texts:
To the best of my understanding the correct contraction of "Am I not" is "aren't I". However, growing up in Scotland I very frequently heard an alternative contraction "amn't I". I think this though is extremely uncommon outside of Scotland.

Now obviously the latter uses the correct part of the verb for "I" and the former does not. I was wondering if anyone knew how we got the wrong part of the verb in the right contraction, and the right part of the verb in the wrong contraction?


texts: What is the function of the comma between the two names in the newspaper headline below?

texts: I am really confused about the use of the comma between the two names starting  the newspaper headline below. And,  is there any kind of ellipsis ?  " Obama,  Clinton Scored Back to Back Home Runs With Their Speeches"


texts: Had come to know? Is that correct grammar/English?

texts:
I am in the process of writing a speech about my experiences of being homeless, and I have run into a situation in which my advisor's opinion of the proper grammar/phrasing of a sentence and my own disagree. Here is the sentence as I have it written:

**During my period of homelessness, I had come to know a great community drop-in center and food shelf, [...] **
(name of organization removed)

He would like for me to say "During my period of homelessness, I got to know a great community drop-in center and food shelf," [...]

To me, "got to know" sounds very "urban dictionary" and unrefined. I realize it is technically proper English, but I'd like a more dignified way of saying it. Is my way technically incorrect? I have no problem with using archaic language in conversation, but I want to make sure it is correct grammar before I insist it be my way. I am torn as to if it needs to be "I came to know" to be properly past tense, or if I can use "had come to know" in this case. "Had come to know" sounds much more formal to me, and I am hoping it is correct.


texts:
"He thought that that might be awkward."

I know this sentence is a bit awkward, but is it grammatically incorrect?


texts: The pronunciation of Burns' "I wad gie a' Knockhaspie's land"

texts:
I wad gie a' Knockhaspie's land
  (Highland Harry Back Again)

What is the best way to phoneticize this sentence?

/aɪ ˈwɑ(ː ?)d ɡi(ː ?) ??? lɑn/


texts: "Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back"

texts: Does the phrase "satisfaction guaranteed or your money back" make any sense from a grammatical standpoint?


texts: What a word that describes a default responsibility for a given task?

texts:
Something like "Any task not volunteered for will become John's responsibility".

Edit for clarification:
Any task left incomplete will be ______ to John.


texts: What preposition should be used with the 'wrap' verb?

texts:
I want to wrap it WITH the paper
I want to wrap it IN the paper
I want to wrap it BY the paper


texts:
I was taught that ever should be used in questions (Have you ever...?) and never should be used in negations (I have never...). But reading "A wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin I spotted such a sentence: "Have you never thought how danger must surround power as shadow does light?"

Is that grammatically correct?
What does the author want to say by this?


texts: expressions at bar about credit card payment

texts:
I went to the bar the other day and when I tried to pay for the drink by my credit card, the bartender asked me something to the effect whether I wanted to have my credit card open for further payment or close my credit card for that payment only. I did not fully catch what she said, but I heard some words like "...under the tab(?) or close...?"

It would be grateful if you could let me know what are the common expressions bartenders use in this kind of situation and how I should respond in such situation.


texts: I am looking for a word which sums up the idea of "a focused person."


texts:
Could you explain what " How Shakespearian" means?

I've heard it recently but I can't remember in which situation the phrase was used.


texts: We say "the best restaurant in town" but not "what is the best restaurant in the town". Why is this?


texts: How do I represent the "-ed" in "witnessed" phonetically?

texts:
How do I represent the -ed in witnessed (or any other similar word) phonetically? Is there a reference sheet somewhere for these? I notice that other endings do not get shown in most dictionaries either (for example -es in phrases)

I use Word web which has a pronunciation guide for the root of the word, but I can't find anything to write the -ed part phonetically. It does not seem to be on this Wikipedia page.

I would prefer the same format as Word web. Many people could probably figure this out for themselves (without a direct reference), but I do not trust myself.


texts: Verb for asking someone in a concerned tone

texts: I am looking for a word to use for when someone who cares about someone else wants to know how they are doing. The context this is in is that Person A injured themselves, and Person B, who cares for Person A, wants to know if they are O.K. (immediately after the injury).


texts: More than "partially", less than "completely"

texts:
I am re-phrasing several sentences in a manuscript we are preparing for publication and I have come across a sentence I am not quite happy with.

Without going into the details, the sentence is about a model system where we claim that the model in question has several nice features and simplifies the problem at hand whilst partially retaining the important characteristics of the original system.

The take home messages here are:

The model is simple enough that we can work with it
The model does not reflect the reality entirely, and has some issues associated with the compromises made in order to simplify the problems in the original system.
However, the model is still relevant enough that it's worth working on it

My issue with the word "partly" or "partially" is that it does not convey right level of conformity between the model and the original system. To my ears partly/partially sounds like there is some overlap between the models, but not necessarily enough to justify the amount of time and money invested on it.

So my question is; is there a word that I could use in this scenario, one that is more than partially but less than completely?

Follow-up question; when it comes to adjectives and adverbs where one can rank them, is there a good resource to check on, when one is in doubt? I usually use Thesaurus to find words that are related to one another, but I have not found one that actually ranks such words.


texts:
Here is the sentence I'm having a trouble with:

  ... a world that seems too big a place for any individual to contribute something unique.

Why does it say "too big a" and not "a too big"?

I apologize if something like this has been asked before but I didn't even know how to search for this.


texts: What's the correct plural form of "premise"?

texts:
Someone criticized me for using the word "premises" to denote a set of assumed "propositions", due to its connotation with houses and buildings.

Is that correct? If so, what should be the proper plural form of "premise"?


texts: Why is Congress used without the definite article the?


texts: Using Once And Had Been For A Position A Person Was In

texts:
I want to express that if he does not do something he would lose his position he had been in but no longer is:

  "If you don't react, you will not regain the position you had been in
  once"

(he can still react, so I use if clause 1 )

"had been" would indicate a relation to an earlier state, which he was in but then stopped being in. If I were to use "were in" it would indicate that he was in that situation once and he still may be in it.

Is that thinking correct?


texts: Is there any English word in which "ph" is not pronounced as "f"?

texts: A few days ago, a friend and I were discussing how every "rule" of English spelling or pronunciation has an exception, and every exception has an exception as well. Then I brought up the rule of a ph cluster equaling an f sound (as in phonetic, elephant, morph, etc.) as a pronunciation rule that didn't have any exceptions I could think of. Is this a true hard-and-fast rule or does it have some exceptions as well? I'm not counting abbreviations such as pH scale.


texts: What type of literary device is referring to a famous quote in a song?

texts:
In his song Land of the Free, the artist, Joey B., sings:

  And everything I do or say today that's worthwhile
  Will for sure inspire actions in your first child.

is similar to this quote by Marcus Garvey

  What you do to-day that is worthwhile, inspires others to act at some future time.

What literary device does this come under? Is it an allusion?


texts: "Go on excursion" vs. "go on an excursion"

texts:
Is it grammatical to say, "The class is going on excursion"? My thought is that it would be preferable to say "The class is going on an excursion".

My colleague thinks that the first sentence is correct. What do you think?


texts: It seems that the word 'hub' is beginning to gain popularity as 'an effective center'. My questions is, when do people start using it in this sense?


texts:
Is the phrase sent out to be or set out to be?

For example:

  He became who he sent out to be.


texts: What is the term used for people who drive slowly?

texts:
I have heard terms like bikers, racers and car racers used for the people who drive quickly. But what are people called who drive slowly, or at normal speed, or very slowly (for old people who drive really slowly)?

Drivers cannot be use specifically for them as it denotes everybody.

So is there any particular term for these people?


texts: Why are the words Reich and Kaiser capitalised in English?

texts: It is the same with Diesel, which can be capitalised or not. Do the words Reich and Kaiser have some specific historic value as they are distinguished from non-capitalised words such as halt, ozone, heroin, nickel, semester, etc?


texts:
What is the meaning of it is to in the following:

  It is to the Director [of Central Intelligence] that the assistant first turns to learn the facts in a crisis and for analysis of events, and since decisions turn on the perception of the consequences of actions the CIA assessment can almost
  amount to a policy recommendation.


texts: Can something be apparently X without actually being X?

texts: I mean, let's say a dog appears sick, but is in fact perfectly healthy. Could the dog be said to be apparently sick?


texts: How to avoid starting sentence with "And" and "But"?

texts:
A lot of times my sentences start with "And" and "But" and they tend to run long. I read a lot of news articles and blogs and have not seen many sentences starting with conjunctions, but I don't seem to get the trick of how to avoid it.

English is my second language.


texts: Is "yesterday" a noun, an adjective or an adverb?

texts:
Are words like "yesterday" and "tomorrow" considered nouns, adjectives, or even adverbs?  I'm getting mixed signals from several references.

In a case like "I have an important meeting tomorrow," it seems as if they're nouns.  But what about "Yesterday afternoon?"


texts:
Settled down, in the context of someone is set in life where they are- happy with their job, their family, they have have a mortgage and a little dog and all that sort of thing.

Is there a word/two or three words, that means the opposite of this?

One that came to mind for me was wanderlust but this carries too strong a connotation of travel. People can be not settled down but still not so big on travelling- it might just be in their career or love life that they've yet to find equilibrium.

Conservative vs innovative perhaps is a better comparison? But thats saying because you're settled you can't be innovative. Many great scientists were i'm sure settled.

Maybe going more into reactive vs proactive? Though again there I think I may be putting too much of a negative spin on people who are settled. Maybe the people who are still bouncing around are doing so because of situations beyond their control (e.g. refugees).

Any clue about this dichotomy?


texts: What is the word to describe a single object to represent the many?

texts: If I am writing a poem, I might use the word peaches to symbolize all fruit. Is there a specific word for this type of symbolism?


texts: Definite or indefinite articles in this case?

texts:
If someone asks me what I am studying, what article should I use?

