texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Store names & possessive
  “Ear doctor's” vs “Ear doctor”

I have often heard members of the British public pronounce the name of the supermarket chain Tesco as "Tesco's" or "Tescos".

Thinking that it was formerly called "Tesco's", as many old British companies are, I looked up its history and learnt that it is a concatenation of the initials of its early tea supplier's name (T. E. Stockwell) and the first two letters of the founder's surname (Cohen), and was never called "Tesco's".

Is it because of confusion with other supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Morrisons? If so, why have I not heard "Asda's", "Co-op's" or "SPAR's"?


texts: When a person is lack of sleep, his eyes will have some red veins. How to describe this? Can I say "His eyes were full of blood veins?"


texts: Can you be a native speaker in two languages?

texts:
I was not born in an English-speaking country, but since birth, my mom spoke to me in one language and my dad another. It was and still is a bit of a mishmash, but I started kindergarten in America, and English is the language I'm best at. It's also the language I use and have used the most.

Would English be considered my native tongue even if I was not born in an English-speaking country?


texts: Indirect speech, tense shift in clauses of second degree

texts:
I'm reading Hunger Games. Katniss and Peeta are being prepared for the Arena by special instructors.
The plant instructor says: Avoid berries unless you are 100 percent sure they aren't toxic.

How would you fill in the gaps?

Our plant instructor made a point of telling us to avoid berries unless you
____ 100 percent sure they _____ toxic.

This is a grammar point that most grammars don't cover. I don't know what grammar term is used for this grammar point and I don't know how the rule concerned is formulated.

In the novel I have the sentence in the proper form. But I would like to know how native speakers would fill in the gaps, and what term is used in English grammars.


texts: Which is the correct usage of "and" in American English in this example?

texts:
Scenario 1
A series of unfortunate events has led Makoto "Edamame" Edamura to adopt the life of crime—pickpocketing and scamming others for a living. However, after swindling a seemingly clueless tourist, Makoto discovers that he was the one tricked and, to make matters worse, the police are now after him.
Scenario 2
A series of unfortunate events has led Makoto "Edamame" Edamura to adopt the life of crime—pickpocketing and scamming others for a living. However, after swindling a seemingly clueless tourist, Makoto discovers that he was the one tricked , and to make matters worse, the police are now after him.
I beleive it is Scenario 2 because "and" is always a coordinating conjunction.


texts:
Please help me to choose one of the three variants listed below. I need to know which one sounds better and fresher. And if no one sounds good, I need to know it. As I’m not a native speaker of English, it’s a bit difficult to feel the nuances.

What I mean to say with these phrases is that there’s some innovative technology that permits everyone to find and choose any kind of good or service faster and more effectively than ever before. It’s a kind of revolution in the process of searching and choosing—a new approach.

The variations I have are:

  revolution of choice
  choice revolution
  revolution in choice

Which, if any, of these best expresses my meaning?


texts: Can you please explain the significance of "problems" at the end of the sentence?

texts: I wrote a mail asking for some job to be done at the earliest. I was replied with "I'll do it this afternoon, problems." I don't understand the meaning of that extra "problems" at the end. The person was British.


texts: What is the difference between "Employment" and "Job"?

texts:
I cannot understand the differences between the nouns (they both seem to mean "work").

For example: when we hire an employee, we have to define payroll and benefits for them. So which word better describes payroll and benefits, "Employment" or "Job"?

Any help would be appreciated!


texts: Abreviating a ship name with an apostrophe?

texts: If a ship is named the Scienta Victoria, and I wish to drop the first word for the sake of brevity, is it proper to place an apostrophe before the "Victoria" to signify the dropped word?


texts:
Which seems more grammatically sound and emphatic?

I could swear there was a motel room here.

or

I can swear there was a motel room here.

'Can' seems to me to talk about an ability to do something.
'Could' seems to give an impression of something made attestable.


texts: Term describing the "in good standing" conditional

texts:
As I understand it, the phrase "in good standing" describes a person or entity having complied with all their explicit obligations and therefore has no negative history so far. Being "in good standing" or having "lost good standing" are the two possible conditions, what is the umbrella term that would describe these?

I need to use this in a text-based layout:

Feedback
This person is in good standing.

--or--

Feedback
This person has lost good standing.

My question is, what is the best term to use in place of "Feedback" in the heading in the above two examples?


texts: What does the phrase "a fine one" mean in this context?

texts:
In one one Daniil Kharms' short stories, Tikakeyev  “insults” Koratygin by saying:

  A fine one you are!

This causes a fight between the two. When I first read this, I didn't see the “insult”, unless it's sheer irony, I still don't see it. Kharms, as you may know, is a bit  “special”, to say the least, and it's possible that a compliment may also cause a fight in his stories. Does this phrase have a insulting meanin in this context? I need an explanation for the fight :)

Full text of the story appears at shops.htm in the Kharms story directory on sevaj.dk website.


texts:
I have these two sentences:

  The family of Johnsons in 1980 are heartbroken. They, like all families around them, appear to have given up.

When I read it, a lot of things are wrong and awkward about this sentence.

My question: Is "of Johnsons" a misplaced modifier?

Also, given that the two sentences have to remain consistently in either third person singular or third person plural and family, in this case, is singular, so which one would make more sense?


texts: What’s the British English for “shotgun wedding”?

texts:
The expression “shotgun wedding/marriage”, as described in the following link, is an American English  one.

Of American-English origin, the phrases shotgun wedding and shotgun marriage denote a wedding into which one or both partners are forced, usually because the woman is pregnant.

Its earliest usage instances appear to date from the second half of the 19th century from American papers such as:

The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio) of Monday 15th April 1872 and
The Telegraph and Messenger (Macon, Georgia) of Tuesday 21st August 1883.

Also its metaphoric usage appears to have been first used in AmE:

Those phrases came to also denote any forced union. The following article from the Editorial Page of the San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California) of Friday 1st March 1929 illustrates the transition to this generic sense.

I’d assume that in the 19th century this kind of marriages were celebrated in England too, and if so, what were they called in BrE?


texts: Explain the meaning of 'endogenous' as used in this contex: "policing and crime are endogenous to unobservable strategic interaction"?

texts:
From a recent LA Times article (https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-proactive-policing-crime-20170925-story.html), full quote below, italics mine:

Simultaneously, citizens decide to comply with the law or commit crime partly on the basis of police deployment and enforcement strategies. In other words, policing and crime are endogenous to unobservable strategic interaction, which frustrates causal analysis.

I am struggling to understand these sentences, a quick dictionary search for endogenous gives "caused by factors inside the organism or system" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endogenous), but I cannot figure out how to interpret 'endogenous to' in the context above.


texts: "Does it make sense?" or "Do you understand me?"?

texts: Suppose I tell something to my companion and I want to make sure he understands me. I thought I may simply ask "Do you understand me?". But recently I heard that in such cases I should ask "Does that make sense?" instead. Is this true? Which option is appropriate to use in business communication?


texts: Word to denote "recent" in a relative timeframe

texts:
I'm looking for a word to replace recent when the reference point is not the present.

For example, I want to describe the time/events of the period shortly before the rule of Alfred the Great (what Alfred himself would refer to as "recent history"). A writer at the time could write something like "King Alfred continued a trend set by recent kings and events to establish himself as the dominant ruler in England". If I were to write that today, I would be technically incorrect (although probably understood in this example). What can I replace recent with to make this correct?

The sample sentence I'm looking to put the desired word into is thus

  King Alfred continued a trend set by ______ kings and events to establish himself as the dominant ruler in England.

Note that the length of the time periods we're talking about (how short, exactly, is "shortly before") is vague and depends on context, which is absolutely fine, and is not the point of my question.

To clarify further, here's an analogy: the word contemporary can be used to mean "of the present time" (technically, "of the same time", with the present being the explicit or implicit reference point), but it can also be used with different reference points (e.g., "Salieri was contemporary with Mozart"). On the other hand, modern always refers to the present time (this is why I find words like modernism and postmodernism to be nonsense, but I digress).

To phrase the analogy as an SAT question, I'm looking for a word that is to recent what contemporary is to modern.

Earlier comes to mind as a possibility which works with any reference point, but earlier is more generic: it can include periods much further in the past, disconnected from the reference point, while recent describes a period (of indefinite length) leading up to the present.

EDIT

I realised the original example sounds a bit awkward, so I thought having another, simpler sentence might help:

  In 1940, my grandmother was meant to travel to Australia with her parents, but she didn't because she had ______ given birth.


texts: Early use of "there's always a bigger fish"

texts:
The old fisherman's proverb popularized by Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace has a history of uses in literal contexts (fishing), however after the release of Phantom Menace the metaphorical use of the expression to mean there's always someone/something more powerful has exploded in popularity.

However, Phantom Menace cannot be credited with starting this (not to mention, the use in the movie is pretty literal). I have found a metaphorical use of the expression in the political science magazine The New Republic in 1981:

  [...] become victims of this ineluctable logic than ordinary innocent people are. There is always a bigger fish swimming behind, and the higher the official, the more certainly he will be devoured.

What I'm curious about is how far back metaphorical uses of this expression can be traced. Is there any recorded use of it prior to the 1980s?


texts: Is it correct? "I haven't drunk or smoked neither a cigarette nor hookah?"

texts:
1) Should it be "nor" between drunk and smoked?
2) How about "neither (countable n) nor (uncountable n)"?


texts: Is "Please consider the seriousness of this offer" correct?

texts: In Romanian language, there is an expression that would be translated to English as "I offer and request seriousness", that is usually used for example at the end of an offer/ad. What is the English equivalent for this expression? I thought about "Please consider the seriousness of this offer" but I'm not sure about the correctness of this. Also, what alternatives can I use?


texts: The etymology of "Adam" has anything to do with "Adom," hence "dominion"?

texts:
My Sunday school teacher once talked about the origin of the word "Adam" being associated with "Adom", which takes on the meaning of "dominion". Biblically speaking, I think this unconventional explanation could be quite appealing to Christians alike, but I'm really doubtful of its validity.

