texts: Does "location" have the same meaning as "place"?

texts:
I wonder if "location" and "place" can be interchangeably used?

Where is the best place to place a piano in a house?

Where is the best location to place a piano in a house?

"location" seems to me that it implies bigger places such as a building, house, island.

Am I wrong?


texts: Do you assign a person to a task or a task to a person

texts:
In a web application the system should generate summary reports. Which is natural to say?

When an assignment is done:

  Ted assigned Mary to task 33.

or

  Ted assigned task 33 to Mary.

If later the assigned-to field is changed to <nobody> what should we add to the report?

  Ted resigned Mary from task 33.

or ... what?


texts:
"The tree is what I am looking at." No not formal enough.

"The tree is at what I am looking." Formal but sounds misleading.

I know I can easily say it like " I am looking at the tree." But just want to find out if there is anything wrong with saying it the second way. ???


texts: A noun for the act of brushing one's teeth?

texts:
I can't think of a proper word to use here... for example, in a hypothetical schedule there might be this:

  Shower - 9:30
  Teeth brushing - 9:40

But teeth brushing seems very strange/unnatural. Is there a single-word for "brushing of the teeth", as shower is to "washing of the body"?


texts:
I'm writing a paper about the interpretation of a treaty and I want to include a chapter on the historical background to explain why a certain article must be interpreted a certain way. In this context should I say the historical background for Treaty X, the historical background of Treaty X or use a different preposition entirely?

I checked both phrases on google and each had several million hits. Background of had more, but if the sense changes somewhat with the choice of preposition then that doesn't necessarily mean anything.


texts: Why did "it" lose its initial 'h' but other pronouns such as "him" and "her" didn't?

texts:
The pronouns it, him, her had an initial h in the older forms of English which has been retained in her, him, but lost in it (formerly hit).
Etymology of it (Wikitionary):

From Middle English it, hit ( > dialectal English hit (“it”)), from Old English hit (“it”), from Proto-Germanic *hit

The word it had an initial h in both spelling & pronunciation but was then lost in Middle English onwards. Other pronouns such as him, her had also an initial h in Middle & Old English but has been retained.
Was this an irregular change or is there any explanation for the loss of initial h in that particular word?


texts:
J.M. Coetzee writes this sentence in Elizabeth Costello:

  He is here simply to protect her, to bar the way against the
  relic-hunters and the contumelists and the sentimental pilgrims.
  (p. 30 in the 2003 Penguin edition).

More context: 'She' is an ageing famous novelist who is flying home after receiving an important award and 'he' is her son who is accompanying her and apparently has a complicated relationship with the mother. (Bear with me, I've only finished Chapter 1 so far).

What is exactly a contumelist? My guess is that it's someone who behaves with contumely but it seems to be a rare (or even made-up) word, and googling did not help much.

EDIT

From Merriam-Webster:

Definition of contumely

  plural contumelies :harsh language or treatment arising from
  haughtiness and contempt; also :an instance of such language or
  treatment


texts: What's a word to describe 'thinking unconstrained by time'

texts:
Most of us think existentially, until we start thinking about things in the future, or things in the past...but it's usually from the vantage point of 'now.'  The word or term I'm looking for is abstract thinking from any vantage point in time.
For example, if I want to buy a new car, I'll consider the costs/benefits of the choices available to me at this time.  But when I start thinking about the resale price ten years from now, I'm leaving my current circumstances to venture into my possible future.  And then, when I consider how I came up with my list of costs/benefits by looking into my past and what motivates what I want now, then once again, I'm not "in the moment."
As a counselor, I often see my clients unbound by time (which is, afterall, not what most people think it is), focused more on potential, requirements and processes, and not the timing--I'm looking for a word that can help me teach that kind of thinking, if such a word or term exists.
As a teacher, I offer paths for my students to consider that are not bound by time, and encourage them to avoid getting stuck on the timing, but focus on recognizing opportunities instead.  Once again, that kind of thinking is not temporal, it is "_____."


texts: Elliptical construction: I scissored my cigarette between my fingers, very European.

texts: Can I pass this sentence off as grammatical on the grounds that very European is an elliptical construction implying "which is very European"? From my understanding so far, the only requirement of an elliptical construction is that the meaning's not ambiguous. Is this correct?


texts: "Is / was / has been / had been used" in a statement

texts:
I'm confused whether I should use are or were or have been or had been in the following statement when describing the use of language in a passage

In paragraph 6, detailed adjectives ____ used to describe the scenery of the campus.

The thing is, those adjectives on the passage are/were used to describe the campus when the writer wrote them down in the past, so are they still in effect when I'm writing this sentence?

To my knowledge, (sorry, correct me if I am wrong)

is used means it is currently used at present
was used means it was once used but no longer in effect
has been used means the action use started in the past and it's still used or not used now
had been used means the action used started and ended the past (not used now)

At the same time, I've been told to use past tense when the date or time is specified and present perfect when the the time is unclear or not important Does passive voice break these rules?
I'm not quite sure in this case describing a world's usage in a passage is a present or completed action. I've fit each option into the blank and I've had an conclusion that have been used seems fluid to me, I'm not sure and if so why others are incorrect?
Sorry asking so many questions at a time, any answer will be appreciated, thanks a lot.


texts:
I need to describe what a thing does. I have the following expression:
It deletes photos from the Favorites database if the user didn't undo "Remove all" action.

Is it correct? Should I use here "hasn't undone" instead or maybe conditionals? I'm confused.


texts: What is the difference between providing that and provided that?

texts:
Please tell me about this question and give me an example for each one.
Is it conjunction or not?
Thanks


texts:
I am helping my father write a report.

  The report summarizes the work undertaken during the consultant’s technical assistance missions to Statistical Agency of Kosovo and remote work during the period SomeTimePeriod.

The meaning is that my father went to a mission to Kosovo and then continued work from his home country. How do I say "remote work", "work from a distance"?


texts: Where does the word "replenish" come from, and what does it mean? I know it is used as a form of "refill", but is that how it was originally?


texts:
I want to know if, in the sentence below, being the last two collections of mine, it is mandatory to use the possessive determiner MY_other one… Or can I use the determiner THE_other one…?
I will sell his collection of books in the same way I did with my collection of paintings and the other one consisting of letters.
Is it only a matter of stylistic choice?
Here are three links which support the idea of stylistic choice, but I am not sure regarding this case.
When is it appropriate to use 'the' instead of a possessive determiner?
Use of possessive determiners with adjectives
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/the
I welcome any help.


texts:
There is a stereotypical idiom that a psychic will predict that 'you will meet a tall, dark stranger'. (It inspired the title of a 2010 Woody Allen film.)

An alternative variant is wishing to meet someone 'tall, dark and handsome'.

I have never been sure whether 'dark' in this context refers to skin colour, hair colour or something else.

In a related question, the origin is investigated, but the meaning is not examined: What's the origin of the stock phrase "tall, dark, and handsome"?

What is 'dark' referring to in this expression?


texts: Is the capitalization correct? ...and ensures proper coordination among State and local criminal justice agencies

texts:
Is the capitalization correct in the bold section of following partial sentance

...and ensures proper coordination among State and local criminal justice agencies


texts: proper way to ask for permission to change TV channels

texts: If you want to change your TV channel to another one, would you say, "Can I change the channel?" or "Can I change channels?" or anything else?


texts: Any suggestions on how to romantically describe a woman's brown hair?

texts:
Does anyone know a heartfelt, romantic way to describe the brown hair of a woman/girl? For now, all I have is "silky brown hair," but it just doesn't flow in my poem. This is not official, but I'm doing something along the lines of:
"I look into her diamond eyes and touch her silky brown hair."
I am open to any suggestions. If you think that "silky" is fine, please let me know. If not, please suggest something else. Even if I don't agree with your word choices, anything helps. Perhaps your idea will spark a new one! Compound words and phrases are acceptable. =)


texts:
In the quote, "He is to resist the vulgar prosperity that retrogrades ever to barbarism"

What does resist mean?

to tolerate
to protest

What does vulgar prosperity mean?

obscene prosperity
ill mannered prosperity

What does ever mean?

always
occasionally

What does retrogrades mean?


texts: Can I use "consistent with" in this way? If not, what can I use instead?

texts:
I want to write a sentence like

  Consistent with my previous experience, I am interested in pursuing research ~ blah blah.

Here, I know that this sentence is grammatically incorrect and I cannot use "consistent" in the very first part of the sentence because it is adjective.
Is there any other word or way that can produce the same meaning?
Any comments or advice would be appreciated!
Thank you in advance!


texts: Why is the preposition apparently optional in this sentence?

texts:
I encountered the following sentence:

  "...contains the majority of information required to build a project
  in just the way you want."

It occurred to me that the sentence sounds completely natural without the preposition "in".  Why does the preposition seem optional in the dependent clause?


texts:
I watched an episode of "Friends" where Phoebe says to Mike:

  "...scratch her tummy and give her a liver snap."

I don't understand "a liver snap".

What does "a liver snap" mean here?


texts: Is it ever wrong to use the word "more" in front of an adjective? For example, is the following sentence grammatically incorrect: "I am more happy when I am reading poetry"?


texts: "Can I" vs "May I" in restaurant setting when ordering

texts:
A while back, while we were getting fast food, my friend commented on my usage of "can" versus "may" when asking to take my order. I said:

  Can I have a .......

and my friend argued you're supposed to say

  May I have a .......

Although I had never thought much about it, and at first assumed my friend was correct, I later started thinking more on it and have come to doubt this to be true. "May I" implies that what you're asking for is already known to be present and available. "Can I" implies more unsurety and is therefore technically the correct answer since there's always uncertainty that a product may or may not be physically available for taking or purchasing.

At first I didn't really care, but the debate has been drawn out now and has turned into a friendly bet of sorts. I just want to know: when in a food environment, which is technically more correct. I know this stuff can be one way or the other sometimes, but I have to know what the experts believe.


texts: "You and I combined" versus "you and me combined"

texts:
Which is correct, "you and I combined" or "you and me combined"? as in:

  Bob and I combined had 91 points

The "combined" confuses me.


texts:
I have an entity and I would like to describe it as being able to be archived.

