texts: Is "over" meaning "again" related to "over"'s other meanings?

texts:
In addition to the physical position meaning, "over" has a number of nonphysical and temporal meanings including "again". My own examples:

I couldn't read your note. Write it over.
Take one turn only, no do-overs.

Examples from oxforddictionaries.com:

Used to express repetition of a process: "twice over"; "the sums will have to be done over again"

Most of the other senses listed there seem related etymologically to either "on top of" or the idea of traversal, which are corroborated by Etymonline to share a single root. Intuitively, I can see a connection between these two ideas in the concept of coverage, which could entail being above something and able to exhaustively view or travel across it.
Is the "again" meaning of the word derived from the same core concept (putatively "coverage"), or is it distinct etymologically?

My conjecture: I can contrive a connection from "go over" meaning "review" - retaining the sense of traversal - to "do over" by analogy, meaning generally repeat a process, to detaching the word "over" to be used generally for repetition.


texts: Can you start a sentence with including?

texts: Including, skills such as, ball control, forehand/backhand drive, forehand/backhand lob, and strategy.


texts: Is there another way of saying "less is more"?

texts:
Is there another way of saying “less is more" in the following context?

  They changed their packaging and left only the essential branding on it. It epitomizes "less is more".


texts: "It had not been working as I thought" vs. "It was not working as I thought"?

texts:
I want to convey that I recently discovered that a software code was not working like I thought it was working...I'm not sure how to phrase it correctly.

Which A phrase goes with which B phrase?

A1. I discovered today that the code was not working

A2. I discovered today that the code had not been working

B1. like I thought it was working.

B2. like I had thought it was working.

B3. like I had thought it had been working.


texts:
There is ON at the end of the following sentence.

  Remaining aloof was no longer safe under the restored democracy of 403 on.

403 is the year.

I think without it the sentence makes sense enough. I know there is no usual sentence that ends with a preposition and there is no object of it. If I understand it as an adverb I can't find any verb that matches it.

Does it have any special meaning? If so what does it?


texts: "She hasn't said but a few words to me..." or "She has said but a few words to me..."?

texts:
"She hasn't said but a few words to me since last winter."

or

  "She has said but a few words to me since last winter."

Which of these is right?

I think the latter is heard more often, but the former makes more sense to me. It's saying that she hasn't said anything to me except a few words since last winter, whereas I can't break down the second in a similar fashion.

I can also think of sentences constructed in a similar fashion to the second sentence that are in common usage, such as, "I have but one request to make." This doesn't make sense to me, except to the extent that it is idiomatic or uses "but" in a different sense (e.g. "only"?), and I suspect that this is idiomatic. Using "but" with a negative, however, makes more sense to me, if we use it to mean "except".

Quite possibly, I could be wrong in everything I've said above.


texts: Word for doing something all of a sudden not by any influence

texts:
Some political party has passed some law and a group of people is out on the streets celebrating. These people are probably affiliated to the party and do not represent the entire population.

'I've never seen people celebrate the passing of a law,' said dragonfly.

'You can't assume the celebrations are_____,' countered lonewolf.


texts: What is a word for a relationship where one party benefits while the other gains/loses nothing?

texts:
I'm a programmer and I need a name for this relationship. A bit more elaborate description:

  I have a banana, a pear and a pineapple in my lap, they all taste equally good. If I add an apple to them though, suddenly the pear tastes 3 times better, while there is no effect from the pear to the apple or between any other fruit for that matter.

It cannot be symbiotic since that would require mutual benefits.

It cannot be parasitic since the apple isn't losing anything despite helping out the pear.

I don't think its synergetic since the whole advantage of adding an apple to the configuration is given to the pear and even though the taste quality of the fruit pile is increased, the quality of the whole is not important and therefore cannot be perceived as beneficial.

I'm not sure about empowering since it feels like the apple should be willingly giving something away.

Any other words you can think of?


texts: What does the “‑to” ending mean in most English words that end in “‑to”?

texts:
Today I saw this word — hitherto — then I searched in the dictionary to
find that it means "up until that time". It looks a little weird since
my first seen, and I rarely see words ending with ‑to except to,
auto and tomato which look more normal.

I found all words ending with to from here, but this site only
says words ending with to are good for playing "Words with Friends"
word game.  Maybe because my native language is not English, I know
almost nothing about all the words listed on that site, so I wonder if
the ending ‑to has some common special meaning? If yes, it can help me
to remember the words that end with to.


texts: "Watched them get married" vs "watched them getting married"

texts:
I read the following:

  The next day as I watched them get married...

How does it differ from the following? Is one more eloquent and accurate than other?

  The next day as I watched them getting married...


texts:
It was a screenshot from a video on Youtube. I interested with the description saying "..., he was the first African American to be elected to the presidency......"

I bold the to be as in my understanding, the sentence should be "..., he was the first African American elected to the presidency......"

My question is: is the original sentence's grammar correct? If it is not, how about my sentence?


texts: superlative + -ing participle + noun ok?

texts:
Is it always ok to have a superlative hyphenated with a present participle ending in -ing acting as an adjective (so long as the superlative describes the base verb of the participle)? For example:

  most-burping woman
  fastest-drinking college student
  quietest-singing bird

Such a phrase that is commonly used is "highest-grossing film." Is this just a particular idiom?


texts:
I report more sentences surrounding the one in the title, which is a monologue from the movie Black River:

"A community is a funny little animal: 8903 bits of self-interests heading up to something greater... or less! A flagrant bit of anarchy yearning for direction, desperate for a guiding hand. And from whom? A part of that small self-interest? Oh, I think not! The world will be just when it's ruled by a philosopher king"

I'm not a native speaker and am having hard times understanding what the sentence in the title should mean, especially the "flagrant bit" (bit is used before too and I'm not fully sure what it means in this context).


texts: On the pronunciation of 's' in 'dislike' (/s/ vs /z/)

texts:
With a bit of a surprise I have recently learnt that most(all?) native English speakers pronounce the 's' in dislike (and similar words with the dis- prefix) as /s/, not /z/.

However, the /z/ variant also seems to exist, as a quick Google search by the "dizlike" pronunciation keywords has shown.

One of the links from the above search results leads to the following text from A Pronouncing and Defining Dictionary of the English Language abridged from Webster in 1856:

§ 70. S unmarked has its regular sharp or hissing
sound, as in same, gas, mass, &c.
§ 71. S, when marked thus, $, s, has the sound of
z hard, as in has, xoas, &c.
Note. — There has been much diversity between
orthoepists as to the sound of s in words commencing
in dis, as disarm, disburse, &c. Walker laid down
this rule: "It (s) ought always to be pronounced
like z when unaccented, and followed by an ac-
cented flat mute (b, d, g hard, v), a liquid (I, m,
n, r), or a vowel." Hence he gave pronunciation
like the following, disbud, dizbud; disedify, diz-
edify; disjoin, dizjoin; dislike, dizlike; dislodge,         <-- dizlike
cfelodge, &c. Scarcely any subsequent orthoepist
has gone so far. Webster's Dictionary gives s the
sound of z in only the following words, viz., dis-
arm, disaster, discern, disease, disheir, dishonest,
dishonor, dismal, disown, dissolve. The Imperial,
Craig, and Wright agree almost to a word with
Webster. Perry and Knowles give the z sound
even in fewer words ; Smart gives it in about eight
more; Jameson and Boag go still further; but, with
one or two exceptions, the orthoepists as a body
have condemned the extent to which Walker has
gone in this respect.

Source

So far, I failed to find any information on (and this is essentially my question:) whether this peculiarity (using the /z/ sound in dislike) can be attributed to a particular region, background or anything of that sort, or is it just some sort of a personal preference?

So I'm asking the community for some help with this matter.

Edit
A bit more on what lead me to believe that the 'dizlike' pronunciation exists:

David Hart on Twitter:
"I dislike it when people pronounce dislike as though it is spelt dizlike."

Judging from the initial comments, though, it looks like English speakers strongly disagree with the very possibility of using /z/ in dislike. Other than to mock a foreign accent, I presume.

What would be the explanation of the quoted text, then? (The one provided as an image). Yes, I realise that the date is 1856 - does this mean the /z/ pronunciation existed at that time but completely disappeared by now? Or is it just a dictionary mistake and should be ignored?

Edit 2
Transcriptions of dislike in most popular dictionaries:

Macmillan: NOUN  /dɪsˈlaɪk/

Cambridge: UK /dɪˈslaɪk/ US /dɪˈslaɪk/

Merriam-Webster: dis·like | \ (ˌ)dis-ˈlīk  , ˈdis-ˌlīk \

Pronunciation examples on Forvo - 5 recordings by native speakers.


texts: who or whom? "The director (whom/who) regarded as competent enough, resigned from the company."

texts:
In the sentence"The director (whom/who) regarded as competent enough, resigned from the company.", should i use whom/ who?
The rule is -   Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition. While who should be used to refer to the subject of a sentence. But i'm confused since the director is the subject of the sentence, i should use "who" but it sounds awkward. I'm not sure where i went wrong so please correct me. Thanks.


texts: Is there a word for the discarded part of a word that is truncated?

texts:
My example is Science Friday, which can be shortened to Sci Fri

But what do you call the parts that aren't used – ence day


texts: Word for the vomit-y feeling you get for eating too much fatty food

texts:
For example:

I had bacon for breakfast, pork chop for lunch, if I see another meat, I'd vomit. I've reached my limit.


texts: How do you refer to this kind of shirts?

texts:
What are some of the more common ways to refer to these shirts?

How common are the terms "Hawaiian shirt", "summer shirt", "Miami Vice short sleeved shirt", etc. to refer to them? Which one of them is the most common in American English?
Let me thank you in advance for your replies.


texts: "manufacturing time" vs. "manufacture time"

texts:
Why is the term "manufacturing time" used instead of "manufacture time"?

Just like one would say "production time" and not "producing time".


texts:
Here’s the original:

  The veterinarian was caught off guard when, regaining consciousness,
  we were again attacked by the cat.

My rewrite of this sentence is either:

  The veterinarian was caught off guard when we were again attacked by
  the cat regaining consciousness.

or else:

  The veterinarian was caught off guard when, regaining consciousness, the cat attacked us.

