texts:
Why are compulsory law associations called an "integrated" bar?
I have two guesses:

It has something to do with the fact that the power to mandate membership (which brings dues and a code of ethics with it) comes from two sources

It performs two functions: confers benefits and also requires members to do things (pay dues, follow code of ethics)

(I tried a bunch of dictionaries, and the Wikipedia entry.)


texts: Where does this meaning of vintage come from?

texts:
Last night I read a book and came upon the phrase:

  The reply was vintage Emily.

I do know exactly what it means; I guess the Collins explanation n°4

  You can use vintage to describe something which is the [...] most typical of its kind

is what comes close: the reply Emily made was typical for her.

Still: where does this idiom/expression (namely, when it is used with persons as in the above sentence) come from? Does it have an origin or did it develop over the years?


texts: What does "kept an ear out on the street" mean?

texts:
With this small story, Diana shocked the entire room. She always kept
  her past hidden away. Only a select few truly knew who she really was,
  and most of them were dead. Even Christian was hearing this for the
  first time.

  The rest of the day was predominantly uneventful. Diana helped
  Christian to get back on his feet, taking a few tentative steps. She
  had to make sure that he could at least walk slightly before they
  left. Charlie and Jack kept an ear out on the street, to warn
  Diana if anything seemed out of sorts. Vicki was left to assist either
  pair if needed.

  Dinner was a particularly trying time. Everyone had been almost silent
  since Diana's explosion during the day. Diana was still too aggravated
  to eat much. She wanted to put everything that had happened behind her
  as soon as possible.

Does it mean "to listen carefully about the things that are going on on the street. (any confidential information, anything that might do harm, etc.)?


texts: Can you explain the sentence structure 'In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit'? Why put the verb before the subject?

texts:
The opening sentence to The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien reads,

  In a hole in the ground there lived [verb] a hobbit [subject].

I wonder if there are accepted stylistic purposes for such a structure.  When is it natural, and when is it unnatural?


texts: A word to describe a person who can change his voice at will

texts: Somebody who has the gift or has learned the ability to speak in a different accent other than his native accent, such as a person having a native British accent, but is able to speak in a Chinese accent, if he or she so wishes to.


texts: Is the use of comma in this sentence correct?

texts:
I think one of the uses of the comma is to separate independent clauses, but in this sentence, a comma is put in between the preposition phrase "from..to".

  The punishment ranges from reducing an assignment grade, to the invalidation of credits and degrees and expulsion from university.


texts:
I am unsure on when to use from instead of among and vice versa.

Here is the question that I missed on an exam:

  The man had to choose [__] 6 ties for the interview.

I chose from which apparently was wrong, even if,  to me, from sounds correct as well as among sounds correct.

I have tried to look this up on the Internet with no avail, so any help would be appreciated.


texts:
How do you pronounce 100ish and similar words?

  a hundred-ish ?


texts: Word or phrase for pile of accumulated rubble under vertical cave opening

texts: In caves whose openings are in the ceiling of the cave, there is typically a conical pile of rubble underneath the opening from where things have fallen into the hole over a long period of time. What is the name of this pile? I think it's either one or two words and may be something like 'rubble tower'.


texts: Past perfect sentence in "I would have killed the snake if I had hit him..."

texts:
Is the following a correct past perfect sentence?

  I would have killed the snake if I had hit him hard with a stick.


texts: Word to describe a person who enjoys how great others live their lives but not for once considers to have such lives by themselves?

texts: I vaguely remember the word that I was encountered earlier that can be roughly summed up as the Title. Not entirely sure if it's a word or a phrase. It's been bugging me for a really long time, i need help!


texts: When is it okay to omit a determiner? (as in "Everything for baby")

texts:
A friend and I walked past a poster advertising BabiesRUs and the slogan was "Everything for baby". My friend said it's bad grammar and should include "your" or make "baby" into "babies". I disagreed but couldn't give a reasonable explanation  as to why it is okay to omit the determiner in this case, but I'm still convinced it's perfectly reasonable, especially because it's advertising copy and doesn't necessarily have to conform to strict grammar. But even in everyday English, it seems perfectly correct to me.

Is it okay to omit the determiner in some cases and what are those cases?


texts: A word to describe someone who has moved back to live in his/her home country?

texts: If a person was born and brought up in country A, at some point went to live in country B (as an adult) for a few years and then moved back to country A, is there a single word to describe that person's situation?


texts:
From what I've learned, special names don't get definite articles.
(I should admit that the use of articles in English is very tricky) For example, we say Apple but not the Apple to refer to the company. But I've seen in many places people use "the ipad" to refer to the tablet produced by Apple. for example, in the sentece which I've taken from wikipedia "The iPad has two internal speakers reproducing left and right channel audio located on the bottom-right of the unit." Why can't we simply say iPad? Do product names always take definite articles.


texts:
On the mathematics stackexchange site, I wrote:

  If you are certain that those earlier in the order will collectively reach a correct decision then you weight your vote so small that you do not affect the collective vote, while if you are not certain then you weight your vote so large that it will overwhelm the votes of all those earlier in the order.

For reasons I cannot quite explain, I am not comfortable with the use of small and large there.  I could have used lightly and heavily, which are adverbs, but I felt that would have been pushing the weighting metaphor further than is usual in this mathematical sense.  But smally and smallly are not words, while largely means something more like mostly. I would not use the Trumpian big-league or bigly and presumably little-league or littlely.

I could have rewritten this to something like "... you give your vote a weight which is so small that ...", but my question here is about whether there are adverbs directly  corresponding to small and large.


texts: What does "I had every last one of them" mean?

texts:
I heard this quote from a Channel 4 sitcom the IT crowd

  I'm gonna go, I may not come back but I want to say this. That
  accounts team, I had every last one of them.

It is said by Douglas Reynholm, the boss. But what does "I had every last one of them" mean in this quotation? What does he intend it to mean?


texts: How do I use the two meaning of the word "just" differently?

texts:
The English word "just" could mean "now" or "finally," for example:

  I just finished my homework.

Does it mean "I finished my homework now" or "I finally finished my homework"?

How do I use the two meanings differently?


texts:
I often see sentence structures like "..., among them N, N, and N."

  His songs also became hits for others, among them “Nothing Compares 2 U” for Sinead O’Connor, “Manic Monday” for the Bangles and “I Feel for You” for Chaka Khan.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/arts/music/prince-dead.html?_r=0)

As far as I know, this is not included in the typical 'gapping' category in which you can omit repeated verbs when the sentences are paralleled with 'and.' (You can omit 'and' as well.)

Can anyone explain what kind of grammatical rule is applied here? I cannot think of similar structures other than 'among them.'

I found that someone has already asked the exact same question before(Dropping of "was" from "A couple of ministers had to resign too, among them [was] Interior Minister Fouchet."), but it seems like it has remained unsolved.


texts: "Make sure it work" or "make sure it works"?

texts:
Is it to "make it work", "make sure it work", or is it to "make it works", "make sure it works"?

I was thinking the ones without s are correct, but Google results show an overwhelming favor for those with the s, so I need some answers.


texts:
I am looking for a word or phrase that portrays the feeling of watching an intimate (but not sexual) moment unfold.

Some context;
A is keeping a watchful eye on E because he is worried about her safety. In the process he realized that he was watching a really personal moment that maybe wasn’t right of him to witness

I know that being a voyeur is generally connected to the sexual gratification from watching - but A is particularly uncomfortable after.

“She (E) closed her eyes, reaching out her arms as if in an embrace and I (A) got the sudden sense of ______”


texts: Why did Napoleon III coin the term "Latin America"?

texts: The actual term "Latin America" was coined in France under Napoleon III and played a role in his campaign to imply cultural kinship with France, transform France into a cultural and political leader of the area and install Maximilian as emperor of Mexico. — Wikipedia


texts: Why do we use cucumber to describe the attitude of a person who is able to control his/her temper  in front of a difficult event?


texts: Is there a word to define a person that does something but pretends they are not aware of this?

texts:
In Portuguese we have a word sonso* plus a slang expression João-sem-braço ("John-missing-an-arm" or more poetically "Joe-missing-an-arm" — don't ask me why) to define a person who is doing something illegal or immoral but is pretending not to be aware of that fact. Someone feigning innocence.

For example, there is a huge line to buy tickets or something. The person arrives at some point in the line and starts talking to someone at random and continues to be nearby, with the intention of cutting the line in a smooth way, without other people noticing.

Is there a word, a phrase, or some idiomatic expression (even if informal slang) to define that kind of person?

* Definition of sonso from the Dicionário Priberam:

  son·so

  (espanhol zonzo)
  adjectivo e substantivo masculino

  Que ou quem finge ser o que não é. = DISSIMULADO, FINGIDO
  Que ou quem faz coisas reprováveis ou desonestas às escondidas.
  Que ou quem tem ares e aparência de ingénuo. = FINÓRIO, MANHOSO, VELHACO

Pronounced /ˈsõsu/ and meaning roughly:

Something or someone that pretends to be or which isn’t. = DISSEMBLING, FEIGNED
Something or someone that does reprehensible or dishonest things in secret.
Something or someone that has the air or appearance of an innocent. = SLY, CUNNING, TREACHEROUS/RASCAL


texts:
What would you call 'A person who is ready for support all the time'?

I wanted to write an email and convey to some clients that I will always be there for support, and was stuck when I got to this.


texts:
As one of the busiest times of year, people will share moments, plan for the festivities and search for the perfect gift, every single day — on Facebook. And this year, it will truly be a mobile holiday season.

I came across this little piece of text on facebook business. English is not my native language, so I have a little trouble putting a handle on what it is that bugs me so much about this sentence. The beginning of the sentence does not seem to connect at all with the subject.... right?


texts: What does 'put somebody up' actually mean, and where does the phrase originate?

texts:
To put somebody up: To let somebody stay at your home; to arrange for somebody to stay somewhere. We can put you up for the night.