As Merriam-Webster Dictionary says, Adam originated from "Middle English, from Late Latin, from Greek, from Hebrew Ādhām", meaning "man" (New Oxford American Dictionry, 2nd ed).So this is the first time I heard it explained otherwise. Any evidence of that?


texts: What are sentences like "the longer X, the more Y" called and can they be used in formal written English?

texts:
What is the type of sentence exemplified below called? Is it appropriate to use it in a scientific paper and formal written English in general?

  1. The more pronounced the variation, the
  more the waste.

  2. The more you give, the more you get.

  3. The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.


texts: Single word for taking advantage of the situation?

texts: What is that word that is used to say someone "takes advantage of the situation". This word usually has a mildly negative connotation. It is related to being clever.


texts: is there a single word or phrase in English that describes a simple grip children and adults use – to help someone climb up a tree or over a high fence.  I mean when you clasp your hands and interlock fingers then open your palms to let that person step on them and and if necessary also on your shoulder?


texts: Working in the IT industry I often have to use the word Thawte - the name of a company and its certificates. What is the origin of this word and its correct pronunciation? Does it have its own meaning or is it just a name? A web search result seems to contain IT security stuff only.


texts:
my first question here.
"The life seems to work for them": why did the author of this phrase use "the" before "life"? Does it have to do with meaning, vernacular or what else?
Thanks


texts:
I'm writing an internal policy using some publicly available drafts. In one of them, I encountered a requirement written using to-infinitive like in news titles:

  Network administrators to perform maintenance regularly...

That means that Network administrators must or should perform maintenance regularly. It looked odd to me. Can to-infinitive be used in such a situation or is it a mistake?


texts:
Suppose we are talking about the numbers 1, 2, ... , 10.

When we use the phrase between 1 and 10, do we include the end-points 1 and 10? Is there any difference if we say from 1 to 10 instead?


texts: What is the perfect word/idiom/phrase for a situation when enforcement of a system is futile?

texts:
What is the proper English word for a scenario where a valid/lawful/best thing can not be established because other things are not at their best.

For example, you are unable to enforce food hygiene because people are poor, where obtaining food is hard whereas food hygiene is a far cry.


texts: What's the difference between "rigor" and "rigorousness"?

texts:
What's the difference between rigor and rigorousness?

Which should I use in the following?

  Rigorousness and clarity are not synonymous in pedagogy.


texts:
Do the following two sentences have the same meaning?

They go to school like we do.
They go to school like us.

I know the first one is correct, but I am not sure if the second one is correct too.


texts:
I am seeking to use 's' with wh-words, such as who and what.

The phrase in context goes as such- "Empathy Map - Answering your whos and whats"

The dilemma is whether the language allows us to use it this way. Is this sentence correct?


texts: What is the grammatical structure of "would that it were"?

texts: It doesn't seem to fit the general templates of English sentences I know. Is this an incomplete sentence? Or is it a shortening of an older phrase now no longer used? What are the subject and the object here?


texts: Can someone explain the meaning of the following tongue twister:Rubber baby buggy bumpers? I am familiar with the meaning of individual words, but am still not sure that I get the meaning of the whole phrase? Thanks in advance.


texts:
Here's the context:

  So has gone the reaction of many to the news that Facebook is buying the mobile photo-sharing service Instagram[.]

Could "at" be used as well? I was taught that, when it comes to reactions, you should use "at": e.g. "I was surprised at the news", "I was shocked at his behavior", etc.


texts:
I have come across the phrases like "to which","for which", "by which", "on which" and so on(using a preposition with a relative pronoun).

e.g. The chair on which the body was found..

Could someone please explain if there's a particular rule to be followed when building/using them?

Can I use any preposition before 'which'?
What if I say "The chair which the body was found on"?
How would I decide which preposition to be put?
Can I use other relative pronouns too?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
Is it right to combine the three clauses this way? Is the verb 'has' necessary for the 2nd and 3rd clauses?

  England have decided to drop a batsman who has scored some memorable
  Test centuries against all leading teams, has clearly been their best
  ever ODI player and has won a Man-of-the-Series award in England’s
  only ICC winning tournament: the T20 World Cup in 2010.

Wouldn't it be fine to  just write

  England have decided to drop a batsman who has scored some memorable
  Test centuries against all leading teams, clearly been their best ever
  ODI player and won a Man-of-the-Series award in England’s only ICC
  winning tournament: the T20 World Cup in 2010.


texts: What is the exact context of using this phrase? Is a positive connotation attached to it or a negative one?


texts: "is depended upon by" - how should I understand it?

texts:
I'd like to ask you about some phrase that I bumped into, and it is:
is depended upon by

So, when someone says A is depended upon by B, what exactly does it mean?

that A affects B (where A is independent)
that B affects A (where B is independent)

I'm asking purely from linguistic perspective (the phrase can be seen in a tool for software development, and it causes misunderstandings, so I'm wondering if it's me who just understands it wrong).


texts: Are US detention centers on the US-Mexico border "concentration camps"?

texts:
There is a hot "debate" on Twitter regarding whether the detention centers used by the US border patrol to detain/hold immigrants can be called "concentration camps" or not. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the democrat MOP, first used the term a day ago. For instance, as this news article report:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the United States is "running concentration camps on our southern border" during an Instagram Live stream which caused a furore.
“That is exactly what they are,” she continued, referring to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centres holding immigrants attempting to cross the US-Mexico border, where at least 24 people, including six children, have died during the Trump administration. “They are concentration camps.”

Since then, Twitter went on fire on the issue. Consider for instance this tweet. It consults the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, which contains the following definition for concentration camp:

a place where large numbers of people (such as prisoners of war, political prisoners, refugees, or the members of an ethnic or religious minority) are detained or confined under armed guard —used especially in reference to camps created by the Nazis in World War II for the internment and persecution of Jews and other prisoners

Contrast this with the OED definition:

A place in which large numbers of people, especially political prisoners or members of persecuted minorities, are deliberately imprisoned in a relatively small area with inadequate facilities, sometimes to provide forced labour or to await mass execution. The term is most strongly associated with the several hundred camps established by the Nazis in Germany and occupied Europe 1933–45, among the most infamous being Dachau, Belsen, and Auschwitz.

The former seems very general in that it would also apply to a prison (a large number of people detained or confined under armed guard), whereas the latter is specific in that it involves inadequate facilities and forced labour or await mass execution. So, both definitions imply different answers to the question (yes and no, respectively). Can this debate be objectively settled? Or are we merely at the mercy of specific dictionary definitions, serving different political ideologies, without one definition being objectively superior to the other?


texts: What does "bordered on narcoleptic" mean?

texts:
What does bordered on narcoleptic mean in the following passage?

  But if an explanation is where the mind comes to rest, the mind that stopped at “lucky” when it sought to explain the Oakland A’s recent pitching success bordered on narcoleptic.


texts: What does “Don’t squat with your spurs on” mean?

texts:
My friend e-mailed me a couple days ago a dozen of cowboys’ proverbs included in the book titled, “Don’t squat with your spurs on” by Texas Bix Bender.

Though I presume this proverb (Don’t squat with your spurs on) admonishes not to do everything impetuously, I can’t figure out what’s wrong with squatting spurs on, as I’m utterly ignorant of cowboys, horse, riding boots, spurs, et cetera.

The question may look naive to you, most Americans, but I don’t honestly understand the "figurative" meaning of the phrase.

Does it mean projections of spurs can hurt you when you squat inadvertently with spurs on?

I was unable to find out a  concrete answer in Google Search, though I find the phrase in a row as a heading.


texts: Relative nonrestrictive clause: "where they can debut unreleased and sought-after music"

texts:
It has been designed to become an artist’s haven for unannounced top DJ performances where they can debut unreleased and sought-after music.

What kind of clause is "where they can debut unreleased and sought-after music"? Noun, adverb, or relative?

I'm guessing it's not a noun clause, but I could be wrong. I'm leaning towards relative adjective clause.


texts: Is it grammatical to split a qualifying subclause from the qualified noun?

texts:
While drafting an answer on another site, at one point I came up with the following sentence:

*You can’t force someone to follow a contract who hasn’t agreed to it.

I think the intended meaning is clear. But if you apply the grammar rules strictly, without regard for semantics, it would seem that the ‘who’ applies to the contract, which is a strange thing to say.
Is this construction grammatical and does it have a distinct name?


texts: I've never heard someone say it. I'm more interested specifically in British English, but also in general.


texts: What is the difference between 'try' and 'attempt' when used as nouns?

texts:
Why is it possible to say

The speech is an attempt to pacify all parties concerned.

but not *"The speech is a try to ...."
Although they are interchangeable in

I will give it another try/attempt
It was a good try/attempt


texts:
I want to write "conditional (mean imputation)" and "unconditional (mean imputation)" shorter, which of these 4 is the best way to do that? If multiple ways are correct, which is the most common (in American English)?

(un)conditional or
(un-)conditional or
(un) conditional or
(un-) conditional

Which way of writing is correct; and

Edit: for clarification: In statistics there exists "conditional mean imputation" and "unconditional mean imputation" (see e.g. p. 225 in "Linear Mixed Models for Longitudinal Data" by Verbeke and Molenberghs:
 which I want to shorten to "(un)conditional mean imputation".

One example sentence is

  There are many diverse imputation methods: in (un)conditional mean imputation, missing values are replaced by the (un)conditional mean. In regression based imputation, missing values... In hot deck imputation...".

Writing only "mean imputation" is not an option, as I want to make clear that there are two distinct mean imputation methods.


texts:
What is the meaning of the "a moment's worth" in the following

  Using this equation, we can generate the graph with a moment's worth of calculation and plotting.

