texts:
If a book is written in past tense, how do you describe something which was in the past?

For example:

  I was waiting in the back of the line because I "punched" the son of the principal.

The verb "punch" happened in the past of the past. Should I use past perfect tense here just like in German language?


texts: When to choose em dash over parenthesis for parenthetical phrases?

texts:
According to Wikipedia:

  The em dash, m dash, m-rule, or "mutton" (—) often demarcates a break
  of thought or some similar interpolation stronger than the
  interpolation demarcated by parentheses

Okay, but what constitutes "stronger"? Does the length of the parenthetical phrase come into play? The distance of the diversion from the main thrust of the sentence? Some kind of qualitative gut feel? All of the above?


texts:
I'm in a work environment, and when a superior emails me to 'let me know' of something (e.g., Dear Bob, I'll be absent of the Tuesday meeting because of x.) I don't know what response has a proper tone.

My thoughts are that:
"Got it, thank you.",
"Message received, thank you.", and
"Ok, thanks!",
sound like things a superior would be responding me (rather than the other way around).

I think that even thought phrases 'respectfulness' might vary with people's opinions, there is a standard. (A soldier doesn't go around telling his superiors "Ok" or "got it.")

Thus, my question is two-fold:

For practical reasons,

1) what response would be proper for a superior, but not so much that it sounds obsequious - or that you're a sycophant.

And for pedagogical reasons,

2) what is the area (and proper terminology) of linguistics which studies the language's 'properness'/'respectfulness'. (I assume this to be an area since 'properness' is ever evolving with society).


texts:
In order to shape data into valuable insights, use of statistical analytics is crucial.
In order to shape data into valuable insights, the use of statistical analytics is crucial.

Which sentence is correct? is 'the' necessary before 'use' in these sentences? I'm confused because I read that 'the' is used when referring to specific nouns, but since statistical analytics is not specific, do I need to use 'the'? Can both sentences be correct?


texts:
The verb "take" can mean "remove" or it can mean "move" or it can mean "accept", depending on context.

The verb "take" can mean "remove" or it can mean "move" or it can mean "accept".

Qa) Can I say that "can" in sentence 1) relates to a particular use of the verb in question, whose context - when established - will quickly resolve the issue of interpretation?
Qb) Can I say that "can" in sentence 2) would be a general statement of possible meanings, not related to any specific context?
Note: I know the meaning of "can" is the same in 1) and 2). I'm just concerned about the two conclusions above.


texts: Why using "this" in JavaScript is "like pair programming with Abbott and Costello"?

texts:
I'm aware that this question requires, in addition to some cultural context about Abbott and Costello, good expertise on quality JavaScript or OO coding. But I'm confident that there are plenty of people here with both knowledges.

From JSLint Help on this:

  Having this in the language makes it harder to talk about the
  language. It is like pair programming with Abbott and Costello.

What should I know about Abbott and Costello to understand what Douglas Crockford means? (Or have a hint.)


texts:
One idiom that grinds my gears is "exponentially bigger" outside of an actual (exponential) trend, e.g. in pairwise comparisons like "A is exponentially bigger than B".

What is a good idiom for expressing the idea that one thing is much much larger than another in a qualitative sense?

Some examples

  Guys have a level of insecurity and vulnerability that's exponentially bigger than you think. With the primal urge to be alpha comes extreme heartbreak. The harder we fight, the harder we fall.
  Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnkrasin442337.html

  Torchlight II promises To Be Exponentially Bigger Than Original

  Stephen A. Smith: If Serena Williams Were White, Her Exposure Would Be 'Exponentially Bigger and Better'


texts: cleft/emphasis on this sentence: travelling is said to broaden the mind

texts:
What is the emphasised/cleft transformation of this sentence?

  Travelling is said to broaden the mind.

(I'm going crazy on this one)


texts: Should I capitalize the word 'Web' in this sentence?

texts: A dedicated web server may be required, depending on XXX, YYY, ZZZ, and the total number of concurrent Web users


texts:
I'm trying to systematize the use of 'the' with ranking adjectives like 'next', 'following', 'third', etc.
What I know is usually ranking adjective is used with the:

I will pay the next time we have dinner.
Don't forget the following rule.

But at the same time:

Maybe I can do that next summer.
We could get together next Monday.
I think I did well on the test, but I won't know until next week.

So, as I understand it:

Next + days of week, seasons and the noun phrase next week are just
some exceptions I have encountered so far.

I want to know when to put the and when not to. If I'm oversimplifying the matter or completely mistaken about it, that's all right. I just need to figure it out.


texts: Why does/did "how's your father" mean sex?

texts:
It doesn't seem to be in current use, but as recently as the 1960's, people would "go for a bit of how's your father" which meant going out in search of casual sex. I get the idea that "How's your father?" itself was used as a euphemistic chat-up line, similar to "Come up and see my etchings," or the current favourite, "Netflix and chill".

I understand the social need to use a harmless pleasantry as a deniable proposition, but why this phrase in particular? What was its origin, and when?


texts: "Insight into whether" vs "insight as to whether"

texts: I've seen the expressions insight into whether and insight as to whether used. Are both correct? If so is there any difference between them?


texts:
Is there any distinction between "fronts of action" and "action fronts", or are these expressions equally correct and have exactly the same meaning?

Here are some EXAMPLES I found in the Internet.

FRONTS OF ACTION:
1.  To achieve their goal they developed a policy based on 7 fronts of action: (1) eliminating waste  ...
2.  Five distinct fronts of action to tackle the antimicrobial resistance threat are discussed in ....
3.  ... open up multiple fronts of action against the impediments it places in the way of ....

ACTION FRONTS:
1.  The Chamber works on many action fronts to support community development, and
2.  Our five strategic action fronts, led by innovations in comfort and convenience as well as our enhanced food and beverage offerings
3.  champions of the different action fronts for building the field of learning analytics

Thanks for your willingness to help!


texts: Is this sentence a simple sentence or a compound sentence?

texts:
You can either come with me now or walk home.

Some people say it's compound because there are two clauses, but I think there aren't two clauses: there is one subject and a compound verb. Are there two clauses or one sentence, i.e. is this sentence a simple or a compound sentence?


texts:
I have a quick question: I used the word interimly talking to someone today. It went something like - 'I give you (someone) pat on the back for interimely filling someone's else shoes'. I am strongly inclined to think I used it incorrectly and there is no such word. I could have easily used temporarily.

Mind you, English is not my primary language.

How can I phrase it so that it's grammatically sound?


texts: A word that refers to spilling or splashing of ink?

texts: Is there any word which refers to the spilling, splattering, sprinkling or splashing of ink? (Or something less “violent”, like the pouring or dripping of ink?)


texts:
I find that it is very common for some people (typically English teachers, in my experience) to use a comma before a phrase beginning with "rather than" when it falls at the end of a sentence. For example:

  We decided to go to the grocery store, rather than a restaurant.

In the above sentence, the comma seems to be unnatural and incorrect. I can only think that perhaps they were taught to always use a comma before "rather than" when it is used in an appositive phrase, as such:

  We decided that, rather than going out to a restaurant, we would go to the grocery store.

This usage is correct, and I have no problem with it. I think that people use the comma in the first example because they are incorrectly applying a rule that should only apply to parenthetical phrases. They might decide that the last part of the sentence is a parenthetical phrase because it is nonessential information, but if you replaced the words "rather than" with "instead of," few people would put a comma there. It just doesn't flow properly.

However, the incidence of English teachers perpetuating the first example is so great that I have to wonder if I have missed a lesson somewhere. Have I been incorrectly removing the comma all these years?


texts:
Today, I talked with my friend. And we both have different opinion to each other. The subject is

Does British English (native) speaker pronunce the R letter at end of the word.

You only think the case of pronunce any word ending with R.

Please, answer. Thank you.


texts:
The Random House dictionary gives the main definition of "lie-in" as:

  a protest demonstration in which participants lie down in a public place against regulations and resist being moved.

The definition I'm more familiar with, given second, is:

  an act or instance of staying in bed longer than usual, especially in the morning.

This is marked as "chiefly British".  So what's the American equivalent?  Or do Americans still use "lie-in"... would they understand the "bed" meaning of the term?


texts: In any but the most vestigial and nostalgic way...?

texts:
Once again, here I am with a question raised by the highly unintelligable Hitchens...

It can be equally useful and instructive to take a glimpse at the closing of religions, or religious movements. The Millerites, for example, are no more. And we shall not hear again, in any but the most vestigial and nostalgic way, of Pan or Osiris or any of the thousands of gods who once held people in utter thrall. god is not Great by Christopher Hitchens, p. 169

As a result of a long and tedious searh, I have -rightly, I hope- concluded that any but the most XXX means "all the other things except for the one which is the most XXX". Oddly enough, I can't figure out the exact meaning of vestigial in the phrase in bold in the above quote and can't come up with a meaningful explanation of the whole phrase either.

Any help would be appreciated greatly.


texts: Is there a generally accepted group of grammatical terms for English?

texts: I've never studied English grammar, although I have studied a little German and Latin.  If you asked me to differentiate the past perfect from the pluperfect, I wouldn't know where to begin.  I read questioners using terms like "verb base + ing" and I ask myself whether he means a gerund or a present participle and I wonder why anyone would use such a phrase.   What is the accepted nomenclature for English grammar and can someone suggest a printed-on-paper source?  Thank you.


texts: Idiom for analysing something from a strange perspective

texts:
What is an idiom for analysing, describing, or understanding something from an unusual point of view? A sentence using it might be:

  If you _______, it is quite similar to a burrito.

With the similarity with burritos being rather surprising from the most usual perspective. I'm quite sure there was an idiom with the form "look at it ____", but I'm drawing a blank on what it was.

Clarification: The answers so far might work, but some of them are more neutral than what I'm thinking of. I want to suggest oddity.


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

texts:
I was going through a dry patch at home...

