texts:
In genetics, most authors say/write "gene G codes for protein P", while some say "gene G codes protein P". German being my mother language, the first form looks a little strange to me, since also in German now it's very common to say "Gen G kodiert für Protein P", which is wrong in German.
With my German background, "to code" ("kodieren") can be used transitively with meanings:

to encode: X codes Y means X creates the code of Y, e.g. "The text editor codes the character 'A' with the ASCII-Code to the number 65".
being the code of something: X codes Y means X is the encoded form of Y, e.g. "The number 65 codes the letter 'A'"

In most cases it is clear by the situation or fact whether X is the encoder or the code of Y.

So are there any (general) examples of using "code for" when meaning "is the code of" beside genetics? Would you say "The number 65 codes for 'A'"?


texts: Is there an alternative, better term for "products of a culture"?

texts: What is the most appropriate word or phrase to call all the books, theater plays, movies, etc. that a culture has produced and is still producing? For example, "the products of the French culture."


texts:
Are the following sentences correct?

It's high time the government took steps to eradicate terrorism.
It's high time to take steps to eradicate terrorism.

I am asking this question because I have learned that the verb should be in the past form if we use "high time".
Thanks


texts:
Which is more correct?

  How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. First, thy eyes gaze deep into my soul. Second,...

or

  There are four reasons why all should hail the Hypno-Toad. Firstly, his eyes gaze deep into your soul. Secondly,...


texts:
In this comment, the author uses the expression the Drude is on board with this.

What does it mean?


texts:
I am having difficulty trying to distingush between then and than.

What I find confusing is their pronunciation, and when to use them.

For example:

  He walked, stopped, than/then picked up a stone.

Should it be than or then, and why?


texts: How would you write the word /ˈtɪə.rɒn/?

texts: I'm writing a book and made a word called /ˈtɪə.rɒn/ (reading it like TEARdrop + iRON, or something like TEARON). The story is supposed to be medieval fantasy and I'm not a native speaker so I'm not sure how to write the word in a 'cool' way. At first, I thought of 'Tyron' but a friend of mine told me it sounds like the name 'Tyrone' (like TIRE + ON). So I want to know from you guys how to write /ˈtɪə.rɒn/ in a cool way. Do I just write it like 'Tyron' or maybe 'Tiron'? Or is 'Tearon' the best outcome? Or do I just ignore common sense and English grammar and goes with whatever I want, as this is a made up word for a fantasy book?


texts:
Is there an alternative for the phrase "underpant gnomes[1]" ?

A bit of background is in order. The boys from South Park are due to
give a presentation to voters in which they explain why the town
should prevent a giant corporation ("Harbucks") from opening next to
Tweek's Coffee, a local establishment. They encounter a group of
gnomes who have been stealing underpants as part of a big plan, broken
down into three phases:
Phase 1: Collect Underpants
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit
When the gnomes are pressed on the question mark and asked how,
exactly, they get from underpants to profits, they don't have a good
answer.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/artcarden/2011/07/14/underpants-gnomes-political-economy/#6fbb29a94e2e


texts:
How do you decipher when and how to use 'off-guard' or 'off guard'?

Example sentences

  “I wanted to find it before my opponents did,” he clarified. “So, if anything was brought up during one of the many townhall debates we had, I was ready to respond and defend myself instead of being caught off guard.”

  In hindsight, this was a fatal mistake, as Superior Holt caught us off guard and alone in the vestibule as we were attempting to leave.

  The lack of context to his question caught me off guard.

Those are the three times in my novel where I use the phrase "off guard". None of them refer to "guard duty" or any other job. They are merely a synonym for "by surprised" - but I'd prefer not to use that phrase.


texts: "Each piece of cloth" or "each piece of clothing"?

texts:
What's the correct alternative? And why?

Example sentence:

  Junko inserted her arms inside the washing machine and picked up each
  piece of cloth/clothing---her Doraemon T-shirt, Her Mickey Mouse
  sweatshirt, Hello Kitty panties.


texts: What is difference between congregate and aggregate? I see that those words deal with same things, but there are difference, and I don't see which?


texts: Which punctuation to use in "I wonder _ could there be..."

texts:
I just came across a sentence in this form:

  I wonder if could there be more precise translations ...

Obviously the if doesn't belong. As a native speaker I would say

  I wonder __ could there be more precise translations ...

To me this sounds natural in spoken English. It's colloquial or informal but but not so much so to not use in written English, at least not in an online forum for instance. But I'm completely at a loss as to which punctuation belongs where I've put __ as a placeholder.

Colon? Dash? Ellipsis? Semicolon?

Yes I know there are other ways to make this more elegant written English, but my question is only about punctuation please. I tried to make that clear in the question title, question body, and tags I chose so let me apologise if I failed to communicate that effectively.

Perhaps for the sake of coming up with the best way to punctuate without rewording we should assume we are transcribing spoken dialogue and we are not permitted to change any words but we are expected to spell and punctuate correctly.


texts: "restart" vs "reset" in the context of a game or puzzle

texts: Given a partially-completed puzzle or game (e.g. sudoku or klondike solitaire), would reverting the puzzle/game to the initial state be considered "restarting", "resetting", or is there a third, better word? Thank you!


texts:
is it possible that I can describe the location of a single line in the figure as following,

e.g. a line is located in +45 degrees.


texts:
Where does the term sweet nothings come from? What is an example of a "sweet nothing"? Does the term connote sincerity or has it been hijacked to represent deceit and seduction? After all, the devil does whisper sweet nothings into my ear all the time.

Edit: Wiktionary carries a rather extreme definition of the expression:

  (idiomatic) Insubstantial or romantic words that are only meant to flatter, woo, or seduce.

Examples of usage:

  1904, George Gissing, Veranilda, ch. 28:
  Hearing such words as these, in the sweetest, tenderest voice that ever caressed a lover's senses, Basil knew not how to word all that was in his heart. . . . Side by side, forgetful of all but their recovered peace, they talked sweet nothings.
  1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, Episode 16:
  [T]he facts, to make matters worse, were made public with the usual affectionate letters that passed between them, full of sweet nothings.
  2004, Joe Klein, "Does Bush Really Get Us?," Time, 25 April:
  It is difficult to know how accurate this portrait is, and how much of it consists of sweet nothings whispered into the author's ear by loyal retainers.


texts: Is there a UK/US difference in the usage of in/to + verb (for example, "this tool helps in dealing with this/to deal with this")?

texts:
I have done a translation and the Dutchman (who speaks American English) who wrote the book is going through the text often changing "in + verb" constructions to "to + verb".

For example,

  this tool helps in dealing with this

vs

  this tool helps to deal with this

Is he just simplifying the text to his preference, or is the latter formulation more common in American English?


texts: What do "a.m." and "p.m." stand for when talking about time?

texts: What do a.m. and p.m. stand for when talking about time?


texts: History of "asylum seeker" versus "refugee"

texts:
What is the history of the term "asylum seeker" as a slightly pejorative replacement for the word "refugee"?

The first reference to asylum seeker I can find is

  1959   Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 53 990   Small and medium-sized
  countries most exposed geographically to the influx of asylum-seekers
  must needs watch out for the slightest policy reaction of stronger
  powers.


texts: Word for final act of kindness before dying

texts: Is there a word or saying for a final act of kindness, a final change of heart when you know you're about to die? Say, a fatally wounded soldier giving water to an enemy in the same situation. There are many examples from literature and movies - and surely real life - but I can't think of a good word for this.


texts: What does "period" mean when someone says "Sth... Period"?

texts:
I often hear US citizens say something like this:

  <Some phrases>. Period.

What does period mean when it appears in a sentence by itself in this type of situation?


texts:
I am trying to solve an exercise where you have to rewrite sentences into passive form. I am having a problem with these sentences:

Someone empties our bins every week.

submit: Our bins are emptied by someone every week.

People grow lots of varieties of tea in India.

submit: Lots of varieties of tea are/were grown in India by people.
Where am I doing wrong?
Please note: the bold text is the book tip.


texts: Is there any phrase for journalists lies?

texts: I need a word or a phrase or expression for journalists lies.. There must be something...


texts:
Quick question.

Are there any differences between these two words?

Social Distance
Social Distancing

What I understand from the first one is Social( ADJ ) + Distance (N).

I do not understand why we put " ING " after distance ?

Do they have the same meaning ?


texts:
I am writing the following in a proper thesis write up, and have a question of whether I should capitalize the first word in each bullet point (i.e. 'e') or not?

The database contains a variety of information. They include:
1.  each manager’s profile,
2.  each asset's returns, and
3.  each asset's profile.


texts:
What is the grammatical name and function for the sentence "if my mother had more money"

The full context is
I am certain that if my mother had more money, she would have been willing to compromise and pay for the car


texts:
Is there a usage note for choosing between these two phrases? Nothing in Garner.  And I've seen it both ways.

Example:

  To that end, we propose the following compromise.

or

  To this end, we propose the following compromise.


texts: Why would "to center around" be illogical?

texts:
I have seen the discussions of "to center on" vs "to center around", and usually the argument is that "to center X around Y" is illogical. The counter-argument is generally that it is an idiom and therefore does not have to be logical. However, I do not see why this phrase is illogical.

To me, there are clearly to ways that "to center" can be used:

Putting X in the center of Y.
Putting the center of X on Y

The first meaning obviously doesn't make sense with "about". You can't center a picture around a page. But in the context of second meaning, I find it is perfectly logical to center X around Y, eg. "to center a circle around a point". "At" and "on" also make sense here, but so does "around".

So why is it necessary to invoke the argument of the idiom? Am I misunderstanding something?

-

Edit: This is not a duplicate of this question. Most answers there just state it is illogical, not why. The few that do only say that it is illogical since to center X is to put X in the center, which is only the first meaning I mentioned. The answer of user oosterwal comes close but only talks about a set of multiple.

I would like to know why it is illogical to center for example a hullahoop around a candle, i.e. putting the candle in the center of the hullahoop.

