texts:
I was reading an article on the Economist about revolutionizing management education and came across an interesting expression.

  Geoffrey Garrett, dean of the Wharton School, at the University of Pennsylvania, believes that a flight to quality is benefiting top institutions like his - and their graduates.

Here is the context:
The previous paragraphs talk about how improved schools outside the U.S. are allowing foreign students to study closer to home. Also, MBA programs have become less popular among U.S. students.

What does "flight" mean in the sentence? Is "a flight to sth" a set phrase?


texts: Alternative phrasing to "inclination notwithstanding"

texts:
I am trying to write a Statement of Purpose for graduate school and am unable to phrase my research interests in a satisfactory way. I wish to express something along the lines of "my specific areas of interest are X and Y, particularly in the context of Z. My inclination towards these areas notwithstanding at the heart of my research concentration lies a more general interest in A".

I want something similar to in addition to or apart from but with the inclusiveness and the contrast provided by this particular phrasing.

Any hints?


texts:
Which is most correct?

X is New Zealand owned and operated.

X is New Zealand-owned and operated.

X is New Zealand owned-and-operated.

X is New Zealand-owned-and-operated.

I apologise for the poor title. If you think it can be improved, please feel free to edit it.


texts:
I have been noticing some of my colleagues (primarily from India) pronouncing the word "only" as though it were "one-ly" or "wunly" (/ˈwʌnliː/). Is this a common pronunciation of the word?

I don't see it as a listed pronunciation in any dictionaries I consulted.

Merriam-Webster
Dictionary.com
Macmillan Dictionary
Longman Pronunciation Dictionary
Oxford Lexico
Collins Dictionary
Oxford Learners Dictionary

They all give vowel-initial pronunciations—none with an initial /w/. Are there any dictionaries that countenance a "wunly" pronunciation of "only"?


texts: Pronunciation of German proper nouns in America

texts:
Why are American names of German origin pronounced differently than they would be in German?  For example:

"Kreutz" sounds like "krites", not "kroyts" (same deal with Anheuser-Busch)
"Boehner" sounds like "Bay-ner"


texts: What does isomorphism between language and reality mean?

texts:
I came across the sentence "isomorphism between language and reality" in a dissertation at http://sammelpunkt.philo.at:8080/2168/1/ghenea.pdf. What meaning does the use of isomorphism mean?

In context:

  According to these philosophers, language must not be opposed to reality, but it must be seen as a part of it and, thus, the philosophy of language must be the study to describe the different functions of the language. ... On the one hand, in his early philosophy Wittgenstein sustains the existence of an isomorphism between language and reality, and in his late philosophy, on the contrary, he states that our language is made up of a series of language games.


texts: Why is "can" so often preferred over "could" in hypothetical questions in media headlines?

texts:
Just some examples from the media:

Can planting billions of trees save the planet?
Can modular homes solve the UK's housing crisis?
Can the Democrats Do Better Than Trump on North Korea?
Don’t Assume Trump’s Approval Rating Can’t Climb Higher.
Can He Do That?

The billions of trees aren't yet planted, the modular homes aren't yet built, the Democrats had not yet a chance to do something on North Korea, Trump's future approval rating changes are unknown and he didn't do it yet. The situations all seem rather hypothetical.

I thought that hypothetical situations call for the subjunctive and using "could" feels better to me in many of the examples above. The question When do I use “can” or “could”? seems to suggest that both, "could" and "can" (both expressing ability or possibility) could be used interchangeably here. However, "can" seems to be used almost exclusively in headlines (less so in article bodies).

Why is that so?


texts: What is the suffix in indexed math symbols

texts:
I've been watching some online courses and I'm having a difficulty understanding what exactly are they saying. The courses are scientific in nature and rather often an indexed symbols appear. The indexed symbols are usually written with a subscript, like this:

When refering to those, the instructor pronounced them like you would pronounce "ace of n" and "eyes of c". It seems that the suffix s is added to the letter.
I have completed a non-English education, so this was new to me.

What are the rules regarding indexed symbols?

Is it simply: a's of n, or i's of c, and more importantly why?


texts: Is there such a thing as the "indirect complement" of a noun?

texts:
CaGEL* explains the concept of "indirect complements" on page 443 as follows:

If it's the complement of a noun, be it direct or indirect, it's part of a noun phrase (NP) headed by the noun, right? So, all three underlined "indirect complements" must be part of the respective NPs.

Now, regarding [8ii], CaGEL adds this:

Here, we have this year added between so great a loss and that we're likely to go bankrupt, thereby rendering the latter (previously an indirect complement in [8ii]) not within the NP, as duly noted in the second quote above.

Now I wonder whether the "indirect complement" of a noun should be treated as part of the NP in the first place. The sole reason for construing it as part of the NP, I think, is because "the licensor is another dependent of the head (or part of one)."

But the licensor of the quoted example sentence including the intervening this year is so (i.e., part of another dependent of the head), and yet in this example sentence, the content clause (that we're likely to go bankrupt) is considered outside the NP, which means it's not a complement anymore, direct or indirect.

So my question is whether there is such a thing as the "internal complement" of a noun in the first place.

EDIT

@BillJ suggested:

  Where the indirect complement is outside the NP due to an intervening adjunct like "this year", the content clause is still labelled as a complement (an indirect one) since it is licensed by the head of the earlier NP.

Here's how CaGEL defines a complement of a noun (page 439):

That is, both complements and modifiers are internal dependents, which are by definition "contained within nominal constituent".

Given this, I wonder how @BillJ can call the content clause "a complement" when the content clause is not "contained within nominal constituent".

*The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Huddleston & Pullum


texts: Correct, clear, concise way to use "potato-potato" in writing

texts:
"You say tomato, I say tomato" and the song from the beginning.

As an informal turn of speech, it can be used to show that two or more parties are talking about basically the same thing but not in same exact terms, or not quite agreeing on the specifics.

Yet written down as tomato-tomato or potato-potato it looks just plain wrong and confusing (like in the video title above). Short of using the transcriptions /təˈmeɪtəʊ/ - /təˈmɑːtəʊ/ and /pəˈteɪtəʊ/ - /pəˈtɑːtəʊ/, is there a way of writing it down that indicates the differences in pronunciation?


texts: What does actually 'working on the go' express in this sentence?

texts:
This little guy is perfect for anyone working on the go; it's comfortable, lightweight, and fits perfectly in a purse or bag.

I can't understand the main meaning of the sentence using 'working on the go'.
Is it about working at the time of traveling or moving or anything else?

Are there any way to rewrite above sentence in simplest form?


texts: Is "'as' + article + adjective + noun + 'as'" grammatically correct?

texts:
The sentiments expressed in the tweets can be as accurate a measure as is found with traditional telephone surveys.

The sentence above is grammatically correct.
I wonder if it is still ok when I write like this,

The sentiments expressed in the tweets can be as an accurate measure as is found with traditional telephone surveys.

Why is it grammatical or ungrammatical?

Plus, even if the second sentence is ungrammatical, can it be accepted in ordinary conversation? Thank you!


texts:
Is there a standard punctuation that should follow "that said"?  For example:

  I use "that said" a lot.  That said, I just do what I've always done.

I have always used a comma after "that said", ignoring Microsoft dictionary's insistence that it is incorrect (I get a green underline under the comma).  A co-worker saw this recently though and said it should be a semicolon.  As in:

  I usually use a comma.  That said; a semicolon makes Outlook happy.

Sure enough, this removes the green underline.  But this look incorrect to me.  I would almost be happier with no punctuation at all.

Is there a standard way this should be done?


texts: Can we say say something is going somewhere if it was delivered?

texts:
Sorry for asking a stupid question.
In this context:
"A monkey holds a tortoise in his hand when going to the river."
Can we say: The tortoise is going to the river?
I think the tortoise was delivered, so technically, we can't say that "It was going to the river"... ???
Please, enlighten me!


texts: Is there an idiomatic expression for a situation wherein junior employees get paid more than their senior colleagues?

texts: I'm looking for a term or idiomatic expression or phrase that describes a situation wherein junior employees get paid more than their senior colleagues.


texts: What is the origin and definition of the expression "caught between a rock and a hard place"? I also heard it in a situation where it could have had a jocose double sense, but I may have misunderstood.


texts:
I saw a post on The daily What which links to a video where a person counts from 1 to 100,000.
Is he saying a large portion of the numbers wrong?
Back in high school my algebra teacher was extremely picky.  If we were going to say the number 135, we would say one hundred thirty-five.  If a person said one hundred and thirty-five my teacher would interpret that to mean 100.35.  Was my algebra teacher wrong, or did Jon just waste over 80 hours counting to 100,000 incorrectly.
I tried searching the web, but searching for ‘numbers and’  doesn’t work very well.  Can you point me to a reference or style guide that describes how to properly say large numbers?


texts: the role of "for" in "for all the tropical heat of the room itself"

texts:
The enormous room on the ground floor faced towards the north. Cold for all the summer beyond the panes, for all the tropical heat of the room itself, a harsh thin light glared through the windows, hungrily seeking some draped lay figure, some pallid shape of academic goose-flesh, but finding only the glass and nickel and bleakly shining porcelain of a laboratory. Wintriness responded to wintriness.

This is the beginning of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. In the article in the BBC Arts site, Sarah Dillon analyzes the second sentence:

  The ‘cold’ of the first clause governs the second clause as well, even though it’s not repeated at the beginning of it. This is called ‘zeugma’. ... So the first cold might well be literal, but the second cold must be figurative.

Then, the first for is used to show a length of time (for all the summer beyond the panes). But, what is the role of the second for (for all the tropical heat of the room itself)?


texts: Etymology of 'I take your question' meaning 'I don't know'

texts:
In former special council Mueller's testimony before Congress, Mueller used the response "I take your question" a few times when he could not answer. This response isn't heard often and as such news articles had experts explain it.
For example, Quartz had a legal expert in stating:

M. Tia Johnson, a visiting law professor at Georgetown Law School and former assistant secretary for legal affairs at the US Department of Homeland Security, tells Quartz that this is a standard legal response.
“‘I take your question’ is used often when the witness doesn’t know the answer to the question,” she said. It’s distinct from a straight “no” because it indicates that the answer may well be knowable, just that this witness doesn’t know it.

