texts: A direct, ironic response to "How are you?" indicating that the person is in a bad mood

texts:
Imagine person A asks person B, how B is doing. B is doing bad and he or she is upset with the question (after all, nobody wants to admit that he or she is screwing his or her life up).

What kind of a phrase can B use in order to tell A that

he is doing badly,
he doesn't like to be asked the bad state of his or her affairs and
he doesn't care about being polite?

In Russian, there is a phrase "My things are as white as soot" (white means good, black - bad). Since the response rhymes with the question, that sentence has a particularly sarcastic tone.

I'm looking for something similar in English.


texts:
Modal vs Non-Modal vs Auxiliary modal vs Conjugated Verb

How are these kinds of verb related to each other?
Specially Non-Modals and Conjugated Verb.
Is the "Auxiliary modal" just another name for "Auxiliary verb"?


texts: Is there a proverb for "a problem looks so simple when you know the solution"?

texts:
I think I have seen one or two proverbs before that are used in situations where someone thinks a problem/puzzle is very easy but only because he/she has heard the answer to the problem/puzzle.

Is anyone familiar with those proverbs?


texts: Are there words that describe the head-hairs, just being curious.


texts: Talking about general truths but within a context that uses past tense

texts:
Pikachu strolled along the street blissfully unaware that the Earth is
  round.

or

  Pikachu strolled along the street blissfully unaware that the Earth was
  round.

What is the rule/preference for such cases when we talk about general truths but within a context that uses the past tense?


texts: Why do some words with similar meanings sound similar as well?

texts:
I just noticed while writing a few examples of similar words that uncannily sound like each other phonetically.

Examples:
An example is the similar words: “gleaming”, “glittering”, “glinting”, and “glimmering”.

Also: “repulsive” and “repugnant” are interesting.

There are more words like this but I can’t think of them immediately on the spot. Obviously English is a rich language and thus one can find numerous examples seemingly showing different things, but is this to do with the roots of the words? As in, do they actually share the same etymology or are they just coincidental?


texts: "his" may be more suitable but why is "him" not ok ?

texts:
Consider the following :

A friend of him came here yesterday.
A friend of his came here yesterday.

My question is which one is acceptable.  If both are acceptable, do they have any difference in meaning.

Hope somebody knowledgable could help ...


texts:
is this the correct sentence?

I have forwarded it to the client.

I am sending an email to my boss and i want to tell him that i have sent his email to the client So the above sentence is correct or not?


texts:
Is it more correct to say

  a) John was appointed as manager of ACME.

or

  b) John was appointed manager of ACME.

Or are they interchangeable?


texts: Is there a technical term for the situation where a possessive noun compounded with another noun form the name of a very specific object?

texts: I'm not a linguist so please excuse this clumsily worded question: Is there a technical term for the situation where a possessive noun compounded with another noun form the name of a very specific object, such as "housemaid's knee", or "bosun's chair"? How about where a proper noun and another noun are combined, as in "Adam's apple", or Hammurabi's code"? Does the same linguistic term apply?


texts: Grammar: French conditionnel in English?

texts:
Could anybody help me here, please? I’d like to know the grammatical form of the verb “can" in the following examples:

  18y old Tim is asked by a relative what he’s going to do with his
  life. After some hesitation, he finally answers: “Well, I COULD help
  my father on the farm - but I’m not sure if I want to be a farmer. I
  COULD also go to university but I don’t like studying… or I COULD
  train really hard and become a football pro. I don’t now yet, too many
  options…” Ten years later, Tim is lying on the street, an empty wine
  bottle in his hand, and he’s saying: “What ever happened to me,… I
  COULD HAVE become a football pro, if only I had tried harder,... or I
  COULD HAVE helped my father - but now he’s sold the farm.”

It's like conditionnel 1 and conditionnel 2 in French ("je pourrais / j’aurais pû”), but how is it called in English?

Thank you!


texts: How to start a sentence with "To name a few"? or any alternative phrase for an academic document?

texts:
How I can start a sentence with "To name a few"? I have read this post.
I am writing a paper and for saying how important is the topic, I want to add a few examples. I do not want to list everything and want to just mention two examples with emphasizing on this point that these two are just examples and there are a lot of usages for the topic. I chose "To name a few" but it is usually used at the end of sentence. How I can use it at the beginning or any alternative phrase?


texts:
He sandwiches tastier by spreading a little bit of cranberry sauce on the bread.

In the above sentence, is "little bit" redundant? Should it be either "little" or "bit"?

I checked the pair of words in books.google.com/ngrams, and the result was;

language-tool says, "Reduce redundancy by using 'little' or 'bit'.".


texts: "Why is this not" versus "why is not this"

texts:
Should I use "why is this not" or "why is not this?"

Or are both correct?


texts:
I want to say that noise in a circuit varies widely in different parts of an electrical circuit.
Is this sentence correct:
'In this design, the noise may vary widely from part to part'.
Besides, using extensively instead of widely has the same meaning in above sentence?


texts: Grammatically and meaning of "He has started feeling the heat of the chill"

texts:
He has started feeling the heat of the chill.

Is the above sentence grammatically correct and does it make some sense?
We know that the word "heat" can be used in the following ways - "... in the heat of the moment" or "... feeling the heat".

So in the above sentence, is the writer trying to emphasize the cold weather?


texts: What is the name of this type of word: "Mr.", "Ms.", "Dr."?

texts: What is this type of word called: Mr., Ms., Dr.? In the document I am using, it is referred to as the "prefix", but I don't think that is correct.


texts: Mixing plural and singular list items with a single verb

texts:
A friend wants to write,

There is no hardware to purchase, no additional software to install and no key fobs to worry about.

This is awkward because the verb "is" doesn't match up with the third item, which is plural and demands "There are" as the subject. However,

There is no hardware to purchase, no additional software to install and there are no key fobs to worry about.

sounds awkward as well.

Is there a good workaround for this problem where some list items are singular and some are plural, so they don't share a common verb?


texts: What is the difference between a forefather and an ancestor?

texts:
Stumbled upon this question today while going through synonyms of various terms. I was advised that they are not synonymous to each other.

Please advise.


texts:
I am interested in the Drama So (alias Gen-X So) and came across the following example in a paper, which is a typical example of Drama So where 'So' modifies a VP rather than a scalable.adjective or adverb.

(6) I so rock at this.

As far as my little research goes, I could not find a suitable meaning of 'rock at' in the sentence.  I am wondering what the sentence means.  Is 'rock at' here a colloquial use of 'rock'?


texts: photographers' club of detroit or photographers club of detroit?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “User's guide” vs. “users' guide”

I prefer non-possessive form of the name of the club: photographers club of Detroit. Is it correct?


texts: Is this sentence construction wrong, where "going home" has other implied meaning, the origin and span of which isn't known?

texts:
I stumbled upon this article about the origins of some unusual idioms and phrases, as I have heard many of them being used popularly.
But I was bit shocked and frustrated when I read this sentence which seems to be constructed wrongly(even though it is only created to exemplify a different phrase).

Pixie should never have gone home in that Dance-Off. She wiped the floor with Simon.

Was there any separate, short-lived, short-spanned phrase "going home" where it means any style of dance like "free style" or "original style" / "ethnic style" which could represent a knowledge of unique moves which his/her dance(or any activity) competitor doesn't know of ?
Because I have never heard of(or stumbled upon while researching) any sentence where "going home" means anything other than just going home


texts: Is Apple's Old Slogan, "Think Different", grammatically incorrect?

texts: Not too long ago, Apple Computer used the phrase "Think Different" as an ad slogan. Is this a grammatical error (that is, it should be "Think Differently"), or are they trying to say something else (and what would it be)?


texts: Has a dead metaphor ceased to be a metaphor?

texts:
In its simplest sense, a metaphor is a figure of speech where, essentially, a simile is ellipted to what is apparently a false statement, but as the intention is to emphasise the similarity rather than deceive, this is an accepted linguistic device.

  Bob is like a tiger.

  Bob is a tiger.

John Lawler is an expert on pointing out in his invaluable and fascinating contributions the extended metaphors on which a lot of our language is built, such as the container metaphor(s) and up-is-achievement metaphor. In a recent post, he pointed out that 'zenith' is used metaphorically as 'high point [of eg a career]'.

However, Wikipedia has this to say about dead metaphors:

  There is debate among literary scholars whether so-called "dead
  metaphors" are dead or are metaphors. Literary scholar R.W. Gibbs
  noted that for a metaphor to be dead, it would necessarily lose the
  metaphorical qualities that it comprises. These qualities, however,
  still remain. A person can understand the expression "falling
  head-over-heels in love" even if they have never encountered that
  variant of the phrase "falling in love."

  Analytic philosopher Max
  Black argued that the dead metaphor should not be considered a
  metaphor at all, but rather classified as a separate vocabulary
  item.[2] If the verb "to plough" retained the simple meaning of "to
  turn up the earth with a plough," then the idea of a car "ploughing
  through traffic" would clearly be a metaphor. The expression would be
  a comparison between the motion of the plough cutting through the soil
  and a car speeding through traffic. In order to understand it, one
  would need to grasp the comparison. However, "to plough" has taken on
  an additional meaning of "to move in a fast and uncontrolled manner,"
  and so to say that a car "ploughed through the traffic" is a literal
  statement. No knowledge of the original metaphorical symbolism is
  necessary to understanding the statement.

For 'zenith', Elliott Frith found a dictionary definition:

  Zenith   noun

  the strongest or most successful period of time

Should we revise our usage of the word 'metaphor' in such cases?


texts: Is there a connotative difference between "leniency" and "lenity"?

texts: Being no native speaker, I cannot discern the difference between those two. Could someone help me, please?


texts: "Her mind was less difficult to develop" — Jane Austen

texts:
A line from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice confuses me:

  Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper.

I'm aware that Mrs. Bennet is less intelligent than her husband (this line is talking about her), but if her mind was less difficult to develop, would it not mean she was more intelligent? Surely the more difficult it is to develop a mind, the less intelligent that person is?

