texts: the first trial  from... vs. the first person to climb

texts:
Here are excerpts from different American news articles:

  a. Mr. Manafort’s case is separate from the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and any ties to the Trump campaign, though this is the first trial stemming from the investigation of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel. (The New York Times)

  b. On Wednesday — nearly 13 months to the day after the Justice Department announced the arrests of 10 men, including four assistant coaches, as part of an ongoing investigation of corruption in college basketball — the first trial to stem from the probe resulted in a victory for federal prosecutors and the FBI. (The Washington Post)

They both contain a noun phrase (shown in boldface), and the noun phrase has the structure of either 'the first trial stemming from...' or 'the first trial to stem from...'

So both versions seem to be well formed.

If so, why is it that you can't use '-ing' instead of 'to infinitive' in the following sentences?

'Practical English Usage' by Swan says:

  Superlatives can be followed by an infinitive structure. The meaning is similar
  to an identifying relative clause (see 495).

  He's the oldest athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal.

  (= ... who has ever won ...)

  This structure is also common with first, second, third etc, next, last and only.

  Who was the first person to climb Everest without oxygen?

  The next to arrive was Mrs Patterson.

  She's the only scientist to have won three Nobel prizes.


texts:
I'm a surveyor and we are currently setting up our network. However, there seems to be a disagreement on the proper name of the group. The group is composed of young surveyors under the age of 35, hence the name Young Surveyors Network. However, somebody in the group has challenged it and has asserted that it should be Young Surveyor Network. Personally I think the original name is just fine but I'd prefer more ammunition wink wink

Can somebody resolve this issue? Should it be Young Surveyors Network or Young Surveyor Network? Or does it need to take an apostrophe and be Young Surveyors' Network

Thanks in advance!


texts: What do you call the process of formally addressing someone by using honorifics?

texts:
My native language is Macedonian, and in my language, we have a special term that describes the process of formally addressing someone. The idea is that you treat that person in plural instead of in singular, plus you also use the proper honorifics.

For example:

  Hello, Professor Mark, How are You today?

In the sentence above, there are three important things

You starts with capital Y
You in this context (if it was in Macedonian of course) would be personal pronoun for second person plural (In Macedonian it is totally different word than the one for second person singular)
We use the word Professor as an honorific/title.

For this process, or way of addressing someone formally, we have a word in the Macedonian language: Персирање

I would like to know the equivalent of the English Language and I couldn't find it in few online and few printed dictionary that I have had access to.

I would highly appreciate if someone finds the right word for me and also tell me more about the roles for formal addressing in the English Language (or redirect me to some article).

Thank you.


texts: Present simple or present continuous in emails?

texts:
Suppose I get home and find an email from a friend that was sent while I was out. I reply by apologising that I didn't respond earlier since I was out. Is it better to say

  "It's only now that I find your email, I've been out."

or

  "It's only now that I'm finding your email, I've been out."


texts: What is the meaning of "otherwise" in this text?

texts:
The head on the obverse is archaic in type, and very much resembles that of Sapor I. The crown has attached to it, in many cases, that "cheek-piece" which is otherwise confined to the first three monarchs of the line. These coins are the best from an artistic point of view; ...
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16167/16167-h/16167-h.htm


texts: Two word phrase meaning simple, effective, reliable and proven technology

texts:
As described in the title, I'm looking for a plain language phrase that means solid, dependable and established technology. The phrase I'm struggling to recall was I'm reasonably certain a two word phrase that might have terminated in something like era or period.

I think I've read it most recently in relation to Space Exploration, where it is used when the author wishes to make the point that the next steps can be undertaken without requiring new technology to be developed.

I think the phrase relates to a time period, "something era" for example.

To use it in a sentence;
None of this is new, it is all {Insert Phrase} technology.


texts: usage of articles: definite article or zero article?

texts:
the Chinese invented the paper
  the Chinese invented paper

I can't decide which article we get before paper — zero article or the.

Are we talking about paper in general (so zero article is used before it) or is the definite article the used?


texts: What's the meaning of "pillage and plunder"?

texts:
In the last episode of "Once Upon a Time" (S04E04 - The Apprentice) there was this dialog:

  Girl: Well, I don't pillage and plunder on the first date, just so you know.
  Man: Well, that's because you haven't been out with me yet.

I didn't understand meaning of this phrase: "I don't pillage and plunder on the first date"

I searched google but can't find anything related to this context.

Can someone explain it?


texts: Toasters don't toast toast, toast toasts toast, or does toast toast toast?

texts:
I saw this funny meme from someeecards:

It has me a little confused: To me it sounds like toast toasts toast, not toast toast toast. Is this meme wrong or am I missing something Either they (toast) toast toast. Or, it (the idea of toast) toasts toast?


texts:
I am writing my thesis, and the title goes as follows "A study of data mining techniques for ...".
I wonder if it would be better to omit the indefinite article "a" in the title, i.e. "Study of data mining techniques for ..."
Perhaps both titles are correct, but probably one of the two is more appropriate (but I don't know which one because I am not a native English speaker).


texts:
I'm seeing more and more of the word 'shared' in reporting speech, especially in meeting minutes and even publications. Is this correct?

For example: Mr X shared that training programmes will be conducted.
Or: "We focus on helping people understand mental health issues," she shared.


texts: Which one is grammatically correct: "one of the great" or "one of the greatest"?

texts:
I have been playing a typing game for a while now. The text starts with:

  Aesop was one of the great Greek writers...

Is "one of the great" grammatically correct?


texts:
On the one side, the USA is just one country. Logic says it should be, then, singular, just like the United Kingdom is. Example:

  The USA owns this domain.

On the other side, if I however expand "the USA" to "the United States of America", I'd tend towards using plural — the noun the verb agrees with, "States," is definitely plural. Example:

  The United States of America own this domain. → The USA own this domain.

What form should I prefer?


texts: Double negative: "Didn't I say that I didn't want any trouble?"

texts: Does the above sentence make sense? It's meant to be rhetorical.


texts:
Usually, I use the word déjà vu as a noun, e.g. "sense of déjà vu aroused by an experience".

But the sentence sounds somewhat passive this way and less interesting and also long. I couldn't find an adjective form of the word déjà vu to make the sentence more active like "déjà vu'tic experience".

How can I make use of the word and yet form my sentence in a more active and impactful manner without having too many "by"'s and "of"'s?


texts: An expression for you get stuck in small position in big places vs jump to big positions in small cities

texts:
Is there an English expression or idiom for:

  You can jump places and secure a higher position if you are in small community (country or city as political figure, organization as a manager, school as a head master) versus remaining on a lower rung in a big community (country or city as a official, organization as an officer, school as a teacher)


texts:
I once noticed somebody spelled "whine" as "whinge" and thought it was an egregious and hilarious typo. But it turns out that "whinge" is an acceptable spelling among writers of the "Queen's" (British) English (I've never seen it written that way by an American).

So: how is "whinge" pronounced - the same way as "whine," with a long "i" (but a silent "g")? If it is pronounced otherwise, is it a long or short "i"? And is it a silent "g", a soft "g" ("j") or a hard "g" (as in "goat")?


texts: What does "There is nobody else I'd rather lie in bed and look at my phone next to" mean?

texts: What does "there is nobody else I'd rather lie in bed and look at my phone next to" mean?


texts: Using gerund while listing actions in the past

texts:
I'm writing a piece of fiction as training to improve my English skills, and I've written this small piece:

  The boys had been bulling her again, hiding her things and dumping her backback in a muddy puddle just outside school.

My editor sent me this correction:

  The boys had been bulling her again -- they, hid her things and dumped her backpack into a muddy puddle just outside school grounds.

While the words corrected were ok, I really want to keep this structure of a single long sentence of listing all the hurtful things done to her, instead of breaking the sentence in two pieces, and converting everything to the past. The question is, can I? Is listing actions using gerund, while talking about the past (as is common in fiction), a grammar err?

I reworked the sentence as this:

  The boys had been bulling her again, hiding her trhings and dumping her backpack into a muddy puddle just outside school grounds.

Is it correct?

Thank you!


texts: "Stopped me wearing shoes" vs "stopped me FROM wearing shoes"

texts:
The article below has a title "These ultra-tough socks almost stopped me wearing shoes"

Should it be "These ultra-tough socks almost stopped me FROM wearing shoes"?

I've been seeing "from" omitted a lot lately before the verb and it sounds incorrect.

http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/7/20/12234710/skinners-socks-shoes-review-hands-on


texts: "... can further be ..." VS "... can be further ..."

texts:
Is one of them more correct, or is one of them even wrong?

I found >"Can easily be" vs. "can be easily" — what's the difference?< which sounds pretty much like the same question (which suggests can be easily), still its answers only rely on google search counts.

Does anyone have a more profound answer?

Example:

  The predefined set can further be extended by user-defined data.

  The predefined set can be further extended by user-defined data.

Thanks for your help!


texts:
As in this simple example:

  I want to become a firefighter.

Now, you could replace "become" with "be", but that technically changes the meaning.

I found synonyms on collinsdictionary listed below, but they don't seem to work in my example.

  "come to be, develop into, be transformed into, grow into, change
  into, evolve into, alter to, mature into, metamorphose into, ripen
  into"


texts:
I see people putting these in emails, are they correct? My gut feeling says that please would have sounded a lot better.

  Do let us know your thoughts.
  Do let me know.
  Do consider the proposal.


texts: He who accuses the whole world convicts only himself

texts: Or something like that.  Does anybody know the exact text and source of this quotation?


texts: Whats' the meaning of "promote points of commonality"?

texts:
In the following sentence, what's the meaning of "promote points of commonality"?
Does it mean something like that governments play a role as a mediator and find a central points where opposite sides can agree upon altogether?

As young sharing economies evolve, government may play several roles.
First, where industry members’ interests are not aligned or where a
large number of market competitors exists, governments can facilitate
discussion, mobilize the public, and promote points of commonality.


texts:
The video for American singer Taylor Swift's new song "Wildest Dreams" has been viewed more than 10 million times in the two days since it debuted.