Is it archivable, archiveable? The former seems OK for me, but I could find no wiktionary.org results.


texts: Name for an electrical element to use multiple appliances on the same plug

texts:
Sorry, I don't know what is this element called in English. It is an electric power cord with multiple sockets to allow multiple appliances to be plugged into it. In Spanish it is said to be informally a “zapatilla”, but in English?

or


texts: "When once they had done this, ..." - what's with "when once"?

texts:
From George Orwell's 1984, part 2 chapter 9:

  For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; and when once they had done this, they would sooner or later realize that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away.

It seems like either the "when" or the "once" is unnecessary. Has a feel of Britishness to it (the book is from the UK).

Is this officially correct? If so, how does it work grammatically?


texts:
When I put two plural nouns in a row, should I use plural form for both? Often, when I do so, it seems wrong.

Examples can be:

"components reliabilities" - referring to reliabilities of many different components
"components failures" - failures of components
"systems designers" - designers who creates systems

Another example popped up, as I am writing this question:

"words combinations" - combinations of words

I face this problem, since I am trying to write to cover general cases, without being specific. Also, I know that I could change the word order with 'of' in many cases (e.g. failures of components). But, sometimes, such modification doesn't fit well in a sentence. So, I decided to ask.

Any help would be appreciated.


texts: Why is "for" used in "for example/instance"?

texts:
I have been looking at the interpretation of the word "for" in the phrases "for example" and "for instance", but I cannot make sense of it. The Oxford Dictionary lists 12 uses of "for" as a preposition, but to me, the "for" in the aforementioned phrases do not seem to match any of them.

Are these phrases some type of exceptions, where we can only interpret them jointly? In other words, is the "for" in these phrases not literally acting as a "for" preposition? Is this perhaps a phrase which came up as a simplification of what could be a literal yet longer alternative, like in

  I am a keen reader. To give you an example of this, last week alone I read fourteen books.


texts: Common word for "presence" and "absence"

texts:
I'm looking for a common word, describing two other words. For example, if the words I had was "young" and "old", the common word I'm looking for might be "age". If I had "female" and "male", the common word would be "gender". If I had "warm" and "cold", it might be "temperature".
So my question is, what is the common word for "presence" and "absence", in the context of objects?


texts: Noun-adjective reversal - was it ever in use in plain speech?

texts:
In some more or less archaic texts I found the order of noun and its adjective reversed at times, like:

  I traveled through nights starless, and roads unmapped.

I wonder, is it a stylistic tool used only in poetic/artistic texts, or was it  used in day-to-day speech or formal, but not poetic writing in the past?


texts: Question about “criticism” and “critique”

texts:
Are criticism and critique mass nouns?

If not, what semantic area does their countable usage refer to?


texts: Is this sentence correct: I could not keep calm?

texts:
How can I say when I know that I do something badly, but I can't keep calm.

E.G. - She asked me don't tell you, but I couldn't ...

I hope you understand what I meant. :)


texts: Word for inexpensive tat you can buy from shops

texts: I remember reading a very nice word the small trinkets and other tat you can pick up from small shops (like a dollar store). I just cannot remember the word. Can anyone help! Thank you.


texts: How to translate "to eat their own face off"?

texts:
I'm trying to translate an interview with Scottish musician (from Mogwai) Barry Burns and I stumbled upon one sentence which I can't understand.

  If Rave Tapes, comes from reminiscing of 90’s dance parties and that whole culture, did you consider having a release show in the kitchen of some squat surrounded by guys in kappa tracksuits trying to eat their own face off?

What does to eat their own face off mean?

Interview can be found here.


texts:
File is sent.
File has been sent.

Is the line above grammatically correct?
What is the correct one and what is the difference between both of them ?


texts:
A UK guy told me that Mozart was a musical composer.
A US guy told me that Mozart was a music composer.

Is it a regional difference?


texts: Etymology and meaning of "When does the narwhal bacon?"

texts:
There's a meme on reddit where the users tend to ask,

  When does the narwhal bacon?

The only correct answer to that question is

  At midnight.

What is the etymology and the meaning of this question?


texts: Comparison between 'to emit" and 'to emanate'

texts:
I'd like to understand/ask how  much these two words overlaps each other.

These definitions were excerpted from Oxford Dictionaries.
Do you think we can replace the word with emit in these sentences?
What I ask is that, for example, if we can say

" Wonderful smells were emitting from the kitchen."

or

"He emitting tranquility"

1.(Of a feeling, quality, or sensation) issue or spread out from (a source):

Warmth emanated from the fireplace

She felt an undeniable charm emanating from him

1.1Originate from; be produced by:

The proposals emanated from a committee

Angry voices emanated from the room. (Cambridge)

Wonderful smells were emanating from the kitchen. ( Logman)

1.2 [with object] Give out or emit (a feeling, quality, or sensation):

He emanated a powerful brooding air

He emanates tranquility. (Longman)

And secondly, I cannot understand noun form of the word 'to emanate'

Does  "the risk of radon gas emanation" have the same meaning with " the risk of radon gas emission"
What does "The unique symbol for the comprehensive oneness that holds together this entire process of emanation or divinization is the concept of Sophia" mean in this sense?

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/emanation


texts:
In the last few years, a new pronunciation (or if you like a mispronunciation) of "entrepreneur" has spread like Covid-19 through the USA, so that even educated speakers, such as NPR reporters, are suddenly pronouncing "entrepreneur" to rhyme with "sewer", "fewer", or "manure".
None of these cultural influencers seems to notice that the "e" precedes the "u", or be aware that the French word has the "eur" ending that rhymes with "purr", "her", or "restaurateur".
This grates on my reactionary language instincts, especially since I am an entrepreneur by trade.
Does anyone know how or where this new phenomenon gained so much momentum? Are there other words changing like this?


texts:
Is there a single generic term to refer, either collectively or arbitrarily, to both sunrises and sunsets?

I'm looking for something that could be used in the same vein as twilight can be used (formally or informally) to refer to both the pre-sunrise dawn period and the post-sunset dusk period, without specifying which.

I'm aware of the concept of a golden hour within the photography and cinematography communities, but I'm looking for something which refers more to the specific astronomical event, as a particular instant in time, while still being agnostic to the direction the sun is going.

Edit: To clarify, I'd like something that could describe, even informally, any or all of:

Instants when the sun is exactly at the horizon, or 0°,
Periods when the sun is near the horizon on either side, e.g., –2° to +2°, or
Periods when the sun is near the horizon, but strictly above it, e.g., 0° to +2°.

I am aware of the various astronomical definitions of twilight, but unfortunately none of them meets any of these.


texts: Is there a noun for "distinct/unique entities"?

texts:
I did a search and it seems that "distinct" is sometimes used as a noun, but very rarely. Is distinct used as noun okay?

Is there a better noun for a group of entities all different from each other - a group of entities having each entity only equal to itself?


texts: What comes in between predecessor and successor?

texts:
I'd like a good word for "current item in a succession of items".

Let's say I am looking ahead, towards my successor.
Back behind me, I can also see my predecessor.
What am I?

I'd hate to use the overly-verbose "current object of focus among a succession of such objects", and yet "current" doesn't quite cut it either. "Currentssor"?

The context is programming (coming up with descriptive variable names) but I'm really interested in what's true in general.


texts: How should I name a table column that shows duration?

texts:
I have a table with a column that shows when a specific entry was modified. It used to be just the date and time the modification occurred, for example "Modified at: May 08 2019 13:56:51".

Now I want to display how much time has passed since the modification, like so "6 second" or "4 hours". But now the field name "Modified at" doesn't work, how should I fix the name?

Thanks!


texts: What is the difference between the two sentences? (if clause)

texts:
If you were asked to describe yourself, what would you say?
If you are asked to describe yourself, what will you say?

I understand that "if you are" and "if you were" are different.
but I would think that the two sentences I wrote above are practically the same or have no difference in meaning. Am I right?


texts: Is it correct to say "I wrote him" or "I wrote to him"?  My Mother was a stickler for English grammar and would say "I wrote your Uncle..." rather than "I wrote to your Uncle..."


texts: Title case; confused if I have to capitalize this word after a hyphen

texts:
I'm confused when I have to capitalize a word after a hyphen. I did google around, but I'm still confused when I do or do not have to capitalize it.

I have 'Distance-Related Effects'. I think 'related' is with a capital?

Thanks!


texts:
What does "pro-rate" in following sentence mean?

  We pro-rate our prices if you join after a session has started

does it mean that they reduce the price if I want to enroll after a session has been started?


texts: Is this a correct sentence: "It can be more expedient to supplement the diet rather than improve it."?

texts:
Question
While there may be other issues I'm specifically interested in the use of the word "expedient". To me this sentence sounds off, can something be "more expedient" or is something always either expedient or not?
Context
I'm trying to express that sometimes when there is a lack of a certain nutrient in a persons diet the faster and easier solution in the short term to is to supplement the missing nutrient rather than spend the time finding good sources of foods the person enjoys eating.
If you have any feedback on my english or grammar in this post I'm also interested in that!


texts: Is there a name for the areas on a web page where clicks do nothing?

texts:
Sometimes I just want to click on a web page to give focus to that browser tab, and it can be hard in some richly functional web pages to find a bit of "blank space" to click on, where clicking won't trigger any action.

Is there a technical word for these "inert" areas on web pages?


texts: How to say "the project that we are working on" in a short phrase?

texts:
I want a short phrase for "the project that we are working on".

Could it be "our working-on project"?


texts: Looking for words with a similar meaning to Pocket-veto

texts: I am currently looking for words that mean, "To nullify an event or call, by ignoring the event or call, until the event or call has passed". I know Pocket-veto fits the bill (I apologize in advance for this pun), however I'm looking for a more informal word, as I can best describe it. Thanks.


texts: "I first tasted" vs "I had my first taste of"

texts:
Which version is more grammatical or idiomatic?

Example sentences:

  I first tasted this cake on my wedding.

  I had my first taste of this cake on my wedding.

