texts: Is there a word/phrase to describe fiction where the events, behaviours and the worldbuilding "make sense"?

texts:
Please forgive the awkwardly phrased question - it's quite difficult to explain what I mean in a concise fashion.
Do you ever watch a TV series and notice that the character's behaviour is nothing like what an actual person would behave? How they make decisions not because of concrete reasons, or personality traits, or even irrational thought processes, but rather only because the author wanted the story to go that way? Or not even decisions but even random plot points and events also existing just because the author decided on a whim it would be a cool thing to throw in - often with little context and little reason for them to occur? Have you ever read a book with generous amounts of Applied Phlebotinum sprinkled everywhere, demanding the reader to suspend any deeper interrogation of the mechanics behind the world the story takes place? Or played a video game where all the non-gameplay elements seem like another patchwork of various predictable video game tropes?
Personally it really bothers me when any of those happen and I'm looking for a more concise way to call a situation when those are not the case (e.g. when asking for recommendations). Of course I'm not saying all fiction which doesn't match this, but that's beyond the point.
There is the concept of hard sci-fi but it seems to refer mostly to scientific accuracy of the story. What I mean is rather the piece of fiction being realistic within its own world - regardless of whether it matches our history and physics or not.


texts:
May this day bring happiness in your life.
May this day bring happiness into your life.

Which one is correct? Anyone kindly tell me about this.


texts:
In The Fairy Tale of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton, the author was talking about a prince that went to a very old man to ask him about the place of an old treasure, and when the prince said the word of "gold", the old man held out his hand as if in arrest of something, and turned away his face to the mountains.

“‘He has spoken of gold,’ he said. ‘He has spoken of things not lawful. Let him cease to speak.’

Does that mean he held out his hand as he want or arrest or hold sth, or as if his hand was arrested?


texts: If you also know the origin, please, share.


texts:
What exactly does the phrase "he/she was hurting" mean? Is the person in question experiencing pain?

Update: I am specifically looking for the phrase "to be hurting", not the individual words "hurt" or "hurting". I searched Google and Merriam Webster and did not find that specific phrase explained.


texts: "came up short 100 dollars" - what usage of "short" is that?

texts:
..but I came up short 100 dollars.

In this sentence, I cannot figure out the meaning of "came up" and "short". The closest meaning I found with "come up" was "to occur unexpectedly" but no example anywhere used that with a person.
As for "short", no dictionary entry I found was suitable. I would really appreciate some help here, as I do hear that quite often in this context (like be sth short?).


texts:
How to describe the body gesture in this image?

(Sculpture by Anthony Gormley, photo from Teri Gidlof via Pinterest)

Is it natural to say this guy is curling up himself, with his arms holding his knees?

Are there any other terms which can be used to describe him?


texts:
If my pie is hot, and Lola's pie is hot.  Can I say

  "Lola and my's pies are hot"?

Or should it be

  "Lola's and my pies are hot"?

These posts, "My wife and I's seafood collaboration dinner" and Yours vs. your's deal with possessive pronouns and the Saxon genitive, but do not address specifically the case illustrated here.


texts:
I'd like to know which of the following sentences is correct and, if possible, why one is correct and other isn't.

He taught me how the world works.
He taught me how the world worked.


texts: I popped one | I'm on one. What it mean?

texts:
On "Trust Issues" song, The Weeknd say it.
When he says "I popped one" it mean he ingested a drug or it mean he have no money?

When he says "I'm on one", it mean he have only one more drug or it mean he is high?

And "I'm on a few" what it mean?

  [Hook]
  I popped one
  Fuck it, I popped one
  Oh girl, I'm on one
  Fuck it, I popped one
  I popped one

  [Verse 2]
  Girl, I'm lying, I'm on a few
  Don't you worry, this ain't new
  Can we take this to your spot?
  I'm on eviction number 2
  'Cause I popped one, oh
  Fuck it, I popped one
  Oh yeah


texts: Thickness of a pencil, width of a dime, or as thick as a human hair

texts:
If a person wants to describe the dimensions of something to someone, they'll often relate the measurement of a thing to the size of an everyday household object.

Examples:

It's the thickness of a pencil
It's about the width of a dime
It's as thick as a human hair

I would like to find a standard/common list of examples, like the ones I mentioned above, but I don't know what such a thing would be called.

Is there a word for a household object that is used to describe the size of something?


texts: Is there a funny expression for "Keep it simple"?

texts: There is an expression in my native language that goes "Don't try to give birth to a bicycle". It usually encourages someone to use a solution that has already been found, or to refrain from making some trivial process overly complicated. I'm familiar with the canonical "Don't re-invent the wheel", but I don't find it particularly funny.


texts:
I am writing the following sentence and do not know whether I should use lower class or low class:
The argument of Serving in Florida is that ---- class life is a dehumanized form of existence.

I will take suggestions that are synonyms to low class.


texts:
One recipe states "one cup of cheese, shredded".  Now, does this mean you need a "cup" of cheese (i.e. 8oz.) and then grate it (I am English), or do you grate it first and then measure your "cup" of the resultant grated cheese?  The volume will be greater once the cheese is grated!

I am anxious to get the right quantity;  if it said "one cup of grated cheese" that would be clear.

It seems to me that this system of using 'cup' measurement is all based on volume, rather than weight.


texts:
I'm not sure if Old English counts here, but I can't find the answer to this anywhere.

How would one pronounce gemænscipe? I believe it's Old English for "community".


texts:
If you will follow my instruction, it is more assurable that you
  would achieve your goal.

assurable? or assured? What is the difference between them? I did a google search for "more assurable", it returns no exact match, even assurable seems not occurring much. So could anyone make a sentence using assurable so I can better understand its usage?


texts: What is the meaning of the sentence (about mathematics and philosophy)?

texts:
I have a question. I translate a text from English to Russian. And I can not understand the meaning of the sentence. It's very difficult for me. Could you explain its meaning for me using simpler words?

My sentence:

  "A chief point of interest that has emerged from modern attempts to characterize philosophy is the importance of distinguishing dialectical or analytical inquiries about meaning from empirical inquiries about facts"


texts: Oliver Twist: “who had known better times”

texts:
In the first chapter, Oliver asks for more, Oliver is moved to new poorhouse and there is a line which talks about a tall guy.

  One tall boy, who had known better times, was heard to say that, unless he had another bowl of porridge each day, he might eat the boy, a very small one, who slept next to him"

What is meaning of the line ‘had known better times, was heard to say... porridge each day’?


texts: "The heart can choke the mind when all its blood flows back unto itself."

texts:
This quote is Francis Underwood's, from House of Cards, Season 2, Episode 11. Would someone please explain it? Some context can be found here.

I'd venture that it refers to love? It induces the blood to flow back onto the heart? Then no blood circulates to the brain and thus chokes it?


texts:
I want to find a synonym to "is going to be" in a sentence like: "X is going to be outdated after Y joins X".

I could have chosen "will be", but I want something more incisive, and less "in the future"...


texts: Is using "wish" like this exclusive to India? “Did you wish her?”

texts:
I'm talking about wish the verb in the following sense only:

1.1 [WITH TWO OBJECTS] Express a hope that (someone) enjoys (happiness or success):
they wish her every success

As we can see, Oxford dictates that wish must have two objects when used in this sense.
In India, it's extremely common to drop the second object when it's understood.
For example:

It's her birthday today. Did you wish her?

It's highly unlikely in India that anyone would say “Did you wish her a happy birthday?”
In the above example, at least the context was introduced in the previous sentence, but this usage is also possible without mentioning the context when it is known by the people involved. For instance, on Mother's Day, a brother could ask his sister: “Did you wish Mom?” It's understood that he's talking about Mother's Day.
Also, it's common to introduce the context in the same sentence without using  a second object. As in:

Ever since we broke up she doesn't even wish me on birthdays.

My questions:

Do native speakers use “wish” like this?
If they don't, does this sound right to them?
Is it a feature of Indian English; or downright wrong?
(EDIT:) How would a native speaker phrase these example sentences?


texts:
In the following instances of possessive, genitive:

1)

  It has taken Dan's father's breath away.

Is the possessive grammatically, correctly used?

or should it be:

  It has taken Dan's father breath away.

We have 2 possessives here: first, the father of Dan, and next the breath of the father...

2)

In the following instance:

  The smoke was terrible for Dan's and everyone else's health.

or, better would be:

  The smoke was terrible for Dan and everyone else's health.

Tnx,


texts: 19th-century phrasing: Her sympathy was ours

texts:
The following is an extract from Frankenstein; I'd like to know what the clause in bold means. Does it have anything to do with being saintly? Does the word sympathy refer to a two-way or one-way sentiment?

  The saintly soul of Elizabeth shone like a shrine-dedicated lamp in our peaceful home. Her sympathy was ours; her smile, her soft voice, the sweet glance of her celestial eyes, were ever there to bless and animate us. She was the living spirit of love to soften and attract: I might have become sullen in my study, rough through the ardour of my nature, but that she was there to subdue me to a semblance of her own gentleness. And Clerval—could aught ill entrench on the noble spirit of Clerval?—yet he might not have been so perfectly humane, so thoughtful in his generosity—so full of kindness and tenderness amidst his passion for adventurous exploit, had she not unfolded to him the real loveliness of beneficence, and made the doing good the end and aim of his soaring ambition.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Is there any difference between "He won't do something" and "He wouldn't do something"?

texts:
I have read somewhere that He won't do something means He refused to do something and also He wouldn't do something has the same meaning.
Now I'd like to know, what is the difference in usage of these two sentences?

