texts:
I am referring to the following meaning of the word convention

[C1] a usual or accepted way of behaving ...

[Cambridge Dictionary]
I think that a convention cannot be mandatory but I would like to get some other opinions.
EDIT
Perhaps some background will help provide more context.
I am a computer programmer. There are many computer programming languages. Each language has syntax. If a program is written that does not use correct syntax, it cannot run. So I would say that syntax is mandatory. Apart from syntax, there are conventions. The idea behind the conventions is to make it easier for computer programmers to read each other's code. Some programmers insist that these conventions are mandatory. I don't think they are. Hence my question.


texts: What will be the opposite of "teetotalers"?

texts: I just come across a word teetotalers that means "A person who never drinks alcohol". What will be the opposite of this word in the same context?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When should I use an em-dash, an en-dash, and a hyphen?

This is about hyphens (-), en-dashes (–) and em-dashes (—).

When to use which one? To be honest, I always use em-dashes unless I join words with a hyphen, but I never use an en-dash.


texts: I can't remember the word for the phrase don't -- me

texts:
I can't remember the correct phrase you give someone if they are being overly nice to where it sounds condescending?

It would go like: don't --- me.

Would be a similar word to flatter or pander


texts:
I came across the following old proverb in which I noticed that a bare infinitive verb is used after a singular subject.

  Devil take the hindmost.

My question is: was it normal at that time to use a bare infinitive verb in such constructions?


texts:
The chicken in the “chicken and egg” soba was so tough I swore that it had seen active service in the First World War. I was of course the only customer (well, it was gone 2pm).

Please give the exact meaning.  It was written by a native English-speaker on his blog.  What are other examples of such a usage of "gone"?


texts:
In a townhall meeting, President Obama used the expression of "being back on heels":

  Now, it's no secret that unions have been back on their heels a little
  bit over the last several decades. Part of that has to do with the
  globalization...

C-SPAN video at timestamp 00:34:03.

While I am aware of other idioms involving "heels", I have not heard this one before, and an online search did not reveal much. Oxford Dictionaries says that "set (or rock) someone back on their heels" means "astonish or disconcert someone" but it's not the meaning intended in the speech. I would appreciate help here.


texts:
Can the word myriad be used in a stand-alone fashion, without a subsequent of prepositional?

He rose to address the myriad, and wept.

The word is a noun, and this usage sounds poetic to me, and I can't think of any reason beyond convention why it must precede an of (especially if there is sufficient context establishing the items being vaguely quantified)

Perhaps switching the article makes it more awkward:

He rose to address a myriad, and wept.

However, qualifying it suddenly brings it around:

He rose to address an assembling myriad, and wept.


texts: What is the difference between'time is up' and 'time is over'

texts: Are the two phrases'time is up' and 'time is over' used in different contexts or can be used to convey the same meaning


texts: Should I use a semicolon or a dash to connect two closely related sentences?

texts: When you want to connect two closely related sentences, you can use a semicolon or a dash. (You can also use a dash for other kinds of non-sentential relations). How would you choose whether to use a semicolon or dash?


texts:
While looking  for the origin of the the suffix of terms like underneath and beneath I’ve found that it derives from “neoðan "below, down, from below," from Proto-Germanic niþar "lower, farther down, down" from which the current term  “nether”

“Nether” appears to be an uncommon term, but dictionaries seem  to contradict each other about its usage:

Collins Dictionary  describe “nether” as “old fashioned”,

Cambridge Dictionary  defines its usage as “humorous”, while

M-W doesn’t mention  any specific   issue and  shows a number of current usage examples.

Google Books appears to suggest that the term usage is not significantly lower than a century ago, so what is the exact current usage of “nether”?

Is it just literary or formal? Does it have humorous connotations? Is it actually old-fashioned as suggested above?


texts: Why some abbreviations ended with a period, but some not?

texts:
I have just bought an Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

This is it's first page showing some abbreviations used in the dictionary.

My question is: why some abbreviations ended with a period (such as: abbr., adj.), but some don't (such as: C, sb, pt)?


texts: What's the best way to write "Ugly Dog brand Dog Food"?

texts: What's the best way to write this?   I'm thinking "Ugly Dog-brand Dog Food" as the most likely candidate... what is grammatically-correct?


texts: One subject + two different verb with neither nor structure

texts:
I am confused about which one of the following sentences correct are.Is there any other way to say them using this structure also?

  1.I can neither drink nor eat now.

  2.I can neither drink nor can I eat now.

  3.I can neither drink nor I can eat now.

  4.I cannot drink nor eat now.

  5.I cannot drink nor can I eat now.

  6.I cannot drink nor I can eat now.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Use of “it” and “its” for people and animals

I’m an Italian working in an English-speaking company. In school here they usually teach us to refer to animals using the it pronoun. Something like (i.e. talking about a dog):

  It’s really nice.

I see many people using he or she also for animals. What’s the correct way to use it? Should I use it only for inanimate things?


texts: Use of "that" when proceeded by people, proper nouns, or pronouns

texts:
"I admit that I am a student in college"

I came across this sentence in an online post one day when a comment below it corrected the user, saying "that" should not be used when it is preceded by people, proper nouns, or pronouns. Can someone explain this rule? Is there actually something wrong with this sentence? How should this sentence be corrected? Perhaps "I admit I am a student in college"?

When should "that" be used? In my first paragraph, would it have been wrong to say "...corrected the user, saying that "that" should not be..."?


texts:
I knew that "self" could be used as a noun (e.g. "she knows his true self"), but I had never heard of its usage as a pronoun. Here's the sentence, taken from a Garfield's comic strip:

  What a tragic scenario... "Owner leaves for week... Cat locks self out
  of house... Cat starves on front porch"

Dictionary.com s.v. "self" (9) says: "myself, himself, herself, etc.: to make a check payable to self". As to the Garfield's strip, the sentence "Cat locks self out of house" seems to echo a newspaper headline. "Self", here, suggests that the gender of the cat is unknown or unimportant.

Is this usage of "self" typical of journalistic style or can it be used in speech to mean "myself," "himself" and so on?


texts: "the fact that...." grammatical construction

texts:
In the following sentence:

The issue is the fact that it is red.

What type of grammatical form is "that it is red"?

I think that it is some kind of noun clause that functions as an objective complement for "fact". Is there a term for this kind of clause? How might one diagram this kind of clause?


texts:
I've a doubt for using adjectives in front of nouns in regards dropping the "s"

I'm a translator (PT>EN) and sometimes the following examples pop out:

(single) Patient Chart / Patient's chart

(plural) Program Characteristics / Program's characteristics

I always see some of these without the "s" and my doubt is the correct usage of the "s"/possessive/etc.

Thank you very much.


texts: "manufactured to the highest standards" vs. "manufactured to meet the highest standards"

texts: Can something be "manufactured to the highest standards" or is it "manufactured to meet the highest standards"? According to Google, both wordings are frequently used. I realize that the latter is perfectly fine, but would prefer the former, simply because it's shorter. Is it also correct?


texts: How to use Ordinals with Numeric Date Ranges

texts:
Given a numeric date range, such as shown below, which is the correct usage of ordinals? Should I use none, one, or two?

The event dates will be Dec 1-5
The event dates will be Dec 1-5th
The event dates will be Dec 1st-5th

Potentially Relevant:

This is going on a document that has single dates, which are represented with ordinals (e.g. Dec 7th)
The document has limited space, so using through is not an option. Furthermore, I'm not looking for alternatives, I just want to know which one is correct.


texts:
Is there a word or concise English expression for the kind of discussion that is heated, perhaps a bit contentious or pretentious, but ultimately off-topic, vague, or too abstract to be useful?

A word-picture that comes to mind are a bunch of stuffy politicians or inexperienced young professionals arguing for argument's sake, to display their knowledge or make their voice heard yet without contributing any value to the discussion at large, or worse, derailing it entirely.


texts: What is the UK-English Equivalent for "band-aid?"

texts:
What is the UK-English equivalent for "band-aid?" That is, the bandage one puts
over cuts and the like?


texts: Does 'neighbour', as a verb, take a direct object?

texts:
I heard, today, on an American documentary, the word 'neighbour' used as a verb, something I had not come across before. The OED tells me that the verb is obsolete or rare, but seems to have come back into fashion, regionally, in the US - of course in the AmE spelling of 'neighbor'.

Apparently it is also used, regionally, in the north of England and in the English midlands (though I have never heard it, myself, in England).

The OED examples seem to indicate that the verb merely means to 'act in a neighbourly way' towards individuals or the close community.

I would rather like to use the verb (now that I have found it) with a direct object. 'Before he passed away, I neighboured him.'

Is it used with a direct object in AmE ?


texts:
Is there another expression besides "transgender" that is widely accepted in US English for children of all ages and both sexes, which deal with doubts about their gender and body while they grow up?

Wikipedia offers many options:

Agender / genderless
Androgyne
Bigender
Genderqueer / Non-binary
Gender bender
Hijra
Pangender
Queer heterosexuality
Third gender
Trans man
Trans woman
Transmasculine
Transfeminine
Trigender
Two-Spirit…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_youth

I am not sure if any of those is specifically for children, and I need one meant for children.

How would be called a child in US English, who wants a sex change, but not for the same reason as other transgender children (he grieves after his sister, feels guilty for her death and wants to replace her, so his parents remain together)?

It is a script idea I am working on at the moment.


texts:
It is common in ordinary usage to find a variety of terms referring to the same thing. Sometimes there are inflexions or nuances between them, other times not.

Vertically, what discriminates between these sets?

ethical | unethical
moral | immoral
virtue | sin

It seems obvious that there are differences in the etymology if we consider the roots of these words, however, are they referring to different concepts, or, in fact, to the same concepts? Is there some subtle discrimination between them, perhaps vertically they are representing differing levels, although, I would argue that vertically there is no grey between them? i.e. if it is ethical it is moral and it is a virtue, if it is unethical it is immoral and it is sin. The basis for this argument is, if it is not sinning then, how can it be unethical?

