texts: Is there a specific word for "goes without being said"?

texts:
I have encountered this problems quite often and usually got stuck trying to nail down what I want to say. English is not my native language so I wonder if any native speakers could explain this to me.

An example for this is when I say "I think this author is female because she says..." When I assume the author is female through details of the provided text, I have [the word that I am looking for that can substitute "goes without being said"] stereotyped those details as restrictive female or male.

Another example is when person A uses their hands to pick up food and person B sees that. B then asks A why. A says "I don't know. I think it is [the word]. People of my country do that without explanation."


texts: Word to describe team interactions (questions, updates, queries...)

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describe quick exchanges of information that happen in a team or between people that know each other (colleagues for example).

Questions, queries and requests are too specific because they imply somebody "asking" something.
Update is also too exclusive because of the it's "informative" nature.

Thanks!


texts: Is "something appetite" correct as a noun?

texts: Trying to find a name for a restaurant using appetite word. As my native language is not English, Do combinations such "Apple Appetite", "Pizza Appetite" make sense?


texts: Difference between 'Worth less' and 'Worthless?'

texts: Why is there a difference between Worth less and Worthless? I feel like they should mean the same thing, but they don't ironically


texts: Letter writing: Refering to enclosed items

texts:
I am writing a letter, in it I want to refer to other items enclosed within the letter, is there any proper way to do this?

As an example of what I mean, I was thinking something like:

  ... my id card (see item 1 enclosed) ...

And then having an item within the envelope labeled item 1

I feel like I have seen or heard of a cleaner way to do this.


texts: Question about 'ascending to the throne' for other titles

texts: When talking about the heir to a king, when he/she comes into power, we can say he ascended to the throne. Is there an equivalent phrase for usage concerning other noble titles like duke, count, baron, earl etc.?


texts: Is there any similarity between "revolving door" in politics and revolving door for entering or exiting the buildings?

texts:
These are  different definitions of "revolving door", please tell me how do they relate to each other?
1-A door, especially at the entrance of a building, typically made of three or four rigid upright sections joined at right angles and rotating about a central upright pivot.

2-A situation in which people with experience in an industry take government jobs in agencies that set policy for that industry and in which government employees take private-sector jobs in order to use their connections and knowledge to favorably influence government policy regarding their industry.
3-A  situation in which people remain or work only a short time before going elsewhere.


texts:
In some meditative traditions, there are absorption states called jhanas. Four of them are formless jhanas - jhanas without form - and four of them are jhanas with form. Is there a word corresponding to 'formless', but meaning 'with form'?

In the original Pali they're called rupa (with form) and arupa (formless) jhanas - would there be two English words corresponding to these?

EDIT: 'formless' here is a quality of the absorptive state. It basically means without physical form, e.g. in the 5th one (dimension of infinite space), the sensations of the body might drop away, and one is focused on the sensations of space in all directions, not the things within that space.


texts:
Here are the two examples. Could anyone tell me if they are both correct and have completely the same meaning?

1)If I'd been paying more attention I wouldn't have taken the wrong exit off the motorway.

2)If I was paying more attention I wouldn't have taken the wrong exit off the motorway.


texts: How do I use "will" with tense changes in this sentence?

texts:
"The board will not oust him; therefore, he remains CEO."

I'm confused. Should it be: "The board will not oust him; therefore, he will remain CEO."

Can someone explain the grammar rules here?


texts: A word that means someone is losing attention to the conversation due to being too far from the speaker

texts:
I find that I often lose attention in lectures as I'm too far away from the speaker, however in closer conversations, I can always be attentive.
For example:

He couldn't understand the presentation because he was affected by insert word.

I think this question is way too specific for a single word, so maybe a phrase is fine as well. I have searched for potential words and phrases, but I can't find a single thing.


texts: The semantic role of an object of a verb

texts:
I've posted a question in English Language Learners as to this sentence:

  Mom made me a sandwich.

The intended meaning was "Mom made a sandwich, intending it for me."

There, I came to realize that the indirect object 'me' is not involved in the action of the verb 'made' at all.

Is my realization correct?

If so, how is it that 'me' can be an object when it has nothing to do with the verb's action at all?

Is it merely because 'me' is an indirect object as opposed to a direct object? Or is it also possible that a direct object is not involved in the verb's action at all?


texts: Is there a name for this paragraph indentation style?

texts:
In longer form poems you sometimes see a verse where the first line is indented to the level of the end of the previous verse’s last line. For example, this Keats poem:

or this poem from Wordsworth:

Is there a name for this indentation style?


texts:
[OED:] 7. Freq. as Romantic. Designating, relating to, or characteristic of a movement or style during the late 18th and 19th centuries in Europe marked by an emphasis on feeling, individuality, and passion rather than classical form and order, and typically preferring grandeur, picturesqueness, or naturalness to finish and proportion. Generally opposed to classical (see classical adj. 7).

My following questions concern only the definition 7 above:     1. Precisely which (of the many etymons with the root 'roman') were the etymon(s) of 'Romanticism'?
2. How did the etymon(s) of 'Romanticism' shift semantically into defn. 7 above?

Per Wikipedia, 'the group of words with the root "Roman" in the various European languages, such as romance and Romanesque, has a complicated history.' So the excessive number of possible etymons precludes even conjecture: is it the Latin Romanicus, Vulgar Latin *romanice scribere, Old French romanz, etc?

Etymonline and OED do not answer these questions. OED specifies the etymons only of: 'romance' (noun) (summarised in this Quora answer), and Romance (adjective) for Romance languages.


texts: Why is the genitive case necessary/unecessary in the examples below?

texts:
I speak English as a second language, and I ran into something this week that I couldn't explain, even though I could understand its meaning. While reading an artcle entitled "More people now subscribe to Netflix than cable TV in the US" I read the following sentences along it:

  "(...) the number of US Netflix subscribers overtook the number (...)"

  "(...) Netflix's gain isn't necessarily cable's loss"

  "(...) Netflix's milestone is yet another sign (...)"

My question is: Why is there no genitive case for "Netflix subscribers", but the other two examples make use of it?

Does the noun "Netflix" work as an adjective for the noun "subscribers"? If so, why doesn't it apply to the other two examples?


texts: Is the infinitive form of the verb appropriate in this sentence?

texts:
I came across the following and would like to find out whether the bolded part is properly formed:

  To be honest it sounds like she’s got the perfect relationship, in her eyes, going right now.  So I don’t think you should be swayed when she desires keep having it.

Should it be "keep" or "to keep"?


texts: Is this sentence of "mixed construction"?

texts:
In English class, we've discussed the following sentence and considered if it is of mixed construction:

  The increase in the number of times his name appeared on such lists after the poem was published was enough to make him famous.

Is this sentence ok, or is it mixed construction?


texts: What does "pretty" mean in this context?

texts:
Does the sentence mean that Mr. Trump's comments sound hollow? I don't think it means simply "looking bad."

  Far from taking Washington by storm, America’s CEO is out of his depth. The art of political compromise is new to him. He blurs his own interests and the interests of the nation. The scrutiny of office grates. He chafes under the limitations of being the most powerful man in the world. You have only to follow his incontinent stream of tweets to grasp Mr Trump’s paranoia and vanity: the press lies about him; the election result fraudulently omitted millions of votes for him; the intelligence services are disloyal; his predecessor tapped his phones. It’s neither pretty nor presidential.

The Trump presidency is in a hole, The Economist (1 April 2017) http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21719794-and-bad-americaand-world-trump-presidency-hole


texts: Does "tilted" or "crooked" better describe the jeans in this picture?

texts:
This picture shows a person doing a head stand.

The person's legs are vertical, but her jeans are not. They are off to the right a little bit. I describe this as follows.

Her legs are straight, but her jeans are _____.

What should I put in the "____" part?
I have come up with 2 possible words:

crooked - bent or twisted out of shape or out of place

I mean the jeans are kind of "out of place", right?
The other word is

tilted - moved or caused to move into a sloping position

The jeans are in a "sloping position", right?
What is the best word to put in there?
I have also considered "lean", as in "the leaning tower of Pisa". I don't really know which fits better.


texts: A term / title that describes "metadata" details for knowledge base article

texts:
I'm working on creating a knowledge base and want a section on each page to be essentially "metadata" for an article. Things like:

Author name of article.
Applicable product.
Date the article was created.
Version (or date when the article was last modified).

The term "Metadata" isn't easily understood by readers. "Author Information" isn't quite right either since it's not JUST information about the author. "Article Details" or "Article Information" seems like it could be confused with the actual article itself.

Any other suggestions?


texts: Is there a verb meaning the inverse of "to contain"?

texts:
I can say "My bag contains an apple", using "contain" as a transitive verb that takes the container as its subject and the thing contained as its direct object.

My question is, is there a verb such that I could describe exactly the same situation by saying "An apple VERBS my bag"? This verb, if it exists, would take the thing contained as its subject and the container as its direct object.

I can think of several multi-word phrases to express this idea, for instance, "An apple is inside my bag", "An apple can be found within my bag", or, using the passive of "contain",  "An apple is contained by my bag". But no single verb.

The nearest I can think of is the verb "to fill". But "An apple fills my bag" implies both that there is no other item in the bag and there is no space left in the bag. I'm looking for a verb that does not imply anything about what else the bag may or not contain or about whether any empty space is left in the bag, just that the apple is in the bag.

I feel as if there is some obvious word on the tip of my tongue, but it just won't come to me!


texts:
I saw this sentence in an English article.

  It’s time we had a serious rethink about “learning.”

There are some questions about this sentence.

Why the word 'had' has past tense in this sentence
What does 'had' mean in this sentence. It seems like 'had + verb' has some special meaning.

and If I made some mistakes in this question. Please let me know. I'm all ears.