Why does "put somebody up" have that meaning? Where does the expression originate? Given that "put somebody down" isn't the opposite of the phrase, what does up mean in context?


texts: Difference between "queue" and "enqueue"

texts: What is the difference between queue and enqueue given that both are verbs?


texts: I've been looking for this answer a lot and people say diferent things are true. Is it shyer and the shyest, shier and shiest or more shy and the most shy? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary it's shyer and the shyest, shier and shiest. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shyer) The same goes to Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/shy). So does this mean both are right?


texts: What's that word that means "typical of / a small version of / illustrative of"?

texts: I want so say that the battle between video rental store franchise companies like Hollywood Entertainment Corporation and internet video streaming companies like Netflix is something of the shift that the .com era brought to the prevailing business management philosophy and practice in America. "Microcosmic" isn't quite it.. what's that word?


texts: Is there a rule forbidding the use of “is” at the end of a sentence?

texts: Is there any justification for using “is” at the end of an English sentence, or is there a rule that forbids this?


texts: Word for someone who feels that they deserve all the bad things that have happened to them

texts: Question is in the title, basically. Recently I was talking to a friend who feels like they deserve anything bad that happens to them. I thought this would fall under self-pity, but the person isn't blaming others or blaming factors outside of their control that have put them in their current predicament.


texts: Does "What Have You Say" Mean the same as "What Have You"?

texts:
I have been listening to the commentaries to "Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers". I've just heard Grant Major say,

  The horses were acquired, other than our own stable of horses, en
  masse, from the farms that were around the place, pony clubs and what
  have you say.

This appears to be used in the same way that I might use "and what have you".

Is this the same meaning?

I believe Mr. Major is from New Zealand, as this was a New Zealand production.


texts: Symbol indicating a value equal to or greater than a number

texts: I am working on translation of numbers and came across this representation of "5 or greater" as "5+". My question is whether or not there is a term for the "+" sign that represents the value as being equal to or greater than the number shown.


texts: Is the Latin abbreviation "f" (folio) commonly used in page ranges?

texts:
When citing from an inclusive range of two consecutive pages such as pages 25 and 26, one can write

  25–26

or

  25f

I know this is a question of style, but I am having little luck with Google on this one. Is one much more common than the other? Is f only used with pages, or with lines of a poem and other references as well? Are there any rules which allow both to be used in different circumstances? Does CMoS have anything to say about this?

I am also aware of ff, but unlike f, there is no equivalent for “25ff” other than the strange-looking “25–” (no upper limit).


texts:
I have a time set like: {5 seconds, 5.1 seconds, 4.9 seconds ....} -> the time values do not change much (has low variance).

Can I define it as: Low-variance time set or Low-varying time set?

I mean, is it grammatically correct? If not how to say it in one word?

Another question: can I say it as Low-value time set (I want to say that it contains small time numbers).

Please help (not good in english). Thanks in advance.


texts: What's the meaning of "by string of" in logic

texts:
I don't know the meaning of "by string of" in following sentence

  Infer by string of IF-THEN statements

found in the following

Source: Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise


texts:
I saw a man commented in instagram, he said "she will be worried" and i think it's wrong, but then i browsed up and find it was trus. As i know, it should be "she will be worry"

So, what you say? Which one is right? Even if it's same, there must be some different between them


texts: Sentence Order - April 3 1812 Letter by James Monroe

texts:
From France we hear nothing. The delay of the Hornet is inexplicable, but on the reproachful supposition, that the F. Govt is waiting for the final turn of things at London, before it takes its course, which justice alone ought to prescribe, towards us. If this be found to be its game, it will impair the value of concessions if made, and give ♦  to a refusal of them, consequences it may little dream of.
  Be assured of my constant and sincerest attachment

  James Madison
   (Source)

1. Would someone please elucidate the second long sentence? For easier comprehension, could "which justice alone ought to prescribe" be placed after "towards us", as follows:

  The delay of the Hornet is inexplicable, but on the reproachful supposition, that the F. Govt is waiting for the final turn of things at London, before it takes its course towards us, which justice alone ought to prescribe.

If so, why would Madison interpose this subordinate clause like so? I recognise this is from 1812, but wouldn't this arrangement perplex understanding, even then?

2. I'm bewildered by the position of "consequences it may little dream of". I'm guessing that it's equivalent to move it to the diamond symbol? If so, what's the logic/rationale for Monroe's arrangement? Doesn't this complicate  understanding?


texts:
When a 7-year-old child is new to Winnie the Pooh that child often interprets it to be poo. I'd like to be able to explain the history of that word.
When I look it up I find

an exclamation of disdain, contempt, or disgust
a childish word for faeces

Which does not seem to match the story, so it makes me think there would have been an alternative definition.


texts:
English (India) has evolved over the years. It's being given a separate place of its own since the no. of English-speakers are growing rapidly. An example would be the addition of the option English (India) in many popular websites and softwares.

What dictionary would be the most reliable standard for English (India)?


texts: How do some people develop the tendency to overuse particular words?

texts:
My ninth-grade history teacher said ultimately so much that a classmate and I started keeping tally each day.  He once said ultimately 26 times in a 48-minute period.

A co-worker's response to most things is the word interesting—seemingly as an acknowledgement. Often a response to any casual comment I make, or most work-related documents she reads aloud.

How is it that some people settle into using certain words so atypically frequently? It surprises me that they don't notice.

I don't mean this to be emotionally charged or meant to be subjective. I noticed it so I asked about it, and have simplified the question to reflect this.


texts:
In The Western Star Chief Inspector Japp replies to Poirot “As true as I’m riding this bicycle”. I was so nonplussed by the expression, that I didn’t even get the context of it; I do believe he was making a point of it not being true, because when Poirot looked at him incredulously, Japp showed with his hands there not being a bicyclce.

What is the origin of that expression, and what does it actually mean?

Examples of usage by others:

Lynn Connolly, 2008: Close Encounters … of the Shirley Kind, p. 59.
Deric Barry, 2014: Innocent on the Run, p. 74
Bonkworld: Howon Howay, 21.9.2001.
John Breeds Magic: “Funny Talk! For Kids’ Magicians”, undated.


texts:
I'm struggling with the word "burden" used in a phrase: whether it should be followed by the word "on" or "to." It might be obvious to some of you, but I am not a native speaker. Or maybe there is another preposition that is more appropriate. I am willing to listen to your ideas.

The specific sentence I'm using "burden" in is:

"Laws...will help the progress in human advancement rather than becoming a burden (to/on) civilization."


texts:
When I look up hapless in the dictionary,¹ the definition is basically "unfortunate" (hap from Old Norse for good luck, -less from Old English leas meaning "without").

That's fine as a very basic definition, but as a native speaker, to me hapless carries a connotation of being a bit helpless about one's lack of luck, a bit ineffective. So not just unlucky, but also failing to be proactive doing anything about it.

Is it just me? Or is this connotation well-established in literature, etc.?

¹ Collins * Merriam-Webster * Dictionary.com


texts:
The word for creates ambiguous ideas in my native language, so I really can't understand the main objective in this phrase:

"Why does she sing her sad songs for me, I'm not the one"

It is a verse of a Townes Van Zandt song.

So, my doubt is how this sentence is interpreted by English speakers:

A.She sings the sad songs because of him, just for him that she sings.
B.The songs are sad because of him.
C.She just sings directed to him, but not especially for him.


texts:
Is there a word in English for someone who steals memories?
The idea originated from Harry Potter books. This entity would store memories and later view them in pensieve.


texts: Which is the correct interrogative form?

texts:
Which of the two is correct?

Who should an English teacher be? 2. Who should be an English teacher?

Thanks!


texts: What is the term used "When a person is called in to work on a holiday"?

texts:
Someone asked me about what term is used for a person who is called in to work on a public holiday. (He told me that it is called pump of leave, but he himself was not sure of it.)

So, there are two questions-

What is that person called?
What is that leave is called?

If there are specific terms for them please tell.


texts: What proposals have been made to give the apostrophe some relief?

texts:
The apostrophe has a lot of jobs.

It makes things possessive,
it indicates the omissions of letters in
contractions and numbers in dates,
it is used to indicate strange
accents in dialog, and
it indicates
plurals of words and letters.

To complicate matters, it looks almost or exactly the same as the single-quote in many fonts and in handwriting.

I have read of proposals to use a distinct mark of punctuation for each task. What are some of these proposals?


texts: When to use a definite article in the name of a ship

texts:
To use examples from Star Trek, the original series and The Next Generation called their ships "The Enterprise", Enterprise varied between "Enterprise" and "The Enterprise", Deep Space Nine always had "The Defiant", and Voyager always called the ship "Voyager" rather than "The Voyager".

"The Voyager" certainly does sound wrong to my ears, but I can't identify a reason for that.

Is there a rule (or combination of rules) for this?


texts: Is it OK to write "Good to see you" in an email or Facebook message?

texts:
An old friend of mine wrote some greetings to me on facebook. Now if I want to answer his greetings, is it OK to write the following?

  "Hi, John, good to see you again"

Because I don't "see" him by e-mail or when writing a facebook message. What would be the correct way to write that expression?


texts: Capitalizing quotations with initial omission?

texts:
Let's say we wanted to omit the first four words of the following quotation.

  "I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Generally speaking, it is recommended that one should not include an ellipsis at the beginning of a quotation.

  "we learn who we really are and then live with that decision." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Should the above be capitalized to follow standard rules of capitalization, or left as is in order to retain its accuracy?


texts:
What is the proper punctuation for broken dialogue? I have the following line:

  "I just never expected you to be so—" she looked Dan up and down "—human," she finished.

I believe that is the correct way to write that, but I'm not sure. Is there a comma before the dialogue resumes? Do I need spaces before and after the dashes, or are they right next to the words like I have them?

If you could point me in the right direction, that would be great.


texts: Expressing the state of something that is planned to be executed

texts:
I am searching for the right expression that describe the state of something that is planned to be
For example, I plan to bake a cake, and try to hide that from my kids. How do I ask for a hiding place for my not yet baked cake? With emphasis on the planned activity of baking.

