texts:
For walking/running you have sprint, for talking/whispering you have blurt. How about standing up?

Example:

  He [...] and rushed out of the living room. His suddenness
  startled me.


texts: word for racial polarization (similar to "partisanship")

texts:
There is a lot of sensitivity regarding race in the United States. In my view, the topology of this sociological landscape is characterized by one factor--but I can't think of the word for it.

There is a certain "sensitivity" to race that some have that others don't, especially in politics and sociological issues. The best way to describe it is mental "polarization". Some people are oblivious to race, yet others use race as their default reference frame when considering social issues.

The word that I'm looking for is similar to "partisanship". This is exactly the word I'm looking for with "race" being replaced with "political party". Partisanship is also not binary: some are more partisan than others, based on the extent to which political party factors into their decisions and their analysis of political issues. I'm looking for the same thing, but instead I'm looking for a non-binary term that describes how much race factors into their analysis of social issues.

Please do not answer with any of the following or any of its derivatives:racismxenophobiaprejudicebigotrystereotype

I am looking for a word that describes the polarization based on race, not a word describing people's feelings about it. Stratification is not what I'm looking for either, as that describes an associative polarization which works from the psychology of one's own personal identity. The word I'm looking for does not pertain to social polarization, but mental polarization when considering social issues. It also does not pertain to personal identity.


texts: Timestep, time step, time-step: Which variant to use?

texts:
I am writing a piece on integration of differential equations.
One of the words that I have to use frequently is "timestep" (however it is written), i.e. a step forward in the "simulated" time.

There seem to be three variants:

"time step"
"timestep"
"time-step"

The wikipedia article one Verlet integration in fact uses all three (!) of these variants.

Is there a context in which one is preferred over the other?
How do I decide which one to use?


texts:
Is there a term for words like "said", "asked", or "replied" appearing in a dialogue?
For example:

"Where did you go," asked the turtle.
"I went to the mall," replied the rabbit.

Is there a technical term describing those words in the above dialogue?


texts:
Is "randomest" even a word? People do tend to use it very casually.
If "randomest" is a word, so should be "randomer", isn't it?

I personally think it should be "more random" and "most random". Am I right?

And what about the word "lame"? Does the same apply to "lame" too?


texts:
I use google translator to write english text. I write the text in english and let it translate into my mother tongue. So I can see "live" if the things I write can at least be understood by google translator.

I wrote the sentence below with "ourself" instead of "yourself". So google translator suggested "yourself" instead of "ourself". Therefore I thought that google translator knows some colloquial language in respect to this case. (This already happened to me.)

According to google-translator this sentence is correct:

  Yes, we build this "memorystream" yourself because we want to violate any good design rule.

However I'm no native speaker and "yourself" sounds a little weired to me in respect of the word "ourself".

The reason why I think that google translator might be right is, because in my dictionary "yourself" may also mean "self". This makes me guess that google may be right like in do-it-yourself or in respect to the patronizing "we", the Author's "we" or something like that.

My question is: Is it valid to write "yourself" here?

I try to explain that data will be assembled without using methods given by the framework. I wrote this in a sarcastic manner because this is usually considered a "bad design".


texts: Is there a Name for this Style of Capitalisation?

texts:
It seems quite common on the web to capitalise certain words in a heading, or navigation bar, but not others.
Here are some examples:

Visit the Member's Page
How to Format  (as seen on this very website)
Create a Corporate Themed Website with our Tutorial

To me it seems any "important" words are capitalised, and words such as and, of, to, from are not. Is that the case? If so, is there a name or term for this behaviour?
This is generally only seen in titles of web pages, or headings perhaps, and not something I've seen commonly in the body of a piece of text.


texts: Did the CIA really introduce 'conspiracy theory' into popular usage after JFK?

texts:
I heard that after the JFK assassination the CIA, through assets in mass media, introduced the term 'conspiracy theory', with it connotations of something clearly ridiculous, and only believed by maniacs, into common use. Before this it was used, but was a rare phrase, and had no idiomatic baggage.

If this is true, it's a really interesting conspiracy theory!

However, I can't find any hard evidence one way or the other...


texts: Present Perfect Usage of “Think” for Recent Past

texts:
In such phone conversation context below , instead of "thought" is present perfect form "I've thought it was Frank on the line" acceptable?

Matt: Hi John John: Hi Frank Matt: Oh, this is Matt speaking not Frank. John: Sorry Matt. I thought it was Frank on the line .You sound very similar.

John's mixing up the voices happens in very recent past(seconds ago) and it has relevance with the present. Why do we generally prefer simple past tense when using the verb "think" in such contexts? In British English present perfect is used commonly for recent past actions and events such as "have told", "has said", "has happened", "have shown" etc. Does it sound natural and acceptable to use present perfect in such phone conversation context? Can you explain please any linguistic differences?


texts: Now That I Think About It VS Now I Think About It

texts:
I have always heard the term as "Now that I think about it"
But recently I have noticed it pop up more than once as "Now I think about it", which prompted me to come ask the question here.

Which is the correct form? Or am I just wrong, and they have different meanings?


texts: Which is preferred: "one after another" or "one after the other"?

texts:
Which of the following sentences is more correct or more preferred?

Throw one die after another.
Throw one die after the other.

As context, the sentence will be followed by

  At any time, you may stop throwing dice and finish your attempt. Your attempt must end once all eight dice have been thrown.


texts:
I was inclined to believe that the expression "stuck-up", meaning staying aloof from others because one thinks one is superior, had its origins with somebody's nose stuck (up) in the air and yet, Etymonline mentions nothing of the sort but limits itself to saying:

  O.E.D:
  stuck "unable to go any further," 1885, past participle adjective from stick
  (v.). Colloquial stuck-up "offensively conceited, assuming an
  unjustified air of superiority" is recorded from 1829.

The Free Dictionary is not exactly helpful either

  T.F.D stuck-up adj. Informal. snobbishly conceited.   [1820–30]

Was I mistaken?

Did the phrase  have one's nose stuck (-) up in the air precede the adjective, stuck-up?
Where did the term stuck-up originate—the UK or The USA?


texts: What's the difference between "get up" and "stand up"?

texts:
I'm translating Bob Marley's song "Get up, stand up" and, consulting my dictionary, I can't understand the difference between these two verbs.

I have understood the overall meaning of this song, of course, but I'd like to understand why Bob Marley chose these two verbs.

What is the difference in nuance between "getting up" and "standing up"?


texts: What is the proper term for describing all 50 states in the USA, without including territories etc

texts: The 48 mainland state are referred to as the "contiguous united states", I can't seem to find the word for "All 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska, not including Guam and Puerto Rico". I can't help but feel like there should be a more professional term than "all of the states"


texts:
the "not.. neither.." issue is pretty common, but I cannot seem to wrap
my mind around the following particular case.

I have the sentence:

Then, in lines 6–9 of the algorithm, we add edges to E (if not existing in E
and, thus, neither in E')), such that.. bla bla.

I want to state that if the edges do not belong to the set of edges E, then they will not belong to the set of edges E' either. It is a consequence.

I suppose a correct way to say it would be:

Then, in lines 6–9 of the algorithm, we add edges to E (if not existing in E
and, thus, not existing in E' either)), such that.. bla bla.

But I want to keep it as short as possible.

Any help is appreciated.


texts:
For example:

I'm a reporter and I have to write an article about the death of a baby in a hospital. The baby died in suspicious circumstances. I go to the hospital and ask a person:

( which one of these sentences is correct? )

What is the story of the baby who died in this hospital?

What is the story with the baby who died in this hospital?

(I mean I want to know more in detail about this misfortune)

Thank you in advance.


texts: human agency -> physical force, à la 'mystification'?

texts:
I seek a word that appropriately denigrates the tendency to obscure accountable human agents as unaccountable natural or physical ones. What I mean:

English has a useful pejorative='mystification' for the process by which natural phenomena are portrayed as supernatural. This ancient tendency continues today in, e.g., the ascription of the origin and development of biological species and traits to "intelligent design" rather than evolution.

A recent CBC piece makes the case that many (probably most) contemporary Anglosphere economists have abandoned empiricality to serve wealth and power. One way this is done in discourse (esp in US corporate-funded economics media) is to portray "the markets" as like a physical force, rather than as being the aggregate of a small number of humans whose extreme wealth gives them financial market power. But I can't think of a pithy, one-word pejorative (à la 'mystification') for the generic process by which social processes (conducted by morally-accountable agents) are obscured by recasting them as physical (hence unaccountable) ones. Your assistance is appreciated.


texts: "Calculations on/about the limiting behaviour"

texts:
I did some calculations ___ the limiting behaviour of some functions, when n tends to infinity.

Is it about, on, or even something else?


texts:
I am reading a legal paper and I see this "further embodiment" a lot. I wonder what it means?

Thank you


texts:
Native speaker, but I got to wondering what the grammar and semantics of this old phrase are.

What would be a direct translation to modern English?
I'm not looking for a loose translation; everyone knows what "once upon a time" means.
I'm trying to understand the various semantic and grammatical components of the phrase the way they were originally used.


texts: Is this toilet sign correct usage of the English language?

texts:
Our company has signs at the toilet that read

  Please leave the toilet properly

Is that correct? My intuition would be that "properly" as an adverb would reference the action "leave" and not the thing "toilet." So that wouldn't make sense, right?

If it is indeed wrong - what would be a better way of phrasing it?


texts:
I don't have a west country accent.
I haven't a west country accent.

So, Which one is correct and why?


texts: Phrasing the main point as a parenthetical

texts:
In a blog comment I found myself responding to (what I considered) a foolish point using this format:

“‹quotation of the original›”
‹sarcastic over-the-top agreement with the statement›
(In certain cases such as ‹examples›, a restricted form of this is the case. ‹main point, discussing the limitations of the original statement›)

The way I’d phrased this, I had to parenthesize the final paragraph even though, as an argument, that was my main point.
Is there a term for this rhetorical device?
(It’s similar to the newspaper technique burying the lede, but not quite identical: burying the lede disguises the important point so it might be overlooked; here I have ironically parenthesized my argument but my intent is clear to the reader.)


texts: "kindly requested" vs "requested kindly" & "provide with us" vs "provide us with"

texts:
I am a contracts engineer working in the construction industry in the Middle East. A part of my job description is to manage official correspondence with the client. I am not a native English speaker, but I think I do have a fair sense of language.
I often come across the following concluding line:

  "You are hereby kindly requested to provide with us the missing equipment..."

