texts:
I was reading this article when I've got to this sentence:

  If we see the identification “feminist” as implicitly committing one to both a normative stance about how things should be and an interpretation of current conditions, it is easy to imagine someone being in the position of wanting to cancel his or her endorsement of either the normative or the descriptive claim.

At first this "one to both" construct sounded wrong. Later, I wondered if it is an alternative way of saying "one or both." The idea is, had we three options here, one could choose one to three of them. We have only two, one can choose one to two of them - or, in a different way of writing, one to both.

So, is it right or should I report this error? :)


texts:
I know what Melon heads is and I also know that what is Home Run in the context of baseball, but it doesn't help me to understand this sentence: "or the gargantuan power of suddenly melon-headed home-run hitters"

the whole paragraph is this: He wasn’t being hoodwinked
by a phony superperformance, like the “miraculous” endurance of Tour de France cyclists,
or the gargantuan power of suddenly melon-headed home-run hitters, or the blazing
speed of female sprinters who win five medals in one Olympics before going to jail for lying to
the feds about steroids.


texts: Is this sentence a dangling participle or a missing modifier?

texts:
My father's grandfather and his brother fought at the battle of Vimy Ridge.

My first question looking at this sentence is, "Whose brother? Your Dad's, or his Grandpa's?"

There's some confusion over whose brother actually went to Vimy. How would you describe what's wrong with the above sentence?


texts:
In this sentence:

  “Since the aggregates sank so rapidly and the water column was more or less ‘empty’ on day 50, they must have settled out,” Smetacek argues. “Layers of fluff have been reported from various regions, including the Southern Ocean.”

What does “on day 50” mean in that sentence?  Does it mean “in 50 days”?


texts: What is a word to describe something which cannot be broken down any further?

texts:
I don't want to use the word elemental, nor axiomatic, as both terms are already defined and in popular use.

Anyway, the way I want to use the term is not to describe the part, or type of part itself, but the quality that the part possesses; 'Something with which cannot be broken down any further possesses the quality x', where x is the word I seek, in the same way an axiom has the quality of being axiomatic.


texts:
I have always pondered on the meaning of this phrase, "United we stand, divided we fall." In my understanding, "divided we fall" connotes a negative message in that it says 'in times of trouble, they will fall individually and that everyone should be thinking only about themselves'.

Am I getting it wrong?


texts: Is "my hardest" a direct object in "I will try my hardest"?

texts:
I will try my hardest.

I am confusing myself by trying to figure out the grammatical relations in this sentence. It is not clear to me whether my hardest is a direct object here. If it is not, what kind of complement is it (assuming it is a complement)? If it is a direct object, how can we show this?

Another issue: The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language analyse phrases such as the poor, the blind or the Dutch as noun phrases headed by adjectives (they dub them fused modifier-head constructions). Is my hardest a noun phrase in the sentence above. If so, why? If not, why not?


texts: A word to describe "the act of asking a dangerous question" in a search for the truth

texts:
I am looking for a word or phrase to describe the act of discovering truth by asking  questions, in the sense that Einstein meant when he said:

  If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask….

If possible, the phrase should further carry the connotation of implied danger, personal or professional, such as a scientist (or even, a child) asking what seems to be an radically unpopular question--like Galileo when he asked himself if the Sun actually did turn around the Earth; or an independent  Russian  journalist  asking publically if the deaths of Putin´s top military commanders is evidence that the Kremlin leader is getting rid of witnesses to his crimes … a trial lawyer arguing a politically charged case and cross-examining a powerful figure, like Darrow  and Bryan in the Scopes trial… an artist like Picasso wondering why a three dimensional figure could not be rendered one-dimensionally with single dimension media.

I am looking for a companion word for Parrhesia, in the Michel Foucalt definition:

  …parrhesia is a verbal activity in which a speaker expresses his personal relationship to truth, and risks his life because he recognizes truth-telling as a duty to improve or help other people (as well as himself). In parrhesia, the speaker uses his freedom and chooses frankness instead of persuasion, truth instead of falsehood or silence, the risk of death instead of life and security, criticism instead of flattery, and moral duty instead of self-interest and moral apathy.

I am not looking for "rhetorical question", or "research", or "investigation", or "maieutics". Socratic method is not on the menu here.  (After all, he denied questioning the gods.)

I am not even sure if this word exists, but I think it may become important in the near future, in this post-truth new reality, when merely declaring truth is no longer sufficient.


texts: I know how to stand by "my partner" or "your partner"?

texts:
A quick question, which one of the following is correct.

John: Thanks so much for your help Mark.

Me: No worries! I know how to stand by your partner when he's in need.

OR

Me: No worries! I know how to stand by my partner when he's in need.

Thanks so much guys!

Mark


texts: Differences between Case Frames and Semantic role labeling

texts:
I'm learning about some basic linguistics theory and have come across case frame analysis and semantic role labeling as methods of determining agents within sentences, and arguments for verbs.

However I can't find a clear definition of the difference between the two. Can someone clarify their similarities and differences?

Apologies if this is too linguistics-related and not appropriate for this area.


texts: what does the phrase "we see through you like it's glass" mean?

texts: What does the phrase: "We see through you like it's glass" mean? could you explain, please?


texts:
This  is essentially a translation question and as such off-topic, but please bear with me  for a moment.

Allappare  is an Italian verb that is used to refer to the astringent effect that you may experience when you eat unripe fruits, ( persimmons and bananas for instance) with the result that your mouth and  tongue  become dry and your ability to chew is temporarily limited.

The English equivalent expression  , according to most reliable dictionaries, apprears to be set someone's teeth on edge, which, by any definition I could  find online, doesn't actually correspond to the meaning cited above and is used mainly in a figurative sense:

  If something, especially a noise, sets your teeth on edge, it annoys you very much:
  That DJ's voice really sets my teeth on edge.

Questions:

What the English expression that best fit  the definition of "allappare" cited above?
What is the literal meaning of  "set someone's teeth on edge"? How close is it to the description given above of "allappare"?


texts:
Let see this sentence:

Most people, who drink cold water, I knew, have never got any sore throat.

am i writing the above sentence correctly?

The above sentence can be broken down as following:

-Most people, who drink cold water, that I knew

-These people have never got any sore throat

So, How to write just 1 sentence that has 2 or more relative clauses?


texts: You'll see them in future "as it is" OR "as they are"?

texts:
Let all the boxes be "as they are" OR "as it is"?

Thanks for reading..


texts:
I received an email from a coworker, and we're not that friendly. Actually, we're not friends at all, just two good colleagues. In his email, he wrote as his last sentence

  Catch you on the flip side!

What does this expression mean?

Note that I was supposed to get a job, and the answer was no. The email was kind of sad.


texts: Is there a single word for "not yet released because it is still being worked on"?

texts:
I am working on a quality assurance system where some procedures might be in a state where they haven't yet been released because they are currently being worked on. They may have also been a previous release of the document, and the document I am trying to describe is the one with changes to the previous release.

An analogy might be how you would refer to Mac OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion - it isn't yet released, because it is still being worked on.

I have been calling it unreleased but this to me sounds awkward and doesn't really describe the state.

Is there a word that I'm overlooking that describes this?


texts: Is there a general word for both the land and water surfaces of the Earth?

texts:
Air & space vehicles can come down to the Earth and "land" on either land or water (surfaces of oceans, lakes, etc.). Is there a general word or term that represents all of these surfaces (but is more specific than just "surface")?
Example sentence: The airplane can land on any [term needed], whether land or water.
"Earth's surface", "planetary surface", and "terrain" seemed like promising options, but my research indicates that these terms represent only the solid portion of the planet (dry land or below water).


texts: Word/phrase for the activity of hiding mistakes

texts: What word/phrase can I use to describe the activity of hiding a stupid mistake/incident, such as quickly cleaning up tea spilled by accident before anyone could notice?


texts:
I have been reading The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig, and I have been having a little bit trouble understanding “... attrition of excess.” in the following sentences:

  For in the midst of his military and political victories, that was Hitler's most diabolical triumph — one man succeeded in deadening every idea of what is just and right by the constant attrition of excess.

Can somebody elaborate it?


texts: Set something (a setting, variable, piece of configuration) to/at/for a specific value - programming and IT

texts:
During a code review, I noticed a phrasing in an error message that made me scratch my head a little. The message was something akin to:

  The value is set for {}

where {} is a place-holder for a numeric or text value.

Somehow, it feels a bit off to me and personally, I'd go for

  The value is set to {}

but that's just my instinct and I don't know a grammar rule to back it up.

Which (if any) of these two prepositions can be used in this context? For or to?

The entry for the word set [VERB] in the Macmillan English Dictionary mentions the context of device settings, which is a bit similar, as the line mentioned above pertains to a piece of software configuration.

  3

  ...

    a.
    to change the time on a clock or the controls on a piece of equipment

  Can you help me set the VCR?

  set something at something: Set the thermostat at 68 degrees.

  set something for something: I’m setting the alarm for 6.30.

with no mention of to being used as the preposition.

I also found this thread on Quora, in which the OP is recommended to use the same phrasing I'd pick.

The stormtrooper in this opening scene of Star Wars, on the other hand, seems to prefer to set his weapon for stun.

Which is the most correct preposition one could use in this context and which one feels most natural?

Set the value to 3 / Set the value for 3 / Set the value at 3

Brownie points for pointing to a credible (even more so than Star Wars!) source.


texts: The use of the word 'surname' seems in decline

texts:
Should we use the term 'surname' or 'last name' to refer to a person's family name?

If my name is How Gin-Tong and a form asks me for my 'last name', how am I meant to respond?


texts: May somebody explain this expression about "though" for me?

texts:
He wasn't there long, though, because his mother passed away just four years later.

May somebody explain why there is a "though" for me? Is it different if I don't use "though" in the sentence?


texts: Are there past and future equivalents of the “zero conditional”?

texts:
All English grammar coursebooks I have seen state that the Zero Conditional refers to something that is always true (and therefore is always certain) and has the form “Present Simple + Present Simple”.

