texts:
Kang Jung-jo of the Pittsburgh Pirates singles in a run off Miami
  Marlins pitcher Jose Urena during the first inning of their game
  Tuesday in Pittsburgh. Kang, who started at third base and hit fifth
  in the batting order, went 2-for-3 in the Pirates’ 5-1 victory. The
  former Nexen Heroes player is hitting .316. in his first year in Major
  League Baseball. [AP/NEWSIS]

I'm having trouble understanding the phrase singles in a run off.

The word single has two meanings relevant to baseball:

to cause the advance of (a base runner) by a one-base hit.
to cause (a run) to be scored by a one-base hit (often followed by in or home).

I guess #1 is correct in the referenced article.

I'm not sure how single and in a run are related.

Additionally, does off mean against?


texts: Is this "imperative" corrrect? What is dropping the subject called, if anything?

texts:
I was reading through this Git Commit Message Conventions document for a project and discovered what I think to be an improper recommendation to use imperative mood.
First, if you're not familiar with Git, here is a little background. Git is source code management software. When you make a change to your code you "commit" the code to the repository. When you "commit" you need to include a message explaining what the "commit" does or changed.
The document, based on this blog post, says to use imperative, but the example does not seem to be imperative. Instead it just seems like a fragment. In fact the blog post says that the message should describe what will happen if the commit (the set of changes) is applied.
It seems weird for it to be imperative:

[You,] rename the iVars to remove the common prefix.
[Let it] rename the iVars to remove the common prefix.

When this really what it should mean:

[This commit will] rename the iVars to remove the common prefix.
[Applying this commit will] rename the iVars to remove the common prefix.

I have two questions:

Am I correct that imperative is the wrong grammatical construct?

Is there a grammatical name for dropping the subject, as in the latter example?


texts:
in the following sentence:

  ..such poor educational system produces scientifically sterile generations able just to regurgitate

what i ment be "scientifically sterile generations" is, a generation which has nothing to contribute to the science.

is the sentence correct? if no, please let me know how to rephrase it right with maintaing the same meaning


texts: Existential sentence...in the passive voice?

texts:
Now, a friend over the internet wanted me to explain the passive voice to him. He began by providing his story's "readability statistics" of Microsoft Word, which said that 7% of his sentences were passive. Luckily, this story was at my disposal, so I investigated whether the statistic was correct or not. Then I came to this sentence:

  There was something placed on the table...

First off, existential sentences are "newish" to me, but I believe that to be one. I also believe it's passive, but I'm unsure. I made several google searches, with only one outside of google books (the book was probably too advanced for me) talking about it. Now the reason that I think that is passive is the same reason why the person made that post (but in reverse). When turned into a nonexistential sentence it is passive (EDIT: I've been notified that the nonexistential sentence doesn't correspond to was placed but rather had been placed):

  Something had been placed on the table [by X]...

Although, another reading could be that it isn't passive. Placed on the table may be seen as a (past) participial phrase modifying something. This interpretation seems untenable to me.

So am I right to think that this is a passive existential sentence?


texts:
My kid told me recently, she "likes to do science" at school. Though happy about her interests developing into the right direction, I was irked by the phrase itself. I don't think, science can be done, but her teacher, apparently, uses the expression regularly.

This was not the first time I saw and heard it. There were, for example, excited reports about Hubble telescope "doing amazing science".

Similarly irksome to me was the moment in "Martian", in which the protagonist says at some point, that he shall "science the shit out it" – as if "science" were a verb. (The movie contains multiple other annoying moments, but those are all off-topic here.)

It seems wrong even for a colloquialism... Am I right, or is this all perfectly normal English?

Thanks, everyone, for the helpful answers, insightful comments, and commendations. I'll use the asker's privilege to reply here instead of individually.

The little educatee was referring to her love of doing scientific experiments at school (melting chocolate in your palm can, apparently, be quite fascinating in the 1st grade).
After some contemplation, I'll try to explain my dislike with something better than "sounds wrong":

The only times I've encountered the expression, it was used by
slines – people undereducated for some reason or another. Never by an actual scientist, nor anyone, whose command of English I would
accept as authoritative. Also, I've never seen it in an actual English-language book – only online or spoken.
Since my first reason is a barely-veiled appeal to authority, here is another one: Science is not something that can ever be completed. So it seems wrong to refer to the practicing of (or participating in or partaking of) it as doing – because it can never be done. An earlier movie-heroine once did an entire city, but, because it was, at least in theory, possible to eventually accomplish the challenge, that was an acceptable use of the verb.

@peter-shor, for the second of the above reasons, the expression is meaningless, in my opinion.
@edwin-ashworth, the dictionary may be right in the 13th and 14th usage cited. But what about my first reason – why haven't I encountered the expression in a decent book or speech?
@joetaxpayer, yeah, me got wot she ment, know what'cham saying? I'd like her speech to be proper (grammatically correct) – not merely understandable. She can always slide into vernacular after growing up.
And, yes, "doing Math" seems just as irksome – for the same reasons   listed above. Unless it is short for something like "doing Math homework", which in this case it was not.


texts:
"He had them listen attentively."
"He had them listening attentively."

Why grammatically speaking is the second one right?

Also, then, why is "I had my brother wash the car" correct but not "I had my brother washing the car." (unless we add more to it)


texts: What does "get" really mean in "I get you want to help"?

texts:
I get you want to help.

Does get in this context mean "know"? Or "understand"?


texts: Confused by "presently came in for" in a sentence

texts:
I was reading Security Analysis and I was confused by the following sentence:

what was left of them presently came in for rough handling of the first Roosevelt administration

I know that the meaning of the sentence is "the only thing left for them is the first Roosevelt administration", but what does the phrase "presently came in for" mean in the sentence?


texts: Could you help me please: is it correct to say 'your dream job is closer than you think'

texts: I live in Holland. On my LinkedIn account a Dutch ad from LinkedIn keeps popping up saying 'your dream job is closer than you think'. Is this correct or should it be 'your dream job is nearer than you think'? Thank you in advance!


texts: What is used the most while telling time in AmE?

texts:
In tellling-time constructions like the following:

It's half past ten.
It's a quarter to two.

What is commmonly used in AmE before past and to?
My guess is that only half, a quarter and numbers 0 through 29 [possibly followed by minute(s)] are used.
How far off from the actual American usage am I?


texts: "Victoria Tube line part shut hit by wet concrete flood" . Is this correct English?

texts:
Victoria Tube line part shut hit by wet concrete flood is the headline from a BBC headline @ http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-25862543.

Which goes on to say:

  Part of the Victoria London Underground line has been suspended after wet concrete flooded a control room.

Am I correct in thinking that it should be partly shut instead because we need an adverb to modify shut?

It's not as if some discrete part/component of the Tube was shut down.

If it makes a difference, my question is more really in the context of American English, to which I'm exposed, rather than the BBC's UK English.


texts: Mischievous pronounced [mis-CHEEV-ee-us] (mischievious)

texts:
I've heard some people pronounce "mischievous" as "mischievious" [mis-CHEEV-ee-us] with an I between the V and the O. The word has three syllables: [MIS-chiv-us]. Why do some people pronounce this word with the four-syllable pronunciation given above? I say it how it's given.

For example, Merriam-Webster lists the mentioned four-syllable pronunciation as nonstandard, meaning it's technically incorrect, but the dictionary added it because of its popular usage.


texts: Unable to enjoy the moment because I know it's going to end

texts:
Is there a word for the feeling when you are unable to enjoy a moment because you are aware that it will end soon?

I am preferably looking for an adjective.

Scenario - my buddy has a huge crush on a woman and he claims to be in love with her. They have good rapport and share quite a bit of time together daily. (Unfortunately,) She will move on (both metaphorically and geographically) very soon.

We were not able to find the appropriate term to describe this state of mind / feeling.


texts:
Had a quick question about how I should cite with multiple paragraphs (MLA).

Here is how the text appears in the source (The Great Gatsby):

     'An Oxford man!' He was incredulous. 'Like hell he is! He
wears a pink suit.'

     'Nevertheless he's an Oxford man.'

     'Oxford, New Mexico,' snorted Tom contemptuously, 'or
something like that'.

Would I cite it like this:

... with the following exchange: "'An Oxford man!' He was incredulous. 'Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit'. 'Nevertheless he's an Oxford man'. 'Oxford, New Mexico,' snorted Tom contemptuously, 'or something like that'."

Or would I use a block quotation like this:

... with the following exchange:

     'An Oxford man!' He was incredulous. 'Like hell he is! He
wears a pink suit.'

     'Nevertheless he's an Oxford man.'

     'Oxford, New Mexico,' snorted Tom contemptuously, 'or
something like that'.

Thanks for the help!


texts: Can "should be" be used for past possibility?

texts:
I was reading the following report on the NY Times, and came across the following:

  The goal has to be to shut down all of the program that gives Iran the capability to build a bomb. The United Nations Security Council ordered that all enrichment should be ended six years ago, but the major powers were right to start the talks with a more short-term goal: to stop the most dangerous kind of enrichment.

Since the part in bold refers to a past wish and should possibly use the should have construction, how could this be justified instead? And how is it different from the should have one?


texts: A word or phrase roughly meaning "you are the cause of the problem you try to cure"

texts:
I've heard it used in a religious contexts along the lines of

  They invent the problem which they claim to solve.

I know it's also common in marketing, where if I try to sell you a pen, I ask you to sign your name, then offer to sell you the pen.

It's like creating the problem, so that you can then offer your solution.


texts: Word to call a person that works in the registration counter

texts: I'm looking for the word to call a person that works in the registration counter for an audition. Their job scopes are to confirm the auditees' attendance, double check if they need special requirements from the organiser for the audition. Can anyone help me with this please?


texts: "Could not have been" vs. "must not have been"

texts:
What's the difference between "could not have been" and "must not have been"?

