texts: If an instruction next to a button says ‘do not push’, some people end up pushing it. Their desire to do the opposite overpowers the fear, if any, of repercussions. Is there any word for such a trait in a person?


texts:
I have just finished a practice test for Ielts, and I looked at the key. There is a question in listening part asking about what the speaker said for a course requirement.

The question number 27 is what I want to ask about. It requires NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

The speaker said:

"Yes, that’s right. And then you have to write up your piece of work and give it to the lecturer to be marked."

And when I was hearing the phrase "write up" followed by "and give it to the lecturer to be marked", I thought it had the same meaning as "finish your work (get it done)". So I filled "Finish your work" in the blank.

But it appeared "Write up work" is in the key for this question

Are they replaceable in this case?


texts: Word for mass oppression by smaller group of people

texts:
Throughout history there have been a few instances where a smaller group of people were able to oppress a larger group of people through fear, enslavement, etc. In most cases if the larger, oppressed group unified they would be able to revolt and free themselves. Is there a word specific to these scenarios?

I am not looking for a word that describes a form of governance.

Examples:

Slavery in the United States (Plantations often had hundreds of
slaves but few people managing them)
Nazis in Germany (Only 11% of the population of most work camps
consisted of guards)
Ancient Egyptians (Were rumored to have thousands of Hebrew slaves)


texts: The usage of the article with the word "Devil"

texts: Someone asked me to translate a sentence from Russian and I couldn't decide which of the two variants is correct: "Call me the devil" or "Call me devil". I am aware that there are several meanings of the word, apart from "the Chrtistian" Devil, but they are not very clear to me. Could someone explain, which one is correct, and if both, what is the difference in meaning?


texts: "Let us know of any" or "Let us know if you have any"?

texts:
When do I use 'of any' and 'if you have any'?

A specific example would be:

Please let us know of any/if you have any allergy or dietary requirements.


texts: term for things centered around a person

texts: I my work group often the decisions taken are heavily influenced by "becky", because she talks more..., is it correct to say that the group is 'beckycentric', i am looking for a term to describe that most of the time the decisions are her wishes.


texts:
Is there a verb I can use to convey the meaning "not doing something"?

I want the sentence to be something like:

  "Application to _____ ['not doing'] course BSE...".

Please suggest how I can do this and any alternate form of the sentence which has a similar meaning.


texts: Is there a technical term for the degeneration or evolution of words?

texts: Based on this question, I was curious if there is an actual term that describes how words' meanings change or become deprecated over time.


texts: What is the female equivalent of a graybeard/greybeard?

texts:
In a meta post @TimLymington refers to himself as a greybeard and says he doesn't know what the female equivalent would be..

Well, neither do I.

Graybeard means an older man whose experience brings him wisdom.

The closest I can think of is wizend crone. But that seems to hold too negative of a connotation.  Even though it carries a sense of wisdom, there's also a shriveled ugliness and malevolence involved.

Matriarch came up as a synonym , but implies more of a leadership position than wisdom or experience.

Google searches bring up endless videogame references, which I don't find particularly authoritative.

What would we call the female equivalent?


texts: What is the actual definition of xenophobia? Is it misused nowadays?

texts:
I am trying to understand the meaning of the word xenophobia. A simple Google search gives the following: "dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries". The majority of the definitions I have found online revolve around hate, racism, dislike, etc. Few of them also revolve around fear, which one could argue that is somehow related to prejudice. Wikipedia states: "Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange". Another definition I have seen is "unjustified fear of an 'other'".

The world xenophobia originates from the Greek word Ξενοφοβία which is a combination of the words "ξένος" and "φοβία". The former means "foreign(er)" or "strange(r)" while the latter means "fear". As you can see, none of the two words has anything to do with hate or dislike.

Based on the above one could say that xenophobic is a person who is afraid of foreigners or different cultures or different "things". But this does not mean that this person hates them or dislikes them. He/she is just afraid of them consciously or unconsciously.

However, nowadays people use the word xenophobia when they talk about hate, dislike, or racism. As I explained above, even most dictionaries focus on hate/dislike/racism instead of fear, which has a completely different meaning.

Here are my questions now:

Is any of my above statements wrong?
What is the correct/original meaning of the word xenophobia?
Why most people use this word to express hate and/or racism?
What is the real difference between racism and xenophobia?
What is the right word one should use to describe a person who is afraid (but not hate or dislike) of foreign/strange/different cultures/people/things consciously or unconsciously, justifiably or unjustifiably?

EDIT1:

In regards to my last question: I guess I am looking for a word like arachnophobia but for humans or cultures. To my understanding, arachnophobia is the irrational and extreme fear of spiders, but it doesn't mean that you hate them or dislike them. One can be afraid of spiders because he/she was bitten by them many times, but at the same time admire them for a number of reasons (anatomy, evolution history, colours, etc). Alternatively, one can be afraid of them only in the thought that they can bite her/him, but at the same time admire them.

Thanks in advance.


texts:
Should I use the word 'earlier' with simple past or present perfect in the following context?

It is clear that utilising the period of President's rule, the ruling party will indulge in all the methods in its arsenal to manufacture a majority for itself as it has done/did in several states earlier. This is yet another assault on the Constitution by this government.


texts: Starting a sentence with "In Winter 2010,"

texts:
Would that be permissible? It just sounds awkward.

Use Cases:

  In winter 2010, two penguins, named Jony and Rony, were born.

  In winter 2010, five ice-skaters , each in the 130 lb category, won a gold medal for their countries.

If the 2nd part of the sentence is even longer, it makes it harder to switch around the parts of the sentence.


texts:
However, this has the unfortunate side effect of causing people to be unwilling to engage in side-reflection in the first place. I personally had fell victim to this line of thinking in the past.

I not sure whether it's "had fell" or "had fallen", or even just "fell". Help?


texts: What is the meaning, history, and current popularity of "of a Monday" (or Tuesday, or Wednesday, etc.)?

texts:
I was watching a 1934 Hollywood film today and one of the American characters used the phrase, Of a Tuesday. I don't think I'd ever heard an American use this in real life or in a film before then, even though I watch a lot of 1930s and 1940s Hollywood movies. I have since heard it used occasionally in films from about the 1920s to the 1960s, but I have still never heard it used outside of films.

Perhaps this, like the MidAtlantic accent in the first half of the century, was and is something used by actors, and in this case writers, far more commonly than by regular (non-theatrical) Americans.

Does phrase Of a Tuesday simply mean the same as On a Tuesday? Is it a commonly used phrase? Has the meaning or popularity changed significantly over time? Are there differences in meaning or usage between British and American English?

So, what are the meaning(s) and usage(s), history, and current popularity of both in American and British English?


texts:
In sentences such as:

  We could go down to the fishing village, just ______ we used to.

Is there a right or wrong preposition to use, between "as" and "like"?

What would be the difference?


texts: What do we call parents who lose their child?

texts:
When a child loses his parents, he is referred to as an orphan.

If a woman loses her husband, she is considered a widow.

But if a parent loses their child, what do we call them? Childless? Childless doesn't make much sense, as if the parents never had children to begin with.


texts: Visually and audibly unambiguous subset of the Latin alphabet?

texts:
Imagine you give someone a card with the code "5SBDO0" on it.

In some fonts, the letter "S" is difficult to visually distinguish from the number five, (as with number zero and letter "O").

Reading the code out loud, it might be difficult to distinguish "B" from "D", necessitating saying "B as in boy," "D as in dog," or using a "phonetic alphabet" instead.

We want to write codes that can always be communicated clearly.  What's the biggest subset of letters and numbers that will, in most cases, still look visually unambiguous and sound unambiguous when read aloud?


texts: Should we refer to a female "senator" as a "senatrix"?

texts:
I saw an article today that prompted a thought. I only took a year of Latin in high school, so I want to run this by some other people.

The article referenced a female senator so-and-so. However, I think that senator, with the -or ending is in the nominative, third declension, which is not gender neutral. So, when referring to a female subject, should senatrix be used instead?

Also, does anyone know if there is a reason why the male form is used exclusively? I think females were restricted from the Roman senate — perhaps the term just never made sense etymologically because of this?


texts:
Due to a misreading, a group including myself have searched for the definition of the word "farth" and come up with nothing.  We now know that the original text did not actually use this word, but the word still strikes us as feeling eerily familiar and somehow fitting of the context in which is was found - a geographic feature found in uncivilized wilderness.
The original quote (we thought we read) was:

North past forest, farth, and furrow
You must go to reach the feathered mound

We later found out that the word that was meant to be there was farm.  Nonetheless, we have found a fascination with this potentially made-up word.
Is "farth" actually a word in any version of English, Latin, or other Roman-character-using languages?


texts: "Making music" and "music making" as a noun

texts:
I have always been wondering if one of these forms is more correct in formal writing: The verb-ing + noun form and the noun + verb-ing form.

For example:

Making music is a skill anyone can learn.
Music making is a skill anyone can learn.

Or:

Hunting whales should be banned in our country.
Whale hunting should be banned in our country.

They seem to have slightly different meanings to me, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Is there a preference for one over the other in certain situations?


texts: What is the rule for pronouncing the plural of short words ending with -th?

texts:
I've found out that with some words, the /θ/ sound becomes voiced when the -s suffix is added:

path -> /pæðz/
bath -> /bæðz/
youth -> /juðz/
oath -> /oʊðz/
mouth -> /maʊðz/
truth -> /truðz/

and with others, it doesn't:

myth -> /mɪθs/
breath -> /breθs/
month -> /mʌnθs/

Is there any rule behind it, or is it by pure chance?

For native speakers: If you came across a word like that that you're not familiar with, would you be able to correctly guess the pronunciation of its plural?


texts:
What is the difference between an Emir and a Sultan? Are they both Sheik?