I have searched on Google for this exact phrasing before Mueller's testimony, but the results are slightly different phrasings, for example:

I take your question seriously
I take your question to be (...)

I've also looked at Google Ngram which didn't yield many relevant results either. Many references come from NYMag which has some coverage of the recent Mueller hearing on older pages as well.

My question is about the etymology of "I take your question" as a response explained in the quote from Quartz. What is its origin?
Since there is so little I can find about it on the internet (pre-dating the hearing), I am wondering if anyone can shed some more light on it.


texts: What are the parts of speech of "tiring" and "tired" below?

texts:
He is tiring
He is already tiring

(may be 2 different answers above, and below)
He is tired
He is already tired

Further, quoting from World Book Dictionary :-

"a participle is a form of the verb used as an adjective or noun",

Does that mean that a participle is a verb, or an adjective/noun?


texts:
There's a passage in George Meredith's Diana of the Crossways (published 1885) which I can't really understand:

  'Favour can't help coming by rotation, except in very extraordinary
  circumstances, and he was ahead of me with you, and takes my due, and
  'twould be hard on me if I weren't thoroughly indemnified.' Mr.
  Sullivan Smith bowed. 'You gave them just the start over the frozen
  minute for conversation; they were total strangers, and he doesn't
  appear a bad sort of fellow for a temporary mate, though he's not
  perfectly sure of his legs. And that we'll excuse to any man leading
  out such a fresh young beauty of a Bright Eyes—like the stars of a
  winter's night in the frosty season over Columkill, or where you will,
  so that's in Ireland, to be sure of the likeness to her.'

Diana, the young beauty in question, is Irish.

My question is: why is there an article before "Bright Eyes"? Does it sound natural? I thought that the capital letters in "Bright Eyes" are there just because of Meredith's (or his epoch's) style, the author does use them quite a lot. But if it doesn't sound all right, it maybe means that "Bright Eyes" is a proper noun. On the other hand, the only person with this nickname I managed to find was born much later than the heroine of the book...

Thank you in advance!


texts:
A zombie is approaching you, but all is well since you happen to have a live grenade in your hands.  Is there at all a one-word term for the act of throwing that grenade at the zombie and successfully blowing it up?  More generally, is there an explicit one-word term for actively blowing something up (not necessarily with a grenade), preferably one with some sort of corresponding noun?

Consider firearms... a good example, if in bad taste:

  I will shoot you, zombie.

  I shot the zombie.

  I fired two shots at the zombie.

In my case:

  I will ???? you, zombie.
  (candidates: "explode" - sounds awkward;
  "will blow you up" -works, but I really need a one-word phrase for
  elegance)

  I ???? the zombie.

  I fired two grenades at the zombie.

I am designing a small game where I am already using one-word terms like "snipes", "kills", etc.  It would be nice to have some one word expression for blowing things up that I can easily use with quantifiers.  "Explosions" isn't a bad choice, but I feel like I can do better - it seems odd to say "I scored 4 more explosions than you did," and it also seems a bit ambiguous (could just as easily mean a place or object just as easily as personnel or zombies, whereas 'snipes' and 'kills' are not ambiguous).

Yes, the game does involve zombies.


texts:
Does "this is a routine chapter" mean that there is no creativity in this chapter?

Context:

  This is a routine chapter. There is almost nothing creative here. I just
  generalize theorems about funcoids to the maximum extent for  (defined below) preserving the proof idea. The main idea behind
  this chapter is to find weakest theorem conditions enough for the same
  theorem statement as for above theorems for funcoids.
  For these who know pointfree topology: Pointfree topology notions of frames
  and locales is a non-trivial generalization of topological spaces. Pointfree
  funcoids are different: I just replace the set of filters on a set with an
  arbitrary poset, this readily gives the definition of , no need of creativity here.


texts: Does milk toast, milk-toast, or milktoast mean the same as milquetoast?

texts:
So of late I've been hearing a lot of people call other people (or their actions) milk toast. I thought it was weird because those two words should conjure up breakfast food and not "spineless". So I used my Google-Fu to determine what exactly it was.

Turns out milk toast, which is what my ears were hearing, is actually Milquetoast, a character from a comic strip in the 1930's. The name of the character was so popular, it was made into a word and used in the English language. Definition:

  Milquetoast (source)

  milque·toast  [milk-tohst]

  noun ( sometimes initial capital letter )

  a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated: a milquetoast who's afraid to ask for a raise.

  Origin:
  1935–40,  Americanism; after Caspar Milquetoast,  a character in The Timid Soul,  comic strip by H. T. Webster (1885–1952), American cartoonist

The character, Caspar Milquetoast, was apparently named after milk toast because it was bland and unassuming.

People tend to say or write this term as milktoast or milk toast. Buuuuuuuut the only one that has the definition similar to milquetoast is milktoast, as seen here:

  Milktoast (source)

  milk-toast  [milk-tohst]

  adjective

  1.easily dominated; extremely mild; ineffectual; namby-pamby; wishy-washy.

  noun
  2. milquetoast.

  Origin: 1815–25

But I'm having difficulty with the origin of the word. Milquetoast made the usage popularized and basically created the term... but somehow milktoast came earlier than milquetoast?

Both of these definitions came from dictionary.com, so I thought it was just a mistake. But I can't find any other good references to milktoast's origin outside of urban dictionary, which isn't helping me with this current problem. So I'm not sure if this really is a mistake or if milktoast is just... not a word.

In looking up milktoast, I found milk-toast. Since it's hyphenated, I thought it must be a compound but... I can't find a single other use of milk-toast outside of dictionary.com. I don't even know it it's a word. And again, I can't find anything that tells me about it's origin.

So what I want to know is...

Are milktoast/milk-toast actually words? Are they just improper spellings of milquetoast?

Also, if they are words, do they predate milquetoast? Do they mean the same thing as milquetoast?

Is writing the term as milk toast wrong?

I almost always see milquetoast written not in the French form "milquetoast" but the English form "milk toast". Technically, writing "milk toast" in place of "milquetoast" is wrong because they don't mean the same thing, but people seem to do that because they hear it as "milk toast". And the word milquetoast is technically derived from milk toast. So I don't know if the use of milk toast in place of milquetoast is wrong.


texts: Idiom for "trying to figure something out"?

texts:
In Swedish, we have an idiom that goes, "to suck on the/that caramel [for a while]" and is used either when you need to contemplate a decision ("I'll have to suck on that caramel for a while before deciding.") or to try and figure something out ("He had been sucking on that caramel just as long as I had, but neither of us had an answer.")

I can't find a good English equivalent to the second meaning of the idiom, but I'm sure there is one.
So, I need an idiom for trying/having tried to figure something out (without luck, so far.)


texts: Is there a rule to determine to which word is a pronoun related?

texts:
In the following sentence:

  Dogs hate cats as they are naughty.

does the pronoun "they" refer to dogs or cats? In other words, who is naughty here?


texts: What is the correct way to punctuate sentences that end with proper nouns who also contain punctuation?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
How to handle a name that includes an exclamation point (or other punctuation)?

Pardon the example usage, but given a proper noun that contains punctuation (e.g., the title of a show, Yu-Gi-Oh!), how would sentence punctuation be used?

Do you like to watch Yu-Gi-Oh!?

Yes, I watch Yu-Gi-Oh!.

I can't believe someone your age still watches Yu-Gi-Oh!!

Are these correct, or should they omit the additional punctuation?


texts: Is there a difference between sanitarium and sanatorium? A search over the net brings some pages which say that there's not much difference. For example, this article says there is one difference but it does not seem like a reasonable difference to me. So, is there really a difference between the two and which one is used in the modern world?


texts:
There are two types of taps in my house, and both of them are suitable for cold, hot or mixed water.

The difference is one kind has ONE knob and the other kind has TWO.

The one-knob tap (for kitchen) controls hot and cold water together. When the knob is rotated to the left, hot water flows out, meanwhile right means cold water, and center means mixed water.

The two-knob tap (for bathroom) controls hot and cold water separately. One is for hot water and the other is for cold water.

OK, so are there two specific terms or phrases for two kinds of taps?

Thanks a lot.


texts: Word for a laptop or desktop, but not a smartphone or tablet

texts:
How would I talk about something that is either a laptop or a desktop, but not a smartphone or tablet? Is "computer" ok, even though technically speaking, smartphones and tablets are or contain computers?

For example, how would I say something like "If you're on a [computer], click on the arrow to see the relevant chat message"?


texts:
I need a better way to say the following:

It ends up that Nancy was the obtuse one.


texts:
The cubs should be felt loyal by their parents to survive their
  childhood.

I wrote this sentence, and what I meant to say was that "cubs can survive only if their parents feel that they are loyal." But this sentence seems to be not understandable by many people. Is there something grammatically wrong with it? Or is it just that it's too complicated?


texts: What do you call people who like word puzzles?

texts: What is the term for, or the name for, a person who enjoys solving word puzzles, crosswords, etc.?


texts:
"Nomenclature".

OED has two pronunciations for it:

  nə(ʊ)ˈmɛŋklətʃə (nuh-men-cla-cher)

and

  ˈnəʊmənˌkleɪtʃə (nomen-clay-cher)

I use the former of the two, albeit without any real reason.

Which is the most-oft used and are there geographical preferences?


texts: singular/plural mix up and vocab word confusion

texts:
Two questions on these two sentences:

Throughout my PhD I intend to give talks to local underserved middle/high school science classes in the hopes that I can encourage students to consider an education/career in the sciences. Outreach to this demographic is crucial because it can lead the students to have positively formative future experiences in optional lab science/AP courses in high school and introductory college courses that they may not have pursued otherwise.

