texts:
Bill O’Reilly has been forced out of his position as a prime-time host on Fox News, the company said on Wednesday, after the disclosure of settlements involving sexual harassment allegations against him. His abrupt and embarrassing ouster ends his two-decade reign as one of the most popular and influential commentators in television.

That's the title of The New York Times article. I can't say that I am heartbroken or shocked; it was in the air.

Under force out, Vocabulary.com says simply

  2. v terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position

and supplies the following synonyms: can, dismiss, displace, fire, give notice, give the axe, give the sack, sack, send away, terminate.

But, as an anglo-Italian woman who likes to keep abreast of the latest trends in the English language, I am curious as to the difference in meaning between   fired (AmEng) and forced out. The former I am familiar with; much less so with the latter. Was Bill O'Reilly sacked (BrEng) or not? What is the difference in meaning?


texts: Particularly in British English, a common saying in response to someone's complaining about something is, "hard cheese".  This basically means, "tough luck".  How did this expression come about; what is unlucky about hard cheese?


texts: Some sentences for reference to clear my misunderstanding regarding would

texts:
Few people would have been surprised to know another case of corruption in India.
(A sentence from a newspaper)
"I came in and ordered some shoes from you." 'Oh! yes, sir.  When would that have been, exactly?'
His test appearance would have triggered jubilation in Ludhiana where his grandparents live.
Harbhajan Singh would have been joyed reading that he was at top of batting charts in the just concluded Test series.
Such cases have not been reported in Delhi. Although there is a good chance that like the Mumbai big team many would have been reluctant to go to police.

My question: Why is would + perfect infinitive used in the above sentences whereas it appears that they do not represent the third conditional? They appear to represent a case of prediction. Please suggest a good book in which the use of a modal verb is clearly explained in detail and particularly this use of would.

  6. (A conversation between correspondent of a newspaper and a leader contesting election for MLA.) Correspondent: Would any state have accepted an outsider as a chief minister? Leader: I'm not an outsider.I belong to this state.

My question is: Why is would used here and not will?


texts: What is the history and meaning of the suffix "-ism"?

texts:
I have always understood that an "-ism" suffix on something implies that the word being applied to is a belief or doctrinal worldview or otherwise a philosophy.

This blogpost sums up that perspective: http://blogs.transparent.com/english/what-is-an-%E2%80%93ism/

Examples: Conservatism, liberalism, anarchism, Globalism, fatalism, hedonism

The odd duck is the word "magnetism" which (can mean) a physical force rather than a doctrine or belief or philosophy. How does this word fit in? Is it an exception to the rule?

The online etymology dictionary (is it considered definitive by the academics?) has an entry on -ism that is a little broader and includes "action, state, condition."

I suppose what I am asking is: briefly what is the history of -ism and what does it properly represent on words today?


texts: What is the role and historical context for "come" in "Kingdom come"? I've heard this said before but it seems to stick out grammatically. Is it correct?


texts:
She detested idiocy and praised intelligence. She was a trailblazer, the sheer force behind their success.
I left out and from the second sentence because somehow the comma sounded more appropriate to my ears as I read the sentences to myself. Is this elision a solecism or could I drop and without eroding grammar?
Thank you


texts:
I recently heard "tops" used in a way similar to "kudos" and "props".

Kid 1: Hey Palet, tops on your strategy man.
Kid 2: What strategy?
Kid 1: You know, start off with the psycho whore and work you way up from there. Yeah I just hope you're banging her by now. Trust me it doesn't take half the work you're putting in. (source: movie The Bachelors (2017))

I have never heard tops used this way. I would have said "kudos on your strategy". I wonder if this is a real-world slang usage and if it has any currency in teenspeak. Or is it a misuse where "kudos" should have been used? Actual hits of this usage on Google are (vanishingly) rare.


texts: Name of 3 dots to indicate a pause in speech

texts:
Answers to this question show that it is quite common to use the 'ellipsis' (three dots) in English writing to indicate a pause in speech for reasons of "confusion, insecurity, distress, or uncertainty".

I agree with this usage, but is it still appropriate to call the 3 dots an 'ellipsis' in this case?  I generally associate 'ellipsis' with omission; indeed, that's its primary meaning, with the reference to the typographical 3 dots being secondary.  Is there a better word or phrase to use to refer to the 3 dots being used to indicate a pause in speech (either real as in quotes, or abstract as in written prose)?


texts: Word for the descending levels underneath a Manager/Senior Manager

texts:
What is a word for the levels of hierarchy underneath an employee? This question is very similar to this but I'm looking for a general term for the levels themselves.

In a phrase the word would convey, "Tier levels underneath". Used in a sentence would be, "George the associate is 2 tier levels underneath Jane the senior manager".


texts: "Pay a visit to" is regarded as an idiomatic expression. My question: Is it correct to say "pay my/your visit to some place"? Is the sentence "I should pay my first visit to your work place" correct?


texts: Is there a more formal term for a "hand-waving explanation"

texts:
I wish to describe an explanation, which is broadly correct, but which glosses over some potentially important details.

The nearest term I can think of is "hand-waving explanation". Is there something more formal I could use instead?


texts: Term for a value that is not equal to one, but can be a zero or positive value

texts:
While we can use the term 'non-zero' to identify a value which is positive or negative but not equal to 0, I need a word or a term to identify a value which can be zero or more, but not equal to ONE. I do not believe 'non-one' is widely used.

Eg. - To identify, say (n>1) number of apples, I could say 'Multiple apples'. How do we identify (n=0 | n>1) apples?

I am not sure if the question fits the site. Mathematicians, coders and english language experts, please help!!

Best Regards.


texts: What is it called when people decide an issue for you and you have no say in the matter?

texts: All powers in Yalta (word) decided the fate of Eastern Europe.


texts: Syntax Question. What is the role of the word "what" in the sentence?

texts:
While reading articles, I came across this sentence.

  Mr. Rafsanjani, 82, was also regarded a protector of what was left of Iran’s marginalized reformist movement and others with more moderate views than the conservative hard-line clerics who hold sway in Iran’s security forces and judiciary.

I was wondering what the role of "what" is in this sentence. Does it serve as a relative clause modifying the "protector"?


texts: Which adjective can be used to describe 'take lots of storage'?

texts: I try to use 'storage-consuming', 'storage-expensive', 'space-consuming',  or 'space-expensive'. But I almost found no paper used such words via Google.


texts: Could English speakers define from which country their interlocutor?

texts: Could English speakers define from which English-speaking country their interlocutor (USA, England, Australia, Canada)?


texts: Is there a universal format for 24-hour time?

texts:
This may seem like a duplicate but I didn't find the exact answer to this, and all related answers were opposite to each other and confusing to me.

At my work (in the US) we use 24-hour format. I usually write it e.g. '1735 hours' or '17:35' (without 'hours'). I usually get corrected by supervision to '17:35 hours'. In my understanding, it should be either no colon, but 'hours', either colon, no 'hours'. Not both. Is there an exact rule I can relay to?


texts: Over vs during - difference in whether it lasts up to the present?

texts:
I have read the following: we use over when something last up to the present /or future/ and we use during for a definite period of time.
So is this wrong?

I worked in the company IBM over the last Summer.
I was studying for the exam over Octover and November.  //lets say it is January

Acco


texts:
I'm proofreading a text that includes the following passage:

Semiology is defined in A Glossary of Literary Terms as ‘the
systematic study of signs, as these function in all areas of human
existence’. So perhaps this is what all modern literary and artistic study is.

It's the second sentence I'm having trouble with, particularly the phrase, "what all modern literary and artistic study is."
I can't decide whether that sentence should end with "is" or "are". If I were editing, I would just rewrite the sentence, but I don't have the remit to do that as a proofreader.
A compound subject linked with the word "and" would normally take the plural:
"…what all modern literary [study] and artistic study are."
But neither "is" nor "are" sound correct to me.
I'm assuming that it is a compound subject in that it is referring to two types of study (literary study and artistic study) rather than a single subject (study that is, at the same time, both artistic and literary).
Is this a compound subject, as I'm assuming it to be, or a single subject? Or is there a better way to think about this problem?


texts: What's the term for not specifying race or gender when it is the majority?

texts:
In one of my English literature courses, my professor talked about how minority writers are often "marked" by a qualifier, while majority writers are unmarked. For example, Langston Hughes is often referred to or thought of as "a black poet," but T.S. Eliot is just "a poet" rather than "a white poet," and Jane Austen is "an important female writer" while Charles Dickens is just "an important writer."

Here's an example I took from a biography of Langston Hughes that can be found on the University of Illinois website. Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg are not marked as "white poets," but Paul Laurence Dunbar and Claude McKay are marked as "black poets."

That course was a few years ago, and I can't quite remember the term my professor used to refer to this phenomenon. I thought he called it "marked and unmarked qualifiers," but a Google search for these terms doesn't bring up any relevant results. Then again, perhaps my professor was just inventing his own term for it, and there is a more academic term for it out there, or maybe no term at all.

Does anyone know of a term for this phenomenon that has a credible source?


texts: What could we call a person with deep knowledge in various fields?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Differences among words describing someone who is expert in many things

I just wondered, what could we call a person with deep knowledge in various fields? For example, computers, music, sports, etc.

I think I could use sage, but it wouldn't be appropriate if someone is experienced in multiple fields.


texts:
I'm reading the book called Far & Away written by Andrew Solomon and i see there is a sentence like below.

  Her sharpest reprimand was the occasional "Gently, Bentley!".

Any idea, what exact meaning, when exactly we can use it.


texts: How do I use this idiom ? " pins and needles " naturally?

texts:
I'm just curious.
how can I use this " pins and needles " idiom  naturally in everyday life ?

like

"Ouooch  I had pins and needles right now ! "

or

"Ouooch  I have pins and needles right now ! "

or

"Ouooch  I got pins and needles right now ! "

which one ?


texts:
It comes as no surprise that societies have codes of behavior; the character of the codes, on the other hand, can often be _________ .