I checked the book Grammar in Use: Intermediate again and I found my answer:

You can use won't to say that somebody refuses to do something:
I've tried to give her advice, but she won't listen.
The car won't start. (=the car refuses to start)
Ref: Grammar in Use: Intermediate, 3rd Edition,pp 40-41, Cambridge University Press, 2009.

and:

Somebody wouldn't do something = he/she refused to do it:
I tried to warn him, but he wouldn't listen to me. (= he refused to listen)
The car wouldn't start. (= it refused to start)
Ref: Grammar in Use: Intermediate, 3rd Edition,pp 68-69, Cambridge University Press, 2009.


texts: Need verb signifying relationship between a "case study" and its subject

texts:
Obviously a Case Study "has" (or should have!) a subject.

But "has" seems a rather insipid verb. I'm looking for something more precise.

So far I've come up with: "concerns", "features" and "treats", but I don't find any of these particularly evocative.

Anyone got something that will hit the nail more squarely on the head?


texts:
I'm editing some technical papers that use industry specific terms but also common phrases and sets them in quotation marks.

  Examples:
  We will provide the client a two week "look ahead" regarding
  project status.

  We will hold "brainstorming" sessions.

  As a result of our "risk workshops" we were able to allay the clients'
  fears.

Interestingly, there are no quotes around more technical terms such as WBS (work breakdown schedule). Or CPM (critical path method).

Is this use of quotation marks okay or should I remove them?
My inclination is to remove them.


texts: Word request: exploration of frontier research/science ideas?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes new ideas in a particular scientific field that aren't necessarily based on research or science but still interesting to discuss. So the word should encapsulate thinking such as: "I don't know how or if this is relevant to our field, but there's something interesting I read about and which I would like to discuss with you people."

EDIT: Or imagine a researcher reading about an interesting concept related to a completely different field/discipline/area that he thinks might be useful to discuss within his own field (for instance, the computer scientist who reads about a technique in opera singing that might be applied to computer science).


texts: Problems in something vs Problems with something?

texts: May I know what is the difference between problems in doing something and problems with doing something?


texts: What's a word for someone who takes advantage of an unfortunate situation as an opportunity for self-improvement?

texts:
In a good way, so no negative connotations. The best way to explain it is using the saying: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". This person would make "lemonade" when life throws "lemons" at them. It's a good thing. Is there a word that specifically describes this?

Not optimistic.

I wanted to add that I've actually thought about this for days. The closest word I found was "can-do", meaning "confident and resourceful in the face of challenges". However, it's too informal for my purposes.


texts: Is there a name for words following this pattern?

texts:
Word pairs like bizarre and bazaar, although spelled differently sound very similar. It also seems like they are more than just a pair of rhyming words.

Is there a classification within rhyming words? Are there other such words? Or are they just a pair of rhyming words and I'm highlighting them because they just sound cool?


texts: "Even when pets is not my thing…" Is this grammatical?

texts:
My friend just posted a picture with a soft toy and captioned it:

"Even when pets is not my thing, you can always pose with soft toys!"

I want to know if that sentence is grammatically correct. I don't know why but this sentence just doesn't look grammatical to me. Should not it be "pets are" and "Even though" ?

It's my first time posting a question here, sorry if I've not followed the guidelines.


texts: Should "unmeasurable" be used to describe missing data due to obstacles in obtaining measurements?

texts: I am seeing the term "unmeasurable" used occasionally to describe measurements that could not be taken due to unusual circumstances. For example, audio qualities might not be measurable if there is a high degree of signal noise in the sample. Most dictionaries do not include this term, although "immeasurable" is included. However, I feel that "immeasurable" implies that something was so large or great that numbers could not be applied to it (e.g. immeasurable loss / damage / wealth). Is "unmeasurable" a term that I should add to my own lexicon?


texts: Meaning of "Be Mr Late Better Than Late Mr"

texts:
Not long ago I found on the Internet a lot of different road signs from India.
Here is one of them:

It says: "Be Mr Late Better Than Late Mr". I can't understand the meaning of this phrase. I understand that it's some word play but can't catch the idea.

Can you explain this to me?


texts: Is there a word that describes both "comparing" and "contrasting"?

texts: I'm looking for a more succinct word/small phrase that conveys the idea of "comparing and contrasting". Is there a word that hits two birds with one stone by representing both similarities and differences between two ideas/objects?


texts:
How do I prolong the sound of a word in writing, while maintaining its natural sound?
I want to prolong the sound of these words:

  Doh
  Rei
  Mi
  Fah
  Sol

If I write Doooooh, people might read it as doooo-oh.


texts:
I've noticed that many Americans in movies usually omit letter k when it falls between s and t sounds at the end of any word like in asked, tasked,

Can we generalize that as a rule, so the word masked will be /mast/ and risked will be /rist/?

The same thing with final mpt, can we omit /p/ in cramped, empty, attempt?


texts: How to say "I was among the top ten percent of students" in my résumé?

texts:
Could you please tell me how I should mention this in my résumé (my personal website indeed) that I have graduated from the university, while I was ranked among the top ten percent of students?

For instance, is it OK to say:

  I was graduated from this university while I was among the top ten percent of the students"


texts: Have we a word for thoughtless ambiguity?

texts:
Ministers have decided to “balance the books on the backs of the starving people of Yemen” in an act that will see tens of thousands die and damage the UK’s global influence, the head of the UN’s Office for Humanitarian Affairs has said.
Guardian

balance the books = to show that the amount of money a business has received is equal to the amount spent
Longman

the "backs of the poor" is an-often used cliché that relates to the labour of poor working people who carried burdens for low pay. As a cliché, it is often used as a metaphor for injustice imposed by others. There are many examples in:
Linguazza

Ernest Gowers expressed the dangers of careless use of cliché:

And almost all writers fall occasionally into the trap of using a metaphor infelicitously. It is worth taking great pains to avoid doing so, because the reader who notices it will deride you. The statesman who said that sections of the population were being “squeezed flat by inflation” was not then in his happiest vein, nor the enthusiastic scientist who announced the discovery of a “virgin field pregnant with possibilities”.2
2 The Deputy Prime Minister not so long ago roundly declared, “We will not balance the books on the backs of the poor.”
Bookanista

The intention of the UN spokesman (who is not the first to do this, there being many other instances as above) is thus commendably to draw attention to the undesirability of ministers' giving priority to financial balance rather than to the misfortunes of the poor. However, the unquestioning use of this cliché also brings up the unintended and diversionary mental image of ministers adjusting the balance of loads of books carried by poor people such as porters. Herein lies the thoughtless ambiguity to which I refer in the question.
This is an example of the importance of saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
Do we have a term that succinctly describes the careless ambiguity of the material in quotes? As it stands it looks like a heartless pun or an unintended double-entendre.


texts: "This is how I found out the solution" in one word

texts:
Chances are this is a duplicate, but it's really hard to search for those things:
How do I say: "This is how I arrived at the solution" in one word? I've seen the word used before on Stackoverflow. Someone answered a question and then he followed up with an explanation on how he arrived at the solution. So his answer looked something like

Answer to the problem
Word I'm looking for
I arrived at the solution by first navigating to the File menu and then...

The word also has meanings along the lines of "Justification", "Proof of work", "Explanation". I guess "justification" comes closest to it, but that's a word I would rather use in a mathematical proof.


texts:
Just a quick question while writing an essay: how does one use the "until eventually" phrase properly in a sentence? More specifically, location of punctuation and if it is even grammatically correct.

Cheers


texts:
In a short review on the occasion of the release of her new book in paperback, This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett, the New York Times reviewer wrote:

  These sparkling personal essays, by the author of Bel Canto and State of Wonder, cover the quotidian and the profound: from Patchett’s passion for opera and her stabilizing second marriage to her beloved dog, and her resolve to open an independent bookstore in Nashville.*

Patchett was obliged to answer in a letter to the editor:

  ...When highlighting a few of the essays in the collection, the review mentions topics ranging from “her stabilizing second marriage to her beloved dog” without benefit of comma, thus giving the impression that Sparky and I are hitched. While my love for my dog is deep, he married a dog named Maggie at Parnassus Books last summer...

Style guides vary in opinion on the use of commas. Clearly they are meant to be used to avoid situations exactly like this one.

Many people are using the comma less often. If the New York Times book reviewer makes mistakes such as this one, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Shouldn't commas simply be used before all ifs, ands and buts?

(Also, does the punctuation in any way identify if marrying her dog is of a quotidian nature, or of a profound nature?)

*since corrected


texts: What was the origin of the phrase "15 minutes of fame"?

texts:
I found it is usually attributed to the famous artist Andy Warhol, but also read articles that dispute it, such as
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2601226/Did-Andy-Warhol-15-minutes-fame-ripping-elses-saying.html
Edit: I have summarised the article

ACCORDING TO the above article, (Andy Warhol) the painter, sculptor and film-maker was first credited with the phrase in a brochure at a 1968 exhibition of his work in Sweden. But art critic Blake Glopnik says that the show's curator, Pontus Hulten, had told Mr.Granath, an associate, to include 'In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes' in the catalogue's compendium of Warhol quotes.
Mr.Granath found no record of the quote, but 'if he didn't say it, he very well could have; let's put it in,' Hulten reportedly said. 'So Andy's phrase was actually Hulten's,' says Glopnik.
Philip Pearlstein, who was at art school with Warhol, revealed to Glopnik that he'd said something similar himself in 1946, when the two artists first met. Warhol, still a teenager, asked Pearlstein what it was like to be the winner of a national art  competition, to which he replied: 'It only lasted five minutes.'
In 2005 photographer Nat Finkelstein claimed he was the source of the line. In 1965, during an outdoor photoshoot with Warhol, some people tried to push into the shot. Warhol said, "Gee whiz, Nat, everybody wants to be famous", and Finkelstein replied,  "Yeah, for about 15 minutes, Andy". "He took that line. My quote became Andy Warhol's famous words," Finkelstein said.
Mr.Glopnik concluded by saying that these stories fitted well with Warhol's style of taking inspiration from a wide variety of sources.

