texts: Thin strip of cloth that holds belt to pants

texts:
Pants usually have 5-7 narrow (~1cm) short (~5cm) vertical strips of cloth that that hold the belt to the pants:

What is a single word/short expression for those strips?
I found belt loop, but when I google it, the search seems to indicate that belt loop refers to a loop around the belt that attaches things to belt, not belt to pants.
Is there a more specific term than belt loop?


texts: Whose feathers is Alexander Wang ruffling?

texts:
NY-Times Fashion & Style column (December 7) introduces Alexander Wang who was recently appointed as the Creative director of Balenciaga under the headline, “An American in Paris, again,” which is followed by the lead copy:

  “The young, streetwise Alexander Wang is taking over at Balenciaga,
  putting him front and center among his generation — and ruffling more
  than a few feathers.”

I'm interested in the phrase, “ruffle (somebody's) feathers.”
OALD defines “ruffle sb’s a few feathers as “to annoy or upset sb or group of people.

Did he annoy or upset the fashion world or his generation, instead of being frankly applauded for his success?

I’m asking this because the author takes it for granted by saying;
“It is fitting that Mr. Wang should become the first American designer to take on a big, historic European design house since Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and Narciso Rodriguez went to Paris in the late 1990s.”


texts:
Is the meaning of "without" the same in the below sentences?

John eats his meal without a knife.
You can't win the lottery without a lottery ticket .

Is in the second sentence equivalent to "If you don't have a lottery ticket you can't win the lottery'?


texts: How should pluralised inline code be highlighted?

texts:
I'm not really sure if this would be better suited over on SE's user experience site, but here goes: Say I'm writing a blog post or, even better, a question on one of the various SE sites. My example blog post or question is about HTML, and I have three similar elements that I want to collectively refer to. If the element I'm talking about is a "section", which of the following should I use?

Three sections.
Three sections.
Three section elements.

In the first example, the "s" is contained within the code highlighting. In the second example, the "s" is directly after the highlighting. In the final example I've dropped the "s" from the inline code altogether and instead pluralised the name of the group "section" belongs to.


texts: How prevalent is this reversal of "yes" and "no"?

texts:
Example:

  Aren't you going to the store?

Where I am from, the correct answer indicating I am going to the store is yes. The contraction "not" is ignored. Is this sort of confusion prevalent elsewhere?

I don't understand what is so complicated about my question here:

Is this sort of confusion prevalent elsewhere?

I am not asking for any of the answers provided here. They are all grand answers, but they have nothing to do with my question, which is is bold this time. I am not asking how to answer this sort of question. I am not asking what this sort of statement means. I am furthermore not asking for an opinion. If you don't understand how ignoring the adverb "not" is confusing, please don't answer. I am asking a very simple question; one desiring a very simple answer.

To reiterate, the confusion arises from the fact that the proper response of "yes" and "no" is reversed.


texts:
I was going through some English page with grammar where I saw their explanation to a problem when to say 'as'/'like' correctly and I have to say I was left perplexed.

The site explained to use like in case of appearance and as more as a functional property of something/someone, for example:

  You act like a child.

and

  He works as a teacher.

Plus another explanation (as .. as, look like, ...) I thought I understood it.

But a few hours later I got to a situation where I wanted to say: "Let's do it as/like a team." and I don't know which one it should be.

I went through the whole site again, then checked some other sites, but I'm only finding clues which lead to both options, so I hope someone could help me to answer my problem.


texts: A word to describe someone who does not question things?

texts: It's not about indifference or apathy to the world but about people who just do what they are told, never question why they should do that.


texts:
What are the other ways to say it other than "in parallel".
example: "Do this bit of work now. And in parallel  do some research on the new prospect"


texts: If you say "winter 1998", is that too ambiguous?

texts:
Ocarina of Time was released in the winter of 1998.

(The actual release date was around/just before Christmas time.)

However, it's very much cold and "wintery" in January, February and sometimes/oftentimes even March -- that's three months in the beginning of the year which can also be said to be "winter of 1998" or "winter 1998".

Clearly, this can be made much more precise, but what I'm asking is if the specific phrase "winter 1998" or "winter of 1998" will generally be understood to refer to the later part of the year 1998 rather than the earlier part of 1998, which technically also is "winter of 1998".


texts: I am going to get my car battery replaced or I am going to get battery of my car replaced?

texts:
Which of these is correct?

  I am going to get my car battery replaced.

OR

  I am going to get the battery of my car replaced.


texts: product available on request (or: on demand)?

texts:
I need to show the availability status of some (physical) products.

If the product is not available straight away, how would you say it?

product available on request
product available on demand
[other]


texts: What is the intent the use of the expression "purely optional?"

texts:
Here is some context, this comes from an programming interview/coding exercise:

  If you desire you may also use the following libraries (although this is purely optional):
    ...

Is the intent of the author indicating "you really should use one of these libraries" or, since you didn't desire to, use none of them.


texts: Is the statement "to insert (one object) _over_ (another object)" acceptable usage?

texts:
The common definition for "insert" is:
to put or place in, as in "to insert a key in a lock."

Nonetheless, particularly in technical descriptions, you can find numerous examples where "insert" is used with the preposition "over" to imply a situation where one object is placed or fitted over another object.

e.g., "The catheter is 'inserted over' the guide wire."

The phrase also appears in more common (non-technical) instances.

"Next, an empty beer box is 'inserted over' the bottles and everything is flipped over."
https://www.thefastrack.ca/main/presspack/bar

Since the word "in" is embedded in the definition of "insert," these usages seem contradictory with the definition of "insert." In fact, the beer box is not being inserted over the bottles, but the bottles are being inserted into the box. Similarly, the catheter is not being inserted over the guide wire, but the guide wire is being inserted into the catheter.

On the other hand, in these examples, the "guide wire" and the "bottles" are static or passive objects. Stated otherwise, the objects that are being moved and perform the actions are the "catheter" and the "box." Thus, the phrase "insert over" seems appropriate in this sense.

I could not find any English usage guide that confirms that "insert over" is either acceptable or non-acceptable.

Does anyone know and can you point me to a source?


texts:
Looking for a word to convey the meaning that you are going to develop a technology around something.
"Technify" is something I made up that embodies the concept quite well, but it's not a real word.
Can you think of any alternatives?


texts: What is a word for an unaffiliated gunfighter in western movies?

texts:
I'm trying to think of a word for the kind of person in western movies (I mean like "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" etc) who is a gunfighter who does not have a group affiliation. The closest I can come is "ronin" but I'm thinking there is an English equivalent and I just haven't thought of it yet.

Some possibilities: drifter, wanderer (doesn't suggest agency or capability of action), gunslinger (doesn't say anything about affiliation), outlaw (lawful or unlawful not immediately relevant here).

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.


texts:
Recently, my English tutor pointed out that I misused the phrase "let alone" in the following sentence:

  Such high level of publicity of shame notions at different levels is very rare in other Asian countries, let alone in Western society.

By "let alone in Western society", I mean that Western society has even a lower level of publicity of shame notions than other Asian countries. While I was reviewing my document and reading other posts about the usage of "let alone", I don't believe that I understand this phrase thoroughly.

Could anyone help elaborate why "let alone" isn't correctly used in this sentence?

Do you think "let alone" is an informal phrase that should not appear in academic writings?

Clarification based on comments:
I remember my teacher explained the usage of let alone in this sentence:

  He bought her a diamond ring which was huge and sparkly, let alone expensive.

I didn't take detailed notes about this, which I regret, but it seems "let alone" means a greater extent of what is described in the first half of the sentence. For this same reason, I am now confused about it while reviewing my document a week after the discussion.

The context is shame is commonly mentioned in countries like China and Japan, but not so much in other Asian countries, whereas in the U.S., shame is extremely rarely disclosed or publicly discussed.


texts:
I'm currently a bit confused about the meaning of "earlier in time" and "later in time". Let's say that the current time point is x and let us define t1 = x - 5s and t2 = x - 10s.

Which one is earlier in time and which one is later in time?


texts: Does "rueful" add a connotation of wry humor versus "rue?"

texts:
I generally work from the Oxford American College Dictionary, because that's what Google pulls from if you search "define x" and I'm getting hung up on the definitions of rue compared to rueful.

Rue is defined as "to bitterly regret and wish it undone," and rueful has the same definition, but the OACD adds "especially in a wry or humorous way."

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/rue
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/rueful

Merriam-webster defines rue as "regret or sorrow" but defines rueful as "exciting pity."

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rue
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rueful

Would it reason that "rueful" adds a connotation of wry humor versus "rue?"


texts:
I was pleasantly surprised to find the Empire Building so poetical.
From every one except my blind friend I had received an impression of
sordid materialism – the piling up of one steel honeycomb upon another
with no real purpose but to satisfy the American craving for the
superlative in everything. A Frenchman has said, in his exalted
moments the American fancies himself a demigod, nay, a god; for only
gods never tire of the prodigious. The highest, the largest, the most
costly is the breath of his vanity.

This is Helen Keller's letter answering John Finely's question, “What Did You Think ‘of the Sight’ When You Were on the Top of the Empire Building?”
I guess the bolded 'his' refers to the American in general. But then, isn't it have to be 'their' instead of 'his'?


texts: Stateing Past Actions With Specified Time

texts:
When we specify the time with past tense do we state the final point of the action or the time interval in which the action happend (started and ended)?

For example I started washing our car at 11:00 and the action finished at 11:59 and now I am telling my wife that I washed the car when we are at the dinner in the evening which sentence should I use ?

"I washed the car at 11 a.m."( because it includes 11:00-11:59 the time interval in which the action localizes )

"I washed the car at exactly 11:59"(actions final point )


texts:
When telling someone that you are going to notify him as soon as something has expired, is it grammatically accurate to say

"I'll notify you upon expiry"

or should I use "notify of" as per this answer


texts: What does "ﬂy by the seat of one's pants" mean?

texts:
Reading a book, I came across an expression I really can't parse.

