texts: Uncertain of what the phrase "The Mighty Yawn that gave you birth..." means in Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise

texts:
I have been reading This Side of Paradise and came across an ambiguous phrase that ends Amory Blaine's little satire in which he mocks his professors. I have reproduced the satire along with an additional passage before that might help clarify sentiments expressed in the satire and perhaps the meaning of the end line: "The Mighty Yawn that gave you birth".

  Amory rather scornfully avoided the popular professors who dispensed
  easy epigrams and thimblefuls of Chartreuse to groups of admirers
  every night. He was disappointed, too, at the air of general
  uncertainty on every subject that seemed linked with the pedantic
  temperament; his opinions took shape in a miniature satire called "In
  a Lecture-Room," which he persuaded Tom to print in the Nassau Lit.

  "Good-morning, Fool... Three times a week You hold us helpless while
  you speak, Teasing our thirsty souls with the Sleek 'yeas' of your
  philosophy... Well, here we are, your hundred sheep, Tune up, play on,
  pour forth ... we sleep... You are a student, so they say; You
  hammered out the other day A syllabus, from what we know Of some
  forgotten folio; You'd sniffled through an era's must, Filling your
  nostrils up with dust, And then, arising from your knees, Published,
  in one gigantic sneeze... But here's a neighbor on my right, An Eager
  Ass, considered bright; Asker of questions.... How he'll stand, With
  earnest air and fidgy hand, After this hour, telling you He sat all
  night and burrowed through Your book.... Oh, you'll be coy and he Will
  simulate precosity, And pedants both, you'll smile and smirk, And
  leer, and hasten back to work....

  'Twas this day week, sir, you returned A theme of mine, from which I
  learned (Through various comment on the side Which you had scrawled)
  that I defied The highest rules of criticism For cheap and careless
  witticism.... 'Are you quite sure that this could be?' And 'Shaw is no
  authority!' But Eager Ass, with what he's sent, Plays havoc with your
  best per cent.

  Stillstill I meet you here and there... When Shakespeare's played you
  hold a chair, And some defunct, moth-eaten star Enchants the mental
  prig you are... A radical comes down and shocks The atheistic
  orthodox? You're representing Common Sense, Mouth open, in the
  audience. And, sometimes, even chapel lures That conscious tolerance
  of yours, That broad and beaming view of truth (Including Kant and
  General Booth...) And so from shock to shock you live, A hollow, pale
  affirmative...

  The hour's up ... and roused from rest One hundred children of the
  blest Cheat you a word or two with feet That down the noisy aisle-ways
  beat... Forget on narrow-minded earth The Mighty Yawn that gave you
  birth."


texts: What is the difference between "in ascending order" and "in an ascending order"

texts:
If "an" is required here?

All records in the dataset are sorted in [an ?] ascending order, based on their distances to the hub node.

If it matter or context sensitive, please let me know about the difference.

Thanks


texts: What word starts with "pro", ends with "ive", and means generally-accepted or -expected

texts: A front page article in USA Today this morning refers to Hillary Clinton as the "prohibitive Democratic front-runner."  I know that prohibitive is the wrong word here, but I can't remember the right one, which I am sure also starts with "pro" and ends with "ive", and means something like generally-accepted or generally-expected.  What's the word the writer was trying for here?


texts: What would be the correct way of writing 10⁻³⁶ second into words?

texts:
I tried Google, and I couldn't find the answer, so I have to have ask this question here. Is this correct?

  one millionth of a billionth of a trillionth of a second.

I can write one 'undecillionth' of a second, but I don't feel that many people would imagine the weight of the said term like they can with millionth to trillionth?


texts: Is there a word for the excitement of getting a result, but also being terrified of what the result may be?

texts:
I'm searching for a word that describes the anticipation of a result of an evaluation, but that also takes into account the fear of what that result might be.
For example, I cannot wait to see the results of my code evaluation, but I'm also terrified that this evaluation might show, that I'm not a good software developer.
I was told there is a German word for everything, but I can't even think of a German word, that would explain those feelings. Maybe there is an English one?


texts: Case of USD — "United States Dollar" or "United States dollar"

texts:
What is correct, United States dollar or United States Dollar?

In the examples below the emphasis is mine.

Example 1 (context)

  The United States dollar (sign: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$) is the official currency of the United States of America.

Example 2 (context)

  As a result, the United States Dollar was defined as a unit of weight equaling 371 4/16th grains (24.057 grams) of pure silver.

Example 3, in definition of the word cable (context)

   9. (finance) The currency pair British Pound against United States Dollar

Is there a general rule about currencies? What is the explanation in grammar terms?


texts: Difference between What are you up for tonight vs What are you up to tonight?

texts:
I wonder if my understanding of the meanings implied in these sentences is right. Besides, I would like to know how common they are in every day English and whether they can be used interchangeably when you want to ask someone what they are going to do tonight - I'm asking so because of the approximation between "want" vs "plan" meanings.

What are you up for tonight?
(this one bluntly means "What do you want to do tonight?")

Reference: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/learner-english/be-up-for-sth)

be up for sth
informal
› to want to do something:
We're going clubbing tonight if you're up for it.

What are you up to tonight?
(this one is about the 3rd definition below, the on related to "devising" and "scheming".

Reference: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/up+to

up to

As far as or approaching a certain point. For example, The water was nearly up to the windowsill, or They allowed us up to two hours to finish the test, or This seed should yield up to 300 bushels per acre. [c. a.d. 950]
be up to. Be able to do or deal with, as in When I got home, she asked if I was up to a walk on the beach. This usage is often put negatively, that is, not be up to something, as in He's not up to a long drive. [Late 1700s]
Occupied with, engaged in, as in What have you been up to lately? This usage can mean "devising" or "scheming," as in We knew those two were up to something. It also appears in up to no good, meaning "occupied with or devising something harmful," as in I'm sure those kids are up to no good. [First half of 1800s]
Dependent on, as in The success of this project is up to us. [c. 1900] Also see the following idioms beginning with up to.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.


texts: Meaning and derivation of "so-and-so would know from X"

texts:
A couple of times I've seen a phrase much like "that's horrible coding — and I would know from horrible coding!" This seems extremely peculiar to me (if only because of how ungrammatical it is), and while I can guess that it's supposed to be some emphatic way to indicate the subject's authority on the matter, it's pretty unusual and I don't fully grasp it.

Unfortunately, I don't have a good verbatim example on hand, so it's possible my memory is muddling the context of the phrase slightly.

Anyway, what does this bizarre turn of phrase mean exactly and where does it come from?


texts: What does "ready to grab life by the bread basket" mean?

texts:
Keep your hands where we can see em, ready to grab life by the bread
basket. (Source: https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Classic-Trigger-Mug-Leak-Packable/dp/B08LFP8GRK)

According to dictionaries, a bread basket could mean a stomach or a a major cereal-producing region. But the meaning of this sentence is still unclear. Does this mean to ready to enjoy a life with rich food?


texts:
When a member posted a grammatically correct question today for scrutiny, I replied in 'comments,'

No mistake, but only bemused grammarians and humble myself!

Now I wonder: is "humble myself" a grammatically or idiomatically sound way to refer to oneself in an expression of personal modesty? My father says it all the time, as in

"the only Ph.D holder in this august audience is humble myself."

I could not find this expression on google search, which is dominated by the religious verb "to humble oneself/yourself/myself (before the Lord)" -- that is why I am asking this question here.
Two kind senior members replied in the same comments section:

@EnglishStudent: to me, "my humble self" sounds more natural. But in "the only Ph.D holder in this august audience is humble myself/my humble self" it looks like false modesty. – sumelic
@English Student: I've read "my humble self" in British literature, but it sounds very old-fashioned. I've never heard "humble myself" in the way you are using it (native speaker of US English here, mainly BosWash corridor) -- but I would not be confused if I heard it. – ab2

My father says it is an old-fashioned courtly British way of referring to oneself, whether with real or false modesty (and in the case of the Ph.D, some real sarcasm, because none of the other so-called luminaries at a particular conference had a doctorate, except for "humble himself!") -- he learnt his English in newly post-independent India, mainly by reading his medical textbooks and British literature.
It may well have become an archaic expression.
What I want to know is whether you experts at EL & U have heard it before, and can say if it is idiomatically sound?


texts:
I'm looking for a word or a phrase (preferably a noun phrase) that describes

something current,
which should not be still present, because it is kind of outdated,
but is still around us because of historical reasons.

Naturally, what should or should not be present is subjective, and by using this word one actually expresses an opinion on the matter. Please note, that it doesn't have to have negative connotation, e.g. a character might observe that the world should have moved already, but he or she is glad that it didn't. I'm most interested in neutral or negative flavors, but I would appreciate other suggestions as well.

In a sense it is an antonym (or dual) for 'anachronism', because
instead of author-inserted out-of-time thing we have author-wishes-to-be-removed current thing.

What word or a phrase would best describe such a thing?


texts: Understanding "The Man with the Blue Guitar" by Wallace Stevens

texts:
Here is the first part of the poem:

The man bent over his guitar,
A shearsman of sorts. The day was green.

They said, "You have a blue guitar,
You do not play things as they are."

The man replied, "Things as they are
Are changed upon the blue guitar."

And they said then, "But play, you must,
A tune beyond us, yet ourselves,

A tune upon the blue guitar
Of things exactly as they are."

I'm trying to understand the last sentence

And they said then, "But play, you must,
A tune beyond us, yet ourselves,

A tune upon the blue guitar
Of things exactly as they are.

A tune beyond us, yet ourselves, -- what does it mean?

To the first part, about how the melody sounds are different with a blue guitar, the artist replies that when he plays on the blue guitar not sounds are different but things are different which the melody is about.