I feel as if I'm being stupid and missing something, but I really don't understand it.


texts: What is the word for a person who worships but never helps others?

texts: There is a person who is always worshipping God, and also never harms a soul. But he never helps others or explains what he knows. What could I call such a person?


texts:
(if you can think of a better title please change it, I know it's bad)

Is there a name for an answer to a question that does nothing but rephrase the question in an answer form? For example, if you were asked something that you didn't know the answer to and were trying to be funny / intentionally not helpful.

Examples:

  Q: What is a dog house?
  A: It's a house for dogs.
  Q: What is the typeDefinitionAccessCode variable used for?
  A: It's used to store the access code of the type definition.


texts: Are there local differences in the definitions of cleaning and tidying?

texts: Do the words cleaning and tidying translate differently in different English speaking countries? Specifically, would vacuuming always be considered part of tidying AND cleaning?


texts: On the syntax of "just" with a "that-clause."

texts:
I'm trying to work things through,

(a) It's just that they won

(b) She thinks just that they won (???)

(c) She just thinks that they won

In (a), just can appear immediately before the "that-clause," but not in (b), which means that we need (c). Why is this? I could say that it's because we have linking verb "be" in (a) and a lexical verb in (b), but that's where I get stuck. Can anything else be said about this?  What's the underlying  syntax that makes (a) and (c) acceptable, but not (b)?

Thanks in advance.


texts: "Just" vs "already": which one is sooner?

texts:
Which one is sooner or closer to now?

  I've just called him.
  I've already called him.


texts: Starting a sentence with “hitherto” in context of writing a biography?

texts:
Would it be okay to start a sentence about my experience with something like this:

  Hitherto I have worked for XYZ companies …

I have checked Google News and found the word used mainly in the middle of sentences like:

  ... hitherto unknown ...
  ... hitherto unrecorded ...
  ... hitherto unbeaten ...
  ... hitherto absent ...
  ... hitherto dilapidated ...

If this does not fit inm I will use to date.


texts: A word to refer to a text fragment that is not transcribed (or probably transcribed incorrectly) from spoken material?

texts:
Let’s say I want to decipher (transcribe) some spoken material (voice) to text, but after doing this, I doubt if some parts have been transcribed correctly. What is appropriate word to describe such parts?
Another situation: when someone says something, but you cannot decipher some part to convert it to a written text. How to refer to such parts? “Gaps”? “Blanks”?


texts: Is there a grammar rule that defines the properties of a legally accepted word

texts:
I would like to know if there is a grammar rule(s) that defines whether a word is gramatically legal or not. I understand a word is given meaning by a human and anyone can give meaning to anything. Therefore I realize it is probably impossible to create a set of laws that can absolutely define the legality of a string of letters. Barring that extreme example, is there a practical/general set of such rules?

For example, I remember my grade 2 teacher saying that if a word does not contain at the minimum 1 vowel, then it is not a legal word. Based on that principle, I might claim that the word 'lkjsdlf' is not a legal word.

Is there a generally accepted set of grammatical parameters that define whether a word is legal or not (apart from looking it up in a dictionary)?

The reason I'm asking this is to determine if it's possible to programmatically validate a word (rather than using a list of 100,000+ words from a dictionary). The goal is to categorize 'lkjsdlf' and 'apple' as 'invalid' and 'valid' respectively.


texts: 'A something shared is an something doubled'?

texts: Is there an English phrase that expresses the idea that sharing something (a meal, a drink, a piece of cake) increases your own enjoyment of it?


texts: Rule or white list of words that can be prefixed with "up-" or "down-"

texts:
Some words (verbs and nouns) can get up- or down- attached before them to get new meaning. For example,

Grade becomes upgrade or downgrade.
Vote becomes upvote or downvote.
Load becomes upload or download.

Is there any rule or white list of words that can be prefixed with up- or down-?


texts: What do you call a man who desires to have a lifelong, non-sexual but intimate relationship with a woman?

texts:
The man lives in the same house with a woman but he never has sex or desires to have sex.
He is comfortable being nude with her and so is she, but there is no sexual touching or lust.
He cuddles her and they do things socially together.
He sleeps in the same bed with her but without any sexual contact.
He supports and provides for her, but they are not married or joined together.
He deeply loves the woman but cannot marry her.


texts: Is it customary to call the former President George W. Bush “W.”, and Mrs. Bush “Bar”, in public?

texts:
Maureen Dowd deals with the comments of the former first lady, Barbara Bush in NBC’s the Today Show in her article titled ‘Silver Fox’s pink slip’ in New York Times (April 27):

  “Asked on the “Today” show whether she thought her son Jeb should run
  for president in 2016, as W. has urged, the famously candid and
  caustic Silver Fox offered the most honest assessment of her
  oldest son’s legacy.

    “He’s by far the best qualified man, but no, I really don’t,” she said
    when asked if her second son should aim to be the third Bush in chief.
    “I think it’s a great country. There are a lot of great families, and
    it’s not just four families or whatever.

    But Bar, who was also giving the back of the hand to the Clintons,
    spit out the truth. It is wearying that America, a country that broke
    away from aristocratic England has spawned so many of its own royal
    political families, dynasties that feel entitled to inhabit the White
    House, generation after generation, letting their family competitions
    and tensions shape policy and history to an alarming degree.”

I noticed Dowd likes, and used to call the former President by “W.” in many other places (like W.’s presidency will go down in infamy because he ignored Katrina and the Constitution. / W. and other Bush officials continue to say they could not possibly have known that Saddam had no W.M.D. / Sadly, no one in W.’s inner circle studied the issue), and the former first lady by Bar.

Is it a customary way of Americans to call dignitary’s names by an initial or an abbreviation like “W” and “Bar,” or is it just Ms Dowd’s idiosyncrasy?

Does Mr. George W. Bush’s father pass simply by the by-name, H. everywhere as his son does with W.? Are there many Presidents who were called just by an initial besides W. and JFK (Oh, I forgot to add FDR)?

I’m asking this because we have no habit of calling, and nobody would dare to call our Prime Minister (ex-Prime Ministers) and dignitaries by an initial, first name, or without titles.

By the way, what does ‘Silver Fox’ mean, and why Mrs. Barbara Bush is called so?
If I called your mom 'Hey, Silver fox,' instead of Mrs. so-and-so, doesn't it sound rude or offensive to your mom, and you?


texts: Do people really think "muslin" has something to do with "Muslim"?

texts:
My boss just floored me with a doozy of an assertion: he had me change someone's password, which contained the word "muslin", because "you can't go calling people Muslims in this day and age".

Yeah, jaw, meet floor; floor, meet jaw.

Anyway, so I looked up the etymologies, and sure enough, while both ultimately derive from Arabic words, that's as close as the relationship comes. But my boss was adamant: he believes that, all facts aside, people associate "muslin" the fabric with "Muslim" the religion. I certainly have never encountered such an association. Has anybody else?


texts: What is the name for an argument which is much easier to argue against implementing it than in favor of it?

texts:
There seems to be a class of arguments in which one person tries to justify some investment (some sort of 'cost' such as money or time) by argueing that it helps mitigate the situation that some (supposed?) risk manifests as a problem. For example:

We should get this car insurance because when we have an accident, the costs will be high.
We should spend time on training our teaching staff because doing so too late may cause people to not send their children to our school.
We should work on improving the logging functionality of our software such that if a customer reports a bug, we have a better chance of diagnosing the cause.

Typically, such arguments are difficult because the person trying to justify the investment is basing her argument on a potential win whereas the counter-argument is based on a concrete cost.

I once heard the term "uphill argument" (and have been using it ever since) for this kind of situation where it's much easier to argue against some decision than in favor of it. I imagine it's derived from an 'uphill battle' in which the party further up the hill requires less effort than the party down the hill. I wonder: is there an 'official', commonly acknowledged name for it?


texts: "There is good reason" vs "there is a good reason"

texts:
There was a similar question about the sentence without reason compared to without reasons.

However here I want to ask you, is it idiomatic (and in which particular parts of the world) to omit the article a in front of the word reason in there is good reason?

I have met this expression multiple times in one scientific book written by an Australian native English speaker.


texts: What do we call the combination of a number and a unit

texts:
As a Software Engineer I give my best to find descriptive names for specific concepts. That is a very important task to reduce software complexity. Naming concepts can be really hard and today I’d like some help.

This is a number: 1
And this is a unit: kg

What do you call the combination of both? (e.g. "1kg")

I thought about:

Unified number
Typed number
Number specification
Number unit
Measurable number
Comparable number
Discriminated number
Tagged number

But I believe they are confusing and do not describe the concept well enough. My favourite is “discriminated number”.

Is there a name for that concept in the English language? It doesn’t have to be a single word. But more than two words is impractical and people will find other short words that do not express the concept clearly enough.

The word I am looking for will be used like this:
“This is an invalid ___. That’s why you cannot run your program correctly.”

or

“I’ve configured all valid ___s but the program still doesn’t recognize this variation!”


texts: Why is "ouster" the act of ousting and not one who ousts?

texts:
The question should be clear enough from the title.

Also:  What are we supposed to call one who ousts?  [If this warrants another question, I will edit this out and open another question.]


texts: Should we use "lay" or "lays" in this context?

texts:
I found this sentence in Longman dictionary:

  The crux of the problem lay in the lack of equipment.

I think it should be "lays" instead of "lay", but even when I googled, I noticed there are more results for "lay" than are for "lays" in this context. Could you please explain which one is correct?


texts: Phrase for someone taking over business when you skip for humanity

texts:
Is there a witty or general saying of indicating the act of taking over a business when a person, business or country skips an opportunity for general benevolence?

Examples:

If I don't sell weapons to country X someone else will.
If the Dutch give up the international taxation benefit regulation,  the Swiss will fill the gap.


texts: Is “Prewin” a well-received English word?

texts:
I find Maureen Dowd’s article in November 24 NY-Times titled “But can they eat 50 eggs?”amusing. She compares the leadership and charm of character between President Obama and Robert Griffin III, the quarterback of the Washington Redskins in the article.
But I was caught by the word, “a prewin slump,” which I’ve never heard of, in the following sentence:

  "While Obama has developed an unnerving and enervating pattern of going
  into a prewin slump — as in New Hampshire and Texas in the 2008
  primaries or the first debate with Mitt Romney — RGIII never allows
  his batteries to run down while he’s playing."

