texts: Does "two of whom" imply a minimum of two, or exactly two?

texts:
This is from rules of FIFA:

  "The final list of the 14 players (two of whom shall be goalkeepers) selected to participate in the final competition shall be submitted to the FIFA general secretariat ...

The phrase in question is "two of whom shall be goalkeepers". What does it mean exactly? Two possible options and the difference is really crusial:

1) That there should be no less than 2 goalkeepers. 3 goalkeepers is possible (3+11). One goalkeeper is forbidden - Team needs at least another one in case that the first get injured.

2) That there should be exactly 2 goalkeepers on the team (2+12). It is forbidden if there are 3 goalkeepers on the team.

I personally think that 1) is correct but I'm not 100% sure to tell you the truth.


texts: Does "angular cheilitis" have any more commonly used synonyms than "perlèche" or "rhagades" which regular people would recognize?

texts:
The field of medical pathology uses the term angular cheilitis. I’m looking for a common word or phrase to use in place of this highly specialized technical term that I fear is likely to be known only by specialists.

It has several synonyms that are still too fancy for what I’m looking to use this for, including perlèche and rhagades.   Is there any common term for this condition in English? My searches on Google were fruitless!

According to the the OED, cheilitis means:

  Pathology. Inflammation of the lip.

It’s composed of two scientific forms: the combining form cheil‑, cheilo‑ from Greek χειλο- meaning lip, plus the suffix ‑itis meaning inflammation.

The Free Dictionary provides more details about this scientific term:

  a disorder of the lips marked by scaling and fissures at the corners of the mouth; caused by a deficiency of riboflavin

What do regular people call this in English?


texts: "I should not have" for expressing you regret doing something in the past

texts:
Usecase: I went out and got drunk yesterday. Now I regret the fact of drinking a lot yesterday.

  I should not have drunk a lot yesterday.

Is that correct?

In general: How can I say that I shouldn't do something in the past?
Thanks in advance


texts: Is there a more concise way to describe this hairstyle?

texts: Is there a more concise way to describe this character's hairstyle, other than 'a bun, with parted bangs and tassels framing her face'?


texts: What is the difference between expense and cost ?  what is the phrase to describe all the cost for one person in one day?


texts: Is there an idiom that means “a project that has destroyed the career of anyone who has tried it”?

texts:
In context: Film adaptations of The Nutcracker have destroyed the careers of anyone who has tried to make one. They’re Hollywood’s biggest ___________

Not “white whale” or “holy grail,” I don’t think.


texts: Using "Would you like" vs "Do you want" between friends

texts: Does it sound normal or overly polite to use "Would you like" between friends, for example "Hey Bob, would you like to play chess with me?"


texts:
May i request
to clarify the time references for the following subordinate clauses of the sentence :-
1."He will come to know what i need"or "What i need will be known to him"
2. "He will come to know that i need something "or That i need something will be known to him "
The contexts in both the above are that "I need something in the present (now) which will be known to him in future.
1.What will be the time reference of subordinate clauses "what i need/That i need something " ? My instinct tells me present time even though the main clause is in future.
OR will these be Present in the future time examples.
Thanks


texts: If clause with a past tense about future for hypothetical condition

texts:
Is there any case in English were a future condition is represented with past tense?
E.g. "If I saw you tomorrow, I will do ..."
In some languages, it casts more doubt for the condition to happen, i.e. says the condition is very hypothetical. In other words, it means "I know I won't see him, but if I see him, which I know I won't, then I will..."
Do we have any such thing in English?
============ Update: ==========
I am trying to find the equivalent grammar of something in my mother tongue. In a transliterated version, when we say:
"If he agrees on the price, I [will] give him a discount": It means this is a rule, i.e. agreeing on the price = receiving a discount.
But when we say:
"If he agreed on the price, I [will] give him a discount":
It strongly implies that there is a specific time frame in the future, where the if clause will become a matter of past by then = "The moment that the guys have agreed on the price and I can make an action, I will apply the rule".
In other words, this is a way to strongly emphasise on the time of decision in the future, where all the unknown conditions have been cleared. The context is around that specific moment.
Do we have any equivalent thing in English?
For example, is this correct (and mean what I explained)?
"We will meet the guys at 10pm tomorrow. They will inspect our car and probably give us an offer. Once they make/made (?) their decision, if they [had] agreed (?) on my price without haggling, I will definitely give them some discount to encourage further trade with them".
Is that correct? More importantly, does this in English also have that sort of emphasising on the time of action?


texts: Often one will hear the phrase that's a whole nother kettle of fish, but is "nother" actually grammatical? If not, what would the correct way of saying it be?


texts: the king of England is more generous than any other ones of France

texts:
I heard that in N-bar system, a pronoun "one" only substitutes for N-bar thing, not just a noun.

So in the following sentence, should "ones" be changed into "kings"?

  The king of England is more generous than any other ones of France.

And if yes, I found another sentence below:

  "An Italian version by John Florio, the Elizabethan translator of Montaigne, still remains in manuscript, as does a Spanish one made by John Pemberton of London in the early years of the seventeenth century"

In 'as does a Spanish one', 'one' substitutes for the word 'version'. Even though version is a just noun and the N-bar is 'Italian version', so how 'one' can substitute for a noun, not N-bar in this case?


texts:
Why do we use the verb help in sentences such as the following to mean something like refrain from?

I try not to eat junk, but I can't help it.
I couldn't help laughing.
I can't help but admire her bravery.


texts:
What is the opposite of "infinitesimal"?

Infinitesimal means a value smaller than the minimum possible measurement. For example, if we have a ruler with 1 centimeter intervals, then any length measured shorter than 1 cm is infinitesimal for that measuring instrument - smaller than the smallest possible measurement, but still greater than zero.

The opposite of infinitesimal means a value larger than the maximum possible measurement. Analogously, if we have a 100 centimeter ruler, then any length measured longer than 100 cm is that opposite term.

"Infinite" is not the opposite of infinitesimal, although that term is commonly (mis)used. Infinity is an abstract concept for something that never ends, not merely a value above measuring capability. For example, the question "how long is this road?" may have the answer "the opposite of infinitesimal" if we lack the capacity to travel along a straight road in its entirety and measure its length. On the other hand, if the road is short enough to see in its entirety but loops in on itself, we could say that its length is "infinite".

A term I came up with for this is "supermaximum"; above the maximum possible measured value. I would like to know if an official term exists.


texts: "A Quasi-Catch-22"?; phrase request for having to "oversolve" a problem

texts:
It's a bit difficult to explain exactly what I'm getting at, so I'll give an example:
If I get on the bus for work at 8:00 (having to be there at 9:00), there will be a traffic jam and it will take an hour and a half to get there, making me late. However, if I leave for work at 7:30, an hour and a half before I need to be at work, there will be no traffic jam and it will only take forty-five minutes to get there, so I'll arrive at work earlier than I need to. Let's assume for the sake of the question that:

there is no middle ground (If I leave any later than 7:30, the bus will be caught in a traffic jam and I will be late; if I leave at 7:30 or earlier, I will arrive much earlier than is necessary.)

arriving early is not a bad thing (i.e. a "neutral"/acceptable outcome)

Is there a phrase/expression for this situation that is reminiscent of a Catch-22 or the expression "damned if you do, damned if you don't," but differs in that rather than the solution renders itself unnecessary (without creating any negative consequences, the solution simply "oversolves" the problem?
Update:
1 - When I originally posted, I think the bus example drew focus away from the real core of the question, so I wanted to add one more (brief) example. Say you're at the supermarket buying hot dogs and buns. The buns only come in packages of six, and the hot dogs only come in packages of eight. To have enough buns, you'll have to buy a second package, but then you'll be left with more buns than you need. (Note to pedants: Assume you're specifically planning to feed eight people and they all definitely only want one hot dog each.)
2 - I think two of the existing answers--"necessary overkill" and "inescapable overcompensation"--are excellent and come quite close, but I'd like to see if there is some other idiomatic, "on-the-nose" phrase for this kind of situation.


texts:
I insist on putting this never-before-heeded advice in my math syllabus every semester (this is only my third one). I often obsess about the way I write things and I actually re-read it myself this time and realize that it's probably not good English, and certainly not understandable. I could not figure out a nice, concise way of stating that third sentence (the one I put in square brackets, []).

Please can someone suggest a good, concise (but not terse) edit for the sentence in square brackets which would be clear to college freshman who are in a basic skills (that is, high school level) math class?

  How to do well in this class: ...

  Do all of the homework as soon as possible. Do the homework to make sure you understand the underlying concepts. [You will not learn what you need to know from me in lecture – not because I’m such a lousy lecturer, though I might be -- but because you only learn math by doing it.] Ask for help when you cannot understand a problem.

Thanks.

P.S. You are now probably the only people, other than me, to have read it.

P.P.S. "Concise" means as short as reasonably possibly so that the reader will still understand it (and I can fit my syllabus on 2 sides of a paper). "Terse" is shorter than than "concise".

Edit: All the answers were helpful (even the one inexplicably given a down vote, which I cancelled). I used a combination of them:

  Do all of the homework as soon as possible. You learn math by doing math. You will learn the concepts in lecture. But you will only learn all of the detail by doing the problems (despite my peerless lectures!). You will be expected to know the material from each lecture by the next one.


texts: Is there any difference between "it's dead to me" and "it's dead for me?"

texts: I read iTunes Is Dead to Me and was curious if there is any difference between saying "iTunes is dead to me" and "iTunes is dead for me?"


texts:
How would I go about putting a period within a parenthesis sentence:

(Code is subject to change. Refer to tips below.)

Do I put a period after "below" or do I remove it:

(Code is subject to change. Refer to tips below)


texts:
I've noticed that a few words may be both a noun and an adjective, remain spelt the same, but change the pronunciation of -ate to ət or āt. Sometimes the meanings are related, others they are not.

For example: separate.

  We separate the objects into separate categories.

We pronounce the first with āt but the second as ət.

Off the top of my head, the only other I can think of is "conjugate", though I'm fairly certain there are others that are just not coming to my mind at the moment.

