texts: Is it correct to say "We will be arriving into "?

texts:
Often, when getting the train to work in the morning, shortly before arriving at our terminus the conductor will announce "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, we will shortly be arriving into London Euston".

This sounds so wrong to me, but so many of the different conductors say it that I'm now starting to doubt myself.

Is what they're saying correct? As far as I'm concerned they should say "We will shortly be arriving at London Victoria".

I know that similar questions have been asked (e.g. When do we use "arrive at" versus "arrive in"?), but they don't deal with this specific usage of arriving at a train station.


texts:
What do you call a person who despite being very clever in one field, e.g. math or physics, behaves very unwisely or impractical in real life?
I know some people who are very well educated and can solve difficult scientific problems, but they seem to belong to some different society. They can easily be cheated by any fraud, they are often absentminded so they lose their belonging all the time etc.
Do you have a word for this kind of people?


texts:
We can form negative versions of words such as audible and edible in English by adding in- to produce inaudible and inedible. How would you describe the special phonological processes involved in the pronunciation of the negative versions of the following words?

balance -> in + balance → imbalance,  legal - in + legal → illegal,  complete - in + complete → incomplete, possible - in + possible → impossible, rational in + rational → irrational
I did try do it, but not sure that did well. And can you explain about following words?
 compatible , decent, glorious, gratitude, , literate, mature, perfect, , responsible, sane, tolerant, variable


texts: Is the Word Homeopathy Used Inappropriately?

texts:
It seems this word is used synonymously with home cures, whereas the definition is much more specific, and also more detracting.

The definition from Merriam-Webster:

Homeopathy

  a system for treating illnesses that uses very small amounts of substances that would in larger amounts produce symptoms of the illnesses in healthy people

I see a lot of "home remedies" that are billed as homeopathic (will cite if there's disagreement), but none not many that I've encountered would be considered a source that would "produce symptoms of the illness". Treatments that some might clearly question, like acupuncture or herbs, etc., are often billed as homeopathic. But even naysayers to acupuncture or most herbal remedies wouldn't say their applications would actually cause symptoms, much less the exact symptoms of the condition being treated.

  in larger amounts

So, some herbs are clearly poisonous. However, given the vast array of applications, even if one would say a homeopathic herb is poisonous, how often does it cause the very condition the purveyor is trying to cure? I'd say rarely (see below for "Rhus Toxicodendron").

The definition is so specific about causing illness and (I guess implied) that it causes the same illness, that this word seems rather abundantly misused.

Is this a case of the dictionary being behind the times? Have I missed something between the definition and its application?

Edit:

So, based on discussions, I want to just clarify that I'm generally asking, is this word, in practice, used more generally to refer to a wider scope of remedies that are more accurately described as holistic, non-western medical remedies like herbal, acupuncture, or "home remedies", etc. Is its formal definition too constrained given its usage, or is this a case of widespread misuse?

Citations:

Homeopathic remedies for acne:

http://www.homeopathycenter.org/acne

Two points on the types of cures: 1) the "remedies" certainly don't cause acne (i.e. does not "produce symptoms of the illness") and 2) there's really no emphasis either on using "small amounts" of the remedy.

Homeopathic remedies for poison ivy:

http://www.homeopathyworks.com/blog/homeopathy-for-poison-ivy-and-poison-oak/

This page prescribes "Rhus Toxicodendron" which is poison ivy. So, in this sense it meets the definition provided by MW.

However,

  "Homeopaths prescribe Rhus tox. for a number of complaints including poison ivy, chicken pox, back pain , colds, herpes, hives , flu, mumps, measles, sore throat , nerve pain, muscle strains and sprains, dermatitis , arthritis, bursitis , carpal tunnel, rheumatism, and fevers." (http://www.encyclopedia.com/medicine/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rhus-toxicodendron)

So, "homeopaths" are using poison ivy to cure/treat a wide array of "complaints" beyond what is a typical list of "symptoms of the illnesses [poison ivy] in healthy people".


texts: Was V.S. Naipaul correct that "the buckle of the Bible Belt” contains mixed metaphors?

texts:
In his travel book A Turn in the South, he writes, "The magazine in   my  hotel   room,   mixing  its metaphors,  said    that    Nashville was 'the  buckle  of  the Bible   Belt.'"
Was he correct? I can't figure out his reasoning.


texts:
Active: He let me go there.
Passive: I am let go there by him.
Or
I am allowed to go there by him.
Which 1 is correct?
Can we use [BE(am/is/are)+LET+VERB] -this structure in a sentence?


texts: Are any senses of the word 'candidate' acceptable for attributive-noun usage?

texts:
I've just used 'candidate' attributively to mean '[worth considering as] a real possibility [for the purpose stated, or implied by context] (eg a candidate term or construction).

I've not been able to find a licensing of any attributive usage in AHDEL, Collins, M-W, RHK Webster's or Google Dictionary.

YourDictionary merely lists variously sourced examples of the usage meaning 'relating to / worthy of a candidate':

  As soon as Jake Weller left, Cynthia questioned her husband about the
  candidate filing papers Weller handed him.

  Dean pulled down the top on his Jeep and slowly drove uptown,
  giving off what he hoped were candidate smiles and waves to the
  locals, all of whom seemed to be walking the sun drenched street.

I have found one incidental example of the 'obviously should be at least considered as a possibility' sense within Wiktionary Talk:

  en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Talk:Donald_Duck

  WT:CFI does not define
  "attributive". If you have your own candidate definition of
  "attributive" ...

But is such a usage acceptable?


texts: Using "collectively comprising" to mean "which, in all, make up"

texts:
I have a sentence It has 42 cities collectively comprising 188 villages.

I am thinking of using the phrase collectively comprising to be a more formal form of which, in all, make up to mean something like:

It has 42 cities which, in all, make up 188 villages.

Is it grammatically correct to use collectively comprising for this matter? Or are there better alternatives which convey the idea more clearly?


texts: Why does "no problems" go with plural verb?

texts:
It is a general rule in English that singular verb goes with singular noun.

However, I find it strange when in certain clauses like "there were no problems", the verb is plural.
In this case, does "no problems" have the same meaning as "no problem"?
If it does, why is the verb plural?

In addition, if my sentence subject is 2 non-count nouns, or a non-count noun and a singular noun, joined by a conjunction like "and", will the verb be singular or plural and why?

Finally, when we combine 2 nouns together without any word in between, like "sport products", do we always have to use the singular form for the 1st noun? What is the difference in meaning between "sports products" and "sport products"?

For the case when we use a preposition to connect nouns like "the price of laptop", is OK if we use "the prices of laptop" or do we have to use "laptop prices"?

Edit:no problems means zero problem or it means that there is either zero or one problem? Either way, the meaning suggests it is no more than one, and hence should be singular. In other words, I think it is more reasonable for no problems to go with a singular verb.

**P.S: Don't get me wrong. I am not criticizing anything. I like English but sometimes I do find strange things, from my point of view, non-native speaker view. That's why I ask this question.

***P.S 2: for the last question, I'll make a separate topic for further discussion.


texts: In Spanish 'Ocho' means 'eight', or 'Ocho' means 'eight' in English?

texts:
I only picked the number eight to shorten the title, but this question is for any scenario where you are explaining to someone what something means in another language.  I've heard this said both ways, in one case it was on sesame street. The character said (sang),

  "No me gusta. (In Spanish that means, 'I don't like')"

The above seems wrong to me, but I would think an educational show would be sure to use the correct version.  Off the top of my head I can't think where I heard the other way, I think it was on an episode of "The X-Files". It was something along the lines of...

  "Scully, 'blah blah blah' means Alien in English."

I wasn't sure how to tag this question.


texts:
I'm currently writing a security guideline for my company, and I need to make different rules for digital files and documents on paper.

I was wondering if there were any good words to mean "on paper".

Analogue is obviously not the word. Non-digital seems alright, but it somewhat give too much emphasis to digital files. It makes it seem as if digital is one thing and there's the rest, and that's not the case.

I would really appreciate it if you could find the word that would fit just right.


texts:
The OED says noogie means a "hard poke or grind with the knuckles, esp. on a person's head" with a first quotation from 1968.

They say it was popularised by Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s but is of "Origin unknown".

There's nothing on Etymonline.

So where does the word noogie come from?

What's the etymology?

Can you find anything earlier?


texts: What's the figure of speech used in "Get the facts, or the facts will get you. And when you get them, get them right, or they will get you wrong."?


texts:
merriam-webster.com:

  1. I forgot all about paying the bill.

  collinsdictionary.com:

  2. He loves animals and he knows all about them.

As written in the dictionaries, "all" is an adverb here. I absolutely can't understand it. Why is it not a pronoun here?

If it's an adverb, then how is it possible that an adverb is used as a direct object? Because as far as I can judge, "all" is a direct object here.

Thanks!


texts:
I can't understand the three nouns referred to in the title. They are in different sentences and I could've created two different question, so if it violates the rules, I will move the second part to another question. I've searched many dictionaries but I still have difficulty guessing the meaning.

What is the meaning of big business and expertise in the following sentence?

  For urban Europe, bicycle policy expertise has become big
  business. Cities seeking new businesses, tourists, and expats, now
  consider a vibrant cycling culture an index of health and
  prosperity.

Promoting sth is high on sth. Is it a grammatical sentence? I could easily understand if it was benefits of promoting.

  Promoting the benefits of urban cycling is also high on urban
   planners’ mobility and environmental sustainability agendas, to solve
   the structural problems facing cities today.


texts: What is a word for a person who is easily amazed?

texts: What is a word for a person who is amazed at everything, no matter how big or small? (Either an adjective or a noun would be fine)


texts:
I am writing maintenance instructions together with a colleague. We are non-native and are quibbling about this sentence:

Open the door by 10 cm.

My colleague claims that the preposition by is not necessary. I claim the opposite. Neither can find a source to support his viewpoint.

Does anyone have a - supported - answer?


texts: Which phrase is correct, "what happened is” or “what happened was"?


texts: This sentence is Past Simple or Participle "The sheep all baaed in unison."?

texts:
This sentence "The sheep all baaed in unison." is Past Simple or Participle?

