texts: Reducing sentences to elementary facts avoiding the word "or"

texts:
I'm wondering how to reduce these kinds of sentences/facts to elementary facts.
In this case all cars have parts from either one or several manufacturers, can't have zero or any other option, in other words a car must have either one or several.

It is said that elementary facts normally don't contain the word "or".
So let's say that we for example want to reduce the following sentence into elementary facts:

"The car model ... has parts from one or several manufacturers."

Now the following applies:

One car must have parts from one manufacturer or several.
One car can't have parts from zero manufacturers.

Which means that if one manufacturer doesn't apply, then it must be several manufacturers.

We can't say the following because it doesn't exclude zero and they don't imply that at least one of the sentences must apply in any given case:

One car can have parts from one manufacturer
One car can have parts from several manufacturers

If we say this instead we exclude the other possibility which is also wrong:

One car must have parts from one manufacturer.
One car must have parts from several manufacturers

So my question is the initial sentence reduced to an elementary fact "The car model ... has parts from from one or several manufacturers." and if not what would it be?

Elementary facts are irreducible in the sense that they can't be split up further. But should are we allowed to use "one/several" in an elementary fact in order to avoid the word "or" or isn't this valid? So in other words can everything we want to state in elementary fact form be in one elementary fact only or do we need two of them, and if so how would it be formulated?

EDIT:
This is intended for computer language on a later stage, but this question is basically just for the "language part" and not the implementation part translating it into a computer language.


texts: What do you make of sentences such as: "He completely missed his shot, did Mark!"

texts:
I sometimes hear people, Brits in my experience, say things like :

He completely missed his shot, did Mark!
He's out of his mind, is Ronnie!

The sense is clear but I haven't seen this described anywhere.  Is that something that is more of a British way of saying things?  Is it colloquial or can it be found in more formal types of speeches?


texts: Can we say "Had Einstein used his spare time on something more useful for the society, ..."

texts:
The complete sentence is :

  Had Einstein used his spare time on something more useful for the society, the improvement of our knowledge of the nature of the universe would have been greatly delayed.

I move "Had" to the head of the sentence to make it a little uncommon.


texts: What's the origin of the figure of speech "call the shots"?

texts:
I'm well aware that when someone says "he's the one who calls the shots" it means that that person is the one in charge, the one who takes all the relevant decisions.

But what's the origin of this figure of speech?


texts:
This tittle’s song was used in the famous movie “La La Land”.
Now, I have a question. What is ‘Sun’ ?
I mean, I can’t understand what ‘Sun’ means.
Does ‘sun’ mean the sun which is a star
or day (like every day and Sunday)?

Thank you.


texts: What do you call people who receive donations?

texts: Is it right to say "Donated to?" or "Donored to" in reference to the needy who received donations?


texts: omitting auxiliaries and articles in logs

texts:
Is it a widespread practice in logbooks and in written accounts of events in general to omit articles and auxiliaries? E.g.:
"Message received. Information read. Crew instructed. Complaints discussed. Changes approved."
Is the omission applicable for the active voice? E.g.:
"Material decayed. Crew arrived."
or "Temperature risen. Prices fallen."


texts: Word for always comparing things to the biggest and best

texts:
I've been trying to find a word or brief phrase that describes a person who constantly emphasises, or compares, the size of things, superlatives.

E.g. I watched a TV programme recently, the host was describing a production line, and he was constantly (and irritatingly) pointing out the figures about how "good" the machine is - things such as line speed, units produced per hour etc - emphasising the quantitative facts rather than the qualitative information.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to a suitable word or short phrase that might be appropriate in this case?


texts: Is there a word like subsidiary for a charity owned and controlled by another charity? Or would the word subsidiary be used?


texts:
On my old Upper-Intermediate Book it's reported that whole plus a plural noun ( for instance whole businesses) means each one.

To be more clear, I write here the explanation the book gives:

"It's possible to say WHole businesses are affected....without the definite article, but this refears to each individual business"

So, my question is:  "Does it mean each business?"    Surfing on the Internet, I saw it is generally explained that it means "entire businesses", meaning many of them but not all of them.

Might you explain it to me?


texts: Punctuation with complete or incomplete list of items

texts:
Here's a situation:

  John, Anne, Jake, Pete...they are all from the same class.

Is there any way to punctuate this sentence without using the ellipsis? Is an "and" necessary before the last item (here, Pete) in this kind of a list? What would be the best way to punctuate this sentence in formal writing, e.g. a book manuscript?


texts: Comma after "different" and before "[adjective] [noun]"?

texts:
I'm writing a sentence about energy coupling:

  Energy coupling is a phenomenon where cells use the energy released from an exergonic reaction to fuel a different, endergonic reaction.

I can see "endergonic reaction" being regarded as a noun by itself rather than an adjective and a noun, and therefore the sentence wouldn't need a comma. I can also see "endergonic" being an adjective and "reaction" being a noun, so a comma would be needed before "endergonic".

Do I need a comma after "different"?


texts: Are there rules for constructing portmanteaux?

texts:
Lewis Carroll popularized the use and creation of (what may be considered to be) a special form of compound or conjoined words.  I propose that these are different than other compound words (e.g., per the comments, “grimdark” from grim+dark)

Since the concept of a portmanteau is by nature poetic and inventive, I think it is most productive to focus on the notion of disallowed constructions.

For instance, I think that a portmanteau:

cannot use a classical prefix or suffix as one half of the constructed word.

(unbor, as un + bor-rowed )
cannot have parts that are, themselves, whole words

(e.g. understanding)

Either way, do rules exist in the construction of portmanteaux?

Do all portmanteaux by nature have a light-hearted tone?  Must they “sound good”?  Or does their “lightness” arise from the wit used to create them?

(edit: incorporated comments)


texts: What is the etymology of the term "private eye"?

texts:
The term private eye has widespread use to mean private detective or investigator.  See, e.g., Oxford Dcitionary Online

Several websites, such as this one, suggest that the term was based on a logo adopted by the Pinkerton agency which featured an eye and the words We Never Sleep. However, none of those surces seem authoritative or provide any reference to a contemporaneous usage of the term.

Pinkerton registered the trademark We Never Sleep with an eye logo in 1950, claiming that it first used the trademark in 1884. [Search "we never sleep" at the USPTO trademark site.]

On its website, Pinkerton claims to be the worlds first private eye but does not claim to have originated, or explain the derivation of the term.

Numerous websites (again lacking authority) and at least one dictionary cite the derivation as

  1935–40; eye, allusive phonetic rendering of [the letter] I, abbr. of investigator

Freedictionary.com [citing Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary]

Etymonline lists the first use in 1938, but gives no explanation or source.

However, the term appears earlier in numerous books, including the 1930 Nancy Drew 04: The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keen

  Try to figure this one out, Miss Private Eye! [Note: it is unclear as to whether this date is for the character or the actual text]

The term private eye is used to convey spying by Balzac, in the 1928 Cousin Bette

  Lisbeth, whom the baron endeavored to ally with Madame Marneffe, so as to keep a private eye upon the household ...

Similarly, it is used in The Judgment of the Sword: The Tale of the Kabul Tragedy, and of the Part Played Therein by Major Eldred Pottinger, the Hero of Herat in 1929

  His fellow-commandant, Akbar's Master of Horse, had probably been sent to keep a private eye on the turncoat lest there were any attempt at rescue.

There are numerous earlier uses of the term for your private eye to mean for your confidential viewing.

From whence comes the term private eye to mean private decetive?


texts:
There are several interesting words to describe the same idea:
Knick-Knack and Bric-a-Brac, both defined as:

Small, decorative object(s) of little value.

Bric-a-Brac derives from French and is Uncountable. Knick-Knack is Countable. Apart from these differences, I can’t see why there are different words. Perhaps different classes or regions use different words?
In addition, we have gewgaw and doodad.
In some languages different phonemes can carry emotional significance.
For example, in local Spanish the same idea can be expressed as cachibache. The /tʃ/ can carry the idea of worthlessness.
Other Spanish examples with /tʃ/:

chuchería-junk, junk food
chunche-a piece of unidentifiable junk
casucha-a shack or crappy house
pueblucho-a one-horse town

In Korean, the usage of the /f/ sound used to be heard as immodest*

piksali pault-fault confusion
bijinisu fureynduli -business friendly

(sorry, can't reproduce Hangul here.)
Do repetitive syllables have any emotional significance?
[EDIT]
Thanks to the many wonderful and helpful comments which have been posted I am going to rework this question to express my original intent. Initially what I was thinking had to do with emotional content, but I don't think I expressed it very well.
After investigating further in Psycho-Linguistic topics I realize there is emotional content to F1-F2 and F2-F1 placement, and that individual phonemes can carry emotional significance. However, I need to collate this new information in order to reformulate my original idea into a more cogent and cohesive argument.
*"Huffing and Puffing about /f/ing everything" -Hyojin Cho Kim


texts: Another word for a wine glass made of glass

texts:
Checking here, it shows that I can use "goblet" but goblet is very medieval sounding and conjures images as if it is made of metal or gold and studded with diamonds. I am looking for a word which is to be used in the modern context.

Update- The reason I'm averse to using "wine glass" is because it would be used to contain something other than wine and using the term would just conjure a wrong image.


texts: Can a piano be referred to as furniture?

texts:
In the sentence:

  The main space contained several pieces of furniture, such as some tables, several cabinets, and a grand piano.

is it ok to refer to include a grand piano in the enumeration of furniture? I am not sure what the boundaries of furniture are, and whether pianist may take offence at this.


texts: How to know when to use dashes or commas or braces when describing something in the middle of a sentence?

texts:
For example, you have a sentence like this:

  But let’s pluck a word at random from the vocabulary tree:
  lambaste. Let’s say whenever you encounter this word, the first four
  letters, l-a-m-b, throw you off. You picture a docile creature bah-ing
  contentedly in a pen. When you see the definition — to reprimand
  harshly — it always surprises you. You picture a docile creature bah-ing
  contentedly in a pen. When you see the definition — to reprimand
  harshly — it always surprises you.