Or maybe they mean slightly different things?


texts: Single word for the process of giving/getting a blood sample

texts:
When you receive drugs via a needle you are getting an injection but when a sample of blood is being removed, via a needle, it cannot be an injection as nothing is injected.

I am wondering if there is a word for the inverse of an injection in that something is removed rather than added.

So rather than "the nurse gave me an injection" we normally say "the nurse took a blood sample" but I am looking for alternatives.


texts: Is there a word or expression for improving software

texts:
I am writing a text and I have to say what skills I developed during my internship. What do you call improving software? Software improvement? I feel like there would be a better word or expression for this.

EDIT: By improving, I mean that I added features to the software that were requested by the company.


texts:
A homograph (from the Greek: ὁμός, homós, "same" and γράφω, gráphō, "write") is a word that shares the same written form as another word but has a different meaning. When spoken, the meanings may be distinguished by different pronunciations, in which case the words are also heteronyms.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homograph

Disambiguation may be difficult at times, especially when a heteronym is used in writing.  This occurred to me the first time I saw an orange juice box of “minute maid” and the small figure of a woman on it.   I wondered then, whether the producers meant  a period of time equal to sixty seconds [mi'nit], or “tiny, exceptionally small” [mai.nyoot'].  Having never seen a commercial before, would a native speaker understand the exact meaning right away ?  Are there other instances when you felt confused by a written heteronym ?

N.B. Someone has already asked what "minute maid" means, but my question goes beyond that.
p.s. Feel free to edit the phonetic symbols, if you know how to do it. I simply couldn't type the correct ones.


texts: What is a word that means related to moons?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that means "relating to moons" or "pertaining to moons".

The context of the sentence is "I need to make a intermoonary injection burn in 10 seconds".

I'm looking for a word like intergalactic, interstellar or interplanetary but relating to moons. Not explicitly Luna, our moon, which would be lunar.

The options I've looked at are lunar (which only relates to Earth's moon), satellitic and moonary. None of them seem right.


texts:
Is it correct to use the following sentence part

  As my friend already introduced, ...

when I want to express something like

  As my friend has already communicated to you, ...

with ... being some fact my friend has sent in an earlier email.


texts:
I am a Portuguese High School student and I did an English test last September.  This question came up:

  You can also get some insight from television and movies, but be
  careful - not everything you see on the screen is meant to be
  realistic. But these media do help if you're still trying to learn the
  language or catch up on some slang, and at the very least, give you
  something to talk about when you're trying to make a new friend.

Question:

  What does the word 'these' refer to?

I answered that 'these' refers to 'television and movie. The Teacher said that I was wrong, and I lost some points.

Am I wrong or right?

Please ... I need answers to defend myself.


texts: My English textbook use “iː”, and I find some online dictionaries use “ē”. Where can I find information about this phonics system?


texts: What is the difference between "building" and "making"?

texts:
I was just thinking about this — couldn't I say "I'm making a salad" or "I'm building a salad"? (Though that does sound a little strange, I'm sure there are people who say that.)

It might not be appropriate to say "I am making a bank in the Downtown area," instead of "I am building a bank in the Downtown area."

Is there a rule at all for these two verbs?


texts:
I'm not sure which of the following is correct:

having an impact on other’s lives
having an impact on others’ lives

I just can’t figure out how the apostrophe should be used.


texts:
I have a specific sentence in which I feel inclined to use "your's" but in not sure if it's correct. Then sentence is:

"Every story has a beginning - This is your's."

What "your's" stand for here is simply "this is your story's beginning" but to spell it out like that doesn't create the same feeling.

Albeit, is this a correct usage of "your's"?

Edit: This is not a duplicate of "Yours vs your's" as I'm asking for a situation in which "yours" can't be used since it would mean their beginning, not their stories' beginning.


texts: A word meaning ‘enacted as law, but not yet implemented as social practise’

texts:
I'm trying to recall a word I saw in the Dictionary.com word of the day a few months back that meant something like a protection or ideal or a right that had been enacted merely as a law without having yet been assimilated into the ordinary practise of society.
Can anyone help me remember this word?


texts: English word for the comma between three digits

texts:
The common number formatting convention uses a decimal point between the integer part and the fraction, and a comma between every three digits of the number:

1000000      -> 1,000,000
12345 + 1/5  -> 12,345.2

The . is referred to as Decimal Point. Is there an English word for the comma separating every three integer digits?


texts:
In the context of addressing an unknown individual in an email/letter, how does one include persons belonging to the broad gender spectrum?
For instance, in binary terms Dear Mam/Sir was the norm for a while. What would be the appropriate/ widely accepted way to address an audience which could be non-binary, to ensure that any receiver is not offended?

As a specific scenario, assume that I am writing to a non-academic committee, therefore, the usage of First Name is ruled out ( being too personal), also I cannot use words such as Dear Professor (since the occupation is not Professor).
Note that I am aware of previous (old) questions on gender neutral words in a letter and this. Do we have any new words in current usage?
While I agree that "To whomsoever it may concern" may be used, as mentioned in one of the questions:

  addressing the person by his/her title is a little more specific and evidence that you've put some thought into it.


texts: "Broken my duck"? Is this a common idiom/phrase?

texts:
I steal this phrase from a comment on Meta Stack Overflow:

  yep, I think I've broken my duck or so to speak :) – Kev♦ 51 mins ago

The context is one of having been basically broken into a particular fold, or going through a rite of passage - Kev has symbolically become a true moderator because he has gotten a Meta thread about his actions.

But the phrase is... unusual, to be soft about it. You don't break open ducks, or really most animals at all you don't break. Is this a common idiom? If so, what in hejudas inspired such a phrasing?


texts: What is a word or phrase for something that, though it ought to be unbelievable, you can believe is actually true?

texts:
An example would be President Trump's tweets where when you're told about them your first instinct is to believe that can't possibly have been tweeted. But you nevertheless accept that it probably did happen.

Me: Can you believe Trump tweeted about eating his boogers?
You: At this point, yeah. Yeah I can.


texts:
Please have a look at this sentence.

"Troy University International Partners is not accredited by SACS Commission on Colleges and the accreditation of Troy University does not extend to or include partner institutions or their students. "

"IS" or 'ARE' ?

I think ARE is correct because it is  "Partners" , or partner.


texts: Can I use "since when" to ask about a future?

texts:
I am thinking what is the best expression for the following: I know that a directive will be effective sometime in the next week. So I would ask: "Since when is the directive effective?" Which I believe is not correct.
I assume that since when can only refer to the past, but not sure about that. Also the phrase "as of", what a question with that would look like? "As of when"?


texts: Different meaning according to present tense

texts:
What's the difference in meaning between:

I really enjoy working here
vs.
I am really enjoying working here?

Note: Example taken from Advanced Language Practice with Key by Michael Vince with Peter Sunderland, Present Time, exercise 5 c).


texts:
Does the phrase "someone has greater depths to them" mean that someone has a better personality than you think?

Thank you


texts: What do you call it when someone says they’re not going to mention a thing?

texts:
Is there a name for the sort of expression where someone would say something like...
“I’m not going to mention the ridiculous hat they’re wearing.”
Or
“I could make a joke about footballers diving around on the floor after smaller incidents, but I won’t.”
By saying they’re not going to mention a topic they have mentioned the topic.
It’s used fairly often so I was wondering if there is a word or name for this kind of phrase?


texts: Term for when a rhyming word is unspoken?

texts:
I was watching a cartoon and part way through a song came on, and it had these two stanzas:

  Why do you have to look up to her
  Aside from in a literal sense?
  Don't you know that a power that big
  Comes with a bigger expense?

  And can't you see that she's out of control
  And overzealous?
  I'm telling you for your own good,
  And not because I'm-

But in the second stanza the character omits the second half of the rhyming couplet, while keeping to the same five syllables.

This is also done in songs where the omitted half of the rhyming is a swear word, often with the intent of the listener completing the intended word mentally.

What is the term for this technique? I don't think it's enjambment as the word doesn't just run over, but ends.


texts: What are the words for the two parts of a round trip?

texts:
Are there two single words to differentiate the two parts of a round trip?

If a single word does not exists, what is the shortest yet currently used locution?


texts:
The original sentence:

  In this way, we have learned all that we know of the laws of
  astronomy, or of the habits of the social insects, let us say.

Please let me make it simpler as below:

  In this way, we have learned all that we know of the laws of
  astronomy.

In the above sentence, what is modified by "of the laws of astronomy"?

know (of the laws of astronomy)
that (of the laws of astronomy)
that we know of the laws of astronomy [i.e., we know that (of the laws of astronomy)]


texts: if and because in compound-complex sentences

texts:
I am confused about compound-complex sentences that begin with if and because.  In general, if a compound-complex sentence begins with an introductory phrase and contains two dependent clauses, all three are separated by commas.  For example, I might say, "I would have gone to the park yesterday, but it was raining, and I dislike going to the park in the rain."  In this case, the placement of the commas does not change the meaning of the sentence (I think).  But I am not sure whether this is the case for sentences that begin with if and because

For example, suppose I were to say, "If every observation is the same number, the mean equals the observation, and there is no spread about the mean."  I am not sure whether there should be a comma between observation and and.  It seems that there should be a comma since "the mean equals the observation," and "there is no spread about the mean" are independent clauses, but I also want it to be clear that both statements--that the mean equals the observation and that there is no spread about the mean--are conditional on every observation being the same number.  I feel like the comma could make it seem as though there are two statements: (1) "if every observation is the same number, the mean equals the observation," and separately, (2) "there is no spread about the mean."  Essentially, I am concerned that the comma makes the sentence read like this: "If every observation is the same number, the mean equals the observation.  And there is no spread about the mean."

The same situation occurs if I say, "if the observations are all one constant, then the probability that X equals c is one, and the expected value of X is c."  Again, both statements are conditional on the observations being one constant, and I do not want to make it seem as though "the expected value of X is c" can stand on its own, apart from the if statement.