I thought it’s “pre-winning” meaning pre-victory, and I checked Cambridge, Oxford and Merriam-Webster online dictionaries as I always do before posting a question. None of them registers “Prewin” nor “Pre-win.” Google Ngram neither shows any incidence of “Prewin” and “Pre-win.”

What does “Prewin” slump mean? Is this a well-received English noun or adjective, or Dowd’s customary creative coinage?


texts: Where did the expression "it's lonely at the top" come from?

texts:
Some variations of this are

  it's lonely at the top but you eat better

and

  it's lonely at the top but the view is nice

a look at google ngrams seems to suggest it started to pick up in the 1920's but I don't know where to go after that...


texts: Word or phrase for help that is really not helpful

texts: Is there a word, phrase or idiom that describes someone who is trying to help but actually hindering?  I find this a lot in a work context but sure it's common elsewhere.  I even think there may be a term for this in improv comedy.  Another possible application is those people who add comments that start with "I don't know but...."


texts: Meaning of 'Pivots' in the below context

texts:
1. There are exceptions, of course, but most great companies start with a great idea, not a pivot.

If you look at successful pivots, they almost always are a pivot into something the founders themselves wanted, not a random made up idea.


texts:
Is this statement constructed correctly?

  So because of their compatibility they were able to work closely
  together as a strong team should

Particularly, is it OK for it to end in should? If not, what rule is it breaking?


texts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcology

Says Paolo coined the word.  But the concept was in use in SF as early as 1899.

I'd like to know when this word was coined, so that I could check my old SF to see if I can find it prior to that date.


texts:
I'm looking for a verb that means to remove decoration from a room, in the sense of taking paintings off walls or removing furniture. I would prefer a word that has negative connotations.

I though of "redecorate", but redecorating involves adding new decoration and sounds too positive.


texts:
Pushdown element is a term used in CGEL, by Quirk. et al.
I don't understand how this term is made up. Does it mean the element was pushed down.?


texts: What's the noun based on the adverb 'deliberately'?

texts: If I do something with a great sense of purpose, if I do it extremely... intentionally and deliberately. I do it with... deliberalcy? Deliberacy? My searches have returned nothing.


texts: Which one is correct to say 3 in 1 celebration or 3 in 1 celebrations

texts:
I'm making one tarpaulin for my mom, dad and brother and we don’t know  which one is correct to say:

three-in-one celebrations
a three-in-one celebration

In other words, is three-in-one celebration(s) a singular or plural noun phrase?

(We'll write the banner using digits (a) 3 in 1 celebration(s)).


texts:
Does this sound fine?

  'Not only Sarah, but also Jim didn't like Paris.'

I am wondering if not can be used twice, even though the use of not is quite different in each position, as in the above.
Is this sentence grammatically correct, either when written or spoken?


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "Never Put a Hat on a Bed"?

texts:
I came across the phrase "never put a hat on a bed" while playing Google Feud. It was the top result for "Never put a _______". I looked it up, and found out that there's a superstition that says that if you put a hat on a bed, it's bad luck.

I tried to find an explanation for this, and got many different ones without any sort of supporting evidence.

Does anyone know the origin of this phrase, preferably with something resembling evidence?


texts: I see in legal writing the use of double brackets in a quote to indicate part of the quote is deleted, such as:  "All work [] makes Johnny a very dull boy."  I thought the correct way to do this quote would have been "All work ... makes Johnny a very dull boy."  Could you tell me when the brackets with no words between them is used correctly?  Thanks.


texts: Phrase that encapsulates flawed logic in making the excuse "everyone does it"?

texts: I heard someone use a phrase that I thought perfectly captures this but can't remember it.  It was used in a situation where what someone did was clearly wrong, but they pointed out that everyone else was doing the same thing.


texts: Alternative for "all for one, one for all"

texts: Looking for an alternative idiom/phrase, etc. for the titular term. Any idea?


texts: How did 'oyster' come to mean 'an extremely taciturn person'?

texts:
Merriam-Webster definition #4 of 'oyster': 'an extremely taciturn person'.

Since Online Etymology Dictionary says nothing about, can anybody say when and how 'oyster' assumed that meaning?


texts: Is "Does" or "Did" dropped when it occurs at the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
I watch a lot of American shows and I noticed that the actors tend to drop "does" or "did" from the dialogue when a sentence begins with it. For example:
Does she have a name? becomes She have a name?
Did you do it? becomes You do it?
Not sure if this is a common occurrence in other cultures as well. I wanted to know if this is a general rule in english to verbally drop the "does" or "did" when a sentence begins with it.


texts: How should a multiple-word noun be punctuated within a compound adjective?

texts:
I would like to use a noun made of multiple words (like particle board, Mount Everest, or windscreen wiper) in a compound adjective with a hyphen.  But I don't know how to hyphenate such a composition.  I'm not sure how common this situation is, so here's an example:

Machine learning is a single noun made of two words, and I want to use it in a compound adjective with a hyphen.

Are either of the following examples correct?

  I would like to pursue a machine learning-related certification.
  I would like to pursue a machine-learning-related certification.

If not, then what is the correct way to hyphenate compound adjectives like this?


texts: Term for locally installed and fully owned software

texts:
I am having a bit of trouble coming up with an appropriate term for software that is locally installed, and fully owned by the buyer. This would be the opposite of the term "software as a service", which usually refers to a software service that is rented and most often installed outside the organisation (e.g. Cloud software). Would you have any suggestions?

"Local installation" is what comes to mind first, but it doesn't quite fit the bill here since it doesn't indicate the ownership explicitly.


texts: I do not know how they are different when they are used as a grading system ? Can I say a pointing system or a marking system?


texts: Is there a shorter way of saying "travelers on the road to self discovery"?

texts: As in the exclamation, "Calling all travelers on the road to self discovery."


texts: What is the difference between 'while' and 'whilst'? When to use them?


texts:
You throw no low blows and rise above the rest.

What does it mean?


texts:
Just wondering if the following sentence is correct:

"A and B are never on par."

Is it equivalent to saying that A and B are not equal?

Must the phrase "on par" always be followed by "with"?


texts: The meaning of the phrase I'll wait you out

texts: I heard this phrase in the TV show Grimm. Does it mean that I'll wait until you come out of the house?


texts: Reservation "under the name", "in the name", or "by the name" of Ms. X

texts:
Which idiom of "by the name", "under the name", and "in the name" is appropriate for reservations?

e.g.

There's a reservation by the name of Cullen...

She made the reservation in the name of Jordan Sinclair...

Make your reservation under the name of ECW...

Instinctively, I would go for "under", but I'm just not positively sure.

If all three options actually work, is any of them more typical of a variety of English than another, or they all can be used just about interchangeably in all varieties?


texts: "excursion over city" vs "excursion around city"

texts: Is there any difference in phrases usage? Which one is better for title of a story? The story is about tourists.


texts: A one word replacement when referring to multiple family members

texts:
When you are saying something like

  I'm going Christmas shopping with my aunt and uncle.

is there a replacement for 'aunt and uncle' that is one word?

If not, is the sentence grammatically correct?


texts:
When was can (Oxford Learner's Dicitionary 6)  first used in the sense of ‘jail’?

Etymoline says the sense of ‘airtight container’ is from 1867, and ‘toilet’ from 1900, but it says nothing about ‘jail’.


texts: Relationship between topics and speech acts/dialogue acts in a sentence

texts:
I am still ambiguous about the relationship between topics and speech acts/dialogue acts in a sentence.

Are the topics selected as conditional on speech acts/dialogue acts (or vice versa) in a sentence? Or the both of topics and speech acts/dialogue acts occur simultaneously?


texts: It is correct to say “ i will report your office sunday for start my duty “

texts: I want to tell him that i will come to your office on sunday to start my duty


texts: What's an adverb meaning "without willing to take 'no' for an answer"?

texts:
I'm thinking perhaps "insistently", but I don't think that conveighs the absoluteness of what I'm looking for and described in the question's title.

Any other ideas?


texts: A saying for something that's good but also has a downside

texts:
I'm trying to transition from a list of pros to a list of cons, and would like to have some sort of transition quote. Something in the form of,

"But, alas, (((something something quote quote)))"

Everything that has a beginning has an end, something along the lines of that.


texts: Alternative to "Hear" With Written Communication

texts:
In person a person may say something like the following:

  I would really like to hear what you have to say about X.

On a forum (or other forms of written communication), I often see similar ideas being expressed using the word "hear." Of course, with such communication, the vast majority of the people involved will actually read what the other person has to say. As such, I am looking for an alternative to "hear" that can be used as a drop-in replacement in as many cases as possible.

Also, I know I am probably being a bit pedantic by not just using "hear," but, I would still like to know something that can more accurately convey such ideas.


texts: What does "perfect" in say past perfect imply?

texts:
Many verb tenses such as "past perfect", "present perfect", and "future perfect" exist.

I understand what these tenses mean and when they should be used, but what does the word perfect imply? Are other tenses somehow not perfect?


texts:
(1) Is there any difference/nuance (in mood, meaning, or something else) between "I would not prefer to" or "I would prefer not to"?

(2) Which is the more/most common in usage?


texts: Can I say it this way " People are benefited by social networking "

texts:
Is it correct to say

  People are benefited by Social Networking

when what I really want to say is that

  People benefit from Social Networking


texts:
I'm unsure if I should spell out numbers or not, in this specific case of the thesis:

This is the area I'm concerned with and I tried both approaches:

Setup 1 is a static setup with seven nodes in total, five Zigduinos and two OSGi. There are two publishers and five subscribers.
Setup 2 is a static setup with 13 nodes in total, 10 Zigduinos and 3 OSGi. There are 5 publishers and 10 subscribers
Setup 3 is a static setup with twenty-five nodes in total, twenty Zigduinos and five OSGi. There are 10 publishers and 20 subscribers


texts: "Horicontal" etymology—mistaken foreign spelling of horizontal?

texts:
I came across the word "horicontal" in a technical paper. The context made it clear that its meaning was effectively identical to "horizontal". I looked into it, suspecting a misspelling. I found enough instances of the word in published works that I now think it is more than a mere typo.