But if I want to say something like that but putting a focus on the fact that I have in mind some past or future situation or event, can I use a construction “Past Simple + Past Simple” and “Future Simple + Future Simple” correspondingly?

For example,  I’m talking to somebody about our common friend who doesn’t believe that the lower the atmospheric pressure the lower the temperature when water starts to boil. We know that our friend was in the mountains last week and is going to visit the mountains once again in a week's time. And we know that he is kind of obsessed with checking the above-said phenomena and about a month ago announced that he would try to find any opportunities to verify whether that’s true. My question is: in this situation is it grammatically correct to say:

If he heated water when he was in the mountains last time it (certainly) started to boil at a lower temperature, than at 100 degrees Centigrade.  He saw it for certain, because this is law of nature!
If he will heat water when he is in the mountains next time it (certainly) will start to boil at a lower temperature, than at 100 degrees Centigrade.  He will see it for certain, because this is law of nature!


texts:
I was wondering what some ways are to say one tries very hard.

For example, can I say

  I gave myself (all) out last year.


texts: Is there an alternative way of saying something has been 'a topic of dispute"?

texts:
I want to write about the extent to which Malcolm X brought about any change to the Civil Rights Movement through his civil rights activism and that this has been 'a topic of dispute' among revisionist historians.

Is there an alternative way of phrasing this that sounds better? I don't want to use the words debate or discussed either as they are too weak in my opinion.


texts: I'm trying to find a word that describes a lack of confidence. Something that gives a sense of worthlessness maybe. I've dried looking up in Thesarus.com for similarities to lack of confidence and antonyms to self-worth, but with no luck. Anyone have some ideas?


texts: "Everybody is not" vs "Not everybody is"

texts:
Everybody's got a water buffalo, yours is fast but mine is slow.

  You can't say everybody's got a water buffalo! Everyone does not have a water buffalo!

This construction:

  Everyone does not have a water buffalo!

really irks me, because there are people who do have a water buffalo, and the sentence seems to imply the opposite. I would much prefer the sentence:

  Not everybody has a water buffalo!

Is the first construction somehow grammatically defensible, or is it just used because it better parallels as a negation of the sentence, "Everybody's got a water buffalo"?


texts: What is a less restrictive word for "crucial"?

texts:
I'm writing my research proposal and I have the following sentence:

  The excess charge is considered crucial for the membrane penetration process.

I find the word crucial too strong and I'm searching for another word which is less strong in that context. I thought about required but it doesn't "fit well" with the sentence. Can you think about better word?

Also, I remember that there was a website for synonyms which also had some similar meaning words, but I can't find it. Do you know any of that kind?


texts: Word that includes mythology, legends, etc.?

texts:
I am searching for a word or short phrase that includes/describes following words:

myth/mythology
legends
mythos
lore
fable
saga

I know I am not really precise with what I am searching for.
I am not even sure if such a word exists.


texts:
According to the rule of parallelism, is the following sentence correct

  the spirit of winning should be more than the fear of being defeated

Thanks!


texts:
And the word pent ?

Are they very used in the british/american english ?

Thank you for your help :)


texts: Verb for librarian giving book to library visitor

texts: What's the appropriate verb to describe the action the librarian does when you borrow a book at the library, something like hand or give?


texts:
fatal/adjective/causing death.
fateful/adjective/ having far-reaching and often disastrous consequences or implications.

My team-leader survived a life-threatening injury, when back to work, an e-mail that he sent stated-

-I survived a fateful accident.
Apparently, he used it instead of fatal on quite a few occassions.

In any normal context, is "fateful accident" idiomatic?
Does it connote to the same as fatal?


texts: Could I say: "my left-reclining body", meaning that I'm lying down on my left side?

texts:
And if yes, would that make it good english?
Any suggestions?


texts: Is there an expression or idiom to express a heavy burden left by some previous leadership?

texts:
In my native language (Romanian) there is an idiom usually used by politicians to blame the previous politicians in power which literally translates to "heavy inheritance" or "weighty inheritance".

It is also used pejoratively by journalists against those politicians which mostly blame the previous ones instead of trying to solve the current problems.

Is there an English idiom to express this idea?


texts: Word or short phrase meaning "the act of bring about fatal consequences"

texts:
Is there a word or short noun phrase that means "the act of bringing about fatal consequences"?

Also, can it be generalized for "the act of bring about <adjective> consequences"?

Example:_______ is a common characteristic of problems of this sort. (Problems of this sort bring about fatal consequences for whatever it affects)

EDIT:

I'm looking for something like homicide (which was suggested by another user but unfortunately somebody else downvoted the answer and it got deleted), except more general; homicide is "the act of bringing about fatal consequences for one person by another" and I'm looking for just "the act of bringing about fatal consequences (for anything by anything)".


texts: Verb for looking at someone's newspaper or phone stealthily

texts:
Is there a verb meaning watching others' phone / read a newspaper stealthily (i.e. without their noticing)? E.g. while sitting beside someone in a subway and checking what he is doing.

I'm looking for a verb for this act which has some negative connotation.


texts: What do you call a pair of words with opposite meanings that differ only by a prefix?

texts:
In general, words with opposite meanings are called antonyms.  Is there a word that describes the subset of antonyms that are different only by a prefix where the prefix negates the meaning of the root word?

For instance, hot and cold are antonyms, but don't share a root and would not be described by the term I am looking for.

Paired and unpaired are antonyms and share the same root paired.  These words would be described by the term I am looking for.

Other examples:

Typical - Atypical
Intended - Unintended
Enfranchised - Disenfranchised

Lost positives would be a special case of this type of word where only the negated sense of the word is in use, e.g. disgruntled is a commonly used word, but gruntled is not.

A bonus answer would point to a list of such negating prefixes.


texts: What does " three inches of plate in my skull" mean?

texts:
What does “three inches of plate in my skull” mean? I tried to google it, but it seems it's not a set expression.

  “According to my archive I was constantly in some fight or another over email. I apparently have three inches of plate in my skull. And in fact, because I believed, and have believed for so long, that I once was passive but am no longer, I think I tend to be even more likely to be passive-aggressively aggrieved than the typical person.”


texts: How would you characterize the phrase 'a more perfect union'?

texts:
My question pertains to the usage of 'a more perfect union' in its original context-- the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.

I want to say that this is a metaphor, because the authors are using the word 'union' in a specific figurative sense.

However, this seems a bit strong, because it's not a comparison between two distinct objects. Rather, it's an implied comparison between the state of the country, and a specific, figurative meaning of 'union' in this context.


texts: Why do Americans add "The" in front of a team name, but the British do not?

texts:
I'm not certain that there is an answer to this one:

Americans refer to our teams as The

  Example:  The New York Yankees

The British in my experience do not.

  Example:  Manchester United

I know that occasionally the British will throw in a the, such as The Arsenal, but I believe this is a nod to the actual Woolwich Arsenal.

We also tend to pluralize our teams, where I don't believe the British do this typically.  (Not certain on that one . . . A bit of help from across the pond would be appreciated.)

Could the pluralization be compelling the usage of The?

Of note, the only time The gets truncated from an American team name is when it is used as an adjective. e.g. Legendary New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera retired this past season.


texts: Should "people of color" be capitalized?

texts:
In Yoga and the Roots of Cultural Appropriation, the term "people of color" is repeatedly capitalized, though the names of other protected classes are not:

Meanwhile, in order to uphold the foundation and on-going functioning
of white supremacist and racial capitalism, white people are taught to
be ahistorical and emotionally repressed. In order to maintain the
status quo, white people are taught to sublimate and anesthetize
feeling. To feel — whether joy, sorrow, or grief — is to be counter
cultural in this country. Dominant culture teaches white people, as
well as People of Color, to numb through materialism, consumerism,
entertainment, prescription and hard drugs, and alcohol. It also
socializes white people to consciously or unconsciously misuse power
and relate to others from a false sense of superiority.
...
Especially during this time when the underbelly of capitalism — white
supremacy, cisheteropatriarchy, and xenophobia– is being exposed, it
is imperative that everyone, especially those who have access to
spiritual practices like yoga, ask difficult questions of ourselves
and one another. We must ask, in what ways are we complicit in a
system that harms People of Color, queer and trans people, poor
people, people with disabilities, and immigrants? Despite our best
values and intentions as individuals, our actions (and inaction) are
inherently connected with a system of power, privilege, and
oppression. If we want to honor the full yoga tradition and live into
our values of love, unity, and fairness, we must examine the ways we
are upholding “business as usual.”

Should the term be capitalized?
John Hopkins doesn't capitalize it in its style guide. It doesn't mention capitalization of the phrase specifically, though it opposes the capitalization of "white" or "black" in most circumstances. An NPR article about the phrase doesn't capitalize it, nor does the Wikipedia article about the phrase. Wiktionary doesn't have an article explicitly about the phrase, describing its capitalization, and none of the matches from onelook that I looked at discuss its capitalization.
Related questions: Are "white" and "black" ever capitalized when referring to people? (summary: style guides differ) and In an Australian context, should "Aborigine" be capitalised? (summary: if you're talking about Australian Aborigines, yes)
I tried looking at Google NGrams, but while it gave statistical data on the frequency of "People of Color" versus "people of color", I couldn't do a search for texts containing a specific capitalization.


texts:
Being always confused, I would appreciate which is correct usage of "part of" or "a part of" in the following case with brief explanation as to how I should differ either. I have checked dictionaries and articles/speeches on the websites.

There are a lot of young people who want to be a part of the movement(or part of the movement).


texts: English idiom for 'bad consequences stemming from too much ambition'

texts:
I'm looking for an idiom that is equivalent to the Portuguese:

Quem tudo quer, tudo perde.
Who wants everything, loses everything.

It basically points out that being too ambitious will have bad consequences: not only does one not get what one's striving for, but one also ends up losing what one already had (and probably took for granted).
This idiom should be usable in everyday speech.


texts: How to express in plain English for instance that "the first N slots are filled, with N between 0 and the number of slots"

texts:
I'll use an abstract example: Imagine 10 slots that can each either be filled or empty. I want to communicate the information that the configuration of filled/empty slots is such that the first N slots are filled, with N between 0 and 10, e.g. slots 1, 2 are filled, the rest are empty, or slots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are filled, the rest are empty, etc. How can I say this succinctly in plain English?