Is the word selection, in fact, more evidence of the world-view or position of the word user than it is in discriminating between concepts? I conceptualise, for example, that the use of ethical and unethical allows one to discuss concepts of good and bad without needing any anchoring thought to concepts of a benevolent God. I would like to say that moral refers to a consistency with the outcomes of a story used for teaching, but, I do not know the words' full history.

I have previously inquired on Philosophy.SE, however, wish to gain insight from another viewpoint. Although the dictionary shows that they are, in fact, similar there is room in the definitions I have for subtle differences.


texts:
I know that it usually is "crossing someone out", like:

I:Why is her name crossed out?
Person: Because she is not going.

But my question is whether it will sound natural in "on the list" is included in a few contexts? Will it sound unnatural or natural, if not resundant in few cases...

I: Why is her name crossed out on the list?


texts: social media platform vs. social media venue

texts:
What would be the correct or most appropriate word for each social media form (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Blog, etc.)

Social media platform?
Social media venue?
Social media account?

"Among multiple social media platforms, Facebook is most effective in ....."


texts:
Is the conditional a mood or a tense? I've heard it described in both ways.

It seems more like a mood as it is often lumped with hypothetical constructions and the subjunctive mood.  I could see it too as being a kind of nuance of the future though, as the conditional often implies something that will happen when other conditions are met.  For example, "If I were a bird, I would fly away."

People have made a tag that says conditional-mood, but it has only been used three times, so I'm not convinced.


texts: What is the best word for a "nearby time"? Proximate?

texts:
When a client cancels, I want to ask him to propose another time that is "nearby" to the original date.  Would it be correct to say, "nearby time"?  (I think not.)

I sometimes say, "Let's reschedule to a proximate time."

Is there a better expression?


texts: Usages of simple future and relative clauses

texts:
I am learning English and went across a question from a practice problem set, and I don't know the difference between these two.
Here are the three conditions that need to be met:

Have to use the words "lucky", "carry"
Have to use simple future like "will", "be going to"
Have to use relative clauses: "who", "which", "that"

Here are the two proposed usage:

If we are lucky, we will see octopuses that carry coconut shells.
If we are lucky, we will be able to see octopuses that are carrying coconut shells.

(The proposed answer is the second one, but I am not sure why. I thought they are both correct. )
Could someone explain to me why the second one is more correct?


texts:
What do you call a pseudonym of a street art/graffiti artist?

Word 'pseudonym' is too general.
So I need exactly something like '[street] artist pseudonym', but also not 'tag' or 'nickname'.

To the point, Sammie Cox is my pseudonym for artworks, and I want to complete that sentence with that context:

  My real name is Krzysztof Kowalski, but my [the term] is Sammie Cox.

So, which term is the most correct?


texts: Subject verb agreement when the word "in" seperates a subject

texts:
If a I have a sentence that reads:

The words in context ___ on page 8

If I am choosing between is and are, which would go in the blank and why?


texts: Are Relative pronouns or Relative adverbs Subordinating Conjunctions?

texts:
"It is a song that my mother taught me."
This sentence consists of :

(1) a main clause : "It is a song".
(2) a subordinate/dependent clause : "that my mother taught me".
(3) A relative pronoun or a Subordinating Conjunction, THAT, connecting those two types of clauses.

Note : Here, the word, THAT, acts as a conjunction by connecting two clauses - the main clause (It is a song) and the subordinate clause (that my mother taught me). And that acts as a pronoun when it replaces the noun, “song”.

Now my question is : " Do the relative pronouns function as both a pronoun and a Subordinating Conjunction simultaneously??


texts:
Example in this case: "experiencing _____ speech"

More specifically: "She shouted with a deep voice, a voice not her own."


texts: Which preposition is correct with "settling"? The complete sentence is given below

texts:
This is the complete question which I came across during a competitive exam.

Eager to control the South Atlantic, the British Navy had tasked Admiral Byron ________ (with/for) settling an island off the South American coast where ships could resupply, and then finding an alternative route to the East Indies.

I am confused about which preposition should be used before "settling" and why?


texts: What is the origin and meaning of a -yr ending?

texts:
Some words in the English language end with a "-yr", such as, satyr, martyr, or zephyr.

What is the origin of the -yr ending?
What is the meaning of the -yr ending?

I have searched the etymology, and all I could find is that it is Greek. That does not answer my question. I want to know why it is -yr and not, for example, -er or -or. Does the -yr have any special significance?


texts: Band Playing without some of its Current Members

texts: I was wondering: is there in English a specific phrase to denote a music band not playing with its whole current group of members?


texts:
What is a verb for removing gaps between a sequence so that it is all contiguous again ?

This action happens for example when you defragment your computer disk, or let's stay you are in a store and someone picks articles from the middle of a selection and then you tighten them back all together so that they are close to each other again.

"Defragment" and "Tighten" are thus good candidates, but I was wondering if there was a more accurate term for this?


texts: Idiom for: a not-challenging environment spoils a good worker gradually

texts:
I want an idiom for the situation where a non-challenging environment gradually spoils a good worker.

If a brilliant programmer worked with a group of mediocre programmers for quite a long time, he or she would eventually become a bad programmer (with or without knowing it).

I have found the following in google results:
 One bad apple spoils the whole bunch

But I need something like One good apple is spoiled by many bad apples
or  good apples should not be mixed with bad apples


texts:
I need Your help with grammar since english is not my native language :)
I'm making an award look a like gift for my dear friend but I don't how to name his profession correctly -  is it sport psychologist or sports psychologist?
I want to make a card with a sentence "World's best sport/s psychologist".
I've read some articles, book titles; facebook profession option says sport psychologist, while random dictionary goes with sports; it's different everytime, which form is correct?
Even here on forum I've found some similar quoestions, but I'd like to know Your opinion about this specific one.
Thanks for Your help!:)


texts:
Who/whom question:
"I have no idea whom he was speaking about."
The subject of the phrase, "was speaking about" is, he, hence "whom" is correct (flip it around, "about whom he was speaking').
But it doesn't sound correct.


texts: Need a generic term for "model types" and "platforms"

texts:
We are a team of 2 developing a web application. It allows scientists to upload files with measurement data. My question is about how we should name one kind of metadata.

An uploaded file might be the output of some measurement instrument or some scientific model. Both types are connected to some higher level element:

instruments are loaded onto platforms which might be ships or airplanes transporting them during the measurement
models are distinguished by their model type

Now we'll have lists and database tables with both of them. The lower level element we call data source because it's just the very entity producing the data.

Can you think of any reasonable name for something which might be a platform or a model type?


texts: A philistine is a person who knows little about culture and the arts. What is a person called who displays the same lack with regard to science?


texts:
I'm looking for more words that might describe dry, stinging, burning, or an almost cracking feeling of the eyes.

I wanted to use "cracked eyes", but I'm already using the phrase "cracked lips". I'm looking for an adjective to describe someone who is dehydrated and lost in the woods--specifically an adjective related to very dry, irritated eyes.


texts: Log the user out of system or log out the user from the system

texts: I was working on a user manual and I want to write that a particular action would result in user being logged out of the system. I'm wondering whether the sentence should be "The action would log the user out of the system" or "the action would log out the user from the system".


texts:
I've always believed that the phrase "bust a cap in yo ass" was AAVE for:

  To shoot an individual with a gun.

Whilst trying to figure out what the cap actually meant, I ran into this alternate definition/footnote:

  This is not a new phrase as much of the Rap culture would like us to believe. Instead it is an old phrase to shoot someone. Reference to cap is a word for powder cap used in percussion guns popular in the old west. This phrase is used in the 1969 movie titled "True Grit" with John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall.

  Line by Ned Pepper (played by Robert Duvall) "I never busted a cap (bust a cap) on a woman or nobody under sixteen. But I'll do it."

Ned Pepper's line can be confirmed via Wikiquote. Additionally percussion caps appear to have primarily been in use during the 1800s and were phased out in favour of primers. The events in True Grit are set in the 1870s.

I'd like to know where this expression came from and how it made its transition into AAVE. Did pop a cap ... also make the same journey? Is the phrase still in use today by other Americans?


texts: What was a blind man lamenting about ? Of course about his eyes

texts: I am looking for an equivalent idiom or expression in English. In my native language this idiom is used when somebody makes, I would say, an unnecessary statement (to emphasize the obvious fact ) in relation to the existing situation. For instance - you crashed your car and after the accident one of your friends says : you need to get it fixed. So, you reply - that is what I`m talking about ! What was a blind man was complaining about ?...


texts: "been a watching", "been a playing" - why?

texts:
I first encountered adding an "a" before a verb in songs in phrases such as "I've been a-playing". At first I thought that songwriters add it when they need one more syllable to make a verse sound right. Then I thought that this may be some kind of a Texas dialect or slang.

But I also saw Charles Dickens using that: "and all mostly sounded as to be a-talking to theirselves, or a-passing blame on the t'others, and not a-talkin to us" and I'm confused.

Why would anybody speak like that and how formal/informal is it?


texts: What is the English word for a 'spaghetti harvest'?

texts: Spaghetti, traditionally, an Italian crop is now being widely grown in Britain. Can anyone say what the harvest should be called, perhaps based on the Italian.


texts:
When addressing someone in an email (I understand grammar rules are pretty loose in this medium), should the sentence after the colon start with a capitalized letter? For example:

  Example A:

  I'm going to bring my car. David: What about you?

  Example B:

  I'm going to bring my car. David: what about you?

If a colon is the incorrect punctuation used in this scenario, please feel free to correct me.


texts:
Does "grief" here mean "sadness"? (sadness of the fact that the nature of existence has no pattern or map?)

  The presentation of randomised collections – often in the style of the wunderkammer, the cabinets of curiosity displayed by the early natural philosophers – is a favoured way of reflecting a delight in nature and in human existence, tinged with more than a little irony to suggest the foolhardiness of any belief in fixed hierarchies and taxonomies and also to imply an underlying grief about the routeless nature of existence.

