texts: What does "they prescribe upon our riper ears" mean?

texts:
I was searching for usages of the verb prescribe, in conjunction with the preposition upon, thinking the two of them might serve as a slightly milder alternative for impose, which indeed seems possible, judging from the scarce samples I found, one of whom is this:

  'Tis sure a practice that savors much of pedantry; a reserve of puerility we have not shaken off from school; where, being seasoned with minor sentences, by a neglect of higher enquiries, they prescribe upon our riper
  ears, and never are worn out, but with our memories.

  [Sir Thomas
  Browne]

  [Updates]

I think I think it's brilliant, but I'm not really positive I'm interpreting it correctly.

Is it "minor sentences", as in, say, time that we are forced to serve, that teachers ("they") impose upon us during our riper years, and is it the same minor sentences that leave their mark, so to speak, until we've accumulated new memories through living?

And how is "reserve" meant? As a "stock" of puerility, so to speak, or as a puerile reluctance?


texts: Can adjectives alone be nouns? Is 'Like other French who lived through the war ...' acceptable?

texts:
The Pope then asked: 'Are there any English here?'

Like other French who lived through the war, he’s trying to pass on to younger generations the gratitude he feels.

These are taken respectively from a book titled "A Traveller in Rome" (by H. V. Morton) and a news article titled "Normandy tries to keep alive ‘infinite gratitude’ for D-Day" (published by MilitaryTime.com https://www.militarytimes.com/military-honor/salute-veterans/2019/05/29/normandy-tries-to-keep-alive-infinite-gratitude-for-d-day/)

The word "English" is an adjective and that's why you call someone from England an Englishman or Englishwoman, not an English. The same goes for French and you call someone from France a Frenchman or Frenchwoman, not a French.

Why is it "Are there any English here?", not "Are there any English people here? Also, why is it "Like other French who lived through the war", not "Like other French people who lived through the war"?


texts:
I have the tendency to equate "mine" as something like "hers" and "his". But I am not sure if this is correct. I know I could say:

  This pencil belongs to his.

But which of the following is correct if I say this:

  This pencil belongs to me.

or

  This pencil belongs to mine?

Which is correct? Should I use "me" or use "mine"?


texts: What do you call it when something's worth is two things at the same time?

texts:
Example:
From the movie Kingdom of Heaven

Balian of Ibelin: What is Jerusalem worth?
Saladin:  Nothing. ... Everything!

What lesson did Saladin teach Balien? _____
Balian returned to Europe reflecting on this lesson of _____ that Saladin taught him. How hundreds of years of religious wars over a piece of land and hundreds of thousands of deaths can be seen as _____  .
What I thought of:
From my understanding this is the juxtaposition between Jerusalem being worthless desert and great spiritual significance to religion at same time.
Is the lesson he learnt transcendence perhaps?


texts:
We can make reduction for an adverbial clause such as:

Because I was late, I did not go to the party.

To be:

Late, I did not go to the party.

But can we make reduction if the adverbial clause comes in the second position such as:

I did not go to the party because I was late.

To be:

I did not go to the party, late.


texts: What is the rule for pronouncing the "a"?

texts:
While British people mostly seem to speak a hard "a", American people tend to make an "ae" in some cases. Here are some examples of what I mean, grouped by pattern:

glass/grass
cast/past/vast/drastic
mask
dance/stance/glance
can't/grant/plant

It seems like even local accents have an influence on that, but which confuses me most is the word pair "aunt" and "ant".
Because it seems like British people pronounce "ant" different than "can't" even though just the first letter is missing.
And American people seem to be unsure whether they should pronounce their "aunt" like they do their "can't" or like the Englishmen do.

I can see the rule when the "a" is followed by an "r" though: car/care, bar/bare, star/stare, tar/tare ... having said that "are" itself is different again.
But I wonder where the rule (if any) in this is and I hope you can help me.


texts:
I have suddenly found out that Chinese people use the word tissue instead of the word napkin.

Before I checked that word in the dictionary I couldn't understand what they are talking about. Is there any reason to use one word or another in some situation? How are they different?


texts:
Please read the following sentence:

Editing requires a good working relationship with the writer and the design team.<

In this example, is “working” an adverb or an adjective?


texts: What prefix corresponds to something on the same level?

texts:
I am working on modeling a problem for a computer program and am having a tough time coming up with the proper naming convention I would like to use.

Specifically I am working with a finite state machine that can have multiple levels of states. For parent states we usually use "parent" or "super" (i.e. super state) and for child states we use "child" or "sub-" (i.e. sub-state)

I have run into the problem of what to call a state transition to a state that is on the same level. I am not exiting to a parent state and I am not entering a child state. I am essentially moving sideways or swaping out the current state for another one that could be treated as a child state of the existing parent.

Here is an example

Current state list: State1, State1.1, State1.1.1

Exit the current child state.

New state list: State1, State1.1

Swap over to child 2 state.

New state list: State1, State1.2

What prefix or descriptor would I use when comparing State1.1 and State1.2?


texts: How to pronounce the programmer's abbreviation "char"

texts:
In many programming languages, char is a type name for character values. The word character is pronounced with a [k] sound, but what about char?

While trying to find the answer elsewhere, I learnt that there is an English word char which is pronounced [tʃɑ:(r)], but it has nothing to do with characters.

How would you read the following piece of code out loud?

char a;

Is it [kær], [tʃær] or [tʃɑ:(r)]? I've always used the last but I have no idea whether it's correct.


texts: Is it grammatically correct to say "Do it different"?

texts:
Once in a while, I hear some people say: "Do it different" and wondering that if this is correct in grammar or not. Because as far as I know, a verb is supposed to be followed by an adverb, not an adjective. So in my opinion, It should be said "Do it differently" or "do it in a different way".

Still, I can feel that "Do it different" is somehow more natural than "Do it differently"

So please help me to explain this. I really appreciate that!


texts: What is a word to describe blatant praise by a shill?

texts: I'm looking for a word to describe an article published in a newspaper that's written by a shill. Basically a word that describes the article as blatant over the top praise without perspective. I know 'advertorial' might work but I'm looking for an adjective that describes a panegyric that isn't genuine.


texts: Is there a term for how word pronunciation changes based on a sort of erosion?

texts: I remember in graduate school a professor using a word that sounded like "Hypochoriate" that meant the erosion of a sound based on common usage. I think! I liked the word but can't remember what it was, or even if I'm remembering correctly.


texts: "Confirmed that..." vs "Confirmed to have..."

texts:
My dad asked me if the following sentence was grammatically correct:

  Chris confirmed to have modified the PLC tag.

To me, the "to have" part seemed incorrect. I thought the sentence would have to be written something along the lines of this:

  Chris confirmed that he had modified the PLC tag.

In response to this, my dad argued that similar to how you could say "Chris promised that he would do something", and "Chris promised to do something", you should also be able to say "Chris confirmed that he had done something", and "Chris confirmed to have done something".

Is this correct, and if not, why?


texts: "Season's greetings" or "Seasoned greetings"

texts: Today I heard the phrase "Seasoned greetings." Is this just some clever word play on the traditional "Season's greetings,"  meant to mean greetings spiced up with seasoning, or is it a legitimate idiom?


texts: "Instructions on" vs. "instructions for"

texts:
Which of the following is correct?

  Instructions on how to do this will be provided in the User Manual.
  Instructions for how to do this will be provided in the User Manual.


texts: Pronunciation of the words 'height' and 'weight'

texts:
Why is "height" an "weight" pronounced differently, when the spellings are so similar?

Is there any logical explanation or it evolved that way?


texts: What's the adjective for someone who isn't loose with their thoughts/opinions/judgements?

texts: In my professional and personal life I've been trying to listen more and talk less. I tend to offer my thoughts/opinions/judgments where they're not needed and I'd like to stop doing that. It's been bugging me to find a name for a person who isn't so loose with their thoughts/opinions/judgements. The name for a person one might say "Oh yeah, David, he's a very ______ kind of person."  Someone beyond reproach keeping gossip and such to themselves...


texts: Is it wrong for a then clause to follow a since clause?

texts:
Sorry if the terms are not right. Is it correct to say

"Since burgers are edible, then burgers can be eaten." ?

Should it not instead be "If burgers are edible, then burgers can be eaten." or "Since burgers are edible, burgers can be eaten." ?


texts: Pronunciation of /jɪr/ and /i:r/ in American accent

texts:
In American accent, is /jɪr/ and /i:r/ pronounced the same?
I'm also wondering whether or not we could replace /ɪ/ by /i:/ in the first transcription so it becomes /ji:r/?


texts: Is 'entrance ticket' used metaphorically?

texts: I want to say something about parenthood being constructed in our culture as the thing that allows one to enter adult society. Could I say parenthood is an entrance ticket to adult society? Would a native English speaker say that?


texts: Is the word quick ever used in reference to candles eg the quick of the candle? I know about the quick of the nail and obviously about the wick of a candle but I have a memory of the quick too being something to do with candles.


texts: What is the origin of "bunfight", and how has the term evolved?

texts:
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a bun-fight as:

  a jocular expression for a tea-party

The OED gives a single quote, from 1928, which uses the words wayzgoose and Eisteddfod and is thus not very helpful, even after one looks up those words.

At the other end of the scale (erudition or stuffiness, take your pick), The Urban Dictionary defines bun-fight as:

  A sustained, overblown argument about a petty matter, usually personal
  in nature to the participants but not to everyone else.

According to WiseGEEK, the origin may be in the late 19th century, and the term can mean either a formal event, a large party or a petty argument.

There is perhaps a difference in British and US usage.

World Wide Words offers an explanation of the origin as Victorian children squabbling over buns and cakes at teatime, but has no back-up evidence.  Expressions and Sayings says much the same as World Wide Words.

Although everything the above sources say sounds reasonable, does anyone have evidence of the origin of the phrase and evidence of how it came to have such disparate meanings?

