texts: Why is “bat down” not listed in any of major English dictionaries as an idiom, set phrase, collocation, no matter whatever it is?

texts:
I came across the following passage in September 17 “The Hill.” under the headline, “Trump says Kavanaugh may be delayed.”:

  “If it takes a little delay it’ll take a little delay.” Trump told
  reporters at the White House. "I’m sure it will work out very well.”
  Trump batted down a reporter who asked if Kavanaugh should withdraw,
  calling it a “ridiculous question.”

I took “bat down” as “snub” or “shut out,” and consulted online dictionaries to make it sure, and found none of them including Oxford, Cambridge, and Collins Cobuild listed “bat down,” though they list “beat down,” “pat down,” “sat down,” and you can name it.

An online English / French dictionary translates “bat down” as “dėmolir.”

Google N gram shows that the use of “bat down” started in mid 19 century. It soared up in mid 20 century, dropped once, and regaining currency since 1990s.

I wonder exact meaning of “bat down,” and why the phrase is not shown in major dictionaries.

Addendum:

With JJJ’s edit, I’m a bit surprised to find the quoted paragraph was rewriten by the author in the latest version of the Hill, It goes now:

  “When asked if Kavanaugh should withdraw, Trump said it was a
  “ridiculous question” but added that he has not spoken with the
  federal judge about the accusations. The phrase, “batted down” has
  gone.

I wonder why the author reworded the line in question and if he thought the use of “batted down” awkward or unsuitable to the context. What is your take on this rephrasing?


texts: Is there a special word/name/phrase for the money/income generated by student while he is in college?

texts: Is there a special word/name/phrase for the money/income generated by a student while he is in college by working part time?


texts: This is my explanation about "V to do something" vs "V doing something"! Is it correct or incorrect?

texts:
Ok, see these example

  I enjoy to read books / I enjoy reading books

  I like to play football / I like playing football

  I prefer to drink water / I prefer drinking water

  He recommended to avoid bread when you eat at restaurants / He
  recommended avoiding bread when you eat at restaurants

  You need to get some sleep / You need getting some sleep

There are a lot of explanation about this kind of structure but I have not seen anyone explaining like this:

I think, "V to do something" tends to be like a specific action "to do something".

For example, "I enjoy to read books" means "I enjoy to read books right now & I will find some books to read right now".

However, "V doing something" tends to be like a general opinion without linking to any specific action.

For example, "I enjoy reading books" mean "I enjoy reading books generally & It is not necessary to read books right now but I generally like reading books"

For example, "I like to play football" --> "I specifically like to play football right now"

"I like playing football" --> "I generally like playing football"

"I prefer to drink water" --> "There are a glass of water and a glass of cola on the table right now and specifically I prefer to drink water"

"I prefer drinking water" --> "I generally prefer drinking water to cola"

"He recommended to avoid bread when you eat at restaurants" ---> "He specifically recommended you to avoid bread when you eat at these specific restaurants"

"He recommended avoiding bread when you eat at restaurants" ---> "He generally recommended you avoiding bread when you eat at any restaurants"

"You need to get some sleep" --> specifically you need to go to sleep right now.

"You need getting some sleep" ---> generally you need getting some sleep because it is good for your health.

I am not sure my explanation is correct or incorrect.


texts: What does "There but for the grace of God — goes God." mean?

texts: It is a supposedly witty paraprosdokian said by Churchill. But I (and possibly some other people whose first language is not English) don't get it. Can someone explain what it means? Do English native speakers get this without much thinking?


texts: Is "kindergarten" an old fashioned word nowadays? I see it used in many kindergartens' websites, how (un)popular is it?


texts:
I was writing the following sentence and I'm puzzled which one would be the correct sentence. In my humble opinion, the second sentence looks wrong as a comma is not required. The second part of the sentence "I received..," is an independent sentence, and it is better to use a conjunction like which, or that, or maybe a comma is not required at all.

I am writing this letter to express my dissatisfaction on the laptop repair service I received from you service center.

I am writing this letter to express my dissatisfaction on the laptop repair service, I received from you service center.

I am writing this letter to express my dissatisfaction on the laptop repair service that I received from you service center.


texts:
First, are the following sentences correct (i,e no awkwardness there)? :

  All the time I spent studying for my master's degree back in the US, I
  didn't come back to my country

  All the time I spent studying for my master's degree in the US, I
  didn't come back to my country

Second, what is the new information that the word back added?


texts: Is 'one' a pronoun referring to 'blue' in the phrase "blue, which is one of my favorite colors"?

texts:
In the sentence:

"My car has the color blue, which is one of my favorite colors,"

Does 'one' act as a pronoun of 'blue' (is referring towards blue)?


texts: The phrase "search me" is so ubiquitous in the English language that it is found on every list of common idioms. It is a situational idiom for "I don't know" in response to any direct question. But where did it originate? English has a lot of expressions, usually sarcastic, for expressing ignorance. Where did this one come from and when?


texts: Is “nice to meet you” an appropriate online salutation?

texts: When one makes a new acquaintance with somebody in person, you may say “it was nice to meet you”, e.g. when you leave. What if you make a new acquaintance over the internet, what do you say when you finish the conversation, business transaction, etc.? You didn’t actually meet the person, you only exchanged some emails. One could say “it was nice to talk/do business/etc. with you” but that doesn’t confer the fact you made a new acquaintance and it was enjoyable experience for you. Does the word meet really work in this case or is something else better?


texts: Can I use the word ''precedent'' in this example?

texts:
Example sentence with precedent.

''He rarely picked up the phone, so he created a bad precedent for himself.''


texts: Appropriate Word or Phrase that Means "Determine Whether an Action is Permitted"

texts:
Is there a good couple-/few-word phrase to express the idea that an actor's intendended purpose is to determine whether an action is permitted/approved/authorized versus denied/disapproved/rejected? I'll note that I'm subtly not talking about the actual approval/rejection itself, but rather the determination of which end action to take.
At the moment, I'm clunkily describing this as "determine permission", but that feels inaccurate because one might determine that something is not permitted.
An example would be "This committee will review the application, and send a judgement of whether a member's request should be approved or denied to the appropriate administrator; its members alone [determine permission] for requests."
Note: I am actually using this as the name for a function in code, so unfortunately I am unable to get creative with rephrasing in order to circumvent the problem.


texts: Can a Noun or Noun phrase ever be Secondary Predicate complement or adjunct?

texts:
1
She drank the coffee [hot] - adjective
The winter froze the Lake [solid]-adjective
Sam painted the wall [green] - adjective
The boy delivered the package [wet] - adjective
She sells them [new] - adjective
All of the adjectives in the above sentences modify {Object} (even though some can be ambiguous)
2
The soldiers arrived the camp [exhausted] - adjective
The cup arrived [broken] - adjective
The lake froze [solid] - adjective
I started this project [quite enthusiastic] - adjective phrase
All of the adjectives in the above sentences modify {Subject}
My Question
Can I use a Noun or Noun Phrase in the place of adjectives?
As in:-
3
She drank the coffee [the tastiest concoction] - Noun phrase
The winter froze the Lake [a solid block] - Noun phrase
Sam painted the wall [colour of the sky] - Noun phrase
The boy delivered the package [a torn bundle] - Noun Phrase

Can a noun or noun phrase act as modifier in the place of adjectives?

Sam named his son [John] - Noun
John here acts as a modifier and is inevitable- so it is a complement.
To me, I'm not a native speaker, some of the sentences in the top-most 2 sections sound they're Resultative constructions -- adjective comes as a result of some action.
And some others sound like Depictive constructions -- the adjective modifies a subject or object that are static and do not undergo a change or anything.
And to my exotic ears these constructions sound alright. Whether there is an adjective as the complement or noun as the complement they equally sound like a result of some action in one case, and in another a less hassle modification to the subject or object.
The sentences with [adjective] as complement are, according to a number of sources, true and they make sense to everyone.
But the problem here is not that.
The question here is whether the the Adjectives replaced by Nouns and Noun phrases make sense (3 and 4 section).
They do make sense to me, being a foreigner.
And finally- in linguistic terms what are they called? (1 and 2 sections)
Is there a strict line restricting the formation of such constructions? (as there can be an infinite number of Depictive and Resultative circumstances).


texts:
What is the meaning of "six-three" in this excerpt from a New York Times article?

  “Turn around,” Mr. Florence, in an interview last year, recalled being
  told by jail officials. “Squat and cough. Spread your cheeks.”
  “I consider myself a man’s man,” said Mr. Florence, a finance
  executive for a car dealership. “Six-three. Big guy. It was
  humiliating. It made me feel less than a man.”

I could not find on Google nor Urban dictionary.


texts: Synonym for e.g. "believe", "think", or "claim" but in a derogatory sense?

texts:
I'm discussing with a friend a particular personality flaw.  I want to posit that members of my generation may be more inclined to suffer from that flaw.

Certainly it's the arrogance of youth to think that my generation uniquely suffers from it - and I want to qualify my hypothesis by saying such.

Certainly it's the arrogance of youth to <verb> that we uniquely suffer from that flaw.

Now, I could just use "claim" in place of <verb>.  "Claim" works: it carries a stronger implication that the notion could be wrong than either "think" or "believe" do.

But what's a word (or perhaps short phrase) that I could use to convey even more strongly that I have no illusions that my generation invented the flaw?


texts:
When is the construction other than required, or preferable to simply than?

  There's not much we can do than wait.

This feels more correct:

  There's not much we can do other than wait.

But if I add "more" before "much", I'm unsure if omitting "other" seems better?

  There's not much more we can do than wait.

Although this still feels more correct:

  There's not much more we can do other than wait.


texts: Is "responsible" a gradable or a non-gradable adjective?

texts: Is responsible a gradable adjective that can be modified with too? E.g., "He is too responsible".


texts: Which one is correct and natural sentence?

texts:
I've got 2 options for sentences here:

I visit my hometown about two or three times a year.
I visit my hometown about twice or three times a year.

