texts: Can medium intensifiers be ranked by the strength of intensification?

texts:
Here are the examples of adjectival intensification:

  It's quite cold here in March.
  It's pretty cold here in March.
  It's fairly cold here in March.
  It's rather cold here in March.

To me, their meaning seems altogether the same—It's cold to a slight or medium degree, a little more or a bit less— but I doubt about the exact sameness.

To make the question topical, I should explain that it was brought up during one of the numerous wide-ranging discussions on the subtleties of the English language I had a few days ago with an acquaintance of mine. Then, he claimed that all intensifiers, even those in my examples, can be ranked by their strength, and backing his point, he mentioned  a book on adjective intensification he had come across when he studied the English Language at the University (not in the English-speaking country) in the early 2000s.

After a painstaking search, I came across a link to a book which is unavailable in the place I live in. When I sent the link  to the man, he  said that the book's title seems familiar to him, but he's not sure.

So, my question is:

Is it true that the intensifiers in the examples can be ranked by their strength?  If it is true, what might be their descending order? If there's no rule for this, is there a customary usage order?


texts: How does one correctly use a "-" outside of hyphenation - if at all?

texts:
When writing out emails I often find myself replacing semicolons with hyphens or dashes. For example, "Let's meet up at the pub - or would you rather go to a restaurant?"

I feel this is wrong, but I don't know why. Would someone care to explain, please?


texts: What do the American nicknames 'Dutch' and 'T-Bone' mean?

texts:
Does the nickname Dutch have any significance? I know it was Reagan's, and I'm sure I've come across it in other books/films.

Also T-Bone, as in T-Bone Walker, T-Bone Burnett: what does that mean? (I realise T-bone is a steak, but why would people be named after a meat cut, and why this one?)


texts:
What is the difference between "Are you sure to xxx?" and "Do you sure to xxx?"

I am writing an app that requires to ask the user to confirm some actions.

E.g. I want to confirm the user whether to delete a file,
Should I use "Are you sure to delete this file?" or "Do you sure to delete this file?

I am not sure which one is better.


texts: Offensiveness of "black" in reference to race or skin colour

texts: Is black offensive when used to refer to race or skin colour? If so, should we then not use white as well?


texts:
Assuming that I'm going to leave early today.
And I would like to say that "I will work at tonight to compensate for the lost time".

Is it correct to say like that?
Should I use "make up" in this case?


texts: How does one define rigorous empathy? I don't even know where to begin. What does it mean? On their own I know what each word means, but I know it's a lot deeper than that.


texts: I found 2 American pronunciation samples on Forvo, and they said /ˈʃæmən/ (audio), I wonder if British people say /ˈʃeɪmən/ (audio), or not? Could you please tell me something about that?


texts:
Variations

The best way to ruin a hobby is to make it a career.
The fastest way to ruin a hobby is to try to make money with it.
The quickest way to ruin a hobby is to make it a job.

What's the history behind this saying? Is it attributable to a particular person?

(I imagine the complementary maxim would be Do what you love.)


texts: What does "to squinch one's eyes closed" mean?

texts:
Please explain me the meaning of "to squinch one's eyes closed". Is it the act of closing eyes.

Example:
"Squinching her eyes closed, she stepped through the archway."

Thank you!


texts: Meaning of "That's Easy for You to Say" in a Specific Context

texts:
Generally speaking, the phrase "That's easy for you to say" is used when one needs to say that things aren't as simple for him as some other person suggests.
The definition clearly suggests there's a dismissive tone to the phrase.
But what about the following dialogue, I don't quite get how they've used it here;
[A little bit of a backstory first, There's this guy who's got quite a reputation amongst girls and many guys look upto him for his confidence.]
Now, he is walking with a girl, and the following dialogue takes place,
Guy: So, I was thinking we should have a dinner date at that new diner, Dinner.
(Dinner is the name of the diner he just mentioned)
Girl: That's easy for you to say...(Then they both laugh)
I don't really understand its usage here, and if the phrase is used dismissively then why is it paired with humour?
Thank You for Your Answers!


texts: Is it “P.U.” or “pew” (regarding stinky things)?

texts:
My friend and I were carpooling to work this morning when we passed a dead skunk on the road. Like most people, we immediately pinched our noses and expressed our disgust. She said a word I would phonetically spell “Pyewwww!” I, however, always go for the “P.U.” with two distinctive syllables.

Obviously this is not formal English, but is one of these more “correct” than the other? Are the phrases even related? As a sidenote, is this word becoming obsolete? Seems I don’t hear it nearly as much as I used to.


texts: Is it OK to use hyperopic to refer to farsightedness metaphorically?

texts:
I have seen the word myopic used metaphorically to refer to a person who is very short-sighted (can't anticipate the consequences of their actions). Of course myopic is also used in the medical sense to refer to a person who is literally short-sighted.

Is hyperopic also commonly used this way to refer to a person who has exceptional planning abilities and can anticipate consequences easily? Are there examples of it being used this way? Dictionaries define it in the medical sense only.


texts: Is "computing cycles" a correct term in English?

texts:
I work in the software industry.
At my company, we're trying to find an English term for the unit of cost for a computer process work, which consumes CPU, Memory, disk-usage, etc.

Our PM has come up with the term Computing Cycles.
I tend to think it's incorrect English.
I found an article which uses the term Compute Cycles.

Which term describes best that unit of cost? "Computing cycles," "compute cycles" or maybe something else?

An example of using the terms:

image resizing algorithm for 100 big pictures costs 150 Compute Cycles
image resizing algorithm for 100 big pictures costs 150 Computing Cycles


texts:
I'v heard this sentence " If you kiss a frog, it turns into a prince. "

and the British announcer read this sentence like this

  If you kiss [ ɛɪ ] frog, it turns into [ ə ] prince

Is there any particular reason ?

would you please tell me when should I pronounce
" a "  as ɛɪ and ə


texts:
front means ahead, infront , forward
end means last point, finishing point,
but what does FRONTEND mean?
for example engineering design is clear to me, but "frontend engineering design" what exactly wants to tell us about engineering design? i am looking for an explanation for frontend without any prefix of suffix actualy. purely for " frontend".


texts:
Is there a term for a word like Democratic in Democratic People's Republic of Korea?

The key point here is that the word is being used precisely because it's false.

It has something in common with a fiat, but that, I think, is a declaration of something in an attempt to make it true, whereas here it's presumably in order to convince people it's true.

The best I can come up with is propaganda, but that seems too specific somehow.

Is there a better term?


texts:
I am doing a book review and this does not seem like the proper use of considering in a heading but I cannot explain why. Is this an acceptable use of considering in a heading:

  Foundations for considering acquired communication disorders


texts: Third person 's' with (enumeration of) indefinite pronoun 'each'

texts:
Is it correct to use third person 's' with indefinite pronoun 'each'?

Example: If we lose, each member of our team seeks personal potentials for improvement.

If so, is it also correct to use third person 's' with an enumeration of indefinite pronouns 'each'?

Example: If we lose, each member, each supporter, and each associate seeks personal potentials for improvement.


texts:
Where does the phrase "what to do when you live in a shoe" come from?

I was asked today why I use slow internet and responded, "What to do when you live in a shoe" as though my internet limitation(s) is not a choice but just the way it is because of my rural location.

I don't know why this is such a popular saying and I find having a history lesson on this figure of speech will help me use it better or more appropriately. Search engines haven't told me much about it's origins; only where it is being used.

I say appropriately because the person was taken aback and felt a little offended like I was giving a half-truth or trying to avoid conversation all-together. I still think it was funny because it rhymes.


texts:
I was reading the Wikipedia page of assimilation, and according to it,
cupboard is pronounced /ˈkʌbərd/ and not /ˈkʌpbɔːrd/.

I see why the /b/ is merged into the /p/ sound, making cupboard sound like "cu-board", but it seems very strange to me that the /ɔ/ is reduced to just /ə/ sound.

Is "cupboard" really pronounced as /ˈkʌbərd/?


texts: Word opposite of risk but still entailing uncertainty

texts:
The word risk is used to describe a situation in which there are several possible outcomes each entailing a possible loss, and one is not certain as to which of the outcomes will happen. What I want is an opposite of the word risk, which still describes a situation in which there are several possible outcomes and one is uncertain as to which of the outcomes will happen, but this time, each outcomes entails a gain instead of a loss.

If you look for the antonyms of risk, you get words like security, safety, which I don't think entail the uncertainty as to the outcome.


texts: Should direct speech be used in synopses?

texts: When you're writing a synopsis for a book, a movie, or a show, is it acceptable to use direct speech? Does it look professional? Or is it better to use indirect speech when it can convey the meaning just as well?


texts: "Beans is our only option" or "Beans are our only option"— which is correct?

texts:
This sentence is in the context of dinner.

  Beans is/are our only option

I'm confused as to whether "is" or "are" is necessary in this construct.


texts: Is this sentence correct: "Have you found him?"

texts:
"Have you found him?"

Referring to a missing person (known to be male), is this correct?


texts: What is wrong with this sentence: "This is an obstacle to start in Turkey"

texts:
"This is an obstacle to start in Turkey."
This sentence is about making a business in Turkey and problems you can have. My friend said this sentence is more natural as "This is an obstacle to getting started in Turkey," but it is not clear to me why -ing is needed here. The -ing here is a gerund, right? I have a lot of problems knowing when it is OK to use gerunds or to-infinitives in sentences like this.


texts: What is the formal way to say 'let me tell you about...'?

texts:
I am writing a description of a place and I need to change the sentence.

Have you ever wanted to visit a city which is surrounded by green hills and with a beautiful big lake? Well, `let me tell you about´ Tafí del Valle. It’s set...

I was wondering if there is a formal way to say 'let me tell you about'


texts: Word for someone who does not like/want to get a job or do anything in life?

texts:
In Portuguese, my native language, we have a lot of words for this kind of person, like mandrião, calaceiro, calaça, indolente, malandro, etc. We have also lighter words like preguiçoso that is the equivalent to "lazy" in English, but lazy has other meanings and can be used to someone that does things at low speed.
What words are there in English that have more aggressive power than "lazy", to call a person like that? I thought loser but that has other meanings as I see.


texts:
Is there a better way to phrase "Parking Around Back" for signage?