It seems to me that I saw "horicontal" used with disproportionately high frequency in technical publications, and in publications with at least one (usually more) German authors.

I'd like to know the etymology of "horicontal"—how did this spelling originate? Does it appear as a translation in foreign dictionaries? I could not find any examples of such.

Here are some examples of "horicontal" in published work:

https://books.google.com/books?id=sj_Ry-MgBQQC&pg=PA1468&dq=horicontal
https://books.google.com/books?id=ZuvrCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA169&dq=horicontal

And a slide originally from the 1918 "Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body", whose Wikipedia Commons file description by two Germans uses the word "horicontal" while the file name uses "horiconatal" which is almost certainly a typo (natal or conatal make no sense in context):

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Telencephalon-Horiconatal.jpg


texts: Priscilla = a girl who prefers to stay home: who might this term have been based on?

texts:
From Flappers to Rappers, a book of American youth slang, records "Priscilla" as a 1920s slang word for a girl who prefers to stay home.

I'm curious to know why the author chose that name. Is there a historical figure named Priscilla who might plausibly be the archetype for a female who doesn't like to venture out?


texts: What do ‘it’ ‘on’ ‘off’ mean in “it’ll be on with the old Invisibility Cloak and off to find out what he’s –“

texts:
I have trouble understanding the bold part.

Harry has a magical map by which he can see where others are. He is looking at the map and paying attention to his enemy schoolboy, Malfoy.

  ”Well, I’m keeping an eye on him (Malfoy) from now on,” he said firmly. “And the moment I see him lurking somewhere with Crabbe and Goyle keeping watch outside, it’ll be on with the old Invisibility Cloak and off to find out what he’s――“  He broke off as Neville entered the dormitory.

(Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (6) [US Version p.388])

If I’m not much mistaken, the general meaning is “I’ll put on the old Invisibility Cloak and depart with haste to find out what he’s up to.” However, I can’t grab the make of the sentence. The problem is ‘it’ on the top of the sentence and ‘on’ and ‘off’. I thought ‘it’ meant Harry’s plan to detect Malfoy’s conspiracy at first, but in that case, I guess ‘off’ means ‘cancel’ or something. I feel it doesn’t make sense. I’m completely confused.

What do ‘it’, ‘on’ and ‘off’ mean?


texts: Is there a term for the first page of a journal or diary where personal info is punched in?

texts: Looking for a term (if there is one) for the first page of a journal or personal diary or the page where personal information is filled in.


texts: Foreign words reborrowed back into English

texts:
Wikipedia mentions several English words that have been reborrowed from Japanese:

Anime comes from animation and has been reborrowed into English to mean Japanese-style animation.
Puroresu comes from professional wrestling and is a term for Japanese-style professional wrestling.
Kosupure comes from cosplay (an abbreviation of costume play) and refers to the practice of dressing in costumes of anime and video game characters.

Do you know other examples of word reborrowings from Japanese or other languages back into English, or vice versa?


texts: Simple present or present perfect simple with "WHEN"?

texts:
From a native speaker's point of view, are these sentences both gramatically acceptable and equally common in spoken/written English?

I'll call you when I get to the gym.
I'll call you when I've got to the gym.


texts: I would do / I would have done - What are the grammar terms of this tense/mood?

texts:
Since my student days I’ve used abbreviations for the tenses. “I would do” is for me
Conditional 1 (C1) and “I would have done” C2. And for me it is not important whether these verb forms are called tenses, moods or aspects.
I recently wanted to talk about these verbs forms and realized I can’t talk of C1 and C2 because these are only my private abbreviations.
I looked up the English names for these forms and found no standard terms. Instead these forms are awkwardly paraphrased.And when a survey of the tenses is given there are only six tenses, the would-forms are generally omitted.

Now my question:  Is there no standard term for these would-forms?


texts:
What do you call a person who only takes advice which agrees with what they initially want?

For instance, John Doe needs to lose some weight to get healthy, but loves sweets so you advise John on eating healthy, but John ignores your advice and agrees with several friends who tell him to go on the doughnut diet.

John ignored the advice because he doesn't like eating healthy and went with the doughnut diet because it agrees with his point and it is convenient to him.

I know there is a word for a person who only takes advice that suits them, but it escapes me.


texts: Is this grammar structure "is at its level" correct?

texts:
Can anybody explain for me how this structure "is at its highest level" is correct.
Example : Confidence in the British economy is at its highest level since the Coalition came to power amid signs the recovery is gathering pace


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Should the words “internet” and “web” be capitalized?

For the most part Internet is capitalized, less frequently it occurs uncapitalized.  Is this a style issue or is one considered more correct.

Subjectively, would the average reader consider using the uncapitalized version to be a mistake / display of poor English?


texts: Is there a term for words that are mistakenly interchanged?

texts:
There are many words that are often used in place of other words, that are not actually synonymous.

Examples:

Disinterested & Uninterested
Ask(ed) & Axe(d)
Literally & Figuratively*

Sometimes this is because the words are similar, sometimes it's born out of hyperbole or irony (eg good & bad), sometimes their are totally obscure reasons this happens.  Regardless, it is common enough that I would expect it to have a term.  Unfortunately trying to google for such a term, because of the way the keywords are used, returns Interminable** results with nothing pertinent within a reasonable depth.

For the record, if an appropriate term does not already exist, I'd like to coin the term pseudosynonym.

*yes, I know technically this is resolved by adding the informal definition to the dictionary.

**yes, I see what I did there, no it was not intentional.


texts: What is it called when someone pays more for a service for personal gain?

texts:
Let's say someone works for a company. They decide to hire a friend to do a service for said company and pay their friend way above market price for said service at the expense of the company. What would that be called if there is a word for it.
Apparently I need to supply context. I'm writing a bit of a short story and would like to sum up this action in one word if possible. The character gets caught doing this action and a fellow worker will confront them about it in a scene.


texts: This long sentence is ambiguous, and difficult for me to understand

texts:
I got this sentence

  Property value litigation is no different than any other type of litigation where experts are used in that expert opinions are fair game for attack by the opposing side in discovery and certainly at trial.

from this website.

I can understand this sentence in two ways:

We have experts' opinions, and then the opposing side attack experts' opinions.
The opposing side has an opinion, and then we use experts' opinions to challenge it.

Which one is more reasonable? I think it's more likely to be the first one.

Thanks.


texts:
If something improves your temper, does it do a good thing or a bad one?

I mean, is improving temper good or bad?


texts: Grammatically correct form of enumeration with "range from * to *"

texts:
Although there are many questions regarding the use of "range from * to *", I could not find the perfectly-fitting inquiry from the search, so I'm asking this question.
Is the following legitimate and grammatically correct?

In business areas ranging from A to B to C, the trend is accelerating.

Note: The reason I didn't put comma is because none of the examples in dictionaries use one between "range from * to *".
Let me know if any use of comma or 'and' is more desirable, such as:

In business areas ranging from A, to B, to C, the trend is accelerating.
In business areas ranging from A, to B, and to C, the trend is accelerating.

I would use other construct if there is more suitable one, but using "range from * to *" seems to capture the nuance best.


texts: I am looking for a word that expresses same size characteristic. To be specific, we can say that "both DVD's are identical". However, identical might imply all characteristics resemblance. I am looking for a word that emphasizes the size resemblance only. Is there such a word?


texts: Any term for someone who pretends to be neutral

texts: Is there any term for someone who pretends to be neutral (in discussion), but in fact supports one of sides?


texts: "Seem", "appear", "look" — how to differentiate?

texts:
Are there any significant structural or semantic differences between seem, appear and look in the sense of "to give the impression of being or doing something"?

  She looks unhappy.
  He seems angry.
  They appear (to be) contented.
  It looks as if it's going to rain again.
  It looks like we're going home without a suntan.
  It seems as if they're no longer in love.
  It seems like she'll never agree to a divorce.
  They appear to have run away from home. They cannot be traced.
  I seem to have lost my way. Can you help me?
  It seems to be some kind of jellyfish. Do not go near it.
  They appear not to be at home. Nobody's answering.
  They do not appear to be at home. No one's answering.
  It seems that I may have made a mistake in believing you did this.
  It appears that you may be quite innocent of any crime.
  It looks as if/like you won't go to prison after all.
  It seems a shame that we can't take Kevin on holiday with us.
  It doesn't seem like a good idea to leave him here by himself.
  It seems ridiculous that he has to stay here to look after the cat.


texts:
"If it isn't [a name]!" can be used to show surprise when you bump into someone, but it is not a complete sentence. What is omitted (and understood) here?

I'd appreciate your help.


texts: Is there a pre-Internet term for "gamification"?

texts:
Gamification is a relatively new term which was coined and has been made highly popular in the Internet era. From the related  Wikipedia article:

  Though the term "gamification" was coined in 2002 by Nick Pelling, a British-born computer programmer and inventor, it did not gain popularity until 2010.

The term has made it into recognized English Dictionaries. Oxford Online Dictionary defines it as:

  The application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service

However, the concept of "gamification" itself is not new. Our parents and teachers, for instance, have constantly been rewarding or trying to recognize our useful participation and constructive contribution in one way or the other.

That said, it is implied that if you fail to perform up to the mark, you risk not getting the rewards or worse, having the rewards taken away from you.

Consider a few examples of gains and loses,

You gain if

You are the first to complete an assignment and win a certificate/extra grade points.
You assist you mother in maintaining the garden / walk your dog and get extra pocket money.

You lose if

You fail to complete and submit the assignment, lose some ranks in the Class Leader board and have your name added to the "Defaulters" list.
Your sibling perfectly completes a household task and pockets all the cash even those earmarked for you!

Today, Gamification would be THE term. But...

Is there a proper term that conveys the concept of "gamification"/"gamifying something" before it became popular? (thanks to the Internet).

