texts: What are the differences between "could" and "can" when stating a possibility?

texts:
For demanding payments there are two ways to say :

You could transfer to this account
You can transfer to this account

Both make a grammatical sentence. Are there subtle differences between them I should be aware of?


texts: What people love about/love the most about X (company)

texts: I writing reviews of people and I want to start off by saying the above sentence. But I'm confused. Should it be love about or love the most about?


texts:
I often hear people say they "feel claustrophobic" (e.g. in a lift). This sounds wrong. To me, one is claustrophobic, or one feels claustrophobia.

Am I correct in assuming the expression "to feel claustrophobic" is technically incorrect, and should instead be "to feel claustrophobia"?


texts: Why is it "sheet music" and not "musical sheet"?

texts: I always had problem in understanding the reason people call it sheet music. Isn't it a sheet (an object) that has an adjective of being related to music? We don't say things like sheet Excel, or sheet cheat. The correct syntax or grammar of English tells us that we should use the adjective before the noun. So, why don't we call it music sheet?


texts: Semantic difference between "engine" and "motor"

texts: Is there a semantic difference between engine and motor? In some cases, would the use of one or the other word be technically incorrect?


texts: What is the meaning of 'plain' dangerous?

texts:
I watched a movie and found a line saying:

  It's just plain dangerous. They carry different diseases than we do.

I am wondering what the meaning of 'plain' dangerous is?

I checked Cambridge Dictionary but still don't understand which meaning fits the context.

Could you explain the meaning of the 'plain'?

Some snippets of dialogue (including the line question) may be found on this [WordPress blog][3].


texts: Is there a name for this kind of language in prose?

texts: I recently came across this sentence in Raymond Chandler's The High Window: "I seemed to be wading through mud as I went on into the room." I feel strongly that there is some sort of literary or figurative device present in this sentence, but I can't put a name to it. It is neither metaphor nor simile, the two most common figurative devices. Some colleagues of mine suggested idiom and analogy as possibilities, but I don't think those would be quite right, either. It's clearly some kind of imagery, but I wonder if anyone might know a name for this particular kind of language.


texts:
In (American?) English-language comedy - people often respond to a comment or situation by yelling the colloquial phrase "Oh, no you di'int!" (contraction for "Oh, no you did not!").

To exactly what type of comment or situation is this response applicable, and what exactly is it indented to convey?


texts:
What is the difference between disclaimer and disclosure, and when is it appropriate to use each?

Often I see (especially on answers on SE) comments like: "Disclaimer: I work for company that makes this product," or "Disclosure: I never actually tested this".

It seems to me that this is backwards, "disclosure" should be used for sharing some information that would otherwise be a secret, or considered a hidden agenda; and "disclaimer" for disavowing the information, or stating that this is not actually proven.

Am I correct?


texts: Does hold (v.) indicate a press when the subject is a button?

texts:
If I want my reader to press a button continuously for five seconds, then release the button, can I write "Hold the button for five seconds"; or, must I be more explicit and write "Press and hold the button for five seconds".

My argument for "hold the button for five seconds" is that in the context that I am using the term. It would be impossible for the reader to carry the button in their hand, it would also be reasonable to assume that the reader would not need to detain or embrace the button.

If you read "hold the button for five seconds" are you pressing the button or are you hovering your hand over the button?


texts: Can the verbs like deny,prohibit and refuse be take "not" with them or in the following phrase or clause

texts:
I read a sentence in the usage.
He denied not to go there,and the like sentence. I think deny is one of those non assertives


texts: Did slang "hang" meaning "turn" as in "hang a left" relate at all to boxing slang?

texts:
Green's Dictionary of Slang gives this definition of "hang," referring to turning left or right in a car, with a citation from 1966.

  (orig. US) to turn a corner in a motorcar; as in hang a left, hang a right.

There are many earlier uses of the phrase "hang a left" and "hang a right," but they appear to mostly refer to throwing a punch with the left or right arm respectively, especially in boxing, but sometimes applying outside of sport.

In these cases, it is often described as a left or right "hook," or "jab," as in hang a left hook or hang a left jab.

I haven't found this sense defined in either the OED or in GDoS, but citations are not hard to find.

  Berg hangs a left jab on Tony's ear in the seventh

-1931 - Daily News (New York, NY) 11 Sep (paywall)

Sometimes, this sense is also used without a following object like "hook" or "jab," as with "hanging a left" in your car, a boxer can "hang a left" on their opponent and the meaning is clear.

  Richard Li Brandi... hangs a left on jaw of Lawrence Greene

1934 - Daily News (New York, NY) 20 Mar (paywall)

Based on my research, it appears that throw a left hook is the most common term in boxing for referring to a punch, with hang perhaps being more colloquial.

Question:

What sense of the word "hang" is being used in boxing when it refers to a punch?  Is it slang that developed exclusively in boxing, or does this notion of "hanging" meaning throwing a punch go back further, or exist in other domains?
Did this "hang a [direction]" pattern have any influence on the more recent slang for turning right or left in a car, or are the two senses of the word "hang" in any way related?


texts: Art cold? To what extent can pronouns be dropped in English?

texts:
Many European languages conjugate their verbs, thus:

  I am
  You are | Thou art
  She is
  We are
  You are
  They are

The form of the verb changes, depending on the person. In some languages (Latin and Polish, to my knowledge), the verb form is completely different for each person, which means that the actual pronoun can be omitted. (I believe it can be reinserted for emphasis.) English can't do that. For regular verbs, only the third person singular has a distinct form. We always use pronouns (except when we don't).

However, in King Lear, at one point Lear turns to his Fool and asks him, "Art cold?" This would not be possible in current English, as the pronoun thou has all but vanished. Was it possible in actual speech in Shakespeare's time, or could it exist in the play only as a poetic flourish?


texts: What does "In any sort of time" mean here?

texts:
I saw this sentence in the New Yorker story "Paranoia" by Shirley Jackson:

  Much as Mr Beresford disliked the subway, he might still have to take the subway to get home in any sort of time.

What does it mean?


texts: What about formally greeting people on first meeting quite into the day, say post 11:30 AM through out the day? Though generally we are used to saying "Good morning" "Good afternoon" & so on, it has been observed, it gets somewhat difficult for a majority of the blue-collared employees with a mother tongue other than English, not allowed to wear watches, working in a hospital and who therefore mostly end up greeting incorrectly(considering the popular usage). Could we have something as "Good Day" for them to use so as to reduce cause of their embarrassment in front of their senior colleagues?


texts:
As a native French speaker, I am a big enthusiast of spoonerisms.
I used to write a few texts full of them, mainly for my own pleasure!

But I have to be honest...the underlying meaning was bawdy most of the time (99.8%!). One can perform a few innocent, even poetic ones, but they are less obvious (and not as much expected!). Here it is about French usage of them.

Now, let's come to the point: I read quite often English literature (scholarly, classical, SF/Fantasy, newspapers, etc.), but I don't see a lot of (obvious!) spoonerisms.
In French, you have some great classics (e.g. "je te laisse le choix dans la date", "il est arrivé à pieds par la chine"); mostly everyone can recognize them, and once you see them, you know you can expect some more. I guess there are such classics in English, but I don't know them...

Eventually, here are my questions :

Do such introducing classics exist and what are they?
Are spoonerisms common or marginal?
Are they also mainly salacious?

Thanks in advance!


texts: Difference between "choose" and "select"

texts:
These two words are often used interchangeably and the greatest difference I can find between the two is "choose" for choosing multiple items from a set, and "select" for selecting a single item from a set. Are there other qualifiers to consider and is this singular/plural distinction on the right track?

So, really, what is the difference between the two, if any?


texts: Has doubling of prepositional "between" been attested among native English speakers?

texts:
I do believe that I myself am a native English speaker (being that I speak my parents' native and my own heritage language, Arabic, at hardly a B2 level), but recently I've noticed an outstanding construction in my English that occasionally surfaces following the pattern "between this and between that" rather than "between this and that".

Googling variations of the former yields zilch, but I'm unsure where else to look — so I'd like to know: is this doubling of between something a "true native" English speaker would come up with, or is it simply a foreign feature of my own speech attributable to Arabic?

For context, the equivalent Arabic construction بين كذا وبين كذلك /bajna kaða wa‿bajna kaðæːlika/ (lit. between such and-between somesuch) is perfectly grammatical, and it's in fact the non-doubled form بين كذا وكذلك /bajna kaða wa‿kaðæːlika/ (between such and-somesuch) that sounds stilted — and it's a simple-enough construction that I suppose it could have been somehow naturalized in me, carrying over to my English, at an early age. I haven't yet paid enough attention to know if this phrasing is at all produced by American native speakers in my area.


texts: What does "I'll kill that cat" in the play Dinner for One mean?

texts: In the play Dinner for One, James the butler says, "I'll kill that cat," at time 14:05. What does this mean? Is he referring to the tiger rug which keeps tripping him, or is it a saying or colloqualism?


texts: What does "fill-in-the-blank" mean in the following context?

texts:
She is a fill-in-the-blank at the radio station.

Does it mean that she does anything she is asked to do?


texts: Is it acceptable to start a sentence with an adverb of frequency?

texts:
Daily the company sells millions of chocolate bars.

The sentence sounds really odd to me but is it wrong?


texts: Can statues being pulled down in #BlackLivesMatter be called 'iconoclasm'?

texts:
During the worldwide protests of #BlackLivesMatter, a large number of statues commemorating colonial conquest in the modern era have been pulled down by protesters.
Is it appropriate to call them 'iconoclasts' in the original meaning of the term?
If not, is there a more appropriate term? Or has a new one actually been coined by either protesters or commentators?


texts: “Students avoid boring professors” is ambiguity?

texts:
Wondering how “Students avoid boring professors” is ambiguious?

I know there is one meaning of this sentence, "stay away from".
Is there any other possible meanings?


texts: Only through struggles (you can OR can you) solve this problem. Which order is the correct?

texts:
I'm writing a description for my game's store page, and I'm having a bit of a trouble with a sentence:

Use plants and animals, collect and channel water... However only with strategy and optimisation you can solve all the levels.