Is this just coincidence or the product of some understandable process?


texts: Is there an English equivalent to "get rid of the goat"?

texts:
Danny was living in a small house with five other people, and the stress was getting to him. He went to the town elder to ask for advice.
"Buy a goat", said the town elder, "and let it live in your apartment. If that doesn't help, come see me again in a month."
A month later, Danny came back and said "now I've got six people and a goat in my tiny apartment, and I'm more stressed than ever before!"
"Get rid of the goat", said the town elder.
And Danny was no longer stressed.

The phrase "getting rid of the goat" is quite common in Israel (להיפטר מן העז in Hebrew) to mean returning to a lower level of stress from a higher level, and thereby feeling less stressed by comparison. Is there a similar saying or tale in American English?


texts: the phrase "from now on" to be used in similar phrases

texts:
All of us know that "from now on" means starting from now, for example:

From now on, all of us have to turn our mobiles off.

But is this term assignable to such phrase?

From lesson three on...
(I mean starting from the lesson three...)

Thanks


texts:
Beauty and sadness always go together.
  Nature thought beauty too rich to go
  forth upon the earth without a meet
  alloy. (George MacDonald)

The last part of the quote doesn't seem to make sense


texts:
When Steve walks in, everyone will stare.

Does the first part of sentence represent present or future? And is the mixing of verbs in the sentence correct?

When steve walks into the room, everyone will stare..

Does the first part of sentence represent present or future? can you explain how it is present and not future

Regards;


texts:
I'm writing a report and need to decide whether to use present or past tense:

Of the subjects in our experiment, 50% are/were male, 50% have/had at least a college degree, 90% are/were employed...

According to the 2010 US Census, 49% of the population are/were male, and 27% have/had at least a college degree, 91% are/were employed...

Should the words in gray be in present tense or past tense? Or is it immaterial as long as I'm consistent? (Note: statistics are made up)


texts: What's the meaning of the phrase "take cares of"?

texts:
What is the usage, and why use plural?

The context is here:

  The automatic support for long -
  running workfl ows that the WF
  infrastructure provides is the most
  evident benefi t. The execution of a
  long - running workfl ow can be
  suspended or resumed on multiple
  points, so the internal state of the
  execution and activities must be
  preserved. WF automatically takes
  cares of saving the workfl ow state
  through the use of confi gurable
  providers. Therefore, you do not need
  to worry about these details.


texts:
What's a good adverb to indicate an attribute that cannot be improved upon?

I wanted 'untoppably' to be a word, but it isn't.

Optimally and its synonyms come to mind, but it doesn't really have the best fit for the phrase I have in mind:

  I’ve thought up a pretty neat method for completely eliminating dynamic cell references. I wrote it down for later. You can look forward to an [untoppably] fast version whenever I get a free week to implement it. (Could be a month, could be a year)


texts:
It seems like both are used when referring to generic nouns:

Product:
    name price amount total
    ---- ----- ------ -----

or,

Product:
    name price quantity total
    ---- ----- -------- -----

So which one should I use?

I've also seen someone use amount instead of total in case of shares:

Shares:
    share price quantity   amount
    ----- ----- -------- ---------
            *      *     price*qty

Should this be correct or not?


texts:
"There are Mary and Nat"
"There's Mary and Nat"

Which sentence is correct and why?
Thanks in advance!


texts: Mike brought cake VS mike brought cake with him

texts:
What's the difference between these two expressions:

Mike brought his guitar.
Mike brought his guitar with him.

How does "with him" change the meaning of the sentence?


texts: Does "painted lady" sometimes mean prostitute?

texts:
Does "painted lady" or "painted ladies" sometimes mean prostitute(s), who used to heavily use make-up? I have a suspicion that even Shakespeare did so, but can't find anything indicating it.

Urban Dictionary thinks so, as does one contributor to an English-language forum.

However, Wiktionary doesn't mention it as a meaning (either for painted lady or painted ladies), nor does Oxford Dictionaries.

I recently read the phrase in the following (page 33), though it's referring to the extensive makeup geishas use, rather than suggesting that they're prostitutes:

  and there’s no charge for activities such as wandering around the
  streets of Gion, Kyoto’s geisha district, rubbernecking at the painted
  ladies that look like they’ve time-travelled from another century.


texts:
What does "to-may-to, to-mah-to" mean?

I've seen this expression a few times and it seems to indicate some sort of equality. But what does it really mean?


texts: What's wrong with using a clause starting with 'how' as the object?

texts: 'I don't like how he talks' - I'm sure that's wrong and should be changed to 'I don't like the way he talks' but I'm trying to work out what rule it breaks?


texts: Why is it "thirteen" and not "threeteen"?

texts:
For example:

  fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen

These are all number+teen.

What is wrong with threeteen and fiveteen? Why are 13 and 15 written "differently"? Are they coming from third+teen and fifth+teen? If so, why
were d and h removed? What is a "thir" and a "fift"?

I am utterly puzzled.

(not to mention eleven and twelve, which could have been oneteen and twoteen, but has been addressed here)


texts:
The term plant means a living organism; a thing with roots, shoots and leaves that needs water and sun in order to grow.  So why do we say "to plant a kiss"?

  She planted a kiss...


texts: Is there a word or short phrase to indicate the opposite extreme of “racism”?

texts:
For example, a person fights (or claims to fight) against racism in the manner of believing a group/ethnicity/etc. (in a culture where this group is often disliked) to be morally superior, and if a member of this group commits something bad, this person refuses to believe it, and calls everyone a racist who dare to say anything but praise about people from that group. Or, this person being an advocate against prejudice, and fighting for “equality”, but in fact vilifying and being prejudicial against everyone who does not share his/her exact political beliefs.

Is there an English word or short phrase, to express the above attitude in a much shorter way than that whole paragraph?

I think demagogue is not the word, because it means that a person claims to have other beliefs than he/she really has, for gaining some advantage.

The main point is not on holding some race to be superior instead of inferior, but to claim to fight against prejudice but at the same time being prejudicial (for example, by calling everyone a bigot who do not agree 100% with them).


texts: I would like know which consonants are aspirated in American English and when? Also, when are they not aspirated?


texts: What is the origin of the expression 'A Mexican standoff'?

texts:
Why is a standoff between three parties that are all enemies of each other called a 'Mexican standoff'?

What is so 'Mexican' about it?


texts:
In my master thesis I want to state that I did not find any related work except for one paper. In scientific papers the authors often use the phrase
"To the best of our knowledge, ...". However since I have no co-authors I can not use "our" and I also don't want to speak in first person so I also don't want to use "to the best of my knowledge" as that would sound strange somehow. Is there a formulation which expresses the same information but without speaking in first person ?


texts: Why are dictionary definitions for verbs prefixed with a 'To'?

texts:
I look up a dictionary for allow and I get

To permit
To assign
To grant or give, esp periodically
To concede or acknowledge

Similarly for flow,  I see

to run
to move or change form like a fluid
to rise or come in

Why is a 'to' prefixed to all meanings? The meanings work well without that too.


texts: Can I write "cupcake sprinkle"? -- Google searches are bringing up "sprinkle cupcakes"

texts: I'm writing a text where the object of the text is the sprinkle on top of the cupcake, "cupcake sprinkle". But I've searched it and it all turns up "sprinkle cupcakes".


texts: Given 2 possible outcomes (i.e win or lose) can both happen "often"?

texts:
I was wondering, whether or not out of 2 possibilities, if both can happen "often".
By definition often means "many times" or "frequently". Does this mean that often has to happen relative to something else? Or is it some number that happens often.

For example, if someone plays 500 games, wins 250, loses 250 can both be considered to happen "often"?

Thanks!


texts: If you use a prefix for the first item in a list do all item in the list keep the prefix with out stating it for each one

texts:
If you use a prefix for the first item in a list do all items in the list keep that pre fix or should each item restate the prefix. This is my example.
  "This excludes pre-approved sick, vacation, compensatory time, and personal leave." Should all items that need to be pre approved be stated clearly, or is this ok?


texts:
I want to know how to translate properly the sentence : "I'm so done !"

Context is a man telling a joke to a woman, walking in the street. As a react, she says that, even if she hasn't met him before.

(My native language is Spanish.)


texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  Is it appropriate to use short form of “have” ('ve) when it means possession?
  Can you contract the main verb in a sentence?

Is we've equivalent to we have?

In some cases, they do seem to be correct, but sometimes they don't. Consider these 4 sentences.

We've got a problem here.
We have got a problem here.

We've a problem here.
We have a problem here.

Which of these are correct, and which are wrong?


texts:
Do noun phrases comprise prepositions too?
For example:

  The apple in the fridge is mine.

Here the noun phrase is "The apple in the fridge" or just "The apple"?


texts: Is "Civic Virtue" related to moral in this context?

texts:
I came across this phrase:

"While no relationship was found between altruism and intention to leave both the organization and the current job, sportsmanship, civic virtue and helping others emerged as the strongest predictors of intention to leave the organization and intention to leave the current job."

According to Wikipedia: Civic virtue is the cultivation of habits of personal living that are claimed to be important for the success of the community

As I am translating this term into my native language, the question appears is:

Is Civic Virtue related to moral of society?
What is the best definition?

Any idea will be appreciated.  Thanks.


texts: How do we differentiate long vowels from short vowels in English

texts:
I was finding a school for my toddler. I saw this new theory called long vowels and short vowels

The teacher talk about apple, which she read something like "eiple" and the hat, which she claims use short vowels.

She says that some vowels are long vowels and some vowels are short vowels.

Now I know where I got my accent. I never knew about it. In Indonesian language every vowel have just one spelling.

That being said, she does sound like native speakers.