Moreover, even the idiomatic use seems logical to me, since for example arguments centered around a main point seem more meant in this second meaning, rather than them being in the center of something.


texts: "put away in my pocket" vs. "tucked away in my pocket"

texts:
Those things are always put away in my
  pocket.

  Those things are always tucked away in
  my pocket.

Do these mean the same thing? The first sentence makes me think of the action of putting something away, but the second sentence makes me think that the action has already been done, and those things are already in the pocket.


texts: Mixing adjectives and nouns in scientific writing

texts:
I've noticed that biological scientists tend to use nouns as adjectives when detailing experiments both in writing and in speech.

Examples:

The experiment was performed "in monkey cortex" instead of "in a monkey's cortex", "in simian cortex", "in the cortex of a monkey" and so on.
I study "rat cognition" instead of "cognition by/in rats" or "rodent cognition".
We used a "mouse model" instead of "murine model", "rodent model".

However, people do say that they study "human cognition" not "people cognition".

One could argue that scientific writing is as it does. Or, that as long as the writing is clear this point is immaterial. But, interchanging nouns and adjectives does exercise some people.

Example 1 beginning on slide 68
Example 2
Example 3 <-- A list of frequent problems in scientific writing

Does this occur in other technical areas?

More speculatively, does it suggest something about grammar simplification, perhaps because many people who grew up speaking different languages must communicate in a technical version of English? Is it just an unnecessary abstraction?

N.B.: I'm not singling out biologists. I just can't speak about any other group firsthand.


texts: What is the single-word noun meaning "Someone who participates in a Winterfest"?

texts: If someone who goes to the Theatre is a Theatregoer, what is the single-word noun for someone who participates in a Winterfest? I am assuming it would not be "Winterfester" as that sounds more like some kind of suppurating wound.


texts: A word for a professor teaching in multiple universities

texts:
I have this feeling that I've seen and then forgotten a word which specifically describes a professor / lecturer who teaches in multiple universities. (Not just a visiting professor)

"I hear Mallory is a ___________ now. It certainly fits his character, but I do worry for his cardiovascular health."

I think that this sense of the word might be a secondary definition to the word's main usage.
Does such a word exist? I can't find it anywhere in my search history or online...

But I can't shake the feeling that I definitely saw it somewhere on google definitions while defining another word!


texts: Opposite word for “cursive”, as related to writing

texts:
I looked up the etymology entry at etymonline.com for cursive, which reads:

  1784, from French cursif (18c.), from Medieval Latin cursivus “running,” from Latin cursus “a running,” from past participle of currere “to run” (see current (adj.)). The notion is of “written with a running hand” (without raising the pen), as opposed to uncial.

Now, the uncial entry reads:

  In reference to letters, it is attested from 1712, from Late Latin litterae unciales (Jerome), probably meaning “letters an inch high,” from Latin uncialis “of an inch, inch-high.”

It seems to me that uncial is not the most correct antonym for cursive writing, and printing isn’t a very satisfactory alternative to me.

Could anyone give me a word that denotes the style of handwriting where the letters don't connect/the pen is lifted in the process?


texts: Me or I proper usage in a formal sentence

texts:
The President recently sent a letter with the following sentence. I think the last word in the sentence is incorrect and should be “me”. Would someone please clarify this for me please?

“It is a terrible thing you are doing, but you will have to live with it, not I.”


texts:
I found the phrase “keep the black dog at bay” in an article titled “ Ways to Beat the Winter Blues” in Time magazine November 14 issue. The phrase comes up at the end of the following statement:

  “As the days get shorter and winter closes in, many people feel like hibernating. We start sleeping more, eating more and avoiding social contact. The effects can be particularly oppressive for people with depression, many of whom feel escalating dread as the end of daylight saving time approaches. Here are eight ways to keep the black dog at bay after you turn back the clocks.”

I checked definition of “keep the black dog at bay” on several online dictionaries. None of Cambridge, Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and even Urban dictionary registers this phrase.

What does "keep the black dog at bay" mean? I wonder whether “black dog” is used as a pun with “winter blue” in the headline. Is “keep the black dog at bay” a well-established idiom?


texts:
What is the meaning/origins of a word "height" in this line of poetry (Written by Jack Parsons in 1943):

I height Don Quixote, I live on Peyote,
marihuana, morphine and  cocaine.
I never knew sadness but only a madness
that burns at the heart and the brain

I am not an English native speaker, and I know only one meaning of "height" (looked also in Oxford dictionary and lingvolive.com). It looks like some sort of a verb, an errative or an idiom, but I cannot get the meaning of the first phrase.
Maybe it is a borrowing from German "Ich heiße" (My name is). Or it is "hate"? Or is he comparing his height with the Don Quixote?
P.S. Looks like "height" instead of "hight" was intentional. I haven't found an original edition or a manuscript, but almost all paper citations include "height", for example, and often include "height [sic.]", like here or here


texts: Problem converting 'even though' clause to 'despite' clause: 'Despite losing...'

texts:
I stumbled across this question in 'Intermediate Language Practice' by Michael Vince:
'Even though they were losing at half-time, City won in the end.
Despite________________________________'

The answer given is 'Despite losing at half-time, City won in the end.'

For me, the answer doesn't work. Something like 'Despite being behind at half-time...' would be better.

However, I am having trouble explaining why it doesn't work. Is it because the tenses for 'lose' and 'win' do not agree in the original 'even though' sentence so there is ambiguity when you try and reduce 'were losing' to 'losing' because the 'won in the end' makes us read the subordinate clause as 'they lost'?


texts: Name for a groom, in relation to the best man

texts:
I'm the best man in a wedding, in a wedding with a groom. However this has lead to an odd conundrum.

The groom can refer to me as his best man, however I am unsure of the term I can use for him. He isn't my groom as that implies we are getting married.

So is there a term that a best man can use for the groom he is best man to?


texts: "The best (and one of very few) website[s]"

texts:
Stack Exchange is the best (and one of very few useful) question-and-answer websites in the world.

In this statement, should it be website (where "best" overrules "one of very few") or websites (where "one of very few" overrules "best"? What is the correct way to phrase the intent of this statement in a single sentence?

Update: one of my friends noted that the question is wrong. Since there is an 'and' within the brackets, the statement is itself a compound sentence, and hence is not reducible to a simple statement. I think he is right.


texts: A term for making self-serving decisions that end up benefiting all

texts:
There's a term, perhaps a technical term, for when individuals make decisions that are self-serving only, but on a large scale, the combine decisions made in a self-serving manner happen to bring about an optimal equilibrium.

Such as in traffic direction. In some theory (Nash equilibrium comes to mind), individuals making certain decisions under given conditions might end up coming to a Nash equilibrium.

What is the term that describes this self-centered decision making that ends with a positive equilibrium, or in a positive state, even with myopic, self-centered choices?


texts: "Meaning" or "Meaning that" - are both appropriate?

texts:
What is the correct way to use "meaning that", i.e. which (or both?) are appropriate:

We're in the Brand Registry, meaning that our products are uniquely protected...

We're in the Brand Registry, meaning our products are uniquely protected...


texts:
I'm an engineer, and I'm writing an email that includes the following sentence (emphasis added for this question):

  We need to let marketing weigh in on the naming of this feature, as an engineer (i.e., me) came up with the current name.

My personal rule for secondary personal pronouns is that I try restructuring the sentence to put the pronoun in the primary location and see what works. For the above, that would be:

  We need to let marketing weigh in on the naming of this feature, as I came up with the current name.

This implies that the correct version of the first sentence would be:

  We need to let marketing weigh in on the naming of this feature, as an engineer (i.e., I) came up with the current name.

... which sounds awful to this American ear.

What pronoun should I be using here? Or, should I avoid the issue by restructuring the sentence (and to heck with the perhaps forced levity)?


texts: What do you call a subordinate clause that follows its main clause but is wrongly punctuated as a separate sentence?

texts:
“This compelled the chancellor to shut down the whole program. Which was an outcome no one really wanted.”

I suspect that what underlies this error is the sense that in spoken English a substantial pause (or even a change of speaker in conversation) might well precede the subordinator.  If this suspicion is correct, then the correction most true to the writer’s intention would be to combine the two sentences into one, perhaps with a dash instead of just a comma, rather than to edit the second sentence into independence (here, by substituting “This” for “Which”).

I find this sort of thing lamentably common in student writing lately, and have accordingly felt the need of a term for it. The term I came up with is “continuation fragment”—that is, a continuation of the preceding sentence wrongly punctuated as a separate sentence. Is there, however, a more established or usual term?


texts:
What is the difference between the following when referring to telephone calls?

Please call me on this number. You can reach me on this number.
Please call me at this number. You can reach me at 0088000900.
Please call me through this number. You can reach us through this number.

Are they interchangeable? Which one would sound more natural and accurate?


texts: How do you explain the usage of "it" in the sentences below?

texts:
Could you explain the usage of it in the following sentences?

I don't like it  when you speak like this.
I hate it when you speak like this.
I know it for certain that he is in town now.
He owes it to his brother that he became a research chemist.


texts:
A number of common English surnames are the same as common English given names, with the addition of an "S."  Examples are Peters, Daniels, Michaels, Matthews, Roberts, Phillips, Isaacs, Williams, etc.

What is the root cause of this phenomenon?  Is it related to the formation of surnames from patronyms?  Most of that same list also has common variations ending in "-son" (Peterson, Danielson, Robertson, etc.)

Note: I did a Google search around this question, but the results all had to do with pluralizing a surname, or making it possessive.


texts: a word describing the action of providing (any) information with the given intent of informing?

texts:
Sometimes people say something with no true intention to inform their audience but for a covert intention other than that. In such cases, we may say, the information, as well as the informant, is manipulative. For example, we are told by the producer that a product has such and such good points, while her real intention is to make us buy it, and not just to let us know that the product has such and such good points.

Some other times people say something just to inform their intended audience, to share whit her what they think as true; they simply want their audience to know about whatever it is they are talking about. In such cases, information is not manipulative, it is just for the sake of informing, just for the sake of sharing the truth with the audience, just to let her know the thing whatever it is. What is a right word (adjective) to describe such kind of information.

