texts:
Background
Nowadays, I see "them" used to mean "those" a lot. I don't know if it was as common in the past.
For example, take "one of them people".
On researching about it, I found some people say it comes from a dialect of British English. Some others say it is a "non-standard" usage.
I see this usage in Canadian English also, and it seems some people use it in a sarcastic way.
Moreover, I have seen a song titled "one of them days". I also read, in the book called "A Broken Promise", "Now my mother had become one of them people."
Finally, Wikipedia says that it is a usage in Appalachian English (a common name for the Southern Midland dialect of American English):

Pronouns and demonstratives
"Them" is sometimes used in place of "those" as a demonstrative in both nominative and oblique constructions. Examples are "Them are the pants I want" and "Give me some of them crackers."

Question(s):
What would you say about the usage of this word? Is it correct? Could we use it in daily speech? Could this usage go beyond a specific dialect and be used in other dialects, regions, etc.?
Does it really originate from Appalachian English? Why did this usage become popular among other English speakers?
Note: I have already seen a similar question:
What are the grammatical rules for use of "these", "those", and "them"?
However, it only says, "ungrammatical," there. This question is specific to this situation only, and there is more to it.


texts: How to pronounce Alois in A Dog of Flanders?

texts:
The e-book I have downloaded from Amazon has Alois, but Wikipedia seems to have Aloise. I do not know which one is correct in the first place. I shall assume Alois is the correct one.

A Dog of Flanders is an 1872 English novel, which takes place in Belgium. A Japanese adaptation animation is widely more popular in my country. In the animation version, her name is [a.ro.a]. Since the Japanese language lacks the distinction of [r] and [l] or dipthong like [rwa] , if the Japanese producer was correct, her name should be pronounced like [alwa].

I have learned French a little, so if one pronounces Alois in the French way, it should be like that. But, I am not sure whether the English author intended that or  not. I searched Google for the pronunciation, but the top result web site gave me three or more alternative pronunciations for that name.


texts: How to express that a piece of information is the knowledge from a certain date?

texts:
I would like to express that a piece of information corresponds to my knowledge at a given date without implying anything on the past or future validity of the information.

Example:

  The house down the street is uninhabited.

According to this question I could add (as of 15 March 2019) at the end to say that it wasn't true recently but is true from now on. I would like to do the same without saying anything about the past or future. Adding only the date in parentheses seems a little ambiguous to me.

In case anyone is interested: The German equivalent would be (Stand vom 15.03.19).


texts:
I'm stumped at this forum reply which states that the contracted plural of "regulation" is "reg's".

"Cigarettes" is shortened to "cigs", as far as i know, but perhaps that's because "a cig" is a common term.

How about this:

  The makings of a beautiful friendship.

Can it be

  The makin's of a beautiful friendship.

or

  The makins of a beautiful friendship.

?


texts: Expression for personality/lifestyle of somebody that likes to step outside of the comfort zone?

texts:
This is maybe a difficult question. In my mother tongue we have a word for it, but I can not find anything similar in english:

How to describe a person/characteristic/way of life of somebody that enjoys life, tries out new things, goes to new places, is always curious etc. Simply said somebody that thinks and acts out of the comfort zone in daily life.
(And that does not have to be something major, could also be the small things in life)

Things I was thinking about are words like
adventurous, but that is so "big" and to me it implies that that person travels the world, but I am looking for something that could apply easily to somebody that decides to try out a new lunch place in stead of eating at home, just because. Or
a go-getter, but that is to aggressive
Or a way to describe the lifestyle, like 'having a happy lifestyle' or 'exploring lifestyle', but that is so vague..

Best so far: 'somebody that lives curiously' but I am looking for alternatives. Please help :)


texts: Is it unidiomatic to say "an Australian person" or "an Aussie person"?

texts:
As mentioned in For people, can you say "a British" like you can say "an Australian"?, you can use "an Australian" to talk about an Australian person.

But is it also ok to use "an Australian person"? If not, is it merely too verbose, or does adding "person" make the language seem more cold and impersonal?

What about "an Aussie person"? Would that be even more unidiomatic, because you've got a word that's a shortening and is slang before a redundant word?

Also, is "an Australian person" being unidiomatic likely to change in the near future? How did "Jew" become pejorative? talks about how using a noun instead of an adjective is sometimes regarded as offensive nowadays.

I tried looking up "Australian person" at onelook.com, but didn't get any hits. That in itself doesn't indicate anything, as onelooking "British person" only got an Urban Dictionary result.


texts: What is the correct way to use to-infitives?

texts:
This topic often confuses me. Sometimes I am not even able to understand the meaning of a sentence. For instance, the sentence:

  "White to move".

You can hear it in chess, it means that the player with white pieces has to make his turn. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the rule to explain this expression.

  "My first movie to watch was ..."

Is this a correct way to use infinitives? It would be nice if you gave me the full rule about it.


texts: Can I say "more funny" or "most funny" instead of "funnier" or "funniest"?

texts: Could you please provide a reference to your answer whatever it is? I know that "funnier" and "funniest" are more correct, but I want to know whether the less common versions are considered errors or just less eloquent.


texts: Are there any rules or tricks that might explain how phrasal verbs are formed to understand their meanings?


texts: Is the usage "one of the better" correct and grammatical?

texts:
A colleague of mine stated that he often hears "one of the better X" from native speakers. I haven't heard this phrase often, and I would use "one of the best X" myself, unless I want to contrast something, like:

  Solution A is good, but Solution B is one of the better [ones]

Can "one of the better" be used (or is it used even if it happens to be non-grammatical) in non-contrasting cases like:

  This apple is one of the better I've tasted


texts: Meaning of "Officious" to include exploiting a minor office?

texts: Years ago (like in the 1990s), I looked up the word in the OED and saw only meanings like offering unsolicited advice. But I think many people use it to describe people who take their small amount of power seriously. Barney Fife might be an example, maybe there are better ones. My question is, is this Barney-Fifish meaning now accepted and if so, is it pretty new usage?


texts: Is the punctuation of generational suffixes dropped when they occur at the end of a sentence?

texts:
Is the punctuation of generational suffixes (e.g. "Jr.", "Sr.") dropped when they occur at the end of a sentence?

For instance,

  I liked Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr.

The obvious answer seems to be yes, since having two periods back-to-back seems incorrect. If that is the case, however, it seems strange because there appears to be "information loss" in that the shortening of the generation suffix and the end of the sentence both share the same punctuation.


texts: Where should the text in parentheses be placed?

texts:
In the sentence:

  The constant IO::SEEK_CUR assumes that
  the offset is relative to the current
  position (which may be negative).

offset is meant to be negative, not current_position. Is the above sentence correct or is one of the following the correct one:

  The constant IO::SEEK_CUR assumes that
  the offset (which may be negative) is
  relative to the current position.

or

  The constant IO::SEEK_CUR assumes that
  the offset, which may be negative, is
  relative to the current position.


texts:
I am wondering if someone can help me find a single word that means something along the lines of "future consequences" or "the intentional result of our present actions", mostly in a beneficial tone.

As a sort of rough hypothetical example, I mean a situation where a current scientist uses data from a long-dead scientist to come up with a great, beneficial discovery. I feel this captures a sort of fateful, beneficial, almost-intentional consequence of this long-dead scientists work that "resulted from", "based off of" and "as a consequence of" don't really capture.

Hope this makes sense, thanks.


texts: Is there a word/term for a question where the asker knows he'll criticise any answer?

texts: What do you call it when a person asks somebody a question when they know they'll criticise any answer regardless? For instance, a man asks you something like "If you were recruiting staff would you employ an ex-convict?". If you answer yes he says "Well that shows you don't care about security". But if you'd said no then the reply would have been "So you wouldn't give a person a second chance then?"


texts:
would you please help me about this? which is correct: a red-beard man or

a red-bearded man?

Thanks alot


texts: Is the expression "as promised in the list" correct?

texts:
I'm reading the book Looking for Alaska by John Green and studying English grammar at the same time. As far as I know, we must use "on" with "list". Is it a grammar mistake?

  As promised in the list, she brought a  Kurt Vonnegut book, Cat’s
  Cradle, and she read aloud to me, her soft voice mingling with the the
  frogs’ croaking and the grasshoppers landing softly around us.


texts:
This has really been bothering me.  Which of these is the most correct?

I am against twabulation except in the cases of delivery, attack,
and colorization of a twibble.
I am against twabulation except in the cases of delivery, attack,
or colorization of a twibble.

(swapping "in" and "for")

I am against twabulation except for the cases of delivery, attack,
and colorization of a twibble.
I am against twabulation except for the cases of delivery, attack,
or colorization of a twibble.

Googling these kind of sentence structures reveals a mostly even split among the number of search results.


texts:
I am studying a few words in Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary that have connected definitions or meanings:  hearken, heed, observe, attend, and regard.

One definition of 'regard' is:
"To consider seriously; to lay to heart"

What does the phrase "lay to heart" mean and where did it originally get its meaning?


texts: Why is it called hypochondria instead of hyperchondria?

texts:
If hyper essentially means excessive and hypo means the opposite then how does this word make and sense?
It seems like some people decided to improperly make a word out of Greek terminology but admittedly I can't translate it very well or find a good source. I did read something about it meaning under the breast bone somewhere, which hypo (under) makes sense, but I can't find it anymore.


texts: Idioms for when doing something needless when you really have many important things to do first

texts: Are there English idioms for voicing the needlessness of engaging in a particular, low or no priority action when you already have a number of high priority tasks on your hands?


texts:
I have always been curious to understand the origin of these two seemingly similar words. Looking at them for the first time, I thought they were synonyms, but ever since I learned of their existence, their meanings only serve to confuse me further.

Does anybody know how these words came into being, and how they ended up becoming antonyms despite (possibly) stemming from the same word root?


texts: Is "stationery" the name of the store that sells pens, pencils, paper, school things, etc.?

texts:
In Brazil we call this store by the generic name of papelaria, something like "paper store".