  For some developers, the invocation of
  the word plan is cause for alarm.
  Endless meetings with pointy-haired
  bosses creating reams of printed
  Microsoft Project plans that nobody
  understands or uses are a valid cause
  for alarm. So, techies often
  overcompensate in our rebellion
  against perceived overplanning by
  constantly ﬂying by the seat of our
  pants.

I understand what he's saying with that last sentence—that sometimes developers go too far in avoiding planning—but can't make head nor tail of how he puts it. Can anyone explain the logic (if any) behind this phrase?


texts: What do you call the period between having sex?

texts:
If a couple are having a romantic or sexy get away where they're staying in bed and having sex and otherwise hanging out - is there a term use for the periods where they're not actually in the act of having sex?

Perhaps pillow talk is the closest term I can think of here - but this seems to refer to the act of just talking, whereas I'd like to encompass anything else they might do - like eating, watching TV etc.

eg.

  During [something period] we had a tickle fight, I organised my to do list, and she knitted some socks.

I'm looking for something you might use in a romance or sexy novel.


texts:
We would like to enlist your help in arbitrating this grammatical dilemma.

Given the question:

  What does the door do?

Which of the following options is most correct as a response to the question?

  Close.
  Closes.

Please pick only from the given options and do not modify them in any way. (I have asked people in the past and they have responded with more-than-one-word answers. )

Please explain your answer. There are 20 dollars riding on the answer to this question.


texts: Word/phrase for something that perpetuates/sustains/exacerbates something else?

texts:
Looking for a word/phrase with negative or neutral connotations to describe policies that perpetuate/sustain/protract/exacerbate the problem they are attempting to resolve. Not necessarily the original cause of the problem, but doesn't need to exclude this option.

I can only find nouns with positive connotations (stabiliser, ballast, etc) which would not be appropriate.


texts:
It’s common to say “someone acquires something”, but is it OK to say “acquires someone something”?

For example, it is possible to say

  His character acquires him a good name.
                      (where good name here means fame)

to mean that he acquires a good name because of his (good) character.


texts: Is “couldn't have had a more encouraging XYZ than…” ambiguous?

texts:
Have a look at the following sentence –

  He couldn't have had a more encouraging opening in films than our grown-up make-up boy had. On the contrary he must have had to face more uncertain and difficult times, for when he began his career,…

I would like to know if that sentence means that the subject "He" had a better encouraging opening in films than the "make-up boy", or if "He" had the same opening in the films as the "make-up boy" had? Or could it mean both, depending on the circumstances?

The reason I'm confused is that I have seen the sentence being used for both meanings.

(I have attached an image of the paragraph in which the main sentence is there)


texts: What are the possible meanings of positive "any more"?

texts:
Ordinary any more [usually with negative or in questions]

to any further extent; any longer:

  she refused to listen any more

Positive any more is the use of the adverb any more in an affirmative context.

  A servant being instructed how to act, will answer 'I will do it any more'

meaning: from now on

  Pantyhose are so expensive anymore that I just try to get a good suntan and forget about it.

meaning: nowadays

Can you always substitute it in place of either of these?  Does it have any other uses?  I can't answer this for myself because as a native British English speaker it sounds totally wrong to me.


texts: Is there a phrase for - "making hard work of easy stuff"

texts:
I am looking for a phrase or a flowery way to say that he made hard work of what should have been a cakewalk. To give more context - sometimes the commentator says that the team should have finished the game easily but they made it look tough.
Any suggestions?


texts: Adjectives to distinguish deliberate action from inaction

texts:
I'm looking for two adjectives to describe outcomes or actions that follow from a decision. The decision is usually a choice between doing nothing, or choosing to act. Please suggest words for:

< A >: Adjective that describes the "boring, status quo, do not act, let things run their course" choice.
< B >: Adjective that describes the "actually we need to do something here" choice.

Here are a couple examples:

  We're going to have a talk about dealing with those rude neighbours who keep parking in our space. The < B > case will require me to confront them face to face, while the < A > case allows me to avoid conflict, which is appealing to me since I'll be moving out soon anyway.

and

  I have decided to quit my job, leave town, and move to Prince Edward Island! I've thought about it, and the < A > action would have me just growing old, sharpening pencils in my current routine. Although my < B > resolution is scary (I'll have to leave my friends and home), there's a unique opportunity for adventure and discovery that I want to pursue.

I've thought about words like

"Default" (What is a word that means "the outcome resulting from a lack of action"?), which doesn't really have a meaningful opposite ("user selected"), and
the phrases "Null Hypothesis" and "Alternative Hypothesis", which sound kind of like what I'm looking for. But I think phrases like "null case" and "alternative outcome" are liable to confuse or mislead the audience.


texts: Punctuation at end of sentence for partial question

texts:
When a question is followed by justification e.g

Could you pass me the jug of water, this soup is really dry

Should you add a full stop/period at the end or a question mark?

Could you pass me the jug of water, this soup is really dry.

Or

Could you pass me the jug of water, this soup is really dry?


texts: If quoting only an extract of dialogue from a fiction book, do you still need to have quotes within quotes?

texts:
I need to show kids how to write a book review. I am writing a book review as an exemplar to show them how it's done. However, I got stuck when it came to citing extracts of dialogue. My question is in two parts.

1. Quoting an extract of dialogue

If you are quoting only an extract of dialogue, should you use quotes within quotes? Here is the extract from the book. The words I would like to quote are in bold.

  'You sure you can't eat it, love?' said Ma. 'You look like a match with the wood scraped off.'

This is how I've included the quote in the book review. (Note that I am  using the UK style of single quotes.)

  1A. Ma describes Barbara as 'a match with the wood scraped off' (p58).

Is this correct? Or, because I am quoting dialogue, should I use quotes within quotes:

  1B. Ma describes Barbara as '"a match with the wood scraped off"' (p58).

2. Quoting an entire sentence of a character's dialogue

If you are quoting an entire sentence of a character's dialogue, do you use quotes within quotes? Here is the extract from the book. The words I would like to quote are in bold:

  Barbara caught the towel. 'There's no such thing as women's work and men's work. They should both look after the kids.'

This is how the quote appears in my book review.

  2A. Barbara expresses many modern ideas. For example, she tells Elaine: 'There's no such thing as women's work and men's work' (p67).

Have I punctuated the dialogue correctly? Or should I use quotes within quotes:

  2B. Barbara expresses many modern ideas. For example, she tells Elaine: '"There's no such thing as women's work and men's work"' (p67).

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.


texts:
When the number of observations is even, say 2n, it is customary to define the median as the average of the nth and (n +1)st rank-ordered values.

The clause 'say 2n' between two comma appears to be grammatically wrong since it neither contains subject nor has reduced relative clause structure. What structure is this?


texts: I’ve an Italian degree in “engineering informatics”, so I am a what?

texts:
I studied Engineering Informatics in Italy, and I always have difficulty when trying to define my title (in several contexts, e.g. In my researchgate account, as well as in the subscription form to some conferences where they ask for your title or position).

I read What is the difference between "Computer science" and "Informatics"?, "IT specialist" vs. "computer scientist" and What is the difference between "Computer science" and "Informatics"?, because I usually define myself as a "computer scientist", which I feel is wrong.

What would be the correct job title for somebody who has studied, like me, Engineering Informatics?

Would Informatic Engineer work?

----- UPDATE 1 ------

To be more precise, I studied "ingegneria informatica" which wikipedia refers to (in english) as "Computer engineering"

After some digging, after discussion with university colleagues, and also reading what is reported on the italian "ingegneria informatica" wikipedia page, I discovered my title is equivalent to a Master in Computer Science AND to a Master in Engineering.

I suppose then that "Computer Scientist Engineer" is the title which match bettter than the others.

Does it sounds reasonable?


texts:
Does such a word that teeters, or overlaps, between abstract and concrete exist?

For instance, consider violence. It's a term that varies in meaning or definition from person to person until the type of violence is given. And while we may have different understandings of what violence is, a major portion of people recognize when violence is occurring. So terms like violence overlap between the concrete and abstract.

This is very different when it comes to terms like faith, which is almost entirely abstract.


texts: "suffer" and "lack" can be used together?

texts:
Can I say:

  The assets suffer from a lack of reliability.

Is suffer an admissible word in this context?


texts: "Take out" or "take away" for removing from a collection?

texts:
What preposition do I have to use in this sentence?

  If you have ten candies and take out/away six, you are left with four.

I think "out" is right. The dictionary phrases take [something] out or take away under take don't really help here.


texts: What is a Metaphor for "Being Thrown Into a Completely New Environment"

texts: I am trying to convey how I was thrown into a completely new environment in my essay. What would be a good metaphorical representation of that?


texts: Can "be" verbs link clauses and/or a clause and a phrase?

texts:
Is this an example of a sentence where a be verb connects two clauses?
You are seeing ghosts is what you are seeing.


texts: How can you tell which noun a clause modifies?

texts:
I'm a ESOL teacher, and I'm having trouble answering a question that a student asked me recently. We were going over long sentences, and found this one from the New York Times:

  Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it was halting a nearly month-old bombing campaign against a rebel group in neighboring Yemen that has touched off a devastating humanitarian crisis and threatened to ignite a broader regional conflict.

It's clear to me, as a native speaker, that the clause "that has touched off a devastating humanitarian crisis and threatened to ignite a broader regional conflict" applies to the noun phrase "a nearly month-old bombing campaign" and not the noun phrase "a rebel group in neighboring Yemen," but I can't exactly explain why. I think I know this mostly from the context, but it wouldn't necessarily be obvious to someone learning English.

It would be possible to write this sentence with a clause modifying " a rebel group in neighboring Yemen." Something like, "Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it was halting a nearly month-old bombing campaign against a rebel group in neighboring Yemen, which has been opposing Saudi influence for nearly three years."

Is it just the comma that makes it clear that one clause applies to the rebel groups, and the lack of comma that shows the clause applies to the bombing campaign?

Any help would be much appreciated!  Thank you,

Lee


texts: Why is the subject here “have” instead of has

texts:
I was reading this article online when I came across this sentence.