Some examples are parents who inform their children in order to let them know things, good teacher when they inform students, and doctors when they inform patients.

One may simply say "non-manipulative information", but then it also covers unintentional information too. Besides, if we call it "truthful information", then manipulative information sometimes is true/truthful too.

So what we call a piece of information that is truly for informing.


texts: Is it correct to say "to sacrifice A for B" or "to sacrifice A over B"?

texts:
Let say you want to give up A so that you can take B. So,if that, then what should I say?

 to sacrifice A for B

or

to sacrifice A over B

Ex: Do you think ignorant people sacrifice the important thing over the trivial thing?


texts: How to say "possibility at maximum rate" correctly

texts:
How do we say

  The possibility of dying in a car crash here, is always at the maximum
  rate

correctly? Is that sentence correct? I don't want it to sound very formal.


texts:
Are the following sentences grammatically correct?

I have two cars, one red and the other blue.
I got them from two different places. One is from the store and the other, the bank.

Should there be a comma before 'blue?' Should there not be a comma before 'the bank?'


texts: Am I taking a course "on" or "at" an educational website?

texts: I recently wrote a blog post and found it incredibly difficult to decide whether to state that I am taking a course "on Coursera" as one might say if Facebook, for instance, started offering courses, or - as one would say of a University course - "at Coursera". What is the correct usage?


texts:
I like this kind of foods.

Or

I like these kind of foods.

Which pronoun is correct here?


texts: Can't think of a name for a rhetorical figure

texts:
I have a feeling there's a name for a rhetorical figure, or perhaps a misuse of language, along the following lines:

  He went out to get drunk, and the mail.

In other words I'm looking for a term that describes what you do when you (for example) use a verb with what looks like a compound object, but one of the words isn't really an object but a word the verb governs in some quite different way.


texts: Is there a term for a compound word that may be split in multiple places?

texts:
The only example I can currently think of is from the Spawn comic book. The compound word “Hellspawn” may be split two different ways:

Hell spawn (creature born of Hell)
Hell’s pawn (a minor figure manipulated by more powerful demons)

I am searching for other words similar to Hellspawn but not so, well, Hellish. I’d like to use a similar play on words. Knowing the term would improve my search.

Hellspawn above is a cheat, in that the apostrophe is implied. I’d like to find a word without such a cheat.


texts: what can I use as a synonym for "take the lead" preferably in one word?


texts:
In https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrrz54UtkCc at about 2:08, the woman says

"There was , chewing gum..no not chewing. Popping." before she fired 2 "warning shots" into his head for "popping" gum (and not chewing - like there would be a difference)

This phrase sticks out to me, and I am sure there is a technique to describe this type of disillusionment it if I recall correctly.

I'm disinclined to use 'hyperbole', which fits but doesn't feel like the right one per se.


texts: What is a word to describe something that belongs exclusively to or is used only by one person or a group of people?

texts:
I'm trying to find a word (or idiom or phrase) that describes something which is perceived as belonging to one person or group of people only. To contextualise this question I'll provide the paragraph in which I need to insert this word:

  But while the community of administrative assistants the world over can thank the cast and creators behind The Devil Wears Prada for flagging their struggle to the public, they should also be disgruntling at the fact that the feature film reinforces the deterring notion that personal assistants are...[missing word or idiom]... to/of/for high-level executives.


texts: Is the "-ee" suffix changing in meaning?

texts:
Anecdotally, it seems that in recent years, the "-ee" ending for the subject of an action has become diluted and often stands for the agent of the action, rather than its object.
Examples:

escapee as a synonym for escaper
attendee for one who attends (rather than the one attended to)
absentee similarly
standee for someone standing
returnee as the person returning, not the one returned to
embarkee for a passenger

I don't see any change in the opposite direction.  For example, one who has been retired is called a retiree (not *retirer), although it's common to describe a person as having retired.  Someone given refuge is still called a refugee, not a *refuger.
Is there any objective (quantitative) evidence that this is a trend?


texts: How would you translate "S'emmêler les pinceaux" in english?

texts:
It is a french phrase which could be translate as "Tangling the brushes" which means being confuse.

Is there a phrase to say that you are confused in english?


texts: What does the word "fixed" mean in this sentence?

texts:
I was reading feedback about the television show Survivor, and some people wrote that this show was "fixed". I could not understand or make a guess what they meant.

I searched on the Internet but I did not find any example or definition, either. Can you tell me its definition and when I can use it?


texts:
I'm writing a caption for a figure that includes a few sub-figures:

  A duck (left) and tiger (right). (Left) The duck has wings and a funny bill. (Right) The tiger doesn't look like a duck at all.

My question: what's the proper way to capitalize "left" and "right" here? (As it is it's inconsistent, which is probably the worst choice)


texts:
I am currently reading "Do androids dream of electric sheep?" by P.K. Dick and I have come across a grammatical structure I don't quite understand. The excerpt is the following (no spoilers, don't worry):

  "Ever thought of selling your horse?" Rick asked. He wished to god he
  had a horse, in fact any animal. Owning and maintaining a fraud had a
  way of gradually demoralizing one. And yet from a social standpoint it
  had to be done, given the absence of the real article. He had
  therefore no choice except to continue. Even were he not to care
  himself, there remained his wife, and Iran did care. Very much.

Although I think I can grasp the meaning (similar to "although he didn't care") I would really appreciate some information concerning the use and meaning of the sentence, as well as some pronunciation advice: should 'were' be stressed?

I would also find another example very useful.


texts: Should I use 'I said to him' or 'I told him' in this dialogue?

texts:
I wonder if I should use 'said' or 'told' in the following dialogue:

  I waited for too long.    He took her
  away.

  I said to him crying,    "I saw her
  first!"

  He said to me smiling,

  "finders keepers."

(by the way, is it correct to use "finders keepings" in this situation?).


texts: "What makes... " and "Why is..." : How different are they?

texts:
In a book we are reading there is a sentence that goes "What makes his face so strange?"
As non-native speakers we are wondering if there is any difference in meaning if you say "Why is his face so strange?"

This "What makes..." sentence is a translation from the Japanese and we are trying to understand the nuance of this translation.

Thank you.


texts: I am searching for a word that describes a person who complains about people who complain. I have tried numerous synonym blogs, but cannot find anything satisfactory.


texts: Car, Bus, Airplane, Truck excluding Bicycle

texts:
There are a lot of vehicles: cars, buses, airplanes, trucks excluding bicycles.
  There are a lot of vehicles: cars, buses, airplanes, trucks but bicycles.
  There are a lot of vehicles: cars, buses, airplanes, trucks but not bicycles.

Is the sense of these sentences exactly the same?


texts: Is "I'd've" proper use of the English language?

texts:
While reading a book, I came across the word I'd've, as in:

  I'd've argued against it.

While it was obvious what it meant, it left me puzzled. Is I'd've a proper word?


texts: Do you separate an imperative after a conjunction by a comma?

texts:
I want you to go and ask him the price, but don't tell him I sent you.

Is this a main clause followed by a coordinating clause (imperative)?

  Pour the vodka into the glass, and add orange juice.

Here, should the two following imperatives be separated by a comma?


texts:
Is "around which orbited the music of the planetary spheres" a poetic interpretation? Can anyone explain it a little? It is talking about Pythagorean philosophy.

I think it means that the idea of mathematics being at the heart of music brought about the belief that the earth was also at the center of the world. Am I right?

Context:

"That there were numerical relations in music was only evidence that the earth was at the centre of a harmonious universe, around which orbited the music
of the planetary spheres."


texts: Janitorial Room v. Janitor's Room/Closet?

texts:
In the US, which is more common? Janitorial room or Janitor's room/closet?

I think that 'janitorial room' is unnecessarily verbose, but maybe it's just common American usage and not just this author?


texts: "As far as I know" VS. "As far as my knowledge goes"

texts:
I'm confused about the two linking phrases - "as far as I know" and "as far as my knowledge goes".

Actually, I never knew the latter existed. But my friend used the (second) phrase in a writing and my English teacher didn't pass it off as wrong. I had never actually heard of that before she used it. So, I wish to learn more about it.

They seem so similar. Do they differ in any way? Or there isn't any notable difference in their meanings? Can they more or less be used interchangeably? And, if they are different, when to use which?

Please clarify on this issue.


texts: Which is correct: "prefer X to Y" or "prefer X over Y"?

texts: Many say that "prefer X to Y" has a more formal ring to it than "prefer X over Y". Are there any dialects where you wouldn't use "prefer X to Y" in colloquial speech at all? Conversely, are there any manuals of style that discourage using "prefer X over Y" in formal writing?


texts: She had to go there vs She had to have gone there

texts: I understand the grammar here (past infinitive in latter) but I do not understand what is the difference in meaning. Both seem to express the same, with the latter putting (in my opinion) more emphasis on the past aspect. But it does not help me..


texts: There is a heated debate on a dental hygienist website.  When using RDH or Registered Dental Hygienist when do you use "an" and "a"?  I was taught to write "an RDH" since the letter R in this situation has a vowel sound.  When not using the acronym "RDH", it should be written "a Registered Dental Hygienist" because the letter R has a consonant sound.  Please help.


texts:
Since "forget" followed by a gerund refers to the past, which one of the following sentences is correct?

  " I forgot to lock the door."

  "I forget locking the door."

  "I forget having locked the door."


texts: Is there a word for someone who has been in power for an unusually long period of time?

texts:
Whether democratically elected or not, some people are in power for unusually long. What word distinguishes for example, a democratically elected official who has been in power for 40 years versus one that's been in power for 2 years?

You might think such a word is inappropriate because there's no clear place to draw the line where "unusually long" starts, but in baseball we do have the term "veteran player" to describe a player that has many seasons of experience.
In this context "veteran" usually has a positive connotation.

