texts: Can I say "I concur with something" instead of "I agree with something"?

texts:
Hi I'm still learning English and I rather have problems with grammar.

So my question is can I use

  I concur with this statement

instead of

  I agree with this statement

Is it weird? Does it sound unnatural?


texts: What do you call the term for a made up word composed from two different languages?

texts: Testing a child's language proficiency he answered "Swimar", when asked to say swim in Spanish (the correct answer would have been nadar)


texts:
I am writing a direct quote so I cannot change the sentence around.

The speaker consistently refers to the hospital "burns nurse", as in a nurse that takes care of patients with burns.

I believe I would just leave it as it is, burns nurse. But I just wanted to make sure it is not burn's.


texts: Is there a saying in English corresponding to "Another loach under the willow tree"?

texts:
In Japanese there's a saying "another loach" in the short form, "look for another loach under the same willow tree" in the long form.

This saying is for ridiculing a person who blindly repeats what s/he once successfully did, or who imitates what somebody else successfully did, in the hope that s/he can succeed again not knowing s/he would surely fail the second time.

It comes from a famous folklore about a man who once captured a loach (like a catfish) in a stream under a willow tree, who tried unsuccessfully to catch another loach exactly at the same spot.

I am wondering if there is a saying in English similar to this?


texts: Is "mad" used as an intensifier in the UK?

texts: I mean mad as in 'mad good' 'mad props' etc which mean ''very good'' or ''much propers to you'' or intensifies the ''good'' part. I hope its more clear now?


texts: Is it correct to say "Our shop is under renewal process"?

texts:
I went to a deli shop yesterday and found the sign saying, "Sorry, we are closed. Our shop is currently under renewal process" hanging at the door. I could see through the door a little bit; it was very messy and it seemed they were trying to renovate the shop.

I know people usually say 'under renovation', but does it make sense to say 'under renewal' for this also? I don't think it technically does; but my sister says it is okay to say so.

What do you think?


texts: What part of speech would these words be considered as?

texts:
I am trying to figure out what part of speech the bolded words are:

  Spanish is spoken in parts of South America

and,

  Football is played in America.


texts: What is a term for someone who is just asking to be put in jail?

texts: My friends and I are trying to think of a term that refers to someone who is just asking to be put in jail.  The closest I can think of is hooligan.  Is there anything closer?


texts:
The expression "hell's bells" conveys anger, irritation, or surprise, according to CED, MW etc, but they do not explain the origin.
Were there bells in hell? What is this in reference to?


texts: Popperians being people who are sympathetic with Karl Popper's views? In general, should groups of people who take their collective name from a proper noun in turn capitalize their name?


texts: what does "Brythonic" mean in English? I have heard explanations of who the Brythonic people are, but there has been no translation of the word "Brythonic" denoting the origin and interpretation of the name.


texts: What's the difference between "increased" and "increasing"?

texts: What's the difference between "at an increased rate" and "at an increasing rate". It seems to me both of these are correct and no difference. Am I right?


texts: Is the verb following "rather than" always used in a plural form?

texts:
How should the following phrase be written:

"Billy is quite confused, so rather than sleep, he ponders."

Would the verb sleep, always be in the plural form and never sleeps?


texts: What do you call the practice of leaving the final word in a phrase unspoken?

texts:
I cannot say for sure that Americans never do this, but some British speakers seem to leave off the last word in a (usually) set phrase. For example, the Cockney character Gerry Standing in the BBC series "New Tricks" told a suspect, "You stabbed her, you panicked, you ran. Simple as." He left off the last word, which presumably was "that" as in "Simple as that."

Similarly, the character Janet Scott in the ITV series "Scott & Bailey" says, "Now I don't give a monkey's." A monkey's what? "Posterior," perhaps. I keep thinking there must be a name for this practice. What is it?

I can imagine an American saying, "I don't give a rat's" although I can't recall ever hearing that usage, but it has the obvious advantage of avoiding the actual expression of the word "posterior" or any of its synonyms.


texts: What is the noun for "feeling of being victimized"?

texts: What is the word for "feeling of being victimized"?


texts: Is the term 'String' too jargony to use in a user interface?

texts:
Having worked as a software developer for a long time, I'm out of touch sometimes with whether a word would be considered jargon.

I am adding something to a user interface where a name is given, and a type.  The type would be one of Number, Date, or 'String'.  I'm just not sure if 'string' in the technical sense is a term that is in common usage, or if it is still considered jargon.

'Text' sounds mildly inappropriate to use, because that implies a length (to me at least), whereas this would be something short.

So, is there a better word I can use?


texts:
To be specific, I want to write something like:

Afterwards, on execution of the script, the solver is compiled and new dependency list files are generated.

Afterwards, upon execution of the script, the solver is compiled and new dependency list files are generated.

Which is correct? Are both correct?
Is one more formal than the other? Or is there no difference at all?


texts: What's the Word For Having Influence via a Second Party

texts:
I'm trying to find a word that succinctly describes one person's impact on many through others.  My real life example is a coach.  The coach taught me directly.  I coached my daughter, using what I learned.  My daughter has now improved.  The coach influenced my daughter through me, though they have never met.

Because the coach is so skilled, so motivated, so passionate she has influenced many over time, often through intermediaries.  I would like to say the teacher's passion/motivation/knowledge is .....

I thought of exponential, but it wasn't quite correct.
I thought of transitive, but it wasn't quite correct.

Like the old commercial, "and she told two friends, and she told two friends,etc."

Many thanks.


texts: What is the difference between "terrorist attack" and "terror attack"?

texts: Are "terrorist attack" and "terror attack" two distinct terms? Or do they both refer to the same thing (an attack committed by terrorists)? The two seem to be used interchangeably. Any advice would be much appreciated.


texts: "Community was here" vs "Community existed"

texts:
What is the difference between the following two:

I didn't know if this community existed
I didn't know if this community was here


texts:
So I got some questions for my paper, and this is one of them:

"The development of Confucianism under Emperor Wudi of the Han dynasty was a great success. Why was this the case?"

I don't understand the meaning of "why was this the case", is it asking me to analyse the reasons of the success of Confucianism or something else?


texts: What does "on a hiding to nothing" mean?

texts:
I watched a movie with English actors just the other day and came across this phrase in the dialogue.   What does it mean, and who would typically use it?

EDIT:
 What is the sense of the hide in hiding? How does it contribute to the meaning of the idiom?


texts: Does it sound strange to say "An emergency meeting is expected to be held soon." or "The new highway is proposed to be built across the swamp."   Should we avoid this type of construction ?


texts:
I have to write a diary entry in the perspective of Romeo about Juliet. We just finished act 1. so are any of these hyperboles ?

When she walks outside, nature stops for a second to admire her beauty.
She is perfect in every way.
My love for Juliet is one that is impassable.


texts: I am looking for a different word to 'testee' to use for describing a person who submits samples to be tested, but isn't a patient. This applies to the situation like an athlete submitting samples for drug testing, or a person who is getting tests on allergy done. The reason I want to use a different word is to avoid confusion between using tester and testee.


texts:
What does "D.R." stands for in International Love song by Pitbull?
"Down in DR they looking for visa"

  Down in D.R. they're looking for visas
  I ain't talking credit cards if you know what I mean
  Yeah, en Cuba, la cosa esta dura
  But the woman get down, if you know what I mean
  In Colombia the women got everything done
  But they are some of the most beautiful women I've ever seen
  In Brazil they're freaky with big old booties
  And their thongs, blue, yellow and green
  In L.A. tengo la Mexicana, en New York tengo la boricua
  Besitos para todas las mujeres en Venezuela, muah
  Y en Miami tengo a cualquiera

Is it some US immigration office or what? I can't find the information anywhere.


texts:
From Billy Joel's Keeping the Faith:

  I put on my shark skin jacket
  You know the kind with the velvet collar
  And ditty-bop shades

What are ditty-bop shades?  I can buy a pair, or could if they were still in stock, but that doesn't help me in distinguishing them from any other sort of sunglasses.

So, to put the question another way, what makes those particular sunglasses, and not other seemingly similar ones, "ditty-bop shades"?  What does "ditty-bop" mean?

Research: my Pocket Oxford was no help, and neither was Wiktionary or Wikipedia.  The only directly relevant thing I found on Google was the Amazon link.  "Diddy bop" means "cool" according to the Online Slang Dictionary, which might be related etymologically, but it still doesn't tell me what in particular about "ditty-bop shades" made them cool.  (Google also found some images, but they just left me even more confused as they seemed to have little in common.)


texts:
Suppose I am writing a book. If I were to say, mentioned the title of the book in the introduction; would it be italicized?

Now suppose I am writing a paper; what then?

Thanks!

Edit

I am writing a paper on my own basis. I am asking specifically on whether or not I should italicize the title of my paper/book when referencing inside the paper/book.


texts: "My brother along with his wife was present in the party" or "My brother along with his wife were present in the party"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  X, along with Y, 'were'/'was'

Could someone tell which one is appropriate in the following sentence?

  My brother along with his wife was/were present in the party.


texts:
Had a discussion with somebody about what a single piece of gravel is?

Would it be a rock fragment, pebble, grain of gravel/rock? Or is gravel both the singular and plural (like pants or trousers)?


texts: What is the name of the first decade in a century?

texts:
80s: the "Eighties"
90s: the "Nineties"
00s: the ???

For that matter, what is the second decade called? The "tens" just doesn't sound right.


texts: Does a phrase, "something authentic" make sense?

texts:
I'm a non-native English speaker recently trying to launch my own company named "Origin Authentic"

And I'm also planning to launch a brand named "Honey Authentic" which is to be a name of a dessert cafe.

Does this "something authentic" series make sense to you? If not, does it make you feel weird when is heard at least?

Thanks in advance for your replies!


texts: Want to know the components in a sentence, clause, and phrase

texts:
This is a bit different sort of question coming from a computer science student, working on a Natural Language Processing project.

As a part of our project we got stuck into a situation where we want to know: how are the essential components in a sentence arranged?

We know that every sentence contains a main verb (V) and then the structure goes on from noun(N) followed by verb(V) to some more complex forms, following some patterns of N, V, Adverb(AV), Adjective(AJ), Determiners(D), Preposition(P),  etc.

