texts: Is there a (possible archaic) definition of "permitted" that does not imply "permission"?

texts:
I recently came across this question on Science Fiction & Fantasy SE, about an oddity from Lord of the Rings. The question is asking about this passage:

“I would ask one thing before we go,” said Frodo, “a thing which I often meant to ask Gandalf in Rivendell. I am permitted to wear the One Ring: why cannot I see all the others and know the thoughts of those that wear them?”

In case you're somehow not familiar with the story: the protagonist (Frodo) possesses an extremely dangerous object (the One Ring), about which he has been given very clear instructions (by someone he trusts, respects, and generally listens to) never to wear. However, near the end of the novel, when speaking to someone else he respects and trusts, he claims he is "permitted" to wear it, despite no indication (at least, to the reader) that the situation has changed.
One explanation given for this apparent change of heart is that we are reading "I am permitted to x" incorrectly, and that we should not assume Frodo is implying any degree of allowance or permission. Rather, the phrase may have had a different meaning to Tolkien, more in line with "I have had the opportunity to x", or even "I have already done x." But I can't find any evidence to indicate that "permitted" was ever used in this context.
Was there ever a meaning of "I am permitted" which did not imply permission to do something?


texts: Word for an idiom accepted as true but is actually false

texts:
According to "Wouldn't say boo to a goose", the idiom's meaning comes from the premise that geese are easily frightened.  Assuming, as one commenter stated*, that this is factually false, is there a word or phrase describing this condition?

What is the word that means "In order to understand the meaning of an idiom, you must accept a false statement or premise as true"?

*I have to agree with the commenter.  Nobody seems to have told the geese I've encountered of this fact.


texts:
My housemate just showed me how to switch off the fire alarm in the kitchen in case that it sounds for no reason. Then I asked him “Can I do the same with the one in my room?”

Is it correct to use “with” in my sentence? Should I use “as “ or “to”? Please help clarify.


texts:
Is it possible to use a verb in the -ing form with these phrasal verbs?
I mean, dictionaries I use contain only some exemplary sentences with a noun following the phrasal verb (break/burst into laughter, break into a smile, burst into tears), but in google there are also sentences with "break into laughing/smiling etc.).

And my second question: are these two phrasal verbs always interchangeable or are there some restrictions? Are these two phrasal verbs identical in terms of their use?


texts:
To me, nirvanic sounds like a butchery of nirvana. Is there any adjective describing a feeling of nirvana? You know, the serenity/transcendence after meditating for a long time. I know I just listed a few but do y'all have any more?

EDIT: I'd like this synonym to be used to describe a kind of enlightened connection with a person after having a really deep conversation with them.


texts: What adjective would you use to describe someone who uses the right vocab consistently?

texts: I thought of precise, but not entirely sure even after checking a dictionary. Would you think it is the best choice?


texts: What does the phrase "He got nothing on me" mean?

texts:
I was listening a song by Charlie Puth and he says:

  Superman got nothing on me

What does it mean?


texts:
In The Economist, I encountered this sentence:

  Fortunately, no such fate awaits Americans should the federal government shut down on October 1st.

I cannot understand how the two complete clauses — no such fate awaits Americans and *should the federal government shut down on October 1st — made up this sentence.

Is should a conjunction meaning while?


texts: Alternative to "maze" as a description for Pacman's environment?

texts:
Pacman's maze

is not a maze in the sense of being a place in which we get lost since we can clearly see where we are going. So what should we call the restricted environment in which Pacman operates?

To clarify: I want another word to describe this rather than maze. Answers claiming that this is a maze by some definition or other aren't any use to me.


texts:
I often see in the literature characters' sentences with "in'" instead of "ing".

For example:

  "I am visitin' my lady" said the young thug.

I have 3 questions:

What does that convey?
Is this associated with lower-class individuals?
Is it actually pronounced differently? As a non native English speaker, I've been taught that I should not pronounce the "g" in "-ing", so it would seem to me that "visitin'" and "visiting" are pronounced the same.


texts: Non-idiomatic "would be a rare X that Y": "...would be a rare hurricane that..."

texts:
In following, a writer quotes and summarizes Bill Read's remarks regarding Hurricane Irene:

  “This is not just a coastal event,” said Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center.  He said he was highly confident of the storm’s track, meaning that it would be a rare hurricane that travels right along the densely populated Interstate 95 corridor.

There are two parts to this. One, I expected an idiom along the lines of 'It would be a rare hurricane that didn't have an eye'. But here, the writer disappoints me by seeming to start the "it would be a rare X that Y" idiom that means "it would be an unusual X that Y, so not Y", but not finishing it.  (Instead, Mr. Read meant that, quite unusually, Irene would travel along the I95 corridor.)

So the question is, is this something an editor should advise be changed? Or is it a pleasant ambiguity, easily resolved?

Another, more humorous example (from SNL?) of ambiguity: "You can't put too much water on a nuclear reactor".


texts: How to create a correct statement: the usage of the verb TO DO

texts:
I would like to create a statement for an exercise.

Pretend you are a positive character from a fairy tale. Describe what you see, what you do, how you feel.

My question:

Is ok what you do or should I use what you are doing


texts:
I have a question regarding "disrupting" vs. "disrupted" as an adjective.

If I say:

  "These companies have had disrupted effects on the economy"

is the use of "disrupted" grammatically correct? Should I use "disrupting" instead of "disrupted"?


texts: What does "constituted" mean in this quote from Les Mis by Victor Hugo?

texts:
"We are reassured almost as foolishly as we are alarmed; human nature is so constituted."

What does "constituted" mean in this sentence? When I looked it up it said it could mean: "to compose; form", "to appoint to an office or function; make or create", "to establish (laws, an institution, etc.)", "to give legal form to (an assembly, court, etc.)" or "to create or be tantamount to" ("constitute", dictionary.com).


texts: Jackson = $$son: pun or topical reference

texts:
Alfred Bester's short story The Demolished Man (the original version serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1952, not the novel published in 1963) may have been the first instance of SMS-speak, featuring characters named “T8” (for “Tate”) and “$$son” (for Jackson).

Wait, how is “$$son” short for “Jackson”?

Randall Garrett, who wrote a review in verse using similar shortcuts (such as “Mr. Hassop has gone in2 th@ mor* his hide” — pronounce * as “asterisk”), has this to say:

  Also, there’s a character in the original called “$$son.” Now, I could have sworn
  that was “Dollarson” and I wrote the verse accordingly. But when the book came out, it was
  spelled “Jackson.”

  “Obscure, Alfie,” says I.

  “That’s why I changed it,” says he.

(from the introduction to said review in the collection Takeoff!, by Randall Garrett, Donning, 1979.)

Unfortunately Garrett does not reveal the connection. What is it?

(I realize the answer may or may not be on-topic, since it could be a reference to then-current events rather than a pun.)


texts:
Which one of the following two sentences is more correct?

We use the same space as is specified in Chapter 1.
We use the same space as specified in Chapter 1.


texts: What is the pronunciation of the 'a' in aqueous?

texts:
My teacher pronounces aqueous as "ay-kwee-ous", and as a result that's what my class has learnt.

However, I've become aware through several pronunciation guides (including Howjsay.com and a pronunciation video on YouTube) that "ah-kwee-ous" is seemingly a more common variant. The Yahoo dictionary lists both variants, with the "ah" version first. Dictionary.com also lists both, but the audio clip is of the "ay" version.

So what is most common/correct, and what should be used?


texts:
The question comes from the official IELTS sample (PDF):
https://www.ielts.org/-/media/ea45c7fc36b14b699434210871c6f06b.ashx

Wear a helmet
Every year we are delighted to see more riders wearing protective helmets, but we would like to see every cyclist on the ride wearing one. More than half of reported injuries in cycling accidents are to the head, and a helmet gives the best protection when the head hits the ground.

The question:

Helmets are compulsory for all participants (T/F/NG)

The "right" answer is False, but this can be very opinion-based. If I was given this form in real live, I would say it is compulsory, based on my perception of social norms. The heading of the paragraph goes "Wear a helmet", which can be taken literally.
Besides, if we take a look at the previous paragraph it goes Follow all instructions. Following the same logic we can assume that following all instructions is not compulsory, in the same manner as not wearing the helmet.


texts:
"I usually knock off at 6", i heard an english gentleman say that. Does it sound odd only to me? In fact, what I heard was "I usually masturbate at 6"
Did some research:
found a book (i'm guessing it's for non native speakers) advanced vocab in use; it says:

It would definitely sound like something sexually oriented in the US. So, the book says it's informal for "finishing work"; thefreedictionary says the same (7th meaning is " to have sexual intercourse with; to seduce")
So i have severalquestions:

1 Does this phrase have any sexual connotations in the UK or Australia?
2 How much is it used in the UK and Australia (meaning "finishing work")?
3 Does this vocab sentence sound odd to you (British and Australians (and Americans))


texts: "Biweekly", "bimonthly", "biannual", and "bicentennial"

texts:
What do lengths of time with the "bi" prefix mean"? I have understood bicentennial as once every two hundred years, but biannual as meaning twice a year. Do biweekly and bimonthly mean twice a week or month, or once every two weeks or months?

If this prefix is not used consistently, is there any rationale as to why it isn't?


texts: Structuring a conditional sentence by commata

texts:
I have a question on some specific sentence and its punctuation. The sentence in question is:

  [...] Hence, the only relevant information is, if such an unary language part is infinite, and if not, what length has the single
  unary word it contains.

Is the punctuation in this sentence correct? I somehow have the feeling it sound a little bit odd. Also the clause "the only relevant information is" seems to "float in the air" a little bit. It seems to be missing some part. But I do not know how to alter it such that it would give a more grammatical sentence?


texts: Proper use of ‘case-in-point’ at the start of a statement

texts:
I’m writing an essay on globalisation and writing a point on how service jobs are harder to outsource, as compared to manufacturing jobs. At the end of my argument, is it grammatically correct to write

Case in point: You can’t serve your customer in XYZ mall from China.