Is it equivalent to "more acurate" and "faster" or depends on the subject of the context?


texts: The inclusion of "got" in "I've got a question for you."

texts:
Note: I have edited the question substantially as I was unclear about the question I was asking. It is mostly my own fault for not posing the question better, but I hope that it is more clear now, and I will be able to get some more relevant answers. Thanks to everyone for your answers even if they were off topic for my intended question.

To let some one know that I'd like to ask them a question, I might say:

  I've got a question for you.

What is the point of having the word "got" in this sentence? It seems redundant with the contracted word "have". They both add the same meaning to the sentence.


texts: How do I punctuate a direct statement within a sentence?

texts:
In the following sentence, how do I set apart the suggested statement?

Tell your students, "You are close, but that only works if the equation uses addition. Since the equation uses multiplication, what do you think the answer is?"

I usually use a comma and quotation marks, but I'm not sure that's correct.


texts:
What is the difference between fluid and liquid?

I'm thinking of this in the context of drink plenty of fluids.


texts:
Is using "it" to refer to a person ok?
If it is, why?

Q)Who is your teacher?
A)It is Mr. Red.


texts: How to teach my child the difference between "got" and "go" using phonics?

texts:
This is one of two questions regarding teaching my child to read using phonics. The other question is:

How to teach a child using phonics in a different accent?

I am a parent of a four year old boy who is starting to read at school (UK). The school is using a phonics system to teach the children to read.

I honestly cannot remember if my school taught me to read using a phonics system or not. In any case, I find teaching my child to read using phonics difficult and alien. I realise however that it would be destructive to teach a different way of reading to my child to that to which he is exposed at his school. I want to reinforce and consolidate at home the teaching that he receives at school.

That means that I need to learn phonics. While I am happy to get involved in this way, I doubt that I will have the time to get much further than the basics.

Hence the very simple question of the title. My wife and I are both active in helping our son read the lists of words that he has brought home from his school to learn.

How do we explain to our four year old, that the symbol "o" in "got" and "go" (for example) is pronounced differently, rather than being dogmatic about it? I feel that saying "Because it just the way it is", rather undermines his teachers' - and our - instruction. There are other examples, e.g. "no" and "not" etc.

Please note: I am aware that teaching to read via phonics is a contentious topic. I am not looking for a debate on phonics. It's the system that is used in my child's school to teach him to read. I am uncomfortable teaching phonics, but that's the way he is being taught at school and I am keen to support his learning.


texts: Uses of "within": what does "within x days of a determined date" mean?

texts:
The segment of the text goes like this:
"[...]the predicted calving date was within 0.9 days of the actual calving date when ultrasound was undertaken [...]"

I have to translate this and I can't figure if the predicted (via ultrasound) date happened 0,9 days earlier or later than the actual date.


texts:
Over in Mi Yodeya Meta, commenting on the proposed Mi Yodeya site scope —

  for people who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more

— I mentioned that "I'd replace people with those". When pressed for a reason, I said:

  Because (and I don't know the words to explain this right, so bear with me) those is less strong a word. People calls more attention to itself, is more noticeable, and, therefore, pulls more attention away from the more important part of the line. At least, that's my impression.

That is, when you're reading that line, your eye/mind is more likely to skip over those without the word making an impression than over people. Skipping over it is a good thing in this case, since it's not the semantically important part of the line.

You may not, of course, agree with me on that score, but my question is: How should I have described this? Is there a term that style sheets or grammarians or English teachers or linguists or whoever use for such 'strong' words-in-context?


texts: "adjective noun noun": which noun does the adjective refer to ("electrical system operators")

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How does the hyphen change the meaning in expressions like “high performance” and “high-performance”?
  Is there a grammar rule behind the hyphen in the phrase 'one-act play'?
  Chainsaw-equipped or chainsaw equipped?
  Should I use “ related” or “-related”
  Hyphenation in compound adjectives
  To hyphenate or not?

I recently read the term "electrical system operators" in an article, and I immediately felt that this sounded wrong, because it is the system that's electrical, not the operators. I would always try to rwrite this as "operators of electrical systems". Do native English speakers have the same problem as me (I'm German)?


texts: Word describing a distinct absence of intellectual curiosity?

texts:
Is there any adjective that means "not intellectually curious", but which isn't simply the opposite of a more common word, like 'incurious' and 'uninterested'?
I found some ideas from the definition of incurious:

Lacking intellectual inquisitiveness or natural curiosity; uninterested.

But these tend to be opposites of more common words.
Are there any unique words to describe the quality of a pronounced absence of intellectual curiosity?


texts:
Is it grammatically correct to use potentials in the following sentence:

  Software tools analyze data and report potentials issues.


texts: Is it grammatically correct to begin a sentence with "Which" (in academic style)?

texts: What references, or your  specific expertise tell about the  permissibility of passages like: "We shall assume that 2x2=5. Which, of course, is not quite correct, but..."


texts: In "Enter John", is John in the nominative or accusative case?

texts:
This question made me think about the structure of the sentence.

I'm familiar with the expression 'Enter Michael'/'Exit John' to represent Michael's or John's entry or exit, respectively, to a dramatic stage, and its metaphorical use.

Is this a real sentence, or a sentence fragment? Either way, should John be treated as the subject of the sentence, and put in the nominative case?  I realise that this makes little practical difference as English words are not typically declined based on case, and "exit him" or "Enter I" sounds wrong either way. However I am curious.

Initially I had thought that "exit" might be the subjunctive, and that the phrase was equivalent to "Let John exit".  But the plural of "exit" in stage directions is "exeunt", and both "exit" and "exeunt" are present indicative in Latin.


texts:
I just bought a smoothie and the barista wrote the Spanish phrase "Éxitos" on my cup. My Spanish-speaking colleagues tell me this is wishing me success.

I'm trying to think of an analogous English phrase but I can't think of anything closer than "Good luck," which is a much more general meaning. Any ideas?


texts: What might "knock me over with a feather" mean?

texts:
I recently received a text message which read: "well, knock me over with a feather!" It was in response to a statement which may or may not have been surprising (I honestly have no idea).

Has anyone heard this expression before? I am curious about what it was meant to express.


texts: I am writing an assignment, and I need to say, "6", "year","old", and "girl". I wrote 6 year old girl, but I keep getting a blue underline suggesting it is grammatically incorrect. How should I be writing this, and why?


texts: Is "currently-installed" a proper compound adjective?

texts:
I'm in the process of working on technical documentation and the phrase "currently-installed" came up. The context of the orginal sentesnece is as follows:

  "You are not licensed to use the currently-installed product."

Normally I see this written as "currently installed" but I was told the other way is correct because it is a compound adjective. Which form is correct?


texts: How to phrase it if users participate less than the threshold vs equal to and higher than the threshold

texts:
I have the following sentences and not sure if one of them is better than the others. So, there is a threshold for user participation. If user participation is less than the threshold then I call it they under-participate. I believe this is fine.
However, users can also just do the threshold or more. This is the part with which I have problems phrasing. Any of the followings is acceptable and conveys the meaning that I meant to:

... users who are likely to under-participate and users who are likely to participate as required or more
... users who are likely to under-participate and users who are likely to participate as required or go beyond/exceed the expectations
... users who are likely to under-participate and users who are likely to participate sufficiently as required for the worst case.

UPDATE: FURTHER DETAILS
Let's say users are supposed to post 3 replies in a discussion forum. However, some of them had less than 3 replies whereas others have posted at least 3 replies. Here is a more generic template:

... aims to identify users-with-less-than-3-replies versus users-with-3-or-more-replies.

So, the users belong to either group. First group under-participates. But, I am having trouble finding a phrase to concisely indicate the second group. For example, over-participate would not work since participation at threshold level is also fine actually. Also, it has negative connotations.


texts: Are the people in 'Everyone' and 'Everybody' sentences referred to using singular or plural grammar?

texts:
I looked through some past queries and I believe this particular take on the question has not yet been addressed:

Which of the following sentences is correct?:

Everyone was working as a volunteer.
Everyone was working as volunteers.

Should the 'volunteers' be referred to as singular or plural and why?
I personally imagine 'a volunteer' as being one giant volunteer made up of multiple people and 'volunteers' as being each separate volunteer in the group.

Thanks!


texts: A word for "untranslatable" words from other languages

texts:
Speakers of many languages treat as a cultural good that their language possesses words which are "untranslatable". Of course, that can be challenged or qualified, but this phenomenon is common enough that it deserves a word or phrase in English to describe it: a semantic equivalent of "shibboleth".

Does anyone know of such a word to collectively describe these assertions?

Examples of such claimed words include

Sehnsucht
Heimat
Gwybodaeth

What these words share, beyond difficulty in translating, is that they are often claimed to be a cultural lodestone for the source language.


texts: How colloquial or formal is "every other day/week/month"?

texts:
I was recently involved in a friendly yet heated debate over "every other week" and "every other month" being or not formal enough for contract terms and conditions, or being colloquial terms.

"The parties agree to sync on the state every other week."
"The parties agree on a grammar bull fight every other month."

As non-native speakers we both were not sure if this is sufficiently formal language.

Bonus question: If "every other month" and "every other week" are colloquial, what would be formal terms for a contract?


texts: What's the meaning of tricks of the nerves in this sentence?

texts:
Someone was talking about an old autocratic prince that shot dead, saying:

  You must understand that towards the end of his life he began to have those tricks of the nerves not uncommon with tyrants. He multiplied the ordinary daily and nightly guard round his castle till there seemed to be more sentry-boxes than houses in the town, and doubtful characters were shot without mercy.

Does it mean Neurological disorders?


texts:
A quote from LibreOffice user manual:

  Turning on hyphenation for the Default Style paragraph style affects all other
  paragraph styles that are based on Default Style. You can individually change other
  styles so that hyphenation is not active; for example, you might not want headings to
  be hyphenated. Any styles that are not based on Default Style are not affected. For
  more on paragraph styles, see Chapters 8 and 9 in this book.