Thanks


texts: comma in the middle of construction: than... and than

texts:
Writing an essay on my trial region English test, I ran into a problem. I wanted to use doubled than, but I was not sure if it's right to do such a thing, and if I should put a comma before the "and than". So, if it wouldn't be a problem, could you please say which phrase (I'll write them both below) is right and, also, explain why?

Computers have way more occasions to spend time conveniently than people who're claiming this statement to be right are able to imagine, and than I've already mentioned earlier.

Computers have way more occasions to spend time conveniently than people who're claiming this statement to be right are able to imagine and than I've already mentioned earlier.

I guessed I knew English punctuation a bit, at least a bit. Anyway, we should put a comma before "and" if it connects two sentences in a case when they both have a subject + verb (sorry for a poor phrase, I didn't know how to say it in a proper way). This has seemed to be this case though I thought there's a chance of not putting a comma there due to such a construction as "than... and than".
I appreciate any help.


texts: Phrase describing a debate with a misinformed person

texts:
Can anyone think of a word/phrase/idiom/expression or anything else I am missing that describes when someone is attempting to lecture, convince, or try to change your mind on something that you know far more about than they do. Often I find it comes from well intentioned that just do not know any better. Sometimes it can be quite frustrating and I am trying to find a phrase that I can use to convey this in my own thoughts, or to others.

For some context I have 20 years of experience in the Oil industry as a Petroleum Engineer. Lots of times people will try and lecture me about things that they think they know about, or just read about in some news article but are hugely misinformed on. I find lots of articles on the internet on some technology related website that is trying to stir the pot on something that has been around for 20 years, people read them show them to me, and try and push about them to me.

The most recent example I can think of was my neighbor trying to tell me about using nuclear steam generation in heavy oil sands development to replace other methods of production. Which without getting technical is not a new idea and is not a very good idea for lots of reasons. I tell them this, and they argue/debate whatever you want to call it about why I am wrong.

Another common example is when people say something like 'artificial intelligence will leave all oil workers out of a job, plants will be fully automated' and so on. I usually say this idea has been around for over 50 years and is sold by a company trying to hype a product that is not very good. To which they double down and try harder to convince me.

Thank you in advance!


texts: So i watched this scene in the show called 'the vampire diaries' and heard one of the main characters say this line: 'And I would've gladly have given it to you...' Is that correct? Do people actually say that? I'm bit confused because I've always been good at understanding would+have. Don't really think I misheard.


texts:
Example:

  He rose from the dead Jesus style.

  He rose from the dead Jesus-style.

Similarly:

  This was my first time digging goat excrement. Not an item in my
  list of things to do before I die.

  This was my first time digging goat excrement. Not an item in my
  list-of-things to-do-before-I-die.

What form is correct?


texts:
What is the word for the point where two lines come together, if that point is at the bottom of the whole?
For example, in a cone (so this isn't exclusively lines), pointed down, what would you call the point?
Vertex is a possibility as it means

• each angular point of a polygon, polyhedron, or other figure.
• a meeting point of two lines that form an angle.

However, it also means

• the highest point; the top or apex

which is in fact the opposite of the meaning I seek, and could lead to confusion.
Nadir, as the lowest point, could work but it makes no reference to anything coming together and, I believe, only used figuratively except for in reference to astronomy.
Use in a sentence:

• We need to put a gutter at the ---- of the (inverted) roof, where the two sides slope down to each other.
• The font-designer recommended that his student make the capital M's ---- sharper. (Note: I choose M rather than V because the lower angle of the M is not in fact the lowest part of the M—it is not the base or the bottom. It's primary identity is as a vertex, except that vertex also indicates apex.)

Edit and possible answer:

Juncture, a place where things join

which carries no meaning of top.
All definitions from NOAD.


texts: What does "former" mean before a person's name in this sentence?

texts:
"He married the former Jane Smith and they had 3 children."

What does former mean in this sentence?


texts: What do you call an abrupt, abstract ending to a sentence?

texts:
While reading the poem Pike by Ted Hughes, I came across this line:

  The gills kneading quietly, and the pectorals.

As you can see, the line ends quite abruptly. How would one term this literary device?


texts: What is the difference between an office and a room

texts:
I was at work the other day and I complained that "my room gets too hot." I was immediately rebuked for calling the "office" a "room." Honestly though, what is the difference?
ETA: I've always considered an office to be the collection of rooms associated with a business. and as an extension, I have always called the building containing that collection of rooms to be an "office building."


texts: Under numbered? How to describe a team that doesn't have enough members? Any adjective or a short phrase?


texts: Can we say "there should be any problem"?

texts: Is this a proper sentence? "there should be any problem"    I know we can say "there shouldnt be any problem"  But can we say "there should be any problem" ?


texts:
It is grammatically acceptable to say the following?

  Don't forget, they could be tricking us.


texts: Should I use a hyphen after -ly when modifying a verb in the past participle verb?

texts:
Which of these are acceptable? Is one preferable over the other?

"Chemically-deposited tourmaline is never periwinkle."
"Chemically deposited tourmaline is never periwinkle."

Also, is the title to the this question asking what I'm trying to ask?

(I realize that there are other questions about hyphenation in similar contexts; I'm asking specifically about -ly adverbs.)


texts: The implicit meaning of 'enough leaves added'

texts:
Mama’s company had examined the place cards around the big dining-room table, which had enough leaves added so that twenty places could be set.

The passage above comes from Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary.

I'd like to ask a question about the implicit meaning of the highlighted phrase which had enough leaves added.
Its literal meaning seems quite obvious, but when it comes to its meaning in context I can't picture what it means.
The phrase should be the source of the phrase after so that, that is twenty places could be set.
But I don't see any relation between which had enough leaves added and twenty places could be set.


texts: What are the fourth and fifth levels in this context?

texts:
One can use the terms primary, secondary, and tertiary to describe the first, second, and third levels of something.

What would the fourth level be called? Would it be something like "quartiary" or "quartenary"? How about the fifth level?


texts: Is it Standard American English to ever contract "did" as "-'d"?

texts:
Assuming that it is Standard American English to contract would as -'d, is it standard to contract did as -'d? For example:

  I would really like to have a glass of single malt scotch right now.
  → I'd really like to have a glass of single malt scotch right now.
  What did you do last night?
  → What'd you do last night?

My hypothesis is that the did → -'d contraction is perfectly acceptable when it follows a question word, otherwise it sounds awkward, or even bad. On the flip side, the would → -'d contraction is actually unacceptable when it follows a question word. In other words, the two are in complementary distribution, at least for the most part.

Note: my question was originally about the spoken Standard American English, but if there is any difference in acceptability between the spoken and written standard, I would be grateful to learn about it.


texts:
I have to write an abstract which present my research and results.
Do you think the following sentences are right in terms of tense and using of passive together?

1."It has been observed that the unsteady simulations with first method are not capable of predicting details pertaining to flow physics".

2."Overall, both the unsteady simulation approaches have been successfully validated by experiments for the computation of the speed. The unsteady method  provides more accurate results"

Thanks


texts:
What is the origin/meaning of "wheelbarrow full of frogs"

I've heard this phrase many times but am unsure as to exactly what it means.


texts: Does this whooping whistling cheering noise have a name?

texts:
As audible in the first 27 seconds of this video, and frequently heard on the intellectual powerhouse that is TV show Take Me Out, people make this whooping whistling cheering noise – generally in vaguely hedonistic situations.

Does it have a name?


texts: Can the word "footing" be used in regards to an inanimate object?

texts:
For example

  The toolbox fell over because it didn't have a solid footing on the bench.

Merriam-Webster has the definitions

  a stable position or placing of the feet
  a surface or its condition with respect to one walking or running on it

But neither really clarifies whether it can only be applied to living things.

Is there more leeway for objects that have feet of sorts, like a chair, or can I claim poetic license in stretching the definition?


texts: What's the difference between a half-truth and a half-falsehood?

texts:
According to Merriam-Webster, a half-truth is 'a statement that mingles truth and falsehood with deliberate intent to deceive', yes, but a bit of searching shows that on-line dictionaries don't have an entry for half-falsehood, and so, in the lack of this definition, the first thing to come to my mind is that one could define it the same way a half-truth is defined 'a statement that mingles truth and falsehood with deliberate intent to deceive'.

Maybe it is so, however a doubt arose as to whether in a half-falsehood there is a 'deliberate' intent to deceive.

I don't know why, but I'm under the impression that one utters a half-falsehood in order to save themselves rather then to deceive other persons, let alone to deliberately deceive them.

Therefore, what's the difference between a half-truth and a half-falsehood?


texts: Use of quotation marks after 'it's called X' and similar?

texts:
I've been looking at the Oxford Dictionary's page on inverted commas, and see that they use this example:

  He called this phenomenon "the memory of water."

This seems like it would work with or without the quotation marks, but I can't seem to find any specific guidance on the appropriate use of quotation marks for sentences that say something is called something. I've written some example sentences:

  I call this 'the XYZ theory'.

or

  I have a problem with a thing called 'small talk'.

Is it a case of quotation mark/inverted comma usage being appropriate when it's an unknown term, but inappropriate when it's a commonly used noun? The first example looks correct to me, whereas the second doesn't sit right unless the quotation marks are being used to draw emphasis.

I believe that you definitely wouldn't use them with proper nouns (my friend is called Peter, not my friend is called 'Peter'), and you could use them with film/book titles, etc. But what about nouns other than those?

I'm aware this may be a duplicate to this question, but the answers seem inconclusive.


texts:
I read this NPR article about Franz Kafka's sentence diagramming, and I redisplay this example here:

My question focus is on the author's [mis]usage of comma punctuation usage specifically the "joining comma" (and not anything about diagramming, as the article covered).

Reiterating the sentence in question:

  As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.

I'm only trained in "FANBOY" joining comma and noticed that this example is missing a comma.

Is this one of those coordinating conjunctive scenario that can work with or without a comma separating two complete sentences?