In this sentence, I would have used parentheses:

  You picture a docile creature bah-ing contentedly in a pen. When you see the definition (to reprimand harshly) it always surprises you.

Or I would have used commas (as told by the book 'Elements of style'):

  You picture a docile creature bah-ing contentedly in a pen. When you see the definition, to reprimand harshly, it always surprises you.

I am giving an international exam soon in which they are going to be stringent about such things.

Could you tell me when to use which one?

Edit: Since the fragmented part was confusing, I have now included the whole paragraph.


texts: Such is the way of American policymaking in health care

texts: why did we use "Such" here ? is there any alternate to this sentence?


texts: What terms should be used to mean the different states of attendance of volunteers in a clinical study?

texts:
In a clinical trail with several visits, it is common to see volunteers not attending their visits at some time point for different reasons. I have these different situations, and I would like to know whether a certain term or phrase should be fittingly used in each case, the different conditions I have are:

The participant didn't come, because he was not needed to come, he did come before and he is no more needed to attend.
The participant didn't come, but he was needed to come, though he couldn't make it to come for whatever reason.
The participant did attend, but the objective of his attendance was not fulfilled. For instance, the sample needed could not be collected or lost after collection. In effect the objective of his attendance was not completely achieved.

I know that there is a term for the second situation which is `drop-out', but how to use it with the correct punctuation? is it:

He was dropped out from the study at visit 10.

He dropped out from the study at visit 10.

He was a study drop-out at visit 10.


texts: "Now that x, y," vs. "Now x, y" ("Now" in dependent clauses): British vs. American English

texts:
I have noticed that British English speakers tend not to use that after now in certain dependent clauses where American English speakers will almost certainly use it.

BE version of two examples:

  Now the temperature's dropped, we've been using the fireplace more
  often.
  Now I'm finished painting the front door I can rest.

AE version of two examples:

  Now that the temperature's dropped, we've been using the fireplace more
  often.
  Now that I'm finished painting the front door I can rest.

As in many cases of BE vs. AE, my curiosity is piqued. I wonder if over time AE speakers added the that or if BE speakers dropped it. Is the that "understood" in BE or *misunderstood," so to speak, in AE?

More broadly, I suppose I'm asking about the role [that] that plays in sentences like the AE examples above.

I'm guessing the answer is related to the fact [that] it would have been acceptable, perhaps even preferable, to leave out the first "[that]" above, but, at least in AE, not the second. Then again, communicating about any specific word presents its own challenges.

(I'm aware [that] this may be a duplicate question, but my EU search did not return a match. It's tricky coming up with optimal search terms for this topic.)


texts: What does 'dance a control run' mean in selection of figure skaters for the Winter Olympics Games?

texts:
There was the following sentence in the Time magazine article titled, “Plushenko’s retirement is proof he should have quit before Sochi.” It says Evgeni Plushenko should have given way to a younger generation before the Sochi Olympics began:

  “The Russian figure skating association allowed him to dance a
  “control run” for a committee of skating experts less than three weeks
  before the Games. Although that performance was never shown to the
  public or the press, the committee ruled that it was enough to give
  Plushenko a ticket to Sochi.”

  http://world.time.com/2014/02/13/plushenko-retirement-sochi-olympics/#ixzz2tFitu1MT

What does “control run” mean? Why is it in quotes? What is the shortest possible paraphrasing of “control run”?


texts: Use of prepositions 'in' vs 'at' successively in a single sentence

texts:
The given sentence is

I live (in/at) Ambala (in/at) Harayana (in/at) India.

Ambala is a town in the state of Harayna which is in India (country). You can replace the place names with anything familiar for understanding.

My English teacher and my mother argued that the answer is 'at,in,in'. They said that because these blanks are successive, and Ambala is smaller as compared to a state and a country that are in the same sentence, 'at' will be used for Ambala.

My argument was that the correct answer should be 'in/in/in'. This mainly comes from intuition from reading lots of novels. If I had to say a reason, it would be that all three are big enough places and successive use of in/at doesn't make any difference.

I need a third informed opinion. Thanks.


texts: Why is Independence Day "The Fourth of July" but the day after is "July the Fifth"

texts: US english seems to constantly be "Month Day" but when talking about Independence Day it switches to "Day of Month".


texts:
In the expression to drive someone nuts, I studied that it's possible to replace the word nuts with words like: bananas, crazy, insane, bonkers, ...

I'd like to know is this expression polite? If it is, which word-replacement is more common and polite?


texts: What is the difference between " fell over" and " fell on" in nuance?

texts:
There are two sentences below.

I fell over the stone on my way over.
I fell on the stone on my way over.

What is the difference between 'fell over' and 'fell on' in the two sentences?


texts: What's the 'fixed constant nature of sensible things'?

texts:
Aristotle makes the claim that, "the fact that a thing is itself" allows for "a fixed constant nature of sensible things"

Does it mean:

sensible things look like fixed and constant, or
sensible things are fixed and constant?

What does nature mean?


texts: What is the difference between experiment and experimentation?

texts:
If I am correct, both experiment and experimentation exist in English. Which one should I use? Can I say the following two sentences?

This week, I am conducting new experiments at the laboratory
This week, I am conducting new experimentations at the laboratory

If the answer is yes, is there any difference between them?


texts: why does meet sometimes mean first time and sometimes not

texts:
If I say "I will go to this place and meet this person"  then I suppose it doesn't necessarily mean meeting them for the first time.

But if you say it's nice to meet somebody, that always seems to mean the first time. Unless you say it's nice to meet somebody again.  You can say nice to see you, which doesn't imply that you haven't seen them before.

Is it just something particular about the phrase "nice to meet you" that it means first time.   Whereas in other contexts it doesn't necessarily mean first time?

Are there other uses of "meet" that mean first time , besides "nice to meet you"?

If I were to say "nice to meet you" to somebody i'm meant to know well then it sounds a bit rude.. So I want to have a good idea of what other uses of meet imply first time.


texts: What's the difference between "die from", "die by" and "die of"

texts:
What's the difference between "died from", "died by" and "died of" in the following examples?

died of an old age
died by poison
died from hypertension


texts: Is ok to say 'go right'? Meaning turn right?

texts: Is that ok to say go right meaning turn right? Or I have to say only go to the right?


texts: I have googled the meaning of the word "curt", and google provided me with this definition "rudely brief.". When I searched for its meaning on Dictionary.com it seems that it can also be used to mean "short; shortened.". Is the second meaning archaic or can it be used in writing to say, for instance, "The curt mane of a horse."?


texts:
Currently writing a essay about the significance of food. Does this sentence make sense?

"Food in many ways is more important to us than we take it granted for. It can represent a variety of ideas and act as a catalyst for fostering relationships and memories."


texts: Use of "my" and "your" when referring user's data

texts:
When displaying menu options to a user on a website.

When should I label links as

  My Profile

or

  Your Profile

I have several other links such as <My/Your> Likes and <My/Your> Files, etc..


texts:
You are beautiful, child, beautiful.

You are beautiful, child. Beautiful.

How should I punctuate the above sentence?

thanks


texts: Is ‘Take something cum grano salis’ a popular phrase? Can I use it in casual conversation?

texts:
I came across the phrase, ‘cum grano salis’ in the article written by Chris Cillizza, a political pundit in the August 8th Washington Post’s article under the title ‘GOP smells blood in Presidential race.’ The article deals with the results of latest polls that show significant erosion of the President Obama’s support basis after the downgrading of American credit by S & P’s last Friday.

The phrase in question appears in the following lines:

  “Polls are, of course a snapshot in time and are rightly taken cum grano salis. But, it’s not hard to read between the data points on this particular survey.”

As I am totally unfamiliar with the phrase, “take something cum grano salis,” I checked online dictionaries. Both Free Merriam-Webster and Oxford Dictionaries had an entry of 'cum grano salis' as a phrase of Latin origin meaning ‘take something with a grain (pinch) of salt.’

I wonder how popular this phrase is among native speakers. Is it just a liking or style of the author to have used deliberately a ‘big word’ like ‘cum grano salis’ instead of simply saying ‘with a grain of salt’ that can be understood by everybody? If I use “take something cum grano salis ” mimicking the author - like 'You'd better to take Taro's story cum grano salis, in day-to-day conversation among chums, am I taken for granted, or ridiculed?


texts: What was the idiom for something that we take without a doubt?

texts:
Well pretty much the title says it all, I am Bulgarian native speaker and we have way of saying this which literally translated is "clean coin".

For instance: "I am taking his words as a clean coin." (but this is really translated literally so I expect to mean gibberish in English)

Context in which I would like to use this idiom:
"We've been working together for quite some time now and I never saw him make a mistake, henceforth I am taking his bug reports ______."

What I mean is that this guy I am referring to has not made any false bug reports  or in other words bug reports that later turned out to be invalid or not real bugs.

Also when I refer to the word bug I am using it in the context of software development.


texts: Word or phrase for "i'll do __ if __ happens"

texts:
I can't seem to remember this word. It's uncommon and is used to refer to the promise that "if 'some unlikely event happens', I'll do 'something well outside my comfort zone that I would otherwise not do'".
For example, a lot of college applicants say "If I get into Harvard, I'll ask out this person" or a professional may say "if I land this client, I'm buying a Porche". What word would refer to this?
To clarify, this is not simple hyperbole. The if-condition, while unlikely is not impossible and the then-clause is expected to be fulfilled if the if-condition is met.
Not sure if it's a single word or phrase, so I'm leaving both tags in


texts: Meaning of "He jotted down the conceits of his idle hours."

texts:
I was looking for meaning of the word 'conceit' and I came across this use of the word 'conceit':-

  "He jotted down the conceits of his idle hours."

