texts: When you get a new competency at work, you have a new responsibility and a new... power?

texts:
Suppose you work at Acme doing your usual: fooing the bars. Now you are promoted and this means you have a new competency: you will be bazing the quxes as well. Therefore you have the new responsibility that all quxes are bazed in due time and you are supposed to propose new quxes as well. To make sure you can perform your new duties, you are given new powers: you may prioritize the quxes to baz as you see fit, and also you may assign some quxes to your colleagues.

Did I use the the words competency, responsibility and powers correctly?


texts:
Last night in his eve of election speech to the Scottish electorate (a vintage performance according to the Guardian), the former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, alluded to a famous line from Macbeth when he said 'Once it's done, it's done', meaning that the result of the election would be permanent, and there would be no going back.

The line in question was Lady Macbeth's remark to her husband, after he had murdered King Duncan 'What's done is done'.

There is a name given to a near quotation of this kind. I don't think it is interpolation. that is slightly different. Can anyone think of the word that is on the tip of my tongue?


texts: "That Da Vinci kid needs watched your highness."?

texts:
I read this today:

That Da Vinci kid needs watched your highness.

I assume they meant:

That Da Vinci kid needs watched, your highness.

The part I'm confused about is the "needs watched" one.
Needs watched? I assume that they mean "needs to be watched" or "needs to be surveiled".
Is this specifically a UK/British phrase? Is it also used in American/International English?
It sounds to me like something a "lowly peasant" who doesn't quite know how to express themselves would say, but it could also be that I'm the peasant who doesn't understand English well enough...


texts:
Let me give an example sentence:

The boy is young, thus bold yet imprudent.

Is this sentence grammatically correct?


texts: Word to call the period beyond the expected date?

texts: If I do not pay an electric bill on time, I will have an overdue bill. For example, the exceeding of the expected time is 2 months. So the payment is 2 months overdue. What do you call the period beyond the expected date of payment?


texts:
I came across this sentence: The function changes the size, position, and Z order of a child, pop-up, or top-level window.

I would write it this way: The function changes the size, the position, and the Z order of a child, a pop-up, or a top-level window.

Is there a rule or a convention to omit articles when there are more words
in a list?


texts: What is the sense of the word "kettle" here?

texts:
I've just come across the word "kettle" in a news article used in a sense I've not heard it before.

  "Police have formed 'a kettle' at Millenium Bridge, according to some
  of the protesters. They claim it is to prevent people sleeping on the
  streets. Others suggest police are simply moving people on. "

It doesn't seem to fit any of the dictionary definitions of the word.
Please can someone explain.


texts: Why do we say "write in" a journal instead of "write" journal?

texts: I noticed that we always say "write in a journal" instead of simply "write a journal." Why is this?


texts: Structure with Wish statements about future events: past perfect or past?

texts:
Could you please explain the difference between these two sentences?

The weekend has flown by; I wish it wasn't Monday tomorrow.

The weekend has flown by; I wish it hadn't been Monday tomorrow.


texts: Is it appropriate to say that an inanimate object, such as a wall, can ‘perform a job‘? I thought as there is no physical task occurring, as the wall is passive, that the more correct phrase would be for it to ‘have a purpose’.


texts: Why don't Americans refer to Indians (and others from the subcontinent) as Asians?

texts:
I know there is a related question here, but I am not seeing an answer to "Why is there a difference?"  Merely that an explanation of what is used in each country.

I am a speaker of American English, and I understand why the British refer to people from India as Asians.  This is quite sensible given that the Indian subcontinent is located in Asia.

But, we in America use Asian only to refer to people from the Far East.  (i.e. China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, etc.)  We completely exclude all people from Asia Minor, the Indian Subcontinent, etc.

And, I'm given to understand that the British and many other countries use Orientals to refer to the folks we refer to as Asian. In America, this term is only applied to inanimate objects, and is considered rather offensive to be applied to a person (since the rise of the PC movement in the late 1980s, in any case.)

Historically, Istanbul was considered the Orient (therefore the Orient Express).  So, why is this term applied to people of the Far East, instead of the Near East?

Can anyone point out the reason for the divergence in terminology?  Or is this yet another case of two nations separated by a common language?


texts: Do "willingness" and "effort" imply different things?

texts:
In a post on Meta Stack Overflow, I used the word "willingness" in the following context:

  [X] is showing a willingness to learn.

I justified this because [X] had posted a question asking to have a few lines of code explained. However, another user took it to mean

  [X] has not demonstrated that they have put forth any effort to learn. Willingness means actual effort [...]

Personally, I believe that there is a very great difference between the two words, both as defined and the underlying connotation, in that effort is not a prerequisite of willingness. Am I correct, or is "willingness" generally understood to require effort?


texts: Do sentences with stative verbs like "Bob hates apples" have the habitual aspect?

texts:
Bob hates apples.
hate - feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest

Does this mean, at the moment of speaking, that Bob is feeling a sensation of hatred? I have a feeling that it doesn't because that statement holds true when he is sleeping or feeling something else. However, does that instead mean that the sentence has the habitual aspect and that he habitually thinks about apples and thus habitually feels hatred towards apples?


texts: Difference between nation and folk/a people

texts:
I'm not sure if this questions belongs in the philosophical forum or here, but I'll give it a try anyway: what is the difference between nation and people? Is there an overlapping meaning or do they just happen to coincidentally exist on the same instance? Or is it even an exact synonym?

note: I'm not talking about the meaning of nation as country.


texts: What is a verb for something being the antithesis of something else?

texts:
I want to communicate that something is being the exact opposite, or the "antithesis" of something else.

For example:

  The ice <antithesis verb> the fire

Words I've thought of that come close in meaning, but don't fit:

juxtaposes
inverts
contrasts


texts:
What does Mastery Guidance mean in this context?

  "Replace a vague idea of 'purpose' with a manageable and measurable objective that is made ahead of practice and gives mastery guidance" – Practice Perfect (book)

I think it means that it's going to give you a pathway to follow to achieve mastery. Am I right?

Or is it more like "giving you guidance that comes from a master"?


texts: Why do English writers avoid explicit numerals?

texts:
The junction has a stop sign on each of the four entrances.
  The junction has a stop sign on each of the 4 entrances.

The first is preferred, for some reason, by many English texts. Why? I haven't seen this phenomenon in other languages.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Which is correct: “drive safe” or “drive safely”?

If I were to write a sentence like:

  I completed the task fairly quickly.

Is it correct, or would fairly quick be more appropriate?


texts: Is there a word to describe mother in law's brother in law

texts: What is mother in law's brother in law called?


texts:
I wanted to use the word “egotisticality” in an essay, but I realized that I didn’t know whether it was a word. I looked it up and got nothing that said it was a word, but I received no definitive “no” answer.

Is “egotisticality” a word?


texts:
Consider this sentence, please:

1) You might say that work is coming back into fashion.

Can I convert 1) into a second conditional sentence? For example:

1a) (If you wanted to), you might say that work is coming back into fashion.    Or

1b) (If you were to give your opinion on this), you might say that work is coming back into fashion.

I know could is possible in 1a) and 1b). But, here I'm talking about might only.

Can I use would possibly in place of might in 1a) and 1b), too?


texts: Why are so many common Asian names English genitalia euphemisms?

texts:
I noticed a lot of fairly common Asian names — Poon, Dong, Wang —  are also slang for genitalia in American English.

Why is this?

(See also: people’s names as names for genitalia, for English names like Peter, Johnson, Dick.)


texts:
Can home-colleged (or self-colleged) be used as an adjective to describe somebody who didn't go to college to study some subjects, but instead studied them himself by self-learning? Would home-colleged imply that somebody else taught him (for example his father, or he hired a professor), and self-colleged would be better?

I understand that these are not standard terms in English and can be used only in an informal manner, but do they convey the meaning I described?


texts: Connection between arachnid and arachidonic?

texts: Is there an etymological connection between words like "arachnid" (related to spiders) and words like "arachidonic" (related to peanuts)?


texts: Is being shameless the same as being confident

texts:
Could you say that one who is acting "shamelessly" or "brazenly" is acting "confidently"?

The Oxford Dictionary doesn't list "confidently" as a synonym for either, but I've found the word to be interchangeable with both.


texts: Word like 'agenda' but for an extended period

texts:
Does anyone know a word like 'agenda', but applying to an extended period of time, like several weeks?

Edit to explain

The words 'schedule' and 'calendar' aren't quite the right fit, since I'm looking for something that's not tightly tied to dates... It's for a program that will take place over a course of a few weeks. That said, 'calendar' may work.


texts: What is "backshifting", as applied to English grammar?

texts:
I saw this term, backshifting, in an answer to another question, that was not endorsed by the community:

  [T]he process called backshifting...signal[s] that the speech is not direct/quoted but rather it is indirect/reported.

That sounds very interesting, but unfortunately, I can't be sure of if this given definition is correct, as it is found in a downvoted answer.

So: What is backshifting, and how does it apply to English?  As always, plenty of examples are requested!


texts: I just heard the phrase: "spit and baling wire". I cannot find it anywhere—can you help give me a reference, the origin...and the meaning?


texts: MS word constantly complains about the use of passive voice and sometimes I struggle to find a better way to express myself. For instance, how do I say the following differently? "Despite all the windows being shut there was still a draught."


texts: Definite article before scientific terms named after people

texts:
This is my first post here so I hope the format of my question is correct.

I am wondering whether it is necessary to use the definite article before physical quantities named after people, e.g.:

  The Heisenberg interaction comes from a complex interplay between the Pauli exclusion principle and the Coulomb interaction.

I think that it is incorrect to use the definite article if the name is in its possessive form:

  Can you explain Maxwell's equations to me?

but that we should put the article if the name is in its subjective form:

  Can you explain the Maxwell equations to me?