For example,

  That could not have been an easy task.
  That must not have been an easy task.

I've seen both used. What's the difference?


texts: I just want to know whether this sentence is correct: "method A introduces a lot of variety in the structure of X"


texts:
What is the meaning of "stray copy" here?

  At about six I tuned to Graeco Roman mythology, lead gradually by Hawthorne's "Wonder Book" and "Tanglewood Tales", and by a stray copy of "The Odyssey" legend in Harper's Half-Hour Series.


texts: Is "UTF-8-encoded" an overuse of hypens? Does "UTF-8 encoded" require a hyphen?

texts:
After reading usage of the phrase "UTF-8 encoded" ("UTF-8-encoded) at, for example, stackoverflow.com, in  Howto identify UTF-8 encoded strings, and in an excerpt

  ...every character can be UTF-8 encoded.

from this answer, I began to question whether writing "UTF-8-encoded" is an overuse of hyphens, but a quick read over

Confusion over the general rules governing the use of the hyphen in English

When should compound words be written as one word, with hyphens, or with spaces?

indicates to me that "UTF-8-encoded" is correct usage of hyphens.

Is "UTF-8 encoded", though, correct and not require an additional hyphen? If it it is correct, why isn't the hyphen necessary?


texts: I know that "modulo" is a preposition. However, I'd like to say something equivalent to, "We use each multiple of ten to modulo that digit of the number." In other words, I'd like to say "to take the remainder of by using the modulo operator" in a way that's grammatically correct but more terse, if possible.


texts: I have this sentence: 'They were no longer afraid of losing the respect of their colleagues.' Do I need an apostrophe after 'colleagues' or not?

texts: I'm not sure if you can possess respect. I think if I had worded it differently, such as 'They were no longer afraid of losing their colleagues' respect' I wouldn't have a problem with the apostrophe, but it just doesn't look right to have an apostrophe indicating possession at the end of a sentence. Thanks!


texts:
If X is inside something, what is that something's relationship to X?

  The dog is inside the house.
  → The house is _ _ _ _ the dog.

I was thinking of around, but it really sounds ugly, and it hardly works when inside isn't a cavern of some sort ("I'm in the park, the park is around me").


texts:
I read a line in my textbook that goes:

  Negative effects may arise due to a 'betrayal' of expectations when people involved fail to understand the situational context.

Can the word 'betrayal' and 'expectations' be used together? Does it seem awkward when viewed by a native speaker?


texts: Difference between "I can do that" and "that works for me"

texts: Is there a difference between these two? Which one sounds more polite? Thank you.


texts: What do you call people who are obsessed with time?

texts: When you never know what time it is, and your family thinks it's polite to show up early.


texts: I'm interested in so called "tap" in american English. I've read a tap occurs in a word "twenty". I've heard this word in the internet and I've noticed a t is not pronounced or is pronounced simply as a t. Can you explain me? Besides, does a tap occur in words: "ended", "regarded", "internet", "interview" and why?


texts: How can I use a proper punctuation in this long sentence?

texts:
I'm going to work as a transcriber. So, I would like to know what punctuation should I use after or before the bold words.

  Certainly, Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association is built
  around the foundation of first of all, education. So, we need to have
  an educated workforce that is ready to work in manufacturing, and
  really understands that manufacturing is no longer a smokestack, but
  it's a pretty clean job that requires some highly technical skills to
  be successful. And then, the second part of it is partnering with the
  Horizon Council and the Industrial Development Authority to fuel
  economic growth in the manufacturing sector in Southwest Florida.

Should I use any punctuation after  foundation of ?
I think I should use a comma after first of all. Am I right?
I think the word education is not the end of the sentence because the speaker said: "first of all".  Should I use a (full stop or comma or  semi-column ) after the word education?
Also, I feel like the words And then is not a beginning of a new sentence because it is a continue of the sentence that have  the words first of all. What punctuation should I put after the word successful? and after  the words And then?

It's Ok if you write short answers to the four questions. You don't have to explain in too many details. Thank you very much for your time.


texts:
What should words be called that can be separated into two or more parts, each of which means the same as the word as a whole?

I know there are at least three words in English that fit this description. I remember taxicab (= taxi = cab) and oleomargarine (= oleo = margarine), but I keep forgetting the third one. Jetplane does not count because not all planes are jetplanes.


texts:
I came across this sentence:

  In Ovid, he is a sculptor and citizen of Cyprus.

We know Ovid is a poet, and the current author discusses the works of Ovid. Can the preposition in (“in Ovid”) be used this way, as opposed to something like “in the works of Ovid”? I couldn’t find this usage of preposition “in” in my research.

I am asking about the use of "in" in front of "Ovid" in the example sentence. Another example:

  In Shelley, romance and politics were given equal importance.


texts: A correct way to place a verb in a "double" question

texts:
I'm not sure what the correct way for placing a verb in such cases is:

"May I ask what Australia’s policy is regarding this scheme?"

or should it be

"May I ask what is Australia’s policy regarding this scheme?"

Or are they both acceptable?


texts: Single-word replacement for "by definition"?

texts:
Software that is free is that which, by definition, has its full source code published.

I thought about definitionally, but after looking it up, it doesn't seem to be right.


texts:
What's the meaning of garnish in this context?

What's the point of a bank account when you're constantly behind on every bill you owe?
Creditors can't garnish what's not on paper.

From Thefreedictionary.com:

Law
a. to serve with notice of proceedings; warn
b. Obsolete to summon to proceedings already in progress
c. to attach (a debt)
Slang
a. to extort money from

Which definition is more appropriate?


texts:
Consider the following:

I pull my ear.
He pulls his ear.
She pulls her ear.

What would be the correct form of "ear" for plural subjects? Is there a generalized rule that I can be pointed to?

For example, they pull their ear just sounds wrong to me (do "they" collectively have an ear sitting around somewhere to pull?), leading me to think it should be they pull their ears. Similar is the case for, say, we pull our ear, but these plural forms can be misunderstood as pulling both ears.

Is the only solution here to recast the sentence to something more specific like "We each pull one of our ears?"


texts: If "to be" is the copula, is there any special name for "to have"?


texts: Why does a Californian utility spark wildfires?

texts:
"PG&E, a Californian utility, was forced into bankruptcy protection in January after insurers and creditors fled when they concluded that it could be on the hook for billion-dollar liabilities over its possible role in sparking wildfires."
Can anyone explain the logic of the sentence?


texts: Can "fires" be used as the plural of "fire"?

texts:
Can "fire" be plural? Can I say:

  Do fires cause cancer?


texts: a proper verb that describe the formation of Taylor cone in polymer science

texts:
In polymer science, to form a core-shell nanofiber using electrospinning process, two separate solutions(i.e., core solution and shell solution) are injected to a capillary tube and .....
in order to form the core-shell structure, a regular Taylor cone is needed to be shaped which involves both solutions, and this is not feasible, unless the viscosity of the shell solution is high enough.
Now, I do not know what is the proper verb that best describes mixing of both solutions, for example here:
Ex: Therefore, the core solution could not "mix", "accommodate", "join", "solve" with the shell solution, and thus the core solution start dripping.
Which one is the most appropriate?? Accommodate, mix, join, solve,..........


texts: Testimonal document in the context of scholarship to study abroad?

texts:
I'm translating subtitles for a movie and I ran into this sentence:

Teacher: You have some missing documents. You need a signed testimonial from your parents.
Student: But I'm already 18. Technically, I don't need
a signature from parents.

This one is a thai movie and I'm not even sure subtitles are fully correct. By the way I read around the web that in the context of job interviews /applications the testimonial letter is something looking like a recommendation letter but not as formal. I was wondering what could this be in the context of scholarships or travels (it's not specified whether the document is needed for one or the other).

Thanks in advance for your help!


texts: What is the English term, when someone provides truthful 'extra' information in support to promote own propaganda?

texts:
Though the title asks the main question, I will give an example.

Imagine a tabloid, which wants to defame a famous personality, say Abraham Lincoln or Michael Jackson. The writers know that, just criticism won't be sufficient. Hence they provide some good & truthful information about them. Along with it, they also insert their own un-verified information which they think is correct.

In day to day life: In college, 2 friends have a verbal spat in front of others. 1 of them decides to defame other by wrong means. Hence he/she tells like this, "Though you might be a good student & sport person, what you have done today is unpardonable."
Now such statement will excite many against the receiving person, as the initial information given about him/her was true. Hence they tend to believe, that the remaining information also should be true.

Is there any English term for such entity or activity?

Edit:
According to this answer, half truth seems quite matching. However, above examples can be extended beyond single person. i.e. If someone prefers US Republic party over Democratic party, then they may say something like this: "Democratic candidates like Bill Clinton & Obama were greats! Hillary is no match to them." Or a person not having much knowledge about boxing can state like: "Muhammad Ali was amazing. Mike Tyson is nothing in front of him."

Here, it's "complete praise" followed by "complete criticism". There is nothing half-half. So even though, one doesn't like "Democratic" party, they praise its previous candidates to insult current candidate.

Note: If anything not clear, I would be happy to edit my question.


texts: I want to ask you if there's some special rule about pronouncing foreign names with or without accent. For example, can I say Fedor or Andrey in native russian manner and with russian accent or should I say it with english accent? Is it appropriate?


texts: I have been told by many people that some behaviours which people usually call "addiction" are not addiction, but instead "compulsion", without any further explanation about how they are different. However, I can't find any formal definition that actually distinguish them.


texts:
Which is correct option to the following & Why:

Did you have lunch at home yesterday?
(1) No, I haven't.
(2) No, I hadn't.
(3) No, I didn't.
(4) No, I don't.


texts: Was there a D to TH sound change in English?

texts:
I looked up the etymology of "father" and see what Etymology Dictionary says:

Old English fæder "he who begets a child, nearest male ancestor;"

It clearly says "fæder" with a D.
Wikitionary also has the D version:

From Middle English fader, from Old English fæder, from Proto-West Germanic *fader, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Doublet of ayr, faeder, padre, pater and père.

