texts: Is there a word to describe one who brags by complaining?

texts:
Is there a word to describe someone who uses complaints to indirectly brag about themselves?

An example would be

  "I hate going to concerts because people start singing and because I have perfect pitch it irritates me."

Perhaps another example might be

  "I don't like that video game. It's too easy and I get bored."

The complaint would be in context, like the discussion is about concerts or the game in question, but the person uses it as an excuse to highlight something about which they want to brag.

I don't think I'm looking for narcissism, as it's not necessarily that the person is trying to talk only about themselves, but rather that they specifically use a negative complaint to mask the fact that they are bragging.

Is there such a word to describe this behavior?


texts: Is there a word for the "visual part" that hides the agenda?

texts: I think I read somewhere that "hidden agenda" has two parts. The part that's visible, and the agenda (which is hidden by the visible). Is there a term or word for the visible part of a hidden agenda?


texts: Use of the singular or plural "is" or "are" in ambiguous situations

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  [Singular] Is/Are [Plural]?

In this sentence:

  The only exception are questions that are narrow enough that they can
  be reasonably answered definitively with one or two possible
  solutions.

Should it be "The only exception is" because "exception" is singular, or "The only exception are" because "questions" is plural?


texts: A misconception of "embroiled", and what word(s) should be used for what I **thought** it meant?

texts:
Here's a sentence I just wrote:

  The Chief was embroiled with passion in his work.

Luckily I immediately looked up the word. To my dismay, I had a completely wrong understanding of the word "embroiled". I thought it was a fancy word for something like "suddenly filled with something that was generated internally".

I looked up synonyms for "filled" but didn't find anything that matched that definition I want. Is there any single word or small phrase that denotes what I'm looking for? Something that just now was filled or filling into a person (the Chief). That's the adjectival definition I want.

I believe I got my misconception of "embroiled" from the words "embodied" and/or "imbued". I don't know where I got the "just now" or "suddenly" part from, but that's part of the meaning I want too.


texts: While + simple present vs simple progressive

texts:
I found the following sentence:

  While Mary recovers, John lets out a shriek.

Something about it makes me squirm, and I think it's the grammar.

I think it should be:

  While Mary is recovering, John lets out a shriek.

What do you think?


texts: Are there any English words that contain a number or symbol? (excluding hyphenated words)

texts:
I realize these would probably be neologisms or maybe trademarks, but are there some obvious example "words" to use that contain a number or symbol? (eg 0123456789!@#$%^&*()

For the purpose of this discussion, lets exclude hyphenated words.


texts: Expression about using Compass card (fare card)

texts:
When we enter a bus, for payment, we frequently use a traffic card or compass card (e.g., in San Diego or Vancouver).

So we must attach the card to the sensor around cost box so that some money is out in my card.

Instead of “attach”, what is a better expression?

(A similar activity happens when someone enters some building or dormitory.
To enter, we use an id card at the entrance.)

[Add] In my question, if we attach a wallet containing the card to the
sensor without a gap (no dragging; simply attaching), then the sensor can read the card.
The time of attaching is not longer than 2 seconds.

I will introduce similar situation: Nowadays smart phone is touch
phone, since if we touch icon in monitor of phone, then the
application works.

Two things are similar situation. But there is a difference: In the
first, as much as small width of leather of wallet, it can be
allowed. But in second, we must attach finger to the phone.

So I decide to choose swipe:

(1) Swipe = hit

Example: The car swiped the side of the garage as he pulled out.

(2) Drag

to move something by pulling it along a surface, usually
the ground.


texts:
I can't remember the exact place I saw this (but I believe it was on another StackExchange site), but when someone was commenting on a software's "spell check" function, they said something to the effect of:

  A spell check is something I do with my local coven, a spelling check is what I do when I'm
       reviewing a written document.

Is it more correct to say:

  This paper is horrible!  You didn't even use a spelling check.

as opposed to

  You didn't even use a spell check.

?


texts: What is the difference between "must be" + verb + ing, and "must have been" + verb + ing?

texts:
The document is here. She must be looking for this document.
The document is here. She must have been looking for this document.

What is the difference in the meaning of these two sentences?


texts: "At various occasions" versus "on various occasions"

texts:
Which of these sentences is correct?

  The importance to eat fruits and vegetables of different colors has been demonstrated at various occasions.
  The importance to eat fruits and vegetables of different colors has been demonstrated on various occasions.


texts: What's the meaning of "lost" in "lost prophet" in general and in this particular context?

texts:
The sentence is:

  Admittedly, for every lost prophet there is a crank who is simply
  lost.

This is from an article in The Economist, here: http://www.economist.com/node/21542193

I gather from the context that the sentence means to say at least that the participants of online forums are varied: There are intelligent people and there are cranks who don't know what they are talking about but insist on pushing their ideas. And, using two instances of lost is clearly a clever thing which The Economist is known for. But the meaning of lost prophet in general and in particular for this context is, well, lost on me. I Googled and found that Lost Prophet is at least the name of a book, so using these two words together clearly isn't a first the news weekly. My guesses are:

a) a prophet who's prophecy is "lost" on others; the prophet is ignored, not heeded;

b) a prophet who was lost (= unknown, unreachable) to the world but re-found and greatly appreciated on the online forum for his/her words;

c) a prophet who lost on one of his/her economic predictions, having made a bad prediction.

Any input would be appreciated.


texts: Equivalent English phrase for "don't roll around where you've fallen"

texts: In my language, we have a phrase which roughly translates to "don't roll around where you've fallen". It indicates that a person has said or done something stupid. Then when someone points this out, they still don't stop and pretend to be right, in order to avoid shame due to being wrong. Hence the phrase means: "You've already fallen, don't try to roll around and pretend you're still up".


texts:
In the following extract  from David Cameron's last speech as PM, I don't understand the last part which includes "will someone on":

  And the PM won applause and a standing ovation from Tories - but not Labour - as he said: "I will miss the roar of the crowd. I will miss the barbs of the opposition. But I will be willing you on."

I could not find a definition of "will someone on" in online dictionaries.

What does it mean?


texts:
I am formatting a new book for my company and ran into a problem.

There is a sentence that reads:

  Before beginning, watch Part I in the DVD series, God & the History of Art.  (If available as part of your program.)

That the author wants me to change to:

  (Before beginning, watch Part I in the DVD series, God & the History of Art.  If available as part of your program.)

This sentence is one line, not part of a paragraph.

Is it right to surround an entire standalone sentence with parentheses?


texts:
The term, according to the Oxford Online Dictionary,  means:

  whistle-blower
  A person who informs on a person or organization regarded as engaging in an unlawful or immoral activity.

Also from the American Heritage Dictionary:

  whistleblower
  One who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority: "The Pentagon's most famous whistleblower is ... hoping to get another chance to search for government waste" (Washington Post).

According to Wikipedia :

  The term whistle-blower comes from the whistle a referee uses to indicate an illegal or foul play. US civic activist Ralph Nader is said to have coined the phrase, but he in fact put a positive spin on the term in the early 1970s to avoid the negative connotations found in other words such as "informers" and "snitches".

It seems that whistleblower has acquired a positive connotation, but how does it differ from "informer" ? Or is it actually used as a synonyms of the above mentioned terms with a negative connotation?

Is a whistleblower someone who always act in the public interest and for this reason the term has a positive connotation?


texts: Mrs. Malaprop = Malapropism - any other examples

texts: Are there other literary examples where-in a character or subject eventually morphed into descriptive verb/genre?


texts: Does the investment term "flip" have an etymological connection to the word invert?

texts:
The Spanish term for "an investment" is "una inversión"; "to invest" is "invertir". "Invertir" can also be used for the physical act of inverting something or turning it over.
The term "to flip" in American English can refer to making a short-term investment, often in real estate. "To flip" can also mean "to turn something upside down; to invert".
Is there an etymological connection between these dramatically different (invest vs. turn upside down) but shared meanings of "to flip" and "invertir"?


texts: Where should the apostrophe go on a possessive abbreviation?

texts:
When expanding an abbreviation in parentheses, sometimes the thing that was abbreviate was used in a possessive context.

Consider the following example:

  If the Giant Ostrich Bomb's (GOB) fuse is too short, you may be too close when it goes off and you may get kicked in the face.

Is the above correct, or should it be rewritten this way instead:

  If the Giant Ostrich Bomb (GOB)'s fuse is too short, you may be too close when it goes off and you may get kicked in the face.

If this is a matter of style, do any of the popular style manuals have a recommendation?


texts: "I'm bound where my feet take me, and heart where my wills"

texts:
In Sandman #38, there is a moment when two strangers meet on a road and the following dialogue happens:

"Where are you bound, young peddler?" asks the man.
"I'm bound where my feet take me, and heart where my wills," said the young man.

What does the clause "...and heart where my wills" mean? In particular, what are the meanings of the words heart and wills in this context?


texts:
I looked into her egocentric eyes and told her to get lost.
Is it okay to use this kind of adjective before eyes? thanks


texts:
In Persian, things "have" existence, for example

  To vojod dari = You have existence

In English existing is not something to have, it's something to be,

  You exist

Am I wrong in saying that?

Why is there this difference? Is it an accident or it goes back to how people have interpreted the concept of existence or something else?


texts:
As non native speaker of English , I'm having trouble making sense of a structure pertaining to object pronouns.

Likelihood of me doing this....
Your plan involves me attempting to prepare plans necessary for you.
Chances of me getting into that school is high.

What is it that establishes the connection between object pronouns and verbs in gerund form in terms of both grammar and meaning? In my language , expressions corresponding to the expressions in bold above are constituted with "my" instead of "me". That is the reason why I'm having trouble making sense of it.


texts: "Seems to be not X" vs. "seems to not be X"

texts:
Which one of these two sentences is written correctly?

  This test data seems to be not good.
  This test data seems to not be good.

