texts: Is "have" as in "I have to go" a stative verb or a dynamic verb?

texts:
You generally have two types of "have":

(1) He has two sons. (stative)
(2) He has lunch alone. (dynamic)

A stative "have" can be followed by "got", whereas a dynamic "have" cannot:

(1a) He has got two sons. (stative)
(2a) *He has got lunch alone. (dynamic)

A dynamic "have" can appear in the progressive, whereas a stative "have" cannot:

(1b) *He is having two sons. (stative)
(2b) He is having lunch alone. (dynamic)

Now, is the following "have" stative or dynamic?

(3) I have to go.
(3a) I have got to go.
(3b) I'm having to go.


texts: Can the preposition "about" be followed by an adverb? Is what follows a noun clause?

texts:
I recently asked a question on another Stack Exchange site, and one of my sentences left me in doubt. Here is the sentence.

  To be clear, the concept is not about condoning immoral actions, but rather, when breaking the rules is the right thing to do, or the wisest course of action.

I have a couple questions. First, you will notice that "but rather" is a standalone phrase enclosed by commas. Is there a name for this construction? I feel like it helps a sentence build suspense, and serves to emphasize what follows.

Second, the clause "when breaking the rules is the right thing to do" gave me some pause. I would like to think that it's permissible, owing to conjunctive reduction. The preposition "about" is implied, e.g. "but rather, [about] when breaking the rules is the right thing to do".

However, I am not sure whether the preposition "about" can take an adverb such as "when". It seems to me that my clause beginning with "when" is acting like a noun clause. I think this is fine, but I'm not sure. Would you say that the grammar is correct, and the style acceptable?

Also, would you consider the clause beginning with "when" to be a noun clause? (This would help me make sense of the construction.)


texts: What does "cold balls" exactly mean in American english?

texts:
I've been watching a crime TV anime show lately, and I've run into this fancy and maybe offensive too ( sorry about that, if it is like so ) and to put you guys in the scene context here is a summary:

A rookie detective was assigned to save a hostage from a dangerous criminal, with the help of two subordinates, one of them is smart ( the star of the TV show ), and the other is old and wise. The team managed to box in the criminal and his victim. Now, our rookie detective and the old subordinate are pointing their high-technology guns ( only authorized individuals can use these types of guns ) toward the perpetrator.

The old subordinate: FREEZE !!

The criminal: STAY BACK !! DROP YOUR GUNS OR SHE DIES !!

The criminal unarmed the two, took a gun and screams while aiming at them: DIE!! ( and he pulls the trigger, but it's not working ).

Our star showed up and killed him.Everybody is surprised, and after a while, the old subordinate said: Using an old man and a rookie as a decoy !?! You got a pair of cold stainless steel balls, don't you?
The smart subordinate: Whatever it takes to earn the paycheck pops.

Question:

What does he mean by saying "You got a pair of cold stainless steel balls"?

My guess:

I know that "balls" could sometimes be used interchangeably with "courage" (correct me if I'm wrong), but I think this means that the person has a cold heart.


texts: What does the word "these" refer to in the given paragraph?

texts:
We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities,
  particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably the
  fruits of development. These must have the first claim on
  resources

Does the word these refer to the "minorities" or does it refer to the "innovative plans"?


texts: "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds"

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Is become” vs “has become”

This is a famous quote from J. Robert Oppenheimer after the successful detonation of the first nuclear weapon. The quote comes from the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture.

This quote has bothered me since I first read it. Is it grammatically correct to say Now I am become death? Shouldn't the quote say Now I have become death or just Now I am death?


texts:
I have what I believe to be a simple question, regarding how "let alone" fits into a sentence.

Tell me if there is a difference in terms of correctness between these sample sentences:

1) "I refuse to play any video game, let alone a sports title, on easy."

or

2) "I refuse to play any video game on easy, let alone a sports title."

I sent the first one as a text to my friend, but after reading it, began to wonder if I got it right. This isn't life or death, but it certainly is bugging me. Thanks!


texts:
The head of the American postal system recently lamented the fact that a first-class stamp costs only 46 cents:

  If you think about 30 billion pieces [of mail] at today’s rate of 46 cents apiece, it’s almost $14 billion that we've lost.

What does apiece modify in that sentence? Or does it modify an ellipted verb?


texts: What is the collective term for "Daily", "Weekly", "Monthly" and "Yearly"?

texts:
I am developing a business application in which the user can select from one of these options, namely "Daily", "Weekly", "Monthly" or "Yearly", for scheduling appointments. I need to create a field in the database to hold this value, but am at a loss for what to name the field.

What would be the collective term? In Outlook, the combination of the option plus the option-specific sub-options is headed "Recurrence pattern", but that obviously applies to the complete selection. I am only interested in the collective term for "Daily", "Weekly", "Monthly" and "Yearly".

Perhaps just "recurrence"?


texts: In a biblical passage I am studying, I noticed that the accused was given a short span of time in order to fix the problem he had caused.  This idea (granting time to correct the situation) is important for my study and I want to include it in the index.  Is there a word (or short two word phrase) that has this meaning?


texts:
I just had dinner with some family.

There, was the mother of my father (grandmother), the brother of my grandmother (grand uncle?), his daughters (???), and their children (???)

How do you call the daughters of my grand uncle and how do you call their children?


texts: What does "standing on someone’s shoulders" really mean?

texts:
I'm translating the following passage, which is said by a black woman living in America:

  But the doctor was right: I was depressed. Like most people in my
      community, I had the misconception that depression was a sign of weakness,
      a character flaw. But I wasn't weak; I was a high achiever. I was too
      ashamed. I didn't think I had the right to be depressed. I had a
      privileged life with a loving family and a successful career. And when I
      thought about the unspeakable horrors that my ancestors had been through
      in this country so that I could have it better, my shame grew even deeper.
      I was standing on their shoulders. How could I let them down? I would hold
      my head up, put a smile on my face and never tell a soul.

I need to know what the sentence I was standing on their shoulders mean? Does it mean I had to continue the way they had started? Does it mean I had much better conditions than theirs?


texts: How to express the idea that a person got sick because of loving someone very much but does not receive any attention from that someone?

texts:
Ok, let's take this scenario: Tom and Mary work in the same company. Tom really likes Mary and he wants to love Mary and has very strong romantic affection toward Mary, but Mary always refuses him and has never given any attention to him.

Over time, Tom starts to get depressed since he thinks about his love for Mary all the time, but Mary doesn't care about him. He cannot get Mary's image out of his mind and that makes him depressed.

So, I don't think the word lovesick is suitable since

  lovesick = in love, or missing the person one loves, so much that one is unable to act normally

So, lovesick could be two-sided love, but in the above story, there is only one-sided love.

I found the term unrequited love or one-sided love on Wikipedia. However, that term does not express the sickness of the one-sided love.

So, how do I express the idea that a person got sick because they love someone very much but does not receive any attention from that someone?


texts: The /ɪ/ sound vs the /i/ sound - exact difference?

texts:
What's the exact difference in the 'pi' sound between 'happiness' /ˈhæp.i.nəs/ and epicentre /ˈep.ɪ.sen.tər/ that prompts the Cambridge Dictionary compilers to use a diffrerent vowel code for each case? More generally, what's the exact difference between the /ɪ/ sound and the /i/ sound, is it just in the duration (in some contexts?)? Is it just a historical variation that's lingereing? Or is there something more to it?

Edit:
After posting this question, I hit these two blog posts that are discussing the issue in detail:

http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2012/06/happy-again.html
https://www.englishspeechservices.com/blog/the-fallac%C9%AAjof-schwee/

One takeaway is that the /i/ sound was introduced to denote possible alternative pronunciations /ɪ/ and /i:/.

After reading the two posts, I still have questions:

What's the point of using the /i/ in the middle of a word, I'm not aware that there are alternative pronunciations for happiness?!
Is there still accents around that pronounce happy as /ˈhæp.i:/? And why is it not just considered allophonic variation anyway? When I listen to the standard dictionary pronunciations they seem to be somewhere between an /ɪ/ and /i:/ in duration, but in real life I hear native speakers normally pronounce it as /ˈhæp.ɪ/.


texts: Is "a/an" an example of liaison in English?

texts: French there is a process called liaison, where final consonants are omitted unless the next word starts with a vowel. Would it be accurate to say that the English indefinite article (a/an) is an example of this as well, or are these two separate words that mean the same thing?


texts:
A friend of mine said he bought a green board for his house. However, when he used the word green board, I realized that I never used that word before. Normally, I would call it chalkboard for either a green or black board. Occasionally, I might use the word black board.

Basically, my question is: does the word green board actually exist?

I included a picture in case someone does not know what I am talking about. I am aware that I can use the word green board to mean a surfboard painted green. There are other examples but hopefully I am making some sense.

He showed me the board; it looked like the following picture:


texts:
I read the poem 'A Roadside Stand' by Robert Frost, and I saw this line (the line which is in bold letters below), and it doesn't seem to make sense grammatically (to me). Because I think that the line should be 'To try if it will make our being expand'.

So, the first thing I want to know is that is this line grammatically correct, from a true grammatical point of view?
Second, has the writer used 'not' in this line specifically in the poem for some specific purpose/reason?

I have also heard 'not' being used in an incorrect way in normal English conversations.
For eg - "I seriously do not know nothing about this".
I know this is definitely incorrect.
So,Has the writer also used "not" in the same kind of sense as this sentence?

  The hurt to the scenery wouldn't be my complaint

  So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid:

  Here far from the city we make our roadside stand

  And ask for some city money to feel in the hand

  To try if it will not make our being expand,


texts: A pejorative term for "unreasonably gregarious"

texts:
I am looking for a pejorative term to describe someone who constantly needs social interaction regardless of quality.

Something along the lines of "social nymphomaniac", but not necessarily gender-specific, and preferably in a single word. I would also prefer it if it were not colloquial.


texts: Is there a shorter term for "divided by" in American English?

texts:
Given the following expression:

  5 (+-×÷%) 4

You would say "5 plus 4," "5 minus 4," "5 times 4," "5 divided by 4," and "5 mod(ulo) 4" respectively.