Natives needed.

Not so sure on the meaning myself.

Update

After seeing where the comments are getting at, I should note that it's spoken language, said by a British celeb. I'm afraid that's about as much as I can disclose, since this is related to some translation work that I have undertaken. Gary's answer certainly fits the context.


texts: I'm trying to find a word which would describe the first association made when exposed to a given concept. For example, Kleenex and Paris might be the first associations to tissue or France. It would be a word which describes the fact that Kleenex and Paris are strongly present in the collective consciousness, and as such are likely to be naturally associated to related concepts/domains by most people.


texts:
The full sentence is:

  I express unqualified awe at Nathaniel.


texts: Word for a short sentence packed with information

texts:
I was wondering what the correct word would be for a sentence that is tightly packed with meaning. For example, a good aphorism. An aphorism is short, but has a lot of meaning behind it and requires considerable thought in order to understand it.

I thought of the word dense (as in "this is a very dense passage that takes some time to understand"). But in my mind, dense implies that its more technical and difficult to read. I'm trying to describe a simple passage that has a lot of meaning behind it. For example, a passage like this:

  We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde)

Edit: Just for more context. I sent the preface of The Picture of Dorian Grey to a friend, he quickly read it and said that he didn't understand it, and I said "you have to think about it, that page is really dense." I need a word to replace dense in that context.


texts: Would one call this situation ironic, sarcastic or ...?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What are the similarities and differences between “irony” and “sarcasm”?

Say I buy myself a CD of an album titled Scratch and the actual CD has a scratch on it; possibly by mistake. Would I call this situation "ironic", "sarcastic" or is there another word for it?


texts:
Is ‘There is no there there’ a normal and very natural expression?

I was amused to find the phrase, ‘There is no there there’ in the article titled, ‘Wrong resume’ in today’s New York Times commenting on Mitt Romney’s proposition for amending the Constitution to require the President to have at least three years business experience before he could become president of the United States.’.

It reads:

“Romney has made business experience the main reason to elect him. Without his business past or his projections of business future, there is no there there. But history shows that time in the money trade is more often than not a prelude to a disastrous presidency. The less experience in business, the better the president.”

I interpreted ‘there is no there there’ means ‘without his business experience, there is no place of success that he enjoys today. Though spell-checker keeps demanding me to delete one of three theres there from the text I’m typing in, I don’t think there’s any grammatical problem with this line. However, it makes me hiccup for unknown reason.

Is this just a pun of words played by the writer? Is it 'cool' or a very normal and natural expression?


texts: What grammar does ‘it’ in: “It's Amy” fall under?

texts:
Q: Who is in the room?
  A: (1) Is Amy (2) It's Amy (3) Amy is (4) Amy

Please explain the reason why each answer is right/wrong.
I normally answer with (2), but however, the proper answer according to the teacher is (3).

Now, I've never heard anyone answer like that nor have I ever read it.

The only reason why I can think so it can't be (2) is because we can't refer to a person as [It]. And the reason why I think (3) is right is because we've just simply cut the sentence short, Amy is [in the room].

Can someone explain with proper grammar why the answer is (3) and not (2).


texts: "Because of" vs. "due to" — best choice to explain a reason?

texts:
Given the sentence,

  This exception was thrown __ invalid input.

Which preposition should I use to fill in the blank — because of or due to?

Is either generally preferable for specifying cause or reason?


texts:
I am studying abroad now, and one day I went to a dinner that celebrating Chinese New Year and it brings all my memory of how I used to celebrate with my family.

Can I say that "It was a great night that recalls all my memories I spent with my family in Chinese New Year? "

1.Is that other way to say it that would sound more like a native speaker

2.memory or memories?

AND

How can I say I am really looking forward to back to my home to celebrate it since I'm a student that don't allow me to flight back home in that period of time.

Thank you, guys!!!!


texts: Is there a word "qualifiablity", meaning measure of being qualified?

texts: Usage: There must have been other factors beside qualifiablity that they considered?


texts:
The following innocuous-sounding phrase

  There's a star in the East

is a British euphemism that warns a gentleman that his trousers have not been closed properly. The British writer Philip Howard states

  There are twee euphemisms for conveying the message; I suspect that they have military origins. For example: 'There's a star in the East,' and 'Are you feeling the draught?'

  Modern Manners: The Essential Guide to Correct Behaviour and Etiquette

Is there any truth in the affirmation in bold?
Is there an American English equivalent that I can use in polite company?

Disclaimer:
This was supposed to be the third question of "Your fly is open" "You mean my flies?"
but I thought better of it, changed my mind and so here it is.


texts:
I remember being told that "teh" (a common misspelling of "the") is actually a proper (though very old and no longer in common usage) English word.

Teh was used as an example that if every single English word was included in a spell-checker it would decrease (the spell-checker's) utility (very few people know or use "teh", it's auto-corrected to "the").

I've checked both on-line and paper dictionaries and can't find it, can anyone confirm that it is an English word and what it's meaning is?


texts: What is meant by "make sacrifice of a corpse"?

texts:
There is a fictional god named Tyr in the Forgotten Realms fantasy universe. His church teaches that

  To keep Tyr's favor, one must respect fallen enemies, never make sacrifice of a corpse, and keep one's alignment lawful good.

What is meant by "never make sacrifice of a corpse"?

How would you sacrifice a corpse? It's already dead.

A similar question on RPG SE was closed, as apparently this is a phrase with meaning outside of the fantasy universe.

That being said, googling the phrase results in only RPG and fantasy specific hits, without any apparent definition.


texts:
What is the difference between abate and bate? How are they used differently? Do they both mean the same thing?

(from the Free Dictionary)

The definition of abate is 'to reduce in amount, degree, or intensity; lessen'

The definition of bate is 'to lessen the force or intensity of; moderate'

Isn't that the same thing?

I know that bate is used in the phrase 'with bated breath'. Is it only commonly used in this phrase and rarely used elsewhere?

What's the difference?


texts: Which expressions can be used to close an email?

texts: At the end of written communication like emails and letters, it is customary to use a closing valediction or "complementary close". Which formal and informal expressions can be used to end emails?


texts: Is it correct to say 'someone other than they two'?

texts:
Here's the full sentence:

Sarah was upset that someone other than they two knew where the
treasure was.

I don't even know how to phrase this question, but the phrase in italic sounds wrong and I don't know what it is that is wrong. I've tried to enter this phrase into Google and noting pops up to kind of direct my research. Is this correct, and if it isn't, what's the best way to rewrite this sentence?


texts: What do you call a book that is in your hand?

texts:
I am trying to find words to describe two distinct entities related to books, but I guess I am struggling because English is not my native language.

What do you call the concrete entity of a book, e.g., a book that I have in my hands vs. the conceptual entity of a book, e.g., the one that a publisher has in their catalog?

For example, in Portuguese we could call the conceptual book a "livro" and the physical entity an "exemplar" of this "livro".

I think I could call them "Book" and "Book copy" but it is not very satisfying, are there better words to describe those two entities?


texts:
My Dad (diabetic) and I went to a doctor for a checkup. The doctor advised my dad to increase his insulin because his sugar was high in those days. Furthermore doctor told my dad to call him after a week to let him know about his sugar.

It's day 3, but my dad's sugar has been low so far. Would the following sentence be fine for telling the doctor about his blood sugar?

  Its has been 3 days since you told me to increase his insulin but his sugar has been low, now what to do?

The main thing I want to know is the use of has been.


texts:
Isn't "the" in "the most of us" redundant?

Context:

  We all strive for safety, prosperity, comfort, long life, and dullness. The deer strives with his supple legs, the cowman with trap and poison, the statesman with pen, the most of us with machines, votes, and dollars, but it all comes to the same thing: peace in our time. A measure of success in this is all well enough, and perhaps is a requisite to objective thinking, but too much safety seems to yield only danger in the long run.

Thinking as a Mountain


texts: Euphemisms for rejection (man-women and vice versa)

texts:
Example:

  The more time passed, the more sure I became she’d [...] me.

The most common word in this case is reject. I'm wondering, though, what euphemisms I can use aside from turn down?


texts: Are there any terms equivalent to 'Americana' for other cultures?

texts: Given the available definition of Americana as pertaining to "artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States", are there any equivalent terms which pertain to folklore and cultural heritage of locales or cultures other than those of the United States?


texts: Is it redundant to use "or not" at the end of a sentence weighing two options?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Whether or not” vs. “whether”

For example:

  "I was unsure whether to pity him."

  "I was unsure whether to pity him or not."


texts: Is the connotation of "naughty" always sexual?

texts:
Does the word "naughty" always have a sexual connotation if it is used between adults?

I'd like to use it in a notification-text of a smartphone app, e.g.: No naughty apps selected, where it's supposed to refer to things like Angry Birds that you shouldn't play during work/class/etc. It's meant to be playful rather than sexual. Is this usage possible?


texts:
I'm currently researching different greetings for a linguistics project and I'm having trouble finding information as to the history of the phrase, "How are you," or those of equivalent structures. I noticed one post (what are the origins of hi, hey, hello?) which is a step in the right direction, but doesn't quite answer my question.

For my project, we want to compare and contrast greetings in different languages. For example, in English we may say, "How are you?" or, "How do you do?" when first greeting someone, whereas in Mandarin, it is common to say, "Have you eaten?" - "吃了吗" (google translate, hope it's right!)

When I first heard this I was surprised, to say the least. I thought it an odd expression for when you first greet somebody. Likewise when my Chinese friends were learning English they said they found it difficult to answer the expression, "How are you?" and when they asked, I said I wasn't really sure either....

When we are asked "How are you", we nearly never respond to the question with a genuine answer. In fact one of the only situations where it seems to make sense is deep in conversation or where pragmatics suggests something other than "I'm fine." So, Why don't we say something a bit more concrete for greetings like, "have you eaten?" which has an answer that is a bit more tangible. To me it actually seems to make a bit more sense!