Lastly, suppose I were to say, "because the average cost curve is above the average variable cost curve everywhere and the marginal cost curve is rising where it crosses both average curves, the minimum of the average variable cost curve, b, is at a lower output level than the minimum of the average cost curve, a."  Should there be a comma between everywhere and and in this example?  I feel like there should be one since "the average cost curve is above the average variable cost curve everywhere," and "the marginal cost curve is rising where it crosses both average curves" are both full sentences.  But I am concerned that adding the comma might confuse readers since the comma might make it seem as though the two are two separate conditions.

I hope this isn't too confusing.  Thank you.


texts: Travel service given to guest by hotel called?

texts:
Is there any specific term for the travel service provided by hotels when they pick up their guests from the airport say - and when they drop off the guests again when they check out?

Thanks in advance.


texts: I am looking for a single word for the expression, "outside normal procedures."  I have tried ex-procedural, but it sounds too formal.


texts:
I had asked the man in wardrobe to take a photo of me.

Why is it that there's no articles before the noun wardrobe?


texts:
Merriam-Webster defines "afterclap" as "an unexpected damaging or unsettling event following a supposedly closed affair." However, a pastor from Oregon, John Mark Comer, wrote an article about marriage in which he used "afterclap" this way:

"Like millions upon millions of other Americans, I married for happiness.
That sounds innocuous at first glance. Heck, it sounds romantic. But the trouble is that happiness is the result of a healthy marriage. It’s not the reason for marriage. Happiness is a great thing, but it’s the by-product, the AFTERCLAP of marriage. It’s not the point."

Read more here.
It seems that "afterclap", here, simply means "consequence". Happiness is obviously not an "unsettling or damaging event", so, basing solely from Merriam-Webster's definition of the word, "afterclap" is probably not the best word to describe happiness.
So, what is the definition and use of the word "afterclap"? Does it have a positive or a negative connotation? Was Merriam-Webster wrong? Did the writer of the article use the word correctly?


texts: Is 'Lets gather miles together' an acceptable sentence?

texts:
Lets gather miles together.

Is this a proper sentence?
Can we use the verb 'gather' for mileages?


texts: 19 April 12pm - What time is it? Is 12:00pm this day the same as 00:00am tomorrow?

texts:
English is not my native language and I am confused when writing about midnight of some day. I am mostly using 24h-format on every day basic, so I want to make sure how to use 12h-format properly.

When I am informing people they can do something between 19 April (today) 9:00 till midnight/end of the day on 22 April. How do I write it properly?

  You can sign in to my diary/visit me etc. from 19th (9am) of April
  until 22nd of April (12pm)

Soo... Is 22 April 12pm the same as 23 April 00am? (analogical 22 April 12:30pm is the same as 23 April 00:30am?)

What is the accepted practice?


texts: Is there a difference between "disc" and "disk" for naming digital storage media?

texts:
I thought that a disc was a disc, and it is sometimes spelled disk. I now have got an indication that those two are not the same thing.

In this answer on Graphic Design, I wrote floppy disc in the answer.

I got a comment from someone that it should be floppy disk. He stated that

  Disk is a magnetic storage media, while disc is an optical one.

Is this correct?


texts: Is there one term for grammar, punctuation and spelling?

texts:
I"d like to find one term which unites three parts of writing: grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Could orthography or proofreading be used to describe this?


texts: What is the correct grammar for "a days-long wait"

texts:
Surely there's a better way; something instantaneous that doesn't involve a days-long wait?

Is the grammar above correct? Particularly, should 'days-long' be hyphenated, and should it contain a possessive apostrophe? Note: "days" in the above is strictly plural e.g. 7-10 days


texts:
In a quote by William James, he describes John D. Rockefeller as:

  Physionomie de Pierrot (not a spear of hair on head or face) flexible, cunning, quakerish...

In this context, what does "Physionomie de Pierrot" mean? Rockefeller had alopecia so I understand the parenthetical, but could someone please explain what the first part means and its origin?


texts:
Is there a word for payments made to freelance workers such as designers?

Obviously, it is not the same as a wage or a salary.

I can think of "payment", but that seems too general.

"Commission" is another word that comes into my mind, but I'm unsure if that is right.

Is there one word that specifically refers to payments made, say, by a patron to an artist?


texts: comma question: (one, two, and three) vs. (one, two and three)

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Comma before last item in a list

When listing items in a sentence, is it more acceptable to omit the comma between the penultimate and last item?  (assume there will always be an "and" between these two items).


texts:
I have the following sentence:

"To tackle climate change, it is important to reduce the CO2 emissions significantly"

An other option would be to use the adverb before the verb like:

"To tackle climate change, it is important to significantly reduce the CO2 emissions "

What is your take on that? I'd appricate every answer. Thanks in advance.


texts: Meaning of "I'm going to have to let you go now"

texts:
I got a call from my company and I heard as follows:

Sorry, we are going to have to let you go now.

Can anyone tell me what does this means.


texts:
My question is, if I'm writing an email to some one for the first time, do I introduce myself with sentance like:'I'm ...'? or like in the phone:'This is...'?

Thanks!


texts:
So I'm doing an assignment where I have to analyse a music piece. In this one piece at the start theres a couple of instruments who play a phrase all together. They keep playing this same phrase throughout the piece and never change, very subtle but these instruments help the main melody.

They're god-like, always here and never leaves. How would you describe that state in one word?


texts: Why is it that "I called for confirmation that ..." but "thank you for confirming that ..."?

texts:
For example, it sounds natural to use the noun form in this sentence:
This morning the hotel called for confirmation that I will stay there.

But in this sentence it sounds better to use the gerund:
Thank you for confirming that you will stay at our hotel.

Thank you for your help.


texts:
I was surprised to see "his husband" in the Cambridge dictionary’s entry for compliment:

He complained that his husband never paid him any compliments anymore.

Isn't that a mistake? Or is Cambridge talking about something homosexual?


texts: What does this quote mean and how do you define it?

texts: “Better than to exaggerate, I have lessened in all things.” - La Relacíon


texts: Is there any slang word for somebody who doesn't show up for a date?

texts: Is there any slang word that describes somebody who doesn't show up when you date him?


texts:
The curious expression graveyard slot has two main connotations:

(television) the hours from late night until early morning when the number of people watching television is at its lowest. (Collins)

and:.

Speakers and trainers often refer to the “graveyard slot”. By this they usually mean the first session after lunch when people are presumed to be a bit sleepy after eating.(alanmatthewstraining.com)

According to Ngram the expression is from the early '70s
There is an earlier and similar expression graveyard shift/watch which means:

The Graveyard Shift, or Graveyard Watch, was the name coined for the work shift of the early morning, typically midnight until 8am. The name originated in the USA at the latter end of the 1800s.

There's no evidence at all that it had anything directly to do with watching over graveyards, merely that the shifts took place in the middle of the night, when the ambience was quiet and lonely. (The Phrase Finder)

Questions:

is there any evidence (apart from the obvious similarities) that "graveyard slot" derives from "graveyard shift"?

was the saying "graveyard slot" an AmE originally?

is it now mainly a BrE expression as Ngram appears to suggest?


texts: "be in at the end I cannot", from G.M.Hopkins' poem

texts:
There's a great poem by G.M. Hopkins, in which I but vaguely get the meaning of the two last stanzas, stumbling at properly parsing the sentences in my mind.

In particular, I don't understand the bit with "be in at the end I cannot". At the end of what? And I hope I rightly understand "wind" to be a verb meaning "to finish something". Thus, of the part spanning from wind to cannot I get only the general feel but not the literal sense. Usually I get the meaning on an umpteenth reading, but this remains a huddle of words to me.

"The Lantern out of Doors"

SOMETIMES a lantern moves along the night,
   That interests our eyes. And who goes there?
   I think; where from and bound, I wonder, where,
 With, all down darkness wide, his wading light?

 Men go by me whom either beauty bright
   In mould or mind or what not else makes rare:
   They rain against our much-thick and marsh air
 Rich beams, till death or distance buys them quite.

 Death or distance soon consumes them: wind
   What most I may eye after, be in at the end
 I cannot, and out of sight is out of mind.

 Christ minds: Christ’s interest, what to avow or amend
   There, éyes them, heart wánts, care haúnts, foot fóllows kínd,
 Their ránsom, théir rescue, ánd first, fást, last friénd.


texts:
I (and my interlocutors) have often experienced confusion when communicating with others regarding "last [day-of-week]", "this [day-of-week]" and "next [day-of-week]"

In my mind, what is logical is that "last" means the last one (the one in the most recent past); "this" means the next one coming up; and "next" is the second one from now.

"This" to me denotes the future - it points forward in time.

For example, today is Tuesday, April 14th. If I say, "last Saturday" I mean April 11th; if I say, "this Saturday" I mean April 18th; and if I say "next Saturday" I mean April 25th - although I admit it gets a little ambiguous when "this" saturday is several days away. But I would definitely be speaking of the 22nd if I were to say, "next Wednesday" (not the 15th, for that is tomorrow, and to say "next" would sound/seem bizarre to me.

Note/Addendum: I would not say "last Monday" for yesterday, because in that case I simply say that ("yesterday"); similary, I would not call tomorrow "this Wednesday" for a similar reason - I refer to that simply as "tomorrow".

I find, though, that many people consider "this Monday" to have been yesterday (the 13th), not "this coming" Monday (which is how I see it).

I do recognize some logic in this alternate viewpoint provided everybody were to agree that the "this" refers to a current week, beginning on Sunday, or Monday, depending on which day is considered a week's beginning point (and so, the differing standard in regards to that question is a matter of contention/confusion in and of itself).

Another way of expressing it, I guess, would be to say that I always consider myself as being in a sliding scale of time, rather than in a particular calendar week, one which stays fixed for an entire week. In other words, today I am in a week that runs from Tuesday the 14th through Monday the 20th. Tomorrow I will be in a week that runs from Wednesday the 15th  through Tuesday 21st, etc. Others apparently always view themselves as being somewhere in a week that runs either from Sunday-Saturday, or Monday-Sunday.

Am I definitely wrong in my take on "last, this, and next" or is it just "different strokes for different folks"? I'm curious how many others (if any?) view time from "my" perspective?

