texts:
It is a friendlier and more colloquial version of "alright". It is also heard in the exclamation/interjection "Alrighty, then!". I usually hear it at the end of conversations in Canadian English, probably same in American English.
I don't know if it is used in British English. It might be synonymous to right-oh/right-o which is more of a Brit or Aussie term.
I believe that the -y suffix serves to form a diminutive version of alright. But, it is usually attached to nouns.
So, how did "alrighty" emerge as an alternative to "alright"?

Things got more interesting when I did some research about its first usage. The first usage I have found is mentioned as a proper name of God and compared to Almighty.

We English speaking people, ninety millions strong, term our Maker the Almighty. He in whom is all, may, power, might, but it would be no less correct to call Him the Alrighty. He in whom is all right, seeing that in the rebel creature there is a perfect forfeiture of all rights.
[Calvinism popularised By Harry Alfred Long (1879)]

The above passage is from a dialogue in the book and the opposite side thinks that Almighty has a comical and profound sound about it and displeasing to religious taste. Though, the guy who came up with the term "Alrighty" thinks that it is a better translation of Despotes than Lord is.
Alright, this term can be considered a neologism but it was worth to mention. It is even mentioned in some other sources. I don't know if there is any connection.
Then, the second usage I found is a lot like to our version. It takes place in a dialogue again:

'I didn't mean that." 'Yes, you did; I am heart broken." 'Poor boy; forgive me." 'Alright." 'Alrighty." 'Well, I must be going." 'What for?" 'Just 'cause I said so." 'Is that it?" 'Yes." 'Well, goodbye." 'Goodbye." 'Say there." 'What?
[A Missourian in the Far West; Or, The World as Seen by a Stranger by Joel Strother Williams (1906)]

And finally I found an explanatory entry as an adverb:

[Dialect Notes, Volume 4 University of Alabama Press, 1913]

Though, it seems like it is used as an "okay" here. I'm not sure if it is still used in this sense today. There is a hint saying that it is in widespread college usage.
Did I just answer my own question? I'm not sure, still. I need someone to sum it up or clarify. I may have missed some points also.
In summary, can we say that it naturally emerged in college jargon and entered in magazines first in early 1900s? Is this a valid deduction?


texts:
I have a question about priority.

For example:

"elder brother and sister" means:

"elder (brother and sister)" or

"(elder brother) and sister"?

Another example:

"old men and women" means:

"old (men and women)" or

"(old men) and women"?

Adjective and conjunction which has higher priority?

Thanks.


texts:
I'm looking for a word that would carry the same connotation as "Private Realm."  If you can think of a good word, you can skip the rest of this.

Context:

I'm working on some architectural projects where I'm contrasting publicly visible and accessible space (whether publicly owned or not) and private space not visible or accessible to the general public.

I've decided to call the public space "Interface" -- people seem to understand this and they don't get sidetracked arguing about whether privately owned plazas etc. are "public".

I'd like to pair Interface with a single word that indicates private space, places that are not necessarily intimate but are simply not public. Basically I'm describing the difference between a front yard and the living room in a house. The front yard can be described as interface -- it's a public space (privately owned), and also a connection between the public realm and the private realm. The living room is private space. If someone walked through your front yard it wouldn't be a big deal -- if someone just walked into your living room it would be a big deal. See the difference?

It would also be fine with me to coin a new word as long as it sounds good next to "Interface" and as long as it doesn't trigger negative associations.


texts: Ships and boats are referred to using feminine pronouns.  Are houses masculine, feminine or neutral?  Please provide evidence for your answer, a Google search didn't help me.


texts: "help someone convince" vs "help someone to be convinced"?

texts:
His study of revolutionary writings and the injustices he saw helped him convince that Mexico should be free from colonial rule.

Do you think that sentence is correct?
If not, what do you think should be corrected?


texts:
I have a friend who in the two-three years I've known her will say "whileas" wherever I or other English speakers I know would say "whereas". She is a native English speaker and has read extensively (mostly fantasy, but has read some Shakespeare, if for some reason the Bard uses this construction). We're guessing at this point that she sourced it from her mother, who also says it.

Googling reveals that there are some usages of "whileas" (or "while as") in older texts, such as The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night (Yes, really). Merriam-Webster says it's archaic, and a "helpful" commenter adds that "a highly educated person uses whileas in place of whereas".

However, I don't have access to the OED to see more of its history. Could anyone enlighten me? When was this used? Was it always a lesser-used form of "whereas"? Any historical background you could give me would be much appreciated. Also, is there any place one would just pick this word up without being a reader of original medieval literature?

Examples of friend's usage:

"A square has four sides, whileas a triangle has three."

Other usage: https://www.wordnik.com/words/whileas

A book with a super long title also uses this construction: link


texts:
Last week a young adult from Haiti, enrolled in our ESL class, asked the following question when presented with the following:

Tea has caffeine, and so does coffee.

His question was: "Why can't you use the word "has" in place of "does"?

I had two responses. First of all, I don't believe that a comma is needed because the second clause is not independent. Secondly, I prefer not to use a word twice in a sentence. I know the first use of "has" indicates past, present, and future, but, beyond that, I'm not certain what to tell him.

Greg T.


texts: Capitalization in mid-20th century British English

texts:
While reading the early "Thomas the Tank Engine" books (published in the 1940s and 50s in Britain) I was struck by the somewhat odd capitalisation used. Most of the text is capitalised as in modern English, but occasionally the author would capitalise odd nouns, such as in the following passage:

  Thomas steamed back to the old buffers. He knew that bringing Lady back would be Really Useful. But he was nervous, too.

"Thomas" and "Lady" are capitalised as they are the name of railway engines, but I don't understand the capitalisation of "Really Useful". Is this the last vestiges  of capitalising words to be emphasised, or is there another layer of meaning?


texts: Word or phrase indicating incompetence or unsuitability?

texts:
This may be as simple as a synonym for hallmark, but with a negative connotation.

An example:
A security consultant publishes an article on security practices that is so egregiously erroneous that it reflects poorly on 3rd parties who cite the article or author. The poor reflection is what I'm trying to describe.

Black mark is close, but I'd like to find a word taking a stronger stance - one could have multiple black marks that are overcome by strong qualities, while this word/phrase is effectively the end of the discussion.

Maybe deal breaker, but less vernacular.


texts:
Do the following two statements convey the same meaning?

  Why would he do this to me?

  Why did he do this to me?

To me, both of them seem to imply something done to me in the past.


texts: What is the name for a descriptive rising scale of quality

texts:
This is a difficult one, so here goes :
What is the name or technique used by companies to describe the quality or value of a product or service when grouped together. I.e Web hosting companies may have  bronze, Silver, Gold packages indicating a rising scale of quality. Paupers Meal, Princes Meal, Kings Meal.


texts:
What is the difference in between "race" and "breed"?
Could I say "human breed" instead of "human race"?


texts:
I'm searching for a word representing "Negatively surprising", or "Negatively amused" in an appropriate form.
Example:
Someone who proclaims he aims to do things in the right way has done something in the completely opposite way.

How could you have done such a thing?
That action is very ___.

Said with the purpose of showing the contrast between the expected and the actual, and asking for change to adhere with his set goals, instead of just pointing out disappointment.

It is different from What's a word for being disappointed in a surprising manner? because it asks there about surprise of being affected by the disappointment. The meaning of surprise here is different.


texts: How to express 'to some degree' and 'excessively' meaning exactly using 'rather'?

texts:
How can I know that the word "rather" is meaning  to some degree or excessively in a sentence?

They seem make sense to understand as any one of those two meanings in some examples below.

eg:

  It's rather(meaning to some degree or excessively ?) expensive.

  I rather(meaning to some degree or excessively ?)  think he was telling the truth.

And how to use rather when I want to express exactly "to some degree" or "excessively" in a sentence?

In one dictionary:

and another dictionary:


texts: Expression for "repeat placement in storage" or "conditioning for storage"

texts:
From a Russian National Standard for medical equipment:

  8.1.5. Маркировка потребительской тары или футляров должна содержать:
  - год и месяц переконсервации при необходимости;

i.e., "The labeling on consumer packaging or cases should contain:
- the year and the month of re-preservation, if necessary;"

What would be a natural-sounding English phrase for re-preservation? The term means that this piece of equipment had been for some reason withdrawn from its packaging and maybe even used for its intended purpose or tested, but then was again put into the proper condition for storage (greased with corrossion protection grease, maybe) and packed into its consumer packaging, to be ready for long-term storage, shipment or sale.

It was "twice preserved", so to speak. The Multitran dictionary offers some options for переконсервация, but they might be hard to understand to the native speaker of English.


texts:
What is more correct and why? I heard few British people speaking "in slang" and some of them said that unofficial language is named "slang."

Additionally, is "slang" official/polite word?


texts:
The phrase (marked-up below in bold) is from the following extract from the novel "Call me by your name".

"It might have started right there and then: the shirt, the rolled-up sleeves, the rounded balls of his heels slipping in and out of his frayed espadrilles, eager to test the hot gravel path that led to our house, every stride already asking, which way to the beach?"

My own guess being it portrays the round shape of the socks piled up on his heels, as his feet slipped in and out of the espadrilles?


texts: another way of saying "to photoshop an image"

texts: What is a different way of saying to photoshop an image?  I didn't use Photoshop.


texts: Why are both "ye" and "you" used as subjects in Anne Bradstreet's To My Dear and Loving Husband?

texts: As far as I know, in Middle English and Early Modern English "ye" was used for subjects and "you" for objects. Yet in "To My Dear and Loving Husband" by Anne Bradstreet they are both used as subjects in one line: "Compare with me ye women if you can". Why is that? My guess is that in the case of "ye" it is used as a vocative, while "you" is a nominative.


texts: Why does “Whip smart” come to mean “Very smart”?

texts:
I learned the word, “whip smart” and that there is an idiom, “smart as a whip” for the first time from the following passage of November 26 New York Times’ article that came under the headline, “King Kevin versus Queen Cersei”

  “Marco Rubio: Young, whip smart and self-assured, he has an
  encyclopedic knowledge of foreign affairs and is a stunning contrast
  to Hillary Clinton both in generation and vision. Wait until he starts
  delivering his speeches in Spanish.”
  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/opinion/king-kevin-versus-queen-cersei.html?