For what reason is "the" used before "Default Style"   for the first time, but not used any further?


texts:
Two guys meet each other at night and one of them shows the other a box where there are three guns. Then a police officer appears and asks:

What is in the box?

Can the guy whom was shown the box whisper to his pal

Don't show him what are in the box! ?

I read that if we knew or presupposed about something that was plural we could say sentences like that with plural forms or verbs. This way the police officer doesn't know anything about the singular/plural form of what is in the box. Therefore he uses "is". However, the boys knowing the amount of the guns is three use "are". Am I right?

P.S. If he can, will it be wrong if he still says:

Don't show him what is in the box! ?


texts: Can there be a sarcastic meaning to "top gun" in a (non-)linguistic context like this?

texts:
In a speaking practice recording, a guy (Person A) is trying to place himself at the center of attention in a conversation about his job. The conversation goes:

  Lady: Veronica talks about you all the time. I guess you must be
  pretty busy at work.

  PERSON A: Well, yeah, a V. P. position is not easy, you know! I implement
  policies and procedures nationwide, of various departments, as well as
  train junior managers in FDA and EPA regulations. [...] that alone
  means I have 1500 employees under me. [...] what do YOU do for a
  living, Arthur?

  Arthur: Oh, I'm a TOP GUN PILOT.

I can not see exactly how this response could work against a guy who is going on about his fabulous position at work.


texts:
I have some problem in comparative sentence. For example:

  In lower layer PS=10%

  In upper layer PS=5%

For this I wrote the sentence as below:

  In lower layer PS is greater than upper layer.
  In lower layer PS is greater than that in the upper layer.

Grammatically, which sentence is correct? I am writing this sentence for a scientific article.


texts: In which grammatical number should the first word in a compound be?

texts:
I've recently caught myself spending too much time wondering about several off-sounding compounds I've come across, e.g. browsers list (as in, a list of browsers) and tasks queue (as in, a queue of tasks).

I can't help it, but pluralizing the first word sounds weird to me. I would have said, "browser list" and "task queue".

Which grammatical number is proper grammar?

(This question is quite similar, but isn't answered with regards to this specific detail.)


texts:
Does anyone know the origin of the phrase "all the virtues in the calendar"?

Doing a phrase search (with quotes) gives many example usages.

Questions:
1. Is there an actual calendar of virtues somewhere with specific virtues listed?
2. Or, is this just a vague figure of speech (and thus presumably means all conceivable virtues)?


texts: Word meaning existing only in the present?

texts: I was watching a video I cannot find describing television before the VCR. And it used a word to describe the fact that television could not be rewound or paused. This word also applies to spoken language but not written language. It is an adjective and describes things that only exist in the present. They do not exist in the past or the future. They are also normally a continuous stream of information but I do not know if that is pertinent. I cannot remember this word and I was wondering if anyone knows of this word.


texts:
I am reading Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, in Act 1 Scene 2 Alexander gives the following portrait of Ajax:

  "[...] he is as valiant as the lion, churlish as the bear, slow as the elephant; a man into whom nature [...]".

Everything seemed quite clear to me (note: I am not a native English speaker). Yet, while reading the Italian version of this passage I noticed that the term slow was translated with the equivalent of the word majestic. Precisely, "maestoso come l'elefante".

Is this a poetic freedom the translator decided to concede himself, or did the word slow actually have that meaning in the past? I was not able to find any source supporting the latter thesis.


texts: If a prostitute "solicits" a potential client, what verb is used for requesting or engaging a prostitute's services?

texts:
If the prostitute solicits, what do the customers do?

Do you rent a prostitute?


texts: How to interpret the negation in this sentence?

texts:
I have a question. What does the following sentence mean? Negation is so complicated here.

  We are characters who do not exist in a story composed by no one from nothing.


texts: What section heading for a CV, regrouping things you do for the community?

texts:
In a university researcher's curriculum vitæ, it is typical to split items between categories such as Education, Research activity, Publications, Teaching, etc. I want to include as a separate categories the things that you do for the community, in my own group and at large (i.e., people from my research domain). This includes things like peer review of publications and funding proposals, organizing seminars and workshops, etc. (Edit: it is part of my job, not volunteer work outside of the scope of my job.)

The term I came up with for the name of that category was “Collective responsibilities”, but I am not satisfied at all with that. What name would you suggest in this context?


texts: Does the term "avoid" leave room for exceptions?

texts:
For instance, this sentence:

Avoid the "Reply All" option.

Which of the following paragraphs better describes the above sentence?

Paragraph 1: Don't use the "Reply All" option.
Paragraph 2: As a general rule, don't use the "Reply All" option. However, there exist certain scenarios where it's acceptable to use this option.

Is the second paragraph a proper interpretation of the sentence?


texts: What is the origin/history of "you do you" (or "do you")?

texts:
A recent New York Times Magazine piece focused on the expression "you do you" (and its variant "do you"), meaning something like a strong affirmation to "be yourself."

The article associates the phrase with a narcissistic "millennial" culture, implying that it has become popular very recently.  Regarding its etymology, the author only asserts: "'Do you' certainly sallies forth from black vernacular, even if the nature of its mundane parts makes its origin Google-proof," which sounds like an appropriate challenge for this forum.

Some comments on this article have posited that the phrase and usage is older, at least dating to the 1990s.  Any thoughts on etymology or history would be welcome.


texts:
I'm looking for a word or idiom that is the opposite of Halo effect?

Halo effect (sometimes called the halo error) is the tendency for positive impressions of a person, company, brand or product in one area to positively influence one's opinion or feelings in other areas.Halo effect is “the name given to the phenomenon whereby evaluators tend to be influenced by their previous judgments of performance or personality. [Wikipedia]

So what word or expression would describe the tendency to overlook a person's pluses just because of their shortcomings in a certain area?


texts:
I keep reading in some style/usage books that "purport" shouldn't be turned passive because the sense of the verb is "already passive." Thus,

  Three people were arrested Sunday at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum after pouring what was purported [read purported] to be human blood and ashes on the Enola Gay. (Garner's Modern English Usage, 4th edition, by Bryan Garner)

Apparently, the objection goes back to H.W. Fowler, who, in Modern English Usage said that this verb should never be used in the passive.

So, I wonder: for linguists, what is the syntax of purport? How does it work? Garner in the example above objects to "what was purported to be," but that actually sounds ok to me.

Thanks in advance


texts: An adjective describing a collection that can be added to but not removed from

texts:
I'm writing code and I want to convey that when you add an element to this ???? collection, it's there and you can't remove it.

Another example might be a fire. When you throw (almost any) something into a fire, you can't retrieve it. Is there a succinct name for this property?


texts:
How will I write this statement in a shortest yet understandable way? And is there a one word noun for this?
"One who often abstains from, or neglects, the rendering of aid, or assistance"


texts: Word for concept of degrees of definition

texts:
Is there a name for the concept that some words have different degrees of precision, and that misalignment or ambiguity over the intended precision easily leads to misunderstanding?
Some examples, but please note that I'm not trying to be particularly accurate with these definitions, but instead offered for purpose of drawing the point that there are two senses with differing levels of precision, and this ambiguity of precision if not addressed could lead to confusion/argument.

In colloquial usage the word "chemical" generally refers to dangerous substances, more likely liquid, usually man-made, and differentiated from "natural"; while in scientific usage a "chemical" is pretty much anything made of atoms — arsenic is a naturally occuring chemical substance, as even is gold.

A scientific "theory" is more narrowly defined than the colloquial usage, and particularly so as with a conspiracy "theory".

Today, armour scholars define "mail" as it was defined in the Middle Ages — consisting of a "fabric" of interlocked metal rings that form a strong, flexible, mesh armour. (The word "mail" being derived through the Old English mayle, the French maille, and Italian maglia, from the Latin macula, which refers to the mesh of a net). This definition of mail was not the one used by Victorian scholars though. They used the word in a more general sense — to describe any sort of metallic body armour (i.e. "mail" is "armour", and thus a need to invent the term "chain mail"). [cribbed from here]

So, similar to how a synecdoche refers to parts/whole of a thing, but different in that here the differentiation is by precision. Also,  polysemy is too broad, as it encompasses any alternatives of definition and not specifically two senses which are similar in topic/direction but otherwise disagree in terms of precision.
(Doesn't have to be a single word)

Update: it would appear the closest sense has to do with Semantic Broadening and Semantic Narrowing.


texts: Is "We have the power, so can you" (from She-Ra) grammatical?

texts:
The lyrics of the closing theme of the She-Ra cartoon include the line "We have the power, so can you". (Listen to it on YouTube.)

I'll grant them their poetic license, but it doesn't sound right to me and I can't quite put my finger on why.

Would you say it's ungrammatical? Why?


texts: Can you help me correct my grammar in these two sentences?

texts:
I'm writing an essay, and I have a section that doesn't seem right grammatically:

Mama attempts to reconcile with Dee and accept her new identity as “Wangero,” but the address switches back and forth: “Wangero (Dee);” “Dee  (Wangero);” “Wangero;” “Dee  (Wangero);” and finally, “Miss Wangero.” Until the end, the changes in her address reflect Mama’s attempts to appease Dee and bring her back into the family.

Is "her address" an acceptable phrase? Are the semicolons used correctly? It seems off to me, but I'd like additional input. Thanks!


texts: What is the origin of the term 'Au pair'

texts:
After watching Haunting at bly manor, I'm really confused about the term 'Au pair' referring a in house helper.
But being a french speaker, and 'Au pair' seemingly being borrowed from french, it confuses me. Because as far as I know french, 'Au pair' doesn't mean much. Au is basically pretty much nothing in itself, its close to 'À la' and pair is basically the same in french in english 'to mean a duo, or two elements'
So where is 'Au pair' supposed to come from? The direct translation in french, from where it looks to be coming from, means not much, and pretty much nothing in the 'in house help' context.


texts: Is preposition "for" used in the sentence correctly?

texts:
In the last part of a post, I use this sentence:

We thank all of you for your continued interest and support for our Facebook page.