Is the "you can" in the correct order there? Or should it be "can you"?
Or this sounds ugly in both ways, and I should restructure it? This question already makes it a bit suspicious so I would be happy if you could suggest something else.
Thanks!


texts: Is the word European the only word that doesn't go after "an?"

texts: I can only think of the word European as a word that doesn't go after the word an. Is there any other words that start with a vowel, but don't go after an?


texts: Possible replacement for "fruitive mentality"

texts:
I have been reading books published by ISKCON, a spiritual organization, and I constantly come across the term fruitive mentality. It is supposed to be the tendency to always seek personal gain, and to want to enjoy the fruits of one's actions, in a materialistic manner - the word has a definite negative connotation.

Here are some examples of the phrase's usage-

1

  We all have fruitive mentality. We invariably seek profit, adoration and distinction. We are thus attached to work for selfish motives

2

  Because karmic reactions are result of fruitive mentality, one who
  acts out of duty, free from the desire to enjoy the fruits of his action, is untouched by karma (link)

Fruitive is more than just self-centered, as there is the added meaning of doing something in order to enjoy the fruits of the action, as opposed to say, doing work out of a sense of duty. To clarify, a fruitive mentality is more like a materialistic mentality, with the intent of enjoying worldly pleasures - whether by fair or unfair means. The person has no sense of sacrifice or compassion and is only ever concerned about his/her own enjoyment. It is definitely a moral judgement and is a negative one, made from a perfect higher ground

So, what could be a one-word replacement for 'fruitive' in 'fruitive mentality'?


texts:
Is "inspissated" used to simply emphasize the unhappiness/darkness? Is it used in literary contexts only? All the examples I have seen are either Biblical or literary.

Merriam-Webster

  thickened in consistency; broadly :  made or having become thick, heavy, or intense


texts:
I am wondering if this is correct, I know there is a "neither A nor B" rule but it sounds unnatural.  This is to be engraved on a head stone, the tone is solemn rather than informal.  Any help/suggesitons would be great.

"Let not our laughter nor our stride falter for we draw strength from your strength, we draw joy from your vibrancy; we carry on through your love."


texts:
Similar question: Word meaning both create and update?

I am searching for a word, that indicates that something was created OR updated. Currently I am going with modified which seems ok but not perfect in case of creation.

As the OP in the linked question I am developer and would like to write a method like updated_created_since(timestamp). Any better ideas than modified?


texts: It has always bothered me that there seemed to be this oversight; There is a definition of "dictionary" in a dictionary but no synonym of "thesaurus" in a thesaurus. The best I could figure would be to coin something like "synonympendium", as in a compendium of synonyms. Is anyone aware of a word that would fill this niche?


texts: What does "government" mean in this context?

texts:
The word "government" is a countable noun when it refers to the organization or the group of people that govern a country. But it can also be an uncountable noun when it means a form or system of government as in "The country returned to democratic government."

Now, here's a quote from a book.

  The combination of these two trends ... produces an incredible concentration of power in the hands of government and large corporations.

I would have expected to see "in the hands of governments and large corporations" or "in the hands of the government and large corporations. A definite article before "government" because in my understanding, the word "government" here refers to the political organization rather than the process of governing or some form of government.

What does the term "government" mean in the quote above? Does the lack of a definite article have something to do with the parallel structure (as in "between father and son")?


texts: Two translation suggestions: "friend of the people"? "practicioner"?

texts:
I need to translate some personal info and the original text includes a phrase (literally) "friend of the people". It's a bit tongue in cheek, intended as a personal touch, since the dossier is mainly about the person's professional experience in creative areas such as advertising and promotion.

What phrase would you suggest using here? I don't want it to sound awkward, pompous or political (and the first Google hit when searching for "friend of the people" happens to be a Wikipedia entry on a historical revolutionary figure...).

Another word that I'm not sure how to translate is "practicioner" (?), whose meaning is supposed to be: someone valuing practical experience and accomplishments over book knowledge. Someone whose know-how comes from doing real things and who excels at getting things done.

It's not for a CV, it's a dossier for publication.


texts: adverb "synonym" for "whatever" — it doesn't matter, unrestricted

texts:
It's possible to chain identical modules to operate on ________ly large inputs.

I want a word that means, the size of the input doesn't matter, it can be any size, it is unrestricted/unbounded/has no upper limit.
"Trivially", "unlimitedly", "ambiguously" have entered by head but are not what I am looking for (and "ambiguously" doesn't even make sense).

It's possible to chain identical modules to operate on however-large inputs.

It's possible to chain identical modules to operate on whatever inputs.

Have the right kind of sentiment, but I feel like there's an idiomatic word ending in -ly that fits better.


texts: Using "With" as Part of Indirect Object or Prepositional Phrase

texts:
Update

Oddly, the question was closed for "being unclear what you're asking" -- even though it is quite clear what I was asking since (1) I asked a direct question and (2) people gave very specific and directed responses that answered the question.

I'm finding myself confused over what is a direct object and what is a prepositional phrase, when you consider an imperative command. For example:

  dig hole with shovel

"Dig" is the verb. Dig what? The hole. So the hole is the direct object. That would mean the shovel is the indirect object (i.e., the hole is being dug by what?)

However, going by strict grammar, my understanding is that if a sentence has an indirect object, it will always come between the verb and the direct object. Further, if there is information after the direct object about who or what received the action, that is most likely a prepositional phrase.

But my example sentence above is different than this:

  The cupcake with sprinkles is his.

Here the "with" is introducing a prepositional phrase ("with sprinkles"). But in my original sentence, I cannot say "with shovel" is just a prepositional phrase. Or can I?

Another example, in line with my first sentence, would be this:

  pick up the hot plate with the gloves

Here the gloves would seem to be the indirect object and the hot plate the direct object. So is it the case that when you use "with" in such sentences, the rule of "indirect objects comes between verb and direct object" is inverted?

Added Note:

I realize the sentences above (save one) are ungrammatical. The context I didn't supply was that I was looking at interactive fiction systems, taught in classes, that parse commands and, by proxy, provide insight into grammar. (Or do they?)

The command "dig hole with shovel" can be reframed as: "John, dig a hole with the shovel."

Those systems always parse the above with "hole" as the direct object and "shovel" as the indirect object.

It's the "with" that's throwing me off. Clearly "John, dig a hole with the shovel" is treating the bit after the "with" as an object: shovel with which to do the digging. Equally clearly "The cupcake with sprinkles is his" is not treating "sprinkles" in the same way.


texts: Is there a name for the expression "the end justifies the means?"

texts:
[Revised question]

Is there a name for expressions or sayings such as "the end justifies the means?"

After searching online I found that this expression is defined as consequentialism. But what I'm asking is whether there is a name for this types of phrase. At first, I thought it was an idiom, but by definition it is not an idiom because one can deduce the meaning from the words of the expression.

Also, after reading the many excellent comments and answers, I looked at the term proverb and maxim, but these don't seem to quite fit either because "the end justifies the means" doesn't seem to be a "general truth" in fact it is more of a moral rationalization that many people do not believe to be true.

Just to clarify, I'm not asking for definitions of "the end justifies the means"  or "consequentialism"; I'm asking what are phrases such as this called, where their meaning, unlike an idiom, can be deduced from the words in the expression or saying, and where it is not a general truth (i.e. adage, maxim, proverb, etc).


texts: Nought point five miles. Why is it miles, plural?

texts: I read somewhere that 0.5 mile is nought point five miles. Why is 0.5 counted as plural?


texts: A word that means 'someone who always immediately cleans up after eating, keeps their room tidy..."

texts:
... when they see people in need, they help. People who feel the need to do certain things like these.

Edit: I'm not looking for a word describing someone compulsively neat, but someone who has a certain consciousness of these things.


texts: The term "operations" in IT - singular or plural?

texts:
The term "operations" in IT is referred to all tasks for running and maintaining systems.
It is often abbreviated to "ops". In this form it is used in a lot of IT-related terms like "DevOps", "GitOps", "FinOps", etc.
The word "operations" looks like a plural to me. Still, using the abbreviated form like a plural feels wrong. For example - which one is correct?

"GitOps make it easy to..."
"GitOps makes it easy to...".


texts: Is it obligatory to write the word "as" twice in comparison of equality?

texts: This really baffles me since I've always regarded the "as...as" form as standard but I've heard a lot of people say phrases like "cool as heck" and even "solitary as an oyster" by the learned Charles Dickens. Shouldn't there have been another "as" in front of it? My sincere thanks in advance.


texts: In "How I met your mother" they played a road game called "zitch did" (or possibly "zitchdog"). Is there such a word as "zitch" (or possibly "zitchdog")?


texts: What term describes the state of being either enabled or disabled?

texts: I need to refer to the attribute of a button that describes whether it is enabled or disabled. "Enablement state" sounds awkward and clunky.


texts:
Please read the sentence below:

  Personal data refers to data, whether true or not, about an individual
  who can be identified from that data; or from that data and other
  information to which the organisation has or is likely to have access.

The "whether true or not" thing makes me quite confused. Whether true or not of what? If it is true, what it will be? And if it is not true?


texts: Interpreting the phrase "lip faces down" in technical documentation

texts:
The data sheet for the solvent filtration apparatus includes the following illustration for the assembly procedure:

I'm not sure how to orient the part in the middle, a stainless steel screen.
According to the scheme, its lip must face down, however I'm sure as to what counts as a "lip" here, exactly: an extended part of the metal o-ring, or the side of the ring that is leveled level with mesh:

My understanding is that the orientation on the right is the correct one as in this case the metal mesh is also leveled with the membrane filter surface, but I'd appreciate a literate interpretation.


texts:
In this case I want to match a predicate — a function whose result is always true or false — against a set of number. As an example, given the numbers from 1 to 10, the predicate would be responsible for verify which ones are even.

Thus, I want to state that the verification finished, despite of there was more numbers to test.

  There could have been more number to verify...

or

  Could have been more number to verify...