I found the statement to be quite interesting but I am having hard time understanding it. Can somebody please help?


texts: Is it "First thought of" or "Thought of first"?

texts:
I came across a social media caption in which it says "This is what he thought of first". I want to ask if this is correct because what I have seen and think the correct way to say it is "This is what he first thought of". OR they are both correct and the position of 'first' doesn't matter so they mean the same thing or the position of 'first' matters and mean different thing.
Thanking you,
Guri


texts: Has the definition of an adverb changed over time?

texts:
I was reading a modern grammar book recently and was very surprised to see that "yesterday" and "nevertheless" are regarded as adverbs.

Has the definition of an adverb been constant over the last 50 years or has it evolved?  I feel that neither yesterday nor nevertheless were defined to be adverbs in the 1970s but I could well be wrong.


texts: The word for a "magazine containing solely ads"

texts:
Is there a word for a magazine that contains only advertisements?
Plus, can you say advertising, or advertisement magazine?
edit: I don't mean a leaflet (a single sheet of paper)


texts: 'the one you said you liked best' - Analysis of a relative clause using CGEL

texts:
I'm currently reading "A Student's Introduction to English Grammar" by Geoffrey K. Pullum and Rodney Huddleston.
I'm bewildered by the following exercise, which asks us to identify the relative phrase, along with the relative element, its function and its antecedent.
Which is the one you said you liked best?
My analysis is as follows:
Which is the one [you said [you liked best]]?
I treat which as part of the main clause (even though one could make a point to the contrary, I basically treat it as This in This is the one you said you liked best.
you liked best — subordinate content clause
you said you liked best — relative clause
antecedent — the one
function of the covert relativised element (in the relative clause) - direct object
Does anyone with knowledge of the CGEL (The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language) framework have any input on this? In particular, I'm interested whether Which can be considered to be the antecedent, or maybe even part of the relative clause itself.


texts: "omni" - prefixed word for " prepared to take up any challenge"

texts:
Word for someone that will take any challenge thrown at him, prepared to take up any challenge. Preferably with "omni" as prefix. Doesn't have to be word that is commonly used. I have been trying to figure it out for a while.
Something like: "omni"-prefixed word for "all-hearing"


texts: Word for Pretentiously Academic but Useless

texts:
I am looking for a word that incorporates all, or most, of the following (when referring to a sentence or a piece of technical literature):

Highly academic
Not useful (despite being technically correct)
Overly verbose/eloquent
Superfluous (to be honest, this seems to incorporate the rest, but I want to see if there is a better word here)

Sample sentence (I hear it's required):

  There are many ____ white-paper definitions which only serve to
  dazzle the reader with the
  author's purported intelligence.


texts: What is the opposite of a server which is "down"?

texts:
When you say that "The server is down", you refer to a remote computer/program which is not responding.

How do you call the opposite state in which everything is working?
What is the correct verb to negate the "down" state of the server? for example: "Turn it back on", "Activate it" or something else which is more appropriate?


texts:
MW and AH both offer examples of "beware" as a transitive verb ("The restaurant's food is excellent, but beware the chili if you don't like spicy food") and as an intransitive verb ("Beware of the dog"), but neither includes any usage note.

As a transitive verb, the word means "to be wary of," and as an intransitive, it means "to be on one's guard," according to MW. I am hard-pressed to see any difference.

So, are there instances when a distinction should be made? Idiomatically, "beware the dog" seems wrong, but why? Is there some logic here, or is it simply a matter of conventional and personal preference?


texts: "might get" vs. "might be": what's the difference in this context?

texts:
Why does the sentence say

  But I worry that I might get angry and yell

instead of

  I might be angry and yell?

I think this is an example of the passive used in a sentence, but I don't understand the grammar.


texts: A word or phrase for someone who is dull and unaware of it

texts: Is there a good word or phrase for to describe someone is generally dull, but believes themselves to be exciting and is unaware that talking to them is laborious?


texts:
He lay staring into the sky.
He came running towards me.
He arrived finding nobody there.

I have read this by John Lawler but am struggling to put these into one of the five categories he mentioned.
They appear to be closest to adverbial clauses but have several issues including:

Cannot add have to the start of them.
Cannot be introduced by subordinating conjunctions.
Cannot be moved around, at least not without sounding strange.

It seems this is because there is a certain temporal element to these participial clauses where one action has to happen first before the other; this is epitomized by the last example.
In fact, I'm not even sure if the third example is in the same category as the first two, because it can be re-written as:
3*) He arrived to find nobody there. (which is an adverbial Infinitive Phrase, right?)

So what category(s) do these examples belong to?


texts:
Good day,

I came across a following citation from a book: "I have not slept soundly for many years. Not since the war when I was knocked out for two days have I really lost consciousness as a child loses consciousness in sleep and wakes to a new world not even remembering when he went to bed."

The second sentence was hard to comprehend for me from a first pass, hence I'm asking whether it's correct to enclose "when I was knocked out for to days"  commas? I.e. is this author's specific style or rather a natural way to construct a complex sentence in English (that other native English readers are expected to digest seamlessly).


texts:
It seems like a basic concept, but I want to make sure. Can the antecedent ever be in a prepositional phrase?

For example:

  Jill likes running with Julie. She is a good person.

Does she refer to Julie or Jill?


texts:
Today I've read a sentence saying "He parked, waited for me to catch up and ran off again".

I asked if I could say "He parked, waiting for me to catch up" to emphasize the actual action of waiting an undefinite amount of time but my teacher said it's just plain wrong.

Is there a practical rule I could follow?


texts: If a discount is pre-tax or post-tax then what is this quality of being one or the other called?

texts:
If a discount is pre-tax or post-tax then what is the name of the general concept of being one or the other called?

I am looking for a word that would describe the chronological positioning of the discount relative to the taxing - an elegant version of "position relative to taxing". Maybe something in the vein the word "weight" or "order", but that could be postfixed to the word tax- without implying a scale that refers to the tax itself.


texts: What is the word for someone who dabbles in different art forms but can't master any?

texts: What is the word for someone who jumps from one artistic media to another but they never master anything. I remember a professor using it once and I just can't figure it out. (For example, Rob tried painting for 2 years, now he's into photography, but wait, he just started writing.) At the end of it all, he just dabbled here and there but isn't mastering any of them. I know the word has a a negative connotation. I'm not even sure if it even has to be an artistic related word, I just remember my art professor using it with that example.


texts: I'm working on a short story based around the Victorian age where the protagonist is a prostitute by profession. I was keen on using the word "harlot" in my title as it not only describes one of my central themes but also fits well with the archaic setting of my story. I am unsure of whether or not the word is offensive/derogatory in its general usage. I am definitely not trying to refer to my protagonist as a "slut" or a woman of loose character, so if that's what harlot refers to, I'll have no choice than to remove it from my title. Is "harlot" considered to be a derogatory word?


texts:
Are these correct?

much more + adjective (I was much more busy);
a lot more + adjective (I was a lot more busy);
much less + adjective (I was much less busy);
a lot less + adjective (I was a lot less busy);
a little + adjective;
much/ a lot + adjective;
a little more/less + adjective;

What is right? Which may be similar?


texts:
I found one sentence:

  Jockeys must be of diminutive size for their horses to compete.

Why is there "of"?

Is it wrong to say "must be diminutive size"?

Could you explain the usage of this "of"?


texts: In, at preposition for Room and building?

texts:
I want to specify a room in a building. I come up with three optimum sentences -

  1-) In room_number at building_name

  2-) In room_number in building_name

  3-) At room_number in building_name

Though, I prefer to use the third one. But still, I want to know the best sentence in this case.

Though this is the only full phrase I wanna use, you can consider the full sentence as - "The meeting will be held in room_number in building_name."


texts: How do I show that I want to note that it is going to be SSN for Social Security Administration later in my paragraph? We use the Social Security Administration (SSN) or ("SSN") for many things.  The SSN is very helpful.


texts:
Is the collocation "almost exactly" grammatical, when one is trying to express that something is almost at the edge of being exact? E.g.:

  ...and it's almost exactly like...


texts: Single word for "a word that can have different interpretations"

texts:
The importance of a factor depends on how importance is defined.
  The word importance has a fuzzy nature open to different
  interpretations and the importance of a factor depends on how
  importance is defined.

  In other words, importance is ...

How can I complete this sentence with one word?

Edit:

I prefer to use a neutral word without negative connotations, since I'm not against having different interpretations in this case. Rather, I mean depending on how importance is defined, we need a different method.


texts: Is there an equivalent to "terraform" for other planets?

texts:
In the context especially of science fiction, when we humans go to the alien world and apply our technology to alter the temperature, atmospheric composition, flora and fauna, to be more familiar and comfortable to us, this is called terraforming.

This word, by incorporating the Latin root Terra, almost necessarily implies Earth. The word in Latin essentially means "Earth shaping."  Our modern novels, movies, and television abound with examples of taking something else, and making it Earth-like.

But what if the aliens turn the tables on us?  They come here, make things hotter, pump some sulfur to the air, give the daylight an eerie green cast, plant some weird trees with purple spiky fruits, and so on.  Can this also be called terraforming, or is there an equivalent without the reference to Earth?

As a specific example, the Masters in John Christopher's The Tripods were planning to __________ the Earth, thereby eliminating humanity.

Either a single word or a succinct multi-word phrase will do.

EDIT (In response to close votes, "Please include the research you’ve done"):  I've read a couple articles on terraforming, to see if any refer to other variants.  I've done web searches on: "opposite of terraforming" and "other types of terraforming" and read several results, finding nothing I could use.  I also searched words like "martiforming" "joviforming" and "planetenforming" just on a lark, to see if anyone is actually using these words- the few results were generally not in English.


texts: Can "alight" be used in reference to inanimate objects?

texts:
Merriam Webster says that alight means, among other things, "to descend from or as if from the air and come to rest."

So, the question is: Can one use alight in a sentence like "A small kite alighted on the roof directly over that house"?