So why is it that we say, "how are you?" and where does it come from? When did this greeting start to gain traction and what other greetings did it replace (if any)? How do you respond to this when asked?


texts: Looking for a phrase that involves comparison to overlooked stepsister

texts: In certain places I have read a phrase that involves comparing someone/something to an overlooked stepsister (originating from Cinderella maybe). It's supposed to convey the neglected status of that person/thing. Does anyone know what exactly the wording is and how it is properly used? I can't seem to find it online (google takes it too literally) but I am sure I have heard it used. Thanks.


texts: Okay, I am writing a novel and I want to know a single word that means 'a bit'. The book is set in the 1840s so preferably should be a bit dated. See, I used it again! Please help! The sentence it is used in is: 'a bit like their own'. The speaker hasn't had any education and it is set in the north of the United States of America. Thanks for your comments!


texts: One word for a person who sticks with a certain thing/ person/ situation?

texts:
I have a colleague who is working with the same team for 5 years now. I wanted to compliment him by saying:

  He is the kind of person who'd stick with things

How would I do that using a single word?

PS- Apparently, the word "stickler" means something totally different :)


texts:
Which one is more grammatically correct? But from or But rather from?

I don't quite understand which one should be used. And I seriously doubt that the second one can be used at all.

  It didn't occur because of this, but rather from this.

  It didn't occur because of this, but from this.


texts: What is the proper plural of "reputation"?

texts:
Vote Down requires 125 reputation

Shouldn't it be "reputations"? Why or why not?


texts: Is there a name for this type of security window?

texts:
Armories are often depicted with a security window screened by mesh, with a cutout opening for the guard/staff to pass weapons and ammunition through.

Are there any terms for this setup more proper than "window", "mesh", and "cutout"? Pharmacies and banks often have similar setups, using glass instead of mesh, but again I can't think of any term more appropriate than "window".


texts: When using the word "too" as a negative quantifier of a plural noun, is it incorrect to use the construction: too + adj +of +plural noun?

texts:
Examples:
There were too windy of conditions to go boating.
Those parents have too strict of rules.

I usually reword the sentence to avoid this situation:

The conditions were too windy
The rules of those parents are too strict.

However, I would really like to know if the construction with "of"  is accepted as grammatically correct.


texts: I'm looking for a specific idiom/metaphor used in a business context

texts:
I work in business and I have a vendor providing a service and product for me.

The vendor is self-reporting that what they are providing is correct and accurate (versus a third-party auditor validating that it is correct and accurate). "Yes, we are doing a great job, we promise! All of our work is done 100% correct, trust us on that!"

I'm looking for the idiom/metaphor I've heard before for this scenario, where someone self-evaluating their own work.

This is not the metaphor, but it would be like if a student wrote an essay and self-scored it an A+ and gave it to the teacher to enter into grade book.

The idea is that someone independent of the person producing the item has to evaluate its quality, and one cannot simply trust the producer to truthfully grade herself.


texts: "Problem: solved." or "Problem, solved." or "Problem—solved."

texts:
How should one correctly achieve the flow of this short sentence through the use of punctuation?

Problem. Solved.

In my specific example, I'm writing about how to restore creativity lost to the overuse of mobile phones by simply getting rid of your phone, and I have these sentences:

  Time for drawing and painting on paper: restored.
  Time for spacing
  out and coming up with ideas: restored.
  Need to actually look at
  things and remember them with your eyes and your own brain: restored.
  Creativity: boosted.


texts: Am I correct in describing this as both a subordinate clause and a restrictive clause?

texts:
In this sentence -

Today I am starting a diet, but first I will eat all the children’s chocolate they have leftover from Easter.

Is but first I will eat etc a subordinate clause that contains the restrictive clause the children's chocolate they have left over from Easter

Thank you in advance!


texts: English equivalent of Chinese saying "Keep quiet and make big money"

texts: Is there any English equivalent for the Chinese proverb “悶聲大發財” (He who keeps silent makes a fortune), which implies that in order to be wealthy and successful you must stay low and mince your words ?


texts: Predicative Position of Adjectives: Do We Hyphenate after the Verb?

texts:
Do the words in the following sentences get hyphenated?

She is old-fashioned.
He was ill-at-ease.
He is well-informed, well-read, well-educated, and well-known.
He brought me up-to-date. (Adverbial.)
He is up-to-date. (Adjectival.)
Joe said, "The test is multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank."
The technology is state-of-the-art and the new software is cutting-edge.


texts: Do I have to repeat the subject of this sentence?

texts:
The sentence that's troubling me is:

  Is he signed to any label or is he self-employed?

I don't know if it is necessary to put "is he" a second time, or if I can safely omit it. My tacit instinct tells me that it has to be there but I can't find any reason why it needs to be repeated.

I've further contrasted it with this sentence,

  The treasure was hidden in the cave or in the underground lagoon.

which contains the same coordinating conjunction and clearly no repetition is necessary. So at first I thought perhaps it was that conjunction which made it necessary, but that seems to be wrong. Then I thought that maybe because it's a question it must be repeated. But that's also easily disproved by

  Is he happy or sad?

Moreover, when I deconstruct the sentence it seems like (signed to any label) and (self-employed) both act adjectivally just as in Is he happy or sad? So, is it actually okay to say "Is he signed to any label or self-employed?" or am I missing something obvious?


texts: Word for hard-to-understand writing style

texts:
I am looking for a word that could be used to describe a writing style that uses lots of uncommon words, making the writing difficult to understand to the everyday reader. It's as if they make an effort to use words from their word-a-day calendar.

  Andrew's _______ writing style used so many words I had never seen before, making it very difficult to understand his point.

The word pretentious comes close, but it implies that the writer is intentionally doing so to sound more intelligent than they are. I would like a word that removes intent and only describes the writing, not the writer. I want to allow for the option that the writer is in fact very intelligent and just doesn't realize that other people don't have as large of a vocabulary.

I should also mention that I would prefer a word that doesn't fit this definition itself, so a word (or hyphenated set of words) that is not too uncommon. I'm trying to avoid the irony of using a little-known word to describe someone's use little-known words.


texts: "Interested in knowing" versus "interested to know"

texts: I am interested to know if, for some, there is a subtle difference between the two phrases in the title. I am equally interested in knowing if there is a subtle difference.


texts: In the sentence "I hope you are all paying attention, here is a sentence I made earlier", is here an adverb or a noun? I think it is a noun, but if I substitute a noun or a pronoun for here, the sentence loses its intended meaning.


texts: In reference to statistics as it relates to information about research?

texts:
Academia.SE is working on retagging statistics and I was trying to figure out if I was missing a word on the tip of my tongue. Here's the original thread.

These are the three definitions for statistics we have:

Questions on "standards and conventions specific to statistics as an
academic discipline, and programs leading to a degree in this field."
For example, Should I do a PhD or Master in Statistics for a career
in Data Science?
Questions on "the use of statistics in academic
research. Statistics is the science of collecting, analyzing and
drawing inference from data." For example, Should I cite all R
packages I used? This is the use currently specified by the tag wiki
excerpt, which reflected the actual use of the tag at the time that I
last edited it, but doesn't seem to now.
Questions asking for
statistics about research or academia. For example, Can you get
statistical data on research paper submissions and publications?

I've proposed the first two as statistics discipline and statistics in research.

The one in bold is the one I am struggling to come up with an appropriate word for. I would prefer that it be a noun. I proposed statistics-meta (metastatistics), but that is probably more confusing than it needs to be. I'm looking for a word that can be used similar to the two I've written above that relates to the last bullet point. Is there a word for this?


texts: What is the meaning of "enhanced" in the following sentence?

texts:
"She was a very kind and caring person, and the team was enhanced by her presence"?
I guess it means that her presence contributed to the positive atmosphere in the team. Is that correct?
Thanks in advance!


texts: Is there a term for a word that defeats its own purpose?

texts:
There are a few words that can possess an oxymoronic or paradoxical meaning that tend to defeat the entire purpose of the word. The most obvious example:

  This sentence is indescribable.

Specifically, words such as "indescribable." The paradox is that the description of something as "indescribable" means it now the opposite of "indescribable" but I am not interested in the paradox itself. I want to know what to call the word "indescribable" in the sense that word defeats its own purpose. By using the word it becomes inaccurate. Other examples seem hard to find, but this is close:

  (spoken) How quiet!

In this case, "quiet" also makes itself suddenly inaccurate. The paradoxical nature is again obvious but what I am trying to find would be more akin to "self-referential meaninglessness" or "a word that makes itself inaccurate."


texts: Equivalent in English when you ask for something back

texts:
How do you say when...You lent some money and are asking it back...

In portuguese we can say "Adriano está me cobrando os 10 dollars."

But I am not sure if I can say this in English "Adriano is charging me."

I would like to know if there is an equivalent expression to be used as the example.


texts:
During cricket matches I always hear commentators to say England need 8 runs to win.
Is it grammatical?


texts: How do people greet each other when in different time zones?

texts:
How do people greet each other when they are in different time zones?

For example, suppose there is a phone call between two people: one is in Central European Time 1600 (say Germany, in the afternoon), and the other is in Eastern Standard Time (in the US, at 10am, the morning).

Do people greet each other with 'Good Monday/Tuesday/...? This doesn't completely solve the problem, but it's better than 'Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening'.


texts: What is the tense of the verb, "remark," in this sentence?

texts:
Here's the sentence:

  As I walked through the exhibit, I overheard a visitor remark, "You know, that grandfather clock actually runs."

The "subject" of the verb is singular ("visitor"), so if remark is functioning as a verb, it should agree with the subject (whether it's considered past or present tense), so I'm guessing it's serving as a modifier of some sort. Can anyone expound on this?


texts: Optional 'of' in various phrases, especially with 'much/much of'

texts:
Yes, I know there is a related question here. But that doesn't answer my question.