Which one of the above quoted sentences is grammatically correct?


texts: Is there a difference between the pronunciation of the "n" in "now" and the "n" in "counsel"?

texts:
When I say the "n" in "now" - the tip of my tongue touches touches the roof of my mouth

When I say the " n" in "counsel", the tip of the tongue doesnt touch the roof of the mouth or between my teeth.

Is it normal?
What is the difference between these two n's?


texts:
What is the correct way to abbreviate Yesterday?

I'm showing two columns of data for Today and Yesterday but I don't have enough room to show the full word.

Today YTD
Today YD
Today Y-Day
Today Y'Day


texts: Why is past tense of ‘love’ used in: "I thought you loved me"?

texts:
I am confused by the past tense used in the following sentence

  I thought you loved me.

Why is it loved here? Does this mean that you expected someone to love you, but it turned out to not be the case?

I didn't know what else to do other than browsing the Internet for this phrase and ones similar to it because I don't know what grammar rule applies to this and makes it correct. I know wish is followed by the past tense, and be turns to were in conditional sentences, but even though "I thought you loved me" sounds natural, I would have thought “I thought you would love me” was correct.


texts:
Which of these are correct English and which ones aren’t?

This took long.
If we do X, it will take longer.
If we do Y, it will take less long.


texts:
I see that somebody must do something usually means that someone is obliged to do something. I also see that you must be kidding me means that it is highly likely that you are kidding me.

But can Alex must be working on the project mean an obligation (e.g. Alex must work on the project but with a sense of continuity) ?


texts: Is there a specific word in English (a noun) for the strong smell of spaces like cellars, basements and storerooms?

texts:
Due to the lack of sunlight, usually located fully underground in the house and kept shut almost all the time , basements tend to release a very strong odour that fills your nostrils whenever you open the door. It’s a very characteristic kind of smell --a combination of the smell of moisture, mildew and the goods stored in the room.

I’m interested to know if English has a specific term for this smell.


texts:
In other words, does rhyming work reflexively?

Do "potato" and "potato" rhyme?

Is the following (admittedly cumbersome) limerick valid?

  An issue with rhymes confused me much  So I used the internet as a crutch  I went to a site  The Stack Exchange site  And
  used it as my crutch


texts:
I came across with this sentence and it cast me doubt the usage of "most" and "the most"

The sentence states: "But what I remembered most is moving a lot"

Would it change the meaning of the sentence if I interchange "most" with "the most"? I am a little confused about when to use these words.

Previous to this post I searched for the difference between these words but I think I need not only the definition but examples to distinguish their usage. Thank you


texts: Is the term Indian Giver politically correct?

texts: My son is Cherokee & uses this term & I was concerned if that is a proper term. I thought it originated because the US government historically gave land & such to tribes, then took it back when they found oil or something of value on the land.


texts: What do you call it when someone misunderstands a homonym?

texts: I once ran across a term for the error of misunderstanding the meaning or sense of a word because one doesn't know exactly what the word is. For example, someone mistakenly thinks that the phrase is "tow the line" rather than "toe the line." Can anyone tell me what this type of misunderstanding is called?


texts:
Which one of these sounds correct (American English)? Is there a better way of saying this?

I was not sober enough for you not to notice I'd been drinking.
I was not sober enough for you to not notice I'd been drinking.


texts: Term for situation where alternative choice is not really one

texts:
What would you call a situation where the current one sucks but you have a 'choice' to an alternative, however the alternative is not really one.

Such as,

  "Sure living in an area under a monopoly internet provider sucks, but
  you can always live without internet"

Demonstrating an issue where one of the choices isn't really a viable choice or at least comparable alternative.

(There are more dramatic ones)


texts: What does "fortune" mean in this sentence?

texts:
Can someone help me understand the meaning of this Lorenzo Ghiberti's quote:

  “Only he who has learned everything, can fearlessly despise the changes of fortune.”

I have some doubts about the meaning of the word "fortune" here. Does it mean "fate", "destiny,... or "wealth"?


texts:
Can anyone explain the use of "in what" in the following sentence?

  In what some are seeing as a failure by Japan to live up to its responsibilities as a world power, only 11 refugees out of 5,000 applicants were granted asylum by Japan in 2014.

I'm thinking the first part before the comma is a nominal relative clause, and "in what" can be replaced with "the thing that". But there is no verb.

Any info will be much appreciated.


texts: Can I use "techs" in a domain name instead of "tech"?

texts: Is it normal to use *techs.info instead of *tech.info in a domain name? Is this correct, or can I not reduce "technology" to "techs"?


texts: Past tense of "must" when meaning logical probability

texts:
I'm wondering how to say this sentence in the past tense:

  He must be very clever

I have seen that the past tense of "must" is "have to" but it doesn't sound good to me to say something like "he had to be very clever" because it may mean that it was compulsory to be clever for him but I mean that he was probably clever.

Maybe the sentence "He should be very clever" may be more appropriate, but I'm not sure if this has a meaning of past.


texts: A time period before a another time period

texts:
I'm trying to phrase something like this:

  ...an event that occurred immediately before his injury

However, immediately isn't the word I want.  I looking for something something that implies that it was a little more in the past than immediately, but not too far.  If I weren't already referencing a past event I'd say something like

  ...an event that occurred recently.

But,

  ...an event that occurred recently before his injury.

doesn't sound correct to me.

What's the word I'm looking for?


texts: A word for people who work under a manager

texts:
I'm looking for a word to fit the sentence:

  Was it ethical for Bernie, the manager, to quit without informing his ____?

Here are some of the words I've tried and why I don't think they quite work.

  Subordinates/Underlings: sounds too negative.

  Team Members: The manager is part of another team, so I want to make more of a distinction between those on his team and those he manages.

  Employees/Workers: The manager is only really a step above the others, he's not the boss, so I don't consider them his employees or workers.


texts: What does the word 'operator' mean in here?

texts:
What does the word 'operators' mean in here? Does it actually mean technical operator or is it an idiom of some sort?

I noticed a  connection  between  the  barn-burning  section  of The
Moon  and the Bonfires  and  William Faulkner's The Hamlet before I
discovered  that  this  was  the  final  novel  that  Pavese
translated;  Faulkner's  backwater  know-nothings  and operators  are
an  American  counterpoint  to  the  have-nots  of  the
impoverished,  rural Italian  setting in Moon.

This is from Mark Rudman's introduction for Cesare Pavese's novel. I know Faulkner's The Hamlet has a social theme of some sort in it, but I can't find the connection between the word 'operator' with 'know-nothings', 'have-nots', and 'impoverished'.


texts: You read an email and thought it meant B but later realizes it actually said A. In this scenario, can you say, "I read that email/sentence wrong" or should I use "wrongly"?  How would a native speaker describe this? I mistook that email?


texts: "/r/ + t + vowel" pronunciation in American English

texts:
T between two vowels in Gen American English (in stressed? or unstressed syllable?) is commonly pronounced as alveolar flap /ɾ/. Example words include better, water, butter, matter etc.
The /r/ in Gen American English is usually /ɹ/ as far as I know. So in words like word, bird, earth etc, it is /ɹ/.
I recently heard some words that end in rt+vowel whose pronunciation bewildered me. Words like party transcription in the dictionary: /ˈpɑːr.t̬i/, the dictionary has given /t̬/ and /r/ in the transcription but when I listen to the pronunciation, it is only /t̬/ (aka flap: /ɾ/). And sometimes it sounds as if it has no flap at all and has only /ɹ/.
Another example is flirty, whose transcription is: /ˈflɝː.t̬i/ but there is no /ɹ/ at all in the pronunciation (although these are dictionary pronunciation, they may not clearly demonstrate the how native speakers pronounce them).
It mostly happens (as I have noticed) when a words ends in /r/+/t/+vowel.
So what's really happening here? Is the /ɹ/ usually dropped? Or is it the flap that is dropped?


texts: Word that means willing to accept whatever is given, not being forthright to tell someone what to do, even if nothing is given

texts:
I am looking for a word that means "Word that means willing to accept whatever is given, not being forthright to tell someone what to do, aeven if nothing is given"
It is an adjective.
Example

"I'm having trouble thinking of a new conversational topic today. We've spoken for hours. I should come up with more tomorrow. Talk to you later." Sheridon said to her friend Meena
Meena replied "You should. I'm all for it."
"I don't understand. I should talk to you tomorrow, or even more so now?"
"Whatever you want" Meena answered being ____________


texts:
I am came across this phrase in a CR presentation (slide #19). What is its meaning?

  Equanimity – Less “playing of favorites” with people, compassion


texts: Is there a word or rhetorical device for when a statement and its opposite are both true at the same time?

texts: For instance, if someone tells a coworker “you’re making the rest of us look bad” because of how well they are performing, and the coworker replies “actually, I’m making the rest of you look good” because their performance reflects positively on the rest of the team.


texts: Using the Present Progressive when describing a situation

texts:
I've noticed that use, and I like to learn more about the theory behind it. In that sense, why to choose this tense over the Simple Present.

For example:

  When you are walking around Denver and you're thinking, well, this is a nice area, this is really such a vital city...

  Similarly, if a word is ending in z, it will likely need to be changed
  to c in order to smooth the pronunciation as in...


texts:
The following meanings for the word "scold" are given in Oxford Dictionaries:

  a woman who nags or grumbles constantly.
  remonstrate with or rebuke (someone) angrily.

So, the first one is a noun, the second one is a verb. My question would be - given the meaning of the noun, does the verb have any gender connotations?

In other words, if I say "he lost the will to scold" would it sound as natural as if I say "she lost the will to scold". Can a man scold at all?

UPD: for those who vote for closing - I'm actually surprised that I even need to state it loud and clear - I'm not trying to push any kind of sexist agenda - but I'm just asking whether some specific word is de-facto used in specific context - statistically speaking.


texts: I found a phrase "I still remember playing while ...", it was a past tense I suppose but why is there not the "to be" for the -ing form? Why is I still remember playing correct without the "to be"?


texts: How do I put "let's start with the year 1688" into third person? I need this for my history paper. I tried googling it but nothing helpful came up. Maybe one of you guys can help?


texts:
Are the word groups below all fall in the same group, and if so, is there a name for this device?
Examples:
- Jibber jabber
- Flip flam
- Hodge podge
- Trials & tribulations

I thought of alliteration, but the 3rd example doesn't fit.


texts: I have come across a few sentences that contain "have had". I would like to know in what kind of situations we should use this combination.


texts:
I have sent a document to someone and I'd need to know if he has confirmed it.

