texts:
Along with the commercial database servers, there has been quite a bit of activity in the open source community in the past five years with the goal of creating a viable alternative to the commercial database servers. Two of the most commonly used open source database servers are PostgreSQL and MySQL. The MySQL website currently claims over 10 million installations, its server is available for free, and I have found its server to be extremely simple to download and install. For these reasons, I have decided that all examples for this book be run against a MySQL (version 6.0) database, and that the mysql command-line tool be used to format query results. Even if you are already using another server and never plan to use MySQL, I urge you to install the latest MySQL server, load the sample schema and data, and experiment with the data and examples in this book.

To me it sounds like the author could as easily have used should instead of the subjunctive form of the verb to be. Would there have been any difference in meaning if he had?


texts:
"They were being rude." She said.
I went to ask her, "Who was being rude?"
Then I thought to myself, as an English teacher (TEFL), why
on earth did I just use the singular when referring to a plural.
Should I have said "Who were being rude?" And then I thought to myself, no, that sounds weird.
Couldn't find anything on this around the internet. Nor in my Oxford Guide to English Grammar, except that we use the singular verb with "who", but that doesn't always make sense.
I know it's normal to say, "Who were they?" and not "Who was they?"
as well.
Please help


texts: Which is correct: "I do not share your hate" or I do not share your hatred"?

texts:
Which is the correct word to use in the following statement: hate or hatred?

  I do not share your hate/hatred.


texts: Is there a name for a place where chains are made?

texts:
I know that a factory that makes ropes is a ropery, but neither 'chainery' nor 'chainworks' seem to actually be real (or at least popular) terms for a place that produces chains.
I hunted around a bit and didn't come back with anything obvious, so I got to thinking that maybe it's something I wouldn't guess (a place that makes or deals in candles, for instance, is a 'chandler').

Does anyone know a term for a place that makes chains?
I'm referring more to heavy, industrial-type chains that you might find in a factory or on a ship, rather than to jewellery-type chains (although if you know the name for a place which produces either or both types of chain, please go ahead and share it).


texts: A general word that decribes "the residue" left behind when a fluid runs over a surface

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes the film left behind when a fluid touches a surface.

For example:

A blood drop runs down a wall -> it leaves a ...
A puddle drying-out leaves a ...
Oil that leaks from a barrel and sinks in the ground leaves a ...

The words I've came up with are:
film, layer, residue (describes it best, but sound wrong), smear, trace, ...

Constraints:

The word should be neutral/scientific
Be applicable for all kinds of fluids and invariant to size
Ideally, it should be specific to fluids ("layer" is too general - "layer of a cake")


texts:
I found these lyrics interesting.

If I told you that I miss you, would you tell me that you miss me back?

It is not obvious to me the verb that 'back' is modifying. Is it that the other person "misses me back" or would the other person "tell me something back"? Is this even grammatical? I cannot find anything on the web about "doing something back," as in "in return for something."
Thanks.


texts: Article before nouns in appositive phrases

texts:
Just spotted out the following sentence on a webpage (web link)

He hungered to kick it, the rubber bean-shaped pod, container of his coveted masculinity.

May I ask why we put an article before the first appositive phrase, rubber bean-shaped pod, but omit it before the second one, container of his coveted masculinity?


texts: What does "This tweet was manufactured in a facility that also processes triggers." mean?

texts: The following tweet is from Paul Graham https://twitter.com/paulg/status/664170540559564800. Is he speaking about the brains ability to process interruptions while tweeting?


texts:
Often you will hear people say something like 'He turned round and called me a liar', or 'what if she turns round and refuses to pay'.

This 'turn round' (I am informed it is much less used in America) is only apposite to certain contexts. And what exactly does it mean?

Edit after reading some of the responses

Clearly abruptness and/or suddenness are strongly implied by the expression. But I cannot agree, as some have suggested, that it necessarily involves a reversal of a previous expression. That is not the way it is always used in Britain. For example one colleague to another might say 'If we give Charles added responsibility, he may well turn round and use it as an argument for a pay rise'. That sort of use is quite common.

I think the turning around is not about a reversal of a previous position, but is used to indicate that the remark came suddenly and out of nowhere. In other words the fact of turning around indicates that it is not part of an existing dialogue which had been going on.


texts: What is a single word for the capability of a theory, for example, to generate further thought and theorizing?

texts:
There are a few words which I blank on quite frequently. Perhaps my "advanced" age has something to do with it. I don't know. One such word for me is euphemism.

There is another word I am blanking on right now. In my answer to this question I also blanked on the same word.

It is a word which describes the power of a quotation, or memorable words, or a theory to stimulate further thought and perhaps research. The word is similar in meaning to prolific, which can denote having the power to generate many further thoughts and ramifications of the original quotation, words, or theory.

If you would be so kind as to supply this word for me and perhaps give me a mnemonic device to make it accessible to me, I'd be very grateful.


texts: How did 'but' evolve to mean 'without its being the case that'?

texts:
but = 5. {with negative} {archaic} Without its being the case that

OED's longness overwhelmed me. Etymonline neglects this definition.
What bridges the original meaning (of but), with the semantic jumps (which induced the meaning of ‘Without its being the case that‘)?

Please help me dig deeper than definition 5, which I already understand and so ask NOT about. Please expose and explain all hidden, missing semantic drifts and links. How should the etymology be interpreted, to understand how the semantic drifts abstracted and severed from the original literal meaning (of but)?


texts:
Is it correct to use "that+subjunctive" after the phrase "in order"?

For example: Nutritionist recommend that people at risk for anemia consume iron supplements in order that blood counts remain stable.


texts:
Here, I copied a sentence from a book published by Cambridge Press: ''Nusselt number is the ratio of the actual heat transfer to what it would be if there were conduction but no convection.''

This may be a simple question for you. But I confused about the ''were'' in the subordinate clause and supposed it should be was since conduction is in singular form. Could you please explain this issue?
Thanks for your comments.


texts: What is the meaning of the line Send the duly filled typed application form

texts:
I have a form given by the employer which has the name, qualification, sex, and such stuff and in the advertisement, there is a line given below. Is that mean I should type the details using the computer or fill the details using the pen.
Send the duly filled typed application form by post.


texts:
Is there any difference? Which would be better to describe a requirement for 1 or 2 days. Suppose I need to inform my Operations team, that I need a particular requirement to be implemented but I want it only for a day or two?

From ODO I get:

  Temporary: Lasting for only a limited period of time; not permanent.

and

  Momentary: Lasting for a very short time; brief.

So both seem to have the same meaning. Which one would be appropriate here.

Statement 1: My team's requirement for implementing ABC system is temporary.

Statement 2: My team's requirement for implementing ABC system is momentary.


texts: When to use "be worth VERBing" and when to use "be worthy VERBing"?

texts:
Consider this sentence:

This movie is worth watching.
This movie is worthy watching.

I am confused about these two words worth and worthy. When should you use “be worth VERBing” and when should you instead use “be worthy VERBing”?


texts: Should "less" or "fewer" be used in these examples?

texts:
For example:

  I need a tire with less ply.

or

  I need a tire with fewer ply.

Is "less" correct because ply is a singular noun? Or should it be "fewer" because it refers to a specific count of plied material? Or should "fewer plies" be used to reduce ambiguity?

A quick Google search seems to show that "fewer ply" is much more common. However, it could lead to confusion in the example below:

  Continuing trend toward fewer ply tires is expected." -Technological trends in major American industries

It might seem that it refers to the number of tires as opposed to the having fewer plies, which seems to be the intention.

Another example could be toilet paper:

  I normally use 3 ply, but now I am searching for a brand with (less/fewer) ply.


texts: Out of the words user's list or users list, which is correct

texts:
I have a list of users who are using the application then which word is correct?
user's list or users list


texts:
I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in an article titled “Building a Classier Image; Las Vegas Hotels Woo Blue Chip Visitors" by Andrew Pollak in The New York Times (November 13, 1997).

  Risks abound in this strategy, though. Visitors may balk at high room
  rates if cheap ones are still plentiful, and giant hotels run the
  danger of becoming impersonal. Most important, though: Can Las Vegas
  absorb all these new rooms?

Can someone clarify if the phrase "run the danger" is improperly used, as I think it is?

I would replace "danger" with "risk", but I'm not sure on this correction because the phrase "run the danger" occurs on many occasions in The New York Times, it frequently occurs in others newspapers and, more generally, it has 365,000 hits on Google Search. So I am wondering if interchanging "danger" and "risk" in this phrase is in common usage nowadays, especially in spoken informal English; albeit it isn't idiomatically correct.


texts: "Taste" is to "flavor" as "touch" and "sight" are to what?

texts:
For the senses, we have:

flavor for taste
aroma/odor/scent for smell
sound for hearing
____? for touch/feel
____? for sight/see

So one tastes a flavor, smells an aroma, hears a sound, feels a(n) _____, and sees a(n) _____. For the former, part of me wants to say texture, but I feel that is too specific; for the latter, I want to use visual or sight, but but does that make sense, seeing a visual or a sight?


texts: In English grammar, what is the difference between a contraction and a clitic (or enclitic)?

texts:
The definition of clitic seems to encompass
that of contractions.  Is there a distinction?

  [A clitic] is a word that is treated in pronunciation as forming a part of a neighboring word and that is often unaccented or contracted

-[Merriam Webster online]


texts: Explain to me the meaning of the sentence, please (stock charts)

texts:
The producer’s $1.5 billion of 4.875 percent notes due in April 2022 dropped 9.625 cents this week to 50.375 cents on the dollar, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Explain it to me like I'm five, please, these subordinances are very hard to get.


texts: Which does the U.S. government use: U.S.’s or US’s?

texts:
The government of the United States punctuates our toponymic acronyms thusly:

the U.S. (not US)
the USA (not U.S.A.)

For proof of this, you can visit usa.gov. (Note that the article is only capitalized at the beginning of sentences or titles.)

