complete original sentence:

  So far in this course, we talked about doing everything the right way, but even if you’re not doing it right, remember the most deciding factor as to where professionally you’ll be in 1-2-3 years from now is your rate of improvement.

And here is her suggestion for changing the second part of my sentence:

  ... remember the most deciding factor as to where professionally you’ll be in 1-2-3 years from now, which is how you would rate your improvement.

Do those two sentences have the same meaning?
I think not, because they use different meanings of the word "rate" - the first is "the speed at which something happens or changes", and the second: "to judge the value or character of someone or something".


texts:
Can anyone explain what does this mean and how to use it correctly in a sentence?

  What strikes me the most


texts: How did the use of "could of" and "should of" originate, and is it considered correct?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is “of” instead of “have” correct?

It bothers me that so many people use could of, would of, should of instead of could've or could have, etc.

For instance, I have seen people write I could of been hurt or I should of seen that truck.

Does anyone know how this originated? Is this a mistake only American English speakers make, or is it common with British English speakers too?

Also, is that actually legal English?


texts: Does waiter still applied as male server?

texts:
I am not native English speaker.

Want to ask, does 'Waiter' still applied to male specific gender of 'Server'?
Or could we call female server as Waiter too?

The thing is I am currently developing a mobile client application for Waiter/Waitress ordering application. So I need to give it a name.

I know the word Server is now used in most of restaurant nowadays.
But if I use Server as part of my application name, it will be ambiguous. As in IT world, Server means device (hardware) that provides functionality for other client program. So I am avoiding using Server as part of my application name.

So, is it okay if use Waiter as part of my application name?


texts:
I have read "a battery of lawyers" and "a battery of test" in sentences with its usage.

What I would like to know is, are the following sentences are correct with the usage of a battery of

A battery of attempts was made to resurrect his life
A battery of development methods was used to create an application
A battery of sketches was considered before arriving at a final decision.

Appreciate any insight and could anyone enlighten about this.


texts:
Example:

  I mentally checked my [...], but realized I had none.

The only word I can think of is agenda. But, I don't know, it sounds strange. Maybe it's because agenda is sounds more like the place where you put the activities and not the activities themselves.


texts: Auxiliary verb reduction in not only - but also structure

texts:
I was wondering if it is correct to reduce the auxiliary verb of a not only - but also sentence that has multiple clauses sharing that same auxiliary verb, for example:
Not only did I finish my homework, not only did I exercise, not only did I play some video game, but I also cleaned the house.
Can we say:
Not only did I finish my homework, exercise, play some video game, but I also cleaned the house.
Or should we use past-tense verbs for the clauses in the middle?
Not only did I finish my homework, exercised, played some video game, but I also cleaned the house.
Thank you.


texts: Is there a word that denotes something that's an anomaly, but you'd think that's the standard?

texts: Here's the background: I'm doing research on war criminals convicted by international courts and came up with some striking statistics. Over 80 percent of international convicts have been granted early release without being put on parole. Only one international convict is currently out on parole, making him (a/an/the) __________ anomaly. Is there a word that denotes something that's anomalous in a particular context, but is common or assumed in general contexts?


texts: Collective agreement: "their risks" or "their risk"

texts:
"Individuals with high LDL cholesterol levels increase their risk of developing coronary heart disease."  Would it be "their risks"?  Does each individual have a separate risk...therefore "risks"?  Or do they collectively have a risk?

Similarly, "Most Americans eat more than enough protein in their diets."  Would it be diet?  Do Americans have separate diets or a collective diet?


texts:
Men, one last thing before we go, we have a technician who will join us today for this mission. You know him well, his name is George Ovechkin, he's a nuclear engineer. I hope you will keep him in good company. That's all for the mission briefing. Let's head out to the battlefield!

Isn't the expression 'keep him in good company' only used when the person that's referred by 'him' is relatively new? It sounds odd if you say it to someone who is often seen hanging out with the people to whom this is said.

Please feel free to correct any mistake I've made while writing this.


texts:
A thousands year old tradition

"a thousand year old" tradition, would mean only a 1000 years, but I'm not sure we could use the plural form in this expression.

I'm looking for an adjective that would means several thousand years.

"ancient" would NOT be precise enough


texts: I have always seen the expression 'carved in stone' used in the negative in sentences like: 'It is not carved in stone that..., Could this expression be used in the positive or, alternatively what other expression could I use to say that something is 'unchangeable' ?


texts: Is there a name for the words used after dialogue?

texts: For example,  "he said"  "she replied" "they inquired."


texts: Should the prefix "re" be added to a word with or without a hyphen?

texts:
In science we often invent words, but that doesn't mean we know how to spell them. Most of the time words are invented by adding prefixes. In that case should there be a hyphen or not? Specifically, I need to use

reexcite or re-excite (reentry is similar and a official word)
repolarize or re-polarization

The second seems fine in the no-hyphen form, but for the first, the double "e" makes the word difficult to read. I've seen similar use with a diaeresis over the e: ë as in reëxcite, but that looks strange; any pointers?


texts: Less versus fewer in time related phrases

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Less” vs. “fewer”

I am quite pedantic when using 'less' versus 'fewer' but don't really understand how the situation works when it comes to temporal phrases. For example 'you must complete the task in less than thirty minutes'. Minutes are countable so on that basis it should be fewer but they are also dividable, you might complete it in twenty and a half minutes so 'less' seems more suitable and sounds better to my ear.