  But its emergence has now killed far more people than just Mr. Floyd and have put many American cities under a de facto fourth month of house arrest, just as they were carefully opening up

I was reading it, and I couldn’t figure out why the bold verb above
was have instead of has. I’m still learning English so let me know if you guys know. Thanks


texts: Does "the same number of people" behave as singular or plural?

texts:
This hurts my eyes to read it and my ears to say it, but the writer stands by item #43

  About the same number of people was awarded bachelor's degrees in 2010 as filed for personal bankruptcy (1.6 million).

Is the subject in this sentence singular or plural?


texts:
Is it correct to say:

"Did you already had the opportunity to do something?"

or I should use:

"Did you already get the opportunity to do something?"

instead.

Is the already word well positioned? Is it redundant?

Thanks


texts: Are there commonly used words to denote different gradations of friendship in English?

texts:
In English there is only one word for grade of friendship: friends. All of you agree that friends are different: with some of them you just drank beer few times, other you know for many years and you build strong bonds to them. There should be different words for that!

In Russian there are three words for different grades of friendship:

You met few times.
You meet regularly, spend time, but don't have strong bonds.
You are important to each other, bonds are strong. (Usually people have 1-10 friends of that sort)

So I am interested, are there commonly used words to denote different gradations of friendship in English?


texts: He had not understood vs He did not understand

texts: I'm a native Portuguese speaker and some time ago I heard someone say that it is grammatically wrong, in despite of everyday speaking, to construct sentences like "He had not understood" or "She does not made that", once in those cases it would be more correct to spell, respectively, "He did not understand" and "She did not make that". This confused me a lot because I read those first constructions everywhere I see English, as well as the second ones, therefore I would like to know the sight of English native speakers about the correctness or wrongness of those sentences.


texts: Can initialisms be forced into acronyms?

texts:
There are some initialisms out there that are unpronouncable as words in any correct English sense (I found one today of SQRL). However the inventor of such terms force a word onto them, in this case:

  The SQRL system (pronounced “squirrel”)

Unless you were aware of this term, and the authors intended pronunciation of it you would pronounce it as letters 'S-Q-R-L'. But that is not how the author intends.
So, if these terms that would clearly be initialisms in any normal sense of the word, but have had a pronunciation forced upon them, can these be referred to as an Acronym?

(This is sort of related to the question: Does pronouncing an initialism make it an acronym?, although that post seems to stem from a misunderstanding of the difference between initialism and acronym so the answers reflect that misunderstanding rather than this particular situation)


texts: is there an expression to describe “something/someone that is more real than the original item/thing”

texts:
I’m looking for a word or a phrase that describes the following:
“something/someone that is more real than the original item/thing”
I am looking for something specific, if possible! Thank you!


texts: What tense is this is "will have had to have seen"?

texts:
I was making a table of the sentence "You must/have to see it." ("You see it.") in different tenses and moods in German with the English equivalent.

I ended up writing these three sentences down (in English) and was unsure about what tense they were in or if they could be considered valid sentences.

  (1) You will have had to see it.
  (2) You will have to have seen it.
  (3) You will have had to have seen it.

I believe that (1) is future perfect but I have no idea about (2) and (3).

Thanks!

==================================================================

I'm a native English speaker and so I have never had a formal teaching of English grammar. As an example I will have used future perfect many times in my life but I have only recently known of it's existence! Most of what I have learnt is from the perspective of learning German.


texts:
Caveat: the content of this post might be a little bit politics-related. But I try to make it sound as non-political as possible. Let's focus on the linguistical problems here, thanks!

If I were to create a sports league, I would make sure that every player in my league had the opportunity to protest in due time and place.

This is a sentence I wrote. The following Google ngram shows that it is a rather old-fashioned expression. Mostly it is seen in older contexts.
 I wonder is it okay to use it in my writing?
ngram: in due time and place
I also wonder whether it can be rewritten as follows:

If I were to create a sports league, I would give every player in my league due time and place to protest.


texts: When is it OK to start a sentence with "But"?

texts:
Is starting a sentence with a "But" still bad? I know some Harvard graduates who are native English speakers and do this when they write. Is it acceptable now?

What are some of the examples where "But" is and is not acceptable?

Is there ever a situation when replacing a "But" with "However" makes the sentence better?


texts: What does "burning under your nails" mean?

texts:
The context that I have encountered is: "Ask anything else that burns under your nails".

For the above case, does it imply ANY question in my mind or just the ones that bugs me or does it mean simply "don't be shy"?


texts:
I am drafting a sentence like this:

I aim at doing XXX, and also doing YYY

As far as I can see, after "and also" I should use doing as to be consistent with the first doing. However, someone told me that it is more common to use do following the and also.

Could anyone shed some lights here? Thank you!


texts: Can a group of books be one of the best-selling books in the nation?

texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct?

  Dystopian books are one of
  the best-selling books in the nation.


texts: How to describe a lot of experience in a formal way?

texts:
I am writing a formal introduction article, I want to describe somebody who has a lot experience on software engineering.

Is there any formal words to replace "a lot"? For example, I have ____ experience on xxx.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Group focused their attention or attentions - are both grammatical?

texts:
The other group, comprised of Alice and Bob, focused their attentions on Charlie.

Is this grammatical? Or does it need to be changed to 'attention'?

My understanding is that Alice and Bob could each have their own separate attention, and so both attentions can be focused.

Or, would the subject be seen as 'the group', a singular entity with one attention?

(Or is my entire understanding wrong and even 'Alice and Bob focused their attentions on Charlie' would be incorrect?)


texts: Is "randomly" more appropriate than "haphazardly" to describe an accounting process?

texts:
In a draft of a business document (in the United States) explaining an accounting process, I see the word "haphazardly" used where I think "randomly" might be more appropriate.

Here's an example: "We haphazardly selected 25 receipts generated in the month of July."

To me, "haphazardly" implies a degree of carelessness or even recklessness in the process, which is definitely not intended by the authors, who only wish to say that the receipts were selected at random.

Am I correct that "randomly" would be a better word? Or is "haphazardly" also OK in this context?


texts: Deenroll? Unenroll? I understand words like cancel and resign would work, but is there an appropriate antonym with "enroll" in it?


texts: Meaning of "She said we should both see other men"

texts:
The following sentence conflicts in my head: "She [girlfriend] said we should both see other men".
The people in question are in a monogamous heterosexual relationship. Is this sentence correct?

I'll try to explain why I think it's conflicting.

"You should see (an)other man/men"
Meaning: The person in question is seeing (a) man/men, and should see (an)other man/men.

"We should both see other men"
Meaning: The people in question are both seeing men, and should see other men.

The "other" indicates that they are already seeing men.
So with that logic, the sentence "She [girlfriend] said we should both see other men" means that they are both seeing men already, and should see other men.
But they are not seeing other men already if they are in monogamous heterosexual relationship. So the sentence is conflicting in meaning and should be "She said I should see a man, and she needs to see another man".

Is my logic flawed?
(I'm a native Dutch speaker, maybe I'm incorrectly transporting Dutch language logic into this)


texts:
Consider this piece of a poem:

Crouched at the elder's feet, the knight
Now kissed his hand in exultation.
The world before his eyes turned bright,
Forgot his spirit's sore vexation.

Is this usage of the word "now" correct? Is there a name for this usage?


texts: Word to describe the state of something being external or internal

texts:
I'm looking for a word that refers to the state of being external or internal as a noun. Something like "ternality" or "ternalness" if those were words.

Example:

"The 'ternality' of the door was external."


texts: What is an organization that accepts donations?

texts:
Is there a  word (or a combination of two) that signifies an organization which accepts donation (cash or kind) for social upliftment? Words like Acceptor, NGO, etc look too generic for this.

EDIT:

We are developing an app/site for donations. The organizations we'll be dealing with are mostly charitable organizations like the ones working for blind people, education and food for poor children, etc. A person donating will have to choose an organization tied up with us. I need a word for this input field, like

   Choose a ________ to which you want to donate.

In future, we may also add actions like,

  Register your ______, etc.


texts: I see vs. I can see [the usage of the instantaneous Present Simple)

texts:
From Fly High 4 by Jeanne Perrette & Charlotte Covill (suspiciously French-sounding names...) by Pearson Longman, unit 13, page 40, "They went through town":

"I can see Claudia and Magnus," shouted Jack. They're getting on the train. Run!"

Isn't the instantaneous Present Simple more appropriate in the given context and doesn't it describe the events more accurately?

"I see Claudia and Magnus," shouted Jack. They're getting on the train. Run!" ?


texts: When to use commas in a sentence that starts with "finally", "additionally", etc.?

texts: If I have a sentence that starts with additionally, finally, consequently, etc. do I always have to put a comma after it? Or is there a different rule?


texts: Why do we say that one can "talk the hind legs off a donkey"?

texts:
Unlike this questioner, I'm not asking what my phrase means (in case anyone doesn't know and can't guess, it means to talk incessantly).

But I don't know anything at all significant about donkeys' hind legs (apart from the possibility of them being metaphorically talked off).

I doubt we can find an actual origin for the phrase, but perhaps someone can come up with a plausible reason for how it came about, and/or why it continues to be used.


texts: What is the correct way to explain what an abbreviation stands for?

texts:
What is the correct way to explain what the abbreviation in this sentence stands for:

  Also known as the “OLI” framework – standing for Ownership, Location
  and Internalization, it conceptualizes the core reasons for a firm to
  invest in a foreign country, dividing them into three sources of
  advantages.

  Also known as the “OLI” framework – standing for 'Ownership',
  'Location' and 'Internalization', it conceptualizes the core reasons
  for a firm to invest in a foreign country, dividing them into three
  sources of advantages.

or

  Also known as the “OLI” framework – standing for ownership, location
  and internalization, it conceptualizes the core reasons for a firm to
  invest in a foreign country, dividing them into three sources of
  advantages (Neary, 2009).

If none of the 3 options is correct, please explain what the proper way is.


texts: What's the word for the condition where you need to defecate?

texts: "hungry" describes the condition where one craves intake of more food. what is the English name for the condition where one needs to expel the end result?


texts: "When I am in Berlin" or "when I will be in Berlin"?

texts:
Which sentence is correct?