Should I replace an education/career with educations/careers?

Should I replace positively formative with... auspicious?


texts: Is it acceptable to break a line without creating a new paragraph?

texts:
Let's say I've got two sentences that are sufficiently related that a new paragraph isn't warranted, but disconnected enough that I start considering putting the last one on a new paragraph.

Is it OK to put a line break after the first sentence, or is this not acceptable in English? Is it paragraphs or continuation of line?


texts: Which is correct: linguistic development on/of human beings

texts:
I came across a very hard to translate sentence in a text written in Portuguese and I need some help with the semantics:

  that suggested that subjective consciousness was developed in relation to the linguistic development on human beings

or

  that suggested that subjective consciousness was developed in relation to the linguistic development of human beings

In which case it is the linguistic of human beings getting more complex and not the development of human beings by linguistic?


texts: There's a pork chop in every beer, origin

texts:
I first heard this expression when, as a bartender, I asked a patron who'd ordered a pint if he wanted to see a menu. His response: "I'm all right, thanks. There's a pork chop in every beer."

I've since read variations on this expression. From whence does it come? And is it common (in variation) on both sides of the Atlantic and equator?


texts: Can a noun have two appositives separated by a comma?

texts: I know you can use commas, instead of and, to separate two or more coordinate adjectives. Similarly can a noun have multiple appositives separated by a comma instead of and? If the answer is yes, can you give an example in your answer?


texts:
Which of the following do you think is correct (I've substituted real company names with X/Y/Z):

Competition Commission clears X's and Y's investment in Z.
Competition Commission clears X and Y's investment in Z.

In this scenario, X and Y are acquiring different percentage shareholdings.

I'd have thought the first sentence is better, for clarity, since it's possible to understand the meaning in the second sentence as "clears X" and "Y's investment in Z". On the other hand, "investment" is singular - a shared investment - although I wouldn't change to "investments".


texts: What do you call the person who performs an action?

texts:
What do you call the person who does the verb? For instance, in the sentence

  John killed Frank

what is the grammatical term for John?

I don't know if "agent" is the right word?


texts:
I am used to seeing this used to condense a list of authors; however, is it correct to apply it to a list of companies? For example, would it make sense to say:

Seminars being held by Google, Microsoft, et al.

I understand it to read as "and others" which seems to make sense in this example, but I wasn't sure if it connoted "and other people" or not.


texts: He hasn't send me any pictures or he didn't send me any pictures

texts:
He hasn't send me any pictures

or

  He didn't send me any pictures

Which is correct?


texts:
The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.

What does "the faster we counted our spoons" mean in the citation above?


texts: When to use the perfect aspect versus the simple aspect?

texts:
I have been studying on the progressive and simple aspects. I understand their format and their nature. However, I still don't understand how to decide when to use one or the other. For instance:

  Jeb wrote the first draft of his essay

or

  Jeb has written the first draft of his essay

The same applies to:

  He looks tired, because he stayed up all last night

or

  He looks tired, because he had stayed up all last night

How do you decide which one is better? I find it hard to decide which one is better. Both sound correct to me. Is it better to write:

  "He 'looked' tired, because he 'had stayed' up all night.

Or

  He looked tired, because he stayed up all night.

What is the difference?


texts: What does "keen" in "keen intellect" mean?

texts:
her keen intellect

What is the meaning of keen in the phrase?


texts: A single noun denoting a charismatic person, other than "charismatic" used as a noun?

texts:
Is there a single word to denote a person who has a lot of charisma, other than "charismatic" used as a noun?

I am looking for a noun X that would fit into a sentence of the form

  John is such an X that people say he could charm birds down from the trees.

that would be similar in meaning to the sentence

  John is so charismatic that people say he could charm birds down from the trees.


texts: Can a phrase with an -ing come after a comma and another clause with an -ing?

texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct?

  The teenagers drove to the party, some arriving in sports cars, others arriving in limousines.

I'm familiar if the sentence ended after the "some arriving in sports cars" phrase. But, can I place another clause "others...limousines" behind the first phrase after a comma?


texts: Difference between audience and audiences?

texts: I've heard some people say the word audiences in conversation. How does audiences differ from audience and when do you use it?


texts:
Referencing this answer.

Are buy and purchase synonyms in every aspect/context of paying money?

What I thought that these terms were unit-based:

if you pay for a single unit (1 cigarette or 1 pkt cigarette), then it's buy
if you pay for bulk  (a truck load of cigarettes), then it's purchase

In other words, purchase is for wholesale, buy is for retail.

Please correct me if this is completely wrong. Please provide the word for the situation for the same context I described.


texts: I'm looking for a word to describe someone who is so nice they impose on you.  For instance, someone who, despite being asked to leave a room as it is, comes in and makes the bed and "cleans up."  When confronted, says, "Oh, it only took a minute."  Well-intentioned but defiant.


texts: Is there a historical or grammatical reason for spelling hiccup with two c's?


texts: What would you call the building a seamstress works in?

texts: Just wondering what would the building or establishment that  seamstress/dressmaker work in be called


texts: Is there a word that describes internal self harming?

texts: Is there a word where you look for things that trigger you, not to desensitise yourself but to hurt yourself? So, emotional, mental or psychological self harm. Is there a word for it?


texts:
What is the meaning of the expression "An X is an X is an X"?
Judging from the sentences I found this expression in I'd say it means "every X is pretty much the same".

How did this expression originate? It is not exactly easy to google it given its structure.


texts: Why "Do I know you" not "Do you know me"?

texts:
When two people meet, and one of them says hello but the other one can't recognize him or her, the other one would ask "Do I know you?"

I know this is natural for English speakers but it could be strange for some non  native speakers like me. Because in this situation I would ask "Do you know me?"

Why do English speakers ask in this way?
From a common-sense standpoint, it is strange to ask others whether I know someone or not.


texts: “You are legend” or “You are a legend” Which one is correct or are they both correct?

texts:
Which of the above is correct or are they both correct?

  You are LEGEND my friend.
  You are 'a' LEGEND my friend.
  He is legend.
  He is 'a' legend.


texts: Sayings about "the first one is the biggest sinner"

texts:
What are some ways to say that the first one who does something bad is the "biggest sinner" as the other ones just followed along and thereby their action is not as bad? Examples:

The one who throws the first piece of trash in the nature
In a mass-fight: The one who throws the first punch
the first to drop a bomb which then starts the war

...And so on?


texts: Dialogue from the motion picture " Captain America - The First Avenger".What is she implying in this sentence?

texts:
This is a dialogue from the motion picture " Captain America - The First Avenger":

  Steve Rogers: Well, what about you and Stark? How do I know you two
  haven't been...fonduing?

  [she turns to look at him]

  Peggy Carter: You still don't know a bloody thing about women!

What does Peggy Carter want Steve Rogers(Captain America) to know about women,when she says - "You still don't know a bloody thing about women"?


texts: Is there any difference between ‘it’ and ‘so’ as a complement of ‘she looks’?

texts:
D’you – d’you want to go to the ball with me?” said Harry. Why did he have to go red now? Why?
“Oh!” said Cho, and she went red too. “Oh Harry, I’m really sorry,” and she truly looked it. “I’ve already said I’ll go with someone else.” (Harry Potter 4 [US Version]: p.397)[Bold font is mine]

I understand that ‘she truly looked it’ means ‘she truly looked sorry’. But if I were to write this kind of sentence, I’d probably write ‘she truly looked so,’ as I’m familiar with ‘I think so.’
Is there any difference if you write ‘she truly looked so’ instead of ‘she truly looked it’?


texts: Drag and drop video into OR drag and drop video in to

texts:
Which is more correct?

I’ve created a web page that you can just drag and drop the videos in to:

http://...

OR

I’ve created a web page that you can just drag and drop the videos into:

http://...


texts: What are some examples of “zombie nouns and verbs”?

texts:
This is one of the New York Times writing rules.I don't know exactly what “zombie nouns” and verbs mean here. Can someone give some examples?

Rule 6: Write With Non-Zombie Nouns and Verbs
Delve into Strunk and White’s fourth style reminder “Write with nouns and verbs” by reading about what Helen Sword calls “Zombie Nouns”:
Nouns formed from other parts of speech are called nominalizations. Academics love them; so do lawyers, bureaucrats and business writers. I call them “zombie nouns” because they cannibalize active verbs, suck the lifeblood from adjectives and substitute abstract entities for human beings.
Fight those nasty zombie nouns with vivacious verbs.


texts: In what contexts would one use the slang word "minging" in British English?

texts: I was watching a Youtube video on English accents, and in the middle of a Yorkshire one, I think, the author of the video used the word "minging", in what seemed to be an insult.   So I have two questions: What's the definition of the word, and does it have any preferred phrases or contexts its used in? I'm looking for more the connotative elements that dictionaries aren't really good at giving.


texts: Word for something taken as given in a claim

texts:
I'm writing an essay for a critical thinking course, and I'm evaluating the following claim:

  Without application in the world, the value of knowledge is greatly diminished.

What is a word for the phrase "Without application in the world"? I considered the "predicate" of the claim, but it doesn't seem to fit. It's also not quite a "prerequisite", either.
This question seemed similar, but doesn't quite answer my question.

I'm looking to finish the sentence
In order to evaluate the claim as a whole, we must take the ~~~ as true, however, this is not necessarily the case either.


texts: Does using "most" in conversational English convey use of some statistic or data gathering?

texts:
In a conversation someone said the following:

  Most of the engineers working in the high-tech industry switch jobs for money.

I was a little adamant about the use of Most in the above statement. I was of the opinion that when one says "Most", one should have done (or read about) at least some reliable data analysis, but Many on the other hand better conveys the meaning (that this is an opinion) in this context. But I couldn't back up my argument correctly.

Should people use most only when some statistical analysis can back it up (and the percentage of favorable cases is more than say 80%) and in the cases where it is an anecdotal evidence, resort to using many?


texts:
I just went to post a question on another Stack Exchange site and my spell checker is telling me that asker is incorrect but answerer is correct.