And could give me somes examples of Past Simple and Participle using the word "baaed".


texts:
What is the difference between "namely" and "in particular" in the following? Is one better?

The equation has a unique solution. Namely, it is the straight line between A and B.
The equation has a unique solution. In particular, it is the straight line between A and B.


texts: Why is this wrong? I have become sick for 2 days

texts:
I am an Assistant English teacher and today my co-worker(main English teacher), asked me why this sentence is not ok;

I have become sick for 2 days.

I told him that you should use been instead of become, but I could not tell him why.


texts: I edited this question and used "daisy chain" as a verb. I'm wondering if that title is technically grammatically correct.


texts: What do you call a negatively connoted advice-giver?

texts:
Some people (especially the older ones) are very prone to give other people moral advice. And I search for how to call somebody who is doing this so extensively that his environment is just exhausted (sick of it) from hearing that much advices.

Example: If a group of boys would try to return their ball of a neighbor by themselves, he would point out that it's not a good decision and they should rather ask the neighbor.
If a group of students have to do the homework together and someone has the solution for it, he would point out, that this is morally not alright and they should do it by themselves.


texts: What purpose does third-person verb conjugation serve or used to serve?

texts:
There is one thing in English that doesn't make sense to me: adding 's' (or 'es') to verbs when the subject is a third person. It seems redundant and adds no extra information to the sentence.

"I like cakes", but "he likes cakes" --> 's' serves no purpose here.
In other European languages, there are conjugations for other subjects as well, e.g. in Dutch: "ik spreek", "jij spreekt", "jullie spreken". All of those conjugations are, in my opinion, purposeless in modern languages.

But as a product of linguistic evolution, they must have been there to serve a purpose. That purpose is lost now but I'm very interested in finding out what it was.


texts: Word for destroying someone's heart physically

texts:
For example, decapitate means to cut off someone's head.

Is there a word that means to rip out someone's heart or destroy a heart?


texts: Why do Christianity and Islam not end with "-ism"?

texts:
Apart from Christianity and Islam all more wide-spread religions seem to end in "-ism", such as Hinduism, Confucianism or Judaism.

According to Wikipedia

  It means "taking side with" or "imitation of", and is often used to describe philosophies, theories, religions, social movements, artistic movements and behaviors.

which makes absolute sense, but why are Christianity and Islam exceptions?


texts: Can "among" and "amongst" have different contextual meanings?

texts:
After reading the answers to What is the distinction between "among" and "amongst"?, I realize there are no dictionary differences between the words and most would consider "amongst" a bit archaic. However, the following example seems to suggest there are at least contextual ambiguities that can arise if we use the words interchangeably.

  Let’s discuss the issues among the departments.

  Let’s discuss the issues amongst the departments.

  The first sentence using among means there are issues between
  departments. The second sentence using amongst means we want to talk
  to the departments about the issues. - source: from the comments

Is this explanation correct, or are the proposed differences presenting a false sense of clarity where "issues" remains ambiguous regardless of using "among" or "amongst?"


texts: What is the difference between an infinitive and a gerund as subject of a sentence?

texts:
To run is good
Running is good

What is the difference in meaning?


texts: What is the origin for left being used to indicate socialist/liberals, and right is used for capitalists/conservatives on the political spectrum?

texts: It seem like it's completely arbitrary, so I'm curious what the reason for having one direction to mean one thing over another.


texts: What are the guidelines for usage of "will" and "is/are going to"?

texts: I use them interchangeably, however I'd like to know when one is better or more appropriate than the other.


texts: Is it correct to place the adverb 'now' in this position in this sentence?

texts:
Zoom calls were a thing, no longer a mere irritation of the lectures and offices we had escaped, but necessary now to connect with family less than twenty miles away.

Am I correct to put 'now' after 'necessary'? Technically it is grammatically incorrect to put an adverb after an adjective, but in my opinion sounds better here. Is it because 'now' is actually modifying the infinitive 'to connect'?


texts: Do you know the term "She is a people's person"?

texts:
Do you know the term "She is a people's person."?
I cannot find it in a dictionary. My husband says he knows it from Washington, D.C.


texts: Word that describes being "patriotic" for something that is not a country?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that is similar to patriotic but does not relate to one's country (or state).

For what it's worth, I'm specifically referring to "overly patriotic" in a negative sense, to describe someone who has a overly sentimental/cultural or otherwise less-than-rational attachment or devotion to something and makes it part of their very identity. A common example might be an extremely zealous football fan.


texts: Why isn’t “It’s” a complete sentence, but “It is” is?

texts:
I’m a native English speaker, so I understand that

  It’s.

is not a complete sentence, whereas the sentence

  It is.

is a complete sentence.

What linguistic mechanism prevents “It’s.” from being a complete sentence in English?


texts:
The injunctions (and super-injunctions) that occasionally make the headlines restrain a defendant from doing something.  It is fairly clear (e.g. OED) that the word was formed as a noun from enjoin in the sense of stop, and has various uses.  There is, however, a continuing need for a specific verb in the legal context (The Court granted an injunction to stop him doing it/ he was ???ed from doing it). It is increasingly common for this verb (both in the media and in court) to be "injunct", which is in the dictionary, but only as 'colloq.'.  It seems to me that a word that is colloquial (and very ugly) has no place in a courtroom; but since most of the people who use it are High Court judges, I thought I'd see whether fellow EL&Uers agree with me.  Is it worth campaigning to restore enjoin here, or indeed is there a better replacement?

TL;DR  Injunct is an illegitimate back-formation from injunction, which actually came from enjoin.  Is it too late to stop this word polluting our beautiful language?


texts: If abnormal means "not normal", then why are the original, native people called "aboriginal" people?

texts: Shouldn't they be called original people as opposed to aboriginal people?


texts: Word for arrangement when things are placed according to their sizes?

texts: I am looking for a word for arrangement in which things are placed according to their sizes. Like the biggest, smaller than biggest, ....., smallest. The arrangement fashion could be horizontal or vertical (stacked onto each other).


texts: What do you call the publisher's logo on the title page and spine of a book?

texts: There is a word for the publisher's logo at the bottom of the title page and on the spine of a book, but I can't recall it.


texts: Is there a term for a question and answer pair?

texts: Is there a single word that encapsulates the idea of a question and answer pairing or grouping? So far, google has turned up nothing helpful on the topic. Naturally, reviewing the options for both questions and answers in a thesaurus turns up nothing because the alternatives are similar to the idea of one or the other, but not both combined.


texts: Is a "A path to X..." a structural metaphor?

texts:
Is "A path to X..." a structural metaphor?

For example,

  A path to happiness.

or

  A path to success.


texts: Could you please help me phrase a question?

texts:
I would be grateful if you could help me figure out the right way to say some phrases in English. I have been wondering for a long time how to ask a client about the number of days he wants to rent a car. I say it in two different ways:

How long do you want to rent a car for?
How many days do you want to rent a car?

Are any of these sentences correct? What would be the right way to say it?

Thank you in advance))


texts: How to phrase "my time and Bob's time" more succinctly?

texts: I can say "Bob and I are going" instead of "I'm going and Bob is going." I want to say something like "This is a waste of my time and Bob's time," but only saying "time" once. I can't say "our" because I'm introducing the other person's name in this sentence. The best I can think of is "This is a waste of me and Bob's time," but that seems incorrect.


texts: Yesterday, I met Susan at the grocer's. - Is the comma here incorrect?

texts:
Revising to the exam again...

In a chapter dedicated to something else, in the answers to an exercise, there was such a sentence:

  Yesterday I met Susan at the grocer's. / I met Susan at the grocer's yesterday.

Problem is, when I was doing this exercise, I wrote this sentence in this way:

  Yesterday, I met Susan at the greengrocer's.

I'm very doubtful about this comma.

I must confess: I don't know (or remember) any rule that would say if the comma here is necessary? acceptable? Incorrect? I must confess: When I was learning English in school, I consciously skipped learning all those comma rules and instead I was relying on my intuition, which, I think, was becoming better and better the more English texts I was reading and the more commas my teacher was crossing out or putting in my tests with her red pen.

And now, my intuition strongly tells me that the natural order of words in English, in case of this sentence, is:

  I met Susan at the grocer's yesterday.

So, if I put "yesterday" at the beginning of this sentence, I'm inverting the usual order of words, thus necessitating a comma. (In a manner similar to conditional sentences: The usual order is "blah1 if blah2", so if I'm inverting it, I must put a comma: "if blah2, (then) blah1" but not "if blah2 (then) blah1".)

Is my intuition correct here? (I suppose it's not, since this would imply this book has another error, and while that's not impossible, I find it more likely that I'm wrong.) Which rule is appropriate here?

EDIT: Since someone marked my question a dupe of a couple of other questions that deal with possessive forms of store names: To make it clear: My question has NOTHING to do with store names and possessives! It is all about the comma after "yesterday" - this "grocer's" part is just to provide a full sentence example of my concern.


texts: Usage of sobriquets in formal (philosophical) writing

texts:
I translate a lot of philosophical articles from Spanish to English. One of the quirks of Spanish academic writing is its use of sobriquets (i.e. nicknames) for philosophers and other thinkers, in order to avoid constantly repeating [Name-of-philosopher] over and over again.

In the case at hand, the article is about Hannah Arendt, and uses the phrase "la filósofa alemana" (the German philosopher) or simply "la alemana" (the German).

Any thoughts on whether this kind of "nicknaming" is appropriate in English academic writing?


texts:
Can anybody help me with that?
I've had a look at dictionary and yahoo search before but I can't find out
what does exactly "for the record mean"

Foe example:

  And for the record he wasn't agreed with that


texts: Future perfect or future perfect continuous

texts:
In this sentence : "By this time next year,he.......(work) here for 7 years.
Do we say : he will have worked or will have been working?


texts: What does a person “with about two dollars to one’s name” mean?

texts:
I found the phrase, “a homeless man in New York with about two dollars to his name” in the New Yorker magazine’s article (November 29, 2011) titled “Politics of Dissolution.” It begins with the following sentence

“You can’t get much further apart on the socio-economic ladder that Peter Thiel and Ray Kachel. The former is a silicon Valley billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist with sharply conservative –libertarian views, the latter is, currently, a homeless man in New York City, with left-wing politics and about two dollars to his name.”

