texts: Is this Adverbial a complement or an adjunct?

texts:
According to Wiki, Adverbials are typically divided into four classes:

adverbial complements (i.e. obligatory adverbial) are adverbials that render a sentence ungrammatical and meaningless if removed.
John put the flowers in a vase.

adjuncts: these are part of the core meaning of the sentence, but if omitted still leave a meaningful sentence.
John and Sophia helped me with my homework.

conjuncts: these link two sentences together.
John helped so I was, therefore, able to do my homework.

disjuncts: these make comments on the meaning of the rest of the sentence.
Surprisingly, he passed all of his exams.

In the sentence, " He is charged with murder", is "with murder" an adverbial complement or an adjunct?


texts:
How should I use "passive-aggressive" as an adverb? My hunch is that this is correct:

Jack passive-aggressively said nothing.

What I consider incorrect:

Jack passively-aggressively said nothing.
Jack passively-aggressive said nothing.


texts:
I recently saw the etymology of the word technology and it comes from Greek thchni meaning art and logos which means word, reasoning, and stuff like that. So I reckon technology means doing something such that people consider it as a work of art. On the other hand, we sometimes see state-of-the-art which is used as adjective, or adverb in some contexts.

My question is, are they equal in meaning? Can we use them interchangeably? Is state-of-the-art a literal translation of technology?


texts: Correct way to use the word "respectively"

texts:
I have the following sentence:

  Moreover, we use adjectives 'Borel' and 'finite' if, respectively, a measure is defined on the Borel sigma-algebra and it has finite values only.

Usually I put 'respectively' at the end of the sentence. But in the above sentence it does not sound good together with 'only'.

Is the sentence correct in this form?


texts: Why was inversion used in the following context?

texts:
There are many such problems for which a greedy approach provides an
  optimal solution much more quickly than would a dynamic-programming
  approach.

This is from Page 321, Introduction to Algorithms 2nd Edition.

I know omitting "would" could convey somewhat different meaning. I thought even with "would" I would place it in the sentence as "...quickly than a dynamic-programming approach would".

Does the inversion means an emphasis here?


texts: What do you call someone who defends a point of view because it is underdefended

texts: What do you call a person who will defend a point of view that she may not agree with not just for the sake of argument, but because the point of view is not represented in the argument?


texts: What does "all words are pegs to hang ideas on" mean?

texts:
I have searched for this quote's meaning by Henry Ward Beeccher on the internet, but couldn't find the meaning.
What does all words are pegs to hang ideas on means?


texts:
What is the difference between a housewife and a homemaker? When can we use housewife, and when can we use homemaker?

  I am a housewife.
  I am a homemaker.

Which of the above examples is correct for a married woman who is unemployed. She is filing out a registration form, applying for a ration card in India. Which of these options should she write under 'Occupation'?


texts: Translation of the German “Gesetz entschärfen”

texts:
I am trying to translate the sentence

  Da die USA ihre Gesetze bezüglich Marihuana entschärft haben, wurde auch in Deutschland eine Debatte angestoßen.

and arrived at:

  Since the USA [verb]ed their legislation regarding marijuana, a debate in Germany was initiated.

Entschärfen in this context means to change the laws such that they are less strict and prohibit less.

Translating entschärfen directy gives me to defuse, but that doesn’t sound right in this context.
Linguee offers me no translation for the phrase Gesetz entschärfen.

What would be the correct translation of this phrase?


texts: List of, or name for, words with distinct meanings?

texts:
Let me explain my question.  The word "run" has quite a few meanings but a large number has to do with the main meaning, whether we talk of journey or water running or running into another person, etc.

I'm interested in list of words with most meanings, but most "distinct" meanings or definitions or etymologies.  Or to know if there is a name for what I'm looking for.

For instance the word "bat" means an animal but its second meanings (baseball bat) are unrelated.  Or "punch" where three of its meanings are distinct: punch as drink, punch as strike with fist, and punch as a character.  Etc.


texts: Calibrate + able = Calibratible? Calibratable?

texts:
What is the consensus on the correct form of calibrate + able suffix? Wiktionary lists only one proper entry for "calibratable". Automotive industries prefer to use "calibratible" because it matches the pronunciation (disclaimer: I work in one). Neither are accepted by spell-checkers.

Any thoughts or opinions?


texts: having problem with different dialogues of english movies

texts: Can we use 3rd form of verb after subject? E.g: I seen it. Mostly I have seen this sentence in Hollywood movies like another example "I been with you"


texts:
Someone just said to me "Let's do that.. and we'll see how that turns out".  The tone of the voice implied that the "we'll see how that turns out" was doomed to failure and pain and that the decision to proceed with that course of action was flawed.

What's the word for "implying there will be a negative outcome"?

I can think of a couple of words such as "fatalistic" and "brinkmanship" but neither is quite right. "Sarcasm" isn't it either as I am not focusing on the outcome more so the feeling. It's not Snide or Snarky or Pompous as it was not said with superiority. "Resigned" comes close. Does anyone else have any ideas?

BTW - The situation has passed, it's just bugging me that I can't "tag" it with the correct word (and I don't want to have to wake up at 3am when my brain finally responds with the word).

Thanks!


texts: Meaning of earlier in "1 year ago, maybe earlier"

texts:
Someone told me this a while ago, but I always remember it cause I couldn't quite understand.

Does the "earlier" in the sentence "1 year ago, maybe earlier." means that it was prior to 1 year ago (meaning it could be even 10 years) or does it mean it's less than 1 year (like 5 months ago)?

Thanks.


texts:
The "should" used in the sentence below is conditional, but I could not figure it out immediately, so I had to reread it several times before I finally understood the meaning of the entire sentence.

The pandemic in Japan will turn into a "man-made" disaster should the
travel program go ahead.
https://japantoday.com/category/national/Go-To-Travel-campaign-comes-under-fire

I wouldn't have had the understanding problem if the "should" in the sentence had been "if".
My question is when native speakers use "should" instead of "if" to make conditional clause. Is there any specific condition, or is it just a matter of preference?


texts: What is the generic name for a 'Yale lock'?

texts:
Yale  is one of those brand names which has been around for ever.

But that type of lock (not the same as a mortice lock) must have a generic name.


texts: "Either your dog or your cat eats" vs. "Either your dog or cat eats"

texts:
Version (1) seems correct to me, but I cannot explain why it is correct grammatically. Could someone explain please?

  Either your dog or your cat eats my garbage.
  Either your dog or cat eats my garbage.


texts: What is the difference in meaning between analogous and analogical?


texts: What is an appropriate greeting to use at night time?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Good night” or “good evening”?

I am in the process of creating a software application which displays a greeting to users based on the time of day. I have come to a blank on what to display to the user when it is late at night. 'Good night, [user's name]' just doesn't seem right.

So, what is an appropriate greeting to use at night time?


texts: How to answer to "I'd like to speak to John" on telephone?

texts:
This question is close to but not the same as: How to answer “Is this John?” on phone

If someone calls me and asks: "I'd like to talk to John", how should I answer to sound natural?

- This is John speaking.
- It's he/him.
- It's me.

Is there any better option?

Edit 1: English is not my mother tongue, so the my question is legitimate since I am asking how people usually answer to a question like this on the phone because I wouldn't know how to do it properly.


texts: What is the opposite of the expression "have nothing to do with"?

texts:
Example: A policeman found a pack of cocaine next to me, but I told him that drug had nothing to do with me. What I mean is: I was not connected to the cocaine at all.

On the other hand, my friend Charles (place the opposite expression here).

What expression is the opposite to "have nothing to do with", considering that my friend is connected to the drug somehow?

Edit: since my first example was a misconception from what I was trying to ask, I brought another context. The asnwers given helped me understand another definition, though. Thanks to everyone who pointed out I was wrong and to those who answered before this edit and helped me anyway.


texts:
How can I phrase this in the third person? (Maybe one word for the person preforming the task)

You and probably everyone else know it's there but everyone chooses to overlook it because it has been deemed socially unacceptable.


texts: He must regret his decision vs He must be regretting his decision

texts:
(1) He must regret his decision.
(2) He must be regretting his decision.

If you're sure that "he" regrets his decision, can you say either (1) or (2)?
In other words, can (2) be interpreted as not having a progressive meaning to it?


texts:
I've written this thing, and part of it's talking about something that will happen in the future.

(For when people will have to say, "She's died." They won't have to say, "She's died in vain.")

The sentence:"They won't have to say," I can't decide whether it's correct or I should use the future continuous tense, and say, "They won't be saying."

So, do I have to use the future continuous tense here?

(Edited: No more answers needed for this question. Thank you!)


texts: What is the proper word for "shortened" version of a novel/article?

texts: Often we see classic novels/articles that are modified to be shorter to be easier for specific people such as kids to read. What is the proper word for the "shortened" version? Is it "an abbreviated version"?


texts: A question on " But guess we'll cry come first of May "

texts:
In the lyrics of First of May, there is a line "But guess we'll cry come first of May". What is the meaning of it? Especially, what is the meaning of "come first of May"? What will "come first of May"?

Thanks


texts: Other expression for "Off the top of my head"

texts:
What are some other expressions for:

  "Off the top of my head"

I seem to say this very often, it would be nice to be able to spice things up.


texts: Is "you" a direct object in "What can I do you for?"?

texts:
I've been told that it is okay to say "What can I do you for?" instead of "What can I do for you?" and in fact I myself have heard people say that many times.

So, if it's correct, would "you" be a direct object in that case or still indirect like in "What can I do for you?"

By the way, if it's not a big trouble for you, please, tell me if my punctuation in the end of the title is correct.


texts: How should I pronounce 't' followed by 'the'?

texts:
This combination is really hard to me. This is an example:

  Knowing what to check is just the start to process.

Can anyone help?


texts: “is like” , “are like” comparison between singular and plural

texts:
So I had a debate with a friend, where that friend is of the opinion that you can't compare singular entities with plural ones

Eg : Women are like a magnet, always attractive! (Just an example)
Women - Plural
A magnet - Singular

is wrong according to my friend.

