texts: Is/was "hold the cheese" a widely used expression?

texts:
I've only ever heard that phrase on teenage mutant Ninja turtles.

When I first came to the USA I was placing an order at Papa John’s Pizza over the phone and said “...oh and could you hold the cheese?” and the response by the employee was “light cheese?” which is what I meant.

Was the phrase only popular in a restricted time period or restricted geography?


texts: What does *players* mean in the context?

texts:
Clay just nodded, seeming rather uncomfortable about something. “Yes, so keep your hands off! She doesn’t need players like you chasing her around,” he growled with a threatening tone to his voice.

Does it mean something like a womanizer? Because the phrase football player is senselessly in the context.


texts: Is the sentence 'such a gift is more pronounce in childhood' grammatically correct?

texts: I understand that 'in childhood' is something that happened in the past. However, the meaning that I want to convey is that the 'gift being pronounce in childhood' is a fact. Can I then use 'pronounce' in its present tense?


texts: 'Ambiguous Nuts' or 'To Shell or not to Shell'

texts: How does one remove the ambiguity of shelled peanuts? Must one just not use the adjective 'shelled' in relation to peanuts, or other nuts, or shellfish?


texts:
Today, while reading an interview of Camilla Pang in The Guardian of 28 Nov 2020, I found this in the article:

Deviations from that – whether through being a woman, or being neurodivergent or because of your race – hit a subconscious bias where some people think: “OK, how reliable is this person?”, and wait for something to go wrong because they’re not the bog-standard fit. [emphasis added]

While I have for a long time been aware of the term 'bog-standard' and what I surmised from context was its meaning, "down-to-earth, basic standard", I became curious about the origin — and also about what I felt was a slightly off-kilter use by Pang, but that's neither here nor there. I "had recourse to" OED (to paraphrase Boswell about philosophy), and soon learned that the term was considered (a) recent and (b) of "uncertain origin". OED also confirmed my surmise about the meaning, although not my association of the term with 'down-to-earth'. The first attestation given was from an ad in the April, 1962 issue of Motor Sport:

Bog standard Sprite, 1959, two owners.

The OED story about the term was similar to the story at The Phrase Finder, a source of "unequal reliability", and other sources summoned by invoking internet search engine demons (DuckDuckGo) repeated much the same story. (None of the sources, by the way, corroborated my association of the term with 'down-to-earth'.)
The existing stories are summed up in the OED entry, which is new as of the 3rd Edition, March 2002:

Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps an alteration of box standard n. (although this is first attested later [1983]), after bog n.4 [a "toilet, a lavatory; the room or outhouse containing this"].
Differing theories of the origin of bog-standard have been proposed, but none proven. An immediate association with bog n.1 seems unlikely on semantic grounds. The most commonly held view is that the transition from box to bog resulted from a mishearing or misunderstanding of box standard n.
Others have suggested a derivation < bog-wheel, former Cambridge slang for a bicycle, though ultimately also related to bog n.4....

Can anybody (who reads this and is willing, etc. etc. etc.) add anything substantial to the story of the 'bog-standard'?


texts: What is the correct English word for a person who always suspects other people without any valid reason?

texts: What is the correct English word for a person who always suspects other people (like colleagues, wife, and, so on), whose habit is to suspect people around him, without any valid reason?


texts: How to understand the meaning of "in which" and "on which" when seeing them standing at the beginning of questions?

texts:
I'm doing an IELTS listening sample test and finding confused when seeing two questions below:
In which two ways are the lines distinguished from each other?
On which forms of transport can a one-day travel card be used?

I'm still confused about them. I'm hopeful that you guys can give me a clear explanation of my problems. Thanks you guys a lot.


texts: How did 'purport' evolve to connote falsity?

texts:
purport  {verb} = [with infinitive] Appear to be or do something, especially falsely:

Etymonline's entry for the verb just redirects to that for the noun:

  purport (n.)
   ... back-formation from purporter "to contain, convey, carry,"
  from pur- (from Latin pro- "forth;" see pur-)
  + Old French porter "to carry," from Latin portare "to carry" (see port (n.1)).

How did pro- + portare combine to connote falsity? I heed the Etymological Fallacy. What are some right ways of interpreting this etymology, to make it feel reasonable and intuitive?


texts: A word for a person on the very extremes of a spectrum

texts:
In a novel I am reading, there are many characters that embody various ideological extremes that end up informing the protagonist's viewpoint. His sister is very politically progressive, his friend incredibly nationalist and conservative. But these spectrums are not just political   - one man he meets is incredibly nihilistic, and another a complete hedonist. I am trying to fill in the following sentence:

  [The protagonist] is able to incorporate lessons from each of the ideological _______ that he meets, with each informing a facet of his ethical beliefs.

Is there any word that can fill in the blank? I thought of radicals or stereotypes, but the former (to me) has a violent connotation, while the latter implies that such a character is common, which is not the case. I am not trying to imply that these people are completely "out-there", but rather that they completely embody each of their respective main qualities.

Is there a good word for someone who falls on an extreme end of an ideological spectrum?


texts: to be riddled with something vs to teem with something

texts:
I'd like to ask how verbs 'to be riddled with something' (idiom) and 'to teem with something' (phrasal verb) overlap each other and can we replace with one another in the same sentence?

For example:

  ...the judiciary are riddled with prejudices and the judicial system
  is filled with flaws, and innocent people will be executed.

  His body was riddled with cancer.

  Her typing was slow and riddled with mistakes.

  The woods are riddled with rabbit holes.

  The streets were teeming with tourists.

  A river teeming with fish

( The sentences were excerpted from Oxford Dictionary Online)


texts:
Please tell me the meaning of the under-lined words

Source:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/article-2560254/Identity-politics-putting-Indias-democracy-jeopardy.html#ixzz2tRy3kBH8

In retaliation the majority group feels genocidal and exterminates minorities. The distance between majority and minority often makes citizenship and adherence to the constitution the first casualty. In an Orwellian sense, it creates a feeling that some minorities are more equal than others.

Does 'in an orwellian sense' here mean according to an understanding that is based on the writings of Orwell or what Orwell would have said if he were alive? I am confused how to interpret it. Please help me interpret it.

Source:  https://books.google.co.in/books?id=hoLcmxTTYWcC&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=in+an+orwellian+sense&source=bl&ots=UkI9mfEsDz&sig=m6oPt-Qvm65Be2SSFj6ezfqVjWY&hl=en&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwi96bPYlfLNAhXKKY8KHVO7DSsQ6AEIaDAP#v=onepage&q=in%20an%20orwellian%20sense&f=false

During and after World War I, the Wilson administration, under the pretext of a Bolshevik threat, launched a “Red Scare” that succeeded in deterring the threat of democracy (in the true sense of the word) while reinforcing “democracy” in the technical Orwellian sense.

That stand is entirely consistent with “democracy” in the Orwellian sense of U.S. usage, just as other measures to exclude “Communists” (another term of Newspeak, referring to anyone who does not accept “democracy”) are considered legitimate, at home as well, including measures of extreme violence in our dependencies.

Does technical Orwellian sense mean the exact Orwellian interpretation and does in the Orwellian sense of U.S. usage mean how USA would interpret what Orwell meant?

Please correct me and help me interpret these.

Thanks


texts: When referring to an event held in a country whose name has changed, should you use the new or old name

texts: If I'm referring to an event that took place in Yakutsk in 1960, should I refer to Yakutsk, USSR, or Yakutsk, Russia?


texts: Since when is "Ese" used in American "Spanglish"?

texts:
My question is about "Ese" when used to designate a person.

How long has this usage been part of common speech in the US? 80s? 90s? Earlier? Later?

I am thinking of 'Ese' as it used by Latino film and TV characters when speaking English, typically to someone who is not part of the Latino community. Often it has a hostile, pejorative aspect, as when the tough-guys in old movies would say "Pal" to someone who wasn't at all their pal.

I'm interested in time period. When did this usage become commonplace--assuming its not just a TV phenomenon.


texts:
In one of the Seinfeld episodes (season 6, episode 12) there is a conversation, in which Elaine tells Jerry that she had given a label maker to a dentist and the dentist obviously gave that same label maker to Jerry, also as a gift.

At the end, Jerry says "If you're getting him anything for his birthday, I'm a large".

What does "I'm a large" mean?


texts:
What would you call (in a single word) a child that asks a lot of questions, leading you to admire that fact?

(In Russian, for example, there is such a word. Is there in English?)


texts: Could I always use "have" (and never use "have got")?

texts:
English is not my native language. I have constantly been trying to add as more words as possible to my active vocabulary. But there are words which I understand but don't try to use myself. One of them is "have got" instead of just plain "have".

I always use "have".

Is it a good way of learning and using English. Or am I missing something?


texts: What does "swift spirit-bolsterer from the Traveller’s Repose" mean?

texts:
I'm reading a short story "Earth calling Taylor" by David Mitchell right now and I have a problem with understanding this part:

  Problem is, I pre-announced my promotion to the big league on
  Christmas day and the prospect of their consoling words and unspoken
  Why-doesn’t-this-surprise-us? is more than I can bear, even with a
  swift spirit-bolsterer from the Traveller’s Repose inside me.

Can you guys help me? What's "spirit-bolster"? What's "Traveller's Repose"? All information I can find about Traveller's Repose on the internet is about a hotel or something in US but I think it's not related here.


texts: "I remember the advice he gave to me" Why add preposition to?

texts:
While I was reading a book, I stumbled upon a sentence "I remember the advice he gave to me".

From my understanding, give can be used in two ways.

First. Give + IO + DO. For example, "He gave me an answer."

Second. Give + DO + to IO. For example, "He gave a book to Jane."

So, I thought the correct sentence should be
"I remember the advice he gave me"
But the sentence includes preposition "to".
Which one is right? And why is it?


texts: An expression for section of leg just above the ankle

texts:
Correct me If I'm wrong - As far as I understand, the ankle is the region where the foot and the leg meet or the bone/bump right above the heel.

Is there a single word or a simple expression for a section of the leg right above the ankle?

For example, I would like to say:
'She decorated her wrists with golden rings and her [...] with bracelets (or other item).

