texts: Word-request for equivalent of "Anniversary" but for time period of a month

texts:
As defined by OED, Anniversary is,

  the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year.

Is their any word in the same context which can be used for addressing the events after one month. For instance, I have to congratulate a friend on his marriage after one month.

P.S. I know that we can always keep it simple and convey the most, but I am just curious to know if there is any word equivalent to 'anniversary' but for the time period of one month.


texts:
Proofing a manuscript, I found this in the middle of a chase scene:

  Spotting an opening, I dived into it and was horrified to find it was a dead end.

Is “dived” a valid past tense of the verb “dive”? I've always used “dove”, but I'm not certain what the use is in UK English.

Cambridge shows “dived” as a valid past tense of “dive”, but which is more common? Do “dove” and “dived” have different shades of meaning, or are they used differently in different contexts?


texts: How did "run over him" evolve to "run him over" over the last 50 years?

texts:
Growing up in Alabama, I never heard anyone bastardize the phrase "run over him (with the car)" to "run him over (with the car)", not even on TV or movies.

I first noticed the change as I began to travel North in the Late Seventies. (It's peculiar that this reversal of words is specific ONLY to people being "run over". The same people who say, "ran him over" will still say, "ran over the log", or even "run over the dog", for normal usage.)

The swapped version is now ubiquitous, even in the South, and found in every movie and TV show! No one even notices the inconsistency.

I recently noticed that a TV show made in the Sixties used the unswapped version! This gives us a bit of a time stamp to the change. I strongly suspect that televised media led the change with the masses following suit.


texts:
All the dictionaries and etymology sites I've checked say that the word ordnance, meaning weapons and ammunition, was derived from ordinance, which means a regulation or law. Etymonline says that the clipped variation was established by the 17th century. It has always looked like a misspelling to me, and a popular military-themed TV show, which presumably has a technical advisor, even got it wrong.

But none of the sites I've checked explain how this clipped variation occurred. Does anyone know?


texts: How to use two comparative adjectives in a row?

texts:
What is the right way to use two comparisons in a row?

  "He wants to marry somebody more beautiful and rich."
  "He wants to marry somebody more beautiful and richer."

I was able to find examples of using both options, and now I'm not sure what is right.


texts: difference between coward and pusillanimous

texts:
I just discovered the word pusillanimous, and I wonder if there's actually a difference between pusillanimous and coward/cowardice?
Considering the etymology of both words, both seem qualify someone being unable to act, making both words very close synonyms.
Is there actually a difference, maybe based on context?


texts:
What's the difference between these words? If possible, give some examples for each please. Thank you very much.

Collins Dictionary:

table: A table is a written set of facts and figures arranged in columns and rows

chart: A chart is a diagram, picture, or graph which is intended to make information easier to understand.

diagram: A diagram is a simple drawing which consists mainly of lines and is used, for example, to explain how a machine works.

form:  A form is a paper with questions on it and spaces marked where you should write the answers.

graph: A graph is a mathematical diagram which shows the relationship between two or more sets of numbers or measurements.


texts:
Are these two sentences correct?

But it did not take long before the problem started to emanate?

But it did not take long before the problem started to emanate itself?


texts: Which one is correct? “If you were not my mother, I would disown you or If you were not my mother, I would have disowned you”

texts: If you were not my mother, I would disown you or If you were not my mother, I would have disowned you.


texts: Meaning of the phrase "treats of" in the title of chapter 1 of Oliver Twist

texts:
The title of chapter 1 of Oliver Twist is as follow:

"Treats of the place where Oliver Twist was born...".

What is the exact meaning of the plural word "treats"? I assume it means something like "argumentation" however I have not been able to find the exact word (in plural form) in any dictionary. Is it an archaic word?
Thanks for the help.


texts:
What is its significance for the enrichment of your knowledge and skills in your chosen course?

English isn't my native, so, correct me if I am wrong.
I can't really understand what this mean, yes the importance of skills in my course, but I can't get a straight to the point about what the question is asking.
Is it maybe because its not properly arranged?
Or can someone translate this to me in a simpler manner so I can create an answer subjectively.


texts:
Consider the following sentences:

Every day I want to:

read a book
do my homework
go jogging for 20 minutes
be nice to my mom

To convert these into the following questions:

Did you:

read a book today?
do your homework today?
go jogging for 20 minutes today?

Were you:

nice to your mom today?

You would change:
me --> you and
be --> were

I need to write a program which does this, are there any cases where this would fail? What are the general rules?

I know for long sentences this would make no sense, but only 50 characters are allowed.


texts: Should I say “to your daily life” or “in your daily life”?

texts:
As you grow up, you realize your philosophical views don't apply much
  to/in your daily life.

Which option is more grammatically correct?


texts: Comma after To at the beginning of a sentence

texts:
I am just writing my master thesis and I am unsure whether to place a comma in sentences starting with "To".

Here are some examples:

To be able to improve the performance[,] it is important to discover the performance issues first.
To create consistent plans[,] there are two basic directions of planning: top-down or bottom-up.
To acquire query plans[,] EXPLAIN PLAN statements have to be injected in the statements within the context of the application.

Is the beginning an introductory phrase?

I am German and therefore not familiar with English punctuation yet ...


texts:
I came across an essay instruction written by a grammar school teacher writing 'Write an essay in which you account for the opinions ...' Shouldn't it be '... in which you MAKE AN ACCOUNT for the opinions ...'

/Søren


texts: Is a ship's biscuit a biscuit or a cake?

texts:
Cakes go hard when they are stale. Biscuits go soft when they are stale.

So, what about a ship's biscuit?


texts:
I am wondering if my understanding of these two phrases is correct. Could you confirm this?

make a contract = create a contract
achieve a contract = win a contract

Thank you.


texts: The different usage of "whatever" and "what"

texts:
Following two sentences includes a confusing grammar in my opinion. Can you help me ?

  Whatever a man lacks in himself he will seek outside.

If I wrote this sentence, I would use "it" after the verb "seek". I think there is a missing object in the second half of the sentence.

  What a man already possesses in himself he will not bother to look for
  outside.

The part "What a man possesses in himself" should be a noun. The part " he will not bother to look for outside" should be the defining sentence of the noun. So, it is like this sentence :

"The table i cannot see." I mean, the sentence has no main verb. How could this be possible ?


texts: What is a good translation of "crâne de piaf" as a nickname?

texts:
I'm looking for a translation of "Crâne de piaf", in English, in the context of a nickname given to some fictional character.

Also, take note that I am native from France. What I'm looking for, precisely, is an english nickname equivalent of "crâne de piaf".

A little more context is probably welcome: the character I'm thinking about was a very highly intelligent guy, an inventor, a physician, etc. But, at some point he progressively lose his humanity, by becoming something close to an undead. His intelligence is progressively reduced to that of a typical undead in fantasy books/stories.

One day, as he progressively becomes undead, his skull becoming more apparent (but not completely), he visits a little girl he used to know before the beginning of his transformation. And she do not recognize her. Instead, she calls him "crâne de piaf".

Much later, he will become a threat for all living being in the region and take this name - because he do not recall his real name.

What would be a good english equivalent for this name ?


texts: Perception of subjects with indeterminate gender

texts:
Being German, I am used to getting information about the gender of a sentence's subject in the same sentence:

  Meine Freundin mag Bücher.

Here it is immediately clear that it's a female friend of mine who likes books.

In English, however, many nouns do not imply a certain gender (which makes a lot of things so much easier):

  My friend likes books.

How is such a sentence perceived by a native English speaker? I'm particularly interested in the case where such a sentence is part of a story, where the reader is likely to visualize the sentence's action mentally.

Personally, I tend to imagine the subject as being male (this might be due to male profession titles and pronouns being the de-facto standard in German texts, even if the texts are not gender specific). This leads to surprises in situations like this one:

  My friend likes books. She owns many of them.

Do native English speakers experience a similar surprise? (Note that this works for both genders, i.e. a female reader might be surprised if "He" owns many of them) If not, what happens instead?

Edit:
Several answers point out that the same issue exists with other attributes (age, race, ...). However, in my experience, these attributes are either not fixed at all during a story (so we're fine to imagine them anyway we want) or comply with the stereo-types we have for the story's cultural environment (so the chance is high that we imagine the "right" thing). Gender, on the other hand, is almost always fixed for a story's characters, and very hard to guess in a more modern and western setting.


texts: Why does CGEL call "home", "abroad", "here", and "there" prepositions instead of adverbs like dictionaries say?

texts:
We know that the words home, abroad, here, and there are adverbs because
the dictionaries all say so.
But in The Cambridge Grammar of the English
Language
(GGEL), authors Huddleston and Pullum tell us that well no, actually they
are prepositions. (!)

How and why does CGEL call these words prepositions? Does anybody else?

Are there ways to still use these words as adverbs even
if CGEL now considers them prepositions?


texts: If a word comes with 'a' or 'an', does it mean it's a countable noun?

texts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_articles#Indefinite_article

  The indefinite article of English takes the two forms a and an. Semantically, they can be regarded as meaning "one", usually without emphasis. They can be used only with singular countable nouns; for the possible use of some (or any) as an equivalent with plural and uncountable nouns, see Use of some below.

It says if a noun comes with an indefinite article, the noun is singular and countable.

Then there are phrases such as 'a lot of', 'a number of', and 'once upon a time'. Are 'lot', 'number', 'time' above countable nouns as well? I have never heard of people saying 'two numbers of people' or 'once upon three times', which makes me doubt that they are actually countable.


texts:
I can not figure out what the correct usage of allow/allows is in this case.

  Using plural allow(s) me to...

Would "allow(s)" refer back to the plural and thus be "allow"? or does it refer back to the action of using the plural and thus be "allows"?