A) predictable

B) unexpected

C) admirable

D) explicit

E) confusing

Choice B-unexpected is correct, but I think choice E can also be right. Isn't it?


texts:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/978/if-pluto-is-a-dog-what-is-goofy

Says that goofy is a dawg, not a dog.

Well, dictionary says that dawg is black people.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dawg
So what's the connection?

http://nws.merriam-webster.com/opendictionary/newword_display_alpha.php?letter=Da&last=50 says that dawg also means dog. So what's Cecil meant when he said that Goofy is not a dog but a dawg?


texts:
Suppose, I want to say that you need to bust the myth that girls are not good at sports  or any other stereotype for that matter.

What's the word to prove wrong an old, established stereotype?

Is it correct to say 'break the stereotype' or 'break the cliche'?


texts: Why in some sentences noun comes before adjective?

texts:
Why in some sentences noun comes before adjective ?

For example robot soccer instead of soccer robot.


texts: Lexically recognized synonym for "humblebrag"?

texts:
As one might guess, a humblebrag is one who uses a pretense of humility as a vehicle for boasting.  This word can be found at Urban Dictionary but, it appears, nowhere more authoritative.  Yet, of course, the concept is neither new nor esoteric; and one would expect there to be a word to cover it.  Of course, we have the idea of false humility and could speak of one who is falsely humble or who is guilty of false modesty.

But isn't there a noun to denote the person who behaves in this way, and an adjective to describe him?


texts: What's the day in/out term for "i receive the payment"

texts:
I'm looking for a good translation for what we, brazilians, call "dar baixa na conta 1234". Basically, it means that "i received the payment for the bill 1234"... I was thinking on "Inform Payment" but since i've never heard it on TV or other movies or other media, i'm second guessing myself... I need something succinct, that would fit a button on a website...

any better options?

Edit 1:
Let's put this in a context:
A customer enters the shop and says "I have an outstanding debt that I would like to pay".
The cashier would go in to the system, open the billings/financials module, load the debt amount, fill how the customer paid for it (cash, credit card, etc...), fill other infos and click the B1 button.


texts: Is there a literary or scholarly synonym for an 'origin story' or myth?

texts:
I am trying to remember a word I learned in high school that meant "a story that explains why something is the way it is." It's not origin story or creation myth, but rather one word probably with a Greek or Latin root. The best example would be explaining "why snakes have no legs" by using the story of Eden from Genesis. Is this a completely fictitious memory?

I've thought of the obvious choices like legend, myth, fable, parable, allegory. Some of these are less fitting than others but I'm desperate!


texts: Completely different words used for writing and speaking

texts:
A Japanese friend of mine asked me if this existed in English. For example, in Japanese, when referring to the company of your client, you say onsha (御社) when speaking, and use kisha (貴社) when writing.

Does the same kind of thing happen in English? I know it's very common to abbreviate words in speech but I can't think of a situation in which there would be a completely different word used for speaking.


texts: A question on anaphoric and cataphoric references

texts:
Is it 'this' or 'that' that conveys an anaphoric reference?
I want to refer back to "that I wrote critical and analytical essays".

  It is true that I wrote critical and analytical essays on a regular
  basis; that, however, did not satisfy my academic eagerness.

or?

  It is true that I wrote critical and analytical essays on a regular
  basis; this, however, did not satisfy my academic eagerness.


texts:
I am writing a novel and this sentence comes in middle of a paragraph.

  When such people found someone who was not easily bored or not greedy, they reacted unexpectedly.

I this sentence, the form of verb for "react" is correct?

How do I decide which tense to use in the part "they reacted unexpectedly"?


texts: Punctuation immediately after a question mark in a quote?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How should I punctuate around quotes?
  Comma placement when using quotes that end with a question mark

Say you're quoting someone with a requirement for a punctuation, how do you follow with your own punctuation?

e.g.,

"Are you crazy?," she asked incredulously.
"Wow!," said the cat.

Both of these example seem awkward. Do I just leave out the comma?


texts: Is the article a matter of 'location' and 'reference' and 'identification'?

texts:
If I have a concept in mind (let us say the concept of what dogs usually are) then I label that conceptual thought in my head : in this case - 'dog'.

To me, the concept 'dog' means a living creature that has a snout and a tail and four legs and it barks.

I have labelled the concept: 'dog'.

.......

I then see an example of such a concept outside in the street.

I say, 'There is a dog in the street'.

I have located an example of the concept.

.......

I then say, 'The dog is barking'.

Having located an example of the concept, I can now refer back to that which I have already located.

And now I am identifying it.

....

Is this, fundamentally, what the article does ?

Does it 'locate' examples of thought-concepts (which already have word-labels attached to them) and then 'refer' to them in a way which 'identifies' them ?

==================================================================

I am looking at the article (and at the absence of the article) in a conceptual way and would appreciate any comments, thoughts or answers.

This is an ongoing project for me and it has a purpose.

=================================================================

EDIT (after comment) :

Some say that the article is derived (conceptually and etymologically) from the demonstrative pronoun. Which seems, to me, to make sense.


texts: Is this sentence structure truly awful, or not?

texts:
I sometimes hear comments on this sort of sentence:

  In some cases, we find the solutions are actually. . . .

The comments are to the effect that one should not to put In some cases at the beginning because a sentence should always lead with the subject, like this:

  We find the solutions to some cases are actually. . . .

But the first sort of sentence seems to appear everywhere, so does the comment not to use forms like that make any sense?


texts: What are the levels of proficiency in English and the vocabulary subsets at each level?

texts: What are the levels of proficiency in English and the vocabulary subsets at each level. As in how many words should a person know at each level of english proficiency and is there a reference list of this levels and vocabulary at each level. For example: beginner, intermediate, native, and on.


texts:
"Of course" is regarded as an adverbial phrase, even though the components of it appear to be a preposition and a noun.
So what about the phrase "for sure" (when used to mean for certain or certainly). First, is the phrase also an adverbial phrase and, if not, what is it. Second, what are the component parts? They appear to be a preposition and either an adjective or adverb.


texts:
Can't you sleep also?

Is it well said? I want to ask if you can't sleep, like me.


texts: Are there any terms analogous to "novelization" for other types of adaptations?

texts:
Occasionally, as part of the release of an original movie, the production company will commission a writer to produce a full-length novel based on the script. This happened recently, for example, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens (and has happened with all previous Star Wars movies. In such cases, the novel is referred to as a novelization of the movie.

Similar novelizations, while rare, also happen for other media adaptations, including television shows, video games, and comic book series.

However, this seems to be the only type of adaptation that has it's own specialized term. When a book (say, Harry Potter) or video game (e.g. World of Warcraft) is adapted to film, it's simply referred to as an adaptation of the original material.

Are there specific words for other types of adaptations? And if not, is there any particular reason why they have never developed as counterparts to novelization?

Just for some context, we discuss these kinds of adaptations all the time on Sci-Fi/Fantasy, often times in cases where one set of source material has many different kinds of adaptations. It would be useful to know the correct terminology to use.


texts: Is there any valid rule discouraging the use of a certain word to start a sentence?

texts:
Is there any rule you think is valid that discourages the use of a certain word to start a sentence?

Because I suspect the answer is no.

But it would be good to have a blanket answer to this kind of question.


texts: Does "freak somebody out" mean "make somebody angry"?

texts:
This is an excerpt from the Longman Dictionary Of Contemporary English.

  freak out

  phrasal verb   informal
      to become very anxious, upset, or afraid, or make someone very anxious, upset, or afraid

    People just freaked out when they heard the news.

  freak somebody out

    The whole idea freaked me out.

I'm curious whether freak out has the meaning of "make somebody angry"?


texts: Is there any semantic difference between "absolutely no x, except y" and "except y, absolutely no x"?

texts:
Bit of a quibble on a discussion elsewhere.

I made the following statement:

  They had absolutely no debt, except for their mortgage.

Someone (with whom I disagree vehemently) has accused this of being a self-contradicting statement.

I argue that the meaning is identical to:

  Except for their mortgage, they had absolutely no debt.

Am I missing something, or am I right in thinking that the meaning of these two statements is exactly the same, and that the inclusion of except in an absolute statement does not render the statement self-contradictory but simply makes the single exception clear?


texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  Many businesses in the service sector, such as banks and insurance companies(,) and even telecommunication companies, use software intensively.

In British English, is the comma before 'even' above forbidden, optional, or mandatory?  Or is there a difference in the meaning depending on whether you use it or not? Please assume that we use the serial (Oxford) comma in the enclosing text. If there are some errors in a sentence, please improve them in any case.   Explanations with references are welcome.


texts:
Here is the context:

He

  It's not gonna be easy

She

  Well, I don't do easy. If I wanted that I'd move to Florida and work on my tan


texts: What was the definition of "planet" like in English in the XVIII century?

texts:
I recently asked a question (in Spanish, sorry) in the Spanish Language stack about the peculiar definition that the Royal Spanish Academy included in its very first dictionary. It goes like this:

  Name that is given to the seven celestial bodies, which in their particular orbs each has its own movement, contrary to that of the first mobile: and for this reason they were called wanderers, unlike the other stars that are fixed in the Sky. Their names are Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, from whom they took names the seven days of the week.

This definition, that would make most people smile nowadays, was perfectly valid in Spain in 1737, despite the fact that more than 100 years before it was demonstrated that the Earth was just another planet orbiting the Sun (a star). Somebody told me that it would be nice to check the definition for "planet" in another languages, so I ask you:

What was the definition of "planet" like in English around the first half of the XVIII century? I know that the current definition includes a very similar meaning:

  any of the seven celestial bodies sun, moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Saturn that in ancient belief have motions of their own among the fixed stars

Please note the "in ancient belief" part that is omitted in the Spanish definition from 1737. When did the English language include the "in ancient belief" part in that definition for "planet", and included the most accurate definition of "any of the large bodies that revolve around the sun in the solar system"?


texts: Origin of 'tump' (verb) and 'tumpline' (noun)

texts:
OED says the origin of both 'tump' (transitive verb, US, to "drag or carry by means of a tump-line", OED) and 'tump-line' (noun, "local U.S.", op. cit.) is "obscure". 'Tump-line' means

  a line or strap passing across the forehead and attached to a pack on the back thus aiding the burden bearer.

