texts: Do brides in church weddings go up the aisle toward the altar or down the aisle toward the altar?

texts:
Nigel Rees, The Cassell Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (1987) has this entry regarding the question "WHY DO WE SAY ... BRIDES GO UP THE AISLE?"

Sir Thomas Bazley fired off a letter to The Times in July 1986: "Sir, You report that Miss Sarah Ferguson will go up the aisle to the strains of Elgar's 'Imperial March'. Hitherto, brides have always gone up the nave. Yours faithfully ..."
Quite right, of course. The nave is the main route from the west door of a church to the chancel and altar; the aisles are the parallel routes at the sides of a church, separated from the nave by pillars.
Nevertheless, the phrase 'up the aisle' in connection with weddings holds strong. Could it be that the assonance of the 'i' sound in 'bride' and 'aisle' has something to do with people preferring the inaccurate to the accurate?

But I'm less concerned about the question of aisle versus nave than with the question of up versus down. Rees's discussion surprised me because he takes for granted that brides go up (not down) the aisle to the altar. There are certainly published examples where this direction is identified. For example, from Lady Helen Forbes, It's a Way They Have in the Army (1905):

The brides always look "handsome," or at least "charming," before the ceremony, and "radiant" after it ; and there is something especially touching in the "bevy" of beautiful young creatures who follow her up the aisle (each, of course, hoping it may be the last time that she will have to play second fiddle instead of first at a wedding, and wishing that it were true that one marriage always leads to others). The bride "leans on the arm of her father," she never drags him up the aisle out of step; and the bridegroom "makes his responses in a manly voice," but does not mumble them haltingly after the clergyman.

All my life, I've understood that the bride walks down the aisle to be married. Not surprisingly, there are examples in support of this direction, as well. For example, from Nancy Piccone, Your Wedding: A Complete Guide to Planning and Enjoying It (1982) [combined snippets]:

The bride must decide whether to take her father's left or right arm; if she takes his right, he will not have to cross behind her to return to his pew on the left side of the church, and this will facilitate matters. However, the bride may ask both of her parents to escort her *****, one on each side. Or the bride and groom may decide to walk down the aisle hand in hand. If the bride's father is deceased, she may ask an uncle, her brother, a close relative, or her mother to accompany her down the aisle.

And from Charlotte Ford, Etiquette: Charlotte Ford's Guide to Modern Manners (1988) [combined snippets]:

The Processional
In a formal wedding, the bride walks down the aisle on the arm of her father (if the bride's father is dead, she may choose her brother, a favorite uncle, or a close family friend to walk with her down the aisle), preceded by her flower girl or ring bearer. The maid or matron of honor precedes the flower girl, and the bridesmaids and ushers lead the processional. The bride meets the groom, the best man, and the clergyman, who have appeared as if by magic at the front of the church.

Of course, if you walk up the aisle to get to the altar, you presumably have to walk down the aisle to leave the church as a newlywed. And vice versa if you've walked down the aisle on your way in.
My questions are:

Is there a split in idiomatic preference between British English on the one hand (favoring "up the aisle") and U.S. English on the other (favoring "down the aisle")?

Has there been any general shift in recent years toward favoring "down the aisle" over "up the aisle" (or vice versa), regardless of which type of English we're talking about?

Which idiom is older in this particular sense—"up the aisle" or "down the aisle"?

Which is the more common idiom today for describing brides heading toward the alter?


texts: What is the correct punctuation to use when using "like I said" in a sentence?

texts:
I don't know how to properly connect the first three words of this sentence to the rest of the sentence:

  Like I said: this is a problem for your doctor, not your drug dealer.

I feel like that colon is incorrect punctuation.  Should it be replaced with a comma?  Or should I use some other punctuation?


texts: Why don’t other pronouns get to albe-themselves, à la albeit’s “it”?

texts:
YES:
"Euthanizing this particular kitten was a traumatic, albeit humane necessity."
NO:
"The geese, having pooped everywhere, made for hideous pets, albethem delicious as an entree."
NO:
"Most of the pigs were oblivious, albethose closer to the pen showed increasing anxiety."

Why does albeit have no pronoun kin? (Albeshe, albethis, etc.)


texts:
Does "had have been" exist and what tense is it?

  I had have seen her


texts:
I believe it's a British phrase.

I found it in that website, as:

  Fiat's Panda can offer an affordable route into 4x4 ownership. You just have to make it Cross.

If you happen to know more meanings except for the one example I've provided, please let me know.


texts: One word for a "cheap imitation/replica of a thing"?

texts: Suppose I bought a fake rolex watch from a flea market. If a friend ask me, "Is it really ROLEX?". What will be a good word for "cheap imitation"?


texts: Why do we say someone who has read many books is "widely read"?

texts:
Why do we say someone who has read many books is "widely read," or "well-read"?  (Though the latter has a hyphen, and it could be called a separate word. Still, it has its etymology.)

Why didn't we just stick to saying "he has read widely"; why did we go from saying "he has read" to "he is read"?


texts: Is "it's suddenly come back to me" correct in tense?

texts: I searched the phrase it's suddenly come back to me in Google books and found that it's been used many times in a lot of books. However, to me this phrase just seems weird. IMO it should be rewritten as it suddenly comes back to me which is more natural. I'm not a English grammar guru and not sure which is correct. Hope someone can help me to clarify. Thanks in advance.


texts:
We had an exam today and here is the question on which I was confused.

  Fill in the gaps.

    Justin is a very hardworking student. His ideas and words are ___and useful.

There were 2 options: wise and actual.

As you might guess, about 50% of us chose wise and others chose actual. We want to know that which one of these can not be used in this sentence?


texts:
Similar to sheep.

Look at that sheep. Look at those sheep.

Look at that prius. Look at those prius.

Sounds right.


texts: Should the article "the" be used twice with a proper noun starting with "the"?

texts:
If a proper noun includes the word "the" and we want to refer to it using the definite article, should "the" appear twice in succession? For example:

"Can you pass me The Who CD?" vs. "can you pass me the The Who CD?"

"The US Government passed The Hague Act" vs. "The US Government passed the The Hague Act?".
(this example inspired by a comment to this answer).

To me the first versions seem incorrect, but the second versions sound very awkward.


texts: Quotation marks within parentheses within a quotation

texts:
My example is this:

  The agency stated, "Our draft environmental assessment ("EA") will be ready when it's ready".

My question is: when one is writing a direct quote from a statement and the original statement has double quotation marks in parentheses within the original source material, is one supposed to use double or single quotation marks within the parentheses?


texts:
This is strongly related to Usage of "symmetrical" and "symmetric" but with a slightly different flavor and not answered within that question.

If I wish to indicate that X is the reflection of Y do I say "X is symmetrical to Y" or "X is symmetric to Y"? The context is mathematical, yes.

Google finds about five times as many occurrences of "symmetrical to" but that, of course, proves nothing.


texts: Can the word ‘fillet” be used as a verb to mean criticize or ridicule?

texts:
There was the following sentence in the New York Times article titled “Marry first, Then cheat” dealing with François Hollande’s “mistress scandals”:

  “Over good wine and small portions across Paris, there was appalled
  discussion that Stephen Colbert, who had filleted Hollande’s
  shenanigans on his show, was seated to the right of Michelle Obama at
  the state dinner, in the magic circle with the president where
  Trierweiler would have been, had she not been trundled off to the love
  guillotine.”
  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/opinion/sunday/dowd-marry-first-then-cheat.html?hp&rref=opinion

I was in understanding that the word, ‘fillet’ simply means “a piece of meat or fish without bones” as Cambridge English Dictionary defines.

I checked other dictionaries:

OED defines it as;

n. a fleshy boneless piece of meat from near the loins or the ribs of an animal.

vt.: cut (fish or meat) into boneless strips.

Merriam-Webster defines it as noun:

1.a fleshy boneless piece of meat from near the loins or the ribs of an animal:

2.a band or ribbon worn round the head, especially for binding the hair.

verb: to cut into fillets.

None of the above quoted definitions seems to be applicable to the sentence, “Stephen Colbert filleted Hollande’s shenanigans on his show.”

Though I’m assuming that ‘fillet’ is used in the meaning of “criticize” or “ridicule” from the context, I’m not sure. What does it mean? Is ‘fillet’ commonly used in such a way as a verb to mean anything other than a part of meat?


texts: "At the cost of giving expression to the obvious..."

texts:
I have read this phrase somewhere. If I remember correctly, it was

  At the cost of giving expression to the obvious (or truism), I'd suggest that ...

Does it mean that the author wants to emphasise the fact that what he is saying is already a well established fact?

Is this phrase grammatically correct?


texts: Can an 'essay' be a fictional, creative piece of writing?

texts:
A contributor to this site has talked about an 'essay' they are writing. My supposition was that it was a non-fictional piece, perhaps of criticism, history or something. But it transpires that it is a fictional creative piece.

'Essay' as a piece of writing is covered by meaning 8 in the OED, below. But it doesn't supply clarity on the type of writing which can be called an essay. Does anyone have views?

A composition of moderate length on any particular subject, or branch of a subject; originally implying want of finish, ‘an irregular undigested piece’ (Johnson), but now said of a composition more or less elaborate in style, though limited in range.
The use in this sense is app. taken from Montaigne, whose Essais were first published in 1580.

1597   Bacon (title)    Essayes.

–12   Bacon Ded. Prince Henry in Ess. (1871) 158   For Senacaes Epistles..are but Essaies—that is dispersed Meditations..Essaies. The word is late, but the thing is auncient.

1665   J. Glanvill Scepsis Scientifica Addr. 26   No higher title, then that of an essay, or imperfect offer at a Subject.

1684   Dryden To Earl of Roscomon in Earl of Roscommon Ess. Translated Verse sig. A1v,   Yet modestly he does his Work survey, And calls a finish'd Poem an essay.