Or, does the "come to rest" part imply that that word is currently used only in reference to animate beings, like birds or insects?


texts: Etymology of 'commencement' (as in university commencement)

texts:
Some guy claims that

  I'll tell you why graduation is called Commencement (and no, it's not because it's the beginning of your "real life"). In the large halls where students and faculty ate, the faculty used to eat at table on a raised platform at one end of the long line of tables at which the students sat. When the students finished their course of study and graduated, they became fully-fledged members of the University and equals of the faculty. Consequently, at the grand banquet with which they celebrated their graduation, faculty and former students (both the newly-graduated and alumni) ate together as equals. They shared tables, or, in the Latin of the time, they ate at a commensa, a common table for all. This is why, not so long ago, Commencement and Reunion took place at the same time and why the University Dinner was the high point of the graduation events. (Source)

True? And if not, what is the correct etymology for Commencement?


texts:
Is the following the correct grammatical way to use 'persona'?

  I wonder what persona you have of me?


texts: Replace the word in this phrase so it becomes a common phrase

texts:
During the lecture, I've missheard one word of the sentence below. Somehow, I've got the feeling the missing word should be part of a common phrase that I've already come across but I just can't put my finger on it. I''ve marked the phrase I'm talking about and replaced the missing word with the set of other words (the ones in capitals) to make the context clear.
At the end of the Georgian era, there is
a new GROUP OF PEOPLE on the market

-the lower classes- who didn't possess so much money, but still wanted to have their houses nicely equipped.


texts: What would be a proper alternative word or phrase for "social network", but have the same impact or meaning?

texts: What people normally first think in my opinion when they hear "social network". What else could you say apart from social network?


texts: Negative in a question with various negative valence words

texts:
so I was walking to a very nice place in Berlin today only to find it empty yet again. I was asking myself why this is... and now I am confused.
Which of the following forms of asking are correct? Which are proper English sentences and which are not grammatically correct? Finally which is the best choice (if that doesn't depend on opinion):

  a) Why isn't there ever anyone?

  b) Why is there never anyone?

  c) Why is no one ever there?

  c1) Why is there never no one?

  d) Why is there never someone?

  e) Why isn't there no one ever?

  f) Why isn't there ever someone?

I am obviously not a native, so please don't be too focused on words order (or edit the question if need be)... I really want to know what would be the best combination of words?


texts: What is a word that means "not ashamed"?

texts: For example, the sentence I am not ashamed of my past. Indifferent to sounds too passive, proud of sounds too strong. Any ideas?


texts:
This is the context:
"I missed the diversity of church, it felt rather like a French-only church, or an under-21’s church may feel like—too homogeneous."

I want to use the word homogeneousitic, but I know it's not a word!


texts: what does 'Bias towards something' mean?

texts:
I am reading an article about the effects of mother's blood pressure on the gender of the child. the following sentence was in the context that I have no idea what the author means:

Those who had a female child had an average systolic blood pressure of 103.3mmHg before
pregnancy, while for mothers of males the figure was 106, about 2.6 per cent higher.

Fundamental biology means there is generally a 50/50 split in the sex ratio,
although in humans there is a slight bias towards males.

Please let me know what this part means: there is a slight bias towards males


texts: Word or phrase to describe a couple that is perfect?

texts:
What is a good word or phrase for a couple that is perfect?

Would that be referred to as a good match, or is there a better choice?

Also, is there a word or phrase to describe that when the girlfriend and boyfriend just are very similar in appearance?


texts: Synonyms for "ease of use"? Preferably shorter

texts:
I'm currently copywriting a description for a facebook page. Unfortunately it imposes a limit on me of about 200 characters.

To get to the point, I'd need a synonym for "ease of use" that's a bit shorter to trim it down. (Also, I currently end two sentences with "use" and it's not pretty)


texts:
I heard this in a documentary. The speaker is some serial killer who claims he started his rampage after watching a video.

He goes like this:

  "I put one of the videos in and what came on the screen just shocked
  me. I coulnd't believe what I was seeing. That video triggered a
  memmory that I blocked out of me being a little kid. The switch went
  on and that was it."

Does he mean he turned on the tv and that was it OR is it some kind of idiom? What does he mean by that?


texts: Do we have an equivalent for Persian's proverb "to stretch one's leg more than one's rug"?

texts:
In Persian we have this proverb which translated literally becomes:

  To stretch one's leg more than one's rug

which means that you go beyond the circle of your authorities, or the circle of your capabilities. It simply indicates that you have some limitations, thus don't go beyond them. Like when you don't have enough money, but you want to start an expensive, costly business.

Do we have something similar in English?


texts: Do qualities or traits "recommend" people?

texts:
I searched the stack for similar questions but was unable to find any that addressed this particular usage.
We use the word recommend in the sense of advise, in which case the verb may take a direct object or introduce a command (I recommend this course of action. I recommend that you do X. I recommend you to do X). We also use recommend in the sense of endorse (I recommend him for this position). In the overwhelming majority of cases, the subject of the  verb recommend is a person or something acting like a person.
I've come across a number of instances, however, where the subject of recommend is not an agent but the qualities that make someone worth recommending. In such instances, recommend seems to provide a more compelling alternative to the verb 'make.'

My experience and skills recommend me as a fine candidate for this position.
My experience and skills make me a fine candidate for this position.

Interestingly, all of the usage examples provided by Webster's and the online OED are sentences in which the subject of recommend is an agent, so the dictionaries do not provide much clarification. However, searching Google or Google books does turn up frequent enough examples of the above usage; I have also found this construction in cover letters.
I am still somewhat skeptical, because we never use the synonym 'endorse' in quite the same way, and endorse always seems to require a subject that is a person. If we don't say traits and qualities endorse, is it in fact correct to say that they recommend?


texts: What is the term for "cousin of a cousin"?

texts:
My mother’s sister’s son is my cousin; let’s call him “John”.

John’s father’s brother’s son — let’s call him Mark — is John’s cousin.

Now, Mark isn’t my direct cousin as we don't share any immediate ancestors. What kind of relationship do I have with Mark? I think this too is some sort of cousin.

I always thought this was second cousin, but it turns out, I have blood relation to a second cousin through great grandparents.

So, what is term for my relationship with Mark?


texts: How to describe "diluted" words, whose meaning has become too ambiguous

texts:
How to concisely and accurately describe the effect many words (usually adjectives/adverbs) are suffering from, where:

they have a clear primary meaning but end up being used merely for emphasis, or to describe something similar but much less significant
were you to use them with the primary meaning in mind, you'd need to clarify which it is to be understood, often for the message to even be noticed
they are the most accurate words for what you have in mind, the lack of unambiguous drop-in replacements setting them apart from the many other words whose meaning drift does not have the same frustrating impact

Examples:

"Stop, you're literally killing me" (You are causing me lethal damage; not making me rotfl)

"Uncanny semblance" (saliently disturbing similarity, as in uncanny valley; not just remarkable, amazing, significant, interesting, curious likeness)

[edit] The focus is on the effect that has made the words difficult to use in their primary meaning.


texts: What is a good convention for expressing different currencies?

texts: Using a currency amount such as $1,000 in writing that has an international audience may be confusing (as may £1,000). This amount might represent US, Canadian, Australian or some other currency. I have taken to using the ISO currency codes, such as, USD 1,000, AUD 500, GBP 1,200 to avoid any confusion. Is this a good practice or are there alternative approaches?


texts:
Which of the following questions is/are correct and commonly used?

Is this chair vacant?
Is this chair free?
Is this chair empty?


texts:
Is it good English to write the following passive sentences, considering that it should describe what a system is doing in general (but maybe not necessarily at the moment)? I am interested in the word "get", whether it is appropriate in these situations:

Text gets analysed [by the system].
Files get stored [by the system].
Data gets displayed [by the system].

Furthermore, I would like to know whether the following sentences are good English, when "get" is used instead of "be", considering that it should describe what a system is requiring in general:

The button needs to get pressed [in case of this and that].
Users can get added [to the system].

If yes or no, why or why not?


texts:
I just want to know whether the below-constructed sentence is correct or not? If not, then what will be the correct form? One more question: which pronoun is apt at the end of the sentence?

Either Varun or any other member of the group Schitzengiggles mentioned this in one of his/their video.


texts:
This unusual expression means to study something thoroughly.

According to the Phrase Finder there are two possible but very different sources for its origin:

  The Bohn story has the feel of something retro-fitted to the facts. If it really were true we might expect to find some 19th century reference that linked Bohn name with the phrase, or some example of 'Bohn up' in print. Nevertheless, the term must have come from somewhere, so the polishing with bone  seems the most probable. Without further evidence the origin remains uncertain.

Is there evidence to support with more accuracy one of the two assumption, or does "bone" refer to something else?


texts: "again" in "Today is the oldest you've ever been and the youngest you'll ever be again."

texts:
Saw this sentence today. It has two variations, one ends with again and one without it. While the again does have a nice ring to it, I kind of feel that it makes no grammatical/semantic sense for it to appear in this sentence, but I don't know why. Does it have to do with whether the "ever...again" part is in a negative/interrogative situation vs. non-negative, which this sentence is?

Is there any grammatical justification for this again? What does it mean? Are there any other sentences that involve such a non-negative again? Hope I'm making myself clear enough :-)

On another note, I also see Today, you are the oldest..., which is admittedly "more" grammatical but less "catchy". In either form, the question about again remains.


texts:
I've hit a wording problem in the controls for a game that I'm writing.

I need two nouns with increasing emphasis for someone highly skilled in a given area.
"Expert" is an obvious choice, so I need a second noun which is:

More emphatic than "Expert" - it must imply being extremely capable.
Not gendered.  (This is why I've rejected the most obvious choice, "Master".)
Obvious in its meaning, once read.
Not too long - screen space is limited.
Carrying connotations of skill but not necessarily experience.
Applicable to many different areas of skill - professional skills (science, accounting) and personal (leadership, martial arts)

It is acceptable to use two words, so there could be a modifying adjective, but in that case space demands that they both be quite short.  ("Very skilled" would just work, but "World-famous expert" is out.)

(Edited to make criteria clearer)
If it matters, the setting is 60s to 80s Bond-movie-villain's lair.