(I substitute XYZ mall with the name of an actual mall in the area of context)

Is this usage correct? I’m trying to use case in point in a mildly sarcastic or humorous way. Thanks in advance.


texts: I'm looking for an uncommon term for an excellent orator that doesn’t include adjectives such as “good” or “excellent,” or the noun “orator.” I've googled this request but haven't encountered anything compelling.


texts:
I will arrive in Sydney on 16th September.

or

  I will be arriving in Sydney on 16th September.

As a formal email, which one should I choose? or is there a better one?


texts: Is there a popular / informal way of expressing a need to use a toilet?

texts:
In (Canadian?) French, we have an expression, "j'ai envie" (litteraly: I want), which, when used without any subject, means that the speaker needs to use a toilet, either to urinate or defecate. It is somewhat informal; you would prefer saying "I need to use the washrooms" rather than that in a very formal context, but it would still be accepted. Is there any such expression in English? What is the most popular way to express one's need to use a toilet?

I am specifically looking to translate the following:

  Quand je mange des produits laitiers, ça me donne envie

(When I eat dairy products, [I need to use the washroom])


texts: What do the particles mean in 'believe of, on, to something'?

texts:
Foreword: The use of 'believe of' in this comment, motivated this question.

  2. intr. With in, †of (rare), †on, †to (rare). To have confidence in the truth or accuracy of (a statement, doctrine, etc.).
  In later use also: to have confidence in the genuineness, virtue, value, or efficacy of (a principle, institution, practice, etc.).

Please help me dig deeper than the definition, which I already understand and so ask NOT about. I heed the Etymological Fallacy.

1. I'm habituated to 'believe in something', but please help me make sense of the rarer 'believe of, on, to something'. Which definitions  of of, on, to match? These particles confuse me.

2. Does OED imply (but fail to declare) that: believe + of, on, to + something
 = 'believe in something'? Or do they differ?


texts: A question concerning Past Perfect continuous

texts:
He had been drinking milk out the cartoon when mom walked into the kitchen
I'm reading past perfect continuous in my grammar book and the rule says it is used for an that began before a certain point in the past and continued up to that time.
Does the preceding sentence means the subject denoted by the pronoun he was drinking milk out the carton but stopped as soon his mom walked into the kitchen?


texts: What is the English idiom for Russian "режет глаз" which literally translated as "hurts the eye"?

texts: What is the English idiom for Russian "режет глаз" which literally can be translated as "hurts the eye"? In Russian, it is used when there is something, a thing, which does not fit to the whole picture and immediately attracts attention in the negative sense.


texts: what does " something makes the pain worth it " mean?

texts:
I mean in this sentence

  Glad you could enjoy that. Really makes the pain worth it.

What does it mean?


texts: Expressions or idioms that mean killing appropriate for use in a humorous context

texts: I'm looking for expressions or idioms that sound funny/unusual and mean killing something. For example, I remember when I was playing Starcraft, there was a mission in which my marines had to kill some creature. At the end of the mission, they said that they eighty-sixed that creature. To me, that sounded funny, but I don't know how it sounds for native speakers.


texts: May I ask for a little clarification on subjunctive and bare infinitive?

texts:
I have just finished reading an extremely long thread on the above mentioned subjects on this site: (https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/demand-request-suggest-that-bare-infinitive-subjunctive-indicative.384237/)

Although a lot of things cleared up to me, I still have a little confusion about these two sentences :

I'd rather that he be on time.
I'd rather he was on time.

I found the first one among the examples of a native answerer but i was taught in school that if there's a subject in a "i'd rather-type-sentence" i should use past tense.
So now i'm a bit puzzled...are they maybe different  because of using "that" one time and not using it the other time?

Thank you all in advance,
Mate


texts: "the rustle of tires" vs "the rustling of tires": pompous or not, is there a rule, or is it random?

texts:
Scene: high school. Time: the present. A teacher went through a student's essay in which an out-of-the-way house in the sticks was described. It (the house) sat in the middle of a picturesque grove, and the nearest road other than the path leading up to it, was a highway - nearly a mile away. On a quiet day, when there was no wind, you could hear the cars on the highway. The student, going for the "poetic" effect, described that faint noise as "the rustling of tires." The teacher corrected it by changing it to "the rustle of tires." It is important to note that she was in no way pedantic, much less a "grammar nazi."

Question: is there a rule for favoring nouns over gerunds (and vice versa), or is it completely random?


texts: What does it mean by: This might take a while?

texts:
I googled that and I got to know its meaning as This task will take a long time.

Why is it so?
Cause while is used for short time period( what I know)...

Ex: let's sit here for a while.

So why is it not in the same way?


texts: Word to describe something that focusses so ostentatiously on its purpose that it fails to achieve its goal

texts: For example, if I go and see a movie that I perceive to have placed so much effort on the artistic merit of the acting and cleverness of the storyline that it is difficult to call it a success as a movie.


texts:
Is "airhead" gendered in the sense that it's more commonly used for women than men? (Apologies if "gendered" is not the correct term - is there a more accurate term?)

Wiktionary describes it as pejorative but gives no other usage warnings:

  (pejorative) A silly, foolish or unintelligent person.

however, some of the synonyms suggested seem to be associated with females:

  (silly person): bimbo, bubblehead, valley girl, dumb blonde,

The Cambridge dictionary gives no usage warnings apart from it being informal, but the example given happens to be female (could be coincidence though):

  a stupid person:
  She's such an airhead.


texts: What is the part of a bottle called where the liquid comes out?

texts:
I'm writing an academic work about pouring liquids with bottles. The different parts of the bottle are very important, because I need to distinguish between the point at the bottom, middle and top of a bottle.
But when I looked up "bottle top" it seems to be the thing that we screw on a bottle. So I tried "bottle tip" in order to not get it confused but I'm unsure if that's the best way of calling that part.

Here's an example in which I try using it:

The transformation from the middle of the bottle (where the end effector is grasping) to its tip equals half of the bottle height in the positive z-direction. The transformation from the glass to the bottle tip is known.

Feel free to correct any other mistakes I might have done in those sentences. ;)


texts:
I just joined the english.stackexchange.com and I am thrilled to meet you all!

I have a question to pose concerning the use of the verb "enact". I would like to know how do we use this verb to express that something has been established by law. Do we say "enacted by law" or "enacted in law". The reason I'm asking is because I have seen the phrase "enacted in law" and I am thinking about it ever since.

Thank you in advance.


texts: Hypernym: Word that means 'window' or 'door'

texts:
There's the Italian word serramento which means "a window or a door", used in this way for example:

  Our company produces [serramenti] in aluminium.

Is there an equivalent word or expression that refers to doors and windows in general in English?


texts:
The definition of logic is: the science of thinking about or explaining the reason for something using formal methods.

Which definitions of science from OALD or MW apply to the above definition of logic?

And formal means very correct here?


texts:
I intend to see it carried out

Can we use a phrasal verb as an adverb or modifier?
In the above sentence I think carried out is used as modifier.

If the function of carried out is different then please explain me properly. Thanks


texts: A park seat or a car seat has two main parts. One part is the back. What is the name of the other part?

texts: A car seat or a park seat has two main parts. One part is the back, against which one leans their back. What is the name of the part that one actually sits on (puts their buttocks on it)? For a chair these two are called back and seat respectively. But what about a car seat or a park seat?


texts:
This is kind of confusing for me. Would be happy to get the answer and find out the right way of using these constructions:)

Is this correct and if not how I can use present and past perfect in one sentence?

  “From the beginning of my teaching experience I’ve met people who had never sung before or they had had problems singing”


texts:
I been listening to Playaz Club by Rappin 4-Tay. In the lyrics at one point he mentions this:

  I got a hoe named Real de Real She got a buddy named SP 12, now, you know the deal We getz freaky in the studio late night That's why the beats that you hear are comin' real tight

But I don't understand what SP 12 means. Urban Dictionary was not much help.
So what does it mean?


texts: Name of an accessory put on horses that helps them avoid distraction

texts:
It's a kind of mask that is worn by horses so that they can't see sideways or backwards.

I think it's called a blinder (not sure though) but is there a proper term for this accessory in English? Preferably something that is used by Race Organizers?

Update 1 : The definition I found from Wiktionary

  A screen attached to a horse's bridle preventing it from being able to see things to its side.

My question - Does a blinder have other names? (For example, blinker is one...)

Update 2 : Possible duplicate flag raised. I felt that blinders were more of a colloquial term(It's my personal view and I may well be wrong). I was looking for a formal term, if there was one.


texts: Is 'times it by' or 'minus it by' correct?

texts:
I'm always hearing math instructors, and students, use ‘times it by’ to describe multiplicative operations:

“…To find the ratio, you times it by one hundred…”

To hear other students phrasing mathematical operations like this is one thing, but hearing my math instructors using this really bugs me. Could it possibly be correct? It sounds quite off to me.


texts: As the title asks, is "education list" grammatically correct or is "educations list" correct. I'm using this to try to describe a part of a website's interface where there is a list, populated by multiple items related to a person's education.


texts: A word that defines something that is valuable for its lack of function and productive value?

texts: I'm looking for a word that means "something valuable (intrinsically) because of its dysfunctional nature that makes it unnapealing for profit or production."


texts: When did "two and thirty" construction fall out of common usage?

texts: In "The Red-Headed League", one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, a character named Jabez Wilson remarks, "It was a pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them two and thirty pounds." This [singles place]-and-[tens] place construction occurs frequently in these stories, and is employed by the uneducated and tradesmen such as Mr Wilson as well as by the better educated, better heeled Holmes and Watson. As far as I can tell, however, no one today employs this construction; doing so would sound extremely strange. Around what time did this usage disappear from common parlance, and why? It seems to me that it is more efficient to say, "thirty-two" than it is to say, "two and thirty"; but if this is really the explanation, why did such a construction ever enjoy currency to begin with?


texts: Is there any difference between "clear conscience" and "clean conscience"?

texts:
I want to have a clear conscience so that I know to judge clearly what is right or wrong.

vs.

  I want to have a clean conscience, therefore I will not do such an ugly thing.