When forming a possessive, which does the government use: U.S.’s or US’s (or neither)?


texts:
I really had a difficult time to understand this. It comes from a book I am reading, and it is used to describe a concept the author speaks highly of.

Does it mean that something is very special? Or what?


texts: Can I use the word 'was' twice in the below sentence?

texts: I left shortly after I realized that where I was, was the edge of the world.


texts: Cleft sentences (main and subordinate clauses analysis)

texts:
It was because you are clever that I married you.
It was learning French that I found tiring.
What are the subordinate/main clauses. I am having really hard time analyzing the sentences above.


texts: Why is the past tense used in "I was wondering if you would like to come for dinner?"

texts:
Why isn't the present tense used?

  I am wondering if you would like to come for dinner.


texts: "gauging interest" or "gaging interest"?

texts:
Which is the proper spelling?

"I am just gaging interest"
"I am just gauging interest"

Google searching is giving me inconsistent results.
Also: If the answer is "gaging", why does the 'u' get dropped?


texts: How to describe having the same amount of advantages and disadvantages?

texts: I am writing a discussion paper and am taking a neutral position in the argument. In other words, there are the same amount of ideas for and against the topic. How can I express my disposition in decent formal words?


texts: How do you make a word like "parent(s)" possessive?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in s?

"Please submit your and your parent(s)' federal tax returns."  Is the possessive of "parent(s)'" correctly formatted in that sentence?  I know the apostrophe comes before the "s" for just parent singular, and it would come after the "s" for parents plural, but what if I don't know if it is one or two parents, and therefore want to use the (s)?


texts:
Which one is correct?

  I was wondering if it {was|is} not too late to ask if you could give me ...


texts:
I see a lot of examples of be intended to and intend to. Both of them mean plan to do.
Some examples:

Selling was my game and I intended to be a winner.
The ban is intended to be permanent.

I guess the difference between them is if the subject is human, it should use be intended to. Otherwise use intend to. Is that right?


texts: Why North Americans think America it is only the U.S. and the rest of the continent it is not?


texts: "at which...", "which... at" and just "... at" in technical writing

texts:
I would like to describe a speedometer. Here are 3 ways I can phrase the sentence:

The dial shows the speed at which the car is moving.
The dial shows the speed which the car is moving at.
The dial shows the speed the car is moving at.

I'm pretty sure the first 2 are equivalent and I'm not sure the 3rd is grammatical, though I do hear it spoken. For the purpose of (current) technical writing, is any of the above preferred?


texts: Is code written by a programmer "handcrafted"?

texts:
The immediate definition of "handcrafted" that I found was: "Make skillfully by hand.".

In the same way a woodsman would craft a wooden toy with tools, a programmer using tools such as a computer and keyboard, arranges bits or states to create code.

In this sense, is code or the resulting program "handcrafted"?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular pronoun (“his” versus “her” versus “their”)?

In the sentence ‘Everyone should make everyone’s part’, what adjective possessive pronoun should replace the word everyone’s?


texts: Very confused about is/are in a phrase connected with "and"

texts:
Daytime accuracy of the best component model and each ensemble technique are presented.

I think that it should be "are" as daytime accuracy of "one thing" and "another thing" is plural. Then, I am confused there should be a comma before "and".


texts: 'Spick and span' /British phrase for a flawless person?

texts:
I was wondering if there exists a British expression to denote a flawless/good/spotless person. I'm thinking of using it in a context similar to 'he's no saint', which if I'm not wrong, is American. I would like to be able to use it with the following sentence construction: "He's a far cry from __  himself."  Would it be correct to use 'spick and span' in this instance? Are there any other (more appropriate) alternatives?

Thanks very much.


texts: What is the word order in the founding documents of American history?

texts:
Apparently, the historical document passages in SAT tests have some sort of twisted word order. I wonder if there is a proper text on the grammatical word order rules for such documents.
P.S. I searched online for "the english grammar in founding documents" and other similar links, but nothing useful has come up.


texts: I observed the word "darkweb" in newspapers of late, and wondered if it is one word or two words. I could not get a definite answer when I did a Google search. No one seems to have addressed this issue. Now, my specific question is, which is acceptable usage? - "darkweb", "dark-web" or "dark web"?


texts:
today I got a meesage on facebook by a known guy to me, from US, and the message was like that

  Hi animals, what is the address to the place?

So the question is, the Hi animals is it a kind of expression ? and if so, how is interpeted ?

Is it posible to be auto corrector error ?


texts: When to use 'great interest' vs 'a great interest'

texts:
"I have read your letter with great interest" sounds more correct to me than if I were to write, "I have read your letter with a great interest".

However a sentence like, "she expressed a great interest in your letter" sounds more correct than if I wrote it without the "a".

Is this just personal taste (both ways being correct) or is there an actual rule which determines when/where you should use "a great interest" vs without the "a"?


texts: Do you capitalize "Cajun" if referring to cooking?

texts: Is 'Cajun' when used as a premodifier for 'cooking' always capitalized? Why or why not?


texts:
I came across this word while browsing and could not browse its definition.
I understand amnesia, have heard of retrograde amnesia,but cultural amnesia appears jarring to my mind.


texts: Equivalent for "Make the jacket to the button"

texts:
We have a proverb in my language: "Make the jacket to the button". I'm looking for the equivalent in English.
The meaning of the proverb is:

A tiny part of job is already done. It turns out that the rest of the job can only be done with a significant compromise due to the way the tiny part was done. We use the proverb for the approach that the tiny part should not be reworked and the compromise should be accepted resulting a poorer outcome overall.
A real life example: You want to build a bike path through a park. In the same time you decide to call a gardening team to maintain the plants in the park. Since the construction workers can't work because of the gardening team you decide to build the bike path around the park instead of waiting for them to finish. You made the jacket to the button.


texts: What's an exact word for someone who's unhappy when others do well?

texts:
I'm watching a baseball game and a home run is hit and the crowd goes nuts.

The camera cuts to the home dugout, and the most famous big-hitter on the team (who you'd think would have the corresponding biggest ego) is seen smiling and raising his arms and cheering; whereas a rookie, who had a home run earlier in the night, is seen in the same shot scowling and looking downwards, clearly unhappy that someone else had done well, even though it's on his own team and the extra run won them the game.

What's the word for that guy?

Not "schadenfreude", but kind of the inversion of that.  And NOT just "envious", or "jealous".  He wasn't those things as much as _________?

I'm thinking there is an exact word for this.  (Or perhaps a poignant idiom?) "Nebbish" was the first word that came to mind (not that I've ever used that once in my life) but as I look it up, it's not the meaning I thought.

(..Dodgers: Alexander Guerrero.)


texts: It has been suggested to me that "fellow" is the corresponding singular version of the word "folks" in the context of "hey folks" or "listen folks" but it doesn't have the same gender neutrality.


texts: "For all it's worth" or "for all its worth"?

texts: Should I put an apostrophe in "for all its worth"? The meaning comes to about the same thing either way, as far as I can make out, and it seems like "it's" is more popular. But is there an accepted version? Or any reason for preferring one over the other, other than staying conventional?


texts: Word for citing from a primary source without properly citing it

texts:
What would be the correct word for an instance of an author taking from a primary source, which the author clearly marks as a quotation, which should be given an exact reference to allow the reader to chase up the source, but is not.

‘Plagiarism’ is wrong since the author is not claiming it to be their own work, but it’s a similar sort of failure.


texts: embedded interrogative Clause when quoting

texts:
Today I heard someone saying "...people ask me how can I ...", I know it's wrong, but then again, what if she was quoting?

So the question is:
Can you change an embedded interrogative clause to a quote when you speak?

E.g. "He asked me how he can get there?"
       "He asked me "how can I get there?""

I personally don't do that cause it might get confusing, (it's okay when you are writing, right?) but if you have to, can you?

Thank you very much!


texts:
In the trailer of "First man", there is a conversation between Neil and his wife:
Neil: Are you sure?
Janet: Yes, it'd be an adventure.

I guess, they are making a decision to allow Neil for the voyage to the moon. I wonder why she used "would" insted of "will" because I guess she meant: "Go for it, it will be worth it". Can someone explain it to me?


texts: Do any English synonyms have exactly the same meaning?

texts:
Air and breeze are termed as synonyms but they do not mean the same thing. Air is a general term while breeze would actually mean a cool flowing air.

Do we actually have exact synonyms for nouns in English?

In other languages, for example Hindi, we have 4–5 words meaning exactly the same thing; Hawa, Vayu, and Pawan all mean “air”.


texts: Word for the phenomenon/ideology of absolutely obeying parents' orders?

texts:
In some cultures, morally parents have dominant power over their children, even after they have grown up.

What is the word for this phenomenon/ideology?


texts: If someone were to say something got destroyed, they would say "the destruction of the..." What is this form for "repeal?"


texts: Name for first letter of a sentence and the first letter of a word

texts:
Is there a word for the first letter of a sentence (i in this sentence)?
Is there a word for the first letter of each word in a sentence (itawftfloewias in this case)?
I understand that as terms, this could be described as an acrostic for the former, and an acrostic, acronym or an initialism for the latter case, but I'm wondering if this can describe the letters themselves, or just the subsequent output. edit: Please note that this is not the answer, just a suggestion, and it isn't correct use of these terms
My best guess would be initial for the latter, but I have no idea for the former - maybe acrostic would be a good choice


texts: Are there any style guides that dictate the use of "on/at Amazon" (and other web platforms). If so, what are they and what's the reasoning behind it?

texts:
I've been doing some really basic copywriting for various books that I've seen on various reading lists and I occasionally refer readers to Amazon.  Here's a simple example:

  You can get a good audio version of it over on Amazon.

