texts: Is there a single word version of "large body of water"?

texts:
I am in need of a more concise word than "large body of water", something that can be used to describe a sea, ocean, gulf, etc. - is there such a word?

The particular usage I am looking for is to describe where ships travel, but not necessarily shipping lanes. I have also thought of using "open waters", but I wanted to ask if there are any other options.


texts: Do these uses of "bright" seem unnatural/awkward?

texts:
A number of my (Slavic) non-native English speaking colleagues have a tendency to use the adjective "bright" (or the adverb brightly) in contexts it doesn't seem natural. For example, "create a bright mood" or "experience bright emotions." I know why this is - it's about the way яркий and similar words in other languages are used - but it sounds awkward translated into English.

As one of a handful of native speakers in the company I've been asked to give a talk to an extracurricular seminar on improving English and sounding more natural. This is mostly about using articles, word order and other small things. However, it also covers common but more nuanced mistakes, like using "complicated" instead of "difficult," and I wanted to include this as well.

The problem is, I can't quite work out why it sounds unnatural.

Looking through some dictionary definitions, "bright" can be defined as meaning happy or lively. That's fine, and often this is illustrated with some variation of the obvious example "a bright smile." The problem is, it still doesn't sound natural to speak of emotions, moods, feelings, etc. as being bright, or expressed brightly.

Does anyone know if there's some reason to this? Or is this perfectly legitimate usage and I'm just crazy?


texts: What does “Someone sitting on their bed weighing 400 pounds” mean?

texts:
The New York Times’ article (December 31, 2016) that came under the title, “Trump promises a revelation on hacking” ends up with the following paragraph:

  Mr. Trump, who has sought a warmer relationship with Mr. Putin, has repeatedly scoffed at the notion that Russia was behind the hacking, a stance at odds with members of his own party. At one point, Mr. Trump declared that the hacking may have been the work of “someone sitting on their bed weighing 400 pounds.”

What does “someone sitting on their bed weighing 400 pounds” mean? Whom in particular is Mr. Trump referring to with this phrase?


texts: Which word describes 'keeping one's hand on another's shoulder'

texts:
We know that friends generally walk by keeping one's hand on their friend's shoulders.

Is there any single word that has the same meaning as 'keeping one's hand on another's shoulder?


texts: Value interdependency: difference between "ratio", "proportion", "rate", and "relation"

texts: In the context of decision-making, I'm looking for a word that describes the relation of two values: "even if value a increases, value b decreases". For this relation, I have found ratio, proportion, rate and relation. Which is the most suitable, when I want to use it in the following sentence: "To weigh out possible advantages, ??? between the values have to be established"?


texts: You will get/be hit by a ball - is there a difference?

texts:
I am struggling with understanding get vs be:

  He is so slow, he will get hit by the ball.

VS

  He is so slow, he will be hit by the ball.

It is the same? I know that get can replace be or indicate change of state/condition.


texts: Is there a difference between "plagiarizer" and "plagiarist"?

texts: Dictionary.com lists plagiarist as the noun form of plagiarism and lists plagiarizer as the noun form of plagiarize. I do not see the distinction of the separate entries and expected both words to be listed as noun forms.


texts:
I've been reading this text. The text is an autobiographical episode from the life of a contemporary Tamil Dalit writer who describes her village streets, shops and the markets:

Then there might be a street play, or a puppet show, or a no magic, no miracle stunt performance. All these would happen from time to time. But almost certainly there would be some entertainment or other going on.
Even otherwise, there were the coffee clubs in the bazaar: the way each waiter cooled the coffee, lifting a tumbler high up and pouring its contents into a tumbler held in his other hand.

I want to know the meaning of "Even otherwise". I didn't get anything suitable from the web. Please help.


texts:
I have a vague memory of an idiom involving "turn me into" and hobbies, but I can't find it on dictionaries online. Maybe I'm using a wrong word?
"My friend turned me into DJing" would mean that my friend got me interested in DJing.
Does this idiom exist? Can you find it in Merriam Webster or any other online dictionary?


texts: What is the difference between a legend and a caption?

texts:
I have a graph with boxes of different colours and there is a part that explains what the coloured boxes mean.

Is this my graph caption or its legend? Are those words synonyms or used in a particular context?


texts: What is the one word for different form of same thing?

texts:
I am making a report over different database languages. I am curious to know if there is one word for representing different forms/variants of the same ting ?

Is "dialect" okay ?

say "SQL dialects" or "SQL variants" which one is more accurate, or is there is any other word better than this ??


texts:
Consider the sentence

  The name ratatouille comes from the French word touiller, meaning to stir or mix together.

The part after the comma starts with the word meaning. Do I need to put double quotation marks or italicize "to stir or mix together"?


texts:
How should I use the word both in the following sentence?

  I have also been involved with ABET accreditation in the Department of
  Mechanical Engineering at both / both at XX University and YY State University.


texts: So I have a fear of being upside down. So what’s the scientific name of my phobia? I can’t even think of bungee jumping it literally makes me overthink everything like what if the rope breaks and I fall but don’t die will I be happy of very mad? Like I know it’s not very smart thinking about this stuff but I just do it  unconsciously.


texts: Is there a name for words where the value depends on experience or the subject's realm?

texts:
Examples

Large:

  They earned a large sum of money that day.

The fact that the sum of money is large depends upon the experience of the person that earned it that day. For someone who usually earns $10/day that large sum of money could be $40. For another, a days earnings might not be considered large until it's $400.

Fast:

  That happened really fast!
  The actual speed of what is being described as fast is not going to be the same depending on the realm that is being dealt with. For example, the scales for fast are not the same for chemistry as they are for the development life cycle of automobiles.

Other examples of these kinds of words:

Loud
Many
Complicated
Bright
Hard

I have read some definitions on 'Deixis' but from what I've read it doesn't seem to encompass the concept I'm referring to but I could be wrong. I'm thinking 'Relative' is also close but it doesn't feel like it is specific enough to this concept.


texts:
What's the difference between these, and what are their proper uses and meanings? In a historical and modern sense.

I began to wonder about this while researching biblical texts, but this question isn't necessarily in that context.


texts: Does anthropomorphic make sense in this sentence?

texts:
I'm confused as to whether anthropomorphic is valid in this sentence.

The definitions given to me were as follows:
1. Having human motivations
2. Ascribing human characteristics to inanimate objects

The sentence is as follows:

  Bob created anthropomorphic creatures, highlighting the human failures, in his new story.

Is anthropomorphic used correctly in this sentence? I initially thought no, because if the creatures embody human characteristics, then I do not see how they would be failures, but I may be wrong.


texts:
How do I specify on an address that it should be forwarded to some person?

Sometimes I need to send mail to a company where it should be addressed to a specific person, but it's not the 'address name', another example I have a friend in the US who comes to visit me (outside the US) often, and I want to ship items to him but he should know it's for me and I want to specify it on the mail address.

Is the word just 'for John Doe' or it's been thought out and a word's been made up for it?


texts:
I heard many people saying this, but I couldn't really understand what they meant to say:

  That's what I am saying.


texts:
I have a sentence that is constructed the same as this one:

  She bought food for a black cat, a white horse, a red dog, and a green frog.

However, I feel the comma does not give enough pause for what I want to convey. Instead of a series for which the comma is used, I would like more separation between each item when the list is read aloud. That is, each item is more important on its own than in the series.

So I wrote this instead:

  She bought food for a black cat, for a white horse, for a red dog, and for a green frog.

I use for (from the conjunction mnemonic FANBOYS) in addition to the comma to create the pause I want. Is this so incorrect? Should I just stick with the commas, or is there a better way to represent a longer pause?


texts: "Who has" or "Who have" when referring to a collection of people in a department

texts:
I have spoken with Education Unit who has requested a contract.

I have spoken with Education Unit who have requested a contract.

Which of the above is most acceptable in British English?


texts: "Prolers" is in no English dictionary and yet it's in several online Scrabble dictionaries. Is it an English word?

texts:
Is the word prolers an English word or just rubbish/noise added to the Scrabble dictionary?

If it's a real English word, what does it mean?

(Not a general reference question by virtue of this word not being in the OED, Merriam-Webster, or any other English dictionary I could find.)


texts:
The Old English meaning of "to dwell" (dwellan) is to mislead.

Can we trace the gradual shift from this original sense to that of Modern English: to reside, to inhabit ?


texts: what does "casting a long silver of gold" mean?

texts:
so, today I was reading this book and I came across this sentence:

"At the very end of the passage, a door stood ajar, and a flickering light shone through the gap, casting a long silver of gold across the black floor".

it says, "a long silver of gold", what does that mean?

please reply guys. thank you.


texts: Will lead to obtain / Will lead to the obtaining of?

texts:
I am not a native english speaker and I wonder whether the two following expression are valid:

It will lead to obtain [something].
It will lead to the obtaining of [something].

If both are valid, are they completely equivalent? If not what is the subtlety?


texts: What do you call a person who is polite but deceiving?

texts:
I remember a quote from a while ago that went somewhere along the line x is saying ´fuck you´ to a person but making them feel flattered

It's a quality that makes somebody polite, manipulative and tactful.


texts: Adverbial clause modification with an infinitive

texts:
Given the sentence

  I am unable to join you while I am on vacation

"While I am on vacation" is an adverbial clause supplying the time when this sentence is true. But, does this clause modify the verb, am, or the infinitive, to join?

Any help welcome!


texts: Origin of "Why is a mouse when it spins?" riddle

texts:
Question: "Why is a mouse when it spins?"

  Answer: "Because the higher the fewer."

There are some great responses regarding the provenance of this seemingly-nonsensical riddle at this Guardian page (the steam engine story there seems plausible to me).

Anyone knows when it was first recorded (probably in a variant different from the above) and what it was supposed to refer to?

Edit: Searching a little on Google Books, the earliest reference I've found is a variant from a 1893 book:

  When is a mouse if it spins? Because the higher it gets the fewer.


texts:
Is there a difference between "slow ( or quick) to do something" and slow ( or quick) in doing something? Various dictionaries list both uses but don't make any remarks as to their usages.
Do they imply different things?

