texts: Word to describe willingness to judge others?

texts: I'm trying to think of a word that would describe someone who is willing to judge or critique others. Not in the negative sense of being judgemental, but willing to review tasks performed by others and judge if the task was done correctly and report back when it wasn't. Someone willing to be a competition judge or referee would be a good example of the type of character trait I'm trying to describe.


texts: A word for someone of low, but not-insignificant skill level

texts:
What is a word for a person with a skill level that is not quite as low as a beginner but not in any way competitive?

e.g. I enjoy running and have a reasonably good fitness level compared to the average person, however, I wouldn't be able to compete with anyone who takes it properly seriously.

I was thinking "amateur" but there are amateur runners who compete in races, are members of athletic clubs, etc. and would easily outrun me. But I am also not a beginner.

(Similar with poker - One could have enough knowledge of the basic tactics to regularly beat a beginner but not anyone who takes it in any way seriously even if they themselves are not a professional)


texts:
What is that loop you hold on to when you ride a bus/subway?

Is it called a loop of some sort? Or handle? In the picture below, an invisible... ?


texts: When does `isn't ...` expand to "is ... not" and "is not ..."

texts:
Recently I have been writing a chatbot, and in part of the process it expands contractions. While doing this, I have found odd behavior for the contraction "isn't". There are two different way to expand this contraction:

  isn't this great → is this not great?

or:

  what isn't great → what is not great

Essentially, in some cases the "not" goes after the following word (the word following the contraction); in others it doesn't. I can't seem to nail down in which cases this happens and in which cases it doesn't. Is there some rule to specify how it expands?


texts: Why are "mobile" and "automobile" pronounced differently?

texts: I just came across the words and then I looked them both up in the dictionary app, which shows the word "mobile" pronounces as /'məʊbaɪl/, whereas the other word-"automobile", which ends with the same spelt "mobile" pronounces as /'ɔːtəməbiːl/? I'm not sure if this "mobile" word pronounces differently as shown in the app or they actually pronounce the same?


texts:
The Cambridge Grammar of the english Language, page 224, reads

  Complements are most often NPs, and conversely NPs are usually
  complements. Some NPs can occur with adjunct function, but they tend
  to belong to very restricted semantic types, mainly time or manner.

  A distinctive property of such NPs is that they cannot be replaced by
  personal pronouns:

  They saw her then/*it, You should hold them so/*it.

  Similarly there are no corresponding relatives with which: the way that/∗which you should hold them.

I do not understand the reason why the way which you should hold them is wrong, that is what relation "similarly" marks in the paragraph.


texts: Words that contain other words but which aren't anagrams

texts: What are words that contain other, often contradictory words or phrases, such as "manslaughter" ("man's laughter") or "therapist" ("the rapist")? I found "to get her" ("together") on another site. No anagrams, please.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Response to “Thank you!”

When somebody emails me or sends me thanks, I just reply "You're welcome."  So what will be the professional and good alternative for that?


texts:
Lots of words in the English language are or were two words originally.

Somehow
Nobody
Erstwhile

But many often conjoined words are not 'allowed'. The one that springs to mind is 'alot'.

Why are some of these ok, and others not? How do these joined-up words enter English vocabulary but not others?


texts:
During a conversation with a colleague about the time I had received an automated email, I noted that it had arrived 20 minutes late. I then checked the email schedule software and said:

  The scheduled time has moved forward 20 minutes for some reason.

To which he replied:

  You mean moved back

The discussion carried on with me arguing that the time had indeed "moved" forward. Time moves forward after all, and it was supposed to go out at 16:00 and went out at 16:20 instead. The time moved forward.

Now I completely understand his argument, and I realise that the standard way people generally talk about time in relation to meetings etc... is to say "It's been pushed back" or "It's been brought forward". But he wouldn't concede that my choice of words was a completely valid way to express what had happened.

This left me wondering if I was actually correct, and also why exactly we say "Brought Forward" and "Pushed back"?


texts: Naturalness of expressions like "Me and Adam have discovered ....." in conversational English

texts:
I heard an American radio personality, university graduate, was saying below.

"Me and Adam have discovered a lot of weird things since we
came to Japan."

My question here is not about grammatical things like the difference between I and Me, but the naturalness of the expression itself. I have this question because the example above is actually not the only case. I have noticed the radio personality uses the same wording often, but the conversations between him and his radio program partner, Adam, always keep going just smoothly as if no weird wording were used. FYI, Adam is a Canadian, and he is also university graduate.
How natural does that sound to you? Can we use that in some formal settings too?


texts:
When sending an email response, is it grammatically correct to say "I CHECKED your account, and I SEE/CAN SEE that..."

or, should it be "SAW"?


texts:
The most famous quotation, one I often use for humorous effect, is "Oh joy! Rapture!"
"Oh no!" is common. "Oh wow!" "Oh boy," appear less so in my writings. "Oh woe is me," well, never. As I write this, only the last phrase was underlined by my Grammarly app as requiring the comma. But, Grammarly is not always correct.
What can I do to remember the rules?
I'm hoping for an inclusive list because although I read the rules somewhere not too long ago, they were too complicated for my feeble brain.


texts: what does "chanced that way" mean in this sentence?

texts:
I have a question here, when I read an excerpt from the novel "The Crossing" written by Winston Churchill. I can not understand the following sentence

  They occurred only when a passing traveler who hit his fancy chanced that way, or, what was almost as rare, a neighbor.

I have looked up the meaning of the word "chance (v.)", and I found 2 meanings of this word which are "risk" and "not planned" respectively. In this sentence I think the later meaning will be more appropriate. But they often use "to chance to do something = to do sth by chance". I've never seen anything like "to chance that way" before. I could not translate it. What does it mean?


texts:
While reading novels, I like to put a bookmark on a page where a sentence or a paragraph ends, preferably at the bottom right, which will enable me to just turn the page and put the marker. I can later continue reading from the top left. Because of this habit, I noticed a peculiarity.

In some novels (type A), such pages are easy to find and almost every page ends the sentence or paragraph.
But in some novels (type B), every page ends with an incomplete sentence, which is continued on the next page. I have to continue reading until I come to a page where a sentence ends.

Now, I wondered if there may be a reason why the type A novels have such a pagination style. Was it coincidental or accidental ? Or was it a Deliberate structure ? If Deliberate, what is this style or structure known as ? Something like "Widow elimination" or "Page contiguous" !

{{ I have never seen general novels end with a single word on the last page. I think, if the last page had only one word, the editors may change the formatting slightly to fit that word in the Previous Page, or add more words to the last Page. Similarly, I wonder if Pagination is also stylistic }}


texts: Résumé: Additional details can be provided (if required / on request)

texts:
I'm a freshman applying for internships. I previously had a detailed résumé with appropriate information regarding my projects and areas of expertise. However, I want to tailor it down and keep it as simple as possible so I removed a lot of details.

However, I don’t want the recruiters to think I  don’t possess sufficient skills so I would like to mention a small note at the end of my résumé.

Either of the following:

Further details on projects and subjects pursued during my Bachelor degree and Master degree can be provided if required.
Further details on projects and subjects pursued during my Bachelor degree and Master degree can be provided on request.

Which sentence would sound more polite to the recruiter?


texts: Word that encompasses both parody and homage

texts:
I want to talk about something I have trouble finding a name for, that I could then use to mean both parody scenes and homages. If possible as well things like cameos, hidden nods to prior works, small items in the background that were used in other works, catchphrases from other works, posters, scenes playing on a TV, characters talking about and so on and so forth.

More or less the act of referencing other media or "culture" within something like a movie. But not the word reference itself, that's too generic.

Edit: About a sentence where the word would be used: that's difficult. You'd say "X is a [parody] of Y" or "X is [paying tribute] to Y" or "X has a [cameo] from Y". All those sentences are different and since I don't know the word I'm looking for, I can't provide a sentence that would work.

But it will end up as a headline and should be a word where everyone immediately knows I'm talking about entertainment media.

Words I've considered (definitions from wiktionary.org):

allusion: "An indirect reference; a hint; a reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned "

It doesn't carry the association with entertainment media, though. I'm also not entirely sure if it can be used in this context.
testimonial: "A tribute given in appreciation of someone's service etc."

The word itself has little to do with the actual concept I'm going for and doesn't really fit, since it's not used in this context as far as I know. But starting to use it for this could work. Or maybe not..


texts: Which pronunciation and intonation is better or native-like? (two recordings of 20 seconds attached)

texts:
Community! Me and my sister decided to find out whose pronunciation/intonation is better. Can you please help us out?
Recording 1 (vocaroo)
Recording 2 (vocaroo)


texts: How appropriate is the usage of Adjective "biweekly" when there is no noun like "biweek"?

texts:
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, The word Biweekly is a noun as well as adjective (and even an adverb!).

I did intense research on internet but could not find answers to below questions:

Questions:

Is 'biweekly' an adjective of the noun 'biweekly' itself?
What are such nouns called which are the adjectives of themselves?
How will biweekly be used in following sentence: "I propose biweekly newsletter to be published ______" (one word for "Twice a week"-biweekly?, but it sounds weird)


texts: Which is correct? "I like Ford Explorers" vs. "I like Ford Explorer" vs. "I like the Ford Explorer"

texts:
Suppose you are talking about cars, and are asked what car manufacturer's vehicle you like, which sentence is correct or sounds more natural?

I like Ford Explorers, because they are well-equipped.

(the plural form of a proper noun)

I like Ford Explorer, because they are well-equipped.

(a proper noun w/o any articles)

I like the Ford Explorer, because it is well-equipped.

(a proper noun with a definite article)

Here, I'm talking about cars in general, and not about some specific cars in front of me.
I know I must use a plural noun after the verb "like" in a sentence as "I like poodles." for example. But I'm not sure whether I could say just as the same when it comes to a specific model name of industrial products like cars or smartphones.
I'd very much appreciate it if you could help me with this question.


texts:
Should I say,

  Take the elevator to floor number x

or

  Use the elevator to floor number x?

I want to know the same for stairways.