For instance, OALD defines:

  Emir: the title given to some Muslim rulers

  Emirate: an area of land that is ruled over by an emir

  Sultan: the title given to Muslim rulers in some countries

  Sultanate: an area of land that is ruled over by a sultan

While OAAD defines (there is no entry for Sheik on OALD, why?):

  Sheik:
  1 an Arab prince or leader; the head of an Arab family, town,
  etc. / 2 a leader in a Muslim community or organization

Could we say that "Emperor":"King"="Emir":"Sultan"?


texts: Is it correct to say: I will see you at the Christmas dinner or I will see you at Christmas dinner

texts:
I am a native English speaker and was recently checking some work before it got sent out to our company. I am unsure as to whether it is grammatically correct to say:

"I will see you at the Christmas dinner" or "I will see you at Christmas dinner".

Could anyone shed some light on this please?


texts: Any funny euphemisms or synonyms for plagiarism?


texts: Any difference between "protest" and "protest against"?

texts:
I've looked up in my Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and New Oxford American Dictionary, it turns out that the difference (if any) between "protest sth" and "protest against sth" looks very hard to tell. Examples are as follows:

Students took to the streets to protest against the decision.
They fully intend to protest the decision.
Doctors and patients protested against plans to cut services at the hospital.
The workers were protesting economic measures enacted a week earlier.

In addition, I'm wondering if the object following them really matters to the choice, but examples 1 & 2 seem to prove me wrong. Any more explanation on this?


texts:
I've learned quite recently, that plural form from comma is commata (but commas is also correct, such as index-indices-indexes). I've learned the rule for German, and I've checked the English version too.

This is the first time I've consciously seen that word (I could came across it before, but I haven't notice). What is the usage of that 2 plural forms? Which is more recent in professional literature (for blogs/twitter&co I'd guess, 'commas')?

Should I, as non-native speaker, making many common mistakes, use such 'finesse' plural forms, or it sounds funny in such context?


texts: Past continuous reporting verb in indirect speech

texts:
In indirect speech if the reporting verb is in past tense, then the verb in subordinate clause will also be in past tense.

Ex- He said that he was going to see movie.

What tense will be used in subordinate clause if the reporting verb is in past continuous tense ?

Ex -1) He was saying that he was/is going to cinema.


texts: Is there a term for a compound word such as Sergeant Major, which plural form doesn't modify the last word?

texts:
Born out of a lighthearted comment I made earlier today, stating that the plural form of Mini Cooper would be Minis Cooper, I've been curious if there is a specific name for this type of plural.  My assumption of the origin of Sergeants Major (and Minis Cooper: more at end) is that the compound word Sergeant Major is in a "noun adjective" format, which is unusual.  If you look down the chain of command:
Sergeant/Sergeants
Staff Sergeant/Staff Sergeants
Gunnery Sergeant/Gunnery Sergeants
Clearly the intention of the structure it comes from confirms Sergeants Major.
So the meat of the question, are there more "noun adjective" compound words that would modify the noun to create the plural version and is there a defining term?
Sidebar:  The Minis Cooper comment comes from the car's origin.  Most people would be familiar with Ford Mustang/Ford Mustangs, but the Mini Cooper isn't originally made by Mini.  It was originally manufactured by British Motor Corporation (BMC).  Mini was the type of car and Cooper was it's designer and version.  Which places Mini Cooper potentially in the "noun adjective" format.


texts: past perfect + past participle or had + object + past perfect

texts:
I came across this sentence in Ray Monk's Bertrand Russell: The Spirit of Solitude, 1872-1921, Volume 1:

  On the contrary, she had just written — and had had accepted by The Nineteenth Century — a polemic of her own entitled 'A reply from the daughters', which defended the right of ….

What is the structure of "had had accepted" in the above sentence? Is it of the form:"past perfect + p.p.", or of the form:"have/had + object + past perfect" , with the object "pulled out to the end"? Is there a passive voice in it?


texts:
Looking for a single word, an adjective, that means "HIV-positive" or "having AIDS".

I am especially looking for slang/informal equivalents, but open to all suggestions.

Edit:

I am translating a text that was written when much less was known about the disease, so the lines were blurrier. The text is also about a very marginalized community, where you went from being HIV-positive to having AIDS much faster than in, say, the US or much of Europe -- the blurriness of the language also reflects that.

I should also mention that words I'm translating ("sidada" and "sidosa") are derived from the acronym "SIDA" (AIDS) but often were used by this community to mean HIV-positive.

To a certain extent, I am looking for pejorative terms, but pejorative in the sense that "queer" was pejorative and then taken back through positive usage by the community itself.


texts:
Hopefully no one gets offended by the title but I had a discussion with a coworker whether or not there is a good word for people who fight for men's rights.
If feminists are woman activists, what is the correct term for male activists (really just looking for the word, not for a discussion about activism)
Andronists?

Enlighten us :)


texts: word for 'someone who came back from the dead'

texts: I am looking for a cool name that is similar in meaning to 'someone who came back from the dead'. if it's feminine that will be great. I have a laptop that was dead for a long time and I have got it working again. I am thinking to give it a cool name.


texts:
Ok I just want to ask and confirm a few compounds.

1) games shop or game shop - a place where you can buy video games

2) amusement arcade or arcade - a place where people went to play arcade machines in the 80s and 90s. Are they called arcade machines?

3) Is there a singular word to call all things in a casino? I mean slot machines, wheels of fortune and so on. Machines maybe?


texts: Word to Describe Exploitation of Elderly

texts: I am looking for a word(s) that describes someone who deceives/takes advantage of an old person to get that old person to name him as his caretaker, POA, successor trustee of his trust, etc.  Sample sentence:  "Mr. Smith was a(n) _________ attorney who duped my Dad into signing over his assets by having him change his legal paperwork to make Mr. Smith his POA."


texts: What’s the difference between “Happy with something” and “satisfied with something”?

texts:
I wonder if there is a difference between “happy with” and “satisfied with”. Are they exactly same?

For example, given sentence: Are you happy with my choice?
But I think it is also okay to say “Are you satisfied with my choice?”


texts: Can you "escalate down" on an escalator?

texts:
In a recent article in New York magazine, a reporter described an entourage of politicians preparing to leave a building

  " . . . we headed for the exits, and as we were all escalating down to the lobby . . ."

A survey of definitions for the verb escalate on onelook.com all reveal meanings such as

  to make or become greater or more serious

Cambridge and several other dictionaries note that the verb is derived from the noun escalator, (which began as a coined trademark word that has now become the generic term for moving staircase).

A few dictionaries, such as this one suggest that the original meaning of escalate was just that -- to ride an escalator, and list a definition

  to raise, lower, rise, or descend on or as if on an escalator.

All of these ride-the-escalator definitions seem to be based on one listing in Random House Dictionary.

Is an acceptance of the original meaning re-emerging?  And if so, can one escalate down, which ironically seems to fly in the face of the more common usage of escalate (up)?


texts: What are the pieces used to fill in a template called?

texts:
If I have a template (say a generic letter) that is filled in with various pieces of data (say, the name of the addressee), what is a general term for those pieces of data?

For example:

Dear {firstname},
This is just a friendly reminder that the book {booktitle} will be due on {duedate}.
Thank you.

What would I refer to {firstname}, {booktitle} and {duedate} as?


texts:
I've been trying to find an answer to this question for some time, and have finally decided to... well, buck up some courage and ask.

In sentences like these two

  "Hello, Mary, how are you?"
  "Don't touch that, John, it'll explode!"

is the comma after the name (Mary, John) a comma splice or not? I can understand that for instances like the following

  "I can't believe, Howard, that you've put the duck in there."

the name is technically parenthetical, but it feels to me like the first two are clearly not. In the first two cases, I'd be much happier if the latter was replaced by a period or had a suitable conjunction added in. It feels to me, here, like the vocative is being used to justify attaching two independent clauses together in a similar manner to a comma splice, and is thus an error.

Any thoughts/information on this? I'll appreciate any answers anyone could give me on this, even if they are just 'Duh, that's obvious'. It's been bugging me for a while.


texts:
What would you call a noun which lives at the very bottom of a hierarchy of common/proper nouns?

For example, say we have the proper noun "Regent Street".

The common noun is "Street", which is a name we give (among many others eg. "Avenue", "Road") to a thoroughfare.

But what kind of noun is "thoroughfare"? Root noun? Perhaps I'm thinking of this with too much of an engineers head :)

Would thoroughfare in this case qualify as an abstract noun?

Another example:

Proper Noun - "Ford Mondeo"
Common Noun - "Car" (among Van, Lorry, Motorcycle etc)
Abstract(?) Noun - "Vehicle"


texts: What term describes the classification of "non-fiction/fiction"?

texts:
Suppose there is a form like this, describing a book:

Title: Farming in the Alps
Author: C. Chaplin
Year: 1995
_______: non-fiction

Which term belongs in the blank?


texts: What word characterizes this one statement with its diametrically opposed conclusions?

texts:
"Well we’re getting closer… or farther away."

This was a tongue-in-cheek response characterizing the state of a system.  What word characterizes this one statement with its diametrically opposed conclusions as it's stated that we're either getting [both] closer or farther away?"  I plan to respond to the person quoted with "I’ve never heard such a ________ statement from you."


texts: What does it mean: "to be in with a shot"

texts:
Just heard two phrases from a native speaker (Northern Ireland, UK):

1.

  we are still in with a shot

2.

  to be in with a shot

What do they mean? How would you explain the meaning of these phrases in English?


texts: Does the term "family" include the person themselves?

texts:
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the term family as "a social group made up of parents and their children." So it's my understanding that this would include me, my parents and any siblings. However, some people say "you and your family" as if they're two separate entities. The examples I see the most often are "I wish you and your family all the best" and "deepest condolences to you and your family."
So does the term family include that person themselves? In other words, is the phrase "you and your family" redundant?


texts: "Become acquainted", "be connected" with the connotation of "take the initiative"

texts:
Would the following sentence be idiomatic and correct?

  At the conference, she became acquainted with more than 20 scholars,
  exhibiting excellent networking skills.

I was thinking saying something like "connected to more than X scholars".  I'm just not sure which expression better conveys the meaning that she took the initiative to approach those scholars and got to know them.


texts:
In the book Dune Messiah, I read:

  "The Emperor has said I must die if I set foot on Dune," she said, making a last desperate effort. "You spoke of this yourself. You are condemning me if you take me down there."

