texts: An adjective for a Container that can be ordered in "Empty" state

texts:
I have 2 types of containers, and I am looking for one (or ideally a pair of) adjective(s) that signify their differences; Here are their descriptions:

The first type can be ordered as an empty container; Later, you fill it gradually and when filled, you may consume its contents.
the second type, could not be ordered in empty state; you get it when it contains some material. later on, you may consume all of its contents, or even add extra contents to it.

They differ in the ways that you could order them, after you get them, they are basically the same.

At first, I came up with Decantable and UnDecantable adjective, but they are not very descriptive for the desired concept. Have you any idea? Thanks in advance.


texts: Shakespearean relative clause: "I have a brother is condemned to die"

texts:
In Measure for Measure 2.2.785, Shakespeare wrote the following sentence:

  I have a brother is condemned to die.

I am wondering why he omitted the relative pronoun and left the helping verb. Isn't it correct to say?

  I have a brother condemned to die.


texts:
In the following sentence what word does the participle phrase "leaving it damp, wrinkled and only a little less discolored." attach to. Is its use correct? Is there a special category of participles that "leaving," which carries with it a sense of completion, is a member of?

Taking his shirt out of the plastic bag, he shook the garment a couple of times, ran water over the bloodied neck and dried it under the hand drier, leaving it damp, wrinkled and only a little less discolored.


texts: What should you call your siblings who are each others' twins?

texts:
If you had a twin of the opposite sex, you would say "X is my twin [brother/sister]". It's understood that you are one of the two twins.

But if you had two siblings who were twins of each other, and you are not one of the twins, how would you refer to them in a way that emphasizes they have a twin, and they are your sibling, but without implying you are one of the twins?


texts:
What is the difference between "splitting something" and "dividing something"?

When do people say split and when do they say divide?


texts:
Please advise me on this -                                                             Imagine, A and B are two friends.

A says to B : "You go to Sam's room and see if Sam's sleeping."
B : "Okay"
B leaves and find that Sam's room is closed. 5 minutes later B returns and tells A about Sam room.
A: Did you go there ?
B: Yes I went there and I found that Sam's room is closed.

Is 'is' possible in the above sentence given the fact that B knows that Sam's room is still closed at the time of speaking to A.?
P.S. If the sentence were like -

He found that he lives in England.
He found that the sky is blue.

In these examples I'm aware that the present tense can be used because its a permanent action. (Living in England is permanent and the sky is and always be blue)
But in the sentence "I found that Sam's room is closed."
Here Sam's room will not be always closed, probably it will be opened after few hours, few days. So its a temporary action. So by this logic "is" seems incorrect.
But at the time of speaking to A, Sam's room is still closed and B knows it for a fact. And by this logic "is" seems correct.
I'm lost. What would be your advice on it?
Thank You in advance.


texts: Can someone provide a synonym for the term "pan-handle erf".  It appears in a legal document from Pretoria, South Africa.  Thanks!


texts: Is there a word to describe "Water seeps through paper cup"

texts:
As per title, is there a single regular word for that?

For instance, you are in a restaurant with a cup of coffee served in a paper cup (let's pretend this restaurant serves coffee in paper cup). After some time, you noticed the coffee stain on the bottom of the cup and the coffee seeps through. You want to approach the waiter to change the paper cup. Other than telling the waiter "the coffee seeps through the paper cup", is there a single regular word to describe that?

Thanks


texts: Modal verb “will” to describe a present situation

texts:
I heard a phone conversation between a person wishing to buy theater tickets and a sales agent like the following:

  “I want to buy two tickets for tonight’s show.”
  “Certainly. I’ll need your credit card information.”

I believe just to say “I need your credit card information” makes perfect sense. What are the purposes/effects of using the modal verb “will” here?

Another scenario: let’s suppose the theatergoer asked the agent something for which the agent has no ready answer. In such a case, I know one would say something like:

“I’ll have to get back to you on that one.”
Again, I believe the sentence is grammatically just fine without the “will." So, why do many people add the “will”?

I am interested in the nuances the use of “will” produces in the both cases.


texts:
Are the numbers in the title written correctly? I always thought it was one thousand and not a thousand or one hundred one instead of one hundred and one. So which is correct?

One thousand or A thousand
One hundred one or One hundred and one


texts:
I am always confused about using articles. I have three sentences.

Depth of friendship doesn't depend on length of acquaintance.
A passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young.
Friendship is love with understanding.

1). Which one is right, depth, or the depth? (length or the length).
2). Passion and secret have articles but not pleasure. Is there any rule for using articles in this sentence?
3) Why doesn't friendship  have an article?


texts:
I like the word fiddle, and I quite like the musical instrument too.

If you're fiddling with a device, it means you're trying to repair it. It might be tricky because of all the tiny bits and pieces involved, and it will probably require time, patience and a little luck before the object is in perfect working order.

Mothers who see their children making nervous, time-wasting movements will tell them to “stop fiddling” with their hair, pens, or nowadays, mobiles.

Then there's fiddlesticks, a minced oath if ever there was one, perfect for when you find yourself in polite or unfamiliar company. A fiddlestick on the other hand, is only another name for a violin bow.

1. But when did “fiddling taxes/expenses” mean to cheat or swindle?

From India Today

  but the fact remains that given the peculiar structure of the tax
  system it is virtually impossible to keep one's head above water, let
  alone swim, without a considerable amount of fiddling on the side.

From the British Guardian

  When an MP or someone in a position of authority is found fiddling
  their expenses there is usually a public outcry and calls for
  resignation. But according to a new survey, dodgy claims are a part of
  every day working life in the UK.

  Most of those who admitted to a bit of fiddling here and there said it was a bit like an unofficial perk, while many saw it as a convenient way of boosting their salary.

and again from the Guardian

  My brother-in-law is a really good bloke—at least, I thought he was
  until he boasted that he's fiddling his income tax. He's really
  generous when it comes to Christmas and birthdays, but then he can
  afford to be. Now I'm wondering if I'm the mug. Should I copy him or
  shop him?

There is also the noun: tax fiddle

2. Is ‘fiddling the taxes/the books’ related to playing the musical instrument, fixing an object or with fidgeting?

3. Do Americans fiddle their taxes? What's the American English slang for not paying taxes?


texts: Can "ginger" be used as an adjective with the same sense as "gingerly"?

texts:
I have two versions of a sentence in mind:

She found the water by the bed and took a sip, gingerly.
She found the water by the bed and took a ginger sip.

The first would be correct in sense, but not (to me) a terribly interesting sentence in construction. The second sounds (to me) better, but the etymology doesn't seem to support it. "Gingerly" seems to have an origin unrelated to that of "ginger," and I cannot find examples of the word "ginger" used in this way. That said, maybe I just don't know where to look.

So I am interested to know: Would this usage make sense to readers? Are there perhaps examples of this usage that I've missed? Or would it be coloring outside the lines, so to speak?

Many thanks.


texts:
Is there English term for fast food restaurant that have only small area for food preparation and counter (facing street) at which people order food and eat?

Here is a photo from Bladerunner that is an example of what I am referring to.

I found out later that in Blade runner screenplay they refer to this area as Noodle bar.


texts: Can I use indefinite article with superlative adjectives?

texts: In most russian grammar books there is a rule saying that definite article must be used with superlative adjectives. However from time to time I see people using indefinite article. For example, a title of the film "A Most Wanted Man". Can somebody explain this?


texts: Is "hard to read at spots" appropriate in formal writing?

texts:
I have seen people using the expression "hard to read at spots" for stating that some parts of a text are unclear, or that some reading conditions are negatively affecting the understanding of the text. However, I couldn't find more information about it on my search for the expression, excepting that "at spots" may also be used alone to represent "in some places", which suggests "at spots" is the real expression that I'm questioning here.

Regardless, I am only concerned about the formality of stating that "____ is hard to read at spots". Could it be used in formal writing, such as in academia? Or should I say "in spots" or "in places" instead?


texts: My impression is "It's raining cats and dogs" is old-fashioned. Is that right? If I used it, would people think I'm 70 years old, or something like that?


texts: Better to avoid phrases causing double sounds?

texts:
I recently became aware of cases where a part of a saying occurs as the subject as well. While I initially thought they are funny, I now think it rather creates confusion/distraction of what you're trying to convey.

Examples:

Things are working out great at work.
We are working it out together at work.

I had other examples using other sayings, but I can't remember them at the moment.

Does this similar sounding and perhaps the avoiding of such combinations have a definition/name?


texts: Meaning of the phrase "Four pounds if he's an ounce"

texts:
In The Thirty-Nine Steps, Sir Walter is describing a fish and says "Look at that big fellow. Four pounds if he's an ounce." I've heard similar phrases before but never understood what is being said beyond the emphasis of size.

I've struggled to parse this sentence and I am tempted to believe that it's a contraction of an older phrase. Any clues to the origin as well as the meaning would be much appreciated.


texts: What is the equivalent of sub-/supersonic for the speed of light?

texts: We have subsonic and supersonic for speeds below or above the speed of sound. What is the equivalent for the speed of light?


texts: Why did the descriptive "Orientals" shift into a pejorative?

texts: It seems as if a shift occurred and the descriptive "Oriental" was replaced by "Asian" as the accepted term in polite society — what caused this shift?


texts:
For an American, I'm pretty good at UK dialects. I can immediately tell an Irish or Scottish accent from a typical (educated, Londoner) English accent. But I'm on shaky ground with Welsh accents, which I hear are also distinctive.

What phonological characteristics are distinctives of a Welsh accent?
Are there any good recordings I can listen to in order to hear the difference between Welsh and English accents?

Edit: To clarify, I'm not asking about the Welsh language, but about the English language as pronounced by people from Wales.


texts: Would it be correct English to omit the "t" when pronouncing words that end with "cts" like "acts of parliament"?

texts:
Some native speakers seem to omit the "t" in words that end with "cts" and others don't. Is one way more correct than the other or is there any connotation to be observed? I can see no way to look this up in a dictionary.
To my mind other existing threads don't cover this question completely.


texts: "Seeing the rain come on, we took shelter" — complex or simple sentence?

texts:
Seeing the rain come on, we took shelter.