For each of the following phrases, are they correct?
If not, why not?

What is the OF doing? What part of speech is it? What role does it play in the phrase/sentence? Is there a technical name for this role?

somewhat/somewhat of (with a/the)

a. Joe's somewhat a/the philospher.
b. Joe's somewhat of a/the philospher.
much/much of (with a/the)

c. Do you know if Sam's much a poker player?
d. Do you know if Sam's much of a poker player?

e. Do you know if Sam's much the poker player?
f. Do you know if Sam's much of the poker player?
much/much of

g. There's much the wolf in you.
h. There's much of the wolf in you.
not much / not much of

i. I'm not much a writer.
j. I'm not much of a writer.
much/much of (money)

k. Much money is on the table.
m. Much of the money is on the table.
much/much of (time)

n. I spend much time on my homework.
p. I spend much of the time on my homework.
much / much of a (difference)

q. There is much difference between Syndey and Vancouver.
r. There is much of a difference between Syndey and Vancouver.
not much difference / not much of a difference

s. There's not much difference between Syndey and Vancouver.
t. There's not much of a difference between Syndey and Vancouver.


texts: In the case of multiple successive quotes, does punctuation go inside or outside quotes?

texts:
She told me "take me out," "let's travel together," and "I love ice cream."

or

  She told me "take me out", "let's travel together", and "I love ice cream".

I always assumed that commas go inside the quotations mark, but perhaps there are specific rules to specific contexts. Help me out :)


texts:
We know that it was he.
Is this sentence correct? Or should I swap 'he' by 'him'?


texts:
Which is correct? "at that time" or "in that time" Here is the example sentence:

  In the summer in Beijing it is always hot, even during the Qing Dynasty. People in/at that time did not have air conditioning, so they...


texts:
Good morning,
I've been struggling with this doubt a long ago.
On my usually spoken languages, we use a similar form of "have" when we speak, I think it's better use an example (it's spanish):

  Yo he intentado hacer eso

There's when my problem appears, this means that "I have tried to do something" but I don't know how express it.

What would be correct?

  I've tried to do this.

or

  I tried to do this.

The thing is that as in my languages we use the verb "haber" (similar meaning as "have") for almost every sentence so when I write o speak in English I also put the "have" in everything, so I say/write:

  I've tried, I've said, I've did

Then, I don't know if it's accepted or not, if it's grammatically incorrect or if it's just better to use "I tried", "I said" and "I did".

What is the correct way for all this? I feel really confused.
Really thank you!


texts: The word 'grocer' comes from 'gross'. But which sense(s) of 'gross'? Only a nonspecific large amount, or also, to any degree, exactly 144?

texts:
From erik-engheim.medium.com:

'People who do any kind of packaging have learned early that basing units on 12 makes sense. It is easier to pack that way, which is why things historically have been sold by the dozen. A grocer is simply somebody who sells goods by the gross.'

Has it been ruled out completely that 'grocer' comes in part from 'gross' meaning 144?
And from  www.etymonline.com:

early 15c. (mid-13c. as a surname), "wholesale dealer, one who buys and sells in gross," corrupted spelling of Anglo-French grosser, Old French grossier, from Medieval Latin grossarius "wholesaler," literally "dealer in quantity" (source also of Spanish grosero, Italian grossista), from Late Latin grossus "coarse (of food), great, gross" (see gross (adj.)). Sense of "a merchant selling individual items of food" is 16c.; in Middle English this was a spicer.

No ruling out there of the senses of 'gross' meaning disgusting, nor  '144'.


texts: Difference between female and male usage

texts:
What explains the difference of a de facto larger frequency of vowels of one writer compared to another? In the statistics data I examined, a vowel had higher probability in the text from the female Swedish authoer compared to a Russian male author. The statistics I cite compared the male and female use of consonants and vowels indicated that the probability of next sound being a vowel was much higher for the Swedish female author compared to a Russian male author. The probability of next sound being a vowel and the probability of next sound being a consonant could be explained to vary by style, by book, by author, by language and/or by gender (male/female)

Making statistics on material either women or men wrote, I hypothesize that there are more vowels when the writer is a female and more consonants when the writer is male. Are there any evidence for or against my notion? Did anybody make a study like that? Does it have any purpose besides being a "fact"? A purpose I can think is revealing forgery when a man for instance in a text pretends to be a woman or vice versa, a woman writing to you pretending to be a man then according to patterns you could get an indication.

Edit: I changed it to a real hypothesis about how sounds change since we may wish to compare phoneticallly if doing a real study that could indicate for instance whether the next message is from a man or a woman.

Edit: The statistics say there is a statistical difference between 2 books specified as the markov matrix for if the next sound is a vowel or a consonant given that the current value is a vowel or a consonant.


texts: What's wrong with usage of word "different" in this particular way/style?

texts:
Let's consider below sentence for example:

Different types of animals have different types of diseases. For example ...

MS Word suggests I change different types to several/distinct/Diverse types of animals.
What's wrong with using Different word here, I don't understand why it keeps on suggesting same whenever I use *.


texts: Is the etymology of the word "pandaemonium" in any way related to that of the mythological figure Pandora?

texts: Do pandemonium and Pandora (she of the box) come from the same etymological source?


texts:
I've taken a dive into the field of "stereolithography" of late. If I am not entirely wrong that "translates" to "durable stone writing." And that makes a lot of sense, given what stereolithography actually is.

But what of "Stereophonic"? "Durable sound?" Why "Durable" in that context?


texts:
I was walking past a high school and I saw a container of cookies sitting on the handrail to one of its portables. The cookies: (I use an iPad so couldn't scale it down unfortunately :()

And I was wondering what do you call these containers, these transparent plastic containers? Is there a name for them?


texts: Is there a term for this word play where a song intentionally avoids completing a rhyme?

texts:
Take this for example:

In this video, at 1:04 to 1:10, the person goes on rapping with a rhyming word at the end of each line, but he pauses before the end of the last word and, being humans, we predict the next word (due to the hint from the rhyme) that he is going to say but he avoids it intentionally. Is there a word or phrase for this word play?

  ...and the beat still knocks when I sort my socks
  I'm five foot eleven of sex
  from the tip of my head to my gorgeous...
  knees

Not the best example I could find but I think it sums up my point quite well.


texts: Asking for feedback on a meeting summary

texts:
I've got to write a meeting summary, and amongst the recipient will be my boss. To ensure that I was accurate, I would like to ask for feedback from my recipient. I've got the following sentence:

  In case of omission or mistake, please contact me.

The problem is that this sentence doesn't quite please me. I would have liked to use the word correction instead of mistake, but then it wouldn't have been in the same level, as there is omissions but there is a "need for corrections". Furthermore I don't like the "please contact me" although I don't have a better way to say what I want. I don't want to be contacted as much as I want any mistakes to be pointed to me.

It's at that point that I thought to myself, that there could be a standard formulation for such request. So first I would like to now, in a formal and polite context, would my sentence fit with my intent? And second, is there any standard formulation?


texts: Is "putative" something "good" or "bad"?

texts:
I've been trying to give some sense to the translation of a Hindi word but I'm conflicted because of the abundance of synonyms and the meaning in other languages.

After translating, cross-referencing with different dictionaries, the word I came to was putative, which, as far as I understood, means, roughly, something believed to be real until something else says otherwise:

  The putative father of a child / The alleged father of a child

However, I've found on Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster and even Google Translate itself (and more) words and expressions like reputed, well-known, reckoned, which, under some circumstances and/or languages, might, instead, give the impression of something "good". E.g. I've found reputed meaning renowned.

And I'm sitting on the fence because I'm going to use the word to write an article with multiple translations and I need some degree of consistency, especially because, originally, the Hindi word is used as an adjective for an object, as in noun + preposition + putative.


texts: I have been using the word 'expedience' for years.  Today I discovered that the oxford dictionary does not have this word.  Instead it has 'expediency' for a noun.


texts: Difference between certain, specific and particular

texts:
While browsing an online dictionary I found many translation for the same word in German. Those are certain, specific and particular.

In my opinion are all three synonyms and can be used interchangeably. Or are there slight differences in the use, especially in different contexts?


texts: How mischievous should a deed be to be called a prank?

texts:
Imagine there are three people, Bob, Alice and Carl. Bob and Alice speak Spanish and English, while Carl only speaks English.
Normally, Bob and Carl communicate in English.
If one day Carl asks Alice to take his Messenger account and message Bob in fluent Spanish, the goal being to surprise and may be a bit confuse Carl and then laugh about it all together, may it be considered a Prank?
I am used to "prank" meaning "mischief" and not sure if the above situation could be called either. It just feels too kind compared to what we usually see on YouTube under "prank" label.
If it is not a "prank", then what word could be used to describe this deed?
Where I looked for the answer:

Merriam-Webster, which seems to point that a prank should be somewhat mischievous: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prank
Lexico, which suggests that a prank is "A practical joke or mischievous act": https://www.lexico.com/definition/prank
Dictionary.com, which defines prank as "a trick of an amusing, playful, or sometimes malicious nature", where the word "trick" is a bit confusing to me (does it fit here?): https://www.dictionary.com/browse/prank?s=t


texts: What expression should I use after I have digressed and I want to continue with what I was talking about initially?

texts:
If I say "but I digress," then that indicates I have already digressed and I am finished. However, my concern is with the expression "if I may digress."

So suppose I am talking about tanks and it suddenly makes me think of a beautiful fish tank we had, but now I am done and want to say the digression is over. What is a professional way of doing it?
For example, should I say?

*Back to topic.

Anyway,....

Enough of that.*


texts: What is the word for the gesture when someone takes three fingers and kisses it into the air?

texts:
You often see this with Italians, especially when complimenting some food they just ate, but it has evolved into a more universal gesture.

Take the thumb, index, and middle finger, gather them together, bring them to your lips, and kiss them, while moving your arm away and spread your fingers, while saying MWAH!