  "Say no more," the Qizara ordered. "The thing is ordained."

A common alternative is "This is an order", but here it uses the word ordain. I looked it up in the dictionary and found that they have similar meanings:

  or·dain
      verb \ȯr-ˈdān\
      Definition of ORDAIN
      transitive verb
      1
      : to invest officially (as by the laying on of hands) with ministerial or priestly authority
      2a : to establish or order by appointment, decree, or law : enact—  we the people … do ordain and establish this Constitution — United States Constitution
     2b : destine, foreordain

  intransitive verb
      : to issue an order

So, when should I use ordain instead of order?


texts:
In a literary analysis I am preparing, I toyed with the following sentence:
"Sections [A] and [C] are symmetrically parallel."
Am I unnecessarily redundant? Or is there a logical gap between the two concepts?


texts: Which word or phrase describes a situation where the answer is both a pro and a con?

texts:
Sometimes when people are enumerating the good and bad aspects of something, the same thing comes up in both the pros and cons.  For example, a certain policy may be considered good because it benefits the rich; however, this same policy may also be considered bad because it benefits the rich.

What word or phrase refers to such a situation?


texts:
I was browsing through some very old English texts when I came across this page from The memoires of Sir James Melvil of Hal-hill, by George Scot (1683). The first thing that struck me was the anatomy of the capital letter Q in Queen. Its elongated tail dips well below the base line, and if you peer closely at the fourth Q you'll see it curl slightly upwards. It's not the first time I have seen a similar font but I was wondering if that particular letter style had a name.

I know that lowercase letters that extend beyond the baseline are called descenders,  but I didn't find any information about uppercase letters with flamboyant diagonal tails and ‘legs’,
 like the ‘K’ and ‘R’ in Kingdom, King, Retreat, Reader and Retriev'd.

My last question; in the text you'll notice that each of the following nouns and adjectives: Hatten, French Knave, Bastien, Frenchmen, Bedford, English Gentlemen and Satyrs are in italics and each word begins with a capital letter. Why is that? When did this trend end?

I read this question Capitalisation of nouns in English in the 17th and 18th centuries and although it talks about the craze for capitalizing “important nouns”, it doesn't mention anything about italicized nouns.


texts: What's the history behind the phrase "I hear Violins"..?

texts:
At work I often listen to Pandora with headphones on. Today it played a beautiful chillout track I hadn't heard in years: Conjure One - Center Of The Sun. The song lyrics use the phrase "I hear volins", which in context seem to mean something like "when I hear such beauty, nothing else matters".
I was already aware of "I hear violins" in the song lyrics of the 80s pop song ABC - When Smokey Sings. The song is a tribute to Smokey Robinson, and although the Wikipedia page for it doesn't mention anything about the lyrics, the phrase does seem to be used in a similar context.
Further searching found the 1975 New York Times Article Do I hear Volins? in which the phrase is presented as a question, as if the reader should know what it means. I also found the 1963 song Ronnie Savoy - I Hear Violins, but I could find neither recordings nor lyrics for it.
Does anyone know the meaning of "I hear violins", and when it first might have been used..?
Thanks.


texts: Multiple introductory phrases and commas

texts:
I searched for answers to this on the site, but no one is asking the same thing exactly. When you have multiple introductory phrases, prepositional phrases per se, do you have to use a comma to separate them? For example,

"In the morning, with a fast pace, I will get up."
"Under table, in the little compartment, there is a key."

Part of me says yes, that you have to have the comma, but if these occur at the end of the sentence, I don't think you have to. So I am trying to figure out the reasoning here.

"I will get up in the morning with a fast pace."
"There is a key under the table in the little compartment."


texts: Does the main clause determine everything?

texts:
If the clause is If I disturbed you:

If I disturbed you, I am sorry.
If I disturbed you, I would give you money.

Both of them use the past tense of disturb in the 'if-clause'
According to the subjunctive mood of past, 2 means 'As I don't disturb you, I will not give you money' (assuming the opposite of the present fact or situation: past subjunctive).
According to the indicative mood, 1 means 'I disturbed you in the past and I am sorry now.'
1 and 2 use same if clause using the same disturbed (literally the same if-clause) but has two different meanings due to different main clauses (I am sorry and I would give you money).
How do you know if a speaker says 'if-clause' with the intention of indicative or subjunctive. Do I have to wait for the main clause that follows the 'if-clause'?
If so, does the main clause determine the mood of the 'if clause'? (An important fact is that "a speaker opens his mouth and says exactly the same sound/thing").


texts: "Was the extent" vs "was about the extent"

texts:
That was the extent of what I recalled.

  That was about the extent of what I recalled.

Do the mean the same? If not, what's the difference?


texts: I mean, it's not like there is a tuna vegetable or animal that it can be confused with.


texts:
"Ancestral" means "of or pertaining to an ancestor or ancestors". Is there an adjective which means "of or pertaining to a descendant or descendants"?

"Filial" isn't quite the right word, as it suggests only a single generation's remove.


texts:
But shape-wise I'm part cat, part elephant, part dolphin.
Could you explain me what this sentence means?


texts: Why do we say "assistant" instead of "assister"?

texts:
Is it just arbitrary?
A Google search gives me the etymology of "assist" but not the reason for the convention. It also notes that "assistor" is the spelling used in legal documents.
Related:

accountant/accounter
defendant/defender
commandant/commander

Looking at the list above, is it when it's an official job? For example, if I help an elderly person cross the road, I am an assister but not an assistant? If I calculate the combined total of my bank accounts, I am the accounter but not an accountant?


texts:
There is a song whose lyrics is given below... Can anyone tell what exactly "in the middle of riddle" means?

  At the edge of the moon there's
  a lonely man
  And he blows on his horn as
  strong as he can

  And the girl at the bar wipoes the breath
  of winter away with a smile of her face
  And a little black dog barks along
  with a loon

  Is this my appointment or did I came
  too soon
  Got a strange invitation for teatime 'twas
  given by somebody
  I can't recall
  It's the middle of the riddle
  It's not very serious
  It's nothing but a big surprise

  And the president's horse is a rabbit
  of course
  That is livin' in a big boy's mind
  Livin' in a big boy's mind

  And I skate on a knife on a wire
  That is strung from this song
  to a distant shore

  And then I say
  Intuition is just another phase of chance
  While we're walking the old
  pyramid's floors
  (Little pharaoh's)
  And the little black dog
  Here it comes again
  He's a true companion in a foreign land

  On a quest for the valley of boojums and birthdays
  And phone calls I cannot recall
  It's the middle of the riddle
  It's not very serious
  It's nothing but a big surprise

  And the president's horse is a rabbit


texts: What’s the difference between “for” and “to” in “for/to many people”?

texts:
Given these two versions of a sentence:

For many people, dogs are the best friends.
To many people, dogs are the best friends.

I have following questions:

What is the difference between using for and using to for this sentence?
Are both versions grammatical?
If not, which one should be used and why?


texts: With "big in stature", we have large, tall, rotund, huge, mammoth-like, towering and so on. What would be valid (and if possible, comical sounding) words that would be able to describe somebody who is small in stature, short, petite?


texts: Should contractions be used with first names?

texts:
I understand that the apostrophe character ' is used to indicate missing characters, e.g. it's => It is.  It is commonplace to use contractions in surnames, such as O'Reilly (of), or D'Artagnan (De), but I don't recall ever seeing contractions used in first names.

Is it correct to use 'Becca for Rebecca, or 'Tori for Victoria?  Or is it just that people are lazy and tend not to use apostrophes as the first character of a word?


texts: Is "everything it’s gonna be ok" correct in some usage form?

texts: I have seen the phrase used (mostly by non-americans) and even on song lyrics but I am not sure if it is just a confusion. Have seen contraction commonly used is "Everything's Gonna Be Okay" but my guess is that the 's would be "is" and not "it's".


texts:
I am not sure whether to post this to English Learners SE instead, so if the question seems too easy or too silly feel free to migrate it.

So, I have a sentence: "Life is going to haven't made sense sometime".

What I am trying to say is: "sometime, there will be a moment, when you realise that life has never made any sense". I feel like the first version is more concise, and still follows the rules of English grammar, but I'm unsure if it's understandable.

So, is the first 'condensed' version correct and/or understandable? If no, can you think of any alternative to 'condense' the second?
Thank you.


texts: East Yorkshire pronunciation in the mid 20th century

texts: I grew up in Driffield, East Yorkshire, England, in the 1950s, and I seem to remember that my older relatives spoke a variety of English far removed from the general notion of Yorkshire English.  It included unusual vowels (‘look’ pronounced /le:k/, ‘ford’ pronounced /fu:ᵊd/, ‘old’ pronounced [a:d]), and odd forms of prepositions, such as ‘to’ with a suffixed V before a vowel (/tɪvɪt/ for ‘to it’), and plain /ɪ/ for ‘in’.  The definite article was ‘d’ before a vowel, and absent otherwise (‘he’s in the pub’ pronounced /ɪzɪpʊb/) I’ve never seen this described anywhere  -  books on Yorkshire dialect seems to be mainly about whimsical vocabulary  -  and I’m beginning to doubt my memory. Could anyone verify any of this?


texts: Why would the "wind blowing in the East" be considered a bad thing?

texts:
I've been recently working through the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Bleak House, and enjoying it very much.   However, there's a particular motif that's bothering me, whose logic I haven't been able to figure out from context; that would be Mr. Jandyce's constant referring to events or moods that bother him by muttering something like,

  the wind's blowing in the East.

One easily divines from context that's it's not a positive thing, because Jandyce only says it when someone dear to him is in trouble or some misfortune has befallen them, but I can't figure out why the east wind blowing would necessarily be a bad thing.   Is there some sort of logic to this phrase, that can be explained by looking at its etymology?


texts:
Which one would you consider correct:

This quick note is to just inform you that...

Or

This is a quick note to just inform you that...