The TH was also D in middle English along with old English.
Also the word "mother":

"female parent, a woman in relation to her child," Middle English moder, from Old English modor

But the word "brother":

Old English broþor, from Proto-Germanic *brothar (source also of Old Norse broðir, Danish broder, Old Frisian brother, Dutch broeder, Old High German bruodar, German Bruder, Gothic bróþar), from PIE root *bhrater-.

I don't know what that is, but it is not D. So the change only took place in some words.
Can anyone explain what kind of change that was and what words it applied to?


texts: "Babylon has been shouted" reference meaning

texts:
I'm reading this Saunders story:
https://hungermtn.org/a-lack-of-order-in-the-floating-object-room/
and trying to understand what "Babylon has been shouted" is a reference to. Why Babylon?
Here is the sentence in question:

He says, “Babylon has been shouted (gasp), in a sense…” and I hit the mike button without thinking and say, “Damn right!”


texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  What is the difference between 20$ and $20?
  Why is the unit of measure placed before the value for currencies? Are there other measures where the unit precedes value?

We express fifty dollars, not as "50$", but rather as "$50".  Other units are expressed with a trailing symbol (20¢, 10m, 5kWh, 6oz).  Why are dollars treated specially; what's the history behind this?


texts: A single word for "Someone who cannot say no to anyone asking for help."

texts:
I happen to be this type who always finds it hard to turn down someone who asks for my help.

You know, like when people ask to borrow some money, ask to take them to see a doctor, ask to help with English (I'm a nonnative speaker), ask to teach them some difficult subject, and anything. Moreover, this type of personality will not turn down one's request even if they are in a difficult situation themselves.

I don't think that the word kind or nice or selfless would be suitable for this.

I read this too, but the word altruist is used to describe someone who never asks for help, not for someone who can't say a "no" to someone else who asks them for help (which means that they may frequently ask for others' help too).

Besides, I don't know whether this is a negative or positive personality. So I can't figure out the right word to describe it.

Do I comprehend this in a weird way?


texts: Forms of the verb "to be" followed by "graduated from"

texts: I know the old fashioned way of saying that someone has been graduated from somewhere is to say that "someone was graduated from school". Does this mean that you can say "He is graduated from that university" or "I am graduated from college", or "He will be graduated from school, soon". Are these examples the old fashioned way of using the word graduate and, if so, is it basically structured, as I said, by putting a "to be" verb in front of "graduated from".


texts:
I frequently find this expression in literature and such. I couldn´t find anything on it on the net, only more of these expressions without explanations how to handle or understand them correctly:

"I have years of experience proofreading, editing and translating. From simple CVs and cover letters to Master Theses, it is important that your work be perfect and I will make sure that your end product is error-free."

Is that actually idiomatic language? Can it be replaced by "is"?


texts: Standardisation of usage of "..." (ellipsis)

texts:
Normally, ellipsis uses three consecutive dots with no space between the dots and the preceding word.

But, at places, I find the ellipsis used in various manners:

  "He is fond of..." (Three dots with no space between the dots and the preceding word.)
  "He is fond of ..." (Three dots with a space between the dots and the preceding word.)
  "He is fond of...." (Four or more dots with no space between the dots and the preceding word.)
  "He is fond of ...." (Four or more dots with a space between the dots and the preceding word.)

To me, usage of ellipsis is standardised: it must have three consecutive dots with no space between the  dots and the preceding word.

Is the usage of ellipsis going through a further evolution? Has the usage of ellipsis been actually standardised? What is the correct rule of using ellipsis? Which of the above uses is/ are correct?


texts: What is a word for being obviously humorous?

texts:
So I'm trying to write a piece of dialogue and I can't remember this word for the life of me and Google isn't helping. I know it's similar to sarcasm in usage but not quite.
The characters are in a cave. That's the obvious bit.

"Yeah," he said as he pushed himself off the ground. "Where are we?"
"A cave," He said ____

What word should I use. Please help.


texts: What is the plural of "hair" when it refers to the hair of multiple people?

texts:
I understand that "hairs" is plural when talking about multiple hairs, as in "my hairs have split ends", and that "hair" is singular when talking about one's collection of hairs, such as "my hair is blue". However, I'd like to know what the plural form is when I am talking about the collections of hairs of multiple people.

We must wait until our ______ dry.

Furthermore, if the answer is "hair", then would it be "We must wait until our hair dry." or "We must wait until our hair dries."?


texts:
Which of these statements is grammatically sound? :

I would like to point out that I have already graduated and have marked 5th year in the question regarding the current status of my education due to lack of a better option.
I would like to point out that I have already graduated and have marked 5th year in the question regarding the current status of my education for lack of a better option.


texts: Word meaning "having no knowledge of fighting and/or weapons"

texts:
I want to find a single word that encapsulates the meaning:

"having no knowledge of fighting and/or weapons"

Initially I had considered using "civilian." (as in the martial - civilian continuum). I have since reconsidered because there are plenty of civilians who are well-versed in fighting / weapons (at least here in 'merica).

connotation is neutral (neither negative nor positive)
looking for something academic-sounding
adjective

Bonus: If no such word exists, what is a way I might coin a suitable word?

Example: Some terrorists single-out "soft" targets, because they are ________.


texts:
Why is textbook not just book?

While I suppose it could contrast with a picture book, a book for academic purposes containing nothing but pictures would still be called a textbook. It doesn't appear that textbook is connected to the format of the content in a  book, only to the purpose of the book. Sometimes text alone is used to refer to these books, but in that vein textbook is redundant (unless there is/was some type of non-book text).

The meat of this question is, when the term textbook was coined, at the time were there other types of books that text was meant to differentiate textbooks from? Was there some historical purpose for the redundancy? How did textbook come to be?


texts: Question about the phrase "fought fire with oil" as used in the film "Spartacus"

texts:
In the film "Spartacus," the character Crassus remarks that he "fought fire with oil" in regards to him buying the Senate behind his rival's back to appoint his friend to a position of prominence.

The exact exchange:

Marcus Publius Glabrus:
"How were you able to get my appointment without Gracchus knowing?"

Marcus Licinius Crassus:

"I fought fire with oil. I purchased the Senate behind his back."

Is this expression akin to "fight fire with fire"? I.e., doing the opposite of what you'd expect by using similar methods? Power with power, as the case may be? I can't find the meaning of it after doing a pretty thorough Google search. If I had to guess, I'd say it means the same as the more common expression, but I'm unsure. Maybe it's a more subtle way of saying you use similar tactics but slightly different methods to achieve an outcome that your adversary would also achieve in his own way?


texts: Why isn't it corporeal punishment instead of corporal punishment?

texts:
Both corporeal and corporal have similar etymologies, and the difference seems to be very nuanced (see the fact that EO points us to corporality, meaning of corporeal existence).
From Etymology Online:

Corporal (adj.) - "of or belonging to the body," late 14c., from Old French corporal (12c., Modern French corporel) "of the body, physical, strong," from Latin corporalis "pertaining to the body," from corpus (genitive corporis) "body" (from PIE root *kwrep- "body, form, appearance"). Corporal punishment "punishment of the body" (as opposed to fine or loss of rank or privilege) is from 1580s. Related: Corporality.
Corporeal (adj.) - early 15c., with adjectival suffix -al (1) + Latin corporeus "of the nature of a body," from corpus "body" (living or dead), from PIE *kwrpes, from root *kwrep- "body, form, appearance."

If something was corporeal punishment, what would it be then? Or, would saying corporeal punishment be technically correct but only hit our ears wrong?
If they are different enough, what about the e makes this so?


texts: I couldn't find it in multiple dictionaries, but have seen it used by several people. However, I do not know if this is just due to the word "sounding right", or from the word actually existing. Does anyone know if this a real word, and how one would go about finding out if it would be a real word?


texts: "Before" is to "ere", as "after" is to ...?

texts:
Are there any literary, poetic, or archaic form of "after" or "beyond"?  I am especially interested in monosyllabic forms.

Both "aft" and "yon" won't work, because they have quite different meanings.


texts:
Can a sentence start with "The highest" in an academic paper? It sounds a bit strange.

My original sentence is

  When the specificity values of the devices were evaluated, the highest specificity value was obtained...

I want to reduce the word count. So, I want to write this:

  The highest specificity value was obtained...

Is it correct?


texts:
I have a question about the word "notify" when it is used in the passive voice.
Please see the examples below:

1) We will be notified of subsequent updates.

2-1) Subsequent updates will be notified of.

2-2) Subsequent updates will be notified.

Sentence 1 is perhaps the basic passive form of "notify".
However, when it comes to the form of sentences 2, it's quite confusing.

Although I think the word is supposed to be used like (2-1),
any occurrences found in google have the form of (2-2).

Can anybody tell me why? Actually, "updates" are not persons who are informed but things to be reported.


texts: A word for acting in advance of some expected or anticipated outcome

texts:
There's a word, I think that starts with a 'p', that describes doing something to solve a situation before it happens. For example, if a hurricane is approaching a store might take __ action to prepare for the flood of people that might come. In a fictional world, an organization might take __ action against crime based on some foreknowledge of a person's future actions.

Edit

It's not "preparatory", "precautionary", or "preventative".


texts: Understand every words but whole passage doesn't make sense

texts:
I am aware that this might not be a good  question because you probably won't be able to understand what I am asking if you haven't read "Space Odyssey 2010", and it's impossible for me to introduce the whole background in detail, but I will try my best provided that space odyssey is a quite famous series.