My boss is always slow to tell us about changes in the schedule.
-
They’re usually pretty slow in returning my phone calls.
She wasn't slow to realize what was going on.
His poetry was slow in achieving recognition.


texts: Which function word to use when using multiple verbs

texts:
Using the verbs in separate sentences:

I upload images to the website.

I download images from the website.

(I'm referring to to and from as the function words).

Which function word do I use when using the two different kinds of verbs together?

I upload and download images <which function word here?> the website.

Or should I not be combining them, and instead separate them with an and?

I upload images to the website and download images from the website.

That's correct, but too wordy.


texts: That-clause object complement for reported conditional sentence

texts:
What is the correct way to write this sentence?

  Smith and Jones argue that, since the beginning of the century, tables had shared certain basic features with chairs.

I am confused about what difference the that-clause should make to the syntax and punctuation. Should there be commas around the prepositional phrase 'since the beginning of the century'? I am also thinking of the rule for commas setting off restrictive and non-restrictive subclauses. This seems like a restrictive subclause.

Should it in fact be:

  Smith and Jones argue that since the beginning of the century, tables had shared certain basic features with chairs.

Or even

  Smith and Jones argue that since the beginning of the century tables had shared certain basic features with chairs.

Example 2:

  He told me that, if I looked in the cupboard, I would find it empty.

The difference with example 2 is that the phrase now expresses conditionality. Should the punctuation in example 2 differ from that in example 1?

Of course, there are ways of rewriting these sentence to avoid putting my feet wrong—

  According to Smith and Jones, tables and chairs had shared certain basic features since the beginning of the century.

—but I'd like to know what the rules are for these cases. I've tried Googling a lot, but now my head is swimming with 'object complement', 'that clause', 'reported statement', etc., and I'm getting nowhere.


texts: Alternatives to "which is good because"?

texts: I'm currently trying to translate from English into a foreign language. Unfortunately I can't find any way to translate "It's 50 km away, which is good because there's not much here", so if anybody has any alternative phrases to "which is good because", they'd be greatly appreciated - I'm hoping that alternative phrases may be easier to translate.


texts: Should I use double punctuation inside and outside parentheses?

texts:
Which one of the following sentences is correct (or more acceptable):

  Honor your creativity and write down anything that comes to mind (no
  matter how silly!).

  Honor your creativity and write down anything that comes to mind (no
  matter how silly!)

Notice how there is a period at the end of the first sentence, but not in the second sentence.


texts: These two words have very similar definitions on Google. One protects against UVA and one protects against UVB rays. The question is, at what times should I use one word, and the other? Or can they be used interchangeably?


texts:
I was reading the wiki page about paraprosdokians when I come across this sentence.

  One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas, how he got in my pajamas, I don't know.

What is funny about it?


texts: What is the adjective to describe research approaches lacking theory proof?

texts:
When I write an academic paper and describe one of the previous researches, I found that the method is only based on the authors' own claims and lacks theory proof.

I am looking for a weak and negative/neutral adjective to describe their work (so that in the next part of paper we can highlight our contributions) .


texts: When and how has the word 'nigger' lost its neutral meaning?

texts:
The word 'nigger' comes from Latin 'nigrum' (black). It's quite a neutral description of the external characteristic of a person. There's no reason to be offended by it, just like (normally) nobody is offended by calling them 'white'.

However, nowadays it's considered an offensive word. When and how has the character of that word changed? When it has became common to use it to offense people instead of describing them?


texts: Rules of thumb on using the correct tense forms and auxiliary verbs

texts:
For example, when using "since", you should use "present perfect":

  Mr Smith _ _ _ the company since 1990.

  runs
  has run
  is running
  ran

Is there any reference on similar rules, guiding principles or hints? sometimes things get mixed up for me when choosing the correct form of verb tense (past/present continuous/perfect/simple...).

Also any other rules on similar cases (other than verb tenses) are also welcome : )

I tried doing some research, but haven't found much, probably I am not using the right search terms. Any hints on this are also welcome, I will do my research homework.

I have an English test tomorrow, English is not my mother tongue (you probably guessed).

Edit: What I am asking for can be abbreviated to this specific question:

Is there any reference that contains rules on when and where should one use a specific tense/aux. verb over another?


texts: Usage of the article 'a' before bait in this particular instance

texts:
Is it acceptable to use the article 'a' before 'bait' in this sentence? Is there a difference in meaning here when you use 'a' or drop it?

"You would not have sent it to me for no reason. It was a bait to lure me in, and I took it in spite of knowing it to be one."

-Edit-

To give a little background information for this sentence, the speaker is talking about a short story that was sent to him along with a solicitation for a report on a particular topic. He says that at first he was not sure if he would accede to the request but the short story got his attention. So the short story is the bait here. Would it then be grammatically incorrect to say, "It was a bait"?

-Edit-

Am to new to using Google Ngram Viewer as a source of reference, so not sure if I am doing this right. But a search there for "was a bait" and "was bait" gives the following results: http://goo.gl/OuuH4


texts: Why do I give my pets "food" but my livestock "feed"?

texts:
When I feed my cat or my dog, the package tends to say "Dog Food" or "Cat Food."

In contrast, I give my chickens "chicken feed" or "poultry feed."  Likewise, a cow's silage is her "feed."

Why does this distinction exist?  Is there an historical or grammatical explanation, or is it merely idiom?


texts: the main usage of the "to" as a prepositional condition

texts:
when I was young I wasn't from the English area but I am used to learning English grammar already.
Well , I am still thinking about one thing maybe because I had not even got to learn this grammar until I have realized that is such use in English . Nobody has even said to me that an -ing form can be added after the "to" in actually . What I used to learn was all about the infinitives (base verbs) only .
I have seen and gone through the post in this webpage but I still cannot understand about it. So what can I actually do so that I can always be able to identify the differences about those situations hence I must able to make it clear about whether to put a gerund or a base verb after that particular "to" ? =(


texts:
If you have a 'pod' with two legs, you get a bipod. Three legs and you get a tripod.

Is a four legged pod more correctly called a quadpod, tetrapod or something else?


texts: What's the meaning of "cub" or "cubs" and in what context is it used?


texts: Is there a term for constructions like "he/she", "his/her", "yes/no", etc

texts:
I'm referring to a construction in a text where two options are provided, of which only one will be valid in practice. For example:

  The user has the option to choose his/her own avatar.


texts:
Is the second usage of execute necessary, or can it be omitted?

I find the second usage to be redundant but i'm not sure if it is correct to omit it. Which one is more concise, if both are correct?

  An unaware user cannot accidentally execute code that he did not
  intend to [execute].


texts: A phrase indicating something that gives a reward or outcome disproportionately large to its effort

texts: I originally had the term "power principle" in my head, but googling around makes it seem like it's not actually a common phrase and may be one I made up.  Essentially, I'd like to say "do the things that will give you a lot of impact with little effort."


texts: Has the word “Birtherism” gotten the currency or ‘citizenship’ as the received English?

texts:
I found the article titled “Birtherism isn’t dead” in today’s Washington Post. It begins with the following sentence:

“Discussion of President Obama’s place of birth died down significantly when he released his long-form birth certificate. But birtherism still lives, even if it no longer gets as much attention.”

Although Wikipedia gives definition of ‘birtherism,” none of reputed dictionaries such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Merriam-Webster carries this word. Google NGram neither shows the record of incidence.

As a non-native English speaker, I feel the word, “Birtherism” is somewhat awkward by its construction, just like saying “Motherism,” “Midwifeism,” “Birthplaceism.” and “Originism.”

Is “Birtherism” well-received English word, particularly in America? If not, why it is shown in the newspaper without quotation marks or any sign that shows the word is recently coined or has a special meaning.


texts: How do we describe the molecule of Water (H2O) in English by the way of tradition/science or native/slang in the U.S.?

texts: I don't know how to say the water molecule in English, Just use "Water Molecule" or any other scientific description?


texts: Question about Generic Statements for Plural Nouns

texts:
Sentences are:

"The rainforests are in danger."
"Rainforests are in danger."

So in this case, I think that they are both correct sentences...but:

"Guitars are musical instruments."
"The guitars are musical instruments."

In this case, we are still making generic statements about a plural noun, but the second one sounds bizarre. This for a student. I'm not sure WHY it's awkward. Why do we opt for "The guitar is a musical instrument."

Thanks in advance :)


texts:
Several psycholinguists1,2 have observed that English speakers do not use regular plurals in compounds, even when the noun refers to more than one instance (dog-catcher, *dogs-catcher), but do use irregular plurals in compounds where the noun refers to more than one instance (teeth-marks, mice-infested).

I was stumped in writing the following sentence (in a discussion about a subject relating to professional women):

  ? One of the smartest woman mentors I've ever known told me....

I tried the obvious rewrite:

  ? One of the smartest women mentors I've ever known told me....

Neither feels right. The boggle definitely seems to be due to the irregular:

  One of the smartest firefighter mentors I've ever known told me....

  * One of the smartest firefighters mentors I've ever known told me....

(Assume in this case that the mentor is a firefighter, but did not mentor me in firefighting, in which case it would equivocally be better written "one of the smartest firefighting mentors".)

The psycholinguistics discussed in the sources above seems to apply here; because I am thinking of a specific woman, but I am using the word in apposition to a plural and thus referring in abstract to all the mentors who are also women, I boggle at which is grammatically correct.

Is the woman-women boggle above just me? Or must I rework to "one of the smartest mentors who was a woman" (bad) or "one of the smartest female mentors" (not bad, but I dislike using the word "female" in this slightly dehumanizing way).

(Note that although there are several chains of duplicate questions about plurals in noun adjuncts pointing to the original "User accounts" or "users account", this question is specifically different, as it's asking about the case of irregular nouns in which the referent's number and the headword's grammatical number are in tension with one another.)