1712   J. Addison Spectator No. 476. ¶1   The Wildness of those Compositions, which go by the Name of Essays.

1764   T. Reid Inq. Human Mind Ded.,   This leaves me no room to doubt of your favourable acceptance of this essay.

1782   V. Knox Ess. (1819) I. i. 1   Essays..may now convey the idea of regular treatises.

1843   Macaulay (title)    Critical and Historical Essays.

1864   Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. ii. i. 165   She could write a little essay on any subject.
(Hide quotations)

III.


texts: Using the Latin phrase 'ante Christum natum' in an English sentence

texts:
The phrase ante Christum natum translates to 'before the birth of Christ,' and Wikipedia says it is the (likely outdated) Latin equivalent to BC, in the same way post Christum natum is the equivalent to AD.
I came across this phrase today and I'd really like to use it in a piece of academic writing in which I'm constantly drawing distinctions between the Christian and the Classical. I want to know if it would be acceptable to use the phrase as part of a sentence to refer to something occurring before the year AD 1, but not to a specific year in time. Here is an example:

Virgil, who writes ante Christum natum, links the figure of Fortune to the divine will of Jupiter.

What do you think?


texts: What does "It dopes it really really well. Dope even" mean?

texts:
Recently I came across a stackoverflow comment for a post. It goes something like this.

  Dojo has an UpgradeBar that dopes
  this:

  Blah Blah Blah

and then somebody commented the post

  It dopes it really really well. Dope
  even

I know dope is to take drug and thus may be he is meaning it as relaxed. Now i am a bit confused what did this guy meant. because in the end there is "Dope even". did he mean it relaxes him or it sucks?

will "something even" make a context negative?

Full Context : https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5188667/stackoverflow-welcome-bar/5197218#5197218


texts: -er rather than -lier as an adverbial comparative form

texts:
In modern German, one can make tief into the comparative tiefer, regardless of whether the word is used as adjective or adverb.  In English, I now have a sentence in which I want to do the same thing with the English deep, because more deeply does not suit the cadence of my sentence and, frankly, deeplier looks dippy.  Can I do what I want?  Can I use deeper as an adverb?  Is this good usage?  Is it good philology?  Is it sanctioned by practice?  If so, why, please?  If not, why not?

My Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary surprisingly seems to offer no clue.

I realize that English occasionally allows the positive deep as an adverb, but such usage probably would be pretentious in my particular instance -- or, at best, would serve only to dodge the linguistic question.  If such dodging makes bad English in principle, then one prefers not to dodge.  It is not that I wish to convert the poetic adverb deep into deeper, but the more pedestrian adverb deeply into deeper.

(I do not know how interesting or relevant my specific sentence is to readers of this site, but if it interests you:  "Ideally, the professional mathematician knows or precisely specifies in advance -- or, deeper, reveals the very wisdom of -- the set of fundamental axioms he means to use to derive a result.")


texts: Differences between "price point" and "price"

texts: Apart from its use among the bean-counters who talk about maximising company profits, I can't understand why price point has spread so widely in popular American parlance. As far as I can tell, the term is exactly synonymous with price; do people use it the way they do the word 'monies' — to sound clever on the cheap — or is there actually a difference between the two terms?


texts: Is this use of the phrase "of which" grammatically correct?

texts:
The sentence is:
"Looking at the manual with the mindset of a penetration tester, of which I am, one can see that..."
Is this sentence perfectly sound, grammatically? If not, why not?


texts: poetic license or incorrect mixed conditional

texts:
Recently, I have been reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and encountered the following boldfaced sentence:

Whence, I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed? It was a bold question, and one which has ever been considered as a mystery; yet with how many things are we upon the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our enquiries.

As you can see, the use of "are we upon" and "if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain" flies in the face of rules regarding conditional sentences. The if-clause contains a past-tense (well, past subjunctive, to be accurate) predicate indicating a counterfactual situation, but the main clause has an indicative present-tense predicate. What kind of meaning does this sort of combination present? Put it differently, this is a wrong mixed conditional. If you think it's fine, i.e., not a wrong mixed conditional, please explain why you think so.
Some people might justify it by calling it an instance of poetic license. But to me, it seems to reflect the author's muddled thought; apparently, she might have been considering the following two sentences and conflated them into one:

We have been on the brink of achieving unrivalled scientific progress. Yet with how many things we would/should become acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our enquiries.

Or:

yet with how many things are we upon the brink of becoming acquainted! We would/should make major scientific breakthroughs if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our enquiries.

Do you think Mary Shelley made a mistake in composing the original sentence, or it has every reason to be composed that way?


texts:
Okay, I'm sure most of you have seen this T-Shirt before.

But I got to thinking about it the other day. It is obviously a reference to the time-honored tradition of That's what she said in response to any kind of innuendo or lewd comment.

However! Wouldn't it be more accurate for the quote to be:

  "That"
       -She

I know it isn't as apparent what the joke is that way, but in the context of the line, the hypothetical "she" never said "that's what." What she actually said is "That" in reference to the comment before.

Is this right? or is the T-shirt in the right here?


texts: Looking for a word that describes when you say both possible outcomes

texts:
Sometimes someone will say "if we don't win, we lose" or "we will make it, or we won't" or another example is, "if i don't pass, I fail"

It is when someone needlessly states the obvious alternative.

I have heard the word before, but now just cannot recall it.

Any help is greatly appreciated.


texts: Imperative be-passive: "Please be advised"

texts: Is Please be advised an imperative passive, or rather advised is an adjective?


texts: How come “What if no one would be allowed to post....” doesn’t sound right?

texts:
What mistake I have made in this sentence? It sounds wrong:

  What if no one would be allowed to post ...

Let's say people are allowed to post pictures on the website and I want to talk about the past (e.g. idea): What if no one would be allowed to post pictures on the website.


texts:
Does the sentence

In present day technology, the method can be broadly applied.

correctly translate the idea that

Now, with the development of inexpensive desktop computers, the method can be broadly applied.


texts: What is the origin of "stitched up like a kipper"?

texts:
I've heard the phrase so many times, but only now am wondering where it comes from.
I know it is used to mean that someone has been tricked, or has in some way fallen for a trap.
e.g.

Bob: So I ended up buying the volcano insurance from the salesman in the end.
Geoff: Wow! He stitched you up like a kipper.

But what on earth have "kippers" got to do with anything?


texts:
Our company is about to relocate. Employees have been asked for input on the new campus. My thought was to preface my email with

  I would like to offer my opinion ...

but should it be

  I would like to give my opinion ...

instead?


texts: Is there an etymological relation between Albania the country and St Albans, the city in Hertfordshire, England?

texts:
Is there an etymological relation?
(some more words to keep validator happy)


texts: Which is the proper way to use this phrase?

texts:
Example sentences with phrase in bold:

  It's really quite enthralling I might add.

  It's really quite enthralling might I add.

  It's really quite enthralling might I add you.

I've heard all three used, but which is correct?


texts: Idiom or expression that would imply "someone is showing equivocal behaviors that indicate a feigned reluctance"

texts:
I'm looking for an idiom or expression that mean "someone is showing a feign reluctance to do/ have something" or "someone pretends to be less interested in something or someone than they really are."

For example:

1-Mary claims that he doesn't like issues related to marriage at all, but follows her colleagues' wedding news eagerly.

2- John claims that he doesn't like his classmate,Jane, but it is obvious that he gets jealous of seeing her walking with other boys.

3- Joe asks his GF, Susan, to end their relationship; but calls her again in the evening!(and this is a repeatative story in their relationship, so Susan doesn't know if he really loves her or not, his behaviors are equivocal).

I want to describe such equivocal behaviors that indicate a feign reluctance.

  Susan: I'm fed up with Joe's equivocal behaviors, sometimes I get confused and don't know what he is looking for in this relationship, I think he ___."

I have found "to play hard to get" but I'm not sure if it is used for non-romantic relationships (including political ones) or for issues other than relationships too (like my first example).

PS:

In Persian we use this expression:

"Somone pushes it aside with their hand, (but) draws it nearer with their foot." (Here, 'It' refers to the given issue.)


texts: What does "Charges" signify in this paragraph

texts: I was tasked to do the translation of this paragraph in my native language, but the particular highlighted word "charges" is bothering me. Any help will be appreciated.


texts: Sought: Term for nominal use of adjective

texts:
If this turns out to be duplicative, I apologize.

Is there a concise term for the use of an adjective -- without a noun -- AS a noun?

For example, instead of
"Rich people often eat lobster stuffed with Himalayan hummingbird tongue."
substitute
"The rich often eat lobster stuffed with Himalayan hummingbird tongue."


texts: Is checklist or tick box (or something else) more common in British English?

texts: When referring to a list of items that you check off as you complete, would the British say, "checklist," "tick box," or something else?


texts: 30 v. the 30. Which would be more correct?

texts: Would it be proper to say "I take the 30 to work" (meaning the I-30 freeway) rather than saying "I take 30 to work"?


texts: What is the noun to use when describing the characteristic of another word being plural (or not)?

texts:
In editing a document, I changed a word from a singular form to a plural one, and I want to leave a comment explaining what I did.  The comment I wanted to write went something like this: "changed the ??? of this word for consistency".

My first guesses were "plurality" or "multiplicity", but after reviewing the definitions of those, I'm don't think that's quite right.

Any suggestions?


texts: What is the difference between 'autonomous' and 'automatic'?

texts:
I would like to know the difference between

autonomous sensor
automatic sensor


texts: Are [ɪ] and [i] are allophones of the same phoneme in English?

texts: I am leaning towards no, but would like confirmation and perhaps an example to illustrate.


texts:
I'm looking for a synonym for observee, i.e. something that is observed. The word observee doesn't seem be used much, so I would like to have a more common word if it exists.

I need to use it in a very abstract sense, so my example sentence doesn't get more concrete than this: "The observer watched the observee very closely."


texts:
You can use arithmetic to refer to the process of doing a particular sum or calculation.

I don't quite understand what 'refer to' means – even after consulting the dictionary! Can somebody explain it in a practical way, and give some more examples about it?

And I'd also like to know other meanings and usages of it if there is any.

Thanks a lot!


texts: One-word/phrase replacement for "made for the sake of being made"

texts:
Basically a phrase or a word replacement for something that was made just so it would exist, like a grouping being made for the sake of having a grouping".