Obviously, the second one is widely used, but I don't know about the first one


texts: Word for incidents you think are still happening but aren’t

texts:
I am looking for a word, that is suitable for the following scenario in bold:

  For two years I used to go to the same restaurant with my best friend. Then I moved somewhere else. A  year passed, and I came back to the same restaurant and ordered a dish. Suddenly, someone entered, and immediately I thought it was my old friend. However, in reality it was someone else.
  passage copy-edited

So, what do we call a situation when we start thinking that the past is repeating but in reality, it's not. Like having hallucination that you are with your friend, but in reality he is not here. He's coming in your mind, because you spent a long time with him.


texts:
I have a question regarding the usage of the Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous.

So first, here's the context: I was playing an online game with a couple friends and in this game you have to go into dungeons which have treasure chests at their end and these chests normally contain valuable items (some do not) and normally you do those dungeons just to make money.
Anyway, we made our way through a dungeon right to the end of it and then one of my buddies opened the chest and we looted the items. Then I asked him if there was anything valuable you could get out of the chest in that specific dungeon as I hadn't been sure about it. We were still in the dungeon.
He told me there actually was something of high value obtainable and I replied with either (I've forgotten what EXACTLY I said but I'll try to recall as best as possible):

Oh I didn't know, I've always been playing this dungeon only for fun. (but now I might consider playing it for the valuable items)

or

Oh I didn't know, so far I've been playing this dungeon only for fun. (but now I might consider playing it for the valuable items)

Now my question is that if I had used the "simple" Present Perfect, would the meaning drastically change?
Could I have said it like this:

Oh I didn't know, I've always played this dungeon only for fun. (but now I might consider playing it for the valuable items)

or

Oh I didn't know, so far I've played this dungeon only for fun. (but now I might consider playing it for the valuable items)

To me it feels like both are right, there's only a slight nuance namely that in the version with the PrP Contionuous I convey that I played the dungeon more frequently or habitually than in the simple PrP version but maybe I'm completely wrong, I don't know.

So, what do feel or think when hearing something like that and which version would you choose?

I'm looking forward to reading your answers. :)


texts:
What word or phrase is best used to describe a monopoly in all economies - basically having a monopoly in everything.

For example, Company X has a monopoly in Food, Technology, Communication, Resources, etc.


texts: How to infer the pronunciation of words starting with "co"?

texts:
I'm particularly interested in the British pronunciation.
Take the following two words as an example:

Context (kɒntɛkst)
Control (kənˈtrəʊl)

The first one's pronunciation starts as kɒ whereas the second one is pronounced with the kə sound.
Is there a way to infer the pronunciation of such words starting with "co"?

As a non-native speaker, I get lost most of the time when I come across such words. To make matters worse, I came across the word "content" which is pronounced both ways depending on its usage as a noun or as an adjective.


texts: If remastering means to remake an audio or video recording of better quality with new technologies, then what’s the equivalent verb for remaking a document or publication i.e. book with new technologies? For example, the formal document could be a lot better in pictures and formatting, but there is a new technology that can make things a lot better looking and formatted.


texts: What kind of phrase/clause is "as far as I know"?

texts: I would like to know what kind of phrase/clause "as far as I know" is, and why.


texts:
In the Jewel song Sara Swan Sleepyhead we have this passage:

  There’s a knock at the door
  A funny suit Sammy wore
  And on his face an ear to ear grin

The bolded part seems weird to me. Is this correct grammar, and how common a usage is it?


texts: Is it better to start a sentence with “If ” or “Where”?

texts:
Which of the following sentences is better to use?

  Where it is concluded that the report is incorrect it will be returned.
  If the report is incorrect then it will be returned.

Or do they mean the same thing?

These sentences will be used for a description of activities.


texts:
Is it correct to use "in developing" in the following sentence?

The proportion of men to women in developing gastric lesions was 3 to 1.


texts: I am wondering if the difference between "It is terrible." and "What it is, is it is terrible." can mostly be described in terms of transformations, grammatically.  Is it a kind of cleft sentence?


texts:
I heard a sportscaster say this. Since gerunds are preceded by possessive pronouns, this would have to be a present participle. (him, who is going back).
I do think, however, that the gerund (his going back) would have been more appropriate. Can someone tell whether this is wrong usage, gerunds are preceded by objective pronouns in informal speech, or why he chose him here. Can you use the objective to put emphasis on the person rather than the action itself? I am aware of the fact that some might be annoyed by my repeated questions regarding this topic but I have not been able to answer this despite having looked at various sources, covering this topic.


texts:
On the eve of England India World Cup cricket match on 30.6.2019, Jos Buttler said

  "The mood in the camp is still very good. Naturally there is some external pressure and it would be naive to say we have got our blinkers on."

Is it good or bad to have your blinkers on?


texts:
Writers often highlight part of a quotation to emphasize the point they're making. They use a variety of phrases to indicate that the emphasis did not appear in the original text. In order of current usage:

emphasis added
italics added
emphasis mine
italics mine

It appears that “italics mine” is the earliest phrasing and the most common for at least 60 years, after which it was matched by “italics added” (c.1960) and then overwhelmingly surpassed by “emphasis added” (c.1970).

It strikes me that “italics mine” and its later kin, “emphasis mine,” is an odd and archaic-looking construction, especially considering that it didn't become common until the early 20th Century. Can anyone shed light on its origin? Was there a particular reason why “emphasis added” so strongly overtook it in the 1960s?


texts:
I'm looking for a phrase which essentially means questioning a belief you share with someone, but that other person has an almost unshakable faith in that belief, so your misgivings fall on deaf ears or they try and convince you otherwise without really taking into consideration your points.

Not necessarily religious, but it could be for instance, questioning the negative impact of legal weapons to a friend in the NRA


texts:
As a programmer, I have no problem with seeing or using "and/or" in technical documentation. For example,

  I can upvote an answer that satisfies me and/or mark it as accepted.

That's perfectly good English to me. However, if I were writing a novel, or even just an essay, or — heaven forbid — a poem, "and/or" would seem extremely out of place.

My question is, what should I be using instead? (I solemnly swear I will not use that knowledge to actually write a poem.)


texts: I want to know what exactly "what's been up ?" means cause I think it's pretty confusing with "what's up ?". I think it's not exactly the same expression ?


texts: The end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 witnessed us in "a lot of moments of ups and downs". how to express the part in the quote in an eloquent way??

texts: and can I say, "The end of 2018 and 2019 the beginning?"


texts: What does wink and nod mean? In which context is it used?

texts: Yesterday I read the word "wink and nod" in a newspaper. I didn't understand the meaning. Can anyone explain?


texts:
We're proud of our tortilla chips and we hope you'll agree.

It may seem trivial but I've seen similar remarks on other products and it just doesn't feel like a valid sentence because I can't determine what they hope I'll agree with them about.

I don't think I'm just missing out on the context as this sentence is preceded by nothing and is only followed by one more:

  Remember, your satisfaction is always guaranteed with [our] brand products.

Am I supposed to share their pride?

Am I supposed to be agreeing that they are proud of their product? If so, is there really a difference between their statement and an example of me saying, "I like pizza and I hope you will agree."

Does anyone know if there is any sort of common characterization of this type of flaw?


texts:
My question is that in the sentence:

  The thief opened the door with the duplicate key.

Why can't I use by in place of with?


texts: Recently I stumbled upon this phrase "If anything". I wanted to know if it is a synonym of "On the contrary" and if so, could you write some examples? Thanks in advance people!


texts: Norman Mailer's famous sentence -- where is the grammatical error?

texts:
The great American novelist Norman Mailer apparently began his rather brilliant novel 'HARLOT's GHOST' with a 'major grammatical error.' The sentence is as follows:

  "On a late-winter evening in 1983, while driving through the fog along the Maine coast, recollections of old campfires began to drift into the March mist, and I thought of the Abnaki Indians of the Algonquin tribe who dwelt near Bangor a thousand years ago."

So where is the error?


texts:
This recent "The Register" article uses a totally weird word I've never seen (emphasis mine):

Our story comes from a reader Regomised as "Felix" and takes us back to the early part of this century [...]

Screenshot:

Being a non-native speaker of English I decided to ask here. I looked in two dictionaries (including one of the dead tree variety).
The use of the word in the sentence suggests it's a verb. The fact it starts with a capital letter, though, suggests otherwise. But looking at only:

... comes from a reader Regomised as "Felix" ...

... I'd still surmise that this must be a verb. The other option I pondered briefly was if it was a name/pseudonym (which conventionally start with capital letter in English), but that interpretation makes even less sense than assuming it is a verb.
When entering this in Google it assumed I was misspelling "recognized".
Is this an actual word, even slightly misspelled so that I cannot look it up or recognize it, or is this a mere spelling mistake?


texts:
Generally, there exist two types of compression algorithms which have the feature to be lossless or lossy. What is the noun to reference this feature?

The word lossiness seems to be plausible to me. Is it correct?


texts: Does an adjective apply to both nouns when they are joined with 'and' [or 'or']?

texts:
Can you grab the blue shirts and socks?

Is the above sentence stating that both the shirts and the socks are blue? Or only the shirts?

At this stage, I am leaning towards the earlier (only the shirts) — though writing "Can you grab the blue shirts and blue socks?" seems redundant.


texts: Structure of persuasive and explanatory sentences

texts:
I recently attended a workshop on academic writing. The workshop organiser advised that persuasive sentences should present the conclusion followed by evidence. In contrast, sentences that provide an explanation should present the evidence followed by conclusions.

Is anyone else aware of this structure? Is it commonly used in academic writing? Is it a standard sentence structure?


texts: A "close call" where something marginally bad happens

texts:
I tipped over a bottle of water on my desk, but managed to right it before it spilled out completely, leaving a small pool. My coworker said "close call," which is, to me, a little imprecise because something bad actually did happen (i.e., water did spill from the bottle).

However, the scale of the spill was smaller than it could have been had I not immediately righted the bottle. Is there a word/phrase more suited to this situation?


texts: Which is correct — period, semicolon, or colon?

texts:
Each day, difficult choices have to be made. Who will live, and who will die?
  Each day, difficult choices have to be made; Who will live, and who will die?
  Each day, difficult choices have to be made: Who will live, and who will die?


texts:
I am writing an essay and I want to say a sentence:

Would it be better to say that

I initially wanted Jim to dye his hair blue , but now I see that he made the right decision.