Can I say

  Do you know a hiding place for my to be baked cake?

Or do I say

  Do you know a hiding place for my cake to be baked?


texts: Etymology of "walking around hot porridge"

texts:
Here's what the idiom means -

To speak vaguely or euphemistically so as to avoid talking directly
about an unpleasant or sensitive topic.
TheFreeDictionary

It seems to be the Czech equivalent of "beat around the bush". However, this isn't the definition of the original idiom. It seems that the Finnish and Norwegians brought cats into their version of the same idiom: “pace around hot porridge like a cat”...
The earliest instance of the altered idiom that I could find was from this periodical (Volume 20) published in 1900 -

Thus the cat walks around the hot porridge, for he cannot escape the
conditions of the origin of the first protoplasmic cell which now, to
him, is a mechanical affair resting upon the ordinary physico-chemical
mechanics —

However, I couldn't find any instances of the original idiom "to walk around hot porridge".. Therefore, I would like to know the etymology of the original idiom.


texts: Why does “lineage” retain the "e" when the suffix "-age" is added?

texts:
"Lineage" (/ˈlɪn·i·ɪdʒ/) is equivalent to "line" + "-age". Other such nouns lose the "e" when this suffix is added:

Stem
+ Suffix
= Noun

Anecdote
+ Age
= Anecdotage

Cleave
+ Age
= Cleavage

Dose
+ Age
= Dosage

Store
+ Age
= Storage

Use
+ Age
= Usage

Why does "lineage" stray from this trend and retain the "e" after we add "-age"?


texts: "I've missed you, too, darling" or "I've missed you too darling?"

texts:
I'm having an argument with my girlfriend about which of these is correct. Could someone help? Commas necessary or no?

I don't consider this an exact duplicate question of "Happy Birthday, Sir!" because it also refers to the first comma. Should there be a first comma?


texts: What is the difference between "all butter" vs "butter"?

texts:
Japan had a lower consumption of butter compared with Russia.
Japan had a lower consumption of all butter compared with Russia.

Do the two sentences above mean the same? please explain

Japan had a lower consumption of salted butter compared with Russia.
Japan had a lower consumption of butter compared with Russia.

Do the word salted butter can be replaced into butter? please explain

I would really appreciate for every comment! Thank you so much!!


texts:
Regarding 'to follow up', I prefer a one-word synonym for want of concision.
Example: I am writing (or calling) to follow up on the earlier missive.


texts: A single word for "liking someone's speech/quote/idea"?

texts:
I usally hear the word compounds "well-said, well-spoken etc.." to express the appreciation of someone's speech or a useful idea, but I never heard such a single word to express that.

PS : I'm not searching for answers like : "To agree etc..." or general terms of "admitting/accepting things".

EDIT : I've found a useful interjection "Touche", but still wondering if it can be used in business speech.


texts: "the art and animation is" or "the art and animation are"

texts:
I'm unsure whether I should use "are" or "is" in the following sentence:

"The art and animation in particular are incredible."

or

"The art and animation in particular is incredible."

I'm sort of interpreting "art and animation" as a singular noun, since I'm referring to "art and animation" as one category to be evaluated. Is this a contextual thing where either one could be correct? I'm leaning towards "is," but I'm just not sure if that's right and am beginning to feel illiterate.

I tried to look up example sentences with both "is" and "are" inserted into "The art and animation ___," but I wasn't able to conclude much from it.


texts: Is the expression 'What's one say?' corrent?

texts:
I've just heard an unfamiliar phrase from a video:

  What's the driver say?

At first, I thought I just couldn't follow what the actor said but I confirmed that what I had heard was right from the script.

I can imagine three similar sentences which are grammartically correct:

What did the driver say?
What has the driver said?
What is the driver saying?

The expression 'What's the driver say?' does not correspond to none of these. Is this some kind of erratic colloquial expression which means one of above sentences? Or, does this mean something different?


texts: Word search: someone who always manages to see rare things

texts: Apparently there is a word for someone who always manages to see "rare" or "low chance" things. Is in the woods and sees animals...looks up and sees a shooting star. Anyone know what this word might be? Someone mentioned it, but couldn't remember what the actual word was.


texts:
Is this sentence ok or should I take out the a's?

"A true gentleman is a 25% noble, a 25% gentle, a 25% respectful and a 25%... dumb. "


texts: Metaphors that appeal to more than one of the senses (hearing, seeing, smell, etc.) at a given time?

texts:
I'm curious about the origin of using descriptors of one sense (e.g. sight) in order to describe a different sense (e.g. touch). (Please note that humans have more than five senses, as this may affect your answer.)

Using one sense to describe another is common enough in English, like "a honeyed voice" where a sound (voice) is described using taste, smell, touch, and sense of time (honeyed).

For example, "her sleep-silted eyes were intently trained on a book" the word "silted" is used to describe a girl's sleepy eyes. "Silted" is typically used to describe sight (defined as "to become filled or blocked with silt") but is instead used to describe a touch-feeling. A feeling where her eyes are clogged with sleep as if with silt.

Is this a case of using one sense (sight) to describe another (touch) or is this just an unusual descriptor? Is the idea of using one sense to describe another just a particular type of metaphor? Where did this kind of word usage come from and is it generally considered to be a good or a bad way to describe something?


texts: Should a comma ALWAYS come before any type of quote?

texts:
I am finishing up an essay, and my teacher has marked on my essay that there should be a comma before every set of quotation marks.

I had commas where I deemed suitable, but in some instances I find that the use of a comma would make the sentence sound really weird.

For example, sentences in the form of

  All morning, Adam "avoided saying anything to Bob that required a form of address", referring to him only as "him", or "the kid".

To me, it sounds weird to have it become

  All morning, Adam, "avoided saying anything to Bob that required a form of address", referring to him only as, "him", or, "the kid".

Can someone please explain to me whether I should use commas in places demonstrated above, and the general rule for this?

Thanks!

Edit: I specifically am looking for the answer of whether there should be commas before quotes that are integrated into the sentence, where the quote directly flows from the introductory text.


texts: How do native speakers think about sentences like "The window does not open"

texts:
Note: I'm aware that there is also a site "English learning". I thought a while about whether it would be a better fit there, and eyes quickly glancing over some passages of this text might think that. But I have doubts. I know how to use that aspect of the language, I don't need to learn it. I rather want to dive a little deeper, perhaps, and have a suspicion that the average native speaker who might easily help on the learners' site might not precisely know about this subject. It might rather be "language enthusiasts" thinking about this kind of topic, and apparently, that's what this site is for?

So - What do I mean, by sentences like "The window does not open."?

I mean sentences that seem to be indicating that the noun was somehow active, even though it is factually a passive object that something needs to be done to by someone or something else.

Well, at least that's what I, native speaker of a related language that does not have this (German), think when seeing/hearing something like that.

Another example: Think of a text file which contains program code of a programming language.
The code has a syntax error somewhere. You try to run the program code, but the interpreter indicates the error. A native speaker might say: "The source file did not parse".

This seems extremely odd to me. I can only speak for myself, but I would guess the same for many other native German speakers. (maybe less so for the youngest generations who started to learn English at earlier ages)
We would never say this. Rather, it would be: "The window cannot be opened" or "The window is not openable" and "The source file could not be parsed" or "The intepreter failed to parse the source file", clearly indicating the factually passive object as a thing that something is done to (or not).
Wheras "the window does (not) open" makes it seem as though the window was something that, potentially, does things by itself. (let's restrict this to classical windows, not windows in maybe Elon Musk's home ;)) Even more obvious is the source file, which most certainly does not do things by itself, like parse.

It's as though someone said, to indicate the location of certain information within a given book:
"The information finds on page 42" instead of "The information can be found on page 42".
If I'm not mistaken, this would seem weird to a native speaker of English, too; i.e. it is not common to say / wrong.

What do native English speakers actually think when hearing or uttering such a sentence?
Does it feel to you like those objects were active things?
Or is there maybe some example that would clearly show that these sentences do not indicate activity on the part of the objects / some way to show me I fell into a trap of thought by the language conventions / expectations I'm used to?


texts:
In the sentence:

  The jean button was dropdowned, I have to go to tailor shop to replace the jean button.

Do we use replace or fix that jean button?


texts: How do you say 'video which has not been seen by me from start to finish yet' in one word?

texts: I'm trying to find easy short way how to describe video (or book even) which I looked at but didn't finish.


texts:
On a resume, which one is correct:

Worked closely with internal and external stakeholders; for instance, Australian government

Or

Worked closely with internal and external stakeholders, for instance, Australian government

Should ";" or "," be placed before for instance?


texts: How do you say "hands-on experience" with this technology to an interviewer?

texts:
Generally, I would tell an interviewer that I have "hands-on experience" with this technology, by which I mean that my experience in this field is very limited, but quite efficient and knowledgeable.

I've had this feeling that quoting it this way does not give the correct message. It does not clearly explain the "efficient and knowledgeable" part. So how do I say it? Is there a one-word expression for it, or is there any better statement to express this?


texts: Is there a distinction between "ceteris paribus" and "other things held constant"?

texts:
Wikipedia defines Ceteris paribus as:

  a Latin phrase meaning "with other things the same" or "other things being equal or held constant".

It has always struck me as strange that we (primarily Economists, but it crops up elsewhere too, usually in academia) need a Latin phrase to stand in for the seemingly clear English statements the definition provides.  To me, it has always obfuscated more than it clarifies.

I'm curious why this phrase is used, if there is an advantage to using it over one of the equivalent English phrases, and in particular would love to see examples where ceteris paribus conveys the author's intent more clearly than the alternatives might.

Edit:

I suppose I should clarify; there are certainly many usages of Latin throughout modern English, however generally speaking these usages are more concise, or describe a concept that doesn't directly map to English.  Perhaps it is simply my perception, but ceteris paribus has always struck me as more confusing than the equivalent English.

For example, there's not (much of) a difference between etc. and and so on, but the former is both more concise and in common usage.