Example:

Apple is red in color is not a correct English sentence. The correct English is "An apple is red in color." So can we infer that N V AJ P N is wrong English and the correct English sentence follows this template D N V AJ P N?

In the same way clauses and phrases also follow some unique patterns of N, V, AV, AJ, A, etc.

Can someone tell me how the pattern is followed? Is there any rule that it follows from which we can infer whether a given sentence is valid or not?

To qualify my previous statement, I want to know whether a given group of words is a valid English sentence or not by recognizing the pattern and combination of N, V, AV, AJ, A, etc.

My goal is to recognize simple sentences; I am not working with complex sentence forms.

Can anyone help me with this?


texts: Where does the term "boss" come from for video games?

texts: Does anyone have the original source? Who was the first person to use the term video game "boss"? Why do we call Bowser, Ganondorf, Sephiroth or the final enemies "bosses"? Is it supposed to be like a workplace and the minions/henchman are the employees?


texts:
I want to say "some 50 or more yards apart" (meaning at least 50 yards apart) but I'm not quite sure it's correct. I couldn't find the answer or an example of its use in google search.

However, I think I may have found the answer by typing "after some 20 or more years" which appears to be an equivalent example. Am I right in thinking so and are both phrases correct?

It's not easy to find examples on the web when there are precise figures involved. Indeed I had to search several times using different numbers an slightly different wording.


texts: Today, renewables work only with fossil-fuel backup or Today, renewables work only as fossil-fuel backup

texts:
I was reading an article from nytimes and had two doubts in this passage:

  Where will this gargantuan amount of carbon-free energy come from? The
  popular answer is renewables alone, but this is a fantasy. Wind and
  solar power are becoming cheaper, but they are not available around
  the clock, rain or shine, and batteries that could power entire cities
  for days or weeks show no sign of materializing any time soon. Today,
  renewables work only with fossil-fuel backup.

From the line but they are not available around the clock, rain or shine, and ..., I understand that wind and solar energy are not available around the clock, as it may rain or shine at any time of the day. Am I correct in my understanding?

And I feel last line should be Today, renewables work only as fossil-fuel backup. I can't interpret the line as Today, renewables work only with fossil-fuel backup.


texts:
What's the difference between "to suspect someone" vs "to be suspicious of someone"?

For example, what's the difference between these two sentences:

I'm sorry for suspecting you.
I'm sorry for being suspicious of you.


texts: Why does a Cheshire cat grin, and how long has it been doing so?

texts:
Most people are familiar with the expression "grin like a Cheshire cat" from Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (1865), which goes so far as to  provide a glimpse of the grin without the cat. But the saying is at least half a century older. From John Cox Bridge, Cheshire Proverbs and Other Sayings and Rhymes Connected with the City and County Palatine of Chester (1917) [combined snippets]:

To Grin Like a Cheshire cat.
Probably the best known of all our County proverbs, and yet it must at once be said : —

That it is not an old saying and no old writer or old collection of Proverbs gives it. The first known mention of it is in the works of Peter Pindar (John Walcot, M.D.). "Lo ! like a Cheshire cat our court will grin." c. 1794/1801.

That it is not, and never has been, a very common saying in the County. Darlington says that he has never heard it used. Its present popularity is undoubtedly due to the humorous use made of it in "Alice in Wonderland."

Numerous attempts have been made to elucidate it in Notes and Queries and other books, but with no result. The first query was as follows : — " Will some of your correspondents explain the origin of the phrase ' Grinning like a Cheshire Cat'? The ingenious theory of somebody, I forget who, that Cheshire is a County Palatine and that the cats, when they think of it, are so tickled that they can’t help grinning, is not quite satisfactory. N & Q, [November 2,] 1850.

Bridge goes on to present several theories that attempt to explain the origin of the expression, none of which he seems to find especially compelling. I have two questions:

What is the earliest known instance of the saying? Is it still Peter Pindar's?

What is the origin of the expression (the saying, not the grin)?


texts: Seeking an appropriate antonym to the word Miracle

texts:
Miracles are rare beneficial events that appear to have a supernatural intervention.

So might not the antonym in one word be tragedy?
Of the dozens of other words suggested, tragedy for me expresses the most cataclysmic nature of the event:

NOT
apocalypse, catastrophe, cataclysm, disaster, debacle or freak incident,
though the last probably best describes tragedy as an antonym to miracle.


texts: Why there is no article before venture capital firm in "Beller’s first high-profile role was at venture capital firm Andreessen Horwitz, .."?

texts:
Beller’s first high-profile role was at venture capital firm Andreessen Horwitz, where she was a partner on the deal team between 2013 and 2016.
Source

Does the same rule apply to the sentence above as to the expressions like at work, in hospital, and at school?
Is Beller’s first high-profile role was at a venture capital firm Andreessen Horwitz, where she was a partner on the deal team between 2013 and 2016. a correct variant as well?


texts: Closest English term for Spanish "merienda"

texts:
The Spanish word merienda is often included in lists of untranslatable words. It originally meant the meal you had around noon between breakfast and dinner, as that meal used to be small compared with the other two. In some parts it is still used with that sense but since the 17th century it is almost always used for the small meal you have between lunch and dinner.

In Spain you usually have lunch around 2:00 PM and dinner around 9:00 PM, so at around 5:30 you need a small meal if you do not want to starve. That small meal is our merienda.

I would like to know if there are or there have been words in English to refer to a similar small meal you have between the main meals. I have looked up the word even in old dictionaries, but I think the translations refer to the old meaning of the word:

The Spanish-English dictionary by Richard Percyvall from 1591 translates the word as noonemeate (currently noonmeat), but that seems to be a synonym for lunch.
The Spanish-Latin-English dictionary by Iohannis Minshaei from 1617 translates the word as a Bever. That word is not present in the Oxford dictionary but seems to be related to beverage. Etymonline says its meaning could be "a drinking bout".
The closest word I can think of is US English snack: "a small amount of food eaten between meals" or "a light meal that is eaten in a hurry or in a casual manner".

So among every word the English language has produced everywhere and at every time, old and new, known or unknown, what would be the closest one to Spanish merienda?


texts:
I am doing an online news update for my company and though 3 of us have tried we can't work out a good synonym for the phrase dial into.

The sentence reads:-

  Also with the summer holidays looming you may find yourself short staffed, but with the SIP Soft-phone anyone can dial into company calls, whether they are at work, at home or even in the Mediterranean soaking up the sun.

We were wondering if there is a better way to say dial into, it has to do with making business calls when you are out of the office and you can make or receive them.

It's just a small quandary but if you have any ideas I'll welcome them.


texts: When saying "this one" when referring to yourself, is it first or third person?

texts:
I have been playing a RP forum game and I believe that one of the other players may be locked into first/third person every post he makes. Which one it is doesn't change it from a gameplay view but it got me intrigued to find out which one it was. Here are some examples of how he uses it

This one bears no grudge
This one can neither confirm nor deny this accusation

In each of these, the subject of this one is himself. On one side I feel like it is third person because it is how I could address him as a third person. But the fact that he is talking about himself makes it feel synonymous with the word I and has the same impression which I feel is indicative of first person.


texts:
Observation: It seems that it's common to turn a store name into a possessive, for example a store named "Palisade" gets transformed to possessive in speech like, "Hey how about going to Palisade's for breakfast?" Another example is Chutneys Grille in Seattle. Many (most?) store names do not get this treatment. It seems most common if the store name is:

Abstract: "I saw a great concert at BOOT's last night."
A person's name, or what looks like a person's name: "I got this at JC Penney's"
Totally unknown word: "I get my hair cut at Foofum's"
[UPDATE] Is it ungrammatical to do this?

My assumption is that it's a short form of saying "BOOT's performance venue" (nonsensical though?), "JC Penney's shop", or "Foofum's salon".

Questions:

Is this common, or is it just my home town or something? Or my imagination?
Why must we do this instead of simply calling the store by its rightful name? To me "I saw a concert last night at BOOT." is no less clear, and no more difficult to say.

Inspired by a previous question


texts: Is there any difference on the use of I'm and I am?

texts:
Is it correct to write I am Gerardo and I am here.
or I am Gerardo and I'm here. Is there any difference between these two statements?


texts: Do people from India consider English their primary language?

texts:
I was watching an rerun episode of the Big Bang Theory the other night.  And, a character who is from India (Rajesh) is losing an argument with the following dialog:

Raj: Okay, well, let me just tell you, if we were having this argument in my native language, I’d be kicking your butt.
Sheldon: English is your native language.
Raj: Okay, you got me there.

I was wondering about the truth of this statement. Is English really a native language in India? Do many/most Indian English speakers consider it to be their primary language? Or is it a heavily spoken second language because of its official status and commonality compared to the linguistic diversity within the sub-continent?
Are people in India largely true bi-linguals in the sense of having two native languages which occupy separate compartments within their consciousness.  (Not to begin another topic of conversation, but people of this sort often make bad translators due to this compartmentalization.)
This question was brought to my consciousness again by the discussion section of another question I've posted.


texts: Word or phrase for sudden fast breathing not caused by physical exertion

texts:
I am writing a story and I am at a loss for a word/phrase. The scene is as follows:

Two young people have fallen in love with each other. They are doing a slow dance and suddenly get too close to each other. They breathe in a fast manner. What is this type of breathing called? What is the word/phrase for this?


texts: What's the word for contents that are left in glass after a drink is finished?

texts:
What's the word the contents that are left in the glass after a drink is finished?

eg:

  'He drained his glass to the ______'


texts: What is the name of the phrase that 'repeats' the preceding noun?

texts:
I, Motes, don't know this.

"Motes" is? I think it starts with an 'A'.


texts: How many types of errors are there in English language?

texts:
I was lately reviewing a book and had to tell about the errors. It was on C++, so I had to differentiate between the kinds of errors so that people don't get terrified like "OMG 50 errors? Bad book."

So suppose there were 50 errors, but 40 of them were grammatical, no big deal. Only 5 were related to the actual programming and syntax. And 5 were spelling errors. But the book also had errors like this:

  First the base class constructor is used to create objects and then the derived class one While the destructor works in reverse direction.