Oxford online dictionary defines “Whip smart” as informal, chiefly North American.
Very quick-witted and intelligent:

But I’m unable to associate the word, “whip” with “smart and intelligent” as it comes out.

For instance, COD at hand defines “whip” as:

strip of leather or cord fastened to handle.
an official of a political party appointed to maintain parliamentary discipline ---.
a desert made from cream or eggs beaten into a light fluffy mass.
a violent striking or beating moment.

and none of the above (barely but 4th definition) seems to me conjure up the thought of “very smart and intelligent.”

What is the origin of the word and phrase of “whip smart” and “smart as a whip”, and why is it "Chiefly American" usage?

P.S. I re-edited the original post and added the last line.


texts:
It seems to me that "GPS", "FBI", "SMS", and other three-syllable initialisms are examples of molossus, or words with three equally stressed syllables. Are they?

(I've never been good at scansion).


texts: How to negate "talk some sense into (someone)"?

texts:
Is it okay to use this idiom in its positive state like this:
I talked some sense into him.?
OR
I succeeded in talking some sense into him.?

And, how do I exactly negate that idiom in that same form as above, can I say: I didn't talk some sense into him?

I don't want it to be like this: I talked some sense into him, to no avail.


texts:
When you raise or lower a window blind with a one quick movement, it produces a sound, what do you call that sound in English?

  I rolled up/raised/opened/ pulled up  the window blind quickly with a/an ______(?)

I found "squeak" for opening a door, in an onomatopoeia list, but I'm not sure if I can use it in my sentence or not.

PS:  I'm looking for a word that can be used for any kind of blinds, Wooden or metal, but since this sound is produced by rapid opening, I think the blinds aren't that old. (However; in my sentence,  the blinds I have in my mind are metal and new, like the white blinds in the picture below).

Unfortunately I don't know how to describe this sound, so you should imagine the last time you pulled the string on a blind and it was rolled up with one movement,to remember that sound! :)

I found these, please check them for hearing the sound!

http://www.freesound.org/search/?q=blinds

http://youtu.be/LLab_9MV22U

I just found this sentence too, (By No One's Leave, By Kevin Bache, page 202):

  Britney pulled the string on the blinds, which closed with a loud “Swoosh”.


texts:
I saw this sentence on the internet:
Why should they want the voter to show their sticker?
I am a little confused about it.


texts:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/aoc-dnc-biden-sanders-1045582/ says

AOC Dismisses Reports of Division: ‘November Is About Stopping Fascism in the United States’.
The Democratic Party is “absolutely united,” New York congresswoman said.

Would the meaning change if I replace "dismiss" with "deny" here?
I have seen similar reports that go with something like
‘‘the president and his allies deny this report and that report.’’
So I am wondering about the choice of "dismiss" and "deny".


texts: What part-of-speech will the new "because" be? because happy / sad / bored; because science /

texts: The American Dialect Society has voted because as the Word of the Year owing to its increased use in phrases such as "because happy,"  "because sad," and "because bored."  Since it takes an object, it might be thought of as a preposition, but (as in the third example) it sometimes takes a participle or an adjective, can we really call it a preposition?  I need to know because curiosity.


texts: Using the definite article for generalizations

texts:
I'm wondering about the usage of the definite article in cases where the thing being referred to is an abstraction or generalization of some kind.
I'm aware of the most important rules for using the definite article and when not to use it. However, there seem to be cases not covered by the most commonly taught rules.
For example, is the following sentence grammatically correct?

This is what will be used during meal preparation.

The sentence omits the article before the "meal preparation" syntagm.
If this sentence was a part of a series of instructions which referred to a specific meal preparation process, then it would be natural to write something like this:

Place a pan on the stove. This is what will be used during the meal preparation.

However, when talking about meal preparation in general (like in this sentence), it is natural to elide the definite article. However, I feel like I'm doing this by ear without grammatical justification. Is, perhaps, preparation considered uncountable in this specific case? Why?
Is there a specific rule that governs this omission? Can you point me to a resource (a webpage or a book) where I could find all of the rules?


texts: When should I use "your", and when "you're"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Your” vs. “you're”: Why the confusion?

Instead of saying "you're free to [...]," I've seen many people use "your free to [...]."

I've seen your being used where you're should be used. This is especially prevalent in American ads (Craigslist, for example).

Which of the above is correct usage?
I might be wrong; English is not my native language (I'm Asian).


texts: What is the difference between license and licence? Are both variations accepted in US and UK?


texts:
I have been asking a lot about optional back shifting. I understand that if what is said is still true at the time of reporting then back shifting of tense is optional. I just have one doubt. If what is said is no longer true, then colloquially and conversationally will it be acceptable to avoid back shifting of tense ?

P.S. -- I know while writing it would be wrong to not back shift the tense if what is said is no longer true.


texts: Statement that is a mix of sarcasm & to make someone happy

texts:
I'm searching for this word but I can't think of it. It describes when you say something you don't believe in but know it's what the other person wants to hear. Such as:

  "I wish you the best of luck in your future relationships."


texts: Root and meaning of the phrase 'couple two three'

texts: I'm not even sure where and how I picked up this phrase: 'couple two three'. It basically means 'a few' but I'm curious about its origins. It almost seems similar to 'might could' in that there is unnecessary redundancy.


texts:
I've always thought of subtotal as a calculated value that is not the final amount on an invoice (for example, a sum of individual prices before discounts/taxes are applied, or the total for a selection of items depending on how the invoice is itemised). The absolute final amount (after all calculations) is then the total.

But, I'm working with a third party shopping cart and it seems to insist on calling the final total subtotal. Is this acceptable, or should I fix this?

I think people are fixing on the specific situation I bring up in my question rather than the general 'subtotal' vs 'total' - I'm pretty sure I've seen other receipts/invoices where 'subtotal' is used where I'd have thought 'total' would be more appropriate.

I'm asking which would be the correct word for the final amount on an invoice after all calculations and considerations.


texts:
This Wikipedia article does not capitalize "assembly language," for understandable reasons.  It uses it as an indefinite article, i.e. "an assembly language."  But how should it be written when using it as a definite article?

  He wrote it in Assembly.

Versus:

  He wrote it in assembly.


texts: If you want my sympathy, look it up in the dictionary

texts:
What does the sentence mean and in what kinds of situations is it used?
Some postings say it means "you can find my sympathy between shit and syphilis."
But so what?


texts: Our family has used the phrase, "Time to head for the high grounds" to mean it's time to go to bed.  Is this an actual idiom?  Did it get misquoted or garbled though the years?


texts:
The word "some" has often the sense of "few" if given in a bound. Does this mean  more than 50%?
It would be good if some historical account mentioned, who uses "some" to be more than 50%?


texts: Word for adding material to a rough surface until a smooth surface is formed?

texts: Sometimes rough surfaces are turned to smooth surfaces by adding material. For example, adding lacquer to wood. Any word for this process or its result?


texts: Is it compatible with the same meaning ?? Each country's perception / perception of each country

texts:
As far as I know the meaning of "perception of people" is "perception about people"

but when I want to say "people's perception, can I also change it to "perception of people" form with the same meaning??

Though "perception of people" means "perception about people", can I also use it to say "people's perception" depending on the context?

Depending on the context, are those interchangeable ??

perception of people = perception about people //
perception of people = people's perception


texts: What does this mean “In love’s service only wounded soldiers can serve.”?

texts:
I just read this quote from nytimes's opinion section.

"In love’s service only wounded soldiers can serve."

What does this quote mean? I can faintly feel what it means, but I want to understand it more clearly. Can somebody help me?

Thanks.


texts:
In casual speech, can you contract "would you" to "dju" in questions like these:

What'd you like to drink?

What flavor'd you like?


texts: Word to describe a sarcastic, condescending tone/remark

texts:
I'm struggling to find the most appropriate word to describe the following type of remark (italicized), or the tone behind it:

"I wish I could talk to him right now..."
"There's this great thing called a telephone that allows you to talk to people, even if they're not in the same room. You should try it."

I looked at synonyms for "sarcastic" and "condescending" I found in the Collins, Roget's and Merriam-Webster thesauruses, but didn't see a word that implied both sarcasm/indirectness and condescension.
Is there a specific term for this type of remark/tone?


texts:
Before I embraced descriptive grammar it would really grind my gears when I heard, usually from someone with a US American accent, phrases like "I hate when that happens". "Hate is a transitive verb!" I would yell.

(To my knowledge it's not normal to drop it in "UK English".)

However, these days I'm more mellow. My left eye twitches but I pinch myself and remember that language evolves.

Which leads me to my questions. I've seen the dummy object eroded from phrases involving love

  I love when you give me a kiss
  — Ordinary Alphabet: Poems by an ordinary girl, p. 107, Michelle McNair, Bloomington (Indiana): Author House.

  I love when she screams to the audience
  — Tell Them That I Love Them: A Story of Grace and Redemption, p. 206, Angela Sanders, Euclid (Ohio): Sandstorm Publishing.

and hate

  I hate when that happens
  — Letters to My Sister, p. 61, Maxine Oliveres, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh): Red Lead Press

  I hate when people try to take advantage of me
  — If You Could See What I See, p. 93, Cathy Limb, New York (New York): Kensington Publishing Crop.

in "American English". Is it only dropped before a conjunction, or is it OK to drop it at other times? Is it only love and hate where it gets dropped, or are there other verbs that lose the dummy pronoun?


texts: What is correct "slowness" or "slowliness"?

texts:
I wrote email today and when I used word "slowliness" it got underlined by spell checker. I googled for slowliness vs slowness but couldn't find good answers.

Which one is correct? "slowness" or "slowliness"?


texts:
I think that "name" is one of the few words in English that doesn't have synonyms. It will be really interesting if it did have one. Now by "name", I don't mean "title" or "label", which can be used for anything (objects or organizations), I mean it as a usage for a human name.