As far as I know, "divided by" does not have any shorthand form in the same way the above examples do.


texts: Rule to determine when to use the prefix "im" vs. "un" to negate a word starting with "p"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Negation prefixes: un-, dis-, a-, in-, …

The prefix un is commonly used to negate a word, but is is quite rare with words that start with the letter p; the prefix im seems more common. For example:

Impossible
Implausible
Imperfect

But there are certain p words whose opposite is prefixed with un, such as:

Unpolluted
Unpolished
Unplugged

Is there any rhyme or reason as to when to use un versus when to use im?


texts: The meaning of the MIDDLE ENGLISH "nother"

texts:
Very specific expertise is required here.

  The schoolmaster "shall not teche his scolers song nor other petite
  lernyng, as the crosse rewe, redyng of the mateyns or for the psalter
  or such other small thyngs, nother redying of Englisshe, but such as
  shall concern lernynge of grammar" (link below)

What does "nother" mean here? I wanna say, based on its location, that it means "nor" as in "nor [shall they teach] the reading of English"; but, the seeming of the word makes it sound more like "neither". Another possibility: Could it be that the "neither (nother) nor" phrase is reversed? As in (again the following is a theory):

  The schoolmaster "shall not teche his scolers nother redying of Englisshe [nor] song nor other petite lernyng, as the crosse rewe, redyng of the mateyns or for the psalter or such other small thyngs, but such as
  shall concern lernynge of grammar"

Link to the quotation from The Growth of English Schooling, 1340-1548 By Jo Ann Hoeppner Moran


texts: Possessive apostrophe for words ending in "s"

texts:
"This car belongs to Tom" is also written as "This is Tom's car".

How do I write "This car belongs to Yves"?

Is it Yves', or Yves's?


texts: What to call the "non-human" members of the animal kingdom?

texts:
I thought of the words earlier and smaller, but I think they are incorrect. Is there a way of referring to this kingdom and not include humans?

Example:

  The focus of the class shifted from humans to the [...] members of the
  animal kingdom.


texts: "Suited to an Indian mindset " vs. "suited for an Indian mindset"

texts:
Is there a difference between suited to and suited for? For example,

Japan is suited for agriculture.
Agriculture is suited to Japan.

In my above examples, can I interchange for with to? I feel like there is a difference, but I cannot figure it out.


texts: Hi I'm Japanese, I'd like know the difference between "evidence" and "proof"

texts:
Which one is more common in daily conversation, like when you are talking to a friend?

I understand "evidence" as having a more specific meaning, such as a particular experiment in physics, and used for important issues. On the other hand, I understand "proof" is more likely to be used between friends. For example,

"Did you go out with anyone last night?" "No, I didn't. this picture proves it."
"We have finally found some evidence four our diagnostic hypothesis."

Do I understand both words correctly?


texts: Is it possible to use the abbreviation "w.r.t." in academic papers?


texts: Phrase to give a non-detailed answer/explanation

texts:
What expression could I use when giving non-detailed answers/explanations about how something works? Let's say I want to explain how a printer works without getting into too much detail, Would it be OK to say:

"At a very superficial level, a printer ...."
"At a very high level, a printer ..."

I feel like there are more appropriate expressions to begin such type of sentence. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
I am trying to write a sentence like the following:

  The skills I acquired is/are knowledge in A, B, and C.

However, I know that uncountable nouns such as knowledge doesn't go with are. Yet, the subject is a plural noun skills so are seems to be appropriate. Which one is correct?


texts: Beginning a formal essay with a spoiler alert?

texts: I'm writing a literary analysis piece on Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. Online, such analyses are often preceded by a warning that the contents of the page contains detailed information about the plot so that someone who hasn't read the book yet would know not to read it if they don't want the plot spoiled. Does such a "spoiler warning" have a place in a formal essay? The format of the essay is MLA.


texts:
I heard the following statement of Barron’s magazine piggybacked to today’s (April 28) AP radio news over AFN broadasting:

  “Two thirds of the money managers we surveyed think we are due for
  collection of 10 per cent in the next twelve months before stocks
  resume their rise. Favorable stocks, General Electric currently tops
  the list. The Big Money crowd also likes bank shares such as Bank of
  America and Citi Group.”

As I’m unfamiliar with the word, “Big Money crowd,” I looked for the usage of this word and found a pretty old example:

With bond yields edging up, about a third of the Big Money crowd thinks utility shares will be the worst performers in the next 12 months.” - online.barrons.com 2013/10/21

What does Big Money crowd mean, particularly ‘crowd’ here mean? Is Big Money a proper noun as B and M are shown in uppercase in the above Barron's example? Is "crowd" a mass noun that takes verb in singlar form like "likes" and "thinks"?


texts: Difference in meaning between What will the weather be like? and What will the weather be??

texts: What is the exact difference in meaning between "What will the weather be like?" and "What will the weather be?" ?


texts:
Sometimes government officials take an awful lot of time to process a certain file. Or students working on research problems may sit on a problem for long without making any meaningful progress. Could someone suggest a word for the same, say a replacement for 'sit on'? I have a few examples here:

1) Prof to student: Don't __ on this problem for long, you may end up at a cul-de-sac.

2) You have been _ and delaying my file for too long, please process it with urgency.


texts: Word which means - "decreases the beauty "

texts:
If I wanted to express something adds to the beauty of a place I'd use words like: embellish, adorn, beautify, et cetera.

What is the word which is used to express that something decreases the beauty of the place?


texts: Is there a term for a set of adjectives that describe intensity, weight, value, size, and so on?

texts:
Some examples:

size: micro, tiny, small, medium, large, huge, gigantic
temperature: freezing, cold, chilly, cool, warm, hot
brightness: dark, dim, light, bright
weight: light, heavy

What are these sets of adjectives called?
The reason I'm asking is because I sometimes find myself needing these when I'm programming. A website with a database of whatever this is would be very helpful.


texts: Adjective describing a project/goal that is not easy to collaborate on

texts:
Example usage:

At first we attempted to cheat by dividing the problems between us. However, the test wasn't (adjective) because most of the solutions depended on the answer from the previous problem.

A noun with similar meaning to "ease of collaboration" would also work.


texts: What does "blow over someone's quest" mean?

texts:
What do the following sentences intend to convey to the reader?

  One blew over the industrialist's quest.
  One blew over the ford's quest.


texts: What adjective to describe this moral idea is "better, higher" than that idea?

texts:
In the story I am writing, a villain says that his "moral solution/idea" is "better, grander, more shining, more moral" than anything in the world.

What word or phrase could I use to describe that quality?


texts: Why the paper size is called a fools-cap?

texts: Usually the sizes are to be measured in any of the units. But to our amazement the paper size is called as FOOL'S CAP. This is not defining any measurement exactly but it throw a vague idea about the exact size of the paper both in length and width. So kindly enlighten me with your thorough knowledge for clearing my long time blur.   Thanks.


texts:
Why is it called an adam's apple?
Why is it called an adam's apple?


texts: What is a word for someone who loves to experience? A philomath is someone who loves to learn. Wanderlust describes a strong desire to travel. In that vein, is there a word for someone who seeks to experience things: boat rides, a circus performance, ice cream cones at the beach, attending a concert. In this context, a gift of experience would be preferred to an object or possession - for example, tickets to a baseball game rather than a baseball jersey.


texts:
“That plate is hot, mind.” (Angela Downing, English Grammar)

Prof. Angela says ‘mind’ above is a question tag.
Is ‘mind you’ below the same tag?

  "Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad
  I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so
  I can't talk." (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)


texts: Would this usage of the word ''industrial'' be appropriate?

texts:
For context, I am writing about an industrial reputation, which is in reference to a reputation one has when in the industry (i.e Hollywood or the 'music industry'). Would it be correct to use industrial, then, as a way of referencing the music industry or film industry, or would I need to use a different word?

If so, which would be appropriate?


texts: Do components of a phrasal verb still have a meaning each?

texts:
Do components of a phrasal verb still have a meaning each or have a meaning together?
For example, ‘look down on’: ‘to think of or treat (someone or something) as unimportant or not worthy of respect’
Do ‘look,’ ‘down’ and ‘on’ still have a meaning each or collectively?
Precisely, what I wonder goes like this
Black (adj. color) widow (nom. woman) into black (adj. color) widow (nom. spider) or into black widow (nom. color+spider)
To the end, there’s no adjective or there’s still an adjective?


texts:
If I want to say something like:

The audience,...,who is deeply affected by her loss.

Should I use "which is deeply affected by her loss." or "who is deeply affected by her loss."


texts:
Being a non-native speaker of English, I am less aware about the distinction between Asian and standard English. While conversing with my client, I came to realize that isn't it is used wrong in this sentence:

  You didn’t wait for us before you went to meet him isn’t it?

According to him, that isn’t it should be replaced with didn’t you.  Could anyone explain why it must be didn’t you instead of isn’t it there?


texts:
What is the difference between asceticism and monasticism?  It seems that in practice they are effectively synonymous; if this is the case, do they have differing origins?

I've included the first lines of each wikipedia entry below, which virtually identical.  For another example, in the wiki article for Saint Anthony,

  "He is often erroneously considered the first monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him."

This again suggests the terms are effectively synonymous.

From Asceticism wikipedia:

  Asceticism (/əˈsɛtɪsɪz(ə)m/; from the Greek: ἄσκησις áskēsis, "exercise" or "training") is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various worldly pleasures, often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals.

From Monasticism wikipedia:

  Monasticism (from Greek μοναχός, monachos, derived from μόνος, monos, "alone") or monkhood is a religious way of life that involves renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work


texts: The grammatical strangeness of "done me wrong" and "did me service"

texts:
Why are "done me wrong" and "did me service" established phrases instead of the more standard "He wronged me" and "He serviced [helped] me"?