I know we often say"interest in something" or "support for something." So, is preposition "for" used in the sentence correctly?


texts: Original form of this sentence : Our collection spans musical genres from rock and roll to opera, highlighting England's great artistic contributors

texts:
I think there is relative pronouns omitted in this sentence.

"Our collection spans musical genres from rock and roll to opera, highlighting England's great artistic contributors."

And What I want to know is original form of this sentence.
(ex. Our collection spans musical genres from rock and roll to opera,[which is] highlighting England's great artistic contributors.) -> just my opinion.

And what "which" refers to.
(ex. In above the sentence, "which" indicates "Our collection" or "musical genres")

I'm not good in English. so if you can't understand my question, I will try to revise it.

Many thanks.


texts:
Thesaurus.com lists no synonyms for defenestrate, and I can't think of any (aside from its definition). However, according to etymonline, it has been in use since 1620 (although Wikipedia refers to two major incidents in the 15th century), and according to Google Ngrams, it was not used in writing before the 20th century (with a steady increase until a peak around 2000).

Are there any synonyms that may have been used in those 300 years where it was apparently not used in print? Could revived popularity of such a synonym be responsible for the slight decrease in use over the past decade, or are people just not thrown out of windows often enough anymore?

Update:
I've searched Google Ngrams for defenestrate vs. defenestration vs. defenestrated, and found many more occurrences. However, there is still a 200-something year gap.


texts: Applied to the lottery or for the lottery?

texts:
Which preposition should I use in the following sentence:

  I applied ____ greencard lottery.

Would it be:

  I applied for the greencard lottery.

or

  I applied to the greencard lottery.

If both are fine, how would I decide which one to use?
If neither are fine, how should I convey the thought I am trying to convey?


texts: Difference between "Let us go" and "Let we go"?

texts:
Just wanted to know the correct usage of 'us' and 'we' .

Are there any contexts in which they can be used interchangeably?

I know "Let we go"  seems wrong..but couldn't explain it.


texts: When would one say "she has found her keys" as opposed to "she found her keys"? Are they equivalent, or at least partially equivalent? I'm not a native speaker and have been unable to find a pattern regarding the use of "have" in this context.


texts:
As a volunteer English teacher to newly landed to-be citizens of Canada, please bear with me, as I am trying to be as specific as possible, without being overtly wordy.
The word of the day in Merriam-Webster's daily post was "Itinerant."
Words that start with the letter "I" most often have a short, or informally, a soft vowel sound, if two consonants follow the letter "I." Many well used exceptions, such as if, in, and it.
Words such as intelligent, inconsolable, imbecile, irresistible, and most others follow this rule.
On the other hand, words such as itinerary, isolated, idol, ideal, and others give a long, or informally, a hard vowel sound.
Simply put, is there an English rule that could help a person newly learning the English language that would avail a more straightforward answer to this question? Thanks - Campaigner8


texts: How can I use the exact word "will" in a sentence about past?

texts:
Last week our teacher gave us an assignment to find a usage for the word "will" in a sentence about past.

He also told us that it doesn't have anything to do with would and it's rarely used.


texts: Why can't some stative verbs be used in the passive? We can't, for example, passivize resemble, but we can passivize know, love and like?


texts:
Can one fulfill “beyond” a promise? Is it possible to say “extending the fulfillment of a promise”?

I am trying to express that I hope I fulfilled a promise and then some. This is for the acknowledgements of my thesis. I have written: “Many years ago I made a promise to my late maternal grandmother that I would do my best in getting admitted to a university. I hope this effort contributes to fulfilling that promise and beyond just a little bit more.”


texts: I'm creating a blog and would like an interesting title. Does "The Nascent Mathematician" make any sense? I've never heard 'nascent' being used to describe anything but businesses and economies.


texts: word order of "become," "sufficiently", "advanced" in this sentence

texts:
So this is still a mystery to me. Can someone help me please? This is the question:

  It was only when electric motors ______________ to become portable
  that vacuum cleaners became common household items.

  1) became advanced sufficiently

  2) sufficiently became advanced

  3) had sufficiently become advanced

  4) had become sufficiently advanced

And please tell me why the 3 wrong answers are wrong. Also, can we put an adverb like "sufficiently" between "had" and "become"? Does the answer to the last question only apply to this sentence or is it always like that?
And one last thing, please choose one of the answers given. This was a test, so no other answers were available.


texts: "Please send me your most lucrative offer." Is that correct?

texts:
Lucrative is defined as

  adj. producing a great deal of profit.

In the context, the speaker is negotiating with the listener and asking for the best possible price for something, which he intends to buy. Is it correct to ask for the "most lucrative offer"?


texts:
I want to know whats the meaning of part 2
Afterp( the perceiving...)

Four a.m. in the Woods

  Darkness softens, a thin
  tissue of mist between trees.
  One by one the day's
  uncountable voices come out
  like twilight fireflies, like stars.
  The perceiving self sits
  with his back against rough bark,
  casting ten thousand questions into the future.
  As shadows take shape, the curtains part
  for the length of time it takes to gasp,
  and behold, the purpose of his
  life dawns on him.


texts:
I have this young character and I'm trying to describe his excitement through his body language. Is there any other words or expression which means "jumping up and down with excitement" or something with a similar meaning?
For example:

  The boy gently pulled his mother's hand "Come, mommy!" He jumped in
  excitement, wanting to go as soon as possible

Thank you!


texts: What is the collective name for the power, volume, and/or function buttons on a tablet?

texts:
I'm trying to be the most inclusive when writing a procedure that involves usage of a tablet computing device.

I've read about hardware buttons for Microsoft Tablet PCs. I want to know if there's a more inclusive term for them on devices from other manufacturers, as well.

An example sentence would be:

  "Press the device's ____ and verify there is no response.


texts: Is it correct to say "the passion has intensified"?

texts:
In a context as follows:

  A passion in science and technology, which has considerably
  intensified by gaining more knowledge in physics and electronics,
  continuously motivates me to take up engineering.

Is it correct to say the passion has intensified?


texts: What is the difference between bamboozle and hornswoggle

texts:
Please don't answer that bamboozle is spoken in GB and hornswoogle in US.
Many times i have heard hornswoogle spoken at the US East Coast.
Is it possible that both means the same but hornwoogle is modern languages and gentler?
Thanks


texts:
How should I punctuate "it doesn't matter if you're [blank]" to disambiguate the following two sentences:

Q: "Which hand should I use to shoot a basketball?"
A: "It doesn't matter if you're ambidextrous." (if your right hand is as good as the left, you can use either one)
Q: "Will I be a better cook if I'm ambidextrous?"
A: "It doesn't matter if you're ambidextrous." (motor skills will not improve your cooking)


texts: The prefixes "pre-" and "post-" refer to events before and after. For instance, "pre-season" and "post-season" or "pre-study" and "post-study". Is there a prefix fitting this pattern which means "during" that can fit in the form "(prefix)-season" and "(prefix)-study"? "Mid-season" and "mid-study" seems to refer to the middle point, so it does not seem like a good fit.


texts: How do words become derogatory or politically incorrect?

texts:
I know how words can become racist but I'm not sure how a word becomes derogatory or politically incorrect. If seems as though once one does, a new term is created to replace it that is not derogatory and is politically acceptable. But those new words and terms often times become derogatory or politically incorrect over time.

For example, the way crippled gave way to handicapped, which gave way to disabled.


texts: What do you call someone who does a favor for you?

texts: I'm looking for a single word, something like "good samaritan" but more specific; someone who does a favor for you but not necessarily an acquaintance.  I.e. I asked for a hand moving my couch and a ______ gave me a hand.


texts:
Why is one of those spelled with a single L and not the other?

For the etymology of Beryllium name it's unclear but could be either Greek or Latin, and Helium is named after Helios (so Greek here).


texts:
Why is "extravagant" a word and "vagant" isn't?

Here is what OET has to say on "extravagant":

  late 14c., in constituciouns extravagaunt, a term in Canon Law for papal decrees not originally included or codified in the Decretals, from Medieval Latin extravagantem (nominative extravagans), present participle of extravagari "wander outside or beyond," from Latin extra "outside of" (see extra-) + vagari "wander, roam" (see vague).

"Vagant" does not display any results as it is not a word.

What gave this question away is Jorge Luis Borges in "The Library of Babel". He mentions a discovery that brought "extravagant happiness". Being that his craft rarely includes prefixes, I had this corollary (as his translator has put it) question knock on my head, which I thought would be clear by itself without additional explanations for it applies to numerous contexts.


texts: What is the meaning of ''until the shine wears off''?

texts:
I love the songs Lost! and Lost? (well, it's the same song but in different versions) by Coldplay. In these songs, we can hear:

I just got lost
Every river that I tried to cross
Every door I ever tried was locked
O-oh
and I'm just waiting 'til the shine wears off

What does until the shine wears off mean?


texts:
How can the word politic(s) used besides it's general meaning, that is " the activities of governments concerning the political relations between countries".

For example, what does politics mean in the following sentence:

  (A man is talking a about a woman in court) She's gonna score some points concerning her husband's sexual
  politics.

In this situation does politics mean "a set of beliefs"?


texts:
Is the prefix im- used in a negative sense, as in, the opposite of the word following it, e.g.

Impenitent = "not penitent"

Or it is used in the positive sense that supports the word following

Impassive = more or less same meaning as passive.

