texts: Adjective to describe a task that will take a long time because it's a lot of work and/or a lot of waiting

texts:
I want to describe a software task (unit of work) that could take a long time, either because it's a lot of operations (processing time) or because it has to do communication with the network and there will be some waiting involved due to latency of the communication before the task can finish.

Without making the question too technical, let's use the analogy of a person who has to do a job that will take a long time, not necessarily because it's a lot of work, but because there are uncertainties in how long it will take to get the work done.

A lengthy task is close to what I want. However, I'm hesitant that it might convey more the "hard work" meaning (lots of work), and readers won't think of the other case (where latency is the reason it takes long). Is there a single-word adjective to capture this idea?


texts:
(First question ever.)

Fellow friends,

I've stumbled upon a weird quirk in this language whose spelling-pronunciation correspondence at times works in mysterious ways.

How am I to know for sure when the final [s] in English words is to be pronounced /s/ or /z/? For instance, "house" (as a noun) is pronounced with an unvoiced /s/ at the end, whereas the verb with the same spelling has a voiced /z/ sound in the same place. Yet words like "pause" seem to retain the /z/ sound; and "increase" keeps its /s/ (only changing the stress), regardless of their role as nouns or verbs.

I have attempted to find an answer elsewhere but my quest so far has not come to fruition.

I fear that, as with many aspects of this language, it needs to be memorized by heart. If it is so, can anyone be so kind as to send me a link to some sort of list? Or at least a resource with some guidelines to predict the pronunciation changes?.

I humbly await your response.


texts: Punctuation after "I couldn't help but to think" introducing a quote — colon or comma?

texts:
I couldn’t help but to think: “Is this really what the meaning of success has become?” and to make matters even worse, this idea was just spread to the thousands of viewers.

Is the colon correct? I am unsure about using a colon versus a comma.


texts: Introductory, Independent clauses and participles

texts:
For many people in the US, undergoing a medical procedure can be a stressful, confusing, and sometimes overwhelming ordeal.

I understand that For...US, is the introductory phrase and needs the comma. However, undergoing...ordeal. is an Independent or a Participle clause ?
Is undergoing a participle in this case ?


texts:
Is there special word to describe second half of the day?
For example I would like to make an appointment with a friend about 4-6 p.m. Is there general term for this or can just "afternoon" be used?


texts:
Is there a mistake in the sentence "He didn't do his homework this week"?

I mean is it possible to use Past Simple


texts: Correct verb patterns for the verb 'recommend'?

texts:
Which of the last three verb patterns apply to the verb 'recommend'?

  I recommend that you wait. (present subjunctive, American usage)

  I recommend that you should wait. (substitute for present subjunctive, British usage)

  I recommend waiting. (subject of the gerund not mentioned)

  I recommend you/your waiting (subject of the gerund mentioned)

  I recommend to wait. (subject of the infinitive not mentioned)

  I recommend you to wait. (subject of the infinitive mentioned)


texts: Can the relative pronoun "where" be omitted in a relative clause with the preposition "in"?

texts:
Can the following sentences:

It's the church where the painting burned./It's the church in which the painting burned.

be transformed so that they do not contain the pronoun which/where in the following way:

It's the church the painting burnt in.


texts:
I have a question. I was trying to find out if it's correct to say "you have to have", but I couldn't find an answer...I think people would normally use "you should have"  or "you must have". In a guessing game, there weren't many options left, so in a hurry I used "have to have". Is it entirely wrong?

I'd really, really like to know the answer, in order to use proper grammar in the future.

Thank you very much. I really appreciate.


texts:
It was said as a way to comfort someone who had just broken up with her boyfriend, and someone said something like "go raise a dog".

I know it's okay to say raise an animal; I just feel so weird about it. Don't we normally say raise a child? I mean, in my opinion, isn't raise only used for human beings?

For animals, like pets, which verb is more appropriate to use? Do we just use raise all the time, no matter if referring to people or animals?


texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  "Walker was not only the trailblazer in the medical field; she was also a visionary who bravely challenged many of the social prejudices of her day. "

My question is that whether it is appropriate to use semi-colons here because the first clause doesn't seem to be an independent one since it doesn't convey a complete idea.


texts: Is "charge port" a regional dialect thing?

texts:
I used the phrase "charge port" to refer to an AC wall outlet and many people around me hadn't heard that expression before.

We are all Californians here, but my parents are from the East Coast of the US and before that India, so I was wondering if I picked it up from them?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
Why do written English vowels differ from other Latin-based orthographies?

I noticed that in English some words that have the same letters (except for the first), have a different pronunciation, like:

bat (short a)
bet (same sound but shorter)
let (same sound)

or

me
thee
fee

or

dog (long o)
hot (short o)

Is there a (historical?) reason for it?


texts:
Does the phrase 'not quite yet' mean that something will be done shortly?

Does this imply less time than just 'not yet'?


texts: How did the words classic and classical come to mean old?

texts: I assume the words classic and classical have a basis in the word class — which is to say, of a category. Why do we use those words to mean old or historically important?


texts:
Considering the following sentences:

  Don't listen to those other people.
  You should always use prefixes with your table names.
  I have even started using them in normal writing.
  See how effective it is?
  People can understand your writing better.

I am prefixing these words with abbreviations marking their parts of speech as a demonstration of why prefixes in general are a bad idea, and some of the words are giving me trouble to classify them. (The message is supposed to be an implicit proof of why adding prefixes to table names in a database is terrible. But I'd like to get it right.)

I've also realized that I'm not sure whether it's best to notate the base part of speech or the inflected part of speech it's functioning as, and would appreciate thoughts on that.

For reference, here is my stab at it:

  com-Don't ver-Listen prep-To adj-Those adj-Other nou-People.
  pro-You aux-Should adv-Always ver-Use nou-Prefixes prep-With pro-Your adj-Table nou-Names.
  pro-I aux-Have adv-Even ver-Started ver-Using pro-Them prep-In adj-Normal nou-Writing.
  com-See adv-How adj-Effective pr-It ver-Is?
  nou-People aux-Can ver-Understand pro-Your nou-Writing adv-Better!

(where com means command verb)

Specifically:

Are those and other adjectives or determinatives? Both? Which makes more sense?
Should I call table of table names a noun or an adjective, as it is functioning as an adjective but the base word is a noun?
Are using and writing gerunds, verbs, or some other part of speech?

I considered differentiating between pronouns and possessive pronouns, but no obvious abbreviation jumped out at me.

This question is closed, and has been replaced by the following three questions:

Adjectives vs. determinatives
Nouns vs. nouns used as adjectives
Verbs vs. gerunds vs. something else


texts: Do we have a word for the state of being photogenic?

texts:
What's a noun for the state of being photogenic? For instance, if someone says, 'I'm not very photogenic' and I want to counter by saying

  I have to differ with you regarding your __________________________.

'Photogenicness' is a bit awkward. I have not found anything in Webster's Dictionary.


texts:
If I want to indicate that the current batch of items isn't the last one, what's one generic word to say "not last"?

P.S. Not looking for a specific word e.g. penultimate


texts: Word to describe ideological based giving? (outside of tithing, more specific than charitable)

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes "a group of people that give to others that

Share similar beliefs
Promote a related cause
Serve as a good example of what the group believes in"

Consider that religious groups will support musicians that associate themselves to the same religion, or vote for a particular candidate.

I'm trying to find a word that describes (or is even related to) the shared economic support based on a communities values, or consensus.

The reason I'm looking for this word is because I found a marginalized group of people who are not organized economically, and being a non-religious non-hierarchical society, they don't have such a "system" benefiting them.  Therefore this "social movement" or its potential, is at a standstill.

I'm looking for a word to explain what it is they are missing, and the socio-economic feature present in religious groups.


texts: " had been about everything and done almost every where"

texts:
What does this sentence mean in text below:
" there was a girl. She wandered all over the country hitching rides and shacking up until she'd been just about everything and done almost everywhere".


texts: Heard a native saying: "did you see where she had a baby??" refering to Facebook

texts:
I am Spanish and my fiancé is from the States. The other day we were hanging out with his mum and she said the following:

"Did you see where Emma had a baby???"

I was very confused because I hadn't seen Emma in ages.

So I asked her what she meant, and she laughed and she said that that was an expression meaning "did you see on facebook...?"
Also she said that it is kind of an antiquated expression and that people used to use it referring to newspapers as in "Did you see where so and so did this?"

So I tried investigating this phenomenon because I love the English language and I wanted to learn exactly how to use it... however I haven't found anything relevant on the web.

Can anybody help? How do you use this? Have you ever heard it before? Is it just a local expression from their state-MA-? Would you use it? Is it acceptable? IS it slang?

I know, too many questions.... but any information you can give would be greatly appreciated!


texts: What is the "runny" excretion from noses called?

texts:
What is the word for the "runny" excretion from someone's nose called? from this link

  Runny nose
  is the idiom that Americans use to describe what happens
  when your nose runs (that is, when liquid comes out of your nose
  because of a cold, allergy, or crying). This is the term for the
  general condition of having a running nose and is used in a sentence
  like the word cold when it refers to an illness.

What is this “liquid that comes out of your nose” called in English?


texts: Is there a rule of thumb when to use "the" in front of universities?

texts: I am writing biographies for some of my doctors.  I have asked several people and have received several different answers.  Here are a couple examples:  Lee is a 2005 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh or should it read Lee is a 2005 graduate of University of Pittsburgh.  The latter sounds wrong to me.  I have several of these to write and would love to do it correct the first time.  Then should "the" be capitalized?


texts: What is the meaning of the sentence below?

texts:
Would you please help me with the meaning of the last part of a sentence? What is the meaning and the connection of the part in bold with the first part?

  In fact, her parents had apparently decided that it was a wonderful idea,
  an inspiring idea, an idea so amazing it should have little baby ideas that
  could run around and ruin everything.


texts:
Recently I received an invitation closing with the expression "We mostly encourage you to attend her lectures." This did strike me as odd, since my intuitive understanding of "mostly" is that it refers to a majority - in this context I was interpreting it as "most of us encourage you..."