—

1 Pinker, Steven. Words and Rules. 1999.

2 Berent, Iris and Pinker, Steven. "The dislike of regular plurals in compounds: Phonological familiarity or morphological
constraint?" The Mental Lexicon 2:2. 2007.)


texts: Assistive technology for people with disability is gaining important since the first report on world disability published in 2011

texts:
In the above sentence, the verb "is gaining" and adjective "important", Is it correct?
OR
should I write as
is gaining in important or importance
Which is correct?


texts: Is there a word for a medical person who only does one proceedure?

texts: A word for a medical person who specializes in one specific proceedure within a medical specialty?


texts:
Yesterday, I went to my friend's art exhibition and heard people using the word exhibit instead of exhibition. I told him

  I like your exhibition

with which I meant that I loved his show and pieces, but later when I heard native speakers using

  I love your exhibit, it is amazing

that makes me wonder which is the correct word to use here.


texts: What does 'lying around" mean when working on a task?

texts:
Could someone please explain what does 'lying around' mean in the following contexts?

I just updated the essay for the one I had lying around.
Here is a study I had lying around for a while.

Thank you.


texts: Is there a slang word for "the art of doing useless things all day long" in English? I've been asked this today, and I the only word I can think of is "procrastination" but that's not slang. Do you have any ideas?


texts:
Blockquote

Can't wait to celebrate, my bags are packed.

Sorry to miss it, can't find my passport.

  Blockquote

Can't wait to celebrate. My bags are packed.

Sorry to miss it. Cant find my passport.


texts: What's the word that means to help someone in return

texts: Suppose I was helped by someone. Now I want to help him back. What is the word to denote this situation? Please help me!


texts:
In this chat on github I found:

A. I made some changes. Please review.

B. Awesome, thanks!

A. Why yes, of course

What A means in his last sentence?

In general, is "why yes" a stronger "yes"?


texts: Word for -> “This is amazing!” + “I’m a moron. How did I not see this before?”

texts:
Good word for this feeling?

The delight and frustration of discovering something incredible hiding in plain sight

“This is amazing!” + “I’m a moron. How did I not see this before?”


texts:
What is the difference in definition between the word "quantize" and "discrete"?

For example, the Oxford definitions are:

Quantize:

  ... restrict the number of possible values of (a quantity) or states of (a system) so that certain variables can assume only certain discrete magnitudes

Discrete:

  Individually separate and distinct

Is it that "quantize" must refer to values while "discrete" does not?


texts: Where did the adage, “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” come from?

texts:
In connection with my questions about the meaning of Pope Francis’s, remarks - 'Who am I to judge?' / 'You can add more water to the beans'. I found the following statement in a New York Times (July 30) article - “A Papal surprise: Humility"

  Many will see Pope Francis’s remarks, like Cardinals Dolan’s, as
  simply a retooled version of “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” When
  applied to homosexuality, that paradigm has always been unstable: the
  “sin” in question is not some isolated misstep, like lying on a tax
  return or tweeting a picture of your crotch. It’s about the
  fundamental relationships around which people organize their lives.”

The phrase, “Love the sinner, hate the sin” is well-known in our country (Japan) too, and often quoted by educators, men of religion, and the knowledgeable in argument on criminal cases worthy of sympathy with the accused's background.

I was in understanding this phrase was derived from the Bible, like "Love your enemies" as commanded by Jesus, up until today. But wikipedia says it’s not from the bible. Then, what is the source of this popular adage?


texts: Which of the two is grammatically correct

texts:
"I like to eat fast food"

or

  "I like eating  fast food"
  I would like to know which of the two sentences above is grammatically correct


texts:
People can die after an earthquake from lack of food, water, and medical supplies.

If I change this sentence,

  It is from lack of food, water and medical supplies that people can die after an earthquake.

Can I use "prepositional phrase" after "it is"?
Is the sentence grammatical?


texts: Single word to describe thing-a which can either contain thing-b or *be* thing-b

texts:
Like "has-or-is":  the logical test is "Does this thing contain the other thing, or is it the same as the other thing?".  Is there a nice, short, single word for this?

Imagine different sized boxes, with labels, which nest inside one another.  I pick up a box, and I want to know if it has the label "foo" on it, or contains a box with the label "foo" on it.  I might say "Does this box <insert word here> "foo"?"


texts:
Should I put a comma before the last item in a list?

  I would like crackers, cheese and some soda.
  I would like crackers, cheese, and some soda.


texts:
Gusto is a foreign term which the English language appears to have borrowed twice:

  1620s, "very common from the beginning of the 19th c." [OED], from Italian gusto "taste," from Latin gustus "a tasting," related to gustare "to taste, take a little of." .... English first borrowed the French form, guste "organ of taste; sense of taste" (mid-15c.), but this became obsolete. (Etymonline)

Though the term was actually used from early 1600s  only from the beginning of 1800s its  usage became popular,  and given its main current meaning:

  great energy, enthusiasm, and enjoyment that is experienced by someone taking part in an activity, especially a performance. (Cambridge Dictionary)

I wonder if the term gained popularity with the Italian lyric Opera in England which at that time dominated the  musical   scene in theaters. If not, what may have increased the usage  of the term gusto?


texts: A single term for the duration between sunrise and sunset?

texts:
Is there a single term or a more accurate / concise replacement for the phrase "day-light hours".

Day (as opposed to night) would work, however, day is very commonly used to describe day + night. One day to most people means 24 hours.

I am looking for a better way to describe the duration between sunrise to sunset along the lines of synodic day or solar day which is the duration from one sunrise to the following sunrise (usually about 24 hours here on Earth).


texts: What is the term for a shortened word that is pronounced based on phantom letters?

texts:
I'm only posting out of curiosity.  But recently I've begun to wonder what you would call a shortening of a word that only sounds correct when spoken, and the pronunciation cannot be inferred from its spelling because the pronunciation is based on “phantom" letters”.

Offhand, I could only think of the example below. I'll add more if I remember them.

For example:

In England, someone might order a Veg Meal. Veg is pronounced /vɛdʒ/  but words ending in g have a guh sound.  However, Veg is pronounced as if the egtable part was still there.


texts: Why is unemployability still unaccepted?

texts: In some countries where there is serious shortage of skilled personnel or employable persons, it is common to describe the situation as a problem of unemployability. However, this word still appears to be unrecognized by most if not all dictionaries. Is there some better word or does it break any rule? Why has it been unaccepted for a long time?


texts: What does the meaning of 'we cashed in our loose change'?

texts:
could you tell me what it is?
ex>the bank where we cashed in our loose change every Saturday morning.


texts:
From rental agreement.

  New Zealand Motorhomes absorbs the Credit Card/Debit Card Merchant Fee
  (2.29%) on any deposits we take to secure the hire. Final/Full
  Payments attract this fee.

What does "attract" mean in this context?


texts: Capitalization of User Interface Buttons

texts:
Being an amateur programmer and a bit of a perfectionist, I often find myself wondering about capitalization in user interfaces.

If you look towards the top of this very website, you'll notice the links under the "English Language & Usage" banner are all capitalized.  Every word, in fact; not just the first word of every link.  However, the ones at the very top of the page ("log out," "chat," etc.) have no capitalization.

What is the correct form?

Furthermore, when describing the buttons in a manual, should they be capitalized as if they were proper nouns?  For example:

Navigate to the "First Example" pane and click the arrow next to "Second Example."  This will bring up a dialog.  Now click "Third Example" to perform the task.


texts: What is a word with two synonyms that are antonyms (other than cleave)

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Can anyone provide me with a list of English words that are their own antonyms?

My wife read on a trivia website that there is only one word in the English language which has two synonyms that are antonyms. The word was cleave, which has the synonyms adhere and separate.

I find this hard to believe given the large number of English words, and the large number of loan words from other languages in usage, and the large number of definitions for each word.

Does anyone else know of a words that have synonyms that are also antonyms?


texts: usage of ‘indefinite article + proper name’?

texts:
I’ve just come across this sentence.

“Only an Albert Einstein could have the wisdom to reject an offer to become President of Israel because he argued that he did not have enough experience in working with human beings.”

In this context, what does the phrase “Only an Albert Einstein” mean?

I’m well aware that the indefinite article can be used before a proper noun, and that the meaning is usually ‘a person who is similar to the referent of the proper noun.’

But the example above is a bit tricky for me. The writer chose the past tense, and so it seems that he/she is really refering to the Albert himself.


texts: What is the English word to describe the habit of unthinkingly using many meaningless words such as “ah,” “well,” “I mean” in speaking?

texts:
I was annoyed to hear a famous economist used the word, “yousuruni (in essence)” incessantly in discussion about Japan’s economic policy - “Abenomix” in recent TV show. The economist shouldn’t have been aware of doing that.

We call the habit to repeat the same interjection such as “well,” “I mean,” “in essence,” “so-called” unconsciously in conversation or speech 口癖- kuchiguse ('mouth habit' by literal translation) in Japanese.

Actually many people have the habit of using the same ‘filler word’ unconsciously.

Masayoshi Ohira (1910 -1980), the 68th Prime Minister of Japan was famous and ridiculed for inserting “ah” and “uh” frequently in his speech and conversation. His nickname was 'Ah, uh PM."  He was said to be the PM whose speech is unclear (because of the use of too many "Ah,"  "uh" and inarticulate interjections) though the meaning is clear in contrast to the 74th Prime Minister, Noboru Takeshita (1924-2000) whose speech was articulate, but meaning was unclear.

How do you say such habit like we call ‘Kuchiguse’ in English in single word?

P.S.

Please note that I'm asking the English equivalent to the habit of using stuff
words like 口癖 (mouth habit) in a single word, not looking for "filler,""gabbage," or
"stuff word." I know them, and I already mentioned 'filler' in the above question.


texts: What is are the distinct names for these verbs: 'Display' and 'Displays'

texts:
Given the statement Click this button to display your presentation and Clicking this button displays your presentation.
I assume both the words display and displays are verbs but what is the name of one verb and what is the name of the other? Display sounds like a commanding verb. Displays sounds like an descriptive verb. Those are not the actual names but I am interested in the official naming difference?


texts:
The bathroom floor is all wet. Who ______ a shower?
a) had
b) had had
c) had been having
d) has been having


texts: Was Shakespeare's use of "retrograde" an astronomical metaphor?

texts:
In Hamlet (I.2) Claudius remarks to Hamlet that his plan to return to university at Wittenberg is

  ... most retrograde to our desire ...