Is either of these rewrites satisfactory?


texts: Is there a pronunciation difference between the noun "display" and the verb "display"?

texts:
I know that in English, the emphasis on one syllable or the other is based on whether the word is a noun or a verb.
For example:

Contract CONtract- an agreement; conTRACT- to shrink or to agree on a project

Record RECKord- a list; reKORD- to write down

Subject SUBjekt- the theme; subJEKT- to force upon someone

My question is if this also applies to the noun display and the verb to display. My instinct would be to pronounce the first DISplay and the latter disPLAY, but I didn't find anything to confirm this.
Is this word always pronounced the same, and if so, is there a reason?


texts: How to use 'wait' and 'await' at the end of sentences

texts:
There are plenty of examples, which explain the difference between wait and await as verbs in the middle of a sentence. However, what about at the end of a sentence?

In most of the examples, the verb await must have an expressed object.

I am awaiting your specific reply for this question.
They are awaiting the birth of their first baby.

On the other hand, wait in most of the examples does not require an object.

I have been waiting for hours.

Yet, I could not find good examples explaining which of these are proper in cases where wait and await are not used us verbs. Here is my question: Is it acceptable to write, in a formal essay,

A)  "Even though the future is not certain, the experts might know what is awaiting”. Or is it always

B) "Even though the future is not certain, the experts might know what is waiting”.


texts: When I was a child, I used to pronounce mushy as 'mah-shee' but somewhere along the way I've heard it being pronounced as 'mooshee' and have been using that ever since. Recently my mom argued with me saying the former was the right pronunciation but I begged to differ. So I googled and only found the former pronunciation but I'm still not convinced. Is there really no 'mooshee' pronunciation for mushy? Or is it little known?


texts: What is the proper use of "right the way along"?

texts:
I've heard the idiom "right the way along" used many times in British literature and video, however, I'm slightly unclear as to what it means.

It seems, at first glance, to be a British variant on "move it along" or "moving right along" or some such, but there are counterexamples. One of which is in a Monty Python sketch, where "right the way along" is used to mean something slightly different. This and other odd uses lead me to question the intended meaning of the phrase.

What is the etymology and proper use/application for "right the way along"?


texts: Trying to achieve something, but ending up with something contrary

texts:
Do we have a word to describe the situation when someone wants to achieve something, but plans and takes the way which would take him to a different result.

For example, a person might want to have a better relationship with others, and as a plan, starts joking, by which others get offended and the first goal won't be met.

Or when a company wants to make a fast car, but because of high-speed ans stability, increases the weight of the car, which in turn reduces the overall speed.

In Arabic, I think it's called "نقض غرض", literally translated means "aim violation" or "aim reversal".

Do we have anything for this in English?


texts: Phrases to describe different conditions

texts:
For example, I measure test scores for different groups of students. When I present the results, should I say:

  Here are test scores with respect to different student groups.

Or:

  Here are test scores differentiated by student groups.

In fact, neither seems natural to me. Is there any better way of saying this?


texts: Is this a run on sentence, if not, what is the name of this sentence structure?

texts:
Critics like Andrew Potter have suggested that the trajectory of postwar American culture has thus been marked by a profound spiritual crisis, a frantic quest to replace the moral values of God and country with some other locus of absolute truth.

(from “Act Naturally: Pretentiousness, Coolness, and Culture” by Barrett Swanson in the August 15, 2016 issue of the Los Angeles Review of Books)

When I first read this I thought it was a run-on sentence. Since this sentence is from the LARB, however, I'm going to assume this is valid.

If I understand it right the stuff after the comma is related to spiritual crisis. If that is the case, shouldn't it be replaced by a semicolon to avoid a run on sentence?

If this is not a run on sentence, is there a name for this kind of sentence formation?


texts: Looking for a verb to use to describe what the rock is doing to you when you're between a rock and a hard place

texts: You have two stationary objects eg a rock and a hard place. If you were standing between them and they were both against you, would you say the rock was "pressing" you into the hard place? Would the rock be "holding" you?


texts:
Let's say someone writes three novels, two of which are sequels.

The 1st novel establishes the main plot elements that are used in the second novel.
The 2nd novel (the sequel) is written in a manner that it continues from the plot of the 1st novel with the same characters and other elements as an intended sequel, but the author declares that it's not the actual continuation of the plot of the first novel and goes on to state that the 3rd novel would be the official sequel.
(Some background on this could be that the author intended for the 2nd novel to be the true sequel, but rolled back on their decision after generating negative reactions from readers and wanted to create a different sequel that still takes on after the plot of the 1st novel.)

What would the 2nd (discarded) novel then be called?


texts: What is the English version of the Vietnamese idiom "như cá nằm trên thớt" - "like a fish on cutting board"

texts:
We have a Vietnamese idiom, "như cá nằm trên thớt" - literally, "like a fish on cutting board". My apology for the rough translation because I regard myself as an English learner who is above the average a bit. The meaning of the idiom is: implying a dangerous and almost unescapable situation in which a person's life or fate is in someone's hands and seriously threatened.

I have looked for a similar expression in the idioms section of thefreedictionary and other websites such as merriam-webster and the OED but they appear to have other expressions that are not related to the word "fish".

Is there an English version or a metaphor of the mentioned idiom?

Besides, many presume the Vietnamese idiom to be exactly identical to the Japanese one. However, they do have a slightly different meaning regarding their contexts.


texts: Should I use a full stop at the end of text in a table?

texts: The table has a mix of fragments and full sentences. I'm concerned that if I have full stops after the sentences and none after the fragments it will look inconsistent to the reader.


texts: Can the plural form of "sheep" ever be "sheeps"?

texts:
A friend studies "(technical term) fishes" that is, he studies a group of similar fish species that all share this specific trait. Similarly you might study the native peoples of X, i.e. the plural of the set of tribes/groups.

Can you do this with any plural noun? Has anyone ever studied sheeps/sheepes—the group of different breeds of sheep ?


texts: How do you refer to a signatory before they've signed a document?

texts: Pretty much the title. I have a contract with some people who have to sign it to make it official. By what descriptive noun do I refer to these people? "Presumptive signatory"?


texts: Do "resolution" and "definition" differ? If so, how?

texts: Particularly in the context of the usage of "high definition" and "resolution", as in quality of digital sound, picture, and/or video. My question is spurred by my description of and under an image, where I say, "Links to higher resolution, original upload." I struggled with deciding which term to use.


texts:
Is it ok to use an "in" before "in vitro", or other Latin-derived phrases that start with "in"?

For example, could you say "there's been a lot of advances in in vitro fertilization lately"?


texts:
Did they say "hand job" in the 1800s?  I was watching an episode of Deadwood, and they just said it.
For example, from episode 6 "Plague":

(Al enters the back room, Dolly is scrunched up on the bed, her head resting on her knees, she’s crying)
Al: You better have a payin’ dwarf underneath you.
Dolly: Am I dying?
Al: Turn off the fuckin’ water, and tell me what you did. I know you didn’t fuck him.
Dolly: No…
Al: You suck his prick?
Dolly: He didn’t want to show it to me ‘til he had a hard on.
Al: That’s what you call a mistake of youth. You mug it up with him?
Dolly: A little.
Al: French lock or normal?
Dolly: Normal.
Al: So any hoople head who drank from the same glass this guy did, have as much
right to sit there weepin’ as you, except I can’t kick his ass and send him out to work.
Dolly: My mom died of it when we was coming out. And that’s when daddy gave us up.
Al: Well, that sad story makes me believe maybe you was exposed and ain’t a
candidate for it no more. (Dolly stops crying – sorta – and looks at Al) Stick to hand jobs a day or two if you like.


texts: Do you know any academic adverbs other than "therefore", "hence", "so", and "thus"?

texts:
I am writing an essay and I look for an academic adverb or adverb phrase that can help me to connect these two sentences.

We need air to be able to breathe and continue to our lives. [adverb], we need to make an effort to reduce the air pollution.

But I do not want to use therefore, hence, so, and thus adverbs, because I think I have over-used them in my writing. Do we have any other substitutes?
It might be a simple question for native speakers, but as a non-native speaker, I always feel that I am confined by those bolded adverbs above, and I want to look for something more fresh or different (but still acceptable to academia).


texts:
Let's say that I am being asked which of a series of variants is the one that, in my opinion, prevailed historically.
Can I answer emphatically, expressing an assumption about the past, that way: It would probably have been X the one variant that prevailed at the time.
Thanks.


texts: "Positive" synonyms for 'problem' or 'worst'

texts:
I need to find a positive synonym for 'problem' or 'worst' for some copy I am writing.  The context is that these are ratings for student performance in a tabular format (as in, "problem topics: lorem ipsum" or "worst topics: lorem ipsum"), and while I want to indicate that the topics I am describing need improvement, I don't want to sound overly negative.

There is a good chance that the students have had exposure to basic economic theory, so I am considering "marginal" (especially since the topics being described are being prioritized to maximize the marginal benefit of studying).  But this does not seem to be a standard usage.  In fact, outside of economics, marginal seems to indicate the opposite of what I'm looking for.

Any ideas?


texts: Questions about Trump's speech in Long Island

texts:
Two questions about the passage below.

What does "Trump riffed" mean?
What does "take the hand away" mean in this context?

When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon — you just see them thrown in, rough — I said, please don’t be too nice,” Trump riffed. “Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over? Like, don’t hit their head and they’ve just killed somebody — don’t hit their head. I said, you can take the hand away, okay?
Jul 28, 2017


texts: 'You can' or 'You may' in online instruction text?

texts:
I need to add a small piece of help text to a search field in an online form.

The placeholder text (grey text inside the text field) says "Type at least three characters". Then directly under the text field is either:

  You can enter a name or an address.

or:

  You may enter a name or an address.

Which is preferred? I want to let people know that they can search by name or address.


texts: What to call the attitude of pursuing something

texts: What will you call a person with an endless spirit of pursuing something?


texts: A word for being aroused, pleased, and excited by an abstract idea

texts:
There's a particular flavor of pleasure that leads to obsessively geeky behavior. One example might be poring over a book of baseball statistics, another might be coding up a minimax tree pruning algorithm just for the fun of it.