Is the usage of "mostly" in this context (i.e. to stress the encouragement) correct, or would something like "highly" be more suitable?


texts: Word for a conspiracy/cabal/syndicate/etc in which a proper subset of actors are unaware of their roles

texts:
I am looking for a word (or, if necessary, a concise phrase) which has the same rough pejorative meaning as the words listed in the title, i.e. a group of actors who work together to achieve a (usually malicious) goal through subversive and nefarious means. However, each of those words imply, at least to my ears, that every actor in the group is a knowledgable and willing participant in the scheme. I am concerned with an alternate case, in which a proper subset (some, but not all) of the actors in the scheme are unaware and proceeding honestly, and yet their actions are a necessary contribution to the successful completion of the group's goals. The phrase "unwitting conspirator" or stating they provided "unwitting assistance" are commonplace for referring to the role of the honest actor specifically, but I'm looking for a term for the entire group which implies only some of the actors are actively malicious, and are "using" other members of the group for their own purposes.

This type of structure is a common part of team con/heist movies, in which the con artists "use" some honest actor acting as their job intends for a necessary component of their plot. For example in the movie The Sting (wikipedia), a police officer is told by someone he believes to be a federal marshal (but is actually one of the con artists) to remove the mark from the scene of the con, thereby allowing the conspirators to escape.


texts: When should compound words be written as one word, with hyphens, or with spaces?

texts:
Some compound words are written without hyphens (nonaggression, nonbeliever), some with hyphens (well-intentioned), and others with spaces (post office).

Is there a rule or good guide as to which option should be used?


texts:
I am looking for a specific word to describe a concept such that its meaning is linear and one-way. Such is the case for the title of this question. X would be of this concept and Y would not, Y would be the opposite of this concept.

For example, all automobiles are motor vehicles but not all motor vehicles are automobiles.

I cannot seem to find any word to relate to this.

Any advice/guidance is very much appreciated.


texts:
Given:

  Building these houses entails a lot of work.

Does 'these houses entails a lot of work' form a subordinating clause to the verb 'building'? If so what kind of subordinating clause is it?


texts: Is the use of a semicolon in the sentence 'The south sided with the King; the north with the usurper.' correct?

texts:
I have read about the use of semicolons in the Penguin Guide to Punctuation by R. L. Trask. In the book, it gives a few essential rules that must be fulfilled for a semicolon to be used correctly:

The two sentences must be felt to be too closely related to be separated by a full stop;
There is no connecting word which would require a comma, such as and or but;
The special conditions requiring a colon are absent.

Also, the writer stresses the fact that the two sentences on either side of the semicolon must be full sentences.

Now my question is in regard to the following sentence (I have composed it myself for a piece of writing):

  The south [a region] sided with the [rightful] King; the north
  [another region] with the usurper [a self-proclaimed king].

The thing about my sentence is that the second part contains no verb (which is omitted to avoid repeating the verb sided). Is the sentence after the semicolon still considered a full sentence?

Thank you kindly for helping out!


texts:
What is the origin of the term old bag as a derogatory term for an older lady?

In the UK it is exclusively used to describe females. There appears to be nothing intrinsically feminine about bags.  Could it be a corruption of old hag?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “User accounts” or “users account”
  Should a list of tokens be called a “token list” or a “tokens list”
  “BookList” or “booksList?”

When there are many of things what of the following will be correct:

thing count, thing collection, ... (singular thing)
things count, things collection, ... (plural things) ?


texts:
My question is:

  When it comes to (A): choosing (B): choose (C): choice

The answer is (A), but I don't understand why I can't choose (C)?

I think that after "When it comes to" both N or V-ing can be used.


texts: What's the difference between 'once' and 'one day'?

texts:
I've just come across these two phrases:

"A friend told me one day that he was..."

"A friend once told me that he was..."

What are the differences between those two phrases in terms of meaning? And which of them is preferable in terms of grammar and style?


texts: Can you say "see you then/there" when arranging a meeting?

texts: I am sending an e-mail to a colleague to arrange a meeting. In my e-mail I inform her where and when we can meet, and I would like to end the e-mail by saying something like "See you there" or "See you then". But is this correct or am I translating too literally? If it's incorrect, what alternative phrase could I use?


texts: a word/couple to express eagerness to win

texts:
Winning is a thing that is supposed to happen during an event.

Before the event, of course, there are many competitors eager to win.

I need a nice word or phrase to express eagerness to win — but not winning itself.


texts: L in the middle of a word: dark l or light l?

texts:
I find it easy to pronounce words like full (/fʊl/, dark l) and light (/laɪt/, light l), but when the letter l appears in the middle of a word, things become tricky. I can hear different pronunciations from some native speakers, e.g.

delete /dɪˈliːt/. Almost all pronounce it as a light l, i.e. /dɪ-ˈliːt/.
delegate /ˈdelɪgeɪt/. Some pronounce it as /ˈdel-lɪgeɪt/ (as a dark l and a light l), and some pronounce it just as /ˈde-lɪgeɪt/ (light l only).
silly /ˈsɪli/. Like the "delegate" case, both /ˈsɪl-li/ and /ˈsɪ-li/ can be heard.

My question is: is there any pronunciation rule for "l in the middle of a word"? Thank you.

PS: I have found some explanations after googling:

Rachel's English: L in the Middle of a Word. This video suggests that there's only a light l sound by taking "elongate" for example.
Wikipedia: Velarization. Seems it hasn't clearly described the case for "l in the middle of a word".

  A common example of a velarized consonant is the velarized alveolar lateral approximant (or dark L). In some accents of English, such as Received Pronunciation, the phoneme /l/ has "dark" and "light" allophones: the "dark", velarized allophone appears in syllable coda position (e.g. in full), while the "light", non-velarized allophone appears in syllable onset position (e.g. in lawn). Other accents of English, such as Scottish English, Australian English, and General American English, have "dark L" in all positions, while Hiberno-English has "clear L" in all positions.


texts: What is the most reliable free online English dictionary?

texts: Wordnet has the "paper bag" issue. What is the best all-in-one dictionary?( synonyms,antonyms, etymology)


texts: Small open air space surrounded by a building

texts:
"In architecture, an atrium (plural: atria or atriums) is a large open air or skylight covered space surrounded by a building."

"Skylight = an opening in a roof or ceiling, fitted with glass, for admitting daylight"

How would you call very small open space inside the building which purpose is to provide some skylight?

(Note: it's open so it doesn't fit well into definition of skylight, while it is small so it doesn't fit well into the definition of atrium).


texts: What's the best word to simulate an adjectival form of "camaraderie"?

texts:
I thought that 'camaraderous' was a word, but it turns out it isn't. As a matter of fact, I can't seem to find anything resembling an adjectival form for 'camaraderie'. So could someone suggest a fitting substitute? i.e. an adjective meaning "possessing the characteristics of camaraderie?"
I was thinking of using it like:

After their hard-won victory, John and Trent slung their arms around
each other's shoulders in a camaraderous embrace.


texts:
I'm writting a short-story and I'm describing a character who is sitting down and reading a book.

  (...) grabbing a small book lying on the floor beside her. The title
  read Dark Flame (...)

Is it correct to say "The title read Dark Flame" meaning "The title of the book is Dark Flame"? Because it kinda sounds a little strange, but that's probably because I'm not a native speaker.

Thank you!


texts: Why do people say "I have known someone to do" but not "I know someone to do"?

texts:
The structure I have known someone to do something is apparently considered grammatical and idiomatic. Examples from Google:

I have known people to take shops, put in a few articles and, without opening the doors, to sell the premises for as much as £1,000. (New Zealand Parliament)
I have known people to temporarily lose interest in sex and believe the problem was in their marriage but later realize that it was grief.
I have known people to lose battles with brain tumours, cancer, to become disabled, and to become very ill.

In contrast, I know/knew someone to do something is not a thing that people say. Apparently you can't say "I knew some people to drink coffee around midnight.*" Why is that? What is special about the structure I have known someone to do something that validates it as grammatical?


texts:
Recently I wrote a story and I shared it with my friend for a feedback. He advised me that I am using the definite article “the” a lot. But I think that is not the case. I will give you an example on how I use “the”.

Whenever I have to introduce a character for the first time I always use “a/an” and then afterwards I use “the” before the character.

For instance, if I were to write, “There was a rat that lived in a palace”.
So from here onwards whenever I use the word “rat” (not “it”) I put “the” before it.

I know that I can’t use “a” here, and also I can’t just write “rat” because I think when we write about something that is definite we should always use “the”.

Please, pardon my English. I hope I am making sense here. Any help is much appreciated.


texts: What does the phrase "Real mature with that one" mean?

texts:
What does the phrase "Real mature with that one" mean (US English I guess)?  Please see ux question #226, second comment, which reads:

  Real mature with that one. – Charles Boyung Mar 10 '11 at 19:20

How can it be rephrased? Is it a crude expression? In what cases can it be used?

For an example of "real mature" by itself, see page 199 of Enlightened, by Allyson Richards, where narrator comments "Real mature, Doc, real mature" after a doctor speaks with his mouth full.


texts: What tense is it? He is referring to a future event with past particle form of verb

texts:
If every black adult male in the U.S. bought & registered a
  semi-automatic rifle tomorrow, Congress would Pass gun control laws by
  Friday.

  Eric Benét on
  Twitter

Should not the "bought & registered" should be in their base form (buy & register)? If not then what type of sentence it is? Passive Sentence? If yes then what would be the active form of this sentence?


texts: Why is there an 'a' at the end of "Crimea"?

texts:
With the recent events in Crimea and the Ukraine the name of the peninsula appears a lot in both written and spoken, the a at the end is very conspicuous in the English pronunciation and writing, since there is no a in the Russian or Ukrainian name of the peninsula.
The name is Крым in Russian, and Крим in Ukrainian. It's clearly seen that the name ends with an M and is pronounced Krim.

According to an article in the Washington Post the name of the peninsula in the language of the local Crimean Tatar population is Qırım.

What is the source for the distortion of the name in English?