I am aware that "You are kindly requested" is a polite way of asking but I personally think kindly had better be used for the addressee, as in "you are requested to kindly provide us..."

Secondly, I think "...provide us with" is correct and "provide with us" is lame. I need an expert opinion.

I would request that you kindly reply to this post only if you are sure of the answer by experience or qualification.


texts:
Consider this (partial) sentence:

  Literary devices such as the alliteration in “that they” and “with ‘Why’”, the simile in “the pipes like great serpents”, the assonance in “not known before”, and the personification in “she'd stop…” are used to preserve the idea of...

Are commas used correctly?


texts: Is there a specific word for hemocyanic blood?

texts: I would like to be able to use a word specifically meaning the blue blood -- having hemocyanin rather than hemoglobin -- that, for example, an octopus has.  I have been unable to find one using the internet.  Does any such word exist?


texts:
Can anyone explain the reason behind the order of adjectives? Why do we say

  the small brown antique house

Rather than

  the brown small antique house

or

  the antique brown small house

I'm familiar with the Royal Order, but I'm looking for some type of reasoning behind this consistency.


texts:
This Wikipedia article says that "in a pig's eye" is rhyming slang for "lie", but I'm not convinced. The article also claims "in a pig's bottom" exists as a variant - but I doubt that's ever had any meaningful level of currency, which is another reason I don't much trust the author.

There might be some element of alliteration (also with "Pigs might fly"), but it doesn't seem like the kind of rhyming slang I'm familiar with.

Can anyone either substantiate the Wikipedia article, or give a more convincing etymology?

EDIT: Soddit - the Wikipedia page lacks citations anyway, so I just changed it.


texts:
Our (non-English) company recently had a survey where we were asked whether we are "living the (corporate) values". I am very much irked by this phrasing, as I believe it is incorrect usage. It should have been something akin to "living by our values".
Googling the phrase "living the values" did not answer much about the proper usage, as most results were management-speak and blog-posts about "living the corporate values". As a human being, I feel disturbed by such a phrasing.
In short, can the phrase "living the values" be considered proper English?
(PS. The company's corporate values are very reasonable, I do not disagree with them.)


texts: Closed-toe, close-toe, or closed-toed shoes?

texts:
I've always used closed-toe (as in: "the toe of the shoe is closed"), but apparently, the different variations are fairly common.

I suppose I could see how "closed-toed" would make sense in terms of a type of shoe ("the shoe has closed toes; it is closed-toed"), but it doesn't sound right to me.

Which is commonly accepted as "correct"?  Is there any language rule that would determine which is correct?


texts: Is there a right or wrong way to ask someone to do something? The other day I said to my husband, "Do you think you can fax this paper for me?" He said that was insulting and I should say "Can you fax this paper for me?"  Thoughts??


texts: What is the name of this puzzle commonly found in puzzle books?

texts:
I'm looking for the name of puzzle in the picture below, commonly found in puzzle books.

In Dutch, it's called a ''filippine''. It has its variations, including anagrams, rebus, trivia questions, crossword clues, and so on, but the construction of the puzzle is the overall the same and pictured above. I've tried looking with queries such as ''list of puzzle book puzzles'' and ''equal numbers are equal letters'', but with no result. The evident ''filippine english'' only leads me to Google correcting is to ''the Phillipines'' (and its ''Filipinos''). I'm even wondering whether these types of puzzles are even known in English-speaking countries, or that this puzzle is just a Dutch thing?

Edit: psosuna asked me where the word filippine comes from, so I will (try to) translate the section of ''Oorspronkelijke betekenis'' (Original meaning) on the Dutch Wikipedia page on 'Filippine' partially:

  "A filippine is an almond nut with two seeds, and it was a game that whoever found such an almond should share it with their neighbour under the silent promise that they, at their next meeting, should greet each other with ''bonjour filippine''. The one who did that first was the winner and will expect from the other a small gift. The promise could also be that the two will write each other on a particular date. The promise itself is also called a filippine. [Followed by an not-so-relevant quote from Martinus Nijhoff.] The word filippine or filippien is thought to originate, through the French philippine, from the German Philippchen , a bastardization from Viel-Liebchen (many love).


texts: Talk to a customer/ talk with a customer

texts:
what's the difference between the two expressions I stated in the title?

I am guessing that "talk to a customer" is more common, because when I google them there are many more results for that. But "talk with a customer" shouldn't be "incorrect" neither.

Please let me know!


texts:
An (English) acquaintance of mine pronounces the word Aryan as /ˈɛːrɪən/ (~Aerian). I have only ever heard it pronounced /ˈɑːrjən/ (~Aaryun). I have it on good authority that the word comes from Sanskrit's ārya which is pronounced /ˈɑːrjə/ just as I expected.

The ODO cites 'Aerian' as the correct (as these things go) British pronunciation while accepting both to be acceptable in American English. Webster is another dictionary that accepts either variant. MacMillan, just to be difficult, only accepts 'Aerian' as the correct pronunciation for American English, and either for BE.

Now, in all my years of watching Nazi flicks, I don't believe that I've ever heard the word pronounced "Aerian"; I'm pretty certain that I would have noted the difference if I had. Is it a recent change? Or is it a regional peculiarity? How do the Germans pronounce it?

Also, how would the word indo-aryan be pronounced?


texts: Word or phrase meaning to criticise or mock someone without mentioning their name

texts:
Is there a word or phrase meaning to criticise or mock someone without mentioning their name?

On Twitter, people are able to search the site for references to their own name, so people often 'subtweet' other people - tweeting criticism of them without mentioning their name. Google's definition tells me that this only applies to Twitter.

This phenomenon is certainly older than Twitter. The oldest example that I can think of is the (probable) reference to Shakespeare in Robert Greene's 1592 book A Groat's Worth of Wit:

  ...for there is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers hart wrapt in a Players hyde, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blanke verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes fac totum, is in his owne conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrey.


texts: Is there a word or phrase for walking into a room to get something but then forgetting what you went in there to get?

texts:
I'm fairly certain this has happened to all of us at some point: You go into a room to get something, but once you're there, you can't remember what you intended to get. It seems like a specific, common phenomenon like this must have a name, but I can't think of it. Does anyone know a name (either formal or slang) for this?

I don't want a general term like forgetfulness or absent-mindedness, which could apply to all sorts of forgetting, or a term for not being able to remember a certain word. I'm looking for a word or phrase that describes this one specific situation of forgetting what you need to get as soon as you go to get it.


texts:
Apprentices, sorta like trainees who are skilled but need a bit of training and experience before making the commitment to employ them.

When I did a bit of research, I observe that "apprentices" were more commonly employed in the UK.

I am trying to be global, so I do not want to refer to a term that is more commonly understood in one region.

The message i am trying to come up with a slogan to encourage companies, mainly startups and small-business to hire "apprentices", but I am not sure how to communicate that in a global term.


texts: Is there a word that means selectively nonconformist?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that means someone or something that has a tendency to go against convention, but only when effective.

This would eliminate words like unconventional, unorthodox, contrarian, or nonconformist that are defined by their lack of adherence to convention.

I'm also not looking for very general words like heuristic, sagacious, or innovative which, in some manner, could be applied to what I'm asking for.

As a final note, an idiomatic phrase like out of the box would not apply, because it has been defined by not being in a box or adhering to tradition.

Does such a word exist, if so it would be greatly appreciated!I know this is a very specific request, but I'm looking for words to define my company's character, so precision is of the utmost importance.

Below is a hypothetical statement this would apply to: "Although Object Oriented Programming is the standard vehicle for teaching programming, Programming Company X isn't so convinced, in fact according to research and scientific reasoning, it seems like functional programming is the better approach--despite it's deviance from the convention."


texts: When to write the word “parenthetically”

texts:
I understand that if you're speaking a phrase in which you would write parentheses, you can say the word parenthetically. But when should you write the word parenthetically?

I came across this sentence, starting off a paragraph in a scientific article:

  Parenthetically, we note that subjects in all experimental conditions were unbiased …

This struck me as odd. If they're speaking parenthetically, shouldn't it be in parentheses? On the one hand, from a descriptive point of view, the usage of the word was not ambiguous – I know exactly what the author is trying to connote by using it. But from a prescriptive point of view, would this be considered proper grammar?


texts: What is the source and meaning of "turning up like a bad penny?"


texts: Can the period be dropped in "vs" when used as part of a compound modifier?

texts:
I'm editing a passage. I'm not bound by a style guide.
I think that I could omit the period after vs and not break any punctuation rules. The boss said that the hyphens are required because the names function as a phrasal adjective, modifying fight.

the Rhonda Rousey-vs-Holly Holm fight
the Rousey-vs-Holm fight

NOT:

the Rhonda Rousey-vs.-Holly Holm fight

(To me, this looks horrible and unbalanced.)
In your opinion, can I eliminate the period after the abbreviation vs?
PS: This is an American publication, not a British one.


texts: A word meaning both “crucial” and “elusive”

texts:
A relatively common annoyance I find is this: A person will make a list of requirements for something, and one of those requirements is both crucial and very difficult to obtain.  Let’s call this characteristic “X”.  Besides the X requirement, the other requirements are either (1) relatively easy to get and/or (2) not as important.  The problem is that the list-maker will act like the “X” requirement is just another item on the list, when in fact, the “X” requirement should be written first on the list, bolded, and written in all caps. The "X" requirement is the first thing people should read -- it utterly disqualifies the most potential matches.