[This phrase is used in an app and to avoid the detection of -st, -nd, -rd and -th, I want to use only 'number x'.]


texts: What adjective can I use for progressively layered music?

texts:
I've been trying to look online for a word for this. What I mean is, for example, say a composition begins with drums, then some other instrument gets added (say, violin), then another, then yet another.

So, say, the main theme of 3:10 to Yuma (2007). The closest I could get on the web was "intensify" or "heighten" but that's not what I think accurately describes it. In fact, even the use of the word 'layered' in the question might be entirely wrong. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.


texts: "Otherwise" vs "In Case of" vs "Nonetheless" vs "Whenever"

texts: I'm stuck with the question given by my teacher, what do you think the best answer is? Since they're all doesn't suit to put as conjunctions in this sentence.


texts:
Is there a word or phrase for when someone corrects another person's statement, which is, in fact, already correct? Sometimes the "correction" can be wrong, or sometimes it can be redundant (as in my example below); I have not made the distinction. If no word (or phrase) exists, should we coin one?

Example: In a discussion here about the title "Doctor," I stated that, when introducing oneself, the title is only properly used by physicians in U.S. culture outside of academic circles. The person "correcting" me listed dentists, surgeons, veterinarians, etc. who may also properly use the title doctor, occupations already covered by the term physician.


texts:
Is it correct to say "1 feet 1 inches"? This site shows examples of such expressions. They might have been erroneously automatically generated, though.
Notes: I'm not sure who would ever think this is a duplicate, but I just want to say that this question is, if anything, the opposite of what it's supposedly the duplicate of. There's no such question as "Why don't we pluralize “foot” in measurements?" here; I ask if it's correct to say "1 feet 1 inches" and that's it. Logically, I would assume that you don't say either "1 feet" or "1 inches" because those seem ungrammatical at the very least.


texts: Terms to Refer to "Malekind" or "Femalekind"

texts:
I'm looking for some terms or phrases that could be used to refer to all the males or all the females collectively and exclusively. Something like a gender-specific version of "mankind" (which usually refers to all humanity with no regards to gender, to the best of my knowledge).
Something like "malekind" and "femalekind", basically.
Examples
"_____ (malekind) had its chances with me; I'm moving on to _____ (femalekind)."
or,
"I may have a PhD in Physics, but I will never be able to understand _____ (femalekind)."
(Although that second example could easily just have "women" filling the blank.)


texts: Is there a term for all of your parents' children?

texts: In other words, is there a collective term for describing your siblings and yourself?


texts: Word ordering for sequels of works whose titles start with 'The'

texts:
Hopefully a simple one, but my Google-fu is letting me down.

Typically, when alpabetising titles, I would move the 'The' to the end of the title but, in the case of a sequel, should that be moved to before or after a sequel numeral?

For example:

Amazing Spider-Man, The
Amazing Spider-Man, The 2
Amazing Spider-Man 2, The

Which of the latter two is traditionally correct?


texts: Is "The MSO/MSE Split is soon underway" grammatically correct?

texts:
We're in the middle of a historical time. Two creatures will be separated from each other. Waffles will be torn in two. Meta Stack Overflow will be split.
This banner is currently being shown on Meta Stack Overflow and on Stack Overflow itself:

The MSO/MSE Split is soon underway. Please bear with us while this is completed.

The first sentence caught my eye, specifically the last few words: "is soon underway". I'm not sure this is grammatically correct - my internal "something-isn't-right" meter doesn't like it. If I had to guess I'd say it should read "is underway soon", but that doesn't sound quite right either.
I can't put a finger on what, exactly, is wrong with the sentence, nor what should be done to fix it. Can anyone explain this to me?


texts: Choosing between "100%" and "cent percent"

texts:
I am a non-native English speaker. I am applying for the USA university for management studies. While writing the essay I came across the sentence, "I was 100% confident."

My query:

Is it appropriate to write 100% or should I write cent percent? Does it sound professional?


texts: What does the phrase "Vast majority of people live in the world without" mean?

texts:
As I describe in the question title I want to know the meaning of the phrase highlighted in the following quotation from the 5 August 2012 blog of author Edward Hersh:

  Look around you. Wherever you live, whatever circle of society you are part of, you will notice that the vast majority of people live in the world without. Those who are more enlightened, however, are intensely involved with the world within. They realize—as you will, too—that the world within creates the world without.


texts: Rhetorical device for sentence structure imitating meaning

texts:
I am trying to find the specific rhetorical device which means that the structure of the sentence I’m writing about imitates the meaning. In this particular case the writer using enjambement to convey an idea of movement
example:
Godiva, I unpeel/
Dead hands, dead stringencies
(I want to argue that the unpeeling is mimicked in the sentence structure ie the enjambement)


texts: "None so far" is this grammatically correct?

texts:
A: do you have any questions?
B: None so far.

Is "none so far" a strange English and was it correct to use it in the dialogue above?.I was told by a native speaker that it is strange to use it this way in the dialogue.


texts: Please help with a question about verb tense "to infinitive"

texts: Please help with labelling the verb tense for "to leap" in this sentence: It is not known what caused the young elk to leap at the window..." I think it is to infinitive, but I am not sure. Thankyou very much


texts: Is prevention of action a requirement for someone to be 'deterred'?

texts:
After looking at Merriam-Webster, Oxford, and dictionary.com, I'm left unsure about how closely "prevent" and "deter" are related.

I had always known the words to mean the same thing, just operating on different objects:  By "deterring" the person, you "prevent" their action.

But is prevention of the action actually necessary?  If the person still performs the action, were they still deterred?  I had always thought not.

Is it possible for someone to be deterred but their action not be prevented?

EDIT:

Adding example for clarification:

Bob wants to date my sister. I don't want him to, so I tell him that if he does, I will punch him. He gets scared, but not enough to completely dissuade him, so he dates my sister anyway.

No action was prevented. So, did I "deter" him or not?

I had always thought not.  After all, if he went through with it, that means he wasn't deterred, right?

I envision this as a black and white cutoff.  If the action was prevented (as a result of my threat), the actor was deterred. Otherwise, they were not. Is that correct?

Thanks.


texts: How to capitalise the first word of a sentence if it's been elided?

texts:
The example I have just come across:

'fraid we don't do it that way anymore.

Or should it be:

'Fraid we don't do it that way anymore.

Using either 'fraid is casual anyway because it should (more formally) read "I'm afraid.." so maybe it doesn't really matter but I just got curious.

Follow up question: are there more formal examples where this does come up?


texts: Winston Churchill, John Wooden or anonymous?

texts:
Success is never final and failure never fatal. It's courage that
  counts.

This quote has been usually credited to Winston Churchill. [Reference]

Q #1: Should it be been usually or usually been? Though both are used regularly, i guess there should be a more correct expression between the two.

Q #2: Whom should we ideally credit a quote to, in case there is a discrepancy? The stated quote has been attributed to Winston Churchill, John Wooden, Copywriter for Budweiser Beer, etc. but the original source is still disputed.


texts:
I highly advise anyone who is launching a new venture to buy this
  book and build a brand that works.

Is this correct or should it be strongly advise?


texts: What does 'tickling the baby with the meat axe' mean?

texts: Has anyone ever heard the expression - in answer to being asked 'what are you doing' - 'I'm tickling the baby with the meat axe?  My father used to say this to me when I was a child, around 1955, and though I've done a little research, I haven't found the expression yet.  There's a veiled threat there, but I never really understood what it meant.


texts: And they asked me if I weren't an actor what would I do and I RATTLED OUT I'd be a doctor


texts: Is there a word to describe a company who keep their clients for life?

texts:
To cut a long story short, I'm in the process of setting up a marketing agency and am trying to come up with a concise way of summing up my target market. Essentially I am targeting companies whose services would normally be considered 'expensive' but whose clients often last a lifetime. Examples of companies that would match this criteria would be lawyers, financial advisors, dentists, plastic surgeons, high-end hair salons, bespoke clothing designers etc. -

I was initially considering the term 'professional services firms' but felt that this was too closely tied to the corporate members of the above list.

Any suggestions very much appreciated.


texts: What is the correct punctuation of the phrase: one size fits all

texts:
What is the correct punctuation for the phrase: one size fits all?

I have seen two variants:

'one size fits all', and
one-size-fits-all


texts: was vs were in "The teachers discussed Jim, one of whose problems was poor study habits"

texts:
In the sentence below:

The teachers discussed Jim, one of whose problems was poor study habits.

Why was is used in the adjective clauses?


texts: How to refer to employees of other businesses in a business presentation?

texts:
In a mock school activity, I'm presenting to 'shareholders', 'business mentors' (teachors) and members of other companies (fellow students).

I am unsure how to address those from other companies. My current sentence is:

  Good morning, shareholders, mentors and ___

What is a suitable term?


texts: In the following sentence: " He likes to sit there and read a book". I've been noticing that most of the time, we don't use 'to' after the word 'and', but even though there isn't 'to' before the verb, it is still in the infinitive form. Is there any rule which explains that?


texts: Positive-sounding substitute for "dull"/"boring"?

texts: I was recently writing a testimonial, and I wanted a positive substitute for those words. The adjective is for describing the guy in question (i.e. He is a _____ guy). Any ideas?


texts: Build, manufacture, produce - differences and contexts

texts:
to build, to manufacture, to produce something

Are these synonyms, and what is the appropriate context for each of them? What would be appropriate in context of a complex product built in small series?


texts:
"Gabi agreed with rule changes big time."