Do I just say 'ankles' or 'lower shins' instead, or is there a relatively better/more accurate way to describe the action?

I like how the first solution sounds, but I'm not sure If it's accurate and while the second solution sounds more accurate (to me), I don't like how it sounds.


texts: Help me understand the pieces of this sentence, please

texts:
When I'm editing someone's work, if they write:

"It is difficult finding jobs in today's world."

I always change it to:

"Finding jobs in today's world is difficult."

I never like the way the first sentence sounds.  What is it called when someone structures a sentence like that?  What are its parts?  The opening "It is difficult finding" sounds weak to me, but how is this sentence diagrammed?


texts: Is this a list inside a nonrestrictive parenthetical or something else?

texts:
In the sentence Several women, some as young as eighteen, others in late middle age, could be seen scrambling up the mountain. It looks like some and others are being used as pronouns.

It's a fine sentence, but I don't understand why it is allowed. If it's really a list shouldn't it be Several women, some as young as eighteen, and others in late middle age, could be seen... Or is this a case of multiple nonrestrictive parenthetical phrases, which seems possible, but I have no documentation on that.


texts: Reading an article on the New York Times website, I came across the verb 'overreach' functioning as a noun. I immediately looked it up on the net and apparently it's just a verb, so I wanted to know what's going on here: is it a translation issue or does it have to do with some dialectical/sociolinguistic/idiolectical affair (which I doubt, because the text is supposedly standard American, right?)? Thanks.


texts: "Sharing of knowledge" vs. "knowledge sharing"

texts:
As the title of a scoping document for a major project, which is better?

  Delivering mutual benefit
  through sharing of knowledge
  Delivering mutual benefit
  through knowledge sharing

Is either version better structured than the other?


texts:
Every year the Netherlands sends 20,000 tulip bulbs to Canada to thank 'them' for 'their' aid in the Second World War.

I understand that them and their is used to say about Canada, Why do they not use her or its or his?


texts:
I've read in some English grammar books that the word above can only act as an adverb. It can never be used as an adjective in any context.

For example:

  1) The above example explains it well.
  2) The above given example explains it well.

Which one is correct?


texts:
There’s a saying in writing to “show; don’t tell”. For example, instead of saying: “She was angry”, you would write: “Steam started coming out of her ears”, or: “Her fists slowly clenched up”. So it’s being more specific when showing emotions, actions etc. happening.

I am looking for a “showing” phrase for being nervous. The only one I could think of was: “Her heart was pounding heavily.” Thanks!


texts: What is for the better or worse? I remember hearing this a few times before but am not really 100% sure on the exact meaning of it.


texts: Looking for a word to describe someone who feels or believes he or she is too good for any improvement

texts:
Another way to frame this is a person who sees him or herself as "good" and is not open to feedback, suggestion or any kind of improvement in their lives because they would interpret these as meaning that they are not good and therefore need improvement. Hence, they keep on protecting their image or belief that they are "good" while rejecting all suggestions or feedback from others.

Basically, the person is overly happy with who he or she is that he or she sees no reasons to improve.

Thank you in advance! I would very much appreciate any suggestion!

PLEASE DO NOT GET INTO A PHILOSOPHICAL DISCUSSION. I JUST WANT SUGGESTION OF POSSIBLE WORDS + EXPLANATION. THANK YOU.


texts: Difference between "label", "categorize" and "arrange"

texts:
Can the verbs, like label, categorize, and arrange, be used to mean the same, as in:

The states are labeled with their U.S. postal abbreviations, their founding date and capitals.

The states are categorized with their U.S. postal abbreviations, their founding date and capitals.

The states are arranged with their U.S. postal abbreviations, their founding date and capitals.

Most likely, the verb list, classify, and sort are also the possible terms here, as in:

The states are listed . . .

The states are classified . . .

The states are sorted . . .

Please, give some guide to me, if I am asking wrong, or if all of these verbs used interchangeably.


texts: What does ‘be worse off under Bam’ mean?

texts:
I saw the phrase ‘be worse off under Bam’ in the Reuter’s news titled ‘Gippered’ in Time magazine (September 6), which says:

  “More than 1/3 of USAers say they are worse off under Bam.
  Warning-sign numbers galore in fresh WashPost/ABC poll.
  Conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 1, error margin 3.5 points.”

I looked for definitions of ‘bum’ that seem relevant to the context of the above sentence. There were six headings of ‘bum’ in Kenkyusha’s Reader Plus English Japanese Dictionary, but none of them seemed to be applicable to the case.

What does ‘they are worse off under Bam’ mean? Why does B of Bam come in capital?


texts: What is the word for 'Turning real events into fiction'?

texts:
A single word or phrase for turning events (historical/recent) into fiction.Like based on real events, but fictious. Like some myths that have been derived from real events.

  'romanticized' but that means turning things into good/idealistic.I'm looking for a word that is neutral.


texts:
I'm writing a paper and I use a list to describe some notation in an equation:

blah blah is described by the equation
x=f(x,u,d),
where x is the state vector, u (is) the input vector, and d (are) the disturbances.

Do I need the "is" and "are" which I put in parentheses? My gut feeling is that I can skip them, but I have a hard time convincing myself.

Edit: I made a small notation edit and added the word "vector" in two places. If this isn't consistent with what you want to write, you can roll the edit back to your original.


texts: "Your chance to dream has arrived" - National Lottery. How do you read this?

texts:
To me, that means: I can start dreaming after buying a lotto ticket. This is weird because without the lotto ticket, I can have my day-dream anyway.
Shouldn't this be something like "your chance to realize your dream has arrived"?

This slogan kind of gives me the opposite feeling about buying a lotto ticket, as if it is always nothing more than a day-dream to win the lottery.


texts:
I need to know the English word for a camel's walk. Like Horse runs, Bird flies, so Camel ?
And what to call a female camel also ?


texts: What do "a week on" and "come back in" mean?

texts:
Well, maybe, a week on, people would be trying to come back in and maybe try and get back to normal, at least start that process.

The context of this sentence is that after an earthquake (about a week ago), the survivors were waiting for rescuers so as to evacuate to other safer and intact places. But some people may have different guesses on what the survivors might/should have been thinking, and the quoted sentence is one of the guesses.

Two questions here in this sentence:

What does a week on mean? I think it means a week has passed. And what I'm more interested in is the meaning and usage of the preposition on here. Does it mean passed or going on or something else?
What does come back in mean? More specifically, why is the word in required in this phrase? Is there anything omitted in this context? And are there any other examples on how to use the in that is similar to this context?


texts: Difference between “Class ” and “Classes”

texts:
Is this statement true?
"Parents send their children to English class"
Or should I use "classes"?


texts:
I'd like to know what's the right adjective from the word 'to emit'.
Is is emitting or emitted radiation?  Or are they  both used interchangeably?


texts: Does "you are looking good" use "are looking" as a copulative verb?

texts:
I enjoyed the post titled: Different meaning of “looks good” vs. “looks well.”
Does the answer change when using a participle ("are looking," as opposed to "looks")? I think that "you are looking good" would be right according to the post, but I feel like I'm hitting on someone! But "you look good" doesn't strike me as flirtatious. Do participles or gerunds get the same copular/linking verb rules as the simple present?


texts:
No matter what they say about him, it's false.

introductory phrase followed by comma and it's false.

So is the whole sentence acting as the main clause in these constructions ? It's false can't stand alone, right.


texts: sarcastic responses as used in comedy or joking around

texts: when a supervisor gives unsolicited advice on how to do something as a reminder and you have been doing this job just that way for the last twenty years and you want to say ...really for real you are advising on that?  Do you have any puns or sarcastic sayings that you could joke around with your co workers so as not to be so offended??


texts: What's the meaning and origin of "Herp Derp"?

texts:
I have seen, usually in Internet meme jokes, the term "herp derp" being used in a derogatory sense, but I don't know what it means exactly — apart from the fact that it seems to be related to dumbness or irrelevant statements.

What does it mean exactly? Is it some kind of slang? What are its origins and meaning?

(Urban Dictionary doesn't help much in this case).


texts: What is it called when someone denies a crime despite not having been accused?

texts:
I heard the phrase a while ago, it was two words I believe. The instance was a woman was approached by police and before they said anything to her she said "I wasn't soliciting" denying a crime she had not been accused of, the officer replied by telling her what she had done, using the phrase I am looking for.

Note, this was on tv, I'm not wandering places where people yell "I'm not soliciting"


texts: Gendered terms — particularly female — being replaced by neutral equivalents?

texts:
I have been hearing that many gendered terms are simply being absorbed into the masculine equivalent, while many other words are retaining their usage. A few examples are the terms "actress" becoming "actor", and "headmistress" becoming "headmaster". There are others, however, that manage to remain, such as "aviatrix" for a female aviator.

Can someone please explain if/why the feminine terms are dying out, and whether or not you prefer the use of gendered terms? I have personally always liked the use of female terms because I think it grants respect to the woman concerning whatever field she is in.


texts: Is there a word for "butchering" a chicken into parts but if the chicken's already dead?

texts: Is there a specific word for cutting up a chicken into parts? Like how "field dressing" means to remove organs from game, is there a term for cutting a chicken into its respective parts?


texts: Questions about meanings and usage of "deez nuts"

texts:
Please note, I did check the Urban Dictionary, and also Stack Exchange.

What was meant by the OP in https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/268152/what-is-the-origin-of-best-boyfriend-ever

  “What can I say but :/ omg deez nuts.”

What is meant by "Deez nuts ain't loyal"?

Edit 8/28:

The bounty is helping, thanks to all for contributions so far.

is used as a ribald non-sequitur -- that is how it has been used by my pre-teen son.  Since he has echolalia (a symptom of Tourette Syndrome), there are a number of words and phrases he repeats that have no particular meaning.  Ribald I already knew.  I also knew my son uses the phrase as a non sequitur.  Is it a non sequitur for others, too?

I'd like to understand under what circumstances people say or write it, and what message or tone or something they are expressing when they say it.  I'm sorry if this is obvious to others.

More progress (8/30): Q1 -- It turns out that the OP was just writing a list of annoying modern slang expressions, so that thread is not going to help me understand under what circumstances the phrase is used, and what it is intended to express.