This sentence looks like a complex sentence with a main and an independent clause. But the book says it is a simple sentence. Which is correct?


texts: Can you put past participle adjectives in plural form?

texts:
My teacher said the word 'grownup' can become 'grownups' but if it's written as two separate words 'grown up' with no hyphen it changes into 'growns up'.

It doesn't sound right to me and I tried to google it but couldn't find anything useful.


texts: What does rare device refer to in the line 'It was a miracle of rare device' of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, Kubla Khan?


texts: Is “Stand-Your-Ground law” an official legal term? What is meant by “stand-in-your-ground”?

texts:
Regarding the Trayvon Martin case that took place in Sanford, Florida, which became a worldwide topic, AP News (March 26) quoted Ben Jealous, head of the NAACP in “Meet the Press” saying;

“Florida’s Stand-Your-Ground law does not apply in this case. The Sanford Police Department misconstrued the Stand-Your-Ground law.”

jargondatabase.com defines Stand-Your-Ground law as;

  A law which places no obligation on a potential victim of crime to retreat and call police. The potential victim is instead allowed to respond to force with force even if flight is a possibility.

Considering tongue-biting scrupulousness of legal terms in general, “Stand-Your-Ground” law sounds very colloquial to me as though a nickname to something.

Is it an orthodox or acknowledged legal term? If not, what is the orthodox nomenclature used in court?

How different is it from "self-defense"? What is meant by the word, “Stand-Your-Ground”, and what is the origin of this word?

Addendum: I found the following statement in the NYT article titled ‘Fugitive Slave Mentality’ (March, 27)

Before he temporarily stepped down from his position last week as chief of the Sanford, Fla., police department, Bill Lee Jr., gave an explanation of his decision not to arrest George Zimmerman for killing Trayvon Martin. Lee said he had no reason to doubt Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense.

This tempts me to think “Stand-your ground” analogous to self-defense.


texts: Is Latin "porrige" connected to middle ages "porridge"?

texts: Is Latin word "porrige", to stretch, connected in any way to "porridge", the cereal made by stretching oats/ grain by adding water?


texts: Is it correct to ask " What degrees is it outside?"

texts: My friend keeps saying that asking "What degrees is it outside?" is not correct, is she right?


texts: What's the difference between colloquial and oral English?

texts: What is the difference between colloquial an oral in the phrases, colloquial English and oral English?


texts: Is there any difference between "in a week " and "next week"?

texts:
Let's meet in a week.
Let's meet next week

Does sentences above have a same meaning ?


texts: Why is it "take something with you" and not "take something with yourself"?

texts:
Why are reflexive pronouns not used in the following examples? The sentences numbered 1 are what people say, but the sentences numbered 2 are what I understand should be be used, as the subjects of the sentences are doing some actions on themselves. Examples from the Oxford dictionary:

I forgot to take my bag with me when I got off the bus.

I forgot to take my bag with myself when I got off the bus.

and

Please don't forget to take your passport with you.

Please don't forget to take your passport with yourself.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  "Are there any <plural noun>" vs. "is there any <singular noun>"

My question is on whether you should use nice cards or a nice card. All these sentences are written on the assumption that he sends one card to each of his friends at each event. (It is quite normal, isn’t it?) They say it should be cards, with [1] and [2].

He always sends me nice cards.
He always sends me nice cards at Christmas.
He always sends each of his friends a nice card/ nice cards.
He always sends each of his friends a nice card at Christmas.

Do the last two sentences still have to use cards?


texts:
I was thinking about if there is a word like "waker" and what meanings it has, or how would people feel about it if they heard it.

Can we call the person who wakes others up a waker?

And if I call a person an early waker or an every day waker, can it also mean that he is a person who wakes up (himself) early/every day? Like if he is using some alarm clock app every day for waking up, can we call him a daily waker?

Do you think the word has both meanings, the word does not exist or the word has only the first meaning?

Thanks :)


texts: This may sound silly, but I keep hearing people saying "thuh" instead of "thee" for "the" in front of adjectives or nouns starting with a vowel or a diphthong. Like, "thuh' old people, "thuh" other side. I speak the Queen's English (but am not a native speaker). I first noticed this watching the well-known English journalist and historian Andrew Marr on the BBC talking like this. He did this so frequently, almost consistently, that it started bothering me. I don't mind if people start talking like this, I just want to know if this is a new trend. I wrote to the Beeb about this, and they recited basic grammar rules about the pronunciation of "the" in reply, as if I was retarded. Whether you're British English or American, can you help me out? Do you yourself sometimes - or frequently - say "thuh" other side, "thuh" old stuff? (Please don't send me grammar rules. I am a retired English teacher.)


texts: What do you call a person who refuses to do something/certain things?

texts:
You can't call someone a "refuser"... right? So what do you call someone who repeatedly refuses to do something, or certain things, that s/he is asked or required to do?

Note: It's not just that s/he expresses his/her objection, or avoids doing whatever it is s/he's requested to do - s/he outright refuses.


texts: Rhetorical term for the opposite of apophasis/paralipsis?

texts:
There are several rhetorical terms describing cases where someone calls attention to something under the pretense of not talking about it or claiming that it shouldn't be talked about, thereby indirectly calling attention to it): apophasis, paralipsis, preterition (amongst others).

Oftentimes, apophasis or paralipsis operates by implying that the audience already knows about the information that the speaker is "refusing" to bring up or, if they don't know about it, that it's because the information isn't important or relevant to the discussion at hand - thereby playing on irony in that the information indirectly mentioned is actually directly relevant to what the speaker wants the audience to consider.

What would be a rhetorical device for the reverse? When someone directly calls attention to something by reporting information that doesn't pertain to the issue at hand, under the pretense that they are best able to provide that information because the audience truly does not have access to it?

An example, from U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy's 1950 "Enemies from Within" speech:

  I have here in my hand a list of 205 ... a list of names that were
  made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist
  Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the
  State Department.

While McCarthy's claim of having exclusive knowledge about known Communists within the State Department was false (or at least misleading, depending on the account), he was able to use that information to pivot a speech meant to commemorate the 141st birthday of Abraham Lincoln into a proclamation that the U.S. government had been infiltrated by Communists, thus setting off the Red Scare.

It might be too easy to resolve that this is simply a case of lying or "bullshit". The information may be false, but the strategy I'm looking to identify extends to the purpose behind using the information.

Unlike apophasis, where a speaker can intentionally draw attention to something by claiming the pretense of "not talking about it", the case here shows how a speaker can report dubious information that hasn't been "talked about" prior to the speaker bringing it up. However, since the source is implied as being reliable (but inaccessible to the audience at that moment), the speaker is then able to build the rest of their argument on the presupposition that they are basing it on legitimate claims.


texts: What "the ceiling was too high to make out," means

texts:
I was reading Harry Potter and the Philopher Stone when I came across this sentence
"the ceiling was too high to make out,"
What does "make out" stood for in this context? (In this part of the book, the physical structures of Hogwarts were being described)


texts: When writing out large numbers in words, should commas be placed at thousand separators?

texts:
Would a number, say,

  5,629,296

be written with commas:

  Five million, six hundred twenty nine thousand, two hundred ninety six

or without commas:

  Five million six hundred twenty nine thousand two hundred ninety six


texts: I am looking for a word to reflect what a novice author would use to describe his own writing (somewhat derogatorily). My first thought was drivel.


texts: Is it grammatical to introduce a result clause using “then”?

texts:
Is it grammatical to introduce a result clause by using then as in these examples:

Don’t be lazy – then you will fail.
Don’t kill him – then you will regret it.

If so, then is the then in these examples a conjunction?

I’ve not found any resources that mention this – they usually say that result clauses are usually introduced by conjunctions such as so or so that which in the above examples would read:

Don’t be lazy so that you then fail.
Don’t kill him so you regret it.


texts: Was I correct to use the word "establish" in my tweet? Should I have included adverbial "as"?

texts:
English is not my native language, but I'm a willing pupil and in most cases I'm pretty confident in my knowledge, but sometimes I hesitate to use particular words. I wrote this tweet recently:

  I amused. Person who cannot cope with "Cannot modify header information" error should not establish himself a web-developer.

I'm not sure if I made the sentence clear. Shouldn't I have used "establish as web-developer," or should I have not used the word "establish"?


texts: My -ing (possessive form + -ing) vs. me ing (object form + -ing)

texts:
(a) We filter out information that the brain deprioritizes without our knowing it.
(b)We filter out information that the brain deprioritizes without us knowing it.

I came across the sentence (a) above, modified for clarification.
I wonder it is possible to use "us," as in sentence (b), instead of "our," as in (a).
If possible, is there any semantic difference between these two sentences?
Could [my(her, their, etc.) + -ing form] and [me (her, them, etc.) + -ing form] in a sentence always be used interchangeably with little or no difference in meaning?
Grammatically, is the phrase "our knowing it" in sentence (a) considered a present participle or gerund?
I know both of the following sentences are just fine, with (c) a more formal tone.
(c) Do you mind my smoking?
(d) Do you mind me smoking?
Generally, however, I have no idea what exactly is semantically different between "my + -ing form" and "me + -ing form," nor the underlying grammatical logic.
Thanks in advance.


texts: All my friends in one place (verbless clause?)

texts:
This clip of the movie 'Goosebumps' starts with the character Slappy saying this:

  All my friends in one place. I've never been so happy. I don't want this day to end. And it doesn't have to, as long as we get rid of Stine.

First, I'd like to know if "All my friends in one place" should be treated as a subordinate clause or not. If it should, then the transcript must be:

  All my friends in one place, I've never been so happy. I don't want this day to end. And it doesn't have to, as long as we get rid of Stine.