I've been going through my copy and proofreading it, and for some reason, the notion that using "at Amazon" is not correct and "on Amazon" is correct has entered my mind.  Midway through this process of changing "at" to "on," I got to wondering if any style guides dictate which one is preferable and whether or not this applies to other media platforms (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, ...).  I want to be consistent on this, and to be truthful neither one or the other sounds better to me, but I once heard a news broadcaster correct himself on television.  It was Brett Baier and he seemed to be applying some sort of prescribed, dictated usage one time when he emphasized "on Twitter."  He may have even added "not at Twitter."  (It was a while back and I don't remember his precise choice of words or word order, but that's a good gist of what I heard.)  It sounded as if he had been corrected by someone and was now applying what he had learned.  I remembered this as I was going through my copy and changing all instances of "at Amazon" to "on Amazon."  All of this made me curious, so I took some time to run a few combinations through Google's Ngram Viewer as well as Google's search engine.  The images below show you what I discovered:

In the charts below, the columns indicate the number of times more prevalent "on" is over "at" (although there is one exception and I comment on that).

This then makes sense why "over on Amazon" and "over at Amazon" sound equally as good to me ... they are being used virtually interchangeably and, in fact, "over at Amazon" may actually be more prevalent in some registers.

Anyone reading this may have come to the conclusion that I've answered my own question, but really what I am looking for is some sort of style guide that dictates the usage of one over the other.  If I have some sort of authoritative guide that dictates one over the other, I will continue the somewhat tedious task of swapping out "at" for "on."  Now knowing that at least informally, there appears to be some amount of interchangeability, to continue doing this without any formal guide prescribing one over the others seems rather silly, unnecessary, and unproductive.  From the disparities of "on" over "at" via news searches, I have to assume that there must me some sort of proscription going on.  Anyone happen to know?


texts: "Summoning something into life" vs. "summoning something to life"

texts:
What is the difference between the following?

  Summoning ... into life
  Summoning ... to life

If it helps, I want to use the word idea in the place of dots so it's like:

  Summoning your ideas into life.
  Summoning your ideas to life.

Summoning in this context is supposed to mean that someone is creating, building, rising someone other ideas; bringing it to reality, crafting it.

I wasn't able to find an answer to this question. What is the difference between these two versions and which one is correct (or perhaps both are?)

Is one more American English and one British English?


texts:
I'm facing a great challenge in writing a sentence, and am also having trouble breaking the sentence down on a technical level to make it relevant to a Stack Exchange post.

The sentence version I've arrived on is as follows:

  At the request of Bob, a peer of mine, Alice, had written a letter to a group where Alice and I are members, The Letter Writers Association of America.

Is this sentence syntactically correct?  I feel like it's awkwardly worded, and happens to be the opening sentence to a very important letter, which is why I'm focused on resolving the issue.

Here's are a few alternate versions that I have come up with:

  A peer of mine, Alice, had written a letter to a group where she and I are members, The Letter Writers Association of America, at the request of Bob.
  .

  Alice, a peer of mine, had written a letter to a group where she and I are members, The Letter Writers Association of America, at the request of Bob.

I'd rather lead with information about Bob, as the reader will know who Bob is, rather than lead with information about Alice.

I believe the issues are as follows:

I am unsure whether or not the sentence structure is correct.  Is it correct?
How do I deal with conveying the information that Alice is related to Bob, and that I am related to Alice via our membership the Letter Writers Association of America effective?

[Update]

Here is a new structure in reaction to comments below:

  I recently came across valuable information via a peer group where I'm a member, The Letter Writes Associatation of America.  A peer of mine, Alice Williams, shared this information at the request of Bob Jones.

This expresses that source of the information, my relation to Alice, and Alice's relation to Bob.  It seems to have less strength/impact, but it gets the job done.  I feel like the second sentence is very weak and short.  What do you think?  Again, the reader only knows Bob Jones.


texts:
I'm not sure which term I should use to generally refer to a person whose job involves handling hazardous material.

Operator first comes to mind, but I'm not sure if it works in certain contexts, to indicate a regular employee who handles such material as part of their regular work routine.

Specifically, does the phrase hazardous waste operator clearly indicate such person, or operator may be understood in a more general sense of a company that deals with hazardous waste disposal?

Also, could the term attendant generally be used as a synonym to operator/handler, as for example in a gas station context: gas station operator/attendant?


texts: Use of can't/cannot to indicate the opposite

texts:
I cannot find any references online that would help me know what this topic in English grammar is called, but I'm trying to guide a non-American friend to understand why some would use the word "can't" or "cannot" to imply the opposite, as in

"I will see if I can't get to the bottom of this for you."

Of course it is clearer to say "I will see if I can get to the bottom of this for you," however, I suspect the former is not technically incorrect grammar, though it certainly may be a localized expression. At any rate, it is definitely a common occurrence.

However, being as that I don't know what this usage of "can't" to imply the opposite is called and that it's ridiculously hard to Google, I can't seem to find out either way if it's right or wrong.

EDIT

Thinking over this some more, I feel that the sentence using "can't" is actually clearer than the one with "can." I'm thinking that using "can't" in this case implies the difficulty/perplexity of the situation, and makes it clear that I'll be trying hard?


texts:
According to https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/sub-verb.htm
Subjects and verbs must AGREE with one another in number (singular or plural). Thus, if a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural.
But what about in the case of singular subject performing a verb multiple times?
is it acceptable to say
for EX. the terrorist demand a million dollars in cash in exchange for the hostage
but wouldn't it be confusing because you're supposed to add an s to the verb following a singular subject so that they agree with each other?


texts: I am trying to name a product that is both affordable and premium. I want to use only one word e.g XXXXXX product. I have been looking for an adjective that means both premium and affordable but I have not found one yet. Any ideas?


texts: Difference in usage and connotation between "attenuate" and "extenuate"

texts: What is the difference between attenuate and extenuate in terms of their usage and connotation?


texts: "It is+......+ing" VS "It is+...... +to infinitive"

texts:
1) It is nice to play here "knowing" I have done well in the
past. (this sentence is collected from a newspaper)

2) It is nice to play here "to know" I have done well in the
past.

I am always confused choosing the option of (ing) or( infinitive) after "It is " and "there is and there are " and I have found nothing about those in my research.  Is there any rule for those?  Please help me out.


texts: asking about the past perfect simple in this sentence

texts:
I have a question, why do we use the past perfect in this sentence?

"By the year 2000 more than 12% of the population had managed to
live to the age of 65 and over compared to only 4.1% in 1900. "

my grammar book says: "we use the past perfect to talk about the past and mention something that happened earlier. ". I didn't find any clue about an event that happened earlier in the above sentence. Could you explain why we use the tense for that sentence? . Thanks in advance


texts: What is the question for which the answer is "This is my third coffee today"?

texts:
Duplicate of:
  How should I phrase a question that must be answered with an ordinal number (e.g., the third prime)?
  Framing a question to which the answer is an ordinal number
  How manyth son to your father?
  How will I ask this particular question?
  How to ask a question to get an ordinal number answer
  How can I ask a question with the answer “I'm eating the fourth apple”?
  How do you say this in English?
  How to ask “nth time” of something
  Interrogative form of a sentence
  What will be the question for “he is my second son”
  How do you convert the sentence “George Washington was the first president.” to a question?
  How to frame a question to get answer about the turn that somebody has taken in doing something?
  Asking question about position of a person in a list
  How do I ask this as a question in English?
  A question for this answer

I would like to know: How to ask a question such that the expected answer includes the "nth thing"?

The only way I could do of to do this is by asking:

  How many cups of coffee have you had today?

but the answer to that would be, "3", not "This is my third..."


texts: Word or Phrase for Identical Twins with Opposite Personalities?

texts: Looking for an apt word or phrase for physically identical twins with opposing character traits? Example: one twin tends to be very organized, and the other tends to be very disorganized, etc.


texts: "Stormed out the room" or "Stormed out of the room"

texts: A friend and I were talking about this, and she was telling me it's incorrect to say, for instance, "Joe stormed out the room." According to her, one would say,"Joe stormed out of the room." Do both work or only the latter? Thanks in advance.


texts:
Randomly I texted my teacher regarding tuition fee which I transferred through the bank.

The text was: Money transferred, but I feel some wrong in this text and observed keenly and I found that the correct sentence is Money was transferred. I am embarking curiosity in my mind what is the difference between the two sentences, some knowledge to identify those errors any online tool to detect those errors, remake it to correct one.

PS: Edits are welcome. Sorry for the poor English.


texts: Term for 'Action' that evokes idea of robots

texts:
I'm looking for a word for action or task that would be associated with a robot. For example in context:

  The robot should perform a(n) _________ if circumstances allow.

This word will be used alone, out of context of robotics and hopefully will remind the reader of robots. I am willing to accept there is no such word if that is the case.


texts: "Chance of [gerund]" vs. "chance at [gerund]"

texts:
Which is correct?

  If you tell me the cause, I will have a better chance at fixing the problem.
  If you tell me the cause, I will have a better chance of fixing the problem.

A quick Google search for the two phrases returns a nearly equal number of results. So, perhaps both are correct.

However, there are some scenarios where it seems "chance of" is the only correct option. For example,

  The chances of dying in an airplane crash are nearly 100%.

Using "chances at dying" doesn't seem right in the above statement.

Are there any general usage guidelines for this?


texts: "I am having fun with my stay in Japan." Does this phrase sound natural?

texts:
I am wondering if this phrase sounds natural.
Also, how about the phrase below?
 "I am having a good time with my stay in Japan."

Do these sentences mean almost the same as "I'm enjoying my stay in Japan." ?

Thx


texts:
Is there a definite rule about the use of articles with the possessive nouns in the plural?
One rule says that the article in such a phrase modifies the possessive noun. So, it is correct to say "Peter's book' (not 'the Peter's book") because we do not say 'the Peter'. According to the same rule it's possible to say 'a cat's whiskers' because the article belongs to the word 'cat', not 'whiskers'.