Could incentivize be that term? Or are there other terms that aptly preceded gamification? (may be in the last few decades of 20th century)

Usage Sentence:

  Our parents and teachers used to __________ our routines , rewarding every useful contribution and penalizing unproductive actions.  Today, it's known as gamification!

Clarification on the Usage Sentence above:

The above usage sentence is tentative and please let it not mislead or restrict you. Answerers can give any example that fits this context.


texts: Is the phrase "With regards to the test requirement, John will need it spelling out" grammatically correct?

texts:
Or should the phrase be "...John will need it spelled out"?
Or is it the case that both phrases are grammatically correct?


texts: "Today I learnt..." vs. "Today I have learnt..."

texts:
My friend asked me:

  What have you learnt today?

Can I reply:

  Today I learnt...

Or should I say:

  Today I have learnt...

I think both are correct.

Can I say "today I learnt"  while the day hasn't ended yet and I know that I won't be learning more today, or do I have to reply using the same construction "today I have learnt" as was in the question?


texts: Can I use the verb 'to do' to emphasize the verb 'can'?

texts:
The verb 'to do' can be used to emphasize things, e.g.: I do understand it.

Can it be used to emphasize a sentence that uses the verb 'can'? E.g.: I do can play football.

If not, how could I achieve the above?


texts:
Both sentences in the following pairs are correct, but there is a difference in the meanings which I'm not quite certain to grasp. My guess is that in the first sentence the clause after since signifies a moment in the past, while in the second one a period of time up to now is meant.
Would somebody be willing to help me?

I've known her since we were at school together.
I've known her since I've lived in this street.

We visit my parents every week since we bought the car.
We visit my parents every week since we've had the car.


texts:
'When did you last see him?'

In the above sentence, is "when" an adverb? If so, what word is it modifying?


texts: What is the term for a string that is made up of fixed-length components?

texts: I have a data string that is defined as having two characters for the ID value, six characters for longitude, etc. "Fixed-length string" does not convey the requirement for internal bits of the string to be fixed-length as well.


texts: "Imitation jewelry" or "costume jewelry"

texts: I've looked up the translation of the word bisutería in Spanish and it translated to imitation jewelry or costume jewelry. Which of the two is mostly used in British English?


texts: Omitting articles in nouns - prepositions; after; to; before; from

texts:
Why is the indefinite article omitted here?

Could it be the definite article, but omitted? Like in the following case in an instruction:

  Grasp drumstick. Place knife between thigh and body; cut through skin
  to joint. Separate thigh and drumstick at joint.

All those omittions would normally have the definite article, but this doesn't seem plausible in my case.

Why is there no article here, too?

I've noticed that this happens only with the following prepositons:

before; after; from; to || day after day; from person to person; from teacher to student

My questions are: Why are the articles omitted in all those examples? Does it have something to do with comparisons? Is there any rule for this  usage?


texts: What is awkward about this construction?

texts:
From a Murakami novel:

  Just as he appreciated Sara’s appearance, he also enjoyed the way she
  dressed.

I am reading an article that criticizes Murakami's style and writing. I am curious, what is awkward about the above sentence?


texts: "This table has a height of 1 meter" or "this table has the height of 1 meter"?

texts:
This structure has a width of 16 meters and a height of 30 meters.

or

  This structure has the width of 16 meters and the height of 30 meters.

Considering the fact that every object has one of the dimensions of width and height, can we use the definite article as in the second example sentence? Which is more conventional?


texts: "My interest in becoming" vs. "my interest to become"

texts:
I was writing a letter of application for a university. I wanted to start my letter by writing:

  I am writing this letter to express my interest in becoming part...

and then I got confused. I am not sure how the last part of that sentence should be.

  ...in becoming part...
  ...to become part...

What is the semantic difference between the two variants?


texts:
In Orwell's A Clergyman's Daughter, Dorothy ends up travelling with a bunch of other homeless youths, one of whom is a cockney called Nobby.
He uses the word "Mulligatawny" as a slang word, but I've never heard it used this way anywhere else:
After Dorothy hands over her last coin:

'That's the mulligatawny!' he said. 'We've struck it lucky--and so've you, kid.

After she tells him her name:

'Ellen. That's the mulligatawny. No surnames when you're on the bum.'

When he's describing about going to pick hops to make some money:

‘Pickin’ ’ops—dahn in Kent! C’n understand that, can’t yer?’
‘Oh, hops! For beer?’
'That's the mulligatawny! Coming on fine, she is. Well, kid, 'z I
was saying, here's us three going down hopping, and got a job
promised us and all--Blessington's farm, Lower Molesworth. Only
we're just a bit in the mulligatawny, see? Because we ain't got a
brown between us, and we got to do it on the toby--thirty-five
miles it is--and got to tap for our tommy and skipper at night as
well. And that's a bit of a mulligatawny, with ladies in the
party.'

From the above, he seems to be using the word in a couple of different ways — to express that he finds something agreeable (similar to "now that's what I'm talking about" or "that's the ticket"), or to confirm that Dorothy is understanding him correctly ("Now you're getting it"), but finally he seems to use the word to mean 'a tricky situation' or 'in a pickle'.
Does this usage have an origin outside the book?


texts: What do you call the activities between actual work?

texts:
I've noticed that there are many cases where more time is spent on preparation and other things around the actual work that's intended to be done. For example, at school, very little time is spent learning - most of it is spent commuting, going from class to class, doing homework, waiting for the teacher, etc.

Similarly, as a web developer, I don't spend very much time actually writing code. I end up spending most of my time compiling projects, looking for bugs with our bug tracking system, updating the status of those bugs, etc.

What do we call these activities that aren't the focus of our time, but end up taking up a lot of it anyway?

edit: The word "peripheral" came to mind. I'm not sure if this is what I'm looking for though.


texts: Can we use "Postponed" word for Library Book extension?

texts:
Today, my teacher asked me to postponed his books from library.
But i did not understand his meaning. All i think is, he wants his book's extension from library.

Please put light on it about the word "postponed". Is it correct?
Postponed mean to delay but i think it is not used for book extension.
What other words can be used for Book extension?
Looking forward to get good answer.


texts: Dependent clause and use of subordinate conjunction

texts:
A subordinate clause—also called a dependent clause—will begin with a subordinate conjunction or a relative pronoun and will contain both a subject and a verb. This combination of words will not form a complete sentence. It will instead make a reader want additional information to finish the thought. (From a grammar website).

Are there any instances which contradict a dependent clause beginning with a subordinate conjunction or relative pronoun as written above.

He arrived late for work again, not that it mattered. (for example).


texts: is "when will my day come" grammatically correct?

texts: Is "when will my day come" grammatically correct? If not, is there any alternatives for that kind of sentence?


texts: "ou" versus "o" in spelling words like "color"/"colour"

texts:
Often, I have to decide whichever is better in mail, forums, letters. For instance:

colour vs color
flavour vs flavor
behaviour vs behavior
humour vs humor
rumour vs rumor
honour vs honor
armour vs armor

The difference comes certainly from the country of origin of the writer — basically Americans write o and English people write ou. Please confirm that.

(By the way, all the words left side are underlined in Firefox, since the spell-checker is set to “American English”)

What I would like to know — from a non-native English speaker's perspective — does it really matter, nowadays with the new technologies and international exchanges, to make a distinction between "ou" and "o"?

Does it hurt the reader if they are both used in the same text, mixing colour and honor, or even worse, colour and color?

What is the current trend?


texts:
What is the etymology of "horny"?

It isn't related to rhino horn, because rhino horn isn't used as an aphrodisiac in traditional Chinese medicine.

Wiktionary doesn't have any etymology info

The Online Etymology Dictionary says that it is based on the slang expression "have the horn", but it doesn't have any etymology info on that phrase.


texts: "She is a beautiful, smart girl." - she is a beautiful AND smart girl. "This plant produces a large yellow flower." Do I need a comma after large? Or does it make a different connotation? That is, some plants produce large, yellow flowers only, while others produce small, yellow flowers also...


texts: One word for an idea that is somewhat supportive of a hypothesis?

texts: I am looking for a noun that is a weaker form of the word 'evidence'. For eg. 'Large fossilized eggs in Australia suggests that there were a few flying dinosaurs living here'. 'The Company's stock prices suggests that something is amiss'. What would be the appropriate noun that describes such a weak certainty?


texts: Is it ever worth the time and effort to correct someone else's grating grammatical mistakes?

texts:
Whenever I hear statements like "It was a great deal for he and I" and "Call Karen and I in the morning," I die a little. Such solecisms, as Twain said in another context (Cooper's prose style), "grate upon the fastidious ear." Moreover, I know that these things will likely become accepted usage in time, if that hasn't already happened.

As someone who tries to be careful with words and speech, I feel almost a moral obligation to hold the line against this kind of decline. I'm not a word snob; I say "ain't" when it works for emphasis, and so on. I've tried suggesting the grammatical alternative to the above constructions, but even when I phrase my suggestion in the gentlest possible way it never works well and I almost always wind up feeling pedantic and priggish at best, and at worst I feel I've alienated someone.

What's the general opinion here? Is it best to just let these things slide or to take up the fight? In sum, is there a good way to promote good grammar, or at least protect it from the most egregious violations?


texts:
Which of the following sentences is correct?

The machines with internal buffer engines work fine.
The machines with an internal buffer engine work fine.

(Assume that each machine has one internal buffer engine or none.)


texts: How did "meta" come to mean self-referential?

texts:
Meta is a very commonly-used term meaning self-referential.
Oxford defines it as:

(Of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential:
the enterprise is inherently ‘meta’, since it doesn’t review movies, for example, it reviews the reviewers who review movies

But the 'origin' section of the entry redirects here, and there's no apparant link with self-reference. It's not much help, apart from stating the usage started from the '80s.
Etymonline has an entry for the meta- prefix, but not meta the adjective.
Does anyone know exactly when and how meta came to mean self-referential?


texts: Somewhere else on this site I read about the history of the sentence Merry Christmas. Frequently I encounter the sentence 'Merry little Christmas' for example in songs. I wonder what is the meaning of 'little' in this particular case?


texts: I need to describe the thickness of an image frame. Is it correct to say this frame is thin and that one is bold?


texts:
Are these terms singular or plural?