Which one is correct and natural?


texts: Which pronoun should be used after the word ‘like’?

texts:
For example, which of the following is considered correct?:

  Don't be like him
  Don't be like he is

There are other examples I can't think of right now where people use him instead of he, or her instead of she etc.  It's frustrating!


texts:
Is it considered proper English to say something like this?

  I called her via a telephone.

Or should the indefinite article be omitted entirely?

  I called her via telephone.

If the indefinite article is to be omitted, are there any cases in which it should not be? Or, does it even matter?


texts:
The following sentence is somehow ambiguous for me:

"Ambassador had already obtained from the Secretery an endorsement of the invitation he had taken the liberty of making to the King a few days earlier."

I have guessed something about the meaning of this sentence, but I am not sure.

Thanks very much, thanks in advance.


texts:
"His actions engendered a revolution in the Capitol."

This sounds a bit off to me. But going by the dictionary meaning, this is legal and correct. Is this correct in terms of readability and conveying meaning? If not, please help me starighten out this sentence. (I do not need alternative words.)


texts: The term for doing what others tell you is impossible

texts: I am looking for a word which describes the act of doing something most people think is impossible or when you want to show to someone that you are capable of doing something maybe like revenge or negative encouragement. I'd be happy to see some words related to psychology too.


texts:
I am looking for strong, yet poetic expressions/synonyms of "Great Divide" which, beside its other meanings, expresses "a major point of division, especially death."

The context I need is the act of parting (death) by lovers presented as a strong, sad and dramatic act.

Example: They tasted each other's lips for the very last time and closed their Great Divide.


texts:
Is it possible to draw a distinction between the two phrases?

There are a comparable number of Google hits for both.

I am also wondering about the correct use of similar phrases, e.g. memetics research vs. memetic reseach, economics research vs. economic research.


texts: What's the meaning and the origin of "skewer a sacred cow ?"

texts:
I've read this idom from an article, and it seems that the phrase "skewer a sacred cow" mean "to criticize" but I am not very sure.

Does anyone know the exact meaning and the origin of this idom?


texts: Origin of "Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

texts:
One of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (according to Stephen Covey) is:

Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

What is the origin of this phrase? My guess is that it was inspired by the Prayer of Saint Francis which contains these words:

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;

but according to Wikipedia even that cannot be traced back further than 1912.
Did it then originate with Stephen Covey?


texts: Is there a word or a combination of words that can describe something waving in all directions?

texts: I was visiting a glass exhibition this afternoon and one piece of glass work caught my eyes. It was composed of hundreds of curved tubes of glass, each  looping around the others until eventually they shape like medusa's hairs. Can you come up with any descriptive expressions for such view?


texts: Can you say "something" when referring to a person or thing?

texts:
Say for example you are saying "He takes the rubber ball and whips it, trying to hit something with it."

Is it correct to say "something" when what can be hit is a person or a thing?

Or do I have to say "He takes the rubber ball and whips it, trying to hit someone or something with it."


texts: Is the computer-related term "character" understood by the general population?

texts:
The following kind message is common in programming:

  Your password must be at least six
  characters long and include at least
  one letter and one number

Would an average person understand what that message means?

Is it reasonable to assume they'd understand the distinction between a character and a letter?

Is there a better, jargon-free, way to phrase this message that does not sound torturous?


texts: Singular or plural verb when referring to an individual and then a group

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Singular or plural following a list
  Mixing plural and singular list items with a single verb

Which is correct?

  The Mayor and City Council has...

  The Mayor and City Council have...


texts: Use of an incomplete sentence as a footnote

texts:
Can a footnote be an incomplete sentence? For example, a footnote for "Pharaoh" says, "The Egyptian king during the time of Prophet Moses."

If so, should "the" be capitalized or not?


texts: What is another word for a false belief or opinion on something that people hold true and repeat because they have heard it repeated so many times?

texts:
It isn't any of the words on this page and I believe it started with the letter 'e' (though please offer your word even if it doesn't).

Example sentence: Because he researched what he had heard from his friends, he was able to refute many of their _________________.

Factoid seems to be the closest one, but the word I am looking for only refers to a belief that is false.


texts:
I've got the following two sentences:

This house is new and, what is more, it faces to the south.
This software is easy to use, and what is more, it's free.

These were drawn from a textbook. In 1, and and what is more are separated to each other by means of the comma, as opposed to 2 where they are not separated. Is it possible to write out vice versa, like,

1* This house is new, and what is more, it faces to the south.
2* This software is easy to use and, what is more, it's free.


texts: Is there a polite way to refer to someone who is responsible for cleaning at work?


texts: What is the word for "to put something on a skewer"?

texts:
As in:

  verb kebabs on a skewer and grill for 30 minutes.

An automatic translation from my native language to English suggests words "string" or "thread", but I haven't ever seen them used in this context.


texts: This process will continue UP TO A TIME in the future

texts:
When I am about to tell you that the process is still going to continue, but unsure at what exact point of time the process will end.

Is the sentence "This process will continue up to a time in the future." acceptable?


texts: Term for “preview entries” that web sites show on index pages?

texts: Blogs and websites typically provide an index page of entries where they show an excerpt of the post.  Excerpts usually include title, author, post date, and a blurb.  What is the term for these sorts of excerpt?


texts: Is "this is the first time I'll be taking the exam" right?

texts: Is the sentence "This is the first time I'll be taking the exam." grammarly correct? If so, why using the present continuous tense, and what about "This is the first time I take the exam."


texts:
Imagine this scenario:

Amy and Brent are sister and brother.
Clive and Derek are brothers.
Amy marries Clive.
Derek is therefore Amy's brother-in-law.
Brent is also Clive's brother-in-law.
Derek and Brent are _________?

Are they also brothers-in-law?

Is there a term for this?

If there is no specific term, how could I describe their relationship?


texts: What are proper Western equivalent to these Indian usage of English?

texts:
Pan out

Example: "His effort didn't pan out well."

Indians use this word a lot to describe a situation where a person tried to achieve something by a good deal of effort but failed.

Put Out

Example: "Pakistani military put out a video of a missile launch"

What would be the proper word for this? Publish or release?


texts: Difference between "outfit" and "costume"

texts: What is the difference between outfit and costume? For example, if you don't typically go to clubs, but you buy a certain set of clothes that you think will make you look like a typical club-goer, which does that set of clothing constitute?


texts:
Just like the pairs Interviewer & Interviewee or Employer & Employee, is there any word for leader?

Say the word is x. I'm trying to construct a statement where I have to say that, "A leader needs to be both gregarious and exemplary to inspire the x".

The sentence could possibly be rephrased to avoid the word that I'm looking for. But I want to know if such a word exists.


texts:
I was reading a book about events in the 1920's US south; and came across the phrase in a quote from a KKK spokes person.  I can't figure out what the phrase means, and haven't been able to find any other use of it to give hints from broader context.  For clarity I've included the most complete copy of the quotation I could find
from "The Ku Klux Klan In American Politics" By ARNOLD S. RICE, 1962.

Here is a version of the quote from The Emergence of the New South, 1913-1945, George Brown Tindall, p. 191:


texts: I’m American, from the Midwest in particular and I always pronunced the word figure as ˈfi-gər.  I rarely have gotten any comments on that, though I have gotten comments on a similarity to a Canadian accent, such as a relaxed about along with process with a long o, (but that’s for another time).  It wasn’t until recently that some friends of mine started commenting on the way I say it.  I haven’t done too much research, so is my pronunciation technically incorrect?


texts: When to use 'an' and when to use 'a' with words begining with 'h'?

texts:
Some h-words need 'an' for the indefinite article (I will be there in an hour).

Other h-words need 'a' for the indefinite article (It is a history of sadness).

Is there a general rule?


texts: Difference in use of "denizens" versus "residents"

texts: What is the difference between "denizens" and "residents"?


texts:
A: You haven't heard it? B: No, I heard it (nodding a yes)

I'd always expect as a positive response to a negative question Yes, I heard it / did.

Why so?

Link to video 22:32


texts:
Most online dictionaries I've found define "deviously" as in a devious manner, but "devious" seems to have three meanings:

indirect
departing from the correct or appropriate way
deceitful, insincere

I find it difficult to apply any of the three meanings of "devious" when trying to understand "deviously" in the following quotes:

Flynn keeps the accelerator firmly to the floor, ratcheting up the tension with wildly unexpected plot twists, contradictory stories and the tantalising feeling that nothing is as it seems. Deviously good

The lawn still slopes deviously, and every day that I see it I am thankful for it.

Of course, it is summer, and the sun is shining, and it is deviously tempting to turn away from the void.

It's often funny, but at any given point, it's deviously unclear what we're laughing at.

How should I understand the meanings of "deviously" in the above quotes?


texts: Defining and Non defining Relative clauses

texts:
Is the following sentence a define or not defining relative clause. Since, when we remove the part enclosed in commas, the remaining part doesn't make sense, I think it is a defining relative clause but my teacher says that whenever there is anything enclosed in commas in a sentence it becomes a Non Defining Relative clause.
Sentence:"The children,who shouted in the street, were not from our school"


texts: What is a good way to refer to stories that are meant for adults?

texts:
There are stories for children and for adults. But when I say "adult stories" people tend to think they are erotica/porn stories.

What is a good way to refer to adult stories?

Example of adult stories: Lovecraft's, Poe's, Kafka's, etc.


texts:
I just found a 1996 VHS cassette with 'Super HD' written on it. I was under the impression that 'High Definition' is a relatively new term but it seems pretty old :D.

When did 'High Definition' come into widespread use??


texts: Is there a difference between "are here also" and "are also here"

texts:
Is there a difference between are here also and are also here?

  In this street you see 2 trees, 1 mithril rock and 1 patch of wheat.
  You look around and notice that Bob, Sara and Tom are also here.

