texts:
Is there any difference in English between:

His books

The books of him

?
It would seem not. For example:

Bob read his books.could mean: "Bob read his [own] books." or "Bob read [some other male's] books."

Bob read the books of him.would seem this couldn't mean: "Bob read his own books.", but only that "Bob read [some other male's] books."

This is reminiscent of Latin's difference between suus (possessive adjective: its/his/hers) and eius (genitive pronoun: of it / of his / of her).

Bob legit libros suos.could only mean he read his own books

Bob legit libros eius.could only mean he read someone else's books


texts: Do Americans say 'cheers' to mean 'thanks'?

texts: I find myself these days saying 'cheers' all the time as a kind of mild form of 'thanks', and I heard it said a lot round here (Northamptonshire, England).  It's not even a commoner thing, I'd say the middle class are likely to use it a lot.  Is it used this way in the US, or would you always consider 'cheers' as something to say when toasting?


texts:
What's the single word for "too specific"? For example:

  If the content of the post is deemed too specific, the moderators will...


texts: Is there any difference between the questions beginning with "have you ever" and "did you ever?"

texts:
I understand that the question beginning with "did you ever" is normally used to ask about a state or habit that doesn't lead up to the time of speaking.

for example:

  Did you ever see her (while you were in London)?

The question beginning with "have you ever", by contrast, is used to mention a state or habit up to the point of speaking, so adverbials like 'in your life' would co-occur with the question.

However, I've also come across a lot of examples of "did you ever" in which a state of habit in question doesn't seem to belong to the finished past time, but to the present time.

Here are some of them:

Did you ever hear of anything more silly?
Did you ever think maybe you're not too big? (from the film, "Big
Fish")
Did you ever try cocaine?
Did you ever hear of such a thing?

Each of the speaker doesn't seem to narrow his/her question down to a specific time in the past. Thus I suppose, while it is true that "Did you ever?" normally asks about things in the past, the question can sometimes mention things in the present time (rhetorically, sometimes). How well do you think it is supposed to be true?


texts:
Original Question:

Should I request an embassy to extend me a visa or issue me a visa?

Just the way an invitation is extended, I thought I could ask embassies for extending me a visa. With that thought I have written supporting letters to embassies, asking to extend me a visa and I have been granted visas as well, without any embassy getting confused about whether I'm asking for a new visa or requesting extension of an existing one.

However, this doesn't mean that the my usage was correct.

They probably just did not read the letter or maybe ignored my incorrect English. It was a non-issue until this time when I got response back from someone (not working at the embassy) telling me to write another letter that is about issuing me a new visa, instead of extending me a visa.

I looked up online to see whether I committed a mistake and could find no place which clearly says that visas cannot be extended (so as to mean - "be newly issued" rather than extending a current one) and exclusively have to be issued.

There is enough material, though,  to understand that a request to extend a visa can be easily confused with requesting extension for a visa.

But then this too doesn't mean that 'extending a visa' cannot be used for conveying the request to issue a new visa.

My comprehensive questions:

Is there any authoritative answer that tells the correct method to request a visa stamp on your passport?
Is there any authoritative answer that tells that asking the embassy to extend a visa is wrong?
Yes, I can write the letter, requesting the embassy to grant me a visa. I'd like to know if this is indeed the most appropriate way?

In that case, is requesting to 'extend me a visa' an exclusively wrong phrase?


texts: What's a synonym for the profile of a mountain?

texts:
I'm looking for a word to describe the the contour of a mountain. Something like profile, or cross-section.

I've heard of stratigraphic column, but I think that requires showing the layers, like on the image below. I'm also interested in the name for maps that don't show the layers, just the profile.


texts: Does adverb placement change the meaning in the following phrase?

texts: Is there a difference in meaning between "to positively resolve situations" and "to resolve situations positively." Sorry, I thought there was a difference in that the question asks if in the first phrase if the adverb modifies the infinitive and in the second modifies the infinitive phrase was there a different in meaning such as the first phrase indicating all situations were settled and in the second that the situations were favorably settled.


texts: Does the expression "to go under the knife" carry a negative connotation?

texts:
Is there a difference in connotation between these two phrases?

I asked my student whether her mother was scheduled to GO UNDER THE KNIFE this morning.
I asked my student whether her mother was scheduled to UNDERGO SURGERY this morning.

In other words, would it be polite to ask somebody the question "When's she going under the knife?" in the informal register? Or would it sound too brutal or insensitive? (The "knife" part makes me think of a butcher, to be honest.)


texts: Word request : The property of being aesthetic

texts:
I'm comparing visual query languages (visual computer languages used for querying databases). Criteria include conciseness (the fewness of words needed to express queries), expressive power (the richness of the queries that can be expressed), etc.

I'm looking for a name for a (hopefully one-word) criterion that describes the "aestheticness" (the "appealness") of a language (the quality of queries being visually appealing).


texts: Idiomatic Expression that basically says "What's bad for you is good for me"

texts:
An Albanian friend of mine asked me a bit of a puzzler: What would be the English equivalent of the Albanian idiom "Let my cow die should my neighbor's two cows die"?

Figuratively translated, it means that what is bad for you must be good for me.

I haven't been able to find any idiomatic expression that quiet expresses that sentiment.

Is there an equivalent expression?

EDIT: To clarify a little, I believe the intent behind the figurative meaning is "I will see benefit in your loss whether I lose or not"


texts: What is the different between who and whom

texts: When I have been learning english I can not understand different between who and whom?


texts:
I have a line in a document "Create New Path" which I would like to change to "Create New Path or Update Old Path?" including the "?"

In my correspondence with others they may think I'm asking a question with improper grammar. For example, I wrote:

  The new header for that section will be line A, "Create New Path or
  Update Old Path?".

I think this is incorrect punctuation, but I did it anyway to get my point across. Is there a correct way to punctuate so those reading understand the "?" will be included in the change?


texts: "The existing and proposed manuals" vs. "the existing and the proposed manuals"

texts:
Which one of the following is correct?

  A comparison between the existing and proposed manuals is as follows.
  A comparison between the existing and the proposed manuals is as follows.

Do I need to use "the" before the second noun?


texts:
My question is whether "How" can be preceded by "in" in a sentence and if the following instance where it has been used is grammatically correct.

  One of the major ways in which the current times are changing is in
  how we communicate with each other.

Could you please explain.
Thanks.


texts:
I'm writing a metaphor describing a switch from a very static environment to a very dynamic one.

Instead of trying to turn the Titanic, it'll be like steering a <boat here>

What kind of boat could go into the metaphor?
The best I came up with was "power boat"


texts:
I've seen a number of different phrases in different books describing the action of closing a door, and I'm not quite sure that I fully understand the grammar behind them. For example:

(1) [He] clicked the door shut. / [You] push the door open.

(2) The door clicked shut. / The door clicked open.

The first two pretty much remind me of complex object construction, but I am confused by the atypical verbs as "click" and "push". As for the second one, I want to specify whether I'm right that it's just the sequence "noun + verb + adjective" as sth like "The house stands empty" etc.

Could someone make it clear? Thank you in advance!


texts:
I was recently having a discussion with a friend on the "sure-thing principle" (not relevant but Google if you wish to know what that is). We were discussing it in the context of a scenario and the discussion ended with my friend stating the following;

  The scenario is too simplistic

I argued that the scenario was not too simplistic but simply simplistic. This devolved into a discussion about how to use the word too.

I argued that, in this instance at least, the word too in that sentence changes the whole meaning. If you state

  The scenario is simplistic

then what you are really saying is

  The scenario is simple and could be more complex.

However if you state

  The scenario is too simplistic

then the definition would change to

  The scenario is simple and could and should be more complex

My friend argued that the word too does not change the meaning of the sentence at all, and that they are in fact the same.

Can anyone assert which is the correct definition, and why? Or if neither is correct, what would be the correct definitions?


texts: Is there a single word that describes someone who hates themself? (Antonym of narcissist)

texts:
Situation: Alice is telling Bob that Charlie doesn't love himself, like Bob thinks. In fact, Charlie hates himself.

  "You don't know him. He's the antithesis of a narcissist. He's a ______"

I'm looking for a single (preferably non-compound) word that describes a guy who hates himself (too much).

I've already discarded self-hater and self-loather. These words are not listed (even as derivatives) in Oxford or AHD. And like this ngram shows, self-hatred and self-loathing come up frequently enough; but 'self-hater' and 'self-loather' don't.  Besides, they're compound words.

Neither Thesaurus.com nor Oxford lists an antonym of narcissist; which Oxford defines as

  a person who admires himself or herself too much, especially their appearance

I'm not looking to paraphrase my sentence. I'm looking for a single word; which needs to be more impactful here. Just like saying  "he's a narcissist" has more impact than saying "he loves himself (too much)."

Can anyone think of a word which would be a good fit in the given sentence?


texts: What is the word when faced with a situation in which neither solution/choice is morally 'right'?

texts:
A while ago I heard a word which when I looked up had the meaning of having no morally 'right' solution or choice. Since then I have forgotten the word; it has been playing on my mind ever since.

Thank you for any help.


texts: Use semicolon or period when telling a result of an action?

texts:
If you look at these sentences, the second one is result of the first:

  Alex shouts and feels pain in his leg, and he rubs the place with hand and looks at the leg. His leg swelled little bit.

So these two should be separated by a semicolon or by a period?

I mean that the sentence above would become this one:

  Alex shouts and feels pain in his leg, and he rubs the place with hand and looks at the leg; his leg swelled little bit.


texts: Which one is correct: The bird was standing on the table, from where/which it flew toward me all of a sudden

texts:
I would like to know whether I should use "from where" or "from which" in the following sentence:

The bird was standing on the table, from where/from which it flew toward me.


texts: Suitable adjective for implying romantic connections?

texts:
I'm looking for an adjective which I could use for example in the following situation:

  "Don't try to understand the joke Joanne said to George; it's a
  in-joke between romantic partners."

becomes:

  "Don't try to understand the joke Joanne said to George; it's a [X
  adjective] in-joke."