But I quite can't grasp the meaning of the reply from the crowd.


texts: Does one resign their office, or resign from office?

texts:
Stylistically, is it more appropriate to use it in the transitive, or intransitive way? Merriam-Webster has examples in both cases.

In Nixon's resignation speech, he says

  "Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow"

using "the Presidency" as the object of "resign" without a predicate. This feels clunky. Would it also be correct to say

  Therefore, I shall resign from the office of president effective at noon tomorrow

Which style is preferred?


texts: Should I say "something is so mainstream" or "too mainstream". They are both grammatically correct but which one is more common to use?


texts: How to describe the state of an n-state system?

texts:
Often I need to use a generic description to explain a system that has multiple states.

For instance if I am explaining that a message can be urgent or non-urgent, I could  say:

  Message priority (urgent or non-urgent) is given to messages based on it's urgencyness.

This is a trite example, because we have a word for this, and it is 'urgency'.

  Message priority is given to messages based on it's urgency.

However there are scenarios where there isn't an adjective, or we need to highlight multiple states.

For example, if an action can have a state of 'emergency' or 'non-emergency':

  Action priority is given to an action based on it's emergencyness.

Here the word emergency doesn't work, and adding 'ness' to the end does not seem formally correct (it should be however easy to understand).

I have taken in some cases to (ab)using the word parity:

  MATHEMATICS
  (of a number) the fact of being even or odd.

As a shorthand to explain something, albeit clumsily.

  Action priority is given to an action based on it's emergency parity.

This falls down in cases where there are multiple states an object can be in, e.g. Old, Recent, New.

Is there a single word that can be used to explain a non-trivial system, with fixed states, without listing them:

  Emails are coloured based on their Age _______


texts:
Check out this horrendous sentence I just managed to create:

This blanket, Holden talks about as if it were some novelty that Mr. Spencer having bought it shows how “lame” old people such as his history teacher are.

I'm curious as to how I could make this sentence better, and if this is even grammatically correct as it is now.

(Yes, this is about the Catcher in the Rye and no, it's not a homework question.)


texts: Comma before "as well as" when making an aside

texts:
I was wondering if the two sentences below are correct. Does the first sentence need a commas separating "and taking students on field trips," similar to how sentence two is structured? I read on https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/as%20well%20as that commas would be used in sentence two. But is sentence one correct? Is sentence two improper because it doesn't intend the aside to be considered less important?

"Teaching civics classes is helpful to your school’s entire student population, but teaching those classes and taking students on field trips is even more helpful to your law school’s entire student population."

or

"Teaching civics classes is helpful to your school’s entire student population, but teaching those classes, as well as taking students on field trips, is even more helpful to your law school’s entire student population."


texts: Is it wrong to say "The sun's rays are primarily responsible for skin damage."

texts:
The sun's rays are primarily
  responsible for skin damage.

To me this sounds like it means that the primary activity of the sun's rays is damaging skin. However the intention is obviously that the primary cause of skin damage is the sun's rays.

Is this sentence actually wrong, or just ambiguous?


texts: Subject–object agreement: which of these sentences is correct?

texts:
Corporations may not have a conscience, but they do have PR departments.
  Corporations may not have consciences, but they do have PR departments.
  Corporations may not have a conscience, but they do have a PR department.

#1 sounds correct to my ear, but it's inconsistent. #2 and #3 are consistent, but both sound very awkward to me.


texts: What are the exceptions of using a comma in a simple sentence with a compound predicate joined by a coordinating conjunction?

texts:
The rule I learned is that a sentence with a single subject but a compound predicate that’s joined together with a coordinating conjunction  must have no comma:

I went to the lake but did not catch any fish. (one independent clause whose subject distributes across two verbs joined with a conjunction)

That rule states that a comma should be used only when two independent sentences are combined with a coordinating conjunction to create a compound sentence:

I went to the lake, and I saw a duck.(two independent clauses, each with its own subject and verb)

However, I see this rule being broken time and again by popular writers where a complex sentence with a coordinating conjunction is separated by a comma. I take it that this rule, like so many other English “rules”, has room for exceptions.

So, in which cases can this “rule” be broken?

Edit:
I'm reading a book called "Known and Strange Things: Essays" by Teju Cole. In this book I saw a sentence that read "I'm not superstitious, and thought nothing of it." "Thought nothing of it" is a dependent sentence joined by a comma with the previous independent sentence.


texts: how to properly use "that that" so as a listener/reader/speaker can comprehend the entire sentence without complication?

texts:
Be it either whilst writing or reading, I've not come by an easy way to comprehend the use of the  'that that' lexical ambiguity, taking into account that improper use of punctuation is not the issue.
Is there an example anyone could cite (and link if possible) that doesn't affect the flow of the prose itself to the reader?

He said that that won't do.

I think that that is the best choice.


texts: What tense is "If I were a bird, I could fly"

texts: The sentence is not referring to any time past, present of future. It's just referring to an imaginary condition which has never existed and seemingly will never exist. Still, the sentence and other sentences of this type are said and spoken. So what can we say about their nature? Which tense are they, what type are they? Their clauses, etc.


texts: What would a "Down Under" citizen be called?

texts:
Today is the 26th of January, it is Australia Day.

My question is about its nickname Down Under and derivatives.

Q. If you had to, what would you call the citizen of a country called “Down Under”?

What came to my mind were the following:

Downunderer (Down Underer)
Downunderian (Down Underian)

but I can't say which would sound more natural to a native English speaker.

(for non-Australians)

Q. How likely are you to use "Down Under" in your everyday speech? Would saying it mean you're joking, or just not serious, or maybe mocking the country?


texts:
In my cover letter I want to write that I am a graduate student in statistics. But I am not sure about the "in". So what is correct?

  I am a graduate student in statistics.

  I am a graduate student of statistics.


texts: "knowledge on" or "knowledge of"? Which one is correct?

texts:
I want to mention on my CV that I also know a little bit about Java and C#.
What is a better way to mention that? I think one of the following may be correct:

  1) Also have some knowledge on Java and C#.

  2) Also have some knowledge of Java and C#.

Which one is correct? How can I mention it on my CV?


texts: Can the modal verb "can" be pronounced as /ŋ(k)/?

texts:
Can the modal verb "can" be pronounced as /ŋ(k)/ ?

It may be the context of a following /k/, as in "we can come and see", but I have also notice it being reversed /ŋ(k)/.

Therefore, I'd like to know whether this is true, in phonetic terms, and how widespread it is. Some academic reference to this process would be clarifying.

For example, 5:12 'and you can come over' https://youtu.be/sriYmFBvOsE?t=312


texts: Appropriate word for someone immune to embarrassment?

texts:
I am looking for a word which can be used to describe someone who is very "comfortable in their skin", secure with themselves, and most importantly completely immune to being embarrassed or mocked.

Some examples might include consistently mispronouncing a word in a conversation (like "pirate" instead of "pilot") without feeling silly, even though others try to mock him/her. Or more seriously, not feeling embarrassed at all if their private photographs (ie in the shower or some other scandal-like situation) were leaked.

Words like "unashamed", "unabashed" or "unapologetic" usually have a negative connotation and do not seem applicable, since the person is not necessarily doing things which society would consider shameful from a moral standpoint.


texts: Difference between "recently" and "lately"

texts:
I have posted a topic using this sentence:

  I have picked some fictions to read lately.

RegDwight edited this sentence to:

  I have recently picked up several works of fiction and begun to read them.

What is the difference between lately and recently in this context, and why is it more appropriate to use recently?


texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct ?

They were not going to stop no matter how hard you would have tried .


texts: More advanced way to describe a country has many resources

texts: My question is: Instead of "this country has many resources", what can I say? This country is abundant in many resources?


texts: How to refer to the language and grammar specifications of a formal text?

texts:
The word will be used to describe a specific way of referring to things. It is similar to the language lawyers use in court.

It will be for the specification of the rules of engagement for those participating in an assessment of a company's work environment (they will be from outside the company).

Example: Read the [insert-word-here] document to know what you should and shouldn't do.


texts: How do you punctuate " So basically" when it appears at the beginning of the sentence?

texts:
How should I write it:

  So, basically, we had to pay the fine.
  So basically we had to pay the fine.
  So, basically we had to pay the fine.
  OR
  So basically, we had to pay the fine.


texts: Is there a word yet, for old friends who've just met?

texts:
In the original Muppet Movie (lyrics, video), Jim Henson asserted there is not, but that was 1979.

Now it's a few decades later, and the English language has evolved, including a lot around changing speed and depth of new relationships.  It seems possible that there might be a word that describes a first meeting of two people that is accompanied by a resonating familiarity, déjà vu, and sense of overlap in perspectives and values, leading to a feeling of a strong relationship despite the absence of actual length.

Also in the past few decades, we've gained the EL&U Stack Exchange, where such a question can be asked.  So, give it your best shot!

The target word could be a noun describing a person (with grammatical usage similar to other relational terms like friend, enemy, acquaintance, companion, etc.) or the feeling (with usage similar to déjà vu but focused specifically on a person and indicating a feeling of strong connection but not necessarily a confusion over having actually met the person or interacted extensively with them before).  Upvotes would also be given for words that describe the experience/encounter/scene (with grammatical usage similar to meet cute).

Kaukokaipuu, "a feeling of homesickness for a place you've never visited," is something that may be reduced/resolved by the event of meeting this person, although with kaukokaipuu it seems like you know in advance what it is that you're missing.  The book with that word may also have an answer to this question.


texts:
I have to replace imperial units with metric units in a text, and since this is not technical writing , I have to maintain the prose style and clarity.

This is a troubling phrase: "...the air in 1 cubic foot...".