Better yet if you could explain as to why the correct form is correct. It would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Is it alright to call chocolate chips "choco chips" in a shortened form as we do in many Asian countries. Does this sound strange or funny to native English speakers? I know "choc chip" is short for "chocolate chip" in British English.


texts: Better way to refer to a purchase paid in installments?

texts:
I'm trying to translate the phrase "Pagar a meses sin intereses" from spanish.
I have searched for translations and the most convincing for me is "to pay in installments" but I'm not sure it expresses the same concept, and don't know if it's the most commonly used in english. I'm looking for a phrase or term that is commonplace and accurate.

For non-spanish speakers:
If you make a purchase with a credit card and instead of paying the full amount immediately, you pay amount/number_of_months without incurring any interest from your bank.

Edit - Examples in a sentence:
Compré mi computadora a 12 meses sin intereses.
¿Puedo pagar a meses (sin intereses)?

More clarification:
I'm from Mexico and this type of purchase is very common here. You pay by credit card and the total amount is split and each fraction paid monthly. In some other Latin American countries it's called "pagar en cuotas". It is different from a loan because there's no interest incurred. I don't want a precise legal term, but rather the most common way to refer to this type of payment, preferably a simple phrase that isn't an explanation in itself but a concept.


texts:
To put this into a context, someone was making a comment about some work that I've done, and she started it with "Bikeshed alert, ... (rest of the comment)".
What exactly does "bikeshed alert" mean?


texts: Omitting commas around non-critical details

texts:
In the sentence

  His ID card is missing, as well as his dog, Ian, though it's likely
  no-one will notice the latter.

is it appropriate to remove the commas around "his dog, Ian,"? The sentence seems a bit clunky with, but it doesn't sound quite right without either. This:

  His ID card is missing. His dog, Ian, is as well.

avoids the comma problem, but sounds equally awkward.


texts: Commas around non-parenthetical name like "The famous playwright, William Shakespeare, was born…"?

texts:
I commonly see commas used like: "The famous playwright, William Shakespeare, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon."

It bothers me, but I'm curious to hear explanations of why this is done, and if it can be considered correct English. Is there any style manual that approves?

I would accept "The famous playwright William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon" or "William Shakespeare, the famous playwright, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon".

However, when phrased like "The famous playwright, William Shakespeare, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon", I read the name as parenthetical. But that sentence doesn't make a lot of sense with the name removed, as "the famous playwright" looks definite, but is undefined.

It suppose it could make sense in a context where the subject is mentioned previously, something like "Once upon a time, there was a well-known dramatist. The famous playwright, William Shakespeare, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon." In that case, the name really is parenthetical. But I've seen commas used this way without such a context, and often, I believe, in the very first sentence of a text.


texts:
I am creating a computer game in which the character needs to consume food in order to not starve to death. In the game I can display the level of how much food the character currently needs via "hunger level" - the higher this value, the more desperately the character needs food.

But what I want now is to turn that around, so that this level tells how full the stomach of the character is. In German we have a word for that, "Sättigung", which means how full my stomach is (or better: how full it feels to me), it is basically the opposite of hunger.

Is there a similar word in English, which means exactly that, the opposite of hunger? It might be something like "saturation", but from what I can tell this word is usually used in a technical context, like in "the saturation of a color".

Can I use that "saturation" to describe the opposite of hunger of a human or animal, or is there a better word for that?


texts: "When he went out he left the radio on so that his parents shall think that he was still in the house"

texts:
When he went out he left the radio on so that his parents shall
  think that he was still in the house.

This is a past sentence. Why is shall think used? Can I use should think?


texts:
I have read that Don Armado is one of those rackers of orthography who distort the written language when they convert it into speech. What is the origin of the word rackers? What does it mean?

  Holofeners: "He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the
  staple of his argument [...] such rackers of orthography, as to speak
  dout, fine, when he should said doubt; [...]."


texts: Would a computer program be considered literature?

texts:
I am currently doing some homework on literary genres and from the list of literary genres on Wikipedia, I came across some non-fiction genres such as Speech, Textbook, and others.

This prompted the thought of weather a computer program is considered literature, and if so would it be a literary genre?

By Wikipedia's description, in American law they are 'literary works, under the definition in the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C § 101', under the 'United States' heading.

However, on law.cornell.edu, I found that it is described as 'A “computer program” is a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result.'.

Collins dictionary describes literature as 'written material' which could technically mean that computer program is not valid literature as it cannot be written to perform its task. Computer program is not described as literature on this site either.

As there is an inconclusive answer I would appropriate the opinion of someone who knows more than me.


texts:
Being hooked at half-time in a municipal face-off, as Mkhitaryan was, is not sufficient justification to consign a new player to Siberia.

Source

Here is my confusion:

What is the meaning of "being hooked"? I know the fact that Mkhitaryan had the bad game and was sent off after the haft-time. Is there any correspondence between "being hooked" and "sent off"? Or does "being sent-off" represent something different?
What is the meaning of "municipal". Some dictionaries say it is an adjective:

  of or relating to a town or city or its local government

I don't have any idea how to apply this definition to this sentence so that it would make sense.


texts: "Successfull"/"successful" — is this a UK/US difference?

texts:
I would tend to write double-l, but Google gives me more single-l, so I'm guessing it's an Atlantic divide thing.

And I guess all the other *full words.


texts:
I was wondering if anyone could shed some more definite light on the origin of the phrase 'Dutch Courage.'

I have found two, almost certainly apocryphal, origins:

  1: From the Thirty Years War in the 17th Century, where British soldiers drank a Dutch Gin for it's warming/calming effects.2

and

  2: Deriving "from the disparaging idea that Johnny Foreigner, whether sailing up the Medway or facing down the locals in the East Indies, needed a few drinks before a fight."3

However, the phrase only seems to begin appearing in print from the mid- to late-19th Century - some 200 years after its supposed coinage. Which makes me suspect there is another story behind this.

Unfortunately, as with many popular folk etymologies they swamp any other potential sources, so I look to EL&U for some help.


texts:
I'm not a native speaker of English but still it feels wrong to say:

paid university
paid entrance
paid parking
paid service
paid consultation
paid healthcare
paid toilet
paid fare

Or does it? What would the correct adjective to use instead? I know can easily use "free" with all these nouns if I want to say it's free of charge.


texts:
My son (12 years old) had some homework and was asked to find the subject of the sentence: Whether or not to bomb Syria is the pertinent question.

The complete subject seems to be: Whether or not to bomb Syria.

What would be considered the simple subject?


texts:
The oft-cited first sentence of this work

Why would you not just use two words, oft cited?


texts:
According to Google:

  hottie

  a sexually attractive person, especially a young woman.

What's the male version of the word? Or it is also used in men?

Example:

  "Who's that hottie?" I asked Anna, pointing at the man across the
  pool.


texts: "Gleams of varnished spirits" in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'

texts:
I am reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and its prose includes the following:

  The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway. In the offing the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint, and in the luminous space the tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide seemed to stand still in red clusters of canvas sharply peaked, with gleams of varnished sprits.  A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to sea in vanishing flatness. The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth.

I can't get what means "with gleams of varnished spirits."

Is it talking about spirits in the sense of Holy Spirit, of a Ghost or what?


texts: Why is "I play a video game every day?" awkward English, yet "I take a bath every day?" is standard

texts:
I stumbled across this conundrum recently, and I can't particularly explain the difference.

My guess is that a bath is a one-time event whereas there are many video games that can be possibly played.

It becomes even more confusing when talking about hobbies rather than daily activities, as in:

△ "I like to take a bath." (unnatural)

○ "I like to take baths." (natural)


texts: Is there a term for ambiguity coming from a modifier modifying multiple parts of a sentence?

texts:
Given the sentence

  Before starting the machine, mount the machine with the battery installed on the harness.

This could be taken to mean that
1) the battery is installed on the harness and the user is to mount the machine onto it
2) the battery is installed in the machine and the user is to mount the machine onto the harness
3) the battery is installed on the harness of the machine and the user is to mount the whole setup onto something not mentioned here,

depending on what the reader thinks "with the battery installed" modifies.

In linguistics, is there a technical term for this kind of grammatical situation?
If so, what is it?


texts: When putting "etc." in the middle of a sentence, do you use "etc," or "etc.," or "etc."?

texts:
Example:

If you forgot your toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorent, etc., you will not be allowed to attend.
Make sure you bring your fishing pole, tackle, bait, etc. as we will not make any stops.
If you are unsure, confused, bewildered, etc, do a somersault, then eat five slices of baloney.

Which example is correct?  (Bonus points: why?)


texts: What do you call a closet for school material?

texts:
What is the name of this "wardrobe" I use for putting the student's material and books?

Closet? Wardrobe? Cabinet?


texts: Why do newspaper headlines use strange syntax rules?

texts:
Newspaper/news article headlines usually have different syntax rules, for example

No copula. North Korea trip 'successful'
Past events written in present. Qantas cancels flight out of frozen Heathrow
Predictions written with infinitive. Britain's 'crossbow cannibal' to die in jail
Very often not in complete sentence.
No indefinite/definite articles. Ivory Coast Faction Squeezes UN Force
Using a comma instead of "and". Romania, Bulgaria face delay in joining Schengen.

Why these rules and are there any other rules?


texts: What is an alternative way to say "Note that" in academic writing?

texts:
In my academic writing, when I want to connect the context and emphasize something, I almost always use a sentence structure like this:

  Note that...

An example in an academic paper is given below:

So my question is:

What is an alternative way to say, "Note that...," in academic writing in the above context? Thank you.


texts:
you don't say

My doubt is whether you use this for exclamations or for agreements, all the references pointed out for saying it when one is  surprised but I am sure I have heard some one say this in an agreeing way

  I failed in my maths exam

  You don't say!