Any thoughts on which is 'correct'?

I have searched the archive but can't find this specific question. If you are going to close the question as a duplicate please give me a pointer to the original version and let me know how you found it.


texts:
I want to say that key is absent or the value of that key is empty (comes from code)

What is a right way to write this message:

No key found or it's empty.
No key found or is empty.


texts: A word to describe a person that everything come to them late in life!

texts:
Many years ago I came across a word and when I looked it up it was described as:

A person everything comes to, late in life!


texts:
I read this in Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address,

  The fugitive-slave clause of the Constitution and the law for the suppression of the foreign slave trade are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can ever be in a community where the moral sense of the people imperfectly supports the law itself. The great body of the people abide by the dry legal obligation in both cases, and a few break over in each.

Is break over here related to the waves breaking over?

Oxford Advance Learner's Dictionary: 20. when waves break, they fall and are dissolved into foam, usually near land: The sea was breaking over the wrecked ship.

Do you think that break over here is just another figurative way to refer that a few people fail to fulfill their legal obligation?


texts: Is "that of" used in an appropriate way?

texts:
Could you please tell me whether I use that of in an appropriate way or not?

  Here are the results of the
  calculations. That of calculation
  number four is pretty difficult to
  get.


texts:
On lists of nautical flag meanings (one and another), the letter U means you are standing into danger. I am familiar with the phrase from a sailing point of view - it means something like "if you keep doing what you're doing, something bad will happen." Like if you're headed for a reef or something. Today I used it (in a gentle, teasing tone) to a family member who was annoying me. And they asked "why standing and not heading into danger?"

I think it's because it also applies if you stay still; it just means whatever you are about to encounter will not be good. But I'd appreciate a little background on the history and etymology of the phrase, and whether it applies only if you're moving, or not moving, or whatever.


texts: Is there a more formal, more concise adverb with similar meaning to "can't help but"?


texts: What do you call someone who studies Russia?

texts: This is my first post and I was wondering what do you call someone who studies Russia For a living like has an academic researcher or Scholar. A sentence would be I work has a -word-. Thanks in advance for any and all help.


texts:
From the movie Cross Creek, set in 1920s' Florida.

  Marsh: I'm Marsh Turner called. This is my daughter Ellie.

The syntax of this line (as opposed to the standard "I am called Marsh Turner") strikes me as interesting. Is this construction in doing introductions a Southernism? I have not heard this locution.


texts: "Compared with" vs "Compared to"—which is used when?

texts: Is only one of them correct? Are they used in different situations? Or are they interchangeable?


texts: Is some version of "Y'alright"/"Y'arite" used as a greeting in Australian English?

texts: I must admit, I'm asking because my friend and I disagreed on what is said in this video but as someone who speaks English as a second language, I thought it would be a common enough expression.


texts: Quoting a paper written in a different style

texts:
In a paper I am quoting a block of text that contains the phrase "The author however does not believe ..." The copyeditor of my paper inserted comma before and after "however" as this is the journal's style. The comma, however, do not appear in the original source.

Should they be there in the quotation?


texts: A word that means that something is not real but feels real

texts: I want to describe this room that takes me to places, a bit like a teleporter. However, its just my imagination playing around with me. Is there any word to describe something that is not real but feels real?


texts:
I have a technical paper related to computer programming that has the following small section:

  Comma-separated expressions

  Don't overuse them. Use them where they really make sense.

FirstName := "John", LastName := "Doe"
Age := 20

I don't like the idea to repeat the word "them", but repeating the section heading in the very beginning of its body is not a good one as well.

  Comma-separated expressions

  Don't overuse comma-separated expressions. Use them where they really make sense.

What's the way to make it less cumbersome?


texts: use of the word "assume" in this sentence

texts:
Apologies for the bad question title, I lack sufficient vocabulary. From the vocabulary I know I could not find a duplicate question.

I am having trouble understanding how the word "assume" can be used in this sentence (from Google define: "Social Proof"):

"Social proof:
Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation."


texts: English equivalent to the Japanese saying "高転びに転ぶ" - A haughty man should tumble down?

texts:
I was asked by my friend who happened to see my question I posted before about English equivalents to Chinese (and Japanese) proverbs, 塞翁失馬 Life is like old Sai’s horse, whether there is an English equivalent to the Japanese saying, ‘高転びに転ぶ’ meaning ‘a haughty man should tumble down,’ in connection with vicissitudes of human life.

It is known the phrase, ‘高転びに転ぶ – Takakorobini korobu’ was pronounced by Ankokujii Ekei, a Zen priest who became a military strategist and diplomat later in the Age of Provincial War during the late 16th century in Japan.

Ekei predicted the fall of Oda Nobunaga who succeeded in unifying divided warring countries and became the virtual ruler of Japan around 1580, by saying '高転びに転ぶ - A haughty man should tumble down' well before the new ruler's unexpected early death.

As a matter of fact, Oda Nobunaga was assassinated by his right-hand military commander, Akechi Mituhide in Honnnoji Temple in Kyoto, where he hosted a tea party on the same day, June 2, 1582, and Oda's rule was terminated.