Maybe we could visit the Bundestag when I am in Berlin.
Maybe we could visit the Bundestag when I will be in Berlin.

Thanks for help!


texts: Word for being disgusted by but unable to stop looking at something

texts: This seems to be a common phenomenon — lots of people report being unable to avert their eyes from a wound or dead body or even the mess after they blow their nose! But is there a single word for it? I found some related terms like "rubbernecking", but that seems to be the act of looking rather than the urge to look (or inability to look away).


texts: No article with plural - possible meanings

texts:
Please, tell me the meaning of the sentence:

"There are books on my table. Books on my table are good."

Does it mean:

1) All the books that are now on my table are good?

2) All the books I put on my table automatically become good?

3) All or some of the books that are now on my table are good?

Thanks!)


texts: Single word request for "finished reading" or "completed reading"

texts:
Is there a single word that means "finished reading" or "completed reading"?
I want to use it in a sentence like this:

I finished reading this book yesterday.

But while doing so, replace the two words "finished reading" with a single word:

I ___________ this book yesterday.


texts: how to describe a person capable of reading and writing in more than one language

texts: what would describe the person who able to read and write in more than one language. Is there any other descriptive word than "Bilingual"?


texts: Translating a sentense from Swahili to English

texts:
So there's this sentence that people have been sharing on facebook that's in Swahili and requires a direct word to word translation to English. Superficially it seems like an easy translation but once you try it, it get really messy and every thing you try just doesn't sound right to the ear. So if figured you guys might help or have fun trying.

Kiswahili:

  Mama, mimi ni mtoto wako wa ngapi

English:

  Mother, I am child yours what number

Essentially what this statement is about a child wanting to know from his/her mother what position she's on of all her mothers children. For example there are nine children in your family and you are the fifth born but you don't know for some reason and you wanted to ask your mother how would you pose the question?

I have tried

  Mother, I am your what born?
  Mother, what number am I on your list of children?
  Mother, of all your children I am what born?

Thank you I advance and my apologies if this is a stupid question.


texts:
The phrase is being used in the following sentence:

"Always keep your promises and seek to strengthen mutual trust."

I feel that the sentence would be better with just "trust", but the person who originally wrote this wants it to be clear that the trust is two way.


texts: Is it ok to use Er. if a person is engineering degree holder

texts:
Its usual that we see doctors use Dr. Title, but I have also seen engineers use title - Er. Is this practise allowed, approved?

I have seen few name boards like that in India.


texts:
Which of the following to use, especially in the context of programming:

hashtag
well number
pound sign


texts: "in time" versus "on time" in this context

texts:
Why does the answer key of my textbook suggest that only on can work in the following gap?

  I would strongly advise you to be _____ time to the lecture.

After checking this topic, it is clear that in is the preferred preposition when it comes to events. Do you think it might be the author's mistake?


texts: Word or phrase for capitalizing pronouns referring to gods

texts:
Some publications capitalize He, Him, etc., when referring to a god.

What is this practice called? 'Proper noun' is rather generic.


texts: What is the name of this twisting structure at kids playground?

texts:
We can usually find this structure at kids playgrounds. I want to know what it's called.

I've searched online but couldn't figure it out but fortunately found the image below.


texts: Word meaning 'common line of reasoning for a given issue'.

texts:
For example

  A common [word] espoused by climate change deniers is that global temperatures haven't increased for ten years, and thus anthropocentric climate change is not real.


texts: More concise expression for "time it takes to perform an action"

texts:
Is there a more concise expression for "time it takes to perform an action", where an action is anything that can be done by someone or something?

The expression would be used in a list of (unrelated) actions:

Actor: Person

Description: Walk in the park

Precondition: Good weather

________: 30 minutes

Actor: Program

Description: Load website

Precondition: Internet connection

________: 2 seconds

Actor: Animal

Description: Fetch!

Precondition: Woof! Woof!

________: 10 seconds


texts: Directing a negative statement to someone that is actually intended for the speaker itself

texts:
In spoken English, sometimes people address the audience but in fact, they mean themselves. An example:

  You haven't been attacked and fearful for your life and remained
  optimistic the entire time.

What they actually mean is the following:

  I was attacked and I was fearful of my life and I remained optimistic
  the entire time. You do not understand this because you haven't
  experience it.

Is this a known English grammar? Or is this something that have been discussed in Language or Linguistics studies?


texts: Is there a term for someone who uses words like "thee" & "thine" in their daily language?

texts: I'm curious if there is a word for someone who uses "thee" or "thine" or other words like these in their daily language?


texts: What is the figurative meaning of bank shot?

texts: I found it used in this sentence - "At least some of these efforts may be intended as an internal bank shot: by sowing doubt externally about the virus’s origins, the CCP can reinforce that view within China without officially promoting it."


texts: Is there a synonym of "transcend" that has negative connotations

texts:
I want to say something like, "The argumentative scene in politics has transcended the once epistemological purpose of rhetoric and debate, in favor of treating rhetoric as a tool, debate as a means to an end other than truth and with a focus on winning the discussion, instead of learning from it."
Anyways, this transcendence is meant negatively, but I've pretty much only heard transcend in positive and/or awe-inspiring settings. Sure, there's the transcend sanity, but then the negative context is pretty obvious, given the negative connotations with insanity. However, that sentence there does leave it a bit ambiguous whether I think this transcendence is bad or not. Perhaps someone could get a Machiavellian feel of me and think I actually like this way of discussion. So, therefore, is there a synonym of transcend that has more negative connotations?


texts: What is a layman's term for "uniform distribution

texts:
I'm creating an implementation of a Lindenmayer system (L-system) in the Clojure programming language and I'm trying to figure out a name for a utility function which takes a number of arguments and then, using uniform distribution, chooses one of them. I'd like to appeal to non-mathematical/non-statistical readers by using a succinct function name which does not stray too far from the average person's vocabulary (soft goal, I know). Right now I've settled for "one-of", but I wonder if there is a more correct and easily understood term I could use.

By the way, if anyone wants to see the code in context, it is here:
https://github.com/Reefersleep/l-mayer/blob/master/src/l_mayer/core.clj

The function implementation looks like this:

(defn one-of
  [& args]
  (let [random (rand-int (count args))]
    (get args random)))

And can be used like this:

(one-of :a :b :c)

In this usage, it would return either :a, :b or :c, with a 33,3% chance of each.


texts: What is the name for a comma delimited list with parenthetically labeled items?

texts:
Sometimes I run across a list where the elements are parenthetically labeled for future reference. Here is a fictitious example:

  The People of the United States established the Constitution to (A)
  establish Justice, (B) insure domestic Tranquility, (C) provide for
  the common defence, (D) promote the general welfare, and (E) secure
  the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.

I would like to know if there is a name for such a structure, and what the common style guidelines are.


texts: Translating old charm to modern language

texts:
About six or seven years ago, Chattox did fall out with one Hugh Moore
  of Pendle, as aforesaid, about certain cattle of Moore's, which Moore
  did charge Chattox to have bewitched: for which Chattox did curse and
  worry Moore, and said she would be revenged of Moore: whereupon Moore
  presently fell sick, and languished about half a year, and then died.
  Which Moore upon his death-bed said, that Chattox had bewitched him to
  death.

  About six years ago, a daughter of Anne Chattox, called
  Elizabeth, having been at the house of John Nutter of the Bull-hole,
  to beg or get a dish full of milk, which she had, and brought to her
  mother, who was about a field's breadth of Nutter's house, which her
  mother  Anne Chattox took and put into a can, and did charm the same
  with two sticks across in the same field: whereupon John Nutter son
  came unto her, Chattox, and misliking her doings, put the can and milk
  over with his foot; and the morning next after, a cow of John Nutter
  fell sick, and so languished three or four days, and then died.

This is text from The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster (1612).
Since it's archaic, I'm having the difficulty of understanding it. Especially for bolded 'the same'. What does it refer to here? Is it the Nutter's house?


texts:
Does the following context want to say:
1.the best thing for a comic artist is to see how people laugh watching his/her work.
or
1.the best way to define a comic artist is a person who laughs at art and also makes others laugh at art.

Context:
To laugh with art, and from art, may be the highest complement that
you can give to a comic-oriented artist.
("Art and Laughter" by Sheri Klein)


texts:
When I was doing my IT degree in the 80s we learned that, in programming terms, concatenation was the act of joining two strings together.

Recently I was reading a technical manual and came across the word catenate in the same context.

A quick look at dictionary.com seems to indicate that catenate is used in a biological context. Another post on this site discusses concatenate and decatenate — the use of con- and de- as prefixes on catenate to indicate the construction or destruction of string sequences.

I'm curious as to whether IT professionals are now using the simpler word catenate when talking about concatenation?


texts:
I read someone's story and she said: "Then I was set up in a sting by the same woman who got me started.

I was wondering what has just happened !! .. What is she implying ? I couldn't understand by looking up the word "sting"


texts: Something working so well you don't notice it working

texts:
I am looking for a phrase or saying that simplifies this sentiment.

When something is designed so well or a process works so well or a thing is executed so perfectly.  Most people wouldn't even know it was working or happening.

As an example, in a similar concept: Let us say you make a major change in an IT infrastructure and no one has a clue it was done and no one complains.  Then "No news is good news".


texts: Example: It is I who is/am the best player of this team. which option is correct is or am plz also explain what is antecedent here


texts: Do you know words which consist of three prefixes (in one word)? It's difficult to find such examples, but I've read that there are such words in English.


texts: Is it ever grammatical to leave out the verb 'to be' between subject and predicate?

texts:
In the following sentence there is no verb to be after the subject and before the predicate:

  Indeed this government - neither their great wealth nor their many supporters will benefit them on election day; they will fail.

As a native speaker this sounds good to me. But there is no verb to be between the subject this government and the predicate sentence beginning with neither.

Therefore, is this sentence ungrammatical? If not, how do I explain it in terms of subject and predicate?

