texts: Is the primary usage of "Daddy" sexual now? Why?

texts:
Just yesterday in chat someone intentionally misquoted Glen from Chucky, saying "dad." They then followed with:

  It's technically Daddy but that seems a bit awkward.

Google ngrams shows usage of the word is at an all time high so, curious about the history of the usage they were talking about, I took a look at the OED. It seems like the current sexual usage might come from a combination of prison slang used from the 1930's:

  Prison slang. A man who takes an active or dominant role in a homosexual relationship, esp. one who provides physical protection to a (typically younger) more vulnerable inmate.

And in the US from the 1910's:

  U.S. (in early use chiefly in African-American usage). A woman's male lover; a husband. Frequently as a form of address.

However, these are only two of the many definitions--most of which are synonyms for "Dad." So why are these definitions dominating now? How did "Daddy" become synonymous with a sexual kink to the point where people go out of their way to avoid saying it lest it twist their quote?


texts:
"Must not" vs. "don't have to" is a famous false friends for many languages. That said, what about a phrase like, say, "nobody must know":

Does that mean that a) nobody is allowed to know, or b) that obviously nobody knows, or both? Is that sentence OK, poor style, or to be reworded to make unambiguous? How would I use "must not know", as in "is not allowed to know" together with "nobody"?


texts:
When we use a conjunction such as "but" or "yet" to dramatically interrupt the rhythm of a sentence.

What's this literary device called?


texts:
What is the meaning of the phrase:

"I am but one."
In sentence it is used as:
"I am but one person out of the billions that exist on this earth."


texts: Interjection between subordinate and main clauses

texts:
I have a question about this modest sentence for which I have no context except that it came to me. Then I wondered about its grammaticality.

  Because it wasn’t my job—I didn’t work there—I left.

Is this aside, “I didn’t work there,” grammatical? If so, is it punctuated correctly? And also, does it actually belong to the subordinate clause?

Thank you!


texts: I am looking for a word that can be used to describe a person who can switch bodies with another human

texts:
Not to be confused with a person who can morph themselves into someone else or a creature by will, but someone who has an ability to body swap - without necessarily having control over it. I am writing a short fiction story and I am looking for acceptable sounding names/words to describe this action and the scientific name for body swapping.

I have come across Changeling, Morphling, and Automorphic but all of these suggest a way of having control over of changing ones own physical appearance. I am looking for something more specific to the actual switching of bodies.

  This young woman has known since she was a child that she was able to [transcend into someone else's body] for an unknown amount of time but she could not control it.

Bonus points if it's SciFi jargon.


texts: How does it feel to you? vs How do you feel about it?

texts:
Do

  How does it feel to you?

and

  How do you feel about it?

imply the same feelings?


texts:
In the sentence

  I have a bibliography page which I'd like to split in/into sections

which would you rather use: split in or split into?

Why?


texts: "She likes to leave you hanging on a wire"

texts:
I've tried to find the exact meaning of this sentence but failed.
Can someone kindly tell me what it means?
"She likes to leave you hanging on a wire."


texts:
Uh,
I know there is a word starting with d. it sounds kinda like diophanus or something similar. It referes to very fine clothing, nearly see through clothing. I really don't know the word. Any help is greatly appreciated.


texts: What do you call it, when someone is only selfish/egoistical to a specific person

texts:
What do you call it when a person will not let you do the things you have to do? Will not let you live your life?

I am not talking about law or the 10 commandments, or a figure of authority. Could be someone the same age, older or younger. I am talking about someone who prevents you from living your life, a normal life, by suffocating, bullying, slandering, and sabotaging it. Someone who will hinder things unnecessarily. But on the other hand, that same person is allowed to do everything.

For example, someone who suffocates your life, bullies you, gets angry just because you are pretty (even if the person is prettier), only he/she can be pretty, or they are envious (maybe you can play keyboard well for example), but only he/she can have a talent or ability, and does everything to humiliate you in order to isolate you from anyone while only he/she is allowed to live how/where/whatever they are supposed to.

To illustrate better what I am describing, I'll talk about my own experience. There are even some people who didn't/don't allow me to be a female. They tried to turn me into the opposite sex, tried to turn me into a male. There was a time I could not be feminine, use makeup or fancy any guy because of this. I ended up acting tomboyish and meek and plain to avoid some people's rage, even when I wanted to be feminine. Whereas the same girls had girlfriends prettier than me who were allowed to be feminine and remain friends. If I tried to be feminine they would intimidate me or humiliate me, even worse if I started having a crush on a guy they didn't like. Only they can be feminine, only they can have a crush on a guy/date, have friends, etc.

There was a time I was going through hunger, and the people who told me not to eat anything were every day eating the best of everything.

All those people were selfish JUST TO ME, without reason (yes without reason). What is it called?


texts: How to interpret this sentence with parenthesis?

texts:
The following sentence appears on CERN's webpage for Studentships in Summer (Non Member State Nationals) under Eligibity Conditions.

  You are a national of any State other than a CERN Member State (or Cyprus, Pakistan, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine)

I see two possible interpretations of this sentence.

Natioanals of CERN Member States cannot apply BUT Nationals of Cyprus, Pakistan, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine can apply.
Natioanals of CERN Member States cannot apply and ALSO Nationals of Cyprus, Pakistan, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine cannot apply.

Which interpretation is correct?

CERN's page about Member States says that:

  Cyprus, Pakistan, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine are Associate Member States


texts: What is the opposite for "thin-skinned"?

texts: What is the idiom or term for describing a usually respectful and nice person who is not easily offended by others' criticism, advice, jokes, or insults? ( I  know the opposite is "thin-skinned", but I'm not sure if "thick-skinned" is the answer for this question.)


texts: Phrasal contraction, reduced sentence structure, verbal shortcut: what is this called?

texts:
Possibly related to this request for an antonym for pleonasm except I want to know if there is a name for the grammatical construction or the process where (pseudo) redundant words are removed. The content is still interpretable, because there is a reasonable amount of redundancy in English (and other languages).

Inspired by this question where the phrase used is

  "He looks like if John had no hair."

Two of the comments suggest this could be expanded, say "He looks like John would if John had no hair". I'd like to know if there's a generalised name for the process of getting from the expanded version to the reduced version.

This type of construction is common in Singlish (Singaporean English), where if you asked someone if they'd been for lunch, you might get the answer:

  "Yes, go come back already."

Which could be expanded to "Yes, we have been for lunch and have already come back", except there's a lot of redundancy there.

Is there a name for reducing a phrase or sentence down to just the bare bones of meaning?


texts: Can I write it in English: 'I'm praying to God for him to do it'?

texts:
I wanna say that I want something, that God can give me, e.g wings to fly. Can I say:

  I'm praying to God for him to give me wings to fly.

Or should I just say?

  I'm praying to God to give me wings to fly.


texts: A word for listing out objects in a list

texts:
So when listing out two things, it is appropriate to use "both".

What about for lists of more than two? Does "all" work?

Ex. He ordered both a steak and a side.

vs. He ordered ___ a steak, a side, and some wine. (or further items, as required)


texts: BELIEVE IN the notion or BELIEVE the notion?

texts:
When I don't trust what someone says, then I need to say,

  I don't believe you.

without 'in'.

But for the notion, it's a concept, so I think I need to say,

  I don't believe in the notion.

but on Google, I could find a lot of results saying "believe the notion".

Is it possible to use both of them?


texts: Are these sentences in the "Christian Science Monitor" acceptable English these days?

texts:
This is from a Christian Science Monitor story on Nancy Pelosi's decision to stay on as House Minority Leader. The first report I saw in the Washington Post had only one questionable sentence, but this second report has two:

  “Being actively involved in politics at this level is really insatiable,” Representative Pelosi said at a Wednesday press conference, flanked by her female Democratic colleagues. “There aren’t enough hours in the day for me. There’s so much more I want to do.”

Are these sentences acceptable English to most native speakers, or are they clearly errors (one misusage of an adjective and one dangling modifier)?


texts:
In the game League of Legends, the character Vi is known for her violent, aggressive, fight-loving nature, and isn't shy about expressing it.  When asked what her name is short for, she has a different response each time, with each relating to this nature.

  "Vi?  Stands for Violence!!"
      "Vi?  Stands for Vice!"
      "Vi?  Heh... stands for Vicious!"

Beyond being a humorous joke, is the fact that these words have a similar theme more than a coincidence?  Is vi a root word or prefix that has some meaning which causes this relation?  Are there other words that begin with vi- that also fit this theme?


texts: Grammar for a list within a list that does not start with a colon

texts:
I'm trying to make sure my writing is correct for the following sentence:

  Our scanners are not affected by rain, snow, glare from the sun, or electrical interference from cell phones, radios, Wi-Fi, etc.

Another case comes later in the same document that I'm working on:

  At no additional cost we will customize your scanner with logos, images, or text such as Maintenance, Expiration Date, or anything else your business needs.

Are these structurally correct or do I need to remove the "or" from the first set of items? For example:

  At no additional cost we will customize your scanner with logos, images, text such as Maintenance, Expiration Date, or anything else your business needs

In the first sentence all of the electronics are part of the electrical interference, just as in the second sentence "maintenance, expiration date, and anything else" is referring to text.

What is the correct way to structure this?


texts: Is the title of a course capitalized if it has no specific name?

texts:
Do the names of classes remain without capitalization if they are the simple names of subjects and not specific course titles?

The example that I am looking at is:

"She asked a question in calculus, but her teacher provided no assistance."

I understand that calculus as a subject is not capitalized, but does its status as a class change that?


texts: Are "egotistical" and "egocentric" synonyms?

texts:
Depending on where you look, people state that the words "egotistical" and "egocentric" are and are not synonymous.

There is certainly some overlap, but are the two words technically interchangeable?


texts: Using a present tense verb in an "if" clause, followed by the main clause

texts:
Is it possible to have a present tense verb in a sentence like this:

  If you resign now, you'd feel sorry later.

Or must you always follow the second conditional format, arriving at a sentence like this:

  If you resigned now, you'd feel sorry later.