I would like to know why the was used ahead of two days. Also, would its meaning/context be changed without using the article the?


texts: How do you say to someone that you will reuse a sentence you've just heard from them?

texts:
How do you say to someone that you will reuse a sentence (or a joke) you've just heard from them, as-is, because you liked it a lot ?

In Italian we say "Questa me la rivendo", that translated is "I'm gonna resell that one" (ri-vendo / re-sell is the idiomatic part, the other words could be recombined / replaced).

I can't find anything in the web, so... what is the English version ?


texts: What’s the difference between “Take yes for an answer” and “Say yes for an answer”?

texts:
Today’s (December 7) Washington Post carries the following quote from the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s remark on the back-and-forth debates of raising the debt ceiling in the congress as the Quote of the Day.

  “What we have here is a case of Republicans here in the Senate once
  again not taking yes for an answer. Now the Republican leader
  objects to his own idea. So I guess we have a filibuster of his own
  bill."

I don’t think I’ve heard the phrase “Take yes,” though I say and hear “Say yes / no” pretty often.

I found “Take yes” by “googling” in the title of the book, “Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes for an Answer: Managing for Conflict and Consensus” written by Michael A. Roberto, professor of Management at Bryant University and visiting associate professor of New York University.

From the context of Mr. Reid’s quote and the above title of a book, I guess “Take yes for an answer” means to make a resolute decision, or vote for Yes to go forward, but am not sure.

How does “Take yes” differ from the colloquial “Say yes”? Is it a popular word like “say yes / no,” or a political or management terminology?


texts:
According to Cambridge dictionary, the word "pretension" means "the appearance of being more important or more serious than there is reason for", and it gives the following example:

"Leonard’s paintings have a real freedom from pretension."

Does the example mean that Leonard’s paintings don't really have a real freedom? Or that his paintings are not that important or serious?

And Collins says:  "if you say that someone has pretension, you disapprove of them because they claim or pretend that they are more important than they really are." And the example given is "Her wide-eyed innocence soon exposes the pretensions of the art world".

Does the example here mean she realizes the art world is not that important?

Thank you.


texts:
I have a question about the word when. I have read that it can be a conjunction or a relative adverb (either way, it joins two clauses together). Can I ask how do I differentiate between the two?

A few sample sentences are:
1) He graduated from school when he was 22 years old.
2) The risk of theft is higher when you do not install a car alarm system.
3) I remember the day when we first met.


texts:
I read this phrase in "Curvelet based residual complexity objective function for non-rigid registration of pre-operative MRI with intra-operative ultrasound images." 2016:

  In the intensity-based methods, proposing a proper similarity measure
  is the main challenge, particularly in multimodal image registration.
  In this area, due to different nature of two imaging modalities,
  objective functions which are used commonly such as correlation ratio,
  mutual information, and sum square differences are known to fail.


texts:
I am looking for a single word that means "digital graphics/artwork".

The most fitting word that I have been able to find is illustrate. As in

  "Bill creates illustrations."

However, illustrate does not in any way imply that the work being done is digital. So currently I am at digital illustration. As in

  "Bill creates digital illustrations."

Is there a single word that means 'digital illustration'?


texts: Stock quantity of products — the most proper abbreviation

texts:
What is a commonly accepted abbreviation with regard to stock quantity of (countable) products?

As in: "200 units" of sth, just shorter.

I've come across the form "200 pc.", but as it's coming from a non-native speaker and I haven't seen it before, I can't help having some doubts. Is this form correct?


texts:
Which one is more popular?

I always used strong wind, but I found high winds also used some times.


texts:
I am not pretty sure how I could use where in this case:

  In this video, you will see where are the favorite places for the zander to hide and where is it floundering during the day and at night.

If I use it like this the sentence becomes awkward:

  In this video, you will see where the favorite places for the zander to hide are and where it is floundering during the day and at night.

Thank you!


texts:
Should i put definite article before "Houses" in "[The] houses on this street are very old"?

UPD:
I know this rule:

  The definite article can be used with both singular and plural nouns, but it must only be used when you are describing a specific noun, or group of nouns.

Do "on this street" part specify "houses" enough to use definite article in this case?


texts:
I need a word for something that can't be confessed
or, in a more general way, something secret about you or someone else, that you wouldn't normally want the world to know about (if they know it comes from you, but you have no problem sharing it anonymously).

but not something like unspeakable (evil or bad).

It might be like a positive thing to say, but you can't just say it because you are afraid what other people might think of you.

Is there any other word, besides unconfessable, that can describe the above?

edit: found out the word unmentionable


texts: Question about «The portrait utilizes a palette of...»

texts:
Is this sentence correct?

The portrait utilizes a palette of grays, blacks and blues.

Doesn’t it sound like the portrait painted itself? Shouldn’t it be «The artist utilized a palette of grays, blacks and blues.»
Thank you!


texts:
I have just come across something that I have never thought about before and it occurred to me that this site would be the place to ask.

The dictionary defines ALLOW as: VERB - let (someone) have or do something.

The dictionary defines LET as: VERB - not prevent or forbid; allow.

So the dictionary uses each word to define the other word. This suggests to me they are likely synonyms.

However if I have this sentence, "doing this allows you to jump higher" I cannot simply just change the word ALLOWS to LETS because the word TO makes the sentence sound wrong; "doing this lets you to jump higher".

Similarly, if I have the sentence "doing this lets you jump higher" and I change the word LETS to ALLOWS, it again sounds wrong; "doing this allows you jump higher".

So my question is, is there a simple reason why, while both words look to be interchangeable at a definition level, choosing either of the words also changes which other words you need in the sentence to make it complete or sound correctly structured?


texts: Why do we say "at H:MM," but "on yyyy/mm/dd?"

texts:
This is not a duplicate of On vs At with date and time.

Why do we say 'at' when referring to a clock-time, but 'on' when referring to a date, when they're just differently sized divisions of the larger concept of time? Why the difference?

Is it purely historical (in which case, when did this come about?), or does it key into rules of grammar?


texts:
Earlier versions of this well-known proverb, according to “writingexplained.org”,  include:

  A Latin proverb cited by Erasmus of Rotterdam was translated into English by Richard Taverner in 1545, as:

  “The corne in an other mans ground semeth euer more fertyll and plentifull then doth oure own.” (The corn in another man’s ground seems ever more fertile and plentiful than our own does.)

  The poet Ovid takes this further, saying in his “Art of Love” (1 BC) that

  “the harvest is always richer in another man’s field.”

But, apparently, as far as the current  English version is concerned:

  this idiom has been popular since at least the early 1900’s, evidenced by the fact that a song recorded in 1924 by Raymond B. Egan and Richard A. Whiting carried its wording, “The Grass is Always Greener in the Other Fellow’s Yard.”

One often suggested origin of the current version is:

  It is speculated that the expression came from the habit of cattle of grazing through the fence on the grass of the adjacent field, or escaping from one pasture to another through a broken fence line, in search of new grass to eat.(www.idioms.online)

and curiously the same proverb, with almost the same wording, is present also in other languages such  as French, Italian, and even in Japanese.

Questions:

Where does the English proverb comes from? Did it originate in England or was it “imported” from a foreign language?
When do the first English usage instances date back to?


texts:
Are "strait laced" and "straight laced" synonymous?

"Strait," as in Strait of Magellan, straitjacket or dire straits means narrow or confined while "straight" means exactly what one would think it to mean. All my dress shoes are laced straight across from eyelet to eyelet but not tightly! It would seem that these usages are not at all related.

My etymological dictionary doesn't acknowledge "straight laced" at all while the Allen Edmonds shoe website does--as a technique for tying shoes. Does strait-laced mean straight-laced?

I've been informed that this topic has been addressed in the past, so I went to that thread and it seemed that those who posted didn't seem to grasp the point that the phrases are unrelated to each other.

My thanks to Andrew for giving my post a much more graceful ending!


texts: What is the difference between "good" and "well"

texts: Most of the time, I use good and well interchangeably. However, on many occasions I would find well or good a misfit. Please suggest the proper usage.


texts: How to specify an organization with the name of city

texts:
There is an organization, Federation of Literary and Art Circles, in my hometown city and I need to name it. So basically it is a combination problem of organization and city name. The following two choices are in my head for now:

  (Alto) City Federation of Literary and Art Circles
  Federation of Literary and Art Circles of (Alto) city.

Which one is correct?


texts:
This is from NYTimes:

  And again and again, and closer and closer, it returns to a speeding commuter train, a recurrence that artfully foreshadows the story’s nifty repetition compulsion.

How can this sentence end with two nouns? What does “nifty repetition compulsion” mean?


texts: Many men believe not themselves what they would persuade others; and less do the things which they would impose on others, but least of all know what they themselves most confidently boast.


texts: Which is grammatically correct, "I" personally, or "me" personally?

texts: "Good luck to each of you with your endeavors, and if the Association, or me personally, can do anything to assist you, please don't hesitate to contact me."


texts: Good Luck **in** all your endeavors' versus Good Luck **to** all your endeavors'

texts:
What is the difference between

'I am currently busy with family stuff so I really don't know when is a good time to catch up.

Good Luck in all your endeavors'

versus

'I am currently busy with family stuff so I really don't know when is a good time to catch up.

Good Luck to all your endeavors'?

The first one sounds pleasant. The second one sounds like a good bye.

Does keyword 'really' have a role here?


texts: How to complete a sentence starting with "Just because..."

texts:
I often find myself starting a sentence with "Just because", as in "Just because I didn't respond to your invitation, that doesn't mean I don't want to attend."

But I never quite know how to finish it. Is it grammatical to finish it with "doesn't mean", "that doesn't mean", "it doesn't mean" etc.? The first few Google results tend to use one of those, but something about that usage always sounds slightly off to me (what is the "that" referring to?)


texts:
In the context of the proper use of a ticket-tracking system for software development, someone said:

  Do not write project status updates to a limited subset of people in email.

(Instead, send the message from within the ticket-tracking system so  that all interested parties can read it.)