Would it be:

  I am studying an MSc/a masters in Statistical Research Methods

or

  I am studying the MSc/the masters in Statistical Research Methods

How does the meaning change here, depending on the article?

Thank you very much for your help!


texts: Words to describe something that does not reach your expectations for it

texts:
Which word(s) would you use in a situation such as the one below, to make the sentence sound logical, natural and complete?

  You told me we were going to a nice park. We've spent almost two hours to get
  here! And what do I see here? You call these three trees and two benches a park?! Are you kidding me? This is not a park, this is a ____ of a park!


texts:
I am looking for a more formal variation of this sentence:

  "We can only speculate at this point."

Perhaps what is taking away from the professional feel that I want is the first person "We."

Question

Is there a more formal way to express this sentence, ideally by not using "we?"


texts:
I keep hearing the phrase "popping bottle" in contemporary music. Does it simply mean "opening an alcoholic drink"? Why do they keep using it?

  I invented swag, poppin bottles, putting supermodels in the cab.
  Otis — Kanye West

  popping bottles in the club
  Love In This Club — Usher

  popping bottles in the club
  Lollipop — Lil' Wayne ft. Static

Poppin Bottles — T.I. feat. Drake

  Popping bottles with model
  Troublemaker — Akon

  Popping bottles in LA
  Best Night — LMFAO

  Popping bottles up for free
  Reminds Me — LMFAO

  Popping bottle in the house with model in the V-I-P
  Sorry for party rocking — LMFAO

  Popping these bottles, touching these model
  Right Round — Flo Rida

  Popping bottles in the ice
  Like a G6 — Far East Movement

Why this choice of words? Does this phrase symbolise something?


texts: What is the difference between "presentation" and "demonstration"?

texts: What is the difference between presentation and demonstration?


texts:
Learning figures of speech sometimes can be confusing, and I am trying to figure out the difference between metonymy and synecdoche.

Given the following sentence

  ①Grey hairs should be respected (metonymy )

  ②More hands are needed in the work(synecdoche )

In Sentence 1, gray hairs is part of human body, so it should be included in synecdoche. So I cannot ensure that I'm right or my book represents a incorrect example.


texts: What does it mean to have "whipped top"? (Shakespeare/archaic usage)

texts:
e.g. in the Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V, Scene 1:

  Since I plucked geese, played truant, and whipped top, I knew not what it was to be beaten till lately.

I assume it's some form of game or diversion, but I can't seem to find out what. It's also used in Hudibras:

  For as whipp'd tops, and bandy'd balls,

  The learned hold, are animals

Any context or explanation for these quotations would be very much appreciated.


texts: What is the word for a "ride" but from the drivers perspective

texts:
When a person is trying to get from one place to another with someone driving between those two points, we say he's trying to find a "ride".

For example you can say "I'm looking for a ride to New York". Or "I got a ride to New York".
A driver can say "I gave him a ride".

But what is a "ride" from the driver's perspective? If a driver is looking for a passenger, you can't say "he is looking for a ride" since that implies he has no car to drive.

Is there a noun to describe the activity from the driver's perspective?


texts: Is there a different name for these two types of subordinate clauses?

texts:
The book that you bought me fell off the table.

And

  The book that contains the recipes fell off the table.

Note that the first has a subject and the second one doesn't.

Warriner's Grammar of English states that these are adjective clauses, but doesn't note anything on the issue of subject.


texts: What's the meaning of "stand" in this context?

texts:
The following is a verse from the song Billy Jean by Micheal Jackson (this is the full version of the lyrics of the song):

  For forty days and forty nights
  Law was on her side
  But who can stand when shes in demand
  Her schemes and plans
  Though we danced on the floor in the round
  So take my strong advice
  Just remember to always think twice
  (Do think twice, do think twice)

In line 3 of the verse But who can stand when shes in demand, what does "stand" mean?


texts: Right word to represent "speaking with low audible voice"?

texts:
Please consider the following sentence

  "Oh my god, bad opening for the day", the shopkeeper ____ while seeing the trouble making customer and flashed a smile when  customer approached him.

Which word of the below suits for the blank. Please find the words along with dictionary meanings:

  Whisper= speak very softly using one's breath without one's vocal cords, esp. for the sake of privacy

  Murmur = a soft, indistinct sound made by a person or group of people speaking quietly or at a distance

  Mutter = say something in a low or barely audible voice, esp. in dissatisfaction or irritation:

  Mumble = say something indistinctly and quietly, making it difficult for others to hear

Seems to be all words are suitable for the blank.


texts: What's the meaning of the phrase "class always tells"?

texts: I saw the sentence "class always tells" for the second time and know nothing about of what it means. It barely make sense for me. I tried to google it, but didn't succeed in. So, if anyone could explain me the definition, I would be greatly thankful :)


texts: Does MLA require intext citations to include author's last name if you introduced his name earlier in your work?

texts:
I'm a bit unsure if I can go about excluding author last names in citations for a paper I've been writing. I have to compare two characters from different stories in the same anthology. I have quotes from the two stories throughout the work, but introduce the authors+characters at the beginning of the essay. I was always under the impression one introduction of the author is enough to exclude ever having to include their name in in text citations, but a peer is telling me otherwise. I went through an entire class last semester following my original style without losing marks which also adds to the confusion.

The MLA rule sites tend to be generic and don't provide information outside the context of one sentence, so I wonder if anyone can clarify. Thanks.


texts: My dad would say this if I helped myself to something with out offering him any. Such as a cup of coffee. Is this an English phrase?


texts: Is this correct: "Once you'll figure out how this works, you'll love it"

texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  Once you'll figure out how this works,
  you'll love it

What I am trying to convey is:

The person that I am addressing does not understand a certain concept. I want to tell that person that once he/she understands that concept, he/she will love it.

I am not sure about the tenses. I am using Future Simple in both parts of the sentence. Is this OK? Should I use Present Simple in the first part:

  Once you figure out how this works,
  you'll love it

Which one is correct? (Or at least better)


texts: Like "responsible" but for things or activities

texts:
It's perfectly correct to say

  I'm a responsible employee.

However, what adjective should I use for non-living things or activities to convey the same meaning?

  The work is "responsible".

Meaning that the work can be done only by reliable and diligent people.


texts: What is the term for when "freedom of speech" drives away diverse voices?

texts:
I've read before about a phenomenon where a community's desire to allow unrestricted communication out of desire for diverse viewpoints actually has the opposite effect, driving sensitive and even moderate voices away from the community, thus leading to a homogeneous community in the other direction.

What is the name for this phenomenon?


texts: What is the correct part of speech when someone calls you by your name?

texts:
If someone uses your name in all correspondence with you, and this is not necessary, then what part of the English language is the name?

For example:

  What is your point Jay?


texts:
I found a sentence in test.

  Not until several years after a war has ended _________ to feel the severe psychological damage it can cause.

(A) do many of its veterans begin
(B) many of its veterans begin
(C) and many of its veterans begin
(D) many of its veterans beginning

I chose B answer, but the correct answer (due to test) was A.

Could anybody explain why here we should use do clause?


texts:
I’ve done some search on google and found a meaning of the word “yet” is “If you have yet to do something, you have not done it” (definition by Cambridge Dictionary), an example is:

They have yet to make a decision.” which means the same as “They haven’t yet made a decision.

My question is that in the many “haven’t done” situation, is it better to say “have yet to” or “haven’t yet done”? Do the two phrases have some slight differences?


texts:
Is there a word in English that refers to the symbol that has another symbol associated with it as a subscript, superscript, leftscript or rightscript? For example (lacking Latex here), if I have the Einstein's equation E=mc2, then c has a superscript the number 2 in a subexpression c2, but how would I refer to c itsself in a subexpression c2?

Some words that come to my mind are middlescript, mainscript, main symbol, ground symbol, base symbol, etc. but all of these are just my inventions I have never heard elsewhere.


texts:
A tenant began his rental term on the 20th of the month. Our system gives two options:

For the monthly period to begin on the day he started renting (the 20th) and end exactly a month later (on the 19th).
For the payment to be delayed until the end of the first complete month, and from then on the monthly period is calendrical.

In Case 2 - I need a word for what describes this option. Currently the term used is Completion to Calendar Month, but this doesn't sound good; it was most likely a literal translation from the original language which didn't translate well.

What I would like to say is "catching up with the regular frequency" or "appending the payment to a full calendar month" - but as concisely as possible.


texts:
I was writing something like: Speaking is an umbrella term itself who encompasses grammar, vocabulary, fluency and accuracy and pronunciation.

Herein lies two problem, 1.can i use who here?
2.does this sentence make sense? i'm not  sure if i used umbrella term properly here

Please help me and do not be so pedantic, thanks in advance.


texts:
On dailymail.co.uk there is a news article titled "Deafening silence as immigrant tide rises" where the journalist wrote "a loud silence has ensued".

Is there a name to define phrases like loud silence?


texts:
Cancelled or Canceled ? Which one is right?

  You have successfully canceled the registration

or

  You have successfully cancelled the registration


texts: As a non-native speaker of English, I am often confused about pronouncing words. Is there any standard of pronunciation in the English language? As in, if I give a completely new word to some random people in a native English speaking population, would they speak it the same way?


texts: Word for something that doesn't kill you but makes you stronger

texts:
Experience and hardship come to mind but they seem too general and they don't communicate the end result. They can be used depending on the context of course but there might be a word for a type of experience that conveys this proverb better. (if not a single word, a two-word phrase).

Example sentence:

  I've suffered through a lot of adversity in my life, experiences that didn't kill me, but made me stronger, turned me into a fighter. These ordeals were (my) _______.


texts: Proper usage of "since" and "from" with regard to duration of time

texts:
When you returned, I had been at home since 10 minutes.

When you returned, I had been at home from 5 minutes.