  The weather is nice today

  You don't say


texts: Can we write "Everybody didn't know he was a famous inventor."


texts:
Dong,2019 documented that

A possible critique of an identification based on the passage of
leniency programs is that it may not be fully exogenous to the
political and economic conditions of a ﬁrm’s country

I am wondering the meaning of "exogenous" in this case and is there any example to clarify the phrase "may not be fully exogenous to the political and economic conditions of a ﬁrm’s country"


texts: Why do some people say "Happy New Years" with an "s" at the end of "years"?

texts:
Why do some people say "Happy New Years" (with an "s" at the end of "years")? Here are some examples on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/search/%22happy%20new%20years%22

It seems like "year" should be singular, because there is only one new year.


texts:
I am looking for a single word, a noun, that denotes a brave person. Appropriate contexts in which I would like to use this word would be war, general conflicts in life and situations which demand a firm, bold person.

As a side note, hero and daredevil do not reflect what I am looking for.

Example sentences:

"What did you do, ____, rather than stare?" -obviously ironically

"He is a ____ that managed the stress of war easily."


texts:
Does the phrase "meteoric rise" connote that the rise is short-lived? Particularly bright? Generally lateral?

It just seems like a meteor is not the best metaphor for a triumphant and lasting ascendancy.


texts:
Here is a quote out of the novel "The Heiress":

"...and it would have been difficult to decide who was the most gratified of the three; certainly Helen was not the least so."

Shouldn't the correct approach be "who the most gratified of the three WAS" since it's not question form? Or there are some exceptions/laxity to the rule that I'm not aware of...

Thanks in advance!


texts:
I am confused about whether it is okay to say,

  "Ok, carry on/go ahead with your job then."

Any help on this simple issue is highly appreciated.


texts: What is the term for ability of a variable to hold a null value?

texts:
In some programming languages, a variable may have a special value 'null' to denote an absence of any object. What term should be used to describe the property of whether or not a given variable can hold a 'null' value?

To further explain, if a variable can hold a 'null' value it is a 'nullable' variable. If it cannot, it is a 'non-nullable' variable, that is, assigning a 'null' value to such variable is a mistake.

What is the best term for such a property? Three possibilities are 'nullity', 'nullability' or 'nullness'. Which is preferable, or is there some other, even better word choice?

Here are some examples of each of three terms (with sources cited), which are contextually relevant to my use case:

'nullness': Eclipse IDE documentation

  Also a nullness default can be applicable at a method which is in conflict with an inherited null annotation.

'nullness': "Incremental Language Independent Static Data Flow Analysis" by Fabian Streitel PDF:

  We therefore define the nullness of a variable at a certain point in the source code as one of the following values...

'nullity': JML Reference Manual

  6.2.13 Nullity Modifiers
  Any declaration (other than that of a local variable) whose type is a reference type is implicitly declared non_null unless (explicitly or implicitly) declared nullable. <...>

'nullability': "Swift is open source and why you should care" by Paris Buttfield-Addison O'Reilly

  Because a variable's nullability can be determined at compile time, a huge number of null checks can be avoided.

'nullability': Wiktionary definition

  (computing) The state or property of being nullable


texts: Is "delayed appositive" the correct term for this?

texts:
I have heard a term called delayed appositive, which is an appositive that is delayed as shown below.

The hunter was trying to fight the bear, a real brute of a man.

Here, "a real brute of a man" refers to the hunter, not the bear. But the problem is this: there is not much information about the delayed appositive, and the terms seem to not be very credible, as I am unable to find sources that describe this appositive in detail other than the Towson University website.
Moreover, I know of a similar phenomenon done by left and right dislocation, which I am not so familiar with and is creating confusion for me. So, is this phenomenon called a delayed appositive, or is it called something else? Also, if it's different from the dislocation, why is it different?


texts:
I have some doubts when it comes to describing viruses causing infectious diseases. I have consulted a couple of very well-written medical reference books, where the authors consistently drop the definite article in the names of viruses, so that the text reads: "The virus is most widespread in Europe. Measles virus is transmitted by..."

What are the reasons for omitting the article in this case? The way I understand it, we should talk about “the measles virus”, as we are distinguishing it from other types of viruses.

I’ll be most grateful for every hint.


texts: What’s the difference between “kerfuffle”, “commotion”, and “fuss”?

texts:
What’s the difference between kerfuffle, commotion, and fuss?

For example:

  What’s all this kerfuffle about?
  What’s all this commotion about?
  What’s all this fuss about?


texts: Is there a word that means a colour used metaphorically?

texts:
Examples:

Green to mean naive

Blue to mean depressed

Black to mean bad

White to mean good

In my googling of this question, I’ve come across a lot of philosophical and linguistic discussion about the phenomenon, but nobody seems to use a specific word to describe it.

The closest I got was synaesthetic metaphors:

  linguistic expressions in which a term belonging to a sensory domain
  is extended to name a state or event belonging to a different
  perceptual domain [source]

I should point out that I don’t have a current use for such a word. I just started wondering about this today.


texts: "You're never given a dream..." is correct, isn't it?

texts:
My boyfriend read the following quote somewhere:

  You're never given a dream without also being given the power to make
  it true.

He said "you're never given" sounds really odd to him so he asked me if it's correct. I told him that it is indeed correct, but I'm not sure how to explain why.

The "you're" here is "you are", isn't it? He said it's so weird to see "are" and "given" used together, and that it would be okay if it was "were" instead of "are".

I told him that I think it's because the quote is in a present continuous tense that's why "are" is used.

He also thinks "you'll never be given" sounds better, but I think the first one sounds good enough. The part of the quote which actually kinda looked odd to me is "to make it true" because I think it would be better as "to make it come true".

What do you think? Was my explanation correct? How could I elaborate it? Thank you!


texts:
An idle train of thought earlier today led me to thinking about the use of the word "tangent" when applied to unrelated trains of thought or conversation.
It struck me that I have heard people use "... went off on a tangent." and "...went off at a tangent.", or equivalent phrasing, completely interchangeably.

So my question is whether either of these is preferred under specific circumstances or if they're both applicable in all circumstances.


texts: Difference between 'through' and 'throughout'

texts:
I'm not sure which is correct:

  The bride's mother sniffed all the way through/throughout the wedding service.

According to the Cambridge dictionary, 'through' means 'from the beginning to the end of a period of time. 'Throughout' means 'in every part, or during the whole period of time'. Does that mean both are acceptable? Thanks.


texts:
Trying to address a business domain where we are making software that will be used by our customers to give access to their assets to their customers.

What is a good name for these entities?

Is client a good name? But it's the same as customer?


texts: English equivalent for "Worm that lives in poison."

texts:
In Malayalam/Indian, there's a saying "Paashaanatthil krimi". It literally translates to

  Worm that lives in poison.

It is used while judging people who keep bad company as being bad themselves. It is used to address someone inimically; to say that a person who can survive in poison is probably very poisonous himself.

Birds of a feather flock together means that similar people tend to associate with each other. It is not suitable here.

What can be an equivalent English phrase?

This is purely out of curiosity, and in any event, I don't intend to judge people.


texts: Are there any synonyms for someone who has opted into something?

texts:
Ideally anything more substantive than 'participant'.

I wasn't able to find anything using Google search or Word's synonym tool, and I'm looking for a more personable alternative to using the term 'opt-in' as a noun referring to people.


texts: Single-word replacement for "To be replaced"

texts:
I'm looking for a word to describe an old item that is soon to be replaced.

Temporary was the first thing that came to mind, but it didn't seem to fit in context as the old object has been there for a long time already so is hardly an interim substitute.


texts: Collective term for all those involved in producing a film?

texts:
Is there a single word that covers both the cast and crew of a film? I'm certain there is but can't think of it and, given the topic, Googling just results in lists of films.

Can someone please tell me what it is?


texts:
She'd lived in Seattle her whole life, grew up there.

*They have got no family I know of, no children.

Would these types of usage be informal only and require conjunctions in formal writing.


texts: Arguably- does the adverb carries "what I am saying is unarguable" connotation

texts:
Arguably- “I’m a little confused about the usage of this word.

"Roger Federer is arguably the best tennis player ever.

This is what I heard in a conversation.

  My point is does the statement seem to imply that what they’re
  saying is unarguable,  and exactly correct in their opinion. or
  the use of adverb is daring you to argue with that statement.


texts: Why "pay top dollar" and not "pay top dollars"

texts: Why do we use pay top dollar and not pay top dollars? Dollar is countable, so dollars look more correct.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Oriented vs. Orientated

Both orienting and orientating seem to be in common use. Is there any difference in  meaning or usage? Is orientating just a common misspelling?


texts:
As I understand the octadic is 8 of something.

In relation to sections, what would be a single section called in the octadic?

The comparison I draw from is the quartile, each 'section' being a quarter.

Is there a similar case for the octadic?

To further explain, what would a shaded section in this picture be referred to as? For a quarter, I would refer to this area as a quartile.

Edit: I am aware it may be possible (maybe not) to use 'the eighth'. However, it just doesn't feel correct.


texts:
I often write technical texts and not being a native speaker I am facing difficulties to make introductory sentences (including this one) concise. I just scrolled through my manuscript and found these patterns repeat many times:

The advantage here is that there are a number of reference results for ...
What is even more appealing is that it can ...
Unusual here is that this is ...

Can these intros be optimized somehow? Some extended example would be

Unusual here is that this is a matrix with small off-diagonal elements.


texts:
This is a list of common frequency adverbs in English with rough estimates of their absolute frequency someone has posted on an ESL study site:

  Always (100% of the time)
  Frequently (about 90% of the time)
  Usually (about 80% of the time)
  Often (about 70% of the time)
  Sometimes (about 50% of the time)
  Occasionally (about 40% of the time)
  Seldom (about 20% of the time)
  Rarely (about 10% of the time)
  Never (zero percent of the time)

Clearly, the usage of "never" (0%) and "always" (100%) as it relates to an absolute frequency would never be in question, but it is unclear if it is possible to say a given usage of a frequency adverb was correct if the exact absolute frequency or range of frequencies it represents were known.