As I didn’t get the idea of a homeless man ‘with about two dollars to his name,’ I looked for its meaning on Google.

Wikipedia provides the definition of ‘two dollar’ simply as “the United States two-dollar bill is a current denomination of US currency. President Thomas Jefferson is featured on the obverse of the note.”

As a derivative phrase from ‘two dollars, only  Urban Dictionary registers "two dollar scratchie" as;
When you have a bitter break up or disagreement with your partner and their name becomes a non-speakable word, substitute it for "two dollar scratchie". If anyone says their actual name instead of the substituted "two dollar scratchie" - they gotta buy you one!

Neither of both definitions seems to be applicable to the above homeless man description.

What does “someone with two dollars with his (her) name” mean? Is it a popular phrase to mean a nameless person with no value attached to his or her name / being?

Can I apply ‘two dollars’ to any other insignificant articles or things than a person in the same way as ‘no worth for a dime’?


texts: How to specify the presence of a point of interest that can be found while on the way to another point of interest?

texts:
Is this sentence correct?

  There is a large mountain on the way to California.

Or should this be written as the following sentence?

  There is a large mountain one can see on the way to California.

I would like to know if both are correct, or only one is correct, or none is correct. If none is correct, what is the right way to write this sentence?s


texts:
In academic writing is it correct to say

  Access to services depends on individual circumstances, such as age, nature of the problem and urgency of required care

or

  Access to services depends on individual circumstances, such as the age, the nature of the problem and the urgency of required care


texts: Is the expression "the dead of night" or "the dead of the night"?

texts: I always thought it was just "the dead of night" - no "the" following "of"(unlike "heat of the night").  But I recently came across "dead of the night" and I'm wondering if its correct.


texts: What came first. The verb "to bumble" or the insect "bumblebee"

texts: I was thinking one day about this. Not sure which came first, I'm guessing the verb came first but a second opinion would be nice


texts:
I was reading through random quotes and found this:

  What terrified me will terrify others; and I need only describe the spectre which had haunted my midnight pillow.

It's from Mary Shelley, in case you're curious.

I was wondering, though, if she uses the semicolon correctly. I've always been taught not to put them before any transition words and told that if you can replace one with a comma that you've used it wrong.

Maybe my idea of commas and periods is wrong? I'm not sure. Either way, it's been on my mind and this seems like a good place to ask.


texts:
"Joe Blogg's Damascus" can be used as a metaphor to denote a sudden turning point in attitude, behaviour or some other feature of Joe Blogg's life.

What would be a similar metaphor for an important discovery in a field such as artificial intelligence that does not necessarily represent a paradigm shift but does represent substantial progress? Ideas other than "Eureka" very welcome.

Also, would this be called metonymy? If not, what's the difference?


texts:
I don't quite get the meaning of course of the year in the following sentence.

  They search for food by moving over ice from island to island during
  the course of the year.

What does course mean here?


texts: What is the difference between "every four months" and "every fourth month"?

texts:
For example:
It is January now.

The test is to be done every four  months.
The test is to be done every fourth month.

Which month would the test be done?


texts: Difference between "higher education level" and "higher educational level"?

texts:
I was doing my geography homework when I came across a grammar problem. I don’t know whether to use a noun or an adjective in the blank:

  This neighbourhood provides a local labour supply with a higher _____ level.

Should I use educational or education in the blank?

Also, what’s the difference between educational or education when both are possible as premodifiers?


texts: What is the difference between /ʌɪ/ and /aɪ/ in English?

texts:
Is there any difference between the two diphthongs in English IPA transcriptions?
If I search a word in the Cambridge dictionary, it gives /aɪ/ for both UK English and US English.
For example, the word "night" is transcribed as /naɪt/ in Cambridge English dictionary for both UK and US English.
But Lexico (powered by Oxford) gives /nʌɪt/ for "night".
In Cambridge dictionary, I can hear a slight difference between UK and US pronunciation but the IPA symbols are the same.
Dictionary.com also has /aɪ/.
Is there any difference between them? Or can I use /ʌɪ/ and /aɪ/ interchangeably?


texts: Surge in uses of the word "definitely" in 1930s

texts:
I was messing around on Google Books Ngram Viewer, and I saw a huge surge in uses of the word "definitely" around the 1930s.

Google Books Ngram Viewer

Does anyone know or have a guess on why this could be?

(And also, does anyone know how accurate Google Ngram is as well?)


texts: Which adverb should be used to modify 'Different'? Much or very?

texts:
I have a English usage/construction question that I struggle find a reliable answer to. The question is relayed to the usage of 'very' and 'much' with the adjective "different" and is as follows:

Should it be

He is much different from his father.
Or
He is very different from his father.

What if the sentence is in the negative form?

He is not much different from his father.
Or
He is not very different from his father.

In the first case, I find that 'very' sounds much better than 'much'.
However, in the second case I somehow feel that 'not much different' is the correct construction.

I know that, as adverbs, 'very''s usage is more extensive than that of 'much', but only 'much' can be used to modify comparatives. In that case, can 'different' function as a comparative adjective?

I also understand that 'much' usually cannot be used in a positive sentence. Does this mean 'not much different' is grammatically correct, and 'much different' should be replaced by 'a lot different'?

Many thanks.


texts: What does the phrase "You were the best thing that never happened to me" mean?

texts:
I recently heard this on a TV Drama where one character, who had been left at the altar by her fiance, finally spoke to him again years after the incident.

I thought that the phrase:

"You were the best thing that never happened to me"

could be interpreted in two ways:

The "best thing" refers to their successful relationship before he left her at the altar, and the "never happened" refers to how their marriage never happened.
The sentence means that of all the things that "never happened" (i.e them getting married) it was the "best thing" for her and she is glad things turned out that way.

Essentially if this were to have been said to someone, do you think it would be taken as a compliment reminiscing on what they once had, or an insult in saying that they are glad that something further never happened?

If you would like to take an alternative approach to the question, is the opposite of this phrase:

You were the worst thing that ever happened to me
You were the best thing that ever happened to me

Cheers!


texts: The phrase "Fire Away", meaning "Ask me questions", appears to be a metaphor stemming from an old military term involving discharging firearms (source). However, "Away" is generally a directional term, yet in the phrase "Fire away" it seems to mean "at will" or "with abandon". How did it get such an unusual meaning? Was this a sarcastic instruction perhaps?


texts: What is the difference between a marque and a brand? For example, why would one use the expression "car marques" instead of "car brands"?


texts:
I would like to express something that keeps booming (technology), and I came up with "ever-booming" which I have never seen it in particular.

I know there are similar words such as everlasting, ever-growing. But can I also say ever-booming, or are there better choices in this case? Thanks!


texts:
Is there a rule governing the use of a hyphen with the prefix "post-"? Or is the use of the hyphen decided by convention in this case?

In particular, I am concerned about the following sentence:

  Samples were collected one month post ingestion.

I can find abundant examples of similar sentences that hyphenate "post-ingestion" and also can find many examples that leave the hyphen out. So, I feel confused.


texts:
Today I come across the headline、“Meek and Nicki are still totally on” followed by sub-headline, “Just stop asking when they're getting engaged.” in the Scene site.

Does “A and B are on” mean A and B have a very close relationship? Is it a common phrase?


texts:
It’s that time of year when the dodgy rhymes of Christmas carols abound, but I find the chorus of "The Holly and the Ivy" particularly intriguing.

The rising of the sun
And the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.

Wikipedia provides all the lyrics. First and third lines of each verse rhyme in sound in some cases and spelling in others. So what am I missing in the chorus? "The running of the deer" seems a fairly ad hoc choice, and could, presumably, be substituted with a better rhyme. "Choir" has many rhyming options.
Is there a special symbolic meaning behind the running deer? Is there any evidence for a rhyme in the past? Or is there another animal that rhymes with "choir" that I can happily substitute?


texts: "All", "everybody", "everyone" to indicate all attendees of an event

texts:
Which words (all, everybody, everyone) can be use to indicate in a timetable that all the attendees of an event are expected to contribute to a certain activity? For example:

Time |   Activity     | Speaker

8 am | Presentation 1 | Prof Brown

9 am | Presentation 2 | Prof Winter

10 am | Round table    | All/everybody/everyone


texts: A word that describes an opportunity for significant influence on culture or society

texts: I am looking for a word that describes a significant opportunity to influence based on a unique confluence of events or timing.  More specifically to significantly influence culture or society.


texts: Looking for equivalent of Indian (Marathi) saying "Makdach ghar" which translates "Monkey's house"(never ready when you expect it should be)

texts:
I am looking for equivalent of Indian saying "Makdach ghar" which is "Monkey's house" the meaning is a monkey always starts to built his house only after it starts to rain. It has the analogy of "Ants and the grasshopper" where the monkey = the grasshopper

I am not looking for the saying like "Stitch in time saves nine" as that is more suggestive of an advice, rather it should be a phrase reflecting the ill effect. The monkey's house as per local culture here reflects the idea that the house (or the monkey's action or inaction) is ineffective, ill conceived for a heavy rainy season and will not stand a chance.

Friend 1 to Friend 2 (working in other company): The management in our company is so damn frustrating, we are plagued by inaction. Now our cash-cow client is expected to pays us a visit from the US. This is their first visit since last 10 years of our business relationship and our yard is __________ (monkey's house - which is never ready for the presentation or circumstance presented). It would have been better if they had stitched in time.


texts: Can "time and convenience" take singular notional agreement in this sentence?

texts:
Time and convenience (is/are) turning friends and acquaintances away from our doors.

Which is better in this context, 'is' or 'are'? Can the answer to this question be 'is' based on notional agreement?


texts:
I read an article, and it said

  In one critical way, Samsung's Galaxy S8 may end up smoking the
  iPhone8 --a phone that's still months away from even being an official
  thing.

What does 'end up smoking' mean? Overwhelmingly win on something? I searched at http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ but couldn't find any relevant one.


texts:
This is the sentence in which this phrase appears:

  The great Northern cycle of which he is the returning unit has almost completed its round, accomplished itself.