Which of the two is correct?

If (1) is correct, then can a verbless clause be an independent clause?

According to this earlier question and answers, all the examples of verbless clauses are subordinate clauses, and verbless clauses are said to be limited to subordinate clauses.

I have also looked at CGEL (The Cambridge Grammar by Huddleston and Pullum), and all instances of 'verbless clause' there are limited to subordinate clauses, as well.

Is Slappy's sentence a legitimate verbless clause even in the form of (1)?


texts: How to describe 'Mutual Benefits' in academic terms in the following?

texts:
I am writing a proposal for a joint collaboration with a University in Singapore. I aim to use their facilities to gain hands-on experience.
In the following, the excerpt from my proposal is presented. First thing is, how should I coin the term 'mutual benefit' that it looks academically sound and also gives the impression that there is an actual gain for them as well in this?

Note that I actually mean every word I have written in the following and do not just want to get into their research facility.

  Mutual Benefits: It is expected that this project will contribute
  towards adding new functionalities to the XYZ testbed, while giving
  us the opportunity to practically investigate the discovery mechanism
  for mobile vehicles. The results obtained through this project will be
  published in good quality peer-reviewed journals or conferences.
  Depending on the quality of the results, future collaboration and
  funding options will also be explored.


texts: Why does adding "that" to this sentence change "defend" to "defends"?

texts:
Can someone tell me the difference between the two? It's been so long since I've had to do this. Here are the two sentences:

Seeing Indonesia defend better than Argentina makes my day.
Seeing that Indonesia defends better than Argentina makes my day.


texts: What is the correct plural of "training"?

texts:
English isn't my mother tongue, and when we recently talked to a native speaker (during some company audit), he pointed out that the plural word "trainings" is actually wrong (he pointed that it is a very common mistake and was almost amused by it).

I couldn't understand why and wondered what the correct plural of "training" would be. Online Dictionaries/Thesaurus don't answer it, so it's probably another opinion-based statement. I haven't found a source to back it up, though.


texts:
I'm trying to think if there's a word for a failure to keep up-to-date. For example, the British NHS's recent well-documented failure to maintain Windows XP, or a professional's failure to maintain Continuing Professional Development.

E.g.

"I'm not sure that your [delinquency] is our problem."

'Delinquency' may in fact be the best word, but I had in my mind something more akin to reprobation - I just can't quite put my finger on it, if indeed there is an 'it' to begin with.

Any thoughts?


texts:
Which is the correct way of writing?

He bought 50 shares with the nominal value of ... (sum of money)
He bought 50 shares of the nominal value of ...
He bought 50 shares for the nominal value of ...
He bought 50 shares having a nominal value of ...


texts:
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?

This is an excerpt from the song "Will the circle be unbroken?". I have looked into the Oxford, Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries and it seems that the phrase "by and by" has two meanings: shortly and eventually. I have also examined translations of the song in different languages and, interestingly, the phrase is translated either way. So my question is how should I interpret it (in the song)?

Actually, the problem is more general. This is not the first time, when I encounter the 'double meaning" problem. Of course usually there is a context that helps to unravel the mystery, but sometimes it is not enough. My second question is how native speakers deal with this problem? You choose one meaning intuitively, carefully study the context or leave the phrase ambiguous?
May be it is slightly off-top here and I should ask about this separately?


texts: What's the difference between "regime" and "regimen"?

texts: What's the difference between regime and regimen?


texts:
Is this correct that a bottle of wine means the same as a wine bottle?

For example:

1) I found a bottle of wine
2) I found a wine bottle

This question is about "Noun Chains" or "Compound Nouns (n+n)" or Stone Wall construction.
I wonder what natives (my mother language is russian) FEEL about these two sentences without additional words (like empty) .


texts: Syntax for marking incorrect examples of language

texts:
I have noticed various marks in example sentences to denote incorrect examples of English:

  This is correct.

  *This incorrectly.

The former is left alone; the latter has an asterisk marking the sentence as a bad example ‐ something to avoid and not repeat.

Is this notation widely adopted? Are there other marks with similar purposes? I have also seen the following denoting a questionable case:

  ? This would have been maybe debated.

I am interested in the proper usage and formatting of these marks. How should they be spaced? Should they be placed before or after the sentence? If a particular word is in question, should that word get the mark or the entire sentence?


texts: Alternatives for "things" (especially where the subject is non-tangible)

texts:
E.g.

  "The value of many things in life are based on how much we desire them, rather than their usefulness. "

If 'things' was say something physical like gold bars I might use the word objects/items. Are there any others?

But what about if it is something non-tangible? E.g. grades (in the sense they aren't quite a physical object)/respect/love?

What are words I could use in place of things in this case?

Upon reading the answers below I believe there is no word that suits the objective above and I will have to break "things" down into what type of non-tangible thing it is as per e.g. this list


texts: Can you say "harassments", or is it always non-plural: harassment?

texts:
The word "harassments" is claimed to be a typo in all my "spellchecking" dictionaries. Or maybe they all use the same "engine".
Either way, I've long been frustrated by this, as it wants to "correct" it to "harassment". It makes me wonder if "harassments" really is wrong, even though I believe I've successfully looked it up on some dictionary as existing.


texts: “The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything”

texts:
Yes, this is the original quote from Albert Einstein.

I tend to put it this way:

  The world is dangerous not because of those who do harm but because of
  those who look at it without doing anything.

which seems to have a more balanced structure. However, I do observe the original quote conforms to common English usage (i.e. commonly used in newspapers, books, etc.).

I feel inclined to follow the language convention rather than make it subject to my own judgement.

Any suggestions?


texts: "it" in the sentence "on Thursday after the event's organizers it announced,,,,"

texts:
Can anyone explain "it" after "organisers" in the sentence

on Thursday after the event's organisers it announced that it would be held virtually ...".

This is [from an] on-line article of Herald-Dispatch.com
In the same sentence by another Publisher "it" was used (I do not remember the Author or Publisher.) while "it" was not used in the same sentence in many other articles.
To me "it" should not be used after "organizers" .  It just does not make sense to me. However I often see this kind of "it".


texts: What's the etymological connection between substance and understand?

texts:
Does the word SUBSTANCE come from the word UNDERSTAND? Or vice versa

Sub (under) stand (stance)

If so, what is the etymological relationship/history?

If not, is it a coincidence?


texts: As "coming out of the closet" has become ubiquitous in recent years, what would the plural be? Would it follow the rule of "goings-on" or be a hyphenated "coming-outs" or something else entirely?


texts: some help with an excerpt from my reading material

texts:
I am reading a book for my church group, and in the book Jesus is saying to St. Faustina the following:

"During this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of me in virtue of my passion."

When this sentence is taken literally, is it equivalent to:

"During this hour, I will grant everything to the soul that makes a request of me in virtue of my passion"?

PS: I am not asking for any theological interpretation, I am just asking for the literal interpretation. Simple "yes" or "no" would be sufficient for an answer.

Thank you,


texts: Another phrase for "To give the devil his due."

texts:
Please give me another phrase for "To give the devil his due."

This is for an article where I am talking about the aviation ministry laying embargoes but also taking xyz good steps.

I really don't want to be calling the ministry the devil, so another turn of phrase would help.

Thanks


texts: What do we call the relationship between something (the design) and another thing (the reference)

texts:
Sorry for the poorly written title, cannot think of how to write it better. I am looking for a word or phrase that roughly means "metaphorical environment". I'll explain:

The email system and protocols are designed based on the traditional snail mail system. For example the inbox works like a letter box where incoming mails reside. Then you may retrieve the mail from the letter box and sort them into folders at home, which you can similarly do on the email system. When you write a physical letter, you need to post it out, to somewhere, and we have the outbox for the same in an email system.

I want to express that the email system borrows ideas from traditional mail and is a "metaphorical environment", so if we think about the traditional mail system, we can better understand how email system works.

How can I express this in a proper sentence? Can I just say, "the email system is a metaphor of the traditional mail system"?


texts: What's a useful replacement idiom for "money shot?"

texts:
I'm afraid I have been somewhat innocently causing offense by using the term "money shot" in its general, non-pornographic sense.  My coworkers either have dirty minds or lack awareness of the other context.
Seems I'm not the first to make this gaffe.
Regardless of the speculation on the term's origin being pornographic or not, I'd like to sidestep the sniggers and raised eyebrows.  Is there a different, equivalent idiom or word I can replace it with?
The closest I could come up with is "there's the rub"... which isn't exactly equivalent (and isn't passing muster with the juvenile minds either :)


texts: Punctuation before "even" at the end of items in a series

texts:
What form of punctuation should precede even when it replaces and in a series?

  People brought a strange variety of foods to the potluck. The dishes included green bean cookies, grasshopper tacos, durian pudding ( , ) ( — ) ( ; ) even emu casserole.

(Sorry if the example sentence is a bit lackluster; I made it up on the fly.)

Which punctuation is suitable before even: a comma, an "em" dash, a semicolon?


texts: How to break sentence into chunks (during reading of sentence)?

texts:
I have confusion that how to divide sentence into chunks so that I can use slight pause between each chunk while reading?

For example: The capacity of methodical exercise (short pause) to lower spending on medications (short pause) is unquestionable.Take diabetes victims as an illustration: The more time they spend on outdoor actions,(short pause) the less amount they pay out (short pause)on medications and other treatments.

Please see above example in which "short pause" is used where new chunk began within the sentence.I know that there should be "short pause" and "long pause" when there is comma and full stop respectively. But don't know how to divide sentence into chunks so that "short pause" I use.


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

texts:
The justiciarship originated in the king’s need for a responsible subordinate who could take a wide view of the affairs of the kingdom, act as regent when the king was abroad, and on other occasions take charge of those matters with which the king had no time to deal.
  — Encyclopedia Britannica

Does the word occasions in the above sentence mean "circumstances, occurrences, or states of affairs that provide ground or reason for something" or "special events or ceremonies"?


texts:
everyone! Could you please help me to choose between these two variants?