This is my actual use case, but I wonder if one of the two makes it more implicit. My intention is to say "besides all these resources, you also see some users".
Or perhaps there's even better wording..


texts: The origin of the current use of 'readout' in reporting political news

texts:
The word ‘readout’ has recently started appearing in various U.S. news reports in a sense that seems to be relatively new: a public summary of a meeting, or a phone conversation, which was not itself public (but was not secret either), prepared by (the staff of) one of the parties to it. How did this word end up serving that purpose? What is being read here? Out of what? Why is calling something a readout supposed to be more useful than calling it a summary or a press release?

  (US) An official statement summarizing the points discussed during a meeting or phone call between diplomats or political figures.

  ‘the White House readout of the call came after the prime minister postponed a key speech on the European Union’

(ODO)


texts: Why do translations refer to the original language with a definite article, e.g. "translated from the Spanish"?

texts:
In general in English, we don't ever apply the definitive article to languages. We don't say "He speaks the Japanese" or "It was originally written in the French."
But for translated books, they are very often prefaced with a note phrased as Translated from the Spanish or Translated from the Arabic.
Where does this odd form originate? What is the reason for this grammatical deviation?


texts:
Kensington Market was once an eastern European and Italian neighborhood, but the area changed along with its residents.

Would you please explain the word "along with" in this sentence?
Thanks


texts: Term for Internet or Texting Acronyms, e.g. LOL, IMHO, M8

texts:
What are the acronym, internet words like lol, brb, imho, etc., called? Is there such a term beyond acronym? I was wanting to tell someone that someone else was not familiar with the meme/internet jargon/acronym 'M8' (or mate), but couldn't think of a reasonable word to use.

So, is there a term that would define these terms for how they are different than other, regular english 'SMS text'. Moreover, we find these terms more and more in the wild and not necessarily even on electronic devices, like on t-shirts or even spoken.

If I e-mail the message, "I'll be leaving the office at 10, but then I'll brb."  What would I call the 'brb' part of the message, apart from the rest? "He e-mailed his boss a message saying 'He'd be right back', but he decided using an [internet jargon] was acceptable."

Update 02/01/2018

Although I have accepted an answer for now, I think it is inadequate, and that a word will eventually be coined to define these text terms. Until then...


texts: "Were I a (blank)" Is it archaic and or if so is it still proper grammar?

texts:
A fuller example of my problem is in the following excerpts from a little thought I'm trying to jot down. I like the way it reads; but then again... any help would be appreciated.

"I'd like to believe that were I a woman and not a man, I'd have(...)

and

"To allow the crooked and foolish to go unabated could very well put my own self in danger, were I a woman."

If anybody's interested I wouldn't mind posting the entire thought for grammatical as well as creative criticism.

Thanks in advanced for anybody's input.


texts: Which of these nouns does the relative clause go with?

texts:
I have this sentence:

  John inadvertently broke the window of Mary's car, which was bought just two weeks ago.

Which meaning should I understand between "Mary's car was bought two weeks ago" and "the window of Mary's car was bought two weeks ago"?

If the sentence means the former one, how can I make it mean "the window was bought two weeks ago"?

Thanks.


texts: Single noun for someone who claims authority

texts:
I'm looking for a noun that describes not only people who are granted authority by others (leader), but anyone who claims it, regardless of whether they receive it from others. In particular, religious authority, but it doesn't need to be limited to that.
Thank you!


texts: Should I write "encode X into format Y" or "encode X in format Y"?

texts: In technical writing involving such things as file formats, should one write "encode such-and-such into format Y" or write "encode such-and-such in format Y"?  In other words, which preposition (into or in) is more correct?


texts: "worth" with possessive(s) in coordinated nominals

texts:
According to Garner Modern English Grammar

  The idiomatic possessive should be used with periods of time and
  statements of worth — 30 days’ notice (i.e., notice of 30 days), three
  days’ time, 20 dollars’ worth, and several years’ experience.

Yet, I'd like to know how to use  the possessive in coordinated nominals.
I've just come across

This is two Christmases and a birthday worth of presents


texts: Use of quotation marks in example conversations

texts:
I am trying to understand if a hypothetical conversation in an article should be treated as a quote ie have quotation marks surrounding it.
For example. When talking about whether or not it is a good restaurant it's not advisable to say: what a dump, it would be better to think of a concrete critisicm and use that: the kitchen was visibly dirty.

Any ideas welcome, thank you


texts:
Before there were clocks, what did people say to describe the clockwise and anti/counter-clockwise directions?

Whilst we're on the subject, when was the word "clockwise" first used?


texts: Is “I’ve got an Eiffel Tower, I want to sell you,” a popular or set-phrase used when you heard the story you can’t believe from somebody?

texts:
I was interested in the phrase “If you believe that, I’ve got an Eiffel Tower I want to sell you,” which appeared in Maureen Dowd’s column, titled “The Libertine on the Loose” in New York Times (May 1st).

The article seems to be mocking the former IMF President, Strauss-Kahn for his appearance in the birthday party of Julien Dray, France Socialist Party deputy together with a troop of celebrities. The article wraps up with the following lines:

“According to Le Figaro, a stripper-hooker named Jade testified that “I did not go and sleep with Dominique Strauss-Kahn simply for pleasure. First of all, he is old. He is stout.”

The 63-year-old insisted that the “pretty new things” were motivated merely by lust for him. And, if you believe that, I’ve got an Eiffel Tower I want to sell you."

In Japan, we have popular sayings such as “If your story is true, I’ll show my somersault dive from the top of the Mt. Fuji before your eyes,” and “(Your story is laughable to) 'make a water in the kettle boil on my belly button'” when we don’t believe what the other party is saying to you.

Is Dowd’s “(If) I’ve got something (like Eiffel Tower or the Empire State), I want to sell you,” a popular or set phrase like our “somersault dive from the top of Mt. Fuji” and “make a kettle of water boil on my naval.”?

Associated question on her remark:
What does "lust" of "motivated merely by lust for him" mean?


texts: Is there a word that means "appears like an exact copy but actually isn't"

texts:
"The copies of texts transcribed by the monks were usually XXX because of inevitable human error."
"Her lack of resources meant that her outfits were XXX of the ones she saw in fashion magazines."
"The unicode characters '05AD' and '0596' are XXX"

EDIT - for further context, which should have been added by the poster, the unicode characters '05AD' and '0596' are two near-identical characters from the Hebrew alphabet.  A less demanding example might have been "em dash" and "en dash", or a lowercase L ("l") and the numeral for one ("1").


texts:
The phrase is from the TV series Mr Robot. Mobley compares Android phone and iPhone:

  I mean, if you're talking boot times, then it's Android all day, and if you're talking net speed, Chrome on Android has better HTML5 compliance and runs JavaScript so much faster than Safari.

If it means "Android is way better", then I don't understand etymology.


texts: Adjective order: Why is "big" before "beautiful"?

texts:
I was reading an English children story to my niece the other day when I came across these phrases said by three different characters:

  I want a big, beautiful hat!
  I want a big, exciting computer!
  I want a big, expensive TV!

Why is the first adjective big and not the adjective expressing an evaluation or opinion? I thought adjectives expressing the speaker's opinion came first and foremost. I am also curious about the comma separating the two adjectives, how does it affect meaning?

And finally, if I were to insert red in the first example, where would it fit best and should I keep the commas?

  I want a big, beautiful red hat!
  I want a beautiful, big red hat!
  I want a big, red, beautiful hat!


texts: What does a 'lop-sided board' mean in Charles Dickens' "The Haunted House"?

texts:
Can someone please help me picture the following situation?

  A lop-sided board drooped over the garden wall, announcing that it was 'to let on very reasonable terms, well furnished.

Charles Dickens, The Haunted House


texts: What is a student seeking a Ph.D called?

texts: A student seeking a bachelor's degree is an undergraduate student; a student seeking a master's degree is a graduate student. What would a student seeking a Ph.D. be called? Would he/she still be called a graduate student or is there a different term to be used?


texts: Can I use "as late as" to express a deadline?

texts:
You must submit your homework as late as tomorrow.

Does the sentence have the same meaning as the following one?

  The deadline for your homework submission is tomorrow.

To be specific, I want to convey the urgency of the matter, not allowance for delay.

From the answers, I've learned that "You must do something by some_time." or "You must do something no later then some_time." is what I want. But what if some_time is indicated by the occurrence of some thing? Are these two expressions correct?

  You must start the second round no later than the first round ends.

and

  You must start the second round by the time the first round ends.


texts: Difference between "farrago" and "gallimaufry"?

texts:
What's the difference in spirit between "gallimaufry" and "farrago"? Are there any sentences where using one or the other would lead to a subtly different meaning?

Both are defined in dictionaries as "a confused mixture", or a synonym of "hotchpotch". I'm afraid they're too close to just be able to compare their dictionary definitions.


texts: "Entire production" as a collective noun for an artist's works

texts: Is it common or possible to use the construction "The entire production of an artist is on display at the museum", or is there another collective noun that encompasses the entirety of an artist's works without referring to the art format (e.g. cinematography, photography, discography)?


texts:
The sentence is 'The rabbit led the lion to a deep, wide river.'

Can I say 'deep and wide' here instead? Any difference in meaning?

I have been always taught that linking 2 things should use the word 'and'. More than 3 things use 'a, b and c' pattern.

Thanks.


texts: How to qualify a 90% success without sounding to brag about it?

texts:
I need to refer to predictions I made that were not a 100% success, but a 90+% success.

I first wrote "with some success" but a native english speaker (I am not) reviewed it and told me "some success" did not sound very successful.

How I express the results were good enough for me to be completely satisfied by them without being perfect, and not sound to be bragging about it?


texts: Word or phrase for “example earlier than the concept”

texts:
Which English word or phrase can be used to express consisely that

  a particular thing or occurrence can be seen as an example or instance of a general concept,
  for which now there is a term,

  but at the time this thing existed or the occurrence took place
  the term was not yet in use or that general concept was not yet recognized

?