In short, is there a word that can replace "name" in "what's your name"?

I thought "moniker" may have been a good contender. Though I hear that it means a nickname. But I don't know.


texts: What's the idiom or metaphor I'm thinking of when I think "national fabric"?

texts:
I have a bad habit of mixing metaphors or getting them ever so slightly wrong. One in particular I want to use is "national fabric". Is this a term? Or am I mixing two metaphors again? I'm thinking of the usage "Lighting fireworks and cooking hot dogs on the 4th of July is in our national fabric." However, something about that doesn't sit right with me. What is the correct metaphor?

Also, if I am getting them wrong, what are the metaphors that I might be trying to mix? Thanks.


texts:
In my language, Russian, there is only one variant to express the
"abilty to see" in its common physiological sence.
If I have a good ability (I am born with) I say:

  У меня хорошее зрение

So the noun is "зрение" [zrenie] without any alternatives.
Looking into different dictionaries, I can not find a single preferrable variant in english,
there are several variants:

  I have good vision/sight/eyesight

As a native english speaker, how would you say it?
Since I want to determine most common variant, please give a note on how common
this or that version is.


texts: Appropriate word for "intermediate approach"

texts:
In a paper, I need to mention something meaning "intermediate approaches" and looking for a suitable word or phrase for that.

For example:

Approach 1 is ...

Approach 2 is ... (Approaches 1 and 2 are the two opposite extremes of the possible approaches)

We have studied many intermediate approaches [between approach 1 and approach 2] and the results are shown in Fig. 1.


texts: How to signal that a last letter vowel is long or short

texts:
As a Game Master I make up a lot of names for locations, objects, etc.
I've always assumed you signalled it by placing a ´ over the last letter (like the City of Rohvanná), but recently I was told it wasn't like that and I've been unable to find a simple answer by googling, and this place seemed like it might be the right crowd to ask. ^^


texts:
Is there a word for the style/device of making one aspect of a literary work contrast with another drastically? E.g., a comic book about the Holocaust[1] or a very upbeat tune with very depressing lyrics?

[1] Nowadays, there are many serious graphic novels, but I strongly suspect that that was not the case when Maus came out, so Maus would have been seen as having contrasting aspects of the sort I'm asking about.


texts: Is this unconditional sentence "If you do yoga every day, you will sleep better" wrong?

texts:
According to this Website:

There are 4 Types of Conditionals:

So, based on the above explanation, I think "If you  do yoga every day, you  will sleep better", which was copied from an English teaching material, is not a very accurate sentence.

I think the above sentence should be change to

Zero Conditional: If you  do yoga every day, you sleep better (remove "will")

or

1st Conditional: If you  do yoga this evening, you will sleep better (change "every day" to "this evening")

So, am I wrong or right?


texts: Is there a fully defined way to pluralize/unpluralize words in English?

texts:
I'm wondering if there is a way, given an arbitrary word and without knowing the meaning, to switch it from plural to non-plural form and back? I know the common case is the trailing s, such as

  disks -> disk,
  car -> cars,
  field -> fields

but then there are the odd cases like

  deer -> deer,
  person -> people,
  mongoose -> [I don't know],
  mouse -> mice

So is there a 'universal' (aka an exhaustive list of exceptions to the "s" rule) way to convert from singular to plural and back?


texts: How did "Christmas" end up being "Xmas"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Why do some words have “X” as a substitute?

I went to Online Etymology and this is what I found:

  "Christmas," 1551, X'temmas, wherein the X is an abbreviation for Christ in Christmas, from first letter of Greek Christos "Christ". The earlier way to abbreviate it was Xp- or Xr-, corresponding to "Chr-," and the form Xres mæsse for "Christmas" appears in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (c.1100).

But I fail to understand how did this transform happen? Mention in popular culture or books would be greatly appreciated.


texts: A question on the usage of the word "completing" versus the words "that completed."

texts:
I am reviewing a paper and the following sentence keeps jumping out at me as an incorrect usage of the word completing:

  For the subset of individuals completing fewer than 500 trials in total, the total number of trials was a significant predictor of the mean daily number of location errors.

Is this a correct usage of the word completing or should it be changed to that completed? Thanks for your help.


texts: A word that describes "doing something because you are told and not because you are informed"

texts: i.e. taking a medication that the doctor told you to, but you know nothing about it.


texts:
I looked it up. It means "while" and is used mostly in Britain.
Could anyone explain to me how to use it?


texts: Which is correct: "it's not a big deal to me" or "it's not a big deal for me"?

texts:
What is the correct way to say it?

  It's not a big deal to me.
  It's not a big deal for me.

Also, should I use "it's not" or "it's no"?


texts:
Both sound OK, but the phrase with nor seems more emphatic.  Are both correct?

"An examination that was performed greater than 30 days prior to patient services cannot
be utilized nor updated."

vs.

"An examination that was performed greater than 30 days prior to patient services cannot
be utilized or updated."


texts:
After the subtotals and net totals, finally it comes to the grand total.

Should I say "the grand total amount is $100", or only "the total amount is $100", or "* grand total amount* is $100"?


texts: What do we call "easily readable books"?

texts: I just wonder if there is a good expression to refer to an "easily readable book", like a simple short story or pocket book?


texts: Is there a word or phrase for someone who strongly disapproves of smoking, drinking and gambling?

texts:
It would be used in a sentence like this:

  Let's not invite your Uncle Peter. He is (a) ......, you know, and he
  would feel very uncomfortable among our friends.

I'm not looking for lists.
I'm not looking for phrases that show disapproval of only one of these habits.

If someone strongly disapproves of doing something, it is obvious to me that the person doesn't do it himself, otherwise it wouldn't be genuine disapproval.


texts: Person who invites: "Inviter" or "Invitor"

texts:
There is a clean word that defines person that is invited: an invitee.

However, I can't seem to find a straight definition of either terms that would define a person who invites the invitee.

Is it "Inviter", "Invitor"? Is there some other term that is more appropriate?


texts: I have to send a mail to a group which has my team members along with other co-workers. I want to write "Our team is drafting a report" since my team members are also present in the group. I think the correct format is "My team is drafting a report". But using "My" instead of "Our" feels possessive since I'm the junior most member of the team. What should I do? Go with "Our team" or "My team"?


texts: Word for a sentence structured like: 'Something is to something as something is to something'

texts:
For example: 'Blue is to colours as five is to numbers'

You get these kinds of sentences in aptitude tests where they will typically omit the last word for you to work out. Is there a word for sentences structured like this?


texts: A word to describe the subject of an action

texts:
I'm trying to find suitable non-ambiguous words to describe doing something and something done to it. Doing something could be called an action, but what word fits having something done to it? As an example:

  A user can push a button, which means that button can be pushed by the user. So, the user has an action called pushing, and the button has a _______ called pushed.


texts:
In today's financial Times I read: "The clearest sign post the referendum..." and it took me a while to parse this.

Does it say "The clearest [sign post]..." or is it a sign "post the referendum"? Of course the latter, but are there any rules that can help me to read such texts more easily without having to go back multiple times to re-parse util all the words fit a proper sentence?


texts:
Someone new
Anybody else
Something good
I've never thought about it, but why does the adjective follow the noun it modifies? Is there a technical term for this?


texts:
For example:

  "My laptop caved in"

Means that my laptop broke, right?

And when:

  "My laptop decided to cave in"

What does the "decided" mean or connote to listeners?
Of course my laptop does not have a human mind to be able to 'decide'

Could any one explain that?


texts: "She found golden hairs on his clothes." Why is it "hairs" and not "hair"?

texts: I read in a novel "she found golden hairs on his clothes," and I want to know if it's correct. I have always heard that it's hair, not hairs.


texts: Appropriateness of the word 'buddy' in America

texts: I would like to know if addressing an American with the word 'buddy' would be considered offensive. If the answer is yes then would it be considered offensive by an American irrespective of the context and tone or would that matter?


texts:
Here's from Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2.

But two months dead!--nay, not so much, not two:
So excellent a king; that was to this,
Hyperion to a satyr;

I think I understand the meaning of these sentences.
However, I'm wondering about the grammatical structure of the sentence
"that was to this, Hyperion to a satyr"
Can "Hyperion to a satyr" be replaced by "what Hyperion was to a satyr"?


texts:
In saying:

  There are a lot of benefits for the new model of transportation, the Smartcopter.

How do I name the model of transportation as the Smartcopter in one sentence as shown in the example above ? Do I use a comma before The Smartcopter or a dash or how is it done ? And can I continue the sentence like this:

  ... model of transportation, The Smartcopter, such as it being eco-friendly and ...

this should be in British English.


texts: What is the name for this type of description?

texts: Is there a name for when a writer refers to a character as "the old man" or "tall woman" instead of using a name? I feel like I've heard a writing term for it before, but I can't remember it


texts: A phrase around "I give up" that is closest to sacrifice

texts:
A non profit organization is running a campaign that is encouraging people to sacrifice a small luxury and donate that money to a cause instead. They are building the campaign around Twitter hashtag #IGiveUp.

In general, I've seen "I give up" being used as "cease making an effort; admit defeat. (Google)".

Question: Is #IGiveUp an appropriate hashtag in this context? If not, any suggestions on what would be (Around #IGiveUp)?


texts:
I am reading a book and I ran into an interesting sentence in which I cannot recognize the role of the verb in it. How is the use of 'are' justified here? Is it because "visits" can be the so-called subject of the sentence?

  The source of his fear are the visits to his childhood home of a family lawyer.


texts:
I just wrote the following sentence which uses a grammatical structure found in my native language, but then I realized English may not work the same way:

  Is it valid to copy a line from /etc/mtab (which line was not added by me)?

I intended it to mean the same as:

  Is it valid to copy a line from /etc/mtab (the line in question was not added by me)?

So is my original sentence correct?

I don't want to just say "which was not added by me" because then the "which" could refer to /etc/mtab.