Ports of Entry (POE)
Land Ports of Entry (LPOE)

Example:

Currently, there are a total of 167 land ports of entry stationed along the borders of Canada and Mexico.

-or-

Currently, there are a total of 167 land ports of entries stationed along the borders of Canada and Mexico.


texts: Use of "is" and "are" when referring to a singular noun or changing the grammatical number

texts:
I have seen the question Proper usage of “is” and “are” when specifying multiple nouns, but it is a different questions than what I am asking.

I have two examples (both from songs) of "is" being used that doesn't quite sound right when sung out loud.  I would like to know if these songs are correct in their grammar, or not.

The first is the song "Are You Not Entertained?" by A Broken Silence.  The line is question is:

  Are you not entertained?  Of course you is.

And the second song is "I Am Not Done" by Rob Bailey and the Hustle Standard.  The line in question is:

  This is not the pain talking, this is called facts.

I know these are specific examples, but they are pretty unique and I couldn't figure this out on my own.

Thanks for the help.


texts:
I understand it should be

  How does it compare

because the do has stole the s, but what is the reasoning behind it? I don't want to make the same mistake twice, so I feel I need to understand the reasoning.


texts: Using two contradicting present participles in the same clause, and or but?

texts:
In a sentence I wrote, there are two present-participle verbs, yet they have contradicting meanings. Should "and" be used in between them or "but"?

Example:

  "Let me go!" I shout, struggling to be free but availing.

or

  "Let me go!" I shout, struggling to be free and availing.

Are both grammatically correct, or should a different coordinator be used?

(I did attempt to research this but all results either gave the definition of "contradict" or explained what the "present participle" is.)


texts: Is there a word for when you offer an incorrect solution to a problem/ error, based on a misconception/ misunderstanding?

texts:
Hope the example isn't too strange, but here we go!

Recounting the name of a piece of music to a friend, I told him to look up the name incorrectly.

The name of the piece was "From Darkness, Light: III" (roman 3)
I misread the numerals and recounted this as "From Darkness, Light: 11" (eleven)
I corrected myself to "From Darkness, Light: II" (roman two)

I'm still incorrect because of a misconception from earlier on.
Is there a name for this sort of error?


texts: How do I respond politely to a salesperson?

texts:
When a sales assistant asks "Can I help you?", can I respond with "No, thanks" ?
Or are there more common ways of responding, instead of using "No, thanks" ?


texts: I will like to go (home.)" is correct or wrong? Can we use any verb with will like?


texts: Word which means "in its early stages but important"

texts:
I came across a word a while ago which I had to look that had the definition along the lines of "in its early stages but important / powerful / poignant" and I can't for the life of me remember what it was...

Anyone any ideas, it's driving me a bit mad! :D


texts:
"I think we just don't care that much
  [about Microsoft] anymore," Zemlin
  said. "They used to be our big rival,
  but now it's kind of like kicking a
  puppy."

I'm just curious, how to correctly translate that? Does that mean that Microsoft is now "kicking like a puppy" on the market but can do nothing anyway or it is Zemlin, who kicks Microsoft like a puppy on the market?


texts: Where and when did "reach out to" for "contact" or "talk to" become widespread?

texts: I have a feeling that this usage - which I personally find highly irritating, because it suggests either that the initiator of a conversation is helping a person who is in dire straits or that they themselves are in trouble and seeking help from a lifeguard figure - became popular in California, but is that correct?


texts:
In the following paragraph, what does "defy repetition" mean? I know what defy and repetition mean, but don't know what it means when they connnected. Thanks.

  You can create a database under the assumption that SQL looks after
  all the problems of concurrency. It will probably work fine under test
  conditions: Then, in the production environment, it starts losing data
  in subtle ways that defy repetition. It is every Database Developer's
  nightmare. In an excerpt from his acclaimed book, Alex explains why it
  happens, and how you can avoid such problems.


texts:
I have been working on a software where there is a section to promote and/or demote other users.
For last two days, I have been thinking and searching for a common term to group both of these terms together but it seems like I am out of luck or I am searching in the wrong direction.

I was wondering if anyone is aware of a proper term or word which can convey the meaning of promotion/demotion or level change on itself without requiring any further explanation to the user?


texts: Punctuation for 'and therefore', 'and as a result' etc when they don't introduce an independent clause

texts:
I have seen similar questions regarding 'and therefore' when it introduces an independent clause, and the favourite seems to be '..., and, therefore, ...' to punctuate without making 'therefore' the start of a new sentence.

How does this apply when it doesn't introduce an independent clause? There should be no need for a comma before 'and', but in cases where the following part is very short, surely adding commas around 'therefore', 'as a result', and so on would upset the flow?

As an example:
'Becoming curious about people's hobbies helps us connect and therefore care more.'


texts:
I'm familiar with the expression "pore over", meaning to examine carefully. However, I just looked at the definition of "pore" in Merriam-Webster, and it has confused me some!

  to gaze intently
  to read or study attentively —usually used with over
  to reflect or meditate steadily

"to gaze intently". How would this be used? Could you "pore at" a person? Or "pore into" their eyes?
"to read or study attentively - usually used with over". As far as I'm aware, the final phrase could be changed to "always used with over or through." Is this correct, or are there other prepositions that can be used?
"to reflect or meditate steadily". How would this one be used? It's perfectly fine to just say "I meditated"; can you say "I pored" to mean the same thing? You can also meditate or reflect "on" something. Can you similarly pore "on" something?


texts: If my grandparent is deceased, do I refer to them as "is" or "was" my grandparent?

texts:
How does this work when the person being referenced is deceased? Which of these is correct?

John was my grandfather.
John is my grandfather.


texts: Is there difference in common usage between 'I have an answer' and 'I know an answer' sentences

texts:
In common everyday usage is there any diffrence between these sentences:

'I have an answer'

and
'I know an answer'

My clue:
Ad 1. I have some proposition of an answer but I'm not 100% sure
Ad 2. I know what the exact answer is.


texts: In the sentence "It is she", which is the subject?

texts: If she is the subject, what is then the function of it? If it is the subject, then shouldn't the sentence be It is her since she is a subject pronoun? Thanks!


texts:
Consider the following:

Imagine that you are sitting at your word processor and you need to make a word bold.

Imagine that you are sitting at your word processor and you need to bold a word.

Imagine that you are sitting at your word processor and you need to embolden a word.

Which is grammatical?


texts:
I can't understand the following snippet of conversation:

  Yes. You look take care of her. She can’t handle alcohol.

What is the meaning of "you look take care of her"? That seems very odd.


texts:
I'm currently in the process of making a small game with my friends. We're all either programmers or graphic artists by nature and as a result we've come fairly quickly in the few weeks of development we've done so far.

The problem is, we haven't come up with an acceptable title so I'm hoping some of you will be able to assist.

The premise of the game is: there is a large crew stuck on a space station. Amidst the crew there are various dangerous entities such as undercover spies, syndicate operatives, aliens who spit acid and absorb humans for food. The only escape is through a timed Emergency Rescue Ship that comes very late. There is going to be huge customization, lots of details (roguelike levels of detail).

Any suggestions for titles? For starters, here was a couple of ours:
a) Beyond Reach
b) Beyond Reach, Beyond Redemption
c) Space Outpost
d) Syndicates from beyond the stars
e) Research Outpost
ultimately, several of them are pretty good, but they don't seem 'right'.

I understand that for this to qualify under the 'word-choice' section I have to do this:

Words to use(and synonyms): Station, outpost, isolated, monster, syndicate, space, stars

I'd love some feedback!


texts: Do animals "live, reside or inhabit" in a place?

texts: I am working on a standardized test, where one of the questions asks whether a certain type of animals live/reside/inhabit in Alaska. To me they all sound okay. But the answer key marks "live" as the correct answer. Any idea?


texts: Correct usage of word "reason" with "twofold"

texts:
I want to say that there were two reasons for something. Which would be grammatically correct?

"The reason for this is twofold" or "The reasons for this are twofold"

Or is it that both of these are technically correct but mean separate things? Do they both mean the same thing but one is preferred over the other?

Thanks for you help


texts: how to incorporate mixed fractions into English

texts:
For example, when writing a recipe which should you use?

one and a half cup
one and a half cups
one cup and a half
a cup and a half
a cup and half
three halves of a cup

Also, if you were to use fractions in a sentence, are these two grammatically okay?

  The stages 3 and 4 lasts a little more than half an hour.
  The stages 3 and 4 lasts a little more than a half  hour.

Please tell me which are correct and wrong. Thank you all in advance!


texts: Connotation of "cancer" for native speaker

texts:
I am a German native speaker. I'm planning a new blog and trying to figure out the best name. I would like to name the blog "three little cancers" in reference to our surname which is "Krebs" (meaning cancer in English) but I am not sure about the connotation for english native speaker. Because, if I hear the word cancer, the first thing that comes to my mind is the disease.

How is it for native speaker? Do you think about the animal or the disease if you hear/read the word "cancer"?


texts: what does the expression "my five cents" mean?

texts:
I saw this in an informal email but I don't understand it.

Can you help me with the meaning and the context in which it is used (if used at all or if it simply a mistake from the sender)

Thank you!


texts: What is to the word subside as procession is to that of proceed

texts:
What is the noun form of "subside"?

  The process of a migraine subsiding could be called the migraine's ___


texts:
How I should read discount rates like the following:

a $3.50 discount

I'm not sure if I should say

"a three-fifty dollar discount,"
"a three dollar and fifty cent discount,"
or just "a three-fifty discount."


texts:
"I stole a wallet from her"

I have always known indirect verbs to be "to" someone, can a direct object be taken "from" the indirect object?


texts: A single word for "take tender loving care"?

texts:
Is there a single word that can be used instead of the phrase "give tender loving care"? As in

  "Tom gives tender loving care to his plants."