  — From a later note defining a word in a record dated 4th Sept. 1759, in Transactions and collections of the American Antiquarian Society, v. 11, "Manuscript Records of the French and Indian War", 1909, p. 230 (see note at bottom of page).

The earliest attestations given in OED are 1855 for the verb and 1860 for the noun, but as the example from the American Antiquarian Society and examples from other secondary sources show, the words were in use with this sense at least a hundred years earlier (1775, 1781).

John Russell Bartlett's 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms (the 1860 edition is cited in OED to attest both the verb and the noun) says the origin of 'to tump' is probably "an Indian word":

  TO TUMP. Probably an Indian word. It means to draw a deer or other animal home through the woods, after he has been killed. Ex. 'We tumped the deer to our cabin.' Used in Maine.
  TUMPLINE. A strap placed across the forehead to assist a man in carrying a pack on his back. Used in Maine, where the custom was borrowed from the Indians.

What was the now obscure linguistic origin of 'to tump' and so also 'tumpline'?


texts: Why does the stress fall on the antepenult of "carCInogen" but on the preantepenult of "halLUcinogen"?

texts:
I note that "carcinogen" might also be stressed on its preantepenult, in which case the question would become why the two words should have their stress so far away from the end when a stress nearer to it sounds easier on the ear (i.e. "carCInogen" easier than "CARcinogen" or "halluCInogen" than "halLUcinogen").

I have traced the words to these roots:  καρκίνος, καρκίνωμα, carcinōma, and ālūcinor (ālūcinārī).  I don't know that they are relevant to how things turned out in English.

A good answer would assign each word to a class of words behaving similarly and explain why a stress on the preantepenult makes sense for one class and not for the other.  Thanks.

ADDENDUM

I am adding this bit in response to Ashwin Schumann's answer--to the effect that "halluCInogen" is also allowed.  I believe then the question will have to include:

Assuming that "carCinogen" and "halLUcinogen" are respectively the usual stress positions, why the difference?
Or if the assumption fails, and both positions are equally acceptable on either word, then why we even have "CARcinogen" and "halLUcinogen" and let three unstressed syllables huddle together at the end like that?

I hope you see that I am not multiplying questions, but trying to adapt it to different factual scenarios.


texts:
5 cakes you can eat for when you're trying to gain weight.
Materials needed for when you build your time machine.
Recommended surrender terms for when our planet is invaded.
Word for when a writer uses alternative spelling.

Those sentences don't sound right, they get the meaning across but are awful! I can think of different ways of phrasing a sentence without using "for when". I view "for when" in the same way I view "ain't no", as in "ain't no world big enough for you". Sounds like a ugly verbal shorthand.
There are instances where using "for when" makes sense, as in:

What to signs to look for when getting pulled over.

But the former sentences don't fall into this category, at least to me. Can someone help me understand if this is a correct way of writing?


texts: What is the i with a dot on top and dot on bottom called?

texts:
I was watching a foreign film and I saw a "i" with a dot on the top as usual and a dot on the bottom. What is it called and is there a way I can find it and type it?

More details:
It was a Vietnamese film published by a French company. I think it was Vietnamese text.


texts: In contemporary use, does 'white noise' enjoy common figurative meaning?

texts:
In at least the ELU hyperlocal environment, the claim that 'white noise' has only one meaning seems to be mostly unchallenged.

For example, as commentary on a recent question (now on hold) titled "White Noises...", where "white noises" was used with a common colloquial sense (as well as one or more potential jocular senses), this comment appeared (emphasis mine):

  The title of this question is misleading. The term white noise is taken: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_noise.

Later, another comment to the same effect showed up (emphasis mine):

  White noise has a specific meaning.

The claims flabbergasted me. The idea that any phrase in common use in English could have only one meaning seems obviously contrary to fact. Equally absurd was the claim that a term (in common use etc.) could be "taken" and thereafter reject all subsequent changes and development of meaning.

In this case, a simple lookup in OED (paywalled), a historical dictionary which is not renowned for up-to-the-minute lexicography, reveals that 'white noise' has at least two major senses.

The first sense recorded in OED, shown in an entry updated a mere 4 years ago, is the well-known technical sense:

  1. Noise that has effectively equal energy intensities at all frequencies etc.

The second sense (op. cit.), attested as recently as 2014, gives the broader but (to me) common colloquial denotation:

  2. A continuously delivered mass of information, facts, etc., in which detail is obscured.

In addition to those two senses, the second of which applies to my use of the term in the question title, I speculate on the basis of my "intelligence guided by my experience" (Rex Stout) that 'white noise' has acquired more figurative senses even than that given as sense 2 by OED, which derives from the original technical term (OED sense 1).

Can anyone provide solid evidence corroborating my speculation that 'white noise' presently enjoys common, more figurative use than what is shown as OED sense 2?


texts: It’s a great honor to have your visit/ It’s a great honor to have you visit me?

texts:
I was looking for an expression to use when a person receives the visit of someone important, and I found these two:
1 It’s a great honor to have your visit.
2 It’s a great honor to have you visit me.
Which one is more natural ? Thanks.


texts: Pronunciation of "nominal" in American English

texts:
I heard the term "nominal" pronounced by a native speaker of American English and I  realised that it was different from the usual British  pronunciation.

I checked in online dictionaries and I found that:

Nominal (from Oxford  Dictionary)

  BrE /ˈnɒmɪnl/ ; NAmE /ˈnɑːmɪnl/

while nominal  according to the  Cambridge Dictionary:

  /ˈnɒmɪnəl/ both for British  and American English.

Other online dictionaries also suggest only  the British pronunciation.

What is the correct or most common way to pronounce "nominal" in American English?


texts: What is the difference between "poverty" and "poorness"?

texts: What are the subtle differences in meaning and usage between poverty and poorness?


texts: Idiom for not wanting to be seen by someone

texts: Can you say I didn't want to get stuck in someone's eyes when you don't want to be seen by someone? What is the other expression of avoiding seeing by someone or stay invisible?


texts: Is it correct to say "No users have configured this setting"?

texts: Is it acceptable to say "No users have configured this setting"? It is an error message. It sounds odd to me. "None of the users have configured this setting" seems OK. Please provide your advice.


texts:
What is the etymology of the word "inviolate" and where does it appear out of the context of privacy (as opposed to how Warren and Brandeis used it to help define privacy)?

For the full context please see my question here https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/6012/is-the-term-idea-inviolate-used-in-the-old-testament


texts: Single word for "division" into all possible cases for analysis

texts:
What is a good word for the act of "division into cases"?

This as in, for example, analyzing and enumerating all the possible cases and possibility of a situation, or in math proofs where one exhaust all possible values of a variable.

I can think of "categorize" or "classify". But I am not satisfied with them because them don't express the idea of identifying each individual possibility at the finest granularity.

Any suggestion is appreciated.


texts: What's another idiom/proverb for there is more to something than meets the eye?

texts: I have to make an idiom/proverb for 'there is more to something than meets the eye' in the context of culture; that often, traditions and customs are just symbolic/representative of bigger things. Could someone help me come up with something that means this?


texts:
I feel like part is a countable so we have either use it in the singular form a part or the part or in the plural form part. However, I see most of the times it is used with no article in the singular form part.
How is that possible and why do the English treat this word as such?


texts: is it correct "there'll be no trace that one was once two"?

texts:
I was reading a song's lyrics and I came across this sentence that I find a bit strange, probably cause I'm not analyzing in the correct way:

  if I was just the ashes and you were the ground
  and under a willow they laid me down
  there'll be no trace that one was once two
  after I fade into you

Isn't it neccesary to add a relative pronoun like "there'll be no trace that one WHICH was once two"?


texts: Had an argument with my wife regarding the propriety of using the expression "wow". It all started when I blurted out the word in astonishment when the preacher mentioned a negative observation. He mentioned that a well known religious leader wrote in a column a negative statement, "how could our country (not the U.S.) claim to be Christian and yet be so corrupt..". I could not help but blurt out "Wow". My wife reacted and whispered to me that wow can only be used as a reaction to something positive. Is she correct?


texts: What is wrong with "to lie at the basis of"

texts:
Is there anything particular unstylish about the phrase "X lies at the basis of Y"?

In this thread, some users qualify this phrase as "clumsy", without saying why. What would be the reason? (I do not have enough reputation to ask the question in a comment there)

One user offers an alternative as "X is the basis of Y". However, in my opinion there is a difference in nuance between both phrases:

  "X is the basis of Y" would mean X causes Y.

On the other hand:

  "X lies at the basis of Y" would mean to me that X is one of the,
  possibly many, main causes of Y.

For example, comparing with the literal origin: In a pyramid, a certain stone in the lowest layer lies at the bottom of the pyramid. The basis of the pyramid, however, would arguably be the whole bottom layer...?


texts:
From the same people who brought us "ask" as a noun comes a new idiom that I haven't heard of before: to "walk the wall."

I haven't heard this myself, but my sister (who is an IT consultant) asked me what it means, which means that I will likely be subjected to this very soon as well.

My speculative guess is that it means to try to get an idea of the scope of a problem by "walking" around it at a high level, but I have no idea as I haven't heard it in context.


texts: How old is the phrase "A Healthy Pee" (or "A Healthy Piss")

texts:
What is the earliest usage of the phrase "a healthy pee" or "a healthy piss"?

The letter "P", or its spelled form, "pee", used euphemistically for "piss" (because "piss" begins with that letter -- as, similarly, in modern times, sometimes we hear one say "Go F yourself"), seems to be poorly dated. But when did people start applying the adjective "healthy" to any act of urination?


texts: Help me understand the usage of "edition" in "Apple Watch Edition"

texts:
I am not sure how to put this, but shouldn't it be < Apple Watch > < _____ Edition >?

In my understanding, it is usually product followed by edition, and something to indicate what edition it is. For example, Collector's Edition, Special Edition, Limited Edition, Deluxe Edition.