The phrase write an update to people seems awkward to me, but I'm having trouble figuring out exactly why. I can see all these alternatives as correct:

  send an update to people
  write to people
  update people
  write an update for people
  write an update that you send to people

Is there something wrong with this phrase, as my instincts suggest? Perhaps considering the seemingly equivalent I wrote to people a project status update in email could help, as that phrase also makes me uneasy.


texts: Which is correct? "In as greater detail as possible" or "In as great a detail as possible"

texts: The question title really says it all. I have Googled the subject but not found the answer!


texts: harmless coloured water vs harmlessly coloured water

texts:
In the passage...

  The remarkable thing about many of the medicines dismissed then as 'snake oil' is not so much that they failed to live up the outrageous claims made for them - those that weren't harmless coloured water could be positively dangerous."

I tried to decompose this super complex sentence, however it is beyond my capability now. I need to study more! I decomposed it like this:

The remarkable thing about many of the medicines (that then are dismissed as 'snake oil' that is not so much that the medicines failed to live up the claims that were made for them - those that were harm coloured water)  could be positively dangerous.

Is that correct?
Why did they use "harmless coloured water"? Shouldn't the correct form be "adv+adj+N"?
shouldn't it be "harmlessly coloured water"?


texts:
The word "kör olası" in Turkish is kind of similar in usage to the word "damned" in English but with a different meaning. It literally means "my it be blinded". So, for instance,

  I jabbed a finger at his kör olası eye

literally means

  I jabbed a finger at his may it be blinded eye.

Is there a word for this in English?


texts: What is a word for someone who has never attended a different school?

texts: I am looking for a word or phrase to describe students at a K-12 school who have attended this same school the whole time from kindergarten through 12th grade. The first of these students will be graduating from our school soon, and referring to them as "long-term students" or "early adopters" doesn't work well to get the meaning across. Thank you for any help you can give.


texts: Is there a noun that represents a set of interactions?

texts:
When discussing human interactions such as a conversation, an email, an online chat, or a postcard, is there a noun that can be used to describe the entire set of interactions?

Obviously the plural form 'interactions' fits most scenarios but a separate word to describe this would be preferable.

Since this is specifically communication interactions a word from a participants perspective could be used instead of a generic term.

Update

Ideally the word in question would not itself be replaceable with the word 'interaction' or vice versa. We've tied ourselves in knots of misunderstanding when talking about this since we've been unable to come up with a term that means 'group of interactions' which isn't itself an interaction. 'Communication' isn't a perfect candidate since it too can be used to describe the set as well as an instance.


texts:
" researchers have still to decide whether smell is one sense or two- one responding to odours proper and the registering odourless chemicals in the air. "
Can I ask you guys why it's not still have to in this sentence ?


texts: Capturing the idea of "almost/nearly" and "actually"

texts:
Let's take failing a test as an example.

I would like to capture the class of people consisting of those who actually failed the test and who nearly failed the test.

Is there an elegant way of saying this? I would like to apply this to other situations as well.

Thanks for any hints in this matter.


texts: Is the sentence "I’m only going to ask you again once." grammatically correct?

texts: I was under the impression that you can't use two adverbs to modify the same verb. Namely when again modifies "ask", once cannot also modify ask. I've been told that once can modify "ask you again", but I wasn't sure if that was correct/possible.


texts: Softer term for gaslighting - as in, trying to make someone constantly think they're wrong?

texts: I"m aware of the term "gaslighting", but I believe this only references when someone else is trying to make you think you're going mad; but I'm wondering is there a similar term that explains when someone is doing much the same, but in this instance is trying to make you constantly doubt your intelligence on the matter and acts as if their opinion on the matter is infallible, based on just their word?


texts: Where is the root morpheme in Modern English abortion?

texts:
The question is not so easy as it seems. Let's analyze some derivatives: abortion, abortive, abortiveness, abortionist. The analysis of derivational suffixes (-ion, -ive, ive+ness etc.) helps to identify the end of the root. But what about the prefix? Is it possible to consider ab- in this word as a negative prefix, as for example in ab-normal or ab-duct?

From etymological point of view the root must be OR (from L. abortivus "pertaining to miscarriage; causing abortion," from abort-, pp. stem of aboriri "disappear, miscarry," from ab- "amiss" (see ab-) + oriri "appear, be born, arise"). What about the root in Modern English (ort or abort) ?


texts:
I would like to see if the following sentence is correct:

(context: the tool performs an analysis during which alarms may be raised)

  1. we had set up the tool such that a raised alarm stops the whole analysis.

Someone proposed

  2. we had set up the tool as such that a raised alarm stops the whole analysis.
  3. we had set up the tool such that a raised alarm would stop the whole analysis.
  4. we had set up the tool as such that a raised alarm would stop the whole analysis.


texts: When should I use a comma before the word "who"?

texts:
Should I use a comma before the word who?  This sentence is confusing me:

  I made this blog because I want to help all of the other people
  who have problems that are similar to mine.

If I did use a comma in that sentence, then what would be the benefits & disadvantages?

In what cases should a comma be put before the word who?


texts: “terrorist” vs. “freedom fighter” – what's a more neutral word?

texts:
Yes, often history ends up being pretty clear on which was which.  This isn't meant to introduce moral equivalence when there isn't any.  But sometimes the situation is more ambiguous, such as liberation wars fought without respect for the laws of war.

So, what word to use when you want to remain strictly neutral, for example, when trying to communicate with people on both sides of the conflict?

“Rebel” sounds good, except that, at least in modern times, I at least perceive somewhat of a (positive) connotation of rebellion against oppressive central governments.


texts: Word for phrase Good for you, bad for us

texts:
There is a phrase I have heard quite a bit recently dealing with people that are leaving the department for promotions, etc. When a person leaves, it is good for them, but bad for us.

It is good for them because they will be pursuing a new opportunity, but not so good for the department since they will have to be replaced, and others will have to pick up the slack until someone else can be hired and get up to speed.

Is there a word that means that a deal is good for one party, but not necessarily the other?


texts:
From what I can glean, it'll and I've exist as standard contractions, but I am unsure of whether it'll've either exists or is acceptable.

"It will have" should be able to be reduced to "it'll've", shouldn't it?


texts: A word or expression to describe a person who tells someone else how to do their work

texts:
In Portugal, we have an expression to designate this, which literally translates to something like "coach from the audience". This is a figurative expression related with those people on the audience of a sports event, screaming at the coach of the team (or the team itself), schooling them how they should play, typically in a condescending way, despite the lack of expertise of this outsider.
This expression is also sometimes used when someone is providing unsolicited advice, but it's different. Because unsolicited advice is many times regarded as coming from a good intention to help, and because an unsolicited advice is an attempt to solve a problem. The concept I was searching for captures the cases where there might not be any problem at all, but still there is this person who has to voice their opinion on a condescending way about something that is not his responsibility.
I know about the word 'patronizing', but I feel that this doesn't capture exactly what I want to express.
Is there any word or expression in English that is tangible to this?


texts:
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/submit
As the dictionary defines,"submit" can mean "say or suggest something".
In my mind, I remember that some words like"suggest","recommend" and"request" etc. must use "should" before the verb in that-clauseor or just use the original form of the verb when the above words connect that-clause .
Such as

  In last meeting,my manager suggested that we (should) focus more on the advertisements.

Or,like the following website.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv201.shtml

So,does the verb "submit" include this rule when it means "suggest"?
For example,

  When Lisa came here for some help, I submitted that she (should) tell me the problems more clearly so that I can lend her a hand more easily.


texts: I am confused by this video, in which the speaker claims usages like 'How to say egg in Chinese' is incorrect, and 'How do you say egg in Chinese' is correct. Is it right?


texts: Did President Obama break punctuation rules in his tweet?

texts:
After Clint Eastwood's RNC convention speech, President Obama tweeted as follows:

  This seat's taken.

Did he break any apostrophe punctuation rules? I am guessing he didn't as I haven't heard any objections to it. I am assuming the apostrophe is used to show the omission of letters, as in “This seat is taken”. I am confused about the usage as the apostrophe can also be used to form the possessive of the noun seat, as in My seat's cushion is red.

Can the apostrophe usage change the meaning of a word based on the context of a sentence? Are there other examples for this pattern?


texts: Prepositions for "Wednesday night" and "the night of Christmas Eve"

texts:
Which of the following prepositions would be most appropriate to be used before Wednesday night and the night of Christmas Eve when referring at exactly during these time(s) (not before or after)?

at the night of Christmas Eve
on the night of Christmas Eve
in the night of Christmas Eve


texts: The idea that ... seems absurd OR the idea seems absurd that

texts:
The following sentence:

  The idea that we are all created equal seems absurd to me.

Seems better to me than:

  The idea seems absurd that we are all created equal.

Is it correct to use seems/that in the way the second sentence does?

Note: these sentences are for example only and do not necessarily reflect my own views.


texts:
I asked a friend of mine to read something (on skype), and he declined the offer.

Then he asked me to play a game, to which I replied, "I have better things to do."

Then he wrote back, "Exactly! Why I didn't read."

Then we got into a debate about whether it was grammatically correct.

I believe that if he had said "Exactly why I didn't read your text", it would have been correct or even something like "Exactly why I didn't read", but he says he is correct.

Can you tell me whether he is mistaken or I am?


texts: Present indefinite tense in past and future events

texts:
I heard it in a TV series "she hears everything i said"
And in a song lyrics "Whatever happens in the future, trust in destiny"
Why they use present indefinite in these contexts?


texts: Just as the title says — where, and how, did the phrase 'stone the crows' originate?


texts: Is there a word that means "attracted to talent" in the way that sapiosexual means attracted to intellect?

texts:
I think the title says it all but just wondering if there is a word that means attracted to talent or attracted to displays of talent.

Examples would be being attracted to seeing someone be a good doctor, dentist, architect, give a good presentation, teacher, engineer, manager, baker. I don't know how specific to make it. Not just knowing they are talented at something being seeing them display that talent. Heck, it could be talent at being a dad or a mom but the moment they seem like they really know what they're doing.