...already explained gloomily, "I'm a space engineer, not a space monkey"; but the job had to be dome. He alone possessed the skills that could save Discovery from Io's grasp. Max and his colleagues, working with unfamiliar circuit diagrams and equipment, would take far too long. By the time they had restored power to the ship and mastered its controls, it would have plunged into the sulfurous firepits below.
"You're not scared, are you?" asked Max, when they were about to put on their helmets.
"Not enough to make a ...

My question is about the highlighted text. The spaceship discovery had been circling IO for several years after its passenger got lost. Max and his colleagues were on a second spaceship to rescue it. To do that, they need to board the spaceship. The text here says that if they don't go with someone who really knows the ship, it will take them much longer to "restore the power and master the control". What I don't understand is how come it is long enough for the ship to "plunge into the sulfurous firepits below". The ship had been circling IO for years and in common sense it would sustain for much longer. I checked the chapters before without finding anywhere saying the ship had begun to descend, then why here it says the ship would fall into IO? Is it a semi-humorous way to state that the job would take too long (long enough for the satellite to fall)? It seems to me the context doesn't support the idea that the author is being semi-humorous here.
I often encounter this kind of situation when I try to read English literatures, where I seem to understand every words of the text but the whole passage or the whole chapter just doesn't make sense to me.


texts:
Anyone can help me to understand the meaning of "pass tax"? For example:

  The adjective retroactive refers to something happening now that affects the past. For example, a retroactive tax is one that is passed at one time, but payable back to a time before the tax was passed.

Or

  The President asked Congress to pass the tax immediately and said that it should apply to all individuals.

Or

  Even if the tax passes, though, what remains to be seen is whether it will have any effect on obesity.

I know both the words pass and tax, but I don't know its meaning when combine them together. I tried to look it up on dictionaries but of no luck. Hope someone can help me.


texts:
Is there any rule for the pronunciation of 'Con' words like :
Constant, Constraint, Constitute, Constituent etc. My confusion is with these sounds 'kɒn' and 'kən'.

For Constiuent it is /kənˈstɪtjʊənt/ but in Constitute it's /ˈkɒnstɪtjuːt/.


texts: What do you call the length of time something is switched on?

texts:
I need to describe a process and I'm currently missing the right word. How do you call the time (the duration, not the moment of action) when e.g. a light-switch is set to "passing" i.e. the light is on? I thought about on time so even non-native speakers don't struggle with its meaning, on the other hand it sounds clumsy.

Is there a word for this?


texts: What does "kind of sums things up” mean?

texts:
I came across the phrase, kind of sums things up in the article written by Dana Milbank in Washington Post (July 20) under the headline The new party of Reagan.
The phrase appears in the following remark of the House Democrats, caucus chairman John Larson.

“The Congress’ brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest rates would skyrocket, instability would occur in financial markets, and the federal deficit would soar. The United States has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations.”
“Kind of sums things up,” Larson said, playing the same clip again at a news conference."

I also found a similar usage of kind of sums things up in the quote of Unambig.com.

“This kind of sums it up for me. Are we still counting silly things like carbon footprints and measuring every theoretical cloud of carbon and methane created by existing and breathing on this planet.”

What does kind of sums things up, mean? I have no idea. Is it a popular English phrase?


texts:
I'm flummoxed by how these bolded clauses from The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith should be parsed, structured, and interpreted. I'm not asking about its philosophy.

  The produce of the soil maintains at all times nearly that number of inhabitants which it is capable of maintaining. The rich only select from the heap what is most precious and agreeable. They consume little more than the poor, and in spite of their natural selfishness and rapacity, though they mean only their own conveniency, though the sole end which they propose from the labours of all the thousands whom they employ, be the gratification of their own vain and insatiable desires, they divide with the poor the produce of all their improvements. They are led by an invisible hand to make nearly the same distribution of the necessaries of life, which would have been made, had the earth been divided into equal portions among all its inhabitants, and thus without intending it, without knowing it, advance the interest of the society, and afford means to the multiplication of the species.

Is made supposed to be coupled with advance & afford to form a verb clause, so:
"which would have been made .... advance .... and afford ..." ?

If so, could someone please explicate this? These sound aberrant but novel to me (I'm cognisant that this book was published in 1759):
● "which would have been made advance the interest of the society"
● "which would have been made afford means to the multiplication of the species.

Wouldn't it be more natural to write
● "which would have advanced the interest ..., and afforded means ..." ?


texts: Question phrases to make sure that everything is understood correctly

texts:
I am looking for the best question phrases to make sure that everything is understood correctly.

  – Trains to London leave on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.– Do I understand correctly that trains to London leave daily?

Does this sound nice? Would am I not mistaken that do? Any other ideas?


texts: Question on use of the 'first' conditional in the past (no modal involved)

texts:
Which conditional is this?
If John did not come to work yesterday, he was probably ill.

I would hazard a guess that it is a first conditional as there is a fair probability that John being ill was actually the reason for not coming to work, however all the references I have indicate that the first conditional is for the future only.
Thanks for any comments / explanations!
Edit - a context for clarity: I had imagined a conversation between two work colleagues for example:

Bob: I couldn’t get the numbers I needed from John yesterday as he was
out of the office.  Bill: Hmm. If John was out of the office, he was
probably ill. I’ll check whether he is back today and if he is not,
I’ll find some numbers for you


texts: neither and either usage in last of a sentence

texts:
Hello I need to know whether the following can be used as substitute
"You do not like this either, do you?" and "You like this neither, do you?"


texts: What do the idioms "hang up", "hang on", and "hang out" mean?

texts: What do hang up, hang on, and hang out mean?


texts:
What is the longest dictionary word you can spell where continuing to remove the final letter will still result in a dictionary word.

e.g.
ate [dictionary word],
at [last letter 'e' removed still a dictionary word],
a [last letter 't' removed]

No reason for this question, I am just curious.


texts: Why can't "sandwich" be used as an uncountable noun, like "pie"?

texts:
Why can we say:

I like pie best.
I like pies best.

but we can only say:

I like sandwiches best?

My experience tells me that "pie" can either be sort of a generic concept or a specific thing.  Yet "sandwich" is always a specific thing.  Why?  Is there some sort of general rule on which nouns are like "pie" and which are like "sandwich"?


texts: What reasoning is behind the names of the trigonometric functions "sine", "secant" and "tangent"?

texts:
The meanings of these words are very similar: the sine of an angle in a right triangle is the ratio of the opposite side to the hypotenuse; the secant is the ratio of the hypotenuse to the adjacent side, and the tangent is the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent side.

Since they have such similar functions, I wondered why sine comes from the Arabic word for pocket, secant comes from the Latin word for cut, and tangent comes from the Latin for to touch.  What do the etymologies have to do with the current meaning?


texts:
I'm doing a simple finance app and I would like to know what is the best way of saying that a new expense is to be added (e.g. I bought a coffee and I want to register that event). The following are the phrases that I've either come up with myself, or that someone proposed to me:

Add Spending
Add Expense
Add Spend (this was actually proposed by a professional translator, but it feels wrong)

Which one is correct, and are there any better alternatives? My requirement is that it should not be too formal, but rather some kind of everyday language that can be understood by both native and non-native english speakers.


texts: Should I put ‘there’ after ‘which’ in a given example?

texts: Go along the street at the end of which there is the railway station.


texts: Is there a word for the sensation of: Realizing you do not realize/know something?

texts:
Is there a word to describe the feeling of knowing that there are things you will never know/realize?

For example you could live your whole life not knowing that 2 friends you met at different times in your life are actually brothers.


texts:
I wonder, which is correct to use as a title for list (on a website, f.e.)

Task List
Tasks List
List of Tasks

and why?

PS. Please, edit tags if I added them not correctly.


texts: Does use of the superlative form imply that there is only one?

texts:
The question in the title doesn't strictly apply to the English language but to language in general (I think). For example can we point an item from the group where there are multiple items with the same price and there is none with the greater price? Can there multiple 'most expensive' items?

Second, if we have item X and item Y that are same price and there is none with greater, can we call item X as 'the most expensive' even when it is not the only one with given price?


texts: "In its original formulation" versus "On its original formulation"

texts:
I want to write:

  "On its original formulation, the
  method uses ..."

However, I am not sure if it is "On its original formulation" or "In its original formulation".

Searching in Google for both cases I found that "in its original" is more common (250,000 hits versus 76,000), but not by a margin big enough to make a conclusion.

Which one is the right one?


texts:
How best to combine the following two sentences?:

Trust you enjoyed your drive to the lake to join your family. And trust you enjoyed your time at the lake with your family.

The following isn't quite correct:

Trust you enjoyed your drive to, and time at, the lake to join your family.

because "time at" requires "with" rather than "to join".


texts:
This question destroys my mind so finally I want to know the answer.

  All I have to do is + to + verb

or

  All I have to do is + verb

Which one is correct, and can't the wrong one be correct informally?


texts:
I need to know what is the proper way to name the registration number of an employee within a company or firm to uniquely identify her/him. In my country (Italy) we we make large use of it. Thanks.

Edit: Companies use to assign a number or code to every new employee in order to uniquely identify her/him for administration purposes (e.g. the number that appears on the payroll). The badge ID would not work, as it is the ID assigned to the badge itself, not the employee, thus it can possibly change, and not every company uses badges anyway. What is English standard way to name such a code?


texts: What is the /ū/ sound in English symbol?

texts:
In the American Accent Training, it shows /ū/ (a line over u) is a tense vowel, and takes "smooth" as an example.

However, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, it should be [ˈsmüt͟h], and there is no any /ū/.

What is /ū/ on earth?


texts: Phrase or idiom for funnelling efforts in wrong direction

texts:
What one phrase or idiom describes situations (see examples below), in which people funnel their efforts in the wrong direction?

  A boy wants to have a cup of coffee, so he buys a notebook in a stationery store and starts writing 100 times on each page "A cup of coffee", hoping that he is going to get a cup of coffee in this way. However, he never bothers to go to the kitchen and see if he can simply prepare coffee for himself in the kitchen...