Using < Apple Watch > < Series 2/3/4 > as example, Apple Watch Edition is like saying Apple Watch Series. What series?

Edited for context/clarity:
Apple Watch Edition was announced with the first Apple Watch introduction. You can refer to Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition here: https://web.archive.org/web/20150101174240/https://www.apple.com/watch

This website (https://www.imore.com/apple-watch-edition) has the full list of the original Apple Watch Edition collection, and when Apple added Ceramic into the collection, notice how the same website calls it "Ceramic Edition" (https://www.imore.com/apple-watch-3-edition).

In my understanding it has always been "something Edition", so when I first came across Apple Watch Edition, that something is missing and I always feel incomplete reading it, thus my original question.

However, having revisited the original archived Apple website now made me realize they were referred as "collection", as in Apple Watch Edition collection. Used with word "collection", it does make more sense to me. You have the Sport collection, as well as the Edition collection.


texts: Transitive verbs when used in active voice take a direct object,that is to say not preceded by a preposition.However,transitive verbs when used passively take the preposition - to,by or from.This may appear normal for a native speaker of English language.The inquirer who is not  a native speaker of English language,the above mentioned construction appears to be a little odd.Because non-native speakers can hardly draw up any parallel between English language and their local language,when they come across such grammatical rules in English. That is Why the inquirer earlier posted the question "Is it mandatory to use the preposition-to,by or from with transitive verbs when used passively.For example: The bail out package was offered to Greece by the donor nations. The data for the study was abstracted from hospital records. She is married to a wealthy industrialist. The specific question being raised here is that, when a transitive verb used passively and while referring to the subject is it mandatory or optional to use the preposition – to ,by or from, as mentioned in the example sentences given above.


texts: specific term for words that imitate sounds

texts:
I often in children's literature come across the rrrrrrrrrrrrS when a plane take off and the bumpity-bump when someone falls, etc.

and I am wondering if these are called with a specific term?
written sounds? transcribed sounds maybe?


texts: Is “Take one’s pulse” used as an idiom to mean“research” market, trends, problems / opportunities other than “diagnose" patient’s conditions?

texts:
I was amused to find the headline of article, “Just Dropped In to Take Your Pulse” in New Car Reviews section of New York Times October 25 issue, which is followed by the lead-copy:

  The Scirocco R performance hatchback is a European car that VW is
  showing off in America. Will it come here? The company isn’t ready to
  say.
  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/automobiles/autoreviews/just-dropped-in-to-take-your-pulse.html?_r=0

In Japan we have two pulse related idioms, i.e., “脈をとる - myaku wo toru,” literally meaning “take pulse” – to diagnose sickness, and “脈がある - myaku ga aru,” meaning “There’s still chance / hope (for revival, success, achievement).”

Does “take one’s pulse” have broader meanings of “research” and “sounding” as a common parlance, other than health diagnosis, like “The press use public polls to take pulse of people’s sentiment and attitudes towards the government.”?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
'Which', 'whose' or something else?

First of all, I'm not a native speaker so I can't rely on my intuition in this specific case.
For a very long time I was sure that "whose" was the widely used possessive form of both "who" and "what". But at one point someone told me that the correct possessive of "what" is actually "which". This sounded extremely awkward, like "the car which door got scratched", and yet over the years I actually encountered sentences like this two or three times.
So, could someone clear this up please? Is "whose" the only correct possessive of "what", or is "which" also correct? In which case, has "which" become obsolete or does it still feel acceptable to native speakers?
Examples of the use of "which" like this:

[a program setting setting] could also exclude folders, which path does not match the path specified in the switch
(source, probably non-native Russian)

VCS trigger rules allow to specify the set of files which changes should trigger the build.
(source, probably non-native Czech)


texts: "Snag (a chance, an opportunity, etc.) for "seize/snatch" in AE

texts:
Does "snag" have any currency in modern day AE to say "snatch (or seize) (a chance, an occasion, etc.), and can it be used just about interchangeably with the latter? Or, is there a subtle difference to it?

Consider these sourced examples:

  We snagged the chance to ask him a few questions. source

  Talking about the program, she happily acknowledges that she snagged the chance of a lifetime. source

  Photographer David Goldman thought he had snagged the opportunity of a lifetime.
  source

  I had snagged the opportunity to design costumes for an Off-Broadway show.
  source


texts:
Somewhere, I have heard a sentence similar to:

  The main problem is the plagiarism exosinated by the Internet.

Instead of the meaningless bold word, what English similar word will make sense?


texts: Punctuation of the Expression "The Works"

texts: I'm feeling really sick today, and I wanted to text my friend to tell him why I won't make it to our meeting. I wanted to say "I'm feeling pretty sick. Fever, headache, cough, the works.", but I've never used or even seen the expression in print before. What is the correct punctuation for this expression?


texts: Should this verb be in the third-person singular form, the infinitive form, or the present participle form?

texts:
Watching a game review, I've noticed a phrase whose meaning confused me. The reason why I got confused is that the author used a base form of the verb "to explore" in pair with the singular subject "friend". The question is, is it correct to do this?
I will write below two more options as I would use this verb in that case. Could you also explain if my bets are correct or, maybe, even preferable (I doubt it)?
Here's the original sentence:

Watching my friend explore the environment with only a sense of wonder was my favourite part of the game.

Needless to say, this sentence might be grammatically correct, furthermore, it sounds natural for me, yet I must admit I do not speak and write English perfectly, not even close.
These are two more mentioned options:

Watching my friend exploring the environment with only a sense of wonder was my favourite part of the game.

or

Watching my friend explores the environment with only a sense of wonder was my favourite part of the game.

Are these two both also acceptable?
I appreciate your help. Besides, I ask for your forgiveness for the mistakes if there are some in my question.


texts:
I have an assignment and I want to say that by using cosine similarity and word2vec, the project can easily be repurposed for other use. Would it be accurate to say this?

  This project makes use of recommender systems in order to generate a personalised match (Vaidya, Khachane, 2017) for every student in XYZ. The selected recommender systems for XYZ app are cosine similarity and the word2vec model, chosen for their simplicity and efficiency in computation. Furthermore, using cosine similarity and word2vec makes XYZ app easily exaptable.


texts:
I was wondering, what single word could I use to describe the day before yesterday? E.g.

  My birthday was the day before yesterday.


texts: What is the best way to forcefully say each word in a sentence.

texts:
Here is the example that I have:

  "Mother," I said with clenched teeth, "I said I don't want to talk
  about it."

Now,

I'd like to express the fact that each word in the second part of the sentence is said with a hard break or pause. Example:

  "I. said. I. don't. want. to. talk. about. it."

I'm sure there is a better way, so any help would be appreciated. Also, what is this type of pause called?


texts:
I need a noun for an adjective "neat" (or "cool") in the slang meaning "terrific". My logic tells me to use "neatness", but dictionaries don't seem to list the slang meaning for it. I don't mind any synonym, as long as it's short and commonly used.

It's intended to be used in a "programming equation": XAML − XML.verbosity + JSON.neatness, where verbosity is a property of XML, and JSON language is more readable and concise.


texts:
Mike : You are Lebron. You are Brad. And you must be Tim.
Tim : That would be me. Nice to meet you.
Why does Tim use "That would be me" instead of "That's me." ?
What is the difference between "That would be me" and "That's me"?


texts:
In my recent paper, there a question:

"When you read something in a foreign language, you frequently come across words you do not______understand."

A. totally   B. completely      C.wholly       D. fully

My answer is B, but the right answer is D.I've tried look up the difference between "completely" and "fully", but their meanings all sound the same! Could you guys explain it for me?


texts:
At a family dinner, my 18-year-old niece asked my sister, "May you please pass the salt?" My sister said that she was impressed with her daughter's politeness, but that that particular wording was not correct.  My niece said that she had been taught to say that (by whom she could not say, but probably by her father—the parents divorced years ago.)

Despite our best attempts, we were unable to convince her of the illogical nature of the "May you please" construction.

How would you explain it to her?


texts:
I'm reading an Arnold Bennet's book and in a passage of the text appears the following sentence:

  "I want one of those hunters you have in the window at 29/6," said Richard.

Richard looks at a watch (hunters) in a shop window at 29/6 and he wants to buy it. I think 29/6 refers to the price of that watch, but what does it mean? 29 pounds and 6 pence?


texts: Coordinating conjunction immediately followed by parenthetical — Is a comma needed or not?

texts:
William Strunk's Rules of Usage states:

  If a dependent clause, or an introductory phrase requiring to be set off by a comma, precedes the second independent clause, no comma is needed after the conjunction.

Strunk's example illustrates the point:

  The situation is perilous, but if we are prepared to act promptly, there is still one chance of escape.

However, I would be tempted to put a comma after the "but," like this:

  The situation is perilous, but, if we are prepared to act promptly, there is still one chance of escape.

So, I know you're thinking, "Well, Strunk's Rules of Usage says that you're wrong. No comma."

But is Rules of Usage really the best source? I'd like to see this rule in a more contemporary and authoritative source, like the Chicago Manual of Style.

There are many instances — such as in The New York Times — where the comma is included before a parenthetical comment that comes after a coordinating conjunction.

Any authoritative source on the issue?


texts: One word that refers to a proof of concept for an unfinished video game?

texts:
My friend and I are making a video game.  Occasionally we want to release little tech demos that demonstrate our progress.  A demo would not at all be the finished game, but would rather show off some part of the engine that we have completed.

At first we called these demos, but we are afraid that the word demo implies that they represent the finished product.  Is there a good single word that refers to a little mini-program that demonstrates progress but is not the finished product?


texts: Single word for cast and crew of a movie

texts:
What do you call a person that works for a movie?
Celebrity comes close, but is that all?

I am making a list of people (each and everyone) that worked for a movie. Wondering what the name of that list should be!


texts: Is it grammatically acceptable to write, "by March of 2015"?

texts:
The entire sentence would be something like:

  The Center will be established by March of 2015.