"He said he had been working in this laboratory (lab) since he graduated."
"He said he had been working in this laboratory (lab) since he had graduated."


texts: "Cook at 200 degrees" or "cook in 200 degrees" or something else?

texts: When talking about cooking in an oven, should I say "Cook at 200 degrees" or "cook in 200 degrees" or "cook on 200 degrees" or something else?


texts: "Book something on a date" or "book for a date"

texts:
Do I use on or for with a single date?

I would like to book annual leave on 08/08/2021
I would like to book annual leave for 08/08/2021


texts: Seller and Purchaser each represents? Or Seller and Purchaser each represent?

texts:
Here is the pertinent part of the sentence:

"Seller and Purchaser each warrants and represents that it has not engaged the services of any agent, finder or broker in connection with the transaction which is the subject of this Agreement...."

While it is true that "each" is always singular, the question is whether the word "each" can render the plural "Seller and Purchaser" singular by its inclusion in the sentence.

I believe the answer is no, based on the fact that if you replace "Seller and Purchaser" with the pronoun "they," the sentence makes no sense:

"They each warrants and represents...."

But you can't simply remove the word "each" because then the sentence would imply that Seller and Purchaser warrant and represent on each other's behalf, which is clearly not the intent of the sentence either. So the answer, in my mind, is to break up the sentence into 2 separate sentences:

"Purchaser warrants and represents....Seller warrants and represents...."

Any other thoughts or suggestions?


texts: How to say "I must nothing" on a t-shirt

texts:
My son has a t-shirt that says, in Polish, "Nic nie muszę". It translates literally as "Nothing (I do) not must", meaning something like I do not have to do anything.

How would you express this in English (for a t-shirt, not as an official prime minister's statement)?

If British and American English differ here, please state.


texts: I read a statement similar to this: "As a research-intensive lab, interns are required..." I thought that the noun that follows the comma is to be modified by the object of 'as', which isn't the case in the example. Is the example or my thinking correct?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
Are there any simple rules for article usage (“a” vs “the” vs none)

Can someone explain the difference between 'the messenger' and 'a messenger'? Please don't just explain that one is a definite and another is an indefinite article. I have seen people using both where differentiating one from the other seems difficult to understand. For example:

I am just the messenger.
I am just a messenger.


texts: Is there a difference between "entrée" and "entry"?

texts:
From a recent op-ed in the Washington Post (emphasis mine):

  But immigration gives Trump entrée to African Americans with an issue that will resonate with many and at least give him a hearing.

I looked up "entrée" in the dictionary, and as the context and definition indicated, the meaning is extremely similar to "entry" at the least.  However, I am a native speaker who has never seen "entrée" used outside of the context of eating.

Can "entry" and "entrée" be used totally interchangeably, or does one or the other have connotation or a slightly different meaning or usage?


texts: Is there a less religious alternative to "the creation" when referring to everything that's alive?

texts: Is there an alternative to "the creation" (when referring to everything that is alive) that is less "religious"?  After all, having a creation implies there is also a creator.


texts: Addressing a senior female in formal mail

texts: How should I address a female who is senior to me (in both age and rank) in an official letter?


texts: Is there a word similar to budget that concerns time and not money?

texts:
From dictionary.com, a definition of budget is an "itemized allotment of funds, time, etc., for a given period." Is there a word or phrase similar to budget that refers only to allotments of time, but not money?

edit:
I'm looking for an noun that could be used in a declarative sentence like, "my budget for a new phone is $300," but for time. Another example might be "I have allocated Saturday afternoon for that task." Although allocate is a verb that can't be used as a noun like budget, but it's in line with the idea I'm trying to communicate; that a certain period of time, just like an amount of money, has been allocated for a given purpose.


texts: Is there a term for a meaning that is wrong or different but about to be accepted by the majority?

texts:
It's about the Speedpaint thing. For example a speedpaint video that shows a sped up progress of a drawing using Photoshop. I've got into discussions with people claiming speedpaint is a wrong term for recorded digital drawings that are sped up, so instead they call it a time-lapse video.

Speedpaint normally is used for a drawing technique that is drawn in real time but quickly executed within a determined time.

But a lot of digital artists use this term for semantic and pandering reasons in time-lapse videos like on YouTube for tags etc. And it's in the process of being accepted by the majority or at least by the target audience who is familiar with digital art since it's becoming a common term even if it's originally different/wrong.

And with wrong I mean that when a term has a new meaning due to new technology/trend/culture etc and therefore the old meaning becomes irrelevant.

I was explaining this in some discussions but I couldn't express myself enough without knowing the term. Any help?

Sorry for my bad English, feel free to edit my question.


texts: Word for "Fear of not living up to one's potential"

texts: There are lot of different phobias out there, but I'm unable to find the one that relates to a "fear of not living up to ones potential".


texts:
I wanted to clarify whether comma usage was mandated, optional, or not allowed in cases where the phrase at the beginning could be moved later into the sentence. I realize this is not the best description so let me give two examples:

The next day [?] I went to the beach.   (I went to the beach the next day.)

Together [?] we drank juice.  (We drank juice together.)

In both cases, the section on the left can be moved into the sentence where a comma would definitely not be needed (and sound awkward).

My feeling is that for the sentences on the left, in both cases a comma is optional, but not necessary. Is this correct? If the first sentence was "The very next day", would it change things? I've heard for some phrases if the length is above three words then a comma is recommended.

EDIT: While someone has indicated this a possible duplicate, I feel the referenced article does not clearly answer my questions here. You can see from the comments in this post the answer is not trivial.


texts: Can 'such as' be used in introducing people

texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct: Enlightenment theorists such as Rousseau, Hobbes and Locke . . . I am confused regarding the use of such as. Can it be used for people in academic essays?

Regards,


texts: A man with a wife is a husband, a man with a concubine is what?

texts: As concubines are rare these days (and bastardry ignored), I a wondering if there is symmetry in names of male roles in relationships involving concubines or mistresses as there is with wives, or if it is like the classic Miss/Mrs. vs. Mr.


texts: Difference between the words "betrayal" and "treachery"

texts:
I kindly ask you to help me to understand the difference between the words "betrayal" and "treachery".
I heard these words while watching the Lord of the Rings in English.
There are two scenes:
1)
"There is no curse in Elvish...
Entish or the tongues of Men...
for this treachery."
2)
"Rohan...
...has deserted us.
Théoden's betrayed me." (The corresponding noun of the verb betrayed is betrayal).
I searched the Internet for other examples but for now, I can't precisely understand the difference between these two words.


texts: Should "the" be capatalised in this situation?

texts:
My friend is starting a blog, and the name she is planning to use for it is based in this structure:

"Becky" the "Foodie".

Should "the" in the name/title be capitalised? Becky The Foodie? Or Becky the Foodie?

Thanks so much!


texts:
I'd like to ask if these following sentences have the same meaning ?

  Hong Kong had been ruled at the whim of its colonial overlords.

  Hong Kong had been ruled by arbitrary colonial overlords.

And what should we infer from the sentences, ruler changes often and randomly or the way of their rule changes often and randomly?


texts:
I was watching a film ostensibly set during the American Progressive Era (1900 to 1918 or so), in which two teenaged boys used the line

  "Ah, be a sport, Charlie!"

That got me to thinking, was the term "sport" or "be a sport" in use in that way, that early? Around which time did the word "sport" become used to describe, as my dictionary puts it, behavior in a "good or specified way" in response to teasing or defeat?

What resources could I use to learn the answer to that question?


texts: Using present tense modal verbs to refer to a possibility that never happened?

texts:
Let's say you're at a crossroad; two paths. You walk the one and then think:

  If I had walked that other route then I would probably have been in a worse situation now.

My problem with the above is that the modal verb, would, has a d at the end which I can't stop obsessing that it is a strict past tense. The thing is that you're still walking the path which means that if you had walked that other path then you wouldn't have been in the trouble and then out of it but still in it which means it should be in present tense?

  If I walked that other route I will probably be in a worse situation by now.

I know the above is wrong, primarily because it sounds off, but not why. I know modal verbs denote what would have happened and since it didn't happen it can't and isn't refered to in present tense but it just seems so much more logical to me but grammar doesn't agree, some-one help me out here?

(I also tried to write more clearer examples but they all fell apart so here's a mini-story of kind. I also read through alot of other questions like these but I couldn't apply them to my scenario.)


texts: Is it acceptable to drop the comma in "Thanks, John"?

texts: I grew up learning that the comma must be placed there, but it seems like an unnecessary interruption in a phrase that isn't ever spoken that way.


texts: Anyone can help me understand the meaning of “the grind is not glamorous”？

texts:
I heard "the grind is not glamorous" in the context of a video:

  If there is one thing I know about dreams, it's that to achieve them, you have to stop at nothing. So I spent ten years chasing it down. So I spent ten years chasing it down, and I said yes to every opportunity that involved picking up a camera: bar mitzvah videos, wedding videos, birthday videos. The grind is not glamorous. [—FILMMAKING IS A SPORT (Context starts @ 1:33; phrase @ 1:49) by Casey Neistat]

 I have difficulty understanding it, but when I read the entry for [grind] in Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary (©2010) on The Free Dictionary by Farlex, this helps it to make more sense:

  17. laborious, usu. uninteresting work.

 Casey said filmmaking was his dream, and continues on to say "but I would not and I could not give up" after the provided excerpt, so I guess "the grind is not glamorous" might mean that the types of videos he was making, such as birthday or wedding videos, were "uninteresting", because his dream was to make movies that would be played at a movie theater.

Is that what he wants to express by using "the grind is not glamorous"?


texts: Can "take" be a synonym of "attempt", "approach" or "undertaking"?

texts: Is it meaningful to say "we are preparing the last take at this battle" or "the third take finally brought them a victory" "I will try one more take at this"?


texts:
If a dictionary is a reference book for word definitions, and a thesaurus is a reference book for grouping words according to meaning, what do you call a reference book for word progressions?