Does this "X adjective" exist? Is it defined in a thesaurus?


texts: "As many books as suits your schedule" vs. "as many books as suit your schedule"

texts:
Read as many books as suit(s) your schedule.

Singular or plural agreement?


texts: Meaning of "direct descendant" as opposed to "indirect descendant"

texts:
I know what a descendant is. A’s children, grandchildren and greatn-grandchildren are all A’s descendants.

But what does direct descendant mean? It is as if some of those people are A’s direct descendants, but others are just his indirect descendants. Is direct redundant and only used as a rhetorical device?


texts: Correct place of apostrophe: friend's or friends'

texts:
A quick Google search (actually I use Duckduckgo but "a quick Duck or DDG search" would sound weird...) showed that "friend's" was a bit more common, whereas a Google user manual or tutorial used "friends' " and I (maybe biasly) assume them to use (more) correct grammar. The sentence used in the Google user manual was:
"See friends' locations on a map"

(see this link https://support.google.com/plus/answer/3302509?hl=en)


texts: A word that means a box or a folder where one keeps one's personal items

texts:
For example, a place where you keep your personal stories is a diary, what would one call a folder/box where you store personal items like: a love letter, a diploma or a small souvenir you got from a friend ...

The best word I could find is treasure, but it's not exactly that. Is there a word for this folder/box, or a better word than treasure?


texts: A single word that means "to push yourself"

texts:
I'm looking for a word that means "to push yourself". Endurance sort of fits, except that it means enduring a situation where one can't change things. I'm looking for someone pushing themselves when they have a choice to stop or back out.

(In case you're wondering- I want it for the caption of a motivational poster)

ETA: I'm looking for a word that would fit more in the context of "to push yourself to continue when you're bored with what you're doing" rather than "to push yourself when things are physically / mentally challenging".


texts: A word or phrase for a law against a specific person

texts: Normally when a person gets in trouble with the law it's about a law that could apply to anyone: murder, theft, etc. Is there a name for a law that's against a specific person instead of the crime?


texts: A word similar to listening or attentive

texts: We are looking for a word that is similar to listening or attentive.   For a use in describing the nature of our corporation's relationship with our employees and customers.


texts:
I'm writing a speech for school and a few times want to use the phrase, "piece of sh*t". Since it is for school I'd like to try a cleaner version of this just to be safe, but I still need something with a punch. I'm using that phrase for the harsher effect it gives and something like "piece of crap" just isn't doing it for me.

Any alternatives out there?

EDIT: some context. I'm discussing having negative thoughts about yourself confirmed by someone in amongst countless compliments. So if you're thinking to yourself "I'm a piece of sh*t", and one person says to you "you're a piece of sh*t", it sticks out in your mind no matter how many other positive things people say about you.


texts: Verb/Subject Agreement should it be make or makes?

texts:
Mixing the ingredients and baking the dough make/makes a cookie. Neither one triggers the MS word spelling and grammar.

Also if someone could explain which answer to this is correct Verb/Subject Agreement Make/Makes

I would appreciate it.


texts: Professional / formal version of "sitting pretty"

texts:
Consider the sentence:

  This leaves Plan A sitting pretty and remains the only option that
  keeps Goal A firmly on the table.

In my formal document, I cannot have an idiom like "sitting pretty" since it's very casual. However, it's challenging to think of alternatives.

Question

Is there a more formal/professional word or phrase I could use in place of "sitting pretty" in the above sentence?

Best I could do: "more desirable"


texts: Why is uploading termed 'uploading' and downloading termed 'downloading'?

texts: What is "up" or "down" about it? I mean, geographically it makes no sense. I can upload images, and download images - the former is away from my computer and the later is coming to it but why "up" and "down"?


texts:
I am really curious about one thing;that is the use of the past simple when normally,a subjunctive should be used.
For instance,here:
"It is vital that he should go to school" or "It is vital that he go to school".
I was wondering whether "It is vital that he went to school" is gramatically correct.
Some of my teachers say it is,some deny it.

Thanks


texts: Is the comma correct in the following news title or should I leave it out?

texts: This Is Why Statistics Matter, and It's Why You Should Care


texts: is opportunity countable or non-countable?

texts: I want to use the phrase "plenty of opportunities" in my essay, but I'm not sure whether opportunity is countable or not. Some people say that the phrase "plenty of opportunity" is acceptable, some say "a lot of opportunities". So which version is the most accurate?


texts: I have always—and will always—do X? or done X?

texts:
(This has gotta be a duplicate, but I didn't quite manage to find anything...)
Is either of the following correct? If so, what is the general rule that makes the other one wrong?

I have always—and will always—preferred chocolate over vanilla.

I have always—and will always—prefer chocolate over vanilla.

I'm aware that I could just sidestep the whole issue with

I have always preferred—and will always prefer—chocolate over vanilla.

but that doesn't answer my question.


texts: "In what we believe" -- does the initial position of the preposition really sound better?

texts:
German native here.

As I understand it, the rule that sentences or phrases should never end with a preposion is an over-simplification (similar to the "ban" on split infinitives, which actually can be a great stylistic device).

I've stumbled across the following phrase, used as a header for the mission statement on a company's website:

  In what we believe

For some reason, putting the preposition at the end sounds better to my ears:

  What we believe in

Two possibilities:

a) I'm right and the first version results from blindly trying to adhere to the "rule".

b) This is hyper-correction on my part: Since the German equivalent would lead with the preposition ("An was wir glauben"), I'm subconsciously interpreting the leading preposition as unnatural in English here.

I'd be grateful for some English native speakers' input.


texts: Quote positioning on a long sarcastic-explanation phrase

texts:
In the following excerpt, would it be more correct to close the quotation after "pose"?

  ...and they stand in the ISO-standard "security man waiting for you to walk through the door so he can escort you" pose by the door.

(Also, is there a better word for what I did there with the quotes, since "sarcastic" doesn't really fit?)


texts:
Assume you earned a million dollars last year.

You've doubled the income of last year.
You've been twice the income of last year.
You've earned money twice as much as last year.
You've earned money twice more than last year.

Do they have the same meaning that you've earned two million dollars now?
Which is most commonly used?


texts:
What does but until in a sentence mean? I came across the phrase in a sentence that sounded almost exactly as this:

  He was a great person but until he started caring for other people's feelings.

I have found another example of sentence, tweeted by Rupert Murdoch. His tweet was:

  Maybe most Muslims are peaceful, but until they recognize and destroy their growing jihadist cancer they must be held responsible.

A compact explanation to this tweet would be real handy.


texts:
What are the different connotations of motherland and fatherland? NOAD defines both as "a person's native country," though it adds "esp. when referred to in patriotic terms" for fatherland. The words, though, are not one. How are they different? Do they convey different meanings? Are they affected by other languages which use gendered equivalents--as in, is fatherland influenced by Spanish patria, etc?

Before you start yelling duplicate! I am aware of the previous question "Homeland" vs. "motherland" vs. "fatherland". The answers there, though, only differentiate motherland and fatherland from homeland; they make no distinction between the gendered terms.


texts: Why do "carnival" and "conference" lack the definite article?

texts:
...this seems common in British usage, at least.  Do these two kinds of noun have something in common? They are usually capitalised as proper nouns.

Examples of usage:

"Stewarding at Conference is a rewarding and fun experience" (source)
"For one of the biggest black music events in the world, Carnival has been criminally overlooked by broadcasters" (source)


texts:
The popular expression stay the course  means:

  Hold or persevere to the end, as in: "No, he's not resigning; he's going to stay the course."
  According the AHD this  metaphoric expression, alluding to a horse running an entire race, was first recorded in 1916.

Etymonline says that its origin is earlier:

  Phrase stay the course is originally (1885) in reference to horses holding out till the end of a race.

But according the The Phrase Finder the expression is probably a sailing metaphor. It doesn't cite a possible date of origin but  adds that it was popularised during the 80's in political contexts:

  This phrase, perhaps based on a sailing metaphor of keeping an unchanged course in navigation, was popularized during the 1980 Presidential campaign. Republicans have helped to popularize the expression.
  During 1982, according to the Washington Post, Ronald Reagan 'visited 14 states in 10 days of campaigning since Labor Day, carrying his 'stay the course' message." From "Safire's New Political Dictionary" by William Safire (Random House, New York, 1993).
  And it was a favorite phrase of the elder Bush.

Finally, checking with Ngram, the expression appears to have been used at least from the beginning of the 19th century:

Questions:

1) Does the set phrase "stay the course" come from the horse races, sailing or other contexts?

2) When was it first used as a metaphor?

3) What could be the reason why the Republicans found the expression so attractive?


texts:
I finally arrived home after having driven all day.

Should a comma come before "after"?


texts:
As a non-native speaker of English, I struggle with the orthography of the word stop word. The term is used in the context of text mining, natural language processing and corpus linguistics. It refers to words which are usually ignored in subsequent text analyses due to their high frequency and/or their low informativity (e.g. most function words, auxiliary verbs etc.).

The headword in Wikipedia uses the two-word spelling stop word, but the one-word spelling stopword also seems to be rather frequent, for example in the NLTK documentation or the MySQL references.

Which of the two spelling variants should I use? If you have a personal preference for either, I'd be happy to hear that. Please also add whether you're actually familiar with the term (e.g. because you work in the field of text analysis). This is particularly interesting because I'm going to use it in a software that is aimed at a technical audience.


texts: Singular pronoun with plural reference in brackets

texts:
Which one is correct?

This:

  Everyone chose XYZ because it (and the ones from last year) is the most reliable.

or:

  Everyone chose XYZ because it (and the ones from last year) are the most reliable.


texts: What part of speech is the word 'bolt' in the adverb 'bolt upright'?


texts: "Subject election" at college/university

texts:
I am wondering what is the name of process during which student chooses which subjects he/she going to attend to in next semester. After some thinking, "subject election" came to mind but somehow it doesn't feel right.