("Herman Melville's Typee and Omoo", Ch. 10 of Studies in Classic American Literature, by D.H. Lawrence)


texts: Is it more correct to say "You have not yet " or "You have not  yet"?

texts:
Having seen Correct placing and usage of "yet", it sounds like it may be correct to say either "You have not created any items yet." or "You have not yet created any items."

Is one more correct than the other, or is it a matter of preference? The first personally sounds more correct to me, but I wanted another opinion!


texts: What does "I’ll show you to [somewhere]" mean?

texts:
I read a dialogue in English and saw a strange phrase.

  A: Good afternoon. May I help you?
  B: Yes, I’m here to see Joanna Stevens. I have an appointment at four.
  ...
  ...
  A: Ms. Stevens is ready for you now. I’ll show you to her office, right this way.

I really don't understand what "I’ll show you to her office" means. Why should office know about her?

Why not "I'll show you where her office is"? Or something like that. Is this kind of mistake? Or does it really means something?


texts: Is there any difference between "invite to" and "invite for"?

texts:
Is there any difference between invite to and invite for in terms of usage and meaning?

For example: invite someone to lunch, dinner, a party, or a meeting but invite them for a drink or a meal


texts: What's the Subject in: 'And up here in the corner is me'

texts:
If two people are looking at a photo, and one of them pointing out the different people  says:

  And up here in the corner is me.

... what is the Subject of the sentence?

The phrase up here in the corner feels like a Locative Complement. It is tempting to see this as a case of subject-dependent inversion like On the  corner is a cafe. However, the NP me has accusative case and the verb is third person singular. The sentence isn't:

*And up here in the corner am me.

Also, if and only if, 'me' is not the Subject, what type of use of the verb BE is this? If me is an internal Complement of the verb, then this doesn't seem to be a specifying, ascriptive or locative use in the normal sense (me is not a description of up in the corner, neither is it a location. And the sentence does not mean "up in the corner = me").

And if, and only if, me is the Subject, why is me acceptable instead of I? Does me invariably take third person singular agreement of the verb?


texts: Is it valid to say 'in the presence of something'

texts:
The title I chose for my thesis is:

  Finding Synapses in Data in the Presence of Artifacts

I think this is bad language and am unhappy with it but I am not a native speaker.

I want to convey that those artifacts or failures are common in the data, which makes finding synapses hard.

Is there a better way of doing that? Maybe something using 'despite'?


texts: meaning, definition of phrase "time for time"

texts:
I am translating a text where the following appears:

  Dave, it's your boss. You owe me a shift this Saturday. You really need to, time for time.

I was trying to look for a definition for this "time for time", but after quite some time spent for searching, I could not locate one that fits. I have an idea what it means but would like have a definition. Also, I wonder if this is a common expression or just coined.

I also think that there is a possibility of a typo (from mistranscription) and it actually means “You really need to, time to time.” (That is he needs to work a Saturday shift ocassionally.)

Any suggestions?


texts:
There may be a few, but I'm trying to remember a specific word for someone having a baseless sense of unfairness, along with the associated anger.

Not entitled or spoiled, but basically the same meaning. It's driving me crazy...

Not a term, but a single word.


texts: Is there a technical term for when verbs in a sentence appear as if they have been swapped around?

texts:
Is there a technical term for when verbs in a sentence appear as if they have been swapped around as in the example here?

  'her fingers creased in gold [and] her body ringed in folds'

In this line, the poet appears to have swapped transitive verbs so that a hall of mirrors is created; the gold refers to the rings, the creases to the folds, the rings to the fingers, and the creases to the body.

I know what the poet is doing, but I have searched online for the technical term for swapping transitive verbs from their expected contexts and am unable to find any.


texts: "Put it at the backseat" or "Put it onto the backseat"?

texts:
What preposition should I use in the expression "put ___ the backseat"?

The sentence goes like this:

  I have a few items on my plans, item A is the least important one, so I will put it  ___ the backseat.

Should I use "at" or "onto" here?


texts: Is it okay to say "What was the number of..." meaning "How many..."?

texts: Is it okay to say "What was the number of" meaning "How many"? For example, "What was the number of students that came here yesterday?"


texts: What's the meaning of "to connect the living dots" in the following context?

texts:
You’re probably wondering why I’ve sent you this letter. Since my
father died, I’ve made myself write something every day. I want to
make things, not just study them. Ideally, I write a poem, but on the
hard days I write correspondence. And today I wrote to you, to
connect the living dots between me, my mother, my father, and
yourself.

I know that "to connect the dots" means "to find or show the relationships between different things," but I wonder what it means in this context, especially given that we have the word "living" before "dots".


texts: Office Word "Concise Language" Recommendation

texts:
Microsoft Office now recommends changing phrases such as:

"will host all of the"

to

"will host all the"

due to this being more "concise" language. However, to me, their recommendation doesn't sound grammatically correct. Is this recommendation sound?


texts: The pronunciation of "dr-" as "jr-" by some American English speakers

texts:
I've noticed that some Americans pronounce dr as jr , such as:

draft → jraft
Andrew → Anjrew

Is this standard pronunciation?


texts: What does it mean by "well into the future"?

texts:
For the novice trader, professional, or somewhere in between, these
   books will provide the advice and strategies needed to prosper today and well into the future.

I know what prosper today means. However, I don't know what well into the future means. If I change the sentence to the following form, I'm clear of its meaning.

  ...these books will provide the advice and strategies needed to prosper today and the future.

Please help me understand this.


texts:
Mozart composed many classics.

Mozart has moved many people.

Are both of these sentences correct? I'm not sure about the second. Mozart lived in the past, but people who were moved by him include people who lived after him. So, I guessed the second may be possible. Am I right?


texts: What does “akin to” mean in etymologies in dictionary entries?

texts:
Many etymologies in dictionaries say that some word is “akin to” a word in some other language. For example, here is part of the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary entry for salt:

  Main Entry: 1salt

  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sealt; akin to Old High German salz salt, Lithuanian saldus sweet, Latin sal salt, Greek hals salt, sea

It says that salt is “akin to” words in Old High German, Lithuanian, Latin, and Greek. What does that mean? Does it mean that the word is borrowed from those languages? How could a word be borrowed from more than one language?


texts: Can I use "proud" in this phrase: "Proud company for nonprofits"?

texts:
This phrase is a title. I am not sure in the use of "proud" before a noun even though I saw in the dictionary that this structure exists. What do you think? How do you understand the phrase?
Thanks in advance


texts: How to finish a letter in a conciliatory manner

texts: I have drafted a letter to someone who works in the same team as me, discussing some issues regarding teamworking and I want to finish the letter by saying that I hope they receive the letter in a conciliatory spirit, as it is intended. Is there a good formal way I can put that?


texts: A word/phrase describing the sound of leaves?

texts:
I have been describing a forest scene and there are only so many times I can use a form of the word Rustling.

Is there a word or phrase that can be used in place of this (It doesn't have to fit perfectly into place with rustles/rustling/rustled).

Any word or phrase that can describe the sound of:

Something moving through leaves
Leaves interacting with each other physically


texts: Was the “Ye Olde Shoppe” ever used or is it just an ancient-looking construct of modern times?

texts:
Surely, if I were the owner of a shop selling archery goods and wanted to portray my shop as some kind of old-fashioned, high-quality traditional outlet, I might be tempted to call it “Ye Olde Archery Shoppe”. This is a deliberate use of archaic spellings (and the “ye” pronoun) for branding purposes.

My question is about the plausibility of this expression as an actual Old English sentence. Beyond the use of archaic spelling of each word, is there any point in time were this kind of shop name would have been plausibly used?


texts:
I've heard a line in a song contained "...I slept peaceful on your shoulder...". Is this correct from a native speaker point of view?
Is peaceful here an adverb without a -ly form, or does it relate more to object "I" (like "I was peaceful and I slept...")

My situation is using "loud" as adverb with "dispute" verb. Is it appropriate to say "They dispute too loud"?

Thanks in advance,


texts: The use of "at the beginning " without "of something"

texts:
Can I use "at the beginning/at the end" without "of something" in a conversation that the listener knows exactly what I'm talking about?

For example: If a student asks me to go for a  drink, should I say "at the end" or "in the end" instead of "at the end of the session"?


texts: Question regarding using the term "weekend / weekends"

texts: Usually people say "How was your weekend?" But weekends are two days right? Then why don't we say "How were your weekends?" (If we are asking how his/her weekend was then which one of the two are we referring to :) )


texts: Is a "Tale" less factual than a "Story"?

texts:
I am preparing a press release, and so far the headline of the press release is:

  A SOVIET LABOR CAMP SURVIVOR’S TALE

A colleague called the word "tale" into question, since this is a book about a person's actual experiences in a Soviet labor camp.  She feels that "tale" would be more appropriate for something fictional, whereas "story" should be used in this case.  I'm not so sure "tale" is less appropriate for the situation, and on top of that, it sounds better.

Anyone have any good reasons for believing "story" is better than "tale"?


texts: A word or a phrase for this logical fallacy

texts: What is another word or phrase for when someone tries to dismiss an argument by simply claiming it is extreme, without offering any evidence or counterargument?


texts: Establish a band or Found a band or else?

texts:
The example sentece: "The Beatles was established/founded/else in 1970s by their members"
What is the correct verb?


texts: Can I use whereas at the start of a sentence?


texts:
I have come across the song "About that bass" by Meghan Trainor, and was wondering what "bass" and "treble" mean in the chorus, which goes:

  Because you know I'm all about that bass,
  'Bout that bass no treble

Pairing with treble suggests a musical meaning (low pitch vs. high pitch - treble), but it doesn't fit the song at all in my eyes, so I was wondering if those two terms have another (slang-ish?) meaning here, which it is and how it came about. Anyone knows?


texts: What part of speech is 'put' in the expression 'stay put'?

texts:
A previous question asked the same of 'warm' in 'stay warm' but the single answer was not very satisfying to me and also 'put' is not the same as 'warm' even if, as the answer suggests, 'you' is implied by the invitation 'stay'.