I'm also told that the following works as well:

  It happens it goes.

and

  It happens, it goes.


texts: Professional way to state the purpose of a letter

texts:
I'm writing a letter to a professor. It is my intention to state the purpose of the letter in the prescript, such as:

  This is about project FOO you assigned on date BAR.

But I think this would seem unprofessional. What would be a more proper way to state 'this letter is about xyz'?


texts: Whence came the usage of the word "product" in cosmetology (specifically hair care)?

texts:
"product in your hair" yields "About 602,000 results" on Google.  To clarify, for those who are unfamiliar, I'm asking about the common case wherein the word is used alone, not in conjunction with some other word.  "You should use product to keep your hair tidy," "I stopped putting product in my hair a couple years ago" etc..

Does anyone know where this usage came from, or have any information on its background?


texts: What is difference between "a tad," "a bit," "a little?" Why do you use "a tad?"

texts:
I came across the word “a tad” which is unfamiliar to me in today’s New York Times’ article, titled “Yankees Bracing for Cold in Opener and in April.”

The article starts with the following line:

  “March is not going out quite as lamblike as the adage would have it, which makes the prospect of opening day in New York just a tad less idyllic than one might hope.”

(Aside: My initial interest was the adage of “March is not going out quite as lamblike,” which I could easily make out.)

I looked for another example of the use of “a tad” through Google and found the following sentence in www.dictionary30.com.

  “March comes in like a lion, as they say, and goes out like a lamb, and here in the middle of the month I'm feeling a little lamblike and ‘a tad’ lion-ish. "You're a liberal, so you're probably scared of guns,'' I was told by an ...”

I guess ‘a tad’ means ‘a bit’ or ‘a little’ or ‘slightly.’ However, what is good for using ‘a tad’ instead of using ‘a bit’ or ‘a little’ or ‘slightly’? Are there great differences between these three words? Is there any ‘added value’ in using ‘a tad’, in place of familiar ‘a bit’ and ‘a little’ and ‘slightly’?


texts: Comparative studies of examples of epizeuxis

texts:
Epizeuxis is a rhetorical device which is defined as involving immediate or close repetition of a word or phrase - 'Break, break, break, On thy cold grey stones, O sea!' (Tennyson) or 'There's a fox, a fox in the garden' (quoted in Pilkington, p 125).

If we restricted examples to a strict, single-word, immediate repetition pattern based on English language texts, would it be valid to state that:

A: One-syllable patterns are more common than two-or-more-syllable ones;
and, if so, then
B: Examples involving the immediate repetition of two-or-more-syllable words have more impact?
OR
Does the impact depend solely/chiefly on the emotional weight of (a) the term and (b) the term in context?

I am checking various works including Fisher's Repetition and have not found references to any comparative studies of this type to date. I wondered whether anyone on here might be aware of any specific studies that could provide some answers ... I would be very grateful for any constructive suggestions/pointers.


texts:
"You cannot order it in a strange pub..." I found this when I was solving a crossword.. I'm wondering what dose the "strange pub" mean?

According to the dictionary.com the "pub" is a British slang means "bar".But "strange pub" means "strange bar"??? not making sense...

In the crossword the answer is a two word phrase ... first one is a 3 letter word and the second is a 5 letter.


texts: Meaning of "shouldn't see one woman": singular or multiple

texts:
In this example (no pun intended, of course):

  I shouldn't see one woman on Twitter today being that it's National Sandwich Day.

Does it mean that I'm not likely to see any or just one woman?


texts: Is there a word that means to see something but not be able to describe?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes the feeling or situation you are in when you can't find words to describe something you experience. Similar to being speechless but more specifically in regard to seeing some sort of natural phenomenon that just blows you away. I'm working on a name for my film company and I want to tap into the idea that some things must be seen because words cannot properly describe them. Any help would be really appreciated.

Alternatively, is there some combination of roots that can be put together to form a new word?


texts:
I want to say having too much data , we need to have a good solution to proceed them. so the statement is :

  Having a huge amount of data, a huge amount of computing is needed.

now the question is : "Is it true to use 'a' with 'huge amount' or not?


texts:
I've found the following sentence in an article written in 2008.
"As of 2000, the United States has dramatically increased the penalties for trafficking offenses."
With regard to the tense, isn't it correct to say, "...the United States had..."?


texts: How do you title a letter to a family surname?

texts:
I am writing a letter to some family members and it is a thank you to a whole family. Would it be written as
Dear Smiths,?  Do I need an apostrophe, so it is Dear Smith's? What if it ends in an s like the surname 'Stokes'? Do you write Dear Stokes' or simply Dear Stokes, because Dear Stokeses seems wrong?
Thank you very much.


texts: What is the plural form of trademarked product names, specifically of the term "WordPress"?

texts:
On the stackexchange site WordPress Answers, we recently discussed the plural form, or whether one exists at all, of the system we all use.

  WordPress is a free and open source blogging tool and a content management system (CMS). In more colloquial terms it is a software application or "program".

Initially, I suggested that analogously to "press" and its two-word-companions such as "bench press" the plural ought to be "WordPresses".

Another user argued, that it was a singular without a plural, since it is a trademarked name of the WordPress Foundation and hence any alteration of it would be a fork (programming terminology).
The latter is obviously for one correct and for another in the realm of our expertise and not to be discussed here.

Still, initially I contested the earlier, since I thought I could for instance order "Two Pepsis" or "Two Cokes" (synonymical to "Two bottles/cans of [...]") in a restaurant and inline with that "WordPresses" would not have to mean "the system and a smiliar one (i.e. a fork)" but could refer to "several installations of WordPress".
A third user added that that might be misused in spoken language frequently, but that it would be correct to order "Two Pepsi" only and that that term didn't have a plural either. That still felt wrong to me, but thinking about it further, I concluded that you'd never order "Two Guinnesses", but "Two Guinness" instead and that hence that must hold true for Coke and Pepsi as well - and because of that ultimately for the initial term (WordPress) also.

They almost have me convinced, but whatever the correct way, this has sparked my (and likely our) interest and I'd like to get a definitive answer on this one. Hence I am asking you guys and girls here. Shed some light for the IT nerds, please: Do product names have plurals or not? Or, if this can't be answered categorically with yes or no, in which cases do plurals exist and in which do they not?


texts: "Delicacy" vs. "subtlety" vs. "fragility"

texts:
I would like to use a word meaning that something (not food) is delicate.

More precisely, assume that there is one (mathematical) hypothesis R-H; it is not known if it is true or not.

We know that the cardinality of a set M of numbers is infinite if and only if hypothesis R-H is true.

I know it is possible to prove that some supersets of the set M is infinite, that is somehow in favor of hypothesis R-H.

Now if I want to say something about that hypothesis R-H, which one of the following is better? Or is there a better alternative still?

  We show the delicacy of the R-H in terms of some supersets of M.
  We show the fragility of the R-H with respect to the terms of some supersets of M.
  We show the subtlety of the R-H in terms of some supersets of M.


texts: Difference between “boundary” and “limit”

texts:
Is there a difference between the semantics of the two words boundary and limit?

Is it possible that only one of the two has an inclusive meaning regarding the set we want the limit/boundary of? Compare it to mathematics, where we speak of “open” and “closed” sets and the difference between maximum (= the largest value in the set) and supremum (= the least upper bound, must not be contained in the set).


texts: grammatical usage of "had" and "that" in this sentence

texts:
Occasionally had members that have been roundly censured in the national press.

I tried to make this sentence simple to understand. Like this,

"Had members that have been censured."

If I could remove 'had' and 'that', it would be "members have been censured." I can understand this sentence. But I'm pretty sure I cannot omit them. They look essential components in this sentence.

If so, I cannot even find what is a verb of this sentence.

"Had members that have been censured."

What is the "had" and "that"???

The whole article link is here (the sentence is the first sentence in 5th paragraph) : http://www.ielts-mentor.com/reading-sample/academic-reading/28-ielts-academic-reading-sample-3-zoo-conservation-programmes


texts: Which form of "ridiculous/ridiculously" is correct in this sentence, and why?

texts:
This is the sentence in question:

Never would he wish to injure the feelings of his schoolmate of so long ago, no matter how ridiculous/ridiculously he was acting, or how strange his beliefs.

The difficulty seems to arise over figuring out if the verb phrase is was acting, or if the verb is was, which would make acting ridiculous a gerund--or not? Is this the key to figuring out the word form?

Does the author chose the word form in order to tell the reader when the acting was happening in time, or is one form always called for in this arrangement by some solid rule? If so, what IS this arrangement?


texts:
This is a simple one.

Could you tell me what "Carbonara" is?

Now. The question is: Which intonation should be used?
Is it a yes/no question or a wh-question?
-It is a polite request for information, so obviously I am not expecting a "yes/no" answer. But it functions as a "what-question", right? I am not sure if maybe the grammar requires me to consider it as a yes/no question.

I am a bit confused. Although, I am having a feeling that the answer is really simple and that I am currently having a blonde-moment.
Please help me get rid of my doubt!


texts: Are there equivalent words for memories as infamous is to famous?

texts:
I'm looking for a single word to describe good memories and a single word to describe bad memories, I can think of plenty of two word options but I can't think of any single words.

Even better would be two words that are opposites of one another like infamous is to famous.


texts: States between Transparent, Translucent and Opaque

texts:
I started creating a color palette for a side project and I was thinking what words would fit the best to describe alpha (transparency) of color.

Imagine we have 0 for totally clear (every light passes through) and 7 for absolutely opaque (nothing passes through). 4 can be translucent, 6 could be hazy or foggy.

How would you name states between Transparent > Translucent > Opaque?

Not a native English speaker.


texts:
The New Oxford American Dictionary reports the following definition for Middle America:

  Middle America |ˈˌmɪdl əˈmɛrəkə|
  noun
  1 the middle class in the U.S., esp. when regarded as a conservative political force.
  • the Midwest of the U.S.
  2 the North American region that includes Mexico and Central America, and often the West Indies.
  DERIVATIVES
  Middle American noun
  Middle-American adjective

Why is Midwest in the Midwest of the U.S. written capitalized?