To a modern ear, this is striking and poetic, but I wonder:

Was this use of "retrograde" an explicit (and perhaps unusual) astronomical or astrological metaphor, or was it then common to use the word to mean opposed to or against?
If not an explicit metaphor, would its use have had astronomical or astrological overtones?


texts: is article "an" before the noun "hour" acceptable?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When should I use “a” versus “an” in front of a word beginning with the letter h?

I have seen many authors uses "an" before "hour" like "an hour" some times. Please consider the below excerpts.

  "How long is your break?", I shouted. A group of labourers sat under the banyan tree near the main campus building. "It's  two-thirty, lunch ended an hour ago."

and another one is below

  I would take his boat for an hour, and buy him tea and biscuits in return.

one more

  ' I won't take more than half an hour' I promised.

I learned from my teachers that the article "an" comes before vowels and not before consonants. Here "H" is consonant, still author uses the article "an" before "hour".

My question is, is this "an" before "hour" is acceptable? If yes can you explain why?


texts:
My question is about the regional acceptability of sentences such as the following:

You need your eyes testing.
I need my hair cutting.
I want my car washing.

The second example is given in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (p. 1231), without any mention of geographic restrictions. This type of construction is also discussed on Language Log.

It is clear that for many Britons these kinds of sentences are perfectly normal, though in the cases I've encountered, the speakers have been from northern England.

At the same time, it is just as clear that the construction is unacceptable to most North Americans, myself included. We would instead say: "You need your eyes tested," or possibly "Your eyes need testing." In fact, I was surprised at first that people anywhere could say this kind of thing.

My main question is what the degree of acceptability is of this construction in:

the spoken English of southern England; and
formal written British English.

I ask the latter question because one would expect that a construction occurring with any frequency in British writing would be at least somewhat familiar to educated North Americans, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. Examples taken from well-edited, older prose by a variety of British writers would best answer this part of the question.

Though this is not central to my question, I would also be curious to hear views on this construction from English-speakers in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, or on spoken Scottish usage. I do not want or need confirmation from North Americans that it is unacceptable to them, or from Northerners that it occurs in their speech.


texts: What else can you learn other than phrasal verb and idioms to sound like a native english speaker?

texts:
I have learnt a few phrasal verbs and idioms through a site that i found very helpful.

I was wondering if there's anything else like this to learn to improve my English (I don't know what PV and idioms are collectively called)

Advance apology if i made any mistake


texts: What is the best paper-based dictionary?

texts:
I'd like to have a dictionary in paper that won't be very big, at least there should be one tome, and it should be something like thefreedictionary.com but in paper, to use it offline.
Please advise.


texts:
To me it seems perfectly fine, but I heard from a native speaker that it does not sound natural.
For example:

— Will you please send the assets by tomorrow?
— Ok I will.

Does this sound natural?
What are other more "natural" alternatives than "Sure I will", "Yes I will", and "Ok"?


texts: Restrictive vs Non-restrictive Relative Clause

texts:
Can you tell me the difference in the meaning of the two sentences below?

As a defining relative clause.

  The location which was called Central Park was a park in New York.

As a non-defining relative clause.

  The location, which was called Central Park, was a park in New York.


texts: What is "I'm gonna serve it to you" trying to convey?

texts:
Though there is no dispute that songs may have nonsense lyrics, the song "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes actually have very coherent lyrics.

However, one line stands out as some type of idiom that I cannot decipher:

  And if I catch it coming back my way I'm gonna serve it to you.

I infer that this is some type of threat, both by the "I'm gonna ..." and also by the context of the rest of the lyrics. But what is "it", and what does "serve" mean? Perhaps "serve" is to "return the (it) back to you"?

Surely Jack White didn't just throw in a single nonsense sentence to an otherwise very coherent and well-focused work.


texts: present continuous tense, present perfect tense and present perfect continuous

texts:
What are the differences between following three sentences ?

  A. I am living here for 3 years.
  B. I have lived here for 3 years.
  C. I have been living here for 3 years.


texts: Are there any commonly used "Couldn't organise an X in a Y" phrases that aren't vulgar?

texts:
Are there any phrases like "Couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery" or "Couldn't organise a root in a brothel" that are reasonably common, indicate organisational incompetence, have a degree of irony (as opposed to "Couldn't run a chook raffle", or answers to the more general question Is there a proverb or idiom describing incompetence?) and aren't vulgar?

Wiktionary suggests couldn't organise a bun fight in a bakery, and while it does appear in real life (example: Brisbane port ready for naval expansion), it doesn't appear to be common. Are there any that are non-vulgar and are more common?

Related, but not as specific in its requirements: Is there a proverb or idiom describing incompetence?


texts: Is there a gender neutral phrase or expression to replace "old woman"?

texts:
There are people who behave like the stereotypical old woman who frets over the smallest concern and is constantly cautioning others about physical dangers.  Such people can be either sex and barely middle-aged.

They always click on buy travel insurance when booking an airticket, they regard a ladder as akin to a 5.14 climb.  They are obsessed with germs. They are uncomfortable beyond the confines of a 4- star hotel.  They set up absurd procedures "in case anything happens" (I don't mean writing a will).  They cancel their indoor tennis game if there is one inch of snow on the ground.  The males make an enormous deal out of a broken leg.

Maybe they are mainly women, and maybe they are middle-aged or older, but is there another term (phrase, expression or word), one that is gender neutral?

They can be very nice people, but they are dismissable as "old women".  Even I do it in my mind (never out loud) and I don't like that in myself.

There are/have been many great old women — Jane Goodall, for example, and Golda Meir and many others — and there will be more as people retain physical and mental strength deeper into old age.  But there will still be a phrase needed for the "timid, over-cautious, dithery, person whose overriding goal is safety.  I'd like a gentle term that could be used with humor but that will rachet down the twittering and fluttering whenever a competent person starts to do something that makes them nervous.


texts:
I am writing my thesis in English.
The full sentence I want to express is,

The results showed a clear alpha state and a clear beta state

I am trying to use short sentences.
Can I write like the below sentence? Which one is proper?

The results showed a clear alpha and beta state

The results showed clear alpha and beta states

(other??)


texts: Is there a word to describe someone who often inaccurately uses words?

texts:
Or a word to describe the act of inaccurately using complicated or unusual words (often in an attempt to sound more intelligent)?

I considered 'bombastic' but it doesn't have that quality of inaccuracy.


texts: Should a noun following "singular they" be singular or plural?

texts:
I've understood how to use singular they on a single sentence, but the problem comes with articulated sentences like this one:

  If a person lies to you this way, they are probably thieves.

My doubt is about its correctness, I would also say it this way:

  If a person lies to you this way, they are probably a thief.

Is the second sentence correct?


texts: "Times of their choosing" or "times of their choice"

texts:
Should we use choosing or choice in the sentence below?

  You may find that engaging the required range of participants requires
  traveling to participants' home or workplace, at times of their
  choosing/choice.


texts:
There are idioms for an obvious yes when answering a question maybe if you were offered something and replying for example : 'Does the pope pray?' And various other ones.

What are the equivalents for a no?


texts: Is there an idiomatic or slang word meaning a submissive person who does everything others order him to do and never complains even when they should, and is ,in a sense, controlled by someone else.


texts:
According to Dictionary.com

  forecast[fawr-kast, -kahst, fohr-]

  verb (used with object), forecast or forecasted, forecasting.

  to predict (a future condition or occurrence); calculate in advance

  to forecast a heavy snowfall; to forecast lower interest rates.
  to serve as a prediction of; foreshadow.
  to contrive or plan beforehand; prearrange.

  verb (used without object), forecast or forecasted, forecasting.

  4.to conjecture beforehand; make a prediction.

  5.to plan or arrange beforehand.
  noun

  6.a prediction, especially as to the weather.

  7.a conjecture as to something in the future.

  8.the act, practice, or faculty of forecasting.

  9.Archaic. foresight in planning.

According to Online Etymology dictionary, fore- has an etymology of Middle-English but Cast doesn't have a known origin. Forecast doesn't have a known origin either.

So what is the origin of the word forecast?


texts: "Come Hell or high water" vs "Lord willing and the creek don't rise"

texts:
Recently I've wondered about two idioms which have a strange relationship.

  Come Hell or high water

and

  Lord willing and the creek don't rise

Grammatical accuracy, alternative formulations, and questionable folk etymologies, and literal meanings aside, why do these two phrases  (often used interchangably) have such different implications?

My thoughts so far have centered around the former being an expression of an internal locus of control (i.e. I will make this happen) and the latter of an external locus of control (i.e. I hope this won't not happen).

Why does the more apparently positive formulation reference Hell while the less (certainly) positive one mentions the 'Lord?'


texts: When did “green field’ and ‘brown field’ come into use as an economic, or investment term, and who rearranged so?

texts:
I’ve noticed economists often use the word, “green field” and “brown field” these days in TV talk shows when arguing the efficiency of governmental or corporate investment.

I also saw the comment of representative of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), saying “Our interest is brown field. We don’t invest in green field” in an infra investment journal.

He meant it’s better for GIP to invest in the field where they can capitalize on their managerial expertise and investment technology than in the field they are unfamiliar and can’t be sure of return of investment.

Neither Cambridge nor Oxford English Dictionary carries ‘green field / brown field” as a word.
Readers Plus English Japanese Dictionary (published by Kenkyusha) defines 'greenfield' as 'of underdeveloped area," with no mention of 'brownfield.'

GoogleNgram’shows incidence of ‘green field’ at high 0.000012% level, and ‘brown field’ low at 0.0000012% level in 2007. But I think the usages of both words are irrelevant to the above case.