Is there a word for this particular thing?

Edit: The closest word I can think of is gratification or gratified, but it captures neither the fact that conception of an idea can be rewarding by itself, nor the compulsive intensity of the feeling. Addiction/addicted might work if it emphasized pleasure more than behavior. Compulsion/compelled might also work except it doesn't necessarily imply euphoria at all.

Passion/passionate seems to connote an ongoing focused interest in an object, or a class of ideas or activities. The word I'm looking for would refer to an immediate sensation, like happy, despondent, or bemused.

Edit: Enthralled is quite close except I think it connotes a lack of motivation.

I've thought of closer words: stimulated and inspired. They're not quite right either because they still don't emphasize euphoria.

Edit: OK check this out. There's a term "ideas as opiates", which expresses my thoughts exactly. I don't know its origin. There's a song by Tears for Fears with that name but I know they got a lot of their ideas from philosophical readings. Anyway, is there a word that means, "high on an idea as if it were an opiate"?

Edit: That term says what I mean only coincidentally. It's based on Marx's writings and doesn't use opiate the same way I do. I'm not talking about using an idea to self-medicate. I'm talking about being euphorically "intoxicated", so to speak.

Edit: Are captivated etc feelings? They're states of being but I don't think they're feelings. Or am I wrong?


texts: A synonym for "software version which removed a feature"

texts:
I'm looking for a synonym for software version where a usable feature was removed:

  The new version is a ______, the only improvements are cosmetic, I'm staying at 2.9.

The terms that come to mind are 'downdate' and 'downgrade', but they also mean a return to previous version, regardless of the quality or feature set of current version.

I'm positive there is more specific term which I'm unable to recall.


texts:
Google says empathy is "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another".  I am looking for a word that means "understanding BUT NOT sharing the feelings of another".

If a lion in pursuit were to be kicked in the face by a gazelle, the lion would understand that if he were in the gazelle's situation he would done the same.  The lion continues to try to eat the gazelle.  The lion understands the gazelle's fear, but doesn't care to feel the fear.  He continues to subdue and consume the gazelle.


texts:
Is "I'm confused how it works" grammatically correct?

Or should it be something like "I'm confused about how it works?"

I hear and see Americans say the first, but as a native Mandarin speaker it is more difficult for me to parse.


texts: Both are not the same / Both are not same

texts:
When saying two things look similar but have some minor differences, which one is correct to say?

  "they both are not the same"
  "they both are not same"


texts: Meaning of "I'm surprised you ever do that."

texts:
While reading some quotes from a book, I came across a quote consisting of the phrase whose structure I found hard to figure out.

"You're so slow. I'm surprised you ever get anywhere."
(From Aesop's fables)

Does this sentence roughly mean "I'll be surprised if you ever get anywhere"? If it does, could you give me some examples like this one?

Thanks.


texts:
sorry for probably similar questions were already asked but I can't find exactly this:

If I'm greeted by "How are you?", should I answer with "Fine, thanks, and you" as school books usually suggest?

My sister insists that "Fine" is really unnecessary as it is more the form of greeting and no one expects that I answer "too bad" or "I'm bored" :)

So is it OK to answer anything of hello-ish kind, even the same question. Would the dialog be normal in form:

A: Hi Jake, How ARE you?
B: Hey Jim, and how are YOU?

or even

A: How are you, Mr. Somewhatson?
B: Wow, just extremely glad to see you!

e.g. without any words confirming that "yes, I'm fine, in case you really want to know"... And even - is it better if it is ok?


texts: A verb used as an adjective used as a noun used as an adjective?

texts:
The Question: Is it acceptable to use a nominalized participle as an adjective?

A participle is a verb form used as an adjective; examples include the running man and the caught ball, as well as (sorry for the self-reference) a verb form used as an adjective.

A nominalized adjective is an adjective that functions as a noun. One example of such is in the classic garden-path sentence: The old man the boat. These are often formed by the elision of people immediately following the adjective in question.

Finally, a noun adjunct is a noun that is used as would be an adjective: The tennis player. The chicken soup. The beer drinker.

If one were to nominalize a participle, it would result in something along the lines of the running are the most fit. Though this looks awkward (and, quite frankly, wrong), my gut tells me that this is a valid construction. If I am wrong about this, then the rest of my question can be ignored, so please inform me.

Now to adjuncts. A gerund (a verb used as a noun) can certainly be used in this way: The gaming addicts. I can conceive no reason why nominalized participles would not also be usable like this (unless I am wrong about the existence of nominalized participles); a word used so would be a verb used as an adjective used as a noun used as an adjective. However, after several hours of thought, I have been unable to form an example that does not sound incorrect nearly comprehension.

The Question, again: Can participles be nominalized? If so, can the nominalized participle then be used to describe a noun? Finally, assuming affirmation of the previous two questions, what is a way (if one exists) to use a verb in this way without it sounding completely incorrect?

Thanks!


texts: Is there a word for taking action on someone else's behalf against their judgement

texts:
I'm looking for a word that's similar to patronizing but without the negative implications.
Just the action of taking on oneself the responsibility of making a decision for another adult without (or in spite of) their contrary input.
It was [missing word] of you to throw away the rest of my Doritos because you think they're bad for me.


texts: What's the difference in meaning between at and in?

texts:
I would like to know what's the difference in meaning in the sentences below:

  At no time were we friends.
  We were friends in no time.


texts: One word or phrase to describe something good at start but then gradually becoming worse

texts:
For example,
a TV show is very good at first two seasons, but afterward the quality
starts to decline and in the end the overall rating becomes disappointing.
Then we can say this TV show is "word requested here".


texts:
Why are pot holes called pot holes?

By pot holes I mean those holes in a road surface.


texts: What is the difference between amid and amidst?

texts: I googled it and got the following answer: Amid and amidst are two words meaning the same thing. The meaning of these words is in connection with position of the object, person or situation – in the middle.  I still don't understand it.


texts:
So an idiom, "to smell a rat," means to suspect trickery or deception.

  smell a rat
  to recognize that something is not as it appears to be or that something dishonest is happening:
  He's been working late with her every night this week - I smell a rat!
  - Cambridge Dictionary

Where does that come from?


texts: Idiom for someone who got a tiny fraction of power and abuses it?

texts: Is there any idiom for a person who somehow obtained a (usually small) power to control people and is using it in every possible way to make problems for people around him?


texts:
I am reading a book which contains a sentence that reads:

  Something Dave took away from his time at IDEO was the importance of embodying your ideas in a physical prototype.

What does it mean to "take away from" one's time?


texts: Idiom for one who tries to forget problems instead of solving them

texts: Is there an idiom for one who when faces problems or obstacles tries to forget them instead of solving them ?


texts: What's the meaning of the last sentence?

texts:
Still, many employers may instead conclude that those employees still turning up to work can be satiated with bulk deliveries from food apps like Uber Eats. They had been trying to eat the caterers’ lunch even before the pandemic.

"They had been trying to eat the caterers’ lunch even before the pandemic."   Here, they refers to the employees, and the caterers to restaurants behind Uber Eats. Am I right? Please share your opinions on this after you read the short article.


texts: Where to use 'historic' and where to use 'historical'

texts:
I have read the previous topics but still don't know where I should use historic or historical in the following examples.

Athens is a historic/historical city.
This chair is historic/historical.
This building is historic/historical.
This is a historic/historical winning for Manchester United.

Thank you so much.


texts:
My daughter has been given the task - by me - of explaining irony. She identified and did a jolly good job of explaining 5 of the 6 apparent types of irony: dramatic, cosmic, socratic, situational, verbal, and irony of fate.

When it came to verbal irony she (we) stumbled. She is happy to accept that verbal irony is equivalent to sarcasm, but I would appreciate confirmation of this from the experts in this forum in order that I do not mislead her by accepting her appraisal of the matter.

Just to be clear, I am not asking whether irony is the same as sarcasm in the general case.

What exactly is "verbal irony"?

Update: my daughter's take-away from the answers so far (2012-04-16) is the following -- in her own words:

  "Verbal irony is when someone says something but means the complete
  opposite. Like one person might say, 'Oh, that looks wonderful', in a
  kind of giggly voice. Its a bit like sarcasm except it's not negative"

I will accept the answer that get the most votes over the course of the next couple of days. Each point of view expressed has been helpful in its own way and I cannot pick an answer right at the moment, so will defer to the popular vote in the spirit of these sites.


texts: Is "engendered the creation of..." redundant?

texts:
Is it? For example:

  The lack of natural resources engendered the creation of a complex religion in Mesopotamia.


texts:
I'd like to say that some process will continue for a long time without the need for much external guidance. Colloquially, I would say something like

  The process is on autopilot.

Is there a non-verbose way to say this without resorting to slang?


texts: Is there a word to describe 'Slow Snowfall'?

texts:
With similarities to this question: What is the word for "Slow raining"? but related to snow, not rain.

I'm looking for a descriptive word that would describe slow snowfall.
Can you help?


texts: Which verb would fit better to describe the flow between the steps of a process?

texts: I'm describing the steps of a workflow and each step's description ends with the expression "Press the xxx button to ... to the next step". I can't decide which verb to use in this context. My alternatives are "go", "move", "jump", "pass". I'm leaning towards "go" and "move" but they sound to me like describing something physical. Which one would suit better in this context, any ideas?


texts: "Going above and beyond to assist" is this correct?

texts:
I'm writing a thank you note to a colleague who came in from vacation to assist me.  Is this correct grammar:

  "Thank you for going above and beyond to assist in resolving the matter!"


texts: Another word for cute or adorable used as diminutive, sarcasm or condescension

texts: I'm looking for a word that one could use by itself as one would use "cute" or "adorable" in a sarcastic, emasculating manner.


texts:
I found this phrase in Featherstone's Dedication at the front of an English translation of the Commentary on John by John Calvin:

  It is an old saying, (Right Honorable,) and no lesse true then olde, that saleable wines neede no iuie bush which prouerb importeth thus much.