An example could be something like: "Using old recordings allow(s) me to relive memories."


texts: Usage of "so" in a sentence that follows as a conclusion of the previous sentence(s)

texts: I have seen people using "So" (followed by a comma) in the beginning of a sentence written as a conclusion of what is written in the previous sentence(s). For example: "I was sick yesterday. So, I could not attend the school." Often, I also find people using "so" to introduce the second part of a single sentence as in "It was still painful so I went to see a doctor." Is the sentence in second example correct? To me, correct rule of using "so" is the way it is used in the first example. Or, it may be that I am mistaken. Can anyone tell me all the correct rules for this particular sort of usage of "so".


texts: From (being) high-pitched to low-pitched

texts:
Context: On Tiktok, there is a filter with which your face turns blue and deforms several times. This filter is accompanied by music which becomes lower-pitched music every time the face changes.
Is the following description grammatically correct?
it is the filter accompanied by music from high-pitched to low-pitched.
It sounds like terrible English to my ears.


texts:
Our American English local paper insisted on changing a title from titbits to tidbits for a column on minor local events and stories.

I, a British English speaker, have always pronounced and spelled this as titbits.

Are they accurate, or do they just want to avoid shocking their readership with any connection to bouncy lady-parts, in the same way that CNN insists on IED rather than booby-trap?


texts:
Is there a verb for "to make optional"?  I've searched questoins on this site, thesaurus.com, and looked in my paper thesaurus and dictionary, but don't see anything.

Context for how I plan to use the word is in changelist.  The changelist identifies items that were "added", "removed", "updated" and "made optional."  I'm looking for a single word to replace "made optional."

Thanks in advance!


texts: Looking for another word to fit into this sentence!

texts:
I dyed my hair green to _____ the coming Halloween.

The tone in this sentence I want to express is passive like "cope".

So instead of saying I dyed my hair green because of the coming Halloween, I want a more passive tone.

I am thinking of using the word "conform" but doesn't know if it's the right fit.


texts: What do you call someone who thinks something someone said is always directed at them?

texts: Like the title says, I'm trying to find the word that is used to describe a person who thinks things are always directed towards them even if its being talked about in a general way.


texts:
I'm looking for the right term to look into when it comes to "normalize" (remove word inflections) English words. For example:

participation -> participate
changing -> change
granted -> grant
mangoes -> mango
leaves -> leaf
baked -> bake
baking -> bake

Since I'm not a native English speaker I don't know what terms I should search for. I tried normalize english words But the results are far from what I'm looking for.

I'm actually looking for a javascript component that does that.


texts:
I would appreciate if someone can help me out here.
Can we use a gerund or infinitive after the verb accomplish?
I did a search but nothing came up and after accomplish they've used a pronoun or a noun phrase.

So can we say:

I accomplished climbing the mountain.
Or
I accomplished to climb the mountain.
?


texts: From the horse jockey to the disc jockey

texts:
Jockey  was first used to refer to a person who rides a horse in races from the second half of the 17th century:

Etymonline says that jockey (n.) is a variant of the name Jack:

  1520s, "boy, fellow," originally a Scottish proper name, variant of Jack. The meaning "person who rides horses in races" first attested 1660s.

According to Wikipedia, jockey might derive  from the Gaelic word eachaidhe:

  Another possible origin is the Gaelic word eachaidhe, a "horseman", (pronounced yachey in late medieval times, with the ch pronounced as in German).

During the 20th century the term  jockey has also been used to refer to:.

  (Informal) One whose occupation or hobby involves a specified machine, device, or object: a computer jockey; a desk jockey. (AHD)

Probably, one of the earliest  of this informal usages was "disc jokey",  an expression that, together with its variants, was to become more and more popular in the following decades:

  Disk jockey first recorded 1941; dee-jay is from 1955; DJ is 1961; (Etymonline)

The following extract gives a brief history of the expression and says that jockey referred to a "machine operator".

  The term disk jockey was first used in 1935 by American radio commentator Walter Winchell to describe Martin Block; the first radio announcer that became famous for his show "Make Believe Ballroom" where Block would pretend he was broadcasting from a ballroom by playing the nation’s top dance bands. The term “disc jockey”, derived from “disc”, referring to the disc records and “jockey” which is a machine operator, caught on and appeared in print in "Variety" in 1941.

(radiosolution.info)

Questions:

1) Does the original meaning of jockey (person who rides a horse in races)  derive from the Scots Jack , the Gaelic eachaidhe (horseman) or from some other source?

2) Does the informal meaning of jockey, (someone whose work involves the use of a particular object or machine) in expressions like computer jockey, desk jockey or disc jockey,   derive from its original meaning?

3) Was "disc jockey" the first expression where  the term "jockey" was used to refer to someone  outside the horse racing contexts.


texts:
Which of the following sentence is correct?

Buyers can now pay using a credit card.
Buyers now can pay
using a credit card.

Thanks


texts: What is the origin of mule in test mule?

texts: A test mule is a prototype that is used for performance evaluation. It is a common term for preproduction cars, but is also widely used in non-automotive product development. Where did the term come from? I have asked product developers in several industries and they don't know. There are also pony engines and steam donkeys, and engines generally replaced horses for power production, but I can't find the origin of test mules. One possible origin is that a mule was used as direct comparison for evaluating the power of something such as a wind mill or water wheel. Records of tests of machinery vs animals go back at least a thousand years, but the test mule appears to be recent enough to hope for a first-person account.


texts:
The majority of medical errors are flaws in thinking rather than technical or implementation flaws. Through ample use of checklists and structured decision-making models, medical procedures are generally implemented with high precision. However, if a physician missed a presenting symptom or did not rule out alternate hypotheses, then the treatment would not meet the actual need of the patient, and the result would not be the desired one. A classic example of this is the overuse of antibiotics. Antibiotics can be effective for treating bacterial infections, but they are useless for viral infections. There are certainly tests to help determine whether the source of a sinus infection is viral or bacterial. However, because the tests are costly and take time to produce results, many physicians used to skip those tests, assume a bacterial infection, and prescribe antibiotics. Not only would the antibiotics be ineffective for helping overcome viral infections, but the unintended consequence is that we have an increasing number of bacteria strains resistant to what were once effective medications. (The ABCs of Curriculum-Based Evaluation)

Is it a medical term? I have been googling but haven't found the definition.


texts: Is there a word for the talking an artist does between songs?

texts: I am looking for a word which describes the talking an artist does between songs in a live performance. The word "intermission" is close, but I think that it has the connotation of a longer break, possibly with the artist doing nothing (on stage). Another word that comes to mind is "patter", but this word can also mean something like "glib talking", rather than the talk between songs.


texts: What does the phrase "keep someone up to the mark" mean?

texts:
While I was reading George Orwell’s Letter On Why He Wrote ‘1984, I found below.
"Already history has in a sense ceased to exist, ie. there is no such thing as a history of our own times which could be universally accepted, and the exact sciences are endangered as soon as military necessity ceases to keep people up to the mark."
I wonder what does 'keep someone up to the mark' mean here?


texts: In this sentence, am I really shocked or not?

texts:
I encounter one sentence that goes like this:

Hardly am I shocked when I hear the devastating news.

I looked "hardly...when" up in a Collins dictionary, and it says:

  If you say hardly had one thing happened when something else happened,
  you mean that the first event was followed immediately by the second.
  He had hardly collected the papers on his desk when the door burst
  open...
  = no sooner Hardly had I reached the station when the train came.

I'm confused.

Am I really shocked or not?


texts: What is the term for a hedge-covered pathway?

texts:
I was in Port Isaac, Cornwall, a few years ago, and found this path (see link to photos, below) that seemed to go right up inside a cultivated hedge or tree-line between two pastures. Does anyone know the proper word or phrase for this kind of covered pathway? Thank you!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3099726590360&set=a.3099723150274.1073741824.1780044023&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3099726590360&set=a.3099723150274.1073741824.1780044023&type=3&theater


texts: Expressions for someone who likes doing things alone and doesn't like help

texts:
What expressions are there for someone who likes to be alone and independent?
"Lone runner" is what comes to my mind, but I don't think I've really heard it, to be honest. Could anyone help?


texts: Should I pronounce the singular "Irishman" and the plural "Irishmen" identically?

texts:
Can someone tell me how to pronounce the following:

Irishman/Irishmen

I have read carefully, according to the online Oxford Living Dictionaries, the pronunciation of words like Irishman/Irishmen: the singular is the same as the plural, both are  phonemically**/ˈʌɪrɪʃmən/** in standard IPA.

Please check Merriam-Webster, which uses a non-standard, custom pronunciation scheme: Irishman = ī-rish-mən and Irishmen = ī-rish-mən

For example, here's the entry for Irishman/Irishmen from the Cambridge English Dictionary, which is also using IPA to denote which broad phonemes people hear in their minds when these words are said aloud:

    Irishman

    noun [ C ]: UK  /ˈaɪə.rɪʃ.mən/ US  /ˈaɪə.rɪʃ.mən/ ᴘʟᴜʀᴀʟ -men UK  /-mən/ US

However, several native speaker experts from EL&U assure me that in natural speech the two pronunciations are different:

  In practice they will end up the same. When a native speaker is enunciating carefully (ie artificially), they will sound different: the singular will rhyme with Spider-man and the plural (which is the sound you’re actually hearing for both) with Goldman in Goldman Sachs. @Dan Bron (link)
  Did you google pronounce irishmen and pronounce irishman
  It's a subtle difference. @aparente001 (link)

What is the actual case here: should Irishman and Irishmen be true homophones in reality?


texts:
Exhortation v. Hortation

Are there any difference in (a) the usage and (b) the meaning of the two?

It seems to me that Hortation is an obsolete word because in OED there is only a very brief information of it.

Thank you.

May I know why do I receive -3 for my question?
is there anything wrong with it?
I want to know because the poor grading prevents me from asking any more question
Please let me know so that I could avoid asking questions that you may "dislike" in the future


texts:
According to the OLD, the noun chief can be used for

  a person with a high rank or the highest rank in a company or an
  organization.

However, while it of course appears in CEO and other job titles, I would always prefer to call refer to my line manager as my boss rather than my chief. Is this consistent with the usage by native speakers or does it depend on the region?


texts:
I wonder if anyone has an approximation for the Japanese “tsundere”?