When did “green field’ and ‘brown field’ as a pair come into use as an economic, or investment term, and who did arrange so?


texts: Imaginary line from your finger when pointing

texts: Is there a term for the imaginary line extrapolated from the tip of your finger when pointing at something?


texts: What do you call a person affected by a situation but not involved?

texts:
What do you call those students that are affected by the situation but not involved in it?

For example,

  a student bullies a teacher and lowers the teacher's teaching effectiveness by 15%, this effects all of the students in his classes.


texts: What words can I use to describe trends in graphs for the IELTS exam (e.g. "increase", "growth")?

texts:
What is the difference between increase, growth, go up and rise? And what is the difference between decline, fall, go down and drop? I really don't know which is the best to describe parts of a graph. :/

I can't find any information in the dictionary about this, and I need to know what words to use in the IELTS Writing task 1.


texts:
I'm trying to find a word or title which describes a person that is in charge of food supplies, preferably for a household specifically.

I'm fine with colloquial expressions (even if they're no longer colloquial, having once been so is enough), official titles (formal or not, in current use or not). The best answer will be a single word or concise phrase, and a term in more recent use will be preferred to one that is older. An ideal answer will be a word or phrase in English (of any variety), but answers in any language are acceptable (whether a loanword, calque, or purely non-English term).

If no such term or title for a person exists, I'm also open to any word for something which tracks the food inventory available (again, particularly for a personal household).

The closest I've been able to find is the French chef garde manger, but I'd never heard the title before searching this out. Pantry chef was another contender I came across, but seems to be an English variant of the French phrase.

These are possibly acceptable, but are less than ideal to me because they were fairly obscure to me an also include the word chef, which to my mind connotes food preparation more than tracking food inventory.


texts: What's the difference between the adjectives "strategic" and "tactical"?

texts:
I recently read this sentence:

  It was a strategic move rather than a tactical one.

I have trouble interpreting it. Can someone help?


texts: One word for "any time after this moment"

texts: I was just wondering if there is some sweet and apt word for the phrase "any time after this moment".


texts: Is there a word for "bright colored eyes"?

texts: In my country (Iran), the reference to blue, green, and hazel eyes translates exactly to "colored eyes" in English. However, I am not sure whether the phrase "colored eyes" would be perceived and understood in English the way it is in Iran, and to be honest, I personally think it's wrong to use that phrase in any language since that would make black and brown eyes "colorless". But is there a word specific to bright-colored eyes?


texts: Which is more correct: well or good? within the context given:

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the difference between “good” and “well”

"I work equally well as part of a team or as an independent researcher."

or

"I work equally good as part of a team or as an independent researcher."


texts: When addressing two people in an email, would you ever say "at your earliest conveniences" or "at your earliest opportunities"?

texts:
When I send a form to a client and need them to sign I usually write "at your earliest convenience" or "at your earliest opportunity".
However I was composing an email in which I was speaking to two people that I needed to sign a form and I was wondering if it is grammatically correct to write "at your earliest conveniences" or "at your earliest opportunities". Can/should it be plural since I'm addressing two people?


texts: New Oxford American Dictionary describes "the" as an adjective

texts:
When I look at the definition given from the Mac OS X Dictionary (I have set American English as interface language, and the dictionary used is then the New Oxford American Dictionary), I read:

  the /ði/ /ð(ə)/ /ði/ [called the definite article]
  adjective
  1. denoting one or more people or things already mentioned or assumed to be common knowledge: what's the matter? | call the doctor | the phone rang. Compare with a.
  • used to refer to a person, place, or thing that is unique: the Queen | the Mona Lisa | the Nile.
  • informal denoting a disease or affliction: I've got the flu.
  • (with a unit of time) the present; the current: dish of the day | man of the moment.
  • informal used instead of a possessive to refer to someone with whom the speaker or person addressed is associated: I'm meeting the boss | how's the family?
  • used with a surname to refer to a family or married couple: the Johnsons were not wealthy.
  • used before the surname of the chief of a Scottish or Irish clan: the O'Donoghue.

I have never thought of an article as adjective.
Is normally an article defined as adjective?


texts: Is there any difference between ‘twisted, knotted up, spent, exhausted, pure solid burnt out’?

texts:
In Donal Ryan’s book ‘The Spinning Heart’ there is such description: “…she died, twisted and knotted up and spent, exhausted, pure solid burnt out from him.”
I wonder if these adjectives are synonymous, and therefore mean ‘worn out’. Are there any differences among them?
Here is the context: “She even softened my father. How did you pull her, he wanted to know. She won’t stay with you. She’s too good for you. You’re her bit of rough, he said. All women goes through this auld phase. Ya, I thought, like my mother, except her auld phase didn’t end until she died, twisted and knotted up and spent, exhausted, pure solid burnt out from him.”


texts:
My professor holds that this is a good sentence, since who agrees with the subject, Mr. Smith.  It sounds horrible to me.

  Mr. Smith is the president of the corporation who will not accept our proposal.

Is this a good sentence?


texts: A word to indicate the ideal value between 2 other values (upper/lower)

texts:
Edit: This is related to a production process where a max value cannot be exceeded, and cannot be less than the minimum. There is then an 'optimal' value, which is a term suggested in the comments by John Lawler

For example, if the upper/lower limits are 3.5 and 3.0, the ideal middle value would be 3.25.

Is there a term for this 'middle value'?


texts: What case do we assign a relativizer representing a subject raised to object?

texts:
The basic rule I follow is that the case of the relativizer is determined by the role played within the relative clause by the entity it represents.

  Give it to [OBJ whomever you admire __ most]. (You admire him most.)
  Give it to [SUBJ whoever __ should have it]. (He should have it.)
  Give it to [SUBJ whoever you think __ should have it]. (You think he should have it.)

But what about a 'raised' subject?

  Give it to [?? ???ever you want __ to have it].

Does the raised form You want him to have it govern, or does the underlying role He HAVE it?

Does the language's growing indifference to persnickety punctilio direct me to whoever as the 'unmarked' or 'more natural' form?

Or is Great Mother English sending me the message that I'm pushing the boundaries of the language and ought to rewrite?


texts: searching for a descriptive term beyond mastery

texts: What word would be appropriate to use when describing the next level beyond mastery?


texts:
I saw the following sentence in a paper:

  Filament enables smart devices to blockchain transactions that can
  integrated in different distributed ledger architectures by use their
  Blocklet solution.

I have two questions:

I know "integrate" is both transitive and intransitive, but, shouldn't it be "can be integrated" when it is used after "can"?
What is the difference between "by use their ..." and "by using their ..."?


texts: sentence structure of past-future pattern

texts:
How can I make a sentence , in which I am talking about past with the reference of future?
I mean,what is the sentence structure of past-future sentence.
 for example. *

  I reached at London two week ago,i was full of fear at that time,i was
  just thinking about,what will happen tomorrow?

*
 some how the above sentence is wrong please correct it,and please guide me how to correctly make these pattern sentences


texts: What is the difference between "my english is getting improved." and "my english is improving"?

texts:
I just wanna know what is the difference between these two sentences.
"My English is getting improved."
"My English is improving."
Are their meanings same or different.


texts:
Context: Person is asking for information in an email, and uses the following sentence: "I do not expect an answer as soon as tomorrow."

Is it the same as "not later than tomorrow end of the day"?


texts:
You know that Disney movie Frozen? Remember the part where Kristoff is alone with his elk or reindeer and he is speaking for it in order with have a conversation with himself?

Is there a word for doing that? For speaking out loud for your pet?

Not necessarily attributing human characteristics but actually speaking for your pet.

Cause I do it all the time for my Bassett Hound mix.

Yes, I'm single and live alone and don't have any friends.


texts: If you were listening..., you might wonder

texts:
This is part of Obama's commencement speech:

Which brings me to my third point: Facts, evidence, reason, logic, an understanding of science — these are good things. (Applause.) These are qualities you want in people making policy. These are qualities you want to continue to cultivate in yourselves as citizens. (Applause.) That might seem obvious. (Laughter.) That’s why we honor Bill Moyers or Dr. Burnell.
We traditionally have valued those things. But if you were listening to today’s political debate, you might wonder where this strain of anti-intellectualism came from.

In the last sentence, Obama was talking about Donald Trump and was basically saying that Donald Trump doesn't know what he's talking about.
Assuming that the conditional construction of the last sentence represents a hypothetical situation, why did Obama make it sound like a hypothetical situation to describe an apparently real situation?
Also, is this kind of expressing a real situation hypothetically common in English?


texts: This idiomatic expression exists in my native language. The implication is that when you do something dangerous, risky or unlawful, you may be lucky on a few occasions, but this kind of risky behavior will not always have the positive outcome ; you will not always succeed in doing so. Sooner or later, you will fail. I am looking for an equivalent expression in English. Any suggestions ?


texts:
Does "Feel it in my bones" sound natural? I have never seen or heard any native speakers use something like that, except in a subtitle of a movie I watched long ago.

What are other phrases, or common ways to state something similar?


texts: "Connected by" vs "Connected with" vs "Connected to"

texts:
I want to know the difference and when to use which construction.
For instance:

  The island and the city are connected with a bridge

or

  The island and the city are connected by a bridge

?

  The TV is connected to the computer

or

  The TV is connected with the computer

?

  Somebody is connected to someone

or

  Somebody is connected with someone

? (Meaning emotional feelings.)


texts: What is the difference between 'inclination' and its varieties?

texts:
What is the difference between tendency - propensity - disposition - inclination - proclivity?

Propensity seems to be a 'natural' inclination, i.e. "Man has the propensity to be selfish", and disposition seems to be related to opinions as in "He has a disposition to agree with those that are close to him." I don't have the faintest idea about the differences between the other three words that are left though.


texts:
As a non native english speaker I stumbled upon the word 'feedbacker' and I am really confused if this actually is a real English word that people are using. Even some online research could not solve my issue.

Thank you very much :)


texts:
In British English, the term "up the duff" is used to describe a pregnant lady.