What does "iuie" mean? My guess is "ivy," but I'm not knowledgeable enough to be confident of that.


texts:
I have a question. Yesterday, in PBS news, I heard

"a somewhat surreal, pandemic version of what is usually a full-throated rally to show off a new vice presidential pick".

How do we understand the structure of this expression?
Is the part that is after "version of" an adjective clause?


texts: Microsoft Word insists that it should be but I don't know why.


texts: What is the meaning of the phrase "clean up after" and when and how to use it?

texts: The guarantees made by constructors and destructors offer a nice way to let the compiler clean up after you.


texts: Email - We will discuss about this during/in our meeting scheduled on Monday?

texts:
I am responding to an email where i want inform the person who asked some question saying we will discuss about this during Mondays meeting. I am not sure which is the correct way of framing this sentence.

  1) Thanks for providing the details. We will discuss about this in our Monday meeting. Thank you

  2) Thanks for providing the details. We will discuss about this in our Monday's meeting. Thank you

  3) Thanks for providing the details. We will discuss about this during our Monday's meeting. Thank you

  4) Thanks for providing the details. We will discuss about this during our Monday meeting. Thank you

Please suggest if there are any other better options.

Thank you.


texts: How do you refer to one's sense of self?

texts:
Eg including their identity, their relationships with people, values, education, heritage, culture..etc

Their overall sense of self: I Am thinking 'human condition' is fitting


texts: "Have a breakfast" or "eat a breakfast" in AmE

texts: Which expression do Americans prefer, have a breakfast or eat a breakfast?


texts: "... nor X either" and "... or X either"

texts:
My question is: are the following sentences acceptable in English?

"I have never had a car, nor a bicycle either"
"I have never had a car, or a bicycle either"

I am not asking what the best structure is (probably "I have never had a car, nor a bicycle" or "I have never had a car, or a bicycle"): just if the two structures above are acceptable. My understanding is that the structure "... nor X either" would add strength to the sentence (at least in a conversation if not on a written document).


texts: What is the verb tense of the following sentence:

texts:
In the phrase:

He'd been dead three years now.

I totally understand the meaning, but I'm curious about the verb tense. It is like a "Past Perfect Continuous" without ing. I would like to learn how to use it correctly.
Thanks, in advance.


texts: Use of a hyphen when using a noun as an adjective

texts:
In my academic work (physics), I often use a noun as an adjective, and this seems to be a common practise to avoid long sentences. For instance sphere packing stands for packing made of spheres.

Is that correct? Is there a reason to avoid doing that?
What if I am given information about the spheres: they are soft spheres? I should talk about a soft-sphere packing, right?
Is the hyphen between soft and sphere mandatory, optional, or wrong? Is that always the case when an adjective-noun group becomes an adjective? References are appreciated!

Here are a few examples taken from my work. Some come from a plural, others from a singular. Please correct them if they are wrong.

Soft-sphere packings (packings made of soft spheres)
Infinite-dimensional limit (limit in which the dimension tends to infinity)
Low-connectivity particles (particles having a low connectivity)
Sparse-matrix methods (methods used with sparse matrices)
Non-zero energy (energy not being zero)
Non-zero-energy mode (mode having an energy that is not zero)


texts: What's the correct response to "would you care to..."?

texts:
I was asked, "would you care to grab coffee sometime?" and didn't know how to correctly respond to it. Obviously I could respond with a "yes, sounds great" or a "no, thanks", but what would a parallel complete response look like? Here are some attempts at the response in the affirmative:

"Yes, I would care."
"Yes, I would care to."
"Yes, I would care to do so."

All sound rather awkward, and I'm not sure they're in the affirmative.

It's possible the "would you care to" question is similar in construction to "would you mind"--for example "would you mind passing the salt?" In that case, "no I wouldn't mind" is the correct affirmative because the question is essentially asking, "if you passed the salt, would you mind that?" Given that, perhaps this is the correct response in the affirmative:

"No, I wouldn't care."

Here the implied meaning of the question would be "If we grabbed coffee sometime, would you care?"

I've looked into the etymology of the construction would + <subject> + care + <verb in the infinitive> and wasn't able to find anything. I had hoped the etymology would provide a clue as what the correct response construction would be.

I'd greatly appreciate answers that are able to include etymological reasoning.


texts: 'Which were a size too small.' or 'which size were too small.' Which one is correct?

texts:
The whole sentence is

  Mr Boxell had deliberately sold the man a pair of shoes which were a size too small, knowing he would return them next day!

I'm so confused about which were a size too small, whether it is the correct order.


texts: Is there an adjective meaning "punished unfairly"?

texts: I am not looking for innocent. Innocent describes that they are not the one who did it, rather I am looking for how they are innocent, but punished for it.


texts:
I was walking to school (England) with my eight-year-old talking about stuff she'd been doing the day before.  At some point she said that something had been "...funner..." than something else.

I did not immediately realise that 'fun' is, historically at least, a noun and NOT an adjective.  So I was wondering in my head why 'fun' (as an adjective) sounded wrong when made into the standard comparative for a single syllable adjective (i.e. 'funner').

I have since looked 'fun' up and realise that 'officially' 'fun' is not an adjective (see OED, and https://grammarianism.wordpress.com/2015/06/05/can-fun-be-an-adjective/).

I'm wondering whether adjectival usage is increasing.  Whether it is regional (I'm guessing it's an American import); And whether, adjectivally, it is commoner to say funner and funnest, or more fun and most fun.   The latter sound better to me, presumably because they are usages that are found when fun is used as a noun.


texts: What’s the meaning of “hit him round the head”?

texts:
Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag. (Harry Potter 1, Scholastic Paperbacks p41)

My guess about the meaning of this sentence was his father hit his son’s head with his palm once.

However, the more I think about it, the more ideas I get from it.
I’d like to know if the following guesses of mine are correct or not.

1. hitting times

Dudley's father hit Dudley only one time because the writer uses the verb “hit” instead of “beat, etc.” and because “round” doesn’t add some information, like times, to the verb, since it’s not an adverb but a preposition.

2. Why does the writer use “round” instead of other prepositions? -- because

1). the head is cylindrical (or spherical), not flat. In other words, the shape of the target goes well with “round.”

2). the father hit his son’s head not with his fist, but with his palm which is along the head for a short moment. That is, the easy-to-bend quality of the hitting tool agrees with “round.”

3). the target area for the father to aim at is vague, not pinpoint. So, the hitter’s intention requires “round.”

4). as the father swings widely his hand (fist or palm whichever he likes), the path from the launching point to the head describes a circle. That means the shape of the orbit needs “round.”

5). Nope. 1-4 don't matter. British English sometimes uses ”round” for “on”, so there’s virtually no difference from “hit him on the head”. Take it easy.

Other ideas are always welcome. I’d appreciated it if you could help me.


texts: What does “another” mean in this sentence?

texts: If someone says “Tom broke another lamp,” does it imply that Tom already broke a lamp or that another lamp was previously broken by someone?


texts: Where did "I tend to agree." as a standalone statement originate?

texts:
And what does it mean?  When I first started hearing someone using it a few years ago, I figured it was a personal spin on "agree sometimes", but apparently, he's not the only one who uses this phrase.

Edit: Clarified to indicate that "I tend to agree that/with..." makes complete sense. It's when people say, "I tend to agree.", period. That's what strikes me as strange to say.


texts:
I find myself using the dual punctuation marks "?:" when I want to say "I have a question about the thing that follows". For example:

  Is it possible for the following sentence to be translated into French?:
  "Hello, nice to see you."

Is using "?:" incorrect? If so, what would be the correct way to do this?  Which would take precedence: the colon, or the question mark?


texts: Does the repositioning of 'it' and 'that' (as No.2 ) introduce a nuance in the meaning?

texts:
She praises me and might not realise it, and I like that.
She praises me and might not realise that, and I like it.


texts: Does "speak in a low voice" refer to volume/loudness or to pitch?

texts:
Does the low in

Speak in a low voice!
He said in a low voice.

refer to the volume/loudness or to the pitch? Does it mean quiet, or low-frequency?
EDIT: After understanding from your answers that the meaning is ambiguous (it may apparently mean either the first or the second or both), and after reading some answers to Please "Mute your voice"! suggesting "lower your voice" as a request to speak more quietly, I am adding a related question:
Is the meaning of

Lower your voice!

also ambiguous, or does this particular phrase refer unambiguously to loudness?


texts: What is a one word synonym for "Not Yet Started"

texts: I am making categories and subcategories in a folder and I am trying to keep the tags to one word if possible. "Unstarted" is all I can find online and it just doesn't sound right to me.


texts: What type of word is "as" in "business as usual"?

texts:
In the phrase "business as usual", is "as" considered an adverb, a conjunction, or a preposition? (Why?)

Wiktionary on "as" as adverb:

  In the manner or role specified.
    The kidnappers released him as agreed.

Wiktionary on "as" as conjunction:

  Introducing a basis of comparison, after as, so, or a comparison of equality.
    She's twice as strong as I was two years ago.
    It's not so complicated as I expected.

Wiktionary on "as" as preposition:

  Introducing a basis of comparison, with an object in the objective case.
     You are not as tall as me.
     They're big as houses.

As I see the phrase, it's comparing or equating "business" with "usual", which leads me to consider this a conjunction. A friend of mine who I was discussing this with thinks it's more akin to an adverb due to the words it's describing. Maybe it can be considered either or any of these? I'm not a native English speaker and this seems like a grammar technical question that's out of my depth, but I am curious, hence my asking for input here. :)


texts: Whence comes increasing usage of "I'll do an X" instead of "I'll have" in ordering food?

texts: I have lately noticed, at both ends of a recent thousand-mile relocation within the USA, that people are increasingly using the verb “do” in ordering food, in place of that “have” which various sites still model or enjoin for English language learners—as in (to a waiter) “I’ll do a Cobb salad.” Whence comes this trend, how widespread is it, and when did it arise?


texts: Is "overcome with" suitable to describe possible actions?

texts:
I stumbled upon a usage of a "overcome with" in a programming article (the first bullet right above the "See also" title) on Wikipedia and I am not sure if it is correct:
"They pollute the main namespace (see below), however this is easily overcome with prefixing a library name to the type name."