(Also, it seems that the same a appears in the French, Spanish and Italian name, and doesn't appear on the German name).


texts: "due to A or due to B" is the same as "due to A or B"?

texts:
I found "due to A or due to B" in a book.

Can I use "due to A or B" instead of "due to A or due to B"?

If so, which one is better?


texts: Usage of "entice" -- can the object be an abstract noun?

texts: We can say "the salesperson enticed the customer to buy something."  Can we also say "the salesperson enticed the customer's purchase"?  If not, what did the salesperson do to the purchase?  ("Elicit" can be used this way, but it doesn't have the same connotation as "entice" -- that the salesperson caused the customer to want to buy something.)


texts: What is it called when you raise a problem and someone else makes it seem like you're entitled by bringing up something far worse?

texts:
For example, you say "These working conditions are subpar. We don't get any breaks." and then someone else says "You're entitled. You know who has it bad? People that work in sweatshops!"
You raised a valid point, but now someone has completely dismissed it by bringing up something unrelated.
A more well known example is "I'm hungry." to which a parent might reply "You're not hungry. Children in Africa are hungry."
I feel like there should be a word for this kind of fallacy.


texts:
There's a usage where the word introducing a restrictive clause is dropped. Some examples:

  Nothing but champagne, now that I'm the boss.

becomes:

  Nothing but champagne, now I'm the boss.

and

  There was a farmer who had a dog, and Bingo was his name-o.

becomes:

  There was a farmer had a dog, and Bingo was his name-o.

Is there a name for this practice, and if so, what? I seem to note it more in British speech than American.


texts: Vowel is to diphthong as consonant is to?

texts:
While reading about diphthongs in a different question today, I noticed that while the word "diphthong" doesn't seem to contain any actual diphthongs, it does contain 3 sets of consonant groupings.

When I was younger, I used to think consonant groupings actually were called diphthongs. I know now that I was mistaken, but I do wonder - is there a single word that describes consonant groupings?

After doing some searching on Google, Wikipedia and this site, I'm unable to find a definitive answer besides "consonant cluster" or "consecutive consonant". Those terms may be the only accurate ones available, but I would be mildly disappointed.


texts: Should it be 'an' or 'a' in front of an abbreviation?

texts: I am using abbreviations for well-known phrases: e.g., "Nash equilibrium" becomes NE and "neural networks" becomes NN. Should I use "an NN" or "a NN"? Does it matter whether a reader "unfolds" the abbreviation or not when reading? That is, I think it is often the case that NE is read "Nash equilibrium", then it seems appropriate to use "a NE".


texts:
A major political row has broken out in Britain over the colour of this bus.

[Image from The Daily Telegraph]

The bus is sponsored by the Labour Party to take high-flying female politicians around the country, to capture the votes of women at the forthcoming General Election in May. Political opponents say it is patronising to women, and gender stereotyping, to make the bus pink.

Some Labour members are now saying the colour is 'Magenta'. (capital letter justified since Magenta colour, the result of a new dye introduced at the time, after the Battle of Magenta.)

So what is it, pink or Magenta?


texts: Usage of "You are" with a phrase in between

texts:
You are going to be the death of me.

The above is a correct usage. Is it also correct if there's a phrase between you and are?

  You wearing black dresses are going to be the death of me?

Or is the correct form in the modified sentence is:

  You wearing black dresses is going to be the death of me?


texts:
English vowels have several pronunciations so when people try to explain how to pronounce foreign words (without IPA, which is what they should be using ;-)) they add lots of silent Hs and hyphens, e.g. KAH-zah.
Problem is, as a non-native speaker this only adds to the confusion. What's the meaning of those Hs at the end of syllables? Do they make the vowels short or long? In "uh-oh", they seem to do both (it sounds as /oʔoʊ/ to me).
Could someone use IPA to explain how "ah, eh, ih, oh, uh" sound and tell me how they differ from "a, e, i, o, u" that make people feel the need to add an H?


texts: Difference Between from and of in time preposition

texts:
I received an email from my college saying that
Exam can be withdrawn within 60 mins of the finish of the exam
Can we replace the "of" with "from" ? And if no, how will it change the meaning of the sentence if we use from.


texts: Can "sir" be used to address female officers?

texts:
The use of the term sir as a form of address for men, especially those of higher rank or status, is discussed in several prior questions including this one. They all indicate that the term is reserved to males, and that there are a number of related terms for females, such as ma'am.

A review of the first dozen online dictionaries at onelook.com confirms that sir is strictly reserved for male addressees. For example ODO defines it as

  used as a polite or respectful way of addressing a man, especially one in a position of authority: excuse me, sir

On several recent television shows in the US, the term sir has been used by a police officer to address his or her supervisor who was female. In the context, the use was sincere and was not objected to by the superior.

Has the use of sir when addressing a superior female in a military or quasi-military setting become acceptable, or is this merely literary license?


texts: I saw a phrase on a T-shirt but not knowing its meaning: I Put She in the Shenanigans. People say it's a funny tshirt, but I don't know the story behind it. What does She stand for? What does Shenanigans mean? Thank you for your help.


texts: Usage of YMMV: Can I use it in day-to-day conversation?

texts:
I found the word YMMV in an answer to my question "How important to write down mission statement in learning English? Do I have to?", which I posted on January 6.
As YMMV is a quite strange word to me, I consulted Urban dictionary, and found that it's an abbreviation of Your Mileage May Vary, meaning your results will be varied and that is often used in forum talk. However, is the expression Your mileage may vary by itself a well-established idiom? Do baby-boomers use this expression casually in day-to-day conversation? Would I raise somebody's eyebrows if I use the abbreviation YMMV in ordinary conversation? Please teach me.


texts: Is there an English idiom equivalent to "coup de main"

texts:
I am looking for a translation of the French military term coup de main. (Not the common French civilian usage which translates as helping hand.) The term occurs frequently in the correspondence between Napoleon and his subordinate commanders, as something one should always look out for both on offense and defense. (See Saski: Campagne de 1809 en Allemagne et en Autriche, for examples.)

In context it refers to a quick victory or acquisition, inevitably by surprise, often bloodless or nearly so, and commonly on the run (meaning by simply not stopping or holding when expected to do so).

It seems to capture imagery from all of the English terms, but I am looking for a better single English term that comes closer than any of these:

Flick of the wrist (emphasising the quickness and adroitness);
Stealing a march (emphasizing the unexpectedness and surprise); and
snatch and run or grab and run (misses on the and run part).

Any thoughts?


texts:
I asked a question on one of the stackexchange sites and one user edited a sentence I made from "We were relocating so we...." to "We were moving house so we....". As an english speaker, I have never heard of "moving house" in context of relocation in a sentence before. Presently I am even doubting if relocating is correct in the context of :

"Moving all your belongings in a house you onced rented into a newly rented house"


texts: What is a word to accompany horizontal and vertical?

texts:
If 'horizontal' follows the horizon, and 'vertical' ascends from the horizon, is there a word for a line from the viewer to the horizon? Otherwise, is there a broadly accepted business term for describing data where there are two horizontals, but one is an iterative representation of the first?

Specifically, this word would be used in a business sense to represent a second horizontal of accompanying data that would be something of a Y axis to an X axis. (This is not immediately for purposes of verbal presentation.) Is there a specific term that describes this relation in a business context? I want a word that won't alienate listeners unfamiliar with unrelated fields of study.

While 'longitudinal' is helpful in describing spatial relations, this does not differentiate itself from 'horizontal', which is a common term used in business to describe a broad area, as opposed to a 'vertical' describing a focused area of specialization.

Alternatively, is there a business construct that addresses horizontality, verticality, and adds the ability to describe depth that can be utilized instead that relies on these concepts?


texts:
What's the verb that means: to make an anecdotal statement (based on casual observations) as if it were a fact?

I don't think it's "to lie" because this person believes it's the truth. He is unknowingly stating a fallacy.


texts: Why does no dictionary carry the word 'non-affair', though all carry 'nonevent'?

texts:
I came across the word “non-affair” in Jeffery Archer’s novel Kane and Abel, which I just finished reading yesterday. The word appears in the following sentence (p. 544):

  “She couldn’t recall another occasion when she was so aware of a first
  kiss. When he left her in the shadows of Fifty-Seventh Street, she
  realized that this time he had not mentioned tomorrow. She felt
  slightly wistful about the whole non-affair.”

I took 'non-affair' simply as the absence of any positive actions / events, and thought the word should be in every dictionary. But, curiously enough, Oxford, Cambridge, and Merriam-Webster don't include “non-affair” as a headword despite its casual look, though they include several dozens of “non+noun” compounds ranging from 'non-aggression,' 'non-appearance,' 'non-event' to 'non-stop,''non-violent,' and 'non-white.'

Google's NGram Viewer neither show any instances of 'non-affair.'

Is “non-affair” a well-used English word, or just a coinage by the author?


texts: Expression about the quantity and quality of something

texts:
Is there an expression that means the following:

  It is better to have less of something that is of best quality than having more of something that is of low quality.


texts: Why is it “objections to moving”, not “objections to move”?

texts:
I got this sentence from the Economist:

  There are two primary objections to moving to the chained CPI.

My question is, why have they used moving instead of move after objections to?


texts: Where does the nounification of 'spend' come from?

texts:
For example,

  the estimated spend for Q3 is a million dollars.


texts: What phrase can be used to convey "I don't understand what you're saying and it seems irrelevant to me, I'm fed up with it, I wish to be left alone"?

texts:
In Hebrew we have the phrase "מה אתה רוצה ממני?", literally "what do you want from me?", and the stronger version "מה אתה רוצה מהחיים שלי?", literally, "what do you want from my life?". It can be used with no problem even when the other party doesn't actually want anything - e.g., when he is trying to help, but the help is unwelcome.

My first wonder is whether the phrase "what do you want from me?" has the same connotation in English, or would it be interpreted strictly as "what material benefit are you hoping to gain by interacting with me?" (and thus, sound out of place if used with the borrowed meaning)?

If the latter, what other phrase can be used to convey the same message?