Some characters are clones grown by a mad scientist and programmed for their tasks, so terms like "veteran" which imply experience as well as skill won't work.

Alternatively, I could use "Expert" in the top slot, to mean extreme skill... in which case I need a replacement word which is less emphatic than Expert, but carries the same connotations and matches the conditions above.  It will still need to mean "more than average skill" - the default is "professional competence", and the two terms I use need to describe two increasing levels above this.


texts:
I often encounter (and use) this phrase in a context meaning to weight more heavily during decision making than is sensible, or to focus more heavily during a discussion than is warranted.  For example, "You're over indexing on the one time he failed; by & large he succeeds."

What is the origin of this phrase?


texts: Commas - yes or no? "Everwhere from..." list

texts:
Trying to figure out if this statement needs more (or less) commas:

  My position as a flight attendant has taken me everywhere from hiking
  in Nepal, to swimming with dolphins in Jamaica, to eating pig brains
  in China.

(Note: none of these things actually happened; this is only as an example. :)

That being said - do I need a comma:

after "everywhere from"
in between the activities? e.g., "hiking in Nepal to swimming with dolphins in Jamaica to eating pig brains in China."


texts: I see the phrase Churchill moment, sometimes Winston Churchill moment all over the web. What does this mean? Has the meaning changed with time?


texts: What does "Two crocodiles were flying" mean?

texts:
I heard some people saying:

  Two crocodiles were flying. One was green, the other was also going to Africa.

and

  Two crocodiles were flying, one was orange, the other turned left.

But I don't understand what that means.


texts:
If you take a makeup test, is it correct to call it a makeup, make up, or make-up test?

I know that makeup is also what some people put on their faces to look different. I think that make-up is what is used when you "make-up something" as in do something late. I think that "make up" is when you create something. So if you take a "makeup quiz" what is the correct one to use?

Is the following a correct sentence:

  You can make-up the makeup exam?


texts: Are "perchance" and "by chance" interchangeable?

texts:
Merriam Webster's defines "perchance" as:

  "maybe but not definitely"

Similarly, the fifth definition of chance on Merriam Webster has "by chance" defined as:

  "in the haphazard course of events"

The famous Shakespeare quote "to sleep, perchance to dream" would sound odd as "to sleep, by chance to dream." Conversely, I wouldn't think twice about asking someone either "do you by chance have a piece of gum," or "perchance do you have a piece of gum?" Would the second example be incorrect? I found this page from "The Grammarist" which would seem to indicate I'm using perchance wrong.

Both words are conditional words dependent on chance. Are they interchangeable, or only interchangeable in certain circumstances?


texts:
I am a British English native speaker, and I've heard a few references in American media to broadcasts of "x (typically traffic) on the 2s". Google does not reveal any useful information on exactly what this phrase is meant to mean, so I'm hoping an American English speaker can clarify for mine and the internet's sake.

I have a few theories:

Traffic (or news or whatever) reports hourly at 2 or 22 minutes past the hour, or every two hours, or at 2AM and 2PM daily, or at 22:00 daily
Television affiliates with a number two in their title using the title of the broadcast as a way to push their brand
Traffic reports in reference to a specific route/interstate matching, both of which bearing the designator of #2


texts: "There is" and "there's" used before a plural word

texts:
I was just wondering how can you use "there is" followed by a word that is in plural, e.g

"There's cupcakes in the fridge"

and

"There is a couple of things we can do --"

Is it just slang?


texts: Repeating prepositions or not: "...is about..., about..., about and ..."?

texts:
Example

  The Combinatorics part is about how linear extensions can be computed, about how the DAG structure is formed, about why the lattice structure is related to the order cancellation, about partial orders and fantastic discipline.

Question: is it good or bad idea to repeat the preposition about above?


texts: "I want to pay" vs "I would like to pay"

texts:
I was recently in a bar in Prague, Czech Republic. When I was going to leave I said to a waiter:

  Excuse me, I would like to pay.

He laughed a bit and explained that I should have said:

  I want to pay.

because when I say

  I would like to pay.

it means that I want to pay for him (i.e. pay his bill).

Was he right indeed? I thought both forms have the same meaning, besides the second one is more polite.


texts:
How do you pronounce the word, Superman?

For example the pronunciation of man seems equal in American and British English. But this is not the case for Superman. It seems that in American English, it is pronounced as Supermen. I'm asking it because in Italian we're using the American pronunciation.


texts: Is the expression “we could might be able to [...]” grammatically correct?

texts:
I came across the expression “we could might be able to [...]” a few times (although it seems that this expression occurs very rarely).

Example #1 (source):

  That adds about 7KB minified, and we could might be able to include it as an optional dependency

Example #2 (source):

  If this is the actual problem, we could might be able to use 'cluster_host_map' to map the resource to the host-name.

Example #3 (source):

  If we automatically had one context for each pipeline stage and an additional status for each failed job we could might be able to do that in a completely generic way.

Is this construction grammatically correct in English? If no, then why? If yes, then why would one choose to use it, and how is it different from “we could be able to [...]” or “we might be able to [...]”?

There exists a similar question, but it does not mention this particular expression, so I am asking this question to clarify the situation.


texts: About or around when referring to approximate age?

texts:
I am not sure which one is the correct word for beginning this sentence. Is it just a stylistic choice?

I was around 10 years old when...

or

I was about 10 years old when...


texts: What do I call the person who is talking in 'Jabberwocky' but isn't the narrator?

texts: I have to write a summary of the poem 'Jabberwocky' by Lewis Carroll. There is a person in it who is talking but is not the narrator. What do I call this character?


texts: How to use a numbered list inside a sentence

texts:
There were a few factors to keep in mind when going about the benefit
  cost analysis: 1) technologies that were going to stay 2) those that
  were going to stay but be upgraded 3) things that were going to come
  to the new house 4) technology that will be taken to the new house and
  upgraded 5) things that would be disposed of

Is this the proper way of writing a numbered list? This paper is in APA if that means anything.


texts: What is someone who is a "problem solver" called?

texts:
There is someone that always when there is a problem he says: "No problem it will be OK". We know that we can trust that he will manage and solve this problem.

How do we describe this person? Something like a managabalator person? (Someone who manage things)

The same word. When there is a problem. He can say: "Don't worry it will be {missing word}"

In Hebrew we can say:

אחד שמתסדר
יהיה בסדר
הוא מסתדר בחיים

This is a Hebrew slang. So, I accept slang answers.

By the way, you can think about wizard. "He is a wizard." But wizard solve problem in a magically way. This person just address the issue by using creative ways.


texts: A short word that is used when one finds something unexpectedly

texts:
To my significant consternation, I have forgotten a word which is used when an individual happens to find or discover something unexpectedly.

For example, one might say "I was browsing through Stack Exchange the other day when I _____ upon a most challenging question. Of course, I helped the gentleman as soon as I could since he asked so nicely."

I have a feeling it is a scarcely used word.

N.B the word I am looking for is not 'Chanced upon'


texts: The appropriate word for violating a clause, condition or rule

texts:
If you have a contract (which has a number of clauses), or a guideline that has rules. When one violates a rule or a violates a clause, is there a better way of describing it than to use the word "violate"? What's the appropriate term here?

My case: Respondents were requested to limit their responses to 5 pages.  ProviderX violated this condition.

the two words I am trying to replace are: "violated" and "condition" (I feel like "condition" is too preliminary. The supplier in this case has violated a rule.


texts: What is the name of the phoneme produced in an upper-class Briton's pronunciation of the word "Duke"? What's different in the articulation?

texts:
When someone with a Received Pronunciation accent pronounces the word duke, as in The Duke of York, he doesn't pronounce it with a "hard" 'd', as one might pronounce the word duh, but a softer type 'd', which I can only spell phonetically as "dj", so as to pronounce duke somewhat like "djuke."

My question is composed of two parts:

What would a linguist call this phoneme?
What is the difference in articulation between it and a "regular" /d/?


texts:
Please, which phrase is correct:

I have already finished the new recording;

I will send you right now.
I will send it to you right now.


texts: Colloquial usage of past tense as future perfect

texts:
I have a Japanese friend who is learning English and recently posed me (a native speaker) a question that I am having trouble answering. The problem revolves around two statements:

  I was able to get the photos done before I left today

(A contrived example)

  He asked you to detain me until he got here, right?

(From an H.G. Wells work)

We started with the former example, where I pointed out that this sentence implies he has already left. My friend countered with the latter example, where the sentence does not make this implication, and he may not have left yet.

I agree with his statement, and believe that the latter is colloquial, albeit not grammatically correct. However what I am having trouble understanding is why the latter is colloquial and not the former. Both of the sentences look grammatically the same to me (past tense followed by a preposition followed by past tense). I believe that no native English speaker would ever say the former example in a scenario where they have not already left, but I could see some people saying the latter in a scenario where he has not left yet (or where his state is unknown).

Is there a concrete reason why the latter is accepted in this scenario where the former is not?


texts: “Cannot believe what he saw” versus “cannot believe what he was seeing”

texts:
Which of the following sentences is grammatical:

The boss could not believe what he saw yesterday morning when he entered the office.
The boss could not believe what he was seeing yesterday morning when he entered the office.

I know that see is a stative verb, but can’t believe what I’m seeing or something like that is used fairly often too. I hope someone can help me out.


texts:
Is there a word or phrase for cost due to risk. For example, if my $1.000 car has a chance of breaking of 1% per ride, the cost due to risk would be $10 per ride.

Example sentence:

  While driving to France, the [word here] was split evenly between the passengers.


texts: "We must away ere break of day": What is this grammar? Is it alive?

texts:
This phrase appears in a song of the dwarves in Tolkien's The Hobbit:

Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To find our long forgotten gold.

Tolkien was an outstanding linguist, and I guess this line is one of the antique structures he often used in such poems. To my knowledge, the line means “We must go away before dawn”, but omits the main verb completely. What is this structure exactly? Does it appear in contemporary English in any way?


texts: Is absence of the person needed in "On someone's behalf"?

texts:
In the middle of a conversation he had with my father, [Mr. X] asked him: “What does your son want to do in future?”. “He wants to do religious studies,” my father replied.
  He talked on my behalf without talking to me about it beforehand.