Tsundere (ツンデレ, pronounced [tsɯndeɽe]) is a Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time.
Wikipedia

About the closest I can come is “hate to love” but I wonder if there’s something more succinct?


texts:
What is the word for ‘being ignored’.

  .... As people only feels love,care,respect,power,hate, insult, and [being ignored].

I can not find the appropriate word for ‘being ignored’.


texts: Just how offensive are the terms "retarded" and "gay"?

texts:
My college-age son and his friends use the terms "retarded" and "gay" pretty much interchangeably to mean substandard, bad, lame (in the sense of ineffectual or weak) or just plain wrong. I've suggested that he might want to be careful about where he uses such language, but he clearly isn't worried about being offensive with those terms.
Now add this to the equation: Last night we watched a recorded version of Comedy Central's "A Tribute to Sam Kinison." Comedy Central censors a lot of words, including names of body parts (although, curiously, they let "dick" remain unbleeped), terms for sex acts, and so on. And we could clearly see that the word "retarded" had been bleeped (it's a very easy word to lip-read). Note that Comedy Central does not censor the word "nigger" on the Dave Chapelle show, although this is a word Jon Stewart goes to great lengths to avoid saying on his own show (also, of course, on Comedy Central).
So I wonder: is the word "retarded" really that offensive? How about "gay" in the context described above?
UPDATE
From an Associated Press story (Young Jaded by Online Slurs) reported in the Boston Globe today (Sept. 21, 2011):

WASHINGTON - Young people immersed in the online world see racist and sexist slurs and other name-calling that probably would appall their parents and teachers. And most consider it no big deal, a poll says.
...
When the question is asked broadly, half of young people surveyed say using discriminatory words is wrong. But 54 percent think it’s OK to use them within their own circle of friends, because “I know we don’t mean it.’’ And they don’t worry much about whether the things they tap into their cellphones and laptops could reach a wider audience and get them into trouble.
...
Demeaning something with “that’s so gay’’ is so common that two-thirds of young people see it used, and the majority aren’t offended at all, despite a public-service ad campaign that tried to stamp out the anti-gay slang.
A similar effort by the Special Olympics and others to persuade kids not to use “retard’’ hasn’t hit home with half of those surveyed, who don’t find the word even moderately bothersome. Twenty-seven percent are seriously offended, however.
Some teens just text the way they talk. Calling each other “gay’’ and “retarded’’ is routine in high school, says Robert Leader, 17, a senior in Voorhees, N.J. So teens text it, too.


texts: "Paul would later transfer to McKinley High and join Kevin and Winnie."

texts:
I read the following:

  After graduating from Junior High, Kevin and Winnie both go to McKinley High and Paul attends a prep school. Paul would later transfer to McKinley High and join Kevin and Winnie.

The story is narrated in simple present. Why do they use 'would' here?


texts:
I found Etymonline's entry on the word shark unusually inconclusive. Not only is the origin of the word uncertain, it is also not clear if shark was first applied to a dishonest person or to the sea creature.

It also had no mention of this positive connotation from NOAD:

  2 an expert in a specified field : a pool shark.

Can any etymology sharks out there supply some of these missing links?


texts: What do you call an authority who issues certifications?

texts:
What is the correct term given to an entity/body who have the authority to issue certifications in a field?

The obvious thing that comes to mind is "Certification Authority (CA)", however when I Google this term all I find are references to CAs in the context of cryptography.

For example.. I complete an online course in some subject, let's just say Amazon's AWS Cloud Architect or something. In this case, Amazon are the authority providing a certification. Does that make them... a certificate authority?


texts:
The logistics were those of a very large army, which indeed it was,
  battalions of extras and theatrical performers for the biggest sound
  set ever conceived.

Could someone simplify this sentence please?


texts: "So must I" or "so do I" in place of "of course"

texts:
Which of these can we use instead of of course?

  A: You always obey your parents!

  B: (Of course / So must I / So do I), because they are my parents.


texts: I don't know why it says 'preventing a complete tally of the injured'

texts:
The wounded were taken to different hospitals around the city, which police said was preventing a complete tally of the injured.

Tally means count, right? In this sentence, the wounded were taken to different hospitals around the city, but why to prevent 'complete tally of the injured'?
This sentence comes from Fox News.


texts: 'Us students' - Does this apposition need a comma?

texts:
Can a pronoun be used in apposition without comma?

  A few of us students have participated in the match.

This sentence looks quite awkward at first glance.
Is this sentence gramatically correct? I can't find any forbidding rule regarding a relation between pronoun and comma in apposition.


texts: A word or phrase to describe quick thinking in the moment

texts:
Let me describe the situation where I want to use this word or phrase:

I was reading a particularly interesting book that I happened upon somewhere deep inside my university library. The book had a memorable epigraph. Unfortunately, I didn't have the presence of mind to take a photograph of the epigraph or write it down. I no longer remember the name of the book, and I have to find contentment in knowing I may never see it again.

Is "presence of mind" the right phrase? Perhaps I didn't have my "wits about me"? I wasn't quick thinking enough? Or something else?

I really want to capture the idea that I was engrossed in reading the book and wasn't really thinking about preserving the memory.


texts: I want to know the difference between "you are false" and "you are wrong"

texts: What is the difference between false and wrong? Is there any difference in meaning?


texts: distinct variations on get/locate/find/obtain to make clear whether the target exists

texts:
I'm looking for two different single words (although if there are two or three word phrases that are clearer, I'd prefer them) to make the following distinction for get/locate/find/obtain:

get X if it can be found
get X no matter what (if it can't be found, then make or create it)

Any suggestions?


texts: Is the position of the clause in this sentence okay?

texts:
I’m trying to figure out if this sentence is ordered properly. Is it okay to start the sentence with this clause — "From the moment someone requests ..." — which really modifies the "customer experience"? Please don't tell me to just tack it onto the end of the sentence. The company doesn't want to start with "Here's how ..."

  From the moment a customer requests help to the minute that help is given, here’s how to improve every step of the customer experience.


texts: "the unfamiliarity with" or "unfamiliarity with"?

texts:
I always have a lack of confidence in using the articles (a/an/the).
I want to write one of the following sentences in my paper. But I don't know which one is more appropriate? Could you please help me?

The unfamiliarity with these social protocols can have severe consequences.

or

Unfamiliarity with these social protocols can have severe consequences.


texts: Is the term "nagware" considered sexist?

texts: I have a suspicion, though I'm not certain, that the verb "nag" may be considered sexist. Is the term "nagware", describing software that constantly asks the user to pay for it, considered sexist?


texts: For example, Firefox uses add-ons whereas Microsoft Office uses add-ins. I've seen all 4 versions (add-in, addin, add-on, addon) used in various software programs, but I wonder if all of them are interchangeable. May there be cases where they convey different meanings?


texts: How should one make "man in the middle" plural?

texts:
Usually, when a phrase acts as a single word, the noun in the phrase gets made plural. For instance, "mother in law" becomes "mothers in law" when made plural.

When discussing "man in the middle" attacks, it is common to call the attack a "man in the middle" or "a MITM."

The rule above would suggest that the plural would become "men in the middle." But unlike "mother in law," the noun in the phrase is not actually the thing that gets duplicated — it is instances of the whole phrase. That is, saying "men in the middle" seems to indicate a single attack perpetrated by multiple people; but in this case the intent is to refer to multiple attacks carried out by a single person.

As a result, I'm confused as to whether one should use "man in the middles" or "men in the middle" when referring to more than one man in the middle attack.

(Yes, I know the best solution in this case would probably be to avoid the problem and say "man in the middle attacks" which is unambiguous. But I'm curious anyway)


texts:
If we say, Is this necklace yours?

Then would it be the same if a dog has a necklace and we refer it by saying, Is the necklace its?

It sounds so weird to me but is it grammatically correct?


texts: Words like "do/does/did" to emphasize, but for "am/is/are"

texts:
So X said to Y:

  I did tell you yesterday!

As far as I know, the word did there is to emphasize my point or tell him that I'm so sure I've told him the story yesterday. What I want to ask is, what's the word we may use to emphasize our point like that in a sentence with no verb? Like

  You ARE the one who breaks it!

For emphasis, I capitalized the ARE, but is there any word that functions like did does in the previous sentence?


texts:
Citing Wikipedia:

  Many actuaries were unhappy with the stereotypical portrayals of these
  actuaries as unhappy, math-obsessed and socially inept people; others
  have claimed that the portrayals are close to home, if a bit
  exaggerated.

Does this mean "rather accurate"?

This does not seem to match the definition found in The American Heritage® Dictionary:

  So as to affect one's feelings or interests

Nor the definition in Wiktionary:

  Affecting people close to, or within, ones family circle.

Is Wikipedia misusing the term?
Or are those definitions wrong?
Or am I misunderstanding these definitions?


texts:
Can anyone help with this sentence? Is my punctuation here correct?

If you sell bicycles, sell as many accessories as you can; water bottles; pumps; and biking gear, such as shoes, gloves, caps and more.


texts: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

texts:
With Neil Armstrong's death today, many news sites are posting articles that quote Neil Armstrong as  "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.".

My question is, does the quote make sense without the 'a'?

and what is the history of the 'a' or not 'a'?


texts: word or phrase for an inconsequential object or activity

texts:
TLDR
Looking for a word or phrase for something that causes no change or has no impact (be it positive or negative) on a situation.

I NEED MORE
I'm using the word "asset" in reference to something advantageous or beneficial for an organization, although not in a financial context. My intent is to shed light on something incorrectly perceived as an asset that is, in actuality, something that is at best inconsequential.

WOW YOU'RE OVERTHINKING IT
It's a sensitive matter so I don't want to go so far as to call the offending element a "liability". Doing so might sour the audience to my adjoining proposal. Plus, their "thing" isn't actively debilitating or disadvantageous - it just isn't beneficial.