The context of 'stay put' is that I saw a picture of a second world war bomb shelter in England and the last of the instructions was to : 10. Stay put.

It is an imperative, neither an invitation nor a colloquial farewell.

'Put' could be viewed as an adverb, modifying the verb 'stay'. One is to stay in a putly way, as it were.

Or 'put' could be viewed as the past participle and the idea is to 'stay' as one was originally placed. Stay as one had been 'put'.

The expression is imperative and it is more than an imperative for one is not only to stay, as such, one is to stay exactly there and not move. Or else.

I like the expression and had not seen or heard it for a while.

The Ngram shows that both AmE and BrE have a hump during the second world war, a decline thereafter and a rise since then, which is an interesting observation on post-war and modern attitudes, I would say (as a baby boomer).

So, what part of speech, may I ask ?


texts:
I'm reading a book and encountered the words star rose. What does it mean? The context is listed below.

  As JavaScript’s star rose, discontent came from all corners. Some pointed
  to its numerous little quirks and inconsistencies. Others complained about
  its lack of classes and inheritance. And a new generation of coders, who
  had cut their teeth on Ruby and Python, were stymied by its thickets of
  curly braces, parentheses, and semicolons.


texts: What is a word for someone who enjoys keeping fish as a hobby?

texts: I am looking for a word for someone who enjoys keeping fish at their home. They have a pond with a large number of Koi Carp, as well as a room with fish tanks containing a variety of fish. This is for pleasure rather than profit. Is there a noun for this kind of fish hobbyist?


texts: What does "educated" mean in "educated guess"?

texts:
Make an educated guess.

What is the meaning of educated in the sentence?


texts:
Could anyone please tell the functions of the bolded participles (raising, saying and displaying) in the following examples?

...and has continued with parliamentary duties this week, raising the possibility that he may have infected others. [Guardian]
Not long afterwards, Hancock issued his own statement saying he too had tested positive. [ibid.]
Prof Whitty, who had advised the prime minister to get tested, said he too was displaying symptoms. [ibid.]


texts: Why does "tangent" have multiple meanings that are in conflict with each other?

texts:
Perhaps it was just being misused, but the questions crossed my mind before and last night it came up again again.

While talking with someone about job opportunities in NYC, a friend started to talk about cost of living.  As we continued to discuss various pros and cons, the friend said to me

  Let's get back on the job discussion, cost of living is tangentially related but not important right now.

In this instance, the friend was saying that what we were talking currently (cost of living) has a close relationship with what we started on (working in NYC).

Later in the conversation, our conversation turned towards the amount of time it takes to move from Colorado to NYC.  As we talked about the various routes and vehicles for movement, the friend said:

  We've gone way off topic — talk about getting lost on a tangent.

In this instance, the tangent is barely related to the original subject.

Is there a misuse of the word tangent here, has tangent just become a word that relates to anything off-topic that has at least the slightest relation to the original topic, or is there something else that I am missing?

Tangentially related question


texts:
I found this word in Github guide, and I don't know how to translate it to Chinese.It is used in this context:

  Muted threads won’t show up as unread again until you are specifically @mentioned again. This makes muting a great strategy for threads that you have little interest in (perhaps a sub-system that you aren’t familiar with). If you mark an issue as read, it will stay that way until someone comments on the thread again.


texts: 'to be predicated' can be followed by which prepositions?

texts:
I'm interested in "predicated of", but which the ODO below doesn't explicitly define:

  predicate = [with object] 1. {Grammar & Logic} state, affirm, or assert (something) about the subject of a sentence or an argument of a proposition

What are the similarities and differences between 'predicated of', 'predicated as'
, and 'predicated + {some other preposition}? Google Ngram depicts a difference, but not Google Books as linked?


texts: Which is correct? Present perfect or simple past?

texts:
Which of these two is correct? Present perfect or simple past? The more I look at it the more I can't decide:

  I've fallen in love with seafood around the time I found your channel.

or:

  I fell in love with seafood around the time I found your channel.

I also could use when instead of "around the time" but I think that changes the premise of the situation. I'd appreciate a little help!


texts: is it grammatically correct to put a verb before a noun?

texts:
In the dictionary, position as a verb means "to determine the position of or locate".

What word would represent the adjectival form of position?  and what would its meaning be?
Is it acceptable grammatically for a verb to be put before a noun - eg a positioning device - to describing a device used to determine the position or location of something (eg It is a positioning device that locates optimal treatment sites).   If this is proper grammatically can you please elaborate on which grammatical rules are at work here that allow this?


texts: What is the meaning of this particular sentence?

texts:
Consider:

  You might be primarily concerned with what these books were as works of art, with evaluating their fusions of form and content.

I can't understand this sentence, especially the structure of it. Please explain this in detail.


texts:
Does 'many a' take a singular pronoun or a plural one?

Many a is followed by a singular noun. So also does it follow a singular pronoun?


texts: Is the word Keen, meaning wail, related to a Hebrew word referring to mourning?

texts:
I often come across words that are the same or similar between English and other languages. In this case, I'm curious about the word "keen", meaning to wail, and the Hebrew word "kinah" (plural "kinot") which refers to prayers said in mourning.  Are the two related?

Information about how you found the answer would be appreciated so I can use similar methods in the future.


texts: A word/phrase for what one says about her internal feelings such as love?

texts:
Is there any word/phrase for that kind of utterances by which people talk about their internal feelings rather than external objects?

Compare for example:
1) there was an accident in that street.
2) I love you.

The first utterance is about an external object, but the second one consist in talking about


texts:
Are the words to emanate from and to stem from synonym in the following sense? Do you think I can swap with each other without changing the meaning of the following sentences ?

1 (Of a feeling, quality, or sensation) issue or spread out from (a source): warmth emanated from the fireplace she felt an undeniable charm emanating from him

1.1 Originate from; be produced by: the proposals emanated from a committee
More example sentences

1.2 [with object] Give out or emit (a feeling, quality, or sensation): he emanated a powerful brooding air

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/emanate

[no object] (stem from) Originate in or be caused by: many of the universities' problems stem from rapid expansion

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stem


texts: What is the contemporary meaning of "consensual"?

texts:
I wrote in a question on another SE site

Before I start to reinvent the wheel: is there a consensual way to insert such data into the DB?

To which I got several comments:

I also think you mean "convenient" rather than "consensual". At least I hope you do!

Actually I think you want to say "Is there a consensus about the way to insert such data into the DB"

The way you're using it is really, really off the mark

The comments apparently come from native speakers of English, I am not one myself.
So I checked:

: existing or made by mutual consent without an act of writing
// a consensual contract

-- Merriam-Webster

with the willing agreement of all the people involved

-- Cambridge Dictionnary (examples refer only to sex)

involving the agreement of all or most people in a group

-- Longman Dictionnary of Contemporary English (the second example is about sex)
My question
Does the contemporary, everyday meaning of consensual novadays only refers to sexual activities? Can it still be used for "in a way everyone agrees upon" without sounding weird?


texts: How did the phrase "back at Square One" originate?

texts:
A line from the TV series Monk (2002–2009):

Welcome to square one.

Pop culture has many instances of "Square One". It means "right where we started", emphasising comedically that we have lost all progress (or made none).
Do you know when or where the phrase originated; its first usage; and/or the original scenario, in which it makes literal sense?


texts: Could I use these constructions(some of, any of, all of, enough of, half of, more of, much of, many of, most of) with singular noun?

texts:
I'm ESL student and I wonder if I can use these constructions(all of, some of, any of, half of, enough of, more of, most of, many of, much of) with singular noun because I was taught that these constructions come with singular or uncountable noun?

I've found some uses of these construction with singular noun on internet, for example

all of me
some of him
any of this
more of me

And etc.

I'm not certain if these are correct and if so, I would appreciate you so much if you will explain meaning each of these as aspect of combing with singular noun.

If anyone has known the book which breaks down about usage of these constructions , please recommend it to me and I will appreciate you very much.

PS : I'm sorry in advanced if my message makes you confused or annoyed and thank you for useful answer.


texts: What is the expression for a list of low importance items, part of a more important speech?

texts:
Summary: I am trying to find an expression equivalent to annonces parafiales in French

I am looking for an expression which means "list of items of low importance, appended to a more important speech"

  ... and the income is 15 million euros. Also, I am your father. Now the [expression here]: Jane's birthday is tomorrow, do not forget to stock the staplers, ...

The French equivalent is annonces parafiales: this is a list of everyday, logistical information given after the mass. It mentions some meetings, a change in Sunday school timing, etc. I is now also (or mainly) used as a humoristic way to announce some low-key information, no matter the context.

I was thinking of maybe classified as an equivalent? The point here is to convey a humoristic note.


texts:
What is the meaning, if any, of the expression "taking gongs"?

I know what a gong is (a large Oriental cymbal).

But I don't understand the expression in the context of the following article: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/09/mad-men-modern-family-win-emmys-glory/

  LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Cult ad agency drama “Mad Men” won the best drama
  Emmy for the fourth year late Sunday, while “Modern Family” again took
  the comedy glory at US television’s awards show.

  British shows also triumphed at the annual Hollywood show, the Oscars
  of the small screen, with Kate Winslet leading a string of Brits
  taking gongs, notably for “Downton Abbey.”

  “Mad Men,” which has spawned a host of lookalike shows, fought off the
  strongly-tipped “Boardwalk Empire” to take the best drama Emmy at the
  climax of the show.

The expression only appears in the said article:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22taking+gongs%22&oq=%22taking+gongs%22
so I am guessing is a typo of some sort...

or does it refer to another show?


texts:
The fish used to bawl when I left, and the chicken would tell me how eager the fish awaited me.
Disregard the chickens and fish, I just needed something tangible.
ABC is sad when I go; XYZ tells me how eager ABC awaits me.
or
ABC...; XYZ tells me how eagerly ABC awaits me.
I'm trying to push that ABC was excited to see me, and that XYZ would tell me that.
Can I saw "how eager" or is that awkward? Does "awaits me" work or is that awkward? Does it convey ABC's excitement? If not, any advice or better ways to phrase?


texts: Is it better to be "hung like a pike" or "hung like a stickleback"?

texts:
More from the British movie The Football Factory.  The background is that the main character and his best friend have picked up these two girls at a bar; things proceed swimmingly, and the two head over to the girls' house for some hanky-panky.  Unfortunately for the guys, both have imbibed a little too much alcohol, and they promptly pass out in drunken stupor, before any intercourse.  The two girls seem mutually disappointed; one calls out to the other across rooms,

  Shame! He's hung like a pike in 'ere.