I've tried to research as to why this is the case but I can't find anything concrete.

Oxford has it as:

  1940s (originally Australian): perhaps related to duff.

with the "duff" referred being:

  A flour pudding boiled or steamed in a cloth bag:

Now the duff etymology is of Northern England, perhaps from "dough", so I'm confused as to where the crossover between Australia and "dough" comes.  Although there could be some  weight giving

Any ideas?


texts: What's the difference between "refer" and "recommend?"

texts: The question mainly concerns business where you would "refer/recommend someone to a new client." I wonder how similarly they can be used.


texts: How do you refer to a single corn plant?

texts: When you want to talk about a single corn plant, do you refer to it at as 'a corn' or 'corn'?


texts: Is “evictable” an acceptable adjectival form of ‘evict’?

texts:
Is it correct to use "evictable" as an adjective for something that can be evicted?
I plan to use the term in computer science context as an adjective on a cache whose entries can be evicted to illustrate the contrast between an implementation, where you can evict any individual entry from the cache as opposed to an implementation where you cannot evict individual entries, but have to destroy the cache.
Every text editor highlights it as an incorrect, but people understand its meaning. Is there a synonym or another spelling?


texts: Adjective describing something that has been rummaged through

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes something that is in a state of disarray (because someone has been rummaging through it). Sample use:

  I looked at the _____ drawer with suspicion.

Both "ruffled" and "rifled" seem a little dubious, and Wiktionary doesn't think "disarrayed" or "disarranged" are adjectives. "Disordered" feels more like an initial state, rather than one recently acquired.

Tousled feels like a good match, but it just sounds odd to me in this context. Similarly, "tossed" almost works, except that it has multiple meanings, and a reader's first impression is likely to not match the desired meaning.

Is "disarrayed" acceptable in this context? Is there a better word?


texts: "when all is said and done", finger should be "level"

texts:
Person A tried to catch a falling patio door and ended up losing a fingertip, a nail, and a broken finger joint as the door slammed his fingers against the dock plate. He went to the ER afterwards and had plastic surgery. Person B then asked him whether the nail will grow back or not and he responded:

  Plastic surgeon said I should have half a nail when all is said and done. My first three fingers should be about level from what I can tell.

From what I looked up the phrase when all is said and done have more than one meaning and the ones I found are as follows. They all seem applicable, but is there one that's most appropriate to the context? Or does it mean something else that I did not find?

  when everything is considered
  when everything is finished and settled (I'm guessing settle here means to decide or arrange something finally?)
  in the end; ultimately
  used when you are about to tell someone the most important fact in a situation

Another question I have is, when he said his first three fingers should be about level from what he can tell, what does he mean by level?

From OALD, two senses of level that I think relates to the context are:

  having a flat surface that does not slope
  having the same height, position, value, etc. as something

However, both senses doesn't seem to make sense to me because I figured fingertips are curved right? and only one of his first three fingers had a fingertip torn off. And certainly all first three fingers cannot have the same height if I understood definition 2 correctly. So what does he mean?


texts:
This morning at −32°C/−26°F whilst collecting firewood outside my house, I called to my neighbour (brushing snow off his idling truck): "Cold enough for you?" To which he replied with a nod.

Later on, I reflected that the exchange was effectively identical to the following:

  "Hello. How are you?"  "Cold!"

Did my question, "Cold enough for you?" (which I hear a lot around here) constitute a greeting, or did my neighbour and I simply bypass the formalities and get straight to the important stuff?

I could imagine a similar exchange in, well, just about any season in the UK:

  "Lovely day" (spoken ironically).  "Mm" (spoken grimly).

Are these exchanges about the weather simply another form of greeting, a replacement to "hi," "hello," "good morning," "how are you?" and so on? Or did my neighbour and I, having a small measure of familiarity, skip the formality in favour of moving on to the important stuff. (Or was it just too cold for us to care?)

If I had a staff person and breezed into his office asking if he'd submitted the quarterly report without first greeting him, that would be rude. But if I breezed into his office and said "Cold enough for you?" without saying hello, it seems to me that this would be less rude.

My hunch is that this sort of exchange is actually a form of greeting, defined on Wikipedia as "an act of communication in which human beings . . . intentionally make their presence known to each other. . . ."

However, Wikipedia's list of greetings on the same page does not include exchanges about the weather.

Therefore: do exchanges about the weather constitute greetings? Are there other fairly stock exchanges that also constitute greetings, that aren't the usual "hello" etc.? Or are these exchanges something else altogether?


texts: Is it grammatically correct - "Her and her looney boyfriend nicked my truck of cigarettes and drove it in the river."

texts:
Is it grammatically correct - "Her and her looney boyfriend nicked my truck of cigarettes and drove it into the river. Just for a laugh."

Is that first word 'Her' as a subject grammatically correct? and if yes, then what grammar rule is used? It will be helpful if you tell me the term of that grammar rule so that i can search and learn further.

The given sentence is used in the animated movie Batman: Assault on Arkham at 17:02 time.


texts: Is there a word or phrase for someone who works hard at night and does not sleep?

texts:
All the words or phrases I know for people who stay up at night merely describe the habit of not sleeping (e.g.: a night owl or insomniac)

I am looking for a word or phrase with an emphasis on working hard at night. These people work are different from insomniacs because they have no problem sleeping but they refuse sleep to work. They are different from night owl because they wake up early in the morning.

To give more context, suppose a nurse with kids who has a normal day life like most people and takes care of the kids but also works most nights in a hospital.


texts: I came across a sentence this morning on a page saying "...take social mileage out of his good behaviour...". So what does "social mileage" exactly mean here?


texts:
I downloaded the old ielts test and its keys, one of the questions asked you to describe a bar chart, and there were 3 different pieces of data given on the chart:

Cars owners
Internet users
Apartment renters

In its key for this question, there was a line which I thought it was weird.

The line stated:

"Internet users was the highest statistic."

Is it supposed to use the word "were" instead?
Or "Internet users" was some kind of singular agreement for this case?


texts: "Bump one's head on something" vs. "against something"

texts: Can anyone help me understand the difference between bumping one's head on something and bumping it against it? Is there any substantial difference or are they used interchangeably?


texts: Word for a person that is both caring and cold-hearted logical

texts:
I have an acquaintance who is a very cold, logical sort of person. She likes to make the 'best decision' for any situation, and wouldn't hesitate in a "kill one to save ten" sort of scenario. She doesn't celebrate any holidays (including her birthday) as she sees no good reason to. I could easily see her as a comic book villain, but at the same time, she's one of the most caring people I know. The past week she would gladly wish people a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah." If she hears you're sick, she'll make you homemade soup.

Perhaps the best way to describe her would be as a caring machine. If you were sick, she'd care for you better than anyone else, but wouldn't hesitate to euthanize you if the situation called for it, nor would she shed a tear.

I've been struggling to come up with a word for her, and simply calling her logical or "a machine with a heart" seems inappropriate. Is there a word for a person that is both very caring, but will not hesitate to be cold and logical when necessary? I know this is the English language stackexchange, but I'd settle for a word in another language if there's no English equivalent.


texts:
"Contact" could be used as a noun. It could be used as plural as in-

  The more contacts the cloth has with the dirty surface, the more sploiled it gets.

"Contact details" is different. "Contact details" means the details like (1) address, (2) phone number, (3) email Id etc.

I often find the people using "contacts" for "contact details" as in-

  I have lost my cell phone, so the contacts have been lost.

Evident enough, what the speaker wants to convey is that he has lost the contact details that were stored in his cell phone.

My question is: can "contacts" be used for "contact details"?


texts: Difference between 'gear up' and 'ready'

texts:
Software programmers are gearing up to build applications for the newest version of Windows Phone 7.

It seems the 'gear up' in here means 'ready'. So why not use 'ready' and  what's the difference with 'ready'?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
Punctuation of direct speech, edge cases
Space before three dots?

"I don't think so," she stated.
"I don't think..." her voice trailed off.

Is this second sentence correct from punctuation point of view (ellipsis working along with the same rule as ?,! - replacing the comma), or does it require an extra comma? (or yet something different?)
I'm aware it is normally used instead of a comma or a full stop, with very rare exceptions, but the rules of using punctuation at the end of interrupted quotes still baffle me.


texts: How to express the concept of "the degree of excitement" in one word?

texts:
Is there one word that encapsulates the degree to which something is exciting, for example on a spectrum of:

Calm |------------|------------| Thrilling

I've come up with a few possible words, but none of them seem to quite fit, for instance:
"temperament", "emotion", "feeling".


texts: What do you call this "metal" clotheline?

texts:
What do you call this kind of clotheslines?

Source: http://righthere2014.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-194.html

(They are often used in Japan and other Asian countries.)


texts: Is there more monosyllabic lexis in the English Language than polysyllabic lexis?

texts: In terms of words in the actual dictionary are there more monosyllabic words or more polysyllabic words?


texts: Can you come up with an antanaclasis where the same word is repeated at least three times in a row, each time with a distinct meaning?

texts:
The sentence should make sense, in the sense it would be reasonable to say or write.
Here is my example, uttered by a shoe factory supervisor: How long will the last last last?


texts: Is 'godspeed' a religious term? (Can it be used without invoking religiosity nowadays?)

texts:
There is an Urban Dictionary entry saying

  Of Old English origin, shortening of "Good Speed," and contrary to
  popular belief has nothing to do with God. People would say this to
  others who were leaving on a long and perilous journey, wishing them
  success, but more importantly wishing for their return.

Edited: Can it be used without invoking any nuance of religiosity ?

Well guys, I did check the references and did find the explanations which ended up becoming the answer for the question. What I meant was to get an educated opinion on the usage of the term in modern times.

How a question with so many votes gets put on hold is beyond me.


texts: Pejorative Word or phrase for when tourist undergoing Government procedures for visa formalities is experience based

texts:
Pejorative Word or phrase for when a Government does not have its procedure in place for citizen or migrants or tourist for simple formalities like passport renewal or visa renewal or visa application or visa extension, etc. Every thing is personal experience based of individual citizen or migrants or the tourist. Requirement changes every time you go to the ministry offices.