My goal is not to necessarily to produce a second conditional sentence, but rather to see whether the first sentence is acceptable, whether interpreted as a second conditional or not.  It seems acceptable; what explanation is there for this?


texts: word request: support in getting tasks completed

texts:
I'm writing an acknowledgments page for my dissertation, and I want to say something like "I am grateful to my family for their emotional, financial, and [some word] support throughout this process." The missing word means something like they helped me get tasks done. For example, my parents helped me move to a new state for school, and my husband took on way more than his fair share of household chores while I was working late.

Thanks for your help!


texts: Is there a word for the urge to do something creative?

texts: Is there a succinct word for the 'itch' to do something creative? For example having a niggle in your brain where only doing something creative can make it go away?


texts:
Let's say someone said this: "We planned to cancel the event if he got sick."
In backshifting this statement, are both of these statements appropriate and equivalent?

"They said they had planned to cancel the event if he got sick."
"They said they had planned to cancel the event if he had gotten sick."


texts: Mixing contracted and uncontracted phrases in the same sentence

texts:
Is there anything wrong with mixing contracted with uncontracted phrases in the same sentence?

Examples:

  I'm not sure it is possible.

("I'm" is contracted, but "it is" is not).

  I am not sure it's possible.

("I am" is not contracted, but "it's" is).

I know that it is not grammatically incorrect. But is it not recommended?  Or is there any other reason to not use it?


texts: What do you call a person who is a mentor to someone but he is not aware of it

texts:
Say I have a person called 'X' and he has been following every move, every mistake of 'Y' and has secretly considered him a mentor in his own mind. But 'Y' does not know about it.

One day 'X' decides to tell his secret to 'Y'.

Now how does 'X' tell 'Y' that "you've been my mentor all these years without you ever knowing it"? Is there a single word to describe it, like "you were my secret-mentor all these years" (just giving a vague idea about what I am seeking).

Consulting a thesaurus for mentor yields: adviser, coach, guide, instructor, teacher, trainer, tutor, and counselor. None of these seem to work.


texts: What do you call an example/statement/question etc. presented just for the sake of demonstration/argument?

texts:
Like when you say something as an example. Like a hypothetical situation that may/may not be practical or technically not true but just there for the purpose of demonstration?

By the help of wormholes you can travel faster than light.
Popular belief is that he could cause sparks of fire/lightning just by the snapping his thumb and index fingers.

I know about rhetorical questions (ones that are asked for the sake of argument and are not expected to be answered). So can there be something like rhetorical statement/example? Also can rhetorical questions be used in the context of irony? Feel free to correct me. :)


texts: What's a more sophisticated word for "gadget"?

texts: I'm looking for a word that isn't tacky like gadget, but that describes interesting and novel technological items.


texts:
He started working for this factory a year ago.

Which sentence has the same meaning?

  He has been working for this factory for a year.

or

  He has worked for this factory for a year.


texts:
On episode 11 from season 2 of the Fringe series, Peter says the following:

  If you tell me the US government is covering something up, I'll tell you it must be Tuesday.

What does that mean?

The scene was about doubting about how much the navy was sincere about some info.


texts:
Are there any differences in the three words in bold below?

  cannot perceive it, out of  perception.

  cannot feel it, have no feeling.

  have no sense.

the perception

  With microphones, cameras, accelerometers, compasses, temperature gauges,
  and brightness detectors, smartphones have become extra-sensory devices, able to augment your
  own perceptions.

We all know human beings' sensors have limitation. If perception means knowing something by the human being's physical sensors, then how can we augment it? It seems impossible. If perception means not only by sensors but also by mind (see wikipedia), then could you give me an example ?


texts: When is it appropriate or disrespectful to refer to someone as "she"?

texts: My boss has asked me not to refer to her as she because she says it's disrespectful.  After I refer to her by her proper name or by her title, isn't it appropriate to refer to her as she?


texts: When to use "she's"(short form) and and "she is"(full form)? What is the difference?

texts: Example : He isn't tired but she is. Why can't use "she's"? Why is "she is" used?


texts: Looking for a word for something whose inclusion implies the exclusion of another entity

texts:
I am looking for a word similar to "exclusive", maybe is exactly this one, but I am confused by the fact that in my language (Spanish) there are two similar words that are used differently to express this nuance.

There is "exclusivo" (exclusive), which is used to express something that is limited or restricted to a certain group, for example: "an exclusive club",

Then there is "excluyente", which I don't know if has a direct translation. It refers to something whose inclusion implies the exclusion of another entity, for example: "behaving as a particle or a wave are not mutually excluyentes in the mark of Quantum mechanics", or "being at the park or at home at the same time are logically excluyentes"


texts:
Garner's fourth , page 263, reads

Depend typically takes on (or, less good, upon). When a clausal complement follows the verb, to omit the on is a casualism—

Is good here an adverb?
Why not use worse instead of less good?


texts: She is as talented a person as I know or she is as talented of a person as I know

texts:
I was reading an article about an interview with president Obama. In the interview, he described Michelle by saying, "she is as talented a person as I know."

"As talented a person" sounds weird.
Will the sentence still carry the same meaning and will it be correct to say "She is as talented of a person as I know" or "She is as talented as a person as I know?"


texts:
My question: "Is there a phrase or idiom that describes how society accepts their situation as the social norm, due to slow changes? As in how, purposefully or not, the government and corporations keep people too busy to know what's really happening so that they don't realize it negatively impacts them?"

I have searched Google and this site and came up with the meaning of the word "doublespeak", but that is not what I'm looking for. The word "charisma" comes to mind, but does not fit. What I am searching for is probably not a single word, but a phrase or idiom describing how a society does not realize what's really happening until it's too late due to how slowly things change, either purposefully or circumstantially.

The reason behind my question comes from an article I read long ago, concerning why people do not stand up and do something about changes in our society that negatively affect us, is due to the fact that when changes happen slowly, especially with generations that have a short term memory,that we tend to accept them as the norm, and become too busy with trying to just pay our bills, we don't realize what is happening.

My question stems from part of the article saying something along the lines of "the big corporations gave the people jobs, then sold them houses with mortgages, making them feel like they were living the American Dream".

My question involves issues of American society like the industrial revolution, the anti-corporate movement, and the dissapearing middle class.

The idiom or phrase I'm looking for might be more simple than what I've described, apart from using our society and government in explaining it but I can't think of any other instance to describe where deceiving, purposefully or not, an entire society to make them believe it's the norm.

Thank you!


texts: Is there a difference between “after 3 days from the date” and “3 days after the date”?

texts:
I received a message from bank regarding a transaction I made. The line was:

please raise dispute after 3 working days from the date of transaction

If I were to send this, I would have written:

please raise dispute 3 working days after the date of transaction

Are the meanings of these two lines the same? I believe the meaning of both the lines are that the dispute should be risen if transaction is unsuccessful after 3 days have passed. I have always seen the latter being used. Is former different because it is formal?


texts: What kind of literary device is "the speed of light?" #idioms

texts: He flew at the speed of light or the speed of sound.


texts: What is a word for someone who feels like they have to be looked up to/admired?

texts: I am looking for a word for someone who feels like they need to be admired. By this, I do not exactly mean someone who is convinced that they are a supreme being, and need to be worshiped, or something like that. I just mean someone who maybe is slightly insecure, and feels like if they need to be looked up to by others to feel important. I know this is a bit specific. Is there a word for this?


texts:
What does "in a blur" mean in the sentence below? Is it a slang? Does it mean "very fast"?

  "I grinned as I counted more quickly and ran the numbers together in a blur."

Source: Counting Stars (By David Almond)


texts: What does "a sock full of pennies" mean?

texts:
I watched Seinfeld S09E12 The Reverse Pipehole, there are lines like this:

  KRAMER: Newman and I are reversing the peepholes on our door. So you
  can see in.

  ELAINE: Why?

  NEWMAN: To prevent an ambush.

  KRAMER: Yeah, so now I can peek to see if anyone is waiting to jack me
  with a sock full of pennies.

and this:

  JERRY: So, Silvio ambushed Joe Mayo?

  ELAINE: Yeah, he was waitin' inside his apartment for him with a sock
  full of pennies.

  JERRY: He should have had a reverse peephole.

What does "a sock full of pennies" means? Is it an idiom or slang? Does it really mean a sock full of pennies?


texts: Use of preposition "with" after the word "marry"

texts:
Is it right to use the preposition "with" instead of "to" after the word "marry or married" under any given circumstances if we change the position of gender being mentioned?

For example:

"She is married to John"

Can we also say:

"John married with her" OR "John is married with her"

I highlighted this mistake in the notes of an educationist which he gave to his students. I raised this point with him that "to" is the only preposition which is used after the word "married". However, he argued that use of preposition depended on the position of gender being mentioned, thus the change in the position of gender also changes the preposition and it is right to use the preposition "with" after the verb "marry".

Can anyone explain?


texts: Which one is Correct? (Intuitive declarative syntax or declarative intuitive syntax)

texts:
Which one is Correct? and why?

Intuitive declarative syntax

or

declarative intuitive syntax

Is there a rule to make these expressions?


texts: In the sentence "I do like mint ice cream" 'do' is an auxilliary verb.  However, if you were responding with a "I do" in a wedding vows context, is 'do' auxilliary?  It would be if you continued the line and said "I do promise", but what about when you don't?


texts:
In the movie "My Fair Lady", the main character will use this structure a lot; "I'm a good girl, I am." or "I washed my face and hands before I come, I did.".
I like to know more about this structure and when such thing can be used.
Thank you for your help.


texts: A word that describes giving its name to something else: iron is ... for ferromagnetism

texts:
I am writing about unusual ferromagnetic materials. For the introduction I want to use the "namegiver" for ferromagnetism, iron, as an example but I am stuck finding the right word or expression.

  In iron the namegiving element for ferromagnetism the Curie temperature...
  In iron, which coined the term ferromagnetism the Curie temperature ...
  In iron, from which the term ferromagnetism is derived, the Curie temperature ...