The dictionary tells that 'clear conscience' is the same as 'clean conscience'. Both are idioms. However, my intuition is that a clear conscience is more about giving a clear judgment, whereas clean conscience is more about avoiding bad deeds and being free of guilt. I might agree that 'clear conscience' covers the two meanings, but I would say 'clean conscience' would better be restricted to the meaning as in the second example. Am I wrong?


texts: My English is inefficient. How can I fix this?

texts:
Lately I've noticed that my English is inefficient and it makes me sound inarticulate at best. (Uneducated at worst.) Here is an example. Today I told my younger cousin this:

  You shouldn't make any commitments if you're not going to see them through to the end

And then I started thinking about it. A much more efficient and nicer sounding sentence would've been:

  You shouldn't commit to things you won't see through

It's shorter, more articulate and conveys the exact same message. This happens almost everyday. I find myself getting stuck mid-sentence or re-thinking sentences after I've said them.

Some background: I was born in a Spanish-speaking country and speak Spanish fluently. However, I came to the US at age 4 and haven't left since. I consider English to be my first language. I grew up in a low-income neighborhood where people mostly spoke Spanish or broken English. My mom doesn't speak English fluently and my dad does but with a strong accent and occasional blips. I don't have a college education.

I'm especially looking for something like a book. I haven't been able to find one for "efficient English." If someone could recommend something I'd be very grateful.


texts: What did H.L. Mencken mean when he wrote this?

texts: Most people are unable to write because they are unable to think, and they are unable to think because they congenitally lack the equipment to do so, just as they congenitally lack the equipment to fly over the moon.


texts: Is "each and every one of you" singular or plural?

texts: Is each and every one of you singular or plural? I searched this subject and found a similar post here but I just want to confirm.


texts:
Holding hands, people jumped in the water, and floated around in Boston’s Charles River recently. That is something that would not have been possible years ago because the river was so polluted.

Why does it use '...would have...' instead of 'was not possible...'?

thanks


texts: "From lines 10 to 15" or "from line 10 to line 15"?

texts:
In an academic text, I need to explain a section of a computer program. This section extends from line 10 to line 15 in the code. Is the following way to refer to these lines gramatically correct?

The scopes of the two declarations overlap from lines 10 to 15.

Or should I use one of these alternative forms:

The scopes of the two declarations overlap from line 10 to line 15.
The scopes of the two declarations overlap in lines 10 to 15.
Any other possibility?...

Because this need appears frequently in the text, this is not just a matter of choosing the safest approach. I woul like to know what is correct and what is not so that I can use some variation trhoughout the text.


texts: What's the name of this two-lobed shape?

texts:
I got an avocado featuring a canal in the middle. The canal is not really deep but still it splits the fruit in two distinct parts. What's the name of this shape? I think "ribbed" is an exaggerated term since it features only one canal.

And what's the name of that canal? Groove?


texts: Can relative clauses be combined with adverbial clauses other than if-clauses?

texts:
The following is from Michael Swan's Practical English Usage:

Relative clauses can also be combined with if-clauses in sentences like the following.
I am enclosing an application form, which I should be grateful if you would sign and return.

Then, can relative clauses also be combined with other kinds of adverbial clauses, for example since-clauses in sentences like the following?

It seems something is wrong with this PC, which barely a month has passed since I bought.


texts:
It is possible to state a fraction such as ¾ in words as follows:
three fourths.

Can someone please let me know how to say ¹⁄ₓ in words?


texts: What is the grammatical function of 'brand' in the phrase 'brand new'

texts:
A previous question on the forum asks what the meaning of 'brand' is in the phrase 'brand new' and the overall view seems to be that it means fire. Ie fresh from the fire.

But what is its grammatical function  of 'brand' in this phrase?

If we say it is a noun then the adjective 'new' is in the wrong place - plus no dictionaries label it as an adjective.

And if we say it is an adverb (like you would say 'very new') then no dictionaries I have looked at label it as an adverb.


texts: What are the uses of ellipses in essays?

texts: I’m wondering about how ellipses are used in essays. Are there any examples that I could see?


texts:
''In fact, she is coming round to dinner this evening''

I've done my research on the web, but I can't find its meaning. My question is, why did they use this idiom instead of just going to dinner? Is/are there any more specific things to do besides from just going... thx.


texts:
I would like to know more about the purpose of word "collective" in following sentence:

  We're about to get our collective ass kicked.

Did the speaker used the word "collective" here just as a means to emphasise her point?

Is that use of word "collective" a regionalism?

Thanks!


texts:
There can be at least 3 possibilities to say about deaths caused by any virus/pandemic, for example covid-19.

N number of people lost lives during covid-19 pandemic.
N number of people lost lives in the covid-19 pandemic.
N number of people lost lives due to the covid-19 pandemic.

1st seems okay to me. Is it?
2nd I'm afraid can mean that the deaths were not merely caused by covid-19. There can be multiple reasons. Is it? Or people can understand it that it means deaths by covid-19 only?
3rd also seems okay, but is it better to use than 1st?


texts:
I know the correct answer is b, because that sounds correct.

I am trying to figure out why b is correct, and also why the other answers are incorrect. I think b is correct because ~ing signifies that it is happening now, and will continue into the future. c is obviously wrong because it is past tense. Also, if d did not include "ever", i.e. "having decreased", would that be correct?

What is the general grammar principle for "With..."?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Pluralization rule for “five-year-old children”, “20 pound note”, “10 mile run”

Reading a report online, I read something like this.

  during his 30-year rule.

Is it 30 year or 30 years?


texts: How to memorize differences between ingenious, ingenuous, and indigenous

texts: From etymonline, ingenious, ingenuous, indigenous all share the same roots: in- and indu- mean "in", and "gen" means "produce". But the meanings of the words are not the same. So do you have some ways to remember the differences between their meanings?


texts:
What is a good word for describing how a pursuit or occupation requires a lot of effort without there being much reward or recognition?

  eg. So much of his time and effort went into practicing the piano.  He
  was a mildly depressed person, knowing at the back of his mind that a career
  in classical music is always difficult and often _______.


texts: Word for a religious leader who has been forsaken by their followers

texts:
I'm looking for a single adjective to describe a religious leader, e.g. a priest or the Lord, who has been forsaken by their followers. Not necessarily betrayed, but had the followers' faith lost.

The word would be used as a name of a "unit type" in a game: "____ Imam", "_____ kohen". I'd prefer the word to be an adjective bringing connotations of having fallen from grace, and for a word that most would understand.

I've tried looking for antonyms of "forsaken", "betrayed", "praised", "sacred" and similar. The closest word I've found would be "fallen kohen", which doesn't fit as it seems to put the kohen at fault.


texts: What does “over-promoted bath toy” in Hugh Grant’s tweet exactly mean?

texts:
Hugh Grant, British actor called the U.K. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, an ‘over-promoted rubber bath toy’ in his tweet on August 29, which reads:

  “You will not fuck with my children’s future. You will not destroy the
  freedom my grandfather fought two world wars to defend. Fuck off
  you over-promoted rubber bath toy. Britain is revolted by you and you
  little gang of masturbatory prefects.”
  Source

I first thought the phrase, ‘over-promoted rubber bath toy’ meant immediate Brexit with no conditions attached. But the next day’s ‘insider.com’ annotated the twitter as:

  The actor called the PM an over-promoted rubber bath toy and his cabinet a little gang of masturbatory prefects.

What does ‘over-promoted rubber bath toy’ exactly mean in Hugh Grant’s context?
What does “rubber bath toy” have to do with the new British Prime Minister?

Does ‘over-promoted’ mean “overly advertised / publicized,” or does it mean his “premature ascending" to high position as Prime Minister of a great country?


texts: Is there a word for a fake radar reading?

texts: Is there a word for a radar (or any other kind of detection device) reading that is known to be false?


texts:
Which version is better, grammatically? How can I improve this? Is the grammar legal? I want to extend the end of a sentence, like so-

"Life means I have a choice at every turn; every moment."

"Life means I have a choice at every turn, every moment."


texts:
Finally, the Evaluation stage took place and did not take the full ten days that was projected.

Above is a sentence from a report I am preparing. I had originally written "were" but changed it to "was" after deciding that [full ten days] was a compound subject. It still doesn't feel right though, and I wonder if indeed both "was" and "were" are correct in this situation?

Could anyone please elaborate on this? Reference to sentence/phrase structure would also be appreciated.


texts: Is there a word for someone who is very friendly but only on a very shallow level?

texts: It's not being a sycophant, because he doesn't want any favors from you. It's just all small talk. I would like to know the best word to describe this behavior or this person?


texts: Word for "other people who have the same issue/problem as I have"?

texts: This is for a tech support or customer support case. I need a single-word tag labeling other people who share my issue.


texts: Word/Phrase similar to "Take to the Extreme"

texts:
I am looking for a word (verb preferable, other constructions welcome) or short phrase that's similar to "Take to the Extreme", with a connotation of a logical conclusion, but avoiding stating that the conclusion has been rigorously inferred.

For example, consider the following passage: "Many patrons of our restaurant enjoy the southwest chicken sandwich, but we'd like to improve upon it. Without exception, they say that the chicken in the salad is what makes it tasty. Therefore, I propose we _________ this feedback and serve the chicken as its own dish!"

In this scenario, assume that replacing the sandwich menu item with its chicken component is the most drastic action that can be taken that has some root in the feedback given by the patrons. Serving chicken on its own could be good or bad, i.e it is a conclusion that is not unassailable (maybe the feedback is from a bad sample of patrons, etc). Therefore "take this feedback to its logical conclusion" doesn't quite work. "Take this feedback to the extreme" works to an extent, but I am wondering if there are alternatives. I'd like to make sure I'm conveying that the action is a reasonable thing to try.


texts: What is the name of a group of foods that are not cuisine, cooking technique or ingredient specific?

texts:
What would the name for a list of foods that are not specific to cuisine, cooking technique or ingredient?
This is a question about how to precisely categorize foods using plain English.
A curry is a generic name of a dish that has the following, very broad characteristics:

Cuisine: Indian, Thai, Japanese
Cooking technique: stewed, slow cooked
Characteristics: spiced, wet,
Ingredients: spices, a protein, vegetables, stock

As we can see, it can't be categorized by features like its ingredients, cuisine etc. There are lots of dishes that have these broad definitions (soup, salad, burger, cake etc). "Dish" is too unspecific, as under the heading of curry there are korma, pathia etc and these are dishes in their own right. What should I call a list of these broad, cuisine-spanning names?


texts: Is there a specific name for a person who uses dogs for hunting or other practical means such as tracking? Something like falconer for people using birds of prey?


texts: The phrase "I'm coming" has some strong sexual connotation

texts:
Is the following statement correct?