I think I can do that: "...the air in a 30-centimeter cubic region [or cubic volume]...", but since I've seen units being used wrongly before (like saying that 1 cubic foot = 30 cubic centimenters), I would like to have your opinion on this.

BTW: I'm not a native English speaker, nor have I used imperial units daily (my country uses metric).

EDIT: I can't use liters because this is describing a cubic area of space, and 30 liters (or 28 liters) is hard to picture as cube. Take a look at it on another way. When I say "this is a two-feet cubic volume", how big do you think it is in cubic feet?

Also, did you understand the diference between saying "X-feet cubic volume" and "Y cubic feet"?

EDIT2: Here is a new doubt, what is the more correct way of writing this: "the space of a 30-centimeter cube" or "the space of a 30 centimeter cube" (the difference in the hyphen).


texts: Is there special term for class of words which are irregular in forming their plural form?

texts: There are such words as ox - oxen, torus - tori and many other which are irregular in a way of forming their plural form and I'm wondering if there is a special term for such words? On a side note I will appreciate some link which lists all these words to get an idea of total number of those.


texts: What's the meaning of "turn the needle on"

texts:
Here is the quotation, said by Audun Martinsen, the VP of Oilfield Service Analysis of Rystad, on December the 7th as a press statement.

  But OPEC production cuts will turn the needle on the FID [final investment decision] for many projects in shale and offshore, which will eventually generate more transparency on future activity and revenue,”

Is it the same as 'moving the needle'?


texts: How do you call a word that is the result of merging two words?

texts:
What do you call a word that is the result of merging two words together?

For example, Maroon + Tuna = Marona, or Crab + Apple = Crapple, or Choking + Holding = Chokehold

The word I am looking for is not "nick name"
The word I am looking for is not acronym e.g. Laser as "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation"


texts: When is it possible to form an adjective ending in "-onian"? Could we say "Marxonian"?

texts:
Why do we use the adjective "Marxist" and not "Marxonian"? Please explain the use of these unusual suffixes. Another one that comes to mind is "Draconian". How do we decide what suffix to use? What are the rules?

I read an article about Cognitive Psychology by Albert Ellis, and the author later refers to it as "Ellisonian".

Thank you in advance. English is my second language.


texts: Is there a single word for set of people playing against each other?

texts:
For example, the set of players playing individually in a card game. The word 'team' doesn't sound good as it implies that they should help each other. I considered 'gang', 'bunch', 'circle' etc. But none seems to fit.

Background:
I'm designing a card game and want to introduce a 'team' concept where a moderator can establish a --- of a set of players. This ---- can engage in a game interactively at suitably planned time slots.

Edit : Thanks all for the answers/comments. So, it looks like that there is no obvious/common word that I missed. I think I will go with the term 'circle' or 'gang'.


texts: Word meaning to judge something as having little or no worth

texts: I'm almost certain there's an English word, possibly archaic, for judging something (or someone) as having negligible worth. It might be a verb, or perhaps an adjective describing someone who does this. As I vaguely recall, it has four or more syllables. Please could someone enlighten me.


texts: The phrase to express "how much time a user spends on a web page"?

texts:
Say a user spent 10 mins on a webpage.

Can I say that this user's "residence time" on this webpage is 10 mins?
Or is there any other better phrase to express this?


texts: Word for a non-mainstream belief accepted as fact by a sub-culture?

texts:
Let's say there is a sub-culture which is built on a foundational truth. But that truth is not accepted by the culture as a whole.

Is there a word for that? I was thinking "Core-Value"? But it's only really a core-value if you're in that sub-culture.

Is there a word that could be understood by those inside and outside the sub-culture? For example, if I referred to it as a core-value to someone outside that sub-culture, they wouldn't understand what I was talking about.

A common example would be a religious principle.


texts:
A bit of context: I posted an answer on one of the StackExchange websites. A person commented my answer by providing very interesting information. I find that it would be great for this person to write his own answer in order to receive points from the community, so I commented in response:

  Would you mind writing your own answer? [...]

Not being particularly proficient in English, I have a doubt. Is this comment actually polite, or it could be perceived as rude, such as in “mind your own business” or “go make your own answer and stop commenting mine”, which I want to avoid at all costs?


texts:
What would be the easiest and shortest way to describe that someone does something without looking at it?

If I translate that from my native language into English, I always come up with sentences like:

  They stand with their backs to each other swing their batons on blind at the approaching hordes of…

This »on blind« is a direct translation from my home country language, but in Google books, I cannot find any connections with what I am trying to say with it.

To say:

  He walks on the corridor, senses someone behind him, and swings his fist on blind.

Does that make sense in American English?

Any other suggestions that do not implement numerous of words to describe this simple action like:

He raises his hand without to look at the approaching opponent – danger – thing.


texts:
Can someone please help me understand when to use semicolons and other punctuations properly in a sentence...

The following portion is from the opening page of Stephen King's famous novel 'The Shining'. Not only I couldnt understand a single thing about the meaning of the passage but also the punctuations/semicolons used in that part put me in deep trouble understanding whole structure as well after reading it... Semicolons have always been confusing me to this day...

"It was in this apartment, also, that there stood... a gigantic clock of ebony. Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when... the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause... to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and; while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation. But when the echoes had fully ceased, a light laughter at once pervaded the assembly... and [they] smiled as if at their own nervousness... and made whispering vows, each to the other, that the next chiming of the clock should produce in them no similar emotion; and then, after the lapse of sixty minutes... there came yet another chiming of the clock, and then were the same disconcert and tremulousness and meditation as before"


texts:
I was watching Downton Abbey season 4 episode 2.

The conversation goes like this:

  Violet Crawley: Now I asked Branson to come here because I have an
  idea.
  Mary Crawley: Granny, you must call him Tom.
  Violet Crawley: I thought I could call him Branson again now that he's
  the agent.
  Mary Crawley: Well, you can't.
  Tom Branson: I don't mind.
  Violet Crawley: No. I see I'm beaten but, oh, how I sympathise with
  King Canute.

Tom Branson was initially the family chauffeur, so was called Branson. Later he married Mary's sister Sybil, so Violet had to address him "Tom" as a family member.

Tom became the estate agent helping Mary's husband Matthew. Both Sybil and Matthew died before this conversion. In a sense Tom is again "working for" the family, so grandma Violet was trying to call him Branson again.

But, how come the whole thing is related to King Canute?


texts: English equivalent to the Swedish idiom "A dear child has many names"

texts:
In Sweden we have a saying that — literally translated — corresponds to “A dear child has many names” (“Kärt barn har många namn”).

The meaning is pretty straightforward: popular things can have a variety of different names in different contexts.

Even though I suppose the literal translation would work, I wonder if there are any more figurative English idioms or sayings that match the sentiment.


texts:
How would you punctuate the phrase

It's a beautiful day, isn't it?

Would you use a question mark or period at the end?
My intent is to make it rhetorical. The full example is:

She woke up alone, saw the sun streaming through her window, and proclaimed "Isn't it a beautiful day"


texts:
In British English, "sweets" can refer to candy or dessert. However, that's not the focus of this post. Instead, I'd like to discuss "sweets" as used in American English.

Some, perhaps many, Americans would deny "sweets" is a term current in American English. But the Merriam-Webster and American Heritage Dictionaries define one sense of "sweet" as "a sweet food", and offer example sentences such as "I'm trying to cut down on sweets."

Clearly, the term "sweets" is indeed used in American English. Much to my curiosity, however, is my observation-- correct me if I'm wrong, please-- that some Americans who accept "cut down on sweets" in reference to sweet foods in general, do not accept or interpret "a box of sweets" as a box of different kinds of sweet foods. Why is that?

To compound the situation, I've found some webpages that appear to consider 'sweets' as 'sweet foods':

These baskets of sweets (cookies and pops) will certainly be a breath of fresh air to the traditional roses and cards.
(https://bitesph.wordpress.com/)
Valentine's Day Tower of Sweets.  A delectable assortment in a beautiful Valentine's Day presentation. Chocolate Pralines, Chocolate Pretzels, Sea Salt Caramels, Southern Charms (chocolate covered glazed pecans) and assorted Chocolate Bear Claws. Tower arrives nicely wrapped with a lovely, hand-tied bow. No need for flowers here!
(http://www.riverstreetsweets.com/product/Valentines-Day-Tower-of-Sweets/)
A Container of Holiday Sweets. If you are like my mom during the holidays you will have a variety of sweets sitting around the house. Fill a container of holiday goodies to give to your hostess.
(http://thepreppyplanner.weebly.com/events-blog/category/all/30)

"Sweets" on the above pages cannot refer to candy. I'm wondering whether the Americans here find the use in #1-3 natural.

If you are an American, I'd like to know how you feel about the above use of "sweets". Is it natural?

I'd appreciate your feedback.


texts: Usage of question and exclamation marks with quotation marks in work of fiction

texts:
I am writing a novel. I have doubts how should I use question marks and exclamation marks in conjunction with quotation marks.

I have written 5 separate sentences to illustrate this issue:

  He asked, "Why should I do this?"
  "Where are we going?"
  "Let's get out of here!"
  He yelled, "I want you to do this now!"
  "I don't want to do this!" I screamed back

In my opinion, all question and exclamation marks should be placed inside quotation marks, because I am quoting words of the character, which include question or exclamation mark. If I put question/exclamation mark after closing quotation mark, it feels weird. So I think that all sentences written above are correct as far as punctuation goes.