But I've come across the following examples: 'a women's magazine'; 'a wolves' den'; 'a girls' school' and I realize that the article does not belong to the possessive noun any more.  It modifies the 'head'-word like in all ordinary noun phrases as 'an interesting magazine' or 'a prestigious school'.
My head is broken, please, help!


texts:
In the context of a computer system, events that fail to go to their destination are redirected to another one through several steps. I’m looking for an expression to describe the way they take.

I was thinking of “error’s way”, “error’s path”, or “path when errors”, but I don’t know which of those if any sounds English.


texts: Is there any difference between "straighten out" and "sort out"?

texts:
Is there any difference between straighten out and sort out?
I already know what they mean, so I'm interested in nuances.

I'm going to give a couple of examples, let me know if any sounds unnatural, plain wrong, or why you'd pick one over the other.

I think I'll sort out / straighten out the fridge / the stuff on my desk
Have you straightened out / sorted out that reservation yet?
There were a couple of errors but John straightened / sorted them out
Someone's going to have to straighten/ sort out this mess, and I'm glad it won't be me.


texts: In which accent does Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) speak?

texts:
I don't know if Stack Exchange is the right place to ask this question but I am very keen to find out:

Which accent has Brad Pitt adopted in the movie Inglourious Basterds for the role of Lieutenant Aldo Raine?


texts: What’s the history of the pronunciation of Delphi?

texts:
There appear to be two ways to pronounce the last syllable of the word delphi based on deeply held beliefs and cultural divides and assumptions:

Phi ﬁ fo fumIPA /fiː/ using the FLEECE vowel, a monophthong
Fee phi fo fumIPA /faɪ/ using the PRICE vowel, a phonemic diphthong

I’ve heard that the second of those two ways listed above is the “American” pronunciation, as in the Delphi Automotive motor parts corporation — although that one isn’t how we pronounce it in my office in America, which is probably largely the result of the Russian programmer who introduced us to the Delphi programming language.

I’d say I’d never pronounce the Greek letter “phi” (ϕ, φ) like the English word fee, but I don’t speak Greek and if I did, I would probably pronounce it wrong.

The best answer would go into the history of why Delphi is called Delphi (started as the code name, but caught on)  while giving a little Greek lesson (oracle at Delphi) and explaining that there are a lot of non-american Delphi programmers (Marco Cantu calls it Del fee.)  It might even touch on motorsports.


texts: Need word similar to 'fixer' but for a legit professional context

texts:
As of late, my primary work duties have involved being the one on my team who knows the right people, knows how to get things done or at least moving, figures out what people and groups want and figures out how to get it to them in the expectation I can call on their assistance in future tasks that need to be done.  It requires a strong skill at building and maintaining relationships, keeping track (if only in one's own head) of weight and amount of favors, and a darned hefty bit of technical knowledge (for when no one else is available and one has to do the work independently).

In private conversations I jest that I've become the 'fixer' in the group, but as I look to formalize this state of affairs, I am concerned that the term's negative connotation might be inappropriate as a professional, legitimate employment position title.

Thesaurus.com makes a number of suggestions, but none of them feel right.  I wonder if there is another term similar that captures much the same denotation without the negative connotation.  I am also open to suggestions that despite it's connotation, 'fixer' may in fact be the best option.

[Added]

arbiter, arbitrator, attorney -- imply legal work; my work is in IT.

intermediary, mediator, negotiator -- imply the primary role of a position is negotiation, I perceive it more as arranging resources, leveraging social capital, and, as needed, doing the work one's self.  Negotiation plays little role as by the time I'm involved, what is needed is what is needed.

middleman / middle person -- overlooks that the position does at times require being very hands-on, plus has negative connotations of a non-worker, someone who gets others to do the work.

power broker -- also bears significant connotation baggage.  I implicitly have no authority or power; what I get done, I get done by my own merit or by wielding purely social influence.


texts: Can you say: "I wanted to ask, so I could know.."

texts:
On an email I saw this sentence and was wondering what it means?

  I wanted to ask you a few questions, so I would know what to start with.

Does it mean that after I ask, I will know what to start with?

Any help will be appreciated.


texts: Suffixes -hood -dom -ness... Is there any rule?

texts:
English is not my mother tongue, hence I wonder if there was any rule to choose one suffix from another. For now, I use more of a it-sounds-better-than-the-other kind of rule.

i.e: Why freedom, kingdom, childhood, brotherhood, uniqueness, likeliness?


texts: Should you follow parallelism even if you're only connecting 2 clauses/phrases?

texts:
Is the following sentence parallel? "The program commenced with the speaker explaining the definition of recollection, which means reuniting with God and that we need to have faith in Him."

If I added another gerund phrase in the sentence and said, "which means reuniting with God, admiring Him, and that we need to have faith in Him." the sentence would sound totally wrong in contrast to the first sentence that sounded right.

So is it allowed to not follow the parallelism rule when you're connecting only 2 ideas?


texts: Why is "I like to study the English" wrong?

texts:
Recently I noticed that one of my foreign friends who is studying English is struggling with the usage of "the". An example of a mistake she makes is "I like to study the English too because it is fun!". I told her she could omit the "the" but I wasn't exactly able to explain why.

Her reasoning is that the noun 'English' is a specific subject she is stating she enjoys which is why she puts "the" before it.

Can someone explain this case and if there is perhaps an English rule she can follow to know when to use "the"?


texts: Is this sentence that uses many forms of "have" grammatical?

texts:
Look at the following sentences.

  If I had have had to have, having had have previously had, it wouldn't be so difficult. But since I have not had to have, not previously having had, it will be difficult.

Are they grammatical?
Can you think how that would be represented using contractions?


texts: What sounds more natural and clear - "to set free potential" or "to release potential"?

texts:
I tried to translate a phrase but found it difficult to choose proper words. What version of my phrase looks (sounds) better?

A leader is a person who has set free his potential of a leader
A leader is the one who released his leader potential
(some mixture of the above two)

Thank you,


texts: Comma or no comma after Mr. Thomas & do I need the word “message.”

texts: Dr. Thomas I saw Dr. Smith and relied your hello message to him.


texts: Which preposition should follow "sympathies"

texts:
I want to ask an organization:

  Does your organization have any sympathies __ [such and such ideology (X)].

Which preposition should follow "sympathies?"

I was thinking "to" might work, as if their sympathies are poised in the direction of X.  But "for" could work also, as if they have sympathies stored up and reserved for X.

Please help with this particular instance and also help in how to think through similar instances would be much appreciated.


texts: Punctuating question tags: A question mark is always required, isn't it. (Well, isn't it?)

texts:
Consider the sentence:

You didn't leave the dog in the car, did you?

In spoken English, this statement may be given with a rising intonation or a falling one. If the former, it suggests that leaving the dog in the car is a bad thing, and might even suggest incredulity and consternation on the part of the person asking.
In the latter case, when the sentence ends with a falling intonation, the speaker probably believes that the dog should have been left in the car, and that the person being addressed fell short. It amounts to an accusation.
Now, given that question tags are always questions, it seems they ought to be punctuated with a question mark. But in written form, especially dialogue, it feels to me that question tags meant to be spoken with a falling intonation might get by with just a period:

You didn't leave the dog in the car, did you.

I've tried Web searches but haven't gotten close to a set of search terms that point me toward an appropriate source. Anybody know of a definitive answer to this question?
Further Reflection
One of the reasons I ask this is that any declarative statement may be changed into a question by means of a rising intonation at the end.

You left the dog in the car.

becomes a question if your voice modulates upward at the end. In written English, it is customary to show that by means of a question mark:

You left the dog in the car?

I include this information because @FumbleFingers asserts that "punctuation may not be used to differentiate [someone's] two intonations." Yet clearly there are cases in which punctuation is used in precisely that way (though in this case involving the opposite modulation from what I'm suggesting). So I wonder if it might not be possible to move the needle in the other direction.
If not, why not?
Note: I almost accepted my own answer to this question, but retracted it. If someone comes up with a better one I'll certainly consider awarding that one the checkmark. I think this question touches on an important concept, despite the scant attention it has received.
This just in, 1 Nov 2020
I read the following in an article by author Stephen King in the Washington Post this morning.

[I asked] who she was voting for in the [2016 presidential election]. I expected her to say Hillary Clinton, because I stupidly assumed that, as a woman, Annie would love to see a woman president, but also because the polls, in Maine and in the other 49, made it clear that Donald Trump was going down, buried under a landslide.
“Trump,” she said.
I was shocked. I think I said, “You’re joking.”
She gave me a look that said, Surprised you, didn’t I.

[Italics by King, boldface emphasis by me]


texts:
I have seen the phrase "Here's wishing you a very happy birthday" in greeting cards.

What is the meaning of "Here's"? Where does it come from?


texts: Is there a difference between "innocent" and "not guilty"?

texts:
I have always thought the antonym of "guilty" is "innocent", but apparently it's just "not guilty".  Even juries seem to agree.

But why? Aren't they antonyms? Or is there a subtlety I'm missing here?


texts:
What do you call a number which is the same written backwards?
Example 16061.


texts: People at our workplace sometimes prefer to be called their middle name. However, to find them in the company email directory, a person has to know their legal first name. What is the best way to indicate both names when writing a story about such a person?


texts: Words begin or end with X, Y, or Z to describe price/quality of services/products

texts:
I'm looking for a set of words which begin or end with letter "x", "y", or "z" to describe differentiated price levels or quality of services/products.

  Purpose of this question:

To label services/products into 3 categories by their price or quality.

For example:

Word with "x" should mean "cheap, least expensive, but less quality"
Word with "y" should mean "best value, balanced with price and quality"
Word with "z" should mean "premium, most expensive, but highest quality"

  Rules:

The words don't need to be correct grammatically.
The words read (sound) exactly the same as original word.
The words can be slangs / new words.
The words don't need to be found from "Oxford dictionary".