  “I'm coming” has some strong sexual connotation

There are some guys who propose to avoid this phrase without destination.

Usecase: a comment under Facebook event with text I'm coming!


texts: Noun for word that means waiting for one last step

texts:
Looking for a noun that represents the scenario of waiting for a final event/approval, or having everything done except for the last step.

So if you have status markers like, Completed, Assigned, Started, Stopped, our word would indicate we are waiting for a last step.


texts: Is there a word that describes the sound you make when you chuckle/breathe/cough in agreement with something?

texts:
I am writing a novel and am constantly trying to figure out how to describe the action when someone gives a sort of small cough or a quick "huh" in agreement. I suppose it would be the non-word equivalent of "I'll say" or "You think?"
To be specific, I'll use it in a dialogue.

"He must really hate Ian, then."

Clarissa [insert word here]. "Yes."

It's usually used when the speaker is trying to convey that the subject is much more serious than their conversation partner is taking it.


texts: How to use late when referring to a specific point in the life of a relatively famous person who is recently deceased?

texts:
Christopher Eckhardt was 16 years old when he took the actions I'm referring to. (Just for the record, the actions in question occurred in December of 1965). Mr. Eckhardt died at age 62 on December 27th, 2012.

The section here on usage of the word late (referring to death, not punctuality) suggests that it is appropriate for this context, but I can't figure out a way to use it in conjunction with his age at the time.

I know that the construction/sentence/mess that I have now is clearly wrong, but I have not the slightest clue how to fix it.

On that note, the monstrosity reads as follows:

"In December 1965, a group of students, meeting in the home of the late, then 16-year-old Christopher Eckhardt, of Des Moines, Iowa, made a plan to publicly display their support for a truce in the Vietnam war by wearing black armbands throughout the holiday season."


texts: Is "hats-led society" grammatically correct and does it convey the right message?

texts:
It's a strange phrase indeed. It's from a foreign phrase.
There's a period where a slogan "hats lead the society to become a superpower" was in effect.

*Edit
I think I should have given historical background.
The producer of the slogan wanted to modernize the society in order to make it more powerful, and thought that wearing hats was one way to modernize it. Of course, the slogan was absurd and doesn't make much sense. This absurdity makes people give the period a nickname to mock it, using a part of the slogan and the idea: "society which is led by hats" era - "hats-led society" era.

I'm not sure if "hats-led society era" or the variation is grammatically correct, or if there are other phrases that better convey the meaning.


texts: "She laughed as though there (was/were) a chance he might have said anything else."

texts:
Would I use 'was' or 'were' here?

  She laughed as though there was/were a chance he might have said anything else.

(I read about the difference between was and were, but I can't apply it to this sentence because it seems like both a past possibility and a hypothetical, like a past hypothetical. Could someone explain the answer to me please?)


texts: Word for someone with suggestions but doesn't work themselves

texts:
What is the word to describe someone who comes up with lots of ideas and suggestions (especially in team meetings), but when it comes down to implementing and following through on them, they fail to act or simply choose to delegate the work to someone else to avoid doing the work?

Is there even a word for this type of person?

Ex. John couldn't stop talking about his great idea for a basketball tournament last week at the team meeting, but when asked who would organize it, he quieted instantly and suggested that his colleagues follow through on his idea. John is definitely a ...


texts: If the noun for "synchronized" is "synchronicity", what's the noun for "synchronous"? Is there even such a noun?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What do you call a verb which accepts 2 nouns?

The function f assigns each value of x a value of f(x).
Please show me what you have done.
I tell you the truth.

What is the category name of words that can take 2 objects?


texts: What is it called when people who speak with a Connecticut accent cut off "t"s at the end of words or skip them in the middle of words?

texts:
Many people raised in the US state of Connecticut have a distinctive accent that I have never heard anywhere else in New England. They cut off their "t"s when they pronounce certain words.

One place this occurs is at the end of words ending in "t". Example: "Connecticut". People don't pronounce the final "t", but instead cut off the short "u" sharply, as though something has suddenly gotten in the way of their tongues.

They do the same thing in the middle of certain words. One example is the word "important"; another is the name of the city "New Britain". In both cases, the speakers mark a barely perceptible stop between the "r" and the first "t" in "important", and do the same between the "i" and the "a" in "New Britain". In both these cases, it's as though there is nothing in place of the "t", but there's still a marked differentiation between the letters around it.

Is this a glottal stop, or something else? It seems to happen toward the front of the mouth, if that makes any difference.

Also, does anyone know how it evolved in the small state of Connecticut?


texts:
What is correct

Sometimes I cook for myself

or

Sometimes I cook myself.

This sounds like cooking self, which is not true. I've heard ( most of times ) people use second phrase. Which of the two is correct ?.


texts:
In his book, Grammar and Vocabulary for First Certificate, Luck Prodromou has ruled out the possibility of using 'be going to' to complete the following sentence :

  'What .......... you .......... this evening?' (do) 'Nothing'.

And the only correct answer he offers is using :

  'What are you doing this evening?' ' Nothing'.

However, I feel 'be going to' can also be used.

  'What are you going to do this evening?' ' Nothing'.

Is it valid or will it change the meaning of the sentence?


texts: I am "adjective" and I am "present continuous" in one sentence

texts:
Do I need to use "I am" twice in one sentence, or it is enough to use it only in the beginning? Where does this rule come from?

My example:

  I am fluent in three languages and I am pursuing the XXX designation.

OR

  I am fluent in three languages and pursuing the XXX designation.


texts: In the sentence " What kind of flowers is/are Molly growing? Is the subject here flowers or Molly?


texts:
Is it more correct to say:

  "There is a scaffolding around my house"

than:

  "There is scaffolding around my house" ?


texts: How to describe the use of 'them' with nouns?

texts:
I'm looking for a short and precise word to describe the use of the pronoun them with plurals, i.e.
Let's kill them zombies!
Them townsfolk sure are full of baloney.
I hate them bees.
It appears to be a fairly common solecism (?) in some areas/communities. It's also quite common in prose and pop culture. Does this convention have a name?

Inhabitants of the rural mid-west of Foobarland are in the habit of prefixing nouns with the word them, using the combined phrase as the subject or the object of a sentence. Descriptive grammarians refer to this pattern as the/a _______.


texts: Wearing one's heart/feelings on one's shoulder

texts:
The first few times I heard someone say that they wear their heart (or feelings) on their shoulder, I merely assumed that they meant "on their sleeve" and had misspoken. But after a bit of googling I am now wondering if there are not some places in the US where people habitually use the expression "to wear one's heart/feelings on one's shoulder."

I expect that this expression is the result of confusing two different idioms. The person I heard use it is a college-educated professional from the Jacksonville FL area. According to rational-madness.blogspot.com/2006/07, Miss USA 2006 also used this expression:

  At the recent Miss Universe pageant, when asked about her weakness, Miss USA answers,
  "I wear my heart on my shoulder... that keeps me humble."

I believe Miss USA 2006 was born in Dallas, TX, and lived most of her life up to the pageant in Russel Springs, KY, so perhaps this saying has some currency in the south.

In many of the examples I found on the Web, it seems to refer to having a tattoo of a heart on the shoulder, so context is also important. But apparently there are people who speak this way.

Can anyone confirm that this is the case, or is it really just a matter of a small number of people who habitually misspeak?

TIA


texts: To collect someone or to pick someone - UK English

texts:
What would a receptionist say to someone having an appointment:
"Please, take a seat; someone from company ABC is on the way to collect (?) you".

What is more more idiomatic in a formal UK English: To collect someone from reception (airport, train station, waiting room) or to pick someone from reception? Or is there something more appropriate?

Linked to: To collect someone from or to pick someone from? where it is nicely answered for US English.


texts: When to use "love to do something" and "love doing something"?

texts:
OK, I searched similar questions on https://english.stackexchange.com/ and it seems that people say that

  to love to do something=prefer to do something

  to love doing something=enjoy doing something

OK, see conversation 1:

  Tom: I'm going to wear my casual t-shirt to the party

  Jack: On the contrary, I love to dress up

Now conversation 2:

  Tom: I like my casual t-shirt very much

  Jack: On the contrary, I love dressing up

So, am I understanding it correctly?

If not, when do you use “to love to do something” and “to love doing something*”?


texts:
I looked up "Hallelujah" in etymonline.com today, and the result, as often happens with etymological research, ended in following a rabbit warren of possibilities.

Take the word "Hallelujah" for example.

This apparently springs from the Hebrew hallalu-yah (praise-Jehovah). Following up on "praise", the etymological roots are linked to the idea of "price" and "value". This is, of course, a dangerous, and ultimately deceptive route for researching etymological roots, as etymology is the study of (a) chronology and (B) geography (and the its linguistic implications).

So, I looked again at etymonline.com, to find that "hillel" (he praised), was "of imitative origin, with primary sense being "to trill."."

So, "to praise" in its original Hebrew terms had its etymological roots in "to sing".

Now, I realise that to go beyond this chronologically would be futile (or very difficult to say the least), so I searched the etymological roots of "trill" and "sing" to see what conceptual links they brought about (I am aware, of course, that these concepts may not have been congruous with the Hebrew concept of "to sing", but I am hopeful that that they
may shed light on the root (though this is, of course, conjectural)).

So, looking at the roots of "sing" brought up, other than circular links of variations of " to sing", was "sengwh- "to sing, make an incantation." ".

Now, to "incantation" clearly has its roots in magic.

My question, therefore, is ultimately metaphysical. Can one go beyond "magic" and "sing" to define a term that is , at best, instinctive, and at least culturally significant?