However, I have a friend who says this is wrong way. He says that:

I should put question mark outside of quotation mark ("?) if the whole sentence is a question
I should put question mark inside of quotation mark (?") if the question is only part of the sentence

So with my friend's rules, those sentences would read as follows:

  He asked, "Why should I do this?"
  "Where are we going"?
  "Let's get out of here"!
  He yelled, "I want you to do this now!"
  "I don't want to do this!" I screamed back

This seems wrong for me. This friend mentioned that this is correct way according to MLA style. He referenced MLA 3.2.11. as specific example. (I think he meant guideline number. When I searched for it online, I came to this document which has following guideline heading: "3.2.11. Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points".) However, I see 2 issues with that:

As far as I know MLA guidelines only concern writing research papers, not fiction works like novels
Examples in 3.2.11. do not suggest, in my opinion, that his way of writing those sentences is correct, even if I wanted to apply MLA style to my novel

So my question is: which way of writing those sentences is correct way? If none is correct, what is correct way? And is there any credible source that confirms one of those versions is correct?

Side question: Should MLA style be used for works of fiction or only research/scientific papers?


texts: Word for "player" without the negative connotations

texts:
I wanted to describe someone as a player in the positive sense but the word seems to have too many negative connotations to use without explanation. The word or phrase I'm looking for describes someone as "in the game", an active participant, making a difference, and meriting respect.

Edit: Though this question has been closed as not likely having a factual answer, I am still hopeful someone will know one. As pointed out I could have done a much better job of explaining the concept I was going for. In particular, the word describes one who is an active participant in all parts of life (or at least whatever part is in context), enjoys participating, is successful and is focused on the playing rather than the winning. I was hoping for a word that stands along without context. I'm told "player" alone suggests one who manipulates others.


texts:
What’s the difference?

You can’t call me with that name.
You can’t be calling me with that name.


texts: How old is the use of "steal" for non-rival goods?

texts:
In the debate on copyright, there is a long-time discussion on the appropriateness of the word steal to refer to "make a copy of a non-rival good"; see for instance this article, or this essay.

How old is the usage of the word "steal" in English with this meaning? Is it something that was widespread at the time of Shakespeare or Dickens, or is it mostly modern usage? If so, which is the earliest use of the term?


texts:
In the sentence for example:

  This book would also interest intelligent students with a taste for abstract ideas and theoretical arguments.

What does the phrase "abstract ideas" mean? I looked up the word in dictionary and it seems to have meanings such as something which not a material object and which exists as an idea. What does it generally mean?


texts: Recently, I read Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and there is a sentence in the speech, which is "We are met on a great battlefield of that war.". And I wonder, Is the use of "meet" in a passive voice here for emphasizing???


texts: What is precisely the problem when a non-native English writer lacks 'natural flow'?

texts:
Having read the writing of non-native English speakers on several occasions, it has always struck me how easily I can identify what is 'wrong' about a particular sentence without really determining why. For example, in this sentence:

  You see the man clamp his fists hard, like he is trying to suppress some strong emotions.

I recognise on a basic level that clamp is improper usage and should be replaced with clench, but I'm not sure why I find "suppress some strong emotions" odd. It doesn't look grammatically incorrect to me, and yet it doesn't sound naturally phrased either. The use of 'like' here also feels strange--perhaps because the informal register of 'like' clashes with the literary tone of the sentence? (This was taken from a written narrative.)

Furthermore, there seems to be a difference between the naturalness of native and non-native English writing regardless of accuracy / correctness. Native speakers make grammatical mistakes that still register as ones made by native speakers, for instance. In contrast, the above sentence reads very much 'foreign'. So when a sentence doesn't sound natural, where does the problem lie?

Are there linguistic concepts and terms that allow me to properly discuss this phenomenon? (e.g. The lack of natural flow is due to "semantic confusion". "Syntactical errors" are also at work.) I would appreciate suggestions.


texts: What does "..it had fallen to Red as lion, and Pope as Christian, to supply it"?

texts:
This is a sentence from the short story "The Inhuman Condition" by Clive Barker.

  Some entertainment had been called for, and it had fallen to Red as lion, and Pope as Christian, to supply it.

Red is beating up Pope in this situation and the narrator is watching the scene. I would like to know what the comparisions to a lion and to a Christian mean.


texts:
In computer science, I have often come across the expression to back out meaning to say that a function is returned from before performing its actual task, as in this imaginary code comment:

double divide(double dividend, double divisor) {
  if (divisor == 0) {
    return 0; //divisor is zero => back out early
  }
  return (dividend / divisor);
}

Now I recently came across the expression to bail out in just the very same context. I know that to bail somebody out generally means to provide funds to get someone out of a difficult financial situation, so I was wondering if the writer confused to back out and to bail out or if to bail out really has this meaning, too.


texts: What pronouns would be appropriate to use in a business proposal?

texts:
I am writing a response to a Request For Proposal (e.g. responding to government agency or non-profit org), and I'm trying to understand what is the best practice for use of pronouns... I see a lot of online marketing / website material speaks directly to the reader with things like:

"This feature lets you create an opportunity for..." or "You can easily create an opportunity without being concerned with ..."

However, when writing an RFP response, it doesn't seem correct / formal enough to do this. I feel it is more appropriate to word things in this way:

"This features gives our customers the ability to save money..." or "Customers are able to create new opportunities without being concerned with..."

In summary, I feel like instead of speaking directly to the reader with the pronoun 'you', it is better to talk about 'our customer'. Hopefully that makes sense. Some of my colleagues don't seem to worry about this but I'd like to get this right / get to the bottom of it.

If anyone is able to clarify for me, it would be greatly appreciated! Also, what are the terms used to describe these forms?


texts: "Master's of Early Childhood Education" or "master's in early childhood education"

texts:
Is the capitalization and my use of an apostrophe okay in the following sentence?:

I am a part-time college student seeking my Master's degree in Early Childhood Education.


texts: Meaning of a statement from The Economist

texts:
This is a sentence from  The Economist:

  IT IS growing harder to distinguish one bloody day in Syria from the
  next, unless the horror is so stark as to earn a special mark in the
  trajectory of an increasingly gruesome conflict.

Please help me in understanding this statement. I am unable to get the accurate meaning. Also help me understand the statement after "Unless".


texts: When can we omit the subject of a clause?

texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

  Rob is not at school today, but said he would come tomorrow.

Notice that the version above does not have a subject before said. Should it be:

  Rob is not at school today, but he said he would come tomorrow.

The first option sounds quite right to me, but I would like to know if there is any rule to decide whether or not we can omit the subject of a sentence - especially when the tenses in the sentences are not the same. I'm most interested in what the rule is, not just whether we need to put the subject in that sentence or not.


texts:
Is the following sentence logically flawed?

  If you are redistributing something that includes actual 3D product files, the TurboSquid files must be part of a larger creation and not in an open format that others can be downloaded.
  https://blog.turbosquid.com/royalty-free-license/

TurboSquid files are 3D model files and not allowed to be downloaded by any game player, and the sentence seems to mean it's ok that TurboSquid files could be included in an open format that TurboSquid files themselves can be downloaded.

Is that sentence logically flawed?


texts: Came across the word "heulandite", thought it was weird so I looked it up in the dictionary and found that it means: "a group of minerals of the zeolite family consisting of a hydrous aluminum silicate of sodium and calcium." I looked up "-ite" on etymonline.com so I suspect the suffix comes from Greek meaning: "connected with or belonging to." Where does the "heuland" part come from? Is it related to "andesite" or maybe something else?


texts: Hypernym of "pair/dyad", "tetrad", "pentad"

texts: Does the English language have a hypernym for words like "pair", "triad", "tetrad", and "pentad"? I'm not sure where to look.


texts: What would be the future version of reminisce?

texts:
The word reminisce is used for the past, so what would be the 'future' version of the word.

E.g.,

  You reminisce about the past. You _______ about the future.


texts:
Tax Firm's excellence and location, combined with my own skills and experience, make the Firm an ideal place to continue my career back home in Connecticut.
or
Tax Firm's excellence and location, combined with my own skills and experience, makes the Firm an ideal place to continue my career back home in Connecticut.


texts: "A better student" or "Better a student"?

texts: I want to know if it's grammatically correct to make a comparative sentence with the word "Better" like this: "I'm better a student than you" instead of this: "I'm the better student than you are"


texts: Can I use two present perfect tenses in one sentence?

texts:
Which one below sounds more accurate and natural? Thanks

Recently I've noticed that he has started seeing someone again.

Recently I've noticed that he started seeing someone again.

Recently I noticed that he has started seeing someone again.

I really think I should "have noticed" here, as the fact that I know he (has) started seeing someone is not just a moment. I didn't forget and still know it as of now.


texts: Is there a word or phrase for the concept of "thinking something bad happens more often because it's reported more"

texts:
That was probably a horrible title, but those length limits are killer :)

An example of what I'm talking about:

Statistics show that overall crime rates in the USA have been trending downwards for quite some time, yet many people in the general public think that, say, their kids are at huge risk for abduction by strangers. This can be chalked up to enhanced crime reporting and media coverage in the 21st century.

It's not happening more often, but it's being reported more often, so people think there's more of it. (Child abductions)

Another example:

Statistics show that most uses of force by law enforcement is justified, and most police behave themselves and do their job honorably. However, since the media plays up the outrage when the statistical outliers happen (someone gets shot in murky circumstances), people begin to think that cops as a whole are all trigger-happy, un-empathetic morons.

It's not happening more often, but it's being reported more often, so people think there's more of it. (Police misconduct)

Is there a specific term that describes this phenomenon?

I'd guess that "confirmation bias" kind of applies, because when you start looking for bad things, you find evidence of more bad things, but it's really easy to forget the stats in question - however, I was wondering if there's something more specific?


texts: What is the determinant of an English native speaker?

texts: It could be argued that only native speakers of English from England are true native speakers. Other countries that have adopted English as their primary language (America, Australia, Canada) have cultural and language differences, spelling, pronunciation etc.


texts: Difference between "at someone's face" vs "in someone's face" vs "to someone's face"

texts:
What is the difference between 'to my face', 'at my face' and 'in my face'? I searched it on google books and got results for all of them with various hits. Does one seem more accurate over the other? Which one would a native speaker use and why?