'高転びに転ぶ' is a phrase to admonish you, you can’t be too cautious of your behavior when you are at the height of prosperity, fulfilment and pride.

Are there English proverbs corresponding to Ankokuji Ekei’s warning issued about 430 years ago?


texts: Do parenthetical statements change subject-verb agreement?

texts:
When I need to focus on a specific instance of a subject, but want to include a clarifying remark making it plural, I may set off that secondary statement like this:

  The state of Florida (and 27 other states in the US) has/have Right-To-Work laws.

I'm not asking about parenthetical pluralization where you add an optional (s) to the subject when the quantity is not known (e.g. vendor(s) as in this post), but a clarifying statement that is part of the subject (or maybe it isn't; that's what I'm asking).

So is the subject of this sentence above singular or plural? Which is the correct usage in my example?


texts:
If you like space in the attic, are you gonna be happy.

This is a line from the Simpsons Season 15 Episode 1. Marge said the sentence as she gave Bart and Milhouse a box full of old comic books, which she'd found in the attic and determined to throw out. I was curious about why she said it in declarative tone. I checked few subtitles and they were all written that way. What does that sentence mean? Is it kind of suggestive?


texts: Word for an entity with a vast amount of knowledge?

texts: Is there some word for a being / entity / intelligence that is either all-knowing or has an amount of knowledge that far exceeds that of a human being?


texts:
I am looking for the meaning of the word "enquested". I would like to use it in the context of "you were given a quest" or "somebody made you quest something" (with or without your explicit intent).

An example: "Frodo was enquested by Gandalf." or "I am enquested." (i.e. I was given a quest.)

I made a search on the Google and the word is not used anywhere.

I created the word by following the following logic:

There is the word "quest" which means: "a long or arduous search for something" or "search for; seek out".
There is the "en" prefix which means

  "a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from French and productive in English on this model, forming verbs with the general sense “to cause (a person or thing) to be in” the place, condition, or state named by the stem; more specifically, “to confine in or place on” ( enshrine; enthrone; entomb); “to cause to be in” ( enslave; entrust; enrich; encourage; endear); “to restrict” in the manner named by the stem, typically with the additional sense “on all sides, completely” ( enwind; encircle; enclose; entwine). This prefix is also attached to verbs in order to make them transitive, or to give them a transitive marker if they are already transitive ( enkindle; enliven; enshield; enface)."

The "ed" is just the past tense which means that it already happened or you can use it in passive mode.

I have another issue with the word (besides that it is not found by Google). According to Merriam Webster enquest is another/older form of inquest. I do not want to use the word in the sense of law.

I have found one occurrence of the word enquest here, but I cannot understand its meaning clearly:

  The Birth Life and Acts of King Arthur, of His Noble Knights of the Round Table, Their Marevllous Enquests and Adventures, the Achieving of the San Greal and in the End Le Morte Darthur with the Dolourous Death and Departing out of This World of Them All

My questions:

Is the word "enquested" exists?
Is the meaning of the word "you were given a quest" or something similar?
Is it easy to mix it with the word "inquest"? Do you thing for the same when you read the word "enquest"? Do you have a feel that "enquested" is a law related thing?
What is the difference between the words "enquested" and "enquestened"?


texts: An adjective to describe something a person can dance to?

texts:
For instance, we can say:
the music I can dance to, the song I can dance to, the beat I can dance to.

Is there a way to communicate the same thought using this format:
[adjective] music, [adjective] song, [adjective] beat?


texts: word for "ability to perform action upon"

texts:
In the context of a task list, there may be tasks that cannot be worked on immediately (for example waiting on material to arrive), while other tasks can have action performed to them right away.

What's a word that for "actionable" tasks which doesn't imply tasks being illegal.

If I can make a to-do list for a lawyer's office and put "Actionable Tasks" as a heading, would that lead to confusion?


texts: Can "mode" be used as "mean" and "median" are?

texts:
It'd be normal to hear sentences like these:

The mean ticket price for the concert was $56.50.
The median ticket price for the concert was $61.

But what about:

The mode ticket price for the concert was $40.

Is this an acceptable way to use the word "mode?" I would typically expect to hear, "The mode of ticket prices for the concert was $40," but the former arrangement is nice because it's more concise.


texts: A better alternative for expression 'visually rich'?

texts:
So is it correct to use such expression or there is a better word or phrase to express that? In case someone needs an example sentence (I have doubts regarding this), I'm not going to use the expression in a specific context. It's going to be just a standalone expression or word, referring to real-world objects in general.

EDIT: To be more precise, I'd like to express the rich texture and non-flat structure of the surface of some objects, visualised on screen. Also it can be more poetic, not obviously straightforward


texts:
My life in Japan has coincided with the start of my education as a
  writer. Although my ideal future as a novelist is one of reinvention,
  and although I won't be in this place for good, I think this place
  will be in me for good.

I know what reinvent means but in this particular case I have some troubles with understanding. Can it be replaced with something like "... my ideal future as a novelist is about starting something new"?


texts: Difference between "mastery", "proficiency" and "familiarity"

texts:
What is the difference between mastery, proficiency and familiarity? I know they all refer to the level of understanding or skill in something.