I'm sorry I can't explain myself well but it's as if something was made just so it would exist for that purpose


texts: unstressed syllable in the middle of the word = always schwa sound?

texts:
I've noticed a pattern about pronunciation of words in American English -
an unstressed syllable in the middle of the word tends to have a schwa sound regardless of the actual written letter. examples:

syllable - sɪləbəl
sufficient - səfɪʃənt
infamous - ɪnfəməs (although famous is pronounced differently)
eloquent - ɛl.əˌkwənt

So my questions are:

Is this pattern real?
is there any documented rules on where should a vowel should be pronounced as a schwa sound or retain it's "original" pronunciation?

I'm asking only about American pronunciation.
Thanks!


texts: What is a word for someone who is extremley picky and unthankful for what he has?

texts:
Can someone give me a word that describes a person who wants to have everything at a very high level and doesn't want it if it's anything below that? For instance such a person might not want to eat a Philly Cheesesteak unless it's actually from Philadelphia, or might refuse to play a game that is at 15–30 frames and insist that it has to be at 60 to be playable.

Someone who is extremely picky and isn't thankful enough for small things.


texts:
I'm writing a paper and I am not sure how to word this sentence. Which is the correct sentence:

  I am able to avoid a pitfall into which many a student has fallen.

  I am able to avoid a pitfall into which many a student have fallen.

I think the correct one is the first one since has agrees with student, but both sort of 'sound right' to me. Maybe because have agrees with many, you know? Can anyone tell me which is the correct wording?


texts:
What is the difference between the verbs admix and shuffle?

I'm not a native speaker, and in the case shown in the image below, I'd rather use shuffle.


texts: I am looking for a word to describe a person who takes joy in creating (food, art, etc.) and loves to learn about the world and its cultures

texts: I guess I am looking for a word that describes a person who is passionate about taking in all they can from the world - learning, creating, traveling, eating, photographing, etc. Please help if you can!


texts: Where did "the price of tea in china" come from?

texts:
Usually when someone does not think your current statement has to do with the conversation at hand they can ask, "What does that have to do with the price of tea in China"?

Where did that form of statement come from?


texts: Using an acronym with a name that incorporates the @ symbol

texts: Can you make an acronym out of a name that incorporates the @ symbol?  For instance, can "People@Work" be "P@W" in the body of the document once it has been spelled out?


texts: Difference between "parents" and "both parents"

texts: I've been having some trouble understanding the difference between "parents" and "both parents". When referring to your parents, doesn't that automatically mean your mom and dad because parents is plural? Why would you say "both of my parents"... isn't that being redundant? Whereas if you just say parent, that infers you're talking about either or, right? Any clarification would be great!!


texts: Searching for a literary term for “if this, then I’m a this” statements

texts:
I’m reading Shakespeare’s Henry IV (Part 1) right now and I’m noticing that Sir John Falstaff has a propensity of saying “If this, then I’m a this” sort of statements. A few examples to clarify:

  … An I
  have not ballads made on you all and sung to filthy
  tunes, let a cup of sack be my poison

  An I have not
  forgotten what the inside of a church is made of, I
  am a peppercorn, a brewer’s horse

  if manhood, good manhood, be
  not forgot upon the face of the earth, then am I a shotten herring

  If I do not beat thee out of thy
  kingdom with a dagger of lath, and drive all thy
  subjects afore thee like a flock of wild-geese,
  I’ll never wear hair on my face more

Is there a particular literary term for these sort of sentences?


texts: Are there popular English sayings to express “Big fuss, tiny result”?

texts:
The recent EL&U question asked by Mikhail about the alternative expressions of ‘To shoot out of cannon into sparrows’ reminded me of Japanese saying - 大山鳴動鼠一匹- literally meaning people find (get) “Only a small mouse coming out after hearing rumblings and experiencing shaking of the big mountain, (and jumping out of the house)” which I believe was imported from Chinese classic literature.

I think it has a different meaning from “Shoot sparrows with cannon” and “Chop a chicken using the blade for cow.” Instead it means “a very small result attained with great effort” or “marginal consequence or gain after making a big fuss”

Are there similar English sayings to express “大山鳴動鼠一匹 - Big fuss, tiny result”?


texts: Why are these two adages called "razor"?

texts:
I always wondered why these adages are called 'razor', and if there is another meaning to razor than the one related to shaving or the razor blade:

Occam's razor

Hanlon's razor


texts:
There in Mandalay by Kipling, the following stanza is presented:

  An’ I’m learnin’ ’ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells:
  “If you’ve ’eard the East a-callin’, you won’t never ’eed naught else.”

In all known to me translations to Russian, ‘ten-year soldier’ is interpreted as ‘the military man, that has ten years service.’ The context forces me to think, that it might be a reference to the protagonist of this poem, the ten-years-old Asian girl, who implicitly fights against British forces.

I would appreciate any advice of native speakers. Thanks in advance.


texts: Is there a term for an "obvious" but not "accepted" compound?

texts:
This question is inspired by the question of whether there is a single term for the sports surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding.

I think many native speakers would read this question and think the answer is "board sports", similar to how the question "What is a term for all the windows of a house?" would elicit the term "house windows".

When I searched Google, there was an overwhelming number of results for "board sports" that came from retailers of the said item type, but no dictionary entries (please correct me if I'm wrong). The term "board sports" seems "obvious" in the same way that the compound "front door" is, but this is a dictionary term.

Is there a term for an "obvious" but not (dictionary-)"accepted" compound/term such as "board sports"? I think it might be something like "lexical gap", but 865,000 results on Google when searching "board sports" with quotation marks suggests that the gap might be considered filled.


texts: Why does "for that" change the meaning if combined with "up," but not with "down"?

texts:
(1) I'm up for that = someone stating their own interest/availability for what "that" refers to
  Bob: "Hey, wanna go get coffee?"
  Zack: "Yeah man, I'm up for that."

  (2) I'm up = a) a person physically stood up or, b) a person is now conscious
  Bob: "Hey, wanna go get coffee?"
  Zack: "Yeah man, I'm up."   *atypical

  Bob: "Hey, you gonna get outta bed sometime today?"
  Zack: "Yeah man, I'm up, I'm up."  <- typical to my dialect

Grammatically, why does adding the prepositional phrase "for that" change the semantic meaning between (1) and (2)? Is the change because of the words "for" and "that" and their denotations? Or is it because adding a prepositional phrase ("for that" in this case) to the phrasal verb ("to be up") is triggering the semantic shift?

As a point of contrast, the meaning does not significantly change between:

  (3) I'm down for that = someone stating their own interest/availability (ie for the "that")
  Bob: "Hey, wanna go get coffee?"
  Zack: "Yeah man, I'm down for that."

  (4) I'm down = someone stating their own interest/availability
  Bob: "Hey, wanna go get coffee?"
  Zack: "Yeah man, I'm down."

Some additional background info, from another question I asked, in the comments, @WS2 added a valuable distinction:

  @wanderling To me I'm down for that = My name is on a list/it has all been arranged that I am coming. However, I'm up for that = I am keen to be involved. Where do I sign?

And there is a question on the etymology for "I'm down for that" here at What's the origin of “I'm down with it”?, which could be similar enough to "I'm up for that" to explain its etymology as well.


texts:
Is "What things are safe?", instead of "which things are safe?", grammatical and good usage? Here is an example in a (simplified) context:

In this formula, we use predicate Psafe, which describes what values are safe.
In this formula, we use predicate Psafe, which describes which values are safe.

I prefer the latter, while a coauthor prefers the former to avoid repeating the word "which".
FWIW: In the actual text, we already given technical definitions for the collection of "values" and the concept of "safe". And "predicate" is used in the sense from logic — as a property that can be true or false of some subject (here, if v is a value then Psafe(v) can be true or false).
So Psafe are selecting a subcollection of "safe" values across a larger collection of all values.


texts: " that's what I call real leather uppers"

texts: "Real leather uppers" My father used to use this saying to describe  something of quality and substance. Akin to  " the bees knees. Can anyone explain what it means and if it's a common saying anywhere?


texts: Is there a word that means "a group containing just 1 member?"

texts:
Is there a word that can be used to describe a group or collection that only has 1 member/element? I first thought of singleton, but in my context singleton has a well-established meaning and I want to avoid confusion.

I want to ask a question like, "Does the group contain only one member?" with a more succinct, "Is the group a <insert-word-here>?" An analogous one would be: to ask if the group contains no elements, "Is the group empty?"

Put another way: empty is to "group with 0 elements" as <?> is to "group with 1 element."

"Bonus points" for a word that helps answer this more specific question succinctly: "Does the group contain only this one specific member?"

Clarification: The "group" can have different number of elements at different times. Subsequently, in that context a "group" ("collection" if you prefer that word.; eg, a Set, List, Array, etc) can contain 0 or more elements and still be a valid "group")


texts: Usage of "when" in "When you insist, I'll reconsider."

texts:
A: When you insist, I will reconsider the matter.

  B: Since you insist, I will reconsider the matter.

Sentence A is incorrect (or to me, not natural) while B is correct.

I would parse the "Since" in sentence B as "Now that", which makes sense. What is wrong with sentence A from the grammatical point of view?


texts: A dissertation talks bout the usefulness of the approach it takes: "[a] study of this kind would be all the more useful if it steps beyond the polemics of grammar." If I use 'would', can 'steps' follow? And then, if one uses 'stepped' instead, would it not mean that the researcher has not undertaken the task?


texts: Difference between "alternate" and "alternative"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Alternately” or “alternatively”

What is the difference between alternate and alternative? For example, I have two versions of the same software and I want to write one of the following:

  Software Name (alternate version)

  Software Name (alternative version)


texts:
I have the following sentence in a legal document:

  The terms shall remain in force even after the Warranty obligation, as specified in article 1, ends.

Is there a better way of expressing "even after"?  To me, it sounds informal.

Edit: Added "legal" tag.


texts:
I have noticed that there are some phrases which are typically found used with the Present Simple while it is not impossible to use them with the Present Continuous. And I am talking about such instances when the action is occurring at the moment of speaking only.