Everyone knows what an asset is. How do you say something isn't an asset without calling it a liability? There's gotta be some middle ground in there somewhere, right?

Example sentence:

  "The website, in its current form is _________ (or is a _______).  It should be an an asset that actively grows your business."

Thanks in advance!


texts: a term that means "number of classes" (in a classification)

texts:
I'm searching a word that could replace the phrase "number of classes".

In detail, I'm writing a paper in which I'm speaking about a classification method, and the number of classes is one of its parameters. I would like to use a one-word term as a name for this parameter.

I thought about "granularity" but unfortunately, this term is used to represent another well-known concept in the same domain I'm working on. So, I would avoid it. Coarseness and graininess, although known to be synonyms of granularity, they do not have the exact meaning I'm searching for, which is the degree of division in a classification.

Thank you.


texts: How to say the interrogative form with a base form of a verb ..in English?

texts:
In French language, I will say
"Comment ne pas être repéré".
But I want to translate it into English.
Do we say "How to not be spotted" or "How not to be spotted"?


texts: Is there any idiom or expression that would mean "all my efforts wasted"?

texts:
I'm looking for an idiom or expression that would mean "all one's efforts wasted".

I have found "to have one's cake dough". Can I use it for "all my efforts wasted" too? ( A non-native friend told me it is used for saying " all 'my plans' failed", not 'my efforts'.)

I want to use it in:

  John spared no efforts to provide his son with anything he needed for going to a medical college, but his son disappointed him by going to an art college. John accepted his son's choice but was really upset and felt ----(=all those efforts were wasted).

PS:

In Persian we say "one's yarns changed back into cotton".

(You know that cotton is changed into yarn by spinning, using a spindle, that takes a long time and efforts, so "all my yarns changed back into cotton" means "all my efforts wasted".)


texts: Is it correct to use "their" instead of "his or her"?

texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct?

Anyone who loves the English language should have a copy of this book in their bookcase.

or should it be:

Anyone who loves the English language should have a copy of this book in his or her bookcase.


texts: Is there a name for this kind of hairdo?

texts: I'm trying to find the word for this kind of hairdo.  It was fashionable during the 60's and several movie stars adopted that look on one occasion or another. Jane Fonda was one of them. I think.  Usually around five inches tall, sometimes these hairdos would reah ten inches! I'm trying to describe a relative of mine in an old wedding picture, and would appreciate any help.


texts: Word meaning "to walk/run around something"?

texts:
Example:

  I [...] the house to see what was happening in the yard.

I thought of encircle and surround. But I'm not sure if can use them to mean "to walk around something."


texts: An adjective that says "which are very scarce to begin with"

texts:
I am looking for an adjective that says "which are very few to begin with" to fill the blank in the following sentence:

  When I was writing a story on __ female astronomers at Pitt for our school newspaper, these female astronomers said that many of their women students are always skeptical about their ability to do math, which eventually prevented them from considering having a serious career in astronomy and physics.


texts: Present and past participles at the same time

texts:
As part of my efforts to improve my English, I'm trying to paraphrase the following statement by the founder of Wikitribune and it turns out to be such a challenging job for a non-native English speaker because it complicatedly has "present and past" participle phrases in the same sentence:

  This will be the first time that professional journalists and citizen journalists will work side by side as equals writing stories as they happen, editing them as they develop and at all times backed by a community checking and rechecking all facts.

Would you find these two paraphrases I came up with grammatically correct? Could there be any better or more versions?:

(A)  "This will be the first time that professional journalists and citizen journalists will write stories as they happen, edit them as they develop and at all times be backed by a community checking and rechecking all facts as they work side by side as equals."
(B) "This will be the first time that professional journalists and citizen journalists will work side by side as equals as they write stories as they happen, edit them as they develop and ARE at all times backed by a community checking and rechecking all facts."

I would really appreciate any advice, desperately seeking answers.


texts: Meaning of "on the wax" from an article in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

texts:
I do not follow the meaning of "on the wax" below, and do not find its usage in any online dictionary. Yet the original text appears in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, thus peer-reviewed. So I suppose the usage is correct. Can anyone clarify the meaning of "on the wax"?

  The Sophist and Statesman are late Platonic dialogues, whose relative dates are established by their stylistic similarity to the Laws, a work that was apparently still “on the wax” at the time of Plato's death (Diogenes Laertius 3.37)


texts: I signaled that I removed a comma here by <s>,</s> (which shows as  , ) but what's the official manner or practice? I don't want to use an ellipsis, because it might confuse and misguide readers into wrongly believing that text had been excluded. What's more efficient than writing [(Punctuation) removed] ?


texts: it's high time you {past perfect} something

texts:
I know that usually it should be "It's high time someone did something."

However, what about "the past perfect"? Is it possible to use? If yes, when should it be done and for what effect?

"It's high time someone had done something."

Here are examples from literature:

It was high time he had written, Dick thought; it was high time he had come.

Lieutenant Stewart replied, in substance, that the British officers had too long trampled on the rights and liberties of his countrymen, and it was high time they had learned to respect the rights and persons of an independent nation.

I told him, it was high time he had ended the course he was pursuing.


texts: Can't 'fail' have noun as its direct object?

texts:
He failed to appear.

  (1) ✲ What he failed was to appear. (2) What he failed to do was
  appear. (Angela Downing, English Grammar: A University Course)

Oxford has the case that fail takes noun phrase as its direct object(She failed her finals), but the book above says ‘He failed to appear.’ can’t be said as (1). Does the usage of fail without infinitive clause be limited only to certain meanings, like exams, tests?


texts: Say I'm talking to a friend about a particular sound, then I tell him I will show him what I mean. Is there a way to say show without implying visual demonstration? I guess maybe play? Any other suggestions?


texts: An active verb "to find peace in" something

texts:
I'm looking for an active verb which means something along the lines of "to take or find peace in" something.  Something like soothe is the opposite of what I want, in the sense that the something is the thing doing the soothing. e.g.,

  The river soothed him.

But I would want "him" to be the subject.  This would result in...

  He was soothed by the river.

...but this is passive rather than active.  Is there such an active verb?  A single word that means something like "find peace in" in the following?

  I find peace in the trickling of the river.


texts: Scottish idiom meaning to enter a deal which turns out differently than agreed

texts:
I'm looking for a specific phrase that I didn't manage to catch in a phone call with my estate agent, a Scottish lady.

The conversation topic was me informing her that my ex has moved out of the property that we rented, and that I would be handling all the communication from that point onwards. She politely said she was sorry, and when I said I was not, she commented on the fact that it happened fairly frequently in the past that I taught my ex was dealing with a household issue which was in fact not being handled, I agreed, and she used an idiom of which I only caught some words:

  Everybody has at some point (...) bought a T-shirt (...) and ended up (?) wearing the badge.

From the context, my understanding is that the meaning was along the lines of:

  We have all at entered deals before which turned out to be much different/worse than what we bargained for.

(my relationship with my ex, in which he was supposed to handle the household but did not put any effort into it)

Since her job is neither to teach me English nor to give me relationship advice, I let it go, but I can't get the idiom out of my head since. Unfortunately, my English friends didn't get far with the clues I can remember, and said they were not too familiar with Scottish expressions.

Acknowledging the possibility that I heard some of the words wrong due to her accent and speed, but assuming that I interpreted it correctly from the context, can anybody think of a Scottish idiom with the meaning as described, similar to what I heard (in particular, words "T-shirt" and "badge" stood out)?


texts:
You are not hired because you are qualified.

I think this means you are hired but it is not because you are qualified. But I think this can  also means you are not hired, and the reason for it is that you are qualified.

Does this ambiguity really exist or do I mistake anything?


texts: A word that is the past participle for having become something

texts:
I want to say:

  As someone who has recently become a father, ...

but I would like to use the shorter form:

  As a recently ____ father, ...

What word could I use here?  "Become", "becomed", "emerged", "materialised" and "born" don't seem to fit.

In a different example, we might be able to use the word "graduated":

  As a recently ____ engineer, ...

But what if we wanted to say only that someone had become an engineer, without specifying the actual process of graduation or training?


texts: Does "51" meaning crack cocaine have any relation to police code "5150"?

texts:
According to this list of drug slang terms from a declassified DEA report, 51 is slang for crack cocaine.

Checking Green's Dictionary of Slang confirms the term (listed as fifty-one) and lists the etymology as unknown.  However, I noticed that GDoS has an entry for "5150":

  (US black/prison) someone in need of mental health treatment; an eccentric, a crazy person.

Etymology:

  [police code, an insane person is annoying the public]

Is there any evidence of a potential relationship between the slang 5150 meaning "an eccentric/crazy person" and 51 meaning crack cocaine or tobacco laced with crack cocaine?  Are there alternative theories?

The only alternative explanation I found is on Urban Dictionary; I can find no reputable source to back it up, and in fact, it even has a low rank on UD so I mention it only as a possible starting point for investigation:

  a joint with $1 worth of weed and $5 of freebase.

Urban Dictionary


texts:
Where does the saying

  I've got your number

come from?


texts: What does "We're taking one for the team" mean?

texts:
I was looking at the Send Your Enemies Glitter website, and there is a headline saying

  We're taking one for the team, this shit gets on everything.

What does "We're taking one for the team" mean exactly? Based on the context it sounds to me like "we guarantee you" or something like that, but I don't see the reasoning for using those particular words.


texts: Word for something obvious that you've never thought of?

texts: While folding laundry, I realized that if one sock in a pair was inside-out, the other usually would be as well. This thought was obvious after I had it, and also would have been obvious had someone asked me the question, but since it had never come up it was hidden to me. Is there a word for something that is obvious once you think about it, but unlikely to be thought about?


texts:
I found a Meta Stack Overflow post in whose answer Servy says:

  it's sock puppeting and is a very serious violation

"Sock puppeting" is a picture. But why a sock? Is it like playing with your own sock?


texts: Word for the sensation between a body part being numb and the pins and needles

texts:
I'm looking for a word, at least a concise description of the sensation that happens AFTER a part of your body "falls asleep".