Is this correct?


texts: Do I need to repeat the 'have' before the second verb?

texts:
I wonder whether it is optional/necessary that I repeat the 'have' in the sentence below (from an academic writing)

  While both aforementioned approaches have enjoyed many success stories and have drawn on mature implementations in industry, their limitations becomes prominent when handling embedded software.


texts: Is "someone would love for this to..." correct?

texts:
I've recently used the phrase "xxx would love for yyy to be zzz"; example here, "spammers would really love for this to be possible".
Is this phrasing grammatically correct?
I'm sure I've heard/read it somewhere, and it "feels" good (I'm not a native English speaker, but I know/read/write/speak English at a level where I usually can spot grammatically wrong usage instinctively).
But on this I'm not sure, thus I'm asking.
I'm especially concerned about the usage of "love for x to be y" here, and the whole sentence construction.
I know I could have said "spammers would love this to be possible", without "for"; but I want to know, is the form with "for" correct or at least permitted? Or should I avoid it?


texts: "Local crumbed scallops", or "crumbed local scallops"?

texts:
Recently I was in a fish and chip shop in Mandurah, WA, selling local crumbed scallops.

Is local crumbed scallops the correct form?
Is crumbed local scallops more appropriate?
What if "nonlocal" scallops were also available?
[optional] What form would a native German speaker find more natural, and why?


texts: Is there a word for 'related to whales'? I'm looking for something comparable to peristeronic (related to pigeons).


texts:
I've trying to specify the "body" language we use while stuck in traffic. I'm hoping for a word ending in -al.

At work we use professional body language, at home we use social body language, while stuck in traffic we use _______ body language.

At first I thought "automotive" or "vehicular." I think this conveys a sense of being in a car, but without the context of being on the road with other cars, jostling for position. To convey the interactive component, I thought maybe "vehiculo-social" but it's a bit contrived, and still leaves out that we are moving slowly on a crowded road rather than zipping down the freeway doing 80mph. "Traffical" just sounds silly.

So is there a word for this? Am I stuck with "vehicular"?


texts: What is deliberately using complex sentences to confuse people called?

texts:
I'm wondering if there's a word, phrase, or idiom to describe the action of deliberately confusing people by using complex sentences. For example, some politicians will throw out some big words and fancy sentences to confuse people what he or she really mean.

In Chinese, we say that the politician is "玩文字遊戲". Direct translation would be "playing a word game". And some English-Chinese dictionaries' suggest "play on word", "play with words", "word play", and "paronomasia". However, upon further researching by Googling, I don't think any of these is correct.


texts: Collective noun for a group of healthy people?

texts:
What's a good word or expression to describe a group of people who:

eat well
exercise regularly
generally take good physical care of themselves

?


texts: Use of 'cum' as the interstitial in a three-word semi-comparative adjective?

texts:
I have occasionally encountered and often written a three-word adjective of the form 'X-cum-Y' to describe a person, where the X and Y are normally set somewhat in tension with one another, if they are not outright contradictory states. I've seen this device used to denote character development; for example, if a nominally-celibate priest is discovered to have taken a lover, they might be described as a 'priest-cum-philanderer'.

Of course, given the euphemistic use of 'cum', such usage as I describe above has become rare (if it ever was common to begin with), but I am curious about it, regardless.

What is the function of what I call "the interstitial 'cum'"? What is the history of its usage? Are there any rules or general guidelines for deploying it appropriately in prose?

I would be grateful for any information on the topic.


texts: In what context did the noun 'countdown' first emerge, and when did the word first appear in print?

texts:
A recent EL&U question (What does “and counting” in “Bits of plastic in oceans: 5.25 trillion and counting” mean?) led to a discussion of counting up versus counting down. In the course of that discussion, a commenter observed that the default direction for counting is up (toward larger numbers) rather than down toward zero. The fact that we have the word countdown in English but not the word countup offers some support for this view, since you wouldn't expect speakers to specify a direction that was accepted as and assumed to be the normal one.

Here is the entry for countdown in Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003):

  countdown n (ca. 1952) : an audible backward counting in fixed units (as seconds) from an arbitrary starting number to mark the time remaining before an event; also : preparations carried out for such an event.

The two most familiar settings for countdowns, at least in the United States, are rocket, missile, or spaceship launches (where the countdown is to the moment of ignition of the rocket fuel and the launch of the missile or spacecraft) and sporting events such as basketball, hockey, and football that are normally played within a fixed allotment of "live" time (where the countdown is to the end of one of the periods of the game or [more often] to the end of the game itself).

The Online Etymology Dictionary has this:

  countdown (n.) 1953, American English, in early use especially of launches of rockets or missiles, from count (v.) + down.

This entry suggests that aeronautics/rocketry was an "especially" frequent setting for early use of countdown, but it doesn't indicate that it was the first setting, nor does it give any idea as to when countdown came into use at sporting events.

I have three questions:

In what context did countdown originate—aeronautics/rocketry, sports, or something else?
When did the term cross over from its original setting (presumably either aeronautics/rocketry or sports) to the other setting where it became especially common?
Can anyone improve on "circa 1952" (MW) or "1953" (etymonline) as the first occurrence date of this word?


texts:
Is there a synonym of at a time? For example,

  Only four controllers can be connected at a time.


texts: What is the possessive case and the objective case of "ye?"

texts: I know very well that archaically, "thou" is the nominative case for the modern day "you" while "thee" is the accusative case and that there is no distinction between the nominative and accusative cases in modern English, (both "you.") I know the same for "I" and "me," "he" and "him," "she" and "her," "we" and "us," and "they" and "them," nominative and accusative respectively. However, I have scoured the Earth looking for the accusative (objective) case of "ye." I have just been assuming that it was simply just "ye," but I am searching for a definitive answer. Similarly, what is the possessive case of "ye?" Essentially, what is the word for "to all of you" and "all of your" in archaic times (the second person plural accusative and possessive pronouns?)


texts: In which regional dialects is "I'm sat" common?

texts:
I had always associated the construct I'm sat here (as opposed to I'm sitting here) with the north of England. I know I've heard it from people with Yorkshire or Manchester accents, for example. Yet, I was recently speaking with a couple of Londoners, one of whom used it and the other stated it sounded natural.
Here are some examples I found in Google Books to clarify the specific usage I am referring to:

Don't think: I'm sat here waiting for my plays to be produced; think: I am sat here waiting to write those plays that can only be produced, now. [source]
I'm sat here in Vittles waiting for a second pot of tea, and life is OK, on the whole. [source]
I'm sat here, in the back of a van with my Thermos full of hot tea, protecting a car-park. [source]
And it'sonly now that I'm sat here to with Emma that the absurdity of what I'm doing is starting hit home. [source]
I'm sat here watching and listening to them talk. [source]

So, how common is this in the UK? Is it actually regional and, if so, of which region, or is it a more widespread expression?


texts: After reading this discussion, I'd like to know what example sentences distinguish the meaning of the words lept, leapt, and leaped from each other?


texts: Inverse of "Decimate" (not really a duplicate)

texts:
Historically, the word "decimate" means to "reduce/ destroy by one tenth"... i.e., a decimated army of 100 soldiers would have lost 10 soldiers.
Is there a word that means the inverse, IOW "reduce/ destroy to one tenth", where a XXXXX army of 100 would only have 10 soldiers left?
Ummm... dunno why this was marked as a duplicate to a question I didn't ask, but... still looking for an answer...


texts: Can I say that a major "have" teaching positions?

texts:
Example:

  Her major, Spanish, have very few teaching positions in my city.

Is using "have" strange in a case like this? (Like, how can a major have teaching positions?). If so, what's a better alternative?


texts: Word for a person whose vocabulary is very limited (as in like 100 words)

texts: Is there a word for a person who hardly knows English as in like 100 words, but pretends they are an English major?


texts: Is there a word that has no nuance and refers to the literal property of something being new?

texts:
Sorry for the rather confusing title. I'm writing a research paper regarding COVID-19 and am trying to write a sentence along the lines of:

  The main challenge of building a COVID-19 domain QA model is the lack of datasets in this new domain.

The sentence wasn't written by me, but I want to change the last part "in this new domain" to something else that hints at the lack of available data due to the fact that we just haven't had COVID-19 in our lives for a long time.

Some example ideas I wrote are:

The main challenge of building a COVID-19 domain QA model is the lack of datasets due to the novelty of the domain.
The main challenge of building a COVID-19 domain QA model is the lack of datasets due to the nascence of the domain.
The main challenge of building a COVID-19 domain QA model is the lack of datasets due to the fact that COVID-19 is fairly new.

All three of them seem kind of meh to me. "Novelty" and "nascence" don't exactly capture my intention, as those two words usually have some sort of nuance to them and I simply want to state the literal fact that COVID-19 is new without any strings attached.

I've tried searching the Internet for some synonyms of "novelty" and "newness," but the results are also a little unsatisfactory and was wondering if someone here may know a better answer. Thanks!


texts:
In the sentence "For I shall learn no more of him" (Edgar Allan Poe, The Man of the Crowd), for means because.

Is it acceptable to use the conjunction with this meaning nowadays?


texts:
In the following sentence, are the words 'and' & 'thus' punctuated correctly? Should there be a come before the word 'and'? I really appreciate your help.

"Vacuum packing the apple slices eliminates oxygen and thus prevents browning without altering the apple's flavor."


texts: Synonym for "aforementioned" without the past-tense connotation

texts:
Is there a word that can be used when discussing something and wanting to refer to it in the manner of "the aforementioned", but without the temporal aspect making it sound like you've moved on and are referring back to it?  The item under discussion is the current matter-at-hand and I'd like a word with the feel of "aforementioned", but the present-tense of "matter-at-hand" or "current subject matter".