EDIT: I just realized whatever connection I saw with French was spurious.   The curious thing is why do takes the object "me" here, which PLL has amply answered.


texts: What does "bring fire to the natives" mean?

texts:
We're having a discussion about this phrase, and we can come up with two possible meanings, but we're not sure which one is the more right. Does it mean to provide a group with something they already know about or desperately need?

Also, does anyone know the history of it?


texts:
Consider the following phrase taken from a draft of my master's thesis:

  In this chapter, the fundamental physiological principles will be
  presented that underlie the mathematical models and simulations of the
  subsequent chapters.

Is it grammatically correct to delay the relative clause ("...that underlie...") as I did? If yes, is it considered good style?

An obvious alternative would be

  In this chapter, the fundamental physiological principles that
  underlie the mathematical models and simulations of the subsequent
  chapters will be presented.

but this is - in my opinion, that is - harder to read due to the relative clause separating subject and verb ("principles ... will be presented").

Also see the great The Science of Scientific Writing on the matter of subject-verb separation.


texts: Using lots of words so as to NOT to get to the point

texts:
EDIT

The word I am looking for is not pleonasm (it stresses to much on the redundancy of the chosen words, i.e. fewer words would suffice). It is not verbiage (it stresses to much about the complexity of the word choices).

My opinion about the suggested words:

  waffle: To speak or write at length without any clear point or aim.

  This is almost the meaning I am looking for. My only objection is that
  the dictionaries do not seem to agree upon its meaning. For example,

  to talk or write foolishly —Webster Online
  speak or write at length in a vague or trivial manner —Oxford Online
  speech or writing that says nothing important —Cambridge Online

  (Yes, they all sound similar, but to my ears there is considerable
  difference.)

  doublespeak: the quoted meaning below sounds "too evil," as there seems to be deliberate/conscious evil intentions

  gobbledegook: sounds too much like the speaker has no idea as to what he is talking about.

Had "waffle" universally been agreed to have the above meaning. I'd opt for it.


texts: Is there a word that includes laptops, desktops, Macs and PCs, but not mobile devices

texts:
I want to write the sentence "I am creating an app which is intended for use on laptops, desktops, for both MAC and PC". Is there a single word I can use in place of what I have bolded?

They are all computers, but "computer" includes smartphones and calculators.


texts: In William Golding´s Paper Men, the main character keeps saying "Ha et cetera". What does he mean by this? Is it simply another way of saying "ha, ha, ha" (laughter)?


texts: Singular or plural when there is no plural antecedent?

texts:
I am not sure if the singular or plural forms should be used in the following.
Some people go for the plural, but it doesn't seem to have a plural antecedent.

  Each month, the school holds a party. This event is / These events are/ successful because it attracts / they attract over two hundred students.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts:
I would like to know how the word lyrics is used by a native English speaker.
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary says: lyric noun (also lyrics) the words of a song.
Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary says: the words of a song ― often used in plural.
So, I can guess that lyric could be used as a singular word, but I want to be sure that it is commonly used.
When we talk about what a singer says in a song we are talking about the lyrics.
By using the Internet, I can download all the lyrics of an artist. What happens if I want just one? I will download one lyric, the lyrics of one song or both ways are correct?
I read that the word lyric is related to poems but what happens in this case.
Likewise, in the context menu of some lyrics software, if I want to edit the lyrics of a song, which is the best option "edit the lyric" or "edit lyrics"?


texts:
I'd like opinions on the use of articles with product names.
It seems to have become a fashion in recent years to omit the article (“the”, "a", "an") before the name of a product – I noticed it first on Apple products. (“You should know that iPad is made of plastic, unobtanium and a little piece of Steve Jobs’ soul”).
I made that up, but Google found these in Apple's documentation:
"Before using iPhone, review the iPhone User Guide"
"To use iPod classic, you put music, videos, photos, and other files on your computer and then add them to iPod classic."
"If you connect iPod classic to a different computer..."
In each case I'd have written "the iPhone" or "the iPod" or "an iPod".
Does anybody know if this is anything more than an affectation? Is it the result of a ruling on trademarks or something? Or has the language changed while I wasn’t paying attention? (I'm a native English speaker in late middle age.)


texts:
Trying to construct a math-like means for my English students to understand sentence structure.  Need to indicate: "A compound sentence consists of 2 Independent Clauses and 1 OR MORE Dependent Clauses."

The final "formula" will look like:
Cp = 2IC + 1 (NEED THE SYMBOL FOR "OR MORE" HERE) DC


texts: Colorful term for someone with a long-overdue library book

texts: I'm trying to find a humorous term for someone who still has an overdue library book after a number of years. I first came up with "delinquent lendee", but I'm sure there's something more apropos or alliterative.


texts: Is the structure of "fraught by villainous scoundrels" acceptable?

texts:
I'm writing a poem in which certain stanzas are of the form -

  The skill has been taught extensively

  It has been taught by aces;

  The journey is fraught with perils

  It (is/will be) fraught by villainous scoundrels  <--- This is the line I want to check.

Is the sentence structure of the last line valid?

The reason for using fraught in this way is that I wish to induce a certain poetic structure "X was *ught with Y; It was *ught with Z". I mean to express the idea "The journey is fraught with perils, which are placed by villainous scoundrels" but adhering to the above structure. Can "fraught by..." be used—and if so, is this the correct way to use it?


texts: Referring to uncle's wife as "aunt" vs. nephew's wife as "niece"

texts:
I may be going out on a pragmatic/cultural limb here, but is there an asymmetry in the commonly accepted practice of referring to your uncle's wife as "aunt" but not referring to your nephew's wife as "niece".

If so, why is there an asymmetry? Deference to the older generation within a family? Is the spouse of a nephew/niece seem as less part of the family?


texts: A neutral word to describe ones ability to bypass social expectations in interpersonal interactions?

texts:
My assumption is that humans rely heavily on an embedded framework of social contracts when engaging in social interactions. This is for sure both biological and cultural in origin.

I'm searching for a word that describes an ability to consciously disconnect the "cognitive auto-pilot" from this framework, to be able to act more professional and pragmatic.

  John is very ____, even though he has a close personal relationship
  with Dave, he has no problems in keeping a strictly professional
  relationship with him in regards to their joint venture.

(John's personal relationship conflicts with his professional relationship with Dave, but John has the ability to disregard from selected parts of the social framework that he deem unsuitable)

  Our accountant Jenny is ____ embodied; even though she was secretly in love with Dan, she had no second thoughts about reporting him to the disciplinary board for his unmotivated spending.

(Jenny's social framework has a lot to say about how she should act towards Dan since she is in love with him, but she has a high ability to disregard the influences from the social framework that conflicts with her professional role.)

  The brothers Tony and José grew up together and both joined the Mafia
  at around the same time. They had a strong brotherly love and always
  stood up for each other in times of trouble. However, when Big Boss
  ordered Tony to put a bullet between José's eyes, it was like Tony had
  never known him and complied without hesitation, even if it greatly
  saddened him.

The only word that I can think of that relates to the ability to consciously bypass the social framework is sociopath, although this have very negative associations. For example :

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sociopath

  a person with a psychopathic personality whose behaviour is antisocial,
  often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or
  social conscience.

Are there any neutral but precise words I can use to describe ones ability to consciously distance oneself from influences from the embedded social framework?

I'd consider terms like cold, professional, high integrity as way too general and imprecise here.


texts: Should foreign titles be capitalized according to English rules?

texts:
Most words in a title are capitalized in English but this is not true of all languages; others only capitalize the first word and proper nouns. When you want to use a foreign title in an English text, say Lorem ipsum, which is the correct capitalization?

Option 1: Use English rules.

  Lorem Ipsum is a pretty interesting book.

Option 2: Use rules of the original language.

  Lorem ipsum is a pretty interesting book.


texts:
I have one statement in my book:

  A BBC special news team (leave) for Cairo immediately after we (receive) news of the earthquake.

I chose:

  A BBC special news team left for Cairo immediately after we had received news of the earthquake (past time clause, moreover one action was performed before another past).

But the key answer says:

  A BBC special news team left for Cairo immediately after we  received news of the earthquake.

What is correct?
P.S.: I am not a native speaker.


texts: I'm currently writing a letter to my Canadian student exchange partner whose name I don't know. So, instead of writing "exchange partner" all the time, are there any useful synonyms? Any help is appreciated.


texts:
Ok, see this sentence:

If your life is a game, then how to win the game of life?
How to win Flappy bird game?

or

If your life is a game, then how to win in the game of life?
How to win in Flappy bird game?

Can "win the game" and "win in the game" be used interchangeably?


texts: The Structure of "They'll both be dead come winter."

texts:
While I was watching Game of Thrones, I encountered with the sentence below:

  They'll both be dead come winter.

I am a little bit confused with the the usage of "come winter". Is this structure has a name? Is it formal? Can it be used in formal, written English?

I do not think I have encountered this structure before. Could you give another example to this structure?


texts: Would using the word "only" be correct in this context?

texts:
Is it correct to use "only" here?

A: The movie was a bore. How did you even tolerate it ?!
B: It was good only.

The "only" here is used to imply "it wasn't that bad, it was tolerable"
This when translated to Hindi, would make perfect sense. In fact there is where I guess this was derived from; Indians literally translating Hindi to English.


texts: Does this sentence use a nominative absolute phrase?

texts:
Does the following sentence end with a nominative absolute?

  The term was coined nearly 40 years ago by a prominent cardiologist, who noticed that all of his heart disease patients had common behavioral characteristics, the most obvious being that they were in a chronic rush.

Is the most obvious... the absolute phrase?


texts: Until or for to indicate time period starting now

texts:
Which of these options is correct?

  1) I shall not be home for two hours from now on.

  2) I shall not be home until two hours from now on.

What's the main difference between the 2 sentences, using for or until ?


texts: What is the difference in meaning between 'visage' and 'countenance'?

texts: Is there any usage or definition difference between visage and countenance? From the dictionary definitions, they appear to be the same.


texts:
Several people have had -nomics added to their name to indicate their economic policies. For example, Rogernomics and Abenomics .