  Words I came up with:

luX (from luxury)

cheapy pricy

I couldn't come up with any words with "z". And I'd like your suggestions for "x" and "y" as well.


texts: Can we say “front of spring” or merely “beginning of spring”?

texts:
In an answer to a Writers SE question, I used the phrase “a bright morning at the front of spring”.  John M. Landsberg commented:

  Nice revision, but note we wouldn't say "the front" of a season. In poetry, you might make it work, but never in prose. Seasons have temporal length, not physical substance, and they also come and go, so you can say the beginning of spring, the onset of spring, the arrival of spring, and more, but never the front.

Is it true one can never say “the front” of a season in prose?  And is there historical precedent (in the way of grammar dicta) for not applying front to ethereal or ephemeral things?


texts: Suitable description for this type of sentence

texts:
Lyrics from The National's Ada

  Ada don't talk about reasons why you
  don't want to talk about reasons why
  you don't wanna talk

Is there a word for the structure of this sentence - for me it loops like circular reasoning

If I have to describe this as a __ sentence - can it be "helical" ?


texts:
My friend from the USA posted on her Facebook timeline:

  "Perfect day for a walk"

I was wondering if there is a rule for not using an article at the beginning of the sentence? I thought that you must put an article in front of a singular, countable noun.

Plus, can you suggest me any good software or an online tool for grammar check, especially articles. I use Grammarly, but it's not so precise, including this issue.


texts: Usage of abbreviations in semi formal written conversation

texts:
Some people always tell me to avoid using abbreviations that often used in forum talk, AKA "Internet Slang", in semi formal written conversation. Of course, I would never use the phrase TTYT, TTYL, LOL, YSVW, YW in my email.

IMHO, it is still appropriate to use abbreviation as long as it is very well known and does not contain inappropriate meaning. AFAIR, phrases like BTW, ASAP, FYI, CMIIW and etc. are often appears in my email with customers. YMMV.

What's your suggestion? How do you decide if particular abbreviation is appropriate or not to be used in semi formal written conversation (email) ?

TIA.


texts: Are you absolved from your sins or  absolved of your sins?


texts:
As I was taught in school and , the T ending sound of words is unvoiced and should be pronounced with air, but recently I met a friend from the US, those aired T sounds were missing from her speaking, like "hat", "hot", "right". She speaks like /hæ/, /hɑː/,/raɪ/.

So I wonder if it's common to miss those sounds for Americans?


texts:
I have collected the following examples from a corpus:

(1) Ohio is of course a battleground state that made observers, indeed most observers say Donald Trump must have to win this election. But can he do it?

(2) I must have to save him at any cost.

(3) They must have to either modify their Torah values or divorce them from being a relevant factor in their lives.

(4) US Article III judges should be re-confirmed by the Senate every 7 years (and guaranteed a vote too, no filibusters) and must have to retire at 70.

(5) Under the high taxation that STATE must have to pay for these program.

(6) I've been thinking about being cool, I must have to admit!

(7) So, you must have to eat right, exercise to stay in shape.

(8) They must have to just stack, like, a hundred cars into those two spots.

Can you help me and explain to me what ’must have to’ means in these examples, please?

Thank you


texts: "Which stage is most desirable?" or "Which stage is the most desirable?"

texts: Which sentence is correct? Should I put "the" before "most"?


texts: How does one translate 'mast' into English

texts:
The Persian word مست (romanized as 'mast') is a staple of mystic poetry. Literally, it means drunk or inebriated. More accurately, it is used to mean a state of spiritual euphoria. It has very positive and active connotations. Despite the Islamic prohibition of alcohol, it is considered a great compliment.

How can it be translated into English?


texts:
I assume that

  *He didn't say he enjoyed the party at all.

is ungrammatical. But what about

  He didn't think he enjoyed the party at all.

Is this analysis correct? And if yes: What's the difference?


texts: What preposition seems to fit in this sentence? What will the difference in the meaning of the sentence?


texts:
Examples:

  "Feds will make music downloading illegal, Heritage minister says."

and

  "Feds to look at offering Canadians option to increase CPP
  contributions"

My best guess is simply Federal Government, I however suspect it might have a more precise meaning.


texts: Is "They're not AS GOOD ACTORS AS he" grammatical?

texts: Is it grammatical to use an "as...as" comparative construction with a plural noun at its center, or does the title sentence need restructuring?


texts: How to hyphenate “small-gap short-period long devices”?

texts: I would like to use a compound adjective for the word "devices", but I don't know how to place the hyphen. Does small-gap short-period long devices sound correct?


texts: The Person who become indifferent after they have achieved their goal

texts:
I want to know what do we call a person who becomes suddenly indifferent after they have achieved what they were looking for.
In my mother tongue, there is an idiom for that, Turning eyes but it seems like it means something different when it comes to English.


texts: Usage differences between "than", "to", and "over"

texts:
I understand that than, rather than, over and to are used to compare things. How ever I am not sure when to use those for specific scenarios. Are these interchangeable?

Consider the sentence below:

  Peter’s performance is better than Jim’s.

Can I write this as:

  Peter’s performance is better rather than Jim’s.
   Peter’s performance is better to Jim’s.
   Peter’s performance is better above Jim’s.

I personally feel among the above four sentences the last 2 seem awkward (I might be wrong also). However I am curious to know which of the words are most suitable to which cases?

And my focus here is not on Better. Rather it is on when we use 'to' for comparison? And when we use 'over' comparison? And when we use the adverb 'rather' before 'than' in a comparison. I would like to know the line which is drawn between those.


texts:
Why is the plural of reindeer sometimes "reindeer"?

Wiktionary has the following etymology:

  From Middle English, from Old Norse hreindýri (“reindeer”), from hreinn + dýr (“animal”).

while the etymology of deer doesn't have any mention of Old Norse, so I assume knowing about the pluralisation of "deer" (from Why is the plural of “deer” the same as the singular?) isn't sufficient to explain this.


texts: Does a period, semicolon, comma, or nothing go there?

texts:
Recently, I was being tongue in cheek when I wrote the following words:

I'm quite dead, I assure you.

Someone felt inclined to correct my grammar and say that it was a comma splice.  They suggested that I should've written it one of the following ways:

I'm quite dead.  I assure you.
I'm quite dead; I assure you.

Their reasoning was that it's two main clauses not joined by a conjunction.  I see where they are coming from, but it also looked strange to me because what I meant was:

I assure you (that) I'm quite dead.

I simply inverted it.  The "that" is implied.  Does inverting the sentence affect punctuation?  Where I might have put no punctuation otherwise, is punctuation now required?  If so, is a comma sufficient or is either a semicolon or period required?    Which would be the proper way to write such sentences?

A.  I'm quite dead I assure you.

B.  I'm quite dead, I assure you.

C.  I'm quite dead; I assure you.

D.  I'm quite dead.  I assure you.


texts:
There is a Chinese proverb saying that "If you understand yourself and your enemy, you can win any battles"?

It seems that the proverb was from "The Art of War" of Sun Tzu

  “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result
  of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for
  every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know
  neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” (Source)

My question is that, is there any proverb in English that expresses the similar meaning

Maybe "He who sees through life and death will meet with most success". but seem this expression just focus on yourself and does not say that you need to understand the enemy.

So,
Is there any proverb or idiom in English that says that "If you understand yourself and your opponent, you can win any battles"?


texts: Romney claims that China likes to "flaunt the rules"

texts:
In last night's GOP debate, candidate Mitt Romney implied that China tends to "flaunt the rules".  Looking up "flaunt," it means to "show off."

So what did he mean?


texts: Can you explain the difference between "make action" and "take action"

texts: Also, can you provide me with sample sentences using "make an action"?


texts:
In the particular context that I'm in, I was writing about several lines of programming.  For simplicity, let's call them:

line a
line b

First, I described line a.  Great.  Then I wanted to write about line b, but couldn't think of the way to describe the relationship between b and a.  The closest I could think of was "follows", but to say "the following line" is ambiguous: it can refer to either the line of code after line a, or it can imply that I'm going to copy and paste line b into my text and reference it there (which was not the case).

I ended up saying something to the effect of "line a precedes some code that...", but was wondering:

If line a "precedes" line b, then what is the proper and unambiguous term for the relationship between line b, relative to line a?  Postcede?


texts: What is it called when you do something once and benefit from it for a long time or forever

texts:
Like writing a book or making an album. You do the work once and profit from it continuously. Also when you buy something that will last you a lifetime. You pay a lot of money now but save money in the long run.

I believe it has something to do work, time or money invested upfront or once. I can't remember where I read it, nor can I remember if it was a single word or a two word phrase.


texts: How else can we say "what number are you in the line"?

texts: Is there any way to rephrase "what number are you in the line"?


texts: "Introduce person to object" or "introduce object to person"?

texts:
I'd like to introduce you to this technology.
  I'd like to introduce this tech to you.

Which one is right and what are appropriate uses?


texts: Opening line for business email before christmas

texts:
Can I use the below opening line for an email to a client

"Hi XYZ

Hope you are doing good. I'm sure you must be looking forward to the Christmas now.

Did you get chance to look into blah blah blah !!

"


texts: Term for an importance level between "Medium" and "High"?

texts:
I'm struggling to think of a name for something which feels to me like there's probably a good word for. In a software project, we have a ranking of "importance" of an element. Our scale currently has five levels of importance, which are expressed as follows, from most important to least important:

Critical
High
Medium
Low
Trivial

A case has been raised in which we have a legitimate need to introduce a new level, between the existing "Medium" and "High" levels. My question is simply this:

What is a good term for expressing a priority or level of importance between "High" and "Medium/Normal"?

We should be able to use the term to say "This item is [blank] priority" or "This item has a [blank] priority level" and have it make sense.

The best I've been able to come up with is "somewhat high" or "moderately high", but I'm unsure if there's a better (perhaps even obvious) word or phrase I'm missing here which would express the concept. It feels to me like there's a pretty large gap between something that's of average importance and something of high importance. I'd strongly prefer a single word here, but a compound of two words is acceptable if that's the best there is. Any suggestions?


texts:
I'm preparing for an upcoming presentation for a class on Richard Nixon and Watergate.  Nixon was given the name "Tricky Dick."  The name "Dick" as a nickname for someone named Richard was very common.  I happened to mention this to a younger teacher in my office and they thought I was joking.