Is there an English word that expresses that iron, or to be more precise, its Latin counterpart "ferrum", gave its name to the phenomenon ferromagnetism?


texts: A word for a protecting / protected piece in chess?

texts:
Playing chess, how would you call a piece that protects another one?
Maybe a guard?
And how would you call the piece that is protected?

I need a single word for programming a ches computer.


texts:
I want to describe single processor and many processor systems, and it seems like "uniprocessor" and "multiprocessor" are the accepted terms. However the "pro" in process looks Greek to me, which means that to avoid a Greek/Latin smash-up of prefixes, "monoprocessor" and "polyprocessor" would be better.

So is the pro in processor Latin or Greek?


texts: Is "entitled" wrong to use in place of "the title for"?

texts:
In order for this extension to work, there are DLL files that must be available to the Windows system PATH. For information on how to do this, see the FAQ entitled "How do I add my PHP directory to the PATH on Windows".

Is the FAQ really "entitled" "How do I add my PHP directory to the PATH on Windows", or is it "titled" "How do I add my PHP directory to the PATH on Windows"?


texts:
Is there any significant difference between Correspond to and Correspond with?

I only mean in the sense of "matching", here, rather than "communication".

I've looked at a few sources, but I can't seem to find a good explanation that makes it clear in which context each form would be used. Some sources suggest that only Correspond to is used in the sense of "matching", whereas others suggest Correspond with can also be used in that sense (and sometimes also with slightly different meaning).


texts:
"Effectiveness" is how good the results are of a method, "Efficiency" is how much result I can get, in comparison to the resources I need to spend (e.g. computing power for computational algorithms). I am searching for a word (ideally from of the same etymological origin, starting with "E"), that denotes the notion of "how far the range of application" is, in other words, in how many situations I can use this method.

Example sentence:

"The algorithm is computationally expensive, so we need a powerful computer, but it is very effective, yielding great results and that (what is more) in a very a wide range of situations. Its WORD is its most impressive feature: We are will not have to implement any other algorithm."


texts: "Take/Consider ... as an example" vs "Take/Consider ... for example"

texts:
For more than a decade, I have always seen/used the phrase "Take/Consider ... as an example" followed by a comma. Then, my recent visit on this page got me confused and raised more questions in me.

Are the two phrases interchangeable, or do they differ in meaning/usage? Also, should either phrase be followed by a comma, or can it be a period or en-dash, depending on the context?

Below are some sample sentences to better illustrate my doubts:

"Take myself as an example, I threw a punch on the wall in response to his ignorance."
"Take Applebee's for example. the waiters and waitresses there have no cultural awareness."
"Consider your roommate for example – Her manner is definitely one of a kind."
"Consider this PC as an example. The slightest scar on it is not acceptable to comply with her standard."

Are these sentences all valid?

Thanks in advance!


texts:
Is there a semantic difference?

I thought unarm was more popular, but Google Ngram shows otherwise.


texts:
This passage is from "Macmillan English Grammar in Context" by Michael Vince.
"They are still examining the wreckage of the high speed train. They don't believe the accident involves driver error. We expect to publish an inquiry into this accident quite soon", a spokesman announced yesterday."
Should I use "expect" or "Are expecting"?


texts:
Sometimes days go speeding past

I know every words of this phase, just don't know the meaning of this combination.


texts: Statements beginning with subject+wonder

texts:
I'm wondering about the sentence structure when you use wonder.
Take for instance:

I wonder when will my money be refunded.
I wonder when my money will be refunded.
I wonder when is my money going to be refunded.
I wonder when my money is going to be refunded.

Are all these sentences correct or only some of them? By "correct" I mean "grammatically correct".
Could you provide examples of sentences starting with [subject]+wonder, and without it while conveying the same idea?


texts:
The closest word I could think of was quest or journey. But I think they don't imply a "search for truth". Here's an example of what I'm looking for:

  Now I had the strength to continue [...] about UFO's.


texts:
I've seen a few blog posts that are titled along the line of "Semester n in Review", where the writer analyzes his semester after experiencing it.

However, what if you analyze the upcoming semester and talk about what you know and what you expect.

What would the title be? I'm thinking something like "Semester n Expectations", however are there other nice-sounding titles?


texts: What is the difference between "skeptical" and "cynical"?

texts: Both the words "skeptical" and "cynical" refer to a doubtful mood, but what is the basic difference between them?


texts: Is there a word for an acronym that spells an existing word?

texts:
On a recent episode of The Simpsons, Marge and Homer attended DANK (Drug and Alcohol Night of Knowledge). It made me wonder: is there a term for an acronym that spells an existing word (like how Drug and Alcohol Night of Knowledge's acronym spells the existing word "dank")?

Note that I'm NOT asking about acronyms that form new words, like scuba; although scuba is indeed an acronym, it did not use an already existing word (it created a new word). I'm only asking about acronyms that spell existing words (like how Recording Artists Development uses the existing word RAD as its acronym).


texts: Which would you place in parentheses: the expansion or the abbreviation?

texts: When dealing with abbreviations, should you parenthesize the abbreviation or its expansion? I have seen it both ways. Can anyone make a good case for preferring one style over the other?


texts: Question about singular/plural with present perfect

texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

"Two thirds of land has already been sold."

Is it correct as it has the singular have verb "has" or it shoulb be rewritten with the plural verb "have"?


texts:
Consider the following sequence of (supposed) sentences:

"Organisms that fish eat are tasty" is valid English sentence.
"Organisms that fish eat, eat." is also valid English sentence, although it's getting confusing.
"Fish that fish eat, eat." more confusing, but still valid.
"Fish that fish eat eat." Could I really have dropped the comma here?
"Fish fish eat eat." Could I really, legitimately, have drop the definite article here?

If you've accepted all of the above, then surely you must conclude that:

"Fish fish fish eat eat eat" is a grammatically correct sentence in English.

but how can that be? It's super-confusing. Isn't there some principle limiting the depth of this nesting-of-phrases?


texts:
Is this sentence true?

The huge evolution of new technologies.


texts: English Idiom equivalent of the Tamil proverb "every house has doorsteps", meaning that everyone has problems

texts:
Is there an idiom/proverb in English which is equivalent to the Tamil proverb "every house has doorsteps" (veetuku veedu vasapadi)?  The meaning of it is that everyone faces problems in life that they have to deal with; no one is totally free of problems.
Let me give an example: suppose I whine "My son is doing badly in school. He is rude and impertinent. I am really concerned about his future." My friend consoles me by saying he too is dealing with his own set of problems with his children. He says "veetuku veedu vasapadi - every house has doorsteps."


texts: The phrase "crème de la crème" means to be the best of the best. Is there a phrase that means the opposite of this, that is, to be the worst of the worst? The phrase doesn't have to come from French.


texts:
Someone who walks in sleep is called sleep walker or somnambulist.
Is there a word in English meaning somebody who talks in sleep?


texts:
Tip of my tongue here.

"How do you plan to _____ buying all this freight?"

"How can you _____ doing something like that?"

"I can't really _____ buying a car right now."

Closest word I can think of is "advocate", but that's not quiet right.

It's often used in the context of giving yourself a reason of doing something.


texts: Looking for a word referring to someone who says/tells something/to someone else

texts:
I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but I can't seem to be able to search for it due to its common words.

I'm having problems coming up with a word for "someone who says or tells something to someone else". A word for the person being talked to would be adequate too.

I'm even having trouble wording the question due to its vagueness. Sorry, I'm stupid, but I do appreciate any help on this matter.


texts: In + pres. participle constructions ("In performing," "in using")

texts:
I'm working on preparing some text for translation into Spanish and have come across this construction, which sounds perfectly fine to me, but I've been unable to find any definition or description for it in the OED. One of the sentences in question is the following:

In performing a book-to-tax reconciliation, you must identify those items of income and deduction which differ from book to tax.

I'm trying to figure out what the appropriate meaning of in would be here (my intuition says that it's roughly synonymous with when or while.) It is covered in Wiktionary (under "used to indicate limit, qualification, condition, or circumstance") but in their examples in seems to carry more of a sense of by, and I don't think that sense applies to the above.

Does anyone know what this is called and have a source where it's precisely defined?


texts:
A friend of mine has noticed something I say differently to move people. Most would contract the sentence "we have not done" into "we haven't done". I turn it into "we've not done". This seems to be correct as well, but people have told me its odd or wrong. I'm I incorrect or just different? If it is of any importance I am from the south-east of England. Any information on this will be kindly received.

Thanks in advance


texts: Which one should I use, 'are chosen' or 'have been chosen' in academic writing?

texts: I was writing a report of my economic presentation. I had to mention that I chose three states  for my studies in the introduction of the report. Since I can't use the active voice to mention this, which passive voice should I chose, passive of simple present or passive of present perfect? i.e 'are chosen' or 'have been chosen'?


texts:
Gerund acts as a subject, object... But can't we say that Gerund is basically a noun.

Also, I heard a counter argument - a noun can be used for showing possession (John's chair)... But Gerund can't be used in such a manner(can it?). So, Gerund doesn't work as a noun.

So, basically, my question is that -- "What is Gerund?" In an advanced manner. Also, I would be very grateful if you could cite your sources. Thanks, in advance!


texts: Etymology of "blackguard rating" in the context of the British Army during the Crimean War

texts:
From Wikipedia:

  I never had such a blackguard rating in all my life – I who have had more than any woman – than from this Barry sitting on his horse, while I was crossing the Hospital Square with only my cap on in the sun. He kept me standing in the midst of quite a crowd of soldiers, Commissariat, servants, camp followers, etc., etc., every one of whom behaved like a gentleman during the scolding I received while he behaved like a brute.... After he was dead, I was told that (he) was a woman.... I should say that (she) was the most hardened creature I ever met."

– Florence Nightingale in reference to “James Barry,” an army surgeon from the Victorian era who turned out to be a woman in disguise.

Now what would a “blackguard rating” be? in the context of that time and place? What a peculiar and interesting phrase!


texts:
I was wondering whether the usage of the word "eyesight" is wrong or not in the sentence below.