Is asker wrong? What should I use instead?


texts:
I want to make a sentence like the following:

  His arms were strong from lifting
  weights.

I'm not sure if it's grammatically correct though. When I googled "were strong from" only 3 pages came up. Why is that?

If it's not grammatically correct, then what could I use instead?


texts: "Threshold value" -- first to be accepted or last to be rejected?

texts:
Let's say I'm talking about an integer value x, which divides all integers into accepted or rejected.

If I'm calling this the threshold value, then which interpretation feels more natural?

values need to be at least x to be accepted
values need to be over x to be accepted

(If I'm not mistaken, then threshold value can be also used when smaller values are preferred. Let's assume here that it is clear from the context, that larger values have better chance to be accepted.)


texts: hyphenate "cutting-edge" & "state-of-the-art" following to-be verbs?

texts:
Is hyphenation preferred with "cutting-edge" and "state-of-the-art" when they follow a form of the verb to-be?

Yes or no to the hyphenation below?

The new software was cutting-edge.

The technology is state-of-the-art.

I think the hyphens make for an easier initial read. Do you concur?

Thank you.


texts: Better alternatives to "Save me!" - meaning to save electricity

texts:
There is a sign on the light switch at a bilingual school to encourage students to switch off the lights when not in use and help save energy:

  Save me!

Translating "Save me!" to Slovak, would be:

  save me => zachráň ma

Which sounds correct, meaning "save me from [something]".

Google Translate gives the below for the correct Slovak term as in "save electricity", I guess that is how school decided to use "Save me!" on the switches:

  šetrí ma => save me

This doesn't sound right to me, but I cannot think of any other better alternative that is short and concise enough that would fit on a switch button.

Update: I will contact the school, and see what option they prefer. Then accept the answer accordingly. Thank you for all the answers/comments.


texts: A word to describe what a company does when it adds balance to a credit account due to interest

texts:
So I have a debt of $500. After a month, I owe $600 because my debtor has added to my account due to interest (also because the account has a terrible APR). In this situation I would say my creditor has (1._________). I would also say interest has been (2.______) against my account

I could swear I've read this word in context, I just can't for the life of me remember it.


texts: Function of a line in this Reading Comprehension

texts:
While chocolate was highly esteemed in Mesoamerica, where it
  originated, its adoption in Europe was initially slow. There is a
  common belief that Europeans needed to "transform" chocolate to make
  it appetizing. However, while Spaniards did put sugar, which was
  unknown to indigenous Americans, into chocolate beverages, this
  additive was not completely innovative. Mesoamericans were already
  sweetening chocolate with honey, and the step from honey to
  sugar—increasingly more available than honey because of expanding
  sugar plantations in the Americas—is a small one. Likewise, although
  Spaniards adjusted Mesoamerican recipes by using European spices, the
  spices chosen suggest an attempt to replicate harder-to-find native
  flowers. There is no indication the Spaniards deliberately tried to
  change the original flavor of chocolate.

In that passage, the second line says that it was a common belief that Europeans needed to transform chocolate. Now my tutor tried to explain to me that the function of the third line is to attack this view by saying that Europeans actually never did anything innovative. And the function of subsequent lines is to support this view.

For me, it is very difficult to realize this.  I feel to challenge the belief that “Europeans needed to transform their chocolate”, one should argue something like “European chocolate was already very good/delicious”. I don’t understand how this belief can be challenged by “what Europeans actually did”. Maybe they “did need to transform their chocolate”, and by not doing so they were wrong.

My tutor is correct as the answer to the questions based on this passage uses this concept. For example the answer to this question is E:

  The author of the passage refers to the use of honey primarily to

  A. identify the origins of an additive previously untried by Europeans

  B. present an example of a product that was unknown to Europeans

  C.correct the misapprehension that Mesoamericans used a sweetener that was not available in Europe

  D. provide an example of an ingredient that was in the process of being displaced by a substitute

  E. explain why the Spanish use of sugar in chocolate was not a sign of a need to transform chocolate

Can anyone please help me understand the function of these lines?


texts: use of "a" before the uncountable word "consensus"

texts: All major English dictionaries say that consesnsus is uncountable, but right under this warning they provide example sentences like the following:"We reached a consesnsus." How come?


texts: "why don't you" at the end of a sentence

texts:
If a sentence starts with "why don't you" it means suggestion most of the time. Like in "Why don't you put it on a website?".

But what does it mean in this example: "put it on a website, why don'tcha" ?


texts:
Definition of augment by Dictionary.com:

  to make larger; enlarge in size, number, strength, or extent; increase

Definition of increase by Dictionary.com:

  to make greater, as in number, size, strength, or quality; augment; add to

I cannot find the difference because the definition of the 2 words are the same.

For example,
"her secretarial work helped to augment her husband's income"

Wouldn't it mean the same if I replace it with increase?


texts: I'm British, so should I take a rain cheque?

texts:
I want to write the phrase "take a rain cheque" and am British.

Should I therefore use the British spelling of the word cheque, or respect the baseball origin of the phrase "rain check" and use the American spelling?


texts: They didn't boom anything. Their parents did. Shouldn't they instead be called "the boomed"?


texts:
I was doing the Writing and interpreting decimals exercise on Khan Academy and was asked the following question:

  What is nine and three hundred two thousandths in numerical form?

I read it as "What is nine and three hundred... two thousandths", i.e. 9 and 300/2000 instead of "What is nine and three hundred two... thousandths", i.e. 9 and 302/1000.

Should there be a punctuation difference between the two?


texts: Using the definite article with acronyms and initialisms

texts:
I'm wondering when to use or not to use the definite article, when using acronyms or initialisms in a sentence. Is there a rule for this, or does it depend on the context?

For example, let's look at some example sentences
DDR  = detailed design review.

NASA is planning to launch the final shuttle soon (no article)
The FBI shut down this website (article)
ESA is a full partner in the ISS (no article, article)
The project was cancelled at the DDR. (article)

What confuses me is that if NASA or ESA would be written in full, the article would be necessary.


texts:
What does 'rise to (do)' mean in this sentence? Something like 'come to' or 'get to'?

They later went to work at regular jobs. But none rose to become a good scholar or a fine artist.


texts: Selected among, out of, from, or from between?

texts:
I want to say that my paper was selected from a bunch of others, to emphasize that my paper was impressive. How do I say that in a correct way and without using too many words?

What I have so far:

  I was interviewed to discuss the findings of my paper, which was selected out of all/among/from all the other reports...


texts:
I am a computer professional. I have heard the pronuciation of the word Dijkstra from various sources as

di-kstra
diji-kstra
dik-stra

Which is the correct way of pronouncing it?


texts: How to enrich my "everyday" vocabulary as an ESL parent in the U.S.?

texts: How to quickly acquire the "everyday" English vocabulary needed to communicate with my preschool child?  I am an immigrant IT professional who speaks fluent English, but who learned his English as an adult.  My child is born in America.  I can easily communicate on work-related topics, especially in writing.  But when my child asks me "What is this?" or "What are you doing?", I often find myself at a loss.  For example, I am playing a tune by drumming with my feet, the child asks "What are you doing?" -- and I say "Err.. I am making music by..." [Hitting? No; Knocking? No; Stepping? With? Ugh...]  Instead of a single word, all I can offer is a lengthy explanation full of technical or generic terms or inadequate quasi-synonyms.  With other adults that had been OK, but not with a preschooler.  A related problem is figuring out pronunciation while reading children's books aloud.  I never heard these words spoken!  Is there some online resource, or a textbook, or a word/phrase list that I need to memorize?  Something more effective than writing out phrases by hand from hundreds of children's books?  Thanks!


texts: Difference between nevertheless and nonetheless

texts:
I am never quite sure whether to use nevertheless or nonetheless; they seem almost synonymous to me, but I think I might be missing a subtle distinction. Is there a difference, and if so, how do I determine which is right in different circumstances?

I am specifically thinking of sentences such as these:

  I am busy Saturday; nevertheless I will come to your party anyway.
  I am busy Saturday; nonetheless I will come to your party anyway.

There is a question here that deals with a specific idiomatic usage, but I was thinking of the general type of usage, as given in the party example above.


texts: Do the -ing and to-infinitive "verbs" that follow catenative verbs always take the grammatical function of "noun"?

texts:
I'm wondering whether or not the verb form that follows a catenative verb has the grammatical function of a noun or of a verb, and whether or not it depends on the first catenative verb.

"I like to run"
"I like running"

the -ing and the to infinitive can easily be switched in this sentence, and it seems to be implying "I like [the act of[running]]", so both the infinitive and the gerund are nouns.

"I like to run marathons"/"I like running marathons"

These seem like they might still be nouns but need "verb powers" to take the object, and then these sentences really turn into "I like [the act of [running marathons]]"/ "I like [to be in the state of [running marathons]]".

Is this true for both the -ing (and so it would be a gerund) and the to-infinitive? Are they, sort of, initially verbs so that they can take the object, and then the verb + object becomes a noun phrase?

If this is true, I'm also wondering if the same rules apply for a catenative verb such as "start".

"I started to run in the mornings"
"I started running marathons in 2008"

"start" is a catenative verb that isn't a cognitive/emotion verb, and specifically suggests action. So what is the grammatical function of the to-infinitive and -ing verb forms? are they verbs? are they nouns? It just seems incorrect to say that their grammatical function is a noun, but everything I've seen on the internet is pretty vague. I've also seen that to-infinitives are never verbs, but only from one source and it just doesn't seem right to me.

So any ideas on the true grammatical function of the -ing and the to-infinitive after a catenative verb? And is it universal across catenative verbs, or does it depend on the verb category?


texts: The relative pronoun "which" and the omission in this sentence

texts:
The complete sentence:

  Yet I should point out before I proceed with this line that when I use ‘ideology,’ I do not mean to imply the now-familiar sinister
  connotations of mischief or falsehood attached to the term; rather, I
  see Scott’s ideology simply as a mindset or a belief system which was
  true to him, and he to it.