OR

I initially wanted Jim to dye his hair blue , but now that I see him, he decided right.

Please advise

Thank you


texts: Dramatic Writing and Behavior of primary characters in a screenplay

texts: A way to describe a person who is smirking or their lips purse? A simple phrase or word that describes a series of conflicting and contradicting emotions being displayed by a person. The description of the behavior is in an effort to reveal vulnerability.


texts:
Ruse meaning: an action intended to deceive someone; a trick.

Can I use rusing?

Example:
I was rusing back there so you could make a clean getaway.


texts: The origin of the word "Breaker" referring to waves

texts:
I am trying to understand the history and etymology of the word breaker as it relates to ocean waves. I found a citation to the 1680s which ties it to "break" which dates to the Old English and the 13th century and seems simply descriptive, that the water surface breaks -- nothing specific to waves.

I don't have an OED handy so I can't see if there is anything else. Any help would be appreciated.


texts:
What are the things that you can sign up for?

Is it correct to say "to sign up for an event", the event being an online live chat session?

The definition of sign up in the COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary says that if you sign up for an organization or if an organization signs you up, you sign a contract officially agreeing to do a job or course of study.

Do you sign up only for organizations?

I saw the verb used in sentences such as "She's signed up for evening classes at the community college," but I'm still not sure what are the things you can sign up for?


texts: What is a more articulate method of expressing that one possesses technical aptitude?

texts:
I'm often confounded when trying to articulate in a concise manner that a person is literate or savvy in matters technical (i.e. computers, software, IT).

For example, I am composing an email with the following:

"I need to setup a time to present a more "high-level" demo for our Vice President of Technology. It would not need to be quite as granular as the previous demo, however this VP is technically knowledgeable so he may ask detailed questions about the application."

I think "technically knowledgeable" may read a bit vague. It sounds to me like it could mean someone who is familiar with technology, or someone who is knowledgeable in the "technical" sense of the word about something else.

Describing someone as being "technical" is even worse in my opinion. Anyone know of, or use a better method to express this?


texts: What's the deep meaning in the lyrics of "Heavy Traffic" by Elton John?

texts:
In the lyrics, some pieces I couldn't understand very well:

  Shakey wake up thirsty from a night in the bar
     And snake hips Joe is Mr. Cool

What's snake hips? And, does the name Joe have a special meaning?

  Out on the boulevard
     The pimp from the Jack of Diamonds

I guess Jack of Diamonds is somewhere similar to Casino, yes?

  Just got another Jane Doe
     She just got off the last bus from Montecedo

Why Jane Doe? Is the guy very special?
And where is Montecedo?

  Sailor boys find trouble in the alien state
     It's one on one from Las Palmas to the Golden Gate
     Fly boys on the corner waiting for a ride
     For twenty bucks he'll pull the cork on the man inside

Why on the corner, but not in the corner? And what means waiting for a ride?

I'm also confused with the phrase pull the cork on the man inside.

  `Cause we're rolling in heavy traffic
     Judy's in the jump seat and Jody's in the bucket
     Billy likes to drive and Jackie's just high
     And Cindy thinks we're all gonna commit suicide

How to understand the word rolling?

  `Cause we're rolling in heavy traffic
     Yeah we're rolling in heavy traffic

     Mack he's got his Marlboros tucked up in his sleeve

FWIK, Marlboro is a brand of cigarette, yet? But how do Mack hidden Marlboro in his sleeve?

  He's shacked up in his basement making P.C.P.
     He used to shake the french fries

What P.C.P was Mack making?

  Down on 12th and Maine
     And now he stays up nights on apple juice and cocaine

How to understand Down on 12th?

I know I have got too many questions, but any help pointing out answers is appreciated.


texts:
What does "linger in the shadows" mean in the interchange below? I heard it in a movie.

I searched but I can't find it.

  A: Why do you linger in the shadows?
  B: I was coming to report to you.


texts: Use of comma in place of omitted 'that'?

texts:
Dave told me about his new hobby, _____ very much.

Which one of the following options is correct:
(1) which he’s enjoying
(2) that he’s enjoying
(3) he’s enjoying it
(4) he’s enjoying

I can't tell the difference between 1,2 and 4. I would have guessed they are all correct, but test tells that only one is correct. My only clue is the comma in the sentence. Would we put comma if we choose 3 ? What would you guess is the right answer?


texts:
I've seen 'coding craft': http://www.codingcraft.co.uk/
and 'hire craft': http://hirecraft.com/
what's the correct version? why not 'hiring craft'? what's the difference?


texts: "Some characteristic C is what distinguishes A from B"

texts:
In "some characteristic C is what distinguishes A from B", does characteristic C belongs to A but not to B, or to B but not to A?

For example:

  Imposing restrictions on the available resources is what distinguishes computational complexity from computability theory.


texts:
The Management Board of the Agencyshall, on the basis of an
  independent audit report that takes into account the recommendations
  of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, confirm and
  announce when the repository has achieved full functionality and
  meets the functional specifications drawn up pursuant to the second paragraph. EU Regulations

I'd like to ask about the reason why the writer uses "has achieved" (the present perfect) and "meets" (the simple present) in one When clause.

And could you let me know the meaning of this When clause?
I think it could be interpeted in two ways as follows:

1) The board has to confirm and announce what day/what time the repository has to achieve full functionality and has to meet the specifications. (= the Board has to confirm and announce the deadline for the repository to be ready.)

2) The board has to confirm and announce what day/what time the repository achieved full functionality and met the specifications.

Please help me.


texts:
I know the right structure is "would rather do something than do something," but when would rather is followed by a clause, what is the correct grammar?
Should there be a "to" before the verb in the following sentence?

I would rather that you wash it yourself than (to) see mom do it for you.


texts:
Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. defines incidentally as

by way: used to introduce additional information such as something that the speaker has just thought of
by chance: by chance or by accident

Is the adverb by way grammatical? Otherwise, why is the left out? I've noticed lexicographic works do this often in brief headings such as this one, regardless of idiomaticity


texts: counterpart of "Shall I/we ..." in written English

texts:
See my title. I am looking for a word or expression to replace the way of "Shall I/we ...?"
The context is I am asking for permission or suggestion but it is not in conversation. I want to apply such sentence in written English. The dictionary says, that is the spoken English.


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "to give up"

texts: How did "give up" start to mean to quit?


texts: What is the origin and meaning of the term 'Chubby Chubs'?

texts:
I have this expression stuck in my head and can't figure out where I've heard it. I think it can be a term of endearment for 'plump babies'. But not sure if it has any other connotations because of the terms 'chubby' and 'chub' being linked to the gay scene.

These are the only references I found about this on the web:

Is It Wrong To Call Your Toddler “Chubby Chubs” And “Greedy Guts”?
Rootabaga Stories By Carl Sandburg


texts: Should I capitalize the word "that" in a title?

texts:
Since the version of the word "that" might matter to the correct answer, I'll provide the actual title in question:

Title:  Existing Solutions that Didn't Work

If someone could explain the why of the answer, I would be appreciative.

EDIT:  It has been suggested that this is a duplicate, and that may be, in a sense.  However, the after reading the suggested prior question, I'm no closer to my answer.  I think it may have to do with my use of the word "that."  Perhaps it is incorrect?

Using these definitions of the word "that:"
I'm having trouble figuring out which definition of that matches my title.  Am I even using it correctly?  Perhaps I should use which instead:

Possible Title:  Existing Solutions which Didn't Work

If my original usage is incorrect, and I should use which, then the answer is simple since which is always a pronoun or adjective, and those are both capitalized in a title.  However, I'm having difficulty understanding which part of speech that is in my original title.


texts: What's the informal word for a small challenge?

texts:
Example:

I challenge you to get her number. If you get it, you earn a beer.

It's sort of a friendly bet. It's a short 3-5 letter word. I've heard it but can't recall it. Please help.

Something pertaining to: bet, challenge, dare, play, sport, game, toy.

May also relate: a clever move, trick, stunt, tactic.


texts: Are "He succeeded in business" and "He succeeded at business" both idiomatic? What is a good resource for learning idiomatic verb-preposition pairs?


texts:
She has no use of the book I gave her.
She has no use for the book I gave her.

Which one is grammatically correct and why?


texts:
Is it correct to use a preposition in this usage?

  Tommy doesn't need any shouting at, he does as he is told.
  Tommy doesn't need shouted at, he does as he is told.

Or is the preposition here redundant and even wrong?


texts:
I need to use a word in a warehouse.  We need to know:

capacity of package?
type of package?
price, quantity in package?

However, I need to use another word to explain the material which is around the package itself (and here I have a problem, because I think the best word is, well, package).

Yet I can't use the same word for this (image of many of packages in a warehouse), and this (image of a single package).

I have to determine a unique word for each.


texts: Is "take a bath" or "bathe" used to mean "take a shower" in some English dialects?

texts:
By analogy with Portuguese tomar banho [de chuveiro/ducha], which along with tomar uma ducha/chuveirada (Br.)/duche (Port.) means, take a shower,

are there any parts of the English speaking world in which one can hear phrases like

  take a bath

  and/or bathe,

be commonly (not to say idiomatically) used to mean, take a shower, in such a way that the word shower in such regions is exclusively used to call the shower apparatus?

  bathe

  : to bathe oneself; take a bath or shower (emphasis is mine.)

  Webster's New World College Dictionary

  bath

  a washing or immersion of something, especially the body, in water, steam, etc., as for cleansing or medical treatment:
  I take a bath every day.

  Random House

For example,

  I was in the shower bathing/taking a bath when the telephone rang.

  I bathe [=take a shower] every day, but I can't seem to remember the last time I took a bath.


texts: Why are nouns in counting adjectival phrases singular?

texts:
Basically, why is it:

"two-item plate"
"three-person table"
"two-man race"

I was trying to find a rule (or a style guide reference or something) that I could pass on to a friend that explains why the nouns in the hyphenated parts are singular rather than plural.