Now, this article is about the C programming language structs and the meaning of this sentence is simple: use 'library_type_t' instead of 'type_t' in certain cases. I would rephrase the above sentence as "... however, one could easily overcome this by prefixing a type name with a library name".

My question is whether the original usage was correct. My guess is that it was not since "overcome with" is used to describe an emotional state and not possible actions to solve a problem.


texts:
I found someone wrote this on the thread.

"I am 65 years young."

We are so used to say "young" at the end but I was convinced by intention.

Without the sense of metaphor or poetic approach, is it appropriate to say in our daily conversation?


texts: Is an ingenious engine engineer a genius?

texts:
How are these words related from an etymology point of view?

engineer
engine
ingenious (here the 'i' and 'e' positions are swapped)
genius


texts: "Weapon platform" or "weapons platform"?

texts: For a game I need an "orbital weapon platform"/"orbital weapons platform" and wonder which one is correct, or sounds better for an English native speaker.


texts:
I would like to characterize the action of making a process go automatically instead of doing it manually. The context is computer programming. A programmer may type in 10 pieces of code with only a small item differing across them; or she may create a loop where a single piece is run 10 times with a slight variation; the end result is the same in both cases.

Should I use the words "automate" and "automation", or "automatize" and "automatization" (or yet something else)?


texts: Is there a common word describing a footballer who skilfully dribbles the ball and get past defenders easily?


texts: Is this the proper way to use 'ask' in future tense?

texts:
Now imagine, she asks him to eat an apple.

Is the above sentence proper? When I say it out loud it sounds weird.

How would you say it out loud? Askkkssss?


texts: I've just moved to London with my parents and I'm not very confident with my English language knowledge. I need to write an essay for my English classes on the topic "home decorations". We have a list of words that I need to use in the text but I don't know what "matted" means. Could anyone explain?


texts: Is the term "next consecutive" redundant in this sentence?

texts:
Is the term "next consecutive" redundant in the following sentence? :

"This movie will be the next consecutive movie in the series."

Referring to the most recent movie that will be released in a series.


texts:
I came across this phrase on the website: http://www.bspcn.com/about/

  Over all, this site is sure to be appreciated by anyone that needs to take his or her mind off of more pressing matters.

I looked it up into the dictionary, and the explanation for take his mind off is "if an activity takes someone's mind off their problems, it stops them from thinking about it".

But why does of exist in the sentence above?


texts:
How would you use neither...nor when articles are involved?
For instance: "My pet was neither a cat nor a dog."
It sounds better to say "My pet was neither green nor blue" than "neither a...or a..." so I was wondering if there was some rule about this?
Regarding the first example, "My pet was neither a cat or a dog" sounds more natural to me, for some reason.


texts:
Which pronunciation is correct? If both, which one is used more commonly?

/ˈhelmɪt/ or /ˈhelmət/


texts: What is the name for the group of words that includes "once", "twice", and "thrice"?

texts: If "one", "two", and "three" are cardinal numbers, and "first", "second", and "third" are ordinal numbers, then what are "once", "twice", and "thrice"? Is there a name for this kind of number?


texts: Matthew Arnold somewhere says: "the pursuit of perfection, then, is the pursuit of sweetness and light". what is the role of "then? Does it denote "therefore" or anything else?


texts: What are the names for geometric arrangements like 'quincunx'?

texts:
A quincunx is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross:

This seems like a very specific name derived from the Latin root for five (quin). Are there other geometric arrangements with similar related names that were derived the same way, or is quincunx unique?


texts:
Please follow the reasoning.

Active voice:

  My neighbors (always) mistake me for my brother.
  That's why they
  call me Jim.

Passive voice:

  I am mistaken for my brother (by my neighbors).
  That's why I'm
  called Jim.

Hence:

  If I'm not mistaken, I wouldn't be called Jim.

But there is an idiomatic expression:

  If I'm not mistaken, his name is John.

So if my reasoning is correct, to be mistaken has two meanings:

to be mistaken for something/someone (verb)
to be wrong (adjective)

Maybe that's why this expression confuses so many English learners.

Note: I've read many related topics on different sites including this one. And I couldn't find a proper answer yet. This Q can hardly be considered a duplicate as the other related Qs are about mistaking vs mistaken.


texts: Ending a declarative statement with a question mark?

texts:
Recently, there was a debate as to when one can legitimately end a declarative statement with a question mark, like writing “I don’t know?” as an answer, and what that could possibly mean.
The dialogue ran something like this:

Question:   “How is your friend?”
Answer:       “I don’t know?”

Is this wrong in terms of usage?


texts: What are some ways to say you have an ability to figure it out?

texts:
I have a summary section on my resume and am trying to figure out how to say I'm able to say "Software Engineer with a strong ability to pick up and learn new technologies and concepts." in stronger language.

I'm trying to find something more professional than "thrown to the wolves", "thrown in the fire", or "have a knack for". I have really good problem solving skills and am able to find a solution for most things (this is just one of the places I'm researching).

For context this is my whole summary:

  Software Engineer with a strong ability to pick up and learn new technologies and concepts. I also love Typescript, React, and Ruby.

It really needs to remain around the same length.


texts:
Do the following sentences make sense to you:

(1) "No people are too old but too lazy to learn."

(2) "There are no people too old but too lazy to learn."

What I mean to say is you can always learn no matter how old you are, unless you are too lazy.

And if they do make sense, are they grammar wise acceptable?

Thank you so much.


texts:
He has sunk his capital in shares in the company.

What does this sentence mean? Has he sunk his capital by buying the company's shares?


texts:
You have but to be attracted by anything, to fall in love with it, you become engrossed with it, and all else goes for nothing, and you won't even look at it.

Doesn't this mean the same if the sentence was -

  You have to be attracted by anything, to fall in love with it, you become engrossed with it, and all else goes for nothing, and you won't even look at it.


texts: Is there any special rule concerning a line break in a word or phrase that is already hyphenated?

texts:
For example, I might write "What time is Shu-chan coming by?" where -chan is a Japanese honorific.

When broken into two lines, would it be

  "By what time is Shu-
  chan expected to arrive?"

or

  "By what time is Shu
  -chan expected to arrive?"

or some unknown third option?

I typeset English-translated manga, and I've always done it the first way, but it feels like there may still be ambiguity despite the obvious contextual usage. For instance, if it wasn't already known that the person's name is Shu, and "chan" is the honorific, is there a way to disambiguate so nobody mistakenly reads it as "Shuchan"?


texts: Is/was there a word that pairs with "while" the same way "then" pairs with "if"?

texts:
If you understand these examples, you'll notice that I’m wondering whether both of these commas could be considered to be standing in for words.

While I’m not sure such a word ever existed, I’ll even accept ones no longer in common use.

If you happen to know such a word then please post an answer.


texts: How do I identify a British idiom from an American one?

texts:
I live outside the US and the UK. I just started reading a book titled "Speak English like an American". The book teaches numerous idioms but I don't know if these idioms are usable outside the the US.

Are there any characteristics that help a learner to recognize the origin of an idiom?

As an example, is there a process I can follow to determine which of these idioms are American, English or Australian in origin?

go belly-up
give someone the ax
sharp as a tack
top dollar
gung ho
not give a hoot
stand a chance


texts: What is the meaning of the proverb "If you must eat dung, eat elephant’s dung"?

texts:
I came across this proverb in Ruskin Bond's "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra". I searched  a lot but I am not able to find its meaning. What does this proverb mean?

(There is no context about this proverb in the book. Ruskin Bond has enlisted teachings of a double bent beggar -it is just one of the listing of teachings provided by that beggar.)


texts: What term can I use to express the delay between two connecting flights?

texts: What term  can I use to express the delay between two connecting flights in the following situation: I fly down to one airport and wait there without exiting until I take another flight to reach my destination.


texts: Clarification on sarcasm/type of personality-stumped

texts:
I am hoping to get some help. I have always been told that I am the most sarcastic person people have ever met. After 20 years, I decided to dive a little deeper to see if I fit the definition. It turns out I do not fit the definition of sarcastic. I also don't fit any of the others either, such as: sardonic, dry sense of humor, snarky, etc.

I am very direct but not in a bossy way. For instance, when a co-worker snaps at me because of their mood, I will bring attention to it but not in an ugly way. An example:

  ummmmm.....so not sure what's going on with allll THAT, but Ima need you to calm yourself before talking to me like that.

This, in turn, makes the co-worker laugh and recognize the way it came across. I always am direct, but I am direct in a way that makes others laugh and is not offensive.

I have been told many, many times that I say and get away with saying things that most would never even think of saying because of my personality. If others were to say the things I say, there would be a fight or trouble. However, when I say it, people laugh and "know my personality."

I would like to know what this would be called. I am never rude and never make someone feel bad. In fact, quite the opposite; those that are in a fowl mood usually lighten up.

This is how I am about 95% of the time. Other times (when I feel strongly about my position), I am direct and dead serious (but still not ugly).

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
A


texts: Word To Describe Changing the Rules of Some Situation For An End Goal

texts: Is there a word to define the act of changing the rules of some situation frequently until one party gets what they want?


texts: What, if anything, would cause a common word's official spelling to change? (e.g. "have") Can this still happen today?

texts:
As we know, spelling and pronunciation change over time. However, it's hard to imagine any normal, common words having a shift in their spelling in our lifetimes.

The issue was brought to mind for me by the word "have," which it occurred to me is always pronounced with a v sound when used in reference to possessing something, e.g. "I have a car," but often pronounced with an f when in reference to obligation, e.g. "I have to go." (I haffta go.) And that's not even really "casual" pronunciation. When I pronounce it out fully with a v in that context, to my ear it actually almost sounds wrong.

When, if ever, would spelling start to reflect this? Can language still change that way now that the written language is so widely standardized and distributed? By this I mean that we're all largely reading the same things now via the internet and digital distribution of media, which reduces the effect of regional deviations in language.