After the total lack of sensation and control in it, but before the stinging of the pins and needles, there's an aggressive, vile sort of agony as it regains sensation that can be more unbearable than the stinging that follows.

That's something I'm trying to describe, especially as a sensation felt throughout the entire body continuously that isn't exactly just fatigue or numbness. I've considered "malaise" but it's too vague.


texts:
I have been reading an article and I'm came across this sentence:

  He’s also a person: serious, thoughtful, merciful, the slightest hint of a chip on his shoulder.

I googled "hint of a chip" but can't find anything useful. what is the meaning of this phrase?


texts: Casual writing to express that someone is thinking of something?

texts:
In casual writing we often use the colon to express that people are talking. Example:

  Tom: hi
  Mary: hi

I'm wondering what about if it is Tom thought of something instead of Tom talking? Like is this valid, or is there a better way to express this:

  Tom thought: asdasd


texts: Phrase/word between "bait-and-switch" and "additonal sale"

texts:
Is there a phrase or word to describe when you sell something small in order to establish a business relationship, build confidence and establish a market/infrastructure in order to sell consumables, service, other products or similar later on?

Bait-and-switch is wrong because what is being advertised is what is being sold, at the advertised price and there is no requirement for further purchase but its main purpose is to increase other sales. Selling razors or ink jet printers cheap in order to make money off razor blades and ink cartridges later on are typical examples.

EDIT: A slightly better example might be an auto manufacturer, since razors don't come in very different price steps. Suppose Honda pushes in a developing country to win a cyclist over to using a moped. Once they have made the step to using a motorized vehicle, they have established a relationship with the customer and they grow accustomed to it. From there, they can sell consumables for the moped and a new one once the first wears out but furthermore a motorcycle or even a car at a higher price. The initial moped was a real product and not sold at a loss, buy they have a grander scheme of offering an entry level product to the market.


texts: I am at a party. I drink wine till I'm drunk. Then I drink some more. So am I more drunk now, or drunker?


texts:
I'm wondering if "make sure" can take the subjunctive mood of a verb. Take this sentence for example:

  Loki would be disappointed in me if I did not make sure this was the
  true casket.

What if I said:

  Loki would be disappointed in me if I did not make sure this were the
  true casket.

There surely is a feeling of uncertainty, it could, hypothetically, not be the real casket, that's why he has to "make sure", although I'll be the first one to admit it sounds weird, but most constructions with the subjunctive sound weird.


texts:
How to pronounce 'going' in UK english?
As per phonetics 'go' is pronounced as 'go-v'
So when we add 'ing' whether we have to pronounce it 'go-v-ing'or just 'going'?


texts:
In the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, conversion means "the act or process of changing something from one form, use or system to another."

How to understand this "something"? If someone changed his behaviour, is it valid to say "the conversion of his act surprised me"?


texts: The meaning of 'a resigned do-or-die look'

texts:
The passage below comes from Emily's runaway imagination by Beverly Cleary.

  Then one Sunday, when the store was closed and no one had banged on
  the door to get Grandpa to open up, Grandpa and Grandma drove over to
  the farm in the new Ford. Grandma was wearing her good serge suit and
  her best hat. She had a resigned do-or-die look on her gentle face.

I'd like to ask the meaning of 'a resigned do-or-die look.'
It's not easy to figure out the meaning of the part in question because the two word resigned and do-or-die seems to contradict in meaning each other.
Resigned means that grandma yield to grandpa's insistence to go on driving with his descendants.
But the meaning for do-or-die in the dictionary says it means 'very determined'.
So I cannot draw how the grandma looks in my mind.


texts: Word for act of pulling hair back using scalp muscles

texts:
What do you call the act of pulling your hair back using your scalp muscles?

For instance, watch Nathan Fillion's scalp in this cut from Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Or, here's a less known but more obvious example.


texts: Can " comma + and" be part of a non-restrictive clause?

texts:
Companies have competed with each other, providing better services, and have done so, while keeping costs low.

Is the sentence above correct? I know that when there is a "comma + one of the FANBOYS" (in this case, "and"), it  acts as a coordinating conjunction, but I'm also wondering if it's possible that a comma and conjunction can be part of a non-restrictive clause (in this case, ", and have done so,")


texts: What's a word similar in usage to "diatribe," but not as harsh?

texts:
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a diatribe is defined as a forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something. I had previously understood it to mean something more along the lines of drawn out, longer than it needs to be, impassioned persuasion.

For example, in a friendly letter, My [diatribe] begins here.

Any alternatives?


texts: How do you pluralize the acronym "POC" ("proof of concept")?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?

What's the plural form of the acronym POC, short for proof of concept?

  ...for his contributions to many POCs

or

  ...for his contributions to many POC

What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? is not a duplicate as it is focused on cases like "ATMs" where the expanded form "automated teller machines" ends in a noun with a regular plural form ending in "s." In "proof of concept," the noun is in the middle of the abbreviated phrase. If we pluralize the uncontracted phrase, we get "proofs of concept," which has an "s" in the middle rather than at the end. It's unclear from the linked answers how abbreviations with this structure should be pluralized. (POC, POCs, PsOC?)


texts: Is there a word that means English-Language-Centric?

texts:
There was an argument about how someone spelled "Revolution" and they said "No, I did not write it incorrectly. I used the Spanish version: 'Revuloción' without the accented o to make my life a little easier." The thing that came to mind was wow, how Anglocentric, but then I remembered that it was more about the Culture of England than dealing with the language at large that's also spoken in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, etc.

So, is there a word that means English-Language centered/-centric? If there is, I would thank you very much for obliging me. Otherwise, I think I am afraid that I am indeed at a loss for words.

I know there is "Anglophone", but it only conveys someone that is an English speaker, not someone that thinks that the entire world should cater to those that speak the English language and speak English around them even if they are in a foreign land [Mind you, this is only a rather extreme example of it, but it does more or less convey the feeling of what I am attempting to have others understand in a written format].


texts:
Can [sic] be used to highlight a punctuational error?

In the sentence below, the bracketed sic would obviously denote that the punctuation preceding it was an error — that is, a semicolon should supplant the comma. Has anybody ever seen this usage, and would you support it?

  The sun is high, [sic] put on some sunblock.


texts:
What is the origin of the phrase "do me a favor?"

First occurrence?


texts: Is it correct to say "the reality between which he is torn sympathizing and vilifying"

texts:
what is the correct to write

the reality between which he is torn sympathizing and vilifying

or

the reality which he is torn between sympathizing and vilifying


texts: Can someone please explain the validity of "Noun is." as an answer to a question

texts:
I am first language English and currently supporting a Japanese teacher in teaching Japanese students English. I've run across an issue twice where my initial reaction was to call it an error, but it is prolific in their teaching material and I'm starting to doubt myself.

In response to "Which is---?" or "What is ---?" questions the textbook recommends the answer "Answer is." This sounds very wrong to me.

Example.
"Which is higher, Mt. Everest or Mt. Fuji?"
The textbook gives the answer "Mt. Everest is."
I think "Mt. Everest." or "Mt. Everest is higher than Mt. Fuji." are both better, or at least more natural, answers.

"What is the month that comes after July?" "August is."
I think it should be "August.", "August comes after July.", "August is the month that comes after July." etc etc.

I'm hoping someone can explain to me why this is wrong. If it's right, I'm looking for someone to tell me why it feels wrong to me. (I'm from the Canadian East-Coast if its a dialect thing. Not a Newfie or anything but I do say aboat.)


texts: Is there a word for the use of period after each word of a sentence grammatically correct?

texts:
I have seen statements like the one below which make deliberate use of full stops after each word of the sentence:

Is there a single word for such a statement?


texts: Usage of "Proud words from a weak stomach"

texts:
In the Hindi language there is an equivalent phrase which is widely used when a common man who is trying to suggest an idea to a person in power or some higher authority respectfully without challenging the latter's incompetency to 'not see the flaw' in the system. Example: A head of the police department being addressed by a common man (person of a lower stratum) giving an intellectual suggestion. I have translated a suggestion which was originally in Hindi.

  Common man: Small mouth big words but Sir, wouldn't it be a better idea to install wireless communication systems in police station too?

Is this phrase used in a similar fashion in English too? The only phrase I have seen is 'in my humble opinion' used at the start of sentence in such cases. Another phrase I know is 'Small mouth, big talk' but I haven't seen it used as a prefix in sentences. Any other appropriate suggestions are also welcome.


texts: What do Australians mean when they say 'He came a gutsa'?

texts: What does it mean to 'Come a gutsa'?  I think I may have the Australian spelling right.


texts: Differences between “methods”, “methodologies” and “paradigms”

texts:
I'm writing some internal documentation, which I cannot share, in which I outline several ways to accomplish a task.  For example, updating software may be accomplished by:

Send a list of what the client has to the server and let the server decide what updates are needed
Get a list of everything that's available from the server and let the client decide what updates are needed

Is this section accurately called "methodology" because it's analyzing methods?  Are these most appropriately "methods," "procedures," "paradigms", etc.?  Note that they're not specific descriptions of what is to be done, only general overviews.  I'm not really discussing the specific procedure that would be used, but the way in which the problem is approached.

I suppose what I'm looking for are guidelines and examples of when these terms are are appropriate.


texts:
Slip roads are used to allow vehicles to merge in a road whose speed is higher or, conversely, let them leave it safely. This term appears to be British English usage. Here is an example of usage: Joining the motorway (rule 259). Here's an example image of a slip road:

Credits to Wikimedia

But why slip? I find it very unnatural to call them that way. In Italy, for example, they're simply called acceleration/deceleration lanes because that's what they actually are.

One of the meanings of slip is:

  to move or cause to move smoothly and easily

Which may fit in a figurative way; but it seems quite forced. Is there a better reason, perhaps historical, to call those roads "slippy"?


texts: Word or Phrase that means "a person who disregards their life while rescuing people in danger"

texts:
Suppose a person saves the life of others without giving any thought that it could be dangerous, harmful, or life-threatening to himself. He doesn't care that this endeavour might harm, injure, or even kill him.