Here are some attempts:

The first few slots are filled (bad: they're not necessarily few)
The first N slots are filled, with N between 0 and the number of slots (too algebraic)
The slots are filled from the beginning and on (the best I've come up with, but it alludes to the process of filling the slots, which I don't want to need to do)


texts:
I'm translating dialog with "bit unfortunate" phrase:

  Sasha:"It's a bit unfortunate about Antony's final take."
  (final take corresponds to final record in sound-recording studio. He had a lot of records before final one)

  Sergey:"Huh? Sasha, are you praising him? That's rare."

As I can say, Sasha said something good about Antony. But I can't understand, what did he mean. a bit means small/little and unfortunate means bad luck, so it's rephrased version is:

  Sasha:"Antony's final take was really lucky".

Why it is lucky? For me, lucky isn't complimentary word at all. If Sasha said "it is good" then it would make sense for me.


texts: How to call the two distinct points on a heart-shaped curve

texts:
A heart shape as it is usually drawn (♥) consists of two smooth curve segments which join at two points, one at the top and one at the bottom. What is the most concise way to refer to these points?

I think cusps might be the right expression, but how do I call them in order to avoid ambiguity between the two? I thought about using convex and concave cusp, but then realized being convex or concave is relative to whether you look at the curve from the inside or from the outside.


texts: A blush of shame to the cheek of modesty

texts:
What is the meaning of the following sentence?
"The incident brought a blush of shame to the cheek of modesty"


texts: Correct word for "it's not legally possible"

texts:
I'm thinking of an example where a law allows for certain things but not others.  However, it's not that these things are prohibited, just that there is no law that allows them.  In particular, at least a while ago, one could not obtain a patent in Canada for a computer algorithm.  Patent law simply did not list "computer algorithms" as things that could obtain a patent.  Therefore, it is not "illegal" to get a patent on an algorithm, it's just "impossible".

Is there a term for "not specifically allowed by law and therefore impossible, but not illegal per se"?


texts: Salutation/Professional Addressing "Dy GM", what does it mean?

texts:
Found the addressing "Dy GM" in New Delhi area in the IT domain.

What does it mean?


texts: '[...] upon which this invitation was based on' - is there an adverb redundant?

texts:
The whole sentence goes: 'Below is the list of criteria upon which this invitation was based on.'

It seems to me the adverbs 'upon' and 'on' are doubled up in this sentence. And it should be changed to either: '[...] upon which this invitation was based.'
Or: '[...] which this invitation was based on.'


texts:
Is the following grammatically correct? “What I read was horse books.”

I feel like it should say “What I read were horse books”, but does “horse books” count as a single item, like a genre (mystery, horror, horse books?), or is it a plural - books-?


texts: What is the correct possessive adjective after "if I were you"?

texts:
For example, a student has been physically harmed by their teacher at school, and now I as a grown up want to give advice. Should I say
"If I were you, I would tell your dad about the whole thing."
OR
"If I were you, I would tell my dad about the whole thing."
The second sentence sounds weird to me since "my dad" may not even be alive as I'm a grown up, but then again I'm looking at the situation from another person's perspective. I would appreciate some clarification.
Is there a chance both of them can be considered correct?


texts: Which is correct? Non-recurring, Nonrecurring or non recurring?

texts: We have been discussing about how to use the word "non-recurring" exactly as a menu item in a website.Does it make any difference with a hyphen in between? I want to know which is the right way of using this word in a menu. Happy if someone can explain the correct usage and why.


texts:
I've been reading Middlemarch, and came across a usage of father-in-law which, from context, must mean step-father. Later in the same novel, the phrase father-in-law was used as we would use it today. So at the time, it must have had both meanings.

When did step-father replace one meaning of father-in-law?


texts: Confusion determining the type of phrase

texts:
According to CLIFFS Toefl preparation guide written by Pyle and Page..

  A noun phrase is a group of words that ends with a noun.

According to this definition the highlighted phrase in the following sentence is a noun phrase.

  He bought a ring made of gold.

But if we consider the meaning of the highlighted phrase, we can see that it is giving us more information about the noun ring. In other words, the phrase made of gold is modifying the noun ring and this phrase should be an adjective phrase.

Here's the definition of prepositional phrase by the same reference book. It says..

  A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun.

According to this definition the highlighted phrase in the following sentence is a prepositional phrase.

  He lives in the suburb of Dhaka.

But if we consider the meaning of the highlighted phrase, we can see that it is giving us more information about  where the subject lives and this phrase should be an adverb phrase.

So when determining the type of a particular phrase, should we give more importance to the structure of the phrase or to the meaning of the phrase?


texts:
What is the difference between:

1.
Design of a system vs.
System Design

2.
Type of cable vs.
Cable type

3.
Certificate of Compliance vs.
Compliance Certificate

4.
Obligations and Duties of Company vs.
Company's Obligations and Duties


texts: Phrase for costs/ consequences so abstract/ distant/ high you cannot reason about it

texts:
I hope you intuitively understand these examples:

A person who starts with a small credit card debt believing he can keep the consequences down to a few months; but within a few months faces unmanagable credit card debt, without being too aware
A software project where the spec-writers pile on too many features and otherwise make it too ambitious; that its many times more complex and costly than if they had designed it properly, minimally and with checked ambitions. But the spec-writers cannot forsee the consequences of their unchecked ambitions.
A person who believes a white lie can make him escape a small situation, but unforseen to him, he has to manage a snowball of lies to many individuals
A country decides to arm mercenaries to quickly fix a temporary strategy, but decades later the mercenaries evolve into terror outfits, drug cartels and warlords, making a costly war necessary

In all examples, the person takes an action (take on debt, add gratuitous features) that seemed innocent enough, but soon proved to be extremely costly to him.

Please suggest phrases for:

an action that seduces you as being innocent and quick, but later causes serious harm
future costs so abstract (credit card debt in future, development time and mistakes for clumsy specs) that the person cannot reason about them and the harm they present to him
blindness to such costs and ability to wisely avoid such actions


texts: Does a "wedding reception" imply a meal?

texts:
Maybe it's because I haven't been living in an English-speaking country for so long... or maybe because I'm a man, and just don't know these things...

But does a wedding reception imply a meal?  Or would a meal be described more explicitly on a wedding invitation?

My feeling is that "Reception to follow" would generally be interpreted as cake, punch, and snacks.  But if the bride and groom were going to serve a full meal, they would say so with more explicit language.  Is this accurate?


texts: Is the verb "dose" used correctly in "an agent can be dosed into the tanks"?

texts:
Is this correct:

  For process stabilization an anti-foaming agent can be dosed into the tanks.

I use "dose" because I want to emphasize that the amount of stuff put into the tank is carefully monitored, but I'm unsure that you ay it like this in english.


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between 'efficacy' and 'efficiency'?

texts: I feel that there is a subtle difference in meaning between 'efficacy' and 'efficiency', but I couldn't find any authoritative sources that could help me confirm or refute this. Is there any difference between the two words, especially in scientific context?


texts: How do you properly define and use the phrase, "buy into"?

texts:
I found this line while I was reading:

  That commercial said that this product would help me lose weight in one week. I’m not buying into that idea.

While I somehow understood the meaning of the whole sentence by reading between the lines, I could not grasp the whole idea of the phrase when I isolated it from the rest of the sentence.

I tried to find decent definitions on the web but they could not properly give the proper use of this phrase (since there seemed to be different views on it). Could anyone please enlighten me on this topic? Thank you so much! :)


texts: Does there exist a word with H sounds like [eɪtʃ]?

texts: I'm not a native English speaker, but the question is interesting.  I've never met such a word.  I mean the word is not an initialism (like PhD) or acronym.


texts:
There was an answer here June 2011 by Kosmonout stating,

So, x did not become ght. Instead, both of these words came from a language that existed about 5000 years ago; during those 5000 years, the pronunciations of the words changed many times.

I want to know what this 5,000-year-old language was, the culture, and in what area of the world the language was spoken, and what was the meaning of the word ght?  Thank you!
This is my first time to use this site, so if i'm not clear on how it is does please explain.  Thank you.


texts: Why is "agnostic" pronounced "ag-gnostic" as opposed to "a-gnostic"?

texts:
Gnosticism, for example, is obviously not pronounced with a hard g. As far as I know the modern English use of agnostic is said to have originated with Thomas Huxley, who surely would have been aware of the correct pronunciation.

Is there some odd rule or quirk that explains this? Or has it simply been repeated enough that people now consider it to be the standard pronunciation?


texts: A word/phrase meaning "to ask about a person's feelings"?

texts:
Example:

Speaker A: "Are you feeling well?"
Speaker B: This is the first time you [...]
since morning. You're not thinking about your business anymore?


texts: Single-word verb for "to do from scratch"

texts:
Example:

  There weren't any available templates for my project so I had to do it from scratch.

written in the following form:

  There weren't any available templates for my project so I had to _____ it.

EDIT: Just in case the antecedent of "it" isn't clear, "it" refers to "my project" and not "a template." The example sentence states "there weren't any available templates" to emphasize the fact that "I had to do it (my project) from scratch."


texts: Is "I hope that you are doing well, as well" an acceptable response?

texts: I would like to reply to a message that says, "I hope you are doing well," and I want to return the acknowledgement. Is it acceptable to reply, "I hope you are doing well, as well?"


texts: What does "consign" mean in this example?

texts:
I am reading the following definition of commit
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commit

1c. to consign or record for preservation. Example: commit it to memory

Now I am trying to understand the word "consign" in the above entry.
Here are the choices for "consign":
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consign

1: to give over to another's care
2: to give, transfer, or deliver into the hands or control of another; also : to commit especially to a final destination or fate (a writer consigned to oblivion)
3: to send or address to an agent to be cared for or sold

Why do none of these definitions fit perfectly?  In English am I supposed to invent my own figurative meaning to make it fit?


texts: Definite and indefinite articles when introducing a person

texts:
No article is used when introducing a person.