Whereas, I think the above is right. The only thing that should matter grammatically is, using "is like" or "are like" based on which is used first, Singular or Plural.

Eg: The above sentence if Singular entity is used first should be -

"A magnet is like women, always attractive!"

Am I right in the above two sentences?
I'm also looking for sources which can validate this usage. Thanks.


texts: How did penthouse come to mean "luxury apartment "?

texts:
Originally a penthouse referred to a modest. small building attached to a main one:

  pendize, early 14c., from Anglo-French pentiz, a shortening of Old French apentis "attached building, appendage. Modern spelling is from c. 1530, by folk etymology influence of Middle French pente "slope," and English house (the meaning at that time was "attached building with a sloping roof or awning").

Even Jesus' hut was once  described as a penthouse:

  Originally a simple structure (Middle English homilies describe Jesus' birthplace in the manger as a "penthouse");

But at the beginning of the 20th century the term changed  its connotation radically, and from a modest house, it was used to refer to luxury apartments on the top of buildings.

  meaning "apartment or small house built on the roof of a skyscraper" first recorded 1921, from which time dates its association with luxury. (Etymonlyne)

I couldn't find other information on the evolution of the term, so I'd like to ask:

how could the term "penthouse" be chosen to refer to luxury apartments given its original connotation?
did the change in meaning happen in the early 20th century with the construction of skyscrapers, or did it happen before?


texts: A or An in "a (relatively) obscure meaning"?

texts:
I've just come across this sentence here at "english.stackexchange.com".

  "The writer should have taken care not to hide such a (relatively) obscure meaning underneath an obviously silly one."

Could the indefinite article "an" be used here, instead of "a" ?


texts: Term/Phrase for telling something including necessary context

texts:
Let's say I want to tell someone a story, but in order that he'll be able to deeply understand it, I need to tell (or better - start with quite a lot of) certain additional facts, incidents, whatsoever.

How would this be expressed usually?

Edit: To clarify here's a more concrete situation:

Let's assume someone is in severe problems concerning several aspects of his life. Now he calls a friend tells him about the situation he is in, but to make him understand he needs to start with things which happened long ago already, e. g. that in his youth he once had a certain incident and then moving on from there adding facts which will lead to a proper understanding of his situation.

The conversation could start like this

  Joe:  I have some serious problems, Peter.
  Peter: What is it?
  Joe:   I will tell you, but I have to ...
  Peter: It's fine, go ahead.


texts: Is it "a tough row to hoe?", or "a tough road to hold?"

texts: Is it an old farming metaphor, or a military saying? Where did this(these) saying(s) originate?


texts:
What is the difference between Moon's Land and Land of Moon?
Do both expressions have the same meaning or how do they differ?

When do we use each one of these, if they do have different meanings?


texts: What is the meaning of 'above' in :" I've always been proud above my station in life'"?

texts:
I am quoting from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Musgrave Ritual by Arthur Conan Doyle:

'Mr Musgrave, sir' he cried, in a voice which was hoarse with emotion, 'I can't bear disgrace, sir. I've always been proud above my station in life, and disgrace would kill me.'

I am confused by the usage of 'above' in this sentence. I usually use 'of' or 'about' after the adjective 'proud' but never 'above'. could you throw some light please?


texts: Is there a term to describe something that highlights what it is not?

texts:
I'm looking for a term describing something that highlights what it is not in a dual relationship.
So if you have some kind of dualism, what is the name for the role that one half plays in relation to the other half? I want to say somehow that the one half highlights the other half (as a noun).
For instance, if there is a canvas where half is blue and half is yellow, and the yellow being there serves to bring out the blue, would there be a term for the yellow's role in that canvas? In a sentence along the lines of "We might think that the yellow is uninteresting in this canvas, but really, it is the X that brings out the blue." Is there a term for the X in a dualistic sense?
I've thought of the phrase "yin to x's yang", but I'm sure there must be a single name (like "catalyst", but obviously catalyst is not at all the right word).
Thanks!


texts: Which tense to use with "whole last year"?

texts:
I would like to say that I worked whole year for my company on one specific project but I am not sure about the tense and word order. I still work for them and had worked before.

My idea is:

  The whole last year I worked / I was working...

or

  For the whole year 2010 I worked...

Is it the correct tense?


texts: Why did the Old English word "līċ" get displaced by "corpse"?

texts:
While checking the etymology of the English word corpse, wikitionary says it had been līċ in Old English. Wikitionary also gives /liːt͡ʃ/ as its pronunciation, which apparently is completely different from "corpse".
Wikitionary says

From earlier corse, from Old French cors, from Latin corpus (“body”). Displaced native Old English līċ

I can't seem to find anything else about this word on Google. Etymology Dictionary also seems to be of no help.
Why did "corpse" displace līċ?


texts: Correctness of adding "one" before a plural form (like people) or collection

texts:
We are struggling to decide on a name for our company. Our preferred choice happens to be onefora.com. As a non-native English speaker, I am worried if it sounds odd to native speakers. Would "one fora" be as valid as "one people"?

Can we in any way grammatically justify calling our company "one fora". (If it helps, we are making software for forums).


texts: Is it common to use an adjective as a noun without ‘the’ or the following word in the press headlines?

texts:
Washington Post November 29 issue reports Pope Francis has been encouraging Vatican’s charity activity under the headline: Pope ramps up charity office to be near poor, sick. It begins with the following sentence:

“Pope Francis has ramped up the Vatican’s charity work, sending his
chief alms-giver and a contingent of Swiss guards onto the streets of
Rome at night to do what he usually can’t do: comfort the poor and the
homeless.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/pope-ramps-up-charity-office-to-be-near-poor-sick/2013/11/29/ac9cd9a6-58d0-11e3-bdbf-097ab2a3dc2b_story.html?tid=pm_pop&wpisrc=nl_most

Is it common to spare “the” or “people” in front, or after “poor” and “sick” like this in journalism English? To me you can not save much space by sparing 'the,' and ‘to be near poor, sick” sounds like “feel like being poor and sick.


texts: What's a word for someone that is healthy that has a gender neutral, positive connotation?

texts: Hi I'm looking for a word that refers to someone who takes care of their health and physical well being that has a positive connotation and gender neutral. For example someone who reads a lot of books might be called a reader, someone who does a lot of learning might be called a student or learner, etc. there was already a question like this on the website before but it failed to ask for a positive connotation or gender neutrality. The first words that come to mind (and responses to the past question) were fitness fanatic, health nut, fitness freak, etc. but none of these sound very pleasant at all- they make someone sound like a crazy person. Athlete doesn't work either as it infers the person does a specific sport. Body builder is great but often brings to mind the image of an extremely muscular man. Does anyone here have any suggestions? Thank you!


texts: What preposition does "congruent" take? "Congruent to" or "congruent with"?

texts:
On the internet I can find examples of both forms: "This triangle is congruent {to/with} that triangle", "this conclusion is congruent {to/with} the evidence".

Is there a correct form?

I'm specifically referring to the mathematical use of the word ("superposable so as to be coincident throughout", basically "the same shape and size") , but I assume the answer would apply for general use as well.


texts:
I am having difficulties in describing a situation where there have been two lab tests A and B and where I receive two results without indicating which belongs to A and which to B.

Can I ask: "Could you please tell me in the two lab results which belongs to which?" (which belongs to A and which belongs to B)

How do I say it properly? Please help !!


texts:
Does

the trap of tipping over into a pointless lemmings over the cliff scenario

mean

losing the control of things so that they take you everywhere they want?

or

doing exactly what others do (repeating others without any bit of creativity)?

  full context:

  Amounting to the unleashing of an unpredictable force – which, it
  should be said, really must have highly organised strategic and
  creative foundations in order to avoid the trap of tipping over into a
  pointless ‘lemmings over the cliff ’ scenario in its realisation –
  such collective mobilisation also provides a comforting degree of
  protection to those implicated inasmuch as it is difficult for
  security officials to know where to begin arresting or even just
  ‘moving on’ participants should it come to it.


texts:
what's the meaning of "naturally replenished"?

e.g.

El Paso receives its water supply from a set of aquifers as well as from the Rio Grande, but the supply, upon which soils used for agriculture are also dependent, is not being naturally replenished


texts: How to say that someone will execute none of two actions

texts:
What is the correct way to say it: "I will not do it nor do that", "I will do neither it nor do that" or some other way?

Edit: I think I did not expressed my doubts well. What I am looking for is whether it is possible to use "neither" or "nor" between two subordinate clauses, such as in "I will not buy groceries neither eat at a restaurant".


texts: What modal verbs do natives use nowadays?

texts:
We are being taught English by a native speaker from Alaska. He states that many of modal verbs we were taught are outdated and have been replaced.

E.g.:

  We must ➙ We have to
  May I come in? ➙ Do you mind if I come in?
  We don't have to leave yet. ➙ We don't gotta go yet.

Totally outdated: "ought to" and "shall".

Is it true, and if so, to what extent? Which modal verbs do you regularly use in your spoken English and which in written language?


texts: What is the name of the category of t apartments built-60 centimeters below the ground floor?

texts: Like the word penthouse, do the apartments built -60 centimeters below the ground floor have a particular name?


texts: Origin of 'buck up', meaning "to become encouraged"... American or British?

texts:
The President-elect tried to buck up weary Americans with a hopeful Thanksgiving message this week, promising that this "grim season of division" would soon give way to a year of light and unity.

CNN
Initial online searches for the origin of the idiomatic phrasal verb "buck up" yield...

This phrase originated in the southern part of the United States and it derives directly from the word "buck" which has the same meaning as stag. The stag is a majestic animal and so to buck up initially meant to look smarter or tidy up one's appearance. Later, it evolved to being used to mean to cheer up or to just move on after a bad experience.

Source: theidioms.com
In other words, an American origin.
On the other hand hand,
This website says the phrase originated in British public school slang.