I am looking for a word to be used in relation to taking care of plants, as in the above example.


texts: Using present perfect continuous without mentioning time period

texts:
I am having a problem understanding the meaning of a sentence that uses the present perfect continuous without stating a period of time (how long, since, for, etc).  Can the sentence still indicate that the activity is happening from the past until now if time period is not mentioned?
If the time period is mentioned, can the sentence means that the activity was recent or just ended?

  I have been looking forward to the holiday.

Does this sentence mean that I am still looking forward to the holiday and that it is not currently the holiday? Or does this sentence mean that I have stopped looking forward to the holiday since I am on holiday now? Or can it mean both?

  I have been feeling sad.

Does this sentence mean that I am still feeling sad now?  Or does it mean that I felt sad before and that I no longer feel sad now?  Or can it mean both?


texts:
I'm going to conduct an experiment. Before it I have a bunch of events which I expect to happen. I call them "expected events".

After the experiment was run, I have two kind of events: "expected" ones (those which happened while I waited for them) and "unexpected" (which happened but I didn't expect it).

There are two entities denoted by "expected events": those which I was expecting to happen in the future and those which have already happened and met my expectations. How could I deal with this naming clash?

[The question arose while I was writing a program, so it is more about naming entities in programming, but I think it is self-contained enough to be here.]

UPD: the name will be used in a program, so it should be short, not more than 2-3 words for entity.


texts: "...but this assumption, however it is motivated, is only realistic"

texts:
I don't understand the meaning of the second part of this sentence. It seems paradoxical.

  To understand what will happen in such cases, we need to assume that parties cannot
  move freely across the policy space but this assumption, however it is motivated, is only realistic."


texts: Word for an idea or concept that cannot be summarised?

texts:
I came across an adjective describing ideas or notions (particularly relevant to a body of work such as literature or a philosophical system) that is unable to be summarised without losing the purpose or quality of the point. However, I cannot remember it.

It is not ineffable, nor atopy, because it already equates to a body of written work. Can anyone think of the appropriate word?


texts: Should there be a preposition between "at a loss" and the following question word?

texts:
Examples:
I am at a loss who to blame.
OR
I am at a loss of who to blame.
OR
I am at a loss on who to blame.


texts:
I was reading through an entry earlier and I noticed I mixed past tense and present tense in writing:

"Terri looked over the clouds as the plane carried her weightlessly. She was so glad to get away from all of her problems, she feared she might extend her holiday. She sipped sweet brandy as she watched a rather monotonous show on the television. Tired, she leans back in her plush seat, eyelids falling as the dull words of the announcer slowly disintegrates into the darkness."

I've never really studied English, I don't know when it's okay to mix the two tenses. In this case, it's clearly present tense in a past tense paragraph, so it must be wrong?


texts: What does ‘On its good days’ of “On its good days, all this (live for love, die for love, kill for love) seems to make perfect sense mean?

texts:
There is the following sentence in the Time magazine’s article “The science of romance: Why we love,” (Jan. 28, 2008), dealing with the mechanism of Love: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1704672,00.html,

  “People compose poetry, novels, sitcoms for love," says Helen Fisher,
  an anthropologist at Rutgers University. “They live for love, die for
  love, and kill for love. It can be stronger than the drive to stay
  alive.

  On its good days (and love has a lot of them), all this seems to make
  perfect sense. Nearly 30 years ago, psychologist Elaine Hatfield of
  the University of Hawaii and sociologist Susan Sprecher now of
  Illinois State University developed a 15-item questionnaire that ranks
  people along what the researchers call the passionate-love scale.”

I cannot get the idea of “on its good days.” ‘Good day’ here doesn’t seem to be a usual greeting word when parting from someone.
I can understand “love has a lot of good days,” but I don’t understand what “(On its) good days” accounts for, and how “good days” are related with “Live for love, die for love and kill for love make perfect sense.”

Can you exlain me?


texts: What's a short phrase meaning "visited and ascended" (e.g. a tower)?

texts:
Is there a short and clear word or phrase, that is not pretentious-sounding, meaning "visited and ascended", as in buildings, e.g. Bert visited the lobby of Empire State Building, but Ernie went up to the observation deck?

  Ernie ________ the Empire State Building


texts:
I heard a word meaning enhance and improve that sounded like horn, e.g. 'horn technical skills'. What is the spelling of this word?

I unsuccessfully tried to Google it.


texts:
Is "that's two words" grammatically correct?
Or should it be "those are two words"?
I think the second example using "those" is correct since it refers to the word in its plural form.
I could only find examples on the internet where people write "that's two words", and I am not sure if that is right.


texts:
At the end of the Monty Python sketch "Biggles Dictates a Letter", there's a voiceover (sounds like John Cleese to me) saying: "Next week, part 2: Biggles Flies Undone"
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/991e5b96-4e4b-42b4-b45e-801eef914a26
I've always thought this was a pun with two possible meanings: "Biggles's fly is undone", i.e. the fly of his trousers is not properly closed; and "Biggles Flies on Dun" where "Dun" is some location in Europe.  But I realized that I've never heard of a place called "Dun".
I searched for "Dun", "Dunn", "Donne", and "Donnes".  I found that France has a "Village of Dun" and a "Town of Dun" but both are tiny and don't mention any notable history.
Maybe there is no second meaning; maybe it's just a phrase meant to trick your mind: You think you are hearing "Biggles flies on" and then the last word is revealed to actually be "undone".  (Humorist Dave Barry calls this comedy technique "judo": you set up an expectation and then instead of fulfilling the expectation, do something absurd.)
Is this a pun?  If so, what is the second meaning?


texts: One word for the person who spreads positive vibes and is very spiritual in nature

texts:
Can someone help me to describe in just one word a person who is spiritual and kind-hearted and who spreads positive vibes.

Any help is appreciated.


texts:
What's the meaning of endorse here?

  A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport.

The closest definition I find from AHD is:
to place (one's signature), as on a contract, to indicate approval of its contents or terms.

Could it also be applied here?


texts:
I am planning to go to my hometown this week. What is the proper way to tell this to some one?

  "I am going Mumbai this week"

or

  "I am going to Mumbai this week"

Or is there a native phrase that can be used here?


texts: What is correct in the following sentences?

texts:
The system shows 79 pcs in stock from the previous version of the V95830 harness.

The system shows 79 pcs in stock of the previous version of the V95830 harness.


texts: Is there a word for someone with the same name?

texts:
If a person shares my name, in Dutch there is the word "naamgenoot", meaning roughly 'member of the same name'.

John A: Hi, my name is "John"
John B: O, then we're insert solution word here!

Similarly,

'classmate' is 'klasgenoot' in Dutch
'roommate' is 'kamergenoot' in Dutch

I'm pretty sure I cannot call someone with the same name as mine a 'namemate' :)

Edit Because sceptics appear to be frustrated mightily by an apparent lack of research, there was some discussion on this in chat, with no satisfactory conclusion.
According to WP/Merriam Webster namesake appears to be linked to intentional name correspondance (being named after someone). There may be a US/UK English divide there.

"I was named after my grandfather. I am his namesake." - usage per Wikipedia

Also, the introduction seems to hint at much broader meaning:

"Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another"

Do you know of a better word/phrase to describe this succinctly?


texts: What does "spokes" mean in this context?

texts:
As far as I know and have checked a few dictionaries and done some research, spoke is either a verb, past tense of speak, or a noun which has a few meanings such as the metal bars on a bicycle wheel; plus a few other meanings that are less frequently used. However none of them make sense in the following sentence from a Wikipedia article:

  The Resolute Support Mission envisages the deployment of approximately
  12,000 personnel from NATO and partner nations in Afghanistan with the
  central hub at Kabul and Bagram Airfield supporting four spokes.

What does the word mean in the sentence above?


texts:
I'm currently trying to understand the DS-2019 form that I need to fill for a J1 visa.

One thing I don't understand is this:

What is a "travel validation"? What does it (in this context) mean to be "in good standing"?


texts: Who is in charge of determining a pronunciation?

texts:
Recently I hear many words that sound different than they used to. There are the classic changes in words like pecan and Uranus. But the word that bugs me most now is caramel. Is there some group in America that has control of pronunciation?

Personally, once I learn a word, I will never change how I say it. Love them pee cans.


texts: What is the correct term for 'misleading' investigations?

texts:
I am looking for the more common and correct term used when someone tries to misdirect investigations on a crime that has been committed .

For example,

  a murderer who tries to create false evidence so that possibly someone else is suspected of the crime they committed.

I think that "mislead or misdirect " investigations can be used, but is there a more precise term used in these  specific cases.

N.B. I am not referring to  "alibi".


texts: What is the key difference between "believing" and "understanding"?

texts: What is the difference between "believing God exists" and "understanding God exists"?


texts: What does "I'm in for a million" mean in this context?

texts: In The Late Late Show, James Corden and Katy Perry talk about starting a business and Katy Perry says "I'm in for a million". What does that mean?


texts: As seen recently through the press, Trump claims "North Korea best not make any more threats". What kind of structure and use is the bit "best not make"? Is this informal but acceptable in the US? Is this archaic? Some alternatives sound more acceptable to me, like "should not make" or "had better not to make."


texts: A belief that mathematics is the language of God

texts:
Is there a word describing the belief that mathematics is the language describing the rule of God?

In other words, if someone believes that the only rules God has confined us to, are those described by the laws of physics. And the laws of physics are discerned by the language of maths. Then that would make someone a "matheist" as @Nagarajan has put it?


texts: Why did the F of "sneeze" and "snore" change to an S in English history?

texts:
The etymologies of "sneeze" and "snore" suggest that they were once pronounced with /f/. Here is what Wiktionary (from which all the following information also comes) says:

From Middle English snesen (“to sneeze”), alteration of earlier fnesen (“to sneeze”), from Old English fnēosan (“to snort, sneeze”)

In Old English, it was fnēosan and Wiktionary also lists its pronunciation: /ˈfne͜oː.sɑn/, [ˈfne͜oː.zɑn] which also has /f/.
In Middle English, it was /ˈsneːzən/. Something happened in between Old and Middle English that changed the /f/ to /s/.
Snore

"snore": Old English fnora and pronunciation was: /ˈfno.rɑ/.