How do I justify the sentence grammatically?


texts: Is there a word to describe a highly desirable cursed treasure?

texts:
Is there a single word to describe an object or idea that is so desirable that everyone wants to attain it but once they have it they are immediately cursed?

The idea is often used in literature—some examples:

In Lord of the Rings, the 'one ring' is a perfect example of this.
In Guy de Maupassant's story The Necklace, the necklace might be considered to be this.
There are many stories of people making deals with the devil (see question: What does "Faustian bargain" mean?), or being granted three wishes by a Djinn or fairy, which inevitably turn out bad.
In the Twilight Zone episode Time Enough at Last, Bemis's desire to be left alone with his books would be an example of this word.

'Bane' covers the cursed part, but no one desires it.  Is there a single word to describe a most highly desired treasure that (knowingly or unknowingly) comes with a curse?


texts: Are "was/were able to" and "could" interchangeable?

texts:
In a grammar book, the claim was made that in the following sentences one cannot substitute "was/were able to" with "could."

  The fire spread through the building very quickly, but everyone was able to escape.
  They didn't want to come with us at first, but finally we were able to persuade them

However, when I searched for the term "finally could" in the Corpus of Contemporary American English, I found some counter-examples. Here are two examples from COCA:

  I told her to get in line. Did it make you feel better? It did. I finally could say something.
  Then, when it ended and I finally could get my family back, it came at a price, like suddenly being blind.

Are these examples grammatically incorrect?

Remark:
I asked the same question here.
It got a few answers, but unfortunately I don't find them very persuasive (my apology for those who kindly answered).


texts: Person/Group that claims all the work but can't deliver because they are overloaded

texts: Is there a phrase or expression to describe a person or group that claims all of the work/tasks but can't deliver because they are so oversubscribed?


texts: I am wondering how can I express that A is greater than B for some number. For example, can I say "5 is greater than 3 for 2", or should I say "5 is 2 greater than 3"? Thank you so much!


texts: How did the definite / indefinite articles develop?

texts: Russian, I believe, has no definite or indefinite article.  How did it develop in Latin languages, particularly English?  Would English be much poorer without it?


texts: Can "to do something" refer to a noun with wh question?

texts:
Let's think of a normal sentence such as "I found a book with 500 pages."

Everyone knows that we can't make its question form like

"Which book did you find with 500 pages?"
because the connection between "book" and "with 500 pages" is lost. So you can't ask this question.

Now, let's say our original sentence is

"I found a book to learn about the evolution theory from."

That bold part is a phrase there and "a book" and "to learn about the evolution theory from" is attached to each other obviously. We can't separate them.
So do you think that it is possible to ask its question like

"Which book did you find to learn about the evolution theory from ?"

In my opinion, this question is also totally wrong. Why? Because there is no connection between "to learn..from" and "book" anymore.
They are not attached anymore. So I don't accept the idea that the last question is grammatically correct and natural in English.
Do you agree with me?


texts: Use of definite article before "authority"

texts:
I cannot find the rule for using the definitive article with the word "authority", is it always necessary and what is the grammar rule that I need to know?

Are both these sentences OK or just the second sentence?  And what difference does it make.  The more I look, the more confused I become.

The teacher has authority to change the data
or
The teacher has the authority to change the data


texts: Punctuating a sentential quote within a question

texts:
Is this sentence:

  What kind of a mother would say, "That backpack looks ugly on you."?

correctly punctuated?


texts: "...will divide the people (who/whom) most need to be brought together"

texts:
With a two-party system, our nation will divide the people (who/whom)
  most need to be brought together.

Do I use who or whom for this sentence?  I think that "people" is the direct object and warrants the use of "whom", but I want to make sure I'm right.


texts: Word for: a synonym with a positive connotation?

texts:
For example:

"Cautious is just a _________ for being scared."

"Opportunistic is just a _________ for being inconsiderate."

"Not too bright is just a _________ for being dumb."

"Simple is just a _________ for being ignorant.

The word is used often in politics to expose someone as being partial to a particular idea or identity. The word in question has a similar nature to the word "pseudonym".


texts:
In this famous song from The Wizard of Oz I do not completely understand the words whiz and wiz. I think it's probably a play on words.
What is the meaning of each use of wiz or whiz?

We're off to see the Wizard
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
We hear he is a whiz of a wiz
If ever a wiz there was
If ever, oh ever, a wiz there was
The Wizard of Oz is one because
Because, because, because, because, because
Because of the wonderful things he does
We're off to see the wizard
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!


texts: Verbs for Martial Arts, Dance, and Performances

texts: My students keep writing "I play kendo", "He plays diving", "they play ballet", etc. I've been correcting them to use "do"/"does", but are there other better verbs? I've considered using "practice" and "compete in", but each tends to exclude the other.


texts: "Dedicated", "intended", or something else in "tomorrow is dedicated for the registration"

texts:
Tomorrow is [dedicated/intended/?] for the registration.

The context is the first day at a university. Does either sound okay? If they both sound weird, what verb is a better fit?


texts: Suffixing by "-rama", "-orama" or "-arama" — how did this begin?

texts: Suffixing by -rama, -orama or -arama — how did this begin? I mean words like futurama, foodarama, etc.


texts: What's the plural of "Confirmation of Entry"?

texts: I've recently wondered about the plural of the expression "Confirmation of Entry". A "Confirmation of Entry" is a piece of paper that Cambridge Assessment English gives candidates who are going to take a test. This document shows the details of the candidates as well as the test date and schedule. So recently I read "Confirmation of Entries" on a website and it read really weird, so I thought that it would be more appropriate to write "Confirmations of Entry". However, someone else suggested that it would be more correct to make both plural ("Confirmations of Entries"), so now I'm really unsure as to which is the best option. I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks.


texts: What is the difference between “turn off” and “switch off”?

texts:
Are these words interchangeable or it has some restrictions? I mean are these both correct:

“Turn off the light.”
“Switch off the light.”


texts:
How did English end up with the adjective fiery (instead of *firy) from fire, but miry from mire and wiry from wire?

Are there any other words where the noun is -ire and the adjective is -iery?


texts: What's the most preferred spelling of auto fill, auto-fill, and autofill?

texts:
When you are trying to say that something is automatically filled in, you use the word autofill, or if you were using past tense, autofilled.

I see 3 main ways that people use it:

auto fill / auto filled
auto-fill / auto-filled
autofill / autofilled

Note: this also applies to pre fill, pre-fill, and prefill as well.

Which way is the most preferred spelling?


texts:
If a unit of measurement represents a singular entity, is it permissible to use commas (as exampled in [1] in every pair below) to aid readability? Do you agree that the first example below in each pair is correct with the comma separators? I think that (1) in each set is the way to go.

(1) a two-hour, twenty-minute, forty-five-second marathon

(2) a two-hour twenty-minute  forty-five-second marathon

(3) a two-hour-twenty-minute-forty-five-second marathon

(1) a two-year, four-month, sixteen-day project

(2) a two-year four-month sixteen-day project

(3) a two-year-four-month-sixteen-day project

(1) a sixty-four-pound, eleven-and-a-half-ounce package

(2) a sixty-four-pound eleven-and-a-half-ounce package

(3) a sixty-four-pound-eleven-and-a-half-ounce package

(1) a seventy-five-foot, six-and-three-quarter-inch flagpole

(2) a seventy-five-foot six-and-three-quarter-inch flagpole

(3) a seventy-five-foot-six-and-three-quarter-inch flagpole

(1) a six-foot, ten-inch man

(2) a six-foot ten-inch man

(3) a six-foot-ten-inch man

(1) a nine-pound, seven-ounce baby

(2) a nine-pound seven-ounce baby

(3) a nine-pound-seven-ounce baby


texts:
Why do I have to add "which" in this sentence?

  What are some dinosaurs in which the fossilized remains of plants have been found?


texts: How to spell [ʒʊʒd] and what does it mean?

texts:
I heard this strange word in American Dad over a year ago and it's been bugging me ever since. Not only do I have no idea how it's spelt, I have no idea how it could possibly be spelt. My only guesses were zhoozhed and zhouzhed but there appear to be no such words.

The script goes like this:

  Roger (entering the room in a pink suit): Ta-da! How do I look? Employable or very employable?
  Francine: Is that my pantsuit?
  Roger: Yeah, it's a little drab, but I [ʒʊʒd] it up with a white belt. (opens the shirt and shows a white belt)

From the context, I am guessing that to [ʒʊʒ] up means something like to spice up. But still, this word is a complete mystery for me. I asked my English teacher (who's lived half her life in GB and the other half in the US) and she had no idea. Maybe someone here could help shed some light on this word?

Note that I'm pretty sure that I hear what I hear. It's really [ʒʊʒd]. Well, maybe it's [ʒu:ʒd], but even if it is, I believe it shouldn't be of any consequence.


texts: How to say when you have a "lock" or "block" to do something (like talk in public)?

texts: Is it correct (or the best way to say) the expression I have a "lock" or "block", when talking about a emotional obstacle to start something (like a public presentation)?


texts: What is the part of speech is "the door" in the sentence below?

texts:
Grammatically speaking what is "the door" in the following sentence?

  To answer the door, she pulled it open.

Is it a modifier?


texts: What do you call the reading method of copying a book word by word?

texts:
I wonder if this is a typical reading method in English world, and whether it has a name.

In old days, it could be copying by handwriting, and nowadays by typing on a keyboard.


texts:
On the throne, they worshipped their king. On horseback, they cheered him. On his deathbed, they prayed for him. In his grave, they wept for him. And then, when they learned about the crimes he had committed, they despised him.

Does this passage work?

Are the 'modifiers' misplaced? Does the fact that we have a list make them acceptable?


texts: Are these two 'that's relative pronouns? If then, what is the antecedent of each of them?

texts: Was there some move that is beyond what was being presented to me that maybe a Churchill could have seen, or an Eisenhower might have figured out? - Barack Obama


texts: Verb for "meet frequently or even daily, spending time together on quotidian activities"

texts:
I am looking for a verb meaning "meet frequently or even daily, spending time together on quotidian activities".