I suspect there is no word (yet?) but I know at least for myself there is the phenomenon that when I see someone show their talent it's a turn on and it's the same turn on for the most part regardless of talent. All of those examples in the question fit. Seeing someone excel at their skills pushes a button beyond just admiration. It's not just they are talented, it's seeing that talent in action. It could be tax accountant of the opposite sex (or whatever sex you're attracted to) but if they are really into the groove and clearly know their stuff it sticks out and is a turn on.

To give personal examples: an x-girlfriend who of course I liked her else she wouldn't have been my girlfriend, she was a professor and one day she invited me to hang out in her class so we could more easily go somewhere after the class. Seeing her be in charge of the class and clearly an expert of the topic matter was a huge turn on.

Another lady friend was organized an event and gave a talk. Before the event she was just an attractive friend but during the event when she was skillfully running everything and given a well researched talk it was a huge turn on.

I saw a mother and daughter the other day at a festival. The daughter, about 10yrs old, was not having a good time for some reason. Within a few minutes the mom had managed to bring her daughter out of the mopes and they were dancing together to the music and the daughter looked like she was having the time of her life. That made the mom show her talent as a mom and was a huge turn on.

In other words, it's not just attracted to people you know are talented, it's attracted to displays of that talent.

Sapiosexual seems to be a relatively recent addition to the language and is used often now in online dating profiles as a shortcut to saying "attracted to intellect". Demisexual as well is now in fairly common usage used in dating profiles as a shortcut to "need to have a strong emotional attachment to be sexualy attracted" . So I'm wondering if there is a word for "turned on when I see someone display their talents", new or old that can similarly be used in an online dating profile.


texts: How to read in British English 172147000122.25?

texts: Is my spelling right - a hundred seventy two billion one hundred forty seven million a hundred and twenty two point a quarter? Thank you.


texts: Definite Article with Prepositional Phrases

texts:
I am trying to learn how to correctly use articles in English. It is a bit hard for me since I do not have this concept in my native language.

I am confused by two rules: the first rule is to use "a" whenever you introduce things, while the second one is to use "the" with prepositional phrases. I am wondering how I can identify when a prepositional phrase makes a noun definite.

For instance, which article shall I use in the next sentence?

  I am working on a(the) Web application to assess (the) current performance of traffic companies.

  I came up with a(the) solution that was based on my previous experience to solve our current problem.

On one hand, I mention the Web application for the first time. On the other hand, you know what Web application I am talking about (to assess the current performance of traffic companies).

Thanks in advance!


texts:
In the lyrics of the Coasters' 1959 song "Poison Ivy" there are the lines

  She comes on like a rose but everybody knows
  She'll get you in Dutch
  Now you can look but you better not touch

The song  is apparently about  a woman who transmits  a venereal disease and my question is:

  What does "she'll get you in Dutch" mean?


texts:
Is there a better alternative to "in real time"? For example:

People tweet in real time.
People tweet live. [seems kind of unnatural to me]


texts:
"This thing will hang me up if I live to be."

What does this sentence mean? It's from Columbo S02E01. I can provide context if neccessary.


texts:
I was reading this blog post and had trouble understanding this comment on the piece:

  Or you could appropriate the Freudian hermeneutic: "Sometimes a vessel
  is just a vessel."

I understand "hermeneutic" to be a study of interpretation, especially that which concerns the bible. I also understand "Freudian" to be a school of psychoanalysis in which importance is given to theories of sexuality (and that it has come under critical scrutiny of and is at large disregarded by feminists).

So I would like to ask whether the above is meant to be ironic?


texts: Difference between be settled down and settle down?

texts:
He has finally settled down.
He is finally settled down.

Does second one mean that the guy has married and started a good life?
What about the first one? Which one would you prefer most?


texts: Is there a single word to express someone feeling lonely in a relationship with his/ her partner?

texts:
"Loneliness is bad but ( feeling lonely while being in a relationship ) is worse."
I would like to replace what's in the parentheses.
The situation is the following: Someone decided to enter a relationship with someone he/she doesn't even feel attracted to in the first place. The only reason for having done so was just so he/she doesn't feel lonely. Then the person realizes he/she feels even lonelier because he/she is in (...)
In Italian it's: solitudine nella coppia
In Hungarian: Társas magány
Maybe if you know one of those languages it can also help!
I am looking for the word in the parentheses.
Thank you!


texts: In the American dialects that have monophthongization of [eɪ] and [oʊ], what's the rule on when to use the diphthongs and when to use monophthongs?

texts: Does it have something to do with closed and open syllables? Like sometimes I can hear /e/ and /o/ instead of their diphthong forms.


texts: Ambiguous parsing in the absence of prepositions

texts:
Consider the following sentence which may appear, say, in a changelog of a website or an app:

  Order a taxi button on most pages.

Does it allow multiple parsings, i.e.

there is an entity named "a taxi button" that you can order from most pages;
on most pages there is a button that can be used to order a taxi.

If it does, which one is the more "natural"?
Is there a rule that would establish one of the parsings as primary and if there is, what is its name?
How do I search for another example of this kind? What are the common terms to be searched for if I want to find out more on this topic (read more examples, if nothing else)?
What if I change the sentence to "Taxi order button on most pages"? Does the problem persist, in particular, can the word "taxi" be read as a verb meaning "ship it somewhere using a taxi" now?


texts: Does 'skittish' derive from the noun 'skite'?

texts:
A skittish pony is one that is characterised by unpredictable, unstable behaviour, usually because of nervousness. A skittish investor is one that is over-cautious or who quickly pulls out of a trade or deal. Merriam Webster.

The common denominator appears to me to be the unreliable characteristic of man or beast, resulting in unpredictable behaviour.

There is a noun, skite, with an accompanying verb, which the OED lists as part of Scottish and 'Northern' dialect.

'On the skite' is Scottish for being drunk. 'A skite' is a ricochet or a glancing blow.

I wonder if the unreliable nature of an inebriated person or a sideways blow or a glancing ricochet indicates that 'skittish' originates with 'skite'.

The vulgar verb 'skite', to defecate, is very obscure and the Australian/New Zealand meaning of 'skite' - 'boastfulness or conceit' seems to be unrelated, but the Scottish use of 'skite' or 'skyte' as someone who babbles or 'blethers' without logic or consequence may also have a bearing. All from OED

Does 'skittish' derive from 'skite' ?


texts: You "show" someone a picture. You "---" someone a song?

texts:
In Maltese, we have a verb meaning "to show" corresponding to "to see/to look", and we have a different verb corresponding to "to hear/to listen":

inti tara stampa (you look at a picture.) ---- jiena nurilek stampa (I show you a picture)
inti tisma' diska (you listen to a song.) ----- jiena nsemmagħlek diska (I 'show' you a song)

In English, do you "show someone a song" (sounds weird to me) or is there a verb that corresponds more directly to the Maltese insemmgħek?


texts: Word to describe phrase where every word is swapped with its antonym?

texts: For example, take the phrase "beginning to end", and change each word to be its antonym so that it's "end from beginning". Kind of like an oxymoron but with antonyms...Is this even a thing?


texts: What is an antonym or popularly used phrase meaning the opposite of low-ball used to refer to a price?


texts: “His eyes, still on me, were speaking of cruelty.”

texts:
Is this sentence considered correct?

  His eyes, still on me, were speaking of cruelty.

I think whiz-deletion is applied to it, but I am not entirely sure. Can someone tell me?


texts: How do you differentiate between a transitive verb and a noun?

texts:
I have several components in a piece of software I am working with and we want to select names that are nouns which describe the components.

We have the following names:

Automation
Retrieval
Parsing

It has been brought up by a team member that "parsing" is a transitive verb and not a noun and that we should select a new name to maintain consistency.

Can the word "parsing" be used as both a noun and a transitive verb?

Why is "parsing" not a noun?


texts: What’s the exact meaning of this sentence?

texts:
I have some problems with a specific sentence in a book titled This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things.
The sentence is below:

  It would be easy to say—as many members of the media have said, to a flourish of attention, page views, and ad revenue—that all forms of RIP trolling are objectively bad, and that all RIP trolls are objectively evil.

My concern is the part between the dashes,

—as many members of the media have said, to a flourish of attention, page views, and ad revenue—

What’s the role of those words following the first comma, to a flourish of attention, page views, and ad revenue, in this context?

I’m pretty sure that the ‘to’ is not an infinitive, but a preposition, so they shouldn’t be the purposes of the members’ saying.
Also, if those words are the objectives of ‘have said,’ why is there a comma after ‘said?’

Although I’ve spent pretty much time on it, I found it clueless, so I need some help.

Thank you!


texts: What should I use instead of "prefixed with"?

texts:
When I want to report that a function name needs to start with a prefix, I write the function name must be prefixed with; when I do so, the spelling and grammar checker suggests me to rewrite the phrase using prefixed to, or prefaced with.
How should I write the sentence?


texts:
I've been taught that while proceeded by a comma means "whereas", and that when it is not, is interpreted to mean "at the same time".

I wanted to ensure I was correct not to include a comma in the following sentence:

  I was also reminded of the importance of using empathy while still
  maintaining a position of clinical neutrality.

Thanks!


texts: Should I use 'health check' or 'healthcheck'?

texts:
I don't know if this adds anything, but the context is computer software where a component checks the health of the system and produces a report.

I don't know whether it's a 'Health Check Feature' or a 'Healthcheck Feature'.