What is the correct name for this? Is "Stationery" the name in any country that speaks English? I read about it in Wikipedia, but I am still not sure.


texts: What is an alternative to "hairy" for things which don't have hair?

texts:
My 2-year-old son has to bring in interesting leaves and foliage into nursery this week.

We came across a leaf that we have been describing to him as "hairy". However, it occurred to me that it is not actual hair, so "hairy" is probably not the right word. Is there a better one?

It doesn't have to be one for my son to use. I'm just interested.


texts:
Which is correct?

  You may be impressed how often the technique is being used in
  industry.

  You may be impressed by how often the technique is being used in
  industry.

The first one is what I get used to saying in daily life. It may turn out I've been wrong for ages. I immediately noticed there might be something grammatically wrong when I wrote it. I couldn't help but add the preposition by to make the sentence correct. Is it just a matter of style?


texts: Does an abstract noun take "articles" before it?

texts:
We're taught that abstract nouns don't take any articles before them.

But we have sentences like -

  Speak the truth.

and

  Don't tell a lie.

Why do abstract nouns like "truth" or "lie" take the articles before it here?

Please, answer my question with an explanation!

Thanks in advance!!


texts:
What is the difference between meeting with someone or meeting someone?

For example when I would like to ask someone if he is happy to meet with me and my friend for the first time, how should I ask? "If you are up to meeting us" or "if you are up to meeting with us"?

I tried to google this and use the search, but I couldn't find an answer.


texts:
I get filthy when that liquor get into me
What does it mean?
Does “ getting filthy” mean getting dirty or
Getting decisve in that sentence?


texts: Word for a body of water that is sufficiently populated with fish and worthy of fishing in

texts:
My game is exploration-and-interaction base. Now that the player has struggled and found a fishing rod, I would like my character to convey the message that "this pond appears to be sufficiently populated with fish, and it is a worthy place to consider fishing."

How can I convey these two ideas in one word or in a short phrase?


texts:
There's this ad running on NPR at the moment, both in their audio programs and on the website that looks a little something like this:

The audio ad also says pretty much the same thing:

  a [...] middle-grade adventure

It sounds awful as ad lingo, especially if you compare it to ads that talk about good things being high-grade.

I'm sure this has to be some writers vernacular though, and I'm guessing they wouldn't advertise their book as mediocre.

What does middle-grade refer to? and when did this terminology come about?


texts:
Groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir and Tablighi Jamaat play a peripheral role in so far as both men and women may be radicalised as they gravitate toward their teachings.

What's the meaning of the above sentence? In particular, I don't know what in so far as here means.


texts: When can you omit words in a parallel structure?

texts:
First of all, I am not a native English speaker, so this is always confusing.

I wrote the following sentence:

  Due to its hydrophobic property, beta-carotene in carrots is more easily absorbed into the system if digested with fat-based diet than eaten raw.

Somehow I feel like there should be 'if it is' after 'than'. In this case, what should I do? Is there any general rule that I can follow?


texts: Names of rooms for a Revolutionary war/Early America era?

texts:
I'm working on a story set in the Revolution/Early America era, and the family in the story is an upperclass family, with a mansion in the south.

I've heard Drawing room, Parlor, Sitting room, and many others to describe a living room, but I'm not sure the right one to use without saying 'living room' which is what I want to avoid.

Can anyone help?


texts: Explain the differences between worship and obeisance

texts:
In English is there a substantive difference between the words obeisance and worship?
In biblical Greek the word translated worship can mean adoration toward deity or respectful bowing toward another person like a curtsy or ceremonial bow.
Yet in English we rarely if ever would use worship in the context of genuflection toward a fellow human. Instead we might use the word obeisance.
Are the words worship and obeisance interchangeable in English?  Explain why or why not.


texts: What is the term for those cylindrical metal or plastic protrusions?

texts:
What is the term for those cylindrical metal or plastic protrusions that are inserted into mounting holes to mount a thing onto another thing? At first I thought of tab, but to me that makes it sound like it's flat, not cylindrical. Is there a proper term, or is it tab after all?

So far I've tried

  protrusion, projection, lug, tab, knob, and nub

but none of these seem to be right.

This picture is not exactly what I had in mind, but it is close. Instead of a "rotated T" shape, picture a regular cylinder used to mount or align things to be mounted. I knew about dowels, but I thought that word could only be used when the pieces were separate like in Andrew's first two pictures. Are they still called dowels when they are one with the object being mounted?


texts: What does the expression "the school first XI rugger team" mean?

texts:
I found this sentence in a novel set in Cornwall. The complete sentence is:

Daddy is very proud that you have made the school first XI rugger team.

The boy in the team il 16 y.o. and he lives in the Thirties of the Twentieth century.
Can you help me understand the meaning of this expression?


texts: Gerund with and without "of" preposition

texts:
Could you please explain the difference between using of a gerund with and without "of" preposition?

For example what is the difference between following sentences:

  I've worked on improving of the article.
  I've worked on improving the article.


texts: Plural and singular in the parallel structure with OR

texts:
John, Anne, or Peter (is/are) going to do it.
Giving your mother flowers or buying a card (is a great idea / are great ideas) for Mother's day gift.
I am aware of the rule saying that two singular subjects connected by or or nor require a singular verb. My American friends say that "is" does not sound naturally in there first sentence and "are" sounds valid in three second one (as well as "is"). I am a bit confused
What grammar rule have you used? Is the alternative option grammatically correct or incorrect? If it was incorrect, why?


texts: Through his sleek salesman talk I could discern duplicity.


texts: Phrasing "The relevant framework becomes X"

texts:
I'm writing a piece in which at some point there is a shift to a new subject called stochastic dynamical systems. The transition looks like follows

...but once dynamical noise is introduced the relevant mathematical
framework becomes stochastic dynamical systems.

But this doesn't sound quite right to me. I've considered the following alternative

...but once dynamical noise is introduced the relevant mathematical
framework becomes that of stochastic dynamical systems.

Is there a better way of phrasing this?
If there are more appropriate tags for this question please feel free to add them.


texts: Does "corroborate" in a scientific context imply confirmation rather "either confirmation or rejection" of findings from previous studies?

texts:
I am a non-native English speaker writing a scientific paper.

I have question concerning the word corroborate. In my native language, one might say that a research project aim to corroborate findings from previous studies. Such a phrase (in my language) imply an equally and objectively balanced approach that may or may not confirm findings from previous studies.

However, I am concerned that corroborate as used in: We aimed to (1) corroborate previous findings of x, y and z does not imply that we may reject what have been found and reported in previous studies rather than seeking to confirm it.

In a scientific context investigating whether x may or may not correlate to a specific outcome, e.g. death, can corroborate correctly describe that we seek to investigate the correlation between x and death, which consequently results in either confirmation or rejection of previous findings?

I am concerned that corroborate used as in We aimed to (1) corroborate previous findings of x, y and z simply implies that we "aim to confirm what have been previously found" rather than meaning "confirming or rejecting previous findings".

Thank you in advance.


texts:
I want to convey the meaning of a certain activity that lasts no more than a full day. This could be a usage of such term:

"We sell ___ boat tours."

Which one of these alternatives is correct or fits best?

Daily
One-day
Full day
Day

Any help would be appreciated.

I am referring to activities that cannot be held overnight, eg. from 8pm to 6am, but can be done anytime inside a full day, be it in the morning or in the evening or from dawn to dusk.


texts: What do you call an unexpected combination of words?

texts:
Many (fantasy) book titles contain an element of surprise by combining concepts that, in our everyday experience, do not usually appear together.

Examples:

(1) The Other Wind

Our world only has one kind of wind, of different strengths, and coming from different directions, but if you talk of the (one, general) wind, then there is no "other" wind, so effectively this title evokes something mysterious.

(2) The Stone of Tears

Usually stones and tears have nothing to do with each other – stones don't cry, and tears don't dry into stones – and therefore naming a stone as "of tears" makes us think of an uncommon stone with special significance and possibly strange powers or origin.

What is this rhetorical figure called, where words are combined in way that is unexpected from everyday experience?

I don't mean oxymorons, contradictions or paradoxes.

Whatever you think that the correct term is, searching for that term should turn up examples that are similar to those given above. Please link to such an example or quote the source. If you cannot find fitting examples, then it is unlikely that you have the correct term. After all, if you search for "swan" and don't find any ducks, then maybe "swan" isn't the word for a duck - no matter how much you think that the definition describes a duck.


texts:
This sentence pertains to a movie I watched:

I wish I watched it with subtitles.
I wish I had watched it with subtitles.

What effect does adding had have on the sentence? Are both sentences correct? Is one form preferred over the other?


texts: How to call songs where the author has set music on his own / other authors’ poetry

texts:
I am not a native English speaker and I compile a list of songs of a certain singer-songwriter.

I try to choose proper words for headings of two major list’s sections:

Songs that are written entirely by this author, both lyrics and music.
Songs where the author has set music on other authors’ poetry.

I need help to put these draft wordings in order, making them short, clear and correct both stylistically and grammatically. One of my attempts was like this: Songs on his own lyrics / Songs on other authors’ lyrics, but it seems quite awkward to me.

For example, I don’t know which word is right: other authors’, other writers’, other people’ or something else? Likewise, I get confused between lyrics, poems, poetry, words, works and similar words.


texts: Why do we use open and closed instead of opened and closed

texts:
(Originally posted in Linguistics but I was told here is more appropriate)

When talking about a door, for example, we usually say:

"the door is open" and "the door is closed"

why don't we say:

"the door is opened" and "the door is closed" ?


texts:
What does " being off the stick" means in following sentence mean?

" Robert: tell me the truth.
Chris: How can I say it, in all honesty, without you thinking I'm off the stick?" How do I know it won't incriminate me."
Is my guess correct that it is sth on punishment?


texts:
In the Wikipedia article about the subjunctive mood, I read that the future subjunctive of own for the first person singular is I were to own.

In which situations is the future subjunctive used in English?


texts:
I'm doing a key word transformation and I've come to this sentence:

  There aren't any eggs left.
  "We ____ eggs".

I should complete the sentence with 2–5 words using the word "run".

