texts: What do we call someone who works as an outsourcer?

texts:
A person that works as a Financial Manager at U.S. Bank, but is working there employed by McKinsey... what would we call this person?

U.S. Bank is an outsourcer: "company that procures some of its goods or services from usually smaller specialized companies."
McKinsey would be an outsourcer as well: "a specialized company that provides goods or services to a usually larger company."
What would the employee be called? An Outsourced Financial Manager? Can you use "Outsourced" this way?


texts: Someone is saying that he feels "misled" due to false or imprecise information given to him. Does that choice of words imply that from his perspective this false information was given  intentionally or at least carelessly?


texts: Why is "visitors to London grouped by mode of travel" better than "visitors by mode of travel to London"?

texts:
Is there a specific rule of grammar or which makes the title "visitors to London grouped by mode of travel" better than "visitors by mode of travel to London"?

The context for this question is a label for a chart/table which shows the mode of travel used by visitors to London.

I'm trying to convince a colleague of mine that the former is preferable to the latter. My feeling is that if we're talking about visitors to London who are grouped by their mode of travel, it doesn't make sense to split "visitors" from "London" in the title.

I'm not a pedantic follower of grammar rules but I'd like to be able to point to something specific to bolster my argument. Can anyone help?

P.S. I have actually suggested we go with the alternative title "Mode of travel used by visitors to London" which I think works better but I want to be able to point out why "visitors by mode of travel to London" doesn't work.


texts: What is the difference between timeboxing and time-slicing? From what I can tell, it is the same concept, but timeboxing is applied to project management and time-slicing is applied to scheduling algorithms. Would it be wrong to talk about timeboxing a process?


texts:
If I were to try and describe a book called "Book", is this sentence grammatically correct?

  The book Book by Joe Bob is set in...

I was told that this sentence is incorrect, that commas must surround the "Book" to create this:

  The book, Book, by Joe Bob is set in...

I think that the first sentence is much more clear, while the second places more emphasis on "book".  Am I correct in this thinking?  If you could provide me with some source (website, rule name, etc.) that delves more into this matter, I would appreciate it.


texts: How do I say "send a code to every friend"

texts:
I have 10 promotional codes that I want users to send to their friends, but I want the users to understand that I need them to send one code to every friend.... I mean this:

I have 10 codes, suppose this: AAA, BBB, CCC, DDD, EEE, FFF, GGG, HHH, III and JJJ.

I want the user to select 10 friends and send AAA to friend 1, BBB to send 2, etc.

When I say "Send one of these codes to every one of your friends", it seems to me that the user will understand that he/she has to send AAA to all friends, or all 10 codes to all friends.

What is the best phrase to say to make it clear that is one of the codes to one friend, another code to another friend, etc., up to 10 friends?

thanks.


texts: What is the term for the overlapping panel of this type of double-breasted uniform jacket?

texts:
I'm looking for the term of art in suit- and jacket-making for a specific design element that appears on some types of military, especially navy, uniform jackets, like these ones (left to right: a British Admiralty ceremonial day dress uniform, the cover of an Honor Harrington novel, cosplay of same), which are double-breasted, have no lapels, and which fasten up to the collar:

(click for larger images)

Is there a specific term for the large, rectangular type of extremely overlapping front panel that appears in these double-breasted jackets? Failing that, is there a name for this lapel-free style of double-breasted jacket?

I've found front panel in the “Double-Breasted” entry in an great glossary of suit & tailoring terms, but that term merely describes the two front pieces of any garment. More specific is placket, but this is still just a general term for the overlap of fabric where clothes are fastened.

I had expected to find a specific term of art for this element within this style of jacket, since as a discipline suit tailoring has myriad terms for stylistic variations (such as how a shoulder can be rope, pagoda, and natural), but I'm failing to find anything for the variations of double-breasted designs, let alone for the elements of this specific variation.

This is for a novel where, for better or worse, the details of uniforms are narratively important, and using specific vocabulary is part of achieving the overall voice I'm aiming for.

Is placket the best term that exists for this design element? Does the overall style have no name?

Image sources: Wikimedia Commons, TVTropes, and Flickr, respectively.


texts: Is "the benefits of this will much more" correct?

texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  The benefits of this will much more

or it should be like this:

  The benefits of this will be much more


texts:
Please have a look on this paragraph
"There were some residential quarters in the elevated land area being occupied by government employee. The surrounding was bushy having some trees and commonly inaccessible to the area. One day, a person could notice some skeletal remains lying on the ground under a tree and reported to the police. On having the information, the police and forensic team visited the spot. The spot was almost undisturbed and as per statement of the informer, skull and some bones were found lying under the tree at one place on the ground. On further search, a pair of plastic slipper was kept near the foot of the tree, apparently kept before climbing in bare foot. On further search, a long bone, a torn pant (wearing apparel) and a portion of rope being tied with one of its end in a branch of the tree were also noticed. All the items were brought down for further examination to derive the information contained in them. In course of examination, one cell phone was also found kept inside the pocket of the damaged pant. All the physical evidence was collected for further investigation in this case."
This paragraph is describing a past event.
Then why BEING OCCUPIRD and BEING TIED is used in this context?


texts: Single noun meaning "having quality of artistic value/merit"

texts:
Best word I could come up was "provocativeness", but I don't exactly like it. I don't think art has to be provocative. Well, the best art is probably provocative, but i.e. picture on a book cover whilst most often not provocative, still has more "artistic value" than some graffiti (which actually might be much more provoking) or a wall painted during renovation.

One word that sounded more pleasant is "artistry", but that seems to be a "quality of creator" rather than "quality of work of art".

Tags seem to ask me for a sample sentence, so here's one or two:

  My sister calls herself an artist, but * of her creations is rather poor.

  In general, cinematography has higher level of * than video games.


texts: Could Present Perfect Continuous form a grammatical tautology in some sentences?

texts:
I have joined a grammar MOOC starting with an introduction to English tenses. One of the practice questions left me confused. The question is as follows:

  Do these two sentences have similar meaning or different meaning?

  Julie has studied French for two years.
  Julie has been studying French for two years.

I'm not sure how similar is similar, but having a questionable sense of the language I think I should follow the rules. Grammar books state that Continuous tenses are designed to emphasise duration. If an author finds relevant to emphasise the duration, this semantic or emotional meaning is relevant to the reader.

Both of the sentences deliver information about the duration. I'm not sure if there exists any difference in connotation or the second sentence is an example of 'grammatical tautology'.


texts: What does “I’m done” in Serena William’s counter shot to John McEnroe, “I just have people picking on me. I’m done.” means?

texts:
There was the following sentence in Time magazine’s article titled, “Serena Williams and the theater of public apology” being followed by the strap, “Her recent spat-with-followed-by-olive-branch-to Maria Sharapova was prudent but also pointless.”- http://ideas.time.com/2013/06/24/serena-williams-and-the-theater-of-public-apology/#ixzz2XD3sXGXt

  Onetime tennis champion John McEnroe pulls Serena Williams aside to
  tell her that he thinks she got screwed by a bad call during Samantha
  Stosur’s upset of Williams at the 2011 U.S. Open final. “I think you
  got screwed,” we hear him say. - -

  “Why do I have to apologize?” we hear Williams ask McEnroe, after he
  tells her she’s “the best thing we have in tennis.” “I’m tired of
  apologizing. For something that’s not even like…I kinda feel, I just
  have people picking on me. I’m done.”

I can’t find the meaning of "I am done." in English dictionaries at hand, but there are several English language sites carrying the meaning of the phrase:

Wordreference. com. defines "I am done," means I have finished some task or activity.

wiki.answers.com defines it means “I have finished” and “I am exhausted (e.g. from work),” as the slang usage.

answers.yahoo. com. defines the phrase means "the person speaking has completed a task --has finished a meal --has read a whole book, article, or other work --has nothing more to do.

However, it doesn’t seem to me that William meant she completed her task at all in this specific occasion, but she said she was sick and tired of being picked on, gossiped about each of her utterances by people.

Here are my questions:

What is really meant by her “I’m done.”?
Does the expression have many shades of connotation other than “I finished my task”?

Additionally,

Is “spat-with-followed-by-olive-branch,” which I think a fancy expression a popular idiom or set of word?


texts:
What is the difference between simulation and emulation. I am particularly interested in their difference within a computer science context but would also like to understand it properly from a linguistic point of view.

ciao
Andrea


texts: Why don't we need "the" in "from lack of sleep"?

texts:
From lack of sleep

Since we're talking about a specific lack, namely lack of sleep, it seems that the article the should be there.  That is,

  From the lack of sleep.


texts: When can an adverb modify a participial adjective?

texts:
Why can you say:

the hurriedly passed bill
the warmly clothed child

but not:

the *here proposed bill
the *yesterday scolded child

To me they don't even sound informally understandable, they just sound like nonsense.

Semantically, they are fine.  And the grammar matches cases 1 and 2.

So what makes them so wrong?


texts: I just moved to the US and like a tv program on HGTV channel called Flip or Flop. I have no idea what this phrase means? Could somebody offer an explanation?


texts: What punctuation should you use after a list?

texts:
What punctuation should you use after a list and before describing the list? In the example below, what should I use where I have used a dash? Or is the dash correct?

"Some examples of Apple’s innovative technologies include the retina display, touch ID, and Apple pay - features that provide convenience and security to users."


texts: A word to mention a set of products sold together with a bundle price?

texts:
Is there a word to refer to a set of products sold together, with a specific price?

For example:

Product A is sold 10 dollars
Product B is sold 10 dollars

Product A and B are sold together for 18 dollars. How can we call the result of this product grouping?


texts: Finding a suitable English translation of "An old donkey pulls all the weight all alone"

texts:
A Hungarian colleague of mine just impressed upon me the idiom

  An old donkey pulls all the weight all alone.

The phrase itself isn't a common English idiom (not to my knowledge, anyway). I think in the translation from Hungarian it has become... well, not less eloquent, but perhaps less English. Though hearing it in context I felt it was an apt metaphor.