"The purpose of data visualization is to aid people in comprehending complex data by stimulating eyesight."


texts: Is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophilia a word?

texts: I'd like to know if hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophilia, my proposed opposite of hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is a real word or condition.  I know -philia is the opposite of -phobia and -phile is the opposite of -phobic, so I was wondering if there is an opposite to every -phobia word.


texts: What is a reasonable definition for "is"? What is the rule for inserting it in a sentence?

texts:
I am learning a foreign language with the help of an excellent tutor who speaks enough English for me to be able to understand them. The deal is, essentially, I correct their English if they teach/correct Malaysian.

Today I got a bit stuck. They provided the following statement:

  That not exactly correct

This is clearly understandable. The obvious response is:

  That is not exactly correct

I'm struggling to explain why one is preferable to the other. Bearing in mind they have little-to-no understanding of esoteric grammar rules (same here, to be honest).

Google tells me it is the "third person singular of 'be'". Fantastic. What, exactly, does that mean? Also, how can I explain this using relatively simple English to a non-native speaker?

Any responses are very much appreciated, by myself as much as the ultimate recipient.

(And hell, if you want to pick holes in the grammar/vocabulary of this post, please do)

Aside: I have checked for questions related to this, but I'm sure you can appreciate that "is" is (oh the irony) a bloody difficult search query. A search query for "[is]" (questions tagged with "is") returns nothing, so again, please help :)


texts: What do we call something we do just to show off we are doing it?

texts:
What do we call something we do just for showing off?  We are doing it but there is no real intention behind it, and it has no meaning to us.

For example, everyone is writing about women's rights, so our organization tries not to fall behind and prepares a manifesto. They do not really mean what they have expressed in the manifesto. They just wanted to show others that they can say something in that field, and that they know what is going on.


texts: Word for people who easily believe in rumors, and for a person who spreads them

texts:
Basically, I am asking for two words-

What do we call a person who spreads rumor?

And on the flip side, there will always be some people who easily believe rumors.

What do we call people who believe in rumours?

Is there a word, or phrase for both types of people?


texts: Participation/participating and a couple more questions

texts:
I'm helping my sister to prepare a cover letter for her job application and I have problems with a couple of sentences:

1) Something seems wrong in the sentence and I don't know what exactly:

  The participation in X international conferences and publishing X
  articles in A1 scientific journals have dramatically improved my
  presentation and writing skills.

2) Should we mention such a thing in the cover letter:

  I fully understand that the internship is probably not paid and it's acceptable to me.

3) Does it seem OK:

  I participated in a multidisciplinary research project collaborating with other scientific groups and learning how to

Thank you for your help in advance

Konstantin


texts: What exactly does "already" mean when used in the imperative mood?

texts: This is a question about American English usage of the word "already". As a UK resident I don't completely understand when I hear Americans give commands like "Stop it already!" In the UK the word already is not normally used in the imperative mood and the sentence I've just quoted would leave an English person thinking "If you're saying I've already stopped it why are you asking me to stop it again?"


texts:
I'm new here. This is my first question. What's the meaning of the sentence with italic/bold. I'm writing complete passage to make simpler.

  He was described by prosecuting lawyers as the alleged "ringmaster" of efforts to manipulate the benchmark inter-bank interest rate. He pleaded not guilty to eight charges of conspiracy to defraud. It is the first time someone has appeared in the dock on LIBOR charges.


texts:
I've been told that native-speakers don't ever use "will" after "if", and that saying it this way is a not-native style.

So from the film (Harry Potter, pt5) I noticed a line that confused me. Look at this:

"Well, if you won't tell her where it is, I will". See that?

What was the necessity of using the future form? What does it add in the meaning? How does it sound to you? Why was namely this sentence used instead of "Well, if you don't tell her where it is, I will"?


texts: Word meant to describe a crime where women beat men and men often do not report it. Supposedly , the most unreported crime there is. This was famous term used around the time of Lorena Bobbitt's adventure.


texts: What is meant by “Cash it in” in Joe Biden's phrase, “I began to understand how despair led people to just cash it in.”?

texts:
The article of New York Times (May 2) titled “Biden shares tales of loss with military families” quotes the line in Joe Biden’s 2007 memoir - “I began to understand how despair led people to just cash it in.”

The Vice President lost his wife and 13-month-old daughter in a car crash in 1972.

The article reads:

  “On Friday, Biden told the military families how low the crash had brought him. “I probably shouldn't say this with the press here, but - no, it’s more important - you’re more important,” he said.
  Biden had actually told the story before, on page 80 of his 2007 memoir, “Promises to keep.”
  “I began to understand how despair led people to just cash it in,” Biden wrote.”

As I’m unfamiliar with the phrase, “cash it in,” I consulted online dictionaries:

Cambridge Dictionary doesn’t register ‘cash it in’ but ‘cash in on sth‘meaning ‘‘to get money or another advantage from an event or situation, often in an unfair way.’

Oxford Dictionaries registers ‘cash sth in’ meaning ‘convert an insurance policy, savings account, or other investment into money.

Neither of the above definitions seems to be applicable to the above line.

Merriam-Webster doesn’t register ‘cash it (something) in.’

Google Ngram shows the linear increase of the incidence of the usage of “cash it in” since circ 1920.

What does “cash it in” in Mr. Biden’s “I began to understand how despair led people to just cash it in,” mean? Is the phrase, ‘cash it in’ used ofen in this way as a popular idiom?


texts:
I am looking for a word that describes a person's work as being detail oriented.

For example: "His peers had confidence in his meticulous manner."

Meticulous just seems too strong. The latin origin of the word is:

  mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘fearful or timid’): from Latin
  meticulosus, from metus ‘fear.’ The word came to mean ‘overcareful
  about detail,’ hence the current sense (early 19th cent).

And when I use it in the sentence it doesn't seem right. Does anyone have suggestions for a better way to phrase this? Thanks.


texts: Is ‘beetle-black eyes’ expressing their owner’s character?

texts:
Hagrid's real intention, however, was to talk to Harry away from the rest of the class. He waited until everyone else had set off with their skrewts, then turned to Harry and said, very seriously, "So – yer competin', Harry. In the tournament. School champion."

  “One of the champions,” Harry corrected him.

  Hagrid's beetle-black eyes looked very anxious under his wild eyebrows.

  (p294, Harry Potter 4, US edition)

There’s not so many varieties in eye color in people of my country and therefore in novels, except for in figurative expressions. This might be why eye-color descriptions draw my attention.

'Beetle-black eyes', not just black, is sometimes referred in the story as if it is Hagrid's trademark

I searched the Net for beetle-black and had an impression that the color is bright and pure black. Now I'm just wondering it might be connected to Hagrid's character and mentioned when the writer wants to emphasize his pureness. However, this is just a wild guess because I don't know English speaking people commonly connect eye color and people’s character, just like astrology.

I'd like to know if 'beetle-black eyes' is related to Hagrid's character.
I'd be happy if you could help me!


texts: A word meaning a serious claim or demand not meant to be followed through with

texts: If someone says "Sue me" in a completely serious manner but not expecting it to actually happen, what is a word to describe that?


texts: What does this word mean in this passage from Frank Herbert's Dune?

texts:
I am only familiar with "faggot" being used as a slur for a gay man or as a bundle of sticks.
Some statements in the preceding paragraphs that provide context:

...A predawn hush had come over the desert basin. Straight overhead, the stars were a sequin shawl flung over blue-black...
...As the Duke watched, the moon dipped beneath the Shield Wall cliffs, frosting them, and in the sudden intensity of darkness...

And the passage itself:

To the east, the night grew a faggot of luminous gray, then seashell opalescensce that dimmed the stars.

The preceding paragraphs suggest to me that "faggot" is describing a color. As an allusion to a burning bundle of sticks I would have expected him to say orange or red. Instead he says "luminous gray".
This book was written 50 years ago so I'm wondering if it had another meaning back then.


texts: Word or phrase meaning "making it uniquely mine"

texts: What are words or phrases that describe choosing and/or adding features to a basic item that will transform it into a uniquely personal product.  For example, offered a basic dress with a list of options to "make it mine", such as sleeve length and style, collar design, color, length, etc.


texts: What is the history of "may" being used to mean "must"?

texts:
According to (online) Merriam-Webster, "may" has the following two distinct definitions, among others

1 b: have permission to
4: SHALL, MUST —used in law where the sense, purpose, or policy requires this interpretation

Oxford dictionary does not seem to have the definition of may = shall, must.
What is the history of may being used to mean "must"?


texts: "Would you like this or no" vs "Would you like this or not"?

texts: I would like to discern if both of these phrasings are correct and if they possibly even mean different things.  One of them bothers me terribly.


texts: Can I say "listen for it" and "smell for it"?

texts:
I often hear the term to look for it:

  "I have studied symbolism in fine arts for years, and now I see symbolism in everything. I just can't stop myself after I learned how to look for it."

Feel for it is also frequently used:

  "Jimmy was a great guitar player. He didn't even think while playing; his guitar functioned like an extension to his arms. He just had this natural feel for it."

It also works for listening, although it sounds a bit odd:

  "This city is teeming with songbirds, but their chirps are drowned by the ambiance. You might be able to catch a few seconds here and there if you listen for it."

But how about for smelling?:

  "My father knows a chef whose sense of smell is so good that he can step into the farmers market and locate the perfect onion by sticking his nose in the air to smell for it."

For listening it sounds bit odd, and for smelling it sounds downright wrong to me, but I can't explain why. Are all of the above sentences well-formed English sentences?


texts: What's the difference between "national service" and "military service"?

texts: My dictionary (dict.cc) doesn't make a difference on these and another one (deepl.com) suggests "military service" but they sound very different to me. Which one (or what else) is the term commonly used for this compulsory service in many countries? Are there regional differences as well?


texts: Is it redundant to say that something is "clearly evident"?

texts:
Here's a sentence: "The volume of resources invested is clearly evident."