When do I know if it is opposite and when not?


texts:
I am looking for a noun that could be used in this sentence to better describe the situation and make it sound more clear:

The "fact" whether you win or lose this game has only minor effect on your mood.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that the noun "fact" is not used properly here because what is decribed above is not really a fact. But what is it then? A state, situation, reality? Is there any better expression?


texts:
Sometime before nouns there's no definite or indefinite articles like in this sentence (before representatives and congressional districts):

  The House of Representative is composed of representatives elected from congressional districts.


texts:
You really think you're gonna be able to make that fly?

I heard this phrase in the movie Crash (I think).  I've googled it but came up with  nothing.


texts: The perspective of people in the future looking back at now

texts:
My student came to me with this sentence that we disagree on.

"People in the future will wonder why we have many traffic accidents today."

I think 'have' should be 'had'.

i.e. "People in the future will wonder why we had many traffic accidents today"

Thoughts?


texts:
Which of the following is more grammatically correct? Could you let me know reason for using the favourable preposition (either to or for)?

  After having my dinner, I will depart to my house.
  After having my dinner, I will depart for my house.


texts: What is a word for a "soft" confused voice by a crowd?

texts:
Tumult means a "loud" confused voice by a crowd. What is a word for a "soft (as the antonym to loud)" confused voice by a crowd? Imagine that you have made a statement to a crowd, and rather than a tumult, you hear confused whispers from the crowd that is clearly due to their confusion/disagreement/shock?
E.g. "I can hear you tumult as I give the news that war is coming close."
"I could see your tumult as you gave your back to your enemy and fled."
Whisper is not useful, because it does not imply confusion or disarray.


texts: When two open-front vowels meet, does one become, typically, weaker?

texts:
. . . at last [ət-lӕst] . . [audio source]

I guess, from the two lots’ pronunciations, that when [ӕ] is accompanied by [ӕ], one which is lesser important in meaning becomes weaker and change into a schwa sound. Is this a typical pattern?


texts: Why can "yea' and "nay" be used interchangeably here?

texts:
The definitions of Yea and Nay, provided by Lexico, are:
Yea;

Used to emphasize a more appropriate word than one just used.
‘he was full, yea, crammed with anxieties’

and Nay

Or rather (used to emphasize a more appropriate word than one just used)
‘permission to build the superstore will take months, nay years’

What, if any, are the historical reasons as to why 'Yea' and 'Nay' are semantically identical with regard to the context of introducing 'a more appropriate word than the one just used'?
Did their meanings arise independently of one another?
Is my interpretation that they're semantically identical, incorrect? Do they in fact have slightly different connotations when used in this context?


texts: Can be  arbitrarily vs Can arbitrarily be

texts:
Is there any rule that explains why

  Data can be arranged arbitrarily. (1)

is much more common than

  Data can arbitrarily be arranged. (2)

according to the google search results (23M vs 33k results)? Is the sentence structure as in (1) wrong? I checked the common rules for adverbs (e.g., grammarbook.com) but I could not find any explanation for that.


texts:
I am currently writing my first scientific paper and therefore I am wondering which tense I should use in it.

I'd tend to use a future tense, but present perfect seems to be suitable as well.

e.g.

[In the first part of this paper, we will study how ...]

or

[In the first part of this paper, we have studied how ...]


texts:
In a flyer, should the following comma stay — or be omitted?

  Call, or e-mail for more information.


texts: Is there a clear delineation between the usages of 'this' and 'that' in American English?

texts:
One of my linguistics professors speaks English as a second language, and remarked that she never knows which of the two is appropriate. Given a list of examples, all native speakers in the classroom were able to unanimously agree on which to use, but we couldn't give exact rules.

The closest we came was in the context of proximity ('this' being on the speaker, 'that' covering most of the rest), but with the exception of properties of objects on the speaker e.g. "this jacket is beautiful, I love that color."


texts: What is the linguistic perception phenomenon when a person can read a word whose inner letters are rearranged?

texts:
What is this linguistic perception phenomenon called?

  Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Source

Is there a technical/academic term for it?


texts: What do you call someone who makes cameras?

texts: Cameraman or camera operator are for those that use cameras, but what would a business card of someone who makes cameras for a living say? "Camera maker" is the closest to accurate, but somehow feels wrong. "Optical engineer" gets thrown around a lot for the lens maker, but not for the camera as a whole.


texts:
I want to ask a question which is not clear for me. In an exam, we were given such a question that it says which of the following dialogues doesnt have ellipsis. Two most possible answers are these below. According to test department the answer is B. But A option doesn't include any ellipsis as well. It has substitution, isn't it? Any ideas on this topic?

A)  X: You tasted it before, didn't you?
    Y: I don't think so.

B)  A: I think they're not doing well.
    B: It is not as bad as you think


texts: Is it correct this construction with the expression "have something in mind"?

texts:
I have a doubt related to the expression "to have something in mind". Is it correct to add information between the beginning and the end of it?
For example, like this:
"I have so many things I want to do in mind".


texts: "Having breakfast", "breakfasting", or "breaking fast"?

texts:
The first is the most common (in the US, anyway). The last seems most correct, but also least-used, and may even be considered "archaic" by some. The second is ugly, but if "breakfast" is a noun, and any noun can be made a verb, then it is also correct.

What should I use?


texts:
So I found the lyrics of the song and trying to understand their meaning better.
What does NOR mean in such context?

Let the Priests of the Raven of dawn no longer in deadly black, with hoarse note, curse the sons of joy!
Nor his accepted brethren, whom, tyrant, he calls free: lay the bound or build the roof.
Nor pale religious Letchery call that virginity, that wishes but acts not!

Does it mean, that they will curse the sons of joy, but they will NOT curse "his accepted brethren"?

Does it mean that they will NOT curse "pale religious Letchery", that speaks of virginity (this sentence is really confusing and I am really not sure how to understand it)

or
they will curse "pale religious Letchery", but not the ones who are called virgins by it?
Or how to understand it??
Do they say that letchery is bad, or that virginity is bad??
Can someone explain please?
Song:
Theatres Des Vampires - Pale Religious Letchery


texts:
How can I eliminate the weak "to be" verb (DOES) in the following sentence:

She does not assist in accomplishing...


texts: Word for teaching moral lessons annoyingly

texts: Is there a word that I can use to describe writing that explicitly tries to make us learn moral lessons which could be boring?


texts: How to express the days with different temperature?

texts:
I am wondering a word to express the daily temperature values between. For example, I would like to describe hot/warm days with temperature > 30 C and the days in range 1-10 C. The range of my temperature values are 1 to 40 C. I have thought to express as

very hot/warm days (for temperature > 30 C)
cold days (for temperature 1-10 C)

Would you please suggest any other suitable phrases to express it.


texts: What verb used when one's words change something in the future to bad (not directly but somehow mystically)?

texts:
What verb used when one's words change something in the future to negative (not directly but somehow mystically)? For example you expect something positive in the future and another person tells you about it and in the future you get something negative and you blame him/her for that word just like they changed the result from positive to negative. Google translate gives these three words:
to overlook
to witch
to bedevil


texts: Use of "should have" in conditional sentences

texts:
In Return of the Soldier (1918) I came across what appears to be a conditional sentence:

  I never should have got this telegram if me and my husband hadn't been down there last September and told the folks [...] who I was.

Why have I never seen conditional sentences formed this way before, and why is it not covered in the relevant Wikipedia article either?  What is the grammar behind it?


texts: What does 'straighten sombody out' mean?

texts:
I'm reading "Book Thief" by Markus Zusak and reached following paragraph:

  As far as dispositions go, hers wasn't really enviable, although she
  had a good record with foster kids in the past. Apparently, she'd
  straightened a few out.

Does it mean Rosa Hubermann really helped a few kids and make them happier than before?

Thanks!


texts: Is the adjective "abject" ever found with any word other than "poverty"? Does it mean something other than "very" or "utterly"?

texts: Reading over an answer at the Skeptics StackExchange, it occurred to me that I had never really seen the adjective abject used with any other word other than poverty.  Has abject become inexorably intertwined with that word, or are there other common usages or stock phrases?  Also, does the word have a more subtle meaning or connotation other than an intensifier that might be summarized as "utterly"?


texts: I'm not too sure if the use of v+ing is appropriate in this sentence

texts:
In my opinion, both sentences are grammatically correct but I'm not too sure how the v+ing can be used in this particular situation:

1.
The use of language to establish identity was nicely presented in a recent study led by Andy Baron at Harvard University.

2.
The use of language to establishing identity was nicely presented in a recent study led by Andy Baron at Harvard University.

As with the first sentence, I divided the text is this manner to interpret the sentence

[The use of language] [to establish identity] was nicely presented in a recent study led by Andy Baron at Harvard University.

As with the second sentence, I divided the words in this manner to interpret the sentence.

[The use of language] to [establishing identity] was nicely presented in a recent study led by Andy Baron at Harvard University.

How does it look to you? is the 2nd sentence grammatically wrong? if it is right, is there any significant difference in the meaning each sentences convey?


texts:
What is the most appropriate (single word) noun to describe someone who is manipulative? That is, in the sense of manipulating people in a negative context.

Edit:

In the original discussion from which this question arose, we rejected manipulator on the grounds that it felt too much to apply to someone manipulating objects rather than people. (That is of course, just opinion.)


texts:
1) In my previous role as a cook at Company A ....

or

2) At my previous role as a cook in Company A ....