I feel confident writing "in March of 2015", but this sentence must convey the fact that at any time up to and including March the Center may be established, but not after.


texts: Correct use of "but", "however" and "although"

texts:
I am not sure which conjunction to use in the following context:

  I know about programming but I have a little bit of confusion in Java programming.
  I know about programming although I have a little bit of confusion in programming.
  I know about programming however I have a little bit of confusion in Java programming.


texts: What tense should I use when writing about an autobiography?

texts:
I'm writing an essay comparing the views of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington. In parts of it I explain quotes from the story. (The quotes are in 1st person past-tense.)

Should I use the form of:

  While the staff was showing the other passengers their rooms and preparing dinner, Washington milled about in front of the hotel.

Or:

  While the staff is showing the other passengers their rooms and preparing dinner, Washington mills about in front of the hotel.


texts: Can you chain / combine contractions in correct English?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Can a word be contracted twice (e.g. “I'ven't”)?

I would like to know if it is proper to chain multiple contractions into a single word when they are in a continuous string.

For example: "They are not ants."
You have the choices: "They're not ants." and "They aren't ants."
How about: "They'ren't ants."

If this case doesn't suit your fancy, feel free to suggest a more appropriate example.


texts: Can I omit the noun and verb in the following sentence?

texts:
That the left brain is analytical and the right creative is false.

In order to avoid repetition, I omitted "brain is" after "right." Is it incorrect to do so?


texts: If I were to place Dine-in, Takeaway, and Delivery into a category, what would be an appropriate title for the category?

texts:
So I have an application which displays a list of restaurants to a user. This list of restaurants can be filtered by cuisine, features etc. I want this list to be able to filtered by dine-in, takeaway, delivery. What would be an appropriate name for this category?

A user of the application should be able to read this name and be able to instantly realise the options that will be available to them upon selecting it. For example, the title of the cuisines category is simply "Cuisines". Anyone who reads this will know immediately know that if they select this category they will be presented with a list of cuisines.

I am finding it hard to come up with ideas, at the moment I have the title DTD, but I don't feel that this is descriptive enough. Others that I have considered but decided against are:

Dine Options
Eating Options
Availability

Again, I don't feel like they are descriptive enough. When a user reads this title they should immediately know that if they select it, it will present them with the dine-in, takeaway, and delivery options. I think that if a user were to read any of these titles, they will not immediately understand what the title relates to without clicking it.


texts: Proper format for listing criteria for a project

texts:
My team are going back and forth between the proper usage of a specific sentence in our project proposal. This project proposal is being presented to a school, so we want to make sure we are correct in our usage.

Currently, it's set to

  The stories are evaluated on topic, content, compliance, artistic, and educational values.

Attaching the word 'values' to each of the criteria doesn't sound correct for 'topic, content, compliance'.

I think it should be in one of the following two formats:

  The stories are evaluated on topic, content, compliance, and artistic and educational values.

Or

  The stories are evaluated on topic, content, compliance, artistic value, and educational value.

Are either of those feasible for the proper format of the sentence, or is there another way that it should be written?

EDIT:

or even replacing 'artistic' with a noun, making it 'artwork' instead.

  The stories are evaluated on topic, content, compliance, artwork, and educational value.

Does this separate 'educational value' into its own idea as opposed to 'value' being attached to each listed criteria?


texts: How to say "beginninglessness" properly?

texts:
I'm writing about a property of God, describing that He has no beginning, and I couldn't find a word for it. The best I came up with is beginninglessness, but it sounds alien and doesn't seem to be used in English language.

I'm looking for 1 noun with this meaning. I'm stressing on the beginning and trying to avoid a word that would include has no end in its meaning.


texts: Is there any alternative way to become polite to say this sentence?

texts:
In any educating video, in the end one can say "Let's maintain social distancing".
That's one way.
For some reason, I don't want to use Let's
And just saying "Maintain social distancing" isn't quite polite.
Is there any similar solution/phrase for the same?


texts:
Which sentence is correct when each of x and y has made one defamatory statement?

...whether the statement made by x and y are defamatory.
...whether the statements made by x and y are defamatory.


texts: How do you properly state that you like the pant(s) you are currently wearing?

texts:
My husband and I were discussing this about a week ago and it has been on my mind ever since.

Would you say "I like these types of pants", "I like this type of pant", or "I like these types of pant" to express that you like the style of pants you are currently wearing?

We asked our friends and they were just as baffled as we were.

Thanks!


texts: What is a noun for the level of how anthropomorphic an object is?

texts:
Consider a set of objects like the following:

a cube
a 3-fingered robot claw
a robot hand in the general shape of a human hand
a human hand

Objects further down the list have more "human" characteristics, and are thus more "anthropomorphic". The list is in order of increasing "anthropomorphicity" [a fake word].
What real word could replace the fake word "anthropomorphicity"?


texts: What is the best word or expression that describes the Hindi word "Jootha"?

texts:
Jootha is a Hindi word which means that the food, which actually belongs to me has been tasted by someone else, without my permission. In India this is considered as a taboo and states that the food is not in its original intended state.

My friends suggested a few words like preconsume and foreeat which after some searching and user comments indicated were not correct English words.
The closest word that I found that conveyed a similar meaning was ort. It means a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. But still this doesn't  convey the same meaning as clearly as the Hindi word.

Please suggest a word or a phase with which I can convey similar meaning as the Hindi word "jootha".


texts: Idiom for things going wrong one after another

texts:
I know I've heard of an idiom which means : Something was already wrong, and more bad thing(s) got added on top of it. I just cant remember it now.
Its not "striking someone when they're already down" - this has a connotation of someone actively trying to cause harm. What I'm looking for is more passive, like bad things just happen one after another.


texts: What can back room mean related to security?

texts:
In an article about Putin's business trips, this passage appeared:

  For security reasons during presidential trips across Russia the license plate is not placed on the front of the vehicle. As a result, when several identical vehicles pass by, the onlooker cannot tell them apart.
  The back room is needed for guiding the security personnel.
  This tradition has been in place since the time of Joseph Stalin. During foreign trips much depends on how the host country is willing to receive the delegation.

What can back room mean here? I found this dictionary entry, but it doesn't make sense in the sentence for me.
And what does this sentence mean altogether?

If you want more context, here is  the full article.

Thank you in advance for your answers!

Thanks to everybody! We found the original Russian text that this translation was made from. And indeed, ends up they translated "back number plate" as "back door", so the back number is kept there for the security guys, and it has nothing to do with security and conspiracy altogether. So, lost in translation again... Thanks for your help anyway!


texts: Should I be using "require" or "requires" in the sentence below?

texts: An established South African survey business specialising in engineering and topographical surveys for infrastructure development & construction projects across Africa requires a Survey Manager to join their team based in Pretoria.


texts: What does 'I feel sorry for my job' mean?

texts:
I wonder what the following sentence means:
I feel sorry for my job.
Does it mean that I feel dissatisfied or unhappy with my work? Thanks.


texts: Is there a sequence following "ace" (as in "ace pilot")?

texts: If an expert pilot or covert operative or other specialized profession can be referred to as an "ace", is there a word that describes someone who is less experienced or lacks some of the expertise? Is it sequential? What pattern does it follow?


texts:
Which one of the following is the proper usage below?

"go home straight"

or

"go straight home"?

thanks.


texts: To worry about vs To be worried about - difference

texts:
Which one of the following is recommended to be used, and what is the difference between both of them?

  You do not have to worry about anything.

Or

  You do not have to be worried about anything.


texts:
Which of these two statements is correct?

Did you know 1 in 4 kids have an undetected vision problem?
Did you know 1 in 4 kids has an undetected vision problem?


texts: What's the difference between "the mechanics" and "the mechanism"

texts:
the mechanics [plural]  {the way something works or is done}
The exact mechanics of how payment will be made will be decided later.
mechanism  {a method or a system for achieving something}
mechanisms for dealing with complaints from the general public
The college has established an effective student support mechanism.


texts:
I just watched the movie A Knight's Tale, and the character Wat repeatedly threatens to "fong" people (as in "I'll fong you," clearly meaning some kind of bodily violence.)

There are claims around the internet that "fong" is an "actual word from old English" (sic, presumably meaning Middle English) meaning "to kick".

However, I can find no entry for it in the OED, nor in the Middle English Dictionary.

Is there any basis for the claim that "fong" is a Middle English word meaning "to kick"?


texts:
I seem to recall reading something like "anguish thine is but a dream". The posessive pronoun thine is after a noun anguish it relates to. Probably, it is from some verse.

I don't encounter such things in normal everyday speech. Is it grammatic, or just a workaround to keep the foot in the verse? If it is grammatic, can I just use any posessive pronoun like that?


texts:
Do I use capitals when referring to someone's position within an institution or company? And is it the same for all levels of employee?

i.e in the following sentence, should the words in bold be capitalized?
[As a double check, am I right in thinking the 'Prof', being his title. should be capitalized?]

Discussion with my head of department, Prof. F. Bloggs, has indicated...

Cheers


texts: Is there a word or phrase like "code-switching" that applies to behavior rather than language?

texts:
When someone who exists in multiple cultures and/or uses multiple dialects, manners of speaking, etc., switches from one mode of language use to another situationally, they are said to be "code-switching." I am looking for a word or phrase that is analogous in terms of changing behavior situationally—in effect, putting on another persona for a different situation.

The analogy would look like this:

  code-switching:language::________:behavior

Example:

  Bob, a paramedic, gets really riled up when his kids are misbehaving, or when arguing with peers, but when on the job, he instantly _________ to fit the situation when he needs to keep a patient calm, becoming serene in the blink of an eye.

The word or phrase would mean roughly "changes behavior to fit the situation," but be less cumbersome.


texts: what does it mean of “Life is that perfect fine line between ironies.“?

texts:
Life is that perfect fine line between ironies.
~Serj Tankian
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/290519?ref=fine-lines
I can't understand what it means.
Does it mean life is paradox, ironic or ridiculous?


texts: Can we put prepositional phrases between transitive verbs and their direct object?

texts:
Can we write like this: You should not keep in a doghouse a dog that is used to a steam - heated apartment?