Finally, towards the end of the comments on another, unrelated question, one of ELU's most erudite gurus offers as a hypothesis that

  It derives from disputes between antagonists who are both hot and
  cross.

???


texts: What do multiple commas mean, in informal writing?

texts:
I've just watched a video about Informal Texting, by 'Sabrina and Friends'.
It mentioned multiple ways informal writing can be informed and altered by use of punctuation, emoji and similar changes, as shown below:

So as the image above shows, informal writing tone can be changed by novel use of punctuation.
One change that went unexplained is the use of multiple commas.

youtube is down,, i am free

This isn't the only time I've seen it discussed. But no where actually takes the time to consider what is being conveyed, and dismiss it out of hand. This plus other occasions I've seen it attested show this isn't an idiomatic to one person. Someone suggested it was a dialect choice.

The comma ellipsis looks like it makes the pause longer and softer, perhaps in a self deprecating way, but I haven't found a proper analysis of this sort of informal writing in my internet research (Reddit, Quora, etc did not provide any serious leads). I've not found any books on this with my research either.


texts: "That's too useful" - What does this mean? Where did it come from?

texts:
I've heard in casual speak some people say "Oh, that's too useful, no wonder they don't want that out there!" or something similar along those lines (several unrelated people in independent events).  For example, in reference to homebrew/unofficial documentation about a piece of software.

What does this saying really mean?  How did it come to be?

It seems counter intuitive and/or Yogi Berra-esque.

This may be a US-only thing and/or may be just a technology thing.


texts:
"Virginia's state government seemed unable to find anyone to run the place who has not either applied boot polish to his face while at college or been accused of sexual assault. "
What do "run the place" and "either applied boot polish to his face while at college or been accused of sexual assault" mean in the sentence?


texts:
I'm not a native speaker and I have always heard that "sale" is pronounced "sail/say+l", and "sell" is pronounced "cell". But my teacher who is a lawyer always pronounces "sale" as "sell". He is not a native English speaker either but his grammar and vocabulary is very good and he really puts effort into making sure that whatever he speaks, he says it correctly.

He even spells it out when we're confused, saying "it's SELL. S-A-L-E - SELL."


texts: Do you pluralize the singular possessions of / items or people associated with individual members of a plural group?

texts:
In a situation where say a group (or at least a plurality) of men is being addressed — for example on a sign passed by many married men — which is correct?

"Remind your wife."

or

"Remind your wives."


texts: the meaning of the word 'owe' in a sentence

texts:
This area owes its
  most fundamental traits to the fact that it is built of three distinctive
  crustal units.

What's the meaning of the word 'owe'? 'Owe' in Longman dictionary of contemporary English:

  owe [transitive]

  1 money    to need to pay someone for something that they have done for you or sold to you, or to need to give someone back money that they have lent you [↪ borrow, lend]
  owe somebody money/£10 etc.
  I owe my brother $50.
  owe somebody for something
  I still owe you for the taxi.
  How much do I owe you (=often used to show that you want to pay for something)?
  owe something to somebody
  the money owed to credit card companies

  2 something done/given to feel that you should do something for someone or give someone something, because they have done something for you or given something to you:
  He asked for help from a colleague who owed    him a favour.
  owe somebody a drink/letter etc
  I owe Shaun a letter; I must write soon.
  Thanks a lot for being so understanding about all this -   I owe you one (=used to thank someone who has helped you, and to say that you are willing to help them in the future)!
  owe somebody (=be in a position in which someone has helped you, so that you should help them)
  Let's go and see Joe - he owes me!

  3 owe somebody an explanation/apology  to feel that you should give someone an explanation of why you did something, or say you are sorry:
  You owe him an apology.

  4 help to achieve something
  a) to have something or achieve something because of what someone else has done
  owe something to somebody
  He probably owes his life to her prompt action.
  b) to know that someone's help has been important to you in achieving something
  owe somebody a lot/owe somebody a great deal
  I owe my parents a lot,' he admitted.
  He owes a great deal to his publishers.
  owe it all to somebody/owe everything to somebody
  I owe it all to you.
  owe somebody a debt (of gratitude)
  the debt that we owe to our teachers

  5  good effect to be successful because of the good effect or influence of something or someone
  owe to
  Their success  owes more to    good luck than to careful management.
  Pearson's work  owed much to    the research of his friend, Hugh Kingsmill.

  6 owe it to somebody to do something -- to feel you should do something for someone, because they have helped you or given you support:
  You owe it to your supporters not to give up now.

  7 owe it to yourself to do something -- to feel you should try to achieve something because it is what you deserve:
  You owe it to yourself to take some time off.

  8 owe loyalty/allegiance etc to somebody -- to have a duty to obey someone:
  provinces owing allegiance to the Emperor

  9 think that the world owes you a living -- to be unwilling to work in order to get things, and expect them to be provided for you - used to show disapproval


texts: On several occasions while browsing Meta Stack Overflow, I have encountered the phrase information porn, typically used by Jeff Atwood. What does it mean?


texts: What does it mean when Cinderella said "They treat me as well as they're able."?

texts:
In Cinderella 2015 horse chase scene, Cinderella said "They treat me as well as they're able." and the prince said "I'm sorry!"

What does it mean "as well as they're able" in the sentence?


texts: What is the professional title of a messenger-bird-keeper?

texts:
I'm creating a history/fantasy story containing carrier pigeons or other messenger birds.

Historically, as far as I understand it, certain people professionally trained and kept carrier pigeons or other messenger birds, and would charge a fee for the service of transporting messages.  They were also used in war.

What is the title of the professional thus employed?  Also, what would you call the business/service? (E.g. Bob's Avicultural Communiques)


texts: What is the term for material lost when a batch is transferred from one vessel to another?

texts:
When making brownies or a banana cake, for example, some batter is left in the mixing bowl. Or the spilled sand when filling sandbags.

What is the term for that lost material? Or the phenomenon of loss when transferring from one container to another?


texts:
I'm building a user system with multiple tiers - a free tier being one of them.

I need to display "used usage" and "available usage" off the free tier.

I have these 2 wordings that I currently use: free tier used usage and free tier available usage.

If it helps, the free tier has a certain amount of free seconds that a user gets.

How do I improve the "free tier used usage" wording? It doesn't sound right to me.


texts: Is the difference in English between height and length based solely on perspective?

texts: In particular, I find it odd that a newborn baby is given a "length" whereas I as an adult am given a "height" even though the same dimension is being measured.  The difference in use seems to be that a baby must be measured lying down whereas my height would be measured standing up.  If I were measured lying down, would my height or length measured, most likely we would still say height.


texts: conditional mood, can the hypothetical entity be identified?

texts:
Does English grammar distinguish between a conditional sentence where the point of view is realistic, but the result is indeterminate; and one where the point of view is hypothetical, but the result is deteriminate?

Example 1:  Suppose my neighbor is engaged to be married and we are talking about his up-coming wedding three weeks off.

  What would you do if it rained like this on your wedding day?

We expect the wedding to happen as scheduled, but have utterly no opinions about the weather three weeks from now. Is the above sentence grammatically the best, or could it be improved by replacing rained by was raining, was to rain, were raining, or were to rain? Do any of these help to indicate a factual event subject to unpredictable weather?

Example 2: Suppose my neighbor has no plans to marry.

  What would you do if you got married on a day like today?

Here, it is the wedding that is hypothetical, and we are specifying the weather. Can this mood be conveyed better with were getting, or were to get?

My searches for info on this yielded nothing. But the examples seem to show that there are sometimes more options in the first case.

Do any dialects purpose or repurpose auxiliary verbs to achieve this distinction?

Is there a pair of statements which applies to each example, but not the other?


texts: When you ask something with 'why', you can anwer with 'when'?

texts:
Child: Mister Jackie is a bad man.

  Detective: Why is he a bad man, sweetie?

  Child: He follows me into the bathroom.

  Detective: Why does he do that?

  Child: When I have to go.

It's a dialogue from a TV show.
I'm not sure it's 'why' or 'when' but the script says it's 'why'.

Detective asked 'Why does he do that', but why he anwered 'When I have to go'?
I can't understand what it means.
Please help me to understand it perfectly!

(My native language is not English. Please be kind to me. :-))


texts: Capitalize new construction introduced in mathematical proof

texts:
Let's say that I am trying to prove a mathematical theorem. As part of that proof, I may want to introduce a construction that I will use repeatedly throughout the proof (and potentially combine many instantiations of the same construct). To that end, let's say that I name the construct Named Thing. I may say something like the following:

We will create a Named Thing. A Named Thing has the following structure etc.

Should Named Thing be capitalized in both cases here? It's used somewhat like a proper noun here, although it's referring to a class of objects, as opposed to referring to a single specific object from this class.
Furthermore, let's now consider the following sentence:

We construct named things for each of the five cases.

Here I believe it should be lower case, as its usage is (I believe) as a common noun. Is that correct?


texts: Use of possessive determiners with adjectives

texts:
I've read this thread and while it does seem to give me the answer I am looking for, I still wanted to ask a related question.
Let's take the following sentences as examples:

"He lives in a flat, and she lives in his same flat."
"He lives in a flat, and she lives in his flat."
"He lives in a flat, and she lives in the same flat."

Considering the aforementioned thread, it should be fine to have an adjective come after a possessive determiner ("same" coming after "his"), however this kind of sentence doesn't sound right to me. Sentences 2 and 3 do seem like grammatically correct alternatives, though I can't figure out why they are correct whilst the 1st sentence is not.
Could anyone tell me if this kind of structure (sentence 1) is fine or not, and explain why it is/isn't so?


texts: What is the right sign to show in a retail shop

texts:
Let us see the signs shown in the images below.

What is the right one to show in a retail shop, #1 or #2?