  A band is going to have a concert tomorrow, but they are not ready yet – they still need to rehearse more. So, instead of rehearsing they simply try to re-arrange the chairs on which they are sitting, hoping that the proper arrangement of chairs will ensure their perfect performance on the next day.

  A girl wants to learn how to swim. So she reads tons of books about swimming – how to build  swimming pools, biographies of famous swimmers – yet she never even tries swimming by herself...


texts:
Can the verb to scratch mean "start from the beginning"?

Can I say "I scratched" to say "I started from the beginning"?


texts: Is "Flippable" a valid word? If not, what is a better alternative?

texts:
I want a word that means "something that can be flipped".

Eg. "I have designed a flippable card like animation for my website."

I found the word in Wiktionary, however I did not find it in any other recognised dictionaries.

Is it a valid word? Nonetheless, is there any better alternative that fits my sentence?


texts:
What is the proper word/phrase for SMS style language? Then one's which are commonly used while sending text messages, containing shortened words, phonetic spelling, multiple punctuations (????????????? instead of ?) etc.

Something like:

  i dun feel the same way about any1 else + i kinda hate galz now , ......i dun want any of em now......my parents want to but i dun .......

I was guessing improper but wasn't sure.


texts: Use of prepositions in strings of conjunctions

texts:
When one wants to list various cases/classes/categories/types of objects in a string of conjunctions, is it preferable (or even mandatory) to keep on using (the same) preposition in front of each one them?

Moreover, does singular or plural form of the word "case", "class", "category" make any difference in the previous question?

Examples:

In the present article, we study the case of X, of Y and of Z objects.
(in this example, as in most of the ones I have in mind, it is the preposition "of" which is relevant to my question).
We study the cases/classes of X and of Y objects.
vs.
We study the cases/classes of X and Y objects.

Although it is rather clear that, in the singular case, the absence of "of" in later conjuncts may lead to a logical confusion (e.g., mistakenly taken as the one class/case of objects which are both X and Y), when it comes to plural of the words "case", "class", etc., this might not be an issue. Still, there might anyway be a rule in the plural setting as well.


texts: How to reply "Would tomorrow at 10:30am work for you?" in a formal way?

texts:
My professor emailed me to ask my available time: "Would tomorrow at 10:30am work for you?"
How can I reply her email in a formal way.


texts: Should I say : Like the one of Robin & Batman, Or, like Robin & Batman's

texts:
Which one of those following sentences is the correct and proper one to use ?

  A true friendship endures forever just like the one of Robin and Batman.

  A true friendship endures forever just like Robin and Batman's

in case if both of them are incorrect, what is the perfect way to use this sentence :) ?


texts:
There are such lines in the song "Eyes of the World" ("Rainbow", a British rock band):

Evil moves, evil ways
With his back to the wall

and later

Evil takes, evil kills
With no shame or concern

Can "Evil" be a subject in all these cases with predicates "moves", "ways", "takes" and "kills"? In all online dictionaries "way" is a noun, but if it is a noun, "evil ways with his back to the wall" looks very weird. Can "way" be used as a verb here?

Thank you for your answers.


texts: In text, does 'enumerate' imply a numbered list?

texts:
(as in, say,

Let me enumerate all the reasons red is my favorite colour, from most compelling to least:

it is the colour of blood
it works well with white
it comes first in RGB

and that is about it.

)
And if so, is there a similarly-formed verb meaning 'to state all of the things in a category in an unordered list'?
My first thought was 'enlist', but obviously that already has a different meaning. Just 'list' comes close, but to me does not imply completeness.


texts: Is there a term for using gender pronouns for inanimate objects?


texts: Is there a universal measure word in English?

texts:
I am searching for the following word. A term that covers the following examples.

  One ____of tea.
  Two ____ of water.
  Some ____ of cake.
  A ____ of chicken.
  A ____ of strings.
  A ____ of objects.

Is there such word XXX that exist in English?


texts:
I am talking about two years ago in my sentences below.

Her people had fought a hard battle. In celebration, students had taken to the streets and placed carnations in the soldiers’ gun barrels.

Is it correct or do I need had placed?


texts: What is the difference between Desire and Will?

texts:
I have the following exercise in my schoolbook:

As you can see, I had to match the phrases with the respective gaps.

My question is:
Why can I not swap will and desire?

Here is my research (I used the Cambridge Dictionary):

  Will -  1) what someone wants to happen 2) the mental power used to
  control and direct your thoughts and actions, or a determination to do
  something, despite any difficulties or opposition

  Desire -  a strong feeling that you want something

Having done this research, I don't see the difference between these two words and in which context each would be more appropriate.


texts: forbid her anything and it became her desire

texts:
Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

“And Arya, well . . . Ned’s visitors would oft mistake her for a
stableboy if they rode into the yard unannounced. Arya was a trial, it
must be said. Half a boy and half a wolf pup. Forbid her anything and
it became her heart’s desire.

Catelyn talks about her daughter Arya, who she thinks is long dead. She remembers how she used to behave like a boy, not a proper lady. Catelyn says that Arya desired to accomplish anything that was forbidden by her mother Catelyn.
I understand the sentence in context, but I'm confused about this structure the author used. Is this some kind of clause here? -> Forbid ... and it became ... . What is the tense of forbid here and why is it used with past simple [became]?
I never encountered such a device. Can anyone help me deal with grammatically? Would appreciate any extra resources to read up on it.
Thanks in advance


texts:
I would have never done that.
Someone told me that ONLY "I would never have done that" is correct.
I always heard both and read both.
If it is not correct could you please tell me why?


texts:
What is correct?
...I always pointed to everything that was three,
referring to me and my parents.

or

referring me and my parents.

Is it correct to state 'referring to my parents and me'?


texts:
tl;dr: What is preferred term for something that is old but still used today?

My friends and I like to play Minecraft. We built a server to play together and we rented a VPS to run it. But someday the world was too big for VPS to handle, so I restarted the world.

Sometimes I miss playing the old word. So, I decided to play it again on another server. But, I am confused about how to describe this.

My questions is: what is the preferred term for something that is old but still used today?

My choices are:

Classic
Old
Older
Retro
Last
Lasting
Endure
Enduring
Deprecated (I would prefer not to use this)

N.B. Maybe this comic illustrates my struggle: Permanence


texts: Word for kids who have become resistant to scoldings and punishments?

texts: The parents / Teachers punish these types of kids frequently . As a result they just no longer fear and remain unaffected no matter how much they are scolded. For instance, my mom rebukes my younger brother so often that he has started taking it lightly . I've even seen him tittering while receiving reprimands from mom.


texts: "As I had intended to" at the end of a sentence

texts:
My wife and I are debating the correct ending of a sentence that ends with, "... I did not return to school as I had intended" in a (college level) school paper that is being written.

One of us thinks the sentence should end, "..as I had intended to," the other is violently opposed to ending the sentence with the word "to."

What says the community?


texts:
Is there a word meaning "to support something as if you are waving flags for it"?
I remember I may have encountered a word "flagwave" somewhere, in a sentence looking like "Do not flagwave for a technology". But I could not find this word in dictionaries, and only found this usage in one piece of news:

The Guardian’s appraisal of Emily Fridlund’s contender, History Of Wolves, was simply “strikingly impotent’. The New York Times, which you would expect to flagwave for virtuoso American writer George Saunders, moaned that Lincoln in the Bardo – by some distance the Man Booker favourite – would have “benefited immensely from some judicious pruning”.

So generally, I'm looking for a word meaning "to support something as if you are waving flags for it" that can be used as in "[?] for an ideology" or "[?] for our team" (this can be literally waving flags).

Additionally, if I say "to flagwave for sth", will native speakers get the meaning of the phrase?


texts:
I read several sentences, like these:

"I thought I heard you call my name", should this be "I thought I heard you called my name"?
"Yesterday I saw a lion kiss a deer", should this be "Yesterday I saw a lion kissed a deer"?


texts:
"With our commitment to working towards finding alternatives for reducing environmental footprints....."
or should it be ".... to work towards..."
Got confused. Please guide me which one of these two would be the correct formation.


texts:
One of the answers to this question states that "We shall discuss it in our today's meeting"  is grammatically correct. To me, that sentence is clearly wrong. While in today's meeting is fine and in our today meeting is OKish (though at the very least clumsy), there's something about the possessive there (our today's) that makes it wrong for me.
I would read that sentence as in our today's (as opposed to your today's) meeting. Similar to in our car's trunk where the our clearly modifies car and not trunk or car trunk, the our in our today's seems to be modifying today's and not meeting.
So, my questions are i) is it actually grammatically wrong to say in our today's or is it just a question of usage? and ii) if it is indeed wrong, how can we explain its wrongness?


texts:
We are a group of web developers, creating our online presence ...
We chose this slogan,

  "Web passionate young powers at your service"

Is this proper English?
Does this hold any "contempt" on our side when using "at your service" in western traditions?
Any suggestion for a similar meaning one?


texts:
To give a little bit of context, I work on an software development company and we use a project management tool in which we raise tasks (we call them jiras, actually, but nevermind that) that represent work to be done.

When we work on a task, we must log the time we spent working on them, which we call "log work" or "log hours" (is the latter correct?).

Context given.

Is the usage of against correct in this sentence?: "Log hours against a task"

My intuition (though English is not my first language) says that the right way to say that would be: "Log work on a task".

But working here I've seen so many weird usages of against (we work with teams from other countries, and the Pakistani are the ones that use against the most) that I'm not sure if it's just incorrect or I just don't know this usage.


texts: Is "sit-in" used to refer to neutral contexts?

texts:
Sit-in as a noun,  is used to refer to forms of strikes or protests. This connotation appears to have originated especially from the late  '30s, when it was used to refer also to more neutral context like music sessions for instance according to Etymonline. Sit in as a phrasal verb,  is still  used in neutral contexts : to sit in at a bridge game; to sit in for the band's regular pianist.