For example, if someone is trapped in a fire and another person saves, or tries to save the trapped person. Now to report this incident, I could frame a headline like this:

  A ___ person without caring his life, saved the lives of 3 people entrapped in fire.

"A brave person" is an obvious choice but I want to emphasize that he did so without even caring for his life.

What word(s), phrase, or idiom makes this clear?


texts: What is the difference between has gone and went in this context?

texts:
A: Is Mr. Bob at home?

  B: Sorry, he isn't at home. He___to Hong Kong for vacation?

  A. went
  B. has gone
  C. is going

Which one is correct answer? and why it is not the other ones?


texts: What do you call a number formed by a sequence of repeating digits

texts:
For example, I have a sequence

77777777777

Is there a word in the dictionary to represent

  a sequence of repetitive/recurring digits


texts: Origin of the term "toad-choker" meaning a rainstorm

texts:
This phrase appeared in The Cincinnati Enquirer in 2005:

  Too bad his long goodbye was not also a farewell to his brand of Rather-biased journalism, which is all over the press like green hair on a Chia Pet after a Texas toad-choker.

The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio)13 Mar 2005, Sun

Googling toad-choker suggests it is a slang term regional to the Southern U.S. and particularly Texas.  Farlex Idioms gives this definition:

  a (real) toad-choker: A particularly heavy or torrential downpour of rain. (Chiefly heard in the southern United States.)

I can't find any reputable source on the origin or time period of this term.  It doesn't register on Google Ngram and it isn't listed in Green's Dictionary of Slang.  Is it recent slang, an old folk expression, or what?


texts: Metaphor or Hyperbole: The strength given by my mother is bigger than the cosmic energy in this cosmos

texts:
This question appeared on a verbal test. I could only mark one option but I think both of them are a good fit.
This is a metaphor as there is a comparison between two unlike things. This should also be a hyperbole as mother's strength is obviously not greater than the energy of cosmos.
Kindly tell me which literary device is an apt fit and MORE IMPORTANTLY give reasons why the other option is wrong.
Thanks


texts: "Is" or "are" in: "Where both X and Y [is/are] ..."?

texts:
Non-native speaker here. I have the sentence:

... where both mean and variance are normalized.

Or should it be:

... where both mean and variance is normalized.

I'm not sure which is right here. Thanks for your help.


texts: are there words exist that are for foreign bodies that

texts: So are there any words that differentiate foreign bodies in the human body that between neutral, beneficial, and disadvantageous foreign bodies.


texts: "[Singular noun], and in particular [plural noun], is/are"

texts:
I have a sentence following the template above, and I am not sure what is the right verbal form to follow. A specific example could be:

Academia, and in particular professors, [is/are] more concerned with [sth] than [sth].

I am using the verb to be in the example but it applies to any other verb (in my actual text it is a present perfect, so the question would be whether to use "have" or "has").
My impression is that, in the example above, "academia" is still the subject and "and in particular professors" just works as a complement for it, so it should be "is", but it sounds strange to follow "professors" with "is".
EDIT:
I am thinking that, in the example I used, maybe some could argue that "academia" might work as a plural term because it refers to a community of people (does not sound right to me but just in case), so I will add a less ambiguous example (more similar to my text) where the first noun cannot possibly be interpreted as plural:

Psychology, and in particular research studies, [is/are] more concerned with [sth] than [sth].


texts: Placement of the word "later" in a sentence

texts:
Why is it correct to say "it later came to pass" instead of "it came to pass later"?
What is the rule for this placement?


texts: When someone accuses you of wrong doing after you had accused them of something what do you call that or them?

texts: When someone accuses you of wrong doing after you had accused them of something, what do you call that or them?


texts: What is that word to describe competitors all clustering in the same location for mutual profit?

texts:
You get situations like Harley Street private doctors in London. Some are in the same branch of medicine, yet they all go there because they benefit from the fact that Harley Street is known (or at least believed) to have excellent doctors. They all benefit, even if some customers (patients) choose to go to the building next door.

I know there's a word for this and I think it begins with "f", but that's all I can remember.

Note that I think the word I'm looking for might be quite specifically about being in the same space because competitors are there, e.g. a market is such a thing, because people know if they go to the market they can buy vegetables, some of whom will buy your vegetables and others will buy from your competitors.

In contrast, some businesses end up in the same location for practical reasons, e.g. they need to be near suppliers or other types of business, or there are certain local demographic factors that they rely on. I don't think the word I'm looking for includes those factors; it is specific to deliberately choosing to be near competitors, not, e.g. near your customers or suppliers.

Thanks if you can help find this great word!

Neil


texts:
Consider the following two statements:

  The file has been tampered with.
  The file has been tampered.

Does the second version make sense, or should it always be "tampered with"?


texts: How would you refer to investment money with no strings attached?

texts:
I'm looking for a word/term to describe some money that is disposed towards funding an idea but with absolutely no strings attached; meaning that, even if they guy just spends it all and gives nothing back in return, it's ok.

I know there are things like "angel funding" and "seed money" but they imply different things and are usually bound by a contract and some terms.

In spanish we refer to these investments as "fondo perdido", which would more or less translate to "lost funds".


texts: How to correctly express an intention to work on a certain day instead of working on another day?

texts:
How to say "I will work on Saturday instead of working on Tuesday" in a more natural fashion?

I guess the verb will be constructed like "work or make" + "out or off or ?", but what is the exact construction?


texts: The meaning of the idiom "pin one's hat on something"

texts:
HINOJOSA: And how they got there is the reason why the Kohn family is
  now part of a national scientific study to locate a gene for
  longevity.

  DR. TOM PERLS, CENTAGENETIX: We started off studying all the
  centenarians in a region around Boston and found that they had several
  things in common -- for instance, they didn't smoke, very significant
  obesity was rare. But beyond that we couldn't really pin our hat on
  anything until we kept seeing a lot of brothers and sisters getting to
  very old age. And some families where we're seeing many brothers and
  sisters and cousins and parents getting to a very old age as well.

link: http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/01/stc.00.html

I guess the idiom "pin one's hat on" means something like "make a conclusion" or "be certain about".

I googled it but I couldn't find any meaningful resource.

What's the meaning of the idiom "pin one's hat on"?


texts:
Do tenses in a time clause never back-shift in reported speech?

For example, does

  "I went to Italy when I finished school."

become

  She said she had gone to Spain when she finished school.
  -or-
  She said she had gone to Spain when she had finished school.

and does

  "I will go to Italy when I finish school."

become

  She said she would go to Italy when she finishes school.
  -or-
  She said she would go to Italy when she finished school.


texts: Is there a less misleading way to write this sentence?

texts:
"The reason we hired an agent who's come back temporarily to be an instructor is..."

The agent who has come back temporarily was hired to be an instructor.  But another way to read this sentence is that the agent came back temporarily for the purpose of becoming an instructor and he was hired.  Is there a way to word this so that the meaning is clearly the former?

I should be a little cleared here as well.  When I say, he's come back, I don't mean he stopped working there previously.  I mean that he normally works somewhere else—like in a different country for example.


texts: Is it correct to say "have a pass on something" instead of "make a pass on something"?

texts:
I saw such phrases used by some guy:

  make a pass on something

or

  take a pass on something

What I want to convey with this phrase is something like

  browse something (like writing or blueprints, etc) from start to end, maybe quickly. Usually aim to correct errors or refine the stuff.

Like in the following sentence:

  I just finished my thesis, can you please make a pass on it and correct the grammar errors there?

Somehow I just want to know whether it's also correct to say

  have a pass on something.

Is it okay to put it this way? Or it's mostly unseen before?


texts: This word proverbial has been bothering me a lot lately. I cannot understand it even after translating it into my native language. I would like to know its meaning as well as its origin.


texts: Is "numerate" a verb or only an adjective?

texts:
I am at the moment looking into technical English terms used in mathematics.

The terminology in fractions (such as 1/8, 2/8 etc.) is that the bottom is called the denominator and the top the numerator.

The bottom makes sense as it denominates the fraction - it gives it it's name (one eighth, two eighths etc.).
The top is a bit tricky for me. It counts the number of bits we have (one eighth, two eighths etc.) but can I say that it numerates the bits?

Does numerate mean count? Does the verb to numerate even exist? I am able to find many uses of it as a verb when searching (and Google Translate translates it to to give numbers or to number) but I am sitting with an official dictionary from my native language, and "to numerate" is not there.

Here is a screenshot of the online dictionary Ordbogen.com (in Danish):

It displays numerate as an adjective only, and to be numerate would be fine. This means a person who is good with numbers (in Danish: talkyndig) and is not really getting me closer to "counting" the bits in the fraction.

Maybe it is just a name invented for fractions with no other meaning to it than having something to do with numbers? An adjective over time turned into a noun? Or is my dictionary incomplete?

For reference (and this is the reason I am looking this up in detail in English) I can tell that the Danish equivalents are very, very logical and I was hoping the English versions were as well:

The denominator is in Danish called nævneren, literally meaning the namer, and
the numerator is in Danish called tælleren, literally meaning the counter.


texts: Comma after this introductory phrase—necessary or helpful?

texts:
I can't quite decide whether or not this comma is necessary (by CMoS standards) or provides a helpful pause even if it's not strictly needed. I'm also debating whether this sentence needs a "that" after "clear."

  From the opening lines,  it’s clear The Girl at the center of these
  poems is damaged...

For some context, this book of poems refers to "The Girl" as her name, as a sort of everywoman.

Thoughts?


texts: Is English simplifying its phonology? Or are there examples of new linguistic distinctions being created?

texts:
One example of a linguistic distinction being lost in English is the merger of the th merging into f in the British accent (Telegraph Article). Another example of the th sound being lost is in the Irish accent.