See, no full stop. So I thought it will be also an error, a "punctuational" error. That made me think about how many types of errors there are?

Except style-related errors and other miscellaneous, highly-specific, or non-standard errors.


texts: How should I use "as" and what is its semantic nuance?

texts:
I wrote a sentence that didn't sound right to my ears.

  As a leader, he did not act accordingly.

What I intended to say was:

  even though he was the leader, he did not act accordingly, as he has
  all the time.

But it sounded like:

  because he was the leader, he did not act accordingly and was supposed
  to do so  (was supposed to not act accordingly".

See the problem?

However, I am not a native speaker, and the semantic validity is sometimes hard to exactly comprehend, so I just showed it to my friend (native) and he though it sounded just fine. But I did not think that he understood the intention of the sentence, so I came up with an alternate sentence, which sounded more valid than the previous one.

  Even as a leader, he did not act accordingly.

This time, my friend disapproved of the sentence, saying he didn't like this "even" in front of "as". This got me confused.

Does my first sentence align more with the meaning I intended than the second sentence, or does the second sentence sound more like what I meant to say than the first one?


texts: What are the difference between "should open" and "should be opened" and "should be opening"?

texts:
I am preparing some document. In this document I need to mention User activity and corresponding expected results. For example

User activity : User clicks on the Submit button.

Expected Results : It should open one new popup window and this pop up window should display the the following message to the user -"Thanks for your feedback".

Can I also write something like this?

Expected Results : It should be opened one new popup window and this pop up window should be displayed the the following message to the user -"Thanks for your feedback".

or

Expected Results : It should be opening one new popup window and this pop up window should be displayed the following message to the user -"Thanks for your feedback".

So my questions are

What is the difference between should open and should be opened and should be opening?
What to use when?
In this case which one is more suitable?


texts: How to punctuate a sentence ending in a code block on Stack Exchange

texts:
A lot of time when I'm writing a Programming Puzzles & Code Golf challenge, I need to incorporate multiline blocks of code

like
this

into my sentences.

Many times, it's simplest to have them at the very end of a sentence. For example, this scenario is easy to envision:

  If the input is 1, the output of your program should be

sample output 1

  If the input is 2, the output of your program should be

sample output 2

The problem is that there are supposed to be two complete sentences here, but there are no periods!

One obvious solution is to add periods after the code blocks:

  If the input is 1, the output of your program should be

sample output 1

  . If the input is 2, the output of your program should be

sample output 2

  .

But this just looks weird.

Another solution is to add 'this:' after the 'be', and forgo the periods:

  If the input is 1, the output of your program should be this:

sample output 1

  If the input is 2, the output of your program should be this:

sample output 2

(I don't think it's grammatically correct to just put the colon after 'be' but I may be wrong.)

This seems more complete, but is still rather awkward with the 'this'es, and won't always work if the sentence is more complex. e.g.

  The program

example code A

  runs better than

example code B

  [comma?] but both are worse than

example code C

  [period?]

So what's the best way to do this - specifically on Stack Exchange where it's impossible to put a period directly after a code block?


texts:
I'm looking for a word that refers to the set of common beliefs of a culture or era. Things like "psychics aren't reliable" or "flying is safer than driving." These are empirical propositions that lots of people believe and there may be a common understanding that others believe them too.

Something like "zeitgeist" is very good. I'd like to be able to say "The understanding that bees are dying out is in the ____" and it works pretty well there. My only issue with zeitgeist here is that i'd like it to refer primarily to the empirical claims, rather than the more general culture, attitude, and values of the people.

Something like "common knowledge" isn't quite right because things that are common knowledge are usually assumed by the speaker to be correct (except when using the term ironically) -- but I don't want to address the actual truth value of the propositions. And I'd like it to express that there might be a certain amount of cultural dependence about the beliefs -- not something like "you need water to live."


texts: When should the word "English" be capitalized?

texts:
I am often confused how the word "English" should be written in phrases such as "English language", because I have seen both variants: capitalized and starting with lowercase letter.

What is the most accepted usage: "English language" or "english language"? And what about other possible usage of the adjective "english"?


texts: Correct usage of the word "wages" and what the word is describing

texts:
"The glory is yours to claim, for that is the wages of war."

The above line feels so natural to me, but someone pointed out they thought it would be grammatically correct to use one of the below options, all of which just sound odd to me:

  "The glory is yours to claim, for those are the wages of war."

Doesn't sound right to me because "those" isn't the word I would use to refer to "glory."

  "The glory is yours to claim, for that is the wage of war."

Also somehow sounds wrong when I think about all of the ways I hear the word...

  "The wages of sin is death."

and I've never heard anybody say "...a day's wage." It's always "...a day's wages."

Also, I'm a little biased because this is for a script for a board game I am designing, called "Wages of War."

Is the first sentence really incorrect? Nobody I showed this to said anything about this until after I got the voice-over recorded, unfortunately.
Knowing that this is the title of the game, is that justifiable reason to leave it being that it's really a play on the title?


texts:
Wilson's supporters were lined up for a favorable ratification vote, but were unprepared to act unless he authorized them to accept mild qualifying language, this he refused to do.

I cannot understand the meaning of he authorized them to accept mild qualifying language, this he refused to do. What does it mean?


texts: Pronunciation of "of" and "off": Is the similarity of f=/v/, ff=/f/ to Welsh a coincidence?

texts:
In English, both f and ff are usually pronounced /f/, though there are of course exceptions.  Probably the most common exception is of (/ɒv/ or /əv/), while off is of course /ɒf/.  These two closely related words come from Old English (etymonline: of; off), in which apparently (Wikipedia) /f/ and /v/ were allophones.

This pattern matches the way Welsh is written. For example the loanword platfform will be familiar to anyone who's ever boarded a train in Wales.  Wikipedia on Brittonicisms in English doesn't mention these consonants.

Is this just a coincidence, or is there some historical reason for this spelling?


texts: What's a phrase to capture traffic, road type, weather conditions?

texts: What is a short phrase that could be used to describe the conditions under which one is driving (traffic, road type, stop-and-go, weather)?  Our product provides a "rating" to consumers of how risky it is based on these factors (and others, for which we have good phrases to name them.  But this particular group of factors is stumping us.  "Conditions", "External factors", "Environment" are too boring and not good for a consumer facing product.


texts: What is a popular idiom for making a mistake that results in utter failure?

texts:
After watching a funny YouTube video of a kid spilling his water and then immediately slipping on it, I came up with a unique idiom today:

  I hope you spill your water and slip on it.

or:

  I spilled my water and slipped on it.

With the rough meaning:

  Making a mistake that causes utter failure.
  Emphasis on a mistake that results in massive, negative consequences.

Are there any other, more common idioms that can fit this meaning or come close to it? Something that suggests a compounding of loses perhaps?

I found this idiom to be close (found here) but I don't think it fits the criteria of being common and it may not be easily decipherable:

  himalayan blunder

It took me a moment to realize this didn't mean a blunder the size of a mountain but instead a mistake made while climbing a himalayan mountain (say Mount Everest) would most likely spell doom.


texts: Why do verbs end with "oke" while their corresponding nouns are written with "c"?

texts:
I was wondering about this for a while now. Could anyone explain this phenomenon or is it just "English quirks"?

Examples:

invoke/invocation
provoke/provocation
revoke/revocation


texts: Is there a word for 'I don't know you but I don't like you'?

texts:
I don't know you but I don't like you as in, for example, someone new has joined your school or workplace and you've never seen them before but something about them makes you dislike them immediately, or maybe you don't like the person for what rumours or other people say about them.
It's a complicated feeling but it's still possible to experience, I was just curious if there is a word for it.
:)


texts: What do Americans call the fuel in a gas-powered car?

texts:
In Britain the usual fuel for cars is petrol, but some cars are converted to use gas, by which is meant natural gas.

But in America the word gas is already taken (meaning petrol). So what does an American with a gas-powered car ask for when refuelling in a...er...gas station?

(I see a selection of TLAs are defined at the Wiki article; are any of these in common use?)


texts:
Hurry up and get ready for school.
  Don't be a slowcoach! Be a ______ !

What fits in the _____ ? Hopefully something other than fastcoach!

I found some old discussion
 but nothing there seem to fit.

Slowcoach (BrE) = Slowpoke (US).


texts: Why do these parts of speech change according to the following?

texts:
I'm using nltk to process a sentence, and I can't figure out why "hundred" here changes part of speech to a verb in these two sentences, and why "record" is a different part of speech as "record-setting"...

nltk.pos_tag(lexnlp.nlp.en.tokens.get_token_list("I finished it in a respectable four hundred and five seconds"))
[('I', 'PRP'), ('finished', 'VBD'), ('it', 'PRP'), ('in', 'IN'), ('a', 'DT'), ('respectable', 'JJ'), ('four', 'CD'), ('hundred', 'VBD'), ('and', 'CC'), ('five', 'CD'), ('seconds', 'NNS')]
nltk.pos_tag(lexnlp.nlp.en.tokens.get_token_list("I finished it in a record four hundred and five seconds"))
[('I', 'PRP'), ('finished', 'VBD'), ('it', 'PRP'), ('in', 'IN'), ('a', 'DT'), ('record', 'NN'), ('four', 'CD'), ('hundred', 'CD'), ('and', 'CC'), ('five', 'CD'), ('seconds', 'NNS')]
nltk.pos_tag(lexnlp.nlp.en.tokens.get_token_list("I finished it in a record-setting four hundred and five seconds"))
[('I', 'PRP'), ('finished', 'VBD'), ('it', 'PRP'), ('in', 'IN'), ('a', 'DT'), ('record-setting', 'JJ'), ('four', 'CD'), ('hundred', 'CD'), ('and', 'CC'), ('five', 'CD'), ('seconds', 'NNS')]

The definitions of these codes are

JJ: adjective or numeral, ordinal
third ill-mannered pre-war regrettable oiled calamitous first separable
CD: numeral, cardinal
mid-1890 nine-thirty forty-two one-tenth ten million 0.5
VBD: verb, past tense
dipped pleaded swiped regummed soaked tidied convened halted registered
NN: noun, common, singular or mass
common-carrier cabbage knuckle-duster Casino afghan shed thermostat

I get how its different somehow, since the the "finish" is "respectable" or "record-setting" but the "record" is "405 seconds", but why would "hundred" be a verb in the "respectable" case here, and "numeric" when its record/record-setting ?
(I think this could be a grammar concept I don't understand, not a bug in the nltk package, hence my post here. If this is not the case, I'll move it to vanilla stackoverflow.com)


texts: I know that huge means very large. However, I have heard from my English friends that huge cannot be used instead of very large in some situations. What are some examples where huge cannot be used instead of very large or very big?


texts:
Normally, we say

  "He was caught with his mistress."