The expression I have in mind is also usable in 3rd person, e.g.: "The teacher tried to explain a difficult concept, and hoped it would be as clear and exciting to the students as it was for him. But the students didn't get it or care much - they just stared at him blankly and wondered what he wanted from them."


texts: The questions of sentences using linking verbs

texts:
I understand that the word "look" in "He looks happy." is a linking verb. As "look" here can be replaced by "is"
My question is what is the correct question form of this sentence?
Does he look happy? or Is he look happy?
Thank you.


texts: What is the practice of dropping words from sentences?

texts:
Most instructions for equipment and software make a habit of shortening sentences by dropping words of certain parts of speech - usually definite and indefinite articles.

For example:

  PULL (THE) LEVER TO OPERATE

  CARS MAY BE TOWED WHEN (THEY ARE) PARKED ILLEGALLY

  PLEASE USE (THE) OTHER DOOR

Is there a name for this custom? And what is the best way to describe it?


texts: What do you call an object which is not meant to be seen only from one point of view?

texts:
I am trying to understand what to call an object that is not meant to be watched only from one point of view (e.g. an apple, a bottle ...). So it can be defined as a proper tridimensional object because it has no pseudo-bidimensionality (e.g. a painting or a low-relief are pseudo-bidimensional).

In Italian, there is a word "tutto-tondo" here the wikipedia link that is used for these objects by the art historians. It could be translated as "full-relief" maybe.

What's a word that can be used for defining this concept in English? Is there any word that can be used in the every-day language not related to the history of art?


texts: What is the meaning of "When the straight and narrow get a little too straight?"

texts: I can't understand it. Please explain it in simple terms. Thank you.


texts:
Playing around with Google's Ngram viewer, where you can see how many times a word is used in books, I stumbled on this:

It shows how often universe and Universe have been used in books.

I think it's somewhat interesting that around 1630 the use of these terms took off, and at 1750 there was a switch.

Anyone hazard any guesses to what happened around those years that caused the trends?

EDIT: It looks like the 1750 capitalization issue is more about the search data because the same phenomenon occurs for lots of terms. So maybe just what inspired the use of the word to take off around 1630.


texts: past perfect or past simple after the conjunction 'since'

texts:
I have a question about tense in a sentence that includes the conjunction 'since'.
Mostly, 'since' is used with present perfect and past tense as in the sentence(a) below.

  (a) Mr.Koo wants to emphasize how much time has passed since Koreans
  created white porcelains.

How can I change the tense of the sentence to the past tense? Is the following correct?

  (b) Mr. Koo wanted to emphasize how much time had passed since Koreans
  created white porcelains.

With my understanding, (b) seems wrong because the part that come after 'since' doesn't follow the tense agreement rule.


texts: Product selection or products selection?

texts:
I need to refer to a selection that contains zero or more products. This will be used in a marketing email that displays some products for sale.
I consider the "selection" to be some kind of box in which I can put some products (no matter how many). To me, it's a "products selection", since the plural applies to the content of the selection.
However, I have found several occurrences of "product selection" on the Internet. These did not seem to refer to "the selection of one product", but to the same as in my case.
So what should I use: "product selection" or "products selection", and why?


texts:
"Turkey’s Islamist president is the first civilian with control over his country’s military – and you can tell by the results."

in the sentence, does "by the results" mean "with" or something else if it does so, may ı change "by" with "with" ?


texts: Alzheimer disease or Alzheimer's disease?

texts: What is the proper spelling: Alzheimer or Alzheimer's Disease?


texts: I've just discovered that "spuriative" isn't a real word. What word am I mistaking this for?

texts:
I've just discovered that "spuriative" doesn't exist in English, despite having quite a firm definition for it in my head. I've even used this word in spoken conversation to many English speakers and they've understood my meaning from the given context. I have no idea when this might have started, or where I could have heard it initially.
I can't find any suggested alternative spellings or related usages of this word whatsoever. Where might I have got this from, and what real English word could I substitute?
Here's my best definition for "spuriation":

Spuriation /ˈspjʊərieɪʃən/
To form a future forecast, prediction, or guess based on best case scenarios and very little factual foundation. Generally positive in outlook or naive in nature.

For example:

Spuriative investment had caused the company to balloon in value, even though it hadn't yet made any sales.

The closest match I can think of is "speculation" but that doesn't feel like it hits the right note. Spuriation is more specifically projecting forwards your hopeful or unfounded beliefs of things turning out well or successful.


texts: Like as a preposition and prepositional phrase sub categorization rules

texts:
I'm trying to figure out how the sentence "My hands are shaking like crazy," breaks down into lexical categories. I know "like" can function as a preposition, meaning "similar to", but I'm not sure if "like" can be a preposition since I don't think "crazy" is a noun/object in this sentence, and from what I know, PP's require noun phrases as a sub-categorization rule in syntax.

I would say "crazy" is an adverb since it seems to be modifying "shaking", but that leaves me clueless as to how like functions in the sentence.

Please explain the different parts of speech for "like" and "crazy" in this sentence.

Thank you!


texts: A word for someone who falsely believes that a danger is no threat

texts:
I am looking for a succinct single word that sums up the following definition:

  A person who falsely believes that an impending danger is of no real threat

To add some context - I have frequently encountered climate change deniers online, but I have recently been encountering a whole new attitude.  People who agree that climate change is happening, but insist that it won't have any negative consequences or even go so far as to say that the world will be better off.

So the term "denier" doesn't fit.  "Liar" might be a better description, but I was looking specifically for a word that sums up the idea of falsely believing that a danger is, in fact, no danger at all.


texts:
Can you ever have a question mark after a full-stop/period?

Imagine that Q.N. is the name of a secret society, and people just call it Q.N. Which one of the following is correct?

What time are you going to Q.N.?
What time are you going to Q.N?
I feel that the second is correct, but for some reason the first one is speaking to me as well. Any advice would be appreciated?


texts: In English, why does the word 'comprehensible' when switched to nouns become 'comprehensibility' which is not 'comprehensiblity'?


texts:
I found a writing in an old book which was: "Apple pie à la mode".
I was wondering what is the meaning of that?


texts: What is the correct idiom for asking people to have them packed more on the bus in order to have a space for you to get on the bus or metro?

texts: I am looking for an idiom (if there is one) for the question in the title.


texts: Is "analeptical" correct? Form of "analepses"

texts:
My teacher was editing my essay and change analepses (plural of analepsis) to analeptical. I'm trying to use the definition of a flashback.

Here is the context:

Original sentence:

  Analepses in the characters is inspired through the cellist's music.

Edited sentence:

  The cellist's music inspires analeptical moments for the characters.

What I think I should finally use:

  The cellist's music inspires analepses for the characters.

Is the edited sentence more correct, or the final one I think I should use?


texts: What is another way to say "back order"?

texts:
I am looking for another way to say "back order" (see definition below). I think not many people understand what "back order" means and am looking for a more generally know word/phrase.

"Back order"

noun: back order; plural noun: back orders; noun: backorder; plural noun: backorders

a retailer's order for a product which is temporarily out of stock with the supplier. "the phone I wanted was on back order"

verb: back order; 3rd person present: back orders; gerund or present participle: back ordering; past tense: back ordered; past participle: back ordered

place an order for (a product) which is temporarily out of stock.
"the taps can be back-ordered and take up to three months for delivery"

Edit: I am asking this question because native speakers are not understanding the meaning. Ideally there would be another word or phrase that had the same meaning that was more widely known. Failing that, a succinct description will have to suffice.


texts:
There is a phrase in Turkish Tercih Robotu(Choice Robot) I need the English word for it, let me explain what it is.

In Turkey before going to any university you should pass through a set of exams then your point is calculated, there are several point types, then by looking at those points you can estimate which univerity you can go :) And I am developing an application which does that for you in English.

What might be the right phrase or word for this?


texts: Can I use Present tense for actions that have just happened?

texts:
Could someone help me with this please...
 I wanted to know if I could use the present tense to describe something happened just a few seconds ago instead of using past tense?

For example:

  (A) Where is Rhian?

  (B) She goes to the market. (She went to the supermarket)?
                    can I still use Present Tense in this case?


texts: "However, I hated it extremely" vs "However, I extremely hated it," when telling a flashback?

texts: Both of these probably mean the same thing but I don't know which one 'sounds' better.


texts:
On May 7th 2018, Melania Trump unveiled her new First Lady platform and the slogan for the campaign is Be Best. The aim would be to focus on physical, social and emotional health, she said. (source)

Is "Be Best" proper English? It just doesn't sound complete to me.

Be your best, be the best... sound much better, but does Be Best work?


texts: What is the sound/audio equivalent of "unsightly"?

texts:
The title pretty much says it all: what is the English equivalent (if such exists) for "unsightly" when applied to sound?

"Ill-sounding" isn't as succinct and brings to mind the actual sounds of illness.

"Cacophonous" isn't as succinct and frankly requires knowing the word before understanding it.

Unaural or disaural aren't words, and require knowing that "aural" has to do with hearing anyway.

Is there a word for "unsightly" sound?


texts: Using hyphens: "Mona-Lisa-like" or "Mona Lisa-like"?

texts:
Would it be correct to say:

  The person had a Mona-Lisa-like expression.

or

  The person had a Mona Lisa-like expression.

It strikes me that the former is correct, but I wanted to be sure.


texts: How can I describe someone who feels little or no emotion?

texts:
I don't mean someone who lacks emotion because they "don't care", but because either they can't feel emotion or the emotional response is delayed because of a genetic disposition.

Maybe there is an appropriate medical term that could be used.

The word stoic is recommended from a similar question, for example - but that question and its answers relate to an individuals ability to endure/tolerate a situation or simply ignore their emotions.


texts: Is there a Word to describe Words that have Differing Masculine and Feminine Forms?

texts: Granted that English has few such words, blond/blonde and fiancé/fiancée are the only ones that immediately come to mind. Apart from calling them "words with gender-specific forms", the closest I've come up with is epicenitic, which isn't even a real form of the word, or possibly androgynous. And either of these seem to convey something that's the opposite of what I'm looking for.


texts: When to use or not to use "no" before a noun phrase

texts:
While comparing and contrasting various aspects of English and German one thing I come across is this: "No" indicates denying or refusing something, thus:

  "Is John here?"  "No."