What does that mean? In which context is it appropriate to use and where it is not?
Word order - is it always used at the end of sentence?
Is it official english or colloquial  only? Is it US, UK or Austraila specific, or general English?


texts: Can we say: "The summer has been over" for a recently finished event?

texts:
I am studying Present Perfect now and I am wondering if it is correct to say, for example:

  The summer has been over


texts: Could you help me solve this phonetic riddle?

texts:
From the position for normal breathing, you move your soft palate upwards and shut off the
nasal cavity.
Then you round your lips, leaving a rather close air passage there, and at the same time, you
raise the back part of your tongue pretty high towards the roof of the mouth cavity, but not
touching it, thus leaving a rather narrow air passage in the back part of your mouth cavity.
You breathe out, letting your vocal cords vibrate.
Wait a minute! You’ve just pronounced a /__/ sound !
Then you lower the tongue, particularly its front part, to a very open position, never stopping
the vocal cord vibration. Then, after about 60 msec. or so, you move the front to central
part of your tongue towards the position which is just above the close-mid.


texts: Difference among You never change. and You change never. and Never do you change

texts:
I think "You never change." is the most usual and basic. But "You change never." is also well used in spoken English. "Never do you change." is almost never seen on books and heard in conversations.
I just learned it from an English grammar so-called "inversion with negative adverb" like "Neither does she.", "Nor do I.". More examples are

I can be blamed for the accident in no way. -> In no way can I be blamed for the accident.
One seldom sees acts of charity. -> Seldom does one see acts of charity.

Largely when is the third form used? Is it just a usage of dead language?


texts:
I am looking for a word that describes the struggle between two sides (politicians and para-military groups) aiming for state control.
Can I refer to it as rope pull?
I want to really emphasize the battle of the two sides being involved.


texts:
In my circle, Manchester, UK, many refer to their work habitat, be it office, shop or worshop, as "my place" or "the place". as in "I'm going to the place", or I left it in my place"

Is this usage peculiar to my area or my religion (Jewish)?


texts: What do "wonk" as against performer and “Wonking out” mean?

texts:
Time magazine’s October 22nd issue carries the article titled “Paul Ryan on the campaign trail: More performer than wonk.” The article begins with the following lines:

  “Mitt Romney's running mate was doing what he likes best: wonking
  out." I'm kind of a powerpoint guy, so I hope you'll bear with me,"
  Paul Ryan told about 2,000 people at the University of Central Florida
  gymnasium in Orlando in late September.”

OALED defines “wonk” as noun, AmE, informal, disapproving, meaning (1) a person who works too hard and is considered boring. (2) a person who takes too much interest in the less important details of political policy.

So I surmise the meaning of “wonk” in the headline as defined in (2) of the above. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

However, I don’t understand what “wonking out” means in the beginning line of the body copy.

OALED doesn’t show usage of “wonk” as a verb, while Readers English Japanese Dictionary at hand shows the usage of wonk” as vi. meaning ‘to study extremely hard,’ and vt. meaning ‘to give an answer from highly technical view point.’

What does “wonking out” mean? Does it mean hard-working like a wonk? Why “out” is necessary? What nuance is added to by adding “out” to “wonk”?


texts: bite lower lip to or whistle your lips to pronounce "really"

texts:
I have seen celebrities, news readers, TV show anchors, judges sometimes bite lower lip, not like when pronounce letter "v" but in little subtle way.
And mostly they shape lips like whistle and then pronounce "really".

Which way to pronounce the "r" is correct?

Does this also depend on locale/area?


texts: How do other words can you use for “the way something is written”?

texts:
I was racking my brain when pressed with a discussion posting in math class the other day, and I was coming to answer someone’s question when I got stuck in a bind.

The question was pre-Calc, and I was answering a question pertaining to some difficult math formatting. The word for the way the math was written had gotten jumbled in my brain. So I ask anyone who can help on the interwebs for their aid.

Here’s the sentence for the actual discussion where I faded off.

“These ones are kinda meant to trip people up by design because of the ________. The way’s it written is supposed to trick you, but the underlying convention of the problem is very simple.”

I appreciate any help, and I’m open to clarification’s or help to anyone.

Thank Everyone!


texts: Wrong use of adverbial (prepositional) phrase?

texts:
While other members of the judiciary regularly attract the ire of
  victims and their families for a lenient approach to what can seem the
  most brutal and callous of crimes...

The above clause appeared in the editorial of a newspaper in Australia.  I think the preposition "of" between "callous" and "crimes" is unnecessary and the insertion of the "of" changes the word "crimes" from noun to adverbial phrase (of crimes).  Instead of "the most brutal and callous" modifying "crimes", "of crimes" as an adverbial phrase modifies "The most brutal and callous", which I find impossible and incorrect. Is my following rewrite correct?

  ... what can seem the most brutal and callous crimes...


texts: "Without any problem" or "without any problems"

texts:
What is the correct form:
"Without any problem" or "Without any problems"?


texts: Word for “direction“ where which way you're pointing to doesn't matter?

texts:
Serbian language has a distinction between “smer” and “pravac”.

“smer” is a straight line when you turn towards something. It's similar to a vector or a ray in maths. For example, “left”.
“pravac” is a straight line that extends behind you. It's like a line in maths: there's no preferred way about which is “forward” and which is “backwards”. For example “left-right”.

We usually extends these meanings outside of “straight line”. For example, a train is going back-and-forth between towns A and B means that its “pravac” is A-B. In other words, it goes both from A to B and from B to A, but the line it follows is the same.

It doesn't mean just a “road”; it's specifically implying movements in both directions. For the same reason, it's not a “line”, although we do say “line” for buses for example -- which go back-and-forth between two destinations. But this feels more like a phrase “bus line”, and without a context “line” sounds just a regular straight line drawn with a pencil. “Way” also comes to mind, but this

How do I casually differentiate between these in English?

I head people using direction for both meanings, although with a heavy bias towards “smer” (when start and end points are different).

I don't know how to tag this. It doesn't necessarily have to be one word, nor am I looking for translation; I've used my native language as an example to describe the difference. This is similar, but asks specifically in mathematical context.


texts: Should you use an article in front of noun

texts:
Should it be

  "It is temperature that has the biggest impact on food"

Or

  "It is the temperature that has the biggest impact on food"

What are the rules regarding this?

Another example:

  "There is a correlation between degree of decomposition and time of death"

Or

  "There is a correlation between the degree of decomposition and time of death"


texts:
A person who does not believe in the institution of marriage is called misogamist. But, what is a person who believes in the institution of marriage called?
Upon search, I found the opposites of misogamist as follows:

believer
optimist

Link: http://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-opposite-of/misogamist.html

None of the above opposites appears to be specific − that is to say, pointing, in specific, to the believe in the institution of marriage. The opposites appears to rather indicate an optimistic attitude in general. To make the opposites specific, one will have to qualify the opposites − like, "believer in marriage". But, that does not fit the bill of single-word opposite of "misogamist".
What is the single-word opposite of "misogamist"?


texts:
I’ve just come across “n.d.” used as an abbreviation, as a bibliographic reference in an academic essay, along the lines of:

  Smith (n.d.) discusses the subaquaeous pliability of rattan fibres…

Is anyone familiar with this?  Unfortunately it seems rather difficult to Google for (since it’s an abbreviation for many other things as well) and checking a couple of scholarly style guides, I haven’t found it mentioned…


texts: To reduce to nearly nothing (to make negligible)

texts:
Using a single verb, I want to express the act of making something negligible, i.e. very small or insignificant. "Neglate" doesn't seem to be english :)

Example sentence:

About the delay between two events in time. It should be possible to almost <word here> this delay.

Second example, as some people didn't get what I intended.

About cutting the cost of something. It should be possible to <word here> the cost. And no, not minimize, it is really about cutting it all the way down to almost nothing, to something that is negligible.


texts:
I know that a noun phrase is a group of words headed by a noun.

The following examples have relative clauses:

I like movies that talk about real stories.
I like cats that have black eyes .
I like teachers who give me good marks.

Is it right to say : (Noun phrase)

Real story movies
Black eye cat
Good mark teachers


texts: Terminology: Definition of the term "direct object"

texts:
In Michael Swan's "Practical English Usage", he states in section 16.1:

Many verbs besides auxiliaries can be followed by forms of other verbs
(or by structures including other verbs). This can happen, for
example, if we talk about our attitude to an action: the first verb
describes the attitude and the second refers to the action. The second
verb structure is often rather like the direct object of the first
verb.

Additionally he gives the following examples:

I hope to see you soon.
I enjoy playing cards.
I saw that she was crying.

What confuses me is the part "rather like the direct object".
If I'm not mistaken

the non-finite clause "to see you soon" is the object of the verb "hope"

the non-finite clause "playing cards" is the object of the verb "enjoy".

the nominal clause "that she was crying" is the object of the verb "saw".

Why does Swan consider those structures as "rather like direct objects" instead of "direct objects"? Do grammarians use other terms for those structures or is it possible that Swan uses the term "direct object" only for noun phrases, but not for finite/non-finite clauses?
Edit:
I have checked how the term "object" is defined in "A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language" by Quirk, Svartvik and Leech:

10.7 Object: direct and indirect
...
(a) FORM
Like the subject, the object is normally a noun phrase or a nominal
clause.
15.3 Nominal clauses
Nominal claues (clauses approximating in function to noun phrases)
fall into six major categories:
that-clauses (15.4)
...
to-infinitive clauses (15.10 f)
-ing clauses (15.12 ff)
...
15.4 That-clauses:
Nominal that-clauses may function as:
...
direct object: I noticed that he spoke English with an Australian
accent.
...
15.10 To-infinitive clauses:
Nominal to-infinitive clauses may function as:
...
direct object: He likes to relax.
...
15.12 -ing clauses:
Nominal -ing clauses may function as:
...
direct object: He enjoys playing practical jokes.
...


texts: Do "ensure" and "assure" invoke legal obligations?

texts:
Not sure where else to put this as I did not see a StackExchange for legal questions. Will gladly remove if someone can suggest a more appropriate place.

We are submitting a proposal in response to a government RFP.
My client thinks that any and all uses of ensure, assure, or insure, (unless specifically about insurance) in any document (not just the specific proposal we are doing today) should be avoided as it exposes them to legal liability.

So on a resume we can't say, "Mr. Jones utilized cutting edge technology to ensure optimal placement of gizmos".

It is true that if we represent that we can do the work and then fail we will have some legal liability. But I don't believe the liability attaches in our proposal, it would be when we sign a contract.