Here, we know that the male is a married person. The meaning is clear.

If he is not married, then we can say

  "He was caught with his girlfriend."

But, how to convey that a married female was caught with her lover.

  a female was caught with her ____.

Saying that, she was caught with her boyfriend does not clear the air that she is married or not.

So, is there any male-gender specific word opposite of mistress and clears the air that female is cheating her husband?

I googled few words:
lover, sweetheart, loved one, love, beloved, darling, dearest, young man, man friend, man, escort, wooer, admirer etc.

And, from Wikipedia,

  "Paramour" is sometimes used, but this term can apply to either partner in an illicit relationship, so it is not exclusively male.

But, none fits the requirement.


texts: When did it become correct to add an “s” to a singular possessive already ending in “‑s”?

texts:
According to my grammar book, but at variance to the answer to this question, the correct singular possessive if a word ends in ‑s is:

  James’s car

The grammar book allows exceptions for historical nouns, so the examples in the answer to the above-linked question would pass muster.

However, I’m sure that I learnt at school (which, admittedly, was a while ago) that for a singular (proper) noun ending in ‑s, the apostrophe went after the s and there was no additional s.

I don’t wish to start a flame war on which is correct, though my question doesn't really make sense if my grammar book is wrong!  What I’m curious about is when the change occurred.  :

So my question is when did James’s become the correct form and James’ the incorrect one?


texts: A single word for expressing 'Feeling like I am no one'

texts: What single word can be used for expressing 'I feel like I am no one'? Something which fits in the context of 'I feel so small in this vast universe'.


texts: Scientific/Technical paper: enumeration/listing questions

texts:
I have a couple of questions for writing a (computer science) scientific/technical paper about the recommended style to enumerate or give a list of things.
This is my current sample:

Sharing IoT platforms requires support for: (i.) isolated software execution; (ii.) controlled resource allocation; (iii.) easy deployment of applications; and (iv.) secure management of applications.

Questions:

is ";" a good demarcation? I've seen it recommended somewhere, but most people just use ",".
Is roman numerals recommended? If I use numerals, should I always use numerals (so no listing somewhere with (ii.) and with (2.) somewhere else. Is the overall style of brackets and punctuation OK?
What to do with repeating terms? In (iii.) and (iv.) I have the need to specify it is "of applications" but I hate the repetition.
Does it matter that this listing is intended to be part of the abstract? Should I use a slightly different style there or not?

Those are the main questions.
In addition, I dislike the use of the word 'easy' in a paper. It is a bit... I don't know, trivial? But I'm loathe to use 'accessible' or 'simplified'. Deploying apps has become easier is what I want to say, but easy sounds wrong. But that could be me.


texts: A question concerning subject-verb Agreement

texts:
Please consider this line:

Physical and occupational therapy remain an important cornerstone of motor symptom management in FTD.

I am confused whether the plural usage of "remain" is appropriate as it is preceded by two singular nouns connected by "and."

or

Shall I use the singular form "remains" as the subject in consideration would only be "therapy"?


texts: How has using apostrophes in plurals caught on so?

texts:
I'm curious.  How has wrongly inserting an apostrophe to indicate a plural noun become so widespread?

I was born in the 60s.  Thirty years ago, in England at least, the only time you'd see it would be in greengrocers (Potato's 50p/lb - grrrr!).  Now, it's everywhere.  An extraordinary and increasing proportion of people seem to assume that it's required for almost every plural.

The thing is, it can't be laziness.  It requires more effort, not less, to type the extra character, when in the majority of cases, an 's' is all you need.

How did it start?  And how did it catch on?

Edit:

I should say, I've often suspected that it was originally a hypercorrection, like 'between you and I', also now widespread.

I suppose, that the more people see the construction, the more people that haven't either read widely (an increasing proportion of young people, I'd speculate) or been taught well, will assume it's correct and propagate it further.  I suspect social media of contributing substantially to this process.

I think what I'm really asking, is, does anyone know of any actual evidence to support or refute these hypotheses?


texts:
I am using a currency exchange announcement as an example in an article I am writing, and I would like to make sure I have the Russian/English vocabulary nailed down.  The English glosses are not central to my example, but of course, it would be silly to just rely on my own (or rather Google's) approximate translations when there is probably an established terminology I should be using.

This is a table of exchange rates for August 19 and 20 and it looks like this.

                       20 авг  19 авг
---------------------- ------- -------
Курс доллара           176.100 176.100
Объем торгов ($ млн)      4,33    2,83
Начальное предложение     4,44    3,01
Начальный спрос ($ млн)   4,33    2,83

Google translate gives these as "dollar excange rate" (that one I could even manage on my own :-), "trading volume" (makes sense), "introductory offer", and "initial demand".  I'm wondering about these last two -- are these correct, idiomatic English translations for these terms, and what do they mean?


texts:
Suppose that I can infer that x is an X, given a statement y. Thus, the statement y affects the ability to infer that something is an X. I would like a word that sums up "the ability to infer".  It seems like "inferentiability" would be the word, but I can't seem to find it in any dictionaries. Is this a "real" word, or is there something like it that is more common?

e.g. "A detailed study of the relationship between height and weight would improve our ability to infer someone's height, given their weight" == "A detailed study of the relationship between height and weight improves the inferentiability of height, given weight"


texts:
It is common in legal writing to aver, meaning to allege, assert, or affirm a fact.  (Latin root is adver.)

But I can't find any evidence that the obvious noun form of the word, aversion, has ever been used as such.  Instead, aversion has always and only been the noun form of avert, derivative of the Latin root avers (meaning something like to turn away).

I.e., it seems like the avert verb root blocked the noun form aversion from being used with the aver verb.  Is this correct?  If so, is there a term for this sort of conflict and deconfliction in English (or in linguistics more generally)?


texts: An alternative to "Recent" and How recent is recent

texts:
Related question: Synonyms for “recently”

Word "Recent" (or similar variant) appears in many articles, publication, job posting and almost every documentation. To most people's understanding that usage of recent in an article (or anything) means something happened while the author was working on the article. In academic publication, it is pretty easy to find out what "recent" means as they do have a clear date of publication.

Given the following examples (Pardon the reference as everyone can edit in Wikipedia.)

Example 1 -  Wikipedia Article - Dream under section "Other associated phenomena" , header "Incorporation of reality" , second paragraph.

  The term "dream incorporation" is also used in research examining the degree to which preceding daytime events become elements of dreams. Recent studies suggest that events in the day immediately preceding, and those about a week before, have the most influence...”

The citation provided in that sentence (starting from Recent studies) is a study from 2003.

Example 2 - Artificial Intelligence, under Machine learning and statistics

  In the 1990s, AI researchers developed sophisticated mathematical tools to solve specific subproblems. These tools are truly scientific, in the sense that their results are both measurable and verifiable, and they have been responsible for many of AI's recent successes...

From my understanding, this "recent" means successful AI from that point.

My question is:
It is no doubt that any written record will get old very quickly, word "recent" may mean differently from time to time.

While writing a written record, under what situation should I avoid the use of "recent" (Example 1)?
How recent should be considered as recent (Example 2)?
Is it better to provide a vague time period instead of using recent in writing?
From many different articles I read on the internet, I noticed people have been using recent without even a date mentioned or providing citation.
How should I interpret what time period does that "recent" refer to? (especially Wikipedia, it is extremely time-consuming to find out when is the word "recent" added)


texts: Is "youth" gender-neutral when countable?

texts:
Matt Errey at the "English Club" website suggests otherwise.

I can easily choose "young people" over "youth," but doing so might suggest I am doing it to increase word count.


texts: What does 's mean at the end of someone's name?

texts:
I understand 's means is and has, if 's is used at the end of a name, Does it mean is or has?Let's suppose Ex is a someone's name.

Ex is object -it can mean Ex is an object, totally incorrect
Ex has object -incorrect grammar and it does not refer to have something

What does 's really mean? What is the no-contraction mode of name_of_a_person's?


texts: Is it correct to say an invitation or the invitation? I want to say to my friend thank you for the invitation ( as we both now which invitation I’m about)


texts: Pronunciation of the word “reduct” as a noun

texts: How should I pronounce the word reduct as a noun?


texts: Usage of loss or losses (for undesirable heat produced)

texts:
I am working in the field of electrical engineering where losses may appear due to for example and in short, pulsating magnetic fields in magnetic materials (Core losses) or electric current (Copper losses).

Though, after reading many scientific papers written by international scientists, I am still unable to decide whether to use the term "loss" or "losses" to name them.

For example, if you look at the Wikipedia article on Copper losses linked above, you can find both usage :

"Copper losses result from Joule heating..."
"Therefore, the energy lost due to copper loss is..."

My question is : when do we use "loss" and when do we use "losses" for this kind of inquiry ?


texts: A word for a similar concept as a shibboleth

texts:
I'm trying to think of this word that is similar to a shibboleth but slightly different.

It's generally a question asked to someone to indicate something deeper.

For example, if you wanted to know if someone was telling the truth you could ask them a more general question. E.g. If you were at this location, then you should know what color the door is. It's not only used in interrogations but is used more widely.

Another example, if you wanted to know which political leanings someone had, you could has them a question on a specific issue which you could then infer more about without specifically asking.