By word progressions I mean such things as:

Comparatives and superlatives:

good/better/best
big/bigger/biggest
least/less/more/most

Measures:

tiny, small, medium, large, gigantic
common/uncommon/rare, unique
novice/apprentice/journeyman/master/grandmaster

Deictic expressions:

before/during/after
yesterday/today/tomorrow
first/second/third/..., first/(then/next)/last
penultimate/ultimate

Does such a reference book exist? If not, what are some sources that describe these word progressions?


texts: What do you call this kind of educational illustration?

texts:
This is a kind of image that I've seen in dictionaries and encyclopaedias since my childhood. That kind of educative images have a theme. In the image there's a lot of different things related to that theme but in a context. I mean, let's suppose it is an image about animals, there are not just isolated images of animals against a backdrop like this one:

This is not what I mean

... but instead the animals would be depicted in a context as if you were lucky enough to, by chance, meet all kinds of animals in the same picture frame while they were going about their lives, like this:

This is what I mean:

Here's another example about a complete different theme, notice how every geographic feature is depicted in context as if happening in an imaginary place where everything happens at the same time for ilustrative purposes:

This is also what I mean:

Often every object in the image would have a number referring to a legend under the image.

A word that occurs to me is diorama but I'm sure that's not the correct word. I don't even know what to call it in my native tongue, so I cannot do a dictionary lookup.


texts: What to do about multiple sentences following a colon?

texts:
For example:

  It happened only a handful of times in my lifetime: once when I went to the store. It just had to be done. There was no choice. Another when heading to the beach in 2013...

Should I just leave out the colon and use a period instead?


texts: I can't find a similar sentence in Google. I'm trying to say that I already have done cleaning in my apartments and in the process of it I ... etc. Is "A couple months ago, we had cleaned at the home." correct? Thank you.


texts:
In practice I find both spellings being used. From a logical point of view, "allright" (as in: "all's right — everything is fine") seems correct. However, I recall hearing that "alright" is the preferable variant.

Is there consensus over which to use? Do they possibly even mean something different?


texts: There aren't [ many / any / no ] young people in our apartment block. (It's 'many' but..... Why not 'any'?)

texts:
I have the above question in one of my classes but can't find a reason as to why the answer can't be 'There aren't any young people.... '

The only thing I can think of is if it something like you can't assume that there are no young people in a building - statistically unlikely - or something like that.

Is there a rule that I don't know?

Cheers.


texts: Did "sublime" and "cherubim" rhyme in the past?

texts:
In my choir we are currently practicing some carols, including See amid the the winter's snow, which was written by Edward Caswall (1814–1878). Its six verses and refrain each have two pairs of very clear rhymes, except for the second verse:

  Lo, within a manger lies
  He who built the starry skies;
  He who, throned in height sublime,
  Sits amid the cherubim

The words "sublime" and "cherubim" don't rhyme (IPA: /səˈblaɪm/ vs. /ˈtʃɛrəbɪm/). However, it seems possible that there was a different pronunciation due to regional accents, changes in the language over time, etc.

Was "sublime" pronounced "sub-LIM" or was "cherubim" pronounced "cheru-BAIM"?

I find it hard to believe that Caswall wrote two lines that aren't supposed to rhyme when the other 26 obviously are rhyming.


texts:
My English teacher speaks, as far as I can tell as a native speaker of the German language, some really weird English. However, I'm not entirely sure if this is just my twisted perception or really a bad shot at imitating some English accent.
Some properties of my teacher's pronunciation:

"v" as "w" and vice versa; not always, though. The most noticeable example is the word "word"
The "st" in "question" like the "sch" in "schwa"; really deep and all like the German "sch"
"because" as "becourse" with a rhotic "r"
Irregular rhoticity; I can't spot any pattern here, seemingly arbitrary

In addition, my teacher is natively German, so these peculiarities might be traced back to my teacher's native language.
Has my teacher adopted some weird accent out there or is it just my teacher's German accent?


texts: What is the difference between "perpetrator" and "transgressor"?

texts:
I don't quite understand when one might be applied, but not the other.

Also, is anyone who committed a transgression a transgressor, or might they also be perpetrators? Does it make a difference?

Thanks!


texts: "Ambitious to [infinitive]" vs. "ambitious about [gerund]"

texts:
What is the correct preposition to use with ambitious?

  I am ambitious to achieve success.
  I am ambitious about achieving success.


texts: "To give information only when solicited" is the opposite of "To answer without ___"?

texts:
What's the right word here?

  Bob: "Sue, why didn't you tell me that before?"
  Sue:"I don't answer without provocation."

Is provocation the right word? I think Sue meant to say she wouldn't give the info unless asked. She wouldn't just volunteer the information.

(The conversation that inspired this question is from a TV show I watched. I think it was either Forever, or iZombie.)


texts:
According to etymonline the word booty is used to describe the female form as a sex object. It says the word is black slang from the 1920s. The definition is placed in the entry for booty meaning treasure.

My understanding is that booty means buttocks, as explained at dictionary.com.

Which slang meaning came first? Buttocks or the female form as a sex object? Also, can anyone explain the jump from treasure to buttocks?


texts:
Can you explain the grammar of this expression and in what situations it can be used?

"you [something] you"

E.g. Get away from me you filthy woman you.


texts: I would definitely say that the term TV is informal (while television is formal), however I have found "TV" in some formal compositions.


texts: When you hate to name something so you use an alternative word

texts: When you prefer to use another word rather than the actual word or phrase like when you don't want to addmitt something or you want to criticise something or someone


texts:
Because of the success of StackExchange.com I am having difficulty researching the term on the Internet.  Where does it come from?  I know the phrase comes out of computer programming, but my experience in computer languages ended in the late 70s when my BASIC program intended to calculate payroll used up all of the memory in our lab's shared TRS-80.
Don't laugh at me.  I am old.


texts:
I found, in many literature, that a sentence has been started with "Use was made of". The complete sentence is like this:  "Use was made of something"

What does it actually mean?


texts:
When one presents himself in a resume, should it be written:

  "Conscientious, determined and passionate person."

or:

  "Conscientious, determined, passionate person."

or are those interchangeable?


texts:
In contemporary American English usage, I come across sentences like:

I ain’t got no money.

Ain’t no man like him.

Saying ain’t no sounds incorrect to me because it is a double negative.  What is the origin of this particular construction?
I wasn’t able to find anything online related to the origins of this incorrect usage.


texts:
I am writing an email, in which I would like to ask for something but I don't want to be very direct. I came up with the following two constructions:

In addition, I will not be receiving my stipend while working. So please consider my remuneration package carefully.
In addition, I will not be receiving my stipend while working. So I would like you to consider my remuneration package carefully.

Any additional improvements are welcome.


texts: Past simple vs present perfect in this example

texts:
Could you explain to me please what is the difference between these. It is meant to express that I will let him know AFTER I picked/have picked a car.

  I'll let you know which one I picked

  I'll let you know which one I've picked

The present perfect, its because its shifted from future present?


texts: May I have a list of all verbs that cause “exceptional case-marking”?

texts: I am looking for list of verbs which cause exceptional case-marking (ECM) such as believe, judge, prove, want, let, etc.


texts: Is there a specific term to refer to all animals that are not primates? I have a text about the beginnings of brain research, in which the animals studied are divided into "simple animals" (mice, guinea pig, mole, rabbit, reptiles etc.) and "complex mammals and humans" (monkeys, apes, humans). The latter are primates, but I have no idea how to refer to the former group ("simple animals" is so imprecise). I tried on Wiki, but I got completely lost in all those Latin scientific classifications...


texts: Why present perfect in “When the night has come”?

texts:
In the song “Stand by Me”, we see a sentence like “when the night has come.”

I was taught that in a when clause, we use the past tense, yet the present perfect has been used in the sentence cited above. Why is that?


texts:
Is there a name for liquor that might have been produced legally, or using professional technologies, but then has been smuggled, either bypassing customs, or into prohibition area and/or is being sold illegally?

"Moonshine" is the common name for suspicious quality liquor made using makeshift, illegal still, but that usually implies local, unprofessional production.
"Contraband" is the general name for smuggled, illegal goods, not just liquor.


texts: What are some commonly used expressions used in English, that originate from latin or else?

texts:
I am not sure what I am specifically asking for,
Basically I'd like to get a list of these special expressions, from you, because I can't seem to find one.  NOT ASKING ABOUT THE USAGE of these that I mentioned here, I want to get a list of the expressions that are used in English, despite their lack of grammatical sense, (because they're not English)

e.g

i.e,

in explicit, or other stuff like that - that has not much of a direct meaning, but has some symbolic or historical values?


texts:
There must be a name for this sort of after-the-fact non-argument.
Sorry, this is the only way I could find to describe it.

Debbie finds a kitten.
Kitten has been burned over half its body, but it's alive.

Debbie says, 'The kitten wants to live!' and takes it to a vet.

Bob says, 'The kitten is suffering and will continue to suffer horribly, the kindest thing would be to euthanize her.'

Debbie refuses; the kitten continues to suffer for months but in the end manages to survive.

Bob says, 'The kitten suffered unnecessarily.'

Debbie then says to Bob, 'The kitten would now be dead had it been up to you. You have no respect for life.'


texts: A word to express the idea of "human traits"

texts:
Is there a single word that can succinctly express the idea of "human traits" or "human behaviours" or "human habits"?

Words that I have thought like race, species are not good because the sound too general and have too little link to the idea of "human traits"


texts: "he has almost nothing" or "he hasn't almost anything"?

texts:
So, I'm helping a friend of mine who has just started learning English.
He wants to say "He has almost nothing to eat in his cupboards" using the negative form. Is "he hasn't almost anything to eat in his cupboards" correct as well? It seems to me that it just doesn't work. Are there any rules about the use of almost in such cases?
Thanks in advance


texts: Why prefix a request with "I'm going to have to ask you..."

texts:
Say you are in a nice restaurant and, at the table next you, a gentleman lights up the most offensive cigar you ever smelled.