Here’s an example: I recall reading in a local paper the 5 requirements of owning and operating a yacht: (1)a willingness to learn new things, (2) good seamanship, (3), a love of the outdoors, (4),substantial disposable income  and (5) sobriety.   Clearly #4 isn't on-par with the other items.  The “X” requirement is not only non-negotiable , but also very difficult for an ordinary person to overcome.

The world of dating is replete with this.  Just recently a female acquaintance of mine who dates only very good-looking men making over 150k a year posted a dating ad where she lists these requirements, but the header says “Must love my cat and be drug-free”.  I wanted to tell her that in a more practical dating world, people would list their “X” requirement in the header.  But is there a proper word for “X”?


texts: What is the word/phrase for putting the hand on the head of other people?

texts: Is there any word/phrase that describes the action of putting the hand on the hair of other people, and moving the hand back and forth?


texts: "To handle certificates is..." vs. "handling certificates is..."

texts:
I have two equivalent sentences, intended for a brochure for a computer program. Which one is better?

  To handle certificates manually is time consuming and expensive.
  Handling certificates manually is time consuming and expensive.

I want the brochure to be short, easy to read and to the point. I also want to speak directly to the customer, and I prefer an informal tone. Which of the two sentences do you prefer?


texts: How to use 'due date' in some situation?

texts:
I want to use 'due date' in the following sentence:

They learn how to solve their problems in the due date.

I doubt that whether 'in the due date' is correct or not. Am I wrong?


texts: What is it called when an idiom is used so out of place that it is ridiculous?

texts:
A spokesman for the UK's Department of Food and Rural Affairs seems to be indicating that either DEFRA, the UK population or the whole of humanity are due to say goodbye to planet earth in 2043.

  A Defra spokesman said: “We are committed through our 25-year environment plan to eliminating avoidable plastic altogether by the end of 2042 so we leave our planet in a better state than we found it.

MSN UKnews

Is there a word (or phrase) for using a familiar idiom (such as 'leave it as you find it') in such a way that it is ridiculous ?

Sample sentence :

_______ is the misuse of an idiom which leads to a ridiculous statement.


texts: Does English allow /eɪʃ/ in the end of a syllable (in the same syllable)?

texts:
The sound /ʃ/ is almost always spelled with more than one letter i.e. with a digraph unlike, say, /p/ which is spelled with a single letter (pan, pen, pie). I have noticed a particular pattern: vowels before digraphs are usually short and not long (or diphthongs). The /ʃ/ sound is spelled with a digraph so I assume the vowel before "sh" is usually short. Other sounds such as /p/ (shape), /t/ (hate), /k/ (make) and even /tʃ/ (aitch) can occur after /eɪ/.
Also notice that /-eɪk/ is never, in my opinion, spelled with -ck.
It may seem to be confusing spelling and pronunciation but both of them are closely related to each other. If English allows /eɪʃ/ in the end of the same syllable (or in the end of a word), then it might be possible to have a long vowel/ diphthong before the digraph "sh". However, I haven't been able to find any word in which /ʃ/ is spelled with a digraph and has a long vowel/ diphthong before it which led my to my question:

Does English allow /eɪʃ/ in the same syllable?


texts: What is the difference between "metaphorically speaking" and "so to speak"?

texts:
Is there any difference between the following two sentences?

"He is a parrot, so to speak."
"He is a parrot, metaphorically speaking."


texts: Word for being thought-provoking in a humorous way

texts:
I need an adjective that implies that the person is profound/thought-provoking but not in a serious way, sort of like the narrator in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

The words I've found (insightful, provocative, etc.) suggest that the speaker isn't humorous, which is very important. For example, 'Sally is a [word] young woman with a lot of good ideas.'

The word should probably be a little more academic and less conversational.


texts:
First of all, I have read the answers about "gonna have to" usage, and they are quite clear:

  I am gonna have to vs I have to

and

  why-prefix-a-request-with-im-going-to-have-to-ask-you

The answers say that the extra words work as a politeness device. OK.

But I have heard gonna have to only from American English speakers, so my question is: Is it an Americanism?


texts: How do you spell explicitly my last name (Musiał)?

texts:
I need to know how I can spell my Polish last name, Musiał, for my future interviews. (soon :>)

M as Margarita

U as ..?

S as

I as

A as

Ł as - what about that character? Should i replace it by L, for convenience?
("Musiał" in Polish language means "he has", for example "On musiał to zrobić" in English will be "He must do it". So I maybe translate my last name to "he has" or something?)


texts:
Also I would like to say that during last 4 or 5 years something has become my main goal (at work). I do not know how which preposition is the correct one, whether to use "the" with "last years" and if "get" can be used for the change or something else describing slow change.

  During (in) last (the) 4-5 years, it got (became? grown?) my main
  goal.


texts:
What does "catch the sun" mean?
What does catch the sun mean?


texts: Which are right choices in: “Can you imagine him/his forgetting his own birthday?”

texts:
Which one of the following is correct?

Can you imagine his forgetting his own birthday?
Can you imagine him forgetting his own birthday?

The question was asked in SNAP 2009 and I can't understand why they said that the only right answer is option 1.

I hear people saying 2 all the time, and I read it that way often enough, so what’s supposed to be wrong with option 2?

Or is the test itself wrong?


texts: Is there a short term for a banner ad displayed on all pages of a website?

texts:
I'm translating a media kit table with banner ad rates, and in one of the cells of said table there's a pithy short expression in Russian saying that the banner is to be displayed in its exact position (above News Feed) on each of the site's pages, unlike other banners.

When you're paying for other banners, you're negotiating on which pages of the site they will be displayed, but with this "throughout" option ("throughout banner" or сквозной баннер in Russian), the banner is displayed on every page of the site.

I'm wondering how to put it in English and fit the description in the table cell. Will "all-pages banner" be okay? Will it be understood by the native speaker, or will a footnote be necessary to explain what an "all-pages" banner is?

I've found an interesting related term, "Run-Of-Site (ROS) banner", but that's not quite it.

Maybe "site-wide banner" would be better.


texts: Is it correct to say "She hid quite a figure behind the wardrobe"?

texts:
I'm writing a story for my English class. Does the following sentence effectively mean that she had a good figure behind her dress?

  She hid quite a figure behind the Wardrobe.

Does it apply to both male and female?


texts: What's the best word for a worker's proof of income?

texts:
Here in Brazil we have the word "contracheque". It's an official document an employee receives every month showing his gross income and deductions. Is there anything like it in English?

PS. American English is preferred, because I need it for Johns Hopkins University.


texts:
I have a system which has the following structure:

Inbound > Open > Pending > Awaiting reply > Ready > Closed

I'd like to use single-words, so the one that sticks out like a sore thumb is "Awaiting reply".

I obviously can't use "Pending" because that's already in use. And "Awaiting" is too similar to "Pending".

Is there a word for "waiting for a reply"?


texts: Is there a difference between "quicker" and "more quickly"

texts:
This is a follow up to this question: What is the difference between "quicker" and "faster"?

"Quicker" is an adverb, as are "more" (in this context) and "quickly".

So is there a difference besides preference between these?


texts: Is there a single word for an idea that receives acceptance not due to approval, but because opposing it is risky?

texts:
Is there an English word for an idea or policy that receives widespread acceptance not due to approval, but because opposing it requires immense effort or risk?
For example, a company's CEO introduces a diversity program which will clearly disadvantage all of its current employees, but no one objects to it in fear of the being called racist.
What can one call such a policy?


texts: Can someone clear up my confusion regarding who vs. whom?

texts:
Specifically, in this sentence:

… of the people who suffered early trauma, there were some whom it affected in such a way that they …

(I've mercifully only included part of the sentence)
I can't seem to figure out if it should be who or whom. I understand the whole 'subject/object' concept, but that does not seem to clarify what is correct in this particular sentence. Professor Google seems to not know, either.
All I know is whom sounds terribly incorrect here, even if it is correct.


texts: Should I use "internal" or "domestic"? And where? What word should be applied to internal/domestic market?


texts: "Most wild thing I have ever done" - grammaticality

texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say "most wild thing I have ever done"?

I know it doesn't sound appropriate but is it grammatically correct?


texts: "Whn U Ck Me, U WL Fnd Me Sez da Lord." in this picture (publicity)

texts: Does the style (if it is) shown in the picture below have a particular name?


texts: Where is the best position for the adverb "obviously" in the following sentence?

texts:
Which of the numbered positions is the best for the adverb "obviously" in the following sentence?

Jim is totally aware of the problem but [1] Jack [2] is [3] not [4].

For each of the numbered options you can find instances here or there. Some look kind of awkward, though.


texts: Punctuating a question containing a quotation that itself contains a question, in MLA format

texts:
My literature teacher was explaining punctuation and its relation to quotations when writing a paper according to MLA guidelines and I thought of a question that he didn't have an answer to. I figured this Stack would be an appropriate place to try.

If I'm asking a question that ends in a short quotation, how would I punctuate the sentence if the quotation itself ends in a question mark.

To illustrate what I mean, consider the following.

  Do you remember the time when Alex asked "how do you do?"?

I'm asking my own question (do you remember the time...?) but within my question, is a quotation that itself ends in a question mark.

What is the correct way to punctuate this sentence in MLA format? Is the way I wrote it correct? I couldn't find anything on Purdue OWL or this stack, and my teacher is curious to hear back from me as well.


texts:
A man used his walking stick.
Is walking in this case a gerund or an adjective?


texts: Subject predicate inversion due to negation

texts:
I was reading about subject predicate inversion

  inverted word-order... is also used in clauses introduced by a
  negative or restrictive clause element. In the following example, the
  initial element Not only is negative and is followed by inverted word
  order: could congress declare...

  (12) Not only could (v) Congress (S) declare (V) war but the states
  were forbidden to engage in it without the consent of Congress.

I am struggling to intuitively apply this.

Can someone explain the rule? E.g. the former sounds wrong, but perhaps the latter inversion does less damage. Maybe not.

Is the sentence Not all my cigs lit a candidate for inversion in the first place? And why or why not?