There is definitely a specific term for this that is on the tip of my tongue and driving me crazy because I cannot remember it! Anyone know what I'm talking about?


texts: Is it common for English people to say "crap" instead of "crab"?

texts:
When you read "crab", do you think of "crap"?
Is it usual to pronounce wrongly?


texts: Why are Australian redheads often called 'bluey'?

texts:
From Wikipedia's article on Virgin Australia:

  Virgin Australia was launched as Virgin Blue in August 2000, with two Boeing 737–400 aircraft, one leased from then-sister airline Virgin Express. Initially offering seven return flights a day between Brisbane and Sydney, this has since been expanded to cover all major Australian cities and many holiday destinations. The Virgin Blue name was the result of an open competition; it was a play on the predominantly red livery and the Australian slang tradition of calling a red-headed male 'Blue' or 'Bluey'.

This is confirmed on other sites such as this one.

How did blue come to represent red in Australia?


texts: How to describe "punishing" some text by making it less visible?

texts:
For example, downvoted answers on StackExchange.

More-or-less normal variant seems to be "to gray out", but it's seems limited to gray colour (not to small font, pictures, strike-through or other methods of making the text visibly less important)...

Answers I like so far: (in short)

obscure
fade/bleach/blanch/gray out/strike though (i.e. the specific effect)
[be]dim
deemphasize
mute
demote


texts:
I read from an article about this confusing sentence.

since Chinese is both adj and noun,I suppose "I am a Chinese" is grammatically
correct just like "I am an American"?

Do native speakers prefer to use "I am Chinese"?


texts:
Shouldn’t grammatical subject ‘there’  always have a singular verb because a grammatical subject agrees to verb?
For example, ‘there is two pens in the desk’


texts: How can you determine whether a word with the pseudo- prefix should be hyphenated?

texts:
I am in a bit of a quandary over conflicting results in dictionary entries about the inclusion of a hyphen in some of the words containing the pseudo- prefix.

An example of one of these words is pseudoscience/pseudo-science.

The Oxford dictionary's entry omits the hyphen for the word (i.e. they spell it as 'pseudoscience').

Meanwhile, Cambridge's dictionary entry decides to place a hyphen between the prefix and 'science' (i.e. they spell it as 'pseudo-science').

Another example would be pseudo-intellectual/pseudointellectual. Oxford includes the hyphen; Dictionary.com does not.

I usually check more than one dictionary to see if a word with this prefix should be hyphenated or not. However, I am not sure which form to use in this case. Is there a way of determining which one?

Any help is much appreciated.


texts: how come "take off" means impersonating or imitating?

texts: I looked up Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, it says that one of meanings of "take off" is imitating or impersonating? I cant figure out how does it come, I mean, take what off when someone do the imitation?


texts: "Communicate over" vs. "communicate through"

texts:
Also schemas can communicate over database links to schemas in other remote databases.

Could one replace the preposition over with through?
Will it change the meaning, and if so, when should we use over instead of through?


texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

  I look forward to meeting you.

Here meeting is used after to.
We were taught in school to always use the present simple tense after to.


texts: How do native English speakers distinguish Hobo and Homeless person?

texts:
In dictionary,

Hobo:One who wanders from place to place without a permanent home or a means of livelihood.
Homeless person: one who has no home or haven.

I think hobo is a kind of very dirty person walking or living in the street or a corner of a station, while the homeless person simply has no home to live but they still wear good clothes, maybe not very cleaned but much cleaner than hobo.

I think the dictionary is missing something.

Can we use these 2 terms interchanged?


texts:
I have to write a title for an article.

Which will you choose beetwen these two options:

"Methods to do something"
"Methods for doing something"

Thanks.


texts: How do you categorize groups of people as subjects?

texts:
When compiling published content, one method of sorting or filtering is by audience. There, the term “audience” generally implies a curation of material for assumed identities of a readership (articles for students or for employees or for the community to read). It may appear like this:

  Audience <-- the term for people within readership categories  Students Employees Community

I’m looking instead for a similar word to “audience” that clearly indicates that the content is grouped by subject about those groups of people (articles about students or about employees or about the community), rather than for those groups of people:

  (Requested Word) <-- a term for groups of people as subject categories  Students Employees Community

Any thoughts? Thanks!


texts:
As regards "than" usage...

"This also applies when the second clause or phrase is elliptical: He's taller than I."

and

"But when "than" occurs with a pronoun in the objective case, it's a preposition: He's taller than me."

So both usages are correct??  That just doesn't sound right.


texts:
Today I was reading an article in The Register, and I noticed this unusual usage:

I've never seen a footnote called a bootnote before.

The OED doesn't list it, and using OneLook to search over a hundred dictionaries only results in 4 hits, 3 of which redirect, without comment, to footnote, and one which is a false positive¹. Etymonline likewise comes up dry.

Lest anyone jump the gun, this usage is intentional, not a typo, at least in the case of The Register, as Josh and Chris point out in the comments. And while both the BNC and COCA corpora find no hits, nor Google nGram Viewer, the GLoWBE comes back with a few, suggesting that the usage is probably does not predate the internet, but is seeing growth and adoption on it, at least among BrE speakersbn.

Morphologically, it makes sense: a boot, like a foot, comes at the bottom. But whence this usage?

Who uses it, and when is it used in preference for the more common footnote? Is it merely a Register thing? A broader BrE thing²?

What are its origins? Who used it first, and when? Do we know why? Simply a more colorful or cutesy synonym for footnote?  Originally a serendipitous, one-letter typographical error for footnote, which happened to make sense and stuck?

Are there any publications which use both footnote and bootnote? If so, what are the nuances between them? Is it something as silly as a bootnote goes "over" a footnote as a boot goes "over" a foot?

¹ To the Wordnik, which usually captures unusual words with more flavor, simply says "no entry" and notes the word has only been looked up ~200 times.

² There's an identical usage in the Geekzone, which has a .nz TLD, so presumably the writer speaks AusE, which hews relatively close to BrE. But there's no way of knowing if this particular non-Register usage was influenced by The Register, or indeed if it's an innocent typo. But it's evidence of use outside The Register either way.

BOOTNOTE: To be fair, I haven't actually dug into any of those citations to determine if they are all, in fact, from the Register itself.


texts: Why do we need an indefinite article in the sentence "The price is **an incredible 50,000 dollars**"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  ‘A[n] * [number] [plural]’ Construction

Why do we need an indefinite article in the sentence "The price is an incredible 50,000 dollars"? "An" is singular, "dollars" is plural.


texts:
Say, I am talking to a coworker before a meeting with a client. We decided to use a projector in the meeting room. I want to say that I will find a portable projector somewhere and make it available to use.  So, I say:

a) "I will arrange the projector." b) "I will arrange for the projector."

Which is more appropriate?

If what I meant was that I was going to have my secretary set it all up for us, should my choice of sentence change?

In the same scenario, the client asks us if he can borrow a laptop computer from us.  A dictionary says: to arrange something for someone – to make it possible for someone to use/have something. So, of the following two, is a) a natural reply to the request? Is b) cumbersome?

a) "I will arrange a laptop computer for you."  b) "I will arrange for a laptop computer for you"

Lastly, do the following mean the same?

a) "I am going to arrange a party.  b) "I am going to arrange for a party."


texts:
It doesn't matter what wagon you board; you will love the journey.

In  this sentence do I use what or should I say which?


texts:
if Melville writes

  when one of a race – by some deemed accursed of God – even a Stuart, was on the throne

what could possibly be meant by 'race'?


texts: Is a student studying towards  "a  student"?

texts:
For example, I assume a "M.Sc. student" would be a person who hasn't yet obtained a Masters degree?

I'm almost sure this is what it means, but not 100% sure, so I'd like to have it verified.

(I'm sorry if this should got to ELL.)


texts: Does the use of present perfect continuous with a time reference in the past imply an intention to finish, and if yes, how to avoid it?

texts:
I guess the question sounds a bit intimidating, but the real-life example I am referring to should be easy for a native speaker.

I am proofreading, or rather copy editing, a research paper intended for an international conference. Neither me nor my co worker who wrote it is a native English speaker. I managed to set lots of grammar straight, but there is a sentence I find extremely tricky.

She writes "The framework is developed since about eight years". As far as I can tell, the grammatically correct form of this sentence is "The framework has been in development for about eight years".

To me, this sounds as if we want the framework to be finished at some point, and it has taken so terribly long to develop and is not yet finished. We don't want to make such an impression, as this is an ongoing project which already has finalized, usable versions, but it is also still being developed because we are continuously improving it and expanding it.

Is my interpretation correct, or am I just confused by some similar structure in some other language? And if it is correct, how can I change the wording (without making it significantly longer) so it reads just as the mentioning of the starting point of a process expected to continue for an indeterminable length of time in the future?


texts:
My partner has changed her name in the past, for reasons not related to marriage, so I was wondering whether her maiden name would be considered her name at birth, or simply her pre-marital name?

For example:

Lady A born.
Lady A changes her name to Lady B.
Lady B gets married to Man C and changes her name to Lady C.

Which is considered the maiden name? Lady A or Lady B?


texts: A word to describe a dark, solemn, good person?

texts:
I'm trying to find a word that describes someone who has all at once the qualities solemn, aloof, and stoical -- a word that one would use when looking at a sort of dark and brooding but admirable hero character.  He/she doesn't necessarily exude these qualities all the time, but there are moments where the only way to describe them in one shot is with a word like this.

Unfortunately the most relevant example that comes to mind is Batman.  Something like the image I've included below.  Another character that comes to mind is Draco from Dragonheart (if you've seen it).

I don't really like asking thesaurus-like questions here, but I've been searching extensively and can feel the madness setting in (haha).

Update: Some of the words I've considered so far have been stoic/stoical, stern, austere.

Thanks for the tag modifcations.  I was unaware there was a specific tag for this type of question.


texts: "I know where you work at" vs. "I know where you work"

texts:
Which one is correct?

  I don't need to know where you work at.
  I don't need to know where you work.

Could you also please tell me about this rule is called in grammar so I can learn more about it?


texts:
This question comes directly from a line from the show Archer

You, through some shady deal with the Border Patrol, sent us to south Texas to capture an individual named Moreno - Mexico's most notorious coyote - Which is español for people-smuggler...And also for coyote, turns out...It's a loanword...Or is it a calque?