Which is more appropriate to write?


texts: Why does standard usage of "percentile" vary from other _iles (quartiles, deciles, etc.)?

texts:
In my experience, the standard usage of "percentile" is as given by OED (September 2018):

Each of the 99 intermediate values of a variate which divide a frequency distribution into 100 groups each containing one per cent of the total population (so that, e.g., 40 per cent have values below the 40th percentile)

By this definition and in standard usage (again in my experience), the highest percentile one speaks of is the 99th percentile, because there is never a value x in the support of any distribution such that 100 percent of values are strictly lower than x.
This usage seems to be in conflict with the definition given by Merriam-Webster (and similarly by American Heritage):

a value on a scale of 100 that indicates the percent of a distribution that is equal to or below it [emphasis added]

As I've already made clear, in my experience, the OED definition is unambiguously the the definition in common use. For example, in the US, standardized tests will report scores as being in the 99th percentile, but never the 100th percentile.
In contrast, when one speaks of other "quantiles"--terciles, quartiles, quintiles, deciles, and the like--standard usage numbers them from the "first" to the xth. For example, the, first, second, and third terciles. There is no "zeroth" tercile.
My question is really twofold. Does anyone have experience with usage at odds to the standard practices I have described? And if not, why the discrepancy between percentiles and all other quantiles?


texts: Formatting for having one noun used twice in a sentence-- once, implied

texts:
I was writing some definitions for a summer project, and I came up with this sentence:

  In The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, the protagonist is Gregor
  Samsa, with events being centered around- , and the story actually
  being told by him.

I'm not sure how to format the break between around and , and the.... In Psuedocode, here is what I want to know how to format-- Specifically, the {implied him} part.

  [PNoun is the Noun, with the Noun being Verb(Past) by {Implied him}
  and the Noun being Verb(Past) by him.]

ALSO:
I am doing the thing - You know the one - without it. " - " or "-"?
I am doing the thing-- without it. "-- " or "--" or " -- "?


texts:
I'm re-writing my CV and am unsure which adjective to use, Self-Employed or Freelance.

What is the difference (if any) between the two?


texts:
Can any native English speaker and movie fan inform me about this expression:
"all grown up and doing the town"?

I found this expression in "Goodfellas" movie but I didn't understand its real meaning.

Thanks in advance


texts: A word for someone always defaming people whilst constantly trying to affirm their own uprightness

texts:
Consider the extreme example of a person exerting all efforts to defame people around them, whether in work or their own social group, collecting innocent emails and letters from people and later trying to use them as an evidence that those people have lied and are corrupt or 'unworthy'.

However, they go to all lengths to protect their own integrity and 'uprightness' by comparing themselves to the so-called liars and unworthy people by always mentioning their own good points etc.

I thought about 'Character assassin' or 'defamer' but it doesn't seem to give the full meaning.

Is their not a word / term used by psychiatrists to describe such a person?


texts: What do Americans call a 'double-barrelled surname'?

texts:
I refer to someone whose family name is, for example Fortescue-Smith; or Birchall Hughes. Sometimes they are hyphenated, sometimes not. But they are known in Britain as 'double-barrelled'.

One senses that they must be growing in incidence, as increasing numbers of mothers who are not married to the father of their children, as well as married women, decide to include their own family name as part of their children's names.

Is the attitude of society to such names changing in any way?


texts: Creating a contraction with the words "adjustment has"

texts:
Which would be the best way to correct this sentence?

"An adjustments been
made to your account."

Is it correct to add an apostrophe ("an adjustment's been made")? Or should the long version be used instead ("an adjustment has been")?

For context, this text will be going into an automated email.


texts: When was "rush" first used to describe a sudden intense feeling?

texts:
I see different definitions of the word date back to the 14th century, but none for the meaning of a sudden intense feeling. Merriam-Webster didn't have that information either.
Is it a modern definition?


texts: Does it make sense? "Fix wrong globally installed applications privileges"

texts:
Does this sentence:

  Fix wrong globally installed applications privileges

is grammatically (and semantically) correct?


texts: What kind of spelling error is using "are" in the place of "our"?

texts:
It's using the homophone but is there a name for that kind of spelling error in Child Writing Acquisition? The whole phrase is:

  After that we Played with are inten
  do will".

Of course there are several other errors in this!

(This is in relation to my English Language course)


texts: Word or phrase for making something seem better by comparison

texts: What is a word or phrase that expresses the idea of purposely making something seem better by comparison? For example, lemon Starburst was created to make the cherry flavor seem that much tastier.


texts:
There seem to be three categories for tri-part phrasal verbs:

genuine non-separable (come up with);
flexible in that the final particle can be omitted (brush up (on);
mandatory separable (talk (.) out of).

Are there any that have been missed here?


texts:
When using "who" in a question, which is correct:

Is it I who has erred?
Is it I who have erred?

The latter seems correct by test (take out who), but the former seems correct by question form (singular, but take out I).


texts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codebase

Which is the more canonized version?

canonized, not cannonized (although I'm certainly interested in anything that has been cannonized!)


texts:
In a phrase where the subject is "mass of people", should I use "its"?

e.g.

  A mass of people and its flag.

Mass is an abstract word, so it sounds strange to me to use their; but I'm not sure.

EDIT:

Seems that according notional agreement I should use their

but

If the mass of people act like a cohesive body, e.g.

  a mass of people is/are united in its/their flag

Is this a situational agreement and is the use of plural forms wrong?

Could you help me?


texts: A word for something whose meaning is well known but defies definition

texts:
Is there a word or phrase for:

A word whose meaning is well known within common knowledge but defies a consistent definition.

For instance, if you asked most people to point out an "a", or tell you if a thing is an "a" or a "b", they could easily tell you, but if you tried to define what attributes make up an "a" or a "b" you can not consistently pin down the definition.

An example:

Most people would have consensus on what is a game and what is a sport, but pinning down exactly what attributes makes something a game, and what attributes makes something a sport is difficult.

P.S. I am not asking to define game or sport (although that is interesting in itself).  I'm sure there are plenty of clever enough people on this forum who can do so.  You may be able to come up with a better example of what I mean, but hopefully you get the idea.


texts: Isn't the term "foreign national" redundant?

texts: Looking at the definition given at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_national (I know, not a great source) I can't see how replacing this with just "foreigner" wouldn't suffice?


texts: Difference between 'which' and 'that' in restrictive (defining) relative clauses

texts:
Excuse me if this topic has been brought up before though I couldn't find it. It seems that there are many similar topics related to both defining and non-defining clauses but there is still one question that bothers me.
I want to know about the difference between wh- pronouns (who, which, what...) vs. that in restrictive relative clause.

For example:
The man that I saw at the mall looked puzzled.
The man who I saw at the mall looked puzzled.
I omitted commas intentionally, as I'm willing to talk about defining clauses only.

The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language gives quite vague description on that and I cannot think about actual examples:

"Relative clauses are so called because they are related by their form to an antecedent. They contain within their structure an anaphoric element whose interpretation is determined by the antecedent. This anaphoric element may be overt or covert. In the overt case the relative clause is marked by the presence of one of the relative words who, whom, whose, which, etc., as or within the initial constituent: clauses of this type we call wh relatives. In non-wh relatives the anaphoric element is covert, a gap; this class is then subdivided into that relatives and bare relatives depending on the presence or absence of that."
Thanks in advance!

UPD: I know that it seems that in general there is no need to dig for this information but still I need this for my research.


texts: How many hours did you spend/spent studying for the test?

texts:
I'm pretty confused on which sentence is grammatically correct just because online and in person, everyone says it differently:

  How many hours did you spend studying for the test?

or is it:

  How many hours did you spent studying for the test?

I know spent is the past but for some reason most people use "How many hours did you spend studying for the test?" Any insights?


texts: Difference between being in someone's company and just being there?

texts: "Walter was always there if he needed the company, but he didn't insist on being Jack's company. The distinction mattered." This is the exact phrase but I don't get what is the difference here. If anyone could explain, please.


texts: Is there a noun for the opposite of "gift"?  I want to use in a context like, "A kind word can be a gift but a kind word said in malice is not a gift.  It is a ____." Something that means like a gifting debit, a withdrawal rather than a contribution.  What is a good noun for this?


texts: word for "owners/operators of a pastry shop" and "patissier's wife"

texts:
What would native speakers call a couple who runs a pastry shop?

In France, the one in the pair that makes the pastries would obviously be called pâtissier if a man, and pâtissière if a woman, but so would be referred to as their companion who tends store, even though they are not directly involved in the pastry making.

And so, a couple of French pâtissiers presenting their occupation well might say something along the lines, "Nous sommes pâtissiers à Bordeaux" (We're 'pâtissiers' in Bordeaux)" or "Nous avons une pâtisserie à Bordeaux (We run/operate a patisserie in Bordeaux.)"

My second question is, is there a particular word or phrase in English to refer to the patissier's wife who tends store and, as such, doesn't participate directly in the pastry making? Would calling her patissière fit the bill?

  pâtissier, pâtissière nm, nf

  (artisan de bouche) pastry chef n; patissier n

  Le pâtissier fait des gâteaux. The patissier makes pastries
  WordReference English-French Dictionary © 2016


texts:
This is not a duplicate of "anymore" vs. "any more".  I made sure.  In that case, the two terms being compared were noun phrase (any more) vs. adverb (anymore).  In this case, the two are both noun terms.  I know which is more often used, but is "any thing" incorrect?

The question was raised in my mind when I saw "any thing" on a post, and wondered whether to edit it to "anything".


texts:
Can you please tell me which one of the following two sentences is right, and why?

He is robbed off a huge amount of money? OR
He is robbed of a huge amount of money?

Also, is the comma here necessary? -> Can you please tell me which one of the following two sentences is right, and why?

Thanks in advance. This is my first question, and the site has been hugely helpful to me so far. You are doing a great job.


texts: Word for dislike of doing things unnecessarily

texts:
Is there a name for people who can't stand doing things unnecessarily resulting in waste? (Of time, energy, money etc)

E.g. I consider myself to be a ______. I can't stand unnecessary waste.

Like how a pacifist is someone who doesn't have an affinity towards violence.


texts: What's the difference between the following two sentences?

texts:
Reproductions of fine art should only be sold to the public if they are of high quality.
Reproductions of fine art should be sold to the public only if they are of high quality.

How do they differ in meaning exactly?