In such sentences, is it correct to use since or from? When since is used?


texts: Understanding the referent of a pronoun in this sentence

texts:
The sentence is taken from clash of clan game tips screen.

  Pekka's armour is so heavy that the spring trap doesn't work on her.

Now, I would like to know, what is the referent for the highlighted part. What does her refer to - pekka or the armour?

From the name I am inclined to assume that pekka is a male warrior and the her refers to the armour, but I am not sure.


texts: Which is more correct: "two- or three-note riff" or "two-or-three-note riff"?

texts:
When I read "two- or three-note riff," I sense an emphasis on the riff containing two notes with an occasional third note; whereas, a two-or-three-note riff seems to mean either or.

Am I reading too much here? That is, do grammatical rules specify a difference between the two methods?


texts:
I found the phrase ‘Long on looks, short on spirit’ in the Washington Post article written by Ann Hornaday (http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/jane-eyre,1164774/critic-review.html#reviewNum1).

What does ‘Long on looks, short on spirit’ mean? To me it sounds like saying ‘Have a big picture, but be realistic’, but I don’t know.  Is this a well-worn English cliché or Charlotte Bronte’s coinage?  In what occasion can I use this phrase?


texts: Why place a hand on the Bible instead of the Judge's genitals when taking an oath?

texts:
Etymonline gives the etymology of testify as

  ...from testis "a witness".. + root of facere "to make"... Biblical sense of "openly profess one's faith and devotion" is attested from 1520s. Related: Testified; testifying; testification. (also, testament, intestate, etc.)

In Biblical times, to swear a most sacred oath, the swearer made his oath by holding on to the oath-giver's genitals.

  Abraham... said to the senior servant in his household...Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord... that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites... So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore... (Gen. 24)

and

  When the time drew near for Israel (Jacob) to die, he called... Joseph and said to him, “...put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will... not bury me in Egypt..." Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. (Gen. 47)

Rabbi Shlomo Itzhaki (aka Rashi) explains in his commentary:

  Since one (a Jew) who swears must take with his hand an article related to a mitzvah... and circumcision was his [Abraham's] first mitzvah, and he had fulfilled it with pain, [Abraham's circumcised penis] was dear to him; so he took it. (bracketed expansions mine)

Others interpret (reason?) that this oath was sworn by holding the oath-giver's testicles.

The Latin word for "witness, one who attests" is testis, as well as testicles (from Latin testiculus, diminutive of testis). The Greek for spermaria is similarly derived.

So, how did testify, testimony, testament, protest, detest, contest, even Old and New Testament diverge so wildly from it's origins, to swear while holding someone's penis or testicles? Why don't we swear by our balls, soft bits, tallywags, twiddle-diddles, goolies, trinkets, bollocks, nuts, or cojones?

Was there ever a time when such little things didn't make such big promises?


texts:
The word mirage, when used metaphorically, can mean a false hope of a desperate person.

But it would also seem to make sense to use that metaphor to mean an initial appearance that vanishes on closer inspection.

What would be the pros and cons of the latter usage; in particular, will some misunderstand it to mean the former usage, and is there a better short expression (preferably just one word) for the latter sense?


texts:
What is the simple past of the verb to subset?  The simple past of set is set.   But, I see it written as subsetted, as in:

  Each row in the matrix specifies the location of one value, where each column corresponds to a dimension in the array being subsetted."

This is from Advanced R,  by Hadley Wickham.


texts: Is there a term for the phenomenon of creating a term for every single little thing?


texts: 'even': How might've the sense of 'introducing an extreme case of something more generally implied' arisen from 'emphasizing identity'?

texts:
I quote only the germane sentences from Etymonline on 'even (adj.)':

  The adverb is Old English efne "exactly, just, likewise."
  Modern adverbial sense
   ([2.] introducing an extreme case of something more generally implied [End of 2.])
  seems to have arisen 16c. from
   [1.] use of the word to emphasize identity ("Who, me?" "Even you")  [End of 1.].
  Etymologists are uncertain whether the original sense was "level" or "alike."

Please see this question's title.
What semantic notions underlie 1 and 2?


texts: Handwriting is to illegible as drawing is to what?

texts:
If your handwriting is illegible, then you can not understand what word is written.

But if you have not drawn well then you can not understand what is being drawn.

What word do I use for this?

Edit: The objects being drawn here are TV, cars, clocks, etc. The drawing of the TV does not look like a TV


texts: "With tiredness and underperformance the result" - Two adjacent noun phrases

texts:
Does anyone know what sort of grammar rule is applied in this sentence (the bold part)? I've never seen this before:

  ... something we should all spend roughly one-third of our time doing, but which we actually tend to squeeze at both ends, with tiredness and underperformance the result.

In my way of understanding, I split the phrase into two parts:

  With tiredness and underperformance / the result

However, two adjacent noun phrases in this way seems strange to me. Is it a case of an appositive?


texts: What happens if there’s dialogue in dialogue in dialogue?

texts: Do you do an apostrophe again, or can you not do it at all? It’s been very confusing for me!


texts: word for telling the truth/ lying and then regretting it?

texts: My brother once asked me if there was a word for telling the truth and then strongly regretting it, and when i looked on the internet, i couldn't find one... so i decided to ask on here. I then began to think more, and wondered that if there was a word for telling the truth and then strongly regretting it, was there a word for lying and then strongly regretting it? or was there a word for one and not the other... or a word that could describe both? i do mean strongly and sincerely regret, might i add, rather than to just have second thoughts.


texts: Word for knowing exactly when to keep and get rid of things?

texts:
This to me sounds like a challenge, as American Consumerism may have completely stamped whatever word this was out of my language.  Is there a word (that people know...) for knowing exactly when to get something and knowing when to get rid of something?

A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
— Saint-Exupéry

The reason that I ask, is I'd like to research more on the topic, and I don't know what to search for.


texts: Word for opposite of boss that is not pejorative?

texts: I'm developing an app and cannot figure out a good word for the "underlings" of a boss which doesn't sound so pejorative. I've thought of supervisee, but that sounds archaic and I don't like how it's so close to supervisor.


texts: What would you call someone who is part of a culture?

texts: What would you call someone that is a part of a certain culture? culturees? culturettes?


texts:
Which preposition would be the correct one?

  the course in/on/of/for nursing speciality


texts: Difference between "seems like ...", "sounds like ..." and "feels like ..."

texts:
I want to know if there are differences between the three following sentences, since for me they all have the same meaning:

  It seems like an adventure.

  It sounds like an adventure.

  It feels like an adventure.


texts: I know "It was fine while it lasted" means that an experience or situation was enjoyable while it was happening, but now it's over and so you have to move on. Suppose the COVID-19 lockdown is over. Can I say then "It was a bitter pill while it lasted."


texts:
I've occasionally seen "not so much" used at the end of a sentence. For example, Jeff Atwood saying

  Some community feedback is useful. Others, not so much.

Doing a symbolhound search for "not so much.", I came across entries such as

  First one good. Second one not so much.
  That worked fine on the development systems, but on a production system, not so much.
  iScroll would be what you need. And unlike jQuery mobile, iScroll works on various devices and on the desktop. jQuery mobile, not so much.
  Again, Safari and Firefox show this, Chrome not so much.
  The lambda I can see the point of. Sending 'fn' to almost-but-not-quite 'f', not so much.

I assume that placing it at the end of a sentence is non-standard English. Is it derived from some quotation or meme?

Urban Dictionary has some entries for it, but they don't describe how the phrase originated, or even use coherent sentences.

(I'm aware of what not so much means when it's used in a more standard manner)


texts: Literary device when famous quote altered to change meaning, and still allude to original?

texts: The quote in question is one from Shakespeare's Othello, Iago says “I am not what I am” (I.i.71), it references, but alters the words of God in Exodus 3:14, “I am that/who I am”. Is there a name for this kind of language or a literary device of some kind? Where the author takes a popular or famous quote and alters it change the meaning, while still referencing back to the original?


texts: I have seen the term a few times in notification e-mails. Does it mean just a polite notification?


texts: Why is it spelled "maintenance" and not "maintainance?"

texts:
Why is the task of maintaining spelled "maintenance" and not "maintainance?"

Other words related to maintaining include: maintain, maintained, maintainer, maintainability, and maintainable. Each of those words starts with maintai-, so it would logically make sense to write maintainance instead of maintenance because it would have the same "ai" instead of "e".


texts: What does "They don’t get to keep it" mean?

texts:
This is the complete quote:

Instead Judy moved to Israel, apprenticed under a prominent female Bible scholar, and became a beloved teacher. (She also married and had five children.) Did she ever have a moment when she considered abandoning Scripture? “Many,” she said. “But my answer has consistently been, ‘They don’t get to keep it.’”

I simply do not know what it means in this context and I am a native English speaker


texts:
Is the phrase

"Are there any vegetables except for asparagus?"

equivalent to

"Are there any vegetables other than asparagus?"

The first feels wrong, and the second feels right, but I have no clear understanding of why that is, or when "except for" should be used rather than "other than", or if they are in fact completely interchangeable.
A second case:

Except for asparagus, I love vegetables.
Other than asparagus, I love vegetables.

These two phrases seem equivalent to me. Are they?


texts: What is the difference between "aloof" and "standoffish"?

texts:
The meaning of aloof in the dictionary is: not friendly or forthcoming.

The definition for standoffish is: distant and cold in manner.

What is the difference between these two words? To me they look the same.


texts: Which article should be used in this example? (structure preposition+ a+ adj.+ noun)

texts:
I am studying english and I saw this rule:
The book is on the table/
but
The book is on a little table

The flowers are in the vase / The flowers are in a beautiful vase.

The rule says that one can use any noun, adjective and preposition here, but when you define the noun with the adjective in such structures with the preposition, you should use the indefinite article.