ETA: The done thing here is to use "make sure" in place of these words. Which would be legally identical, wouldn't it?
Is it plausible that one could avoid liability by using "make sure" instead of "ensure"?


texts: Can I use desire in its singular form without an article before it? That is, if I write "...so also a person without desire", will that be correct? or I'll have to use "..so also a person without any desire" or "..without desires"?


texts: Which sentence is correct? The one using the, an or no article?

texts:
I have a problem with these sentences. which one is correct?and why?

He studied the role of an/the/ ' extended family in caring for older people.


texts: Which definition of "franchise" fits in this context?

texts:
Which definition of "franchise" fits best in this context?

  Despite the seemingly strong empirical support in previous studies for
  theories of majoritarian democracy, our analyses suggest that
  majorities of the American public actually have little influence over
  the policies our government adopts. Americans do enjoy many features
  central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom
  of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested)
  franchise. But we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organizations and a small number of affluent
  Americans, then America’s claims to being a democratic society are
  seriously threatened.

The right to vote?
The rights of citizenship?
The right to carry out specified commercial activities?


texts:
I was thinking to myself, when suddenly a thought occurred to me: When was the first usage of "blew his brains out"?

Example as used in sentence:

  He put the shotgun in his mouth with one shell in the chamber. He pulled the trigger and blew his brains out.

Just my curiosity getting the better of me. Thanks in advance.


texts: His memory is as immortal as his arts have made me. (grammar)

texts:
All the world has heard of Cornelius Agrippa. His memory is as immortal as his arts have made me. All the world has also heard of his scholar, who, unawares, raised the foul fiend during his master's absence, and was destroyed by him.

From Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley.

Is the highlighted sentence grammatically correct?

As far as I can tell, His memory corresponds to his arts, not to his arts have made me. I mean, the correspondence has to be 'word to word' or 'phrase to phrase'. Or maybe the sentence needs a relative pronoun or something?

In fact, what does this sentence mean exactly?


texts: Are there any English words pronounced with sounds/syllables that aren't part of the spelling?

texts:
There are many English words with silent letters, words like gnome or island that are spelt with consonants that aren't pronounced, but are there any words that work the other way round, with a pronunciation that includes extra sounds or syllables that are not in the spelling?

I can't think of any real examples, hence this question, but a made-up example would be if gnome were spelt nome but pronounced with a g at the start. Or if people started pronouncing offer as "ofter" as a sort of weird parallel to after.

Note: I don't mean words like rough, where the f sound is spelt gh, because in those cases the spelling does still include letters (however seemingly illogical) for each of the sounds.


texts: What do you call a person who is favoring someone else

texts:
What do you call someone who is favoring someone?
For instance if your employer favors your co-worker over yourself, you would refer to your employer as what?


texts: Is noun verbing becoming more prevalent?

texts:
My subjective experience is that noun verbing - that is, turning a noun into a verb - is becoming more common. For example, one can say "beer me" to ask someone to give me a beer, using "beer" as a noun. Or recently a friend told me they were "pajamaing around", as in, walking around in their pajamas. Both of these forms sound natural and easily make sense to my native ears.

I first recognized the concept of verbing nouns many years ago and it seems like it's more common/accepted now than before. However I have no objective evidence to back this up. Is this phenomenon indeed becoming more common/prevalent, particularly in North American English?


texts:
I want a foo that doesn't bar, such as a baz.

Is baz referring to a foo that does bar, or a foo that does not bar?


texts: What is an idiom/slang for "someone who pretends to be good when they're not"?

texts: This is not from real life, but from a movie on my local TV. A character in the movie is really bad, but when she talks with others, she pretends to be an innocent/ good woman. I want to know how to describe this kind of person.


texts:
A user of U&L posted the following comment in response to somebody's answer:

  That's some neckbeard vomit right there. Nice.

I investigated and discovered that neckbeard, unsurprisingly, means

  Facial hair that does not exist on the face, but instead on the neck. Almost never well groomed.

OK, but what is neckbeard vomit? Google only returns four hits for the phrase and one of them is the comment in question. To make matters worse, the poster of the comment seems to consider it a compliment, while to me it seems very much the opposite.

So, what is neckbeard vomit? Is this a geek slang term I have not come across or was it coined by the comment's author?


texts: "...putting the proper efforts and funds into it..." or "...putting the proper effort and funds into it..."

texts:
Complete sentence: Marketing can be invaluable to your firm, and putting the proper effort and funds into it up-front to ensure that it is done correctly can provide you with substantial benefits.

Since "funds" has an s, should effort also have an s so that they are parallel, or is that unnecessary or incorrect?


texts: Why do superlative adverbs sometimes use 'the'?

texts:
"He ran the fastest." 'the fastest' is an adverb here, not a noun, so why does it use the definite article 'the'?

We could say "He ran fastest", and that works fine too.

If we say "He is the fastest runner", 'the' relates to the noun 'runner', so there is no problem--so the fact that superlative adjectives also have 'the' in front is not an issue…

But if we say "He is the fastest", is 'fastest': 1. a noun? 2. a predicate adjective, in which case why does it take 'the'? 3. an adverb--which is odd, because it would translate like 'He exists the fastest'? But then, you can also say "He is fastest".

There would seem to be some serious blurring and confusion here between 'the fastest' as a noun, an adjective and an adverb. "He is the fastest runner", "He is the fastest", "He ran the fastest", "He ran fastest", "He is fastest".


texts: How likely is a native speaker to confuse HE and SHE?

texts:
As a non-native English speaker whose mother tongue has not distinct pronouns to address male/female third persons, it is trying to avoid confusing he/she in speaking. I wonder how would native speakers deal with this case?
Is it also happenning in vernacular English?
Isn't it offensive (or pejorative) to use he for a female or vice versa?


texts: It all started in Australia where the first real black swan was spotted

texts:
Definition of 'Black Swan'

An event or occurrence that deviates beyond what is normally expected of a situation and that would be extremely difficult to predict. This term was popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a finance professor and former Wall Street trader.

Since Lehman Brothers defaulted in 2008, International Finance became the place where a series of unpredictable events started to materialise. Black swans are usually used to denote very rare financial events.

But is this saying used also in other spheres of social life or scientific fields?


texts: Word for "delegating" with negative connotation

texts:
I am writing a complaint letter: "...she gets others to do her job and she claims the credit..."

The only word I know for "getting others to do her job" is "delegating", but it sounds too positive. What is the correct word to imply that she is just making use of people to her advantage?


texts: What is the difference, if any, between "your wife" and "your own wife"? The latter is used in the Bible. Does it convey any more information than "your wife"?


texts: Capitalization in direct speech without quotation marks

texts:
My question has been largely answered in the discussion linked to below. However, one question remains: in mid-sentence hypothetical direct speech without quotation marks, what is preferable capitalization?

People are incensed at the wealth of others: why does he have all that and I do not? they wonder.

or:

People are incensed at the wealth of others: Why does he have all that and I do not? they wonder.

My instinctive preference is for the former, without capitalization of the initial word of the thought. Yet it being a complete thought coming from a hypothetical "wonderer", not from the author, would seem to suggest otherwise.

Many thanks in advance!

Capitalization with quotation marks


texts:
A line from William Golding's The Lord of the Flies:

  All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat.

Is it just me or does the sentence seem grammatically off?


texts: What do you call the directions orthogonal to uptown/downtown in Manhattan?

texts:
While in many places, the notions of "uptown" and "downtown" can be somewhat fuzzy and vague, in Manhattan, these two words have clear definitions - if you are standing on nth Street, then uptown is in the direction of n+1th Street, while downtown is in the direction of n-1th Street.

What do you call the directions orthogonal to that? That is, if you are standing on 8th Avenue, what do you call the direction you travel to get to 7th Avenue or 9th Avenue? (In particular, what do people who actually live in New York call these directions? It's not difficult to come up with reasonably clear ways of expressing these directions [see below], but I want to know what natives call it.)

Possible options (but I have no idea which of these, if any, are actually used by New York natives):

Just east / west (since Manhattan is sort-of-but-not-really oriented to the compass directions)
towards the Hudson River / towards the East River (but does anybody actually say this? Seems unlikely.)
something based on roads that run along the Manhattan coast, like towards the FDR / towards Henry Hudson Parkway (but again, does anybody say this? Doubt it.)


texts: Are you sick "at" your stomach, or sick "in" your stomach?

texts: When something disgusts you, are you sick at your stomach or sick in your stomach? For example, "That makes me sick ___ my stomach".


texts:
"The gunman and Dr O'Neal had been engaged, and were had been planning to marry on 27 October - but that date passed without a wedding, according to CBS Chicago."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46270195

Am I correct in saying were and had shouldn't be used next to each other in this sentence?


texts: Did a movie give the final blow to the usage of the term "negro"?

texts:
While rewatching the famous movie "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" I noticed that the term "negro" instead of "black" was often used. The following is a sentence taken from the movie.

From Guess Who's Coming to Dinner:

  "He thinks you’re gonna faint because he’s a Negro".

the following source notes that:

  “Negro” is the very dated word for a black person, which quickly died out in the years immediately following the release of this movie.

(www.eslnotes.com)

Also Etymonline suggests that the term was replaced by "black" in the late 1960s.

  because of its perceived association with white-imposed attitudes and roles the word was ousted late 1960s in this sense by "Black".

Given the subject of the movie was the  representation of the controversial subject of interracial marriage during the Civil Rights Movement, I guess the terminology in the movie was very carefully chosen. This leads me to think that when the movie was released, the term "negro" was still a "politically correct" one, but for a very short time though.

Given the immediate  popularity and success of the movie, is there evidence that the film itself actually contributed to the change in usage and the emergence of "black" as a more commonly accepted term?


texts:
How should "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" be capitalized?
Here are some examples taken from some of the top results on Google:

I’d like to be among the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas.
Share the spirit of peace and joy on this occasion of Merry Christmas with your acquaintances and loved ones.
Just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or a Happy whatever you are celebrating at this time of year.