For example, take the word "sometimes" - how would you know that 20% or 80% "of the time" would be a poor usage of the term, but 50% would be okay?  Clearly, statically speaking there is a huge difference between 20% and 80% of the time, but it is unclear how a given frequency adverb's usage with an absolute frequency or frequency range would be accessed to be appropriate, or for that matter, inappropriate.

Is it ever possible to prove that the usage of frequency adverb is valid or invalid based on knowing the absolute frequency or range of frequencies it represents, and if so, how? Which is to say, is it possible to assign a range of frequencies to a frequency adverb and know they're correct, and if so, how?

If so, is the list referenced above correct, and if not, why?


texts:
Can I use "walk my way" in the following situation:

  I had an argument with a bus driver about the elections, and she got really angry. So I had to get off the bus and walk my way.


texts: I am reading Chapter 1 very loudly in order to remember the text because tomorrow I need to ____ it [read the text without open the book] in front of my teacher.


texts:
I would like to ask what is the difference between these two sentences:

a) We need to prioritize badly injured people.
b) We need to prioritize people badly injured.

Is b) stressing more the fact that there are people injured?


texts: Is it "interest free" or "interest-free" when describing a loan without an interest rate?

texts:
I watched a clip a show shown on TruTV about a woman who was angry about not having been offered free cash for thirty days.  According to the receptionist in the financial services place she was in, the sign she (the disgruntled customer) read meant that one can receive a loan free of interest within a 30-day span.  However, the sign reads:

  INTEREST LOANS
     Bring a Friend to
     American Jewelry and Loan
     Get 30 days of interest free cash!

Notice the final line.  There's no hyphen between "interest" and "free," so isn't the customer's misunderstanding valid?  I'm assume that "interest" has to modify "free" in order to conjoin the words.

So, to remind you: When describing a loan that's free of interest (0% interest), is it "interest-free" or "interest free?"  I'm assuming it's the former.

For the record, I have googled this, and I came up with mixed results.  Some sites use "interest free" and others use "interest-free."


texts: What is it called when an improper meaning becomes the only meaning of a word?

texts:
Someone else asked Are camp followers prostitutes? and the answer seems to be that while not every one who follows a military camp is a prostitute, if you aren't referring to a prostitute, you should probably pick another label for the person.

A similar effect can be seen with sexually themed words like "mistress", "madam", "ejaculate", and "escort".

I assume this linguistic process has been studied and I'm curious what its name is.


texts: Is "Unless you had told me about Sue's hair, I wouldn't have noticed it" correct and natural-sounding?

texts:
I find it natural to say "If you hadn't told me about Sue's hair, I wouldn't have noticed it", but when if-not is substituted with unless in this specific sentence it sounds weird.
I've found a similarly-constructed sentence that for some reason sounds more natural:
He wouldn't have survived unless a stranger had rescued him.
But I can't pin down the specific reason why the latter example sounds more natural to me. So is there a difference that makes the second example more correct or is it just that my English instinct is a little off on this one?


texts: How to express in an idiomatic and polite way that I'm accepting a suggestion and then adding my own thought?

texts:
Assuming there is a suggestion to my writing, which mostly makes sense, but would make the most sense after I accepting that suggestion and adding my own interpretation/rephrase there.

I wonder if there is a polite and idiomatic expression to say that I'm accepting that happily but take the liberty to bake my own thought in the updated version?

Thanks in advance!


texts: Do words for male animals include those which are castrated?

texts:
English has distinct words for the male and female of many common animal species.  For example, we have bull / cow, rooster / hen, ram / ewe, stallion / mare, boar / sow, man / woman.

However, we also have words for castrated male animals (those which have had the testicles removed): steer, capon, wether, gelding, hog, eunuch.

Do the male terms include or exclude the castrated case?  If I refer to a male sheep as a ram, and it later turns out to be a wether, have I spoken incorrectly or merely imprecisely?

I would be interested in common, technical, and historical usage.


texts: How do we pronounce the plural form of “kg” in a sentence?

texts:
Could you tell me whether we need to say the first or the second of these?

I want three kg of carrots.
I want three kgs of carrots.

Is the first of those two choices the correct way of writing it?


texts:
Why is it "runners-up", as opposed to the naïve "runner-ups"?

Is there a rule to remember for these situations?


texts:
The German word schadenfreude is often used in English to express the pleasure derived from seeing misery in others.

From dictionary.reference.com

  schadenfreude noun. satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

For example quite harmlessly, finding it funny when someone trips over, or more dramatically the pleasure derived when seeing your ex-partner go through a messy break up.

Is there a word for wanting bad things to happen to others? The context would typically a bit a jilted lover or a jealous person.

For example hoping someone's holiday goes badly, or hoping the company project goes badly after you leave.


texts: Why is "head for" in the passive voice in "Mitt Romney was headed for a decisive victory in Arizona”?

texts:
Today’s Washington Post article titled, “Romney wins big in Arizona, AP says” begins with the following sentence:

  Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney was headed for a decisive victory in Arizona Tuesday night, where he had the support of the state’s governor, Jan Brewer, and a sizable contingent of Mormon voters.

I am interested in why it isn’t “Mitt Romney headed for a decisive victory,” in the active voice as “Romney wins big in Arizona.”

If I put it “Romney headed for a victory,” am I making a serious grammatical error?


texts: I've been poking around the net trying to find synonyms for "renaissance man" which indicates someone that is proficient at many skills. I was thinking "jack of all trades" but that has a negative connotation that the individual is not good at any of them, but capable. Any ideas?


texts: What does 'bridging language barrier' mean?

texts:
What exactly does the phrase "Bridging language barrier" means?

I feel that it makes the following sense:

"To overcome the obstacles between languages or in a language".

Does it any sense mean to "Create obstacles in languages"?


texts:
I'm talking about a book here and here's the sentence after

The significance of constantly challenging the perceived wisdom is emphasised; urging us to pry into the smallest details no matter how insignificant they may seem, and draw conclusions from the data collected.

I'd appreciate any help


texts: What is the correct word to refer to a company's home area?

texts:
In Finland we don't have the concept of state, we only have paikkakunta, which basically means a city, town, or simply a named urban area.

What would be the proper word to refer to a company's home "paikkakunta" in sentences like this:

  Is your company's official [paikkakunta] still Helsinki?

Few possibilities I've found from dictionaries, some of which are probably completely incorrect, and of course others might exist too:

locality
hometown
domicile
residency

An example from the headquarters Wikipedia page, where it says

  The headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.

This is not what I'm after, I am specifically looking for the place that the headquarters is located in, so I'd like to be able to say something like:

  The [paikkakunta] of the United Nations is New York City.


texts: Is using "main focus" considered bad form or redundant? I started thinking about this since the spelling function in MS Word highlighted it and suggested "main focus" -> "focus". I can see why it might be considered redundant, since both words indicate strong attention. However, to me, "main focus" can still be reasonable to use, since you e.g. can work/focus on a number of things, while still having one main focus.


texts: 'Earth-based' adjective counterpart to 'Lunar' or 'Solar'

texts:
We have adjectives relating to various celestial bodies: 'Solar', 'Lunar', 'Martian', 'Venusian' etc. What would be the counterpart to Earth? 'Earthian' sounds very awkward to me... is it valid?

For example, the situation where Earth is eclipsed by a celestial body on the visual path between the observer and Earth, what would be the counterpart to 'Solar eclipse' and 'Lunar eclipse'?


texts: Is there a difference between Therefor and Therefore?

texts: I'm a non-native English speaker, and my automatic spellchecker seems to accept both therefore and therefor. Is one orthography preferred ? Is that a British vs. American difference ? Or an old vs. more recent orthography ? Or something else ?


texts:
I was correcting an ESL learner who said "It is the way how we write."

I realize "It is the way we write" is correct and "It is how we write" is correct, but "It is the way how we write" looks wrong to me, despite that when I say it out loud it sounds perfectly normal if I'm speaking fast. What I mean is, if an ESL learner said it, it would sound wrong. But when I say it as a native speaker, it seems okay though not felicitous. So I can't tell.

Is it grammatically wrong?


texts:
Disclaimer: Not strictly English language question, but still a question on language use

I've just had a discussion with a member, who argued that the word "lunatic" is offensive and therefore should not be used, not even to address an actual lunatic, e.g. a mentally ill person. And if I type "lunatic" in Google, it tells me that it is a  mentally ill person. Does that mean Google offends mentally ill people by telling me that's what a lunatic is? Or maybe Google has the right to use it, but not me?

In that logic, if I call a person a "dog" this is obviously offensive, therefore following that logic strictly, that word should not be used, not even to address an actual dog. Does this mean black people offend each other by calling their buddies "dog"? And that is just an example, imagination is pretty much the only limit when counting the words which can be put in an offensive context.

Another example, it has recently become offensive to call a retarded person retarded, the correct term is now "special needs", but how long before "special needs" becomes an insult too, which it inevitably will if it becomes the widely used term to refer to retarded people? "Special needs" can actually be offensive right out of the box, if used to address a non-retarded person and imply that person is retarded, and one can argue that in a way, using that word to insult a normal person is also insensitive and offensive to all "special needs" people in existence?

And how come it doesn't even matter what kind of a context a word is being put in or whether offense is actually intended? Will this continue until half of the vocabulary is squeezed out of use and labeled implicitly offensive, even if explicitly stated to not be intended as such?

Last but not least, are we doing anyone a favor by labeling more and more words as "offensive" and therefore granting previously inoffensive words the power to offend? I mean, if it is "inconsiderate assholes" who turn normal words into insults, how "smart" is it for the rest of the people to give in to that?


texts: "Neither Michael nor Albert is correct" or "Neither Michael nor Albert are correct"?

texts:
What is the correct sentence?