Maybe this will help folks understand the question: I've never seen or heard a conversation that included someone saying "These testicles", so just reminding me that that's what "deez nuts" represents doesn't answer the question.

I think it would help to read some sample situations with annotated dialogue containing "Deez nuts".  Anyone?

Or do I need to write a new question?

-- Edit upon awarding the bounty --

I still don't understand it, but now I see that there is nothing to understand.  Sigh.  Thanks, everyone.


texts:
This guide equips you with a strategy to ease adoption of a new technology within your organization.

Assume that I want to keep this noun (adoption). Is the article "the" missing here? Should it be This guide equips you with a strategy to ease the adoption of a new technology within your organization?


texts: What does "boats can go no higher up this river" mean?

texts:
What does "boats can go no higher up this river" mean in this paragraph?

  The port of Manham is located in beautiful and peaceful countryside, on a bend in the great River Avon, and developed here because it's the highest navigable point of the Avon - boats can go no higher up this river - and proved a handy place to load and unload cargo to and from the sea, which is over 23 miles away.


texts: Any article is required before [new] if following noun is singular?

texts:
When s is omitted from following line,

New Kids On The Block

Any article(definite/indefinite) is required?

A New Kid On The Block


texts: Monetary amounts: 'thousands' prefix has opposite capitalisation to SI

texts:
One thing I noticed recently when looking through some reports is that thousands are often abbreviated, in a similar way to scientific measurements are abbreviated.

E.g. $1,000,000 becomes $1m and £20,000 becomes £20K

I was curious about the capitalisation choices though, and the fact that they appear to be the opposite of what SI would specify for kilo- (k) and mega- (M).

Does anyone know where these monetary abbreviations came from and why they're capitalised in this way?


texts:
Mother: Have you completed your homework?
1. Son: I will complete my homework before 6 P.M.
2. Son: I will have completed my homework before 6 P.M.

Are both sentences 1 and 2 correct?
Which one is more appropriate, and what's the difference in meaning both conveys?


texts: I'm confused about the use of "No worry" vs. "No worries". Are both of them correct? If so, do they have the same meaning, or do they mean different things? What are the contexts where one vs. the other is used?


texts: Which sentence is grammatically correct?  I have been trying to find the answer to this for a couple years.  I hear people saying both of these types of sentences and I keep wondering which is grammatically correct.  I have researched online but cannot find out, so I decided to ask you.  thank you.


texts: Is there a word for a person that lies so much they're not aware they are?

texts:
I know someone that lies as a defense in all of their discussions to win arguments and make them seem like they do the right thing all the time.

  Example: One day I heard her claiming to braid a persons hair that she
  was speaking to despite the fact of that person telling her there was
  another who did it.

If she wasn't just trying to take the credit and honestly didn't know that she was lying, is there a word that explains people like her?

I don't mean lie so much as in exaggeration because that paticular lie is'nt exaggerating but rather just making up stuff because of jealousy perhaps.There can be many reasons.


texts: What is the tense in this sentence? Is the verb in conditional?

texts:
In what verbal tense is "were"? Could it be considered conditional? Or a preterite in subjunctive mood?

The best way I can explain it to you is by saying that, for a second or two, I felt as though, instead of going to the centre of a continent, I were about to set off for the center of the earth.


texts: "A/An" preceding a parenthetical statement

texts:
When a/an precedes a parenthetical aside (sometimes seen in informal/conversational writing), should the vowel rule depend on the first word in parentheses, or the next word in the "regular" flow of the sentence?

  I need a (memorable) idiom (preceding an m word; use a)

or

  I need an (memorable) idiom (preceding an i word; use an)


texts:
Today the Guardian reported BA selling off crockery from its first class cabins.  The meaning here is clear.  However, is there any word play in here?
Does selling one's china have historical connotations of someone being miserable? In my mind, not born in an English speaking country, it conjures the image of one being totally miserable.  Not necessarily whilst in possession of china crookery but ready to sell anything to be able to survive one day more.
Is this the same image that an English speaker would have? perhaps it was a common occurrence in crisis times that china in a household became the last possible valuable item that one could sell and thus as such became an expression?  I can find no references whilst googling but I feel so strongly about it that I thought would ask?


texts: "Put the  down." versus "Put down the ."

texts:
"Put the box down."
"Put down the box."

Which sentence is grammatically correct? If they are both correct, which one is used more and by whom (while you're at it, correct me on usage of 'whom' and single quotation marks if I used them wrong).

If it helps to answer this question, we usually say "put it down" as opposed to "put down it", and in fact, the latter expression is not even grammatically correct in the slightest bit whereas both (1) and (2) seem equally viable from the perspective of an ESL speaker (that would be me) although by convention, I usually say (1) even though I think I've heard stern mothers in American movies use (2) when shouting at their child (although maybe they say "Put down that box!" instead).


texts:
What option fits best in the following question please?

An obstacle had been placed in the middle of the road and the ___________ accident was blamed on it.

a. following

b. ensuing

c. resulting

I think it is not following otherwise the sentence should have been written conversely.Oxford Dictionary says ensuing and following synonym.

  The guards returned fire, and the ensuing gunfight lasted all
  day.(MacMillan)

This example is so similar to the sentence.


texts: How to decide alphabetical order when space is present?

texts:
for example,

aa

vs

a a

or

PyTorch

vs

Py Discourse


texts: Is there a word for someone who is a lover of the incidental or coincidence?

texts:
Bit of a weird one. I'm trying to write a song at the moment and I have the subject sorted but now I want to find out if there is a word for it.

I find myself tending to like melodies and lyrics that I come up with by accident or through coincidence than through actual structured song writing and was wondering if there was a word for this. If so I have a song title and also a bit more background to work with for the lyrics.


texts:
The following is an excerpt from the August 12 New York Times.
What does the headline “Here There Be Dragons” mean?

Here There Be Dragons. But Can They Survive an Invasion of Tourists?
KOMODO NATIONAL PARK, Indonesia — The Komodo dragon, a 10-foot lizard native only to a scattering of islands in Indonesia, flicked its forked tongue. Two boys were standing nearby, the perfect size for dragon snacks.
A local guide shrugged at their unease and urged them closer to the reptile.　Komodo dragons resemble dinosaurs that missed their cue for extinction. […]
But like other tourist destinations around the world, from Venice to the Galápagos, the park is at risk of being wrecked by its own popularity. The inundation of tourists is threatening the very animals and pristine beauty drawing them there.


texts:
I wonder if the three colon punctuation usage in the case bellow. Also, is the indent proper? Finally, are they formal usage, which can be used in formal writings?

I have two questions:
     1: Who am I?
     2: Where did I come from?

Thank you very much for your response.


texts: Term or idiom to describe a best friend since your childhood

texts:
In Chinese, there is a four-character phrase, 竹马故友 which could be translated word for word into:

  Bamboo Horse Old Friend: Friends who played together riding toy horses made of bamboo.

I know there is a similar term in Japanese and Korean. Japanese is 竹馬の友 which means a friend of bamboo horse. I heard from a Japanese expert that it is not very common, but not difficult to understand for Japanese.

I wonder how a native speaker of English describes a best friend since childhood. For example, when you introduce him or her, you could say:

  (S)he is my best friend since childhood. We are [best friend since childhood] or We used to [do something]
  together.

Is there any suitable term or idiom?


texts: How did the word "beaver" come to be associated with vagina?

texts: What is the etymology of the word beaver as it relates to a woman's vagina?


texts:
What is the antonym of the adjective "sample" (example/specimen) besides "whole"? I'd like to replace "non-sample" in the following sentence:

  I saved my sample code but accidentally deleted my non-sample project.


texts: What does "to become controversial" mean?

texts:
As a non-native speaker, I do not fully understand the meaning of the term "to become controversial" in the following text, which I have to translate into German:

  Where translators have made their presence felt they have become controversial, with those who characteristically intervene, seeking to domesticate texts, contrasted with those who foreignise, supposedly allowing other languages to alter our own.


texts: To assume an event that never happened did happen

texts:
While writing a paper on 20th century international relations & the Second World War, I was faced with a situation where I had to 'suppose' Hitler never came to power in Germany, and the Weimar Republic never collapsed.
Would there be an academic term to refer to the assumption of an event that never happened, did in fact happen?


texts: We all know the difference, but: can 'all' ever substitute for 'both?'

texts:
I was wondering whether there is a formal rule for or against substituting 'all' for 'both'?
We all know the difference between 'all' and 'both', but look at this question from ELL:
https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/83143/all-vs-both
Here there are answers to the effect that both shall always refer to 2 things, and all can refer to more than one -- is that definition of 'all' widely accepted, and if it thus overlaps with 'both', can 'all' substitute for 'both' at least in certain cases?

Example 1 (2 is specified) :
he has 2 shirts -- both of them are white
he has 2 shirts; all of them are white
Example 2 (2 is implied) :
He crashed his bike. Both the wheels were smashed.
He crashed his bike. ALL the wheels were smashed.

I know that 'both' sounds better whetever clearly applicable, but can 'all' ever substitute for 'both',  or is there a clear grammatical rule / convention that "thou shalt not use 'all' wherever 'both' is applicable?"


texts: Which one of these should be before "for you"

texts:
I just heard someone say "fortunately for you" in the film The Arrow, and I know that "lucky for you" is also a synonymous common phrase.

Why is one an adverb and the other an adjective (before for you)? and furthermore, I once read that they were some kind of contraction. What is the complete form?


texts: Word or phrase that describes a group of acronymic initials that can be any order

texts:
Typical acronyms represent a phrase with a fixed word order. For example, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is not coherent when reordered to, say, ATNO (Atlantic Treaty North Organization).

Yet a form of 'anagrammatic acronyms' exists where each word stands alone and can be represented in any order (although by convention, one order may be culturally dominant):

Big five personality traits as OCEAN, NEOAC, CANOE, etc;
The elements of art as SFTSLVC, TFCSSVL, etc;
The fire triangle as OHF, HFO, etc.