So we have the same situation here (ex.:The flowers are in the vase / The flowers are in a beautiful vase.), but if we define the noun "vase" we should use the indefinite article.
Is this true? Does this rule always work?
I would appreciate it if somebody clarify this for me.


texts:
Here is a question I got:

Will the correct answer be

"Not only does Earth Day deserve a commemoration, but also our total dedication."

or

"Earth Day deserves not only a commemoration, but also our total dedication."?


texts: Is sheer beauty a proper way to describe a movie

texts:
I asked my friend to describe me a movie and he wrote, "it is more than one time watchable for it's sheer beauty".

I do not understand this sentence and i do not think it is used correctly. Also the usage of 'sheer beauty' seems wrong to me.

English is not my first language so I need to get someone to tell me if this sentence is correct or wrong.


texts: I don't care for him so much. But SHE, I care a great deal for

texts:
I don't care for him so much. But she, I care a great deal for.

In this scenario, isn't it correct to say "She" rather than than "Her?"
(ex: Her, I care about vs. She, I care about.)
My wife thinks it's "Her" instead of "She." Just trying to settle an argument.
Is this sort of an improper way to shape the sentence? I feel like it's technically OK, but it's more acceptable to say "I don't care much for him, but I care a great deal for her.)


texts: What is the name for the grammatical device of putting "not" after a verb to negate it?

texts:
Here's a passage (more or less taken randomly) from the American Standard Version of the Bible from 1901:

  1 Peter 3:14 (ASV)
  14 But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed are ye: and fear not their fear, neither be troubled;

The bolded words are the grammatical form I'm asking about.  It's extremely common in the older translations of the Bible, which make them difficult to read.  These days, I think most people would say "do not fear their fear" of "don't be afraid of their fear" instead.  In fact, a 1995 update reads:

  1 Peter 3:14 (NASB)
  14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,

(There's a footnote on"intimidation" saying "Lit fear", so my first update matches exactly.)

Reading up on Early Modern English I haven't been able to discover a name for this word ordering or any history about the change.  Can y'all give me some pointers?

I'm not sure if this part of the question is on-topic, but when I find this form would I be safe in mechanically changing it from:

  verb not

to

  do not verb

Are there instances that will break the meaning by doing this?


texts:
Etymology of English from Etymonline:

  Old English Englisc (contrasted to Denisc, Frencisce, etc.), from Engle (plural) "the Angles," the name of one of the Germanic groups that overran the island 5c., supposedly so-called because Angul, the land they inhabited on the Jutland coast, was shaped like a fish hook (see angle (n.))

"Old English" article from Wikipedia:

  Old English (Ænglisc, Anglisc, Englisc) or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southern and eastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century.

Also, Anglish is used as a resulting language of linguistic purism. (coined by the author and humorist Paul Jennings). It is mentioned as English minus many of the non-Germanic elements.

Questions:

Why didn't the name of the language become Anglish and survive till
today?
Etymonline says that it comes from "Englisc" but there are three different
spellings of Old English and the root is mentioned as Angul. So why from Englisc but not Anglisc?

Note: There is this question asked before:
Where did the name "English" come from?

Accepted answer mentions that English is the corruption of Anglish. But there is not much detail about it. Is it ever called Anglish then? When and how is it corrupted?

Also, English is "Anglais" in French. I'm not sure if it is beyond this website  if I ask why it is "Anglais" in French and if connection to other Germanic languages is related to this topic. The topic can go deeper in regards to origin of tribe names also. I may have missed some points and this can be asked in linguistics stackexchange as well.


texts: If an engagement is with an object, is a disengagement also with the object, or is it from an object?


texts: What is a word to describe an action that was not prompted by any special/specific occasion?

texts: For example, you might give a birthday gift or a wedding gift, but a gift that wasn't one of those might be a ______ gift.


texts: What's a formal way to say something is "happening"?

texts:
What is a formal way to say something has a lot of activity in it? I can only think of two informal ways to say it. For example:

This field of physics is very "happening" right now.
This field of physics is very "hot" right now


texts: Question marks in titles, in particular those beginning 'How to ...'

texts:
I found the following blog title without a question mark from The Hindu site:

  How to ease Afghanistan’s progress in cricket

Is it grammatical, if we don't put question mark in questions of titles? I think this blog title should have been like this:

  How to ease Afghanistan’s progress in cricket?

I also found the following blog title from DAWN site without a question mark:

  Election rigging 101: How to steal a mandate

However, I found a question mark from other blog title of DAWN site:

  Elections 101: What is the ECP and what does it do on election day?


texts:
The subjective nature of these tests rely on human expertise to assess the patient correctly

The subjective nature of these tests relies on human expertise to assess the patient correctly

Which is correct to say, and why?


texts:
In programming we have the term "xor gate" for when one of two things is allowed, but not both. That is, P XOR Q is true if and only if exactly one of them is true, false otherwise.

But English is not always so clearcut as programming. Is there an English word that serves the same function? That is, is there a word in English such that people think

  X is the case ___ Y is the case

is true when exactly one of X and Y is true but not both? (For contrast, "X is the case and Y is the case" is true only when both X and Y are the case at the same time, and nothing less)


texts: What is a slang but safe for work word for someone who is stubborn or narrow-minded?

texts: I'm trying to write a book and have run into this problem multiple times. I want it to have a strong meaning while remaining respectful. Any ideas?


texts: Which one is correct? I am *even more happy* for you! or *even happier*?

texts:
Which one is correct?
Even more happy or even happier?

P.S.: My question has more to do with the combination of the word "happy" with the word "even", on the context above.


texts: What is the one word for loss in trade / bad deal?

texts:
What is the one word for a deal that will end in loss for sure

for example a teenager doing drugs over studies is a sure loss to him how do I say that ? He will regret is one way , but my point is to emphasize that he is investing in the wrong thing.


texts:
In American Accent Training, it shows that the "down" is pronounced as /dæon/, where /æo/ is a combination of /æ/ and /o/.

However, according to KK or DJ, this sound is a combination of /ɑ/ and /ʊ/. I know that different systems have different phonetic alphabet symbols, but I doubt the correctness of /æo/. Anyone can clarify this for me?


texts: What is the correct term for a story that sits alongside another one in time and place?

texts:
What is the correct term for a book that sits alongside another book in time and universe, sharing some characters and events? Not after (a sequel) or before (a prequel), but parallel.

Example: I've just read "Ender's Shadow". It's a [something] of "Ender's Game".


texts: What do salespeople mean by "don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle"?

texts: Who coined this phrase, and what is the meaning behind it?


texts:
Which one of the following is correct?  If both - what is the difference?

In an optically thin gas ...
In optically thin gas ...

For example:

We consider radiative equilibrium in (an) optically thin gas.
In (an) optically thin gas the condition of radiative equilibrium reads...


texts: What does "sets free scores" means in this line?

texts: After a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stopthemselves from becoming fish food for the area's new razor-toothed residents.


texts: "They develop skills at this age" vs. "they are developing skills at this age"

texts:
Which one is correct? If both are correct, are there any differences in meaning?

For children, the age of 3 is very
critical time, because they develop
their language skills rapidly at this
age.

For children, the age of 3 is very
critical time, because they are
developing their language skills
rapidly at this age.


texts: "Discouraged to" vs. "Recommended to not"

texts:
In the past, pregnant women have been recommended to not exercise because of presumed risks of preterm birth.
In the past, pregnant women have been discouraged to exercise because of presumed risks of preterm birth.

Which construction is better in technical writing: "discouraged to" or "recommended to not"?
The former one seems to be much more common, but the latter one looks more transparent to me. (English is not my primary language and so my opinion regarding transparency doesn't have any real value.) And since, in technical writing, clarity is the paramount, the latter version could be much better.
Still, I'm not sure whichever version to choose.

"discouraged to": https://ludwig.guru/s/%22discouraged+to%22 - 196 exact results, it seems most of them are from The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Guardian; that is, from general-purpose press.
"recommended to not": https://ludwig.guru/s/%22recommended+to+not%22 - only 19 exact results, it seems that all of them are from scientific journals.

Since this question is tagged as "writing-style", I hope it won't be closed as opinion-based.


texts: What would be a word or phrase for " missing parts of books or manuscripts"

texts:
I was reading a Sanskrit manuscript and realized that pages 12 to 19 were missing...

I would simply call those pages as "missing pages", however, is there a word or phrase for such missing parts?


texts:
Are there any literary techniques in these quotes?

  “But a man who comes to power with the support of the common people holds it alone and has no one around him who’s unwilling to obey”

and

  “If he’s begging help, he’s bound to fail and will get nowhere”

They are both from Machiavelli's The Prince :)


texts: Word for opportunism in the face of adversity

texts:
The title doesn't really describe the word I'm looking for very well. I think it is a bit hard to neatly describe it, so I'll give an example of a behavior that would be described with such a word.

Aliens crash land on Earth. It was completely coincidental, they had no interest in Earth, but somehow crash landed there in their travels. It will take about a week to fix their vessel, and they begin immediately. But the whole crew isn't needed or even usable for the fixing, so, they are used for research on the planet and species living on it. Science and enlightenment is not the reason for their visit, but they chose to do it, because they think they might as well, considering it doesn't impede how quickly they get home, and only plentiful resources are spent on it.

What kind of mentality is this? Basically making the best of the situation, but not in a way of accepting a bad situation and coping with it; rather fixing the situation, but accepting it will take some time, and therefore utilizing that time to make the most of it. I guess you could call it that. Making the most of the good sides with a bad situation. Not that they are that good sides. These aliens are used to other lifeforms, and therefore humans are... mediocre compared.

So, is there a word for this kind of mentality? It can be an adjective, a noun, a phrase/idiom or even a verb.