The question is:

How do we know when we should use long vowels and when we should use short vowels. For example, is a in apple short or long? Is the a in hat short or long? Do we sort of just memorize that or is there a rule.


texts: What is the difference between "in" and "within"?

texts: It seems they can be used interchangeably but I am not sure. Can somebody explain the difference of use between these two key words? Where do they become different?


texts:
A has 3 sweets, B has 4 sweets, C has 5 sweets. Is it correct if I say: "A has fewer sweets" or it must be "A has the least number of sweets"?
I generally mean: are "fewer" and "more" used in group of more than 2 objects this way correctly?


texts:
I was simply fiddling with Ngram viewer when my apparently naughty mind made me type the (real) "F-word" onto the text field, (the time was also chosen randomly, (1750-to-1993)), the results baffled me. (more like upside down flattened bell-curve)

From the results it seems entire 19th century and early-to-mid 20th writers heavily eschewed the word fuck (maybe the writers of that period were polite?) Is it an interesting coincidence or is Google playing with us?

How can it be that such a heavily used colloquial word, suddenly vanished from writings, only to rearise in modern times?

NOTE: This is purely an inquisitive question, I have no intention to make judgement on writers of any era.


texts: Is this sentence correct: Use of 'Thank you.'

texts:
I would be interested in your comments on the following sentence:

  Thank you for your assistance in this matter and we take this opportunity to send you our best wishes.

I can't explain why but it just sounds wrong to me.  I think it should either be:

  We thank you for your assistance in this matter and take this opportunity to send you our best wishes.

Or:

  Thank you for your assistance in this matter. We take this opportunity to send you our best wishes.


texts: A collective noun when referring to a group of people with the same name?

texts:
How can I refer collectively to a group of people with the same name, for example:

  Having so many Johns around is confusing.

or

  Having so many John's around is confusing.

Which one is the correct usage? Or should I only refer to them as "people named John"?

This could be somewhat compounded when surnames are used, if the pluralized version is also common.


texts: What is the word for an arbitrary simple example, typically used with proofs?

texts:
Typical usage is with math, or philosophy, proofs.  Also typically the simple example disproves the theory, but is of a arbitrarily contrived nature and not something that would naturally arise.

Is that clear enough?

A mathy example would be, in differential equations. If Brent said all functions are differentiable. The Professor X would say what about f(x)=x^2 for all x not equal to 3, when f(3) = -100. Then f(3) is a jump discontinuity and is not differentiable. This is an arbitrary, simple example disproving Brent's statement.

The example is ______


texts: Single word request for a person who speaks by even considering a potential rebuttal

texts:
I came across this wonderful word recently but can't recall it now.

Let's say, I'm in a debate and I'm talking about a particular topic. I make a remark and seeing the prospect of a strong rebuttal, quickly go on to add supporting explanation.

I'm looking for a word (which is either an adjective or adverb) to describe this.

  He spoke _____ly. (adverb)
  He is a _____ speaker. (adjective)

To better demonstrate this, take this example. One speaker says:

  Lack of education is the root cause of terrorism.

At this point, he knows his opponent might argue that even educated youths are attracted to extremism these days. The speaker then goes on to say:

  When I say ‘education’, it's not just about having a college degree, but also moral education—the wisdom to choose between what's right and what's wrong.


texts: Can 'degenerate' be used with no derogatory meaning?

texts:
Degenerate is used to indicate a change of state ( physical or mental) which has generally worsened from its previous one. Could this term be used just to indicate a change that does not necessarily imply a negative change from the preceding one.
A degenerate tradition or custom are an instance  of deterioration of tradition or custom or can they just be a change from a previous state?


texts:
I've come across the "come + X" construct in a passage of a New York Times article. Here it is (emphasis added):

  Politicians like to keep the fiscal levers in their hands come
  election time

What kind of clause does it introduce? Plus, how common is it? Is it typically American? Formal or informal? Are there any other instances where it is used, besides "come election time," which seems to me a set phrase? Lastly, which mood is that "come"?


texts: How do we use the possessive case (i.e., 's) with "or"?

texts:
I'm having a hard time finding out what the grammar is when we want to use "or" and possessive.  If, for example, I want to refer to the information of a person or an organization, do I say, "that person or organization's information," or, "that person's or organization's information."

Example:

  Please collect that person or organization's information on the appropriate form.

-or-

  Please collect that person's or organization's information on the appropriate form.

I have looked and looked on the internet at various grammar sites.  There are plenty that address the situation when there's a compound possession (i.e., when "and" is used), but none I can find that address the situation when it's not but rather is the possession of one or the other.

On this site, I felt hope when I found the following question:

Using possessive apostrophe with "or"

But then I saw it was wrongly closed as off-topic, saying it should be for the English Learner's site.  I'm not an English Learner.  It's a legitimate question.

Now, that question does offer one answer, but that answer is obviously wrong because it calls "John or Mary" a noun phrase, which is a phrase that serves as a noun, when it is not a noun phrase but is two distinct nouns conjoined by "or."

When we say "John and Mary's," that's compound possession, which indicates that John and Mary collectively share whatever it is, but when we say "John's and Mary's" that's not compound possession as it indicates that John and Mary each own the ensuing noun, so if the ensuing noun were "information," then it would refer to John's information and Mary's information, like John's address and Mary's address, which may not be the same.

From this, we know that the presence of a conjunction doesn't necessarily indicate compound possession, and when the conjunction is "or," it certainly seems that it wouldn't because "or" specifically indicates one or the other and not both, but therein lies the rub because it makes sense in my head to say "John's or Mary's" or "that person's or organization's," but what sounds right to my ear is "John or Mary's" and "that person or organization's," which is why I'm seeking an answer, an answer I haven't been able to find and hope someone here can definitively provide with some grammar source material that specifically addresses the possessive case with "or" rather than only addressing "and."


texts:
What is a correct spelling - "clipart" or "clip art"?

Is there any difference in meaning?

May it be language specific, like American, British, Australian?

Maybe "clip-art"?


texts:
Which of two words standing for geometric figure with four edges and angles is more common for english-speaking people?

P.S. I will use short word "quad" until I get answer for the question :)


texts: How can I dedicate something to my family and make a special note of my wife?

texts:
In a formal media article that describes my achievements, I want to say something like the following:

  I want to dedicate this achievement/award to my family and especially
  to my wife for all the nights she stayed up to give me company while I
  pulled all nighthers.

The all-nighters seems a bit informal and student-ish and I am not a student. Is there a better/concise/formal way of saying this?


texts: meaning of this please??----So that's twenty of each sort, right?

texts:
What is the meaning of this please?

  So that's twenty of each sort, right?


texts: the use of simple past and the past perfect

texts:
the given paragraph is :

"The German word was as familiar as it was scary. She heard it often enough before, but it had never been directed at her until now."

In the above sentences, I used the past simple "heard" as a wrong usage of past perfect, so that my students should find out that it is the wrong usage of "had heard" and they could correct the tense.

My question is this; is the past simple "heard" acceptable in the given sentence? My personal opinion is that we should use "had heard" with the past perfect tense in the following clause(had never been directed). But I am an English user as a foreign language so I want to hear what other people think.

Thank you for your time.


texts: Descriptor for people in an over 50 heterosexual relationship

texts: What is the best way to describe a relationship, or the two people in a relationship, who are heterosexual, non-married on purpose, but exclusive and committed, and over the age of 50, where “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” do not sound appropriate.


texts: What is the word for always YES (100%) or always NO (0%), never in-between

texts:
For example:

  1) In statistics, this attribute will always either be 0% or 100%, never in-between.

  2) The boundary is either safe or destroyed, because there is never a state where it is only 'slightly leaking'.

  3) The rash either itches or does not. It can't itch a little. That would still be an itch.

What word can we use to describe this attribute?


texts: To pleasure someone, to bring pleasure to someone, to make someone happy

texts:
Is there any difference in meaning or nuance between "to pleasure someone" and "to bring pleasure to someone?"

What about between "to pleasure someone" and "to make someone happy?"


texts:
What is the meaning of the sentence & the meaning of about in this sentence?

  "Are there lots of people about?"


texts:
What goes in the blank here?

  In order for your website to be modern and professional, it is my
  suggestion that every product ______ more detailed specifications....

have
should have
shall have

My intuition is shall have, but I vaguely remembered that back in high school, my teacher said using past tense is a form of politeness and a sense of softened tone. But should seems to be more forceful, so what should I use here?


texts: Is there a noun to call a general motion which goes backward and forward?

texts:
I'll explain the situation: I am working on a project which involves making people turn their heads from left to right repeatedly and recording their moves. Once this is done, I separate the data into several samples which are: starting left, going right and coming back left (there is a "checkpoint" every time people are at the left end of their moves).

I have trouble finding a way to describe this motion. In French, we'd call it "un aller-retour", but the usual translation is a "round trip" and it seems weird to use it in such a context. Am I wrong?

If not, is there an English word that describes a general motion which goes back and forth?


texts: What do "The cheese is baked into crust" and "Tweet one’s delight ..." mean in the context of an article about Super Bowl XLV?

texts:
For a non native English speaker, the introductory part of today’s Washington Post article commenting on the flood of TV commercials during the Super Bowl contains a bunch of unfamiliar phrases and is quite a puzzle.

Can somebody explain me what ‘Have the color and consistency of old gum,’ ‘The cheese is baked into crust’ and ‘Tweet one’s delight that seven-layer dip has become nine,’ in the following sentence imply ?

Is a sentence studded with all-Greek-to-me the writer’s special style or just an ordinary pattern of newspaper article?

  The effects of 45 (or XLV, if you must) direct slams to the head could be clearly seen Sunday night on that annual American CAT scan called the Super Bowl. Whole parts of our collective cerebellum now show up as having the color and consistency of old gum. Too many insipid Black Eyed Peas songs will do that to a civilization. The cheese really is baked into the crust.
  But willingly, like achy old pros, we returned to the holy rituals of this brutal game, this billion-dollar boondoggle, tweeting our delight that seven-layer dip has somehow become nine. Distraction is the real attraction, which gets a little more true each year.


texts: She went around in about a hundred and seventy, for nine holes - meaning

texts:
I read the "Catcher in the rye" and I found it difficult book for not native reader (Compared to for example Steve Jobs biography.

There is a lot of guessing what the author means by particular sentence.