  What do linguists call a collection of word initials that may not mnemonic and can be in any order that pleases the reader or author?


texts: A Question Regarding the Use of a Comma for a Quoted Question

texts:
I'd like to ask for the community's opinion regarding the correct usage of a comma for a quoted question.
In a situation such as this, which of the two following sentences would be correct? The placement of the comma is the only difference, and I can't seem to pinpoint which one is correct.

A popular answer to the common introductory question "What is your favorite color?," red is a color that is beloved by many.
A popular answer to the common introductory question "What is your favorite color?", red is a color that is beloved by many.


texts: Is there a "-nym" word for the members of a political party?

texts:
In an answer to a previous question, I referred to "tea-partiers" as the demonym for members of the Tea Party in US politics.

But I know that's not right; demonym describes the name of the population of a physical place.

Is there a corresponding -nym or otherwise short, self-contained word for members of a political party or other abstract group?


texts:
I have searched the meaning of "classic" in Cambridge dictionary, but I am not satisfied about its meaning as adjective

What is difference between terms classic and old? As we often use terms like for example classic physics, classic music, etc..


texts:
A friend of mine recently used an expression "When since" to start a question that could just as well start with "since when". I feel like it's incorrect, but a google search doesn't bring up any reference to "when since" used in that context. Shouldn't the question word be first?

My bad if I'm ignorant. (and my apologies for the plebeian English skills displayed here).


texts: Describing a well-respected person who is welcomed in a foreign country

texts: Is there an English term to describe someone who is welcomed with high respect in a country, for example, the Chinese vice president on a recent trip to the US?


texts: What do I call a device like a PlayStation Portable?

texts:
Portable/Handheld (Video) Gam(ing) Console/Device?

So many possibilities, how am I supposed to refer to it?


texts:
Compare these:

  She tried, and, as expected, failed.
  She tried, and as expected, failed.
  She tried and, as expected, failed.
  She tried and as expected, failed.
  She tried and (as expected) failed.

The first seems most correct, while the last seems most elegant. Is it all a matter of taste/style?

I'm also curious of these:

   6. She tried, and failed.
   7. She tried and failed.

Is there ever a need for the first form?


texts: Is there a comparable word to 'visibility' for hearing?

texts:
On a foggy day, you might say there is poor visibility. Similarly, trying to read something on your cell phone in direct sunlight is difficult.

Is there an equivalent word that can apply to hearing?

If you were trying to talk on your cell phone during a loud concert, it would be hard to hear. And listening to a radio station with static would also be difficult. But being able to hear a pin drop in a quiet room would mean you could hear something with great clarity.


texts: Coherence on regular vs irregular verb spelling

texts:
I have been confused by this for quite some time. I have always used learnt as past forms of the verb learn. However, I have always used the regular spelling of the other verbs which follow the same pattern (dream, spoil, spell...).

My question is: If I choose to use the irregular spelling on learn, should I also use that spelling on the other verbs for consistency? (Or vice-versa).


texts:
The following line is from a Halo 2 teaser (female voice at around 1:11, the link is to 1:05):

  Admiral, tell your men to hold their positions. Reinforcements are on the spoke.

The only definition I know of and the only one Google is turning up is the typical tire/wheel spokes, but I don't see how that fits in the sentence. What does "on the spoke" mean?


texts: Does reduplication always place the front/close vowel before the back/open vowel?

texts:
I was looking up "seesaw" on Wiktionary
, and I noticed all their examples of ablaut reduplication "such as teeter-totter, zigzag, flip-flop, ping pong, etc." have "ee" or "i" in the first word, replaced by "o" or "a" in the second word:

seesaw
teeter-totter
zigzag
flip-flop
ping pong
sing-song
kitty-cat

Is there a process by which this kind of reduplication that involves only a vowel change ensures that the first vowel is front/close and the second vowel is back/open?


texts: Same speaker, multiple paragraphs, interrupted by narration

texts:
I know that if Alice talks for more than one paragraph, I should only close the quotation marks at the end of the last paragraph.

  "Blah blah blah.

  "Blah blah."

I also know that if there's narration at the end of the first paragraph, I close the quotes so it doesn't blend with the quotation.

  "Blah blah blah," said Alice.

  "Blah blah," she continued.

What do I do if the narration is at the beginning of the second paragraph?

  "Blah blah blah.

  Alice paused, then continued, "Blah blah."

Should there be a quotation mark at the end of the first paragraph? If there's a rule, I'd like to know it, but if not, I'd appreciate examples in print for precedent.


texts:
"Aswaddumization"  is a derived word from Sinhalese language(Sri Lankan native language ) and gone to English (as I heard), the meaning of "Aswaddumization" is cultivation of land.

However, I cannot see this is used practically, please let me know if this is used in English language as an accepted word. I did search in Google but couldn't find a good reference.


texts: Is "apt alliteration's artful aid" actually alliterative?

texts:
... and if not, what is it?

This cropped up in a facebook expat group that I am in, when one commentor insisted it is assonance, not alliteration. As the only linguist in the group I was called on to give a definitive answer.

I was about to say "it is alliteration" on the basis that assonance is based on syllabic stress, and started looking for sources but...

....OWL, Silva Rhetorica, and Wikipedia all suggest, directly or indirectly, that alliteration applies only to word-initial consonants. This would leave the phrase as assonance, but only if assonace includes word-initial vowel sounds, which the same sources suggest is not the case except when the first syllable is stressed.


texts: Can I use "you guys" when it includes gals? [Northeast USA]

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is “guy” gender-neutral?

I'm in the Northeast USA.

I'm about to email 3 people, 2 are women

It is ok to say "I thought you guys would find this interesting" ?

Does the sexual orientation (straight vs gay) make any difference ? (to be clear, I'm not suggesting it does, I am just adding that (true) factor in in case it affects any answer).


texts: Is it "Greetings from The sunny Hague" or "Greetings from sunny The Hague"?

texts: If I were writing a postcard home from a sunny city, I would normally put the adjective just before the proper noun like "sunny Berlin". What should I do when it's The Hague?


texts:
I'm trying to analyze the construction of this sentence:

  I'm having so much fun watching.

so much fun = NP, Direct Object of the verb am having
watching =

My question is, is #2 an NP (and gerund) functioning as an object complement of #1?


texts: What is the difference in meaning between "choice" and "option"?

texts:
When must we use option but not choice, and where do we use choice but not option?

Or can we use them interchangeably always?


texts:
BACKGROUND
In this question, it was asked why it sounds better to omit 'with' in

I have no money to buy a bed (with).

whereas 'with' sounds right in

I have no ball to play soccer with.

Indeed, the 'with' feels redundant at best in

I have no money to buy a bed with.

On the other hand, leaving out 'with' here would make it ungrammatical

I have no ball to play soccer. (??)

This is not limited to 'soccer'

I have no ball to play. (??)

Instead, it should be:

I have no ball to play with.

As one of the answers in the quoted question says, it may be okay to use 'with which' as in:

I have no money with which to buy a bed.

Given that the version without 'with which' sounds right, it might be argued that this version with 'with which' may be redundant and thus as unidiomatic as I have no money to buy a bed with. But native speakers seem to find the former grammatical.
Now, moving on to the finite relative clause, compare these:

(1) I have no money I can buy a bed. (??)
(2) I have no money I can buy a bed with.
(3) I have no money with which I can buy a bed.

Here, it seems clear to me that 'with' cannot be omitted, unlike the infinitive relative clause.
QUESTION
Therefore, I'd say that the idiomatic I have no money to buy a bed resisting with at the end is more of an exception in the sense that corresponding finite relative clauses do require 'with' either at the beginning or at the end of the clause, and that the corresponding infinitive clause with 'which' requires 'with'.
What do you think triggers this exception?
EDIT
It may be worthwhile to note that the version with "with" is not ungrammatical:

I have no money to buy a bed with.

Some native speakers might find this version more correct --  if not more common -- than the one lacking "with".


texts: What's the difference between a pathological problem and a normal problem?

texts:
I was reading some books about system design the other day, and I noticed that the authors often claimed that a system had some pathological problem.

Is it possible for a problem to be not pathological?


texts: Word for working with two parallel work instruction system in a company

texts:
If living two lives, one for outside world and other in the closet is double life.

What would you call preferably pejoratively for when employees are working with two procedures rule book & guidelines in parallel as in, one from the previous (departed) owners of the company (recent as between 1-6 months) and other from now a new procedure guidelines/instructions from the new owners after a takeover.

Example: In order to meet the daily requirements of the company, the employees themselves have to work with ___________ (parallel systems) to suffice the company commitments since the new management has simply dumped their existing system from their other company on these employees, which is tough to execute in order to do daily business while there has never been a familiarization or transition process.

It is as though a equivalent of "living double lives" but in the company's procedural work instruction business sphere.


texts: Why is the article grammatically correct in "the pyramids"?

texts:
Could you please explain to me why we add the definite article "the" to "pyramids"
-----"The pyramids" even though it's a plural noun.

The grammar rule says,  that we add article only to single nouns.


texts: Word for feeling of closure or peace of a relationship (usually a bad one)

texts:
As written in the title, there's a specific word that is not too common in English that's used to describe the feeling you can get when you finally resolve your long-term disdain for someone, or reaching some sort of civility between you and them.

I can't remember it but I would know it if I saw it.

Example:

    He attained [a feeling of] ____ after talking to his estranged father after many years.

I'm not looking for synonyms of peace or closure, and nothing on Thesaurus.com has helped me. It is a very specific, unique word. It's like closure, peace of mind, or inner peace, but I've only seen it used in the context of sunsetting a toxic, detached relationship.

Edit:

The actual meaning of the word I was looking for was peace of mind for any period of negativity. It's not necessarily unique to interpersonal relationships.


texts:
What's the difference between Example and Sample?

In Spanish it's the same word, but in English it is 2 different words. What is the difference?


texts: I have read on The Free Dictionary that the expression big deal may be used as an interjection to answer ironically "to indicate that something is unimportant or unimpressive". If it is the case, what else expressions could be used in this meaning?


texts:
When would I use "learned of" versus "learned about" in a sentence? For example:

  The principal learned of the planned protest and suspended any students wearing the armbands.

or

  The principal learned about the planned protest and suspended any students wearing the armbands.


texts: Help with prepositions: "possibilities of having", "a continuance for my hearing"

texts: I am writing to seek possibilities of having a continuance for my hearing on 02/13/2014.


texts: Is “This room was slept in by Milton” grammatical even though ‘sleep’ is an intransitive verb?

texts:
Milton slept in this room.