I don't know why, but 'healthcheck' seems more natural in the sentence 'I'm running a healthcheck',  whereas the the other version seems better in the sentence 'the results of the health check were...'


texts: Hello, which one is correct grammatically?

texts:
Please share your offers with me to evaluate.
Please share your offers to evaluate with me.
Please share with me to evaluate your offers.


texts:
I have a program which specifies commencement and completion activities, we'll call them "A" and "B" respectively. It then outputs the percent of duration between them that hasn't elapsed:

  Percentage of the way from A to B: 13%

The "of the way" feels very uncomfortable and unnecessary yet without the phrase I like it even less:

  Percentage from A to B: 13%

Is there a way that I can more clearly state that this is the fraction of the total time between A and B that remains?


texts: How would I use apostrophe for nonplurals?

texts: When you have a plural, it usually ends with an 's'. For example, girls, boys, chickens, bicycles. If you would like to show possession, you add an apostrophe to the end, with no extra 's'. So, we get The girls', boys', chickens' and bicycles' food is iron. However, if you had a singular noun ending with an 's', like Jesus or watercress, would write the possessive form like this "Jesus', watercress'" or like this "Jesus's, watercress's"?


texts:
I came across the following conditional clause while studying a grammar book published by Oxford:

"If you know London so well, you shouldn't have got so hopelessly lost."

The writer of the book has only briefly mentioned that this is a mixed conditional clause (type 1-3) without giving any further explanation in what situation it can be used. I'm already familiar with two other types of mixed conditional clauses (type 2-3 and type 3-2) and have no problem understanding them but this one is causing me some trouble. I need your help. Thanks.


texts: How can I make this sentence unambiguous?

texts:
I'd like suggestions to punctuate, or if necessary, reword the following sentence, so as to give its explicit meaning, but without losing its feel.

  I encourage thought and discussion provoking questions by students.

I'd like to leave it as is, and just punctuate it if possible.

The meaning I want is "I encourage students to ask questions which provoke thought and discussion".

I'm concerned that as is, it could be read as "I encourage thought and discussion, which will provoke questions by students".

Edit:

It seems even in my attempt to be explicit, I was still ambiguous. I'll try again.

My intended meaning is: "I encourage students to ask questions which provoke both thought and discussion".


texts:
To which extent is just interchangeable with simply, as in the example?

  It's becoming more than just annoying.
  It's becoming more than simply annoying.

Is just synonym of simply in just any case or are there situations where the two adverbs convey slightly different meanings?

Also, Google gives 1,800,000,000 results for just and only 295,000,000 results for simply. Is one preferred over the other?


texts: Is asking a participle or gerund in the sentence "Asking questions is easier than answering them. "


texts:
Lenny had slept most of the way since leaving Texas.

I found this sentence from Cambridge Dictionary. I have been taught that you use past perfect tense to emphasize an event in the past that took place before another past event, and you also need to use past simple on the event or action that took place afterward to form a complete sentence.
The quoted sentence seems to violate these rules. In this sentence, leaving Texas happened before had slept, and there's no past simple to be found. Is this sentence grammatical in the first place? Is there a name for this particular sentence structure?


texts: Difference in meaning between 'in view of' and 'in the view of'?

texts:
I wonder if 'in view of' or 'in the view of' have different meanings. For example, when I want to mention someone's opinion, e.g.

'In the view of Peter, doing X is a bad idea.' OR
'In view of Peter, doing X is a bad idea.'

Which one is correct? And can the other one still be used in other contexts?

Thanks for any input!


texts: What sense of "hack" is involved in "five hacks for using coffee filters"?

texts:
I was drawn to the usage of the word, “hack” in the following message in today. com:
5 unexpected ways to use coffee filters (that have nothing to do with coffee)

  Coffee filters are good for more than your morning brew. Try these
  five hacks and you'll never look at those pieces of paper the same
  way. That little piece of paper powers our days through the simple
  task of straining coffee grounds, but that's not the only function
  it's good for. Here are five new ways to make them even more
  essential.

As I saw the word, “hack” being used in this way for the first time, I consulted dictionaries on line, and found that:

Oxford Dictionary defines “hack” as a noun to mean:

1.rough cut, blow, or stroke.
2. an act of computer hacking.

Cambridge Dictionary only shows the definition of “hack” as a verb:
to cut into pieces in a rough and violent way, often without aiming exactly.

Though I presumme "hack" in the above quote means an idea or method, what does it exactly mean?

Is it common to use "hack" in such a way?


texts: How to word this: we should "not do something but/rather do something else"

texts:
I'm trying to figure out if the sentence below is grammatically correct. I am trying to say here "In international relations, we shouldn't stop diplomatic discussions (not leave the table), instead we should be included in negotiations to defend our country's interest." How can i fix the sentence below, especially "not do this rather do something else" phrase?
Thanks!

I think that in international relations, we should not leave the table, rather be included in the process by defending the interests of our country.


texts: What's the difference between "dawn" and "dawning"?

texts: I googled and I found nothing useful. I know what dawn means but I can't figure out if dawning is the same thing or has a different meaning.


texts:
Is sectarianly an acceptable adverb in the following sentence?

  Northern Ireland is a sectarianly charged area of the world.

If not what can be used as an alternative adverb?

The word sectarianly is not listed at www.merriam-webster.com but mentioned at dictionary.com as a link to sectarian. In addition, the British National Corpus does not seem to have any results for it.


texts: What's a word or phrase for something government-level or state-level?

texts:
An example could be "the state-level banning of narcotics" to indicate that the government banned it.

What's a word or phrase to emphasise that something is national, and not local? I hope I'm getting across what I mean clearly enough.

EDIT:

I should have clarified that I'm looking for a word that is applicable anywhere, in any country.


texts: syntax analysis help: are objects verb complement)

texts:
I am wondering what are you gonna do

In the above sentense, what is the function of subordinate clause what are you gonna do?
I am leaning toward object, but maybe it is verb complement? Is there a difference?

edit: My original question was not very clear, so I would like to explain it further: what I am trying to figure out here is whether object can be seen as a type of verb complement. cambridge dictionary online lists complement as separate from object, but this sourceseems to think objects (both direct and indirect) are verb complement.


texts: How to express the idea that you are so scared that you almost pee in your pants? "be scared to pee" maybe?

texts:
Ok, we got the idiom "be scared to death" = "feel extremely frightened" (see http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/scare+to+death)

"be scared to death" does not mean "you are scared that you will be die".

Likewise, I want to express the idea that you are so scared that you almost pee in your pan?

So, can I use the expression "be scared to pee". However, when searching that term in Google, it shows many results like "The 3 years old boy is scared to pee" which means "he is afraid of peeing" but does not mean "he is extremely afraid of something to a level that he almost pees in his pan"

How to express the idea that you are so scared that you almost pee in your pan?


texts:
I’m　quoting a part of the article titled “Pakistan Sees Shared Intelligence Lapse” written by Alan Cowell in today’s (May 4) New York Time’s Asia Pacific section (online edition) simply by cut-and-pasting of the text:

  “After the meeting, Mr. Gilani that he
  did not believe the United States
  Congress would show its displeasure
  with Pakistan by cutting aid to his
  nuclear-armed nation and he said the
  West would continue to support
  Pakistan as a “responsible nation.”
  “We are working together” against
  terrorism, he said.

Don’t we need ‘said’ or ‘told’ between Gilani and that in the first line, or omission of the verb permitted in press English, or it is simply erroneous drop of ‘said’?


texts: What is the idiom for "as anyone can see" or "clearly"?

texts:
I keep wanting to say "the handwriting on the wall," but that's not correct. The place I'm trying to use it is, "Alice likes Bob, Carol likes Bob, Alice thinks Bob likes her, but Bob dates Carol, and so as anyone can see, Bob did not like Alice."

What is the appropriate idiom here?


texts: What is the best way to idiomatically translate this pun into English?

texts:
I'm trying to translate some text from Russian to English.

The text discusses both chairs and power over people (it is a fantasy work discussing a Chair of Power for a Lord).

At one point, it has a pun using the word "посадить" ("posadit'"), which works in Russian, because that word has two meanings:

Literally, it means "to sit (someone) down"
idiomatically, "to put in jail" (e.g. so the person sits in jail).

Is there a way that this pun can be - at least approximately - translated into English?

The full sentence is:

"And this [Chair] is for the Dark Lord, so he can sit everyone"
"And this [Chair] is for the Dark Lord, so he can jail everyone"

Original russian: "И один - Властелину, чтоб всех посадить".


texts: Does "alter" means "change into something worse"?

texts: In French, the verb altérer means change into something worse or degrade. As a non-native English speaker I wonder whether the English verb alter has necessarily this negative meaning or in the contrary, if it is neutral as change or transform.


texts: Word to denote a negative tone in the spoken voice

texts:
What is an appropriate English word to describe a negative, perhaps passive-aggressive, tone in someone's voice?

I initially thought perhaps using something like "they had a negative lilt in their voice" could work, but most dictionaries agree that lilt is only used for cheerful or happy tones.

I've also searched for antonyms for lilt, but I have not found any dictionaries that contain any.

UPDATE:

I'm trying to come up with written examples.  It is quite challenging because we are describing a tonal matter.

I'll present a few examples, but none are perfect.  Hopefully I will be successful in conveying the general idea.

Let's say you arrive at the doctor's office 5 minutes late.  The receptionist says to you, in a bit of a snotty way, "We appreciate if all of our patients arrive on time.  I'll see if the doctor can still see you."
Let's say you make 5 calls to a businessperson's office to return their call.  You make 4 of them during business hours, and one late at night.  They then call you back, and say with a [need word here] "Please stop making your calls after hours." (implying you are avoiding them).
Let's say you accommodate someone by making an appointment with them at an inconvenient location.  After that appointment, they then call, using a [need word here] tone that they have scheduled another appointment at the same location.

In all the examples, the person remains professional, yet is intentionally being a bit nasty.  They don't cross that fine line, because they know they have to appear to be professional.  Yet, they get right up to the line in order to be passive-aggressive.  There is also a bit of a condescending nature involved, as way as a bit of abuse of the power-differential in the relationships.


texts: A figure of speech combining two phrases

texts:
I have read somewhere that it is typical of poems such as Nibelungenlied to use a figure of speech which in fact merges two phrases into one by the mean of a common word. An example could be the following:
And then I ate the apple was red as blood
A proper example of this can be found in Nibelungenlied (Adventure 20, 1184, 1-2), where we have

man sach
Ortwin von Mezze | ce Rvedgeren sprach

which means

one saw
Ortwin von Metz | to Rüdiger said

So, is there a name for this figure of speech? Is it a typical figure of other archaic poems such as Beowulf or am I confusing?


texts:
I am having issues with the wording of the following sentence:

  Overall our research shows an overreaching commonality, such that, social media has a significant impact on our physical well being and emotions.