My question is not whether Warhol actually coined the phrase, or only 'borrowed' it from an associate: what I would like to know is whether anybody can find/remember the phrase (or something very similar) being used before Warhol began to use it?


texts: What does "went through the guards of the broadsword" mean?

texts:
It was upon the evening of this memorable Sunday that Sir Everard entered the library, where he narrowly missed surprising our young hero as he went through the guards of the broadsword with the ancient weapon of old Sir Hildebrand, which, being preserved as an heirloom, usually hung over the chimney in the library, beneath a picture of the knight and his horse, where the features were almost entirely hidden by the knight’s profusion of curled hair, and the Bucephalus which he bestrode concealed by the voluminous robes of the Bath with which he was decorated.

Please help me understand correctly the above sentence from Waverley by Sir Walter Scott.

…went through the guards of the broadsword…

Does it mean he put his hand through the guards of the sword, that is he seized it by the hilt? Or simply he examined the guards of the sword without touching them?


texts: Another idiom or phrase (in English) that has the same meaning as 'the fruits of our/your labour'?

texts:
I was wondering if anyone knew any other phrases or idioms for 'the fruits of our/your labour'?
I wanted to use it in the context, of a graduation speech, on how hard they've worked and how far they've come, that they're now about to receive the degree they've been working so hard for, over the last few years.


texts: Word for "modern technological (industry?)"

texts:
I am looking for a word that means something similar to industry, but not exactly (and I have already used industry in my sentenc)e:

"Silicon is an incredibly important material in the electronics industry, being used for making for diodes and transistors which form the basis of modern technological __________"


texts:
There are some very commonly used statements where we always use "at"to refer to the location of something or someone and never use "in". Here are some examples:

When you stay at a hotel on the beach you are literally on the beach when you walk out of the beach side of your hotel.
Tips for keeping the weight off for good. Here are a few tips to help you stay at your goal weight: Don't go overboard.
She prefers to stay at home.

My question "is it because of some rules of grammar rules that these sentences follow "or "just because the native speakers say it that way"??


texts: Can the word "group" function as a determiner?

texts:
Here are some example sentences that show my thought process:

Some cats are playing with each other.

Okay, it seems obvious that "some" is a determiner.

A number of cats are playing with each other.

Likewise, "a number of" must also be a determiner.  "Number" can't possibly be the head of the noun phrase, that doesn't make any sense.  You wouldn't say, "A number is playing with each other."

(?) A group of cats are playing with each other.

Here I might get in trouble for subject/verb agreement, but if I assume that "group" is the head of the noun phrase, I get the following nonsensical statement:

(!) A group is playing with each other.

This doesn't make sense to me because "with each other" has the semantic implication that the subject must be plural, and yet "group" is not plural.  Perhaps this is specific to my dialect (American English).

My sense is that "a group of", "a number of", and "some" can all function as determiners, and that the only reason that "a group of" is under dispute is because "group" can also function as a subject, meaning that both of the following sentences are grammatical:

A group of cats is causing a problem. (Head: "group")
A group of cats are causing a problem. (Head: "cats")

Is this analysis correct?


texts: He insisted he saw the accident vs he insisted he had seen the accident

texts: Is there any difference? As a non-native speaker, I sometimes have difficulty understanding the tenses. It seems to me that both are right.


texts: What's the difference between outgoing and extroverted?

texts:
Merriam Webster says that extroversion is "the act, state, or habit of being predominantly concerned with and obtaining gratification from what is outside the self" but Oxford Dictionary says that extroversion means "The quality of being outgoing and socially confident."

Does it also means talkative?

Also is there a difference between the two words?


texts: What is the origin of the word yummy, as in This food is yummy? All I can find are dates of known first uses.


texts: From a specific date, on and after specific date

texts:
How to say in short "Files added on and after a specific date"? It refers to future, so I can not use "since" and I should omit "verb" added.
1. If I say , Files from a specific date, does it refer only to files added on that particular date?
2. Can I say? Files from a specific date onwards? Any other suggestion?

Thank you for your help.


texts:
I understand that we can say "walk on a hurt foot", but can we simply say "walk on foot" to mean go somewhere on foot? Isn't that a redundancy?
For example, is this sentence correct despite the redundancy, or does the redundancy turn it into ungrammatical: "I walked on foot for a long time"?

Note: The scope of this question has nothing to do with which preposition to use in the phrase 'on foot'.


texts:
There are some adjectives that are logical binaries, e.g. empty — either the noun is empty or it isn't.

Can we apply a superlative degree to such adjectives? E.g.

  This is the emptiest these roads will ever be / have ever been.


texts:
I have always thought the phrase was "pique my interest" as in:

  Her mysterious background piqued my interest.

However, of late, on blogs and social networks, I have seen people using "peek my interest", as in:

  Disney is starting to peek my interest.

And I have even seen:

  Samsung's latest display peaks my interest in the company.

Which is the correct phrase?


texts:
Should I say "the thing is corrupted" or "the thing is corrupt"?
Would they carry different meanings?

i.e "My hard drive is corrupted, so all of my information is lost" vs "My hard drive is corrupt, so all my information is lost".

I know that for a politician (for instance), one would use the present tense, i.e "The Mayor is corrupt and is ruining the city", but what about things?


texts: I don't know how to understand this sentence ' it seems inconceivable that at least one of these planets does not have a life form on it'

texts:
the full context is like this:
However,when we look at the 100 billion stars in our galaxy(the Milky Way),and 100 billion galaxies in the observable Universe,it seems inconceivable that at least one of these planets does not have a life form on it;in fact,the best educated guess we can make ,using the little we do know about the conditions for cabon-based life,leads us to estimate that perhaps one in 100,000 stars might have a life-bearing planet orbiting it.
someone says that 'at least one of these planets does not have a life form on it' means 'no planet has a life form on it ', but I can't understand why,to me, it means 'more than one planet have no life on it'


texts:
I've noticed that there are two types of first person plural – one where the addressee is included, and one where she or he isn't.  For example:

With addressee included:

Let us go.
What's our plan?
Where are we going?

With addressee not included:

We want you to come along.
Are you with us?

One can see that whether first person plurals we or us includes the addressee largely depends on context.
My question is this:

  Is there a term for these two types of first person plurals? Are there any words in English that distinguish these two types?

If this is more appropriate for Linguistics.SE (I'm not sure) here's an additional question: Does any language distinguish between these two types of first person plurals?


texts: to have fun "on a journey" vs "in a journey"

texts:
Richard Branson in an interview with Motivated magazine was quoted as saying:

  To have fun in [my] journey through life and learn from [my] mistakes.

Source: PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENTS OF 5 FAMOUS CEOS

Where [my] is replacing your in the original.

For some reason this statement doesn't sound right. Should it be on my journey through life?


texts:
Merriam-Webster Online:

  Faith: (1a) belief and trust in and loyalty to God; (1b) belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion; (2) firm belief
  in something for which there is no proof.

From my point of view, the first and the second definition is fundamentally different. The first definition is just a shorthand for a statement. I did not learn much except what it stands for.

Sure enough, the second meaning is also a shorthand for something, but compared to (1), it reveals a lot more. In a sense, the first definition may be likened to an acronym.

Are there linguistic terms to better articulate what I am trying to say?


texts: The origin or rough timeframe for the quip about pouring piss out of a boot?

texts:
Okay: The line is characterizing someone as being so dumb that they could not pour piss out of a boot -- even if the instructions were written on the heel.
Just a tremendously clever line and if it does not have the impact today that it did when it was new it's because you've heard it already.
I have seen it attributed to LBJ and that would be something but it is more likely that it is an old Texas saying. One problem is, based on censorship laws, it could not have been in a movie and perhaps not in a book much before LBJ was born in 1908.
But it has a modern feel. Here's why: Prior to the advent of railroads, most goods were made locally -- towns were largely self-sufficient and it is doubtful anything you made or purchased had instructions written on it. Sears catalog might have had such things but that was late 19th century.
So I suspect we will not be able to find any indication that the saying was coined prior to the 20th century. If LBJ had made that up, would he not have made sure to let everyone know this? I sure would.
Now, I could believe that the first part was used -- just someone saying, why, that person couldn't pour piss out of a boot. The refinement could have been added maybe as late as the 1960s -- besides the argument about instructions being written on items, it just feels "edgy."


texts: Where does "funk" and/or "funky" come from and why the musical reference?

texts: Free your mind and your ass will follow - The Mothership has landed!! Why 'funk', of all words to describe such bootilicious music?


texts:
Is the use of "hereby" ever essential?  I get the feeling it is always superfluous.  "As a result of this document or utterance" seems to be trivially true.  For example:

  I hereby declare that what I am uttering has meaning.

Why would I utter something in an authoritative context if I don't intend for said utterance to have a result?  Why would I put instructions or a definition in a document if I did not really intend to define something?

Again:

  It is defined that to 'discard' a command is to [place that command in an omelet and surrender that omelet to the duck army].

Even if my new definition of 'discard' is totally out of sync with the normal meaning of 'discard', the sentence is still clear and has the same meaning as if I had written "it is hereby defined that...".

Even the example sentence given by Google confounds me:

  "the Port Authority hereby solicits proposals from developers"

If "hereby" was deleted from that sentence, would it really have a different meaning?  The Port Authority is clearly soliciting proposals about whatever gives that sentence context.  Maybe the Port Authority doesn't normally solicit proposals, but now it does now because it was written there, not because it was "hereby" written.


texts: Is it more grammatical to say “I'm going out into the public” or “I'm going out in public”?

texts:
Which sentence is more grammatical:

“I’m going out into the public.”

“I’m going out in public.”

Couldn’t one argue that “I’m going out in public” is the same as saying “Throw it in the trash” (which is incorrect) because that’d grammatically convey you’re throwing it while already in the trash?


texts: I can't understand this sentence. It's from a video game Baldur's Gate

texts:
I don't speak English well. Please understand my bad grammar.
I'm not a native English speaker.

Recently I am playing a video game Baldur's Gate in English.

And I found this from the game.