Is there any better alternative to this?


texts: How or why did "sock" come to mean "punch"?

texts: I see that sock as an article of clothing is derived from Latin soccus for slipper. But, how did it also become a synonym for "a punch" or "to punch"?


texts: When and why did the N-word and "negro" go apart?

texts:
Both the terms nigger and negro come from the Spanish and Portuguese Negro which denotes "black". But today they have widely different connotations, the former is considered a horrible racial slur, while the latter was the prefered way to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance until the 1960s–70s, was used by MLK in his "I have a dream" speech and is still used in the full name of the UNCF.

When did the terms go apart, and why does one of them have a strong racist connotation while the other doesn't?


texts: What does "rally behind one another" mean?

texts:
Can someone explain to me what this expression means? Also if possible, how can I translate it to a Romantic language, such as Spanish?

Below are some sentences that make use of this expression:

  They rally behind one another to rebuild and help one another.
  We must all rally behind one another to keep fighting The Good Fight.
  Co-workers are more like family, and we all rally behind one another
  to achieve a common goal.


texts: Is 'Night an acceptable informal variant of "Good Night"?

texts:
The spoken use of "night" as an informal, familiar version of "good night" (wishing one a restful sleep) is common, but I'm not sure what the proper written equivalent is - if there is one. I have always used 'Night with an apostrophe, usually capitalized:

  'Night, Caroline!

Is any form of "night" for "good night" (with or without an apostrophe) correct as used in my example? I read a lot of Walt Kelly growing up so that may be why I use it.

I don't see a reason to use the apostrophe, as I'm not using "G'Night", with or without capitalization.

Are there different rules when conveying informal speech in writing?


texts: Can we start a sentence with "Like this,"?

texts:
Is the following sentence well constructed? Like this, doing things that you do not like help you learn important skills. It looks wrong to me, but I have yet to find a rule or guide that could give a reason for this.

Thank you for any and all help!


texts: What is the hypernym of Earnings and Deduction?

texts:
If Earnings means an item that adds value to any stack.  And, If Deductions means any item that subtracts value from any stack.

Then what single <word> can be an either Earning or Deduction?  As in:

You will be Earning 200 this June.  (plus 200)
You will be Deducted 100 this July.  (less 100)
You will be <word> +500 this August.  (plus 500)
You will be <word> -400 this September.  (less 400)


texts:
I am looking for a word that means the blend of maturely, beautifully, and correctly and has to be used the way some art is executed, for example:

Just for the sheer beauty of it, without understanding it, do you enjoy any language? if spoken in a seasoned way?

I fell in love with her house! the calligraphy on her wall was done so seasonedly?

I know that word doesn't exist, that's why I am asking :)


texts: "This includes me" or "This includes myself"?

texts:
Which of the following is correct - or are both of these examples grammatical?

  This includes me, my friend and my brother.
  This includes myself, my friend and my brother.

EDIT NOTE:

Pleas note that this question here: Rules for the usage of "me" VS. "myself"? only talks about the use of "myself" when it refers to the same person as the Subject of the verb. This is not the case in examples (1) and (2) above.


texts: As of late 2016, is "config" considered to be a word in proper English?

texts:
As of late 2016, is config considered to be a word in proper English, as opposed to a slang shorthand (verbal and written)?

The reason it may be is that it is used all the time, particularly in software development and configuration.  The reason it may not be is that it is not prone to showing up in dictionaries.  While the latter makes a strong case against it, if a word is commonly used and accepted in official writings, it could still be regarded academically as correct and proper, with only a few particular organizations having yet to give their internal stamps of approval.


texts:
hie, I want to know which of these sentences are correct or are better to be used.

He got busied cooking his dinner.

He busied himself cooking his dinner.

He busied himself with cooking his dinner.

He busied cooking his dinner.

thank you


texts: How do you express a natural habit of a species?

texts:
I am curious to know about the plural/singular form of addressing a species. For example, which expression is correct or more appropriate:

Lion does not eat wolf
Lions do not eat wolves

Or do you use never for expressing such negative attitude of habit as

Lions never eat wolves


texts: What is Skinn & Sheer in the Ambrose Bierce fable: The Rainmaker?

texts:
In the tale of Ambrose Bierce - The Rainmaker it is said the following:

hat is a pretty good joke," said the Reporter, laughing as well as he could in the strangling rain - "a mule driver's prayer answered!"

And the response is this:

"Child of levity and scoffing," replied the other; "you err again, misled by these humble habiliments. I am the Rev. Ezekiel Thrifft, a minister of the gospel, now in the service of the great manufacturing firm of Skinn & Sheer. They make balloons, kites, dynamite bombs, and electrical apparatus."

I do not know if Skinn or Sheer has an individual meaning as well as mixed up together but I understand that sometimes in english a family company is named Arthur&Mark for example but I do not what has in common this beauty products with the fabrication of Dynamite.
So If you know or can help me out with that word I would pretty grateful.
Thanks!


texts: "The maximum number": plural or singular?

texts:
Kindly, what are your thoughts on the following sentences:

  The maximum number of wordbooks (%d) have been saved.
  The maximum number of wordbooks (%d) has been saved.

My opinion is that (1) is more appropriate as "save" relates to wordbooks (a plural noun) and "The ... number" is some kind of determiner.

The dissenting opinion is that "The number" is obviously singular, and the "wordbooks" are subsidiary.

I agree that (2) is grammatically correct but I maintain it implies merely a single number was saved, not the wordbooks themselves.


texts: Hyphen rules: should it be "tracking number" or "tracking-number"?

texts:
In the following sentence:

  Once you have a tracking number for the shipment.

Should it be tracking number or tracking-number?

I read through the Wikipedia article, but it didn't give a clear answer to the above.


texts: What is the meaning of "yet" in the sentence?

texts:
What is the meaning of "yet" in the next sentence?

  This object, relatively nearby, offers the best opportunity yet to build a good understanding of how such jets actually work


texts: "Cancel" versus "close" versus "abolish" when referring to a debit/credit card

texts: What is the difference (semantical or local/cultural) between cancel, close vs. abolish when referred to a debit/credit card?


texts:
I'm in a play "Around the World in 80 Days" and need help with some steam engine lingo.  I need to know the difference between 'short steam' and 'all steam.' Here's the line from my script to give some context:

"Sir, since we started, we have kept up hot fires in all our furnaces.  We had enough coal to go on short steam from New York to Bordeaux, but we don't have enough to go with all steam from New York to Liverpool."


texts: I just have a quick question regarding the use of ‘that’ and ‘is’. When someone tells you about a place, for instance a dental office, do you say where’s that? Or where is it? to ask about the location.


texts:
I am quoting a book (The Origins of the Final Solution, Christopher Browning), and am wondering if I can put the quote 'the other way round':

The actual quote is this:

  "Lebensraum and Final Solution, Hitler's twin obsessions" (Browning, 427)

And I want to incorporate it into this sentence:

  It follows that from Browning's point of view the Holocaust evolved, with "Hitler's twin obsessions...Lebensraum and Final Solution" (Browning, 427) acting as the drive behind this evolution.

Is it acceptable to put one clause behind the other if an ellipsis is used? Or should I try to restructure my sentence so the quotation is unadulterated?


texts: When somebody pushes a chair over, how do you instruct him to put it up back so it stands?

texts:
My child sometimes pushes a chair over so that the chair lies flat on the floor. I'd like to instruct the child to make the chair stand again.

Pull up a chair seems to be more close to the meaning of "sit with us".
So maybe "Put the chair up?" or "Stand the chair?"
How would a native English speaker instruct his child to bring the chair back up again?


texts: A phrase where you make an effort and succeed

texts:
Let's say a sports team puts in a lot of effort and as a result perform very well. You could say they have "-blank-ed themselves" as praise.
I feel like the word is on the tip of my tongue but I can't think of it.


texts: Are there words to describe depth of a solid object?

texts: I just used the phrase "narrow wall", and it occurred to me that, even though my meaning was clear, the word "narrow" usually refers to width and not to depth. Are there words like "tall" and "short" for height and "wide" and "narrow" for width that describe the extent of depth specifically? I'm aware of "shallow" and "deep", but, at least in my mind, those apply only to a different sense of the word "depth".


texts: Is it correct to say "This requirement is because"

texts:
The following passage uses the phrase "This requirement is because". Is that correct usage?

  Modularization is a key requirement to manage the size and complexity of large ontologies that can be replaced by a smaller ontology. This requirement is because existing ontology languages such as OWL do not support partial reuse of ontology and ontologies are growing to cover more knowledge in a specific domain.


texts: "Directory(s)", "director(ies)"...: what's the correct parenthetical plural form?

texts:
Often times "(s)" is added to the end of a word to represent one or more of something:

  "He saved the file(s)."

What do you do when the plural of the word is not created by simply adding an "s?"  Take the word "directory" for example:

  "He copied the directory(s)."

That's clearly wrong...

  "He copied the director(ies)."

...also clearly wrong.

What do I do with a word like this?


texts: Is the term "local unit shipping fee" correct?

texts:
We have "unit price" is the price of 1 item only. And this price does not include shipping fee.

I am using the term "local unit shipping fee" to express that is the shipping fee of 1 item only and that fee is just applied for local area.

Is that a correct way to express that idea?

What is the word that English people use to express that idea? do you use "unit local shipping fee" or "local shipping unit fee"?


texts:
When would you use the following?

I have to go the market.
I must go to the market.
I need to go to the market.