I've seen the words in these contexts:

  mastery: in WOW, a mage has arcane mastery, fire mastery or frost
  mastery

  proficiency: the proficiency of English / Spanish / French

  familiarity: have a basic familiarity of the newest computer
  techniques


texts: How to say that you wish and make efforts to do something?

texts:
I am looking for a short way to say that I wish and (simultaneously) make efforts / prepare to achieve something, however, so far I have come up only with candidate phrases which express just one of the two meanings:

1) "wish" group: anticipate, look forward to, hope to...

2) "prepare" group: work upon, strive to, pursue...

My last guess was the phrasal verb look towards, which initially seemed to me like an amalgam of look forward and strive to, however, Uncle Google disagrees with this assumption.

Thereby, I'm now left with no more ideas and would like to ask you for any proposals :)

Edit: A scenario, where one would need to use a verb with the above meaning, is for instance when wish to relocate to a new town and need to find a place to settle in:

  Hey, Renting Agency, I am from Boston and _______ to move* to New York (however, still haven't done it). Could you offer me a vacant accommodation there?

*If necessary, substitute with the gerund "moving".


texts:
Please help me decide which of the following two sentences in correct:

Twenty-year-old Thomas Smith has been running his own business for already 2 years.
A twenty-year-old Thomas Smith has been running his own business for already 2 years.

It's the very first sentence that serves as a kind of introduction to the text. I personally consider the second sentence to be correct, because to my mind the indefinite article shows that this Thomas is one of many (by analogy with "there is a Mr. Smith wants to see you") Am I right?


texts: Could you help me understand what "Life gets in the way!" means? Thanks.


texts:
A question on ELU gives some background on the use of looney. Etymonline's entry for bin has "receptacle", "all from L.L. benna 'cart,' M.L. benna 'basket.'"

Loony bin seems to be analogous to police box or paddy wagon. I'm not sure if the "insane" were literally kept in boxes or carted up as the definition implies. If not, why was bin chosen?

Was bin used in similar phrases or contexts, or was it just a unique construction that caught on?


texts:
While reading a programming book, I've come across this piece of text:

  Public message boards like Yahoo! Groups and Usenet have long been victims of postings that are unrelated to the board’s subject or that hawk dubious products.

Not being a native English speaker, I don't quite get the meaning of this idiom.

How can it be interpreted?


texts:
I've sometimes heard people use rather for connecting two sentences where the second one sets counterexample to something negated in the first.

  This is not a meaningful sentence. Rather, it's an example.

First, I would like to find out whether this is a proper usage of the word. Finally, if it is, I would like to find out how to properly write such sentences (the above example is likely grammatically incorrect). I am especially interested whether they can, or even should for that matter, be separated by a semicolon rather than by a period.


texts:
Is this sentence correct?

"Carbohydrates are a part of food that gives the body energy."

or should it be

"Carbohydrates are a part of food that give the body energy."

Or can it be both?


texts: the difference between "no", "not" and "none"?

texts:
How do we differentiate the use of "no", "not" and "none" ?
 I do not have a chair
 I do no have a chair
 I have no a chair
 I have none a chair


texts: The choice between singular and plural in sentences such as "They have different book(s)/age(s)..."

texts:
I am confused about the use of number(s) in some sentences. I have come up with several types and made some sentences:

In the sentence above, should I use “the use of number” or “the use of numbers”?

In the case of some concrete objects which are identical, if there are two people, each of them has a book. The books are physically separate but their content, size, etc. are identical. Should I say “I share my book with my mate, while they use different book.” or “… use different books.”?

And what if the books of them are also different in content, as well as physically separate?

If I am asking about two words. Each word has only one meaning. Should I ask “Do they have different meaning?” or “… meanings”

The case of individual attributes, such as age and sex. I have seen a sentence on Marriam-Webster “Some people are reluctant to reveal their ages.” Here we have age in plural, and on Linggle there are also a plenty of examples of “their ages”, while there are even more cases of “their age” in singular such as “Two 3 % ) did not report their age.” and also for sex “The undergraduate students and TAs also reported their age and sex.” Is there any difference between the use of singular and plural in such cases?

If there are two people of each has only one goal, and I don’t know if their goal(s) is/are the same. Should I ask them “Do you have different goal?” or “… different goals?”


texts: Use of reflexive pronoun (you or yourself)?

texts:
Given the choice in sentences:

  I appreciate the help from both yourself and Bob.
  I appreciate the help from both you and Bob.

Which is correct?

I'm stuck because I can't seem to understand reflective pronouns. Can "yourself" only be used when the subject is also "you"?


texts: What are signs at tourist locations known as?

texts:
Is there an official name for the signs you find at tourist locations?

Example - a sign at the head of a trail that may show the trail maps, the name of the trail/area and maybe some historical or geological information?

Another example is a sign at a scenic outlook that explains what can be seen from the viewpoint.

Example sentence - I'll meet you at the '??' sign near the parking lot.


texts:
I'm looking for a word equivalent to the Spanish word antro. Its definitions are "building frequented by delinquents and people of bad reputation" and
"dirty dwelling of bad appearance".

Maybe the word has other meanings but those are the ones I'm looking for.