For example,

  Mom, what are you doing while I sit here watching waves?
  While I sit here eating a sour piece of candy, I think to myself, how I have allowed my world to change from sweet to sour?

My question is: Do you find it idiomatic to use Past Simple in my example or would you use Present Continuous?

I would also like to know whether this usage comes down to the word while or the specific verb used. I've heard that for the three verbs sit, lie, grow it is typical to be used with Past Simple even when the action is temporary. Is that right? Would the following be grammatical?

  Mom, what are you doing while I lie here watching waves?

And would it be okay to use other verbs too?

  Mom, what are you doing while I talk here watching waves?

Don’t know a good example with grow though.


texts: What is the origin of the idiom 'all the rage'?

texts:
There are various expressions in English and other languages that use all, for example all right, or all dressed up and ready to go, however all the is not that common.
The use of rage is even stranger, which of its many meanings is used here?

Noun:

a. Violent, explosive anger. See Synonyms at anger. b. A fit of anger.
Furious intensity, as of a storm or disease.
A burning desire; a passion.
A current, eagerly adopted fashion; a fad or craze: when torn jeans were all the rage.

Verb:

To speak or act in violent anger: raged at the mindless bureaucracy.
To move with great violence or intensity: A storm raged through the mountains.
To spread or prevail forcefully: The plague raged for months.

Perhaps that of burning desire or furious intensity? The word's origin is from the Latin rabies which means madness. Is that the meaning it had when the idiom entered the language?
So, my questions are:

When did the idiom come into English?
Which meaning of the word rage is used here?
Why all the rage?


texts: Word describing one who is not aware of their own actions?

texts: I'm reading a book and writing an essay where I need to describe the main character's personality traits, but I can't quite find the word for "unaware of one's actions."


texts:
What do you call a game played on a piece of paper in which two players write either O or X in a pattern of nine squares?

Please tell me, Thank you.


texts: Is there a word that conveys 'keeping someone wondering purposely'?

texts:
Scenario: Someone publicly says, "We have made a decision" in reference to an important choice, but no matter how many people ask what the decision was, the person does not say. Later, when asked about why they refused to disclose what their decision was they reply with "Because I don't want everyone to know."

Question: Is there a word that conveys 'keeping someone wondering purposely' or describes a type of person who does?

Note: I am aware that a**hole fits nicely as an answer, but I'm looking for something a tad classier.


texts:
I am having a hard time understanding what seems to be a very simple sentence, so anyone who speaks English better than me, help me understand the following:

"By checking this box you will opt all mature audience ads out of your ad rotation."

What does this mean? If I check the checkbox, mature ads will not appear or what?


texts: Why does English have city/country names that differ from the local language?

texts:
For example:

Italy = Italia
Florence = Firenze
Rome = Roma
Venice = Venezia
Munich = München

Different reasons for different cities?  Anglicised for pronunciation?  The name changed and English didn't follow suit?


texts: Analogy for an absurd way to teach something?

texts: I recently found out that someone is being taught the programming language Python to learn math. This seems quite absurd, and I could have sworn I had heard an analogy about something like this, but couldn't quite remember it.


texts: Why do we say on the team and not in the team?

texts:
What is it about the word "team" that makes it uniquely take the preposition "on" ?

And yet, the word "club" is similar in meaning; and we can be in a club.


texts: What is a term to denote someone who is obsessed with or erudite in geography?

texts: What is a good term to denote someone who is obsessed with, or erudite in, geography?


texts: May an adverbial qualifier suffice to free the word "free" of its ambiguity?

texts:
Free is an ambiguous word.

For the purpose of this question I'll skip any meaning the word may bear as a verb, and I'll also overlook the "free from/of" variant.

In fact, I'll just focus on the two perhaps most prevalent connotations of the adjective "free".

As defined by Oxford Living Dictionaries:

  able to act or be done as one wishes; not under the control of another
  given or available without charge

-Context, I can nearly hear you demand.

As many of you are well aware of, however, context is not always verbal:

Picture the word FREE, printed upon an HD shot of some tundra, and the message is nr. 1.

Picture the same word printed upon the front page of some newspaper, and the message is nr. 2.

Now let's remove the background. The sole word is probably perplexing you. So let's add some spice in front of it: ABSOLUTELY FREE

Is the meaning leaning towards either of the two definitions?

My bet is on nr. 2, but native speakers are more than welcome to either strengthen or challenge my case.

Any Thesaurus tool will provide quite a few synonyms for absolutely: entirely, completely, totally, perfectly, fully, utterly and many more...

I haven't deliberately written them in any specific order, yet my hunch tells me the first three (entirely, completely or totally free) would also tilt the message towards definition nr. 2, whereas the other three (perfectly, fully or utterly free) would rather give the benefit of the doubt to definition nr. 1.

I may be wrong, or it may be that some of these constructions just sound awkward to the native ear. In either case, any grounded verification or rejection of my suspicions would be greatly appreciated.


texts: what is difference in meaning between "pro-" and "support"

texts:
It's clear that there is a distinct difference between "pro-" which is against anti- and used for example as "you are pro the manifest", and the other word "support" which is used such as in "He supports the team to win".
  Both of these have a difference in meaning, I think, while their meanings are similar.
  But it's difficult to explain it in words.
  What do you think?

I know hot to use them, that is their usages, is different, of course, while one of them is usually a verb and the other is a preposition or prefix etc.


texts: Must OK only be written in capital letters?

texts: Whenever I write ok the spell checkers underline it with a red line and suggest that I should OK. Not even Ok works. Why is that?


texts: What does the sentence "Please don't drop this from your radar" mean?

texts: What does the sentence "Please don't drop this from your radar" mean. I searched for this in Google I found some idiom named drop off the radar but still I need some clarity on this. I want to learn English please help me


texts: The "uncovered area in the survey" or the under covered area in the survey

texts:
I sampled the soil quality over a wide region. However, some areas in my study area were not sampled in this survey. So, I'm wondering how can I address these areas:

  A) the uncovered areas in the survey
  B) the under-covered areas
  C) non-covered areas

Or there is another suitable term for this. Thank you in advance!


texts: Why is "today morning" wrong but "tomorrow morning" right?

texts:
I have heard "today morning" being said in the country I am from a lot. However here in the States people never use it and correct others who do. "Tomorrow morning" is acceptable though.

What is the correct usage and why?


texts: How is a thought within a story within a story indicated?

texts: If a story is being told within a story so that it is italicized and a character within this sub-story expresses a thought, something normally italicized, how is that thought conveyed? I would think that one would place that thought in quotes.


texts:
If we want to use compound adjectives like "result-oriented" and "client-oriented" together to describe a person, how do we use the hyphen?

A result and client-oriented person.
A result- and client-oriented person.
Another way.

Thank you very much!


texts: Which of the following terms best signifies everything that is real but not phenomenal?

texts:
I've just started learning about adding prefixes to existing words but don't understand that much about it...so if you have some place I can learn it better than I have so far, please provide some helpful links.  In the meanwhile, here's my attempt at finding a word to effectively represent everything that's real but not phenomenal.  Ontology includes everything phenomenal and not, but I can't find an established way of distinguishing everything that is 'not' phenomenal.  Which of the following (or some other word) do you believe does that best:
Aphenomenal - without, lack of, not
Nonphenomenal or non-phenomenal - not, without
Prephenomenal or pre-phenomenal - before, forward
Antephenomenal - before, earlier, in front of
For clarification, if there is a bug on a planet in a galaxy far far away, it is real but no one has 'experienced' it, so it is 'not phenomenal.'  Phenomenalism and phenomenology includes theories and the study of phenomenal things, so adding those suffixes to whatever word we decide will symbolize theories and the study of 'not phenomenal' things.


texts: Difference between "turns out" and "turns out to be"

texts:
I'm not a native English speaker, hence I'm a little confused here. I want to know the difference between the two and also correct me if I'm saying it wrong here
"It's turns out to be a conspiracy against him."
"It turns out that it was a conspiracy against him."
I can't figure out the differene, I have been trying to find the answers, I even get them but they aren't satisfactory.


texts:
"You should do this, even if for nothing but to test."
"You should do this, even if for nothing but testing."

The first sentence feels acceptable, but is it wrong because of "for"? After all, it would be okay to say "for testing", but not "for to test".


texts: Word or expression to indicate the "shared self-interest of the pillars of society"?

texts:
Society has its insiders and its outsiders, and in my experience the insiders, those at the high end of the power structures, tend to identify with the interests of other members of different power structures. Let me give an example. I was expelled from university and I am suing my professors. The judges are very quick to take the side of the university, even where the facts show that I have an arguable case. I'm not saying the university has paid them off, or even that they go to the same cocktail parties. I'm just saying theirs a subconscious class identification (not in the Marxist sense), a sense of "us vs them", and the judges aren't going to go against the respectable pillars of society in favor of a renegade troublemaker.

I wonder if people can think of words or expressions which succinctly describe this phenomenon.


texts: How do I reword this sentence as an effective description for a resume?

texts: I took over the bookkeeping for a small company after they had been methodically robbed (over the course of a year) by their previous bookkeeper.  How do I word this in a manner appropriate for use on a resume?


texts:
Is there an idiom, proverb or phrase which means "one living in abundance lying to one with little about the importance of the item of scarcity to, for eg., avoid resentment"

For eg. Like the king is calling a starving subject a glutton while eating a sumptuous meal.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/J-Gi4QHhILI?start=4417&end=4429


texts: Why is Santa Claus a man but Santa Maria a woman?

texts:
When it comes to cities and boats named after saints, it seems that "Santa" is always female and "San" is always male.

e.g.
Male Saints: San Diego, San Francisco, San Antonio
Female Saints: Santa Barbara, Santa Maria

So why isn't "Santa Claus" a woman like all the other "Santa"s?


texts: What does "I like girls just fine" mean?

texts:
I watched a movie about a boy — and someone asks him:

  — You don't like girls, do you Nathan? (Edit: with a smirk)
  — I like them just fine.

I confused with 'just fine'. What does it mean exactly? Please give some examples that contain 'just fine' to make it clear.


texts: Why do we use the term "hike" to describe an increase in price, value etc?

texts:
The earliest reference I can find in the OED to this sense of hike is from 1904.