The term "veteran president" or "veteran dictator" doesn't seem right because "veteran" has a positive connotation (meaning "well experienced"), whereas for unusually long or dangerously long terms in office one might want to use a word that puts emphasis not on the benefit of having a lot of experience, but maybe on the drawbacks of being in power for such a long time.


texts: Is there any proverb or idiom that conveys "the world is bound to no man"?

texts:
Is there any proverb or idiom that conveys this meaning:" Don't rely on this world, since it is not loyal to man forever, today it is in your hand, tomorrow in mine" (actually it is a Persian saying and it implies that money, position, property, power...  are not stable or eternal, so don't bond with/rely on this worldly world and just act and live like humans, and don't fight over gaining and keeping those things at any expense!)

For example:  The dictators in other countries should learn a serious lesson from what happened to Qaddafi: the world is bound to no man and the six feet of earth make all men equal.

(I found this Jewish proverb, "the world is bound to no man", but I'm not sure if it is used by English speakers or not)

PS: in that Persian saying, "the world" has been resembled to an unfaithful or unreliable beloved whom you shouldn't expect to be with you forever! Maybe tomorrow she would abandon you and go with another one!, (in fact, here, the world means "life's deceitful/ temptating opportunities")


texts: What is the word for a love of ignorance, or a distaste of knowledge?

texts:
I'm looking for a word or short phrase that encapsulates the desire to eschew new knowledge, whether it be due to a fear of change or possibly a fear of science or research as a whole.

An example might be a group of people looking to have their congressional representative allocate money elsewhere as opposed to scientific endeavors. They may claim that the "elsewhere" is of a higher priority or for the greater good, but they may really be acting out of ________ or because the group is a group of _________(s).

This example is not all-inclusive.

edit:
There's a word or phrase I'm trying to think of that almost implies a sort of smugness.. A "my ignorance is better than your knowledge" kind of attitude.


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "do a line with someone"?

texts:
What is the origin of the phrase "do a line with someone", meaning "have a regular romantic or sexual romantic relationship with someone"?

I learnt this phrase from an Irish colleague of mine the other day, but she did not know how the phrase originated.

Oxford dictionaries online say:

Definition of do a line with in English

(Irish and NZ, informal) have a regular romantic or sexual romantic relationship with (someone): "I knew if I went home for Christmas, I'd have to pretend I was doing a line with some man."


texts:
Consider the violinist Jascha Heifetz, known for his blank expression when performing. A 1925 article remarked on his deportment: "Cold, calm, dispassionate, he stands on the platform and performs miracles of dexterity, displays his beauties of tone. But do we not feel slightly chilled, anxious perhaps for less mastery and more humanity?

Does the last sentence mean a. we feel chilled and want humanity more than dexterity. or b. what really makes us chilled and anxious is his humanity rather than his mastery.?


texts: Are there other repeated single word sentences like the Buffalo sentence?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Awkward sounding but grammatically correct sentences?

My friend told me about the Buffalo sentence:

  Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo
  buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

It is a grammatically valid sentence in the English language, used as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs.

I was wondering if there are other examples of this type of sentence?


texts: How can I abbreviate the word "Assessor"?

texts: I need to reduce the character count on a document I am preparing and the word "Assessor" appears many times. What would be an appropriate abbreviation for this word?


texts:
Which preposition is correct here?

  The truth about "Unlimited".
  The truth on "Unlimited".

The meaning of the sentence is roughly, exposing the truth of a concept, for example "Unlimited".


texts: motherload – a common mistake or slang word?

texts:
I am a bit unsure about how the word "motherload" should be seen – as a common mistake or slang word or both.
I've encountered the word the first time in a recent Guardian article, but to my surprise it was later changed to "mother lode":

  This article was amended on 17 May 2017. An earlier version spelled
  “mother lode” as “motherload”.

After having seen something like that in a book

  Since the dramatic emergence of Prince, however, Minneapolis has yeilded

(sic !)

  a rich motherload of new soul music talent.

I am not sure if many uses of "motherload" are actually because of ignorance. The word often appears in a context, even scientific one, which does not really "allow" the usage of slang. The only online dictionary that lists "motherload" seems to be Wiktionary. So I wonder if the intentional use of "motherload" as a slang word is actually rare?


texts:
What is the jukebox musical?
What is jukebox musical and its origin?


texts:
I am trying to describe a hierarchy, starting with a plan, which is composed of a set of goals. Each goal is also composed of a set of "steps" or things that need to be done to complete the goal. However, I don't want to use the word "steps" because that word has an implication that the "steps" have to be done in a particular order, which is not true in this case.

Can you suggest a word that is a sub component of a goal that doesn't have this implication of order?

For example, the plan might be "make the yard look amazing". One goal might be "fix the floral borders." One step of this might be "select flowers suitable for a north facing border", another might be "select flowers suitable for an east facing border", then other steps might be "Plant the north border" and "Plant the east border". Although there are some temporal relationships there, some are entirely independent, but all must be completed to finish the goal. So I am looking for a word for the sub components of the goal that is free of any implication of temporal (or for that matter topological) order.


texts: What's an English word that means "a community of experts"?

texts: There is an English word that begins with "con" and means "a community of experts in a certain field". I am not able to recollect that word. Can someone please help me?


texts:
I'm newer to this forum, and I'm learning English. My teacher has taught me that we must use gerund after "enjoy", as in:

I enjoy swimming.

Now,  if we use a verb after gerund, which verb should I use: base from or infinitive or gerund? for example:

I enjoy helping you improve your English.

I enjoy helping you to improve your English.

I enjoy helping you improving your English.

Thanks in advance.


texts: over a wide range of temperature or temperatures

texts:
I am confused with singular and plural words sometimes. For example as the title, I should use over a wide range of temperature or over a wide range of temperatures. One sentence example is
This model is accurate over a wide range of temperature(s).


texts:
Is there an idiom or expression in English about being neutral in a fight, dispute or confrontation, trying not to offend either sides. In broad terms - to have a diplomatic attitude towards conflicting sides ; sometimes to get your way, having such an attitude. To make a statement or act in a way that will not offend involved parties.

1.Somehow he managed to gain favor with his new boss, at the same time, not upsetting his co-workers.

2. A representative from the  hydroelectric power company made a speech about importance of building new hydro power plants in the area, claiming that they will reduce  the country`s energy dependence ; however, to avoid angering the local population, he did not touch on the issue of resettlement.


texts: One-word synonym for "anonymous assistance"

texts:
I'm looking for a single noun or verb that means the following. The first on the list is the most important and the others are other characteristics the word must have.

Anonymous assistance
Rapid assistance
Getting assistance from someone with no regard to whoever it is


texts: Is there a word for a connected group of statues?

texts: Is there a word for a connected group of statues, such as a group portrait, a crowd scene or a set of lovers or fighters or other interacting persons?


texts: Is it correct to use "train has surfaced"?

texts: Can you say The train has surfaced to describe the moment when a train emerges from a tunnel?


texts: The preposition of categorize - in/into/in to"

texts:
The definition of "categorize" in merriam-webster:

  :to put into a category

After the definition let's take a look at some examples (in merriam-webster):

  This software lets you categorize your photographs in many different ways.

  Their opinions can be categorized as conservative.

  Birds are categorized by type in this field guide

I tried to make my own sentence, but I'm confused which prepositions I should use?:

  we can categorize them into/in/in to two main categories.

I wondering is there any kind of dictionary that can help us finding proper prepositions?


texts: I'm looking for an idiom to describe improvement

texts:
For example, something like, "take to the next level."

Some possibilities I've already found are: improve, enhance, upgrade and, of course, take to the next level. These don't do the job for me for several reasons: they aren't powerful enough; they're overused; and some, especially "take to the next level," are simply cringe-worthy.

Context: I need to convey the idea that a web-based recruitment platform (conceived, created and marketed by the company I work for) will improve the recruitment process of our clients. E.g.

  Our platform will take your recruitment process [—to the next level—].

(I know, gimmicky!) The criteria upon which I will base my judgement include originality and how captivating the phrase/idiom is.


texts: What's the word (or phrase) for the phenomenon that something suddenly works when you try to show an error

texts:
As the title describes, I'm looking for a word or phrase that describes the phenomenon that a bug/error/etc. disappears when you want to show it to someone.

Example:
Your Internet connection does not work properly. You try everything to fix it, but it won't work.
You call an expert but then when you want to show the issue to them, your Internet connection seems to be fine. Obviously, once your expert left, your Internet connection is broken again. Bad luck.

So, what would you call it?


texts: "Recommend to have" vs. "recommend having"

texts:
I am writing my bachelor dissertation and several times Microsoft Word has corrected me from "to have" to "having". One of the sentences, for instance, goes like this:

  The author recommends to have ‘(...)'. Bugeja further recommends having a student blog where prospective...

Can anyone enlighten me?


texts: I am editing something that mentions a "barista bar." Is this redundant? Is it like saying a "bartender bar"? If I'm not mistaken, a barista is the Italian word for a male or female bartender, and refers more casually to servers at a coffee bar. So it doesn't make sense to me to use it with "bar" or even "coffee bar" or "cafe." Or am I missing something?


texts:
We have a message on the noticeboard in our workplace. The message is to collect plastic bottle tops for some charity organisation (most likely another myth similar to the Aluminium Tabs Myth, but it is not the point of this question).

I have a question about the usage of the word decontaminate in this sentence:

  Make sure all the tops are rinsed beforehand and ensure they do not have rubber or metal attached to the tops as these will only decontaminate the mix.

I believe that the person who made this note wanted us to prevent the mix from contamination by foreign material, so the metal and rubber should be removed. Thus, they should have used the word contaminate.

Am I right?


texts:
I'm looking for an idiom which describes a situation whereby superfluous things detract from other more important/prominent things.

The way I want to use it is like this:

  In practical terms, such details are superfluous to the overall schema
  and vision of the narrative because they distract our attention away
  from the most important ones.


texts: Is there a single word or proper name for someone who struggles to wake up?

texts:
Is there a word or a different phrase that describes a person as a heavy sleeper or as somebody who struggles to wake up in the morning?

I don't mean a technical phrase for a health condition, just the common "I don't want to get up yet" kind of sleeper.

EDIT: I'm new to this stack exchange so I'm not sure if it's proper to do so, but I want to explain what I intend to use this for. Perhaps it'll help in finding the word/phrase.