Are there any examples of ongoing shifts in spelling despite the modern way of things?


texts: What are the different meanings of "Hatchet job"?

texts:
I recently used the term "Hatchet job" to refer to a shabby but ad-hoc solution. When I tried to find out if I used it in the right sense, there was only one website among many which connoted this meaning. Every other website spoke about harsh review or a violent prose.

Was I right in using the term in the sense that I did?


texts: What can I use to remember the difference between "well" and "good"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the difference between “good” and “well”

Okay, I actually have no idea when it's okay to say well or good but once again I vaguely remember a rule about them and I don't want to sound ignorant anymore or have that memory haunt me whenever people ask me how I'm doing.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “all that” vs. “all what”

How can I be sure when to use 'all that' or 'all what' in making sentences. Is there any differences in their meaning. I've tried googling but the results just didn't match. For instance:

  All that the president said was published in the dailies.

or

  All what the president said was published in the dailies.


texts: Where does the name of the subject go when joining sentences with a conjunction?

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Take for example the two sentences "Ria was blind" and "Yet she became a lawyer."
When we join these 2 sentences using a subordinating conjunction, which is correct and why?

"In spite of Ria being blind, she became a lawyer."

OR

"In spite of being blind, Ria became a lawyer."


texts: Do we link (in speech) between 2 stressed words in a sentence?

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Ok, see this word "good" /ɡʊd/ & this word "idea" /aɪˈdɪə/

Ok, now if we have a phrase "I have a good idea" /aɪ həvə ɡʊd aɪˈdɪə/, then which of the followings are right and which are wrong:

Link /d/ & /aɪ/ even both "good" & "idea" are stressed words in that sentence
Link /d/ & /aɪ/ if /aɪ/ is not a stressed syllable even both "good" & "idea" are stressed words in that sentence.
Link /d/ & /aɪ/ only if "good" is a stressed word & "idea" is not a stressed word in that sentence.
DO NOT Link /d/ & /aɪ/ if "good" is not a stressed word & "idea" is a stressed word in that sentence.
Link /d/ & /aɪ/ if both "good" & "idea" are unstressed words in that sentence.

Other example, "You got a cool eyebrow" "/... kuːl ˈaɪ.braʊ.../". In this case, /ˈaɪ/ is a stressed syllable, then should it becomes /kuːˈlaɪ.braʊ/. If that is the case then the listener may misunderstand


texts: Why is there this Intrusive /h/ in English accent?

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This is more of an English accent particularity. I noticed in the way young persons are speaking these days, a thing that I find really annoying, a bit like the frying.
The intrusive /h/ in lots of words when they want to be really persuasive like:

time become t/hhh/ime
a person becomes p/hhh/erson
and vaccation becomes vacc/hhh/action

I actually put three h because this h sounds sometimes very long.


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1) Should the adjective/adverb incognito be used only for males? M-W says:

  Definition of incognita
  :  [...]  —used only of a woman

But M-W's definition of incognito simply says

  with one's identity concealed

So is incognito truly unisex ? What about plurals/mixed-sex/unknown - are they all incognito too?

On ngram I see  hits for he was incognito but negligible hits for he/she was incognita or she was incognito.

2) Since it has a Latin root and from what  I can  figure out from Wikipedia, in Latin the feminine and neuter versions are both the same, i.e. incognita, so, it seems strange English default is incognito?


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You run your ass off.

Can ass be the object of run? Why isn't it just "you run"?


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Which are more frequently used?

1A - I will be discussing the details while you are researching the data.
1B - I will be discussing the details while you research the data.

and

2A - I was cleaning the garage while you were preparing a snack.
2B - I was cleaning the garage while you prepared a snack.

Is there any wrong?


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I was studying for the ACT ,and I encountered a question.
There is a sentence:

Donna was surprised at my suggestion, but quickly began sharing my unbridled enthusiasm as she ___ the appropriate chemicals and concoctions that would soon transform me.

The question asks about what comes in place of the space (using the verb gather).
I Thought it should be are “... she was gathering...”.
However, the answer given is  “... she gathered...” Can someone please explain why it is past simple and not past continuous?


texts: Unable to solve this exercise regarding prepositions

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I have some questions regarding prepositions which I am unable to solve, any help is appreciated. I am not sure if this is the correct place to ask.

In the following passage, fill in each numbered blank with correct form of words mentioned in brackets.

  That's why Pepsi's campaign was such a success. The campaign broke
  when we (1) ____ (get) used to the idea of (2) ____ (liberty). Consumer
  culture was beginning (3) _____ (take) off. Pepsi caught the sentiment
  and the slogan is the biggest success story in the history of (4) ____
  (advertisement). The second and third factors that (5) ____ (contribute)
  to effective advertising are the strength of story it (6) ____(tell) and
  the 'wow' element that will make it memorable. An ad that simply (7)
  ____ (state) that a certain soft drink is (8) ____ (make) of mango will not work.

The answers according to me -

got
libety
to take or take (confused between the two)
advertisement
contributed
tells
states
made


texts: Get in or get into the car: Which is correct or what is the difference between them?


texts: How can you use "either... or" twice in a sentence?

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I want to be able to say something like:

  There either needs to be X to do either Xa or Xb or there needs to be Y.

(edit: since from some answers it doesn't seen to be clear, I mean that that Xa and Xb would only happen under X, not Y. )

Is there any way I can make it less cumbersome or more clear which "either" the "or"s are associated with?

edit2

I think the word "do" is confusing things. Another way of phrasing it would be:

  There either needs to be X which would either [have behaviour] Xa or [behaviour] Xb or there needs to be Y.


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Terry Pratchett is particularly fond of knees.

More than once, he has used an expression describing an abundance of knees, or an excess of knees, or suddenly growign extra knees, to describe his characters.

While the concept is, visually, one I can understand, I feel like I am not quite getting the exact meaning of this 'knee-abundance' he writes about so often.  Particularly in Mort, where the main character has an abundance of knees, and in Jingo, where a camel grows 'extra knees' as it speeds up.  The former being used to describe an unfortunate trait that I don't quite get, and the latter simply describing the camel's sudden increase in speed.

Is this a regular expression in British English, where a person grows or has an abundance of knees?  Or is Pratchett just making up an expression that manages to fly over my head?


texts: Is there a good substitute for the word "scarper" in American English?

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I used quick, let's scarper before the boss comes back to inject some levity into a recent meeting, but got only blank stares for my trouble.  When asked to explain scarper to my American chums, all I could think of was you know, as in "scarper lads, it's the filth", i.e. run away quickly before the police catch you, but run away quickly really doesn't convey the essence of this truly useful word.  Is there a good American English equivalent?

Note: it is difficult to convey the exact context.  Imagine high school kids (not the good ones) deciding to try and evade the deans, or maybe a bunch of dropouts or low-level criminals about to get caught breaking in.


texts: I was asked what the differences are in usage between these three, but I think I probably confused things more than I helped. I guess mostly it's a matter of style? I wondered if anyone had a good explanation.


texts: What does "I'm catching a 4:00 at Logan" mean?

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What does this phrase mean?

I'm catching a 4:00 at Logan

Does it mean "I'm taking off a 4 o'clock"?

This is coming from the movie "Scent of Woman". Al Pacino's sentence:

  "…but I'm catching a 4:00 at Logan, I'm looking out my window, and there's not a taxi in sight."


texts: What is the word that best suits this type of behaviour of person?

texts: Suppose a person is asking others to do something which he himself does not follow, what is the best word that can be used to describe this behaviour?


texts: Should I have used "is" or "are" when telling a friend "Jennifer and Amy is going"?

texts: Its all in the title. I messaged a friend on Facebook the other day. I told him "Jennifer and Amy is Going" Should I have used are or is?


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Bad: "It was a catastrophe."

Good: "It was a "??????????."

I think "miracle" almost works, but has connotations I don't intend. What's a word for something that was an incredible success beyond expectation?


texts: Words for the act of tricking with subtle differences

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I'm looking to translate two very similar, but subtly different words from Romanian into English. The words are "tertip" and "păcăleală", if that's any help.

They both can be roughly translated into the result of tricking, fooling or deceiving someone.
The first is the act of tricking someone while having a definite nefarious intent in mind.
The second involves tricking someone in a naive, harmless way or presenting someone with a lie that both know is a lie, but both are comfortable pretending it is not.

Examples for the first, malevolent variation:

  The trick of entering the building with a fake ID proved to be wondrous.
  The trick of deceiving the mayor into signing the fake papers made him an unwilling accomplice to the crime.

Now for the second, naive or self-deceiving one:

  The trick (farce) he played on his little sister when he told her the sun was out and they needed to buy a new one was very funny.
  The lie (as in self-consolation) the fox tells itself when it cannot reach the ripe grapes is that they would have been sour anyway.

The reason I chose to illustrate both meanings for the second word is that (self)deceit would have worked for it if it were not for that nuance of mild in Romanian. You can view this subtle difference as the one between a straight-up lie and a "white" lie.

Now, do you know any words that would fit these criteria or will I have to settle for a more generic word from the ones mentioned in the beginning?

Thank you in advance!


texts: Can we use a noun after "whenever," "however" and "wherever"?

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As you know, after whatever and whichever we can use a noun e.g, "Whichever one you choose, I'll be OK with it."

I read somewhere when we use a noun as a subject we can put when-/where-/how- ever before them, though I can't think of an example.


texts: "You are all {so/such} wonderful friends." Which is more correct?

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In a kangarou English exam, one of the questions asked you to fill in a blank space in a sentence:

  You are all ......... wonderful friends

What is more correct to use to fill in the blank space, "so" or "such"?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary web page "Such or so?", from English Grammar Today, so is used when it is followed by an adjective and such is used when it is followed by a noun phrase.

The word wonderful, which follows the blank space, is an adjective, so I presume that the grammatically correct answer is so. However, my intuition is telling me otherwise.

In the above context, which is more correct, so or such?

Furthermore, can you please explain to me why the particular one is correct, as I believe that such a grammatical rule will help many people avoid syntax errors.


texts: Is there a word for a nurse-family position?

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Unfortunately, many people find that a member of their family at some point becomes so ill that you have to become a nurse to them. Is there a word for this sort of nurse-family rôle in which family members are forced to take on the responsibilities of a close relative?