(from a book titled Art and Science by Sîan Ede, describing an art exhibit)


texts: 'would' and 'will' in some situations.so confusing

texts:
I've been learning and practicing 'would' expressions for the last couple of months. and I think now I understand pretty much about 'would'.
But, Could you do me a big favor? because 'would' is really hard for me to understand in some particular situations. and nobody around me can explain these well. for example,
Situation 1)
A : (Walking on street) Hey. Look. This bar looks awesome. Let's go inside and have a drink right now.
B : That would be great.
Question : Why is "That will be great" unnatural? My native English speaking friend told me that she would say "That would be great". I think person B agreed with person A and they'll go inside right now. This event will happen soon. Could you tell me why "That will be great" is a little unnatural in this situation?
Situation 2)
A : I have a little pain in my knee right now.
B : Are you ok? Did you see a doctor?
A : No. But, This will be ok.
Question : I think Situation 1) and 2) are very similar. Please, could you tell me why I can't use "This would be OK" in this situation?
Situation 3)
A : Which shirt looks good on me? Blue one or Red one?
B : Blue one would be good.
Question : Person B thinks blue one is better on person A. why is "Blue one would be good" more natural than "Blue one will be good" ?
Situation 4)
A : Hello, umm.. Who is Mike in this class?
B(Mike) : (There is only one Mike in the class) That would be me.
Question : There is only one Mike and Mike knows he is the only student called Mike. People say that there is no different meaning between "That would be me" and "That's me" in this situation. I learned that 'would' is used for imagined or hypothetical situations. but why do they have the same meaning in this situation?
'would' has been making me crazy lately. Please, answer the questions for me. Thank you. Help me please.


texts: A question on co-ordinating conjunctions in a compound sentence

texts:
A compound sentence is characterized by one or more than one main-clauses joined by a co-ordinating conjuction, as opposed to a complex sentence, which has a main clause together with a dependent or a subordinate clause separated by a subordinating conjunction.

A subordinate/dependent clause is defined as a clause which follows/augments a main clause, and is dependent on the main clause to make complete sense.
With this definition, shouldn't clauses joined with the main clause by illative(eg. therefore, so, consequently etc) and Alternative/Disjunctive(eg. or, either....or etc.) conjunctions be classified into subordinate clauses (assuming that commonly they are classified to be co-ordinating conjunctions)?
For example, :-
"because" is classified as a subordinating conjunction, the reason being that the clause following "because", is dependent on the preceding clause to make complete sense and cannot stand on its own, and hence is a subordinating clause.

  He passed because he was intelligent.

But then, the following sentence should also be a complex sentence:-

  He was intelligent therefore/so/consequently he passed.

Because the clause after the conjunction depends on the preceding clause, as in the action being described in the second clause (passing) is a consequence of the action described in the preceding clause (being intelligent), the same as was in the sentence with clauses joined by "because" ("being intelligent" is linked to "passing" as a reason, or that "passing" is the consequence of "being intelligent".) What difference in the meaning or the linking of the two clauses which makes the former sentence a complex one and the latter a compound sentence.

The same is true in case of disjunctive conjunctions, where or links the action of the ensuing cause to be the consequence of the failure of the action described in the preceding clause, i.e. the action in the second clause is not independently true without the action of the preceding clause not occuring. for example:-

  If you do not read, you will fail.(complex)

  You must read or you will fail.(compound)

Are not the clauses in both the sentences "linked" in the same way, as far as meaning is concerned?


texts:
I made a question from this article beforehand.

There is one more question.

  There are centuries of trial and error inside the “hero’s journey,” in which a young man is called to adventure, challenged by trials, faces a climactic battle and emerges victorious, changed and a hero.

At the end of the sentence, there is "changed and a hero," while verb phrases were all listed before that.

It is okay to interpret this as follows?

a young man is called to adventure, challenged by trials, faces a climactic battle and emerges victorious, "is" changed and "becomes" a hero.


texts:
I need to title an application button that moves an image 90 degrees clockwise/anticlockwise.

Which of the following fits better?

  Spin image
  Rotate image


texts: English word for minimal passing performance in examination

texts:
In Dutch there is a specialist term used in education, ''cesuur'', to designate the minimal performance that should translate to a passing grade. For example in a multiple choice exam with 40 questions, the ''cesuur'' might be at 27 questions, meaning that you need at least 27 correct answers to pass this exam. Online dictionaries that I've checked only list translations for other meanings of ''cesuur'', which would translate to ``caesura''.

Is this the correct translation in that context of examination or is there a better term?


texts:
I'm trying to find out what is the inside of a tube could be (like a lab tube) called?
Bulb, chamber, reservoir or store?
Thanks in advance!


texts: What is the positive equivalent of "he got what he deserved" / "reap what you sow"?

texts: There seem to be many negative versions, but I cannot find a positive one.


texts: Does 'twink' imply a specific sexuality?

texts:
I know that twink is a slang term for hot young homosexual guys who do not have facial hair. This word is very common in the gay community (and their adult industry) and recently I've heard a debate about using the word twink for heterosexual guys who otherwise meet the criteria.

Can we use the word twink for heterosexual guys or does it always imply that the person is homosexual?


texts: Why do people use the word "or" when offering a translation?

texts:
Normally, "or" is used in situations where either side of the "or" can be true:

I want an easy job or a short job.

The job can be easy, the job can be short, or the job can be both easy and short.
However I've encountered many times people using "or" a different way, e.g.:

Could you keep a different kind of fast such as a fast of silence or a Maun Vrath?

In the translating example, both sides are exactly the same. "Maun Vrath" means "fast of silence" in another language.
Why is "or" used this way?
Also, how/when did this practice start?


texts: How much salt and pepper "was" or "were" added to the soup?

texts:
Which of the following is correct?

How much salt and pepper was added to the soup?
How much salt and pepper were added to the soup?

In other words, should "salt and pepper" be followed by a singular or a plural verb? Please also explain why.


texts: "Are characterized" or "were characterized?"

texts:
Present-day America and the late nineteenth century were characterized
  by many of the same trends

In the above sentence, would it be correct to write "were characterized" or "are characterized?"


texts: Alternative for "descend" in the context of computer file systems

texts:
I was wondering if there's an alternative for the word descend (maybe something better than simply go), in the context of computer file systems, that doesn't imply going down.

When we talk about file systems, which usually have a hierarchical tree structure, it's common to say "descend into subdirectories/subfolders" when going from a parent into child directories. However, we also use the term root to refer to the node with no parent, so in the analogy of a tree branching out, I don't really like using the word "descend" for going from parent to child nodes (on the other hand, it actually works very well for the parent-child analogy).

In general, the tree data structure (not an actual tree) doesn't have a "physical" direction, and in practice, people visualise them in different ways (top-down, bottom-up or even left-to-right), so I would rather use a word that doesn't imply any physical sense of direction.

Example: "The diff command will not descend into subdirectories by default, so the --recursive option is needed."

UPDATE: There were several good suggestions, but I'm accepting the answer from @jeff-zeitlin because I think it sufficiently rationalises the use of "descend" with the ancestor analogy, which removes my original objection. Beyond that, I think the commonly-used term should be the obvious choice.


texts: I know "served" is a past participle, but what about "come?" Is it a verb, a bare infinitive, or a past participle?


texts:
Chinese social media marketing advice from local experts. Avoid common mistakes and dominate in Chinese social media.

Powerful advice on social media marketing in China from local experts. Follow these tips for business leaders and get ahead in China.

What's the difference between "Chinese social media marketing" and "Social media marketing in China"? I think they're the same thing but they're listed as two points.


texts: Is "if you need help or having trouble" correct?

texts:
Well, I have been struggling with this for a while now. My friend wrote a piece of  documentation for his software, in which he included this sentence:

  This repository contains [software name] API documentation. If you need help or having trouble please contact us at [...].

According to me, the second sentence is not correct grammatically. I said that he should change it to "If you need help or you are having trouble [...]", but he keeps arguing with me about it and clearly does not want to change it.

Hence my question - which form is correct (or are both of them correct, or even none of them are correct)?


texts: Is the following company name in correct word order?

texts:
Is the following company name correct?

  Irrigation and traffic works construction investment joint stock company

The company aims to invest in the construction of irrigation and traffic works and it is a joint stock company. However, when registering we need an English name for the company but I don't know how to write Da Nang irrigation and traffic works construction. I am completely confused.


texts: Usage of "former" in objectives other than human

texts:
In a context of talking about the New National Stadium in Tokyo, how you describe the old stadium, which has already be demolished to construct the new one?

I at first thought "the former national stadium", however, it sounded somewhat strange to me as "former" is used to describe person(s) or occupation (e.g. former prime minister), not to other things like buildings, facilities, etc.

If "former" is not appropriate, should I say "old national stadium"? But still it sounds weird as "old" might imply the building (stadium) may still be there(not demolished). Please advise, and provide simple and clear expression.


texts:
In a recent history essay, I wrote the following sentence:
"As banks began to fail, the regional banks were divided on whether to assist all banks or only member banks."
My teacher corrected the "on", explaining that it should be replaced with "about".

So, is he correct?
Thanks,
~Hom


texts: I feel that this sentence has a missing word?

texts:
I feel that this sentence has a missing word. Am I right?

  Eating a healthy diet may take some getting used to, but it has many benefits for your health.

I think it must be

  take some time getting used to


texts: Would "the 411" have been marked as Black slang in the '90s?

texts:
On the Sci-Fi/Fantasy site, a user asked what "What's the meaning of '411 on the late-night drop box'?," a line from Captain Marvel, which was set in 1995.

Another user answered that it meant "how to use the video return slot" (correctly, IMO), but made an off-hand comment that "the 411" was considered Black slang. They certainly seem to be correct that it originated from Black culture, namely Aretha Franklin's 1982 song Jump to It.