And here is what Wiktionary says:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Is this capitalization correct? If so, does this mean that "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" are proper nouns?


texts: "To ensure" vs. "To ensure that" + subject + predicate

texts:
Is any of these two sentences incorrect:

-(without that): "To ensure the voters are not influenced by mass-media, the campaign will end 7 days before the elections take place."

-(with that): "To ensure that the voters are not influenced by mass-media, the campaign will end 7 days before the elections take place."

Is the presence of that mandatory?


texts: Why is it ‘A God,’ not ‘God' in Mark Sanford’s “I want to acknowledge a God not just of second chances, but third, fourth, eighth chances”?

texts:
There was a quote of ex-South Carolina governor Mark Sanford in his victory speech in the House vacant seat election in the New York Times article (May 13) written by Gail Collins under the title “Guess who’s back”:

  “I want to acknowledge a God not just of second chances, but third,
  fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth chances,”

I thought the word, ‘God’ is an uncountable noun, - unless you are in a polytheist world.

(BTW, according to Japanese myth, there are 8 million! gods and godess in the universe).

Is it grammatically right to place an infinite article before the capitalized 'God'?

Did he mean that there is a merciful God who awarded him many chances albeit a lot of scandalous misconducts he had committed among many Gods, or there is a merciful aspect of God in the God?


texts: Should I refer to a person by his/ her name?

texts:
When writing emails, I come across a problem of whether I should refer to that person by name, or just a simple 'Hi'.

Like if I don't know say Thomas Anderson and I want to mail him for the first time, do I start with a 'Hi!' or 'Hi Mr. Anderson'?

I really don't know how formal this sounds, English is not my first language.

(I am asking this question when emailing people professionally)


texts:
he's been tasked with surveying Quarray. so he took off a minute ago.

I'm wondering if "took off" can be used as simply "left".
and also, Is this sentence grammatically correct?


texts: Reason for the current trend to use «she» as the gender-neutral pronoun?

texts:
There are some questions on gender-neutral pronouns both here and on Writers.

User Christine Letts writes:

  In academia, there is currently a
  movement toward using the feminine
  pronoun at all times.

I wonder why that is. I came across several examples on papers I read, but the only one I can remember at the moment is a book: Seth Godin's Linchpin. While some might not be comfortable labeling it as part of academia, it suits my point perfectly. Every time he refers to a person, he uses the feminine pronoun.

User Senseful writes the following, potentially identifying affirmative action as the precursor for this trend.

  I remember reading somewhere that it
  was recommended to use the opposite of
  what most people stereotype the
  profession as. So, for example, when
  talking about a chiropractor, you
  would use "her", and when talking
  about a secretary, you would use
  "his".

So, where do you think this trend comes from?


texts: What does "unshackle an entire swath of the human population" mean in this passage?

texts: While not a panacea, this blast of cutting-edge, twenty-first-century technology offers real promise as a way to help unshackle an entire swath of the human population


texts:
EDIT: I appreciate all the answers and the effort provided here, but my question is not about the meaning about the word in English, but about the genesis of the word in computer graphics—I linked myself to the Wikipedia article, so I know it comes from the Greek fairy, but why?

I know what sprites are and how to use them. This question is purely linguistic.

I would be interested to know where the word sprite (as in computer graphics) comes from. English is not my mother tongue, and the word as such doesn't ring a bell for me...


texts: Possessive and plural suffixes for proper nouns ending in -s

texts:
With a name that ends in -s, such as Travis or Lewis, where and when should you use -es, -'s, -s or just leave it alone to both pluralise, and to infer belonging to?

E.g., if the ball belongs to Travis, which suffix would be used in

  The ball is Travis[es/'s/s/].

And, referring to a group of people all named Travis, which is correct:

  Here come the Travis[es/'s/s/].


texts: If I can say "not that good a review," does that mean I can say "not that good reviews"?

texts:
I'm new to the template, so please forgive my ignorance of this community's parlance, formalities.

I'd imagine that many here have seen the construction:

"Adjective + Article + Noun," as in "so fine a person," or "that fine a person."

My question pertains to the possibility of a "Adjective + Plural Noun" construction, as in "They weren't THAT GOOD REVIEWS," or, "They weren't THAT GOOD PEOPLE."
This sounds stilted at best and at worst, wrong. Do these sentences require the addition of an "Article + Singular Noun + Of" between the adjective and plural noun, as in "They weren't that good A GROUP OF people"?

Thank you to all who can shed light on the matter. I'm still a high school student and am acquiring the tools necessary to analyze problems like this one.


texts:
I'm wondering if there was a word that would describe: spelling out a word using a word

e.g.

Pear = Pineapple Energy Apple Red


texts: A word for forcing oneself to do something one dislikes

texts:
What is word for forcing oneself to do something one dislikes or in general doing something one hates?

I can't use [self-] "discipline" because I'm thinking along negative connotations almost of puritanical self-punishment, doing something that one might find distasteful, unnatural, because it's somehow ennobling.


texts: What is the correct form of "advance" in the sentence: "My advance search"?

texts:
Which form is correct?

My advance search.

My advanced search.

I ask this in comparison to "simple" that does not have a 'ed' form.

My simple search.


texts: I recently encountered the phrase "for choice" to mean "by preference".  At first it didn't look like idiomatic English to me, but a web search turned it up in a few other places.  Is this common in some dialect other than mine (in British English, perhaps)?  And is it native to that dialect or borrowed from some other language?


texts:
As you know, somewhere in The adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim expresses his certainty that he's noticed that a noise came from the garden of Miss Watson by saying (my emphasis)

  "Say, who is you?  Whar is you?  Dog my cats ef I didn' hear
  sumf'n..."

I wonder if: a) the expression in boldface was a common one in those days (at least, in the area where the story develops), b) it is totally obsolete these days, and c) you know expressions that are equivalent to it and not at all uncommon to listen nowadays.

Why do I believe that it may have been an actual expression from those times? To begin with, there is the disclaimer by M. Twain that appears at the beginning of the book:

  IN this book a number of dialects are used, to wit:  the Missouri
  negro dialect; the extremest form of the backwoods Southwestern
  dialect; the ordinary "Pike County" dialect; and four modified
  varieties of this last. The shadings have not been done in a haphazard
  fashion, or by guesswork; but painstakingly, and with the trustworthy
  guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms
  of speech.

  I make this explanation for the reason that without it many readers
  would suppose that all these characters were trying to talk alike and
  not succeeding.


texts: Origin of ending a sentence with a preposition-German separable verbs?

texts:
One thing I've noticed about the usage of ending a sentence with a preposition is how similar the construction is to German separable verbs.  With German separable verbs, the prefix is often a preposition when taken by itself, such as "mit-kommen" = accompany, but is "come with" if it's broken into parts.  In a regular declarative sentence in German, this would be written with the prefix at the end, such as "Paul kommt Erich mit" = "Paul accompanies Erick."

My question is, aside from the parallel, is there an actual causal relationship here?  Is the common usage of putting a preposition at the end come from an old German construction with separable verbs?


texts:
At work, how can I say "whenever you are ready I am ready." I would like to say "I am ready so please help me when you are available."

Here is my full email:

  Hello ####

  Whenever you are available I am available.

  Thanks,

  XXXX

Because the recipient is my senior, and I don't want to be rude.


texts:
Is it correct to say:

  I don't know which boy you meet.

For me which here makes sense but grammatically I think there is something wrong by using which to refer to the boy.


texts: a single decisive word for a "positive result"

texts:
It says:

  The sweeping prevalence of technology is an undeniable fact today. Both
  fruits and repercussions of such prevalence have reached epidemic
  proportions.

Can fruit mean a positive result, here? and if yes, is it because of the context (mainly due to its contrast to repercussion) or it independently sounds that way?
Dictionaries are not forthcoming enough about this, attributing fruit to both
results and consequences(implicitly conveying a negative result). So my question is:

What's really a decisive, yet general word for a positive result? I'm saying "general" to rule out the words like harvest[n.] which mean "result of an effort"
I also came across similar questions here on the website, but they seem fail to be frank enough.

Thanks in advance


texts:
Question
Do prefixes & suffixes have antonyms? As in, is it possible for a prefix or suffix to not have an antonym?
Example
Google defines "-gon" as:

-gon
combining form
in nouns denoting plane figures with a specified number of angles.

I can't find any antonyms for this suffix.
I've observed that prefixes may have antonyms. For example, post being the opposite for pre. But is this considered to be an antonym? If so, can suffixes also have antonyms?


texts: How to describe an amount of data in the introduction

texts:
I'm writing a thesis, mostly about computer science (cloud computing, mostly). In the introduction I'd like to give the reader a vague idea about how much data we are talking about (4.5 TB if I remember correctly)

Now my question is, how would I best say this? I would prefer not to start with (semi) technical terms, mostly since it's in the introduction. Currently I have:

  Company X has a medium to large amount of data at their disposal.

Though this is debatable. For me 4.5TB is pretty damn huge, but for a multinational company that amount might be peanuts. If I do say the exact amount in the intro, I feel obliged to explain this, since not everybody knows what 4.5TB means or what it could contain.


texts: Is “Heaven and hell both reside in the details” a well-received English saying?

texts:
There is the following passage in the contribution written by Ehud Barak, the former Prime Minister of Israel under the title, “Iran Has Escaped a Noose.” in Time magazine April 2nd issue:

  “The leaks over recent weeks from the negotiations to decide the fate
  of the Iranian nuclear program suggested more concessions from world
  powers than were announced in Switzerland on Thursday, but as always
  heaven and hell both reside in the details.”

I heard the saying, “God resides in the details,” but never heard of “Heaven and hell both reside in the details.”
What does it mean?

I checked GoogleNgram, which responded as “Ngrams not found.” Is it a well-received English saying.


texts: Is there a synonym / analogue to "he said, she said" that allows a neutral or positive connotation and denotation?

texts:
"He said, she said" has a sense that not only does an interaction look different from the two sides, but of an imbroglio.

There are a couple of moments I can think of that are "he said, she said" in the sense of two different experienced incidents for the two sides, but not in the sense of a nasty conflict where it is tangled to unravel what really went on.