Was there a change from /f/ to /s/? Why did the /f/ change to /s/? I mean, there are a lot of sound changes in the history of English but this is kind of unusual.


texts: Should I punctuate the transition in a sentence between an independent clause and a descriptive quotation?

texts:
When I clicked the button, I got the error "ReferenceError: function
  is not defined".

In this sentence, I am telling somebody that when I click a button in a software application, I get an error. The remaining part of the sentence, i.e. "ReferenceError: function is not defined", describes the error/tells what exactly the error is.

Likewise, in the following sentence, I am telling that he used a(the?) proverb, and then telling what the proverb was.

  He used the proverb "A rolling stone gathers no mass", which described
  the gist of the story perfectly.

The question is that in sentences like these, when we talk about a thing, and then immediately describe what the thing is, is there any punctuation required between the first piece of information, and the description of the thing we have just talked about (like a colon)?

When I clicked the button, I got the error : "ReferenceError: function is not defined".

How would you write these sentences correctly in formal English?


texts:
I was watching a movie. A girl asked a boy:

Hey, Rex, can you help me?

The boy answered:

Yes, please.

Then they went out to a date (kind of).

I am not exactly sure about the please part. I haven't seen it used like this before. It's usually in the question. Not the answer.

I was wondering if there are other examples of such usage, to illustrate?

Thanks.

-- EDIT --

This was from a Science Fiction movie. Both the actor and the actress seem to be native English speakers. This is not like a western movie where the cowboys say things that are plainly wrong in grammar. The language there was actually slightly poetic, although they were still kids.


texts:
Are the terms ballpark and park specific to baseball in AmEng, or can they also be used for every which athletic stadium in which ball games like soccer or rugby are played?
For example, would a couple of American vacationers out on a tour in Europe be more likely to call a large, usually roofless facility for soccer/rugby events with tiered seating all around for spectators, a "stadium" or a "park"?
ballpark

A park in which ball games (as baseball) are played. Merriam-Webster
A park or stadium in which ball games are played. (American Heritage® Dictionary)

park

(General Sporting Terms) US and Canadian a playing field or sports stadium. CED
Sports A stadium or an enclosed playing field: a baseball park (American Heritage® Dictionary)
These players play once a week in the spring and fall. At the end of the spring season, all the players, parents, and families get together for a big tournament and barbeque at the league's soccer park. Soccer For Dummies


texts: Payment to be due within three months "of" that meeting

texts: Does the word "of" in the context of an established point in time refer to before or after that established point in time?


texts: Is there anything wrong with "he or she could eventually change if they wished to?"

texts:
In my book, I have the following sentence that - for some reason - sounds incorrect. I feel like there is something wrong with the "he or she ... they." I don't think that I should change from "he or she" to "they" like that, but I can't think of any other way.
This is the sentence: "After breakfast, the three left the house to go to the stadium where all of the seventeen-year-olds would get their job (that he or she could eventually change if they wished to)."


texts: Does this sentence make proper use of the semicolon and colon?

texts:
I have the following sentence:

  Relationships once so convoluted and
  beyond me were now clear:  Pain became
  love; betrayal, loyalty; nonchalance,
  care.

What I'm trying to accomplish is list the relationships that are now clear by using the colon to begin the list, and by using the semicolon as a "supercomma" of sorts.

Does this follow all English rules correctly?  Or, am I doing something completely wrong here?


texts: Where to place the word shop, in the extract below. A question of grammar, or are both correct?

texts:
Which of the two examples works better, and why?

Example 1:

  Hilary Hummingbird- Smyth’s, “Bonnets and Bows,” was without doubt, the prettiest shop on the Parade, and what the crooked, half-timbered cottage lacked in symmetry, it made-up for it with its olde worlde, charming quaintness.

Or, Example 2:

  Hilary Hummingbird- Smyth’s shop, “Bonnets and Bows,” was without doubt, the prettiest on the Parade, and what the crooked, half-timbered cottage lacked in symmetry, it made-up for it with its olde worlde, charming quaintness.


texts:
Here's a puzzler: Is the use here of his wife, Julie's, correct?

  Peter Brown, still smarting from his wife, Julie's, infidelity, wants
  her dead, and he's trying to convince his friend Bill to commit the
  murder.

I don't think so, but it seemed like an interesting case that I haven't seen covered anywhere.


texts: Is it correct to use a comma both before AND after a conjunction?

texts:
There is often talk about when to use a comma before conjunctions, but what about when to use them before and after? I would typically write the below sentence as follows:

  There is a weight of expectation on her, but, judging by her recent performance in
  class, she has a great shot at getting into Harvard.

I have seen many things online that say you really should not be using commas after "but" and only before when it starts an independent clause. However, there are those times when you need to use them both before and after.

It does make the sentence look choppy when you use a comma before and afterwards, but it is technically correct comma usage from what I can see? Would it be perfectly correct to just omit the second comma in order to create a smoother sentence:

  There is a weight of expectation on her, but judging by her recent performance in
  class, she has a great shot at getting into Harvard.

Which is correct?


texts: What is the difference between formal & standard written English?

texts:
What is the difference between formal written English and standard written English? Can standard written English be formal or vice versa? Are these synonymous or is there a distinctive difference (albeit, a small one)?

I always assumed the presence of contractions in a piece would make it standard written English, but if it were to be formal, then it needed to be without contractions. I do not know where I came up with this idea or if it is even substantial.

I would appreciate if someone explained this to me.


texts:
The sentence I'm having problems with is " Since 1896 the Olympic Games (be held) ________ every four years with some exceptions."
The answer key says it is "has been held". Why should it be the  singular form "has" instead of "have" as "Games" are plural,aren't they?
Please explain to me why it should be "has been" instead of "have been".


texts: Is there a word with phobia suffix for fear of waking others up?

texts: I usually come home after basketball at like 12:30 a.m. and at this time my mom and sister usually sleep (my Dad though is usually up). When I come home, I don't go to sleep right away and will sometimes eat or do something else. When I do so, I do it in stealth, so that I don't wake up anyone. I do out of two things, to be polite as I do not want to wake anybody up and also the fact that if I make a loud noise and wake my mom up, my mom will get mad and lecture me. Does this count as a phobia? In addition, if it does what would the name of it be.


texts: Verbs + (different) prepositions in or proposition

texts:
How do I handle prepositional verbs in an or proposition? Here is an example:

if a user needs to be added or removed ? the database

The question mark is there as a placeholder. Since you add to and you remove from, writing if a user needs to be added or removed from the database seems a bit awkward, so does if a user needs to be added to or removed from the database. I'm interested both in what is right in formal English and in a less formal setting - could if a user needs to be added to/removed from the database work? Thanks!


texts:
'Just' and 'only' carry a similar meaning, and while my feel for language usually helps me decide which one to use, there are times when I'm at a loss.

From my understanding, 'just' is used as a softener, to add flexibility and politeness. 'Only', on the other hand, is a relatively sharp exclusion. 'Just' also has a wider range of meanings, for instance to denote time.

While this sounds simple enough, it can get messy in practical usage. The sentence that made me stumble was "Not only airports are part of the target customer group, but also other large infrastructures".

Would the meaning of this sentence change when using 'just' instead? The way I see it, there is no difference in this case, except 'just' would make it sound a tad more colloquial.


texts: What is the relationship between the words "arbitrary" and "arbitrator"/"arbiter"?

texts:
Given the two definitions:

arbitrary - based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.

arbitrator/arbiter - an independent person or body officially appointed to settle a dispute.

What is the relationship between the two words? An arbitrator makes a choice when settling a dispute so there is obviously a link there, but it is not necessarily a choice that is random or on a whim. When we use the term arbitrary as in "an arbitrary length" the randomness portion of the definition is more important than the choice portion. Any idea how that came to be?


texts:
My wife and I were reading Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin, translated into English in 1845 by Henry Beveridge, and we came across this phrase in the first book, chapter 5, section 4:

  "a magazine stored with treasures of inestimable value"

Obviously, the context implies that a magazine is some kind of container, or perhaps a location, in which things are stored. Our questions are: What kinds of things were normally stored in a magazine? Who would have owned one? Was it a small container or a large warehouse? We tried to find some information online, but we couldn't.

Anybody have any ideas?


texts: The "to be" part in a "It seems ____" phrase

texts:
Is it acceptable to drop that 'to be' or 'to have been' parts when using the verb 'seem' before a noun/noun phrase?

  The author — as it seems his custom  — does not specify the age of his characters.


texts:
I am aware that "apps" is commonly used as a plural form of "app" in this time and age, which in itself is an abbreviation of "application". But if I assume that "apps" is actually formed from "application software" in a given text, would that technically make it a concatenation? Would it not have to be "applicationsoftware" to qualify as a concatenation? If it's not a concatenation, then what is "apps" in this type of usage? Yet another abbreviation? Would it not have to be "app.s." to qualify as an abbreviation?

usage 1:
singular: app (application) plural: apps (applications)

usage 2:
singular: apps (application software) plural: apps (application software)

In some languages "software" has a plural form of "softwares" (languages that loan this word from English). But this is not standard in English. I have therefore not used it above.


texts:
Is it right to tell

  Five years ago he already knew that two plus two equals four.

or

  Five years ago he already knew that two plus two equaled four.

?

On English classes (I live in not English speaking country) we have learnt that if present clause is dependent to past one than it turns into past. However, I did not fully agree with it and gave (the top sentence above as) an example. It caused a lot of confusion.

In my country's official pre-university English exams (one of the previous years' variants) there is a text with tasks. One of the sentences is:

Nurse believed that fresh air and food ____ very important in fighting soldiers' diseases.
A. are
B. were
...

I was really surprised when I discovered that the right answer is B. were.

My logic is: when nurse dies, it won't become unimportant. That's why A. are should be right.

Could someone please help figuring it out?


texts:
I can surely do it for you..

Is the use of surely correct or shall I replace it with certainly without change in meaning.