  1904   Topeka Capital 10 June 4   City Center kept the price of ice
  cream sodas at five cents until the State Sunday School convention
  struck town, and then the scale was hiked to ten cents.

We talk about a hike in stock-market value, a hike in interest rates/rents/wages etc.

It is also used as a transitive verb. But why is it hike?


texts: What is this phrase, "I hope we catch up," called when "catch" may be confused with what's done with a  baseball?

texts:
I asked someone “I hope we catch up soon” and he imagined himself being lightly or violently tossed in the air hoping someone will catch him.  Obviously a non-native English speaker.

Is there a term for this phrase or type of misunderstanding?  Are there other examples of this?


texts: How to write a proper research paper with the use of pronouns referring to myself?

texts:
I am writing a research paper or report that is based on the development of my own product. Traditionally, the University I study in recommends that a research paper or report must be written by groups of 3 at least; however, due to the lack of students in my own college, I have to do mine alone.

I am developing a certain product that has several types of functionality, attributes and features, and I am required to document all of it. Usually, I would write a paper that would only involve the "author" and the "reader" with the pronoun "We".

For example,

  "It is likely that we will experience several improvements.."

My problem is that I came across a section of my paper to which I must explain to the reader that "I" myself have prepared a table that will further explain the product's functions in details.

Is it right that I use the phrase,

  "In order to better explain the features and functionality of this
  product, I have prepared a table that simplifies and broadens the
  information regarding the aforementioned subjects."

Or, is it better to only refer "we" being the author and the reader?

I know it probably depends on the actual author, but I am curious to know which might be the best to recommend.


texts: What is the name of a pick-up-sticks or jackstraws pile?

texts:
Is there a specific name (a single word or phrase) for the pile, heap, nest, clump, cluster, configuration, stack or arrangement of sticks or shapes used in pick-up-sticks or jackstraws, when piled up for play?  If so, what is the word or phrase?

Note, in pick-up-sticks straight sticks of various colors are used; in jackstraws, many of the objects of the game are molded or carved shapes.   Also note, the game is sometimes called spillikins, and a spillikin is  “One of the straws used in the game of jackstraws (spillikins)”.


texts: Do you need to put the names of TV shows in quotation marks or not?

texts:
Which of the following sentences is correct?

Version 1:

  There are TV shows like Dragon's Den and Shark Tank.

Version 2:

  There are TV shows like "Dragon's Den" and "Shark Tank".


texts: What would you call someone that has died but got given a second chance? They are now alive. What would you call that person?


texts: The feeling of avoiding something other than “dodged a bullet”

texts:
Let’s say you hand in a business project for your boss before the deadline. You hand it in on a Monday when the boss does not need it until Wednesday. You go home and check your email, only to find you have an unread email from your boss stating he absolutely needs it today. You have just accidentally saved your job. If you had not handed it in today you would have been fired. The thought that you barely avoided being fired on an “early-bird whim” fills you with a type of panic, followed by immense relief.

Is there another term or synonym for this kind of feeling besides the expression “to dodge a bullet”?


texts:
What would a song sung at a burial be called ? (One word)

For example: A melancholic  ____ was sung by the mourners at the burial of the youngest son of the mayor.


texts:
As a non-English speaker whose native language does not have articles I am always unsure about the use of them.
This time I would like to clarify the use of the article "THE" together with positions of persons. For example:

  John Smith and the director of my department Adam Gray went to a meeting yesterday.

If I state the name of the person do I need "THE"? I understand that if I said just "John and the director of my department went..." "THE" would be necessary but does that change when stating the name also?

Similarly, do I need to put "THE" in this type of sentence:

  The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron announced changes in immigration policy.

If I don't need the definite article here then why so? Are the two examples equal?


texts: Origin of the phrase “close to the bone”

texts: I need to find out the earliest use of the phrase, “close to the bone”. Etymonline and other online dictionaries don’t give details about its earliest usage.


texts: Why does “His to lose” mean “He will (most) likely win?

texts:
I found the phrase “his to lose” in today’s Associate Press news reporting Herman Cain’s sexual harassment allegation under the lengthy caption “Cain seeks to put aside harassment allegations even as lawyer for accuser presses on.”

It appears in the following lines:

“Romney is running his second national campaign and has spent the past few weeks shoring up support among the GOP establishment for a nomination fight many Republican insiders think is his to lose.”

I first thought “his to lose” means he will certainly to lose, which sounds very odd to say at this stage. So I checked the exact meaning of the phrase on online dictionaries, and got the quite contrary definition on wiki.answers.com, that says:

"It means that someone is winning by so much, that the only way he could lose at that point would be if he defeated himself, i.e. by 'choking' or 'dropping the ball.'"

I’m interested in how did “his to lose” come to mean he is sure to win (the game / fight) unless he should blunder (defeat himself) in quite reversal way from its surfacial look – his to lose?

Although I see growing increase of the incidence of the usage of this phrase since 1980 after the first peak in early 1900 in Google Ngram, Is this a very popular phrase among English speaking society today?


texts: Is the predicative proper in this example?

texts:
I object to praises that are too abundant and too often.

Does the meaning of abundant fit here?
Often is an adverb, so can it be used as a predicative which is
usually adjective or noun?


texts:
There is a table titled Project Results Framework. In one of its columns it says "Indicators", and in the row below that, it says this:

  By the middle of 2011, analysis is finalized and up to date comprehensive
  information about the potentials and deficiencies of the biosafety policy is available

Of course there are lots of other things with the same grammar in that column. All I want to know is the tense of this short paragraph.


texts: Small particles in plastics can leak into the oil, which further reduces its quality

texts:
'Plastic containers usually do not provide adequate protection from light, heat, or moisture;
additionally, small particles in plastics can leak into the oil, which further reduces its quality.'
What is the subject of the clause 'which further reduces its quality'? Is it whole clause of 'small particles can leak into the oil'?
Thank you for the help


texts: "Demand that the dismissed employee be reinstated" or "demand is that the dismissed employee to be reinstated"

texts:
Which one is correct?

  The demand of the workers' union that the dismissed employee be
  reinstated, has been accepted by the management.

or

  The demand of the workers' union is that the dismissed employee
  to be reinstated, has been accepted by the management.


texts: What is the word or a phrase for people who are unable to be categorized into groups?

texts:
What is the word or a phrase for people who are unable to be categorized into groups or stereotyped?

Perhaps non-(something)

I am not looking for the word unique.

Thank you


texts: Using partially redundant phrases such as "blatantly obvious" in a sentence for emphasis

texts: Would it be grammatically correct to use phrases like blatantly obvious or hugely massive in a sentence? The words themselves have different enough meanings that I would think it is okay.


texts:
What does the punctuation "//" mean? For example:

I think I owe myself a THWACK.
//ashamed
... //run
... //head down

I heard this is related to the comment in the programming language C. But still I don't get the actual meaning and purpose it tries to convey, not to say how to use "//".
Is such usage of "//" informal?


texts: What is the etymology of the names for the number 0 in English

texts: I was always wondering what is the etymology of the different names of number 0 .In sports like tennis, cricket, and football, the number 0 has the very specialized names "love", "duck", and "nil".


texts: Missing "that" - Why is this sentence technically/grammatically wrong?

texts:
This sentence is the first line of a book I just started reading. Authorial choices aside, as a native speaker of English, it FEELS wrong:
"The fact that it was my forty-sixth birthday should have been my first clue that day was going to suck."
I believe that there is either a missing "that" ("should have been my first clue that that day was going to suck") OR a missing "the" ("should have been my first clue that the day was going to suck").
Can someone share with me the technical grammatical rules/terms to look up to learn why this FEELS wrong to my ear?
Thank you in advance!


texts: I need an alternative term for “master,” as in someone who has “mastered” a particular craft

texts:
I am writing for a fantasy setting, and there needs to be a similar concept of a “master” magician. There is a guild, “apprentice” and “journeyman” still work well, and then there needs to be a step above that for someone who has completed their training.
Importantly, a “master” in this sense is just someone who has completed all the training and knows all the things you have to know. They aren’t necessarily the greatest or the best; they’re just just fully qualifed. In its original sense, “masterpiece” just meant something that demonstrated those qualifications, not the greatest work of one’s career (cf. magnum opus). The masterpiece is akin to a doctoral dissertation, a black belt, or what have you—a significant accomplishment, but one that should ideally be the beginning of your career, not its pinnacle.
Except there are two problems:

“Masterpiece” is widely used to refer to the pinnacle of one’s career. “Magnum opus” would be better for that, but I can’t change the way people use words. Especially when “master” is paired with “masterpiece,” it leads many readers to thinking the person is among the best in the world, or of all time. I just want someone who is fully qualified and capable rather than a student.

“Master” is currently the subject of debate about its appropriateness, considering the relationship of a master to slaves.

Both of these are problems for me. I would like to avoid them if I can, but to do that, I need a good alternative.
So, does anyone have any good suggestions for sentences such as these?

He was an apprentice to the local _____ wizard, Carl.

Upon completing his enchantments and demonstrating the new spell to the guild, she was awarded the rank of _____, able to properly call herself a magician now and sell her spellcasting services.

My goal is to write this story, describe this setting, in such a way that no one has any reason to question the word choice. I want something that captures the meaning I want, doesn’t lead readers astray, and doesn’t lead to anyone feeling uncomfortable or argumentative over something as simple as word choice. If all I have to do to make the story work better for more readers is find another word, I want to find the other word.
For the sake of making this a useful question, “master” is off the table. It is patently obvious, I think, that I am aware of it as an option. The purpose of this question is to find other options, so that each may be considered. The word “master” is not an alternative to “master” and is therefore not a valid answer to the question.


texts: Word describing How a person is being when using an adjective in a statement that is based on opinion rather than fact

texts:
An example would be:

“The White House is really tall”
When it’s actually not but to one person accustomed to 1 story buildings would feel that it is tall.

Or

“You are a bad driver”
Being based again on perspective, yet also objective in a way.