NB: I realise this question doesn't do justice to, or even qualify the use of the title, but the question clearly has larger implications that are communicable within a forum setting.


texts: So, "Some advice" or "some advices"? Which is correct?

texts:
"Some advice" or "some advices" as in "I got some advice / advices for you"? So, Which is correct?

In Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, "advice" is uncountable noun, so "Some advice"  is the correct one.

However, googling "some advices" returns 400K results and in fact many formal English articles / news use "some advices" as in this article on Yahoo News: "Real World 101: What Every Graduate Should Know".

  Although graduating from college is a great accomplishment which should be recognized, it is not the end. In fact, it is just the beginning of a totally new phase in life which the graduates are unfamiliar with. Below are some advices for the new graduates that are not thought in schools.

So, I think "some advices" could be accepted as an alternative to "some advice" though it is not 100% accurate.


texts: Tennis: When and where did 30-all (and 15-all) start transitioning to the counterintuitive 30-up (and 15-up)?

texts:
At my tennis club in the suburbs of DC, about half the players (when serving) call 30-up when the score is 30-30, and the rest call out the more intuitive 30-all.

To my mind, 30-up logically means the server has 30 and the receiver has zero.  Note that the server's score is always given first.  (Except in court tennis, see below.)

Wikipedia, Tennis Scoring System says:

  .... when each side has won one, or two, points, the score is described as
  "15-all" and "30-all" (or "15-up" and "30-up") .....

So, according to Wikipedia at least, 30-up is an alternative term to the more traditional 30-all.

I played court tennis, aka real tennis, the predecessor game to today's tennis, for five years, and I never heard 30-up or indeed 30-all.  I always heard the score fully called out, e.g. 30-30.  Thus, 30-up (or 15-up) probably came into being in the past 150 years, after modern tennis was invented. (Real tennis originated in medieval times.)

I know language changes, not always logically, but this seems a particularly non-intuitive change, and I have wondered for some time how it happened and why 30-up (15-up) caught on.


texts: Does "to" as an infinitive marker require the subject to relate to the following verb?

texts:
I've looked at quite a few questions here but I've been unable to figure this out.

In the following:

  She came to bring us food.

She is performing the act of "bring."

BUT, in this one:

  Many chickens died to bring me this meal.

The chickens aren't performing the act of "bring." It's more like they died for-the-purpose-of someone else bringing me the meal.

The second example sounds weird to me (native English speaker).

Is this valid usage, or should it be worded differently?

Thanks very much for your time!


texts: why is "their" the wrong usage in this sentence?

texts:
Why is their in the following sentence wrong?

  The modern American family differs in many significant ways from their nineteenth-century counterpart.


texts: How do you say hello to a couple (man and woman) formally? If it's a man, we say "hello sir", but how about a couple?


texts:
I read a sentence:

  It is not fortitude to be brave from ignorance and folly.

Why we use from in the construction brave from?

What is the full meaning of the sentence?


texts: What word/expression describes allowing another to save face rather than to be disgraced publicly?

texts: The word that comes to mind is 'diplomacy' but I don't believe that is quite it.  It is a practice that's seems more nuanced in Asian cultures than Western.  For instance, if a person is fired, rather of publicly stating the individual was fired, the person is allowed to say they wish to pursue other interests or something less harsh.  It's a bit of an unwritten and unstated custom that allows the a person in a more superior social role to allow the other individual to basically save face.


texts: What do you do when a sentence ends with a factorial?

texts:
Consider the following sentences which utilizes the mathematical factorial operation:

  The answer is 5!.

or

  The equation is given by

  f(x) = (x+4)!.

Typically in mathematical writing, an expression in a sentence is treated as a word and is therefore punctuated accordingly.  But in this case, a period following an exclamation point looks awkward.  Would a period still be used here to indicate the end of the sentence?


texts: Which is the correct preposition to use?

texts: I belong to a group of teachers who are currently working on our school yearbook.  I am in the editing stage and I came across this title.  Prepositions are a tricky part of speech.  Which is the correct preposition to use in this phrase ...My favorite memory 'of' or 'in' Grade ... thank you.


texts:
Actually it's the title of a song written by Lana Del Rey.
So what does Body Electric really mean when Lana says "I sing the body electric"?
And here is the link to the song lyrics.


texts: What are some of the most influential or obscure phrases and literary constructions drawn from the Bible?

texts:
I was reading through some English L & U SE questions, and happened across one asking about the origin of the phrase "Through a Glass, Clearly / A Scanner Darkly / In a Mirror, Darkly / etc" — apparently derived from 1 Corinthians 13:12 — and came away with a profound realization of how influential the Bible has been in making prominent certain literary constructions and phrases, even as perhaps its practical influence in society is declining.  Every so often I've thought I've chanced across most of them, but as I keep reading, I keep finding more.

So I thought that perhaps I might start the "definitive" collation of famous Biblical phrases and constructions on English L & U SE, with (metaphorical) bonus points given for examples that are obscure and ill-remembered, or ones that give an engaging account of the usage's history.  Of course, the example I'll seed this thread with, the "time to kill / time to heal...time to build / time to tear down" construction, from
Ecclesiastes 3:3, is familiar enough to almost be hackneyed; can anyone else do better?

EDIT: I think it would make for a richer thread if everyone limited themselves to one phrase or construction at a time, and provided a little background that exemplifies how that example provides shared cultural context.   See my comment below for a brief example.


texts: To *play* with somebody's hair -- replacement for "play"

texts:
I've came across the topic about equivalent to phrase "play with sb's hair" in which people suggested some fancy words.
One word equivalent to "play with someone's hair"

I'm wondering whether is it correct to say "toy with sb's hair", for instance:
- I like toying with girls' hair, would you mind?


texts:
Is there an english word, which can be used for both update and create?

I'm programming a function which creates something if it doesn't exist already, otherwise it updates the stuff.
A word which came me in mind is process.
Does anyone know a better matching word for this purpose?


texts:
What is the correct spelling of Marshalling/Marshaling? I also have problems with other derived variants of marshal:

marshaller / marshaler
marshalling / marshaling
marshalled / marshaled

Google hasn't help much, also different spell checkers have different opinions.

What are the rules here?


texts: "Saying/doing it from your heart" vs. "Saying/doing it from heart"

texts:
What is the difference between the following two?

They didn't play the game from their heart.
They didn't play the game from heart.

Or

You didn't say that from your heart
You didn't say that from heart


texts: The statues were unheralded for almost a century - a better idiom/phrase

texts:
British experts found two rare bronze statues crafted by
Michelangelo.

  What idiom or phrase can describe either the state or the period for which the invaluable piece of art remained hidden from public knowledge.

Edit - A word or phrase that tells not about the discovery but the statues, their being out of public domain. Where did it remain all this while?


texts: What does "within greater [region]" mean?

texts: If someone says something such as "Within greater Seattle", what does that mean?


texts: What is the history behind how date is read?

texts:
I was trying to find out if there were reading guidelines for dates, e.g., for broadcasting or competitive recitation. There seem to be a few different accepted ways of reading out dates, e.g., 1, or 2; and they don't correlate with how date is written.

For example, even though the UK writes dates as DD-MM-YYYY, BrE speakers usually read 01-Sept the same way that speakers of AmE do:

September the first
September first

Shortening the archaic on the thirty-first day of the month of October in the year two thousand and nineteen of the Common Era to the thirty-first of October twenty-nineteen follows somewhat naturally (by dropping redundant information).

However, what is the historical context behind the practice of reading month first, especially without dropping "the" or adding an apostrophe, like "September's first"?


texts: What is a proper word for no-matter-how-many?

texts: Just like we use whatever for no-matter-what, what is an appropriate word for no-matter-how-many?


texts: the coating may peel off/may be peeled off

texts:
Which is right to say?

The coating may peel off.
The coating may be peeled off.

The context is I mean to say that the coating of a product may come off due to a long-time use.


texts: dangling participles principle correction

texts:
How can I correct the following sentence with dangling participles principle?

  Writing carefully, dangling participles should be avoided

Is the following correction is acceptable:

  Writing carefully, you should avoid dangling participles

What can we understand wrongly when using the first not corrected sentence?


texts: as+/-indefinite article : as a student/as student

texts:
I learned that "as cook" is correct than "as a cook"
if their job is cook.
So "He served as conductor of Boston Philharmonic." is also correct.
However, from http://gregmankiw.blogspot.kr/2007/03/my-life-as-student.html
he says "life as a student", thus student is not considered as job/position?
So it's correct to say "as a middle schooler"?

plus, does having an adj like 'med' student or 'first female' conductor affect indefinite articles?


texts: Succinct, shorthand, (possibly) Latin word similar to "ala"

texts:
I'm trying to find the world that one would use to denote a connection to a person's idea.  I'm writing a sentence where I want to make a simple connection to Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the hands of an angry God".  What I have is

it is God holding us over the flames, ala Jonathan Edwards

but I would like to find a better word than ala for making the connective idea.


texts: How bad is it if I use inable rather than unable?

texts: Reading on wikitionary as well as many other dictionary sites, the word inable is "obselete" or "rare". However, just in my internal monologue I use that word all the time, and to me it sounds better in certain contexts. Would it be frowned upon if I were to use inable rather than unable in an essay, or is it ok to do so?


texts: What is the difference between the words concede, admit and accept?

texts: In which situations is the word concede used, in which situations is the word admit used, and in which situations is the word accept used?


texts:
Is "Feel free to reach out to myself, Howard, or Jane." correct?
Or, should it read "Feel free to reach out to me, Howard, or Jane.".


texts: What do you call someone who has lots of energy and always in good mood.


texts: What are hard/flat buttons (on appliances) called?

texts:
What are the kind of push buttons used on modern appliances called:

Lies flush with the surface.
Have to press (not tap) to activate.
Button usually doesn't move much or at all when you press it.
Usually seamless or a slight seam with the surface.
Often the same material over the whole surface, including buttons.
Often seen on surfaces that need to be cleaned frequently or water/splash proof... Stove, washer/dryer, point of sale terminals, and most recently a new printer.