I found "joint" in a dictionary; is this word a good fit? I think antro can sort of mean "joint", but antros are usually joints of people of questionable reputation (the word has a derogatory connotation), plus the word is not used only for bars or dancing venues, but also houses and any other building.


texts: A verb for “The cartographer painstakingly ___ a map of the city.”

texts:
I am looking for a verb to describe the creation of a map as in the following paragraph:

  Unfortunately, due to strong winds during the journey home, the maps you have painstakingly ___ were blown off your ship and are now forever lost to the depths of the ocean."

The map is on a physical medium. I also intend to put some emphasis to the fact that the map maker had put in significant effort in making their map, so a verb that suggests this would be ideal. I'll accept the answer that sounds most natural and conveys the notions in this paragraph.

The simplest word that comes to my mind is "drawn", but that sounds too generic.  One can draw any generic diagram.

I can think of "draft", but that sounds like the map is a draft version, i.e. sketchily drawn and not the final product.

Is there a verb to better describe this action in this context?


texts: Idiom meaning inferring too much from the available evidence

texts:
Suppose there is a little bit of evidence available, such as a red stain on the wall, and one starts to deduce "facts" from that, for example, that someone cut their finger by a knife yesterday morning near the wall (rather similar to Sherlock Holmes), though it can also be the case that someone pierced their finger by a lancet yesterday evening. In other words, rival theories are underdetermined by the available evidence.
Is there any idiom to describe the fact that he is "draining" too much from the evidence "well", or "milking" too much from the evidence "cow"?


texts: Plural of an initialism written in lowercase with abbreviation full stops

texts:
Although similar questions have been already posed and answered here, I still have this doubt: in the case of initialisms written in lowercase (and possibly having full stops after each letter), how should we write their plurals? Should we be using an apostrophe before the 's'; no apostrophe; no 's' at all...?

EXAMPLE 1: The term random variable is usually abbreviated as r.v. So, several random variables could be referred to as r.v.'s?? If not, how?

EXAMPLE 2: Cumulative distribution function is usually abbreviated as c.d.f.; or even cdf, very often.

EXAMPLE 3: Very famous in Maths: greatest common divisor is usually abbreviated as gcd.

This question differs from previous ones in that I am interested in the plural of initialisms / acronyms written in lowercase.


texts: How Can I Use "Concordant" In A Sentence?

texts:
I was looking for an alternative to "unanimous" and had found "concordant" in the thesaurus. What would be the best way to use this word?

For example, in an essay it would be okay to say "The texts had unanimously agreed on how..." Would this be the same for "concordant", as in "The texts had been concordant on how..."

Could any examples of the word be listed below?


texts: Can you tell is the next sentence right?

texts: "Along one wall stood a low chest so richly brown as to appear black". Is this sentence right? As I know a subject is always followed by a predicate but in this sentence, the predicate is followed by the subject.


texts: What do you call the part of the food stand that displays the food?

texts:
What do you call this type of food stand?

Like for using in a sentence:

  On the front, the [...] displayed all kinds of sushi.


texts:
I heard a text in English read out loud the other day. It was a translation from Russian of a letter a man had written in response to an existential question addressed to him by letter by his sister. The man answered very nobly and respectfully, at length. Before finishing the letter I heard this sentence:

Forgive my verbosity.

It struck me as pretentious in the context. Is it just my idea? The letter was written in the 1950's, so I will grant the translator that a certain register of language must be used. However, checking the original Russian, I found that the words used for this sentence were much warmer and less pretentious, with a humble self-irony but also expressing affection towards his sister.
My question is, are there any other sentences that can express this in a way that is appropriate with the period, the affection between the brother and the sister, and the non-pretentiousness?
Note 1: The author of the letter was well educated.
Note 2: I have nothing against Forgive my, I find it rather elegant and appropriate. What bothered me was verbosity.


texts: Singular or plural verb with "A series of"

texts:
should a verb after the phrase "a series of" be singular or plural?

A series of incidents has taken place since the accident.
A series of incidents have taken place since the accident.


texts: Is there a word for one who enjoys to eat for the sake of eating (a food hedonist)?

texts:
Does such a word exist? I don't mean to excess (IE, a glutton), but rather one who eats because he enjoys eating. Essentially, I'm looking for a word that's synonymous with "a food hedonist", or "a hedonistic eater." A word would be ideal, but a term would suffice as well :).

I love to eat!


texts:
Consider four sentences:

The reason I am late is bad weather.

The reason I am late is the weather being bad.

The reason I am late is the weather's being bad.

The reason I am late is a very adverse sequence of meteorological events having occurred

Sentence (1) presents a rather plain case of "bad weather" identified as the cause of someone's lateness. The clause takes the subjective case.
Sentences (2) and (3) present this cause as a gerund. Following a separate discussion over the subject of a gerund, both (2) and (3) are grammatical, though the former, which uses an accusative form of the subject "weather", is more informal than the latter, which uses a genitive form.
Taking a preference for (3) over (2) for some stylistic objective, how might one apply the same preference to (4), in which case the subject of the gerund is the compound clause "a very adverse sequence of meteorological events", which is not directly transferable to a genitive form?


texts: Word for someone who joins a lot of contests

texts:
Is there a word for someone who joins a lot of contests?