Sit-in:

  1936, in reference to session musicians; 1937, in reference to union action; 1941, in reference to student protests. From the verbal phrase; see sit (v.) + in (adv.). To sit in is attested from 1868 in the sense "attend, be present;" from 1919 specifically as "attend as an observer."

Has the noun "sit-in" definitely lost its neutral usage? Is it used only to refer to some kind of organized protests nowadays? or are there, possibly rare, exceptions?


texts:
I want to explain my problem by the following sentence.

  Among those scientists recently exploring 'terra cognita' were psychologists from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

In that sentence, what is the subject of the auxiliary verb "were"? I think, subject of auxiliary verb is 'there' and it has been omitted in this sentence. Am I right?
If I wish to place 'that/who' before the word 'exploring' in that sentence, will it be legal? And if I do this, the form of 'exploring' will be 'explore'. Am I right?


texts: "He" / "she" vs. "it" regarding beloved objects

texts:
Is that normal to regard a beloved object (an animal, a car, a book) as he/she? If yes, what gender should be used in this case?

One comment in this question touched the tendency to humanize things we love, but it was never upvoted properly, so I decided to ask a it as question.

I'm Russian and here gender really matters. In Russia calling my friend's dog as "it" may sound as insult. And calling a dog, which is of a male gender, "she" is a mistake.

BTW, in Russian "England" is a "she". And "United Kingdom" is an "it" :)


texts: Where do the idiosyncrasies in the spellings of English words come from and why do they survive?

texts:
For example:

GH in enough is pronounced "F"
O in women is pronounced short "I"
TI in nation is pronounced "SH"

Why aren't the words spelled enouf, wimen, nashon, or why not spell fish "ghoti"? It seems like there are a lot of odd spellings in English, why is that? Over time I would have expected the odd spellings to have been replaced with more phonetically spelled versions, but that's not  the case, why?


texts: English equivalent proverb for an absent minded person

texts:
There is a proverb in Hindi language बगल में छोरा, गाँव में ढिंढोरा
It means that a person has lost something and is searching every corner of the city. But, the lost thing is right with him which he realizes much later. It could also indicate a forgetful or an absent-minded person.
What is the English equivalent proverb or idiom for this?


texts: 'Aesthetical Qualities' - a term to describe pleasing characteristics in texts?

texts:
I am trying to figure out if I can use 'aesthetical qualities' to refer to qualities that writers or readers find pleasing in texts.

This question comes from a remark by a professor on an essay I wrote some time ago. The essay was about the literary genre of Exilliteratur - literature written by dissident or antifascist writers who left Germany during the Nazi era. To cut things short, I was trying to make the point that some of the authors picked topics for their aesthetical qualities (and not because they were trying to make a political point).

Can I use 'aesthetical qualities' in this way? i.e. to refer to properties of texts that authors find attractive or pleasing? My professor said that I may have meant literary features. Any insight on this word would be much appreciated.

Thank you! If I need to add more information, comment away.


texts: Does "know more about something" really mean "more" (implying that one already has some prior knowledge) or just a customary phrase

texts:
It is a question resulting from a translation attempt of this sentence:

Many, however, may wish to know more about this remarkable people from the outset.
(Lord of the Rings, Prologue)

From here we can see "from the outset", which indicate that they had not prior knowledge of "this remarkable people".
While we also see the familiar expression "to know more about".
Does the "more" here imply that one already know something, but only wish to have more additional knowledge of it? Just as in "I want more water" means one already have some water and "I want water" means one didn't have water before.
It's a nuance difference but there's a debate going on about whether the "more" could be omitted from the  translation. Hope to get some help. Thanks!


texts:
An editor is one who edits; a runner is one who runs.

What is a word for one who configures in the sense of a person who adjusts settings on a system?


texts: What is the term for starting an essay with a story or anecdote to pique the reader's attention?

texts: I am looking for the formal academic term for this - not "opener" or "opening."  I want to refer to it in a presentation about creating hooks to pull in the reader.  I once knew the term but cannot now remember or find it.


texts: What does “root against something” mean? Isn’t it an idiom?

texts:
I found an article titled “The Schadenfreude Sports Fan” in today’s (June 23) New York Times followed by the lead copy:

“Figuring out which teams to root against is a nuanced and delicate matter.”

Though "root against"seems to mean "smashing down somebody, something," I'm not sure. So I checked on Cambridge, Oxford, and Merriam-Webster online dictionaries. None of them registers “root against” as an idiom, though they register root around (for / through/ out) as the idioms meaning scratch around, or terminating.

I also found many instances of using “root against” in sports related articles, e.g.;

-Figuring out which teams to root against is a nuanced and delicate matter.–New York Times.

-Because you root against the Yankees harder in October than you do the other 11 months.-Sport Illustrated.

-Only mean-spirited people root against Tim Tebow: The hate makes little sports sense- Culturemap Houston.

Google Ngram also shows the trend of continued increase of usage of the words “root against” since 1880 after bottoming out during ca. 1960 -1900.

What does “root against something” mean? Is it only used for sports related context? Isn’t it a "generic" idiom as against "sports speciffic expression"


texts: A word that describes telling someone you are not going to tell them something but inadvertently telling them

texts:
For example:

Me: So what do you do for a living?

Guy: I'm a fish and game warden.

Me: Interesting. Well I guess I better not tell you about all the salmon I caught yesterday.

I was thinking sarcasm but I'm fishing for another word.


texts: Word for "being aware that you are unaware"

texts: We are trying to find a word to describe the concept of "being aware that you are unaware," or possibly "knowing that there is more to know." The closest I could come up with was enlightened naivety, but I was hoping that there would be a single word that encompassed the entire meaning.


texts:
Does the following sound natural to native speaker?
"Message me when players are up and down to play".
Where "to be up" is awake, and "to be down to play" is eager/willing to play.
In case it sounds off, how would you change it?


texts: what's the difference between "hold off" vs "hold off on"?

texts:
what's the difference between hold off and hold off on?

I hold off the decision.
I hold off on the decision.

Thank you


texts: adjective to describe someone who "loves life"

texts:
I'm looking for an adjective to describe someone who "love life" meaning they love the very fact of being alive, are excited to experience the possibilities of living.

I'm not talking about people loving THEIR personal lives (so words such as happy or fulfilled wouldn't work here) but rather loving life in itself.

This word may be used in a sentence like: " I wish I could be like John he really is a (...) person"


texts: Is there any use for ¿ in English language?

texts:
I know that ¿ is used in Spanish language to make questions. But I never saw that in English language. Do we use "¿" for something in English language?

I've found info about irony ponctuation but I don't know if it's applied to English currently.


texts: Are these wordiness defects cases of syntactic pleonasm?

texts:
While critiquing a certain document, I noticed frequent instances of a kind of wordiness.  Whereas I could have simply corrected each instance, I wanted to cite for the writer a general rule for recognizing and correcting such instances on his own.  The closest I was able to find was "syntactic pleonasm," but none of the examples I could find online matched these cases exactly.  I wished to ask the community here whether I had found the correct category, just minus the examples I wanted, or whether there were a better general categorization for instances such as the following:
Example 1:

... each of the paths has its own advantages ...
... each path has its own advantages ...

Example 2:

... a disease factor that is related to exposure ...
... a disease factor related to exposure ...

Example 3:

... a result that signifies excessive cost ...
... a result signifying excessive cost ...

EDIT: I appreciate that examples 2 and 3 are instances of that-dropping and thus covered by other questions, but my question is specifically about the name of the category of defects to which such instances belong.  I wish to know whether the correct name of the category of defects is syntactic pleonasm, and, if not, the correct name of the category.


texts: In a fiction book, here's a sentence that needs punctuation help: "I'll give you three-fifty for it." (We're talking about $350, but we don't want to use numbers.) We want to spell them out. Should "three-fifty" be hyphenated or not?


texts: Difference in using `start from` and `start with`

texts:
What is the difference in using start from and start with in sentences like this:

You can buy a lot of things there starting from food and finishing with clothes.

There is a related question, but the context is different.


texts:
What is the origin of holy smoke?

To what is holy smoke referring?


texts: Is there a word or phrase for "an attempt at parodying x that just results in x"?

texts:
If not that, then just a word for a bad parody.

Inspired by this video: http://youtu.be/CPLPn4LkiN8?t=5m48s


texts: What are the most popular gender-neutral pronouns that aren't the same as other contemporary pronouns?

texts:
There have been attempts to use other contemporary English pronouns to stand-in as a true gender-neutral pronoun, given that English is lacking a commonly-accepted one for adult humans (non-humans and even babies can be referred to as 'it').  Examples of this include 'he/she', 'one', and the singular 'they'.

However, these can be confused with the contemporary pronouns which have been used as stand-ins, and they can at times be awkward to use.  Other pronouns exist which can avoid this problem, such as 'thon', which seems to have historically picked up the most momentum, and was in the dictionary as recently as 1964!

Which are the most commonly used gender-neutral pronouns in English around the world today, to be used when referring back to an adult human, that aren't the same as other contemporary pronouns?


texts: How did 'deliverance' evolve to have 2 distinct meanings?

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What's a derivation or rationalisation that helps to remember its meaning? I already understand and so ask NOT about the definition, which I  want to dredge below. I heed the Etymological Fallacy.

  deliverance = 1. {mass noun} The action of being rescued or set free

  2. A formal or authoritative utterance

Etymonline only explains the first definition's etymology, the Old French origins of which make more sense to me, but what about the second? Feel free to improve this, accordant with this advice.


texts: We say "I have plenty of apples." But why not "I have plenty apples?" This would follow the pattern of "I have enough apples." "I have too few apples." "I have too many apples." In all of these cases, I would only use 'of' in special cases, like "I have too much of this." But with 'plenty', 'of' is the default rather than the exception. Why is this?


texts: Who coined the term "Cloud Cuckoo Land"?

texts:
Cloud Cuckoo Land in English is a term often used to describe an unrealistically utopian idea of how things are.