A possible example:

  According to Wikipedia, Plato was a feminist ______.”

The idea would be to express that the stated views of Plato make him a feminist (at least according to Wikipedia), but that of course neither he nor his contemporaries considered him as such, simply because the concept was introduced much later (namely by Charles Fourier in 1837).

What comes in my mind is something like “before the fact” or “before the term”, but dictionary sites do not support this use. Is there some other phrase?


texts: "We will not only go to Mars but also to Jupiter." is grammatically correct? And some other questions

texts:
Is this grammatically correct?

  "We will not only go to Mars but also to Jupiter."

How about

  "We will go not only to Mars but also to Jupiter."

and

  "We will go to not only Mars but also Jupiter."

I believe the first sentence violates parallel structure and the second and third stick to parallel structure. However some native speakers told me the first sentence is okay but others are not. I'd like to know which sentence(s) is right or not and why. I would appreciate your help.


texts: What precedes "sharing the emotion labor" in this sentence?

texts:
The sentence is:

Imagine a community printer, sharing the emotional labor and expense
of keeping track of ink cartridges and paper.

In this sentence, what precedes sharing the emotional labor? Is it Imagine as in Imagine a community printer and imagine sharing the emotional labor? Or is it Imagine a community printer that shares the emotional labor (this sounds weird to me since it's a printer after all)?


texts:
Which form is correct in the following sentence?

Greek sigmas have a different form at the end of words?
Greek sigmas have a different form at the ends of words?


texts:
Why is the English town of Middlesbrough so spelled, and why is the first 'o' of borough missing, as it is not with such as Scarborough, Peterborough, Knaresborough, etc.

I note that there are towns called Middlesborough in the United States which retain a first 'o'. But my spell checker does not like them!


texts: Safe as Houses - Popular consideration of this phrase's etymology

texts:
So as not to bury the lede (yes that's the spelling apparently):

  My question: According to the wiktionary the phrase "safe as houses" refers to
  something being as safe as investing in house property, and the phrase
  originated well over a century ago. As an American who has rarely
  heard the phrase, I am wondering if the average person who uses or
  hears this phrase would be relatively aware of the etymology, or
  whether the phrase instead brings to mind a house being physically safe (in relation to crime) compared to, say, a
  tenement building. Obviously, since it's an idiom no knowledge of its
  origins is required to use it correctly, but it seems that
  understanding its etymology might bring a person to use it more often
  since it makes more sense than a house being particularly safe in regards to crime.

In other words, how popular is the phrase, and is the consideration of its etymology often mistaken, in regions in which it is commonly used.

I should add here that during my research (and about halfway through writing this post, trying to see if I'd heard the phrase in Sherlock Holmes or the few seasons of Dr. Who I've seen) I found out that the rarest incarnation of the good doctor went through this same train of thought as to the etymology. I haven't seen the TV movie or whatever special appearance he made (he didn't play in a live-action season?), and I realize that the popularity of Dr. Who may have brought about a recurrence of the use of the phrase or at least a wider knowledge of its etymology. So perhaps some feedback from a perspective of an audience wider than that of Dr. Who's audience is in order.

Now for some useless garbage background info on why I'm curious about this (tl;dr just skip this):

I am an American and I have never heard the phrase spoken or seen it written by another American, even in TV or movies. The first time I noticed the phrase was a few years ago, online in some ad campaign located in Australia or New Zealand, and thought it might have its geographical center in that area. I then began noticing it in a variety of popular media from the United Kingdom. For the few years I've known of the phrase I've thought of it as "as safe as a house" vs. say... apartments or roads or parks or something. A house didn't seem to be the first place I would refer to as safe, so I wondered if it was a reference to the general safety of houses vs. tenements in the U.K. and I went and discovered the etymology. Then I channeled the good doctor on accident and now here I am.


texts: I stumbled upon this word "drum cabinet" and although I guess what it means I'm not 100% sure. There is a guy who is a background singer and he says he was placed behind the main singer and in front of the "drum cabinet". Does it simply mean that he was in front of the drums? Just curious, because I don't find a translation in none of the dictionaries.


texts: Is there a connection between *miser* and *misery*?

texts:
From OALD:

miser:    a person who loves money and hates spending it
misery:   . [U] great suffering of the mind or body   Synonym: DISTRESS
Fame brought her nothing but misery.
. [U] very poor living conditions   Synonym: POVERTY
The vast majority of the country live in utter misery.
. [C] something that causes great suffering of mind or body: the
miseries of unemployment
. [C] (BrE, informal) a person who is always unhappy and complaining:
Don't be such an old   misery! ◆ Old misery guts here doesn't want to go out.

Is there a philological relation between these two? They are very similar(like noun and adj) but I can't form a relation berween them...


texts: Word for whether something is local or remote

texts:
I am working on a software application and within that application are what I call actions. An action is an object with a few properties that describes a task that is to be performed or was performed. For example, "delete file X". They are stateful and could be in a new state, in-progress state, failed, successful, etc.. They can also include result data if they were executed.

Some actions happen within my application, and some are handed off to another application (i.e. external, over a network, to another machine). This is the aspect I am trying to capture and describe--the aspect for which I am trying to find a word. Specifically, where the action is executed: locally in my application (or, more generally, the application in which it originated) or externally on a remote machine. An action executed on a remote machine could be (should be) handed back to my application from the remote machine after it was processed, but I want to be able to know at some later time where it was executed, even though where it exists may be different, in a general sense (not the specific machine at which is was executed, just whether it was in my app or another one).

Conceptually, in my head, I think of an action as being a local or remote action, however I need a name to describe this property, this difference. That is, whether or not an action is local or remote, a name for that distinction. For example, "the ____ of the 'delete' action is 'local'" indicates it is executed by my application. I'm looking for a name for the property of an action which indicates whether it is processed locally, by my application, or remotely, by some other application.

My first thought was "locality" but that doesn't seem correct after looking it up. "Domain" seems too vague. "Destination" is probably the closest thing I've come up with, but execution isn't the final resting place for an action. Similarly, "termination" or "terminus" doesn't really fit because the action doesn't necessarily cease to exist after being executed (it might get sent elsewhere after execution).

P.S. If "orientation" indicates whether something was up or down, what is "orientation"? What type of word; what's it called when something describes a property or class or aspect of description of other words? It seems like it would be easier to ask my real question if I could say "I need a ______ that indicates local or remote". My Google-fu apparently isn't good enough for this one.


texts:
Is better to say "to university" or "to the university"?
I have this doubt.


texts: Can I say "a great..........., greater than..."?

texts:
I have written the following sentence: "I intend to put a great effort into preparing for the XXX, greater than that expected from XXX".

Is this sentence grammatically correct and appropriately structured?


texts: Is it really rude to use the terms "the john" and "the loo" in lieu of "the restroom"?

texts:
I usually use the term "restroom" (or "toilet" if I want to make sure that everyone in the Czech Republic understands me at once), and, while I've always understood that the terms "john" and "loo" are quite informal, I wouldn't have thought these were rude words, as the article in the link below claims:

http://reallifebh.com/potty-talk-22-expressions-with-toilet-in-english

John: (should be used only with friends)

–Example: Where’s the John? I have to take a number 2.

Loo: (UK - can be familiar or rude, depending on where you are)

–Example: I’ll be right back, I’m gonna go to the loo.

Native speakers, would you please confirm or refute this?


texts: What do you call the sentence structure of “The X-er __, the Y-er __”?

texts:
Is there a term for a sentence in the form of "The ___, the ___"?

For example:

  The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.

Further, is this a proper sentence? Is there an implied verb?


texts:
I (think) I know the difference between practise (verb) and practice (non-verb).

However, I am not sure which form I should use in cases like the following ones:

  I love practising the guitar.
  You can try practising with this.


texts: "You do not need to search for a job - it will find you itself"

texts:
You do not need to search for a job - it will find you itself.

Is the itself part correct? Should it be replaced with some other word?


texts: Referring to a specific instance of a common noun

texts:
Let's say I am planning an as of yet unnamed wall at the back of my garden, which I will build using gabion baskets.
If I temporarily refer to the wall according to its construction, should I write it as "the Gabion Basket Wall", or should it be "the gabion basket wall"?


texts: Changing "abroad on permanent accommodation" to sound better

texts:
Is it correct to say "to go abroad on permanent accommodation"? It doesn't sound right to me. What's the right way to say that?

My pupil has written "some people go abroad on permanent accommodation". I assume he means that the people don't come back to their home country but become residents of other countries.


texts: A less hostile word that can replace "violation"

texts:
I am working with a large open source software project whose code base has to be GNU Public License version 2 (GPLv2).  We have to make sure that the "stuff" that goes into the project from our volunteer contributors has a license that is compatible with the project.  I am setting up an issue tracker to track potential problems.  The most severe problems are currently tagged with the word "Violation" and the guide for contributors explains it like this:

  Violation: This means that the problem with your contribution is regarded as unequivocal and that immediate action to repair the situation is requested.  A contribution with a public license that is not compatible with the GPLv2 will typically have this component, as will a contribution that illegally bundles files belonging to a 3rd party (i.e. bundles such files without permission).

Objections has been raised and another word has to replace "Violation". Quote:

  "Violation" assumes malintent. I would expect contributors to react defensively/combatively if they're pointed to a tracker about their contribution with the word "violation" in it. It is more than likely that they are merely confused by the GPL's litany of rules, not intentionally trying to get away with cheating.

I would like to keep the guidance text, but replace the word "Violation" with something less hostile.

That is, the replacement word should not imply, but not completely rule out, malintent.

If possible, the word should be a noun, and it should convey that the problem is not open for discussion, and that some action on part of the contributor is required (all this is probably too much to ask of a single word, but I hope it indicates what I am looking for).