Currently the signage at the business says this phrase. However, the
signs are being replaced due to age and wear. I am wondering if there is
a better grammatical way to say this. Customers have to follow a long driveway to get to the parking lot behind the business.


texts: What's an expression for "it doesn't matter where you start so long as you end up in the same place"?

texts:
Is there an expression for "it doesn't matter where you start so long as you end up in the same place"?

The specific context I wish to use this in is in education: saying that it ultimately doesn't matter what book you use to start learning a subject if eventually you become an expert in the subject.


texts:
My apologies if the title is not clean. This is my first question here.

I work in an IT company and recently came across a requirement for one of our customer facing emails.

One line in the email read -

  Click below to apply now and see much extra money could be yours.

I wonder if skipping the word 'how', just before 'much' here is correct.

I feel the sentence should have been -

  Click below to apply now and see how much extra money could be yours.

The team that gave this requirement says that it is creative writing, but I am not convinced.

Thanks in advance!


texts: Plural or singular verb when plural subject is separated by an "and"?

texts:
A similar question is here, in which a comma is used in place of a conjunction like and.

I came across the following quotation of C. S. Lewis which reads,

  “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”

Assuming the website which quoted Lewis did not misquote him, should Lewis have used the plural verb, depend? Or is there some arcane rule of grammar of which I am unaware which allows for a plural subject and a singular verb?


texts: Indefinite Article Preceding Noun "Wind"

texts:
It's common to say "a gentle wind", but is it OK to say "a wind"?

I just noticed that there's a novel named "A Wind in the Door", in which case I guess "A" could be used here due to the modifying "in the Door".

So in general, can the article "a" be used to modify "wind"? In which case yes? In which case no?


texts:
Some people do care about what the others think of them and some do not. Usually, the ones who don't care say that they "don't depend on social opinion" - they do whatever they want to do and act a way that may be not accepted by many people. And so, they say that the main mistake of the ones, who care is something like Dependence on social opinion.

Is there in English some special word or word combination for this "dependence"? Like "Social addiction" :D

EDIT (CLARIFICATION)
After reading comments I got, that maybe there is no special word for this situation.
Again, I'm not talking about disorder or abnormality - this is usual behaviour of most people. When we don't do something "stupid", because we think - "Omg, what will people think of me". We don't try to get to know a girl on the streen - "Omg, that's so stupid - if she refuses me, I'll look so stupid".
Usually, so-called PUA (pickup artists) use this word - "Guys, the main problem is that you do care what the others people think of you. You aren't free" - and so on. In Russian language there's no special word - just "social dependence". I thought, maybe there is some special word for the situation, but seems that I was wrong.


texts: A question regarding using "so far" in the beginning of a new section

texts:
In one chapter of my thesis, there are 3 sections that are: section 1 talks about technique A, section 2 is about technique B, and section 3 discusses the correlation between technique A and B.
In the beginning of section 3, I want to write a sentence like

So far, we studied the influence of technique A and technique B on the
performance of XXX but it is important to discuss whether the two
techniques affect each other.

My question is does it make sense to start the section with so far? how about As of yet? In your opinion, do you think the way I started the section sounds good?


texts: A word to describe responses such as "I see" and "Okay"

texts: While conversing, I sometimes find myself, after listening to what my partner has to say, responding with phrases such as "I see" and "Okay" to indicate that I haven't lost interest but I either don't have a point to add, or the other person hasn't finished talking. Is there a word, preferably informal, to describe this kind of response?


texts: What is the correct abbreviation of engineer? In my organization, some of my colleagues use Eng. and some use Engr.


texts: Is there a word or short phrase to indicate a myth that is not true?

texts:
People usually say "it is just a myth" to indicate they either don't believe it to be true, or that they are sure it is not true. However, this is inaccurate, as myths can be true or not true, or anything in between. "Myth" only means that there is no (or just anecdotal) evidence.

How can I accurately say that something is a myth and it's false.

Edit: I edited "not true" to "false". Myths are not binary. One answer provided a definition, in the sense of something which is believed to be true but it's not. However, not true and false are not necessarily the same. To not be able to prove something to be true is not the same as proving it to be false.

What I'm specifically looking for is to express that

A) Something it a myth

B) It has been (or can be) decisively proven to be false.

The importance is to accentuate part B. To answer this, do you really require a long list of examples where a myth is ambiguous, some believe it to be true, others don't believe it but no one can decisively prove anything?


texts:
Knowledge having a bearing on human life was placed highest
Knowledge about human life was placed highest


texts: Do "to infinitives" used with adjectives, such as "anxious", "unwilling", etc. indicate purpose?

texts:
"To infinitives" are often used as adjectives and adverbs to indicate purpose.

I have something to eat.
He came to play.

When we use "to infinitives" with adjectives like anxious and unwilling, are they said to indicate purpose, or do they indicate something else?

He was anxious to play.
He was unwilling to play.
This building is built to last.

Wikipedia's description says that "to infinitives" modify adjectives, but it doesn't say how it modifies the adjective. There seems to be a difference between a sentence like "he was unwilling to play" and "it is tall to reach fruit" in how the infinitives modifies, but if we say the infinitive in the first sentence does not indicate purpose, then I'm not sure what we would say it indicates. For example, when a "to infinitive" indicates purpose, it can be reworded to "in order to" or "for the purpose of" but I'm not sure how I would reword sentences like "he was anxious to play" or "he was unwilling to play."


texts:
Here's an example sentence:

How long do you think Rick and Michonne been uggin’ bumplies?

What does “uggin' bumplies” mean and where does it come from?


texts:
A lot of people in my family use this word, not regularly, but enough for me to ask what it means.

I know it’s not a “real word”, but how come people from different sides of my family use it? It must mean something.

The way the word is used is for a word that doesn’t mean anything, like gobbeldygook.


texts: In American English, shouldn't "gotten" be used as a part participle?

texts:
I live in the US. I sometimes hear some Americans say

I haven't got a response yet.

This sounds wrong to me; in American English (unlike British English) one would say

I haven't gotten a response yet

You would only use "have got" as in the expression "to have," e.g. I've got a few seconds, but not in the past-participle form, which is a key difference from British English.
Am I correct?


texts:
Need help with include vs. includes:

  He's had hits with a massive number of artists that include so-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so.

Or should it be includes, agreeing with the word "number"?


texts: Interpretation of a definition of 'incidental'

texts:
A BOOK REFERRED TO.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (COD).

I have a predicament of making out the definition. Allow me to put forward my interpretations. Incidental images, colours are the imaginary appearances we make up which are temporary and likely far away from the real identities. Am I under a misapprehension?


texts: Why don't the names of the devices, in which evaporation and condensation occur, have the same ending in English?

texts: In thermodynamics, the evaporator evaporates and the condenser condenses a substance. While these devices have the same ending in other languages (e.g. French and German), how did it come to pass that these aren't called evaporator and condensator or evaporenser and condenser in English? Is this just a curious artifact of random change over time?


texts: What does 'beyond' mean in the following?

texts:
I know, beyond just means outside a limit or further away. E.g. when I say something is beyond compare, it means it cannot be compared to anything.

But in the following, I'm not sure if I understand what does each of these phrases really mean

Beyond good
Beyond bad
Beyond evil

If something is beyond good, is it bad?
If something is beyond bad, is it evil?
If something is beyond evil, is it good or bad?


texts: When you have a sentence containing a list separated by commas, do you need to repeat the verb before a preposition?

texts:
I.E.

Which of these is correct?

A. You are cool, funny, and among the most popular of students at this school.

B. You are cool, funny, and are among the most popular of students at this school.

If neither is correct, how would I say what I am trying to say?


texts: Which article would be correct in this instance?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms?

What article should be used directly in front of an acronym that begins with 'N?' Since the pronunciation of the letter 'N' begins with a vowel sound, would 'an' be correct?


texts:
What is the difference between "can be used for prediction of user behaviour" and "can be used for predicting user behaviour"?

I like the second version more since it's shorter and without a postposition but what is the difference in the meaning between these two phrases if any?


texts: Substituting special characters or numerals for letters/word parts

texts:
Is there a word or phrase to describe a substituting a dingbat, special character or number for a letter or portion of a word?
Examples:

The Chicago Bulls successfully achieved a 3peat.
"In 1999, Tom Jermoluk stepped down as CEO of Excite@Home."
Ke$ha is the stage name of Kesha Rose Sebert.

I thought of "letter substitution", but that can also refer to a substitution cipher.


texts: Can object pronouns and possessive pronouns be used side by side without a preposition?

texts:
In a previous post on this site, the question was asked, "Can we use two pronouns side by side?" However, the example given (and thus answers offered) didn't quite suit the particular question that I have.  Additionally, only the case of the specific example was addressed as opposed to the actual question in the title of the post.  In a sentence with an indirect and direct object, they should be separated by a preposition.

The girls gave Linda their keys.  They gave them to her.  (not)
                                  They gave her them.

However, is that an absolute rule with possessive pronouns as well?

Linda didn't have her keys, so the girls gave theirs to her.

Would it also be correct to say:

Linda didn't have her keys, so the girls gave her theirs.

I'm not sure why in some cases, the two pronouns together "sound" OK, but in others they don't.

Linda didn't have a jacket, so I gave her mine. (Sounds OK to me)

Linda didn't have a jacket, so Tim gave her his. (Sounds questionable)

Even if these specific examples might be reworded for better clarity, the question is still whether or not, in any circumstances, object pronouns and possessive pronouns (which seem to also be acting as object pronouns here) may be used side by side.


texts: Using "henceforth" to refer to future events, but from a "past perspective"

texts:
The title isn't great, sorry, I couldn't really come up with anything better :D Here's a bit of context:

I'm working on my thesis and am currently writing down the historical evolution of a certain subject, and I got to a point where I wrote something like this:

  [...], underlining the importance of Foo in order to achieve Bar.