The bottom line is, I always find it beneficial to mention specific dates. So, instead of saying just "this Monday" I say, "this Monday, the 20th"


texts: Is there a word for someone/group of people that intentionally ignore an issue caused by them?

texts:
I'm looking for a word/phrase similar to 'turning a blind eye' to describe someone/a group of people who intentionally ignore a problem caused by them because it's easier to ignore it than deal with it.

Specifically I'm looking for a word to pair with 'consumption' (consumer consumption) to be used when referencing the effects on the environment.

Thank you.


texts:
I'm providing a description of the process of exercising with a dumbbell (from a video). I have come across a point where I've to describe the raising and lowering movement of the dumbbells as such,

  Holding it [dumbbell] aloft, he raised and lowered it.

This feels very weird (because I'm going to be using the phrase repeatedly through the description), I'm looking to replace the phrase "raised and lowered" with a single word. Searching for it in a thesaurus yields this but it is of no use.


texts:
Context: I have received a feedback request for an interview process. The company didn't offer me the job, but I appreciate their approach in requesting feedback, so I am inclined to provide it. However, I'm not sure it's anonymous and I'd like to express some criticism, but  I also would like to not be excluded from a possible recruiting process in the future because of my opinions. I told someone the following sentence:

I am reluctant to express negative feedback to someone whose door I might knock on again in the future.

They (native speaker) corrected me saying:

... whose door I might cross ...

Which version do you prefer?
Thanks!


texts:
Is the following sentence right:

"You got to have that satisfaction to never being satisfied"

English is not my first language and a friend of mine wants this as a tattoo. I can't shake the feeling that he will be walking around with a wrong sentence the rest of his life


texts: Infinitive vs. Past Simple for short technical annotations

texts:
I use source control management software at work. When I commit some changes, I annotate them with the bare infinitive like this:

"add new feature", "fix bug #10012"

I note that some of my colleagues use past tense instead:

"new feature added", "bug #10012 fixed"

Or sometimes:

"added new feature", "fixed #10012 bug"

Which of these annotations is grammatically correct? Are any of them weird or simply wrong?


texts:
Is it better to write "on the side" or "at the side"? I always thought that "on the side" was the correct form, but today I've seen the sentence:

  The thorax is protected by the ribs at the sides.

And, in the same book,

  The cheeks are on both sides of the face.


texts: What's the difference between a graph, a chart, and a plot?

texts:
A graph, a chart, and a plot can all refer to the same thing. Is there any even somewhat consistent distinction in these three words?

(I mean, in this particular sense of the words; it is not relevant that a chart is also a nautical map, a plot is also a scheme, and a graph is also an unrelated mathematical object.)


texts: What does “ leadups and outs” mean in following content?

texts:
What does "leadups and outs" mean in this quote?

The best way to approach learning how to play "Flight of the Bumblebee" is to work on memorizing bits of it at a time. A lot of the piece is essentially a main theme with leadups and outs of that theme, chromatically.
Steve Booke in Guitar World


texts: In the sentence "I was awake", why is it 'awake' and not 'awoke' since it is a simple past tense sentence?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Why is there omission of subject in sentences like “Thought you'd never ask.”

Is it correct to use hope without subject? I have seen may times something like:

  Hope you feel better soon

instead of

  I hope you feel better soon

Is this grammatically correct? Can this be done with other verbs?


texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

  There is a woods near our house.

(I am talking about one woods, but it is a bit awkward to use "a" before "woods". Hence I am not sure about this.)


texts: Pluralization of currencies like the baht and the ringgit

texts:
Some currencies like the baht (Thailand) and ringgit (malaysia) seem to be either singular or plural depending on context.  As far as I know, these two countries don't use bahts or ringgits to denote more than one unit of their currency. For example:

  1 baht, 100 baht;    1 ringgit, 100
  ringgit.

When we want to use the plural in writing and speech, should we use bahts and ringgits or baht and ringgit?

Merriam-Webster gives the plural of baht as:

  baht, also bahts;

and the plural of ringgit as :

  ringgit, also ringgits.

What should I write?


texts:
I know that "higher than that of imported" would be better, but how wrong is it as it is?

  Tests have shown that the quality of locally produced cars is somewhat higher than imported vehicles.


texts: Can I always use a colon before an enumeration?

texts:
I can think of many examples where an enmuration helps in understanding the sentence. However, I am not sure whether it is correct to put a colon before each enumeration. So which of the following sentences is incorrect?

(a) The density function can be estimated using both: (i)... and (ii) ...

(b) The density function can be categorized into two categories: (i)... and (ii)
...

(c) The properties of the density function are: (i)... and (ii) ...

(d) A function is called a density function whenever: (i)... and (ii) ...

(e) A function is called a density function if: (i)... and (ii) ...

Thanks


texts:
Let's look at these two sentences:

People are always looking for a bargain.
The people have made their choice.

Here come my questions:

How can I be sure if I should use "the" or not?
Are there any rules to follow to make the choice easier?
Is this related to context?


texts: Is there a comma between that and a temporal prepositional phrase

texts:
I've been struggling with the following sentence: "The Complaint also alleges that between May 2013 and February 2017, ABC transferred approximately $5,823,243.07 in rental payments to Atlantic Bank."
Should there be a comma at "that, between..."? Or should I just rewrite to say "The Complaint also alleges that ABC transferred approximately $5,823,243.07 in rental payments to Atlantic Bank between May 2013 and February 2017."
Thanks!


texts: Is a language which is your second but currently main "adopted" or "adoptive"?

texts: If an ESL person who is mainly English-speaking now is referring to his relationship with the English language, is English their adopted or adoptive main language? (Or are neither of the words correct in this context in the first place?)


texts: Is "under tension" a widely enough understood phrase to explain the presence of electric current?

texts:
I'm trying to write an operations manual for a machine and use the best phrase to explain that certain parts are "live" ie carrying electric current.

If I say "Check that the machine is not under tension", is that completely clear to all ?

Do I need to add the qualifier "not under electrical tension" ?

Is there a better phrase  ?  not live, not under current, etc


texts:
Question: What is a term that can be used to describe someone who volunteers with you? Is "co-volunteer" an accepted term?
Elaboration: This question was brought to my attention when writing down references for a job application. The field, "relationship to reference," made me realize that I didn't know of and couldn't find a term that is similar to a "worker's co-worker." Since I couldn't find validation for the term "co-volunteer," I needed to ask this question.
Note: If this is a duplicate or posted in the wrong place, please point me in the right direction. I was unable to find this anywhere.


texts:
I asked one of my friends what a hipster was the other day as it's becoming a popular term and he replied:

  "It's a person who's inside 95% of the bell curve while claiming they're an outlier."

I'm curious what the proper English phrase for inside 95% of the bell curve is?


texts:
How can I interpret the word "Kickstarter-friendly" here?

  Though ChefSteps is not selling this product at Williams-Sonoma or Macy's, Joule will likely become a competitor in the hot, Kickstarter-friendly immersion circulator market.

(Source)

I know that Kickstarter is a global crowdfunding platform, but can I change it to another word or phrase?


texts: What's up with all the words ending with "-eth" in the Bible?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What happened to the “-est” and “-eth” verb suffixes in English? How were they once used?

With all this rapture thing going on now, I noticed that through the Internet, the English version of the Bible has sentences like:

  Howbeit we know this man whence he is:
  but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth
  whence he is.

So what's up with all these words ending in -eth? Are they correct grammatically and what's the difference between this and their usual use like "knows", "comes" etc.?


texts: Why's a call option called 'call', and put option called 'put'?

texts:
I'm asking about etymology, and not what these options are. The answers beneath don't feel convincing; can't 'call' and 'put' be interchanged in them? I'll abbreviate Call Option to CO, and Put Option to PO. From Quant SE:

  Not as much on origin of this, but some analogy that I find helpful:

  Call - think of an open auction when bidders call out their prices for an auctioned item. So with a call option you've got a privilege to
  call the strike price, effectively having a right to buy the underlying asset.

  Put - think that you own a privilege to put the asset for sale at the strike price, effectively having a right to sell the
  underlying asset.

  Mind that for an option buyer this is optional to exercise it, yet for
  the option writer it's an obligation to transact, should the buyer
  opt to exercise it.

But can't I be said to:

for a CO, "put" (to the CO seller) to buy the security at the strike price (for a CO)?
for a PO, "call" (to the CO seller) to sell the security at the strike price?

From Quora:

  When you buy a call and exercise it you are receiving stock that you have "called" up from the person that sold you the call, the right to buy.
  When you buy a put you have purchased the right to sell the stock, or "put it" to the person who sold you the put.

Again, can't I say that a:

CO is when a CO seller "puts" the call option to the CO buyer?
PO is when a PO buyer is "calling" the PO seller to buy the security from the buyer?


texts: Correct usage of adjectives related to amounts of time

texts:
What are the correct adjectives to use when talking about amounts of time (when one needs to quantify an amount of time)? In particular, which one of the two:

little / small
big / large

For example: the airplane had a _ _ _  delay.


texts: What is a formal alternative to verb 'toggle'?

texts: For a long time I've been using a word 'toggle' to express change of states (normally button). Now I found out on Dictionary.com / toggle that toggle has such meaning in an informal language as a verb. Which would be the correct word to express verb for 'change state'?


texts:
My impression is that data does not encompass the scientific models which are fitted from them, or which they are compared against.

Is there a word for the superset of data/datasets/measurements and models (ie. statistical models like a regression model or parametrizations of a physical phenomena)?

A possible example:

  The phenomenon is poorly described by your [model and/or data input to the model].


texts: 'Voluntary/Involuntary' forms of verbs expressing the 5 senses

texts:
Is there any verb to express the 'voluntary/involuntary' aspect of the sensations of Taste, Smell and Touch as there is for Sight (to look/to see) and for Hearing (to listen/to hear)?
Is there a specific word to (scholarly) point out this distinction?


texts: I would like to know whether, if someone asks me "How are you?" and I reply "I'm nice, thank you", is the word 'nice' grammatically correct?


texts: "Differ to", "differ with" or "differ from"

texts:
In what ways are differ to, differ with and differ from different?