I am also familiar with Spanish in which the b/v sounds, ll/y sounds and the c/z/s sounds have merged in many accents. The clearest evidence of this are homophones which are spelt differently but are pronounced the same.

Is the tendency of languages to simplify their phonology?

Can you provide examples of new phonetic distinctions being created in English?


texts: I've always heard it pronounced /bɒld/ (rhymes with scald, for those of you who don't know IPA), however the dictionary and some of my friends say /bɔ:ld/ (rhymes with mauled). I'm British, by the way. Any insights? Please say where you're from with your answer.


texts:
I was writing for school recently and came across the need for an object that is being spied on. The word's usage would be like this:

  As the spy lurked in the shadows he saw the _____ banging a wrench on the newly made machine.

I believe it will most likely be similar to mentor–mentee or the likes. Anyone got any ideas?


texts: Confusion in the selection of Verb/Auxiliary Verb

texts:
Below are the sentences 1) from scientific Journal 2) from a book. Since both are published text, however, my confined knowledge makes me ask this question. In 1) sentence two things are mentioned "Intermittence" and "variability", still the auxiliary verb "is" used why so? In the same way in sentence 2) "stopping" and "allowing" are used, while the verb "allows" is used which should be "allow". Can you please help me in this regard,

1)Intermittence and variability of renewable resources is often a barrier to their large scale integration into power systems.

2)stopping and thinking allows us to gain perspective on both the successes and failures of our day so that we can find the lessons within them.


texts: Should I use "Conjecture A holds true" or "Conjecture A holds"?

texts:
I want to write a sentence like "Assume Conjecture A holds true then Conjecture B holds true". But I do not know if it is correct to write "Assume Conjecture A holds then Conjecture B holds".

I saw the first expression several times in papers, but the second expression seems more concise.


texts:
I am writing an academic paper on a study. The study states that their research was conducted in various months throughout the year (Sept, Oct, Jan, Apr, etc.). Can I say the following:

  Morse and Neuberg conducted a study involving numerous participants over the span of four months.

Does "over the span of" have to refer to consecutive months?

Note: I cannot say throughout because the months are not in a stated time span (i.e. 2012-2013).


texts: Reading Comprehension Question: How to narrow down to correct answer?

texts:
Passage (Its a bit long)

  The pioneers of the teaching of science imagined that its
  introduction into education would remove the conventionality,
  artificiality, and backward-lookingness which were characteristic;
  of classical studies, but they were gravely disappointed. So, too, in
  their time had the humanists thought that the study of the classical
  authors in the original would banish at once the dull pedantry and
  superstition of mediaeval scholasticism. The professional
  schoolmaster was a match for both of them, and has almost
  managed to make the understanding of chemical reactions as dull
  and as dogmatic an affair as the reading of Virgil's Aeneid.

  The chief claim for the use of science in education is that it
  teaches a child something about the actual universe in which he is
  living, in making him acquainted with the results of scientific
  discovery, and at the same time teaches him how to think logically
  and inductively by studying scientific method. A certain limited
  success has been reached in the first of these aims, but practically
  none at all in the second. Those privileged members of the
  community who have been through a secondary or public school
  education may be expected to know something about the
  elementary physics and chemistry of a hundred years ago, but they
  probably know hardly more than any bright boy can pick up from
  an interest in wireless or scientific hobbies out of school hours.
  As to the learning of scientific method, the whole thing is palpably
  a farce. Actually, for the convenience of teachers and the
  requirements of the examination system, it is necessary that the
  pupils not only do not learn scientific method but learn precisely
  the reverse, that is, to believe exactly what they are told and to
  reproduce it when asked, whether it seems nonsense to them or
  not. The way in which educated people respond to such quackeries
  as spiritualism or astrology, not to say more dangerous ones such
  as racial theories or currency myths, shows that fifty years of
  education in the method of science in Britain or Germany has
  produced no visible effect whatever.

  The only way of learning the method of science is the long and bitter way of personal experience, and, until the educational or social systems are altered
  to make this possible, the best we can expect is the production of a
  minority of people who are able to acquire some of the techniques
  of science and a still smaller minority who are able to use and
  develop them.

Question

If the author were to study current education in science to see how things have changed since he wrote the piece, he would probably be most
interested in the answer to which of the following questions?

A. Do students know more about the world about them?

B. Do students spend more time in laboratories?

C. Can students apply their knowledge logically?

D. Have textbooks improved?

E. Do they respect their teachers?

  The correct answer mentioned is C. The statements marked in bold in 2nd paragraph support that claim.

  However, the first line of the 3rd paragraph says that learning can only come by practical experience(i.e. by spending more time in laboratory). He also uses the word alter, implying that if significant change has to be made in educational system people should spend more time in labs; making option B more preferable than C


texts:
According to Garner's fourth edition,

Recasting of the first passive verb form into the active voice
clarifies the sense:
The prisoners were ordered to be
shot → Active/Passive: He ordered them (to be) shot
Yet, in the following example, a recasting of the first passive verb into
the active voice does not make sense:
The contention has been attempted to be made. → He attempted it to be made.
The last-quoted sentence is
un-English

What does the author exactly mean by the vague expressions "not make sense" or "be un-English"?
Secondly, would He attempted the contention made be a better option?


texts: Is 'couple' ever used in the sense of 'some'?

texts:
Is the usage of the word couple (as in, "I want to ask a couple of questions...") to mean 'some' or 'few' correct (as in, interpreting given example to mean "I want to ask a few questions")?

As a follow-up on the example, when someone says "I want to ask a couple of questions...", does the usage of 'couple' necessarily mean the two questions have to be related to each other, or can couple just mean 'two' in that context?


texts: What does the phrase "fall foul of " come from?

texts:
As The Merriam Dictionary says it means to to get into trouble because of failing to do what is required by (the law, a rule, etc.) For example:

  After leaving school she fell foul of the law and spent time in jail.

I have been trying to find something on its origin on the internet, but I cannot find anything. To me as a non-native english speaker the phrase sounds so odd that I am desperate to find out its origin.


texts:
In the movie The Incredibles, the characters have the following dialogue:

LUCIUS (FROZONE): Honey?
HONEY: What?
LUCIUS (FROZONE): Where's my supersuit?
HONEY: What?
LUCIUS (FROZONE): Where is my supersuit?
HONEY: I, uh...put it away.
LUCIUS (FROZONE): Where?
HONEY: Why do you need to know?
LUCIUS (FROZONE): I need it!
HONEY: Uh-uh! Don't you think about running off doing no derrin'-do! We've been planning this dinner for two months!
LUCIUS (FROZONE): The public is in danger!
HONEY: My evening's in danger!
LUCIUS (FROZONE): You tell me where my suit is, woman! We are talking about the greater good!
HONEY: "Greater good"? I am your wife! I'm the greatest good you are ever gonna get!

The wife appears to be implying that good has a double-meaning.
In the West Wing Episode 20 Hours in America - we see the following interchange:

TOBY: Afternoon.
FIONA: Yes.
TOBY: We'd like some food to go.
FIONA: What would you like?
TOBY: What's good?
FIONA: Everything.
TOBY: What's your specialty?
FIONA: Taking someone's order and giving it to them.
TOBY: Okay.
FIONA: I saw you drive up. You people going to cause trouble.
TOBY: I swear not on purpose.
FIONA: Everytime he comes around here, there's trouble. I don't want leaflets around my place. You handing out leaflets?
TOBY: No, uh, we just want food.
FIONA: Yeah, well, what to do need?
TOBY: You wouldn't say there was some sort of local delicacy...
FIONA: I'm getting my husband.

Here we see the wife start to get offended when Toby asks here "What's good?"
My question is: Is 'good' a double-entendre in some parts of the US?


texts: More popular place in terms of the flow of people

texts:
You have 2 places in the city, one place is being passed by more people per day than the other one, meaning that the flow of people in the first one is higher than the flow of people in the second one.

Question:

How would you describe this kind of "popularity" of one place in comparison to another?

Example:

  The location of their pop-up store in the center was much more ______ than the one in the suburbs, that is why they got rid of the second one.

The words lucrative and profitable are not suitable for this case.

Thank you!


texts: What is the meaning of the verb 'engulf ' in this sentence?

texts:
I was in my English practice time when I saw the verb 'to engulf'. I didn’t know its meaning, so I looked it up, and I found this:
"If an unpleasant feeling engulfs you, you feel it very strongly"
Syn: overcome
"To completely surround or cover something"
– Longman exams coach
"To surround and cover something or someone completely
– Cambridge Dictionary
So, with these definitions in mind, I headed to the text I was reading to understand its meaning inside a proper context. The sentence was:

It’s a simple question that has consumed many Australians since the nation’s cricket team was engulfed in a cheating scandal in South Africa.

From what I could understand, to be engulfed in means to be covered or surrounded by something, but I can’t seem to grasp it inside this sentence. Was the team sorrounded by the news of having cheated? Could this be understood this way or does it have another meaning?


texts: Is there an English term for "L'esprit de l'escalier"?

texts:
L'esprit de l'escalier or l'esprit d'escalier (literally, staircase wit) is a French term that describes the predicament of thinking of the perfect comeback too late.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as follows:

  Definition:

  A witty remark thought of too late, on the way home; the clever
  comment you wish you had delivered

  Example:

  "When he bragged about sleeping like a baby, I should have added the
  bit about waking up crying every two hours, but that's just esprit de
  l'escalier. At the time I just nodded and said nothing."

Is there an English term for that?


texts: "that one consider" or "that one considers"?

texts:
I have a question to ask regarding this quote.

In the formation of a marketing strategy, it is imperative that one considers the marketing mix, also known as the 4Ps – product, price, place, and promotion.

Should there be an 's' after consider?
Am I correct in saying that in a sentence like the one below, an 's' should follow the word consider?

It is imperative that the girl considers the marketing mix.

I seem to have seen similar sentences constructed both with and without the 's' after the verb before, e.g.

It is imperative that the girl go to school.
It is imperative that the girl goes to school.