Context :

  "Her mother belonged to the same club we did," I said. "I used to
  caddy once in a while, just to make some dough. I caddy'd for her
  mother a couple of times. She went around in about a hundred and
  seventy, for nine holes."

I wonder what the main character refer to by :

  She went around in about a hundred and seventy, for nine holes.

Are the numbers refer to numbers in golf?

What does :

  "Go around"

means here ?


texts: How to avoid two levels of parentheses when using abbreviations

texts:
In the paragraph below, technology-related terms like DSRC and LTE are mentioned for the first time in the text. So they have to be given in the long form.

As a result, two levels of parentheses occur. Is it possible to avoid this and still ensure that the writing is correct?

  With regard to these requirements, various wireless communication
  technologies have been considered for use in VANETs. Some of them
  being ad-hoc (e.g. WiFi, Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC)),
  and others infrastructure-based cellular technologies (e.g. Universal
  Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE)).


texts: Which is the correct form of a verb with two subjects?

texts:
In order to replace timing belt two hoses and holding bracket need to be removed.

Or:

In order to replace timing belt two hoses and holding bracket needs to be removed.


texts: What does "the look of" mean in this context?

texts:
The following phrase has been taken from Wikipedia's computer science style guides:

  Samples of actual source get included in articles for a variety of reasons, although the most typical reasons are to demonstrate the "look" of a particular language, to provide examples of language-specific constructs or features, and to provide examples of algorithms not easily expressed in pseudocode.

What is the meaning of the 'to demonstrate the "look" of a particular language'?

I have two variants:

to demonstrate particular language's point of view, approach, which is more at the logical level, than just visual representation
to demonstrate how something (visually) looks like when written in a particular language. In this case "look" reminds of "look and feel"

Or maybe neither variant is good.


texts: What does the term 'spare habit' mean exactly?

texts:
Example in Usage:

  July 20, 1890. Consulted by Mrs., 50, spare habit, dark hair and eyes, nervous temperament, neurotic family history;...


texts: Why do programmers always use 'we' when really they mean 'me' or 'you'?

texts:
Something I've noticed a lot from reading articles on stack overflow is that programmers tend to use the term 'we' a heck of a lot. I'm a programmer myself and I must admit, of all the times I've given people a few programming lessons or a bit of programming help, I've never felt compelled to use the term 'we' when talking about something you can do in the language.

For example (picking from some stackoverflow suggestions): "When do we really need to use hibernate for our Java code?" and "Why do we use process when we do have threads? [closed]"

Really what these people mean is: "When do you really need to use hibernate for your Java code?" (in which case 'you' acts as an informal equivalent of 'one') and "Why is process used when threads can be used instead?"

Has anyone else noticed this? Is there a reason programmers tend to use 'we' when discussing programming when really they mean 'you' or 'me' or the question could be asked without the terms.

Does anyone know where this trend/habit started or why so many people do it? Frankly it's starting to bother me because it results in an awkward use of English that doesn't feel natural and isn't particularly easy to take in.


texts:
I just heard on the following SNL skits, entitled "Mid-Day News" from the October 5, 2019 episode hosted by Phoebe Waller-Bridge:

https://youtu.be/NGqtZmShIkw?t=254

and

https://youtu.be/NGqtZmShIkw?t=226

climbing clearly pronounced as /klaimbɪŋ/ instead of the expected /klaimɪŋ/ by two different speakers playing the part of journalists.

This is a first for me.

Do some people also pronounce climb as /klaimb/?  How widespread and recent is this spelling pronunciation?  Is this specific to American English? Since the whole skit is about rivalry between Whites and Blacks, could it be a marker of Black American English?


texts:
My father has got a message that he had received 50000rs.

Is this sentence meaningful or not??
Can I use "he had received 50,000rs" after "that"?
If not, please send me the correct alternative sentence.


texts: What is the plural of "detective sergeant"?

texts:
What is the plural of "detective sergeant". In an episode of Endeavour, Series 5, episode 4, Superintendent Bright used "detectives sergeant" but this seems wrong, you wouldn't say "chiefs inspector" would you?

  Chief Superintendent Bright, Thames Valley, Detectives Sergeant Strange and Morse, and Detective Constable Fancy.


texts: Word meaning "asymmetry" but with positive connotation

texts:
What is a word that means "asymmetry" or "asymmetrical" that has a positive connotation?

"Harmony" comes to mind, but seems like a glancing shot. If anything, it indirectly implies an asymmetry.

EDIT: There are many situations where asymmetry is good. When two parties share their competitive advantages in trade, for instance.


texts:
Yesterday I was doing some english exercises and I've had some problems with a sentence:

At the moment, most of the work is being done. (solution)

At the moment, most of the work has been done. (my answer)

Why wasn't mine right? The context says that a lot of work in the house has been done (the walls have been put on, the roof has been put on and the bathroom has been fit), so now it only remains to paint the walls and to fit the kitchen.


texts: Can 'them' be used to indicate 'sentences'?

texts:
In your last message, you have said to ask you questions about your sentences, if I failed to understand these.
In your last message, you have said to ask you questions about your sentences, if I failed to understand them.

In second sentence them has been used instead of these. Use of which one is better and why? I know that them is used both for men and women, while these is used for materials or non-human matters. So why second one is better than first?


texts: Collective term for the nationality of a person and country of incorporation of a company

texts: I'm trying to find a term that would be equally suitable to describe the nationality of a person, as well as to describe the country of incorporation of a company, I'm ready to give up and use the nationality for the organization, or maybe there is another option?


texts:
The common greeting for the new year is

  I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Since Christmas has religious roots, it may not be suitable for people who are not religious. Shortening the greeting to

  I wish you a happy new year

seems lame. What's a charming alternative?


texts: Does "deep exhale" fit into this sentence example?

texts: (Ex. These loose leaf papers could be easily blown away, even by a kid's deep exhale.) I know that if I put >even by a kid who is deeply exhaling<, instead of what is in my example, the sentence would be correct, but is my example wrong?


texts: Which is best: draw a diagram or plot a diagram (an engineering type of diagram)?

texts:
I am to prepare an essay that explains (attempts to at least) how to generate a time-temperature-transformation diagrams, also known as TTT diagrams.
They look like this:

Wikipedia link(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isothermal_transformation_diagram)

I need to choose keywords that describe shortly what the essay is for.

Would rather say "how to draw a TTT diagram" or "how to plot a TTT diagram"?

Perhaps something else entirely?


texts: Who or what was a "dissenting minister" in the 19th century?

texts:
I was going through Ghostly Tales: An Audible Christmas Gift, and a story in there (written by Amelia B. Edwards, 'Was it an Illusion?') used a phrase which was unknown to me. The passage reads (copied from the previous link):

  Up to this moment I had not met a living soul of whom to ask my way; it was, therefore, with no little sense of relief that I saw a man emerging from the fog and coming along the path. As we neared each other-I advancing rapidly; he slowly-I observed that he dragged the left foot, limping as he walked. It was, however, so dark and so misty, that not till we were within half a dozen yards of each other could I see that he wore a dark suit and an Anglican felt hat, and looked something like a dissenting minister.

I have highlighted the phrase in question in the above quote. It is one I have never heard before, and I was unsure as to its meaning. Given the period of the author and the writings, the events take place in the mid-19th century.

One potential understanding of this reference is to the English Dissenters who struck out from the Anglican Church and often varied their clothes to highlight their non-belonging. A more modern interpretation would be of a dissenting Cabinet minister, but this clearly does not work due to the period in question. Furthermore, Google Books returns two other results for this phrase, one from Patrick O'Brian:

  ...while her servant, a tall man in a black coat who looked like a dissenting minister and who expected other servants to call him Mr Briggs, had been employed by a race-horse owner and was very well acquainted with the subject.

And another from Charles Cowden Clarke:

  My first suspicion of his being at Ramsgate had arisen from my mother observing that she had heard an elderly gentleman in the public library, who looked like a Dissenting minister, talking as she never heard man talk.

Both of these novels seem to be set in a similar time period.

Hence, this would suggest that the implication is to a Anglican Dissenter. However, I have not been able to find a uniform description of what a Dissenter would look like, and one of the good writings guidelines (I thought phrased by Orwell but surely understood before that time?) was that an idiom is only useful if the reader knows what is meant by it -- and nowhere that I have looked (the above pages) does it say what a Dissenter looks like or what is meant by this phrase (in the characterisation of a person).

So, can someone expand on what this phrase means (how does a Dissenting minister look?) and what is the mental image it is meant to conjure?


texts: What is the origin of "cross country skiing"?

texts:
I was speaking of skiing when I was in USA, and I discovered that one type of ski is called cross country skiing.

What is the origin of that phrase, which is not really referring to skiing through countries?


texts: Is there an English translation of Dante's "Divine Comedy" that mirrors the original's meter?

texts:
I know it would be extremely difficult to write anything in English using the Terza Rima and following the same rhyme pattern as feminine rhymes (the ones in which the penultimate syllable is stressed) are less abundant and prone to falling into cliche (measure-treasure-pleasure, human-woman, etc). And so translators opt for blank verse or even rhymed quatrains.

So: is there a translation that follows the original's meter and rhyme scheme?


texts: What is the most common abbr. for “passengers” in American English?

texts:
I need to fit a long sentence in a small space and cannot change the font or size.
It will be used for an UI of a ticketing machine in buses to announce how many passengers the ticket is for.


texts: Is there any noun phrase having its inverted version also a noun phrase?

texts:
I may not express my question clear enough in the title. Here I give some examples and it would be explicit to all of us.

Example1: 'book ticket' vs 'ticket book'
Example2: 'bill order' vs 'order bill'

The meanings of noun phrases are different after inverted. These two examples are not general enough from my point of view. And I have no idea about other noun phrases.

Can anyone come up with more excellent examples? Really appreciate.

Thank you so much for everyone helping me thinking about good examples.@ ohwilleke @tchrist @Jim @ Andrew Leach. Really appreciate.


texts: Scientific way to describe "over linear growth"

texts:
I am aware that typically we use "linear" growth or "exponential" growth to describe certain trending, which seems very standard and scientific.