In case #2 doesn't it seem as if the cashier may or may not give us a receipt?


texts: When I should use "assure" vs. "ensure" vs. "insure"?

texts: When is it appropriate to use assure vs. ensure vs. insure?


texts: Is there a separate term for confectionery art?

texts:
I know that there's a term for somebody who makes confectionery (confectioner) but is there a separate term for confectionery art? Whenever I see elaborately made cakes looking like statues and paintings, for instance, I've always been curious of whether there's an established discipline for that beyond just being 'confectionery'. I've tried preliminary searches both on this site and elsewhere online but to no avail.

Thanks for any help.


texts:
The unsold tobacco in the inventories were causing a substantial loss for the state tobacco monopoly. It was mainly made up of tobacco from the east regions.

Is the first sentence correct? Why is "were" used here instead of "was? In the second sentence, why isn't "they" used instead of "it"?


texts:
A doctor at the El Paso VA Health Care System was shot today and the shooter apparently shot and killed himself, officials said a preliminary investigation shows.

Is there a single verb that can correctly replace 'killed himself' in the above sentence?


texts: What word describes people who attack those doing the same thing as them?

texts:
Basically, the long description is:

A attacks B for being X or acting in X manners. But, while A might not be aware of this, from the outsiders' point of view, A also is X or acts in X manners as well.

So, how would you, in a few words, generalize/describe people like 'A'?

The first English word that came to my mind was 'hypocrite' but after checking with Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, I'm not so sure if it is the right one for the described situation anymore...


texts: If you were to read some news like “Movie X is the highest-grossing since (earlier) Movie Y” or “Earthquake X is the deadliest since Y” or “Gold prices are highest since the spike in year Y” or similar — does that imply that the new, recent event X surpasses the historical reference event Y, or was Y still bigger/deadlier/higher?


texts: What is "generation X" and "generation Y"?

texts:
Why are we called Generation Y?

What's Generation X anyway?

What about Baby Boomers?


texts: What do you call a person who is the target of an advocate?

texts:
At my job, we have set up a serious of groups of people and assigned each of them an advocate, so the group looks a bit like this:

Jason
     Mike
     Steve
     Nathan
Dave
     George
     Joe
     Chris

These are advocates with the people for whom they advocate below them.  The question is if I'm talking to Dave, and I want to say about George "Well, he's your <insert word here>, so I thought you should know." what word would I use in that space?

I searched through google but couldn't find anything, the closest thing I could find here was this question , which seems to indicate the word I should use is "cause" but that doesn't seem right to me.  Would this be the proper word to use, or is there a better word or phrase that I could use to convey this meaning?


texts: Can we use "these days" with the present perfect?

texts:
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
"I've been really busy these days"
OR
"I'm really busy these days"
I may be wrong but for some reason it feels funny to use "these days" with the present perfect tense since, to me, "I've been really busy" implies that "I'm not that busy anymore", which is in contrast with what the phrase "these days" implies (= "I'm still busy"). Am I wrong?
P.S. I have asked this question to some native speakers of English and I got some contradictory answers. Could it be a regional thing?


texts: Related Tasks: partial-payment vs. all-or-nothing

texts:
I am trying to describe two types of related tasks that relate to a common goal.

The best I have come up with for what I am trying to say is some groups of tasks give 'partial payment' and some groups of tasks are 'all or nothing'.

Consider these contrived examples:

partial-payment tasks

One laborer gets $10 per box to move ten boxes; if the laborer moves
just five boxes, he gets $50.
Steve sets a goal of painting every room in his house one weekend, but only
completes three.

all-or-nothing tasks

One laborer gets $100 to move 10 boxes, but makes nothing if all 10
boxes are not moved.
A contractor is paid to paint every room in a house,and is paid 100%
in full on completions (say materials are provided).

Pardon the examples, but I think you get my point. I am placing tasks into one of the two categories, but I would like better terms to describe these categories.


texts: "it's too convenient" and "it's too easy"

texts: Might those two be synonyms? I watched a movie where sentence "it's too convenient" was directly translated as "it's too easy" (to do something) to my language. Is it correct?


texts: Position of question mark when sentence doesn't end with question

texts:
This is something that has always bugged me.  I am never sure where to place the question mark, or whether to place it at all when the end of the sentence does not finish with a question, or a number of questions from the begining

For example:

  The question nagging me is to what
  extent can we encapsulate all what we
  observe in nature into a set of simple
  computational rules, within which we
  can leverage our existing knowledge.

Should the final full-stop (period) be replaced by a question mark? Or perhaps even the comma?


texts: When should I use archaic and obsolete words?

texts:
I'm learning the English language, and while reading Merriam-Webster I often see common words with additional "obsolete" and "archaic" descriptions added to their definitions.

When should I use them, should I use them at all, and what's the difference between these descriptions? Also, should I spend time to remember these archaic and obsolete meanings?


texts: What is a word for "one entity widening conditions for another"?

texts: I'm searching for a word that means "A widens conditions for B".  I mean that A has a positive influence on B and thanks to existence of A, B can exist in more tough conditions.


texts: using past perfect in a 'by the time' clause instead of simple past

texts:
How would using past perfect in a 'by the time' clause affect the meaning differently from using the common formula (past simple in the 'by the time clause' plus past perfect in the main clause). For example, what could the following mean?

  By the time he had finished dinner, it was time for bed.


texts: Are the words bathymetry and bathymetric interchangable?

texts:
In my mind these both work...

1) I performed a bathymetry survey. I gave the client the bathymetry data.

2) I performed a bathymetric survey. I gave the client the bathymetric data.

A web search shows pages using both words, however I'm not convinced the authors know of a rule or are just using what sounds best to them.

This example from the online cambridge dictionary doesn't sound correct if I use the word "bathymetry":

  Atlantic marine species have a shallower upper bathymetric limit in the west than in the east.

Are there any useage rules?


texts: Is 'so I did', and other like expressions, at the end of a sentence good English?

texts: In Northern Ireland people will say 'He went to Bohemia on holiday, so he did', or 'I need to do some shopping, so I do'. Is this correct English?


texts:
I try to grasp the difference between these 2 forms. So the question is whether these 3 cases have the exact same meaning.

Why did he get up at 5 o'clock? He needn't have got up so early. He could have stayed in bed longer.

Why did he get up at 5 o'clock? He didn't have to get up so early. He could have stayed in bed longer.

Why did he get up at 5 o'clock? He didn't need to get up so early. He could have stayed in bed longer.


texts: Is this sentence correct? "Does anyone have any idea what this tattoo means?"?

texts: Is it "Does anyone have any idea what this tattoo means?" or "Does anyone have any idea what this tattoo mean?"


texts: We Indians often say "I finished my homework today itself", which I know is wrong. Which is the correct way to say it?

texts: We use 'itself' to emphasize that the homework was done today, not yesterday. Nor was it delayed till tomorrow. What is the correct way to emphasize the fact that the homework was done today?


texts: Phrase to describe high contrast in the possible outcomes

texts:
So for example if I do X, the result of my actions is either going to be really good or really bad.

At first I thought of double-edged sword, but I think that means more towards being both good and bad at the same time instead of it being either or, is there a phrase or idiom to describe that?


texts: What does the phrase 'Throw your Cap on It' mean and where did it originate?

texts:
In watching a recent soccer match, the commentator stated that the goalkeeper should 'throw his cap on that'.
This was immediately preceded by a relatively comfortable save by the goalkeeper from a tame shot.
Looking to gain understanding to the exact meaning and also where this phrase started.


texts:
A friend of mine recently used the word masseuse to describe a person that gives massages. I have never heard of this terminology before so I'm wondering what the difference is between massager and masseuse?

To me, the -er ending makes it very obvious that it denotes "[a] person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; a person whose occupation is (the noun)." For instance:

player: a person who plays
driver: a person who drives
songwriter: a person who writes songs

I realize sometimes there is a distinction between male and female actors (e.g. actor/actress). Other words that have different endings to indicate the person:

assistant: a person who assists
scientist: a person who practices science

Now with the last example, the -ist suffix denotes profession or religion, so in my case, massage therapist would also work. But what's with the word masseuse?


texts:
I am writing a paper that involves the description of numerous internet protocols. Because of the rigidity of these protocols, it's difficult for any one description to sound much different from any other. The approach I've taken is to read many descriptions of the protocols, including the official standards, and make an effort to deeply understand the protocols first. Then, without referring to any source, I write out the description of the protocol in the way I understand it and using my own words to describe its operation.

How do I cite something like this? The problem I'm running into is that none of the words or sentences I use are direct quotes from any of my sources. However, the overall structure and description is very similar to all of the sources.


texts:
Are any of these two phrases appropriate, or are they both wrong?

  tables two and three's information are more suited for
  table two's and three's information is more suited for


texts: I want to know three part of speeches in one sentence

texts:
When I studied EIKEN Grade 1 exam, a kind of English examination in Japan, I could not understand which word is the verb.

The sentence is below.

  Furthermore, the raw, naturalistic acting the Method elicited proved
  perfectly matched to the art of filmmaking, with its revealing
  close-up shots.

From EIKEN Grade 1 2012-1 Stanislavski and the Craft of Acting

Which is the verb in this sentence? Elicited, proved or matched?

What part of speeches are "elicited," "proved" and "matched" in this sentence?

I thought the sentence is more understandable if the sentence is changed to below one.

  Furthermore, the raw, naturalistic acting (the Method elicited) proved
  perfectly (it was) matched to the art of filmmaking, with its
  revealing close-up shots.


texts: Is there a word that can be used to describe the act of speaking over another person? Looking particularly to describe the act in the context of a debate where a speaker is unable to respond due to repeated interjections.


texts: It there a literary technique for when authors create a language within their novel?

texts: Like in 1984 when Orwell creates newspeak? I'm trying to find techniques to analyse his decision to do this...


texts: Is there a word meaning "the other side to compare against"?

texts: I'm searching for a word in English that means "something to compare against", or "the other side of the compare". Is there a single word for this?


texts: Participle adjective following preposition

texts:
In the example
"The matter be treated as closed"
Here,  "as "is used as preposition(not conjunction) followed by participle adjective. What does "closed"modify here since normally the Noun follows preposition.


texts: "Not to have been asked" vs "not being asked"- what's the difference?

texts:
Sentence Transformation:

  She will be upset that she wasn't asked.