To provide some context, my colleague is talking about the fact that as the senior member of the team he feels like he expected to cover for the less senior members' mistakes. In this sense, he is the old donkey pulling the weight of the others.

I was trying to come up with a similar phrase in English which describes the same situation that would be more familiar to English speakers, but I am at a loss.

Is there a widely recognised idiom that represents the struggle of feeling all alone unable to rely on the people around you, even with a team/family/group who should be helping or supporting you?


texts: Which way is correct? Is there any rule for such cases?


texts: Why to use question form to express non-question sentences?

texts:
I know, the title is really vague and unclear but let me explain. I keep hearing things like "Do I envy you!" or "Boy, Do I love pizza!" kind of sentences. I know (or at least figured out) those are not real questions and actually the meaning is closer to "Boy, I (do) love pizza!"

What I'm not sure is the difference between "Boy, I love pizza!" and "Boy, Do I love pizza!", or when to use which. What is the grammar rule behind these kind of sentence structures?

Sorry if the question is stupid or too obvious but as a non-native English speaker, I'm having trouble to see the grammar rule behind it.

Thanks for your help.

edit: I'm also not sure what to add as a tag, please feel free to correct me if I have them wrong or suggest additional tags


texts: Is the sentence "I tried charging my phone, but in vain" correct?

texts: Is the phrase "but in vain" correct to use as a dependent clause?


texts:
I see this phrase written very often, and in legal documents, which are at least in theory more often correct than the "average" text:

  in case of cancel, ...

It sounds incorrect, and I suppose it is, but is there a context where this phrase is grammatically correct, or more appropriate than in case of cancellation?

The only use for cancel as noun that I know of is "a mark made on a postage stamp to show that it has been used", which is not the case here (the phrase is being used in a contract clause about cancellation of purchase).

Edit: By carefully looking at the examples, they all seem a bit crappy in terms of English quality. Also, some of them seem to alternate between cancellation and cancel indiscriminately.

http://www.pragueresidences.com/terms.php

http://www.astanapengembak.com/bali-free-and-easy-package.html

http://www.chambre-avec-vue.eu/rentagreement.pdf

http://billetavion.opodo.fr/opodo/flights/fareNotes?pnr=24X57E&opodoConfNum=0014179106&locale=fr_FR_109

http://www.villa-pavlina.cz/EN/cenik.htm

http://www.larrakoetxea.com/precios_en.html

http://www.hostels.com/es/albergues/rio-de-janeiro/best-rio-hostel/35087

http://www.lazycow.com/nav/terms

Edit 2: I agree, my question is not very useful. If it should be kept in the hope that Google will help some of those poor translators to avoid the same mistake, or if it should be erased, I'm not sure. Either way is fine for me, but I do not know how to actually improve the question. I'll delete it if recommended to.


texts:
What would be the antonym of the expression "landed with a thud"?
I've seen it in the context of "a new product landed with a thud, attracting very few customers".


texts: Meaning of "summer" and "winter" in Australian English

texts: What is the meaning of "summer" (and "winter") in modern Australian English? It means cold time, but in June, July and August, or warm time, but in December, January and February?


texts: Word order in an embedded question ("She can't decide which IS the best place for it")

texts:
I found a sentence, "She can't decide which IS the best place for it," and I need to make sure if it's grammatically correct or not. If it's correct, then it's contradictory to the Embedded Statement rule, for example, "Tell me what his name IS," the verb placed last in this sentence, but it's placed right after the WH-Question (Which) in the first one.
Thanking you in advance


texts: How do I use the prefix 'de-' correctly?

texts: Is there a dictionary dedicated to word prefixes? I'd like to know more about de-, but there's no uniform meaning; for example, in demystify it signifies a reverse action, while in delimit it's a positive meaning, like set.


texts:
How should one insert the punctuation in the text below:

  We were informed a complete set of dishes consists of these items cups
  saucers and plates bowls are not included.


texts: Is it appropriate to use "Hey yourself"?

texts:
I've heard this phrase in a couple of movies, it was being used like this:

  -Hey, John!

  -Well, hey yourself, Mike!

Sounds pretty simple, but my question is about how appropriate is it to say that in a conversation. It sounds a little "offensive" to me, and in the movies it was being used with a negative meaning (e.g. greeting a person who you don't really like to see/talk with).

So does it really have a "negative" meaning, or am I wrong?


texts: What is the difference between "of importance" and "important"?

texts:
I want to know the difference in meaning between "of importance" and "important" as in " It is of importance to me." and " It is important to me."
please, give me the answer..


texts: Conjunction - "or" - meaning. Is it eliminate the previous/afterwards alternative

texts:
In programming and logic, for example, the "or" is meaning something that may or may not be added to the previous or afterwards: A or B (A only; B only; A and B).

However, in real live conversations it's usually not the case. If someone says A or B, they will probably mean: A without B; B without A.

I search it and couldn't find the proof for this. Can someone help to point this out: what is the real meaning of the "or" in grammar. Is it the first case or the second?

Please provide some links(references) or whatever to back your opinion.


texts: After seeing how misinformed an article is in a newspaper, you flip the page and continue reading as if the rest can be trusted. What is this called?

texts:
I vividly remember reading a Wikipedia article about a named law (e.g. "Betteridge's law of headlines"). It goes something like this: "You read an article about a topic you're very familiar with, and find that the author knows nothing and his article is extremely misinformed. You then flip the newspaper page, forgetting the low content quality you've just read, and continue reading as if the rest of the information in newspaper (about topics you're not familiar with) can be trusted normally."

I am asking for the name of the law. I'm fairly certain it is eponymous, but couldn't find it in Wikipedia's list of eponymous laws.

(Related question that does not contain the answer I'm looking for: What's the word for spotting flaws in news articles you are expert in, but happily accepting reports in other fields?)


texts: Word for how a person who knows little Spanish speaks

texts:
Is there a word for English speaking people that know little Spanish? It's for a book I'm writing.

  "An American who moved to Mexico recently for the people but mostly for the underworld society, tells her firmly with _____" [broken Spanish]


texts: Is a comma required between two independent clauses?

texts:
I read an article online, and the article has the following sentence.

  I love the city and I have a special fondness for the people of Lafayette

How come the writer did not separate the two sentences with a comma between (city & and)? Also at work I see a lot of of my colleagues write with a similar style. Is there a reason for writing in that style, or is it just grammatically incorrect? Please advise.


texts: When is the proper time to use "lie" vs "lay"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the difference between “lay” and “lie”?

Which one of the following examples is correct?

Lie down on the bench.
Lay down on the bench.


texts:
Hello.

I have been studying Arguments and Predicate when I noticed that there are two different views over Predicators: Some say that it is the main verb of the Predicate, others say that it is the finite verb while others say that it is both the finite and auxiliary verbs.

I have been doing it - Predicator: "doing";
I have been doing it - Predicator: "have";
I have been doing it -  Predicator: "have been doing";

According to the representation above and bearing in mind that all representations might be correct to different perspectives, which one seems more accurate regarding most modern theories of grammar?


texts: Meaning of "active shooter" in news stories

texts:
I don't understand the way "active shooter" is being used in news stories relating to people being shot at an Arkansas night club.

The Guardian:

  Police said the shooting at Power Ultra Lounge was the result of a dispute among club-goers and not an active shooter or terror-related incident.

Apparently the actual police statement was:

  We do NOT believe this incident was an active shooter or terror related incident. It appears to have been a dispute at a concert

What is the distinction between an "active shooter" and other shooters who are intentionally shooting people?


texts: In an essay I want to enumerate and describe negative aspects of using a popular and working tool. Since such issues are usually overlooked (or even underestimated), I call them negative side effects. Now, I'm looking for a better (preferably single) word/phrase to describe those negative side effects, something other than drawback or disadvantage.


texts: What kind of word is the "a" in "a few"?

texts: What kind of word the the "a" in a sentence like "I left a few books in the office"?  Is this an indefinite article, even if "few" here does not seem to be a noun?


texts: What is meaning of "a long way from being"?

texts:
Question: Is it bad?
  Answer: "I've suggestions but this is a long way from being bad"

What does this a long way from being mean? Does it mean "much more than just bad" or does it mean "not bad at all"?


texts: What is the nuanced difference between "at seeing" and "when seeing"?

texts:
A book about translation studies gives an example on how the nuance of the phrase at seeing will be lost if it is simply understood as when seeing. The sentence context is taken from The Way of the White Clouds) of Govinda, describing a monk walking on a city once containing pagodas:

  But one day a lonely pilgrim, whose heart burned with the pure flame of faith, so deeply grieved at seeing the desecration and decay of this place.

What is the nuanced difference between at seeing makes and when seeing? Generally, what is this kind of grammar called, and can it be applied with other verbs (at listening, at feeling), tenses (at seen), and propositions (on seeing)?

Edit from the person who set the bounty:

I have it from OP that what was the most helpful about the accepted answer was (to make a long story short):

'When seeing' means at the moment of, or on the occasion of seeing, while 'at seeing' means because of the effect on the viewer of seeing.

If we feel sad 'when seeing' (at the time of seeing) the decline of a great sportsperson, as for instance when a great player misses an easy penalty kick, it could be argued that maybe that feeling is specific to the moment/occasion of seeing, and does not persist after the event.

  They felt a strong but fleeting sense of sadness when seeing the decline of the great footballer: missing that penalty kick was an awful reminder that he had lost his cutting edge, and was on the long, slow road to sporting oblivion.

Whereas 'at seeing' implies that the feeling is caused by what is seen (here, the decline of the great sportsperson):

  He felt sad at seeing the decline of the great footballer: he was reminded of it often in the next few months -- years later he would come upon some reference and relive that sadness, thinking of how that missed penalty had heralded a giant's long, slow descent into sporting oblivion.

With 'at', we feel the emotion because of the decline, not just when we see it -- meaning that we could feel the same even on other occasions when we think of it -- that's the nuanced difference.


texts:
In many Wikipedia pages is written "In-story information". For example, here.

I understand it as "information about the character". Am I right?


texts: Noun for someone whose secret has been discovered?

texts:
Is there a one-word noun for someone who has been lying or keeping a secret, but who has been found out?