He pointed a gun at my face.
He pointed a gun in my face.
He pointed a gun to my face.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Should I use “in” or “on”?

What is the difference between these two phrases? Which is more common?

  find something in the wiki

  find something on the wiki


texts: Can you use the word 'that' after a comma?

texts: My friend told me that you can NEVER use a comma before 'that' but I think you can. Can someone clear this up for us?


texts: a word like "visual", "auditory", except for touch

texts: for smell it would be "olfactory". What is it for touch?


texts: Is there any difference in meaning/usage/etc between the words 'explorative' and 'exploratory'?

texts:
The question:
I am curious about the relation between the words 'explorative' and 'exploratory'. Are those exact synonyms, or is there a difference in their meaning, their usage, their geographic occurrence, etc?
Own attempt:
The way Longman DCE (5th ed) defines 'exploratory' suggests to me that it can only be used to describe actions:

adj done in order to find out more about something: He's going to have an exploratory surgery on his knee.

(Longman DCE does not contain 'explorative'.) However, the Macquarie Dictionary (7th ed) defines 'exploratory' as:

adj. 1. relating to or concerned with exploration. 2. inclined to make explorations. Also, explorative.

The first meaning in Macquarie is similar to the one in Longman, but does not appear to be restricted to describe actions. The second meaning in Macquarie seems useful to describe living beings (or possibly animate objects). I am not sure that my interpretation is correct here. I also am not sure whether the crucial 'Also, explorative.' at the end concerns both meanings or just the second one.


texts: I'm writing a book and am wondering what punctuation is invalid for such "statement"?

texts:
I can't give you the details of the book because I'm currently writing it and it's not something I'd like to discuss. But I'll give you the paragraph here.

  ONE moment. That’s all it takes for everything to change forever.
  That’s all it took to change me forever. After all, isn’t that what
  we’re all after? Time? We want time, so that we can write our wrongs.
  We want time so that we could turn it all around and make things right
  again, in our lives, or in the lives of those we love. We want time,
  because it’s the only thing that tells us the truth. We want time
  because it has the ability to heal us from the damage one moment has
  caused us.

I feel like the commas and some other punctuation are either too much or missing. Is my paragraph missing anything? Is there too much of one thing? Lack of punctuation? How would I properly write that with the correct punctuation?


texts:
I know that Google got its name from the word googol (10100), and that Google/google referring the search engine/using the search engine are recent additions to the dictionary. Their definitions are easily found for such meaning (example).

However, just for kicks, I did a Google Ngram search for the word "google" and "Google" and got some interesting results:

There is a drastic spike in the use of the word "google" around 1900, well before the website, or even the internet, existed. There is then some use throughout the next hundred years, where it starts to climb (because we now have Google).

Clearly this word had some meaning in the past ‒ does anyone know what it was?


texts: What is the meaning of these phrases in the given context?

texts:
I was reading a novel, and came across a couple of sentences which I couldn't really get the meaning of. The particular sentences are marked in bold, and I've added some background, for the context.

Background-

  “Elle, are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re not acting fine.”

  I turned my face to let water splash on it. “My father just died,
  Dan,and I went on a bender. How fine do you think I am?”

  He rubbed my back. “Okay, I get it. Ask a stupid question—”

  “Exactly.” I wasn’t up to verbal sparring.

Context-

  There was to be a funeral, of course, and a gathering at the house,
  after. The perfect theater for my drama-queen mother to parade her
  grief in front of friends and family. I didn’t begrudge her, really.
  She’d never been a perfect mother or wife, and I had my issues with
  her, but she had been married to the man, after all. She’d chosen to
  stay with him. She’d earned her martyr’s crown.

  Considering my father’s body had enough alcohol in it to keep him
  pickled for a year, she nonetheless wasted no time in setting it all
  up. If she couldn’t wait to get him into the ground, I don’t suppose I
  can blame her. I understood that urgency, that sense of having to
  always get the worst out of the way so as to move on to something
  else. I’d learned it from her.

So, the sentences in question are-

  Considering my father’s body had enough alcohol in it to keep him
  pickled for a year, she nonetheless wasted no time in setting it all
  up.  If she couldn’t wait to get him into the ground, I don’t suppose
  I can blame her.

Now, I found the most accurate definition of "pickled" in this context from this Merriam-Webster link which says-

  pickled adjective

  preserved with salt water or vinegar

  very drunk or intoxicated

There are some related sentences where "pickled" is used in this conext-

  Examples of PICKLED

  He got pickled at the office party.

  I must have been rather pickled when I agreed to your stupid scheme.

From the above description, it is clear that "pickled" in the sentence in question is intended to mean "drunk". Am I correct in this assessment?

If yes, my question is the next part of the sentence, which says-

  she nonetheless wasted no time in setting it all up

Considering that her father had enough alcohol in him to keep him pickled(read: drunk) for a year, what was set up? My first thought was the setting-up of a casket, and/or other funeral setting, but this doesn't sit well with the first part of the sentence.

My last question is the first part of the next sentence-

  If she couldn’t wait to get him into the ground

What does this mean? Is it supposed to mean something on the lines of- she wanted to be over with the funeral as soon as possible?


texts: Why did the present participle become more popular than a regular active verb?

texts:
I've been studying Latin by myself as a kid in middle school, and I've gotten fairly advanced with it. However, in Latin and most other languages, the present participle is/was almost never used in the place of an active. In English, this isn't the case. For some reason, it's considerably more common to announce "I'm writing," rather than "I write."

Often, I wonder exactly how the present participle came to be as ubiquitous as it is with the verb "to be," but not as a regular adjective. What is the reason for this odd choice? Why has become so frequent?


texts: What's the origin of the expression "blind alley"?

texts: It seems a bit unintuitive to me a road/alley could be "blind". What's the origin of such an expression? When did it first come into use?


texts: Why is "extremely longer" not correct (according to the ACT)?

texts:
The sentence that included the question was:

  In addition, LEDs last far longer than standard bulbs.

  Question: Which of the following alternatives to the bolded portion would NOT be acceptable?
  F. considerably
  G. a great deal
  H. extremely
  J. much

  Answer: H

"Extremely" is an adverb (and not materially different in definition from the other answers available) and should be able to modify the adjective "longer", correct? I don't have an answer explanation, so it's unclear why they chose this. Can someone please explain why this is the answer? Thanks!


texts: Why does the idiom "Jig is up" mean "discovered in the act of dishonesty"?

texts: I was reading a manga on Mangarock in English when I saw this idiom. Can you explain to me why the meaning of the idiom "jig is up" is "discovered in the act of dishonesty"?


texts: What is the meaning of the last phrase in this sentence?

texts: I found the following sentence in a students' book for learning business English: "Their shares will yield a decent dividend, given past form". The sentence is NOT in a context, it is just an example of using Future. However, I don't understand the meaning of the last phrase - "given past form". Could anyone help? Thanks for your time.


texts: Why is the letter "w" not pronounced "double v"?

texts: Was "w" written with smoother curves back then?


texts: Why do not we ask negative questions without a contraction on the not after the verb?

texts:
I have found multiple questions touching on this but not a single one that has a comprehensive answer. The information is all there but in little bits.

"Do you not" vs. "Don't you"
Why does "Why doesn't it work?" become "Why does it not work?"
etc.

Exactly why is "Do not you sleep?" ungrammatical (except in poetry/with artistic license)? I understand that not can't contract after you: "Do you not sleep?" because not can only contract after a verb, and that it always does after do: "Don't you sleep?" but why does it (why must it) contract if it's placed after the verb in a question?

Don't you sleep? (common form)
Do not you sleep? (ungrammatical)
Do you not sleep? (less common form)


texts: How to describe relations that are not good?

texts:
Question 1 If someone's relations with any of their relatives (say father), are not good, what adjectives would be appropriate in the following cases:

They don't fight or have frequent quarrels yet do not interact too much with each other(but not because they dislike each other)
They have frequent fights, both of them dislike each other and so do not interact with each other.
For some reasons they have a great enmity with each other?

Question 2 What do we say to mean that someone's relations with their relatives are getting bad or worsening? Can we simply say that their relations are worsening or are getting worse.


texts: How do I punctuate (and continue a sentence) after a quote?

texts:
This is the sentence and quote in question (I know it's wrong, but I don't know how to fix it/the correct formatting):

His quote, “The most dangerous thing is illusion.”, points to the idea that it is not only the targeted individual that is harmed, rather the illusionist and often, bystanders who are unaware of the situation they are in, are harmed as well.

So the quote given to me ends with a period. Do I just take the period out and replace it with a comma or should I change the whole thing entirely so that it's two (or more) sentences?

Thank you.


texts: Is there a name for the stars you see when you hit your head?

texts: When you hit your head, you may see stars or flashes. Is there a specific name for them?


texts: Word that means "able to be prioritized" suitable for scientific publication?

texts:
I'm looking for a single word that means "able to be prioritized" that is suitable for use in a scientific paper.

"Prioritizable" is essentially what I want, but in my searching this does not appear to be an actual word. (Definitions are from crowd sourced, not authoritative sources.)

Since it is my understanding that it is generally bad practice to use such non-words in scientific literature, I'm looking for a suitable alternative.


texts: What's a word for someone who puts others down for having different views on a topic?

texts: I'm trying to think of a word for someone who thinks their views are better than other views and talks down to others who don't have the same views.


texts: Can I draw a (or the) synthesis of something? (In a dialectical sense.) What would be alternatives if I wanted to use synthesis?


texts: Is there an explanation for why both "pop" and "pops" are used to mean father (singular)?

texts:
Both the Oxford English dictionary and Merriam Webster give the definition of "pop" (singular) to mean "father" in an informal manner and give "pops" to be the plural form of pop, thus "fathers".