The answer to this statement is as follows:

  She will be upset not to have been asked.

Could this also be possible?

  She will be upset not having been asked.

What's the difference?

Thank you in advance.


texts: Did the Marshallplan help export the English language?

texts: I am currently doing research about the English language and how it is dominating non-English speaking countries (music, movies, etc). I've read some interesting facts and I want your opinion about it with a simple question: did the Marshallplan help export the English language to Europe?


texts: Is it proper grammar to omit an ending quote at the end of a paragraph?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How should I use quotation marks in sections of multi-line dialogue?
  Why aren't double quotes always closed?

In some books I've read, the ending quote will be omitted if the paragraph ends with the character's line. Is this correct?  If it is correct, in what cases is it correct?


texts: Is there a word for excessive time wasted preparing for an activity?

texts:
As a software developer I'm on the lookout for new tools and ways of automating my work. However many times while investigating a new tool  (and maybe other people) have a tendency to go down a rabbit hole and spend a lot of time on investigation and setting up tools, for a task that would have taken me a tenth of the time to accomplish had I done it manually.

Is there a special word that would best describe this activity? Or a word for describing the kind of frustration you feel when you give up after deciding you've wasted a lot of time and not got any real work done.


texts: What is the term used to describe the space under a roof that joins two buildings?

texts:
Sometimes architects will take two tall (say 8-10 storey) buildings  that happen to be near each other, and build a glass roof between them.
Down on ground, the area which originally would have been a street, or
alleyway or something, now becomes a quasi-outdoor, courtyard type
space where people can hang out and look up a roof/ceiling many storeys in the air.
What is the name for a space like this?
I think there are many terms which are used to describe this architectural feature. I just know there is one term in particular that - to me - describes it really well. So for example if you said to a friend

  "I'll meet you at the __________ between the two buildings"

the friend would know where you meant.
I keep thinking "atrium" or something like that?


texts: What to call a deficiency that is not inherent?

texts:
All humans have one or more natural/inherent deficiencies. All humans share natural deficiencies. For example, unlike the eagle eye, we were not born capable of seeing things over long distances, which is why binoculars were created for that purpose.

But some deficiencies are not innate and some people have these deficiencies due to diseases or other causes. For example, some people wear glasses if they are short-sighted.

My sight was great when I was younger, but now I have to wear glasses. A friend of mine used to have perfect hearing, but after an accident, his hearing was damaged and now he cannot hear very good. And I know another guy who after a plastic surgery lost his sense of smell. All these "deficiencies" have the feature I want a word for. They are not natural. We are not born with them. Not everyone suffers from them, and only some people suffer part of their lives.

What are these kinds of deficiencies or inabilities called in English?

The word "acquired" has a positive connotation; for example, we acquire skills, not disabilities. The word "unnatural" has irrelevant connotations too.

The word "deficiency" might not be a good choice here. But that is not the point of my question. I want a word (an adjective) to use as opposed to natural in the aforementioned sense.


texts:
“the stress mums put on themselves to be exceptional parents, which weighs more heavily than outside pressures.”

I think I understand every single words but I am just not sure what is it trying to say ... doesn’t it mean those mothers believe they are “exceptional parents”? And what does the “weights more heavily than outside pressure” mean ?

The full context is:

  What Stresses Us Most?
  Top stresses include money troubles, juggling work and home life, and interestingly, the stress mums put on themselves to be exceptional parents, which weighs more heavily than outside pressures.


texts: When should commas be used in sentences with 2 or more prepositional phrases?

texts:
In this sentence below, for instance, how would commas be used or would commas be used at all?

The sentence:

Please contact the business office of the hospital to qualify for the Uncompensated Care Program to cover the cost of these services.


texts: Is this sentence correct? "What I want to do is read this book."

texts:
"What I want to do is read this book."

Is it correct? Or, can I say:

"What I want to do is to read this book."
"What I want to do is reading this book."

Are all of the three sentences correct?


texts: What's the word or phrase when one takes advantage of you but pretends and mocks you for thinking that way

texts:
I saw someone posted this on Facebook and lot of people commented a word/phrase for that sort of situation. Basically someone does something to you but makes you think you are crazy in a sort of manipulative way. I can't find the post anywhere now and I forgot what word it is.

Any idea?


texts: What meter and verse form does this poem have?

texts:
I found this poem a while ago, and I'm wondering what verse form and meter it utilises:

  The wrinkling sea shone dimly
  Beneath a waxen moon.
  The bitter gale blew bleakly
  Against a mermaid’s croon.
  And beneath the wistful silence,
  As the sweaty seamen slept,
  While sighing into the somber sky,
  The rueful raven wept.


texts: What is the difference between "lean" and "incline"?

texts:
I know that lean and incline's meanings are similar, but I cannot understand in which context each is used.

  With profits continuing to fall amid rising costs, high interest rates and growth hitting a lean patch, SVM Inc is conserving its earning by paying less to shareholders.

and

  The terrain inclined down.

Can anyone explain it?


texts: Talking over the phone for the first time

texts:
I will have an interview in English over the phone, and I am preparing for it.
What I'm wondering is what will be the best way to greet the interviewer?
"Hell, my name is ______. It is nice to talk to you or I am happy talking with you"
I am confused it because if I meet someone for the first time I can just say it is nice to see you or nice to meet you, but it will be over the phone.....

Help me, please.


texts: "This looks like him" or "This looks like he"?

texts:
Another, easier case question:

Obviously, of the two variants

  This looks like him

and

  This looks like he

the first seems more naturally idiomatic. However, is it grammatically correct?

I think the not-necessarily-separable questions at work here are:

Whether "to look like" is a linking verb in English ("This looks [~to be] he") (likely it is);
Whether "to look like" is an idiographic construction following its own rules, or rather an ellipticization or reduction of, say  "This looks like [it is] he" or "This looks like he [looks (/does)]."

...The only doubt in my mind about whether "This looks like he" is correct is the Columbia Guide citation here, which argues:

  Than is both a subordinating conjunction, as in She is wiser than I
  am, and a preposition, as in She is wiser than me. As subject of the
  clause introduced by the conjunction than, the pronoun must be
  nominative, and as object of the preposition than, the following
  pronoun must be in the objective case. Since the following verb am is
  often dropped or “understood,” we regularly hear than I and than me.

Is there a linguistic basis for the Columbia Guide's assertion, as there clearly is for the alternative? Or is this simply an argument between prescriptivism, realism, and second-wave prescriptivism?

Cf.
"He plays like I"
"I do it better than she"


texts: Is there a name for "small ideas you get at a time or place least expected"?

texts:
Small ideas, a flash of wit you get
1) when you're doing everyday routines; and
2) when you don't expect fresh ideas to come to you; and
3) when you're not trying to find fresh ideas.

For example: This morning, I was stuck in the usual traffic jam, mind wandering. Suddenly, I have a(n) _______. I was excited about this ______ throughout the day.

Ideally, this is a one-word name.

Thank you!


texts: Why does the 'b' in absorb change to a 'p' in absorption?

texts: The question pretty much says it all.  Why is "absorbtion" an incorrect spelling?


texts: "Three-hundred forty-two" or "three-hundred and forty-two"?

texts:
So on this answer here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12699791/finding-the-word-version-of-a-number/12700097#comment17146082_12700097

We were having the argument whether it is “three hundred and forty two” or “three hundred forty two”.

I am going by British and New Zealand grammar and I believe it has the and in there. I have never in my life heard anyone say “three hundred forty two”, only “three hundred and forty two”.

So when it comes to numbers, what’s the rule?


texts:
Are these all noun clauses? And what part of speech is whatever in each of them? Are they pronouns, determiners, or something else?

  I'll take whatever you can give.       (direct object)
  Using whatever tools were available, they accomplished much.   (direct object of the participle)
  I am against prejudice in whatever form it takes.  (object of the preposition)

Thanks!

Note: The post “whatever” as pure determiner?” did not answer my question, but instead created some of my confusion. Additionally, that post focused on adding the relative pronoun that to the noun clause. It did not focus on what the proper term for a noun clause is, along with the determiners and pronouns that are associated with them. See my own answer to my question in the answer section below.


texts:
Can you contract the verb to be in this case?

"My name's", "his name's", "her name's".... sound a little bit off to me, or at least sounds very, very informal.

Most important question is "is it grammatically correct" or not.


texts: Why is "lucked out" such a good thing to be?

texts: This still strikes me as odd, even after 12 years in the US.  Being out of luck is a bad thing, but lucked out is a good thing, e.g. we 'lucked out' and were able to get two extra tickets for the show. Any idea why?


texts: Why is the US referred to as "the Union" in "State of the Union"?

texts:
I wonder about the use of the word "Union" in the name "State of the Union", which is the US President's annual address to Congress. The phrase appears in the Constitution:

  He [the President] shall from time to time give to the Congress
  Information on the State of the Union,

However, the phrase apparently fell out of favor for many years; according to the Senate's FAQ

  The message was generally known as “the President’s Annual Message to Congress”
  until well into the 20th century. Although some historians suggest that the phrase “State
  of the Union” emerged only after World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1934
  message is identified in his papers as his “Annual Message to Congress on the State of
  the Union.” According to the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, it was
  known informally as the State of the Union Address from 1942 to 1946, and has been
  known “generally” by the same name since 1947.