Directly after that sentence, I want to express that the importance of Foo has been acknowledged many times after the writing I am referring to in the quoted sentence. I was thinking of something like this:

  The importance of Foo has been henceforth acknowledged in many sources [...]

So my questions are:

Is it even possible to use "henceforth" in this manner, and if so
Is it still commonly used, especially in a scientific environment, or does it just sound terribly outdated


texts: I've seen it written in both ways.  I'm tempted to use the proper case, because I was under the impression that it is also a form/name of religion.  What do you think?


texts: How to divide words with silent consonants?

texts:
I wonder how to divide words such as 'assumption' at the end of line, when a consonant (in this case 'p') in the middle of the word is silent (/əˈsʌmʃən/).

Which syllable (and line) does the "p" belong to?

assump- tion

or

assum- ption

My guess is that the first division looks better because 'tion' is a common suffix itself, but am not sure?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When is “L” doubled?

I'm confused about the two spellings. In which contexts do I have to use canceling or cancelling?

Google returns 15.6 million results with canceling and 18 million with cancelling, so I don't know what is the good spelling.
Why are both possible, and are there other such pairs?


texts:
It (Parasite) is the first-ever South Korean film to be nominated for an Oscar.

A student of mine asked me why there is 'to be' in this sentence.

What is the purpose of 'to be' in this sentence and is it grammatically incorrect if it is omitted?

So:

  It is the first-ever South Korean film nominated for an Oscar.


texts: The cot-caught merger often coexists with the father-bother merger. Although it can be found in regions like Eastern New England, which lacks the second merger, the other dialects exhibiting the merger also exhibit the second merger. In many non-merged dialects, the vowel in caught is still a low vowel (specifically [ɒ(ː)]). It seems that the origin of the cot-caught merger in most dialects having it was facilitated by the father-bother merger (the merger of the LOT (/ɒ/) phoneme into PALM (/ɑ/)), which freed up space for the THOUGHT vowel to vary from [ɔ(ː)] to [ɒ(ː)], which in turn merged with PALM/LOT to form the cot-caught merged vowel ([ä~ɑ~ɒ(ː)~ɔ(ː)]). That seems to explain why the cot-caught merger manifests different phonetically in various dialects and why the range of the merged vowel is greater in dialects with the father-bother merger than in Eastern New England, which lacks it. So, when did the cot-caught merger appear and by how much it postdated the father-bother merger?


texts: Word for acting in such a way that it intentionally expresses a personality

texts:
In particular, I want a word that describes someone who dresses in order to express their personality .

Social-singnaling would be an example of this; subcultures dress in distinctive ways, such as punks sporting mohawks, goths heavy makeup, etc, which affirms both personal aesthetic preference as well as their solidarity with those dressed similarly.

The sentence is :

  Women possess far greater agency, which they exercise by dressing [expressively?]


texts: "You can add more at the end of this list BUT before making a new entry make sure its not already present"

texts:
This is a tip that is being included with an Excel form, which requires the end user to fill some technical information. In the given scenario, the end user would not be very tech-literate, so we want to keep things clear, compact and easy to communicate and so we added tips like:

  “Gena provides this default set of information. You can add more at the end of this list BUT before making a new entry make sure its
  not already present.”

But we the team feel some things missing in it. We want to make this tip more ‘usable’ and easy to understand for the user.

I seek your precious suggestion over how this tip can be made more clear, compact and easy to communicate.*

PS: ‘Gena’ is the name of our product, to sound it like more direct and personalized so we  used it as a communicating entity here.


texts:
Is there any substantive difference in the meanings of these two words? Is the latter considered a proper word at all?

If the answer to either of the above questions is yes, what are these words' differences in usage?

Similarly, "acoustic" versus "acoustical", etc.


texts: What does CAQ stand for, in relation to cosmetics?

texts:
I recently received a mascara product from Korea. On the top of the product it says "CAQ 20150209".

I did check out the acronymfinder, but most of them have nothing to do with cosmetics. I guess it might be "Certificate of Adequate Qualifications". But how does this relate to the date?

My question is, what does CAQ stand for in this case? Does it mean it's produced in 20150209? Thanks.


texts: What is the correct phrase to describe an ongoing study for a PhD?

texts:
She is doing a PhD in the X program at Y University,

She is working towards a PhD in the X program at Y University,

or

She is studying for a PhD in the X program at Y University.


texts:
What is correct?

  "I have fixed an issue where contracts are not saved into the
  database."

or

  "I have fixed an issue that contracts are not saved into the
  database."

The context

The sentence was a comment to a code fix that I was pushing into our code repository.

Another question would be whether to use "contracts are" or "contracts were".


texts: What is the single word for a person who expresses every emotion with a few or single word.


texts:
I don't mean when someone sneezes or when someone's been kind to you, but in other situations.

Like, when someone is enjoying a lot of luck, fortune or doing staggeringly well in something.

Or when someone is wonderful at a task and you admire them at lot. So, you want to get to know them better through talking to them, either directly or via online messaging. However, they are often quite busy and you're hoping they have time for you, but they turn out not to have any. You can say: "(It's a pity, but) bless them."

Besides, is it the same meaning as "wish you good luck"?


texts: "Approve (of)," "assent," "consent," and "grant"

texts: I wonder if there is any difference in using approve (of), assent, consent, and grant as verbs. Can anyone help?


texts: The Guardian: "It does indeed [...] misleading them [...]"

texts:
Reading an article by The Guardian, I stumbled upon a sentence which I cannot make sense of:

  Yes, the worst things you may have heard about the National Defense
  Authorization Act, which has formally ended 254 years of democracy in
  the United States of America, and driven a stake through the heart of
  the bill of rights, are all really true. The act passed with large
  margins in both the House and the Senate on the last day of last year
  – even as tens of thousands of Americans were frantically begging
  their representatives to secure Americans' habeas corpus rights in the
  final version.

  It does indeed – contrary to the many flatout-false form letters I
  have seen that both senators and representatives sent to their
  constituents, misleading them about the fact that the NDAA destroys
  their due process rights. Under the act, anyone can be described as a
  'belligerent". As the New American website puts it,
  ...

I understand the meaning of the sentence. I just can't make sense of the grammar. It does indeed what? It does indeed misleading them? Or does "It does indeed" refer to a previous sentence, as in

  I think it violates my rights. It does indeed - contrary to the fact that many lawyers might tell me otherwise.

I posted the previous paragraph so that you can see that this isn't the case either.


texts: Of the survivor of, say, a plane crash where nobody came; they marched across the mountains and rescued themselves. The term I'm looking for is specifically associated with being in a bad place, traveling and being back in a normal/good place. Sort of like "extraction", but the other way around, in that the person was not pulled, they pushed them self.


texts: What's another word/term for professional speaker?

texts:
i.e. a person who earns a living (or a portion of it) from public speaking.

A single word would be preferred but up to 2 words max since I am working with a word limit myself.


texts: Ambiguity in sentence: retrieving a document marked as relevant by pure chance

texts:
There is an ambiguity in the following sentence, since it is not obvious whether by pure chance refers to retrieving a document or to marked as relevant. I want to make it explicit that the document is marked as relevant by pure chance. How can I do that?

we will show that retrieving a document marked as relevant by pure chance is very unlikely.


texts:
I find I often need a word such as this. Some people are just relentless querulants and I want to be able to refer to that aspect of them, e.g. "John's relentless querulism". Doesn't seem like that's a real word though...

Wikipedia on Querulant

Thanks


texts: the function of "the" in the following sentence.

texts:
The following sentence is from NY Times. "Another corporate structure being exploited now more than ever is the master limited partnership."
In the sentence, the concept of "master limited partnership" is first introduced. So, It does not have any contextual clues to identify what that refers to. But still it has "the" in it. However, the "the" in the sentence might not be used generically as the generic use of nouns is pretty much limited to nouns of animal, plant, or inventions. Then, what is the function of "the" there?  What is the difference between the sentence and when I just say "a master limited partnership" or "master limited partnerships"?


texts: What our students have to say. Grammar question

texts:
I often hear the phrase "what our students have to say" in testimonials, and I am confused with the grammar here.

It can be taken in two ways as follows.

1) Our students have something (what) to say
2) Our students have to say something (what).

I think 2) is more likely it since it sounds like an honest opinion.

Could anyone give some insights into this?


texts: What is the adjective (jargon) for one-to-one relationship between source and destination?

texts: I am looking for a jargon that I can use to mention that every destination will be served by only one source.


texts:
I was passing a sign today that said Eyewash, meaning a place where one could wash an eye that had some foreign matter in it; a common thing in laboratories and factories. But the first impression I gained was of eyewash, meaning something close to poppycock or codswallop.

This set me to wondering what the origin of this term was; Green's Dictionary of Slang doesn't even include this as a headword. This source here suggests it is the verbal equivalent of a wink; is that so? Does anyone know more about it?

Edit Sorry if this wasn't immediately apparent but it was the slang term I am most interested in.


texts: Where are commas used with multiple if conditions that precede a statement (i.e. If [A] and if [B] then [C])?

texts:
E.g.

If it rains tommorow, and if I don't have an umbrella, I will get wet.

Or

If it rains tommorow and if I don't have an umbrella, I will get wet.

Which of these two is correct from a punctuation perspective? I know that I don't actually need the second if here. But this is obviously a simplified example, so let's say that I wanted to use it. Would I have to put in that additional comma?


texts: How to Highlight Words with Quotation Marks?

texts:
When we highlight words with quotation marks, should the periods and commas be within or outside of them?

Examples:

Question 1

A) He is such a "good guy."

or

B) He is such a "good guy".

Question 2

A) This smartphone is the "smartest," you should get it.

or

B) This smartphone is the "smartest", you should get it.

If possible, kindly explain why are you picking those choices.