Compare it with the following definition given for northeast:

  adjective
  1 lying toward, near, or facing the northeast.
  • (of a wind) coming from the northeast: there was a strong northeast wind.
  2 of or denoting the northeastern part of a specified country, region, or town, or its inhabitants: northeast Baltimore.

In northeast Baltimore, northeast is not capitalized. What is the difference between the two cases?

When I write Middle American to mean an American person of the middle class, why cannot I write middle American?


texts:
In the dialect I grew up with (1960's Leicestershire/East Midlands), I'd say "me", when I meant "my". For example:

"That's me car."

vs

"That's my car."

What I have wondered for a long time is, am I saying "my" with a different pronunciation, "m-ee" vs "m-eye". Or am I, in the dialect, using an entirely different part of speech, pronoun vs possessive.
5000 miles and 40 years away, I'll still often say "me" instead of "my".


texts: Is there a word for "unrealistically expecting immediate results"?

texts:
I was trying to describe my friend as being someone who gets upset in the absence of immediate gratification, but couldn't think of a good word.  A good example would be someone who comes back from the gym and takes off their shirt expecting to look fit after one session.

Is there a word to describe someone that does this?  The closest I could think of was "impatient", but that doesn't quite pin down the meaning.


texts: How did 'already' semantically shift from 'all ready' to indicate completed action?

texts:
Etymonline proclaims that 'already' did literally mean 'all ready'.

  c. 1300, "in a state of readiness" (an adjectival sense, now obsolete), literally "fully ready, quite prepared," a contraction of all + ready (adj.).

So what semantic notions underlie it and  Definition 2 below from OED?

  2. South African. Used redundantly, esp. after a word or phrase, for emphasis, or in order to indicate the completed action of a verb.

Readiness and completion are unmistakably distinct notions. E.g. at the starting line marathoners were  ALL READY to run, but if there's thunder and the race gets cancelled, they didn't ALREADY run.


texts: How to obtain a list of compound words as nouns?

texts:
Example: polar bear

I can only detect polar as an adjective and bear as a noun. But polar bear is actually a "noun". How do I obtain a free list of such?

  Another example: hot dog.


texts: When asking a question, when should you use "may"?

texts: When asking a question like "May you print a copy of that for me?", when should you use "may" or "could"?


texts: What is the origin of "analogue" as a term meaning "non-digital?"

texts:
This question came up when having a pun-ridden discussion with some of my colleagues: When and why did we start using the word "analogue" to mean "not using numerical digits?"

Etymonline only has an origin for the sense of "having analogy to something else," but that's not the meaning I'm interested in. It does mention that the "computing sense" is recorded from 1946, but not what the origin of that sense is.

I can guess there may once have been a specific and well-known analogy to which this use of the word was a reference, and that that analogy has since faded from common knowledge... But an uneducated guess is just folk etymology that hasn't yet spread. As this use of the word is apparently fairly young, I'm hoping there's a more reliably accurate origin story than mine out there.


texts: What is idiom of attacking behind the back?

texts: I have to ask that what will be the idiom of attacking behind the back?


texts:
Are these punctuated correctly and is the parenthetical reasoning for each valid and sound?

She's not running for class president, because she is scared. (= comma before "because" means she is not running for class president. Period.)
She's not running for class president because she is scared. (= no comma before "because" means she is in fact running for class president but for a reason other than she is scared.)


texts:
I understand that with words that indicate portions e.g. a lot, a majority, some, all, etc, I need to look at the noun after 'of' to decide if the verb is singular or plural. If the noun after 'of' is singular, I should use a singular verb. If it is plural, I should use a plural verb. For example:

All of the pie is gone.
All of the pies are gone.

But what about the following statement:

Each of the children ____ (be) given a balloon on Children's Day.

Should the answer be 'is' or 'are'? Does the same rule apply? Thanks.


texts: What are the differences between litigator, counsel, and attorney?

texts:
I’m watching a law- and court-related TV show, and the following terms are being used. What are the differences between them? I’m interested in the differences in connotation if there are any. Or are they more or less interchangeable?

litigator
counsel
attorney

I’ve looked the terms up in a dictionary but since I am not a native speaker of English, I don't understand the nuances in meaning.

Definitions according to Oxford Dictionary:

litigator

to litigate: resort to legal action to settle a matter; be involved in a lawsuit

counsel

a barrister or other legal adviser conducting a case

attorney

a person, typically a lawyer, appointed to act for another in business or legal matters


texts: Use of both adjective and verb in place of object clauses

texts:
I've been trying to assemble this sentence, but something feels wrong with every option I've come up with.

  This has made me frustrated and lack motivation to go on this way.

or:

  This has made me frustrated and lacked of motivation to go on this way.

or:

  This has made me frustrated and made me lack motivation to go on this way.

How would you say it?


texts: What should be a term of an item in Knowledge Base structure?

texts:
I am designing a Knowledge base system for automotive terms and issues.. I have to define reference term in my database for each element in web admin panel(CMS)
And I am a bit lost with finding a proper generic term for an item which consists of the Knowledge Base usually.

So the question is what a generic Knowledge Base consisting of? (Is that correct question?)

Is it an article? A topic? An item? A subject?

Firstly I thought to use "item" but to me an Item is something real.. something you can touch..

So I though a term "article" would be more close..

But article is kind of mmm... too article.. hehe :) I don't how to correctly describe what I don't like about it.

So my best bet would be probably on "Topic"

Then all elements would be referenced as "Topic Image", "Topic Title", "Topic Description"

Does that make sense?

EDIT:
The purpose of the question is not how to name my functions or IDs in my program design, but more about a proper term usage and their correct meaning for each particular case..
So I believe this question is more about english grammar and terminology rather than UX or programming. In this topic I am trying to learn the usage of these terms. And in future apply this knowledge in different areas such as conversations, writings, and programming.

My apology if it looks too confusing at first.


texts:
When describing an action preformed by myself, others, or others and myself, I often leave the subject out of the sentence.

A: What did you do yesterday?
B: Climbed a mountain.

What is this called? Is it a mood? Is it still technically the imperative or can that only be second person future ?


texts: Why is there — and should there be — a comma following a state or country's name?

texts:
This Capital Community College document best describes my dilemma: “When both a city's name and that city's state or country's name are mentioned together, the state or country's name is treated as a parenthetical element.” That’s fine by me; it’s a habit of mine. But I occasionally find myself questioning that “rule.” For example, is the state or country — bookended by commas — a non-restrictive element?

In some cases, this reasoning would check out:

  On average, temperatures in Salt Lake City, UT, reach 90 degrees 56 days a year.

There is of course only one Salt Lake City. But when we say something like this,

  The tallest building in Portland, ME, is 16 stories tall.

the state element is no longer non-restrictive. If ME is removed from the sentence — as the commas suggest it may be — then most readers will assume the city to be Portland, OR. Other cities’ names come to mind: Springfield, Salem, Washington, etc.

Is the comma following a state or country’s name arbitrary inasmuch as it is applied to each and every state/country (with a few exceptions, each of which can be found in the above-linked document and is not relevant to this discussion)? In many writings — and I assume them to be written by people who do not obsess over the English language as I do — the comma in question is omitted. And this makes sense, especially in instances when the name of state is essential to identifying the city (see my second example).

Should I therefore consider using a comma, always and without discretion; sometimes, at my discretion; or never?

Note that the same is true of dates. For example,

  July 4, 1776, is otherwise known as “Independence Day.”

By the same token,

  July 4, 2016, is otherwise known as “Independence Day.”


texts: "Next most recent" and "second most recent" equivalent or not?

texts:
I'm working with a survey that among other topics has questions about sexual behavior. While figuring out the data, I ran into the following description:

  If there have been more than three sexual partners in the twelve month period that has elapsed, record only the three recent in the order of the most recent, next most recent and second most recent.

In the survey, this language on "next most" and "second most" is used consistently in the same way as in the quote above. From the quote I find it easy to interpret that:

"next most recent" means the 2nd most recent (occurred before the most recent but after the 3rd most recent)
"second most recent" means the 3rd most recent (occurred before the 2nd most recent)

My question is: Does the quote have an outright error in the use of "next most recent" and "second most recent"?


texts:
Which one of these constructions

  An homomorphism

  A homomorphism

is correct in American English?

I see both uses in research paper. Also the wikipedia page uses both construction in the same article.


texts: What is this white round plastic container called?

texts: What can we call this round shaped plastic container?


texts: sound or spelling to determine the choice of indefinite article

texts:
Is it correct to use indefinite articles based on the spelling of a word or the way it's pronounced?

Would we say "Take an NHS leaflet." or "Take a NHS leaflet."?

Also, what is the case with words which are pronounced differently in different parts of the world?

For example would it be "an historian" in the UK, while "a historian" in the US? Which of the two historian versions would be selected for a book that would be sold internationally?


texts:
Given the following examples:

  Yesterday, you mentioned thinking it was a good idea to go sailing.
  Last week, you thought it was appropriate to dress like a pirate.

Can was be inferred and therefore omitted for the sake being succinct without loss of meaning?

  Yesterday, you mentioned thinking it a good idea to go sailing.
  Last week, you thought it appropriate to dress like a pirate.

Could someone provide the grammatical terms related to my question it would be greatly appreciated as I was uncertain of what search phrases would apply.


texts:
How to pronounce the "s" at the end of pupils. What is the phonetic of this
word.


texts: Use (or non-use) of articles before abstract nouns

texts:
I know I have asked a similar question before but this time I have examples taken from COCA and they do puzzle me. I would love to hear explanations from native speakers.

The following (incomplete) sentences taken from COCA show three different ways of article usage before "reduction of something".