I'm asking if there's a clear distinction or reason for using ceteris paribus, if the answer is "Nope, it's just so you can sound smarter / demonstrate you're in the I-know-what-this-means club" that's fine by me, I just didn't want to assume that.


texts: Use of a semicolon before and comma after "however"

texts:
Several years ago, a previous boss told me to use a semicolon and comma with the word "however".  I've always questioned this and would like to know if the following random sentences are using the correct method.

  Our plane was delayed overnight; however, the airlines reimbursed us for lodging.
  It looks as though he's upset; however, she told me he always has that look on his face.
  I want to find him a nice gift; however, I am a broke until payday.

Normally I would use a less "wordy" sentence in casual writing, but hopefully the example will suffice.  For example, on number 3 I would usually type:

  I want to get him a nice gift, but I'm broke until payday.


texts: What's a word for an instance in which one has an opinion about something without having tried it?

texts:
What do you call it when someone has a strong opinion about something without having any experience with that thing? For example, if someone writes an entire newspaper article about how disgusting pie is without having ever eaten pie.

The word lodged in my brain is "hypocritical", but I know that's not correct.


texts:
From what I read online "news" is treated as a singular noun; however, in this sentence I feel that something is wrong but I am not quite sure:

  1.) I've got an interesting news to share with you.

Or should it be:

  2.) I've got some interesting news to share with you.


texts: Can we use the phrase "go for it" in formal essay

texts:
Good evening everybody,

Can I use "go for it" as a way to express choosing something in a formal essay, a report to be more precise.

  Further education took the lead in the number of students choosing it to pursue after college with 29,665 students. The second position belonged to part-time work, with 17,735 students went for it.

Thank you in advance.


texts:
I'm writing a letter to a loved one, and there are two words that have been eluding me for weeks. The first is a word for a sort of in-between place, that's kind of like "hinterland", but not exactly. It may also have something to do with the word "forest".

The second is a word for "accept", that's kind of like "swallow", but not exactly. Do you know what either of these words might be?


texts: Is there a term for a phrase in which an antonym can be switched-in and yet it still retains the same, or synonymous, meaning as the original?

texts:
For example,

Based on/Based off,
Break up/Break down,
Write up/Write down,
Up for/Down for,
Went on/Went off,
Slow up/Slow down

These all retain similar meanings when substituting with antonyms.

This would be the opposite to switching-in an antonym to contrast the distinct meanings of an auto-antonym.
For example,

Bolt on/Bolt off,
Clip on/Clip off,
Dust on/Dust off


texts: Writing "A , so B, so C..." for series of implications

texts:
Is it correct to write A, so B, so C... to represent a series of implications? For example,

  He is sick, so he is on leave, so you have to do his work, so you
  cannot leave now, so please let her know.

If not what is a good way to express this?


texts: Which of the following sentence is correct?

texts:
1: In their study, they reported that prevalence of pandemic "is" high in certain areas.
2: In their study, they reported that prevalence of pandemic "was" high in certain areas.

In both the sentences, the work was done in the past and now in the present, that work is being described.  So, which should be correct?


texts: What does it mean when a denomination is described to be "pietistic"?

texts:
What does it mean when a denomination or theological tradition is described to be "pietistic"?

The definitions of Merriam-Webster for "pietistic" mean:

  of or relating to Pietism
  a : of or relating to religious devotion or devout persons  b : marked by overly sentimental or emotional devotion to religion  : RELIGIOSE

I do not think the second definition is the one that is used when someone describes a theological tradition as pietistic, because that one seems to connote general piety or being a very pious person. I think the first definition is close, because it merely uses the adjectival form of Pietism.

I have also done some reading in The A to Z of Lutheranism, looking for the entry on Pietism, and it characterizes Pietism as:

  ecumenical, emotional, lay-focused, and interested in institutions
  only if they are voluntary associations
  focus on the regeneration or conversion of the believer, and on
  living, active, heartfelt faith
  opposition toward [Lutheran] Orthodoxy for its overattention to the
  will and the intellect, seeing it as encouraging a barren and arid
  assent rather than living faith Later, Pietism opposed its own child,
  Enlightenment rationalism, for its overattention to reason, seeing it
  as setting skepticism above faith.

I am aware that Pietism has greatly influenced other Christian denominations, but I am still not sure what it means essentially for a Christian denomination to be described as pietistic.

Do all the definitions sum up to some sort of anti-intellectualism or something more?


texts: How to indicate that verification/correction is requested in the document

texts:
I’ve been tasked to write a document (like a wiki) about an application for work. I don't know much about the app, other than what I'm understanding by reading the source code and minimal business requirements. As such, there are some assumptions I'm making in the document that I want verified/clarified by anyone reading it who knows more about that particular feature. Is there some kind of "grammatical feedback" (kind of like when people use (sp?) to indicate that they are unsure of a word spelling) that I could use to annotate a particular phrase or word?

For instance:

  This controller provides [access to the following CRUD
  operations ] (unsure of bracketed text)

Thanks.


texts: Is there a word or expression for "pretending to have intended the outcome all along"?

texts:
Or maybe for a person who does that.

I am talking about cases like someone tripping while carrying a plate and then, by sheer luck, the plate ending up on a table, with contents intact. The person would be freaking out while the plate is in flight, but once they realize it landed perfectly they would act as if that was what they intended to do.

You can occasionally see gifs of that kind of thing; I don't know how to google it up, but the one I remember had a guy starting to fall off the stairs but then he manages to regain balance and sits down with a smug expression, acting as if he just did a super tricky backflip to sit down on the stairs.


texts:
In this earlier thread titled 'Can I precede a noun with more than one determiner?', the most-voted answer by Barrie England says:

  Yes, more than one determiner can precede a noun, but they do so in a particular order. All, both and half come before articles, so your example would have to read I saw two cats this morning. Both the cats were very young (but in this case the can be omitted).

At first blush, this answer may seem to have already addressed my question, but that is not so, because it failed to distinguish the difference between a determiner (function) and a determinative (category), in part because it wasn't clear whether the question itself was about the former or the latter.

For this distinction, please see this earlier question 'Determiner vs. Determinative' and its answer.

According to this distinction, I think that, when coming before articles, all, both and half are not determiners but predeterminers, and that both in both cats were very young is a determiner.

Against this backdrop, I'd like to ask basically the same question with this determiner/determinative distinction in mind. And I'm not asking about 'determinative' (lexical category), I'm asking about 'determiner' (grammatical function).

With regard to the 'both the' example of the earlier question, I will say that you have only one determiner (function) and that is 'the', with 'both' being a predeterminer.

Does this mean that there can be only one determiner (function) that precedes a noun, in general?

How about this example?

  another three days

Are both 'another' and 'three' determiners (function)? Or is only one of them a determiner (function)? If so, which one is the determiner?


texts:
A dialogue:

Celia:    Yeah, US school lunches can’t hold a candle to Japanese ones, especially when it comes to being healthy.
Yukio:    Get this. Tomorrow’s lunch is curry rice. I think I’m in heaven.

I know got it can mean “I understand”, but what does get this mean here?


texts: ‘Drive somebody to’: Why with infinitive?

texts:
We use ‘look forward to + gerund’. According to Cambridge the use of gerund is due to the fact that ‘to’ is a preposition when following ‘look forward’ (as opposed to an infinitive marker).

At the same time ‘drive somebody to (+ verb)’ requires the verb to be an infinitive. Cambridge itself gives ‘violent behaviour […] drove her to leave home’ as an example.

Whenever ‘drive somebody to’ is followed by a noun, ‘to’ appears to be a preposition. Cambridge on the same page lists ‘love has driven men and women to strange extremes.’ Collins mentions ‘into’ as an alternative preposition, as in ‘The recession […] drove them into bankruptcy.’

Is ‘to’ in ‘drive somebody to (+ verb)’ a preposition or an infinitive marker?
Assuming ‘to’ is a preposition: If the rule were to use gerund whenever ‘to’ is not an infinitive marker, wouldn’t we need to say ‘drive somebody to + gerund’, as for example ‘violent behaviour drove her to leaving home?’ Wouldn’t that be consistent with ‘look forward to + gerund?’
Long story short: Why is ‘drive somebody to’ followed by an infinitive and not a gerund as e.g. ‘look forward to?’


texts: Word for person who always judges their actions positively

texts: What do we call a person who always tries to judge their own actions in a positive way, or convince themselves that what they do is always right?


texts: It seems both normalization and canonicalization are used to describe the effort to transform from an arbitrary form to a unique form. Is there any difference between the two words? Why is there XML normalize-space but not canonicalize-space? And a file name in a canonical-form but not a file name in a normalized-form?


texts: Why does the word "nugatory" become nugatory?

texts:
This is the follow up question of When to use “nugatory”?

So if we look at the Ngram of the word nugatory, it is noticeable that the word has been nugatory throughout the time. The trend starts from 1840, and has never gone up. It is slowing down, but still, there is no sign of coming back. Maybe someday it will become obsolete, like quizzaciously.

I really have no idea to explain it. Any idea?


texts: Word, phrase or idiom for an action taken for solely political advantage

texts:
Is there a word, phrase or idiom for an action taken for solely political advantage (although superficially this might be non-obvious)?

Example:

  What evidence is there that Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty was more
  than a [political action for his advantage, although superficially a
  poverty reduction programme].


texts: Past tense of 'to output': output or outputted?

texts:
According to Wikipedia, the past tense (and past participle) of the verb to output is either output or outputted. Are these two forms entirely interchangeable? Or do they have certain nuance in meaning or context (e.g. in programming one of the forms is preferred)?

  Instead of correct results, my program output/outputted garbage.

Which one should I choose? My logical sense tells me output is better because it derives from put, but intuitively I tend to use outputted when I speak and don't have time to think.


texts:
My mother, Theresa; my brother, Frank; and my sister, Danielle, are going to the meeting. (In this sentence I have one mother, one brother, and one sister.) The sentence is cluttered with punctuation, albeit correct I think.