Is this redundant?


texts: Can you use the -ly suffix with any noun? e.g "Hotelly"

texts: A friend and I were having a discussion when I used the word "hotelly" to describe something that has the characteristics of a hotel. Afterward, we started doubting the legitimacy of the word "hotelly" as it doesn't appear in any dictionary or anything of the likes. So we have a question, can you append -ly to ANY noun to form a new adjective? Is "hotelly" a legitimate word in the English language? Or is there some rule on when you can and can't use -ly as a suffix?


texts: What is a word that means single-time optimism?

texts:
Hoping for something catchy, not a mundane word. I'm looking for a word that means that you believe things will work out, this time. Preferably a word that you could divine the meaning of it while not knowing the roots, something that you wouldn't have to consult a dictionary every time you wanted to remember what it kinda meant.

Will also accept clever portmanteaus ;)


texts: Words like astronaut for dimensional traveller

texts: I was looking for a word like astronaut but for dimensional traveling, so I looked up latin for Dimension and got ratio, so Rationaut (dimension sailor) I guess. However I did not like how that sounded so I tried latin for reality (rem) and made Remnaut (Reality sailor). I just want to know if either of these words make sense for what I am trying to say, or if there is an already established word for what I am trying to say.


texts: is it “a lesson to all of us” or “a lesson for all of us”?

texts:
Which one is the correct one to use? I'm confused when to use "to" or "for"

  This is a lesson to all of us
  This is a lesson for all of us.

Google Books shows 8,940 results for "lesson to all of us"
while it shows 13,800 results for "lesson for all of us"


texts: When do I use "hours" and "o'clock" in a programming document?

texts:
When do I have to use hours and o'clock in a programming document?
For example, I have to show that the program runs at 23:45, should I use o'clock or hours?

I used hours but my manager says that it's not right and I should use o'clock?

Which is the right one?


texts: What native word did "second" replace in English?

texts:
As far as I'm aware, the only cardinal or ordinal number in English of non–Anglo-Saxon/Germanic origin, under a million, is "second". I was wondering, how did it come about that this replaced a (presumably) native Anglo-Saxon ordinal for the number two?

I managed to dig up something that suggested that prior to early-Modern English, "other" was the ordinal for "second", but fell out of favour due to ambiguity. However, I was expecting a word more of the form "twoth" (which itself seems to exist on the odd occasion, but only as a neologism).

Examples from other West Germanic languages:

Frisian: twadde
Dutch: tweede
German: zweite

(These are all cognate with the word "two", both in their own languages and more distantly in English of course.)

So it seems almost certain that in Old English (at least early Old English, but presumably extending until later), English had a cognate word. Does anyone have more information on this?


texts: Verb suggestion needed with meanings of to embody, to characterize, to make you realize, to make you experience an epiphany etc

texts:
"...Scenes of meadows, hills, on which you play for all day until the sun above sets. These scenes (some verb) the great beauty and peace found in nature..."

The meaning I want to give is that those scenes embody, depict the great beauty of nature and thus make you strikingly notice the wonders of nature, kind of an epiphany. I thought of to depict or to portray but these verbs do not have a really strong effect. To symbolize or to characterize do not really work well either. I looked up the words in thesauri but alas, I could not find a verb that would perfectly fit. So in short, what verb do you think would fit here (or should use a verb and an adverb)?


texts: Common terminology for "blessing" and "curse"?

texts:
I'm doing a certain something that requires identifying a property of some certain (fictional) thing as either "Blessed", "Cursed", or "Neither".  What's the common term for "Blessing" or "Cursed", if any?

In a thesaurus, the only common link I found between the two was that "Blessing" can mean "Benediction", and "Curse" can mean "Malediction", so "__-diction" might be the common etymological denominator... but I'm still clueless as to where to go from there.

Any ideas?


texts: what is a slang for "become a new person"

texts:
I'm looking for an expression or slang for "becoming a new person, forget the things you knew, restart fresh" or something near these.

I'm doing a translation from Persian to English and the literal translation is "coming out of your grave"
like your thoughts and believes are like grave and to be alive you have to let go.


texts: A word which means that the existence of one thing does not mean another thing cannot also exist

texts:
For Example,

Solution A already exists, however it is a poor solution. We created solution B. The existence of B however, does not _____ the existence of A.

I was thinking preclude, however I thought that given that A already exists, this wouldn't fit. Thoughts?

Edit:

To be clear, what I mean is that both are allowed to exist at the same time. ie. The existence of B doesn't mean A can't exist and be used.

I thought I might be able to use: The existence of B does not preclude the existence of A.

However, I'm unsure if this is correct.


texts: Difference between "Introduction" and "Background summary" in report writing

texts:
I have a task to do: writing a report. This one needs to be 4 pages as directed by the assigner. I was told to write 1/4, 3/4, 2 and 1/4 pages of Introduction, Background Summary, Discussion and Conclusion respectively.

I find these two - Introduction and Background Summary - to be similar. What is the difference between these two? Can anyone direct me?


texts: Can a tree "uneasily frowning" be synonymous to a tree "hauntingly frowning"?

texts: In the sentence "the trees uneasily frowned on....", I was wondering if saying "the trees hauntingly frowned on....." is synonymous. From the look of the definitions of the words "uneasily" and "hauntingly" they seem to be synonymous in this context, however I'm notentirely sure whether that is true.


texts:
Whereof, thereof, hereof
whither, thither, hither
wherefrom, therefrom, herefrom
wherewith, therewith, herewith.

Are these related to German da- and wo- compounds?


texts:
Why most of the time some of the verbs(both infinitives and gerunds) are prefixed with the word started, is it a stylistic matter or does it give a better flow to the statement? Cant we use the base form of the verb without the word start? For example:

  Recently in our school, they started teaching/to teach computer philosophy.


texts:
When is the future perfect progressive used? I am trying to understand in which cases it should be used, but I cannot find any practice examples of sentences using that tense.

  I will have been loving.


texts: Does "even more" make sense as an alternative to furthermore?

texts:
I'm helping an English-learner to practice for an English exam that includes an oral part. At one point she used "even more" in place of something like "furthermore". It sounded odd to me so I told her that she should use something like "also" or "furthermore" instead. She told me that an English teacher that she has been using told her to use "even more" because "furthermore" is too formal (the exam actually tests if you can use casual American English speech properly so you can be understood by other Americans). I later found out that the teacher is possibly British (based on their accent in a couple youtube videos I've watched). I looked up "even more" on Google and can't find any usage of the phrase that is equivalent to "furthermore".

Here are my questions:

Is this a British English expression?
Could this phrase be understood by Americans to mean the same as furthermore?


texts:
I am making an infographic where I am comparing web traffic. Because the report will be highly visual, I only use short sentences and phrases.

For example, when I want to compare this month's traffic with the previous month, can I say:

"Up by 10% to December"
"Up by 10% to last January"

What do you think, any help would be appreciated.

Best,
Edward


texts: What is a word/phrase that means "old" without the "outdated" aspect to it?

texts:
I'm trying to form a sentence like so:

  In this lesson, we're going to take a look at X, a __ technique that's used for developing applications.

The technique has been known over the past decade or so, but it's not "old" per se and it can still be used today. In fact, it is only very recently that X has been widely known about accepted as a technique to develop applications.

Is there a word/phrase that conveys the "old" aspect of the technique without giving the impression that it is "outdated" and doesn't hold relevance today?


texts: Appearance of "is is" in speech patterns

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “The thing is, is that…”
  Why do some people say “the reason is is that,” with “is” twice in a row?

For the past few years I've been noticing a curious phenomenon.  People are quite commonly saying things like "... the problem is is that we don't have access to ...".  It appears that the first "is" has been grafted onto the semantic unit of "the problem" and is no longer being perceived as being present, so the speaker has to add the second "is".

I first thought that this might be related to situations where a repeated "is" is valid, such as

... the question is "Is this our only option?" ...

but it seems to occur mostly in constructs of the form

... the [x] is that ...

instead.  I seem to be very sensitive to this and hear it several times a day, often on local or national news broadcasts.  In fact, it's now jarring (in a good way) when I hear someone NOT repeating "is".

Is there a name for this phenomenon?
Is it as rampant as it appears to me?


texts: Can't find the semantic link between parts of the sentence

texts:
I can't find the semantic link between parts of the sentence. It just doesn't seem right to me.

But if data is any indication, even as the beverage chain tries to tackle racial and income disparity, it remains a symbol of it.
Eater.com


texts:
I'm currently rebuilding a website for a client.  On their website, the tag-line reads

  "Specializing in Manufactured Housing Communities"

Is this grammatically correct? In my opinion,

  "Specialists in Manufactured Housing Communities"

sounds better.  If it is grammatically correct, however, I'll leave it how it is.


texts: Hypernym for anything you would write on?

texts:
I know the term "writing utensil" encompasses anything you would write with such as pen, pencil, stylus, etc. but I am looking for it's counterpart that encompasses all things you might write on such as paper, papyrus, notebook, clay tablet, etc.

To clarify, I am looking for a word that encompasses the whole thing you write on or in so "writing surface" does not quite fit as you would not say something like "Pick up your writing surfaces". That is, unless I am wrong, and this is something that some people say which I am just unaware of.


texts: Discussing two people - one of whom is deceased

texts: I am writing about Don and Doris Fisher - founders of the GAP - and their love of modern art. The problem is that Don is deceased, yet Doris is alive. Writing that the Fishers loved modern art is awkward because then I am talking about both of them in the past tense. Writing that Don loved and Doris loves modern art is simply awkward. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can get around this problem?


texts: Prettier term for 'Gastronomic Tolerence'

texts:
My friend came up with this one, are there any alternatives?

  "Someone who tolerates all kinds of eating habits"

(for example, both vegetarians and non-vegetarians)

Example of sentence: "Tim believes in [term-for-the-above]"

EDIT:
Sorry, if I wasn't clear, but my question was not someone who eats variety of food of both plant and animal origin, It was someone who doesn't mind if people around him eat food of various origins. (I'm sure you've met vegetarians who cannot bear to sit on the same table as someone who eats chicken...)


texts: What is a word that means 'at face value'?

texts:
I found this answer: What does "to take someone at face value" mean?

However, it didn't offer a word that conveys this meaning.