And the other replies,

  Good for you. I've got stickleback in 'ere.

I'm guessing the meaning here relates to the properties of the two fish, but I don't know anything about them, and don't understand what hung means in this sentence.


texts:
I noticed a USA Today article today that said "Mary Barra has been a growing force within General Motors. While she wasn't necessarily a shoe-in to be named to the CEO job...". I was pretty sure shoe-in should be shoo-in and m-w.com confirmed that for me, but didn't give any etymology.

In other sources, I have seen references to horse racing and an argument for shoe-in as a salesman would try to get his shoe in the door to further the sale.

What is the etymology?


texts: "Foot pound energy Irish appearing" pun?

texts:
In translating W. H. Hodgson's The Regeneration of Captain Bully Keller, I came across this sentence, which I suppose must be some kind of pun or joke, but I cannot understand at all.

  He knew [...] that he had administered a knock-out blow, of a foot-energy (if I may so express it, without appearing Irish) of several hundred pounds.

I'm quite puzzled by this one, and although I suppose the joke will get lost in translation, I'd like to know whether it's my ignorance of physics or my ignorance of jokes on Irishmen to blame.


texts:
That view fails to qualify as scientific because it is biased.

  The fact that it is biased fails that view to qualify as scientific.

Are both usages of "fail" in 1 and 2 correct? If not, how could 2 be said?


texts: Word for a person who is overly demanding of artists

texts:
I'm trying to recall the word used to describe someone tyrannically demanding of talent/artists/actors. A despot.

Singali?

Pretty sure it's the name of a character from a book. Maybe killed them in the book, not sure. Obviously I've never read it. Pretty common usage. "To be a ___".


texts: If something is broken on the ground, it lies in _____?

texts:
I cannot remember the synonym for lying broken on the ground. I remember that it starts with "lies in "...

For example, if a plate is shattered on the ground, it lies in _


texts:
I'm looking for examples of single words which mean: having the appearance of being synthetic/man-made, as opposed to natural.

Example sentence:
After crossing the stream, they stumbled upon a _____ rock formation."

The meaning should be that they found a rock formation which may or may not have been man-made, but appeared to be (presumably because of it's apparently careful arrangement).


texts: How can I make this sentence correct? It sounds wrong to me

texts: The sentence, "Innovation requires more exploration and risk-taking than architects are typically used to." sounds incorrect tome, but I cannot put my finger on what the problem is. Please help me figure it out. Many Thanks!


texts: Finding a proper adverb to end a sentence meaning unnecessary but not otherwise a problem

texts:
Let's directly go to the example. I am writing a sentence

Calling this function multiple times is unnecessary but harmless.

['Call a function' is idiomatic in say C/C++.]
I have a feeling that there could advantageously be an adverb placed at the end of this sentence to make it look more natural. But I am not sure whether it is

Calling this function multiple times is unnecessary but harmless either.

or

Calling this function for multiple times is unnecessary but harmless as well.

or something else.
Can someone please offer advice on this?


texts:
I read this phrase: "I thought your essay about Internet WAS very accurate"

I wonder why the past tense is used in here! Doesn't it have to be: "I thought your essay about Internet IS very accurate"?

Thanks all in advance.


texts:
Sometimes a mistake, a wrongdoing or a lie becomes worse and when you try to correct the mistake, it becomes two new mistakes. And if you confront a lie, you might get two new lies.

In programming computers this happens when a technical problem becomes two new technical problems and so on.

I use my own expression "exploding error" which I must explain if I use it. Is there a common word? There is the expression "opposite effect", is that the best expression?


texts:
I apologize if this question it too basic, but I have had this doubt for as long as I can remember. Consider the following sentence:

"The first thing that needs to be done is to set the trajectory."

Is it correct to use the "to" before "set the trajectory"? Or could I remove it, leaving me with:

"The first thing that needs to be done is set the trajectory."

I have tried searching for examples online, but I have not been successful.


texts:
Is it correct to say this?

  Her not paying attention to the class annoys me.


texts: plural form or singular form after a subject clause

texts:
Which of the following is correct?

What matters are people.
What matters is people.
What matter are people.

Thank you.


texts: Are your parents coming for your graduation? Is the usage correct?


texts: Punctuation question: for the first time

texts:
I am unsure how to punctuate the following sentence correctly. I want to stress that previous algorithms have not taken into account environmental conditions.

We present an algorithm that, for the first time, considers enviromental conditions.
We present an algorithm that - for the first time - considers enviromental conditions.
We present an algorithm that considers enviromental conditions for the first time.


texts:
what does 'two-fifties' meaning?

"You know the drill— two-fifties, two-fifties, two-fifties. Stop-and-frisk ‘til we get this guy."

I listen to this talk from a detective on the TV drama 'Law & Order'.

I can't find it on a dictionary or Google. Please help me!


texts:
Where does "patching through" come from?

And what did it originally mean?

Usage: "I'm patching through a call from Mr. X"


texts: "My eyebrows raised" or "my eyebrows rose"? (Passive voice)

texts:
The day before, as I watched the dog soar over the fence, my jaw dropped, and my eyebrows raised as I tried to comprehend how the dog could jump so high.

My editor says "try to avoid passive voice" and also thinks this should read:

  The day before, as I watched the dog sore over the fence, my jaw was dropped, and my eyebrows were raised as I tried to comprehend how the dog could jump so high.

Are they correct?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “My wife and I’s seafood collaboration dinner”

I’m sure there are better ways to write the following sentence, but I was curious to know if this sentence is grammatically correct:

  Every day, Mike would send letters to Sarah and Thomas’s daughters’ boyfriends.

My hunch is that the apostrophe placement is incorrect. The idea is that Mike is sending letters to the daughters of Sarah and Thomas.


texts:
Would this be a good usage of "in wait"?

  And a large user base in wait for their SDK.

or

  And a large user base-in-waiting for their SDK.

Wanted to re-write

  And a large user base waiting for their SDK.


texts: How did "negotiable" mean "a good or security whose ownership is easily transferable"?

texts:
I knew merely the first most popular meaning of negotiate. I never knew  this second legal meaning

A document of an amount of money, or a title, which is readily transferable to another.

Difference between Transferability and Negotiability - SRD Law Notes

Negotiability also gives a right to the possessor of the property to transfer it to anyone but for consideration. The Negotiator is not required to establish his credentials. In negotiability, the property is accepted in good faith.

Where did this legal meaning hail from? Etymonline doesn't discuss it.

negotiate [16]

The etymological notion
underlying negotiate is of ‘not being at leisure’,
and hence of ‘being busy’. The word comes
ultimately from Latin negōtium ‘business’, which was a compound formed from the
negative particle neg and ōtium ‘leisure’ (source
of English otiose [18]). From it was derived the
verb negōtiārī ‘do business’, which passed into
English as negotiate. There is some early
evidence in the derivatives negotiation and
negotiator that the original Latin sense of the
word survived into English, but in the verb itself
it had already developed via ‘transact business’
and ‘hold business discussions’ to ‘hold
discussions’ generally.

Word Origins (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 347 Right column.


texts: An idiom for "seen clearly" or "plainly"

texts:
I'm looking for a way to convey how multiple things are very well seen from a certain vantage point. In my native language there is a very appealing expression for that, that can be translated as "seen as in the palm of your hand", as in, it's right there, in front of you. Yet it seems in English "in the palm of your hand" has very different connotation, relating more to control than clarity. Is there any interesting figure of speech for "easy to see", "wide open and easy to see", or something of that nature?

Edit: in my example, I'm talking about physically seeing things with your eyes. Many of the proposed expressions are more frequently used when talking about "understanding" or "knowing" something that is not actually physical.


texts:
The class didn't seem to mind the plot. They loved it. They were laughing out there.

I wonder in that context what the meaning of out is.


texts: Around how old is "a woman of a certain age"?

texts:
"A woman of a certain age" is a common saying.

It means more than "a woman of a given age", "a woman who could be any age" or "female, without respect to age". It's usage instead seems to suggest a much more specific period of life.

Around what age is a woman "of a certain age"?


texts: The name of "Scientific American" — two adjectives without a substantive?

texts: Does the name Scientific American consist of two adjectives? What is the substantive?


texts: Use of "and" and "or" to refer to values for comparison

texts:
I've gotten into a disagreement with a colleague.  My original sentence was "Determine the maximum value of Boys and Girls."  My colleague thought that the sentence should read "Determine the maximum value of Boys or Girls."

I can't find any material on this and I gather that it is quite possible that both are correct.

My question is related to the use of "and" or "or" in the sentence, which one is correct?  An additional posting my me has provided additional details.


texts:
In how many ways  would you rephrase these sentences?

When my cat went missing I was a wreck.
When my cat went missing I was beside myself with worry.

The purpose of each sentence is twofold:  to describe the cat owner's feelings, and to make the sentence as emotional as possible.


texts: The past perfect use. Is this sentence correct?

texts:
Now she knew he would be unstoppable. That day, there had been no doubts inside of him when he had wielded his sword.

Is this correct use of the past perfect tense in the second sentence, considering the context?


texts: Can you use past and present tense in the same sentence?

texts:
Could you please confirm if the following sentence is correct or not?

  ...he comes over quite often, he and I got on quite well when we see each other so not much issue there.

Or should it be:

  ...he comes over quite often, he and I get on quite well when we see each other so not much issue there.

Which one is correct, or are both, depending on context?


texts: If an insertion in parentheses ends with a smiley, how do I distinguish between the two?

texts:
I know smileys are not part of written language (yet), and any questions about them are irrelevant to linguistics and are kind of not serious. So take my question with a smiley then.