Thank you.


texts:
once my student used the term but although,
I corrected her and asked her to use 'although' instead.
He insisted he had seen this word before.
I looked up and found we actually have this word.
Is it common? Can we use these two words together?
I found some examples from new york times and Guardian. Probably in Ame English?
Guardian: But although I understand their arguments, I disagree.
But although the city was outraged, the murder went unsolved.


texts: Is the proverb "it's not over until the fat lady sings" offensive?

texts:
The proverb "it's not/it ain't over until the fat lady sings" is generally understood to be referencing the stereotypically overweight sopranos of the opera (according to Wikipedia). I've got a feeling that the proverb is offensive to female opera singers because it seems to stress that they weigh too much. That's why I'd prefer "it's not over till it's over" to "it's not over until the fat lady sings."

But I may be wrong, and there is nothing wrong about the saying in question...

I wonder if the proverb is really not so neutral. Isn't "fat lady" disapproving, making the whole sentence sound, well, slightly offensive?


texts: What do you mean X? vs What do you mean by X? - Is the omission of the preposition "by" grammatical?

texts: People sometimes say "What do you mean X", e.g. "What do you mean I'm funny?", "What do you mean I'm not going to the party? Of course I'm going!", etc. I completely understand these sentences, but I get the sense that the preposition by is being omitted. Is the construction "what do you mean X" grammatical, and how is it any different to the construction "what do you mean by X"? Are there specific contexts in which one construction is preferred over the other?


texts: Meaning of "soft and warm" when refers to a person

texts:
I'm doing a translation from english and I'm struggling to understand the first part of the sentence:

"She’s soft and warm, unmistakably alive."

Context: her boyfriend thought she was dead, but it turns out she's not.

I've done some research and I've just found that "soft and warm" is used to describe people, mainly asian, with a cute and fluffy face, but I don't think that's the case. In this context, I guess it emphasizes the idea that she is alive: her body is still warm, but I don't fully understand the use of "soft" here.

If someone could help me out, I would appreciate it


texts:
I know what this means, but can't figure out why ponds, lakes, or oceans might be referred to as "the drink."
From Wiktionary:

(colloquial, with the) Any body of water.
If he doesn't pay off the mafia, he’ll wear cement shoes to the bottom of the drink!


texts:
Although I am not a native English speaker, I do feel that a 'likely event' is at least slightly more 'likely' than a 'probable event'.

Merriam-Webster's dictionary seems to agree with me.

likely 1) having a high probability of occurring or being true :  very probable

But the British references, Oxford, Collins, Cambridge, MacMillan, all say 'likely' is synonymous to 'probable'.

Is it safe to regard 'probable' as synonymous with 'likely'?


texts: Meaning of "Butter is Gold in the Morning, Silver at Noon, and Lead at Night."

texts:
In his book A Complete Collection of Scottish Proverbs: Explain'd and Made Intelligible to the English (1721), James Kelly offers this interesting saying (page 74, #138):

"Butter is Gold in the Morning, Silver at Noon, and Lead at Night."

Kelly then comments:

"A common Saying, of whose Truth or Reason I know nothing."

What is the literal sense of this adage? Does it refer to color changes in different light, to phase changes at different temperatures, to effects on the body at different stages of digestion, to monetary value at different times, or to something else? And what is its most likely figurative meaning? Thanks!


texts:
Someone promised me a resource and I haven't received it yet. I am tired of waiting so I would like to remind this person that he/she promised me something and ask about the situation.

My question is how can I ask about it in a polite kind of way? Can I ask:

  What is the situation on this resource?


texts: Meaning of W in SFPW, or a synonym that starts with a W

texts:
Big disclaimer: when I was proofreading my question it sounds like I am doing a crossword puzzle. So I added some extra information to avoid confusion.
I am making an Excel sheet that assists in Risk Assessment (this particular approach of Risk Assessment is based on the RA by Bosch Rexroth as described in the book 10 Steps to Performance Level). Basically all you have to do is write a few values in certain columns and it automatically calculates the risk. The names of these columns are S, F, P, and W.
As you might have guessed, these names are singular abbreviations. I added a description tag that is visible when the column is active. The descriptions are copied from the book mentioned earlier:
S    Severity of injury          <- Makes sense
F    Frequency with duration     <- Makes sense as well
P    Possibility of avoidance    <- Same here
W    Probability of occurrence   <- What?

I can imagine that P was taken for Possibility of avoidance. But I am absolutely flabbergasted why the authors would use W as abbreviation. I can't change W to O (occurrence) because I must/am forced to copy the example sheet as described in the book. I searched around for what W could stand for, but the online acronym and abbreviation lists didn't provide an answer.
Not being able to change the abbreviation, I decided to change the description. Which would be something like:

Wrobability of occurrence
Woccurence probability

I searched around in online dictionaries and thesauri, but I couldn't find anything close.
Besides all this, I can only assume the authors had a valid reason to choose W over something more "logical" as O. It feels like I am missing the obvious.

So in conclusion:

Does anyone know what the W in SFPW stands for? (SFWP is also used)

Or does anyone know a synonym for probability or occurrence that starts with a W?


texts: Should "vice versa" be treated as an independent clause?

texts:
I know "vice versa" more or less means "conversely," but when it is used by itself, should it be punctuated as if it were an independent clause?

  Dogs don't like cats, and vice versa.

or

  Dogs don't like cats and vice versa.


texts: Is there a difference between “arse” and “ass”?

texts:
From a comment here, in frequent usage, arse and ass are often interchangeable when used to refer to buttocks or to a person of dubious charms. However, although “to arse about” has a vague connection to “make an ass of oneself”, many of the threads of meaning derived from arse are not present in ass. Likewise, ass has a donkey-referring component that arse does not.

Despite common perception, are these words more deviant than common usage indicates?

Edit: It appears they have (someone look this up with an authoritative dictionary please) different origins, asinus (Latin) for ass, and ærs (Old English) or orros (Greek) for arse.


texts: Does "Vice versa" have a common abbreviation / short form? I'm a lazy typer when it comes to notes to myself.


texts: Is multi-colorful a word? Or is the correct word multi-colored?


texts: Are there verbs that are neither telic, or atelic?

texts:
These examples from wikipedia are shown as tests to find what is telic, or atelic.

Fine: "John built a house in a month."
Bad: *"John built a house for a month."

    → built a house is telic

Bad: *"John built houses in a month."
Fine: "John built houses for a month."

I'm wondering if there are verb phrases that fit neither. I've been trying to think of what would be a verb like that, but I'm having no success.

I'm also having trouble figuring this out by reading the article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telicity

A related question What makes progressive verbs different from atelic, and can a verb be both atelic/telic, and/or progressive?


texts: What does it mean: "... was three days dying"?

texts:
Not being a native English speaker, I still like to read in English from time to time. In my current book was written that someone "... was three days dying." Does this mean that the person died three days ago, or that the person has been suffering from mortal wounds for three days but is still holding on?
The previous chapter with this person ended in him being on fire, but there was nothing said about whether he died. The next chapter about this person started with: "The (...) prince was three days dying."

Edit: Thanks for all the help. After this I read further and it became more clear that indeed the Prince was dead after three days of suffering.
To answer some of your questions, it is not translated, as a matter of fact, the writer was born in New Jersey. He is known to write a bit archaic though.
It could indeed well mean the writer wanted to emphasize his suffering since later in the book, someone who was had a long life of seeing people die, described it as one of the worst things he ever saw.
And furthermore, I left out where the prince was from, to prevent spoilers. This could have made it more difficult to google.


texts: Is this construction correct? I hear it a lot in spoken conversations, but would this construction survive gramatical scrutiny? If yes, can then "okay" act as an adverb?


texts: How to call properties of many objects properly?

texts:
In programming, there are lots of time where we need to access attributes of multiple objects.
E.g. when we want to refer to color of many cars.

Suppose each car has only one color. And I want to set the color of each car to red.

How do I say it?

Set all cars colors to red
Set all cars' colors to red
Set all car's colors to red
Set all cars' color to red
Set all car colors to red


texts: When do you leave out the preposition in a relative clause?

texts:
A non-fiction titled "Do the Right Thing" published in 1998 has this sentence:

(1) Am I treating this stranger with the same consideration that I would a friend?

Another book (fiction) titled "Strong Rain Falling: A Caitlin Strong Novel (by Jon Land)" published in 2013 has this sentence:

(2) ...and treat the enemy with the same consideration with which they had treated the residents of Willow Creek.

Are both these grammatical and natural English?
If so, it seems to me that the that clause of (1), as well as the which clause of (2), is a relative clause. And that in (1) the preposition with has been left out of the relative clause.
Assuming that both are correct English, my question is why (1) is possible without the preposition with stranded at the end? (Edit: Is it because the relative clause of (1) lacks the lexical verb "treat"?)
Also, if preposition stranding is possible with these relative clauses, are these possible English?

(1a) Am I treating this stranger with the same consideration that I would treat a friend with?
(2a) ...and treat the enemy with the same consideration which they had treated the residents of Willow Creek with.

Edit: Here is another example without ellipsis, and it's taken from a hospital website in England:

(3) We Ask That Our Patients:
treat our staff with the same consideration that you would expect to be treated yourself. Violent, abusive or intimidating behaviour of any kind will not be tolerated and will lead to immediate removal from the practice list.

Now, should the editor of the website have added with at the end of the boldfaced portion?
Revamp: Since there has been some confusion due to ellipsis in (1), I would like to give this question a revamp.
After reviewing the answers and comments so far, I have concluded that the omission of "with," along with that of "treat," in (1) was simply due to ellipsis, and that the boldfaced clauses in (1), (2), (1a), (2a) and (3) are all relative clauses. (Any criticism would still be welcome as to any part of these conclusions.)
So let's forget about (1) and focus only on non-elliptical examples, i.e., (2), (1a), (2a) and (3). The issue now is whether, in each of these non-elliptical constructions, "with" is redundant, essential, or optional, on the meaning of which I will elaborate in the following three scenarios:
Scenario A: If it's redundant, (2), (1a) and (2a) will be ungrammatical, and only (3) will be grammatical.
Scenario B: If it's essential, (3) will be ungrammatical, and (2), (1a) and (2a) will be grammatical.
Scenario C: If it's optional, (2), (1a), (2a) and (3) will all be grammatical.
Which is the right scenario and why?
Edit: For those who support Scenario C, please elaborate on what it is in these examples that renders optional the use of preposition "with", when in general you are not to leave out a preposition from a relative clause if that preposition is part of the relative clause.


texts:
I am looking for some circular labels on eBay ("Warranty void if removed" - I guess you know these things stuck on computers).