To whom was the first -nomics attached? Was it Ronald Reagan?

Wiktionary's entry on -nomics mentions that it's related to economics, and provides etymological information on that, but not on when it first got attached to people.


texts: "I had thought there was" Vs. "I thought there was"

texts:
What's the difference between these sentences:

I had thought there was something wrong with the tape recorder.
I thought there was something wrong with the tape recorder.

Would it be more appropriate to use the one with 'had' i.e. first one?  and why?


texts: What is the difference of Vision from Objective and Goal

texts:
In the NHK’s TV program aired on August 1st, featuring Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, 2012 Nobel prize winner for Physiology and Medicine as the guest, Dr. Yamanaka told that his motto is “VW,” and explained the “VW” means “Vision and work hard.”

He said he was given this word by Dr. Robert Mahley, a leading cardiovascular scientist and senior investigator of the Gladstone Institutes when he was studying in Gladstone Institute in California and struggling on determination of the subject for his research work. He said he owes all his success as a physiologist who created iPS cell first in the world to Dr. Robert Mahley’s platform of success – Vision and work hard.

That said, what is the difference of Vision from Objective or Goal setting?
OALD defines Vison as (4) the ability to think about or plan the future with great imagination and intelligence, Objective as (1) something that you are trying to achieve, and Goal as (3) something that you hope to achieve.

I think Dr. Robert Mahley advised Mr. Yamanaka to set a clear goal, not a dream, not floating on numerous or random research subjects, and work hard.

What is the difference of having vision from clarifying objective, and setting the goal in a few words?


texts: Looking for a word that means something like "an oversimplified model such that it is not practically useful due to low accuracy"

texts:
I recall that there is a single word that means approximately this stated definition but can't seem to find it by using google.

I believe I read the word in the context of something regarding politicians passing poor laws based on such models.

I think that it would be useful for others wondering the same thing to be directed to this stackexchange with the answer.

I have searched other stackexchange questions without finding an answer to this questions therefore I believe this question is unique. Although I think some other people may have been searching for the same word successfully.

The answer is not: Oversimplified, dumbed down, or trivialized.


texts: Is it acceptable to write "mini-steps" or should it be "mini steps? Can it be "mini-mangoes" or must it be "mini mangoes"?

texts:
Is it wrong to use a hyphen after "mini" in the following cases? Why or why not?

All I can do is take mini-steps by the day.

These mini-mangoes are sweet.


texts: Looking for an origin for "land office job"

texts:
Somehow, I know this figure of speech, meaning something large and daunting, or maybe something incredibly well done. I'm not sure, but I know it exists. I did a quick google search and found it in a Brooklyn newspaper from 1914, and a document from Massachusetts. But I can't find more than that.

Any help would be appreciated.


texts: Does the term "garbledy gook" have racist origins?

texts:
For me, the term garbledy gook simply means garbage; unintelligible text or speech.  An example usage would be:

  If you open that binary file in notepad, you'll just see a load of
  garbledy gook

However, I just used this on the phone to a customer and, as I said it, I wondered about the origins.  The word gook by itself is a racist or derogatory term for people of south east Asian origins (source) and the last thing I want to do at work (or anywhere, to be honest!) is use that kind of language.

Where did this phrase come from?  Does it have origins in racism?


texts: Words for “everyday details” that illustrate life

texts: When talking about things used in a performance to illustrate conditions of life (like jam-jars and baskets to show village life), can I call them everyday details?


texts: We have a car dealer around here with an ad that reads "No Fake Lures". Now, as I understand the concept of a lure, if it doesn't attract attention, it's not a lure. And if a lure does attract attention, it's a lure, so no matter what is used to make the fake lure, it's a an actual lure. Therefore, it's not possible to have a fake lure. What do you call a statement like "No fake lures"?


texts: "A snap on the back" vs. "a snap at the back"

texts:
I have the hat which has a snap on/at the back of the hat.

Which preposition to use here?

This is the sort of thing the sentence refers to:


texts:
There are single (albeit compound) words in some languages (including English) which describe sensations that would otherwise be cumbersome to explain more than once (e.g. petrichor, schadenfreude, deja vu).

I recently came across the expression "to ring hollow". At first, I thought that was the suitable expression (crudely speaking, not understanding could imply a hyperbolic lack of a brain which would thus a hollow cranium make - hence "ring hollow"). Digging further, I found that it's more akin to a false promise <--> lack of credibility.

So is there a word or an expression in English that conveys:

  The feeling when someone doesn't understand your meaning no matter how many different ways you explain it"? Or the feeling when, if what you say does register with the other person, it doesn't register at the level it should?


texts: How did 'patriate' develop to mean 'transfer ... from a mother country to its former dependency'?

texts:
What's an intuitive derivation behind ODO's definition that helps to internalise its meaning:

to patriate = Transfer control over (a constitution) from a mother country to its former dependency:
Etymonline: 1966, in Canadian English (perhaps coined by Lester B. Pearson) in reference to constitutional laws, probably a back-formation from repatriate.
Wikipedia: The word "patriation" was invented in Canada as a back-formation from "repatriation" (returning to one's country). As the Canadian constitution was originally a British law, it could not "return to" Canada.

So I know that this is a Canadian term, but what's the relationship between it could not "return to" Canada and the elimination of the prefix 're'? How's this word a 'back-formation'?


texts: Is there a verb for unintentionally showing your rear end?

texts:
I’m trying to be civil here.  But two friends were sitting on the ground at the park, and their rear ends were very visible to everyone, so I wanted a verb similar to mooning, but mooning sounds intentional.

Hey, you both are [unintentionally mooning] everyone behind you.
Ugh, the plumber was in the kitchen and [unintentionally showing his rear end] while I was eating.


texts: What kind of structure with a relative pronoun is this?

texts:
As Lord Esher once noted, ‘Any proposition the result of which would be to show that the common law of England is wholly unreasonable and unjust cannot be part of the common law of
  England.’

Would someone please help unravel the bolded relative clause, step-by-step? Please explain your steps. I've never seen this construct before.

Does the bolded clause = 'whose result'?

Moreover, is it equivalent to 'the result of any proposition which would be to show ...' ?

Source: P101, How the Law Works, Gary Slapper


texts: How to properly use (s) and syntax for one or many nouns in a sentence

texts:
Where can I find informative material detailing how to properly use (s) and syntax for accounting for one or many nouns in a sentence?

Example:

If there was freezing weather, the heated enclosure(s) for the dry, preaction, and/or deluge valve(s) were/was checked to make sure it/they was/were adequately heated.

If it is one enclosure and one valve, then this makes sense:
If there was freezing weather, the heated enclosure for the dry, preaction, and/or deluge valve was checked to make sure it was adequately heated.

If it is more than one valve and more than one enclosure, then this makes sense:
If there was freezing weather, the heated enclosures for the dry, preaction, and/or deluge valves were checked to make sure they were adequately heated.

If it is more than one valve, and only one enclosure, then this makes sense:
If there was freezing weather, the heated enclosure for the dry, preaction, and/or deluge valves were checked to make sure they were adequately heated.

I'm looking for a robust way to handle all scenarios in one sentence.


texts: How do you give someone n options from A or B?

texts:
I have a list A and a list B, and I want someone to be able to choose n from the cumulative list formed by combining A and B. However, my initial attempts were subpar at best:

  You get n of your choice from list A and list B

I read this as you get n from A and n from B

  You get n of your choice from list A or list B

I read this as you decide either A or B, and then choose n from it.

How do you correctly word my request?


texts: Can the phrase "the likes of which" and "with which" be combined to prevent ending a sentence in a preposition?

texts:
Here is the example I was writing when I came across this problem.

  It is imperative that you cease this infernal flirtation, lest you unleash forces
  the likes of and with which
  the world has neither known nor been equipped to contend.

I know there are other ways to phrase this and I'm not militantly opposed to ending sentences in prepositions, but I am interested in the grammatical legitimacy of appending the the word "which" a single time to complete both phrases ("the likes of which" and "with which")--similarly to how the word "in" completes two phrases in the sentence

  "I am both interested and involved in the study of linguistic features."

My case is obviously different, since a single word cannot complete both phrases (at least as they are commonly used). The following phrase

  "the world has neither known nor been equipped to contend"

must be included to keep the overall statement coherent. But is it grammatical? I was also considering the fact that the word "both" might be what changes my second example ("both interested and involved in"). If the word "both" were added to my original paragraph as follows:

  It is imperative that you cease this infernal flirtation, lest you
  unleash forces both
  the likes of and with which
  the world has neither known nor been equipped to contend.

Would this change anything? I'm sorry if this seems like a pointless question, but I'm seeking out edge cases for a Natural Language algorithm (they are harder to generate than I thought) and I have to seize upon them when I can.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.


texts: Is "A scales with B in the same way as C" ambiguous?

texts: In the sentence "A scales with B in the same way as C," A, B and C represent some scientific terms. I wrote it with a 'does' at the end to avoid ambiguity: "A scales with B in the same way as C does." But can it actually be ambiguous (or even grammatically incorrect) without that 'does'? For example, can it be interpreted as "A scales with B in the same way as it scales with C"?


texts: It seems something ... vs something seems to be

texts:
What’s the difference between it seems something ... and something seems to be (or any other verb)... ?

For example, This bottle seems to be very popular in Japan. Vs. It seems that this bottle is very popular in Japan.
Another example is, He seems to know what happened. Vs. It seems that he knows what happened.

For me, it is easier to make a sentence by using, “It seems that ...” than “something seems to ...”
Is there any specific situation where “something seems to ...” form is preferred?


texts:
If Gryffindor won, they would move (1) up into second place in the
  house championship.  (Harry Potter book1)

  They follow him (2) out into the farmyard, and (3) on into
  the old flint barn. (The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life)

Are those examples of (1), (2) and (3) the same consecutive prepositions as the case in J.R.’s reply?


texts: What do we call the process of dropping the subject at the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
In casual conversation I've been noticing this more and more in my own speaking as well as others. The subject will be missing from the beginning of the sentence and instead it's inferred as the general subject in the context of the conversation.