It bugs me every time I'm facing this situation: if an insertion in parentheses ends with a smiley, what should I do?

  A lot of insertions in parentheses (well, if it's not Lisp :) ) can be annoying.
  A lot of insertions in parentheses (well, if it's not Lisp :)) can be annoying.
  A lot of insertions in parentheses (well, if it's not Lisp :) can be annoying.

I don't like any of the above. Any (clever) suggestions?


texts: Is there any specific name for airport kind shops?

texts:
Is there an specific name for the shops structures like the ones on shopping malls or in the airports. I mean all of them share this specific characteristics: a very open space with almost no walls and burried inside a larger facility that almost always cover them in shadows and therefore has to be lit artificially.

I mean right now airport shops become more and more homogeneous. I was wondering and almost entirely sure that they must have a name.


texts: Are there other words with the same weird spelling / pronunciation combo as "victual"?

texts:
I've always thought that "victual" was a funny word because its spelling and pronunciation are so alien to anything else I know of in the English language.  The free dictionary explains the origin of the spelling and pronunciation here:

  Usage Note: The modern pronunciation of victual, (vtl), represents an Anglicized pronunciation of the Old French form vitaille, which was borrowed into English in the early 14th century. The modern English spelling reflects the fact that in both French and English the word was sometimes spelled with a c, and later also with a u, under the influence of its Late Latin ancestor victulia, meaning "provisions." The word is now occasionally spelled vittle rather than victual, but in either case the pronunciation is (vtl).

I was curious if there are any other words that have similar "ct", "ctu", or "tu" letter combinations that are pronounced like "tt"?


texts:
Microsoft Word said it didn't exist and the online Oxford, Cambridge and Merriam dictionaries do not bring it up. Google Translator does translate it into portuguese, but I'm afraid it was a translation proposed by other users.

For those reasons I am not sure if I can use it in my Thesis. Being a software developer, on the other hand, I know that some components are named "validator". Is this a valid English word or should I use any other to describe "something or someone that validates ..." ?

Thanks.


texts: Is there a word for my father's ex-wife's brother?

texts:
My father was married to Alice. They divorced and then my father married my mother. A few years later they later had me.

I've read this: What are the limits of the prefix 'step' to describe relationships? but was wondering if any more light could be shone on it.

Does that make Alice my ex-step-mother? Seems strange as Alice was never a "mother" in my life. Does step- work backwards?

Is there a word or term for Alice's brother in relation to me. Something like ex-step-uncle? eg. Could my ex-step-uncle borrow your wheel barrow?


texts: What term refers to "problematic situations of misunderstanding due to cultural differences"?

texts:
In situations in which people of different cultures meet, it is people who are unaware of subtle cultural differences can easily find themselves in a situation. Here are two simple examples:

Someone from a culture where people generally smile to passing strangers might assume, when in a foreign land, that the locals do not welcome their visit.
A waiter expecting a tip might become angry with a frequently returning foreign customer unfamiliar with the custom.

Within communication studies, cross-cultural studies, or any similar field of study, is there a special term to describe these "situations of misunderstanding" which are brought about not by a language barrier, but by differences in culture, and a mutual lack of understanding of the culture difference by one or more parties involved?

The answers in Word or phrase meaning 'Misinterpretation of tone due to language or cultural barrier' do not fit this meaning:

First, they have the connotation that "someone has made a mistake violating the norms of a particular culture", which is not always the case in these situations.
Second, I am looking for a term that does not refer to a specific action committed by one person, but by the created situation.
Finally, these words do not address the potential mutuality of the situation, but rather, connote blame on one individual.


texts:
At work we use the headline "Better Prepare for a career in xyz" to mean something to the effect of "Help yourself better prepare for a career in xyz". I feel that the statement is way harsh and comes across as "better prepare for a career in xyz ... or else".

Can someone give me a nerdy sounding reason why this is wrong?

Or ... am I wrong for thinking it is wrong.


texts: "I'm my own grandpa" – is there a word for this?

texts:
I was listening to a Chad Morgan record today, on which his cover of the song I'm my own grandpa features as the first track.

The lyrics of the song describe a bizzare, but plausible scenario, in which a man finds himself becoming his own grandfather through an unfortunate combination of marriages. (The narrator marries a widow, whose adult daughter then ends up marrying his father.)

Thinking back on the times that I've heard one person mock another by suggesting that their lineage contains such an anomaly, this was always done by stating the specific relationships. For instance, the person would say something along the lines of "I bet [this person]'s brother is his uncle".

That made me wonder... Has there ever been an actual word to describe the state of being related to yourself as a result of a marriage?


texts: Can you use "elated" to describe something like "service"?

texts:
Can you use the word “elated” as an adjective to describe something that isn’t attributable to a person or living thing?

Can “customer service” be elated?

I’m editing an advertisement that talks about employees delivering “elated” service, and it doesn’t sound right to me. Synonyms include happy, elevated, excited — almost all words that you would attach to a person or living being, but not to a material object.


texts: How to use commas in a question asking which of the two is right?

texts:
Did she just become rich or was she born rich?
Did she just become rich , or was she born rich?
Did she just become rich , or, was she born rich?

Which are the correct ways to ask this question?  Should commas be used in this question?


texts:
Good time of the day! I just wanted to clarify something with your help. Is it pertinent to use past perfect in this case, assuming that I am talking fully in the context of the past:

  I wasn't able to watch the full report because it had been abruptly discontinued.

Thanks in advance!


texts:
The men seem all to understand the situation.

  The men all seem to understand the situation.

Both "seem all to" and "all seem to" can be frequently found on the Internet, with the latter being way more popular. Are they both correct? Does both mean the same? Is one preferred?


texts:
when should I use the following sentence. I am little bit confused:

"May I help you?"
"What can I do for you?"

What is the difference between above two sentence and when I can use them?

Please explain.


texts: Shortest way to say "adjecent to and to the right of"?

texts:
If we have list of lettters like this: ABCDEFGH

"We can say D is adjacent to E"

But, in English, what is the shortest way to say the "D is adjacent to E on the left hand side?" And what is the accepted norm?

i.e. is there a word for "leftwise-adjacent" or "rightwise-adjacent"?

I wonder if other languages have words for this and what the equivalent in English might be? It would seem like quite useful words to have!


texts: term for sentences that can be read as "tends to" or "always"

texts:
I'm looking for a term -- from linguistics or semantics -- that indicates phrases of this structure have TWO (possible) senses:

Men are taller than women.
Seafood costs more than hamburger.
Anchors are heavier that water.

The construction is fungible, and in some cases means "tends to", and it others it means "in all cases".

The first two sentences are true IF you interpret them as meaning "tend to", or "in the mean"

The median height of men is a few inches taller than the median height of women.
In most cases, seafood costs more than hamburger.

The third sentence is true in the "all" and "always" sense:

All anchors are heavier than water.
Anchors are always heavier than water.

Sentences like these are common in everyday speech, where the "tends to" or "always" is implied and/or clear from context, and the subject matter is not emotionally sensitive.

So I'm looking for the term, so when I DO stumble in to a conversation where someone makes a comment like that, and someone else argues (example: "but I know plenty of women who are taller than certain men!") I can say:  "Hold it, timeout; that statement is just a SOMETHING-ism; it has two meanings, depending if you interpret in to mean 'tends to' or 'all'.  Let's figure out which the speaker intended, and then lets go from there."

(I imagine someone will point me to a refernce to "E-prime" and inform me of the dangers of the verb "to be".  OK, granted.  But what is the TERM for this ambiguity or ambiguous construction?)


texts: Are the phrases “at once” and “in one go” equally acceptable?

texts:
You should answer this question in one go ( at once ).

Are both forms acceptable?


texts: Difference between "grudge" and "resentment"

texts:
There are various entries for both but for one, Merriam-Webster says that resentment is "a feeling of anger or displeasure about someone or something unfair." For the second word, it says "a strong feeling of anger toward someone that lasts for a long time."

My question is, does "unfairness" play a role in holding a grudge also?  And secondly, is the main difference between the two the matter of time or also intensity?

For instance, let's say a neighbor makes noises at night, I might be angry and if I feel it's unfair that they do that and I can't or that the building manager doesn't care, I assume that's resentment.  But what makes it a grudge?  Is it related to it happening often?  To my resentment being real intense and not being able to forgive them?

Thanks.


texts: Why "knowledge of English" and not "English knowledge"?

texts:
Why is the following sentence correct:

"A candidate with a good knowledge of English is required for this teaching position."

And NOT this sentence:

"A candidate with good English knowledge is required for this teaching position."

?

I mean, I understand there are some fixed terms like "the Queen of England" which cannot be re-expressed without "of", but why does "English knowledge" sound so strange? Is there any kind of rule? Thanks.


texts: What's the term for introducing an error when you edit a sentence?

texts:
Several years ago, I recall learning an English term that described the following sort of error:

I write (or begin writing) a sentence without error.
I decide to change something in the sentence.
I forget to change the rest of the sentence to fit with the changes I made.

For example, let's say I write the following (step 1):

  I ate both an apple and a banana.

Then I remember I didn't actually eat a banana, so I erase and a banana (step 2):

  I ate both an apple.

But I forget to erase the word both (step 3), so my sentence becomes ungrammatical!

I'd like to be able to refer to this kind of error.  Unfortunately, I've forgotten the term I learned, and I've also forgotten exactly where I read it.  I'm fairly certain it was somewhere on Usenet, possibly in sci.lang.japan or alt.usage.english.  And though I've searched around on Google Groups, I'm afraid I've been unable to find the post in question.

What bits I do remember are so hazy that they're probably useless and unreliable, but I suppose I can add them anyway: I think it was a copy editor who shared the term.  And while trying to remember, I had the feeling that it was around eleven letters long and contained the letter 'G'--though I'm afraid these details are likely to be mistaken.  (And of course, I would welcome an answer that differs from the term I'm trying to remember, as long as it fits what I've described.)

Anyway, I feel like this would be a pretty useful term to have, even if I end up defining it for people.  Is there a usual term for this sort of error?


texts: Year is to Annualized; as Day is to _____?

texts:
Is there such a word exists to fill in this analogy: Is there such a word exists to fill in this analogy: Year is to Annualized; as Day is to _____ ?