Not all my cigs lit -> Not all my lit cigs
Not all my cigs lit burning straight -> Not all my lit cigs burning straight

Specifically could the phrase in bold be such an inversion (please ignore whether it is):

Not all your light tongues talking aloud / could be profound


texts: What benefit was there by replacing “chart” with “tabulate”, then with “tally” in the NYT headline: “Bank charted business linked to China hiring.”?

texts:
I was drawn to the changes of the headline of today’s New York Times’ article reporting JPMorgan Chase established a program to hire a lot of sons and daughters of Chinese   dignitaries.

The headline I saw first in this morning in its online edition was “Bank charted business linked to China hiring.” It was “Bank tabulated business –” in 10 minutes later, and now the final version (6:40 PM ET) is “Bank tallied business linked to China hiring” followed by the lead-copy:

  “Confidential documents offer the most detailed account yet of
  JPMorgan Chase’s “Sons and Daughters” hiring program in China, which
  has been at the center of a federal bribery investigation.”
  http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/12/07/bank-tabulated-business-linked-to-china-hiring/?hp

I understand “chart “and “tally” are different in meaning. But I wonder what is the intent of deliberately changing the verb in a short headline from “chart” to “tabulate” to “tally” in a few minutes to a few hours?

Isn’t the headline saying the same thing after all, or is it making any improvement of wording or articulation by making these changes?


texts: Meaning of 'so rendered' in Tale of Two Cities

texts:
In Tale of Two Cities, Book 2 Chapter VI Hundreds of People, there is one word, 'render', which confuses me.

  Mr. Lorry knew Miss Pross to be very jealous, but he also knew her by this time to be, beneath the service of her eccentricity, one of those unselfish creatures — found only among women — who will, for pure love and admiration, bind themselves willing slaves, to youth when they have lost it, to beauty that they never had, to accomplishments that they were never fortunate enough to gain, to bright hopes that never shone upon their own sombre lives. He knew enough of the world to know that there is nothing in it better than the faithful service of the heart; so rendered and so free from any mercenary taint...

What does 'render' mean here?


texts: What's a word for "causing conflict/inciting hostility/setting people up against another/enciting violence"

texts:
I'm sure it's an easy word that's just trapped in the back of my mind somewhere, but google didn't help, so I hope you guys can.

When someone has been conniving and conspiring to meddle in the affairs of other people behind their backs, and set formerly friendly people or parties up to be hostile towards one another, then that person is... ?

"They were as suscpetible to his ___" (not 'meddling', but specifically causing hostility and turning relations sour)

The closest candidates I can think of are 'pulling strings' and 'shit stirring'. Maybe the word could also be used to describe the action of a dog owner inciting his dog to go for another person or game.

Thanks for any help and all effort.


texts: Is there a positive connotation for "along came [someone]"?

texts:
As far as I understand, along came  is used when one needs to describe an event of less importance.

However, can I use this phrase with a positive connotation?

Example:

I want to state that it is only after Mr.Abe's arrival, that our company's profits soared and made heads turn in the international market. I am highlighting his achievements. So I have written:

  Along came Mr.Abe to our company, and the rest is history!

Have I written it right or do I need to re-phrase it?


texts: What is the meaning of the idiom "cat's in the cradle"?

texts: I heard the expression "cat's in the cradle" for the first time in the song by the band Ugly Kid Joe, I though at first that it was just something they came up with and I did not think there was any common meaning to that. But, couple of days ago I heard this expression again in a TV series. Does anyone know what this means?


texts:
Is there a word for customers of fortune-tellers, like the way "john" is a customer of prostitutes or "junkie" is the customer of pushers or "bettor" is the customer of bookies?

(It probably sounds like I'm comparing fortune-telling to vices, but I'm honestly not trying to, they're just the examples which are coming to mind right now. Please disregard any perceived slur against the extra-sensorily gifted or their clients.)


texts:
My friend and I have recently engaged in a little argument. It came about when he used the word "suaveness" and I argued that it wasn't a word. While I will concede he was right in this example, he made the claim that he could put "-ness" on the end of any adjective.

I do not believe this to be true.

Words like "fastestness" or "sleepingness" don't sit well with me. Are these words? If they are, are there any examples that don't work?

I also brought up "polyesterness" as an example, but he won't concede that "polyester" could be considered an adjective.


texts: Etymology of "medicine" and its Native American usage

texts:
What is the etymology of the word medicine and how did it come to be used by Native Americans to describe something that does not strictly meet the denotative meaning of medicine?

Or is that just a Hollywood piece of nonsense?


texts: In what region is "thou", etc. used in dialect?

texts:
My mother often uses words like "thou", "thy", and "thine" in everyday speech. A typical example is:

  "Thou art a jammy bugger!"

She is from the north of England. I'm wondering whether this quirk of language is unique to her or if it's something to do with the area she comes from or possibly her age group.

She's in her late 50's and comes from Yorkshire. I am just curious, because I also picked up this habit, and now that I'm living abroad and talking to non-native English speakers it's struck me how strange it is.


texts: Difference between selecting by color and selecting according to color

texts: In a paper I read, the authors selected various images by color, and I wondered if what they did wouldn’t be better expressed by according to color. But the longer I thought about it, the less sure I was. Maybe someone here can help my muddled brain.


texts: What is the action called when a grumpy old man shows that he is annoyed, by making a 'throat-clearing' sound?

texts: Sometimes when a grumpy old man gets annoyed, he makes noises like clearing his throat. Does grumbling or grunting define that action? Is there a more appropriate word or an idiom for that?


texts: Why do we say that someone “practices” law or medicine?

texts: I’m wondering why we refer to providing legal or medical services as a practice of law or medicine, respectively. For example, we say that a lawyer practices law or a doctor practices medicine. This makes these fields sound like they’re some special art, but what is the historical origin of the usage of the word practice in this context?


texts: How can I describe someone who changes clothes frequently?

texts: Suppose one of your friends puts on different clothes every day. Is there any word or phrase to describe someone like that? I think luxury is not very close to that meaning.


texts: Word for falsely declaring something an anomaly, when it is actually typical?

texts:
Is there a term for incorrectly distinguishing something to be not part of a common category of items, saying a sub-group is too unique to be considered to be part of the larger category, even though almost all of the facts presented are true of the larger group?

E.g. To someone who says "A Sanguinelli is not an orange; it is too sweet, has seeds, has an orange rind, & the red inside proves it is not an orange."  (even though you dispute it is a type of 'blood orange' is conducting a ___.

A term for a person who does this can also work.

I could not find it in a list of fallacies, so I created some terms that estimate what I am trying to express:

False Un-Equivalence
Incorrect Anti-Generalization


texts: Standing idle while a couple is cuddling or kissing

texts: What's the expression for the awkward situation in which I'm going out with a couple all by myself and I end up standing idle while they are cuddling or kissing?


texts:
In The Martian movie, Matt Damon (Watney), when left stranded on Mars with very limited resources to survive, says:

Mark Watney: In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option, I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this.

Apparently,

Celebrity scientist, Neil Degrasse Tyson loved this quote. And so did I.

A Quora post says

Watney's a scientist. He's going to use scientific method to solve his problems. It's more obvious in the book - he does a lot of calculations.
eg. He drives the rover around in circles logging how much energy it uses to test his hypothesis for carrying hab solar panels on a trailer, keeping within walking distance of the hab. He doesn't just do something and hope it works first time, like MacGyver ('80s TV show).

So you probably get the idea what it means to science the shit out of something.
That is, to practically experiment a lot (and a lot more), in this case, for survival; instead of simply hoping to survive by sheer luck.
1. What would be a better way to convey the same meaning? (too broad)

Is there a better word to use as a verb here?

Is it okay to use certain nouns (like science) in place of verbs? If so, what's the technique called?


texts: Am I allowed to start a sentence with "Composed"?

texts:
Composed of an assortment of ten libraries including inhibitor library, stem cell signaling compound library, and anti-cancer compound library, among others, our bioactive screening libraries are ready-to-use chemical libraries for drug discovery, drug target identification, and other pharmaceutical-related applications.

  Being composed of an assortment of ten libraries including inhibitor library, stem cell signaling compound library, and anti-cancer compound library, among others, our bioactive screening libraries are ready-to-use chemical libraries for drug discovery, drug target identification, and other pharmaceutical-related applications.

Am I supposed to start a sentence with "composed"?


texts: Name for something that is difficult to find on the internet

texts:
I'm looking for a name for a 'search target' that is hard to locate primarily because it cannot be described with a handful of key words or a particular phrase. The target of the search could be anything, but in this case it was a particular phenomenon or sequence of events.

This question came about because of the following events:

I was half way through entering a (programming) question in StackExchange, when the answer came to me. I didn't need to continue with the StackExchange question, but the process of typing out the question helped me answer it. I figured that this might be a common phenomenon with a name but could not think of a way to phrase a google search that might lead me to an answer.
This led me to wonder if there was a name for the phenomenon of not being able to find something simply because it's difficult to describe.

Once I have the answer to question 2 (this question), I can proceed to ask question 1. I hope that makes some sense.

(sadly phenomenon 1 did not happen as I typed this question)

EDIT: As I'm not particularly confident that words exist to describe these phenomena, and as I'm a Douglas Adams fan, I'm happy to accept 'Meaning of Liff' type names if they sound appropriate.