If I am not mistaken, however, many Americans seem to use "pops" in a singular sense to call their own fathers. I only found two online sources that support what I heard, but I am curious if people on this forum can share more information.

father (Dictionary.com)

This link for Wiktionary has an article about father with the title "Dad? Pops? Father? Why are there so many name for the same person?"

This source simply defines "pops" as "father" (singular).


texts: Looking for an English word or personality associated with "quality", "humour", and "elegance"

texts:
I am looking for an English word or famous personality or anyone famous who can be associated with quality, funny and elegant.

If I could find all three qualities in a single subject that would be excellent,
otherwise a combination of any two is also fine.


texts: How do you call the type of college work you do for the whole year (2 semesters)?

texts:
In Russian colleges / universities we have a type of work similar to thesis, which you do for 2 semesters, and in the end you defend it like thesis, except it's not thesis, not even bachelor's thesis. Is there a name for it in English?

Example of usage:

For my second year's THIS_WORD I researched and analyzed HPC topologies.


texts:
As the title says, I'm wondering if "non-linear" is an acceptable spelling of the word "nonlinear."

A bit of research on this site turns up Is the use of a hyphen between "non" and an adjective strictly necessary?, in which Monica Cellio commented that some of these "non"-prefixed words have entered the language in unhyphenated form. This is the way I'm used to seeing "nonlinear." But other people I work with spell it with the hyphen, "non-linear." Is that valid, or should I point it out as a correction? (This is in a scientific paper going to publication; I wouldn't care in a less formal context)

More generally, what reference(s) would I look at to answer questions like this in the future, about whether a particular compound can/should be spelled with or without a hyphen?


texts:
I have a little semantic challenge - I would like to state that something has been and still is happening (up to the present moment) in a certain way, but may soon end / change. In principle, this is not an obstacle in an out-of-context situation, however, my problem is that I am making a translation (from a synthetic language into English) and have to "stick" to the original sentence structure, which is:

  This is A, functioning as of present by means of B. Due to sth, A will soon be renovated...

My question is whether the adverb "as of present" incorporates the meaning that I would like to achieve - both of nowness and of expected recent change. In the original language this sense is achieved through an adverb in the instrumental case and for this reason "presently", "currently", "now", etc. are not appropriate translations (since they carry locative meaning).

PS My main concern is that "as of present" may be misinterpreted as "from the present moment onward", similarly to "as of now" / "as of this moment" - quite the opposite of what I wish to imply.


texts: Word meaning something which is in a predefined location

texts:
Consider a situation where there are a few typical places in which an object will usually be located. In rare cases, the object may be located elsewhere. I am looking for a word to describe the situation in which the object is in one of its typical locations. Something like "typically-positioned", but a single word.

EDIT: For example, consider the winner's podium in the olympics. There are 3 defined locations. If someone were to stand on one of these she would be in one of the "standard" locations. If someone were to stand with one foot in one part and another foot in the other, she would not be in one of the "standard" locations.

How would you describe a person that is in one of the "standard" locations?

2nd EDIT: Another example that does not involve a person: Consider a molecule is positioned most of the time in one of 3 locations. Occasionally the molecule is not in one of these locations.

How would you describe the molecule when it is in one of its typical positions?


texts: Which article, if any, is the best choice in this case?

texts:
I work in IT and have a question about using articles in the following sentence:

  There is ____ AllowedChanges table with ____
   AllowedPctType column in the database.

So my question is which article, if there is any, is appropriate here and why?

Thank you in advance!


texts:
What does back it up mean in this context?

  He can be cocky, but he's got stuff to back it up.


texts:
The sentence, at the beginning of a new paragraph, goes:

"A collaboration with Dr. xxx and his colleagues would yyy".

Is it "A collaboration with" or "Collaboration with"? Microsoft Word is unhappy with the article.


texts: Gramatically understand "make more and more of an impression on.."

texts:
The case I want to understand is "Japanese musician YOSHIKI is making more and more of an impression on the British royal family". As I understand it, it says YOSHIKI is impressing the British royal family members more and more. But what I don't understand is the grammar detail.
Is "making more and more of an impression" the comparative of "making much of an impression"? In that case, how should I understand "making much of an impression"? Is it a combination of "making an impression" and "much of", or alternatively, a combination of "making much of" and "an impression"?
From what I learnt from the internet, "much of" is "used for describing the importance of a quality that something has" and "make much of" means "to give a lot of importance to something". I can't see anyone is giving an importance on the thing of impressing some one else. Thenceforth, I prefer the "making an impression" + "much of" assumption. But I still can't understand it. What does the "much of" mean here? I can understand what "not much of a" means but what "much of" means is still unclear. What does it actually mean in this context?
Glad you can bear the reading. Love you :)


texts: How should I parse a sentence that’s broken up with a dash?

texts:
What is the correct "parsing" of this  sentence:

  Futuristic but not out of time — like an artifact from the 1960’s, someone trying to imagine what 2013 would be like.

I came to two interpretations of the above sentence and would like to know whether either is correct:

[Futuristic] but not [out of time — like an artifact from the 1960’s,
someone trying to imagine what 2013 would be like.]

And so it is saying the device does not look like an artifact from the. . . .
[Futuristic but not out of time] — [like an artifact from the 1960’s, someone trying to imagine what 2013 would be like.]

Therefore, the device does look like an artifact. . . .

The full paragraph the sentence is taken from (to provide additional context)

  The design of Glass is actually really beautiful. Elegant,
  sophisticated. They look human and a little bit alien all at once.
  Futuristic but not out of time — like an artifact from the 1960’s,
  someone trying to imagine what 2013 would be like. This is Apple-level
  design. No, in some ways it’s beyond what Apple has been doing
  recently. It’s daring, inventive, playful, and yet somehow still
  ultimately simple. The materials feel good in your hand and on your
  head, solid but surprisingly light. Comfortable. If Google keeps this
  up, soon we’ll be saying things like "this is Google-level design."


texts: Why do people support/oppose the death penalty (with article), but oppose/support abortion (no article)

texts: Why is the article the used when talking about the death penalty, but isn't used when discussing abortion?


texts: Why is it Wrong to use what in place of which (Context of American English) | Specific to GMAT

texts:
(B) According to some analysts, the gains in the stock market reflect growing confidence in the economy to avoid the recession, what many feared earlier in the year, rather to come

This is an excerpt from GMAT Question.

some instructor has given this response -
* it appears that this choice is trying to substitute "what" for "which". that is not acceptable.

Can some one explain in detail why the usage of what is wrong here?

The whole complete sentence -

According to some analysts, the gains in the stock market reflect growing confidence that the economy will avoid the recession that many had feared earlier in the year and instead come in for a “soft landing,” followed by a gradual increase in business activity.

(A) that the economy will avoid the recession that many had feared earlier in the year and instead come

(B) in the economy to avoid the recession, what many feared earlier in the year, rather to come

(C) in the economy’s ability to avoid the recession, something earlier in the year many had feared, and instead to come

(D) in the economy to avoid the recession many were fearing earlier in the year, and rather to come

(E) that the economy will avoid the recession that was feared earlier this year by many, with it instead coming

Which one is correct. It is GMAT question.


texts: Is it correct to say "the core" or "the nucleus" of an exhibition?

texts:
This is my first participation, and I thank in advance all of you who will try to help me here.
As I asked in the title, is it correct to say "the core" or "the nucleus" of an exhibition?
I mean a group of specific items presented in an exhibition. It is not a section, which I think is something more general and in which may exist different "nuclei".
The use of the word "nucleus" here comes from a direct translation from the Portuguese, "um dos núcleos da exposição", for instance.

Thank you all again,
Isabel


texts: In "Nobody was surprised at John being absent", is "being" a present participle modifying "John" or a gerund whose subject is "John"?

texts:
Some time ago I learned the difference between a present participle and a gerund, so today I decided to pass any online test to make sure I understand it.

I passed it having made only one mistake, which asked the difference between the two in this sentence:

  Nobody was surprised at John being absent.

One needed to choose between present participle and gerund in reference to the word being.

I chose present participle because the word being here plays a role of an adjective apart from a verb.

I thought that if it had read John's being, then the word would have been a participle because it would be a noun in a form of a verb.

I know, this question is a duplicate and I agree that it should be closed, but I just would like to find out whether it was me who made a mistake or whether it was the website that diddo.


texts:
To expect Daub to acknowledge critiques of tech thinking by women is to expect that he include not the most feminist or woke critiques of those philosophies, but the most trenchant ones.

Why he include has been used? Under what circumstances is this allowed? What is the grammar behind it?

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/books/review/what-tech-calls-thinking-adrian-daub.html


texts: What is the function of the first " it"?

texts:
Here is a sentence in which two " it" appear in the same coordinate clause.

This job involves a lot of hard work but it is worth it.

Obviously, the second " it" refers back to the noun phrase "hard work". However, there is an argument about the first " it" : some people say it refers back to the other noun phrase, "the job"; I don't agree and I think the first "it" serves as a dummy subject, like that which is in "It's worth sth/doing sth."  Am I right?


texts:
Is the grammar of 'perch' in the following sentence correct ?

  The tower sits perched on a stone structure.

If 'perch' is used as verb in the sentence, should it be as sit perching?
Could anyone please kindly help me to figure out sit perched.


texts: What's the pun in this "Julius Caesar" reference?

texts:
In a Blacklist episode, the following conversation takes place, the first and last speaker is the sophisticated Raymond Reddington:

-'Ambition's debt must be paid'.
-Julius Caesar?
-One of my favorites. The play, not so much the man. The man was a bit full of himself. He did have a brilliant military mind, but he couldn't smell a plot to save his life. Intentional pun.