However, many commenters remarked they didn't think it was specifically associated with Black American English, a sentiment I would have shared. Even Urban Dictionary, a site which ... doesn't really shy away from slapping racial labels on things doesn't mention anything about being associated with Black Americans.

Neither does our question/answer on it, in fact the top/accepted answer links it to Valley Girl subcultures, which, while very '90s, is definitely not Black.

So, the question is, would "the 411" have been marked as Black slang in the '90s? Or even in '82?


texts:
Why can't I use "with" instead of "to"?

For example: "Did you talk to Maria?" instead of "Did you talk with Maria?"


texts:
I understand the correct spelling is 'dilemma' but many people I've spoken with, including myself, were convinced the spelling was 'dilemna'.

A quick search on google shows this is not isolated to just America. Many people claim they were taught the incorrect spelling in school. I don't remember where I learned to spell the word but I've always spelled it with 'mn' not 'mm'.

Whats the cause of this? Is there some long forgotten etymology of dilemma that involves an 'n'?


texts: What part of speech is "care" in the following sentences?

texts:
Joe is the student with the highest grade

With the highest grade is an adjective phrase modifying student, with "with" being a preposition and "highest" being the adjective.

But in the following sentence:

  He played baseball with great care

With great care is the adjective phrase, but I cannot figure out the head adjective: a) is it great or care? b) great could be a degree adverb describing the intensity of the adjective care. One could say care was noun, but if I changed it to:

  He played baseball with care

a) Care isn't a noun is it? The phrase "with care" is describing how the noun "baseball" is being played with.

Or if I were to make other sentences such as:

  He played baseball with the greatest care

In the above, there is less ambiguity (greatest) is the superlative form - so this must be the head adjective while care could be construed as noun because it has a determiner, the.

Of course, if I removed greatest:

  He played baseball with the care...

Then "with the care" wouldn't make sense unless I added more things in it, such as:

  He played baseball with the care one would pay his grandmother


texts:
Should a question mark appear at the end of a question, and before the second quotation mark?

An example is:

  "How are you feeling today," he asked.

I'm getting conflicting advice.


texts:
There seems to be a subtle difference between the infinitive form of the verb 'to be' after a verb and the inflected form of the same; what is it?
This effect, if there is one, seems most noticeable in (or only applies to) some sentences that reference a subject's beliefs.

John claims to be Michael Jackson's reincarnation.
John claims that he is Michael Jackson's reincarnation.

John believes Michael Jackson to be reincarnated.
John believes that Michael Jackson is reincarnated.

If the inflected and infinitive form of the verb 'to be' convey things that are subtly different, what is that difference?


texts:
Sometimes a noun refers to a type of objects, for example, "a virus" always refer to a type of virus, not a unit of a virus. It's difficult to refer to a single unit of a virus. I've heard people saying "a virus particle".

I'm working with digital assets. It seems in finance, "asset" always refers to a type, like "virus". People say: "you need multiple assets to diversify your investments". In another example, "an asset of mine is property", which might be a house, two or many houses.

"asset" as a word does not always refer to a type. In intelligence, "an asset" is an actual piece (or person), like "we have an asset in the Middle East".

What would be the word of choice for a single portion of a digital asset? What if I am to refer to a piece of music, a single crypto kitten, not a type of them? I'm thinking of "asset-piece" or "token", where "token" suffer from the same problem (typically it refers to a type).


texts: How to parse "which was especially humiliating because everyone was talking about it the next morning"?

texts:
Cara’s mother berated her in front of the entire basketball team, which was especially humiliating because everyone was talking about it the next morning.

Is the relative clause ‘which was especially humiliating because everyone was talking about it the next morning’ modifying the independent clause ‘Cara’s mother berated her in front of the entire basketball team’?


texts: What is the correct notation for further specification of a noun/object?

texts:
What's the correct way to write the following:

  The customer, Mr. Daniels, was not able to ensure transport of the goods.

I am bothered by the fact that it is in some contexts hard to determine if there are two people, the customer & Mr. Daniels or just one. I really want to write

“The customer (Mr. Daniels), ...” or

“The customer = Mr. Daniels, ...”
 but both are clearly inappropriate in most cases.


texts: "There is no doubt this is arguably wrong"

texts:
This is from a review of something:

  There is no doubt that the (product name)  is arguably the best consumer (product category name) currently on the market.

I stopped for a while after reading that sentence. If there is no doubt it is the best in class product, then why is the word arguably in there? Is this just plain wrong grammar or is there some justification for this? I think there's a conflict in logic of this sentence.

Edit: Maybe I should provide more context. The rest of the review supports the notion that it is the best in class product and there is no irony or sarcasm in the sentence.


texts: How are dates formally spoken? Are there any differences in the British and American versions?


texts:
In French, we have an idiomatic expression to say that something was done for no reason.
For instance, if a guy passes by and insults or spits on someone in the street for no reason, we would say "c'est gratuit" (literally "it's free"). It means "wow, that was for no reason" or "wow, he didn't ask for it".

I was told Spanish people say "por la cara" (literally "by the face") in this situation.

Is there an idiomatic expression in English to express that?

EDIT: I understand most of the answers, but I feel like there is something missing. I had forgotten it in my question, but when we say that in French, there is also the idea that the poor guy didn't deserve it. He asked for nothing, and this happens. It is not actually for every situation where there is "no reason" to do something.


texts:
When I take 100$ from Joe with the intention to return it later, Joe is the lender and I am a borrower. This act called Loan from my perspective.
I loaned a money from Joe. Joe lent me 100$.

How this act called from Joe perspective?

When Joe gives me 100$ with the intention to get it back later, how is this called from Joes perspective? Is this also a Loan?


texts:
I am reading book Lolita and  I am having trouble with understanding the phrase "posthumous perfume":

My work had begun to interest me again. I mean my scholarly exertions; the other thing, my active participation in my uncle’s posthumous perfumes, had by then been cut down to a minimum.


texts: Is "Missus" used as a word in American English?

texts:
In the book "Geisha", Liza Dalby writes the following about schools for wearing kimonos (for Japanese people):

  The text of one school calls for an elderly lady to wear her kimono "with dignity"; a middle aged woman, or "missus," to wear it "composedly"; and a young girl to wear hers "neatly and sprucely".

Presumably, the quotations are not verbatim, but English translations that try to capture the flavour of the original Japanese.

In the book, Dalby apparently writes in American English (based on her use of "center" and "theater"), albeit in a slightly archaic style. For example, she uses "common whore", and "complaisant".

In Australian English, the word "Missus" is used as a slang word in its own right, as opposed to it being just a pronunciation of "Mrs.". For example:

  Harry said he couldn't stop and chat because his missus wanted to go shopping.

(By contrast, you can't say "the mister wanted to go to the hardware store" in Australian English)

Is "Missus" used as a word in its own right in American English?

Google NGrams says that the frequency of "Missus" is reasonably similar in American and British English, which would suggest it is not particular to Australia and New Zealand, whereas the second most upvoted entry on Urban Dictionary says that it is Australian and New Zealand English.


texts: What dialect/accent in the UK do people not say the word "the"

texts:
I know a decent amount about different dialects in the UK, and usually recognize and identify them, but I heard one today that took me by surprise. I was watching a TV show, and this family, who I think are from Yorkshire (certainly somewhere in the North), had a very interesting way of speaking. At certain times they seem to not say "the" in places where it would be natural. "Go and walk the dog" became "go and walk dog". "Say to me all the time" became "Say to me all time".

Here's the video with time stamps.

11:30 "Mum's asked you to walk dog, now get your clothes on and walk dog"

11:45 "He used to say to me all time ..."

30:31 "You don't have to be joined at hip"

What accent/dialect is this? Is this feature common in there?


texts: Orientation is a plural or singular noun?

texts:
In a book on programming there is such statement

The concepts on which object orientation depend (abstraction,
encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism) will be explained.

Here is used the word depend instead as I think depends.
Is it just a typo or am I translating the statement incorrectly and the word depend is related to the word concepts?


texts: What's the term for the name you were given when you were born as opposed to the one you changed to for some reason? Real name? Given name? Birth name?


texts: What word describes writing a word someone else said while trying to write something else?

texts: I was trying to write "diagram" and someone said "poop" and I ended up trying to write "diapoop."  I quickly caught myself, but I've always wanted to know what word is used for this phenomenon, if there is a word for it at all.


texts:
A child with bloodied clothing lies in a hospital, unable to move because her legs have been blown off. CNN

What does "her legs have been blown off" mean?

Does it describe the way how her legs have been damaged? Does it mean an explosion or shooting? Or does it refer to the current state of her legs? Does it mean she lost her legs or that she has burns on her legs?

Edit: Related, therefore I will amend my question.

In the same article it is also said:

  We have pictures of children under the age of 14 with half of their faces blown away, [...]

In my understanding, to blow away means to kill someone.

In this context it sounds a bit different. Is it the same meaning as the answers given for to blow off mention? (Here: to lose a part of the face.)


texts: How to understand the phrase "go to great lengths"?

texts:
I just learned a phrase "go to great lengths" which means to try one's best. But I've no idea where does this phrase come from, or why it's like this. How to understand "great lengths"? Why using plural form of length? Why "go to great lengths" rather than "go great lengths"?

Thanks a lot.


texts: Zero vs. definite articles in "filial piety of son to father"

texts:
Patriotism that glues together a state is a natural extension of filial piety of a son to his father.