This ended terribly for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi; eight years after giving up his nuclear program, the US intervened against him in the Libyan civil war.

A definite article is used when introducing a person.

Thomas Homan, the acting director for ICE, said the first instance is if parents could not prove family ties to the minor.

An indefinite article is used when introducing a person.

Also running in the primary are labor organizer Valerie Ervin, state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno, tech entrepreneur Alec Ross, lawyer Jim Shea and Krish Vignarajah, a former policy director for Michelle Obama.

Does the article difference depend on the sentence structure? Or is there a rule that dictates when to use a definite or indefinite article when introducing a person in writing.

Thank you in advance.


texts:
My English not very good, especially if I have to comply some formal standards. I understand it pretty well, but when I have to construct a sentence I face some difficulties.

So I will try to explain the situation.
My boss and me changed some emails. I the last email-reply from him I received, it seems to me that he felt my writings somehow keen.

  so it seems we got a conflict of views of some kind. Which happens sometimes; please don't interpret it as a pressure. OK, we all are under some pressure from the Clients :) which I can't deny and which affects our workflow.

And now I want to apologize if I sounded somehow keen or intending to assert my point of view over his. Some ideas come to my mind, but my gut-feelings are telling me they are not good.

I was thinking about:

  I am sorry if I sounded as if I have problems with your advises

or

  I wanted by no means to sound like I have some sort of conflict with you.

To me these ^^^ sound not good. Some help please.


texts: Why is this show called "Singapore Idol", not "Singaporean Idol"?

texts: In other cases, a [country] Idol show titles use the demonym: American Idol, Malaysian Idol or Indonesian Idol. Why is this show called Singapore Idol, not Singaporean Idol?


texts: Meanings of pathetic words (derived from πάθος)

texts:
Originally, pathos (πάθος) meant "suffering" and "pain". Today, there are (at least) three main branches of meaning:

pathological (having to do with desease) as in pathology, psychopathy, sociopathy, neuropathology
empathic (having to do with care) as in empathy, sympathy
rhetoric as in pathetic

I wonder when (how, why) these branchings of meaning did occur.

Besides this coarse-grained question I wonder what exactly is the difference between empathy and sympathy. At the surface it seems clear: I can be empathic with people I don't like (don't have sympathy with), but not the other way around, or do I? Why and how did these two words (and their referents) evolve?


texts: Is "Modernist" the correct word usage here?

texts: Can the term modernist, when describing literary work, be in fact used to reference poetry that was, but not is, modern?


texts: What is a word/phrase for using a term for a popular special case instead of a generic term?

texts:
Some people use a term for a popular special case in place of a generic term.  (Often this popular special case is a particular product in that category.)  I think that this is a common phenomenon.  Is there any word/phrase for it?

For example, “Coke” officially refers to a Coca-Cola (I think), but some people seem to call any carbonated soft drinks “Coke.”  In Japanese, famikon is the Japanese name for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), a video game console which was extremely popular in 1980s and early 1990s, but some Japanese people call any video game console famikon even if it is not really a famikon.  (As an aside, calling a video game console famikon when it is not really a famikon is even a stereotype of a “mother unfamiliar with technology” in Japan.)  I am looking for a term which refers to this kind of usage of words.


texts:
In modern English the seasons spring, summer, autumn and winter, don't start with capital letters. However, it hasn't always been thus.  For example,

  1667   Milton Paradise Lost iii. 43   The..sight of vernal bloom, or
  Summers Rose.

or

  1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 124   The Seasons of the Year might
  generally be divided, not into Summer and Winter, as in Europe; but
  into the Rainy Seasons, and the Dry Seasons.

or

  1805   Ann. Rev. 3 584   He was in the Fleet..deserted by his three
  Summer friends.

or

  1832   Encycl. Metrop. XXII. 366/1   Such is its Summer coat, and..we
  distinguish it by the name Stoat. But in Winter, it becomes white[...]

or

  1868   W. Morris Earthly Paradise i. 216   When Summer brings the lily
  and the rose.

or

  1886   Leslie's Monthly Feb. 203/1   Old Sampson don't like the Summer
  gentry.

When did summer lose its capital?


texts: Need a word describing more frequently than monthly, other than semi monthly

texts:
We have business processes that happens periodically. These are labeled (in ascending frequency) as Quarterly, Monthly, Semi Monthly, Weekly, Semi Weekly, or Daily.

We also have a process that can happen 4, 6, or 8 times a month depending on other circumstances.

What's a nice, tight label for this frequency?


texts:
First:

  Alex is by Jan.

or

  Alex is with Jan.

Second:

  Where's the ketchup? It's over there, by the mustard.

or

  Where's the ketchup? It's over there, with the mustard.


texts:
I'm looking for a website that would propose free dictations in English, so that I could listen and then type what I hear and at the end to see if I made any mistakes. I was searching in the Internet, but I didn't find anything close enough. May be someone knows and wouldn't mind to share ?
Thanks!


texts: Word for seeing small differences between groups, when you're a member

texts:
I remember reading a term for the phenomenon of being more aware of the differences between groups when you're a member of such a group.

Here's an example to illustrate it - if you grew up in the Soviet Bloc (or perhaps even in one of the countries today), you'd know all of the stereotypical differences between a Serb and a Croat, between a Czech and a Russian. But if you're from another area entirely, to you they're all Russians.

Similarly, if you're from a Latino country, you'd know all of the differences between a Cuban and a Puerto Rican, between a Dominican and a Mexican. But if you're from another area entirely, to you they'd all be Latinos, as one homogeneous group.

I'm not just talking about the phrase "detail-oriented" - there was a specific term for this quirk of humanity. Anyone know it?


texts: What terms describe who pays for a meal?

texts:
I have heard the terms go dutch and AA used to mean that, when two or more people eat at a restaurant, each will pay only the price of their own dish. Also treat is used to describe the act of one person paying for the meal of themselves and another.

Has anyone conducted a study on the terms used and their geographic distribution?
In which regions of the world are these terms used?
Are there other terms which might be more popular in North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand?


texts: Can I use "regulatory hurdles" instead of "administrative barriers"?

texts:
I'm translating a Russian news article in which the head of a Russian region says that the regional government will help a plant construction project - by reducing some "administrative barriers" (административные барьеры). The phrase is the same in Russian as in English, and it is used in English-language media, according to my Google News search. However, I recall that there's also the phrase "regulatory hurdles", and it's used much more widely in the media. Can I use it as a synonym of "administrative barriers"?

Mr. Ivanov pointed out that the Oblast Government will take part in the project by offering tax privileges, reducing administrative barriers and helping the project pass through a variety of expert reviews.
Mr. Ivanov pointed out that the Oblast Government will take part in the project by offering tax privileges, reducing regulatory hurdles and helping the project pass through a variety of expert reviews.

Original:

Иванов уточнил, что область будет участвовать в проекте предоставлением налоговых льгот, снижением административных барьеров, помощью при прохождении разного рода экспертиз.


texts: Is the expression, “As Casey faced her the jury, America was able to sound off in tweets, texts, Facebook postings” right?

texts:
I found an article beginning with the phrase, “As Casey faced her the jury” in today’s Time Magazine (July 7) reporting the conclusion of Casey Anthony case under the title, “Casey Anthony sentencing: Release date set for July 13.”

To a non-native English speaker like me, the composition “Casey faced her the jury” felt somewhat confusing. Do we need ‘the’ between 'her' and 'jury'? Shouldn’t it be “As Casey faced her jury,” or “As Casey faced the verdict of the jury,” or even “As Casey faced the sentencing by the judge”? Am I nitpicking too much?

The article in question reads:

  “As Casey faced her the jury, America was able to sound off in tweets, texts, Facebook postings and story comments. The majority of those that followed the verdict, according to my own informal survey, exclaimed some sort of appalled wonder that she would get off. In their heart of hearts, most Americans knew that there wasn't enough evidence to convict Casey Anthony, but they were pretty sure she wasn't totally innocent, either.”


texts: Pertinent versus relevant- what's the usage difference

texts:
According to various dictionaries, relevant  means having a bearing
   on the matter at hand.
    Pertinent  means “relevant to the matter at hand.
  Similarly, impertinent can be irrelevant.

What, if any, is the difference?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the proper use of [square brackets] in quotes?

What do brackets around a word or words in a quote mean? This may seem silly, but I've never figured this out.

Bad fictional examples:

  "That's what all this is about it is [terrible]"

It's also used at the beginning of a quote sometimes like:

  "[Albert Einstein] was genuinely a genius."


texts:
A native Spaniard here, asking about what we call metacrilato — this manufactured product:

What would you call it? I have seen use both acrylic and Methacrylate, maybe one of them is more technical.


texts: That 'limp wristed hand thing': how do you write it?

texts:
I want the words to describe that gesture in which the forearm is usually held upright, and the hand is allowed to drop-limply(if that clears things up)-at the wrist.

The verbal phrase 'wave an airy hand' from somewhere in Harry Potter came to me, but I'm not sure that's an exact fit, and besides, I'd feel horrible about stealing another author's phrase for my own work...

'Bat' as in 'a careless bat of her hand' or 'she batted her hand cheerily'? I don't know...

Any help would be much appreciated; and I mean no offense to anyone.


texts: How to tell a colleague in email to stop harping on your mistake?

texts: What is a good way to write to tell your colleague to move on from past mistakes and focus on the bigger issue on hand?


texts:
One question on meaning of the phrase "be preoccupied with", I am not a native speaker and tried to find out the accurate meaning and nuance on the web search, but could not.
I have seen that a native speaker use this phrase when he excused for a delayed response to a client as in "Sorry for my late feedback, we are preoccupied with many things in the past few weeks". I understand that this means "I have been busy for many things to do". But there is no any results relating to what I expected. Would my understanding on the meaning be correct?


texts: Adjective after the preposition "beyond"

texts: How would you parse or diagram "This is beyond sad"? My best guess is that the prepositional phrase is elliptical, omitting the true object (necessarily a noun), such as "something," as in "This is beyond (something) sad." I think this analysis preserves the meaning of the sentence and accounts for the accepted functions of nouns to serve as objects and of adjectives to modify nouns. Thanks for your insights.


texts: Make something "have" or make something "to have"?

texts:
I am looking at a sentence in my thesis, and I am not sure about the usage of "make".