Does this have anything to do with plurals and singulars, or with tenses?
Wow, this seems to be an awfully basic question but for some reason I just don't quite remember what should be done here.
(NOTE: The OP's question involves the mandative construction, one which might involve a subordinate subjunctive clause. -- F.E.)


texts:
It's correct to say:

  Here's a nice recording, which I think you will like listening to.
  Here's a nice recording that I think you will like listening to.

What about these?

  Here's a nice recording, to which I think you will like listening.
  Here's a nice recording to that I think you will like listening.

The second sounds wrong. Why is it incorrect? What's the appropriate replacement?


texts:
I have applied for a sales copywriting job. They have asked me to fill up a form where they put this question,
'How do you explore into writing?'
what do they mean by 'explore'? Does it mean research or analysis?


texts: Does e.g. "tolerably disgusting" mean the degree of disgust involved is tolerable or intolerable? Or "tolerably vile" - does it mean the vileness involved is tolerable or intolerable?


texts: Struggling to find a word for a respectful, silent response

texts:
I'm having a senior moment. The word I'm looking for is a third grade vocabulary word; it's not in any way obscure.

"After she told her story, the others reacted with a respectful, something moment of silence."

The word emphasizes the feeling of awe.

What word am I looking for??

I'll know it when I see it, and I'll accept the first answer that gives me the word.

EDIT: When I finally hit upon the word I was seeking, it became clear that I should have said something else in this question. Awe doesn't cover it. The others were in awe, yes, at the strength the woman showed by just being alive, but they were also shocked at the utter hell the woman had endured. Their silent response was very solemn and sad.


texts: Is "manually talented" a thing, linguistically-speaking?

texts:
Came across "[these people are] manually talented" in an English language test.The context was a group of people who were good at karate or ballgames, but also origami, pottery, sculpting, etc.

To me, it sounds more than stilted, and feels like it was taken directly from Polish (though the Polish phrase would only really apply to the non-sporty skills, not eg. karate). I would personally say "good with their hands", "crafty", or something along those lines.

But am I wrong? Does "manually talented" actually exist in English? (There are 451 results for it on Google, but that seems like a very small number for a concept that I would imagine is fairly commonplace...)


texts:
Okay, a brief grammatical scuffle has broken out on a forum I frequent, where someone used the expression 'with whiskey and cigar', and someone else claimed it was grammatically incorrect, suggesting that 'cigar' should either be pluralised or preceded with 'a'.

I'm absolutely convinced that it's correct as it is, but I'm afraid I don't have the in-depth knowledge to adequately explain why, so if someone could clarify this for me, I'd be most appreciative. Thanks! :)

EDIT: For completeness, the expression in question is actually the 'tagline' of the forum in question 'Where gaming happens with whiskey and cigar'.


texts: What is the correct usage of the word "Contra"?

texts: According to multiple sources (1 and 2), the word "contra" can be employed as either a preposition or an adverb. From my perspective, however, there is a dearth of clear examples featuring this word in context. I am looking for input on its general usage, in addition to whether or not "contra" can/should be used in conjunction with "to," a la "contrary to," "counter to," etc.


texts: Is this sentence correct? "So, I think that every country has its beauty, but your own one should be the first to explore."

texts: I meant to say that the first country you explore should be your own one.


texts: Short for "time period in life" like teenage

texts: I am looking for a word to describe a time period in life, like teenage, but that would work for any time period, like 11 – 22. I want to say it is xxxxxx in everyone's life.


texts:
We talked until late

Is this sentence correct? It sounds strange to me but I'm not sure what's grammatically wrong about it.

What about this?

  We talked into the night

This sounds better to me. But is there a simpler way to put this that has the same meaning?


texts: What word means "the changes of a place"?

texts: I am looking for the closest word which refers to the changes that occur in a place, such as a town or city, over time. The word "development" is often used, but that seems to imply that the place is expanding or modernizing, when I need a more general term which does not have this implication. A professional term, such as one used in the field of urban planning, is preferred.


texts: subject verb agreement in "whether.... or" constructions

texts:
Normally, we make the verb agree with the second subject in constructions of "either..... or" and "neither....nor".
However, I am confused about the following sentence:

the court has to decide whether the supervisor or the workers is to be summoned.

Should we use "is" or "are" to make the sentence correct? And, more importantly, which one is the real subject in this example; "supervisor" or "workers"?


texts: Is there an adverb for "on working days only"

texts:
I am writing (yet another) calendar software which should also support recurrent entries/events, i.e. entries that repeat in certain intervals.

So far I have:

"daily" - happens every day
"weekly" - happens once every week
"biweekly" - happens every other week
"monthly" - happens once per month

Is there any similar short adverb for event that only happen on working days, i.e. days when people are at work/in the office (like Mon-Fri, or Mon-Sat, but not on Sundays)?


texts: One word for “someone who learns from others' mistakes"

texts: Please give me one word for "someone who learns from others' mistakes". The word has escaped me for a while now. I've tried observant but it's still not cutting it for me.


texts: Is there an apostrophe in "number of years experience?"

texts:
I'm developing a tool that looks at a person's resume and skill set. One of the features is to estimate how much experience a person has based on the length of time on a project and associated skills/tools used in that time (we've had extensive talks about the limitations of this, but that's not really relevant to this question). At the end of the day, I'd like to be able to say "Bob has 4 years experience with C#," but the correct way to show that is unclear to me:

Bob has 4 years experience with C#
Bob has 4 year's experience with C#
Bob has 4 years' experience with C#

I'm writing documentation and the phrase "number of years experience" has shown up a few times, but I think that's the same situation as above (Word grammar checker does not like this phrase).


texts:
What does the guy say in the blank here? It sounds like "brickles."

"I packed up all the files and bubble wrapped the []."


texts: What form of verb is "thank" in "thank you"?

texts:
Is the word thank in Thank you! a verb? If not, what part of speech is it then? If it is a verb, is it in the imperative mood? I'm asking because I've seen someone write

  Do thank you!

which sounds wrong to me1. If it were an imperative verb, the above would be grammatically correct. That's why I started wondering what form it is morphologically.

1 Is it actually wrong? I understand one could say: I do thank you., but is Do thank you! valid? (I suppose it's meant to emphasize thank you)


texts: Does anyone still use "skyrocket" in the original sense?

texts:
In US English, I can't recall having heard this word used to describe a reaction-drive pyrotechnic or vehicle in many years.
Almost invariably, the word as used describes a rapid or exponential increase in statistical measures.

Is this the case in other dialects of English or is it strictly a US or even regional phenomenon?

Are there any other common words that have a new, highly-specific usage that is so far removed from the original usage?


texts: Word/phrase for remarks which often have a dark feel to them but whose meanings are not readily apparent?

texts:
I know someone who has a tendency to make strange remarks whose meanings are not readily apparent, remarks which often have a dark feel to them, but which are left unexplained, as if to hide something. I’m seeking a word or phrase for these type of remarks. Any suggestions?

Edit: So think of it this way. You having a seemingly conversation with someone, and the person says something offkey that makes you think "hmm, where'd that come from? That was kind of dark."


texts:
As far as I know, it is valid to say "they can produce music on their own terms" when you want to say that a group can produce music without having to answer to anybody but themselves.

Is it also valid to say "they can produce music in their own terms"? Does this convey the same thing? If not, what does it really mean?


texts:
Is any particular punctuation necessary when a quotation is the subject of a sentence? For example, in the sentence below, should there be a comma after export? Or anything else?

  "Laughter is America's most important export" is a well-known quote of Walt Disney's.


texts: What should I use instead of "From my Knowledge"

texts:
I'm trying to find a word for a summary about bullying, and speaking up . Since I know how it feels, what should I use instead of "From my Knowledge"
According to the article ”Stomp out bullying!” by Jennifer Dignan they state,

Some students don't report bullying because the dont want to be labeled a “tattler”...Talking from my knowledge...


texts: One of the best universities in the world to _______?

texts:
In the construct one of the best places + to + infinitive, the infinitive refers to an activity that a person can do.

Example

  Cape Breton Island is also one of the best places in the world to
  ride a bike

I wonder if you could use the same construct making the infinitive refer to an activity the place can do/provide.

Example (My example):

  Ours is one of the best universities in the world to provide such a training

Here, I am not saying for instance "one of the best universities in the world to receive such a training"; rather, it is one of the best universities in the world to give you that training. Can "one of the best universities" be used that way?

Thank you.


texts: Can you say "go in over your head" instead of "be in over your head"?

texts:
This dictionary says that "in over your head" is typically used with "be" or "get", but can you use it with "go"?

For example:

  "I'm taking so many courses on coursera that I forget everything the
  next day, because of such a large amount of information. I think I
  went in over my head."


texts: "assign a category" or "assign to a category"?

texts:
I translate technical documentation to English and we often have phrases like "system A is assigned (to) safety class/seismic category B". According to the rules of English grammar, in the Passive Voice the preposition is not needed with the word "class" i.e. "the system A is assigned class B", as, for example, in Passive sentence 1 here https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/passive_two_objects.htm

The reverse order would be proper with the preposition: "class B is assigned to system A".
But in some documents in the internet (including American engineering sites) it is easy to find "the system A is assigned to class B". I am confused. Is the second type of sentence legit or just a common mistake?


texts: How do I quote this? I only want to use the first and last parts

texts: But Dawes, dispatched by patriot leader Dr. Joseph Warren, only carried general news warning Hancock and Adams that the British were likely to make some military move to capture them. Dawes didn't know any of the specifics of the British movements.


texts: "comparison across the two classrooms" vs. "comparison between classroom A and classroom B"

texts:
My question is about differences between the following:

  comparison across the two classrooms
  comparison between classroom A and classroom B

Would you answer my question?


texts: Word Request: In the manner in which it was written

texts: Is there a word that names the sequence events were written about or described in, as opposed to the word chronologically? Example: Did you want us to present the events in the story chronologically or (in the sequence they were written)?