The Associated Press replied and said to strictly use commas (which appear wrong):

  My mother, Theresa, my brother, Frank, and my sister, Danielle, are going to the meeting.

They even said that, in the inverted construction, to do this (which looks worse):

  Theresa, my mother, Frank, my brother, and Danielle, my sister, are going to the meeting.

Can we get away with removing all the punctuation and punctuate that same sentence thusly?

  My mother Theresa, my brother Frank and my sister Danielle are going to the meeting. (In this sentence I have one mother, one brother, and one sister.)

Thank you.


texts: Why was "how much" used in the following context instead of "how many"?

texts:
Elasticity is a measure of how much buyers and sellers respond to
  changes in market conditions.

The sentence above is from page 95, Principles of Microeconomics Fifth Canadian Edition.


texts: "I'll go with the candidate I'm used to" or "I'll go with the candidate to whom I am used?"

texts:
I'll go with the candidate I'm used to.

I get that this is colloquial, but, c'mon. Ending a sentence with a preposition?

However, is the alternative correct?

  I'll go with the candidate to whom I am used.

It seems to me that the meaning of the phrase 'used to' is tied explicitly to the word order and actually doesn't have meaning apart from its tradition, and breaking it up would destroy the faux meaning. I can't think of any other cases where the verb 'use' takes the proposition 'to.'

Is that correct? If not, is there another way to do it without ending a sentence in a preposition?


texts: Is there any equivalent English phrase to Japanese “対岸の火事,” meaning “like watching a fire on the bank of the other side of a river”?

texts:
There was the referendum on Britain’s departure from EU, the nominations of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as presidential candidates of Democratic and Republican parties, the suppression of a coup d’état in Turkey, a series of terrorist bomb attacks and civilian shootings in the city centre. A lot of things are happening today. But it is also true that there are many people around us who don’t care at all what are happening in the world.

In Japan, we call the attitude of those who look on these issues as nothing to do with themselves “they look it as a 対岸の火事" – fire on the bank of the other side of a river.

Is there a figurative expression to mean the same with “対岸の火事” in English?


texts: What does "Effort of the imagination" mean

texts:
I found this phrase in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes book;
this is the full paragraph, with my emphasis:

  You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.

Does it mean something like "more daring than we thought"?


texts:
I've recently come across a sentence like this:

I want to thank you lots and lots.

I was wondering if this is natural-sounding English or not. If not, may I have some other phrases besides "Thanks a lot" to express the same thing?
Thanks for your answers!


texts: A question about the 'polarity sensitive' any

texts:
In academic literature, the 'free-choice' any and the 'polarity sensitive' any are often discussed, when in fact the latter is the 'negative polarity' any.

In the majority of the cases, authors call the any 'polarity sensitive' any. Is it more accurate to call it that because there is some exceptions within the category of 'negative polarity' anys? Or, is it because historically people have been accustomed to using it?


texts:
I never know how to order food correctly but succinctly the first time. :(

Basically: I can't eat hot stuff (i.e. most pepper, similar spices, ...).

On the one hand, I don't want to say "Please don't make it spicy", because I really don't mind spice (heck, a lot of them are great!) -- I just don't want it to be hot spice.

On the other hand "Please don't make it hot" would seem to imply I'd like my food cold!

Possibilities I've considered:

"Please don't add hot spice" just sounds weird
"Please don't add pepper" is the best I've thought of so far, but I'm pretty sure I've come across foods without pepper (or apparently so) which nevertheless tasted pretty hot.
And not just that, but it would also exclude bell peppers, etc. which I don't mind much.

Any ideas for how to communicate this clearly? The fewer words the better, haha.


texts: Usage and origin of the expression “nice and”

texts:
According to the following dictionaries the expression nice and is an adverbial locution which is used to give more emphasis to the adjective that follows:
According to M-W nice and is synonym of very

very —used to emphasize a good or enjoyable quality

The soup is nice and hot. Make sure your room's nice and clean. The library is always nice and quiet.

and Collins suggests that the meaning is:

pleasingly,
(altogether, in a pleasing way)

How did the above usage originate?
The conjunction and actually joins two adjectives, so how does and actually work here, changing the literal meaning of the expression?
Would I like the tea nice hot be unacceptable vs I like the tea nice and hot?


texts: What is the term for a one-level decision tree whereby whichever condition resolves to true, that node wins?

texts:
Provided I have the following proposal:

  Starting from the top, which ever item resolves to true first, will decide an animal's costume in the party.

  1) If its a Dog, use Green costume.

  2) If its a Cat, use Red costume.

  3) If its a German Shepherd, use Blue costume.

If not already obvious, if the Dog is a German Shepherd, it wears a Green suit not a Blue one.

What do you call this specific kind of Decision Tree whereby its only 1 level.  And what is the shortest way of saying this proposal?


texts: Word for 'approach boldly' or 'take on' something new?

texts:
I am looking for a word that can express the idea of 'approaching' a new idea boldly or 'taking it on'.

I want to use it as (assuming the word is XYZ):

  'this shows my ability to XYZ unfamiliar concepts and applying them
  successfully'


texts: Term for someone who asks you a "pick one side" question and gives you a hard time on the side you choose

texts:
Is there a particular word or phrase for this scenario:

Person A poses Person B with a "pick one side" question.
Person B answers with he/she honest opinion
Person A criticizes Person B for the side he/she chose.
Person B defends his/her position while Person A continues to criticize.
Person B finally flips the question on Person A.
Person A replies that he/she does not have any ties to either side of the argument and walks away from the conversation.
Person B is left emotional and confused on the argument that just occurred.

Specifically, is there a philosophy category for this (ex. logical fallacies, ad hominem, etc.)?


texts: Is there an Old English-derived word for change/alter/modify?

texts:
Why is there no word for change / alter / modify that is historically Germanic (that is, existed in Old English)? All of these are historically Latin of latin derivation.
The nearest from Old English that I could find was perhaps "wend," but that does not seem to be in everyday usage nor does it seem to be of the same meaning.


texts: Why does legal English continue to remain archaic?

texts:
Perhaps this is a question for Law.SE if one exists, but I am asking here as there are other nice questions on English history.

There is some historical development account presented in Wikipedia, but I find it grossly inadequate to answer the question. English has always been a language that borrows and enriches itself, but retains its original flavour all the same. Why has a similar linguistic edification not happened with legal English? The question, in its elementary form:

Why has legal English simply not moved on?


texts:
The boy and girl is going to the store.
The boy and girl are going to the store.

Which sentence is correct? I can't remember if 'x and y' is considered a singular or plural noun.


texts: Where to put the periods when using a parenthetical sentence?

texts:
I have two complete sentences; the second is in parentheses, essentially a comment on the first.  Where do I place the periods?  I would use this:

  They played opera. (I covered my ears.)

Is this punctuation correct?


texts: How did the word "sheer" come to have such different meanings?

texts: There are sheer cliffs and sheer fabrics. Why does the same word mean "vertical" in one case and "transparent" in the other? Did they develop from different roots? And what about sheer obstinancy and the like?


texts: Semicolon used within dashes: Making sense of "England in 1819"

texts:
I'm trying to analyse Shelley's "England in 1819", but I'm having trouble with a certain passage which features a semicolon within two dashes. I find this quite confusing, and,therefore, I'm not sure what the author means. Here is the sentence with some extra lines for context:

  Golden and sanguine laws which tempt and slay;
  Religion Christless, Godless—a book sealed;
  A senate, Time’s worst statute, unrepealed—
  Are graves from which a glorious Phantom

Is the senate referring to the "book sealed" (the Bible) or is senate just meaning the parliament here? What does the use of the semicolon and dashes mean?


texts:
I recently answered a question on a Skeptics Stack Exchange where I said this:

Scientists from Harvard University and other countries such as Cyprus and Germany measured the most detailed estimates yet of the toll of air pollution, in a quest to find the cause. The study found that outdoor air pollution is killing 3.3 million people a year worldwide, that is divided as such:

China: 1,400,000 deaths/year.
India: 645,000 deaths/year.
European Union: 180,000 deaths/year.
Pakistan: 110,000 deaths/year.

An editor later, converted "as such" to "as follows" and mentioned "grammar" as the edit cause. So, I asked my friend who is doing his PhD in linguistics what is the difference between them; but he didn't know.
My questions are: Was the use of "as such" grammatically incorrect in this paragraph? When should I use "as such" vs. "as follows"?


texts:
I'm trying to talk about how well two designs complement each other. My exact sentence is:

"I will use the focus of the designs as a measure of complementness."

However, "complementness" isn't a word (recognized by major dictionaries). What can I use instead to convey the same meaning?


texts: Do you think 'alone' can be used as an attribute adjective, ie. before a noun

texts:
OED concludes it to be "rare" now.
I'm wondering if native English speakers find these quotes too dated and unacceptable for today's English.

1668 Howe - Had this been the alone folly.
1873 Goulburn - Christ is ... the alone source of sanctification
1874 Blackie - The alone keystone of all sane thinking

Cambridge Grammar of English decides 'alone' falls into the group of adjectives that are formed with the a-prefix (< prep. an/on) and is predicative only.
OED, however, says it's a contraction of 'all' and 'one', just like German 'allein'.
Is Cambridge's opinion more popular in the UK?
To me, Cambridge Grammar is obviously wrong about the etymology, unless it silently allows analogy. (it also puts 'afraid' in the same group, even though 'afraid' is a worn down form of the ppl of affray < ex-fridare).


texts: “The /ðə/ United States” or “The /ðiː/ United States”?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the pronunciation of “the”?

How to correctly pronounce the the in The United States?

Is it the the that’s pronounced /ðə/, or is it the the that’s pronounced /ðiː/, and  why?