Originally I was writing a review and wanted to complain that the _____ type of buttons were hard to use, not like normal buttons. But now I just want to know since it seems like these are showing up everywhere.


texts: What is the word to describe the placement of two contrasting ideas next to each other?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  A word for two very different things juxtaposed?

What is the word to describe when two ideas (often contrasting) are placed next to each other to enhance the situation or idea being presented? I believe it could describe the placement of two words or ideas in a poem, or two melodies in a song, or two objects in a piece of art.


texts: What is the origin of "like there's no tomorrow"?

texts: When was the expression "like there's no tomorrow" as in party/live/etc.like there is no tomorrow first used and in what context?


texts: Can I say "dispose" (without "of") to mean dumping things?

texts:
I had always thought that one must say "dispose of" when referring to getting rid of something, until I came across this article by the government of Australia:

  In 2001, 19.0 million tonnes of waste were disposed to landfill, and
  by 2007 this had grown to more than 21.3 million tonnes.

  Other indicators show that during 2006–07, nearly half (48%) of all
  waste was disposed to landfill.

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1370.0~2010~Chapter~Landfill%20(6.6.4)

Now, I know that "dispose" can be used without "of" to mean "incline to" or "set in readiness", but it seems not the case here. Maybe it is an Australian thing?

Apparently, "dispose" without "of" is also being used in UK Parliamentary documents to mean the same thing:

https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=LmplFjtTKmcC&pg=PA179&lpg=PA179&dq=disposed+to+landfill&source=bl&ots=rDx0nzkfzj&sig=ZUWHsn0grVxZRkDfBu1bG24tEkk&hl=zh-TW&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_hdbFsNrUAhUCupQKHeIJAEw4ChDoAQg6MAM#v=onepage&q=disposed%20to%20landfill&f=false

Or should I say "dispose of sth to somewhere" or "sth is disposed of to somewhere" instead?

Many thanks!


texts: What is the word to describe a (fully competent) translator's inability to translate the exact sense?

texts:
Translators are often at a loss to exactly translate a word, phrase or even an entire sentence because the source language and the target language are so far removed from each other culturally and linguistically.

For example, there seems to be no English equivalent for the Marathi concept, "Vihin Bai". It refers to the relationship between the mothers of the man and the woman who are/are going to be married. Since the concept does not exist in the same form in English-speaking societies, there's probably no equivalent.

What I need to find out is whether there is a word to describe the translator's inability to translate such culture-specific terms.


texts: How do you quote a quotation that itself has mismatched quotes?

texts:
Suppose that Eve said (in spoken English)

  An apple a day keeps the doctor away, unquote. Also isn't Eve such a
  great person? Like my mom always said quote Eve is the best person ever,
  much better than that Alice person

Now let us say that Bob wants to tell Alice what Eve said. Naively, he might say

  Eve said the weirdest thing the other day. She said quote An apple a
  day keeps the doctor away, unquote. Also isn't Eve such a great
  person? Like my mom always said quote Eve is the best person ever,
  much better than that Alice person unquote. What do you suppose it
  means?

The problem with saying this is that Alice would interpret this as

  Eve said the weirdest thing the other day. She said "An apple a day
  keeps the doctor away." Also isn't Eve such a great person? Like my
  mom always said "Eve is the best person ever, much better than that
  Alice person." What do you suppose it means?

Whereas Bob actually meant

  Eve said the weirdest thing the other day. She said "An apple a day
  keeps the doctor away, unquote. Also isn't Eve such a great person?
  Like my mom always said quote Eve is the best person ever, much better
  than that Alice person." What do you suppose it means?

How would Bob properly quote Eve without causing the above ambiguity?

Note that this problem only really applies to spoken English, since if instead Bob was writing a letter to Alice, he could write

  Eve said the weirdest thing the other day. She said "An apple a day
  keeps the doctor away, unquote. Also isn't Eve such a great person?
  Like my mom always said quote Eve is the best person ever, much better
  than that Alice person." What do you suppose it means?

and if Eve instead used quotation marks, there are already conventions for dealing with that.


texts:
This is related to the following questions, 1, 2.
In many papers in mathematics, I often see the following constructions.

Similar to [1], we have that 2+ax = 3y.
Similar to Equation 2.3, we note that ax = by for non-negative integers a and b.
By straightforward calculations similar to Equation 2.2, p=np.

To be clear, the authors usually mean to say a lengthy calculation is identical to the procedure used to arrive at an equation earlier in the paper in the case of the second and third example, or in a cited source in the first example.
After reading the aforementioned related questions and related discussion elsewhere, I still do not understand whether or not these examples should be written as "similar" or "similarly".
Based on 1, I suspect that the correct choice is similarly, however I am experiencing cognitive dissonance because I rarely see these sentences written like this. After consulting with others I consider fairly well versed in English, they all agree that "Similarly" sounds strange in all three of these contexts too.
The argument I am faced with is whether we should use the adverb, similarly, by essentially implicitly encapsulating the entire process to arrive at a new equation as the verb; or whether we should use the adjective, similar, to suggest that the equation or citation are similar to our equation, but leave us with the ambiguity  illustrated in user curious-proofreader's Tokyo example found in 2.


texts: I have heard this idiom, but I don't know how frequently it is used by people. Please, help me out, because I have no other way checking it.


texts:
I'm looking for the antonym of occurrence. I want to use it in this sentence:

  Based on the occurrence/[antonym] of signals, decisions will be made.

The context is scientific. I would like to have just one word for this particular sentence.


texts:
Acronyms and initialisms are almost always capitalized, think:

BBC
HTML
ASAP

etc.
Sometimes though acronyms are not capitalized. Even the license at the bottom of this page is written as:

cc by-sa 3.0

which contains a few acronyms but is not capitalized.
Is there a standard for acronym capitalization?


texts:
''When I read Herodotus, I seem to hear some Eastern peasant narrate and “philosophize.” —Not for nothing had he traveled among the Scythians.''

E. M. Cioran, Drawn and Quartered

Can someone explain me why here we have the past perfect of ''to travel''? I know  that the past perfect is used to talk about something that took place before another action in the past, but here I can't recognize any.


texts: Although I understand that both "Perry and he" and "He and Perry" mean the same thing, which is more grammatically correct and why?


texts: British English for "holding someone to account for ..."?

texts:
I frequently hear the phrase "holding [someone] to account [for]" in American media (for example, this Sam Seder video) and I am under the impression that I have never heard it in British media. Wiktionary defines hold to account as follows:

  (transitive) To require a person to explain or to accept responsibility for his or her actions; to blame or punish someone for what has occurred.

Merriam-Webster defines it as "to hold responsible" (which is less helpful than Wiktionary). I could not find the phrase in this online Cambridge dictionary or in my old edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (1989).

So what would be the British English equivalent of "to hold [someone] to account"? Simply, "to hold [someone] responsible"?


texts: I'm looking for a slang word or idiom for someone who insists on intruding their presence on two others who would rather be alone

texts:
This person usually pretends not to see that they are unwelcome at the moment, but it may be that they just don't notice it.
Depending on the circumstances, one of the two persons (typically lovers) might even say: "two is company, three's a crowd."
Edit - this question is not about sex. It's about two persons who want to be alone for any reason (because they are sweethearts, because what they want to talk about is confidential, etc.)


texts: Word for a social partner without romantic connotations?

texts:
Is there a good way to describe a social partner without romantic connotations? Especially when referring to dining.

I know date and partner (on its own) generally both generally imply some sort of romantic connotation (feel free to prove me wrong).

Is there anything besides dining partner or friend?

Thanks!


texts:
I've been searching for examples/questions for this but found nothing.

Given the sentence:
'I would put it on hold as soon as you call(ed) me'

Should it be call or called?

The idea around this sentence is based on a condition: If you call me, I put what I'm doing on hold.
But having the would implies a future condition, so I'm not sure what verb form to use here. Also, the as soon as makes it even more confusing to me.

Thanks in advance


texts: Place of the adverb daily in the sentence

texts:
Is daily usually placed before or after the main verb?  It is not possible to effectively check it by searching the Web because daily is the adjective as well.

  Security for OEM storage is tied to the host system which verifies daily the drive and creates unique encryption keys to prevent theft.


texts: According to Wiktionary there is a noun nuisance tax. Does this suggest nuisance can be an adjective? Is it?


texts: What is the meaning and use of "seh" in Caribbean dialects of English?

texts:
I have heard "seh" used in Jamaican English but I think it's probably used in other parts of the Caribbean too. I know that in many cases, it is simply the equivalent of standard English "say". However, it is also used in sentences like:

  "Mi know seh dem nuh like mi", meaning "I know that they don't like me"

In this case, "seh" seems to be used as an equivalent of standard English "that", rather than "say". But I would like to know whether I'm right, whether it has any other uses, and when people might choose to use "seh" instead of "that".

I'd also be interested to know about the etymology of the word.

Hopefully there are some Caribbeans on here who can shed some light on it.


texts: Who's "Her' in Joseph Addison's Cato's Soliloquy?

texts:
This is a Soliloquy from Joseph Addison's Cato, also known as Edgar Allan Poe’s Cryptographic Challenge, the whole play could be found here.

  The soul, secured in her existence, smiles
  at the drawn dagger, and defies its point.
  The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
  grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;
  But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
  unhurt amid the war of elements,
  The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds!

My question is very simple ,who is Her? What's her name, and what's her story?


texts: Identifying Main and Subordinate clauses

texts:
In the sentence:

His family and professional life have made him uniquely able to write novels with a family setting which can absorb the conflict between past and present, tradition and novelty, good and evil, common beliefs and the idea of the modern family today.

I am having trouble identifying the main and subordinate clauses. I suspect that that there’s 1 subordinate clause (adjective clause “which can absorb...) but I am not sure.
Thank you for your help!


texts:
What is the formal way to say a bit in an essay, for example, in the sentence beginning “It is a bit different from”?

Is a little formal enough?


texts: What is actually being doubled when someone has to "double back"?

texts: I have frequently heard this phrase and used it myself when I've gone in a wrong direction either physically or at work metaphorically. However, I wonder why the phrase is double back, since once you realize the mistake that you have made, you only go back the way you came once, not twice or double the distance.


texts: Is the speech after the quotative "like" always non-literal?

texts:
I like to use "like" as a quotative for non-literal speech (and non-literal speech in general), speech that no one has said but might have said if given the opportunity.