(This is not a quote from a book, it's my own translation from a weird language into English.)

In the above context, when the child and his father are both present and the father doesn't let the child answer the question, is it correct to say "my father talked on my behalf without talking to me about it beforehand"?

Is absence of the child needed?

Is it polite for the child to say "my father speaks for me without talking to me beforehand" or does it have a negative connotation that the child is angry with his father because of what he has done?


texts: Up to scratch is used to mean of acceptable quality. Does anyone know why scratch?


texts: When did sentence acquire a negative connotation?

texts:
Sentence  in legal jargon refers, both as a noun an as a verb, to a punishment given by a judge in court to a person or organization after they have been found guilty.

Actually the original sense of sentence was neutral, more like verdict which could be either positive (not guilty) or negative(guilty)  for those involved

  From early 14c. as "judgment rendered by God, or by one in authority; a verdict, decision in court.

When, an possibly why, did sentence start to be used only for negative legal judgements?


texts: Etymologies of "basilisk" and "basilica"

texts:
I recently confused a "basilica" with a "basilisk", with the former being a church building and the latter being a mythical snake-like creature.

The similarities of the two words made me curious of their origins. But the etymology of both words (from the Wiktionary links) say the same thing: Latin-basilica and Greek-basilike, meaning "royal".

What is the connection of this meaning with "mythical snake-like dragon with a deadly gaze"?


texts: Ways to greet a third person in a conversation?

texts:
For example a situation where you are on the phone with a friend and he is with a person that you know. You would ask him to say hi for you.

The french equivalent would be "Passer le bonjour"

I am looking for formal and informal ways to say that.


texts: Difference between authentication and authentification?

texts:
Is there any difference between authentication and authentification?
I was reading a question on SO where I saw somebody using 'authentication', was this a typo or dose these two words mean the same?


texts:
I sat farther along the bar and got my glass of beer and said: "You sure cut the clouds off them, buddy. I will say that for you."
  "We just opened up," the kid said. "We got to build up trade. Been in before, haven't you, mister?"

This is from a first part of "Red Wind" by Raymond Chandler.

What exactly is the meaning of the expression "cut the clouds off" in this sentence?


texts: A word for someone who notices things very keenly

texts:
In the context below:

  Let's say that your mom is asking if you have a boyfriend and you really don't want to talk about that, you start to complain about the food in dinner in order to shift the subject/topic. Unfortunately, she ___ your attempt and says: "Don't try to change the subject, you got to answer my question first."

Edit: The context above is only a suggestion and you don't need to fit the sentence structure.

What's a good word to describe that behavior?


texts: Using of adverbs very and really before an adjective

texts:
He was really frightened. It seemed to him as his nightmare came true.

  He was very frightened. It seemed to him as his nightmare came true.

What is the difference between these two sentences in meaning, and which one is correct to use?


texts: Technical verb to mean "make consistent"

texts:
In Proper verb to denote 'consistent-ize', the top answer by vote says "standardize" should be used, but I have a few doubts.

Firstly, English is not my mother tongue, and I use it predominantly in programming.

So my understanding for the word "standardize" is that it mostly mean to formalize a set of rules, practices, and interpretations for the purpose of improving quality and interoperability of products.

My intended usage of the verb form of 'consistent' is as follow:

  Make the content of a dataset conformant to the rules set in a schema.

So, in a technical sense, "standardize" isn't the correct word for it. And "normalize" is close to what I'm looking for, since my understanding for the word is mostly in the mathematical-statistical field, but there's something "consistent" is more appropriate than "normal", for example:

  2+2=5

I can make the formula consistent by changing a number, or the comparison sign, but it doesn't make any sense to "normalize" it. It fits my sense of "consistent-ize" where the tuple (2,2,5) is the data set, and a+b=c is the schema.

In a comment I see "regularize" being mentioned and up-voted, and it fits the best.

So my question is: can I say "regularize an inconsistent statement/equation/predicate" using the technical sense of the words? Is there no better word to mean make something consistent according to the rules?


texts:
Why these sentences are not in Passive Voice?

The sentences which begin with there is, there are, there was, there
were, there will be
The sentences which end with adjectives. e.g. Are the articles written by the chief good?
The sentences which end with possessive pronouns+noun. I guess without by.
The sentences which end with mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

I am preparing for an exam and my teacher gave me these rules. And I never met these rules on Internet before. But our government exam is mainly focused on this topic. Especially about adjectives. Example of the test:

  Choose the sentences in the Passive Voice?

  Were your nieces invited to the party?
  Were your nieces invited to the party happy?
  Were you taught music by her?
  Were the pupils taught by her talented?

  A)1,2
  B)1,3 C)2,3,4 D)1,3,4 E)2,3

Our teacher just gave these rules without explanation. I am wondering if there is any reason for using these rules. Why we cannot begin Passive Voice with there is, there are and so on.


texts: What do you call the end of a dock or pier that touches land?

texts: As in, "They stepped off the boat and ambled toward the ___ [of the dock]."


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the origin of the phrase “you've got another thing/think coming”?

Which is correct: "another think coming" or "another thing coming"? I have seen/heard both. Is one correct or more common?


texts: Where did the term "movie house" come from?

texts: Where did the term movie house come from?  Is it a regional term?  I am from the Midwest with also Texas influences from military service.  I now live in New England and was called on using the term Movie House today.


texts: Is the possessive case used less in modern English?

texts:
I come across both quite often:
mom's phone and mom phone,
teachers' day and teachers day etc.
They all seem to be correct.
So is there a tendency to use less the possessive case nowadays especially in AmEn?


texts:
In writing, when should one use the abbreviation vs. as opposed to the full versus?

This abbreviation seems to have special status from common usage. What is the origin of that, and in what writing contexts is it important?


texts: Word to describe situation where you are speaking to one person but in reality you are speaking to everyone else in the room?

texts:
I understand the answers from many people as a kerfuffle but what about the circumstance leading up to the kerfuffle.

An example of this is:
Person A to Person B: Where are the pens we used for the brain storming session?
Person B: They are there.
Person C (not part of the conversation): You don't need to use pens. Use paint!
Person D (not part of the convo either): No, pencils are the way forward. Use them!


texts: Grammar question in SAT with the usage of which

texts:
This is an SAT question. I was unable to choose between answers C and D, so I wonder what is wrong with answer C?

Why can't "which" be used, though it also creates a dependent clause?


texts: I am trying to understand some of the idiosyncrasies of the English language.  One is the use of double consonants.  Why does the word bell have two letter L?


texts:
The choice of "a" versus "an" depends on the pronunciation of the following word.  Mathematical writing may use symbols as nouns or adjectives, and their pronunciation is not always clear.  Here is a made-up example.

  Consider a (⊗,≤,1) triple such that S forms a commutative monoid with (⊗,1) and x ≤ x ⊗ y for any x and y.

In "a (⊗,≤,1) triple", how would one choose the indefinite article to use before the operator?


texts:
'I don't have both' - is this sentence correct grammatically?  If it is not then what is the correct way to say it?

EDIT:

Let's say Alice says 'I have an apple and a banana.'

Now, Bob does not have any of those fruits.

Then, he says, "I do not have both". Does it sound more like he does not have both at the same time (an AND condition) but he might have one of them & hence not 'both'?

Or, does it sound more like he has none of those fruits?


texts: Word that describes people who are easily impressed?

texts: Is there a specific word that describes people who are easily impressed?


texts:
Lets consider the following:

The book doesn't explain, "What's the wisdom behind education?"

Changing this to an indirect question becomes the following:

The book doesn't explain what the wisdom behind education is.

Now, I found many instances on Google where structures like this weren't really converted to indirect questions. For example:

The book doesn't explain what's the wisdom behind education.
"[She] doesn't say what's really on her mind."

Edit:
And consider the following:

What's the logic behind it.
(a) I wonder what's the logic behind it vs. (b)I wonder what the logic behind it is.

(a) sounds better but why?
And are these constructions acceptable?


texts: What does the phrase "offensively knowing" mean?

texts:
I just came across this phrase for the first time in 1984, book 2 chapter 4.  The sentence reads (speaking of Mr. Charrington):

  Nor did he seem shocked or become offensively knowing when it was made clear that Winston wanted the room for the purpose of a love-affair.

It also appears in Newton Booth Tarkington's Gentle Julia:

  He wore a fully developed moustache, an easy smile, clothes offensively knowing; and his hair began to show that scarcity which Julia felt gave him distinction—a curious theory, but natural to her age.

I've never encountered this phrase before and can't find a definition online, though it is itself used in Wordsmyth's definition of "smirk".

Does anyone have a clear definition of the phrase?


texts: Where does the phrase of "boredom punctuated by moments of terror" come from?

texts:
I have often seen war described as "interminable boredom punctuated by moments of terror," or some variant thereof.  More recently, it seems that I have been hearing this phrase used to describe other activities such as some jobs (i.e. long-haul trucking).  I had always attributed this quote to Hemingway, but when I did so the other day I realized that I had no good reason for doing so.  Several internet searches offer other attributions such as Emerson or any number of military men.  As there seems to be no consensus, I thought I'd ask here.  So,

Where does the phrase "interminable boredom punctuated by moments of terror" come from?


texts: Confused by a phrase I heard in Downton Abbey

texts:
I'm a native English speaker and I know that the English spoken in the show by the aristocracy is in the dialect of received pronunciation.

I've been learning about the various dialects in England from back then up to the modern day but I heard a phrase on the show that sounded very odd to me and was wondering if someone with more knowledge could explain it grammatically.