I have written it as as follows, using two " if "s sequentially:

  I would be very grateful to you (A) if you could confirm (B) if it’s
  Ok for you.

Is it acceptable to use two if's sequentially, at points (A) and (B) in a sentence?

Edit According to the first comment, I edited my sentence as follows:

  I would be very grateful to you if you could confirm whether all is right.

Any comment is appreciated.

Note: Concerning duplicate, I do not think so. Because, that mentioned question is about comparing “if” and “whether”, whereas, my question is about using two sequential “if”. My conclusion is that it would be better to use “whether” for the send one (at least in most of the cases.)


texts:
There is a text in my english book that talks about the wetlands from Brazil and there is a sentence that goes like this: "(...) life is dizzying in its abundance, variety and beauty."

I have already searched for the meaning of this word, and I found that it means "very fast and confusing" according to Cambridge dictionary, and according to Merriam Webster Dictionary :" having a whirling sensation in the head with a tendency to fall."

But I still do not understand what this expression means inside the text. I would be happy if you guys could give me a hand.


texts: What do you call a roster with people's faces?

texts:
I'm wondering what the correct term for a roster of names (e.g., for a class, team or department) that contains each individual's picture.

My high school called such a roster a "face book" because theirs consisted of an actual book for the whole school.

Because of facebook.com, this phrase is misleading (i.e., it now carries a much different connotation).
Further, the popularity of Facebook.com makes trying to confirm the usage of the word "facebook" as I've suggested difficult to do using online searches.

So I thought perhaps "face sheet" would work, but this is apparently another name for a cover letter.

There's got to be something better than "roster with pictures."

Is "Photo roster" used very often?

I'm looking for the phrase that is used most ubiquitously.


texts: Word to describe a product that has a defect but was approved by a manager?

texts:
In a quality control form I'm working on, there are 4 types of results for a product test:

All quality requirements are attended (Approved);
There is a minor defect in the product (Approved with remarks);
There is a major defect in the product (Reproved);
There is a major defect in the product, it would be considered as reproved, but a manager/coordinator can release it to market as is. This situation happens when a product has a defect but it will be sold with some discount or something like that.

The form is like this:

Test result:
( ) Approved
( ) Approved with remarks
( ) Reproved
( ) "word"

All translations point to "released", but this word sounds like a product that has no defects.

Considering that a person needs to "check" one of these 4 options in a form, what would be the correct word to use on the 4th result option?


texts: noun as object complement, which is in S + V + O + N

texts:
Considering noun object-complements, can we use prepositions in front of them at will? (S + V + O + Noun OC)

e.g.
He elected me president./He elected me as president
He considers them hypocrites./He considers them as hypocrites.


texts: Word that means "automatic gain control" (not homeostasis or equilibrium)?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that refers, in biology, to a negative feedback loop similar to automatic gain control.

Equilibrium is the state reached when competing forces balance out to a steady state.

Homeostasis is what biological systems do to maintain a target state.

What is the English word that means what electrical engineers call "automatic gain control" (AGC)?

For example, one theory of the allergy epidemic has it that our immune system is tuned to protect us from pathogens, but we moderns live in "clean" environments without many pathogens, so the immune system starts reacting to harmless things instead (allergies).

The word would be used like this:

"One hypothesis explaining the allergy epidemic is that it is the result of [word]."

What is this called in biology?

An AGC circuit for example, raises the gain (for example of a microphone) until some level of signal appears.

I hope this question is clear.

[Edit: Googling, I see that some people use the term "risk homeostasis" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation#Risk_homeostasis) or "perverse homeostasis".

These are close, but "risk homeostasis" is specific to risk.

"Perverse homeostasis" is closer to what I'm looking for, but doesn't make clear what is perverse about it or that the mechanism involves seeking a level of reaction to a (perhaps non-existent) phenomenon.]

[Edit #2: Another phrase I see used is "closed-loop mechanism to generate a fixed response level". That's exactly right, but a terrible mouthful.

Do I need to coin a new word here? What should it be?]


texts:
The vowels "æ" and "a" sound the same to me. For example:
"æ" is used in words like "cat" or "hat"
"a" is used in words like "now" or "round"
It looks like "a" is only used in diphthongs. However, in American English they sound to me exactly the same to me. Does anyone know the difference?


texts: My wife always gives me a hard time when I say scissors; she insists the only correct way to refer to that cutting device is "pair of scissors". Is "pair of scissors" more correct than "scissors"?


texts: Word for defining basic, derived or combined

texts:
I am looking for a word/words that can be used as a label where a user selects one option from either basic, derived or combination.

When talking about an exercise, you could define it as a basic, derived or combination.

Take a squat for example,

a basic squat could be standing normally with toes pointing forward and then bending knees.
One derived version could be adding a little hop added. Another derived version could be adding a pause while knees are bent.
A combination is a combination of exercises such as squat + bicep curl.

This is to be used in a software where there is a drop down and a label for the dropdown. The dropdown will contain the 3 options above. It is giving an exercise various properties and I'm trying to come up with an appropriate label, which can't be longer than 2 or 3 words but preferably 1.

So what would such a word(s) be?

Thanks


texts: Idiom request for recommending someone to end their toxic relationship/ friendship with somebody

texts:
Is there any idiom or proverb for recommending someone to end their relationship/ friendship/ partnership with somebody whose behaviors or actions seem toxic, harmful, and thus really intolerable?
Like a relationship in which:

the wife is paranoid and controls her husband continuously and makes
the life miserable for him.
the man is jobless and a drug addict who beats his partner once in a
while and asks her to give him money to buy the drugs.

We Iranians use a (figurative) proverb that says:

"(Just) pull out the tooth that aches and throw it away"

It implies that there is no need to tolerate this pain, (if you have tried all the ways for reducing or removing that pain, but they haven't worked,) just get rid of it; even though that "tooth" is part of your body (so you like it and thus it is hard for you to lose it).
We use this proverb when we want to recommend someone to end a painful, harmful, and useless relationship or friendship and not to tolerate it any more. Like :

Why don't you break up with him? He is just a pain on your neck and sooner or later would ruin your life; as the proverb says you'd better just pull out the tooth that aches (= this painful relationship) and throw it away (=end it). There is no use in putting up with this relationship.

I have found
"better cut the shoe than pinch the foot" in some "Persian to English" books as the equivalent for this proverb;
does it have the same connotation with that Persian proverb?


texts: Why are conscience and science pronounced differently?

texts:
Conscience has a /ʃ/ sound in the middle of the word.
Science has a /saɪ/ sound, not a /ʃ/ sound.
What rule makes conscience have the /ʃ/ sound and what rule makes science have the /saɪ/ sound?
They are spelled very similarly.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Using parentheses with possessive pronoun

texts:
The following statements makes sense

  It is impossible to doubt that you exist.

  It is impossible to doubt that your mind exists.

However, if I were to add parentheses to the first statement which contain the information in the second, it becomes unclear as to which form of exist I should use.

  It is impossible to doubt that you (or your mind) exist/exists.

Similarly and more confusingly:

  You (or he) jump/jumps.


texts: "Finance" is to "financial" as "trade" is to what?

texts:
What goes in the blank?

  Commerce → Commercial
      Finance  → Financial
      Trade    → __________


texts: How to express "nice to hear from you" on telephone call in business situation?

texts:
I am expecting a call from a staff management company who will call me.

I want to reply that I am happy that they call me. How do I say this in professional (british) english?

  Nice to hear from you

  Glad to hear from you

  Great to hear from you

  Please to hear from you

So the context is:

"Hi, this is xxx form xxx company, you applied for the job ad xxx, do you have time?"

"Good morning, yes. I am glad to hear from you."

Is this correct to say?


texts: What is phrase or idiom for the one who bells the cat is the only one who gets killed. Usually in company workhorses are the one who are overloaded with work because along with their capacity to work hard they equally are honest and therefore bound to react in situation which concerned them and not remain bystanders. They are thus bound to get into trouble too for taking the initiative.


texts:
I am trying to give a speech on dissecting and understand what one is afraid of. I came up with the title "Fear Hacking". I am looking to use another word for "hacking" so my audience can understand what I am trying to say with my title alone. I need the word to be have a positive connotation and I have posted below some of the words that capture what I am trying to say.

Conquer your fear
Dissect your fear


texts: Description that sets the scene in a play

texts: In plays, there is often a description at the beginning of the scene that sets the scene before the characters start speaking. e.g., see the paragraph in italics here. What is the formal term for it?


texts: English alternative for 'gesture for wise, stick for fool'

texts:
There is a proverb in Urdu language which translates to "gesture for wise, stick for fool". We use it to mean that a gesture is enough for a wise person, he will understand only by gesture and fool is foolish, he will understand only when he is beaten.

Is there an English alternative for this proverb?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
I work for two campuses in the same company. If I were to write an email, what should my signature be?
John Doe
Assistant Clerk
A and B campus
Phone:12345678
Or
A and B campuses


texts: How to translate the modern use of dutch term 'strippenkaart'

texts:
Originally, in the Netherlands, a 'strippenkaart' (literally 'stripescard') was a paper card with stripes one could use to travel. Each stripe was equivalent to a certain distance. If you wanted to travel on a bus or on a tram, depending on the distance you were going (counted in zones), a date/time stamp was placed on a particular stripe.

Nowadays, the original 'strippenkaart' for bus and tram has been replaced by a chip card which can be used for all public transport, but the term 'strippenkaart' is still used.

I think it can be defined as follows:

  You pay in advance for as many products that are on the card, but you
  get a discount.