EDIT: A user wrote an idiom that fits pretty well: "To make the best out of a bad deal". It is basically that, but I'm looking for something more succinct, and perhaps less negatively charged.


texts:
What is a better preposition for the word "event"?

at
on

Specifically I want to say:

Lector at an event
Lector on an event

Which is the correct one?


texts: The place where the railroad crosses the road

texts:
What do you call those places where a railroad crosses an automobile road?:

Of course, I've heard what they are called in English, but I suspect that they are referred to differently depending on whether the speaker is from UK, USA, Canada or Australia. So, please, specify in your answer what type of English you mean.

I also heard that these places can be referred to differently even within one country because of some subtle differences pertaining to those places. I don't really know what those differences are. It may be the width of the automobile road, or the difference in height between the level of the railroad and the automobile road, or, perhaps, the presence/absence of that red-white thing that goes down and up every time when the train passes.

Also, what do you call that very red-white thing itself? Especially, how would you describe its motions in this kind of sentence:

"At the (place), when the (thing) finally (lowered), it was obvious I would be late for the party"

What words you would substitute for those used in parentheses above?


texts: Words pertaining to the senses and the corresponding disabilities

texts:
I need help on finding words relating to the senses/perception. I mean this in a neuronic/biological or philosophy-of-mind kind of way.

A word for...

pertaining to the senses (Is it sensory?)
pertaining to vision (ocular?)
pertaining to smell (olfactoric?)
pertaining to taste
pertaining to sound
pertaining to touch
unable to smell
unable to taste
unable to feel/touch
unable to perceive (unconscious?)
(unable to see: blind)
(unable to hear: deaf)


texts: A word that encapsulates either "vacation" and "holiday"

texts:
I am looking for a word that would generalize the "vacation" and "holiday" concepts. So a phrase that would represent the time taken away from work/business without specifying whether this time off is due to holiday or vacation. The phrase need only represent time taken away due to vacation and holiday, other absences like medical or familial are not necessary, but if the phrase is general enough to include these that is fine.
I am leaning towards "leave of absence", but I am not convinced this is the best choice.


texts: What is a word for a "phrase to remember", e.g. "Life is like a box of chocolates"?

texts:
My mother always said, "Life is like a box of chocolates."

How do you describe such phrases, i.e., a phrase/saying/quote to remember by?
Something like a memento or reminder, but for "phrases", "sayings" or "motivational quotes". "Reminder" may be a good word, but I wonder if there is something better, like "self-reminder".


texts:
Good day everyone.
So I have Michael Swan's grammar book "Practical English Usage" and there's a couple of sections concerning to usage of "could".

So in 82.3 it says that we use could to talk about general ability in the past and they give an example

  It could be quite frightening if you were alone in our big old
  house.

As I understand this sentence, it's an open condition in the past and we can use when instead of if.
But I don't quite understand why the authors of this book decided to give such an example in this section.
Because there's another section 86 saing that we can use can, could, may and might to talk about typical behaviour and occurences.
And they give this example:

  In the days of sailing ships, a voyage round the world could take years.

Do the first and the second sentences have the same meaning like "something sometimes happened"?

I'd like to thank everyone beforehand who will find time to answer my question :)


texts: Is there an English expression which corresponds to the French "péage"?

texts:
The practice of paying through the nose for every little thing

You have to hand it to the French: they're elegant, this highway sign, when I first saw it, made me laugh:

Notice the word "péage" under Nimes and another one under Avignon. Isn't it so much more poetic than the matter-of-fact American "toll ahead"? It rhymes with "garage" pronounced the American way, with the stress on the second syllable.

It got me thinking, though. The "-age" suffix, introduced to the English language by William's cronies, no doubt, a nifty little thing, has given us such words as "trackage," "postage," "usage," "windage" (the portion of a vessel's surface upon which the wind acts), and so forth - and lends itself to word ... uh ... coinage.

It means, according to Dictionary.com, "process, the outcome of," etc.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/-age

I wonder if there is a word ending in that suffix that means

  paying through the nose for every little thing

(I tried Anglicizing the French word "péage" to "payage", by moving the stress to the first syllable, but it sounds awkward).

Any suggestions welcome; as are neologisms.


texts:
When something is a subelement of another, we can say that it is nested into something. But how about the opposite way?

A is nested in B

B is .... A

Would the word be "nesting"?


texts: Word or phrase for a story that takes place over several years

texts:
What word or phrase should be used to describe a story that takes place over a long period of time (e.g. a few years, a few decades, etc.)?

For example, Gabriel García Márquez's famous novel One Hundred Years of Solitude takes place over seven generations of the Buendía family. What word or phrase could be used to describe the story?

  One Hundred Years of Solitude is a ____, that is, it occurs over a long period of time.


texts:
Is it fine to write

  during the second half of 4th century B.C.

or is it preferable to write

  during the second half of the 4th century B.C.


texts:
What is it called when a poetry stanza alternates between iambic tetrameter and triameter?

If I shall wander into hell

And die upon its coals

So we have one line of iambic tetrameter and one line of iambic triameter. Is there a name for structures like this? Or is it just really iambic heptameter that has been divided between lines?


texts:
I have a technical sentence that is:

  The lower the mixing paramter, the more obvious the clustering structure and thus the easier to identify the correct clustering structure.

My question is about the italic part of the sentence i.e. the easier to identify. Is that grammatically correct? Or I should use something like "the easier the correct clustering structure is to be identified" or "the easier it is to identify the correct clustering structure" or anything else?

If the technical words make no sense, this is the simplified version of my question:

  The cheaper the car, the easier to buy it.

Is the above sentence correct?

Thanks in advance.


texts: What is the meaning of "fearing something is true" in this passage?

texts:
Look at this quote:

  The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true.

What does "fearing something is true" mean here? Does it mean that they are afraid of the horrible things that would be true if the statement was true, for example if this terrible world is the best of all, how bad are the other worlds? Or does it simply mean that they believe it's not true?


texts: The meaning and origin of "hedge your bets"

texts: What exactly does it mean? And what is the origin of the phrase "hedge your bets"?


texts: What word can I use for someone who studies biomimetics? Can I use 'biomimeticist' if that word doesn't exist in the dictionaries?

texts: While writing a report and needing to be brief I wondered if I could use a single word to call a subset of researchers dealing with biomimetics (the science of replicating biological solutions in technology). "People studying biomimetics" sounds rather cumbersome, so a single-word solution would be very welcome!


texts: What is the word for someone who finds value and ambition in as many people as possible giving them positive regard and support?

texts:
What is the word for someone who finds value and ambition in other people giving them positive regard and support? A person who wants as many people as possible to give them positive regard and support.

I'm not looking for words that describe attention seekers, and the word egocentric doesn't help as egocentric people are self centered, and the person I have in mind is not self centered. Emotional vampire isn't suitable as this person isn't abusive. Also this person does not want to be famous.

The research I've done is searching Google for the word I'm looking for.

I am looking for an adjective. Examples 2 and 3 use an adjective as a noun as they use colloquial speech.

Examples

Sheridon hadn't had a response in 30 minutes mid-conversation. "Sorry I was eating dinner" Eliza told Sheridon to resume the conversation on the messaging app. Sheridon liked her apology though she did nothing wrong, as he was [a]  __________ [ a person who gets validation by getting their ego fed]

"I'm always first to enter the party and the last to leave. I gotta get that social utility, that _________ [person who gets validation by getting their ego fed] material" (colloquial language)

"Guess what? A famous journalist on twitter retweeted my article that I wrote and made it go viral. As a _______ [person who gets validation by getting their ego fed], I value that." (colloquial language)


texts: Is the term/word "stamp" the same as "seal" when talking about invoices

texts:
I'm doing a translation about an invoice process from spanish to english and not quite sure how to translate "timbre" (in spanish) to english not sure if would it stamp/stamp number/seal

Any help would it be appreciated.


texts: "If the input is alphanumeric characters..." or "If the input are alphanumeric characters..."

texts:
Seeing how the subject of the sentence "input" is singular I initially opted for "If the input is alphanumeric characters..." but it sounds a bit strange.

Could someone explain which are the rules that should be applied in this kind of sentences?


texts: Ideas on rephrasing the sentence below, please

texts:
"The privilege of serving people and improving their quality of life motivates me to pursue lifelong education and contribution to the dental knowledge and community."

I feel that the last part "dental knowledge and community" is kind of odd parallelism. Any suggestions for rephrasing the sentence above even if it involves using other synonyms?

Thanks in advance!


texts: Is it worth studying linguistics if your goal is to simply improve your communication?

texts:
My goal in studying modern grammar has been to improve my ability to communicate (both verbally and in writing). I am having a problem in that no matter what I study, I cannot help going down linguistic rabbit holes. I might be simply trying to understand what a verb is, but it can end up taking me months because of all the different aspects of verbs that I find to be necessary to understand the concept from a linguistic standpoint.

Does anyone have advice on whether linguistic understanding is helpful for my current goal?

Is there a more practical way to utilize modern grammar?


texts:
I'm having a problem with presenting data in a table.

Example:

Item 1: Reading foreign novels

Group A = 5 participants, Group B = 3 participants, Group C = 3 participants

I'm wondering if it's correct to present the data this way using "each":

"Eleven participants mentioned that they read foreign novels to improve their English skill. There were five participants from group A and three participants from group B and group C each."

I'd like to know if "each" is used correctly in the sentence above. Please help. Thank you.


texts: Can attributive adjectives be modified by adverbs of frequency? Grammar says adverbs of frequency only modify verbs.


texts: Is it also correct to say FAQ's as some sites like http://transition.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/rf-faqs.html refer? Or is FAQs the right and correct way to say it?


texts:
Yesterday, I saw a document said that "Fishing rode". I'm confused. I know "fishing rod" but does the word "fishing rode an English word?

P/S: The sentence that contains the word Fishing rode:

  Fishing rode and bucket are things that every angler needs to have, from the Amateurs to the Professionals.


texts:
I read this sentence in the Economist:

  Yet, with China, that risks bringing about the very ruin policymakers are seeking to avoid.

I recognized the sentence as inversion because I think "that risks bringing about the very ruin" is the object of the verb "avoid".