This is a useful expressive tool but I'm nervous that other people might think I'm attributing speech to people when they didn't actually say it.

An example:

  I went so see him yesterday and he was like, "why didn't you just do it yourself, loser?"

Is this "speech" always metaphorical?

(I'm quite aware that use of "like" as a quotative is controversial, so comments to this effect in any answers might be superfluous or unnecessary.)


texts: "Were to have" vs. "had" / conditionals in reported speech

texts:
Scenario:
I, Paul, arrive at my office in the morning, only to find I have been given an assignment I will definitely have to work overtime to finish today (that's the deadline) without an assistant. And being a low-level employee, I will not be assigned an assistant.

So I say, "If I ___ a helping hand, I wouldn't have to work overtime today."

had
were to have

My questions are:

Which will a native speaker say?
I know that "were to have" has a "future" meaning. Do I lose that meaning if "had" is used instead?
Three months later, my friend Tom talked about this in a reported speech. (Assume that "had" is used.)

(1) Paul said that if he had had a helping hand, he wouldn't have had to work overtime that day.

(2) Paul said that if he had a helping hand, he wouldn't have to work overtime that day.

Which one is correct?


texts: Is the usage of the word "BUT" in this sentence correct?

texts:
Please consider the following sentence:

  I am not just doing my job, but I am making a difference

is the sentence grammatically correct?

Should I add the word also in the second clause?

  I am not just doing my job, but I am also making a difference

Or is there something else to be done with it?

Edit: what about the just used in the sentence.. should it be only instead?

So, which of the following is the most accurate:

  I am not only doing my job, but I am also making a difference
  I am not just doing my job, but I am also making a difference
  I am not just doing my job, but I am making a difference
  I am not only doing my job, but I am making a difference


texts:
Is there a comprehensive explanation of which prepositions I should use with directed, and why?

directed at
directed to
directed on
directed onto
directed in
directed into
directed toward
directed towards
... ?

I have found two possible answers, but they look just “partial” in my case:

Question directed to someone or at someone?
“Directed at” vs. “directed towards”


texts:
Which is correct:

  A laser was used where the wavelength was 15 cm.

Or

  A laser was used, where the wavelength was 15 cm.

(Note the comma before where)

More generally, do we use a comma before "where" and "in which"?

"In which" example:

  X-ray diffraction uncovered an in-plane texture, in which gold preferentially aligned with sapphire.

or

  X-ray diffraction uncovered an in-plane texture in which gold preferentially aligned with sapphire.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What does “dead as a door nail” mean?

What does "deader than a doornail" mean?

I've read the word plenty of times but don't know the meaning to it.


texts: What would be the best word to define myself?

texts: I work for a Team of Local Guides. My job is to read the customer's email requests, schedule everything and inform the guides. Can I define myself as a "coordinator", "orchestrator" or "organizator". English is not my first language so I don't know  the right word for this. Thanks in advance!


texts: "reported no ..." vs. "did not report ..."

texts:
Is there a difference in meaning between "John reported no symptoms" and "John did not report any symptoms"?

I always felt that there is a subtle difference between the two, former implying that John was asked whether he had any symptoms and he explicit said no, but latter implying that John was not asked about his symptoms and he did not spontaneously report any symptoms.

Am I completely off the track here?


texts:
There was this reddit thread to see who can create the most confusing sentence.

Judging by the upvotes, I am guessing it is indeed a correct sentence. If so, can someone decipher this work of art? What exactly does this mean?

  Has Anyone Really Been Far Even as Decided to Use Even Go Want to do Look More Like?


texts: "I was happy at my improvement" vs "I was happy with my improvement"

texts:
Are both correct?

If so, what are the differences in meaning if any?


texts: It's usually considered necessary in the modern day, but I find the further back you go, the less frowned on its absence seems to be. I seem to remember a few vocative sentences in The Hobbit without them, for instance, though I can't recall them at the moment.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When is it appropriate to use 'that' as opposed to 'which'?

We've had an American Americanise some phrases for us (with the point of teaching children English), e.g:

UK English: There’s a little white dog which lives on the second floor.
US English: There’s a little white dog that lives on the second floor.

But there are three sentences which were not altered. We would rather not have a mixture of that and which to make things less confusing for the students. The sentences that were not changed were:

I really like this pencil case which Rose gave me.
There’s a store near here which is open all night.
This is a really cool picture which I brought with me from Little Bridge.

Should these be changed to that, or should we change the other sentences that have already been translated back to which?


texts: Words or idioms to describe burden of knowledge but not doing or caring about it

texts:
I want to capture the pain which comes from having knowledge that will improve the situation or make the world a better place but being apathetic towards it.
They care, but not enough.  They can act but choose not to


texts: A more effective way to say, "Sorry, I was wrong"

texts:
I need an expression for the following context: I had been insisting on an issue, (believing in good faith that I was right) but later realized I was just totally wrong.

What is the most effective way to say that I was "wrong" without using this word?

I am not looking for  what can be the best attitude  but for the best way to excuse myself  without admitting I was wrong and without putting the blame on someone else.


texts: What do I call a company that sells an item they don't make but under their name?

texts:
I was surfing for headphones on Amazon, when to my surprise, I found some fairly high-rated headphones.

But initially, I thought the the first Company, A, made these headphones, I was surprised to find that while search elsewhere, another Company, B, made the exact same headphones, just under a different brand.

So I searched elsewhere, and found that the real company that made the product was Company C, that actually designed and produced the product, but that Company A and B had simple just put their name on the headphones.

What in this case would I call Company A & B? What would be the name for Company A & B? They didn't make the product, but they sell it under their name, despite the fact that Company C sells it.  Would I call it like a "shell" company? Not sure what's the word to use here.


texts: Any name for this feature of certain dialects where past simple is replaced with past participle?

texts:
For the record, I know there is a similar question here that asks about basically the opposite function in some Americam Dialects.
I want to know if there is a name for the type of dialectic feature where a speaker inserts a past participle where a past simple verb would be standard.
Examples:
He done it. I seen him.
Of course, the standard would be:
He did it. I saw him.
This is fairly common in a number of British Dialects. Is there any specific name for this phenomenon, other than just generally saying it is wrong/non-standard/deviant/informal/etc.?


texts: What is a word meaning "has always been happening" up to the current point time?

texts: I have an active event that may or may not have declared beginning or ending dates. When there is no ending date set, I'm using "ongoing" to indicate that this event will continue for the foreseeable future. What is a corresponding term for when there is no defined beginning date and the event "has always been" active?


texts: Can I use "rank" as synonym for "level" for a creature's power?

texts:
In a game's rulebook I have heroes fighting monsters. Both have numeric "levels" to indicate their overall power/strength. Usually there are a lot of creatures of the same level, because they are equally good, and heroes of different and/or same "level" join a party to go on a quest.

For various reasons I don't want to use "level", but is "rank" a suitable synonym? Can a person have a numeric "rank" (and not a title like "Sergeant"). Instead of "he is a 4th-level wizard", is "he is a wizard of 4th rank" correct? Can multiple creatures have the same "rank", or does this imply a continuous ranking like in a leader board?


texts: How do I say that I will do something after everything else?

texts:
Is the expression "I will do it at the end" appropriate for saying that I will do something after everything else?

I'm not sure if it sounds natural and suspect it might have a different meaning -- I will do it eventually.


texts:
I want a verb meaning "be positioned at" for the following sentence. What can I use?

In each list, no positive item can ... before an irrelevant one.

I used take place, but it seems that it's meaning is different in English.


texts: Comma splice proceeded by conjunctive adverb

texts:
I'm wondering what the rule is as to where any commas or semicolons would go.  (a) and (b) are showing the two sentences that are to be combined, and (a)+(b)[1,2] show the sentences in question.

(a): I like tea, especially chamomile tea.
(b): I like tea; however, I prefer coffee.

(a)+(b)[1]: I like tea, especially chamomile tea; however, I prefer coffee.
or,
(a)+(b)[2]: I like tea, especially chamomile tea, however, I prefer coffee.

It'd be great if it could be:
(a)+(b)[3]: I like tea, especially chamomile tea,; however, I prefer coffee.

I have a feeling that (a)+(b)[1] is correct; however, I'm not really sure what rule would govern that.  Is there some precendence rule making a semicolon 'trump' a comma?


texts: Is "take a leak" considered only masculine or is it okay if women use it too?

texts: And if it can also be used by women, I still feel vulgar using it.


texts: Singular or plural verb with "class of proteins"

texts:
Consider the following sentence:

  This table outlines a class of proteins that primarily attack the
  brain.

I am not sure whether to use attack or attacks. If attack refers to class then I should use attacks, but if it refers to proteins then I should use attack.

In this case, both versions might work. However, I am not sure about this.


texts: Word regarding a lyric remembered wrongly

texts:
I remember having come across a particular word long ago. This word means a part of lyric that has been remembered wrongly, i.e., a section of lyric that has entered one's memory with the words mangled up in some way (Spoonerism, for example). The word remembered could be differing from the original word in a facetious way.

Does anyone know of this word?


texts:
"The supermarket cut the price." sounds correct to me.
"The supermarket cut down the price." seems a bit redundant.
Is my interpretation correct or are both acceptable?


texts: Is there a word for salivating in response to negative stimuli, as opposed to positive stimuli?

texts: Like when you smell a dead rat your mouth produces saliva and makes you spit a lot. Or when you see something gross, doesn't make you vomit, but your mouth waters you spit a lot.


texts: Another phrase like "Having a grand old time"?

texts:
Trying to find other phrases like "Having a grand old time" for an ending to our wedding invitation. Thanks so much for your help!

-Jordan


texts: What’s the word for the recount of events used to solve a mystery?

texts: I believe there is a certain word used to describe the recount or unraveling of information to solve a mystery. Typically, in murder-mystery movies, towards the end - the climax of the movie - the actor will give a monologue describing in detail, “How it was done”. What is the word used to describe that monologue. It’s very specific but I can’t think of it! Thanks


texts:
Maybe some linguist can explain why Why "the powers that be"? and my question are basically the same (grammar and such), but I would not be able to recognize this to be the same thing, so I would still have to ask. So no - Why "the powers that be"? - does not answer my question.