I cannot for the life of me understand the joke. My only hypotheses circle around the words plot - also a place for a grave - and the mention of smell in the following soliloquy from the Shakespeare play, but I have found nothing satisfying:

Antony:
O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,--
Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue--
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.


texts: Difference between "attended to by" and "attended by"

texts:
In following, what are the differences between these two sentences?

I was attended to by a specialist doctor.
I was attended by a specialist doctor.


texts: “Has reported” as present perfect vs. “has” as present + “reported” as a noun

texts:
In the following sentence below, I want to use the word reported as a noun, but it looks like I’m using the present perfect form has reported.

How can one be clear when constructions like this arise?

  That both covers the whole 3-week period and has reported duty-cycles under it.

(Note: That sentence was written in the context of technical writing, so don't pay too much attention to its actual meaning.)


texts:
In the sentence below:

Manpower provides a range of services that satisfy/satisfies the needs of the whole employment and business cycle.

Should the verb in the noun clause modify "range" or "services"?


texts: Grammaticality of "the" in "I am going to the Asda later"

texts:
A friend of mine and I are having a long standing debate about the correctness of a sentence.

Informing me what he was doing later that day he said:

  I am going to the Asda later.

Note: To anyone outside of the UK, Asda is a supermarket/grocery store.

I corrected him and said, "don't you mean, I am going to Asda later".

He insists that the definite article "the" is needed because he is referring to a particular Asda near where he lives.

I argued that he didn't state which Asda he was referring to (and it is not obvious to me) so therefore the definite article is incorrect. If he had said "I am going to the Asda near my house", that would make more sense.

He states that "... Asda near my house" is implied because he knows which Asda he is talking about, but I argued that I do not know which Asda he is talking about so the "... near my house" cannot be implied.

It is my (arguably limited) understanding that we don't use the definite article when referring to place names or company names (there are exceptions of course).

Incorrect usages:

I am going to the Germany on holiday
I am going to the Walmart later

But if we add the context "...near where I live", Asda becomes a noun because we are now referring to the actual store or building so the definite article is needed.

"I am going to the Asda near where I live"

So, to settle a long standing debate. If I have no knowledge of the "Asda" he is referring to, can he imply it and use the definite article "the"?

UPDATE

In response to the answers below:

Consider the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proper_noun

  A proper noun is a noun that in its primary application refers to a unique entity, such as London, Jupiter, Sarah, or Microsoft

Asda is clearly a proper noun.

With regard to the use of definite articles and proper nouns:

http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/art-pnou.htm

  In general, do not use an article with a proper noun unless the noun contains a prepositional phrase.

With the above in mind, it seems logical to me that the following statement is incorrect.

I am going to the Microsoft later.

Therefore my reasoning is that "I am going to the Asda later" is also incorrect.

"Later" is not a preposition so I believe that the only time you can use the article is when the person communicating the intent converts the proper noun into a noun i.e. place, thing.

I am going to the Asda store.

"Store" makes it a noun. As does a prepositional phrase "... near where I live".

In summary, it is my belief that:

"I am going to the Asda near where I live" is correct.

"I am going to the Asda" is not.

Happy to be wrong!


texts: Would you say "The Calvary wasn't coming" or "The Calvary weren't coming"?


texts: Is usage of "deserve" without reference to subject’s individual conduct or character a separate sense?

texts:
Dictionaries continue to define the verb deserve in terms of qualities or actions by which a person individually merits or earns good or ill:

Do something or have or show qualities worthy of (a reaction which rewards or punishes as appropriate) (ODO)
To be worthy of; merit (American Heritage and Merriam-Webster)
to merit, qualify for, or have a claim to (reward, punishment, aid, etc.) because of actions, qualities, or circumstances (Random House Kernerman Webster, emph. added)
To have acquired, and thus to have, a rightful claim to; to be entitled to, in return for services or meritorious actions, or sometimes for ill deeds and qualities (OED, rev. 1895, “Now the ordinary sense,” emph. added)

More and more, though, I seem to encounter this verb in contexts where a person’s claim to some benefit appears to derive from nothing but the person’s mere existence. Such usage is of course routine in advertising—“You deserve a break today!”—where it serves as an example of Socrates’ point that the art or rather knack of persuasive rhetoric is a species of flattery. But even where the subject, the alleged deserver, is not the addressee, the verb seems to have been decoupled from any knowledge or assessment of that person’s individual conduct or character. Thus “everyone deserves healthcare” seems to have become the prevailing or at least a common way to express the notion that healthcare is a human right.
One might consider this increasingly common usage of deserve, without any implication concerning the deserver’s individual conduct or character, to be a distinctly liberal usage, politically, in that liberals as a group are sometimes supposed to differ from conservatives in (a) believing humanity on the whole to be good and (b) shying away from being “judgmental” in individual cases, including hypothetical ones.
My question is, Does this “liberal” or possibly even P.C. sense of deserve constitute a distinct sense that dictionaries just have not caught up with yet?


texts: Is the usage of "consult" idiomatic in this context?

texts:
This problem has not been addressed in the literature, at least not in
  the English literature that I was able to consult.

I want to say that at least in the literature in English (because I don't know other languages to read relevant contents in other languages) such problem is not addressed.


texts:
Geographical timezones cover the Earth in such a way that two timezones never overlap; hence, they are non-overlapping.  But is there a better (shorter, without negation) word for this?

  "Unfortunately he's travelling, possibly to a non-overlapping
  timezone, so I'm not sure when he can take the call."

Distinct and discrete come to mind, but they miss the nuance of continuously covering a surface and would not work in the sentence above (although just plain old different would).


texts:
In Jean Rhys's short story "The Lotus" (published in the collection Tigers Are Better-Looking in 1968), I found the following piece of dialogue (emphasis added):

'Sarcastic, isn't she? A dainty little thing, but sarcastic.' Lotus got up, swayed and held on to the mantlepiece. 'Are you a mother, dear?'
'Do you mean me?'
'No, I can see you're not — and never will be if you can help it. You're too fly, aren't you? (...)'

I couldn't find "fly" as an adjective in Collins or Cambridge.
Wiktionary provides the following meanings:

(slang, dated) Quick-witted, alert, mentally sharp.
(slang) Well dressed, smart in appearance.
(slang) Beautiful; displaying physical beauty.

Based on the story, the first meaning makes most sense. Can anybody confirms this?


texts: he started feeling the place around him?

texts:
Am trying to describe a scene:
Imagine someone that falls to the ground when the lights went out... and when he tries to get up I want to say "he started feeling the place around him."
Is it correct ?


texts: "They're using a cell phone" vs. "They're using cell phones"

texts:
The usage of singular and plural has always been confusing for me.

I often see sentences like these

  People are using cell phones.
  People are using a cell phone.

Does the first sentence mean everyone has a phone and they are all using their own?
Does the second sentence mean they are sharing one cell phone?

If I see a group of people holding a cell phone in their hand(s), <- even this is confusing for me, should I use the first sentence then?

Another example: you see two men, and both of them are carrying a bag. Which sentence should I say/use?

  They are carrying backpacks
  They are carrying a backpack

Could you please make it clear for me?


texts: "To his amazement the girl did kiss her hand and stretch it out"

texts:
To his amazement the girl did kiss her hand and stretch it out.

In my understanding, to mostly refer the object of an action. So what's the meaning of to in this sentence?

I think, the sentence should be rewrite to something like the following sentence.

  Amazemently, the girl did kiss her hand and stretch it out.


texts: Explain the phrase "Old Norwegian History Professor" and provide other examples

texts:
I remember the phrase "old Norwegian history professor" being offered as a good example of confusion that can arise in certain English phrases, but can't explain it well. (That is, is the professor an old professor that teaches Norwegian history? Is the professor an old Norwegian that teaches history? Is the professor a teacher of old Norwegian history?)

More specifically, I'd like to know if there are other examples of this confusion.


texts:
President Nixon declared, "I am not a crook."
President Nixon declared: "I am not a crook."
President Nixon declared "I am not a crook."

Do you agree that using the comma and the colon in the sentece above is "completly pointless" as one of the many manuals dedicated to the problem of quotation marks asserts? According to this manual the first two sentences are the examples of "bad style".


texts: I am concerned/worried that: what is the function etc of 'that'?

texts:
"I am concerned/worried that I am losing weight."

Could anybody analyze the function and meaning of the word "that" here in the above sentence? It seems to me that it has the meaning of "because" or "as".


texts: "Being ran", "being runned" or something else?

texts:
The past tense of run is ran. However, you couldn't say something was being "ran" poorly i.e. the business was ran poorly. However, saying "runned" would be wrong as well. What would be the word to use in this instance:

  The government will be prevented from being ____ properly.


texts: how did the word CHARLATAN make its way into English

texts: How did the word charlatan find its way into English?


texts: I usually say "Practice pronouncing these words correctly." Is it correct to say "Practice these words."?


texts:
I've always understood paraphrase to mean the repeat a quote without using the exact words.

However, recently I've seen increasing use of the word paraphrase to mean repeating a famous quotation with a twist. I.e. the original quote is given almost verbatim but applied to an entirely different area.

Am I correct in understanding that this second usage is incorrect?


texts:
When telling time and 30 minutes has gone past an hour, we say “half past”. For instance, half past 4 or half past 5.

Why can’t we also say “half to”. For instance, half to 5 or half to 6?

Shouldn’t it be a matter of preference, as it is when a glass is said to be half empty or half full?


texts: Is there a verb form of the word "Suppository"?

texts:
I've heard people slangily refer to "suppositing" something as a verb for what a person would do with a suppository.  I don't see any references citing "supposit" as a verb.  Is there a verb form of this word?