It is a phrase from nineteenth century Britain, derived from those bucks or dandies who were regarded as the acme of snappy dressing in the Regency period. (In its turn, that word came from buck in the sense of the animal, and had a slightly older meaning still that suggested male gaiety or spirit, with unsubtle suggestions of rutting deer.) In its dandyfied sense buck up first meant to dress smartly, for a man to get out of those comfortable old clothes and into something drop-dead gorgeous. Since to do so was often a fillip to the spirit, the phrase shifted sometime around the 1880s to its modern meaning.

It seems to have been public school slang to start with, probably from Winchester College, and rather stiff-upper-lip British. It could suggest that the person being addressed should stop acting like a wuss, ninny or coward, as here from Edith Nesbit’s The Wouldbegoods of 1901: “Be a man! Buck up!”, and was something of a cliché at one time in stories of Englishmen abroad bravely facing adversity.

PhraseFinder quotes SOED and states it is eighteenth century. I have tried fact-checking the quote, but the site does not load.

"According to the SOED it derives from the eighteenth-century "buck" meaning a dashing gallant fellow...

All seem to be a verbification of buck (noun).
buck

the male of some horned animals, especially the fallow deer, roe deer, reindeer, and antelopes.

-Lexico
The post "Is the phrasal verb “buck up” used only in British English, not in American English?" only partially answers the question.

Is "buck up" originally from AmE, or BrE? And when?


texts: Is there a term or phrase for the desire for Apocalypse?

texts:
I'm researching this for an article I'm writing: is there a term or phrase for the desire for the End Times? Given the preponderance of literature, popular and otherwise, that focuses on the end of the world, it stands to reason there should be a specific term for this specific, ostensibly pleasurable manifestation of a mass death wish. There's this Reddit post, which discusses it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/neology/comments/2nhkln/is_there_a_word_for_the_longing_for_apocalypseend/
but "eschatomania," a more Judeo-Christian term referring to "an intensive preoccupation with the prophetic passages or details of the Bible, eschatological charts, prophecy studies, end-times predictions and preaching, etc." is the only real word posted there. Is there another, better and/or less religiously-oriented word or phrase for "Apocalyptaphilia"? Or should we just start using that? :)


texts: What is the difference between "citizen" and "denizen"

texts:
Citizen: 1. A legally recognized subject ornational of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized. 2. An inhabitant of a particular town or city.

Denizen: 1. An inhabitant or occupant of a particular place.

Same thing?


texts: Referencing problem with the word "which"

texts:
I have written the following sentence:

  I had taken Course A at School A that is similar to Course B in
  School B, which appears to be more difficult to get through its
  prerequisite.

In case the sentence is not making a lot of sense because of the messy references, the idea is: I have taken Course A at School A. I find that Course A is similar to Course B, which is offered by School B. Course B has more difficult prerequisites to get through.

In the sentence, I have a few doubts on the correctness of the references that I have used.

First, although I have the temptation to use "which" in the first part of the sentence as "...taken Course A at School A, which is similar to...", I wanted to avoid word repetition and used the word "that" in the sentence instead to refer to Course A at School A. Is this correct?
Second, I always think that "which" refers to its nearest subject and in this case, it is referring to Course B. Is what I have said correct?
Third, if the word "which" is referring to Course B, can I then assume that using the word "it" within this clause would automatically refer to what "which" refers to, in this case, Course B?


texts: What is the differences of Nude and Naked

texts: I know this is an awkward questions, but i really  confuse  this two, which one is use to refer completely  shirtless and which one is use to refer having a little clothes  on ( bra and underpant).


texts:
offset (n.) =
      1550s, "act of setting off" (on a journey, etc.), from off + set (adj.).
   Meaning "something 'set OFF' against something else, a counterbalance" is from 1769; the verb in this sense is from 1792.

Abbreviate 'something' to 'sth'. 1. What does the prefix off signify?

What imagery can explain off ? Envisage an unbalanced scale like:

Then balancing demands decreasing Work or increasing Life: but how can either be sensed as off?

Isn't  off redundant? Doesn't 'to set sth (something) against sth else'
= 'to set sth off  against sth else' ?


texts:
In my game, I have three levels of difficulty, each represented by an icon. Of course, each level is also indicated by a word; the icons are there just to spice things up, and as a visual pun.

Easy is represented by a "piece of cake".
Medium is represented by ...?
Hard is represented by a "tough nut".

So, what could be used for the medium difficulty level?


texts:
This poetic contraction appears in the lines "Heav'n has no rage like love to hatred turn'd / Nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorn'd", which gave us "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". I can't see how to pronounce it in a way that's different from how I pronounce "heaven", /ˈhɛ.vən/. Is it even phonetically possible to omit the vowel here?

Maybe it's just my accent. I grew up in Manhattan and I have a General American accent.


texts: Why do we do things 'to the tune of' an amount of money?

texts:
A common idiom in English is that something is done "to the tune of" an amount of money, eg.

  The company profited to the tune of $5 million.

This idiom is almost always used with a monetary amount.  How did it come to be used this way? and why do we usually use it with money rather than, say, 'eating food to the tune of a 3 course meal'?


texts: Term or phrase for attempting to gaslight a large group

texts:
Gaslighting or gas-lighting is a form of psychological abuse in which a victim is manipulated into doubting their own memory,
  perception, and sanity.  -Wikipedia

But gaslighting "a victim" implies a single victim and a single perpetrator, and carries a connotation of intimacy.  Is there a term or phrase that describes more or less the same general methods, (sans matrimony), but systematically applied to a body of people, and as perpetrated by some covertly adversarial group?

Propaganda would not be the precise term, (though it might encompass such practices), since not all propaganda requires lying, nor requires the propagandist directly denigrating their own audience.  Terms like whitewash, blackball, and smear campaign do imply lying, but the lie or lies more often tend to be about an object or third party.

If no English terms or phrases come to mind, loan-words or foreign phrases would also be useful.

Since this question was first posted, gaslighting has been used in a political sense, for example in this title:

Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us

But it seems uncertain whether that's more of a nonce usage which mainly serves as a form of branding just short of a trademark, by which to distinguish that book's marketing from several similar current talking-point books.  Answers forwarding this usage as a likely future standard term should provide several actual found usages, (that are not attempts at definitions), as evidence.

A somewhat more ambiguous usage here:

Donald Trump in "Gaslight": Trapped in a House with a Psychopath


texts: An adjective for when it is implied that something happens by something else happening

texts:
Context: Intermediate examinations at a university (non-US/UK) – they can either be in the form of "extra", separate exams to be taken on top of the previous classes, or their results can be simply "implied" or deduced by (say) the average result of the exams taken in previous classes. Looking for an adjective to describe the second scenario. Many thanks!

Example (sort of): My intermediate examinations were [insert adjective], since I passed them without having to take any separate exams but simply by previously having passed the required classes.


texts: Word for person who loves to share knowledge

texts: What is a word for a person who loves to share knowledge? So far I have educator in mind. Is there any other word?


texts: What is the difference between "peasant" and "villager"?

texts: Can anyone explain to me the difference between peasant and villager? I can see that peasant refers to a social class, and villager refers to a physical location, but are these words interchangeable?


texts: Word for nouns with multiple plural forms

texts:
Some nouns have multiple plurals, this article from Merriam Webster names a few. I'm wondering if there is a word to describe this, a word meaning having multiple plural forms. To put it in a sentence (two sentences to allow noun and adjective answers):

Syllabus is a(n) (insert word), because it has two plural forms.

Syllabus is (insert word), because it has two plural forms.

I have scanned through the Wikipedia page on English plurals which has a lot of terms for different plural forms, however, I have not come across a term for words with multiple plural forms. I've also scanned through some blogs on the Oxford Dictionaries website, but to no avail.
Some of the examples from the aforementioned Merriam Webster article:

One referendum, multiple referendums or referenda 1
One syllabus, multiple syllabuses or syllabi 1
One gymnasium, multiple gymnasiums or gymnasia 1
One referendum, multiple referendums or referenda 1
One miasma, multiple miasmas, miasmata or miasms 1
One terminal, multiple terminuses or termini 1


texts: How do you describe a young woman who, while pretty when seen from behind, is ugly when seen from the front?

texts:
Is there a term, a phrase or an idiomatic expression to describe a young woman who, while pretty when seen from behind, is ugly, if not repulsive, when seen from the front?

After some searches I focused my attention on "double-faced woman", but I'm unsure whether this is the best expression one can think of.


texts: Proportion of unique words in typical English text?

texts:
I recall hearing a statistic that, in a typical block of English text (e.g. a novel) a really suprisingly large proportion (a third? half?) of the distinct words that appear, appear only once. That is, if you counted each occurrence of each distinct word in the text, then you'd find a huge proportion of the distinct words appear only once each.

I think I heard this on a radio show but I can't find the source. Can anyone confirm where I might have heard this, and/or indicate whether there's any truth to it?

Thanks.


texts:
If one enters

  "fellow course members"

In Google one only gets 8k+ hits. It is correct? And a formal way to describe people that took the same course you did? If not, what is? Is there some reason it has only a limited amount of hits?


texts:
To what extent is it correct to refer to a credit union as a bank? Is it correct to use the verb "banking" when referring to credit unions, for example "I do my banking at Northern Credit Union"?

One last question, when I looked up the definition of banking on Google how come it says it's a noun?


texts:
I've just heard

  your sister is waiting on you

with the meaning of wait for (as in wait for the bus).

Up to now I had only encountered wait on with the meaning of attend to / serve.

Is this use of wait on instead of wait for widely spread in the English speaking world or more specific to certain geographical areas?
In the sentence I'm quoting above, and without further context, could there be any ambiguity as to the meaning?


texts: If I farm, I'm a farmer. But if I guard, I'm a guard?

texts:
One who farms is called a farmer.

One who waits is called a waiter.

One who dives is called a diver.

One who programs is called a programmer.