Please give me some guidance on this part of the phrase; it sounds terribly off.

  . . . a belief system which was true to him, and he to it.

I mean to say that:

a) the so-called mindset was true "to him" (meaning "true to him" according to the way he perceives the world); and
b) he is "true to his (same) mindset" (as in he stays true to it).

The main trouble for me is "which". It refers to "the mindset"; however, it sounds odd with the addition "and he to it", because it should be grammatically unacceptable to use both the relative pronoun and the pronoun. Should I instead say: "and he to which"?

A good paraphrase to what I am trying to say:

  . . . a mindset or a belief system which was genuinely true to him, and to
  which he stays so too.

Also what do you think of the preposition "of" and "of" in the following?

  the now-familiar sinister connotations of mischief or falsehood attached to the term
  The complete sentence


texts:
I know that a semicolon should be used before a transitional phrase and a comma after, but what about in a sentence like this:

"This study has; however, demonstrated comparable rate, further supporting the use of traps"

or

"Abundance was; however, higher in the BGS trap"

Is this incorrect? If so, would it be correct to remove the semicolon and comma completely?


texts: Meaning of "scramble" in the given context

texts:
In an app's description, I found the following sentence:

In this game you need to scramble to alter the height of waves to
ensure your smooth passage.

I am not sure which of the following meanings of the word "scramble" fits here:

v.intr.

To move or climb hurriedly, especially on the hands and knees.
To struggle or contend frantically in order to get something: scrambled for the best seats.
To take off with all possible haste, as to intercept enemy aircraft.
Football a. To run around with the ball behind the line of scrimmage in order to avoid being tackled while searching for an open
receiver. b. To run forward with the ball when unable to complete an
intended pass play. Used of a quarterback.
Linguistics To move to another position in a syntactic structure, as for emphasis. Used of phrases or other syntactic constituents.

v.tr.

To mix or throw together haphazardly.
To gather together in a hurried or disorderly fashion.
To cook (beaten eggs) until firm but with a soft consistency.
Electronics To distort or garble (a signal) so as to render it unintelligible without a special receiver.
To cause (aircraft) to take off as fast as possible, as to intercept enemy aircraft.

The app gives one the opportunity to enjoy the adventures of sea-surfing. Unfortunately, I can't share more information due to a confidentiality contract.


texts:
I read this on a news website:

'Mr Osbourne wants a golden age in British politics, something that is sorely missed'.

Would a semi-colon, a colon or a dash not be much less clunky?


texts: single word request - What do you call someone that uses something in a wrong way?

texts:
In my sentence, I wrote:

  There are some categories of users who use smartphones in the wrong way.

But I think, the phrase "users who use smartphone in the wrong way" can be simplified into a single word or two. Do you have any suggestion?


texts: Where is "pejorative" pronounced " ˈpejəˌrātiv"?

texts:
Upon looking up the word pejorative, I noticed two rather distinct pronunciations:

  pəˈjôrətiv
  ˈpejəˌrātiv

I naturally assumed the first (which is apparently the more common), but was wondering in what parts of the world the second pronunciation is commonly used.


texts:
Garner's fourth edition reads we accord to plaintiff his due.
Why is this nominal indirect object used without any article at all?
OED: http://oed.com/oed2/00180661


texts: Is reported speech reasonable in this example?

texts:
What is the right word to the gap (21)? (had/have)

  That is about 400 years earlier than when the Inca Indians were
  thought to (21) __ discovered the silver in the ground.

I think it's had as the tense before is past simple, but the official solution is have
Which one is the right anwser?


texts: What is a word that means before sleeping or before bed, like how postprandial means after dinner?


texts:
I came across a use of the word cricket today that was new to me. It was in an article written by an American author about his recent trip to Egypt and about the role of the U.S. in the current uprisings in Africa and the Middle East. Here's the quote:

In the 20th century, when Western economies began to run on gasoline, and the naked plunder of natural resources was no longer considered cricket, the great powers established a network of petty monarchs and "strongmen," local warlords they propped up, subverted or seduced—whatever it took to keep the oil flowing.
Crowther, Hal. "Arab Spring." The Independent March 2011

I looked it up and found this at Oxford Online:

not cricket
British informal  a thing contrary to traditional standards of fairness or rectitude.

which I assume is the writer's meaning, but it just brought up more questions. He used it in the positive. Is this correct? Is this use of cricket related to the sport? Is it common?


texts: What does it mean to place something “Like a bomb”?

texts:
I’m currently reading a book called The Book Thief for a school project, and there’s a line in the book in which I cannot understand what the author is trying to say. In this scene, a Jew, Max, is hiding in a storage room and his German friend, Walter, is providing Max with some things he might need in the future. Here’s some context:

    He clicked open the case as quietly as he could and planted the book like a bomb.

This particular book being Mein Kampf, and the quote I’m struggling to understand is “like a bomb.” I’ve asked a few of my friends who have read the book and they have conflicting opinions. One thinks that it means he carefully placed the book in the case with precision and caution so as to not accidentally destroy or damage any part of it. Another one of my friends thinks it means he set the book down quickly and ran just like one would set a bomb and run away from it. I’m tempted to agree with the ladder argument, but I could see how the former argument would make sense as well.

I’m wondering if anyone could tell me exactly what the author means by this line, or is the author simply leaving it open to interpretation?

EDIT: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/like-a-bomb has one meaning that means to do something with great speed. While this may be an unrelated phrase, I wanted to include it in case this phrase is related to the one in the book.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
“Whereäs” as an  alternative spelling of “whereas”

I've always wondered which is the correct spelling: "naïve" or "naive"? Are both correct, and it is just whichever you feel comfortable with?


texts: I am looking for a name of a rodent. It is two words of three letters each. The rodent is somehow related to the rat and guinea pig and "it is not white coated despite its name". The question comes from the game IAssociate, so the rodent is probably popular in the United States.


texts: Is "taking him going away" a common fishing phrase?

texts: Has anyone ever heard the phrase "taking him going away" used to describe the experience of hooking a fish ("him") while it is moving away from/in the opposite direction of the person fishing?


texts: Present continuous to discuss action's frequency

texts:
I saw the following on an ESL test:

  John: How often …………… ?
  Dave: He …………… at least five days a week.

  a) does he exercise - swims
  b) is he exercising - is swimming
  c) is he exercising - swims
  d) does he exercise - is swimming

I think both (a) and (b) are acceptable and the test isn't standard. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.


texts: A phrase meaning that something became not so important compared to something else

texts:
I'm working on the translation of the article from Polish to English. It literally says "The discussion on the origin of the languages pales/blanches compared to the basic debate the linguists are holding nowadays"

The word is used  in its idiomatic meaning: to lose importance, become unimportant/unrelevant, and I would like to find the English equivalent.


texts: Why "make" is more correct than "cause" on that sentence?

texts:
I just did the Cambridge general English test and I can't say why one of my answers was wrong:

The sentence was:

  The middle paragraph has to be very convincing and ...... an impact on the reader.

I answered "cause" and the right answer was "make", why is that?


texts: "freeze somebody out (of something)" and "freeze out somebody (of something)" and "freeze out (of something) somebody"?

texts:
Just want to understand how to use this structure

freeze somebody <--> out (of something): (informal) to be deliberately unfriendly to somebody, creating difficulties, etc. in order to stop or discourage them from doing something or taking part in something

so, "out" can be brought to before "somebody" right.

But I am not sure whether

freeze me out of the conversation= freeze out me of the conversation = freeze out of the conversation me


texts:
I have more bikes and cars than him.

  Gotham has more traffic lights and large roads than Paris.

Are these right or wrong?

Note: I didn't compare the size of their roads. I compared the number of their large roads.


texts: Correct way to describe and handle be'ed in English:

texts:
I want to reward you -> You should be rewarded.

I want to be nice to you -> You should be be'd nice to.

What's the fancy linguistic way to describe this gap in English, and what's the right way to say it?


texts: Would it be acceptable to ask "How you are?"

texts: The question doesn't sound correct but I'm not sure if it could be used.


texts: "Suddenly feeling heavier" vs "feeling suddenly heavier."

texts:
Example:

  I nodded, my chest suddenly feeling heavier

  I nodded, my chest feeling suddenly heavier

Are both sentences grammatical? Does it make any difference where suddenly is placed?


texts: Forcing someone's choice through malicious or careless timing

texts:
Let's say Alice needs Bob to make a decision between options 1 and 2. Bob would prefer 1. However, Alice asks Bob at such a time he cannot choose 1, so he is forced to pick 2 except in all but the most literal sense. However, it is clear to Bob that Alice could have asked him for the decision at a better time, and he is offended that Alice is being disrespectful of his agency.

Is there a word for describing Alice's behavior?

A more specific example: Alice is working for Bob. She wants to visit her family, so she buys plane tickets. She then asks Bob for permission to take the week off, explaining that she already purchased tickets. Due to a critical project going on at the time, Bob does not want Alice to take the week off, but he is unable to say no since Alice has already bought tickets (and they are non-refundable).

Another example: Bob and Alice are friends, but Bob dislikes horror movies. They agree to see a movie at Charlie's movie theater. However, when they arrive at the theater Bob becomes upset that Alice just happened to pick the one day when the only 2 movies playing are both horror movies.

In either case, the salient meaning is not the nature of the decision itself, but the fact that Alice failed to present the decision in a manner that does not undermine Bob's preference.


texts: Is this sentence correct? I hereby declare my parental consent for the planned marriage


texts: "manufacturing process" vs "process for manufacturing"

texts:
Is it idiomatic to say "a manufacturing process of/for a high-precision lens" in place of "a process for manufacturing a high-precision lens"?

In connection with this question, I've noticed something interesting. Ngram viwer results show that the former construction used to relatively rare until it surpassed the latter form in around 1980. See results.