(1) $1.5 billion could be used for things like restoration of fish and wildlife, the reduction of mercury pollution and greenhouse gas reduction.

(2) Fasting imposes a reduction of calorie intake, which is particularly significant if the hours of darkness are few

(3) A key goal of the optimization phase is reduction of communication over-head via a range of techniques, including execution of communication in parallel

Can you say "a reduction of mercury pollution" instead of "the reduction of mercury pollution" in (1)? Likewise, can you say "the reduction of calorie intake" instead of "a reduction of calorie intake" in (2)? If you can, what difference in meaning would that make in each case?

My guess is that, in using "a", the speaker (or writer) has in mind some image of what is to be reduced, whereas in using "the", the speaker (or writer) has in mind more of the fact of reduction itself than what is to be reduced, lacking a better description.

Even if my guess is right, (3) still remains to be explained. Is the lack of article before "reduction of communications over-head" a case of ellipsis? If not, why don't you need an article here as in the other two examples? What difference does the absence of an article make in comparison with "the reduction of communication over-head" or "a reduction of (in) communication over-head"? Can you or should you use "a" or "the" in this case?

In addition, there is another issue in (1). There is no article in front of "restoration". Why is there no article here, whereas there is a definite article in front of "reduction"?


texts:
It was established on a rocky foundation.

Does it mean  steady or shaky?


texts: When are "from" and "by" interchangeable?

texts: Today I listened to a performance by Stephen Lynch in which he said "A public service anouncement from Stephen Lynch" which confused me, a non-native English speaker. Is the usage of "from" correct here? When can I use "from" instead of "by"?


texts: Can I answer a question in the simple past with present perfect?

texts:
Can a question in the simple past be answered with present perfect? For instance, if someone said

  I bought some milk five hours ago."

could I answer

  Where have you put it?

I know I can use the simple past here, but could I use the present perfect here as well if I'm interested in where the milk is now?


texts: I am curious about the usage of word biasedness, I am unable to find it in Oxford's advance learners dictionary but on the internet. When tried to consult some expert, he said that it's a colloquial expression. So my questions is Is there a word biasedness and should we use it?


texts: Origin of the expression "Dead to rights"?

texts:
I was watching a TV show and this term was used.

I am familiar with the definition, but I was wondering the origin of the phrase. It does not make sense to me if taken literally.

Reference


texts: "Dear Sir" or "Dear John" if you are addressing the VP of a company

texts:
How to address the VP of a company or department? I have been told that addressing by name was not polite.

Any clues?


texts: For how long has "as" been synonymous with "because" in British English?

texts:
In British English, it seems that "because" can always be replaced with "as." Here is an example of "as" meaning "because" in British English:

  I popped down to the shops as we were out of loo roll.

In American English, this would translate to:

  I went to the store because we were out of toilet paper.

Here is an example of "as" meaning "while" in American English:

  I farted loudly as I descended the stairs.

In British English, the preceding sentence would be ambiguous because "as" could mean "while" (the fart coincides with the descent) or "because" (the fart is a result of the descent).

Has this always been true? If "as" has two main meanings ("while" and "because"), which of these was the original? And when was the second meaning added?


texts:
1.New employee is going to join on Sunday.
2.New employee is joining on Sunday.
3.New employee will join on Sunday.
4.New employee joins on Sunday.

Can you please let me know which sentence i should use form abou and why ?


texts:
Is this statement correct? -

  However catastrophic the physical abuse, the lasting scars came from the verbal insults that had been hurled at them.

Does the first part of the sentence before the comma need the verb "was"?


texts: What's the meaning of " It is just that"

texts:
I don't understand the meaning of this phrase:  "It is just that "

  It is just that the specific policies and practices associated with transnational liberalism are not the same as globalization tout court.


texts:
I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used.  For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate."

I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary.

I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate".  It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way.

Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use.

I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it.

If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.


texts: "My Mum's" instead of "My Mum's place": short form only used for places/homes?

texts:
In expressions such as

We went to John's house.
The party was at my Mum's place.

it seems to be quite common to leave out "house" and "place", leading to

We went to John's.
The party was at my Mum's.

Q1) Are such short forms acceptable in (reasonably formal) written English?
Q2) Do similar short forms appear in the English language in other contexts?
For example, in a conversation along the lines of

Whose car did you take? - We took my Mum's.

it is clear that I can leave out "car" in the reply. However, I would be very confused by the sentence

We took my Mum's to get here.

whereas

We celebrated my birthday at my Mum's.

still makes sense.


texts: Is there a word that means nonsensical question?

texts:
A friend of mine and I were joking about questions that are complete nonsense. Here are some examples:

True or false: How tall is the Empire State Building?

Is it further to Pittsburgh or by train?

How tall do you weigh?

I called them nonsensical questions. My friend said he thought there was a more descriptive word for them, but could not remember the word. Is there a word for questions that are complete nonsense? I am dubious of his claim.

Edit: I just suggested the word balderdash, but he said that is not the word he was trying to remember. He says he is thinking of a word that specifically implies a question is nonsense. It would not be used to describe other types of sentences, like statements.

Edit 2: Someone requested that I add the following question: "Which weighs more, a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers?" This question is a trick question, but not nonsensical. A similar question that is closer to being nonsensical would be

Which weighs more, a pound of gold or a pound of feathers?

Comparing the weight of gold to the weight of feathers is ambiguous. Both bricks and feathers are typically weighed using the standard scale. Gold, on the other hand, is typically weighed using the Troy scale. A troy pound weighs less than a standard avoirdupois pound. So, the question does not have as straightforward an answer due to the ambiguity of which scale is being used to weigh each.


texts: What does "tink, terry tink" mean in "I’ll mend them all with a tink, terry tink,"?

texts:
My questions are:

Is "tink" is a verb, meaning the action of a tinker?
Is "terry" is an adj. meaning gentle?

From the book "A History of the Cries of London", page 99.

  Have you any work for a tinker, mistriss?
  Old brass, old pots, or kettles?
  I’ll mend them all with a tink, terry tink,
  And never hurt your mettles.
  ...

(emphasis added)


texts:
Context:

  "Why are we so worried about artificial intelligence? Surely humans are always able to pull the plug?"
  People asked a computer, “Is there a God?” And the computer said, “There is now,” and fused the plug.

Is the meaning of "fused" is "joined" or "soldered" or "stop working"?


texts: Is there a connection between shy (adj.) and shy (v.) meaning throw?

texts:
Most British people probably best recognise the colloquial meaning of shy from the traditional fairground throwing game called the coconut shy but it is also occasionally used in everyday English.

According to the Online Etymological Dictionary the throw meaning is the more recent (1787) and a connection between the two is uncertain.  If there is no connection, how did this meaning of shy originate?


texts: "nones" used to describe people who are spiritual, but not religious

texts: I work for the Church and I've seen the term "nones" used to describe those who are non-Christian or those who are considered "spiritual, but not religious." I find the term belittling. What's the origin of the term? Is it from "none of the above"? Is there a better term out there?


texts:
Is this phrase correct?

  The Contractor declares to have the exclusive right to authorise...

or should it be:

  The Contractor declares that it has the exclusive right to authorise...


texts: Word/Phrase if you assume someone guilty for not denying an irrelevant claim

texts:
Is there a word/phrase for Person A in a conversation like this:

Person A: "Are you from this country?"

Person B: "Why does that matter?"

Person A: "So, that is a no..."

Person A asks an irrelevant question, and Person B points out the lack of relevance. Is there a word/phrase for Person A?


texts: Is there any Saxon word that contains /ʒ/?

texts: Is there any Saxon (native) word that contains /ʒ/? All words containing that sound I can think of such as genre, garage, luge, vision, visual, etc. are from French.


texts:
"a town which bordered the school and which was exclusively populated by immigrants"

I didn't put the second which in at first, and then felt it was necessary. Can anyone enlighten?


texts: What does Obama mean when he says "crossroads of a nation, land of Lincoln"?

texts:
I was looking at Obama's 2004 democratic convention speech.

He said "crossroads of a nation, land of Lincoln, let me express my deepest gratitude..."

I think "land of Lincoln" is referring to Illinois, Lincoln's home state.

So, what is "crossroads of a nation", is that Chicago heights?  But that's "crossroads of THE nation" according Wiki.

Where did he learn his writing style?  Is it from Martin Luther King, Jr and JF Kennedy?


texts: Is there single a word for a single animal of a species?

texts:
A word for a single animal of a species?

Example sentence

  the tapir is a very rare species, for example lets observe this {insert word here}


texts:
I'm sorry, I've looked at other places here, and can't find the exact answer - maybe the searching strategy I'm using isn't good. There are some related ones, though none solving this that I can see.

If I have a question and I have another question nested in brackets (or even another sort of punctuation), do I have two question-markable statements? Examples:

  “Does anyone know where the party is going to be (if, indeed, there is going to be a party?)?”

It seems odd but this second one seems less odd, because the question marks are not adjacent to each other:

  “Does anyone know where the party (if there is going to be a party?) is going to be?

And then does this work for other ways of doing parentheses, for instance:

  “Does anyone know where the party - if there is going to be a party? - is going to be?”

?

I'm very confused about this, because it just seems different if the question marks are at the end or in the middle, and yet the parenthetic clause, being a sub-clause, seems to demand the question mark itself.


texts:
In recent months I have on a number of occasions heard people use the word "around" when they mean "on the subject of."
E.g. "I can answer your questions around your investments."
I don't recall having heard this before 2021, but suddenly I've heard it repeatedly.
Has this been noted by people who pay attention to such things? Is it brand-new or have I been isolated?


texts: Why does "off limits" mean "not allowed to enter"?

texts:
"Off limits"means "not allowed to enter".

However,  "limit" means a point which something is not allowed to enter.
(The Free Dictionary)

I wonder why it uses "off "?


texts: "1º Noun + 2º Noun " or "2º Noun + of the + 1º Noun"?

texts:
I know this must be a simple question, but I really can't find (probably I don't know how express this question to search in google) the explanation for this.