I can think of descriptors that aren’t nouns (exposed, found out, etc.) but I’m looking for a noun that means the actual person who has been exposed or found out, etc.


texts:
second to none

To the ears of a non-native speaker, mine anyway, this expression sounds very laborious.

Where does it come from?

Is it not contrary to the idea that English is a 'reductionist' language?


texts:
US stands for "the United States".
US is short for "the United States".

What are the subtle differences between them?


texts: expressing uncertainty in the past: "could be" vs. "would have been"

texts:
Yesterday I wrote the below snippet in an email, but looking at it again it doesn't sound right:

  Last term I did way too much teaching related stuff (my fault, didn’t really know how much time consuming it could be)

Now, the sentence between parenthesis is the one bugging me. I'm not sure if something like this would have been better:

  ... (my fault, didn't really know how much time consuming it would have been).

So, I guess my doubt stems from the usage of “could be” vs. “would have been”, but I'm not sure how to even frame it in grammatical terms.
Any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated!

Sorry if the above makes little sense, but I'm not a native speaker.


texts: Meaning of a quote in movie Casino Royale (2006)

texts:
Vesper Lynd: There are dinner jackets and dinner jackets; this is
  the latter. And I need you looking
  like a man who belongs at that table.

Here what does the line "There are dinner jackets and dinner jackets" means?


texts: General term for a datum and its metadata together?

texts:
I'm looking for a term that describes a datum combined with its metadata.

For instance, if I were ordering a pizza, the (compound) datum would be the order, including the size, toppings, cost, delivery address, etc. Information such as who made the pizza, how long it took to make, when it left for delivery, etc would be administrative metadata. I need a term that describes both the order and this administrative metadata together.


texts: Final consonant doubling in Proper names

texts: Webb, Rudd, Barr, Pratt are all proper names that have a double final consonant. What is the reason for this doubling?


texts: What is a word for someone who wants to preserve others' cultures?

texts: I'm searching for the word for someone who believes in the preservation of other people's cultures. Does anyone know of a good word for this? I don't think "anthropologist" is a good word, as that indicates the study of the cultures, but people can have this belief without studying them.


texts: The fear of not seeing one's mother ever again

texts:
Is there a word to describe the fear of never again seeing one's mother (or at least any person)?

I have already checked the list of phobias that Wikipedia offers but could not find anything that fits the specific meaning I am looking for; perhaps there is such a word, but it does not have the word phobia attached to it.

Thanks.


texts: Proper placement of suffix while using the first name only

texts: Ordering a gravestone and want to make sure the suffix is used correctly.  While the last name is on the bottom to be shared by spouse,  I need to put Edward H. II up top.  The proper name is Edward H. Jones II.


texts: What are the correct ways to use the long dash (em-dash)?

texts:
So I've seen these (—) used a lot in writing (mostly in fiction), but I'm still unsure of the correct way to use them.

I've seen them used to define something.

I have several things in my backpack — pencils, erasers, and papers.

When you're defining something, do you have to be exact? For instance, I probably have more than just pencils, erasers, and papers in my backpack, so do I have to write everything down when using an em dash to define something? Also, when I'm defining something, can it be in between the sentence, instead of at the very end (this is very uncommon though, right?) e.g. I have several things — pencils, erasers, and papers — in my backpack.

I've seen them used to include ideas in between.

Something I'm confused about is the type of idea you put using the em dash. Is it something that's important for the reader to know, or simply  included to enhance your writing.
Can someone please elaborate on this one (probably the most confusing one for me...)

I've seen them used to end a sentence abruptly.

This usually gives the feeling of suspense to dialogue.

"What's going on? Where am —"

I've seen them used to answer questions or problems or disputes.

"Johnny killed Harris."

"No, it wasn't Johnny — Harris killed himself."


texts: Is this sentence grammatically correct? [emphasizing a clause]

texts:
In today's grammar course, we saw an example sentence about emphasizing a whole clause:

It was because they were playing in London that England had an advantage.

Our teacher has asked us to give a similar example, and one student has given the answer:

It was because he was taller than her that gave him an advantage.

Although it didn't follow the exact same pattern, the teacher said it was grammatically correct. I can't verbally explain it but the sentence somehow feels strange to me, is this sentence grammatically correct?

Thanks in advance.


texts: Wondering if this mixed conditional is correct or not ( taken from Euronews )

texts:
Earlier on his arrival in Warsaw the president had met US and Polish air personnel from a detachment of F-16 fighter jets. Obama also stressed that more sanctions were being prepared against Russia if the West decided it ( Russia) engaged in activities which were destabilising to Ukraine.

Source: http://euronews.com/2014/06/03/us-to-step-up-military-presence-in-european-reassurance-initiative/

I really have my doubts whether the mixed conditional here is correct format.
Based on my perception the writer should have used second conditional , somethimg like:

  Obama also stressed that more sanctions would be prepared against Russia if the West decided it ( Russia) engaged or had engaged in activities which were destabilising to Ukraine.

If I want to make a mixed conditional out of the sentence, it would be something like:

  If new sanctions were going to be imposed on Russia in future, it would be because of further possible destablising activities in Ukraine.

Is my sentence correct, as opposed to what the Euronews reporter wrote?

Many thanks in advance.


texts:
Is there a technical term for this? I've Been jogging my memory for something specific, but have only come up with general words like variations, modes (moods, maybe?), etc.

Below are the different [term in question]s of the Present Simple Passive:

Affirmative: Gum base is poured into a mixer.

Negative: Natural ingredients aren’t used for bubble gum

Interrogative: How is bubble gum produced?


texts: Is there a non-compound synonym for 'ever-improving'?

texts: Trying to find out a simpler way to refer to someone who is actively looking to grow and excel at what she is doing.


texts: I need another phrase for "as expected" or "it would follow"?

texts:
I am writing a technical paper where I have described an experiment resulting in "x".  Then I go on to describe the result of a second experiment whose result was expected since the reason was deduced in the previous experiment (x).  I'm looking for a phrase to tie the two sentences together but I did not want to use "as expected" or "it would follow".

I know there is another phrase out there that suits better but I can't seem to come up with it right now so I need your help.  Thanks.


texts: What do you call it when people say 'like' a lot?

texts:
So like, I like, have like, a like, question, like, you know!
Like, is there a, like, term, for, like, when someone, like, talks, like, like this, you know?
PS: I'm also curious to know what other words and phrases are often used in conjunction with this style of speaking, e.g. "you know".


texts: How To Describe Someone Who Is Deal-Oriented?

texts:
I'm thinking of words like fiscal, astute, shrewd, thrifty or business-savvy.

However, I know there's got to be a better word for someone who looks for great deals, a person who understands price and finds great value.

For example, a man believes his computer is not working fast anymore. He looks up prices for a new computer, costing $1200. Instead, he researches that his computer needs more memory. Rather than buying a new $1200 computer, he installs $20 of memory to make his computer work smoothly. This man is [deal oriented].

Anything along the lines of extreme financially savvy-ness is great. Another way to think about it is someone who can create something from nothing, or can do a lot with very little.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.


texts: What would be the word for people waiting for an important announcement?

texts:
"The winning lottery, that will decide the winner of $1 million lottery the rest have to pay for, is ..." says Tom, in front of _____ candidates.

What would be an appropriate word to use in place of the ____ ?

Anxious?

Expecting?


texts: Can we use adverbs with Comparative adjectives?

texts:
He is much taller than me.

Vs

He is incredibly taller than me.

Can we use incredibly here, with a  comparative adjective(taller) ?


texts: Omission of 'for' with various quantified time intervals: influence of verb

texts:
I came across these two examples, given to illustrate 'a case' where the inclusion of the preposition for is considered optional in the paper "Acquisition of Preposition Deletion by Non-native Speakers of English" by the authors Jae-Min Kim and Gil-Soon Ahn (in §2, on p.3):

  a. We have lived here (for) 12 years.

  b. I've studied English (for) ten years.

Though I have no problems with either version of the (a) sentence, omitting the preposition in (b) sounds unacceptable to me.

Is this regional?

Is acceptability influenced by

the size of the DO (/locative / PP / ...) between the verb and the time phrase
the actual verb used

?

Please note: The referenced paper  is very useful, but contains a few expressions that need minor corrections – possibly translation errors.


texts: What is the difference between optimal and optimum?

texts: My question is exactly as the title says. Someone used "optimum" in an email to me and in my response I used "optimal," so I began wondering what the difference between them is.


texts:
I’ve been searching about the usage of prepositional phrase as a pseudo-noun, and I’ve found that when it’s used as a subject, the frequency of the usage is like
locational meaning > temporal meaning > the others(so rare).
However, I can’t really see the coherence in other usage, as an object to verbs or prepositions.
The example for PP as a subject is,
“Through the wood” is the nearest way.
and as a objective to verbs is,
I’ll give you “until next morning”.
I think the usage as an object to verbs is just like that as subjects, and that as an object to prepositions is more complicated and collocational problem.
Can you enlighten me...?


texts:
In the following sentences, "that" is unnecessary:

He claims that he was at the library yesterday.
The professor believes that Terry Stops are practiced unconstitutionally by the police forces.

Is there a word or term used to categorize words that are unnecessary to conform with grammar rules and don't add to the meaning of a sentence?


texts:
Here is an exercise from Intermediate Language Practice by Michael Vince:
(Please note that I have replaced all the blanks in the exercise with the answers given in the answer key.)

  Put each verb given into the past simple, past continuous or past
  perfect. More than one answer may be possible.

  (A picture showing a man being seized by a police officer)

    The police suspected that Brian (1) had broken the window at his
    house because he (2) wanted to make them think that a burglar (3)
    had stolen his valuable stamp collection. They (4) thought that Brian (5) had done this because he (6) needed the money. However,
    they (7) didn't know that Brian (8) had flown to Brazil the week
    before, and (9) had been/was abroad when the burglary (10) took
    place/had taken place.