Can I thus understand the sentence in the following order?
  "Policymakers are seeking to avoid risks bringing about the very ruin."

Thank you in advance!!!


texts: Looking for information on who or what time in history the phrase "Hail the King" was used, not hail to the king. When this phrase was said it was followed by what sounds like a foot stomping on the floor, almost ceremonially.


texts: Single word that can be used for both tip/gratuity and donation

texts: I am writing a web api and a single field is used for both tips and donations. Is there a single word that works for this? I've thought of things like "additional" (not descriptive enough) and "extra amount" (not terse as I'd like). Right now I have the api parameter as "extra_amount", but if there's a single word for this that is more descriptive and a single word I'd love to use it instead.


texts: Is repeating the section title in the first sentence good writing style?

texts:
In a number of structure formats I am very tempted to re-state the title of sections in the first section, i.e. if the given section is “Expected Results”, I tend to want to start by saying “The expected results of this study are [...]”.
I feel it sounds a lot better, regarding the text's flow as I would read it, but then again, I am repeating information which was basically obvious from the section name.
Any idea if there is a good writing style convention for or against this?


texts: Difference between "man" and a man or the man

texts:
I watched a video on Youtube.
The title of The video is "MAN".

So, I wonder against the title "MAN".

Why only MAN? Ordinary "A MAN" or "THE MAN", right?


texts: Indian English use of “only” for emphasis

texts:
In my dialect of English (American West Coast), the word only exclusively means exclusively.  I've worked with folks from Southern India for a while (and used to live abroad in Dubai), and it seems to me that that in some Indian English dialects, the word "only" can be used for emphasis - it does not necessarily indicate exclusivity.

Here are a couple examples of the usage that I am talking about:

After the successful completion of the job and incorporation of the job results into 3D workspace, only sitepoints are displayed.

Other stuff was actually displayed, but the sitepoints should not have been, thus their presence was unusual.

... calculation job failed to run on the following structure only.

Other structures may or may not work. This specific structure failed.

Only the following description is shown:

The description does not match the expected description.

This answer on ELU has a number of other examples of this usage.

My concern

I am writing up a document that will primarily be read by my Indian co-workers.  Does only also mean exclusively in this version of English? Or would it be wise to be careful about my use of this word? Here's an example of my usage (from a list of guidelines):

Only use these once a bug has been found.

I mean that "these" should be used exclusively in a circumstance in which a bug has been found.

(note that this is not the same as Indian English use of "only", that person was having almost exactly the opposite issue. Also, I will of course send my document for revision to a supervisor in Bangalore before publishing it.)


texts: Difference between may be and can be while replying to my superior officer

texts:
When I am telling my boss to do some thing which word is appropriate:

You can close the purchase activity.

or

You may close the purchase activity.


texts: What is the meaning of "one must of necessity"?

texts:
I have read this sentence. But, I can not understand the meaning of "one must of necessity".

  To be a great leader and so always master of the situation, one must of necessity have been a great thinker in action.

Can any one explain it?


texts:
I understand the meaning of being "insanely sane"- whereby one is crazily sane. However, I do not understand the meaning of being "sanely insane"?
How can one be sanely insane?


texts: How would you describe 'installing' an artificial arm for someone?

texts:
I really can't think how write this.

  The moment the artificial limb was finished, they would help install it on the Old Madam.

That's the original and I know it doesn't sound right but I can't think how to make it sound right, the best I have at the moment is:

  The moment the artificial limb was finished, they would help set it up for the Old Madam.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. :)


texts:
When I got my Sega Saturn video game console in 1996, it came with a "demo disc" similar to the PlayStation's iconic "Demo 1" disc with its fancy menu system and music and everything.
However, they used a very different "branding" for the selection screen and disc artwork for the Saturn. It says "bootleg sampler" and looks like this: https://youtu.be/NGEw0h6y_m8?t=3
What is a "bootleg sampler"? I know a "bootleg" is like an unauthorized recording of a live music performance for profit, or something. It appears to also have other, similar meanings.
But what is a "bootleg sampler"? Why do they call their own, very authorized playable and pre-recorded demos "bootlegs"? And what is a "sampler"? Bootleg sampler? My head spins from trying to understand this. I've been wondering about this since that day in 1996 when I finally got my Saturn after Sega heavily slashed its price.


texts: Could anyone tell the function of "that" in the following sentence?

texts:
The AirTag is also far from perfect. I wish they were louder — they
are very quiet compared with Tiles — so playing sound wasn’t very
helpful for finding them. I also did not love that for most purposes,
the AirTag requires buying a separate accessory, like a key ring, to
hold the tracker.
In contrast, the Tile has a hole punched into its corner to attach to
a key ring or zipper head. (The $29 price tag of the AirTag is
eclipsed by Apple’s $35 leather key ring.)

As I read an Apple AirTag review, a New York Times article, I encountered the sentences above.
I wonder what "that" in boldface works as in the sentence.
If "that" in boldface is a demonstrative pronoun as usual, it should represent the immediately preceding sentence, or the deficiency of the device's being too quiet.
But the fact seems to me a bit odd that "I also did not love that for most purposes" is immediately followed by "the AirTag requires buying a separate accessory, like a key ring, to hold the tracker," which can stand alone as a complete sentence, with no conjunction but only a comma.
Please explain the function here of "that" in question.


texts:
I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe a support ticket status that says "we are aware of this issue, and will look into as soon as we can", as opposed to "we are looking into this right now".

Scheduled sounds like we have a time in mind, and we are putting it off until that time for no specific reason.

Queued sounds like "this issue is just another in the queue, please wait your turn".

We want to communicate "its important to us, but we cant look into it right now. We will look into it as soon as we are done with whatever else has higher priority".


texts: What's the word describing a person who's multi-racial?

texts:
I met a girl who has a diverse ethnic heritage. Part German, part Central American, part African-American, part some other European country that I forget.

What word can be used to describe her? Multi-ethnic, poly-ethnic? Multi-racial as in the title? What's the most proper/common term?


texts: Usage of "À la carte" on menus in English

texts: On a menu which contains both "family style" dishes and individual items (serves 1 person) would it be correct to name the individual items section "À la carte"?


texts: What phrase do you use instead of "Nice to meet you" when the two of you have already met but

texts:
I'm not a native English speaker. I would like to know what phrase can be used instead of

  "Nice to meet you"

when the two of you have already met but this just happens to be the first time you know each other's names? Like, the random neighbor you always say 'hi' to until one day you decide to ask what their name is, and then you tell them yours and now it's time for pleasantries. "Nice to meet you" obviously sounds weird. Thank you.


texts: Capitalization of Technical Terms/Proper Nouns

texts:
There are several technical terms for which I am struggling with the capitalization, such as

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
Controller Area Network (CAN)
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)
Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB)
...

I am not sure when to use them capitalized and when not. For all of them I can find both versions (small and capitalized) at Google Scholar. I am not sure how established such a term should be in order to count as "proper noun" and thus has to be capitalized. Are there any rules? Would it be ok to just write all of them in small letters?


texts: Does 'evoke' need to mean that information goes into your memory first?

texts:
Could evoke possibly mean just 'to register something in your mind (for the first time)' and not 'to summon up what has registered in your memory'? I just couldn't make sense out of this explanation below if it only meant the latter. Or, I say it should include both calling up memories, or better yet bringing up what has registered in your mind to a conscious level, and registering new information to make this sentence coherent.

  (1) a. In her talk, Baldwin introduced the notion that syntactic
  structure is derivable from pragmatic principles.

  A Heim-style approach to definiteness, where use of a definite noun
  phrase is felicitous just in case its referent has been previously
  evoked (...), provides neither necessary nor sufficient conditions for
  the felicitous use of the definite article.

  For instance, in the example given above in (1a), the notion that
  syntactic structure is derivable from pragmatic principles is
  felicitous even when the claim in question represents brand-new
  information (...). Crucially, however, it also represents information
  that is uniquely identifiable, in that there is exactly one notion
  that is denoted by the noun phrase. Thus, the noun phrase itself
  uniquely specifies the claim in question. (Uniqueness, Familiarity,
  and the Definite Article in English by Betty Birner and Gregory Ward)

The thing is you don't have to have previously evoked something to say 'the something' the second time or later. Granted unless you are aware of it at the time of citing it, or so the speaker thinks, he/she cannot use 'the.' But it doesn't have to be 'summoned up' before it is mentioned with 'the.' Someone just says it and it stays in your conscious mind, and the speaker refers to it with 'the.' This is not evoking it, isn't it?


texts: Was the "i" long or short in Shakespeare's plays?

texts:
In Queen Gertrude's short opening monologue the final two lines seem to have rhymed in Shakespeare's day:

  Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,
  And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
  Do not for ever with thy vailed lids
  Seek for thy noble father in the dust:
  Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die,
  Passing through nature to eternity.

Query: was the "i" long or short? Was it "dee" and "e-ter-nit-ee" or "dye" and "e-ter-nit-eye"?


texts:
Is there a shorter phrase with this meaning:

  I invited him to my party verbally when I met him.

I thought perhaps the phrase I invited him personally meant this until I saw personal in written invitations, I'm still looking.


texts: meaning of Your odds of survival are reduced

texts:
I know "Low odds" means something is likely, and "high odds" means something is unlikely. But in this sentence, "your odds of survival are greatly reduced" is confusing. Does it mean I am more likely to live or die?

  Now, we're all aware that an early diagnosis that is accurate is critical for survival. The problem is that many cancer diagnostic tools are invasive, costly, often inaccurate and they can take an agonizing amount of time to get the results back. Still worse, when it comes to some forms of cancer, such as ovarian, liver or pancreatic cancer, good screening methods simply don't exist, meaning that often people wait until physical symptoms surface, which are themselves already indicators of late-stage progression. Like a tornado strike in an area without an early warning system, there is no alarm to warn, for the danger is already at your doorstep when your odds of survival are greatly reduced. Having the convenience and accessibility of regular screening options that are affordable, noninvasive and could provide results much sooner, would provide us with a formidable weapon in the fight against cancer.