The only other way I can describe the word I’m looking for is to say that other people can have differing descriptions of the same thing and all be right in their own way, but no one being scientifically or technically correct.

Like... “this is redder than that” could be replaced with “this is 2 shades redder than that”

... if one person heard (the listener) sentence #1 in this last example, the listener would be able to respond.. ”you are being ___”

This is the only way I can think to put the word in use to aid in identifying the word itself. There may be a few words that fit this description but one is PERFECTLY fit for these examples, I really hope to find the word.

My coworkers use a lot of opinion in their descriptions in a very technical field so this would help to teach them how to be more accurate for a lack of better words.

Thanks in advanced!

(The word I hunt is not used in this of course, and may end in “__ive” like “perspective” but that word doesn’t fit description I have and it doesn’t make sense as far as proper sentence structure or grammar goes. Something like... objective.. but not quite it. Like a biased description being identified as biased.. i don’t know..)


texts: Is it a City, Province, State or a District? And How to Properly Translate my Address?

texts:
I'm applying for a the US Diversity Visa Lottery and there is something in the instructions (PDF) that is making me so confused, and I'm so paranoid about it, so bear with me.

I live in Egypt, in Cairo.

Now I'm required to enter the city where I was born in the DV Lottery form and mentioned above ("City of birth only. Do not enter District/ County/ Province/ State"). I believe I was born in Cairo, but what is really Cairo?

Now because I live in Egypt, I never really understood the concept of what a state, county, district nor province really mean. All I know is that Egypt is a country, but is it a state?

And I know that Cairo is called the City of Cairo and it is also one of Egypt's  twenty-seven governorates, so what category does Cairo fall into regarding from an American perspective? Is it really a city, a district, a county, or a province of Egypt? And what's even the difference between those?

Furthermore Cairo is divided divided into forty-one administrative divisions, called qism in Arabic. I live in one of those administrative areas, called
Ain Shams (literally meaning Sun's Eye if you'r curious). This is even more confusing to me because I do not know what those administrative areas should be called as they are parts of Cairo, and I grew up knowing that these areas are just neighborhoods if I would translate how it is said in Arabic.

So same question: What is Ain Shams, a district, a county, or a province of Cairo? and what should I write in the DV lottery field that asks for the "City of Birth"? Should I write Cairo or Ain Shams?

What makes me more confused is there is another field in the mailing address section that asks for the City/ town, What should be my town? will it be the same as my city?

and another field asking for the District/County/ Province/ State, What should I write in this field?

Finally, my address. How should I translate my address in terms of eligibility if reviewed by someone potentially American.
My Address as in my ID would be translated a so,
first: Street number
Second: My street name
third: the neighborhood I live in
fourth: mentioning the neighborhood either (eastern or western)
So my address would be
20 Ahmed Hamdy St. Eastern Ain Shams, Cairo
Is this eligible? or should I write it
No 20 Ahmed Hamdy St. Eastern of Ain Shams (district/ county/ province whatever you tell me it is) + my apartment number.

If I made you confused sorry, Here are two links from wikipedia about the topics
check them:

Cairo Governorate
Governorates of Egypt


texts: Why should the first person pronoun 'I' always be capitalized?

texts: Why should we capitalize the first person pronoun 'I' even when it does not appear at the beginning of a sentence? Why is it not the case for other pronouns?


texts: What's the meaning of "Not that you'd know it."

texts:
I watched a documentary about Dholes, the Asiatic wild dog.

  It says "Dholes are deadly hunters. Not that you'd know it."

I'd like to know what "Not that you'd know it" mean?


texts: Can you say "the sole one" instead of "the only one"?

texts:
And why/why not? The complete sentence is "You are my sole one in the world", it feels absurd and wrong but I can't really tell.

Thanks in advance!

Off-topic, huh. Well, let's go over it:
The research: The question is far too specific to be featured in any grammar book I possess(I did check). I also googled it but, again, far too specific and it also returned a number of unrelated results. I asked some native speakers I know and some of them said it works, others said it sounds off but none could give a reason.
The Learner's forum: I'd assume that if native speakers have a hard time agreeing on it, the question is somewhat above "learning" levels. If merely asking about English qualifies as "learner's", then this forum would be largely irrelevant.


texts: What does this passage from "Gone With the Wind" mean?

texts:
The MacIntoshes were Scotch-Irish and Orangemen and, had they possessed all the saintly qualities of the Catholic calendar, this ancestry would have damned them forever in Gerald's eyes.
  --from Gone With the Wind.

What does this even mean? (Provided that Gerald was a Catholic himself.)


texts: "Marry something with something" - is this idiom often used in America?

texts:
I saw this unfamiliar idiom 'marry something with' when I was searching about the words 'combining' and 'associating' on Google. While writing my english self introduction, I really wanted to find more appropriate word in the context.

Here's a link.
In the site, it's said:

  4 [transitive] (also marry up) formal to combine two different ideas, designs, tastes etc together
  marry something with/to something

    The building’s design marries a traditional style with modern materials.

  marry something and something

    He writes fiction that marries up realism and the supernatural.

Is it often used in America and am I ok to use this idiom like this sentence?

  'I can be creative and think about new cities while marrying my humane? and artistic imagination with various disciplines such as urban planning.'

My self introduction is based on my dream (Urban planning). My interests are liberal arts and urban planning. P.S: I love fancy words and phrases. Plus, can anyone advise any kinds of dictom or maxim and what is the difference between 'apparatus' and 'brainchild'?

Please give me advice and correct my sentence:) Also, give me examples with details. I would be really thankful. :)


texts:
I would like to emphasize the expression "I would rather... than ...".

My native language is French, and in French we would say something like "I would rather 1000 times.... than", so I'm looking for an equivalent in English.

Thank you


texts: How would you ask someone directly if 'something used to be something'?

texts:
Let's say the answer is "Yes, X used to be Y". Now, how would you frame a direct question to get this answer?

Is it "Did X use to be Y?" That certainly sounds strange: is there any theory to support or attack it?

"Used X to be Y?" is unexceptionable, but sounds rather archaic.

Or do I have to rephrase with something like "Was X Y before?"


texts: I've seen funniest a few times in that context, but isn't that a derivation of funny? Is there a superlative of fun or do we really use funniest for the lack of one?


texts:
In  India  there  is   a   tendency  to   call  a  woman  or  a  man   as   would  be  in  the  sense  of  his  future   wife   or  her  future  husband.

  She  is  his  would  be ( wife)

  He  is  her  would be ( husband)

I  have  found  the expression  wife to  be.

Is  there an  expression   husband  to be?

Is   _ Would be _      or     would  be  wife   idiomatic  in  native  English  speaking  countries?


texts:
A friend of mine asked me this question but I couldn't answer it. I have tried to find an opposite (not exactly though) of buck(ed) teeth which means:

  Large front teeth protruding over the others; the phrase may come
  from buck, the adult male of some animals, such as rabbits—which have
  this type of front teeth.

[Farlex Trivia Dictionary]

What is the word or phrase that describes a person's teeth whose bottom teeth protrude over their upper teeth? I couldn't find any image because I don't know the term. Instead, I attach a below picture which shows a typical buck(ed) teeth (a bit exaggerated).


texts: What word to use? Anything or everything?

texts:
I am creating advertisement for a software company that supports many workflows for various project management methodologies.

[olo] is a name of company. They support scrum, kanban, etc. Ad will show each line of text (e.g. [olo]scrum), then switch to next one and the last one should be olo[anything]( or olo[everything]?)

Meaning of last line should be that it supports any type of software development methodology.

[olo]scrum

[olo]kanban

[olo]agile

[olo]lean

[olo]anything


texts: In Broad White South African English, voiceless plosives tend to be unaspirated in all positions, which serves as a marker of this subvariety.[

texts:
I'm not sure what this sentence means.

I think Voiceless plosive/Stop are /p/, /t/, and /k/.

So do words ending with "t" - (like  Hit, Sit, Last) - not have any air released at the end?

In Korean words like ending in p,t,k have no air released but I dont think this happens in SA English, this sounds odd.


texts: Why do verbs go without an "S" in these cases?

texts:
Here are two examples of the word "lest":

They should fill in the hole on that playground lest anyone fall into it.

She was not ready and was worried lest anyone see her naked.

I'm wondering why there are no "s'-s added to the verbs even though the subjective is anyone, which as far as I know do require an s .

Thank you for your help! :)


texts: Was West Germany commonly referred to as "Germany"?

texts: During the Cold War, in everyday conversation, was West Germany referred to as "Germany" like South Korea is currently often referred to as "Korea" and the People's Republic of China is currently often referred to as "China"?


texts: What is the word for attending a party without being invited?

texts: What is the word for "attend a party or event without being invited"? I read it some time back but can not recollect it.


texts:
I've been reading Michael Innes books again (in this case "From London Far"), and I came across the word gratricidal, in the a passage about a Scottish castle...

  Castle Moila was famous alike in legend, history, and fiction. To
  these courts Magnus Barelegs has brought fire; Donald, Lord of the
  Isles, a traitor's promise; Macleod of Lewis a gratricidal knife.
  Here had come Prince Charles Edward, thwarted of a throne, and
  daughters of a hereditary captain had offered him manchets and wine.