You mention it to the manager and then the manager goes up to the gentleman and says "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to put out your cigar." rather than "Sir, please put out your cigar."

It seems the second statement is the preferred way to say it (e.g. no passive voice, contractions, not wordy).

However, I hear the first statement more often.

Why would you put all those words in front? Does it come out less offensive that way?


texts:
The Washington Post (May 31, 2017) reports that “[President] Trump targets ‘negative press covfefe’ ” in his tweet:

  MORNING MIX: Trump targets ‘negative press covfefe’ in garbled
  midnight tweet that becomes worldwide joke / Trump tweets ‘covfefe,’
  inspiring a semi-comedic act of Congress

As I couldn’t find out the meaning of “covfefe” in several English dictionaries at hand, I googled the word. There was no heading and definition of this word there.

I heard a TV hostess seriously asking a male guest what “covfefe” means in a TV show tagged in the Washington Post, wherein he confidently explained it’s Yiddish meaning “go to bed.” But to me, this explanation doesn’t seem to fit the line,  “President Trump targets ‘negative press covfefe’ ” at all.

What does “covfefe” exactly mean in the context of “President Trump targets ‘negative press covfefe’ ”?


texts: How to express the idea of the company I am working for and not my company?

texts:
Ok, English is my second language, and sometimes I have the following confusing situation.

When on the train, I told a friend of mine that “My company is not doing well these days. By my company I mean the company that I am working for, not the company that I own. Native speakers often think I own a company.

If I say “the company that I am working for is not doing well these days”, then it will be too long.

How can I express the idea that I am not the owner of the company I am working for?


texts: How, as a parent, do I address a teacher (in the UK)?

texts:
In semi/non-official correspondence, how a parent should address a teacher of their children?

Dear Miss Lastname,
Dear Ms Lastname,
Dear Firstname
or something else?

I know it's more about savoir-vivre than language...


texts: Sparrow is to bird as snake, human, and lion is to __?

texts:
One can call any flying (or even non-flying) feathered thing a bird (excluding oddities such as bats). But what would we call any animal that stays on the ground? A ground animal?

Note: this isn't a homework question or anything, it's a word I want to use to describe a class, which inherits from Animal.

Edit: Clearly this is a very broad question, I believe that I should be more specific. So lets narrow the choices of "ground animals" to those that you could find in a zoo, which means not bugs, dinosaurs, etc.


texts:
My coworker has a shirt where it's a picture of an avocado riding a bicycle. The joke? Avocardio!

My coworker says the joke is a pun. It's definitely a play on words, but I always thought a pun had to play on a word with two meanings. A classic example: what do you call a mix between an elephant and a rhino? Eleph-ino (hell-if-I-know).

Like elephino, avacardio is an absurd sounding mashup between the two words. But unlike elephino, avacardio doesn't have a meaning on its own. Therefore, I'm not sure if it counts as a pun.

Am I getting "pun" mixed up with "double entendre"? Or is the shirt, in fact, not a pun?


texts: meaning of phrase "continuing their friend"

texts:
In the following passage, the meaning obviously is "continuing to be their friend", but I wonder if this is merely a poetic elliptical construction or there is actually a grammatical explanation.

  I have persevered in helping people all I could and continuing their friend.

Also, is my understanding correct of the meaning as “continuing to be their friend”?


texts: Felicitated- pragmatics and connotations

texts:
This sentence from a major Indian daily amused me:

The mother of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) constable, who
died in the line of duty in Jammu and Kashmir, was
felicitated at the 65th Republic Day celebrations.
On behalf of the district administration, Minister in-charge of
Mysore district V. Srinivas Prasad felicitated Savitramma, Satish’s
mother, in recognition of her son’s sacrifice.

I find it comic given the above context and believe that the use of
the verb is inappropriate in the given situation:

felicitate verb ~ congratulate.
A felicitation is when you congratulate someone.

Is this correct usage?


texts:
@SarahofGaia was asking a similar question in 2015 but it doesn't seem to have been answered despite the feed being closed.

"Relationships between nodes vary. Those that are correlated but not______ are represented here..."

I'm looking for a single word that signifies that multiple nodes are related but not by way of cause and effect.

Thanks!


texts: Meaning of a "snatched Saturday afternoon"

texts:
From On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan (an English author):

  This was a snatched Saturday afternoon. They knew that it was one of
  the last days of full-blown high summer—it was already early
  September, and the leaves and grasses, though still unambiguously
  green, had an exhausted air.

I don't own the book, and the excerpt I have access to starts with this paragraph. I haven't been able to find a dictionary definition of "snatched" suitable for this context. What does it mean?


texts: "Dumped them Ceremoniously"- Is this an oxymoron? In a physical sense, like, dumping a bunch of leaves. Or Flowers? Along those lines

texts:
Is the phrase Dumped them Ceremoniously an oxymoron? Is it over the "oxymoron" word limit?

I hit upon this phrase when I was trying to write in a humorous vein about someone throwing something, albeit something that was costly so it had to be thrown with care. Here, the word is being used to describe a physical action, i.e. dumping a few rods. Does the same principle of "dumping" a person apply to, you know, dumping rods?

Note: If it is NOT an oxymoron, I'm going to delete the tag pronto.


texts: Ambiguity of "We discourage X from doing Y by using Z"

texts:
Given the sentence,

  We discourage people from committing crimes by using law enforcement, religion and education.

I see two possible interpretations:

[We discourage people by using law enforcement, religion and education] from committing crimes.
We discourage people from [committing crimes by using law enforcement, religion and education].

Of course the second interpretation may not make sense in this particular case, but generally speaking both interpretations are equally valid. So my question is, how to rearrange the sentence for it to be well-structured and have only one clear interpretation?


texts: Some Chicken, Some Neck, what did Churchill mean?

texts:
I've been thinking about the following quote from Churchill

  "The contribution of Canada to the Imperial war effort in troops, in ships, in aircraft, in food, and in finance has been magnificent.....Hitler and his Nazi gang have sown the wind: let them reap the whirlwind.......When I warned them (the French) that Britain would fight on alone whatever they did their generals told their Prime Minister and his divided Cabinet, 'In three weeks England would have her neck wrung like a chicken.' Some chicken! Some Neck."
  Canadian Parliament 30 December 1941

When he says "Some chicken", PMs start laughing, and when he says "Some Neck" they laugh again. I'm not a native English speaker. I miss the the joke of this.

What does "some chicken, some neck" mean in this context and why is it funny?

The video can be found here


texts: Is it correct/common to say "a cosmetic" as opposed to "cosmetics"?

texts:
Mary's lips were blood-red. Was it the result of her genes or good
  cosmetics/a good cosmetic?

My senses tell me that it should be "a cosmetic". However, a Google search that cosmetic is often paired with another words (e.g. cosmetic results), in short, being used as a verb.


texts: how do I list a series of clauses the have the work "and" in them

texts:
I'm writing a resume and describing the work I did in a previous job, I "...installed and troubleshooted, designed and built machines, and trained on safety, maintenance and repair."

how on earth do I punctuate this mess?


texts: "May not have [noun]" or "may have not [noun]"

texts:
Which of the following is correct: may not have or may have not? For example, which sentence should one write?

  They may not have apples.

  They may have not apples.


texts:
I received an e-mail from a person thanking me for my help when I had traveled to Germany. I would like to start my answer with the following phrase. Is it correct?

  I'm glad I was of any help!

I do not need to be extremely formal, that's why I put the exclamation mark.


texts: How should I understand this clause in the sentence?

texts:
This is a sentence from a piece of news from The New York Times:

  Top House Democrats on Monday called on the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee to recuse himself from the panel’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, thrusting the entire inquiry into jeopardy amid what they described as mounting evidence he was too close to President Trump to be impartial.

I don't understand the part

  thrusting the entire inquiry into jeopardy amid what they described as mounting evidence he was too close to President Trump to be impartial.

What kind of clause is "he was too close to President Trump to be impartial" and how is it linked to the whole sentence?


texts: What do you call the player who's scored most goals in a soccer (BrEng ‘football’) championship?

texts: I tried translating from Portuguese (artilheiro), but only got words related to war like: gunner, artillery man, etc.


texts: Why is the phrase "cake walk" informally used to describe an easy to achieve task, while its origin says a different story?

texts:
From Oxford Dictionaries Online:

  cakewalk
  ˈkeɪkwɔːk/
  noun
  1. (informal)
  an absurdly or surprisingly easy task.
  "winning the league won't be a cakewalk for them"
  2. historical
  a dancing contest among black Americans in which a cake was awarded as a prize.

How did the phrase take a different meaning over time?


texts: What do you call the ability to tell good from bad?

texts:
It is the ability to tell good people from bad people just by observing them. It is like being a good judge of character, a connoisseur of human nature. I would like to find a single word that succinctly captures this characteristic.

For example, there is a fictional character called Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead who is said to have the ability to tell good from bad. Here is a more detailed explanation for you to get a better idea (spoilers ahead so I used the spoiler tag):

    In the TV series version, in  Season 5, Rick and his group arrives to a safe zone called Alexandria which is a walled-off community. They are invited to this place by someone who is called Aaron. He is a recruiter of this community who tries to find people outside that can be helpful to the community. (with the help of his partner Eric who was injured in one episode). One night, Aaron reveals that he wants Daryl to be Alexandria's recruiter because he doesn't want to risk Eric's life anymore and Daryl can tell the difference between a good person and a bad person.2

Interestingly, it is also said that our ability to tell good from bad is universal and unlearned. It is based on a study1 where it is found out that babies as young as six months old are able to tell friend from foe. But this should apply to only basic distinction as an instinct to survive. The context I provided suggests being experienced also.