But "no" is also used in this sense:

  He has no money left.

In German, the first "no" above is "nein", and the second is "kein".

However, "kein" in German is used distinctly more frequently than "no" in that sense is used in English. In particular, a German whose English is fairly good wrote "Spiders are no insects." where I would have written "Spiders are not insects." And his usage seems to match the sort of context in which I would expect "kein" to be used in German.

My question is how to explain to someone like that when to use "no" in the second sense above, and when to use "not" or some other locution.


texts: Adjective to describe someone who is knowledgeable, resolute, and calm

texts:
I have a situation/feeling that occurs to me frequently and I'm not sure what the adjective is to describe it (or if there even is one). I'd love to hear your ideas on the matter.

The situation is one where I feel like I have some general knowledge, typically gained through experience, that lets me look at a situation more clearly and then take some action (or at least know what action to take) in a positive direction.

Here are some examples:

My young children frequently argue over who gets to sit in the middle seat at a three-seat table during dinner.  As an adult, my viewpoint on who-sits-where is that it makes no difference in the grand scheme of things.  The seat can be shared by each person over multiple nights, etc.  It's a viewpoint my kids simply don't have the life experience to understand, so I usually just decide and tell them what to do.  On my part it's an emotionless decision.
Today I have a whole lot of work ahead of me.  I'd like to leave by 3pm and go enjoy the sunshine, but it just isn't going to happen.  I know that to get everything done I'll probably be working until 10pm.  I'm fairly emotionless about it.  I could say I'm resigned to the fact that I have to work, but resigned implies some despondence, which I don't feel.  What I really feel (based on experience) is that I just have to do it and I'm neither happy nor sad about it.

I'd love to use the word circumspect because it combines what feels like a circle and introspection, but of course that word means something else unrelated.

Sangfroid is not quite right, because there's no precondition for a difficult or dangerous situation.

Other words like stoic or resolute have the emotional content right, but don't convey the implication of experience that underlies the decision.  They also tend to convey a hard edge to a way of thinking.  I want the connotation to be softer, like chill or calm.

Guru might describe the type of person, but is a noun and is generally too broad.  I'm thinking more of a situational word.

So what do you think?


texts: Saying for "don't talk about things you don't understand"

texts: Is there a (relatively) common phrase, preferably using a metaphor, which means one should not talk about things one does not really understand?  I have the impression of some such phrase floating around in my memory, but all that I can think of is Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, which is not the phrase I am looking for.


texts: Word for something required by most but not all

texts:
Need a word that can describe a situation where the majority of the population is required to do something. Because not the entire population is required, required itself, mandatory, and similar such words are not entirely appropriate. This word needs to convey the same sense of authoritativeness that required does.

Ex. will need a heading to describe a section of trainings that must be completed by most of our employees.


texts:
What is the difference between "in reference to" vs "with reference to".

For eg. If had a discussion with someone and I want to quote it in a mail, which one is more appropriate from the below 2 sentences?

"In reference to your discussion with Mr. X, ...."
VS
"With reference to your discussion with Mr. X, ...."


texts: Is there a word for a monogram of the entire alphabet?

texts:
I am fascinated by the attached image but I am not sure what to call it. I have seen it labeled as a monogram of the alphabet, however that sounds bulky. As it contains all of the letters I want to call it an omnigram, would that be correct?

Bonus: If anyone has come across this image, do you have any idea of it's  origin?


texts: Can you explain the meaning of sentence and the word "run"?

texts:
I am not the native English reader.
I want to know what the "sentence 3" means, especially with the meaning of "run."
The reason why I quoted "sentence 1" and "sentence 2" is to help you understand the context of the sentence 3. By these parts are included in the article about teacher evaluation. Thank you for your help.

sentence 1:
Thus, a teacher who appears to be very ineffective in one year might have a dramatically different result the following year.
sentence 2:
The same dramatic fluctuations were found for teachers ranked at the bottom in the first year of analysis.

- sentence 3:
This runs counter to most people’s notions that the true quality of a teacher is likely to change very little over time and raises questions about whether what is measured is largely a “teacher effect” or the effect of a wide variety of other factors.


texts: Meaning and origin - "More on point than a sock"

texts:
In TV Show "Elementary" - Season 2 - Chapter 15, Dr Watson starts saying:

  More on point than a sock

What is the meaning of this expression? What is the relationships with "points" and "socks"?

Context:

Corpse de Ballet

  It’s an average morning at the brownstone, which means Sherlock has an entirely consensual, entirely independent ladyfriend over and has politely informed Joan of this fact via post-it, which Joan considers more “on point” than a sock on the handle. (It’s a ballet pun, like the title. The writers are having fun this episode.) After politely offering their guest coffee, Joan and Sherlock are called to a murder investigation– Nell Solange, a ballet dancer, was cut in two by a wire in the theater rafters.


texts: How to use possessive apostrophe with words in quotation marks?

texts:
How to us possessive apostrophe with words in quotes? For example,

...a few days later I discovered that those five little boys were not that well-behaved (as I firstly thought). In fact they were quite mischievous and conniving. The broken tree next to my house and the cat with its legs tied were all their "inventions". And Lilly, as it later turned out, was able to get to Denver so fast not without those "little inventors'" help.


texts: Finite and non-finite clauses: "We have washed the dishes"

texts:
I have a quick question regarding finite and non-finite clauses if I may?

In clauses that contain modal or auxiliary verbs marked for tense AND a non-finite element, is the clause finite or non-finite?

For example, are:

  We had washed the dishes

... and

  I have been thinking

... finite because of the tense dictated by had and  have, or are they non-finite because of the participles?

Thanks in advance.


texts: When did the the apostrophe become common for shortening the Year in a date?

texts:
My theory is related to the Y2K crisis

My theory is that it wasn't very common to shorten the years in the 1800's, 1700, 1600; but that using the apostrophe for the year of dates became common after 1931, when two-digit years wouldn't be confused with days, and when writing was moving towards efficiency, and was then followed by the digital data entry period. Incidentally I see that Google isn't Y2K compliant or consistent in how they write dates.

I have tried to look a old documents and registries, but I need to do some deeper digging.
Thanks


texts: A difference in meaning and sentence structure

texts:
Is there any difference in the meaning and sentence structure between the following two sentences?

1- It's time you paid the electricity bill.

2- It's time to pay the electricity bill.


texts:
Where could I find examples of words and their etymologies that occur frequently in many different languages?

For example, I know that the English word "Mother" shares a similar etymology with many other languages from civilizations across the globe.

Is there an online resource that provides examples of some (or many!) other words like this.


texts: What could be the opposite of (online) live teaching?

texts:
I'm looking for an opposite of "live online teaching". Live online teaching would be for instance a lesson that is taught via Skype.

On the opposite side, you could record a video of you teaching something and make it available for viewing and/or download. Only in this case the teaching is not "live". Note that I am still considering this method to be "online" in the sense that you access the contents online (as opposed to face-to-face, classroom teaching or learning from a book). I guess what I'm looking for is an opposite of "live", applied to this context.


texts:
In English, to express strong obligation we can use either must or have (got) to. Grammars remind us that must is often used to express internal (personal) obligation, deduction (likelihood), and exhortation.

The insulin shots for your pet must be given at twelve-hour intervals. (deontic)
We must be late, there's no one in the foyer. (epistemic)
If he wants to be healthier he must exercise. (deontic)

However, they tell us that have to tends to convey the rules and laws of an external authority which we have no choice but to follow and/or obey. The longer construction have got to is normally classified as being informal, and idiomatic in speech.

I'm sorry but we have to leave early. (deontic)
(a) You've got to believe me. (informal)
(b) You gotta believe me. (very informal)

In my experience,  this distinction between internal and external authority is very hazy and subjective, with the exception of sentence 2 where no obligation is expressed, native speakers use must and have (got) to more or less interchangeably.

In order to prove my point, consider how English expresses obligation in the past, the form had to is used whereas must is used with the perfect infinitive, i.e. must + have + past participle, to make speculations about the past and to convey certainty.

The insulin shots had to be given at twelve-hour intervals.
We must have been late, there was no one in the foyer
If he wanted to be healthier he had to exercise
We apologised and said we had to leave early.
You had to believe me.

In the sentences with had to, the distinction between internal and external obligation is completely lost, greater context is required to know who the person or entity of authority is.  In other words, HAD TO functions as the past for both HAVE TO and MUST. If this distinction, which many grammar sites (see below) explain is relevant, why does it disappear in the past?

Questions

How and when did have to  express the sense of obligation? What void did it fill?
If deductions (epistemic) in the past can be expressed with must + have + PP what happened to deontic must in the past? Is there an etymological explanation?
What happened to the distinction between internal (subjective) and external (objective) obligation when we speak about the past? Did it ever exist?

Sources:
Modals (1) Obligation
What's the difference between must and have to?
must / have to / have got to
Modals to express obligation: MUST, HAVE (GOT) TO
English modal verbs
Categorization principles of modal meaning categories


texts: Do we use the word "feature" to talk about people?

texts: It obviously sounds odd to say "he has a lot of great features." But can we use the word "traits" instead?And what if we say "he has a lot of great behavioral features"? Would that sound natural? Thanks a lot


texts:
In Czech typography, some prepositions are not allowed to be at the end of the line, so line break is not allowed between that preposition and the following word.

Are there similar rules in English typography? Are there any situations where a line break is not allowed or discouraged?

Note: I'm not worried about hyphenation, I expect that my typesetting program (LaTeX) will handle that for me.


texts:
As you know, there's a saying going:

  Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

I'm having difficulty in identifying the case of it in the sentence. Here are reasons why.

Be it ever so humble, as it is a clause, I think it needs a subject and so it is subjective.
Be it ever so humble, I also think that since this is in imperative mood, I guess it doesn't really need a subject, and it is accusative.