At first I thought of

  We run out of eggs.

but could I use present simple here if it's not a repeated event? Should I use

  We've run out of eggs.


texts: How to express an appointment "has happened"?

texts:
Let's say there is an appointment between John and Peter, scheduled for yesterday at 7am.

An appointment might be "cancelled", which means that it didn't happen.

But, what word(s) would you use to describe the appointment was "completed" (i.e. John and Peter met yesterday at 7am).

Is it right to say "Did the appointment took place?" or "The appointment happened"?

Note that I'm interested in the point of view of the appointment itself, not the people involved in it.


texts: Word for "the regret or dejected feeling that an event is impossible"

texts: I'm doing some creative writing for my senior Extension English class and I'd like a word for a feeling of sadness that something can't be - for example, a utopia. Sort of like disillusionment at the fact that the world is broken and can't ever be perfect.


texts:
I know "I'm at home" and "I'm at school" are both native expresstions.

However, I googled "I'm at company" and just get about 16,700 results, which means it's not a common expression.

How will a native English speaker express this?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
Two questions.

  The government has considerably curtailed its efforts in/of/at protecting the unemployed.

Which would be the right preposition here?
Background: The government (i) reduced the amount ($) of benefits and (ii) the duration of the benefits (weeks). Also, (iii) made eligibility rules stringent- this made it hard for workers to qualify for benefits. The appropriate verb would be Curtail which means reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction on. But is "efforts" the right noun? What is a better term to express the government's three actions instead of "efforts"?


texts:
Consider this sentence:

  He used to often visit her whenever she was alone.

Where are adverbs like 'often' placed in a sentence?


texts: How do you say conditional in future sentence?

texts:
I want to say if she decides to have a daughter one day.

"If she has a daughter.." <- if she has a daughter right now

"If she would have a daughter.." <- sounds almost right. But sounds like a choice. not statement... If he will clean the room vs if he cleans the room.

"If she would have had a daughter.." <-this means in past if she had decided to have a daughter.

So

if she haves a daughter sounds most right. :D


texts: Is it "to play a game on someone" or "play games with someone"?

texts:
I find this expression strange because it's clearly widely used, but seems sort of "unofficial", the "official" version, meaning the one described in dictionaries and grammar books, being playing games with, not on.

Both expressions seem to be current and valid, according to Google Books. I'm just not entirely clear on the context and the usage.

My understanding is that playing games with implies some sort of tricky, mischievous behavior, which may or may not be intentionally malicious, like office politics or standing someone up on a date ("Jane didn't show up...again. Is she playing games with me?"), while playing games on implies a form of studied deception. ("The ad said that the comic book was in mint condition but there are barely noticeable tears... are they trying to play a game on me?")


texts:
What is wrong with this sentence

  "This equipment is meant for connecting devices."

Is the phrase "meant for" correct English?


texts: What does "4-year advanced seminar" mean in this passage about the office of Vice President?

texts:
I’m reading Jeffrey Archer’s “The Prodigal Daughter” at a snail pace and came across the following sentence describing the scene where Florentyna Kate, the female candidate for Presidency answers the journalist’s question at a press interview:

  “Senator Kane, is this really a bid to be Pete Perkin’s running mate?”

  “No, I am not interested in the office of Vice President. At best it’s
  a period of stagnation while you wait around in the hope of doing the
  real job. At worst I am reminded of Nelson Rockefeller’s word: “Don’t
  take the number two spot unless you’re up for a four–year advanced
  seminar in political science and a lot of state funerals.” I’m not in
  the mood for either.” - Page 418.

I can’t well relate the carrier of 4-year advanced seminar in political science and attendance at numeral state funerals to No. 2 position in the White House.

Is Florentyna saying the experience represented by academic expertise in political science and attendance to a lot of state funerals are only good for attaining the position up to Vice President, but not worthy for the qualifications of President of U.S.A (which is what she aims to be)?

Is she saying it’s not about experience, but ability when questioning caliber of President?

Could you help me parse what Flonrentyna says by quoting Nelson Rockefeller’s word?


texts: What are the 'distances' among the major English dialects?

texts:
Yes, I admit, as an AmE speaker, that all non-North American accents sound the same: BrE, Irish, Scottish, Australian and South African. Or rather, I can tell they are different if placed side by side as in the excellent 21 accents but I can't name them off in isolation, unless I pick out one very specific feature (e.g. he said 'bairn' for 'baby', must be Scottish, she said 'bruvvah' for 'brother', must be London).

Is there some way to say objectively, comparing them all to each other, that, say, dialects A and B sound more similar than A and C or B and C? And really, with specific dialects...To Australians, for example, does AmE and, say, BrE actually sound alike?
I see a distance matrix:

     BrE  AmE  IrE ...
BrE   0    7    2  ...
AmE        0    4  ...
IrE             0  ...
...                ...

(of course the off diagonal numbers are picked out of thin air). Is there some less subjective comparison of distances (like how many people of one kind misunderstand those of another)?

Which ones are the most 'out there'? Do the accents in the British Isles share lots of similarities but the former colonies have little with each other or the isles?


texts: I do not understand "hit on the wheeze over a curry"

texts:
I cannot understand the meaning of this sentence.
This is in the article titled as "Let England shake" (The Economist, Sep 27th 2014) — article about Scotland's independence referendum

  The prime minister reportedly hit on the wheeze over a curry with George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, the night before.

I do not understand the meaning of the word "curry" in this context. Is it Indian food?


texts:
The boy's innate goodness will withstand the challenges because unless he himself wants to turn evil, [...].

My teacher thinks that commas should set off the word "himself", but I disagree. Who is right, and why?


texts: Using the expression "the same" for a previously mentioned item

texts:
I frequently use "the same" as in the following sentence.

I need the details of XYZ project. Could you please send me the same as soon as possible?

Is this grammatically correct? I have not been corrected till now, but I have not seen the usage from native speakers very much either.
Update:
Seems like my example sentence was ambiguous. Hope the following sentence is better.

I need the documents for the meeting. Could you please send me the same as soon as possible?


texts:
Consider this sentence: “His work for Blair and Claire showcases traditional arts like weaving.”

Does this imply that both his work for Blair showcases traditional arts and his work for Claire showcases traditional arts and at least some of it (for either client) is weaving? Yes, right?

Does this imply that both his work for Blair showcases weaving and his work for Claire showcases weaving? No, right?


texts: What is the better way of saying "a few dozens of seconds"?

texts:
I want to say "wait for about 30 to 40 seconds and then execute the command", in an academic context. I'm using this sentence now but I think it is not good.

  after a few dozens of seconds activate the link, by executing the command below.

How should I say this?


texts:
I know that the following sentences are both correct with and without "should."

It is strange that he should be angry.
It is strange that he be angry.

How about these?

It is strange that he should have failed.
It is strange that he have failed.

Thank you very much in advance.


texts:
"When her homework was finished, she went out to play.=

Her homework finished, she went out to play. (Coursebook key answer)"

My personal answer was: "Her homework being finished, she went out to play", but I was told that it's bookish/not common.

In terms of grammar, does that mean that a time clause in passive can only be replaced by a past participle?

Here's another example that confused me:

"Because the windows were painted shut, he could only open the door. =
The windows being painted shut, he could only open the door. (Coursebook key answer)".

Why doesn't the key use just "The windows painted shut" and it adds "being" as well?


texts:
Is there a single word that covers any person who "rides" in a vehicle?

Driver would refer only to the person driving the vehicle.
Passenger can be used for everyone but not the driver.

How to refer to all of them? "People riding in a vehicle" seems too long.

"People being subject to conveyance"


texts:
Voldemort is writing his name into the air.

"He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through
the air.

Why through?
I can't find the appropriate definition in dictionary.
Please help me out.


texts:
The words diffuse and suffuse have almost similar meaning, both of them can be interpreted as "spread over something".

What is the difference between them? And which one should be used in which context?


texts:
Are there good phrases to sound like a native speaker when you want to say you are getting used to your new job?

A: How's your new job?
B: _________________


texts: Is "what a pity" used as often as "what a shame"?

texts:
As an ESL speaker, I'm puzzled by these two phrases...
Is "what a pity" used as often as "what a shame" in an English-speaking country?
Is there any difference between them in meaning or usage?


texts: Expression for when a person tries to tarnish the relationships of others out of spite or for personal gain

texts:
I recall an English expression that describes when a person is deliberately trying to sabotage the close relationships of other people as a form of revenge or a political maneuver.  For some reason, I always think of the phrase, "Poisoning the well." But that phrase actually refers to a logical fallacy of the ad hominem sort.

My scenario is this:  An employee is fired from a company.  Rather than leaving gracefully, she contacts former employees and tries to undermine their loyalty to the company and to each other.  It could be said that she is ______.

What expression would be appropriate to describe a person in this situation?


texts:
We will have small conference at our university and it is going to be held in English. I will speak there together with my colleague and it seems like I am going first and let him continue in the half of the presentation. What is the best phrase to say in the situation like this?

Let me hand over to my colleague?

Let my colleague continue?

Anything else?

Thanks in advance.


texts: "He has a tendency of being aggressive" or "He is aggressive tendency"?

texts:
I want to describe someone who has a tendency. Should I say

  He has a tendency of being aggressive.

  He is aggressive tendency.

Or are both wrong?


texts: What is the difference between FYI and JFYI?

texts:
What is the difference between these two acronims: FYI and JFYI.
Can I interpret JFYI as "Only for your information", or should it be "Simply for your information"?


texts: Is "noncompatible" a legitimate synonym of "incompatible"?

texts:
I'm working with someone who uses noncompatible often in correspondence. The confusion may be due to English being a second language for them.

I think they should be using incompatible instead. Is that correct?

  It is better to not show those user profiles to noncompatible individuals.

Does the answer change if we are talking about software?

  It is better to not use software that is noncompatible with outdated hardware.


texts: "Rubric" as meaning "signature" or "personal mark" -- is this accepted usage?

texts:
I am reading a book about Spanish California, and the author uses the word "rubric" to mean, I think, "personal mark attesting to a document." I don't have access to the original manuscript documents, so I can't tell if this refers to a signature, an "X," or some other sort of mark. Any thoughts on this usage?