If I replace 'have' with 'had' would you have any other way to say it? E.g. I had to go the market.


texts:
Today I was told that "I give nothing to..." cannot be used as "nothing" does not exist and so I cannot give it. But don't you often say "I have nothing to do"? How come that in this case it works, how can you have "nothing" to do?
And one additional one, "I have no idea" is correct, what about "I do not have any idea"? Imho this is correct too, right?
Thanks


texts: Is "screw up the system" formal enough? / screw up vs. f... up

texts:
I am (trying to) write documentation for an online project.
I want to write a comment that is similar to:
"# ToDo: This part of the code should be hidden in a module so users can not inadvertently screw up the system"
Is "screw up the system" OK to put there?
I am not a native speaker, and "screw up" sounds to me like "f.. up"... However, I see it being used by newspapers, etc. where "f... up" would definitely have been inappropriate...
I wanted to ask what would be a good alternative as well, but alternate-word-phrase-for-screw-up-f-up-mess-up, though downvoted, seems to cover that part.


texts: Why are ferries associated with "boat" and never "ship"?

texts: Even when a ferry is 150+ feet in length - clearly a ship, albeit a smallish one - why is it always referred to as a "boat" and not "ship" (As in "I'm going to catch the noon boat")?


texts: What does the phrase "deceptively spacious" mean? Spacious or not?

texts:
This is a phrase oft-used by real estate agents. Their use of it typically implies a positive connotation i.e. a deceptively spacious house is really spacious, perhaps surprisingly so. But really this phrase means the opposite, doesn't it? Surely a deceptively spacious house deceives you into thinking it's spacious when in fact it isn't. The spaciousness is deceptive and hence not real.

I'm curious what people understand this phrase to mean.


texts: Joker is the term that describes people who joke. Are there any terms to describe the opposite of joker?


texts: Possessive apostrophe for owner of owner of owner of

texts:
I've read Preferred way to apostrophise in case of dual or multiple ownership by distinct entities and "Nikki's and Alice's X" vs. "Nikki and Alice's X", but my question is a little different. Not sure if the title is correctly chosen or not.

So the question is, if something belongs to a person, whose name I don't know for example, then I would say:

  It's my uncle's sister's nephew's object
  It's my uncle sister nephew's object

I suppose the first one would be correct, but it looks strange. Can anyone point to a rule that specifically states how to deal with the possessive apostrophe in those situations?


texts: I would like to create a tag on my blog for when I post about TV shows and books. Word+Film comes to mind, but I would prefer to make it more about TV shows rather than film. Or TV in general. Thanks for the help!


texts: looking forward to /for interview timings

texts:
I am writing an confirmation mail to interview call over email

I just want to know if its right to say,

I look forward for Interview scheduled.


texts: Is it appropriate to use "even" in this sentence?

texts:
I came across the following sentence in an article:

  All is fair in love and war, even trying to add a static type system in a dynamically typed
  programming language.

Is the use of "even" correct here? It feels slightly off for me but I can't put my finger on why. And what about that comma? Should it be a semicolon?


texts: How did 'trust' evolve to mean 'businesses organized to reduce competition'?

texts:
trust (n.) [=] ...  Meaning "businesses organized to reduce competition" is recorded from 1877. ...

Most of the definitions for this noun connote positivity, but not the commerce one above.
So how did this reversal (ie about-face; volte-face) develop?

Please help me dig deeper than the definition, which I already understand and so ask NOT about. Please amplify, explain and reveal this etymology's (hidden and missing) semantic drifts and links, which I struggle to connect and perceive. What are some right ways of interpreting the etymology, to make the semantic jumps less abstracted and severed from the original literal meaning?

I don’t quote the OED’s brusque entry, which does not appear to explain the etymology.


texts: Another word for "kisses" or "slightly touches" or "barely makes contact"

texts:
I'm specifically trying to find the perfect word for this phrase I'm adding to Wikipedia:

  Oman's Musandam peninsula kisses the gulf at the Strait of Hormuz.

But kisses really isn't the right word. To see how it barely touches the Persian Gulf, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musandam_Governorate (the Persian Gulf is the top-left-most body of water in the first image. It ends at the red peninsula I'm trying to describe.

I'll add that I'd like to keep the phrase succinct - this will be for a map caption.


texts: Expression "let's cross that bridge a little further down the road"

texts: I've heard the expression "let's cross that bridge a little further down the road" to convey something I understand a bit like: "let's take that difficult decision a bit later" or "let's take on that challenge a bit later". Can the expression be interpreted like that? Any other ideas?


texts: Is there a word for singing in a way that denotes utter desperation, anguish, or otherwise being at one's emotional edge?

texts:
Chantepleure means "singing and weeping (or crying) simultaneously;" I am looking for something similar but that does not require actual tears, actual crying (just the same degree of emotional intensity either throughout, or more common, in the tail-end of a song). Some examples of what I mean would be:

Prince - Beautiful Ones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKZYpcetFVg [From 3:10 to 4:30]

Leona Lewis - Run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pelOvxFuJj8 [from 3:10 to 4:10]

Michael Jackson - Earth Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OstvvP8QuxQ [From 4:10 to end]

To a lesser degree:

Hurt - Christina Aguilera - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=___l8Y21yNM [an example where the entire song has that style to a degree but especially the latter half]....

Say Something (I'm giving up on you) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmErRm-vApI - is another song that, throughout, exhibits a real degree or extent of the emotions / emotionalism in view.

The style seems more common in soul, pop, rock, and related musical forms. The words crescendo and climax are close but numerous songs have a crescendo/climax portion that doesn't reach the level of emotional intensity, sadness, desperation, etc. that these songs (and many others) convey.


texts: Prepositional verb and non-prepositional one of a same object

texts:
If a prepositional verb and a non-prepositional one have the same object, should I put first the non-prepositional one, or it's not necessary ?
The sentence is
"You should reflect on and examine this case"


texts: Which phrase is better: "software developer life" or "life of software developer"? First one sounds better but I would like to get why in a rather formalised way.


texts: "I don’t have as much of an appetite", could someone verify my explanation?

texts:
I've read these sentences:
In summer, when the weather is warmer, I don’t have as much of an appetite, so I’ll eat something lighter.

The part that confuses me is 'I don't have as much of an appetite'(as in winter).

I don't have as much of an appetite = I don't have as much appetite. Are they the same?
The sentence is actually some kind of combination between 'as much...as'(the second 'as' is left out) and 'not much of an'(which means 'my appetite is of poor quality/not at a high level'). Is my explanation correct? Or there are other reasons for using 'as much of an appetite' instead of 'as much appetite'?

Thank you in advance.


texts: What is the meaning of comprehension in the term "list comprehension"?

texts:
Python programming language, among others, has a construct to create lists which is called a list comprehension.

A simple example:

[(2*n) for n in range(1, 6)]

generates a list of numbers: [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]. For integers between 1 and 5, it multiplies each n by 2 and returns a new list. This can be done for different data structures such as dictionaries and sets.

Wikipedia draws an analogy between set-builder notation and comprehensions: {2n | 1 ≦ n ≦ 5} can be seen as an equivalent of the above list comprehension for integer n. It also implies this notation is also known as "set comprehension".

The main definition of the word ("the ability to understand something") surely doesn't apply here.  The Oxford English Dictionary lists a second meaning:

  archaic Inclusion.

The answerer here also suggests that it means inclusion in this context:

  The name comes from the concept of a set-comprehension

  Comprehension is used here to mean complete inclusion or complete
  description. A set-comprehension is a (usually short) complete
  description of a set, not an exhaustive (and possibly infinite)
  enumeration.

I can understand "complete description" but I am having a hard time associating the word "inclusion" with this concept, especially since "inclusion" has a specific meaning in set theory.

Does it really relate to inclusion or does it have a completely separate meaning?


texts:
I want to convey that Trevor Cunningham also sometimes goes by the name Tre Cunn.
A) Trevor Cunningham also goes by the name "Tre Cunn" professionally.
Or
B) Trevor Cunningham also goes by the name "Tre Cunn," professionally.
thanks


texts: What's the appropriate word for describing "potential client"?

texts: I want to replace a phrase "this client will eventually bring a great profit for our company" with a shorter one, but I don't know what word I should use in this scenario. I'm currently using "potential client", but it sounded a little odd to me. Any ideas?


texts: How much destruction should be in my mind's eye when I picture a city being "sacked"?

texts:
I've been reading some early medieval history lately, and much of the narrative, of course, encompasses warfare, which seems to have been almost ubiquitous in those times.   Anyway, in these histories I read, many times I have come upon a city being described as being "sacked" by various personalities.   Now, when I picture that state of such a city, I typically think of a town burnt to the ground, alongside good helping of wanton destruction and rape.   In any case, the most important part of my mental image is the idea that it it takes a long time to recover from, and that there's a lot of destruction.

In one particular history I'm reading, however, I keep coming across cities being sacked, many times in a row, sometimes within the same year, which leads me to believe that my mental image of a sacking is a bit off.   What should it be?  Most particularly: Is anything actually destroyed during a sacking, or is it simply a forced transfer of power alongside an occupation?


texts:
I was wondering if saying 'so less' is proper English?
Example:
   "This pizza is so less"
   "They gave me so less squid rings"

Or maybe even 'so more'?
Example:
   "This burger is so more"


texts: Difference between "Sate" and "Satiate"?

texts: I'm studying GRE vocabulary, and there are these two words "sate" and "satiate". I couldn't determine whether they are interchangeable or have nuance. As a foreigner I really couldn't tell. Can somebody explain a little bit? Thanks in advance!


texts: An appropriate question tag for "He's too weak to walk."

texts:
A couple of days ago, I sat for an English exam. There was a question there that asked for the appropriate question tag for the sentence "He's too weak to walk." I answered "isn't he?" but my teacher claimed that the correct answer should be "is he?" since the sentence expresses a negative meaning. Frankly his explanation made no sense to me.

Is he right? Am I missing something? What should be the appropriate question tag for the sentence He's too weak to walk.?

When we're asked to add question tags in tests, we are expected to add tags that agree with the assertion, for example, It's a great day, isn't it? Question tags that genuinely express doubt whether the sentence is true or not aren't expected.


texts: How to tell if "which" refers to subject or object of main clause?

texts:
I have not been able to find a satisfactory answer regarding rules about this issue. What I have heard are lots of opinions:

  Here is a picture of my house, which I like very much.

  Here is a picture of my house that I like very much.

In the second example, that clearly refers to the subject of the main clause, since we could omit it and it would still mean the same thing:

  Here is a picture of my house I like very much.