For example, when discussing someone's statement/idea/syllogism, I don't want to say so-and-so's aforementioned statement, because it's the current subject matter that we're presently discussing.


texts: What is the difference between "utter" and "speak"?

texts:
E.g.

  speak vehemently
  utter vehemently

When should one use speak and when utter?


texts:
A public authority was looking to improve productivity, transparency of information and better manage public funds
What would be the correct way to write the above statement?
A public authority was looking to improve productivity, offer more transparency in information and better manage public funds?


texts: Shouldn't “some of the phenomenon” be plural?

texts:
The paragraph:

  Our team conducts fundamental research in Philosophy, trying to push
  the boundaries of what is possible with new techniques, and also trying
  to understand and formalize some of the phenomenon observed in
  practice.
  Source

My Greek instinct read phenomena instead of phenomenon... Am I correct? Or, in English it's OK to use it like this?


texts: "... due to their not being citizens ." - is that a reasonable use of "their"

texts:
I wrote a sentence just now and after I'd pressed 'send' I began to wonder whether what I had written was correct.

The sentence read

  They were ineligible due to their not being citizens

An alternative - it seems to me - could be

  They were ineligible due to them not being citizens

but that sounds a little clunky.

Is there anything wrong withe the first one ?


texts: Bullet points with a quote at the end - period placement

texts:
Does the period go inside or outside of quotes in a list of bullet points?

Which is correct?

•   Remove reference to “repair” in (a)(2), because “repair” is already encompassed in the word “maintenance”.

•   Remove reference to “repair” in (a)(2), because “repair” is already encompassed in the word “maintenance.”


texts: Sentence meaning: "But there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them"

texts:
Just came acorss this sentence from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen:

  "But there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them"

I'm not sure if that means that:
1) "pretty women deserve men of large fortune" or
2) "men of large fortune deserve pretty women"?

Originally I thought it is the first option, but according to a translation I've read it was the second option that was used. So I'm quite confused right now. your help is appreciated.


texts: Could the sentence "Not even death can do us part" be considered correct?

texts:
Not even death can do us part.

These are lyrics from the Beyoncé song "Sweet Dreams" (link to the part in question.)

I've been curious about this for a while. If one considers "Till death do us part" to be correct, could this sentence be considered correct as well?

Interestingly, these lyrics are changed in the album version (link):

  Not even death could make us part.


texts:
I'm looking for a word that means "prepared for conflict" in any language but would prefer one in English or French or French etymology.

I've been struggling with this for a while now, and can't seem to find a term that fits the bill.  I realize this might not be the best place to ask this question, but I've often found good answers on this forum.

Central to my dilemma is the following:

  pacifist: Someone who opposes war or violence as a means of settling
  disputes

  pacifism: Opposition to war or violence as a means of settling
  disputes

And Antonyms:

  bellicist: One who advocates war —opposed to pacifist

  bellicism: An inclination to war; warlike policy or behavior.  (not
  available at Merriam Webster so wiktionary will have to do)

I can find no equivalent terms that indicate:

  ???: Someone who is not opposed to war or violence as a solution and
  recognizes that both peace and violence require preparation

  ???: An inclination towards neither war nor diplomacy but a
  willingness to use either when appropriate

Some people have suggested that there is no term for this point of view because it is the "normal" outlook.  However, I argue that while the "normal" outlook might be not to favor peace or violence, the outcome is usually to ignore the subject entirely - not to prepare for either or both.  So I'm hoping for a different answer here.

For instance, the President of the United States should be primarily skilled at politics, diplomacy, etc. but must be prepared for war in his role as Commander in Chief. While a President may prefer peaceful outcomes, he/she would be unwise to count on peace alone.


texts:
Here is the sentence:

  Total bed rest is not necessary, just rest for the injured part of the body.

I am trying to diagram this sentence but I don't know how "just rest for the injured part of the body" fits into the sentence.  Does it modify a word somewhere in the sentence?  What is the functionality of that part of the sentence?


texts:
The syntax for indirect questions is that the verb goes after the subject such as,

  I am wondering what the time is.

If not asked as an indirect or embedded question, what punctuation would you use between the two clauses for the following sentence?

  I am wondering what is the time.

As a native speaker used to conversational English, this sounds awkward if not incorrect to me, because I frequently use indirect questions (Microsoft Word apparently thinks so too).  If I were to verbalize it as in the second example, I would put a pause between "I am wondering" and "What time is it?"
My first question is – is a comma the correct punctuation for the second example?  Can a hyphen also be used?

Next when sentences contain more information, indirect questions start to look and sound awkward when read.  For example:

  I’m trying to find what the best solution to the problem is.

As opposed to

  I’m trying to find what is the best solution to the problem.

I know what you’re thinking: why not omit “what is”. Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to state it indirectly, would it be grammatically correct or good writing to do so?

One last example, keeping in mind the same syntax:

  I want to ask when a good time to call back is.

If spoken, I wouldn’t second guess it.  But when I read it over and over again, it doesn’t sound right.

I appreciate any feedback and/or expert advice, as well as any reputable sources that address this specific question.

I asked this question because I had recently pointed out this syntactic error to a non-native speaker who composes work-related emails to Americans.  While the type of punctuation may be negligible, I wanted to give the most appropriate alternative given the writing context.

Out of the three options, which punctuation would be most appropriate for professional emails?

Also -- would the sentence, "I was wondering, what is the time?" by definition wouldn't this be an example of a comma splice? And if you start the sentence with "I was wondering", wouldn't you have to end the sentence with a period?

I'm hoping I can pass on clear cut grammar and punctuation advice while keeping his writing natural and conversational sounding.


texts:
I know lyrics meaning is not a kind of a thing English SE is supposed to specialize in, but before looking for possible figurative meanings of the song excerpt that I put below I just want to reassure the phrase in bold is not a rare idiom or something.

There is a song by Pink Floyd - Arnold Layne. It has the following lines:

  Oh, Arnold Layne
  It's not the same, takes two to know
  Two to know, two to know
  Why can't you see?

What does (it) takes two to know mean? Is it an idiom?


texts:
Is there any expression or a single verb for "making someone expect something"?

For example, the title "A Walk Among the Tombstones" made me expect a horror movie.


texts: Why can we use "inadequate" but not "inspecific"?

texts:
I find the use of the word "inspecific" very natural. It makes sense and flows easily in sentences I speak and write (to myself at least). However, upon inspection, it is apparently not a valid English word, instead being nonspecific (A.H.D. 5), unspecific (O.D.O.) or something of that sort.

We use the in- prefix to negate the primary meanings of words very often, for instance in the words "inadequate" and "invariable". I feel like ignoring all of the signs telling me to use "non-specific" instead of "inspecific" and go with what I find right. What about you? Do you find the word "inspecific" right or wrong? Why can't we negate it, like we negate many other words, simply through prefixing an in-?

Also, as a rule of thumb, Latin words usually seem to take the in- prefix when negated, whereas Germanic words seem to take the un- suffix. Variable, adequate and specific have Latin origins according to The Online Etymology Dictionary. Why does specific, a Latin derived word, seem to be an exception?


texts: "X is subject to Y" or "X is subjected to Y"?

texts:
As with the current group term life insurance coverage these two new benefits are also considered to be non-cash taxable benefits and are subjected to statutory deductions for C\QPP contributions, income tax and NT/NU payroll taxes.

This is what I wrote in a school assignment, and was marked wrong.  The instructor says it should read, taxable benefits are subject to statutory deductions.  What is the correct grammar of this sentence please?


texts:
I want to inform other that one of the team require additional time to close a task. which one is appropriate

Team needs more time

or

Team need more time


texts: The meaning of the phrase "make-believe"

texts:
In a recent Facebook post for a friend of mine, he used the phrase make-believe in the sentence to indicate a bad pretending habit of some institute. His usage was similar to saying:

  Just keep pretending. After all, the entire country is all
  make-believe.

As from the famous company slogan, I thought that phrase implies a good meaning. But the previous usage made me think: What is the usage of this phrase? and is it an idiom or some kind of a known phrase or expression?


texts: What is the accepted stance on using "they" in a singular form?

texts:
Is it good English to say "They have just left", when talking about a single person (perhaps someone you don't know the gender of)?

(I am a native English speaker, I'm looking for the view held by lexicographers).


texts: Is “pregnant couple” proper terminology?

texts:
According to Collins English Dictionary, and of course as everyone knows, a doula is

  a woman who is trained to provide support to women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth, and the period of time following the birth

However, the definition in wiktionary says:

  A support person, usually female, who may not have medical or midwifery training, who provides emotional assistance to a mother or pregnant couple before, during or after childbirth.

Is pregnant couple actually an acceptable term for referring to an expectant couple?


texts: Using "should be" meaning like "will be"?

texts:
CloudEdit is an extremely simple document editing app. Here are the specs:

  Users should see a list of the latest documents. To edit, the user
  clicks the document in the list. Users should be able to edit
   documents with a title and body, and should be able to save their
  edits to the server. Users should be able to create new documents.

In the paragraph above, we can see that the auther using should be, but It's kind of means "will be", means something like "if you open it, you will see...blah". What is the grammar behind this?


texts: Which rules define how to pronounce a consonant?

texts:
My question might appear silly and pointless to some, but I find it pretty interesting myself.

If we look at the word 'circus', it has 3 consonants and 2 vowels. However, the 2 c in the words are pronounced in a different manner. The first has sound of s as in 'hiss', while the second has the sound of k as in 'kit'.

Also, the vowel i and the vowel u are pronounced the same, although they are not the same. Both, in this case, are pronounced as u in 'cut' or 'upper'.

There are even more examples of such confusions, such as the use of ph vs f in  'graph' and 'fish'.

Why is it so? Why is it so that in English, such discrepancies in pronunciations exist? Is it because most English words are derived from different languages, Latin and Greek?

PS: On a side note, I just want to say that in my native language, Hindi, it doesn't happen. Even if such differences do exist and I just don't know about it, they're rare.


texts: What do you call a person who views things differently?

texts: Is there a particular word/phrase to describe a person who views things differently in a positive way? Or looks for new ways to describe a situation


texts:
Traditionally (and roughly) dictionaries are written by teams of editors who gather large corpora, identify new words or new word usages, examine how those words are used, and then assign parts of speech and write definitions based on their examinations.