My questions are:

At (2) and (6), is it possible to use the past perfect instead of the past simple? As I understand it, the past simple is used here to indicate that Brian's "wanting to fool the police" and "needing the money" were still in his mind at the time he was being seized by the police. If I used the past perfect instead in order to talk about his state of mind at the time the burglary took place, would the sentences sound right?
At (9) and (10) why is it possible to use the past simple when "his being abroad" and "the burglary" had both taken place before he was captured by the police? Which of the following sentences are acceptable? Which one is the best?

a. However, they didn't know that Brian had flown to Brazil the week
before, and had been abroad when the burglary took place.

b. However, they didn't know that Brian had flown to Brazil the week
before, and had been abroad when the burglary had taken place.

c. However, they didn't know that Brian had flown to Brazil the week
before, and was abroad when the burglary had taken place.

d. However, they didn't know that Brian had flown to Brazil the week
before, and was abroad when the burglary took place.


texts: How to best express synchronous/asynchronous in layman's terms?

texts:
I want to express in a description of personalized language instruction that some activities are synchronous, i.e. require a person-to-person meeting in realtime (e.g. in person, telephone, video-chat, texting) but other activities are asychronous, i.e. each person can complete communication on his own time (e.g. e-mails, website posting, dialogue journals that are exchanged, reading articles, correction of texts).

Instead of "Synchronous Activities" and "Asynchronous Activities", which are technical and require too much explanation, what are two other terms that would communicate to anyone the sense that the first group requires two people to be available at the same time, and the second group does not?

None of these are satisfactory:

"Meeting Activities" and "Non-Meeting Activities" ("non-meeting" is awkward)
"Same-Time Activities" and "Different-Time Activities" (awkward)
"Shared-Time Activities" and "Own-Time Activities" (awkward)
"Meeting Activities" and "Personal Activities" (maybe)
"Interactive Activities" and "Non-Interactive Activities" (maybe, but asynchronous activities can still be interactive [e.g. a dialogue journal that is passed back and forth])
"At-Meeting Activities" and "Out-of-Meeting Activities" (ok, but I don't want the second group to be defined as the negative/opposite of a meeting)
"Meeting Activities" and "Independent Activities" (this seems to be the best so far)

What 's the best way to express "Synchronous Activities" and "Asynchronous Activities" in a way that anyone immediately understands the above meanings of the terms?


texts:
I've seen situations in which they said these phrases:

"[...] That could be dead or may not be" (Jim Carrey's phrase in a Series of Unfortunate events)
"(=if we had one, it could or it may not be expensive)" (a specific grammar book by Cambridge University).

My question is: why "may" is opposed to "could" here? Can't we use "It could be dead or could not be" or "It could or it could not be expensive"? Why/why not?


texts:
I always thought that “mouth worked” describes when someone moves their mouth as if they are speaking, but no sound is emitted. This happens when they are so surprised that that they don’t know what to say.

For example:

  He was shocked at his ex-girlfriend’s question. His mouth worked. He couldn’t answer.

Is this a common meaning of the phrase?

I did a google search and found this reference.

Also, what is the etymology? Did it evolve from another usage?


texts:
I don't know when can I use another and when I should only use other. At first, I thought another should be used only when a singular word comes after it. This is what Theodore Bernstein says in The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage (1965):

  ANOTHER The word is often misused for more, others, or additional. A typical newspaper example: "The port directly employed 250,000, with another 150,000 indirectly employed." Another means one more of the same kind. In the sentence quoted it would be correct only if the second figure were the same as the first.

But then I saw in the OALD8 an example with another attached to a plural noun similar to the one Bernstein gives as an example of "misused" another. Is it wrong to use another to say things like "another three things"? Is it better to say "three other things"?


texts: What is an English word for “something that adds value”?

texts: I’m looking for an English word which could mean something or someone that adds value to something else. Is there a single word for that?


texts: "Justification of" or "justification for"?

texts: Do "justification of" or "justification for" mean different things? Is one more appropriate than the other?


texts:
What is the proper grammar to use with the phrase:

  Yeah, no?

Where no is the correct answer?

For example if someone asked:

  Do you like him?

Would you reply with:

  "Yeah. No!" Or "Yeah, no!"

quora.com/When-did-people-start-saying-Yeah-no-or-No-yeah


texts: In mathematics: is "associate to" correct?

texts:
In mathematical writing, I was used to

  We associate to the object C a vector space V(C)

Now I found a question, Acceptable uses for "associated with" or "associated to", which says that associate with is better.

I ran an ngram and confirmed that associated with is astronomically dominating. Is, nevertheless, in mathematics associate to correct?


texts:
I've recently seen a musical and, on the night I went, three roles were being played by understudies instead of the regular actors.

This term has always puzzled me, partly because I've never found a satisfactory translation for it in my native tongue. However, while I well understand its meaning and although I've researched various dictionaries, I haven't found clear indications of its origin. The Online Etymology Dictionary deals with the word in one line and the OALD, normally so generous with references to the origin of terms, doesn't even try.

Can anyone tell me how this word came into existence?


texts: Word for two people who are the same age

texts: What do you call two people with the same age? I'm not looking for age range or age group.


texts: Looking for an idiom for the time between production and selling

texts:
what is the idiom or abbreviation that use for the time between production and selling?
for example, Zara has less ??? than Nike


texts: A word that refers to a large scale wall paintings/mural

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “paintings on walls and ceilings” and “painting of portraits, landscapes”

There is a word which refers specifically to large landscape wall painting (I'm thinking in terms of the Roman wall paintings in Campania) and for the life of me I can't remember it. All my searches for it come up with a blank, and I'm trying to work towards a deadline which I can't reach unless I can search for articles specific to this term! Anyone know what I'm talking about? I think it's a technical term, perhaps with the stem "mega" which seems to ring a bell, but apart from that my mind is a complete blank!


texts: Is the term "breadwinner" still widely accepted?

texts: In my country, the term breadwinner is widely used. However, several years ago, if I remember it correctly, some TV personality said that the term breadwinner is not anymore the usual term to call a person who primarily earns for the family. If this word is not widely accepted nowadays, what word would be rather used?


texts:
"The only thing bringing any money into that floating city IS tourists"
Is this grammatically correct? Is there ever a time when one could us "is" for a plural?


texts: I've got my work cut out for me. Origin, meaning, negation by sarcasm?

texts:
The phrase "I've got my work cut out for me" I have until now mistaken to mean: "The work that I have to do is largely completed (due to efforts by others beforehand), and only need to do a little bit more to finish". But I find that it actually means "The work I have to do is going to be difficult, and will take tremendous time and effort to complete".

Is there any evidence that supports the former meaning, other than being used in a sarcastic context? Or, can the former meaning be true only if used in sarcasm?

Also, I am curious about the origin of this phrase, and would love to know about its first appearance.


texts:
I have heard people use on/at short notice

sorry to call a meeting on/at such short notice

but is it grammatically correct to use "with short notice".
Example:

I wish you had not called a meeting with such short notice.


texts: In the context of military weapon and ammunition, missiles are said to be guided but rockets are not. yet the latest trends of rocket says, there are rockets with guidance system, though they are called rockets. There must be some features that distinguish these guided rockets from the missiles, ie the magnitude of guidance system, structure, maneuverability etc. What are those features that separate the guided ROCKETS from being missiles?


texts: Not not round enough balls to alter the data

texts:
In the following sentence, are the "not's" found in the proper place with correct grammar? If not, what's the best way to format this sentence?

  The balls were not, not round enough to alter the accuracy of the data.

Is there any special problem with having two nots in a sentence like this one?


texts: 'different' vs 'differential' pricing (adjectives)

texts:
I'm not asking about them as nouns, or the calculus and mechanic meanings of 'differential'. ODO doesn't distinguish them, and synonymizes 'differential'  with 'difference'.

In 1 beneath, why not use 'different'? What'd change?
Why not use 'differential'?

Source: The European Union: A Beginner's Guide. p. 139 Bottom - p. 140 Top. I, and not the book, bolded.

  Gender has traditionally played a key role in the pricing of insurance policies.
    In 2004 an EU Directive prohibited all discrimination based on
  sex in the access to a supply of goods or services. In principle the
  Directive therefore prohibited the use of gender as a method of
  determining insurance premiums and benefits with regard to contracts that were entered into after 21 December 2007. However,
  the Directive also stated [1.] differential pricing could be maintained
  where statistical evidence supported such an approach. Insurance
  companies regarded this as crucial because as women drivers are
  statistically proven to have fewer accidents than male drivers, premiums for female insurance policies have generally been lower. In
  a similar way, because women live longer, men have traditionally received a higher rate from their pension annuities because their
  life expectancy is lower and as such their pension savings are able
  to produce more income over a shorter time.
    Such continued practice of price differentials was subject to a
  review after the Belgian Constitutional Court asked the European
  Court of Justice to assess the validity of differential pricing. This in
  turn resulted in the ECJ ruling on 1 March 2011 that insurers cannot
  charge [2.] different premiums to men and women based on their
  gender from 21 December 2012 onwards. In the case of car insurance, the significance of this ruling is that female car insurance premiums will rise while male insurance premiums will fall. And where
  high costs of insurance have in the past discouraged young men
  from buying fast cars that are more likely to lead to road accidents,
  a reduction in insurance costs could worryingly result in greater
  purchases of high performance cars.


texts: Definite article usage and word ordering in 'all the equipment necessary to create a network'

texts:
I have a sentence where I am not sure about the word order, and if the definite article should be used or not.

Which version is correct:

It is a system which includes all equipment necessary to create a network.
It is a system which includes all the equipment necessary to create a network.
It is a system which includes all necessary equipment to create a network.
It is a system which includes all the necessary equipment to create a network.


texts:
I am trying to help a friend to write his CV. I don't know which preposition to use in the following paragraph:

  Advance Marketing Staff Knowledge & Skills Which Lead To Dramatically Increase In The Branch Customers. And Also Result In Several Competitive Branches In The Same City To Close.

Should result in or result to be used? I feel like it should be result in but I am not sure.