Is there a single word for this gesture?


texts: What is the word or phrase that describes the feeling of well-being or satisfaction from an act (for example spring cleaning)

texts:
I am undergoing a rigorous "spring cleaning" exercise, where I am either donating to charity, selling on eBay or simply throwing away old possessions.

Having cleared out an entire room that was filled with boxes it felt "good" / satisfying or perhaps gave me a sense of well-being that wasn't present before.

Is there a word or phrase that describes this? other than "feels good" ?

Thanks!


texts: English expression for facial hair (beard) of a woman

texts:
Is there a specific term for facial hair around the mouth (or a beard) if the person in question is female? I'm looking for a translation of the German "Damenbart". Some dictionaries provide

  facial hair

as a translation, but that is not quite specific enough compared to the German term. Ideally, I'm looking for a phrase to insert into a statement of the form

  She has a ...


texts: A word(?) on giving something a different name on media to make it more acceptable?

texts:
Is there a word or a phrase that has to do with renaming an act (that is deemed morally questionable) so that it may seem more neutral and therefore acceptable to the general public? It has nothing to do with understating the horrors of what is done, rather it is more on giving it a different label so that the there is more distance between the public and whatever reprehensible act was done, making it an easier pill to swallow.

The only example I could find online is renaming 'acts of torture' with 'abuse' in the Abu Ghraib scandal to make it seem more neutral.


texts:
Is this what 'No good deed goes unpunished' means?

No matter how good you are or how many good deeds you do (or favors you do) for someone, s/he will always find fault with (bitch about) them and will not be truly appreciative.

Could someone please cite an example of this idiom's usage, please?

Thank you.


texts: Use of singular verb with plural noun for one to one mapping?

texts:
I think this sentence is incorrect

The various plots corresponds to different numerical values of parameters.

However, I want to know if there exists a one to one mapping between the parameter value and the corresponding plot, will this sentence make sense or its still wrong?

P.S.-can I add respectively in the sentence to denote one to one mapping

The various plots corresponds to different numerical values of parameters, respectively.


texts:
The progressive tense is allowed for happen, e.g. "It is happening now". Thus happen should be a dynamic verb. However, it seems that happen also looks like a stative verb sometimes, e.g. "I happen to be there". I want to make sure if happen is a stative or dynamic verb or both.

Note: This question is very different from the question suggested to be the duplicate because I ask in this question whether happen is a stative or dynamic verb or both, which is not answered in another one.


texts:
Doubtless the Orcs despoiled them, but feared to keep the knives, knowing them for what they are: work of Westernesse, wound about with spells for the bane of Mordor. Well, now, if they still live, our friends are weaponless. I will take these things, hoping against hope, to give them back.
- Aragorn in The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

I've heard this expression on occasion. It doesn't make much sense to me. I've never heard seeing against sight, or fearing against fear.
A friend who is not a native speaker was confused by this recently.
I'm looking for either the origin of this peculiar expression, or an explanation of the phrase's construction.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When is it appropriate to use non-breaking spaces?

If I am writing "I ran X distance", should I leave a space between the value and abbreviated distance, or is it more appropriate to bunch them together:

a) "I ran 5km"

b) "I ran 5 km"


texts:
I would like to know which word in the questions below is stressed in normal converstion.

What is it?
What is that?
What do you do?
Where do you live?

How about in other circumstances?


texts: Present Tense and Past Tense In the Same Sentence

texts:
Is there anything wrong with this phase: "I had to get my hair cut last week, since it was getting too long."

Thanks for the help!


texts:
I'm not an expert on English, but I'm fairly picky. I'm also a programmer, and I regularly use the word "Id" as an abbreviation for Identifier. So I was wondering whether it's more correct to use "Id" or "ID". Maybe it's a meaningless question because as far as I know it's a unique usage of abbreviations as it's pronounced "eye-dee", but it does get on my OCD not knowing.

Edit: This question is about which is correct in the English language- the fact that it's for use in programming is incidental.


texts:
Which is correct?

I am king of the world.
I am the king of the world.

Additionally, which would be the better choice, if I wanted to use the expression "king" to signify dominance in a metaphorical way or in slang.

I am king of the backstreet.
I am the king of the backstreet.

And is there a difference, if we are not king of a place but of a group of people?

I am king of (the) thieves.
I am the king of (the) thieves.

Is there a general grammatical rule for that?


texts: Is "as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are the current one" correct grammar?

texts:
Please consider the question below from the GMAT verbal part. I do understand why the phrase "as ... as" is correct. Yet the use of "they are" at the very end seems odd to me.

Book Question: 702

Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one.

A. equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as
B. equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are
C. equally likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as
D. as likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as
E. as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are
Explanation
B This also offers a nonidiomatic form of comparison.
C The comparison is expressed nonidiomatically. Also, the drivers will be equally likely should be followed by to exceed rather than by that they will exceed. The resulting sentence is wordy and structurally flawed.
D The resulting sentence is wordy and structurally flawed. The idiomatic phrase as x as y is somewhat in use, but as likely that they is awkward, and the comparison is unclear and not parallel.
E Correct. The idiomatic phrase as x as y is properly used, and the comparison is clear and parallel.

Is "Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be  as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are the current one" really grammatical?


texts: Can I use the word uncle to mean my parent's uncle? I mean without having to say grand-uncle or great-uncle, in the same way can I use the word cousin to mean my parent's cousin.


texts:
If used as a salutation, what does "What do you say?" mean?

Is it a substitution for "how are you doing"? Perhaps some other question regarding my current state of mind? I really have no idea.

Whenever posed with this question I respond "hello", but that doesn't seem correct either.

I've tried searching for the origins of this question, and I believe it comes from "what say you", which means to ask what decision/recommendation have you arrived at.

If I were to take that meaning, I would assume to respond with some sort of remark on the current location or other obvious circumstance, such as "this is a nice location". But often times there doesn't appear to be an obvious enough circumstance, and certainly no other implied question or decision/study previously made.

How do I navigate out of that question unscathed?


texts: Is it proper to use 'stepmother' in this case?

texts: If a man has a child with another woman while still married to his first wife, how would the child refer to the wife? Stepmother or is that only for births occurring prior to a parent marrying a non-parent?


texts: To extend a warm and welcoming invitation to someone

texts:
Is there a single verb or short verb phrase in English language that means "to extend a warm and welcoming invitation to someone"?

I was recently asked this question but I am not a native speaker, so I was not sure.


texts: What is single word for a Strategic action

texts:
I'm looking for a single word to describe "strategic actions".  These actions would be performed multiple times a week at a minimum, at best multiple times a day.

I'm not a big fan of the word "Lead" but others have used this term, for example: "Have you completed your leads this week".

I would like to use the word "Dailies".  For example: "Have you completed your dailies this week".  Unfortunately dailies are a little to strict since not all strategic actions are required daily.  Also daily loses some meaning, as these are strategic actions taken towards a goal.

Example Dailies/Leads

Learn and use a customers name 5 times daily.
Develop a call plan prior to making a customer call twice daily
Eat an apple before dinner and lunch 10 times weekly
Complete 4 micro-walks (250 steps) during work hours daily

Thanks :)


texts: a [box [of apples] ] vs [a box] [of apples]

texts:
The standard linguistic analysis of the NP

a box of apples

is that we have a determiner (a) which acts on (modifies?) box of apples. (For an example of standard analysis, see e.g. Fig. 6 here). CGEL refers to box of apples as a nominal, though I understand that others would prefer to call it an NP'. Then box of apples is further parsed into box being modified by of apples. In other words, we have

My question is: what is the evidence against the following alternative parsing: a box being modified by of apples?

In other words, why does

a [box [of apples] ]

make more sense than

[a box] [of apples]?

Equivalently: why is a taken to modify box of apples rather than of apples taken to modify a box?

What is particularly impressive (or surprising) is that, on the standard analysis, the parsing seems to be completely independent of context. It is simply never the case that a box gets modified by of apples; it is always box being modified by of apples, and then a modifying box of apples.

I hope it is understood that I'm only mentioning a box of apples for the sake of concreteness. What I would like to know is why such a parsing applies in all relevantly similar cases. In other words, my actual question is: consider an NP which is Det + Head + PP. Why is Det taken to modify Head + PP, rather than PP taken to modify Det + Head?

I'm sure there is more than one piece of evidence, and would appreciate it if someone could explain the first several strongest pieces of evidence.

(In contrast, I find the standard parsing far more intuitive in the cases of NPs which look like Det + Mod + Head, e.g. an old man. The correct parsing is, of course, an [old man], and somehow I don't have the slightest inclination to parse it as [an old] man.)

Update 1: found a page that seems to say something relevant on the issue: this one. Still digesting it...

Update 2: I have accepted the answer given by Greg Lee. (Thanks!) The answer uses the notion of a pro-form. A pro-form is a particular type of function word---"a word that has little lexical meaning or has ambiguous meaning, but instead serves to express grammatical relationships with other words within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the speaker" (Wikipedia). For completeness, here are details (also from Wikipedia):

  A pro-form is a type of function word or expression that stands in
  for (expresses the same content as) another word, phrase, clause or
  sentence where the meaning is recoverable from the context. They are
  used either to avoid repetitive expressions or in quantification
  (limiting the variables of a proposition).

  Pro-forms are divided into several categories, according to which part
  of speech they substitute:

  A pronoun substitutes a noun or a noun phrase, with or without a    determiner: it, this. (Compare also
  prop-word; this denotes a
  word like one in "the blue one".)
  A pro-adjective substitutes an adjective or a phrase that functions as an adjective: so as in "It is less so than we had
  expected."
  A pro-adverb substitutes an adverb or a phrase that functions as an adverb: how or this way.
  A pro-verb substitutes a verb or a verb phrase: do.
  A pro-sentence substitutes an entire sentence or subsentence: Yes, or that as in "That is true".