Which one is it: accusative or subjective?


texts: I need a word or a phrase to call someone an idiot, but with good humor

texts:
It's so easy to do in a chat room. I just do this: click here.

I want to capture that same benign, eye rolling, gently mocking disdain - but I have to stick to small words.

An example of an actual circumstance (true story) after which I might want to use such a phrase or word is when he ever-so-patiently explained to me that "rocket surgery" was an incorrect use of idiom.

Perhaps a quote?

I realize that this question is at least borderline for the site. If you feel I've crossed that line please edit if you feel that the question is salvageable.

EDIT: He's 56. Perhaps an instantly recognizable (to an American of his age) quote from pop-culture? Kind of like the way I might say, "Laugh it up, Fuzzball" to someone my age (46) who is very much enjoying the fact he's winning a card game?


texts:
From Microsoft OneNote:

I googled it and it is used in many reputable sites:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/wavefront
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavefront


texts: Double negative as intensifier with neither

texts:
I'm aware that a double negative like in

  I didn't do nothing that day.

to emphasize that you really didn't do anything that day is not standard English. Yet, I thought it's quite commonly used, but that may differ regionally.
Today, I used such a double negative combined with "neither". Similar to:

  Kid: Mom, can I have a cookie?
  Kid: Or can I have a piece of cake?
  Mom: You can't have neither.

My colleague who is a native speaker (I am not) said that Mom's statement is completely wrong.

Now, my actual question is: is there something about "neither" which makes it less acceptable in a double negation, compared to the first statement I provided?
Even though I wouldn't use neither nor in a negated sentence, Mom's statement seems pretty clear to me.
Knowing that a formally correct reply would be: "You can have neither." or "You can't have either" - as pointed out in the comments.

In addition to the original question:

This made me head scratch some more. If mom were to respond to the kid's request:

  No, you can't. Neither cake nor cookie.

That would also be correct in standard English, right?
But putting this together into one sentence would then become:

  No, you can't have neither cake nor cookie.

would it not? Is this a valid sentence in standard English?


texts: What part of speech is "left" in this sentence?

texts:
What part of speech is "left" in the following sentence?

  There was nothing left.


texts: Into which category does the phrase "middle end" fall?

texts:
In compiler design, you can sometimes read the phrase middle end.
In that context "front end" and "back end" are natural combinations, where "end" denotes the position in the chain and "back/front" denote the logical position in the process. "Middle end", however seems paradox: Although it clearly lies in the middle of the process, it is definitely not any end of the chain. Even worse, the prefix "middle" seems to automatically contradict its suffix.

My theory is, that the term was later added, when "front end" and "back end" where already established for some simpler designs. Is that plausible? Is my conception of "middle end" being self-contradictory true? If so, is there a name for such combinations in the english language?


texts: Is this expression correct "Don't worry about it; it is supposed be one of the features of this year's release"

texts:
I have always been little confused regarding the use of supposed to. One meaning I am clear on is "obligation," another one is "a theory/concept accepted by a group of people," as in This restaurant is supposed to be a good one.

But I can't make any sense out of the sentence given that definition. So is this phrase correct? If so, then how I am supposed to interpret it?


texts:
As for my knowledge, the object in a sentence is used to talk about the thing or person that the verb is done to or who receives the verb.

For example :

  I put the orange cat into the garden.

With this sentence, it's easy to identify the object which is the orange cat where the orange cat is the one who receives the verb.

But, how about this :

  She was so unpopular that few people visited her in the hospital when she was ill.

I was confused and unsure which one is the object. Is it few people or her? or since the verb here is visited so the object in the sentence is her?


texts: Origin of and why "knock" the socks off?

texts:
We often hear the subject expression and "knock someone's socks off" and it is not difficult to understand what it means.

The Link shows what it means and how it originated:

  Overwhelm, bedazzle, or amaze someone, as in The young pianist knocked the socks off of the judges, or That display will knock their
  socks off. [Slang; mid-1800s]

or

  Also, knock the spots off. Surpass or outdo completely, defeat. For example, These large chains have been knocking the socks off the small
  independent grocers, or Our team knocked the spots off them. The spots
  most likely allude to target practice with playing cards where the
  object is to shoot through all the pips, spots, or marks indicating
  the suit or numerical value of a playing card, but one authority holds
  that they were used in a horse-breeding context and meant "to be in
  the vanguard." [Mid-1800s]

But this and other links don't show explanations on why the verb, knock, was used for the socks which cannot be easily taken off by knocking.


texts: Why are numbers exempt from the less vs. fewer rule?

texts:
The way I tend to apply the less vs. fewer rule is:

If I can count it, it's fewer - (Drink fewer glasses of water.)
If I can't count it, it's less - (Drink less water.)

But when it comes to numbers and time, I usually see less where either less or fewer seem to apply, for example:

Less than 24 hours ago
Fewer than 24 hours ago
10 items or less
10 items or fewer

I can count hours and items, and I can count to 24 and 10, but I can't count a 24 or 10.

Even though I see less applied, which is actually correct?


texts: Appropriate preposition in "your preference of/for time and venue"

texts:
What is the most appropriate preposition for the following sentence?

  I would like to talk to you. Please let me know your preference of/for time and venue where we can meet.

I would also be happy to get a better construct for the idea I am trying to communicate.  Even this does not seem to give me any idea.


texts: What's the correct preposition to complete "to be baffled ... why"?

texts:
I've found a lot of versions, like:

baffled why
baffled about why
baffled at why
baffled by why
baffled as to why
baffled on why
baffled over why

Is there a correct form? Is any of the above wrong?


texts: What is the correct adjective suffix form for tropism?

texts:
A tropism is a type of biological response where an organism reacts to a particular environmental stimulus. For instance, try searching for gravitropism or phototropism and you'll see what I mean.

I'd like to refer to something as being of a tropical nature, to mean that something has the characteristic of being a tropism. But it doesn't sound well to me, because I'm used to see the word tropical refer to something related to the tropics.

Is tropical the correct syntax for the adjective form of tropism?

Shouldn't it be tropismal instead?


texts: I don't understand. What does the sentence mean? Is she still living in Paris or has she moved out?


texts:
(The guy that was fired) - For what he was responsible?
(The guy that was fired) - For what was he responsible?
(The guy that was fired) - What for he was responsible?
(The guy that was fired) - What for was he responsible?

Which one is correct?


texts: What is the term for speaking well of an object, by identifying the negative attributes it has. ie 'Product A is non-poisonous, odor-free and not expensive'. 'Bill does not smoke or gamble'


texts: Why is the word watch pronounced differently from words like patch, latch, match, catch, and batch?

texts: Why doesn't watch rhyme with catch, batch, latch, patch, and match?


texts:
I have found this sentence in a dictionary.
Section 17 provides that all decisions must be circulated in writing.
Do you think it can be reworded like this?
Section 17 provides that all decisions be circulated in writing. SUBJUNCTIVE
or like this
Section 17 provides that all decisions are to be circulated in writing. INDICATIVE


texts: What do the "wires" of "Set the wires of astronomical exchange" refer to?

texts:
The following sentence is taken from The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.
I do not understand what the phrase "set the wires of the astronomical exchange" means.  Does the word "wires" mean "messages by wire"?

  As Mars approached opposition, Lavelle of Java set the wires of the
  astronomical exchange palpitating with the amazing intelligence of a
  huge  outbreak of incandescent gas upon the planet.


texts:
Is there a "science" (or a tool/website) that allows us to combine words the right way?

For example, if I write "fixing a problem", the tool will suggest "solving a problem". Another example: "fixing an issue" -> "resolving an issue"?

I heard, once, that such a "science" (it's not grammar as far as I know) exists, but never caught its name (or is it grasped its name?).


texts: When do you use "middle" and when "center"?

texts:
The other day I was talking to a friend about when to use "middle" or "center". I was using it in the context of top, middle, bottom, as a listing, and he suggested it should be top, center, bottom.

I want to know whether it should be middle or center.


texts: "Doctor's appointment" or "doctors appointment"?

texts:
I've looked this up online, but I can't find any explanations from reasonably credible sources, so I'm posting my question here! (Was that a comma splice?)

Should I refer to the appointment that I made with my doctor as a "doctor's appointment" or "doctors appointment"? What if I'm referring to more than one appointment with two different doctors?


texts: Does hillbilly slang fall under a type of English language and if not, what is it called?

texts:
Does hillbilly slang (for lack of better words) fall under a type of English language and if not, what is it referred to as, if anything?
Such as:

Ch'out!= combo of "watch out!" combined.
y'all = you all
reckon = do you think? Used: "You reckon she's ok?"


texts: To exemplify in the beginning of a sentence

texts: I have read many discussions about this but couldn’t find an answer. Is it wrong to start a sentence with “to exemplify” or “to illustrate?” For example,”To exemplify, yesterday I was walking, and this happened.”


texts: What is the proper term for a ternary digit?

texts:
A binary digit is a bit.

Is there an equivalent term for a three-state digit?

(e.g., a digit representing true, false, or unknown)


texts: Should I say "I am the owner of ABC company" or I should say "I am the owner for ABC company"?


texts: Is "give me a five" the same as "give me five" or incorrect?

texts: I mean the physical gesture of slapping hands together. Any difference between them? Thanks.


texts:
Does 'hope to' mean you hope you can do something or that you hope that you can do something you're probably currently working on? Or does it differ depending on the context?

Eg. I hope to see you again vs I hope to participate in the 2020 Olympic Games.


texts:
I'm having trouble with should.

The third conditional is fine:

  If you had known about the safety hazard at the plant, you should have told someone.

However, for the second conditional I'm running into a mental roadblock.  I can't seem to think of any sentence with should that works.   If I take an example from a textbook:

  If I had her phone number, I would call her.

And then I switch in should:

  If I had her phone number, I should call her.

Then it doesn't sound right.

Is there something about the word should that prevents it from being used in the second conditional?  Do we replace should with ought to as in

  If I had her number, I ought to call her.