So, for example, if a coffee costs € 3,00 you can buy a 'strippenkaart' for 10 cups for € 25,50 (instead of € 30,-)

How would a card like that be called in English?

Update

I am not talking about some kind of chip card, which holds some value equivalent to money, which can also be used for purchasing other things. It's more like a piece of paper with boxes that can be checked every time a purchase is made.

Also, I am looking for a more general term that can be used for all kinds of products. So you could have a 'strippenkaart' for cups of coffee, or haircuts etc.


texts: Is a non-restrictive relative clause a subordinate clause?

texts:
a. The mayor, who lives in this house, has not been seen for days.

This is a non-restrictive relative clause, since it provides supplementary information about the mayor, but is not essential to the sentence – if the clause were omitted, it would still be known which mayor is meant. If the bold part is deleted the remaining part provides the sense. (Wikipedia)

Is a non-restrictive relative clause such as this a subordinate clause?


texts:
I'm trying to grasp the specific meaning of this poem. I get the sentiment, but have a hard time grasping that for destruction ice in this context. The author knows enough of hate to make a statement about something that is also great, but what is that statement really? What is referenced?

  Some say the world will end in fire,
  Some say in ice.
  From what I've tasted of desire
  I hold with those who favor fire.
  But if it had to perish twice,
  I think I know enough of hate
  To say that for destruction ice
  Is also great
  And would suffice.


texts: Position description for 'lying on the side propped up on one elbow with the hand supporting the head'

texts:
Is there a common phrase or a better, shorter way to describe this man's body position?

"He was lying on his side, propped up on one/his elbow, hand supporting his head."

Which makes it clear he is not in THIS propped up position:

Thanks all for your efforts, but still not quite there. What I'm looking for is a short common phrase that instantly lets you imagine his position in your head, if you are reading it in a book. It's a common enough position. Sitting for a long time on a sofa watching TV or sitting on a bed talking to someone for hours, you may slip down into this position (the guy in my top photo) because it's more relaxed. Or for what I need it for, two people in bed, one asleep dreaming, the other awake, on his side, head propped up, watching the one dreaming. The other position, in the photo above and most of yours posted here, are not in that relaxed manner.


texts:
Where is the appositive in this sentence?

  Each bottle had its own tight seal cork and wire.


texts: How can I replace the verb references here?

texts:
Kindly explain what does references mean here? Can I rephrase this sentence?

Staff inputs the tracker number into the POS system, and the system references that number. http://www.fastcasual.com/articles/back-to-the-future-6-innovative-technologies-saving-restaurants-money-and-changing-the-industry/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reference


texts: Do "brownie points" derive from food-rationed "brown points"?

texts:
The OED has this to say about "brownie points."

Brownie point  n.  [probably a development < brown-nose n. at brown adj. Special uses 2, but popularly associated with 2   and hence frequently spelled with capital initial] colloq. (orig. U.S.)
a notional credit for an achievement; favour in the eyes of another, esp. gained by sycophantic or servile behaviour.

The sense 2 referenced in the etymology note (and boldened for emphasis) refers to "brownie" meaning:

[ < the colour of their uniform.] A member of the junior section of the organization known as the ‘Girl Guides’. Also attributive.

But Green's Dictionary of Slang, while listing the etymology as "unknown," offers an alternative theory:

recent research suggests that its origin may also lie in wartime American food rationing, in which ration points in various colours were required to make food purchases: red and brown ones, for example, referred to meats and fats. There are many references in wartime newspapers to ‘brown points’.

Indeed, it is not hard to find many uses of the term "brown points" in this fashion.

1944 - The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois) 03 March 18 (paywall)

To confuse things just a bit further, I noticed this reference to "brownie point" from the 19th century, far before other attestations of "brownie point" in GDoS and the OED, which attest it in the 1950s and 60s.

1896 - Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York) 19 Dec. 5/1 (paywall)

Questions:

Does "brownie point" indeed derive from "brown point" as suggested by Green?  Alternatively, is there evidence to back the theories related to "brown-nosing" or girl scouts?

Does the 1896 reference to "to the brownie point" have any relation to "brownie points" as known today, or is it an unrelated turn of phrase?


texts: Why do we say “Japan earthquake” and not “Japanese earthquake”?

texts: Isn’t earthquake a noun and the preceding word an adjective? Isn’t “Japanese” the adjectival form of “Japan”?


texts: What is the term for an idea that requires/creates its opposite?

texts: An example would be that the concept of 'light' necessitates an opposite: 'dark.' The idea of one entails the other. Is there a term for this?


texts: Difference between "artifact" and "artefact"

texts:
Is there any usage preference between artifact and artefact?

My understanding was that an artifact was properly applied to physical, historical objects, while an artefact was more correct for more abstract, intangible, error-ish concepts, for example a compression artefact.

However, the couple of online sources I checked suggested that the difference was merely spelling, and that both were usable for both definitions.


texts: How can I tell when an abbreviation is an acronym?

texts:
I know an acronym is an abbreviation that can be pronounced as one word, but when is an abbreviation pronounced as one word?

Making myself clearer, how do we know whether or not it is pronounced as one word or not? Is there any definite rule to go by? For example, today, we were discussing "AYAD", whether or not this was an abbreviation or acronym. We didn't know, and we didn't know how to tell whether or not it was an acronym.

So,:

Is there a rule to go by to determine an acronym from an abbreviation?
If there is, what is it?

Can someone please provide some details on this? Cheers!


texts:
Do both of the sentences have the same meaning?

  Did he eat something?

  Would he eat something?

I've heard would can also be used to refer to things that happened in the past.


texts: “I feel it my duty” vs. “I feel it *IS* my duty”

texts:
Given these two choices:

I feel it     my duty to [do something].
I feel it is my duty to [do something].

Which is preferred, and why?

Background: I got confused when reading an article in The Telegraph where the first variant is used. I was expecting the second.


texts:
I heard somewhere there was a word that in english translated to 3 words: pocket (small bag), pouch (regular-sized bag), and poke (large bag). I also heard that poke is now obsolete. This seems to be true, so why is it obsolete/why don't people use it?

Edit

I think I heard that it was obsolete in America or something like that.


texts: "Within the range of values from the literature" vs. "within the range of values in the literature"

texts:
Which is better English (if either)?

  The results are within the range of values from the literature.
  The results are within the range of values in the literature.


texts: Is there an auditory form of "paints a picture"?

texts: I'm looking for an expression similar to "paints a picture" (e.g. "The sentence painted a picture of the town") that uses a metaphor focused on sound instead of on images. In other words, I want an expression that means "to describe artfully" that uses sound (music?) instead of paint.


texts: Is there lunchtime analogue of the 'breakfast of champions' idiom?

texts:
In British English (possibly US too) there is an an idiom which it is to suggest that something is the 'breakfast of champions' when the content of the breakfast is particularly notable.

Perhaps a large quantity of breakfast.
Perhaps something that would not normally be eaten for breakfast.
Perhaps its not technically a breakfast but in the context of breakfast.

Is there a lunchtime analogue of this idiom? Or a phrase that can be used in a similar context where the meal concerned is lunch.

Note I am not looking for 'lunch of champions' but real unadulterated idioms.


texts: Finding Alternative Adjectives for "Very ___"

texts: Is there a good resource for finding alternatives to using an adjective phrase intensified by the word "very", besides a thesaurus? (E.g., "very afraid" -> "terrified".) Thesauri provide wider-than and narrower-than, but they don't provide more-intense-than. The only thing I've found is 45 ways to avoid using the word 'very'. Is there anything easier, such as a web site to search for more intense synonyms?


texts: Which vs that in this sentence: "Kaieteur Falls, which/that is 741 feet tall, is located in Guyana"

texts:
I have this sentence: "Kaieteur Falls, which/that is 741 feet tall, is located in Guyana. My English teacher told me "that" would be correct. However, I strongly believe "which" would be correct. Could someone explain which one is correct?

Also, I am aware of threads such as that vs which vs what or others, and I have looked through those. I am fairly certain that "which" would be correct by reading these threads, but my English teacher thinks different.


texts:
what does it mean "to be in receipt of something"?

I have checked the meaning but have not figured it out fully, since I am a translator I need a literal translation for me to build out a meaningful, usable sentence in my own language.

Thanks in advance


texts: How can this sentence be corrected to be more concise and grammatically correct?

texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically incorrect because the word "they" is plural when there is only one teacher? How can it be corrected?

  Thomas may be afraid to speak to the teacher as he feels they hold
  prejudice against him.

Alternatives I concidered are

  Thomas may be afraid to speak to the teacher as he feels he hold
  prejudice against him.

and

  Thomas may be afraid to speak to the teacher as he feels the teacher hold
  prejudice against him.

but these seem even more awkward.


texts: Would the word "dehumidifier" be another word for "heater"?

texts:
A salesman told me that they do not call heater (not water heater that you use in bathroom but it is the one that warm up the air around) a heater. They call it dehumidifier.

Anyone kind enough to tell me whether the word heater can be called dehumidifier?


texts: Look and tell me what you see! Is it correct as a sentence?

texts:
Look and tell me what you see.

Is it correct as a statement, or should I add quotation marks?


texts: Is there a term that means "oft-used misquotation"?

texts:
There are some quotations that people always seem to get wrong:

  Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well. [Real quote from Hamlet: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio."]

  I have nothing to offer but blood, sweat and tears. [Real quote from Churchill:  "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."]

  Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.* [Real quote from Mark Twain: "The report of my death is an exaggeration."]

I keep thinking there is a term for this, the way malapropism is a term for a misused word. I have the feeling I read the word somewhere, but all the Googling I've done doesn't give it up.

[*] This one is particularly galling to me, since Twain was such a master of understatement. Oh well ...


texts:
I saw a sentence in which "is" precedes the subject though the sentence is not interrogative. Here comes the sentence:

In fig. 4 is shown [the approach to
equilibrium absorbance for a glass illuminated at
three different intensities].

In general, when can we precede a subject by a verb?

Personally, I used such a structure a little earlier (Here comes the sentence) which I think is correct as it looks so.