Thank you.


texts:
“and don’t get me started on how adorable that picture on the back cover is”

while it seems correct, but it kinda itches me a little bit. it doesn’t sound right somehow. or is there a better way to say it?


texts: Collective nouns and subject-verb agreement: general rule or arbitrary?

texts:
A newspaper ran this headline recently:

  (1) Police crack down on IAC protesters. [emph added]

Why did it not read:

  (2) ? Police cracks down on IAC protesters.

I have found instances of "police cracks" in newspapers: "Police cracks whip" and "Chesterfield police cracks down on drunk drivers". However, Google's Ngram Viewer suggests that "police cracks" is significantly less frequent:

I think that the difference between "Police crack down" and "Police cracks down" is influenced by subject-verb agreement and that the difference in this example reflects the grammatical number of the verb's subject. Here, "cracks" is inflected for singular number, which implies that its subject is singular, and "crack" is inflected for plural number, which implies that its subject is plural. E.g.:

  The army cracks down on IAC protesters. [singular]

  The armies crack down on IAC protesters. [plural]

The confusing thing about (1) and (2) is that the subject, "police", looks like it is singular; the plural form would be "polices", but I have never heard this form (for the noun).

It sounds like police fits the definition of a collective noun, which Wikipedia says is "the name of a number (or collection) of people or things taken together and spoken of as one whole. For example, in the phrase 'a pride of lions', pride is a collective noun." Police fits this because it refers to (i) some relevant police force or (ii) some relevant group of police officers, which are both collections of people taken as wholes. It does not refer to a single police officer.

So one might conjecture that verbs whose subjects are collective nouns are inflected for plural number. However, it sounds like group also fits the definition of a collective noun because it refers to a collection of individuals taken as a whole. And I think that both of the following sound acceptable.

  (3) The group crack down on IAC protesters.

  (4) The group cracks down on IAC protesters.

The above conjecture also doesn't explain why it is sometimes okay to use "police cracks".

My preliminary questions: Do (1), (2), (3) and (4) all sound acceptable to everyone else? Are police and group both collective nouns?

My main questions: If (3) and (4) are both acceptable and police and group are both collective nouns, then why does (1) but not (2) sound acceptable, or at least why is "police crack" better than "police cracks"? How do you determine the correct conjugation for a verb whose subject is a collective noun? Is there a general rule, or does it vary from case to case?

My secondary questions: Does the behavior of (1) and (2) have to do with synesis? Is using police to refer to the police force more like a synecdoche or other kind of rhetorical trope? Does it matter if you add "the":

  (5) The police crack down on IAC protesters.

  (6) ? The police cracks down on IAC protesters.

I ask these secondary questions because I find it interesting that policeis, to me, a near synonym of police force, but police force (Ngram verb comparison) behaves oppositely to police (ngram verb comparison) when it comes to subject-verb agreement:

  (7) ? The police force crack down on IAC protesters.

  (8) The police force cracks down on IAC protesters.

[Note: the question mark at the beginning of an example indicates questionable grammaticality.]


texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  Good design can make a by default cheaper car and one that can also be further configured, potentially leading to cost reductions of several orders of magnitude.

What would be a good substitute to "by default" in this sentence, that would make it flow better? Any other suggestions are welcome.


texts: Why don't we use the indefinite article with 'software'?

texts:
Generally, one doesn't use the indefinite article with a noun because it's plural, but sometimes you get nouns where, for some reason, the indefinite article isn't used even though the noun is singular.  I would never say 'a software', though it seems to be a singular noun, and I've heard it said (though it sounds wrong).  Instead, we say 'some software' or 'a piece of software' (the latter implying that software is singular), so why does 'a software' sound wrong?

EDIT: I really meant to ask why we don't consider software singular.  Maybe I should have asked, 'why is software a mass noun?'


texts: Is "one needs only" or "one need only" correct?

texts:
This questions concerns the singular or plural form of the word "need". It might concern the property of the word "need" under different circumstances, which consequently affects whether it can inflect normally. Under which circumstance is it considered a catenative verb and which auxiliary verb?

I found both "need" and "needs" have many search results in terms of the phrase "one need/needs only".

For example:

  1.Should one have any doubts about this proposition, one need only look to the perplexing case of Army Specialist Michael New.

  2.But one needs only look at Ronsard to realise how much Catullus influenced him.

One is singular, should not need be changed to "needs" as well?
Can anyone help me with this problem?


texts:
Should it be transcend or transcends?

  However, it is forecast that in the nearby future an advanced artificial intelligence will arise: AI that transcends human beings.

  However, it is forecast that in the nearby future an advanced artificial intelligence will arise: AI that transcend human beings.

What about here?

  AI today generally exist(s) in non-sentient form, unaware of itself(or themselves) and unable to make conscious decisions.


texts: I work in a bank and I have always wondered why our relationship managers, i.e. sales representatives, are commonly referred to as "the platforms," or "the platform officers."


texts: What is the name of small wooden debris waves bring to the sea from the coast?

texts:
I have seen debris--not trash--that waves bring to the sea from the coast. These may include coast plants, e.g. small pieces of broken branches of trees, grass, bamboos, etc. These can travel miles away from the coast, floating on the surface. This is different from driftwood that waves bring back to the shore!

In the past, it was a sign let sailors know they were close to shore, just several miles away.

I tried to find a word that best describe this in English. Is there any word or phrase?


texts: Word for a kind of obviously misleading, over-sell

texts:
Do you know those infomercials that present some new product that is supposed to make your life easier, but the demonstrations they give for how hard it was the old way are totally overblown to the point of being inaccurate and comical?

For instance, picture someone drenched in sweat struggling to remove bubble gum from their driveway with a jackhammer in the middle of a hurricane while the neighbor's dog is chewing on their leg - the old way, then a quick spray and wipe with a big smile on a beautiful, sunny day - the new way. The words hokey and gimmicky come to mind, but those don't quite capture it. I'm looking for a word to describe the sales pitches that make you scoff, regardless of the potential efficacy of the product being peddled.


texts: Is "barrel of eels" a common expression? What are alternatives

texts:
"To me, literature is something much more alive. More like a barrel of eels. When a writer creates a new eel, it wriggles its way into the barrel, muscles a path into the great teeming mass from which it came in the first place. It's a new eel, but it shares its eelness with all those other eels that are in the barrel or have ever been in the barrel."

The above quotation is from Thomas C. Foster's How To Read Literature Like a Professor—the detail with which he describes the analogy leads me to believe it isn't one whose meaning is well-known or obvious. What is an appropriate expression for describing an environment whose elements are distinct, but closely related and complementary, that needs no explanation?


texts: A proverb to denote the importance of talking and acting in showing your abilities

texts:
There is a proverb in Persian which says:

  تا مرد سخن نگفته باشد
  عیب و هنرش نهفته باشه

This proverb literally translated means:

  One's skills and weaknesses won't be seen, unless one talks.

Or in simple terms it wants to stress how much your actions and your speech reveal both your abilities and negative points.

Is there an equivalent proverb in English?


texts: attributive clauses puzzle me a lot sometimes

texts:
Are the following two sentences interchangeable?

  "I keep her photo on my desk, which means I do not forget her.

versus

  "I keep her photo on my desk, meaning I do not forget her.

If not, how are they different?


texts: Someone that looks exactly like you is a dead ringer or a doppelganger.  But what if they just sound exactly like you?


texts: Staff and percent. Which one of these two statements is correct?

texts:
Which one of these two statements is correct?

60% of staff work
or
60% of staff works


texts: Is there a word or phrase for this specific kind of abuse of ambiguity?

texts: In Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land, Captain Hook promises not to harm a single hair on Peter's head. Then, he plucks a single hair off of Peter's head and claims that is the one he chooses not to harm. The cleverness stems from the fact that we assume he meant any hairs on his head, but grammatically it could also refer to just a single hair. I know the phrase is an idiom, but I'm more interested in if there's a word for the logical substitution that can be made in the phrase.


texts: Can I use "to partner" instead of "to partner with?"

texts: We strategically chose these organizations to partner because...


texts: How did the term "dongle" come into use?

texts:
Why was the word "dongle" chosen to represent this kind of hardware device?

I can imagine that it was related to the word "dangle"... since dongles tend to dangle - but that's just my hunch and not truly historic.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) lists the etymology of 'dongle' as "arbitrary"... so no help there.

The OED cites two sources of note:

1981   New Scientist 1 Oct. 24/3:   Many programs written for the Pet computer make use of a device known as a dongle. The dongle is an extra piece of memory that is plugged into the computer, without which the program refuses to run.
1982   MicroComputer Printout Jan. 19/2:   The word ‘dongle’ has been appearing in many articles with reference to security systems for computer software [refers to alleged coinage in 1980].


texts: What does this line mean : "The man's high tone spread throughout the spacious bar"

texts:
I am reading this light novel called GGO and in it I came across these lines:

"AGI (Agility) being all powerful is just an illusion."
The man's high tones spread throughout the spacious bar.

and I can't figure out what the second line means here.


texts: Do I need to add "to" in every clause in this sentence?

texts:
Working in the field helps us to learn how to apply theories to solve real-world problems, to apply […], and to […].

Are the "to" after each comma necessary?


texts: Use of "age" as an uncountable & countable noun

texts:
Why is it that the "age" is used as an uncountable noun in some cases and as a countable noun in other circumstances?
Examples:

Now the market is not booming, and the employers are switching their schemes to make sure they pay less and their workers get less too. The problem has nothing to do with too much tax or too few incentives. The problem is that security in old age depends increasingly on the vagaries of the stock market.

If you have hobbies, you mix with a wide variety of people through that & often socialize with them. If you work somewhere & go for a drink after work, you probably do so with people of  a different age to you within that.

Examples from OED:

he must be nearly 40 years of age; children of primary school age, his voice improves with age.

Here "age" is uncountable.