E.g.:
I hope I can < verb > with you again in the future.
Looking forward to < verb>-ing with you again.

This verb could be applied in the context of working with someone.
It could also be used if you live just next door to a friend and one frequently walks into the other's house. However, it can't be used if you meet your friend just a couple of times every year or if you talk to them on the telephone but don't meet.

In Portuguese, one could use the verb "conviver" for that.

Thank you!


texts: it is necessary to put "it" after comma?

texts:
I am trying to write the next paragraph but I am not sure whether it is necessary to put "It was" or just " was" after a comma. Thank you in advance.

Information about efficiency and emission of greenhouse gases that I did contribute to develop, along with other studies, (it) was used to justify the acquisition of new cars.


texts: "From three attempts a single one affirmed the chance for success." - is this grammatically acceptable?

texts:
I am grappling with a sentence here, which is rather poetic in nature and is way beyond my intuitive knowledge of English. Please help!

"From three attempts a single one affirmed the chance for success."

The contextual meaning is that there were three attempts made and only one of them was successful. It was successful because the chance was affirmed.

Is the sentence in question grammatically correct? Or can it be rephrased for compactness:  "A single of three attempts affirmed the chance for success."

Thank you!


texts: How do you describe one's making wrinkles between their eyebrows?

texts:
I'm trying to describe the wrinkles between one's pair of eyebrows that the person's unconsciously making. Here are what I've come up with:

He's making wrinkles between his eyebrows.

He's frowning through his eyebrows.

He's frowning with his eyebrows.

I've never used any of these lines before so I don't know which of them is natural to native speakers or if any of them convey the meaning I'm trying to express. Note that the person isn't really "frowning" and the only noticeable thing on his face is the wrinkles between his eyebrows.


texts: Which is the correct syllable division for 'banana'?

texts:
Having looked up banana in two separate online dictionaries, I see that depending on the dictionary, the syllables are:

  ba-na-na
  ba-nan-a

Although I imagine this only matters when deciding where to hyphenate, I want you to help settle the argument that this started — which is really correct?


texts:
I want my readers to imagine being at a place. Is this a reasonable way of saying it?

  Think in the shoes of a visitor of a mass public event, like the
  Norwegian Constitution Day.

As an alternative, I came up with

  Imagine yourself being a visitor of a mass public event, like the
  Norwegian Constitution Day.


texts: Is there a better way to say "The second most popular response was ..."

texts:
The context for this question is that we administered a survey and the results are part of a reflection blog post.

The number one response was bug-free code, and we think this is ...

The second most popular response was clean code, and we think yadda yadda ...

The phrase "the second most popular response" seems clunky. The word "secondarily" comes to mind, but this only replaces "the second".


texts:
My grandfather's family were from Somerset in the southwest of England and one of his favourite pieces of Westcountry dialect was 'emmet-butt', which apparently meant/means a 'mole hill'.

However, I can't seem to find any reference to this term online.
The closest thing that I have found is 'emmet-batch', which apparently is an 'ant hill'  (Dialect of the West of England)

Is it possible that my grandfather got confused? Or maybe I have made a mistake in my recollection?
Any Westcountry dialect specialists out there?


texts:
The adjective wary and adverb warily each have gingerly as a synonym, instead of the adjectival form being ginger. If it were ginger, I could also imagine the adverb being the flat ginger. I hesitate before calling the adverb gingerly flat because, while it is indeed equivalent to its associated adjective rather than gaining a suffix, the "non-flat" suffix is already built-in. Is there a term for adjectives such as gingerly that already look like adverbs? Possibly not, because it seems rare.

I'm also baffled by how it happened, because the noun ginger gives us an adjective ginger with a meaning unlike any discussed above, and the -ly prefix is largely an invention of recent centuries to make adverbs stand out from any associated adjectives, rather than something that adjectives tended to use to distinguish them from associated nouns.


texts: Origin of the figurative sense of "smear"

texts:
One meaning and usage of smear as a noun, from M-W,  is:

usually unsubstantiated charge or accusation against a person or organization — often used attributively.

a smear campaign
a smear job

Etymonline suggests its early usages:

Figurative sense of "assault a public reputation with unsubstantiated charges" is from 1879.

but it does not say where the "unsubstantiated" sense of the term come from.
So, how did the figurative meaning, especially in the unsubstantiated sense, evolve from the literal definition of the term?


texts:
She will not have minded much when Kenneth Clarke, a Tory grandee
  who is a former home secretary as well as chancellor, was picked
  up on a microphone this week calling her a “bloody difficult woman”.

[Source: Economist.com]

I understand it basically means that she did not mind it. But why should "will not have minded" be used which as far as I know is future perfect?


texts: Most of us had a piggy bank! But what is the origin of its name?

texts:
Piggy (n.):

  "a little pig," 1799, from pig (n.) + -y (3). Related: Piggies. Piggy bank attested from 1941 (pig bank from 1937). (Etymonline)

The origin of this expression in unclear. There are two main assumptions:

  The name originated from the word “pygg”, which referred to an orange clay used to form all sorts of pottery items, including jars to hold loose change, which were named after the material itself. In the eighteenth century a clever potter decided to make a pig-shaped “pygg bank” as a novelty item and that soon became the piggy bank of today.
  (thefinancialbrand.com)

while others suggest that,

  more likely it came about through German immigrant influence, since money boxes in the shape of pigs are known much earlier from that country and from elsewhere in continental Europe. It’s claimed that the shape was suggested through an old idea that the pig was a symbol of fertility and frugality. (Ancient Javanese ones exist, too, but knowledge of these is less likely to have travelled to the US.) (World Wide Words)

Despite the very old origin that both theories claim,  the expression is relatively recent as stated by Etymonline and confirmed also by Ngram.

What is the more reliable source for the etymology of piggy bank ?


texts: Idiom for doing anything to get what you want

texts: I'm looking for an idiom which describes a person who does everything to get what he wants even by being dishonest.


texts:
I'd like to know if anyone feels a difference between "Let's get started!" and "Let's get going!". Both seem to mean about the same.

It is also interesting to notice that there seems to be an equivalence in meaning between "started", which is a past participle, and "going", which is not a past participle. It's rather odd, isn't it?

What is "going" in "Let's start going?", a gerund? Why call it a gerund?

Whatever, part of the answer may lie in the fact that if you're going somewhere, you've already started a trip, so there should be a connection between "started" and "going" on a lexical point of view as well as a grammatical point of view.

What do you think? Can anyone come up with an  explanation or shed a little light on these issues?

Thanks!


texts: Should I write “argument” or “arguments” in the following sentence?

texts:
“We only shout when our argument(s) isn't/aren't loud enough."

Should it be argument or arguments? And why?


texts: "In" vs. "of" after the superlative form of adjectives

texts:
Hanna's the youngest member of the team.

Why isn't it "in the team"?

The rule that we covered in out textbook New Total English pre-intermediate says that we use in with groups of people and places but of with everything else.

I do understand that it does sound perfectly well this way: "a member of". Member collocates with of, not something else. But how does the rule apply here?


texts: How would a native speaker interpret (or understand) the word "weal"?

texts:
It seems there are several possible translations for the word "Weal".

Does the notion of "well-being" come to your mind when you read or hear that word?

What comes to a native English speaker's mind? (I'm French)


texts:
A teacher once told me that it is improper to use two there words in a sentence, such as

  There is a woman there.

or

  Is there a man there?

and instead state

  A woman is there.

or

  Is a man there?

even though it's completely fine to state

  There is a woman here.

or

  Is there a man here?

Is there correct advice there? :-)


texts:
I am looking for an idiomatic expression that expresses the idea of the negative consequences for having wasted your time or your   money for instance, and now that you really need them you don't have enough.

An example may be a student who has wasted time  and now they  don't  have enough to study for their examinations.


texts: A word like "bid" in increasing manner but used metaphorically

texts:
So there’s a word (verb) we use in colloquial Egyptian Arabic, mostly in discussions or arguments. When i saying it I’m stating that the other person only interested in showing that he does/ has more of what I’m saying. He could show he is in more pain if i complained, he might show more ethical/ polite attitude if I’m being polite and so on.
One more example:

everyone is trying to get on the game of who suffers more, then everyone is (that verb).
Alice: i bought a PlayStation 4. Bob: i bought a PlayStation 5. Alice: why the fuck should you always (that verb)

In standard Arabic it doesn’t give the metaphorical meaning but rather the litteral actual meaning and it translates to bid in increasing manner in an auction.


texts:
What is the English equivalent of boolean-OR, which conveys the meaning of "either of the options or both", as opposed to XOR, which conveys the meaning of "strictly one or the other"?

"Either or both" seems right, but still seems awkward. The answer should be easily understood by a non-programmer.


texts:
I know the basic meaning of the word "alibi". It is a form of criminal defence which claims the accused was somewhere else when a specific crime happened. It also has a meaning of "excuse, defence".

However, I noticed the titles of several songs like "Love is my alibi", "Music is my alibi" or "He is my alibi". What does they mean? "Love is my excuse" or "Music is my excuse" ?

Can someone please clarify?


texts: Which is it: "1½ years old" or "1½ year old"?

texts: 1½ is not yet 2 or more, so which do we properly say: "1½ years old" or "1½ year old"?


texts: Why "the Sun Tzu" instead of just "Sun Tzu"?

texts: I am reading a military history text that repeatedly refers to "the Sun Tzu" but does not give similar treatment to other authors (an example is "Clausewitz and the Sun Tzu disagree on ..."). I have never seen this usage of the definite article with the author's name, and it seems incorrect to me.


texts:
When competing in a contest, is your goal:

  To climb the rankings

or

  To climb in the rankings

?


texts: Why are there 4 ambiguous phonetic symbols in IPA representations of English?

texts:
I'm interested in phonetics in order to speak as properly as possible. And here's the thing, there are four vowels with ambiguous symbols:

The first problem is the sound [ɛ] like in dress: /drɛs/ according to WordReference and Oxford dictionary but [e] like in dress: /dres/ according to Cambridge dictionary. So I've made some research and the only reason I've found so far is from teflpedia:

  The English phonemes /e/ and /eə/ use "e" instead of "ɛ" only for historical reasons, and several dictionaries prefer "ɛ" over "e".