I'm thinking about the relatives of those with dementia or such diseases where the patient stops being able to act for themselves.


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As a non-native English speaker, I have trouble determining whether some ways of phrasing or using English expressions in writing are 'natural' or not. The other day I came across an article written by my old teacher, and after finishing it I felt totally confused. It reads as follows:

  It is not certain that everything has its two sides, but it is true for us to have separate minds when we talk about our home: whether it is a warm haven to stay or a dull capsule just to dwell in and escape from.

  Some say that nowhere is better than home, as  it keeps us from everything that is outside, no matter how fascinating or depressing it might be. Once back home, we may have for ourselves a safe distance from what we have seen and done; suddenly, the hustling of the train or the babbling of numerous strangers on the streets no longer grate on our mind as much as before. And along with it also comes the calm and silent moment to look back on, for example, the recent quarrel with one of your colleagues which you now recognize as silly and regretful, yet with a reconciled mind. No matter the events of the day, home is the place where we can have our own reflection on them all. At home there is also the mealtime where we can enjoy the feeling of sharing and getting mutually understood.

  Widely recognised as they are, all the thoughts above can be contrasted by a simple truth: for many times being in a bustling crowd we can still have some quiet contemplations, and clearly there are also times when we can find pure refreshment in places that are new or full of strangers. Curiously there are energies and excitedness that almost never occur to us at home but in a seaside cafe or a gallery at a less visited museum, where we simply find new energies from new things being seen and strange people being met. And the most unexpected collections to us may also lie in the houses of our acquaintances not our own, especially in choices of order and decoration, as after all, they are in some aspects 'outsiders' to us. The place where each person lives, fascinatingly, can become an establishment for his or her identity to be shown, even though it has been at times considered boring by its dwellers.

  So whether at home or outside, it is the benefit of having our mind strengthened from life's elements of freshness that we are always seeking and forever appreciating.

Is it an example of unnatural or stiff writing typically produced by a non-native English speaker? I am learning how to write too, so it would be very great if anybody can help.


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how can I express properly what I study and in which year I actually am?

is the following correct:

I'am studying a bachelor in computer sciences, I'am in my third year.

I also tried  to translate what would I say in french, but it sounded silly to me :/.

Thank you.


texts: How can I best describe "A rule that can be applied to itself"

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For instance, the statement "most arguments are simply disagreements over definition" can itself be argued based on the definition of "argument" and perhaps even "definition".

How could I describe this?


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Here's a sentence taken from an executive memo,  "Action item: get feedback from stakeholders on SuperDongle 9000".  Is there something that can replace "stakeholder"?

The word is not being used in the first sense given in the OED:

  An independent person or organization with whom money is deposited, esp. when a number of people make a bet or other financial transaction.

If there is a finanical interest for some of the included people, it is a fuzzy one.

It is closer to the second:

  A person, company, etc., with a concern or (esp. financial) interest
  in ensuring the success of an organization, business, system, etc.

When I've heard it, it has usualy been directed at a vague (that is, not formally defined) group of people within an organization who have some input (often by technical necessity) or interest into a project or component of a project.  These would be, e.g., programmers, technicians, sales and marketing people, project managers, operational support(IT), and so on, possibly with the addition of a 3rd party or outside group that will work with the product (e.g., Swedish Chefs would use SuperDongle 9000, since it is designed with the needs of the discerning Swedish Chef in mind).

What can be used instead of "stakeholder" in this situation?  I'm looking for a term that is more inclusive of all involved, without the sense of it being a financially-related commitment.


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Not sure if this would be more suited to the linguistics site, but wondering what the antonym would be.

Example sentence would be:

  We find that grammars are consistently structure-dependent and not [word-here].

'Linear' or something might work but not sure what the technical term would be.


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I'm trying to describe software bugs that are hard to track down due to the mistake (introduced by the developer) being a very subtle one.

"when these errors manifest they do so in a ...(pernicious?)... way"

It's on the tip-of-my-tongue and is a word most people have heard of (so it can be used in marketing material without a fear the reader will need to lookup the word).


texts: "I want [pronoun] [adjective]" vs "I want [pronoun] to be [adjective]"

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Take these two sentences.

1.I want him dead.
2.I want him to be dead.

What is the differences between two sentences? What does the "to be" mean?


texts: What is the word for adjectives like 'correct' which may not provide complete meaning without previous sentence?

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While working on my project, I came across this sentence:

  Obi is correct

My question is can we say that 'correct' in the above sentence defines the state of a man, since is is a form of 'be' - which usually defines the state of the subject or existence of the object.

If yes, can we say 'correct' is a special type of adjective, since a man cannot normally be described as 'correct' or in a 'correct' state.

Are there any other examples of such adjectives?


texts: What is the meaning of "rage," in this exchange

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Merriam-Webster (on line) offers no help with the meaning of "rage" (verb) in this context;
"swage" is presumably 'assuage' (fade).

  Youthe speke to his selfe & sayd:
   With women me lyst both play & rage.
  Angel: To þi saule it is gret damage.
  þe fende: Jf þou be holy in þi yong age,
  Þi sorose sal incres & þi myght swage.

The conversation is between  a Youth, the Guardian Angel, and the Devil (the Fiend).Br Lib Additional 37049 with added emphasis and modernised punctuation] Carthusian miscellany in Northern English 1460 -1500. ff.28v {Copyright remains with the British Library, who allow study.

'Violence' and 'madness' don't seem to fit in the phrase 'both play & rage.'

Update: "play and rage" occur together twice in Canterbury Tales "A"
Update .2. Fixed links to the BL pages time out and freeze to protect the site. But it should still be possible to find the Digitised page as " Additional_MS_37049 " If not, find it in  Elizabeth Sears: The Ages of Man plate 21.


texts: How to use "neither" in second-person plural?

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I am trying to say "Neither of you was my student", but placing myself as the subject, i.e. "I was neither of _____ teacher. I can't figure out what goes in the blank.

"I was neither of your teacher" is my best guess, but it sounds weird. Is there something that fits in the blank that makes grammatical sense?


texts: I believe this is a valid usage but googling yields no results. So does it and can I employ it in "passing association" etc?


texts: Meaning of "Buck ten, buck fifteen, tops"

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You get a look at him?

  Little thing. Buck ten, buck fifteen, tops.

  Maybe he’s Filipino.

The above sentences are in the movie Mr and Mrs Smith. Could you pls explain the meaning of the phrase buck ten, buck fifteen, tops.


texts: How to verbalize a mathematics expression in English?

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How do we express a simple mathematics equation in a way that could be understood by most people bad in mathematics? I have a formula like this:

Processing Fee = Base Fee x ( Your Bid / Original Price )

My initial thought is to verbalize it as such:

  The Processing Fee is computed from the Base Fee multiplied by Your
  Bid divided by the Original Price.

But somehow I feel that this does not elucidate the fact that Your Bid divided by the Original Price is actually a ratio. How can I improve on this to make the statement clearer?


texts: Verb for coming into contact with another using one's shoulder

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I would like to phrase the action of 'hitting' someone with one's shoulder, perhaps in a single word. Disappointingly, shoulder is already an actively used verb for a different action entirely:

  shoul·dered, shoul·der·ing, shoul·ders
  v.tr.
   1. To carry or place (a burden, for example) on the shoulders.
   2. To take on; assume: shouldered the blame for his friends.
   3. To push or apply force to, with or as if with the shoulder.
   4. To make (one's way) by or as if by shoving obstacles with one's shoulders.

  (Source: The Free Dictionary)

I will give out even higher praise for a solution that incorporates the specific aspect of coming into contact with the 'shouldered' person's teeth. It does not have to be a single word, although I would appreciate a concise phrase.


texts: Word for "something that we should not strive for"

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I'm looking for a word that describes "a habit, quality or act that we should not strive to acquire or embody".

An example would be "being lazy", "uncooperative", "stubborn".
These can be said to be "negative qualities" for an individual, I'm looking for a word that succinctly describes these unwanted qualities according to most people (societal norms, I suppose).

It would be something of an antonym to the word "virtue".
A virtue is something we strive for or at least value in others.

A quick google search contains the following list of virtues:
discipline, kindness, creativity, trust, gratitude, service
Arguably, you could say that we admire "disciplined people", that "being kind" is a positive quality, etc.

However, when searching for an antonym for virtue the following words pop up: dishonesty, evil, imperfection, disregard, unfairness, immorality, vice

Now, all of these word have pretty harsh and negative connotations.
If I say someone is lazy or stubborn, it would a bit overbearing to claim that this is a "sin" or a "vice", or even an act of "immorality".
I can certainly make the case for why this would not be a quality that most aspire to adopt.

So, is there a word that describes something unwanted, something that is not virtuous but nevertheless not as grave as "immorality", "vice" or "sin"?


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What does "to shame something out of someone" mean? Specially in this sentence by Walt Whitman:

  the look of the bay mare shames silliness out of me.

Does it mean the look of the bay mare shames him, because he realizes that how much silliness he has?

The full stanza:

  I believe in those wing’d purposes,

  And acknowledge red, yellow, white, playing within me,

  And consider green and violet and the tufted crown intentional,

  And do not call the tortoise unworthy because she is not something
  else,

  And the jay in the woods never studied the gamut, yet trills pretty
  well to me,

  And the look of the bay mare shames silliness out of me.


texts: What's the difference between "to frighten" and "to scare"? I've heard both, but have never been able to figure out the difference.


texts: Can you clarify How to use the word "technically" that has the meaning of "strictly speaking"?

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I heard a lot of native English speakers use the word "technically" that has the meaning of "strictly speaking".

Search on internet, "technically" means "according to the facts or exact meaning of something" https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=define%3Atechnically

So what does "according to the facts or exact meaning of something" mean? can you clarify it?


texts:
The context here is a bank discussing a long-term project it's conducting. It has certain deadlines to adhere to, but it says that after the deadline has expired, they will need to do several rounds of XXX. The "XXX" refers to tasks that should have been done before, and need to be completed in order to complete the milestone.

This is a translation into English.