Near as I can tell, these hyphenated bits are adjectival phrases (or adjective phrases) -- although if they aren't, maybe that's why I can't find a rule. Is there a rule covering this?


texts: The correct articles in "me, a ..." or "me, the ..."

texts:
What is the correct article (a, the or maybe none) to use in the sentences and titles below:

First sentence:

This article is about me, a programmer.
This article is about me, the programmer.

A similar sentence:

This article is about a programmer in me.
This article is about the programmer in me.

(I would assume - perhaps wrongly - that either both cases 1 or both cases 2 above are correct, but in case I'm wrong I wanted to ask about those two forms explicitly.)

A title of an article:

Me, A Programmer.
Me, The Programmer.
Me, Programmer.

I couldn't find any similar questions here and google searches for "about a * in me" and "about the * in me" didn't return anything meaningful.

I also assumed that using "I, Programmer" as in Asimov's "I, Robot" would not be correct here but please correct me if I'm wrong.


texts: Is the mix of tenses in this sentence correct?

texts: The Constitution was envisioned as a reaffirmation of the fundamentals which are commonly held and have been accepted by the people. "was", "have", "are", in the same sentence?


texts: Is an implied proper noun *really* a proper noun?

texts:
With reference to the following sentence:

  I am returning to University in a few weeks.

Given that the person stating this is referring to a specific university through implication (for example, because they are returning for their second year of study at the university they studied at during their first year), is this still considered  a proper noun, or should it be treated as a common noun?

In other words, should the spelling of University be capitalised in this context?


texts:
Does one use "on" or "at" in the following:

Kate met him at the corner
Kate met him on the corner.

Or are they the same?


texts: When would you say "woods", and when would you say "forest"?


texts:
For instance + "colon".

Take Bartlett pears, for instance: unless they are treated with exactly the right amount of 1-MCP at exactly the right time, they will remain hard and green until they rot, and consumers who experience this will be unlikely to purchase them again.

I remember being told that we typically don't use a colon after for example or for instance, instead we use a comma. I am more familiar with "Take Bartlett pears, for instance, unless they are... Why is using a colon correct?


texts: Omitting articles in front of countable nouns

texts:
First off, I'd like to say "hello", as it's my first post here. Nonetheless, you guys have been helping me for quite some time, since I've been an avid reader. It's high time I asked a question that I haven't seen being answered before.

Articles, as we have to admit, might get a little tricky. Especially considering differences between AE and BE. I manage to handle them pretty well, that is until I come across some exceptionts I can not fully comprehend. Case in pont: I'm reading "Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon. The author sometimes uses structures like:

  "(...) a faithful person could find encouragement, and a faithless one ample reason to despond"

Or

  "(...) his bowed legs and simian arms affixed to his neck without apparent benefit of shoulders."

As far as I'm concerned both "benefit" and "reason" are countable and singular, so why would Chabon omit articles, that, to my eye, should be put before them? Or perhaps I'm the one messing something up?


texts: Are these commas a proper way to indicate pauses in speech?

texts:
One site was a community of computer technicians, and the other, our government’s.

I checked for answer in the usual list of comma rules.


texts: Alternative wording for "Falling into pitfalls"

texts:
Context: Are you fully knowledgeable of the subject, or are you falling into the common pitfalls?

I don't like having falling and pitfall together. I also think "experiencing the common pitfalls" is a little too formal for the context; I would prefer to keep a casual tone.


texts: Where does the phrase "balls to the wall" come from?

texts: I know the phrase means "going all out" but I can't figure out what it literally means or where it originates from.


texts: What word can fulfill the most parts of speech?

texts:
I know there are several parts of speech:

Noun
Verb
Pronoun
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Conjunction
Interjection

There might be others as well.  Sometimes a word, depending on how it is used, can fulfill more than one of these classes. For example, the word "run" can be a verb:

  I run fast.

or it can be a noun:

  Let's go for a run!

What word, taking into account all its definitions, can fulfill the most word classes?


texts: A quick search suggests that insofar is the American variant of the British in so far. I always assumed it belonged to the set of expressions like hitherto, heretofore, therefore and albeit. Is there a preferred usage, and does it matter? General context for the usage of these expressions would be helpful.


texts:
As this question points out, there are two different meanings of undoable.

I can't find any phonetics how they are pronounced. I guess that the difference is barely audible. Or do you stress the word so that it is capable of being differentiated?

I found phonetics for undo and doable(copied from OALD)

undo: ʌnˈduː
doable: ˈduːəbl

It would be logical that both undo-able and un-doable are pronounced equal.

ʌnˈduː has a trailed əbl
ˈduːəbl has a precedent ʌn.

Both leads to: ʌnˈduːəbl.

But I conjecture this pronunciation to differentiate them:

un-doable: ʌnˈduːəbl
undo-able: ˈʌnduːəbl

Is there any audible difference in pronunciation? Perhaps are there also any difference between British and American English?


texts: Capitalizing the first letter of each word in letter greeting

texts:
I have searched for an answer on the site, but all the questions I have found (e.g. this one) seem to be less general.

Assuming that I'm writing a cover letter to join a team working on a project called, say, 'Purple Frog', I'm not sure whether I should write

Dear Purple Frog Project Team,
...

or

Dear Purple Frog project team,
...

What are the rules that I should follow here?


texts:
I'm writing a paper. In it, I have the following sentence.

  The ________ principle has two discrepancies.

I am considering using either "aforementioned" or "aforesaid". How are the meaning of the two different? The definition for "aforesaid" is

  Stated or mentioned before; aforementioned.

The definition of "aforementioned" is

  Previously mentioned, esp. in a text.

Are their meanings different? When should I use which?


texts: What is the importance of silent letters in English language?

texts: How did the usage of silent letters came into being? For example : what is the use of 'k' in knife or 'p' in pneumonia ?


texts: Difference between 'oxymoron', 'paradox', 'contradiction' and 'misnomer'

texts:
What is the difference between the words oxymoron, paradox, contradiction and misnomer? For example,

Benevolent dictator is an oxymoron.

If I replace oxymoron with misnomer, paradox, or contradiction, how will the meaning change?

Paradox

A seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which, when investigated, may prove to be well-founded or true.

The uncertainty principle leads to all sorts of paradoxes, like particles being in two places at once.
 Oxford Dictionaries

Misnomer

A wrong or inaccurate name or designation.

‘King crab’ is a misnomer -— these creatures are not crustaceans at all.
Oxford Dictionaries

A wrong or inaccurate use of a name or term.

To call this ‘neighbourhood policing’ would be a misnomer.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.

Faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.
Oxford Dictionaries

Contradiction

Combination of statements, ideas, or features which are opposed to one another.

The proposed new system suffers from a set of internal contradictions.

A situation in which inconsistent elements are present.

The paradox of using force to overcome force is a real contradiction.

The statement of a position opposite to one already made.

The second sentence appears to be in flat contradiction to the first.
Oxford Dictionaries

All of them seem the same to me.


texts: How did the letter Z come to be associated with sleeping/snoring?

texts:
In cartoons and comics it's not uncommon to see a series of Z's to indicate that a person is in deep slumber, such as in the following political cartoon.

How and when did the letter Z come to be associated with sleeping?


texts: Can I use a present participle clause to express a condition?

texts:
According to the books I have read, the present participle clauses can be used to talk about:

-Things happening at the same time as, or just before, the main action.

-Result of the action in the main clause.

-Reason of the action in the main clause.

-To give background information.

But could I use it to express a condition, like this "Opening the window, you will breathe some fresh air"?


texts: Word request: Generalization of “spike” and “scuttle” and “slight”

texts:
An author I know (a retired Army lieutenant colonel) wrote this on his Facebook page:

  There is a term of military art I cannot remember, that I need for a book, and that is driving me [batty] trying to find. So what is the single word – no, it isn’t “sabotage” – we use for the destruction of friendly military equipment to prevent capture and use by the enemy?”

There are terms for some particular techniques for doing this: one might “spike” cannons, “scuttle” ships (sometimes by “scuppering” them, but there are other methods), or “slight” castles and fortifications; “scorched earth”, also called “denial”, is a policy of doing this destruction to everything in an area; but—

The author and others there with military backgrounds remember the existence of a single, possibly somewhat obsolete, verb for the general idea of rendering materiel useless by an enemy about to capture it. They just can’t recall the word itself.


texts: We say 'hundreds of', 'thousands of', 'millions of', even 'tens of thousands of', but not 'tens of'. The usual expression is 'dozens of'. Does anyone know why?


texts:
Observable as a tendency of our culture is a withdrawal of belief in psychoanalysis: we no longer feel that it can solve our emotional problems.

This is from GRE verbal tests.

From what I guess the author want to say, I parse it like this:

  Observable as a tendency (of our culture is a withdrawal (of belief in psychoanalysis)): we no longer feel that it can solve our emotional problems.

But in that way, the part before the colon ("Observable as a tendency") lacks a verb. How do you guys think?


texts: Can I use the word "it" in this sentence?

texts:
Can I replace the second "supply chain" with the word "it"? Will this change still retain the exact meaning?

"The supply chain associated with the semiconductor industry is dynamic which makes the supply chain complex."


texts: Is "There are many options to customize your preference" grammatically correct?

texts:
There are many options to customize
  your preference.

Is there such a pattern in English?

Please avoid obtaining a wrong impression from the above sentence used actually to emphasize a pattern as follows.

It is the tool to convert PDF to EPS.
She is my secretary to prepare your document.
I am a TeX expert to typeset your document.

I was inspired by the following pattern.

I am glad to help you.
I am sad to hear this news.

[Edit: This question was originally posed concerning a quite different sentence. The OP has edited it to make it clearer (including the title), but many of the answers below no longer appear relevant].


texts: Can I use one word to say- 'common human behaviour'

texts: If I have to say that expecting a thank you or a sorry is not a way of satisfying your ego but a common human behavior. So, can I get a better word or phrase to express this??


texts: Is it ever appropriate to mix up "I" and "one" in the same sentence?

texts:
In my last question on English L & U SE, I was strongly tempted to write the following:

  Every so often I've thought I've chanced across most of them [literary Biblical phrases], but as one keeps reading, one keeps finding more.

but wrote instead:

  Every so often I've thought I've chanced across most of them , but as I keep reading, I keep finding more.