I did an online search for synonyms before asking here, and ended up with the following list: abuse, contravention, encroachment, infraction, infringement, misdemeanor, negligence, offense, transgression - all of which sound too hostile for my use case.


texts: Words order when asking a question in a complex sentence

texts:
I'm having trouble to decide which word order to use in this sentence:

  So the question is if I am to modify the programme in what environment I should do it.

Is it correct or do I need to change the last part to in what environment should I do it?


texts:
I've seen this in a French airport train:

It indicates how wheelchairs should be positioned inside the train.

However, I find very few references to the expression "running way". Is this an actually used expression? Otherwise, what would be the best translation here?


texts: Meaning and usage of "It's in that vein"

texts:
I am really hooked on watching Seinfeld; it is really my favorite series. Now in one of the episodes the sentence in bold is used:

  George: Hello.
  Kelly the Waitress: Well, what's it going to be?
  George: What's it gonna be?
  Kelly the Waitress: Yes. What'll you have? Are you eating? It's in that vein.
  George: I’ll eh, I’ll just have a bowl of chili.

I always wondered what that means. I couldn't even understand it, I had to search for the script of the episode, and look at what was actually said.

What is she trying to say, and how do you use this phrase?


texts: What's a word to describe black humor of the variety that criticizes the injustices of the world?

texts: For example, let's say I see a homeless man and woman eating scraps of food next to a garbage fire to keep warm and I say to my friend, "Must be date night" (with undertones of "This is a sad world"). Looking for an adjective, preferably.


texts: Hesitation to use "girlfriend" in reference to old people

texts:
I have a good friend in his late 60s, and I've made an interesting observation that absolutely no one in our social circle will refer to the female he is (indisputably) dating with the term "girlfriend".  A frequent comical substitution is "lady friend".

I wonder what it is about the word that makes people not want to use it in reference old people.  I would think that term goes hand in hand with "dating" and would imply exclusivity, romantic interactions, possible courtship to marriage, and maybe sex.  In the case of my older friend, no one appreciably doubts any of these points (oh dear have I said too much), so what causes people to not use it?

There has been a similar question What is a synonym for "girlfriend"?, which really just strengthens my case.  The difference is that I'm asking why someone would want to avoid this, whereas that question is asking how to avoid it.

Question: What about the history, definition, or nuances of the girlfriend-boyfriend relationship terminology causes people to not want to use it regarding old people?

I get the feeling from some comments that I need to express what my own use would be.  I have generally associated "dating" with "girlfriend"/"boyfriend", and considered them to be the most basic and direct way to refer to those things.  As such, I would find applying this terminology to any unmarried couple to be preferable.  I believe that the hesitation I refer to in the title applies to all demographics.


texts:
I am writing one proposal for one of the funding agency and I want to write some sentence which conveys following sentiment

  Although my contribution to this field will be small and not huge
  compare to existing knowledge, I still want to contribute with the help of your financial support.

I am thinking of writing following,

  This financial support will enable to me contribute <<opposite of
  lion's share>> in this field.

Any suggestions? Somewhere I came across phrase 'the short end of the stick' but I don't know to to formulate formal sentence with such phrase.


texts:
Pick out the phrases from the following and state their kind:-
1) I have found the key to his secret.
According to my Wren and Martin textbook, to his secret is the Adjective Phrase describing the key.

But I feel the key to his secret is the Noun Phrase, stating what has been found.
Am I right? I'm confused.


texts:
The text below is an excerpt from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/world/europe/netherlands-water-management-system-global-climate-change-sea-level-rise-dutch-gene.html?_r=0

Along a rugged, wide North Sea beach here on a recent day, children formed teams of eight to 10, taking their places beside mounds of sand carefully cordoned by candy-cane striped tape. They had one hour for their sand castle competition. Some built fishlike structures, complete with scales. Others spent their time on elaborate ditch and dike labyrinths. Each castle was adorned on top with a white flag.
Then they watched the sea invade and devour their work, seeing whose castle could withstand the tide longest. The last standing flag won.
Theirs was no ordinary day at the beach, but a newly minted, state-sanctioned competition for schoolchildren to raise awareness of the dangers of rising sea levels in a country of precarious geography that has provided lessons for the world about water management, but that fears that its next generation will grow complacent.

I didn't know a possessive pronoun can be used as a subject in a sentence, so I'm not able to figure out what the word "theirs" means. Is it "their day" or "their competition"? If a possesive pronoun is the subject of a sentence, does it have special meanings?
Does the first "but" in the 3rd paragraph refer to "but rather"?
What is the grammar structure of the last clause - but that fears that? It sounds rather peculiar. Which sort of clause is it?
Could someone please tell me? Thanks a lot.


texts: How should one spell the sound "eye" when creating a word?

texts:
How can I invent a word (or name) containing the sound "ai" (sounds like "eye") so that an English-speaker is likely to guess the correct pronunciation based on spelling alone, with no outside prompting?

For instance, if I wanted to create a spelling for a word to be pronounced like "eye's eye", how should I do this?

I've found partial solutions, but I find the limitations unacceptable.

Words like "pie", "ice", and "life" use a mechanism which only functions correctly near the end of a word. Worse, it sometimes fails entirely in longer words ("malice", "solstice", "hospice", "granite"). Trying to construct a spelling for my example word, we might come up with "Iezie" or "Izeie". These spellings seem to convey ambiguous pronunciation.

Words like "highlight" and "flight" provide something consistent, but this leads to awkward spellings. Consider "Ighzigh". A reader has some chance of settling on the correct pronunciation, but only after a period of mouthing nonsense while staring confused at that distracting Lovecraftian thing.

Words like "psychology" and "rely" require their pronunciation to be memorized. Otherwise, we might have a lot more fun pronouncing "physics". "Yzy" may look nice, but I would initially pronounce it like "easy", and do so with confidence.

I've also considered using "ai" to convey this, but it appears to function as I desire only when it ends a word. "Aizai" has a decent appearance, but it seems to suggest an English pronunciation like "A's eye".

And finally, "island", "wild", "rival", "chiral", and "chitin" appear to provide no guidance at all, and probably need to be memorized by rote. Each of these words is fun to say and looks good on a page, but only after some research.

Is there a compact, aesthetically-appealing solution?


texts: How do I address an envelope to a married couple, who are respectively Professor and Dr?

texts:
The form Mr & Mrs (or Ms) gives way to Dr & Mrs, or Professor & Mrs, or The Rev'd and Mrs, where the lady is a traditionalist who does not have a profession of her own.

But when the lady has a professional title and the husband doesn't, what do you write? Is it Mr & Dr, or Dr & Mr?

I actually do know a couple to whom I send a Christmas card where the gentleman is a Professor (emeritus) and the lady is a senior lecturer and usually addressed Dr. Do I write Professor & Dr Stone?

Since I am operating entirely within Britain, an authoritative British answer would be preferred. I can well imagine that American practice might be quite different.


texts: An expression like one-two punch, but good?

texts:
Is there an expression to describe the following?

  The first thing is good, the second one builds the first; the two things go better together. Like socks and shoes, but with more gravitas.


texts: Is there a word for describing a person who experiences schadenfreude?

texts: One word to denote a person who derives pleasure from another's misfortune?


texts:
I have a quick question: is this question semantically correct?

This approach is not only based on X, but it even enhances this technology.

I'm quite confused, because if something enhances something, it's quite logical that it has to be based on it in order to advance it? Or am I overthinking right now?

Best,
Kate


texts: Why do people pronounce "Naomi" as "Niomi"?

texts:
The Wikipedia page for "Naomi (given name)" says once said "pronounced nay-oh-mee" which is how I pronounce my daughter's name, but quite often people pronounce it "nigh-oh-mee" (that is, with a long "i" instead of a long "a" in the first syllable).

Is there a reason why so many people pronounce it in this way?  I live near Boston, in case that's a factor.

The Wiktionary page for Naomi gives three pronunciations:

/neɪˈoʊmi/
/naɪˈoʊmi/
/ˈneɪəmi/


texts: What is the difference between the words enervate and intimidate? Both mean to weaken or to make timid.


texts:
These seem to be interchangeable. Are these both  grammatically correct? Is there any difference at all?

When are "at" and "towards" interchangeable?


texts:
Conditionals seem to be a pretty basic unit of grammar, but this sentence nevertheless got me stuck:

  The experts were felt to have little hope of reducing the differences, even if
       an attempt were made to bring the two parties together.

The use of were seems incorrect here, doesn't it? Given that the sentence is in the past tense, the unreal conditional should read

  ...an attempt had been made...

If the real conditional is implied, was is required, since, to the best of my knowledge, the use of were with a singular 3rd person is restricted solely to unreal conditionals. I have also come across the were to have been construction, but that doesn't seem to apply in this case.

So, in summation, is it just me, or is the sentence incorrect? I'll be truly grateful for an answer.


texts: Is it OK to ask a question immediately after a comma?

texts:
I rarely see people do that but I have found the usage fit my writing style.

e.g.

I don't have access to the internet right now , could you handle the task for me please?

-thanks


texts: The word 'already' used in negative sentences

texts:
I have noticed the word "already" used in negative sentences:

  I haven't already cooked dinner as the stove is not working.
  I hope you haven't already had this book. I have just bought one for you.

[1] Is it grammatically right to use "already" in negative sentences?

[2] What is the difference if we change "already" to "yet" for the above sentences?

[3] I hope you can give me more examples to support your explanation.


texts: Could you just please tell me a word which can be used for a person who can bear a lot before he/she breaks down

texts: Something like tensile strength (which means the amount of stress a material can bear before breaking). But I want a word which can be used for people. I already know 'strong'.


texts: What do you call someone who chooses to stay single for life?

texts:
Not necessarily a virgin, but someone that has consciously chosen to stay single for life (and is content with that decision). Hopefully, there is a single word for it. Example: Ralph Nader

UPDATE: Apparently, there isn't a word for this. So, is anyone able to make up a word for this? Criteria:

Not in any relationship by choice
Not interested in ever being in a relationship
Very happy and content with that decision
Word should ideally be unambiguous and not have other connotations

UPDATE: This word or phrase should not be a descriptor based on the lack of its opposite. It should not misdescribe the above requirements as a lack of desire for sexual intercourse. The above person may be perfectly happy having sexual intercourse but chooses to not be in a long-term relationship. You can think of it as being married to no one (which is not the same as a lack of a marriage). They very likely will not have intercourse with others. However, being married to no one does not mean that they dislike sexual contact or romance—however highly correlated they are.