  Dreppin: "Nice day, ain't it? Too bad Nessa here ain't enjoyin' it though, her bein' sick 'n all. I need to get her one of them potions of antidote off Hull."

I understood almost everything what the charater said to me.

But still I don't know why the character used "her being sick and all."

Nessa = female cow

She's sick now. I understand.

But why her being sick? not she is sick or she has been sick or she is being sick.

Why there is no verb in the sentence?
Also how can the character starts the sentence with her, not she?

I mean, we use her usually her ring, her bag as a pronoun. like this.
But the character said "her being sick and all."

< it doesn't seem to make sense. Because it's a video game, so just because of that is it ok?

And what does meaning of "and all" ?

her being sick and all. means the female cow is sick now and what?

I don't get what and all means in this sentence.

So please explain the meaning of these things

meaning of and all
why her being sick and all / why there is no verb in the sentence
why her being sick / why the sentence starts with her, not she

Those are my questions. Please help me.


texts:
I shall go on to say that there are more incidents than we would care to imagine throughout Europe

What does 'go on to say that' mean, and when is it largely used? It looks like a phrase for quoting.


texts: What is the word when someone just doesn't listen to your side of the story?

texts:
I am looking for a general word that describes any situation where you have two people and one person is projecting onto the other their own story, when that story is wrong.

Example:

Say Bob is a single guy, and he has a conversation with Sally at the water cooler during work. Joe their coworker sees the conversation, and thinks that Bob is deeply in love with Sally. Bob in this situation, really is not, and the two are being friendly with each other. Joe confronts Bob later, and Bob says he is not interested, but Joe does not believe him, Joe continues to not believe Bob and projects that story onto Bobs life.

Another example could be when you are telling the truth about something to your friends, and no one believes you, because they have made up their mind based on some piece of evidence that is taken out of context.


texts: Is there a word for academic misconduct where an academic piece is paraphrased, using the same references?

texts:
Assume that you have written an academic piece about something. In this academic piece, you have supported your comments by the evidence. Now, somebody exactly uses your piece using the same references, but your sentences are completely rephrased.
Certainly, this is not an academic piece. I am not sure if we could say the person has plagiarized?  Is there a term for this academic misconduct?


texts: How to understand this teddy bear metaphor?

texts:
In this video How Long Do Koalas Really Sleep In A Day?, it states that

Scientists have long believed that this [1] may be due to [koala's] position as nature's own teddy bear, but recent studies point to a more biologically sound explanation. The koala subsists strictly on eucalyptus... eucalyptus is highly toxic, low on calories, and very difficult to digest... koalas have developed specialized digestive bacteria that nullifies the venomous effects.

What I only knew is the teddy bear is a stuffed toy. I am not sure how this metaphor is used to explain the Koala's unsmartness.

[1] this refers to
Koalas are undeniably cute, but they might not be the smartest creatures on the planet.

They chow down on eucalyptus leaves, which are pretty poisonous to
most mammals and contain little nutrition.

They look like bears, but they're not bears. Their thumbs are pure body horror.

And they apparently smell about as good as a college roommate who believes that tea tree oil can replace actual showers...

And they sleep a lot. It turns out that the standard koala spends between 18 and 22 hours a day drifting off to dreamland, according to the Australian Koala Foundation.


texts: My japanese students always insist on using 'almost people'. It doesn't sound correct to me but I can't seem to explain clearly. Please tell me if this phrase is really wrong or not. Thanks a lot!


texts: What is it called when no matter what choice you choose someone dies

texts: As the title says what is it called when no matter what choice you chose someone dies. For example: There are two main villains, Vergy and Xerox. You only have the option to kill one. If you choose to kill Xerox then he dies but then Vergy kills all your friends that are next to you, and if you choose to kill Vergy then all your friends live but you die. Or to simplify it: If you choose to go left then your friends die and if you choose to go right then you die but your freinds live. No matter what you choose someone dies. What is this scenario called?


texts:
Please help me with the meaning of this sentence:

  While it is likely that fewer varieties of
  plant seeds have reached Hawaii externally than internally, more varieties are known
  to be adapted to external than to internal transport.

Does it mean that fewer varieties of seeds have reached Hawaii externally that internally, i.e. more varieties have reached internally but more varieties are known to adapt to external transport. ?

Cheers.


texts: How do native speakers understand "make an acquaintance"?


texts:
The final sentence of Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby:

"It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardner saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete."

I've spent some time looking online at various definitions of holocaust, and of the history of the word, and I am having a difficult time understanding what the word meant to a reader of 1925 when TGG was published.  Online commentary seems to say that Gatsby and Wilson are sacrificial offers to The Old Money God.  This seems reasonable.  Dictionaries say that the word refers to a burnt sacrificial offering and came from the Old Testament.  A google ngram search was inconclusive because the modern sense of the word completely overshadows, and didn't give any references prior to 1960.

Holocaust was also used in the early draft versions of TGG, so the word was understood and "cleared" by Maxwell Perkins.  Also, there are big differences between the early draft versions of TGG and the Scribner's release.  Many of these are single word additions or deletions.  To my way of thinking, if Fitzgerlad had wanted to say "and the sacrificial offering was complete." he would have done so, but he stuck with that word and probably had used it all along, and he was not an author that liked to use interesting or "100 Dollar words."  There are about 15 words in TGG that might require a dictionary.

My questions:

1) In 1925 what would the common reader understand of the word holocaust?

2) Etymology suggests that holocaust started being used in 1670 to mean a mass destruction of human life.  In 1925 did the word have those connotations or was it understand in a different way?

3) Was the word only used in the Jewish community, and if so, was it to refer to an offering or a mass destruction?


texts: Looking for a phrase or idiom to say that only guilty people act guilty

texts:
I'm wondering if there is an idiom, phrase, expression or other figure of speech that would replace the following:

"People who are innocent, don't ever act guilty (therefore you must be hiding something)" Or "Guilty people are more likely to get nervous"

For example, this might be said by a policeman when searching somebody and they are acting suspicious. Another example might be if your significant other is acting suspiciously and think they might be cheating. The basic message is that somebody is getting bad signals from someone else and they will try to find out what they are hiding. Not sure if this is gonna make much sense to anybody.
I'm really not sure if something like this exists but let me know if you have any ideas!


texts: What's a term for pure text data (non-image non-video non-audio)?

texts:
I am looking for a word that means plain old normal data. I am trying to express the size of a database and clarify that doesn't contain any images or videos or audio files so that the number is meaningful (1.2TB of video isn't nearly as much data to manage as 1.2TB of text).

  The databases each contain approximately 1.2 terabytes of [insert_word_here] data.

My gut is leaning toward the word textual but that does not sound right to me, since there are plenty of other data types in a database (numeric, decimal, XML to name a few) that don't fit my personal concept of text.

Is textual a good fit here? What word conveys what I am trying to explain?


texts: Is there the term "majour fource" in English?

texts: A person from the legal department replaced "major force" with "majour fource" in a document. I wanna know if this spelling has any background in the English language or is a typo.


texts: Confused by the grammar(tense usage) in New Concept English 3 Lesson 17

texts:
Recently I was confused by the tense usage of a text from New Concept English, the text says:

Verrazano, an Italian about whom little is known, sailed into New York Harbour in 1524 and named it Angouleme. He described it as 'a very agreeable situation located within two small hills in the midst of which flowed a great river.' Though Verrazano is by no means considered to be a great explorer, his name will probably remain immortal, for on November 21st, 1964, the longest suspension bridge in the world was named after him.
   The Verrazano Bridge, which was designed by Othmar Ammann, joins Brooklyn to Staten Island. It has a span of 4260 feet. The bridge is so long that the shape of the earth had to be taken into account by its designer. Two great towers support four huge cables. The towers are built on immense underwater platforms made of steel and concrete.

Please pay attention to the word I set BOLD.
My question are:
1. why use "flowed" not "flows"?
2. Shouldn't we use "were built" because the bridge had been built when the author wrote this text? and if we use 'are built' to emphasize it is a fact, while we use 'was designed' in the first sentence of the second phrase?


texts: "Any ideas are appreciated" or "Any ideas would be appreciated"?

texts:
Lets say I'm asking a question on a popular question and answer website, and I want to close by saying that I will appreciate any submitted ideas.

The first seems awkward because at the moment of writing there aren't any ideas yet.

The second makes it sound like I would appreciate any ideas, if I wasn't a misanthropic sociopath that doesn't appreciate anyone.

Edit: I suppose I could also use the verb "will", but what if it's a really unhelpful idea? Seems like the job for a verb that implies more committal than "would", but less than "will"...

I'm probably over-thinking, but it bugs me!


texts: Is there a word for the action "to do an imperious display of affection"?

texts:
"to fawn" roughly means : "to do a servile display of affection in order to gain favour"

From that, one can imagine a similar word except that the display of affection comes from a position of power (imperious). (Whether such word implies that the display of affection is to gain favour or not is irrelevant for the purpose of this question.)

e.g. Parents ought not fawn over their children but rather [do imperious display of affection] over them.

Is there a word? Or should we invent it?


texts:
In John Seely's Oxford A–Z of grammar and punctuation, he gave the following sentence as an example of a complex sentence:

  She told him that she did not play again for over a week.

'She told him' is the main clause and 'she did not play again for over a week' is the subordinate clause, according to him.
My question is how this subordinate clause is dependent on the main clause? To me, the main clause feels dependent and the subordinate one seems independent. What am I doing wrong?


texts: Should it be "C are similar" or "are similar to C"?

texts:
I want to shorten the sentence:

  The relative contributions of several A to B are similar to the contributions of several A to C

Are either of the following better, or neither?

The contributions of several A to B and C are similar.
The contributions of several A to B are similar to C


texts:
I want to describe a historical person as someone who makes lots of enemies. His name: Alexander Hamilton. I don't want to insult him, just state the facts.