The word "dick" nowadays refers to male genitalia in a negative way.  The use of the word "dick" in "Private dick" (a detective) does not seem related...at least I couldn't see any connection.

When and why did the word "dick" change from a common nickname to an almost exclusive reference to male genitalia?

Please note, I am not interested in the etymology of the word.  I want to know why the word has almost completely shifted meaning.  Was there a popular event or phrase that shifted the meaning?  The only other word that comes to mind in this way is "gay," which the dictionary still defines as "happy" and used to be used a lot but is now almost completely relegated to the meaning "homosexual."  A quick search under "Nixon campaign button" on Google provides many results which currently would be unacceptable for use but at the time were quite OK.  Here is a link.  Here is another.


texts:
I am frequently confused regarding two words : refrain and abstain. I understand that abstain has negative connotations as it conveys that something must be stopped. On the other hand, refrain carries a positive sense. I mean I have desire, however I am compelled to stop. Am I right? For instance

In spite of my desire, I refrain myself from going outdoor.

I promise to abstain from alcohol.


texts: How to say someone's home was something plural?

texts:
My true home were the streets of the suburb of XYZ.

Not sure how to say that the streets (plural) were the home of a specific person.

Using the word homeless would be against the intended meaning. This specific person had a family and a house but mostly wandered and slept in  streets or alleyways, because he felt that's where he belonged.


texts:
When writing software documentation I very often have to describe things like a value manager, a value cache or a device map. These are usually components of the software system.
In practice the manager does of course not manage a single value but many and the map does not map only a single device etc.
My question is: is it more common to speak of a values manager instead of a value manager and of a devices map instead of a device map etc.?


texts: Must an independent clause follow a colon (if it's not a list)?

texts:
I wrote this sentence:

  The unregulated internet we are accustomed to won out over another
  vision for the World Wide Web: a tightly controlled,
  "government-sponsored broadband network that would have delivered
  video from TV stations and other approved content"—another
  FCC-regulated medium like radio or television.

A TA subtracted a point, explaining:

  Unless you are listing two or more items, an independent clause should follow a colon.

I know an independent clause must precede the colon, but I can't find anything to back up the TA's explanation. The rule of thumb, according to a couple of popular grammar sites, is that if the colon can be replaced by the word "namely", it's usually OK. Such seems to be the case in my sentence above.

Is my sentence grammatically incorrect?


texts:
A. We have been friends for 10 years now.

  B. We have been friends [ ] 10 years now.

Is B a new trend in contemporary English? Or is it restricted only to colloquial English?
In short, I would like to know when precisely B is used and, most importantly, what language registers it is used in.


texts: "Miami installed the first ATM for rollerbladers"

texts:
This is Snapple Real Fact #851. Is this sentence ambiguous between

They installed the first ATM specifically for rollerbladers, and
They installed the very first ATM, coincidentally for rollerbladers

I'm assuming they mean the former. Does the grammar imply solely the former as well? And would a comma - "the first ATM, for rollerbladers" - explicitly imply the latter, or would it still be ambiguous?


texts:
Study Claims Iraq's 'Excess' Death Toll Has Reached 655,000

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001442.html


texts: When writing large ordinal numbers, does one use commas? Is it 1,234th or 1234th?


texts: Pair like man/woman but clearly for sex not gender

texts:
If I want to distinguish social (or linguistic) gender and biological sex in a text, is there any polar pair of terms that clearly refers to organisms with a specific sex and not (also) to persons with a specific gender role?

This is my perception of some (more or less popular) pairs:

man/woman – ambiguous
boy/girl – gender
gent(leman)/lady – gender
sir/ma(da)m – gender
Mr/M(r)s… – gender
dom/sub – gender
butch/femme – gender
bro/sis – gender
lad/lass – gender
masculine/feminine – gender
male/female – sex, but hardly used seriously as nouns for humans

I am aware that both, sex and gender, are spectrums and those terms are just designating opposite ends thereof.

I am not sure whether the following (mostly informal) terms are sex and gender neutral nor whether they have antonyms.

probably +masculine, perhaps +neutral

bloke
chap
skate
chum
bud(dy)
pal
mate
dude

+masculine +female

gamine
meg
romp
hoyden

+feminine

damsel
maid


texts: Usage of 'morbid' and 'morbidity' in non-medical contexts

texts:
I have a question about the liberty we can take in using the word 'morbid'.
Generally speaking, what I understand the word to mean in a medical context is a state of sickliness. That's just how the population is and life goes on.
I have the following example wherein I used the word morbid in a non-medical context:

Last Christmas, the family woke-up to the sound of loud arguments coming from Jim and Jane's room. We all just stayed in bed till it was time to get the lunch ready for the family. Having lost the entire morning, I decided to just order pizzas for the day. Jim and Jane seemingly didn't find any resolution to their fight and their bad mood affected all of us. It was disappointing to spend the Christmas lunch and dinner with a sense of morbidity in the air. Forgive me for not wanting that to happen this year.

Interested to know your views. I actually find it interesting to use words in ways inspired from different topics altogether. I feel it can be quite impactful without being obvious.


texts: "Why do people read books?" — "Because people read books to get information."

texts:
I work at a middle school in South Korea.

One of the questions on the recent 2nd grade mid-term exam was "Why do people read books?".

There are over 300 students in this year, so there were plenty of different answers.

One of the answers was "Because people read books to get information."

I believe it's wrong, but I want to explain to my students why.

If anyone could explain the grammar, I would be very grateful.


texts: Sentence Fragment dispute with MS office 2010. Is this the right way to write my sentence?

texts:
"Many of the owners of the solutions mentioned in the bullet points above pay royalties to the original collectors of the data."

That sentence gets a flag in MS office 2010 as a Fragment. To me, it sounds bumpy, but is grammatically correct. Am I wrong?


texts:
Is there an adjective describing an object designed for a use, but designed to be ornate without much regard to how well it fulfills its practical use?

For instance, someone might say "Fountain pens are X." because they are designed with a purpose-- to write-- but may not be as pragmatic or in some cases operate as well as the ballpoint.


texts: How does punctuation affect this clause in a sentence?

texts:
In this sentence:

  Parents and children, under the age of 18, that live in the same residence

When punctuated this way, does the age restriction apply to both parents and children? I mean, obviously it doesn't in reality. I'm just wondering how to properly punctuate the sentence to reflect the actual policy.


texts: Marketing equipment and the fine line between words describing condition

texts:
Hi Stackeschange folks!

I'm a business owner working on my marketing, and have encountered a problem of semantics regarding the condition of the equipment we sell. Please pardon the long introduction to the english related question:

We sell used laboratory equipment and we take the approach of being accurate and honest in our descriptions. We're trying to avoid overselling our work in an industry where I feel there is a lot of misrepresentation of the abilities of dealers.

However, our company has some strong technical staff, and we do some excellent work on certain types of equipment and we want to make sure that we don't undersell ourselves if possible.

The problem we have run in to is that on one of the most popular used lab equipment marketplaces, eBay, the conditions offered to us to describe our equipment fall short of being precise enough. Allow me to describe them:

Used: The item was previously used. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but it is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used. See the seller’s listing for full details and a description of any imperfections.

Seller Refurbished: The item was restored to working order by the eBay seller or a third party not approved by the manufacturer. This means the item has been inspected, cleaned, and repaired to full working order and is in excellent condition. This item may or may not be in original packaging. See the seller’s listing for full details.

Now, the problem we run in to here is that the "Seller Refurbished" definition requires the instrument to be in excellent condition. Despite doing some cosmetic work on our instruments, often times our best items that have undergone significant mechanical repair and service and are superior than an unserviced piece of used equipment are not in truly excellent condition. The cost/time can often be too much to be justified.

We do emphasize descriptive and precise product descriptions, but when your customer is busy, it is handy to have a short definition of the condition of your product.

So now the questions regarding language arise. The word "reconditioned" has been pitched as a one-word definition for what we do. But I thought I would pose this question to a community of language nerds. Here are a few questions I would enjoy hearing the answer to:

What does "refurbished" mean to you, especially concerning capital equipment?
What does "reconditioned" mean to you?
How would you differentiate between "refurbished" and "reconditioned"?
Do you have an alternative one-word or two-word definition for what we do?

Sincerely,

I like honest business


texts: What does “Barack Obama, circa 2008, may have just clinched the Republican nomination for President in 2012” mean?

texts:
I assume native speakers have no problem at all with the beginning lines of the following paragraph of the article titled “In Primary Victory Speech, Mitt Romney Echoes Barack Obama’s 2008 Message” in today’s (April 25) Time magazine. But to me, a non-native English speaker, the line in bold below is confusing.

  Barack Obama, circa 2008, may have just clinched the Republican nomination for President in 2012. Mitt Romney doesn’t look like Barack Obama. And they don’t share a governing philosophy. But when Romney claimed his title as presumptive nominee on Tuesday night, the former Massachusetts governor made clear his belief that Obama’s 2008 message of hope for American rebirth could work again in 2012.

Why does Barack Obama, who is a Democratic-party President, need to clinch the Republican nomination for President in 2008, or 2012 whichever?

Can you paraphrase the first line so that even a beginning English learner can understand?


texts: Does "three corner" refer to South Australia?

texts:
In the NHK program Somewhere Street (Japanese: Sekai Fureai Machiaruki) on Adelaide, a lifesaver was quoted as saying what sounded like (pideo.net link at 14:25):

  Born down the road ... after going to the other states, it's pretty
  busy inter-state, so it's nice to come back and live the three corner
  pace, very nice

Does "three corner" refer to South Australia, with the North West, North East and South West (?) corners being the three corners?