Any creative ideas?
Thanks!
Ilan


texts: The verbs meaning "taking money out of your bank card/adding money to your bank card"

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As far as I understand, the technically correct terms for adding money to your account and taking money out of it are "credit" and "debit", respectively.
Yet, I am not sure how to correctly use these terms.
For example, there's a warning in a software saying "Error due to exceeding bank card debiting limits".

Is there any better verb for saying this? I have sticked with crediting and debiting, but I'm not even sure that the people using this software will understand the terms.


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Is there any difference in using either of the two? I feel like last ran scan feels more intuitive, although my friend disagrees.

It's meant to inform users about when their last scan was ran inside an interface. So it is meant to be a short description following the date when it was last ran.


texts: what word class do the words 'so' and 'really' belong to? (intensifiers or adverbs)

texts: Some sources say that 'so' and 'really' are intensifiers and the dictionary says 'so' and 'really' are adverbs, which leaves me confused. Are they intensifiers, adverbs or both? Are intensifiers a type of adverb? I am also confused as to how they can be adverbs because adverbs describe verbs and 'so' and 'really' describe adjectives instead of verbs. If they do describe verbs please give me some examples. I also want to know if I am getting the definition of adverbs confused. Do adverbs only describe verbs or both verbs and adjectives?


texts: Why are there 3 different ways to pronounce "oo"?

texts:
My German colleagues were laughing at the way I pronounce google, and it led to a discussion.

With words like google, yahoo, poodle and loose, the oo has a sound similar to the German ü sound.
With words like good and book, it is more similar to how Germans pronounce a oo sound.
For words like door we are not sure if that is the same or different.

The Germans want to know what the pronunciation rules are so they can improve their English. I am guessing that there are no rules, and the pronunciation possibly comes from the original language that the word comes from.

Are there any rules? Is there any reason why there are two different pronunciations? Can non-native speakers work out the correct pronunciation by looking at the other letters in the word or the etymology?


texts:
Please help me to explain the grammar of this sentence belows:

any Director or any person (s) authorized by the Directors be and is/are hereby authorized, either solely or jointly, to sign and execute the Document.

I don't undersand how to use "be" after directors " authorized by the Directors be and is/are hereby authorized". Please help me

thanks


texts: In this sentence, what does "not wanting" mean?

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"There are not wanting circumstances which go far to prove that instinct, brushing aside the conclusions of science, felt that it had rightly come upon the truth."
Are there NOT ENOUGH or ENOUGH circumstances to prove that exactly? And which part is the subject of "felt"?
Thank you.


texts: What's the meaning of 'out' when it comes after a verb ?

texts: What's the difference between a verb like read and read out or shout and shout out and so on? How does "out" change the meaning of verbs?


texts: What is the verb used for check payments?

texts:
What is the verb used when a bank check has been paid?
Is the word cleared?
EDIT:
To be more specific, I'm looking for the word that means the check has been completely processed and it has either been cashed or deposited to another account. Should I just use the words cashed or deposited?


texts:
I'm looking for a name for a website about leadership, motivation,  personal development, productivity etc. I need a word meaning "clever/skillful/hardworking and successful person". Hotshot seems fine according to dictionaries, but it looks like the meaning is somewhat negative.
In Cambridge Dictionary the meaning is just "someone who is skillful and successful at something". But in THEFREEDICTIONARY:

A person of impressive skill and daring, especially one who is highly successful and self-assured.
An important person or expert, esp when showy
Highly successful and aggressive: a hotshot sales manager.
Displaying skill flamboyantly: a hotshot ballplayer.
An impressively successful or skillful and often vain person.

Is 'hotshot' used mainly in a negative meaning? Is it ok to use it in my context?

Edit: can people like Tony Robbins, Robin Sharma, Brené Brown, Michael Hyatt be called hotshots? I mean it in a 100% positive way: clever/skillful/hardworking and very successful. No negative connotations.

Thank you in advance.


texts: “It's better being” vs “it’s better to be“

texts:
When gales tear at the mountain peaks, it's better to be a horse in Sunnfjord than an emperor in Russia.”

Should I use the being form there instead of to be? Why or why not? Are both ok, or is one wrong? How can you know?


texts: Why is the double possessive grammatically correct in the sentence, "Joe is a friend of Jim's"?

texts:
I've read a bit about the reason for using the double possessive but there are still a few aspects that don't work for me:

If the difference between "Joe is a friend of Jim's" and "Joe is a friend of Jim" is the active person (with Jim being active in the first sentence and Joe in the second) then the sentence "Joe is a friend of Jim's" should have the same meaning as "Joe is Jim's friend," and the sentence "Joe is a friend of Jim" should have the same meaning as "Jim is Joe's friend."  Using the same logic, the sentence "Joe is my friend" should have the same meaning as "Joe is a friend of mine" and the sentence "I am Joe's friend" should have
the same meaning as "Joe is a friend of me," which we would never say.  Furthermore, one would never say "Jesus is the son of the Lord's" when they mean "Jesus is the Lord's son;"  rather one would say, "Jesus is the son of the Lord."

If the difference between the two is that "Joe is a friend of Jim's" implies that Jim has multiple friends while "Joe is a friend of Jim" does not, then the same issue arises when I try to say "Joe is a friend of mine" without implying that I have multiple friends I say "Joe is a friend of me" which, again, one would never say.  Also, you wouldn't say "Jim is an owner of the club's" when you mean "Jim is one of the club's owners."

If two conditions must apply, that is the double possessive can be used only if the word after of refers to an animate object and the word before of involves only a portion of the animate object's possessions, I still can't say "Joe is a friend of me" if Joe is my only friend or "Jim is a friend of him" if Jim is his only friend.  Also, can't one say "Joe is the only friend of Jim's?"

Also, I don't want to hear that the second apostrophe is the only way to distinguish between "a picture of the king" and "a picture of the king's."  In the sentence "a picture of the king" the of is not a possessive; you can't say "the picture of the king's."


texts: What's the meaning of 'haler'? [correction: hailer]

texts:
This doesn't seem to be general reference, because in the context I've seen it used tonight (the London riots), it certainly isn't referring to a coin, or 'a person who hails'.

I've heard it used several times now by mainstream media reporters; they saw someone with a "loud haler".  Here's an example from Twitter:

  5 live producer reports seeing rioter with loud haler - calling for friends, seems very organised

Does anyone have any idea what they mean here by 'haler'?  Even Urban Dictionary doesn't seem to have a satisfactory definition.  My best guess is it's some London street slang for 'megaphone', but can anyone confirm?


texts: What noun would best describe holding space for someone going through something you've been through?

texts: This is not necessarily a spiritual connotation. If someone is doing something that pushes their limits and someone is 'guiding' or 'facilitating' that by holding space, holding their hand, walking alongside them through the activity, is there a noun other than guide or facilitator that could be used as a title for that person?


texts: What does it mean when someone says “Don't call me ‘boy’!”

texts:
Non-native speaker here.
When someone calls another person boy and the other person responds by saying “Don't call me ‘boy’”. Does that mean the first person was calling the other person ‘boy’ to imply that he/she is wiser (or smarter or has more experience in life etc.) and the other person rejects that by saying “Don't call me boy”.
I heard this on a YouTube video: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Starting 3:13 to 3:30.


texts: Should names of scientific theories be capitalized?

texts:
I'd really like to safely write stuff like Special Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Theory of Evolution without capitals; but I don't want to regret it, whence my question.

Should the name of scientific theories be written with capitals?


texts:
I recently came across this term while examining a set of properties in a JSON feed relating to a startup company:

 ...
 "deadpooled_year": null,
 "deadpooled_month": null,
 "deadpooled_day": null,
 "deadpooled_url": null,
 ...

I searched for the word, and find several non-authoritative sources (e.g., The Urban Dictionary), but nothing definitive. I gather it means something like "defunct" or "obsoleted" — handed over to the pool of dead companies which have been surpassed and made irrelevant by other, more successful companies. I also infer that it is a fairly well known term used in the startup lexicon. Yet this is the first time I've encountered it.

Can anyone shed some light on the term "deadpool" or "deadpooled"? A citation from a serious publication that uses the term in a way that makes the meaning obvious and unmistakeable? Please, no speculation. I have already speculated enough about this.


texts:
What do English people call an association of two or more individuals or companies engaged in a solitary business enterprise for profit without actual partnership or incorporation?

Is there a single word to describe this association?


texts: A phrase that means you want someone in your care to get ill

texts:
There is a phrase which can be used to describe someone who is looking after someone but has sinister motives they want them to get unwell or more unwell than they already are, because they want attention from other people at the expense of their ward.

Example:

  It's terrible what they found out about Jack, a typical example of
  ......... can you believe he wanted Sally to get more ill all the while he was meant to be looking after her?

I'm certain it exists, I just can't quite place it.


texts: What is the correct way to say "It was this week that Justin and my lives changed forever"?

texts:
What is the correct way to indicate "Justin and I" as being possessive of our individual lives in this sentence? Is there a way to do this without restructuring the sentence?

A friend of mine posted a Facebook status that said, "It was this week that Justin and my lives changed forever," in regard to a Facebook memory. This doesn't sound correct to me, as it is possessive and thus, I assume, needs a possessive suffix ('s) after either "Justin" or "my".

I've seen some other threads on here that come pretty close to answering my question, but they all follow the joint possessive (my and Justin's) with a singular noun, like "cat" or "seafood dinner".

The best solution I can think of is to change "Justin and my" to "our", but in a sentence that follows she says, "Now he's gone over a year...etc." without any other reference to Justin, so I feel like individual identity might be important to maintain. Some other possibilities that I've seen suggested include:

It was this week that Justin and my's lives changed forever
It was this week that my and Justin's lives changed forever
It was this week that mine and Justin's lives changed forever
It was this week that Justin and I's lives changed forever
It was this week that Justin and my's life changed forever

Are any of these suggestions even remotely correct?

Thanks in advance, everyone!

Links to the threads I mentioned:

How do you make the possessive form with "He and I"-style subjects?
"My wife and I's seafood collaboration dinner"

Another page I found - they suggest 'our' the the second last paragraph

https://brians.wsu.edu/2016/05/19/joint-possessives/