If that is true, why does the sentence require to?  I don't use ought, so I don't know.


texts: How should I join the following sentence so it becomes an adjective?

texts:
Wow, that was the most philosophical
  I-don't-care-that-you're-not-a-virgin explanation I've ever heard.

Should I write it like this? Or should I omit some words?


texts: Why are "colleagues" becoming "work colleagues"?

texts:
I've noticed over the last few years that people who were formerly my colleagues have become my work colleagues. Does anyone know why this should be so?

(Perhaps I should also mention that the buildings we used to call "stations" have become "train stations". Perhaps these are specific examples of a more general phenomenon?)


texts:
Is there a neutral term that means "owner of the house"?

By neutral I mean words that do not suggest superiority, e.g. "landlord", "land owner", etc.

Note: "innkeeper" wouldn't work because it suggests owner of a hotel (a building primary for lease), instead of owner of a house (a building not primary for lease).


texts:
I'm a native speaker of Inland Northern American English.  My intuition tells me that the word "abroad" is unremarkable, especially in collocations like "study abroad".

However, I've been correcting English entries on Lang-8 lately, and I noticed that a Canadian English speaker made a correction I wouldn't have.  She changed the following clause:

  she told me that she was going study abroad next month

to this:

  she told me that she was going to study overseas next month

Her explanation was the following:

  Hardly anyone ever says “abroad” in real life, it’s a bit of an awkward word. We say overseas, in another country, outside the country, etc.

This is quite a different impression than I get when I see the word "abroad".  That said, I know I can't always trust my intuition on matters of usage.

Is she correct?


texts:
I'm wondering what word or phrase could be used for the counter examples of 'Midas touch' effect.

  The Midas touch, or the gift of profiting from whatever one undertakes, is named for a legendary king of Phrygia. Midas was granted the power to transmute whatever he touched into gold.
  http://www.mythweb.com/today/today04.html

For example: "Jack has the Midas touch but is still penniless because Sally is/has ?????"


texts: Does the article "the" needs to be used every time in a paragraph while mentioning something that has been referred earlier?

texts:
I not a native English speaker and have real difficulties in the usage of articles in paragraphs, especially the use of article `the'. For instance kindly consider the following paragraph:

  In Fig. 11, we have given both analytical and simulated results. The
  analytical results are plotted using (4). On the other hand, for the
  simulation results, we have done numerical simulations. Furthermore,
  for the analytical results, we have approximated T by the discrete
  parameter t. It can be seen from the figure that the analytical
  results match well with the simulated ones for most of the illustrated
  range. However, the tail probabilities of the analytical results do
  not offer such a nice matching with the simulated results.

Now I am just concerned with the usage of "the" with the words analytical and simulated. Do "the" needs to accompany the words simulated and analytical results every time they are used in the paragraph after the first reference? Or I can omit "the" sometimes? If yes then where and what is the logic of doing so? I have been told that my usage of "the" is quite arbitrary, so need help.

Please also refer to Ram Pillai comment where the aesthetics of the sentence is being referred to. It has been pointed out that in the sentence:

It can be seen from the figure that the analytical results match well with the simulated ones for most of the illustrated range.

'the' is used four times.


texts:
I am learning English and something hard (In my opinion) came up: Present subjunctive. I did a little of research and I came to know that we use this structure mainly for a suggestion, recommendation and obligation.

So far so good, but I don't know how to explain the difference between the two sentences below:

"The chairman recommends that she be here on time for the daily meeting"
"The chairman recommends HER to BE here on time"

If both are correct, is there any difference between them?

Thanks in advance


texts: Paraphrase of "A big part of the secret...."

texts:
A big part of the secret is an extensive and expensive network of sporting academic underpinned by science and medicine. Source

I don't understand the part of "sporting academic underpinned by science and medicine." Please help me to paraphrase this sentence.


texts:
Where did the phrase "drop the hammer" come from? It's what you do when you start to go balls to the wall.

I've only heard it rowing.


texts: Is a period needed in a mid-sentence parenthetical quotation?

texts:
In this sentence ...

  Correct wool velour carpeting is used ("It didn't hold up as well as Porsche would've liked," says Jim, "and they discontinued it after a while") and the restored mahogany dash trim glows with ethereal warmth in direct sunlight.

... even though the parenthetical quote is a complete sentence, I believe it doesn't need a period after "a while" in this case. Am I right? Or should there be a period for the quote itself?


texts: Request for an idiom (if any) or an expression that describes the following phenomenon

texts:
I've been doing some data mining experiments, and something really weird happened one hour ago in the experiment result, and just now something similarly weird happened again.

I'm trying to think of an idiomatic way to describe the phenomenon observed in my experiments as I have to prepare a report for my advisor. A commonly used Chinese idiom (i.e., 无独有偶 just in case you can read it) quickly and naturally came to my mind, and I looked for English translations of the idiom.

I've found the following translation (apparently not idiomatic at all):

  It happens that there is a similar case; it is not unique, but has its
  counterpart.


texts: Which word should one use -- "to", "as", or "into", or another word or phrase-- in sentences such as this one: "[Idiom] translates [to, as, into] [translation]? For example, "Piece of cake" translates [to, as, into] easy task." Or is there a better word choice than "translate"?


texts:
Here is the original text from Lord Macaulay’s History of England:

  They are the men of double entry, magnifying routine. In business they have added mechanical device to mechanical device, they have put wind, water, steam, and electricity into subjection; they have done most of the reckoning in England, and their brains are hieroglyphed with l. s. d.

Source: Macaulay, Thomas Babington. The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1901. xviii. Print.


texts:
Is there a name for this natural pattern of baldness, other than "bald" of course?
A native speaker (UK) mentioned it once but it didn't stick in my head, and I could not find it online.


texts:
I work for an organization where almost everybody uses the term "raise an e-mail" when they want the attention of or to communicate with anybody, or when they want approval from an appropriate authority.

For example, when the line manager wants the attention of the juniors on a specific issue he says, "I have raised an e-mail about discipline; please follow that."

My question is about the term "raise an e-mail". Is it a correct term to use in such instances? If not, what term should be used?


texts: I found a phrase in the Oxford dictionary: “my birthday seems to come round quicker each year”. Why is the word quicker used instead of more quickly?

texts:
I think adverb is needed here to quality “come round”. So why here we use “quicker”?

Thanks for your reply.


texts: English, I'm asking if trash can be an adjective in this sentence formation:

texts:
"This has been thrown in the trash can."

In this instance, wouldn't trash be an adjective describing what type of can it is? I'm being told by a German English teacher that 'trash can' is a noun in this sentence.

There are numerous types of cans, and trash is describing what type of can it is. I'm not getting how trash is a noun in this situation.


texts: Early Modern English - How Many Uses of Conjugated Verbs in a Single Sentence

texts: Using Early Modern English, can I have more than one conjugated verb in a sentence?  For example, would I be more correct to say, "Thinkest thou that thou could take us to see him?"  (Note that only 'thinkest' is conjugated.)  Or would it be more appropriate to say, "Thinkest thou that thou couldst take us to see him?"  (Note that both 'thinkest' and 'couldst' are conjugated.)


texts: Idiom for "the first attempt (of something) is never right"

texts:
In Russian there's a saying that 'the first crepe always comes out wrong' (literally 'stuck together into a ball'), meaning that you'll have to try more than once to succeed at something - because crepe batter is usually trial-and-error.

What's the appropriate English translation?


texts:
I am reading a play and I have problem with some word combinations, especially with this one: "rib place".

  This was from Longhorn's, the rib place. Over on 22nd.


texts: I have 2 young daughters who like many their age are currently obsessed by "Frozen".  I watched it for the first time last night and actually ended up googling to work out whether Elsa's sister is name Anna, or Arne.  It seems the former is correct but there is no way I could pronounce it that way.  Is this a general trend in N.Am English or does it only apply in certain cases?


texts: Something about the name of "Designer Baby" not quite right to me

texts:
I don't know about you, but to me, the term "Designer Baby" sounds wrong.
Designer Babies are:

  The colloquial term "designer baby" refers to a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with in vitro fertilisation to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics. The term is derived by comparison with "designer clothing". It implies the ultimate commodification of children and is therefore usually used pejoratively to signal opposition to such use of reprogenetics

"Designer clothing" is understandable, because "designer clothing" is clothing that bears the logo of a recognizable fashion designer. That means, "clothing that has a designer's mark on it, hence the term "designer clothing", the clothing of a designer."

But "designer baby" doesn't make sense to me. "Designer baby" isn't the baby of a designer. It's just a baby that's been designed artificially.

Do you get me? So, shouldn't it be "Designed Baby"?


texts: Chinese proverb equivalent? "Hitting a dog with baozi"

texts:
Background: "baozi" is any of several varieties of big, soft steamed buns filled with meat, veg, and seasonings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baozi

There's a phrase in Mandarin which translates to "hitting a dog with baozi," which is a phrase used to describe someone approaching a problem in the wrong way, so much so that what they're doing is actually detrimental.

If you throw soft, tasty food at a dog because it did something wrong, you're likely to make the problem worse. And you've also deprived yourself of the food.

In English, the only thing I can think of that's sort of close would be "invading Russia in the winter," but I don't think it's quite the same, as it doesn't carry the same "making things worse" connotation.


texts: What is the origin of a 'racket', meaning a scam or swindle?

texts:
According to the OED the term apparently began in Britain, but became equally used on both sides of the Atlantic.

It means a dishonest or fraudulent line of business, a method of swindling for financial gain.

It has given rise to protection racket, extortion racket etc.

But why racket?


texts: Periods after directional abreviation in address

texts:
I am creating a business card, and I need to put the address of the company on it. What is the proper way to write this address?