But on the other hand, what is a proper and scientific way to describe a trending that is "over" linear (faster than linear), but apparently not yet exponential? Can I simply say "over linear"? Thanks.

For instance:

The processing time grows over linearly w.r.t. the number of loop iterations.


texts: Analysis of Cost Efficiency - Economics of?

texts:
I'm in search for a title that says: You can expect to read about how economic efficient different things are when compared against each other.

As I need a noun, grabbing the word economical and turning it into economicality of doesn't really cut it, because I don't even think that is a proper English word.

Is economics of the correct term? Somehow that gives a more internal feeling, as in economics of scale, and not as in

  these things affect overall cost in such and such a way

Is there a better term than the non-existent word economicality?


texts: Is polemic a naturally disengenious, flawed argumentation?

texts:
I wanted to ask about the meaning of the word polemic the way it is colloquially used. The dictionary definition is:
"a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something."
But I was always under an impression that a polemic also carried the notion that the argumentation was disingenuous and flawed. And certainly carried a negative connotation. Is that true?


texts:
As I have been taught in China, "It be ... that ..." is a sentence structure able to emphasize certain component by placing it right after "it be", as in the following examples.

Original: My father teaches me responsibility by giving me a pet.

Emphasize Subject: It is my father that teaches me responsibility by giving me a pet.

Emphasize Direct Object: It is me that my father teaches responsibility by giving me a pet.

Emphasize Indirect Object: It is responsibility that my father teaches me by giving me a pet.

Emphasize Adverbial Modifier: It is by giving me a pet that my father teaches me responsibility.

The structure seems syntactically correct, yet it is rarely seen in literature or English texts on the internet.

Is there anything grammatically wrong or stylistically inelegant about this structure?
Thank you very much!


texts: Can "informatively" be used in this way (like a disclaimer)?

texts:
In my native language - Bulgarian - the closest cognate to the word "informatively" - информативно (informativno) has a very specific and strong connotation. For example:

  Izvinete, informativno da vi pitam, kolko struva tova?

I'm likely to translate like this:

  Excuse me, I'd like to ask you, informatively, how much does this cost?

The connotation of "informativno" here is that I don't intend to buy the thing, at least not for now, and am likely to leave the shop right after asking.

Another English example:

  "Would you like to meet to discuss this job opportunity?"

  "Yes, but just informatively - I'm happy with current job and I don't want to leave it soon."

I intend this to mean that "the meeting will not result in me accepting the offer, at least not very soon, but I'd be happy to learn more about it.".

Does "informatively" have this strong connotation in English, and if not, how do I express this idea?


texts: Is there a phrase for someone being ashamed of, or self-conscious about their accent when moving to another region?

texts:
I was reading a book about accents at a local library and there was a chapter where the author says "some varieties of a language are more aesthetically pleasing than others". Some accents are considered “tops”, and these are the ones spoken by the Royals, the elite, intellectuals and distinguished academics, etc

Consequently, a person might regard their own accent with distaste and may try to imitate the accent of the elite where they live or the elite who live in great cultural centers; for example, a French-Canadian in Paris, a Brummie in London, or a Texan in Boston.

As for the answer to my question, there is one, I know. It's a phrase, with 3 or 4 words, and no foreign terms. It is mentioned in the book on sociolinguistics and accents I was reading. I simply can't remember it now. I'm looking for a phrase describing the person or the condition.

For Clarity: I'm not saying that all French-Canadians, Brummies or Texans are, or should ever be, ashamed/embarrassed/self-conscious of their accents, but it is possible.


texts: What is meant by eye in “eye to the side” or “eye to the sky”?

texts:
The context relates to coils of flexible pipes.

  Coils can be loaded eye to the sky,  eye  to  the  door  or  eye  to  the  side.  Usually  loading  coils  eye  to  the  sky  is  not  so  problematic, as the coil weight is not so high and the weight is better distributed.
  Loading eye  to  the  side is  the  common  method  and  usually  used  for  the  heavy  coils.

  A
  ll  guidelines  like  weight  distribution, bedding,
  blocking  and  lashing
  have  to  be  followed
  by
  all
  stuffing
  methods
  (eye to sky and eye to door)

  Also, Coils of pipe may be positioned in an “eye to the side” or “eye to the sky” orientation. When the flexible pipe is coiled and is disposed with its interior channel facing upwards, such that the coil is in a horizontal orientation, then the coils of pipe are referred to as being in an “eye to the sky” orientation. If, instead, the flexible pipe is coiled and disposed such that the interior channel is not facing upwards, such that the coil is in an upright or vertical orientation, then the coils of pipe are referred to as being in an “eye to the side” orientation


texts: Meaning and origin of "the grind of my day"

texts:
Somebody told me today in chat:

  before i get into the grind of my day... is there anything you are waiting on from us or need asap?

What does the expression the grind of my day mean? Where does it come from?


texts:
Is there any word for calling people who pretend to be religious in the religious group they’re in? I mean, the people who lost their belief but can’t say they’re not religious anymore because people will turn against them?

I’ve met several people of that kind so I’d thought it’ll be good to know a word for it. Any suitable adjective then?

I am not implying anything here. No one’s wrong. This is how the world works, sadly. The word fake in the title is a bit off, I know.


texts: "An example of you not knowing" or "An example of your not knowing"?

texts: Which of these two forms is grammatically correct?


texts:
Should there be a comma before "or" in the sentence below? I think keeping the comma would be a comma splice, but I am not completely sure.

  It is a disorder in which a missing or garbled sequence of DNA leaves the body unable to make a particular protein, or causes it to be made in an abnormal form.


texts:
Anon native english speaker here.

I'm playing a game that gamifies life, and I'm creating an item that stands for coke (Coca~Cola). I want it to be rpg-ish, so I wrote this:

“‘Whomever layeth sight upon this vial shall see the true colour of one's soul’, say the elders. No wonder it's all black.”

I really want to learn more, and I tried to adventure into this after reading some of Poe's stories.


texts: Meaning of M'year, S'year etc. in academic biographies

texts:
Reading scientific papers, I often see at the end of them, in the biographies of the authors, some abbreviations like the following: (S’70–M’72–SM’86–F’91).

I think that they are correlated with graduation dates, but I did not find any good explanation. Can anybody explain their meaning to me, and give a complete list of those abbreviations?


texts: what phrase to use to convey the idea of "my first attempt"

texts: I had tried photography as serious hobby for the first time and I have made an album. I want to expresses the idea to the world that this is my first attempt. Few things come to my mind like "my first try at photography" or "my first hand at photography". I do not know if these statements are correct, so can someone suggest something or at-least verify these.


texts: Dedicated to producing vs dedicated to the production - use of ing-form + object in place of noun

texts:
- A factory famous for the production of. . .
 - A factory famous for producing . . .
- A farm dedicated to the cultivation of . . .
- A farm dedicated to cultivating . . .
- The firm focused on the development of new . . .
- The firm focused on developing new . . .

I believe both forms are grammatically correct,
but is one of the two preferred over the other and if so, why?


texts: "A Smith & Wesson beats a straight flush"

texts:
I just came across (pdf) this expression:

  A Smith & Wesson beats a straight flush

What does it mean?
Is it the idea of winning via unlawful means when losing?
Is it a common expression?


texts:
Girl: "I've made my decision, Father".

  Her Father: "You've ruined so many prospects, Lucy".

  Girl: "Hmm.Nothing but boys, following in their father's footsteps. I'd
  know my life before I had even lived it".

Is this sentence (I'd know my life before I had even lived it) past or imaginary present? If it is past then why aren't we saying "I knew my life before I had even lived it"? What does "would" mean here?

Here is a link http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=savannah

It's from a movie 'Savannah'


texts: "Humor is one of the strongest forces that humans connect over."?

texts:
English isn't my first language so this question may seem stupid.

Can you connect "over" something metaphorically?

Example: Humor is one of the strongest forces that humans connect over.

Of can you only connect over the internet or some other kind of physical wire?


texts:
What informal English terms are used in the US as money amounts? I know the following US terms and I'm curious about others:

  a grand: 1000 dollars
  a buck: 1 dollar


texts:
Is this sentence right? If it is, when should you add the comma before without?
You can do what you want, without reporting everything.


texts: What is the word whose definition is 'the background laugh on tv shows'?

texts: Tv shows (especially comedy shows) have a background audience laughter and I remember there's a word whose synonym is the background laughter on tv shows. But, I'm not able to identify the word. Any of you know the word? It is not laugh track or any other word given here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laugh_track. I distinctly remember that the word doesn't have 'laugh' in it.


texts: What is the best way to express interest in a job in a cover letter?

texts:
It is for a cover letter, where I want to express my interest in the position and also to indicate that my profile matches the requirement.

  I find the proposed job interesting and matched by my profile and career goal.

First, does "I find the proposed job interesting" sound too ego-centric?

Second, shall I break the sentence into two or keep it compact in one?

Third, any better way for saying that my profile meets their requirements?

Any help on any of these questions will be appreciated.

//////


texts:
I came across a sentence that said:

For example, Philips Hue lights recently added one. Previously they would come on when power is restored.

Should it be is restored or was restored?

Thank you.


texts:
According to Biblehub and Bible Gateway, King James's Numbers 23:22 says:

  God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

I don't have a hard copy to check. Is that simply a copied typo?


texts: I will learn better English -- should it be "I will learn English better."

texts:
Somehow, I think "better English" is incorrect, because I think there isn't better English; English is English. But I hear this phrase from other ESL students a lot. Is this correct way of saying it? Or should I say "I will learn English better"? Or if there's any other better way to say it, I would love to know.
Thank you.


texts: Can you say "the 2 keyboards are identical except that the y and z are in different places"

texts:
Is this correct use of the words - can it be said like this?

The 2 keyboards are exactly the same except the y and z keys are in different places?

Can you say something is exactly the same except...


texts: What word is used to describe always using words that mean the extreme?

texts:
I'm trying to think of the word that is used to describe someone who always uses words that mean the most or least of a trait (like best, worst, fastest, slowest, brightest, smartest, etc. etc.). I thought there was a word to describe this category of adjectives, but I can't think of it!
Thanks!


texts: A word meaning not to change the meaning of something

texts:
The title is confusing. I hope this explains my question better.