I'm not sure how to google this question, so I'm asking here.


texts: Does a road that "snakes" always imply a "winding" road?

texts: If one says that a road snakes, does it necessarily imply that the road is winding?  Or can it also express that the road is long and stretched out?


texts: What is the meaning "It is permitted us to know ..."

texts:
I saw a sentence

  It is permitted us to know respecting the signs, which are spoken by the prophets, for they foretold signs by which the consummation of the times is to be expected by us from day to day, and to be feared.

Perhaps it is archaic English? I just want to know the meaning "It is permitted us to know ...". Could you give me a modern English equivalent?


texts:
I want to express the following sentence in another way.

  The first algorithm was applied to obtain the norm solution by gradually decreasing the value of X.

Can anyone give me some help? Thank you.


texts: What is the difference between learning always and always learning in terms of grammar and connotation? If the connotation is the same then which is preferred?


texts: What's the difference in meaning between “register” and “registry”? Can both be used interchangeably when talking about an official (public) list of items, records?


texts: COULD vs. COULD HAVE when talking about the past

texts:
I have long had difficulty distinguishing between COULD and COULD HAVE. I have two specific examples that I'm not exactly sure of. Could you enlighten me?

She needed money so much, she could even have worked in a KFC restaurant

Jim could’ve ordered fish in the diner yesterday, but he settled for venison

First question - are both of these correct? I would assume they are, but I'm really not sure. How about their COULD'VE counterparts:

1a. She needed money so much, she could even work in a KFC restaurant
2a. Jim could order fish in the diner yesterday, but he settled for venison

In my opinion both of them sound unnatural, but I can't say why.


texts: How should a question which quotes a question be punctuated?

texts:
Suppose there is a sentence in question form, like the one appearing below:

  Where do you belong to?

Now, if a speaker refers to that question, he will frame another sentence and will place the question in the quotation marks in that sentence, like what is appearing below:

  They said, "Where do you belong to?"

Now, if the speaker wants to convert this sentence too in question form, he will put the original question in another question, like what is appearing below:

  What did they mean by saying "Where do you belong to?"

Now, if the speaker wants to rephrase this sentence, it would become as follows:

  By saying "Where do you belong to?" what did they mean?

My question is how the 4th sentence is to be punctuated. It has two question marks in it. Does the sentence correctly take two question marks? If so, why will the 3rd sentence not take two question marks − one, just before the closing inverted commas and, the second, just after those commas? The 4th sentence and the 3rd sentence are all same, except being a bit different in placement of the words. Will they take two different sets of punctuation marks?


texts: Polite word or short phrase that means "this isn't a high enough priority for us to work on now"

texts:
I'm not looking for a technical term, but a more polite way of saying that the user's request is a lower priority and we may or may not get to it once higher priority issues are cleared out.  The company owner and top management will see these statuses, so they shouldn't be slang.

For purposes of understanding what I am looking for, here are some other "statuses" I am using (but can be changed to match the tone of this status if necessary):

New
Being Investigated
Being Worked
Ready for Testing
Completed

If necessary, we may end up with multiple statuses, one which indicates that it should be worked soon, and one or more others which indicate that it may be awhile or it may never actually get done.

I've looked at various websites and considered terms like

queued (promises completion, and may or may not be easily known to Americans)
waiting for resources (true, but very technical)
parked (to much slang)
pending (pending what?)

But none of them really convey the politeness of the possibility that we may or may not get to this in the near future.

Feel free to ask for any clarifications, or to edit this to make it more appropriate for this site (I usually posted on Stack Overflow, but since I don't want a technical term, I thought all of you would do a better job of it).

UPDATE: added the adjective "short" to the title because that is what I really want.


texts: "It doesn't always X" vs "It always doesn't X"

texts:
When I read these two sentences out loud, I feel that they express very different things.

 1. Job interviews don't always go well.
 2. Job interviews always don't go well.

At least to me, 1) implies that job interviews often don't go well, but there may be some that go well, and 2) is literally what it says, i.e. job interviews never go well. I believe I am correct as the "I don't always" meme also seems to imply the same concept.

Am I correct?


texts: I typed in study instead of studies and is marked wrong. Is there a reason to use the plural form?


texts: What’s purportedly wrong with Strunk & White’s “The Elements of Style”?

texts:
I was reading the comments on this answer where several users claimed that Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style was “misinformed, hypocritical, and wrong” and “flat-out wrong or totally misleading”, so I’d love to get a delineated list of where it is wrong.

Note: I have no position on this or axe to grind; I’ve just used it for years and would love to learn what I’ve been doing wrong thanks to it.


texts: What would you call someone who has an issue with nouns?

texts:
My wife: Can you get me some more coffee?
  Me: Sure, where is your cup?
  Wife: It's on the thing.
  Me: Where?
  Wife: the thing...err...end table.

Or:

  Wife: Can you pick up the pictures on your way home?
  Me: Sure. Where are they being developed?
  Wife: At the place. On your way home. You know.
  Me: No I do not know. There are lots of places in the 25 miles I drive to and from work.

Is there a word or condition for someone who cannot properly identify nouns in a sentence?


texts:
The following sentence is from 100 Greatest Science Discoveries of All Time by Kendall Haven:

  Small dishes of deadly staphylococci, streptococci, and pneumococci bacteria were lined and labeled across the one lab bench that stretched the length of Fleming's lab.

I can understand either "one lab bench" or "the lab bench". How should I understand "the one lab bench"? Why can the words "the" and "one" be put together?


texts:
I'm quite good at English,but not adept in it. Over a period of time I've gotten a good grip over it and I could ponder a lot about grammar in detail. I've doubt regarding the following Qs. and need details and if it is right why and how convict me with grammar.

  You'll get a chance to see macy play live. (I think Correct)
  or
  You'll get a chance to see macy playing live. (Not Correct)
  How to stop your hair become white? (I think Correct)
  or
  How to stop your hair becoming white? (Not Correct)


texts: What is the real history of the word "scenario"?

texts:
In a moment of revery, I pondered from what language the word "scenario" originated. Unsurprisingly, it's Italian in origin, according to etymonline, but the etymonline etymology surprised me - the word "scenario" was used only in the context of drama and stage performaces until the year 1960, when according to etymonline, it became used to describe nuclear outcomes during the Cold War, after which the word began to commonly mean "a potential set of happenings" in any context.

This implies that people who used the word "scenario" did so in order to indirectly call the Cold War a kind of stage play. Awesome!

This would be great if it were true, so to attempt to confirm this I checked Google's Ngram viewer. Looking at the ngram viewer was enlightening but raised a few questions of its own. While the word "scenario" certainly saw a marked rise in popularity in the year 1960, perhaps due to its use to describe the Cold War, it also experienced a rise in popularity at around 1910.

So, did "scenario" experience a shift in meaning in 1960? If so, did it experience another shift of meaning in 1910?


texts: "No head injury is too trivial to ignore"

texts:
I was looking at the book Introduction to Mathematical Thinking by Keith Devlin, and came across a question where the reader is asked to reformulate this sentence to avoid the unintended second reading:

  No head injury is too trivial to ignore.

However, I couldn't really find any alternative meaning.

Any ideas about what the “unintended second meaning” might be?


texts: Why do common swear words have four letters?

texts: As a non-native speaker I always wondered why most (common) swear words have four letters. I know this is shifting and more words are araising and traditional swear words lose their "harshness", but where does this "4-letter" thing come from? Is it historical or did it just evolve?


texts:
My teacher recently marked on my paper not to use a gerund to start a sentence. I have been told by teachers in the past to use that format to vary sentence structure. It seems to make the paper flow better oftentimes. An example:

  Learning to confront his problems is an important part of [character's] growth and maturity in the novel.

Is there a grammar rule about this? I haven't ever heard/seen one before.

Edit: It would also be helpful to know of any good examples or arguments I would be able to use when discussing this.


texts: Is there a specific word for "developing a liking towards someone after someone else says they are nice"?

texts:
Suppose there are three children A, B and C.
A is friends with B.
B is friends with C.

A however is indifferent towards C. But when B says to A that C is a nice person, A begins to feel so too.

Is there a name for this phenomenon? (say, liking by conduction, convection or radiation, ... or something along the lines of that.)


texts: Does the term "witch-hunt" apply when referring to dealing with a real problem?

texts: Should the term "witch hunt" only be used when dealing with a problem that does not exist, as in witchcraft, or does the term also apply when a problem does exist, but those dealing with it are ignoring due process?


texts: Is there a proverb or idiom describing incompetence?

texts:
I am looking for a fancy expression to describe people who have no idea what they are doing.

I have a semi-proverb in my mind, but I cannot recall its origins (in particular, I don't think it is English). It essentially translates to:

  These morons went to war with a wooden sword.

This supposed to be a (bit sarcastic) metaphor, describing some kind of situation, where the wooden sword represents unpreparedness and/or lack of skills. Those saying this proverb are very well aware of that these people were incompetent (as shown by the morons part).

Is there something similar in English?

Edit: Your idiom has been modernized to "brought a knife to a gunfight". Usually used to describe an event after the fact, though, not as a general description of a person's character. – as @Phil Sweet kindly noted in an earlier comment.

Related, but not a duplicate: Is there another word for unpreparedness?


texts: "Waving in dismissal" means that she waved goodbye or that she gestured to be dismissed?

texts: "I waved her in dismissal and left the room only to perceive the fact that she’s never left my mind." I don't really get it.


texts:
I heard this sentence in "The Vicar of Dibley"(S01E01):

  He come second in the marrow-growing contest in 1956.

Why does he use simple present instead of simple past?


texts: Right way of intoducing yourself in a presentation

texts: I know that if someone is on the phone, they should say This is [] speaking instead of I am [] as it is a rule in English language. However, my question is that in the case of a formal presentation, either using virtual presentation using share screen or the actual face to face presentation, how the presenter should introduce him/herself?


texts: "Ph" for the /f/ sound; Is Old English responsible for this swap?

texts: Is Old English responsible for creating the /f/ sound from ph, as in Philip, Pharoah, Physics, Sophia, etc?  Many European countries keep the f for all of their /f/-sounding letters, as in Sofia and Stefan, for example.


texts: What's the origin of this strange substitute for farewell?  We say it all the time, but I can't figure out its meaning.


texts:
Is a non-verbal predicate a synonymous term for "nominal predicate"? And moreover, do non-verbal predicates only appear with linking verbs or can also appear in other types of constructions?