Now, I am aware that this simple analysis does not take into account parts of speech and other complicating factors but still, it does look intriguing to me. Can anybody explain what happened that caused relative frequencies to change so dramatically?

Thanks


texts: Alternatives for "installed" when referring to a food establishment

texts:
Caroline wondered whether there were coffee shops and restaurants in other
  galaxies. She imagined them installed on floating asteroids, or in the
  rest area of cosmic highways. Since the universe was so infinitely
  large, how couldn't there be at least one or two?

Is installed a good term to use in this case? If not, are there other better options?


texts: How to describe someone whose voice or way of talking creates an anxious or uncomfortable feeling in others?

texts:
I described someones voice as being shrill but I think that relates to the voice being particularly high pitched.

If when someone speaks and it invokes an uneasy feeling in others, how would you describe it? The uneasy feeling isn't necessarily from what they are saying but rather the tone, pitch, repetitiveness, etc.

I could generalize and say they are annoying or irritating but that isn't necessarily the case. Is there a word that is more accurate for this?

So if someone talking can be uncomfortable to listen to how would you describe their voice?

Example use could be:

Blimey, your voice is quite word here
Woah, be quiet for a second, when you speak you're quite word here


texts: Do phonetic symbols have names in English?

texts:
I know diacritical marks have names in English: cedilla, umlaut, etc. Are there names for phonetic symbols too? How does one call the "sh" sound which is referred to by the integral sign /∫/? Or the /ch/ represented as /t∫/?

This may be unikely, but if the answer is a no, why are there no words for sounds, given we even have onomatopoeic words for alphabets (aitch, tee, ell, etc)?


texts: Meaning of "improved" when used as an adjective to compare between two different things?

texts:
I encountered this sentence today while translating form english:

  These alloys lack the crystallinity of conventional engineering alloys, and some of their properties —such as higher yield stress and elastic strain limit— are greatly improved relative to their crystalline counterparts.

What would be the meaning of improved here? Does it simply mean better? Which means that their properties are much better than that of the crystalline ones?
Or the comparison here is between the level of improvement of the properties of the two types of alloys?


texts: I need a definition of, usage and correct spelling of caplui

texts:
I may be spelling this wrong or this may be a poor version of the word but I am looking for the spelling and meaning of the word caploui

I am trying to use it in a sentence like ' and all of a sudden, everything went caplui'

I do not want to use kaput

Any help you can give would be appreciated


texts: Is there a verb meaning to accompany a superior person to help him/her through out his/her travel?

texts:
I tried to find the verb for the action of a person traveling along with a superior person (in rank or age) to help throughout the journey. I couldn't find out one.
Example:

  Jack _____ his mom to her business trip, just to manage reservations and to ease her trip.

Common verbs include accompanying, escorting, travelling-along. But these words  do not really give the essence of help. Escort does, but it is not flexible enough.

The nouns include servant. Servant, in the present world sounds harsh on ears.

The example sentence could've been better, but I cannot think of one.
To keep it clear, my search is related to travel.
I hope answers from you. Thanks


texts: One word to refer to live streams and videos?

texts:
How would you refer to internet live streams and videos in one word?

Thanks in advance


texts: What's the difference in meaning between "I never would have thought..." and "I never have thought..."?

texts: With the sentence,'I never would have thought that he would behave like that', does the meaning change if I omit 'would'?


texts: 'come rain, blood, or horse manure' American idiom?

texts:
Probably some of you, as I am, are familiar with the controversy that surrounded ABC miniseries Amerika (February 1987). ABC president response to that controversy  was "we’re going to run that program come rain, blood, or horse manure." Surely he did not invent it on the spot; it must be an American saying or related to an American saying. However, my Google research came to no avail! So,

Is "come rain, blood, or horse manure" an American saying?
If so, what is its origin?

(Please edit-correct any grammar errors).


texts: Single or small number of words opposite of "soft focus", "rose-tinted glasses" etc to convey cynicism/critical thinking/realism but not "pessimistic"

texts:
I'm looking for a single word or small number of words to convey something like "Life through a _____ filter/lens" where the opposite is 'soft-focus', 'rose-tinted' etc.

Where _____ conveys a sense of gritty realism, critical thinking or getting to the root or 'principle' of things, but not necessarily being "pessimistic".

For example when you take a photo using a "soft focus" technique it blurs out a lot of the details, can hide unfortunate features in the original picture, etc.

I did check this possibly related question and I love the idea of looking at the world through "half-empty glasses"! - but that question is about being pessimistic rather than 'just' realistic or thinking critically etc. I'm not looking through "half-empty glasses"; I'm looking through glasses that don't actually change the view in any way, but realising the nature of what I'm actually looking at.


texts: Is there a single word or concise phrase for someone who walks on a tightrope?


texts:
I have always assumed that the adjective "big" meant "large in size/width/height" when used with physical things and  had related figurative meanings (eg of major importance/relevance, outstanding, large-scale, known) when used with abstract things. For instance, I have always understood "a big restaurant" as a "large restaurant" and a "big problem" as a "complex problem".

Recently, an English native speaker has told me that he understood "big" in the sentence "I'll take you out to a big restaurant" as "famous", "known". May the figurative meanings of "big" may apply to any noun then? If this is true, the real meaning will depend on context, of course.

note: I mean only things on this question. I know that all meanings of "big" may apply when it refers to people.


texts: Are tenses in this quotation sequenced correctly?

texts:
One of the examples listed in Oxford Dictionary for Learners caught my attention. Regularly I can explain the grammar of all examples listed there, but not this time.
The quotation is:

  As a child he had thought he could fly, if he willed it enough.

When I try to reproduce the sentence, I start with the conditional

  If you will it enough, you can fly.

It's zero conditional, because I indicatively state what I believe is true. Then I proceed to direct speech

  He thought, ‘I can fly, if I will it enough.’

Then to indirect

  He thought he  could fly, if he willed it enough.

Adding the last element I end up with final sentence, which lacks the word ‘had.’

  As a child he thought he could fly, if he willed it enough.

How have this happened? I see no way how there could be past perfect instead of simple past. The presence of time also makes simple past more favorable. So I look forward to hear about how this very sentence is actually perceived by native speakers. Thanks!


texts: Punctuation in verb + but + verb + and + verb structure

texts:
In a sentence

  A homophone has the same pronunciation as another word but differs in
  meaning and may differ in spelling.

is comma before and mandatory or optional?

P.S. Perhaps different style guides have different rules for this situation. Please let me know which one you go by when giving your answer (at least, if it's British or North American).


texts:
According to dictionary.com the definition of warrior is:

a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.
a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics.

I see that the noun, person, is used, rather than a particular gender; it is neutral case. But then I see a movie entitled "Warrioress." Obviously it is about a female displaying martial prowess.

Regarding the movie title specifically, is warrioress (changing a neutral case word into a feminine case word) a real word?


texts:
I have an action on a web form. It's a button whose action is to complete a case.

I need to name another button, and I want to use a verb that conveys the meaning of "undo the completion" of this case.

What's an appropriate antonym for the verb complete?

uncomplete — is this a real verb?
decomplete — is this a real verb?
other?

Button 1 is "Complete Case".

Button 2 needs its opposite.


texts: How to greet someone when you meet them at night

texts:
Is there any formal salutation to greet someone when you meet them at night? A prefix such as 'Good' with morning, afternoon and evening works well but implies altogether a diferent meaning when used with night. To be specific, what can be prefixed with night here or any better way of 'greeting' will also work.
P. S:-Informal greetings like hello and hi won't work here.


texts:
I am trying to remove adverbs from my writing.

  My grant proposal narrowly missed the funding threshold.

I want to replace the phrase "narrowly missed" or change the whole sentence but still imply how close I was.


texts: I'm under the impression that tuition program in American English refers to a scheme relating to tuition payments, whereas tuition programme in British English means a course or training program. If this distinction is valid, why the difference?


texts: Historical or literary examples of misguided or botched attempts to help that end up causing harm

texts:
I'm looking for examples from history, folklore, literature, movies, or pop culture, of situations in which a person or group attempted to do something helpful but, due to their own poor judgment, incompetence, or naïveté, ended up causing harm to the people, project, or cause that they intended to help. The main idea is that the erstwhile helpers are to blame for the damage they caused, to such an extent that the fact that they meant well is no excuse.

I'm asking this for the purpose of having a vivid, emotive example to use in a piece of persuasive writing, in which merely stating the fact that harm was caused is not sufficiently impactful.


texts: From the context in which I read the words, I think it refers to "your partner," said by a woman. What feelings are associated with S.O.? Camaraderie? Love? Affection? Friendship? Desire?


texts:
We have a similar question here, but I think my examples are a bit different and I would love to understand how this is done correctly.

Let's say we are talking about

  significantly higher thicknesses in some group

When I see this right, then significantly describes higher, while high is the description of the thicknesses.
Now, I would like to say that the differences are statistically significant, but it just won't sound right to me

  statistically significant higher thicknesses in some group
  statistically significantly higher thicknesses in some group

What is the correct form to say this and why?

A very relevant example is

  Seven clinically highly relevant publications

Is this correct, because both, clinically and highly describe the adjective relevant? I'm a bit lost and I would really like to understand the rules behind this.


texts:
I've been receiving emails at work inquiring about registering our key fobs. This is slightly disturbing to me as I've always called it a key thob. An internet search for thob tells me I really mean fob, but if I force it to search for thob instead, it finds plenty of results (1.1 million for thob compared to 7.7 for fob).

Is thob considered incorrect? Is it recognized? Is it obsolete? Or are some people just making up words by calling it a thob?


texts:
I have a question about a word I rather hope exists in the English language.  Perhaps one of you can help me.