In the first example, is there any rule about what which refers to? There is some ambiguity otherwise.


texts: Why does the Past Tense not include Past Participles?

texts:
If I say, "The cat ate the fish," then that's in the active voice and the past simple tense (I think).

If, however, I say, "The fish was eaten by the cat," then that's in the passive voice, but I have been told that the participle can't be said to be in the past tense.

Is this true? If so, why? I know it's not a true verb, but it is a "past" participle, so how can it not be said to be in the "past" tense? There's a present participle, so don't present and past participles differ from each other in terms of tense? I am happy to have it confirmed that I'm wrong - but I would at least like to understand why!

Thanks in advance for any assistance.


texts: What is the difference between "detrimental" and "harmful"?

texts:
Is there any difference regarding the usage of detrimental and harmful?
I am not a native English speaker, so I don't understand the different nuance of these words.


texts:
While in Spanish we are taught that Cervantes’ Don Quixote is the defining work of literature of the Spanish language (not as a matter of opinion, but rather as a matter of Canon), I have heard similar claims in my foreign language courses, for example, Goethe’s Fausto enthroned as opus magnum of the German Language, Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables claims the same title in regard to the French Language, and Leon Tolstoy’s War and Peace being held in the same regard for Russian.

Although the merits of each of these works could be a matter of hot debate amongst contemporary linguists, I always found it strange that there was no similar consensus about a single opus magnum of the English Language, with my teachers sometimes settling for the collected works of Shakespeare to claim the title.

My question is whether there exists a single work of literature that is considered as such in the English language, or rather the title is in fact commonly known to be the collected works of Shakespeare.


texts: Could not, could not have, was not able to. Which one to use in the question below?

texts:
If a situation is happening in the present that did not exist in the past and I want to express that I was unable to foresee what is happening now, which of these sentences should I use?

I could not foresee this sad outcome.
I could not have foreseen this sad outcome.
I was unable to foresee this sad outcome.


texts: Meaning of "He didn't move that we weren't with him"

texts:
This is from a video I watched. The police are watching a suspect. The first sentence is fine, but I couldn't figure out the bold part. The quote is:

  We set up an overwatch position across the street and he didn't move
  that we weren't with him.


texts: Difficult sentence in Nicomachean ethics by Aristotle

texts:
I am translating Aristotle' Nicomachean ethics into Vietnamese from the English translation done by J. A. Smith (Project Gutenberg). In Book VII of the work I came across a sentence which has proven incomprehensible to me. That is

  Now   a man may raise a question as to the nature of the right
  conception    in violation of which a man fails of Self-Control.

I've refered to other interpretations as well and now I'm clear of what this line means. However, I still need to be sure about the structure of this sentence. Is this a relative clause with "of which"? If so, what does "which" here replace?
Also, can somebody clarify the phrase "conception in violation"?


texts: 'It addicted me, with one taste.' Can 'addict' be used transitively?

texts:
I am not clear regarding the entry in the Oxford English Dictionary for the verb 'addict'.

Various transitive, but reflexive, meanings are stated and some of these appear to be obsolete.

The King James Bible in 1611 used the word in that way :

  they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints I Corinthians 16:15.

If it can be said that certain pharmaceutical drugs are 'addictive' then surely they addict those who take them.


texts: Adjective that describes a person who shows a lot of enthusiasm in the beginning but gets bored gradually?

texts:
Can anyone provide a word which describes a person who shows a lot of enthusiasm in the beginning but gets bored gradually and eventually leaves the task uncompleted?

I looked at jaded, but it doesn't fulfill the criteria.  Jaded seems to describe more of an overworked fellow, whereas the word I'm looking for would describe the nature of person. The word I'm looking for would describe a person who always exhibits this behavior.


texts:
Is "after a dayful of work" valid English?

Actually, is "dayful" a valid English word? Because I can't find it in all major online dictionaries, but I'm very sure people are using this word.


texts: Is the phrase ‘outgrow oneself’ correct?

texts: Is it correct to write like ‘As soon as we outgrew ourself and became a capable individual, all the difficulties came roaring at us’?


texts: American pronunciation of "professor" and "law"

texts:
In this video, around 0:45, when Amy Chua says "I am a professor at Yale law school". I was wondering why her mouth pouted twice, once at the end of "professor" and the other between "law" and "school"?

I read the sentence myself, but my mouth doesn't pout.


texts: Word to describe someone who is unintentionally entertaining because of their lack of eloquence or intelligence?

texts: Essentially an "entertaining oaf by accident", but I imagine there is a more complex word to describe that.


texts: How should "deceptively" actually be used?

texts:
I'm not sure if this is a duplicate question, but I couldn't find anything on here on the topic. I can't seem to figure out what is actually meant when using the word "deceptive," or rather, what is the proper way to use it.

Example: "The floor is deceptively flat."

Do you mean that the floor is flatter than it looks, or it looks flatter than it is?

I know that's not a really good example, but I'm struggling to think of a better one now, however I think it serves to illustrate what I mean. There are many cases that I've felt that the word deceptive is used... interchangeably, if you will.

How about this: "He's deceptively strong." I think most would agree here that it means the person being referred to is stronger than he appears. But then what about this: "He looks deceptively strong."

I realize also that I may be finicky or am talking here more about semantics than anything else, but I really would appreciate it if someone could set the record straight for me. It's something that's been bothering me for ages and I can never seem to find 100% clarity on the matter.

I can't seem to find an official definition on the web either for which way around it should be. The common opinion seems to be that you should infer its meaning from the context it's being used in, which is fair most of the time, but there have been cases that I've come across where it is used and I find myself wondering which way around the person using it, meant it.

Any  help?


texts: Can I say "Stars dot the sky" when there are lots of stars in the sky? Is it  grammatically correct (the present simple tense)?


texts:
What would be correct? And why?

I'm helping maintain the library.
I'm helping to maintain the library.
I'm helping maintaining the library.
I'm helping in maintaining the library. (ok this one sounds quite wrong)


texts:
I can't remember how the idiom goes, I believe the pattern is

  verb adverb and adverb with [the truth]

I think verb is "play."  I think the adverbs don't end in ly.  Maybe the second adverb is "free."

The idiom means to distort.

I tried a dictionary of idioms but didn't find it.


texts:
Hopefully this is a good attempt in explaining:

I am writing a title for a research. The research studies why exam papers are becoming more difficult over the years according to parent and student ratings.

Most research study and "blame" the school, but my research want to find out if e.g. parents are becoming more protective and students becoming more lazy etc., basically, asking us to "find answer within ourselves".

The research title: Reasons why exams are difficult: A [word request: find answer within ourselves] Perspective.

I have some random words in my head that I am not quite sure how to fit e.g. introspective, self-control, intrinsic, self-determination


texts: Single verb to refer a reader to the source of information in academic English

texts:
I would like to refer a reader in my research text to the source of information. I wrote in my thesis: "confer Proposition X" or "confer Section A". However, the reviewers suggested I should use instead something like "we refer the reader to Proposition X". I would like to avoid this long form, as I refer a reader throughout the text a lot.

What would be the best way to refer a reader to the source of information using a short expression, ideally a single verb?

Let X be some source of information. My thoughts for several verbs are as follows:

confer X: with this usage a reader may rather anticipate a discussion with some animate object as opposed to see some static source of information. Alternatively, confer is used to refer to the text for the purpose of making a comparison, but not without it.
see X: the right meaning to refer a reader to the source of information, but it sounds less academic,
consult X: sounds more academic and can refer a reader to the static source of information.

Is my reasoning about the meaning and connotation of the verbs correct? Can you think of some better verb to refer a reader to the source of information?


texts:
To be curious= To be eager to know or learn something.

What does it mean then to say:'I'm curious to see something' ?


texts:
While writing a paper for my English class, I couldn't decided whether past or past perfect tense was needed. It's basically about how a guy whose house is destroyed because the government wants to build a freeway over it:

  Walking towards where my house was built, I see that only my mailbox had survived the wreckage, while I try to salvage all I could. Looking through my mail, I see a letter from the government telling me kindly that they are going to build a freeway where my house had once stood. Attached is a sum of money reimbursing my devastating loss, but it could not account for the number of generations who had once lived there.

Basically, I can't decide if there following are correct. It's supposed to be in present tense. (The guy is currently standing at the wreckage.)

1) "had survived"

2) try to salvage all I "could"

3) where my house "had once stood"

4) but it "could" not account

5) number of generations who "had once lived" there

Please provide some sort of explanation. Thanks!


texts: Is it proper to say “I am easy” to respond “take it easy”

texts:
I just had some conversations with a friend, then it ends, he said “take it easy”, but I wanted it to be funny so I said “I am easy”.

I am just wondering if it is proper to say so and what does it imply by saying so?


texts: about to retire but not retired yet, employed but not working any more

texts:
Is there a word/phrase to describe the situation when a person doesn't work anymore, but they haven't retired yet? They may be still officially employed but with no actual responsibility, possibly too old and about to retire? Like a senior professor who is too old to lecture, holds no chair anymore, but is still officially employed at the academy?

Thank you all for the answers. On light duties and pre-retirement period are best for my context. I'm sure many will find the other ideas useful as well.


texts: What is the difference between "start off" and "start"?

texts: For me they both seem interchangeable, but I suspect there should be at least subtle difference in meaning. When it's more appropriate to use "start off" instead of just "start"?


texts: Learn correct English pronunciation by non-verbal facial expressions

texts: I met a guy who was born deaf and learned to pronounce and speak English by watching peoples muscle structure change in their face (i.e., their cheeks moving and lips being manipulated) Is there a way for foreign speakers, who struggle with some pronunciation because their native languages difference in pronunciation to do the same as the deaf man I met? Also, what are some good resources on this? I know you can't see the tongue and other factors that come into pronunciation, but was wondering, as my first question states, if it would still be helpful.


texts:
Why do we use terms like taxiwala, tongawala  and  policewala  in Indian English?

Is -wala a recognized suffix in Indian English?


texts:
I was asked to rate this translation and I'm on the fence. I realize it's clumsy and unnatural - needless to say, English isn't this person's first language and I'm helping them come up with a better version:

Dear person is not the one you feel good with, but the one without whom you feel bad.