In the song "Tribute" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lK4cX5xGiQ the demon asks Tenacious D "Be you angels?" Shouldn't that be "Are you angels?" and this was artistic freedom of Tenacious D or is this a posh way to ask the question - befitting a demon? The question sound similar to "How be your?" from "How be you" or "How are you"?, but is not the same, that is why I am posting.


texts:
Sometimes when I am in spooky environment (like on a deserted street at midnight with little light), I would have this fear that I would start having hallucinations (like seeing things that don't exist and getting freaked out).

I'd heard that a number of people experience this cognitive delusion and claimed to have seen things like robots with flying heads and that is how they start to believe in supernatural things.

How should I describe the fear I have in those spooky environment?

p.s: I forget to mention I have this increasing anxiety when I am at those spooky environments and so I would always avoid these environments as much as possible (I think this has to do with a part of my childhood..) So I accepted  Mohit's answer because agoraphobia describes best how I feel.

At first I wanted to look for the term for the fear of having hallucination but it most likely doesn't exist. (It would still be great if someone finds it and posts it here)

Thank you guys for giving me all the awesome answers!! Greatly appreciate!!!!


texts: Is the expression ‘a legitimate rape’ logically appropriate and viable?

texts:
Missouri’s Republican candidate for the US Senate, Todd Akin, made a naïve remark on anti-abortion issue  that has now become the target of thundering criticism. Time Magazine (August 20th, 2012) introduced the Congressman’s disastrous remark as follows:

  Asked about his stance on abortion, the Republican Senate candidate
  attempted to explain his unqualified opposition to it, even in cases
  of rape: “From what I understand from a doctor, that’s really rare,”
  Akin said of pregnancies from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the
  female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing ‘down’.”

I cannot understand the ‘legitimacy’ of the term, legitimate rape. OALED defines rape as — note carefully — the crime of forcing someone to have sex with you, especially using violence. Merriam-Webster defines rape as (2) unlawful sexual activity carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will, usually of a female.

From both definitions, rape is a full-fledged crime. It’s illegitimate and unlawful from beginning to end.  Though Akin spoke of ‘a legitimate rape’, and newspapers keep using this word nonchalantly, isn’t the expression legitimate rape logically preposterous and impossible? In other word, can we say "a legitimate crime"?

I understand legitimate has another meaning of real, and I suspect the Congressman might have used ‘legitimate rape’ to this effect.
But to me, legitimate rape just sounds like saying legitimate crime or lawful robbery.

So my question is, is legitimate rape a proper and reasonable English term, one without risk of causing the equivocal confusion that I felt?


texts: Other expressions to say "don't get involved with" something or somebody'

texts:
I am looking for expressions or idioms to describe a context where you advise someone not to do something (a favor, give help or advice, lend money, etc.) because by doing so he would probably risk getting involved in potential problems that he is not aware of.

Sort of Don't mix with that issue, or you may regret it.

Idiom - If you play with fire, you'll burn your fingers.


texts:
This question is inspired by https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/69496/whats-the-deal-with-stamping-us-visas.

The US government calls the visa sticker that is inserted into a passport a foil.  It is also undeniably a sticker, and the Schengen Visa Code indeed calls it a sticker.

Some countries use inked stamps on the passport page to insert a visa, but the US does not.  Nonetheless, there is much material on the internet concerning US visa "stamps," and the "stamping" of US visas (that is, the insertion of a visa foil into a passport).

My impression is that this terminology has for some reason been introduced by Indian and other South Asian workers, but this is largely based on my encountering the terminology mostly in material posted by such people.

Is it possible to confirm whether this hypothesis is correct?

If the hypothesis is incorrect, where did this usage originate?


texts: Why are "look" and "school" pronounced differently?

texts: I can't figure out a rule that says whether 'oo' makes one sound or the other. Same number of syllables: one closed, but the sound is different.


texts: For non-native speakers of English language the usage, someone sporting beard may appear odd.They wonder as to why "someone keeping the the beard well trimmed or leaving beard matted" is not acceptable in standard English.Native speakers of English language are requested to give their views in the usage connected with keeping beard / sporting beard / growing beard.Do all these options are acceptable?


texts: How to answer the greeting "What's the story?"

texts:
I have a lot of Irish coworkers that often greet me by saying "What's the story?"

What's a good way to answer to this greeting?

Also, does this ever get used in the UK, US or Australia?


texts:
While waiting for service, patrons can enjoy coffee and snacks and mingle with their neighbors in need.

Is "waiting" in this sentence a gerund or participle?

This sentence and question actually came out of an SAT practice test; the answer key says that "waiting" is a gerund and corresponds to the preposition "for". After posting this question and looking at other places too, I am convinced that its a participle describing the noun "patrons". Is that accurate?


texts: Correct usage of "persons" (vs. "people")

texts:
I had a little fight about persons vs. people.

Could you advise if both of the following are correct, if possible with reference to a dictionary?

  A table for two people please.
  A table for two persons please.

Besides that, how would you ask for a table in a restaurant?

I read http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/persons and Person, Persons, People, Peoples, but they didn't really solve the question if both are correct.

I also found the last paragraph of http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/person, which suggests that (1) is "more correct", but doesn't say (2) is wrong.


texts:
Should it be "find your company's zen" or "find your companys' zen"? Or perhaps another?

I am convinced it should be "find your company's zen" as it suggests ownership of said zen, but I want to be sure.

What should it be?


texts: "running on Windows" vs. "running under Windows"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Run on an OS” vs. “run under an OS”

"This application can run on Windows" versus "This application can run under Windows"

Which is more natural, or what's the difference between them?


texts: Adjective for someone who exaggerates emotions to get sympathy

texts:
What's the word for someone who tries to get sympathy from others by exaggerating their emotions or constantly reminding them of something tragic that happened to them?

I'm looking for an adjective - no disorders or health related definitions please.


texts:
For example, which of the following sentences is correct:

Jack, and his partner Jill, offer a new perspective on child-rearing.

Jack, and his partner Jill, offers a new perspective on child-rearing.

Does the addition of the clause "and his partner Jill" change the tense of the verb "to offer"? Should I just leave out the commas for clarity?


texts:
Can I write "I will be able to finish my work by the beginning of August circa."?

I know that I could write "I will be able to finish my work circa by the beginning of August.", I just prefer the first option and I just wanted to ask if it is permitted to write it that way.


texts: Making almost a circular form / Making almost a circular form

texts:
I'm trying to describe a character which happens to be a boar. The boar has two pairs of rusts, a lower pair and an upper pair.
I want to say that his two upper rusts are uncomenly curved backwards...
Should I say: uncommenly curved backwards making almost a cercle.
Or: uncommenly curved backwards making almost a circular shape.


texts: What does "one away from" ("two away from", etc) mean?

texts:
If you are one person away from someone in line, are you next to them or is there someone between you?

If there is a red rose two away from a yellow rose in a row, are there two roses between the red rose and the yellow rose or one rose between them?


texts:
I'm having trouble understanding this passage, mostly the part in bold. Is it regular grammar?
The citation is from Moby Dick:

If I had been downright honest with myself, I would have seen very plainly in my heart that I did but half fancy being committed this way to so long a voyage, without once laying my eyes on the man who was to be the absolute dictator of it, so soon as the ship sailed out upon the open sea."


texts:
There are two verbs in the clause "was about to do", and I think I have established that "was" is an auxiliary verb, but I am unsure of what the verb "do" is. It is not a present participle, but I don't know how to refer to it.

How would you describe the tense of these verbs?

My current thinking is that it may be the periphrastic past tense.


texts: “Feel like” vs. “feel as though” vs. “feel that”

texts:
I hear a lot of people use “I feel like” + subject + verb, but I'm not sure whether it's grammatically correct. Someone once told me it was incorrect.

For example, if someone said, “I feel like I annoy people,” would it be considered grammatically correct or incorrect?

If it's incorrect, should “I feel as though” or “I feel that” be used?


texts:
The usual preposition after the word, "Encounter" is "with". Such as, "My encounter with an old friend". But I saw "of" being used as a preposition in an example sentence in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, under this definition:

3: a coming into the vicinity of a celestial body "the Martian encounter of a spacecraft."

Does this mean that the Martian encountered the spacecraft? Or the spacecraft encountered the Martian? Also, if I were to use other celestial bodies such as Earth, would I say,"The Earth encounter of a spacecraft"? Will the preposition "of" work when we are using non-celestial bodies, such as "My encounter of my old friend"?


texts:
[...] which, to me, has a strong [...]

Provided that the excerpt above is correct regarding the commas, can I omit them? As in:

  [...] which to me has a strong [...]


texts:
The workers are not going to halt the strike without proper delineation and acceptance of their demand.

What are the other words so we can use in place of "to  halt" - - Suppose they are not in a mood to stop the strike until the fulfillment of their demands.


texts: "I was used to do" vs. "I was used doing"

texts:
Good day everyone,

Looked around and didn't find the desired answer to my question. Would you please be kind to give me a hand with the following:

"I was used to do..." or "I was used to swim here"
                    vs
"I was used doing..." or "I was used swimming in here"

Are they all correct?
Thank you


texts: "Enter information about your education history from secondary level onwards": Is the word "onwards" inclusive or exclusive?

texts:
I was filling an application and I came across this sentence:

  Enter information about your education history from secondary level onwards.

I am a bit confused. Do I have to include the secondary level info or not? What does the word "onwards" do here? Does it have an inclusive role, or an exclusive role?


texts:
I am writing an essay about time and its characteristics. In the introduction, I have a sentence, "It [time] became one of those rare things people evaluate as priceless."
As far as I am concerned, here, it is more appropriate and natural to use value as instead of evaluate as.
I have approached two questions:

Is there a major difference between these two verbs in this context?

Do any of variants sound okay? Or are there better ways to build the sentence?

Thanks!