Should I say

  In addition, as a result of the xxx principal, the xxx product operation in (1) makes the received signals to have a non-linear structure.

or

  In addition, as a result of the xxx principal, the xxx product operation in (1) makes the received signals have a non-linear structure.

?

Thanks a lot!


texts: How to explain punctuation in these 3 cases?

texts: I had a test task for the position of freelance writer for sewing website. I did the writing part, but they asked me to explain some points in my text. How can I prove punctuation in a), b) and c) cases?


texts:
I have a question similar to this one, but it is actually the opposite.
I have been using always "nevertheless" after full stop, and today I felt to use it after comma. However, it looks really awkward to me, so that I would write a full stop.

Is it a right feeling or it is just because of my habit?
Is it good style to use "nevertheless" after a comma?

If you could give me a general rule for punctuation before conjunctions, it would be great.
Thanks.


texts: Where does negation go with "if" vs "unless"?

texts:
1(Q) - Unless he finds a job soon, his family will starve.
  1(A) - If he doesn't find a job soon, his family will starve.

  2(Q) - Unless she leaves now, she will miss the train.
  2(A) - If she leaves now, she will not miss the train.

  3(Q) - Unless you hurry, we will leave you behind.
  3(A) - If you hurry, we won't leave you behind.

1st answer put negative/not in front of find, not behind will. (Not every time behind modal verb; why is that?)
2nd answer put negative/not behind will, not in front of leave.
3rd answer put negative/not behind will, not in front of hurry.

I want to know where to put not/negative when used in conjunction with if/unless.


texts:
When you use , etc. to indicate that further, similar items are included, for example:

  We’re trying to resolve problems of withdrawal, peer pressure, etc.

Is it incorrect to use , and etc.?


texts: What term describes enjambment alluding to a taboo word?

texts:
In the schoolyard rhyme "Miss Susie" the taboo word is spoken aloud, so I'm not sure that it qualifies as a mind rhyme. Likewise, in the case of a subverted rhyme the expected word isn't spoken.

  I will go to heaven
  And he will go to Hell-
  O, operator

Is there a literary or poetic term for this usage of enjambment?


texts: Single word meaning "becoming lost or forgotten"?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that means "becoming lost or forgotten," much like how obsolescent means "becoming obsolete" or how moribund means "approaching death; dying." I want to use it in the sense that certain knowledge of the past is becoming lost/forgotten. A sample sentence follows:

  "It is a shame that certain traditional customs are [adjectival form of word meaning "becoming lost/forgotten"].

When I say I want a word meaning “becoming lost/forgotten,” I mean to say that the word should connote something that is in the process of becoming less known. In other words, the word I am looking for should mean “in the process of becoming lost or forgotten.” I am trying to be as specific as possible.

Thank you

PS: My example about “obsolescent” is a perfect instance of what the word I’m looking for should be like.


texts: What are the origins of "gender confirmation" surgery?

texts:
TLDR: What was the first use of the term "gender confirmation surgery"? Was it used before, after, or contemporaneously with the term "sex reassignment surgery"?
An NPR article today (2019-05-16) discusses the case of Adree Edmo, an inmate in Idaho who's suing the state to provide surgical intervention for treatment of gender dysphoria. Both the title of the article and URL use the phrase “sex reassignment” to refer to the surgery.
However, for most of the article, the phrase “gender confirmation” is used. After a quotation by Edmo’s lead attorney, the article states the following:

If Edmo wins her case, she’d become the first inmate to get gender confirmation surgery – also known as sex reassignment surgery – through court order, and it could open doors for others.

I hadn't heard the term before reading this article, and am wondering about its origin.
In another NPR article from June 2015 that also discusses this surgery, the term “sex reassignment” is used exclusively.
In the WPATH Standards of Care that discusses this surgery (and is linked to from today’s NPR article), the term “sex reassignment” is used exclusively.
Per Google Ngram Viewer, the term “gender confirmation surgery” doesn't appear in its collection of books.
Per Wikipedia(emphasis in original):

There are numerous other expressions that are used or have been used to refer to sexual reassignment surgery, including sex change operation, gender reassignment surgery, gender confirmation surgery, genital reconstruction surgery, gender-affirming surgery, and sex realignment surgery.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) calls this procedure Gender Confirmation Surgery or GCS. Another term for SRS includes sex reconstruction surgery.

I was able to find a number of articles that do use the term "gender confirmation surgery", including a Huffington Post entry by a plastic surgeon that explains why he uses the term (as opposed to "sex reassignment").
As noted by @user240918, Merriam Webster indicates that the first use of this term was 1993; however, I've been unable to find this 1993 source. What was the first use of this term?
I want to emphasize that I have no interest in denigrating this term: I'm just curious about its origin.


texts: We have "Here" and "There", why not "Hen" and "Then"?

texts:
There’s an easy morphological connection between question nouns (What, When, Where) and the “nonlocal” answer (That, Then, There), but the “local” answers vary more substantially (This, Now, Here). Poking around etymonline and wiktionary hasn’t given me a clear idea of why that should be the case; does anyone know?

In graphical form:

?       | local  | nonlocal
---------------------------
What    | This*  | That
Where   | Here   | There
Whither | Hither | Thither
Whence  | Hence  | Thence
When    | Hen?   | Then

Why “now” instead of “*hen”?

Regarding "This", etymonline shows the morphological relationship between "this" and "that", noting "this" is "...probably from a North Sea Germanic pronoun *tha-si-, formed by combining the base *þa- (see that) with -s"


texts: How to read: 20%/30% of adults go to the festivals? 20 percent breaks on 30 percent of adults go to the festivals?


texts:
It seems like it would be really useful to have a single word like "anor" instead of the clunky "and/or" construction that people use. After all, "or" by itself is usually used to mean "exclusive or" in English.

  I would like to visit the circus anor the museum today.

versus

  I would like to visit the circus and/or the museum today.


texts: Is it improper to say “count till a hundred”?

texts: I'm told that using count till  a hundred is improper grammar. What's the correct preposition?


texts: What is the term describing the condition of being oversaturated with information?

texts:
This is how I feel: too much random information online, very hard to find what you are really interested in, being annoyed by having to sift through the random photos and poorly written pieces, or pieces that recur too much. The abundance of often false opinions being pushed down your throat.

Is there a term that describes this information oversaturation causing the feeling of fatigue?


texts: "Set in stone in 1979..." or "Carved in stone in 1979" at beginning of sentence?

texts:
If I start a sentence with "Set in stone in 1979, the government ban on so-and-so..." or "Carved in stone in 1979, the government ban on so-and-so...", are both of these examples correct in grammar?

Also, do the two idioms have the same meaning?


texts:
What is the antonym for word? I first thought silence, but that doesn't quite fit; you can have written words. My next thought would be illiterate. So far I'm on the fence for that one too, because you can have speech. So, what is the antonym for word?

So far I've checked a dictionary (just gives synonyms) and synonym-antonym finder that gives me silence (I explained why this didn't work above).


texts: When to use 'the amount of' and not e.g. 'increase physical exercise' / 'increase the amount of physical exercise'?

texts:
When do you need to use the number of or the amount of with a noun? For example,

  "If people go to gyms more, they will increase their physical activity."
  OR
  "If people go to gyms more, they will increase their amount of physical activity."

  "The number of CO2 emissions dropped last year."
  "CO2 emissions dropped last year."

Is there a difference? Is one more correct than the other? Are there other contexts where the number of or the amount of must be used?


texts: Perfect Continuous tense with the verb "be"

texts:
"I have been working on a project recently" is clearly a perfectly grammatical sentence using the Perfect Continuous tense.

It is not clear whether "I have been being sick recently" is grammatically correct though. Of course, most English speakers would simply say "I have been sick lately", but does this necessarily have the same connotations as the other sentence? Perhaps "been" entails the continuous aspect, but I'm not certain.

Similarly, can I say "Starting tomorrow, I will have been being sick for two months now"?

By the way, these sentences read less awkward if you put the emphasis on the word "being", since this implicitly groups "being sick" together.

Edit: In lieu of Ham and Bacon's answer, one can replace every instance of "sick" with "confused" or some other adjective and the question remains the same.


texts: Is there such a fraction in English as: "1/1024th" and if so, how is it pronounced? I can't image we say: "One thousand and twenty fourth" Maybe the correct way is to write it without the "th" and say something like: "a probability of one divided by one thousand and twenty four".


texts: Is there a word or phrase for running away from your wife or family because of their illness?

texts:
I'm trying to think if there is a specific word, term or phrase for running away from you wife or family because of their illness.

For example, the wife has Alzheimer's, and the husband runs away because he can't look after her any more.

I don't know if there is a word but I'm trying to use it for a title. It would be nice if I could find one or something similar.


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "on edge"?

texts: Where did this phrase originate from? What does this refer to? I know what it means, but does it originally mean walking off a ship on a sword along the edge as opposed to the flat?


texts: Isolated group of users who believe that a technology/tool is vastly superior to alternatives

texts:
Consider a group of users of a given technology (e.g. an obscure programming language) who think that such technology is superior to any other technology, and whose opinion disagrees with the mainstream opinion.

What adjectives can be used to describe such groups of people?


texts: Is there a word for people who are addicted to jewelry?

texts:
A gold-lover specifically is referred to as a crysophilist. Is there a word for jewelry lovers in general (diamonds, pearls, rubies, platinum ;not restricted to gold alone) to the point where the "love" has turned into an addiction?

Usage Example:

  My aunt is a real ________.   She would even go without food for days but not without adorning herself with precious metals and rare gems.

I reckon if such a word exists, it would possibly end with a phile. Any suggestions (either a noun or an adjective)?


texts: What will happen if I attach the suffixes "-ize" and "-ify" to a word that end in /ŋ/? Will they make it [ŋg]?

texts:
This question is related to my previous question: Why does “singer” have /ŋ/ and “longer” have /ŋg/? but not a duplicate.
From Herrison's answer, I learned that the -er in both "singer" and "longer" is not the same:

Singer and longer both end in the letters -er, but they don't end in the same suffix: singer ends in the -er suffix that forms agent nouns, while longer ends in the -er suffix that forms comparative adjectives.