I want to mean the general piety a son feels for his father. Can I say directly "filial piety of son to father"? Or should I say "filial piety of the son to the father"?


texts: Conflict state counterparts: what's a word that means to "prevent something from being created because of pre-existing object"?

texts:
I'm writing an application logging subsystem (a software component) and I have to log system conflict events. The log is structured and all of its records are just bunches of key/value pairs, where keys denote a certain subject field/components, and values denote what actually happened. A conflict case is supposed to be a case when submitting a new object to the system must be rejected under certain circumstances. Let's say, if the system already has a user account with a certain email, then creating a new user account with exact email must be reject, and a single log record should be logged, for example:

CONFLICT___EXISTING_OBJECT_ID = 31829
CONFLICT___EXISTING_OBJECT_TYPE = User account
CONFLICT___TYPE = Email conflict

The prefix word CONFLICT might be omitted as it's just a grouping word (there much more keys in the subsystem). However, I'm not sure word EXISTING denotes the already existing object that already has a unique email. I was thinking of some alternatives like but I can't choose a good one:

CONFLICT___BLOCKING_OBJECT_ID - blocking seems to have slightly another meaning
CONFLICT___OLD_OBJECT_ID - this is even more confusing, because the existing object is not qualified as old one, and no time-related stuff is supposed to be used here
CONFLICT___CONFLICTING_OBJECT_ID - from my understanding, the word conflicting should be applied to the object being submitted and then rejected for whatever reason, and this word should not be used for the already existing object.
CONFLICT___INHIBITOR_OBJECT_ID - in some sense, it really can describe the existing object, but it's not a word to mean a "conflict".

Is there an adjective to describe an existing object that prevents a new object from being submitted (thus the latter is conflicting [from my understanding]) for some reasons in the context of some conflict in English?


texts:
Absolute pathnames should be avoided in #include  directives because
  they make the program very  nonportable.

Somehow, the quote above sounds weird.

Can we use "very" with an adjective that starts with "non"?

Is "very non-adjective" grammatical?


texts: Use of AMEX, MasterCard, Visa without the word "card"

texts:
Do you say my AMEX, my Visa Gold, my MasterCard to mean your credit cards issued by a relevant company?

I always take (my) Visa Gold, when I go abroad on holiday.
Will you accept AMEX (at a gas station).


texts: Which event does the sentence refer to about the love-letters?

texts:
Quotation from My Life Autobiography of Havelock Ellis:

  The love-letters of the Brownings have been used to exploit the indignation of the superior people who make this protest. I have looked into those letters; they were all written before marriage by two people who had never had any opportunity of being intimate; they might all, as my wife once exclaimed in a different connection of a letter she had herself written, have been stuck upon the stable door.

Which event does "the stable door" refer to in The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett? (vol 1 \ vol 2)


texts: Is there another way to say "needn't have done"?

texts:
I'm learning modal verbs now and get in trouble with "need" one.

In my textbook it is said that:

  don't need to == needn't -- present simple
  didn't need to -- past simple
  needn't have done -- present perfect

In some inexplicable reason I think that needn't have done sounds weird (may be because I haven't ever heard of such construction).

So my question is: Is there a sentence that equal to needn't have done but without the needn't part (like the past simple one)? Or everything is just fine with it and I shouldn't keep in mind?


texts: How do I interpret "take the sting out of many an indiscretion by omitting or substituting certain material"?

texts:
So I read the following sentence from The Interpretation of Dreams and I cannot understand the grammatical structure of the following sentence:

  But of course I have been unable to resist the temptation to take the sting out of many an indiscretion by omitting or substituting certain material.

To me, everything after "many" seems redundant as "many" serves as the object of the verb phrase "take the sting out of". I suspect there is a parallel to be drawn with verbs like "give" where one would consecutively supply two nouns to describe two different objects involved in an action.


texts: Which tense do I use for an on-going event that has a connection to the past

texts:
For example, please consider the following sentence:

"The site was disapproved for not having enough unique content. The site has mostly links and banner ads that would negatively impact the user experience."

The second sentence seems awkward to me and I am not sure if it should be the way it is written or follow the tense in the first sentence.

Kevin


texts: Is there a literary term for the circular nature of a story?

texts: Is there a literary term for the circular nature of a story, starting in place a, going on to b and c before returning to complete at a again?


texts: Should I abbreviate word starting with “kn” as “K” or “N”?

texts:
Imagine you're abbreviating a title that has a kn-word in it (e.g. Should Know).
What is the preferred way? Is it SK or SN?


texts: Proper polite response to "How are you doing?"

texts:
This is more of a culture question than a language question, but the two can't always be separated, can they?

For me, one of the most shocking things about the United States was how often people ask "How are you doing?"  The first thing the cashier in a shop says to customers is this.  So obviously, this is a form of greeting, and not a genuine interest in one's wellbeing.

It reminds me of "How do you do?" from my very old fashioned (British) English textbooks, which taught us that the correct response to this is simply "How do you do?"

So, what is the correct and polite response to "How are you doing?" in the United States?

Can I just say, "How are you doing?", or do I need to reply with "Good." first?
Or just say "Good", and leave it at that without asking the other person the same question?
Can I just simply say "Hello"?

It still feels like a genuine question to me, so it's hard not to reply.  But it also feels very awkward to say it so many times each day.


texts: What does the expression "in with the loaves, out with the fairy cakes" mean?

texts:
In this recent news article I noted the following quote, attributed to a Cornish fisherman:

Another fisher, David Bliss, added: “It’s a bit stupid isn’t it, let’s be honest. They’ve gone in with the loaves and come out with the fairy cakes.

What does it mean? I've tried Googling but mostly get recipes for fairy bread.


texts: Is there a word for a resource you retain even though you give it away?

texts:
For example, if you give away or sell a book, you don't have it anymore. But if you give away or sell an e-book, you still retain the resource you have sold or given away.

You could think of this more abstract, too. For example, if you're an artist, you can "give away" your skills by making a drawing for someone and you have not lost your skills. However you can't get back the time it took to make the drawing, so your time is given away without you being able to retain it.

More poetically, love is something you can give away and you still have just as much to give.

Is there a word for this type of resource?


texts: Is the second conditional more polite than the first?

texts:
I have learnt that the difference between the first and second conditionals is a possibility: the former implies higher likelihood than the latter.
However, in spoken English, I hear the second conditional sentence more often, as in the following pair.

If I am offered the job, when will I start?

If I was offered the job, when would I start?

Does 2 sound more natural/polite? If so, is it because of the odds?


texts: What is the Polish version and meaning of ''Don't make a village?''

texts: Someone at my work had this on his t-shirt and said it's a real typical Polish saying and found it hard to explain the meaning in English.


texts: Person present at the right time and at the right place

texts: Is there a word to describe "a person present in the right place at the right time"?


texts:
I am writing a scientific journal article at the moment (biophysics).
I am using the phrase "As we want to" in a sentence:

"As we want to focus on the assembly process, we implicitly average over all possible sequences."

Now my colleague told me not to use the phrase "as we want to" in scientific writing.
Is that correct? Is it bad style? Why? And what is a good alternative?


texts: What does “flooded” mean when referring to people?

texts:
I know the meaning of “flooded” as in “covered with water”,  but what is the meaning here?

  Over 200 students from all over the state flooded the helpline calls on the first day of its launch.

How was “flooded” used here?


texts: What is the best way to describe someone who is very social in a party?

texts: If a person is very social in a party, striking up conversations with different people from one end of the hall to the other end, are there some good expressions to describe this person? In Chinese, we say she is a butterfly dancing among the flowers. What is the closest expression or metaphor in English?


texts: Is it redundant to say "global pandemic"?

texts:
It seems that the word pandemic is generally understood to refer to a large or global geographic area.  Is it therefore redundant to say "global pandemic" in a sentence such as, "The restaurant is closed due to the global pandemic," or is "pandemic" by itself more stylistically correct?
Note that my question is specifically about "pandemic" versus "global pandemic," not "epidemic" as in the question Pandemic, Global Epidemic, Epidemic, Endemic.
Merriam Webster Unabridged[1] says for pandemic (adj):

pan·dem·ic (adjective): occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population.

Wiktionary[2] says:

(epidemiology) Of a disease: epidemic over a wide geographical area and affecting a large proportion of the population; also, of or pertaining to a disease of this nature.

The WHO Director-General said on March 11:

There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives.  … We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

[1] Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, s.v. “pandemic,” accessed June 15, 2020, http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com.
[2] Wiktionary contributors, "pandemic," Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=pandemic&oldid=59469551 (accessed June 15, 2020).


texts: What's the difference between "big" and "large"?

texts: What's the proper way to say: a large family or a big family? What's the difference between them?


texts: Comma placement in a sentence like "A small but juicy fruit."?

texts:
How does comma placement work in a sentence with adjectives joined with something like "but"? For example, "A small but juicy fruit."

And what about a more complex example, like "A small but juicy tropical fruit."


texts: Is there a word that describes 'the study of punctuation'?

texts:
I am thinking about this in a non-grammatical, non-paleographic, and non-linguistic sense, although I am aware punctuation is studied as part of all these (and other) fields. I am interested in punctuation as a field of study, in and of itself. Does such a word exist?

Some literature which leads me to think that there is no such word, based on its presence and intrinsic use in other fields, includes the following passages:

Geoffrey Nunberg's The Linguistics of Punctuation (1990): “Punctuation is ... a linguistic subsystem.”
Robert Bringhurst's The Elements of Typographic Style (2004): "[P]unctuation is cold notation; it is not frustrated speech; it is typographic code."

... but I would be very interested if someone might suggest any other convincing answer.

Most relevant answer (as of 12.11.2014) from @user3306356: Stigmeology, relating to the art and use of punctuation.


texts: Do Thomas and his friends do anything besides start the rusted wheel of things?

texts:
The melody of the theme song of the cartoon series “Thomas and his friends” matches the scansion of poem X (“March”) of A.E. Housman’s “A Shropshire Lad”. There are five verses to Housman’s poem, but the second one seems especially apt semantically/satirically:

  So braver notes the storm-cock sings

  To start the rusted wheel of things,

  And brutes in field and brutes in pen

  Leap that the world goes round again.

Are there any other poems whose scansion matches this one?


texts:
I'm having a bit of trouble understanding certain aspects of the past perfect tense.

So my premise is, it deals with events that happened in the past at different times.

One event is in past perfect, the other, more close to the present event, in the past simple.

If that is correct, then how does this phrase work? (It's used in testing)

  Many students only find out in their first year of college that certain high school courses they hadn't paid much attention to are actually critical to their academic success.