Daily Writing Tips gives a succinct explanation of loanwords and calques:

A loanword comes more or less “as is” from one language to another
A calque [kălk] is an expression borrowed by way of literal translation from one language into another

Outside discussions regarding this question seem to agree on coyote (the animal) being a loanword, but I'm wondering if/why it would be a calque for "people smuggler."
This same source (as above) says that coyote is a Spanish calque

It is a calque in Spanish having come from the Aztec word for trickster, cóyotl.

Does this have any bearing on whether it is a calque when passed into English?


texts:
Is "Daddy, me and the dog's favourite activity" correct?

Cos Because technically it's "Daddy, the dog and me's favourite activity", right?


texts: Is 'More stricter' gramatically correct?

texts:
The news company I work for just read out a script saying, "More stricter measures have been imposed across Asia..'

Surely it should just be, "Stricter measures have been imposed across Asia..'

Am I right in saying this isn't grammatically correct? If so, is there a name to describe it?


texts:
‘Ssh! ’ said Egbert quickly.
The other man laughed again.
'What a rabbit you are! It’s a pity, because she’s quite a pretty girl. It seems a pity to waste her, but I agree with him that she’s better out of the way. I’ll make up the fire now I’m here. Local colour! And I won’t stop in case Daniels takes it into his pompous head to wonder what I’m doing.’

I know what is local color, but in the above sentence, it seems to have a
different meaning or allusion.


texts: Is there a specific term for an upwards (downwards)-pointing triangle?

texts:
I see Unicode expresses the character symbols as simply '[BLACK] UP-POINTING TRIANGLE' etc, but are there any single-word or 'catchier' terms for these orientations of triangles?

▲ △ -- up-pointing (U+25b2 and U+25b3)
▼ ▽ -- down-pointing (U+25bc and U+25bd)

It is to be used inside a figure caption, and the symbols represent location markers on a map. I use up and down-pointing triangles for the simple reason that I can overlay them, and produce a third symbol (6-pointed star) very easily.

I suppose I could do the same with a square and a diamond, and wouldn't have to think up a new word!


texts: "couldn't help" vs. "couldn't help but": do they have same meaning here?

texts:
She could not help laughing.
  She could not help but laugh.

I read somewhere that can't help means "cannot stop"
and can't help but means "do only the activity, nothing else".


texts: What do you call someone who just assumes control?

texts: I am writing a paper on a dystopia and how the leader came to be. I need a term to describe how he wasn't elected into power but he just assumed the role of instigator and no one questioned him.


texts: "Your or someone else's" or "Yours or someone else's"?

texts:
Should I say

  Your or someone else's

Or

  Yours or someone else's

When I am referring to an item that may either belong to the person I am addressing, or someone else?

Example context:

  Check your/s or someone else's current balance.


texts: The revenge of the gifted amateur … be afraid, be very afraid …

texts:
What is the meaning of the word 'amateur' and how is the amateur compared with the professional in this article on computing.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1822283

  They are “punching above their weight” in their dealings with larger competitors who are less exposed to these new skills and more restricted in their structures.

I was trying to find something on the 'amateur tradition' but I did not find what I was looking for.  Although I did find an article in the Guardian that pointed out that many famous authors were 'part-timers'.

  The woes of publishing make it easy to forget that Fielding, TS Eliot and others were part-timers

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/02/jk-rowling-charles-dickens-ts-elliot-books-writing


texts: "Make something out of" or "Make something with"?

texts:
So there was a fill in quiz I had to do, and there was a question it says:

  Bill can make a doghouse _ paper. That's cool.

I filled in 'out of'.

  Bill can make a doghouse out of paper.

And my teacher said "No, it's not quite right, it's supposed to be

  Bill can make a doghouse with paper.

out of and with have slightly different meaning."

She provided no further explanation. That made me really confused about it.
Help?


texts:
Can someone diagram this sentence:

  I thought it was best to let you decide to whom this needs forwarded.

In addition, is the sentence grammatically correct?  If not, why?


texts: The Meaning of "Simply a child of her times"

texts:
This is the sentence that this phrase appears in.

Finally, there are writers for whom Ban Zhao is neither heroine nor villain, but simply a child of her times.

I thought this meant Ban Zhao was gullible and didn't understand the world around her. Hence, she is labeled as a "child"

Could someone please tell me what this phrase actually means?

Thank you very much.


texts: This was the first time I had ever cleaned the flat. Right tense?

texts:
I write in the past and I'm not sure whether it's:

This was the first time I had ever cleaned the flat.
This had been the first time I had ever cleaned the flat.

In the present it would be: This is the first time I have ever cleaned the flat.
I'm not sure how to express it when writing in the past


texts: Let’s say I am to remodel my kitchen and need a price estimate from a store. What are my options expressing this in writing, in a more formal way? Quote of tender, tender offer, bid?


texts: What is a British English equivalent to 'Fussbudget'?

texts: Lucy from Charles Schultz's Peanuts strip is often described as a 'fussbudget', for example here: 'Lucy: Fussbudget to Feminist'. What is a British English equivalent to 'fussbudget'?


texts:
From countless hours of poring over Lovecraft, his usage of semicolons has been found to be somewhat odd. At times, he'll place them where a comma would usually be seen; sort of like this. For example,

Dr. Muñoz I had never heard, save for certain sounds as of some gasoline-driven mechanism; since his step was soft and gentle.
Mrs. Herrero crossed herself when she looked at him, and gave him up unreservedly to me; not even letting her son Esteban continue to run errands for him.
After that I paid him frequent overcoated calls; listening while he told of secret researches and almost ghastly results, and trembling a bit when I examined the unconventional and astonishingly ancient volumes on his shelves.
The waves from that thing are waking a thousand sleeping senses in us; senses which we inherit from aeons of evolution from the state of detached electrons to the state of organic humanity.

The first three examples come from Cool Air. The final's from From Beyond.
Lovecraft was a weird man, so it's not surprising that he'd have a weird style. However, with that being said, is this usage "correct"? Could someone be flagged as wrong for emulating it? And if not, why isn't it seen more often?


texts:
Even if/though we couldn't manage without their help, I wouldn't ask them

The correct answer is "Even if" because (as I understand) only 'even if' can be used in conditional sentences.

  Even if we couldn't manage without their help, I wouldn't ask them.

We didn't ask them for help, and we wouldn't even if the situation was utterly hopeless which indeed it wasn't.

  Even though we couldn't manage without their help, I wouldn't ask them.

We didn't ask for help and we wouldn't do it, ever. They did help of their own accord (but we hate them anyway).

Am I right or wrong? If the second one is not grammatically correct, what is the correct way to convey the meaning of the second sentence?

Common mistakes at CAE (2017)
Page 43, Test 8 3.1


texts: What does “GOP's 'Pocahontas' problem'” mean?

texts:
I was drawn to the headline of an article written by Rebecca Sinderbrand appearing in Washington Post June 10 issue under the headline “Trump, and the GOP's 'Pocahontas' problem.” The text reads;

  Trump didn't launch any fresh controversy this week. But some favorite
  lines are making for uncomfortable moments on Capitol Hill. Like, say,
  this one: "It was a bad time for Sen. Cory Gardner to be caught in an
  elevator with a reporter. Donald Trump had just referred to Sen.
  Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as 'Pocahontas' — again — and the
  Republican freshman from Colorado was struggling to figure out how to
  respond. "'I think people need to be treated with respect, and that’s
  what we’ve demanded from everyone,' he offered.

Kenkyu-sha’s “Readers English Japanese Dictionary" at hand introduces 'Pocahontas' as:

(1595-1617) A daughter of American Indian, Powhatan. She is remembered as a legendary woman who saved the life of John Smith, a leader of the colony of James-town. She married John Rolfe who contributed to the development and improvement of tobacco cultivation. She is admired as the great contributor to the construction and development of the British colony.

I don’t understand why the reference to such a legendary and reputable personality who contributed to the development of agriculture in the early period of American history  causes a “Problem.”

What implications do “Pocahontas problem” have in association with the context of the Presidential race.

Note:

Please have in mind that I have no intent to discuss political correctness / un-correctness of this specific phrase. I simply would like to know what 'Pocahontas' rhetorically or figuratively means, not politically.


texts:
My editor replaced the commas with semicolons in my sentence below. If a list has internal punctuation, the semicolon is preferred to break up the elements, but is it necessary if the punctuation is only in the final section of the list, separated by a conjunction as I did? Using semicolons throughout seems odd because there is a clause with commas several words later.

Mr. Jones prepared a feast which included broccoli soup, stuffed
mushrooms, grilled asparagus, prosciutto and melon, seared duck
breast, bacon-wrapped scallops, Cornish game hens, pork belly, rabbit
stew, and a cake topped with fondant, candies, edible flowers,
walnuts, almonds, and berries.

Is it correct to use commas throughout, or should those that appear prior to the word "and" be semicolons?


texts: Are nonrestrictive elements considered part of the subject or part of the predicate?

texts:
Wolves, hunted to extinction in Wyoming and Montana in the twentieth century, occupy a vital place in the natural cycle of the area.

In the above sentence, is the nonrestrictive element hunted to extinction in Wyoming and Montana in the twentieth century part of the subject, because it expands on the simple subject wolves, or part of the predicate, because it contains the verb hunted that uses wolves as the subject?


texts:
I've been finding myself quite confused about a particular situation. So I know that people say a key to (physical place), such as ''do you have the key to the shed'' etc. However, I'm not sure what to say where there's no key involved but a codelock. Should I say: ''do you have the code to the lab'' or ''do you have the code for the lab''?

I'd think the former makes more sense as the code is what allows you to get through the door, into the lab. But I might be wrong, hence me asking on here.

Thank you for your help


texts: Is there a name for a window without glass?

texts:
I am speaking of a barn or log cabin which has a window opening but no glass. Neither "window" nor "opening" seem quite right.

  A fire blocked the cabin's only door. Fortunately, I squeezed through the _______ and escaped to safety.


texts: How can infinitives, participles, gerunds.. act?

texts:
I've seen infinitives function in a few different ways.