The phrase is: "Don't let's make too much of it."  The context is the speaker telling someone not to make a big deal of out of something.


texts: Where does the word "trivial" come from?

texts: I have read many dictionary definitions and there seems to be two possible sources of the word trivial. Online dictionaries say it's from latin tri and via, "three ways" or "crossroad", basically meaning "street talk" or "corner talk", however this Q&A site states it more likely from trivium, which means "first three of the seven liberal arts", and strongly influenced by the former. I am not quite sure how to interpret the etymonline.com explanation.


texts: What do you call a person who doesn't flinch, regardless on what's happening around them

texts: A person who doesn't have any regards for the events of his/her surroundings.


texts: When should I use "hey there" or "hi there"?

texts: I know it's a way of greeting someone, but I am not so sure when should I be using it, and how they differ from "hey" or "hi".


texts: Is an apostrophe appropriate for denoting plurality in ABC's?

texts: Should one use an apostrophe to indicate that ABC's is plural or is it incorrect?


texts: "Position" or "Rank" for high score table?

texts: I'm making a game that has a high score table. When I show the player his position/rank in relation to other players, for example on his profile, should I use the word "Position" or "Rank"?


texts: Would anybody explain the meaning of "knocked out cold" to me, please?


texts:
A recent article on BBC online had the following phrase describing a Bedouin subject in an interview" ... he speaks considered English slowly ..."

Is this an acceptable usage of "considered" in this sense?


texts: Is there a term for a section of an article which contains a quote or snippet from the main text?

texts:
Sometimes in articles in newspapers / magazines / websites there will be a small section separate from the main body of text that contains a short line - often a quote - which is either representative of the article or an interesting angle.

For example:

Here the quote in the box on the right hand side is an example of what I am looking for a term for.

It could be referred to as a blockquote (but those could be in-line with the text) or a figure (but those could be graphics to illustrate an article) or an excerpt (but those are broad eg a read aloud excerpt from a book, etc).

Is there a term that is specific to these small vignettes that appear with a body of text, but are presented separately to the body of it? Perhaps a technical term used by those in publishing / layout design / journalism?

There is a similar concept of a whole topic being 'vignetted', for example in a box or panel, but I am interested specifically in a quote being set off from the main body of text.


texts: Saying a period of time of -ties (ex: the 80s to 90s) for a research paper correctly

texts:
I'm trying to write a sentence that mentions a specific period of time, though I'm not sure if I wrote it correctly or not. Here's what I have.
We have succeeded in the era of the 1960s to 1980s
Things I'm unsure about:
the use of "to" between 1960s and 1980s, maybe I could replace it with "until" instead?
the way I write "1960s" or "1980s" maybe "1960s-1980s", "sixties to eighties", "60s to 80s" could be used instead?


texts: "Replace the position of the object" vs. "replace the object"

texts:
How should I write «replace the position of the object» or «replace the object» will be enough and the first variant is verbose?

Thanks.


texts: An single word describing a person who is desperate for love/approval, who "comes running" if someone gives the smallest hint of being interested

texts:
I really hope someone here can help me! I´m looking for an expression, preferably a single word, that describes a person who is desperate for approval/affirmation/love, and who therefore feels compelled to respond positively to every indication of (romantic) interest from other people regardless of whether she/he is really interested herself or not. I´ve been trying to google it but it´s hard knowing what to search for...

Thanks!


texts:
What's the difference between "on a side note" and "by the way"?
Is one of them restricted to certain situations while the other is not?


texts:
I'm writing about a past event and I'm unsure which sentence is technically correct.

  We walked on the beach

or

  We would walk on the beach.

I'm aiming for less is best in my writing without compromising correct, UK English grammar.

Thank you so much for your help in advance!


texts:
A. I will sit in class X.

B. I will sit in X class.

Question:
Any specific reason for using "B" format?


texts:
I'm writing words to a song, and I'm hesitating between some synonyms for "wind" (I'm writing the lyrics here, context is me being alone at night in an old remote mansion) :

"Late last night lke the night before I heard some knocking at my door
Was it just the (or "a") [wind] blowing through the woods"

I thought about "gale" (my favourite) or "gust".. do they apply correctly to the context? What ideas do they convey?

I was also thinking of replacing "blowing" by "swerving"; does it make sense or is it too weird?

Thank you


texts: Difference between "hypotyposis", "ekphrasis" and "iconotext"

texts: What is the difference between hypotyposis, ekphrasis and iconotext?


texts: Meaning of a expression in the movie ad astra

texts:
There is one sentence in the movie ad astra confusing me about its meaning.
"Some times I see myself from outside. Smile. Present a side"
What does present a side mean?
I thank so much if anybody could help me.


texts: Is completing a task on the due date considered overdue?

texts:
I'm a bit confused about whether the term "due date" is inclusive or exclusive, i.e. if I need to complete a task before that date or if I can still complete the task on the date itself (assuming I'm only provided with a date, not a time).

"Submitting a task by X" is equally ambiguous.

If I complete a task on the due date of that task, is the task overdue?


texts: Another word for the source or origin of a derivative

texts:
Is there a word that means the same as the source or origin when generally referring to derivation (the process) or a derivative (the end result)?

Specifically one that would be textually similar to derive/derivation/derivative.

ex. "Derivation of [the source] produces 5 derivatives".


texts:
I'm looking for a word that means all human knowledge.

Preferably, the word would be a noun and could refer to knowledge abstractly, inclusive of that which is written and not.

It means all that which is known, not that which is not yet known, or can never be known. (The unknown unknowns.)

To clarify, I mean only all known knowledge.

This excludes encyclopedia as a word.

In context:

“All knowledge” is like a balloon in space. The more it fills with gas, the more it touches on the void: the unknown. Such is the paradox of “all knowledge”.


texts:
Should the clause “I would/should think” be followed by another also in the past, according to the rules of tense sequence?

I should think he was here [I think he is here now].
I should think the two of us would be enough for the job [and I still think so].

I ask also because I wouldn’t, for example, say, “Could you tell me what time it was?” Does the same rule not apply to the “polite” conditional? Of course if the sentence began with the present tense, I wouldn’t have a problem.


texts: Is, ‘All butterfly is colourful.’ grammatically correct? If yes why?

texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct?

  All butterfly is colourful.

In my opinion I think it should be,

  All butterflies are colourful.

but according to Grammarly the sentence is correct.

Can someone explain please. Thank you.


texts:
Are you hungry? Only I know a great pizzeria.

Or should I make it one complete sentence and use only as a (coordinating conjunction?)?

Are you hungry, only I know a great pizzeria?

Only can be used for a concession or contradiction.

I would have gone to the party, only I didn't know where it was.

But in the pizza sentence, only makes an offer, so I'm unsure whether it is deemed correct, and what part of speech it is.


texts: Since and for, where can they be omitted?

texts:
I’m well aware of the difference between ‘since’ and ‘for’. However I have a question.

Imagine I say ‘I’ve been working on the essay since Saturday’ or ‘I’ve been working on the essay for two days’. (correct right?)

Why would it be incorrect to say ‘I’ve been working on my essay for all weekend’? I would personally omit ‘for’,  but why though?

It seems like you can also omit the proposition in other, related cases, like 'I'll see you on Friday night.' Again, why can you do that?


texts: Decision to not speak on confidential matters

texts:
I'm looking for a word:

  I discussed certain confidential matters with my client. She relied on my __ in not speaking of them.

There's a word specifically for this situation, better than "restraint" and essentially opposite to "openness".


texts: a word to describe the situation where A was supposed to do something for B, but B does it for A

texts:
Is there any appropriate word to refer the following sort of situation?

when someone wakes us up whom we were supposed to wake up


texts: Some polite/alternative way of saying "due to the lack of"?

texts:
I have been writing my SOP for grad school and I'm looking for polite ways of saying "due to the lack of".

Currently, I have this sentence:

  I analyse and solve system defects that occur in lieu of
  well-thought-out specifications, poor design decisions, bad coding
  practices or simply due to miscommunication

I am not sure if this is correct use of "in lieu of" and can be seen as somewhat critical of other's work.
Any help?


texts:
What's the exact meaning of this expression?

Here's a sample sentence I faced:

  In the end, both web browsers and web servers turned out to be commodities, and value moved "up the stack" to services delivered over the web platform.


texts:
I see that in Court, before witness says anything, he will say something like this “in the name of god, what I say is true and correct”. Is there a standard version of this oath?

Thanks


texts:
A postillion is the 'cut card' that protects/hides, the face of the bottom card in the pack in card games such as poker.
The standard definition of that word is:

a person who rides the leading nearside (left-hand side) horse of a team or pair drawing a coach or carriage, especially when there is no coachman.

And I read at wictionary this etymology:

From Middle French postillon, and its likely source, Italian postiglione (“guide for driver of post-coach”), from posta (“post”).

How and when did the cut-card become known as a postillion?


texts: "For THE use in a virtual power plant" or "for use in a virtual power plant" and other "the" cases

texts:
So a friend of mine just proof read my masters thesis and pointed out some errors which I think sound weird. He is probably right, but since one is in my title (*facepalm) and I need to fill in some special request to change it I wanted to double check.
Is it: "Simulation of ... for THE use in a virtual power plant" or is the "the" wrongly placed there?

Also: I am using some components from an online library called "Windpowerlib". So I always referred to it as: These functions are implemented from THE windpowerlib. He told me the "the" is wrongly placed there as well.

Can someone confirm? (and maybe explain because it sounds superweird to me)


texts: Should the verb "impact" be always followed by "on"?

texts:
Nowadays, we often see the word impact being used as a verb. My question is, should  it be always followed by the preposition on? Oxford Dictionaries gives the following example:

  The cuts will inevitably impact on service delivery.

I saw elsewhere this sentence:

  The author offers policies that unduly impact certain populations.

Is there any thumbrule for this?


texts:
A common definition that I get is: " past perfect refers to a time earlier than before now. It is used to make it clear that one event happened before another in the past."

However, wouldn't that imply that this sentence is right?

  I had gone to the coffee shop and drank a coffee.

instead of the

  I went to the coffee shop and drank a coffee.