The choice of the word "union" seems to emphasize that it's about how the states are getting together; this would seem to be more appropriate during the period when the country was forming, to refer to the process of uniting. Why isn't it "State of the Nation" or "State of the Country"? The states also have similar traditions where the governor gives an annual address, and they generally call it "State of the State" (or "State of the Commonwealth" in a few states that identify themselves as such).

Oxford Living Dictionary does include this definition of "Union":

  4.1 The United States, especially from its founding by the original thirteen states in 1787–90 to the secession of the Confederate states in 1860–1.

But in my experience, this usage is extremely rare; I can't actually think of any usage other than this specific phrase. Was it a more common way to refer to the US a century ago, and it has now become entrenched in the name of the speech, while falling into disuse in other contexts?

I assume it fell out of favor to refer to the entire nation because  during the Civil War it was used to refer to the northern states, so it seems like it would have had a bad connotation to southerners. Could it be that by the 1930's there were few people still alive who lived through that war, so it was acceptable to resurrect it in a more positive light? Yet it's been about as long now since World War II, and few would think of trying to use Nazi, Fascist, or Axis positively.


texts: "In a broad range of positions" or "on a broad range of positions"?

texts:
I'm writing a cover letter and need to know the proper way of saying this:

  Over the last ten years I had the opportunity to work for multinational companies in/on a broad range of management positions.


texts: When will "Present Perfect vs. Past Tense" cases be affected by culture?

texts:
Regarding actions taken in the past, besides the differences those two tenses have semantically, my teacher shared that it could be a British vs American English case.

When talking about past action, British prefers present perfect because they take into account that the effect from their past action still happens until now. As for American, they prefer to state the action only. It happened in the past, so past tense it is.

  I have had dinner. [British]

vs.

  I had dinner. [American]

I hope to hear it from the native speakers, both British and American. What do you think about this? Is it true?

If it is, I don't think it can apply to all cases of past actions. There have to be cases when both style agree to use the same tenses. Could you please help me define the situation when this kind of difference applies and when doesn't?


texts: Is there a word to name being unable to think of "proper terminology" for something?

texts:
In regards to only being able to say something like "hand ankle" when meaning "wrist", but the person is absolutely unable to remember the word "wrist". (Or "unsweet doughnut", when someone can't remember the word "bagel".)

Is there a word to describe this phenomenon of cobbled together phrases meant to bridge a temporary gap in commonly-known vocabulary?


texts: What's the difference between those two? I've tried to ask Google but got very mixed results -- some people say it's the same, some that one of them is illegal and the rest offer other explanation, for example "on" means immediately, without any time for preparation and "at" with some time for preparation.. what's the truth?


texts: Word for the typical posture of a smartphone user

texts:
A sentence taken from a student's piece of homework.

  I often happen to watch youngsters leaning simultaneously on their smartphones while they are in groups.

You can understand what he's saying can't you? It's also grammatical. But you don't ‘physically’ lean on a smartphone, do you?

It's a common enough phenomenon in today's society; we have all seen groups of teenagers huddled over their smartphones. But what about leaning? What preposition do I use with lean that fits with the meaning my student wanted to convey?

Do you lean over a smartphone?
Do you lean above it?
Do you lean forward?
That last one sounds OK, but where would you place the noun, smartphone, in the phrase?

I suggested huddled over but is there a better or a more appropriate verb I could have suggested?


texts:
In my native language, believing in something means accepting it as true without a proof:

For example, asking whether you believe in God is correct, as it doesn't imply said God actually exists.
Or, you ask someone for money and they're reluctant because they think there's some risk of not getting it back, but you say "believe me, it's all good". i.e., asking for blind trust without actually providing any guarantee.

I've been submerged in the English language for about 20 years now, and I keep noticing that it seems that's not how the word "believe" is sometimes used in English.

For example, right now I'm watching this movie and one person asks another "do you believe in evolution?" A scientific theory, and the theory of evolution in particular, is not a matter of belief, it either works or it doesn't (just keeping it simple for the sake of this question), so the question is oxymoronic.

Another example I keep noticing is, in a lot of movies[,] there's some generic small talk, and people would often say, "every person believes in something..." or "choose what you believe in" and so on. It doesn't make any sense for them to mean "choose what you want to blindly trust in", does it?

So is this word by any chance used to actually mean that you trust someone or something because you actually know it's true? Not blindly believe, but have evidence that it's true?

Like, "I believe in my daughter in school", because I know she actually studies well, not because I think she does without any proof of it being true.

Edit:

Another example of confusing "believe" usage is

"It's going to rain soon."

"I believe he's right, let's get umbrellas."

In this case, it looks like "believe" is literally meant as "think", i.e. "I think he's right, ...", not implying blind trust. Is that correct?


texts:
There seems to be a fair amount of confusion surrounding the meaning of the prefix bi when used with units of time measurement. Biweekly, according to dictionary.com, can mean either "occurring twice weekly," or "occurring once every two weeks." Falling within the same realm of confusion are bimonthly and biannually.

As of late, it seems that we've begun replacing the bi prefix with semi when the intended meaning is "occurring twice within," while continuing to use the former when the intended meaning is "occurring once every other." Though this is a step in the right direction, there still seems to be confusion around proper usage.

Whose genius idea was it to start using the bi prefix to mean two very different things? If my employer told me my pay periods were bimonthly, should I assume they meant semimonthly or once every other month?


texts: What is the difference between "could not get to" and "did not get to"?

texts:
Take, for example, this sentence:

  Away from Vatican City, Tome was quiet as authorities ordered all public offices and schools to close (close), and banned (ban) cars from the roads. Millions of Catholics who ______________ (not get) to Italy, bid (bid) him farewell in myriad services round the globe.

What's the grammatically correct form of the concept "to not get" in this context, to fill in the blank and complete the sentence?

The word must be derived from "get", or the phrase include "get", in order to be consistent with the pattern that that the words/phrases preceding bracketed words are derivations of those bracketed words.


texts: How do we refer to a item in a numbered list

texts:
I have a longer text. Let's say I have a numbered list, like this,

  (1) Item 1

  (2) Item 2

  (3) Item 3

Later I want to reference the list, such as

  As described above, cf. [this is where the word should be inserted] (1) and (2), we observe that beef is very unhealthy.

However, numbers in brackets (1) are already reserved for formulas in my text. How can I reference these points? I was thinking about "bullet point (1)" and "bullet point (2)". However, they aren't really bullet points. Any ideas?


texts: What do you call someone who is above average?

texts: Is there any word (noun?) for a person who is not bad at doing something, yet not too good?


texts: When has the phrase "dirty sex" started to be used?

texts: We say 'dirty sex' nowadays,quite often. When we're referring to hardcore sex that includes role play, bondage, sex toys and whatever else goes beyond the simple act of copulation, we say 'Dirty sex'. But when has this phrase first started to be used? Is it something people would say in North America at the beginning of the 20th century?


texts:
I want to describe a person in my article with the following characteristics:

Not good at grasping in studies.
Doing a poor job just because he fears going out and expanding/trying better jobs.

Please suggest a word(s) that would mean both of the above.


texts:
Is it redundant to say "they share commonalities?"

The sentence is "Separate your list of contacts into groups that share important commonalities."


texts: What is the origin of the term "hit point"?

texts:
I've looked this up on several sites, including Wiktionary.com, Dictionary.com, and etymonline.com, but the results in all three are the same: no results.

I was just wondering, where did this term come from? Who coined it? When did it come into use? Does anyone have information regarding this word?

Edit: The only context would be in gaming, where the hitpoints of a character are shown.


texts: I was challenged recently to solve this problem. An accident takes place on an intersection on a high road. However, if I was to write about this as taken place in a "high accident intersection" it would seem like a lot of accidents take place at that particular location. Is there a concise and accurate way of describing an accident at an intersection on a high altitude?


texts:
She went back to her homeland, her mind free of hate. (English Syntax
  and Argumentation, Bas Aarts)

Aarts says the highlighted part is a small clause that has the role of adjunct. By the remarks of Martha Kolln, the clause is the adjunct for the whole sentence.

  (The absolute phrase introduces an idea to the sentence as a whole,
  not to any one of its parts; Understanding English Grammar, Eighth
  Edition, Martha Kolln, p203)

If we say the small clause or the absolute phrase modify the predicate - went back to her homeland, is it wrong?


texts: Where does "I'll go he" come from, and is there more to the phrase?

texts:
I understand the meaning of the saying "I'll go he", but does anyone know where it comes from?

The researcher here seems to think that there is a couple of words left off.


texts: Referring to someone on temporary leave from their job

texts: How do I refer to someone who is on temporary leave from their job?  For example, we use acting for when someone is filling the role of said person (acting manager, etc.) or for someone who is filling a role temporarily.


texts: Is this style of comparison grammatical?

texts:
I am inferring from the following paragraph that the number of people who volunteered in community service following 9/11 attacks was twice as many as those who did so before the event. However, I am not sure and the wording of the sentence in terms of comparison seems weird. So, is this paragraph grammatical? And did I get the meaning right?

  And in September of 2001,
  soon after two airplanes piloted by terrorists struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, there was a huge spike in volunteering, with nearly twice as many Americans performing community service after 9/11 compared to
  the numbers who had volunteered before the event.


texts: How can you say when a student receives "a note"?

texts:
In italian schools when a student misbehaves a teacher can write "a note" in his register to report his behaviour.
Is there anything like that in English? What expression do they use in English or American schools?


texts: Singular or plural when referring to an event and a specific case of that event

texts:
In sentences in which a verb references an event, and a particular case of that same event, should i use the singular or plural form for the verb?

for example:

"milk production, and in particular white milk production, is/are subject to severe scrutiny"


texts: Does every utterance we make have to be grammatical?

texts:
I know all sentences must have a verb to be grammatical. But where is the verb in:

Best Day Ever!

Best is an adjective. (what kind of day). Day is a noun. Ever is an adverb. (Of all times)

So where is the verb?