With no ill will meant toward dictionary editors, this seems a task well suited for computers. (As an interesting aside, see this anti-capitalist critique of automation.) Google and Apple, especially, have troves of written material, both old and current. It seems to me (and I confess I have no computer background) this could easily be used to largely automate dictionary writing.

Computers can identify which words are used, in books, emails, texts, etc, which are yet undefined. By comparison with other words used in similar contexts (its location in sentence structure, the meanings and parts of speech of other words which appear in the same place, etc.) the computer could create a list of likely synonyms and assign a part of speech. A human editor would probably then still need to write the definition, but the bulk of the work is done.

Are dictionaries doing this? In some ways this is simply glorified text-prediction. I have looked online but found nothing. The problem with searching for information regarding dictionaries is that every result is a definition.


texts:
I was recently asked why I used the word notoriety in a sentence about Alex Honnold. In this case - I believe the sentence was "Alex Honnold achieved increasing notoriety after the 60 Minutes interview with footage of his free solo of Half-Dome.

I meant to use notoriety in a totally positive way - and I don't know of any better alternative.

Is there a more appropriate term than notoriety? Is
notoriety incorrect?


texts: Would the "Purple Fawn" in this context refer to a shop?

texts:
Wodger, of the "Purple Fawn," and Mr. Jaggers, the cobbler, who also sold old second-hand ordinary bicycles, were stretching a string of union-jacks and royal ensigns (which had originally celebrated the first Victorian Jubilee) across the road.

This sentence is from The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells. In this scene, the village people are preparing for the Whit Monday festival(?). I can tell that Woder and Mr Jaggers are names of people and Mr. Jaggers is a cobbler, but what is Wodger’s ‘purple fawn’?

Would I be right to understand it as the name of a shop, with Wodger being thus the shopkeeper? As far as I know, a fawn is some kind of a deer, right? Is it clear to a native speaker what The Purple Fawn refers to?


texts: Negative questions: “No, I don’t” or "Yes, I don't"?

texts:
I’m an English teacher in Japan. Recently I ran into quite a conundrum, which I’m sure many others have struggled with. I was talking to one of my students in the presence of my boss and something my student said gave me the impression he hadn’t seen a particular movie. I then asked him, “So you haven’t seen the movie?” He responded, “No, I haven’t.” At this, I corrected him, saying he should say, “Yes, I haven’t.” My boss took issue with and said this is the number one thing that Japanese students learning English apparently trip up on, and traditionally they would be upset if I teach this kind of thing, because what they learned in school is that they should say, “No, I haven’t” in all cases. He has been riding me to find the answer for myself as to whether this is true or not, and while I’ve looked around online and found opinions, I can’t find anything “official”. And what bothers me is responding to a question such as “Have you not seen it” with “No, I haven’t” seems illogical to me, because then it sounds like it would be a double-negative; I’m asking if he has NOT seen the movie, so shouldn’t his answer be “YES, I haven’t seen it?”  By saying “no“, to me it sounds like he would be saying, “No, I haven’t not seen it”, which would mean he has.

Also, the other night, my boss posed the example question on the board for me, “Do you not like it?”. Again, I would naturally think it should be, “Yes, I don’t” or “No, I do”, because I’d be affirming that question one way or the other.

He also showed me a place in a textbook we use with a question like “Don’t you like it” and the answer was “No, I don’t” or “Yes, I do”.  This makes sense to me because the question is essentially saying, “I think you like it, right”, but I’d using a negative. Although when I think about it, why does this seem normal to me but it seems strange to me to say “Yes, I do” or “No, I don’t” to something like “Do you NOT like it”.

This thread seems to suggest I’m right: Proper yes/no answer to a question posed in negative form
My mom, who is really good with Grammar, also agreed with the responses in that thread. But I feel like I need something more official and concrete.

So could anyone tell me for sure what the right way is and if possible give me an official source, like a dictionary of sorts or something? Thanks a lot.


texts: recommend you + to-infinitive vs recommend that you + infinitive

texts:
I'd like to ask about the use of the verb "recommend" in the following sentences:

We'd recommend you to book your flight early.
The plumber recommended me to buy a new water heater.

The first sentence is taken from the entry for the verb "recommend" in the online Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the other is from a grammar site. I'm still unsure if the usage "recommend someone" instead of "recommend to someone" is widely acceptable. While the first sentence seems have only one possible interpretation: "recommended to you", the other one, although less likely, could also be interpreted like: "The plumber recommended me, not someone else, to buy a new water heater".
My question is whether it is possible to reinterpret the given examples as:

We'd recommend that you book your flight early.
The plumber recommended that I buy a new water heater.

meaning that the interpretation is not that "you" or "me" are the objects of "recommend" but the whole proposition following it: "you to book your flight early" and "me to buy a new water heater", same as "that" clauses are in the rephrased examples?
Edit: Thanks to all the contributors for the help!
The meaning of the rephrases of the examples with "that" clause that I gave do tell essentially the same, but I was looking for the nuance in the interpretation of:

We'd recommend you to book your flight early

by comparing it with "that" clause rephrase:

We recommend that you book your flight early.

The salient reading of the first sentence for me would be : We'd recommend to you..and here is what we recommend.., meaning that there's a prosodic pause between "We'd recommend to you.." and the content of the recommendation which is "to book your flight early", while the second sentence I'd read as "We recommend..and here is what we recommend", which is "that you book your flight early", meaning that now the person who is recommended something is part of the content of the recommendation. In other words, this person doesn't stand prominently as the explicit object of the recommendation as it does in the former sentence.
In brief, I was thinking that sentence 1 above may be interpreted as 2 too, not only as "recommend to you". When I use "for" in between the verb "recommend" and the person recommended this is more clearly shown:

I'd recommend for you to book your flight early.

Here again I'd read the sentence as "I'd recommend..and here is what I recommend". The person recommended is part of the whole proposition recommended — "for you to book your flight early", same as with "that-clause" phrasing, and it is not a clear object of the verb "recommend" as it is in "recommend to you" interpretation . By the way,I'd like to know how acceptable "recommend for someone to do something" construction is to you, as I haven't found it noted in Oxford ALD.
To clarify my question, I'd like to add that in the original sentences "recommend" takes "to-infinitival" complement, not a bare verb which would be understood as a "that"-clause with "that" elided: "recommend you book your flight early", would stand for "recommend that you book your flight early". Again, my question is if "that-clause" complement, (nevermind if "that" is elided or not) is comparable with "you to book your flight early" or "for you to book your flight early" in the given sentence.
Finally, as native speakers you're entitled to question any dictionary or book as it is up to you to decide what works and what not, there's no single ultimate authority for the language people speak, so you can argue even with Oxford guys. "Grammatical" is what is acceptable to the majority of the speakers.


texts:
How do you greet multiple recipients in an e-mail?

Assuming they're both male, I just use "Sirs", but it seems a bit informal.


texts:
If one takes this head-rope and pulls it back and forth, one can control the movement of all the threads of the net, and the whole net will be unfolded or collected accordingly.

I do not know how to describe the openning and closing of this fish net. It is made up of a head-rope. Can I use "unfold" and "collect"?


texts:
I'm certainly no expert on iambic pentameter. I actually just got the basic idea of it yesterday on https://poemshape.wordpress.com But, unfortunately, i still am not sure on how to tell whether or not something actually is in proper iambic pentameter or is an acceptable variant. One example i would like to know for certain if it is done correctly is a line from a King Los song.
The line goes like this : "I havn't, been amateur, ever, never. Iambic pentameter, clever, better."

The bold parts being the stressed syllables. And i'm not entirely sure how to tag this post so if i do something wrong, correct me so i can fix it. Thanks.


texts: how to politely and natively reply an email and ask question

texts:
I am replying an email which ask me to submit extra documents. But I think I do not need to submit it.

So I want to ask if it is necessary to do it:

  Thanks for your email. But may I confirm with you that I do need to
  submit these documents please? As I have been studying as a PhD
  student for a year and I'd like to make a transfer application to
  follow my supervisor who will teach in your University.

  Thanks in advance and best regards.

Would you please give me some suggestions to make it more polite and more likely to what a local will say?

Thanks in advance.


texts:
I have recently watched a movie called Ex Machina. I searched for the meaning, but Deus Ex Machina was the closest to this title.

There certainly must be a relation but can someone please tell me what that might be?


texts: Is the expression "showed it what for" or "showed it one for"?

texts:
For some reason I thought the expression was "showed him one for" but someone I know just said "showed it what for". Which is it? I have also heard the idiom as "give it what/one for".

If anyone has a tip on the etymology I'm interested in that too.


texts: How did 'pummel' evolve from the meaning of apple?

texts:
What's an intuitive derivation behind ODO's definition  that helps to remember its meaning?

  to pummel = [with object]
  1. Strike repeatedly with the fists
  1.1. [North American, informal] Criticize severely:

  Etymonline: mid-13c., "ornamental knob;" c.1300, "knob at the end of a sword hilt," from Old French pomel (12c., Modern French pommeau), "rounded knob," diminutive of pom "hilt of a sword," from Late Latin pomellum, diminutive of Latin pomum "apple" (see Pomona), the connecting notion being "roundness." Sense of "front peak of a saddle" first recorded mid-15c. In Middle English poetry it also sometimes meant a woman's breast. The gymnast's pommel horse is attested from 1908.

I recognise 'une pomme' from French but how does 'roundness' induce the current meaning?


texts: Can I say "I will work for this company for some time"?

texts:
I mean I will continue to work for this company for maybe some months or some years, so can I use "for some time" as I mentioned in the title. What would a native speaker say?
Thanks in advance.


texts:
Which of the following would be correct? Is it a question of dialect?

"If this question gets answered, ..."
"If this question is answered, ..."