Any suggestions or improvements are also welcome.


texts:
How many years-old is "the dangerous age"?  Where does the term come from?  (Google doesn't seem to know.)
"I've reached the dangerous age, and lady, I'm going to have fun."
X Minus One - Volpa - 8/29/1957 (episode 109) - 03:28
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_X_Minus_One_Singles/XMinusOne57-08-29109Volpla.mp3


texts: The confusion you suffer when tasting something familiar but unexpected

texts: My boss today was provided with a cup of coffee when she was expecting tea. I find the brain has a pre-expectation of taste and, when confronted with an unexpected but familiar taste, struggles for a moment to process this.  Is this a concept anyone is familiar with and, if so, is anyone aware of a term for it?


texts: Word for someone who isn't detail-oriented

texts: I am pretty sure I have seen a word for someone who often misses small details, but it has slipped out of my mind. Any ideas?


texts: Is it grammatically correct to have multiple clauses and prepositions?

texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically correct and if so, are the commas necessary?

  Exclude anyone who's inactive at, or opposed to, the event.

If not, is it grammatically correct to instead use parentheses?

  Exclude anyone who's inactive at (or opposed to) the event.


texts: Meaning and usage of the swear word pronounced /ˈkʰʌnt/?

texts: I’ve been hearing the word cunt used several times now. What kind of situations do you usually use this word, and what sort of person does this swear word usually describe?


texts: Appropriate preposition to go with "outside their comfort zone"

texts: Is the preposition "of" necessary in the phrase "outside their comfort zone"?


texts:
Put correct puntuations and capital words:

  bangladesh is a small country with a population of over sixteen crores she can hardly make headway so we should work hard to keep pace with the rest of the world

I have thought about 2 answers:

  (1) Bangladesh is a small country with a population of over sixteen crores.
  She can hardly make headway. So, we should work hard to keep pace with the rest of the world.

  (2) Bangladesh is a small country. With a population of over sixteen crores, she can hardly make headway. So we should work hard to keep pace with the rest of the world.

Which one is correct?


texts: Why do signs say "no concealable weapons allowed"?

texts: I work in a state facility in the US, and there are signs at the doors which say "No Concealable Weapons Allowed" with a picture of a handgun with the red slash through it. Recently the signs had been replaced, the former wording was "concealed". My thought is, "so it is OK to walk in with a bazooka, because it is not concealABLE"? (Or concealED, with the old signs) Why don't they just say "No Weapons" which should be the point? What distinction am I missing here?


texts: Can I start a declarative sentence with "What"?

texts:
I would like to write something like, "What makes you happy will make you insane."  I know that I can rewrite this as, "The thing that makes you happy will make you insane," but I like the balance of the sentence's structure, and "the thing" comes across awkwardly in this case.

I have reviewed other posts on the Stack Exchange website to see if there is any specific rule against beginning with "what"--looking specifically at posts related to interrogatives--but I have been unable to find a rule against it. I'm familiar with famous quotes that use declarative statements and that begin with "what," but I didn't want to rely on these as proof of grammatical correctness.

So, is it grammatically permissible to begin a declarative sentence with the word "what" or should I only use it in a question? If it is permissible, is there a rule that demonstrates this is okay?


texts: British Prime Ministers are either vicars or bookies: quote origin?

texts:
The old adage has it that British prime ministers are either vicars or bookmakers. In Phoney Tony the country has a bookie masquerading as a vicar, a posture that does little for the standing of either profession.
-- Glen Newey, LRB, 2003

There are a few other mentions on the web of the form "Prime Ministers are either bookies or vicars", but not much that gives detail on earlier usage or how old it might be. I'd guess it is an older quote or saying that predates the web. Can anyone share an origin, or failing that, earlier examples?
--
EDIT with more detail on research: Initial searches for the phrase on the web show very little. With the tip from @peterG that the variant "bookies or bishops" was more common, this led to an Anthony Crosland biography mentioning Hugh Gaitskell, and then to a thesis by Shack (PDF) p277 citing Muggeridge's book. This seemed solid enough to result in my answer below.
@JEL has since found Curran in 1956, predating it, in his answer.
Peter Hitchens suggests Alan Watkins in his Daily Mail column in 2017. This is technically possible as he would have been 23 in 1956, but not the greatest source without further support.


texts: Zero article in a concessive adverbial clause

texts:
Which of the following two expressions is better?

  A doctor by training as he is, he has proved himself to be a successful writer.
  Doctor by training as he is, he has proved himself to be a successful writer.


texts: What does the semicolon in the dictionary definition of a word mean?

texts:
Many dictionaries use a semicolon in a meaning for a word. For instance for the word impertinent I have seen:

  "outside the bounds of proper speech or behaviour; impudent; insolent; saucy"

Then there is a synonym explanation of connotations for impertinent, impudent, insolent, and saucy.

My question is: Does the semicolon introduce synonyms always? Does it mean that the word following a semicolon SHARES the meaning of the main entry word you are looking up; that is, the sense preceding the first semicolon in the meaning?

I know that insolent cannot be substituted for impertinent, but maybe impertinent can be substituted for insolent with a loss of connotation.

Just what the heck are these guys who write dictionaries trying to convey with the semicolon in the meaning of a word?


texts: How to capitalize first letters in titles?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Which words in a title should be capitalized?

Often words in titles has its first letter capitalized, but some don't (such as "The Title of This Question"). What are the rules for which words to capitalize?


texts: What does “having a party piece” mean in the following content?

texts:
"That style of playing originally came from me and George [Harrison] having a party piece when we were kids, which was a piece by Bach.

Full article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4208132.stm


texts: "She wanted out of this dump." What is the grammatical function of "out of this dump"?

texts:
I came across a line in a movie.

  She wanted out of this dump. She wanted to start a new life.

It seems the sentence is missing to get/be/go. Is the sentence grammatical as it currently stands?

Since want is a transitive verb, it takes a direct object (noun/NP/to infinitive). The phrase out of this dump is adverbial. So is the sentence ungrammatical = informal in register?


texts: Meaning of “sort through” in this context?

texts:
Here is an excerpt from the book called I’m Right and You’re an Idiot (by James Hoggan).

For example, environmentalists tend to see things in terms of black and white, good versus evil, “so they can sidestep dealing with the really messy reality of sorting through difficult changes.”

In this context, what is the meaning of the phrase “sort through”?
I’ve looked it up in the Macmillan Dictionary, which says it means “to look at a lot of things in order to find what you want or need.” However, in this case, I’m not sure if the meaning is quite fit in the context. Can “sort through” be used as an alternative to “sort out” or something?


texts: What to call someone who laughs off an offense you've taken?

texts:
For example, someone strongly offended you and you let them know, maybe hoping for an apology, acknowledgement or just a change in his attitude. Instead he laughs it off, ignores your concern by saying "haha, so what have you been up to/how are you?"

What would you call a person like this?


texts:
Below is quoted from vocabulary.com.

  ... (The word) Iridescent came to be in 1796, when some enthusiastic word maker took the Latin word iris, which means "rainbow," and morphed it into an English word that describes anything giving off a luminous, rainbow sheen or that changes color in the light. It's a great descriptive word — if you can resist the urge to spell it with an extra "r."

Apologize for my dumbness but what the word will be with an extra "r?" And how is that "great descriptive?"


texts: "something." vs "something". at the end of a sentence

texts:
We're given the sentences:

The boy wouldn't finish the job due to "certain technicalities".
The boy wouldn't finish the job due to "certain technicalities."

Each sentence ends with quotations. The words "certain technicalities" are not being said by a person as a sentence, so why would I enclose a period inside? It looks a little more awkward to not enclose the period, however it seems grammatically incorrect to enclose the period.

So, which is it? Is the period left inside the quotes or outside the quotes when the quotes are part of another sentence?


texts:
In making an inquiry which of the below should be used to properly format question.

"Which is correct and preferred: what happen or what happened?"


texts:
Which is correct?
The British Broadcasting Company's (BBC's) policy ...
The British Broadcasting Company's (BBC) policy ...
The British Broadcasting Company (BBC)'s policy ...


texts:
Help please. When I have to translate the Dutch word klooster (I have the same problem translating from French but with another word) the dictionary gives me:
monastery
convent,  nunnery
cloister
Unless the text is specific I can't really tell whether it is a monastery or  a convent. Can anyone think of a general term that would cover both establishments without referring to the gender of the inmate?


texts: Prepositions in a context , "of" vs "for"

texts:
Would you use "of" or " for" in the next sentences:

1- To arrange a soft transition of  the authority and not a sudden one.

2-To arrange a soft transition for the authority and not a sudden one.

I mean to allow the movement of power from some one to another.


texts:
Is using the adverbial prepositional phrase in appreciation in place of the adverb appreciatively convey exactly the same meaning?

I'm attempting to avoid the use of the adverb "appreciatively" in the following sentence:

  I whistled in appreciation. "Wow."

Am I missing the spirit of the thing, or is this acceptable (i.e. not likely to lead to the bad habit of showing instead of telling)? If not, what would be a good way to indicate that somebody is whistling to show that they appreciate something?

Note: I am not indicating a "wolf-whistle" in this sentence.


texts: Might "worm" in Psalms 22.3 refer to "wyrm"/"wurm"?

texts:
I was re-reading my favorite piece of scripture, Psalms 22, from a copy of the Geneva translation, and found myself interpreting the English translation of 22.6 with some distinct difference after studying some Anglo-Saxon words.
22.6 is as follows (Geneva Bible):

But I am a worm, and not a man: a shame of men, and the contempt of the people.

Almost all early modern English translations use the word "worm" (the original Hebrew is תוֹלַעַת, but that is not relevant to this question)
Now onto my question: According to OED the word "worm" initially meant:

worm (n.)
Old English wurm, variant of wyrm "serpent, snake, dragon, reptile," (...)As an insult meaning "abject, miserable person" it dates from Old English.