I'm looking to name an alarm clock application. The app is geared towards waking up heavy sleepers or people who struggle in the morning. They're not lazy and spending all day in bed. They're wanting to get up (hence why they set the alarm) maybe for work or an appointment but struggle with somnolence (awesome word) in the morning.


texts: Which is more appropriate, "contest," "contestation," or a different word?

texts: I'm in the process of submitting a request for a late assignment's grade to be re-evaluated. Is it more appropriate to use the word "contest," "contestation," or another word in this context? For example, one would refer to the situation as a "late assignment contestation" if that was the appropriate word. I feel that "late assignment contest" doesn't seem appropriate, since to me that would connote some kind of sporting event.


texts:
I often see people on the Internet using a comma before and in many cases (not adversative cases). Is it ok? In my language it is stricly prohibited to use a comma before an and except for adversative cases or when an apposition is in the front of that and.
Examples (which I consider not ok):

He is a great player, and he prefers to play Counter-Strike.
John joined the Army, and George joined the Marines.

What I consider exceptions:

Yes, and what is the problem?
I called John, my brother, and now I’m speaking with him.


texts: Does one use 'a' or 'an' before the word X-Ray?

texts:
I was asking this question on Area 51: "How do I tell if an airport scanner is a X-ray scanner?", but I keep wanting to put an 'an' in front of X-ray because it starts with the 'eh' sound.

So is it 'a' or 'an'?


texts: Word for kind of descriptive/metaphoric style

texts:
On a web-show called Bravest Warriors there is a character called Paralyzed Horse. He has a tendency to make these interesting monologues and I was curious if there was a name for the kind of language or technique he uses when he delivers these monologues.
Here are a couple excerpts:

Paralyzed Horse's log, July 3, 3085.
Everyday I hear and I see eternity. I am frozen in awe of my knowledge of forever, but I belong only to one girl. Nowhere can I see more clearly than into her heart. When Beth feels heartbreak, I'm stranded in the Stygian Void. Helpless to comfort her, for I am just a horse. Sleep now, Bravest Warriors, and dream of doors and keys and Ralph Waldo Pickle Chips. Today something unnatural has slipped into your universe, an octave of death, a tentacle of time. It is the final gift and it is not for you. Beth does not know it now, but this gift is for her.

https://youtu.be/Sh2SM3cnmaM?t=32
Additionally from a series called Watchmen, a character named Rorschach delivers a similar style/tone:

Rorschach’s Journal. October 12th, 1985:
Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout “Save us!”… and I’ll whisper “no.”

http://www.monologuedb.com/dramatic-male-monologues/watchmen-rorschach/
If there exists a name for this I would love to know.


texts: A noble/attractive suggestion that is uncomfortable to argue against but is ultimately wasteful

texts:
I am looking for a phrase to describe the title.

For example; higher water purity when the purity is sufficiently high. Even with an arbitrarily high purity, it would be uncomfortable to argue that "this amount/percentage of toxic material in the water is fine".

What is the name for such a position?

NB: It is similar to this question about having no effect and this question about being unnecessary, but I want to invoke the 'uncomfortable', 'moral' or 'image' concern as well.


texts: How to make sure "you" is interpreted as plural?

texts:
It strikes me as unfortunate that in English the word "you" stands both for a single person and a group of people. This is different than other languages I have had contact with so far --- there, you have a "singular you" and a "plural you", which are quite different.

Usually this is not a problem, since the cardinality can be inferred from the context. However, sometimes it would be nice to explicitly state that you are referring to the whole group. Is there a generic way to do it?

If not, then for a particular example, consider a situation when out of politeness one wants to ask a pair of people some causal question, like "How do you like the weather?" or "How was your journey?" or something in that spirit. Suppose such question is included in an email or a text message sent to one of them. There may be, depending on precise situation, some ambiguity as to who the question is directed to - just the recipient, or both of them. How does one remove this ambiguity in a simple way?


texts: "I could have lunch before you arrived."

texts:
I'm having a discussion on Duolingo about this sentence in French that translates into:

  I was able to have lunch before you arrived.

An alternate translation (also accepted by Duolingo) goes like this:

  I could have lunch before you arrived.

It sounds odd, and I would certainly never say it like that, but is the second (alternate) translation technically correct, since could is the preterite form of can?

EDIT: The original French version of the sentence is:

  J'ai pu déjeuner avant que tu arrives.

(The latter part is in subjunctive.)


texts: Proper punctuation in abbreviation of Nota Bene

texts:
Which of the following are "correct" ways to abbreviate Nota Bene?

N.B. blahblah
n.b. blahblah
NB. blahblah
nb. blahblah
NB: blahblah
nb: blahblah
NB blahblah
nb blahblah
(etc.)

Authoritative sources would be much appreciated.


texts: For with present perfect and past simple

texts:
I can't understand why for can be used with past simple. Here're two expressions from my textbook:

  How long have you been married?

meaning they're still married.

  How long were you married?

meaning they're no longer married.

For both of them the answers should be for 2 years. What does for mean in both cases?

Thank you.


texts: Meaning of 'Some nose puts the bulls on me tomorrow..'

texts:
"It don't make any difference," he said. "I'm washed up anyway. Some nose puts the bulls on me tomorrow, next week, what the hell? I just didn't like your map, pal.

A nose means a person, I guess, but is there a idiom like 'put the bulls on somebody'?

Or if has something to do with 'put balls on', it doesn't make much sense in this sentence.
I understand this sentence as 'somebody would kill me.... but I don't care."

(from 'Red Wind' by Raymond Chandler)


texts:
Do you know? Who is Ann?
We can say Do you know who Ann is? (not "Do you know who is Ann?" right?)

So how do I combine the followings?

Do you know? What is right or wrong?

Do you know what right or wrong is? or Do you know what is right or wrong?
Which one is correct?
Same with this too I don't know what right or wrong is? or I don't know what is right or wrong?. Which one is correct?
I think it is the second one that is correct because What is right or wrong? is a subject question. Please correct me otherwise. But I  don't feel that the first one is wrong as well. It just feels like there are two different meanings. Am I right?

Who told him? What was inside my book?

Who told him what was inside your book?
Who told him what your book was inside?
Again with the above, I think it is the first one which is correct right? The second one feels really awkward.

Please correct me, I am confused. When I check them on online grammar checkers, they didn't show any errors at all for all the above variations. Thank you.


texts: Difference between "stick with" and "stick to"?

texts:
The more I think about it the more confused I get:

One good example is here:

  Hmm. Maybe something like this. It's the end of the day and things
  didn't go well. We're meeting to talk about what we'll do tomorrow.
  Should we stick with the original plan or try something new?

  We're at work, and I wander by to see how everyone is doing. You think
  that you'd like to try something difference. "Stick to the plan for
  now," I say.

  So maybe while planning - stick with, and while doing - stick to?

  I'm speculating ... sometimes the more you think about something the
  harder it is to remember.

Is there a difference between

  to stick with something/somebody

and

  to stick to something/somebody

...and if so could you please give examples that make the different usages clear?


texts: "You are asking a wrong person" vs "You are asking the wrong person"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “A wrong answer” vs “the wrong answer”

Can I say "you are asking a wrong person"? A quick google search seems to suggest that this is  wrong and you should say "you are asking the wrong person", instead.

I can't seem to get it. Why? There should be a lot of wrong persons to ask a specific question, right?


texts: "Appear" instead of "look" in compounds (good appearing, cheesy appearing, etc.)

texts:
As far as your English variety goes, is it OK to substitute "appearing" for "looking" in compounds without altering the meaning?

  ... for a business to want good appearing, well dressed, healthy workers...
  source

  Passersby then began to comment on the nice appearing patterns... source

  It is good appearing, not far too bouncing... source


texts: Louis Theroux, rhetorics and his documentaries

texts:
For my Audiovisual theory class I am required to do a research project. I have gotten 2 criteria that my research project should consist of. The first is about documentary film. The second is rhetorics. Now as a 'case' I have received the documentary film maker Louis Theroux. I am finding it  very hard to link rhetorics so his documentary's since I have no formal training in rhetorics.

I have researched the model about Ethos, pathos and logos for quite a bit. I have found that he acquires some pathos from his audience by being his naive self. And that he tries to blend in the extreme communities by being himself.

But really, I do not know  where to go from this point. I hope you can help me in any way.


texts: What does "statistically unchanged" mean?

texts:
The universe continually expanded but remained statistically unchanged as new matter is constantly created.

What is the statistically unchanged? Could you give me an example?


texts: Oversight: an inadvertent omission or error

texts:
What is the origin of the word oversight, in this context (Merriam Webster):

An inadvertent omission or error

It would be my guess that the word did not always have this as one of its meanings.

It would almost seem as though someone, somewhere needed a softened/blurred/obscured way to say "I accidentally screwed up, because I wan't looking where I should have been looking".

This would be similar to a definition of overshoot (Dictionary.com):

To shoot or go over, beyond, or above; miss


texts: When leaving from work, how to say "see you" to colleagues? Which one is appropriate, "see you all" or "see you everyone"?


texts:
I have seen people use both forms below. Which is correct? If both are, in which situation is each better used?

I am a software engineer based in New York.
I am a software engineer based out of New York.


texts: "doubt...would" vs. "doubt...wouldn't" in a question

texts:
""Do you doubt that they wouldn't love to kill us all? I don't. It's clearly obvious."

Why did the writer use "wouldn't" instead of "would"?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  'Each' with plural or singular verb

Is the use of have after each grammatical here?

  Believe it or not, farther and further each have distinctly different meanings although people tend to use them interchangeably.


texts: When should I end online comments with a period?

texts:
I'm wondering what the rule is for when you post comments online. Here are some examples:

Yeah, I totally agree
Terrible
Nice picture
I wouldn't do that myself

Would I end these with a period? Or is it acceptable to post them without one.


texts:
Why is the word "welcome" spelled with one "l"?
Somewhere in the answers I found a good explanation of the meaning of " welcome".