(Inspired by this answer.)


texts: What do you make of the quoted paragraph below?

texts:
I pulled this paragraph from an English textbook written for beginner's level (A1 according to CEFR) English learners in my country (Vietnam). The question I want to ask is: Can you understand what the paragraph is trying to say?

People are living longer so there are more elderly people. Many young people are doing community service. They help elderly people. They do their shopping. They do their housework. They clean their yards. They even paint their houses.

A friend of mine, an English teacher, suggested that the multiple instances of their in the paragraph may be source for confusion and proposed changing their to the, i.e.:

People are living longer so there are more elderly people. Many young people are doing community service. They help elderly people. They do the shopping. They do the housework. They clean the yards. They even paint the houses.

How about you? How would you fix this paragraph, or should it need fixing?


texts: "The towers build as they draw closer". How to understand "tower" in this sentence?

texts:
In the article Raindrop from the book What If?, there is a sentence:

  On the horizon to the southwest, ominous-looking clouds begin to appear. The towers build as they draw closer, the tops spreading out into an anvil shape.

What does it mean? Draw closer means approaching, and tower as a noun has no meaning other than a building. I understand that this might be a metaphor, but then why it is in active voice? Doesn't it make more sense in saying:

  As they (the cloud) draw closer, the towers are built.

And there is more than one tower. Shouldn't it have only one? I am thinking about the tower of the tornado:


texts:
On multiple commercial domestic flights, I've heard a flight attendant make an announcement just before final descent back to the ground that "the seat belt sign will remain illuminated for the duration of the flight."

This strikes me as an obvious mistake, where clearly "remainder" is intended. Is there an argument for using "duration" in this instance, despite much of the flight having already been spent with the seat belt sign dark?


texts: Is "naturally flavored with other natural flavors" redundant?

texts:
I see this on many fruity soda cans, like Fanta, Sunkist, and Minute Maid, where it will read "Orange Soda - Naturally Flavored with Other Natural Flavors"

If they're all natural flavors, isn't it just plain redundant to say "Natural Flavors, with other Natural Flavors?"

Or is there a special meaning to "naturally flavored with other natural flavors"?

Oddly, on other soda brands it omits the "with other natural flavors", for example, 7-up bottles say "100% natural flavors" also noting "Naturally Flavored Soda".


texts: What do you call a person that adds things to a list?

texts:
Would "adder" be a valid term?

The person is someone who adds an item to the list.


texts: What does this sentence mean? How can I say it differently?


texts: Why is there a comma before "that" in "But of all relations, that between men and women, being..."

texts:
I have some questions about the sentence below.

Why is there a comma before "that"?
Next, if we say "But of all relations" the verb of this sentence should be plural. So, why is there "was sure" in the sentence instead of "were sure"?

  But of all relations, that
  between men and women, being the nearest and
  most intimate, and connected with the greatest
  number of strong emotions, was sure to be the last to
  throw off the old rule, and receive the new; for,
  in proportion to the strength of a feeling is the
  tenacity with which it clings to the forms and
  circumstances with which it has even accidentally
  become associated. . . .

(The Enfranchisement of Women, Harriet Taylor Mill)


texts: "I had John return the video": why do we use "return" instead of "returns" or "returned"?

texts:
I had John return the video for me.

In this sentence, why do we use return and not returns or returned?


texts: What is the origin of the expression "trying to catch a falling knife"? I have just read it and I wonder how it came up to be a common expression.


texts: Is there a politically correct term for illiterate people?

texts:
The question says it all. What is the standard, compassionate/politically-correct term for those who lack a literacy education?

I'm looking for something a little higher in register and more accurate than "reading-challenged" or similar.


texts: Putting comma before "or" if the second phrase of the conjunction is conditional

texts:
I'm having a hard time phrasing this properly to look it up, but I believe I'm correct about my usage. Example sentence:

Infants should stay at home, or go to daycare if their parents both work.

A grammar checking program is insisting the comma should not be there, but I don't think it's fully grasping the nature of the sentence. Clearly it's not a parallel phrasing, which would imply that infants possibly should stay at home if both parents work.


texts: Why is " I" not " me" required in this comparative clause?

texts:
He is taller than I.
He is taller than me.

I saw both sentences on an official website of a famous university in Indiana, USA. On the grammar page,
sentence one is an example of how personal pronouns are used. While sentence two is considered negative and ungrammatical. In the Oxford Dictionary, sentence two is correct because " than" is defined as a preposition. So, I'm wondering, which should I trust.


texts:
Team or group activities can teach more important skills for life than those done alone.

Does "more important skills" here mean skills that are more important or more skills that are important? why?


texts: "Throw it on the pile" - where did this idiom come from?

texts:
("throw it in the pile" or "just throw it on the pile" are also acceptable variants)
I have seen this expression being used a lot. Based on context and intuition, I figured it has an idiomatic meaning, something like this. "It" refers something that should normally be significant, but this idiom is saying that we already have so many of things like "it" that "it" is no longer important. Here, "it" can refer to any kinds of thing, physical objects, facts, abstract concepts...
I tried searching around, but all I get is a whole bunch of different places that use the same expression. This affirms the fact that this is a common idiom, but make it hard to figure out the source.
I tried to search on the idiom dictionary but got nothing.
So does anyone know the source for this? Also, is my interpretation of the phrase correct? Thank you.
(I have also seen visual gags invoking this idiom as well: a character in movie or cartoon casually throw something valuable - like gold, or medal - into a big pile of similar stuff)
You can find plenty of examples by just searching for the phrase, but here is a random webpage just to make it concrete: https://bookmachine.org/2012/04/05/pottermore-sells-1-million-in-three-days-rowling-instructs-minions-just-throw-it-on-the-pile/


texts:
Wanted to know which form is better and why

One has to cook himself?

OR

One has to cook themself?


texts:
While changing direct to indirect speech, we generally back shift the tense.

Example -
"I have finished my work."             (Direct speech)
He said that he had finished his work.  (Indirect speech)

In this example present perfect tense is back shifted to past perfect tense.

NOTE : There is an exception to this rule : At the time of reporting, if the reported words are still true or still relevant then back shifting is optional. For example: "He said that he has lost his keys." Here present perfect tense is not back shifted because at the time of reporting situation is still relevant. By relevant I mean that the consequence of losing his key can still be seen or heard.

Now my main question(s) is:

Context: Recently an earthquake came in India and Nepal. Thousands of people have lost their lives. Rescue operation is on its way.
Now consider the example which is not an indirect speech: "The President learned that this earthquake has caused destruction all across Nepal and India."

First: tell me, here is it correct to use "has caused" under the context that situation is still relevant, i.e. the aftermath of the earthquake can still be seen?

Second: Here is back shifting optional or obligatory?

Another question:

You see, my intention of asking question is -
In sentence structure of indirect speech like - (He said +........... , He informed +....... , He claimed + .......... ), I am aware that if the situation is still relevant then back shifting of present perfect tense is optional.

But what if the sentence structure is something like - ( He learned + ........... , He noticed +.......... , He found +....... ) here also is back shifting of present perfect tense optional if the situation is still relevant ?

P.S. : My question concerns only present perfect tense.


texts:
During an episode of Archer, he criticized a journalist's grammar for her misuse of the word 'child-murderer'. She meant one who murders children, and Archer argued in using the hyphenated form, she implied the accused man is a child who murders. Is this correct?

I searched "child-murder" and "child-murderer", only to find columns eschewing the hyphen in nearly all cases. Instead, the columnists, relied on context as to whether they are referring to a child who murders or one who murders children. I, however, am purely interested in the proper use of the hyphen in this situation, as it could possibly extend to other situations as well. The trouble seems to arise from child not having an adjective or descriptive form. With 'teen', one does not run into this problem:

Teenage murderer vs teen murderer

However, if one uses 'adolescent murderer', it becomes unclear as to whether one means an adolescent who murders or... you get the picture. This problem arises from adolescent being both an adjective and noun; a hyphen can resolve the ambiguity. But once again, how should the hyphen be used?

I found a similar question: What is the plural of 'only child'?

I err on the side of only-children, in the event that 'only children' reads as 'just/simply/merely children'. Some suggested entirely new phrasing, while others say that the context is sufficient. I don't believe one should change his entire sentence when proper use of the hyphen can get his meaning across just fine, and even when context is suitable, proper grammar is still rule of law.


texts: Example words with ɛ: + difference between ɛ: and ɛ

texts: I've just started studying phonetics and phonology of English and I'm currently trying to find words with the vowel ɛ: as examples for a homework. Also, is there a difference between ɛ: and ɛ, as in, does the "colon" make a difference? Because in my textbook I can only find this symbol without the "colon"


texts:
In computer science, when we are doing object oriented programming, we define parent-child relationship. If we define the Parent class (Top root) and a number of Children classes (Siblings nodes), we can treat this like a family; but I need a single technical English word which gives the idea of (Father [Me]) -> My Children -> My Grandchildren-> Their Children)—and not ancestry (because Ancestors -> Their Children -> My Parents -> Me).

Hope you guys understand my question. Please provide a single English word.


texts:
I have a question about the use of the subjunctive in this sentence: If all the schools were to implement this program, which now exists only in the lower grades, then five years from now we will not have parents complaining that their teen-aged children still can't read.
There are a lot of internet examples that follow this pattern. Example: If that were to happen, then we will take appropriate action.
Would it be better to substitute "would" for "will" in both examples, or "should" for "were to"?


texts: every time I speak I'm confused about using it or that. For example I want to say: I'll see that. and I don't know what happen if I say: I'll see it. Can you please describe for me with some examples. Thanks.


texts:
Which one is grammatically correct? And why?
Those who feel interest to tell lies never prosper in life.
or
Those who feel interested to tell lies never prosper in life.


texts: I understand that one should use me or I the same as they would with out the other person in the sentence. My questions is however, is the sentence "they fixed my wife and I's car" correct? My wife and my car?


texts: What is the opposite of transliteration?

texts:
Imagine that someone takes a word in another writing system (say, the Greek word 'αγαπη') and transliterates it into the Roman alphabet (in this case, 'agapē'). Then I take that romanization and try to convert it back into its original form in the original writing system. What am I doing? I'm not transliterating 'agapē' - I'm trying to recover the original, un-transliterated version.