According to   Cambridge, sleep is an intransitive verb (A1). So we shouldn't be able to rewrite the sentence in the English  passive voice.

But I want the most important part of the sentence to be the room and not Milton, so I wrote

  This room was slept in by Milton.

First, is this grammatical?

Second, I thought the passive voice in English can only use transitive verbs??

I researched about the English Passive Voice on Education First and Purdue University's  Online Writing Lab.

This answer has been marked as a possible duplicate of Intransitive verbs with preposition in passive sentences. But the most upvoted answer there does not address the property of intransitive as assigned by the dictionary, which is an integral part of this question. In addition the same answer there is confusing  because it says both that transitivity is not a property of verbs and yet ends up talking about transitive verbs. In addition, the same answer does not explicitly deal with verbs other than "sense verbs". So I'm not sure if that answer applies to to sleep.


texts: English word for so consumed in thought you fail to hear

texts: For example, someone is going to the mall, and he's so set on getting to the mall that when you call him he does not hear you.


texts: Is there a word for selecting yourself as the target audience for an invention or product?

texts:
Let me explain this with an example. An inventor faces a problem, he decides to develop a solution for it. Initially, he is the main target audience for his invention.

I was wondering if there was an single word to describe this, a word that would mean "to solve your own problem" as a verb or "as a solution to his own problem".

I was thinking at a compound word with the prefix auto perhaps? http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/auto-

EDIT: Example usage: "The developer of the app said it started out as an (...) application (to solve his own problem). Now his company succeeds to target a more broad target audience."
Is there one word that can replace the text in brackets?


texts:
Are there usage differences between clod, chunk, and lump? Are they interchangeable?

For example, is it better to use lump or clod for wood?


texts: Is 'friendly reminder' a positive word? What is an alternative with a friendly undertone?

texts:
I send reminders to my customers all the time. And, I hesitate to use the word 'friendly reminder'. I interpret it as a soft reminders before aggressive reminders. It brings up an image of a thug asking me to payup before his next visit, This might be because of the movies I watch.

So, what would be a substitute for 'friendly reminder' with a polite undertone.


texts:
For years I have been using "majorily" in a sentence to identify the majority class. For example: "The balloons were majorily red, with a few blue balloons scattered about." or "When it comes to fish; Bears are majorily associated with Salmon". Today, I noticed that this word doesn't seem to appear in any dictionary.

I understand that "majorly" is a word, and many people may misspell it to arrive at "majorily". However, I was under the impression that they were two distinct words with different uses and pronunciations. As far as I can tell, there is no pronunciation of "majorly" that sounds like how I would pronounce "majorily" (muh-jawr-i-lee).

I cannot say where I picked up the word, only that I don't seem to be the only person who uses it. Could it be a misuse of "majority"? I'm not entirely sure if majority could be used in the same way.


texts: Phrase for targeting surface level problems?

texts:
I'm looking for a phrase that describes trying to fix problems caused by underlying issues, with the result of compounding the issue. I usually call this "targeting surface problems rather than root problems", but my terminology is verbose.

Example 1: A government bans buying and selling bananas in the state. Later, it passes a clause allowing citizens to purchase imported bananas.

Example 2: A divided highway is erected with two lanes going in each direction but, since it gets lots of traffic, the shoulders are widened into new lanes. This leaves no shoulder room.

What would be a more concise phrase?


texts: "In a frail voice" versus "with a frail voice"

texts:
Which of these are correct?

  In a frail voice, he said goodbye.
  With a frail voice, he said goodbye.


texts: Does frictional means "that which is produced by friction"? Or is there a better word that means "that which generates friction"?


texts: Do the phrases 'within one week of the date of the request', and 'within one week after the date of the request' (i.e. the request is made 27th October, 28th Oct - 3rd Nov is the one week period after the date of the request) have the same meaning?


texts:
One of the definition of shingle is

  a mass of small rounded pebbles, especially on a seashore.

You can say

  a shingle beach

(more common usage in UK than US perhaps)

Is it also correct English to say

  a shingled beach


texts: Is there a rule for how to spell words that have the ought/aught sound?  Why is it 'taught' and not 'tought'.  Why 'bought' and not 'baught'?  There's also 'caught', 'fought', and 'daughter'.  Is there a way to tell which to use or are these type of words ones we just memorize how to spell?


texts:
In the sentence

He ran up the stairs

up the stairs is a prepositional phrase functioning as an adverb to modify the verb ran,

But what about the sentence

He flew like the wind?

Is like the wind a prepositional phrase functioning as an adverb to modify the verb flew, or is this a case of misusing a preposition as a conjunction? Should this sentence be changed to:

He flew as the wind?

This sounds completely wrong.


texts:
Could you please explain the rules for using the phrase "having to"? For example, in this sentence:

  "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Why is "having to" appropriate here? Why is it used in this case, but not in other cases where the verb "say" is used?


texts: What's the term to describe 'normal' languages, such as English, Chinese and Russian as opposed to programming languages?

texts:
English is not my native tongue, so I might be overlooking an easy word.

The following is what I mention on my resumé in an 'about me'-section:

  I'm a language enthusiast and (...).

But language enthusiast is ambiguous in the sence that this is a programmer's resumé and the reader may think that I like learning new programming languages. How do I make clear that I'm talking about 'normal' languages? I thought about spoken languages, but I feel as if that opposes written language more than it emphasizes the fact that I'm talking about 'normal' language such as English and French.

Is there an alternative?


texts:
In the novel "The Clock That Went Backward", in chapter II, there is this sentence:

  Aunt Gertrude's will left me her bank and gas stocks, real estate, railroad bonds, and city sevens, and gave Harry the clock.

Please can anyone explain what "city sevens" means?


texts:
I was typing in a description and I got the following problem, and I don't know which of the sentences is the right one.

The angel's image, now appears correctly.
The angel's image now appears correctly.
The image of the angel now appears correctly.

The phrase is to justify a change/update in an application, where an image of an angel that was not present having been correctly updated.

Sorry if it's too silly of a question. But I'm basing my question in the FAQ

Usage, word choice, and grammar

But in this case, is a small phrase. =D


texts: Does it make sense to say "someone is the reason and purpose for me of doing something?"

texts:
I'd like to put this in acknowledgements of my dissertation, expressing that someone is very important to me:

  X is the reason and purpose for me of writing this dissertation.

But is that a meaningful and grammatically correct sentence? If not, how should I rephrase it?


texts:
When I was in America I was offered eggs for breakfast as either 'up', 'down', 'easy' or 'dropped'.

None of them are in use in Britain, where we have our eggs, fried, scrambled, boiled, or poached.

Please could someone match these terms for me?


texts:
He doesn't have any money. He was made broke in 1999.

Is it grammatically correct to use this structure?


texts:
I spent much money.

I know it's common to say "I spent a lot of money.", but why is the above sentence wrong?


texts: 10 degree(s) length, length of 10 degrees?

texts:
In my paper, I want to describe the length of a interval of 10 degrees. But what is the correct way to say it?

10 degrees length
10 degrees span
10 degrees' length
length of 10 degrees
...

The reason I'm asking, is that MS Word reports error for 10 degrees length. So I want to know, what is the correct expression?

Also, I think this question is very simple, is there any way I can search for it? So I don't need to post it here to bother someone again in the future.

Context:

The dataset that I'm working store the data (angular) into 0, 10, 20, 30 .. 350. I want to expresss the length of the interval. How to do it?

I now write it as the interval has a length of 10 degrees


texts:
I remember having learned it from the TV. But I can't remember what it is now.
It's a verb synonym of drug or poison. It means someone slips some drug into someone's food or water. The drug may be just some sedatives.


texts: Is English considered a trade language/lingua franca?

texts:
English is used in commerce around the world.
Is it officially considered a "lingua franca/trade language?

If yes, is there a way to find out what percentage of non-English populations that have English as the trade language, know English as a second language?

Just because a language is a trade language does that mean the average folks of the other nations know it?


texts: Is there a name for the fact that, in fiction (tv or otherwise), actions have consequences in the next episodes?

texts:
This might sound silly, but I can't get the question out of my head.

In some TV shows a person may die in one episode and come back the next - actions in one episode do not seem to have consequences in the next.
In other shows, what's done is done and scenarists can't resurrect people - worlds have more coherence.

Is there a specific term that captures this difference?
I've thought about realist vs fantastic but it seemed a bit broad.


texts:
An excerpt from a book I'm reading:

  The doctrine of Israeli nuclear exclusivity was carried out in muted kinetics.

What is the meaning of "muted kinetics"?

Fortress Israel By Patrick Tyler


texts:
In computer science, is delete considered to be included in edit, or are they two separate things?

Example: Editing item details and deleting items.

In my case, both can be done by the same user and from the same place.


texts: Comma needed when applying these 3 adjectives to a noun being introduced?

texts:
Copyediting this sentence:

  Create a new, integrated and dynamic platform

I'm unsure if the comma after "new" is needed or not, or if one should go between "integrated and dynamic".

Is the quoted statement correct grammatically, or if not how should it be changed to correct its grammar?


texts: "Informing" — Gerund instead of Verb+Object?

texts:
I think if we take informing as a noun in this sentence, it should be fine. What are your views on the grammaticality of the following sentence?

  He left me without informing.


texts: Phrase similar to breaking barriers/glass ceiling

texts: What's another way to say breaking barriers or breaking the glass ceiling? It doesn't have to be related to women's rights or anything-- I'm thinking just overcoming challenges in general. Any interesting non-cliche and unique metaphors?


texts: What is the meaning of "dumbly eloquent"?

texts:
Please go through this excerpt from "The Story of My Life" by Helen Keller:

  The hands of those I  meet are dumbly eloquent to me. The touch of some hands is an impertinence. I have met people so empty of joy, that when I clasped their frosty fingertips, it seemed as if I were shaking hands with a north east storm.