EDIT: Ungooglable is a good description of the thing I want a name for.


texts: Is this a correct usage of the phrase "give way"?

texts: Libraries are peaceful and give way to thought. I appreciate any help you give.


texts: Does English allow alveolar flap [ɾ] at the ends of syllables? If yes, how to syllabify?

texts:
Prompted by this question: How to syllabify “very” or “merry” etc in British English?, I found the linked question interesting and it was a very good question but it did not get much attention, therefore no answer.
That question is about the syllabification of "very" and "merry" in British English and my question is about words like better, bitter, butter in American English.
In most American Englishes words like better, bitter, butter are pronounced with an alveolar flap [ɾ]:

/ˈbɛɾɚ/
/ˈbɪɾɚ/
/ˈbʌɾɚ/

The linked question says there should be a consonant after vowels like /ʌ ɪ ʊ ɛ/. Take "butter" /ˈbʌɾɚ/ as an example: if I put the syllable boundary after the vowel, then there is no consonant after it: /ˈbʌ.ɾɚ/ but if I put the syllable boundary after ɾ then the flap comes at the syllable ending position: /ˈbʌɾ.ɚ/. In an answer to my previous question (What's the difference between /t̬/ and /ɾ/ in American English?), TaliesinMerlin wrote that alveolar flaps at the end and beginning positions "sound odd", but they didn't say if English allows them or not.
My question is: Does English allow alveolar flaps at the ends of syllables? If it does, then how should one syllabify them in the following scenarios:

/ˈbɛɾ.ɚ/ or /ˈbɛ.ɾɚ/
/ˈbɪɾ.ɚ/ or /ˈbɪ.ɾɚ/
/ˈbʌɾ.ɚ/ or /ˈbʌ.ɾɚ/

?
Someone on Reddit told me that the flap should be "ambisyllabic" but I don't understand that. There must be a way to syllabify those words. It isn't impossible to syllabify them. I would like to know how they are syllabified.


texts: What is the rule with using a comma before 'as well' when it is the last two words in a sentence

texts:
What is the rule with using a comma before as well when they are the last two words in a sentence? For example:

  Sam pitches for the middle school team and plays various positions for the varsity as well.


texts:
I see that "hence" means roughly "from this fact/time/place/source", while "thence" means roughly "from that fact/time/place/source".

Usage such as "half an hour hence" is typically (although perhaps not universally) used to refer to times in the future, being taken as "from this time" or "[forward] from now".

Would it thus be correct to say, e.g., "[today] is three years thence" — in the sense of "from that time" or "[forward] from then" — in order to allude to the day three years ago?


texts:
Old people sometimes seems (in/out of) touch with the modern world.

should it be in or out of?

my english teacher gave us this question on exam yesterday, and she said the correct answer was out of, I argued with my teacher about that "Either fits" but she said NO! "out of" is correct. So any help please

Thank you.

Please don't put my qustion [on hold] :(


texts: List of singular and plural adjectives. Does the object take singular or plural?

texts:
Example:

The line has one, both, or neither point.

or

The line has one, both, or neither points.


texts: Use of plural pronoun to avoid mentioning of gender

texts:
I'm aware that (at least today's) English allows the use of a plural pronoun to avoid mentioning a gender of the subject.  Example: _"Everybody can do what they want to" instead of "Everybody can do what he wants to."  A typical use seems to be whenever the speaker does not know the sex of the actors and thus does not want to state it wrong or to let the phrase apply to both sexes alike.

As this example clearly shows, the numerus of the predicate then matches the numerus of the subject: "he wants" vs. "they want".  This leads me to a dilemma if there are several predicates, associated to both the "everybody" and the neutral pronoun:  "Everybody pays for what they get."

The first verb feels better to be in singular case ("pays"), the latter obviously must be in plural case ("get"), yet both refer to the same entity which can hardly be singular and plural.

To use plural case for both verbs ("Everybody pay for what they get") sounds strange in the beginning of the sentence, and the mixed numerus given before sounds a little as if it isn't reflexively meant, i. e. as if everybody has to pay for whatever some other group of individuals ("they") get.

What is the typical solution to my problem?

EDIT: To make this clear:  I'm not asking about the singular they and its use, I'm asking about the "pay" vs. "pays" in my example (i. e. the verb of the "everybody") and about the observed or felt dichotomy of using a plural verb and a singular verb for the same actor in one sentence.  Is there a more detailed answer to that besides "'they' can refer to a singular object and is to be used in plural form"?


texts: Reported speech with changing time expression

texts:
I do not fully understand the difference in meaning between the time expressions 'next week' and 'the following week'.

How can we change next week to the following week? If an original situation is reported a few days forwards, then should it be 'this week', not 'the following week'.

Examples:
- "I'll visit my grandma next week," said Mary on Wednesday. A few day later, say on Monday, Sam, her friend reported the speech. Thus, Sam said that Mary said she would visit her grandma the following week ( if I follow the rule of changing time expression as in here https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/reported-speech-time-place.htm)

" I'll visit my grandma the following week," means " I'll visit my grandma in 2 weeks time." In normal statement, not in reported speech, the following week means 2 weeks after the said day.

Why is "the following week" in a reported speech used to mean "next week" in the original sentence?


texts:
Which of the following three is correct?

  When parents relate to a child, they do a lot of the work, figuring out what the child needs and then accommodating those needs.
  This is not, however, the case when two children are interacting.
  [...] This is, however, not the case when two children are interacting.
  [...] However, this is not the case when two children are interacting.


texts: Why is it that denuding something means you strip it rather than dress it?

texts: When we denude something we strip it, like the branches of a tree. That seems a bit inverted to me, shouldn't it be to nude-something?


texts: The origin of "two is company, three is a crowd"

texts:
The common saying two is company, three's a crowd is often  associated with a romantic context:

  Prov. A way of asking a third person to leave because you want to be alone with someone. (Often implies that you want to be alone with the person because you are romantically interested in him or her.) - (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms)

but in a more general sense it may refer to the (undesired) complexity that may arise from the presence  of more subjects as suggested in the following extract from Quora.

According to Ngram the expression  spread  from the late 19th century.

Questions:

What is the origin of this saying?
Was it the product of some romantic writer of the 19th century or does it have a different origin?
Was it originally  a BrE or AmE expression?


texts:
If I were to be able to do something (say I'm a slave and am able to become free). What would it mean to "avail myself of the opportunity"?

What would this mean? Would this mean to take advantage of the opportunity, or to not? The word "of" is throwing me off, could someone explain the meaning here?

The question is derived from this verse in the bible:

  Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that trouble you.
  But if you are able to gain your freedom, avail yourself of the
  opportunity.
      1 Corinthians 7:21


texts: Looking for a word that means late-bloomer

texts: I am looking for a word that means "late bloomer" and I believe is of Greek, not Latin, origin, though I'm not sure of the etymology.


texts: What do you call these cars ridden by disabled people?

texts: What do you call these cars used by disabled people, they are everywhere and I've seen them again today and was wondering what they are called; these cars they are very small for a person to sit on used by the disabled for traveling on the sidewalk instead of walking?


texts: In the phrase "highly trained support specialist" should a hyphen be used?


texts: Symbols for "YES" and "NO" in formal English writing

texts:
I'm writing a conference paper in English.

My Japanese colleague told me that I should use "○" for YES and "x" for NO in my paper, but I think the right symbols should be "✓" for YES and "x" for NO. Which one is correct?

Besides, my colleague also said when you want to express "sometimes YES, sometimes NO" in a paper, you should use "△". Can you native speakers understand this "△"?


texts: Should 'advertised' be spelled with a Z in American English?

texts:
Should the adjective 'advertised' be spelled with a Z in American English?

This Google search returns Advertise vs advertize - Grammarist as its first search result:

  In a rare show of solidarity, both British English and American English spell advertise with an s in all forms.

On the other hand, subsequent search results say things like,

  Either spelling is correct. The spelling “advertise” is the British spelling whereas the spelling “advertize” is the American spelling of the word.

My use case, in case it matters, is to use the word on a web site for non-technical American users ... I want the spelling which is least likely to give pause as looking like a spelling mistake.


texts: Is there a general rule for the usage of hyphens in compound words?

texts: For example for words like in-depth or long-term I would always use a hyphen, and I tend to favor using them in general unless I'm certain there shouldn't be one, but often I find both used for words like this. Can both be correct in different situations? Is there a general rule for when you should or should not use hyphens in compound words?


texts: meaning of "the rather," "than," respectively

texts:
This may be fancy, though I think the memory of most of us can go
  farther back into such times than many of us suppose; just as I
  believe the power of observation in numbers of very young children to
  be quite wonderful for its closeness and accuracy. Indeed, I think
  that most grown men who are remarkable in this respect, may with
  greater propriety be said not to have lost the faculty, than to have
  acquired it; the rather, as I generally observe such men to retain a
  certain freshness, and gentleness, and capacity of being pleased,
  which are also an inheritance they have preserved from their
  childhood. (Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, CHAPTER 2. I
  OBSERVE)

Does than in this excerpt mean but = be said not to have lost the faculty, but to have acquired it?

Does the rather in this fragment mean the latter = the latter (e.g. the faculty having been acquired), as I generally observe...?

I should finally say that I actually don't know what the rather means. I haven't been able to find it in any of the free online English dictionaries that I've looked it up in. I'm very sure the rather is included in OED, but this is a lexicographic work that is without my reach.


texts: What are all possible and grammatically correct variations of the following sentence?

texts:
It pushed them with a great force.

I can think of the following:

They were pushed by it with a great force. [passive voice]
With a great force it pushed them. [is it correct? sounds unnatural]
A great force exhorted by it pushed them.

Is there any other possible combinations?

Thanks


texts:
Years ago I wrote an essay on aggressiveness and one of my sentences was "a strong defence against the outside world can be an acknowledgment of internal human failure..." My teacher then crossed out "acknowledgement" and wrote "recognition".  When I asked him why he had done it, he just said "recognition was the right word for that context".  I wasn't convinced and perhaps that's why I still remember it.

Definitions for "acknowledgment" (or acknowledgement) from mainstream dictionaries:

recognition of the importance or quality of something. ODO
recognition or notice. TFD
the fact of accepting that something is true or right CDO

In the above context, I can't see any difference between the two words to this day. My question is, are they interchangeable? Is there any subtlety I have missed?


texts: What would be the metric equivalent of “inching” (or a workable alternative)?

texts:
inching.
  moving slowly/small degree of progress.

As in “Elon is inching his way towards Mars”.