Providing examples would be really appreciated.


texts: I've heard this used colloquially much more than I've ever seen it used in writing. Is there any formally accepted way to use within writing? For example, to describe a scene as being "Renaissance-esque."


texts: punctuating So and Then at the beginning of a sentence

texts:
I am confused when to put a comma after "so" and after "then" at the start of a sentence.

  And then that's when you went to the store?

  Then at McDonald's you were only there for a year, year and a half?

  And she has to be able to get everything down.  So, if we talk over each other, it won't be clear.

  So, the last seven years you worked for Dollar General, correct?

Thank you!


texts: Understanding a short speech by the Speaker of the House of Commons from the mid-1600s

texts:
Can someone please explain to me the meaning of the middle paragraph here, the direct quote from the Speaker of the House of Commons. I really don't understand what is being meant by it.

On 9 January 1641 Sir Henry Mildmay blamed him [William Lenthall, Speaker of the House of Commons from 1640 to 1660] for letting too many
speak during a debate, and on 9 March he was accused of partiality in
a squabble between members. But the real challenge came when on 4
January 1642 when King Charles attempted to arrest five members of the
Commons and one of the Lords, entering the House of Commons in search
of them. Of course, he found that the birds had flown. Quickly,
Lenthall fell to his knees before his king and said:
“May it please your majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to
speak in this place but as this house is pleased to direct me whose
servant I am here; and humbly beg your majesty’s pardon that I cannot
give any other answer than this is to what your majesty is pleased to
demand of me.”
This courageous and clever response combined a defence of the Commons
with deference to the King – but Lenthall was also making it clear
that he was not going to give away the whereabouts of the men the
monarch sought.

Source: https://unherd.com/2019/03/history-backs-bercow/


texts: Which is more correct: "Plug-in" or "plugin"?

texts: What is the correct word, plugin or plug-in?  Does it depend from the context?


texts: We are a group of people who/which/that..?

texts:
Which of these three is correct?

We are a group of people who meet..
We are a group of people which meets..
We are a group of people that meets..

This is different from the case when "People" is the subject of the sentence.


texts:
This is an actor's line from "waiting for forever".

The boy climbs up a big object. and the girls says:

  This was so not meant for heels.


texts: Can you omit only a subject following “as long as?”

texts:
Can you leave a subject following “as long as” out, keeping the verb followed alive?

I can read it aloud for you as long as it is in English.

So you can watch any movies as long as they have subtitles on?

And why is that? Are there any authoritative grammar rules to support the reason?

I searched up some grammar ideas about “as” but they only confuse me. I can’t even judge whether these are related or not.

'As can be seen ...' <--- Can English have a tensed clause without a Subject?
Where is the subject in "as was traditional for unmarried women"?
Omission of subject


texts: Is this superlative degree because of usage of most or is it positive degree?

texts:
Most of the rare plants are found in silent valley.

Am confused as to which degree this sentence belongs, as it has the word 'most' which is superlative, but also the adjective, 'rare' is in positive degree.


texts: What is the opposite of "setting the bar"?

texts:
I am looking for a metaphorical phrase which would mean the opposite of "set the bar". Like "set the upper limit", but not that straightforward.
When you set the bar, you are defining the lower level of standard for something. It is OK if you do better than the bar they set.
When you do the opposite, you are defining the upper level. It is OK to do at this level or worse, but not better.

Listen, man, we need our jobs. If this new guy keeps going at this pace, they will lower the rates and fire our asses. Take Tim and Rob with you, meet him behind the warehouse and explain to him that he should ________ (do the opposite of setting the bar) at five thousand pounds of cargo per day.

When I am saying "fifty cold calls a day", I am setting the bar, not _______ (doing the opposite of setting the bar). No one will be mad at you if you call more. You don't have to call it a day the moment you've made your fiftieth call".


texts: How to cite an author who does not capltalize her name if you are beginning a sentence with her name

texts: If you are writing a paper and citing works by an author/researcher who does not capitalize her name, how do you begin a sentence using the author's name?


texts: A single word for people who believe that they belong together in this and other lives

texts:
I'm looking for a word to describe people who say or promise to their loved ones to be each other's forever, and that every time they come to earth or are born they will be each other's.

So what is it called to be someone's even after death; each time you are born you would like to become theirs.

I want a word that literally means to become someone's each time you come into the world or are reborn.


texts:
Is it "walk quickly" or "quickly walk?"

What is the correct way to phrase the sentence:

Please walk quickly.

Please quickly walk.

Thank you.


texts: I have come across some typography ligatures involving “f” and other letters as one glyph, I was wondering whether a ligature glyph is considered one alternate letter or still two letters after they are joined, I was also wondering if glyphs have their own names or how they are named if at all, similar to the case of the Bluetooth logo in which two runes, Berkana and Hagalaz are joined as a glyph ligature, is this considered an alternate rune or two individual ones, — Jack


texts:
This week, I've heard "lookit" twice on TV.  I heard Jerry Seinfeld say it on Seinfeld, and I heard Joe Gilgun say it on Preacher.  And in closed captioning, it was written that way both times, as all one word: "lookit."

The first time struck me because I guess I quit saying "lookit" when I was a kid.  It just seems like something kids say, not adults.  But the second time I heard it, it really struck me because Joe Gilgun is not just an adult but also Irish and plays an Irish character.  For whatever reason, I think I thought that "lookit" was an Americanism.

Anyway, I looked on www.dictionary.com and it doesn't even define "lookit," but to me, it sounds like a verb, like you're telling someone to look.

So here's my question: Is "lookit" a defective verb?

Example:

  "Lookit!" squealed John, laughing and pointing out the window to
  direct Hannah's gaze.  "That girl by the mailbox just smacked that
  boy on the steps in the head with that skateboard, hard!"

Later, the character Hannah recounts the event:

  "John saw something out the window and told me to lookit, so I did,"
  explained Jane.

So here's my second question: What if Hannah doesn't use the verb "did" at the end to refer back to the verb "lookit" but instead tries to use the verb "lookit" in the past tense, for example:

  "John saw something out the window and told me to lookit, so I..."

What???

1. lookedit?

2. lookitted?

3. something else?

4. nothing because 'lookit' is a defective verb that can only be imperative?

5. none of the above?

Please explain and provide some examples.


texts:
For work, I need to pass a parsing test, but I'm very confused.
Here are the examples I was given of how to do it:

We / have searched / far and wide / for / real-world / video content.

Selecting / a / part of speech / can / be / tricky.

So, how would you parse these two sentences?

Though the video was reposted and grabbed tons of eyeballs over the past week, it turns out to be a more low-resolution version of a video that previously went viral earlier this year.

One of the pleasures of these videos is that they reverse the more common scenario of young people befuddling the old with their newfangled technology—for once, the old people get to be the in-the-know party here.


texts: What does the word "already" mean in this sentence?

texts:
As I watched a TV series, I heard the following sentence:

  Will you fix your marriage or get a divorce already?

I can't figure out what "already" means at the end of the sentence.

I suppose something like "immediately" but I couldn't find anything on the Internet .


texts: Are there any different words for stewed meat and a stew with meat?

texts: These are two different ways of cooking meat. I know I can stew meat, i.e. boil it with little amount of water and then eat it without any water. Or I can make a soup that is also called "stew" but it has water and other ingridients. Those two different methods use the same words "stew". Is there any way to say "stewed meat" so that it is completely clear it's not a soup?


texts: I need to know whether cedar is a proper noun needing capitalization

texts: I have written “cedars and Rhododendrons” and wonder whether I should capitalize cedar?


texts:
As you may know, when two states fail to come to permanent treaty terms, they may agree for the time being to a modus vivendi, an interim memoradum of indefinite term specifying usually mutually unsatisfactory but nevertheless tolerable conditions of peaceful continuance, pending a final agreement.  The phrase modus vivendi is of course Latin, literally translated (if I understand correctly), as "way (or manner) of living."

What I need today is a slight variation on the phrase, a variation that implies that one state has outwitted the other in negotiating the modus vivendi, such that the real effect of the modus is to deliver a sly, unearned advantage to  the one  at the other's expense, with the added insult that the modus is not even a permanent treaty—that once the advantage has been pocketed, a permanent treaty will still remain to be negotiated.

Of course, this is a lot to load into a two-word Latin phrase!  I hardly expect two words to convey the whole meaning, but I want a fresh phrase that nonetheless captures the spirit of modus vivendi, with the indicated twist.

The best with which I have yet been able to come up is modus praevalentis, in which valere is (I believe) "to be strong" and, by extension, praevalere is "to take the upper hand."

Two questions, please:

Can you think of a better Latin phrase to serve the indicated purpose?
Did I decline my Latin right, or should it have been modus praevalendi or such?


texts: Different strengths of words that have the same meaning?

texts:
I'm not sure how to ask what I want to ask, but I'll try. Is there a thing like the following and how is it called, maybe some kind of a rule or an explanation ?

Let's say I have two nouns : idiot and fool. In which context I should use one and in which another one ?

Fo example if a person does some little stupid thing that does no harm then I can call that person for example an idiot, but if that person does something majorly stupid than the word "idiot" won't cut it and I would have to use "fool" because it better represents the strength of what he did and what he is ?

What are those kind of noun properties called in English ? Can I read somewhere about it or even does something like that exist ?

Thank you.


texts: Descriptive words and gerunds or present participles

texts:
Gerunds and present participles happen to look exactly the same in English, the first acting as a noun and the second as either an adjective, a verb denoting continuous action, or introducing a participle clause. When adding a descriptive word to them, should gerunds get adjectives and participles adverbs, even though they're both created from a verb? Example:

  Though Khorrl didn't consider himself a great judge of attractiveness, especially in other species, it was plain enough to him that Zammzt's face was far from noteworthy. The drow was simply too ordinary looking.
  Thomas A. Reid, Insurrection, War of the Spider Queen book II, p. 42

I cannot decide whether or not too ordinary looking is a gerund or not. I am assuming it is correct, but if it was, shouldn't I be able to say 'a looking', the same way as one can say e.g. 'a meeting'? If the latter, wouldn't 'too ordinarily looking' be correct? That just sounds wrong, through, as though he stared at something in a boring way.