I'm not seeing any verb in the past simple tense. I see the "hadn't" aka the past perfect. So this confuses me.

The students did not pay attention in the past -> after that line I was expecting another event/action, still in the past, but a bit more towards the present.

'Most students only find out...' doesn't look like past to me.


texts: Should proper nouns be hyphenated if used as compound adjectives?

texts:
Which of the following two is correct, if any?

I watched a Six Nations rugby match.
I watched a Six-Nations rugby match.

Is there a general rule for the use of hyphens in compound adjectives when the adjective is derived from a proper noun?


texts: Is the clause “where are you from” grammatically correct?

texts:
One of the most fundamental sentence from the English “phrasebook” that almost every beginner will learn is this sentence, using which one can ask another one’s nationality or country/region of origin.  However, this sentence has always troubled me.

The word where is an adverb in this context, and it functions as an adverbial; from is a preposition, and it functions as part of the subjective complement in this sentence.  Id est, when responding to this clause, people may say, for example, “I am from Milan.”  Now, in that response, I is a pronoun functioning as the subject, and the rest of the sentence, am from Milan, is the predicate, which is comprised of the copula, or the linking verb, am, and the subjective complement, from Milan, which is a spatial adverbial.

What I have learned about English grammar prescribes that an interrogative/relative adverb, such as where or when, cannot follow a preposition, because an adverb alone functions as an adverbial, and the structure “preposition + noun/pronoun” ought to correspond to an adverb.  Id est, the phrase from Milan (preposition + noun) can and should correspond to that adverb where, and structures such as from where are illegitimate.

I think it is fairly common that adverbs do not follow prepositions.  People always say clauses such as where are you at is grammatically incorrect, because at is a preposition and where is an adverb, so it should simply be where are you.  Therefore, what troubles me is that why the phrase where are you at is incorrect and criticized, while I have not seen people avoiding where are you from.

In my humble opinion, the canonical form of this clause should be from which country/region are you, or at least which country/region are you from, but it seems awfully pedantic and there is a highly probable chance that the utterer will get thrashed…


texts:
My question concerns the following line on wikipedia page the word about Cess.

  In colonial India it was applied, with a qualifying prefix, to
  any taxation, such as irrigation-cess, educational-cess, and the like.

I am confused the word cess, because it is used after the words irrigation and education yet it is called a prefix.

My first initial thoughts were that use of the word prefix was wrong. So I corrected it. And it stayed that way until few days later someone reverted my edit implying that it was obviously wrong since "Prefix" means before so Cess is a prefix. Now I, either, have been making some stupid grave mistakes throughout my life so far or am simply confused.


texts: Can the word “encore” be used to refer to a context outside the entertainment sector ? Is it perfectly correct to be used in academia for example?

texts: e.g. The lecturer gave an encore presentation.


texts: Avoiding splitting the subject and verb with a long explanation

texts: I want to avoid an expression of the form the probability that blah blah blah blah blah would increase.    The greater the number of blah's, the more awkward this construction becomes.     Is it syntactically acceptable to say the probability would increase that blah blah blah blah blah.?   While this second construction sounds a bit funny, it seems clearer to me than hanging the "would increase" out at the end of the sentence.


texts: Can I use "readout" as a transitive verb?

texts:
"Readout" is often used as a noun in a context of computers and electronics. For example one can say "the readout of the image sensor is processed by the accompanying noise reduction unit."

I would like to know if I can use "readout" as a transitive word, for example, "The image sensor is readout and the output is processed by the accompanying noise reduction unit." I know some people use "readout" as a verb, but I think it is not grammatically correct.


texts: What do I call a person doing very basic computer maintenance tasks?

texts:
In Russian we have a word эникейщик [eni-kay-schick], literally "any key person".
This is someone whose job is performing very basic, routine computer-related tasks: install a driver, set up Internet access, connect a printer etc.
This is not a system administrator: the system administrator does more complex tasks, like desiging and implementing security policies, setting up backup and restore plans, and so on.
This is a somewhat derogatory term, assuming the person is not able or not willing to do something better than this.
What do I call a person like this in English?

"Do you guys have a system administrator?"
"No, we're a small company. We have a _____ who comes and fixes our computers for 20 bucks and a pizza".


texts:
I have a question sentence:

"Will this set of vectors form an orthogonal basis for the system?".

Is it ok to start with "Will this" or "Do this" is more appropriate?


texts: Word for a situation where you must make a different choice than another person

texts:
I'm trying to describe a situation that you face when both you and another person must make a choice, but the outcome of both choices depends on the other person's choices, leading you and the other to wait in order to try to guess the other's course of action.

For instance, when you're going one way on the sidewalk, and someone else is coming your way, a collision would happen should neither of you change path.

Now the problem is who should do it, and in which direction ? It is quite common that you and the other would try and sidestep in the same direction at the same time for a while in unfortunate synchronization.

So I'm looking for a word that can describe the situation, or the behaviour of people facing this situation.

I know there is such a word, at least in French (my native language), because a teacher introduced the notion (using the very same example I gave) during his lecture. Unfortunately, I can't remember the word (hence my asking), but it was in the context of Speech Act theory.
I appreciate the expressive power of this word and would like to rediscover it....


texts: What does "p.c." next to a name stand for in academic papers?

texts:
What does the abbreviation "p.c." next to a name stand for in academic papers?  Here are a couple of examples:
https://www.leibniz-zas.de/fileadmin/Archiv2019/mitarbeiter/frey/frey_2004-VF.pdf#page=37

The  following  problem  was  raised  by  H.  Haider  (p.c.).

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:312940/FULLTEXT02.pdf#page=82

Also,  as  pointed  out  to  me  by  Staffan  Hellberg  (p.c)  verbs
can  be  deaccented [...]


texts: How popular is 'brefass' in modern American vocabulary?

texts:
This is an abbreviation of 'breakfast' that I have found myself paying extra attention to recently. In fact I have even heard my mother use it on a regular basis. Is this common in modern spoken American vocabulary, or is this purely the construct of a regional dialect? We are native speakers from the Great Lakes region of The United States.

Other words that fall under the same category:

"I don't know" == dunno
"kitchen"      == kinna   (rare)
"library"      == Libary  (With an extra accent on the 'i', L-EYE-barry)
"school"       == skoo
"jewelry"      == joo-ry
"math"         == maff
"Italian" == Italian (With an extra accent on the 'i' instead of the first 'a', EYE-talian)


texts:
On one of the pages of "Oxford Word Skills", lead is used without any kind of preposition:

  "A passage is a long, narrow way with walls on both sides that leads
  somewhere..."

On the same page, it has defined lead as follows:

  "If something leads to a place, you can go along it to that place."

Why is lead sometimes used with to and sometimes without it? Is this actually triggered here by somewhere? What's the grammar behind this?


texts: What to call money set aside for incidental expenses?

texts:
I have seen my father give some amount of money to my mother saying that it was for incidental expenses or asked her to spend on inessentials.

What is the right word for the money allotted/set aside for incidental expenses?


texts: Island of "Name" vs island "Name". Proper usage of the preposition.

texts: For example why people use "Island of Jamaica" and "Macquarie Island". The latter doesn't use any preposition. When the preposition should be used and when not?


texts:
Does an adjunct always modify the noun or can it modify the verb, too?

For example:

  He talked about me [in a hateful way].

I don't think that saying "in a hateful way" modifies him would be true.

Also, when there are two adjuncts:

  He talked about me [in a hateful way] {on the phone}.

I think that both "in a hateful way" and "on the phone" modify talk, not him or hateful way ("hateful way on the phone," as a noun phrase, does not make sense). So do these adjuncts modify the verb, or the entire clause? Also, is there any limitation to using consecutive adjuncts?

  He talked about me in a hateful way on the phone in the office without hesitation.

Would you interpret this sentence as "talking in a hateful way and talking on the phone and talking in the office and talking without hesitation" or as "talking in a hateful way which was on the phone that was in the office which was without hesitation"?


texts:
What does "get to" mean in the following excerpt taken from the book "The Drop" by Michael Connelly? The "Get to" is at the end of the excerpt. I have written it in bold. Thank you very much for the help.

  “Harry,” the lieutenant said. “Hang back a second.”
  Bosch looked at Chu and raised his eyebrows. He didn’t know what this was about. The lieutenant came around from behind her desk and closed the door after Chu and Marcia had left. She stayed standing and businesslike.
  “I just wanted you to know that your application for an extension on your DROP came through. They gave you four years retroactive.”
  Bosch looked at her, doing the math. He nodded. He had asked for the maximum — five years non-retroactive — but he’d take what they gave. It wouldn’t keep him much past high school but it was better than nothing.
  “Well, I’m glad,” Duvall said. “It gives you thirty-nine more months with us.”
  Her tone indicated that she had read disappointment in his face.
  “No,” he said quickly. “I’m glad. I was just thinking about where that would put me with my daughter. It’s good. I’m happy.”
   “Good then.”
  That was her way of saying the meeting was over. Bosch thanked her and left the office. As he stepped back into the squad room he looked across the vast expanse of desks and dividers and file cabinets. He knew it was home and that he would get to stay — for now.


texts: Can "found" be used, as it is in this sentence, in the future tense?

texts:
For example,

  After several years, Rubin left to found Danger, Inc.

Is this grammatically correct?


texts: What's the difference between quitting and resigning a job?

texts:
Is "resigning" simply more formal than "quitting"?
Here's the case:

I work for company A but am leaving to work for company B.

Which is better?

I work for company A but am quitting to work for company B.

I work for company A but am resigning to work for company B.


texts: Single word for someone who is being impersonated ("impersonatee"?)

texts:
I'm writing about impersonators and people being impersonated in general terms and having 'the impersonator' and 'the person being impersonated' is cumbersome at best.

'Impersonatee' sort of works, but isn't great. Any ideas?


texts: What's a less profane alternative to "as f**k"?

texts:
As fuck is a common way to end sentences in slang language — for example, "I'm drunk as fuck." What is the formal (appropriate) equivalent phrase that gives the exact same meaning and sounds just as befitting?