New nanotech to detect cancer early
https://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_smith_new_nanotech_to_catch_cancer_early


texts: What is the meaning of the idiom "no bells and whistles" and an example usage?

texts: I am looking for some interesting sentences that employ this idiom.


texts: What is the term used to describe when two different things both rely on each other?

texts: For example, to increase membership we need to increase activities, but to increase activities we need more members.


texts: What’s the correct use of “last/late/latter/latter” in time expressions?

texts:
I always get these adjectives and determiners confused as regards their use and shades of meaning. Let's take a structure meaning “in the last few years”. Would it be right to use any of the following possibilities for conveying that meaning?

With LAST: In the/these LAST years.
With LATE: In the/these LATE years. Is this a synonym for the previous sentence or even correct? Does it convey the same meaning? What about LATER?
With LATTER: In the/these LATTER years. ¿?¿?

I hope someone can clarify this question to me, and forgive me if something about this is too obvious: I’m a Spanish speaker trying to figure out some nuances of grammar and meaning in English that are answered by consulting English or bilingual dictionaries, which have too many options, or by automatic machine translations, which erase all trace of fine nuance.


texts: Is there a word for numbers between 10 and 99?

texts: I'd like to find such a word instead of saying "greater than 10 but less than 100".


texts: Etymology of reduplicative compound "nitty-gritty"

texts:
I've always been curious about that one and I've come across  many contending theories for the etymology of nitty-gritty.  English is quite fond of these reduplicative compounds.

I'd like to know whether some consensus has been achieved in this area.


texts: "Follow close behind" vs "follow closely behind"?

texts:
I just came across something I'd written a while ago that contained the phrase "follows close behind", and my first thought was that it was incorrect and should be "follows closely behind", i.e. to use an adverb describing how something is following.

The Google Ngram for the two phrases seems to disagree with this instinct, though, with only slight differences between BE and AE, and the shorter phrase must've made it past my inner editor back when I first wrote it... maybe because "close" can also be used as an adverb?

So can both be used interchangeably? Is there a grammatical reason one should be considered "more correct" than the other, or is it just a case of one particular usage of a phrase having become more commonplace for some reason or other?


texts: Is it correct to write "offer of" or "offer on" and "whenever suits you better"

texts:
I am replying to a job offer and I would like to thank the opportunity given.

I was going to begin my message with:

  "Thank you for the offer on CompanyName... "

As part of a response to a message with a job offer I would like to let them know:

  "I will be available all morning, so just call me whenever suits you
  better"

Is this correct?

Thanks in advance.


texts: What does "IP" mean in military aviation?

texts:
In Catch-22 I found the mention of the abbreviation "IP":

  One of the surprising things always was the sense of calm and utter silence, broken only by the test rounds fired from the machine guns, by an occasional toneless, terse remark over the intercom, and, at last, by the sobering pronouncement of the bombardier in each plane that they were fully at the IP and about to turn toward the target.

What does IP mean?

In Wikipedia I could not find anything that would make sense in the context


texts: Should I use "motivations" or "motives" in the following case?

texts:
I knew the clue would reveal the man's motives, and possibly the answer to this mystery.

  I knew the clue would reveal the man's motivations, and possibly the answer to this mystery.

Here's the Google definition for both:

  motivation

  a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way. "escape can be a strong motivation for travel."

  motive

  a reason for doing something. "police were unable to establish a motive for his murder."

They sound pretty similar to me.

(By the way, should I use their singular form or plural form?)


texts: What do “Bitches get stuff done" and "Bitch is the new black” mean?

texts:
There was the following passage in Maureen Dowd’s article in New York Times’  (April 18) criticizing Hillary Clinton of overcorrecting her self-image in the current presidential campaign under the title: “Granny Get Your Gun”.

  “Tina Fey and Amy Poehler showed the way in 2008, deploring the
  sexism against Hillary and hailing her as the unapologetically tough
  chick.  It was a precursor to her cool “Don’t mess with me” Tumblr
  meme, showing her with dark glasses serenely checking her BlackBerry
  on a military plane.

  “Bitches get stuff done,” Fey proclaimed in a “Weekend Update” segment
  on “Saturday Night Live” that ended with, “Bitch is the new black.”

What do “Bitches get stuff done” and “Bitch is the new black” mean? Isn't bitch an offensive and very impudent word to call a woman? I don't think we see this kind of expressions in text books in English language class. Who are the “bitches” in the first phrase and who is the “bitch”? What does “the new black” mean?


texts: Comma before "and" following an imperative

texts:
I'm doing some copy editing for a website, and I'm wondering whether there should be a comma in this sentence:

"Join the waitlist and be the first to know."

My grammar sense makes me think it should be "Join the waitlist, and be the first to know." That said, since the clauses are so short and the subject is the same in both, I'm wondering if it's really necessary.

A little friendly feedback would be greatly appreciated!


texts: "He then" vs "Then He" vs "Then, He" -- conjunctive adverbs, semicolons, and commas

texts:
As far as I understand, you use a semi-colon to separate main clauses joined by conjunctive adverbs (however, therefore, moreover, nevertheless, then, thus). And, when you use a conjunctive adverb, put a semicolon (;) before it and a comma (,) after it.
Example, using however:

Ernest Hemingway was a master of style; however, opinions about his work vary widely.

BUT using then, referring to sequencing, what is the proper usage?
Example:

He went to the store. Then he went home.

The above explanation would say that I need a semicolon between the sentences and a comma after then. And I have found many examples of this.

He went to the store; then, he went home.

But, is it a fast rule when you use then (I've read that "then" may not always be a conjunctive adverb) or can you just use a period? Do you always need the comma after, and can you reverse it?

He went to the store; then, he went home.
He went to the store; then he went home.
He went to the store; he then went home. (no comma after "then")
He went to the store. he then went home. (no semicolon between sentences)

I generally use He then as I feel it sounds better, but I'm confused as to whether that is grammatically correct and how to properly punctuate it. I can't find a definitive examples sentences.


texts: Is there a word for a full stack artist?

texts:
In software development, people say you are a full-stack developer if you have skills in all areas of the software development process. For example, a full-stack web developer can do the design, markup and back end server code.
Is there a similar word for artists who are skilled in multiple domains of art production?


texts: Which style guides recommend capitalization of headings and which do not?

texts:
Our company produces educational materials for doctors. These document are printed matter, web pages and PDF files. And our information is organized and broken down by levels of headings.

I need to set a consistent policy of whether headings should be capitalized. What widely-used style guides have prescription either way?


texts: How to talk about contamination in wort, beer, and food in general, to make it clear it's about bacteria?

texts:
Sometimes unwanted microorganisms find a way to food, and start to ferment it. Common term for this is "infection", but some people argue it is invalid, because, well, food isn't alive. Other term for this is "contamination", but that does not differentiate bacteria issue and lead or iron issue.

Is there a valid, not uncommon, and easily recognizable word for bacteria, wild yeast, mold etc contamination? One that does not include heavy metal contamination or sanitizer contamination?


texts:
While editing a document, I noticed Microsoft Word flagged "In order to...." as bad grammar. The reason being that it is redundant because just saying "To" says the same thing. This seems like weird thing to flag as "In order to do X, we are doing Y" sounds more natural than "To do X, we are doing Y", because the "In order" part seems to emphasize that X is really what we care about. (This is just an example, I'm interested in understanding the grammar rule behind this flag)

I am also used to a culture of "redundancy is good", "redundancy reduces the chance of problems", "redundancy is more reliable"; So my understanding is that redundant language should be good, as it reduces the chance that the text (and its meaning) will get misread/misinterpreted. And while I see a lot of things online saying things like "redundancy is bad" and "avoid these redundant language", I don't see anything explaining why.

So why is redundancy bad? And why should I avoid it (aside from the fact that leaving colored squiggles under things would drive me crazy)? Or in other (redundant) words, if the sentence is still valid, why does this grammar rule exist?


texts: Wondering if the use of "either ...nor " is correct

texts:
Taken from BBC

Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov described the referendum as a "great farce" which "will never be recognised either by Ukraine or by the civilised world".

My try is

Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov described the referendum as a "great farce" which "will never be recognised neither by Ukraine nor by the civilised world".


texts: Will/shall - I _____ never go there. With reason

texts:
As like while teaching when such sentences come in front and we teach about using shall with I. Students come up with their books & guides to show as there is 'will' mentioned for answer this question.
Please help to teach well.
Thank you


texts: Could the semicolon show a connector applies to multiple independent clauses?

texts:
Pray consider the following examples of my proposed punctuation style.

Finally; add a sprinkle of sugar, and put the cake in the oven. [Both of these actions are the final step in this recipe—this should be clear.]

Gradually; the amount of wealth increased, but its value decreased. [I think "gradually" should explicitly apply to both of these clauses.]

In the end; few things are in our control, and we must accept this. ["In the end" is the linking word at the head of both sentences here.]

The aim is to make it explicit that the linking word applies to both clauses without repeating it. Are these example sentences acceptable? I find them quite readable.
Thank you for helping correct my mistakes and/or misunderstandings. I think it is a rare, precious sight—a single word followed by a semicolon.


texts: Is "Are you getting late?" an incorrect question?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “If I am getting late”

I guess that grammatically it's correct, but my friend didn't understand what it meant, so I had to rephrase it. He also said that the correct way to ask was "Is it getting late for you?" or something similar.

Can someone please explain?