What is the underlying principle behind when to bring the subject first or the verb?


texts:
In the short story "The Last Cruise of the Judas Iscariot", by Edward Page Mitchel, Captain Cram, a sailor of Main, who builds a schooner with three masts to be frowned upon by the people of the town who consider it against nature. Later, the schooner runs into many accidents and sinks many cargoes. Believing that she is possessed by an evil spirit, captain Cram gives it the name Judas the Iscariot. In its last cruise, she starts sailing in good manner, carrying a heavy load of stones, then later it approaches a fog bank. Captain Cram moves with the crew to a boat and leave her to herself. They are not able to see her because the fog encloses their boat, but they hear the whistling of a steamer. Captain Cram says, describing the incident:

  "I hope that feller's well underwrit," said the captain grimly, "for the
  Judas'll never go down afore she's sarched him out'n sunk him."

I want to make sure if what I understood is right. He means by the first sentence that hopes the captain of the steamer is well and all right, is this right? However, I couldn't understand the second sentence. I hope that someone might explain it.


texts: What kind of conditional are these sentences?

texts:
If he really is my clone, he would never want that
  If that’s the case, I would recommend the Capillary Caves to the west.

I've seen these sentences in an Anime called Gin Tama and I think they are OK, but I don't know if they are conditional or a mess of the captions.


texts:
While I rarely see "gusto and abandon" used in a text, it has popped up in an article I have read yesterday.

The sentence in the article says:

  "But before we plunge headfirst into the fray with gusto and abandon,
  let's pause for a moment"

I have asked a couple of colleagues about it and all they could do is explain the meaning of it, which is "doing something with enthusiasm and without regard to fear"

My interest is knowing how these two words came together?
"Gusto" & "abandon" don't seem to fit together.


texts:
He plays it good, (or) at least better than you.

Can I omit word "or" in this sentence like this?

  He plays it good, at least better than you.

The reason I am asking it is because of this type of sentences.

  He is tall, maybe taller than you.

  He weighs a lot, perhaps 270kg.

Is it possible?


texts: Is the use of 'researched X for answering Y' to mean 'checked with X to answer Y' a good usage?

texts:
When one uses the word research transitively, the subject of the research is normally used as the object of the verb research (e.g. He researched the effects of acid rain for nearly a decade). Another common usage is having the target publication or presenting channel as the object of the verb research (e.g. She research a magazine article). (Note: I've consulted a few dictionaries for these usages.)
However, I found a small number of the usage researched X where the author actually means checked with X, or consulted X, or studied X, in order to answer Y where Y is the subject of the research.
For example, Google gave me these results when I searched for "researched several references",

"I researched several references that discuss the education, socialization and schooling of Native Americans in Minnesota."

"Students researched several references and gathered information regarding the environmental impact of their proposed airplane designs."

"I have researched several references and I know what the fair market value for a similar veh(icle) is."

This made me wonder... if the usage of 'researched X' where X is the source of references used in the research, not the subject of the research, considered a good usage?


texts: Name of a programmer of a quantum computer?

texts: What is the quantum computing specific term for a "computer programmer?"


texts:
noun

1.
an employment contract or agreement guaranteeing a key executive of a company substantial severance pay and other financial benefits in the event of job loss caused by the company's being sold or merged.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/golden+parachute

I searched for who came up with the phrase and what is the link between financial benefits and golden parachute, but I didn't find much except that the term dates back to the early 80's.

Any idea?


texts:
I have seen native speakers use both variations.

  See you Monday.

and

  See you on Monday.

I would like to know which usage is correct or if there are any specific instances in which each is used.


texts:
In a TV programme, the host asked a person about the literacy rate of his city. The person replied 96%. The host then looked at the camera and said, "Wow, can you believe that?"

My question is about the use of that; if he had used this instead of that, would it be wrong?


texts: The difference between compound words and genitive cases

texts:
I have a problem with genitive cases and compound words, I don't understand the difference between a genitive case and a compound word (noun + noun structure). I was trying to understand them by googling but I couldn't find any answers.
For example, is "bathroom floor" a compound word or a genitive case?
Can someone explain for me, please?

Thanks./


texts: When can you leave off 'that' in a sentence?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Use of “that” in a sentence

Some times I find myself leaving out the 'that' that binds two parts of a sentence together, because it reads 'smoother'. Here's an example:

  I'm at that point towards the end of a book, where you suddenly realize you're reading part two of a trilogy and too much of the plot is left for a satisfactory resolution.

I chose to not say '...suddenly realize that you're reading...'. Is this still correct? Is it merely a more informal tone? Bad style?

Side question: What am I actually talking about in grammatical terms? Binding two sentence clauses together with ’that'? What kind of word is 'that' here?


texts:
What do you call someone who says they will do things but doesn't?  And if they do it, they take 6 months rather than the 6 days they said they could but not necessarily specified that they would?

My husband is a tow truck driver, so he barely has spare time as it is. He also has an odd job business, which doesn't get much business.

He still has a heater here at my apartment left from 8 months ago that he was supposed to fix. Still has to fix his truck and put the new motor in it which he still has to drive 2 hours to get, even though he has a perfectly good one right here.

He has also claimed in the last year that by next year (so that'd be pretty much now, right?) he would have rebuilt a tractor, a snowplow, 2 trucks, a house trailer and a flat bed and he was going to build one, and a motorcycle, plus a 3 wheeler, 4 wheeler, help his dad with his house, get him and I a place...I could go on and on.

Yet he barely sees his son and me and hasn't been home for dinner in 6 months because he is busy working. I will admit he has gotten some jobs done but just at max only 2/3 of them.

I think it's more like 1/3 but I'm trying to give him credit. So what would he be called?


texts: When does a word end in 't' vs 'te'. eg. Why 'context' does not end with an 'e' but 'participate' does?

texts:
English is not our first language. Practising English dictation with my 6-year-old it is always confusing to know from the sound of the word when it ends in 't' or 'te', is there a rule when a word ends in 't' vs 'te'.

Why does words like 'context', 'respect', 'cat', 'chat' 'Let' end in 't'
while words like 'participate', 'Kate', 'electrolyte' and 'phosphate' etc
end in a 'te', at the end.

Is there a rule that can help my child decide when to use either based on how the word is pronounced.


texts: In Estonian, there is a word that roughly translates to "I want to sleep more, but I can't, so I am laying in bed". Is there a similar word or shortened phrase that means the same thing in English?


texts: What does "keep their powder dry on where they stand" mean?

texts:
The last sentence in the Washington Post's Battle over the replacement of Ruth Bader Ginsburg rages as tributes to late justice pour in says:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell privately told his members in a letter circulated Friday night to keep their powder dry on where they stand on proceeding with a confirmation fight this year.

In this context the author of the letter needs the recipients to behave in a certain way in order to win what may be a long "fight" and has offered this as a a first set of instructions. Others will follow.
This might be something along the lines of keep quiet, or stand firm, or perhaps remain in a state of readiness to respond to further instructions, but I can't tell which.


texts:
"Hot Fuzz" is a british comedy-action-thriller movie from 2007, "fuzz" being a derogatory slang term for police.

Is there any additional pun or play of words in the use of "Hot"? Or is it simply referring to the "hotness", the "awesomeness" of the police officer who plays the leading role?

For example, it would not have surprised me if "hot fuzz" were slang for a beverage or dish. But as far as my research shows, that is not the case.


texts: What is the usage of 'as' clause in the sentence?

texts:
What is the meaning and the function of 'as it has existed in practice' in below sentence?

'A criticism of democracy as it has existed in practice is that the power to vote for leaders is of peripheral importance in societies in which there are powerful vested interests that control the economy, the media, and other powerful areas.'

My questions are...
1. 'as it has existed in practice' is a clause that modifies the subject 'a criticism of democracy', right?

What is the meaning of that clause? (What does 'as' mean here? What does 'in practice'  means?)
The clause can be eliminated and still mean the same thing?

Thank you!


texts: how to use "non" or "no" together with a substantive to make an adjective

texts:
I'm trying to describe in a few words the idea of a sign (as a banner, a poster etc.) without any text on it, but only pictures.

Can I use the phrase "non-text" as an adjective? Or maybe "no-text"?
Examples: a non-text sign, or a no-text sign.

Perhaps another obvious adjective that I'm totally missing?

Thanks!


texts:
"For one moment he actually got me believing that he had aced his thesis"

Is this a proper usage of "got"? Or should it be "got me into believing"?

-First post btw. Thanks for any help! :)


texts: "His dishonesty" vs "His being dishonest"

texts:
My question is - which of the two phrases above sound better/worse?

His dishonesty

OR

His being dishonest

Actually, the question is not only about this particular noun/adjective pair, but extends to other verbs and nouns. Like in the following:

Her selfishness  VS her being selfish
Their irresponsibility VS their being irresponsible

Is there any difference in meaning between "his + noun" and "his being + adjective" ?


texts: What's a good word for a person, or a state, when a person is constantly waiting for life to get good, but does nothing to actually make it happen

texts:
I've written a song about people who constantly wait for something good to happen to them and am looking for a word to describe this state/paradox/condition.

The song is about people who expect life to get better for no reason, talk about moving to a bigger city or a different place as if that would magically make them rich, famous and happy, and keep talking about how they are going to do this or that, but never do it. I was under the impression that there's a psychological term for this state, but can't google it up, so I probably made it up.

This is essentially a song about myself, I keep talking about how I love to make music, or shoot videos, but I never actually produce anything, yet it's the only thing I can think of. When it comes to the moment to take action – I just stay at home watching tv shows.