The words that came to my mind were discerning and sagacious but they are about showing good judgement and having a keen insight in general. I think there might be a more precise term for this.

1 telegraph.co.uk

2 walkingdead.wikia.com


texts:
What is the earliest printed use in English, including relevant context, of 'white person' or 'white people'? As nearly as I have been able to discover, the term is first found in print in these contexts:

'white person': I don't have ready access to what seems to be the earliest appearance in print of this phrase, and am unable to determine what the context is. The term may be found in The lives, actions, and execution of the prime actors, and principall contrivers of that horrid murder of our late pious and sacred soveraigne, King Charles the First, by George Bate, published in 1661.
'white people' first appears in a translation of The discouerie and conquest of the prouinces of Peru, and the nauigation in the South Sea, along that coast, by Agustin de Zárate. The translation was published in 1581.

  ...hee warned him, that whe[n] a white people, bearded, should come into that Countrey, that hee should submit him selfe vnto them, because (said hee) they shalbe Lords ouer this Countrey...

My research queried only the orthographic forms shown in the question; information on other, earlier forms would be welcome.

The history of these terms might provide more exact and complete knowledge of the linguistic underpinnings of systemic racism, which in turn might better inform efforts to undermine and curtail that racism. The earliest known uses of the terms in English provide a starting point wherefrom the history of use in changing contexts can be traced and examined.

After having the original question closed as "too broad", I split it into three questions, White Noises, Person or People, Man or Men, Woman or Women, and posted them separately. This is one of those.


texts:
Since, perhaps forever, I had always ‘known’ that the English word salary was derived from the Latin  salarium, to the time when Roman soldiers were paid in salt for their service.  Salt was a highly-prized and sought-after commodity due to its ability to preserve food and was, in part, also responsible for the development of civilization.
However, my world turned upside down when I read the following extract in a blog:

Here’s the simplest form of the myth.

The word ‘salary’ comes from the Latin word for salt because the Roman Legions were sometimes paid in salt.
– Wikipedia, ‘History of salt’

Pure fantasy. There isn’t the tiniest scrap of evidence to suggest this. At all, to any extent, ever.

Peter Gainsford, the academician and author of the blog, Kiwi Hellenist,    adds

‘Roman soldiers were paid in salt’ may be the simplest form of the myth, but it’s also a secondary form. […] that seems to indicate that people first started writing about the idea around the 1860s (here, for example).
The older, primary form of the myth is that soldiers were given ‘salt money’, that is, a monetary allowance for buying salt. This, too, is a modern invention.

Wikipedia has since corrected that information, the same historical detail which I had always considered ‘common knowledge’.

The word "salary" comes from the Latin word for salt. The reason for this is unknown; a persistent modern claim that the Roman Legions were sometimes paid in salt is baseless

But Etymonline appears to perpetuate this “myth”

late 13c., "compensation, payment," whether periodical, for regular service or for a specific service; from Anglo-French salarie, Old French salaire "wages, pay, reward," from Latin salarium "salary, stipend, pension," originally "salt-money, soldier's allowance for the purchase of salt," noun use of neuter of adjective salarius "pertaining to salt," from sal (genitive salis) "salt" (from PIE root *sal- "salt").

What is the real history and etymology of salary?
Related but obviously not a duplicate of: I don't know the meaning of "salt allowance"


texts: We all know that tigers are found only in Asia and not in Africa. So is it correct to say that tigers are "more common" in Asia than Africa?


texts:
I am finding recently a pretty frequent use of the adjective “Islamicate”. It is sometimes associated or contrasted with “Islamic” (for instance here where the expression “Islamic(ate)” recurs), which points out to they not being synonyms. I have not found it in any dictionary, and in particular it seems to be absent from OED («Did you mean: islamicize, islamite, illuminate, islamic, islamically»).

It is present in Wiktionary, and defined as

  Associated with regions in which Muslims are culturally dominant, but not specifically with the religion of Islam.

And it is mentioned in the English Wikipedia article about Marshall Hodgson, who might be the creator of the term:

  Most importantly he distinguished between Islamic (properly religious) and Islamicate phenomena, which were the products of regions in which Muslims were culturally dominant, but were not, properly speaking religious. Thus wine poetry was certainly Islamicate, but not Islamic.

On the other hand, Wiki sites are not always the most reliable ones, and don't give here complete information.

So, is the Wiktionary/Wikipedia definition correct? Is the term a “technical” term in cultural studies? Was Hodgson its creator?


texts:
What is the meaning of on the edge in following sentence:

  His openness and celebration of sexuality, and not just heterosexual
  sex, but sex on the edges-- masturbation, voyeurism, oral sex.


texts:
Consider:

Where = here

When = now

What = this

How = thus

Why = (this is why)??

With the above, you could answer a question with the word on the left with just the single word on the right as an answer without additional information when the context is implicit, or can be provided with non-verbal cues such as pointing or demonstrating.

Is there a single word answer to the question "why?" to describe this reason or this is why when the context is implicit? Both therefore and because are inadequate as they require additional information.


texts: Is 'voltages' the plural for voltage? When requesting for someone to check voltage more than once, would you state that you're documenting 'voltages'?


texts: Word for someone who's doing a commission task

texts:
I am working on a commission board system, where users can post commission requests (they are named "clients"), and other users can come and apply for a commission.
Once they are hired by the client, they become the ??? of the commission.
As a non-native english speaker I thought maybe something like "commissioner" but it means something entirely different from what i've seen.


texts:
I am not sure whether we can use two different instances of had in the following sentence:

  When we had entered the ground, the circus had already begun.

According to my understanding,  it should be:

  When we entered the ground, the circus had already begun.

So kindly clear up my doubt.


texts: What is the correct order in these sentence? (Passive voice)

texts:
There are French history, traditions, culture and famous people described. OR There are French history described traditions, culture and famous people.
Please help me:)


texts:
So, in an article on a web-page, I want to provide information about the date when the article was published. I am not sure if there should be an "on" after the word "published".

  Article title...

  Published...

  Article text...

So, below the article title, should I write:

  Published on January 1st 2012

or

  Published January 1st 2012

?


texts: Word meaning coincidence of reference to the unusual

texts: Most of us have had the experience of stumbling over a new fact or bit of knowledge and then finding several more references to it in the near future.  For example, you see a strange word which you're forced to look-up and then the next day the same word appears in the headline of your local paper.  There's a term for this phenomenon but I've been unable to track it down.  Can anyone help?


texts: Is “destroyer of hope” same as “bringer of hopelessness”?

texts:
Got redirected here from Philosophy SE :https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/40907/ to ask here for an more technical discussion and comparison of the two phrases.

Are two phrases equivalent?

On similar lines, "destroyer of life" vs "bringer of death".

Edit1:
The usage was attributing something as "bringer of hopelessness".
Then somebody used "destroyer of hope" interchangeably with the above phrase leading to the discussion if the 2 are equivalent.

I am trying to reason for any distinction (or lack thereof) by drawing a parallel with "life" to see if it helps.

I understand that philosophical aspects of the concept of "life" and "hope" (and lack therefor) are better suited to Philosophy SE and but literal meanings and usage of phrases(and using them interchangeably) possibly belongs here?


texts:
I came across a sentence while reading Newspaper and I'm wondering what does the sentence mean in this context.  This news article completed with the sentence Five times over!.  What does it mean actually here?

Excerpt from the Newspaper:

  Here’s introducing iDiva: Five
  Magazines in One that packs in the
  best of five of India’s top women’s
  magazines in a single new weekly.
  . . .
  . . .
  . . .
  A magazine that gives you all this and
  more should cost the earth, right?
  Luckily this one doesn’t. At an
  introductory price of Rs 5 per copy,
  we are sure you’ll find it a steal.
  Five times over!


texts:
(1) We haven't spoken since the incident.

If the negation is regarded as being included in the situation described by the perfect, the perfect haven't spoken can be said to have a continuative/universal reading, because the perfect haven't spoken describes the situation of not speaking that continues from the incident up to now.

On the other hand, if the negation is regarded as being excluded from the situation described by the perfect and the negation is simply added to the perfect after the fact, so to speak, the perfect have spoken can be said to have an experiential/existential reading, because the perfect have spoken describes the situation of speaking that does not continue from the incident up to now. In this reading, you can say that We have not experienced the situation of speaking, or that such a situation has not existed.

Which is the correct interpretation of the perfect in (1)?
In other words, should (1) be interpreted as receiving the continuative/universal reading or the experiential/existential reading?

And the same question for a non-verbal negation:

  (2) You have done nothing but complain since we got here.

Which reading obtains in the perfect in (2)? The continuative/universal reading or the experiential/existential reading?

EDIT

The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 141) discusses the difference between the continuative and non-continuative reading of the perfect:

Here, Tr is the time referred to (by the verb or verb group, e.g., have told, have been, told, was), and To is the time of orientation, which equates to the time of utterance in this question.


texts: What is the "/" symbol called? Being a techie, I have heard it called the "forward slash" in the context of unix directories. However, I am now doing technical writing and need to know the actual name.


texts:
I wonder how this sentence sounds in the ears of a native English speaker:

"If I had not gone there yesterday, I would not be here today"

The classic grammar lessons do not cover this combination of tenses, but I think there is a semantic need for it, that I personally don't know how to express otherwise.

Thanks

Dragos


texts: saying thanks to someone answering your email ASAP who is important for you

texts:
Which of these sentences sounds more american?
and which sounds more polite against who is important for you like a professor or boss?

first:

  Thanks for your prompt response

second:

  Thanks for your quick answer

third:

  Thanks for your fast reply


texts: Term for trust in government regulations or laws

texts:
While writing a scholarship today I was looking for a word that indicated a persons trust in government regulations or law.

For example:

  Person A's (word for trust in government regulations or laws) is well described by his day-to-day ethics.