If I'm trying to tell a friend that I enjoyed a talk we had, there are a multitude of ways I can say this. I can say it bluntly, or describe the talk we had with positive words.

The talk we had was good.
The talk we had was great.

With either sentence, my friend could gather that I enjoyed our talk. They used different words, but they both described that I enjoyed our talk. Is there a word to use that would describe this situation in which two different words could be used, but the meaning would stay the same? Am I just overthinking this?

Edit: I think a much better way of explaining my question is with Word : Synonym :: (word I'm wondering about) : sentence


texts:
This is quite confusing!

In the Standard IPA vowel chart, there are /e/ and /ɛ/. See the below picture:

(Source: Wikipedia)

However, many American English vowel charts don't have /e/. So, I think that some English dialects (like General American) don't have /e/, they only have /ɛ/. See the below General American Vowel chart:

(Source: Wikipedia)

In contrast, the British vowel chart has /e/ but doesn't have /ɛ/. See the below Received Pronunciation Vowel chart:

(Source: Wikipedia)

As you can see, the /e/ in British chart is in the position "mid-near front" whereas the /e/ in standard IPA is in the position "close-mid-near front".

The confusing things are in the dictionary. See the word "bed", some American pronounce it as /ˈbɛd/ (Source: learnersdictionary.com), other American dictionaries write it as /bed/ (Source: Cambridge Dictionary).

However, most dictionaries pronounce "save" as /seɪv/.

Also, most pronunciation teachers do not teach pronouncing /e/ as a monophthong, but rather they teach pronouncing it as /eɪ/. But it seems English native speakers cannot pronounce or have never pronounced the /e/ in the position "close-mid-near front" as in standard IPA. However, people using other languages can.

So, could you clarify /e/ and /ɛ/?


texts: Suppose you have some elements (let's say coins) laid out over a table in vertical order. How can I make reference to the coin at the bottom? The lowest coin? The one that is below any other? I just don't know how to say that.


texts:
The library is far.

  The library is far away.

I was told that far and far away are both fine and express the same meaning in the above sentences. But, I was told that only far away can be used in the following sentence (far is wrong).

  On top of the mountain, I can see things far away.

  *On top of the mountain, I can see things far.

Why? I haven't got a good explanation.


texts:
Is he still smoking? vs Does he still smoke?

Which aspect would be correct, progessive or simple? In my opinion, the first question sounds somehow better, however, I think the second question is grammatically more correct, as smoking is a habit simple aspect should be used...


texts:
First of all, I am non-native, so is my friend, who is mentioned below.

One day I was checking my friend's diary written in his English, and there was an expression "I seem to [verb]". Then I immediately found it weird for the first personal pronoun to be followed by "seem", because I thought (also I do, though) to seem is to give some impression or effect of being in a state, to the speaker.
What I think here is that a first-person pronoun can never give an impression to itself, which makes "I seem" wrong.

Am I correct? Do you say "I (We) seem"?

[Edit]
The way he used "seem" is as below:

1) "I seem to practise more."

The context is that he had a sport competition but could not win the game. Then this sentence follows. He wanted to say, like, "I probably have to practise more." Well, first, "have to" is lacking, but to me "I seem to have to practise more" still sounded awkward, so I edited his sentence to "It seems I have to...". However, judging from your answers so far, I guess this works?

2)"I seemed like I was reading others' stories."

The context is that he re-read his own sentences over and over, and this follows. He wanted to say "I felt like I was reading...". I thought using "seem" here is kind of objective, in other words, I just felt like asking "why are you not sure what you yourself felt?"


texts:
I would write an academic research report and i would like to know how to write :

  "Ocean of knowledge"

to describe an enormous source of knowledge ?


texts: What is a good adjective for something I do a lot?

texts: I think a lot about various things. While not working, I think about something, and this is what I do during most of my available time. What would be a good adjective to describe that. At first I thought "big-time thinker", but looks like that has a different meaning. Any ideas?


texts: How to Properly Cut Content and Show Content is Cut

texts:
I hope this is the proper place to ask this question:
I have a news article that I am citing for a post online. I am quoting part of the article but I am going to quote the first part of the article and then quote the very end. How do I properly show that the middle of the article is cut out?
IE:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus condimentum commodo purus. Vestibulum eget adipiscing mi. Morbi in consequat urna. Vestibulum imperdiet ullamcorper risus vitae vulputate.
[Cut Content]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus condimentum commodo purus. Vestibulum eget adipiscing mi. Morbi in consequat urna. Vestibulum imperdiet ullamcorper risus vitae vulputate.

I will provide a link back to the full article.


texts: How should I address someone with a known name and unknown gender?

texts:
When communicating with foreign cultures, the gender of the addressed person is  not always clear from the name. What would be a professional way to address someone in this situation. (Dear Mr or Ms SomeForeignName looks awkward).

A hack I generally use is to do a google image search for the name, but this isn't always accurate in all cultures. What's the solution here?


texts:
Does someones knows what is the right order? Where do I put 'it was'

A)"A shocking moment it was and I became dreadfully afraid to open my eyes.."

V)"It was a shocking moment and I became dreadfully afraid to open my eyes.."


texts:
I had a place to live out (domestic servant), while my mother got work
  in a factory making white goods.

  Mother, who, as I have said, was very clever, made $9 a week on white
  goods, which means all sorts of underclothing, and is high class work.

According to dictionaries, 'white goods' means home appliances. But I can't understand why 'all sorts of underclothing' is mentioned related to 'white goods'. Is there any other meaning to white goods than home appliances? Or does this 'white goods' mean 'white products' including clothing and everything?


texts: What does "in-flight" mean in this context?

texts:
Below is the context.

  Do we need to create a table to catch any in-flight data during the cut-over?

I looked the word in-flight up in several dictionaries and almost all of them state the meaning of it is:

  Occurring, carried out, or present while in flight

But from the aforementioned context I think the meaning here probably is `something happened during a process". Apparently this has nothing to do with a flight. Hope some native speakers can help to confirm.


texts: A differ from B by/due to/for the presence of C?

texts:
My question is whether one should use "by", "due to", "for", or something else in a sentence like, for example:

"Mineral water differs from distilled water by/due to/for the presence of minerals"

or in general

"A differs from B by/due to/for the presence of C"

Which one is correct, "by", "due to", or "for"? Or maybe one should use another preposition? Or maybe all these possibilities are correct, but they convey a slightly different meaning?


texts:
What kind of a term is 'shot dead'?

"He was shot dead." Is 'dead' an adverb here?

"He shot Sam dead." This is like a phrasal verb, but 'dead' isn't a preposition or particle.

Is 'shot dead' some weird kind of compound verb, or is 'dead' an exotic adverb, or is something else going on?


texts: Is there a difference between 'I thought to myself' and 'I thought.'?

texts: Is there any need for the ending of 'to myself'? How is it different from the alternative? Can you always replace 'I thought to myself' with 'I thought'?


texts: past simple vs present perfect in this example

texts:
A:Why is Lisa so upset about her trip ?

B:She (had her luggage searched) three times.

The answer in the workbook( "Grammar in Use") shows 'had her luggage searched' is the correct answer.
 I'm a Japanese and an English teacher. One of my students asked me 'has her luggage searched' seems to be correct. I also think 'has' seems to be gramatically correct.  Do you have any idea or advice to explain the difference? Is the nuance (or impact) is a bit different?


texts:
In a square, which is the correct term: 'upper-left corner' or 'top-left corner'?

To be more specific: in the context "the x-coordinate of the upper-left/top-left corner", which should I use?


texts: what's the phrase for "I don't want to be reliant on someone else"

texts:
I remember that there is a phrase with the word whims that goes about like this: "I don't want to be reliant on someone else"

Does anyone know what that phrase is?


texts: Word for something that is protected or guarded? Must be a noun

texts:
What is a word for something that is protected or guarded? The thing that is being protected doesn't have to necessarily be valuable, secret, or even hidden from view. It just has to be something that is guarded, and difficult to access. The word must be a noun.

For example,

  The King's horse was a _____. He allowed no one but himself to ride it.

I would offer what I have thought of so far but I can't even think of a word close to it...


texts: "Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape"

texts:
He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to—everyone knows he's after
  Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape.

From time to time I stumble upon this type of speech with comma + name after the main text to emphasize on a person. So, pronoun-text-comma-name.

Is this a specific dialect? Like, for example "I gonna kill'em" sounds southern-ish US.

English is not my mother tongue though I read a lot and such subtle things are of highest interest to me.


texts: 'instinct for conventionality' meaning sense of humor?

texts:
This is an extract from Political Ideals (1917) by Bertrand Russell:

  In combination with the instinct for conventionality,[1] which man
  shares with the other gregarious animals, those who profit by the
  existing order have established a system which punishes originality
  and starves imagination from the moment of first going to school down
  to the time of death and burial.

  [1] In England this is called "a sense of humor."

(the footnote is from Russell)

Why did Russell relate "sense of humor" to "the instinct for conventionality"? I don't see any important connection. "conventionality", as I understand it, means adherence to accepted norms and traditions.


texts: What is the difference between rigid and strict

texts:
When I paraphrase this sentence 'She is too strict with her kids.', I came up with this expression 'She is too rigid to her kids.'.

What is the difference between them?
Please help me.


texts:
What does "passion-tearing" mean in the following context?

  My parents were at the summer theater singing a first matinee performance of "You Can't Take It With You". In summer stock productions they were two very irritable, passion-tearing, perspiring players, and my younger brothers and I rarely went to see them. My mother was especially poor in summer stock. Watching her, even on a cool evening, Kenneth used to cringe in his seat till he was almost on the floor.

It doesn't sound like a good thing, but I cannot figure out what it actually means.

The story is written somewhere around 1947 and full context is available here.


texts: Is there a word that means diagonal and above?

texts:
I’m looking for a word (or even a phrase if there isn’t a word) that would describe cells on a grid.