Is there any word for someone who makes many enemies?


texts: Are there figurative English proverbs (or idioms) to mean an expert (or likely winner) makes a great mistake?

texts:
The latest news that Serena Williams lost the semi-final round of U.S. Open to an unseeded Italian player, Roberta Vinci, whom Williams had never lost in the past reminded me of Japanese proverb, 'Jouzu-no tekara mizu ga ochiru,' of which literal translation is ‘Water leaks even from expert's hands,’ meaning even a perfect expert makes a mistake, or loses chances, which can be never retreived like shed water.

We have several proverbs in the same token such as 'Kobo mo fudeno ayamachi' – Even Kobo (774 -835), a Japanese Buddhist saint known for a master of calligraphy makes a mistakes of stroke, and 'Sarumo kikara ochiru' meaning “even a monkey (who should be a master of tree climbing and hopping around branches) falls from a tree.”

Are there English proverbs or idioms that figuratively describe that an expert or perfect player makes a great mistake sometimes?


texts: Why use "have signed up" in "You can't change it once you've signed up"?

texts:
You can't change it once you've signed up

I do not understand why "have signed up" is used here.

To me, "You can't change it once you sign up" is correct grammatically.

What is different between "have signed up" and "sign up" in this sentence?

Thanks in advance.


texts: What can I call the two possible directions on a line (as a category)?

texts:
In English, a vector is said to have two properties: a length and a direction. The possible directions correspond to half-lines out of the origin (so that, eg, up and down are different directions). In many other languages, a vector is said to have three properties: directions correspond to lines (so that a vector pointing up and one pointing down have the same up-down direction), and a third property determines which way the vector is pointing along that line (up or down in our example).

This may seem strange at first, but it's actually very useful to separate these concepts in mathematics. In fact, I need to do it in something I'm writing right now, but I can't find the right English words for it.

Firstly, I need a word to indicate that third property. Is there any accepted term for it? In the wikipedia article on vectors, there is a picture where it is labeled as "sense", although the term does not occur anywhere in the article itself.

Secondly, I might need a clear way to indicate which sense of the word "direction" I'm using (line or half-line). This does not need to be a single word, but it should be as clear and unambiguous as possible.

It would be even better if any official references for this usage could be found. This problem is bound to have come up before in the translation of foreign scientific literature.


texts: Word or phrase for the moment/reason/motive you reveal to someone why you had acted a certain way prior to parting ways

texts:
A massive cliché in action movies (especially James Bond), but is there actually a word for that moment when the evil villain reveals their deadly plot to the action hero before (usually attempting and failing at) killing them?
If there is no word for this, is there a phrase for the "reason that this was done" i.e. if you asked the villain why they did it (apart from probably for personal satisfaction).
In a similar (but un-deadly scenario), is there a word/phrase/motive for the reason someone might feel like they wanted to tell someone (they wouldn't see again) why they had acted in a certain way prior to the final parting (i.e. telling them about past events during their final encounter)? e.g. "I acted like that because I really liked you and what you did made me feel bad at the time, and I felt like I needed to tell you because..." (is this even a good idea haha)


texts: Are there any rules I can follow to make my own derived adjectives from a noun in English? E.g. xenogamy to xenogamic

texts:
I'm currently looking through dictionaries (both online and "offline") for an adjective of the word xenogamy.

Basically I want to translate the Dutch phrase "De kruibestuivende onderneming". What I came up with was "The xenogamy endeavor" or "The xenogamy undertaking".

It seems there's no adjective for the word "xenogamy" in English, or am I wrong?
In Dutch the noun is "kruisbestuiving" and the derived adjective is "kruibestuivend" or "kruibestuivende". I was thinking I could use some artistic freedom here and translate it as follows: "The xenogamic endeavor" or "The xenogamic undertaking"... Or should it then be "xenogamical"?

Basically:

Are there any rules I can follow to make my own noun derived adjectives in English?
I'll be using this as a title for a CD/Album, so I think some artistic freedom is allowed - but I still want people to know what I mean... and use proper English if possible.


texts:
I've given an English children's story to a small group of Italian kids to read and perform. The story is about a boy who changes into a cat and makes friends with a one-eyed next-door neighbour; a grumpy-looking man who wears an eye patch.

The kids didn't really understand what "one-eyed" meant so I translated it in Italian as guèrcio. But they didn't know what that word meant, so I explained to them that "a one-eyed man" was a person who could see only from one eye, and no, he wasn't a Cyclops.

Likewise in Italian there is the adjective mónco which can describe a person with an amputated limb (usually it's the arm).

Which got me thinking, if each of these two physical disabilities has its own word in Italian, why isn't there its equivalent in English? I suppose nowadays these terms would be judged to be insensitive and discriminating, but what about in the past?

Maybe there used to be words that meant: "one-eyed person" and "one-armed person", or perhaps something in slang?


texts: Punctuation for a list of items used in a search engine, some of which have quotation marks

texts:
I am writing a paper for a literature review in a masters course. As part of it I need to include a list of the terms I used in the search engine to find previous papers on my subject.

The list is something like: spoons, fork*, "knife and fork", "knives and fork*", sporks.

Normally the commas would be put on the inside of the quotations marks but I feel like this different because the quotation marks are not indicating that the phase is a quotation, they are actually part of the term that I put into the search engine.

I am supposed to follow the APA style for this article but I think that this is such an odd case that it doesn't really have a definite answer for me.

Am I correct in thinking this?


texts: Adjective meaning "argumentative for argument's sake"?

texts:
Quite often, the phrase "x for x's sake" is used in English, and so one could describe someone as being "argumentative for argument's sake" to describe someone who is arguing for the sake of arguing.  However, is there an adjective that means the same thing?  For example, it could be used in the context:

  I don't want to be [X], but [argument...]

... indicating that your argument is necessary and not intended to irritate.


texts: Can "that" have a meaning of "although"?

texts:
Can that have a meaning of although?

For example,

  He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed.


texts:
From what I can tell, there are many ways people use the word "sorry". I'm going to cite 2:

A way to show someone else sympathy for something neither of you had any control over. eg. "I'm sorry that your letter was lost in the mail."
To apologize for something they did to offend you that they did have control over. eg. "I'm sorry that I was angry with you this morning."

Is context the ONLY way to disambiguate between which version of "sorry" a person is using or is there a better way to use "sorry"? On the same token is there a better word to use than "sorry" in the situations I cited?

The reason I'm asking this is because often times the meaning seems to be lost via miscommunication. ie. the word came across but not in the way the orator meant it. Consider the following example:

Dave: "I'm going to get a drink from that grocery store, do you want anything?"
Cindy: "Sure, get me a Coke Zero if they have it. Thanks."
5 minutes later
Dave: "They didn't have Coke Zero so I bought you a regular Coke instead. Sorry."

Did Dave say "sorry" here because he is apologizing for the inconvenience that the store didn't carry Coke Zero or is he saying "sorry" because he failed to bring Cindy her desired drink and feels personally responsable? However frivolous my example may be hopefully you see the point I'm driving at that only Dave knows in which way he said "sorry". I'm hoping one of you can shed some light on this situation in a way that will help me understand how to communicate my "sorry" more efficiently.


texts:
The Apocryphal Twain suggests that the oft-quoted aphorism :

The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.

is not, actually, attributable to Mark Twain, though, indeed, it does sound very much like many other of his pithy sayings. The true source of the saying is not my question, however. I am interested in what I think to be the clever design of it.
One could say that 'you were born' is in elipsis and that the statement 'the day you find out why' depends on the notional understanding of the words not present.

The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why you were born.

But the whole of the saying strikes deeper than that, I would say.
'... the day you find out why' is  not just about finding out why I, in particular, was born, It is about finding out why anyone is born. It is about finding out why anything happens.
It is about finding out why.
That is to say, it is about the whole of why.
As children can ask, why such-and-such. And then they pick up on the answer and ask 'Why so-and-so'. And why the next ... and the next.
They want to know the whole of why.
So my question is - what part of speech is 'why' when it means the whole of why ?

The day I found out why.

When the word 'why' means 'the reason that everything is the way it is' ... then what part of speech is it ?


texts:
This is the most natural and original drink.

Does the definite article before 'natural' also modify 'original'? Or does it mean

This is the most natural drink, and it's original.'

If so, then is this the most common way to use pair adjectives? Or actually below is:

This is the most natural and the most original drink.

I'm confused by the usage of definite article here, thank you for your help.


texts: Is there a name/term for phrasing something such that to disagree implicates yourself?

texts:
For example:

  Now available in all good stores. . .

where to not agree to stock an item suggests that your store is not good, or:

  All rational people agree that. . .

where to refuse to agree suggests that you are not rational, or:

  Those who can, teach.

(a slogan used for encouraging people to become teachers) which suggests that if you aren't teaching a subject you are implicitly "worse" at that subject.

Obviously, all of these are subtle phrasing tricks that may be used casually or quite deliberately.

Is there a term for this type of phrasing?


texts: use of indefinite article before many varying uncountable nouns

texts:
I have been trying to find a rule or set of rules to explain how 'a' and 'an' are used with uncountable nouns, mainly to understand the many exceptions that I have been thinking of recently. Consider the following sentences, for example -

I would be happy if you showed me a little respect.
A coffee everyday is not really bad for your health.
He left the room in a hurry yesterday and has been missing since.
There was a strange aroma in the air.
There is a curiosity in you which can not be quenched.
I have an unusual demand for you.

These are just a few of the many, to be honest. And unfortunately, internet is filled with websites and tutorials that conveniently overlook these examples while talking about articles and uncountable nouns. Can someone tell me if there is/are any particular rule/rules to explain the usages here?


texts: where should the comma be if the clause is not independent?

texts:
I have heard this about the comma before and.

  Generally speaking, you want to use a comma in sentences made of two
  independent clauses connected by one of the following seven
  coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

S: It included individual and group studies, and reports under investigation.

Shouldn't there be no comma before "and reports" as "and... investigation" is not an independent clause?

Style cite?