  You're living in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

However how did the term get started to be used? Who coined it or made it popular?


texts: What determines how much of a repetition can be omitted for shortening?

texts:
Given two sentences with the same subject, we can merge them into one.

  The rooftop designs differ in their ability to keep buildings cool.
  The rooftop designs differ in their ability to capture rainwater.

  The rooftop designs differ in their ability to keep buildings cool and differ in their ability to capture rainwater.

However, part of the predicate is also similar, so you can simplify further. However, it is uncertain to me how to handle the grammatical number of the word ‘ability’ after the simplification, keeping in mind we want it to remain clear that there are two distinct abilities & not two manifestations emerging from the difference of a single trait or ability.

I feel that omitting all of the repeated predicate splits the second infinitive & conflicts with the general intention, in the sense that it sounds like a single, albeit complex, ability.

  The rooftop designs differ in their ability to keep buildings cool and capture rainwater.

Alternatively, including the ‘to’ makes mention of both abilities, but refers to them as a singular.

  The rooftop designs differ in their ability to keep buildings cool and to capture rainwater.

There is, I think, an argument to be made in favour of the latter. Namely, one could argue that there is a tacit “[in] their ability” before the second infinitive, & thusly both remain singular.

  The rooftop designs differ in their ability to keep buildings cool and [in their ability] to capture rainwater.

I am, however, still unsure how to go about this phrase. And, in a more general sense, I was wondering if there is a rule of thumb or something to be more confident hence.


texts: punctuation question, usage of semicolon

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If I list non-complete sentences, should I use semicolons? I'm solving an English question and I'm totally stuck. Below is the problem. Which one is right?

Colon introducing the list, with no further punctuation:

Konia needed a project structure incorporating three features: (1) merging of the required areas of expertise to cover all relevant dimensions (2) the facilitation of interaction between the areas for rapid accumulation of specialized, process-specific know-how and (3) fast response time to ensure completion of objectives within six months.

Colon introducing the list, with semi-colons separating each item:

Konia needed a project structure incorporating three features: (1) merging of the required areas of expertise to cover all relevant dimensions; (2) the facilitation of interaction between the areas for rapid accumulation of specialized, process-specific know-how; and (3) fast response time to ensure completion of objectives within six months.

Colon introducing a comma-separated list, with a semi-colon before the  last item:

Konia needed a project structure incorporating three features: (1) merging of the required areas of expertise to cover all relevant dimensions, (2) the facilitation of interaction between the areas for rapid accumulation of specialized, process-specific know-how; and (3) fast response time to ensure completion of objectives within six months.

Semi-colon introducing the list and separating each item:

Konia needed a project structure incorporating three features; (1) merging of the required areas of expertise to cover all relevant dimensions; (2) the facilitation of interaction between the areas for rapid accumulation of specialized, process-specific know-how; and (3) fast response time to ensure completion of objectives within six months.


texts: What is the Latin term for forward from a page?

texts: In English scholarly references there is an expression meaning from this page forward, but I can't remember what it is.


texts:
As I was reading Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, I noticed some irregularities in the spelling choices. Specifically, in several words beginning with a v, Dickens switched them out with a w. Here are some examples:

1. Vicious- Wicious

  "this is them wicious paupers!"

2. Vulgar- Wulgar

  "if I thought as any one of 'em had dared to lift his wulgar eyes to that lovely countenance--"

3. Vile- Wile

  "Say it again, you wile, owdacious fellow!"

My question is the following: is this some archaic form of spelling? When did it fall out of style, and how did it originate?


texts:
I am wondering whether "in the case of" is a correct expression.
I know "in case of" can be used, for example "In case of an emergency" but when would be appropriate to use "in the case of" as long as it is correct.

Thank you.


texts: Origin of "Period" and "Full Stop" as Interjections

texts:
In North America and the UK, "period" and "full stop" are used as interjections "to indicate that a decision is irrevocable or that a point is no longer discussable" (sense 23, here). For example, "We're done, period" or "We need more people to join IRC, full stop" (here). EDIT: "Full stop" might have broader interjectional use than "period", for example, indicating that a complete thought has been made.

Does anyone have any idea as to the origin of these usages? I am interested in knowing broadly when and where they started. For example, were the (potentially multiple) interjection usages of "full stop" around during the English Renaissance? What about "period"? Or did they somehow mutate off of the Telegram convention of using the word "stop" as proxy for the period?

EDIT: I assume that these uses of "period" and "full stop" are analogous and derive from the names of the punctuation marks ("period" in North America, and "full stop" in the UK). Is this correct for both or either? If not, what's the proof?

I've checked some previous questions on this site (this and this), but they don't address the question of the origin of the usage.  I've also googled around regarding use of "period" and "full stop" as interjections, but could find nothing. I also searched for "full stop" on Ngram to see if I could catch a use in any texts, but found nothing.

I am also interested to know whether there are any other examples of this in English, where a punctuation (or, more accurately, the name of a punctuation) is used as an interjection or in some other way. For example, I know that rappers use the word "commas" to refer to large sums of money (a use that's derived from the fact that commas occur on large checks). Can you think of any other similar uses?


texts:
What is the difference between "stove" and "range"?

Does one or the other imply a set of burners for heating food situated above an oven?

I'm primarily interested in answers for American English.

Related existing question that didn't directly answer my question: American words for gas stoves


texts: What would be a good expression for "currently widely used and accessible"?

texts:
I am trying to formulate the following sentence:

"-Support for currently widely used and accessible interfaces and devices."

However, I do not want to use "currently widely used and accessible", but I can not find a good alternative.
Do you have any good suggestion?

Thanks for the help!


texts: Determine whether each of the following statements (are or is) true or false

texts:
While writing some questions, I came across the following:
Determine whether each of the following statements ____ true or false.
a. statement 1
b. statement 2
c. statement 3
In the gap, which one of "is" or "are" grammatically correct?
Thanks for your help!


texts: General history of the English language – book / website recommendation?

texts:
Having just come across this site, I am finally asking a question that's been on my mind for a while …

I am looking for a book, website or infographic that gives a (relatively) concise, high-level history of our modern English language – something that paints a picture of its sources, geographical roots, and who the people were (and are) that invent words (ex: scribes, poets, words borrowed from other languages, etc).

I value the origins of words quite a bit – but feel I am missing some of the "big picture". Does anyone have any recommendations for someone relatively new to this search?


texts: A word to refer to both physical objects and conceptual ideas

texts:
If I am referring to a number of concrete objects I can use multiple terms such as bodies, objects, things, etc.

If I am referring to a number of abstract concepts I can also use many terms such as ideas, concepts, principles...

Is there a noun that represents a step higher in the taxonomic hierarchy to represent both abstract and concrete things?


texts:
What is the difference between the following:

Things started to work again.
Things started working again.


texts: "Here is Mrs. Johnson and her husband" or "Here are Mrs. Johnson and her husband"?

texts:
Which of these sentences is correct?

Here are Mrs. Johnson and her husband.
Here is Mrs. Johnson and her husband.

Both are listed as correct in an English textbook - but is that really the truth?

EDIT: Thanks a lot for the quick replies — it's much appreciated. I'm not a native speaker but when I hear: "Here are Mrs. Johnson and her husband" it just sounds wrong. Doesn't it sound a lot better with "Here is Mrs. Johnson"?


texts: Comma or semicolon after "No" when responding to a question

texts:
Given this question:

  Will I have any migration issues with all of the files after the upgrade?

Which of these are correct?

  No, the new software can still open the old files.

or

  No; the new software can still open the old files.

Is "No" being used as an interjection here?


texts:
My manager asked me to finish the project as early as possible

Here there is no fixed deadline available but the manager wants me to finish the project soon. Consider the case where there is a deadline but I can take as much time as I want before the deadline to finish the project. In this case, is it appropriate for a person to say, "You can finish the project as late as possible (meaning, you have time to do), but do it before the deadline expires"?

I am looking for an exact opposite phrase for as early as possible. If it is not there, is there a phrase which can capture what I have mentioned in the above mentioned paragraph?


texts: What does the word "going" mean in the following context? It's from an architecture book.

texts: The height of each stepping should not be less than 100mm nor exceed 190mm. The going  of each stepping should not be less than 250mm.


texts: Does "bend your knees, please" have the same meaning as "squat down, please"?

texts: Do these two sentences imply the same action?


texts: Is the phrase "I kid of course" grammatically correct?

texts: Just recently, I heard someone on TV use the phrase "I kid of course". (I think it was The Big Bang Theory but I'm not very sure). Any way, is this phrase grammatically correct?


texts: Can the expresssion rest in peace be used in a humourous and friendly way to say, stop worrying?


texts: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture?

texts:
My 1-year kid has a plastic ball that is decorated with all 26 letters from the English alphabet and besides each letter is an image. I suppose the images are of words in English that begin with each of the letters. That works for all of them, except for the Y, which image looks like an axe to me. I searched for synonyms for axe (hatchet, tomahawk) but could not find one that starts with Y.

Following is a picture I took from the ball where the Y and it's image can be seen. Y is surrounded by Queen, Nail, Worm, Elephant and Kangaroo, I suppose.

Can someone help me identify which English word is depicted in Y?

The complete list of letter/symbol pairs, for those asking, is Apple, Bear, Cat, Dog, Elephant , Frog, Giraffe, House, Ice, Jet, Kangaroo, Lion, Mouse, Nail, Owl, Pig, Queen, Rainbow, Snail, Tiger, Uboat (submarine), Volcano, Worm, Xylophone, Y / axe, Zebra.

And thanks to @jkej's Google sleuthing, another view of the ball may be seen at the site fishpond.com.