In the phrase:
    Full Coverage of the Industry

Could we say:
    Industry Full Coverage

Is there a correct way or any rules that can help us this and in other similar cases?? Usually I use what sounds right for me, but I'm never sure of what is the correct one

Same thing for
Car Manufacters of Passenger vehicles or Passenger vehicles car manufacters

Thank you all


texts: A word that means "at an unusual time or season"

texts:
I'm looking for a word that refers to a fact that something happened at an unusual time or during an unusual season.  Somthing that could be applied to things like:

Pancakes for dinner
Easter decorations in October

The only thing I can think of is "anachronism", but I'm pretty sure that is only for things that are out of place by years.


texts: Why is /k/ sometimes spelt with a C, and sometimes with a K?

texts:
This may sound silly. But I'm really confused why, when we pronounce (the phoneme) /k/, we sometimes spell it with a C and sometimes with a K (sometimes with CK).
Why wasn't 'k' used instead, in such words as: car, cake, etc...?


texts: Resources that discuss "Jewish" English (English influenced by Yiddish grammar)

texts:
I'm looking for some resources that discuss English spoken with the influence of Yiddish/Hebraic grammatical structures. For instance, things like:

  You want I should...

"Do you want me to..."

  I should be so lucky

"May I be so lucky"

Anything to point me into the right direction would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
I have read that set is American and that lay is British.

But I do not think it is nearly as simple as that. I grew up in rural England in the late 1940s/50s, and we always set the table. In fact lay still jars with me now.

So who sets and who lays the table?

And in Britain, what is the social class implication? Is it posher to set or to lay. What do the servants in Downton Abbey do?


texts: "Hat trading company" vs "Hat-trading company"

texts:
Last year I worked for X, a hat-trading company

or

  Last year I worked for X, a hat trading company

For some reason I was inclined to go with the hyphenated version, which now seems wrong, but I'd like to be sure.


texts: Revolutioner vs Revolutionist: which is better?

texts:
Both words can be found in a dictionary and have the same meaning. My question is: is any one better than the other in any way? Is one more fitting in certain scenarios?

I think revolutionist sounds more natural but I'm not sure. I've been living in Eastern USA for about 5 years so could it be that revolutionist is just more common in my area?


texts: How to describe the "waiting time" as someone else has yet to finish the dependent task?

texts: I cannot start my next task until the other person completes his task. I need a good word to publish this to senior management.


texts: Is there a word to describe when a person with a non-English name adopts an English name, because it happens to sound very much like her real name?

texts:
This is especially common with the Chinese in America or Hong Kong.

Example 1: A Chinese person called Lu Xi comes to America and adopts the name Lucy.
Example 2: Or those named Mohammed from the Middle East and North Africa sometimes abbreviate their name to Moe while in America.

I’m wondering if there’s a word that describes exactly this. (Similar to how the word onomatopoeia does its work.)


texts: The term for a Person who is asked to state a negative about themselves, but actually says a positive

texts:
I am looking for the term of a person who is asked to state something negative about themselves but actually states something positive..

EX:

"I guess one of my biggest faults is that I care too much"

"I guess one of my biggest faults is that I am too much of a perfectionist"


texts: Is this correct grammar — "which feature in C/C++ don't you like?"

texts:
The question in question is this:

  Which feature in C/C++ don't you like?

Just wanted to know if that is proper way of asking. Not sure if "don't you like" is the right way there.


texts: Can I use "but" at the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
For a while, using but to start a sentence was largely frowned upon. But, I think it is possible to use but at the beginning of a sentence, as long as it isn't overused.

Am I right?


texts:
What is the origin of 'bootleg' ('bootlegger', 'bootlegging'), in the general sense of "illicit trade in liquor" (OED)?

The Online Etymology Dictionary gives one possible origin, from 1889:

  As an adjective in reference to illegal liquor, 1889, American English slang, from the trick of concealing a flask of liquor down the leg of a high boot. Before that the bootleg was the place to secret knives and pistols.

Other possible origins include references to a tall beer glass, also known as a 'schuper':

  Queer Drinking Vessels
  The term "boot leg" applied to a very tall beer glass...may owe its origin to a misapprehension of the French touching on [an] old English drinking vessel. The black jack, a leather bottle sometimes lined with silver...According to a curious old book of the seventeenth century, when Frenchmen saw these vessels...they took back to France the story that the English drank out of their boots — N. Y. Sun.

  From The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), 26 Jan 1894.

References to 'schupers' as 'boot-legs' appear at least as early as 1886:

  Clipping from The Critic (Washington, District of Columbia), 28 Jan 1886.

Also prior to 1889 are mentions of 'boot legs' as an ingredient in the making of, for example, "tangle-foot" whiskey and "boot-leg coffee".


texts: I'm looking for a word similar to obtuse but more specific

texts: Imagine, you're in a debate. The other person is obviously intelligent, but would rather bog things down in semantics than understand a point and move on. They begin to ask broad questions about the meanings of words like "necessity" which of course what is necessary can change depending on situations. They know what's meant, hell, you've even defined it, but they come back to it again being intentionally obtuse in order to make you sound like you're advocating something vile.


texts: I would love me having this question answered

texts:
I've recently happened to use following sentence:

I would love me having this picture.

Instead of usual:

  I would love to have this picture

Was that a proper sentence? Does it have different meaning than the second one? It has no equivalent in my native language, so I had to pick it up somehow. Google search provided me with just a few such word usages. Might it be some kind of slang?


texts: When there's an uppercase sentence, I've found it's hard to read easily. Is it just me or do others also experience this?


texts:
I can only think of librarily and librarish. Can I use those? Are there other better alternatives?

Example:

  The topic of this book isn't very "[...]". I don't think you should
  donate it.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Plural possessive with separate posessions

Which of the following is more correct? Or is there another form I'm missing?

  We drove to the movies in one of my buddy's car.
  We drove to the theater in one of my buddies' cars.
  We drove to the theater in one of my buddies' car.

I suppose the fundamental question is: does this phrasing suggest "one of [the collection of cars owned by my buddies]" or "the car owned by [one of my buddies]"?


texts: what does the phrase "hog the mirror" mean? I think I am just not sure what "hog" means. I heard it in a talk show.


texts: Can I use the verb "finish 'in present continuous tense?

texts: Recently, in an essay, I used "finishing up" in a sentence. My teacher marked it wrong, because to finish something isn't an action that takes time. But I've heard "finishing up" used in real life. Is it grammatically correct to use finish in present continuous tense?


texts: Oxymoronic soundtrack — mismatch audio to visuals

texts:
I am looking for a word or a turn of phrase to describe a situation whereby the music or a soundtrack does not go with the visuals of a film at all. This is to perhaps make it more poignant and create more of an emotional impact because of the sheer contrast of the ill-fitting music.

E.g. really happy cheerful music in a violent war movie.

Some adjectives I have considered so far include:

  disjointed
  contrasting
  contradictory
  out-of-sync
  antithesis of each other
  (oxymoronic?)

Perhaps there isn't a single word or phrase to describe this, but wondered if anyone had any other helpful suggestions or phrases in mind.


texts:
How do you use the word 'abode' when you are talking about someone's home, not the past tense of 'abide'.

Is this sentence grammatically correct?

"Everyone remains in their abode."


texts: What's the term for the phenomenon "people in a team can't say 'no' because they are in a group"?

texts:
I know there's a term for it, but it's on the tip of my tongue:
If there's a team of people, and someone says "any objections?", everyone in the team feels compelled to say "yes", even though they might have objections (because they are in a group environment)
What is the term for that phenomenon?


texts: Verb agreement in "Where is the Messiah and his Kingdom?"

texts:
Where is the Messiah and his Kingdom?

I think it should be "Where are the Messiah and his kingdom"; it just sounds better!
But my friends and even a teacher claim that "is" would be correct.


texts: What is the correct use of "safety" and "security"?

texts:
I was chatting with three friends this evening, when one of them asked about the use of some english words (we are not native speakers):

  What is the difference between "security" and "safety"?

The other answered:

  "Safety" is about accidental causes, and "security" is about intentional causes.

Shortly after, some (confusing?) examples were given:

  It is safe to cross the bridge, it won't break.
  It is secure to cross the bridge, the dinosaurs aren't looking for food.
  This bank is secure against thieves.
  This bridge is safe against flood damage.

Could anyone clarify this for us?


texts: What is a shortened word that is used as an insult called?

texts:
In this example someone calling a person who likes or practices traditional architecture a Trad

I think along the same lines as calling a communist a commie


texts: When to add "been" to present perfect tense

texts:
I have asked my parents to loan me some money.
He has saved enough money to buy a car.
She has read many books.

You have been really helpful today.
They have been married for three years.

These sentences are taken from an online tutorial for present perfect tense. My question is why some sentences are decorated with "been" word. What we expect by adding "been". What if I write those sentences without "been" word? Ex:

You have really helpful today.
They have married for three years.

or what if I add "been" to other sentences? Ex:

I have been asked my parents to loan me some money.
He has been saved enough money to buy a car.
She has been read many books.

Is there any rule to use "been" word? I'm really confused about this. Can anyone clarify this? Any help appreciated.


texts: What is the word for "Unnecessary detailed information"?

texts: Can you tell me what the word is for "Unnecessary detailed info on a topic which is given after the prominent parts is given"?


texts: What is the word that means of or pertaining to bushes?

texts:
I recall a long time ago reading a science-fiction book that contained a word to describe a character that I didn't recognise. When I looked it up, I learned it meant 'of or pertaining to bushes.'

It was a word ending in '-ine' like psittacine (pertaining to parrots) or ursine (pertaining to bears) but I can't for the life of me remember what it was.

It's also proving impossible to google, with results ranging from "just use 'bushy' you cabbage" to pejoratives for certain US presidents...