The listing states:

100 round bright silver tamper evident hologram labels - Warranty Void If Removed with unique sequential serial numbering.
Dimensions: .65 inch round

Does "XX inch round" customarily refer to the radius or the diameter circular things?


texts: Any term for an indirect reference/name for something?

texts:
Euphemism and dysphemism would be hyponyms of such a term, with positive and negative connotations of meaning respectively. I don't think "synonym" quite describes what I'm getting at here, though, since that doesn't have the additional connotation of indirectness or obliqueness.

As an example, consider the term "better half" (used to refer to a spouse) or "missus" (used to refer to a wife).

Any ideas here?


texts: "Why, when, how and where" are not interrogative pronouns. Why?

texts:
I have the following question:

  What, who, which, whom and whose are interrogative pronouns, but why, when, how and where are not. Why?

Please answer this question briefly. Thank you.


texts: What do you call each individual component of a number: a "digit", a "figure", or "place"?

texts: What are the individual 0, 1, 2, "letters" etc. in numbers called? I know the word "digits", I've seen "n-figure salary", and Google translation  (from German "Stellen"), when used in a sentence, yields "places" ("How many places does this number have?"). And exactly when is the English cognate of our German word "Ziffer", "cypher", used? Because "Ziffer" really means "digit" in English, I think.


texts: If Americans go to the toilet in the bathroom, where do they take a bath?

texts:
As far as I am aware, in the US it is very common to refer to the room that contains the toilet (device for disposing of human waste) as the bathroom. If this is a separate room from the room that contains the bath how do they distinguish between them?

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the bathroom" - doing my private business leave me alone!

"I'm in the bathroom" - washing my hands, it's OK to come and talk to me

In Australia the room that contains the bath is called the bathroom and the room that contains the toilet is called the toilet, unless, confusingly the bath and toilet are actually both in one room, in which case it's called the bathroom. There are now many people in Australia who use the American term "bathroom" in public when they mean "toilet", however, toilet is universally understood and is not considered at all impolite.

EDIT

Since people found the original title "in the bathroom" vs "in the bathroom" confusing I have changed it.


texts: What is this scenario of denying responsibility called?

texts:
What is this scenario called?

Someone says something or tells you to do something or wants something but nothing goes as planned. They completely blame the other person, saying it was all their idea, deny everything they ever said, and try to turn it around as if it was the other's fault.

I hope there's a word.


texts: On the usage of "the" article with acronyms and initialisms

texts:
I've read Using the definite article with acronyms and initialisms and Is it appropriate to use "the" before an abbreviation? I know that

1. The article is often used with initials that are pronounced letter by letter (initialisms).

2. The article is often NOT used with initials that are pronounced as a word (acronyms).

I used 'often' because I'm not sure about possible exceptions.

In my field of study (Operations Research), initials are frequently used to represent optimization problems (e.g., the TSP). I discussed this point with my university supervisor who makes comments on my reports (English is not his native language). He responded that:

"What I learned from [...] was that whenever we use (specific) acronyms, we don't use 'the' when they are within a sentence, and we use 'the' when a sentence starts with them. For instance,

(i) The HCP is an NP-Complete problem.

(ii) We developed a new algorithm to solve HCP."

HCP stands for the Hamiltonian Cycle Problem. It is really confusing me because I do not know when to use and when not to use the article. For example, on this site, the author Jane Watson writes:

  Use a definite article with an initialism if the spelled out term begins with “the” but is not covered in the initialism.

which implies that I should use the article with "HCP". What do you think?


texts: How to translate the German term "Selbstverständnis" with respect to organisations?

texts:
The German term "Selbstverständnis" can be used in the context of (typically) not-for-profit / non-profit organisations to denote the aims they have and the (typically social) changes they try to achieve. It typically describes their ideology and philosophy as well as usually the way the organisation thinks it is best to succeed in reaching their goals. It gives you an impression of how the organisation works and what sort of people their members are.

Is there a word that conveys all these nuances?


texts:
Is there an exhaustive list of the prepositions/adverbs/particles that can contribute to a phrasal verb?

And is there any 'verb-part' that can be used with the entire list?


texts: It is my understanding that the contraction y’all was considered correct American English in times past.  At what point was this word removed from valid American English?


texts: Including a comma to exclude all other people

texts:
I am Investigator Ace Sleuth, from the Fuji Apple Sheriff's Department.
I am Investigator Ace Sleuth from the Fuji Apple Sheriff's Department.

The comma in the first sentence implies that he's not Investigator Ace Sleuth from the Granny Smith Police Department, unlikely, I know, nor Ace Sleuth from any other agency.
The second sentence implies there are Ace Sleuths all over the place.
As a court reporter, I often have this sentence pattern.  Which is better?


texts: Why is "learnings" considered acceptable?

texts:
In 2020, within Australia, the term "learnings" has become very in-vogue within the media and political set.
But why is the noun learnings considered acceptable English, at all?

'Learnings as a plural of learning'. But learning is a verb and not a noun, and do verbs have plurals like nouns? E.g. Runnings? Sleepings? Thinkings? Studyings?

Okay, so let's agree that you can have a plural for a discrete piece of knowledge acquired expressed as a noun. Why wouldn't you simply use the word 'Lessons'? E.g. "The lessons we have learned will now be applied in this situation." When would learnings ever be more applicable than lessons?

Sorry, but 'learnings' really bugs me and is catching on like wildfire down here in Australia.
Please help me understand why I shouldn't clench my teeth every time I hear someone refer to learnings instead of lessons.
Cheers,
Axel


texts: Does the (etymological) definition of 'participle' include 'noun'?

texts:
BACKGROUND
The definition of 'participle' is something along the line of:

a word having the characteristics of both verb and adjective
(M-W Dictionary)

the form of a verb that usually ends in "ed" or "ing" and is used as an adjective (Cambridge Dictionary)

The Oxford English Dictionary explains that the Latin term was used to refer to “a non-finite part of a verb” that shares “some characteristics of a verb and some of an adjective.” (Grammarphobia; I don't have access to OED, so...)

There is no mention of 'noun' above (which I think is reserved to be related to 'gerund'). So far so good.
PROBLEM
But then, I've come across this definition of 'participle' in the online Oxford Dictionary:

A word formed from a verb (e.g., going, gone, being, been) and used as an adjective (e.g., working woman, burned toast) or a noun (e.g., good breeding). In English, participles are also used to make compound verb forms (e.g., is going, has been).

The same dictionary has this 'origin':

Late Middle English from Old French, by-form of participe, from Latin participium ‘(verbal form) sharing (the functions of a noun)’, from participare ‘share in’.

Quite confused, I had to look to Etymonline:

participle (n.)

late 14c., in grammar, "a noun-adjective, a word having the value of an adjective as a part of speech but so regularly made from a verb and associated with it in meaning and construction as to seem to belong to the verb," from Old French participle in the grammatical sense (13c.), a variant of participe, and directly from Latin participium, literally "a sharing, partaking," also used in the grammatical sense, from particeps "sharing, partaking" (see participation). In grammatical sense, the Latin translates Greek metokhē "sharer, partaker," and the notion is of a word "partaking" of the nature of both a noun and an adjective.

This seems only to confirm the uncanny inclusion of 'noun' in the definition of 'participle' as in the above-referenced online Oxford Dictionary.
QUESTION
Does the etymological definition of 'participle' include 'noun'?
If so, how about the current definition?
If not, are both the online Oxford Dictionary and Etymonline simply wrong?


texts: Much Less ≈ Still Less : How do the 2 words in each compound to mean 'let alone'?

texts:
For brevity, I symbolise (imperfect) synonymity with ≈ :  X ≈ Y  means  X and Y are synonyms.

From Merriam Webster:
to say nothing of = let alone   ≈ much less ≈ still less.

I already recognise, and ask not, about each's meaning. Instead, how do the 2 words in each phrase combine to introduce something as being even less likely than something already mentioned?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Octopuses, octopi, or octo?

What is the "proper" plural of "octopus"?  A web search turns up three candidates, but is there a "right" answer?


texts: Pronunciation of a (article) /ə/ vs /eɪ/

texts: When to use the weak form /ə/ and when to use the weak form /eɪ/ of the article "a"? I figure if I would emphasize anything I wouldn't emphasize an article like "a", but rather, the noun (phrase) following it. But still I've heard people occasionally use /eɪ/. What's the point of that?


texts:
Does arguably mean "something could be argued", or "could be arguable, is debatable or questionable"? But more often it seems to emphasize an adjective, for example:

  It is arguably the best, the finest, the most powerful, etc.


texts: "One of my friends'" or "One of my friends's"?

texts:
When specifying possession, my understanding is that one adds an apostrophe if modifying a plural ending with an 's', or adds apostrophe followed by an s if not. How does one specify possession of one of a group?

For example, when discussing a ball belonging to a friend of mine, should I assume 'friends' is plural and use:

  That's one of my friends' ball.

or should I assume 'one of my friends' is singular and use:

  That's one of my friends's ball.

...Obviously, I could just use "That's my friend's ball", but assume in this case that I don't want to reword as such (maybe I want to point out in the same sentence that I have multiple friends).


texts: What does "standards of proof characteristic of an exact science" mean in this sentence?

texts:
Many people interested in human behavior do not feel the need for standards of proof characteristic of an exact science;the uniformities in behavior are "obvious" without them.

My understanding is the word proof is a verb here, so standards of proof characteristic of an exact science means some kind of standards use for proof characteristic of an exact science, am I right?


texts: What is a word that means "the state of having an organic nature"?

texts:
Consider the following paragraph:

  Gramsci believed that languages created in a laboratory (i.e. Esperanto) do not develop organically in the mind of a nation and its individuals.  The imposition of externally derived rules and language that have no 'organic nature' (Italian: organicità) was tantamount to putting the mind in a straitjacket.