I often hear the second pronunciation, but I think that since the U in United States is not a vowel sound, it should be the first pronunciation.


texts:
What is the difference between “affectionate” and “demonstrative”?
According to Cambridge dictionary,”affectionate” means:showing feelings of liking or love.
And “demonstrative”: showing your feelings or behave in a way that shows your love.
To me the words seem to have the same meaning,but I have seen both of them being used in the same sentence like:
(My husband has always been very affectionate and demonstrative.)
So,is there a difference between the two words? Or do they mean the same?


texts: How common is yod-coalescence in modern RP?

texts:
I am an non native English speaker in where the some pronunciations taught have been obsolete in British English . Recently, I've got some time to do my research and discovered something called yod-coalescence.

Yod-coalescence sometimes occurs with clusters, like /dj/ and /tj/ which coalesce into /dʒ/ and /tʃ/ respectively.

For example, during would be pronounced as /dʒʊərɪŋ/ instead of /djʊərɪŋ/, and Tuesday would be pronounced as /tʃuːzdeɪ/ instead of /tjuːzdeɪ/.

How common is it in modern RP?


texts:
If my subject is "the side in question", is it OK to ask, "Do you have the side in question's cell phone number?" or "What are the side in question's intentions?"

I hope someone can help clarify this for me. I really appreciate it.


texts: What do you call a title that conceals a pun?

texts:
I was reading the clive barker book "Mister B Gone" and it is obviously a pun or some such name for "Mister be gone" as in "sir, go away". I got to thinking about this and this is actually fairly common way of doing things in titles or names. "I P. Freely" is a old simpsons joke.

Is there a name for this kind of pun? Where you hide a sentence inside a title?


texts: how to describe a set of strings with various types of format

texts:
In my scientific experiment, the measurement of equipment may appear as follows  1’’-2’’, 3”:4”,  [1”, 2”], or (1”:2”), etc.
I would like to describe this fact in an article. What is the best way to write it as clearly as possible.
This is what I am trying, which does not seem correct.  The problem is how  to describe the format of these different strings, 1’’-2’’, 3”:4”,  [1”, 2”], or (1”:2”) using English?
The measurement of the equipment being studied is a format of a numerical character string.


texts: Why isn't the word "white" capitalized when referring to the race?

texts:
I was surprised to find that there's a growing convention of capitalizing the word "black" when referring to the race, i.e.:

A Black person.

I thought this was wrong, because I thought it was only proper nouns, like cultures, nationalities and ethnicities, that were to be capitalized. Black denotes a race, and nothing more, as there are many nationalities, cultures and ethnicities that fall within the black race. Calling black a culture or ethnicity would be reductive.
However, this capitalization rule apparently applies to race as well; see the 10th item here.
If this rule is in fact true, then that means black is to be capitalized when denoting a person of the black race. It also means that white is to be capitalized when denoting a person of the white race. Caucasian, which is a word denoting a race, is capitalized. It is a synonym to white.
So, if Caucasian is capitalized, and if people want black to be capitalized when referring to race, why isn't white supposed to be capitalized? Is white not a race? I'm no biologist, nor anthropologist, but if white is too genetically broad to be considered a race, then I'm pretty sure black would be too.
EDIT: As user Cascabel pointed out in the comments, Caucasian is derived from the Caucasus Mountains, which is a place, and therefore a proper noun. Therefore, regardless of what capitalization rules one employs, Caucasian has to be capitalized, and is therefore not necessarily an example of people capitalizing racial classification.
EDIT 2:
CMS have changed their preferred capitalization rules as of the 17th edition, which means that the answers to the linked post that this post was designated a duplicate of, are no longer valid.


texts:
I'd like to find a single noun that relates to me and which corresponds to the list of people including me and each of my ancestors.

I've already rejected the following words:

genealogy : means a work, not a list of people.
ancestry : seems to exclude me.


texts:
Suppose I have a sentence of the form:

  Ahead I see a red door and a blue door - the path to each is similar.

Is this grammatically correct? It sounds odd if I pluralise "path", but this version doesn't seem to make sense either.


texts: How is English from the corn belt in the 1950s different from that in New York in 2020?

texts:
On the math site, I wrote:  "English learned in the 1950s in the corn belt is different from that spoken by a 20 year old New Yorker."  My question is does this have any basis in truth?  I think it does, but I am not a linguist or a mathematician, for that matter.

I have traveled in the US, Europe, South America and Asia.  Where ever English is spoken it seems common to hear that the speaker uses either American English or British English.  There are also often discussion about people from the North and those from the South not understanding each others speech.  I grew up in Indiana in the 1940s and 50s.  There are expressions used there now that I do not recognize.  I know what they mean, but they were not part of the language that I learned.
English sentences are translated in to logic sentences.  If English and logic are consistent languages, then, in theory, there is path from the English sentence to the logic sentence.  If so, then the logic sentence I write should look much like the logic sentence someone else writes.  It often does not, however.

Some examples of English sentences to be translated in to logic sentences.

"To limit the loss of our company, not only the economical and statistical researches are necessary, but also a change in our spending patterns."

For all integers x, there is some integer y such that if x≠0, then xy=1.

“no two robots love exactly the same set of cats.”

"no two robots love the same cat,"

"if robot R loves cat C, and robot X is a different robot, then X does not love cat C."

I realize that these are made examples for teaching, but instead of learning how to express an English sentence using logic symbols I seem to be learning someting about how untangle convoluted or nonsensical English sentences.  It is fun, but not contributing much to my understanding of propositional logic.  I was, in looking for these examples, able to eliminate changes in word meaning and phrases used from my question.  If two people hear the same words and understand them completely, but produce different "results", then that is another issue.

Forgive me if I have not been clear.  I will gladly accept suggestions to help make my question more clear.


texts: What's the word for "doing something because you have to?"

texts: It's part of the concept of simple living where you do something because you must or else you/others may die. Like, you build the house in the woods because you have to, there's nothing but trees. You hunt the bear because you HAVE to, to eat. Soldiers will push themselves further because they HAVE to in order to survive. You do what it takes to land the plane because you HAVE to - nobody else can do it, and you must get down or else you'll run out fuel and crash. So what do you call that simple "do what it takes" attitude?


texts: Term for an anti-theft/anti-loss feature seen on pens

texts:
I suspect many people here have seen those pens in banks by the tellers, that have lines between them and the counter top, so users can't walk off with them. I am trying to find out what that kind of option is called generally, so that I can try and extend its use to other things intelligently.

UPDATE:

I am looking for the industry standard term for these things so I can search for a similarly accoutered pocket lighter. I have a cousin who is becoming senile and do not want him to lose his lighter, or have someone steal it.


texts: Sound something makes while travelling through a liquid

texts: What word best describes the sound made by an object passing through water for a prolonged period of time? "Whoosh" and "Splash" both come to mind, but neither really describes what I'm thinking of of. "Whoosh" sounds too airy and "Splash" connotes a sudden, loud, impact with a liquid as opposed to a gradual passage through it.


texts: Can you distinguish the permission to do something from the license, an official document?

texts: According to the dictionary, licence/license refers to an official document which proves you are permitted to do something. What, then, is the word for the permission itself? I'm from Korea, and in Korean the document and the permission are two different things; that is, the formal permission by the authorities is called 면허, and the document is called 면허증.


texts:
What's the difference between using either for or in in the following examples?

Bill hasn't taken a vacation for/in two years.
Jack hasn't been to school for/in four days.
I hadn't seen Mary for/in three weeks when she finally decided to show up.

NgramAmEng vs. Ngram BrEng

IN
Expressing a period of time during which an event takes place or a situation remains the case:
they met in 1885
at one o’clock in the morning
I hadn’t seen him in years

ODO

FOR
Indicating the length of (a period of time):
he was in prison for 12 years
I haven’t seen him for some time

ODO


texts: The implication of "seen the south-facing slopes wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails"?

texts:
In the following context, I understand the meaning of "slops being wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails." I just don't understand why does the writer say that. In other words, I don't understand what the writer is trying to say. Is he saying that deer are migrating toward the south? Then why they do?

  Since then I have lived to see state after state extirpate its wolves. I have watched the face of many a newly wolfless mountain, and seen the south-facing slopes wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails. I have seen every edible bush and seedling browsed, first to anaemic desuetude, and then to death. I have seen every edible tree defoliated to the height of a saddlehorn. Such a mountain looks as if someone had given God a new pruning shears, and forbidden Him all other exercise. In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers.

Context: Thinking Like a Mountain By Aldo Leopold

Also, in what group can my question be classified?


texts: Is there any word for 'do not' or 'do not have'?

texts:
I was trying to test my algorithm to create sentences that express the lack of something. I found saying for instance:

  I lack 5 apples

weird as compared to

  I do not have 5 apples

While thinking about this, I noticed that the closest word to do not which is used so frequently is don't which is not really a word, neither is it accepted officially. Yet, I couldn't think of any alternative I am aware of. Could it be that there are some unpopular words for any of these? If not, do you think this is worth having a word for?


texts: What's the correct way to format a date range, time range, and days of week in a single line?

texts:
I'd like to write the date and time for an event that runs for one week. Currently I have:

  June 3-7, 2013, 8:30am-5:30pm; Monday-Friday

Is this stylistically acceptable? Is there a better way?


texts:
It is my greatest intellectual satisfaction to be able to read a line from Plato's dialogues and see what is sounds like in any of the languages in which I can read.
It is my greatest intellectual satisfaction to be able to read a line from Plato's dialogues and to see what is sounds like in any of the languages in which I can read.

Which one sounds grammatically and stylistically better?


texts: why the use of ' much of which ' in the following sentence is incorrect?

texts: Electronic games, much of which can be powerful instructional tools, are becoming more and more prevalent with the proliferation of computers in schools.


texts: The position of "strong enough" in "there is no headache strong enough"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  There is no headache strong enough, that a good coffee won't relieve

  There is no headache strong enough, that a good coffee won't relieve.

I know that this sentence is grammatically correct, but I still can't find a suitable grammar rule that would explain why strong enough is used after the noun in this sentence.

Why don't we say "There's no strong enough headache, that a good coffee won't relieve"?