I know it's a broad question and list of topics, but I guess I'm looking for a word that describes this state – of doing NOTHING.


texts: Once upon a time, I saw a short, proper and single word for "lack of exercise", but I forgot it.


texts: Acceptable uses for "associated with" or "associated to"

texts: I've read that both are acceptable but "associated with" is superior.  Is there ever a time that "to" is acceptable?  Does it matter at all?  I'm writing copy for a public website and want to make sure I get this right.


texts: Why are cuss words bad? Like, they are just like any other word. And how come when people get mad, cussing helps them feel better?


texts: I was writing something and I made a sentence 'There was nothing to do than watching films.' Is the usage of 'than' in this sentence correct? I kind of remember 'than' can be used the same way as 'except' and 'except for'. So, I rewrote the sentence like 'There was nothing to do except(or except for) watching films' and kind of felt like it was accurate. What do you think?


texts: When I see someone with a new haircut what can I say to him?

texts:
In Iran, there's a social custom regarding "getting a haircut" i.e. whenever a man/boy gets a haircut, people congratulate him on the matter:  In Farsi,
we say: "Mubarak"!
Is there an English statement, expression or saying for this case in American or British English? if yes what is it?
I wonder if we can say:"Nice haircut"!
I have never heard English speaking people saying" Congrats" or "Congratulations", am I right?


texts:
I often hear the phrase 'speak to' used as a verb. For example, "This event speaks to the need for good communication" or "Samantha, can you please speak to these dot points?"

It seems appropriate for a casual or colloquial scenario. The term 'address' can also be used but I feel this often implies the original material was a problem or issue. Whereas, 'Speaks to' can be used to offer a reflection or explanation of the original material.

Is there a more formal or professional verb that could also be used in this instance?


texts: I am wondering what it's called when you fear the unknown, like I am scared of what's hidden deep in the ocean, far out in space, death, etc.--basically things I can't really explain. I just want to know what it's called.


texts:
From Guy Wetmore Carryl's "The Precipitate Cock and the Unappreciated Pearl":

He turned again to where his clan
In one astounding tangle
With eager haste together ran
To slay the helpless angle

The author uses "angle" to refer to a worm, a key hero of the narrative.
Does the meaning of angle here stems from the geometrical figure, or from the archaic sense of hook listed in the Oxford Dictionary?


texts: Is there a word for the narrative technique of a last-second change in mood?

texts:
Sorry if this is off topic, but this seemed to be the best site to ask.

I can think of several examples of the use of a narrative technique: a last-second change in mood, often occurring so close to the end of the work that the audience cannot respond to it, potentially forcing them to reinterpret what they've experienced up to that point.

A plot twist that doesn't change the mood of the story (such as the reveal in The Usual Suspects or the "Wait, the monster isn't dead!" cliche in horror) is not an example of this, nor is a plot twist necessary for this to occur (The absolute best example of this I've been able to find is in this short animation) though one can be a catalyst (for example in the 'true' ending to the game The Witch's House). It is distinct from Bathos, though if applied properly Bathos could be an example of this. It is perhaps the same as or at least a narrative equivalent of a similar technique in music, for example in the opening theme for the game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (which also uses it to a degree in the opening cinematic it plays over) or with the more commonly used Picardy Third.

My apologies for the lack of links- my reputation doesn't allow posting more than two. I'll edit this once I can, until then it shouldn't be too hard to find what I'm talking about using google.


texts: Which of these is smaller in size: minuscule or tiny?

texts:
The edges of the area, where it merged with normal skin, was deep violet and crusty, with hundreds of (?????) dry speckles.

I want the speckles to be as small as possible, without having to write an essay about their smallness. I have eliminated the other choices of words (small, little etc) and am left with two choices: tiny and minuscule. Which of these (a minuscule speckle and a tiny speckle) would be smaller than the other?

I am aware that most of the time, such subtle differences are not probed in depth by the reader. Here, I am concerned with the impression that the word creates in the mind, not what it specifically means. As in, I want the speckles to feel as small as possible, to a general English language reader. I am writing fiction, not a scientific report.


texts: Is my explanation on prepositional phrases correct?

texts:
Example: My mother is arranging flowers in the vase.

'arranging flowers' is prepositional phrase and it modifies 'in the vase' but not to modify the subject 'My mother'.


texts:
I'm answering a question about a text. In the text, it says:

  The train left the station at 10:00PM

and, the question I must answer is

  Did the train leave late in the evening?

I'm not sure about this. I'd say the train left early at night, but I'm not sure if 10pm can be still considered as "Late evening".

Any kind of help is welcome.

Thanks!

PS: I couldn't find appropriate tags. Also, if this has to be moved to other forum, I won't have any problem. Im new here so I'm sorry if this is not the appropriate place.


texts: Is there a verb that means continuously dropping or continuously oozing?


texts: What is the difference between "horrify" and "terrify"?

texts: When would I use one, versus using the other?


texts: Is it possible to have a plural subject be a singular thing?

texts:
Here's a sentence I don't particularly understand.

"Necessary goods such as food also had to be shipped in order to meet the dietary needs of a consolidated population."

Wouldn't it have to be instead, "Necessary goods such as vegetables and meat products also had to be shipped in order to meet the dietary needs of a consolidated population"?


texts: Rule on absence of the article "the" with plural nouns

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Definite article with plural nouns

I recently reviewed (as I believe, rather thoroughly) the rules of using articles in English and I do not recall any rule on absence of definitive article THE with plural nouns.

Can you give me a reference on such a rule?


texts: Is there a word/term for a "super-contraction"

texts:
I am doing some informal research into dynamic speech and narrative generation, and I've been looking into some local colloquialism and having a little bit of difficultly classifying a set of them. I would call them "super-contractions" or "a contraction of contractions". But I'm curious if there is a better word/phrase that represents them.

For example:

I am going to tell him that!
I'm going to tell him that!
I'm gonna' tell him that!
I'm'a tell him that!
Ima tell him that!


texts: I am looking for ways to describe someone who is frequently absent from home or school (and for long periods of time), especially for work-related reasons.


texts: Do you use commas or full stops in a name

texts: I am writing a name on a form and I was wondering whether it would be John.Tom.Smith or John,Tom,Smith


texts: Constraints for the: X of Y vs. Y X constructions

texts:
While translating a text I came across this doubt that has been pestering me for too long, why is it possible to have these two constructions:

A) scene of crime.
B) crime scene. (although this one is more frequent.)

However, only (A) 'History book' is possible but not (B) 'book of History'.

On the other hand, (A) 'medicinal plants book' does not sound correct; while you find construction (B) 'book of medicinal plants' frequently used.

I fail to grasp the difference here and keep making mistakes. If anyone could help, please?
PS: I've read similar questions but they dealt with different aspects. Is it really semantics?


texts: What is a British biscuit called in America? A cookie? A cracker?

texts:
You find in dictionaries (OED for example) that what the British call biscuit, is called cookie or cracker in America. But,

British biscuits are like these:

while American cookies are like these:

and crackers are like these:

They're totally different in form and character. I'm afraid the best choice would be British biscuit!.

What is the “British” biscuit called in America?


texts:
I'm currently reading a New York Times article about the relationship change between the U.S. and Russia after the election of Mr. Trump. I came across the following: “We are in a whiplash moment right now, and I think it is unprecedented in several respects.”
I can't quite grasp the meaning of the "whiplash moment."

I looked up the dictionary for "whiplash," but still can't make the meaning out of that noun being used as an adjective modifying the noun "moment."

I searched the web and found one explaining the "whiplash moment" as "a moment that gives your head a big old snap!"
(http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/whiplash-moment.2108010/)

Still it is still vague for me. Can somebody explain this phrase with the relation with the context?


texts:
When I was taught English (as a foreign language) I was told that there are two ways of putting verbs together:

learn to play (to + infinitive)
quit smoking (gerund)

Some verbs require one way and some require the other.

However, after some language practice, as far as I can tell help" is the only verb that allows omitting to (i.e. help achieve instead of help to achieve).

I’ve already learnt that languages and reason are most of the time incompatible, so I’m not asking for reasons why this is the case with help - it’s very likely that there is no answer to that.

What I’m asking is: Are there any other verbs like this?


texts: Is it correct ? "A vintage girl who came from 90s"

texts: is it correct? "A vintage girl who came from 90s"


texts: What is the abbreviation of "depth"? I found DPT and D. Sometimes they were accompanied by periods, other times not. Any help?


texts:
I lately learnt these three words of similar meanings: peel, pare, and skin.

In what case do you use each of them? Could you give me example sentences along with a concise description for each?


texts: Usage of its or their with the group entity

texts:
I am confused between below sentences. I am not sure which one is grammatically correct. Online grammar checking tools such as "grammarly" are not showing any issue with all below sentences.

1 - Nowadays, the urban population is facing many hurdles in their daily lives.

2 - Nowadays, the urban population is facing many hurdles in its daily life.

3 - Nowadays, the urban population are facing many hurdles in their daily lives.

4 - Nowadays, the urban population are facing many hurdles in its daily life.


texts: Is it acceptable to use "Much Appreciated" as the closing for a letter or email?

texts: When I send an email requesting assistance from someone, I am tempted to close the email with the phrase “Much Appreciated”. Is it acceptable to use that phrase outside of a sentence?


texts: Which one is grammatically correct, with "have" or without "have"?

texts:
I have been admitted to the upcoming class and been planning to
  live in the dormitory.

  I have been admitted to the upcoming class and have been planning
  to live in the dormitory.


texts: What would you call it when somebody complains about something that is given to them?

texts: Like when people who receive free government aid, and complain about regulations on it. Not what the person would be called, but what it is called that they're doing.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What's the difference between the various dialects of English?

I know of American English and British English, but how many other types of English are there?


texts: What is the difference between "noun", "proper noun", and "name"?

texts:
Do noun and name carry a different meaning?
If there are any differences, are those differences specific to a context?


texts: "I would like to go to a youth center to help and (to) work with teenagers"

texts:
Which is correct?

  I would like to go to a youth center to help and work with teenagers.

  I would like to go to a youth center to help and to work with
  teenagers.

The question is whether to needs to be repeated in the second infinitive.


texts: How modal verbs with partciple change the meaning of a sentence?

texts:
Maybe It seems very trifling for someone else. But this is something making me puzzled.

He may seek some seasonal help.
He may be seeking some seasonal help.