What word could be substituted for 'organic nature'?

organicity & organicness seem like possibilities, but I've never come across either of them.


texts: To encounter someone/something or to encounter with someone/something?

texts:
I have seen both forms and I don't know which one is the more appropriate (if there is a difference).

The actual sentence in which I want to use it is "particles can encounter (with) the atoms of the material".

But I'm also interested in the general case.


texts: How to explain the action of putting a table calendar facedown from an upright position?

texts: I am unable to come up with the words to explain this action. To turn it the other away would still mean it is in an upright position. Put it down does not sound right either. Please help.


texts: Other meanings for "punctual" besides "on time"

texts:
In this question on Server Fault, the asker says "And it works fine, but that's a ponctual solution..." and corrects himself in a comment, using "punctual".

I've only ever used "punctual" to mean "on time." Can it also mean "ad hoc"?

From dict punctual:

  From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Punctual \Punc"tu*al\, a. [F. ponctuel (cf. Sp. puntual, It.
       puntuale), from L. punctum point. See {Point}.]
       1. Consisting in a point; limited to a point; unextended.
          [R.] "This punctual spot." --Milton.
          [1913 Webster]

         The theory of the punctual existence of the soul. --
                                                Krauth.
   [1913 Webster]


texts: Adverb for not looking at anyone completely?

texts:
Which adverb should be used when not seeing anyone completely? That adverb should not necessarily have to do with the situation when any Indian bride hides her face by a veil, so that no body can see her face completely.

In fact, I am asking an adverb when a man doesn't see anyone completely, such as when shying before a woman or when in hurry, even when that man or woman (having or without a veil) is in front of him.

The sentence:

  He _____ looked at her because of being in hurry or other reason.

I have the word "partially", about which I am not sure that this the perfect adverb, and as we always use this word for other sense, like "the door was partially closed".

  He partially looked at her because of being in hurry or other reason.


texts:
I applied to a summer program and the email stated that I was deferred.

  We are pleased to inform you that your application has made a select
  list of deferrals to the regular application round.

The text that is in bold looks odd. Can anyone help me clarify whether it's correct or not? If it is correct (which probably is, since the email came from MIT), can you please explain the usage of has made a select list because I've never seen that grammatical structure ever before.

Thank you.


texts: Do "complicated" and "fiddle" mean the same?

texts:
This blouse is a bit of a fiddle to do up.
  It's kind of complicated to do up this blouse.

I've just came across the meaning of "fiddle" as "something difficult to do" and I tried to rephrase the sentence in order to get kind of a synonym.


texts: Is legit an actual word, or is it a slang word that has been shortened from legitimate?


texts: Post-hyphenation of split compound words

texts:
Assuming that these two words

off-topic
on-topic

must be hyphenated, which of the punctuations in the following sentences is correct? (crucial part emphasized)

Regardless of whether it is an off or on-topic example, it is a brilliant consideration in the definition of this proposal.
Regardless of whether it is an off- or on-topic example, it is a brilliant consideration in the definition of this proposal.

I know you can get around this with a verbose constuction like off-topic or on-topic, or by not hyphenating either and treating off and on and topic as separate words, but neither suggestion really does anything to answer my question.


texts: Can I put "Greetings" at the end of an email, and if so, how?

texts:
I am not a native speaker and I'm having trouble with formalities like opening and ending emails. In German, it is common to end an informal email with the phrase Viele Grüße, which means "Many greetings", sometimes together with your location. For example, when you're on holiday it would be Viele Grüße aus Spanien, meaning "Many greetings from Spain".

Is there a way to end an email or letter with such a greeting in English? When I googled this, I read that greetings are only put at the beginning of letters, not at the end. Could I end an informal email with "Greetings from Germany, name" or just "Greetings, name"?

If not, what other common ways are there to end informal emails? I am writing to someone I don't know in person, but it is still formal (so I can't write something like "See ya").


texts: Should the use of apostrophes be consistent?

texts:
It is time to rock, but don't be too loud.

Is it recommended to stay consistent with the use of apostrophes? Should it instead be:

  It's time to rock, but don't be too loud.

If that is fine either way, what about using the same words with and without apostrophes such as do not and don't?


texts: Why do we write "Fourier's law" but "Soret effect"?

texts: Can you explain why do we write e.g. Fourier's law, Ohm's law, Newton's law of cooling, etc. but Soret effect, Dufour effect instead of Soret's effect, Dufour's effect? What is the principle?


texts: What is the most common allophone of r after θ in British English, like in [θri:]?

texts: I ask because post-alveolar r could not be used after dental θ. My intuition tells me that it should be alveolar r, but I have not found on the Internet any confirmation for it.


texts: What does Chris Christie is “350 pounds of toast” mean?

texts:
Maureen Dowd quoted Bill Maher’s description of Chris Christie as “350 pounds of toast,” in her article titled, “Christie puts the gloves on” in New York Times (February 22):

  “I tend to agree with Bill Maher that Christie is “350 pounds of
  toast,” and that he should have run for president in 2012 when he had
  “that new candidate smell” because “the longer you stay in the more
  likely some bad thing will stick to you.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/dowd-christie-puts-the-gloves-on.html?hp&rref=opinion

The article of Daily KOS (February 15) titled “Bill Maher says Governor Christie is "350 pounds of toast" shows  a cartoon of Chris Christie being toasted on toaster.

Cambridge English Dictionary simply defines ‘toast’ as;
 sliced bread made warm, crisp, and brown by being put near a high heat:

However, Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘toast’’ as a noun to mean
a person or thing that is very popular or held in high regard by a particular group of people, beside the common notion of “sliced bread browned on both sides by exposure to radiant heat, such as a grill or fire.”

Does “toast’ have the meaning of a people being examined or grilled.
What does “toast” here mean? “condemnation” or “praise”?


texts: How would you handle ellipsis outside quotation marks?

texts:
Would it be:

If I had only said, "I love you."...

or

If I had only said, "I love you"...

or even

If I had only said, "I love you,"...

Basically, the ellipsis would represent someone trailing off.  For example, the person might have wanted to say: If I had only said, "I love you," he wouldn't have run off.

Or something like that.  While I'm at it, is that the correct punctuation for that sentence as well?


texts: Usage of "As of X" when X is not a time/date

texts:
I've seen this link and I know what "as of X" means when X is a time/date.

Is it gramatically correct to use "as of X" when X is not a time/date? For example, Is it ok to use "as of" in the following sentence?

  As of other classical facility location problems, this problem considers only location-allocation decisions.

or it is better to rewrite it to "Like other ..."? If both are correct, then which one is more formal, especially for a journal paper?

Edit:

I also found this sentence from the internet:

  The author of this, as of other official histories of the Second World War, has been given free access to official documents.

Maybe it's "as well as of other ...", but the part "as well" is somehow dropped?


texts: is using past perfect continuous correct in this case?

texts:
Is this sentence correct and can I say the same thing using another tense?

  When I saw her account I realised that she had not been using her account for years.


texts: Can ideas "make a mark" on someone, or is this expression reserved for people?

texts:
I am writing about an idea that "stuck" with me, made an impression. The expression that came to mind is "it made a mark on me" but I see it used primarily referring to people making a mark on something or somebody.

The sentence: "This advice really made a mark in my thinking."

Thoughts? Thank you.


texts: What do we call definitions we keep using for objects whose nature has changed?

texts:
Is there a name for "definitional drift," meaning a word we've used to define something in the past, but the object of definition has changed over time, yet we keep using the same word?

For example, "phone." Back in the 80s, we had phones that were connected to walls with cords. Phones were...well, phones.

Now, we call the device we carry a "phone," even though it's barely a phone. It's primarily designed to a million things other than make phone calls, and if we list the things we do it by frequency, making or taking a phone call would likely be near the bottom of the list.

This is clearly a thing that happens. Is there a name for it?  Can you think of other classic examples of it?

Edit: another example is when we record video on our phone (ha!), we often say we "taped it," or we "have it on tape." But magnetic tape has nothing to do with it anymore.


texts: Examples of programming language affecting the english language

texts:
I'm a programmer. I'm told I often use 'else' like the if ... else statement in a programming language. For example, this text message I sent yesterday:

  Hey, if you haven't had lunch wanna go to the tavern? Else [do you want to see] the latest Hobbit movie?

Is this sentence grammatically correct?
Are there any examples of where a programming language has influenced or changed the English language?


texts: Is Capitalising Every Word more common in music titles?

texts:
I'm aware that the titles of most creative works are given with nouns, etc. capitalised and "closed" words not (e.g. The Chicago Manual of Style) but I seem to see another approach much more in songs and classical music, where everything is capitalised no matter what (e.g. O For The Wings Of A Dove rather than O for the Wings of a Dove).

Are these fully capitalised titles more common in music, and why is this the case?

Edit: Please note that I'm not asking about common rules for Title Case - there are lots of references online for that; it's about why the choice of Capitalisation On Every Word is more common for music.


texts:
I would like to add more about my question. Rob and Finn were the hosts at the learning English program. They wanted to listen to an expert about their topic. So, they said "Let's listen to what the expert has to say". In this context, what they mean by "has to say"?

plus, thank you for sharing knowledge about usage of "say"

I listened to a certain English learning audioclip. In the program, they said "He has to say about some subject". I could infer the meaning, but I would like to know the exact meaning of the expression. Would you guys please give me a help with that?


texts:
I come from a place where lots of people are of Amazhig ("Berber") descent. Hence, when I use English, I try to avoid using the words barbarian or barbaric, even though its modern-day use is not intended to offend them.

I've looked for an alternative on thesaurus.com, and could not find something which has a similar enough meaning and can be spoken with the same amount of pathos, disdain, you express when calling something "a barbaric act". (Well, there is philistine, but that's racist towards Palestinians, which doesn't solve my problem)

Even two-word combinations don't seem to quite give me what I need... brutishly uncivilized? The meaning is mostly ok, but not the right "tone".