It doesn't look like a reduced relative clause that usually occur with past participles, such as "the people skilled in design" ("the people which are skilled in design"). We usually place such adjectives like possible, available, and few others after the noun. This is not the case.

Can anybody explain the word order to me? It would be even better if someone provides a proof from a grammar book.


texts: How formal should the English in a personal blog be?

texts:
I'm starting a technology and/or programming oriented blog, and I was wondering how formal should the English be, specially when it comes to the shortening of words like "let's".

Ideas?


texts: Using non-participants as an excuse or justification to prohibit something

texts:
So you often hear excuses or justifications to ban something to "protect children", e.g.

  We should ban pornography in order to protect children

Is there a word that describes this sort of justification or is it some sort of fallacy (the specific fallacy would also help).


texts: A word to describe taking pleasure in the way a word sounds

texts:
What is a word that describes one's satisfaction in the phonetics of a word?
Like visual appeal of a pictures, but the audible appeal of a word.


texts: Does a native speaker pronounce spatial and special differently?

texts:
I'm attending a university course on spatial reasoning in computational systems. So the word spatial is often spoken here.
The Germans in the course usually speak English slowly and more carefully so that I can hear an obvious difference between the two words spatial and special. But the English native speakers here, who talk a lot faster, don't seem to make a difference between the words.

Am I just unable to hear the difference because I'm not used to it or do they really make no difference?


texts: More than an acquaintance, less than a friend?

texts:
Is there currently, in English, a word which describes the following kind of relationship:

A person who you know you could be close friends with (this feeling maybe even being mutual and/or outspoken) but who you never even become friends with due to, for instance, scheduling issues, distance, etc.

I'll also take colloquialisms, suggestions, etc.


texts:
Which expression is more commmon? Do they mean the same thing?

Example:

  After class/classes the next day, I went to play with my friends.


texts: Sentence Structure: Relative Clauses with "who"

texts:
I can't analyze the structure of relative clauses.

  We are to look only to God, who as He wills makes angels "ministering spirits" to the heirs of salvation.

I guess

  ... who makes angels as "ministering spirits" to the heirs of salvation.

is plausible. If so, where "He" and "wills" comes from?


texts: The old-money rich "don't buy their own furniture?"

texts:
I've heard it said of the old-money wealthy that they "don't buy their own furniture."

Is the implication that the family has so many heirlooms, and perhaps of superior quality to modern goods, that they furnish with family heirlooms?  Or that they hire designers to furnish their quarters?  Or something else?


texts: Phrase for repeatedly passing something from one person to another?

texts:
Is there a phrase that describes:

  I got it from him, who got it from another person, who got it from another.

I have been discussing such a situation with a friend and am wondering whether there is a word or phrase for that situation, such as 'daisy chain'.


texts:
There was the following sentence in New York Times (May 26) article titled, “No real hurry to tell the joke -Bob Newhart, Master of the one-sided conversation”

  Bob Newhart has always been a gentle minimalist, which may be why he
  does not get anywhere near the critical respect of fellow founding
  fathers of modern stand-up, like Bill Cosby or Lenny Bruce.
  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/arts/television/bob-newhart-master-of-the-one-sided-conversation.html?src=dayp

Is there one word antonym to ‘minimalist’? If not, what is the shortest antonym to ‘minimalist’?


texts:
There are various set expressions, idioms or merely collocations, which include the lexeme 'dog' – such as 'a dog's life' and 'every dog has its day'.

What other expressions including this lexeme are there, may I ask?


texts:
What synonyms are there for telling someone to "go online and search for it"?

Is there something like go live or similar?


texts:
So, if I have to do a certain task during a whole week but with a 3-week gap.
For instance, in a 3-week period I will have to do that task for 1 week, in a 6-week period for 2 weeks, not in a row, of course, and so on.

  One work week for each 3-weeks.
  Once in every 3-weeks.
  ...

Which is the best way to express this work schedule rotation?


texts:
Reading some of the comments on StackExhange, I came across

  this is irrelevant for this question

Shouldn't it be "irrelevant to this question"? Searching on Google I found both are used in various academic texts.


texts: Is there a grammatical name for this type of sentence construction?

texts:
Zookeepers encouraged him to spend more time in the Monkey House…until one day they locked him inside.

This quote was taken from an article about an African man who, in 1906, was locked in a zoo as part of an ethnological exhibition. In editing an essay I wrote, my professor noted next to this quote "Anything about Adam's language in that sentence of interest?" (She mentioned in person that the author crafts sentences like this a lot).

I think because the author ended with "they locked him inside", it made for a sentence that hit on the emotional sensibilities of the reader, because you didn't really see that coming. But I don't know if there is a name for constructing sentences like this (my professor said there probably is but she doesn't specialize in composition and rhetoric so she wouldn't know).

The ellipsis I used in my essay to omit some of the writing. The original quote reads: Zookeepers encouraged him to spend more time in the Monkey House, where he had been sleeping since his arrival, until one day they locked him inside.


texts: "I have no [...] anymore" - is it grammatically correct or not?

texts:
I just came across a sentence structure which I'm not entirely sure is grammatically correct, but I couldn't find anything searching the internet:

"I have no [...] anymore."

My first instinct is that A) that sounds rather weird, especially with uncountable nouns, and B) this is wrong, it should be "I do not have any [...] anymore." But on second thoughts I'm not so sure, and now I've spent so long thinking about it I don't entirely trust my brain any longer. Is this construction actually incorrect, and why or why not?


texts: "Why don't they help him?" Why do we use simple present here?

texts:
CONTEXT

You are walking in the street and you see an old man on the other side stumble and fall to the ground. He tries to get up but he can’t. Nobody is helping him.

You say, to no-one in particular,

  Why don’t they help him?!”

Why is the simple present acceptable here?

I am not concerned with the difference in meaning between using present simple and present continuous in this case. What I would like to understand what generalisable rule allows us to use the simple present here. We wouldn't say:

  Look over there, the old man lies on the ground!

so why is it acceptable to use present simple with the question:

  "Why don’t they help him?"

Please see the section on "Possible explanations". This is not a suggestion like "Why doesn’t he take an aspirin?/Why don’t you go to the doctor?" It’s something happening right now, when you’d normally use present continuous, not in the future, or regularly. Present continuous would be possible, but I think this usage would be more common.

POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS

I thought it’s because there is an inferred "...when/if people can see he needs help" and that the "when/if" is influencing the tense? Is this somehow related to conditional? Somehow, I feel this might be the best explanation: "Why don't they help him? If they help him, he will be all right".
Related to "performative present"? But this is nothing like "I warn you: don’t come back here".
Is it somehow present simple in commentary? You are viewing a scene and describing it as it happens, like a football match? But it doesn’t feel like that.
Is it just a ‘special case’? An answer in another post  suggested that the construction  “why don’t you (just)…” 'can be used as a rhetorical question basically equivalent to a rather crude and exasperated-sounding imperative'. The more detailed explanation goes over my head, and somehow I feel there must be a simpler explanation.

OTHER EXAMPLES (some of these may not be the same problem)

Why doesn’t the bus come?
Why don’t they overthrow the government?! I don’t understand!
Why doesn’t he accept the offer?


texts: "on active service" vs "in active service"

texts:
In the Wikipedia article on the RAF "Grand Slam" bomb that was used by the RAF in World War II, it is recorded that the bomb was used 42 times:

  "By the end of the war, 42 Grand Slams had been dropped on active
  service."

This caused me to wonder at the usage of "on" in this context.  And then I was reminded of Ian Fleming's 10th James Bond novel, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  Here seems to be a similar usage of "on".  In US English we would use "in" rather than "on", which leads me to believe that a British-English speaker has edited the Wikipedia article in question (or is that "on question"?).  Because I would have written "had been dropped in active service."  And I'm a Yank.

In the article about the bomb, the referenced sentence has the unfortunate suggestion that the bomb was actually dropped on something called "active service".

My question is (at long last), is this usage of "on" in the sentence above correct usage in British English, or did the writer get it wrong?


texts: Idiomatic expression meaning "invented by someone and having caught on"

texts:
In Russian, we have an expression с лёгкой руки (кого-то), literally "from the light hand (of smbd)", or, if I may, "by the light touch (of smbd)".

It is used when someone coins a new word, or invents a new method of doing something, or comes up with a new idea etc., which catches on and people start using it.

Is there a similar idiomatic expression in English?

Some examples of what I'm looking for:

  The idea of synthesis via manipulation of single atoms was expressed as early as 1959 by Richard Feynman, but it was not before 1974 that, [by the light touch of Norio Taniguchi], the word "nano-technology" appeared
  [By the light touch of Sidney Brenner] the biologists got themselves a new test animal: the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
  [By the light touch of Czar Peter the Great] Russians celebrate the New Year on the same day as the Europeans, January 1.


texts: What are the rules for using “to” with can and want?

texts:
Trying to explain to my Spanish-speaking friend the use of can vs. want, I realize I have no idea of rules for the use of "to". Sometimes it's used, sometimes not, I know what sounds right but I don't know why.

I can/will/shall speak.
I want to/wish to/hate to speak.

Where can I read up on the use of "to" in these cases?


texts: What is the best way of writing this sentence?

texts:
I want to say

  We know that Einstein gravity as it is, is not renormalizable in D=4.

in the beginning of a new section of my text. However, I am unsure about the repeated "is" verbs. Since I will use this as my opening sentence, I want to learn some other nice ways of writing it. Can anyone make suggestions?


texts:
I know you would typically say: ‘he sits on the investment committee’ but if you are not high up in the hierarchy, can you nevertheless use the phrase ‘I sit on a team’? Or would ‘I sit in a team’ be more appropriate?
Thanks


texts: Looking for a word - getting upset at someone for doing well

texts:
I'm looking for a word for someone being upset at someone else doing well or succeeding. Either a word for that sort of character trait or a word that describes that behaviour. It could include things like being annoyed at someone trying to make positive changes or something similar.
The phrase tall poppy syndrome comes to mind but it's a bit long, and not quite a description of the character.


texts: "Electricity has a velocity (that is) as high as light’s (is)"

texts:
Electricity has a velocity (that is) as high as light’s.