“Metering closer to his goal” sounds … totally off. So how do I avoid using arguably antiquated measurements (which has contributed towards the loss of one space mission) without sounding totally crazy? Are there equivalent expressions using metric units, or do we need a work-around, or ...?


texts: Distinguish twins vs distinguish between twins

texts:
I'm confused about the use of the word "Distinguish". The link shows an example sentence where the verb is used as an intransitive verb:

  Can the child distinguish between right and wrong?

But I find it difficult to see the difference between these two sentences:

  I find it hard to distinguish these two twins.
  I find it hard to distinguish between these two twins.

Is there any difference between the two sentences or do they have the same meaning? If they don't have the same meaning, in which context do you use one over the other?


texts:
Is "that've" a valid contraction for "that have"?

For example, the sentence: "I've been working with some substances that've been detrimental to my health."

It follows the patterns of other similar contractions (like would've, that'll've, and others), but doesn't seem to be any dictionary I could find.


texts:
Can "so as to" be used, and if so in what contexts and in what situations? Can it be used formally and in written documents?

Edit: I'm looking more at an IT question for example "You can do 'something' so as to get the variable and process it"


texts:
My fan is convenient to carry around. See it can be closed when not in use. OR look it can be closed when not in use.

Which is correct?


texts: an idiom or expression for "not go well with/contradict something"

texts:
I'm looking for an expression or idiom implying two things contradicting each other.

the original sentence that I want to use this in, translates to something like this:

  hatred and self-building contradict each other

or

  hatred and self-building don't go well together

though I'm looking for something stronger than "don't go well together" which would imply contradiction.

thanks in advance.


texts: Using “So” Followed by a Noun Phrase to Express Boredom, Disgust, Tediousness, Dullness, Banality

texts:
In the BBC TV series Sherlock’s episode two from series three, “The Empty Hearse", John Watson waxes maudlin over being left out of the loop for two years regarding Sherlock’s faked death. Sherlock replies: “That is so two years ago.”

I interpret this to mean so much time has passed that the subject is old stuff and Watson is behaving like someone upset over past slights. I’m interested in the etymology of this construction. I suspect it goes back to Shakespeare’s days.


texts: Does "You flatter me" have negative connotations?

texts:
I always thought that "You flatter me" is just a way of remaining modest when responding to a compliment, as if to say "I'm pleased you think that, although I think you're being too kind".

But I've just discovered that to "flatter" is actually to "lavish praise and compliments on (someone), often insincerely and with the aim of furthering one's own interests".

Does the latter part of this definition still apply to the phrase "You flatter me"? If I said it to someone, would they think I consider their compliment insincere and self-serving?


texts: Is it wrong to refer to 18:00hs as "eighteen hours" while in a 24-hour clock country?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How should one say times aloud in 24-hour notation?

I was wondering if you could help me out with a matter that is bugging me.

Do you think it is wrong to refer to 18:00hs as "eighteen hours" while reading a time-table in a 24-hour clock country?

I mean, is it really necessary to convert the 24-hour clock times to 12-hour clock in order to speak proper English?

I had an argument yesterday regarding this issue, because someone was trying to correct me, as he was expecting to hear 6 PM instead of the way I was reading it (eighteen hours).

Doesn't it eventually depend on your situational context?

It's not the same case for a 24-hour clock European citizen traveling to England than the other way round. If going to England, I should try to adapt to the local system, since I know they are 12-hour based and they may not understand me if I start talking in 24-hour clock.

But if an English person goes to a country with a different time setting (24-hour clock based), the situation is different. Because times will be written in 24-hour clock formats, time-tables will be printed in 24-hour clock formats, etc. He will need that skill in order to fit in. He should be able to understand that 18hs (or eighteen hours) refers to 6 PM, and in that context, not even an English native speaker, IMO, should be in position to tell anyone that "eighteen hours" is wrong.

Since mine is a 24-hour clock based country, would you consider it wrong, then, for someone to read a time-table in this fashion?

Here is an interesting article on how many Europeans, for example, that live in a 24h-hour clock country (like mine), refer verbally to their 24-hour based times when expressing themselves in English.

In written form they just write the time in their local 24-hour form (of course), but when speaking, however, they might use either the 24-hour-clock number, or a 12-hour-clock number followed by the phrase (in local lingo) "in the afternoon" (we also use that form but informally) —so at 3pm, they may say "it's fifteen o'clock" (or, more usually, just "it's fifteen") or they might say "it's three in the afternoon."

Full article: http://www.reidsguides.com/t_pt/t_pt_timezones.html


texts: Is this a dangling participle? "To use the computer, it need to be powered."

texts:
Is this sentence correct?

To use the computer, it need to be powered.


texts: Is "autodidact" too obscure to use in a résumé?

texts:
I'm updating my résumé and I'm trying to describe myself as "someone who learns on his own", though more briefly.  I think the word "autodidact" fits but an informal survey around the workplace showed that many people don't know what the word means.  I'm concerned that using the word will leave those reading my résumé scratching their heads, or worse, make me appear pretentious.

Does "autodidact" fall into the category of "five dollar words" and should I just replace it with a brief phrase?


texts: What's the meaning of "I may have lost a little bit of this year" in this sentence?

texts:
Does it mean that I lost a part of my idealism this year, or it says without a vision, my idealism would has been less? which one?

I am really glad I wrote a vision because I think I would be a lot more negative right now if I hadn’t done that. My vision reminded me of why I am doing this, and what I am trying to accomplish. It’s kind of forced me to hold on to all that idealism that I may have lost a little bit of this year.”


texts: Something can be estimated therefore it is "estimatable"?

texts:
While the meaning of the word estimatable is quite clear, it is not a real English word. Is there such a real English word with the same meaning?

In case it helps, this is based on the INVEST user stories in Agile1. The E stands for Estimatable aka "should be be possible to estimate".

I am, of course, happy for such a word not to exist.  If so, how would you phrase it so that it still makes sense in the above context?

1: Erick G Hagstrom pointed that the INVEST was coined by Bill Wake who uses E – Estimable.


texts: draw, pull, drag... what’s the proper word?

texts:
I want to describe the action of lithely and quickly pulling a satin pillow out of (away from?) underneath someone’s knee pit — This person is sitting in bed and the pillow is placed underneath her leg (the back of her knee, to be percise). It’s silky pillow against smooth skin so it doesn’t take much force to do that.

What word or phrase will possibly best describe it?

How does “draw a pillow out of underneath her knee pit” sound?

Hope someone can give a few examples of their suggestion! Thanks! (:


texts: What's an English idiom for "you can't observe without disturbing" that won't run afoul of scientists?

texts:
We typically use either Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle or Schrödinger's Cat when we want to talk about a situation where you can't observe a state without altering it.
A good example of this situation is the question: Am I interrupting you?
The question itself is an interruption, but you can't know the state of the person (amenable to interruption or not) until you ask.
It's been my experience that using Heisenberg or Schrödinger is likely to earn you a lecture from the nearest pedant. Removing every person in my life who's fond of the phrase "Well, actually..." is not an option because:

I work in tech
I'm one of them

But I'd love it if this community could supply me with whatever idiom we used to evoke this situation before our two estimable German friends came along.
Because I found success with this approach in my last idiom question, I'm going to put some near misses here:
Near Misses

"catch-22" - Too general. I'm after a more specific sense of the inability to observe a state without changing it (which itself is a catch-22).


texts: Usage of the future perfect tense: "... a year will have completed..." Is it correct?

texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

  By the end of September, a year will have completed for our friendship.


texts: Differences among expression and idiom, as well as colloquial and vernacular

texts: Expression and idiom are used interchangeably, and so are colloquial and  vernacular; albeit incorrectly.  Please advise on differences in meaning and recommend a proper usage.


texts: Word like "misanthropic", but referring to Nature

texts:
I am trying to write a sentence where a person has very negative feelings towards Nature and the natural world. The feelings would be misanthropic, if directed towards people. Is there such a word? I'd like to use it in a sentence such as this one:

  Bob deliberately put his recyclables into the garbage can, being in a particularly [word similar misanthropy but directed at Nature/the natural world] mood, after being pooped on by a pigeon on the way to the office.


texts: Term for an item that is both selected and visible

texts:
I have an HTML table of items. Items can be hidden, filtered or selected, so I am currently using the terms "selected", "visible", "filtered" and "all" to indicate which items the user wants to include in the data output.

What I need is a good term for items that are both "selected" and "visible" to the user. I have thought about using "chosen" or "result". Maybe there is a better term?

Update:

selected = items selected using a checkbox
visible = items that are currently visible. Some items may be hidden due to pagination.
filtered = items that remain after being filtered out by user query.
all = all items. It doesn't matter if the item is hidden, filtered out or unselected.

Currently there is no selection for items that are both selected and hidden, which is possible if items are paginated.


texts: Can a government censorship body be called a "watchdog"?

texts:
In a recent article, The Guardian calls Roskomnadzor an « online watchdog ».

Roskomnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications) is a Russian federal executive body responsible for overseeing the media, it has made itself famous for shortly censoring Wikipedia and Github.

I understand that Roskomnadzor's job is to watch everything online, but I am not sure the term online watchdog is appropriate in that case. Is it? Can a government body in charge of consorship (affecting people with no power) ever be called a watchdog? Does not watchdog mean reporting about higher powers?


texts: Is 'Blood libel' an established expression?

texts:
I came across the word, 'Blood libel,' apparently associated with Ms. Sarah
 Palin's agressive statement which was zeroed in at Democratic lowmakers in today's  Washington Post.
Neither Concise Oxford Dictionary nor Oxford American Dictionary  carries this word. The latter defines 'libel' as:

Published falese statement that damages a person's reputation.
A statement or anything that brings discredit on a person or thing.

Both of which doesn't seem to me fitting to 'Blood libel' used in the context of the above statements. I think I can guess what the word means here, but is 'Blood libel' a broadly received expression in U.S. and U.K? Who coined this word on the earth?
I'm asking this because it's in many cases shown in parentheses.

Quotes:

  Questions about whether Palin knew what she was getting into by using "blood libel" miss the mark. Right now, she is as much provocateur as politician.