What are the differences between the meaning of these sentences? I know both sentences are grammatically perfect and similar in meaning.In the second sentence, seeking is used as an participle adjective to qualify subject but does it change the meaning of second sentence?


texts: What is the etymology of saying "when" to stop pouring or serving?

texts: I was wondering: What is the origin of asking someone to say "when" (to mean "enough") while they are serving food or beverages?


texts: What does the “a’ ” in “a’blowing” signify？

texts:
Quotation from A History of the Cries of London: Ancient and Modern

  Oh, dearly do I love “Old Cries,”
     Your “Lilies all a’blowing!”
    Your blossoms blue, still wet wih dew,
     “Sweet Violets all a’growing!”


texts:
I just watched a movie in which someone more or less says "Oh yeah, with him dead, you want me hacking the computer"
My question: to what extent can I use this construction? Is it grammatically right to say "with them mad at me, I wanna do it"


texts: Another word for a single line of trees on a hilltop, as seen from a distance

texts: There's definitely a single word that is used to describe, when seen from a distance, a single row of trees on a hilltop. I searched quite a bit but am unable to find the word.


texts:
What is worse than mediocre? Is it bad, or is there a level between mediocre and being pure bad?

Is mediocre slightly better than bad, and bad better than pathetic?

I want to use this in my prose in a context as:

  The condition of roads was worse than mediocre

What can be used here?


texts: If we ignore the context, what is the meaning of 'phenomenal price?' Positive or negative?


texts: What is the difference between a phrase and a clause? I tried looking this in dictionary but can not identify the difference. It would be great if I could get an example and formula of what makes a phrase and a clause.


texts:
Reading contemporary histories of the First World War, I noticed that at the start the nation in the Balkans is referred to as Servia, but in numbers published after the back half of 1916, it has turned into Serbia.

Is there any particular reason for this?

Consulting Google NGrams gives:-

which seems to correspond to my observation.

Edit Replaced Google NGram with version using capitalised names, as suggested by Steven Littman; the result makes rather more sense.


texts: When to capitalize a registered profession?

texts:
I understand the rule to capitalize a profession (i.e. job title) when it is precedes a name, as in President John Doe...  but what if we are talking about titles in general. I am working on a document that discusses when to request a referral to Registered Dietitian, Occupational Therapist or Speech Language Pathologist. Should these all be lower case, or capitalized?

Example: Feeding therapists are often Speech Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists or Registered Dietitians and can be referred to using [blank] form.


texts: Where does the phrase rule of thumb originate from? Why the thumb, of all possible body parts?


texts: What is the meaning of "a little shy of a year"?

texts:
When I read an article in The Washington Post yesterday, I met a sentence which confused me: "Valerie Schönian was born on Sept. 25, 1990, a little shy of a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall and eight days before Germany was formally unified."
What's the meaning of "a little shy of a year after..." ? Thanks.


texts:
I want to use corpus in place of total amount of money. Please suggest if I can use it.

In place of using:
...leads the way in terms of total amount of money.

I want to use:
....leads the way in terms of total corpus.

Note: A context in previous sentence would signify corpus in reference of money.


texts: Rewording of "task with the highest stakes"

texts:
For a mental model, connecting what has just happened with what will happen in the very near future is the task with the highest stakes.

That sounds unnatural to me. Can someone suggest a rewording?


texts: Is there an adjective that describes "no options"?

texts:
I've used the phrase "defeated for" in my writing, somewhat like this:

  He was defeated for another country to flee to, and so he left for Australia.

which is supposed to mean "He had no choice of another country to flee to".

It seems to make some sense to me, but I appear to be the only person to use this phrase for such a purpose (A Google search returns nothing). Is there another more suitable adjective I can use in its place? I feel like there should be one, but I have no idea how to look for it.


texts: Is it "to my attention or to mine attention"?

texts:
I ran into this example at one of the EDX.org courses. This was said by a native English speaker. The phrase is

  Please bring them [concerns] to mine or my teaching assistants' attention

I feel that this is incorrect and should be

  Please bring them to my or my teaching assistants' attention.

The transcript of the course's video also says "mine".


texts: How can I understand "thirty-seconds of a dollar"?

texts:
I read the following sentence in the book Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives:

  Treasury bond prices in the United States are quoted in dollars and thirty-seconds of a dollar.

Here is my question:

How should I understand the phrase in bold, namely, "thirty-seconds of a dollar"?

I think the plural form "thirty-seconds" means several thirty-seconds of a dollar. Does it make sense?


texts:
Dangling participial phrases starting with "there" or "it" as the subject. Does this sentence start with a dangler or is this fine?

  In taking into account the appendage that forms the aforementioned
  sheath in the interior of the capital, it will be recognized that this
  cast presented serious challenges.


texts: Is there an idiom for a wish or fantasy being fulfilled in such an excessive manner that it might be too much to handle?

texts:
"Biting more than one can chew", is used mostly for attempting to do something too difficult. What I'm looking for is more in the style of having a wish or fantasy, imagining how goold it would be if it became true, but then it gets fulfilled beyond expectations, and that has negative consequences, or at least it's too much to handle.

For a very rough example, someone wants to be richer, and then wins the jackpot on the lottery, becoming a multimillionaire. However, that new lifestyle leads to his undoing. Having won only a smaller sum, he could have improved his life with it, but winning too much ruined him.


texts: How to call attention to "I" without "I myself" or the pretentious "even I"?

texts:
I find that in persuasive conversation, whether written or oral, it is sometimes useful to draw attention to the "I" in the sentence, giving the connotation that you are confessing or conceding to some degree.  There are two common ways to do this, that I can think of:

  I myself have done this once in a while...

or

  Even I have done this once in a while...

The first just feels like bad grammar. The second seems far too pretentious; often giving the connotation that the speaker is normally "above" such behavior.

Is there another way to communicate this meaning without such negatives?


texts: Current / Previous / Previous -- A term to describe this state other than tense or currency

texts:
I'm looking for a term to describe a state.  Ordinarily I would use the word "Currency" to describe the state of "Current", "Future", "Previous", however in the context, this would be too easily confused with a monetary currency.

What would be another good word to use to describe a "currency" state?

"The currency of the address" sounds and reads horribly, and certainly "tense" in this context doesn't work.


texts:
Help please!

What does the boy on the bus say? Is that an idiom?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=85114404&v=dKUy-tfrIHY


texts: Guidelines for adding 's after name of company ending in s

texts: How about adding 's to the name of a company that ends in s for a possessive?  Is it the same guideline (go by how it would be pronounced)?  Thanks.


texts:
I am writing a Terms of Service for a website and I am wondering if both of these examples are correct:
"Inline link to an image"
"In-line link of an image"  Inline linking (also known as hotlinking, leeching, piggy-backing, direct linking, offsite image grabs)

<img src="picture.jpg" />


texts: What is the purpose of indentation in a poem?

texts:
For example, in this poem, entitled Remember, by Christina Rosetti:

  Remember me when I am gone away,
        Gone far away into the silent land;
        When you can no more hold me by the hand,
  Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
  Remember me when no more day by day
        You tell me of our future that you planned:
        Only remember me; you understand
  It will be late to counsel then or pray.
  Yet if you should forget me for a while
        And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
        For if the darkness and corruption leave
        A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
  Better by far you should forget and smile
        Than that you should remember and be sad.


texts: Are constructions like "That's me out, then" primarily British rather than American?

texts:
Prompted by comments to this question on English Learners (about "That's you done"), I've been searching Google Books for similar constructions of the general form that's [pro]noun adjective (for this context, I classify past-tense verb forms such as done, fucked, finished as adjectives).

What I seem to be finding is that using "That's" in this way (not referencing anything in particular, just "whatever came before/caused the current situation") is a relatively recent phenomenon.

I'm also getting the impression it's more common in BrE than Ame. So by implication, if the boss says to his secretary...

  "Just get those letters off in the post, and that's you done for the day."

...I should assume the boss is probably British, rather than American.

Would my assumption be right? Can anyone shed more light on the usage? Is it the same as...

  "Here's me doing all the work while you just sit around waiting to be fed."
   (said by, for example, hard-pressed mother to idle teenage offspring)


texts:
What is the origin of the phrase "kettle of fish"?

e.g.

  It's was a good film. But the sequel is a different kettle of fish.

It seems to simply mean "thing", but in a fun and witty way.

But I wonder- Did people ever put fish in kettles, and why would this come to be used in such a way?


texts: What is the word or phrase for a statement of the kind: "x is because of y" when y is simply a restatement of x?

texts:
I know this word, but I cannot think of it.  It is driving me crazy.  Example:

The murder rate in the National Parks is very low because the people who go to the National Parks are non-violent people.


texts: What does ‘Cocktail-party fool’ exactly mean? Is it established English word?

texts:
I found the word ‘cocktail-party fool’ in the following sentence of the article in the Book review section of the New Yorker (August 16), which is titled ‘How Do You Say Ralph Fiennes?’

  “The mini-videos are essential viewing for people fearful of making a variety of conversational missteps that would immediately peg them as philistines, charlatans, or general cocktail-party fools.”

As ‘Cocktail party fools’ is laid in parallel with 'philistines' and 'charlatans' with antecedent ‘or,’ the author seems to have used the word as a synonym with philistines and charlatans. But naturally there should be difference among all three words.
Though I can deduce the meaning of the word from its word elements, what does ‘Cocktail party fools’ exactly mean? How different it is from a ‘Party-pooper’ who is ridiculed by others by making an illiterate remark at a party?’

I checked the definition of ‘Cocktail-party fool’ on online dictionaries. Neither Cambridge nor Merriam-Webster online dictionary registers this word. Is ‘Cocktail-party fool’ an established English word, or the word just in making?


texts: Is there a name for the title/nickname that some members of royalty get? For example, "King Larry the Kind".


texts: Word for culture that develops around a specific skill or task that one does

texts:
Is there a word for ideas and rituals that have developed around a skill or a task that one does?
For example, consider coffee-making or metalworking. Many people do these things as hobbies and there is a "culture" that has developed around them, where people exchange ideas of doing these things in a better or different way. For coffee-making, there is "coffee culture" and metalworking is just "metalworking".
What I am looking for is another word that could be used in the same sense as 'culture' in "coffee culture".