Now I wonder what will happen if I attach the verb making suffixes -ize (e.g. materialize) and -ify (e.g. "intensify") to a word that ends in /ŋ/ (say ring). The [ŋg] is found in middle of words such as finger, younger, stronger etc.
Let's say there is a word (not a verb) that ends in /ŋ/ and we want to make it a verb by adding -ize or -ify to it, will the ending /ŋ/ become [ŋg] or it will remain [ŋ]? For example, suppose I want to make "anything" a verb by adding -ize or -ify to it:

anything /ˈɛnɪθɪŋ/ + ize = anythingize /ˈɛnɪθɪŋaɪz/ or /ˈɛnɪθɪŋgaɪz/?
anything /ˈɛnɪθɪŋ/ + ify = anythingify /ˈɛnɪθɪŋɪfaɪ/ or /ˈɛnɪθɪŋgɪfaɪ/?

I am talking about the accents that are considered standard (Southern British and General American). In simple words, the accents in which "singer" has only [ŋ] not [ŋg]
(NOTE: I am not concerned about what meaning it would give. I am merely asking about "pronunciation").


texts:
What does customized website mean?

  1) a website with unique design and features.

or

  2) a website that I can change, for example, add new page without
  writing a code.

Update with the context:

I get an email from one client. He wants some website (original quote, just price and city are changed).

  Are you going to make customized  website with xxx$? I have price in my city Y xxxx$, so your price is way better. Just I want to make sure. Are you going to customized my dashboard and database with xxx$? I need to control my web by myself. So I need you make very friendly if in future I want add so pages will able to do myself.

And here I don't understand what exactly customized means.


texts: Is this grammatically correct? "For one, I had mainly be"

texts:
Is the following grammatically correct?

  The introduction of this assignment had made me rethink many previous ideas that I had held on to in previous assigned projects. For one, I had mainly been using Illustrator to...


texts:
The question:

Suppose John is my friend, and I am introducing myself to his brother, should I say

  "I am a friend of John's"

or

  "I am John's friend"

??

I would use the former, but some think the latter is also correct. If both are acceptable, what are the differences? If we can already say John's friend, why do we need constructions like a friend of John's in English?

Note:

There are lots of question on this site asking about a friend of John versus *a friend of John's
* and so forth. This however, is not one of those questions!


texts:
To add emphasis to a normal verb, we use the emphatic "do":

  He does run fast.
  Do come in.
  Do brush your teeth.

Obviously, with modal verbs this would be a grave mistake:

  (*) He does can run.
  (*) You do may come in.
  (*) I do should brush my teeth.

Of course, you can just stress the modal verb itself or introduce an adverb. In the case of "should" you can also cheat by replacing it with "have to":

  He surely can run.
  You may come in.
  I do have to brush my teeth.

But are there other possibilities to add emphasis to a modal verb? Which solution is the most elegant? Do any manuals of style address this?


texts: Do people perceive a difference between "phantasy" and "fantasy"?

texts:
When I started to learn English, I was used to write phantasy instead of fantasy, and I was always corrected.

I recently noticed that phantasy is an English word too.
Do people give to those words a different meaning?


texts: What do you call a phrase that doesn't need to be completed?

texts:
A long time ago somebody gave me a word for phrases that are so popular that they need not be completed to be understood.

For example, saying just "Old habits..." to imply the phrase "Old habits die hard".

Is there a name for phrases like this, or the act of using just the memorable parts of sayings?


texts: What is the difference between English besides English (UK) and English (US)?

texts:
If you go to some sites, or to region settings in say Windows, you get many choices of English, I know the difference of spelling between English (UK) and English (US).

But what of English (France), English (Zimbabwe), etc? Are they interchangeable?


texts: Sports word for winning by opponent quitting

texts:
Is there not a word that denotes when a competitor wins by someone else in the tournament refusing to play them or outright quits / steps down?

Isn't there some formal word to denote this type of giving up? I'm not sure but I believe it may also be applicable to when someone is disqualified for whatever reason they yield the rank to the one left standing? Maybe I'm mixing things up.


texts: Stylistically, saying "as I have want to do." is preferable to me than "as I do." Is “as I have want to do." incorrect grammatically? Example, "My friends are quite aware of my vexatious flirting with women, as I have want to do."


texts:
I am trying to find an adjective or word that describes something that is relative/responsive to a larger whole. The context I am interested is in music, e.g. a musical part  in a song that is is particularly responsive to the other parts in the song. To give a better idea, I have a good example word for the opposite idea. An idiosyncratic guitar part in song, would be a part that sounds fairly disjunct with other parts, not naturally relating with them and starkly stands out as it's "own thing". But what is an antonym for "idiosyncratic" in this context?

The word I'm looking for is one which explains said musical part as in it's nature as an entity rather than an aesthetic, for instance "conjunctive" springs to mind, yet this would fall to much in the latter category


texts: I am curious what the proper use of language is when your talking about doors. Should a door that swings out be called "Out-swing door" or "Outward swing door"? I'm not sure if there is a proper use or a more accepted use of this term.


texts: "rising sea level" or "rising sea levels"?

texts:
I've seen both in newspapers when it comes to the subject of global warming. Confusingly, "rising sea levels" seems to be used more frequently.
For me, it's much easier to understand "rising sea level", an uncountable noun used to describe a concept of the rising sea, than to imagine it as a countable noun, "sea levels." How does "rising sea levels" even mean? Aren't all the seas that would be affected by the melting of the glaciers connected with each other in a way? How can their "levels" be separated from each other when the amount of water in seas on the earth rises?


texts: This question can seem trivial but I'm not a native English speaker. I'm hosting a server which hosts games and I was wondering: is it called a game server or a games server?


texts: Does "indistinctly" work as meaning "interchangeably"?

texts:
There is a fairly sticky Meta question at Spanish Language SE, for which part of the answer uses the word "indistinctly" in the sense of "interchangeably."  It looks wrong to my eye.  However, the dictionary definition seems to indicate that it's okay.

  A is used indistinctly with B, though the latter is preferred.

What do the experts say?

Link to post: https://spanish.meta.stackexchange.com/a/2692/9385


texts:
To what extent compound words are appropriate in English? Are the "onthedownburninghouseresting", "firesurrounded" valid words in English?

Somehow I feel that the first one is not, while the second one could be valid. What is the rule?

PS. I am referring to words without hyphen. Is usage of these words without hyphen acceptable?


texts: Is there a word for a number with commas?

texts:
For example:
1000000 is a "number"
and
1,000,000 is a "number"

Is there a way to tell someone to use "______ numbers" without saying to use "numbers with a comma after every thousand, million, etc.?"


texts: Why does the Cambridge Dictionary use /eɪ/ for the vowel sound in "Sea Bass"?

texts:
Why does the Cambridge Dictionary use /eɪ/ as the vowel sound in bass in "Sea Bass"?

Is this caused by the plosive sound of B?

I think my ear is not distorted. It should be:

  Sea Bass = /ˈsiː ˌbæs/

  Bass = /beɪs/

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/sea-bass

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bass


texts:
Normally I see things written this way :

  Developed by Joe Doe

But I have also seen instances where it says:

  Developed by Company Inc.

Now, I know it doesn't make sense to say:

  Developed at Joe Doe

But I have sometimes seen it say:

  Developed at Company Inc.

What's the difference between saying something was developed
by a place versus saying that something was developed at a place?

Is there even any difference between those?

My initial assumption was that maybe someone who isn't part of Company Inc. used their facilities and did their development there, but now I'm not sure.


texts: Third conditional from 'Sweet Home Alabama'

texts:
I heard this 'You ever wonder what would have happened if we hadn't have gotten pregnant?'

Is this right?

Why not just '...if we hadn't gotten pregnant?'


texts: How to formally greet someone in an email that I am pleased to getting to know?

texts:
When you greet someone new for the first time, you can say:

  Hello John, it's nice to meet you!

But what if you cannot greet somebody in person, when the first contact happens? For example, some other person introduces you via email and then you respond via email and want to say that you are pleased getting to know him. A formal greeting is required in this case. Is something like the following appropriate or are there better ways for saying that?

  Dear John, I am pleased getting to know you!

Is this appropriate English anyway?

My question is different to Is “nice to meet you” an appropriate online salutation?, because I specifically ask whether a given sentence is ok. Additionally, the referenced question discusses more the case when saying goodbye, so when the conversation is finished, where there might have been time getting to know each other.


texts: "Every hiker climbed a hill", is there one or multiple hills?

texts: This question comes from a quiz but I could not find the correct answer.


texts: The history of the phrase, "to drop the ball."

texts: How (if at all) does the phrase "to drop the ball" relate to the Times Square dropping of the midnight ball on New Year's Eve? If they are unrelated, where does the phrase come from?


texts: What is the word for something that has not yet been configured?

texts:
I am writing a user-interface for a program that configures some things. Let’s call them entries. To help the user keep track of what is left of configuration, a section such as the following is somewhere inside the UI:

Unconfigured entries:

This
That

Now, unconfigured is not recognized by the spell checker. Oxford dictionary doesn’t have this word. and Wiktionary says of it:

unconfigure:   To remove or undo a configuration.

Well, I wouldn’t be referring to entries that have been un-configured, but, rather to those that have not yet been configured.
What term should I use instead of unconfigured? I insist on having the word configure in the phrase for the user to be able to link the unconfigured entries with the configure operation easily.
Because this is a computer program context (rather than a piece of expositional writing, for example), similarity of terms is preferred over absolute correctness.


texts: What is the core meaning of the verb "set" in Modern English? I wrote "to put (something or someone) in a particular place" in my assignment, but the teacher said it was wrong.


texts: Leaving someone with lots of questions in mind

texts:
I am after a single word or maybe couple of words that we usually use to describe the situation when someone leaves us with lots of questions in our mind.