Like how this one castaway from Survivor pops up in The Amazing Race and now he's in Big Brother.
This person was in American Idol 5 years ago, 2 years ago, in The Voice and now appears in X-Factor.


texts: "Can you tell me what this is?" or "[...] what is this?"

texts:
As written in the title, my question is, which version of the sentence is grammatically correct, if not both. I've been arguing with some guy on 9gag for roughly 10-15 minutes already, and I'm not sure myself anymore by now.
Again, which of the following is correct?

Can you tell me what this is?
Can you tell me what is this?

In my opinion, the first version is correct, and the second version lacks a colon, like this:

Can you tell me: What is this?

I would be delighted to hear your opinions.

PS: Please note that I did some research online, also with the help of "online grammar checks", but a) couldn't find anything or b) both sentences were identified as correct.


texts:
I'm trying to pitch something about my project. While training on this pitch I got comments telling me that the word "decode" is not appropriate and it's a "blunt" for such type of pitching and for the target audience. We spent time thinking about a better word, but I didn't find any words that would convey the exact meaning in a "smoother" way. The  sentence I used is:

  We will decode X from neural signal

I found words like "fetch", "get the information" but they still somehow odd to me.


texts: "what role DOES reason and emotions play (...)?" - formulated by English native speaker teacher

texts:
The English native speaker teacher of a friend wrote the following question:

  What role does reason and emotions play in sharing knowledge?

As far as I know, this question has a grammatical error, for the subject is plural: reason and emotions. So it should be:

  What role do reason and emotions play in sharing knowledge?

However, I think that if his teacher had taken reason and emotions as one whole unit, then he could use does instead of do. I am not sure if that way of expressing the question would be idiomatic though.
Is the usage of does possible in this case, or is it just a grammatical error?


texts: Re: a sign on your residence: The Smiths vs. The Smiths’

texts:
I know the former is the generally accepted usage, as that’s all I’ve ever seen over the years; meaning, by extension, "The Smiths ..live here" – presumably; whilst the second example implies, "The Smiths’ Home", which seems to me an obviously superior proposition for a sign on a residence.

My bias makes me suspect the former is just a pragmatic simplification that has become standard practice (but then, so is the latter an incomplete shortcut.)

What might a pedantic English instructor think if driving by such a sign, The Smiths’, and why?


texts: I've been working on a thesis concerning the differences between British English and American English. I studied that in the past a standardization of American English was refused, even if spoken and written language were two different things in the United States, and this was because of the opposition of English purists. Today, American newspapers and academic books are written in American English? I mean, for example, they try not to use the past perfect or the present perfect where the British would use it and they prefer the past simple? In the educational system, is standard English that is taught or American English?


texts:
If you argued your case well, the judge may rule "in your favor".

What's the opposite expression?

(I don't mean "dismiss your claim" or "reject your suit" etc. - I'm looking for the exact opposite expression; and I'm guessing it's not "in your disfavor"...)

Note this isn't really a legal expression even though it's used often (always?) in a legal context; so I'm not looking for a legal term or expression.


texts:
I'm making a booking for a regular maintenance of my car.
They ask me:

While we are servicing your vehicle

I don't need to be dropped off, or
I will wait at the dealership

What's the meaning of "I don't need to be dropped off"? Does it mean I will just leave the car with them and go away?


texts:
(In technical writing)

I often find myself describing a problem over the course of a few sentences or paragraphs, then starting the next sentence with something to the effect, "To fix this..." or "In remedy..."

But this is awkward wording. Is there a better way of saying this?


texts: Article or no article: "at the price of a higher workload"?

texts:
The finer points (the infamous 10%?) of when to use indefinite articles still manage to elude me sometimes. Does the article "a" belong in the following sentence or not?

  However, [foo] yields [bar] at the price of a higher workload for [baz].

Bonus question: Which rule applies here?


texts: Is there any other word that means “more and more’?

texts:
Is there another word for more and more?  For example, in this sentence:

  More and more people use computers

Is their a word to replace the More and more at the beginning?


texts:
Growing up in my family, we would often use the phrase "tell me when" when serving each other food, pouring drinks, etc. For example, my mother would begin pouring me a glass of milk and say "tell me when"--I would then say "when" to indicate that she should stop pouring.

When I got married, my wife was familiar with the phrase, and I had always assumed this was a common phrase. However, I don't remember using it much (if at all) outside of home. Is the usage of this phrase common? What are its origins?


texts:
The question about the correct use of there is vs there are pops up quite often.

However I couldn't find any reference to a case similar to the one below.
My wife is writing a crochet pattern with the following sentence:

Count the stitches all around - make sure there is an odd number of stitches.

Word's grammar correction tool suggests: make sure there are an odd number of stitches.

I myself find the "there are" version more pleasing to the ear. However I think my wife is correct in stating that the subject should be considered to be odd number of stitches and not just stitches.

Which is correct?


texts: What is the correct word for Hindi speaker, is it the Hindu or the Indian?


texts: "Happy for you are improving"—grammatically correct?

texts: Is it correct to say I am happy for you are improving! or does it necessarily have to be with that, as in here: I am happy that you are improving! ?


texts: Explanation needed: What is grammatically wrong in this sentence?

texts:
I'm having some difficulty identifying the grammar mistake in this sentence:

"The basketball coach had stood and watched his team all morning before he gave his advice."