I do apologize if this question seems bang out of line or impertinent. My intentions are totally pure and it's just that the question has been lingering in my head for some time... plus, I want to quit using it and start using a more appropriate decent phrase.

Note: I'm not after adverbs such as very, extremely etc... I'm looking for a phrase.


texts: Does the verb “enable” take a bare-infinitive complement like “let” or a to-infinitive complement like “allow”?

texts:
How can you predict which verbs take which type of infinitive as their complements? For example, is the to before open here mandatory, forbidden, or optional?

  The Gold Monetization Scheme will be revamped to enable people open a hassle-free gold deposit account.
  The Gold Monetization Scheme will be revamped to enable people to open a hassle-free gold deposit account.

In other words, does the verb enable:

take only a bare-infinitive complement the way let does?
take only a to-infinitive complement the way allow does?
take an optional to before its infinitive complement the way help does?

How can you tell which verb does which thing?


texts:
I see a ton of questions on hyphenated words, specifically, but nothing on the more general question how/when they're supposed to be used vs omitted. Another great answer gives some general rules on hyphens:

A hyphen is used to join words in a compound construction, or separate syllables of a word, like during a line break, or (self-evidently) a hyphenated name.

..but this leaves the greater question of when this "compound construction" should be used, open.
Consider this a "canonical" usage question, then.
A common usage I see is "day-of-the-week" vs. "day of the week". Both of these seem correct, and are read out loud identically from what I can tell.
Some other common examples I've seen:

"Video-of-the-month club"
"Give-and-take arrangement"
"State-of-the-art technology"
"Friendly-looking person"

I see very little difference in meaning in the above phrases, both with and without the hyphens.
When should hyphens or dashes in multi-word (or is it multi word? or multiword?) phrases be used?


texts:
While the French refer to the temporary hoarseness caused by phlegm in the back of the throat as having a cat in the throat, the English version of the expression is to have a frog in the throat. I looked for the origin of the saying on the net, but to no avail as there seems to be a controversy around the real origin of the expression.

Could someone help shed some light?


texts: What do you call the position leveled after Junior, but before Senior in a company?

texts:
I would like to refer to the intermediate level of a Human Resources Analyst position.

Alice got promoted, so she is not a Junior HR Analyst anymore. However, she is not a Senior HR Analyst yet.

What do you call the position leveled after Junior, but before Senior in which Alice currently is? Considering Junior is 1 and Senior is 3, what would 2 be called?


texts: Use of "just" in technical writing as an adverb for location

texts:
I am editing a friend's scientific manuscript, which will ultimately be submitted to a biological journal. He uses "just" as an adverb to describe a location (emphasis added by me), e.g.,

  The river's confluence is located just downriver from the site.

However, the use of "just" seems too colloquial to me for scientific writing, although I cannot pinpoint exactly why I dislike the use of "just". Am I correct in my assessment that "just" should be wordsmithed out? e.g.,

  The river's confluence is located immediately downriver from the town.

The exact distance (e.g., 100 m vs 1 km) is not important because this is a caption to map. Also, I have looked at other "just" questions on this site. This post is similar but non-technical.  An answer to this post suggests that "just" can be ambiguous, which might be another reason I might dislike the use of "just". Also, my question is not relevant to this post or this post on "just".


texts: Name for interior design style- room decorated with stuffed animals, animal skins and horns

texts:
I would like to know whether there is a term for interior design styles which decorate rooms with stuffed animals, animal skins and horns？ Country style seems related but does not seem to quite fit. Taxidermic style seems closer but apparently does not exist.

Example sentence: The dining room in this castle is decorated in a __________ style, horns covered the walls and all kinds of stuffed animals were placed around the table.


texts: Word that means product or service but not content?

texts:
Is there a single word or phrase that includes a product or service for sale, but excludes content?  In this context, content is defined as something like media--as in the content of a book or the content of a video.  So if a web page offers an article as content, but a subscription to that web page would be a product or service.

I've looked at responses to Single word for "product or service", but nothing there really narrows the definition.  "Output", "goods", "offering" and "solution" doesn't quite seem to get it.

A phrase like "tangible product" seems close but not quite clear enough.


texts: As will be discussed later in this comment

texts:
As will be discussed in more detail in the next section, all exchange rate regimes offer benefits as well as costs.

As common as this structure is, I am having some trouble to figure out its syntax. Why is the omission of subject allowed in this clause? Is it a case of elision?

I know that saying "as it will be discussed..." would have a different meaning. Yet I would like to know what is the explanation for the question I posted.


texts: Weekend Celebrations or Weekend's Celebrations

texts:
Imagine a wedding invitation which ends with the following sentence:

  To round off the weekend celebrations, please join us for lunch.

Would it be more, less, or equally correct to say:

  To round off the weekend's celebrations, please join us for lunch.


texts: What do you call the "narrator" of lyric poem?

texts:
In a narrative poem, the entity telling the story is called the narrator. The narrator is different from the author, in that the author is the real person who wrote the poem, while the narrator is a fictional entity that "lives inside" the poem. As such, author and narrator can be completely different "people".

Is there an equivalent term to refer to the character who "speaks" in a lyric poem? For example, in Shakespeare's Sonnet 18:

  Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

What do you call the "I" who wonders whether he should compare his lover to a summer's day?


texts: Participle phrase at the end of the sentence

texts:
When participle phrase comes at the end of the sentence, it usually modifies the subject.

  1 He smiled nervously with a chocolate in his hands, thinking that the end
  has come.

Here, participle phrase "thinking that  the end has come"modifies "he", not hands. What I want to ask is, is it OK to put a participle phrase that would modify "hands"?

  2 He smiled nervously with a chocolate in his hands, darkened with
  sweetness.

Here, I meant to make past participle phrase "darkened with sweetness" modify his hands.

The reason I am asking is because I realized that participle phrases can be used in the position of appositives:

  3 His hands, darkened with sweetness, were holding a chocolate.

So does my sentence 2 work in the same way as the sentence 3, or is it impossible to use sentence 2 at all? Is it OK to use sentence 2?


texts: Plural form of series when talking about literature?

texts:
When speaking about non-mathematical groups of items (i.e. a series), is there a plural usage for the word series?

  My favorite book series are all crime novels.

Is it correct to use series as a plural here?


texts: If someone with luck is lucky, someone with chutzpah is

texts:
What so you call someone with chutzpah? If someone who has strength is strong and someone who has luck is lucky, what is someone who has chutzpah?

There's lots of almost-there synonyms, eg brave, impudent, audatious, cheeky, but the gulf between the meaning of those words shows the subtlety and breadth of "chutzpah". Is there a form of that word that works in this context?


texts: What do you call a phrase where one part is fixed and another part is free?

texts:
What do you call a phrase the where overall phrase structure (i.e. grammar) plus the use of a few fixed words makes it recognisable?

E.g. "raining cats and dogs" could also be "pouring cats and dogs" (although this is a very poor example).

The structure in this example is "[verb]-ing cats and dogs", where "[verb]" can be any verb that is a synonym of "to rain", meaning that the phrase is not totally fixed but does allow some small variation.


texts: Correct grammatical form for a conditional statement describing a habit in the past

texts:
Let's say I want to describe a habit in the past (something that happened many times over and over again) in the form of a conditional statement. Is the following sentence grammatically correct?

  If I forgot to do my homework, I would pretend the dog ate it.

Or is it

  If I had forgotten to do my homework, I would pretend the dog ate it.

Or is there another, more correct form?


texts: "All of which I" or "All of which I've"?

texts:
The sentence I'm trying to write is

  I have extensive experience in circuit analyses and electrical theory from courses that I’ve taken including (class A), (class B), (class C), and (class D), all of which I received an A+ in.

Should it be "all of which I've received", or is it okay the way it is written? It doesn't flow off the tongue easily for me. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.


texts:
On the site 'Writing Explained' it is recommended to use "in to" instead of "into" when "in" is part of a verb phrase. As such, I would conclude that the phrase "opt in to" would be preferred over "opt into", since "opt in" forms the verb phrase. However, "opt into" is referenced by the Macmillan Dictionary.

Any thoughts? Are both forms correct?


texts: Which part is the tail of the letter "r"?

texts:
I'd like to ask about the sentence from A Case of Identity by Conan Doyle.

  "a slight defect in the tail of the ‘r.’ "

Which part is the tail of "r"?
A: The lower part of the straight line of "r".
B: The curving part.

My dictionary says the tail of something" means sometimes the lower part of the thing. But in "r" the curved part looks more like a tail to me.
Does the expression mean different depending on who you ask? Or for native speakers, it's obvious?  Can anyone tell me? Thanks.


texts: " is meant for " vs " is dedicated for " vs ...?

texts:
Which phrase should I use if I want to say that particular group of files should be used with particular software/tool/script? Should I - for example - say that "mp3 files are meant for music players", "mp3 files are dedicated for music players" or maybe some other way?

In the CHANGELOG.md of my project I want to mention the addition of several *.csv files which are going to be fed into a particular python script (which is part of the project), something like:

  Added *.csv files meant for generateChipYaml.py ...

However this doesn't sound right to me, but all the other options I could think of are not better.


texts: Is 'shovey' or 'shovy' a legitimate word meaning 'pushy'?

texts:
I heard an American say the word 'shovey' or 'shovy' along with another word 'pushy'. In context, the latter was used to mean "unpleasantly self-assertive" or something. So, I could easily understand that the former was used in a similar sense.

But no dictionary I've consulted lists 'shovey' or 'shovy' as a word, not even in some slang dictionaries.

So I was wondering if 'shovey' or 'shovy' is a legitimate English word, and if so which one is the correct spelling.


texts: What would the adjectival form of "Earl" (the title) be?

texts:
Is there even one?
I know the adjective for "Duke" would be "ducal" ("of, like or relating to a Duke or dukedom"). But I can't find a good version of the word for an Earl.
Any thoughts?
Sorry if this is not the appropriate venue for this question, but thought I would give it a shot.


texts: Is the use of "this" correct in "There is this blog, but I don't remember its name"?

texts:
What I write should mean the following: "There is this blog, but I don't remember its name."