Can anyone help?


texts: how to parenthetically modify something which I don't know what it is?

texts:
I'm trying to say something like

"X has something to do with Y (which I don't know what it is)".

Clearly, the expression in the parenthesis is awkward here. I'm trying to parenthetically modify the sentence by stating that I have no idea what Y is. I guess a less awkward way to say would be

"X has something to do with Y (which I've never encountered before)".

However, this does not exactly have the same meaning as what I'm trying to say. I'm trying to say that I have no idea what Y is. Anyone know a less awkward way to say this, while maintaining that original meaning exactly?


texts:
When I was an architectural technician, I used the spelling cill (e.g. window cill). I knew of one architect who used sill and stated that this was the older and more correct form.
My Concise Oxford Dictionary gives both but is weighted more towards sill.
Which version is the more accepted?


texts: I am looking for a better term than "hidden and unwanted or damaging"

texts: I am looking for a  particular term used to express something that is hidden and unwanted or damaging. I would like to use this expression to coin a title that goes as: Unveiling <suggested term here> in .....


texts:
What is the meaning of "jersey" in this sentence

  Kent proceeds to kick the shit out of Greg's jersey"

I don't know if it is slang or something about New jersey.


texts: How to say one has been accepted directly at a competitive examination?

texts:
In France, access to some educational institutions is allowed only after a competitive examination. However, for special achievements, some students may be offered a seat directly, bypassing the examination altogether.

The French idiom is to have been selected “sur dossier” (“on file”). That is, your (implicitly: school) file was convincing enough to exempt you from the examination.

Is there any way to express this in English? If there are disparities between English-speaking countries, please specify them  :)


texts: What is the difference between clothing and clothes?

texts:
There is a story that
a worker at the airport, while unloading a number of boxes,
accidentally discovered a man who was hiding in a box in order to save the cost of the trip.
The man was lying on the top of a pile of WOOLEN GOODS.

And my question is if I intend to replace WOOLEN GOODS with some other type of goods,
for example, CLOTHES or CLOTHING, which one is better?
And what is the difference on this occasion?
Please explain in detail, thanks!


texts: Consistent & accepted style(s) for hyphenating a shade of color used as an adjective for hair?

texts:
I'm helping edit a friend's book. Generally, I'm confident with my edits, yet one thing keeps nagging me. I'd appreciate expert guidance.

In the book, some characters have shades of brown hair, e.g.:

  "… his shoulder-length, light brown hair …"
  "… her long, dark brown hair …"

On the one hand, when I come across "light brown hair", I want to change it to "light-brown hair". My thinking: the "light" in "light brown hair" could be misunderstood as modifying the hair—as in, hair that is neither thick nor heavy (as in "light, brown hair"). If a reader were to briefly consider "light brown hair", they'd probably guess correctly that "light" modifies the brown, not the hair. Yet, I want to eliminate potential speed bumps.

On the other hand, when I come across "dark brown hair", it doesn't strike me as needing a hyphen. My thinking: "dark" tends only to describe the color of the hair, and no other characteristic (hair doesn't have a personality, so it wouldn't be dark in that sense). Since disambiguation seems unnecessary, hyphenating as "dark-brown hair" feels odd. I don't want to introduce any speed bumps.

I also value consistency. Hence, my problem. Is there an accepted approach? Thank you.


texts:
Everything is transient and finite, existing in the medium of time

What's the finite thing?
Do you agree with it?


texts:
I've been doing some geneaology and found an ancestor in the 1841 Scottish Census with an occupation of Rood Lebaxer. This person lived in Southern Scotland so I'm guessing they would have been heavily influenced by English.

Rood can be found on wikipedia. It is a form of measurement in both English and Scots, but also could be used as a word for "pole". Assuming it is spelt correctly, I'm wondering what Lebaxer might mean.


texts: Is there a less colloquial word (noun or adjective) to describe an "attention whore"?

texts:
It could be a noun or an adjective, and either could describe a person or an action. For example:

"Did you hear Eric's wedding toast? He wouldn't shut up!"

"I know, he was being a complete _______"


texts: What is the difference between a "stanza" and a "verse", as applied to English literature?

texts: What is the difference between 'stanza' and 'verse' in English Literature (Poetry)? I've read one of my classmate's essays and the word 'verse' cropped up - I thought that the word 'verse' was usually used for song/lyrics and was quite confused when it was used in that context (Poem analysis).


texts:
We have had a lot of flooding in the UK in the last week or two, with reports, among other things, of rivers 'bursting their banks'.

The verb 'to burst' implies 'breaking or splitting as a result of internal pressure or puncturing' (ODE). But that is not what happens when a river floods. The water simply rises above the banks and floods the surrounding countryside.

So why do rivers 'burst' their banks?  What would be a more accurately descriptive way of saying it?


texts: What's the opposite of oxymoron? That is, two words put together that seem identical?


texts: A word for a feeling of frustration at the unexpected ineptness of others

texts:
I've been trying to think of a word recently that would be used to describe the feeling of frustration or disappointment and annoyance or disgust at others directed especially towards their stupidity or incompetence, from the person's perspective, when the person was expecting more/for them to act differently or had high hopes in general. I'm trying to avoid the view of labeling the person as being overly arrogant thinking this way.

For instance,  "What where they thinking?" the Hillary supporter exclaimed, filled with (insert word here)

Or

Indignant with his loss, the footballer sat in the changing room. Looking around, "I'm the only decent player on my team", he thought (insert word here)ly.


texts: What is the correct plural form of the word "forum"?

texts:
"Fora vs Forums"

I understand that the word "forums" is more acceptable than "fora" because anyone can understand its meaning today and that English is a living language so it's adapting, but except for what opinion each of us have for it, the real question is: What is the correct form to use?

Two points to consider about it:

Why the plural form of this Latin word should be excluded? I.e. why "data" instead of "datums", "bacteria" instead of "bacteriums", "alumni" instead of "alumnuses", "media" instead of "mediums" and so on?
Why people use the plural form when they usually mean their singular one? The word "fora" refers to several places for discussion but usually the people name their web board as "forums", even if they mean just one.


texts: What is the meaning of "being the type to point fingers"?

texts:
Here is the whole sentence:

  Being the type to point fingers, this person decides to run a git blame to see who last modified this line of code.


texts:
I have always put a hyphen in the fragment "no-longer X", but neither the BBC website or the Economist seem to put one in. I always thought that

  The piece of string was no longer than five inches.

should not have one, but

  After I cut it, the string was no-longer whole.

needed one, because longer is a comparative. Certainly when I read the two sentences above aloud I put a different emphasis on the words.

Does anyone know if this is or was common? I'm from the UK, if that makes a difference to the answer.


texts: "Before/ while/ after ordering a taxi..." are these identical constructions?

texts:
"Before ordering a taxi...", and "After ordering a taxi..."; the noun-verb follows a preposition and is a gerund.

"Waiting for a taxi, patience is needed." Or "Waiting for a taxi, I dropped my wallet," are I think both participles, even though the noun being qualified is only explicit in the second.

In the case of...
"While ordering a taxi, patience is very important."
"When ordering a taxi, reliability is very important."

...are while and when  currently treated as adverbs qualifying verbal adjectives (ptc) or are they categorised as prepositions (before, while, after) taking objects (ger)? Or is there another analysis?


texts: What do you call someone being baptised/christened?

texts:
The ritual of baptism or christening is common throughout Christian societies, and similar rituals are common in other societies.1

A typical baptistening (I just made that up—easier to write than baptism/christening) requires at least two essential roles: someone to do the actual baptistening (usually some type of member of the clergy), and someone to be baptistened (often an infant). In the case of infants, there’s a third role as well, namely the parents of the infant being baptistened.

There are well-established single-word names for the first of these roles that go with both terms for the ritual: someone who baptises you is a baptist, and someone who christens you is a (more transparently formed) christener.

But what do you call the second role? The one who gets his head dunked under the water (if that happens to be the ritual of choice) and frequently starts bawling his eyes out?

The two obvious choices would be baptisee and christenee, but those both sound exceedingly clunky and neologism-like. A simple Google search of the terms yields very few hits (though at least some of them appear to be real, actual uses), whereas the same search for ‘baptist’ or ‘christener’ yields millions of hits.

Not many dictionaries include these words either: Oxford Dictionaries Online includes neither, nor does Merriam-Webster, Collins, or even The Free Dictionary. The OED doesn’t have christenee, though it does have baptizee—but that’s an old entry that hasn’t been updated since 1885, and there’s only one single citation.

In sum, I think it’s fair to say that baptisee is a very rare word, and christenee is downright nonexistent.

I currently find myself needing a word for this in a description of a letter from the 1830s:

  The letter gives an account of a christening ball in the house, which was held despite the [baptisee], the governor’s infant son Alphonse, being severely ill.

Of course, a rewrite is possible (“the child being christened” could work), but that ends up being quite inelegant as well. A proper word for the wee bugger would be preferable. (By ‘proper’, I mean something that reasonably unambiguously refers to this specifically, is in at least somewhat common use, and is not limited to highly technical use within church jargon but would be understood by a casual reader.)

Are there any words for a person being baptistened that are actually used by anyone?