Example:

Person 1 >> "Hey, when are you coming over?"

Person 2 >> "[I will] Probably be there at around 14:00."

With the content in the brackets dropped, both people understand that Person 2 is the subject of the second sentence due to context but it's never explicitly stated.

Is there a term for this? I know ellipsis is the term used for the general omission of subjects from a sentence but is there a term for specifically The subject at the start of the sentence being dropped?


texts: What is the origin of “I calls ’em like I sees ’em”?

texts: This expression seems to be pretty widespread, for example being in Wiktionary and Futurama. Does anyone know what the origin is? Also, what kind of dialect might I calls or I sees be?


texts: Definition of paradigm, abstraction and metaphor

texts:
UNIX based operating systems uses the concept of paradigm to identify everything from files, folders, hard drives, networking interfaces as files.

Also it uses the concept of abstraction to reduce down hardware, network interfaces, etc. into files.

Please explain these concepts in details to me.

Also please explain what is metaphor?


texts:
I want to  list some researches done by some people on a specific topic.can I say : "a research was conducted by Smith et al.......
what verbs are suitable for research?


texts: A word for one who goes against conventional wisdom because it makes sense to do so?

texts:
I'm looking for a word for someone who goes against conventional wisdom because they have sufficient evidence that it makes sense to do so.  The only words I can think of, like contrarian, or hipster, have the connotation of being rebellious for the sake of being rebellious, not because it is the logical thing to do.

Any suggestions?


texts: What's the difference between be verbs and auxiliary verbs?

texts: I assume all be verbs are auxiliary verbs; is this correct?


texts: What does the word “Canon” (the digicam brand) mean?

texts:
I know word "canon" because the brand of the digital photography. In my language, Portuguese, this word is considered foreign. When say this word only remember the brand!

But I translated on google translate to find the meaning of this word, in my language, means various words but neither no relates to cameras (http://global.canon/en/)

Thanks


texts: How to pronounce the names of supersymmetric partner particles of fermions

texts:
The names of supersymmetric partner particles of fermions are formed by s- + the name of the normal particle. E.g.:

sparticle

sfermion

squark

sup
sdown
scharm
sstrange
stop
sbottom

slepton

selectron
selectron sneutrino
smuon
smuon neutrino
stau
stau sneutrino

(The names of superpartners of bosons are formed differently, by changing -on to -ino, e.g., gluino.)

I couldn't find any information online on how to pronounce these words. Would you pronounce "sfermion" (for instance) as /ˈɛs ˈfɝːmiɑn/ or /ˈsfɝːmiɑn/ or something else?


texts: How to use "respectively" for 2x2 combinations?

texts:
I would like Anton and Betty to meet with Charly and David, respectively.

My understanding of this sentence is that Anton is supposed to meet Charly, and Betty shall meet David. What should I write if I want to schedule four meetings between the participants, such that each of Anton and Betty meets each of Charly and David?

  I would like Anton and Betty, respectively, to meet with Charly and David, respectively?


texts:
If my home address is; plot #120, 4th floor, Road #5, Dhanmondi.  Can I write my address as:

  plot #120, level #5, Road #5, Dhanmondi.

Note that instead of writing 4th floor, I used Level #5.

Question:

Is the different numbering between floor and level correct?


texts: "Contractor" and "Orderer" in a contract about computer software

texts: I'm recently decided to draw up an agreement with an American company and found formal word choice quite challenging. My biggest problem right now is related to naming parties in the agreement. Right now, I refer to the person that develops the software (myself actually) as to the "contractor" and the person who ordered the software as "orderer". Are there any more suitable terms that could be useful in the context of this contract?


texts: How does uppercasing work in poems in English?

texts:
I'm not a native English speaker and my education on English poetry is non-existent. I recently run into Shakespeare Sonnet 116 (reading the book The Elements of Eloquence) and I'm confused by the use of uppercase letters. The whole sonnet goes like this:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
   If this be error and upon me proved,
   I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

and just on the second line you can see an uppercase letter that is neither a proper noun, nor the beginning of a sentence. How does this work? is the uppercase telling me anything? Is it arbitrary? Should I only use the periods to know when a sentence starts/ends?

I was reading this poem out loud without having read it before and I had trouble knowing when sentences start and end.

The pattern in this sonnet seems to be that every line starts with an uppercase later regardless of whether it's the beginning of a sentence or not, but I don't want to infer anything from it.


texts:
I encountered a question in a textbook for an English exam as below where I did not understand why the correct answer is that.

  Ms.Tanaka is the ideal leader for the project because she has _______
  worked in both business management and textile design.
  (A) yet
  (B) especially
  (C) previously
  (D) ever

The answer was (C) according to the book but it feels like (D) is also possible. Why is (D) not correct?


texts: What's it called when you make an adjective post-positive?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Why do some adjectives follow the nouns they modify?

In English, adjectives usually precede the nouns they describe, as in "organic carrots".

However, in some cases "normal" adjectives are reversed - possibly for emphasis or to add an exotic flair.

For example, Curtis Mayfield's album "A Love Supreme"; this would normally flow "a supreme love", but is reversed for some reason.

Whatever the case may be, is there a word for this switcharound?


texts: What is a good epithet for someone who follows the rules regardless of good sense

texts:
'Vogon' is a good one but not if you don't have the right cultural background.
"Robot" and "drone" work.
Can anyone think of any more?


texts: maybe you don't already know that/maybe you don't know it yet

texts: are there any differences between these two construction? I've heard a native speaker say 'maybe you don't already know that'. The context implied that if I didn't know that thing, then he would explain it to me.


texts: Usage and spelling of "wordlength" and "bitbreadth"

texts:
As far as I know, these are the meanings:

wordlength — for instance, 4 bytes when the bitbreadth is 32 and 8 bytes when the bitbreadth is 64.
bitbreadth — for example, 32 or 64 or 4 bits for a system.

Are these spelled correctly, or should they be "word length" and "bit breadth"? Or perhaps different terms entirely should be used to express these meanings?


texts: Is there a pejorative word for "poor" that can be used in a self-deprecating way?

texts:
I was trying to translate Portuguese-language expression pé-rapado into English, which literally means "grated/rasped/shaved foot", but that probably makes no sense in English. I'm not sure those words are adequate translation, since I've read that rapado in this expression originally meant that the mud from one's feet had been removed by passing the edge of a flat object through the skin).

Although that expression can be used to refer to someone pejoratively, it's also commonly used self-deprecatingly as in sou um pé-rapado (I'm a pé-rapado).

Is there a similar expression in English? How would someone say, modestly or self-deprecatingly, that himself is poor?


texts: Why isn't Robert Mueller's last name pronounced like Ferris Bueller's?

texts:
Mueller, Mueller, Mueller?

Why isn't Robert Mueller's last name pronounced like "Bueller" of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" fame?  Is there a correct pronunciation?

I've been pronouncing it like Bueller for nearly 2 years. I've heard some people on TV pronounce it like I do, but most pronounce it "Muller."


texts: Word for being biased "towards the other direction"?

texts:
Excuse the phrasing of the question, but I'm not sure how to put it.

Example:

Let's say we know for a fact that Smith is working as a police officer and that police officers have very small salaries. We also know that this causes Smith to lead a lesser life than if police officers were to have larger salaries. When we ask Smith if the government should lower salaries for police officers and raise salaries for firemen, he replies that they should.

Question

I don't think it's correct to say that Smith is unbiased in this scenario, but to say he is biased is misleading. If I were to tell someone that Smith thinks the government should lower police salaries and raise firemen salaries and that Smith is biased, the conclusion would probably be that Smith is a fireman.

So, what is Smith?


texts: Is using "get on developing" correct in this phrase?

texts: You could get on developing this project and help me to add more features to that.


texts: "concession" in "concession of something due"

texts:
I have trouble construing the meaning of this sentence:

  "claim implies a demand for the delivery or concession of something
  due as one's own or one's right" [[from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]]

My understand is:

"the delivery" perhaps means "something delivered to you, like a
package etc"
"concession" is a "right"  as in "have the right to do something".
"concession of something due" means "some right you deserve"

However, I can not find the meaning "right" for "concession" in dictionaries.


texts:
An areligious person is one who is:

  unconcerned with or indifferent to religious matters.

A secular person is one who is:

  in the state of being separate from religion, or not being exclusively allied or against any particular religion.

Do these words refer to the same beliefs?

Also, are the connotations of each of these words the same? Can they be used interchangeably?


texts:
I wonder which one is correct:

  David has made a decision to quit his job in spite of good salary.
  David made a decision to quit his job in spite of good salary.

I think that 1 is correct, cause we want to focus on David's action, but my friends say that 2 is correct.
Thanks for help!


texts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Rollback_feature:

  Standard rollback may only be used in certain situations – editors who
  misuse standard rollback (for example, by using it to reverse
  good-faith edits in situations where an explanatory edit summary would
  normally be expected) may have their rollback rights removed. Since
  rollback is part of the core administrator tools, an admin could
  theoretically be desysopped in order to remove those tools.

I couldn't understand the last sentence, I was wondering what's "desysopped" ?


texts:
Is "could use" considered rude?

For example:

"We could use some extra information"

"For this task we could use some help from..."

Thank you


texts:
I have been reading an article with the following line:

  Now what happened next was such a divalicious move

My question is about the word "divalicious".

I have looked it up in two dictionaries but such word is not exist at all.

What is its meaning?


texts:
If I say "They were in cahoots", 'cahoots' makes most sense as a noun.

There are different kinds of nouns. I'm sure different linguistic systems divide them up differently. For instance, there are nouns that refer to objects (trees, rocks, people), nouns that refer to locations, to categories, to states of being (confusion, death) or to abstract concepts.

What noun category do people reckon 'cahoots' falls into?

Of course, you could probably mount an argument that 'in cahoots' is actually a kind of adjective. After all, if we say "He is in despair", we wouldn't consider 'despair' to be a noun, like a location.


texts: Italicization - first time or every time

texts:
When writing a book on popular culture, I'm using italics to introduce a film title into my paragraph.  In the next paragraph I refer to the film title again.  Should I use italics on the second occasion, or stick with normal text?