My instinct is to change it to The one dearest to you isn’t one who it’s nice to be with, but one who it’s horrible to be without.


texts:
From Seinfeld, season 2 episode 5 ("The Apartment"):

  JERRY: Let me explain something to you.. You see, you're not normal.
  You're a great guy, I love you, but you're a pod.  I, on the other
  hand, am a human being. I sometimes feel awkward, uncomfortable,  even
  inhibited in certain situations with the other human beings. You
  wouldn't understand.

  KRAMER: Because I'm a pod?

What's the meaning of "pod" here? Any reference for this / usage in this sense other than in Seinfeld?


texts: better way to write "in Apple's iMac's common MacOS"

texts:
I was looking at a better way to write the following while emphasizing Apple in the beginning. But it seems like too many possessive s usages.

What could be a substitute?

  "The software that runs on Apple's iMac's commonly used MacOS"


texts: 'Cooperate' or 'Cooperate with each other'?

texts:
I would like to know if it is necessary to add "with each other" after the word "Cooperate'. Grammarly suggests that 'with each other' be removed because it is tautologous. However, I am not so sure because in some websites I see 'with each other' added.
So which one is better?

Different parts cooperate with each other.

OR

Different parts cooperate.


texts: Is there a word for propensity to bounce?

texts: How would I describe the bounciness of a ball, not using that word? (it doesn't sound formal)


texts: What is the capitalization rule for acronyms?  E.g., why "radar" and not "RADAR" but "NATO" and not "nato"?


texts: How compound words "eighteen" and "roommate" are built

texts: Why does eighteen not have two tees like roommate has two ems?


texts: What's another word for "parameter" in the context of a user interface showing read-only values coming from a device

texts:
I'm building a user interface for a program which connects to some external device. Among other things, the UI displays certain values being reported by the device, which in English I've grouped under the category of "parameters" (as opposed to "settings" since the user cannot change their values). You can think of these as temperature, how many hours the device has been running, etc.

The word I'm looking for is one in a list of other words, which logically group the functionality and are listed in a navigation pane; these are things like Logs, Settings, Firmware, etc.

The UI will be used by technicians (end-users) and engineers (superusers), and will be offered in Germany and localized to both English and German, where I'm told that German users using the English interface will interpret 'parameter' as "setting", meaning a value that the user can change, since this is the most common meaning of the German word 'Parameter'. I argued (unsuccessfully) that 1) the usage of the word in English is correct, and 2) that the term 'Parameter' in German also seems to mean "a value which is held constant"1.

Alternatives like 'properties' and 'characteristics' were suggested, but I'm not convinced by either as they could be misinterpreted as referring to physical properties or characteristics of the device itself (i.e. the hardware and not the values being reported by it). I'm not partial to 'status' either as it could be confused with the status of the connection to the device, and, because of design, having a category labeled 'Status' simply doesn't gel with the rest of the labels. If I can't find a better alternative, though, this would probably be the closest I'll be able to get.

Can you think of another word to group and label these values in a user interface, which stresses the fact that they are read-only values and therefore not editable?


texts: What does "corrupt" etymologically mean?

texts:
I see that interrupt morphologically and semantically means 'to break something intermittently'.

I see that corrupt is formed from prefix 'co-' (which I know means "(put) together") and 'rupt' which stands for 'disruption' or 'break'. How do you break the stuff by putting its parts together? This sounds like oxymoron.

How can I understand the etymological roots of the word corrupt?


texts: In "behind the house was an old culvert", is "behind the house" a complement or an adjunct?

texts:
In behind the house was an old culvert, is behind the house the subject of was, or is it an adjunct? I had it down as an adjunct but am changing my mind.

If it's an adjunct, what rule allows us to elide there or otherwise accounts for the lack of subject?


texts:
Ram and his friends were present there.
V/s
Ram and his friends was present there.


texts: What word describes a person who wants to do things that no one attempted to do before?

texts:
Is there a word to describe a person who wants to do things that no one attempted to do before? (All kinds of things, generally.)

It can be a noun or an adjective.

I can think of "experimentist" but it sounds too scientific to me.
And I think "adventurous" would be off-topic, but I can't be sure.

Example sentences:

  "S/he is original, creative and  ___.

or

  S/he is a(n) ___.


texts: English equivalent of two popular Chinese slang terms: 学霸 (academic overlord) and 学婊 (academic bitch)

texts:
In popular Chinese language, especially in Internet Chinese language, we use the word "学霸" (literally meaning "academic overlord") to refer to someone who does very well in his/her study and who always achieve high grades in exams.

Also, we use another word "学婊" (literally meaning "academic bitch") when we (jokingly, without any malicious meaning) speak of someone who does excellently in his/her study but who likes hiding it from the others, which is their most important difference from "学霸" : for example, if you ask a "学婊" about how he/she feels about the last exam he/she will most probably tell you "Oh it was too hard for me. I really messed it up, and I must get an F this time!" while in fact he/she performed excellently, perhaps much better than most of the others in that exam.

So are there English equivalents for these two Chinese Internet terms? As far as I know, in U.S. the word "curve-wrecker" might take similar meaning to "学霸", and I'm wondering if there is any other alternative word. But for an English counterpart to "学婊", I simply have no idea.

EDIT I think maybe I need to clarify more about the word "学婊". First it is not equivalent to "modesty", although "modesty" can sometimes explain a "学婊"'s behavior. I think maybe the word "sandbagger" in @Avangion's answer in the meaning "downplay or misrepresent one's ability" is by now the closest word, although it might have an overly derogatory tinge.
Generally "学婊" is a teasing/joking word and is rarely used as an insult. And the motivations why a "学婊" downplays his ability or misrepresents performance may be:
1). He/she knows that this exam was super hard and most people do feel bad about it. So when asked about how he/she feels about it, he/she will not tell them the truth that he/she did quite well, so as not to hurt other people's feelings.
2). Out of modesty. And this part may have been hardwired into Chinese cultural genes from ancient times -- showing off is almost always despised in Chinese cultural context, and modesty regarded as a significant virtue.
3). To deceive his/her peer components by downplaying. This is not the usual case, but can happen.

EDIT AGAIN According to JanusBahsJacquet's comment (I failed to find the link), the Wikipedia definition describes it as someone who “pretends not to cram before an exam, then breaks down in hysterics after and gets comforted by everyone, only to appear top of the class when the results are shown”, which I think is a pretty typical and accurate description.


texts: "lending support" vs "extending support"

texts:
I am in a little debate with myself, arguing the difference between "lending support" and "extending support" while trying to write a diplomatic email.

So some people got promoted into highly contested roles and the message was

  Let us congratulate and extend our support to the above members...

But then I thought it may be better to use

  Let us congratulate and lend our support to the above members...

I am not a native speaker but I understand the standalone meaning of "lend" versus "extend", but when used together with "support", "extend" feels like an order to do more work because of these people, whereas "lend" feels like a request and returns/benefits can be expected.

However I am not sure if I am just over-thinking. Can native speakers detect the nuances like I do?


texts: Is "blow wise to" a dialectal/archaic phrase? What is its etymology?

texts:
But blow wise to this, buddy, blow wise to this: Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom’s. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own. Never let nobody talk you into shaking another man’s jolt. And never you cop another man’s plea. I’ve tried ‘em all and I know. They don’t work. (Nelson Algren, A Walk on the Wild Side)

It seems all search results of "blow wise to", very few in number, all point back to this book. Wiktionary's entry also cites this same sentence. It doesn't seem to appear anywhere else. Although Algren famously uses a lot of slang in his works, I can't find any origin/contemporary currency for this one. Are there other instantiations/attestations of this usage? What's its etymology? And what exactly is the phrase? Is "blow to something/someone" the basic phrase?


texts: Difference between present perfect and past simple (in a sentence without a finished time word)

texts:
In my book I saw the sentence:

  No one was around, so she decided to explore the path.

Could not be "she has decided"? There is no finished time word.

I don't understand why.


texts: How to express succinctly one who is not performing promises he made, but just trying to keep the issue (or you) under control

texts:
ESL here, please be understanding.

Someone has made some promises to you, but he not only does not realize them, but also gives you the impression he is not trying. He tries to keep you happy or keep the issue under control by:

changing the subject
saying "I will get back to you on that.." but never doing so
etc.

It is not that he does not want to do it. He does.. but not enough. He seems to have higher priority things to do.

How can I express this briefly and preferably using a verb. Example: You are .... me/this issue.


texts: What is the term for moving an adjective from before to after the noun it describes?

texts:
I think this is a bit of an anachronism, but sometimes in nursery rhymes or songs you'll hear sentences in which an adjective describing a noun is moved to be after the noun it describes, and I was wondering if there's a specific term for this. Examples:

"The little sheep black" instead of "The little black sheep"

"The virgin pure" instead of "The pure virgin"


texts:
This is the title of a short story I'm writing:

  The Sunday Earthquake and the Red Planet in the Sky

I don't know why, but I think it reads better if I remove of the "thes":

  Sunday Earthquake and the Red Planet in the Sky

I've seen this be done before. For instance in two stories, by the Japanese author Haruki Murakami:

  Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of The World

  The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women

I'm not very sure, though. Maybe the second "the" isn't necessary in the two examples above. Is it OK to omit one "the" if there are two in the title of a book/story?


texts: E-mail signature etiquette with a "With regards," line

texts:
What is the more correct use of a "With regards" line with an e-mail signature?

  With regards,
      --
      [First name] [Last name]

  --
      With regards,
      [First name] [Last name]

Is there another standard to follow? Does it even matter?


texts: "He started paying Carol to look after me"

texts:
Can anybody help me understand this sentence?

  He started paying Carol to look after me...

Does it literally mean he started to give her money for looking after me or is there some other meaning of this phrase?


texts: Why is "She requested that he raise his hand" the correct sentence, not "She requested that he had raised his hand"?

texts:
I'm reading about the subjunctive mood and i have trouble grasping the following sentence from https://data.grammarbook.com/blog.