The original sentence is: You should not keep a dog that is used to a steam - heated apartment in a doghouse. But this sentence sounds awkward because readers may interpret it as "apartment in a doghouse", rather than "a dog in a doghouse". If the prepositional phrase "in a doghouse" cannot be moved to between "keep" and "a dog", then how can we improve this sentence?


texts:
How do I say (a friend of Bob’s)’s house?

It’s like a double possesive. Bob’s friends are a class of people. Tom, a friend of Bob’s denotes that he is one among Bob’s friends.

Now what if I want to specify the friend’s name is Tom?

Which of these (if any) applies:

I went to a friend of Bob’s, Tom’s, house.
I went to a friend of Bob’s’, Tom's, house.
I went to a friend of Bobs’s, Tom’s, house?

What’s the correct punctuation and such?


texts: Application of a sentence in a situation

texts:
In the film The Exorcist, father Demien Karras challenges the daemon Pazuzu to get a bigger dare. That dare would consist in abandon the body of the girl Regan and penetrate Demien's body. My interest is to know what would be the correct sentence to describe this situation. The options I imagined are:

The priest challenges the demon to enter in his proper body.
The priest challenges the demon to enter in himself.
The priest challenges the demon to enter him.
The priest challenges the demon to enter in his self body.

In other words, he asks the demon to abandon the girl's body and enter in himself. He wanted to be in the place of the girl, he proposed a change.


texts: Word or phrase that describes talks, sessions, posters, etc. at a conference

texts:
Is there a single word (or maybe two words) that describe the following type of presentations:

Talks at conferences
Poster sessions at conferences

Context: In my CV, I would like to create a heading under which I present all talks and poster sessions I have presented in past technical and academic conferences. I am trying to figure what is the best possible heading for such a section.


texts: The Great Vowel Shift: when did it really end?

texts:
The Wikipedia article states that the Great Vowel Shift ended in 1700:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift

Why is it, then, that Lord Byron (to pick a name at random) rhymes "I" and "Italy," "good" and "flood," "put" and "but," "move" and "love"?


texts: Why is the word "the" used before different categories of calculus?

texts:
I've noticed that, when referring to certain branches of calculus,  mathematicians sometimes precede the name of those branches with the word "the".  For example, "the lambda calculus" or "the predicate calculus".

To be fair, a Google search turns up plenty of references to "lambda calculus" (without "the" as a prefix).  But it also turns up an equally large number of references to the phrase with the prefix included.  Further, I haven't noticed this with other branches of math.  For example, I haven't heard anyone use the phrase "the linear algebra" or "the Euclidean geometry".  They just say "linear algebra" or "Euclidean geometry".

My question is, why the difference?

EDIT:

As requested by @Lawrence in the comments, here are some examples of full sentences where "the" is used before "calculus":

1) "The λ-calculus can be called the smallest universal programming language in the world. The λ-calculus consists of a single transformation rule (variable substitution, also called β-conversion) and a single function definition scheme. It was introduced in the 1930s by Alonzo Church as a way of formalizing the concept of effective computability."
Source- https://arxiv.org/pdf/1503.09060.pdf

2) "Church (1936) invented a formal system called the lambda calculus and
defined the notion of computable function via this system." Source- http://www.cse.chalmers.se/research/group/logic/TypesSS05/Extra/geuvers.pdf

3) "The Lambda calculus is an abstract mathematical theory of computation, involving  functions. The lambda calculus can be thought of as the theoretical foundation of functional programming." Source- https://brilliant.org/wiki/lambda-calculus/

In response to @Trevor's comment, we can replace "Euclidean geometry" with "boolean algebra", meaning we're now comparing two types of algebra (linear and boolean).  I haven't heard either of these genres of algebra used with "the" as a prefix, yet they're both 2 sub-branches of the same branch of mathematics.

I'm able to find the phrase "the linear algebra" as part of a broader phrase (i.e. "The Linear Algebra Survival Guide" or "The Linear Algebra Behind Search Engines"), but the usage of the phrase in these examples is different from the usage in the examples I mentioned in response to Lawrence's comment.


texts: Why does the word "garage" have so many different pronunciations?

texts:
Whenever I'm teaching private students and we are faced with the word garage, I hesitate a little. Italians have borrowed the term garage, which they pronounce  /gaˈraʒ/, to stand for the room/building where they keep their vehicles—also called a box in Italian.

In Italian the place where mechanics fix cars is not called a garage, but an officina. And to confuse my students further, in BrEng a garage [petrol station] is also the place where you can buy petrol/gas (AmEng gas station.)

I hesitate before pronouncing this word, because I know it has several different pronunciations:

/ˈɡærɑːʒ/
/ˈɡarɑː(d)ʒ/ (I think this pronunciation is very similar to the first)
/ˈɡærɪdʒ/

The first syllable is stressed whereas  in the following the stress is on the second syllable

/gəˈräzh/ or /ɡəˈrɑːʒ/ and
/ɡəˈrɑrʒ/
(non-standard U.S. Midwest pronunciation)

And I find myself pronouncing it in at least two ways, which befuddles the students (and makes me sound less credible!) I tell them that garage can be pronounced in more than one way but confess I don't know why. Personally, I blame it on the French :)

Can someone explain why garage is pronounced in so many different ways?
Which is the older pronunciation?


texts: Should I add a 'that' to this (provided in the body) sentence?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Are there rules about using "that" to join two clauses?

In the sentence below, should there be a 'that' after 'realized'? I was feeling really awkward about the construction here. I have put in the rest for context:

  Someone commenting on an article about adulthood at xyz.com said that he realized he had made the 'official' transition to adulthood when as a 20 year old, he boarded his first flight without family or friends. 'I was on a plane headed to a different state, and no one cared', he noted.


texts: To be drafted in, to be drafted for or to be drafted into the army?

texts:
I'm not sure whether any of these options are valid.
Which one is more common? (US or UK)

  Daniel is drafted in the army.

  Daniel is drafted for the army.

  Daniel is drafted into the army.


texts:
What does the expression "call past" mean? See some usages below:

I called past the supermarket on the way home from the office.
He just called past and asked to gather the team in the canteen.
Gary called past to check if Jimmy was doing okay.


texts:
I found it in a Writing task 1 sample of Cambridge. Here is the full sentence:

  In contrast, France used coal as a source for only 25 units of electricity in    1980, which was matched by natural gas.


texts:
I'm developing an information architecture for a web site, and one of the main tabs represents an area of the site that presents "Key Activities". The client is not excited about this label, and would prefer a one-word replacement (understandable for a main tab on a web site).

But we need a label that clearly, quickly, and intuitively communicates that the area contains:

Activities this (government) organisation engages in that outline how it is tackling prioritized issues (which are identified in another area of the site)
not everything the organization does, but most of the important activities; that is, we don't want to confuse the audience into expecting a comprehensive list.


texts: Single word for the animal action of bending down

texts: I'm looking for a single word to describe the bending-down motion that animals such as camels or elephants do to allow riders/passengers to more easily mount them.


texts: Why is there "a Romeo" but not "a Juliet"?

texts:
The expression 'a Romeo' is used to refer to:

  "a lover, passionate admirer, seducer of women," 1766, from the name of the hero in Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" (1590s).

From Etymonline

It appears that "Juliet" is not used to refer to the female counterpart, a beautiful devoted lover.

Is there a name used to refer to a gentle, devoted female lover in the same way as Romeo is?

EDIT: Sorry if the question is not clear enough,  I am not looking for the name of a female equivalent of Romeo, but for the "female equivalent of Juliet", if  a stereotyped version of her exists , like in the case of Romeo.


texts:
Which one sounds more natural:

  Our club is having an event this Sunday.
  Our club is holding an event this Sunday.


texts: Word or Short Phrase to Describe Standing In Relation to One's Own Past Performance

texts:
I'm working on a website for encouraging habit change that includes a table consisting of the user's current streak and two of that same user's better streaks and two of his or her worse streaks, along with performance rankings, like so:

| 4 | Even Longer Streak  |
| 5 | Longer Streak       |
| 6 | CURRENT STREAK      |
| 7 | Shorter Streak      |
| 8 | Even Shorter Streak |

What would a good title for this table be? It should be short (preferably less than five words) and indicate the purpose of the table: to allow the user to view his current performance in the perspective of his past performance.

Ideas I've discarded:

Anything with "rank" or "ranking": Implies rank within a group of people.
"Performance": Doesn't sufficiently indicate the table's purpose.

(For anyone who is curious: A longer discussion of the purpose of this table can be found over on UX.SE.)

EDIT: Here's how it looks now:

The fact that the numbering starts at 2 indicates there is one more longer streak that isn't shown.


texts: Achievement that does not matter anymore

texts: What do we call an "achievement that does not matter anymore" with a word? The achievement has done so much damage that the end result doesn't matter anymore


texts: "I am yet to see" versus "I have yet to see"

texts:
What is the difference between

  I am yet to see X

and

  I have yet to see X

and in which situations would each be preferred?


texts: "Headed in the right direction" or "heading in the right direction"?

texts: I've heard people using both expressions. Which one is correct, or are they basically the same?


texts: In pronunciation of the name of the New Jersey Turnpike, there is no stress in either syllable of the word "Jersey," as though New Jersey were actually one word. Is this a common phenomenon that occurs in other situations? Not necessarily restricted to the words New Jersey specifically.


texts:
He is the implementor of the library.

  He is the implementer of the library.

Which is correct?


texts: A sentence that I don't understand in novel The Three Body Problem

texts:
Here is the context from the novel The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin:

“Have we succeeded?” the princeps asked. “Is that the proton unfolded into two dimensions?”
The science consul replied, “Princeps, it’s still a failure. I just received the report from the accelerator control center. The unfolding left one too many dimensions in, and the proton was unfolded into three dimensions.”