I understand the literal meaning of dumbly eloquent here. The word eloquent means fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing. So dumbly eloquent means the speech or literature are so persuasive and fluent that addresses all your questions and make you speechless. Eloquent relates to speech and writing. However, Helen Keller was unable to see and hear, and could only perceive by her touch. How can someone who cannot see and listen feel the some attribute which can be perceived by seeing or hearing only? How does eloquent fit in this context?  What is the exact meaning of the phrase dumbly eloquent in this context?


texts: Is there a word that means "of the genitals" or something similar? Example usage would be something like: "the genitalic tissue." Thanks!


texts: Where is it best to put the "when" of a sentence?

texts:
John yesterday went to the store to buy eggs.
John went to the store yesterday to buy eggs.
John went to the store to buy eggs yesterday.


texts: A British idiom describing ordinary people?

texts: Could anyone help me find a phrase/idiom which is used to describe an ordinary person? I remember it's something like 'a man on ___ bus'. I read it several weeks ago in the Economist or the Guardian, but I can't remember exactly.


texts: Do "to be" and "to have" work differently from each other with "each"?

texts:
Notes for context: I am a native BrEng speaker. I have read "Each of these is" vs. "each of these are", How does "each" change "are" to "is"?, and What should I use between "triple" vs. "all"? and I understand the general concept of "Each of them is" and how "each" always takes the singular.

Reading my daughter's bedtime story this evening, I came across the phrase "They each have a bag of equipment". It made me wonder why the following seems naturally (to me at least) to be true:

  (Correct) Each of them has an X
  (Correct) They each have an X
  (Correct) Each of them is a Y
  (Incorrect?) They each are a Y

I would never say (to use the examples from one of the posts I linked) "I have three pens. They each are green.", but "I have three pens. They each have a lid." is fine.

Is "to have" different from "to be" when it comes to using it with "each"?


texts: "I would have never said" vs. "I would never say"

texts:
I know a lot of questions have been asked about would or would have but I haven't found any answers that help me understand this three-party conversation, with C possibly a native speaker:

  A: How do I ask for a cup of tea in the USA?
  B: Bring me the tea, please!
  C: No, I would have never said that.

or

  C: No, I would never say that.

What's the difference? Which form is preferred by native speakers?


texts: Is the word 'provoke' used for negative purpose only?

texts:
My teacher's friendly way of teaching provoked my passion for mathematics.

Is this sentence correct? Is the word provoke used for negative purpose only?


texts: Word for low level noise among restless crowd, as sign of confusion or complaint?

texts: Dictionary gives me "drone" and "murmur" but I'm not sure if that's the word I am thinking of.  I want to use it to describe a group of people on strike who hear that their demands are not met and the CEO has resigned.  They're not shouting, but they're not whispering either.  They're restless and confused.  I want to say that a certain something (murmur?) was heard among the crowds, to indicate their state.


texts:
Can I use not only with furthermore instead of also?

  Not only is he tall, he is also heavy.

Can I say or write:

  Not only is he tall, he is furthermore heavy.

or (and please tell me if this one is correct):

  Not only is he tall, but furthermore he is heavy.


texts: Since when has “wallflower” been used to refer to men?

texts:
Dictionaries these days define wallflower as a shy or unpopular person not dancing at a party (see Merriam-Webster for instance). Etymonline says the first recorded use of the word in this sense was in 1820, but it restricts it to women:

  Colloquial sense of "woman who sits by the wall at parties, often for want of a partner" is first recorded 1820.

The Kipling Society also appears to suggest that in the 1880s wallflower in this sense applied to women only. They explain the use of wall-prop (this is the subject of another question) in Kipling’s “A Friend’s Friend”, Plain Tales from the Hills, 1888:

  wall-prop a non-dancer who leans against the wall. (A non-dancing lady was a 'wallflower').

The wall-prop in the story is a man. So, did wallflower in the sense of a non-dancer initially apply to women only? If so when did it start being applied to men as well?


texts: where does the word 'satst' get used? and what does it mean really?

texts:
While reading the poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton, I came across the usage of the word satst. Can anyone tell me what it means? I can gather what the other words imply, but for this one I needed some clarification.

  [...] Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss [...]

Paradise Lost (London, 1674)


texts: Is there a list of plural names of currencies?

texts: Is anyone aware of a list of plural names of currencies?  I don't really care what conventions are used. I just want to avoid using an obviously wrong plural form.


texts: "Contemporary" (as a synonym of "modern") in the context of art and history

texts:
According to dictionaries, contemporary (adj.) has a second meaning of modern; current; of the present age. Yet in the context of art and history, is usually means something from the mid-twentieth century. For example, contemporary dance is completely different from dance genres that are popular today. Contemporary history explicitly means post-WWII history.

Does that mean that the word should be used cautiously in such contexts, or is it just a small number of phrases that include the word (C. hisory, C. art) with this special meaning?


texts: Which one is correct "at an" or "in an"?

texts:
Which one is correct?

• I am an engineer, and I work "at an" office.

OR

• I am an engineer, and I work "in an" office.

If both are correct, what is the difference between them?

Thanks in advance!


texts: Are phrases with implicit meanings considered incorrect/wrong?

texts:
An example phrase is

  ... Internet is out ...

The implicit word here is "connection." The full phrase would be

  ... Internet connection is out ...

Is the first incorrect? Is there a general rule to acceptance of dropped/implicit words in phrase meaning?


texts: What is the relationship between me and the younger brother of my future sister-in-law? Does he count as my brother-in-law, or just a family friend?

texts:
Over the past few days I have been trying to figure out whether my sister-in-law's brother is my brother-in-law or friend? My friend believes we are not related anyhow i.e. if we were cousins his sister won't be marrying my first cousin which is wrong and the surname is not the same.

I am so confused as I researched on Google, coming up with different answers.

Not sure to mention this or not, but am having some kind of feeling towards him, I feel guilty thinking about it if we are technically related through marriage. The cultural context is India.


texts: Should an exact time come before a day when specifying when something will happen?

texts:
I have a flight tomorrow to leave for France.

It will leave at 9.45 a.m. tomorrow morning.
It will leave tomorrow morning at 9.45 a.m.

Which is the correct sentence?


texts: Is it deodoriser/deodorizer/deodouriser/deodourizer? In British English as well as American

texts:
British English would usually use "-our" and "-ser" and American English would use "-or" and "-zer".

I don't seem to find an appropriate answer to this. Which combination is actually correct for British and for American English.


texts: Difference between "take a taxi" and "get a taxi"

texts:
What is difference between the following sentences?

  I take a taxi/bus/train.
  I get a taxi/bus/train.


texts: I need help with sentence to relate to a person

texts:
I want to offer some advice to someone who is a situation that I'm going through myself.

To be more specific we both have quit smoking and are around the 3-week mark.

Here is what I've composed,

  I am in the same time as you and I know how irritating it can be.

It feels wrong. What's the better way?


texts:
Just heard a non-native English speaker saying this:

"Interesting for you to say that, since..."

I would have said "Interesting that you should say that"

Are both correct and natural? And what about "Interesting that you say that", without "should"?


texts: Past/Present tense in a conditional statement

texts:
I'm not an English speaker. Even though I do understand conditional statements that are written by others but when it comes to my turn I still feel confused and don't really know how to organize it.

  If you had not been here I would have been here.
  If you were here I would be here.
  If you are here I will be here.

I understand the 'time line' of verb tenses like this:
[past perfect] - [past] - [present perfect] - [present] - [future perfect] - [future]
Following this if the conditional statement suggests the sequence of the events they should be :

  If you had not been here I would be here.
  If you were here I would've been here.
  If you are here I will have been here.

May I please have your help on this? I know it's quite basic but I couldn't find any clear explanation on the net.


texts: I want to say a strangely-lit grove, eerily-lit in an out-of-this-world manner. Does "fey-lit" convey that meaning?


texts: Is the usage of 'of course' correct in this sentence?

texts:
Is the usage of of course correct in this sentence? Is it the right context?

  After 60 blissful years, even today, all the school memories are
  still vivid and heartwarming. Of course, happy memories never wear
  out.


texts: Word for "the best example of a contrast to this" (i.e. opposite of epitome)?

texts:
Google gives this example for "epitome":

  "she looked the epitome of elegance and good taste"

I'm wondering whether there's an opposite word, to mean "the best example of the opposite/contrast of.." e.g.

  "she looked the ____ of elegance and good taste"

Meaning she was an example or demonstration of the complete opposite to elegance and good taste.


texts: Is the pronoun 'it' used correctly in this sentence?

texts:
I have come across a sentence in which the pronoun 'it' occurs but seems to have no antecedent, and I think it should be omitted:

A controlling idea: what the writer is going to focus on it in the paragraph.

For more context, here is the page of the school English textbook from which I quoted.


texts: Can I use and expression containing the words from ... and hither?

texts: I am currently translating a text from the Greek language containing an expression, from there (name of a place in the Aegean) to this place (here), but I can't seem to find a proper way to phrase that. Can I say from Aegeas hither? My Greek text uses the word "δώθε" which actually means coming this way, till this point.


texts: Why does the word "tortilla" refer to three distinct types of edibles?

texts:
The crisps[BrEn]/chips[AmEn] that are made of corn (and probably not deep-fried) are called tortilla:

The wraps with that special taste, are called tortila:

And then, the omelet-like meal is called tortilla!

I can understand that the first usage is probably derived from the second, since I saw something saying that frying the wraps, you can make the chips; but the third usage is not related to these two at all.

What's the commonality among these three that has made the English use the same word for all of them? Or is it just a random confusion/carelessness after borrowing the edible + the name from Mexican and Spanish in different periods of time?


texts: definite vs. none article before abstract concept; again

texts:
I reviewed both:

Definite article before scientific terms
Use (or non-use) of articles before abstract nouns

and I still cannot decide. According to the previous post my sentence should be:

  If the number of I/Os of my circuit design exceeds the threshold which is required for the fast operation, then ...

This is because I could say "the fast operation of my circuit".
But for me it sounds very odd without this extension.

I can leave out the "the"?
If there is only a slight difference in the meanings... does it matter?


texts: How to indicate the "attn" person in an email

texts:
I'm using emails in my professional context to contact with my client. (We are external auditors ABC). We are given access to a common email account in which we have to use to correspond with the client XYZ.