For example (this is not the exact scenario): Someone goes on holidays with some pending tasks they were supposed to complete.

I used this word before as well but can't remember it anymore. I don't think it's out of the blue, or left blank.

Example sentence:

  I requested them to call x company so that we will be clear on what
  went wrong when we were requesting an order, but he/she left me
  _______ and went on holidays.

Some more context

I am planning to use it to complain about someone's behaviour as they left me with questions and went on holidays


texts: What is the term used to describe when two items (maybe numbers) have been mixed up?

texts: What is the term used to describe when two items have been mixed up (i.e.the month and day of a date of birth)?


texts: "would insist that he first try making...."

texts:
I came across this sentence: "The committee would insist that he first try making his crews more efficient."

Why is it "he first try"? It sounds fine, but grammatically, it should be "he first TRIES".

Could someone please explain?

Thanks!


texts: How did the phrase "I could not care less" manage to lose the word "not" when employed in America

texts: I have listened to Americans say the phrase "I could care less" and it clearly appears to be derived from the original phrase "I could not care less". The original phrase has a logical underpinning, in as much as it states that the level of care being directed to something is so small that you literally could not care less. The American version appears to be an artifact from repetition of an uncorrected error. An error that is so illogical regarding its statement and application that at some point some astute American man/woman of letters must've commented on it and so, reveal the period that its odd and illogical acceptance in to American vernacular came about.


texts: Is it "the city" or "the City" when colloquially referring to NYC?

texts: People will refer to New York City as "the city" fairly often, but in writing should that be capitalized?


texts:
I was reading a historical article until I have reached to this sentence where it says:

  It is possible that she was done in by the eunuchs on their own initiative, or flung herself down the well.

I am not sure if it means to be tired or meant to be raped?


texts: "He made me down" sounds ok to say "He made me sad"? If not, why so?

texts:
I'm a newbie to this forum and I've been wondering if the sentence below is gramatically correct, and if not, pls explain the reason linguistically.

(I'm not a native English speaker.)

  He made me down.

To my knowledge, "He MADE me sad, He LET me down, He GOT me down" are all gramatically perfect.

And, these sentences in all have
 patterns. Then, why is it wrong or does it sound unnatural saying "He made me down" to imply
 "He mad me sad"? (I've never heard "He made me down")


texts: Is it correct to write 'I just can't give myself an appetite!'?

texts: I'm trying to write a line showing the expression that one is unable to get himself/herself to enjoy food and 'I just can't give myself an appetite!' is all that I could think of so I'm wondering if the sentence is grammatically correct and if not, could you kindly give me an example of what I'm looking for?


texts: Proper Timezone Acronym Usage - PT vs PDT or PST

texts: What is the difference with using PT (Pacific Time) vs PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) or PST (Pacific Standard Time)? When you write the time, 2:00pm PT, would that be considered incorrect because it is not specific enough?


texts: Drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

texts: Years ago, I heard this phrase (I don't know if it really is a phrase, please correct me if I'm wrong) during a congress from the general manager of a major car production company, but I don't remember the context. What is the meaning and etymology of it?


texts:
Finish the work within tonight.
Finish the work by tonight.

Are they both correct? The meaning of the two sentences might be different.


texts: Is there an incidental word for 'exchange'?

texts:
Consider the following sentence.

The movie Freaky Friday depicts two people exchanging bodies with each other.

In that sentence, the verb exchanging seems volitional. However, the movie depicts two people incidentally exchanging (for lack of a better word) bodies.

I cannot think of an equivalent incidental verb. Words such as trade and swap both seem to express volitional acts.

Is there an incidental verb equivalent to exchange?

Thank you.

-Hal


texts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcaWkR4ydeY

Hi, This is a British pronunciation according to the title. I can hear a rhotic /ɝ/ in the second syllable, however.

In the pronunciation of this word, there's almost no difference between British English and American English?

Can you tell is it British English or American English only from the voice of this word?


texts: "The more..., the less.." type of sentence corrections

texts:
The more you think about it, the less likely you will take action.

I feel that sentence sounds a bit awkward, especially the less part. I am not so sure if the sentence is correct, grammatically.

So what's the right way to put it? Or how can I rephrase it?


texts: Meaning and usage of “which datum it might announce on the notice board”

texts:
The context of the phrase:

  Participants are not allowed to come late. In such case they just don’t come. When you arrive, you will find the next meeting is next Friday (which datum it might announce on the notice board or something like that).

I assume that the definition of it in this phrase means

  Used as the subject of an impersonal verb

And the meaning of the phrase then becomes: “which datum might be announced on the notice board.”

Is it an irregular/spoken use or does it appear in literature?


texts:
In Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi, I reached to a sentence which is a little bit confusing to me.

  Once a day a cheap, gaudy packet arrived upward from St. Louis, and another downward from Keokuk. Before these events, the day was glorious with expectancy; after them, the day was a dead and empty thing. Not only the boys, but the whole village, felt this.

Does it mean the day was glorious as expected?

Also this sentence:

  Presently a film of dark smoke appears above one of those remote 'points;' instantly a negro drayman, famous for his quick eye and prodigious voice, lifts up the cry, 'S-t-e-a-m-boat a-comin'!' and the scene changes! The town drunkard stirs, the clerks wake up, a furious clatter of drays follows, every house and store pours out a human contribution, and all in a twinkling the dead town is alive and moving. Drays, carts, men, boys, all go hurrying from many quarters to a common center, the wharf.

The town drunkard stirs means the town like a drunkard stirs?


texts:
Many of my colleagues use the word realize in the sense of implement (as in "software realization" or "I didn't realize this function") It looks like these are false friends in both French and German. However, the use is so widespread that I'm having doubts whether it's legitimate. A few examples:

CAN Specification, page 1:

  These applications can be realized with CAN more comfortably [...]

Autosar OS specification, page 121:

  The RTE realizes the service on client side by mapping the client/server call to a sender/receiver communication.

Renesas RL78 User's manual, page 269:

  Channel 7 of unit 0 can be used to realize LIN-bus communication operating in combination with UART2 [...]


texts: What's an alternative for "Where the rubber meets the road"

texts:
In the past, I've been at a loss to explain the idiom "where the rubber meets the road" to a non-native English speaker without resorting to a similarly confusing idiom.

Is there a way to express the same meaning that doesn't use idioms or other non-literal language?


texts: Is there a word for something that you put on a fire?

texts:
In the sentence:

  He reached out to put more objects on the fire.

What is a better word for "objects". I was wondering if there is a generic term specifically for something that you burn on a fire. It is not necessarily wood. It is not necessarily fuel either. Think for example of someone who is burning "objects" out of protest or revenge.

I do not even know where to search for such a word. If you can give a resource where I can search for words by meaning, that that would be very helpful too.


texts:
Is there any other word I can use instead of respectively?

This word provides me a way to describe a list of items conveniently in a single sentence and hence save space. I've used this many times and there are mainly two reasons I am asking this:

I'm just looking for alternatives, since I don't want to use the same word everywhere.
Another small reason is that I find the word respectively a bit long which makes writing short sentences using it difficult.

Since an example of its use was requested:
"Samantha, John and Jack bought apples, mangoes and oranges respectively from the market." (I know it's not a very creative one.)

I also looked for synonyms at thesaurus.com but the only close ones I found were correspondingly and individually. I'm unsure whether these are valid substitutions for the use of respectively as in my example.


texts: I want to know the meaning of this sentence

texts:
It is from 'The picture of Dorian Gray'.

He  would often spend a whole day settling and resettling in their cases the various stones that be had collected, such as the olive...........(I have omitted such long following).

Isn't 'be had collected' correct?


texts: What would a cult member call a non-believer?

texts:
I'm looking for a term that a crazy cult member would apply to an outsider, a term that implies that such a "non-believer" is ignorant and of lesser worth -- ideally, something that is humorous because it is slightly ridiculous.

For example, an Islamic radical might use "filthy infidel" or an over-the-top Catholic may say "hell-bound heathen," but I'm looking for something that may be uttered by a member of a run-of-the-mill Kool-Aid cult.


texts: Legal term for not knowing details about the crime

texts:
I can't remember the legal term for hmm... not knowing details about the crime.
I will explain on the example:

Let's say that we suspect that our friend is going to rob a bank. And he asks us "do you want to know what I'm going to do tonight?" And then we say 'no' because we want to be able to honestly tell the police "I don't know anything about it."

What's the legal term for that? It's pretty common in the movies and TV shows.


texts: Usage of "the cubalow" - Has anyone heard the phrase?

texts: When I was a child in the 1950s I remember my mother calling the domestic hot water tank 'the cubalow', sounding like 'queuebelow'.  Has anyone else heard this word being used?


texts: Is there a word to describe female between 'girl' and 'woman'?

texts:
I've been trying to find a word that describes someone that's older than a 'girl' but not yet a 'woman'. It seems the connotation of girl is an immature female that's still growing up. Whereas a woman connotes a female that's starting to settle down in life.

Other words such as lady connote delicateness. There are few other words and most of them are derogatory.

My curiosity is around the maturation of a female i.e. someone just out of college figuring life out but out of the 'girl' stage.


texts:
Is this statement incorrect?  "I'm a former English major"

Is "I'm an English major" a better way to say it?

Isn't the fact that a person majored in English make the usage of the word "former" is inappropriate?


texts: A word or phrase for "The problem solved itself"

texts:
Whenever we close a support ticket at my company, we note the resolution to the problem so that future technicians can see what we did to solve the issue. We also send the resolution to the customer so that they can see what we did to fix the problem.

On occasion, the problem will be fixed but we do not know why. We usually put "the problem has been resolved", but this doesn't really give any information to someone looking at the ticket in the future.

I'm looking for a word or phrase that means essentially, "The problem fixed itself", "We don't know how this was fixed", or "We don't have a resolution, but it works".

The issue with these phrases is that if a customer reads them, they might feel like we're incompetent, or that the issue isn't fixed.


texts:
Well I use a lot of.. I'm vulgar.. very very perverse (just the language!) at that.. But I value the feelings inclusive of that I honour my enemies (I don't suck up but I value them) whose feelings I value, under their uncouth exteriors - in short, I respect, value and am very sensitive about how others/anyone feels.