I acknowledge definitions of concepts, because I isn't clarified :)


texts:
“Hence”, “therefore”, “ergo”, “so”, “thereupon”, and “thus” are examples of connectors where the premises are written before the conclusion. I am looking for ways to connect a consequence and its premises but I want to write the conclusion before the premises. The following examples show the construction sought.

  The sum of addends x and y is 5. That follows from x being 4 and y being 1.

The next one feels clumsy but it would still be acceptable.

  The sum of addends x and y is 5. That is because x is 4 and y is 1.

I do not want to use an “if…then…” construction where the premises are written before the conclusion. I need the conclusion at the start of the paragraph for dramatic effect. The conclusion might be a long and convoluted single sentence that needs to be referred to as a whole. That is the role played by “That” in “That follows from …” and “That is because …”

My main problem is that after re-using the construction in the examples, the prose becomes repetitive and dull. Thus, I need more similar constructions.

Clarification

Because the conclusion is a really long sentence, I cannot use “since” to join two clauses. Constructions such as “The sum of addends x and y is 5 where x is 4 and y is 1” is unsatisfactory for the same reason: The consequence is a long sentence by itself.

Example

In the original examples, the conclusion The sum of addends x and y is 5. was misleadingly simple. A situation closer to the my predicament is the following rewording of the Pythagorean Theorem.

  In a triangle, the square of the length of one of the sides is equal to the addition of the squares of the lengths of the other sides, within the limits of error propagation, as long as the angle enclosed by the other two sides is a right angle and the measurements of the lengths is carried out with rulers with similar spacing between tick marks. That follows from completing the triangle using the procedure detailed in the ancient textbooks …

Note that the first sentence is already 4 lines long. Trying to tie it with the next sentence to form an even longer sentence is not an option. Some of the constructions I have been using include are below. They sound clumsy to me because they use more than 3 words.

That is a consequence of
That is a result of
That can be proven by


texts: "Country" is to "compatriot" as "species" is to what?

texts:
I was about to write the following sentence:

  I actually have some young seedlings of this species. It will be interesting to compare them to their older ...?

Is there a word for something that belongs to the same species? I am thinking something like "fellow X" but I don't want to name X, and I'm not sure just "fellow" will work.


texts:
I wonder how, if at all, treacly and syrupy in figurative use differ in meaning, register, connotation, or in some other way.
The figurative senses are frequently defined synonymously in dictionaries. For instance, Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary gives the figurative meaning of treacly as "something that is annoying because it is too sentimental", and that of syrupy as "disapproving : too romantic or emotional"; oxforddictionaries.com gives both meanings as "Excessively sentimental"; and the American Heritage Dictionary, 5th ed., gives both as "Cloyingly sweet or sentimental". (OED has no definition of figurative syrupy.)
An internet search yields multiple co-occurences in immediate proximity:

(E1) Either way, know this going in: This isn't your sort of generic, treacly, syrupy holiday special. (tvworthwatching.com)
(E2) I was most disheartened by Sandra Bullock’s win for The Blind Side, a treacly, syrupy overrated work ... (nhl.com)
(E3) ... almost everything about this film is positive, up until the point some people declare it treacly and syrupy sweet ... (filmjournal.com)

Are these uses entirely tautological?


texts: Problem with backshift (past simple to past perfect)

texts:
Last week in an EFL class I told students that when reporting a speech they should "backshift" the main verb, exception made when the statement is a general truth or it is still valid.

In their homework this week, I found sentences like these:

She told me she had been 14 back then.
He told me it had been a concert organised by X.
She told me the concert had been in 2018.
She told me that Jessie J had said goodbye to the audience at the end of the concert.

These backshifts to past perfect sound quite weird to me as I would keep the past simple. However, I can't figure out why and my grammar books aren't helping. In the first case, for example, one could argue that since she is not 14 anymore the condition is not true anymore hence making the tense backshift necessary.

Could anybody help me out?


texts: What is the origin and use of "remember me to her/him"?

texts:
Is anybody familiar with the use of remember as in remember me to her/him?  I think I've see it in 19th century literature.  Most likely it's archaic.

I believe the speaker is commanding someone to give somebody his regards, or say hello.  It seems awkward to hear it now as we only use remember in the imperative to remind someone of something, as in, "remember to walk the dog".

Where does this use of remember come from and is it out of use?


texts: Em-dash vs colon: "Remind me: what's your name again?" or "Remind me—what's your name again?"

texts:
I have a sentence (and other sentences like it) in which I'm not sure what punctuation to use.

  Remind me—what's your name again?
  Remind me: what's your name again?

Or is there something else that would work better in sentences like this?


texts: How do you understand "I have to change my file names"?

texts:
If I say:

  I have to change my file names.

What does an English speaker understand?

"I have to change names of a single file."
"I have to change names of many files."

What is the rule here?


texts: When and how did "momentarily" come to mean "in a moment", rather than "for a moment"?

texts:
"Momentarily" used to mean "for a moment" only, and not "in a moment". Thus, newscasters could be divided into two clear groups: those who would say "we'll be back momentarily," and those who would not.

This restriction made sense to me, because having both definitions would promote ambiguity if a unique interpretation could not always be derived from the context. But in recent years it seems "momentarily" is regularly, maybe even more often, used to mean "in a moment" by newscasters of every caliber, and in fact this is even shown to be the definition when looked up in most dictionaries.

When did this word's meaning change? How did it come about?


texts: I am a beginner in English and I am quite confused about the name of this challenge. How is it correct, "10 year challenge" or "10 years challenge"


texts: Having an intransitive verb appearing before the subject

texts:
The rule says, that you can not have an object after an intransitive verb.
But this sentence, in my opinion, doesn't sound wrong? "Smiling was what the baby was doing."

But is it grammatically correct?


texts: Historical frequency of parenthetical plural(s)

texts: It seems to me that parenthetical plurals have been increasing in recent years. Is there any way to accurately measure this? Google Ngram Viewer seems like a method, but the use of parentheses, first of all, seems a problem.


texts:
Would you say:

I have a good knowledge of Japanese language and culture

or

I have a good knowledge of the Japanese language and culture

Which one sounds better to you?


texts:
Good day all,

As the title suggests, I am looking for a formal word that means "partially obscured from view" meaning part of the object is visible, while part of it is not. Words such as nestled, sunken, semi-visible, semi-hidden ect... are inappropriate for the context of usage. Nestled and sunken suggest a physical relationship to the object that is obscuring(touching, connected), and semi- is not professional.

Thank you.


texts:
During a gameplay, there was move where I could choose to piggyback with my partners.

So I suggested to them, "Let's stack together".
Then one of my friends jokingly said I was a pervert because I was telling people to stack. I didn't understand what she meant.
I felt stupid questioning her on this, because she's from an English-speaking country.
In what context has "Let's stack together" become sexual/nsfw (not safe for work)?
Google shows me only a form of data structure in Computer Science.
Also, can anyone suggest an alternative way to suggest piggybacking gracefully?
Many thanks.


texts: What is the relationship between words like see and show , eat and feed called as?

texts:
Isn't "I will make you see." same as "I will show you."

does there exist a word for every such word
lik id I want to say I will make you work , what word would I use
or maybe for something else

What are the words see and show(making someone see) , known as ?


texts: What is the meaning of "a hell of a lot"?

texts:
I read the following,  but can not understand meaning of a hell of a lot:

  Todd: So when people go to your web site what can they see?
  Jason: Not a hell of a lot but I did draw everything on there myself, every button every  single piece of graphic you see on there I drew, just photographs of me, my friends, drawings that I've done and posted up and not really much else, but it's good if you just want to check it out. Check some photos out.

Can any one explain it?


texts: What does 'element' mean in the military context?

texts:
I came across this usage when reading New York's Bloodiest Week from AMERICAN HERITAGE, an article on the 1863 draft riot in NY city,

  The mob was to make its last stand on the East Side. Five thousand desperate men attacked elements of the Seventh Regiment on Second Avenue in what the Times labeled “the most sanguinary fight of the whole riot.” Bullets and bricks from the rooftops killed fifteen soldiers before another 700 troops arrived to clear the avenue with artillery and bayonet.

According to Dictionary.com, 'element' means 'a component or constituent of a whole or one of the parts into which a whole may be resolved by analysis'. So does it here refer to the 'individual soldiers' making up the 'regiment' or it bears other connotations?


texts: Present perfect for someone who passed away

texts:
One of my email activities to help students practice writing a condolence letter is about a boss whose wife, Edna, passed away recently.  One of the supplied details is that you knew her for 5 years.  Many of the students write:

"I am sorry to hear about Edna.  She has been my friend for five years..."

I always change it to "She was my friend..." telling students that because the person passed away you can't consider her still a friend.  In your heart and mind she still is a friend but she is not alive anymore; it's not an active friendship.  On the flip side, I feel you could say "She has influenced my thinking at work." or "She has been influential in my career." because her actions still have an effect in your life.

I'm prompted to write this question because of another post in which a writer wanted to change "In his book, the author lamented the loss of the individual who had once been his closest friend." to "In his book, the author laments the loss of the individual who was once his friend."

My question is, gramatically I'm sure it's fine to use the present perfect, but stylistically is it better to use the simple past?  As a teacher, I want to give students options to express themselves, so I'd like to be able to say either "No, we don't use present perfect,"(as I have been teaching) or "I choose not to, however some writers feel it is ok because..."


texts: What's the word to describe a person like that?

texts:
What's the word to describe a person who has a big ambition, likes to become one of richest men in the world. but he won't take certain action to achieve it, likes wouldn't even bother to get started with doing small business. He thinks and talks a lot but done little.

What do you describe that kind of person in English?


texts: Plural form for noun preceding another noun

texts:
I'm working on a web service and we need to create new menu section, which should list entities to configurate different shops' parameters. Which form of this phrase is right in this case and why?