Example: "You have done well to come to me; I am pleased to do it"

According to this meaning, "welcome" should be spelled with two L

Where in the history did the change take place?


texts:
Why  BLUE EYES  white dragon ,not BLUE EYED ?
Does anyone know why ?
Because , as far as I’m concerned , the latter is the correct form
Or maybe I just got it wrong?
 if anyone in this world knows the answer to that , please write back ASAP
I am so so confused
Or maybe it’s just not about grammar at all ?


texts:
In one of my favourite movies Good Will Hunting, the main character played by Matt Damon says

  I had to go see about a girl.

Is this sentence correct, and if so does it mean the same as the following?

  I had to go see a girl.


texts:
The use of 'in the day' in this paragraph puzzles me:
There were more than 800,000 horses on the Eastern Front in 1941. Mr Baxter said that, in the day, around 8,000 were being killed by enemy fire, the freezing temperatures or sheer over-exertion.
Does this mean 'in a day', and if so, is such usage correct?
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9516507/Rare-photos-Operation-Barbarossa-reveal-horrors-faced-Hitlers-troops.html
update: I believe that the intended meaning must have been either "in a day" or "around the time the picture was taken" (the paragraph is a caption for a picture (of a dying horse surrounded by soldiers)).


texts: Origin of the phrase "because of course it does"

texts: I've been hearing "because of course it/he/she does" a lot recently. I'm assuming this is internet-speak, but maybe it's older? Grateful to anyone who can help pinpoint its origin.


texts: What do you call a person who is very fussy about weather?

texts: A person who often says - This is too sunny or this is too cold.


texts: Word or phrase for someone who "throws money" at a situation, but for tech

texts: Just like the title says. I am looking for a word or phrase for a someone who "throws money" at a situation, but for technology. They may not know what they are doing, the underlying tech behind it, or if its the right solution. Instead, much like someone who "throws money" at a solution, trying to get it to go away (which often does not work), this person will "throw tech" at a solution to try and make it go away.


texts:
Caveat: There are a great number of similar questions I have found, but none has explained this specific thing. If the answer does exist and I have overlooked it, please let me know.

So, I was under the assumption that the general rule for indirect question formation was to:

convert the question to a statement,
convert the unknown part to the appropriate question word, and
pull that question word to the beginning.

Thus:

Unknown object:

  What does wasabi taste like?

  Wasabi tastes like [something]. (converted to statement)
  wasabi tastes like [what?] (replaced unknown part with appropriate interrogative)
  [what] wasabi tastes like (moved interrogative to beginning)

  Tell me what wasabi tastes like.

Unknown subject:

  Who likes koalas?

  [someone] likes koalas. (converted to statement)
  [who] likes koalas (replaced unknown part with appropriate interrogative)
  [who] likes koalas (moved interrogative to beginning)

  Tell me who likes koalas.

If the subject is what we want to know, as in the koala example, we still do the same thing - pull out the unknown, convert it to a question word, and move it to the front - except it is already in the front, so the last step is superfluous. The formula remains the same, however.

This works for pretty much any situation as long as the main verb is not be. That's where I get confused.

Unknown... subject?

  What is his name?

  His name is [Bob?].
  His name is [what?]
  [what] his name is

  Tell me what his name is.

This, to me, is the correct indirect question. Thing is, because of the fact that be is all copulationary-wise an' all, we can often reverse the subject and complement:

  What is his name?

  [Bob?] is his name.
  [what?] is his name
  [what] is his name

  Tell me what is his name.

Now I know in speech this is probably quite common, but it sounds incorrect to me, and I would never write it. I believe (admittedly perhaps erroneously) that it is wrong. At least I think it is wronger than the first example.

So, my question: Is this 3-part rule I have been using wrong for be sentences? If so, what can I use in its place, and how can I explain it logically to my students?

Incidentally, the original question that sparked this was:

  I don't know + Who is going to be our new boss?

Using the method above, this becomes:

  I don't know who is going to be our new boss.

Whereas I think the more correct version would be

  I don't know who our new boss is going to be.

but cannot explain why the former is incorrect.

I've looked around, and there are a few questions who come tantalizingly close but do not fully explain what I need to know:

Where does the verb go on this question? Is it even a reported question?
"I'm not sure what the right way is"
And especially: "What's" in indirect questions


texts: "What is an idiom?" vs. "What are idioms?"

texts:
I often say

  What is an idiom?

When I read Longman Pocket Idioms Dictionary Cased, I saw the sentence

  What are idioms?

Are there any differences between the two forms? Which one is preferred?


texts:
There's a fly in my pants!

Why is the zipper on pants called a fly?

I searched etymonline for "fly" and found nothing related to pants.

Is this a particularly American usage, or more global?


texts: "one or two friends" vs "one friend or two"

texts: For example: I'll take "one or two friends" to a party. Or I'll take "one friend or two" to a party. Do these both mean the same? If so, which one is more common?


texts:
I'm looking for a powerful way to describe the fact that -after performing a certain activity- there are only two possible outcomes:

1) It's a great success (only in 20% of cases)

2) It's of no or little use and can even do you some harm (in 80% of cases)

I would like to use this description to convince people that they should do everything they can to ensure their efforts result in outcome number 1.

Context:

I would like to use this in the context of writing online content: 20% of content generates 90% of engagement. So if you are going to create an online publication, you'd better give it some serious attention so it ends up at the right side/staple that actually generates engagement.

I've considered:

  Your work will either end up at the 20% 'staple' that does it all or at the 80% 'staple' that does you no good at all.

Yet, it feels like that description lacks power and elegance.

I'm open to phrases, expressions, idioms and metaphors. Ideally, it creates a feeling of urgency and it is easy to understand/picture for almost any reader.

I've found this other topic, but I don't think it's a duplicate. Although the topic starter is also asking for an idiom with high contrast in possible outcomes, my outcome number 2 is not negative per definition: it can be slightly positive.
Therefore, the suggestions 'going all in' (where you lose it all), 'double-edged sword' and 'high risk/high reward' don't cover it.


texts: What is the scope of "more" when making a list of comparatives?

texts:
Lets assume I have an object X of which I want to say (1) it's more important than Y and (2) it's smaller than Y (Y is left implicit in the examples.) If I say X is more important before saying X is smaller, would more extend it's meaning into small? In other words, which of the following two sentences is grammatically correct and also unambiguous, i.e, implies unequivocally that X has more of both attributes?

(1) X is more important and small.
(2) X is more important and smaller.

Of course, the inverse it's easier: X is easier and more important.

Now, if both adjectives are more than two syllables long, is it necessary to use more twice?

(3) X is more important and expensive.
(4) X is more important and more expensive.

This same problem appears when making lists:

(5) X is more important, expensive and small.
(6) X is more important, more expensive and smaller.

Of the examples above,

Which are grammatically correct?
Which are unambiguous, i.e, mean that X has more of ALL the listed attributes and not simply more of the first and that it IS also the remaining ones? For instances, example 5 could be read as implying that X is more important, and that it's also expensive and small, but not more than Y for the last two.
Does the scope of more extend to the whole list?


texts:
"Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad"

In this sentence "whom" is used at the beginning where subject is normally placed, but why is it in accusative case? It's should be in the nominative case right? Please explain.


texts: What is the meaning of "having one's kitten in one's pocket"?

texts:
This is an extract from 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' by Alexander Baron:

  Corporal Turnbull was a young man, but he was not a man to be trifled with. He had come back from Dunkirk with all his equipment correct and accounted for and his kitten in his pocket.

What does the highlighted phrase mean? The only meaning I could find online was (and I'm not even sure of its validity) that it means 'hiding your anger'. That doesn't seem to be relevant in the stated context.


texts: Is the sentence structure correct? "I think he doesn't like it"

texts:
Back in high school, my English teacher told me that we should always use "I don't think" than "I think...not..."

For example, the sentence "I think he doesn't like it" is wrong - we should use "I don't think he likes it".

But over the years, I have found many native speakers also use "I think...not...", so I am wondering if it is grammatically correct to say a sentence like "I think he doesn't like it".

Many thanks

Lee


texts: I want to say that beer in heaven is free not that I'm speaking of our God in heaven but not sure where to place my comma. Please help!

texts:
"Cheers to you, cheers to me, Thank God, in heaven beer is free!"
    or
"Cheers to you, cheers to me, Thank God in heaven, beer is free!"


texts:
I've recently read that there are quite a few metaphors describing relationships between humans that are taken from the financial sector. However, examples were very scarce.

On my list I have "invest" or "to value", "priceless". Relationships can be "bankrupt". I have a hard time coming up with other examples. Any suggestions?


texts: A feeling of there is "something more to it"

texts:
Sometimes after encountering certain events or incidents, we may consequentially sense a kind of uncanny feeling. It often feels like there is "something more to it" or "certain enlightenment or revelation" ahead for us to find out. The feeling is generally positive, something that we are looking forward to know "what's next".

What do we name/describe this kind of feeling as?


texts: "She looked at me, impressed" in search of another word for impressed

texts:
She looked at me in _________ [noun implying impressed].

But this isn't how I want to word it.
What I want to write, is, "Her eyes widened as her eyebrows raised and she drooped her bottom lip in [enter word for impressed]" And I know it isn't impression, please help! What's the word I'm looking for?


texts: Help or Assistance? Are these interchangeable?

texts:
In a work setting, which of the following is more acceptable to say in email messages?

  Thanks for your help
  Thanks for your assistance


texts: Here is a ling. I was wondering what a baby ling would be called, as a a baby cod is called a cod-ling.


texts: I am trying to find out differences between between a bunch of "would" conditionals

texts:
I am confused about how to correctly use if with would (+have) or
could (+have) while talking about past activities in conditionals.

Please check out these sentences and help me to figure out their differences:

Even if I had tried, I would not have known.
Even if I had tried, I would have not known.
Even if I would have tried, I would not have known.
Even if I would try, I would not have known.
Even if I try, I would not know.
Even if I would try, I had not known.