I bought the ball in a store called Lojas França, located in a mall called Bourbon Shopping Wallig in Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil.

Edit - I was looking for any sign that could help us identify the manufacturer of the ball and all I could find were the letters DNE near the air valve. Following is an image of that part of the ball, in case it helps:


texts: What is it called when you multiply something eight times?

texts: I know that the prefix for eight is "oct". Does this mean that the word I am looking for starts with"oct"? I have done quite a bit of research. Almost every time the first website listed is this one. I really hope that this will be the end of my research! Thank you!


texts: Is it correct idiomatically to say "invest on?" For example, "Invest on Peter " [a person].


texts:
Is there an idiom for giving someone what they want, not in a capitulation sense but as agreement that the best course of action is to just deliver 100% of what is being requested?

E.g., "After considering the options, we figured that the best way forward was [to meet the letter of their request/let them find what they're looking for]." Like if "let them eat cake" was less sardonic and more literal, or "let them feast" if you actually thought feasting would be best for everyone involved.


texts:
So, this came up in the recent silent letter post in the comment section. Looking up pronunciations of talk gives things like:

/tɔːk/ per oxforddictionaries.com, Google's definition page (on this url) and one of the two definitions on thefreedictionary.com
/tôk/ per Google definition page (on this url) and one of two definitions on thefreedictionary.com
/ˈtȯk/ per merriam-webster.com

Now, I am far from an expert in reading these phonetic writing systems, but I am pretty sure at least two of those do not contain any 'l' sound. And when playing the audio version on all except the last link I am not hearing an 'l' sound either. Sooo, I am assuming these pronunciations are somehow localized, yet I am unable to figure out who is saying it which way?


texts: when is the phrase  'according to you' used correctly and what are its different contexts ? Can it replace ' in your opinion'?


texts: Can I say "reduces the proximity to zero" to describe 2 objects being very close?

texts:
When I say "reduces the proximity to zero", does it mean that the distance between two objects are extremely close?

My intention is to describe that the distance between two objects gets very close together. I checked the dictionary and it says proximity is the nearness. I am worry that when I say "reduce to zero", I flipped the meaning opposite to become "reduce nearness to zero", which may feel like it meant "very far apart".


texts:
What is the difference between

  They exchange greetings through eyes

and

  They exchange greetings with eyes

or even

  They exchange greetings by eyes

This might seem like a simple and basic question about prepositions, but I want to know the subtle conecptual differences, through these examples.

Thank you.


texts:
I was watching the film ‘The Devil’s Violinist’ (which takes place a long time ago) when I noticed the following sentence in a dialogue:

  I need not and I care not.

Here, need is used as a modal verb, whilst care cannot be one.

Is it correct to use I care not is modern English, also with I have not instead of I don't have?

Thank you.


texts: Tenses ; Email ; How to use present and past tenses

texts:
(1)Sam, it seems you forget to copy all in the mail.
(2)Sam, it seems you forgot to copy all in the mail.
If I see that someone is not copied in the mail, it is best to forward the mail copying who are required. Then to remind one (Sam in this case) who has not copied the mail, should go ahead with (1) or (2).
It is a event in which 1 hr has elapsed. I think it should be (2, forgot). Just wanted to know if we can use forget, as event is
fresh not very old (1 hr old).


texts: What do you call a glade or path created artificially in order to to prevent wildfires?

texts:
Now that wildfires are such a huge issue everywhere it's a wonder that the word isn't in everyday use.

Such paths, or glades, don't always prevent wildfires, but they sure make the firefighter's job a lot easier.

What are they called?

I've dug up a picture of one; it's from a German page, and the German word for it is "Schneise."


texts: Time frame Past Perfect and Past Simple in 1 sentence

texts:
Is it correct to use the sentence 'He knew the answer to the question because he had studied really hard for this test.' as an example to referring to the time indication of Past Perfect and Past Simple in 1 sentence? Thank you in advance!
This came as an afterthought, so I posted this as a new question.


texts: Difference between "Up to you" and "As you want"

texts:
At first sight both expression can be used interchangeably.
I heard that "as you want" is sexually connotated (UK). Is it right?
As a consequence I have become reluctant to use "As you want" in the traditional sense of "whatever you want".


texts: What adjective describes incorrect assumptions?

texts:
I wanted to  apologise for making incorrect assumptions in some correspondence and wrote "I apologise for my presumptive wording".  Then I looked up  "presumptive" and see it means:

  Providing a reasonable basis for belief or acceptance

Not at all what I was trying to say.  What adjective should I have used?


texts: How to punctuate rhetorical question in an informal sentence?

texts:
I am writing a story where my character says something like, "It's been what? Twenty-five years? since I've seen you".

Now, how do I properly punctuate this in my sentence?

Do I use ellipses or semicolons or is my initial sentence grammatically correct?

What if I use a more formal, non-spoken sentence? How would the punctuation differ?


texts: Using 'Present Perfect' with 'in the past'

texts:
This came across when I was browsing an Australia gaming website, this is the whole sentence:

  "In the past, Hideo Kojima has been a regular at the PlayStation
  Awards when his games have won."

So I'm wondering why they're using the Present Perfect with "in the past" in there, because from my understanding, Present Perfect is used when you say something that is still related to the present-days.

Therefore, I think that sentence should have been: "In the past, Hideo Kojima was a regular at the PlayStation Awards when his games had won." Is that corrent?

Thank you so much for your time!


texts: Automata theory is a study in the fields of theoretical computer science and mathematics. See this Wikipedia page for more information. What is the pronunciation of the word automata?  Is it auto-m-A-ta (where the capital A says its name) or auto-m-ah-ta?


texts: What is a word for when you understand and comprehend something but cannot do it?

texts: Emily Dickinson understands all the concepts of poetry but cannot write all her thoughts.


texts: Word for laptop and tablet (screen size) but not smartphone or desktop

texts:
I'm designing a website for three different screen sizes. The laptop and the tablet should be in the same category since the screen sizes make no different nowadays (like: Surface, iPad Pro).

Smartphones (mobile)
Laptop & Tablets (?)
Desktop & TV (widescreen)

portable might be a good idea but a smartphone can also consider as a portable device so it's not gonna work.

computer sounds close but it also fits for a desktop so it might not be the answer.


texts: What's the etymology of "athlete's foot"?

texts:
athlete's foot

  fungous disease of the feet

Why is this common  skin infection of the feet caused by fungus called athlete's foot?

Does it have to anything to do with athletes?

Did athletes use to get this disease ?

What is the origin?


texts: Can I use one word to mean "what is even worse"?

texts:
I'm describing the harm that a thing causes.

  First, it creates more losses.  What is even worse is that it creates instability issues.

Is there one word that I can use to represent "what is even worse"?


texts: Word for someone who rarely interacts and does so only to complain?

texts:
Is there a specific term (noun) for a person who never otherwise interacts with their social media friends on their posts — save for once in a blue moon when they show up to comment with a criticism?
There's "cacoethes carpendi", but that's a description of the behavior and not the person, and even "carper" suggests the person's behavior is regular versus uncommon.  Same with "fusspot".  Something like "drive-by carper", though, is cumbersome.


texts:
How to correctly write "A series of tests IS performed" or "A series of tests ARE performed".
My thinking is that the verb "performed" is related to the noun "a series", which is singular, because it has "a" in front of it. However If I google (for instance here ) I see that both scenarios are used.


texts: "How do you...?" --> "You have to...?" / "I have to...?"

texts:
I need help.
Is it correct to answer How do you...? type of questions with You have to...? For example,

Person A: How do you wash your clothes?
Person B: First, you have to separate colored clothes from white clothes.

Literally, Person A asks how Person B washes clothes. Semantically, does How do you in the example above ask for a general way people wash clothes?


texts:
'Referendum' is the gerund of the Latin verb refero, and has the meaning 'bringing back' (i.e. bringing the question back to the people).
wikipedia.org: Referendum

Wiki says Referendum is bringing the question(vote) back to the People.
I think it implies vote is moved in this sequence : people->government->People.
But actually the pieces of vote paper moves in reverse : government->people-> government. therefore I conclude the Statement should be modified like this
bring the question back to the government
What do you think?


texts:
Why does master mean both 'one having authority' and 'a young boy'?

Merriam Webster definition of 'master':

  One having authority over another
  A youth or boy too young to be called mister

  The eldest son of a Scottish viscount or baron

Oxford Dictionary Online definition of 'master':

  A man who has people working for him, especially servants or slaves.
  A man in charge of an organization or group.
  A skilled practitioner of a particular art or activity.
  A person who holds a second or further degree.
  Used as a title prefixed to the name of a boy not old enough to be called ‘Mr’

  a. A title for a man of high rank or learning.
  b. The title of the heir apparent of a Scottish viscount or baron.

The definitions in italics are supplied for context, since that root might shed some light on the issue.

Etymoline etymology:

  late Old English mægester "one having control or authority," from Latin magister (n.) "chief, head, director, teacher" (source of Old French maistre, French maître, Spanish and Italian maestro, Portuguese mestre, Dutch meester, German Meister), contrastive adjective ("he who is greater") from magis (adv.) "more," from PIE mag-yos-, comparative of root meg- "great."

As you can see, the word has both 'senior' meanings of a superior, someone who has mastered something, someone with a Master's Degree, etc. as well as the 'junior' meaning of a young boy, even though the roots are words like 'he who is greater'.

Also, the Oxford Dictionary Online includes 'A title for a man of high rank or learning' under the definition of 'a boy not old enough to be called ‘Mr’.' In fact, a man of high rank or learning is clearly different from the 'young' master - the man could even be teaching the younger 'masters' (think 'schoolmaster', 'headmaster', etc.)

Questions:

Why does 'master' mean both a man and a boy?
Where did this juxtaposition of Oxford definitions come about?