I am unclear if the words "such that" are proper connectors between the two thoughts (should it be "in that"?). I have tried separating the two parts, but then the first sentence before the connector just sounds "empty".

Any suggestions?


texts:
We say that Luna is Earth's moon. That's like looking at it from the Earth's perspective, or from a wider perspective. What is Earth to Luna from Luna's perspective?

In an application I've been coding, I create an object for each planet and in each object, there are two properties moon and master. For example,

earth : {
    radius : 60,
    moons : [ luna ],
    master : null,
},
luna : {
    radius : 15,
    moons : [],
    master : earth,
},

I chose master but I'm curious if there's a better or more technical term for that.

I wasn't sure if I should ask this in astronomy.stackexchange.com or in here. So, advise if I was wrong.


texts:
Can the word "marginalize" be used to mean "to put something on the margin" as opposed to the usual meaning of "to exclude someone from a social group"?

I'm trying to think of a verb or adjective to describe something being put on the fringe of a document, something more concise than "put on the margin".

I've come across the phrase "to dock (something)", as in "dock one's pay", but that seems somewhat informal to me. (I might be wrong about that.)


texts: Synonym for "series" with distinguishable singular and plural forms

texts:
I need a word which could be used instead of "series" when we talk about books, movies, computer games. The word should have distinguishable singular and plural forms.

An example passage:

  My favorite book series (plural) are Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.

  The Lord of the Rings series (singular) consists of 3 novels.

I'm going to use "set"/"sets", but I'm not sure it is the best possible option.


texts: What is another way of saying "we cannot guarantee"?

texts:
1. Summarize the problem
I work for an IT solutions provider and we always try to get the customer anything they inquire. We also want to avoid negative connotations with our brand, so we avoid telling them something is impossible to do and other phrases like that.
Our customer has inquired a workstation computer with some special requirements – which he expects to have met by the device I will quote him next week. The problem is that his requirements are impossible for me to guarantee to work (they should, but I can't be 100% sure). In my quotation text – how do I convey to him, that I cannot guarantee his requirements will be fulfilled without mentioning any sort of guarantees?
2. Provide details and any research
Our customer's IT department has a set standard of devices we are allowed to sell them from a certain manufacturer. The user that has inquired the machine is aware of this set IT standard however, he still expects his requirements to be met by it and (understandably) does not want to spend thousands of Euros on something that might not even work for his use case.
3. When appropriate, describe what you’ve tried
I would have gone for something like: "Manufacturer-X enables configuring Workstation-Model-Y according to our quotation to try to meet the mentioned requirements."
I really want to avoid the word "try" as well. But at the same time I want to have a written note on the quotation, making it 100% certain to them that there is no guarantee for their investment to work. At least not without them testing their use case on it, which is only possible after the purchase.
Any help is greatly appreciated. If you require any additional information, I am happy to provide it in an edit or comment.
Edit 1 (clarification): I am not looking for a synonym for "guarantee". I actually want to find a phrasing that avoids any of the synonyms for "guarantee" as well.


texts: What is the word/phrase for the phenomenon that heroes and (particularly) heroines never die in a movie?

texts: When watching movies, it is common to see heroes and (particularly) heroines surrounded by dozens of enemies but getting rid of them anyway. How do native speakers of English describe this phenomenon?


texts: How would I punctuate this sentence: "She wanted the red one but Patty-the-nurse nixed that idea." I've already introduced Patty as a character before this sentence. Is hyphen ok? I want to make it humorous instead of "Patty, the nurse,..."


texts: Are these expressions to call of a particular kind of deviation right?

texts:
I am translating a material on visual sensors and having a hard time figuring out what to call this.

The situation is that when the sensor senses a circle mark, sometimes it does not detect a fine circle. Instead, the circle becomes a little wavy, having some parts of outline sticking out of the real line, and some parts going inside.

I need to express the length of the difference between the real line and the off-points of the detected line. I came up with the following two expressions. Does either of them indicate what I am trying to say?

  Positive/negative difference” OR “Positive/negative deviation length”.


texts: What is the difference between employee and personnel?

texts:
I have been searching on how to use the following nouns personnel and employee in their proper meanings.

I always find that personnel refers to people employed in an organization , and employees are the people that work in a company. I don´t know how to distinguish one of another.

How could I use them in sentences?


texts: The number of (the) unemployed/super-rich/poor/dead/infected

texts:
'The + adjective' usually means 'adjective + people'. For example, the unemployed means 'unemployed people'. In this type of construction, you cannot remove the.
But when the construction is positioned after 'the number of', the necessity of the changes.
For example,

the number of unemployed is...

is not only possible without the but even sounds better than

the number of the unemployed is....

This is counterintuitive because you normally cannot remove the in this type of construction.
And here are similar examples where the version without the is possible and even sounds better than the one with the:

The number of (the) super-rich is...
The number of (the) poor is...
The number of (the) dead is...
The number of (the) infected is...

Is there any explanation for this phenomenon?


texts:
I have a question about the subject of below sentence.

This competition to build houses and show dominance led to the destruction of trees.

I think the subject is "This competition to build houses and show dominance" and the verb of this sentence "led to", but What is the grammar role of "Show" in that sentence?
Is "to build houses and show dominance" a noun clause?

Thank you!


texts: What is the correct pronunciation of "elytra"?

texts:
The word elytra refers to

  one of the anterior wings in beetles and some other insects that serve
  to protect the posterior pair of functional wings

according to Merriam-Webster.  The word is also the name of rare wings in the game Minecraft (and similar concepts in many other games AFAIK).

The pronunciation given by Merriam-Webster is \ˈe-lə-trə\, which translates to /ˈɛlətrə/ in IPA.

Other somewhat reliable sources also say one of /ˈɛlɪtrə/, /ˈɛlətrə/, and /ˈɛlaɪtrə/:

The free dictionary: /ˈɛlɪtrə/
Minecraft Wiki: /ˈɛlɪtrə/
Wikipedia: /ˈɛlaɪtrə/

(In fact, many dictionaries don't list this word at all.)

However, it seems that the pronunciation /ˈɛlɪtrə/ or /ˈɛlaɪtrə/ does not reflect actual pronunciation.  Almost every time a YouTuber read this word, I hear either

/ɪˈlaɪtrə/ (or /əˈlaɪtrə/); or
/ɪˈliːtrə/ (or /əˈliːtrə/).

In the recent YouTube video Minecraft, But We Can't Stop Flying... (no spam intended), for instance, YouTubers GeorgeNotFound (British; 0:11) and Dream (American; 2:35) both pronounced the word as /ɪˈlaɪtrə/ (or /əˈlaɪtrə/).  In another Minecraft video, YouTuber Grian (British; 0:27) read /ɪˈliːtrə/ (or /əˈliːtrə/).  So far, the former seems to be the more prevalent pronunciation among speakers with both British and American accents, but the fact that the common pronunciation contradicts the pronunciation listed in dictionaries and other sources surprises me.

Searching for "elytra" on English Language and Usage Stack Exchange returned no results at the time of this writing.  Is my observation correct?  Or maybe there's something more about this word that I'm missing?


texts:
I hope I got the title right, let me describe my problem:

I have a sentence like this:
"The data supplied by a Myo's sensors [...]"
(The Myo is an armband, which can record EMG data to put it simple)

I'm having a small dispute with one of my peers on this... which is going nowhere.
In my opinion this is completely right. It is an unknown Myo possessing multiple sensors, and we are talking about the data of the sensors here.

My peer suggests:

"The data supplied by a Myo sensor [...]"

"The data supplied by Myo's sensors [...]"

My thoughts on this are, that the first is definitely incorrect, because the Myo itself is not a sensor, but consists of multiple.
The second is missing the article, now I am pretty sure that I have to use an article, as a Myo is nothing unique, there are multiple existing Myos and I have to specify whether I mean any Myo or a specific one by use of an article.

So my question is what the correct combination of articles possessive-s etc. would be here.

EDIT: My peer also gives the following example, for why it should not be correct:

People don't say: "People use a human's legs to walk.", they say: "People use human legs to walk".

I am by no means an expert in grammar, so I would like to know, where the difference between the sentences is. Is it based on the fact that "People" has no article? Or is "People use a human's legs to walk" in fact correct grammar but only doesn't make sense, because people don't all use the same legs of a single human to walk?


texts: a single word or short desciption of a person projecting delusional selflessness after hurting someone

texts:
What would be a good way to describe a person who is projecting delusional selflessness ?

Example would be: Person "A" hurts you. When you try to take revenge they say they are the ones who have the higher moral ground because they wont be "fighting back" and they are not doing so because they are selfless and their love and concern for you is stopping them from "fighting back". If they were selfless and had their love and concern as a priority they should not have "done something not so right" ( I am not interested in debating this scenario, just want a short description for future reference that is all)

Is Delusional passive aggressive righteousness a good choice ?


texts: I'm having a debate with a friend who teaches music. In English we say learn music or learn programming but when it comes to guitar, I feel tempted to say learn the guitar instead of learn guitar. Is there a difference between a good way to learn the guitar and a a good way to learn guitar and if so which is better?


texts:
I don't know if this sentence is too long, or if it's okay to keep stringing phrases with commas. Any help would be great as my English is not so good.

  When I was using the toy truck as a reward for kids who finished all their chores, Mink would work harder than any other kid, just so that he could get a chance to play with the toy truck.


texts:
I'm confused whether to use were or are on this...

I detest liars, especially those who were/are making it up as a go-to-excuse.