What phrase could I use instead?


texts: someone gets lost in translation meaning

texts:
we experience people of different language background being lost-in-translation

Effective translation will convey the full meaning of a text, staying true to the intentions of the original writer. Here are some tips for you to avoid getting “lost in translation”.

we hope that you have meaningful conversations and don’t get lost in translation

I get lost in translation

We got lost in translation

I've come across this saying many times but am unsure what it means ?
edit: Thanks I now understand what it means for an idea or meaning to get lost in translation, but if it's someone gets lost in translation, what does that mean?


texts: Meaning of: "The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right"

texts:
This is a Mark Twain aphorism:

  The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning
  ain't distributed right.

This is apparently intended to be easily understood, but the connection between fools and lightning is not clear to me.

Is this based on some idiom? Is it to do with being struck by lightning or lightning as a metaphor for a flash of inspiration or luck? I'm leaning towards the former, as lightning must have been a more serious nuisance in those days than it is today, with lightning rods and all.


texts:
I'm wondering if we can use come on in whenever asking someone to go inside or come inside.

One of my students's mom is American.
When she dropped off her kid, I heard she said "come on in honey"

I thought we can only use come on in when someone is outside the place or builing.

But she was outside the building even though we all were close to the door of the classroom.


texts: What word describes the act of convincing someone to buy you a meal or drink?

texts:
The context of this question is as followed: I was in a meeting where two people had placed a bet on the outcome of an event. The deal was that the loser would buy the winner a drink.  As they were discussing the possibilities of different outcomes, one said to another "don't worry I am only trying to ..... a drink from you.
I didn't know what the meaning of that word so I quickly googled it but didn't write down its definition. Does anyone here know what word best describes the act of getting someone buy you/treat you to a drink/meal etc.?


texts: Word for a small short cylindrical glass container (for salves, creams etc.)

texts:
Imagine you have a salve, perhaps a vapor rub or a hand cream. It comes in a small, circular (or to be more accurate, cylindrical) metal container.

Typically, I would say:

  I have a "tin" of that vapor rub if you want some.

However, I'm writing a fantasy story where they would never dream of wasting metal on such a frivolous pursuit - rather, they use glass because sand is everywhere.

I've looked in a thesaurus but all I'm finding are things like container and dish. Dish might make sense but I don't think of dish as having a closing lid. It's too short to be a jar.


texts: I am trying to find an appropriate word to describe multiple items that wash up on shore.  I would prefer a single-word answer, but don't know that one exists.  I am trying to name a photo album that contains flotsam, jellyfish, seashells, and driftwood.


texts: A man who  suffers before it  is necessary, suffers  more than is  necessary


texts:
I always have problems with the use of semi-colons.

Is the following proper usage? They are connected but also standalone sentences.

  I speak and write English fluently; as you can see from my CV, I have lived and worked in the UK for over 5 years.


texts: Word that is like a neutral version of 'cliché'; 'canonical' is likely a synonym

texts:
I've been struggling with thesauri, learned friends, and hopeless google searches.

The word I'm looking for describes a 'go-to' example or conventionally used style that isn't official. Something like 'traditional' but less to do with history and more to do with popularity. So far the word 'canonical' seems the closest in meaning but it seems a bit too specific or formal for the context. The example of sentences I swear I remember hearing the word in are of this form:

"The _____ fun fact about hippos being the most dangerous animals in Africa".

"The _____ red-and-white-checkered picnic blanket".

"The _____ variable name 'i' used to iterate in programs"

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I worry that I'm simply making this word up but it feels like it's just on the fringes of being remembered.


texts: "most" vs "the most", specifically as an adverb at the end of sentence

texts:
Which one of the following sentences is the most canonical?

I know most vs. the most has been explained a lot, but my doubts pertain specifically to which one to use at the end of a sentence.

  Do you know accepting answers improves your reputation and lets other
  users know what solution helped you the most?

vs

  Do you know accepting answers improves your reputation and lets other
  users know what solution helped you most?

EDIT: This question doesn't solve my doubts because it is not about using "most" and "the most" specifically as an adverb at the end of a sentence.


texts: What is the difference between "summation" and "sum"?

texts:
Are these sentences grammatically right? which one is more formal? It seems to me that the first group is more convenient, am I right?
Can I say these sentences in other way or in a better format?
a)

The total potential energy of the cylinder is the "summation" of the strain energy and the work done by the external forces.
A is the "summation" of B and C.

b)

The total potential energy of the cylinder is the "sum" of the strain energy and the work done by the external forces.
A is the "sum" of B and C.

Thanks


texts: What do you call the protruding square structures on the top of a tower?

texts:
Here's an example:

It's not a tower but the structure is exactly the same. I'm referring to the four 'tooth-like' juttings on top of the tower structure attached on the left of that bridge. What do you call them (I'm looking for a common word)?


texts: Resolving ambiguity arising from "Change"

texts:
"Change" has two definitions that can cause some confusion:
1) Become different. 2) Replace something with a new or different thing. To clarify what I mean, below is an example sentence:

  My favourite character changes all the time.

Could potentially be interpreted as either

  (1) I discover/find new favourite characters very frequently.

  or

  (2) My favourite character remains the same, but he/she/it undergoes
  constant character development.

So if (1) is what I intend to convey how can I word it differently to remove that ambiguity without being overly verbose or clumsy like (1)?

Please suggest alternative sentences.

One last thing, the sentence below is my own effort at tackling this question. Is it grammatically natural/sound? And does it solely denote (1)?

  Who my favourite character is changes all the time.


texts: When describing an action by two persons is it ever correct to name oneself first?

texts: When describing an action by two persons and that action has a negative outcome or nature, is it correct to name oneself first?  As in I and he played poorly.


texts: Is there such an idiom as "to turn a cold ear toward somebody"?

texts:
I'm reading the book Roots by Alex Haley, which is about a history of an American black family in the US starting from Kunta Kinte, an African brought to the country as a slave. My question concerns the following passage from the book:

  "He [Kunta] was sorry he [an old slave] had been through so much, but he couldn’t help turning a cold ear toward anyone who just rolled over and gave up."

I could not find the idiom "turning a cold ear" in any online dictionary of English idioms. Could it be that the phrase is African in its origin (which makes it a calque) and the narrator uses it to stress Kunta's difference to the other blacks who were born slaves, unlike Kunta?


texts:
Can we use "not either" instead of "neither"?

For example, given that…

I don't like football
I don't like basketball

… which of the following are correct?

A. I like neither football nor basketball.

B. I don't like either football or basketball.


texts:
The rows should be copied and pasted
  to the spreadsheet.

Does that sound right? If not, how could we reword the sentence? I ask because "to" applies to "paste" but not to "copy". The logical preposition to follow "copy" would be "from", but I don't see how it would fit in this sentence.


texts: Are there any special words or phrases for people that were emigrating in history?

texts: Are there any special words or phrases for people that were emigrating in history (18th, 19th, 20th centuries)? Or maybe the words which were used in that time and how were people calling the emigrants? Anything related to that would be very helpful.


texts: Word for repairing something in a way that changes its function

texts:
I'm looking for a word that means to repair something in such a way that it changes its function.

Example: The washing machine was broken and I repaired it in such a way that the function of washing machine is no longer washing clothes but, say, now it colours the clothes.

What did I do to the washing machine? Is there any word for that?
I will clarify my question. Actually I'm working on a project in which I made one thing out of another. The washing machine example was "just an example". I can't share what I did but I will give some more examples:

I had a bicycle and I changed it to a car.
I made a big phone out of my laptop (changed from one thing to another).
I had a picture scanner but I changed it to a printer.


texts: Where did the usage of "around" to mean "about" come from?

texts:
I work as a software engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ever since starting work, I've noticed people using the word "around" where I'd say "about" or "on" for example:

"I have a question around metrics."

"Can you forward me the thread around developer engagement?"

"The company has been doing a lot of work around diversity and inclusion."

I feel like I never really heard this usage growing up in Pennsylvania, or in university in St. Louis, but it seems pervasive here. I particularly hear it from executives and product managers who work in the tech industry.

My questions are:

Is this common everywhere and I just failed to notice it?
If not, is it regional, industry-specific, or specific to a professional context?

Google ngrams suggests that the phrase "questions around", which is a kind of maker for this usage, has really spiked in the last 20 years.


texts: An adjective meaning "plays a crucial role" [in]

texts: Which adjective can function as a synonym for "plays a crucial role" [in]? I remember there is one, but I can't recall it....


texts: Do nonrestrictive appositives always require commas?

texts:
In the following example, I have one wife, one daughter and one son.

(1) My wife, Angie; my son, Mike; and my daughter, Danielle, will be at the picnic.

I think the semicolons are very technically correct, but they are an eyesore.

Other possibilities:

(2) My wife, Angie, my son, Mike and my daughter, Danielle, will be at the picnic.

(3) My wife Angie, my son Mike, and my daughter Danielle will be at the picnic.

Which is preferred -- 1, 2 or 3 above?


texts: What should I do when two clauses that must be in parenthesis sit next to each other in my sentence?

texts:
I'm writing my thesis dissertation and in the results section I'm showing my results with this sentence:

  A small correlation  between hit position and time was found for SS2 ($r=-0.143, p<0.01$) but not for SS1 ($p>0.05$) (see Figure 3.2).

I believe I'm following APA guidelines for reporting statistical results and I want to show the reader the figure as it shows graphically my results. But, I don't like having these two parentheses next to each other. What can I do?


texts:
I'm not sure if this sentence is correct.

(Terms written as SpreadFilter are technical terms so don't bother with them.)

  I fixed an error that caused the SpreadFilter to throw a NullPointerException when the filter was reset.

I'm unsure wheter it is

... when the filter was reset.

... as the filter was reset.

... when the filter has been reset.

... as the filter has been reset.