I'm tempted to go for the latter - as over-use of italics would spoil the flow of the text, and the title has already been introduced to the reader.

Thoughts?


texts:
Could you please give me a sentence where well (meaning good) modifies another adverb?

Centrifugal force is a well-known principle of physics. (well modifying an adjective)
She drives well. (well modifying a verb)

But can I create one where well will modify an another adverb?


texts: What should I use: 'composed of' or 'composed from'?

texts:
What is the correct version:
"The system is composed from a lattice and a line"
or
"The system is composed of a lattice and a line"
?

When should I use composed of and when should I use composed from?
Is one of them always correct, or are there rules affecting which one to use?


texts: Is *th* ever used not as a thorn outside of portmanteaus?

texts:
Pretty much every occurrence of th I can think of see are pronounced as /θ/ or very similar sounds (sometimes slightly closer to f or s).

Still, does th appear in any English word pronounced as two distinct phonemes, /th/ ? I can think of some portmanteaus where the first word ends with t and the other begins with h (e.g. "pothead") but does it ever appear naturally as that pair of phonemes in words, not brought together as part of portmanteaus or blends?


texts: When testing performance or the output of different combinations of elements against one another - is it correct to say it's a "multivariant" test? Or is it a "multivariate" test?


texts:
I am big and round,

  I wonder if there will be peace,

  I hear sound of the people who are being killed,

  I see the people crying for life,

  I want to help the poor people.

It is a line encountered in a simple poem of 6th class. But I've been unable to reach the exact meaning of the sentence. Which of the following senses does the expression suit?

1) I feel it as a wonder if the earth is peaceful.

2) I politely request all to be peaceful.

3) I doubt if there is peace at all.

4) Anything else


texts: A word for taking the commonly-held meaning of a word rather than its literal meaning?

texts:
Is there a word for (mis)taking a word or phrase for its common meaning rather than it's correct/literal meaning.

e.g. My wife told me my mother's meal was delicious. I later told mother about my wife's "criticism" of her meal, because although it's not commonly used as such, "criticism" can be positive as well as negative.

Now my mother is offended (having assumed the negative implication) because she took the word "criticism" [too] ________ .
 ?

It's not "literally" because of course she didn't take it literally, and I don't think it's "figuratively" because well "criticism" isn't a figure of speech...

EDIT

This is not a question about the word "criticism" - I was just using that as an example! FYI the conversation above never took place!

There are some words which are commonly misunderstood, and because of that, miscommunication occurs. The word I'm looking for is what the listener is doing when they misunderstand it for that reason.


texts: Word meaning 'to make subject of great attention'.

texts:
I'm writing a criticism of the media's coverage of the Charleston shooting, and that the fact that they give front page attention to the shooter, profiles of the shooter etc.

eg.

  While there may be a public interest in knowing that a mass shooting
  has taken place and the nature of the attack, it is irresponsible for
  the media to [something] the shooter by giving them front page
  attention complete with photos, full names, and biographies.

Martyr is similar to the word I'm looking for, in that a martyr becomes renouned, but of course the media coverage isn't persecution or a killing.

Making a celebrity of also kind of expresses what I mean, but a celebrity doesn't really fit.

Any suggestions?


texts:
I've been racking my brain (and Googling with every search term I can think of) to remember a word that describes the glow in the sky above a city (actually, any large source of artificial light, but cities are the classic example.)

This phenomenon is obviously quite undesirable for astronomers, and so it's generally called "light pollution"; this is NOT the word I'm looking for.  If I recall correctly, the term actually came into use before astronomy (and artificial light) had developed to a point where cityglow was a problem; prior to that time, it would have been seen as a positive thing: a guide on the horizon for lost travelers, a cheerful sign of civilization, etc.

If it's any help at all: 1) the word that is blocking my memory is "albedo", which is also not what I'm looking for but which keeps popping up - so I believe the two words are similar in sound/origin/etc.; 2) I remember my younger self seeing this word and chuckling because it sounded a bit dirty.


texts:
I was recently looking for an adjective to describe how many answers a question received after being bountied. One word I thought of was multitude.

  Initially my question didn't receive many answers. However, thanks to Lilienthal's generous bounty, I now have a multitude of answers to choose from.

According to Dictionary.com, a multitude refers to:

  a great number; host:
  a multitude of friends.
  a great number of people gathered together; crowd; throng.
  the state or character of being many; numerousness.
  the multitude, the common people; the masses.

  multitude. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved July 27, 2017

After some thought, I'm unsure whether multitude is an accurate term for this scenario. The aforementioned bounty attracted seven different answers to my question, which seems too small to be called a multitude.

How large of a number does a multitude refer to?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in s?

I know that we pronounce "someone else's" as "someone else sus."
I'm wondering how do we pronounce others'.

Is it pronounced others, "others sus," or "other sus"?


texts: Who is entitled to call themself a 'futurist'?

texts:
I've read the term being described to many inventors. e.g.  Ray Kurzweil .

Is anyone who discusses futuristic technology or hypothesises the future, a futurist?


texts: What is a verb that means "to be said by a computer/machine"?

texts:
I have an app that allows users to type some text. When the user presses a button, the text the user just typed will be synthesised into speech. It's like a "text-to-speech" thingy.

I always run into trouble introducing this to people. I want to say

  The computer will ____ whatever text you typed (out loud).

I don't know what should be put into the underline part. "Say" sounds too casual and it doesn't seem "computer-y". I want to emphasise that a computer is generating the speech. Does such a word exist?


texts: Why is it that John Chrysostom is almost never referred to as "John Golden Mouth" in English?

texts: Why is it that the sainted John Chrysostom (b. 347?, d. 407; Archbishop of Constantinople, 397–407) is almost never referred to as "John Golden Mouth" in English? ("Chrysostom" means "Golden Mouth" in Greek.) Would "John Golden Mouth" sound somewhat inappropriate or somewhat weird in English? Compare how we change Vlad Țepeș to Vlad the Impaler.


texts: Cyclists, cyclers, bikers, and bike riders in modern day AmE

texts:
Almost by analogy with my previous OP, how do the terms "bike rider", cycler", and "cyclist" differ in current AmE usage to describe someone that rides or travels by bicycle?
My impression is that "cyclist" and the less common "cycler" both refer to those involved in cycling as a competitive racing sport, i.e. Tour de France cyclists.
"Bike rider", on the other hand, sounds more like a generic term which embraces professional and occasional, nonprofessional weekend/vacation cyclists, but also might encompass motorcyclists.
Also, does the term "biker" have any currency in modern day AmE to refer to a bicycle rider, or to bike riders in general (cyclists and motorcyclists), or is it used specifically to describe a certain type of motorcyclists, like those traveling on big, heavy HD style "hogs", or belonging to an organized club or gang?

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cyclist
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Biker
http://www.bikeriderstours.com/


texts: Why do we say "under the grill", not "above" or "on" the grill?

texts:
I found this sentence in a textbook. It's

I cooked the fish slowly on / under the grill.

According to the author, the correct answer is under.
I also used Google. It turns out that there is more under the grill than on the grill. When I think of the word grill, the next picture comes to my mind.

How can we cook the fish under the grill when the food is actually on the grill?


texts:
I came across a statement Return "nth" from the last node
And I realized I don't know how to say "nth"
How to read it? Don't tell me N-T-H please!


texts: Capitalising “river” or such geographical entities when preceded by “the”

texts:
In British English, it would be River Thames, River Jordan, etc, (as opposed to AmE requiring “River” after the name). So:

  I swam in River Jordan.

But, what happens to river’s capitalisation when the is added?

  I swam in the River Jordan

OR

  I swam in the river Jordan

as in

  I played the game Half-life

Edit

Damn! I just came across a PDF on Chicago Manual of Style. Agreed it's for AmE, but the first page itself talks about “the river Elbe” having a lowercase “R” because it’s “added by way of description”. Hence, my question stands. Does something similar apply to BrE or do we stick to capitalised “River” in all situations as long as it’s followed by a proper noun.


texts: Word for sensors that collect the same data in two different ways

texts:
I need a word that describes two sensors that collect the same features, but in different ways.  The raw data may be of different types, but the features would be the same.  This word would imply that dodging one sensor does not help dodge the other sensor.

An example of two sensors that fit this criteria are visual cameras and infrared cameras.  They both measure light with the purpose of seeing what is there, but an attempt to avoid one of them (ex: camouflage) will not help avoid detection by the other one.

I've considered both the words "orthogonal" and "complementary", but neither seems to fit.  Orthognal implies that the sensors never detect the same thing and complementary seems to imply that one sensor always detects what the other doesn't.

Update:
I should have mentioned that my target audience is mathematically minded people.  When I use the words orthogonal or complementary, they will, in all probability, think of the mathematical definition.


texts: What do you call a sick person who is lying in bed?

texts:
Some conditions require that a person lie in bed all the time until recovered. Is there a name for such conditions or people experiencing them at the moment?

For example,

  I am currently <bed sick> and can't help you with your homework.

I tried looking for bed sick but hit a dead end.


texts: Is it "chalk it up to" or "chock it up to"?

texts:
Grammarist & Our beloved StackExchange both say that the phrase "Chalk it up to" dates back to, among other things, debts being tallied on a chalkboard. However, when I hear the phrase "chock it up to", I get a feeling that something is being supported or something is supporting another idea, i.e. a chock.

For example, I made a web form at work that people consistently complete incorrectly. I feel the cause is because I wasn't explicit enough with the directions. Therefore, I "chock the incorrect completion up to" my mistake given my support that I wasn't clear on the directions.

Which is correct?


texts:
I’m trying to show that I performed a task solely for my own benefit.

For example,

  I did x of my own accord.