Neither Michael nor Albert is correct.

Neither Michael nor Albert are correct.


texts: Is there a word or a phrase which compares with the best tools available?

texts:
Sorry for a confusing title. I am looking for a word to describe the following situation: "our algorithm showed an accuracy worse than [other best algorithm developed by competitors]".

I do not want to use just "than other competitors", because in this way it means that there are a lot of other algorithms that are better than ours. What I want to explain is that the best state of the art algorithms are actually better than ours.

Is there a word or a phrase which conveys this meaning?


texts: Steps to help design the system v.s. Steps to help the system design?

texts:
Are both correct? There is a difference between them?
Cheers!


texts:
I am looking for a dramatic equivalent for "raining cats and dogs". I want to write down a sentence like this:

And then mother nature became furious. The sky turned gray and it started...

Obviously, "raining cats and dogs" does not work in that sentence in terms of register. What can I say? I already know verbs like "shower" and "pour" but I'm looking for an idiom.


texts: What is the meaning of "reset" in this sentence?

texts:
What was the meaning of "reset" in this letter?
"change"?, "setting again?" , “setting back to the original state"

  We did not "reset the time" in these animals. We put them into an environment where they had normal light dark cycles, but were given access to food only from 1pm-5pm in the afternoon, when they are usually asleep. This resulted in the animals changing their circadian rhythms to begin their active period about 3 hours before the food presentation, so around 10am rather than around 7pm.

Thank you for the tip


texts: Terminating punctuation in table entries

texts:
I always get a little flustered by the question of how to punctuate the end of each of my table entries, where the table is part of a longer document primarily composed of traditional sentences but that has other tables, as well. Consider a typical table of mine, where column 1 has very brief entries (for instance, a name or an ID); column 2 has description cells, where at least one of the entries is long enough to require a period; column 3 cells are populated with data type (for instance, long, int, string, and so forth); and column 4 has various cells each of which simply reads "optional" or "mandatory."

Without column 2, there would be no reason to add a final period to the end of any cell, but I can't just get rid of column 2, after all. There is a general principle of consistency in tables, but if I'm highly consistent, the table looks ridiculous with all of those periods. My gut tells me to be reasonable and include final periods only in column 2. That always strikes me as the least of all evils and yet not a perfect answer. What do you people think?


texts: What is the word for "aerial" but in the space

texts: Aerial means existing, happening, or operating in the air. I am wondering if there any word that has the same definition but in space?


texts:
So if I wrote:

  You and I have a lot of places to go

is this wrong?

I was chatting to a friend on social media and he kept correcting me. 'You should' and 'I should' sound correct however 'me should' sounds wrong but no matter how hard I tried to explain from my side we got nowhere .


texts: How to say "consecutive", but not necessarily one immediately after the other?

texts:
I have some event that happens e.g., every year.
I see that there is some strong correlation between the properties of events that occurred in the past, and those that occur in the future. I want to say this shortly, like: "there is strong correlation between different events that occur in consecutive years".
But this implies that the correlation is between this year's event and the next (right??), not the one which will occur five years from now.
So what should I replace the word "consecutive" with, in order to maintain the reference to the temporal ordering, but not limit it to years which come immediately one after the other?
Thanks!


texts: When did "gay" become associated with homosexuality?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Gay (homosexual) and gay (happy)

I'm curious if there's a definitive moment where the word "gay" started being applied to homosexuals. Was it a specific coining, or just a general linguistic movement, and when.


texts:
Yes, it's an offensive term and the origin may seem obvious but I wanted to dig deeper.  The mechanical device in a sawmill which turned (rotated) the logs in order to saw a new face was known as a "sawmill nigger"--even as late as the early 60's, USA patents for the devices still used that term for the device.
A search pulled up  only a mason's term of nigged or nigging from the term nidge which is to dress a stone with a pick or kevel (origin uncertain).  I was wondering if the currently offensive term "nigger" in sawmill equipment may come from similar roots and not really be the offensive version we jump to today.  Is there a root similar to nigging that may apply to the sawmill machinery/event or is it more likely that the offensive meaning is the true one, that job being a low skilled grunt work which was likely relegated to folks of color?  Can anyone find the actual origin of nidge and could it possibly be the origin when used as "sawmill nigger"?
I am restoring a large 1920's sawmill for the local museum and the research led me down this prickly path...I'm not just a crackpot who wanted to use that offensive term over and over.  I'd like to suss out the actual history behind the term.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is it correct to use “me too” and “I too”?

Which one is correct to use Me too or I as well?

For example - Suppose my friend says I want to go there and I want to say, Me too/I as well.

Or Is there any batter expression for such situations?


texts: Meaning of "take down" in "I met her at some dinner and took her down."

texts:
I've encountered this particular use in Greville Fane (1893) on two different occasions and am quite perplexed by the actual meaning as none of the meanings for that idiom given by the dictionary seem to fit very well:

  I spoke of her to the lady I had taken down, but the lady I had taken down had never heard of
  Greville Fane.
  I met her at some dinner and took her down, rather flattered at offering my arm to a
  celebrity.

The idiom dictionary lists 2 seemingly relevant uses:

To lower someone's arrogance or self-esteem: The opposing team really took him down during the final game. They were so good that they took down each member of our debate team.
To write something one has heard or observed: I took down every word they said so I could review the conversation later. The stenographer took the speech down and transcribed it.

1) does not seem to fit the meaning. There seems to be no malice in the speaker's words, and he stated that he "liked" one of the persons that were "taken down" by him.

2) seems like it could fit. The narrator is a journalist, so I can guess that "taking down somebody" could mean interviewing that person, but I'm really unsure, as no example in any dictionary backs up my theory. All examples I could find are similar and mention "taking down" something like a speech or a conversation.


texts: How to avoid "this section" or "this document" in an introduction

texts:
I am writing a piece of technical text that can be read on its own (as a complete document) or as a section of a longer document. My concern is how to write an introduction without explicitly mention the words "document" and "section".

This piece of text discusses the design of a functionality of a software product. I want to be able to hand this text on its own and also put together all the functionalities of the product in a bigger document that makes sense.

In the introduction (or the lead paragraph), I am tempted to write sentences like:

"This section/document discusses..."
"this functionality is out of the scope of this section/document"

I am looking for a word (a generic term) that replaces "section" and "document" and works well in both cases.

The best option I found so far is "here":

"Here we discuss..."
"this functionality won't be discussed here"

Is "here" a good word for a technical document? if it is, how can I avoid the use of "we" and make it more impersonal?


texts: Is it correct to use 'He had been married before'?

texts:
Example to say :
When Julia met Scott she hadn't realized he had been married before.


texts: "Made a rhyme without effort" in English from Spanish "Hice verso sin esfuerzo"

texts:
In Spanish we can say "Hice verso sin esfuerzo", which means something along the lines of "I made a rhyme without effort", whilst rhyming.

What would be an English equivalent of this phrase?

I've come up with a couple of variations, a couple of weeks ago, but they weren't really valid English or had to do with effort, I don't think.


texts: Misinterpretation / Misrepresentation of statistics?

texts:
I'm looking for a single word or and expression for a faulty use of statistics. It can involve poor interpretation or representation of statistics or the false assumptions or logic that cause those faults.

A couple of examples:

  Beaches are dangerous because 95% of shark attacks happen at the beach.
  (Of course, because most humans don't spend much time in mid-ocean!)
  Statistically, you're most likely to die within 5 miles of your house, so that is the most dangerous place to be.
  (Of course, because most people spend most of their time close to home!)
  The majority of the earth's waste comes from Asia, thus, Asians are wasteful.
  (Not really, Asian people make up 60% of the earth's population!)

I'm looking for a term or expression to describe this poor use of statistics.


texts: One of the slave-concubines permitted... Could someone explain what this sentence means please

texts:
I am not a native speaker of English and I am now reading a Sci-Fi book called Dune. I am unable to grasp all the sentences but I do get the overall meaning of paragraphs. But this sentence is completely puzzling me.

  One of the slave-concubines permitted my father under the Bene Gesserit-Guild agreement could not, of course,bear a Royal Successor, but the intrigues were constant and oppressive in their similarity.

Here are my doubts:

The "could not" refers to the agreement or the permission by the slave-concubine?
The "intrigues" refer the details of the permission or the agreement?

Could someone please help. I really enjoy the book and would love to understand it better.


texts: Letter 'Z' pronounced as 'Izzard' : how widespread and where?

texts:
I read at Which is the correct way to refer to the letter "Z" — "Zee" or "Zed"?
that the letter Z is pronounced :

  'Izzard' (/ˈɪzərd/) in Scottish English.

as opposed to zed or zee.

Question: Is this really the case in the modern day or is it archaic? Do people really use this in Scotland or elsewhere?

I ask as I've never heard anyone use  Izzard in my life (and I live not a million miles from Scotland). Regarding the history, the American Heritage® Dictionary says:

  Word History: The curious and charming word izzard, meaning “the letter z,” is practically limited to certain fixed expressions in American vernacular English, such as from A to izzard, “from beginning to end,” and not to know A from izzard, “not to know even the most basic things.”

  The English lexicographer Samuel Johnson mentions the word izzard as part of his attempt to explain the sound of the letter z in the grammar of English he placed at the beginning of his Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755: Z begins no word originally English; it has the sound, as its name izzard ... expresses, of an s uttered with a closer compression of the palate.

  In Johnson's time, a variant name for the letter z, uzzard, was also in use. Izzard and uzzard are related to zed, the usual name of the letter z in British English. In Scottish English, z was also once known as ezed, and this form gives us a clue to a possible origin of izzard.