I'm not genteel for sure. The freedictionary.com specifies that:

      genteel: 2. Free from vulgarity or rudeness.

Now I'm not in the former (I'm far from "free from vulgarity") but I detest rudeness. So how would you describe me? What is the exact word/words? Has my condition ever been addressed in the English vocabulary? (It could be crack or nut but I can't be sure. There should be a more colloquial term shouldn't there?
Thank you immensely!


texts:
In arabic, the organ 'the liver' has a noticeable role in language as does 'the heart'.
For example,
We say, in the heart of the city.

But we also say,
Zuhr prayer begins when the sun is at the liver of the sky.
You hit the liver of the truth.
It may sound kind of odd in english.

It does not only limit to this, a man may call his lover, his liver, it is very common.
Or the verb in arabic, he is 'livered'. He is so in love/head over heels for her.

Also, and this is my question, father's say, my children are the lobes of my liver. It is a figurative phrase meaning 'my beloved everything'. A person can live without a portion of his liver, unlike his heart, but with many complications. The liver is an important organ. Maybe the father if he lost one of his liver lobes/one of his children, something will always embitter him in life, maybe that is where it comes from. Is there a common thing which children are described as in english by there parents?

Example:
Arabic poetry:
The incoming air, brought along the scent of my homeland,
The land of my forefathers,
Where fuelled fire of malice burnt my liver lobes.


texts: Is a semi-colon correct here or should it be a period?

texts:
Here's what I wrote. It feels wrong to start a sentence with "I tried that" as the reader wouldn't know what I'm talking about unless they read the previous lines, which is why I thought I'd use a semi-colon to join the 2 together, but now the sentence feels way too long. Is there a better way?

  To do this, you'll need to slowly build up your workload overtime, you can't just revise 10 hours straight, everyday single day; I tried that & I actually would have got more work done if I just worked 4-5 hours.

The full paragraph for context:

  In order to prevent yourself from quitting like last time, since no one is forcing you to study, you'll need to build discipline, or else you're just going to burnout a few weeks down the line. To do this, you'll need to slowly build up your workload overtime, you can't just revise 10 hours straight, everyday single day; I tried that & I actually would have got more work done if I just worked 4-5 hours.


texts: "You should have also named" vs. "you should also have named"

texts:
Out of the two sentences, which one is correct?

  You should have also named it the Daily prophet.
  You should also have named it the Daily prophet.

My guess is it's the first one.


texts: Is the word "Dance" a noun in "Dance Class"?

texts:
Given the sentence

  I went to a new dance class.

is the word dance a noun or an adjective, or something else?


texts:
Word or term for "place of reflection"
I am looking for a better description for a place/building/location dedicated to inner peace.


texts:
I have heard the expression break off one's plans in the context of breaking off one's holidays due to an emergency.

  He had to break off his holidays to come back for the meeting.

What are other examples of its usage?


texts:
I have a question that is in line with times: a non-gender-specific subject pronoun (which I call "genderless" in the title to make it simple to grab).

I'd like to ask what form you would choose:

he or she (or also "he/she")
(s)he
s/he
they (followed by verb in plural form, of course)

I'll see if this question is answered to understand if it's of any interest to the community, before expanding the topic to other cases (object pronoun and possessive).

Thank you!


texts: Origin and meaning of "The eagle flies at midnight"

texts:
The eagle flies at midnight.

What's the origin and meaning of this idiom?


texts: I'd like to know the meaning of "National Forward published". I have seen it in codes and regulation context, such as those found by this search, and couldn't understand it.


texts: 'took several years to be built' or 'took several years to build' – which one is correct?

texts:
Which one of these sentences is correct?

The palace took several years to build.

or

The palace took several years to be built.

I heard the first one while I was watching Discovery Channel and I think it is not correct because the palace did not build on its own – someone had to build it. So the passive form seems the correct sentence.


texts: "Science wouldn't have thought so, but she is." Why the past tense?

texts:
Here's a quote from a TV show:

"How's your mother?"
"She's meaner."
"Is that even possible?"
"Science wouldn't have thought so, but she is."

It just runs naturally off the tongue, doesn't it?
But why the past tense? Why does "Science wouldn't think so" sound wrong?


texts: Difference between «so that» and «such that»

texts:
Are these the same?

The image will be sheared such that the x-axis goes through (1,1).
The image will be sheared so that the x-axis goes through (1,1).

I think I have usually seen the former, I didn't even know that “so that” is allowed in English until I once saw it in a text from a (as I assume) native English speaker.
Simon


texts: What is the proper usage of the phrase "due diligence"?

texts:
I have encountered the phrase "due diligence" in the business world. The usage examples I have seen (mostly emails) cannot exactly be considered grammatical canon. An internet search produces lackluster results. Most usage examples refer to the "due diligence process". But in my business it's not a formal process, but an ambiguous obligation.

The usage I am familiar with is similar to the following:

We need to do our due diligence to investigate this.
We need to use due diligence to investigate this.
We need to perform due diligence to investigate this.

Is any of that correct?


texts: Is there a name/term for "multiplied vowels"?

texts:
For example if somebody is saying:
"Ooooooh myyyyyyy Gooooood" or if they realize something and go "Ooooooh!" or Darth Vader's "NOOOOOOO!", usually all of these extra vowels aren't included in the words(you won't find it in a dictionary), but does this phenomenon of multiplying have a name or a term?

I've got a hard time formulating the description to be short enough for google to help, so even if you don't know if there is a word for it, help with description/formulation would be appreciated too.


texts: How do I know which article to use before a noun specified by a relative clause?

texts:
How can I explain the usage of the indefinite article in the following sentences?

  Thanksgiving is a day when we celebrate the harvest.
  New Year' Eve is a night when I have fun with my friends.


texts: Is this sentence (found on Wikipedia) correct?

texts:
On the Wikipedia article on 'quiz', the first sentence states:

A quiz is a form of game or mind sport, attempt to answer questions correctly.

I don't quite get the use of the word 'attempt' here. As a matter of fact, I don't understand how the entire part of the sentence after the comma (what is a word for such a subsentence?) makes sense in the context of the larger sentence. Is this sentence simply wrong, or am I mistaken?


texts: They would see something of significance to them, analyze it, think it through, but never do anything. They can study the details forever but never act.


texts: Adjective for "impressive without seeming to try very hard"

texts:
Consider a movie which is good while having a natural, effortless feel to it as opposed to overuse of special effects and whatnot.

There is a question looking for a kind of opposite to the word I'm looking for. The accepted answer there lists "flashy", "jazzy", and "gimmicky". I'm looking for an adjective describing a real good, definitely not boring thing which is at the same time none of those.

Added from comments:

Any kind of object which can be impressive without seeming to try very hard (or having designers who tried very hard) could be meant, I guess. Natural is not specific enough:

  Berlin Syndrome is a natural thriller

that doesn't really capture the meaning I need.


texts:
I regularly use the Grammarly application and keep getting error messages for the following types of sentences:

I like F.C. Barcelona, and was happy to learn they recently signed a new player.

After studying for the ACT, I learned that a comma before the coordinating conjunction "and" in this sentence without "I" after it was OK as long an elliptical construction was being used.

However, is this sentence not a good example of an elliptical construction and therefore requires "I"?

I like F.C. Barcelona, and I was happy to learn they recently signed a new player.


texts:
I intend to describe something possible to be held by hand.

I want to use the word in this fragment:

  Flat 3-dimensions and grabbable 2-dimensions.

I'm trying to express in my paper that the dimension seems to be reversed because of the dominance of smartphones. Basically, a plane cannot be held by our hand. But because we have become so familiar with LCD monitors - even more than external reality - I think we understand virtual reality as 'flat 3-dimension' and reality as 'grabbable plane'.

I've found words like 'holdable', 'grippable', 'grabbable' and 'graspable' but I'm not sure which one would be best.


texts: How did “ticket” get a meaning of an item in a bug tracking system?

texts:
The word “ticket” has a variety of meanings, including what Wiktionary describes as a dated meaning of something with a bit of information on it, but how did it evolve to mean an item in a bug tracking system or a tech support system?

I looked up the Online Etymology Dictionary, but it didn’t cover this usage.


texts: What is the plural form of musical score?

texts:
The title of a Spotify playlist from Disney is "Disney Score To Study To". The name surprised me because I would have thought it would be titled "Disney Scores To Study To". Seeing as this is an official playlist from Disney, I would like to think they thought about the grammar.

This is a link to the playlist for reference:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/49NljZ2KE0JrAz0NapcDVt?si=WGA4oiO2T1WgO6jIhGCf1Qr


texts:
What pronouns would you use in the following sentence
John and Lou recognized a bear cub.  Replacing the proper nouns with a pronoun and then replace bear cub with a pronoun.


texts: I googled this question but didn't find any information about it. Can I use "I will have had something by 2016" when I want to say that I will own this when 2016 begin?


texts:
Does the bold sentence mean

one cannot distinguish between "objects of knowledge" and "objects as one perceives them"

or

Perceiving objects, one cannot distinguish between "objects of knowledge" and "objects themselves"

Context:

On the one side is the school of neo-realism, which posits that objects and phenomena exist in themselves and can be studied rationally and empirically, independent of one’s mental state.5 There is an immaculate universe ‘out there’. On the other side is the phenomenalist contention that one cannot distinguish between objects of knowledge and objects as one perceives them.

(Art and Science by Sian Ede)


texts: Can past perfect tense be used without a second tense?

texts:
I found this sentence in the book "Game of Thrones":

  Catelyn had never liked this godswood.

It seems that the author used past perfect tense here, but without a second tense. Is it possible? Or is this not past perfect?


texts: Why 'aye aye sir' instead of 'yes sir' in naval response?

texts:
From Wikipedia, I know Aye aye sir is used in a naval response. I want know the origin of why Aye aye sir is used here?

Another question: when I saw TV series A Song of Ice and Fire, I found Aye is used in their conversation. In which cases could Aye be used?