My brother and sister-in-law have two little boys and the (nuclear) family is fortunate by having both sets of parents, two uncles, and one aunt within easy driving range. And sometimes, when the mother is at wit's end coping with the (perfectly age-appropriate) sort of behavior that inspired Mom's brownie recipe, their mother, or father if available, puts them in the car and takes them to a relative. And while the relative(s) in question try to be extra-gentle with the parent, the relative's perspective is (mostly) "Cool! We get to be with the little ones for an hour." There are no adult conflicts, and both parties have some idea of the other side's picture, but it is none the less two different views. One is—I hesitate to exactly say desperate, but a safety release valve for a difficult situation. To the other side it is more of a treat than anyone else.

Or for another example, there was one graduate program where I was the computer person for the department, and I was at a desk, not particularly stressed, when another student came in, looking not at all happy, and asked me to fix a printer so she could print out her thesis. I tried, briefly, to get it to print to the printer in question, and when that failed, I asked her, "Do you need it to specifically be this printer?" She paused; the thought simply had not occurred to her. She said, "No." I asked, "May I try to print it from the office printer?" She said, "Yes, it's on this USB key." I opened it up, started printing, and brought her the first few pages, and asked her if it was printing appropriately. This wasn't really because I saw as a live question whether the document was printing as she wanted; I wanted to reassure her. And I told her I would get the original printer dealt with on my own time, and opened a ticket at my next convenience. Now I haven't heard the whole story from her side (beyond saying that she was "apoplectic" when she asked me to help her), but I can take some obvious guesses that should be obvious to anyone who's been a graduate student submitting a thesis. I imagine that her version of the story started much earlier with trying to get a thesis ready before a some looming date, and she was thinking about how to revise and edit, wondering which wording was appropriate here and whether a section should be written differently there, and trying her best, and already we are at a very stressful situation. But after all that stress, she hit the "print" button, thought, "I can relax now, and it will print," and it didn't print, and nothing she could do or try seemed to change that. Under such conditions, tunnel vision is natural, and highly stressed people are much less likely to think of alternatives like "See if you can use another printer." She wasn't stupid by any stretch; she was quite bright, but just was acting like someone stressed out. (And I might comment that I was impressed by her manners. It's not terribly hard to be polite and agreeable when you are relaxed. It's impressive if you can be polite and agreeable when you are stressed to the hilt—and she was.)

Both of these situations are different on at least one point of a "he said, she said" situation in that all (adults) involved appreciate the other side at least somewhat, and that the two accounts can be connected in a coherent understanding. But there is nonetheless a situation that looks very different depending on whose eyes you are seeing it through.

Any closest words or expressions?


texts:
What's the phrase for being punished because of someone else's folly, guilt or mistake?

For example, a school bully frightens his classmate into helping him cheat in the exam. The teacher notices and rips up both students' exam papers. Here, the bully's classmate is punished too, but actually he's not as guilty as the bully.


texts: Name of a widget in spreadsheet software used to drag formulas to other cells

texts:
You can find it in all spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc or Google Docs. In the Help pages of the latter, it is described as:

  a small blue box in the lower right corner [of the cell]

Is there any name given to that widget? How do people normally refer to it when talking to other people? For example:

  – How do I copy this formula to other cells in the column?

  – Just click and drag this [insert name here] downwards.


texts:
I used to think it was only a British idiom.

But I read an article in the New York Times stressing how important tea was to the British army in Iraq. Apparently there is even a special attachment on a Challenger Tank for making a decent cup of tea. But the article was headed, punningly:

THE BRITISH TO A T.

Sometimes people will say of a child 'He is his father to a t'. Why a 't'?


texts:
She's always knowing something she's not supposed to.

Is this sentence correct? Why? Why not? Are we dealing with a so called "present progressive"?


texts:
One of my colleagues asked me the other day why can we say both the following?

Red is my favorite color.

My favorite color is red.

Yet, we cannot say

Red is his house.

when his house is red.
What makes this possible for favorite color but not for a house for example?


texts: Meaning of 'a feller' in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"

texts:
I would like to ask about the meaning a sentence from the following conversation between Tom and Huck from Chapter 27:

"No, not rot him. FIND him! Track the money!"
"Tom, we'll never find him. A feller don't have only one chance for such a pile—and that one's lost. I'd feel mighty shaky if I was to see him, anyway."

Who does a 'feller' refer to? Does Huck mean that a 'feller' only has one chance or has more than one chance for such a pile? Also what is lost here, the feller or the pile?


texts:
These treatments can swiftly help patients be on their way to a more active life.

or

These treatments can help patients swiftly be on their way to a more active life.

Please help!


texts: “Choose a username that is …and must contain”: phrased incorrectly or just awkwardly?

texts:
The following parameters are given regarding creating acceptable usernames for a particular website:

  The username is case sensitive. Choose a username that is 6-74 characters long and must contain a lowercase or capital letter, a number, or one of these symbols _.@/-

The phrase "Choose a username that is... and must contain..." seems to me to be incorrect, or at least quite awkward.

I believe the instructions ought to say:

  The username is case sensitive. Choose a username that is 6-74 characters long and contains a lowercase or capital letter, a number, or one of these symbols _.@/-

(without the italicizing.)

Is my objection correct?


texts: Can the term 'loss of service' be used to describe a service offered to an unsatisfactory standard?

texts:
I'm trying to get a full refund for my services with my Internet Service Provider. My speeds are extremely slower than usual and they have recognised that the problem is their own fault.

I am attempting to receive a full refund or service upgrade from one of their customer service representatives, but they say they can only give a full refund in the event of a service loss. They refer to this page which does state that technically a full refund should be provided for a loss of service (depending on the number of days in that month).

Could the word 'loss' therefore also mean an unsatisfactory service being provided, or does it have to mean that I have no service?

Thanks!


texts: Photosynthesizing (American English vs British English)

texts: For British English, does the word photosynthesizing include a 'z'? Or is this the American English spelling?


texts: Nominalizing adjectives regarding nationalities

texts:
When we talk about nationalities, "Americans" and "the Americans(or the American people)" are two ways of saying the same thing with the latter having a collective sense.
The same is true for "Italians" vs. "the Italians(or the Italian people)", "French people" vs. "the French(or the French people)", "Japanese people" vs. "the Japanese(or the Japanese people), etc.
Is it perfectly fine to say "the American (as a plural)" to mean the same as "the Americans or the American people"; "the Italian (as a plural)" instead of "the Italians or the Italian people" to refer to them as the nation as a whole?


texts: Difference between "close up" and "close down"

texts: What is the difference between close up and close down? They look like completely different verbs because of the contrast between the words up and down, but they have similar meanings.


texts: Determining licensing in CaGel by means of substitution test

texts:
I read a comment on licensing in another post, which made me revisit this concept. Unfortunately I haven't got access to CaGEL – only to its "little brother", Huddleston and Pullum's A Student's Introduction to English Grammar (henceforth referred to as H&P), so this is what I will refer to in the following.

In their discussion of licensing (e.g. pp65ff), H&P repeatedly use a test where they substitute the head of a VP with another verb, in order to illustrate the difference between complement and adjunct. For instance, they show on p65 that the NP the cheese in Sue used the cheese is a complement (Od) because if the head of the VP (used) is substituted with an intransitive verb – i.e. a verb that doesn't license a complement – we get an ungrammatical result: * Sue disappeared the cheese. On p71 they do the same thing with the manager, in Ed told the manager, showing that the manager is a complement since it is inadmissible with the intransitive verb arrive – * Ed arrived the manager.

To me, this MO seems odd, seeing that it suggests that a certain form always has the same function, regardless of the context in which it is used – something that obviously doesn't hold true. The unreliability of the substitution test becomes blatantly obvious if we use it on a clause such as She stayed in her bedroom, where we want to determine whether in her bedroom is a complement or not. If we use this test here, and substitute the head of the VP (stayed) with the intransitive verb disappeared, we get She disappeared in her bedroom, which is a perfectly well formed sentence. According to the test, then, in her bedroom should be an adjunct; however, according to H&P (p142) in her bedroom is, in fact, a complement in the VP stayed in her bedroom.

So, my question now is quite simply: have I missed something here? Is there a way the substitution test is, in fact, reliable as a way of determining licensing and, thereby, whether a certain element is an adjunct or a complement?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

(for a related question, please see this)


texts: What is the origin of -oid in ‘factoid’?

texts: I was thinking about the words ‘factoid’ (a statement based on assumption) and ‘fact’. Are these words unrelated or is -oid a bound morpheme in this case? If it is a morpheme, what exactly does -oid mean and what is its origin? I wonder if words like ‘humanoid’ and ‘cannabinoid’ are related.


texts:
There is an conversation between two guys in Big Bang Theory, in which I really don't understand what "I'd kill for that women's bone structure" means.

  A: which celebrity would you say I look like the most
  B: Halle Berry (woman)
  A: Thank you, I'd kill for that woman's bone structure.

Please tell me what it means.


texts: What are the differences in usage between disbalanced and unbalanced?


texts: I don't remember the formulas but here it is what I recall

texts:
Are these  sentences  correct?

I need to know, how the system is being started.
If you ask me, how the product is being generated is not his
headache.


texts: Is this pathetic fallacy or a different type of literary technique?

texts:
In the novel I am currently reading, it is said that someone hits the iron:

  "...raining blows down on the victim"

I originally thought that this was pathetic fallacy, as the author is using the weather (rain) to describe an action, though I realised that pathetic fallacy only occurs with thoughts and feelings. Is this still pathetic fallacy or something else?


texts: Phrase synonymous to "a general understanding"?

texts:
I am writing a goal where I would like to replace the phrase "a general understanding" with something synonymous.

The whole line reads:

  Writes clean and concise code that reflects a general understanding of the codebase and its external modules.

Alternative that I don't like:

  Writes clean and concise code that reflects efforts to understand the codebase and its external modules.

I am looking for a similar phrase which uses an alternative to "understanding" with a positive adjective describing it.


texts:
I found on a research paper the following statement:

  Is any particular images satisfying the requirements ?