  555 14th St NW, Atlanta, GA 55555
  555 14th St NW., Atlanta, GA 55555

Or should "14th St" be spelled out or "NW" be "N.W." or should "St" be "St." or should I spell out "Street"?


texts: Whereafter or where after, one or two words?

texts:
If I Google the word whereafter, multiple online dictionaries claim it is one word.
However, if I type it in Microsoft Outlook, then spellcheck insists that it is two words.
"Grammarly" seems to accept both. Is there a definitive rule? Is it whereafter or where after?


texts:
In the sentence : She first came to Canada on her own in 1998, and committed to music-her passion, both as a songwriter and a singer...”
Is “as [a songwriter]/ [a singer]” subject complement? I found the sentence as I was reading an article online and haven’t been able to stop thinking about the “as a singer....” part since. I’ve been trying to find the answer online but couldn’t find anything. Thank you for your help! :)


texts: How did willa compound with cuma, to signify 'it's well you have come' and 'one who arrives at the pleasure of another'?

texts:
I based the subject line on Etymonline, but the other quotations purport different etymons. Regardless which etymons are correct, I don't understand how they begot the meanings of "it's well you have come" “and "one who arrives at the pleasure of another".

wilcuma (n.) "welcome guest," literally "one whose coming suits another's will or wish," from willa "pleasure, desire, choice" (see will (n.)) + cuma "guest," related to cuman "to come," from PIE root *gwa- "to go, come."

Wiktionary vouches “wilcuma (a wished-for guest)”, but also

The component wil- was replaced by wel- when the sense “guest” of the second component was no longer understood, possibly under the influence of French bienvenu. [ . . . ] Similar constructions are common in Romance languages, such as Italian benvenuto, Spanish bienvenido, French bienvenu, Catalan benvingut, Portuguese bem-vindo and Romanian bun venit, each meaning “[may you have fared] well [in] coming [here]”. These do not derive from Classic Latin, where a similar construction is not found, and presumably are instead the result of a calque from, considering the ruling elite of the barbarian kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire, a Germanic language to Proto-Romance (Vulgar Latin; see Latin *bene venutus, and compare *perdono for similar historical phenomenon).

But Sid Kemp on Quora vouches "“it is good you have come,” in the sense of a welcome guest". I embolded the relevant phrases by THE ETYMOLOGY NERD

All, however, carried the same definition and all trace to the Old English term wilcuma, a noun literally meaning "one who arrives at the pleasure of another". This is a combination of willa, or "pleasure", and cuman, or "to come" (yes, the word come comes from this, through a couple more similar spellings in Middle English as well). Willa, through Proto-Germanic wiljana, goes back to Proto-Indo-European welh, or "to wish". Another interesting part of willa is that while it is related to our word well, it's closer so to will, and the modern modification that looks like well in welcome is actually an instance of folk etymology; people thought that that was supposed to be the correct spelling, and changed it to be so. Instead of hoping someone comes well, the word wills them to come, but that's largely forgotten today. Meanwhile, cuman, through Proto-Germanic kwemana, traces to PIE gwem, which meant "to step". You can see the "traveling" semantic connection. So, welcome etymologically means "wish step", because it bids people to come forward.

Word Origins (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 544 Left column.

welcome [12]

Old English had the greeting
wilcume, which was a compound word formed
from wil- ‘pleasure’ (ancestor of modern English
will) and cume, a derivative of cuman ‘come’.
From it was formed the verb wilcumian
‘welcome’. (German has the parallel
wilkommen.) Then in the early Middle English
period, due to the similarity of well and the
influence of the parallel Old French greeting
bienvenu (literally ‘well come’), it changed to
welcome.


texts: Since society generally seems to want 2 condense & abbreviate the English language, why don’t we use the words “‘twas” “‘twasn’t” (Which is not even a recognized word, btw!!) more often than we do?


texts: What is the AmE and BrE for "americanata"?

texts:
Americanata is a common Italian noun which is used to refer to:

  scherz., iron. Azione, impresa fatta con grandiosità esagerata e ostentata.
  Bizzarria di dubbio gusto: Quello spettacolo è pieno di americanate. (Hoepli)

Translation:

  (jocular, ironic. Actions, feats performed with exaggerated and ostentatious grandeur. Oddities of doubtful taste. That show is full of "americanate".)

The term is generally  used with a derogatory connotation to refer to a single action like "Fonzi jumps the shark" or a movie like "Armageddon" for instance, which are often very popular especially among young people.

The expression is generally translated with a phrase like "exaggerated, unbelievable thing", but what is the noun in AmE and BrE that conveys the meaning suggested above?


texts:
From reading the words it sounds like teaching someone how to fail, however I hear people use it to motivate others to succeed!. So what does the expression "fail successfully" mean?

Also, are there other expressions with similar meaning?


texts: In English, is there an established prefix for "mostly"?

texts:
For half, I could use semi, demi, or hemi.  While semi does mean "half", it sometimes has a connotation of "some".  Demi is often found with French roots.  According to this link, hemi is the least often used of the three but can also mean "half".

On the other hand, I could use something like toti or perhaps other choices to indicate all.

Pardon my mathematical nature, but is there a prefix which would mean "mostly", that is more than one half but less than the full unit.


texts: Describing the fall of objects into water

texts:
I am trying to build a vocabulary describing things falling in water. There are three aspects to it: a) the act of dropping or throwing the object; b) the movement of the object in the water, which could sink or float; c) the movement of water because of the object's impact. The objects could be anything ranging from a piece of cork to an asteroid for all I care.

I have already used some terms: drop/throw, sink/float. I made a little search in thesaurus but, here, I would like to leverage the sensitivity of the community fellows to nuances between similar terms. For example: subtle differences, if any, re a between falling, dropping and suchlike; re b, between plunging, diving and suchlike; re c, between splashing, surging, and so forth.

Word suggestions accompanied by such explanations and caveats will be most appreciated.

Note I am not interested in scientific rigour, rather in the descriptive/evocative meaning for a lay readership/audience.

Note The post topic branches off in many possible answers. I do not expect answers with full coverage, for sure. Anyone interested please pick up the aspects that resonate the most.


texts:
To harp is to talk or write persistently and tediously on (a particular topic).

Example: "I don't want to harp on about the past"

Is there a similar, non-tedious equivalent?


texts: Proper use of passive and active voices?

texts:
My question is when passive voice is preferred over active voices and vice versa?

I remember that I was taught that in scientific writings, passive
voice was preferred over active voice. Is it correct?
If I want to describe several actions of mine, for example:

  I did thing A. I did thing B. I did thing C. I did thing D. ...

If I keep using the active voice, will that make the description
boring? That is why I thought juxtaposition of passive and active
voice would make the description better:

  I did thing A. Thing B was done by me. I did thing C. Thing D was done by me. ...

But a comment led me wonder whether juxtaposition of passive and
active voice is good, or when it is good and when it isn't?


texts: The origin of the expression 'move heaven and earth'?

texts:
The link on an answer on this website (Going through a hard ordeal) states the first record of the hyperbolic expression 'move heaven and earth' to be 1792 but the link gives no precise details of that occurrence.

In reading the Book of Isaiah I wondered if the record of the sundial of Ahaz going back ten degrees (as requested by King Hezekiah in Isaiah 38:8) was the origin of the saying. This is also recorded in II Kings 20: 9 and 10.

There is a similar account of the sun 'standing still' for a whole day in Joshua 10 : 12 and 13 but there the heavens and earth would not be in motion, whereas in the matter of the sundial of Ahaz, the heavens and the earth would, indeed, be "moved" (presumably, but not necessarily, 'backwards').

I fully realise that light could be distorted (gravitationally) to give the appearance of a sundial going backwards, in which case it is still a supernatural event. But the technical details are not my question.

I am only asking if the written record in the bible is the origin of the hyperbolic expression 'move heaven and earth'.

Thus I would expect a record previous to 1792.

The only origin reference I can find is the same as the linked answer states which is the Free Dictionary. This also gives :

  To exert oneself to the utmost to accomplish something. This hyperbole dates from the eighteenth century and is heard somewhat less often today. It was a cliché by the time F. Anstey wrote (Tinted Venus, 1885), “There’s the police moving heaven and earth to get you back again.”

So, first recorded in 1792 (unknown) and then a cliche by 1885.

But where does it come from ?

The book of Isaiah ? Or elsewhere ?


texts: Is this sentence correct? “I’m just curious as to how they planned to play out the grotesque scene where Lennie killed Curley’s wife.”

texts: Hi is “I’m just curious as to how they planned to play out the grotesque scene where Lennie killed Curley’s wife.” grammatically correct?


texts: Any rule for using nationality as a noun?

texts:
As you know there are times when using a nationality (without any modification) is a correct way to refer to a person of that nationality and there are times when it is incorrect. For example "He is a German" vs. *"He is a French".
Are there any rules for deciding if a nationality can be used as a noun?


texts: How native English speakers perceive IT company and domain names by ear?

texts:
I want to create web service and have bought domain name which for me, native Russian, looks good. But I have a question about how native English speakers perceive that name by ear?

The name is distractless.me and distractless.email.

First, I wanted to have association with adjective ending on -less, like painless. But it looks like there is no such word and only 12,100 Google search results. Otherwise less distract has 24,800,000 search results and correction that I would probably wanted less distracted with 43,900,000 results.
Second, I wanted the people would directly understand service goal by domain name (service clean up and manage burden of clutter email box)

These are my summarized questions:

How do you fill that domain name? Does it have some hidden undesired
meaning or association or like that?
How do you feel the general IT company (and domain) names, like Facebook?

For me, native Russian, if I'd see service with these direct Russian names (face; book) that would only cause confusion because it's very weird and unnatural hearing, unlike English pronunciation Facebook doesn't have that association and looks like abstract and doesn't have that hidden meanings (just abstract company name)


texts:
I'm trying to say:

  He probably gained some __________ [good notoriety] from this picture.

I was thinking publicity, but that connotes some kind of negative to me as well (like the stuff you see in gossip magazines at the checkout line).

I want a word as powerfully positive as notoriety is powerfully negative.


texts:
We're programmers. Overheard snatch of conversation between co-worker and boss (cleaned up):

  Yes, we can certainly look into this new technology, but who knows what reefs await us?

After the call ended, we quizzed him on his use of reef in this way. He said that in Russian it is used as an idiom to represent potential hidden problems that are calamitous if encountered (pretty apt in the context, actually). I couldn't think of any English equivalent -- can you?