Are those all grammatical and meaningful? If not, which ones aren’t?
What does each one mean and when should I use it?


texts:
Can you explain in a simplified way why instead of the old English "ic", "ich" in Middle English [ik], there appeared "I", [ai]?
I  ask because the basic words are very difficult to be changed.  You say "I" every day—the same was true of "ich".

(Origin & history I
From Middle English ich, from Old English iċ ("I"), from Proto-Germanic *ek ("I"), from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂ ("I").)

Imagine that all mothers taught their children to use "ich".
Why suddenly "I"?

I found: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=i
I (pron.)

  12c., a shortening of Old English ic, the first person singular nominative pronoun
  Reduced to i by mid-12c. in northern England, later everywhere...

It only confirms that everywhere it  was at first "ich", "ik".

Please, pay attention that "ik" and "i" are different sounds.

Most of the people then were illiterate.
They didn't care about "shortening".
They only talked.

Who could force them to change their habit especially when there were Normans around dominating with their kind of French and no English schools because English was underground?


texts: How to call the distribution of coin values within a currency

texts:
There are many special words surrounding coins.
Wikipedia lists a view.
I'm interested in a name for the distribution of coin values in a currency.

The Euro has 1ct, 2ct, 5ct, 10ct, 20ct, 50ct, 1€, 2€ pieces.

Harry Potter has 1knut, 29knut, 493knut pieces.

And I want a name for that. 1 word is appreciated, if there is none, multi-word terms are ok, as well.

Update:
so far, we got(order has no meaning):

(set of|circulating|range of|available) (coin) denominations
denomination (set|list|mix)
circulated denominations
(denominations|coin types) in circulation
coinage system
coin (range|palette|coterie)
currency genus[proposed, not seen]

ambiguous
(can also mean mass of all coins existing e.g. all 1ct + all 2ct...):

coin species
(circulating) coinage
coins in circulation


texts: How to quote material that ends sections with semicolons

texts:
I haven't found an answer to this specific scenario:
"This is an example of the quoted text from the report where this section ends with a semicolon;"
That is also the end of my sentence so I'm wondering if I need further punctuation such as:
"This is an example of the quoted text from the report where this section ends with a semicolon; ..."
or
"This is an example of the quoted text from the report where this section ends with a semicolon..."
It seems the report uses semicolons as final punctuation if the end of the sentence is the end of a section/chapter so I don't know which rules to apply.
Edited to add: I want to quote the end of a section of the report. The source material ends with a semicolon since this report ends sections/chapters with semicolons. I want to put the quote at the end of my sentence: Example sentence then "quoted material goes here;"
I'm new here so let me know if this is the wrong forum for this topic. Thanks for your help.


texts: Idiom for making up a false story as an excuse to get out of something

texts:
An idiom that means to make up stories or excuses, especially those that are not true, and are just false excuses you give when you try to justify/save yourself.

Maybe similar to feeding crap/bullsh**


texts:
I found this sentence in a reading material from a GRE (Graduate Record Examination) test. And I found it incredibly difficult for my to understand.

  A desire to throw over reality a light that never was might give way
  abruptly to the desire on the part of what we might consider a
  novelist-scientist to record exactly and concretely the structure and
  texture of a flower.

Any help is appreciated. It would be better if you could disassemble the sentence into parts. (e.g. main structure: A desire ... to the desire)

Edit:
It is from the paragraph below: (Don't blame me. It is one paragraph as it is.)

  In Hardy‘s novels, various impulses were sacrificed to each other
  inevitably and often. Inevitably, because Hardy did not care in the
  way that novelists such as Line Flaubert or James cared, and therefore
  took paths of least resistance. Thus, one impulse often surrendered to
  a fresher one and, unfortunately, instead of exacting a compromise,
  simply disappeared. A desire to throw over reality a light that never
  was might give way abruptly to the desire on the part of what we might
  consider a novelist-scientist to record exactly and concretely the
  structure and texture of a flower. In this instance, the new impulse
  was at least an energetic one, and thus its indulgence did not result
  in a relaxed style. But on other occasions Hardy abandoned a perilous,
  risky, and highly energizing impulse in favor of what was for him the
  fatally relaxing impulse to classify and schematize abstractly. When a
  relaxing impulse was indulged, the style—that sure index of an
  author‘s literary worth—was certain to become verbose.


texts: Can you use either "I hope this comes in handy for you" or "I hope this comes in useful for you"?

texts:
"I hope this comes in handy/useful/helpful for you"

Can I use any of the three words? Regardless of specifics. And do I need to drop the "in" in there?


texts: What is the name of the "agency" fallacy?

texts:
I'm looking for the name of the logical fallacy where intent or agency is assumed when in fact there is none.  It's a common fallacy in my experience, but I can't seem to find it described specifically on any site that discusses logical fallacies.  It seems to be a special case of apophenia, but Wikipedia and Google turn up nothing specific to an "apophenia of intent" or any related phrase.  The best I've been able to find is this rather obscure blog post that names it the "agency fallacy," but I haven't been able to find any other sites that use that phrase. Does this fallacy even have a name?

Here are a few examples:

A child, playing with magnets, finds that they repel when held one way and attract when held another way.  Seeing this, the child thinks "oh, those ends want to be together, but the other ends want to be apart."  They have (unconsciously) read intent into a deterministic physical process.
A picnicker gets rained on and thinks "Darn it, rain!  You just couldn't resist ruining a nice day, could you?"  Again, they have (unconsciously) attributed agency to a mindless natural process.
Two people pass each other in a crowded hall.  One trips and stumbles into the other.  The other thinks "What a jerk! Why'd they do that to me?"  They have mistakenly attributed intent (specifically, malice) to an action that was accidental.  This is the case of the fallacy that Hanlon's Razor warns against.
A socialist on a soapbox shouts "Capitalism is the source of all the world's evil!  It's stealing our jobs and lining the pockets of bureaucrats!"  Although the use of metaphor is more deliberate here than with the child or the picnicker, it is still misleading: capitalism can't do anything on its own, only the people who participate in it can.


texts: I am looking for a word that means 'learning how to learn'

texts:
I am looking for a word that means learning how to learn.  I think it may be 'epistemic' or 'epistemological', but looking these up in the dictionary does not seem quite right.

The context is in a statement like this:

"But high school already teaches students how to use a library, and how to research on the Internet, or how to phrase questions to get the answer they are looking for.  In fact, high school teaches these _______ skills in droves.  High school doesn't need to teach skills like how to do taxes or cook spaghetti to prepare students for real life, when they should have all the resources they already need to learn those skills on their own when they need to."


texts: How and when did 'impossible' become a noun (as in 'To achieve the impossible')?

texts:
How and when did impossible become a noun (as in 'To achieve the impossible')?  Was it before or after impossible was an adjective?
Why? Or were they formed from Latin simultaneously?


texts:
I was writing a thank you letter to someone I had good time with. I was fighting between two adjectives to describe the experience. These are: 1. unforgettable, 2. memorable. The questions that I was asking myself are:

Is there any difference?
Does one make more impact than other?
Does "unforgettable" have slightly negative feeling associated with it?
Is one of them not OK to use in a formal setting?


texts:
I am looking for a term to denote "real" law, as distinct from "theoretical law". An alternate formulation is to say that I am looking for a term to be a legal equivalent/version of "realpolitik".

For example, if a law was "on the books", but not enforced it would not be "real law". Alternatively, if an action was technically a civil infraction that a company could sue over, but the cost (both monetary and publicity) of doing so would outweigh the benefits of doing so, there would be a risk of being sued under the Law, but not "real law".


texts: "abstinence" vs "abstention" - What's the difference?

texts:
How are these two words different?

• total abstinence from strong drink

• abstention from intoxicating drinks


texts: What's a idiom/colloquial phrase similar to "having skeletons in your closet"

texts:
I'm looking for phrase similar to that but it meant that you were hiding something bad unlike the skeleton one.

I totally forgot what phrase I linked to it :/


texts: Words/Phrase to praise someone who is praised often

texts:
Just really need an opening that stands out and says I appreciate you and have been touched in a way that you haven't encounterd.. ?
Want to message someone who receives praise from so many already for their work and i dont want it to be down played or underestimated ... want to convey that my appreciation and love for what they stand for is  lol idk help guys.


texts: Was the N-word an offensive word in Mark Twain's day?

texts:
Was the word "nigger" a deliberately derogatory and offensive word in Mark Twain's time, or was it just a normal word to describe an ethnicity in those days?

Background: I'm curious as to whether Twain could have anticipated the use of the word being so controversial nowadays (though discussing the Bowderlization of Huckleberry Finn is off-topic for this web site).


texts: Equivalent of "false alarm" in a positive context

texts:
Is there an equivalent for "false alarm" in a positive context?

For example imagine everybody is waiting for a miracle to happen, after a while someone says "hey! the miracle happened" and then everybody finds out it wasn't true.

EDIT:

From Oxford dictionary:

Alarm: an anxious awareness of danger.

So false alarm is linked to announcement of a danger, that turned out to be false. I'm looking for an equivalent, if there is any, for mistakenly announcing something hopeful and positive.


texts: Is there a name for this type of sentence construction?

texts: "He was a thin leathery man with colorless eyes, so colorless that light did not reflect his eyes". What kind of construction is that? I usually see similar sentences being split into two sentences.


texts: Is there a word to express: 'An object that once seen compels the viewer to perform a certain action'

texts: Is there a word to express: An object that once seen compels the viewer to perform a certain action.


texts: Can a mid-sentence quote have a comma outside the quotation marks?

texts:
I have a sentence such as the one below, and am unsure as to where the commas should go.

  I, John Doe, the man feared as "the tyrant," guarantee it.

In particular, I'm wondering about the comma after tyrant. That should go inside the quotations, right?


texts:
Dear fellow overflowers,

I was wondering I could use the word naturally in the sense of 'it goes without saying' or 'as would have been expected'.

An example sentence would be:

"The pasta I made today was so good, naturally."


texts: Could a group of several men and one woman be called "a group of men and women"?

texts: If not, what's the correct way of referring to the group?


texts: Is vehicle "Auto Parts" & "Spare Parts" are same?

texts: What the difference between auto parts and spare parts?


texts: Is “repetitive pattern” a pleonasm that I should avoid?

texts:
The context: a warning to a user of a website that tells the user that patterns in an image should be avoided.