This question speaks on the matter further.
This is intriguing to me, since with the meaning of "wyrm" as in "serpent" and "dragon", I, instinctively, think of "that old serpent, called the devil" from Revelation 12.9 and 20.2

12.9 And the great dragon, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, was cast out, Which deceiveth all the world: he was even cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

This got me to thinking, might the "serpent" meaning of "wyrm" have been known to the early-English translators? (Tyndale, Bancroft, those for Bishops and Geneva, etc.) And thus is there a chance they may have been alluding to the word "worm" not only as the more literal meaning of being base and meek upon the colossal feet of men, but also as in the miserable and despised Devil, who as Milton put it best: "Me miserable! which way shall I fly Infinite wrath, and infinite despair? Which way I fly is Hell; myself am Hell;"--Thus when the psalm says "I am a worm, and not a man" he is as base as a serpent of hell (lower than any living thing). The serpent might certainly be seen as "the contempt of the people" and "a shame" since it was the "ancestor" of all serpents who condemned human-kind in the loss of Eden, and yet is it not miserable? When God condemned the serpent, who in many biblical 15th-century paintings has arms, and sometimes even legs, to slither on its belly?

3.14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this,
thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the
field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all
the days of thy life.

THIS IMAGE MIGHT BE CONSIDERED SOMEWHAT DISTURBING (I mean not to offend anyone, just to give evidence on why a serpent might be miserable for losing its arms and legs:)
The Fall of Adam and Eve, Hugo van der Goes 1470

So, my question is: hypothetically, could the early English translators of the bible have had the old-English meaning of "wyrm" in mind? Otherwise stated, would the old-English meaning still have been known or relevant enough with the Tudorian, Elizabethan, and Jacobean English-language mind, that a double-meaning might have been possible?
Just for the sake of it, the Genevan footnote reads

And seeming most miserable of all creatures(...)

If this question seems more fitting for Literature I would agree on having it migrated. But since this is an etymological question, my gut told me EL&U would be ideal.


texts: Is there a single word for a "friend of a friend"?

texts:
I am looking for a word that I could use instead of "friend of a friend". On certain occasions, it happens that you may want to talk about a friend of a friend with someone else.

In such cases how would you refer to this friend?


texts: What is the most common equivalent name for “handal”, a very bitter fruit?

texts:
What is the most common name of a very bitter fruit, a word that is the equivalent of handal (also spelled “handhal”)?
On Wikipedia, I found several names for this melon-like fruit: bitter apple, bitter cucumber, desert gourd, wild gourd, egusi, or vine of Sodom.

Which is the most familiar term for native speakers?
Why is it also called “vine of Sodom”? Is it well-known?


texts:
I'm not a native english speaker, so even though I'm decently proficient at it, I don't really "know the rules" sometimes, and this is one that's been confusing me for a long time.

Which one is correct in each sentence?

  If the movement [was/were] to continue uncorrected, the tower would
  one day topple.

  If I [was/were] rich, I would buy a yacht.

NOTE: I care not only about the case of "I", but also "she", "them", "it", etc, as in the example of the tower. Would it be any different if instead of the tower, it'd be me who'd topple if uncorrected?

I'm pretty sure it's "were" in both cases. That's what they taught me, I think.
I started to doubt when I saw a lot of "was", but it sounded like the typical intentional mistake used "stylistically". ("If I was a rich girl...")

Then I saw it some more and thought it came down to an American/British English difference (I was taught British, in theory, and most of what I read is American).

But that tower sentence came straight from "The Guardian"...

When do you use was and when do you use were?


texts: I am wondering about the interjection "oh, the horror!". If it should be treated as an interjection directed to "horror" (there are similar expressions in other languages), why does it use the article "the"? There is no article in "Oh Lord!" or "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?", so why in "Oh the horror"?


texts:
I have been split between two pronunciations of "mayor".

Most of the people I talk to pronounce it "mair" (like the horse).

But if you look on Dictionary.com the main pronunciation is "mey-er".

I wanted some clarification on which is the correct way and why there are two different versions of the word.


texts:
Why does English use singular they instead of making up a new word for this?

In my native language there’s a word dia which has the same meaning as he/she, but it doesn’t give information about the gender of that person.

I’ve seen questions close to this, but they don’t provide the reason for not making up a new word for this distinct meaning.


texts:
I want to book some past days as time off via a time tracking system, and there is a reply message:

  Cannot book time off for past days.

(Meaning that I should have booked time off before leaving, not after leaving.)

I wonder whether for is used correctly here. I just see "book something for someone", "book something on some day", and have never seen "book something for some day" before.


texts: On many occasions after we complete a speech, we often consider thanking our audience. In this scenario, I am not sure if "Thank you all" is the right English. Should it be "Thanking you all" instead to make it sound correct?


texts:
Is there a term for a unorthodox/reverse analogy? I saw some posts regarding this but didn't find the answer that i needed. What i mean by unorthodox/reverse analogy is the following.

Common analogy: He yearned for fame like a man yearning for water.

but i saw this analogy being made in reverse.

He yearned for water like an ambitious man yearning for fame.

Is there a term for this? Also, please forgive me if I'm using any terminology incorrectly. My apologies. Thank you!


texts: Little did I suspect that she would sign a new contract.(inversion)

texts: Why is it inversion? We use DID after the word LITTLE. If I see another example,I'll understand .So-Not until we saw our kids with our own eyes did we believe they were really safe and sound- in that case DID stay after -we saw...And It's wrong.


texts: Can a past participle phrase stand at the end of a sentence?

texts:
For a present participle phrase, I've seen:

Seeking advice from the pros, she visited the website.

She visited the website, seeking advice from the pros.

For a past participle phrase, I've seen:

Advised by the pros, she started her own business.

But not:

She started her own business, advised by the pros.

Does it exist?
Thanks.


texts:
If I had to guess I’d say we are looking at the same records.

Why not say we were looking at the same records for the present?

And yes, the situation is about the present circumstances.

So were would indicate past? That is exactly my question.


texts: Usage of "reply": Please reply to me or reply me (used in formal tone)

texts:
Which usage is correct?

Please reply to me as soon as possible.
Please reply me as soon as possible.

In my understanding, people say, "Please reply my mail..." What about the ones I wrote above? I always confused by prepositions.  :P

This is the website I found online: http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/reply-me-soon-reply-soon.2846546/

Thank you!


texts: How to read “E = (mc)²” so as not to mistake for “E = mc²”

texts:
According to one of the questions already asked on EL&U, “E = mc²” is read as

  E equals M C squared.

How do we read “E = (mc)²” so that it is not mistaken for “E = mc²”?


texts:
Why does the idiom:

  absence makes the heart grow fonder

have the form of grow and not grows?


texts:
A common saying like in Hindi "Juldi ka kaam shaitan ka" translation "Anything done in hurry has Satan's reflection in it. "

Something like truism, but it's meaning on google doesn't say what I mean. I want a word for "truism but useful."


texts: What is category of relative time and absolute time

texts:
I have an App that shows a timeline. events in this timeline can be relative to each other or absolute from certain starting point.

I want to give this categorizing a name.

If i were to have an option where you could choose between relative and absolute timing, what should be the name of this option?

I came up with "Timing policy", but it feels weird.

Is there better word (not a sentence, prefably single word) to best describe this category?

Eg.

Timing policy = Relative

This means events in this timeline are relative to each other.

Maybe im over thinking. What about "Is Relative"? So if this property is false that means absolute.


texts: Is "correspondingly" used here correctly?

texts:
The importance of Internet access grows each day, correspondingly, web
  content accessibility too becomes equally important to ensure it meets
  the needs of users with disabilities.

correspondingly - connecting word, agreement/addition/similarity.

I would just like this confirmed. Thanks in advance.


texts:
What term can you use to describe the act of "selling something charitably"?

"Donated" is close, but it is referring to giving something away. "Graciously sold" is too wordy. I'm thinking of using the word in this sentence, for example:

  Although it was the stall owner's very last orange, and he loved
  oranges very much, he __ it to the young orphan for only 20 cents.


texts:
The good news was foreshadowed by several disturbing events.
  The good news was adumbrated by several disturbing events.

I am trying to see which word is better to use. Is there a (subtle) distinction between the two words? I know the word "adumbrated" is more formal as opposed to using the word "foreshadowed", but that word sounds better, in my opinion; or at least, it sounds better in the particular sentence as shown in the sandbox.


texts:
I have seen the following questions: Pluralization of acronyms ending in 'S', What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? or Plurals of acronyms, letters, numbers — use an apostrophe or not?
In all of them, the plural of in the extended form goes in the end:

One compact disk, two compact disks
One automated teller machines, two automated teller machines

My question is, what about acronyms (or initialisms...) such as

One rotation per hour: 1 RPH
Two rotations per hour: 2 ???

(Note that RPH is a home-made acronym.)
Obviously RsPH is not an appropriate choice, but RPHs seems a bit strange (I would be fine for rotation per hours, but maybe not for rotations per hour).
Any piece of advice?


texts: Euphemism for fundamental conflict between two things?

texts: Is there a euphemism for, within a given scenario, the fundamental conflict between two things? Almost akin to 'double-edged sword'. But that would not be right. I can clarify more. Open to any thoughts.


texts: Origin and earliest recorded use of 'fungo'

texts:
In baseball, a fungo bat is, according to Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003), "a long thin bat used for hitting fungoes," and a fungo is either "a fly ball hit esp. for practice fielding by a player who tosses a ball in the air and hits it as it comes down" or a "FUNGO BAT." The Eleventh Collegiate dates fungo to "ca. 1867" and fungo bat to 1926, but it reports that the origin of the word fungo is unknown.
San Francisco Giants bench coach Ron Wotus is quoted in today's Oakland Tribune discussing the bat he uses for hitting fly balls to fielders during outfield practice:

Model: Old Hickory PRO F3
Dimensions: 36 inches, 29 ounces, maple. It's a fungo! [Most game bats are 33.5 to 34.5 inches long and weigh 31 to 34 ounces.]
Upper cuts: "Can't go without the fungo! You know, I'm not sure how they got their name. I think it was in the Italian league."

But the Italian Baseball League was formed in 1948, which doesn't match well with the circa 1867 origin of the term fungo. The Wikipedia article subsection on fungo bat (part of a longer page on baseball bat) offers a different possible etymology for fungo:

The etymology of the word fungo (pronunciation: /ˈfʌŋɡoʊ/) is uncertain, but the Oxford English Dictionary suggests it is derived from the Scots fung: to pitch, toss, or fling.