I did some google searches, checked a couple online dictionaries but was unable to pull a word that worked in this context. Any ideas?


texts: Looking for a word for "not up for discussion"

texts:
I am looking for a single word that means "not up for discussion", "will not discuss this topic", a topic that is out of bounds. noun/adjective?  Example, "Several months ago, our daughter made talking about her weight _______".

Edit:  Please excuse my failure to follow the proper format.  I believed that the word began with a "v" but to cite where I searched?  Seemingly everywhere online. I found numerous options including "out of bounds" and "off limits" but not the one word that I knew existed. My search brought me here so clearly I'd been looking for a time.

However, thank you.  I know the post is on hold but I was able to view some of the answers to my question regardless and the answer I was looking for was provided.  As I type this, I can't "see" who posted it but thank you to that person.  I'd also like to thank/cite my 82 y/o mom because as I was viewing the answer here, I was on the phone with her and she immediately knew the word I was searching for.

It seems like it would be wrong of me to post the answer since it was provided by someone else so again, thank you and have a nice day.


texts:
honour killing is a word that carries sentiments. But its Google synonym don't. Like  assassination - is a more of a war machine word.
butchery - is not right either.

Do we have a single word for honour killing?


texts: pls advise if one should translate the award name ? e.g. we have Russian award called REDCOLLEGIA, and in English this word means "the editorial board". Is it correct if I say "they have won "Redcollegia" ( the editorial board) award for this investigation."


texts:
Is there an official pronunciation for Porsche? I grew up pronouncing it with a silent final e ("Porsh"). However, I've increasingly heard it was pronunced with a neutral e sound at the end ("Por-shuh").

Is this simply an anomaly in some people's idiolects, is it regional, or is it becoming a general thing in American English? And has the pronunciation with the final e become more common over time?


texts:
I keep hearing people say things like:

  I took off the quote unquote lid.

That is, they say "quote unquote" followed by what they meant to quote. In reality, it means that they quoted an empty string and then said the next word outside of the quotes.

Why don't they say it like this?

  I took off the quote lid unquote.

?


texts: What does 'make much muster' mean in the following context?

texts:
This excerpt comes from Uncle Tom's Cabin(270),

  'No; I slept, ears and all, for an hour or two, for I was pretty well tired; but when I came to myself a little, I found that there were some men in the room, sitting round a table, drinking and talking; and I thought, before I made much muster, I'd just see what they were up to, especially as I heard them say something about the Quakers.'

I tried Google, Dictionary.com and Merriam Webster and the most apt meaning they give is 'a formal gathering of troops;rally'. My question is do we still use 'muster' in the same fashion or it has fallen out of date today?


texts: How did 'sequester' shift semantically from 'follow' to 'remove'?

texts:
[ Etymonline for 'sequester (v.)' ] late 14c., "remove" something, "quarantine, isolate" (someone); "excommunicate;" also intransitive, "separate oneself from,"
  from Old French sequestrer (14c.), from Late Latin sequestrare "to place in safekeeping,"
  from Latin sequester "trustee, mediator," noun use of an adjective meaning "intermediate," which probably is related to sequi "to follow" (see sequel).
   Meaning "seize by authority, confiscate" is first attested 1510s. ...

The bolded confuses me the most.
How did "to follow" shift semantically to mean "intermediate"?


texts: What is the name for a question that decides what further questions to ask?

texts:
I am struggling to come up with what this would be called, but it feels like there is almost certainly a word/phrase for it. For example, let's say we have a survey and the first question is a yes or no type question. Answering yes may lead to just one more question, while answering no would lead to two more questions, one of which being another yes or no type question, the other wanting some sort of other answer that the survey taker can fill in. If the second yes is taken, the survey is complete, but if the second no is taken, even more questions could be asked until the survey reaches its final question.

Is there a name for the yes or no questions that essentially direct the survey taker down whichever path makes sense for the survey taker given their input?

Edit: I should also note that there are not always two possible answers, although my example only included two answer questions. Another possible "answer set" could be less than, the same as, greater than, for some question asking about frequency of something happening.


texts:
A guy posted something on (or in?) a forum. Another one posted "bump". Sometimes it's the same guy. What does it mean?

In dictionaries, bump is typically defined as (as a noun) a small raised protuberance, or (as a verb) colliding with or striking something. It is unclear how the usual definitions of the word would apply in this situation.


texts: A verb that gives a very close meaning to stubborn?

texts:
You're arguing with someone and they just refuse to give in to the truth, even though you just have this inkling that they're aware of the truth. They're just so opinionated and unyielding. I usually include the verb for stubborn in my language in this instance.(I could use the adjective, but that's the main reason for this question).

I know there isn't a verb for stubborn but is there any verb that gives a close meaning of stubborn?

the verbs insist, opinionate, stickle and other synonyms of these don't really do it for me. There has to be something out there that alludes to stubbornness.


texts:
In discussing pronunciation of difference kinds of acronyms and initialisms, I recalled the term "acronoun."  However, I can't find any reference to this term on the Wikipedia Acronym page, nor in google searching.  I am questioning where I would have heard this before and if it is a real concept.

If I had to guess at a definition, it would be an acronym that is pronounced as a word and used like a noun.  However, that might be true for most acronyms or there might be a different word for this.

I am looking for any insight or evidence this either is our could be a concept.


texts: Traffic in the same direction as yourself

texts:
Is there a word in English to describe traffic, that goes in the same direction as yourself?

  The opposite of oncoming traffic?


texts: Is there a one-word opposite of implausible?

texts:
If we use implausible as a stronger version of improbable, meaning  "seemingly (but not absolutely) impossible", is there a word equivalently stronger than probable, e.g.  "seemingly (but not absolutely) certain"?

A diagram of the level of certainty that I ascribe to various words:

You can say almost certain, very likely, good bet, confident of, etc, but is there a single word?

Conclusion: thanks for all the suggestions. Yes, I do understand that possibility, probability, and plausibility have different connotations regarding belief, information, truth, etc. I stand by my assertion that they each can be roughly measured on a 0-1 scale, even if the qualities being quantified are not exactly the same.


texts: Are semicolons mandatory in a non-bulleted list after a colon?

texts:
Are semicolons required (rather than commas) in a list after a colon when the list is not bulleted? I was told that it was a rule, but I can find no authoritative prescriptive source.

Consider the example sentence below.

  The following are unclear: whether a change in Rule C is regarded as a violation; whether it is possible to add conditions to rule D in Category 5 when submitting a report to the Committee; and whether Rule G and Rule H satisfy the professional requirements.

If there is no potentially confusing internal punctuation in the list elements, and if parallel construction (e.g., whether . . . whether . . . whether) shows clear demarcation, are commas not sufficient?


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

texts:
His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object.
  -- Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The last sentence is really strange to me. What does "aptness" and "object" mean in here? What does the author try to express?


texts:
Is it correct to use "protest against" with a person as object  ?

The protesters against the president were captured.


texts:
Suppose you visit a shop looking for something to buy. Every time
you pick up an object, the shopkeeper goes gaga over the features of the product
and why it's a must-buy.

I'm searching for a single word which describes the enthusiasm and/or marketing effort of the shopkeeper.
I'm not sure, but pushy may be one possibility.

For instance:

  The shopkeeper sounded too pushy

However, I'm not sure.
Does anyone have a better or more correct choice of word?


texts: What is another phrase for Tips and Tricks?

texts: I'm creating some training material and I have a mental block. I'm just looking for more words to use instead of Tips and Tricks...those get old. :) Like "Learn the Latest Tips and Tricks on your iPhone". I'm training on Microsoft applications and trying to think outside the box.


texts: Why is The Mall (Westminster, London) pronounced like mawl?

texts: Why is The Mall pronounced differently even though it shares the same spelling as mall (shopping)?


texts: Is "facebook" as a verb different from "google" or "photoshop"?

texts:
I understand that any term, grammatical or not, becomes valid if there is common usage. I'm not concerned about that.

Google and Photoshop are both commonly used as verbs. Given that the terms map fairly well to verbs (web searching and image editing), I can follow the logic of their use.

Does this work for Facebook, though? What verb is it replacing?


texts: What should you call a whooping cough or a whoop-like cough and not have it confused with the disease?

texts: How would you tell someone that you have a whooping cough but you don't have pertussis?


texts: When should proxime and proximate be used? Can they be used both to mean spatial as well as temporal nearness? Are they being used differently in British and American English?


texts: Is back-shifting necessary in speech and writing

texts:
Can I say "I told you he is going to the book club" when he has already gone there by now; or is it necessary to back-shift it to past i.e. "I told you he was going to the book club".

So will I be understood perfectly if I used the "is going" version (not back=shifting it).
This situation seems new to me. So I thought I'd ask that: Does it seem difficult to understand for the other person if we do not back-shift to past??. And is it gramaticaly correct??


texts:
I am looking for a phrase to express a feeling.
Here it is.

  A song was out in the market a couple of years ago and it was a huge
  hit at that time. Today, I heard that song which reminded me all the
  memories happened in my life at that time. Like it reminded me of my
  bike ride : I was travelling on bike listening to that song, I was young
  and funky at that time and my old friends faces. Listening to that song reminds me all of
  these.

How to express this? Can I say it as that song times? Example: Can I say it as "I was grown up as adult at that song times?" Correct me and please suggest.


texts: The color of his eyes is blue vs. The color of his eyes are blue

texts: So my younger brother came to me with a problem the other day. His 'the color of his eyes are blue' was corrected to 'the color of his eyes is blue'. I think this is the  teacher's error at play here, but I don't want to confront him without making sure. Which is the correct answer? And why? Any pointers is much appreciated. Thanks!


texts: I want to get a suitable proverb to explain / express a situation better

texts:
My customer is asking me to make a presentation/road map for completing a target at the same time he is refusing (perhaps by ignorance or misunderstanding) to allow me to discuss one of the key prerequisites that must be available to me for completing the target.

Which is the best proverb to explain this?