Although Sri Lankan is a touristic country, but the Government over there has not placed  a standard procedure for visa extension. As in which all documents are required to be produced, etc. It all ___________ (visitor's individual experience based)


texts: What is the word for transliteration into the Greek alphabet?

texts: Is there a specific term for transliteration of a different script into the Greek alphabet? There are equivalent terms for transliteration of other alphabets into the Latin alphabet (romanization) and the Cyrillic alphabet (cyrillization). However, I can find no counterpart for transliteration into Greek. My closest guess would be hellenization, but that term is already used in historical contexts, referring to conversion of other nations to Greek culture (rather than transliteration into the Greek alphabet). I would like to know the term for this, as I am trying to find a transliteration scheme for converting English into the modern Greek alphabet, but searching for Greek transliteration only yields information on Greek romanization (which is the inverse of what I want). Any word or phrase will do, so long as it unambiguously refers to transliterating a script into the Greek alphabet, and not to romanization of Greek.


texts:
In high school debates, we have resolutions or topics. This month our topic is:

  In the United States, private ownership of handguns ought to be banned.

Many debaters will specify a certain type of handgun and only defend that. For example, the private ownership of Glocks ought to be banned. Others will specify a certain type of handgun; a certain group that should not be able to own handguns; or a certain area within the US that should ban handguns.

Would this be grammatically coherent? On previous topics, people have argued that a phrase being a generic bare plural would prohibit specification. Is that the case here or is there some other rule that is being broken?

Here is an example to try to clear up confusion. The affirmative debater will argue that the private ownership of Glocks ought to be banned, and they will also argue that proving this is sufficient to entail the resolution. Some negative debaters will argue that the word "handguns" has no modifier in front of it i.e. some or certain, and thus the affirmative debater has not proven the resolution. Grammatically speaking who is correct?


texts: Pronunciation of vowel in vague as [æ] instead of [eɪ]

texts:
I have a friend who pronounces the vowel in plague, vague, and bagel as [æ] instead of the standard [eɪ] (so plague rhymes with flag, for instance).  Interestingly, he apparently can't tell the difference between the vowel sounds (i.e. even when I say [veɪɡ] and [væg] back-to-back, he can't tell me which pronunciation is the one he uses and which is the one I use).

I had at first assumed it was a regional pronunciation, but his wife is from the same relatively small (35k) town in western Michigan, and she uses the standard pronunciation.

Is this shift common in his region (or any other region, for that matter)?  Is it otherwise explainable? Any insight would be appreciated.


texts: Insight into the pronunciation of the word algae?

texts:
Can anyone provide some insight into the pronunciation of the word algae? Various dictionaries give either the /g/ version as in gear or the /dʒ/ version as in jeep. For example:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/algae
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/pronunciation/british/algae

Is there an American or British convention for pronouncing this word? Are these conventions the same on both sides of the Atlantic?

Is one pronunciation more common in biology circles or technical circles that the other one?


texts: Difference between "that's not you" and "you're not you"

texts: My understanding is "you're not you" means "you're not yourself", while "that's not you" is something I would use for example if we were looking at a photo. Is that right? Can you explain why "that" changes the meaning of the sentence? Is it because "that" is a "demonstrative pronoun"? What other situations would you use the one or the other?


texts: "Theater" vs. "Theatre" in American English

texts: Why is it that "theater" and "theatre" do not follow the traditional rules of British and American spelling? British spellings like "metre" and "centre" are consistently switched to "meter" and "center," respectively, in American spelling, but it seems like "theater" and "theatre" are both used in American spelling. Is there any particular reason why the British spelling is common in America for this one word? In American English, is either "theater" or "theatre" considered more acceptable?


texts: Placement of question mark for a question quoting a question

texts:
Suppose I am writing to a friend, asking if he remembers a certain question I asked him.  Do any of the following sentences correctly use the question mark?

Do you remember when I asked you "do you know the time"?
Do you remember when I asked you "do you know the time?"
Do you remember when I asked you "do you know the time?"?

Less specifically, what is the general rule that can be applied to such a situation?


texts: Is there a word that strictly means "mutual understanding?"

texts:
In an essay I've written, I come to realize something. Someone else understands that I've just realized this something.

  The engendered sense of achievement and understanding . . .

In this context, "understanding" can refer to both my understanding of the concept in question, and the mutual understanding or connection, so to speak, between myself and someone else.

How can I disambiguate this sentence? I'm trying to refer to the mutual understanding or connection between myself and someone else. I want to write "mutual understanding" in place of "understanding," but I used the phrase in this preceding sentence.


texts: Singular characteristic to describe a list of items

texts:
Here's the question: The materials for the boxes, pallets, and crates are ready. The material for the boxes, pallets, and crates is ready.

Should "material" be plural or singular? I'm writing a paper that's supposed to follow APA guidelines, if that helps. Other reference guides' perspectives on this wouldn't hurt to know, though.

Thank you!


texts:
Is it correct to say:
thank you for the invitation to the interview and for your interest in my candidature?


texts:
For example:

“The company told its staff to take Friday off.”
“The company told its staffers to take Friday off.”

Do both of these sentences mean exactly the same thing?
Is one preferred or maybe less ambiguous than the other?
Is there ever a situation where “staff” and “staffers” are not interchangeable?

Edit for clarification:
I am aware that a "staffer" (singular) is a single person while "staff" refers to a group. I'm specifically asking about "staffers" (plural) vs "staff".


texts: What is the error called when a letter of an abbreviation is spelled out afterwards?

texts:
HIV Virus

  DNS System

  IRC Chat

  LCD Display

  RAID Array

These are some examples for this and people do this quite often.


texts: Trump “can dish it out, but he can’t take it”?

texts:
In this critical article on US sanctions I can't understand the meaning of the phrase quoted from the journalist.

  As one journalist noted, Trump – who sanctioned Russian firms but then phoned Putin about stabilizing oil prices – “can dish it out, but he can’t take it.” Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, however, have no such leverage.

I appreciate help with understanding the meaning here.


texts: What is the most appropriate pronoun for humanity?

texts: Humanity lived thousands of years in the environment without any source of electric power, but in the environment with radiation they will be dead in a few days.


texts: What do "industry's exposure" mean and meaning in context?

texts:
Dong, 2019, page 898 documented:

We measure ﬁrm exposure to international laws in two ways. First, we rely on the industry’s exposure and deﬁne the treatment
based on a ﬁrm’s exposure to the passage of leniency programs in
countries to which the ﬁrm’s industry sends a signiﬁcant fraction of
its exports. This variable accounts for the fact that the passage of
a leniency program in a foreign country that is likely to be a ﬁrm’s
product market also increases the costs of collusion, because it is
more difﬁcult to form international cartels with industry peers in a
foreign country where it is easier to apply for leniency

I mainly want to ask about the second quoted sentence, which is italicized, but I quoted three sentences that we can have a better context.
I have three questions here:
1> What does industry's exposure mean in the second sentence?
2> Is there any way to simplify the second sentence that is easier for me to understand, I totally get lost when reading this sentence?
My understanding is: We assume "a firm" in this sentence is firm A in industry "Manufacturing" in the US, and"countries to which the ﬁrm’s industry sends a signiﬁcant fraction of its exports" is China. So, whether this sentence can be shortened to "we rely on the industry’s exposure and deﬁne the treatment based on how much Manufacturing industry in the US exporting to the Manufacturing industry in China"? I tried to simplify the sentence as much as I can but I failed to do so.
3> What does the relative pronoun"this" in "This variable accounts for" in the third sentence refer to based on this context. In another word, what is the antecedent of "this" in this case?


texts: How to combine "social", "cultural" and "miIeu"

texts:
Would it be

  socio-cultural-milieu

or

  sociocultural-milieu

or

  socio-cultural milieu

or

  sociocultural milieu


texts:
I write the date in my résumé in the following format:

7/2017–present
4/2015–6/2017
8/2010–3/2015

Is this the right way to do it? I am asking because I also saw the following notation:

7/2017 – present
4/2015–6/2017
8/2010–3/2015

This notation doesn't seem to be consistent. But since the "en dash" can be interpreted as "to" the last notations also seems legit.

Which version is correct? And if both are not, what would be correct?


texts: What does it mean to have a "pyloric" house?

texts: When a friend says my house is "pyloric" he says it means dirty. When I look it up it means "part of a stomach". Is there a meaning of "pyloric" for dirty or is he wrong?


texts: I stopped suddenly vs I suddenly stopped

texts:
Are these sentences both correct and what is the difference between them if both are grammatical ?

I stopped suddenly.
I suddenly stopped.


texts: What is the origin of 'koumpounophobia'?

texts: I discovered that the fear of buttons is called koumpounophobia. I've been trying to look up it's etymology, but my usual sources are failing me: etymonline, wiktionary and wikipedia don't provide any relevant information. Can anyone tell me the etymology of this word?


texts: What do you call the base amount for a loan, investment etc?

texts:
If I get a mortgage from the bank I pay interest every month, same when I invest money, I make profit every year.

How do you call the actual amount I invested or borrowed?

It's *__ + interest* or *__ + profit*

In my native language (not English) we call it fund, does the same apply in English as well?


texts: Language technique of preposition starting a sentence?

texts:
Specifically, in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby':

  With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change.

The phrase "With the influence of the dress" is known as a 'prepositional phrase', but is there a specific term for the preposition starting a prepositional phrase? If so, what is this language technique?


texts: Meaning of “Post-30 Seconds to Mars Jared Leto”

texts:
"Hollywood has a richly embarrassing history of mishaps, and one of the most egregious has got to be turning Post-30 Seconds to Mars Jared Leto into Oscar Winner Jared Leto in 2014."

I don't understand what "Post-30 Seconds to Mars Jared Leto" means. I know that Jared is an actor and I know that post sometimes refers to things that are already done or in the past, but it doesn't quite make sense in this case.