Edit:
I added this as a comment in response to another.

And that would mean a comma is not needed: "It includes X and Y." –  Yoav Kallus yesterday

Exactly. There should not be a comma in "It includes X and Y". So according to the rule cited the comma should be omitted. But do even strong writers use comma in the given example? Yes. So, could someone knowledgeable please explain what rule should one follow and how should one handle the given example?


texts: Can I literally uproot _to_ somewhere, even if the verb doesn't explicitly say the subject goes there?

texts:
Can I literally 'uproot' to somewhere, even if the verb doesn't explicitly say the subject goes there?

For example, can I say

  The flowers have been uprooted to the greenhouse.

Obviously I can say that the flowers have been moved to the greenhouse, because that's what 'move' means. But 'uprooted' means

pull (something, especially a tree or plant) out of the ground

The official definitions don't seem to imply that a direction is supposed to be involved.


texts:
What is a word for sucking venom off a wound?

I remember encountering a semi-scientific word for the process. It is something that can be used like this:

  She performed (insert word) on his snake-bite to save him, but not only was it ineffective, she also swallowed some, and they're both
  dead now.


texts:
I would like to know, in the following case, which one is correct:

  "This condition plus some other properties ensures that..."

or should I say:

  "This condition plus some other properties ensure that..."


texts:
Which sentence is grammatically correct:

The statute stated that,"The "vegan..."

or

The statue stated,"The vegan.."

Do you add the word that or not?


texts: Which one is correct "Facilitate easy operation" or "Facilitate operation"?

texts: The dictionary says Facilitate means ease and I have seen many people using facilitate easy operation, facilitate easy learning etc. What is the correct usage??


texts: difference between "start back" and return

texts:
"we should start back"

I've just read it in a novel, I'm wondering what's the difference between start back and return?


texts: Peculiarity in the pronunciation of phonological idioms

texts:
In a thesis on multi-word units in dictionaries (page 16; pdf page 38), the researcher touches upon phonological idioms, using the definition:

  a fixed expression which has an oddity of pronunciation

Then he mentions the following examples, noting that the oddity is in the capitalized predicates:

the penny DROPPED

the mind BOGGLES

the plot THICKENS

where the shoe PINCHES

I don’t really get the oddity in those pronunciations. Could you please further explain the idea?

I have done some research on Google, but all I found was that phonological idioms are in fact mostly common among children since they tend to mispronounce the words.


texts: How did this begin? Did it really start with Bugs Bunny?


texts:
In Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now, there are several places where "ain't" is used instead of "am not", such as:

  "I ain't afraid of him, if you mean that," continued Lord Nidderdale.

— Anthony Trollope, The Way We Live Now (Kindle Locations 3161-3162).

  "But then she don't want me, and I ain't quite sure that I want her."

— Anthony Trollope, The Way We Live Now (Kindle Locations 3165-3166).

Besides Lord Nidderdale, who belongs to the aristocracy, elsewhere in the book it is the village girl Ruby and other village residents who use "ain't" in the sense of "is not", "are not" and "am not".

Is the fact that today "ain't" is regarded as slang a development post-Trollope (who was writing not so long ago), or is His Lordship merely being colloquial? Was Trollope actually a catalyst in this change?


texts: Relative clause - "...one of those people who make” or “makes"?

texts:
Which one is correct?

  He is not one of those people who make/makes you angry

Does "make" refer to  "one"? Is there a  possibility that "make" refers to "people"?

Can it be something relative?


texts:
I do really enjoy how rich the language of adpositions is, but two of those in a row is something rare to me.
So I just heard this phrase in an HBO show:

— […]
— Get it over with.

It appeared in a context of stopping a frustrated person from talking about their problem anymore. To me, it sounds a lot like Deal with it. Am I close?.. I have a somewhat uneasy understanding over the with.
Is this any valid grammar at all?


texts:
Is there a difference in how you pronounce the drug and the female hero?

Like, for instance, if I see a movie with a great actress and I want to say to my friend

  That was the best heroine I have ever seen.

Can it be confused with

  That was the best heroin I have ever seen.

?

Or will my friend consider me a junkie?


texts:
what does ''bearing gifts'' mean?
forexample, you are going to travel to a county, your friends might tell you, take some some bearing gifts for your host.


texts: "He is said to have known people" vs "He is said to know people"?

texts:
I came aross a question like this：

As a public relations officer, he is said ________ some very influential people.

to know
to have known

There are two available answers to this question. The first is to know
and the other is to have known. I chose the first version, to know, but it
said that the standard answer should have been the second version, to have known.
This confuses me. Which answer is both grammatically correct and also
reasonable in sense here?
Furthermore, I checked out some of the usage of to have done something,


texts:
Is the term "doggie bag" still used in the US and UK, and is it common to take home what you can't finish?
What is the most appropriate way to ask for leftovers at restaurants to take home?


texts: How are "yes" and "no" formatted in sentences?

texts:
If I am expecting an answer from a question and wish to state my prediction, do I need to use quotes around a simple "yes" or "no"?

I think the answer is no. / I think the answer is "no."
That would be a yes. / That would be a "yes."

Potential end cases:

Why would he say, "No"?
The votes are in; three yeses and four nos.
The options are yes or no; not "maybe."


texts: What part of speech is "by" in this sentence?

texts:
In sentences like these below, what part of speech or what grammatical function does "by" serve?

Open the door BY turning your key.
Lift the bucket BY pulling on the rope.


texts: Is the sentence "we don't need to be what they want us to" correct without the "be" in the end?

texts: The formal way to say the sentence would be "we don't need to be what they want us to be", but would it be acceptable and understandable in colloquial language (eg in a song) to say "we don't need to be what they want us to"?


texts: Is it correct to say “Let this be a year where . . . .”?

texts:
Is it correct to say the following:

  Let this be a year where there will be joy.

Or is there some more natural phasing for that sentiment in English?


texts: Do I need to add comma in a sentence joined with "and with that"

texts:
User experience design industry evolved and with that the need for consistent design and centralized design rollouts.

OR

User experience design industry evolved and with that, the need for consistent design and centralized design rollouts.


texts:
In my understanding, the use of a comma is needed when you are connecting two sentences, which both need there own subject and verb. With that said, in the sentence below:

"The best mindset is to assume she's attracted to you, and that she does not play games"

Is the use of the comma correct? I am questioning this, because the use of the two words "and that" would be my connector instead of just "and". Should the sentence be rewritten to take away the "that"?

"The best mindset is to assume she's attracted to you, and she does not play games"


texts: What's the difference between "Blood group" and "Blood type"?

texts: Do blood group and blood type refer to different classifications of blood (A, B, AB, O vs. something else), or are they used in different contexts to refer to the same thing?


texts:
I am looking for the noun form of the word realistic, or a word that would be equivalent. Something like "realisticity"? Here is the context:

  The (realisticity?) of the characters in a novel.


texts: What's a word for someone dedicated to the truth?

texts:
For example:

  He never held the truth from us, he is a _____.

I know there are plenty of adjectives to describe this type of person, but I'm looking for more of a noun like a "warrior or advocate of truth" if there is such a word.


texts: When a writer uses parentheses to define a phrase or clarify a word in a sentence, is it appropriate also to use i.e. in the parentheses? That use seems redundant to me.


texts: Distinction: "What can I do you for?" vs. "What can I do for you?"

texts:
Usually, when being served the phrase "What can I do for you?" is used but sometimes I also hear "What can I do you for?" in quite the same context. So is there a difference or is it just a slip of the tongue?

Edit I also heard it amongst others in 'Allo 'Allo and once in The IT Crowd.


texts: What is the appropriate preposition for "mailing list"?

texts:
I am trying to write a motivation letter and in this sentence I am not sure which preposition is appropriate for "mailing list". Would you please help me?

To clarify the case, I am subscribed to a mailing list which a John Doe used to distribute an ad about a vacancy. I am going to apply for that position and try to state that I have been informed about the position via the mailing list. This is sentence I have used: is "in" appropriate? Or should I use another preposition or another sentence structure to state that?

  I was informed about this position by the ad sent by John Doe in XXX mailing list.

Thanks


texts: Are pronouns for non-universal divines (such as "Zeus") capitalized?

texts:
When following the formal English rule of Reverential Capitals, any reference to God Almighty is capitalized, as are equivalent non-Christian entities such as "Allah" or the neo-pagan "Goddess" (and various similar entities from fiction, like the Creator from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.)

Does the rule extend as well to polytheistic deities of infinite character?  If discussing a variation of Greek gods where each deity has infinite and omnipresent control over their particular sphere of influence, would pronouns be capitalized when they wouldn't otherwise be?

  Zeus controls lightning.  Do not anger Him.

or

  Zeus controls lightning.  Do not anger him.

(Assume, of course, that reverential capitals are otherwise used, as in "Jesus and His apostles.")


texts: Is there any word in English where the sound /o/ stands alone without being part of a diphthong?

texts:
See this picture
 (Source)
See the vowel "o"? I couldn't find any word in the English dictionary that has the sound /o/ alone without being part of a diphthong.
For example, in /ɡoʊ/ (go), the /ʊ/ stands right after /o/.
Are there any words like /ɡo/, /ko/ where the /o/ stands alone?
I feel that in English we can only have /oʊ/ and /o/ cannot stand alone. That is why my English teacher only teaches us to pronounce the diphthong /oʊ/. She doesn't teach the pronunciation of /o/.


texts: Groom for me as I know it means a man who tends to the horses, or and in the verb form, it is to take care of one's appearance. Then, why is it used to refer to the man of the marriage? Is there any etymological reasons?


texts: Meaning of "Flyover Boy"? - From Movie "Gone Girl"

texts:
I am wondering what "Flyover boy" means from the movie, Gone Girl.