Shop configuration
Shops configuration
Shops' configuration


texts: Grammatical name and function of the following body

texts: 'At the end of the forty days of mourning...'  what is the grammatical name and function of this expression


texts: What is the earliest recorded joke in a published work in the English language?


texts: Is it all right to end this sentence with a question mark?

texts:
I am writing a story, and one sentence has been bugging me.

  What was going on with that, I wondered?

It's an interior thought, and so I don't use quotations. If it were dialogue, I would put the question mark after "that," but it's not. It feels more natural that way I have it up there, but is it incorrect? Maybe these are better options:

  What was going on with that, I wondered.

OR

  What was going on with that? I wondered.

Thank you!


texts: Where does 'talking through your hat' come from?

texts:
I've looked it up on phrases.org.uk, which gives the following quote as the first usage:

  This began life in the USA, in the late 19th century, with a slightly different meaning from the present one. It then meant to bluster. Farmer and Henley Slang and Its Analogues, 1888:

    "Dis is only a bluff dey're makin' - see! Dey're talkin' tru dere hats"

It then gives filibustering in Parliament as a possible link, but I find it hard to connect British politics with American slang used by farmers:

  Having made a point of order and while wearing a top hat, an MP couldn't be interrupted and could continue talking for as long as he/she wished.

But agrees that this is unlikely:

  Unfortunately, although the link is plausible, I can't find any documentary evidence that links this practice with talking through one's hat. It also seems unlikely that the arcane practices of top-hatted Victorian gentlemen in the UK parliament would have crossed the Atlantic. Much more likely that the phrase originated in the USA and the meaning changed slightly over time.

Is there any better explanation of the origins in America of this phrase?


texts:
— Where are you going?
  — I'm going to Paris.

vs.

  — Where are you going to?
  — I'm going to Paris.

I'm pretty sure the first one is correct, but what about the second?


texts: listening and pronunciation of contractions, 'd

texts:
I can't exactly hear the sound of 'd in cassettes, like:
    She'd make it.
    She'd be with them very soon.

I tried to listen them in youtube. I found I could hear it when some native english speakers speak slowly and clearly. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzhjD-XrYjg) But in another video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSSM8mBq3TI), the sound of 'd doesn't seem to be pronounced. (Is it right?)

I want to ask if native english speakers  pronounce and hear the sound of 'd in conversation?

Thanks.


texts:
I'm looking for a good expression of a situation, when person A likes person B, but

only under certain conditions (such as B isn't too hard to get, B reciprocates) and
doesn't derive any strong, positive emotions from the mere fact that B exists.

Is there a better expression than consumerist love?

Example sentence: One of the topics of novel X is unconditional love and how it's better than [...].


texts: What's the etymology of English letter casing terminology?

texts:
The popular consensus around the web (i.e., Wikipedia) seems to be that "upper case" and "lower case" originate from typesetting convention of upper and lower drawers for letters, possibly preceded by the Latin terminology of majuscule and minuscule.

However, none of these references seem to be backed up properly, and frankly, I find the explanation tickling my urban legend senses - my suspicion is that this is an incomplete or even false etymology, but I can't find anything better.

Is there a more authoritative source that attests to whether or not this is a true etymology?


texts: A good word for someone that is going to lots of big (global, local, folk) festivals?

texts: I need a good word for someone that is going to lots of big festivals, but not partically limited to music, dance or something. Mostly like the national and local folk festivals. Thanks!


texts: Shorter way of saying "Uncertain of what was going on"?

texts:
I saw a shadow fumbling inside my closet. [...] , I screamed.

I thought of the word confused but I think it doesn't have enough intensity. Is there a word/phrase that means uncertain of what was going on?


texts: Why do we "beat seven bells out of" someone?

texts:
To thrash someone within an inch of his life is sometimes referred to has beating seven bells out of him. But why should seven be the number chosen? This source here acknowledges the phrase exists but is silent as to the etymology, and here the phrase appears as kick seven bells... and alternatively ten bells, which I have never come across.

I've heard it suggested that the term derives from seven bells, the nautical expression for half-an-hour before the end of the watch (so one would beat someone within a small space of the end of his life). But how do we reconcile that with the alternative beat seven shades (of shit) out of?


texts:
Unless you are comparing two different sets of items to then have a couple of differences and the differences are the same, I do not get it.

This would be analogous to: 12-9=3, 7-4=3. Here we have the same difference.

The problem is, I really don't think the average human is comparing two differences when using the term in question.


texts: "element identification techniques" or "techniques of element identification"

texts:
I don't know how this phenomenon is called.
Simply put, I can either put the noun to the end and place it's properties before, or I can use "of". What is the difference, is some form more formal and suitable for academic writing?


texts: What's a word or phrase for when someone claims an ability but can't demonstrate it on request?

texts:
Is there a word or phrase for when someone says they can do something but it just so happens they can’t do it right now?

For example, if someone said that they could read minds but they couldn’t read your mind for some reason, what’s the phrase used?

I seem to remember it starting  “oh how _____.”


texts: synthetic and analytical forms (Subjunctive I and Subjunctive II)

texts:
I would like to know how often one uses the synthetic form in English language (about synthetic form, for example, one may see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_subjunctive).

Some example of the synthetic form:

  It is necessary that he/they BE here at 6 o’clock.

  She looks as if she WERE ill.

  They ordered that he COME.

1) How often is the synthetic form used in spoken language? Or more commonly to use the analytical form:

  It is necessary that he should go there at once.

2) How often is the synthetic form used in academic English?

3) May one meet the synthetic form in IELTS or TOEFL?

4) At the present time is synthetic form replaced analytical form?


texts: Generic word for something that produces itself. For example, a factory of factories; a bibliography of bibliographies; a collection of collections.


texts: Correct word for a rule that force the usage of something to a limited subset

texts:
I am looking for a word that describes the following type of rule:

Let's say a customer has received a gift card. This gift card has a rule that prevents the customer for shopping anything in the shop, but only specific categories of merchandise. Let's say only books. So the customer may only purchase books and not the other merchandise like CD's, posters, aso.

The shop would then add a "XXX rule" on all gift cards that should be limited for payment on specific categories of merchandise.

Example usage:
Customer: "Why am I not allowed to purchase this CD with this gift card?"
Cashier: "I am sorry, but there is a (XXX rule) that specifies only books to be bought with this gift card."

I've thought about restriction, but that is, to my knowledge, generally used to describe what to not allow, and the word I am looking for is more to the essence of describing what to only allow

I am not a native english speaker, so my question may contain strange assumptions due to my limited english grammar knowledge.


texts: word to describe a complex/multi-dimensional question which can't be pithily answered

texts: I am looking for the word to use in the following situation - suppose one is asked a grand question that could form the basis for a mini research project in a way that almost suggests it has a simple, one-word, one-number sort of answer. The response from the one being asked would be "that's a very [insert word here] question" - unfortunately the only thing which comes to mind is "loaded" but that is not correct, and has its own meaning.


texts:
What is the antonym of the word destination. Here is some context:

Every train has a destination and a ____?

I was thinking it might be origin but I've never encountered that word used in this context so I'm not sure - there might be a better word.


texts:
The verb "will" has many overtones and meanings but I want to bring up these two:

If you will help me open the door, I will take the desk out.

"If you will help" means "If you consent to", "If you are disposed to", "If you are willing to".

I will drink this beverage now, if it will make me stronger tomorrow in the competition.

The combination of two "wills" is OK in this case and I know why. But I wonder about this sentence.

If you will help me learn this poem by heart (tomorrow), I will help you with your homework now.

My questions:
a) Can 3 sound ambiguous? It has the same relation of tenses as
sentence 2 does, however, if we removed "tomorrow", could it mean "If
you will" as "If you are willing to"?
b) Can 3 be said like this: 4 If you help me learn this poem by heart
(tomorrow), I will help you with your homework now. Which one is
better 3 or 4?


texts: In the United Kingdom, what is colloquial for House of Commons? Would you say a member addressed the House, addressed Commons, or would you also say he or she addressed the House of Commons?


texts: "Which verb to use in a reporting clause?"

texts:
Direct: he said, “It used to be a lovely quiet street.”
  Indirect: he said that it used to be a lovely quiet street.

Why is it not:

  He pointed out that it had used to be a lovely quiet street.


texts: Articles in "behind the language is the culture"

texts:
Definite

  singular count noun: the book that we bought yesterday
  plural count noun: the books that we bought yesterday
  non-count noun: the oxygen that we bought yesterday

  Indefinite

  singular count noun: there is a book on the table
  plural count noun: there are ⌀ books/some books on the table
  non-count noun: there is ⌀ oxygen/some oxygen in the tank

  Generic

  singular count noun: he knows a lot about the history of the book and printing in general
  a book makes a good Christmas present
  plural count noun: ⌀ books make good Christmas presents
  non-count noun: ⌀ oxygen can be dangerous

I am trying to write an essay and I had a hard time deciding whether I should put the definite article before language and culture. The above is a guideline from Purdue I think, but the guideline is not very helpful because I have no idea which situation my sentence fits. My feeling tells me that I should put "the" before both "language" and "culture", as it sounds better, but it seems to me at the same time that the usage of "language" and "culture" fits the definition of generic non-count noun more closely.

In general, I am wondering if the rules are all that solid or if native speakers themselves use it somewhat arbitrarily,


texts: "You haven't done it, have you not?" Northern sayings

texts:
"We've never played that game before have we not James?"

Is this correct? I say it's incorrect, my wife says it is correct. I believe it should be

  "We've never played that game before have we James?"


texts: Hyphens for compound range in "He will be at the job for one to two years"?

texts:
Came across something written like "He will be at the job for two to three years." A colleague suggested it should be "two-to-three years." I disagreed. I see the rationale for a compound here, but my reasoning went something like this: the elements of the range can stand independently (i.e., he could be at the job for two years or three years).
This stands in contrast with with something like an eight-to-five job, where an "eight job" wouldn't make sense on its own, so hyphenation is called for to express a compound range; in other words, hyphenation is appropriate when the expression could only make sense as a distinct range. I'm having a bit of difficulty trying to articulate a rule about this, though, and my rationale seems a bit pedantic because I definitely see that the numbers are a range modifying "year."


texts:
I couldn't find a thread on this, so I'm asking.