I also noticed that:

Hurray!

is only an interjection.

So if we repeatedly keep breaking grammar rules, why use grammar at all?
And can't we just change grammar to fit our every needs, making it a lot easier to use?


texts: What do you call eating just something you are supposed to eat with something else?

texts:
I mean. Let's say I'm eating cereal without milk or whatever just because I feel a bit hungry or something. What do you call it?

Same applies when you're eating cheese only without anything else.


texts:
All of you are sitting here with me in my den

vs.

  You all are sitting here with me in my den

And a general form:

you all vs. all of you

Which is the proper usage?


texts: 'I'm sure your friends will likely call you on your birthday.' Is "that" required?

texts:
Could someone please help me.

I was wondering if I have to use "that" in the following sentence:

  I'm sure your friends will likely call you on your birthday.

Should there be a "that" between sure and friends?

Thank you.


texts: Which is more formal and which is easier to understand?

texts:
Affixes are subdivided into prefixes, which precede the base to which they attach

Affixes are subdivided into prefixes, which precede the base which they attach to.

The difference between them just is to put the phrase attach to together or division. I think the second one is easier to understand and easy to use? But the first is more formal?


texts: Which is correct: Saint Poetic Tradition or Saintly-Poetic Tradition or Saint-Poetic Tradition?

texts:
Which is correct: The Saint Poetic Tradition or The Saintly-Poetic Tradition or the Saint-Poetic Tradition?

I want to write about the tradition of poets who were also saints. Which of the above is correct?


texts: A name for the lag time of memory when catching up to new developments

texts:
Is there a name for the lag time of memory for when something in your environment or life changes, and you need to get accustomed to it? It’s kind of a catch-up of memory for updated knowledge to stick.
Ex. Recently we had our kitchen cabinets redone, and for this most food items and even the microwave were moved to temporary places on the other side of the kitchen for 3 weeks while we waited for the re-installation. A week after they were installed, I still find myself turning the wrong direction when I am looking to use the microwave oven in its original place.
Another comedic trope example often employed by Hollywood screenwriters …An American (North or South)  transfers to Honkers or London and still finds themselves trying to get in the wrong driver-side of the car even after 3 or 4 days until finally it sticks, but then when they go back home after 6 months the same but opposite happens.
My research comes up with the 21-day rule
, but that does not describe the memory issue, and it is mostly discounted.

Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon in the 1950s when he began noticing a strange pattern among his patients.
When Dr. Maltz would perform an operation — like a nose job, for example — he found that it would take the patient about 21 days to get used to seeing their new face. Similarly, when a patient had an arm or a leg amputated, Maxwell Maltz noticed that the patient would sense a phantom limb for about 21 days before adjusting to the new situation.

These experiences prompted Maltz to think about his own adjustment period to changes and new behaviors, and he noticed that it also took himself about 21 days to form a new habit. Maltz wrote about these experiences and said, “These, and many other commonly observed phenomena tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell (sic).”

-JamesClear.com
What is that phenomena of catch-up time for memory lag called?


texts: Is there a word that refers to both caller and callee in telecommunication?

texts: Is there a word that can refer to both caller and callee as in calling party and called party in telecommunication?


texts:
Rule says:
In a positive degree if a word ends in a consonant and there's a short vowel before the consonant, then we double the last consonant and add -er or -est.

Example: big -> bigger -> biggest

Why don't we apply this rule to
Grey?

Grey -> greyyer -> greyyest


texts: What does "better-tailor" mean, used as a verb?

texts:
I'm a bit flummoxed as to a usage of "better-tailor", apparently used as a compound verb.  It was used in this sentence I saw:

  But just like with the White House "We the People" thing, they will be able to better-tailor the letter that tells you they're shoving it down your throat whether you want it or not.

I'm guessing from context it means something like "create in a skilled way" but I've never seen this used before; can someone give me a specific meaning?


texts: What's an opposite of "endless" that's like "startless"?

texts:
To describe an event with a beginning but no end, meaning that it goes forever into the future, one could say it is "endless".

What word would describe an event with no beginning but an end, meaning that it goes forever into the past? 'Startless' doesn't seem to be used for this (or much at all).

In a sentence:

  They were so used to the custom that they considered its existence [to not have a beginning].


texts: Can I use a participial phrase in this way to modify the objects of a sentence?

texts:
I've been thinking recently about participial phrases and all the ways they can be used. I've been advised that it's good to think of them as providing a supplementary predication about the subject, which I find a very useful way of looking at them. But when a participial phrase is offset by a comma, does it always have to be the subject of the sentence who is linked to it?
For instance, is there anything grammatically wrong with this sentence? Does it sound awkward at all?

I asked Steve to tie one end of the rope around the tree, making sure the knot was as tight as he could make it, and then come and meet me on the bridge.

And similarly:

As punishment, the teacher told Dan to walk around the whole school field, picking up any litter he found.

In both cases the participial phrases offset by commas aren't linked to the subjects ("I" in the first and "the teacher" in the second) but to the objects. Is that acceptable, or is there any ambiguity?


texts: Why do we say the earth is beautiful, not handsome?

texts: Why do we say the world is beautiful?  Can't we say the world is handsome?


texts:
Say I'm on a road trip and I'm going to Hawaii. Is it correct to call Hawaii the target of the trip? How about the destination of the trip? The end point of the trip? Which is best, and what are the nuances of each?

What if I was flying by plane instead?

And what if I was walking to the video store down the block — is the video store my 'destination' or what?


texts: What does "at best" signify in "this slowly becomes annoying at best"?

texts:
What does this mean:

  This slowly becomes annoying at best

I cannot understand what the last two words of this phrase signify.


texts: Should I use "at soonest" or "as soonest"?

texts:
My sentence goes like this: "Please let us know at soonest if you can help us." Is it correct? And, if yes, is "as soonest" a possible alternative?

Thanks in advance.


texts: What would you call size that fits between small and medium?

texts:
Our UI supports small (32px wide), medium (64px) and large buttons (96px).

Now need appeared to add 48px wide buttons and it would be nice not to rename all the rest, just to give them a name which will fit them between 'small' and 'medium'. Can you suggest that?

Informal names are okay.


texts:
Can the preposition 'between' be used to modify 'segregation'?
The context is a social-science research paper.
"...the most critical and crucial cause of the residential segregation between socioeconomic groups."
I incline towards the rule that the proper preposition for segregation is (always?) 'of.'
Thanks!


texts: Expressing both completion and duration with perfect tense

texts:
Let's say that it's 2 p.m. now, and I ran this morning for 1 hour (normally I run for 30 minutes).

I want to express that I'm still tired from running - so is it correct to say, "I have run for 1 hour"?

It's not enough just to say "I have run" because I wouldnt be tired now if I had run only for 30 minutes as usual.

Nor can I say "I've been running for 1 hour" because that would mean either I'm still running or I've just finished running.


texts: Use of 'here' for an army in Modern English

texts:
I came upon that here used to be utilised for an army (more likely enemy) in Old English (also shown in Wiktionary). The same page also shows that there is a modern form of the word as here and that it could be used for an army. However, obviously such behaviour is uncommon (Google usage stats would reflect the more common adverb hence I didn't try using that to check investigate this).

Does anyone know or can think of a modern situation where this usage has happened? Alternatively, why has this specific usage of here diminished?


texts: Is “It comes with a hitch” an idiom or a simple statement?

texts:
I noticed the phrase “It comes with a hitch” in today’s (October 24) New York Times article, titled “Precious water: Empty fields fill farmers’ pocket,” followed by the lead copy:

  “With water increasingly scarce in the West, a new program is allowing some farmers to sell their allotment of it for whatever price they can find, but it comes with a hitch.”

From the context of the sentence, I understand “It comes with a hitch” means “It comes with a problem” or “It faces an obstacle.”

I checked online dictionaries including Oxford, Cambridgie and Merriam-Webster, none of which registers the usage of “(It) comes with a hitch.” as an idiom associated with the word, “hitch.” But I found many examples of “Come with a hitch” being used, for example:

Harry's' Trailers Come With a Hitch; Warners Forces Theaters to Run Double the Usual Film Previews. – Washington Post (Nov. 24, 2001)
China’s high-speed rail record comes with a hitch. – Smart Planet (July 22)
No Child Left Behind waiver comes with a hitch. – USA Today (Sept 26)

Shoud I understand “Comes with a hitch” just as a plain statment, not a fixed or well-used pattern of the words, I mean, an idiom? Is that the reason why no dictionary registers this expression?

If it isn't an idiom, which is a fixed word pattern, can I replace “(It) comes with a hitch” with “(It) comes with a glitch or an "obstacle” or "difficulty," "hardship," whatever to purport the same meaning?


texts: Historical and contemporary usage of "don't" for the third singular person

texts:
The following extract  from M-W Learner's Dictionary comments on the usage of "don't":

  Don't  is occasionally used in American English speech and in historical writing as a contraction of does not (as in, "He don't know where he is going."), but this use is now considered improper and should be avoided. Remember that in modern speech and writing, don't cannot be used in the third person singular.

Google Books actually confirms the historical usage, but this ungrammatical expression appears to be relatively common still nowadays, and not only in spoken language.

Questions:

Was the usage of "don't" for the third singular person considered grammatical/correct in the past? If so,
When and why did the "does" form become considered to be the only correct expression?
Is its current usage still and AmE thing or is it used as nonstandard expression also in other English dialects?


texts:
I think a sentence cannot start with due to. But if I need to say due to this thing something is happening how can I say it?

How can I write the following sentence correctly?

  Due to the changes of polygon shapes, similar error cannot be obtained
  when computing the residuals with respect to each other.

After posting this question, I found the following link: Can a sentence start with "Due to" (UsingEnglish.com). A post in that thread says

  "Due to" is a false friend. It means, caused by - not as a result of, because of or on account of.