The word I'm looking for should fit in a sentence,

  When Bob asserted that zombies are a real threat, she took his word [at face value] by virtue of his credentials alone.


texts: what do you call a person who does not like to share information?

texts: Is there any word for a person who does not like to share information?


texts: "On fire" versus "in flames", "on parole" but "in prison"

texts:
A house can be 'on fire' or 'in flames'. They can be used interchangeably, but there seems to be a difference of involvement - 'in flames' suggests the house is engulfed by fire, 'on fire' could mean that only part of the house is burning. Maybe the rule is that 'in' indicates a stronger involvement then 'on'. 'On' has a sense of separateness - when a house is 'on fire' you can see the house and the fire as two things. You can put the fire out and the house could remain. 'In flames' suggests that even if you put the fire out, what's left is a very different structure.

Someone 'on parole' is not defined by parole. They have a life and parole is just a part of that. When you're 'in prison', you're not just physically contained, your life is defined by prison.

'I bought a shirt on sale' versus 'I bought a shirt in a sale' stumps me. They seem different but can't quite put my finger on it. The first emphasises the shirt, the second also brings to mind the context of where I bought the shirt.

Is 'on' used when the way you got the shirt is not as important as the shirt itself? And 'in' when the context of buying the shirt is relevant? 'In a sale' brings to mind the jostling and competition between customers looking for cheap shirts.


texts: What is it called when someone presents two choices which are the same to emphasize the importance of the option?

texts:
I'm very curious to know if there is a name, a word, or a literary scheme/figure of speech/literary device for when in a conversation, you present two choices which are the same, in which the speaker would just want to emphasize the importance/gravity of the option.

For example:

Two friends walk out of their air-conditioned cars, alighting onto the crack-filled asphalted road in the middle of nowhere.

  Friend one: Is it hot out here or is it hot out here?

I was wondering if figures of speech can go this specific, and if so, I'd be glad to know some new things other than gobbledygook.

P.S. It would be a noun, so I would be using it accordingly.


texts: Why do we "roll" the car windows down, instead of "slide"

texts:
Rolling implies rotation and translation. Cranking implies the motion people used to do before power windows and Sliding is what actually happens to the window.

When and why did people start using the expression "roll the windows down," instead of something more descriptive?


texts: What is correct:If you see him,give him the message.OR If you see him,give him a message.


texts: Is verbing in "I medalled in volleyball" etc correct?

texts:
Is “I medalled in volleyball” a grammatically correct sentence? According to OED, medal is a verb and a noun.
I haven't seen any usage of the word as a verb, but I am assuming the above sentence is correct.


texts: Locally(-)injective mapping--hyphenate or not?

texts:
Do I need to to hyphenate:
"It is a locally-injective mapping."
where I use locally injective as a term--a concept:
"This mapping is locally injective."
For example, it is defined in:
[Weber14 "Locally Injective Parametrization with Arbitrary Fixed Boundaries"]
http://www.eng.biu.ac.il/~weberof/Publications/Selfoverlapping/Locally_Injective_Parametrization_with_Arbitrary_Fixed_Boundaries.pdf

Adding some links regarding hyphenating the adverb 'well', which may be relevant:
A Well-Known Problem: Hyphens With “Well” Words
https://www.businesswritingblog.com/business_writing/2009/07/a-wellknown-problem-well-known.html
Well-Hyphenated Compound Adjectives
https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2guides/guides/favart/index-fra.html?lang=fra&lettr=indx_autr8O0GT3FD1GuY&page=9p1twFAGORMI.html

"The elements of style" by Strunk and White says:
"When two or more words are combined to form a compound adjective, a hyphen
is usually required."

The wiki page is quite comprehensive and sounds convincing:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphen#Compound_modifiers


texts:
Knowledge is expensive. But even more so, is stupidity.

or

  Knowledge is expensive. But, stupidity is even more so.

I'm very confused as to the correct punctuation and order or the above phrase.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What term is used for the closing of a letter?

You use a greeting when you need to open communication with someone, but is there a word for when you need to close communication?

for example,

note a / indicates a physical action (not just spoken words):

Greetings:  Hey, Hi, /salute, /wave, etc.

   ????  : Bye, See ya, /wave, etc.


texts: Writing a likely conditional in a past tense paragraph when the verb is conjugated for "you" or a present participle?

texts:
Consider these examples where the author is writing in past tense and would like to include a conditional:

She was cold. Her blood ran through her veins slowly as her breath froze in front of her lips. If she ran any farther, then her lungs would turn solid.

She was cold. Her blood ran through her veins slowly as her breath froze in front of her lips. Running any farther would turn her lungs solid.

She loved her teddy bear. The teddy bear had been given to her years ago and she never goes anywhere without it. Take the bear away from her, even to simply wash it, and it became the biggest catastrophe of her life.

She loved her teddy bear. The teddy bear had been given to her years ago and she never goes anywhere without it. Taking the bear away from her, even to simply wash it, would become the biggest catastrophe of her life.

What literary devices are at work here that is allowing the usage a present tense and a past tense in the same sentence where the rest of the paragraph is past tense?
I am also working under the assumption that in example 3, "take the bear" is a shortened form of "if you take the bear."


texts:
Is there any particular term for when we use one noun to describe/define another.

Karl is a teacher
Pigeons are birds.

Basically, the format being “x is y”.
Is there a name for the concept, the type of sentence, the noun in this position, or any other related terminology?
It makes me think of an apposite noun, but I don’t believe this counts as that..?


texts: She invited me to go with them, which I'd quite like to (do)

texts:
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language , in Chapter 17 Deixis and anaphora, says (Page 1526):

Is [iv] well-formed? How about adding do after to as follows?

  She invited me to go with them, which I'd quite like to do.

Is the original version (without do) inferior to the do-version? Or are they equally natural?


texts: Right word to describe this kind of search

texts:
How do you describe the following kind of 'search' in one word?

A blind man searching for a faucet in a room

OR

A normal man searching for a faucet in a dark room

Is it fumbling, scouring, scouting, scrounging, or something else?


texts:
Note, originally my question was "should I ask" instead of what I meant, which is "should I say". Sorry for the confusion.

If I do an internet search about:

Whom should/shall I say is calling.

I invariably get blogs and articles saying that this is incorrect, and probably a form of hypercorrection.

This question follows from a previous question based on an Oxford Living Dictionaries article about whom and who.

In the article it claims that in both:

✗ He is demanding £5,000 from the elderly woman whom has ruined his life.
and
✗ Mr Reynolds is highly critical of journalists, whom just use labels to describe him.

the use of whom is wrong, and it should be who. This seems to be agreed to by the users that contributed to the previous question I linked.

However the Oxford Living Dictionaries also claims that the following two are incorrect:

✗ He is demanding £5,000 from the elderly woman whom he claims has ruined his life.
✗ Mr Reynolds is highly critical of journalists, whom he says just use labels to describe him.

However on these two examples the majority seemed to say that objection to using whom in the last two is an old prescriptivist objection, and to quote an answerer:

  According to many respected grammarians, the article is incorrect ...

So:

He is the person whom won the race.(Wrong)
He is the person whom I say won the race.(Acceptable?)

In the second example whom appears to be both subject and object, however more particularly "whom" is the subject of "won the race", but the object of the whole clause seems "I say won the race". At least that's what I understood from the point.

If this is acceptable, then in the case of "Whom should I say is calling?" Doesn't the following apply:

Whom is calling?(Wrong)
Whom should I say is calling?(Acceptable?)

If we turn these questions into statements I think we get:

He is calling.
He is the person whom I should say is calling.
or
He is whom I should say is calling.

Is this analagous to the other cases, and therefore saying "Whom should I say is calling?" is not incorrect?

I'm not sure what the answer is, but every every single result I saw about "Whom should/shall I say is calling?" have all said that it's incorrect and that it should be "Who", mainly because the "Who" is doing the calling and therefore the subject.

  Who/whom shall I say is calling?

  He is calling.

  Who shall I say is calling? englishessaywritingtips.com

  Correct: Whom did you speak to earlier? Correct: A man, whom I
  have never seen before, was asking about you. Incorrect: Whom
  should I say is calling? grammarly.com

On this usingenglish.com forum thread an English teacher calls it an instance of hypercorrection.
usingenglish.com

On this Quora question all the top answers say it should be "who".

  In this sentence, "he" is the correct choice, so you would choose "who" for the question.
  Quora question

I take it given all this information my instinct is wrong about this?


texts: Before he became a writer , Conan Doyle studied medicine......past simple/past perfect issue

texts:
I found this sentence:

  Before he became a writer , Conan Doyle studied medicine, and much
  of the character is taken from...

However, according to the article (please, see below) -  I would say that there should be past perfect instead of past simple. What do you think? Is it the same construction which calls for past the perfect only?

Thank you very much :)

  If the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time,
  Past Perfect is not optional. Compare the examples below. Here Past
  Perfect is referring to a lack of experience rather than an action at
  a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used.

  Examples:

  She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct

  She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct


texts:
Is there a single word meaning "the thing that attracts me"?

The terms attractor or drawer don't feel right:

  The attractor for me at this restaurant is their sumptuous ravioli.


texts: My first e-mail writing. Could you look over this, please?

texts:
Hello thanks for coming here. Could you look over this e-mail writing to correct grammatic errors and awkward expressions? This is my first time to write an e-mail of introducing my items to buyers in English. I sincerely appreciate your recommendations for a better letter.
Thanks again!
Dear Sir or Madam,
Hi, my name is X from A in Korea.
I received your address from the B fair and would like to introduce Italian foods beloved around the world.
First of all, I’d like to introduce our company, A.
A has an excellent reputation with 40 years history of making Italian Home Meal Replacement(HMR) and it has already numerous clients by exporting to over 50 countries. We have International certificates such as X,Y, and Z, which guarantees its food safety and highly skilled manufacturing ability.
Our main product is M, which is Italian pasta and the brand name is called P.
P has some merits in its character.
△ Various flavors: ~~
△ Two types of packaging: cup type and pouch type.
△ Long enough shelf life : 1 year at room temperature
△ Easy to cook: ~~
Besides, we manufacture other items such as C, D, and E. These are also beloved Italian foods around the world.
Enclosed with this letter is a catalog of A and a price list of items above.
And you can see more details in following reference.
△ www.~~
△ www.~~
Please let me know, if you are interested in our items.
I am looking forward to speaking with you and hope this is the beginning of our page.
Sincerely,


texts:
What is the correct use of the term "related?"  For example, should I use it like  computer related, or is it more proper to use computer-related (where the word "computer" is just part of my example?)