So I thought I have to write it this way to achieve the meaning in a short way: "This blog."

But is this correct? Does is mean what I want to say? Because I've learned at school that "this" points to something specific. But I that's not what I want to achieve.

Sorry if the question is unclear. But I have no idea how to explain it differently.


texts:
Keep up generally means maintain a steady pace or maintain the height/production of something, but it seems sometimes keep up can appear without it's handy "with".

Compare the following:
1. You need to keep up if you want to learn how to do this well. (intransitive)
2. Keep your sales up if you want to stay within the company. (transitive, without "with")
3. I cannot keep up with all the reading at school. (transitive, with "with")

It almost seems like in (2) that it's your personal responsibility, so you keep something up yourself, whereas in (3) there's a communal issue that you just happen to be a part of. But besides that, I really cannot pinpoint why this happens whatsoever.


texts: Spelling protocol (American/British/Canadian) for an International conference

texts:
If I'm a Canadian who'll be presenting in an international conference, should I use my country's spelling, which is the Canadian/British spelling like "grey" or the more used American spelling like "gray?"

We also have our own unique spelling for some words, like "centre." I know Americans spell it "center" and I think the British spell it like the Americans.

Things to keep in mind:

I don't know the distribution of the audience.
The conference will be held in Germany, which isn't an English-speaking country itself.

Is there a protocol for these sort of situations?

P.S. This is a science conference, but I'm curious if a certain protocol exists.


texts: Does "I am sorry" imply responsibility in this context?

texts:
I know sorry basically conveys two different meanings depending on including responsibility or not. "I'm sorry your grandpa was dead" usually conveys no responsibility, just sympathy. But "I'm sorry for breaking your pot plant" often means a regret or an apology and implies responsibility.

We can tell the difference after looking at the words behind "sorry".
Then, what about this situation?

  Thor: Couldn't we find a way (for me) to come back?
  Loki: Mother has forbidden your return. This is goodbye, brother.
       I'm so sorry.
  Thor: No, I AM SORRY. Thank you for coming here.

source: http://www.wattpad.com/18715443-loki-scenes-~thor~

In that case, how can we understand Loki's "I'm so sorry"? Does it imply responsibility or not?


texts: Does anyone know if there's a term for eyes with long, tapered inner corners?

texts:
I'm not talking about epicanthic folds or monolids, nor even upturned eyes. I'm trying to describe a particular eye shape, and I've pored over dozens of cosmetic sites and discovered many templates that share the same terminology, but this particular trait is absent. I couldn't find any mention of it, although it seems to be fairly common.

You know how we talk about "crow's feet" when we're describing lines under the outer corner of the eye? Well, I'm talking about eyes with a "crow's beak," eyes with elongated inner corners, almost like a bird dipping its neck to the ground. If anyone is aware of a more flattering way to describe this particular eye shape, I'd very much like to learn it. A handful of cosmetic templates appear to describe this shape as "drooping eyes", but it seems like there's too much potential for confusion with droopy eyelids to describe them in this way.

Off the cuff, Angelina Jolie and Gemma Ward provide some of the clearest examples of this trait. It doesn't appear to be an exclusive feature of "almond-shaped eyes", though I see it much more often in people with this eye shape. But a search for "round eyes" also generates people with the same trait--I'll post an example below for reference. Finally, Lenore from Castlevania is also drawn with eyes like this, although the corners tend to be shaded in; I wanted to post an image, but it wouldn't take.

See how Angelina's eyes have long, tapered inner corners?:

This doesn't appear to be a feature exclusive to almond-shaped eyes. Note the same swoop-necked shape. It's a tricky thing to describe, because the right eye almost looks like an epicanthal fold, and I think she's accentuating this with eyeliner and thick, swoopy lashes :


texts: Pronoun in English without specific referent

texts:
Writing academic essays in English can be a daunting task for the EFL writer (my native language is German), but for me a very specific problem gives me headaches and leaves me sitting with a smoking brain pondering what to do now.

In German there is the 3. person singular pronoun man which refers to no one specific referent. In German it can be used often and is not frowned upon in academic writing either.

A translation as example: "One can not help but wonder about the differences between English and German."

Now the one is where the German man would be written. But when I do so my professors tell me that I should watch my ones.

The thing is, when I write an essay in English and use one at some point, that one tends to breed and propagate and all its little offspring heap themselves all over my text and I have to call an exterminator to get rid of them.

Now my question is whether there is some nice and easy way to indicate an unspecified referent when writing, similar to man, but which is not considered to be bad or Germanic style.


texts:
What would you call 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th etc. anniversary?

It is a special anniversary because it ends with 0. Is there a name for it in English?

suggestions: round anniversary, a milestone anniversary


texts: What is the origin of the use of "bung" as a bribe

texts:
'Bung' has a few uses in English.

It is a stopper of a bottle.
It to throw.

But also it is a bribe or enticement.

The word bung seems to have become less popular over time (after a staggering peak in the 1820s) however the 'bribe' usage seems more modern. Where did the 'bribe' usage of the term come from?

A couple of examples

  The BBC remained defiant in the face of Harry Redknapp's fierce denial of any wrongdoing last night and promised their investigation into bungs in football would deliver damning new revelations about some of the country's top clubs.
  source

and

  The Labour first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, has described the agreement as a “straight bung to keep a weak prime minister and a faltering government in office”
  source

and even The Economist uses it here

  Bribery offered an average return of 10-11 times the value of the bung paid out to win a contract


texts:
(particularly related to question/answer sites such as this)

Quite often people want to ask "How do I/you... ?"

Maybe to be less personal or to have a generic title, "How to... ?" is chosen instead.
To me this feels quite jarring/incorrect (discussed here: Is a question beginning with "How to" grammatically correct?). Why is this wording so common?

"How does one... ?" might be more appropriate, but could be regarded as too formal or pompous. Is Is there another, better way to ask?


texts: Word for "measure that leads to negative consequences"

texts:
looking for a word that communicates following a measure will lead to many negative consequences

UPDATE:

I would like to use the word as I write about proposed policy changes; namely, a bill in the senate proposes to establish the minimum down payment of a mortgage to 5%. A person giving testimony against this measure, argued that mandating down payment levels can have many negative consequences.


texts: Examples/references for not changing tense when using reported speech

texts:
I'm sure people are familiar with the "rule" that the tense is moved backward when using reported speech i.e. "I am..." becomes "He said he was..."

However, there are many cases where it is OK not to change the tense e.g. "I'm going on holiday next week" being reported a short time later/the same day as He said he is going on holiday next week, which in my opinion invalidates the original rule as it is an unhelpful attempt to be prescriptive about English usage.

Can anyone offer an intuitive explanation as to why/when it is OK not to change the tense, or perhaps to explain what differences in meaning are implied when each is used?


texts: "exhaust gas aftertreatment" vs. "exhaust gas after treatment"

texts:
My question is related to filters and catalysts in vehicles.

I would name them "exhaust gas aftertreatment". However MS Word always corrects this to  "exhaust gas after treatment".

What is correct?


texts:
It does not seem too far a stretch, therefore, to include other unusual perceptions, such as visions, feelings of a felt presence, and additional sensations.

What does too far a stretch mean?


texts: What is the etymology of "happy as a sandboy"?

texts: "Happy as a sandboy" is obviously a simile for happy / content. Where does it come from and what is the eponymous "sandboy"?


texts: What does "if flawed" mean in "interesting, if flawed, concept"?

texts:
I'm not a native English speaker. I was reading some article and it said:

  "interesting, if flawed, concept".

What does "if flawed" mean in this sentence? Does it mean the concept is interesting and flawed (wrong?)? I can't quite understand.


texts: Tumblesauce for somersault: Has anyone else heard of this term outside of Jewish communities?

texts:
I grew up calling "somersaults" tumblesauces. A Google search turns up a Jewish women's forum deliberating on whether this is a Jewish thing (I am Jewish too by the way.)

So, has anyone else here heard of that term? And where did it come from?


texts: What is the best word describing the nature of expiring in a short amount of time, connoting "losing public attention"?

texts:
Is there an adjective that describes the nature of expiring, connoting a sense of losing public attention, in a very short amount of time? For example,

In a fast-paced era, news articles are ____.
During the 1990s, compared with traditional technologies, computer  technologies are ___; for example, a new generation of CPU technologies usually comes out every one to two years.

(I thought about "perishable," but it does not seem connoting "losing public attention.")


texts:
I gave everyone at the company, including myself, a huge Christmas bonus.

Is "including myself"—not "including me"—correct here?

Thank you.


texts: What's the difference between "should" and "could" (in the present tense)?

texts:
I am not referring to could as a past tense of can

What is the difference between the following sentences?

  You should do it.
  You could do it.


texts: "Managing of something" or "managing something"

texts:
Which is the correct usage?

  My responsibilities include managing of employee data.

or

  My responsibilities include managing
  employee data.

If both are correct, can they be used interchangeably or do they have different meaning?


texts:
All three quotations are from The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna, in case you're wondering.

p. 108:

  I watched her face as the shades of knowledge deepened, the shift in emotion, the flare of relief, the flush of embarrassment that came with the realization she had mistaken the purpose to my last visit.

p. 115:

  Side by side they stare at Agnes's journey mapped in colours and jewels.

p. 154:

  All too soon I became aware that my mouth was so dry it was glued shut.

I know it's a stupid question but I'm not sure if any of these are metaphors or not.


texts:
I wonder why option (C) is wrong? I think it is still  possible that the possessive pronoun “hers” is used to replace “her birthday”

Ms. Greelay’s colleagues, who discovered that her birthday is on Thursday, are preparing a special celebration for -----------
(A) her
(B) she
(C) hers
(D) herself