Edit: Maybe I'm mistaken, and the guy is saying "three quarter pace".


texts: What does mean "snap right back to your book"

texts:
I need help to know what this sentence means? I have trouble understanding phrase "just snap right back to your book"

Sometimes it feels as though your attention has wandered for just an instant. Then, with a start, you realize that the book you were holding, the red plaid cotton shirt with white buttons, the favorite black jeans and the maroon socks with an almost-hole in one heel, the living room, the about-to-whistle tea kettle in the kitchen: all of these have vanished. You are standing, naked as a jaybird, up to your ankles in ice water in a ditch along an unidentified rural route. You wait a minute to see if maybe you will just snap right back to your book, your apartment, et cetera. After about five minutes of swearing and shivering and hoping to hell you can just disappear, you start walking in any direction, which will eventually yield a farmhouse, where you have the option of stealing or explaining. Stealing will sometimes land you in jail, but explaining is more tedious and time-consuming and involves lying anyway, and also sometimes results in being hauled off to jail, so what the hell.
The Time Traveller's Wife — Audrey Niffenegger


texts: "distinguish them more completely" vs. "more completely distinguish them"

texts:
Is there a rule I could tell the difference between:

  Both A and B have other attributes that distinguish them more completely.
  Both A and B have other attributes that more completely distinguish them.


texts:
I am looking for a dramatic equivalent for "drizzle". I want to write down a sentence like this:

There was a light breeze blowing. Timid clouds gathered around and then it started to...

P.S: Is "timid cloud" correct?


texts:
In searching for the reason for the message -> messenger shift, I came across the theory of the 'parasitic n.' Essentially, the idea is that during the post-Norman Conquests period in England, borrowed words from French containing nasalized vowels preceding a 'g' would be misheard by English speakers as containing velar or alveolar nasals, and as such were written or repeated containing an erroneous n.

Are there other instances of such 'parasitic phonemes' in the history of English?


texts:
I have a question regarding the following sentences:

which one is more native one.

I wouldn't be trying to learn English, if I haven't met someone who inspired me.
I wouldn't be trying to learn English, if I didn't meet someone who inspired me.

Are both sentences ok or is there a third one you can give to me which sounds more natural?


texts: What does this phrase mean? It should be an idiom and I can't find it.


texts: Synonyms for "beginning" of a research era

texts:
For the following sentence, I would like to find a good word for "beginning". In German, we for example have "Geburtsstunde" which means "hour of birth", and I would like to find a similar word.

"The ... problem has been thoroughly studied ever since the beginning of the studies of graph theory."

I am completely unsure how to write this sentence and it is also fine to completely change it, but I really would like it to sound "great", as it is planned to be the first sentence of the introduction in a paper.

Thank you very much for your help!


texts: How can I describe how profoundly I was affected?

texts:
I recently survived two brain surgeries (the first needed to be reopened after complications) on Sept 21 and Oct 9. I had a month to get things in order, raise money, coordinate my husband and son taking off of work, and find a way to return to the doctor in Maryland. We live in Wisconsin. After starting a GoFundMe account, we received an abundance of prayers, kindness, well wishes, and funds; All of which were beyond our expectations, or request. In the end, a two week stay in Maryland, turned into a month and two days. None of this would have been possible without the love and support of everyone.

I want to post my last update to our GoFundMe, and up until now, I have shared my gratitude and said thank you...almost too much. I'm obviously happy to be alive, but I am also grateful, beyond words, to everyone that gave. (not just monetarily) I would like to share how deeply touched I am that so many continued to follow my progress so closely.

In short, "thank you", "ever so grateful", or the like, just doesn't seem strong enough for what I am trying to express.

Here is a link to the GoFundMe, if that helps?


texts: Somebody has posted a link to my profile in twitter. Could you tell me what he wants to say?

texts: This guy posted a link to my profile on Twitter, could you tell me what he wants to say?


texts: "Previously, we met up with x" or "Previously, we meet up with x"

texts:
As above..

I am just wondering why so many people uses the sentence below -

  "Few weeks ago, we meet up with..."

instead of using 'met up'.


texts: What word best describes a behaviour in which one is boastful or proud of an attribute that most would consider undesirable? (E.g., "There ain't anyone around here dumber or fatter than me."


texts: Is there a more tactful way to tell someone they are “difficult to work with”?

texts:
I want to tell someone they have been “difficult to work with” in writing, but I don’t want to put it quite so directly.

Is there another way to write it so that doesn’t sound as if it were some behavioral issue? I am trying to think of words to lighten it up so as not to affect a working business relationship.

Also, the person could be going through a stressful time outside work, and I don’t want to offend.


texts: Is there a symbol out there capable of denoting a chapter in a citation?

texts: When citing like [Source, ch.number], is there a particular symbol that could or should replace the "ch." abbreviation?


texts: A word for the experience and vernacular of a group of people - Discord? Is this correct?

texts:
In college, I took a class called technical writing.  It has been a while, but this is my recollection.  Discord is defined as the collection of vernacular and experiences of a group of people.  For instance, a programmer might use the phrase "assembly".  The layman might think they mean a group of people, but they were actually talking about the computer language.  This phrase exists as part of the discord of programmers, and it has its own meaning in the context of other programmers.
The context through which I learned this phrase was something like "when writing a technical document, the writer must consider the discord of his/her audience to be effective".  For instance, when writing a manual for a layman, a wise programmer might refrain from using the phrase "assembly" without due explanation.  The writer must consider the discord (the experiences, vernacular, feelings, etc) of the audience, or else they may be confused or not understand the document at all.
My question:  Is this a correct usage of the word discord?  Have I mis-remembered the actual word for this?  I do not have access to the original coursework.  I have tried several times in past years to research this concept in more detail but I cannot seem to find any data on this.  If this is the correct term/definition, then why can't I find any reading on it?  Thanks.


texts: When referring to a few people in the workplace as Asians, not knowing their direct origin, I was reprimanded for racism how should I have addressed them as a whole.


texts: What's the meaning of "don't make too much trouble for me"

texts:
I asked my friend if she likes roujiamou, a popular snack in China, because I was considering to bringing her this as a small gift when we are hanging out tomorrow.

She said "I'd like that, but don't make too much trouble for me, I just want to see you."

I am so confused. Did she refuse my small gift by saying "don't make too much trouble"? Is it weird to give your friend a small gift for no reason?

I basically know nothing about American culture and I just want to strengthen friendship.


texts:
What is the difference between instant and instantaneous? Which is correct in this sentence?

  It had an almost __ response time.


texts: What Germanic language is the most understandable for the native English speakers?


texts: Why does law use "assigns" instead of "assignees"?

texts:
Assign is typically a verb.

Only in legal writing do we see it used as a noun, meaning "the entity to which something is assigned," and usually as part of a "successors and assigns" clause.

Everywhere else the noun describing the entity to which something is assigned is assignee.

Any ideas on the origin of the peculiar legal usage?


texts: I get so confused in possessive pronouns

texts:
Can you please correct these sentences.

1.Can I click a picture of yours.

2.Do you know the email address of John's?

3.I think of both of yours betterment.

4.You are a friend of John's.


texts:
As follows sounds more correct to me, as the following sounds super wrong to me,but just wanted to hear your opinion as well on this one, is "as the following" a legit phrase when listing things that follow, for instance can you use it like this:

bank process shall be as the following:

a) something
b) something else


texts: "holding their own internal lives at bay"

texts:
The following is a passage from this article:

  The shift from emails to texts simply accelerates the process by which people are holding their own internal lives at bay. After all, if some future editor had the misfortune of combing through an archive of your text messages, I doubt she would find much that revealed who you truly were.

What does interal life mean mentioned in the passage?


texts: What does "A Gossip Girl in Sweet Valley with traveling pants" mean?

texts:
In the 2010 film Easy A, there is an exchange between several characters:

  Rhiannon: Aren't you supposed to be like, eternally in love with him,
  and shit?

  Olive Penderghast: Yes, I believe so. If I was "A Gossip Girl in Sweet
  Valley with traveling pants".

What does Olive mean here by "Yes, I believe so. If I was "A Gossip Girl
in Sweet Valley with traveling pants".?

Please note: English is not my native language, so the simpler and clearer you can make your explanation, the better.


texts: Are 'third person singular pronouns' optional?

texts:
I took a English test in a non-English speaking country.

There was a problem with a picture. In the picture, a girl whose name is Ann says,

  My knife doesn't cut well.

The question asked: "What did Ann say?"

I had to make this direct speech into indirect one.
My answer was:

  Ann said that her knife didn't cut well.

I thought that I had perfectly answered the question, but my teacher said that I should replace 'Ann' with 'She'

So, do I always replace a noun with a pronoun?
Is there a rule?
Isn't it optional to use pronouns?


texts: Is there a word for the feeling of wanting something material?

texts:
If you see an attractive pizza and feel desire, you can say, "I feel hungry". If you see an attractive person and feel desire, you can say, "I feel lust". If you see an attractive car and feel desire, you can say, "I feel _____ ?"

Is there a single word that describes the desire for something material?

I'm thinking "greedy", but that implies a desire for more material possessions generally, it's not specific to seeing a single item and wanting it. "Desire", of course, is accurate, but again that is too general - it's not specific to material goods. Is there a word (or maybe short phrase) specifically describing the desire to acquire a particular item?


texts: Difference between Pray for and pray over

texts: What is the difference between "Pray for" and "pray over"??i found this word in a novel named "the testaments" by Margaret Atwood where it was mentioned as such:" There were rumours about the Rachel and Leah Centre at school, but they were vague: none of us knew what went on inside it. Still, just being ***prayed over*** by a bunch of Aunts would be scary." When we use "over" after any word,what do we generally refer??And since I have a poor knowledge of phrasal verbs,can anyone recommend me any  book written on phrasal verbs to enhance my knowledge?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Why there is “the” before some names but not others

When do you use definite article with names of places?