And:

  Within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.


texts: When a deceased person is mentioned in a publication his or her name is often followed by parentheses and the year of birth and the year of death.  There is a single word describing that information.  What is that word?


texts:
I came across the usage of "falling back" in a poem (Ted Hughes' Crow and Mama), and googled for its meaning and its usages.
Putting the poem aside, what I'd like to understand is when an english speaker would use this phrase, and when would he use the other synonyms such as retreat, withdraw, and recoil.


texts: Is it "most" or "the most" or "most of time"?

texts:
What would be the correct usage?

  What activity do you spend most time with?
  What activity do you spend most of the time with?
  What activity do you spend the most time with?


texts: What's the meaning of "what's the draw"?

texts:
I watched the TV serials How I Met Your Mother. And the phrase came out when Robin said,

"What? I mean, I don't hate kids.

I'm-I'm just not a kid person.

I mean, yeah, it's cute that their shoes are real little, but beyond that, what's the draw?

You must think I'm nuts."

I've google the phrase but the best result I had it's this yahoo answer: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110721200654AALrS17, which I don't think quite fit in here.


texts: Why is "math" always pluralized in British English but singular in American English?

texts: In the United Kingdom, I would study maths; but in the United States, I would study math. What gives?


texts: A term for "removing" goods from a warehouse

texts:
Related to inventory management or accounting.

Suppose I have a warehouse, and I have some goods in it. Then I need to either sell, discard or otherwise expend them.

Now I need to indicate in my books that these goods are not going to be available any more. They are leaving the warehouse.

What is this action called in English? What typical expressions or idioms convey this action?


texts: Word for an object involved in a collision?

texts:
I want a word that is used to mean an object involved in a collision, for example, say two tennis balls collide - ball 1 and ball 2 - what would be a word that could describe either ball, only in the context of a collision.

Similarly to how each particle involved in a reaction is a reactant.

Example sentence following the tennis balls:

  The two balls, or _____ in a physics context, collided in mid-air.


texts: "A feature was created which allow(s)..."

texts:
As a result, a feature was created which allow the two devices to dynamically determine and switch their transmission wires.

Should I use allow or allows in this sentence?

PS: I have read this answer a dozen times now and I still can't infer which is the correct form of allow.


texts: How did 'stump up' compound to signify 'pay up money'?

texts:
How did 'stump' compound with 'up' in stump something up, to signify:

  pay a sum of money[?]
  ‘a buyer would have to stump up at least £8.5 million for the site’

Etymonline for 'stump' didn't help either.

  From 1590s as "reduce to a stump." Sense of "walk stiffly and clumsily" is first recorded c. 1600. Sense of "baffle, bring to a halt by obstacles or impediments" is first recorded 1807, American English, perhaps in reference to plowing newly cleared land, but compare earlier sense "to challenge, dare" (1766).


texts: Do “chorus” and “refrain” have different connotations?

texts: In a musical context, let's say musicians talking about present-day pop music (i.e. there is not a real chorus with 40 people singing), do the words “chorus” and “refrain” carry different meanings? Is one more apt than the other?


texts: Is Father Christmas unwelcome in the United States?

texts:
Is the name Father Christmas used in the US or is it mainly Santa Claus (and Santa)?

Does Father Christmas sound unusual or out of place if it was used in the US? Would it be laughed at?

As an aside, my feeling is Father Christmas was the main term used in the UK but Santa Claus has become more popular and is now just as acceptable.


texts:
Can anyone please highlight the process behind the formation of words ending in -cial/-tial?
For instance,

finance is the root for financial

but,

different is the root for differential
substance is the root for substantial

Is there some general rule to apply?


texts: Be in development of? Is this a correct sentence?

texts:
I was watching a video on a game developement company, and the person narrating the video said the following.

"That's about how many whole triple A titles might be in development at all of EA's major studios."

So my question is... what does be in development of mean?

It's quite a strange way of putting it, I would have said something along the lines of "might be in development at all by EA's major studios."
But as I am a ESL speaker, I didn't want to jump to any conclusions and assume that a native speaker would be wrong.

Any help would be appreciated!

(Also I apologise for any formatting issues, I'm posting this from my mobile.)


texts: What did Charlie Sheen mean when he said ‘Tired of pretending like not a total bitchin' rock star from Mars’?

texts:
In the latest interview of Charlie Sheen in the NBC’s ‘The Good Morning America,’ Sheen said that he was tired of pretending he’s not a total bitchin rock star from Mars.

Although I guess he is saying he is special, I can’t process this line with my brain as he says. Is ‘Tired of pretending like not --’ grammatically right?
Can somebody parse this line for me?

By the way, can I use the word, ‘bitchin’, quite casually in day-to-day conversation, and also in writing, if it’s not formal?

The part in question in the interview reads:

  Clearly, Sheen thinks quite highly of himself. ‘Come on, bro, I won Best Picture at 20. Wasn't even trying. Wasn't even warm,’ he bragged to NBC. He also said, ‘I'm tired of pretending like I'm not special. I'm tired of pretending like I'm not a total bitchin' rock star from Mars. ... You can't process me with a normal brain.’


texts: What is an alternative for "filled the land"?

texts:
In the following sentence, what is an alternative, more figurative, way of saying "filled the land"?

In the 70s, 20 types of birds, 40 species of mammals and 10 types of trees filled the land.


texts: "currently running survey" or "currently-running survey"?

texts:
I still struggle to understand exactly when to use hyphens when adverbs are involved.  Which of the following is correct? ABC is an acronym representing the actual name of the survey.

"I use results from the currently running ABC survey."

"I use results from the currently-running ABC survey."


texts: How should I understand "Although" in this sentence?

texts:
The following is an excerpt from a passage in Scientific American:

  Paleoanthropology has come a long way since Georges Cuvier, the French natural historian and founder of vertebrate paleontology, wrote in 1812 that "l’homme fossile n’existe pas" ("fossil man does not exist"). He included all fossil primates in his declaration. Although that statement seems unreasonable today, evidence that primates lived alongside animals then known to be extinct - mastodons, giant ground sloths and primitive ungulates, or hoofed mammals, for example - was quite poor. Ironically, Cuvier himself described what scholars would later identify as the first fossil primate ever named, Adapis parisiensis Cuvier 1822, a lemur from the chalk mines of Paris that he mistook for an ungulate. It wasn’t until 1837, shortly after Cuvier’s death, that his disciple Édouard Lartet described the first fossil higher primate recognized as such. Now known as Pliopithecus, this jaw from southeastern France, and other specimens like it, finally convinced scholars that such creatures had once inhabited the primeval forests of Europe. Nearly 20 years later Lartet unveiled the first fossil great ape, Dryopithecus, from the French Pyrénées.

I don't understand the conjunction "although" in the sentence in bold. When I looked it up in the dictionary, I found that it is used to introduce a subordinate clause which contains a statement which contrasts with or modifies the strength of the statement in the main clause. However, I don't see why on earth "statement seems unreasonable today" can do this to "evidence was quite poor". It doesn't make any sense to me. How should I understand this conjunction?


texts:
The phrase is from Rudyard Kipling’s The Drums of the Fore and Aft, 1889. A British regiment is facing an Afghan army:

  [T]he lower end of the valley appeared to be filled by an army in position—real and actual regiments attired in red coats, and—of this there was no doubt—firing Martini-Henry bullets which cut up the ground a hundred yards in front of the leading company. Over that pock-marked ground the Regiment had to pass, and it opened the ball with a general and profound courtesy to the piping pickets; ducking in perfect time, as though it had been brazed on a rod.

I understand “piping pickets” is figurative language meaning the Afghan soldiers firing at the British. But what, in the literal sense, would a piping picket be?

I suppose piping means pipe-playing, figuratively meaning shooting. Then my best interpretation is that picket (see Merriam-Webster) refers to a detached group of soldiers guarding an army from surprise (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries says guarding a military base). The reason I’m not entirely satisfied by this is that I don’t think lines of infantrymen at the head of an army engaging the enemy can properly be called a picket, and actual guarding pickets would most likely not play pipes.

A picket may also be people standing or marching in protest, but I cannot see how these would fit.

So is there anything that “piping pickets” literally refers to?


texts: Problem with two abstract noun usages describe a perfume

texts:
For every Casanova, here is an eau de parfum inviting intense pleasure, an amber fern mixing fine wooded tunes and touches of lemony freshness, sublimed by the elegance of lavender. Warmed with heady spices and colored by sweet fruits.

amber fern is kind of plants/spices used in this perfume. why it has wooded tunes?

Why lemony freshness has touches.

I know the meaning is quite abstract here, I will appreciate similar usage/examples to demonstrate the meaning. Thanks.

Source: http://www.histoiresdeparfums.com/us/histoiresdeparfums/characters-masculine.php


texts: How do you deal with discrepancy in informality between dictionaries?

texts:
Examples include creepy and blockheaded. They are informal by some dictionaries and not by others. How do you determine if they are informal? Is there a preferred dictionary for that? Suppose the audience is just expecting formality.

Dictionaries consults for creepy: OED (neutral (not informal)), Collins (informal), Macmillan (informal), and AHD (informal).

Dictionaries consults for blockheaded: Collins (derogatory (Informal?)), OED (neutral), Macmillan (informal), and AHD (neutral).

All right, I did not know Random house and MW does not label colloquialism. The point still stands though.


texts: What were sideburns called before the Civil War?

texts:
According to reputable sources, sideburns is a corruption of burnsides, a reference to the Civil War General Ambrose E. Burnside.

What was this style of facial hair called before that? I'm referring to side whiskers and a mustache with a clean-shaven chin.

Also, is there any difference between the original sideburns and friendly mutton chops?


texts: How do I punctuate the phrase "final final exam"?

texts:
What is the correct punctuation for a final "final exam" that has been taken?
Should the sentence read:
'That my was my final, final exam!'
or
'That was my final final exam!'


texts: Is there a word for "someone who can talk to anyone"?

texts: Trying to think of a word for a resume that would cover "being able to converse with almost anyone from having a general knowledge of many subjects". It wouldn't be articulate but I can't find anything similar.


texts: hiccup-like noise made while trying to speak when stabbed?

texts:
Say someone was stabbed and he bleeds but he remains conscious. Axiomatically if he were to speak he would speak with extreme difficulty.