I thought any can only be used with singular terms. So I was surprised when I've seen "images" rather than "image".

Am I correct?


texts: If a rule of competence is meritocracy, is there a single word to denote a rule of nepotism, such as nepocracy?


texts: How to use apostrophes for repeated possessives?

texts:
As I get older I become more pedantic.  I recently wanted to write a message explaining my dread of going to weddings of children of my friends.

Which of the following is correct:

  I am dreading going to my friends' children's weddings.

or

  I am dreading going to my friend's children's weddings.


texts:
Is there a word for that feeling when you're waiting in excitement for something to happen, but you're being teased with or denied it? It's a feeling of definite frustration but you're quite happy to sit with it as it's building up  (good) tension and you know satisfaction will be greater as a result of waiting.
Suggestions in other languages, not just English, welcome.


texts: Expression for "more uses to come for a technology"?

texts:
I'm looking for an expression to use about a recent technology, where there are some uses already, but there may be more not yet widely known, and people are still figuring out what to use it for. I would like to say for example

  It's been 3 years since smartwatches came out, but [there are more
  possibilities in them that can be leveraged that people don't know
  about]"

meaning that there is a new use coming up which I'm going to talk about. What I would like to express is that there is something more in them, that has not been leveraged so far, but is about to be.

I know about "more than meets the eye", but I'm looking for something that refers more specifically to a new way that something can be used in.


texts: What is it called when some pronounces their “t” sharply

texts:
What is it called when people pronounce their "t" sounds so sharply that it sounds like the sound "eh" comes after the "t" sound?  So the "t" sound sounds like "teh" with a big emphasis on the "eh" sound?

Example: smart-eh

     first-eh


texts:
Three questions:

Is it appropriate to say "shit happens"? I mean isn't it obscene?
When is it appropriate to say "shit happens" and when not? Is it always obscene or it can be used in some situations?
What can we use instead of "shit happens"? What are the similar phrases?


texts:
What is differences between "goal-driven" and "goal-oriented"?

E.g.

  This chapter proposes modeling perception as a goal-driven planning pro- cess and considers how to guide the application of perceptual ...

vs.

  Strategic planning and different goals are common in industrial management. The existing literature describes a wealth of frameworks for goal-oriented planning ...


texts: Why both “had” and “after” in “.... after we had completed our work”?

texts:
We went to watch a movie after we had completed our work.

Why  the need for the word "had" when there is the word "after"?


texts:
I was watching an ERB video and heard a phrase "a flute busting Prussian"

See Alexander the Great vs Ivan the Terrible - Epic Rap Battles of History at (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVbH1BVXywY ,1:46)

I suppose it means something like "one who is blowing a flute" but I'm not sure if there's another slang meaning or something else.


texts:
In the field of Textual Criticism, the word 'autograph' does not refer just to a signature but to a manuscript, traditionally hand-written on parchment or vellum, by either the writer themselves or by a scribe, from dictation.

But I recently came across the word 'authograph' which I assume is being used in the same context as it is used by John Burgon, a renowned textual critic.

The NGram shows its use and it appears to be still a valid, and not archaic, word. But I can nowhere find - anywhere - a dictionary that contains it, either online or at home.

Does this word mean what I think it means (the original handwritten manuscript of an author) or does it mean something else ?


texts: A positive alternative to "smelling" to describe something with a pleasant odor

texts:
When one hears that something smells, one would generally assume that it smells bad.

Isn't there a word which wouldn't bring to mind the idea of a bad odor? For example, how would you describe pot-pourri (assuming you like the smell of pot-pourri)? If possible, I would like an adjective, or a word that could takes the place of an adjective.


texts: What is another word to describe the way an author creates a visual image in our mind? (hard)

texts:
For example, we can say "Through a simile of grotesque, the author...

visually ignites
conjures an image
creates an atmosphere comparable in ambience

etc
I am looking for phrases that I can use to describe the way an author creates visual imagery :). I found this abit harder than I expected.
Ta,


texts: How to say "I learned swim but I don't know how to swim"

texts:
Say when I was young, my mother asked me to learn swimming in a swimming class. Can I say "I learned swimming" here?

What if after the swimming class, I still couldn't swim. What's the most native and concise way to describe "I learned swimming but I failed/I still couldn't swim"?

What if after the swimming class, I am able to swim. What's the most native and concise way to describe "I learned swimming and I succeed/I could swim"?

Does "learn" itself imply success?

Edit

To give more context, for example I'm in a job interview. Let x denote a verb or  a phrase. Let y denote something learnable, eg. how to swim, how to program, cooking, etc. Does x exist in English such that both of the following conversations are honest.

  I: I x y.

  Interviewer: So can you do y?

  I: Yes I can.

  I: I x y.

  Interviewer: So can you do y?

  I: No, it's too difficult. I didn't learn it.


texts: How did 'rip' + 'snort' compound to signify 'something of exceptional strength' (ripsnorter)?

texts: These answers don't answer the question, as they no more than repeat the etymology and don't expound Etymonline. So I tried OED, but it also doesn't expound the etymology.


texts: Name for expression like "as cool as an ember is hot"

texts: A statement such as "as bold as a lion" is a simile. Is there a specific name for constructions like "he is as honest as the day is long" or "he was as short as she was tall"?


texts: Can I use "parallel myriad" in a sentence and would that be an oxymoron?

texts:
The sentance is:

Task: Add two APIs to the ESB.

Info: Parallel Myriad task which involves all seven systems to work together and deliver this.


texts: Is there a symbol I can use as a substitute for a word or part of a word (similar to how ◌ is used for diacritics)?

texts:
I am making a chart that illustrates prefixes, suffixes and middles of words in Braille, and I was wondering if there is a symbol I can use to represent word, part of word or rest of word, similar to how ◌ is often used in diacritics examples. I would like to avoid the hyphen as there is some specific Braille for dealing with that.

For example (just using ◌)

◌tion
dis◌
◌dd◌


texts: Is there an online sample sentence database or search engine?

texts:
Sometime, I am not sure if I use a specific word correctly. I would like to get some sample sentences to learn from.

So, is there a online sample sentence database/search engine?


texts: Proper word for "Before including Current" value

texts:
In a web application user interface, I need to tell my users that all past dates are valid from the given date and also including the given date.

For Example:

  Validity: Before 10-08-2012 including 10-08-2012

I'm looking for proper word to use, instead of using before, including and two-time current date at the same line.

There should be a single and more suitable word for this.

What I'm currently using, I want to improve the sentence underline with red color:


texts: At what point did the concept of internet troll become incorporated into an English dictionary?


texts: What is the Rule for Capitalizing Titles

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Which words in a title should be capitalized?

First of all, after knowing the answer, I may need to edit the title of this post as the very first thing :)

Moving to my actual question, which groups of words in the title should be Capitalized. I know, all nouns have to be, any other parts of speech?


texts:
Consider this sentence.

  Americans consider themselves egalitarian and unsnobbish about accents, but they are full of notions about how not to speak.

What does "how not to speak" mean? I know the meaning of "how to speak"; it means asking about which method I should take to speak.

Does "how not to speak" mean trying finding a way to avoid saying something?


texts: He suggested that our team have a meeting vs. he suggested that our team has a meeting

texts:
My team's boss suggested that our team should have a meeting with another team. We are currently trying to write a message to the other team but cannot come to a conclusion as to how to write a particular sentence.

Here are the two sentences we are torn between

  Our boss suggested that our team have a meeting with your team.

and

  Our boss suggested that our team has a meeting with your team.

Which one is correct?


texts:
I'm a native English speaker and I've never been able to really parse this one.  Is it a command aimed at the police? If so, shouldn't it be "police, take notice"?  Is this construction used anywhere except these kind of signs?

Examples from GIS


texts: As of / Starting in / Since / From (certain date)

texts:
I would like to know which of these phrases best fits in the following context:

As of / Starting in / Since / From 2015, the category "children and youth books" has replaced the previous category of "children books".

This is related to statistics on book publications, so it means that since that year onwards this category changed its name.

Specifically, I have the impression that the phrase "as of" conveys the idea that what is referred to will have an impact on the future. (e.g. "As of 2008 the visa facilitation agreement signed in 2007 came into force")

In this case, there is a change in the format of a report, but in reality, this is not going to have major consequences, it is simply the change in the name of an item in the report, to let the readers know that this item is the same which was called before with a slightly different name.

With this in mind, I would like to know if there is actually a difference in those phrases or are they interchangeable in the given context.


texts: Which of these is correct: "I am on the train" or "I am in the train"?


texts: Do Americans drop the 'a' as in 'that's good time'?

texts:
Do Americans tend to drop the indefinite article in spoken English? I'm under the impression that they do.

I've just watched a movie in which two guys were chatting about horse racing. One of them mentioned a certain horse's performance and the other replied with "that's good time".


texts: "I hope you all/both are doing well" vs "I hope you are all/both doing well"?

texts:
Do both convey the same message, or not?

I hope you all are doing well.
I hope you are all doing well.

It occurs to me that the same thing happens with both when I'm only addressing two people rather than more than two:

I hope you both are doing well.
I hope you are both doing well.

I'm sure that the first of each pair addresses more than one person, but I'm not sure if it is as “grammatically correct” as the second from each pair where the quantifier follows the verb instead of the pronoun.

I just wanted to check up on  my friends but I'm not sure which one I should use; I'm a non-native speaker.


texts: What is the difference between "Do you want to eat xxx tomorrow" and "Will you want to eat xxx tomorrow", and which is correct?


texts:
A married lady's proper name is Mrs. Rutledge Dingle.  Her first name is Frances.  When addressed by her nickname, Miss Fran, should "Miss Fran" be set off in quotation marks?
"Miss Fran" was my English teacher, and she said it should be in quotation marks since it was not her real name.


texts: Incorrect grammar versus different dialects

texts:
My girlfriend, someone from southern New Jersey, constantly says phrases like "I'm done my homework" or "I'm done my dinner."  I try to correct her and say, "I'm done with my homework" or "I'm done with my dinner," but she insists this is what she has always said.