Example from the end of a report (translated by the author from Spanish to English):

  This is what we have seen.
  Frontier of Santo Domingo, January 15, 1780.
  Joseph Velásquez (Rubric)


texts: Where should the apostrophe be placed in "Goats Milk"?

texts:
Milk from goats is available in supermarkets. On the shelves of our local store in England, I have found cartons boldly labelled all three of

Goats Milk
Goat's Milk
Goats' Milk

Most brands use no apostrophe at all, which does not seem right. Brands which use "Goat's" seem to imply that the milk comes from precisely one goat, which seems unlikely. Brands which use "Goats'" may have it right; however, every molecule of milk in the carton did, originally, come from precisely one goat, a molecule of a goat's milk.

Is there any hope of finding a "correct" position for the apostrophe in this case? Must we forever live with this example of the greengrocers [sic] apostrophe?


texts: What is the use/structure/meaning of 'had it not [something], ...'?

texts:
I encountered a question in an exam and I am wondering about the exact answer and reasons behind it

Question:

Had it not rained, the farmers _________ all of their crops.

A. Would lose
B. Should lose
C. Should have lost
D. Could have lost

Your explanations are highly appreciated.


texts: "I have been Jessica" shouldn't it be "My name is Jessica"

texts:
We went to an electronics showroom, where we chatted with a sales girl. She explained some technical stuff about the things we were interested in. When she had finished explaining, she said

  "By the way, I have been Jessica."

This usage is not new to me: it's pretty common in the US, and in Hollywood movies. But I have always wondered about how it could be correct (if indeed it is). I understand what it means, I just don't see it as grammatical. What is the logic of taking it as grammatical?

You have been Jessica. So what are you now?

A lot of people in the comments are saying that they never heard nor saw anyone using this line to tell their name.
Here is an example:

Apple Store Scene in Captain America, The Winter Soldier  at 00:25


texts:
I'm not new to English, but the phrase I've just read on cnn.com keeps bothering me:

"CNN viewed the email on the condition that it not be shown."

"It not be shown" - is this 100% grammatically correct? And if so, could somebody elaborate on its grammar roots and status?

If I were to construct a similar sentence I am sure I would use "... it won't be shown" (or: "it IS not shown" - but I like it less) - would that be incorrect/better/worse choice?


texts: Why doesn't "need" take a "to" infinitive in some cases?

texts:
In a book of Alexander McCall Smith I found this phrase:

  No historical novelists need apply.

Why isn't it this with a  to for the infinitive?

  No historical novelist need to apply?


texts: One word for someone who always does what he loves

texts:
I am looking for one word to describe someone who always does what he loves.

Loving means enjoying something very much, free-spirited means not restrained by convention. Is there a hybrid word?

I mean a word that describes someone who is independent and always does what he loves. Please also try to not make the word too esoteric. Also, the word needs to be positive.

How will it be used?

I am submitting an application for college, and they require me to supply a word to describe myself. I have always done what I love. So, I require a word to describe someone who loves what they want. There is no sentence, in particular, just a prompt asking me to describe myself in one word.


texts:
"As I saw it, the relationship between a typical African and his dog is one of tangible mutualism. I say tangible because the African sees himself as the dominant creature not to be bothered by the dog, but nevertheless responsible for providing for it."

Why is a comma necessary before but? If you have a comma before a coordinating conjunction, doesn't that mean both sides of the "but" have to be independent clauses? However, in this case, "nevertheless responsible for providing for it" doesn't make sense by itself so it is not an independent clause. If it is wrong to put a semi colon in the place of that comma, surely it should be wrong to put a comma there as well.


texts:
Is it possible to use " every second Saturday" instead of "every other Saturday"?

What about "every two Saturdays"? Is it same as "every other Saturday"?


texts:
What is the difference writing (or saying):

""Trains "for" London""  or   ""Trains "to" London""?

When we should use one and when the other?


texts:
"Aseptic processing is the process of minimizing entry of viable microbial and particulates into products - typically involves subjecting the components (drug product, container, enclosure) to separate sterilization methods before they are brought together."

what is the meaning of "subjecting the components" in this context?


texts: A word to describe to deviate from original idea/concept/intention

texts: Is there any word to describe the outcome has deviated from original idea/concept/intention? The result is worse than expected.


texts: Hello, I need help in understanding the grammatical structure of this sentence

texts:
I need help in understanding the grammatical structure of this sentence.  Could anyone break it down?  Thank you very much!!
"Scattered among the leaves crawl creatures called Zeepers that are half insect, half animal".


texts: What is the connotation of complacence? Is it a negative trait? The dictionary makes it seem like a positive attribute.


texts: What is the meaning of I wasn't living with heart at that time

texts: Please explain the meaning of "I wasn't living with heart at that time"


texts: Word for useful summarizations of large (non-numeric) data

texts:
If the context I was searching this word in dealt with numeric data, then my term of choice would be "statistic", defined (by a Google search) as:

  A fact or piece of data obtained from a study of a large quantity of numerical data.

And by Wikitionary as:

  A quantity calculated from the data in a sample, which characterises an important aspect in the sample

It's different from "summary" or a "gist" because a summary is expected to have an brief overview of all things in the original data, but a statistic is very lossy (for example if you have the statistic median then you don't know what values lie before or after median, so it is not a summarization of data).

Thus a desirable property for this word is that it isn't expected to have complete (not in terms of depth, i.e. details but in terms of breadth) information about the data.

And a gist is supposed to capture the essence of something, but here there may be multiple statistics, each serving a different purpose (e.g. the median which tells you the middle value of the data if you sort it, or the mode which tells you the value which occurs with highest frequency)

And it's different from "property" or "attribute" because they also refer to meta-things about data, for example the data is "clean" may be a property, it is "preprocessed" may be another property.

So another desirable property of this word is that it is directly the consequence of information of the data (without regard to other things like form)

To give an example of non-numerical data, suppose that your data is text for a job advertisement. Then things like "target demographic", "salary", "location", "job title" may together form a summary of the advert, but individually they are ___________ of the data.


texts: What's the meaning of "to hold it up against" here?

texts:
Here I got this comment :

  I've really grown to like how the NLT can help in understanding the
  original meaning behind a verse. I still like to hold it up against
  literal translations (as you did) and interlinear bibles, though.

As far as I can understand, the person there says that he really likes NLT version of the Bible, but I am a bit not clear about the latter part of his comment - "I still like to hold it up against literal translations".

Does he like literal translations more than NLT or he still prefers NLT more than literal translations?


texts:
I am trying to write a description of the back of a playing card. It includes a band that I am describing as "blue with a white arabesque".

This seems like a weak description. I am sure that in the decorative-banding industry, there are probably exact names for these things, but my search-fu is apparently weak.

Can anyone provide a superior description or a pointer to a "catalog of decorative banding" or some such? What is the name of the white pattern? Or, what are the names of the components of the pattern so that I can string them together?


texts: Phrase for the elder of my younger sisters?

texts:
If i have two sisters younger than me, how can i refer to the elder one of them? "Younger sister" is ambiguous, but "older sister" is inaccurate. "Elder one of my younger sisters" is long and clumsy. I'm a guy, btw.

Is there a shorter phrase to say this?


texts: What is the difference between 'related'/'relation' and 'associated'/'association'

texts:
I am coming to this from a very technical background. I am basically trying to figure out when to use which of those terms to describe the associations/relations between classes in an UML class diagram or between entities in a domain model and such things.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_model

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_diagram


texts: Different meanings in context - "having thus deeply committed himself" - but the question is, committed to what?

texts:
Background: In Chapter 18 of Dickens' Great Expectations, Mr Wopsle was reading aloud a sensational murder case from the newspaper; even though it was only a preliminary report, before the trial had even begun, Mr Wopsle got carried away in his own dramatization and eventually concluded it was 'Wilful Murder', and the man, Guilty. Mr Jaggers (a criminal defence lawyer) then spoke up and pointed out that the defendant had not pleaded guilty, and proceeded to make an example of Mr Wopsle.
Q: In the passage below, does the phrase "having thus deeply committed himself" point to his commitment to serve on the jury or his commitment to the conclusion of Guilty that he has drawn? (I've given a couple of lead-in paragraphs to give context, as possible reference for the "thus" of the phrase in question.)

"Yes," repeated [Mr Jaggers], looking round at the rest of the company with his right hand extended towards the witness, Wopsle. "And now I ask you what you say to the conscience of that man who, with that passage before his eyes, can lay his head upon his pillow after having pronounced a fellow-creature guilty, unheard?"
We all began to suspect that Mr. Wopsle was not the man we had thought him, and that he was beginning to be found out.
"And that same man, remember," pursued the gentleman, throwing his finger at Mr. Wopsle heavily,--"that same man might be summoned as a juryman upon this very trial, and, having thus deeply committed himself, might return to the bosom of his family and lay his head upon his pillow, after deliberately swearing that he would well and truly try the issue joined between Our Sovereign Lord the King and the prisoner at the bar, and would a true verdict give according to the evidence, so help him God!"

As always, thank you!


texts: If I wanted to refer to the magnitude (brightness) of Sirius, would "Sirius's magnitude" be a (the?) correct form for placing the ending 's' and apostrophe? I always get confused about possessive forms of words already ending in an 's.'


texts: I bought something two days ago - quick question about logic

texts:
I have a question to do with language and logic that my mind is having trouble with. Please, try to explain it to me. It is both an English problem and also a problem to do with my native language.

Here is an example:

If I bought something two days ago. (e.g. Monday, so today is Wednesday) I can't say during Wednesday that I haven't bought anything for two days.

This is because I skipped just one day, and I can still buy something today, right? So I would say it in a way which makes it more logical for me: I haven't bought anything for one day.

Here is another example:

If I was at a club on Monday, and today is Wednesday, I would say I haven't been to that club for one day, since today I can still go there. However, I notice most people will express this differently, which in my opinion is illogical.