Example:

  I'm writing a program to _ transliterated Greek words so I can easily search a Greek dictionary for them.

I am in fact writing a program that does this to transliterated Greek and am looking for some good phrasing for how to describe it. Google searches have only yielded descriptions of the difference between 'transliteration' and 'transcription', neither of which is what is happening here...


texts: what is the ed version of times? is it timesed

texts:
i am doing my maths revision and i was wondering how to write down the 'ed' of times.
e.g. I timesed it by 5 and it equaled 10.


texts: Why is "Armed with these facts" the best answer to this SAT transition question?

texts:
I have a question about this transitions question
(it is from the SAT).
The passage starts from here:

In spite of all compost’s potential uses, however, most of this so-called waste is wasted. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over 33 million tons of food waste ended up in US landfills in 2009, along with over 13 million tons of yard debris. Remarkably, more food waste was discarded in landfills in that year than any other substance, including plastics or paper. Even worse than the squandering of this useful resource is the fact that compost in landfills cannot break down due to the lack of necessary air and moisture. As a result, organic material that is sent to landfills contributes to the release of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas.
_______________, cities such as San Francisco and Seattle have instituted mandatory composting laws requiring individuals and businesses to use separate bins for compostable waste. This strict approach may not work everywhere.

In the blank, I have narrowed it down to "Though government regulations vary,"  and "Armed with these facts."
"Armed with these facts" is given as the correct answer, though I am convinced it is "Though government regulations vary," because isn't it contrasting how governmental regulations vary, but some cities still put up regulations?  Why would "Armed with these facts" be correct?


texts: How to express "brewing coffee" in CV interests?

texts: I'm not a professional barista but I have a hobby connected with brewing espresso and making all kinds of coffee. I'm also interested in various coffee beans, espresso machines etc. How to express it in CV's interests?


texts: A word or phrase meaning 'paying an unhealthy amount of attention to something you like/want'.

texts:
The context would be in a romantic pursuit or a job opportunity - you've applied for the job and are waiting to hear back from them - you're constantly checking your emails, you're calling the receptionist to ask why they haven't got back to you (way to spoil your chances), etc.

Is there a word or phrase to describe this state.

Example usage might be a friend saying:

  I think you're [over focusing] on this opportunity here. Maybe it'll all work out well - but in the meantime you should divert your attention somewhere else.


texts: What is a single word that describes a medical text?

texts: I'm looking for a single word that could be used to describe a medical textbook or reference text, something akin to a collection of diseases or procedures. I'm trying to find a word to use as a category name or title for these kinds of books. More archaic is probably better for this situation. e.g. "I looked up the symptoms of this particular affliction in the [text]."


texts: Can "debriefing" mean undressing a person?

texts:
In Our Nuclear Policies are Crazier than Trump, there's mention of "what if the president is debriefing an intern?" as an example of a president being busy:

  What is amazing about these timelines is how much time is lost to
  purely mechanical or administrative steps, from detecting the launches
  to finding the president. What if the president is asleep? Playing
  golf? In the toilet? Debriefing an intern?

Based on the author's specific choice of "intern", I'm wondering if there's any double entendre involved beyond the normal meaning of receiving information, and is referring to a president taking off the underwear of an intern. However, I thought briefs are male underwear, and the bulk of the allegations against Bill Clinton and Donald Trump involve women.

Can "debriefing" mean the undressing of a person?


texts:
What are the differences between "viz." and "e.g." and in which situations each is used? Please also compare the usage with "i.e." if appropriate.

Edit: In response to a comment below: I'm asking this as I was framing a sentence

"Mobile device manufacturers e.g. Nokia, Samsung, ..."
"Mobile device manufacturers viz. Nokia, Samsung, ..."

Which of the above is better usage?


texts:
What is a formal noun that critically describes a proposal that has not been thought through and fails to consider challenge or consequences?

e.g., "Without explaining why your objective is difficult to achieve, and exploring its potential unintended consequences, the proposal is unconvincing, and comes across as a X."

My research has not turned up any appropriate single word. All single words I've come across imply nothing about the quality of the proposal, e.g., plan, idea, scheme, project, program, manifesto, motion, proposition, suggestion, action point, submission, trial balloon


texts:
I'm unsure about the grammatically correct use of the word "both" in the following sentence.

The text currently reads:

  This is a both natural and powerful thing

Which sounds weird to me. I think that:

  This is both a natural and powerful thing

sounds better, but I'm not a 100% sure and as such hesitant to change the sentence.

Which is the correct version? Or are both sentences grammatically valid? If so, are there any subtle differences in their semantics (like in e.g., "fine with me" vs. "fine for me")?


texts: What is the meaning of 'authority' in this sentence?

texts:
I came across the sentence:

He has no respect for authority whatsoever.

There are only 3 potentinal meanings of the word 'authority' according to http://www.collinsdictionary.com since the noun is uncountable but none of them seems to fit into the sentence above.

1. Authority is the right to command and control other people.

2. If someone has authority, they have a quality which makes other people take notice of what they say.

3. Authority is official permission to do something.

I'll be glad if you find the time to answer. (:


texts: When to use 'will' and when to use 'shall'?

texts:
I always get confused in using will and shall.

Same way when to use must and should.


texts: "Going to Maldives" or "going to the Maldives"?

texts:
The phrase "going to the Maldive Islands" is quite common and it fits the rules. However, when it comes to using just "Maldives", both "to the Maldives" and "to Maldives" are used. Which one is the correct one?

Since Maldives are a number of islands, it seems like "going to the Maldives" is the correct version. So why are both phrases used interchangeably or is there a rule I need to know?

Thank you so much in advance.


texts:
Which is natural, fall into, fit into, belong to a category?

Tigers fall into the category of "Big Cat".
Tigers fit into the category of "Big Cat".
Tigers belong to the category of "Big Cat".

Which one is better?


texts: Origin and Etymology of Kush/Cush in regards to animals

texts:
I came across this word in this YouTube video (queued to example) and was curious about the origin.

Example image of an alpaca kushing.

I can't find the definition as defined in the linked image in any dictionary. I tried a general Google search and various print dictionaries, including an (albeit dated) unabridged Oxford and a couple of (again, dated) American dictionaries. Surprisingly, the word did not appear at all in the Oxford.

The best I got was this alpaca breeding website. It's described as a way of sitting either to keep warm or for females receptive to breeding. But none of the definitions I found related to that at all.

The definitions I did find most often were in regards to the biblical son of Ham (who was the son of Noah) and a region of Africa (possibly) named after him. For slang, it's another word for "money" and a type/preparation of marijuana similar to hashish.


texts: Is there a term for a "placeholder" word (like Acme Widgets) that isn't a "euphemism" as such?

texts:
I'm after a word similar to "euphemism" but without the negative/taboo nature of a euphemism, more of a generic term. I would characterise it as a "anony-nym" but that's not a thing!

For example:

"Acme Widgets" in place of a specific company name, e.g. "When I worked for Acme Widgets, I had a situation where I had to..."

"Jane Doe" in place of a specific person, e.g. "The website sees that Jane Doe has logged in, and gives a personalised list of music that Jane has listened to recently."


texts:
Which of the following sentences has been punctuated correctly:

  This recommendation is based on a European guideline: Managing
  Neuropathic Pain.
  This recommendation is based on a European guideline, Managing
  Neuropathic Pain.

Managing Neuropathic Pain is the title, and there are several European guidelines.


texts: When to hyphenate open-form compound nouns

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How do I hyphenate an open-form compound word with another that should be hyphenated?

I am taking an editing course, and the instructor said that the following phrase must be hyphenated and that I was wrong in not hyphenating it:

row-house kitchen

I did not hyphenate row house in this phrase, since I thought that it was clear that the kitchen belonged to the row house. To me, it seems a bit silly to presume that the reader would be confused here. (However, I have lived in a row house in D.C., so perhaps I am biased.)

Must row house be hyphenated in this instance? If so, then must, for example, free[-]trade agreement or post[-]office box be hyphenated? This seems excessive. I searched several periodicals, and these phrases appear without hyphens more often than with hyphens.

I see that there is guidance here and here, and I understand that one should employ a hyphen to improve readability where necessary, but I am having trouble understanding when and when not to hyphenate an open-form compound noun. Is this more of a style preference? Thank you very much for your help.


texts: 'where they would all' vs 'where they all would'?

texts:
I just read this but it didn't sound too natural to me:

  ... trying to predict where they would all end up.

Maybe I'm wrong here but I thought that, in this case, all is changing they, so I'd have expected to see all before or after they; however, it seems that placing it before is completely wrong, while placing it after seems to be standard, but I don't know if it's correct.

Can anyone clarify this matter for me? Is there a particular rule at work here?


texts: Could the order of words in the common question be changed?

texts:
Examples (somebody is thinking about some thoughts, said by the devil):

Maybe he is right... Or isn't he?
Maybe he is right... Or he isn't?
Maybe he is right... Or even to doubt in his falsehood would be a
    mistake?
Maybe he is right... Or would it be a mistake even to doubt in his
    falsehood?

Which variants are correct, please?


texts:
The term student tends to creep into the category job but being in education is not a job as you aren't paid for it.

banker
police officer
nurse

are all positions in work under the category jobs
like

undergranduate

postgraduate

pupil

apprentice

student
are all positions in education

but what category are they under?


texts: can not find correct grammar for the use of : the... the

texts:
I am writing someting in MS word and it underlines what I wrote in green which means it sees grammar mistake but i can not see it. Please help

The sentence is:

The larger the area, the more water to be drained.