I want to say that given a cell I want to pick the three cells in the row above that touch my current cell - that is the two cells that are diagonally above mine and the one directly above.


texts: What is the difference between “skilled” and “skillful”?

texts:
What is the difference between skilled and skillful? When can I use one and when can I use the other?

He is skilled/skillful.
He is a skilled/skillful musician.
(Anything else?)

From the dictionary, I feel they have basically the same meaning, but I couldn’t understand the difference.


texts:
Can these two words ever be used interchangeably?

My intuition as a writer tells me that I can either say (for example)

  The word denotes (x), but its connotation is (y).

or

  The definition of the word is (x), but it has a (y) subtext.

Both sound completely acceptable. But is this technically correct?


texts: Is there a word for the uncanny ability to find one's way home when extremely drunk?

texts: A small dispute broke out in the office today about this. Does anyone have any ideas?


texts: Should I say that I add Video "before"or"in front of" game?

texts:
Should I say that I type Video "before"or"in front of" game?

For example

  You should add "Video" BEFORE " games". You missed typing it.

Or

  Me: I like games

  Teacher:You missed "video" IN FRONT OF "games". You missed the word.


texts:
What is the meaning of of when it starts a sentence? For example,

and what is the grammatically correct way to write a sentence starting with of?


texts:
"... organisms evolved within and satisfactorily fitting their communities, arriving at length of beauty and goodness, it is difficult to say where the natural facts leave off and where the natural values appear"

Can someone clarify the expression "arriving at lenght of beauty and goodness"? Specifically, I'm confused by the use of the preposition "of". I am assuming the meaning is "arriving in the end/finally at beauty and goodness". I've never heard the expression "arriving at length of" before (I'm not a native speaker). Is it commonly used or is this a typo? What is the logic behind calling it a 'length of beauty'? Thank you.


texts: Should I use passive voice in academic writing?

texts:
Yesterday I learned that it is better to use active voice instead of passive voice in writing.

Well today I had an academic essay test and I used active verbs throughout the whole essay.

She told me the essay was very choppy, and that I used to write better.

So my question is should I use passive voice in essays too? Because my sentences are ending up pretty choppy.


texts: Can we use "I can put you down.." when enlisting someone for an appointment?

texts:
For example, "I can put you down on a weekend tour."
As far as i know, when you use the phrase "Put you down" it's more of embarrassing someone or it could also mean that you want to kill that person.

What do you guys think?


texts: Are there similar metaphors to “It’s no use for a dojo (loach) to behave like a goldfish”?

texts:
Mr.Yoshihiko Noda was inaugurated as the 95th Prime Minister of Japan on August 30th by winning the race among five candidates for Japan’s  ruling party--the JDP’s leader election.

The phrase he likened himself to was dojo (loach), with which he wrapped up his manifestation address:

  I’m like a dojo. It’s no use for a dojo to behave like (or imitate) a goldfish.

This became suddenly a hot word among Japanese electorates, and it was even quoted in many overseas news media such as Washington Post, New York Times and Financial Times.

By saying I’m a dojo. It’s no use for a dojo to behave like a goldfish he meant he is determined to pursue for steady, realistic and actionable goals and implement down-to-earth policies rather than chasing after gaudy, dreamy, but unachievable goals (as his predecessors have done in the past two decades and all failed). He borrowed this line from a popular poet called Mitsuo Aida known for the lines of his zen-like poetry.

I wonder if there are any (or many) metaphors and popular lines in the English speaking countries that can be equated with the line, It’s no use for a dojo to behave like a goldfish. I would like to show off my trove of imported phrases to my English enthusiastic buddies.


texts: What is the exact phrase of Shakespeare’s for the phrase meaning “It’s not yet the worst when you are saying it’s the worst (situation).”?

texts:
I once posted a question in this forum asking what is the counterpart saying to Japanese proverb, “There’s no wild pig larger than the mountain (from where it emerges)” and am thankful for receiving many answers from users.

Today I found the quote from Shakespeare’s work to the effect of “It’s not yet the worst when you are saying you are in worst situation” in “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” a columnist’s column of the Asahi newspaper. The essay simply says it from Shakespeare, and doesn’t show English text of the phrase, nor what part of Shakespeare’s work it came from.

After experiencing the M-9 earthquake and tsunami that devastated coastal and inland area of Eastern Japan, and watching many people going through tough time before our eys, I keep telling myself and others, “My heart goes out to you, but believe me, “There’s no wild pig larger than the mountain.”

Can somebody tell me the exact wording, and what work of Shakespeare this axiom quoted in “the Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” came from?


texts: Word choice with regarding to its use and length

texts: Few years back, when I first read the word "color" in a text book, I thought it was an editing error, but after researching on the Internet, I found that "color" is as same as "colour" except the former is shorter than the latter in length. Similarly, I have got used to regard "favor" equivalent to "favour". Now, I have read the third word "loose" in a blog of a prominent blogger, which has got sort of official status, given the popularity of his blog. Given the context where the word "loose" is used, it is actually meant for "waste" or "lose". Now, the word "loose" is longer than "lose", so can somebody offer an explanation for two contrasting logics given above?


texts:
The following paragraph is very confusing to me:

  Much like a work of science, a work of art represents both more and less than a simulacrum of pleasure – it is foregrounded by the values relative to the value-maker, attests to multiple layers of possible meaning, is inevitable only in that it privileges the mores of a particular culture at a particular time in history and, within its shifting temporary context, it is ripe for continual reinterpretation and validation.

The best interpretation I can make is that it means roughly this:

  Similar to a work of science, a work of art looks for a feeling of pleasure, has multiple layers of meaning, represents  particular cultures of particular eras, and is susceptible of continual reinterpretation.

Am I understanding it correctly?


texts: What is meant by the (slang) word "tool," when used to refer to a person?

texts:
Etymonline.com gives a lot of definitions regarding an implement or instrument, specifically inanimate objects.

But the word has crept into English slang in reference to people, as in "he is a total tool." Would this mean that he is someone's "puppet?" Or if someone said, "He is a tool of IBM," would this mean that he was a (blindly loyal) company man? Could this refer to a kind of soldier (e.g. a Japanese during World War II) who would jump off a cliff if ordered to do so by an officer?


texts: How to pronounce 'almond' in American English

texts:
I cannot count how many times I was told and/or made fun of my allegedly incorrect pronunciation of almond. Every single one of my attempted pronunciations has been 'corrected'; even the so-called correct versions have been corrected.

As expected, the American and British English pronunciations are different. However, every YouTube video or online dictionary I visit has its own pronunciation for the American English version!

What is the actually 100% correct pronunciation for almond in American English? Is there a most commonly acceptable pronunciation?


texts:
What would be the difference between saying "I engage in volunteerism" and saying "I engage in volunteering" ?

Volunteerism is defined as "the use or involvement of volunteer labor, especially in community services" not to be confused with voluntarism which is a philosophy that involves not using coercion.

This definition is taken from ODO.


texts: what is the difference between speak to and talk to

texts: I am confused with these two words, speak to and talk to. For example, I can say "I will never speak to a man about this." Can I substitute "speak to" here with "talk to"? Is there any difference? I appreciate any of your suggestion.


texts: How good an experience vs. How good of an experience

texts:
Which one of these sentences is considered to be more correct?

1) You cannot imagine how good an experience that has been.

or

2) You cannot imagine how good of an experience that has been.


texts: pronunciation help. What does the simple /i/ means

texts:
The cambridge dictionary phonetics use phonetic symbol /i/ in addition to /I/ and /i:/
I assume they use the DJ phonetic transcription. The other source I read says that /i/ is the old spelling for /I/, but that apparently can not be the case because Cambridge dictionary lists /i/ separately alongside /i:/ and /I/ in their help page. Can someone explain to me what does it entails, is it just a shorter version of /i:/?
Thanks in advance.


texts: Does 'Then' after 'And' require a comma?

texts:
I was writing a compound sentence, that required a 'Then' after the coordinating conjunction.
I was wondering if the 'Then' needed a comma before and after it, such as thus:

"It is best to review once or twice, and, then, move on."

If it should be included or omitted, I'd appreciate any tips.


texts:
I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in a brief Tom Daschle's biography  in The Washington Post, Politics, (WHO RUNS GOV).

  She, along with Mark Childress, were set to be Daschle's deputies at
  the White House before he stepped down.

Can someone clarify if the fragment "She, along with Mark Childress, were set to" is ungrammatical, as I think it is?

I would reword were with was because I think that the subject of the sentence - obviously, in grammatical terms - is "She", not "She" and "Mark Childress", but I'm not sure on this correction.

More precisely, I'm not so sure that "She, along with Mark Childress" is equivalent to She and Mark Childress with regard to the effects on the grammatical numbers.


texts: "I'm only grandfathering you in because of Serena."

texts:
In Gossip Girl Season 4 Episode 19 "Petty in pink," Blair says the following sentence to Serena's cousin Charlie after she tried to explain to both of them about her plan.

  I'm only grandfathering you in because of Serena.

What this "grandfather" mean here? It looks like a verb, but I can't find it in any dictionary.


texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?

"These two politicians were, by no means, the first of which who insinuated that violent video games cause mass shootings."

I want to say that the two people introduced beforehand were not the first people who blamed video games for mass shootings. The composition of "of which" and "who" seems incorrect.


texts: What is the closest idiomatic antonym to ‘foul the nest’?

texts:
There was the following sentence in Washington Post’s (January 5) article titled “Rick Perry is no George W. Bush” with a subhead line, ‘Perry’s dubious award.’

  Perry, who looks likely to fail at his presidential campaign, has also fouled the nest back home. The January issue of Texas Monthly magazine hands him the annual “Bum Steer’’ award — a major poke in the eye for the state’s top officeholder. The magazine’s “dishonor’’ has been given to a sitting governor only once before, in 1976.