However, the entries for fung in Chambers Scots Dictionary (1911) are less baseball-friendly than the Wikipedia/OED treatment might suggest:

Fung, v. to strike, beat; to kick; to throw with force; to anger; to annoy, offend; to work briskly; to work in a temper; to lose one's temper; to give forth a sharp, whizzing sound.—n. a blow, thrust, kick; a 'bang' out, the pet, a fit of bad temper. —adv. violently, with a 'whiz'.
Fung, n. beer.
Fung about, v. to drive hither and thither at high speed.

I have three questions about fungo as used in U.S. baseball:

What is the source of the word fungo?

When was fungo in the sense of "a fly ball" first recorded in print?

How (if at all) has the word's meaning changed since it was coined?


texts: Using similar meaning verbs in parallel sentences

texts:
Two letters arrived on Monday, and a third arrived on Wednesday.

  Two letters arrived on Monday, and a third came on Wednesday.

  Two letters arrived on Monday and a third on Wednesday.

  Two letters on Monday and a third on Wednesday arrived.

Does using the verb come in the second independent clause, rather than using arrive again make the whole sentence better?

Is using synonyms okay, or, on the contrary, does the verb come make the sentence confusing? I am just trying to develop a style. I'd like to ask which one sounds better for a formal writing like a short story.


texts: Incorrect test answers for an English test? (Urgent!)

texts:
I want to preface this and say that I am not a native English speaker. I'm planning to get into the university and to do it, I have to take a test to show how good my English is. And in this test several questions left me wondering why my answer got marked as incorrect. Here are these questions and the answer options:
Which of the two manuals is ... ? I think ... ; ... is not up to date.

the most useful ... the big one; the small
the most useful one ... the bigger; the smaller one (my answer)
the more useful ... the big one; the smaller
many more useful ... the biggest; the small

It’s incredible! I … to pay the rent.

,who had no any income, will have
,who have no income at all, will have
,who has no income at all, will have (my answer)
have had no income at all than, that’s why I had

The first question is a bit weird and, frankly, I don't like any options here but I like the part "the smaller one is not up to date" in my answer because of the word "one". From my perspective, "the small(er) is not up to date" sounds clunky because "the small(er)" acts as a nominalized adjective but without "one" it seems like it's lacking something. Maybe I'm wrong.
The second one also caught me off-guard when I saw it. I guess the test creators expected me to answer ", who have no income..." but the third option sounded more natural to my ears. I have looked up online that there's a huge debate about it and more conservative English grammarians would probably put "have" here, not "has". But I just wonder if "has" can be considered more informal, but still correct English?
Any help with these questions is appreciated!


texts: What is the noun form of explicit which implies exactly two states?

texts:
I am looking for the noun form of explicit. The word explicitness seems to me to imply many "levels" of explicitness, but I want to know if is there a noun form of explicit whose value can be either "explicit" or "not explicit".

An example of how one might use this word:

  It may be difficult to interpret the __________ (explicitness) of this song because it is in a foreign language.


texts: I didn't think I had to add an extra z when making it plural, but I did. Why is that? Just some weird anomaly like so many things in English spelling? Or is there a history behind it?


texts: Many non-native speakers pronounce 'azure' like 'Asia' or like 'essure' when naming Microsoft's product Azure - wrong pronunciation or am I mistaken?

texts:
I live in Austria and I am a student in computer science and there is a specific thing that drives me bonkers:
Every time when a person in my vicinity or I am conversing with is mentioning the product "Microsoft Azure", they pronounce the word Azure /ˈeɪʒə/ (like Asia) or /ˈeʃə/ (like pressure without the initial pr).
What is so odd is that not only users of this product or students pronounce it that way, but also representatives from MS who promote this product. So far the representatives I have met have all been non-native English speakers, though.
Sometimes I have corrected the person in such a conversation and telling them it is pronounced /ˈazjʊə/ (like sure with an a the beginning and replacing the s with a zh sound. It is pronounced that way on Leo.org, a commonly used online dictionary.
The primary proof I bring forward however in such a case is the song Rule, Britannia!, in which the word azure is pronounced /azjʊə/ like I mentioned.
My question is: Am I right that everyone who pronounces the name Azure like Asia or essure pronounces it incorrectly, or have I missed anything when learning the English language and I am just plain stupid? Or does the Microsoft product have a different pronunciation to the regular word azure?


texts:
Is it proper to use this instance of two consecutive adverbs separated by a comma?

e.g. "He seriously, actually has this problem."

I have seen some consecutive adverbs be okay, but others not.
Thank you in advance!


texts: Why does the word "hexadecimal" have the prefix "hexa-" if it has a base of 16, not 6?


texts: Etymology of the term "salty" when used as slang

texts:
I often watch Hearthstone streams on Twitch, and many streamers will use the term "salty" to describe their emotions they feel when something unlucky happens to them. It seems to be synonymous with the word "bitter." Is this the origin of the term? If so, it seems a bit confusing, as I wouldn't describe the taste of salt as bitter. If not, am I missing something obvious?

Edit: More to the point, what's caused the resurgence of this term in recent years?


texts: Is it possible to have an interrogative after an imperative connected with coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence?

texts:
I know rephrasing, using semicolon, or just splitting it into two sentences are probably the possible options here (the best choice, however, is my side question). Consider the following as examples:

Please tell us the best choice. Why is that?

Tell me your name.  Where are you from?

Is it correct to say:

Please tell us the best choice, and why/why is that?
Tell me your name, and where are you from?

If the answer is no, What is the explanation and the rule that won't allow it to connect a question to an imperative with a coordinating conjunction.


texts: Is "strategization" a word, or is there something more correct/appropriate?

texts:
Is strategization a word? As in:

  We noticed flaws in their accounting department so the project will
  include a QuickBooks strategization.

[EDIT] As @tchrist points out, this isn't the best example, so here's a better one:

  Strategization and conceptualization with teams of designers,
  developers, and animators

I've searched and found it seems like it should be by this, unless they are being sarcastic:

  Yeah, the word strategization is a noun form of a verb that already
  came from a noun. The next step would be strategizationize, which I
  would be opposed to in any context if it weren’t for the fact that we
  could then progress to strategizationizationery.

What rationale would be used to determine if this is a word, if it's not specifically in any dictionary? If not a word, what would be more correct? And should I avoid it in a résumé, even though it's the closest thing to the meaning I want, and (possibly) a real word? If spell check and/or HR doesn't like it, and that might doink a job opportunity.


texts: Word cluster for jobs where people perform the functions of

texts:
What are the words for jobs where people perform the following functions :

Classifying things, cataloguing things, annotating things, organizing things.

I thought of things like : natural historian, taxonomist, but I am sure there are a whole lot more.

To be more specific, the context is there is a galactic warehouse full of books and documents and journal articles, and other media resources, and these are going to be searched and annotated, so that the annotated parts can be used in reports.

It's not really analysis, and it's not "research" since it has no specific topic in mind -- it's more cataloguing what the parts of interest are of these documents, (where "interest" is defined by what the document is in itself), putting them into categories, and recording a reference to these annotations in a big card system. The entries in that card system can then be used say in making other resources in future. With proper attribution back to the source.

Kind of like a massive citation project -- so the people who go through and make all these citations / annotations, what would they be called? A cluster of terms is more useful than one because I am not just seeking "an answer" I am trying to think more deeply about what that role is exactly.


texts: Double prepositions: 'a rate of around 30%' or 'a rate around 30%'?

texts:
"The treatment has a complete necrosis rate of around 30%."

Or should the preposition "of" be deleted:

  "The treatment has a complete necrosis rate around 30%."

To me both sentences mean the same, but which one is grammatically correct?


texts: What do you call a document which has no content?

texts:
We refer to a document whose title is blank as "untitled".

Similarly, how do we refer — in one word — to a document which has a title but there is no content?

I searched dictionaries, but the word "uncontented" has different meanings.


texts:
I heard this one in a documentary about foot fetish.

The woman who produces fetish videos says:

  A lot men like feet. But you can only do so many of them.

What does this mean? I googled but couldn't find any idiom like this. I found however similar usages, like:

  "You can only do so many bar crawls. Get some culture into your
  life,..." "You can only do so many tasks at one time, so it makes
  sense to focus in on what is really required." "You can only do so
  many movies in a certain time, so I've acted outside of those ones
  too. So, it wasn't really that big of a thing."

Thank you.


texts: Throwing a pot of water out looking at the clouds

texts:
It  is like  an old  woman throwing   a  pot  of  water out  looking  at the  water  in the clouds

The  above  is  an Indian proverb meaning some  innocent  people foolishly  forego  what  is  preserved  for future
 use   when  they  find  that   something more  useful
 useful is  likely to be   available  in the near  future which  may not  be  available (leaving  something  at  hand in anticipation  of  something  which  is  likely  to  happen and  of  use  in the  future).

I would like  to know a  similar  idiom in English.

(I think  it is  not  a  duplicate  as   I searched  for  similar proberbs but  could not  find out. However, if  anybody  finds  out   and  leave  a  comment, I will delete the post instantly)


texts: The definite article before a noun, if another noun + a numeral are present before as an identifier?

texts:
I know that one may not use the definite article before "noun + numeral" constructs, like "floor six", "room twenty five" etc.

But should it be used in constructs where "noun + numeral" are like an identifier or name, for instance:

(the) "block 6" item, (the) CSS 2.2 specification?


texts: Is it plugin options or plugin’s options?

texts:
You can pass the plugin’s options in here.

  The plugin’s options have been saved.

or

  You can pass the plugin options in here.

  The plugin options have been saved.

I never know which option to choose.

Can someone enlighten me?

NOTE: I know that ’s means possession.


texts: Word or idiom for someone who is the pride of their family

texts:
I'm looking for a word describing someone of whom everyone in their family is proud of. I found golden boy, or golden girl. What else could I use?

For example:

  Susan was a straight A student, she was very nice and never got into fights. Whenever I would get bad grades or my teachers complained about my behavior, my parents would ask me why couldn't I be more like Susan. Susan was the family's golden girl.