If not, what are some other good words for that action that sound less crass than an explicit description of it?


texts: When can/can't you add "-less" at the end of a word?

texts: When can or can't you add -less at the end of a word? What are the limitations to its productivity? Can you say anything at all, like streakless or phoneless? I am really sorry for the stupid question.


texts:
What does ’er mean in the following phrase?

  Ear-bending disapproval from ’er indoors.


texts: Describing an advantage gained via a common background

texts: I recently used the word 'nepotism' to describe an advantage attained due to sharing a common background. The person I said this to thought that that was too liberal an extension of the word. I agree, but I couldn't come up with anything better. What is the word that would describe this?


texts: Would the word, debris, be singular, plural, or either--conditionally?

texts: My essay speaks of de-orbit "debris" falling to Earth's surface. Like as with the shuttle, it will be strewn in parts across the continent. Follow-on reference to the debris (items) would seem, in the strictest (collective-singular) sense for instance, to require the singular pronoun, it; but the word, they, seems more intuitive...so as not to imply that the debris item(s) all or for the most part would be landing upon one and the same ground location. Your thoughts?


texts:
I'm trying to figure out whether or not to hyphenate a new medical-related phrase, "post birth control syndrome."

I know Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is hyphenated, but that seems to make sense because "post-traumatic" on it's own defines the state of the condition.

"Post-birth-control" doesn't feel right as "birth control" as a phrase isn't hyphenated.

So do I do "post-birth control syndrome" or "post birth control syndrome" and why?


texts: "Systems those were" or "systems that were"?

texts:
Please, someone, help me to understand why is this first sentence incorrect?

Incorrect: And it has affected the most to the systems those were already fragile.
Correct: And it has affected the most to the systems that were already fragile.
Correct: And it has affected the most to the system those were already fragile.

Since "systems" is plural shouldn't it be okay to use "those" with it?

Thanks


texts: Is 'storage' countable or uncountable if it means warehouse or repository?

texts:
I need to write an article and I have to use this word in the context. I cannot replace the word with a different word (warehouse, repository, etc.). I checked this word via http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/storage and Cambridge dictionaries online said 'storage' is uncountable and http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/storage?q=storage Oxford learner sdictionarie said 'storage' is uncountable too.

But I am not sure that cannot be countable in this example:

  The storage can be divided into some small storages

Thank you for your time.


texts: Using punctuation with abbreviations (eg. comma after a state abbrev.)

texts:
231 N. Irby Street
Florence, S.C., 29501

Is this correct?
I just received a box of checks back and the comma looks wrong after S.C.,


texts: Word or phrase for "taking them all with you"

texts:
I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe the situation where individuals find themselves hopelessly surrounded, realize their inevitable demise, and decide to fight as hard as possible and deal as much damage to their adversaries as possible before their demise.

Verbs and nouns can work.


texts:
In the following sentence:

  The old couple told the police that they were watching T.V. at the time of the break in

why aren't we using 'had been':

  The old couple told the police that they had been watching T.V. at the time of the break in

Or are both correct?

I know "were" is appropriate here, but why not use "had been" since the robbery is in past perfect?

Or is it "optional back-shifting" here with an option that is?


texts:
What does “Fabs days hair” means in the following content?

  A bouncy funk single recorded entirely alone by Paul for McCartney II, the promo clip for Coming Up featured him (and Linda) cloned as the members of a band, The Plastic Macs, whose bassist was “Beatle Paul”, sporting collarless jacket and reviving his Fabs days hair tosses


texts: Is this an incorrect use of the word 'Synonymous'?

texts:
"Robespierre is synonymous with the Great Terror in the French Revolution".

As far as I know, when things/words are synonymous with one another it's because they have a similar meaning.

However, I've heard statements similar to the above many, many times. Is this an alternative and correct way of using 'synonymous'. If so, under what grammaticality is it correct?


texts: Word to describe an email missing an attachment

texts:
Have you ever sent an email, intending to attach something and referring to it in the email, but without actually attaching? I'm wondering if there is a word or words to describe:

The email itself. e.g. 'I just sent a ????? email'
The act of sending such an email. e.g. 'I just ?????ed'

Any proposed word(s) could/should encapsulate concepts of incompleteness or emptiness and/or fact that email was sent prematurely.

I'm not thinking about emails that should have multiple attachments but are incomplete. It's really those simple, '1 attachment' emails.

UPDATE: Playing on another meaning of 'attached', I thought that an email without an attachment could be considered to be 'unattached'. Some words which came up when looking for synonyms were 'single', 'unwed' and 'bachelor'. I don't think any of these are quite right, but hopefully they may inspire others....


texts: Is there a specific word for the name of the part of the wagon highlighted in red? This is towards the rear.


texts: Name of a Product that Fixes the Problems Created by Another Product

texts:
At work today, I was having a discussion with a coworker. He believes that there is a specific name for the scenario or marketing strategy where a company creates a product that was designed to resolve the problems created by one of their existing products, typically problems that didn't exist until the creation of the original product.

Google has failed me. Does such a description exist?


texts: What will be the correct word for "in a fine condition"?

texts: I'm unable to remember a word which relates to a fine and nice state. The word is like ?-shape. Also, where and how can I use this word. Can I use it for both living and inanimate things.


texts: Difference between "I have got" and "I have gotten"

texts: I see these two expressions are used almost identically in different contexts. Is there a difference between I have got and I have gotten?


texts: I've done a bit of searching but cannot find a definitive distinction between contemporaneous and simultaneous.  I personally use the words interchangeably. Am I correct in doing so?


texts: What is a synonym for "handling someone," like some sales people do, instead of doing what is requested?

texts: I am looking for a verb that describes the act of dealing with someone on a superficially polite and considerate way without actually intending to do what is being requested. This kind of thing might happen when you call for technical support or deal with customer service. Instead of directly answering questions or attending to the concern, the person might, say, ask irrelevant questions, ignore or repeatedly "misremember" the customer's questions, offer some stock phrase or advice, etc.


texts: Should one hyphenate 'shoulder width' in this context?

texts:
I believe that in this context:

  Place your feet shoulder-width apart.

it makes sense to hyphenate to avoid confusion.  I see that apart is listed as an adverb in the dictionary and width as a noun, so it would appear shoulder is an adjective of the noun width in this context.

I see this as possibly matching one published rule for hyphenating:

  Rule 2b. When writing out new, original, or unusual compound nouns, writers should hyphenate whenever doing so avoids confusion.

Is that correct?  However, I feel in this example:

  Place your feet apart by a shoulder width.

it should not be hyphenated.  Is this correct?  What are the rules that apply in these two cases?  Are they really the same case?

I do not believe this is a duplicate of the suggested question since I'm asking about the parts of speech of the possibly hyphenated words and which if any of the hyphenation rules applies to this situation, such as the mentioned compound noun rule.


texts:
What's the difference between "made from" and "made of"?
Could anyone give me some examples?


texts: Is it acceptable to miss out joining words (e.g. who, which)?

texts:
My kids were singing a song this morning:

  "There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name, oh."

And it occurred to me the word "who" had been omitted to make it scan. In normal speech, you would more usually say:

  "There was a farmer who had a dog..."

Is it ever acceptable to miss out "joining" words like "who", "which" or "that" in sentences such as these?


texts: Someone explained to me that social leopard refers to someone who is social, but I think it actually means "social leper". Who is right? Thank you!


texts: "He spends twice as much money as I earn" is correct?

texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?

  He spends twice as much money as I earn.

I'm wondering if the first verb (spend) and the second verb (earn) can be different. All the examples of "N times as much something as" pattern I found in English grammar text books have the same verbs, or the second verb is omitted as being the same as the first.


texts: "Suppose we have a collection of blog posts where each document was/is a post"

texts:
I found this in a book:

  Suppose we have a collection of blog posts where each document was a post.

Shouldn't it be:

  Suppose we have a collection of blog posts where each document is a post.

Or is it correct as it is?


texts:
Could someone please explain whether it should be "me presenting a final thesis" or "my presenting a final thesis". I've always struggled to understand when to use me and where to use my Could someone please explain the grammatical difference between the two words in this context? Thanks!

  My education culminated with my presenting a final thesis.


texts:
I refer to the example sentences given here (https://www.lexico.com/definition/except):

‘I looked around, but it was dark outside except for one street light at the corner a short way ahead of me.’
‘Everything is very quiet, except for the occasional floomfing sound of snow falling off pine trees and cedars.’

It seems that people sometimes use commas before prepositions or prepositional phrases, such as "except for". I have three questions:

When is a comma allowed before prepositions or prepositional phrases?
What is the grammatical rule behind this?
Is this related to essential vs. non-essential information?


texts: What is it called when someone says something like: "I'm not a racist, but..."

texts:
Other examples are:

  I'm not sexist but (sexist comment)

  Not to be a dick, but (dick comment)

  No offense, but (offensive comment)

And so on... where they are trying to excuse themselves from what they are about to say?

What is the name of these kinds of statements?


texts: Single-word adjective for "which should be repaired"

texts:
I'm looking for a term to characterise things which should be repaired. I am also looking for an antonym to go with it.

Imagine I have two boxes, one with phones which should be repaired and the second with others. I have to label each box with a single short word because the boxes are very small.

Repairable does not work because it describes things which can be repaired. So what are your recommendations?


texts:
Any programmers around? Which of the following is correct, or more common:

The code runs in a background thread.
The code runs on a background thread.

That's it. Just a simple word different.

As an alternative, the code might also be executed in/on a thread, if that makes a difference.


texts: What is the slang English word for not structured programming code?

texts: What is the slang English word for code that doesn't have structure: procedures, functions, classes etc. ?