Is her grammar just plain incorrect, or is this allowed if she actually has a different dialect where everyone in the region says the same thing?


texts: What’s does “if the dog bites once mean?”

texts: Someone has recently messaged me the phrase “if a dog bites once”, I do not understand what this phrase could mean and my friends do not understands it either. I’m getting a threatening feeling off it haha, thanks for answers!!


texts: What is the etymology of "regression" as in finding the coefficients of polynomials?


texts: "at the cost of" vs. "at the expense of"

texts:
I usually use "at the cost of", but my editor made it "at the expense of". For example, the following sentence:

  The counts in Table 2 are all based on implementations that are
  optimized for computational cost, which comes at the cost of
  significantly increased storage costs in ...

was replaced by

  The counts in Table 2 are all based on implementations that are
  optimized for computational cost, which comes at the expense of
  significantly increased storage costs in ...

Can anyone help explain the difference?


texts: Can “famous last words” be used in positive way as a response in conversation?

texts:
I came across the phrase, ““famous last words.” I took it literally as the last word delivered by famous people. But Wikipedia defines““famous last words” other than this sense as:

used in a conversation to show disbelief of the previous statement.
used as a warning that following the course of action just mentioned will result in impending doom.
For example:
A. "We won't miss the train. Mike's never late".
B. "Famous last words!"

However, Readers English Japanese Dictionary, a popular and reputed Japanese English dictionary published in Japan at hand shows the definitions:

n. Collection of famous last words.
(joc/iron) ①そうでしょうとも（That’s right / Exactly)．②それはどうかな（It’s dubious. / I can’t trust it.）.

The definitions of the above ① and ② are clearly conflicting. ① is affirmative, and ② is skeptical, if not totally disapproval.

Can “famous last words” be used in an affirmative or approving way as Readers Dictionary says in ① of the above definitions?


texts: What's the difference between "cozen" and "bamboozle"?

texts:
We have:

cozen (verb)
1 : to deceive, win over, or induce to do something by artful coaxing and wheedling or shrewd trickery

and:

bamboozle (verb)
1 : to deceive by underhanded methods : dupe, hoodwink. "I got bamboozled by the salesperson to buy a more expensive model."

Questions:

Can you be cozened without having been bamboozled? Or the other way around?
In which situations would I prefer say someone was "cozened", and in which would I prefer saying they were "bamboozled"?


texts: What is the category of a phrase like "I'll take it from here"?

texts:
"I'll take it from here"
"If you don't mind"
"Don't mind if you do"
"I'm on board"
etc

As a non-native speaker, I found such phrases extremely useful, and they lighten up the conversation in a friendly way unless overused (e.g., "I'm on board" for the millionth time).

What are these called exactly? Is there a category? It's not idiom (I looked it up), and I can't say it's "general speech" since it's used the same way all the time in various contexts. I don't think they're jargon, either.

They've been a real help when talking to my mostly older coworkers without the crude jokes or comments I make with friends.


texts: What if the break is a comma, and so not parenthetical. As in "..while making an, at best, fitful transition from burnout to working class hero" does the pronunciation rule still hold?


texts: What is the meaning of bag the job? I saw this expression in this sentence:Job-hunting: How to bag that first job. I have looked up it in the dictionary but no meaning goes with the sentence. Do you have any ideas?


texts: Why do we say "What do you do for a living"?

texts: What does "a" (the indefinite article) imply in this context?


texts:
I try to learn English more by watching English movies rather than anything else.
I was watching the movie Shazam (2019). At 01:27:05 when the boy meets his biological mother. The mother says "I realized that they could do a better job taking care of you than I ever will".
But when you say something which is meant for the past you use could and would.
Don't you think it should have been "would" instead of will at the end of the line?


texts: Is the statement ending with "for" considered proper?

texts:
What would be a better and more formal way out of the two below:

The capability was not catered for.

or

We did not cater for this capability.

Or perhaps these are fully interchangeable?


texts: I Corrected Someone's Use of Commas and Now I Don't Know if I Was Right

texts:
Someone had written the following sentence:
Comedy, today, is dead; murdered by political correctness.
I disagreed with their point, but rather than argue with them about that I decided to correct their comma (and semicolon) usage.
I said that the sentence should be written as follows:
Comedy today is dead, murdered by political correctness.
I reasoned that "murdered by political correctness" is not an independent clause, so a semicolon should be replaced by a comma and the first two commas were just unnecessary (I thought they made "today" an appositive of "comedy"). Side note: do the end parenthesis and period go inside the quotation mark? That doesn't look right.
I'm second guessing myself now, because there's nothing more embarrassing and lame than correcting someone's grammar and being wrong. What do you all think?


texts: Difference between "college" and "university"

texts: I have seen the words college and university sometimes mixed in the same article. But there are lots of sources where only one is used. I've looked up them in various dictionaries, but couldn't figure out the difference in their meaning. So, what is the difference (of meaning) that justifies the above findings regarding their usage?


texts: What is it called when a word is used as an adjective to provide color to a description or activity?

texts:
For instance:
"That was an insane amount of money"
The word "insane" is used to indicate that the person describing the money thought it was a very large amount.

"That was a pro move catching the glass before it hit the ground"
Here "pro" is used to acknowledge a combination of skill/speed/luck but in reality no one is professionally catching glasses before they hit the ground.

What is the term for using words incorrectly to add additional "spice" to a sentence?


texts: Which word can I use to describe the sound somebody makes while vomiting? Is burp the right word for it?


texts: Omission of "the" in "elected him president" and "made captain"

texts:
Why is there no the before president and captain?

  They elected him president.

  She was made captain of the team.


texts: Looking for a word that describes this emotion: I'm amused, but ashamed to be amused at the same time

texts:
For example: you laugh at someone getting hurt on America's Funniest Home videos, and then are ashamed that you laughed at their pain. Or you want to laugh at an off-color joke, but are ashamed that you found it funny in the first place. Or someone tells you a story about a personal misfortune, and you find it funny, but you are trying not to laugh and are disappointed with yourself for finding it funny.

Sample: I was [word] when my boyfriend caught his privates in the zipper of his jeans.

Anyone?


texts:
On multiple occasions I heard the phrase slightly chance of something (e.g. rain). This sounds wrong as slightly is an adverb.

Googling returns only few instances. Is it acceptable to use this in speech, is it slang, or just mistake that some people make?


texts: What is a term for a physical place to post flyers?


texts:
I knew he was going to be there, and sure enough, he was there.

In this sentence, can I place comma before "sure enough" like this:

  I knew he was going to be there, and, sure enough, he was there.

And if I can, what's the difference between these two sentences?


texts: Nested Flashback - Past perfect tense w/in present tense or Past tense w/in past tense or Past perfect tense w/in past tense

texts:
So, someone from ELL suggested that I ask my question on this forum. I do not want to know if nested flashbacks are okay. I am simply asking about tense. Thanks for the help! Question is below:

Should a flashback be written in past tense? And if so, should the flashback occurring in it be in past tense as well or past perfect tense?

Past perfect tense w/in present tense or Past tense w/in past tense or Past perfect tense w/in past tense Example below:

(Flashback 1 in present)

Samt takes hold of Judiada’s arms and says, “Ju . . . Judiada, I . . . I am hysterical.”

“I will be as forthright as possible, Samt . . .” Judiada bites his bottom lip and then folds his arms over his chest, “we have to calm the people of Tarbus. You are next in line. We’ll do an emergency coronation ceremony—”

“No!”

“Samt, we have to,” pleads Judiada.

or (flashback 1 in past tense)

“The spirit of Anaris would never give her approval,” said Samt. “No emergency coronation is to be held, Judiada. Lāza’s still out there.” Walking in circles, Samt grabbed his sun-streaked, shoulder length hair in frustration and said, “He was here getting ready. Here. I just talked to him!” He stopped and looked at Judiada. “Doi minu teelio!” Three weeks ago!” Samt took a seat and remembered his last conversation with Lāza.

Three weeks earlier . . .

(Flashback 2 past perfect tense)

Samt had grown tired of listening to the takeoff and landings of spacecrafts while standing in the control room. His anxiousness had turned into boredom while he waited to talk with his superior, Lāza Holmes. Lāza was to set off for his next voyage after their meeting.

Samt looked at the numeral box and noticed that Lāza was beyond late. Samt packed his carrying bag and then headed to the door. He decided that he’d wait to talk to Lāza after he completed his mission. Samt opened the door and before he could walk out, Lāza was walking onto the space carrier deck.


texts: What's the meaning of the expression "The take home is ..."?

texts:
There is an expression I came across recently — 'The take home is ...'. The full sentence was:

  The take home is that regular use of caffeine produces no benefit to alertness, energy, or function.

Can anyone explain what the beginning of the sentence means? And does it have something in common with another expression, "to drive your point home"?


texts: Is it correct to use a semi-colon or a colon in this sentence?

texts:
Would it be better to use a colon or semi-colon in the following sentence:

That being said, the ontological argument fails to do what it intends; it does not prove the existence of God a priori.
That being said, the ontological argument fails to do what it intends: it does not prove the existence of God a priori.


texts: “enables users to” vs “allows users to” – both correct?

texts:
I’m editing a colleague who habitually uses phrases like:

  The password enables users to log in.

This sounds wrong to me, and I want to suggest alternatives like:

  The password allows users to log in.

After some cursory research, I think the problem here is me, not the pattern in question. Are “enables” and “allows” interchangeable, here?


texts:
What is the proper way to punctuate this sentence? Colon, em dash, or comma?

  Eating at a homeless shelter since March has provided me with a look into the thoughts of other people: both the homeless themselves
  and their friends.
  Eating at a homeless shelter since March has provided me with a look into the thoughts of other people — both the homeless themselves
  and their friends.
  Eating at a homeless shelter since March has provided me with a look into the thoughts of other people, both the homeless themselves
  and their friends.

Also, is there supposed to be a comma between "themselves" and "and"?