Up to now, I found:

outlier: someone very successful and unlike others in the group
boy/girl wonder
success story
wunderkind
prodigy
whiz kid.

  Pride and joy

was suggested by one of the answers, and is closest to what I'm looking for.

  Little Miss Perfect

is another phrase I found, though I think it carries a negative connotation.


texts: Is there English proverb or saying equivalent to Chinese / Japanese common proverb 李下に冠を正さず- Don’t touch (redress) your coronet under the plum tree?

texts:
Recently I made an inadvertent  mistake, which reminded me a familiar Japanese proverb to admonish us to stay away from situation and the likelihood to be suspected as a rule-offender.
It is a set of words, 李下に冠を正さず - Don’t touch your coronet under the plum tree, and瓜田に靴を入れずDon’t wear shoes in cucurbit field, lest you should be suspected as a cucurbit or plum fruit thief.

I understand the proverb came from the passage, 君子防未然。不処嫌疑間。瓜田不納履、李下不正冠 that can be translated as “Gentlemen prevent problems in advance.  Don’t wear shoes in cucurbit field. Don’t touch your coronet under the plum tree,” in君子行 (Gentleman’s Conduct) in Chinese classic literature,古楽府.

We also have a proverb, 転ばぬ先の杖 – Walk with a stick before you stumble (on stone) referring to preparedness, but it’s different from李下に冠を正さず in meaning.

Are there similar English proverbs or maxims as李下に冠を正さずthat admonish us to keep away from the habit, or taking action to get involved in the unexpected problem or disaster as a result? I would like to tell it to myself.


texts: How do you pronounce #winning aloud? Would it be hashtag winning, hash winning, pound winning, winning or something else? This goes for all hashtags.


texts: English equivalent for the Persian expression "To keep one's face red with slap"

texts:
In Persian we have a saying "صورت را با سیلی سرخ نگه داشتن" which literally translates to:

To keep one's face red(warm) with slap

It's used in a situation in which a person, if poor or unfortunate, tries to uphold his/her outward appearance  in a good way in order that others won't notice his/her (financial) issues.
For example:
Assume you see your close friend after some time and you realize he is wearing a nice perfume and has put on some flashy clothes. Here is the conversation:

Alice: Wow Bob! You're looking great. Your new job must have paid off!
Bob:  Thanks but not really, I'm just keeping my face red with slap.

This suggests that although Bob has financial issues, he tries to maintain his appearance so that others wouldn't notice and his honor would be kept.
I tried searching for an English equivalent but nothing came up.
Is there a similar idiom/expression to describe this situation in English?


texts: Is there a specific name for the activity of blowing the bellows?

texts:
In a few European languages, there are words derived from latin calcare - literally to tread, in these words it means to blow bellows, for example in church organs; in Polish it's kalikować - a nearly-forgotten word by now, along with Kalikant, which was the name of the occupation - the person performing the work.

Is there a counterpart to that word in English, or did English always use plain "blowing the bellows"?


texts: The "to~" infinitive always implies the future, except for preference Like and Love

texts:
A fellow teacher said to me that the to~ infinitive always implies the future..."to eat", "to swim" etc. I disagreed and said that I thought it was abstract and had no tense in of itself.

He pointed out that most of the uses of the infinitive are always to do with the future....obligation, plans, promises, expectation, orders etc.

So, "I promise to eat my vegetables" is correct, because it implies the future...

but the gerund form "verb/noun +ing" cannot be used because it doesn't imply the future: "I promise eating my vegetables".

So far so good...but, I said, what about one of the most basic gerund/infinitive questions asked by students:
 I like swimming +
 I like to swim.

Here, "to swim" implies an ongoing habit. So it is not inherently in the future-tense...

My colleague countered that through usage, probably over hundreds of years, a usage developed to do with preference...(like, love etc) which formed an exception to the basic rule: Infinitive "to~" = Future.

So, my colleague believes that the infinitive is inherently in the future tense.....and the "I like to eat pineapples" preference usage is just an EXCEPTION that developed through possible misuse over time.

Is he right?


texts: What is the difference between a sliver and a chip in the meaning of broken piece of something?


texts:
He was charged with killing 13 people.
  He was charged with having killed 13 people.
  He was charged with the crime he killed 13 people.

I suppose the phrase no. 1 is correct but the others also make sense or are they grammatically wrong?


texts: Why does English spelling use silent letters?

texts:
Why have a letter in a word when it’s silent in pronunciation, like the b in debt?

Can anyone please clarify my uncertainty here?


texts: Does English have an equivalent to the Arabic "Far away from you"?

texts:
Arabic has an idiomatic expression which translates as "Far away from you". Is there something similar in English?

If something low or contemptible is cited the expression usually immediately follows it in a sentence, to diminish the ignobility, impudence and lowliness in it or believed to be in it.

For example: "I was walking the other day and I stepped in some dog mess, far away from you," then one proceeds. It's a sign of done propriety in Arabic.
A reply would be something like 'All bad/lowliness away from you'.

God dignify you (listener), is also used.

Is there some similar distancing idiom used in English?


texts: A word describing a person who doesn't overcomplicate things?

texts: I'm trying to put together a decent résumé and am looking for a meliorative word to describe someone who concentrates on keeping things simple for both himself and other people (boss, clients etc). This one had me stumped.


texts: restrictive relative pronoun clause and antecedent

texts:
The Plaintiff claims that the Defendant, MICHAEL DOE, owed a duty to the Plaintiff, which duty was breached by the said Defendant, the particulars of which breach are as follows:
  (a) driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway;
  (b) failing to keep a proper lookout or any lookout at all; . . .

I thought it should be corrected as

  The Plaintiff claims that the Defendant, MICHAEL DOE, owed a duty to the Plaintiff which was breached by the said Defendant, the particulars of which are as follows: . . .

There are 2 relative pronouns (which) in the original sentence.

The antecedent of the first which: "a duty"
The antecedent of the second which: the former clauses—the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty which was breached by him

Shouldn’t the first which have a comma before itself because the clause is a restrictive clause modifying “a duty”? Or is it ok to have a comma because the antecedent (“a duty”) is away from the relative pronoun (“which”)?
Someone told me that "duty" in "which duty was breached" is just added for emphasis. Is it grammatically accepted to add a word of the antecedent after the relative pronoun for emphasis?
Regarding Question 2, is “breach” also added for emphasis or to prevent the reader from misreading it? For example, without “breach” a reader can think the antecedent of the second which is the whole former clauses—the plaintiff claims that the defendant owed a duty which was breached by him. There is no word “breach” as a noun (except the only one in the relative pronoun clause), but only the past participle “breached”. If it’s ok to add a word after the relative pronoun for helping the reader or for emphasis, does the word to be added not have to be exactly the same word that has already been said?


texts: Differences between "inasmuch as" vs "as much as"

texts: Can anyone provide me with some examples illustrating the differences between mentioned adjectives. Is it possible to use them interchangeably on various occasions?


texts: What is the shortcut style of writing used by Indian English speakers called?

texts:
One of the things I do is teaching people how to code and I love it. However, something I do not like, is that often (twice a week or so), people start conversations like this:

hi sir
how r u sir
sir , can u help me
can u show me how i can do dis
pls saaaar , help me 4 free

I found that most of these guys are Indians (or at least, from this geographical area). I do love Indians (and all people in general), but I really do not like this type of writing.
The closest thing I found is Indian English:

Indian English is any of the forms of English characteristic of India.

However, I'm pretty sure that Indian English does not include this unpleasant style of writing.
From my experience, the specifics are:

exaggerated use of sir (sometimes saa...aar)

lowercase letters

lack of punctuation, but not lack of commas

commas have a space before and after

chat shortcuts:

you → u
are → r
for → 4
this → dis
please → pls or plzzzz

What I want to find out is:

What's the term/name to describe this style?
How and when did it appear? What's the history about this style?
Why is sir so much used?

I do not intend this to be in any way racist or something similar, but I'm just trying to understand why and how.


texts: Is there a form of "Anglicize" for other countries, specifically Ireland?

texts: "Anglicize" carries the meaning of making someone or something English in form or character. However, is there a variation for this for other countries? Hence, as a foreigner living in Ireland, if my mannerisms and behaviour become more "Irish", can I say that I was "Irishcized"? How about other European countries, such as Spain, France, Poland?


texts:
When I want to translate the French sentence "Oh, c'est dommage que tu n'aies pas eu ton examen" into english, I think about:

"It's a shame that you didn't pass your exam" => This sounds very strong / agressive / blaming!
"It's a pity that ..."
"Too bad ..."

In French, "C'est dommage" is very neutral, it involves no judgement. No one would get offended if you say "C'est dommage que tu n'aies pas eu ton examen".

However, it seems to me that the translation "It's a shame" sounds very blaming. One reason for that is that "shame" also means "honte" in French, which is a very strong bad feeling.

In English, is "It's a shame" neutral or does it contain a little bit of blame? like when saying "Shame on you"?


texts: What does the phrase,“live by the sash, die by the sash” mean?

texts:
There was the following passage in the New York Time’s (October 1st) article that came under the title, “Donald Trump’s pathetic fraternity”::

  He (Newt Gingrich) piped up to say that Machado deserved to be shamed
  for her weight gain. His reasoning went something like this: Live by
  the sash, die by the sash. It’s amazing how much physical license men
  will give themselves while giving women none. It’s amazing how
  oblivious they are to the paradox.

Readers English Japanese Dictionary published Kenkyusha defines “sash” simply as
a decoration shoulder belt (officially worn by army officers and noblemen / women)

OALD at hand gives the definition of “sash” as a noun meaning;
1.a long strip of fabric worn around the waste or over shoulder.
2.a pair of windows.

But I’m unable to relate a Venezuelan-born American actress with any of these definitions and the above-quoted phrase, “live by the sash, die by the sash.”

What does “live by the sash, die by the sash” mean? Is it a well-established idiom, or just a Gingrich's play of word?


texts:
Keep the book right on the table.
Keep the food down on the floor.

Are the words right and down  working as adverbs  or prepositions here?

If they're adverbs,  what do they modify?

If they're prepositions,  what are their objects?