Now the answer by Greg Lee is easy to follow (some of the emphases are mine):

  One generally assumes that only constituents can be replaced by a
  pro-form and that only a constituent can be the antecedent for such a
  replacement.  So since we can go from

  I want a big box of apples, but my sister wants only a small box of apples.

  to

  I want a big box of apples, but my sister wants only a small one.

  then "box of apples" must be a constituent.  This rules out the
  structure: [a (Adj) box] [of apples].  It must be instead: a
  (Adj) [box of apples].

Once this answer was posted, it was easy to find other resources that discuss this; one of them is here.


texts: Why is "man" in "Snowman" pronounced differently than in "Frenchman" or "Englishman"?

texts:
It seems that in the words Englishman, Frenchman, and Scotsman,
the ‑man part is pronounced /mən/ (just like in Roman).

Whereas in snowman, the ‑man part is pronounced /mæn/ (just
like in no man).

Why is it that when ‑man is appended to snow‑ to make snowman,
the pronunciation of the man part doesn’t change?

Wouldn’t it logically follow for it to be pronounced /ˈsnowmən/
not /ˈsnowˌmæn/?


texts: Which is correct English? "The girl who(m) they say is a singer"

texts:
The girl who they say is a singer, met me last night.

or

  The girl whom they say is a singer, met me last night.

Note: We Follow British English.


texts: Can a story be "spiced up" or "flavoured" with details?

texts: I am thinking of a verb that could go with the "story" in a sense that it is enhanced with details, something like "flavoured", "seasoned", "spiced (up?)". But I only found that these three verbs usually go with food ingredients. Are there any possible connotations in English not directly relating to cookery and at the same time showing this?


texts: Difference between "drop on by" and "drop by"

texts:
I first learned of “drop on by” in this news article, 2012, by Spectrum News, Texas.

  “Armstrong hits pool for Longhorn Aquatics event. Longhorn Aquatics was hosting its New Year's Classic, and Lance Armstrong decided to drop on by and hop in the pool.  The seven-time Tour de France champ swam in one of the 500 free heats, and going up against kids more than half his age, he looked much slower than he did all those years on a bike.”

What is the difference between drop on by and drop by? What is the meaning of on here?


texts:
I would like to know the rule of this kind of structure and what is it called if it has a name.

Example : others say that the students will take ethics seriously only if it is taught as a separate, required course.

If you could give me some other example, that would be great.

Thank you.


texts: What's the figurative meaning of "the end of the line"?

texts:
Leaving aside the strong sexual connotations of the lyrics of Pulp's song "This Is Hardcore", I was wondering what is the figurative meaning of the expression the author used:

  "This is the end of the line"

I thought it could be "this is it" or also could mean "I am putting an end to this", but I am not sure.

I was curious about the possible uses of the phrase, not only this particular case (ie, this lyrics).

Also, I would like to know about the literal meaning.  Is it refering to a drawn line? A spoken line?


texts: English term for a word that differs from another one by just one letter

texts:
When I was a child, pretty much every children's magazine I subscribed to used to publish those little word-chain games where you had to get from one word to another — often an antonym — by replacing one letter at a time. To simplify (or complicate) things a little, you were allowed to take only a certain number of steps. So, for example, you had to build a word chain from "cold" to "warm":

c o l d
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
w a r m

and one possible solution would be:

c o l d
c o r d
w o r d
w a r d
w a r m

Now, I have two questions:

What is the English term for a word that differs from another word by just a single
letter, the length of both words being the same?
What is the term for such a word if the length doesn't matter? (Say, "band"-"brand", or "warm"-"war".)

In Russian, the answer to the first question is "метаграмма", which I would translate,
or rather transliterate, as "metagramm(e)" (obviously, of Greek origin). However, searching Wikipedia — or, in fact, the entire Web — for the term "metagramm(e)" doesn't seem to return any meaningful results.

As to the second question, I can't answer it in any language I am familiar with.

Can anyone offer any hints?


texts: Leaving the "been" out of the present perfect

texts:
I work (in the UK) with someone who habitually leaves the "been" out of the present perfect (or so it seems to me), using phrases like "Has an appointment created?" or "If an appointment has created..." rather than "Has an appointment been created?" or "If an appointment has been created..." She does this both in speech and in writing. Is this "correct" English in a way that I'm unfamiliar with? (Allowing for the fact that "correct" vs. "incorrect" are tricky concepts for English language use.)

I'm reasonably certain she's a native English speaker born and raised in the UK. She may have another native language as well, she'd probably tick the "British Asian"* box on the census and speaks of visiting family in India, but while her parents or grandparents may have been immigrants, I very much doubt she is. Other than this quirk, her speech is solidly and fluently British English, not Indian English. She doesn't, for instance, use "doubt" where I would expect "question."

I don't recall hearing anyone else do this habitually — in British English, American English (what I mostly speak, having spent 2/3rds of my life there), or Indian English.

I understand that the concept of "correct English" is a fallacy. Leaving that aside, is this a recognized form I'm simply unfamiliar with? Or a quirk of British English or Indian English I've somehow managed to miss when others do it? Or just a quirk of her own?

* (Americans: In this context, the "Asia" in "Asian" refers to India, Pakistan, and environs, not south-east Asia as it would there.)


texts: "If we were to agree" vs "If we are to agree"

texts:
In an undecided situation that needs to be discussed, which one of the following seems more accurate? Are they interchangeable?

If we were to agree on this deal, do you think we can start working on it next month?

If we are to agree on this deal, do you think we can start working on it next month?


texts: What is the proper way to spell out groups of letters - capitalize, italicize, hyphenate?

texts:
When referring to groups of letters in a name/word, what is the proper way to write it out? I've been unable to determine if there should be hyphens between letters, if they should be italicized, or have quotes around them.
“I turned the sign over and screamed when I noticed Todd had erased the AY in my name and replaced it with an ERK."
If the person speaking is Jay, and they are explaining the letters switched, how should the letters be formatted?
AY/ERK
ay/erk
A-Y/E-R-K
"AY"/"ERK"
"ay"/"erk"
AY/ERK
ay/erk


texts:
Fact: "Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of USA"

I know that Abraham Lincoln was a president of USA but I don't know the number/order. How do I pose this as a Question in English?


texts: What is the proper term for an ankle monitoring device issued through court order?

texts:
I was trying to find a translation of this in another language when I realized I wasn't entirely sure what the official name of such a device is in my own language.  I've seen both "ankle bracelet" and "ankle brace" refer to such a thing, but both of those can mean other things as well.  Nevertheless, when referring to some sort of court ordered ankle monitoring device, is one preferred over the other?
For research I've done little more than Google searches of news articles and books.  Rather than spend more time on it, I thought I'd see what the experts here at English Language & Usage might know about this topic or see if someone here would like to use this opportunity to practice their research skills.


texts: How to form a word to represent "drawing quote ideas"?

texts:
I'm a graphic designer. I have a project at hand in which I want to draw the underlying concepts in famous quotes.

I want to name this project, and I thought of something similar to "quote-drawing". First, I thought of "quotography", but turns out that it's not a uni-lingual term, and it's a compound word made of English and Greek languages. Is it OK to create a new word, which is composed of heterogeneous languages?

As an alternative, and as many technical terms in English are basically, morphologically and etymologically Latin or Greek, I checked the Internet and found that "παραθέτω" is the Greek word for "quote", and as we know, "graphy" can be used to denote "drawing". So I thought of "parathetography". Is this word a correct English combination?


texts: what is the difference between I have been used and I have used?

texts:
What is the difference between the following sentences? When can I use either? are they both correct?

I have been used this method

and

I have used this method


texts: Is "suggest that -- do not" grammatically correct?

texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct?

You ask, does “other than” in § 188.606(f) suggest that variations in the material of a closure for the cover of a UN11A steel drum do not constitute a different packaging design type for which design qualification and periodic testing is required.

If I remove the words as shown below, it seems correct:

You ask, does “other than” in § 188.606(f) suggest that variations (in the material of a closure for the cover of a UN11A steel drum) do not constitute a different packaging design type for which design qualification and periodic testing is required.


texts: Present continuous or simple present? and is "it's decided" English?

texts:
I hesitate a lot between four alternatives. Could you help me by telling me which one is the more correct please?

  I've made my mind up, I leave you.
  I've made my mind up, I'm leaving you.
  It's decided, I leave you.
  It's decided, I'm leaving you.

The idea is to say to someone (orally, so no need to be formal) that I've made a decision which I'm very sure of.

I have the impression that the expression "It's decided" isn't used a lot, is it?


texts: What is an appropriate word for someone's "humanness"?

texts:
Is there a word that references someone's "humanness"? Something that one would posses, that would characterise them as human. I wouldn't say "human" in terms of morals, but "human" in the most literal sense. I'll give an example:

  "He demonstrates extreme physical ability, to the point where I question his __".

What would be the most appropriate way to express this?


texts: What's the syntactic function of 'playing together' in: " They spent the day playing together"

texts:
My attempt to analyse this sentence:

sbj: They
vrb: spent
        obj: the day

What is the function of the participle phrase "playing together"?


texts: Meaning of 19th-century American parlour games

texts:
I would really appreciate it if someone could explain to me the meaning of three American parlour games of the 19th century.

I am currently translating a novel where these games are mentioned and would like to provide a footnote for the readers saying how exactly those games were played. The names of the games (which are for children) are Post Office and Hunt the Keyhole. I am wondering whether there might be another version of the Post Office game, apart from the one mentioned in Wikipedia (i.e. suitable for children). As to the Hunt the Keyhole, Google returns no information about that game at all.


texts: Meaning of the phrase "if i may so say" in Newtons writing

texts:
I have been trying to read through Newton's Principia and this phase has come up several times so far, usually in the context of a mathematical operation.  I cannot see any additional information or purpose in this phrase bring added,  but it happens repeatedly. Did this phrase have a real purpose in the writing or is it just an artifact of the attempted direct translation from Latin?