What are these historical reasons? And why do they continue to use [e] instead of [ɛ]? Because first in French we use [e] for the sound 'é' like in fiancé which is a different sound. It is a weird behavior because their table shows that the majority of dictionaries tend to use [ɛ] so why do they keep going on this way? TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language not Confusing Foreigner, doesn't it?
The second problem is [a] instead of [æ]. In the word cat: /kæt/ according to Cambridge and wordreference but /kat/ according to Oxford. Is there another historical reason here?
The third problem is between [ə:] and [ɜ:]. In the word bird Oxford says /bəːd/ and Cambridge and wordreference say /bɜːd/. Which one is the correct one?
The fourth problem is between [eə], [ɛː] and [ɛə]. In the word bear Cambridge writes /beər/, Oxford writes /bɛː/ and WordReference writes /bɛə/. It is seriously confusing!

Thank you if you have any explanation.


texts: Why do all negating words start with the letter N?

texts:
Maybe this question is stupid, but I came to wonder:

  Why do all negating words start with the letter n?

This is the case in all languages I know of.


texts: Your will be done or Your will will be done

texts: So I have seen usages of "Your will be done" in the context when some higher authority is issuing orders but shouldn't it be "Your will will be done"? it makes more semantic sense than the former.


texts: Is the following answer grammatically correct?

texts:
Here's the sentence: "The most interesting trip had to be our year nine graduation trip". It was an answer to the question "What was the most interesting trip?"

If it is correct, how can I prove that it is? If not, how can this sentence be corrected?


texts:
For the sentence,

  He said he would buy a new car.

Does adding 'He said' in front make it sound like an event that happened in past? For example, if I write  He would buy a new car then that could mean he might be going to buy a new car in the future. But when I write it with He said what difference would it make?


texts: What is the difference between "inconsequent" and "inconsequential"?


texts: English minimal pair words by syllabification

texts: Are there English minimal pairs created by different syllabification, specifically of lexical words?


texts: Word for thinking of the same thing as someone else?

texts: Do we have a word or phrase for this? For example, we could have two good friends: Person A and Person B. In a conversation, after a certain phrase is said, both say the same thing at once, signifying that they both thought about the same thing/shared the same feelings. It would essentially be a way of "knowing what each other is thinking".


texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  Catenatives followed by infinitives and gerunds
  “I like to do (be) something” vs “I like doing (being) something”

What is the difference between "I love to sing" and "I love singing"?


texts: What is the proper grammatical sentence structure for this Subject, Verb, Object?

texts:
A card game has a card with the following text:

  Each other player destroys his or her minion with the least power (owner chooses in case of ties).

Am I correct in believing that the Subject, Verb, and Object are as follows?

The Subject: Each other player
The Verb: destroys
The Object: his or her minion

This might give the impression that the player is destroying the minion, when the rules text is supposed to imply that the card the rules text is on is performing the destruction.

What is the proper way to word the sentence, if you want to make it clear that the card with the quoted rules text above is destroying in the card, not any of the players?

(I.e. Would this be better, "Destroy each other player's minion with the least power (owner choses in case of ties)." With no subject, is it clearer that the card is performing the destruction?)

Other examples from the game:

Each other player discards two cards at random.
Destroy the lowest-power minion on each base with a higher-power minion.
You may destroy a minion of power 3 or less on this base.


texts:
When will I use "In" and when will I use "Into" in making sentences?
Does it have a difference? or in can be used interchangeably.


texts:
Can you help me find a synonym to this  expression meaning to approach someone as if by grasping the person's garment to have his attention.

Could it be used informally to describe boys' attitude to get girls' attention?


texts: Can somebody explain "alienating customers" and "on either side" in this context for me?

texts:
"UK banks have been fearful of alienating customers on either side, while eurozone-headquartered institutions can more easily relocate business from London back to their home countries in the event of a vote to leave."

source: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/29/bank-of-america-bans-staff-from-saying-brexit.html


texts: Using "put hair on your chest" for women

texts:
The idiom put hair(s) on someone's chest means:

  Fig. to do or take something to invigorate or energize someone, always
  a male, except in jest: Here, have a drink of this stuff! It'll put hair on your chest. That stuff is powerful. It will really put hair on your chest.

[McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002]

I have known this idiom for a while and as the above dictionary indicates, I always believed this idiom could be used only for males or boys.

According to BBC Learning English broadcast on Dec. 15, 2015, it says it could be used for women as follows:

  Feifei: Well, last night I was in the pub with some friends, it was
  getting late and they were starting to drink shots of liquor; one of
  my friends was encouraging me to give it go and he said “Drink it,
  it’ll put hairs on your chest!” What did he mean? Why would liquor put
  hairs on my chest? I do not want hairs on my chest!

  Rob: Haha, I’m sure you don’t but that’s very funny, Feifei. ‘It’ll put
  hairs on your chest’ in that context means it’s good for you, it’ll
  make you a strong man or a woman!

  Feifei: To have hairs on my chest means I’m a strong person? What a
  strange expression!

Can this expression be used to women? I would really like to get some input/answers from female members of this community on whether it would be considered offensive even if it is used in jest.
What is etymology of this expression? The linked Ngram Viewer shows that the expression started around 1915.


texts: 'Why has it been removed' or 'why it has been removed'?

texts:
Would you mind telling me which sentence is correct:

'Why has it been removed?'

From the grammar standpoint, it looks equally to 'Why do you think so?', right?

'Why it has been removed?'

Thank you.


texts: Which one is more appropriate to use: More or most?

texts: Which is more appropriate to use more or most in the sentence: Some accounts claim that rattle snake was (more or most) poisonous than any other snake that lives on Earth.


texts: Adjective to describe artistic text written by an adult in a deliberately childish style

texts:
I wonder if there is an adjective to describe orthography that deliberately aims for the kind of irregularity or defects one might find in a young child, but is an obvious and deliberate style, rather than an attempt to fake a child’s handwriting. The Spanish artist Joan Miró came to mind, but on checking his signature it isn’t quite what I thought. Anyway, the question was actually provoked by the derivative design on a bottle of chianti (shown below).

“Faux-infantile” is the best I can come up with myself. “Naïve” might fit the design.


texts: When writing a scientific or engineering paper, how do we choose between hypothesize and postulate?


texts: Expression for a person who cares too much what other people think about him

texts: Is there an idiom or an expression to describe a person who cares too much what other people think about him?


texts: When is it appropriate to end a sentence in a preposition?

texts:
Like many others, I commonly find myself ending a sentence with a preposition.  Yes, it makes me cringe.  I usually rewrite the sentence, but sometimes (in emails) I just live with it.  To, with... you know who you are.

Should I keep fighting myself on this one, or is it okay in some circumstances?


texts: Is there a phrase or idiom for "being defeated by future problems"?

texts:
One needs to anticipate and plan for problems before starting a large project.  What is it called when one becomes so caught up with planning for possible problems that one never sets out?

"Negativity" or "defeatism" is very close, but imply a kind of depressed state of not even trying in the first place.  I'm looking for a phrase or idiom about applying mental effort or planning to try to solve all possible problems, and then becoming overwhelmed by all the possibilities of failure such that one does not actually try to solve the problem.  Something like "tripping over a rock that's far down the road".

The antithesis of this concept might be "a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step" or "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

A commonly-recognized American English phrase or idiom would be perfect, but I'll take something else that's reasonably intuitive.

Wow, so many great suggestions!  If it helps, I'm visualizing Wally from Dilbert, "agreeing" to a project for the PHB, and then rattling out a thousand ways it could go wrong until the boss says "never mind" and leaves Wally to go back to surfing the web.

The idea is that someone is being obstructionist, specifically by citing all the infinite possible risks.  It's a kind of passive-aggressive behavior seen in technical settings.


texts: "Admonish someone" vs "Censure someone" vs "Reprimand someone"

texts:
I noticed that, in the dictionary, the words admonish, censure and reprimand can have a meaning resembling criticize or disapprove (of) some one sharply and formally. ODO says:

  Admonish (verb): warn or reprimand someone firmly.
  Censure (verb): express severe disapproval of (someone or something), typically in a formal statement.
  Reprimand (verb): a rebuke, esp. an official one.

and I'm writing about a person, Suresh, who get such criticism from his mentor, Sanjay, with whom he has a good work relationship. I'm considering saying that the Suresh is admonished by Sanjay, or reprimanded by Sanjay or censured by Sanjay.

I would like to know:

(1) Is there a difference between those three? Would you imagine that reprimanding Suresh is a slightly different meaning than admonishing or censuring Suresh? (I typed all these three words into a Google image search, and I got similar images for admonish and reprimand. I got different images for censure. However I cannot grasp a clear difference).

(2) Among those three words, only admonish has other meanings. For example, it has other meanings like advise or urge (someone) earnestly

If all these three words are essentially the same meaning, is there any reason I should avoid using one word or the other?


texts: How "doubtLESS" and "NO doubt" lost their literal sense, and now suggest probability or concession?

texts:
"NO doubt" literally has NO in it! doubtLESS has LESS in it! They both mean NO probability and NO concession. How can "doubtless", "no doubt" "merely suggest probability or concession"?

doubtless, no doubt, undoubtedly. Doubtless, as an adverb, and no doubt have lost the literal sense of “without doubt.” Now they merely suggest probability or concession, as in The court doubtless considered the possibility and No doubt other

Bahrych, Merino. Legal Writing and Analysis in a Nutshell 5th edition (2017). 362.


texts: This terminology was adapted or adopted from?

texts:
I have sent out a long manuscript of a scientific paper for review, but throughout the paper I have written:

"This terminology was adopted from [famous paper reference]"

With this sentence, I was trying to express that "a word was borrowed/loaned from another source" i.e., the word is not my original creation/invention.

However, I have also seen "adapted from" being used.