They say: "I haven't bought anything for two days" OR "I haven't been to that club for two days," meaning that the last time they were there was two days ago. How logical is this? Imagine you come to that club on Wednesday, having been there on Monday, and say to the same barman you saw there on Monday that you haven't been here for two days. He would be shocked: "What? are you stupid? You only missed one day here."

As in the case of the first question, "I haven't purchased anything for two days" should be used only if you last purchased something on Monday and today is Thursday, in my opinion, because we should not count Monday, when you bought something.

Does anybody get my point? Thanks for your answers and help.


texts: I have an English question on this post -> Firebase: Should I add GoogleService-Info.plist to .gitignore?

texts:
I was reading this StackOverflow answer but I have an English problem and cannot understand the answer. this is the link Firebase: Should I add GoogleService-Info.plist to .gitignore?
In the answer, the guy uses "you're better off leaving it out for one big reason", but I cannot understand the meaning of "leaving it out" and I'm still not sure if that means I should add GoogleService-Info.plist to .gitignore or not.
Could anyone tell me I should put the file into .gitignore?


texts:
I have the following sentence:

  An uncommitted player reacts to different alliance types the same.

I may as well say “...in the same way” but want to keep it short if possible.

Is this a correct use of "same" as an adverb? I have checked several dictionaries. For example, the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus defines "same" as:

  the same   in the same way

An example sentence in the cited dictionary entry is

  We treat all our children the same.

Would this be the same usage as my sentence?


texts: Use of articles - I passed with a/the percentage of 80?

texts:
If I want to write I got 80 percent, which of these two is the correct way to do so?

  I passed with a percentage of 80.

  I passed with the percentage of 80.


texts: "A friend to all is a friend to none" - Aristotle. What does this exactly mean?

texts:
Why shouldn't a person be friendly to everyone? Is "being friendly" and "being a friend" being differentiated here?

Also, I consider a person as one's friend only if that person doesn't betray his/her other friends. So going by my rule of friendship, there won't be any problem if my friend is a friend to every person, since he/she is not going to give up on me and neither he/she will give up on his/her other friends when he/she us spending his time with me.

What is the main context under which this proverb becomes true?


texts: What is the meaning of "divinity that hedges sublimest woe"?

texts:
I found the above phrase in the book "The story of my life" by Helen Keller. The actual sentence is below.

  It has been my privilege to meet a few great actors and actress who have the power of so bewitching you that you forget time and place and live again in the romantic past. I have been permitted to touch the face and costume of Miss Ellen Terry as she impersonated our ideal of a queen; and there was about her that divinity that hedges sublimest woe

I am having a hard time grasping the meaning of "divinity that hedges sublimest woe". What is the exact meaning of it for the given context?


texts: Starting sentences with coordinating conjunctions

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Why is it incorrect to start a sentence with “and”?

Is it acceptable to use coordinating conjunctions to start a sentence in standard English?

  ...should not be left to a subgroup. And everybody must perform a final runthrough.

I have seen opinions both for and against this practice, and am unsure as to the agreed custom.


texts: In some special days, e.g. the days before the New Year, newspapers and magazines give away some extra pages or even an special magazine associated with those days, or related to the year passed. What are these extra pages called?


texts:
I am contributing at an open source project, and we got a message (https://github.com/gin-gonic/gin/issues/252) about our grammar at source code and documentation (we are not native english speakers).

Part of the message:

  The plural of "middleware" is not "middlewares" but simply
  "middleware" -- just like "software."

But then I found some uses of the word, with an s at the end. For example:

https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/agents/ruby-agent/frameworks/rack-middlewares

Which one is the correct way to say and write it?

Thank you in advance.


texts:
Today someone asked me how to get to a place via bus. I only knew the train route so I tried to tell her that she could(?) use the train instead.

This is an excerpt of the conversation:

Do you know which bus goes to entertainment center?
Me: You could use the train, entertainment center would be the last stop.

What I meant was to suggest the train instead. Is this the correct way of saying it? If this is wrong, what is the correct way of saying it?


texts: What is the origin of the idiom 'a beam in one's eye'?

texts:
I already understand and so ask not about this idiom's meaning. Though some idioms fail the Principle of Compositionality, this idiom seems to derive from imagery and so its semantic shift can be explained.

I am conjecturing that the 'beam' refers to a light beam, but is an outward beam biasing the hypocrite, or does the beam emanate from the hypocrite?


texts: If an adult gets kidnapped, would it still be considered "kid"napping?

texts: What's the other terms if adults get kidnap?


texts: It just comes down to a matter of taste meaning

texts:
I was reading one of article there I found 1 sentence & I am not able judge the meaning of that. Can somebody tell me what exactly is "It just comes down to a matter of taste" Full sentence
Both have the same functionality and can do the exact same thing, it just comes down to a matter of taste.


texts: Words or phrases that indicate the opposite of a goal or target, meaning This is something to avoid, as it opposite of my desire

texts:
_____ - noun or adjective: indicating something to avoid, something opposite of what I want, something repulsive.

Example 1:
My business's TARGET customers are Baby Boomers because they spend all their money.
Conversely, my business's _____ customers are Millennials because they complain and buy very little.

Example 2:
I do sprints in my exercise routine because my GOAL body is lean and agile, like Usain Bolt.
I don't lift heavy weights because because my _____ body is too bulky, like the strongman who played The Mountain in Game of Thrones.

I searched for:
- antonyms of "goal"/"target"
- synonyms of "undesirable", "reject"

I considered:
- "antitarget" but it's a scientific phrase for another application
- "undesired", "unwanted" ... etc which would work if there is nothing more specific
- "reject" is the best word I can come up with so far

Please let me know if there are synonyms.


texts: Can “We would be happy if everyone is good, therefore we have no military force” and “Japan have military force” be congruent grammatically?

texts:
There was the two separate quotes from Shigeru Ishiba, secretary general of the LDP in the interview to TIME appearing in the article titled, “Return to the Samurai” (October 7):
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2153060,00.html

  “The constitution says Japan doesn’t possess an army, navy or air
  force. Is it true? Japan does have an army, a navy, an air force. We have
  lots of warplanes and tanks. Let’s stop telling a lie."

And later, he says:

  “We would be happy if everyone in the world is good, and therefore we
  have no military force.”

To me it appears as if he is admitting Japan have military force in the first quote and denying it in the second quote.

Though I think Ishiba is saying that we are happy not to have military force if everyone in the world is good, but we have military force as it is contrary, is the above two statements grammatically congruent? If no problem, the case is closed. If not, how should it be rephrased in order for avoiding a confusion that I was induced to?

Please understand that I have no intent to discuss political implications of the above quotes at all.
I’m only interested in the grammatical correctnessn of them.


texts: Just wondering if there is a word (or pair of words) that starts with N and ends with O and actually means Yes (or roughly yes... some sort of synonym).  I thought this might have some humorous applications on occasion.  Thanks.


texts:
Can anyone provide "emotional" word/phrase for a "friend" you have never met, but it feels like you really know him? I won't mind even if it was in a language other than English. :)

Update: Would love it if the word/phrase was related to literature.


texts: Why do people say "Cut and paste" instead of "Copy and paste"?

texts:
I often see "cut and paste" used over "copy and paste" in the context of computers and word processing. I also see "cut and paste" and CTRL-C+CTRL-V used interchangeably when CTRL-X is the actual shortcut defined as "cutting" (on Windows).

When cutting and then pasting, the original copy is usually removed and duplicated at a new location - similar to moving the item. However, this usually doesn't work on websites with static text - CTRL-X+CTRL-V has no effect and only CTRL-C+CTRL-Vperforms the intended action of duplicating it elsewhere.

With this obvious difference between "cutting" and "copying", why do people still refer to it as "cutting and pasting" over "copying and pasting"?


texts:
A comma after "that", midsentence, is increasingly common.

Consider the examples below. Would you consider the commas after "that" to be correct? If you remove the information set off by commas, the sentences still logically connect and make sense.

1.) He said that, after considerable contemplation, he would retire.
2.) She said that, in 1969, she and her husband went to Woodstock.
3.) Please be advised that, on this day in 1954, a resolution was achieved.

Thank you.


texts: Idiom for two different consequences from one antecedent

texts:
I'm searching for an idiom to use to say briefly that two different outcomes may represent different sides of the same underlying phenomenon. I would use it in the topic of a chapter. These two outcomes are not necessarily good or bad, which is why I abandoned the idiom "two sides of the same coin" since I learned that it refers to something positive and negative.

For example, I could say something like "Threatening situations provoke different reactions - are flight and fight just different outcomes/reactions of/to the same thing?". The example here is maybe not the best, but I hope you get the point (because flight and fight are different reactions to the same thing, but I'm trying to theoretically draw together something that is not so obvious).

Looking forward to hearing your witty suggestions! :)


texts:
Clearing one's throat is a nice way to signal that special attention is needed. For example, two colleagues are making fun of their boss as she walks right by. She listens for a second and then ... clears her throat to say "I'm here".

Is there an onomatopoeia for that?
If not, how could that be expressed in writing?


texts: Second "To Be" with Irrealis/Past Subjunctive

texts:
Assuming that I'm a person who uses irrealis subjunctive, and every part of the example situation is hypothetical, which of the following is more correct?

Option 1: If I were ever in a store where I was/wasn't satisfied...

Option 2: If I were ever in a store where I were/weren't
 satisfied...

The second option sounds awkward to me. Does the subjunctive mood not carry through to the second to be, even though it's part of an adverbial phrase linked to the counterfactual? What's going on there?


texts: When was the expression "or something" first used?

texts:
What evidence of sentences ending with "or something" recorded ANYWHERE from 1800-1900 including in England, and what are the earliest written attestations during the 19th century in any of the U.S, England or Australia?

For example, after a road rage incident someone might say: "Were you TRYING to hit me or something?"