  Law III:[...] If you press a stone with your finger, the finger is also pressed by the stone. If a horse draws a stone tied to a rope, the horse (if I may so say) will be equally drawn back towards the stone -- Page 83

  These things being done, we are to take the product (if I may so say) of the body A, by the chord of the arc, TA (which represents its velocity), that we may have its motion in the place A immediately before reflexion -- Page 91


texts: "The" and "A" at the beginning of explanation

texts:
I am little bit confused about the usage of the article "The" and "A". For example, following pages start their description from "A".

Starts with "A"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laptop

  A laptop (also laptop computer), often called a notebook, is ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictionary

  A dictionary is a listing of words in one or more specific languages ...

On the other hand, following pages start with "The".

Starts with "The"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron

  The electron is a subatomic particle, symbol ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_organ

  The pipe organ is a musical instrument that ...

Each word is countable noun and they do not have any context because all of them are first line of the explanation.

Even the purpose looks same for me.
I mean, all of them explain abstract nature of the noun.

What is the difference "The" and "A" in such the case ?


texts: What is the meaning of "casting a blind eye"?

texts: What do you mean by "casting a blind eye to scenes of misery around them." ?


texts:
Some native speakers corrected sentence A to sentence B in my essay. Could anyone explain why here "brings to" is needed?

  A. The problem of foreign language class at primary school is the distraction to
  other compulsory subjects

  B. The problem of foreign language class at primary school is the distraction it
  brings to other compulsory subjects


texts:
I'm writing the documentation of a software package which has an optional property.  In that context, which is more correct or more frequently used: non-optional or non optional?

Searching for the more frequently used form in google is difficult, because a non-optional search shows non optional results as well.

This is for writing software documentation that explains the usage of an optional property which some objects have.


texts: More formal alternative for “get a handle on sth.”

texts:
In a text I am writing (paper in the sciences), I find I would like to use the phrase “In order to get a handle on this problem, …”, but it seems a little informal.

The intended meaning is “gain a better understanding of the problem, and, if possible, solve it”.  (As it turns out, “the problem” is not completely solved in my paper.)

What would be a phrase appropriate for the rather formal context?


texts: Why's "subject to the vacant possession of the Premises be ready to be delivered to the Tenant" wrong?

texts:
The landlord's realtor keeps insisting that "be" is correct. She repeats she's been practicing real license for at least 20 years, and she's read thousands of these clauses. She asked if I can explain the linguistics.  I still think "be" is wrong, but I can't explain.  Can you? Thanks!
She's licensed. I don't think English is her native tongue when she speaks English with a Hispanic accent. English  is my native tongue, but I never studied English after high school.

The tenancy's commencement date is subject to the vacant possession of the Premises be ready
to be delivered to the Tenant and/or the completion of the Landlord’s provision.

I think this will be correct if a gerund, "being", replaces "be". But what's the linguistics reason?

The tenancy's commencement date is subject to the vacant possession of the Premises being ready
to be delivered to the Tenant and/or the completion of the Landlord’s provision.


texts: Does it sound natural to say "I have made an unsolicited resignation"?

texts:
I would like to say I resign before being fired and the company accept that. Can I say:

I made an unsolicited resignation.

2.I took the initiative to resign.

3.The company accepts my unsolicited resignation.

thanks in advance


texts:
To my surprise I found that doubtless is used as an adverb without appending the "-ly".

  Doubtless, some of you will know more examples.

It feels wrong, but then again, I am not a native speaker. Would you use it like that, or would you substitute doubtlessly here?


texts: Evolution of irregular verbs over the last century

texts:
I learned at school that irregular verbs are slowly disappearing from the language: "spelled" is more used than "spelt", "learned" than "learnt", etc. But recently, someone told me that some new irregular forms are created: "snuck" instead of "sneaked", etc.

Questions are: Is my understanding above correct? Can you cite other examples of newly created irregular forms (let's say during the 20th century)? Which phenomenon is numerically more significant?


texts: Word/short-phrase for "word that should not exist"

texts:
Rich Halls famously coined Sniglet as

any word that doesn't appear in the dictionary, but should

Is there a word/short-phrase for a word that does exist, but shouldn't?
Examples:

He referred to the man by a term so vile, the word itself should be _____.
After six hours of listening to corporate double-speak, he came to regard every buzzword as a _____, invented simply to annoy him.


texts:
Why is:

  "I and Daniel are talking him to the park"

wrong, but

  "Daniel and I are talking him to the park"

isn't.

I and Daniel no matter what order are both subjects and him object, so why does it matter what order the subject is in?


texts:
I'd assumed that pulchritude was derived from Greek, because of the "ch" but it turns out to be from Latin pulcher.  I've been taught that "c" always has a hard pronunciation in Latin, so why would there be an "h" there?

(Although pulchritude is an English word, this might be more relevant to a Latin StackExchange, which unfortunately doesn't exist yet.)


texts: Is there a word for "knowing what makes people tick"?

texts:
I am trying to find out if there is a word that you can use to describe somebody who is always able to understand motives standing behind actions of others (particularly in conversations they participate in).

To give an example, the usage of the word would be:

  That person is ______, since he always knows what makes other people tick.

I was thinking about insightful, but decided against it since I see it as somewhat dependent on others - insightful person helps others to learn their unknown motivations.

The word I'm looking for should be focused on person reflecting the quality - it's irrelevant if _______ person shares his knowledge with others, or if others truly know what makes them tick or not.


texts: Difference between "voters", "electorates" and "constituents"

texts:
I'm reading an English text about politics, and in one paragraph I found "voters," "electorates" and "constituents." Now I would like to know if they are absolutely the same, or if they have slightly different meanings.
Here is the whole paragraph:

Any help is appreciated


texts:
Are both options correct?

How much time ______ with your cousin in London last summer?
A. have you spent
B. did you spend


texts: When to use the present or the past perfect tense?

texts:
A few days back, I asked a question - why in reported speech is the present perfect tense sometimes not back shifted to the past perfect tense ? For example:

  He said that he has painted the door.

Someone said - "if the situation is still relevant and the results of it can be seen, heard or felt then the present perfect tenses are not back shifted to past perfect tenses." And this was all about indirect speech, and I totally agree with what was said.

Now let's take a case which is not indirect speech. For example:

  1) He noticed that he has finished painting the house.

My question is, is this sentence correct under the condition that finishing the painting has some present relevance ?

  2) The president learned that the earthquake has caused havoc across
  the country.

My question is, is this sentence correct under the condition that the earthquake has recently come and the effects of it can still be seen ?

  3) I realized that he has left his wallet.

  4) It was unclear that she has painted the door.

Are these 4 sentences correct or do I need to use 'had' in place of 'has' ?


texts: Word Hunt: A Collection of Lessons, but a subset of a Course?

texts:
I come from Stack Overflow, a site about programming, and I feel my
question is too broad for them, as it’s more about English, and less about
programming. This is more of a word-hunt than programming.

In short, I have a Database for a Web Application with different concepts
within them, like Users, Courses, Lessons, etc. These concepts can
have any name, but because I’m picky, I like to use one-word names for my
concepts.

To explain how these concepts are related: I have Lessons, which are
day-to-day exercises, like “Read this article”, or “Watch this video”.
They’re typically about learning a small subset of a broader subject, like
learning a Formula in a Math Class.

Then I have Series, which is the word in question that I would like to
replace. Anyways, a Series is simply a collection of Lessons, to cover
a general subset of a broader subject. This would be like learning about
Quadratic Equations in Algebra. Each Formula is a Lesson, Quadratic
Equations is the Series, and Algebra is the Course.

As you might have guessed, the third concept involved is Courses. These
are much broader subjects, which are broken down into Series, which are
then broken further down into Lessons.

The problem is: due to certain programming standards, Databases like to use
words where a Table (or Concept) Name is the Plural Form of the
Concept, like Courses, and each entry in the Table can then be labelled
by its Singular Form, which would be Course, in this example. However,
once we start using words like Series, where its Singular and Plural
Forms are the same, distinguishing between the two can be troublesome.

Before you post ideas, there’s a few words that I’ve already rejected,
because they weren’t quite what I was looking for:

Group (I’m already using this for a Concept that depicts a Group of People)
Collection (This is too vague. Something like Series has a unifying feel about it. The Lessons within a Series are related, and as such, the word should carry this meaning.)
Theme (This means something else to programmers. A Theme is the look-and-feel of a website, like “I want my main colors to be Red and White, with a Nav-Bar on the Left”.)
Subject (Better than theme, but still feels to specific.)
Topic (Feels too specific, and doesn’t share the same vibe as Course and Lesson.
Section (A “Course Section” is already a thing, if you’ve ever taken a college course. It’s basically the same Course with different Students.)
Series (The current name, but has the issue of being a defective noun.)

To define what I’m looking for, in case it helps:

  A Collection of Lessons that share some common Theme, Goal, Subject, or Topic, but still a subset of a Course, which contains many of these.

If for some reason you think that I was wrong to reject one of the words I’ve already considered, then please let me know why you think that word is really the best choice.


texts: I saw the words "Alambric" and "Inalambric" in use on a forum recently and was surprised to find no results on Dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster. It seems to mean "wired" and "wireless" respectively. Google seems to understand the words as wired and wireless and returns results but also doesn't have any results regarding the definition or origin of the words. I'm very curious as to where they came from and why they're not in the dictionary.


texts: How do we call the act of mumbling a song throughout the day?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Term for catchy tune that stays in your head

If we listen to a song in the morning, we'll mumble the lyrics of the song throughout the day.How do we call it in English?


texts:
A friend of mine insists that you can 'catch a scare', but I've only ever heard 'get a scare'. I googled the expression and mostly got 'catch a scare card' or 'catch a scare crow', with only one instance where 'cops get a scare from an incident'.