One of the key characteristics of a pattern is that it is repetitive. There is no such thing as a “non-repetitive pattern”. This makes it a pleonasm. Am I right about this?

At the same time, I feel “repetitive pattern” sends a clearer message to the user than just “pattern”, because it is a pleonasm. I was taught that I should avoid pleonasms. Is this a justified case to use a pleonasm?


texts: Does the indication of expiration date of freshness or edibility of processed food products: by month make sense in English?

texts:
I heard the Japanese food industry is considering to alter the indication of pull date of processed food products from current “by month / day eg, “11/30/2017” to by month, e.g. simply “by November” in order for reducing mounting food wastes. They think consumers who are over-sensitive to pull DATE tend to dispose of food earlier than its reasonable life cycle.

Apart from the argument of its rightness or wrongness of the industry’s proposition, does “Expiration date of (freshness / edibility of) a processed food: by, say, November, (December or January)” make sense in English?

If it does, what is the exact expiration date of “by November” labeling? Is it by October 31th, or November 30th?


texts:
Currently, I am trying to come up with a poetic title involving Nigh, Night, Ghost and Quiet. However, I have struggled to figure out correctly where I can place Nigh in a sentence and be grammatically correct.

  Quietly Nigh Into the Ghostly Long Night of Solace


texts: Can a sentence have multiple predicates?

texts:
I was doing an exercise from my grammar book where one has to identify the subject and the predicate when I stumbled across the following sentence.

  A barking sound the shepherd hears.

Now I know that 'the shepherd' is the subject but I am not able to identify predicate. My book says that the predicate is 'A barking sound... hears'.
But I am not entirely convinced of the above answer because I think that the predicate is supposed to a phrase.

My guess is that both 'A barking sound' and 'hears' are the predicates of the given sentence.

Does anyone know whether or not a sentence can have multiple predicates.


texts: What do you call someone who hates people with mental disabilities?

texts: What do you call someone who is hateful, discriminatory and bigoted against people with mental illness and further stigmatizes them by calling those with mental disabilities nutcases, psychos, freaks, mental, and all the rest?


texts: What words frequently collocate with "-wise"?

texts: Would it make any sense if just combined any nouns with with -wise? For example, Aesthetic-wise? Money-wise?


texts:
What is correct:

"…that enriches people's everyday life"

or

"…that enrich people's everyday life"


texts:
I was attempting to use "discuss" in a sentence but got marked off for using the infinitive form:

"Moreover, the author fails to address Republican views by merely stating that studies estimate “4 billion to 12 billion barrels of recoverable oil” are present but avoiding to discuss the economic potential...."

My professor suggested to use "the discussion of" instead, but I was wondering if there were any rules governing this or whether it was just a stylistic choice which made the writing sound more awkward. Any insight is appreciated.


texts: What does the phrase, “Eat your heart out, Samuel Becket” in reference to Republican Presidential candidate debate?

texts:
Subsequent to my previous question about the meaning of “his peers” used in Magna Carta quoted in Jill Lepore’s article, “After the fact,” in New Yorker March 21st issue, I’m drawn to the phrase, “Eat your heart, Samuel Becket” in the following paragraph:

  “You lied,” Marco Rubio said to Trump during the truth-for-tat
  February debate. Cruz tried to break in, noting that Rubio had called
  him a liar, too. Honestly there was so much loudmouthed soothsaying
  that was hard to tell who was saying what. A line from the transcript
  released by CNN reads: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tell the truth, I tell the
  truth. Eat your heart out, Samuel Becket.

I know what the idiom, “Eat your heart out + a name” mean, and that Samuel Bechet is a famous French novelist, play writer, and poet.
But the Republican Presidential debate held in February and Samuel Becket’s work doesn’t straightly link each other to me.

Does “Eat your heart out, Samuel Becket” mean the debate of Republican Presidential candidates was so terrible and eccentric as the story and characters in Becket’s plays and novels? What does it mean?

Additionally, What does “soothsaying” here mean?


texts: What's it called when someone is trying to end a conversation?

texts:
Everyone does the thing where while speaking to someone you'll start inching away in order to end the conversation.  Or you'll say something thats a conversation ender like "time to get back to work" or sometimes a joke with the right inflection does the trick.

Is there a word that means "trying to end a conversation" in this context?


texts: Can 'Often' be categorised as quantifier(Determiner)?

texts: Since 'Often' can also denote quantity, can it be called a quantifier?


texts:
Wikipedia and The Free Dictionary were not much help — is there a practical difference in the semantics of  suffix and postfix, except that the latter is more rare?

File name extensions are well known. For example, index.en.xhtml could reasonably be assumed to be the index file of a website directory, in XHTML format, and with primarily English, human-readable contents. I’d normally call the collection of extensions (.en.xhtml in the example) the suffix or postfix, but it’s not obvious which (if any) is technically and/or semantically more accurate.


texts: "Background" or "basics" for the chapter title in my thesis

texts: Is there a difference between background and basics when it comes to a thesis, in my case computer science, where the essentials are explained so the reader can understand the implications and argumentation in the following chapters? I am not sure which I should choose; I've seen both, but background is used many times more.


texts: Idiom for someone who is in good position/mood

texts: What is the idiom for someone who is in a good mood or position? For example, your colleague is in a very good mood because of a recent thing that happened to him.


texts: How to write a sentence that explains why the previous sentence is true?

texts:
I often have to present a complex result and explain why it is true. Doing so in a single sentence usually makes it too long and difficult to understand. But how do you succinctly do this in two sentences. For example consider the sentence

  When stocks increase in price, people want to buy them, increasing the price further, until the stock reaches a critical threshold, after which people sell and the price falls. The reason why this is true is that ...

I'm looking for some less clunky starting phrases, to start the second sentence, that warn the reader that an explanation is about to follow and not a new idea. Or I am also looking for other ways to deal with this issue.


texts: What is a person that leaves a piece of advice called?

texts:
Piece of advice / tips.

E.g. "Don't eat yellow snow" or "There's this great restaurant down at [location]"

Is there a word for someone leaving advice like this?


texts:
We have this phrase that aims to communicate that after an organization is selected, the table is shown but also the button as well.

  The table and button are shown after an organization is selected.

Wouldn't it sound better to include "the" like:

  The table and the button are shown after an organization is selected.

Is there a rule or something to generalize its correct use?


texts:
The following sentence was on one of the tests:

  What would you like to do that others have told you is impossible.

Students have asked why that could not be replaced with what. I.e.,

  What would you like to do what others have told you is impossible.

We have been trying to debate, we know it doesn't sound right but they expect a more detailed explanation, will really appreciate if anyone has an answer for this.


texts: What is the word for a plant covered in fine white hairs?

texts:
There are some plants whose leaves and stems are not the usual glossy green, but which are covered in very fine white hairs, or white fuzz. One example I have right now in my kitchen would be sage.

I am sure that there is a word in the English language which describes the appearance of such plants (not just fuzzy plants, but specifically ones covered in white fuzz). But I don't remember the word. Does someone know it?


texts:
Can somebody please help me understand the whole timeline thing when it comes to choosing verb tenses?
Today, I asked a friend if he wanted anything because I was going to Starbucks for lunch. He said no, so I came back empty handed, but he was like, "I didn't know you were going to go to Starbucks for real!"
I replied with the following:

I wouldn't have asked if i weren't planning on going.

But it feels like I should have said one of the following:

I wouldn't have asked if I didn't plan on going.
I wouldn't have asked if i wasn't planning on going.
I wouldn't have asked if i hadn't planned on going.

How would a native speaker decide to put these "events" on a timeline and choose verb tenses?


texts:
I had a hard time understanding this sentence from StackExchange co-founder Joel Spolsky:

  I’m really just trying to set a minimum bar here so that everyone can understand what’s going on and can write code that has a hope of working with text in any language other than the subset of English that doesn’t include words with accents.

My main point of contention is the "other than" part. That part doesn't make sense to me. It would make sense if that part was replaced with "and not just".

The way it is worded makes it seem like he wants to exclude "the subset of English that doesn’t include words with accents" but I think he wants to say something like included but not limited to. Thoughts?


texts: "All X are not made equal" - ambiguous meaning?

texts:
A phrase commonly heard in English (at least informal English) is something like the following:

  Well, this car is good, but all cars are not made equal!

This would be commonly understood by most English speakers to mean the following sentence, which is what I'd use:

  Well, this car is good, but not all cars are made equal!

Isn't the first sentence ambiguous?  It could mean what most English speakers would take it to mean, but it could also mean (and I'd argue this is what is should mean):

  Well, this car is good, but every single car is made differently!

Another of the many variants on this form of words is where it is identified that not all members of a class are the same as a specific member, for example:

  This might be bitter, but all fruits are not lemons!

Again I'd take this to mean:

  This might be bitter, but not all fruits are lemons!

And again I'd say that the first phrase is in this case not only ambiguous, but plain wrong.  It should literally mean:

  This might be bitter, but NO fruits are lemons!

When did this curious form of words start to be used, and by whom?  And, are my literal meanings correct, or is there a grammatical sense in which, for example, the latter phrase could mean something other than "NO fruits are lemons" when interpreted strictly?


texts: "Give your best" vs. "give of your best"

texts: Does one say, give your best or give of your best when it comes to effort?


texts:
Whenever describing something that is seldom looked for or desired I often verbalise it with "ill sought after" without hesitating.
(ignore that ill is its own word, the trouble I'm having writing it in the question..is the question)
However, I went to write an email with this phrase and no matter how I wrote it it looked really odd.

ilsought after? I don't think that's a word, maybe I could coin it with a cheeky hyphen
il-sought after? Seems like I'm only negating sought, not the whole phrase
il-sought-after? No, no, I need help now.

So, is there a different prefix I'm supposed to be using? Should sought after be hyphenated? Is there already a phrase that already means this I'm forgetting? (I really like 'sought after', though..)