So, does the past perfect have further limitations/exclusions?


texts: Is there a term for embedding an acronym or initialism inside a friendlier-sounding name for a desired effect?

texts:
At my job I have created an application which supplements the functions of the main system the employees use during the day.  The main system is referred to with a Three Letter Abbreviation (TLA).

Because I wanted to be clever and memorable, I gave my application a friendly-sounding name (in theory at least, to native English speakers) which I created by adding vowels to the existing abbreviation.  So the helper application for the TLA system is named "TeiLA" (not the actual letters or name, but the idea is the same).

This has created the desired result in that users say things like "Have you asked TeiLA for that information?" and even "TeiLA is my best friend!"  I've been asked to talk about the work I've done and specifically to touch on name selection, except I don't know what to label what I did.

Is there a word or concise phrase which describes that action or process of transforming the letters into another name?  Or, along the same lines, a word or concise phrase to describe the intent of making the name sound friendly or approachable to its users?


texts: Is a “wall-prop” a non-dancer at a ball?

texts:
Kipling uses the word that way in “A Friend’s Friend”, Plain Tales from the Hills, 1888. The fictional Kipling takes his guest Jevon to a ball, and Jevon gets hopelessly drunk, annoys everybody, and is embarrassing Kipling. Then Kipling goes on:

  I set him [Jevon] in a quiet corner of the supper-room, and went to find a wall-prop that I could trust. There was a good and kindly Subaltern ― may Heaven bless that Subaltern, and make him a Commander-in-Chief! ― who heard of my trouble. He was not dancing himself, and he owned a head like five-year-old teak-baulks. He said that he would look after Jevon till the end of the ball.

The Kipling Society confirms that a wall-prop is a non-dancer who leans against a wall.

Now, I haven’t been able to find the word used that way anywhere else. So did Kipling coin it himself and it didn’t catch on, or was it used with that meaning somewhere?


texts: is there limit on the integer allow to use `st`, `nd`, `rd` that ends with 1,2, and 3 accordingly?

texts:
I know we use st, nd, rd on numbers before 1, 2, and 3 accordingly... But at what point should the number stop using that.

For example, if we have a number extremely large like 100002, should we still do 100002nd?

Or maybe its up to only two digits?

I read this one btw, When were st, nd, rd, and th, first used

But It did not give the answer I want.

Thanks all!


texts: Dangling modifiers in sentences involving "Looking back"

texts:
Is there a dangling modifier in each of the following sentences?

"Looking back, not learning cycling at an early age is my biggest regret."
"Looking back, my biggest regret is not learning cycling at an early age."


texts: The usage of 'a' in front of a comparative

texts:
Is this sentence correct? I'm not sure if adding an 'a' in front of 'more' is OK.

  To enable a more accurate spatial normalization process, manual re-orientation and positioning of the PET image were performed.


texts: A word for delight at someone else's failure?

texts:
Is there a word for the selfish kind of (possibly humourous) delight felt at someone else's failure?

e.g.

  No matter how I tried, I couldn't complete the seemingly simple task. So feeling like an idiot I gave up and asked the expert. But to my ______, he couldn't do it either!

Edit

I don't feel like schadenfreude really fits - it seems to be more about a sadistic sort of pleasure in someone else's bad fortune. Whereas I'm looking for a sort of combination of humour, a touch of triumph and maybe even relief - and a little bit of, as Walt said, "it's not just that I'm an idiot" (if applicable).


texts: Single-word noun for something changing width

texts:
I'm looking for a noun to describe the situation where something is changing width. Have a look at this hypothetical window frame:

Window Frame with Two Panes of Uneven Height

The bottom part of the frame changes width across the window. What might I call the category of windows where this occurs?

I have thought about "widening," but am not overly fond of it, since it might go from wide to narrow, or you could even have a situation with more panes, where it is wide-narrow-wide. Any ideas?


texts: Ambiguity with two possessive pronouns in a sentence

texts:
Is it clear who the first and second "their" refer to in the following sentence, or is the sentence likely to confuse the reader  --

"It has been decided between the parties that party number 1 will have permanent custody of their son xxx and daughter yyy and will be their legal guardian"

If there is ambiguity can it be better written?


texts: What do you call the track made by two wheels?

texts: In centuries gone by, before roads were made, what were the trails/paths/roads called that were made by the frequent passage of wagon teams or carriages joining towns together?


texts:
This is an extract from a form applying for mortgage relief from PNC (PDF, 3.9MB):

Section 2C of this application asks about condominium or homeowner association fees. It says "Are fees paid current?"

What does it mean? Does it mean that whether I paid the fees up-to-date? Is it asking for the previous late payment or no? How does the word "current" translate here? Or is "paid current" one word?


texts: As the title of a Forbes article, it has been drawn to my attention because of the use of birth as a verb. I think it should be give birth to or bear.


texts: Verb for getting something (e.g. information) by cunning and/or perseverance

texts:
I need some information from person A. Person A is not willing to give it to me. So instead of asking directly I keep asking secondary questions hoping that he may say something that might (partially) hint me the information I need. I may even ask other people. Or keep asking so many times that person A would have had it and just told me because he can't stand my questions any more.

It's like extorting, but without using threats or violence, but cunning and perseverance. What word am I looking for?

  Although he refused to tell me where he got the money from, I persevered and finally <???> the information from him.


texts:
Given a group of people and a person, if the group asks the person to join, the group "invites" the person, or sends "invitation." If the person requests to join the group, what is a word (preferably single-word) that means this, either in verb or noun form?

I have considered the following:

self-invite: accurate, but is a two-word phrase and too colloquial
impose/imposition: single-word, somewhat accurate, carries negative connotation
appeal: single-word without connotation, but not very accurate


texts: What's the logic behind adjectives constructed with a hyphen?

texts:
I'll give you a lovecraftian stanza:

  Thro’ the ghoul-guarded gateways of slumber,
  Past the wan-moon’d abysses of night,
  I have liv’d o’er my lives without number,
  I have sounded all things with my sight;
  And I struggle and shriek ere the daybreak, being driven to madness with fright.

  Nemesis — Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Ghoul is a noun, and guarded is the past participle of to guard. He combined both words to create an adjective to describe his "gateways of slumber" properly.

But then you have wan-mooned. An adjective plus the past participle of to moon or some bizarre usage of the noun moon to explicitly say that the "abysses of night are full with moons."

That's where I think: What's the logic behind this after all? To which extent I have the power of freedom to create my own bizarre adjectives by combining random words?

I could replace the second verse with:

  Past the wild-river’d clouds of mars

It would not make any sense, but the logic of wild-river'd is pretty much the same of wan-moon'd.

What's the insanity-guarded logic/rule behind this?


texts: In trying to stay ahead of the RFP hitting, would you please review and update the attached project descriptions


texts: looking for a verb to use with `benefit`, to describe something like benefit is lost/damaged

texts:
I'm looking for a verb to use  want to describe something like benefit is lost / damaged.

  If you use this technology, your work will be finished earlier. But if you are lazy, the benefits due to this technology will be damaged / lost.

I know damaged / lost is not proper verbs, so what verbs should I use to replace it?


texts: Is there a term/phrase for a vicious cycle of overcorrection?

texts:
When something starts going wrong, then when you try to correct, you overcorrect and make things worse, then you try to correct it again, and again overcorrect, making things worse again, etc, until eventually failure happens.

For example, if I'm driving in the rain and I start to skid to the left, so I cut the wheel to the right, and the car starts moving back toward center (where it should be) but goes past center and starts skidding even worse to the right, so I try to correct it again and it goes past center and back to the left, and eventually I spin out or hit a tree.

Strictly speaking, I was doing the right thing (well maybe this is a bad example because there might be a better way to handle a skid but hopefully you can tell what I mean), but I did too much of the right thing and made the problem greater in magnitude but opposite in direction, which raises the potential for the next iteration of overcorrection.

Can be noun, verb, phrase, whatever.


texts: What are the different nuances of "passing with distinction" in a CV?

texts:
I am in the middle of translating my (German) CV to English.

In the German/Austrian school system, there is the notion of passing ...

... "mit gutem Erfolg" (which is better than average, yet not the best you can achieve, roughly translating to "good success")
... "mit ausgezeichnetem Erfolg" (which is the best you can achieve, similar to "with distinction")

What would be a good English word/expression for the former expression in my CV? Is there a grading of "passing with distinction" in British/American English or their respective school systems?

Update: I was referring to the general way of referring to "passing with distinction". Our universities give Latin grades ("cum laude", etc.), whereas schools don't.


texts: Is one of them wrong? "Working at a new job" vs. "Working in a new job"

texts:
Can "at" and "in" be used interchangeably without worry or is one of them specifically wrong especially in the case of:

Working at a new job vs. Working in a new job?
and Living in a new apartment vs. Living at a new apartment?


texts:
What is the popper's business? I don't know what the popper is.

I heard somewhere the phrase. "He's in popper's business."

please let me know:)


texts:
In Russia a lot of companies provide "outstaffing" services , but I am not sure whether it's used outside post USSR countries. Is "outstaffing" a real word?

Update: "Outstaffing" is when one company "Outstaffers Inc." provides service to a customer "XYZ Bank" by providing a full time worker. Basically employee of "Outstaffers Inc." becomes a full employee of "XYZ Bank". Except he get's a salary from "Outstaffers Inc.".


texts: Do I use has had or had had for indirect speech

texts:
'We have had no rain since January' ,said Ramu.

How do I write this in direct speech versus indirect speech.

Should it be had or had had.

I want to know how to write this in in indirect speech.


texts: is it possible to say "Resting on my laurels is not how I am built"? I am trying to use some expressive language in my cover letter and that's the best I could come up with. Thanks!


texts: Term to describe high signal to noise ratio

texts:
Let's say I have two lists of items. In both lists, I am interested in a subset of the items according to some property. If one list includes almost exclusively items that have that property, then a common way of describing the situation in engineering lingo is "high signal to noise ratio". The other list only contains a few items that contain the desirable property, and is otherwise filled with items that I'd like to filter out. It has a low signal to noise ratio.

What is the proper term to describe the quality of those 2 lists?