So is 'catch a scare' acceptable as correct British English or correct American English?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What does “everything's gone pear-shaped” mean?

What is the origin and meaning of "pear shaped", as in "this situation is about to go pear shaped"


texts: They have lived in Paris for 5 years NOW (?)

texts:
The sentence you see in the title is from my English lesson. Thought I was OK with the Present Perfect, but I'm not so confident now.

The explanation says that I can translate this sentence as "they have lived in Paris for 5 years and they still live there (because of NOW)"

As I know, Present Perfect is about something that has started in the past and/or just finished and/or still has the connection with the present.

Probably the connection with the present is about my example, but using the word NOW with the PP and "for...years" seems strange to me.

Is it OK?


texts: Does the Spanish concept of "Institucionalidad" exist in English? If so, what word is used to describe it?

texts:
In Spanish, there is a concept we call "Institucionalidad" that is described in the following terms:

  Es el conjunto de creencias, ideas, valores, principios,
  representaciones colectivas, estructuras y relaciones que condicionan
  las conductas de los integrantes de una sociedad, caracterizándola y
  estructurándola (Correa, 1999).

  (Is a set of beliefs, ideas, values, principles, collective
  representations, structures and relationships that condition the
  behavior of society, characterizing and structuring it)

How is this concept called in English? I found "Institutionality", but in rather informal sources, more like a Spanglish term, than a real term used by English speakers


texts: I have come across need to do something and need do something. My question is what's the difference between each other? My grammar book doesn't mention it


texts: Is there a word for words/sentences that can mean opposite things?

texts:
I was thinking about the sentence:

"I took a class today".

As a tutor and a student myself, when I have used this sentence I have to clarify whether I mean "I taught a class today" or "I was a student in a class today". In that sense, the sentence could mean two completely different things, that is, that I was the student, or that I was the teacher, and thus could be interpreted either way if the sentence was presented without context.

Does this kind of sentence fall into any specific category, that is, is there a name for this kind of thing? I can't really think of other examples so this may be an outlier. I know, for example, that in common vernacular people use the word "sick" to mean both "cool, awesome, etc." and "physically ill". I guess this is more an example of a double meaning, but it was the closest thing I could think of to the question I have!

Any insight would be great,
Thanks


texts: Does the archaic prefix wer/wep have modern descendants?

texts: From what I’ve read on this site and elsewhere, the root “man” was originally sex-neutral; the sex-specific terms were “wifman” (which later became “woman”) and either “werman” or “wepman”. The male-specific prefix has long been lost in this context, but does it survive anywhere else? I.e., what would a modern reconstruction of the word “werman” or “wepman” look like?


texts: Is it correct to say "why you pick us" in a sentence?

texts:
As titled,
Actually, we always use this sentence in a way like:

this is the reason why you pick us

rather than in a question sentence, but what I am wondering is whether it's correct to use a sentence like the above one in American or British English? Or we must use the complete sentence like

why do you pick us?


texts:
I am wondering about the meaning and use of DO in "I do love you". Is it just an emphatic use that means "I really love you! I love you so!" or a contraditory statement:

You don't love me!
You're wrong, I do love you!


texts: what is the difference between a spy and an informer?

texts: Is  a "spy" different from an "informer"? If the answer is yes, what differences are there?


texts: Can't understand the meaning of "flogged" in this sentence

texts:
There are products to be flogged and, Ms. Barberich added, “stars to be made.”

What does it mean by flogged here?
I got these synonym:
struck, propelled, electrical, beaten, flogged, chastised

Full Context for Original Quote: Who Am I Wearing? Funny You Should Ask.


texts: Did the author of the following text mean "meat?"

texts: "Small initial discrepancies may not be seen as meet for a federal case, particularly when the employee, trying to succeed in a nontraditional environment, is averse to making waves."  Is there a legalistic meaning for meet or did the author mean to use the word meat in the text quoted above?


texts: may just have yet to upload or may just have not uploaded yet

texts:
I am trying to decide between

"may just have yet to upload" or "may just have not yet uploaded"

Is one preferable to another technically (not just opinion).


texts:
Consider the following sentence.

  I was studying the faces and demeanors of the people in the hall.

As the subject is plural, the author naturally used demeanors. However, I believe it should be demeanor, but I can't actually explain why (or find anything to support my belief).

Can anyone enlighten me on that?


texts: Is it grammatical to omit the subject from "I did my work"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is it acceptable to begin a declarative sentence with “Am”?

Is it correct to start a sentence with did.

  Did my work.

instead of

  I did my work.

while answering my emails?


texts: A reported question which is not even a question

texts:
Swan, Practical English Usage (p.250)
3. yes/no questions: He asked if ...
Yes/no questions are reported with if or whether (for the difference, see 621).
The driver asked if/whether I wanted the town centre.
I don't know if/whether I can help you.
In reported questions, we do not use a present tense after if to talk about the
future.
I'm not sure if I'll see her tomorrow. (NOT ... if J see her tomorrow.)
How come "I'm not sure if I'll see her tomorrow" is a reported yes/no question? It does not look like a question, reported or not.


texts: Describing the profession/occupation of a person who is now retired or doesn’t do that anymore

texts:
If someone’s past profession is teaching for example then what do we say for them in a grammatically correct way?
The confusion is that if we say “ he was a teacher” it could also mean he is now dead and was a teacher before.
So the question is how to best describe a person’s profession who is now retired or doesn’t do that anymore in a grammatically correct way?


texts:
In this article, there is a phrase: hotel man.

  “I asked him if he wanted a hotel and he said he’s not a hotel man. That’s what he said. So he stayed in one corner of my apartment,” Hironaka said.

I don't understand what does it mean by a hotel man.

Could you please explain it to me?

Thanks.


texts:
First time I've asked on this Stack; I hope this is on-topic.

I'm laying out a control panel. One of its functions involves an alarm, but under certain circumstances the alarm might be triggered repeatedly, which is annoying. So there's a button which prevents the alarm happening for a while, which is labelled "[problem] Alarm Silence" - not entirely grammatical, but I'm happy with it in context.

The alarm warns of a potentially expensive mistake, so you don't want to accidentally leave it silenced. So you should manually press this button again when silencing is no longer really necessary, and the control system will also do that for you if it notices you leaving the specific situation that causes multiple alarms. And in any case after a certain length of time.

Underneath the button is an explanatory note which currently says:

  Silenced when lit.

  Press to re-enable.

  Also re-enables automatically.

I think that's clear, but I don't really like the word "re-enable". Can anyone suggest a good alternative, bearing in mind the limited space available on the physical panel? All the replacements I can think of - "activate", for example - imply that they will immediately sound the alarm. That's not what happens; re-enabling just allows the alarm to go off if it wants to, it doesn't actively cause it to sound.


texts:
I am looking for a word that describes an amount of time in days from a certain starting point, after which some action should happen.

timeout cannot be used, as it does not clarify that the amount of time is in days (and in computer terminology, often specifies an amount of time to wait in seconds or milliseconds). I was thinking about interval, but interval is often used to describe a timeout that repeats.

I was also thinking about deadline, but that seems to indicate that something should have been happened before the given amount of days, instead of after.

The word will be used in a computer system, to name a setting that specifies the amount of days to wait befor sending a reminder-email to customers.


texts:
Why is it that the term venereal disease has been dropped in favour of sexually transmitted infection, or 'STI' for short? The change seemed to date from the advent of AIDS.

Was it that the word 'venereal' was associated uniquely with heterosexual relationships?


texts: How “Devil may care” is different from “After me the deluge”?

texts:
I came across the phrase, “Devil may care” in the following sentence of Maureen Dowd’s column titled “The Son Also Sets” in September 22 New York Times.

“In 2000, when he (Stuart Stevens, Mitt Romney’s campaign strategist) worked for W., as New Hampshire Republicans headed to the polls on Primary Day to deliver a near-fatal 19-point drubbing of his candidate, Stevens headed out from his hotel carrying skis. Asked by a reporter about his insouciance, he replied that there was nothing he could do at that point.

But his “devil-may-care routine,” as The New Republic calls it, may be wearing thin. This isn’t merely a plotline for some future script.”

The idiom “devil-may-care” routine instantly reminded me of the cliché, “after me the deluge,” but I’m unable to fathom the difference of nuance between “devil may care” and “after me the deluge.”

I think both idioms concern the absence of the sense of responsibility. Are they close or very different in terms of the magnitude of irresponsibility, level of nonchalance and the nuance of destructiveness?

Can I use ‘devil-may-care” and “after-me-the-deluge” interchangeably to describe somebody's irresponsible attitudes /deeds, or not?


texts: Is there a difference between "bitter" and "better" in pronunciation?

texts: I was wondering if there was any difference between "bitter" and "better" in pronunciation? My assumption is that one is pronounced with a soft "d" as in "better" and the other one with a hard "t" as in "bitter". What do you guys think?


texts: What is the right user-friendly name for something that is done regularly?

texts:
For a website I am developing, I have to decide which name give to an action that is done with regular periodically.

As I am not a native English speaker I am not sure which word to use, as I need a name that is easy to understand for everyone and that's a bit cultural (right?)

So, some of the options that would have sense...

Repetitive action
Regular action
Periodic action
(...) ?

Which would be the most user-friendly name?

@Update

To give some context, these actions does not necessarily need to be boring or fun; they are defined by the User.
For example, I set a new "periodic" action; running every Monday at 20:00.
Another one, review my week, every Sunday at 16:00.

So that is why the name has to be friendly! It is important that people does not see periodic actions as a boring, technical thing, but as a human healthy habit.


texts: What´s the difference between "lay out" and "put" in this phrase?

texts:
I'm from Brazil and I'm learning English.
I recently came across a phrase that intrigued me a bit...

"Brenda wants to have a picnic. She drives to the park. She lays out a blanket."

Can I use "put" instead of "lays out"? If so, what is the difference between them, and if not, why?