EDIT: Context: It was 8 p.m., and I meant to ask whether it was getting late for him to go to bed, because I know he generally goes to bed at about 9 p.m.


texts: Which is correct: "The animal within you" or "The animal within yourself"?

texts:
I'm coming up with a slogan for my DJ personal brand. I want to convey the idea that we all have a wild side in us waiting to be triggered. From similar questions, it seems that either version would work in the given context, but there were no upvotes or response, so I'm not sure about validity.
Which is proper" "The animal within you" or "The animal within yourself"?
Example: "Hey friend, there is an animal within you waiting to be unleashed". From here, the slogan would be cut down to "The animal within you".
The first version using "you" would be ideal, otherwise I will come up with something completely different.
Thanks all!


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  [Singular] Is/Are [Plural]?

Is the following sentence correct?

  This report’s intended audience is the students of the University of Canada.

Can I use the verb "is" with a plural noun as the subject complement?


texts: Hypernym for all substances that can make one high

texts: Alcohol, weed, poppers, ... etc. All those different substances produce feelings of pleasure and happiness. Do they share a hypernym in English?


texts: An idiom describing the end of argument?

texts:
If some people arguing about something, a common rumor, for example which is not yet confirmed. But when the concerned party had said its word and ends the argument forever, and people stopped arguing about it.
What we shall say in this case

  The committee settled the argument.

Is the settle the suitable verb here.
I belive there should be an idiom in English describing this, as it does exist in Arabic.


texts: "There exist" vs "there exists" for universal objects in mathematics

texts:
When stating the existence of universal objects in mathematics, one often has to write something like:

  For every object X there exist an object Y and a map f : Y -> X such that [...] holds.

Here, both Y and the map f : Y -> X are part of the data so to speak. The object Y would be useless without the map f.

Question: Is the usage of there exist correct, or should it be there exists? I very often see the second one in textbooks, but I think the first one is correct. Does it change anything if I use a comma before 'and'?


texts: What's your first impression of "in front of TV"?

texts: If you saw the phrase in front of TV, what kind of impression will you get? To me, I will suppose someone is watching TV. But if so, how do you express the meaning that someone is just in front of TV (talking about the position)?


texts: Position of structure of as+a+[noun] in sentences

texts:
The only complaint that I have about you as a housemate is ...
As a housemate, the only complaint that I have about you is ...

What do the expressions in bold refer to: 'I' or 'you' (i.e. my housemate)?


texts: What is the history of the IndianEnglish usage of "doubt" to mean "question"?

texts:
I've observed a significant number of questions on SO & SE, presumably written by folks use Indian English, in which the word "doubt" is used where "question" should have been used.  The sentences usually look like "I have a doubt about [interesting topic].."

My question, then, is: how or why did Indian English shift the meaning of "doubt" from its usage in British English?  I'm looking for any historical development of this usage.

Edit required by SE - the latest comments on literal vs. idiomatic translations are more what I'm after. How did the word "doubt' take on this non-BritEng usage in India?


texts: What does “With the exception of some rather irritating posturing in bars" mean?

texts:
"I realize I was poised in a sort of half-crouch, one hand out like a wrestler. In the other hand I held my pitiful folding knife, so small it needed several runs at halving a good-sized apple. Worst of all I was only wearing one boot. I looked ridiculous: crazy as Elodin on his worst day.

My face flushed hot and I knew I must be red as a beet. “Merciful Tehlu, I feel like an idiot.” “It’s rather flattering, actually,” Denna said. “With the exception of some rather irritating posturing in bars, I don’t know if I’ve ever had anyone actually leap to my defense before.” “Yes of course.” I kept my eyes down as I tugged on my other sock and boot, too embarrassed to look her in the eye. “It’s every girl’s dream to be rescued from someone’s pet pig.”


texts: "In second" or "in seconds" when talking about time

texts:
When talking about time as a unit, which one is correct, in second or in seconds?

For example:

  How long does it take to complete the task in second?

or

  How long does it take to complete the task in seconds?


texts:
I don't mean to make it grammatically correct I mean does English need them?

I can't seem to find a use case other than it's "legacy" in English, but that is never a reason to keep something around.

For example, would there ever be a confusion of "hell" and "he'll"? What about "theyll" or "they'll" or "he's" and "hes".

A friend brought up this use case:

  Tim: "How do I get up there?"
  Rodney: { "Well think." | "We'll think." }

Except that is even flawed because technically "well" in the first example needs a comma after like:

  Rodney: { "Well, think." | "We'll think." }

This would clear this confusion up.

I saw killtheapostrophe.com years ago and it got me thinking and so I brought it up with my grandmother, who has a Ph. D. in linguistics, and she agrees with him, however it got brought up again on Twitter and I was curious what others who love linguistics think about it.


texts: Is "Well-spokenness" a phrase in current use ?

texts: I had never heard or read this before, but a job ad required "well-spokenness".  The American Heritage Dictionary never even mentions "spokenness".  Nor does the OED online. Although I think I understand what it means, does it exist ?  If it does, what is considered well-spokenness in the US and in England ?


texts: Is kid-friendly an appropriate synonym of child-oriented?

texts:
I am a German native speaker and I am currently working on a project. We called the project KARLI which is the short form of the German first name Karl. The english translation of Karl is Charles.

KARLI means Kindgerechtes Augmented Reality Lern Interface. We want to translate this to English. I came up with the idea to name it CHARLI (Child-Oriented Augmented Reality Learn Interface) but my team members convinced me that we should not change the project's name.

However, I also convinced them that we should at least find a translation for the long description. So one of my team members had the idea to translate it to Kidsfriendly Augmented Reality Learn Interface.

I was not quite sure, if kidsfriendly is an appropriate translation and I did some research on the internet. However, the results were not clear.

A few dictionaries and websites mention the word kid-friendly. However, I am still not sure if it is an appropriate word.


texts:
The question of whether "data" is plural or not has been asked many times, and won't be repeated here. For this question, take data as a plural noun or mass noun.

Is data a countable noun? Do I have a large number of data, or a large amount of data? If I'm experiencing information overload, do I need fewer data or less data?


texts: Why do we say kith & kin and not kin & kith?

texts: Why do we often say "kith and kin" and not "kin and kith"? I was taught to believe that family comes first and the other later, and I do still believe in what I was taught.


texts:
I wanted to help a friend whose TV got broken in the guarantee period. I am not sure whether these are correct. We have a 2 years warranty stated in the law so I wanted to express he must prove it's less than 2 years:

  You have to take your receipt with you in order to prove you did not
  bought it before more than 2 years (ago?).

Should be there something like "earlier" or "not later"?

And the second one - what is the english word to "accept" the guarantee complaint?

  They should accept/admit your claim.


texts: Using a verb like 'to finish' with different nouns

texts:
Here is an example:

I finished lunch.

I finished shower.

Why is 2 incorrect?
What is the difference between these two nouns that makes the grammar different?


texts: Can we call 'have got' as 'a verb' or it is not correct?

texts:
I’m an English volunteer teacher in a village school in Russia and I got the following phrase in the Russian state standard textbook of English for 6th form (12 year old students): ...a verb ‘have got’ is used….

Do you think it’s right to say that ‘have got’ is 'a verb'?
Or better to say that it’s a present perfect form of a verb ‘to get’
Or it’s a present perfect tense of a verb ‘to get’?

I think children can be confused when they see 2 verbs named as just 'a verb'.


texts:
I was attending my college re-union and a speaker just said that "Having an ebook reader is status quo". Apparently, it means that it is in vogue or in fashion.

I do not think it is the correct usage. But I am a bit confused. Can someone clarify?


texts: Coordinating conjunctions connecting subordinate clauses

texts:
(A coordinating conjunction is a word that joins two elements of equal grammatical rank and syntactic importance.) (website definition)

Subordinating conjunction used as a subordinate conjunction: (website named exception 'so'.)

Grace is saving money so (she can buy her own horse.)- dependent

Question: Can the others And, but, for, nor, or, yet work in the same capacity?

You can put most of these coordinating conjunctions in front of ''she can buy her own horse'' and re-work the sentence.

Grace is short of money but she can still buy her own horse.

Grace is short of money yet she can still buy her own horse.

Grace is short of money and ,for now, can still buy her own horse.

So they are not joining elements of 'equal' grammatical rank.


texts:
I can't catch the meaning of this sentence: 'I had a black plunge of shame.'

Here is the passage from "The Magus" by John Fowles:

Someone had knocked on the door. I was staring at a wall. I was in bed, I was wearing pajamas, my clothes were folded on the chair. It was daylight, very early, the first thin sunlight on the tops of the pines outside. I looked at my watch. Just before six o'clock.
I sat on the edge of the bed. I had a black plunge of shame, of humiliation; of having been naked in front of Conchis, of having been in his power; even worse, others could have seen. Lily. I saw myself lying there and all of them sitting and grinning while Conchis asked me questions and I gave naked answers. But Lily — he must also hypnotize her; this was why she could not lie.

Google doesn't help.Thanks for help.


texts:
I need single word for number of matches between two soccer clubs in one season / group stage of tournament.

For example, in English Premier League every team is playing each other team twice (home and away).

I know that there should be sentence for example, but this should be one word for table data.

So for example this is how would I use it:

  League name: Premier League
  Tier: 1
  Season: 2017. / 2018.
  Number of teams: 20
  _______: 2
  Country: England

Something like "Matches between each other:".

Ty


texts: What is the difference between "here we go" and "there we go"?

texts:
As a non-native speaker, I cannot grasp any difference between the expressions "here we go" and "there we go": both expressions seem to underline an event that is going to happen immediately.

Is there any subtle usage detail that I am missing?


texts: what does "It was far from the only move in his arsenal" mean?

texts:
I was reading an article about Michael Jordan, and at the part describing his jumping skill it went "Then he'd gently descend back to earth. It was far from the only move in his arsenal: for several years Jordan could move, pass, defend and dunk so much better than any other players that he took on a superhuman aura."

I`m not sure if I took the meaning of "It was far from the only move in his arsenal" correctly. Does that mean the jumping is just one of the many great plays M.J. is capable of?

Thank you for the help as always!