The bold part is the one I don't understand. I can't identify the grammatical structure of the sentence as well as the meaning of it.


texts: Has the incorporation of foreign phrases in English stopped?

texts:
I know English contains many words taken directly from another language - chauffeur, for example - but I am interested in foreign phrases. These are phrases you'd see in writing or spoken aloud, such as:

C'est la vie
Caveat emptor
Hasta la vista

Have there been any recent foreign language additions to the lexicon in recent history, say the past 50 years or so?


texts:
What is the difference between phrases "sick and tied" and "sick and tired"? Is the first phrase correct?

Possibilities (summary from comments):

The standard phrase is definitely “sick and tired” and the other version could be a typo
maybe some instances of "sick and tied" are parody of "sick and tired"
"sick and tied" could be a mishearing related to a non-rhotic accent
searching confirms that “sick and tied” occurs in the wild much more often than most typos do, and as a serious alternative, not a deliberate play on words. Looking at the usage makes it clear that some people really do know the idiom as “sick and tied”. Seems like a classic eggcorn, worth discussing as such


texts: Does the expression "from off" actually exist?

texts:
Linkin Park sings "wash the poison from off my skin" in Castle of Glass.
Shawn Mendes sings "ripping all the skin from off my bones" in Mercy.

As far as I can remember these are the only two occasions where I have heard that expression. To me it sounds like it should be "off from" (if at all).

Is this normal, or did the artists just do it to get another syllable for their rhyme?


texts:
A colleague asked me which of these sentences is correct, or if they are both correct which is better to use.

Are you using the current template version?
Do you use the current template version?

I recommended using the first sentence but only because it sounds better to me.

Is there anything grammatically wrong with the second sentence or does it convey a different meaning to the first sentence?


texts: Correct punctation when two quotations are used in the same sentence (British usage)

texts:
Is the following sentence correctly punctuated for British English usage:

I said, 'It's important to learn grammar', and he said, 'I promise I will'.


texts: Can you give me an example of metonymy using slang?

texts: Can you use slang in an example of metonymy?  For example,  If I say, "his jacket is crispy" (crispy meaning really stylish).  Or "put some panties on that window" (meaning roll that window up).  I know that "lend a hand" or "people don't make it in Hollywood" are examples of metonymy, but it got me wondering about slang and if it too is metonymy.  If my examples are horrible which they probably are (I'm just throwing something out there), can you give me an example of metonymy using slang (any type of slang).


texts: How to call students enrolled one year before/after me?

texts:
Suppose student A is enrolled in a university in 2015. I wonder if there are any ways for him to call students enrolled in 2014 or 2016. Specifically, I want to complete the following sentences.

Hey, you know what? _______(students enrolled in 2014) only had one midterm test for their Calculus I last year, but we are going to have three of them!
I heard professor B is planning to retire after this semester. I am afraid _______ (students enrolled in 2016) won't have any opportunities to take class with him.


texts:
What does the phrase "bad timing" actually mean?
I searched for the meaning of it for around 30 minutes before coming to a dead end. It seems like there isn't much info regarding its meaning.
Also I'd like to ask if it's synonymous with "unexpectedly".
Thanks for your responses!


texts: When writing user stories, should there be a comma after "As a User", and before "I want"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Comma after introductory phrases

Agile software development often encourages people to write up user stories using a given formula. The formula is: "As a User I want to something so that reason for something".
Some example of this formula put a comma after "As a User", some do not.

So which is correct and why:

"As a Visitor I want to view your products so that I can buy something"

Or

"As a Visitor, I want to view your products so that I can buy something"


texts: Word or phrase for the action of being awake or asleep

texts:
I'm not sure how to phrase this question exactly, but I came up with an analogy:

If I am at home, or at work, or at the beach, that is my location. I am located at home, etc. Likewise, if I am asleep or awake, that is my _____?  Then I am _____ asleep?

Is there a word or phrase that would make sense for that usage? Or am I looking for something that doesn't exist?


texts: Can I use "worse, worst" instead of "badder, baddest"?

texts:
In Collins Dictionary, under bad, it says that

BAD 15 :
Word forms: badder or baddest
(slang)
good; excellent

But in this meaning, can I use “worse, worst” instead of “badder, baddest”?


texts:
Project work might be being done.

Is this correct?


texts: Looking for a word describing the act of a person passing an access machine that does not imply if it is an entry or exit

texts:
I am translating a computer program interface that deals with granting access to places and records entries and exits of employees. I need to find a word that describes the act of an employee using an access machine that does not imply wheter it is an entry or exit. The word I am looking for is supposed to describe the fact that someone went through the access point and the machine registered him/her.

The literal translation of the word used in the program is passages.
Is passage an acceptable word in this sense?


texts: 'one of the best stylists and most lucid minds'

texts:
"White is one of the best stylists and most lucid minds in this country."

Do you like this sentence? ...'one of the best' -X- and 'most' -Y- ... I guess what it boils down to is my unfamiliarity with listing 'one of the' adjective-this, different-adjective-that, etcetera. Thoughts?


texts: What do you call something that gathers a particular property given an object?

texts:
I'm working on a program that will have a list of functions each of which, given an object, will return a particular property of the object. For instance, one of these will return the height of the object, another will return the width, another the color, and so on. These properties will then be used to filter these objects given a list of property names and values.

Since the user will be able to create functions like these, and they'll be on a list, I need to give a name to the list. One option I though of was "gatherers", since they gather properties given object, but this doesn't capture the fact that each of them gathers specific properties, or that they are meant to filter  stuff.

Another option would be "filters" but these are not exactly filters, since a filter has a both property and a value (like WHERE TEXT = 'hello' in a SQL query), while these represent the property without a value, or more precisely, the ability to recognize the value of a particular property given an object.

Is there any single word, or at least couple of words, that capture this idea?


texts: Vicious Crusade - is it against vice or is it bad itself?

texts:
There's a music band named Vicious Crusade.
How would you understand that naming, is it a crusade against vice and vicious people or is that crusade itself vicious?


texts:
What does the expression "eat shit" represent in the following sentences?

  Eat shit, I'm not going to do your dirty work.

Is this similar to "I dislike doing your dirty work"? Or does it mean "Go to hell."?

  Eat shit, I am not going to follow you.

I found many different interpretations of this expression on Urban Dictionary, so I am quite confused.

Please could someone clarify.


texts: Different past tense for various *et words

texts: The past tense of Bet, Let, and Set are Bet, Let, and Set; but the past tense of Jet, Net, Pet, Vet, and Wet are Jetted, Netted, Petted, Vetted, and Wetted.  Is there a reason for this difference?


texts: Word for a person with a negative attitude

texts:
What is the person called who always thinks negative? E.g.

  Mr. X always thinks negative.
  Mr. X has negative attitude.

What we can use either? Is there any particular word for this?


texts: Does mistaken mean mis-taken as misunderstood means mis-understood?

texts: Misunderstood pretty much means understood incorrectly-- by the same logic, would mistaken mean taken incorrectly?


texts: Should I put world in plural or not, in this context?

texts:
Which of these 2 sentences is grammatically correct?

If you are coming from the A or the B world
If you are coming from the A or the B worlds

(world vs worlds)


texts: A word for both surrounding gases and liquids (or absence of)?

texts:
The gases that surround us are called "atmosphere."  Planets without air can still have an unbreathable atmosphere.
In space there is no atmosphere, so what surrounds a person is called "space" or "vacuum."
Underwater is not called an atmosphere either because it's liquid instead of gas.
What I'm searching for is a word that means "the molecules directly outside our bodies."  Whether they are gas, liquid, breathable, or extremely sparse/non-existent.
EDIT: this isn't an answer, but a more boiled down description -- "immediate molecular environment" is what I'm trying to get into a word


texts: What's the semantic content of the word "yo" in the speech of Jesse from Breaking Bad, and in which dialects is this construct found in the real world

texts:
So I've been watching breaking bad.  A really interesting dialectical feature of the character Jesse, is his use of the word "yo".
At first I thought nothing of it, it's just "slang" or whatever; nothing to see here...  However, the more I think about it, the more the actual semantics of it seem quite interesting.
Background:
The following uses are both relatively transparent:
He of course uses the meaning of yo that we're all most familiar with (as a greeting), as in:

"Yo!   Anybody home?"

Also, at the beginning of a sentence, as a synonym of the exclamation "Hey!", as in:

“ It's like: ‘ Yo!  Whatever happened to truth in advertising? ’ ”

This meaning, again, is easy to grasp.
Usage in question:
However, it also comes up in a completely different way.  Usually, but not always at the end of a sentence, as a sort of emphatic interjection.
For example:

"C'mon, yo!"
"I mean it, yo!"
"Let me tell you something yo."
"That is messed up yo..."
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea yo..."

In a way it reminds me of a tag question, or the way some dialects use "right" as in:

"So, I'm at the pub, right, and this guy comes up to me right, and I'm looking at him thinking, ‘ Who are you? ’.  So anyway, right, I say to him..." etc.

But this isn't exactly it.  "Yo!", does't work in the above example for "right". "right?", "know what I'm saying?", and other similar constructions are used to engage the listener, as an informal speech punctuator that essentially means "I want to verify you are engaged, and following what I'm saying.". Jessie's "Yo" carries a different meaning than that, and while I subjectively understand it when I hear it, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is.
I can't think of another word or exclamation that fits in all the places where Jesse would say "Yo", and I can't seem to "crystallise" exactly what either the rules of its use, or what it exactly means.  Is this use the same as (and borrowed from) its use in AAVE dialects, or is this something different?


texts: What's an evidential basis for discussing gender-neutrality of terms?

texts:
I keep finding myself looking at questions involving the concept of gender neutrality of words or phrases. (Check out the RELATED panel down to the right there.) "Craftmanship" for example - is it gender neutral or not?
I'm frustrated because the discussions often seem aimless, anecdotal, or like a kind of culture-skirmish. In the answers to these questions I see various kinds of evidence offered:

anecdotal usage ("It sounds fine to me")
subjective opinion ("I don't
like to say..." or "I'm looking for an alternative...")
etymology ("The root word is 'craftsman'")
diachronic evidence ("It originally meant...")
armchair linguistics - "Imagine you're at a talk and the speaker says..."