What is wrong with this? if it is wrong can you write the correct sentence?


texts: How did 'circumscribe' evolve to mean 'Restrict (something) within limits'?

texts:
What's an intuitive derivation behind ODO's definition 1 that helps to remember its meaning:

1. circumscribe = Restrict (something) within limits:
Etymonline: late 14c., from Latin circumscribere "to make a circle around, encircle, draw a line around; limit, restrain, confine, set the boundaries of," from circum- "around" (see circum-) + scribere "write" (see script (n.)). Related: Circumscribed; circumscribing.

Yet how does the idea of 'writing around' something restrict that something?


texts: What does it mean to make run through the tape?

texts: What does it mean when someone says to " run through the tape"


texts:
The sentence is :-

Supreme Court can declare the parliamentary laws as unconstitutional.

Do we have to use 'as' in the aforementioned sentence. What's the difference if we use it vs when we don't?


texts:
I need the correct English word for the German expression (zeitlicher) Abstand. Abstand means "distance", and zeitlich means "in time".

  The "distance" between building maintenance dates is about ten days.

Would "lag/spacing" be correct, as Langenscheidt translates it? I doubt it.

My guess would be "interval", but it sounds a bit too mathematical to me.


texts: What's the word for a sportsperson who always makes his team win?

texts: For many years I have tried to describe the great cricketer Ian Botham ("Beefy" Botham) to other people in my international language school. I try to think of a word to describe someone who always makes his team win even when other people team are not very good. I want this word to describe "Beefy" or maybe Michael Jordan in basketball, or Ronaldo in football.  Can you help me please?


texts: What part of speech is 'almost' in "these tiny flowers transform into pulp-filled pods almost the size of rugby balls"?

texts:
Now, before I get jumped on because almost is always an adverb, please allow me to explain.

If almost is an adverb, which it most definitely is (I checked several dictionaries and it is only listed as an adverb), then it must be modifying a verb, or an adjective or another adverb, but its relation is with the noun phrase the size, and really, so it seems, between pods and the size. Adverbs don't modify nouns. It appears to be functioning as a preposition, and indeed about or around, which are true prepositions, would produce equivalent meaning.

The only other option I can see is that almost is modifying the main verb transform which it is not - the flowers do not almost transform, they do indeed transform, so that cannot be the relation.

Ah, come to think of it, there does seem to be one more possibility, namely the demon ellipsis.

  These tiny flowers transform into pulp-filled pods (that are) almost
  the size of rugby balls.

So, its a clause, where almost is modifying the elided verb. I think that's the answer but I still want to hear what folks have to say. Ellipsis seems to be a very strong factor in the evolution of grammar.

Some will say that adverbs can modify noun phrases, and some dictionaries do mention this use as rare but possible (e.g. Cambridge). However, dictionaries are hardly the arbiters of what is grammatical and others do not attribute this function to the adverb class (e.g. Lexico and Dictionary.com. Some sidestep the issue by saying they can modify "phrases". Ha!

It sees a rather bold step to alter the class definition of adverbs with the function of the adjective class, which breaks the distinction, the very usefulness of classes, and seems wrong to me. It seems more fitting to broaden the scope of words, as they evolve in usage, to include another class function, such as almost, which seems to be commonly used as both a preposition and an adjective.

I'm quite stuck with this one. The use is quite common and undeniably well understood. Perhaps this is the language changing again, and it's time to reconsider the scope of this word to include a prepositional function. But maybe someone more knowledgeable than I has a better explanation.


texts: In light of recent events in the States, there were controversial discussions about the use of the word "rape" and "sexual assault". I know for a fact that "rapist" is the correct term to describe one who performed the act of rape but for the latter term, is "sexual assaulter" a correct English term? For me, it just sounds weird. I was thinking that maybe "sexual assailant" is the proper term given that both "assault" and "assail" comes from a common Latin root word assilire but I am not sure.


texts: How do you say “more to the east”? Easter, Easterer, Easterner, Easternerer?

texts: One can sure write “east to you” or “more to the east”, but if I’m located in London and you’re in Berlin, can I say that you’re “easter” than me?


texts:
What is the meaning of "near tears" idiom?

Example:

  When I was 18, while hiking with a friend in Colorado, I tried to
  impress him by climbing up a rock. A minute later, realizing I was
  stuck, I called down to him, near tears.

Urban Dictionary describes idiom as "a feeling of rapture". But as I understand from example it has opposite meaning.


texts: Provided health care services: local offer, provision, supply ...?

texts:
I need to describe the number of health care services are provided by local service providers. Thus, should I call the number of services provided as
Local

offer
provision
supply
... ?


texts: Affricate variations in English: t͡s d͡z?

texts:
the T between vowels change to t͡s in some english speakers?

Usually when I heard "What's, that's" or similar constructions, where the T come with S, I always consider like a t͡s, so I really don't know if my ears need more train or if it is really a t͡s and a natural variation.

But there is other case, when I listen to some speakers, usually they produce the same sound, but when a T occurs between vowels.

So, better represented by /ˈbetə(r)/ sounds more like /ˈbet͡sə(r)/.

This variation often happen with speakers who use a soft T (more air flow out mouth) instead of a hard T.

Thank you.


texts: Is it wrong to start sentences with "in which case"?

texts:
I read a few things someone wrote and for the first time I saw a sentence starting with "in which case". This person does that very frequently, and it seemed really wrong to me.

Some time after that I saw another person doing the same (you can see it here, page 9, 5th paragraph). As this person is a very well-known and respected economist, who is also known for his good writing skills, I started to think that maybe it "sounded" weird just because I hadn't seen it before.

In my view "in which case" should be preceded by a comma, but I might be mistaken. My question is then: is it really wrong to start sentences with "in which case" or am I completely off?

EDIT: Here is the paragraph which contains the referred message:

  Evil is a strong word. You may find the moral category too severe for
  something as mild as breaking a promise. In which case, you may
  want to change the title to "Distrust is the Root of all Money". But
  that wouldn’t have quite the same ring.


texts: What is it called when eeny meeny miney moe is done using a held staff?

texts: There is a game with a staff in which each puts hand over hand in turn on the staff until the top is reached, the player with the last hand winning. Thus, it is a kind of eeny meeny miney moe. What is this game or procedure called? I am pretty sure there is an archaic term for this that dates back at least to Elizabethan times; I just can't remember what it is.


texts: Using an article plus an adjective without a noun and another article plus a singular noun

texts:
Please consider the following, guys.
I met a good and a bad mother on the way here
What I am trying to say: There were two mothers, one bad and one good.
Is it okay to use that construction? Or need I remove the articles and use mothers instead?


texts: How to refer to an employer that isn't a company

texts: What term may use I refer to a non-business employer? For instance, a babysitter or housekeeper working for a family or single parent.


texts: which was given me VS which was given to me

texts:
I have come across occurrences of which was given me on many occasions; mostly in 19th century novels, where the mark of the dative case, to, was usually omitted. Which was given to me, on the other hand, I have stumbled on, as it were, on the printed page especially in contemporary English. My question concerning these two is actually twofold:

a) is there any semantic or stylistic difference between which was given to me and which was given me?

b) is which was given me (or which was given you, etc.) an old-fashioned way of expressing this?

Example: I asked for water, which was given me, and she then retired.

Why given me, and not given to me?


texts: What does "bread and butter" mean in this situation?

texts:
Boy gives girl a kiss on the cheek. They approach a lamp post. For a moment, it looks as if they will pass it on opposite sides, but boy grabs girl's hand and pulls her around to his side of the post, to avoid getting 'bad luck.'

Boy says, "Bread and butter!"

What does 'bread and butter' mean in this situation?


texts: How do I punctuate the following sentence in parentheses: (Just stand up and say cancel that.)  Do I need to put the "cancel that" in quotes and a comma after say and a capital "C"? It is an instructional manual.


texts:
A link on Drudge this morning to Adele's mishap at the Grammys.  Here is quote which might be
British slang.  Maybe it's the common yank phase indicating a job quickly done. I don't know.
Here is her Twitter quote:

"Because of it though... I'm treating myself to an in n out. So maybe it was worth it."

What is she saying, "in n out".


texts: The name for a type of punishment: e.g a child is forced to consume the illegal or prohibited substance

texts:
(This punishment may or may not be fictional.)

Boy A has a bottle of alcohol in his room which his Dad finds. His Dad then forces him to drink the entire bottle in order to punish him.

What is this punishment known as?

Examples of context:

  I find the best way to stop someone doing something like that, is some good, old fashioned, _____.
  ... And then Dad forced me to drink the whole bottle! I didn't think people actually _______ in real life!


texts: Is it correct to say: It's not ripened yet

texts:
I'd like to ask you all that is it correct grammatically to say: It's not ripened yet, and I'm not done yet ? Are they equivalent to saying It hasn't ripened yet and I haven't done yet ?

I'm asking because the usual expression for the use of ripe in this context is It's not ripe yet or "It hasn't ripened yet".

Google Ngrams

Thanks very much.


texts: What term or phrase could be used to describe everything that is necessary for a successful product, except for the product itself?

texts:
I work for a company that manufactures and sells vehicles. When we talk about a product, we are talking about the vehicle itself; the physical object that the customer will own.

In order to sell these products, we have to produce a lot of other things, such as:

Tooling
Service & repair manuals
Marketing literature

I am looking for a general term or phrase that would describe all of those additional things which must be created for the product, but are not part of the product itself.


texts:
"Shame on you" is a common expression

  used to reprove someone for something of which they should be ashamed. (ODO)

Its usage as a set phrase appears to be from the beginning of the 19th century and has increased during recent decades according to Ngram:

Its construction and usage seem  to be quite "unique",  other similar intuitive expressions like 'happiness on you or love on you' for instance,  do not appear to be common expressions.

How did it become a popular fixed expression? Was it part of a proverb or a longer saying of which only a part survived?