  Nick Dunne: Look, it wasn’t like that, okay? You have no idea how shitty it was with Amy, how fucking terrible she made me feel. Flyover boy. I would get knots in my stomach just coming home, knowing she would be sitting there dissatisfied, before I even walked in the fucking door.


texts: Why can we use present simple for "I feel fine"?

texts:
“I feel fine this morning”, why? He feels fine all morning, it means that this action takes a long time, so we must use present continuous.

  I feel fine this morning, but I was very tired last night.

If both variants are right, please, share the rules about present simple in this case.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is staff plural?

  The family is on a tour
  The family are on a tour

Which one is correct and why?


texts: I want to write a book about the unfair expectations of a caregiver. A caregiver refers to somebody to looks after somebody else.  What is the term for that 'somebody else'.  'Patient' doesn't seem all encompassing.


texts:
In this passage from Book III, passage 2 of Sun Tzu's The Art of War, does Lionel Giles use of the square-bracketed "but"  effectively make the first sentence convey the meaning that ALL modern strategists would approve the words of the Chinese general?

  Here again, no modern strategist [but] will approve the words of the old Chinese general. Moltke's greatest triumph, the capitulation of the huge French army at Sedan, was won practically without bloodshed.


texts: Word for change of information during transmission

texts:
A: John's eyes are black.

  B: John's pupils are black.

  C: John's students are black.

When information gets passed from one person to another, its meaning may be altered. Is there a word for this situation? It might be used in the following sentence:

  Misunderstanding arose because of .......

Phrases and non-nouns are also welcome.


texts: Should "afford" be transitive in "my chosen path has afforded (to) me unique opportunities"?

texts:
In a college essay I wrote a sentence that reads:

  Sixteen years later, my chosen path has afforded to me unique opportunities, limitless learning, and potential for growth.

Should I use the verb offered or afforded? After that, should I use to me, or me?


texts: Is there a word for when fictional media makes non-English speaking characters from the past speak in an old-timey English dialect?

texts:
There are many movies and TV shows that depict characters from historical eras who would not speak English, but do for the sake of the show's audience. In those cases, they tend to use an old English dialect to mimic how the characters would have spoken in their own language.

For instance, if a movie is meant to take place in ancient Japan, the characters will speak in an English dialect, using English slang and such, even though the people of that era spoke ancient Japanese and didn't use the same slang or have the same accents as the characters in the movie.

Another example would be a show like Spartacus. The characters are either Roman or from tribes in the surrounding areas. They likely would have spoken Latin or Greek, but the characters speak English in a way that sounds ancient, but is clearly not how they would speak during the Roman Empire.

Is there a word for that?


texts:
If my brother and I shared a womb during gestation (as humans) we're twins. If there was another sibling in there we're triplets.. and so on, but is there a general term to describe us irrespective of how many of us there were?

I know we're siblings, but I'm curious if there's a word analogous to siblings that refers specifically to members of a single human litter.

For that matter is there an alternate word for a human litter? Or is it correct to refer to triplets as a litter?


texts: Firing the Bow: Before the Great Transition

texts:
... at which point they had no choice but to fire upon the enemy.

They opened fire.

They returned fire.

Aim! Fire!

Fragments of reports from the battlefield.

The first hand-held firearms appeared in Europe in the middle of the 15th century. Well. At least that's what people better acquainted with such matters than myself keep telling me.

Before muskets, there were crossbows, and before the crossbows archers had to make do with the bow and arrow.

Suppose you were a reporter, or an officer in charge of the archers, at, say, the Battle of Hastings (1066 A.D.). Did the above phrases have equivalents in those times?


texts:
What is the difference between these? Could you give me an example?
Please see the attachment.


texts:
"A few days every month, he goes cycling."

Is the noun phrase "a few days every month" acting as an adverb to "goes" in the above sentence? There is no preposition before the noun phrase "a few months every year" that may make it an adverbial phrase. So how is the sentence without a preposition in the present form correct grammatically?


texts: What would be the proper usage of "Qua" in a sentence?

texts: I'm a native English speaker, but I'm trying to expand my vocabulary slightly. I looked this up online, and the definition for it baffled me. How exactly would I go about using this particular word?


texts: A word for "people who were born on the same day from different mothers"

texts:
What could be a word for people who are born on the same day but are not siblings?

I am creating a website and matching my college students who were born on same day. I need an appropriate or the closest equivalent word in English to describe that situation. A word or short expression that I could use as its domain name.

I'm not expecting the exact word for this situation, but at the very least it should be an appropriate and acceptable one, even a short phrase will do but its meaning must be comprehensible to visitors to the website.

I need a single word or combination of two words that should be very catchy for the audience.

Can anyone help?


texts:
So I'm watching a sci-fi flick with my kids and a new character appears on-screen. My son says, "Dad, is she a good guy or a bad guy?"

I could have replied, "Well, people are more complicated than those terms suggest, and good literature and cinema reflect that fact; they're more nuanced, and so that's a hard question..."

I could have added, "You should see all the fun debates on ELU about the use of 'guy' to refer to females!"

However, a) my son is five, and b) I was enjoying the movie too much.

So I said, through a mouthful of popcorn, which I continually advise my children against, "She's a good guy."

And that got me thinking: what other expressions can we use to talk about the cast of characters allied with the protagonist and the cast of characters allied with the antagonist? The only thing that came to mind was "white hats" and "black hats," which I assume come to us through cowboy movies. But surely that's not the only alternative.

I mean, our division of characters (and fictional worlds, not to mention the real one) into good guys and bad guys certainly predates these expressions, right?

Suggestions?


texts: "stopping to refill his cup when she did"

texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  She got up to get some of the coffee he had made, stopping to refill his cup when she did.

What does the subordinate clause in this sentence mean? Does it mean when "she" has got coffee, she stops getting coffee and starts to refill "his" cup or some other meaning? But my interpretation seems a bit strange.


texts: What's the difference between an "aphorism" and a "maxim"?

texts: Quotes, sayings, aphorisms, maxims.  What's the difference between all these, especially aphorism vs. maxim?


texts:
From Etymonline

  "Showing the fig" was a vulgar gesture made by sticking the thumb between two fingers, a display which vaguely resembles a fig, itself symbolic of a vagina (sykon also meant "vulva").

What does "fig" mean in "showing the fig"? I looked up the dictionaries, which say either a kind of fruit or nothing, which doesn't fit the context.


texts:
Which one is correct?

  Don't let us stay here,  will you?
  Don't let us stay here, shall we?

I have chosen the first one because "let" is used here as "allow" but my colleague made me confused


texts:
Which of these is correct capitalization?

  Mrs. Ohana gave me the Bible.
  Mrs. Ohana gave me The Bible.


texts: What's it called when someone does his work at client's home

texts:
People of some occupations usually do their work at the specifically equipped facilities.
For example, you go to the barbershop to get a haircut or you go to the dentist, when you have a tooth pain.

At some occasions, however, these professionals could arrange the service on your site (at your home, for example).

What's this kind of service / action called?

UPDATE: I am researching this particularly for barbers and have found "on-demand" term being used for this service.

  Barbers are available on-demand or you can schedule up to a week in advance

My second question is, whether "on-demand" is commonly in use for the barbers? If so, what other occupations it might be used for?


texts: what does "slash the odds of something" mean?

texts:
it seems cutting the odds means, according to this website, decreasing the possibility of something happening.

I thought slashing the odds meant the same but apparently it's the opposite?

Unilad wrote the following on facebook today:

"The odds on Damian Lewis becoming the next James Bond have been slashed massively. Now the ginger-haired Etonian has jumped to being second favourite to succeed Daniel Craig in the prized role...", to mean his odds of playing the role has increased.

(Here is a link to the actual article : http://www.unilad.co.uk/articles/is-damian-lewis-set-to-be-the-next-james-bond/)

It seems it could possibly be a phrase dominantly used in Britain?

Does "slashing the odds" mean increasing the odds or decreasing?

If the latter, can you help me visualize how "slashing" something in the literal sense of the word can mean "increasing"?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
Is there some pejorative name for a street car that has been tuned, in most cases, for drift.

The main features - the engine swap and increased power, and at the same time a complete disregard for the body, which is mostly shabby and rusty.

Example image from customculture.ru:


texts: I’m a little slow to process my thinking, but rather than just telling people I’m a bit slow I would like something witty to say

texts: Anyone got anything witty to say as if I was sort of saying I’m a bit slow in a witty way or a self respectful way but with a bit a humour, sort of like in a melancholic self depreciating way and  fashion, thanks


texts: Origin of the phrase "That is how it is"

texts:
Where does this come from?

  That is how it is.


texts: Can "As [adjective] as [noun] is" in the beginning of the sentence mean "Although/despite [noun] is [adjective]"?

texts:
In a blog post about web development, I found an interesting phrase:

  As awesome as CSS counters are, don’t forget about our old friends ol and li.

From the context, it seems to mean "Although/despite [one Web technology feature] is awesome, don't forget about [other Web technology feature]". But I have never seen "as ... as" in this meaning. What is the correct meaning of this phrase and what kind of "as ... as" usage is this?


texts: Why is “collaborate” not spelled “collabourate” in British English?

texts:
Everyone knows that labour in British English is labor in American English.

However, a cursory examination of a dictionary shows the words collabourate and collabourator, derived from the mentioned word labour, do not exist in British English.

Why not?


texts: Single word for "always new requirements"

texts: Is there any word to express "always new needs emerge"? Can renewable be sufficient for this? The context is something like "cannot satisfy the endless renewable needs", in an academic article.


texts: I have a question. If I am quoting a quote which has square brackets in it already, but I want to add square brackets because there are spelling mistakes so I want to add "[sic]". Do I just add it to the quote or do I change the square brackets in the quote?


texts: Was "ugly" ever a word meaning a group of walruses?

texts:
A Google search for ugly of walruses yields many results mentioning the word as an item of trivia.

But I've yet to discover a single source actually using the word.

Did it in fact ever have that meaning?


texts: How do you parse the sentence "The lamp by which she read the book grew dimmer."?

texts:
How do you parse the following sentence?