Since there are lots of emails sending in and out of the mail box and there is one person of the team who is in charge of handling emails, forwarding the replies to the relevant person of the team gets difficult. (What usually happens is we compose the email from our own work mailbox me@abc.com and forward it to the common mailbox ext_auditor@xyz.com.)

As it is hard for the team member who is handling emails to determine to whom each received email belongs to, we would like to add a attn in the email before we send it to the client. How should we indicate this particular information in our email?


texts:
"Holes have been drilled in each corner of the board so that it can be fixed to the wall."

The above sentence is written in my textbook along with a picture showing the board having only one hole in each corner.

The above sentence makes me feel that each corner has two or more holes because the subject "holes" is in plural form.  Is it OK to change the subject "holes" in the above sentence to be in singular form ?


texts:
I’d like to ask about the sentence from The Retired Colourman by Conan Doyle.

  "Quite so," I answered with some mystification. "And on B row."

Could anyone elaborate how Dr. Watson was like when he said something with some mystification. Did he seem to be proud because he remembered such details? Or was he a bit puzzled because what  Holmes asked was too-obvious?
Thank you.


texts: Prefixes reversing the meaning of the base word

texts:
Is there a name for words whose meaning can be 'reversed' by adding a prefix?

What I mean is words like unlikely, impossible, dissimilarity , which include a prefix that causes the meaning to be exactly the opposite of the original word. Do these words have a particular name?

Are there any rules as to what prefix, e.g "dis-", "un-", "im-", etc. is used   for which word?

Thanks


texts:
I know this topic is unlikely to pique any native speaker's curiosity, but bear with me, I am trying to learn the difference between froth, foam, lather and suds.

I feel these terms are not always interchangeable even though they mean more or less the same. There isn't anything called shaving froth. Yet, I can't explain clearly the difference between froth, foam, lather and suds.

I would appreciate if someone could enlighten me.

(Edit) ODO definitions:

Froth – a mass of small bubbles in liquid caused by agitation, fermentation, or salivating.
Foam – a mass of small bubbles formed on or in liquid, typically by agitation or fermentation.
Lather – a frothy white mass of bubbles produced by soap, washing powder, etc. when mixed with water.
Suds – froth made from soap and water.


texts: Why is "de facto" often written in italic?

texts:
Often when I see "de facto" written somewhere it is in italic. For example:

LaTeX website:

  LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system; it includes features
  designed for the production of technical and scientific documentation.
  LaTeX is the >>> de facto <<< standard for the communication and publication
  of scientific documents. LaTeX is available as free software.

Wikipedia Article

  Continued practices of expecting African Americans to ride in the back
  of buses or to step aside onto the street if not enough room was
  present for a Caucasian person and "separate but equal" facilities are
  instances of >>> de facto <<< segregation.

Why?


texts: Adjective to describe someone who thinks everyone is driven by self-interest

texts: I'm looking for a term to describe a person who thinks that everyone is driven by personal interest rather than by philanthropy or charity; someone who is pessimistic about people's intent (whether they're honest or the opposite).


texts: Surrogate in comparsion to substitutional

texts:
Am I right in assuming that the term 'surrogate' is meant to be used in a way of telling that someone or something is a desired replacement for a certain thing, whereas 'substitutional' would rather be used when one is trying to express that there is a replacement for something, but this replacement is kinda involuntary?

If not, where lies the difference between those terms and when should I use one in favor of the other?


texts: Do people still use the traditional pronunciation of "zoology" so it starts with "zo" not "zu"?

texts: I hear the "zoo" /zu/ in "zoology" (/zuːˈɒlədʒi/, /zuˈɑlədʒi/) almost universally now. I think I’m the only one left saying /zo/ in "zo-ology" (/zoˈɑlədʒi/, /zoʊˈɑlədʒi/, /zəʊˈɒlədʒi/). Am I alone?


texts: Does "notified by [date]" include the end date?

texts:
I have read the Rules of a competition. The text of the Rules include a sentence as follows:

  As per stated in the Rules the entrants will be notified by May 30th 2010.

Does the sentence above mean that May 30th is included in the term of notification or not?


texts:
Both the following sentences sound the same to (non-native) me.
"Start your computer scientist career by learning to program the OOP way."
"Start your computer scientist career by learning to program in the OOP way."
Should "in" be used before "the way"? Is there any other issue with any of the two sentences?
Note: OOP is an acronym for Object-Oriented Programming.


texts: Difference between "The store is open now" vs "The store is now open"?

texts:
Is there a difference between the meaning of these two phrases?

The store is open now.

The store is now open.


texts: employ, employer, employee - can I generalize this pattern to (verb), (verb)er, (verb)ee?

texts:
As a non-native speaking programmer, I need a general pattern to name input and output variables of operations where the variables are of the same type and I noticed that employ, employer employee is a great pattern. Can I use this for any verb?

Are the following correct?

merge, merger, mergee
(the function is called merge, the one everything is merged into is called merger and the mergees are the ones that go into the merge)
split, splitter, splitee (the function is "split", the original item is the "splitter" and the "splitees" are the results)
connect, connector, connectee
transfer, transferer, transferee
approve, approver, approvee
support, supporter, supportee
manage, manager, managee

And so on.

If no, how do I decide when I can do this and when I can't?


texts:
I have seen a meme which confuses me:

  "At 18:

  Others: have partners, do drugs etc.

  Me: watches tv and sleeps

Is this grammatically correct and does "me" take singular verb form?

I have also heard comedians use this.  My question is about verb agreement.
We say I watch tv and sleep but what about “me"? Is it  “me watch tv and sleep”  or “me watches tv and sleeps”?


texts: Why I remember a wrong sense of the word "moron"?

texts:
I thought that the word "moron" means a very smart person (a genius), but my English teacher has said it means the opposite (an idiot) and it was confirmed by lexicons.

Where did I get this incorrect definition?


texts: Should "Program" be capitalized when short for the proper noun "Health Professionals Services Program Committee"?

texts:
I'm proofing language for a proposed statute change and am confused about whether or not the word Program needs to be capitalized throughout the document.

Lots of questions...

  A Health Professionals Services Program Committee is established.

Question:  The program name is Health Professional Services Program.  Should the word Committee be capitalized?  The actual name of the committee is Program Committee so to me, the sentence doesn't even make sense as it is written.

Similar question...

  Members of the advisory committee...
  The advisory committee consists of:...

The name of this committee is Advisory Committee.  Should it be capitalized?

Final Question...
Should the word Program be capitalized throughout the document where it is being used in place of the name "Health Professionals Services Program" ?

IE:

  If the board designated to provide administrative management of the program
  changes, any appropriation remaining for the program shall transfer to the newly designated board on the effective date of the change.


texts: Are the words everybody and everyone interchangeable?


texts: Clarification about the phrase "within [x] years of the date..."

texts:
Does the phrase "within [x] years of the date..." mean before or after (or both?) the specified date?
For example, in the phrase, "GRE scores taken within 5 years of the date application was received," does the applicant have to take the GRE test after the application is received, or does he/she take the test before the application date?

*Context info: Later on, in the same text, it says "TOEFL, IELTS or PTE scores taken within the last 2 years of the date application was received," making it clear that the applicants have to take the test before applying to the school.


texts:
People usually shrug at the notion of an interviewer influencing and guiding the interviewee towards the answer they want.

Is there a better way to write this sentence. And is there a better word to use other than shrug. I tried 'do not tolerate' but that sounds harsh.


texts: One word for a reward that will not be given

texts:
Is there any one word term to express something which is promised, but only to trick others to commit something, and will never be given.

Say, I promise my friend, "If you do it, I'll give 100 bucks". Later, when he comes to seek the reward, I just find an excuse and avoid him. Insurance claims may fall into this category too.

Additionally, can anyone think of a story (like a fable/gospel) that illustrates such a scenario?


texts:
Why do you say Bless you when people sneeze?
Is there good reason or history?

When someone sneeze, if I don't say Bless you, am I rude?


texts: Is it wrong to pronounce "pizza" as "peedtza"?

texts:
I was extremely mocked by colleagues (good humor) when I said the word "pizza" in the middle of the conversation.

Given my accent, the way I pronounced it was closer to "peedtza", with a slight hint of that "d" that I never noticed myself until they brought it up.

They were saying it should be pronounced "peetsa" with no "d" or "z" in there.

Is my pronunciation absolutely wrong?  Or could it be pronounced like that as well?
I don't know if that matters, but we are in America, so a comparison between British and American English is welcome.

I can take criticism, so be as blunt as you want!


texts: Why is quicksand named so if you get sucked in so slowly?

texts: Why is quicksand called "quick" if it sucks in so slowly?


texts: I often find people (mostly American people) telling to me "you will want to do this" or "you will not want to do this". Does it mean they are telling me that I should do something (in the sense of being authoritative) or are they just requesting that I do something?


texts: Using the Possessive with Gerunds: appreciate their thinking or appreciate them thinking?

texts:
In formal writing, which sentence would be a better choice to imply "I appreciated that they had thought of me"?

I appreciated their thinking of me.
I appreciated them thinking of me.

Is there a subtle difference in the two constructions? To mean that sentence number 1 stresses on the act of thinking and sentence number 2 stresses on the people who are thinking? Or can both be used to mean the same thing?


texts:
I've heard both 'in close quarters' and 'at close quarters', and I think they're generally interchangeable.

Is there any difference in meaning albeit subtle?


texts:
Finally, I got rid of Karen. / Finally, I was rid of Karen.

rid of is a phrasal verb whose direct object is Karen

got and was function as copular verbs

rid of Karen together is a participle clause (past participle clause?!) which is adjectival and serves as the predicate adjective complementing got/was

Is my three-point analysis above right?


texts:
Please help to figure out the meaning of the sentence. What is the function of the adverb away here?

  Making a difference in the lives of thousands of Albertans is only a donation away!

This was taken from Alzheimer.ca website.

Relevant section is given below:

  Ways to donate
  Making a difference in the lives of thousands of Albertans is only a donation away! A donation to the Alzheimer Society helps people dealing with the challenges of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.


texts: Use of "e.g." — are parentheses necessary?

texts:
Is it appropriate to use "e.g." in a sentence without using parentheses?