Electricity has a velocity (that is) as high as light’s is.

These two sentences both seem to be correct to me, but I am in doubt about the second one. If the latter is erroneous, could someone explain why?


texts: Why do conditional sentences with "would have had to" have an extra "had" in them?

texts:
Well, I was reading about Type Three conditionals. In the main clause we use if + past perfect (had), then in the second clause we use either the "perfect conditional" or the "perfect continuous conditional".

If past perfect, then conditional perfect.
If past perfect, then conditional perfect continuous.

Why then do some sentences use would have had in the main clause?

If it had rained, you would have gotten wet.

For example, if it had not been for the aid received by the European countries after World War II from the US under the Marshal Plan, they would have had to struggle tremendously to reach where they are today.

Could you please clear up the difference between would have and would have had?
Can the second sentence be written without had in its main clause?


texts: Right adjective for an unexpected solution to a math problem

texts:
I asked for help about a mathematics problem on M.SE and someone answered with a valid proof resorting to a reasoning I wouldn't have imagined, without giving details about how he got that idea.

Is there an adjective or a phrase that qualifies such a proof? To a more general extent, how do you qualify the outcome of an operation (of the mind, or something concrete) that is unexpected but still satisfactory?

There's a French phrase for it: sorti du chapeau.


texts: What's the US slang term for "following someone in a car"?

texts:
I heard this somewhere on YouTube and I wish I could recall where exactly.  The person was recording himself from a dash-cam while driving, and when he noticed that a cop was following him, he said this to another person that was in a car with him

  Hey, hang on. That cop is _________ me.

He used this slang word for following me that I'm curious to know.

I'm referring to American English slang.


texts:
For a research project I have a question about the correctness of the following phrases

The mean activities were similar between group A and group B.
The study demonstrated similarity in terms of antimicrobial activity between product A and product B.

Is the word "between" correct here, or would "for" or "of" be more appropriate. Thank you for you advice


texts:
What is the right term for the grammatical mistake in the following:

As someone who loves animals, lions are beautiful.

The error is that the sentence after the comma should have as the object the person in the first sentence, "I". A correct version would be:

As someone who loves animals, I think lions are beautiful.

What is the right term for the above common mistake?


texts: "By a certain route" vs. "via a certain route"

texts:
Which one is correct:

  by a certain route
  via a certain route

If "by a certain route" is beyond doubt, then when do we use "via"? I always thought that if we go along something (in this case, go along a route), then "via" is used ("via a route").


texts: What are the roots on the verb 'to miss' come from?

texts: I've been wondering what the origins of the verb 'to miss', as in a to have a longing for, come from. Is it anywhere similar to the origins of the verb 'to miss' as in to not hit?


texts: Is "people in my country is dying of hunger" correct?

texts:
Today my grammar teacher taught us about subject-verb agreement.

She used people as a singular subject and told us that it can be used as singular and plural, but in special cases like "people in my country is dying of hunger", as you can see, the verb is is, not are.

Which one is correct?


texts: English phrase for Marathi "Aaiji chya Jivavar Baiji Udar" -"At expense of Mother-in-law's efforts, Showoff of Daughter-in-law's Generosity"

texts:
In India's Maharastra state in Marathi language ,there is a saying,
"Aaiji chya Jivavar Baiji Udar" which means
"At expense of Mother-in-law's efforts, Showoff of Daughter-in-law's Generosity" what is the equivalent of this in English in usage.
which here means a (supposedly lazy, sort of modern day entitled) Daughter-in-law shows off her superficial generosity only while her helpless (powerless, puppet in hand of D-I-L) mother-in-law is working hard to either (serve garnished food or maintain the tidiness at home, lifestyle or nannying the good behaved kids) for her friends, their guest which is part of her Daughter's showoff.
Note: here it is given that most mother-in-laws are naive or consequentially become submissive/subservient to save (not to harm) their son's marriage, Because Daughter-in-law.
All this is happening at behest of the mother-in-law's efforts. So the saying goes.
Daughter portrays her generosity while mother-in-law is working in background.
This shows how the inefficient government wastes at expense of the taxpayers or how empty suit employees showoff the clients endlessly only till the hardworking talented productive workhorses are behind the scene working real hard for the success of the never-ending showoffs.
The irony here for authority like (management in organization) to see is not to entertain (promote) bad apples in (organization or in other respect in society too) because otherwise why would a bad apples stop their showoff, when all the labor is at expense of the good apples.


texts: What is the plural of "corpus callosum"?

texts: The Latin "corpus callosum" is also the common English name for a bundle of nerve fibers that connect the hemispheres of the cerebrum.  Should the plural be the odd-sounding "corpa callosa" or the clumsy "corpus callosums"?


texts: From which language has English borrowed the most words?


texts: How to spell "day hike" when it is used as a verb?

texts:
The compound noun "day hike" is used to describe "a hike that can be completed in a single day". It is most frequently written with a space in between the words, though you can find examples online where people have spelled it "dayhike" or "day-hike". Google automatically corrects searches for the word "dayhike" with "day hike".

Since "hike" is both a noun and a verb, "day hike" is commonly verbed, e.g. "Or you can choose to day hike into the canyon."

Is that usage correct? Here's the sentence that triggered this question:

  To day hike any farther, I'm going to need longer days...

Should "day hike" be hyphenated in this case? Is there a general principle to follow in cases like these?


texts: Why are there so many American phrases about derrières?

texts:
Some examples:

Piece-of-ass
Move that ass
Haul your ass
Your ass is mine
I'm gonna beat your ass
Get that ass in gear
Get your ass over here
put a cap in that ass
cover my ass
kick ass
ass kicking
ass kissing
ass on the line
ass whopping
work your ass off

I've always wondered how there are so many phrases about asses and butts. Whereas Britain doesn't seem to have the same number of phrases about arses. Particularly as America was founded by purtians.
Is this a linguistic thing or a cultural thing?

Weirdly some of the phrases would make more sense if they were talking about actual asses (as in donkeys) e.g. haul your ass. I wonder if that is the origin of some of these phrases.

Also phrases like "ass on the line" and "cover my ass". I find very strange, seeing as it's not just your ass on the line it's your whole body. And also why cover just the ass? And what about "your ass is mine"?


texts: another term for " 'international' hotel"

texts:
I have an article which informs the readers that our company [a local provider] helped a "foreign hotel". This "foreign hotel" is not an international hotel.

My original article title:

A Local Provider Has Extended Help To An International Hotel

The article title is a bit misleading because the hotel is not "international", what is
the appropriate title for this replacing the 'International Hotel'?


texts:
I've recently encountered these two variations of the spellings for the informal word for "expensive." My dictionary and the online dictionary seem to indicate that both of these spellings are correct, but I have yet to discover why there are two variations of this word.

Are both of these spellings correct?
Is this simply another difference between British and American English?


texts:
What is the difference between "To finish something" and "To end something"
When do people say end and when do people say finish ?


texts: What's a word (noun) that means a particularly hard and difficult to solve puzzle?

texts:
Think the context would be say in a movie our heros have got into the bad guy's base, and there's this rubiks cube like puzzle object they have to solve, which is especially difficult to solve it's a ... ?

The best words I've come up with are 'condundrum' and 'enigma' but neither of these seem to fit appropriately.

Condundrum seems to fit more difficulty facing decision making.
And enigma is a mysterious problem.

I was sure that there was a word for it, but perhaps there isn't.


texts:
So I got bored in geography class and decided to make a sentence that makes no sense and goes along the lines of

"Is Muss isthmus? If Muss was isthmus, must he muss an if, if is, is thus?"

The only thing I really care about making this sentence grammatically correct is the "if" in "must he muss an if" and the "is" in "if is, is thus" Muss, meaning to mess up or untidy something, where as Muss first first used, is a person's name.

The "if" and "is" in question, can only be grammatically correct when a noun is used in it's place. So is "if" and "is" able to be used as a noun in this context or at all and can you actually muss an if?

Thank you in advance. - A very desperate high school student.


texts: Is it possible to use "as" in a metaphor?

texts:
Ive seen a lot of places saying anything with "like" or "as" is ALWAYS a simile but are there any exceptions? E.g.

1) I am as sly as a fox - simile

2) I am a bird that flies high in the sky - metaphor

3) As a bird I fly high in the sky - feels like a metaphor because I am saying I AM a bird, not like a bird. But because it has AS is it is automatically a simile?

If the 3rd example is a simile can anyone think of any examples of metaphors that use "as"?

Thanks for the help


texts:
What is the difference between:

There is a person in the room.
There is some person in the room.


texts: "Incumbent" as "current". Usage and its etymology

texts:
Empirical research on neighborhood change, however, has produced no conclusive evidence that incumbent residents are in fact displaced under circumstances of gentrification. (source)
This is because I value incumbent residents and future residents equally. (source)

I have seen the term "incumbent resident" used to mean "current resident" in several places, most of them academic papers. However, dictionaries don't enter this definition, and commonly define the adjective "incumbent" as "currently holding office" or "obligatory" which are common meanings of the word that people are familiar with. Is this a correct usage? What is the etymology behind this usage?


texts:
The verb gnash, as defined by English Oxford Living Dictionaries, means to grind (one's teeth) together as a sign of anger (often used hyperbolically).

We [humans] gnash our teeth whenever we are in an anger mood, but cattle often gnash their teeth, and I don't think that cattle grind their teeth angrily; in fact I often find them grinding their teeth without being angry. Hence, we can't use the verb gnash whenever any cow or goat grinds their teeth. Is there any verb to be added here for this need?

  A cow was______her teeth.


texts: What is the word for the state of being a boss?

texts:
When people are members of a group it's called [having] membership.

Is there a similar word for people who are bosses of a group, like "bossship"? :)

I found the word "directorate" but it means a group of people ("the board of directors of a company"), not the fact that this person is a boss of some group.