My apologies if this is a dumb question.


texts: Why don't you play? vs. Why are you not playing?

texts:
Suppose some boys are playing football in the field. While going to the market, I see my brother standing beside the field and watching them playing. So at this moment,

  what am I supposed to ask my brother?

  a. Why don't you play?

  b. Why are you not playing?

Also

  Do the examples above carry the same meaning and can be used interchangeably?

And

  If not carrying the same meaning, then in which situations could I use them?


texts: Specific type of abbreviation in textese

texts:
I would like to know if there is preexisting metalanguage or a term to describe the following types of abbreviations often present in textese or SMS language:

see → c,
you → u,
are → r,
your → ur, etc.

The abbreviation involves a letter of the alphabet representing a word that is one of its homophones, e.g., 'see' /siː/ → 'c'/siː/, etc.

The term that I’m looking for would be analogous to “initialism” for
“for your information” → FYI.

I have already done a fair amount of research and cannot find an answer; e.g., I looked at the Leet Wikipedia page prior to posting this question and the information there does not provide a clear enough answer.


texts: Is “handsome” associated with masculinity and “pretty” associated with femininity?

texts:
TL;DR— See title:

Are the attributes in  “handsome girl” and “pretty boy” perfectly interchangeable?
Is there an implicit, gender-specific connotation in “handsome” (♂) and “pretty” (♀)?

This video called my attention for the first time to
the none-analogy of those two German words:

dämlich (“stupid”, literally lady-ly)
herrlich (“magnificent”, literally mister-ly)

(Both do actually have a surprisingly different etymology.)

The presenter assumes that däm-lich was some sort of feminine version for herr-lich and cites,

  like how in English, the word “handsome” is often associated with something that is masculine, and “pretty” with something that is feminine.

Is this true?

Does it sound weird to call a manly man “pretty” or a beautiful, feminine woman “handsome”?

Do English native speakers assume gender in consequence of the usage of either?


texts:
So is known to be one of the coordinating conjunctions of English. So it can introduce an independent sentence or clause. Those are defined as containing a complete thought as opposed to the incomplete thoughts expressed by dependent sentences.
I have my doubts as to whether so in the following sentence is really coordinating

  I did that so he could come.

Is the second part considered to be sub- or coordinated or can so be a subordinating conjunction too?
If it is considered coordinated, doesn't that hurt the anyway suboptimal definition of what subordinate really is?

I am asking because to me "So he could come" in this example does by NO means feel independent, neither grammatically nor semantically.


texts:
Is this expression common? Example:

  Less than a mansion it looked like a castle: crenelated roof, lancet
  windows, cylindrical towers with crosses on top.

The reason I asked is because I got 0 hits in Google.


texts:
Is there a word to concisely say 'an unavoidable sin'?
Or maybe just a better way to say it.

This is in the context for example of someone who habitually does some particular activity and then regrets it afterwards.


texts:
Imagine the following:

  A -> B

B is consequent (and subsequent) to A, because A implies B.

How might one describe A relative to B?  "Presequent" gets a few search results... but perhaps there's a better-established word?

Another example:

  Because it rained, the grass is wet.`

The wet grass is consequent to the rain.  How can one make a similar statement about the rain itself?


texts: Different meaning of "Only"' in different positions in a sentence

texts: What is the difference in meaning between "A form with only the two quotations is submitted." and "A form with the only two quotations is submitted." ?


texts: Noun that refers to a mistake/misunderstanding caused by language

texts:
For example:

Teacher: Give me an example of a word starting with the letter 'Q'.

Student: Queue?

Teacher: Yes, Q, now go on.

Student: Queue!

Teacher: Yes, a word starting with the letter Q.

Student: No, no, a queue, like the bus queue!

Is there a word that encapsulates such situations where language causes a misunderstanding?


texts: Conditional: if + past simple, future simple

texts:
I know that that there are conditionals to speculate about permanent state or situations which had a result in the past.
Is there a conditional: if + past simple, subject + will + verb.
For talking something that maybe happened, and if it happened, something else will happen.

Examples:

If you studied, you will get a good mark.

If you were tired of the old crosshair, I-Beam, arrow cursor choices, you'll love the new selections.

are those two senteces correct? is correct writing conditional sentences in this way? because I have never seen on internet sentences like those (if + past simple, subject + will + verb)


texts: Why is it “From Dublin to Los Angeles” in the Western world, that has left the church moribund in 20 century culture wars?

texts:
In connection with my previous question about the meaning of “the Church’s existential problem”, there was the following sentence in the same article of Time Magazine (December 11, 2013) — “Pope Francis, The People’s Pope.”

  “Through these conscious and skillful evocations of moments in the
  ministry of Jesus, as recounted in the Gospels, this new Pope may have
  found a way out of the 20th century culture wars, which have left the
  church moribund in much of Western Europe and on the defensive from
  Dublin to Los Angeles.”

http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/person-of-the-year-pope-francis-the-peoples-pope/

As I have no knowledge about Christianity, I can’t make out why Dublin and Los Angeles were picked up out of many cities of “Western Europe and on the defensive.”

Is there specific reason for naming “Dublin to Los Angeles” here, not other cities, such as  “Madrid to New York” being cited instead? Are these somehow metonyms for something else? Do Dublin and Los Angeles have some special connotation as a metaphor for the length and breadth of Christianity to English speakers, like how “from California to the New York Island” describes the span of the United States, how “from Land’s End to John o’ Groats” describes the span of the Isle of Britain, or even how “from Medina to Mecca” has a metaphoric meaning in Islam?


texts: There were a few examples on google, but very limited and mostly blogs and the like.  I'm thinking that words like "ignore" tend to be used with "objections."  But is there a word like "defy" that can be used with "objections"?  "Go against" is the best I can think of, but it really just doesn't sound quite right to me.


texts: Is there a word or phrase to describe a job that requires a college degree?

texts:
I'm trying to think of a way to say a person has a job that is (more than likely) only available to the college educated. The idea is to convey a level of success.

The terms I've thought of are:

White-collar job - Conveys office work, but seems too broad. This could apply to basic clerical work. Plus, there are some educated positions that might not be "white-collar."
Professional position - What I'm leaning towards most. It gives the idea they're working in their field as a "professional."

An example of where it might be used is:

  "My son is doing quite well for himself, he has a _________ and is living on his own already."


texts:
Today I've been reading a book and I came across this:
"As he walked across the room, his eyes fell I upon the little table on which Marvolo Gaunt’s ring had rested last I time, but the ring was no longer there."

Is it just a mistake and I needs to be removed or is it some construction? (British English)


texts:
Do I need to place a colon after 'as' in the following sentence?

The main subject of 'Animal Farm' is totalitarianism, which is defined as(:)'a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state'.


texts: Using 'There,' at beginning of sentence, referring to the location in the last sentence

texts:
Is the use of 'There,' in the following sentence correct? This feels clunky to me.

Austin went to France. There, some of the buildings were white and others were blue.

Thank you!


texts:
If you call a British citizen a Briton, a French citizen a Frenchman and a citizen of Canada a Canadian...

and considering that someone from Asia is and Asian and someone from Africa is a African.

What do you call someone from the United States of America?

It can't be an American, as most Americans live outside the United States in the rest of North and South America.

If there is an official term, will people understand you when you use it?


texts:
"So, I think I'm a tomboy."
“I wouldn’t call you a tomboy, sweetie. I think that you’re you.”
“But you could call me a tomboy.”
“But I wouldn’t.”
“But if you did … ”
“I wouldn’t. And I won’t. I’ll just keep calling you Emilia.”
I learned that would is a conditional verb and used in imagined or hypothetical situations.
In the story above, what exactly does "I wouldn't call you a tomboy" mean?
Does it mean "I wouldn't call you a tomboy even if someone called you a tomboy."?
or Does it just mean "I wouldn't call you a tomboy (in any imagined or hypothetical situations)"?
And in the sentence "I wouldn't. And I won't.”, what is the difference between "I wouldn't" and "I won't"?
Thank you for your answer.


texts:
From Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here

  ‘‘Swell joint! Hello, Doc! How’s the Dutchman? How’s the antibody research going? These are Doc Nemo and Doc, uh, Doc Whoozis, the famous glue lifters. Great frenzh mine. Introduce us to your Jew friend.’’

(p. 169, Signet Classics)

Does anybody know what "glue lifters" means? (I couldn't find it anywhere.) By the way, the character is drunk.


texts: "Holmby hall" or "The Holmby Hall", does the hall have to be capital in either of them?

texts: Holmby Hall is a landmark site in Los Angeles. The Wikipedia page doesn't use "the" before Holmby Hall, but has used the before The Fox Theatre.


texts: Why is "sorry" used for both apology and sympathy?

texts:
Why is the word "sorry" used for this dual purpose? It seems to me they really have nothing to do with each other at all. Is it purely coincidence, like the dual meaning of "bore"? I find this unlikely. Is this present in (and derivative from) other languages as well?

To clarify, why is sorry used for these very different sentences?

  I'm sorry that I stole your bike.
  I'm sorry to hear that your bike got stolen.


texts: I want to lnow what is the antecedent of the pronoun “it” in the following context?

texts:
the source

  It’s the third time since 2015 that such a collision has been observed via an instrument called LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory), which consists of a pair of detectors, one in Hanford, Washington, USA, and the other in Livingston, Louisiana, each designed to measure gravitational waves from distant cosmological events.

  Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space, created by movements of massive objects.

“Normally we don’t think of space as having any properties at all, so it’s counterintuitive,” says Michael Landry, director of LIGO’s Hanford.