But one who guards is called a guard.

How did it come to be that this word dropped its -er ending for its noun, and are there other examples like it, sharing any commonalities?

Dictionary.com lists guarder as a noun, implying that it can be used instead of guard (and has an example sentence). But from my experience as a native American-English speaker, I can't recall it ever being used outside of poetic-style writing. Both dictionary.com and merriam-webster list guard as coming from the Old-French guarder, but I'm not sure why this word was special and dropped the -er.


texts: "in the order it was received" and referring to position as "order"

texts:
I'm sure many of you have been in this situation—I'll be on hold for a bit and some automated voice will say

  Your call will be answered in the order it was received.

I understand what they're saying, but I believe it's phrased wrong.  They're saying that my call has a place in a sequence of calls, and they'll all be answered in the same order in which they were received.

There must be, as far as I know, multiple (or, a list of) things in the subject of a sentence in order for the action on the subject to be done in an order.

I generally steer away from customer service phone calls, but in the few that I've done, I've heard this phrasing more than the alternatives, which can be something like:

  Calls are answered in the order in which they were received.

To me, this latter usage seems more reasonable, and "correct" (because I've always seen the "in which" construction as grammatical—though it seems awkward to many).

I'm wondering—

(based on a comment) Is it acceptable to refer to the position an of an item in a list as its "order"?
Is the former quoted phrase more common and accepted?  If not, is its implication well understood, or does it warrant rephrasing?

(edit based on my meta question/answer regarding this )


texts:
What's a good adjective that means something similar to "advocate"?  For instance, "He is an advocate.  He's _____."

Proactive and practical are not quite the right sense -- proactive ignores the spokesman aspect, and practical ignores the vocal aspect.

Does English have any adjectives that express the same idea as "advocate"?


texts: When did 'College' change from meaning a "group of professionals" to a school for non-professionals?

texts:
The word 'College' is presumably related to Collegial and Colleague, originally referring to a group of professionals (not necessarily having anything to do with teaching). When did it change meaning entirely to mean a school where people get an undergraduate degree? This seems like quite a reversal.

Addition: based on a comment, the word 'college' seemed to shift from referring to the people involved, to the institution. This is reminiscent of the word 'church'. I wonder if there is a general term for this sort of shift? It also strikes the chord of how in the UK, a corporation or other body of people is primarily thought of as a set of individuals and in the USA it means a single entity. Maybe we are on to something here...


texts: What is the difference between "I have specialized" and "I have been specializing"?

texts:
Since then I have specialised in this work.
Since then I have been specialising in this work.

Is my thinking right that the first case means I may not now necessarily specialise only in this work, but in the second, I am still specialising in it?


texts: How did the meaning of "once more, anew" arise in "again"?

texts:
Ayto doesn't expound where the late 14c. meaning of ‘once more, anew’ sprang from?  Is "once more, anew"  related to "in a direct line with, facing" or "in the opposite direction, back"?

again [OE]

The underlying etymological sense
of again is ‘in a direct line with, facing’, hence
‘opposite’ and ‘in the opposite direction, back’
(its original meaning in Old English). It comes
from a probable Germanic *gagin ‘straight’,
which was the source of many compounds
formed with on or in in various Germanic
languages, such as Old Saxon angegin and Old
Norse íg gegn. The Old English form was
ongēan, which would have produced ayen in
modern English; however, Norse-influenced
forms with a hard g had spread over the whole
country from northern areas by the 16th century.
The meaning ‘once more, anew’ did not develop
until the late 14th century. From Old English
times until the late 16th century a prefix-less
form gain was used in forming compounds. It
carried a range of meanings, from ‘against’ to ‘in
return’, but today survives only in gainsay.
      The notion of ‘opposition’ is carried through
in against, which was formed in the 12th century
from again and what was originally the genitive
suffix -es, as in always and nowadays. The
parasitic -t first appeared in the 14th century.

Word Origins (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 11 Right column.


texts: 'Would' and 'might': differences and usage

texts:
Let us suppose that a hurricane is expected tomorrow in the place you are visiting.

Would it be better that you say either "I think it would be better to leave early." or "I think it might be better to leave early."


texts: Does the word "spectrum" (as in a progressing array of values) necessarily imply separate extremes?

texts:
I'm drafting a text about music theory and, when looking for a way to describe the progress of steps between a note's octaves, the expression "looping spectrum" came to mind. I'm sure something like "note wheel" would be more elegant but, merely for the sake of curiosity: can a spectrum's ends come together?
Note: an almost identical question was asked here but I'm afraid the answers were not very helpful.


texts: Mixing Present Simple tense with Present Participle

texts:
I've recently heard the following sentences:

  What is this tell us about the deployment of first self driving cars? What do we learning from this?

Both violate standard grammatical rules. But since it was in a speech of a professional reporter from The Economist Radio I guess there is some rule explaining why this is the valid usage.

Here is the link on the radio show (starting from 5:18).

Question: Is this a grammar mistake? If not, what is the rule behind it?


texts: Is “un-grown-up” a common, or not so common word?

texts:
I came across a word, “un-grown-up” in Jeffery Archer’s fiction, “The Prodigal Daughter.”
In the scene, the heroine, Florentyna Rosnovski asks her governess if her father, the owner of a hotel empire, doesn’t love her mother any more:

  “Then why has Papa stopped coming home?” “That I can not explain, but
  whatever his reasons, we must be very understanding and grown-up.”
  said Miss Tredgold, brushing back a lock of hair that fallen over
  Florentyna’s forehead. Florentyna felt very un-grown-up and wondered
  if Saint Joan had been so unhappy when she lost her beloved France. –
  P75.

The meaning of “un-grown-up” is obvious, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the word before.

I consulted online CED, OED, Merriam-Webster, and Collins Cobuild English Dictionary at hand, none of which carries ‘ungrown’ or ‘un-grown-up.’

Even Google Ngram shows neither ‘ungrown’ nor ‘un-grown-up.’

Curiously enough however, Kenkyusha’s Readers English Japanese Dictionary published by a leading Japanese foreign language dictionary specialist publisher carries "ungrown" as an adjective meaning “not grown up, immature, or childish.”

Is “un-grown-up” a common, or not so common, or taken-for-granted word?


texts:
The Online Etymology Dictionary said it was unknown. However, it also says that one of the meanings of dis, as in disrespect, was originally:

short for disconnected in the telephone sense and used figuratively in slang to mean "weak in the head"

I'm curious if ditzy may have come from dis.

Any thoughts on the matter?


texts:
I'm translating a Tibetan text written in verse into English. The style is one of direct advice rather than learned philosophy. My aim is for the translation to have the same down-to-earth quality as the original, and as much as possible to be accessible to anyone with a reasonable grasp of literary English.

In some (Tibetan) Buddhist literature in English, "heart advice" (or "heart-advice") has become somewhat common as a term for teachings that focus on the core practises of Buddhism, with little embellishment.

My question is whether this expression is jarring or distracting or even seems outright erroneous to a native English speaker who happens not to have been exposed to modern Buddhist literature. (I am not a native speaker myself.)

There is a recurring phrase in the text: "...this is my heart advice." To anyone who knows the meaning of "direct, unembellished, rare, crucial teaching", this sounds quite beautiful, but I'm wondering if, for an average reader, "my heart's advice" would actually sound better?

The Tibetan word is snying gtam, snying meaning "heart" and gtam meaning "advice, talk, discourse" etc.

Update

More than expressing sincerity of purpose on the part of the one giving the advice, snying gtam expresses the qualites of the advice itself: pithy, essential, unadorned.


texts: Two consecutive sentences starting with the same word. The words have different meaning. How to make an emphasis on the correct meaning?

texts:
I work on a technical manual where each separate rule is followed by an example. (Actually, each rule is followed by two examples, a correct one and a wrong one. The wrong ones are skipped for brevity.) Here is a small excerpt from it:

Attributes
Put attributes below rather than above captions.
.Caption
[columns="1, 2", grid="none"]

Put a space after a comma; do not put spaces around an equal sign.
[columns="1, 2", grid="none"]

It seems to me that "Put" in the beginning of the second sentence, due to the same word in the beginning of the first sentence, is somewhat ambiguous.

Do we mean "Do not forgot to put a space after a comma"? (yes we do). Or
do we mean "Put a space after rather than before a comma"? (no we don't).

How to solve this issue? Is it better to replace the second "Put" with "Do put"? Or maybe it is better to replace the first "Put" with "Place"? Or maybe there is some another way?


texts: Word or phrase that encapsulates physical and emotional well-being?

texts:
As in "Technology has the ability to affect us in more than just our _______/well-being it can also affect the environment around us."

Side note : I’am also looking for a word that kinda has to do with the side of our lives that has to do with economics/job .  Like as in it can affect  _____ side of our lives, safety in job/nank account privacy type of thing. I know this is vague.⋅


texts: Word for something that "helps solve a problem"

texts:
This is the sentence I'm writing

  The system requires a stiff solver and appropriate ______, such as the Jacobian Matrix Pattern

I've been thinking of workarounds, but the example given is not something that avoids the problem or finds an alternate solution, but it helps in solving the original problem, making it much faster. They are not needed, but they help a great deal. Also Pattern is not the only one of these.

devices does not sound right either, because it evokes a physical object.

Maybe aids, but it is more related to people or humanitarian causes.

Is there a single word to express a group of (non-physical) things that help you reach a solution?


texts: Which is more important either an adjective or article?

texts:
I have just finished a practice test for Ielts, and I looked at the key. There is a question in listening part asking about what the speaker said for a course requirement, the exam must be completed by using NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS

The question number 26 is what I want to ask about.

The speaker said: "You’ll have to give a small talk to your tutorial group for 25 minutes . . ."

Since you have to use NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS, you have very few options here.

give a talk
give small talk
a small talk

As you can see, there is the word "must" at the end of the line above, which means the option 3. isn't the right one.

Scroll left to see the given answer by its key.                          Its key states that option 1. is the correct answer.