EDIT:

Other interesting  expressions suggested by users like 'good on you'(an Aussie colloquialism) and 'peace on you', do not  appear to have the idiomatic common usage of 'shame  on you'.


texts: Punctuating Quoted Questions in a Parenthetical Clause

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
How should I punctuate around quotes?
What do you do when you end the first part of a compound sentence with a quote?
Comma placement when using quotes that end with a question mark

Someone asked What is the difference between saying:

Are you still working there?
Do you still work there?

I started my answer with:

For your specific example, "Are you still working there?" versus "Do you still work there?", when referring to having a job at a company both are commonly used.

That punctuation feels wrong, but I don't know what would be preferable in American English.  I am referring in particular about ending the parenthetical phrase with "Do you still work there?",. (Wow, how about the punctuation of that sentence.)  I need the question mark because of the question, I need the quotes to end the quotation, I need the comma to end the parenthetical, but the rules for punctuation around quotation marks are so odd to my way of thinking that I feel like I must be doing something wrong.
What do you think?  Is this the best way (without rewriting the sentence) to punctuate it?  If not, what would be better?
EDIT:
So far we have :

The Chicago Manual of Style not specifically addressing this case but generally saying "Do you still work there?"
The Gregg Reference Manual saying "Do you still work there?" BUT "if the omission of a comma at this point could lead to confusion, reword the sentence to avoid the problem."
and most everyone else agreeing with me on "Do you still work there?",

So yeah, go ahead and close it, as we are not going to settle the question here?


texts: Is "burst oneself laughing" a valid expression?

texts:
My friend recently used the phrase:

  She nearly burst herself laughing.

Is this a valid expression. I've certainly never heard it before, but he insists it is in common use.


texts:
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD04xx/EWD498.html:

  We can found no scientific discipline, nor a hearty profession on the
  technical mistakes of the Department of Defense and, mainly, one
  computer manufacturer.

I'd always thought that words after "can" should be in present tense, but the above sentence doesn't sound wrong so now I'm wondering if this rule even exists at all.

Must the word after "can" be present tense?


texts: When did egregious become something bad? (archaic was something good)

texts:
The archaic meaning of egregious is something good. Now it means the opposite.

When did this occur and is there any reasoning on why this occurred?


texts: Why is "batting" spelled with two t's, but "combating" spelled with one?

texts: The "bating" in "combating" is pronounced the exact same way as "batting".  It doesn't make sense to me.


texts: Noun to be stuck in the past, to not progress

texts:
What's a noun that means "being stuck in the past", like, refusing to change, refusing to progress ('anti-progressionism' is a word I felt like making up for it, but obviously sounds wrong)?

  A society ruled by corruption and __________

I already rejected "tradition" because it doesn't have negative enough connotations.


texts: Progress and progression. What is the difference between them?

texts:
Could you please help me differentiate between those two words?
I give two examples below to use for discussion.

e.g. ... career progression (what I see in the Oxford dictionary),

... career progress (my own example)

Drugs can slow down the progression of the disease.

OR

Drugs can slow down the progress of the disease.


texts: Is "see the forest for the trees" an appropriate expression for my situation?

texts:
I am not an academic, but for some reason, I am now a struggling writer, not for lack of nourishment, food or inspiration, but language skills.
I am documenting a very early collection of photographs, pre 1920, all cataloged with the accompanying index, identifications and information.
In good keeping with historical documentation, I try to search every lead, thread, link and comment about the individual images, their creators, and their ultimate fates.

After over two years of continuous work, out of the blue a few days ago it became apparent to me that what I was missing was the fact that this collection was more than just details, links, and facts related to some photographs. What I was looking at was a singular mass, a unit, a (compendium?), a being, a forest which I was trying to deal with one tree, one branch, one leaf, at a time.

The use of the above reference (to trees and forests) is usually related to people in an abstract way, from my reading. Is it appropriate to use such a reference to the collections of things, or is this a misuse of the phrase?

P.S. already started searching 'Compendium', very interesting, and possible answer. Any suggested reading?


texts: I know ballpark figure means estimate, but I don't understand why it means estimate. Literally, how does ballpark make figure an estimate? Ballpark means a baseball stadium or field from google definition.


texts: How to avoid "should" proposals in technical report?

texts:
I noticed that I have many sentences where I say that "[this should be done]" because something is missing and something should be done differently.
However, I do not like to be like teaching someone.

Example

  The documentation misses some descriptions of some fields and completely the fields \emph{fileHeader} and \emph{eventHeader}, which should be added there.

How can you say such a should-sentence more positively?


texts: I have to know what "all stand" means for a final test tomorrow. I've looked all over Google, with not a trace of what it may mean. It's a term used by sailors, that's the extent of my knowledge.


texts: Can we say that imagination in Meditation is a hallucination? When I imagine something in meditation can I hallucinate or hallucination is unconscious and meditation is a conscious experience . Meditation is conscious and hallucination is unconscious? Is this difference is correct or not? What is the clear difference between hallucination and imagination?


texts: Difference in pronunciation between 'warship' and 'worship'?

texts:
I came across these words together in a text, and I was wondering whether they are pronounced the same way. 'War' is actually pronounced as 'wor', so I'm not entirely sure.

When I pronounce them, I do not hear a difference, but I'm not a native English speaker. Could anyone perhaps shed some light on whether the two words are pronounced differently?


texts: The Disparate Clarification (newly coined term by me)

texts: I'm curious if there is actually a term for what I have just deemed "the disparate clarification" -- for example I just saw a tweet that said "Let's party, and by party I mean scramble to figure out how to go to Mexico for cheaper healthcare." I think these types of sentences (not the content here) with such irrelevance are so funny but I don't know what they're called/ if there is a term !


texts:
When a word is capitalised in the middle of a sentence (not the beginning, not in the title, etc), is it necessarily a proper noun?

Do we have grammatical rules for capitalising a word, which is not a proper noun, in the middle fo a sentence?


texts:
In the sentence,

"We three will go to the Express mall. You can find we/us three there, having a good time."

I'm unsure whether to use we/us for the second reference.
I have read about we and us usage with respect to the subjective and objective pronouns and also about usage with finite verb and infinite verbs.


texts: Looking for a verb that describes a sort of "despondent lounging" that might occur when one is depressed, in emotional pain

texts:
I do it sometimes. I associate it with a deep, painful feeling of despair, depression, etc... i feel like I've seen it in a lot of paintings and sculptures. This image sort of depicts it, I was thinking more of a "fanned out over a fainting chair with a wrist held to the forehead with hand frail" sort of pose, but I'm sure that the word in question would cover all kinds of sad-looking poses.

This is my first post by the way, I'm a long-time lurker and a big fan of the community :)


texts:
The world of acting isn't all glitz and glamor.

I am looking for a phrase with a similar structure, namely an irreversible binomial, to replace "glitz and glamor". The phrase doesn't have to be alliterative, but should be an idiomatic binomial pair like "glitz and glamor".
Edit:
On the research side, I did think of "flash" but wasn't able to come up with anything Googling "flash and", "phrase flash and", etc. There are a lot of synonyms for "glamor" that I thought of, but nothing as neat as "glitz and glamor" sprang to mind. The suggestions so far given in the comments and answer(s) are great!


texts: Change is the only constant – antithesis or oxymoron?

texts:
Change is the only constant – Isaac Asimov

Can the above quote be called an example of antithesis or that of oxymoron, or neither of these? I am confused because both antithesis and oxymoron have a contrasting effect.

Antithesis: A rhetorical term for the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses.
Oxymoron: A figure of speech in which incongruous or seemingly contradictory terms appear side by side; a compressed paradox.
Source: About.com


texts: why dust is used for money or cash in the American slang?

texts:
In the American slang, dust can be used for money or cash. But why?
The Online Etymology Dictionary entry for 'dust' doesn't mention why it has the slang sense of "money, cash", and OED also doesn't offer any insight into how 'dust' acquired and retained the slang sense (sense 6 of 'dust': "slang. Money, cash; esp. in down with the (†your) dust").


texts: Recent shifts in semantics which lead to misunderstandings

texts:
I was just answering this question. It is about a use of "should". The word seems to have undergone a semantic shift away from a simple first-person form of "would". Instead it is today most often limited to expressing an obligation or expectation, to a degree that the old use is now prone to misunderstandings.

Are there other changes of this speed and degree or is such a quick change rather uncommon?

Edit: "should/would" was only an example. The question is aiming at changes in the language which happened so fast and are so profound that fairly recent, mid-20th century texts can be misunderstood.


texts: Wafer -- New Adjective or Attributive Noun?

texts:
In The Guardian today, Andrew Rawnsley writes that the Prime Minister would have a wafer and volatile majority.  On the assumption that "wafer" here is not simply a misprint for "wafer-thin", what do we have?

Has a new adjective has come into being -- "wafer" with the sense of "exceptionally thin"?
Do we have a phrase consisting of an Attributive Noun ("wafer") and an Adjective ("volatile")?
In the case of (2), is it legitimate to have a noun preceded by a phrase containing a mixture of an Attributive Noun and an Adjective?

I realize that at the moment, this is a single instance of the use of a word, but it seems to me to raise issues which are interesting beyond simply the example itself.


texts: Can "author" be used to refer to the creator of a non-literary work?

texts:
I referred to the creator of a hardware device as the "author" of it earlier. Thinking back on it, I feel embarrassed for using "author" instead of "inventor" or "creator" or anything other than "author". To me, "author" is very much associated with writing/typing things, rather than coming up with this electronic device. But then I tried looking it up, to make myself possibly feel better, and I just find this ambiguous: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/author

The originator or creator of a work, especially of a literary composition.

"Especially" here could mean "specifically" or "primarily". (Unless I'm mistaken about that as well.)
Can "author" be used as I used it, or did that just reveal to the receiver that I'm a poor English speaker whose overall message cannot be taken seriously?