  I want to know what is the antecedent of the pronoun It? “It is counterintuitive”.


texts:
I am so confused as to the difference between conjunctions ans prepositions.
There seems to be no clear line between them.
I understand that coordinating conjunctions are always conjunctions, but it seems that subordinating conjunctions can be prepositions also. What are the rules?


texts: What’s the English word for the metallic “dust”, or more precisely the tiny remains (waste) of drilling, welding, cutting through metal, and similar metal processing?


texts: In medical terminology, words are often combined of Greek and Latin roots and affixes. And we can recognize the meaning of a word by knowing the meaning of the prefix, the root and the suffix. The word "hemophilia" consists of a prefix " hemo-" meaning "blood" and a suffix "-philia" meaning " attraction to". Thus the whole meaning of the term means " a condition of attraction to blood". However, the word is defined in medical usage as " an inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots". I was wondering if there is any reasonable explanation for this.


texts:
I was just looking at a (programming) question on Stack Overflow that was asking for a function that always returned "odd" numbers (I'm sure s/he was referring to odd vs. even numbers). But my mind is now stuck on how the word "odd" is somewhat paradoxical, as "odd" numbers really aren't "odd" in the sense of something unusual. I would like to write clearly and unambiguously about odd numbers, but the word itself is holding me back...
Is there a solution?


texts: Tense problem. Retelling a story and asking questions

texts:
I am reading a story and I need to retell it and then to ask some questions about the plot. So I don’t know what tense I should use. The author himself switches from Present Simple/Continuous to Past Simple from time to time. So I am absolutely confused. Here are some extracts for you to make my question more clear:
1. It was December 21st, I am 15 and I am living through a slump.
2. I went to school. Flash forward a few hours I am sitting in the Vice Principal’s office.
Thank you!


texts: Is the question "where is Elmo's legs?" correct usage?

texts:
Is

  Where is Elmo's legs?

correct usage?

And how about:

  Where's Elmo's legs?

Is that more or less acceptable, and why?


texts: Need term for ability to precisely control

texts:
I am looking for a technical term for the level of precision and clarity in the ability to control a system.  For example, when configuring your smart phone, is it clear and intuitive how to configure it - does the control system closely parallel the actual system, or is it far more complicated?  Can you access all parts of the underlying system or are certain parts blocked for no functional reason?
The word I am looking for I think would have the flavor of the words bijective, orthogonal (those were my rejected attempts), or more simply clear and complete.


texts:
When I'm going to start a sentence with From my early age grammar checker shows an error. It's suggest me to use From an early age

Is there any major different with both of the term.


texts:
This is Anna studying English by myself in Korea.
I've faced some expressions written in one of my English learning books.
Actually there is a controversial issue that most of people think these are wrong because they should be a passive form. As my mother tongue is not English, please help. Thank you in advance.

All means, actually, I like to be taken pictures of in following situation.
Are these wrong? Or can I say it in casual English?

"I remember taking a lot of pictures for my wedding."

"I like to take pictures when I dress up"


texts: What is the difference between using "over" and "against" with the word "outrage"?

texts:
Examples:

  1 - An outrage against the ruling.

  2 - An outrage over the ruling.

It seems that they are almost the same thing to me.


texts: What does Hillary Clinton’s “a little note of levity at 7:15” at night mean?

texts:
Today’s (October 23) New York Times article titled “A hearing, and a House, as divided as the country watching it” wraps up with the following passage:

  “As the hearing stretched into its ninth hour, Representative Martha
  Roby, Republican, asked Mrs. Clinton if she had been alone at her
  house the night of the attack. “I was alone,” she said. “The whole
  night?” Mrs. Roby asked. “Well, yes, the whole night,” Mrs. Clinton
  said, letting out the first laugh in an otherwise heavy session. Mrs.
  Roby replied that it was not a laughing matter. “I’m sorry,” Mrs.
  Clinton said, “a little note of levity at 7:15” at night.”

I can’t make out the ending line of Mrs. Clinton - I’m sorry, a little note of levity at 7:15” at night.
What does it mean? Why was her sorry for “a little note of levity at 7:15” at night”?

P.S.

I'm specially interested in how I can translate the word, "levity" used in Mrs. Hillary's remark into Japanese.
Although I could check the meaning of the word, "levity" with English dictionaries at hand, any of given definitions doesn't seem to smoothly fit her usage. Could you rephrase the word, "levity" with a simpler single word?


texts:
Which form of "have" should I use and why?

The fireman decided to return to work tomorrow because the union had/has accepted his offer.


texts:
The Newyorker reports:

“Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice,” Obama said.

What is correct? 'Any responsible individual' or 'Any responsible individuals'? Similarly, shouldn't we say, 'Any responsible group' as opposed to 'Any responsible groups'?


texts:
For example -

  I got $300
     I have $300

Which is more correct? Please advice proper use of these terms. Thank you.


texts: Would 'piqued' in 'piqued interest' be classified as a fossil word?

texts: Are there any other common collocations using 'piqued' that would prevent it from being classified as such?


texts: What does a native speaker imagine when hearing "lunatic cat"?

texts:
Is "lunatic cat" like "crazy cat" or "it's nonsense, they don't say so", or something else?
According to https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/lunatic there is a connection to the moon (see "origin"). Could native speaker imagine "lunatic cat" as "moon cat"?


texts: what the word ''cloth'' means after a ISBN number in a BOOK?

texts:
what the word ''cloth'' means after an ISBN number in a BOOK?

For example: ISBN-13:978-0-226-10420-1(cloth).


texts: Contract period; automatically renewed for another five-year periods at the expiration means what?

texts:
My contract is valid for five years and may be automatically renewed for another five-year period at the expiration unless one party gives the other a six-month period notice.
Is it valid for 10 years if there isn't any notification?
Or renewed every 5 years terms?


texts:
What does it mean that a boy gave his girlfriend even his thespian pin?

  And they are so in love! He even gave her his thespian pin or something.


texts: The first live processing date is December 29, 2014 for the pay period of December 22, 2014 to December 28, 2014

texts: The question I have is the use of the word "to" in the phrase "to December 28". Does the "to" definitely include December 28th, or is it (as I think it is) ambiguous?  The way it reads, I feel it is ambiguous as to whether hours worked and record on December 28th will be included in the live payroll processing date of December 29th.  I think a less-ambiguous word choice would be "through" instead of "to".


texts:
I'm trying to understand the meaning of the expression "background strong". The line in the title is quoted from a movie, "Dying to survive". Here is some frame: an indian oil shop owner wants to import from India a cheap copycat medicine for CML (which is a form of leukemia) and therefore he holds talks with an indian man who is helping him with his supply. At some point the company producing the genuine drug realized that the market is being flooded with the fake one and sues the indian government in order to prevent the production of the copycat drug. The supplier says the following while trying to explain the situation to the shop owner:

"Some said India is a pharmacy for the poor because we have a merciful government, but right now the Swiss Nuowa company is suing the Indian government, trying to stop us from producing cheap medicines. They have some background strong. No country would dare to buy medicines from us. No country."

Audio clip.

I can't understand the meaning of that "background strong"... could you please provide a rephrase or synonym for this? Thanks in advance!

EDIT

EDIT 2: Here are two tracks to compare "Strong" and "Cheng" pronounciations.


texts:
By 'better beauty' I mean sth like cruelty free beauty, 'way to a better beauty'. I want to use it in the name for some kind of blog. English is my second language, but I don't know whether it sounds ok for native speakers. Maybe 'way better than beauty' sounds better..?
Thanks in advance ;)


texts: What's usage of 'to' following 'which' in a relative clause?

texts:
I see a sentence in a commercial article

  Then in 2006, Amazon launched its Elastic Compute cloud (EC2) as a
  commercial web service that allows small companies and individuals to
  rent computers on which to run their own computer applications.

I could not figure out the usage of 'to' in the relative clause. Is it wrong or some grammatical rule?


texts: Is there a technical name for a play on words, such as "FaceCrook"?

texts:
Is there a technical name for the play on words where someone would substitute a word for a similar one (or add a common word to the end of one) in order to express their opinion about the subject in question?

For example:

Not being a fan of Facebook's privacy rules, and calling the site Facecrook instead
Feeling that people are too lazy to search before posting here, so calling this site "Slack Exchange"
Calling a Didgeridoo a "Didgeridont" because you can't stand the sound it makes

The closest things I could find were a "sniglet" and a "protologism", but I'm not sure if they're it. Any thoughts?


texts:
Imagine you have a friend. He doesn't share good stuff with his other friends. For example, he gets a fine bottle of booze, but he drinks it without his friends.
Or he has pizza and he doesn't share.

In my language, we have a term for such friend which literally translates to "single-eater".

Is there a specific term in English for such a friend?

I already know a term like "fair-weather" friend but it doesn't work here.

This term (single-eater) is used jokingly among friends in my language most of the time.


texts:
A friend of mine (we are both non native english speakers, french actually) is writing lyrics and came to me to have an opinion on a sentence, and I actually am not 100% sure about the good answer.
The lyrics go like this :

How could you convince the people?
When you don't even believe in it

The question was about how we could refer to said people in the first sentence.
The three propositions are :

Him
It
Them

I would totally rule out "Him" because people is plural here. "It" would refer to an object, so it only leaves "Them" available.
Would someone care to elaborate on this?
Thank you all in advance :)


texts: What do you call it when you "extend" a word?

texts:
On a programming site, I noticed

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/37460404/unexplained-increasement-of-variable

a beautiful word use, "increasement."

Is there a term for, or how would you refer to, that - where you take a word, and use a different "form" of it.

So, you're making up a new "form" of a word which has never been seen before, but it makes sense based on variant "forms" of other words.

(This is sometimes done for humorous effect; and small children sometimes do it: in the example at hand it's just plain pretty.)

By the way notice I use "form" above ... perhaps it is not the best term (maybe there's another term, something like "tense" or ?)

Further - relatedly, it occurs to me that children learning language, particularly do this (often humorously to us adults).  Surely, there's a term for this when children do it, since there's plenty of academic interest in such things.


texts:
The sentence is -
"A story of detention is a catalogue of things destroyed: not just years lost to captivity, but all of life's labour from before"
I get the meaning through context but what I have never read "from before" used in such a manner. Could you please help me understand what does it mean and how to use it in sentences?


texts: What is a name for a unit of measure and value

texts:
I'm trying to find a word that describes both the unit and value of something. The unit types and values are arbitrary.

For instance "10 meters" and "52 inches" are examples of (the word). "10 liters" and "40 watts" are examples of (the word), etc.

Is there such a word? I can't think of it.