Thanks


texts: What does "are" embody in the phrase "who we are"

texts:
Assuming in the phrase "who we are," the "are" represents identity, what does "are" actually mean or what could it most closely be translated to for the phrase to still retain its original meaning?

"Are" seems far too vague to use as a descriptor. Please see the following abstract example:

Liberty is who we are.


texts: What is the meaning of "Hip" in the given context?

texts:
I'm having difficulty interpreting the meaning of "Hip" even after consulting the dictionary.

Let me give the meanings given by the online Oxford dictionary:

  hip 1 |hip|
  noun
  1. a projection of the pelvis and upper thigh bone on each side of the body in human beings and quadrupeds.
    • ( hips) the circumference of the body at the buttocks : a sweater tied around the hips.
     • a person's hip joint : she ran into a fence and dislocated her hip.
  2. the sharp edge of a roof from the ridge to the eaves where two sides meet.

  PHRASES
  on the hip archaic: at a disadvantage.

  ORIGIN
   Old English hype, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heup and German Hüfte.

  hip 2 |hɪp| |hɪp| (also rose hip)
  noun
  the fruit of a rose, esp. a wild kind.

  ORIGIN
   Old English hēope, hīope; related to Dutch joop and German Hiefe.

  hip 3 |hɪp| |hɪp|
  adjective ( hipper |ˈhɪpər|, hippest |hɪp1st|) informal
  following the latest fashion, esp. in popular music and clothes : it's becoming hip to be environmentally conscious.
  • understanding; aware : he's trying to show how hip he is to Americana.

  DERIVATIVES
  hiply adverb
  hipness |ˈhɪpn1s| noun
  ORIGIN
  early 20th cent.: of unknown origin.

  hip 4 |hɪp| |hɪp|
  exclamation
  introducing a communal cheer : hip, hip, hooray!

  ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

Now please consider the following sentence:

  Ramu wore a T-shirt with a logo of his news paper and old pair of jeans. He looked unusually hip for someone in a crisis.

what does the hip imply here?


texts:
If it wasn't for the view, this would be a lovely room

and

  If it wasn't because of the view,...

Which one should I use? Are they different from each other


texts: What is, or was the meaning of "oncommon"?

texts:
In Dickens' David Copperfield, there is an exchange between David and Mr Pegotty who arrives with his nephew Ham to visit him at school. It runs as follows:

"Do you know how mama is, Mr Peggotty? I said. And how my dear, dear old Peggotty is?

'Oncommon' said Mr Peggotty.

'And little Em'ly, and Mrs Gummidge?'

'On--common', said Mr Peggotty.

And following a further exchange Peggotty continues:

…I was to come over and inquire for Mas'r Davy and give her dooty, humbly wishing him well and reporting of the fam'ly as they was oncommon toe-be-sure. Little Em'ly, you see, she'll write to my sister when I go back, as I see you and as you was similarly oncommon, and so we make it quite a merry-go-rounder.

Clearly oncommon means something like "in the best of health" but not only is it not quoted in the OED - even as an historic archaism - but as one who grew up close to the Norfolk dialect, which Peggotty speaks, it is unfamiliar to me too.


texts: Is there a word to refer to "changing TV channels"?

texts:
I wrote the following sentence:

  As if she had just realized it was there, she grabbed the remote
  control from the table, turned on the TV, and changed the channel to
  the news.

I'm not a native English-speaker, but I think there was a word for "changing the channel."

Is there one?


texts: Is it okay to say and write "ain't" yet?

texts: Over 10 years ago saying "ain't" was discouraged but it was gaining momentum. What happened? Seems like it's still discouraged. Maybe in another 10 years?


texts: Why do some words use duplicate letters seemingly without reason?

texts:
Usually, when we see two letters put together it is to define the pronunciation or to differentiate synonyms or just its foreign origins. But some words don't seem to have any reason to double up.

Why does vacuum have two of the letter U?

Why does aardvark have two of the letter A?

Why does llama have two of the letter L?


texts: So… "whom I would trust" OR "who I would trust" — which is correct?

texts:
Consider the following two sentences:

  (A) The man or woman has not been born yet whom I would trust to write
  error-free English.

  (B) The man or woman has not been born yet who would trust me to write
  error-free English.

In sentence (A), a nonexistent person is the subject of "has" and the object of "trust" in the relative clause, which begins with "whom". In sentence (B), our ghost is the subject of both the initial clause and the relative clause, which begins with "who". In (A), I am the subject of trust, whereas I am the object of it in (B)—hence the use of "me".

Since "trust" has the force to change "I" to "me" in (B), I believe it should also have the force to change "who" to "whom" in (A). Am I right or wrong, and why? Should a contact clause be used in (B) instead, and if so, why?

EDIT: Having accepted the correct answer, I was right about "whom" being used in (A), but "who" could also be used in (A), in everyday speech and writing (informal contexts). The answer to my second question about the contact clause is probably no for (B) but yes for (A)! With a contact clause sentence (A) would read: "The man or woman has not been born yet I would trust to write error-free English." The relative pronoun can be removed in (A) because it's not the subject.

As a side note, I consider both relative clauses (A) and (B) to be defining relative clauses, because even though the relative clause deals with a non-existent subject, the relative clause still restricts the meaning of the first clause, thusly defining it via negativity (as similarly happens in a sentence like, "The Stack Exchange website has not been created yet within which every answer is not a million times better than any answer given to any question on Yahoo Answers.").


texts: "did she tell" or "has she told": should we use simple past or present perfect here?

texts:
Stella isn't here, did she tell you where she was going?
Stella isn't here, has she told you where she was going?

That is, should simple past or present perfect tense be used? It is an exercise from a grammar book and it seems to suggest (I don't have the answer key) that present perfect is the answer as it is also talking about the current status ("Stella isn't here"). But "did you tell" sounds better to me somehow. What do you native speakers think?
Thanks!


texts: simple grammar question about transaction completed page

texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say:
"An email with your order details has been sent to the email address you have provided us with. We will send you another email once your order will be complete." ?
Thanks


texts: ostinato in literature; word for repeated phrase

texts:
Imagine every chapter of a book ends with a very similar passage.

Is there a word that encapsulates this writing technique?

An ostinato in music is (as far as I understand it, I'm no expert) a musical phrase that will be heard often repeated throughout a piece. The music keeps coming back to it.

I would like to describe a phrase/passage/block of text that the larger text keeps returning to.

What's a word for this?


texts:
In the example

"He gave Tom a cycle and Jack a bike"

Is this a simple sentence or an elided (stripping) compound sentence which can be expanded to “He gave Tom a cycle and he gave Jack a bike.” Similarly, in the example:

"He will do it on Monday and not Tuesday"

Will this be classified as a simple sentence or an elided compound (Not-stripping ellipsis) to expand to “He will do it on Monday and he will not do it on Tuesday.”


texts: Single word to describe something that is "meant to be"

texts:
I am trying to come up with a single word that describes the saying "meant to be" in a poetic and prophetic manner (but I am not looking for a fantastical description that talks too much about fate).

Specifically this is referring to a situation where Neil deGrasse Tyson succeeded Carl Sagan as host of the show 'Cosmos'.  In Carl Sagan's personal journal, he had mentioned that he had always wanted to meet Neil deGrasse, since he had a lot of respect for him.

Anyway, it was almost "meant to be" that Neil deGrasse would become the next host of Cosoms.  The closest word I could think of was "poetic." -- It was very "poetic" that Neil deGrasse would take over as host of Cosmos...but it is not exactly the word I am looking for.

Any suggestions??


texts:
I'm looking for the term for this type of fabric - where the contrasting pattern/relief is made from weave differences in a single color, rather than embroidery or the use of different colors of thread.

I know one exists, but I can't recall what it is and it's driving me crazy.


texts: Term or reference for person who makes their problem everyone else's problem

texts:
For example, a roommate who puts fragile glassware in the middle of the common area. No one can move it, but everyone must tiptoe around it for fear of breaking it.

While this has an element of social expectation, I am looking for a stereotype or literary reference for this sort of individual. It is close to entitled, but more self-righteous.

Cheers


texts:
What is a single word for “already made path”?

For example "to walk in a person's [already made path]"


texts: Where does "jet lag" come from and when was it coined?

texts:
According to Etymonline jet lag is an expression coined in 1966; and the site airspacemag.com states that:

"jet lag" was first used in a Los Angeles Times article on February 13, 1966. "If you're going to be a member of the Jet Set and fly off to Katmandu for coffee with King Mahendra," wrote Horace Sutton, "you can count on contracting Jet Lag, a debility not unakin to a hangover.

In The inky fool, Mark Forsyth cites a 1965 usage:

The inevitable result of real, literal jet-setting is jet lag, which was first recorded in 1965. It popped up in the New York Herald Tribune and is described thuslyly:

Jet lag strikes suddenly. The victim disembarks from the..plane feeling gay as a sprite, dashes through customs, checks into home or a hotel, .. greets friends and in the course of the next few hours falls into a light coma.

The above 1965 usage suggests that the  expression  was probably already common among air travellers and given the fact that jet air services started in the early '50 is may appear reasonable to assume that "jet-lag" (originally  know as time zone syndrome) has an earlier origin.

Is there evidence of earlier usages of "jet lag", and

was it an expression coined by a journalist or does it have a more scientific origin in early studies on  the effects of the "timezone syndrome" by the FAA, for instance?


texts: Is "from" superflous following "stop" or "prevent"?

texts:
I seem to encounter this more from British speakers, but they'll often say something like

Protect it from heat to prevent the contents expanding.

instead of

Protect it from heat to prevent the contents from expanding.