But in which ways can they function? I've seen infinitives function as direct objects, subjects, and a couple other ways, but how else can they act?

Some example sentences that I'm not sure how they're functioning:

"I don't know where to go"
"The books to return are right here"
"Emergency Room physicians struggle to prevent their own depression and burnout."

P.S I've heard infinitives for example act like complements and also modifiers, but what does this mean? (an example sentence would help)

And as a separate question:
I was confused in these sentences how the subordinate clauses are functioning, although they aren't infinitivial

They have tons of speed and talent around him that can help him make big plays.

It’s so heavy that you can’t pick it up


texts: A term that would define someone who'd prefer to inflict the most pain on someone they sought revenge on rather killing quickly

texts:
This might contain spoilers on Infinity War. At the end, when Thanos completed the Gauntlet with all the stones, rather than killing him quickly with his axe, Thor decided to first make sure Thanos feels pain for all the thing he's done. What would you call Thor in this scenario?

It doesn't need to specifically cater to the description I gave, it could be something that would generally describe him, such as "Malevolent".


texts: Should I use "what for" or "for what" in the following sentence?

texts:
Speaker A: Time to wake up.

  Speaker B: What for/For what?

  Speaker A: To go shopping.

Should it be what for or for what? And why?


texts: Is this correct use of nor? (with "may not be able to")

texts:
Is the use of "nor" here correct? "The XXX acknowledges that XXX may not be able to withhold a record (e.g., data, document, etc.) nor deny access to a record requested pursuant to the Act..."
I think I'm getting tripped up by the "may not" part. I'm leaning more towards replacing nor with or.


texts: Single word for both rate of 'production' and 'consumption'

texts:
I'm modelling a system and certain components can both consume and produce resources at a certain rate. Is there a common word that entails rate of consumption and/or production.

The closest word I can think of is throughput or yield but I'm not too sure that's correct.


texts: only "from" as abbreviation to indicate the origin

texts:
After reading some publications that used "from" quite squishy, I would like to know:
Is it generally possible to use "from" instead of "produced using", "produced by" or as a short version of "derived/obtained from", especially when the number of words is limited (for example in titles or legends)?

For example:

Drugs produced by Company X = Drugs from Company X
Drugs obtained from Company Y = Drugs from Y
Drugs produced using enzymes  = Drugs from enzymes
Drugs derived from herbs = Drugs from herbs

All of them somehow seem legit to me if the context is known. But is it in principle ok to abbreviate in this way?


texts:
I came across this paragraph on Goodreads:

  For this roundup, we focused on fiction titles where books play a major role in the plot. From there, we surfaced the most popular titles with at least 100,000 ratings on Goodreads. So fan favorites with a lower number of overall ratings like The Eyre Affair, The Library at Mount Char, and The Book of Lost Things are under the cut.

(my emphasis).

I'm assuming 'under the cut' is an idiom, but what does it really mean? I tried to figure out the meaning from the context, but to no avail. Can anyone help me with this, and tell me the proper usage of the phrase? Is it just Internet jargon?


texts: What is the word or words for when a person gets himself falsely exonerated for a crime?

texts:
Suppose a person has been convicted of murder. He did it. He bribes witnesses and manufactures evidence to clear himself while in jail. How do you say this in one word or phrase? It's as simple as:

  He ____.

The thesaurus entries for 'exonerate' (like 'absolve' or 'exculpate') all seem to lean towards innocence. An answer doesn't have to be formal or informal; anything where you don't have to explicitly specify 'false' and 'not found guilty'.


texts: Is there a "quarter" equivalent for something divided in 9 pieces?

texts:
Something is divided in four pieces. One piece is called a fourth or a quarter.

Something is divided in nine pieces. One is piece is called a ninth or a... What is the 'quarter' equivalent for something divided by nine?


texts: Is it offensive when using the word 'animals' (in this context)?

texts:
I have read this question on Travel.SE, and I am kinda confused about the use of the word animals in that question:

These are entirely different classes of travel. Portugal+Spain is an easy trip within the usual Western world, close to home and without any significant apparent dangers other than the usual pickpockets and the expensive Euro zone. You can easily get home if needed (regular flights from Madrid and Barcelona directly to TLV, connections through all around Europe from everywhere else).
Russia, Cuba and China are different kinds of animals.
Russia is an unstable place, other than in......etc

Was it meant to be offensive or not? if not what did he mean?


texts: A conjunction that implies "associated with" or "belonging to"?

texts:
I used "of which" to connect two sentences as follows:

  I study master of architecture in Aalto University of which all my courses except the master thesis have been completed.

The sequence of information is important, since I am introducing myself. But I am not sure if I should use "in which", "of which", or another approach to connect these sentences.


texts:
I have 10 dollars on me.
I currently have 10 dollars.

Does the first sentence imply that I have 10 dollars in my pocket right now or I always have 10 dollars in my pocket?  I understand the second one is used for describing recent situations . But I do not understand how to use the first one.


texts: When did "whole entire" enter into English language usage?

texts:
As a replacement for whole, entire, complete etc. Why the redundance?
I first heard it in the 1970's.


texts:
If you think of depression as biochemical, you may use it as an excuse not to act the way you should. On the other hand, if you think of it as psychological, you may blame yourself for what is outside your control. But, on the one hand again, the perceived inevitability can make you even more depressed.

I'd like an alternative to what I wrote in bold that

doesn't have the redundant "but", and
still clearly alerts the reader to the move to the first hand.


texts: Who came up with "mascara lights" on cars?

texts:
Mascara lights are LED daytime running lights or lamps, typically in a wavy or curved pattern:

This photo shows DRLs on an Audi A4-B8:

When and where did this term originate? Is it an Audi coinage?


texts: What is the word(s) used to describe when someone disappear in front of you?

texts:
I've seen such word once, and i can't remember it. This word is used to describe when someone disappear in front of another one.

It is kinda like "fade". It can also be a phrasal verb, for i'm not quite sure if it is a single word.

Can you help me? Give me some suggestions, please! Thanks in advance.


texts: Which is the correct verb form with Who?

texts:
Sentence :

  She is one of those gifted writers who (turns, turn) out one best
  seller after another.

My answer is: turns.
As we are talking about she, singular third person.

But the correct answer says: turn.


texts:
What will be the passive voice of the following sentence?

  "They have made a film based on this novel."


texts: Reported / indirect speech - why no backshift

texts:
I've come across the following example sentences and I wonder why only one part of the sentence requires backshift when put into reported speech. I am familiar with the general rules as well as exceptions (still true, future ...) but I still can't come up with an explanation:

The pilot’s words were: ‘The weather was extremely bad as the plane came in to land.’

Reported speech: The pilot commented that the weather had been extremely bad as the plane came in to land.

was extremely bad -> had been extremely bad // plane came in -> plane came in

To me, both the weather and the action of the plane coming in to land are in the past.
Why don't we backshift the second part:
The pilot commented that the weather had been extremely bad as the plane had come in to land.

Or, what about this one:

Barbara said, “I didn’t realise it was midnight.”

Barbara said she hadn’t realised it was midnight.

Is it okay to say: Barbara said she hadn't realised that it had been midnight.

Thank you!


texts: Idiom for "wanting a long-term relationship"?

texts:
Example:

  Because he just wanted a one-night-stand, he told the girl he had a
  girlfriend, to make sure the girl [...]

Meaning that the guy told the girl he had a girlfriend so that the girl understood that he just wanted to play. So that she wouldn't expect a long-term relationship.

Is there an idiom for that?


texts: Mr. and Mrs. Homer Simpson - Using husband's first/last name for wife?

texts:
I originally heard this in an old episode of the Simpsons, where Apu refers to Marge as "Mrs. Homer Simpson". I've also noticed something similar in the movie "The Wedding Singer" where the titular character refers to a newly-wed couple as "Mr. and Mrs. Harold Fonda", and a few other times on TV shows at weddings.

Why would one refer to a lady as "Mrs. ${HUSBAND_FIRST_NAME} ${FAMILY_LAST_NAME}" like this? Wouldn't it make sense to just say "Mrs. ${FAMILY_LAST_NAME}", since that's the name the lady has taken (assuming she takes her husband's last name). Why the use of the husband's first name in addressing her, when it's not a name she has elected to "take"? Is this common in UK English as opposed to US English, or is it some sort of cultural norm?


texts: What is a word for the relationship between "waning" and "non-waning"?

texts:
In a recent question, an antonym for waning was requested.  Waxing was naturally suggested, but the OP declined the word because he was actually looking for a word meaning non-waning, and thought that "antonym" was the word to describe his request.

The difference is: waxing means getting stronger/more intense and non-waning, if it were a word, would mean unchanging (not getting either stronger or weaker).

What is the difference between the words actually called, if not antonymous?


texts: And why there's a superscript ə? just found this on the dictionary.cambridge.org ...


texts:
If you are the "extra" person in a situation, are you the "third wheel" or the "fifth wheel"?
Some books—like Film Noir Guide—say "third":

O'Keefe plays an escaped convict on the run with his moll (Trevor). Along the way they grab a hostage (Hunt) who works for O'Keefe's lawyer. O'Keefe and Hunt eventually fall for each other, leaving the jealous Trevor feeling like a third wheel. Burr is the hood O'Keefe took the rap for, and Ireland is Burr's vicious henchman. The cast in this hard-boiled and fast-paced noir is excellent, especially Trevor as the lovesick tag-a-long.

but others—like A Wife in Musashino—say "five":

Tomiko was especially kind to her daughter this evening. She held Yukiko's hand, stroked her hair, and explained various things about the children's story Tsutomu was narrating. She enjoyed demonstrating in front of her rival an affection she held in common with Tsutomu.
Tomiko's arrow struck home. Michiko felt like a fifth wheel sitting next to her. Her wariness regarding Tomiko's flirtations, which she had first experienced when she wasn't sure of her feelings for Tsutomu, came back to her.


texts: Does “then before, now once more” mean anything?

texts:
Does the phrase then before, now once more have any meaning in English? Or does it exist just because it rhymes so nicely? Or does it exist at all?