However, the of my own accord seems a bit too explicit: I am looking for a word that shows I did this task purely for myself. Voluntarily isn’t really appropriate, as it implies that I volunteered to do it for someone else.


texts: Sometimes I'm really confused with articles. I'd say 'everything has a meaning' but it seems that for some reason most people tend to say 'everything has meaning' instead. However, I've come across phrases like 'it has a meaning' as well. Hence, I'm not sure which one is more correct. Is it even correct to 'it has a meaning' in any context? And if both versions are correct, what is the difference?


texts: Should I say "rules of here" or "rules here"?

texts:
For example, should I ask "Do you know the rules of here?" or "... the rules here?"

I believe the latter is correct but I did see some people use the former, got confused :-(


texts: Why is it wrong to say “that tree is falling tomorrow”?

texts:
Why is it wrong to say:

  That tree is falling tomorrow

The answer key says, in common, it is right to use -ing with near future. But it says that sentence is wrong, because it doesn’t show the specific near future. However there is “tomorrow”! Why is that wrong?


texts: William Safire once wrote that "indeed" sounds old-fashioned, so it's disappearing from contemporary speech. Is Safire right that "indeed" is slowly fading in the horizon of common day usage?


texts:
I thought of this while walking and wanted to write it down. I would like to know if I am using punctuation correctly in this sentence-- particularly the use of the colon and semi-colon. And please feel free to correct any other grammatical errors.

  Both wealth and poverty can produce a mindset of contempt and
  judgement toward the sufferings of others: the rich, because they are
  unacquainted with grief and so think that it is through some fault of
  the sufferer that they are so; the poor, because they have grown cold
  through their own hardships and have little compassion left to share.
  It is not a prejudice unique to any social class.


texts: Grammatical structure of a complex sentence

texts:
Many things are unclear in the following sentence, and I want your help to understand them:
    1. Its grammatical structure is complicated, and I can understand nothing from it.
    2. What is the value of the word might, and what does it indicate?
    3. Why did we use the present perfect progressive after the use of might?
    4. Why did we use not at the end of the sentence?
    5. What is the overall meaning of this sentence?

  The lecture on number theory and its applications might have been
  particularly trying for the nonspecialists in the audience had [the]
  professor not leavened it with humorous asides.


texts: What is a positive-language-focused term for an attempted solution that didn't work?

texts:
There is a quote:

  I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

I'd like to use a term that is devoid of negative connotation for those "ways that won't work". Terms like "mistake", "failure", "dead end" and so on lack the positive angle I'm looking for. What kind of language can I use for such attempts that didn't pan out?


texts: Connotation of dislike in 'Credit where credit is due'

texts:
I am a non-native speaker and I wonder whether or not there is a connotation of disagreement in the idiom Credit where credit is due
Would one say this only in a situation where a statement was creditworthy because it was profound but the user of the idiom disagrees with the actual statement?
I think so because of a definition I found:

an expression that means that you should praise someone who deserves it, although you might dislike some things about them:

I would like to hear a second opinion, though.


texts:
According to the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary

-IZE /aɪz/: This suffix is unstressed (though strong) in Received Pronunciation and General American, but sometimes stressed in other varieties".

However I do not understand why the author contrasts stress and "strength" in this specific suffix.


texts:
Is it correct to use the verb to book with the meaning of to run? I heard this usage in situations like:

  The dog ran out and I booked it after him.

or

  I was booking it down the hill.

I couldn't find any meaning similar to this in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary or others.


texts: PC:"You are an American", MSF: "No Sir, I am from Kentucky", what kind of response is that?

texts:
edit: it seems this question is better ssuited for writers se, how do i move this there?

I know following types of responses:
Truthful, dishonest, sarcastic, unclear,

In the movie edge of tomorrow, there is a dialog between Private Cage (PC) and Master Sargent Farrell:

PC:"You are an American"
MSF: "No Sir, I am from Kentucky"

What kind of response is that? It doesn't seem to fit any of response types that I am aware of. ( I don't think it sarcastic as it would have been "I am from Russia or Germany or any other obviously non intuitively wrong place.")
It is not a dishonest answer as it is truthful, yet disagreeing with the meta truth of the Kentucky being in US at the same time.


texts: "to build the stage for" : Can we use this statement to say "to prepare all the requirements"?

texts:
I'm not sure if the following sentence makes sense:

  "I first spend a couple of minutes to briefly overview  the history of
  analysis techniques to build
  the stage to introduce our new technique "

I mean that I first explain about the history of analysis techniques and in this way I will make your minds really to introduce my own new technique.

Does it make sense?

what can be a better sentence?


texts: Thoughts on today's article on "farther" vs "further"?

texts:
See the article for context. Seems like a plausible suggestion to me, but I'm curious what others think.

  Consider the house, tree, and sunflower in the illustration at the top of this post. The sunflower is farther from the tree than the house is. But it would sound a bit odd to say that the sunflower is further than the house, given that the sunflower lies in the opposite direction. On the other hand, it would be colloquial to say that the sunflower is further from the house than the tree is, because the tree and the sunflower lie in the same direction.

Also

  A mathematician might say that further is referring to the increase of
  a vector, and farther to the increase of a distance. To say it in
  English rather than in math: farther refers to a greater distance,
  literal or metaphorical, from a shared measuring point. Further refers
  to a greater progress in a shared direction.

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/further-and-farther-a-theory

(subscription needed after limited free articles).


texts: How to address a former president in a letter?

texts:
I would like to ask how to address a former president on a letter.
Should I write "Dear Mr. Obama" or "Dear Former President Obama"?
I found this information:

  Begin the letter. Although style guides vary, when addressing letters to former presidents, it is appropriate to use “Mr.” and his last name. Therefore, the greeting to the letter would be “Dear Mr.” and his last name. For example, "Dear Mr. Clinton" or "Dear Mr. Bush."
  How to Address a Letter to a Former President

But I would like to double check it.
Thank you.


texts: What does "Dis sho' am good" mean in this old advertisement?

texts:
I was looking through this list of old, racist advertisements.

Here's one of them:

What is "Dis sho' am good" supposed to mean? I'm assuming it's some sort of attempt at stereotypical vernacular language or something, but I really am not sure how to decipher it.


texts:
Is pay-for or for-pay the correct word? For example, which of these two sentences is correct?

  This is a pay-for product.
  This is a for-pay product.


texts:
I have heard the expression in the title when referring to a person whose name is the only known piece of information, for example:

  Some Juan Ferrer sent me an email last night but I'm hesitant to open it.

I had two questions:

Is it correct English, or widely used at least?
Where can I find some resources talking about this?

None of my Google searches have yielded any results, so I finally turn to SE community (hoping it is the appropriate site and tags).


texts: My mother uses the pronunciation woish or worsh for wash, feesh for fish, and deleecious for delicious.  What accent or dialect is this considered?  She has lived her entire life in central Illinois.


texts: What is the word for a joke which is told as real thing?

texts: Is there any single word for a joke which is initially told by somebody as a real thing, then when person is fooled, the person disclosing the information that it's just a joke? Like April Fools' joke.


texts:
When used metaphorically as slang (the literal meaning, possibly considered politically incorrect, is a workplace specifically for disabled people), what does the term "sheltered workshop" mean?

Example usage:

  Honestly, academia is probably one of the last sheltered workshops for
  individuals to avoid rounding their knowledge and experiences off.
  Most intellectuals have never left school.

I tried a couple of dictionaries from onelook.com, and none of them had the slang meaning, nor did Wiktionary or even, surprisingly enough, Urban Dictionary.


texts:
When asking how someone wants their tea, they reply: "lots of milk and sugar".

Is that to be interpreted as "Lots of milk and sugar" or "lots of milk and (lots) of sugar" according to the rules of English?


texts: I am not sure which term is more common when people talk and refer to metro station. Somebody told me you should use subway instead of metro and people use subway in everyday talking. Is this true? I am living in Washington,DC.


texts:
I need a single or two word which will represent following words

  Absence,

  Holiday,

  Overtime,

  TimeInLieu


texts: "Dear Professor" vs "Dear Mr": differences between British and American usage

texts:
In British English, is it acceptable to address a professor as "Dear Professor X" when writing a formal or informal letter? Does it sound natural?

Why I am asking this question:

I was looking through the list of differences between the British and American editions of the first Harry Potter book by J.K.Rowling.

In the first chapter of both editions, a character named Hagrid keeps addressing Professor Dumbledore as

  Professor Dumbledore, sir.

However, when Hagrid writes a letter to Dumbledore, the two editions use different forms of addressing:

U.K. edition:

  Dear Mr Dumbledore

U.S. edition:

  Dear Professor Dumbledore

Edit:   Everywhere else in the U.K. edition, he is still "Professor Dumbledore". This letter seems to be the only exception. If he normally calls him "Professor", why he would write "Mr" in the letter?

Why "Mr" instead of "Professor"? Is "Dear Professor X" inappropriate in the U.K. for some reason? Or it just doesn't sound natural?


texts: Omitting a relative pronoun in a relative clause (exceptions and meaning)

texts:
Here is a sentence with a relative clause:

1) I gave her some money which/that she spent immediately.

Technically, we can omit the relative pronoun because it is the object of the relative clause (some money is the object of the verb spend), giving us:

2) I gave her some money she spent immediately.

So far so good one thinks, except that it just doesn't sound right to me. I feel like we need the which.

Now, thus far I've used a defining relative clause (DR). If we instead use a non-defining relative clause (NDR), we have this:

3) I gave her some money, which she spent immediately.

Now we have no confusion at all as we must of course include the relative pronoun in a NDR.

To me, 2) seems to have a rather strange meaning whereby the money the person gave the woman had somehow already been spent [immediately] by the woman, rather than after it was given to her, which would make no sense at all.

So, I have a few queries:

Can we actually write/say 1)?
Does it follow the grammatical rules?
Does it have the same meaning as 3)?
Can we write/say 2)?

Many thanks.


texts: 'Statistically significant associated to' — [Adv + Adj] as Adv?

texts:
Is 'XXX is statistically significant associated to YYY.' grammatically correct ? One of my friends says this is seen in many papers with statistics.