Notes:

There are subtle differences between what constitutes a baptism and what constitutes a christening, but for the purposes of this question, let’s consider them equivalent, since the difference doesn’t really matter in the context I am talking about it. We have a question about the difference between the two that you can read if you’re interested.


texts: A word or phrase for the following: friends who contact you only when they need something or assistance

texts: I am looking for a word or phrase for the following: friends who contact you only when they need something or assistance


texts: What does the word “practical ” mean in “Old Possum's book of practical cats”？

texts:
There is a T.S. Eliot title, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. As the Wiki entry says:

  Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is a collection of whimsical poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It is the basis for the musical Cats.


texts: Can "My girl" also be used to refer to my daughter?

texts:
I today accidentally used "My girl is 5 months old" and I meant to refer to my daughter in this sentence. In the given context it does sound like what I meant to say but wanted to know if it can really be used that way.
Again, can "My Girl" be used to refer either girlfriend/wife or daughter depending on context?
Also can this be used in formal meetings/conversations?


texts:
Is "to be" in "to be or not to be" used as a linking verb with no nominal nor adjectival predicate?
Is it grammatically correct, and if so what rules govern that omission?


texts:
On a sign for a taxi company, which of the followings is correct:

  Advance bookings only

or

  Advanced bookings only

and why?


texts: Word for "punishing group because of actions of a few."

texts:
Everybody deals with this phenomenon daily but I had my curiousity piqued when someone claimed that punishing the many for the actions of the few was just called "group punishment." Group Punishment is simply punishing a large group of people.

Is there a specific word for when a large group is punished because of the actions of the few? Such as in the following:

  Little Jimmy wasn't happy when the entire class was forced to work
  through recess because of 3 kids getting into a fight yesterday.


texts:
I read a quote somewhere and it seemed flawed in its language and word usage.

Take a look at it:

  "Trust a person to that extent, that he feels guilty to cheat you & care for a person to that extent, that he fears to lose you."

The letters in bold are the clauses that I found flawed in particular.

Shouldn't it be:

  "Trust a person to the extent, that...."

At the same time I find "care for a person to that extent, that..." sounds alright.


texts: What's a word meaning "of or relating to video games" in the same way that cinematic is to film? I want to describe a bit of music as having video game like qualities, something more general than retro gaming blips and beeps, and find myself saying "video game-y." e.g., "the DOOM 2016 soundtrack has interesting influences. I hear allusions to previous entries in the series and many cues that feel unmistakably characteristic of video games. It sounds both cinematic and video game-y."


texts: How to express a situation in which a series of events take place 1-week after each other

texts:
In a course that I need to describe, there are 4 exams with the following schedule:

  1/1/2012 Exam 1

  1/8/2012 Exam 2

  1/15/2012 Exam 3

  1/22/2012 Exam 4

To express this, I used

  There was a one-week span between each assignment.

However, I am not sure if this sentence expresses the situation well? Any suggestions?


texts: What is the correct way to say ? Let me put my point or let me put up my point

texts:
I would like to know what seems more accurate.

Let me put my point.
Let me put up my point.

I know that "Put up" is a phrasal verb which definitely have scenarios to be used more appropriately but I am not sure about this case.


texts: "Can easily be" vs. "can be easily" — what's the difference?

texts:
I'm wondering what the difference is between:

  It can easily be obtained.
  It can be easily obtained.

Also, what's the preferred way to write it? If there is any...

I googled for both options between quotes and it returned almost the same result (38 million for "can be easily" and 34 million for "can easily be"), so statistically both have similar usage from the people.

Edit: fixed the second point which I had mistyped as "it easily can be obtained".


texts: Is it okay to use "babysit" verb in context of own kids?

texts:
Say, my wife has to run some errands in the morning, and I have to announce at my work that I will be missing for some time.

Are both correct?

I have to babysit in the morning.
I have to watch my kids in the morning.

It looks like Oxford Learner's Dictionary states that only 2 fits for the case. But a colleague of mine said that he often hears the first variant as well. Maybe because at work we have lots of people from all over the world, and it's a common mistake for non native English speakers?


texts: “The tongue in a certain state will cleave to the roof”

texts:
While looking for synonym comparison of “stick-cleave-adhere”, I came across this in English Synonyms Explained in Alphabetical Order:

  To stick expresses more than to cleave, and cleave than adhere: things
  are made to stick either by incision into the substance, or through
  the intervention of some glutinous matter; they are made to cleave and
  adhere by the intervention of some foreign body: what sicks,
  therefore, becomes so fast joined as to render the bodies inseparable;
  what cleaves and adheres is less tightly bound, and more easily
  separable.

  Two pieces of clay will stick together by tho incorporation of the
  substance in the two parts; paper is made to stick to paper by means
  of glue: the tongue in a certain state will cleave to the roof: paste,
  or even occasional moisture, will make soft substances adhere to each
  other, or to hard bodies.

What does “the tongue in a certain state will cleave to the roof” mean?


texts: Is the use of the word "irony" correct in this paragraph?

texts:
I recently came across a Facebook post, about a city in India known as Patiala. I was arguing with the admin, about the correct usage of the word irony. Is the word correctly used in the following paragraph? If yes, what kind of irony is it?

  Congratulation to Patiala as Royal City turns 250 year Older on
  12-2-2013.

  It is an irony that Patiala will enter its 250th anniversary all
  alone, with none to throw a party and none to congratulate it for the
  feat that it is poised it achieved on Tuesday. It is an irony that
  nobody remembers the ‘birthday’ of one of the most amiable cities of
  Punjab. Neither the district administration nor any other organisation
  has planned any celebrations to commemorate the historical feat.


texts:
What does "black voice" mean? I've seen it in the Peter Pan book:

  'Captain, let go,' he cried, writhing. Now for the first time we hear the voice of Hook. It was a black voice. 'Put back that pistol first,' it said threateningly.


texts: Is there a classification for words combined with hyphens used as adjectives?

texts: Is there a term or classification for words (non-adjectives, for lack of a better classifier) that are combined with hyphens that serve the purpose of an adjective? For example, "run-of-the-mill applicant" or "less-than-ideal scenario." Are there any specific rules that dictate how these word groupings are handled?


texts: How are computers affecting spelling and usage?

texts:
Has spell check changed usage? I type the word "theatre" often; even here while I am typing it is underlined in red, yet Americans who direct, produce, or act in theatre prefer the older spelling.

It's the same with the past perfect, in this example: "By the time he arrived in Chicago, he had had enough sleep in the train to explore the town." Here there is no red underline for "had had," but both Microsoft Word and WordPerfect warn me about them.

How has prescriptive grammar been changed by software companies? How has descriptive grammar been changed by them?


texts: Is it “good English” or “correct English” or something else?

texts:
Is it appropriate to say “I speak good English” or “I speak correct English”?

I believe there can be varied replies depending on context, so let me narrow it a little; let’s say I want to convey how well I speak English.


texts:
I would like to say 24 of this book title but i'm not sure if it's grammatically correct.

For example, I have a book titled "Lord of the ring". How would I say I want 20 of that in a letter.

Is it correct if I use "20 books of Lord of the ring"?


texts: Saying for not doing something because it is futile

texts:
Is there such a saying? Futile may be either because it will fail or because it is unnecessary / already taken care of. I considered: too many chefs spoil the broth

and

It's like carrying coals to newcastle

But neither are very good...
A formal sounding colloquilism is also ok.


texts: Is it correct to say bottlenecks are emerging on the surface of the project?

texts:
I need to say that some problems are appearing on the project, for that I wanted to say bottlenecks are emerging.

Is this term correct? If not, how can I say a similar formal sentence?


texts: Idiom for doing something that has already been done before

texts:
I have the distinct perception that there is an idiom similar to such a meaning. I just can't remember it.
An example to clarify:

John writes a program to solve something.
Bob writes another program (probably unaware of John's) to do the same thing although he could have just used John's program.
Bob has [idiom]


texts: Why is this sentence wrong? "I looked at our watch"

texts:
While studying English by watching a video, I encountered the following sentence:

  ”I looked at our watch"

in the video it said, the sentence was wrong because "I" is singular and "our" is plural.

If I'm using "Our" as an adjective describing the watch, does that make the sentence correct?


texts: What determines the order of something's nationalities?

texts:
I know English has a set 'general opinion, specific opinion, size, shape, age, colour, nationality, material' order for adjectives, but how is the ordering of multiple nationalities decided?

For example, 'British-American' sounds right, whilst 'American-British' sounds daft.

I can see why, for example, 'African-American' is the way it is because it refers to an American of African descent, rather than a joint African and American citizen, but is there a rule for the orderings of people who possess dual nationalities/projects delivered by companies from various countries/etc.?

Or how about more than two nationalities: why is Rome a 'British-American-Italian historical drama' rather than an American-Italian-British one?


texts:
I was curious about the different pronunciations of the word catch; more specifically, the difference between /kætʃ/ and /kɛtʃ/.

The Oxford dictionary lists both pronunciations as correct; is this difference regional? How did it come about?


texts: Why is 'that' sometimes optional before dependent clauses?

texts:
Sometimes, the word 'that' to introduce a dependent clause is optional.  For example, these sentences both make sense with or without 'that':

Long books [that] religious people like tend to be Bibles.
Water tanks [that] fish need are spacious.

... whereas in these sentences, 'that' is mandatory and the sentence is ungrammatical without it:

Those that are rotten must be thrown away.
Cars that break down endanger pedestrians.

I can't quite put my finger on the rule which determines when 'that' must be used.  What is it?


texts: What's the difference between IN TIME and ON TIME?

texts:
Consider a situation where a meeting is scheduled to start at 12:00 pm but one of the participants happens to appear at 12:15.

Did that individual come "in time" or "on time"? What's the difference between "in time" and "on time" as applied to this situation?


texts: How do you punctuate a list of titles and names?

texts:
I want to write a sentence that has a list of descriptive terms and then names, but I'm unclear as to how to do it...

  Herman my brother, George my nephew and I went to the market.

If I put commas between Herman and my brother then it can be understood that someone named Herman as well as whoever my brother might be were going to the store with me.  There are three people going to the market in the sentence above, not five.

What's the correct way to punctuate this to make it clear that Herman is my brother and not just one of the five people heading out?


texts: Is the use of the definite article justified before names of angles, lines, line segments, sides of a shape, etc.?

texts:
Such as the cases here,
Draw the line AB such that it intersects the line BC.
Or Find the measure of the angle ABC.
Or The side AB of the rectangle is 3 cm.
Is the use of 'the' justified here or we shouldn't be using it?