Examples:
She requested that he raise his hand.

I have understood that with verbs besides were, past perfect tense should be used with the subjunctive mood. Is "raise" really past perfect or am i missing something?

Thank you


texts: He/she or what else could fit in a sentence referring to a transgender person?

texts:
The transgender, who secured 75 per cent in B.A. through distance education programme, said she had applied for the examination soon after the publication of the notification.

On reading that sentence in a newspaper, I had a question about the usage of "she" for a "transgender" here. Is this usage correct or is there a better way?


texts: What's the meaning of "The Pole is wise when the damage is done"

texts:
I came across this line while reading the Novel Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer.

In the novel, Abel uses this line when he sees his hotel burned to the ground.

I searched a lot but found just one link in which explanation is given as follows , which is still not clear to me :-

  Madry Polak po szkodzie

  Equivalent: Lock the stable after the horse has bolted.

  Literally: A Pole is wise after the damage has been done.

Any explanation is much appreciated.


texts: What does the phrase "Tubular Journey" mean here?

texts:
Please help me figure out the meaning of the phrase "tubular journey" that is used as a title of a running game's description.

I know the lexical meaning of the word "tubular", but it doesn't seem to fit here.

The main character continuously runs in a city that reminds one of 70's decade. Does the word "tubular" have a connection to that decade?


texts: Is there some rule against ending a sentence with the contraction "it's"?

texts:
I heard this lyric in a song the other day and it just sounded so wrong that I assumed it must be incorrect grammar, but I can't find any specific prohibition that applies.

  That's what it's.

That rolls off your tongue with the grace of a moose in a tutu, but I can't figure out why.

There is clearly no problem with ending other sentences with a contraction. These sound fine.

  I thought I could, but I can't.
  Stop touching that, it will fall off if you don't.
  You say that the sky is green, but it isn't.

Also, it sounds just fine if you remove the contraction:

  That's what it is.

So what's up with this construction? Should it be avoided?


texts: What does “a good bargain is a pick-purse” mean?

texts:
A good bargain is a pick-purse.

I'm an English learner. I came across this sentence, but even though I figured out all the individual words, I didn't get the meaning of the whole thing. So can someone please do that for me?


texts: A word or phrase to describe people who are practical and "care more about themselves"?

texts:
What is a word or phrase to describe people who are very practical and shrewd, and more concern about achieving their goals rather than looking at softer sides such as friendships, etc? It is more than just self-centred. It is a kind of character which one who inherits it would not hesitate to do very shallow acts just to emerge as a winner/survive, even if he has to betray his benefactors. It is a very insecure kind of character but on the surface is not obvious to be like so.

For example, Tom befriends with Jane in hope of her help at work. Jane helped Tom. Tom, however, may possibly make Jane his enemy one day, when he knows his boss dislikes Jane, so as to appear standing behind his boss.

So in some way, Tom in this scenario, is a what kind of person? In casual words, he is practical, shrewd, self-centred, etc. But is there a more concise word that encapsulates all these words and brings about the idea of such a character?


texts:
I wonder, if I might use the word:
'underpinning' in the context of technologies.

Looking for examples, I usually only find it in the context of
theories and arguments.

Example:
"MIMO is underpinning many modern technologies"


texts:
I recently came across a very informative answer here within the Stack Exchange network where the author uses the word vindicative. I assumed the author had meant vindictive (I didn't know vindicative was a word). Google also thought I meant to search for vindictive when I looked up vindicative but to my surprise there are plenty of online dictionaries that list it as a word.

Initially my thought was it was just a matter of a variation in spelling similar to the differences we see between American and British English (the author is British), but then I came across this explanation on WikiDiff which states the following:

  "As adjectives the difference between vindictive and vindicative is that vindictive is having a tendency to seek revenge when vengeful, while vindicative is having a tendency to vindicate."

What is the history/origin behind vindictive and vindicative and their respective meanings?


texts: I was solving a crossword recently and one of the questions was "June honourees". The supposed answer was "dads". Could someone tell me why is that so?


texts: Is “go on +verb root” grammatically right?

texts:
I came across the line, "he went on explain (a metaphor) in the clip," at the end of the following sentence of the article, "How to insult your political opponents" appearing in New Yorker magazine (May 3).

  "Crucify is kind of like how the Romans used to conquer villages in the Mediterranean- they'd go into a little Turkish town somewhere and they'd find the first five guys they saw and they'd crucify them," the official, Al Armendariz, said in a speech he gave in 2010. "Then that little town was really easy to manage for the next few years."

This was a metaphor for the deterrent effect the E.P.A. was going for, "he went on explain in the clip."

I was in understanding that "go on" is followed by "to + infinitive" or gerund.

Can "go on" take a verb root as its objective or complement? Is it right to say "he went on speak a gossip," "she went on play piano," "I went on write a letter"?
Conversely, are "he went on speaking/playing/writing," or "he went on to speak/to play/to write" wrong?


texts:
Which is correct:

Mary Queen of Scots birthplace
Mary Queen of Scots' birthplace?


texts:
My question is about the use of the Past Perfect Simple in the following excerpt:

Back in 1995, when Bezos was shipping books from his garage, Pierre Omidyar, a software programmer, started coding a simple Web site he called AuctionWeb. Omidyar was curious if people would use the Internet to bid on each other's used items. Looking around for something to sell, Omidyar picked up a broken laser pointer. Within a day, it had sold for $14.83. Omidyar e-mailed the buyer to make sure the guy knew it was broken.

I can't find any rule that would justify the use of the Past Perfect Simple here. A friend of mine who's a native speaker of English says he would also choose the Past Perfect Simple over Past Simple here, but he can't say why.

1)  What I think is that "Within a day" works here in the same way as "by" would. In other words "Within a day" means the same as "By the end of the day" / "By the time the day ended". Is this correct?

2)  If „Within a day” justifies the use of the Past Perfect Simple, would it work for the Future Perfect Simple too? For example, would it be correct to say “The printer will have sold within a day”?

3) Would it be OK to use the Past Simple (Within a day, it sold for $14.83.)? What would the difference be in meaning then? I assume it would be fine, but the Past Perfect Simple works here better as it allows you to put more emphasis on completion. Similarly, the Present Perfect Simple is used to put emphasis on completion in the first conditional. Correct?


texts: Is this sentence grammatically correct? and also is it the right way to use the word outrun?

texts: Due to high demand buyers often outrun production of the phone.


texts: Why is the N silent in "solemn" but pronounced in "solemnity"

texts:
Solemn → /ˈsɒləm/: It has only /-m/
Solemnity → /səˈlɛmnɪti/: it has both /m/ and /n/ (/-mn-/)

Looking up their etymology didn't help much. But here is what etymology dictionary says:

solemn:

... from Old French solempne (12c., Modern French solennel) and directly from Latin sollemnis "annual, established, religiously fixed, formal, ceremonial, traditional," perhaps related to sollus "whole" (from PIE root *sol- "whole, well-kept").
[Etymonline]

solemnity

c. 1300, "observance of ceremony," from Old French solemnite, solempnete "celebration, high festival, church ceremony" and directly from Latin solemnitatem (nominative solemnitas) "a solemnity," from sollemnis (see solemn). Meaning "state of being solemn" is from 1712. Related: Solemnities.
[Etymonline]

I guess it's because "solemn" is directly from Latin "sollemnis"? And "solemnity" from Old French "solemnite"? But I am unsure. Can anyone explain why the N is silent in "solemn" but not in "solemnity"?


texts: How to phrase "How long has the shop been open?" without ambiguity? & Can "25 years come next December" be a correct answer for that?

texts:
Recently I had a haircut in one of the local barber shops, during which I asked the owner “How long has the shop been open?” However, I feel something wrong in that sentence, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. First of all, is it grammatically correct? Second, Is there some ambiguity in that sentence? And how will you change some of the wording of that question to make it sounds better?

Another thing I want to ask about is that how shall the owner answer this question if his shop will be 25 years old in Dec 15th. Is it correct for him to say that “It will be 25 years this December 15th” or “25 years come next December?” Is there a better way to put it?


texts:
What does " turtles 'way down in the pond were afraid " mean ?

Does it mean "turtles that is down something in the pond were afraid" ?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the correct usage of “while” and “whilst”?

In terms of construction of sentences, can the two words while and whilst be used interchangeably?


texts: Verb plural or singular after subjects connected using "and"

texts:
Should I use "is increasing" or "are increasing" in this sentence:

Second, the frequency of attacks and number of deaths is increasing.

The original post uses "is". Is it British English?

SOURCE
FinancialTimes
The ‘war on terror’ is going backwards
By Gideon Rachman
January 19 2015
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zNx0ufCLzAwJ:www.ft.com/cms/s/0/98cf268c-9fd2-11e4-aa89-00144feab7de.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=kr&client=safari


texts: Need adjective to describe commitment of older doctor who chairs a department. Using in a note of thanks, need to connote seriousness, nothing too dramatic


texts: Is this a correct usage of a semicolon: It's not that I don't care; it's that I care too much?

texts:
I could see case here for a colon: It's not that I don't care: it's that I care too much.

Or even a comma: It's not that I don't care, it's that I care too much.


texts: Can I use 'global people' to say people from around the world?

texts:
I need to write a short sentence where I refer to people from all around the world. Can I use 'global people'? Or is it a totally different concept?
Thanks!


texts: What is the name for the inverse of an aphorism

texts:
For example, given a common saying or sequence of words, like

  A picture is worth a thousand words

One reverses the order and obtains

  A word is worth a thousand pictures

Is there a name for this kind of wordplay/whatever it is? I seem to hear them all the time, I can give more examples if needed.


texts: What is the meaning of "nutrient bang for your calorie buck"?


texts: "miss assessed" “miss-assessed” or “misassessed”?

texts:
I googled this, and I am getting ambiguous results. In books, even in legal documents, I can find examples of "misassess", "miss assess" and "miss-assess". What is the correct way to spell this verb?