So, the word "schadenfreude", borrowed from German, means to take pleasure in the sufferings of others.  Here's what I want to know: is there a word to describe the feeling of pleasure one derives from forcing another person to do the right thing, in ADDITION to the pleasure one feels because that person is made so miserable in the process?  "The right thing" could be to satisfy their responsibilities if they have failed to do so in the past, work hard if they've historically been exceptionally lazy, or something else along those lines.  Basically, making a person who is somehow awful toe the line, snap to, shape up, clean up their act, whatever--they're made to do right, they hate every second of it, and the person who's forcing them to do better when they'd really rather just keep being a sucky excuse for a human is loving every minute of it.  THAT feeling.

Interested to see if this gets any responses and looking forward to what they might be!  Feel free to ask for better examples or more clarity if necessary.


texts:
I've seen the phrase "... does not an honest man make" used, and wanted to know wheather this usage constitutes an idiom or sentance pattern.

Some example usages from the internet:

A long resume of lies does not an honest man make.
One good deed does not an honest man make?
Honesty in one small area of life does not an honest man make.
Making excuses for lying politicians does not an honest man make.

Is this just a special case of object-subject-verb word order (yodaspeak), or is it an idiomatic usage that creates special emphasis?


texts: Is there a word for "independent of, and not affecting"?

texts:
I'm describing a process (let's call it A) that is both unaffected by, and does not affect another separate process (B).
"Independent" doesn't quite seem to cover it. A is indeed "not dependent" on B, but also does not have an impact on it.

"Process/Object A is [mystery word] of Process/Object B"

Is there a better word than "independent" that would fit the bill? I've tried looking up synonyms, but haven't had much luck


texts:
I came across several forums and articles saying that criteria is plural and criterion is singular. Some gave me the impression that criterion is used to denote a set of rules.

What is the correct use of these two words?


texts:
There is definition of "That counts here" in online vocabularies like Merriam Webster? I can't find it.

Usage example
it is specifically the usage pattern in the code from the outside layer that counts here.


texts: Term for the state of a deciduous tree during winter?

texts:
Normally I live in Australia where winters are quite mild. But right now I've been travelling in Asia and seeing all the trees which look dead but are not, due to it being winter, have got me thinking.

There must be a term for the state a tree is in that has lost all its leaves and resembles a dead tree but will "come back to life" next spring.

Like an equivalent of "hibernating"? Or "dormant"?

I don't mind an everyday word or a technical word only botanists would know. I don't care if it's a single word or a multi-word term. Nouns and adjectives are both fine too.


texts:
My English teacher says that the following is an "agreement" (which I assume means subject-verb agreement) error. He underlined the bolded parts of the sentence.

  According to Political Research Associates, who used data gathered by
  the FBI, recorded hate crimes against Muslims increased by almost
  1800% from 2000 to 2001 (Political Research Associates).

I've studied stuff online on subject verb agreements and cant find why this is an error. Could anyone help and maybe suggest a better sentence if this is wrong?


texts: Is an article acceptable in those sentences?

texts: Can I say :  We are not in a kindergarden. Should I say : We are not in kindergarden. Does usage  of 'a' refer to a bulding?


texts: How to use quality control as an adjective?

texts:
I'm looking for some synonym expression to convey the fact that a method, or a tool, provides quality controlled output. Or, in other words, that the output produced with such tool is quality controlled via certain reviewing methods.
Somehow, saying quality controlled production sounds unnatural to me.


texts:
I saw an old quote saying "My friends are mankind."  Is this correct?  The word "are" is generally used with multiple objects, so it works properly with friends - ie, "My friends are great" is correct.  But "mankind" is singular - saying "Mankind are great" would definitely be incorrect.

Would "My friends are mankind" be proper grammar, or would it need to be changed to "my friends are the whole of mankind" in order to change mankind into a plural?


texts: I want to know the differences between theses two terms.  For my own understanding, I think they mean the same thing but appearences are different.  Or could it mean that the control panel is usually in the control cabinet?


texts: Why did Old Testament scholars choose to employ "to know" in a sexual sense?

texts:
For those of us not familiar, the verb to know once had an archaic sexual sense, often found in the Old Testament, and as illustrated in the following story found in Genesis 19:

  4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.

  5 And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."

  6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him,

  7 and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly."

  8 "Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof."

  This story is used Biblically to illustrate why Sodom was truly a wicked city and deserved to be destroyed: Despite Lot's offering his daughters to the evil men of Sodom to fulfill their rape fantasies, they opt instead for 1) homosexual relations, 2) to assault Lot's favored guests and 3) to assault God-sent angels (albeit, in disguise.)

When I look things up on the Online Etymology Dictionary, it says,

  The Anglo-Saxons used two distinct words for this, witan (see wit) and cnawan. Meaning "to have sexual intercourse with" is attested from c.1200, from the O.T.

OK, cool.  So it seems to be telling us that those first English translators of the Hebrew Old Testament were the ones who first adopted this new meaning of to know.

But my question is: Why did they choose know in the first place?  What made this seem like a good word to translate to?  Did it have a closely related sense in Old English that made it easy to slightly shift its meaning? ("To intimately know", perhaps?)  Or was it that they were so puritanical about writing vulgar thoughts in a Holy Book that they consciously chose know as a euphemism so as not to distract readers from their communion with God's Word?  Does anybody know anything? I'd appreciate any thoughts.


texts:
In the sentence:

  The invoices, as sent to the customers by mail.

When the invoices have already been sent. I suppose it would be sent. But when the sentence refers to the process of the sending in general,
would 'sent' be spelled with a d or a t? And what would the conjugation be?


texts: What is an adjective that describes a person who is unpredictable in a negative or potentially dangerous way? I keep thinking "volatile," but I'm looking for a word more cohesive with the description of a person rather than a science experiment or something. Perhaps something similar to "loose cannon," but an adjective? I believe I am looking for a specific word, but I can't think of it.


texts:
The term "first world problems" refers to  a petty thing complained about by someone living in the upper or middle class.

Is there are word or phrase that means problems or complaints about things that you have relatively little to worry about compared with others (especially in front of those others).

For example, a straight A student complaining about getting a B on a difficult math test that almost everyone failed.


texts: In software design, we can say a class is a polymorphic class. If a class is not a polymorphic class and I want to make it one, do I say I've polymorphized the class?


texts: How does one write the name of a married female and spouse in a list of classmates?

texts: In a list of classmates, how is the name of a married female and spouse listed?  Is the female given name or her husband's given name written first?  How is the maiden name shown?


texts: What is the opposite for the straight talk idiom? How do I best call the activity when someone makes a very long preamble before he says what he wants?


texts: Word for a phase of a project after the implementation

texts:
I am working on an assessment plan for a project. The project is divided into three phases, and each is to be assessed separately.

The first two phases are called pilot and implementation. The third phase is called continuation, but I feel there is a better word for this.

I want to capture in a single word the essence of this phase - that we will reassess and refine the project periodically after implementation and that this phase is entirely in the future. I have not liked any of the thesaurus suggestions for continuous, continuation, or future.


texts: Interpretation - "my younger brothers seem never to do anything else."

texts:
I couldn't accurately understand what is the meaning of the following sentence.

"Oh, brothers! I don't care for brothers. My elder brother won't die, and my younger brothers seem never to do anything else."
- Wilde, Oscar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gutenberg Edition

Especially, "my younger bothers seem never to do anything else". What is it that is implicit here "anything other than ???". I see that it conveys some contempt but I am not sure if that just means "They don't do anything useful". Also, due to (maybe) cultural difference(I am Korean), what is the meaning behind "My elder brother won't die"? does it implicitly mean that I want him to be dead? (It seems too harsh remark from the context)

To see the context of the above sentences, you may click the link on the sentence.


texts: One's brilliant vocabulary and a tendency to show it off

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What’s a big-vocabulary word for someone with a big vocabulary?

There are people who are blessed with a remarkable knowledge of vocabulary and diction – people who can come up with beautifully crafted sentences and expressions on most subjects at the drop of a hat. But some times, one tends to go overboard with a desire to show off the abundance of words one has at one's disposal and the result of that might create some confusion for a middling English speaker like me.

Of course, what appears confusing to me may not do so to others. Besides, I believe there is no clear line or distinction between using and overusing one's rich vocabulary. So, this post is not about what you would think showing off one's vocabulary is, but rather what you would call it.

To cut it short, I am looking for a word or phrase to describe

1) someone with an exceptional knowledge of vocabulary and diction
2) using of words and idiomatic expressions by someone in a way that appears to be more a show off and less necessary.


texts: What’s the meaning of ‘wipe slime from his mother’s boots’?

texts:
I’m afraid this question might turn out to be stupid, but I’ll give it a try. I’d like to know if it’s a set phrase and its meaning.

”My mother didn’t have a heart, Kreacher,” Sirius snapped. “She kept herself alive out of pure spite.”
Kreacher bowed again and said, “Whatever Master says,” then muttered furiously, “Master is not fit to wipe slime from his mother’s boots, oh my poor Mistress, what would she say if she saw Kreacher serving him, how she hated him, what a disappointment he was – “ (Harry Potter 5 [US Version]: p.109)[Bold font is mine]

N.B.: Kreacher hates Sirius, his Master. He respects his late Mistress, Sirius’s mother.
I’m wondering if it might be related to wipe one’s boots on (to treat with indignity), but I have no idea. Kreacher is a little crazy, indeed, but I still can’t understand why Kreacher brought up slime and boots here. Slime might have figurative meaning of dishonorable things, but why boots?
Would you give me the right meaning and tell me if it’s a set phrase?


texts:
I have been most certainly sure that the second is the better option until I came across the first expression from a lecture by an American professor on EdX.

  And an array is a chunk of memory, each of whom’s elements are contiguous, back to back to back to back.

Can anyone elaborate which of the two is correct, and if both are, then which situations are they correct in?


texts:
What does "raise holy hell" mean? Is it a common phrase to use? I Googled the phrase, but couldn't find any definition.

It is used in the following context:

  In the end it was Stanley Stewart, from the family's third generation, who raised holy hell (including knocking over a table during a heated argument) and finally convinced the family to move ahead with its own branding campaign.


texts:
English is my second language, so I am confused regarding this sentence and need some help.