For acceptability, we can cite dictionaries, or if a usage is new, cite contemporary writing or a Google search.  What would constitute objective or at least 'citable' evidence for or against the gender-neutrality of a word?  I'm not asking for specific cites or websites (but that'd be fine), but even kinds or classes of evidence ("published sociological studies" or "brain scans"!)   Otherwise it's just a bunch of people clashing their assumptions together!


texts:
Me and my tutor at work came across this sentence which I understood slightly different in our language than him:

  Where possible, consider alternative diuretic therapy (e.g., thiazides) to more potent diuretics (e.g., furosemide) in elderly patients receiving risperidone.

So, which diuretic should now be used? I think the former (thiazide), but my tutor doubts and asks a question whether the sentence could be formed alternatively without a loss of meaning. Like these schematic examples:

Change A to B
Change A for B
Prefer A to B
Consider A against B

In my opinion only "prefer" (A to B) and "consider A against B" could stay in place of "consider alternative" (A to B). But I am in doubt now, too. Suddenly it has become a hard nut to crack.

I would be very pleased if someone could give us a hint at least.


texts: Should you use "will like" or "would like" for a request/response in the present tense?

texts:
I ran into these sentences that got me thinking about would/will:

I will like to have your number. I would appreciate a text.

Is that grammatically incorrect or just impolite?
I suppose the above could be construed as a question. I'm also curious if the same rule holds true if you are responding to a question where you are compelled to provide a response.
For example, assume someone asks:

For your fruit, an apple or an orange?

Why do these sound like correct responses?

I will take an apple.
I would like an apple.

At the same time, this sounds contrived?

I will like an apple.

Is there a rule behind this, or is it just convention?


texts:
I have problem with sentences structures.

I have sentences:

  I specialize in design wireless and wired network infrastructure,
  configure devices company's Cisco Systems and MikroTik, and security
  and techniques used successfully to protect IT resources.
  Additionally, I have knowledge of voice over IP (VoIP) technology.

I am not sure, is this sentence grammatically correct?

Thank you in advance for your help.


texts:
Is there an adjective meaning attainable through aural practice?
As in "This language skill is more easily attainable through aural practice." That is, the more you listen, the more that skill develops.
Is there a single word you could put in the blank in "This is a/an ...... skill"


texts: Difference between 'come about', 'come around' and 'goes'

texts:
What's the difference in meaning between the following three sentences?

Let's see how it comes about.
Let's see how it goes.
Let's see how it comes around.

These words/phrasal verbs are -- by a close approximation -- the synonyms of 'happen'. I'm interested in the specific difference in usage, if any.


texts: Is there any word for referring to expired and/or voided subscriptions?

texts: I'm modeling a service and I want to name expired and/or voided subscriptions (by either side, publisher or subscriber). Terms like "expired subscription" or "invalid subscription" didn't satisfy me. Now I'm asking if there is any better term for that? (Or I'm wrong and "expired ..." or "invalid ..." are good and rational words for this meaning!)


texts: How would you describe the pronunciation of r to somebody who speaks English as second language?


texts:
The masters, many of them young men who agreed that Chips was hopelessly old-fashioned, rallied round him

Why is it round him and not around him?
What's the difference?


texts: I would like to find a grammar checker or solver that has the ability to change grammar styles such as punctuation in a news article compared to punctuation in fictional book. The best option found online is Grammarly, what other options do I have, I would like a more complete set of grammar correction options.


texts:
My young son recently started saying "Pardon me" after, for example, burping. We try to praise, or at least respond, when he does something right, as encouragement and as a form of learning. This caused a discussion on how one should respond in general.

So my question is - what should be the correct, polite response to the phrase "Pardon me"?

My guess would be the formal "You are pardoned."

Answers should ideally ignore the fact that the response will be to a young child, otherwise "Well done" followed by applause would fit the bill.


texts: Alternative expressions to 'you have to trust me''

texts: In novels, movies etc. especially when someone asks or tells to do something rather risky, new etc. they say 'you have to trust me' which sounds a bit dramatic to me.  What  alternatives for this expression for everyday, common usage can you suggest?


texts: Origin/first known use of the phrase 'I've got some good news and some bad news'

texts: When was the idiom, "I've got some good news and some bad news" first used, or when did it become a common joke?


texts:
I am trying to explain a lower GPA in my statement of purpose for applying to a masters program. I have come up with this opening sentence:

"Lastly, I would like to explain my undergraduate academic record. I fully understand that explaining a lower than par performance can sound like delusional ------ but given my strong interest in the program, I would like to explain the disparity between my undergraduate and graduate performance.

I think delusional is sort of an inappropriate word to use in a statement of purpose. Does anyone have any better ideas? Or is delusional appropriate to use?
And in case anybody is wondering, I already have a masters degree and I am applying for another masters program.


texts: When did “escort” become an euphemism for prostitute?

texts:
Escort was originally a military and masculine term:

1570s, in military sense, from Middle French escorte (16c.), from Italian scorta.

which was used figuratively from the first half of the 20th century:

The sense of "person accompanying another to a social occasion" is 1936.

Etymonline
From the latter sense, probably, the more recent connotation of prostitute:

c. A person, often a prostitute, who is hired to spend time with another as a companion. (AHD)
(American English) a prostitute, especially one who goes to social events or on trips with the person who pays them. (Longman Dict.)

It is not clear when this euphemism for  prostitute  caught on.  In Italy, for instance, the usage of the term escort   became common just a couple of  decades ago,  when Berlusconi was in power, because of his many “affairs” with girls.
EDIT:
Following a few comments suggesting that the term escort is not commonly used in the context of prostitution, I add this  related link:
Escort Agency

An Escort agency is a company that provides escorts for clients, usually for sexual services.

Questions:
When did the term escort start to be used to refer  to prostitutes?
Was it originally an AmE usage?


texts:
Recently I asked on the personal productivity Stack Exchange
Is there specifically a reason why there isn't an ADHD tag?
The context here, being that people with ADHD have issues with productivity, and that the ADHD tag didn't exist on the site. Searching the meta didn't show any reasons for this. I thought it might be possible that dealing with ADHD might not be on topic on the site.
Then afterwards I was considering whether explicit would have been a more appropriate word to use here.
Explicit (when not being used to denote adult content) is usually used as a contrast to implicit, making it clear that the thing was said out loud or put in writing.
eg.

I gave you explicit instructions not to engage.
The manual explicitly states not to turn the computer off at this stage.

Merriam-Webster gives this definition:

very clear and complete : leaving no doubt about the meaning
openly shown

Dictionary.reference gives a better definition:

fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied; unequivocal:

Specific on the other hand, tends to denote detailing, or to distingush one item from another.
eg.

She told me to specifically press the red button, then the green button.
The boss told us that he wanted us specifically to work on the project. (Implying that he didn't want other teams working on the project).

Which word would have been more appropriate for my question, and what's the difference?


texts: Guidelines for selecting suffix when making an adjective out of a proper name (-esque, -ean, -ian,

texts:
Examples:

For (Michael) Jordan, we often see Jordanesque. Why? Perhaps because he is His Airness (and the -esque suffix is associated with fanciness)? Maybe also to avoid confusion with Jordanians?

Plato -> Platonic. Why? Do names ending with an "o" generally get the suffix "-nic"? If so what do we do with Michelangelo?

And here are some for which there does not seem to be consensus:

Tolstoy -> Tolstoyian? Tolstoyan? Toylstoyean? Something else? Any guidelines?

Schelling -> Schellingian? Schellingesque?

Is this just mostly arbitrary and a matter of convention?


texts: Is it appropriate to use the sentence- " Greetings of the Day" in a formal email instead of Good morning?

texts: I often receive e-mails which start with the sentence- 'Greetings of the day.' instead of Good morning or good afternoon. I am wondering whether it is correct to use this in formal emails and letters.


texts: Forms of being + V3 and difference between having+V3

texts:
I read a lot of books to improve my english but sometimes I encounter some structures that are not found easily on learning webpages. First, I want to learn forms of being+V3(v3 stands for past participle form of verbs) except by passive voice. For example, I can't deduce the meaning of the sentence.

Class House doesn’t enjoy any advantages by being defined in the
same package or being a derived class.

Second, I again really can't deduce meaning of sentences that use having+v3 structure except by one that is at the beginning of a sentence. (i.e. having worked - After he has worked) What are the forms of having+v3 and being+v3 except by I have just mentioned exceptions and short form of adjective clause.

Example sentences that I can't understand:

It’s important to understand that there’s a difference between the
practical knowledge of having worked with Java and the knowledge
required to pass this certification exam.
First, answer this question: do you remember hav
ing known more than one Amit, Paul, Anu, or John in your life?


texts: Really struggling on coming up with a clever business name

texts:
Long story short, I’ve been toying with the idea of restoring an old vintage camper and turning it into a photo booth mostly for weddings (though other events would be fine too). There’s a need in my area and I have the experience/tools to do so.

Logistics aside, I really want to come up with a clever name. Something related to camping/maybe weddings/photography/wilderness/etc somehow.

The few options I have currently, but aren't in love with, are:

Snappy Camper (it exists multiple times and is lacking wilderness terms)
Northern Routes (I'm in the North East and liked that "Routes" could also be "Roots," not sure which is better, but it's lacking photography reference)
Hitch the Road (no photography reference)

Some interesting keywords I can't seem to make into a camping or photography related phrase:

Wild
Woods
Captured
Still
NewlyWoods

I just want it to be a camping, wilderness, or photography term, but then relate to the other somehow. I know it's a lot to ask.

My husband and I have a homestead called “Wildernest” - a play on “wilderness” - which I am obsessed with. Hoping to feel the same about this name!


texts: Why does "know" rhyme with "go", but "now" rhymes with "cow"?

texts:
I am curious about why we pronounce "know" as though it rhymes with "go", but "now" is pronounced as though it rhymes with "cow".  My first thought was that somehow a "k" before an "n" modified the vowel, but "knight" and "night" rhyme.

Are the origins of these two words completely different causing the difference in pronunciation?