    Since due to is an adjective, it needs a noun or pronoun to modify. To assure this functioning, the safest place for due to is after a form of the verb to be because there it is always serves as an adjective: "The cancellation was due to bad weather" (due to modifies the noun cancellation).

    The most dangerous placement of due to is at the head of a sentence. In "Due to rain" or in "Due to the lateness of the hour" or "Due to a cold I was unable to attend", due to is treated as an adverbial phrase. this is a misuse. A test to determine whether due to is being used correctly is to replace it with "caused by" or "attributed to", which is what due to means. If the replacements make sense, due to is correctly used, as it is in "The explosion was due to [caused by or attributed to] carelessness."

  Source: AGU Grammar and Style Guide 3.1

(Casiopea, #2 16-May-2006, 13:56)

Now I am so confused...


texts: The word for discrimination against people from other regions within a country?

texts:
I wonder if "racism" can be used to refer to discrimination against people from other regions within the same country. According to the Oxford dictionary, the definition of "racism" is:

  Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.

So it is up to the definition of "race".

Now, the definition of "race" is:

  Each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics.

However, people from other regions usually don't have different physical characteristics.

Is there any such word to refer to discrimination against people who were born and/or grew up in other regions within the same country?


texts: Police officer working undercover as an inmate

texts:
Is there a term for a police officer or someone else working for a country's security forces who masquerades as an inmate and is put into a cell with a suspect in order to extract information?

I'm not sure that informant works here..


texts: Does the sentence "I recycle a paper" make sense?

texts:
Could the following sentence make sense?

  I recycle a paper.

It's from one of the school English exam's answers, and we're arguing about giving the whole point or half point. The teachers have given the whole point to answers such as "I recycle a piece of paper", "I recyle papers", etc.


texts: Orwell: "A glimmer [is] one who watches vacant motor-cars." What does this mean?

texts: Title is a quote from Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. In this section he goes through a bunch of London slang terms and what they mean, but I don't understand his definition. What does it mean to watch vacant motor-cars? The only thing I can think of is someone who you pay when you park who makes sure nobody steals your car when it's gone. But how does that work? What assurance does the driver have that the person watching won't just leave or steal the car themselves?


texts: Should the words "internet" and "web" be capitalized?

texts:
There seems to be some inconsistency on whether people capitalize the words internet and web (as in World Wide Web) as proper nouns. What is the official ruling on when or if these words should be capitalized?

Obviously, I am not asking about when they are the first word in a sentence or in the title of a book or other publication.

Example:

  "The web is the most commonly known
  feature of the Internet."


texts: Which idiom is the correct one in this sentence?

texts:
He was a handsome young man with full potential and great intellect,
  he wasn’t a director of this organization for nothing.

The last part of the sentence has double negative and I'm curious if I'm using it correctly or it should be, "he wasn’t a director of this organization not for nothing"?


texts: Word for "visualising exactly what would have happened there"

texts:
In movies, characters go to a crime scene or something like that, find clues and they visualize like seeing what exactly would have happened there. My knowledge allowed me to find words like visualization, envision, envisage etc but nothing seems to be close enough.

I am looking for a name for my game. Beautiful English words welcomed :)

Thanks.


texts: Citing publications with stylized titles

texts:
In a situation where the title of a work is stylized, e.g. "Choose the Red Pill and the Blue Pill", should this title be fully italicized as Choose the Red Pill and the Blue Pill when cited?

It would obviously leave out the emphasis from the title. Are there conventions on how to tackle these situations?


texts: What word decribes the way to make the "I18N" abbreviation?

texts:
If I abbreviate a word taking the first letter, then the number of letters in between, and then the last letter, what do you call this action?

For example:

  Internationalization → I18N


texts: Can one correctly hyperbolize the "take with a grain of salt" idiom?

texts:
There is a common (IMOE) English idiom, "take with a grain (or pinch) of salt", meaning one should be skeptical about the information it accompanies. Many times in the last year I've heard others try to exaggerate the meaning by changing the amount of salt in the idiom, for example:

"I heard that restaurant is bad, but take it with a huge grain of salt"
"Parking in that part of town isn't difficult; take it with many grains of salt"
"Take it with an extremely tiny grain of salt, but my friend hated that movie."

I've understood this idiom to originate from an old antidote recipe, either real or allegorical. In this context, I don't understand how changing the amount of salt in the idiom changes its meaning. From conversational cues, I can sometimes distinguish whether the person means (1) "this isn't just hearsay, it's very unreliable" or (2) "I trust this source a lot, so it might be incorrect, but I doubt it". Many times, I cannot tell how the person means to change the idiom.

Question: Is there an explanation for the origin of this idiom which allows its meaning to change with the amount of salt described?

Follow-up: Is there a common understanding of the variances I've listed that have simply never been explained to me? E.g., more salt correlates with more suspicion warranted or vice/versa?


texts: Choosing between objective and subjective pronouns

texts:
Which of the following sentences uses the correct pronoun forms and why?

  My parents met in Havana -- him an artist and her a singer.

  My parents met in Havana -- he an artist and she a singer.


texts:
Can anyone confidently assert that "x-times" can be used preceding an adjective that is not comparative? It's role would be simple emphasis, like "very." Here are thought up examples. I cannot find any satisfying real-life usage.

You are ten-times beautiful.
The concert was a thousand-times amazing.
I am a hundred-times forgetful.
It is hard to look you in your a thousand-times stormy eyes.

Thanks!


texts:
The setting is at a restaurant table/booth and I'm trying to describe a hanging lamp/candle/ornament/chandelier that is basically in the character's face.

The first word that came to my mind was overbearing, but I'm guessing it's more of a personality trait than an actual physical adjective. Even in-your-face synonyms all seem related to attitude.

Should I say overwhelming? Larger than life? If you have any suggestions, let me know please!

Thank you!


texts:
Is it proper to speak of units of a continuous quantity as if they are discrete or continuous?

For example, I never know whether I should say that some food has "less calories" than another food (because the calorie is a unit of energy, which is continuous) or that it has "fewer calories" (since the calorie is a unit of measure and spoken of in plural).


texts: Is there a word which means "having a frequency of decades" or "per decade"? What about century and millennium?

texts:
I have a document with the headings: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and decadely. Google Chrome, Google Docs, and Dictionary.com insist that "decadely" is not a word. Furthermore, deacadely sounds and looks weird to me.

Is there a word I am unaware of which captures this meaning?

What would you call something that happens each century or each millennium?


texts: How the west was won - Is this a noun phrase?

texts:
I'm trying to determine what the following types of phrases (in bold within the sentences below) would be called.  I want to say they're noun phrases, but I may be wrong.  To me, these resolve to nouns that can be used as subjects or objects, so that's why I think they might be noun phrases, but they're more complex than examples of noun phrases I am finding on line.

How the west was won is something that they still debate.
What it was was not clear to me then, and wouldn't be for years to come.
I can show you how to tie a tie.
She had a tendency to promise that which should never be promised.


texts: What is one "content" item in a Wikipedia called?

texts:
I think that my question can best be explained by an example: In the following Wikipedia entry (I hope "entry" is the right term), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Herring, there are multiple "sections" or "chunks" referred to as "contents" in the page:

I highlighted a single such "content" with a green border to show that it's not really a paragraph, because it can be comprised of multiple paragraphs.

On the other hand, I don't feel calling it a "section" is right because sections are usually much longer (as in a book or newspaper).

The title above it is simple: "title" or "heading" but what about the content chunk itself? What is the correct or clearest term for that?


texts: Singular or plural verbs with idioms that start with singular articles

texts:
I wonder which verb form, singular or plural, is grammatically correct in the following sentence:
"Education and welfare is/are a matter of concern to us."


texts: Correct English: "Get sick" or "fall sick"

texts:
Whats the correct English
"I got sick last night" or "I fell sick last night"?


texts:
What is the meaning of objects in mirror are losing phrase?

Does it mean that the driver which is reading the phrase on the wing mirror will see all the cars behind him and if it were the speed race those car behind would lose?


texts: Is there a more common and not humorous word for pedipulate?

texts:
I just asked a question on The Great Outdoors SE about snowshoes, and said that I found large snowshoes hard to manipulate, and then changed manipulate to pedipulate, not even knowing if that was a word.  But it is! Oxford Living Dictionaries says of pedipulate:

  rare

  [with object] To work with the feet. Chiefly humorous

And then says of its origin:

  Late 19th century; earliest use found in Family Herald. Humorously
  from pedi- + -pulate, after manipulate.

I looked up pedipulate, synonyms and, on the first two pages of the Google response, found no synonyms. The closest I got was on Foboko, which said:

  Synonyms for pedipulate

  No synonyms were found for this word

But this source did not have a definition or a sample sentence either, so they know less than I do.  And on page two, the search degenerated into "how to use uttermost in a sentence", which is unhelpful to the uttermost.

One could, of course, use phrases like "less clumsy", but is there an unhumorous synonym for pedipulate?  I could even use manipulate and people would know what I meant, but is manipulate the only non-humorous answer to my Q?

Sample sentence:  I find it difficult to ____________ large snowshoes.

Response to Comment of @1006a:  A generic term is too easy.  I'd like something that references feet or brings feet immediately to mind.


texts:
I recently received a reply from someone around two weeks ago stating that they would send me an email within a week as they were going overseas.  We were discussing a good time to call.

How would I word an email asking:

What would be a good time to talk
How his overseas trip went to New York.

I was thinking of something along the lines of:

Hey John, Just checking if you've had time to send your email, how did your overseas trip go?

However, my idea sounds extremely inpolite and rude considering asking if he has had time.  Any ideas?

Thanks


texts: Blind, compulsive adherence to the rules, regardless of circumstance

texts:
I'm looking for a word, term, or phrase that refers to a type of behaviour; somewhat similar to what's commonly known as "Malicious Compliance"; but without the necessary implication of malice aforethought.