I need to know for dialogue in creative writing whether it's believable and not using too much creative licence. I couldn't find anything helpful from a Google search because of difficulty wording the search for search results. I'd be amazed and grateful if I can get a rough 'timeline' of notable uses such as 1800's books.  "Old Worldian English' (Neo-Victorian) to my ear sounds poetic compared to "Late Modern English" and is used to great effect in Advance Australia Fair. "Old World" in Australia is a poetic term for the art style of postcards, sepia tone photographs, newspaper fonts, book covers, etc of the era 1800-1930-ish, as in the real estate expression "old world charm".


texts: Difference between "balcony" and "veranda"

texts:
Sometimes I have a hard time telling the two apart. For example, the following:

It's called veranda and balcony by the author (who lives in Japan):

  Unlike the old "clothes line" of my childhood, we use the veranda
  (balcony) as our drying place.

Source: http://thedelacourier.blogspot.tw/2006/05/cloudy-with-high-probability-of-wet.html

But guess it can only be one option? (Or a structure can be a veranda and a balcony at the same time?) What are the main differences?


texts:
Which is correct?

"Green and orange don't fit me" or "Green and orange don't suit me"


texts:
I have doubts regarding the construction of the phrase:

  "[...] degree of fulfilment regarding the number of water quality
  parameters effectively controlled in comparison to the mandated number
  of parameters to be controlled."

Do I need to include to be controlled at the end of the sentence?


texts:
I believe that the verb tenses in:

  She will cry to think that I would leave her

are:

future simple, infinitive, past (of "will").

Am I correct please?


texts: Words that describe the sound of physical exertion

texts:
What are some words that are used to describe the sounds made while a person is physically exerting themselves?
I think there are generic terms like grunt or groan, but I am looking for onomatopoeia that can be used in speech or dialogue.
An example of where these types of words might be used could be:
"[insert word here], why won't this thing budge at all! I am pushing as hard as I can..."


texts:
"I speak basic french"
or
"I speak base french"?
"My french knowledge is at a basic level"
or
"My french knowledge is at a base level"?

I know that basic is just an adjective, while base can be an adjective, a verb and a noun.
Nevertheless, when you want to express your knowledge of a language or your ability level in any discipline what's the most correct one?


texts:
How would you define augmentation in terms of Computer Science?

I've heard it used as ‘strengthening’:

  “In jQuery, you design a page, and then you make it dynamic. This is because jQuery was designed for augmentation...)”

or as ‘extension’:

  “I heard about cases where adding an extra requirement to a binary search (for example) can be called augmentation.”

A Google search for ‘augmentation computer science’ brings up a Stack Overflow question, but that's for quite a specific context. Wikipedia defines Augmentation for numerous disciplines but not for Computer Science.

There are lots of examples if you search for augmentation on programmers.SE. I had asked this question on programmers.SE - but was pointed here instead.


texts: What is an adjective for "that does not require a lot of energy/money/..."?

texts:
I'm looking for somekind of antonym for "energy-intensive". I'm describing something that works well without using a lot of energy. I feel like the adjective I'm looking for also works for money.

Any ideas?


texts: A was replaced by B. A was replaced. B was ____?

texts:
Background

I was writing some comments in my code. There's a class that holds ID numbers for items that were replaced, and ID numbers for the items that replaced them.

Above the variable holding the old ID numbers, I wrote:

  The keys and ID numbers for the components that were replaced

I then began to write the corresponding comment for the other variable, holding the new ID numbers:

  The keys and ID numbers for the components that...

Question

When something has been replaced by something else, we can say those items were "replaced". Is there a corresponding past tense word to describe the items that they were replaced with?

Substituted maybe?

Basically, finish that second sentence as concisely as possible, in a manner as similar to the first as possible.


texts: What does "at the 1-1's" mean in the sentence?

texts:
"The fact is I'm doing pretty good at the 1-1's for now".

The sentence is from "Unforgettable S02E08"
http://www.allreadable.com/97bcHhDk

Thanks.


texts:
Is there a standard way to manage sentences within a sentence?  For example:

Using the following definition
Definition 1: A graph G is isomorphic to another graph H if there is an isomorphism f from the vertices of G to the vertices of H.  Further, f(v)f(u) is an edge of H if and only if vu is an edge of G.
in the following lemma,
Lemma 2: Let H and G be isomorphic graphs.  If there is a set of t vertices that disconnect H then there is a set of t vertices that disconnect G.
we obtain the following theorem
Theorem 3: Suppose H is isomorphic to G.
Then the connectivity of H is equal to the connectivity of G.

Is this grammatically correct, or should it be presented in a different way?


texts:
I am translating a text from Russian. The text, in one place, describes a person of Asian origin through the eyes of a European Russian young teenager in the late 80s (so not a politically correct time). A word is used that refers to the Asian-specific narrow eyes in a way that is colloquial, but not insulting, and in fact can denote a kind of exotic beauty.

(For those familiar with Russia, the word is "раскосый" and the person is the Korean-Russian singer Viktor Tsoi).

The only English word I could find was "slant-eyed", but this seems to be an outright insult. So how do I convey the meaning correctly? Perhaps I want something similar to the way you use "ebony" for a black person, but for an Asian person and ideally referring to the eyes.


texts: origin of: sleep tight, make sure the bugs don’t bite

texts:
Where does the phrase sleep tight, make sure the bugs don’t bite come from? Is it part of a longer poem?

A Google web search didn't reveal anything useful. I'm not a native speaker of English, I don't know the English nursery rhymes.


texts:
I wonder whether the following sentences are correct:

The two strands of economic theory, which are used in this article, are endogenous growth and spread-backwash effects.
The two strands, which are used in this article, of economic theory are endogenous growth and spread-backwash effects.

Do these questions mean the same?

Thank!


texts: What is the meaning of "the greatest story ever sold"?

texts:
Here goes the quotation (my emphasis):

Teabing chuckled. "The ivory towers of Harvard have made you soft, Robert. Yes, the clergy in Rome are blessed with potent faith, and because of this, their beliefs can weather any storm, including documents that contradict everything they hold dear. But what about the rest of the world? What about those who are not blessed with absolute certainty? What about those who look at the cruelty in the world and say, where is God today? Those who look at Church scandals and ask, who are these men who claim to speak the truth about Christ and yet lie to cover up the sexual abuse of children by their own priests?" Teabing paused. "What happens to those people, Robert, if persuasive scientific evidence comes out that the Church's version of the Christ story is inaccurate, and that the greatest story ever told is, in fact, the greatest story ever sold"
Dan Brown: The Da Vinci Code

Is this sentence to be taken literally? Or does it mean something else?


texts: What does “falls into clover with a lock” mean?

texts:
There was the following passage in New York Times’s (March 25) article that came under the headline, “Donald, This I will tell you,” written by Maureen Dowd:

  “As The Times’s chief Washington correspondent Carl Hulse put it, the
  G.O.P. falls into clover with a lock on the White House and both
  houses of Congress, and what’s the first thing it does? Slip on a
  banana peel. Incompetence Inc.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/opinion/sunday/donald-this-i-will-tell-you.html?action

What does "fall into clover with a lock" mean? Is it a well-received turn of phrase? I googled for a definition of the phrase with no avail.


texts: Direct and indirect object with "give" and "buy"

texts:
I have been studying Longman's English grammar book, and something is really confusing me:

We can put it and them after the verb: Give it to me. Buy them for me. Do it for me.
With e.g. give and buy, we can say: Give me it. Buy me them. (But not *Do me it.)
We say: Give it to John. Buy them for John. (Not *Give John it - *Buy John them.)

Why can't I say Buy John it or Give John them?

There is another post related to it that talks about the same topic: Direct and Indirect Objects with the verbs: Give, Buy, and Bring. However, the most voted answer was, indeed, useful for me, but didn't get everything clear.

What's the main rule for inverting the position and dropping the preposition?

As far as I managed to understand, if the direct object is it or them and the indirect object is a pronoun, the normal construction's placement is necessary, i.e.: Subject + Verb + Direct object + To/For + Indirect object

Is this right?


texts: Is there a specific word or phrase for the drowsiness one might feel soon after a heavy lunch?

texts:
After a lunch, especially a nutritionally dense one, one might drift off into a drowsy state, sort of a "I sure could use a nap" feel, likely due to the breaking down of the foods in the digestive tract.
Is there a specific, common word or phrase for that drowsy feel/condition?
Example of a relatively dense meal:

First course: artichoke (2 helpings)

Main course: steam cooked blood sausage (2 helpings); garlic/parsley flavored shiitake mushrooms and potatoes cooked in duck fat (2 helpings)

A portion of camembert accompanied by a half glass of red wine

Dessert: a handful of walnuts; a square of dark chocolate

Hot beverage: green tea to wash down the whole thing


texts: Which article is used between a "name" and a "tagline"

texts:
Suppose, I am selling a new product named as: "Innob" and there is a tagline followed by it: "___, new breath in (the) town".

Which article shall I use between the name and the tagline ("the" vs "a/an")?
In other words, which is grammatically correct between below 2:

  "Innob, the new breath in (the) town"

OR

  "Innob, a new breath in (the) town"

[Note: tagline is altered for privacy, however the question remains the same]


texts: Some Latinisms are usually italicized in English whereas some Latin loanwords are not, even in the same text. However, I cannot find any clear pattern. Are there clear rules or guidelines about it? For example, should I italicize 'qua',  'a priori', or 'post factum'?


texts: Which is correct: "troubleshooted" or "troubleshot"?

texts:
Troubleshooted is not a word, but troubleshot is.

Is this really the correct word to use?

I always feel like saying:

  I troubleshooted it.

vs

  I troubleshot it

For some reason, it just doesn't sound right to me.


texts: What is the adjectival form of "black humo(u)r"?

texts:
If one were to describe a statement by referring to "black humour", how should he/she go about forming the adjectival form of the term?

  "blackly humourous"

or

  "black humourous"


texts:
Which is correct?