I have gathered from the Wikipedia article that it is correct to say "The Green Park is a park ..." and "... a fireworks celebration held in Green Park". What are the differences between these sentences? Why the use of the in the former situation but not the latter?


texts: What is a word for someone who has a tendency to almost change everyone around him, in a good or bad way?

texts: What word would be used for a person who changes or has a lot of influence on others around him, and it can be in both bad and good way.


texts: Is what we call 'democracy' really what might be termed 'macrocracy'?

texts:
I came across the word 'macrocracy' for the first time today, quoted by a virtually unknown writer in his first attempt at a novel.

I can find the word in no dictionary and Google returns only the single reference in the novel when I search for it.

  ... a quantum leap in genetic research, destined to be the first uncorrupted citizen of the Macrocracy ...

A more full quote (with more context) is at the foot of this question.

I realise the word is not in the dictionary (yet) and I realise that it is not the most beautiful of words but is it nevertheless the case that what the writer has tried to do is to more correctly express the reality of the system of government which relies on the votes of the populace.

'Democracy' is not - really - the government of the people by the people. For we see what happens when there is a near 50/50 split of votes. The system, as far as I can see, begins to break down into political chaos and, ultimately, into the forming of coalitions without reference to the will of the people regarding the actual constitution of said coalition.

This has happened in the District Council for which I am presently working. An inter-party 'alliance' was set up - without any reference to the public - and the 'alliance' now holds a larger (conglomerate) vote than the party which was actually given the largest vote among the original parties.

Thus all the voters who ticked parties A through E are now lumped together (without their consent and without most of their knowledge) in an 'alliance' of which they had never heard when they placed their vote. Which alliance now holds more power than the 'majority' party, F.

Government is not - really - a matter of the 'people' in a 'democracy' it is a matter of the will of the majority.

Which, rightly termed, would be a 'macrocracy'.

Would it not ?

  Macro (compound) - Forming terms (esp. in Biology and Crystallography) in which macro- denotes relatively large size

OED

=================================================================

Quotation from 'Fish Stories' by Ron Watt


texts: Are there proper definitions for these phrase components?

texts:
I was wondering if there are proper definitions when referring to these components of a phrase, examples below:

"The 'Fire' 'Escape'"
"An 'Emergency' 'Room'"
"These 'Warning' 'Stickers'"
"The 'Cup' 'Holder'"

I'm referring to the 2 words marked up in each phrase, and what they would be individually defined as.

Thank you!


texts: Is there a term for when a word is given new meaning with qualifiers?

texts:
When a qualifier or multiple qualifiers are added to a word to give it a new, related but substantively different meaning, is there a term for that?

Some examples, traffic typically means "cars driving," but qualify it with foot traffic (people walking) or drug traffic (narcotics trade) the word takes on a different meaning.

Holocaust refers to a specific portion of World War 2. Nuclear Holocaust refers to the near or complete annihilation of the human race by nuclear weapons. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_holocaust)

Rock music, initially Rock and Roll which was used to describe the music of the 50s and 60s by pioneers like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll). The word now typically refers to whichever of the current generation's music offerings are comprised of bass guitar, drums, and rhythm guitar with driving rhythms and strong basslines (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/rock+music). However, add some qualifiers and it can be used to describe a number of related, but different genres, such as College Rock (Dave Mathews Band) Indie Rock (Of Monsters and Men) Punk Rock (Pennywise, Guttermouth) Pop-Punk Rock (Fallout Boy, Sugar Cult) Garage Rock (Link Wray, The Animals), ... the list goes on.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Pronunciation of GUI in British English

The question is in the title. How do you pronounce the word "GUI"? (Graphical User Interface). Some of my colleagues call it "Guy". Others pronounce it like the "gui" in "Penguin".

I myself take the second approach, but that others take the first approach confuses me.


texts:
This is one I struggle with from time to time. Which is better?

  Methodology X is more suitable in cases where users' needs are well understood up front.
  Methodology X is more suitable in cases when users' needs are well understood up front.

Is one of these ungrammatical? Or is it purely a matter of personal preference?


texts: What word or phrase most concisely describes speaking with wrongly assumed knowledge on behalf of the hearer?

texts:
If I were to use an analogy with someone as a way to explain something, but the subject of my analogy was beyond their knowledge, what might be the most concise phrasing to inform me that my analogy is a bad one specifically because the analogy is beyond the person I am speaking with.

Ex. If I were to use computer components to explain a concept to someone who has no knowledge of computers.

I see this kind of thing happen frequently in discussions about scientific things, such as climate change. With climate change, as an example, a scientist may attempt to explain their proof while a denier may not even understand how the "proof" came to be a guaranteed conclusion (therefore the scientist would be the one doing the concept I'm trying to describe).

Another, possibly better example, would be when trying to explain something to a child using concepts (or simply language) too sophisticated for the child to understand, you would be doing the thing I'm looking for.

Thanks!


texts: What is a "biological-only" father called?

texts:
To simplify things, I'll put it as if it were my father:

  My mother conceived me without being married, and my father never acknowledged me. I don't remember ever having met my father.

What is this kind of "biological-only" father called?


texts: Can anybody help me to interpret the word bitter enemy" ? i have googled it but still got no answer.


texts: Poetry where the end of the line fits with the next

texts:
Not sure if I need a word or a phrase but I'm looking for something to describe a term for poetry/song lyrics where the end of each line fits with its own line and the following line

e.g. Alice Cooper's Hell Is Living Without You is sung as

  Hell is living without your love

  Ain't nothing without your

  Touch me

  Heaven would be like hell

  Is living without you

But the emphasis could be changed to

  Hell is living without

  your love ain't nothing without your touch

  me Heaven would be like

  hell is living without you

Okay so the 3rd line doesn't work so well, I'll try and find a better example


texts: Is there a single word for "money-mindedness"?

texts: I'm looking for a single word for describing a person "whose motive is dictated by money"...I seem to recall there was an elegant word for this, but I can't remember it now...can someone help?


texts: How best to label inappropriate use of images

texts:
I'm describing the downsides of publishing text on the web as a image file, instead of real text. For example:

Images are inaccessible for users with visual disabilities (screen-readers need something to speak)
Images are harder for services (like Google) to index and search for
Images are near-impossible to process and extend with browser extensions and functionality (Ctrl+F, user-chosen fonts, etc.)

I have terms for each of these use-cases: "inaccessible," "machine-unreadable," and "inextensible." But I need to consolidate them into a single term (classification restraints).

I've considered "opaque," but describing images as opaque would more suggest lack of transparent pixels.


texts: What would you call a photo that is mostly black and white but has been later edited to have color in some place(s), let's say a black and white photo of a woman wearing a skirt of some color. I have zero ideas myself right now but I thought I'd put this out here.


texts:
I've just used the expression "expects to be waited on hand and foot", meaning someone who "expects others to do all the work of looking after his personal needs". A typical example (not necessarily true) being the suggestion that Prince Charles has a servant to put toothpaste on his toothbrush.

I'm struck by the rather odd juxtaposition of hands and feet. Does it derive from the personal attendants once known as handmaidens and footmen? When was it first used, and has it always had pejorative implications?


texts:
I was reading Surtees' Young Tom Hall the other day, and came across this...

  Sir Thomas, whose father had been a great army tailor, was a Dublin
  Castle knight, but, like all truly great men, condescending withal -
  and no feast or fete, or wedding, or christening, in Fleecyborough, or
  within a radius of three miles, was considered perfect without Sir
  Thomas Thimbleton of Thimbleton Park (so he called his villa and
  twenty acres of land).

Does anyone know what a Dublin Castle knight is? It doesn't sound terribly complimentary. Farmer & Henley, Partridge and Green have Dublin dissector, Dublin packet, Dublin trick and Dublin rules, but no knight. A search of the internet produces thousands of references to a song, whose lyrics I have perused but which doesn't appear to be relevant.


texts: I'm installing Oracle database and below is an excerpt of the installation log. What does inflating mean here? I know the installer was copying these files to the destination when these lines were being printed. So does inflating is a humorous way of saying copying? Like inflating a dinghy is essentially doing some preparation work, just like copying files. Is my understanding correct?


texts: Why is a song's radio edit called a ‘7" version’?

texts:
For some reason, I used to think that a 7" version of a song was a 7-minute long version.

Then, I started noticing that most 7" versions I came across were in fact around 3:30 long. Upon further inspection (understand "I googled the question"), I found that 7" version was another expression for the radio edit of a song.

My best guess would be that, back in the day, the vinyls used for radio edits were 7 inches in diameter (or radius?) but I can't find this information anywhere.

Surely, someone knows more about this?

EDIT (for context): I'm seeing this 7" version thing a lot in song titles.

For instance, here is Rasputin (7" version), and here is Tied Up - 7" version.


texts: What was the usage of EModE’s four-form system for answering yes–no questions?

texts:
It is well-known that Early Modern English, if not earlier forms of English too, had a four-form system for answering yes–no questions. ‘Yea’ and ‘nay’ answered questions phrased positively (analogous to ‘ja’ and ‘nein’ in German, or ‘oui’ and ‘non’ in French), ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answered questions phrased negatively (like ‘doch’ and ‘nein’ in German, or ‘si’ and ‘non’ in French).

Where did this system come from? When did it come into use? Was it merely a prescriptive attempt to add this feature to the language that stuck for a while in careful written, edited prose but was never really used in natural speech (like today’s fretting over ‘less’ vs ‘fewer’ and ‘which’ vs ‘that’)? Or did it become part of everyday natural speech for a while and died only due to a later reversal of the change?


texts: Is the sentence 95% of timelines is met incorrect because the noun is plural?

texts: I would like to know whether or not "95% of timelines is met" should actually be "95% of timelines are met" because "timelines" is plural?


texts: Scientific term for someone without any emotions anymore

texts: It probably might be emotionless or something but I was born with feelings and I lost them and I don't know what its called. I think I'm just numb. I tried researching it but failed. So all I could find was "anhedonia". It might be the right term but I don't know.