When you're learning facts for an exam, are you 'learning of' the facts, or 'learning off' the facts? It is possible that it may be an English or Irish colloquialism.


texts:
I'm writing about a film - one of the events in the film is that I'm reminded of envy between two characters.

Towards the end this re-appears.

Which one is best? :

With the previous motif of envy between the men,

With the previous theme of envy between the men,


texts:
It makes that difficult and out of control.

There is a pattern make + object + adjective that I'm aware of, but I cannot understand how out of control is adjective.

Does out of control function as an adjective or adverb?
I think out here is an adverb not a preposition, so, if I’m not mistaken, it is not a prepositional phrase.


texts: Is "going loco" a common AmE expression?

texts:
The title of the following article posted today by CNBC uses the expression going loco with quotation marks.

  "Trump doubles down on Fed attacks, saying it’s ‘going loco’"

(Video from CNN at 0:46)

Loco, as suggested by Dictionary.com is an AmE slang expression:

  Slang. out of one's mind; insane; crazy. (1835–45, Americanism; < Spanish: insane)

and a Google Book search suggests a limited usage of go/going loco vs go/going crazy.

I suppose the cited article used quotation marks because the expression is very informal and uncommon in writing, but is it commonly used and understood in speaking nowadays? or is it sort of old-fashioned expression?


texts: I am looking for a synonym for 'as part of', I want to say something like this: 'As part of his plan..... he did this...'. Also, just out of curiosity should/can I be starting a sentence with 'as part of'.


texts: confusion about the suffix 'ence' and "ance"

texts: I am confused about using the suffixes "ance" and "ence". Where would I use "ance" and where "ence"? Is there some important rule about this?


texts:
I came across the following GRE question:

  The adjective "Faustian", derived from the German legend of Faust, the
  protagonist whose pride and vanity lead to his doom, has come to
  denote acts involving human ___ which lead eventually to ___.

  Blank (1) : caprice,   vileness,   hubris
  Blank (2) : despondency,   nemesis,    annihilation

My answer was hubris and annihilation. However the correct answers given were hubris and nemesis, yielding:

  The adjective "Faustian", derived from the German legend of Faust, the protagonist whose pride and vanity lead to his doom, has come to denote acts involving human hubris which lead eventually to nemesis.

Why does the word nemesis make sense in the context? Is the usage even correct?


texts:
I'm trying to translate some text from Chinese to English. For some certain circumstances, abbreviation for words are needed.

Here are the words need to be shortened:
Scout, Stealth, Stamina, Firepower, Armor, Lethal, Accuracy, Critical, Penetrate, Ricochet

All of words mentioned above need to be abbreviated to less than 4 letters. Any suggestion?


texts:
In the example sentence

He is taller than you but shorter than John

there are two subordinating conjunctions (than). So,  is this an example of a compound-complex sentence having two co-ordinate clauses and two subordinate clauses?


texts: I understand that the expression 'coming of age' may refer to both the legal and natural definitions of a young person that becomes an adult. The age specifically may be different according to the different contexts, but what are other common expressions both in legal or everyday language that are used to refer to this specific transition in life?


texts: Is an en dash before 'which' proper punctuation?

texts:
In this sentence

  In conclusion, the reading claims that minimum wage is harmful to the companies, which the lecturer contradicts by providing three points –which form a compelling argument, to illustrate his viewpoint.

Is it grammatical to use "–" before which? And if so, should I replace the comma at the end of the same clause with an em dash as well? Or should I only use commas to set off the clause?


texts:
Tigers are found both in Asia and in Africa.

Tigers are found both in Asia and Africa.

I could use in twice in this sentence. Can I omit it the second time?


texts:
The sky is dark blue.

Source:
BBC English

Catherine: The sky is dark blue. The sky is dark blue.
Finn: So, is blue an adjective or adverb?
Catherine: It’s an adjective. Blue is describing the noun sky. Now number two: it's actually the same sentence but this time, think about the word dark. Is dark an adjective or an adverb?
Finn: The sky is dark blue.
Catherine: Right. So, is dark an adjective or adverb?
Finn: Dark here is an adverb.

Thanks for the discussion.
It is interesting to read how the discussion is geared towards the possible explanations of the usage of dark as an adverb.
I've checked several dictionaries before starting this post. Dark is NOT an adverb. If dark is not an adverb, how and why can it be used as an adverb?
In this case, what is wrong to have dark as an adjective in the sentence?


texts: Is there an adjective meaning "that which provides insight" with a negative or neural connotation?

texts:
Consider the sentence (1):

  The Allies reprinted Axis propaganda during WWII, and the Axis reprinted Allied propaganda. There were some exceptions, but clearly they saw [adjective] value in the documents.

or similarly (2):

  The Allies reprinted Axis propaganda during WWII, and the Axis reprinted Allied propaganda. There were some exceptions, but clearly they found the documents [adjective].

The [adjective] I'm looking for has the approximate meaning of "that which provides insights [into enemy motivations]". The best options I've been able to come up with thus far are:

probative or expository in (1), which aren't great matches
forensic in (1), which seems far too formal
enlightening or insightful in (2), which carry the strong connotation of agreeing with or being swayed by the propaganda and therefore aren't suitable here

I have a niggling suspicion that there is a single adjective closer to the intended meaning but my mental thesaurus fails me.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.


texts: How to handle "I'd say" when turning into reported speech

texts:
How can I rewrite this sentence as reported speech?

  I'd say a lot depends on the student.

I can't figure out what is going to happen with would?


texts: Where did the "juices" in "creative juices" come from?  Isn't that just a little weird? I don't think juices would be the first word to mind, if I hadn't heard the phrase before, and was free-associating metaphors to go with creative.  Is it a reference to the Aristotelean humors, maybe? That seems a bit far-fetched.  Or perhaps some really cool person coined the phrase and it stuck? Anyway, I'd just appreciate anyone giving me a plausible pathway on how it came to be a "stock phrase."


texts: Does the use of the symbol slash for "or" come from the use of "|" in computer programming?

texts:
Does the rise of acceptance in "/" for "or" come from the use of "|" in computer programming (For "OR")?

If not is there any correlation?


texts:
teachers
which one is correct in the following phrases?

a piece of apple
a piece of apples
a part of an apple
a part of apple

Besides, I saw apple is defined as N-VAR in Collins Dictionary.
And one sentence given is:

  His ongoing search for the finest varieties of apple.

Can I use apples here?

Thanks a lot!


texts: What is the difference between teaches "at" and "in" xxx university

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Which one is more correct: “works at a university” or “works in a university”?
  “In college” versus “at college” versus “at university”

He teaches at xxx University.
He teaches in xxx University.
What's the difference between at and in here?


texts: Are both ‘Hit a raw nerve’ and ‘Tip sb. the wink” predominantly British English idioms?

texts:
I was drawn to both of idioms,‘hit a raw nerve’ and ‘tip sb. the wink” being quoted as British skewed English idioms in the following scenes describing verbal exchanges between Captain Richard Armstrong, one of two heroes in Jeffery Archer’s “Fourth Estate” with (1) an officer of Russian Intelligence organization, and (2) his superior, British Army Colonel.

BTW, Armstrong is a Jewish Czech who was naturalized as British by serving in the  British Army.

  (1) The man smiled. “By producing the will you seem so determined to
  get your hand on.” “The will? Said Armstrong nervously.  “Ah, I see I
  have finally touched what the British describe as a raw nerve.’” –
  P232

  (2) “That’s damned patriotic of you, old chap,” said the colonel.
  “Shall we just leave it that I won’t hurry the process along until you
  tip me the wink?” Armstrong’s English was as fluent as that of most of
  officers in The British Army, but (Colonel) Oakshott was still able to
  add the occasional new expression to his vocablary.-P239

I can find both ‘hit a raw nerve’ and ‘tip sb. the wink” as idioms in a dictionary at hand, which doesn’t specify them as ‘British English’

I was also able to find both ‘hit a raw nerve’ and ‘tip sb. the wink” on Google NGram, which shows the former came into currency around 1910, and the latter was in currency in early 1840s, notwithstanding the usage has been on sharp decrease.

Are both of ‘Hit a raw nerve’ and ‘Tip sb. the wink” Brit-like idioms as Jeffery Archer annotated, or just being used by anyone in English speaking countries?


texts: Simple past or present perfect when describing a series of recent actions

texts:
I, as an American, would opt for the simple past rather than the present perfect in the following sentence:

Today she has gone to a class, and after that she has been shopping.

Is this sentence permissible in British English? My understanding is that British English favors the present perfect when talking about a time period that is not yet over, as in this case, but I still can't help thinking that this sentence sounds terribly wrong. Thanks for any help you can give me.


texts: Can someone help me? I'm writing a paper about the Grand Canyon and in it the main characters brother is is clutching the rail on the sky walk like a ____. I need a simile for this.


texts: Many times I saw the phrase something 101, such as Microsoft Excel 101. What exactly does it mean?


texts: What to call a group of people in the society which are all single (meaning not being in relationship). Singles?


texts: What does the phrase "taking a bath with the crowd" mean?

texts: I recently heard the phrase "taking a bath with the crowd" and that apparently it's a common idiom in many European languages.  I found several results for the phrase on Google, but none that explain what it means.  Does anyone know what the phrase means, and if there's a common (American) English phrase that means the same thing?


texts: "Toy for your kid" or "Toy for your kids" as you don't know how many kids they have?

texts: Say you are a toy shop owner, who wants a slogan.


texts: Continuing an Independent Clause,Should I and is it one Clause or Two?

texts:
My mother tongue is German and we frequently continue our independent sentences with "and" and/or other conjunctions forever. I just want to know if this is also possible in English:

"I have learned English for 6 years now and still encounter a lot of grammatical problems."

Is this one independent clause or should I split it into 2 independent clauses by adding an "I":

"I have learned English for 6 years now, and I still encounter a lot of grammatical problems."

Or what about this:

"I have learned English for 6 years now and still encounter a lot of grammatical problems and also a lot of other issues as well."