  Please let us know if we need to do anything about it.

or

  Please let us know if we need to do something about it.


texts: What do you call something that under-utilizes its space? Opposite of cramped

texts: In terms of web design, there is a very specific amount of space between elements that make an interface look nice. Too little space and things look cramped, but too much and they look __. Words like spacious and open usually have positive connotations. I'm looking for a word to describe how something looks when there's too much empty space.


texts: What is different about "normal", "weird", and "strange"

texts:
One can say "It is normal to feel weird" and "It is weird to feel normal". The same pairing works for "It is normal to feel strange" ("It is strange to feel normal") and "It is normal to feel useful ("It is useful to feel normal.") Any two of these adjectives can be paired in this way ("It is strange to feel useful.") But it seems that most adjectives that describe how one feels will not work: "It is normal to feel happy", but not "It is happy to feel normal".  Other adjectives that don't work at all or well: I feel-- angry, elated, sad, afraid, joyous, frustrated, down, rotten, fat, etc.
What properties of an adjective permit its use in the paired construction I've specified?


texts: What does "It is not everyone who has your passion for dead leaves " mean?

texts:
I am currently reading Sense and Sensibility and came across the following passage.

  "It is not every one," said Elinor, "who has your passion for dead
  leaves.

Since I’m not a native speaker , I have some difficulty analyzing the sentence:

  It is not everyone who has your passion for dead leaves

What does it mean? I would like to understand the structure of  the sentence rather than the meaning. I know that this sentence means that not everybody has passion for dead leaves. But what does the part of the sentence, It is not everyone,  mean? Also other similar  examples would be great.


texts: What is the proper name for a 'conspiracy wall'?

texts:
From time to time in popular media, someone fills a whiteboard or bulletin board with many small notes, documents and pictures. Often, red lines (pieces of string) are pricked on there as well, connecting items to indicate probable relationships. The goal of these is usually to aid a person in their investigation of something (a conspiracy, plot, plan, etc.)

The only name I have so far found that describes these is the rather informal 'conspiracy wall'.

Because I actually like to order my thoughts and ideas in a very similar way to this (not usually related to conspiracies but rather in the process of writing a story/worldbuilding), I would like to inquire if this technique has a more proper or formal name (that preferably does not include the word 'conspiracy' ^_^).


texts: No inversion in questions in headlines and titles

texts:
Why do many titles and headlines read:
"Why Europe should become...", NOT "Why should Europe become...";
"How an inventor lost...", NOT "How did an inventor lose...";
"How the photocopier changed...", NOT "How did the photocopier change..."? Are such headlines correct at all?


texts: Specific word to replace "set somebody up for something [positive]"

texts:
In the following sentence:

Past experience suggests that these kind of market conditions can set
companies up for continued progress in the long term.

I would like to replace "set ____ up" with a non-phrasal word. What alternatives might be appropriate here?


texts: Is there a word for " someone who hates people from their own country"?

texts:
A xenophobe is someone who holds a strong dislike toward people from other countries.

My question is: is there a word for someone who holds a strong dislike toward people from their own country?

I mean a word based on my explanation - not a misanthrope or something similar.

Thanks.


texts: using should / had / would in place of "if" to connect sentense

texts:
I have seen this kind of construction many times. I sorta know what it means, but not really sure of what kind of grammar is it.
For example:

And at the very least Gove has given a set of arguments to those in the party who would fight against grammars should there be a proposal to reintroduce them.
The reddit wallet, should it have existed, had absolutely enormous potential.
@wikileaks had there be no shysters , Assange would have been a common man and the same amount would have fed a lot poor.


texts: Question about Quintilian wording/meaning: "...lest our writings like newborn infants compel us to fix our affections on them."

texts:
I was reading a book when I came accross a section which cited the following
text from Quintilian, a Roman rhetoric writer. The following excerpt serves as a context: "Undoubtedly... the best method for correction is to lay by for a time what we have written, so that we may return to if after an interval as if it were something new to us, and written by another, lest our writings like newborn infants compel us to fix our affections on them."

The bold highlighted section made me curious. What is the meaning of this?

I do understand the meaning of the text. It basically says, that you need to get some distance from what you wrote, in order to enhance the writing and evaluate your own words as if they were written by someone else.

Any help is appreciated!

Thank you in advance.


texts:
The prefix 'un-' is polysemous. Its meaning depends on the word class of the root/stem it is being attached to: for verbs the meaning has a "reversible" effect and for adjectives it has a "negated" or "adverse" effect.

Does that mean that the past tense/past participle verbs (sweetened and noticed) are considered to be adjectives?


texts: What is the verb for saying that you are suddenly frightened or afraid?

texts:
I am looking for a word that expresses that you are suddenly very afraid, frightened because of the actions of someone else. For example,

  Mr. Smith had not expected his children to be inside his room, so when he entered the room and his children jumped on him he ______.

I'm not looking for something like became afraid or became frightened, because that expresses more long-term afraidness.


texts: What does the phrase " great creative" mean here?

texts:
What does the phrase " great creative" mean in this article (https://econsultancy.com/blog/67464-why-email-is-the-king-of-one-to-one-marketing):

  Many in digital talk about email almost as it were analogue (tired and old hat). But few underestimate its power when combined with CRM, automation and great creative.

I found one appropriate definition in the ree dictionary, but I am not sure about it:
-n
5. (Marketing) a creative person, esp one who devises advertising campaigns


texts: I would like to know if there are rhyming words (perfect, identical or holorhymes) for the word wolf. Having searched online only for a short while, I believe there might be a word lurking about. Gulf doesn't quite cut it.


texts:
Is there a good antonym to "mental picture"? For example:

  "Remembering the Kana" uses mental pictures, but no physical pictures.


texts: Why is "threshold" pronounced "thresh-hold"?

texts: Why is threshold pronounced "thresh-hold"?


texts:
my friend who is learning english, asked me to check his grammar test, he told me they only started learning present simple, text is:

(Words in CAPITAL should be put in the correct form)

However, in my opinion, it does not make sense, only using the present simple

  Kim's 19 and she's a shop assistant. She GET up early, HAVE breakfast
  and LEAVE home at 8.30. She START work at 9.30 and FINISH at 5.30. She
  WORK in a bookshop but she NOT LIKE reading! She GET home at 6.30 and
  HAVE dinner with her family. She GO to bed early but she NOT READ in
  bed!


texts: What does "don't shoot yourself in the foot" mean?

texts:
What does "Don’t shoot yourself in the foot" mean?

  Unfortunately, most salary decisions are based on perceived performance, not on actual performance. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot.


texts:
What would be a good single-word for:

Someone who tells a lie but he doesn't know he's telling a lie.

Someone who, because of his own ignorance, spreads incorrect lies as universal truth.


texts: Is the use of ‘in’ and ‘under’ in the phrase in ‘one’s dizzying journey in under a year’ redundant?

texts:
I saw the phrase, ‘Mr. Klein’s dizzying journey, in under a year from – to –’ in the following sentence of the New York Times’ (July 23) article titled ‘Ex-Schools Chief Emerges as Unlikely Murdoch Ally.’

  Mr. Klein’s dizzying journey, in under a year, from one of the nation’s foremost education reformers to the corporate consigliere for a media titan whose politics are far to the right of his own, has surprised and unsettled many friends and colleagues, who fear that he will be unable to extricate himself from a scandal that shows no sign of abating.

I’m puzzled if the combination of ‘in’ and ‘under’ in ‘the journey in and under a year’ isn't redundant. Is ‘in and under’ an idiom? Can’t we say simply ‘within a year’? What is the specific nuance of ‘in and under a year’?


texts: In traditional classification, some word classes such as articles, demonstratives and possessives fall into the category of limiting adjectives but why are they categorized as 'determiners' in today's grammar?


texts: Term for the second letter in Sx, Dx, Rx?

texts:
In abbreviations such as Dx (diagnosis), Sx (symptom), and Rx (prescription), is there a specific term for the second letter in the abbreviation?

I have tried to google this but end up with results explaining the meaning of the abbreviations, rather than the specific term for the "x".


texts: A word which means something that is now only for looks

texts: What is a word for a design element which used to have utility but now is used only for aesthetics? Ex: plastic "shutters" around some house windows, rivets on jeans, bead board.


texts:
The Government granted relief payment of 5000$ each to those who injured in the fire accident.

Is there any word missing, eg. a relief payment, or those who were etc.


texts: We offered 1$ reimbursement. Is this usage correct?

texts:
I came across this sentence:

We offered 1$ reimbursement for [...]

Is that correct? I'm not sure, but I think it should be:

We offered a 1$ reimbursement for [...]

or

We offered 1$ in reimbursement for [..]


texts: I'm trying to think if there is a word to describe the above scenario. The British chancellor has stated that the next budget will be "for working families". What isn't stated is that he is trying to change employment law so that "working families" may mean working 7am to 8pm and on weekends. Got feeling that there should be a word to describe a hidden agenda in a true statement but don't know what.


texts:
If I want to describe two financial investments that are mutually beneficial, that is, the first investment increases the value of the second, while the second increases the value of the first, what single word can I use in the phrase "reciprocating ______".

It would be the opposite of devaluation, I guess, but somehow no one ever got around to making "envaluation" a word. "Mutally beneficial" doesn't work because it's not specifically pecuniary.

Edit: It's to be used in a heading, so I'm hoping for an "action thing", or, as I just learned, a deverbal noun [Wikipedia]. Like the noun attack from the verb attack, except specifically and solely pecuniary.


texts:
I've come across with instances where I use "between" when i should use "among"
I've learnt that it's between two things, and it's among more than two things
like, between you and I, among the three of us,  etc.

Then, how come we say "between the teeth" when we're referring to more than two teeth?
So if there are 32 teeth in human,
if I say between the teeth, am I referring to 30 spaces by saying "between the teeth"? (16 teeth up and down = 15 spaces in between)


texts:
McKendrick. Contract Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (2018 8 ed). p 752.

  An infamous example of this is provided by the case of
  Arcos Ltd v. E A Ronaasen and Son [1933] AC 470. The parties entered into a contract for the
  sale of timber staves cut to a thickness of 1/2 inch. The purchasers alleged the sellers had
  breached the contract as the staves were of the wrong thickness, being 9/16 of an inch thick.
  The House of Lords held that the purchasers were entitled to reject the timber.
   Lord Atkin
  stated (at p. 479) that:

    If the written contract specifies conditions of weight, measurement and the like, those conditions must be complied with. A ton does not mean about a ton, or a yard about a yard. Still
    less when you descend to minute measurements does 1/2 inch mean about 1/2 inch. If the
    seller wants a margin he must and in my experience does stipulate for it.