What do you call the hiccup-like noise/sound he makes while he is attempting to talk or at pauses.


texts: A word for someone who hurts the chances of others getting help

texts: There is a girl who would look for sympathy and attention over her mental health and by doing this made mental health issues and those suffering from mental health issues look like jokes. She damaged the chances of people getting help and cheapened the situations of others. I'm looking for a word to describe someone whose actions do this.


texts: Word or expression for one-or-more quantification, in prose writing

texts:
Suppose we have quantity that is surely at least one, but likely or possibly many, what would be the best way to say that?

Note that words that simply say many, several, few, isn't what I really search for, I want the emphasis more on one, but still maybe many.

As an example, a sentence from a mystic filled love story, I'm currently trying to write, for some strange reason it come to me in English, like I that or not.

"... but after [one-or-more] lives spent in North European peasant setting I would likely decide myself unworthy to touch such otherworldly object of incalculable value, even if I guessed she is waiting to be dressed, what couldn't have happened given the level of independence I enjoyed in my upbringing on the countryside."

I could just use "several," but that emphasise more-than-one, while I would like reader to still conclude that the current life is enough, despite the narrator may think otherwise.

The narrator, the boy also refer to, besides the current live in with he is just six years old at this point, actually exactly to one of his previous lives (as a girl btw.), but his memories of before are mixed up and fragmented, and he is not sure was there more of this kind he don't recall or discern, as many older memories are much more eventful and vivid.

As to narrator voice, there no restrictions, even arcane technical term can be considered if it express the meaning precisely, but easily understandable, vague expression would be preferable.
Forty years old man inserts this as a memory flash while telling his high school love story.

I have rather skimpy knowledge of English, so forgive me errors there surely is, and don't be shy to point them out.


texts:
I’d like to ask about the sentence from Lion’s Mane by Conan Doyle.

  There was no mistaking that tall, angular, straggling figure. It was
  Ian Murdoch, the mathematician.

Can someone tell me what to picture in my head when I see the word “straggling” used as in the sentence above, that is, for an adjective to describe someone?  This is even the first time that I encountered this word, but used to mean the way someone looks?
My dictionary gives the example “straggling village” which means “scattered, sparsely populated village”(?) but doesn’t put anything about it being used for people. But it says in definition that “straggling” means something like “fraying”, so maybe this Ian Murdoch’s outfit is loose and not sharp-looking? Or is this about his body itself, the way he walks even?  I don’t know. I can’t picture anything.  Could someone tell me? Thanks.


texts:
Humour that is presented in a matter of fact way, as it weren't even an attempt to be funny, can be described as dry. And any sort of writing or information can be dry if it's overly factual in nature.

As far as I know, though, no one uses wet to describe obvious humour or information with lots of flourishes.

What would be the right word for the opposite of "dry" in these metaphorical senses?

Or, to ask another way, what one word would you place in these sentences:

  His joke definitely wasn't dry, it was downright _____________!

  I thought her lecture would be dry, but it was surprisingly ____________.

When was dry first used in this sense, and was wet ever used as it's opposite metaphor?

And if I dare ask a "why" question, is there a reason dry is used in this metaphorical sense without having pulled along the obvious antonym?


texts: when and where is first occurence of word "zap"?

texts:
when and where is first occurence of word "zap" ?
Online Etymology dictionnary mentions comic strip Buck Rogers but without any precise date or quotation


texts: "was" or "were" in the context of "X wishes that he [was / were] Y"

texts:
If you are saying that somebody wishes that they could have been somebody else, which would be more correct:

E from the eels wishes he was Elliott Smith

or

E from the eels wishes he were Elliott Smith?


texts: FCE exam's troubling transformation sentence

texts:
Today my students were given the following transformation sentence as part of their FCE exams:

  I am reading a book which is irrelevant to school work.

Do:

The book I am reading is ..................... school work.

Can you please tell me how to do it?

The obvious would be:

  The book I am reading has nothing to do with school work.

But the exercise asks us to use is, not has.


texts: What is an "anecdote" as opposed to a "joke"?

texts: I've always thought that an anecdote was a short funny story that had actually never happened, but was rather created by common people in order to satirize, ridicule or to laugh at someone. But recently I noticed that native English speakers usually call it simply "joke". For example "Let me tell you a joke. One day a French, an American and an Italian meet at one restaurant..." If it's really the case, then what is an anecdote then? Would the word "anecdote" mean something else or, perhaps, something more specific for native English speakers? How often they use this word?


texts: A word that describes a person who has to fight against a more powerful opponent on a regular basis?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes a person who has to fight against a powerful opponent on a regular basis. This does not involve a competition, like some kind of sport.

Example :

Lawyers willing to take on powerful companies are hard to find, however James from the law firm  Crane & Schmidt, regularly lock horns against major companies.

So in the above example what would someone like James be called, who has to regularly fight against companies/entities that are much more powerful than him?


texts: How do you pronounce "what did you" in "So what did you dream about?" and other similar questions?

texts:
Tina: I had a strange dream last night.
  Jack: Well, dreams are always strange. I've never had an absolutely "normal" dream. So what did you dream about?
  Tina: I dreamed about a skyscraper devouring a small "Starbucks".

How would you pronounce "So what did you dream about?" here? I am especially interested about the did you part. Is it like di you or d'you or what?

(In case my example is poor, please think of any question then that would start with "So what did you…"—the most important thing for me is that this question must not be simply one separate question, but should rather be a part of someone's dialogue line—it should therefore be pronounced quicker than if it were just a question on its own.)


texts:
Is it right to say ‘a bright cold day’ in English?
Is the order of adjectives right while saying so?
Source: Nineteen Eighty-Four by G. Orwell


texts: Verb (or expression) referring to something that happens suddenly and unexpectedly, and upsets you

texts: I’m trying to find a verb or idiomatic expression to refer to something that happens suddenly and unexpectedly, upsets and overwhelms you like a bolt from the blue. For example, a shocking event in your life...


texts: Why is Odyssey "odyssey" but Iliad isn't "iliad"?

texts: Why did "odyssey" come to commonly mean "journey" while Iliad didn't come to have any common meaning?


texts: Is this correct usage of the word irony?

texts:
Comment on Reddit

  Today I learned that TIL Mark David Chapman planned to kill David Bowie and had a front row seat (along with John & Yoko) for Bowie's Broadway show the day after killing John

    The irony is that David Bowie’s first #1 hit “Fame”, from the Young Americans album which came out forty-one years ago, was co-written with Lennon who also played guitar on the track. And it was indeed their fame as rock stars which drew Mark David Chapman to stalk them, and subsequently to murder Lennon.

      That's not ironic. It's fitting

        But it's ironic that something so fitting would happen because you wouldn't expect something so fitting to happen

I understand that irony means an incongruity between what actually happens and what is expected. However, this user (emboldened comment, above) got downvoted for what I believe is an appropriate usage of the word irony.

The original usage of the word as quoted in the post is obviously wrong, it's most certainly a coincidence. However, this user replies saying that it's "an irony that it's fitting because you wouldn't expect it to be fitting". I think it's logical to assume that it wouldn't be fitting for Mark David Chapman to have murdered Lennon and then have plans to murder Bowie just because they co-wrote a song. Am I wrong here? Please explain it simply.


texts: How to define True/False nature of something in one word

texts:
I am creating a program but facing problem with proper language for comment string in program.

My program performs some operation. This operation typically always generates some data. (meaningful data if operation went as expected or error data if operation didn't go well).
Now this program returns these two things to user:

data, True - if operation generates meaningful data

data, False - if operation generates error data

I want a comment string at the start of program which mentions what this program is returning to user, and I am not able to come up with a single word which will define True/False nature of this data.

Things I have on mind for comment string:

"Returns data and True/False based on result of operation" (UGLY)
"Returns data and success nature of operation" (WUT?)
"Returns data and boolean result of operation" (Not good)
"Returns data and ....." (I am not good at this really)


texts: Definite articles before abstract nouns which don't relate to any (very) particular instances

texts:
I know that the title may be little misleading but here is the example which bothers me.

New approach to (the) ellipticity of linear differential operators

On contrary, I am sure that the following are correct

It follows from the ellipticity of the Laplace operator. (specified abstract noun)
Ellipticity is closely related to hyperbolicity. (just abstract nouns)

Similarly, I am not sure how to write the following sentence

I still believe in (the) kindness of people.

Where the following ones are obvious.

Kindness must be sustained. (specified abstract noun)
The kindness of John is beyond all norms. (just an abstract noun)

Thus, Here is my actual question eventually.
Question. Am I specifying abstract nouns in my examples and I should use "the" or is my specification artificial and I should omit "the"?


texts: Agreement between the verb "mean(s)" and a tricky subject "museum-quality materials"

texts:
Museum-quality materials mean your document won't discolor.

or

  Museum-quality materials means your document won't discolor.

I am having some difficulty in determining which version of "mean" to use here.

While "materials" would suggest that we use the verb "mean", I have some doubts.

Is the concept of "Museum-quality materials" a singular concept, justifying the usage of "means"?

Perhaps there is an implied "The usage of" before "Museum-quality materials" also suggesting the usage of "means".

This one has me stumped!


texts:
From time to time I encounter the sentence "Oh, do you now?" which I suppose expresses some kind of irony. Is the question grammatically correct?

The question was asked also here: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=796384


texts:
A word for “useful components”?

Is there a single English noun that means something like “useful small pieces of material or machine elements that the craftsman prefers to have always at hand”? E.g. scraps of cloth, screws, washers, cable ties, or code snippets (for a programmer), or background patterns (for a designer), and so on.

Supposed use cases include: “Don’t forget to bring the needed […] with you” (addressing to a service engineer), “I put all my […] into this folder on Google Drive”.