The sentence right after is

  The award, a prestigious accolade for a terribly miscast and terribly acted role in Dallas Buyers Club, came to serve as an unneeded boost of confidence and a false sense of invincibility for Leto’s rejuvenated brand of trolling—one in a similar, but much more exaggerated, vein as post-Oscar winning Cuba Gooding Jr., who’s been spending his downtime eating cell phones in da club, or Gwyneth Paltrow, who’s casually been recommending $15,000 dildos on her lifestyle blog.

I don't quite understand "brand of trolling" although I knows that trolling sometimes means beings a prick or something. And what does "one" refer or link to?


texts: A word to distinguish between father's and mother's sister

texts: Is there a word in English that distinguishes between the mother’s brother and the father’s brother, or the mother's sister and the father's sister? The words ‘uncle’ and 'aunt' don't seem to do the job.


texts: What's an adjective for someone who doesn't feel sorry for themselves?

texts:
To elaborate:
Someone who isn't easily affected by their own emotional distress
Someone who's tough and doesn't make their own problems into everyone else's problem.


texts: Is it acceptable to use both 'written' and 'wrote' in the same surprising sentence?

texts:
In that project I wrote the most complex code I had ever written in my life.

Is this grammatically correct?


texts: When was "for real" first used in the USA?

texts:
Does anyone have a sense of when the phrase "for real" (meaning: "Is that so?") entered the American vernacular?

I really want to know if it started being used around the start of the Vietnam War era (ca. 1961).


texts:
I am looking for a word to describe a sci-fi, high tech vibe-- Imagine a server room with all the lights on and a dark atmosphere, or a glowing blue light on a glass floor.

 Example sentence:

They stood on the ______ floor of the chamber, ready to travel to the West.

Thank you


texts: A word for "insincere/perfunctory advocacy"

texts:
As in:

  This can be seen as an instance of safe, politically-correct ____ of feminism.

Context: an essay analyzing a piece of popular entertainment in which some female characters does a thing that can be seen as pro-feminist, but the idea was never developed, because it is clearly not the focus of the production, hence the "insincere" and "perfunctory" nature of the "advocacy"

Rephrasing accepted.


texts:
"There is no much xxx" vs "There is not much xxx"

if 'much' has to be in place, is the first one "no much" wrong?


texts: Doubt about using plural form in this phrase "discuss about ...."

texts:
Source: https://www.realmenrealstyle.com/public-restroom-rules/

I came across this article and thinking whether the use of plural form in the following sentence is necessary

  2 . Conversation Etiquette
  ......

  This is not a time to be social and discuss politics or sports.

Why not just "discuss politic or sport"?
Why is it necessary to be plural?

Any help will/would be appreciated!


texts: A word for defining inspirational artwork

texts:
Unfortunatelly I forgot this word totally, and I am tring to remember it for sometime but could not succeed. So this word is used to define inspiration artwork, which is not related to the same concept of the original source.

For example we all know the batman movie. If I create a graphic design like below, what does it called?

Or another design like this which is inspired by star wars?


texts: Does it make sense to use the word Dynasty in place of clan in a multiplayer game similar to clash of clans?

texts:
We are developing a multiplayer game.
Is it OK to use "Dynasty" for the group of players?
I don't want the two words to have the same meaning.
But I want it to make sense to use the word "Dynasty" for a group of people with a manager where people can join and leave the group.
Is it OK?


texts:
Tried googling the phrase but what I got was a bunch of articles using this phrase
as the title instead of something defining the meaning of the phrase.

Is it something used by the media to indicate they are the first one to report it?


texts:
I was wondering where "wildcard" in computing terms comes from ?

Note: Did not find it in etymonline.com and don't know of any similar resources to consult.


texts: How does one pronounce words ending in “‑ae”?

texts:
For example:

  Styracaceae, Suidae, Sulidae, Sylviidae, Symplocaceae, etc.

I don’t know how to pronounce them correctly.


texts:
Can we use "think" without "of"?

Like: When I think writing, I think trouble.

I've seen it written like that a couple of times.


texts: Present subjunctive with synonyms of lest

texts:
Many English speakers, especially those fond of classic literature, are familiar with the word lest. Standing in opposition to the modern proclivity for ignoring the subjunctive, lest requires that it be used.

She turned off the TV lest the child rouse.

The meaning of lest can be expressed with certain expressions that follow a similar construction. For example.

She turned off the TV for fear that the child rouses.
The host reserved an extra seat in case her boyfriend decides to show up.

Now, I wonder if the usage of the present subjunctive, akin to that in lest, would be acceptable, albeit rare, of course.

He set a second alarm for fear that one not be enough to rouse him.


texts: Single verb for make something equivalent

texts:
Is there a single verb meaning to make something equivalent to something? I want to use this possibly existent word to express the following:

"We transformed Problem A into the following problem B, which is proved equivalent to Problem A."


texts:
I’m reading a book about world history, and there is a phrase in a paragraph I have no idea:

“They were mostly connected to productive hinterlands, though less so in the case of Perth than the others.”

This paragraph is talking about colonial capitals in Australia. I couldn’t find any good explanation for the phrase “though less so”, so I hope I can get it and read on.


texts: Which words can properly follow "including"?

texts:
"He sang everywhere, including in the bath".

"He behaved badly in many ways, including cheating in his exams."

These don't sound quite right to me. Are they wrong? And, if so, on the basis of what rule?


texts:
Person A: Where is my car?
Person B: I don't know. Maybe John took it.

Person A: If John took it, he would have let me know.

Person A: If John took it, he will have let me know.

Person A: If John had taken it, he would have let me know.

Q1) In each case person A doesn't know whether John actually took it or not. Which one(s) is (are) correct?


texts:
In Linus Pauling's book, "General Chemistry", in one of the annotations in the first chapter, he writes the following about the word "joule": " Usually pronounced to rhyme with howl." I have not found any evidence to support this claim as every dictionary and reference I have found so far claims that joule is pronounced like "jewel". Is there any evidence to support Linus Pauling's pronunciation of joule as " Jowl" or was it some sort of jestful annotation used to add humor to his otherwise strictly factual book?

Edit: At the request of user @sumelic, I will append my question with another one. Was "Jowl" the colloquially accepted pronunciation in Linus Pauling's time, or was this the common pronunciation only in the scientific community of Pauling's time? Perhaps even a brief history of the etymology of joule might help shed light on this strange discrepancy in pronunciation.


texts: Is there any saying or idiom equivalent to: "Hold your own hat, so the wind don’t blow it away?"

texts: This saying refers to an individual who is not in a stable situation themselves, and worries  about other people's problems. Please give me the English/American equivalent.


texts: A word or idiom to replace "bromance" between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz

texts:
The word bromance is a well-known portmanteau of bro or brother and romance. According to the linked Wikipedia article, it means:

  a close, emotionally intense, non-sexual bond between two (or more)
  men. It is an exceptionally tight, affectional, homosocial male
  bonding relationship that exceeds that of usual friendship, that
  is distinguished by a particularly high level of emotional intimacy.

Over the last couple of weeks, I heard this word repeatedly used in the media to describe the relationship between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz before they started to engage in mud-slinging at each other and the their bromance seems to have turned sour as their fight intensifies to become the presidential candidate of the Republican Party.

  The war of words between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted
  Cruz spilled onto the GOP debate stage, ending the bromance the two
  men once shared.

[ABC news headline]

Based on the above definition, i.e. emotionally intense bond and tight male bonding, the word bromance doesn't seem appropriate to describe the relationship as they didn't seem to have such a bond. They just pretended to be close and didn't attack each other for their political agenda.

Question: Is there any better or more appropriate word or idiom to describe relationship between two people who pretend to be close to each other for political or commercial gains knowing well their seemingly close relationship will not last long enough?


texts: How was "assassin" brought into English?

texts:
According to etymological dictionary the word "assassin" is derived, "via French and Italian", from a word translating as "hashis-eater", the name given to certain members of the Nizari Ismaili, a tribe originating in twelfth-century Syria during "the time of the Crusades".

Can anybody explain the reason why the word was brought into English "via French and Italian" rather then directly by returning Britons crusaders? Or, maybe, etymological dictionary is wrong?


texts:
M-W defines watermark as:

1) a mark indicating the height to which water has risen.

2) a marking in paper resulting from differences in thickness usually produced by pressure of a projecting design in the mold or on a processing roll and visible when the paper is held up to the light.

Example of watermark:

 From watermark.info

While it is not clear when the term first appeared  with  the meaning of waterline, its figurative sense dates back to the beginning of the 18th century.  Watermark:

  also water-mark, 1708, "distinctive mark on paper," from water (n.1) + mark (n.1). Similar formation in German wassermarke. Not produced by water, but probably so called because it looks like a wet spot.

and though Etymonline suggests no direct relation to water, Wikipedia points out that it was the process with watery paper that gave rise to its name:

The origin of the water part of a watermark:

  can be found back when a watermark was something that only existed in paper. At that time the watermark was created by changing the thickness of the paper and thereby creating a shadow/lightness in the watermarked paper. This was done while the paper was still wet/watery and therefore the mark created by this process is called a watermark.

Wikipedia also notes that the process is quite old, and was known during medieval times in Italy

  Watermarks were first introduced in Fabriano, Italy, in 1282.

In Italian it is called  filigrana, a term mutuated from goldworking, unrelated to water.

So, where does watermark come from? Was is a calque from the German expression wassermarke or of other foreign expressions? Or is it an English coinage derived from the literal meaning of watermark?

One more thing; I guess that watermarks existed in England before the 18th century, in banknotes for instance. What were they called originally?


texts:
Is this statement:

  the letters have been troubling me since over a year

grammatically correct? Or should I instead use:

  ...for over a year


texts:
I read this paragraph:

  - Why didn't you come to Alex's house last night? We were all expecting to see you there.
  + Oh, I'm sorry about that. I got lost trying to find Alex's house.

Which one is correct?

I got lost trying to find ...
I got lost when I was trying to find ...

Am I right in thinking the correct one is "I got lost when I was trying to find..."?