Thanks


texts: "Hush puppies, if you've never heard of them, are a fried cornmeal dumpling."

texts:
In this sentence, what does the subordinate clause "if you've never heard of them" modify? It doesn't seem like it modifies the verb "are" because it's not a condition for the hush puppies to be a fried cornmeal dumpling.

Can a subordinate clause modify the whole main clause and not just the verb?


texts: To make it clear + question (or to be sure, to make sure)

texts:
"To make it clear", "To be sure", "To make sure" + Question

I'm wondering if I can use some of them like this?:

To make clear, what is the most important requirement for the project?
To be sure, what is the most important requirement for the project?
To make sure, what is the most important requirement for the project?

Is it correct to say those phrases when I want something to be more clear for me?

What is the difference between those phrases?


texts:
Is there a well-sourced origin for the phrase "uphill battle"?

Someone recently suggested to me that it originated in relation to the Battle of Hastings (1066), which was literally an uphill battle (for the Normans), but I can't find anything to substantiate that.

"uphill" appears to date from the early 1600s (which doesn't mean that "uphill battle" wasn't coined at least partially in relation to looking back on the Battle of Hastings).

I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of those phrases that's so obvious or coined so early we don't have a well-source origin for it, but it would be interesting to learn if we do.


texts:
What is more accurate to say when writing a noun before a list?
"student list" or "students list"
(also "student group" vs "students group")


texts: Word for cheating off of another person's test in class

texts: I'm looking for a word that means you were cheating on a test by using another person's answers with their approval/cooperation. This also might be between two people, or an entire group of students could be passing answers to one another in a more organized effort. I could simply use the word "cheating" here, but I was looking for something more specific to my scenario. The students are definitely "cooperating" in a sense, but that doesn't really convey the feeling that they are doing something wrong/forbidden.


texts:
I'm looking for a word that states that two different concepts, although related, can vary independently from each other. For example, "politics and economics in a country are XXX to each other", where XXX is the word I'm looking for.

I've heard it in technical/scientific contexts, it has a certain geometrical ring to it. It's not "parallel", nor "perpendicular", and I can't quite remember it.


texts:
If there are two points that disagree, is there a word for the act of making them seem as if they are, in fact, in agreement? I've heard "resolve" used in this context, but it doesn't quite work for what I'm looking for.

"Rather than explaining the difference between the two texts, the commentaries seek to ?? them so that they appear to express the same opinion."


texts: How much not better than average is enough?

texts:
This is adapted from a silly conversation I had about a baseball player. It set me wondering how to describe this sort of wordplay linguistically.

  HIM: Do we leave Jay in center?
  HER: He's pretty good.
  HIM: Better than average maybe.
  HER: Not much better than average ...
  HIM: Better than not much better than average, I think ...
  HER: But not so much better than average that he's much better than average ...
  HIM: Enough better than average.
  HER: Exactly.

Typography in writing, representing prosody in speech, make it easy enough to sort out what's going on here. But how do you explain it in terms of a linguistic which confines itself to what is verbally expressed?

How does “traditional” grammar analyze and describe these shifts in scope?
Are these terms and concepts readily understood by, say, high-school students or moderately advanced EFL students?
Does any “modern” grammar afford better terms and concepts?


texts: Better way of saying "People you may be interested in"

texts: In my website i have system that finds people for you based on your hobbies/interests.Now I have text there that says "People you may be interested in",but it sounds kinda sexual.Is there better or less sexual way of saying that?


texts: What does "up in the cyph" mean in hip-hop?

texts:
In the song "Dance With the Devil" by the rapper Immortal Technique, there is a line that I don't understand.

So now he had a choice between going back to his life
Or making money with made men, up in the cyph'

I'm not including a link to the lyrics because I don't recommend anyone read them unless they're making a serious attempt to answer this question, because they're highly disturbing.
The idea is that "he" would be initiated as a "gangster," and hence, "making money with made men, up in the cyph'."
None of the Urban Dictionary definitions make sense.


texts:
Stemming from an edit and comments from a question I asked in SciFi.

Which one sounds more natural ? By "natural" I mean the most plausible to appear in a conversation. Does it depends on location ? Is it a British/American feeling thing ?

  What is Lex's beef with Superman?

or

  What is Lex's grief against Superman?

Is there any other word I didn't think of that would correctly translate Lex Luthor's feelings towards Superman ?


texts: Adverb for "appears to not be X but is actually X"

texts:
I'm looking for an adverb that specifies that a negative quality appears not to be present but actually is, for any reason. I can't describe it well so this would be better served by examples. I'd like to be able to fill in the blank in all of the following contexts:

The researcher's methods appeared to be sound, but when examined closely, they were not. (Cause: an honest mistake)

→ The researcher's methods were _____ly unsound.
The politician's statements appeared to be truthful, but when we dug deeper, we found that they were lies. (Cause: intentional deception)

→ The politician's statements were _____ly dishonest.
The user manual appeared to be complete, but when I actually read it, it turned out to be useless. (Cause: writer did not understand consumer needs)

→ The user manual was _____ly useless.
The paint job on the house appeared to be done correctly, but began peeling within a week. (Cause: lack of skill by painter, lack of knowledge by observer)

→ The paint job on the house was of _____ly low quality.

In essence, I'm looking for an adverb that signifies that on the surface / at a glance something appears not to be X, but "when you get right down to it", it actually is. However, this adverb must...

... not carry any implications about the underlying reason. It can have a negative connotation (as in, criticism, or showing disappointment on the part of the speaker), but must be neutral in its implications. For example, it can't imply intentional deception vs. an honest mistake vs. a simple lack of skill as the cause.
... be applicable to the quality that something really has, not the quality it appeared to have. That is, it describes something that "appeared to be opposite-of-X but actually was X" rather than something that "appeared to be X but actually was opposite-of-X", where X is the word it modifies.

In particular, the word I'm looking for should stress the fact that something appears to not be X on the surface.

Does such a word exist? I hope I explained this clearly.


texts:
Please, what is the meaning of that long in this sentence:

  No, I will not have been living here that long.


texts: which could have or which could have had?

texts:
I saw the following sentence from Time, and have been wondering whether 'which could have had an impact' is the correct choice rather than 'which could have an impact'.

  The first study did not control the intake of the participants,  which
  could have an impact on their findings...

http://time.com/2838453/everything-you-know-about-breakfast-is-wrong/


texts:
I want to indicate that some text has been made longer while emphasizing that no new content has been added.

Desired usages:

  I need to anti-summarize this paper to reach the ten page minimum.

or

  I can't believe the manager just anti-summarized my two paragraph
  email into a 35 minute meeting.


texts:
In conversation I used the phrase "for short" in the context:

  "I will call you blank for short."

I know I've heard the phrase before, but I'm wondering if it is actually acceptable English? If not, what is the correct alternative?

EDIT for clarification:

The structure of the phrase seems uncommon to me (maybe I'm wrong). The preposition-adjective structure doesn't seem to have many examples. However, the reverse structure seems to have multiple examples.


texts: Is the sentence "The ice cream was so good that he ate all of it" a run-on sentence? (is there a name for this grammatical construct?)

texts:
I was claiming that the sentence

  The ice cream was so good, he ate all of it.     ... (1)

is a run-on sentence.  And somebody pointed out that

  The ice cream was so good he ate all of it.      ... (2)

sounds like it is not a run-on sentence. I think the reason is that it sounds very much like:

  The ice cream was so good that he ate all of it. ... (3)

and this doesn't sound like a run-on sentence. Are they run-on sentences? If (3) is not, is it a particular proper grammatical construct that makes it not a run-on sentence? (because there are two clauses (with verbs) and not connected by a conjunction, semicolon, or separated by a period .)

The question was closed because a definition of run-on sentence was needed. The definition is:

  A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses (also known as complete sentences) are connected improperly.


texts: Word for intelligence-kind (akin to humankind, but not homocentric)

texts:
I am looking for a word that is similar in nature to humankind, but not doesn't focus specifically on humans.

The need arose from a discussion about the meaning of life, where a possible answer is "The betterment of humankind" (what ever that means, doesn't matter).

I am however looking for a word to replace 'humankind' that is more inclusive term, encompassing all kinds of intelligence/forms of consciousness (e.g. other animals, artificial intelligence, aliens).

I preferably looking for a layman term (if possible) that is viable in a non-fiction context.


texts: In the poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman, it seems to me the narrator is crossing a passage with a ferry. But doesn't the title literally mean he is crossing the ferry itself?


texts: Proper nouns : Which parts of speech commonly surround proper nouns

texts:
I am building an automated system to seek out the proper nouns from a piece of text. I have some algorithms available to me that can correctly determine the POS tag of a word in some text. The problem is that for proper nouns, the algorithms rely heavily on casing.Basically, they look at words starting with uppercase and assume that the word is a proper noun.

In my case, the text can have improper casing so its quite hard for me to determine proper nouns. I was wondering if it would be better to look at words surrounding the proper nouns. What are some common POS that occur around proper nouns?

Is there a general rule/convention for this?


texts:
Can we use adjective like in this example or we always need to use infinitive without 'to' after auxiliary 'need'?

We need not required to fill the form.


texts:
I came across this in an EFL text book, in an exercise that required the student to link a phrasal verb with the correct object, and it struck me as not at all obvious.
The most common usage of 'out' and 'put out' is connected to moving something.
Wikitionary suggests that it is connected with actively making something "go out" or die.
'Extinguish' also uses the 'ex' or 'out' adverb. Are we moving the 'life' of the fire out of its material location? Like we 'put some creature out of her/his misery'?


texts: A word for when two statements are both true or both false

texts:
Is there a word which basically means that there are two statements that are both true, or both false, but not one true and one false? In computing, we call this a bitwise and.

3 * 3 = 9
4 * 4 = 16

Both of those statements evaluate true, so I would want the word to apply here.

3 * 3 = 10
4 * 4 = 15

Both of these statements evaluate false, so I would want the word to apply here as well.

3 * 3 = 9
4 * 4 = 15

However, here, both statements disagree (one true, one false) and so the word shouldn't apply here.

Does such a word exist?