It used to annoy me that from is omitted, but thinking about the meaning of the word, I'm not sure it makes sense to include it.  I suspect it has been carried over from the phrasing to keep from happening, being synonymous with prevent.  From makes sense to me here because keep is positional, and from signals where it shall not be.  Omitting from would make the meaning positive, such that we'd ensure some action continues.  But prevent and stop are already negative, and they're not positional.
In this related post, prevent to happen (which seems to me essentially the same as prevent happening) is compared to prevent from happening, but it seems only to address how common each is: "Preventing them to wrap" vs "Preventing them from wrapping"
I know the inclusion of from is far more common; is it superfluous?  Further, is it even logical to include it?


texts: If racism is viewing negatively, what is it called when viewing positively?

texts: If racism is viewing and treating people negatively because on their race, what is it called when viewing and treating people positively because of their race?


texts: Is the use of the quotation marks necessary with expressions like "self-proclaimed", "self-styled", "so-called" and "would be"?

texts: I have noticed in many writings people's use of quotation marks whenever they use the above-mentioned expressions for example: the self-styled "artists" or the so-called "poets". Isn't the use of the quotation marks redundant since the meaning of such expressions is the same expressed by the quotation marks. If so, why do many writers tend to use them anyway?


texts: "untouched" vs "intact" vs "unblemished"

texts:
According to the Google dictionary these three words are synonyms.

How would you order them in terms of which is more literary?

Which one can be used more appropriately in a poetical context such in the following poetic line:
"...our love remained untouched/intact/unblemished throughout the years..." ?


texts: Why isn't the ‘P’ in psychology pronounced?

texts: Why is the initial letter of some of the words like pneumonia, and psychology not pronounced?


texts: In English, is there a modal, like 'can' or 'would', or a short expression that adds the following meaning to a sentence: "I did not see it with my own eyes but I was told about it"? There is one in Turkish: 'mish'. For example, Bob goes to New York, Alice tells me about it and Mike asks me Bob's whereabouts and I answer him by saying "He mish went to New York". This sentence tries to tell Mike that "I have not witnessed Bob going to New York, but someone else, Alice, told me about it, so I am not sure if what I am reporting is true". "Mish" is commonly used in Turkish for reporting not-witnessed events.


texts: What word means "explicitly forbidden by the most fundamental laws"?

texts:
I am working with engineering equations in a vacuum system and want to emphasize that a certain set of parameters will not work.  Usually, this is due to real world effects (friction, pump efficiency factors, wear and tear of bearings, etc), but I want to emphasize that a particular setup wouldn't work even under perfect textbook conditions.

I would like to say it is "theoretically impossible", but that has a ring of just the opposite of what I would like to say!  It sounds like:

  a safety rating better than 100% is theoretically impossible, but the
  Tesla Model S did it!

What is a word or phrase to say something is absolutely forbidden by fundamental, physical laws, even under ideal conditions?


texts:
I want to explain to one of my students why this usage is so common in scientific or academic reports but not (as far as I can see) elsewhere:

This represents the best evidence to date of [whatever].
This represents the highest rainfall ever recorded in the region.

In every case I can think of, this could be altered to:

This is the best evidence to date of [whatever].
This is the highest rainfall ever recorded in the region.

On the other hand, no examples come to mind that are non-academic/non-scientific.

This is the best party ever.
*This represents the best party ever.

Is there a specific reason for this usage? My mind is skimming around the notion that it is because science is reluctant to make definitive statements, but I can't seem to form the entire thought.


texts: How to differentiate appositive clause from a relative clause?

texts:
Can an appositive clause be relative clause in terms of terminology when they are used as in the following examples :

Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, has a prominent red
spot.
Jupiter, which is the largest planet in the solar system, has a prominent red
spot.

" the largest planet in the solar system" seems like a non-defining relative clause (aka non-restrictive  relative clause). An appositive clause, like relative clause, can also be restrictive or non-restrictive.
Other examples could be :

My best friend , a good tennis player in his own right, won many prizes.
My best friend, who is a good tennis player in his own right, won many prizes.
My brother, a teacher in Boston, is moving to New Jersey.
My brother, who is a teacher in Boston, is moving to New Jersey.


texts: backshifting of tenses (optional back shifting)

texts:
Let's first talk about simple present tense.
John : "I have a fever."
John said that he has a fever.
Here no change in tense because John still has a fever.

Now take an example of present perfect tense.
John : "I have lost my keys."
John said that he has lost his key.
Here no change in tense because the effect of losing key (he can't get into his home) can still be seen, heard at the time of reporting.

First tell me is this 'has lost' correct in indirect speech under the condition that effect of loosing key can still be seen at the time of reporting ?

Now my question is something which is not an example of reported speech.
1) "I noticed that the clock has stopped." And 2) "The president learned that the earthquake has caused havoc all across the country.

Are these two sentences grammatically correct under the condition that clock has recently stopped and its effect can still be seen ?
And under the condition that earthquake has recently come and its effect such as havoc all across the country can still be seen ?

You see my take on it is, if the simple present tense is not back shifted under the condition that words are still true at the time of reporting then present perfect tense can also be left unchanged under the condition that situation is still relevant at the time of reporting even if the main verb is in the past tense.

And I also feel that grammar rule is quite logical and correct but if the situation is still relevant then I believe that back shifting of present perfect tenses become optional.
So what do you think about this. Did I get it right?


texts:
Is strongly correct in the following, or should it be strong?

  ... and had a strongly Protestant and unionist identity.

What is the explanation in grammar terms?

Context.


texts: Would rather + subjunctive (formal construction)

texts:
I was wondering if I may write a sentence like this:

  I would rather you were to have told me about it earlier (than...)

If I'm correct, It should mean the same as

  I would rather you had told me about it earlier (than...)


texts:
... it's too good to not pass on to folks here.  Found on Facebook:

An Oxford comma walks into a bar, where it spends the evening watching the television, getting drunk, and smoking cigars.
A dangling participle walks into a bar. Enjoying a cocktail and chatting with the bartender, the evening passes pleasantly.
A bar was walked into by the passive voice.
An oxymoron walked into a bar, and the silence was deafening.
Two quotation marks walk into a “bar.”
A malapropism walks into a bar, looking for all intensive purposes like a wolf in cheap clothing, muttering epitaphs and casting dispersions on his magnificent other, who takes him for granite.
Hyperbole totally rips into this insane bar and absolutely destroys everything.
A question mark walks into a bar?
A non sequitur walks into a bar. In a strong wind, even turkeys can fly.
Papyrus and Comic Sans walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Get out -- we don't serve your type."
A mixed metaphor walks into a bar, seeing the handwriting on the wall but hoping to nip it in the bud.
A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.
Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They converse. They depart.
A synonym strolls into a tavern.
At the end of the day, a cliché walks into a bar -- fresh as a daisy, cute as a button, and sharp as a tack.
A run-on sentence walks into a bar it starts flirting. With a cute little sentence fragment.
Falling slowly, softly falling, the chiasmus collapses to the bar floor.
A figure of speech literally walks into a bar and ends up getting figuratively hammered.
An allusion walks into a bar, despite the fact that alcohol is its Achilles heel.
The subjunctive would have walked into a bar, had it only known.
A misplaced modifier walks into a bar owned by a man with a glass eye named Ralph.
The past, present, and future walked into a bar. It was tense.
A dyslexic walks into a bra.
A verb walks into a bar, sees a beautiful noun, and suggests they conjugate. The noun declines.
A simile walks into a bar, as parched as a desert.
A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to forget.
A hyphenated word and a non-hyphenated word walk into a bar and the bartender nearly chokes on the irony

-- Jill Thomas Doyle


texts: Can I ask a practical question like this "how am I supposed to know something"

texts:
Lets say I am working on a project with 2 other people and there is some information that I need to work, so Can I ask like this:

  Can you please tell me "How am I supposed to run this script?".

instead of

  Can you please tell me "How do I run this script?".

What I am trying to ask is whether replacing do with supposed to makes the question rude?
Because usually it is used in a expression like this:

  How am I supposed to know you don't like something


texts:
A common trope in movies. What's it called?

Person A: The President was a brilliant man! A truly one-of-a-kind--

Person B: killer, who used his ruthless abandon to get ahead!


texts: Why I have heard people say There's two cars?

texts:
Why I have heard people say either There's two cars which I thought it should be There are two cars.

Or 's has some special meaning to it?


texts: "the 'first/last' of the [day/night/week, etc.]" for "the 'beginning/end' of the [day/night/week, etc.]

texts:
Where in the U.S. and Canada do they say, at the first/last of [the day/night/week, etc.] for at the beginning/end of [the day/night/week, etc.]?

Luck had it that they only experienced a very minor sprinkle at the first of the day...

ccohva.org

"Breakfast” is defined in the dictionary as “a meal eaten at the first of the day.” This definition does not say when exactly the first of the day is, but the first of most students' Sundays begins anywhere from 11 am to 4 pm.

Spoon University

Clay, who had already decided she was right, looked out the barn door at the last of the day.

Cell: A Novel by Stephen King

At the first of the week, give the class 10 points to start. Keep track of points on the chalkboard for all to see. Erase a point anytime a student interrupts another person. At the end of the week, if any points are remaining, then the class gets to have the reward from the secret sack (written on the piece of paper.)

oregonstate.edu

"I wasn't figuring on these cold temperatures, though. It was so mild in the fall and at the first of winter."

Cape Breton Post

We are going to build our springhouse today and dig up some of the vegetables that we buried at the first of winter.

watershed.org

The 43rd president of the United States had paid lip service to closing the Mexican border to the illegal immigrants back at the first of the century, but nothing significant had been done to stem the tide.

Temples of Hope and Desire

We also should note that John was told expressly at the first of the book (Rev. 1:1) and also at the end of the book...

An Overview of the Book of Revelation

A man who routinely claimed he was hearing command hallucinations to inject rubbing alcohol into his veins requested admission at the end of every month, when his assistance checks had run out. At the first of the next month, like clockwork, he would sign himself out of the hospital, stating that his voices had miraculously abated.

Falling Into the Fire: A Psychiatrist's Encounters with the Mind in Crisis by Christine Montross

This is going to be the embarrassing part that I apologized to my family about at the first of the book, so Mom, if you're reading, you might want to skip this part, because the drag racing back in high school and the other things you didn't know about your daughter makes really good reading to total strangers.