Which one is correct?


texts: Is there a word for phrases such as those that are used to calm a baby down?

texts: Speakers of Purik-Tibetan may say "kangchu Tululululuuuuu" in order to comfort a baby they're cradling in their arms. To someone else, they might also say that they are "doing the Tululu". What's a good (and perhaps very general) word to refer to such a "phrase"? Unlike a lullaby, it's not sung (even though the repeated lu-syllables sound somewhat chanted), and it doesn't make any sense (at least not from a synchronic perspective).


texts: What does "distributional" mean in grammar?

texts:
I'm reading an article on Syntactic Categories and came across the following heading:

  Syntactic categories are distributional not semantic

I believe the "syntactic categories" the author is referring to are parts of speech:

Noun
Verb
Participle
Article
Pronoun
Preposition
Adverb
Conjunction

I want to understand what the author means when she says the categories are "distributional".

At first, I was hung up on the distinction between the two words:

Syntax
Semantic

I came across another answer that helped me out:

  In summary, syntax is the concept that concerns itself only whether or not the sentence is valid for the grammar of the language. Semantics is about whether or not the sentence has a valid meaning.

So in Plain English it seems the title is trying to say:

"Parts of speech are _______ but actually don't convey meaning."

The author uses the word "distributional" again later in the second paragraph as an adjective to describe the noun "properties" as in "distributional properties".

The questions

What does it mean for a part of speech to be distributional?
What are distributional properties?


texts: Best phrase for teamwork ready, supportive person

texts:
Another word- choice dilemma!

Which word or phrase is best to be used in a resume describing ready for team work; I am familiar whit the phrase teamwork ready, but it actually sounds a bit too impersonal to me. Could there be something more appropriate?

Along that line, I would want to say that I'm a supportive person in a work environment. But I wonder if it's to intimate to use in a resume? I want to say that I'm ready to help, to assist, to be understanding of others and the possible difficulties they might be having, while working together in a team effort.

My question is: does

  ''a cooperative worker, a supportive, responsible person'',

all together, sound ok, like it could  normally be used in a resume?


texts: Do the words 'tied' and 'tight' have a common origin?

texts:
I was reading a book in supposed 'Ye Olde English' and came across the sentence 'Perhaps she has him so tied he cannot get loose'. This made me wonder if 'tied' and 'tight' have the same origin, in this sentence the meaning would be very similar if I swapped 'tied' for 'tight'.

Dictionary.com has this for the origin of 'tight'

1400-50; late Middle English, sandhi variant of Middle English thight dense, solid, tight < Old Norse thēttr (cognate with Old English -thiht firm, solid, Dutch, German dicht tight, close, dense)

And this for 'tie/tied'

before 900; (noun) Middle English te (i) gh cord, rope, Old English tēagh, tēgh, cognate with Old Norse taug rope; (v.) Middle English tien, Old English tīgan, derivative of the noun; compare Old Norse teygja to draw.

So this is just a coincidence or is there more to it?


texts:
Colon or semicolon when because is omitted from a sentence e.g.,

I am sorry I disturbed you (;) (:) (because) it looked like you were having a lot of fun there.

Because explains and clarifies a preceding clause so would it be correct to use a colon preceding the explanatory clause if because is omitted?
Alternatively, because can be replaced by for, which is a coordinating conjunction and would correctly be punctuated with a semicolon.

I am sorry I disturbed you, for it looked like you were having a lot of fun there.
I am sorry I disturbed you; it looked like you were having a lot of fun there.

For is of course reasonably archaic but is useful sometimes for grammatical clarity.
And if anyone wants to comment on the that omission and comma replacement, I'd be very happy.
I am sorry (that)(,) I disturbed you because it looked like you were having a lot of fun there.


texts: Can 'surgery' be a count noun in the sense of 'medical procedure'?

texts:
This is something that has bothered me for a long time. Several years ago a remember noticing in the media a shift from using "An operation" to "A surgery" when talking about someone who was undergoing a medical procedure.

Now, to my ears "A surgery" sounded patently wrong. To me it sounded a lot like saying "A water". In the sense of 'medical procedure', surgery is a mass noun to me, and using it as a count noun is ungrammatical.

I'm entirely prepared to be told to go away and stop being so ridiculous. This could all, in the end, entirely be the ramblings of someone who sees the English language in his own peculiar way. But is it just me?

Is "a surgery" a legitimate and commonly accepted use of the word?


texts: Present Perfect with a definite point in the past

texts:
Can present perfect be used in sentences with definite past time when we focus on the present result like

I have forgotten my keys on last Wednesday.
=I still do not have my keys


texts: What is the difference between "most every" and "almost every"? Do they differ in amount?


texts: Why the "ones" in this sentence "French students have to work harder than British ones." is incorrect whilst in another is correct?

texts:
Here are the sentences that I'm looking at right now, from The Longman Dictionary of Common Errors ("New Edition" p244):

one

✗ British children have more opportunities than Tunisian ones.
✓ British children have more opportunities than Tunisian children.
✗ Young people learn more quickly than older ones.
✓ Young people learn more quickly than older people.

Ones is usually used to refer to things: "Rechargeable batteries are more expensive than ordinary ones." "The red ones are fine, but I prefer the white ones." Ones may also be used to refer to particular people: "The older children laughed but the younger ones were scared."
In general statements about groups of people, ones is usually avoided: "French students have to work harder than British students."

In particular...

Right:"French students have to work harder than British students."
Wrong:"French students have to work harder than British ones."

Now, I understand that the "ones" from above is wrongly used, because, as the book explains that the word one/ones usually refers to things, such as "The rechargable batteries are more expensive than ordinary ones." It totally makes sense to me, though.
What puzzles me is the "ones" from this sentence, which is correct:

"The older children laughed but the younger ones were scared."

As what the book says, if the word refers to things, why the "ones" from this sentence is correct whilst the "British ones" sentence above is wrong? Doesn't it contradict? Is this usage related to any linguistic matter. If so, what is the phenomenon?
Any valid explanation would be much appreciated!


texts: Basement, Ground floor, _____, Penthouse. A word for the middle floors?

texts:
When the line is drawn at these locations - i.e. it only matters that it's above the ground floor but it isn't the penthouse, what is a single word to refer to those floors as?

For example: Alex lives in a basement bedroom, Bob lives in a ground floor bedroom, Charlie lives in a ____ bedroom, Delta lives in a penthouse studio.


texts: Is there a single word or phrase for "excessive humility disproportionate to ability or achievement"?

texts:
I am writing a small biographical article  about a long-deceased local doctor who served the poor people of this land meritoriously in the 1930's, and have composed this paragraph:

  Dr.P was a medical giant and also a saint who thought himself just an unremarkable person; everyone was surprised at his excessive humility. For example, he politely refused a prestigious award in 1960 saying that "a mediocre physician like me, by no means a medical luminary nor even a special credit to the community, should not be awarded this honor for simply practicing his profession." On another occasion he told a friend:"I am highly overrated: all my achievements were fortuitous considering my ability; I just got lucky!"

I am concerned that "excessive humility/modesty" will be misunderstood as false modesty when what I really mean is excessive humility disproportionate to ability or achievement, as in these real life examples:

(1) One of the greatest ghazal singers, who performed in my home city 2 years ago, told the adoring audience:

  "I am just a small and humble singer. Your love has elevated me to such a high position.

(2) In an interview after playing one of the greatest batting innings in cricket history and making a huge personal score that led his team to an improbable victory, a great Indian batsman said:

  "I am only a supporting batsman in this team of great players. I just wanted to occupy the crease, play out a lot of  time and score runs whenever it was safe to do so. My friend who is a great batsman was very supportive from the other end. I am more happy that my team won this Test match."

This is not false modesty but real and profound expression of humility from a great achiever. In short, the doctor persistently and genuinely considered himself ordinary & mediocre when it was so obvious to others that his achievements and services were extraordinary. "Almost a sense of unworthiness which was very surprising", someone said. It's this sense that I am trying to highlight in my sentence. Is there a single word or phrase that conveys that meaning?

Research done: none of the synonyms of humility at Thesaurus.com, Merriam-Webster and Collins Dictionary seem to precisely express my meaning. What comes closest is the adjective self-effacing and also the noun self-abnegation, which carry some negative tones and may not be appreciated by the home audience, which reveres this legendary doctor.

Sample sentence for SWR (will not be used in this exact way in my article but is illustrative here of the word I seek):

  Dr.P was characterised by excessive humility disproportionate to his high ability and achievements: everyone was surprised by this ______________

Note: adjectival forms are also welcome if the word or phrase doesn't have an appropriate noun form; I shall rewrite my sentence accordingly.


texts: Can a personal pronoun refer to a subject that is never explicitly mentioned?

texts:
I'm having trouble accepting as legitimate this sentence:

"In her new book, Jane Doe's sister Sally struggles with poverty."

(This was offered as correct in a tutoring guide to SAT Writing Section.)

Isn't the subject Sally, and therefore "In her new book..." is a modifier not correctly applicable?


texts: What is the difference between 'I have gone to the restaurant' and 'I had gone to the restaurant'


texts: What would one call the difference between lap times?

texts:
Let's say I ran a 200m. And my lap times would be: 14.50 seconds on the first 100m and 13.70 seconds in the last 100m.

What would one call the difference between those two lap times (0.80 seconds).

In Dutch we have a name for it: verval (literal: decay or decline). I was wondering if the English language has one.

Update:

@AndyT answered: Delta. This is used in Formula 1, Mathemetics and Physics. Can someone substantiate this? Note: I am looking for a term that is commonly used in sports.


texts:
I have a question that I hope won't trouble you too much.
I work for a museum offering guided tour that is open for reservation every 20th of the previous month, starting from 10am and until it is fully reserved.
I now have to post the information on our website and seek your kind guidance on how to give a better description of the times for reserving our guided tours. I wonder if the abovementioned is idiomatic.
In addition, I will be pleased to know if I can call people who reserve/ book our tours as 'applicants'? In my context, I really cannot tell the differences between booking, reservation, and application for a tour.
I would be extremely grateful for your input!
Cheers.