  // snip


texts: Can you use commas to list things after using a comma to interrupt the sentence flow?

texts:
When using a comma to create a pause in a sentence, can you then use commas immediately after to list things?

I've written the sentence,

  Like the ancient tales of yore, we bore witness to our salvation.

Now I know the comma isn't exactly necessary in this sentence and is only there to reflect the character's cadence, but if I wanted to add some drama to the sentence and list things after the comma, would using a comma to begin or list the items make sense?

eg:

  Like the ancient tales of yore, of good and evil, angels and demons, light and darkness, we bore witness to our salvation.

Obviously its not all necessary text and I'll probably go back and change it later, but it did get me thinking about what options you have in situations like that and now I'm just interested.


texts:
When nouns such as average, total, sum, etc., are modified by a prepositional phrase, how do you choose between the definite and indefinite articles? I cited sentences 1, 3, and 5 below from various sources on the Internet. As an English learner, I have always wondered what difference there is if the indefinite article is replaced by the definite article. Are sentences 2, 4, and 6 below correct or possible?

Here are example sentences:

He finished the season with a batting average of .357.
He finished the season with the batting average of .357.
That will use a total of about 3.3 million tons of lead.
That will use the total of about 3.3 million tons of lead.
What two prime numbers have a sum of 7?
What two prime numbers have the sum of 7?

I would appreciate your help much.


texts:
General Party Secretary of the CCP, Xi Jinping, called for the revival of the Chinese spirit.

I think it's ungrammatical, and the is required before general, or the commas must be omitted. Do experts here agree?


texts: A word for a big, difficult, weird question

texts: Is there a word that describes an important question that is difficult to answer? I'm attempting to get permission for something big.


texts:
Is there a single word for the phrase "winner-take(s) all"?
Need to mention a single word heading for a issue within a Business report, explaining how a new technology release would mean winner takes all.


texts: I have written a story for children in Persian. Somewhere in the story, I have mentioned "pear". "Pear" In Farsi is gool-abbi, which translates literally as "blue flower". I have mentioned that as something that is neither blue nor a flower. Now I am about to translate the book into English and am looking for an exocentric compound in English that a 6- or 7-year-old English-speaking child can understand easily.


texts: Which is the correct? A universally or an universally?

texts:
Which is the correct option for below sentence?

  Who doesn't know that he is ____ universally acclaimed writter?

  1) a

  2) an

Thanks in advance.


texts: What is a good word for the object under review?

texts:
Is there a good general term for "the thing that is being reviewed"?

The activity is reviewing
The product is a review
The person conducting doing it is the reviewer
The object being reviewed is ?

The closest I've come up with is specimen, but that is more the subject of scientific scrutiny.  I could use a more general term like subject but I would have to prefix it to make the context clear (e.g. review subject).


texts: Antonym of "outlier" suitable for statistics parlance?

texts:
For use in the example sentence:

  After the outliers had been removed, the ... were grouped with a disjoint set (aka. Union-Find).

I lean towards inliers, but this seems wrong given the linked definition.

Any thoughts?


texts: Does "overseee" mean "one who is being overseen by the overseer"?

texts:
When I search for the word overseee in Google books, almost all links are typos of the verb to oversee, which in itself looks amazing to me. (Books rarely have such silly typos.) And only one reference among hundreds there is for the meaning I expected. (see subject)

So does the word overseee actually mean the opposite of overseer?

And the secondary question is what makes people to mistype this particular word so frequently? I search like that a lot, and usually a search for some typo doesn't fetch that many results like that. OED and Merriam-Webster don't have this word.


texts: The meaning of "Nothing much seemed to dent this vision of corporate hegemony squeezing out all but the most profitable trash"

texts:
I came across this sentence while looking up the meaning of the word hegemony:

  Nothing much seemed to dent this vision of corporate hegemony squeezing out all but the most profitable trash.

It doesn't make any sense to me. The second half of the sentence ("squeezing out...") is particularly the part I find incomprehensible. Although each half of the sentence seems to convey a meaning on its own, the sentence as a whole is very difficult to understand.


texts: Meaning of an And Phrase followed by an Or Phrase

texts:
A sentence begins like "If A and B or C then ..." does that mean that A must always be true and one of B or C must be true for the following to happen?    Or can just C be true?   In programming or math you could put parenthesis around the phrases to clarify your meaning.  You could write "If A and (B or C), then...".   The reason I ask, is the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution reads:

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,


texts: Is there one word that describes the attribute of being either disposable or reusable?

texts:
For example:

Red and blue are to color as disposable and reusable are to __________


texts: Is this a proper use of "this is not to say"?

texts:
Is this a proper use of the phrase, "this is not to say," relative to the meaning of the sentence that precedes it?

  Your memoir is interesting, eye-opening, and most importantly, clear.
  This is not to say that I had no questions while reading, however.


texts: Why are so many English expressions derived from baseball terminology?

texts:
Get to first base
Step up to the plate
In the right ballpark
etc

Why are so many expressions in common use today based on this one specific American sport? Many of them seem to be used often in corporate environments too -- why is this?


texts: to start making coffee with a coffee brewer

texts:
I'm seeking an expression for getting the coffee brewer started on making a fresh pot so it's clear that the coffee isn't ready yet but will be some time soon.
My native language has an expression for this, that directly translates to "to put coffee over".
I've been going with an English version "to put on coffee" for that, but I've been told repeatedly this is wrong.
Example: "Get up in the morning, put on coffee, and go shower and get dressed. And then sit and enjoy slowly waking up with a fresh cup of coffee."
For the suggestions I've already gotten here and there:
1: "Make coffee" this doesn't really work for me, as it suggest the coffee is ready at the end of the sentence it is in.
2: "Put the kettle on" doesn't work either; there's no kettle involved in the process.
3: try formulating around it; this more often than not makes too cumbersome sentences.
I've searched high and low, and I can't find how native English speakers put this.
For what I need, it doesn't have to be necessarily entirely grammatically correct, just what real people use casually in everyday conversation.
And if there are differences in British English use, and American, and Australian, that would be useful to me, too.


texts: Adjecive that means overgrown by alien life

texts:
I'm looking for a word to describe terrain which is occupied by native alien life.

On Earth, I might talk about a lush valley in need of environmental protection or verdant hills that would be perfect for vineyards. These adjectives have positive connotations of beauty and suitability for human habitation. What adjective would space colonists use to describe exo-planet terrain populated by alien life, especially plant-like life they consider repulsive or hazardous?

Infested and blighted convey disgust and danger, and would be good descriptions if alien life was invading Earth. In this case, the alien life is in its own native environment.

Teeming and crawling could describe animal-like aliens, but don't work for plant-like ones. They also share a problem with overgrown: they don't make a distinction about the life being unnatural from a human perspective.

Is there a single word that will convey this fairly complex idea? I'm fine with an obscure word used by Lovecraft or 1950's science fiction if I can avoid a multi-word phrase or neologism.

  The planetary survey described barren mountains, _______ lowlands, and warm oceans teeming with alien life.

An obscure word I'm considering is xenic. I thought it was a neologism, but I discovered it can refer to a microbial culture containing unknown organisms. This is close to what I'm looking for, but not perfect. Is there a similar scientific adjective that better fits my criteria?


texts: Is it ok to make an independent clause into a dependent one with a gerund verb?

texts:
I see this particular sentence structure all the time when reading fiction,
and it bothers me. I most often see it in between dialogue tags.

She whispered, her hair blowing in the wind.

It’s always an independent clause followed by [subject][gerund
verb][object/last part of sentence]. I think it’s grammatically incorrect
and that it would look better as [independent clause].[separate sentence].:

She whispered. Her hair blew in the wind.

Or as [independent clause] as [independent clause].:

She whispered as her hair blew in the wind.

Or if the second subject was actually the same as the first, one could do:

She whispered, blowing wind through her hair.

I know that the lattermost three examples are grammatically correct, but is
the first example grammatically correct? Is it grammatically correct to use
[independent clause], [subject][gerund verb][object/last part of sentence]?


texts: Is there any difference in certainty between "may be" and "maybe"?

texts:
In the song Tonight Again, there's a line going

  They may be right but only maybe

I understand that "maybe" is an adverb, while "may be" is a combination of the verbs "may" and "be", as mentioned in this question. However, is there any difference in the degree of certainty between the two, as might be suggested by the "but only"?


texts: the and thee (I prefer to pronounce it as thuh all the time)

texts:
My question is can I always pronounce THE with thuh instead of thee? Because unlike "a" "an" rule, pronouncing "thee" seems cumbersome for some people (including me)
Note that I know the "emphasis" and "vowel, consonant" rule about THE but I still prefer to pronounce it as thuh everytime. So can I??


texts: Which one is the correct one? every lesson or every lessons?

texts: "I attend every lesson" or "I attend every lessons". Which one is correct?


texts: Does anyone know of a complicated, preferably large word that is synonymous with convoluted?


texts: What is the Pronunciation of "-sts" at the end of the word?

texts:
How can we pronounce words ending with -sts?

lists
costs
tests

I often heard people pronunce its like,

lɪsts and kɒsts
lɪsː kɔsː

but which one is acceptable?


texts: Is this sentence okay to wish Mother's Day?

texts:
I'm going to make a design and I'm writing a copy on it which will be:

On this Mother's day, let's thank her for (her?) selfless care (for us?).

(Not very sure if care and care for has different meanings. Would like to know if there's any difference)

Now first doubt is about grammar. That's why I've put optional parts in brackets. Secondly her seems a bit redundant to me. So I'm not sure if it is grammatically okay or not.