Examples:

  Their needs had been massively miss assessed
  (link) Non-humans in Social Science: Ontologies, Theories and Case Studies
  Thomas Dimitroff talked about "miss assessed moves" and there un-intended consequences.
  Tweeted by  D. Orlando Ledbetter, three-time APSE award-winning sportswriter.
  There are some miss-assessed buildings in damage assessment by local government;
  Engineering Geology and the Environment
  Williamson’s example acquires reason to think he has misassessed what his evidence is,  whereas Andy only acquires reason to think she has misassessed what her evidence supports.
  Evidence and Fallibility (pdf) by Joshua DiPaolo

None of these forms can I find in a dictionary.


texts:
Please tell me, what is the difference between

  vote

and

  vote on


texts:
In an episode of the television show Archer one character refers to another as being "trout-shouldered."

“This pathetic, trout-shouldered excuse for a boom operator is Chet Manly."

What might this phrase mean?


texts:
What words/phrases have you heard growing up that mean a small or remote town?

I'm not a native speaker, so I haven't heard much. I've only seen the word 'whistle-stop' in a dictionary once, where it was marked as North American. Is there a British/Canadian/Australian etc. analogy for this?


texts: What does “Stumble into the buzzsaw” mean? Is it a popular idiom?

texts:
I came across the expression “stumble into the buzzsaw” in the article titled “House Republican open to gun restriction” appearing in Time magazine January 11 issue.
The article begins with the following sentence:

  “Why haven’t Republicans developed a Pavlovian reflex to stop touching
  “legitimate rape,” the most electrified phrase in politics? Georgia
  Representative Phil Gingrey is the latest to stumble into the Todd
  Akin buzzsaw.”

I checked Readers English Japanese Dictionary at hand. There’s no idiom “stumble into the buzz saw,” but for “monkey with a buzzsaw.”
However, I was able to find another example of the usages of this phrase on Google search;

  The majority of the eighteen pieces in Borjesson's book are about hard-working > - Between them, the authors of the incendiary new book Into the Buzzsaw, out this month from Prometheus, have won nearly ... to the ideals of their profession, who stumble into the buzzsaw and have their careers and reputations eviscerated. - flatrock.org.nz/.

Putting the above two quotes together, it seems to me “stumble into the buzzsaw” means to get involved into a grave disaster just like stamping a land mine carelessly.

What is the exact meaning of 'stumble into the buzzsaw'? Is it a popuar idiom or a set of phrase?


texts: Can anyone provide a more detailed and/or logical etymology of the word denigrate?

texts:
According to wiktionary the word is said to derive from Latin 'denigratus,' to blacken; or asperse, defame. There's also Latin 'denigratio,' said to mean blackening.
Yet doesn't the prefix 'de' mean to take away from?
So wouldn't denigrare/denigro mean 'to remove the blackness of/from'?
I can't think of any other examples that would be consistent with this. Someone might say flammable / inflammable, but that at least makes some sense. Flammable = able to become flames. Inflammable = able to become inflamed/burned. That wouldn't really apply here.
Any help/thoughts appreciated.


texts: Can the Past Progressive tense be used for habitual past?

texts:
I ran across the following sentence in an ESL textbook (by Jack C. Richards): "I was going to auditions". It was used to say what the subject would do for some time after college.

However, almost every grammar source I've seen claims that only "Simple Past", "used to" and "would" can be used for habitual past.

Can anyone explain the use of Past Progressive in the sentence above?


texts: Is -1 followed by a singular or plural noun?

texts:
Do we say "-1 thing" or "-1 things"?

I am interested in both

  two things minus one thing(s)

and

  minus/negative one thing(s)


texts: Short word to describe someone wearing smartglasses

texts:
My company is developing smart eyewear and I'm looking for a short word to describe the users of our smartglasses for English documents.

The ideal wording would be understandable by British, US, and international audiences. It's primarily intended for internal usage, product specification, and exchanges with partners. It doesn't need to be formal; it can be some mild slang instead as long as it's generally friendly. We want to be able to use it openly in user documentation.

It can't simply be 'users', because we also have other kinds of 'users' of our products who won't necessarily be using the smartglasses.

So far I like the sound of 'speckies' or 'speccies' found in online dictionaries. Do they sound appropriate to you or would you have anything else to suggest?


texts: Meaning and etymology of the word “gimgew”

texts:
In China Miéville's novel, The Scar, one can read the following sentence:

  In spring, stinking of sap; at the close of the year, cold and intricate; at the festival of Jabber’s Morning, lit up, strung with gimgews and lanterns, jostled by singing crowds, the trains decked out in pious livery.

I am looking for the meaning and rough history of the word gimgew. Where does it come from, in what time period was it used? Please note that there is a possibility that it is an in-universe term the author invented for his work. However, it is defined (or even used) nowhere else in the text, which makes this unlikely (but still possible).


texts: Can we say, "She teaches English IN a highschool in China" or "She teaches English AT a highschool in China"?

texts: I tried searching for the answers and it says that when you say at it generally talks about the location. When we say in it talks about when you're inside that place. I just don't know which one is better. I hope you can help me.


texts: When I say 'She teaches high school English', do I use H and S as capital? (American English)


texts:
I've always been taught quotes should go together as in the following example:

“I’ll take that as a 'yes,'” he says.

However, it sometimes seems to read and flow better as follows:

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” he says.

Which is correct?


texts: Placing however at the start of a sentence vs placing it in the middle of a sentence?

texts:
Basically, what's the difference between this:

  However, it didn't mean that I didn't have the potential to become a
  rock star.

and this?

  It didn't mean, however, that I didn't have the potential to become a
  rock star.

Or does it mean exactly the same thing?


texts: A single word or phrase for something that necessarily causes both harm and benefit?

texts: What is a single word, or phrase, for something that necessarily causes both harm and benefit? For example, a coal-fired power plant will harm human health through air pollution, but will bring electricity and economic development to a poor area.


texts: Which is the correct grammar? Which is correct?


texts: In(to) a road/path or On(to) a road/path?

texts:
On the topic of giving directions, I'm not sure whether I should suggest someone to "turn into the right lane / the driveway / Long Road" or "turn onto the right lane / the driveway / Long Road". The answers to this question seem to suggest that as you drive on the surfaces of roads, you should be turning onto them. But an example from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English says otherwise:

"She cycled up the street and turned into Long Road."

And so does a simple Google search. Notice there are instances of "turning left into either lane", "turning into a driveway", "turning left into a multi-lane road" among the results.

A user at forum.wordreference.com suggests that whether you drive in or on a road/path, it could depends on the particular types of roads wherein "the concept of an inside would be apparent".

Is that wordreference user right? If so, what exactly are the types of roads that give you the concept of "an inside"? Such a concept is perceived based on what criteria? When do you turn into a road? When do you turn onto it?


texts:
Which one is correct?

He is accused of killing a person
He is accused for killing a person

I thought option 2 is correct. But I was told that option 1 is correct. If you know why "of" is used, please share your views.


texts:
Only after reading it carefully several times did I begin to make sense of the poem.
Only after reading it carefully several times I began making sense of the poem.

I know that the first one is correct but I do not understand why.  Other than sounding strange, why is the second one incorrect?  Thank you very much!


texts: flight connection, airlink, or connecting flight?

texts:
If you want to know if there are flights from airport A to airport B, what do you ask?

-Are there flight connections between airport A and B?

-Are there airlinks between airport A and B?

-Are there connecting flights between airport A and B?

What is the best word?


texts: Should I use price, cost, or rate when referring to rent?

texts:
Example:

  I don't know which apartment to choose. The price/rate/cost in this city is just insane.

What the most appropriate option?


texts: Single word for "working without details"

texts:
I'm looking for one word that expresses lack of information, lack of knowledge and lack of guidance. The word is an adverb.

It could be used in a sentence like so:

  He was working on a project ...

Proactively is close, but it's not what I'm looking for.


texts: Best stay close = You'd better/best stay close?

texts:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is full of "Best do smth." phrases:

They're goblins. Clever as they come, but not the most friendly of beasts. Best stay close.
Best not to mention this to anyone, Harry.
Best do it a bit of a run if you're nervous.

What are these phrases from a grammatical standpoint? Could it be a shortened variant of "You'd best" or the Imperative Mood?
Is "Best do smth." used in modern everyday speech?


texts: Has "Brexit" become an everyday verb in English?

texts:
I've heard that Brexit has become an everyday verb in French. Apparently Brexiter is:

  'a verb used to announce to everyone that you are leaving, but without going anywhere’

and there's even a little cartoon to go along with it:

Has this usage crept into the English language? I'm surprised that it's getting more pull in French.


texts: Can "either" refer to more than two people?

texts:
"If either of you feel sick, you must report it."

Can this be said to a group of people over two persons? Or must "either" only be used when talking to/about specifically two persons/people?


texts: What does the word 'epithelium' have in common with the word 'nipple'?

texts:
I use etymology to understand concepts better.
For example, cervix comes from Latin word meaning neck.
I was checking epithelium and to my surprise it comes from Greek θηλή which means nipple.
I don't understand the reason behind this naming.
Can someone please explain it to me?


texts:
I solved a grammar exam recently, and one question got me wondering.

The answer key says that

  Stepping inside the church, the large columns supporting the ceiling immediately catch your eye.

is wrong because it contains a dangling participle.

I googled this for an hour, and it seems to me that people are pretty much divided on this.

Some links to people who say not all dangling participles are grammatically wrong:

by Asya Pereltsvaig 1
by Geoffrey K. Pullum 2
by Geoffrey K. Pullum 3

Do you think dangling participles are grammatically wrong, or do you think it depends on the sentence?

And IF you think Geoffrey K. Pullum and Asya Pereltsvaig are right, can you tell me what you think of the sentence I included?


texts: Single word metaphor for "small and fast"?

texts:
I'm looking for a single word which means "small and fast" - if not literally then metaphorically. I want to use it to describe a piece of software.

As an example, Midori is "a lightweight, fast [...] web browser". I would like to say something like:

  Compared to Internet Explorer, Midori is [a] ...