Thanks


texts:
what would you call the putting forward of a controversial debate?

i.e. something is polemic when controversial but you can't say 'i am developing a polemic' (that is, use polemic as a noun)

is there an equivalent noun that would fit the case?


texts: In a recent podcast of .Net rocks (at 45 minutes 29 seconds), regarding the future of software craftsmanship, it is postulated that there will be an 'Iron Ring Event' (if I heard it correctly). From the context it seems that this is an event where very bad things happen due to poor workmanship. Is this is a common term? What is its origin? What does it mean?


texts:
I just read a paper which heavily used polysemous, which means (think like ancient Greeks: poly + meaning -> πολύ + σημασία -> πολύσημος -> polysemus, which I think is polysemous in plural, but polysemus is red-underlined, as not a word from my Mac.

However the paper use polysemous in place of "two meanings". That, in Greek, would result in δύο + σημασία -> disemous or maybe bisemous (you know, like bipolar means δι + πολικός -> δύο πόλους.

However both disemous and bisemous are ref-highlighted as wrong. After searching the Internet, I found Is the word bisemous acceptable? in Chinese-forums and bisemous in wordow, which are a bit controversial, so I am heavily confused and I feel that these are not correct in English.

Is there a word (that follows the Greek root, thus the Latin, etc....) for two meanings? Like there is polysemous for many meanings.

Example:

  Pythia's oracles had two meanings.

Find X such that I can now say:

  Pythia's oracles were X.

Pythia was the "superstar" of The Oracle of Delphi in Ancient Greece. Her oracles were phrased in such a way that they were almost always correct, but the person that was asking for an oracle would interpret the oracle with the meaning that would be in its favor.

I clearly remember from school when one king (or leader) asked Pythia whether he should launch a massive attack to another Great Power of that times (imagine them like US vs Russia before some decades) and Pythia answered: Should you launch the attack, a great power will be vanished, or something like that, so that oracle was correct, because whoever would lose the war, would be "vanished", but both sides were great at that time.


texts: Is this sentence grammatically correct or punny (or both)?

texts:
I have a comment on this question where I refer to a list of three examples deemed 'valid'. I said: "I think the last valid example is not."

The sentence sounds kind of strange (I did that on purpose). Is it grammatically correct? Is it just like some kind of pun?


texts: It it more correct to say “solution of an assignment” or “solution to an assignment”


texts: How would changing the verb tenses affect this NYT report?

texts:
As a way to improve my grammar, I've been reading New York Times articles, focusing particularly on verb tenses. Here is one section of an article I found of interest:

Mr. Wilansky, who spoke by telephone and checked details with his daughter as he did, said the explosion had taken place around 4 a.m. Monday, when most of the protesters were gathered around a bonfire near the foot of the bridge.

Is my analysis correct?

Had taken place is used because the explosion had occurred before he spoke by telephone. Because the protesters gathered first and then the explosion occurred, the infinitive, to be, takes the simple past not the past perfect.

had been taking place would mean that a series of explosions had been occurring at least around 4 a.m. but possibly up until the phone call
was taking place would mean that the explosion was happening as he spoke on the phone around 4 a.m. OR, had this report been issued before 4 a.m. Monday, that the explosion was going to be happening around 4 a.m., but it won't anymore.
took place would mean he spoke by phone at the same time the explosion happened around 4 a.m.
Using the present perfect wouldn't make any sense

Sorry for the length...


texts:
Consider the following:

  Even if I...

  Even should I...

These all mean the same thing, right? What about

  Even if I should...

Does that have the same meaning?

"If you should ever," is grammatically correct, so shouldn't, "Even if I should" also be grammatically correct?


texts:
The campaign aims to lock up the nomination in March regardless of
  any early setbacks in Iowa. -NY Times-

What's the meaning of "lock up the nomination" in this sentence?


texts: "It's a-me !" -- just an imitation of an Italian accent or something more?

texts:
I've seen and heard this at various times:

  It's a-me! [first name]!

(Most of the time, seemingly as a reference to Mario.) I was wondering what the intent was behind the construction "a-me".

Is it just to transcribe an Italian accent? In that case, what is it about it that sounds Italian to a native English speaker?

Or maybe is it conveying something more, like perhaps a lack of education?


texts: Is there a word meaning "an unwanted eponym"?

texts: An eponym is one way to eternal (if posthumous) fame. But is there a word meaning an eponym someone would sooner not have? (One would presume that Captain Charles Boycott, Mr Justice Lynch, and Patrick Hooligan would not appreciate their undying notoriety.)


texts:
I recently had a conversation with a friend where I told her the following:

  People go out on Friday nights that's why you wouldn't see anyone in the hall.

Does the 'would' part make sense in this context? Or should I go with "that's why you don't see anyone"


texts:
sorry if my English is not good .

in season 1-episode 3 of "killing Eve", there a conversation about a murder between Eve and Jin.

Jin want to give something Secretly to Eve.

Eve : What is that?
jin : You might have a little creature yourself.
      Think of this as a friendly, little mole trap.


texts: What do you call the act of signing a document in the presence of an notary?

texts:
I'm asking person A (signer of document) to sign a document in the presence of a notary (N).

How do I ask person A to do this?

"Dear A,

Please notarize the document?
"

This makes it sound like I'm asking A to act as the notary, when really N is the notary.

I usually go with something like,

"Dear A,

Please sign X taking care to have it notarized.
"


texts: Referring to X (plural) units of Y as an "it"

texts:
I am reading The White Spider, a book on mountain climbing, and I got hung up on this passage which sounded wrong, although I can see why it isn't...

  Herman couldn't be expected to hear him in that raging tempest; nor could he have come down a hundred feet of hard-won ground again, after such a struggle to climb them."

"Them" is agreeing with "a hundred feet" in this sentence, but would it be wrong to replace "them" with "it" because 100 feet represents a unit of distance more than it does individual feet? Or would "it" be preferable on the grounds that the entire noun phrase "a hundred feet of hard-won ground" should be considered the unit? Or is it simply correct as is?

The reason it stands out to me is because I commonly hear runners in conversations where the following is said:

  "How far did you run today?"

  "I ran about 20 miles."

  "How long did it take you to run it?"

  "About three hours."

In this case, 20 miles represents "the run," a single event taking three hours. The 100-foot descent seems more meaningful as a unit and not a collection of feet.

On the contrary, I would never use this logic if I were talking about eating sausage links at dinner.

  "I ate nine sausage links."

  "How long did it take you to eat them?"

Is it just lazy English to mistake the numerical agreement, or does it come down to the way we contextualize units?

The post script is that the book, The White Spider is translated from German.


texts: Adjective to describe an overpowering odor

texts:
Is there an adjective to describe an overpowering odor comparable to deafening for an overpowering noise?

That strong, loud noise is deafening.
That strong, pungent odor is ____.

It may be that there is no equivalent word.  But surely some have encountered an overpowering odor.  What is that action called?


texts:
When I'm using 2.0 as an adjective, does it sound smoother to place it before the noun or after?

Context: I'm talking about a magic trick involving an iPad. As it involves new technology, this magic trick could be described as "technological" or "next-generation", something like that. Can I say it is a "2.0 magic trick"? And should I place 2.0 before or after the noun?


texts: About repeating nouns, adjs, and prepositions

texts:
Example 1: Historical economic data, meteorological data,
  and hydrological data were collected from various sources.

Data referred here are all historical data. Should I repeat historical, and are the repeated "data" redundant?

  Example 2: This result can be explained by A, and by B

A and B can be two clauses or nouns. Should I repeat "by"?


texts: What do you call this button-shaped thing?

texts:
I was changing the back light bulb on my car ,and I was struggling to unbutton this button-shaped thing . what do you call this button-shaped thing in English?

It looks like a tack or a fastener. The car manufacturer might have a specific name for it.
( I'm curious to know )


texts: Thank you very much to the 4 people who quickly responded a few days ago as to how to spell vis-á-vis out loud for an upcoming spelling bee.  I apologize that the moderator did not think it was on-point and closed my question (he probably will close this one, too!)  I had done a lot of on-line research and still could not find the answer.  My son actually won the all-school spelling bee yesterday, so your help was quite meaningful.  Thanks again.


texts:
Last year, the United Nations security council adopted four sanctions solutions seeking to deprive North Korea of key sources...

I was taught that “attributive noun” can only be in a single form not plural.

Could you please tell me how this works?

  when could we make (the attributive noun) plural?

Attributive noun


texts: What's a word to describe someone who loves to solve puzzles and mysteries?

texts:
One of my friends loves puzzles-jigsaw, logic, pretty much anything. He is also addicted to reading murder mysteries and tries to figure out who killed the guy. Basically, he enjoys working things out with his own brain.
What word can I use to describe him?


texts: When did 'virgin' start referring to non-alcoholic drinks

texts:
Since there have been so many virginity questions here lately, I have another one.  As a former bartender-type, I often hear the term virgin, when relating to non-alcoholic drinks.  Unfortunately, search engines are overwhelmed by click-bait slideshows like "20 virgin drinks that will rock your world" and "25 bar terms you need to know!"

EDIT:  some additional research:

Upon having further time to research, I discovered these early usages:

Out West - Google Books

It refers to Mah-que-be, a

  secret brew of herbs which is supposed to fortify..against snake poison

In the Quarterly Review of Literature , 1964

  now sweet words went to their heads like a virgin drink of spirits

Doesn't really answer my question, however

I can see a relation between a virgin (usually referring—albeit not exclusively—to young children) and non-alcoholic drinks, but I ask:

What is the history of the relationship between virgin and non-alcoholic?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Reason for the current trend to use «she» as the gender-neutral pronoun?
  Can the feminine pronouns be gender-neutral?
  Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular pronoun (“his” versus “her” versus “their”)?

Programmer here. I am confused with the usage of the term "She/he" when referring a prementioned and undefined user. Below is a sentence found from MSDN magazine:

"When the user decides to create a new customer, she must fill in the data entry form in Figure 2."

I myself use the term "She/he" is this context, since without mentioning both can be regarded as gender discrimination, and placing 'she' before 'he' is respecting the ladies.

So, can I just use 'She' in this context, that will save some typing.


texts: What is the word that means to accuse someone of a crime, to divert attention from the guilt of the accuser

texts:
I know there is a word for this, e.g. when someone is stealing from their employer, they tell their employer that they have noticed xyz and they think so-and-so is doing it.