I've Got My Big Girl Panties On: One Foot at a Time

“Oh you guys are lucky you stopped by.  At the first of the year this was all going to be tossed out or given to another station.”

Kurt Russell and Directors Chapman Way & Maclain Way Talk THE BATTERED BASTARDS OF BASEBALL, the Feature Adaptation, and More at Sundance 2014

first n.
the beginning: We're going to The Fort for family vacation the first of June; She was a good worker from the first.
last n.
the end or conclusion: We're going on vacation the last of September.
Random House


texts: Reading the diary of a doctor in Canada, 1845-46, often refers to "having a rubber" at the end of the day which seems like a nightcap. Does anyone know why the word rubber is used?


texts: Is there a word for a queue or buffer of orders in a restaurant?

texts:
In many restaurants, and I suppose other businesses as well, orders are taken from customers and put into a location from which a pool of servers can pick one up and service the order.

Is there are word other than "queue" for this waiting area of orders? "Queue" seems to indicate first-in first-out behavior. "Buffer" and "priority queue" sound too technical. And any word indicating a particular implementation of the holding area (anything involving a carousel or magnets) would be too specific.

I'm wondering whether in the service business there is a good term that describes the holding area for orders waiting for an arbitrary worker to pick them up and service them.

The word would be used in a clunky sentence like: "In a restaurant, waiters take the order and put it into a ______, then when a chef becomes available, the chef picks up one of the orders and starts cooking."


texts:
What is the difference between "anglicized plural" and "zero plural"? I found those terms used in http://www.onlinegrammar.com.au/plural-of-status/ which says,

What is the correct plural of status?

an anglicized plural statuses

the (zero) plural status. The second results from its being a Latin fourth declension noun … but also correlates with English use of the word as a mass noun, as in considering their relative status

etc.


texts: I am not sure that "They have unique index" or "They have unique indexes". It looks like "indexes" for consistency with "they", but "unique" implies it is singular. I need help on this. Thanks.


texts: What's the difference between "coalesce" and "cohesive"?

texts:
I can't find the answer anywhere.

As I understand, "cohesive" is something like a blockchain and "coalesce" is something like the USA. Am I correct?

Please help, I really appreciate it.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular?

When I'm referring to a group of multiple things, should it be considered singular or plural for the purposes of applying a verb to it?  For example, which is correct in the examples below?

  A sentence is a group of words that is followed by a period.
  A sentence is a group of words that are followed by a period.

  The group of people constitutes a jury.
  The group of people constitute a jury.

  A group of crows is called a 'murder'.
  A group of crows are called a 'murder'.

My instinct is that it depends on whether the verb is referncing the group itself or the members of the group directly, but is that right?


texts: Does this phrase mean what I want it to mean?

texts: I want to say that "the value decreases at a rate at least x" (i.e. faster than or equal to x).  Does the phrase "the value decreases at minimum rate x" mean the same thing? If not, is there any other way to rephrase it?


texts: Question mark before or after parentheses for incidental text?

texts:
I have this sentence:

  Can you share those documents with me?

And I want to add an incidental text like "(no problem if they are in progress)".

Shall I add that text before or after the quastion mark?

  Can you share those documents with me (no problem if they are in progress)?

or

  Can you share those documents with me? (no problem if they are in progress)

or

  Can you share those documents with me? No problem if they are in progress.

Edit:
This is not the same topic as in Where does the question mark go — inside or outside the parentheses? because in that case, the question was only related to the text inside parantheses.


texts: Word for anachronistic elements in design style as a function of cultural adoption

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  A word for a symbol which has outlived its origin

Ok, messy title. Sorry, but I have a memory of reading an article (possibly on Boing Boing) that mentioned this word. Essentially, it refers to the way visual elements in man-made objects are copied from predecessors.

Examples are how cellphones have a phone icon for the classic AT&T phone design that hasn't been used for decades. Or a DVD player/media player that uses a cassette tape icon. And yet another example is the injection molded plastic chairs you can buy at Wal-Mart where they imprint them with fake weave patterns, to mimic the old woven grass style of patio furniture.

Hopefully someone has a clue what I'm thinking of because I can't for the life of me recall this term.


texts: "merits"and "demerits" &"strengths" and "weaknesses"

texts: What is the difference between "merits"and"strengths" and what is the difference between "demerits" and "weaknesses"?


texts: When may adjectives precede determiners? (E.g. too difficult a task)

texts:
The expression too difficult a task sounds a little pompous, but it doesn't sound ungrammatical. According to my folk-beliefs about English grammar, determiners precede adjectives. However, the expression too difficult a task seems to controvert that belief.

Additionally, the expression too difficult of a task seems grammatical too.

Under what conditions may determiners precede adjectives?
Are there conditions under which too difficult of a task would be a more grammatical expression than too difficult a task would be?

(This question does not ask what the question “How big of a problem” vs. “how big a problem” asks. That question does not pertain to determiners.)


texts: Can we eliminate the hyphens in these job descriptions?

texts:
Can I eliminate every single hyphen in the examples below? Or do they add readability?

Joe said, "He applied for the assistant-store-manager-trainee position."

Luella said, "Victor was assigned to the organized-retail-crime-coordinator position."

Sam said, "Victor is now the new organized-retail-crime coordinator."

Bob said, "Howard applied for the store-manager position."


texts: “See these guys [infinitive]” vs. “see these guys [present participle]”

texts:
Which is correct:

  I am excited to see these guys growing up.

or

  I am excited to see these guys grow up.

Having hard time figuring out how to use gerunds in a sentence.


texts: How to avoid ambiguity and convey specific meaning in compound names ? (name + name)

texts:
There are already other questions regarding compound names (noun + noun) and now I better understand the general rule, which seems to be, unless dealing with an exception, to only make plural one of the names, usually the last. I encounter is how to be  more specific  and convey the actual  meaning, particularly in cases where there are no preceding articles or objectives.
for example the sentence

  please find figure descriptions in section 4

This should be the correct form. But how to convey different meanings:
1. There could be many descriptions for one figure
2. There could be many descriptions for each of many figures
3. There could be one description for each of many figures

So the example above  can be misleading or ambiguous. I am interested in the formal use in books or scientific articles. Again, this might have been in telegraphic sentences where the number of words as to be kept to a minimum.


texts: What is the basic meaning of 'dozy pillock'?

texts:
A character on "Last Tango in Halifax" often calls people a "dozy pillock" (not sure about the spelling for dozy.) I was trying to find a meaning for dozy and a better one for pillock than just knowing it is derogatory, and that is how I found your wonderful website.

I'm American (Albuquerque, New Mexico) and have loved TV shows and movies from Great Britain all my life, though I am often confused by their English and usually try to find an answer to my confusion.

Thanks for your help.


texts: A word that means how authentic or true a replica is to the original

texts:
I have been trying to recall a particular word for a week now.  The word is a property of a replica indicating the degree with which it was able to be true to the original.

Similar words are authentic, representative, etc.

Maybe something similar to integrity.  I feel like it is commonly used in this context, but in general it is not frequently used.

I would love to hear suggestions!


texts: I came across the following sentence. Is the comma before "but" essential?

texts: Chelsea, a big club for many years now, has a habit of producing players with good potential, but most of the academy graduates do not get a chance to play for the senior squad.


texts:
I would like to write about the Municipal Services Sector in my country, which is the Kingdom of Bahrain. So, what is the right phrase to use:

  The Municipal Services Sector of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
  The Municipal Services Sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain.


texts:
What is the difference between the words vernacular and colloquial? Is vernacular closer to jargon?

A quick search reveals that colloquial refers to informal spoken language while vernacular refers to some sort of native language of a place. Is that the only difference?


texts:
I was pulling my socks up this morning, in the literal sense of the term, when I started to wonder about why pull your socks up came to mean what it does:-

  to make an effort to improve your work or behaviour because it is not
  good enough: He's going to have to pull his socks up if he wants to
  stay in the team.

I searched around for the origin of the phase and turned up some not very convincing answers here (pulling your socks up to make yourself look tidier) and here (military slang, a traditional fallback for folk etymology). Neither of them have any sources cited.

So does anyone know why we came to use pull your socks up for this meaning?


texts: "I'm warned to be contrary" Could somebody explain what does this sentence mean?

texts:
I was trying to translate/understand the song "God help the girl" and faced out with following

...
You have been warned, I'm warned to be contrary
Backward at school, I wrote from right to left
Teacher never cared for me
Preacher said a prayer for me
God help the girl, she needs all the help she can get
...

And I've already searched meanings of word 'contrary', but still have some problems with understanding. What does she mean when she is singing "I'm warned to be contrary"?

Probably it's something that mean she consists from different persons and they are opposed to each other? (sorry for bad english ^^ )

Thanks in advance!


texts: Term for a person who is extremely dismissive

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes a person who is extremely dismissive and unopen to ideas or comments.
Dismissive

feeling or showing that something is unworthy of consideration

For example,

Tom: 'Get your table organised! It's so-'
Jack: 'Shush, bring your comments somewhere else.'


texts: Is it right to say "Viewpoints made easy"?

texts:
I'm not native in the English language and I'd like to know if when I say "Viewpoints made easy" your perception leads you to something like:

  Viewpoints made easy. An easy form to
  connect and represent points of view
  and understandings about the world
  knowledge.


texts:
Whats the difference between purge and expunge, if any?
For example:

All the duplicate pages were expunged from the book.
All the duplicate pages were purged from the book.

Do these sentences have the same meaning as if they were deleted from the book?


texts: How to say the meaning that an autism student will soon be able to live normally in the community?

texts:
Ok, let say there is an autism student studying in a special school and his parents say that they want their son will soon be able to live normally in the community.