That is to say; the behaviour in question is characterised by a strict, blind adherence to the rules. Regardless of (or ignorant to) the potentially negative impact it may have or the damage it could cause without considering any unique, individual, or extenuating circumstances. Possibly even to the detriment of the system that the rules are intended to protect.


texts: Is this an objective complement or adjective phrase?

texts:
In ‘catch me off guard’, is the ‘off guard’ an objective complement or adjective phrase that modifies ‘me’?

  My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight.


texts: In which case does author use "for" in the following sentences?

texts:
I undid the lantern cautiously(for the hinges creaked)

His room was dark (for the shutters were close fastened, through the fear of robbers)

I could see nothing of the old man's face : for i had directed the ray as if  by instinct....

Thanks for attention.


texts:
Which one of the following is correct to use?

New diagnosed cases.

Newly diagnosed cases.


texts: Is there a difference between "can only be" and "must be"?

texts:
I have been recently corrected that this sentence

  "The argument can only be zero."

should be changed to

  "The argument must be zero."

This is in context of a computer programme presenting an error message to the user.

For me there is not much of a difference here, apart from the second one sounding stronger (is it true?). What is native speakers view on this, please?


texts: Equivalent expressions for 'I will reply in the near future' or 'before too long'

texts:
I'm looking for equivalent expressions for 'In the near future' & 'before too long'. I'd use these terms in the following way
'I will reply to you in the near future (or before too long)'.
I think 'soon' is the basic meaning of the both. So 'soon' is one option. But I'm looking other expressions.
Some research:

in the near future
Very soon, within a short time. For example, We'll be needing a new car in the near future . This term employs near in the sense of “close at hand,” a usage dating from about 1300. Also see at hand , def. 2. The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary.
google
before too long
“before too long” figuratively means the exact opposite of “a long time long in the future”. This double negative (which is a form of understatement) is called litotes (thanks to RegDwight for pointing this out). It's the same as saying “not bad” when you actually mean “quite good indeed”.Jan 13, 2011
google


texts: What does the gesture to touch the side of your nose with a forefinger mean?

texts:
I came across the phrase, ‘touching the side of his nose with a forefinger’ in Jeffery Archer’s short story titled ‘Politically Correct’.
The hero of the story warns the porter of his apartment about a neighbor he feels ‘dodgy’:

  ‘Keep your ear to the ground, Dennis,’ he added, touching the side of his nose with a forefinger. ‘Although our masters have decided it’s not politically correct, I have to tell you I don’t like the look of him.’

It seems to me the gesture of touching the side of nose to be a sign of saying ‘be careful.’ Am I correct? Though using the forefinger, not the middle finger, isn’t this gesture confused with the bird? I’m asking this as we Japanese don’t have this kind of gestures, but for pointing my own nose with a forefinger, signifying ‘It’s me.’

Additionally, I’m thankful if you tell me who ‘our masters’ are?


texts:
Most dictionaries list "gentler" as the comparative form of "gentle", but "more gentle" also sounds correct. According to this forum post, it is.

EDIT March 14, 2020

Another question investigates the general rules for forming disyllabic comparatives: Conundrum: "cleverer" or "more clever", "simpler" or "more simple" etc. The conclusion is that, outside of words with some specific endings, a dictionary must be consulted for each case. In contrast to that question, this question addresses a specific word and the degree to which modern dictionaries are correct in defining its comparative.


texts: Word constellation when using 'neither... nor'

texts:
I would like to express that I am not something, as well that I never was it or ever will be.

This is what I wrote:

  Neither I am, nor was I ever, nor will I ever be [...]

This appears to be wrong to me. I did some research, but for both the above and a slightly different variant:

  Neither I am, nor ever was I, nor I ever will be [...]

only one usage example turns up.

So what would be the correct order of words here?


texts: Is "... the concept builds on the ..." grammatically correct?

texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say:

  "The concept builds on the principles of the money measurement concept."

Or should it be:

  "The concept is built on the principles of the money measurement concept."

Thank you in advance for your answer.


texts: Idiom for someone "not from this world"?

texts:
Are there idioms (or single words) in English for people who behave like they have come from another world where everything is perfect and know nothing about the reality? They usually come up with ideas that can never work, but look attractive if you don't analyze them properly. They know nothing about science, and it seems they don't know that people lie, cheat and get violent.
PS in Russian we usually use the word "эльфы" (elves) for such people, and they are supposedly visiting our world from the "world of elves". It's usually considered pejorative.


texts: Space is to spatial as place is to what adjective?


texts:
Is this label telling the consumer that it is best to consume the drink 7 to 10 days after opening it?

I know what they are getting at, but I feel like it should say "Best if consumed within 7 to 10 days of opening". Is my suspicion correct?

This is what I perceive like the label is really saying

    |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|
       1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10
   (Opened)                        (Best consumed here)


texts: Does anybody know the origin of the phrase ‘clued up’?

texts: Does anybody know the origin of the phrase 'clued up'?


texts: Is "am" in "I am right" an auxiliary verb?

texts:
Consider these sentences:

  The ice was thick enough to walk on.

  They were in a hurry.

  There is enough salt in it.

  It is freezing.

  I am right.

Are the italicized verbs auxiliary verbs?

Update: Let me explain why I asked this question.

The above sentences are from exercise 6 "Auxiliary verbs" from the book "A Practical English Grammar Exercises 1".

From the 36 sentences in exercise 6, all except the above mentioned five sentences are indeed sentences that contain auxiliary verbs (may, must, can, will, had, etc.).

So, what happened here? Why are those five sentences in this exercise? Is it an oversight?

View image in full resolution here: http://i.stack.imgur.com/gjn8J.gif


texts: Hyphens to join compound modifiers in which the last word is the present or past participle of a verb

texts:
I am unclear of the need for hyphens here:

It was French in design, with elaborate English rococo inspired wainscoting.

Should it be English-rococo-inspired wainscoting or is it fine as is?  It certainly looks "nicer" without the hyphens, and adding a comma after elaborate makes the sentence look too "busy".  Help, please.


texts: Is the use of the indefinite article 'a' with the word 'staff' considered standard

texts:
The word staff can apparently refer to a member of a group of service personnel. (Dictionary.com mentions this as one of the meanings of staff: a member of a staff.)

I was wondering how native speakers look upon this usage of the word staff. For example, consider the sentence I called a staff aside. I know a less questionable way to rephrase the sentence might be I called a staff member aside. But is the first version acceptable; does it sound outlandish?


texts: Conditional clause to describe a same situation, but possible for some people, and impossible for others?

texts:
There are three types of conditional clause:

First conditional: use in possible condition
If I have enough money, I will go to Japan.
Second conditional: use in unhappened condition
If I had enough money, I would go to Japan.
Third conditional: use in unreal but wish to happened condition
If I had had enough money, I would have gone to Japan.

Consider this sentence:

  If we only needed to talk to people in our country, it would be needless to learn new languages.

I am writing this sentence in a learning language website. In that context, we can assume that everyone will talk to people from other countries, so I can conclude that the otherwise is an unhappened condition, therefore the second conditional is best to use. However, it is not true that everyone will have to do that, so it is possible to use first conditional. In short, for some people, not going to talk in a foreign language is possible, while for other it's impossible. The conditional to use would be 1.5, if it existed.

Is there a way to transmit this meaning?


texts:
Which pronoun is correct in the following sentence?

  No one but her/she ever made a perfect score on the test

The answer according to the book is "her", but it is getting on my nerves.
I tried solving it by making a different statement as follows:

  She made a perfect score on the test

Why does using "No one but" change it to accusative case?


texts: Idiom for a complex task that can't be done a better way, and any changes made would only further complicate?

texts:
I'm working on a task, and without going into specifics, the same information is used over and over again. I've been tasked with consolidating the information, but to do so would require me to either create something unnecessarily long and frankly not involve much changing other than format as the useful stuff is different for each information block.

I could however automatically pull all of the basic information together, but it would run into an issue of not being much use, as it's going to require the same work in order to accomplish it.

Together they make the work either unnecessarily convoluted or don't do much to reduce the work done to create the product.

Some things that are close but don't really hit the mark are

  Putting lipstick on a pig

But that doesn't really fit the spirit. I'm not making it look better and it's going to be ugly whether I change it or not.

There's also

  going from my thumb to my pinky by way of my elbow

But that only touches on the complication of it, not that any changes would go to the "leg" before the "elbow" in this phrase.

What's a phrase I could use to describe this situation?


texts: I have a sentence where someone uses the phrase, "she is also a great recourse". Could that be correct? Or are they confusing the word for "resource"? A person can have recourse to another person(higher in the chain of command or outside party), but is it proper to call them a "recourse"?


texts: My friend said to me one day: "We have a mice problem at UNI". Is "a mice problem" grammatical as opposed to "a mouse problem"?


texts: Word for winning because the competitors were miraculously all worse

texts:
What's the word in the phrase

  winning by _____

To describe the scenario when one enters a form of competition and their entry or performance, whatever it may be, happens to be fairly below par but they still win because by happenstance the rest of the competitors were miraculously all worse?

It isn't

  winning by default

Because it describes the scenario of winning because the rest of the competitors happened to not show or were disqualified.


texts: Hi! I was wondering: Nostalgia ? Wanderlust?

texts:
How did these foreign terms for emotions get into English?
They all describe a feeling of something imagined. Some examples:

Nostalgia
Wanderlust
Fernweh

This group of words amazes me and makes me fascinated with the meaning behind them. English is not my first language.


texts: I wonder whether it would be correct say "mind-blowingly" in a sentence like this: "Mind-blowingly simple way to sell online".


texts: How do I ask "who has done the most number of things" properly

texts:
Sorry if the title is confusing. Basically I want to ask people "who has done a certain thing for the most number/times" but I don't know to properly construct the sentence.

Please help me.