Are the cases where it is used in one form and case in another form, or should it always be used in only one way?


texts: Is there a word for the idea that wealth equals power?

texts: Until now I would just have used "capitalism" because it is somewhat understandable, but factually it is wrong, is there a better word?


texts: What does it mean to be happy on somebody's behalf? Let's say that somebody graduates and I say to this "congratulations, I'm very happy on your behalf", does this mean that I'm happy because this person graduated?


texts:
I am working on a programming interface that has functions to give you the closest descendants (in a tree). But there are two categories of function: one gives you exactly one result and the other multiple results.

As a non-native speaker I was hoping for the existence of the word closests, so I would not spend so many characters in the function name.

What can I use instead?


texts: I have a problem in "Look + preposition" Rule

texts:
I have a problem in deciding preposition

Sentence A :

  She's looking at me,

I want to change "me" with "here" , the sentence became :

  "She's looking at here"

Please correct the sentence above (at least what would a native english speaker use for this sentence)
Please give me guide about "Look + Preposition"


texts: Something which is not terminal or fatal but lifelong

texts:
I'm talking about an incurable disease which is a lifelong affliction but is not fatal.

Usage - She is suffering from a ____________ illness.

I can't use terminal here because terminal means "predicted to lead to death, especially slowly; incurable.".


texts: Using multiple verbs with multiple nouns

texts:
In a sentence which uses multiple verbs and multiple nouns, is there a way to logically show which verb corresponds to which noun(s)?

E.g.

   1. I like to buy and eat fish and chips.

(Both verbs apply to both nouns.)

   2. I like to drink and watch football and cricket.

(Second verb applies to both nouns. The first applies to neither.)

Do we have to rely entirely on context?


texts: What is the origin of the term "the whole nine yards"? I have read many explanations, including one that nine yards refers to the length of the belt of wing-mounted machine guns in US fighter aircraft. Thus to "give him the whole nine yards" meant that the pilot fired off a long burst.


texts: Words that means A is intractable to solve using B

texts:
I would like to ask for a way to say that something is very difficult to solve using something else. I think it may be understandable to say, for example, the malady A is intractable to the treatment B. However, I feel it's not correct somehow. Could you please help me on this?
Thank you very much in advance for your help!


texts: What is the meaning of "as classic as they come"?

texts:
These shoes are as classic as they come.

I am not sure if it means that its style won't be affected whether the trend changes as time goes. Does it mean that this item is a timeless piece?


texts:
I've come across the word in this captchart: "Yo, my nizzle, can you pass me that shvisle?".
Is it supposed to mean something?
 I've easly found the meaning of nizzle, but I'm at a loss with shvisle. I've found out that the guy on the picture is a rapper called Snoop Dog and that shizzle my nizzle is one of his catchphrases.

Is shvisle a made up word from shizzle, in that case is "Can you pass me that shvisle" supposed to mean anything?
And is it supposed to be funny? I'm asking this last question because on that TED talk (7:18) people laugh, are they laughing because of the captchart or because of the speaker's comment : "they contain Snoop Dog" in which there might be a pun I don't understand?


texts: What word means to feel better by writing about what you feel?

texts: What word means "to feel better by writing it down?" Usually speaking about your emotions.


texts:
What is a good term for instruments (tools) a thief uses?

Thief tools
Thief stuff
Thief gear

Or something else?


texts:
Can anybody describe "Much best"

  Socrates: And you know best of all men how to transmit that to another

  Hippias: Much best, Socrates

The source is Chapter 13 - Hippias Major, near the  top of page 390 from the book Dialogues of Plato (written by Plato :-?)
"THE DIALOGUES OF PLATO TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH WITH ANALYSES AND INTRODUCTIONS
BY
B. JOWETT, M.A.
Master of Balliol College Regius
Professor of Greek in the University of
Oxford Doctor in Theology of the
University of Leyden"
http://pendientedemigracion.ucm.es/info/diciex/gente/agf/plato/The_Dialogues_of_Plato_v0.1.pdf


texts:
I want to discuss the structure of ''There are/is''. First of all, what is the difference between:

There are three children.

and

Three children exist.

Do they have the same meaning?
And secondly, In my native language, we would say that

Üç çocuk vardır.

"Üç çocuk" = Three children,
"var" = existence (something  that exists, a being),
and "dır" is a copula.
So basically, this structure is not different from -for example- ''three children is a car''. ''a car'' and ''existence'' have the same function. But ın English, that structure that I have mentioned is confusing for me. I know that you are all used to it. Some can say ''What's the problem with that? It is just ''there are'' and ''there is.'' ''. I realize that I still did not ask a question. Well, let me try to ask a good one, I guess.
Normally, ''there'' means a place where I am not in that place. Is there any relevance between ''there'' that means a place where I am not in that place AND ''There'' that is used in the structure of ''There are/is''? What kind of structure is this? By the way, I am new in English. Please excuse my naive usage of language. What do you think about it?


texts:
A retronym is the name given to an obsolete or older object to differentiate it from its newer replacement. Examples include "straight razor" (once just called "razor" until the modern razor), "analog clock," "manual transmission," etc.

What is the term for the corresponding word that shifts meaning from the retronym? (In these examples, how do "razor," "clock," and "transmission" function?)


texts: Is 'women of cover' an idiom in use in the U.S.?

texts:
On October 28, 2001, William Safire, wrote an interesting article in The New York Times.

Within a week of the terrorist attack, George W. Bush went to the Islamic Center in Washington and said, ''Women who cover their heads in this country must feel comfortable going outside their homes.'' In remarks to State Department employees on Oct. 4, President Bush spoke warmly of ''stories of Christian and Jewish women alike helping women of cover, Arab-American women, go shop because they're afraid to leave their home.''
At a televised news conference a week later, he reprised this ecumenical theme: ''In many cities when Christian and Jewish women learned that Muslim women, women of cover, were afraid of going out of their homes alone . . . they went shopping with them . . . an act that shows the world the true nature of America.'' He repeated that phrase, women of cover, calling ''such an outpouring of compassion . . . such a wonderful example.''
The cover is a veil that expresses Muslim piety. The hijab, meaning ''cover, curtain,'' can range from a floral kerchief that leaves the face exposed, to the niqab, abbaya or in Persian, chador, which covers the whole body except the face, to the burka, as worn in Afghanistan, which covers everything. ''To have good hijab'' is a general term meaning ''to be properly covered.'' Some Muslim women believe that the cover need not be worn outside the mosque. The linguistic question: in describing the wearers of the veil, is it women who cover, as the president first used it, or women of cover?
Sue Obeidi, at the Muslim Public Affairs Council, uses women who cover, women who wear the scarf and women who wear hijab. She is unfamiliar with women of cover, and I cannot find it on databases.
It's possible that the president coined the phrase; if so, it was on the analogy of women of color, a description adopted by many nonwhites. (Though colored people is dated and almost a slur, people of color is not in the least offensive.) The substitution of who with of in the cover category introduces a nice parallel to the woman of color phrase; we'll see if it takes.

The article ends with the phrase 'we'll see if it takes'.
Now, after more than ten years, what can a native speaker, living in the U.S., say about that expression 'women of cover'? Paraphrasing Mr Safire's words, did it take?
Google Search shows more than 18,000 hits for "women of cover", but for those who live outside of the U.S. that number says nothing at all but simply leads to this question.


texts: "A motion to adjourn is always in order." — Lazarus Long

texts:
Adjourn means To suspend until a later stated time.

But the statement

A motion **to suspend until a later stated time** is always in order.

does not makes sense.

What does it mean?.


texts:
How many diphthongs are there in English?

Does the word cute have a diphthong?


texts:
I am developing a database application where a user should be able to store multiple ways of contacting someone in a database table.

This database table can for e.g. contain:

phone numbers
mobile numbers
email addresses
twitter IDs
facebook IDs
whatsapp numbers

Now I am looking for a table name. The obvious choice would be contacts.
However, the term 'contacts' is used when referring to people and not ways of contacting this person.

I am looking for a single word to describe all ways of contacting a person.


texts: Is there a single word that means “hitting the target but missing the point”?

texts: For example the waiting time target in a hospital can be met if enough patients are killed off quickly so freeing up beds.  However hitting the waiting time target in that way is rather missing the point of healthcare!


texts: What's an idiom or a phrase that can be used to explain something's versatility?

texts: What's an idiom or a phrase that can be used to explain something's versatility ?


texts:
What is the origin of the phrase "I kid you not"?

And, on a related note, is the sentence,

  Can't I kid you?

or

  Can't I kid with you?

incorrect?


texts: Why do we say "[expletive] ALL" for "nothing"?

texts:
Damn all, Bugger all, Sod all etc., etc. What does all mean here? How did the expression originate? Was there a single original term (expletive or not) preceding all in this usage?

At the risk of overbroadening the question, does the underlying linguistic mechanism that gives rise to this expression generate others that are very similar? And are there close parallels in other languages?


texts:
Should I put a space after Mr./Mrs./Ms.?

In other words, should it be "Mr.Jones" or "Mr. Jones?"


texts: Parts of speech in sentence "Amber is a real person"

texts: Specifically I am wondering about the word "person" in the sentence, because at first thought I believed it was a common noun but it is qualifying a proper noun, so I am confused if it is a noun or a adjective. If it is a noun what kind of noun is it?


texts: Time indiscrete or Temporally indiscrete

texts:
Is the word combination temporally indiscrete or time indiscrete correct adjectives, when describing for instance a system which works on the basis of continuous time (and not discrete time)? I am searching about a name for a piece of software i am working on, and the name i came up with is

  Temporally Indiscrete Music Engraving System

which also will have the nice short form TIMES. So there is no full sentence as context, but it's just a part of a name.


texts: Is it ever correct to use "relate to with"?

texts:
The following is a sentence I used -

  Read these stories. See how many you can relate to with your own childhood

Somehow this relate to with was there in my subconscious mind, but now I feel it is not correct. Should I use relate to/with instead?


texts: Specifying a moment in the future when something will happen

texts:
Is one of these phrases correct:

  as soon as I earn enough money
  as soon as I have earned enough money
  as soon as I'll earn enough money
  as soon as I'll have earned enough money

or are all wrong?