My theory is that 'had stood' needs to be changed to 'had been standing'. Is this true? why/why not?


texts:
I would like to get a clarification whether I do understand and use those two phrases correctly or not.

The context is solving a mathematical problem.

solved with sth - means a problem is tackled using sth method
solved for sth - means that a problem is transformed in such way that can sth can be obtained directly (as in "solve for x")

My question is, am I missing any meanings, or confusing them?

I got confused with the following sentence: "This problem is hard to solve for some methods" which I believe is incorrect, as one should not solve problems to obtain methods but by using them. I tried looking on several online dictionaries to solve + preposition compounds, but I found nothing.


texts:
Most textbooks state that subject relative pronouns cannot be omitted, e.g.

  A: Alan threatened Brian.

  B: Alan was a gangster.

  A+B = Alan, who was a gangster, threatened Brian.

However, sometimes I will see the following:

  A+B = Alan, a gangster, threatened Brian.

Is this standard usage? If so, is it still a relative clause or something else entirely?

Many thanks in advance.


texts: The difference between these modification

texts:
The sentence I saw in a book is below.

The boy yelling is my brother.

I suddenly wonder why yelling is modifying from behind the sentence .
I believe The yelling boy is my brother. is all right.

Please tell me the difference.


texts:
For example:

  No student goes to school today.
  No students go to school today.

When and why do I have to use singular and plural nouns following "No"?


texts: "My aunt is coming to dinner tomorrow" (grammar of 'to dinner')

texts:
My aunt is coming to dinner tomorrow.

The meaning is clear. However, if you think about it, what this seems to literally say is that the aunt is going directly to some dinner (and not even an article is used there).

How would you explain such grammar?

I posted this question before on ELL StackExchange. However, I did not receive an answer that would prove the grammar aspects of this.

The user Laure there told me that what is happening here is that some phrases, words, articles are simply omitted.

However, I did not receive a proof of this and I would like to have you confirm this (if this is true, of course). Just to make sure. The user seemed to be the only one claiming this. If I see more people agreeing with it, I'll be more confident this is true.

Edit: After some discussions, I've now decided that the explicit question I should ask here is:

  Why is there no article,'the' nor possessive pronoun/noun before the singular noun 'dinner'?

Isn't there a grammar rule that tells us that singular nouns always have at least one of those?

A popular example of such usage would be the phrase 'Go to bed.'


texts: Why do we use '/' sign as a representation of 'or'?

texts:
Imagine that you want to write something about colors and you know that red or blue would work in that context. How do you write that? I've seen these styles:

Red or blue
Red, or blue
Red/blue

Why is this sign used as a substitute for 'or'? I mean, in computer engineering, '|' represents 'or' and in mathematics, 'V' represents 'or'. Is there any reason why this symbol is chosen?

PS: The same case is true about '&' sign (ampersand).


texts: What does "If she smokes, she pokes" exactly mean?

texts:
What does part

  she pokes

of phrase

  If she smokes, she pokes

exactly mean?


texts: Meaning and connotation of "fixing a plate"

texts:
I came across the following phrase, which I am unfamiliar with:

  I had to help her fix her plate

It appears to be most common in the southern US. Is it correct to say that the phrase means to prepare a plate (of food) for someone? What kind of cultural connotations does "fixing a plate for someone" carry? I have read examples where offense was taken when someone "fixed a plate" for another's significant other.

Edit: Since quite a few readers are confused about the usage/context of this phrase (as was I, which is why I asked), I originally read it in the context of (presumably) dinnertime. I wanted to know what socio-cultural connotations the phrase may hold when used in such an environment. The answer I selected below had successfully and completely answered all of the above.


texts:
Are there any opposites of shortlisted?

Currently, I am developing an application where candidates are shortlisted and I, the user, want to be un-shortlisted.

I googled but no word was found. If there is no word related to it, then what will be the best word to select and reject a candidate other than select and reject?


texts: What's the correct British English plural form of TV? Is it TVs or TV's? Thank you!

texts: e.g. I have two TVs VS I have two TV's. Which one is the correct form in British English?


texts: What is this word in 19th century dictionary?

texts:
I was reading a passage from P. Austin Nuttall's 1869 book, Dictionary of Scientific Terms, and from what it looks like, in both the PDF and Page images views, the word seems to be pseudostella.

However, I looked up the word online, in the OED, ODO, M-W, Dictionary.com, Wikipedia, Google, and Encyclopædia Britannica, and I couldn't find anything. So, I checked out the Plain text view, and it showed the spelling is pseudosteTla. But this made no sense to me (it still doesn't). So I thought maybe it's a text-rendering issue on Google's part. But, again, I don't know.

Anybody have an idea what it is?

PDF View

Page images View

Plain text View


texts: What does “keeping someone in shoe leather” means?

texts:
In the following sentence:

  Unless your work is pro-bono, you should make sure that your customers keep you in shoe leather.

What does "keeping someone in shoe leather" means?


texts: Punctuating a Question Ending with an Exclamatory Quotation in American Style

texts:
I've done quite a bit of looking for some definitive advice on this scenario to no avail, so I turn to you. What is the proper way to punctuate a question ending with an exclamatory quotation, such as the example sentence below?