A phrase is suitable if no one-word descriptor is available.

This word or phrase should not be derogatory in any way. It should not be rewording of a spinster—which is describing their relationship status as if they "struck out" or "failed to get traction" in finding a mate. People can be content and complete as singletons. This descriptor should unambiguously describe that they are content with the decision and that they chose it of their own free will (even though they could easily, and at any time, be in a relationship if they so choose). In other words, they are not single because of lack of ability. They are single because they chose to be.

If no word that describes this is currently available, feel free to make up your own word and provide its proposed dictionary definition. If you do so, please note that you are creating this word and that is your own submission.


texts: What does "don't be taking nothing off no man" mean?

texts:
I'm reading Gone With The Wind.

When the son left his homeland for America, his father told him:

  Remember who ye are and don't be taking nothing off no man.

I can't understand it at all; could someone explain it to me?


texts:
If a word ends in -exia (such as dyslexia, anorexia, and pyrexia), does this imply anything about the word itself?

For example, in electronics a word ending in ‑ance (such as impedance or resistance) means the word is related to a property of the component in the circuit.

Does anything similar hold for ‑exia?


texts: Is there one word for “happily surprised”?


texts: Where to put the parentheses in the sentence?

texts:
I want to add extra information in my sentence for the sake of clarity by using parentheses. Should I put them at the end or right after the word(s) they are related to?

For example, which of the followings is best?

a) They differ in their first layer of the network by replacing X with Y (after the input layer).

b) They differ in their first layer (after the input layer) of the network by replacing X with Y.

c) They differ in their first layer of the network (after the input layer) by replacing X with Y.


texts: Searching for a word to describe the entirety of something

texts:
Here is the sentence that I want to write:

  There is more than that to the ________ of revolution

The missing word is what I search for, oversimplifying the sentence would give:

  There is more than that to revolution

However I search for a world that describes the entirety of something, its qualities and everything that it relates to as an entity.
With the case of a revolution, this would make the sentence say that evolution encompass within itself so many more that what preceding sentences said or implied.
The world would describe, with respect to revolution, the plans,the strategies,the ruses, the transpiring events, the good and the bad, the outcomes, the things that can go wrong, the surprises the miracles...
I have though about words like nature, essence, art but they don't convey exactly what I want to say.

If you used a method to find the world, e.g a website, using certain keywords to search for it or approach to finding it please share it aswell.


texts:
Why do we say

  What time is it?

if time is uncountable?  Why don't we say

  What hour is it?


texts:
Here is a question I've encountered:

  How can you lift an elephant with one hand?

The answer provided is:

  It is not a problem, since you will never find an elephant with one hand.

Now, if I actually want this sentence to mean that can I lift an elephant with a single hand (meaning my own hand), how would I say that?


texts:
I'm not always comfortable with phrasal verbs. I find that Americans use a lot of phrasal verbs than say people from UK -- I might be completely wrong though.

What I find most difficult with phrasal verbs is to know when it is appropriate to use them - like is this phrasal verb formal or informal. So for this very reason, I tend to avoid using them.

I think it's definitely far easier for native speakers because of familiarity with cultural settings in which the verbs arose.

My question is whether there are any tips for non-natives to not just know what phrasal verbs are, but also to understand the context of how they are used; and what such tips might be.


texts: “the 1st and 2nd students” or “the 1st and 2nd student”?

texts:
Consider such a sentence:

  I will give an award to the 1st and 2nd students.

What I mean is, I will give an award to each of the two.

The problem is, should it be student or students?


texts:
I was watching a history movie that I saw a new sentence, So I can't meaning that.
"It was to be a time when Florence set the standards for European art and culture."
I know be to used for saying arrangement or order but in this sentence doesn't mean.


texts: What is the term for finding your own question?

texts:
So, I have a technical problem and I Google for an answer. The first result I find is on Stack Exchange, and the person is asking the same question. So I immediately try to like the question... and am told I can't like my own post!

What is the term for Googling for an answer to a problem, and the first result you find is your own question you asked a year earlier, and there still isn't an answer? I coined the phrase Surfendipity as finding something really, really interesting while looking for something else on Wikipedia. Is this reverse Surfendipity? Inverse Surfendipity? Blind Bad Luck? Ungoogled?

Maybe this is a Sniglet. Do people still do sniglets?

Sample sentence: I was trying to set the default path for Publishing in Visual Studio 2012, and I was ungoogled.


texts: Word to refer to mountainous vs plain-dwelling populations?

texts:
I will need to be writing on a subject of cultural differences between two populations/cultures in the context that one of them is located in the mountains and the other on a plateau/plain.

Is there a word I can use so that I don't repeat "people who live in the mountains" or "people who live on the plains"?

Thus say "The people who live in the mountains mainly work in harvesting wood and mining" becomes "X mainly work in harvesting wood and mining".

And "The people who live on the plains mainly raise cattle" becomes "Y mainly raise cattle".


texts: Is "Stop agitating yourself, comfort yourself now!" grammarly correct?

texts:
"Stop agitating yourself, comfort yourself now!"

Is the sentence above have a correct grammar?


texts:
I have always found the word "transpire" interesting. I am curious about if I can use "sth transpires to be sth" instead of "sth happens to be sth"? Or how does that sound to you? Academic? Too formal? Quirky?

Merriam-Webster's definition is as follows:

  intransitive verb
  1 :  to take place :  go on, occur
  2 a :  to become known or apparent :  develop
  b :  to be revealed :  come to light
  3 :  to give off vaporous material; specifically :  to give off or exude watery vapor especially from the surfaces of leaves
  4 :  to pass in the form of a vapor from a living body transitive verb :  to pass off or give passage to (a fluid) through pores or interstices; especially :  to excrete (a fluid, such as water) in the form of a vapor through a living membrane (such as the skin)

Thanks in advance!


texts:
English is not my first language. I have just watched the movie Easy A. I understood its content a little bit but I don't understand what the title means.

I often hear many Native English speakers put the sound "ei" after an adjective when they express the degree of an attribute of a certain thing, something like,

'it's easy ei',
'hard ei',
'cool ei',
'she's good ei',
'he's bad ei' …,
especially in Australia.

Does 'A' in Easy A mean "ei"?


texts: Why are we using a past modal verb with a present verb in this sentence?

texts:
it is typically restricted to military aircraft except for the
legendary Concorde, which was able to speeds of up to three times that
of passenger planes today

Why are we using 'was able to' with 'speeds'
Was able to = past modal
Speed-s=present verb


texts: Is there some way to describe something that the average person doesn't know about but is still not obscure? Such as a musician who doesn't get much radio play but still has thousands or even millions of fans, or how an independent movie that does well at a festival like Sundance but doesn't get a major release.


texts: What to call a family you make yourself?

texts:
What do you call a family you create yourself through marriage or having children?

I want to distinguish between the family I was born into (my birth family) versus the one I made.


texts: What is the meaning of "from" in "the focus to which we attend from them"?

texts:
This is a quote from Polanyi and Prosch (1975):

  subsidiaries exist as such by bearing on the focus to which we are attending from them

While I understand the description provided before that quote in this text, I am unable to grasp the "from" part of the quote:

  Tacit knowing is from–to knowing: we humans know the particulars by relying on our awareness of them for attending to something else. Human awareness has a ‘vectorial’ character: it moves from subsidiary particulars to the focal target

I only ever heard the from in conjunction with "attending" it in the case of guests attending e.g. a party from another city/country


texts: Is there a single word that means: doing something bad in the name of something good?

texts: For example: "The burnings at the salem witch trials are an example of _______."


texts:
The user is redirected to your web page after the click.

  After the click, the user is redirected to your web page.

Which kind of sentence should be used, the first, the second, or neither?


texts: Why does the ordering of the following sentences matter?

texts:
Recently I was been posted with this question: Why is
1. I don't know who is he. (grammatically incorrect)
2. I don't know who he is. (grammatically correct)
Even as a native English speaker, I could not give the person asking this question a definite answer or explanation. Please enlighten me on this. Thanks!


texts: Why is "as fit as a fiddle" about being fit and well?

texts:
This article is on the origin of the idiom as fit as a fiddle. It is said that

  of course the 'fiddle' here is the colloquial name for violin. 'Fit'
  didn't originally mean healthy and energetic, in the sense it is often
  used nowadays to describe the inhabitants of gyms. When this phrase
  was coined 'fit' was used to mean 'suitable, seemly', in the way we
  now might say 'fit for purpose'.

Was a fiddle really so suitable? Anyway, even if a fiddle is or was always suitable, how is this fact connected with good health?


texts:
It will be more difficult for Bobby to behave well if Peggy is aggressive, such as hitting him or teasing him.

What is the right clause, expression or phrase to use instead of such as.  That doesn't seem to sound right.


texts: I see lots of examples of unnecessary hyphenation in phrases like "when she was five-years-old", is there a change in usage, or is it technology?

texts:
Obviously, at least to me as a native speaker, "when she was five years old" doesn't need any hyphens, any more than "when she was five feet tall" or "when she had long black hair", but I'm seeing the hyphens used in lots of online writing, for example this article has

He never read the diaries, but he held on to them so that he could return them at graduation and have his students look back at what they were like at 12-years-old.