So what is gratricide? Attempts to find this online are stymied by the spelling being corrected to fratricide.


texts: Is it correct to write Stand accused of something by someone?

texts:
I want to know if it's ok to write:
The police stand accused of violence by protesters.
I searched the web for example of this but I didn't find any sample.


texts: When the plural ends in "-ies", how do I know whether the singular ends in "-y" or "-ie"?

texts: my question is how am I supposed to recognize a singular form of a noun which plural form ends with "ies"? As you can see "cookies" are a "cookie" when singular, but at the same time "flies" stand for a "fly". It seems there's no rule for this, so I am rather asking for a list of exceptions if you will. Thank you.


texts: Should it not be "all the" in this sentence?

texts:
Here's the following sentence I came across in a book:
All members of this book series focus on modern-day problems.
So, it might not be a serious issue, but I was taught that
-we use all if we refer to objects in general. For example, all mammals have four legs.
-we use all the if we refer to specific, exact objects. For example, all the teachers in this school are amazing  (--meaning that not all teachers are amazing in the whole world, but in this school every single one of them is.)
I found websites (and even a thread here ) which back up this rule:
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/all-members-of-vs-all-the-members-of.2961958/
all + noun, all + the noun, all of the + noun, all of + noun, which one is right?
https://blog.esllibrary.com/2012/09/11/answering-students-grammar-questions-when-do-i-use-all-of-the-all-the-or-all/
So, with all this evidence that the correct usage of this structure is what i just wrote above, why is that sentence considered okay? If they're talking about that given book series, shouldn't it be all the members of?
Thank you everyone in advance :)


texts: What does the "box" mean in "don't block the box"?

texts: I see other similar signs saying "don't block the intersection", but what does "box" here mean?


texts: Is there a commonly used phrase for something being easier with niceness rather than by being forceful?

texts: I’m trying to think of a phrase which means that being nice to people can be a better way than to be horrible and forceful to people. Can someone help me out?


texts: Correct punctuation before a name or list of names

texts:
I'm trying to get some clarification on restrictive and non-restrictive appositives (specifically, names) when used at the end of a sentence (as well as multiple names in the form of a list).

My friend asks me who I invited to a party, and I tell him:

I invited my cousin, Bill.

Am I saying that . . .

a) I have one cousin and I invited him.  His name is Bill.

or

b) The friend who asked the question is named Bill.  I am telling Bill that I invited my cousin.

I specified in option A that I have only one cousin because I assume the comma causes the name to act as a non-restrictive appositive.  If I had more than one cousin, and I wanted to say that I invited only the one named Bill, I would say "I invited my cousin Bill."  (As a restrictive appositive.)

But then if I've got a list of cousins, does the punctuation change to a colon?

I invited my cousins: Bill, Jane, and Andrew.


texts:
What is the role of the word disproven in this sentence:

  . . . my colleagues who rail quite eloquently against the disproven idea that the disparity between what women in the workforce make compared to men is only because the system is patriarchal and sexist,but who had nothing to say when. . . .

Is the author being condescending towards the colleagues in that they only rail against ideas that have already been disproven?

Nevertheless, do the colleagues believe that there are other factors for the “disparity” apart from  the sexist and patriarchical society?


texts: Correct past tense for help with another word

texts:
I'm not sure if this sentence is grammatically correct:

'He was wrong by helping them took power'.

especially I'm asking about 'helping took power'. It should refer to someone who helped another one to take power in the past.

Thanks


texts: Why does "eastwardly" have two opposite meanings?

texts: "Eastwardly" can mean either from the east or to the east. How does one use it without ambiguity?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What's the rule for using “who” or “whom”?

Please help me with the grammar here. An explanation would be extra nice, that way I can get it right myself next time.

"There were ten people, five of who/whom collected hats."

I understand that if the "who" is the object, it becomes "whom", and if it's the subject it stays "who". From this page (yeah I'm a dummy)
However, I am confused by "five of who" - I expect it to be the subject of "collected", but it somehow references the "ten people" and that leaves me clueless.


texts: I was raised being called "sister" by my family. What's the background on this usage?

texts:
I was called "sister", as a replacement for my name. (Oddly, my brother was not called "brother.") I never questioned this growing up in the 50's in a rural area. It says much about the culture I grew up in. Yet I cannot explain it well, to younger people or to those not from a rural upbringing, in the 50's and prior.

This was reflective of my role in the family, not any sisterhood. A friend was confused by this, only understanding sister as in sisterhood.

I haven't been able to find any background or etymology on any website. It's simple but I'm interested in cultural aspects as well as any fiction reflecting this.


texts: Is there a word for 'calling out to anyone who may respond'?

texts:
Is there a word for calling out in contexts like:

if I am in a dark room and I call out "who's there?"
if I am in a desert and I call out "is anyone out there?"
if I am sending a broadcast over a communication channel to see who is on the line?

Broadcast might work but I am wondering if there is a more "human" word for this?


texts: What's a word I can use to describe "putting a collar on a pet" in a comical way?

texts:
I thought of something like "stick a collar on"  but "stick" doesn't satisfy me.  What are my other options?
Anything with some "edge" will do if comical is too hard.


texts: How can I explain succinctly the grading system used at my university?

texts:
I'm writing a certificate and I've to write that the student's project achieved the grade 8.0. However, I need to explain succinctly the grading system used.

I try the following:

  The student has undergone the project during the period February 2017 to May 2017 and presented it in October 2017, achieving the grade 8.0 (grade 0.0 means unsatisfactory and 10.0 means excellent)

Could you please correct any mistake I may have made or a more suitable(formal) way to express the situation?

p.s.: The satisfactory grade is 5.0, below the student fails and above passes the course.


texts:
According to dictionary.com the basic meaning of the word touting is to describe or advertise boastfully; publicize or promote; praise extravagantly
But why would locales tout limestone water supplies? Can I replace it with more accurate synonym?

Meanwhile, some of the best bourbon made outside of Kentucky hails from locales touting limestone water supplies.


texts: I'm a teacher and I teach at/in school OR at/in a school

texts:
There are a lot of posts on this topic, but I can't find any answers to my question.

I came across the following two definitions of 'school':

  [uncountable] (used without the or a) the process of learning in a
  school; the time during your life when you go to a school (British
  English)
  [uncountable] (used without the or a) the time during the day when
  children are working in a school

Source: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/school_1?q=school

I know there are better ways to convey the message, but which sentence would a teacher utter if he was a school teacher teaching students, adults, etc.? What about a janitor, director, and secretary?

  I teach at/in school OR I teach at/in a school

The above definitions concern students, and not working individuals like teachers or janitors.

I would appreciate if you also stated whether you're American, Canadian, British, etc.


texts: "th" in mother, father, brother— but not sister

texts: I was wondering why there is a "th" in mother, father, and brother, but not in sister? Is the etymology of the word different?


texts: Singular and plural mess-up for an algorithm

texts:
How do I define a term and then use it in singular or plural context?

Here is the problem:

I am looking for a word which would collectively define the parameter setting for all the parameters in an algorithm.

Currently, I have defined a parameter setting as follows:

  A parameter setting for an algorithm is defined as a set of values representing a specific value for each parameter in the algorithm.

What I mean is the set [a, b, c], where a, b, and c are the corresponding values of parameters A, B, and C for an algorithm.

I feel this definition is ambiguous, as "parameter setting" can mean a setting for a particular parameter in an algorithm (not for the set).


texts: Meaning of "I don't love her because she is beautiful."

texts:
I don't love her because she is beautiful.

This sentence is in my grammar book. It means I love her not because she is beautiful.

I am confused!


texts:
An executor executes, a parser parses, readers read, etc.
Does a cursor curse? If not, what does it do?


texts: Why is the feminine equivalent of an earl a countess rather than an earless?

texts:
A comment by Tim Lymington notes that the wife of an earl is a countess. Why is this so? Shouldn't it have been earless? Was this perhaps a conscious decision due to its homography with ear-less?

Did a jarl ever have a jarless? Ah. Perhaps not.


texts: Is it possible for 'crying' in this example to refer to 'them'?

texts:
'He made them stand against the wall crying.'

Is it possible for 'crying' in this example to refer to the pronoun 'them'?


texts: Are the speakers in this video speaking standard American English?

texts:
I want to improve my American English accent, and I found Learn Real English, which is quite interesting to me. Anyway, I don't know much about standard American accent, so I want to know if those teachers (links below) speak standard American or not.

Video 1
Video 2


texts: How would one use the term "heavy sugar," and how did it originate?

texts:
I first heard the term "heavy sugar" in a song by the same title, by the band Calhoun.  The usage in the song is:

"I've got heavy sugar in the bank."

Some searching brought me to a jazz slang site that says it means "a lot of money."  There doesn't seem to be a lot of info out there on its origin or usage - I only found a few brief acknowledgments of it being a jazz slang term, and they consistently dated it to the late '20s.  Anyone have further info on its usage and origins?


texts: What would be an English equivalent for the Mexican Spanish word tocayo?

texts:
In Mexican Spanish (not sure if other Spanish speaking countries use the word too) we call "tocayo" to those people that share the same name as us (but not necessarily the same last name i.e., Juan Gonzalez and Juan Carlos Castillo are tocayos).

I was wondering if an equivalent for this word exists at all in English or maybe even an expression?


texts: The opposite of capitulating compromiser

texts:
I was watching the movie Lincoln last night in which Thadeus Stevens, an abolitionist refers to Lincoln as a 'capitulating compromiser'.

And that got me thinking about a term that could be used to describe Stevens  who was a much strong defender of equality when compared to Lincoln. How do you refer to someone who adamantly refuses to compromise? I came up with 'adamant defender' but it doesn't have the same effect as the original. What do you think would be a better alternative?


texts: Searching for a non-neutral term that means "Enjoys risk" which is not Daredevil or Gambler

texts: Searching for a term that means someone who 'enjoys taking risks,' rather than 'someone who is not averse to taking risk' or 'someone who overcomes their aversion to risk.' "Undaunted" is neutral in response to fear; it isn't the same as "Enjoying dangerous situations." The closest words I can find are "Daredevil" and "Gambler." Semantically, Daredevil has too many connotations tying it to physical risk rather than all types of risk, and Gambler can be easily misunderstood as someone who frequents casinos. I'm willing to accept that within the constraints as I have defined them, there may be no word, but I thought I'd ask here just in case someone can think of one.


texts:
What would be the correct usage of (to/for) in the following phrase?

  ... a small technology company specializing in consulting (to/for) dog owners

Thank you,


texts: Which one is correct? : "He is descended from Lucrezia Borgia" or "He descends from Lucrezia Borgia"

texts:
I understand that Is descended from is  better than just descends from.
Maybe both forms are correct, Please explain.


texts: What is single word in English for a fake/false image (in terms of personality, not in terms of photograph) of someone?


texts:
What is he? -- Does the question refer to what he is doing for a living?

Who is he? -- Does it refer to his name? For example, he is Peter.


texts: What is the relationship between canon and cannon?

texts:
The spelling is similar and the meaning so different. Wiktionary indicates that there might be some relation by linking to canon from cannon but I didn't see any specific statements regarding their relationship.