  The buyers were held to be entitled to reject the timber notwithstanding the fact that their
  motive for trying to get out of the contract was that it had turned out to be a bad bargain for
  them as a result of a fall in the market price of timber. The House of Lords were aware of the
  reasons for the buyers’ wish to get out of the contract but were of the view that they were irrelevant.

Pretend that Atkin had commenced with inch first. Then in the sentence beneath, would 'still less' become 'still more'?

  1/2 inch mean about 1/2 inch. Still ? when you ascend to larger measurements do a ton does not mean about a ton, or a yard about a yard.

I read the OED  :

  much less (also far less, still less): used to characterize a statement or suggestion as still more unacceptable or inapposite than one that has been already denied.


texts: In UK, do you say, or used to say, 'candy' to mean 'boiled sweet'?

texts:
In UK, do you say, or used to say, 'candy' to mean 'boiled sweet'(Br) = 'hard candy'(Am)?

I found this definition on some dictionaries, but except Pocket Oxford, they're all British and rather old (up to 1974), but I can't find it on modern dictionaries.

Dictionaries with "candy" as "boiled sweet":
1911 Century Dictionary online; The concise Oxford dictionary, 1964; Collins modern English dictionary, 1974; The pocket Oxford dictionary, 1992.

EDIT: below is added after the comments by @Unrelated, @Clare and the answer by @Laurel.

This definition is also given in Merriam-Webster, which is American. (OTOH MW says "sweet" can mean "hard candy" in UK, which I've never seen anywhere else.)

Dictionaries (and other usages) without this definition:

Oxford learner's dictionary, Longman dictionary, Collins cobuild, Cambridge, Macmillan

They all have the entry "boiled sweet".

Neither these online dictionaries (not so much trustworthy, I think): dictonary.com, the free dictionary
Wikipedia' page candy does not say the bare word "candy" means "hard candy", though it does not prove anything.

But in its talk page, a user says that Br "candy" means "rock candy" in N.Am.

The search result at amazon.co.uk for the word "candy" shows sweets/candies in general.


texts: Adding "-ing" to a verb ending with a pronounced "e"

texts:
When a verb ends with a "e" that is pronounced, do you get rid of the "e" when you add "-ing"?

For example, would you say "His karaoking last night was really unique", or "His karaokeing last night was really unique"?


texts: Parenthetical statement that expresses a condition

texts:
I am studying a book and one of the lines (which was written in the 30's) is,

  We had admitted that we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.

My question is whether or not it is to read this as two separate statements — meaning one could be true and not the other; or does it mean if the first is true then the second is also true?


texts: What is wrong with my reasoning on this ACT English question

texts:
I am taking the ACT english section, and I came across this question. The background is "Even in the middle of winter, the sun, high in a blue sky, keeps me warm. Like me, wildlife avoids the ski resorts; I spot tracks made by elk, coyote, fox and even the endangered lynx".

The question is asking about the word in bold, "me". It is asking which pronoun I should replace it with, or if I should keep it. The options are:

A: No Change
B: them,
C: we,
D: I,

I initially said D, I, as the answer. I did this because I rearranged the sentence so it read "Wildlife avoids the ski resorts like I do". The answer is A, not D. What am I doing wrong in this question? Any help would be appreciated.


texts: "Crucial to cell division is/are the alignment and segregation"

texts:
I'm in the process of writing a research paper for school. Looking back at the introduction of my original research proposal (which I'm using as a scaffold for my current paper) I realized that the use of "is" vs. "are" in one sentence might not be right, but I don't know how to deconstruct the sentence to figure it out:

  Crucial to successful cell division is the alignment and subsequent segregation of chromosomes into daughter cells…


texts: Is ‘Trust-but-verify’ a frequently quoted word?

texts:
I came across a phrase ‘Trust-but-verify moment’ in the following sentence of Washington Post article yesterday. My interpretation of this phrase is ‘I trust you (and you’ve said), but now it’s the time you have to prove what you have committed to me.’ Is my understanding right? Is ‘Trust-but-verify’ a frequently used phrase? If so, why it is shown in Italic form in this particular quote?

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed that the Senate will vote on a repeal of the national health care overhaul, following the House's passage of repeal legislation last week. "I assure you we'll have a vote," McConnell said, adding that "it's very hard to deny people votes in the Senate." McConnell said that Obama has moved toward the center recently and said the president is now in "a kind of *a trust-but-verify*moment."


texts: Do you use the masculine or feminine with "victim"?

texts:
My mother tongue is Latin-based so I'm used to differences in male/female for neutral words. I don't know how this would work with some words in English.

If the "victim" in a sentence is neutral (ie: it could be either a man or a woman, in this context it makes absolutely no difference and we don't know if it's a man or a woman), should I use "his" or "her"?

My instinct would tell me to use his but I seem to remember encountering her in such a neutral situation before.

EDIT:

Here is the exact sentence (it's from a IT Security paper I'm writing):

  Finally the paper will demonstrate how the attacker may control the
  contents of the web pages delivered to the victim as well as redirect
  his downloads towards malicious files.

As you can see I used his here, is that correct?


texts: "A" or "an" with adjective in parenthesis

texts:
Which of the following two forms is correct? (And if there's no agreement about that, which one is more common?)

  a (optional) parameter
  an (optional) parameter

The problem is that the choice between "a" and "an" is based on the spoken form of the phrase ("does the next word start with a vowel sound?"), but there is no spoken equivalent to parentheses.

I.e. I can say either:

  a parameter

Or:

  an optional parameter

But I can't pronounce parentheses.


texts:
Is it correct to use the Saxon genitive when talking about the products of a given company? For example:

  Apple's iPhone / Apple iPhone?

Of course, I have no doubt with products whose denomination includes the name of the company, such as Apple Watch. In such a case, the question, yet awkward, would be:

  Apple's Apple Watch / Apple Apple Watch?

Thank you.

EDIT: Another example would be:

  Microsoft's Word / Microsoft Word

I have seen both ways.


texts: Why do The Sopranos leave off the last vowel in Italian words?

texts:
For example, they pronounce "ricotta" as "rih-gaht", "manicotti" as "mani-gaht", and "prosciutto" as "pro-shoot".

I googled this, and according to this post from Chow.com, this is a common thing around New York and New Jersey, particularly in Italian-American restaurants.

Is this a cultural thing, or something related to the history of how the English language adopted these words, or what?


texts: What do we call the components in names?

texts:
In a western name, you usually have a first name, some number of middle names, and a surname (family name). What is the catch-all word for these components?

To give you context: I am writing a function that takes a name and removes unnecessary whitespace between the components, e.g. John    Smith --> John Smith. I'm writing a comment to explain what the function does, but I can't settle on a good word for these components. Surely there is a word for this?

I know that all these components are technically "names", but in this context, writing "removes whitespace between names in a name" seems confusing at best. I've also thought about calling them "words", but again this seems misleading. My current top choice is "components", but this seems overly general.


texts: What is the difference between the two sentences? 'crying kid' and 'kid crying'

texts:
I comforted a crying kid.
I comforted a kid crying.

Is there any difference of the two sentences above in meaning?


texts: I have a question about the X-bar tree of a VP "ask Mary if she can come"

texts: I know the structure for "ask if she can come" is "V': V CP", but how about "ask Mary if she can come"?


texts: Someone who doesn't learn from the mistakes he made

texts: Is there a word or phrase that means someone who doesn't learn from his mistakes or makes the same mistakes again? It can be a noun or adjective or anything that implies the meaning.


texts: What would the phrase 'modern currents of thought' mean?

texts:
I am preparing for an exam in which one of the criteria to judge candidates is:

  Candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of
  academic study but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside
  their own State or Country as well as in modern currents of thought.

I get most parts of the paragraph but am not able to decipher modern currents of thought. What would it mean?

I hope the question is on-topic here. Thank you!


texts: What is the proper way to combine words?

texts:
With a -, like Middle-earth? Just putting the words together, like Redapple? Or capitalizing both like Apple Pie.
Which is proper, what are the differences between, and why are all three used?


texts: verb, idiom or proverb equivalent for bringing two person to fight

texts:
I am looking for a verb, idiom or proverb that describes a situation that somebody tries to make two parties angry from each other.

I found that mischief-maker means a person who create troubles for others but it doesn't really mean what I am looking for.


texts:
I am looking for an appropriate formal expression when we want to say that a person should not express their opinions, yet bow their head and be part of what the society considers normal and acceptable ? I am writing a motivational letter for a scholarship and I cannot come up with an appropriate expression.
Thank you in advance.


texts:
Is there a single word, or short phrase that denotes the following concept?

'The longer the problem exists the more severe/distasteful the solution must be'

eg. Because we did not choose to act earlier, we are forced to act now with even greater collateral/consequences than would have been.


texts:
Has The New Yorker changed its "who"/"whom" policy? Recently, I noticed--for the first time in fifteen years of more or less consistent readership---two occasions I considered non-standard, both from 2018:

  A couple weeks after that, a woman in California called the police on
  three black women whom she thought were behaving suspiciously.

  ("Smelling the Coffee" by Jelani Cobb, June 4 and 11, 2018)

and

  They spoke to P.J. and to the men memorialized in Kavanaugh's 1982
  calendar as Timmy and Squi, along with Mark Judge, whom Ford says
  watched Kavanaugh pin her down and try to undress her.

  ("Bystanders to History" by Amy Davidson Sorkin, October 15, 2018).

Compare these to the magazine's long history of making the opposite choice in this context:

  Warren targeted the one person in the White House who she believed
  could stop the legislation: the First Lady.

("The Virtual Candidate" by Ryan Lizza -- and at least 20 others containing the phrase "who he believed," and 298 containing "who he thought," for a quick and dirty initial survey. [Perhaps notably, the magazine seems to have started insisting on commas around such clauses not long before its apparent switch to "who."])

What explains this change?