Daily comes to mind but not really correct.

Other contenders: Diurnalized, Quotidianized


texts:
What does it mean for one to be a bit angular in one's views ?

This was said while describing an author of a book. The statement was in praise of the author, and in the end adds this qualification using the conjunction: 'but'.


texts: Did the word "dreamboat" ever have negative connotations?

texts:
I stumbled upon this answer on Science Fiction & Fantasy, which includes the following panel from a Donald Duck story originally published (always according to the answer) in 1949. In the panel, Donald seems to have bumped into a large zombie and exclaims "Why don't you look where you're goin', you big dreamboat?":

Now, from context, the word dreamboat seems to be used to convey something like "you big lug". Perhaps someone lost in their dreams and not paying attention? I have never seen the word used this way, and there is no mention of such a meaning in Etymonline.com which simply gives:

"romantically desirable person," 1947, from dream (n.) + boat (n.). The phrase was in use about two decades before that. "When My Dream Boat Comes Home" was the title of a 1936 song credited to Guy Lombardo and "Dream Boat" was the title of a 1929 book.

This is the meaning of dreamboat with which I am familiar and also the meaning mentioned in the online dictionaries I have access to. For example, the online Merriam-Webster defines it as:

slang
: one that is highly desirable
especially : a very attractive person

Dictionary.com also has an extra meaning but that one doesn't seem any more relevant:

noun Slang.

a highly attractive or desirable person:
*Look at these vintage pics I found of Grandpa in uniform—he was a real dreamboat back in the day!
Older Use. a luxuriously designed car.

The Free Dictionary, the Cambridge English Dictionary, Collins Dictionary and Wiktionary all give variations on the same theme, with some including the meaning of "luxurious car" but none suggesting any kind of bad connotation for the word.
Of course, Donald is not a character renowned for either his erudition or intelligence, so it is entirely possible that this is nothing but a joke and is an intentional misuse of the word by the authors, but I'm wondering if there used to be any other connotations of the word back in the late 40ies.
So, was there any established negative meaning of dreamboat at the time or is this just Donald being Donald?


texts: Using an present-participle verb as conjunction?

texts:
Seeking feedback on the validity of this sentence, which tries to use the present-participle "helping" as a kind of conjunction:

(company name) is the best marketing platform helping teams think big
and grow fast

It doesn't pass my smell test. I'd love to know:

Is it valid? (with or without punctuation like a comma before
"helping" to separate clauses)
If not, what rules does it break.

Thanks for the help!


texts: can who be used as the informal form of whom?

texts:
In a grammar book, there were two examples used to clarify the difference
between who and whom, and to show that who can be used as the informal form
of whom, and there would be no difference in meaning. The examples were:

Bob is the young man whom she interviewed. (she interviewed whom/him)

Bob is the young man who she interviewed. (informal)

It's stated that the second sentence is informal, but our teacher insists
that in the second sentence Bob interviewed her (that is, the woman)!
Can anyone tell me which one is true? Is it just informal or does the
meaning change? Is the woman always the interviewer, or do the roles switch in the second sentence so that now he interviews her instead of vice versa?


texts: Is there an English equal for hindi saying "Bandar ke Haath me ustra" or "Razor in hands of a monkey"

texts:
Is there a English equal for hindi saying

  Bandar ke Haath me ustra

which literally means "Razor in Monkey's hand"  as if Never give a risky job to a people who is like a monkey. If he has a razor he will not only either get himself killed but also kill other.

Example: A important client is coming to meet the CEO of a large corporation. The manager is told by the CEO to arrange a presentation to secure this big account with the client. The manager selects a newbie or an old fool or an empty-suit (either of whom are not fit for the job). So hearing this two experienced efficient employees discuss the matter.

One says to the other: Manager has given Razor (ustra) in hands (haat) of a monkey (Bandar) as in "Bandar ke haat mein ustra" or "Razor in hands of a monkey"


texts: Can we call a person who loses things a "loser"?

texts:
Think > Thinker
    Draw > Drawer

Can we call a person who loses thing a loser?
Of course, I do not mean that they are not successful or failed but what should I call them?


texts: Is 'was' or is 'were' correct in this sentence?

texts:
In this particular sentence, is it correct to use "was", or is it correct to use "were":

"All I wore was jeans."

or

"All I wore were jeans."


texts:
I would like to translate the French term Logithèque in English. This word is used in the context of a collection of software like the Android Store or Apple Store. But those are not to be paid for.

The term Software Library come the quickest to my mind, but it also seems applicable for Software Libraries such as .dll, .so, etc. files

How would I be able to translate "Logithèque" in any way that would be correct for a native speaker?


texts: English name of "Maegami tomeru" (前髪とめ〜る)

texts:
"Maegami tomeru" (前髪とめ〜る) is a Japanese velcro-like product that keeps womens' hair in place.

Is there a commonly accepted English translation of this name?

Bang Blocker found it hard to find a good translation

  Enter Dariya's Maegami Tomeru... Front Hair Stopper.  No.  Bang Blocker... Hmm... Fringe Foiler?

  Talking velcro and **** translations aside

A trademark application for the device said

  Goods and Services:

  Hair tapes; hair accessories, namely, devices for holding hair in
  place, namely, hair grip sheets, hair barrettes, hair tapes and hair
  ornaments; hook and pile fastening tapes

While a friend suggested "Fringe tape".


texts: "Added support for" or "added support of"?

texts:
If I add a new feature (called "feature X") to existing software, what do I say about the action?

  I added support for feature X

or

  I added support of feature X

?

Or something different?


texts: One word for a person who loves his things? Take for example if a person loves his car or a pen or things like these.


texts: What is the correct verb to use in a prepositional phrase?

texts:
Sorry if my subject is a bit long-winded but I didn't know quite how to state it.  How about an example?

I'm making suggested edits to an online book that is also shortly coming out in a dead-trees version.  Here is the what I pointed out as being erroneous:

  parts of memory that is available

I have suggested that are is actually correct, not is.  They're insisting that's not the case, that "is" refers to "memory".  I'm no expert, but I believe that the necessary form of "to be" needs to correlate with "parts", not memory.  The way they've written it just sounds wrong.

EDIT: Sentence in full follows....

  Both the stack and the heap are parts of memory that is available to your code to use at runtime, but they are structured in different ways.


texts: Correct use of 'with' or 'at' when talking about percentages?

texts:
I'm writing the following sentence:

  Women lead uptake at XX%.

But a friend is saying that it should be written:

  Women lead uptake with XX%.

Which one is correct?


texts: Is there a special word for purposely misspelling a word?

texts: I was thinking the other day about Kleenex, which is purposely misspelled from clean-ex, if that makes sense, and I was wondering if there was a word  for purposely misspelling a word, or name.


texts:
The chambers inside the pyramid were closed (to/for) visitors (to clean and repair/for cleaning and repairing).

Which is the correct alternative in both the brackets, and why?
Please explain in detail the correct usage and grammar.

The essence required is:

  The chambers were closed so that no more visitors would come inside them and because the chambers needed maintenance.


texts: What possessive pronouns do have an apostrophe?

texts:
I was explaining it's vs. its to someone the other day, and I said "None of the pronouns (his, hers, theirs, yours, its, whose, ...) has an apostrophe." Later I got to wondering whether that was really true, and sure enough fairly quickly found one that does: one's, as in "One's memory isn't what it used to be."

Are there other pronouns that use an apostrophe?


texts: Do I need Past perfect tense when the order of verbs is from first to last?

texts: I am learning about the past perfect tense and I'm beginning to think that the tense is never really required for the sentence to be grammatical.  It is mainly a tense to help clarify the order of the verbs.  So, if the order of verbs follows the usual chronological order, do I ever need to use the past perfect for the sentence to be grammatical?


texts: What is the word for "currently" unworn?

texts:
An unworn dress means a dress that is never worn. What is the word for a dress that is currently not being worn by anybody, but have been worn before?
Edit For example, take this context: "The ___ pair of shoes kinda makes me lonely."


texts: Is there a term for the continuance of the later editions of a book?

texts:
Is there a term, or even a designated subgenre, for the continuance by a substitute author of the later editions of a book after the death of the author? Three example of such continuance:

"The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" was originally by Benjamin Spock. Later editions were retitled "Dr Spock's Baby and Child Care", and were revised by Michael Rothenburg, Steven Parker and then Robert Needlman
Hints from Heloise
The Ludlum thrillers
"The elements of style" was originally written by William Strunk Jr, but a later version was expanded by E.B. White


texts: Is it odd to use "mutter" instead of "murmur" in the following context?

texts:
I know that we usually mutter when we're annoyed, but what about the other situations? I mean, for example, is it odd to use "mutter" instead of "murmur" in the following context?

"I love you," she murmured.


texts: Is "if not already exists" valid English?

texts:
In the programming world, I've often seen and used the phrase:

Create new table if not already exists.

Is this valid English wording and/or grammar?


texts: A modern equivalent for "at the coalface"

texts:
I let you believe that I am one of the nation's top geneticists, when actually I am a moderately successful scientist who is now coasting on past research, doing the odd bit of examining or consultancy. I haven't been at the coalface for years.
From the novel, Apple Tree Yard. By Louise Doughty

The Free Dictionary defines the British and Australian idiom at the coalface as: someone who is at the coalface is doing the work involved in a job, not talking about it, planning it, or controlling it.
The Phrase Finder explains

it is a way of saying that the person is 'in touch' and appreciates the actualities of the business rather than being a 'bean-counter' (accountant) a 'paper pusher' (administrator) or a 'fat-cat' (overpaid manager).
obviously the original 'coal-face' is a mining term to describe an underground worker that actually cuts the coal from the rock - but the sense of direct involvement with the core of the business is the important element, rather than it being dangerous or dirty.

Considering today's high-technology age, I think it sounds old-fashioned and outdated. Is there a more modern equivalent?

EDIT
From the comments it seems that many American English speakers are unfamiliar with the British idiom. Which AmEng expression or idiom could replace "at the coalface" in the passage quoted above?