Are these related? How could they evolve into such different meanings?


texts: Is writing "My English is not the best around" wrong?

texts:
I was wondering if I can use "is not the best around" in conjunction with language skills, but some mild googling gave me no results for languages like German or French (in a context where I'd probably expect a native English speaker to use such a sentence construct), but on the other hand there are plenty results for "My English is not the best around" which obviously stems from non-native speakers.

This makes me assume that saying "My English isn't the best around" is probably wrong, but I'd like to know why exactly.


texts:
Which phrase is correct "the ship model looks real" or "the ship model looks realistic?"
It seems that according to some dictionary definitions they are both acceptable in this case.


texts: What kind of sentence is this? (Sentence structure) - 3

texts:
But it is just two lovers, holding hands and in a hurry to reach their car, their locked hands a starfish leaping through the dark.
A sentence by John Updike.
I've never seen a lot of sentences like this pattern. It (the bold part) looks like a phrase, a free modifier.
When I try to split the Phrase there I got two noun phrases- their locked hands and a starfish.
I think I can just write - Their locked hands a starfish
Their locked hands leaping through the dark is the common syntax of the phrase (often named absolute phrase) I've encountered in books.
How is it possible to construct a phrase with a noun equating to another in the same structure?
Can I just write My hands a starfish?
But it is just two lovers, walking towards their car, their hands a starfish, their black car a nimbus at night.
Why don't I see a lot of such sentences in literature?
What such a construction is called?
Finally..
Is there any special equation to make such absolute or embed constructions?
(I'm not a native English Speaker)


texts:
Lets say you write an manual:

Open the window
Throw out a stone
Close the window

In German you could add again: Close the window again. / Schließen sie das Fenster wieder.
This does not mean: Do it twice, instead it emphasizes to revert your action. The word wieder means both, and here in this context it would be the second.
I am not sure if this is also right in English or if it would be a bad translation.
Note: The same can be used for: pick up and put down or stand up and sit down and many more.


texts:
I was taking a quiz at Coursera and there was a sentence

What kitchen counter may be a better environment to help someone who is try to manage their weight?

I was confused – shouldn't this be "is trying to"? Can someone, please, explain.


texts: Ambiguity regarding got/gotten usage (in AmE)

texts:
I am aware of the way to use got/gotten in BrE vs AmE.
I have come across a phrase which, to my eyes at least, seems one where both can be used (we're talking about AmE now).

He opened his drawer and removed two items. He then came closer and showed me what he'd gotten

Now, following the rule stating that gotten is used when indicating that the subject had acquired/obtained something, the phrase above is obviously correct. But, I was thinking, since we are talking about two items that (in the context) actually belonged to that person (as in, they were in his drawer), would not the form showed me what he'd got also be acceptable?

Note:
This question has been marked as a duplicate. It's not, I understand the differences mentioned in the other article. I'm asking about ambiguity - i.e. cases (such as this particular example) where both as possible. Let me try to rephrase the question:

Is it possible to make a subtle difference in meaning as follows?

1) He showed me what he'd got (he showed me the items he had in his drawer)

2) He showed me what he'd gotten (he showed me the items he obtained from his drawer)


texts:
"To his great astonishment and mortification, Sticky saw his parents begin trying less and less to find him, instead devoting their time and energy toward the proper disposal of their newfound riches"

So I stumbled upon this sentence and the part which usually confuses is keeping the consistency of the tenses and my english teacher also points it out in my essays but tries in vain explaining it to me .

So the sentence sounds perfect to me, but still is there a reason against -" Sticky saw his parents began trying less and less to find"- being incorrect.
Will be much obliged if someone can get me over with this.


texts: Question directed to someone or at someone?

texts:
That question was directed at Sasha

OR

  That question was directed to Sasha

what is the difference?


texts:
To find words belonging to a lexical field do I need to only look at hyponyms, hypernyms, antonyms and meronyms of that word only ?
For example what would be the words that belong to the lexical field of the city of Strasbourg in France ?
In other words what is the best way to find those and not get it wrong ?
Thank you,


texts: What was the first use of the saying, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"

texts:
This is often credited to Wayne Gretzky, but I have some serious doubts that this is the original.  So, 2 questions here:

1.) Was Wayne Gretzky really the first to say this?

2.) What is an older, often used metaphor that means the same thing?


texts: I saw the word "futurecast" in a TV weather report. What is the difference between "futurecast" and "forecast"?


texts: An unlikely but very bad event (technical word)

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes an event or situation that is problematic but unusual. The word should indicate that something is theoretically possible, but so unlikely that you could ignore it. Example:

  Physicists laugh at the [unlikely but bad] possibility that the large hadron collider creates a black hole that engulfs the planet.

There are many words in the English language that relate to things that cause harm with varying shades of meaning: pernicious  events are harmful but subtle, maleficent characters spread destruction using tools of magic, and an inimical situation both harms and frustrates.

In technical fields, harmful but unlikely events tend to form the core areas of concern—the LHC is a perfect example.  It seems rather likely that there is a word, perhaps drawn from  technical jargon, that succinctly captures this idea.

EDIT: Added additional background, specified technical nature of question, and asked for jargon.


texts: Why do people substitute "Way" for "Much"?

texts: Nowadays people often say "way more", "way better" etc. instead of using the word "much". How did this become popular usage?


texts: What's the word that means consecutively when listing items?

texts:
Sorry if my question is a bit unclear, but I used to know this word, and now it totally escapes me.

Here's an example:

There are two potions that cause you to fall in love or to fall out of love. They ______ are the red potion and the blue potion.

The blank space is a specific word that connects the first word in the previoue list with the first word in the list after. And then the second word of the first list to the second word of the next one.

Any idea?


texts: What does the term 'grocer' mean in this song? (British usage)

texts: In the song "Waiting for Margret to Go," which is about the death of Margaret Thatcher, the artist says "Grocers and Methodists lay her down low". What is the artist referring to by "grocer"? Is it really someone who works in a grocery store?


texts: Can one use "hopefully" in an absolute sense?

texts:
Bill Bryson, author of the recent best-seller "A Short History of Nearly Everything", in one of his books says:

  We must never use hopefully in an absolute sense, such as "Hopefully it will not rain tomorrow".

After having read that assertion many times, I'm still not able to understand what Bill Bryson means.

Precisely, what does absolute sense mean in that statement and in reference to hopefully?

Is hopefully correctly used in "Hopefully it will not rain tomorrow"? If not, why? Can anybody shed a bit of light to clarify what Bill Bryson says?


texts: Accusative and genitive constructions - interchangeability; usage of "of" in genitive

texts:
Would it be acceptable to replace the emphasized (genitive) construction in the following sentence

"The photographer Terry Richardson, after being accused in one documentary of sexual assault of female models, continued to work for major fashion brands until reporting on the producer Harvey Weinstein changed the landscape"

with the following (accusative) construction "sexually assaulting female models"?

Should "of" be used only in expressions such as "application of these concepts to..." while not in those such as "applying these concepts to..."? Is it correct that -ing form is generally not used in constructions such as the on in the first example ("applying of these concepts"). Is it just a matter of style?

Should it be "abandoning this paradigm calls for rethinking the concept of..." or "abandoning this paradigm calls for rethinking of the concept of..."?

I understand that English is an analytic language which has almost entirely abandoned its inflectional morphology and case system; my reference to dative/accusative cases is thus merely to indicate how I'm trying to explain this to myself.


texts:
In Real Estate there seems to be a trend to use "one" in place 1.
One Madison(NYC), One57(NYC), One WTC(NYC), One Park Drive(NYC), One One One (Brisbane) and many more.
Is there any reason to do this? Where did this trend come from?


texts: Why does "forgetive" mean "creative", not "easy to forget things"?

texts:
As the title says. It surprised me when I found this online dictionary entry at the time I tried to express "easy to forget things" and "forgetive" appeared in my mind.

What is the history or background of this word? Also, what adjective means "easy to forget things" in English?


texts: As followed by past simple or past continuous

texts:
Recently I had to sit a test and one exercise was particularly tricky: all inflected forms of the verb in brackets were removed and I had to fill in with the correct tense.
Personally, I don't think such exercise proves much when it comes to evaluating your command of the language as - sometimes - more than one option is correct and it may all depend on your personal interpretation of the text, especially considering the verbs can be modal or negative! In theory it sound easy but in practice... it would be difficult even in my own mother tongue.

I was able to find the text online:
"In 1880, it was slow going for Joe Juneau and Richard Harris as they ......... (search) for gold with the help of Native guides. After climbing mountains, forging streams and facing countless difficulties, they found nuggets "as large as beans."

My entry was "were searching" which, needless to say, was considered incorrect. The correct answer was "searched".
Is there a big difference between the two forms (in this specific context)? If so, do you have any tips so I won't make the same mistake again in the future (since I am considering a resit.


texts: culturally accepted adjectival antonym of 'non sequitur'

texts:
If one were to coin the adjective 'sequitur' as an antonym of 'non sequitur', would this be generally understood in English?  'Sequitur' is currently an accepted English noun meaning 'conclusion.'

If not, what culturally accepted antonyms of 'non sequitur' might exist, varying as little as possible in their etymology or connotations from that term?

Silenus left a comment showing the context in which I intend to use this word:

  "His non-sequitur response really confused me."

What would be the opposite of a "non-sequitur response": a "___ response"?


texts:
In a Twin Peaks episode you can hear the following question: "So, Mr. Wheeler, what is it exactly you do do?". It seems to me quite weird. Is it correct?
I suppose that the purpose of the second do isn't to emphasize something.


texts: What's the definition for real estate in neighbourhoods that add value to people’s societal activities and social life?

texts: In Dutch we know 'Maatschappelijk Vastgoed' but I can't find the right translation to English. If the phenomenon even exists at all in other countries. I'm looking for a word that summarizes the following: real estate in neighbourhoods that add value to people’s societal activities and social life, to residents and others, that is paid or sponsored by government, regardless who or what kind of organization or enterprise handles or possesses it.