Another doubt is: Is this sentence okay to show my feelings for my mother? Basically I want to show that my mother has cared (for?) me the most in my life. By care I mean:

a) She asks me how are you, have you eaten your food, please let me know whenever you feel sick, don't do this, don't do that because it's bad, take rest you're tired, here's your favorite food and so many other things. I hope you got idea.


texts:
I am a student from Hong Kong. English is only my second language. There are tutors recently saying that there is no such expression and usage as

"To empower someone with skills/knowledge/ability etc. (to do sth)"

Because they can't find it in dictionaries like OALD, LONGMAN, CAMBRIDGE etc so they consider it as invalid. But I certainly discovered such usage by means of corpus although the frequency is relatively low comparing with " empower someone to do sth."

The following are the questions that I would like to ask:

(1)Is this acceptable and common for native speakers to use such expression as "To empower someone with skills/knowledge/ability etc. (to do sth)" even though we can't find it in some of the most authoritative dictionaries?

(2)one of the tutor said that if being so, "to equip someone with something" will be sufficient enough to replace the meaning "To empower someone with skills/knowledge/ability etc. (to do sth)" with ease. Is that a valid statement?

The following are some of the examples:

"This is an essential cause, now that the European Union seeks to empower itself with political strength and carry weight in the international arena."

"ESCAP has started a project that aims to provide such evidence on effective community-based programmes to empower youth with life skills to make informed and responsible decisions and foster their positive health behaviour."

"Particularly in the area of collective and popular art practice, for instance, one of the primary objectives of the research may be to empower socially marginalized research participants with a public voice and visibility enabling them to challenge the status quo."

"Our dream is to have every child enjoy equal right and opportunity to be educated,empower themselves with knowledge and create a decent life. May the light of civilization shine brightly over every child’s path to the future."


texts: Is there a word or phrase for a "guilty scapegoat"?

texts: The phrase "guilty scapegoat" sounds like an oxymoron, but I'm thinking of a situation where several guilty persons have committed an offense together, and the offense is finally discovered, but the other guilty members blame only 1 person in their party to take the blame off of them.  The especially involves the case when the person blamed is the least powerful and least blameworthy of the entire offending group (but certainly still blameworthy).


texts: Do I say "Slash" or do I just ignore the / all together? I have a powerpoint presentation coming up and I can't figure out how to say / for my presentation.


texts: The meaning of a phrase "to flip a traditional pancake over"

texts:
I am reading a book "Wild Ride" by Adam Lashinsky about Uber and came across the following sentence: "Kalanick appeared on WEF panels moderated by Western and Chinese broadcasters, gamely attempted to ﬂip a traditional pancake over an intimate dinner with the managers responsible for Uber’s local operations in Tianjin, and huddled with his entrepreneurial peers."
And I can't understand the meaning of the phrase in bold. Would highly appreciate it if someone could help me to figure it out.
I did some research in online dictionaries and Google in general.

I know that "to flip" means "to move into a different position",
to flip one's pancake = "to delight", "to inspire",

but I cannot figure out a meaning in this particular context.
Does that mean that he tried to inspire his local managers? Why then "traditional pancake"? Because he usually tries to inspire people?
I am not a native speaker and sometimes cannot grasp all the shades of meaning, that's why I'm asking for help....


texts:
I would like it to be explained, if it has a single meaning, it's confusing me, I see it could mean "please don't waste whatever you don't want", or just the opposite, i.e. "There is nothing without a waste".

EDIT

The source of confusion are phrases like "no pain no gain" which are inversely arranged, I mean, the negation, "no" is before the Verb, like if "no Verb" were equal to "Verb not"


texts:
Which of these adjectives is better used to qualify a profile (the width of an elongated object, such as in crossing profile)?

low or small
large or high

Low crossing profile seems more common than small crossing profile, even though large crossing profile is more common than high crossing profile.

It seems there is some influence from the expression to keep a low profile, but there seems to be a contradiction in the way the two directions are dealt with. Is it normal? Or should I just use high crossing profile for consistency?


texts:
Is this correct?

  The person with whom I'm doing the project should be here soon.

If it is, is with always a dative preposition (like mit in German)?


texts: Can an interjection act as both an independent and dependent clause?

texts:
As an independent clause:

  Hello! My name is John.

As a dependent clause:

  Hello, my name is John.

Perhaps I'm missing some grammatical rule.


texts:
In English class, when discussing the symbiotic relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States—particularly in regards to the institutions of the two—my teacher used the word Anglophile. I looked it up in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and I really liked it: I found it very practical and applicable.

Its formation is pretty straightforward: Anglo- + -phile, where Anglo- is the Late Latin prefix that means "English" and -phile indicates love, fondness, etc.

My question is: are there any equivalents of this word that refer to a love or lover of other ethnicities or nationalities, such as of the US? If not, is there a concise hyphenated word one could use?


texts: Informal phrase for finally doing something pending - very specific

texts:
What would be an informal saying of phrase for finally doing some chore or running some errand that was pending for some time?

It maybe something you are avoiding, or something you forget all the time only to remember it when you no longer are in the place wher it can be done. Every time you think of it you sigh in disapproval of yourself. One day finally you do it on an impulse and you get done with it.

You may say, in relief, "I finally crossed that off my list" but in a more informal, idiomatic way.

"To get something over and done with" means "to do something difficult or unpleasant as soon as you can" and does not convey the fact the thing was pending to be done for some time, on the opposite, you did it at the very first opportunity to had to not have to worry about it later. Also The phrase I'm looking for doesn't necessarily refer to something difficult or unpleasant.


texts: Is ‘to start’ the same as ‘to start with’?

texts: The highlighted phrase makes me confused. Does it mean first/initially or Do you native speakers say ‘start a melon’, that’s to say, the ‘start’ here is a transitive verb?


texts:
I remember my grammar teacher saying that:

  If we want to tell the length of time a person has not done something, then we can use either for or in.

As in:

  I haven't written a single line of code in two years, but I'm back at business again.

or

  I haven't written a single line of code for two years, but I'm back at business again.>

However, I couldn't verify this from another source. Can somebody confirm it? I ask because this statement "looks" valid:

  I have read at least nine books in nine months.


texts: What does "convey/possess a sense of immediacy" mean?

texts:
Such contemporary accounts often convey a sense of immediacy and impact...

The opening pages still convey a sense of immediacy and excitement...

The challenge of the environmental beat is to convey a sense of immediacy
and pertinence...

Importantly, these acts possess a sense of immediacy...

Photographic images usually possess a sense of immediacy...

The new issues addressed in this edition possess a sense of immediacy...


texts: Is there a label that describes a person with whom I am sharing something

texts:
If I shared something with someone and you wanted to describe me in that context using only one word, you might call me the "sharer" or "owner".  What word could the person I'm sharing with be called?  Is he or she simply the "recipient" or is there a better word?

I am looking for a word that fit well as a Java class property name (don't let that discourage you from answering if you're not a software person).

For the software minded, I am writing a web app that uses Dashboards as the primary UI.  A user can have multiple dashboards and can share them with other users.

public class Dashboard {
    ...
    private String owner; // username of this dashboard's owner

    ... // rest of the class
}

public class DashboardShare {
    private List<String> sharedWith; // <== I want to rename this property
    private Dashboard dashboard;

    ... // rest of the class
}

Thanks in advance!

David


texts: "depending on something" ... singular or plural

texts:
I'm writing a paper in which the experimental results with two different antibodies are compared across different brain regions.

I want to write something like:

  We used antibodies A and B for this experiment. We obtained distinct results depending on the antibody and brain region.

Here each experiment only uses either one of the two antibodies.

I wonder if "depending on" should be followed by "the antibodies and brain regions" (the + plural) or "the antibody and brain region" (the + singular).

Actually, I have no problem with "depending on antibody and brain region", i.e. uncountable and abstract use of nouns without an article. This kind of example phrase can be found in dictionaries.

However, as soon as there comes a "the", I cannot really tell what is right.

If I consider the following sentence,

  We obtained distinct results depending on the antibody and brain region examined.

then "the + singular" sounds natural to me, for only one antibody or region can be examined at one time.

Could someone please give me some advice on this?


texts:
Are there any good explanations for questions without a subject like this:

Why bother to read fiction?


texts:
What do you call someone who lives for himself? If someone lives his life solely to achieve his own life goals and not want to associate his life with others', what would you call him?

I know some of you would probably give answers such as A) hedonist, B) narcissist, but I disagree. Because:

A) A hedonist is someone who lives in pursuit of pleasure, and hedonism is a doctrine that the pursuit of pleasure is the highest good. This person in question neither lives for pleasure, nor places pleasure as an important factor.

B) A narcissist is someone who is vain, or derives erotic gratification from admiration of his or her own physical or mental attributes. The person in question is also not a narcissist because he does not admire himself; he merely lives for his own good, as mentioned in the question.

So once again, what do you call someone who devotes his life solely to achieving his own life goals? Please, he is not a hedonist, not a narcissist, and most certainly not selfish. Assume he is not.


texts: Since (past time) ... to (current time)?

texts: I am trying to write a sentence that shows my experience as a cook; for example, since my first job at ABC, and then to DEF, to currently working at GHI, I have gain ...


texts:
Is there an alternative, yet polite way of saying:

  "For those less good at English"

I know it's technically correct but it doesn't sound right to me. The context is that we are offering a service aimed at people who do not have particularly strong English language skills.

I don't want to use "worse". It comes across as blunt/insulting, and also there isn't an alternative subject that we would be directly comparing them to.


texts: Do onomatopoeic words lose their onomatopoeic character?

texts:
Wikipedia mentions that:

  Some languages flexibly integrate onomatopoeic words into their structure. This may evolve into a new word, up to the point that it is no longer recognized as onomatopoeia.

  One example is English "bleat" for the sheep noise: in medieval times it was pronounced approximately as "blairt" (but without an R-component), or "blet" with the vowel drawled, which is much more accurate as onomatopoeia than the modern pronunciation.

Did bleat really lose its onomatopoeic character?
Is "baa" used instead in all situations?