Likewise, what about that time then, once again?


texts: Another (perhaps humorous) term for "The Gold Standard"

texts:
Gold Standard as in:

  an example against which others of the same type are compared
  - http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gold%20standard

Any other humorous ways to refer to this?

Something like "the holy mother"...


texts: A word that means the opposite of digitization?

texts:
Digitization refers to taking a physical object and turning it into data that can be processed by a computer.

I have been trying to find a word that refers to the opposite process of taking data (a 3D model or a design) and converting it to a physical model or representation. But just the process of converting the data to instruction for a printer and not the actual manufacturing of the object.

Specifically, I am trying to talk about the process that takes the digital design and creates instructions a printer would use to produce the physical model. Not the actual printing of the model.

3D printing has the word "slicing" that referees to this process, but is specific to processes where the model is manufactured layer by layer.


texts: Is there a specific verb that carries the same effect of the VB “will lead us back to the origin?”

texts:
While the Victorian age witnessed great oppression against women, it was, at the same time, or perhaps as a result, the inception of Feminism as we know it today. Tracing the gradual synthesis and evolution of Feminism in today's modern Europe will always lead us back to the nucleus i.e. the Victorian Age. Therefore, in a way, Feminism might be said to be the export of the Age of Victoria, ironically an era marked with a slew of limitations set upon women.

What I am looking for is not an antonym for ‘evolve;’ rather, a verb or a verb  phrase which concisely encapsulates the act of looking at the evolution of given activism (or anything) retrospectively and historically taking into consideration all its consequential, progressive episodes which its inception had set in motion, as opposed to the ‘mere inception.’ Thank you in advance.


texts:
I'm looking for a verb which refers to the sound that people make when they are excited. The typical "wooh."

At first I thought it was called wooing/wooed. But then I checked the Free Dictionary:

  woo  (w) v. wooed, woo·ing, woos v.tr.
  1. To seek the affection of with intent to romance.
  2. a. To seek to achieve; try to gain. b. To tempt or invite.
  3. To entreat, solicit, or importune. v.intr. To court a woman

And realized it was not.

What's the correct word?


texts: What is the difference between 'tell' and 'say'

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Nothing to tell” versus “nothing to say”

Both words seem to be used interchangeably. I generally don't differentiate between them and intuitively pick one over the other. Is there a standardized way to distinguish between the two?


texts: What's the difference between "woulda" and "would've"?

texts:
One of my students asked me today what the difference is between "woulda" and "would've" in spoken English.

I think it has to do with the sound that follows, right? If the sound in the next word is a vowel, we use "woulda," but if it's a consonant, we use "would've." Is this correct, or vice versa?

I feel like they can be interchangeable too, so I'm not sure.


texts: What's meaning of "hauled off" in a particular phrase

texts:
I'd appreciate help of native speakers. There's line in a poem:

  Water and Gold

  by Michael Burch

  You came to me as rain breaks on the desert
  when every flower springs to life at once,
  but joy is an illusion to the expert:
  the Bedouin has learned how not to want.

  You came to me as riches to a miser
  when all is gold, or so his heart believes,
  until he dies much thinner and much wiser,
  his gleaming bones hauled off by chortling thieves.

  You gave your heart too soon, too dear, too vastly;
  I could not take it in; it was too much.
  I pledged to meet your price, but promised rashly.
  I died of thirst, of your bright Midas touch.

  I dreamed you gave me water of your lips,
  then sealed my tomb with golden hieroglyphs.

  Originally published by The Lyric

My understanding (and common sense, I believe) is that poor fellow's tomb was literally stripped to the bone of anything valuable, and only bones were left. My opponent says, no, it's bones that the thieves, being merry people, no doubt, took with themselves. Who's right? All dictionaries, including those that provide examples from literature and media, seem to prove I'm wrong, that something being hauled off means it was dragged, carried, etc. away.


texts: What's the difference between "teacher" and "professor"?


texts: Can a word that sounds the same as the way it is spelt be an initialism and an acronym?

texts:
Initialisms are pronounced as words and acronyms are spelt letters.  However, some words sound the same, said and spelt.

e.g. Input Output can be abbreviated as IO. It can be spelt I-O or pronounced Io as in the moon/god. There is no way to tell the difference in how it is said or written.

Is a word which is pronounced the way it is spelt, an initialism, an acronym or both?


texts: Grammatical name and function of "the end of the day"

texts:
What's the grammatical name of the end of the day here, and what is its grammatical function?

The sentence is this:

  There was always a huge quantity of food left over at the end of the day.


texts: “Practise the piano” vs. “practise medicine”

texts:
Someone who practises medicine is a professional.
Someone who practises the piano is still learning.

How have these two apparently opposite senses of the word practise arisen?


texts:
It’s easy to cut a rectangle into halves.
  This will cut both rectangles in half.

What is the difference between halves and half?

There are two answers, and it’s best to get both. "It’s easy to cut a rectangle into halves." All you have to do is make sure that the cut passes through the precise center of the rectangle. The cut can be at any angle. Here we have two rectangles, a positive one (the cake) and a negative one (the missing piece).
Decide where the centers of the two rectangles are. These two points make a line. Make a cut along that line, and the cake will be split evenly. "This will cut both rectangles in half", so each piece will equal half of the cake plus half of the missing piece. In other words, both of the resulting pieces have the same area.


texts:
Is it possible to say that a person is 'participating'?

E.g.: John is a participating student.

Instead of:

John is a participative student.


texts:
My own understanding of the term camp followers was that it was synonymous with prostitutes who followed armies around plying their trade. However, according to Wikipedia:

  Camp-follower is a term used to identify civilians and their children who follow armies. There are two common types of camp followers; first, the wives and children of soldiers, who follow their spouse or parent's army from place to place; the second type of camp followers have historically been informal army service providers, servicing soldiers needs whilst encamped, in particular selling goods or services that the military does not supply, these have included cooking, laundering, liquor, nursing, sexual services and sutlery.

ODO's BrE and AmE entries are both identical and similar to the above:

  a civilian who works in or is attached to a military camp.

Webster, on the other hand, appears to concur with me:

  a civilian (as a prostitute) who follows a military unit to attend or exploit military personnel

Wiktionary offers a fence-sitting definition albeit one leaning towards my side a wee bit:

  A civilian who works for a military organization, often a prostitute.

None of the dictionary entries explicitly include the families of soldiers in their definitions.

So, are camp followers all the civilians employed in the service industry who follow armies around? Or has the term dwindled to only imply those who provide sexual services? I'd also appreciate any information on the evolution of the term, if applicable.


texts:
In Portuguese, we use "software pesado", which translates to "heavy software", but it doesn't sound right.
How can I say: "this software has a large size"? When its size is over many gigabytes for example.
Is there an adjective for this in English? What are some common ways of describing software size?


texts: What is the exact difference between the two? When and how to use them on specific occasions?


texts: Term for words indicating capability other than "adjective"

texts: The words edible and manageable are adjectives, but is there a more specific term for such words indicating capability?


texts:
In this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JALiA9y-L90&feature=youtu.be&t=585, it seems that he said "nice thanks chat". In this context, the word "chat" means "audience"? Did he thanked for the audience? Maybe I heared wrong.
I found some examples of "thanks for the chat"(https://ludwig.guru/s/thanks+for+the+chat), but I want to clarify it.


texts: Idiom for re-raising an old ugly affair better left alone

texts: I can't think of an idiom for dredging out, revisiting or raising mention of and old ugly affair that is better left alone.


texts: Should "riffraff", when used as a subject, be treated as a singular or a plural noun?

texts:
riffraff (noun) people who are not respectable : people who have very low social status.

Merriam-Webster doesn't say anything about number. The Free Dictionary says it can sometimes function as a plural noun but doesn't explain when or how.  Google books doesn't help much, there are several examples of it both as a singular and a plural noun.

In every period of transition this riffraff, which exists in every society, rises to the surface.
This riffraff are waiting for the cheap seats.

Looking at these two sentences, I can't find any structural difference that might lead one to use a singular or a plural verb.  If one is writing a paper on social science and they want to use the word "riffraff", does it matter which verbal number is used?


texts:
In the song Great is Thy faithfulness there is a line that reads

  Join with all nature in manifold witness

What does that mean? What is manifold witness?


texts: What is the difference between "point of view" and "perspective"?

texts:
Until lately, my thought has been that point of view and perspective are the same. but doing grammar practice on the subjects, I find:

point of view requires such explicit indications as "I, she, he, and so on"
But
perspective only requires the view of someone being indicated in an article.

So for example:

If a question asks if the passage is narrated from the point of view of Henry Mulcahy, it can only be true if the word "I" is in the passage.
On the other hand, if the question were to ask if the passage is an introduction of one character(A) through the perspective of another character(B). You only have to see if  passage presents (B) as (A) sees him, and if the narrator provides no independent or neutral information about (B).
There is no need to look for any pronoun in order to determine the perspective.


texts: I am not native English speaker. May I ask you a question. I want to make an appointment with my friend at one particular end of a street. In my language we use two words to differentiate the two ends of a street, translated into English as "the head of the street" and the "tail of the street". What words do you use? Thank you.


texts: Is it correct to use "...and as a result,..." to link two independent clauses? Is the comma after "result" necessary?

texts:
I ran into this sentence:

  I grew up in a home with two different cultures and as a result, I got to experience firsthand how misunderstandings evolve due to not understanding each other's culture.

These are two independent clauses while the second has an introductory clause.
Is that actually possible and do you have to use the comma after "result" then??


texts: Is it possible to name User's address data and passport details in one-word? I have come up to User Details, but I don't really like it


texts: "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise..."

texts:
There is an often quoted poem by a famous Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō which is translated to English in either of two ways:

  Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought.

or

  Do not follow in the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought.

However word-by-word literal translation from Japanese is:

  Do not seek the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought.

Question: I wonder how much "to seek to follow in the footsteps" changes the meaning from simple "to follow in the footsteps", in what way and even if the phrase "seek to follow" is linguistically correct?

The majority of results when googling the phrase "to seek to follow in the footsteps" points to this poem and that makes me a little bit suspicious that a compromise has been made between adhering to the Japanese wording and having to create a comprehensible sentence in English.