My thinking, in preferring the former over the latter, was that while both sentences relate that the first observation is personal, that is, that it was I who thought he'd come across most of these phrases, the latter sentence better emphasized that the second observation is universal; that is, anyone who reads a fair bit will continually discover these phrases in their reading.

Unfortunately, being on a site with an exacting user base caused my inner matronly grammarian to kick in and I changed the sentence, based on some concern I was inappropriately mixing the grammatical persons.  As well, I vaguely remember a not insignificant minority of questions on the SAT II Writing as being a stickler for this sort of thing when I took it some years ago.  On the other hand, I'm not sure if this isn't perhaps another one of those 6th-grade kludges teachers tell you because either a) the rule is too complicated or b) it's not actually a rule at all, but a myth.

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded background -- can anyone help me and give me a general usage rule, as well as information on how strictly it is adhered to in literary and professional writing?


texts:
If someone says a phrase that sounds like:

  I'd just as soon you don't get in an accident, so I'll call you later.

Are they actually saying "just as soon" or "just assume" or something else?


texts: Confusion in the usage of the conjunction word "that"

texts:
I read an article on the National Geographic website:

In this sentence:

  We reach the water and I try to swim – but the water is so salty I just float on the surface.

Cannot we use "that" between "salty" and "I"? If so, why has it been omitted?


texts:
I'm Italian and I'm trying to improve my English, but I have some difficulty speaking with and understanding people of different countries.

For example when I study English in books it seems to be easy to learn, but when I have to use it at work with people of different countries I have a lot of problems.

So the question is: what is "real" English? Where can I study it? It is good to watch some films in English or would that teach me "bad" English?


texts: A word for unobtrusive architecture amidst architecturally superior ensemble?

texts:
I am looking for a term for unobtrusive architecture amidst architecturally superior ensemble. E.g., a contemporary building in a college campus or in a European old town that features some stylized elements and color of the old buildings, but is generally bland and deliberately "un-architectural," purely functional building. It tries to blend in and not to rival with the original architecture.

Sentence: In the 1950s, the university leadership sought to expand the old campus with modernist buildings, but after a severe public backlash, they opted for a conservative solution, settling on typical ___ architecture/buildings for good. [or something similar]


texts: I looked up blithe in the dictionary, which means "happy and without worry." For example, "She shows a blithe disregard for danger." I just don't understand what a blithe disregard means in the context.


texts: Most of the world thinks I'm awesome. The rest have not met me yet. have or has?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When “most is” and when “most are”?

I am having a dilemma here...

"Most of the world thinks I'm awesome. The rest have not met me yet." - the rest of the world has not met me yet, so I'd think it's "has", but a friend of mine used "have" - could he actually be right?


texts: What is the correct usage of "the question of ..."

texts:
I am currently writing my thesis, which addresses the question of how to do X. However, I am not sure whether the usage of "the question of ..." is correct. I found the following expressions while searching the web:

This thesis addresses the question of how to do X.
This thesis addresses the question how to do X.
This thesis addresses the question as to how to do X.

Can someone tell which one is correct (and why)?

I also sometimes use the expression "the question of whether X is true". Do the same rules apply?

Thank you,
Dan


texts: Is "were scattered" a construction of passive voice or a simple past tense?

texts:
I am doing a study on the verbal forms "Simple Past". I have doubts with the construction "were scattered", because I do not know if it is the verb to be conjugated in Simple Past and followed by an adjective, or it is a Passive Construction, which I would therefore exclude from my study.

Therefore, is the verb that I have highlighted in bold written as part of a passive construction? Why? Or why not?

  ...One, with his chin propped on his knees, stared at nothing, in an intolerable and appalling manner: his brother phantom rested its forehead, as if overcome with a great weariness; and all about others were scattered in every pose of contorted collapse, as in some picture of a massacre or a pestilence.

from Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad.


texts: Why are crazy people called nut jobs? Why are they called a job? Wiktionary is of no help here.


texts: Is there a word similar to 'demonym' that is used for ethnicity instead of nationality?

texts:
For example, if I were discussing an American citizen of Chinese ethnicity and a Chinese tourist in America, would there be a word to categorize my use of the word 'Chinese' in this context?

As the demonyms for both these cases would be American/Chinese-American and Chinese, would it be incorrect to also call ethnic descriptions 'demonyms'?


texts: A synonym for good in "good cooperation"

texts:
I am currently writing a report in which I need to mention the cooperation between people. Is there a better word used to describe cooperation, instead of good?

This is because I feel good is too basic to use here. I tried to look in a dictionary. In my opinion, the following are not suitable to describe cooperation:

  beneficial, advantageous, proficient, capable, acceptable, and skillful

Which word could I use?


texts:
I don't know if this is the right place to ask this..

But when identifying pronouns, they are often given codes

1ms = 1st person masculine singular

and if a language, e.g. english and many others, don't specify gender in the first person, then C is (common?) gender..

1cs = (I guess) 1st person ("common?") singular

So "I" or "me" in English is given the pronoun abbreviation code 1cs

What about though, if the third letter in the abbreviation (the gender), is "common"? e.g. in English, in the second person "You" can be male or female, singular or plural.  It's like 2cc (though i've not seen the abbreviation 2cc)   What is the correct abbreviation to describe that neutral gender and neutral number?


texts:
His thesis works relatively well when applied to discrimination against blacks in the US, but his definition of racial prejudice as "racially-based negative prejudgements against a group generally accepted as a race in any region of ethnic competition" can be interpreted as also including hostility toward such ethnic groups as the Chinese in California and the Jews in medieval Europe.

Can you please help me to understand the bold part? What is against a group generally accepted as a race?


texts: What do the letters 's.o.s.' mean in annotations of a person's service in wartime S.O.E.? Well-known phrase, or cryptic?

texts:
I came across the following note when researching National Archives:-

'28.7.44    Part 111 orders advised:  21371 has been s.o.s.  I.S.R.B. w.e.f. 21.7.44'

I know what the other abbreviations mean, but not what the s.o.s. means in this context.


texts: Proper adjective for an addictive TV series

texts:
Can I use Crazy addictive for a TV series which I'm being hooked up?

Like: This TV show is not as crazy addictive as that TV show.


texts: How does a word end up with two opposite meanings at the same time?

texts:
I'm thinking of the word Sanction. In the first example below it has the meaning of "to okay" or "to give the green light to", and is used as a verb.

In the second example it is a noun which has the meaning of "preventative measures" which although not a direct opposite meaning, comes close.

US sanctions the use of force against drug smugglers

US sanctions against drug smugglers appear to be working.


texts: About the word 'aurora': which time preposition to use?

texts:
Aurora, in poetic language, means dawn, according to some dictionaries.

How commonly is it used to indicate time?

I've mostly encountered by dawn and in the morning and was wondering if that's the case with aurora as well.

Which is the correct form? At aurora, in aurora, by aurora, on aurora?

Additionally, is it nice to use this prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence as to indicate the time at which an event happens?

Thank you.


texts: Response to "God Bless" when parting company

texts:
What should the correct response be (from someone not overtly religious) if someone says "God bless" when parting company?

"Bye now" or "Bye" doesn't seem an adequate response.


texts: Should I pronounce little as ['lit(ə)l] or ['lid(ə)l]

texts:
I guess some people may give a down-vote to my silly question, but I still want to make it clear, at least for myself.

Since English is not my first language, I watch a lot of online videos learn the American accent. One day, I learnt from Youtube that the word 'little' should be pronounced as ['lid(ə)l] by a native American English speaker. But my daughter, who is in grade 3 in California, told me that it should be ['lit(ə)l]. I am confused with that. Should I pronounce little as ['lit(ə)l] in California while as  ['lid(ə)l] at the east coast?

Thanks for any suggestion.


texts:
I want to write a title (e.g. "Math Teacher") and one short sentence (e.g. "High School teacher at Kellog's school of Wizards") on my CV that describes the job I had during a summer.

The company I worked for had the following business idea:

Get people to signup with their names and addresses
Take these names to a public bid between companies that provides energy & electricity.
The companies fight on who gets the customers - the one with the lowest prize wins.

My job was to call the people who had signed up for the email newsletter, and convince them to signup for an auction. I thought my title should be "Telemarketer" or "Energy Telemarketer". The sentence: I don't know.


texts:
There are many slang terms for the police, and one which has recently been in the news in the UK is "the feds", as in

  if you see a brother... SALUT! if you see a fed... SHOOT!

Cassell's Dictionary of Slang (2005) records this sense as "[1990s+] (UK Black/teen) a policeman". It seems likely that this is a straightforward borrowing from US film and television, where the Feds are agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the UK is not federal and does not have an FBI.

The Royal Air Force police are also called "feds", among other nicknames. This usage is in Partridge's Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2005 edition, but not in the 1984 edition, nor is it in the 1990 edition of Partridge's A dictionary of RAF slang. In the 2005 dictionary, the RAF usage is dated to 2002, with the note "Adopted from the sense 'a member of the FBI'". As far as I can tell, the nickname is not used elsewhere in the UK armed forces.

Are these two independent borrowings, or has there been some additional influence from one to the other? Are there any other similar slang uses of "feds" in the English-speaking world (referring to police or officials who are not associated with the federal government)?

Update: On reflection, I think that they are probably not related. The point is that the urban "fed" is used for any policeman, whereas the RAF "fed" is only for members of the specific force: it's not used within the RAF for police in general.

My second question - whether there are other (probably ironic) slang uses of "fed" for non-federal police or officials - is still open.


texts: Are "prop the door open" and "prop open the door" both correct?

texts: So I feel like "prop open the door" is correct over "prop the door open" because the former splits the verbs, but the latter sounds better to me, for reasons I don't know. Is either correct over the other?


texts: More grammatically correct: "anything but" or "anything except"?

texts:
Could you tell me which of these phrases is grammatically correct — "anything but" or "anything except"?