It's a very specific word that I've also seen used in the context of politicians accusing their rivals of various dodgy things that the first person was eventually shown to be doing. It's not a word that has broader meaning - frame, for example, does not rely on the accuser's guilt. Lie, divert, manipulate etc are all on the wrong track.


texts: I'm not sure how to mark the clause boundaries

texts:
I'm trying to mark clause boundaries (main, subordinate & embedded clause); I can't play my own devil's advocate anymore, would be so grateful if anyone could weigh in on this:

Sentence:

  With more than 430,000 migrants having reached Europe by sea this
  year, the countries of Europe resurrecting borders they'd once
  removed, and thousands of people in Calais trying to reach Britain
  illegally, some people have argued that we're on the verge of a 'great
  age of migration', in which national governments are powerless to
  resist huge numbers of people, travelling the world in search of a
  better life.

Analysis:

Clause 1 (objects of the preposition 'with' ?):

  With (more than 430,000 migrants having reached Europe by sea this
  year), (the countries of Europe resurrecting borders [[(that) they'd
  once removed]]), and (thousands of people in Calais trying to reach
  Britain illegally), some people have argued...

Clause 2 (dependent clause because of verbal process 'argued'):

  (everything after 'in which' modifies 'great age') that we're on the
  verge of a 'great age of migration', [[in which national governments
  are powerless to resist huge numbers of people, [[travelling the world
  in search of a better life]].

OR

Going by the idea that every clause has a verbal group, which means I would split up Clause 1 as well.
Clause 3:

  in which national governments are powerless

Clause 4:

  to resist huge numbers of people, [[(who are) travelling the world in search of a better life]].


texts:
In an email, I would like to write the following sentence:

  The weight of services given by
  Company B is not less than the weight of services given by Company
  A.

I want to shorten the sentence, but I'm not sure if this is correct:

  The weight of services given by
  Company B is not less than Company
  A.

What are my options for explaining this with just one sentence?

To make the context more clear: Company A and Company B are two partner firms in the same sector sharing the revenues according to specific conditions. They can merge or split in the near future. The aim of this sentence is to emphasize that the service quantity of Company B is larger than or (at worst) equal to the service quantity of Company A.


texts:
I need a word to describe going out and doing something, which is thought through but not necessarily fully planned.

Like all of a sudden thinking "I want to go to a club" while sitting on your couch, then going out and just doing it.

A contextual example will be:

You're doing nothing and want to do something. You're presented with a list of possible chooses that may interest you. You pick one, and just do it.


texts: (Name of) and (Best Practice Typography for) Unusual Self-Referential Double Usage

texts:
One pattern I find interesting is using a word in an explicit double sense, leading to a self-reference kind of pun.  For example:

As is the case with such things, however, military intelligence wasn't.  [From example of oxymoron]
Stupidity is.  [Emphasis]
Tool: implements for work that don't.  [From TMRC]
I invite you to verify that these facts are.

This sort of usage is playful, but not standard usage.  Yet, they express something in both a more interesting and perhaps more meaningful way: by combining the meanings into one sentence, the juxtaposition seems more obvious to me.
My questions are:

Does this sort of construction have a name?
What typographical conventions would you recommend for its use?

With regard to question 2., there are conflicting views that I would like addressed specifically.
On the one hand, we want clarity--and since writing is about expression, one might try to make the example reflect speech:

I invite you to verify that these facts . . . are.
I invite you to verify that these facts are.

This also helps ensure that the sentence is not mistaken for a mistake and the double meaning lost.  It also helps prevent the wording from tripping up or being entirely missed by the casual reader.
My last example in particular demonstrates this last concern well: a native speaker expects an adjectival phrase.  E.g. ". . . these facts are correct."  However, when that doesn't occur, the reader runs into the full stop like a brick wall.
This is why, on the other hand, I feel like lack of specific attention could actually be a Good Thing.
The parse failure the reader undergoes when reading the original sentence forces them to reevaluate the entire thing, which is closer to the original goal of imparting two meanings.  If careless readers' lack of attention causes them to overlook the subtlety, then perhaps they wouldn't have appreciated the nuance anyway.


texts:
As slang, this phrase:

  Since I was a young'un...

Is there an accepted way to abbreviate the last word there?


texts: Why are *accept* and *except* commonly misspelled as each other? Are they homophones?

texts:
Why are accept and except commonly confused for each other when writing? This is unlike most cases, where misspellings come from homophones.

In my idiolect at least, accept is /ək.'sɛpt/, and except is /ɪk.'sɛpt/. They are not homophonic, and are about as close as butter and bitter. However, this pair seems strangely prone to misspelling all over the place. Are these words homophonic in standard English? I am technically not a native speaker (picked up English while really young), live in Canada, and people tend to comment me having a weird accent...


texts: Why doesn't English have a separate word for "head hair"? (head hair vs. body hair)

texts:
The answer can be "Because it doesn't!" or "It wasn't needed!" in short but there might be a historical or linguistic explanation behind this. (Of course, every language might be lacking a word that another language has and you can give the meaning in a context.)

This question came up mainly because there are several languages which has separate words for head hair and body hair. For example, head hair is capelli in Italian, saç in Turkish, cheveu in French and kopfhaar in German. But in English, hair is like a hypernym for head hair and body hair.

When we check the etymology of hair, the origin is related to the German word haar. And interestingly, German language came up with kopfhaar which literally means headhair.

  Old English hær "hair, a hair," from Proto-Germanic *khæran (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old High German har, Old Frisian her, Dutch and German haar "hair"), perhaps from PIE *ghers- "to stand out, to bristle, rise to a point" (cognates: Lithuanian serys "bristle;" see horror).

When we dive into biology, we can see that there are structural differences between body hair and head hair but they are composed of the same substance, keratin. Though, there is a distinction in terminology:

  Androgenic hair, colloquially body hair, is the terminal hair that develops on the human body during and after puberty. It is differentiated from the head hair and less visible vellus hair, which are much finer and lighter in color.

And a twist ending: Wiktionary has a definition (and even an etymology) for "headhair":

  From Middle English *heed-heer, from Old English hēafodhǣr (“hair of the head, headhair”), equivalent to head + hair. Cognate with Dutch hoofdhaar (“headhair”), German Haupthaar (“headhair”), Danish hovedhår (“headhair”), Swedish huvudhår (“headhair”).

I can see that "headhair" is used in a few sources but it is not common. Personally I haven't encountered this word before I did this research.

How come both "hair" and "headhair" emerged (for the same meaning)?
Why didn't "headhair" gain a common usage? What happened in the
history?
Does "headhair" have a current usage? (only in technical sources?)

Note: Just to emphasize, the question is not only about finding words, its about the history and origin of the words as well. Also, the question can be: "Why doesn't English have a common separate word for “head hair”? (head hair vs. body hair)"


texts:
I am trying to define "people who buy things only after everyone else already have".

Maybe "The laters"?

It should be up to 3 words.

Update: Example of use

  I don't like to be a beta tester, I'm kind of {{missing_word}}


texts:
I heard people saying:

  Can you please share me the slides?

or

  Can you share me the note, etc.?

I think it should be:

  Can you please share the slides with me?

or

  Can you share the notes with me?

which one is correct?


texts: Is there a word for when caravan guards kill a merchant and take all his stuff to sell? Other than defalcator?

texts: If it was on sea it would be mutineer. I swear there is a word for this.


texts: Word for people who are not on good terms with someone

texts:
They won't be called one's 'enemies' because they are not actively opposed or hostile to one. They won't be one's adversaries, opponents or rivals either since there is no contest, conflict or dispute between. But they are people who are not on good terms with someone for any reason. For example, religious intolerance or feelings of general dislike due to differences of social class or standard of living, language, lifestyle etc.

There is a specific word in our native language to match the description that I have given above and I am interested to know if there is an English equivalent of it.

P.S.: Please feel free to edit this topic if it's not clear enough.


texts:
In technical writing, I often find there's a choice between using "e.g." and "etc.". Lets look at an example:

You could use an ORM, e.g. SQLAlchemy, Storm.
You could use an ORM: SQLAlchemy, Storm, etc.

I'm coming to the conclusion that it almost always makes for punchier writing to use the second style. Is this a widely recognised style?

Thanks for the answers so far. I am fully aware of the meaning of "e.g." and "etc." which I thought would be obvious from my question. In this example, both could be used, and it is a matter of style which one.

The suggestions to avoid abbreviations make a lot of sense. I've realise I prefer "such as" to "for example" and I prefer "and others" to "and so on". This makes the choice:

You could use an ORM, such as SQLAlchemy, Storm.
You could use an ORM: SQLAlchemy, Storm, and others.

Interestingly, I prefer the first of these.


texts:
I know that in non-rhotic versions of English the /r/ sound is not pronounced - unless the next word begins with a  a vowel.

So my question is,
If a British person says "How are you?"
 Would "are" be pronounced as /ɑː/ or /ɑːr/.

I am asking because I am not sure if "you" begins with a vowel or semi vowel sound and I am not sure if semi-vowels also lead to the "linking r"


texts: Which word is more appropriate for the sentence

texts: The ploughed field is ready for __,  I was given two selections, sowing and seeding, I chosed "seeding",but my teacher said it is"sowing",but she doesnt tell me why, so please tell me which one is correct.It seems the two words have similar meanings.


texts: Does this essay question have a grammar error?

texts:
Thank you for taking the time to answer this question.
"Discuss the concept of religious belief social scientific perspectives addressing issues of societal change."
Does this sentence make sense in the native speaker's eyes? I believe it needs to have "in" between belief and social, but what do you think? I considered the possibility of the omitted that, like "the concept of religious belief (that) social scientific....," but I don't think it makes sense even in this way.
And I interpreted this as that I need to explain 'religious belief' in different social science perspectives that address issues of social change. For example, I need to explain the concept of religious belief with classic sociological theories.
Do you think it sounds plausible?? Thank you so much for your time and help. I really appreciate it.