Again, my instinct as a native speaker is that we only need the hyphens when we make "five years old" into an adjective: "she was a five-year-old child".
Someone has suggested to me that it may be some grammar checker, like Microsoft Word, offering it erroneously as a grammar change. But surely journalists for major online outlets aren't writing in Word, and aren't taking its grammar suggestions if they do? Also my version of Word doesn't suggest any change to "five years old" when I run a grammar check.


texts:
Why do we use "catch" for describing a contracted illness.
I'm curious about why we use "catch" to describe getting a cold or flu. Do we say "catch" because it has the same meaning as trapped as if we have trapped a virus in our body?
But this use of "catch" predates germ theory by over 200 years. Is this an English idiom? Why do use "catch"?
Looking up it's etymology didn't help much.


texts: Etymology of term "Rubberbanding" (video games)

texts:
As long as I can remember, "rubberbanding" has been the way of the machine giving the computer an advantage when the player is leading in video games. For instance in Super Mario Kart, you are in the lead by half a lap when suddenly a computer character zooms past you as if you were connected by a rubber band. This is a form of dynamic game difficulty balancing.

Lately I have noticed an increase of using the term "rubberbanding" when talking about a type of "lag" where the player is returned to a place they were moment ago because of packet loss/server synchronization issues. First reference I could find was this log from a Ultima Online Expansion beta test from 1998.

Which leads me to my question: when/how was the term "rubberbanding" coined when talking about video games or computer technology in general?


texts:
What's the meaning of the sentence 'I've scoured your mail'? I know what scouring and mail mean but I can't find a correlation.

Some context: it's from a comics set in the middle ages. The complete line is:

  I've scoured your mail and polished your greaves, gorget and breastplate, ser.

Thank you


texts:
Context:

The thing I love the most about leopard seals is that they are amazing communicators. They are full of curiosity and always seem to have an excess of bravado for the first few minutes of an encounter. Then they either leave or stick around and act like a huge dog as was the case with this beauty. < --- > I have been around wild animals all of my life and believe that I exude a calm energy and in turn, they relax. < --- >

What does 'as was the case with' mean or synonym?

Thanks in advanced.


texts:
If someone is about to finish his or her lunch, and we want to know, can we ask him or her:

  Are you done?


texts: What is a word for someone who uses a word excessively in conversation? For example, using the same swear word in every sentence.


texts:
Which sentence is correct (or maybe both of them wrong or right)? What's difference between them?

"What problem do you have with this?";
"What problem are you having with this?"


texts: Are there any indications that English is going to split into different languages in the next hundred years?

texts: Are there any indications that (global) English is going to split into different languages in the next hundred years?


texts:
Merriam Webster's definition (and all of the definitions I've found) for double entendre is: "a word or expression capable of two interpretations with one usually risqué."  Although "usually" is there, is there a similar term for expressions that have two or more meanings, but none of them are risqué?
For example, "Better is up to you."

If the emphasis is placed on 'up,' this sentence means 'better's' relative position to 'you'
If the emphasis is placed on 'you,' it means 'you' have to cause 'better'

Both are intended, but without explanation, how can interpreters be expected to get both intentions?  The intent of the writer is to have the reader interpret what they need most, assuming the unconscious mind will calculate that without a reader's awareness...and when they read it again, their unconscious mind might calculate a different meaning because it decides that's more important during that read.  In other words, the author does not care which one they interpret, as long as it's the one they need most at the time of each reading...or they let the power of the sentence have all it's intended meanings.


texts: Why are foreign words used in modern vernacular?

texts: Why are seemingly foreign words such as hors d’œuvres, maître d’, garçon, and Gesundheit used in American vernacular?


texts: My wife, who teaches English to Spanish language students, but is not a native speaker insists that this sentence is wrong: My phone keeps wanting to switch to Spanish. She states the verb form of want here (with ing) must be intransitive and thus can't take an object. I can't help but think on this one she has the unusual distinction of being wrong, but she is alas usually right. So I turn to you fine folks for arbitrators: who is right and why? ;)


texts: Creative writing in intentionally archaic language: parallelism in abnormal contractions

texts:
I hope this is on topic here.
I am revising an original poem. No, I am not posting it or asking for a critique. I am intentionally using old-fashioned language. I would like to know if the concept of parallelism applies to 'abnormal' contractions (i.e. words contracted for rhythmic purposes).
A certain line could be written:
Ne'er woven before
or: Ne'er wov'n here before
Do guidelines exist for such situations? Must I contract woven because I contracted a similar word never?


texts:
A press release is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something newsworthy.

However, is there a term for bad press release? Something, which an organization would use for communicating something gone wrong?


texts: A person or a group that shows care for some people but not others

texts:
Good day,

I'm looking for a word to describe a person or group / association that care for some but not for others, without there being a specific reason for doing so. The person or people aren't treated boorishly but simply aren't given the same rewards.

Regards


texts: What's the difference between a "monologue" and a "soliloquy"?

texts: What's the difference in meaning between a "monologue" and a "soliloquy"?


texts: ...achieved, on average, mixed results at best...?

texts:
Does this phrase even make sense?  To say that

  [a particular approach] "achieved, on average, mixed results at
  best".

I'm concerned about the combination of 'on average', 'mixed results', and 'at best': does it make sense to use two (never mind three) of these together like this?

(The phrase comes from a DevOps article by Damon Edwards.)


texts:
In a book I'm reading there is a question as following

  Does it come in birch

Here is the situation:

  But wait, there’s more! There are other particles besides these four and they all fall into columns as well. Each column looks exactly like the first column (with the same properties like charge and force interaction) except the particles in them have more mass.24 We call each of these columns a “generation,” and we’ve discovered three of these generations.
  You might immediately have some questions about our table of particles:
  Does it come in birch?

My question is what does that sentence mean? I have searched "come in birch" in dictionaries and google but there is no information about it.

Please explain to me.

Thanks


texts: Concatenation question. (One word to rule them all/most)

texts:
Is there a word for the process of adding to or removing parts from a word (prefixes, suffixes and the like) to alter it's meaning? Like nounization, but for all types of words not just specific to verbs, adjectives or nouns.
EDIT
As clarification I would like to offer an example in another language. In Swahili - my native tongue, bear with me - they have the perfect word that I've never had used in any other context other than I described in my question "Unyambulishaji" so much so that the closest term in English to it is Transmission which doesn't do the word justice given the specificity of its meaning.
I'm not looking for a general word. Something closer to the tune of Neologisms and how it's applied rather than Manipulate. All neologisms are manipulations of a language and its sounds but not all manipulations are neologisms.


texts: Do State-of-the-art and Cutting edge have the same meaning?

texts: Do state-of-the-art and cutting edge mean the same thing or do they have different meanings? If they have different meanings, which is used when?


texts: Trouble distinguishing meanings in verb past tense

texts:
Imagine a map titled "Settlement 1904-1914".  In the key, red is labeled as "area that was settled during the time period".
From context, this seems like it means areas newly settled in the time period, not all areas that had the state of "being settled" during the time period (i.e. those which were settled previously and remained settled).  I do think it is ambiguous.
Is this actually ambiguous without contextual clues?  Or is there a verb tense I'm missing?


texts: How to refer to the upper, flat part of a cliff?

texts:
A cliff is basically divided in two parts: the "flat" surface where you stand and then fall. What do you call the former? Here's an example of the desired usage:

  There were two climbers on the cliff: one on the safety of the [...], and
  the other paralyzed, hanging from a thousand-foot fall.


texts:
I need to find out which preposition is more suitable for the sentence below;

  "Could we not just be selective with/in/about our potential themes."

Thanks!


texts: "Odin’s tears will drown the world of men on the day" — what does this sentence mean?

texts:
Here is the passage:

The skies will burst open and Odin’s tears will drown the world of men on the day when JaVale McGee’s body syncs up naturally with his team on the basketball court.
Until that day, however, we’re going to sit back and enjoy living on a planet where professional basketball players like McGee are free to flail.

By the way, I know nothing about Odin.


texts: An expression for someone sharing his problem with another in a worse situation?

texts:
Example: Say a person A has failed a subject and shares his sorrow with another friend B, who has already failed multiple subjects and is in his own grief. 'A' didn't know anything yet about 'B'.

Is there an idiom or an expression for this?

Edit:
Ideally I would like it to be a polite idiom/expression which, for example, B himself may use to inform A.


texts: Adjective/noun for a situation that cannot be solved?

texts:
I am writing an essay on Act 3 Scene 5 in Romeo and Juliet where the romantic play takes the turn for tragic. Indeed, Juliet loses the support of her primary family and is left deserted, with no hope to turn to except Friar Lawrence.

  There is no room for workarounds around the difficult situation for poor Juliet.

Rather than using the phrase room for workarounds or between a rock and a hard place, I would have preferred to find a term that suggests this idea of an untiable knot (which is clearly not a term). Any suggestions?

This differs from another Stackexchange question since I am not looking for a situation in which there are only two possibilities, but a situation that cannot be solved.


texts: As well As, coordinating or subordinating conjunction

texts:
I have a serious problem with "As well As " !
is it a coordinating conjunction or subordinating conjunction?
I have surfed the Net and look it up in many books and dictionary but unfortunately No straight answers !
some say coordinating some say subordinating, and some say it doesn't have the meaning of "And" at all, but some say it Does mean "And" !!!

I'll be glad if somebody can give me a complete answer
Best Wishes
Mohsen


texts: The linguistic term for the slogan structure

texts:
Recently I've seen this slogan.

Its spelling and pronunciation are a bit unusual:

"Nice to meat you" means "it's nice to provide you with some meat dish",

but it sounds like
"It's nice to meet you" as if you are introduced to somebody.

My question is:
How can we name this linguistic phenomenon?


texts:
Is the phrase "bled our country dry" a metaphor? Or some other figure of speech?