  This administrative access control should provide visibility into access via multiple vectors (e.g. group access rights versus individual account rights).
  This administrative access control should provide visibility into access via multiple vectors e.g. group access rights versus individual account rights.


texts:
Recently I stumbled upon a sentence

  I have to roll my eyes any time I hear someone say they started or
  work for a startup.

I tried to find a grammar rule which explains it but all in vain. Can anybody point me in the right direction on why it is "someone say"?!


texts: Is it correct to say "cold temperature"?


texts: Which is better: "it may happen that..." or "may happen that..."?

texts:
Which sentence is better in a text:

  "It may happen that some people believe"
  or
  "May happen that some people believe"


texts: I recently bought a book that begins with a foreword, a preface, and an introduction (in that order).  The introduction was the only one written by the main author of the book; the other two were written by celebrities who had nothing else to do with the book. My question is what is the difference between a foreword, a preface, and an introduction?


texts: 'The phrase “cute puppy,”is not considered a collocation.' Is this correct?

texts:
I am a data scientist who has a question about collocations based on a book I am reading.  The book is "Feature Engineering for Machine Learning: Principles and Techniques for Data Scientists" by Alice Zheng, Amanda Casari.

In chapter 3, regarding working with text data and natural language processing, the authors state:

  "Collocations  are  more  meaningful  than  the  sum  of  their  parts.  For  instance,  “strong tea” has a different meaning beyond “great physical strength” and “tea”; therefore, it is  considered  a  collocation.  The  phrase  “cute puppy,”  on  the  other  hand,  means exactly the sum of its parts: “cute” and “puppy.” Thus, it is not considered a collocation."

I'm struggling to understand the difference between the two examples they've given. Why exactly is it "cute puppy" is not a collocation whereas "strong tea" is? I've asked a friend who is an English language teacher, and he seems to think both are collocations. Are the authors incorrect in this instance?

The Book can be found here (links to relevant section).


texts:
Simply put: do we have a good way of expressing "also of course" when we have two "of course" statements concerning a preceding statement?

Not so simply put: "of course" can be useful to express a concession (often expressed with "although" and "despite"). Consider:

  Although it means the driving conditions are poor, I am happy to see that it's snowing.

This statement can be expressed using "of course," thus:

  I am happy to see that it's snowing. Of course, it means the driving conditions are poor.

This is especially useful when we want to provide additional explanation of the concession:

  I am happy to see that it's snowing. Of course, it means the driving conditions are poor. I'm sure the news will be filled with reports of accidents, especially along highway 5a.

And when we do this, we often follow the concession with a reason for our opinion or core statement, as in:

  I am happy to see that it's snowing. Of course, it means the driving conditions are poor. I'm sure the news will be filled with reports of accidents, especially along highway 5a. Still, it sure looks beautiful and the holiday season just isn't the same without a fresh blanket of white.

So we have:

statement + concession with "of course" + reason or explanation of first statement

I find this structure quite useful, but occasionally I want to introduce two concessions, and I find myself scratching my head when it comes to introducing the second, as in:

  I am happy to see that it's snowing. Of course, it means the driving conditions are poor. I'm sure the news will be filled with reports of accidents, especially along highway 5a. ______________, I'm going to have to spend most of the afternoon shoveling the driveway. That's going to be especially difficult with my lingering back injury. Still, it sure looks beautiful and the holiday season just isn't the same without a fresh blanket of white.

In that blank I am tempted to write "Also of course," but that would sound terribly awkward. Is there a good way to announce a second instance of "of course" in this situation?


texts: The use of "e.g." at the end of a sentence

texts:
I was reviewing an English text as an exercise, English not being my mother tongue, and I came to this sentence:

  (...) with the two other articles that conclude several things about customers e.g.. It is (...)

Note the double periods at the end of the sentence. Now I've got a gut feeling that this isn't right, but I can't find any rules about it. Is it even 'allowed' to put 'e.g.' at the end of a sentence, where something like 'etc.' would suffice?


texts:
I know newspapers use short syntax to get attention of the readers but can we use the bold form is it grammaticaly correct?

And in the 4th example normally does it need 'about' after 'backs off' and an s for Obama's birth claim ?

  1.Hillary Clinton to return to campaign trail Thursday

  2.Barack Obama, Bill Clinton To Fill In For Hillary Clinton

  3.Hillary Clinton to Address Millennial Voters During Campaign Event
  in Philadelphia

  4.Trump finally backs off Obama birth claim


texts:
In English, yes here means "Yes, I have had lunch".

Answering "no" will mean "No, I have not had lunch".

(My question isn't about how to answer this simple question)

However, in some languages, yes actually means "Yes, your statement is correct; I have not had lunch". Answering no would actually mean "No, your statement is incorrect; I have already had lunch".

I wonder what such a difference is called? Such difference can lead to mis-communication, as I have personally experienced. Is there any background information for the two approaches?


texts: "Follow religiously" in a non religious context

texts:
What is another word for "follow religiously" in a non religious context?

  Support will agree with their candidate's views religiously despite being obviously flawed, as he is their candidate
  Interns suck up to the decision maker religiously to gain favour and get access to their network

Detailed Background:

In a large company, coworkers automatically support the viewpoints of this high position individual, disagree with his stance, and he will scorn you, you won't get support from coworkers and will be a adverse on your career growth in the company as he is notorious for unfairly badmouth you behind your back for disagreeing with him as he has a tremendous belief of self worth. Strongly agreeing with him will be good for your career as he is trusted in the company and he is a key decision maker. The end result irrespective of the viewpoints made, his positions are blindly followed although some are clearly incorrect, but people don't call him out for it. People will agree him to try gain favour as they keep the end result in mind.

I find in describing the above situation I use too many words and would like to use less. IMO using too many words does make it sound complainy.

Edit:
I am also looking for a noun to describe the person (still same context) e.g. follow blindly without examination of their teaching.

  Tom is a nincompoop for continuing to follow Peter and think he is an intellectual genius


texts: Phonetic difference between Gloucester and Cirencester

texts:
This has bothered me for a while.

Gloucester - pronunciation: Gloss-ter.
Worcester - pronunciation: Woos-ter.
Leicester - pronunciation: Less-ter.

But then...

Cirencester - pronunciation: Siren-ses-ter.

Why do we pronounce the 'ces' in Cirencester, but don't pronounce the 'ces' in all of the other towns and cities in the UK in this naming format?


texts: Which of “I’d rather it be/were you” is/are correct?

texts:
Which of these is correct and why?

I’d rather it be you.
I’d rather it were you.


texts: Difference between "meeting" and "have a meeting with"

texts:
Is there a set in stone distinction between the meaning of the phrases "meeting someone" and "have a meeting with someone"? It is clear to me that the first implies a first meeting and the second does not.

But would that make "it was nice meeting you" incorrect, if you have met the person before?


texts: "I and someone", "me and someone" or "I and someone we"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When do I use “I” instead of “me?”

A friend of mine asked me for advice about an e-mail he was writing. There was a sentence like this:

  I and my partners we are interested in investing in your product.

I figured it was wrong, so I suggested:

  I and my partners are interested in investing in your product.

This looks grammatical to me but sounds strange. Also, I have seen a lot of people writing this:

  Me and my partners we are interested in investing in your product.

which I believe is not grammatical.

So, which one of the options above is correct? Also, what would be a better choice of words?


texts: `is built for` vs `was built for`: how to describe a tool

texts:
We are using a tool and want to report it in our paper. The tool was developed around a year ago for Purpose_X, but we realized it is also very useful for Purpose_Y and used it in the Y project.

Now how shall we report it:

For Purpose_Y, we used X-Tool (which is built for Purpose_X), that generates a high-quality dataset.
For Purpose_Y, we used X-Tool (which was built for Purpose_X), that generates a high-quality dataset


texts:
Both normal cells and not normal cells can be found in the body of a diseased human being. What adjectives are used in medicine and biology for characterization of such cells?
healthy/normal/intact/... cells ?
diseased/sick/affected/... cells ?


texts: Upshot, as defined, is only a result, good or bad. However, I seem to have heard it only in connection with a positive outcome. Is this true? Does "upshot" have a positive connotation attached?


texts:
If I say my love for my friend will never fade. Can I say

  My love will last till time grows old.

You know time is permanent, always there and never grows old. Does "Till time grows old." make sense?


texts: Is there a specific term for ending a rhyming line with something unexpected?

texts:
Please note that I've tried googling variations on this, but usually just end up with "words that rhyme with unexpected" which is obviously not what I'm going for.

There's a technique I've seen used often, in parody songs/raps especially, where the usual rhyming scheme is subverted and a line ends with something else that doesn't rhyme, and I'm wondering if there's a specific literary term for this.

For example, in the Game of Thrones Recap Rap, there's a part where Ryan Tellez is talking about Joffrey and says "He's the biggest f***ing asshole I've ever f***ing seen, I punch my TV every time he comes on screen!" but then later he's talking about Ramsay Bolton and subverts a repetition of it with "He's the biggest f***ing asshole I've ever f***ing seen, I punch my TV every time he...oh I did that one already."

Most often when I see this employed, the ending of the line is sung/spoken rapidly to still fit the music and usually in a deadpan tone.


texts:
This may be more of a stylistic question than anything else, but I'm hoping for some general rules about using the word 'to' in a sentence and when it might be used too many times.

For example, I'm not sure there's anything wrong with the following sentence from a grammar / structure standpoint:

  We are pleased to update you with our progress and to propose a new
  idea to speed up our product launch into the market to generate
  revenue.

I find this sentence irritating but I'm not sure exactly why outside of just "wordiness" - but that's normally a good marker (for me) that there's a mistake.

So my question is three part:

Is the above sentence grammatically sound but just in need of word-crafting?
What is it about the sentence that I'm finding troublesome?
Are there any rules that one can remember to identify and avoid this mistake, if it is in fact a mistake?

Thanks in advance and best.


texts: Connotation of "significant" or "considerable"

texts: I know that they are interchangeable and mean nearly the same. But which of them has a stronger connotation in emphasizing the extent or importance more than the other? Or are they on the same level?