  The lamp by which she read the book grew dimmer.

My friend says that "by which she read the book" qualifies "the lamp". So, it would basically mean "The lamp that she was using to read grew dimmer."

For some reason, I comprehend the sentence as
"The lamp that she was near while reading the book grew dimmer." Can it go both ways, or...?

Also, about the usage of "grew dimmer" there, should it be "dimmed" instead? Thanks.


texts: Punctuating a Sentence Containing a Question

texts:
If a sentence contains a complete question, but ends with a statement, should it be punctuated with a question mark?

Example:

  Could she go to the store, he wondered


texts:
Sometimes I read/hear the verb "to hock" used as a synonym of "peddle/hawk", as in "The street vendor hocked his wares."

Is that correct? I always thought that "to hock" meant "to pawn". Perhaps it's a colloquial/street usage?

Edit: As coincidence would have it, I stumbled upon an infographic that uses the verb exactly like that. WARNING: it's a comparison between comedians Bill Hicks and Denis Leary, there's some mild swearing, so might be NSFW.

Also in this article as well. ("In businessese, this means that businesses will have more tools to aggressively hock their brand to Facebook users who like their product.")


texts: Why do we use 'take', and what does it mean in 'does he take sugar'?

texts:
The verb 'take' is used in the context of personal habits such as Do you take sugar?; What size shoes do you take?, Do you take the Guardian/New York Times?, even At what time do you take dinner?, or I need to take a bath/nap/look at something.

Why, exactly are we using 'take', in these instances?


texts: What is the difference between "the majority of" "a majority of" and "majority of"? When do we use definite article with word "majority"?


texts: A word to describe "the presence of someone/something has little or no significance in a given situation"?

texts: I am trying to use a single word/simple sentence to explain a situation where adding/not adding a part to a device won't make any difference to its functionality.


texts: Word for former/previous user (someone that stopped using something)

texts:
I’m looking for a word to describe someone that used to use an app/service, but doesn’t anymore.

Surely, there must already be a word used in marketing to describe this concept.

Example of usage:

“We need to create a marketing campaign to win-back all of our [users who used to use the app/service but do not anymore].”


texts: What is the tense of shared in "when shared?"

texts:
Consider the sentence "Everything is better when shared with friends."

What is the tense of "shared" in this context? It confuses me because the sentence implies that the sharing has not yet happened, but the word itself seems like it is in past tense form.

I am trying to learn another language and I am having a difficult time translating this sentence.


texts:
First of all, I know that if we ask "who is he.", normally the indirect question which corresponds with it would be "who he is." (for example: do you know who he is?)

Still, recently, one question has been worrying me. Here's what I'm thinking about: The way in which we form indirect questions seems to depend on how we identify the correct subject of the sentence, and this is exactly the reason why we sometimes find that the word order in both a indirect question and a direct question are actually the same, because the interrogative pronouns of the direct question happens to be the subject of the original statement. For example, if the direct question is "how many of you are hungry for success", the indirect question which corresponds with it would be "how many of you are hungry for success."

Here comes the problem: do we usually presume that in a direct question like "who is he", the subject of the original statement is "he" not "who"? (which should explain why we always say do you know who he is but not who is he). It seems to me that without this assumption there's no way we can identify the real subject in the kind of questions like "who is he".

A question like "who is he" usually comes from a statement in the form of "A is B.". From this statement, It is possible to form both "Who is A." and "Who is B." In the former question the subject is "A", and in the latter question the subject is "who". Based on the rule from which we form indirect questions, there are actually two possible indirect questions here. One would be "do you know who A is?", and another would be "do you know who is B?".

I know this is quite puzzling, and perhaps sounds very unnatural to the ears of natives. But I really want to be sure whether sentences in the form of "do you know who is he." are truly grammatically wrong. I actually came across some cases in which there seemed to be nothing wrong with the usage of "do you know who is he".

(This one, for example: http://thegrammarexchange.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/340600179/m/8046085494


texts:
I have come across this sentence in a CNN report.
"We can't smell them because we have a measly five million sensors in our noses, but dogs have up to 300 million sensors in their noses."

"...a measly five million sensors..." ?

When can we use the article "a" before a plural noun? Could this be a mistake?


texts: "crying to George Jones albums" what does "to" mean here?

texts:
"Like me, Hugh was single, which came as no great surprise, considering that he spent his leisure time rolling out dough and crying to George Jones albums."

This is an excerpt from a book I have been reading lately. In the sentence above, the "to" in "crying to" has the same meaning as in "dancing to music"?

Also, I assume that the writer is trying to be funny when he says "crying". I do not think he literally cried. I think it is more like moaning. What do you guys think?


texts:
I have created a web application that has two offerings, one is free, the other is paid. The paid version has exactly the same functionality as the free version, it's just that it can be used with more people.

I am struggling with what to call the paid account.

Here are some I have rejected.

"pro" or "professional" - Implies that if you use the free version,
your not professional.
"premium" - Sounds expensive.
"gold, silver, bronze" - doesn't really work with two offerings, and
implies class.
"restricted/full" - Implies less/more functionality.


texts: Is there a word that means "derivative-able"?

texts: I'm just curious, so is there a word that you could use to express that a mathematical function has a derivative?


texts: Idiom request for "the reverse is also true"

texts:
Vice versa is a idiomatic, concise way of expressing that the converse (other way around) of the preceding statement is also true. E.g:

  Matter that has lowest boiling point will boil first, and vice versa (matter that boils first will have the lowest boiling point)

I would like to know if there are also  idioms/short expressions for stating that the reverse (opposite of the entire preceding statement) also holds true. i.e:

  Matter that has lowest boiling point will boil first, and ....... (matter with the highest boiling point will boil last)

What can I put in ....... ?


texts: A word for someone who gives easy answers

texts:
I asked my friend to recommend to me a good movie to watch and he answers with a very cult movie. Or I ask him a metaphoric question but he answers with a common response. He doesn't think nor ponder. He replies with the most popular/obvious answer.

What can we call this kind of person or this situation?

More info Edit: He always responses with the obvious answers unintentionally. He has no class and he is just like ignorant to give advices about the subject

Edit2: maybe some people think "why are you asking a question to someone you think cannot answer it, someone you try to describe ignorant about the subject". I am asking because i think he might know but his answer was very very obvious. So, i should call him with a 'word' and then maybe he become aware of the situation


texts: Gun rights advocates claimed that the fault (lies or lay?) with people who have mental health issues.


texts: How would you abbreviate Amount per Hour?

texts:
If I need the abbreviation of "Amount per Hour" to be used as a label/title, should it be:
"Amt/Hr" or "Amt/hr" or something else?


texts: I'm trying to figure out what the correct feminine forms of "god king" and "god emperor" are. Do I just replace "king" and "emperor" with their feminine equivalents (i.e. "god queen" and "god empress"), or should I also replace "god" with the feminine version (i.e. "goddess queen" and "goddess empress")?


texts:
Please help settle a dispute (in my head).  Which of the following phrases works better?  Disregard the old "no split infinitives" rule. If either phrase is considered correct, which phrase rolls off the tongue more comfortably? Say it aloud, and share your opinion.

  It will teach him to relate better to this community.
  It will teach him to better relate to this community.


texts:
For a long long time, I thought that applying oneself meant that whatever I know, I should be able to apply that to a problem that is presented to me. For example, if I was asked something, and I didnt know the solution completely, but knew the basics of the problem, then I should be able to think out a reasonable solution and present it forward.

I thought applying oneself was mostly around 'you understand the basics of this topic, I can solve the problems around this topic even though I do not know this. I can apply myself.'

But I googled and the answer that I got for 'Applying Oneself' was that to work hard.

So what is it then? Also, what is the phrase that I can use in the following scenario.

I am a new member to the team of 5 who are working on a business problem. Even though, I do not understand the problem, I understand the logical reasoning behind what the speaker is trying to present. So I am able to follow and even ask/make suggestions. In this case, I do not know the problem inside out, but the fact that it is a logical reasoning sort of thing, and I have been good at that sort of stuff, so will I say that I was 'applying myself'? or something else?

Thanks


texts: "Best is enemy of the good" (Russian idiom/saying)

texts: What are English equivalents for following Russian idiom: "best is enemy of the good"? In Russian it means that if you are going too much after perfection you may make things even worse instead of achieving of something good.


texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher may seem to be a rascal, and the candlestick maker may seem to be a fool.

Since the verb phrase "may seem to be" is pretty long, I might want to elide "may seem to be". Can I use gapping commas?

  The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher, a rascal, and the candlestick maker, a fool.

My concern is that the gapping commas occur in a series that is punctuated with commas. Is it grammatical? Is there a better alternative to using gapping commas here?


texts: What would an 11-year-old say that means "appropriate"?

texts:
I need a similar word that may be used by a 6th grade girl; e.g.,“That kind of behavior is only appropriate for little girls of six or seven.”

It is not to tell her (may be used by), it is for her to write in her diary, something that she would say as an 11 year old—I doubt a girl that age would put such words in her diary—but I may be mistaken. In Spanish (my native language) "conducta apropiada" is common, and even younger kids would understand it, but using the above expression in their diaries may not be as common.


texts: Is "unable to do so" grammatically correct in this context?

texts:
"They are an easy way to force a conscious examination of ideas — because that is necessary for writing — and a way for me to better track myself in a way smart watches are as of yet unable to do so."

Here, is the "watches are as of yet unable to do so" grammatically correct? Or does the "so" need to leave?


texts: I want (object) (infinitive) or (gerund)?

texts:
I want people to enjoy the show.
or
I want  people enjoying the show.

Is it possible to use both?

I know it's a duplicate but the answers were not clear in the other posts.


texts: Is there a proper alternative for "work-stream"?

texts: In referring to components of a large project, the terms work-stream, or work stream are often used in business.  Is there a better or alternative phrase for expressing this concept?