  What would have happened if he had screamed "Help!"?

All the advice I've been able to find regarding exclamation points and question marks around quotation marks admonishes the writer to do what is logical, which would seem to suggest punctuating the sentences as the example shows; but this solution seems awkward to say the least.

Also, please note that I am specifically looking for the accepted American English practice.


texts:
Are these correct ways to use very with a noun?

She is the very girl I want.
On the very year of 2012, comes the end of the world.
This is the very company everyone wants to work for.

What I understand is that very can be used to emphasize the importance of a noun.


texts: Is there "BFU" acronym meaning 'Stupid Average User' (expressively) in English IT slang?

texts:
Have you ever encountered given initialism denoting 'Brain-Free User', as opposed to 'power user / geek / nerd / IT professional'?

If so, do you consider its usage 'widespread', at least in your closest circles?

Any archived proof (article, blogpost, discussion, mailgroup) with its occurrence welcomed.

(My research suggests it is common only in a small local community, but to be sure Iʼd like to get qualified feedback.)


texts: If your employer tells you "we will push your rate up to $40 an hour" does it mean they will push it to exactly $40/hr?

texts: I am confused if that sentence means exactly $40/hr or just up to $40/hr in which case the rate could become $35/hr for example.


texts: When should "farther" and "further" be used?

texts: I know I learned the difference between the usage of farther and further in school, but I can never remember where each one should be used.  Can someone help me out here?


texts:
What does English idiom "look out" (or "watch out") come from? When you want to warn somebody.

Usually, in case of a danger, it is better to hide rather than move your head out to see.

(I know it is an idiom, but maybe there is some reason in it)


texts: Is there a term to generalize the renowned, classic sentences

texts: For example, sentences like "There is a first time for everything".


texts: Is this statement grammatically correct?  "The fee is administered and retained by the vendor.   It is neither revenue to, nor administered by this agency."


texts: adjective or comparative adjective for measurements and rates

texts:
I was going some through articles about fitness and I encountered these two sentences.

Lifting lighter weights often means you're able to perform more repetitions for each exercise you complete
Lifting light weights won't build muscle mass no matter how much you pump

So I was wondering what is the difference between using light and lighter. Because if I use light for the first sentence and lighter for the second sentence, both sentences will still make sense.

What about these sentences?

Running at a higher/high speed is better than running at a lower/low speed.
Running for a longer/long distance is better than running for a shorter/short distance.

Personally I would use higher and lower because it sounds better. But I don't know if there are any rules that I should follow.


texts: What is the difference between "router" and "route"?

texts:
I need to understand the difference and the application of both words (route/routes and router/routers). I plan to apply one of words to define the route of a URL for a website. For instance:

  URL /route/example will be routed to a specific callback.

The problem is that I need to understand the definition of these words to decide which one I will use for this purpose.


texts: Defintive article "the" in a sentence containing "national consciousness"

texts:
In a recent written assignment I used the following sentence:

The practice of wearing a face covering has become a part of the
national consciousness.

On submission, it was pointed out that "the" ought not to be used here. But this (the absence of "the") sounds intuitively wrong to me, and various searches on the topic have not resolved the matter in my mind.
I'd be grateful for any insight into which form is correct.


texts:
Should I use a comma before "but" in this sentence:

  Nowadays, those two groups do not consider themselves as disabled, but as a minority which uses a different language.


texts: Why do scammers frequently call their products a "system"?

texts:
Whenever I hear radio ads for various weird liquid vitamin bottles and similar scams (or very likely scams), they always call these bottles "systems":

Our system is guaranteed to be effective!
This system is the strongest and most valuable on the market! You'll not find a more pure silver iodine system anywhere else!

And so on...
Why do they call it a "system"? Is this like the classic "one weird trick" which appears to be designed to let reasonably intelligent people know that it's a lie/BS/scam so that they don't get trouble from those potential customers (since they don't buy it)?
Is this somehow valid English? Can a bottle of pills or a liquid be a "system"?


texts: In search of the origins of term censor, I hit a dead end stuck with the greek term, to censor, λογοκρίνω

texts:
I have been looking in OED for a history that makes sense, yet, I just find crumbs, and I can not piece the history of this term. I am  hitting a dead end researching the greek term to censor, named λογοκρίνω

According to Oxford English Dictionary  the word censure, n., is first documented in use in

  Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 361  Censures þat þe fend blowiþ, as ben suspendingis, enterditingis, cursingis, and reisingis of croiserie. Back then it was defined as  ‘A spiritual punishment inflicted by some ecclesiastical judge.’ Ayliffe. (The earliest recorded sense.)

  A Roman censor, formerly just called a censor was The title of two magistrates in ancient Rome, who drew up the register or census of the citizens, etc., and had the supervision of public morals.

In the same entry as censure, definition 5 explores, the concept further.

  Censorship; the office or action of a censor.

  a. Of the ancient Roman censors (= Latin censūra): also concrete (obsolete).

λογοκρίνω

See Screenshots of the OED entries for all the details, and referenced material.

Entry for  censor

entry for censure n.

Additional context - http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=censor-cn