If the use depends on context, what are the instances when each must be preferred?


texts:
If something can be cheated, then word means something which cannot be cheated? The sample sentence I'm trying to write is:

  With his extensive background in statistical theory, he was able to create a <word here> scoring system.


texts: Which word is most correct in this case: re-settle or resettle?

texts:
In reference to the word settle as it pertains to the specific definition:

  Determine; decide on:

There is some debate internally on whether to use the word resettle which only has one definition:

  Settle or cause to settle in a different place:

or to use a hyphenated word which seems most correct: re-settle

Since resettle doesn't seem to pertain to opposite meaning of my specific definition, I think the hyphenated form is correct.  Can anyone shed some light on this situation?


texts: A better, more academic way of saying 'whether or not'

texts:
This is my sentence, and I was hoping to make it sound more academic:

  The aim is to ascertain whether or not the actors from the two films analysed can be considered to be heroes

Is there a better, more academic way of saying 'whether or not'?


texts:
I'd like to know whether "was" should be treated as a subjunctive in the following:

a. If there were a 20-story office building without an elevator, those whose office was on the 18th floor would climb many steps each day.
b. If there were someone who was able to speak over 500 languages at native levels, he would be considered a genius of some sort.

Here was is used to describe hypothetical situations and is considered correct even in Standard American English
I'd appreciate your help


texts:
The descriptor is the term that describes something. Is there a word for that which is being described?

Many English words exist that have this "affected-affector" relationship. For example, it exists in mathematics, specifically in regards to arithmetic in the following forms:

In summation, the result is called the sum, whilst the numbers being added are called the addends.
In substraction, the result is called the difference, whilst the numbers being subtracted are called the minuend and subtrahend.
In multiplication, the result is called the product, whilst the numbers being multipled are called the multiplier and multiplicand.¹
In division, the result is called the quotient, whilst the numbers being divided are called the dividend and divisor.

(Maths source here.)

¹ Or, collectively, just factors.


texts: help someone [do]/[to do]/[in doing]/[on doing] something?

texts:
Given the following sentences:

They helped us frame some experimental evaluations.
They helped us to frame some experimental evaluations.
They helped us in framing some experimental evaluations.
They helped us on framing some experimental evaluations.

Are all them grammatically correct or not? Are there any semantical nuances introduced by each alternative (and why), or do they mean exactly the same? Are there any other alternatives besides these 4 to convey the same meaning? Finally, which alternative is the best one, or does it depend on the context or writing style?


texts:
What I'm basically trying to say is "Immoral people that are mentioned (in the previous section of the book)."

  1 Immoral people mentioned are...

  2 Mentioned immoral people are...

I am confused about which to use between those two sentences. Even though both of them are adjective, it seems to me that "mentioned" explain immoral people, not the people itself, which creates a confusion. I myself would never say "Mentioned and immoral people", so I just cannot find a logical reason to put the "mentioned" in front of immoral as in sentence 2 and regard it as one of the adjectives that describe only the people. However, I don't know if the sentence 1 is correct, since "mentioned" itself is not a phrase, and I am taught that only the adjective phrase with preposition or to infinitive can come after the noun.

Also, here. An instance with an adverb.

  3 Immoral people already mentioned are...

  4 Already mentioned immoral people are...

When it's mixed up with adverb, it seems even more confusing. I am not sure which is grammatical... Please, give me some grammar rule that governs this type of adjective usage. Thank you.


texts: Does "might be several decades" have same meaning with "might take several decades"?

texts: In the sentence, "Therefore, success in fariming on Mars might be several decades," does "might be several decades" have same meaning with "might take several decades"?


texts: "Having had no one support me" vs "..to support me"

texts:
Please look at the following:

Having advised many of your colleagues (yet having had no one stand up for me when the shit hit the fan)... and
Having advised many of your colleagues (yet having had no one to support me when I faced adversity)...

I do not get that - why is "to" missing in the first sentence?
Also what is the difference between

1a) Having advised many of your colleagues (yet having had no one stand up for me when the shit hit the fan)
1b) Having advised many of your colleagues (yet having had no one to stand up for me when the shit hit the fan)
2a) Having advised many of your colleagues (yet having had no one support me when I faced adversity)
2b) Having advised many of your colleagues (yet having had no one to support me when I faced adversity)

What is the difference between 1a and 1b and also 2a and 2b? Are they same or is there any difference? Please tell me what the difference is.
Thank you.


texts: What's the origin of "with flying colo(u)rs"?

texts:
What's the origin of 'with flying colours', e.g.

  "Great job! You passed with flying colours."

I've always assumed it was something to do with flags in the navy, but I'm not entirely sure on this one...


texts: A word for "Progress Bar" when it's not used to measure progress

texts:
What would you call something that looks exactly like a progress bar (ie: When you are installing a program) but that isn't used to measure the progress of a task.

In this case it's used to display the "threat level" of a suspected software, in an anti-virus. But I'm looking for a more general word than "threat bar".


texts: When/where/why did "Look who it ain't/isn't" appear?

texts:
It seems to me that...

  "Well! Look who it ain't!"

...is/was normally used quite dismissively, referring to a newly-arrived person of low social status, who the speaker would often then proceed to denigrate at some length to the assembled company.

I said "is/was" because I'm not even sure if people still say it. I remember it as fairly common in my youth (Southern UK in the 60s), but I don't recall hearing it lately (until I just noticed it in a 70s movie).

Does anyone know when and where the usage arose? Does it have any currency among younger speakers today? And can anyone explain why it includes negation?


texts:
This is perfectly normal:

  He nodded at her in agreement.

How about this?

  He fell asleep in the bus. I watched him nod, his puffy hair brushing
  the seat in front of him.

Is nod in this case inappropriate because it's an unconscious act? If so, what' s a more appropriate word?

EDIT:

When I typed in "I watched him nod" on Google, I only got results that refer to a "conscious" nod:

  Angie said, as she watched him nod at that [...]

  Ryan commented as he watched him nod to the other [...]

That's why I'm a little confused.


texts:
Is it corrct if I use this line-

"I have not that sort of brain."

I have a little bit confusion about that.


texts: How can I explain why we use 'having' in 'consider having' and 'have' in 'I'd rather have'?

texts:
I'd like a simple explanation as to why we use present continuous in some phrases and present simple in others. For example 'I recommend you consider having it remodeled' vs 'I'd rather not have it...' or 'I recommend putting it...' vs 'I recommend you to put it..'

Thanks!


texts:
Here in the United States the term "gold star mother/father" seems to have grown into much more common use recently. It refers to a parent who has lost a child in military action in service of the United States. How and whe did the term come to have that SPECIFIC connotation rather than just carrying the idea of admirable, or highly praised.

Sidebar: Honestly, it seems a very odd term to me. No doubt parents who have suffered such a terrible loss deserve our sympathy and support. But a gold star is given to someone for a great achievement, not a dreadfully unfortunate loss. Soldiers injured are given a purple heart medal, which seems much more appropriate, conveying as it does the idea of love, affection and support rather than achievement.


texts: Translate Russian "ненаглядный" to English

texts:
How can you translate the Russian word "ненаглядный" preserving its meaning and semantics?
It is usually translated as dear or beloved but these words does not have the original meaning of the Russian word.

It can be translated as "the one who cannot be looked enough at".
But this phrase is too long and complicated to use e.g. as term of endearment.


texts: What do we call a person who does branding?

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Can you fill in the gap?

A person who manages a project is called a project manager.
A person who develops the software for a project is called a developer.
A person who designs the graphics for project is called a designer.
A person who provides the writing for a project is called a copywriter.
A person who does the branding for a project is called a ________er ???


texts: Use of "it" and "its" for people and animals

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Can I use it and its for people?

Example:

  The fear is the essential attribute of a human nature. It figures a crucial role in its survival.

where its means human's.

Can I use it and its for animals?


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Which of the two is correct ? Is anyone wrong ?

  Troop:
  1.soldiers or armed forces.
  2.a group of soldiers, especially a cavalry unit commanded by a captain, or an airborne unit.

AND

  Army :
  1.an organized military force equipped for fighting on land.
  2.the branch of a nation's armed services that conducts military operations on land.
  3.a large number of people or things, typically formed or organized for a particular purpose

So, I am a bit confused over them.I suppose I did find some explanation on Googling it but to be frank, it's not Crystal Clear for me yet.


texts: How did the Swedish word "fartlek" make it to the English language running vocabulary?

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This is a question originally from Fitocracy by ivh:

  Btw, does anybody know how the Swedish word "fartlek" made it
  into English running lingo?


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Consider the following examples:

"And it is a bottle, too."
"And it is a bottle too."

Is there a semantic difference between these two sentences? Or do they mean the same thing, with or without the comma before "too"? If not, what is the correct usage of the comma in context of "too"?


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I am not a native speaker and I would like to write a sentence using the verb "to cheat on". The situation I want to describe is that someone (Mr X) has lied to someone else (Mr Y) convincing Mr Y to lend Mr X some money that was never given back.

My first attempt was: "Mr X cheated on Mr Y ... money". My questions are: can I use the verb "to cheat" in this context? What word / expression should I use before money? The only expressions that come to my mind are "regarding" and "with respect to" but this does not sound correct to me.

In general, can one say "X cheated on Y ... something?", where something can be money, feelings, etc?


texts: The use of "about" on "discuss" and "think"

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Why is it grammatically incorrect to say

  We would like to discuss about the matters at hands first.

But it is alright to say

  I will think about what you have said this morning.

What I've heard that the word discuss is treated like consider and investigate. It makes sense that about cannot be placed with consider, e.g. it sounds weird to say "I'll consider about this relationship."

So what are the words that will have the same effects with discuss, consider and investigate? What makes look and think so special that about is grammatically correct to be used together with them?


texts: Can "problematic" be used as a noun, as a synonym for dilemma, conundrum, or a problem which gives rise to a study?


texts: I can't say I blame you vs I don't blame you

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Is there any real difference?
What are some examples, where the phrases are NOT interchangeable?