Should I use the term "assimilate the society" to express that idea?. Ex, parents want their son will soon assimilate the society.


texts: A single word for "someone who readily takes responsibility/new tasks"

texts: Want to describe a characteristic of a person, in single word, "someone who readily takes responsibility/new tasks"


texts:
Is the word "robins" in the text below a metaphor and if so what does it stand for?
The only robin found in dictionaries are birds.

  "The king was in the habit of filling high posts with men of no [titled] account so that he might, if the fancy took him, dismiss them as he would a valet." The men treated like valets in fact were robins, at the top of the bourgeoisie.

  — Richard Sennett, Respect in a World of Inequality, Penguin, p.71.


texts: Could "lolcat" be used to mean "something funny"?

texts:
The lolcat came from a problem with the Stack Overflow API.

Is this usage of lolcat generally understood?


texts:
One of my friends asked me whether "angried" can be used in place of "angry" or not. It led me to a google search, and I got  these results to my surprise. It is for the first time that I come across such a usage as:

  Then, reconsidering, she added, "No, actually I'm angried." -
  "Angried?" "Whatever for?"

Can we use "angried" in place of "angry"? Is it a standard and acceptable usage?


texts: "Exchange emails with whomever you want to put me in contact [with]"

texts:
I realize the "never end a sentence with a preposition" rule is controversial these days, but let's assume for the sake of argument that it should be followed. What is the proper construction of a sentence that has a prepositional phrase inside a prepositional phrase, such as in the title of this post?

Is there a way to make this strictly correct, but not so cumbersome?

  I can make time for a phone call, or just exchange emails with whomever you want with whom to put me in contact.

Is this simply a case where there is no way to avoid ending the sentence with a preposition (short of clobbering it with the ugly stick)?


texts:
An avalising bank is a "bank that ensures payment on a note, bond, or other debt instrument in the event of default. ... the avalising bank is not a party to the transaction in any other way".

What is the etymology of avalising, and when was it first used?  Is there an infinitival form of it in English?

(Presumably it's from French avaliser, "To back, to support; to endorse", but I haven't found much more than that.)

(Note: I encountered this word on page 75 of Len Deighton's 1988 novel Spy Hook:

  ... Werner made his money by avalising, which means he financed East European exports to the West with hard currency borrowed from anywhere he could get it.  He paid high interest and he lived on narrow margins. ...

Apparently Deighton's understanding of the term is grittier than the dictionary definition.)


texts: Can subject and verb come after the rest of the sentence?

texts: At times, during commentary, commentators speak sentences like "Playing well, Victor is", "A great player, Steven was".


texts: Em dash vs semicolon: which is more appropriate in the following examples?

texts:
I am very confused by these, and even when I understand other people's usage of them I find it difficult to know when to employ them myself. For this reason, I am trying to make my own examples and see if I get them correct. Please understand, English is not my first language, but I have never learned grammar in my native language either. I hope that what I'm saying is comprehensible to you.
In the following examples, I'll be using a period in place of the em dash or semicolon, because I am utterly confused as to which one should be used.

English is not my first language, and I'm having trouble with the grammar. Specifically semicolons and dashes.

Don't ask Jim to fix your car. That sort of thing would be better handled by Steve.

The question isn't what you can take away from this, but what you can learn in the process. / The question isn't what you can take away from this. It is what you can learn in the process.

Normally I would use a semicolon in all of these instances, but recently I have come to learn that this is incorrect usage.
Any help is greatly appreciated.


texts: What do you call feeling what someone else feels?

texts:
I am looking for a word that describes:

A) When you are spinning, someone else feels dizzy

B) feeling full watching someone else  eat

C) feeling happy watching someone else be happy.

My first thought was sympathy, but that only applies to feelings of "pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune" (Google).


texts: Is "I emphatically occupied the meeting room" correct usage?

texts:
I want to mean that even though I wasn't supposed to be in the meeting room, I was still forcefully occupying it.
I am trying to use emphatic as an adverb but not sure if this is correct usage.

emphatically:
adverb.
in a forceful way.

My friend pointed that "she closed the door behind her emphatically" is a different use-case
UPDATE:
What I am trying to imply is that even though I hadn't booked the meeting room, I was occupying it. I didn't leave until someone else who had actually booked the room asked me to.
So I used the room in an emphatic manner.
I understand I could use a better choice of words to describe this, but is this usage incorrect?


texts: Is "doing (someone or something) a great service" considered a colloquialism?

texts:
For example:

  He did society a great service by turning himself in.

Would could you use as a substitute for "did (whatever/whomever) a great service?  What would be more formal?

I did some research and came up with nothing.


texts:
I am describing a process as being antithetical to collaboration.

To clarify, I'm referring to its quality as being "not naturally collaborative", not "actively anti-collaboration"

Is "uncollaborative" a word? Is there a word that isn't a variation of "collaboration" that gets the job done?


texts: The use of the future tense for describing one's usual routines

texts:
In this video at 5 minute and 50 seconds, for reasons unknown to me, a speaker used the future tense for describing his usual routine.

  So in the assistance portion of my workout, I will choose row variations that by nature are a little lighter.

Why didn't the person say "I choose row variations"? Does the use of the future simple add some sort of emphasis, like his habit cannot be changed, and no matter what, he will choose the row variations?


texts: Word for the person who willingly take the punishment of someone else

texts:
I wanted to know if there is a specific word for the person who is/the act of willingly taking the punishment of another person who is convicted of a crime so that they don't need to face the punishment.

For example,

  Jesus willingly took the punishment of the sins of mankind by dying on the cross for them.

Here what is the single word for this act and how we can distinguish Jesus in this context?


texts: Why did English writers formerly capitalize so many words?

texts:
Or, I guess it could be worded, since when and why was it counted as part of a formal writing style to capitalize many general nouns? (After all, it's not German ...) This is also a trend in legal documents, however, I believe, attributable to the fact that certain terms (e.g. "Company") can have very specific definitions.

Here is the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.

  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.


texts:
I often use "OK" in business and personal emails and phone conversations. But I often feel uncertain if it is appropriate to use it in every type of context.

Please tell how universally I can use this word (if it can be called "word") without annoying native English speakers?


texts:
Random House has

inherent: existing in something as a permanent and inseparable element.
intrinsic: belonging to the thing by its very nature.

Are these the same? Are they interchangeable?
I was debating with myself as to the proper usage in:

They debated the inherent dangers of materialism.

Would this be better?

They debated the dangers intrinsic in materialism.


texts: Is there a term that indicates the relationship between myself and the mother of my grandchild who is no longer in a relationship with my son?

texts: My son & the mother of my grandchild were never married. They are no longer a couple but enjoy a very comfortable co-parenting relationship. When they broke up she and I did not! Although she was never my official daughter-in-law, that is the type of relationship we had and continue to have. Introducing her is always painful. She was never my daughter-in-law so she isn't my ex daughter-in-law - and even if she were that term is not acceptable to me -- she isn't my ex.  The only phrases I am even partially comfortable with are "______'s Mom" and "the mother of my grandchild." It explains the blood-line, but it just doesn't capture the spirit of our bond. Are there words from other languages that might express the spirit of this relationship?


texts: What does "off the strip" mean (Las Vegas)?

texts:
We went to a restaurant that was a little bit off the strip (about Las Vegas)

I found in Wiki that Strip is the place where most Las Vegas casinos are. So what would such sentence mean?

Restaurant was very good as it is close to the best(?) location in the city
Restaurant was in sketchy neighborhood
Nothing about being good/bad, just a location


texts:
I am computing a scoring system for employee performance.  I will have elements that need to be ranked a value 0-5 depending on employee's depth on that element.  The elements will be weighted and a final score computed.  For example, Communication is ranked 4, weighted 80%, and score is 3.2 (4*80%).

Is "rank" and "score" used correctly here?  How are these items best expressed for what I am doing with them?


texts: Someone who buys a lot of books but barely reads them

texts:
What do English speakers call a person who loves to buy and collect a lot of books, but does not often read them?

When purchasing the books, the person might hope to learn new things from the book after reading it in a good opportunity. But they end up leaving the book alone after some reading and probably going for new books. In fact, they seem to be more interested in collecting books than reading them.


texts: When the subject of a sentence is the same as the object of the previous sentence

texts:
What is it called when the subject of a sentence is the same as the object of the previous sentence?

For example:

  I'm going to Freddy's house. Freddy lives down the block. The block is paved with gravel. The gravel is jagged.


texts: Grammatical Functions of Resumptive Modifiers and Summative Modifiers

texts:
I am wondering what is the grammatical function of the resumptive modifier (in italics) in the following sentence:

  For several years, the Columbia Broadcasting System created and developed situation comedies that were the best that American TV had to offer, comedies such as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "All in the Family," comedies that sparkled with wit and invention.

Is that considered an appositive?

Another question is why there is no conjunction in front of the last comedies. (I have never seen a single case where people use conjunctions to connect resumptive modifiers.)

How about the resumptive modifiers in the following sentence? (This time they are adjective clauses.)

  It was Marican writers who first used a vernacular that was both true and lyrical, true to the rhythms of the working man's speech, lyrical in its celebration of the land.

How about the resumptive modifiers in the following sentence? (This time they are verbal clauses.)

  Humans have been defined by some as the only animal that can laugh at grief, laugh at the pain and tragedy that define their fate.

How about the summative modifier in the following sentence?

  Scientists have finally unraveled the mysteries of the human gene, a discovery that may lead to the control of such dread diseases as cancer and birth defects.


texts:
Do this, and while you're at it, do the other.

I'd like to express this in a way that is a little more formal, "while you're at it" sounds too casual for the context I need.

An example would be: take the car and get it washed, and while you're at it, clean the interior as well.

Might anyone be able to suggest a synonym for this (while you're at it)?


texts: What does this quote mean: "Why is this thus? And what is the reason for this thusness?

texts:
In the movie 'Lincoln', Abraham Lincoln portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis says this to Representative Ashley:

"Why for instance is this thus, and what is the reason for this thusness."

What does that even mean?