I want to point to a moment in the future when I'll have some/enough money to purchase something.


texts: What preposition does "rate ... criteria" take?

texts:
I'm writing up specs for a website with learning materials for our alpha testers to comment on. Among others, I'm describing the rating system: the materials can be rated (...) several criteria (such as usefulness, quality), e.g. by giving 3 stars for usefulness and 5 for quality.

Is "according to" the only proper way to link "rate" and "criteria" in this case? Can we rate by quality? rate on quality? 'rate in quality'?

I would usually just say 'rate the quality', without a preposition or anything, but I can't really use that in a passive sentence about the materials, and I know that even if I change this specific sentence into an active one, I'll need the passive at some point as well...

(please note that I mean the act of rating (ie. giving stars or votes or whatever), not the act of sorting things by their ratings - which is I suspect why the 'by' and 'according to' options don't sound right to me)


texts: Would it be "Life was" or "Life were" in this Circumstance?

texts:
This may be a correct vs. more correct situation.

“If life was simple, we’d never grow.”

I wonder if this should be "were" or "was." "Were" is used for unreal conditionals, so when looking up “if life…” then “were” normally shows up. But I wonder if “was” would actually be correct here because life being simple is a possibility for some and not for others, so there’s duality to the meaning. It could be simple for some and complex for others.


texts: word/phrase request meaning the areas affected by making a particular change

texts:
In a company I used to work for, whenever we made changes in a design, no matter how small, we had to fill out a form that had a field titled effectivity which would outline which parts of the project were affected by those changes, so we could determine which tests would have to be repeated.

But I looked up effectivity in several online dictionaries (dictionary.com, oxforddictionaries.com, merriam-webster.com) and they all refer to effective with no additional connotations in line with how my former company was using it.

Is there a word or phrase meaning the areas affected by making a particular change?


texts: A single word meaning "success but not without hard work"?

texts: Looking for a very niche definition for a friend, she wants to find a single word that encapsulates the general meaning, "success, but not without hard work" for an article she is writing.


texts: Can I say "I tried to chip away at our meetings" if I mean to say "I try to meet with somebody more rarely so that we gradually stop meeting at all"?


texts: Why is anyone in a porn movie considered a porn star?

texts: Recently, the media made a big deal about Charlie Sheen dating a porn star. It seems that anyone who is in a porn movie is referred to as a porn star. The same is not true of anyone in a normal movie. Everyone in a normal movie isn't a movie star. Everyone in a rock band is certainly not a rock star. Why is it that porn actors are afforded such lofty descriptions?


texts: How would you interpret "Public file description entry line definition"

texts:
For context, this is an actual section heading from an actual IEC/IEEE standard. Within the context, I can understand what it is about. Hovewer, I'd like it as close as the original meaning as possible.

The following are things I'd like to know:

Does it have a single exact interpretation? What is it?
What is the algorithm for arriving at that interpretation?

The translation I am verifying seems to confuse "what of what" this and a few similar headings refer to, and I want to make sure if it does.


texts: I am reading the novel "Women in love" by D.Lawrence. In it there is coversation between sisters where one asks "But isn't it very risky?" and her sister replies laughingly "What is it all but words!" Can anyone describe what this last line means?


texts: Word/Phrase for becoming smarter through one's experiences

texts:
Is there a single word or phrase for becoming more learned/smarter/knowledgeable through one's experiences?

The particular sentence I want it for is:

  A child becomes ____ as it grows older and interacts with its surroundings.


texts:
I want to re-word the title of a list;

Most Expensive Patients

So it doesn't sound like there is a negative burdensome connotation with the word Expensive i.e. it's not their fault they have the highest costs associated with them. I have tried "Most Costliest Patients" but that too doesn't feel right, is there a word I can substitute for Expensive that is more neutral.


texts: The difference between "to" and "too" explained for German speakers

texts:
In German "to" and "too" translate into the same word "zu". It would therefore be great if somebody could clarify when to use which.

E.g. Is it "to dazzle" or "too dazzle"? "to dazzling" or "too dazzling"?


texts:
I have visa consultancy firm with a team who handle all inquiries on phone. They take requirements of the client, note down and also consult sometimes with the help of consultants.
What can we call a job position who handle inquiries? I thought of this 'Inquiry Handler' but I think it doesn't sound good for on-paper designation. Can you suggest something better?

Example sentence:

  The firm employs twenty {Inquiry Handlers} who take phone calls from clients, noting down their requirements and helping them (sometimes with the assistance of consultants).


texts: How to Cite a Supreme Court Syllabus in Chicago Style?

texts: I'm trying to cite the syllabus of a Supreme Court case in Chicago Style (Notes and Bib). Help?


texts:
Is there a term for a noun that is the "-er" form of a verb?

For example, one who races is the "racer", and the one who writes is the "writer", so "racer" and "writer" can both be classified as what kind of noun?


texts: Is the slang phrase "wicked good" still used in New England?

texts: Once popular with young adults in the Boston area, wicked good simply meant "very good". I haven't been to that region for a long time and never heard it elsewhere.  Is it still current slang?


texts:
Quite often I see derision about ideas by people who label them as 'too academic'. Often this appears to result from laziness or an unwillingness to stretch their thinking.

What's the logical fallacy where people dismiss what you say as irrelevant to the real-world?


texts: What is the correctly derived adjectival form, if any, of apothecary?

texts:
What is the proper adjectival form, if any, of apothecary?
My best guess is 'apothecal', although my resources have not found a definitive answer one way or the other.
For example:

Jordan opened the package he had brought from the apothecary.  It had a clear apothecal smell.


texts: Usage difference between modest vs decent?

texts:
The Dictionary definitions are below:

Modest = not excessively large, elaborate, or expensive.
Decent = appropriate; fitting

Please consider below sentences

He has a modest three bedroom house.
She is a very modest woman.

Can I replace the modest with decent in the above sentences? If not what is the difference between usage of decent and modest

He has a decent three bedroom house.
She is a very decent woman.

I have been observed there is some overlap between these two words. My question is how much overlap is there between these two? Are these are interchangeable always?


texts:
I was working on an English workbook.I spotted 2 sentences.
"Julia is wearing jeans and a T-shirt today"
"Meena has got a red coat on and she is carrying some flowers"
The questions here is this:Why the form"be + ing" is used instead of "verb"(Why not say wears jeans and carries flowers)
I am not a native English speaker.So I want to ask that how native speakers think about this.


texts: In which states (USA) can someone “live easily without speaking any English”?

texts:
Russian polyglot Dmitry Petrov said in this video:

  ...испанский язык наступает английскому языку на пятки. Мы знаем, что в США есть несколько штатов, где можно свободно жить, зная испанский.

Translation for this quote (thanks for @Enguroo for the correct translation):

  Spanish is "snapping at the heels of English". We know that in America there are a few states where one can live easily without speaking any English.

Which (USA) states is Petrov referring to?


texts: How do you insert a complete sentence quote into the middle of a sentence before a comma?

texts:
First off, I do not believe this question is a duplicate of this one:

What is the correct punctuation when quoting a question in the middle of a larger sentence?

I want to know how to insert a complete quote in the middle of a sentence where the quote must be immediately followed by a comma while also preserving the punctual tone (ie, whether or not it's imperitive, declarative, interrogatory, or exclamatory).  Here's an example:

  Before you walk into a room full of glum-looking people and ask, "Who died?", you should make sure there's not a casket present.

I think there are some who will argue that there is too much punctuation in my example.  I disagree, however.  There should always be consistency in any linguistic construct.  Arbitrarily eliminating crucial punctuation on the grounds that there's simply too much of it is a bad call.

That said, I chose to keep the question mark and add a comman after "Who died?".  If I say "Who died,", the interrogatory tone has to be assumed by the reader which is not guaranteed.  Preserving the question mark forces the tone of the sentence which gives the writer more control over how it is received by the reader.


texts: What word defines "slow moving and lingering?"

texts:
I've seen lambent used this way, but the definition doesn't quite match.  For example:

  She sensuously explored my chest/body with _____________ hands.

Where the word in the blank should mean "slow moving and lingering."

The use of lambent I saw was in Dragonriders of PERN when

  they watched the lambent sun ...

In that case it included the 'glistening/glowing' aspect as well as the slow setting/moving star applied.


texts: Use original American spelling in a document with British spelling?

texts:
It's the World Trade Organization (and not the World Trade Organisation).

So in a document that otherwise uses British spelling (and hence organisation rather than organization), should I stick to spelling in full the WTO in its original American spelling? Or should I changed the z to an s?


texts: Should "heavy-duty" always be hyphenated when used as an adjective?

texts: An example term: super heavy-duty construction


texts:
I texted my mother and told her that I was eating in a restaurant.

My mother asked:

What restaurant are you in?

Or

In what restaurant are you?

(I'm inside the restaurant and I'm eating something.)

Are these sentences correct in informal English?

If it's not , what would a native speaker suggest?

Thank you.


texts: Origin/meaning of phrase “a martini for the rent”

texts: I just finished reading Cornell Woolrich’s Rendezvous in Black (1948) and 2x in the book he has a character say he’s having “a martini for the rent”. I didn’t note the page numbers unfortunately so I can’t produce the exact context but I believe they were drinks ordered in a bar. I’m not finding any other uses of the phrase and I can’t guess at the meaning...except maybe because gin was once a very cheap, lower-class alcohol (though certainly not but the time of publication of this book)? Maybe it was a cute way of ordering a dry martini because vermouth is the pricier ingredient? Anyone have any ideas?