Context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ_eV2TRlOg&t=175s


texts: Is the "except for/in spite of" meaning of "with" considered standard English?

texts:
Merriam-Webster claims that "with" can be used to say "except for" or "in spite of." They provide two examples:

"a really tip-top man, with all his wrongheadedness" —H. J. Laski
"finds that, with one group of omissions and one important addition,
they reflect that curriculum" —Gilbert Highet

Having never encountered this particular usage, I can't help wondering how common it is. Is it colloquial English? Would the average native speaker understand it if someone were to use it?


texts: Agreement between subject and verb in a number of / the number of

texts:
3 sentences:-

A number of such incidents has/have been reported by the local residents so far.
The number of such incidents is/are very low.
The number of elephants in Kerala has/have been dwindling.

What is the correct form of verb in the sentences, and why?


texts: Is there any specific word to describe this selfish idea?

texts:
"I support using cleaner energy source in moral, but if it harm my profit,eg:pay extra fee, I would not support"

Is there any specific term to describe such idea?


texts:
I found two different news publishers using different prepositions for the same sentence.

The first one says: "Four Additional Judges Appointed to Bombay High Court"

Other says: "Four Additional Judges Appointed in Bombay High Court"

Though, I found the use of 'appointed to' more frequent but there are also few cases where one can see the use of 'appointed in'.


texts: In what dialects does "often" rhyme with "soften"?

texts:
I believe in most English dialects soften is pronounced without a t sound.  In some dialects, often is similar, but in others a t sound is quite evident in often.

I'm interested not only in which areas of the world fall into each camp, but also whether there has been a recent transition going on in the pronunciation of the t.  In the American dialect I grew up with, the t was silent, but in the last 10 or 15 years it seems to the t sound has become frequent.  It may even have become predominant, but perhaps my brain has only been registering the pronounced-t instances since they are dissonant to my ear. My impression comes mainly from American broadcast media.


texts: I've noticed that some people use effect and affect interchangeably. What are the differences between these two and when are the proper situations to use each of them?


texts: What's the opposite of "extending the deadline"?

texts:
Extending or pushing a deadline means giving more time to work on a project. But what if you want to say you are changing it so that the task is due sooner?

What are the words or expressions I could use?


texts: Why can't I use STILT as verb in this sense?

texts:
I had hitherto assumed that one could easily switch from an adjective to a verb and vice-versa, considering many adjectives (participle adjectives) are formed from verbs. But it seems that there is no such freedom to be always enjoyed.
For example, while it is fine to write either

This task is really tiring.

Or

This task really tires you.

It isn't correct to write

Strict adherence to the rules of grammar sometimes stilts your prose.

I have to recast the sentence instead as

Strict adherence to the rules of grammar sometimes makes your prose stilted.

Why is this the case and is there a way to know where such switching between verb and adjective forms isn't allowed, without having to check the dictionary?


texts: What is the difference between span and period in this context?

texts:
span the period of time that sometimes exists or happens
period a length of time

That said, I still don't see the difference. I have the following exercise in my schoolbook:

  The course would have been of more benefit if it had been for a longer
  period/interval/span.

The corrects answer is period. However, how would you explain it to a student?


texts: I don't understand the usage of "either" in this sentence

texts:
"I couldn't sleep last night. I bet you guys couldn't either".

Does the second sentence mean "I bet you too, guys"?

Is it correct to use "either" like that or is it just slang?


texts: Why do some non-English words become English words?

texts:
Why do some non-English words become English words even though there is already are English words meaning the same thing that are more universally understandable?

For example,

  He received kudos from everyone on his performance. - dictionary.reference.com

The word kudos [koo-dohz, -dohs, -dos, kyoo-] is a greek word [κῦδος] that became an English word (ref: wikipedia).

Wouldn't it be more understandable for the non-native listener to just use the glory or honor instead of the original Greek kudos?

Is the value of the word different when a word from another language is used even though they have the same meaning?


texts:
Does this quote by Voltaire:

"If God did not exist, He would have to be invented"

mean:

Even if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent one, because we always want to have a god, real or imaginary.


texts: About the phrase "if not for reason" and some other versions

texts:
For example let's say we have a statement: X is Y. How does the meaning change when we put "if not for reason" at the end?

  X is Y, if not for reason.
  X is Y, if not for other reasons.
  X is Y, if not for other reasons than Z.

I'm looking for an analysis of the three constructions and the implications they carry.

Here is an example found in an article. I only vaguely understand it. Could you help explain what the author means?

"And finally, we need to take this very seriously, if not for other reasons than because in the end it is not only up to the researcher to define what is critical or fruitful."


texts:
I haven't been able to work on my thesis due to my ongoing masters and work obligations. I'd like to get in touch with my advisor regarding that, and I don't want to sound like I'm making up excuses because I really can't find the time to work on the thesis.

Would the phrase "I don't want to give you excuses, but" < situation description > be ok?


texts:
Think of somebody who takes you for granted, somebody who is treating you with disgust, somebody who thinks about you as a thing to use.

Is that sentence well written? I mean the recurring part 'somebody who'- this isn't typical in English, is it? How can we write something meaning the same in other words? And is the quotation is understandable somehow...?


texts: A word that means "apparently" but with less conviction?

texts:
Example:

  The circular window was apparently made to match the shape of the
  sun.

Here apparently expresses doubt, but with a certain level of conviction: that was the intent of the person who designed the window.  Is there a word similar to apparently but with less level of conviction? Almost as if the conclusion were a rough guess? Or something that the speaker made up?


texts: Is there a specific word for a list of [word + how to use it in a sentence]?

texts: Like a dictionary, but instead of a list of words and their definitions, it contains words and how to use them in a sentence. If there is no such word, is there a specific word for a dictionary that also show how to use every entry in a sentence (list of [word + definition + use]?


texts:
Can you help me with these expressions from Tim Minchin's Storm? There will be some obscenities—sorry for those; I am just interested in their meaning.

"I confess a pigeonhole starts to form" [1:10]
"diplomacy dike" [2:55]
"What are we - fucking two" [4:55]
"Horton heard a who" [4:55]
"Blow your hippy noodle" [7:12]


texts: Could a sentence with relative clause be simple sentence?

texts:
It sounds a bit basic and simple question but I want to learn if a sentence as the following can be classified as simple sentence?

  They decided that it was a good idea to invest in the company.

And if there is a special name for this part of sentence when a "independent sentence" , what I mean is that the part it was a good idea to invest in the company, follows that or is it simply called as object.

Edit :

Another sentence could be as the following:

  I liked the book that I bought last weekend.

or

  It tasted so good that I could not help but have another one.


texts: What is the difference between these two question structure and which one is correct 1) How did you get my number? 2) How have you got my number?

texts:
What is the difference between these two question structure and which one is correct

How did you get my number?
How have you got my number?


texts: What is the difference between “turning point” and “tipping point?

texts:
I was under impression that “turning point” and “tipping point” are basically saying the same thing in that both words refer to big change of movement, trend and situation allowing no-return. But when I come across the following statement in Washington Post’s (August 21) article that came under the title, “The elite strikes back- getting under Trump’s skin,” I felt like there is a significant difference between two phrases.

  The past week has been a turning point, perhaps even a tipping point.
  Since the President abdicated his moral leadership after
  Charlottesville, the well-connected have used their leverage to send a
  message about what truly makes America great.

I checked online Oxford Dictionary. It defines “turning point” as:
The point at which a decisive change in a situation occurs, especially one with beneficial results.

And “tipping point” as:
The point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a large, more important change.

Here's my questions:

Is turning point always directed to “beneficial result” as Online Oxford Dictionary defines in contrast the direction or result of “tipping point being neutral or negative?


texts:
Please see this example. The poster uses the word lemon in the last sentence. I understand in a general sense that this is being used to indicate something bad or more specifically of inferior quality.

Indeed, Roget's Thesaurus shows the following  synonyms for lemon: failure, flop, junk, reject, and piece of junk.

It will be interesting to know how lemon came to mean an inferior quality.

As shown here, it might have something to do with "sucking the juice out of somebody" or "bad taste left in mouth."

This seems contradictory to me since lemon is fruit with great nutritional,
medicinal and culinary value. Moreover, there are so many fruits out of which you suck the juice out. And lemon taste is never bad.


texts: Split a dependent clause from an independent clause

texts:
The first clause in the following sentence has no subject, nor verb:

  From the first agricultural settlements to the rich Emirates of the
  Arabian peninsula, the Middle East has always had an important
  significance for the world since its rise.

Is a comma possible? Or should I split the clauses by a colon, semi-colon, or maybe an em-dash; however, I've read all can't be used with dependent clauses.


texts:
My business partner, who is a Native English speaker, used "know on" in the email.

The sentence is:

  Now they has found out the reason why they kept asking for the delay, it turns out he know on of the their competitive units called ●●●.

I am not sure why he used "on".


texts:
To tempt somebody is to entice them to do something bad that they don't necessarily want to do.  The understanding of the word carries elements of both persuasion and wickedness.

What would be a corresponding word meaning to persuade someone to do something virtuous?


texts:
According to Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, page 208,

  Allow, permit, and let can express deontic possibility, permission, but are also used more generally in a causative sense similar to
  enable, as in The good weather allowed us to ﬁnish the job a day
  early. Because of this causative meaning the time of the complement
  situation is simultaneous with that of the modality, which is why they
  cannot normally be used performatively: we say I will allow him to
  stay until tonight, not I allow...

Why do they say these cannot be used performatively?


texts: I understand that a demonstrative pronoun is a word that replaces a noun as if pointing to it. For example, "I want to buy a car. This one is cheap. Those are expensive." This and those are demonstrative pronouns, they replace the noun car. But, if I say, "This car is expensive," what role does this play now? Is it still a demonstrative pronoun? Now the sentence has a noun and a pronoun? Or is 'this' now a different part of speech? Thanks for any clarification.


texts:
"
We have a broadcast out on Carly Beck’s vehicle.
No known employer.
"

What 'have a broadcast out on' means?
It means they openly search for Carly Beck/and her vehicle?

And there is another meaning for 'employer' besides 'boss'?
I can't understand what 'employer' means in this context.

FYI, they are police officers.