What I want to say is:

  There is a filter and everytime a user clicked the reset button, the filter throw a NullPointerException. This is now fixed.


texts: Omitting "by" preposition and the resulted phrase

texts:
Consider the following examples:

I paid for it by using my credit card.
I was in contact with my friends by sending letters.
I learned how to dance by watching online videos

if I remove the preposition "by", one of them sound fine (the first one), but the others sound different:

I paid for it using my credit card.
I was in contact with my friends sending letters. (sounds like my friends are sending letters)
I learned how to dance watching online videos. (sounds like I learned while watching videos in the background)

so I have two questions:

What is the difference between these sentences that makes them behave differently under "by" preposition
What is the resulting phrase (I paid for it using my credit card) and its grammatical function?

"by using my credit card" is obviously an adverbial (a prepositional phrase), and "using my credit card" is a gerund phrase. This is confirmed if we use a pronoun instead: I paid for it by this. But what is the role of "using my credit card" after removing "by"? It can no longer be considered as a gerund phrase because it's not functioning as a noun and cannot be replaced with a noun (I paid for it cash).
But what would be its function if it is a participle phrase? it doesn't seem to modify the subject "I" (it's not like I paid for it while I was using and playing with my credit card). I can't put it in an adverbial sense either, even though it looks like an adjunct.


texts: Are both options [proper noun] + [common noun] / [common noun] + [proper noun] valid, and if so is any of them preferable?

texts:
When using a pair of proper noun and common noun placed together, I always doubt what the right order is. I usually come across this situation while writing technical documentation.

For example, consider the following passage with 5 pairs of proper and common nouns:

Orders.pdf & file
Dataexport & folder
outputPath & attribute
export & tag
App.config & file

Proper noun before common noun

  Locate the Orders.pdf file inside the Dataexport folder. The location of the Dataexport folder is set to the outputPath attribute of the export tag in the App.config file.

Common noun before proper noun

  Locate the file Orders.pdf inside the folder Data export. The location of the folder Dataexport is set to the attribute outputPath of  the tag export in the file App.config.

What is the correct choice? If both are correct, which is preferable?

Thank you very much.


texts: What would a term for diminishing of magic, diversity, beauty, and power be?

texts:
I am trying to figure out what the proper literary term would be for the following description.

In many books and films there is a theme where the world is or was full of magic and beauty and then that age ends and the following is more mundane.

Sometimes this is accompanied due to results of an evil event and other times just from the slow approaching of time.

An evil occurrence example could be something like in
Star Wars: A New Hope, when Luke is in Kenobi's little house,

  An elegant weapon for a more civilized
  time. For over a thousand generations
  the Jedi Knights were the guardians
  of peace and justice in the Old
  Republic. Before the dark times,
  before the Empire.

An example of time could be in The Lord of the Rings at the end of the 3rd age (after the war of the ring). Most of the elves are either leaving or have left, Gandalf leaves, later into the age the Ents become..treeish, and the dwarves vanish from mans knowledge. All that is left is men.

So while Men flourish all the other races diminish. Theres even a scene in the movies where Frodo and Sam spy some wood elves leaving middle earth and Sam says,

  I don't know why, but it makes me sad"

So my question is, what would a term for this..diminishing of magic, diversity, beauty, power be?

It's kind of like Nostalgia in a way, not sure what the best term would be..


texts: Is there a word for phrasing something as a question?

texts:
Ex: Bathroom -> Bathroom?

I know there is one, I just don't remember the word for it


texts: Word for acknowledging all sides to an argument?

texts:
Is there a word for explaining/acknowledging any other stances or opinions on a topic while still stating your own, and even using the other sides to support the validity of your own opinion? The closest I've gotten so far is "dialectic", but even that doesn't seem quite right. I'm writing an essay in which I compare the usage of this device in a collection of nonfiction articles. I need a literary term describing this that I can refer easily to in writing.

An example sentence would be

  After carefully reviewing the provided nonfiction texts, I have ranked the three that I believe exhibit the best usage of _______, or the act of acknowledging multiple stances on an issue rather than just the author’s stance.

The tag says single-word requests, but if you have an accurate multiple-word term for it then that's fine too.


texts: What is a single word that means "poor guy" (not moneyless)?

texts:
For example, what single word can I use as a replacement here?
"He's been standing there and waiting all morning, poor guy."

Edit:
The synonym should be sympathetic, so no derogatory words


texts:
I want to say that a task should be made to be transitionable, meaning it should be easy to transition the task to another person without requiring an extensive amount of training. My spell checker does not accept it as a word, and even Google asks "Did you mean transition?"

I think it's valid, being a construction of the verb transition and the suffix -able, but would like to get confirmation (or an alternative, if it's invalid) from experts before committing it to a written document.

The only results I find for transitionable are in the context of highly technical usage, like mathematics and computer animation.


texts: Looking for a phrase/word similar to cross-department?

texts:
Let's say a company has a few different locations/branches (e.g. one in New York, one in D.C.). I'd like to ask:

  ... are there any cross-site activities or meetups for teams based in
  New York and teams based in D.C.?

But can I use "cross-site" here? I coined the phrase myself by borrowing the same idea in cross-department, which is commonly used.

If there are better ways to express what I tried to say by completely restructuring the sentence, please also let me know.


texts: The rhetorical effect of "no more ... than" construction

texts:
The following is a part of the section 15.70 of A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (Longman).

Rachel is no more courageous than Saul(is).

The sentence implies that both Rachel and Saul are not courageous(
'Rachel is not courageous, any more than Saul is courageous').

and later

They are no more scholars than my baby (is). ['They are no more scholarly...']

The rhetorical effect of the construction is not so much to make a comparison as to intensify the negation.

Since it is absurd to say "my baby is scholarly", I can notice that this sentence has a rhetorical meaning. But, in the first example there is no suggestion that Saul is not courageous. Does the no more ... than construction automatically suggest that the proposition of subordinate clause is false? Or, does it depend on the context (so, it only has the literal meaning if it is taken out of the context suggesting that the proposition of subordinate clause is false)?


texts: I have a document where someone is suggesting we have a bulleted list with only one item.  That sounds absurd to me.  Doesn't a "list" imply more than one item?


texts: What would be the modern equivalent for "a curtain lecture"?

texts:
I chanced on this expression while reading a book by David Crystal. In a chapter dedicated to words that have disappeared from the English language, he mentions this gem in Samuel Johnson's Dictionary:

  A curtain-lecture was "a reproof given by a wife to her husband in bed".

I had imagined the phrase referred to the drawing of the bedroom curtains at night. However, World Wide Words tells me that it derived from the four poster bed with its canopy and curtains.

Is there a more modern day  <> equivalent of this phrase?
Because speaking as a once married woman, I confess I used to choose bedtime to have these "in-depth discussions" with my ex (and even today with my current boyfriend).

Failing that, I'd also appreciate any amusing and witty neologisms. Thanks very!

Image: A Curtaine Lecture by Thomas Heywood. London, 1637. The text says the following

  When wives preach, tis not in the Husbands power to have their lectures end within an hower. If Hee with patience stay till shee have donn. Shee’l not conclude till twyce the glass Hee runn.


texts: Hours spent in something takes a singular or plural verb?

texts: For example ''Hours spent in online multiplayer gaming per week'' is it takes are or is?


texts: How is the following sentence different in the present tense?

texts:
In the movie "The Green Mile", a prisoner talks to an officer and asks him to pray for him after he is executed. My question is how would it be different if the officer said "Suppose I can, if it comes to that" rather than "Suppose I could, if it came to that"?

  O - ...what about a preacher? Somebody to say a little prayer with.

  P - Don't want no preacher.

  P - You can say a prayer, if you like.

  O - Me?

  O - Suppose I could, if it came to that.

  O - I have to ask you something very important now.

  P - I know what you gonna say.


texts: "Country" is to "national" as "city" is to…

texts:
How would I say something on a city level in comparison to a provincial level or national level?

  Elections are held nationally every four years, and _________ every two years.


texts: Why in the name "Two sum problem" there is "sum" and not "sums"?


texts: Why do we call frivolous, lame or naff things cheesy?


texts: General rules for identifying conditional sentences?

texts:
I am trying to identify the subject and object in the following sentence:

  Come to me, and I'll give you a fight you'll never forget

At first, it appeared as if whenever a conjunction appears after a clause, and there's a future tense verb in the following clause, then it's a conditional sentence. My major problem here is whether this is a valid conditional sentence. Here, the speaker is actually saying

  I'm an interesting fighter

and not typically providing a condition for a result. I am trying to find out if there's any general rule for identifying a real conditional sentence. Could the rule that applies to this sentence be classified as one for identifying idioms? Thanks.


texts:
I have been given the following section, and I need to identify the grammatical errors.

  Hawthorne physically set this short story in the town of Milford. It is a common setting for Hawthorne: a New England town set around a church, symbolizing the Puritan values that the villagers strongly upheld.

Is the colon to be replaced a comma?

If yes, why?

Are any other corrections necessary?


texts: A word for activities that appear difficult but aren't, and vice versa

texts:
In life, sometimes you're able to do something easily that appears very difficult or impressive. Consider a card trick. It might simultaneously be easy for you to learn to perform while impressing your audience.

On the other hand, you might do with great difficulty something that others perceive to be easy. For instance, drawing a perfect circle free-hand on a piece of paper might look easy but in fact it takes much practice to achieve consistently.

Are there adjectives to describe these two cases? That is, feats that are difficult but appear easy, and activities that are easy to perform but appear daunting.


texts:
I believed that there is no question word in English for making a question when you want know the X in sentences like "Barack Obama is the Xth president of the US.".

*Question words are words like "what", "who", "how many" and so on.

Then I came across this word "manieth", which does not seem to be in any dictionaries I have.
Is this even a word? If it is, how acknowledged is it?

Futhermore, if there is any word or expression that means the same thing as "manieth", I would like to know what it is.


texts: What is correct - playing "on a squash court" or "in a squash court"?

texts: My first reaction was naturally to go with "on a squash court" but a squash court is an enclosed court so saying "in a squash court" doesn't sound incorrect either. But it might be. An example I'm using to make me think "in a squash court" is fine is that a fish lives "in a fish tank", not "on a fish tank."