I’m curious to know the exact idiomatic antonym(s) to “foul the nest back home.”


texts: "if you forget your password", "if you forgot your password" or "if you have forgotten your password"?

texts: For a user manual, which one is the most suitable of the three tenses? The user hasn't forgotten his/her password when he/she is reading the manual.


texts: How would one describe a person who is not convinced by strong evidence in support of a theory

texts:
I am looking for a word which best describes a person who cannot be convinced by strong evidence presented in support of a theory. He may or may not present counter-arguments, but he is adamant in his refusal to be convinced.

For example

  I have shown her all the evidence which convinces me that the theory is
  correct, but she is still __________ and says that the arguments are flawed.

The word ‘unconvinced’ would fit the blank here, but my request is for a stronger word than ‘unconvinced’ because the person in question will not discuss the evidence I have presented, but will only argue the case from other standpoints.


texts: How to categorize vocabulary for practical use?

texts:
What classification scheme exists for grouping words by their meaning, e.g., "words that describe food," "emotion words," and "types of people"?

My concern is pragmatic; grouping words with similar functions can aid in word choice and usage. In other words, I am looking for a grouping method more general than a thesaurus but more specific than the parts of speech. This may be an impossible task given the number of words in existence; thus, I am limiting the categories to "commonly" used words, with the hope that there exists a practical grouping scheme.


texts: How does the unaspirated /t/ differ from /d/?

texts: For example, how is 'stop' pronounced differently from 'sdop', in terms of tongue position and other aspects?


texts: "para-" in words like "paraglider" and "parabrake"

texts:
As is well known, para-, in its meaning of "alongside or beyond", is derived from Greek loanwords such as paraphrase and parasite, while its meaning of "against" is derived from the Latin "be prepared" as in parachute and parasol.

My question is: From where is para- derived in words like, for example, parabrake and paraglider? Can parachute itself be the source of the prefix "para-" in these words?

The scope of the question is to investigate whether grammarians recognize only two roots for the para- words, or, instead, they recognize three roots, the last one having evolved independently in modern English.


texts:
The meanings for ameliorate and alleviate are quite similar,
but I don’t think they are exact synonyms: what are the nuances behind choosing which one to use in a particular context?

I’d like some example sentences to show where one of them can’t be substituted by the other.


texts: The correct espression for something’s surface is parallel to the ground level?

texts: Like the title says, I thought it was something like “the kitchen table is now level” but I’m not sure anymore.


texts:
In Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Chapter 2, when talking about how long the Electric Monk believed silly things, the book says:

How long did the Monk believe these things?
Well, as far as the Monk was concerned, forever. The faith which moves mountains, or at least believes them against all the available evidence to be pink, was a solid and abiding faith, a great rock against which the world could hurl whatever it would, yet it would not be shaken. In practice, the horse knew, twenty-four hours was usually about its lot.

I think the last sentence basically says that the Monk had believed for about twenty-four hours, but I'm not sure about the usage of "about its lot". What is the "lot" referring here, or is it some kind of idiom I'm missing? Googling it returned some vague Bible references and it doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for.
You can find the whole chapter here, if it helps at all.


texts: "What should I do with...?" vs "What should I do about..?"

texts: is it any different to say, "What should I do with the cake?" or "What should I do about the cake?" Thanks for you help in advance.


texts: Word or phrase for saying you don't want something when you really do

texts:
Like if I offer somebody a candy bar and they say "no thank you" when they actually would love to eat it.

I've heard people refer to it as "being modest", but the dictionary definition of modest doesn't seem to match very well.


texts: A word for someone who always looks at the bigger picture

texts: What is a formal word to describe someone who looks at the bigger picture


texts: A concise equivalent of a phrase meaning "to be pulled in turns by two subjects"

texts:
I am writng a personal statement for a degree in game development and would like to begin with a decisive and concise statement.
I wanted to express something like:

  before discovering myself in game development I was torn apart by arts and science in turns

Can you help me rephrase this in proper english? All suggestions of strong statements of simillar meaning are welcome.

Thanks!


texts: "Sober as a judge" vs. "Drunk as a lord". Why judge? Why lord?

texts:
Sober as a judge is a simile that is used for someone completely sober.
Drunk as a lord is a simile that is used for someone completely drunk.
Why is judge equated with sobriety and lord with insobriety?
What is the origin of these phrases?

We can guess that judges shouldn't drink during duty hours but why specifically this occupation? We can also guess that lords were drinking a lot in the olden times and that's why it might be associated. But why not "drunk as a king"?
I did some research and "drunk as a king' is used indeed; but it is very uncommon and appears in a very few sources.

They tell you “he's as drunk as a beast;” then, again, we are constantly hearing of a man “as drunk as Chloe,” or “as drunk as a lord,” “as drunk as a king,” or “as drunk as a —,” anything, in fact, that never gets drunk at all.
Will-O'-the-Wisp. 1869

According to OED, Drunk as a Lord first appears in John Evelyn's A character of England in 1659:

The Gentlemen are most of them very intemperate, yet the Proverb goes, As drunk as a Lord.

And sober as a Judge first appears in T. D'Urfey's Injured Princess in 1682:

Never fear me man, I am sober as a Judge.

comedycard.co.uk


texts:
First of all, I would like to let you know I am not a native English speaker.

While looking for some words in a dictionary, I saw this sentence:

"Many years elapsed before they met again."

To me, it sounds like a little bit strange, and "They met again after many years elapsed" looks more natural.

Is there any difference between these two?

or, is it just a matter of style?

Thank you.


texts: Word to describe people in internet thinking very same, using same websites, reading same resources

texts:
Is there a term or word to describe people in internet feeling very same, like if they were doing absolutely same things using internet?

Here in the web we have too many apps and websites, but many people sometimes use same. This creates "hubs" or "circles" of disconnected people, but with close feelings and possibly interests, doing same things (like using same social network and following same public persons).

How can i call such people or their "phenomenon of thinking sameness"?


texts: A word that describes non physical “activity”

texts: With online communication being predominant today what is the collective word that describes accusations, generalizations, insults in people’s comments?  It is not a behavior or conduct since no actual physical activity take place. I want to say for example, “people who engage in such ?????...are...”  “Mental activity” is the only thing that I came up with.


texts: single word for the condition of trust issue due to repeated disappointment in the past

texts:
I have seen the word before but I forgot what it is.
The word is to describe a mental/emotion of a person when the past experience has given him repeated disappointment on a certain thing. The person is getting used to the feeling and adapt to not expecting the high quality outcome.


texts: Origin of "kicker" in reference to unexpected situation or detail

texts:
How did this use of the word kicker enter the English language, and is its use localized to any one region?

  An unexpected situation or detail.

Examples:

  John wants to climb the wall, but the kicker is that it is thirty feet tall.
  Here's the kicker: my sweater, which cost hundreds of both dollars and hours, doesn't fit. The sleeves are a good six inches too short... Here's the kicker to the kicker: I don't care.


texts: Can a perspective be "studied"? And, what other verbs (e.g., understand, read, learn, etc.) can be associated with "perspective" on matters relating to knowledge?


texts: In the phrase the aging woman is aging an adjective or a verb used as an adjective?


texts: How to say *develop a long term career*?

texts:
I have finished my studies and I want to start my career at a company.

I want to express that I am searching for a position where I can work the next years of my life, so no limited 2 years contract. I want to state that I want to develop a long term career. What are the right words for this?

  After finishing my studies I am now searching for a position as a
  xxx within the xx industry where I can develop a long term career and
  expand my technical and personal skills.

What are the right words? Can I use long term career?

Another idea was stable, but I think this does not fit.

  After finishing my studies I am now searching for
       a position as a xxx within the xx industry where I can
      develop a stable career and expand my technical and personal skills.


texts:
I'm trying to find a good way to describe a string that's really tangled. I like the word cacophonous because it sounds cacophonous. However, cacophonous points to sound. The other words, messy, gnarled, knotty, don't really have that punch to it. What's a word that means "tangled" that delivers a sound that cacophonous does, but doesn't relate to sound at all?
The worst thing about the holidays is having to deal with the _________ Christmas lights.


texts: Are the words "Aural" and "Oral" homophones?

texts: Are the words "Aural" and "Oral" usually pronounced the same?  Does it vary by dialect?  Are there strategies that people use to differentiate them when listening to spoken English?


texts: Is the word "whilst" not used in U.S. English?

texts:
In my spare time I sometimes help out a good friend of mine. He is a professional translator, self-employed so he can pretty much pick his own assignments, which is a good position to be in, but I digress. We are both Dutch, and the jobs I help him with usually involve translating from English to Dutch, but occasionally from Dutch to English.

The question is just out of curiosity. Is there a definite answer to it?
Again, is the word "whilst" used in UK English only? or in U.S. English as well?


texts: What is the first stanza in a poem called?

texts: Is there a specific term for the first stanza in a poem?


texts: Why is a woman's purse called a "pocketbook"?

texts:
It's not a book, and it doesn't fit in anyone's pocket. Why does my brother-in-law insist on calling his wife's purse a pocketbook?

I'm interested in the etymology, and in the chronological and geographical distribution of this expression. My sister & I (raised in southern California, can't get used to such an obvious misnomer) vs. bro-in-law (raised in New England, doesn't understand why we're bothered) are only one data point, and only on the geographical scale.


texts:
What is the correct form to express the agnostic quality of something.
The usual suffix -ness seems incorrect to me but I could not find a trustworthy reference to either confirm or deny this.

The only derived form I have encountered is the noun agnosticism

To describe my desired use case in an example:

  This system comprises a portal and a service
  The portal needs to be fully agnostic of the service
  The agnosticness/agnosticity of the portal is crucial

Edit: as @sojourner correctly deduced, I should have stated this more clearly, my example is indeed meant to be used in the field of computer science.


texts: Can 'issuee' be used as 'employee' is used in respect to 'employer'?

texts:
I wonder if issuee is a word that can be used to indicate the other party, opposed to the issuer, in for example, a digital certificate issuing process? For example:

  The issuer of the certificate is LetsEncrypt, the issuee is SomeCompany Inc.


texts: What can be some good ways of saying that someone takes good care of himself? I'm looking for words rather than phrases. Someone who is always clean shaven and never has a strand of hair out of place? What do you call such a person?