Shouldn't it be '... statistically significantly associated to ...'  which has one Adv (statistically) describing another (significantly) ? Or this [Adv + Adj] can function as Adv as well ? (I don't think so) Or I misunderstood that it must be an adverb there ?

[EDIT]
Testing and Contrasting Road Safety Education …

  In model 4 we observe that variables RSET and DT are positive. This implies that a male driver who either had not graduated from a professional driving school or had not been issued a traffic ticket is less likely to engage in DD, than a male driver who had graduated from a professional driving school and had been issued a traffic ticket. However, between these two variables only DT is statistically significant associated to the odds ratio of DD. This association remains significant even with the introduction of two control variables which are also statistically significant. Specifically, both a decrease of YFE and an increase on YDE are associated to a decrease of the odds ratio of engaging on DD. [emphasis mine -Kris]


texts: Can you use a semicolon to separate a question?

texts:
e.g.,
"I'm ordering five guys; do you want some?


texts:
I am trying to say that an argument (a philosophical reasoning for what it's worth) is not taken to its extreme consequences, in the sense that it is not brought and explored to its logical deepest reach. A reach that, here's my point, would be logically (rectius: epistemically) unacceptable and therefore impairs the overall soundness of the argument.

At the same time, every kind of dictionary daunts me in saying "the resoning is not taken to its extreme consequences" for it would give the whole phrase a appraisive tone, since "extreme" is not only a logical height (i.e., when collecting the reasoning's every possible declension) but also some sort of moral value (the reasoning is "extreme" in the sense that it is not moderate, it lacks equilibrium, it's kind of... violent). Now, I definitely want to avoid any of that moral fashion in my statement. How should one say, then, "to explore a reasoning in all its implications and reach" in a normal unconvoluted manner?


texts:
Which of the following expressions is grammatically correct:

  I will let you know if I come across any requirement.
  I will let you know if I come across any requirements.


texts:
History written in pencil is easily erased, but crayon is forever. Emilie Autumn

What does "crayon is forever." mean?


texts: What do you call a person who verifies the receipt and the shopping items at the exit of a store?

texts: how to express it in a short sentence and in a casual way to tell your friend that there is a big waiting line at the exit door of a store as the staff was verifying the receipt and shopping items


texts: What could I say instead of "raise the roof"?

texts:
What is another way of saying, "raise the roof"? This slang phrase means something like, "get noisy and have a good time at a party," but it doesn't sound correct for some reasons.

Why is that? What would be better?


texts: Implication(s) of “Though you wouldn't think it”

texts:
(This question arose because on some other SE many of us tried to translate this expression. It turns out it was not so easy, and it would certainly help if we had a better grasp on it.)

I believe this expression can be used with two different purposes, but I might be wrong. Am I right to assume it can be used:

a. To express a doubt about a given hypothesis:

  Some say they are professionals, though you wouldn't think it from the way they acted.

b. Or sometimes to doubt about the legitimacy/value of an hypothesis:

  It turns out they are professionals, though you wouldn't think it from the way they acted.

To warn about (or notice) a possible prejudice:

  They truly are capable, though you wouldn't think it from the way they acted.

?

If I'm right, the difference is perceptible because in cases 1. a. and 1. b. the hypothesis is weakened whereas in case 2. the hypothesis is strengthened.

Also, in the light of a related question, it seems that no difference of meaning arise directly from a choice between pronouns it and that to refer to a main clause. However my feelings tell me that that could a better fit for the 1st purpose (especially case b.), and might help to disambiguate when the context fails to do so.

Any comments or further light on the matter would be appreciated!


texts: Much kinder way of saying someone's being dramatic?

texts:
Someone is in a panic and dramatically being sensitive, confrontational, maybe a bit attention seeking.

What would one say to very concisely explain to them, to settle them, how it is they're behaving? Something far less demeaning and unhelpful than dramatic!


texts: Word to describe the setting for a particular time?

texts:
I'm creating an ad of sorts for an upcoming event without a set date. What's a word to describe the setting including weather/time of year/occasion for a particular time?

I'd use it in a sentence like , "Based on the _____ at the time, we may do one of these three options:"

I was thinking "environment" or "climate" but they don't seem to fit well because they connote more strongly the physical and weather aspects, not the occasion as much as I'd like.


texts: What's the colloquial opposite of "do me a solid"?

texts:
"Do me a solid" means doing something helpful for a friend. (I'm going off of Urban Dictionary definition, which I assume is accurate).

What would be a good colloquialism to describe the opposite of that phrase? E.g. a friend (someone who you expect to do you a solid) does to you something unhelpful or worse.


texts: "Superhands" vs "Super Hans" pronunciation

texts:
I've been watching Peep Show and I just discovered on the internet that the guy I thought was named "Superhands" is actually called "Super Hans".
Is it normal to confuse these two due to similarities in pronunciation? The 'd' is not silent in 'hands', is it? Or can they be phonetically equivalent in certain dialects?


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "The People's Champion"

texts:
What is the origin, or at least first use, of the phrase "The People's Champion" or "The People's champ?"

Wikipedia has a list of people nicknamed the People's champion, but no comment on its origin.

This question on movies.stackexchange implies that Muhammed Ali had some sort of claim on the phrase, but no mention of origin.


texts: Are there different words in English language that represent 'our' but one excludes the 2nd party and the other includes it?

texts:
I'm from India and in my local language Telugu there are 4 possessive pronouns that represent different combinations of speaker, the 2nd party and the group to which both the parties belong.

నా: which translates to 'Mine'
నీ: means 'your'
మన: means that something belongs to a group of which both the speaker and the 2nd party are the members
మా: refers to an object that belongs to a group where only the speaker is a member

My understanding of the word 'our' in English language is that it refers to both (3) and (4) depending upon the context. Just got curious if there are any distinct words to refer to those 2 groups without relying on context.


texts:
Is "women men girls love meet die" a valid sentence? If so, what does it mean?
The sentence shows up in academic papers about the "Sausage Machine" for natural language processing. (A google will show up several results referring to this).
The general comment is:

(130) # Women men girls love meet die.
Frazier & Fodor predict that a sentence like (130) should be easy to process since it can be analyzed entirely by the first stage processor. That is, all six words of the sentence can be seen at the same time and hence the grammar should assign these words the appropriate structure. This prediction is clearly wrong, since sentences like (130) are at least as hard as sentences like (127)

From: this PhD Thesis
It doesn't seem to make sense. But from the context it is being used as a counter example of a sentence that is difficult (but not impossible) to understand, which some systems (The "Sausage Machine") fail to interpret. Which means it must be interpretable in the first place (unless I am misunderstanding the context).


texts:
I chatted on IRC and stumbled upon such a nice sentence:

  On the opposite, Tom has been a good influence on my life since I met him.

For me it means that Tom is an influence, instead of Tom having influence. So I'd rephrase that as:

  On the opposite, Tom has had a good influence on my life since I met him.

However then a native speaker said that the first sentence is more natural to him.

Which one is correct here?


texts: Is this a gerund, participle, or continuous infinitive?

texts:
just a quick question about what the word "reading" would be classified as in the following sentence:

The students get practice reading at home.

If the sentence didn't have the word "get" it would certainly seem to be a gerund, but with the addition of the word "get" I was having trouble identifying it exactly. I am still of the opinion that it is a gerund, but a friend was arguing that it is an infinitive of some type (continuous infinitive, perhaps).


texts: Is there a term for a person who believes one race is superior to the others but not necessarily that race should rule all others?

texts:
Normally I would call someone who believes 1 race is the best a "racial supremacist", however this term is not strictly correct, as you need to believe 1 race should rule over the others. Of course, there is the term "racist" but that covers a whole lot of ground.
Is there a specific term for someone who believes in the superiority of a race?


texts: About definite article before "Earth", "Moon" and "Sun"

texts:
In what cases do we have to put the definite article the before each of these words:

Sun
Moon
Earth

and in what cases do we not need to?


texts: What is the meaning when someone say "it doesn't get much weird than Lynda?"

texts:
Lynda made a dance performance, it's very weird and many audiences couldn't understand it. Then a guy made a comment "It doesn't get much weird than Lynda?". What does he mean ?

Is that "Lynda is very weird, that why her performance would be weird too"?


texts:
I don't have enough reputation to make comments on this site (what a weird system), so I have to make this a question on its own.

I am referencing an answer made to another question about the differences between logged-in and logged in, that is located here: https://english.stackexchange.com/a/11002/127722

The user whose answer was accepted, has written his own example which reads:

  the user login was not successful

But isn't that wrong? I thought correct forms would be either:

  the user-login was not successful

Or:

  user's login was not successful

Which is (are) correct?


texts:
I tried to coax google into finding results for "am not preceded by I", but failed.

Now my question is: Is saying "Am" instead of "I am" valid slang?

Examples:

Am a God. Obey.
Am driving. Can't talk now.
Am a cat. Food plz.

By "grammatically correct slang", I mean if it's okay to use such sentences when talking, writing signs, registering domains, et al, when the intention is to not be serious, i.e. will native speakers understand?


texts:
Can you say something like "I turned the box leftside right" in English? Or what should be used in place of "leftside right"?

By "leftside right" I mean pivoting by 180 degrees.


texts: "Date and venue is" vs. "date and venue are"

texts:
Which of the following is the correct way?

  Date and venue is the top priority.
  Date and venue are the top priority.


texts: How to use an adverb like “untenably” in a sentence with having it sound wrong?

texts:
I am trying to use untenably in a sentence.  Not to showcase my
ignorance, but I feel like the modern usage is out of whack with the
grammar rules.  The sentence in question is:

Marin was getting untenably expensive.

Here untenably is an adverb, but modifies expensive.  So, it should
properly be untenable expensive instead.

Marin was getting untenable expensive.

But that sounds archaic to my ear.

Also, I am having a tough time coming up with the correct usage of
untenably as an adverb. Something seems wrong with these but I don't know what:

She untenably ran...
She untenably worked...

Can someone enlighten me here? Why does sentence 2 sound wrong? Why don't sentences 3 and 4 sound right?