“I told you that Janes can’t serve in that category within Tommy’s government not that I don’t like him.”

Should there be a comma after the government or is it okay to leave the sentence as it is?


texts:
Should I put commas in sentences like this?

The price of software is defined(,) based on...
The amount is calculated(,) based on...
computers(,) developed by...
approvals for advertising and marketing activities(,) related to...

If it's a complicated question, what should I read to understand the rules?


texts: Grouping word that includes nouns and adjectives but not the other parts of speech?

texts:
I am looking for a grouping word that would include nouns and adjectives but not other parts of speech like verbs, adverbs, and prepositions. Does such a word exist?

Example: The words "tree", "red", and "dog" are all _________s, but words like "run", "quickly", and "when" are not.


texts: Phrase for saying something is impossible at all?

texts: I am looking for good way of translating my native language way of saying something is impossible and will never be possible, i.e., Kan lungtat a par hunah le which literally means 'When our grindstone comes into blossom'. The grindstone which is used for sharpening knife can never sprout and grow tall and come into bloom. For example, So when someone asks for the impossible, we respond 'When our grindstone blooms' for emphasizing the impossibility. Is there an equivalent phrase in English?


texts: "through any vehicles" is this an idiom?

texts:
In a letter I came across a sentence

  Despite of feeling bad for losing one of the best students so far yet for any further specific info/ query you are welcome to get in touch with me through any vehicles during business hours.

Is "through any vehicles" an idiom? I googled "through any vehicles" idiom without any success.


texts: Whats a polite way to say "all the hardwork and late night work I did last night goes in drain" ,a funny way to say it would be also good


texts:
The sentence is:

  While different, the sites are becoming more and more alike with each new update.

Is "new update" redundant?


texts: Plenty of time, space, and money is needed or are needed?

texts:
Plenty of time, space, and money is/are needed

This was part of a question on indefinite pronouns. The textbook said are was the correct answer, but I still feel I would say is.

I was wondering if both are possible and which one you would be more likely to use.


texts:
While using the term femicide I realised that the is another term, probably a synonym, feminicide.

From the following Wikipedia extract, the two terms appear to be synonyms:

  Femicide or feminicide is a sex-based hate crime term, broadly defined as the killing of women but definitions vary depending on the cultural context.

while in the site "Femicidal Tendencies" they suggest that the two term have different connotations:

  The question of whether to use the term femicide or feminicide during feminist discourse is a cause of great debate in the feminist community. At first glance the words seem strikingly similar, but they cannot and should not be used interchangeably.

Ngram shows that feminicide is less common and more recent in usage (late nineties) than  femicide (mid seventies).

As for online dictionaries the ODO is one of the few to cite the term feminicide suggesting it is a synonym of femicide.

Questions:

Are the two terms interchangeable or does "feminicide" actually carry a different connotation?
Is there any difference in usage between AmE and BrE for the two term?


texts:
Is there a (formal register) verb meaning "to make something become rare"? In context, I would like to say "The new software will make instances/situations where you have to manually update database files rare."

The obvious bet would be "rarefy", but I suspect it does not quite capture that meaning. "Reduce" etc. also doesn't quite seem to fit the bill, does it?


texts: Word for including a fact into something that you do?

texts:
I'm looking for a verb in the following context which expresses that you

take notice of something and include that into the result of your action.

Scenario:
You create a test for a software and you detect a behavior which is in some way unusual. You find out what the reason for this behavior is and you decide for yourself that this must be wrong. But because it is not part of your job to decide whether or not, you ignore it and you create the test in the way assuming that the behavior were correct.

  I ??? this (imho incorrect) behavior in my test.

All words that I find means either that you decide something to do or that you remember something:

take something into account
to bear/keep something in mind
to consider
to factor

But I don't want to express neither that you remember the mistake while creating the test nor that you decided to ignore the mistake.

The verb to include is the only one I can think of that works in the context, but have a bit different expression then the one I want to give. To include is in my understanding more like just to insert.

Edit for clarification: there is something that you know (you take notice of it) and you have a particular opinion about it ("it is wrong") but because you can't change it, you include that (wrong) behavior and handle it as if it were correct.


texts: Origin of "as useful as a chocolate teapot / fireguard"

texts: I ran across the expression "as useful as a chocolate teapot" (or sometimes a fireguard) which is apparently used to denote the utter uselessness of something. It received some coverage on Language Log back in 2004. Where/how did the expression originate?


texts:
I've always thought a spelling checker is a tool that checks spelling.  I know a growing number of people say spell checker, but I've always considered that slang.  Recently I did a search for the term and saw that many professionally-edited outlets use the shorter version. Has the shorter term become acceptable in formal writing?

Does it generalize to the verb form as well?

I need to spell check my document.
I need to check the spelling in my document.


texts: What is the difference between "legacy" and "inheritance"?

texts: Can someone explain the difference between legacy and inheritance?


texts: Phrase or idiom for mentioning an idea/topic the other then can't stop thinking about

texts:
Everyone is familiar with a situation where your conversation partner mentions an idea or a topic that you just can't stop thinking about for days without end.

To quote an economist Robert Lucas Jr.

  Is there some action a government could take that would lead the economy to grow[...] once one starts to think about them, it is hard to think about anything else.

In my mother tongue (Slovak), there is a phrase for such an experience, literally translated as "planting a worm in someone's head".

Is there any such phrase/idiom in English?

Planting an idea is a very close substitute, but it communicates a (usually malicious) intent in doing so.


texts:
Could someone please suggest me which one of the below two options is correct in terms of usage of 'Not only but also'. Feel free to suggest an alternative option.

Not only does it justice to both, but also presents them in a way that they complement each other.

OR

It not only does justice to both, but also presents them in a way that they complement each other.

Following question - I am more inclined towards starting the sentence with 'Not only'. So if the first option is not correct, could you please help me with correctly framing one.


texts: Is the word "dorm" acceptable in a thesis?

texts:
I'm writing a thesis about students living in dormitories and I would like to know if  a dorm is an acceptable expression for a dormitory?

I don't live in GB nor in USA and the thesis is neither about students from GB nor from USA, so I don't see any difference between residence hall and dormitory.


texts: "Appear" followed by a verb: Necessarily a copula (linking verb)?

texts:
I’m wondering how I can structurally determine when a verb is being used as a copula and when it is not. Specifically, is the verb “appear” followed by a verb NECESSARILY a copula (i.e., linking verb)?

One of my references (“An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage”, Longman, p.271), describes the following pattern for linking verbs:

    Other patterns typical of linking verbs

  (D) SUBJECT + VERB + TO BE + COMPLEMENT

However, I cannot find a source that says that “appear” followed by any verb (such as in the following example) is always a linking verb:

  Sarah appeared to have won.


texts: Hyphenation of a compound modifier formed of an adjective and a noun

texts:
Earlier questions on the hyphenation of compound modifiers have been well answered, so now I would sharpen the question.

We seem to agree that this has good hyphenation:

  The question is well answered. The well-answered question
  illuminates its subject.

So, if well answered precedes the noun, it gets a hyphen. If it follows the linking verb, it does not get a hyphen.

So far, so good, but now try this:

  The software is open source. Open-source software is distributed with few restrictions.

The "is open source" does not look quite right, does it? Or am I just looking at it the wrong way? (I admit that it does not look too bad, but is it right?)

Does it matter that answered is a participle, whereas source is a noun? Or that well is an adverb, whereas open is an adjective?

You and I could evade the question by writing "is openly sourced," of course, but that's just wrong, and even if not so, the question as asked would still want an answer. My question regards the principle of the thing.

When should I hyphenate a compound like open source, used as a modifier?


texts: I know it must be some kind of of phobia, but can anyone tell me what it is?


texts: How does 'X notwithstanding' = 'notwithstanding X'?

texts:
Please explain 'notwithstanding', only in terms of the adverb 'not' and the root verb 'withstand'.

[ Grammarist: ] Notwithstanding is mainly a preposition meaning in spite of. Most dictionaries also list it as an adverb meaning nevertheless, but this sense is rarely used in modern English. Notwithstanding is always one word, and this has been the standard spelling for many centuries.
Although notwithstanding usually means exactly the same as in spite of, it is often positioned differently. In spite of always comes before its object—e.g., “In spite of your feedback, I’m not changing anything.” But notwithstanding is often postpositive, meaning it comes after its object—e.g., “Your feedback notwithstanding, I’m not changing anything.” Of course, it can come before its object as well—e.g., “Notwithstanding your feedback, I’m not changing anything.”

This answer substantiates the quote overhead, and explains that:

Notwithstanding X, Y (happens).
= X notwithstanding, Y.
= X canNOT withstand Y.

But why don't 1 and 2 differ in signification? Why doesn't the position of 'notwithstanding' affect its signification?


texts: How popular are the terms "software" and "hardware" outside the computer world?

texts:
If I’m not mistaken, the terms software and hardware were ordinary English words, but they have been widely popularized by popularity of computers. How much they are common (and acceptable by native speakers) to be used for other systems; for example, defining software and hardware in a company. It is indeed common in management literature, but I am not sure if it is plain English or a metaphor for comparing the system with well-known computer architecture.

In a logical comparison, we can define a coach as software and players as hardware (just a schema not exactly). How does is sound to a native speaker? Of course, I mean in general, not this exaggerated example.


texts: Expression/word for talking about a seemingly different subject for a while?

texts:
Let's say you give a presentation where you intent to talk about A, B and C. But before you get to talk about B you feel that since it's a subject in a field not everyone in the audience might be familiar with (or remember well) you have to give a short introduction/overview into the field first before really talking about the subject. In some cases it might even seem unexpected to the audience members which is why you might want to explicitly preface this part of your presentation.

Now how would you call this kind of interruption?

A digression?
A tangent?
An excursus? (Which is what you might call it in German.)
…

(While a single word would be nice a phrase would work as well.)