Furthermore from the book "A Grammar of Iconism" By Earl R. Anderson:

According to the passage above:

When onomatopoeic words are used as verbs, do they lose their
onomatopoeic character? ( not all of them but some of them in time? or
depends on the context?)
Can we still say that shiver, growl and bleat are onomatopoeic words?
Or did they inherit their onomatopoeic label from their more
mimetic versions: brr, grr and baa?


texts:
Would you please look at my interpretations and correct those respectively?

Examples

1) She has gone to the store and didn't come back yet.

2) She has gone to the store and hasn't come back yet.

3) She went to the store and didn't come back yet.

4) She went to the store and hasn't come back yet.

My thoughts

1) The speaker doesn't know when she leaved, but got to know she's not here at some point.

2) The speaker doesn't know when she leaved and when she arrives here.

3) The speaker knows when she leaved, and got to know she's not here at some point.

4) The speaker knows when she leaved, but has no idea when she arrives here.


texts:
Despite having read every oversimplifying rule, I always have trouble telling which noun form is correct:

"Bus routes should be modified so as to avoid traffic jams"
or
"Buses routes should be modified so as to avoid traffic jams."

I've already referred to Swan and read some other discussions but I'm still not sure. Are both correct? I will appreciate grammar-based rather than intuitive answers.


texts: More of a/an/the something than something

texts:
I would like to know more about this expression: More of a/an something than something.

As far as I know, it's usually used when we refer to things that are preceded by articles such as a and an. For example, we can say "He's more of a singer than a dancer", which means that he's more like a singer than a dancer.

However, I would like to know if we can use it when the words we are describing are preceded by "the", which is also an article.

For example, can we use "The cause of the disaster was more of the operator than the machine itself"?

Any opinions are welcome.

Thanks in advance!


texts:
As a non-native English speaker, I am having a hard time understanding what the author means by sensorily austere here. The quote is taken from Man in the landscape, by Paul Shepard.

  The desert is the environment of revelation, genetically  and physiologically alien, sensorily austere, esthetically abstract, historically inimical.
   [...]

I haven't found a dictionary that lists this word, but possible variations such as sensory.

Could anyone give me an easily understandable definition for that context?

(Is this perhaps an old-English word?)


texts: Which preposition should be used when referring to an exact date?

texts:
I read this in a text book:

  My test is on 22th of June.

I saw this in a YouTube tutorial:

  My test is at 22th of June.

Which sentence uses the right preposition?


texts: Can we interchange "as" and "which" in this sentence?

texts: "Memory is also susceptible to them, as is thinking more generally." Can I use "which" instead of "as"? And why?


texts: Which one is grammatically correct: "Nobody but them was present there." or "Nobody but they were present there."?


texts: Is it correct to say "greedy little mind" or "little greedy mind" or both?

texts:
I was watching ERB, and Tesla replied to Thomas Edison - "You couldn't handle my gifts with your greedy little mind".

What if I say: "little greedy mind", what does it change on the meaning. Is it right to say?.

Thanks in advance.


texts: When did it become customary to eschew gender pronouns in scientific essays?

texts:
So, anyone who's written a scientific essay knows that the use of he/she/him/her, etc are frowned-upon (except where necessary)

But where does this come from? When did it achieve (near) consensus? When were the guidelines first written by a major academic body?


texts: What kind of punctuation to use when pinging someone (that is, '@Someone')?

texts:
Pinging people on chat or in comments is rather helpful. Let us leave aside the fact that strict grammar is often not necessary in such places. Rather, out of curiosity, what would be the correct way to do it?

Firstly, I thought a plain comma ought to suffice.

  @Someone, help me! You are my only hope.

Then the apparent became obvious. Since the meaning of '@' is at, then the following might be more appropriate.

  @Someone: We have a problem.

Or would perhaps even an em-dash work?

  @Someone—puny God.

If the construct is at the middle or end of a sentence, how to proceed?

  That'll do [*] @Someone [*] that'll do.

  Good morning [*] @Someone!

Here '[*]' stands for an unknown punctuation mark.

It is clear that in a few cases taking '@Someone' ~ 'Someone' is the only option.

  Elementary, my dear @Someone.

The other instances are, to some extent, more arguable.

Which option do you think is best?

P.S. As per 'Does other punctuation affect the notification?', punctuation generally does not interfere with the underlying process.


texts: The difference between 'have mercy,' 'extend mercy,' and similar phrases

texts: Is there a difference between 'having mercy' and 'extending mercy?' Are there other phrases that mean similar things?


texts:
I am sometimes confused about whether to put the in front of a noun or not, so to solve such dilemmas, I have come up with the following strategy.

  When in doubt, whether to put the in front of a noun, try to think of cases where you would put a/an in front of that noun. If you can't find it, there is no way you would need to put the, but if you can find it, then consider whether you are talking about a specific case of that noun (for example, a specific apple in a group of apples).

For example, just 5min ago, I have thinking whether to put the or leave it blank to the place of X in the following sentence.

  [...] along X y-direction.

Eventually, I leave it blank beucase I thought I would never say something like along a y-direction (I am not sure whether it was correct to that), but my question is

Question:
Is this strategy correct? Is there any example of whether that would fail? and if so, do you have any other strategy that one can use in such situations?


texts: Translation of foreign company names and abbreviations

texts:
How do I deal with translation of names of foreign organisations or company names and their abbreviations? I have an example where I want to refer to the Swedish television company SVT, which is an abbreviation for Sveriges Television. I will need to refer to this a lot in the text, so I'm thinking I will define SVT the first time it's used and then just refer to it as SVT later in the text.

So my problem is how do I define it the first time it is used. Surely, English readers will need both the Swedish abbreviation "SVT", the Swedish full name "Sveriges Television", and the English translation "Swedish Television". But how do I write all these three together. There are many combinations. For example:

  In Sweden, the Swedish Television company (Sveriges Television, SVT) is a public service
  broadcaster.

or

  In Sweden, the Swedish Television company (SVT)[1] is a public service broadcaster.

Where [1] is a footnote where I write "Sveriges Television".

or

  In Sweden, Sveriges Television (SVT) (Swedish Television) is a public service
  broadcaster.

There are other combinations too.
How would you suggest that I write it?

Also, I'm getting a headache over whether to italicize or not.


texts: Synonym for "repartition" with the notion of "continuous"

texts:
Here's a sentence I'm trying to improve:

"This diagram represents the repartition of methods throughout the phases of the project"

Supposing there isn't a 1 to 1 distribution of methods and phases, but rather a continuous gradient (method A is more intensely used in the beginning, less in the end, method B more used in the end, less in beginning, etc), is there a better word than repartition or distribution to convey this continuous notion?


texts: Is it right to use "both" in negative sentences?

texts: I've just come across a film review by an American author where he says:  "I can assure you that both are not typical in any part of this state".  In negative sentences like that, my inclination would be to use "neither one of them is..." instead (or, depending, none of them is/are...).   Is it right to say "both are not..." ?


texts:
I'm new to this community, I hope the question fits this somewhat.

Say we have a sentence:

  The tree which stands in the garden is beautiful.

Now using participle construction this becomes:

  The tree standing in the garden is beautiful.

However in the past tense the original statement becomes:

  The tree which stood in the garden was beautiful.

The past participle of stand is stood - does that mean the sentence becomes:

  The tree stood in the garden was beautiful.


texts: Help me with the expression "You can't announce him a cheater because it's speculation"

texts: I want to say something like "You can't announce him a cheater because it's speculation." I know that announce is the wrong word, so I need something to replace it. I thought of proclaim, but I don't think it sounds right, either. Help?


texts: Is this correct? "One of the things that makes him great is..."

texts:
One of the things that makes him great is he brings it every night.

I'm pretty sure it should be that make him in the plural, because one of the things is referring to a lot of things and a lot of things should take a plural verb. But I always hear native speakers in America say it in the singular, so with an s.

Another example:

  This is one of the responsibilities that comes with greatness and he understands that.

Native speakers always use the verb in the singular (here, comes) even though [I believe] it is grammatically incorrect to use the singular form of the verb there.


texts:
I'm writing a paper and I have two questions about the sentence below.

  The mineral derangements, represented by A and B, in the patients at the chronic phase after transplantation were strongly associated with the former C in a positive and negative direction, respectively.

, where A, B, and C are clinical parameters.

My questions are:

I have two modifiers for the word "derangements;" one is "represented by ~" and the other is "in the patents ~." Is the order of these phrases correct? It sounds a little awkward to me.
A was positively associated with C, while B was negatively associated with C. Does it sound strange when I say "in a positive and negative direction, respectively?" Let me know if there is a better way to write.

Thanks in advance,
Nao


texts: Is there a name for the process of patterning new words after old ones in ways that don't respect their original etymology?

texts:
The words "quadcopter" and "novocaine" have unusual etymologies. "Quadcopter" comes from a combination of quad for "four" and copter from "helicopter," and "novocaine" comes from novo for "new" and caine from "cocaine."

What's odd here is that both "copter" and "caine" break apart the original words at a spot that isn't the natural split in their own etymologies. "Helicopter" comes from helico and pter, and "cocaine" comes from coca and ine. The splits of "copter" and "caine" make a ton of sense given that they're at syllable boundaries and the new words don't seem at all unusual.

Is there a term for new words like quadcopter and novocaine whose origin involves cleaving an existing word at a spot that doesn't match their etymologically?


texts: Is there a word for the comments that a news anchor makes about a story?

texts:
While watching the local news this evening, it occurred to me that while the news anchors were reporting stories, they often add their own comments between stories.

For example: the news anchors were talking about how movie trailers before movies in theaters were going to start being shorter. The other anchor said at the very end, "Those trailers were starting to be longer than the movies themselves", then chuckles and continues with the next story. (I know, pretty corny)

Is there a word that refers to these comments anchors make in transitioning between stories?


texts: How can I find out what Irony has been used in a sentence?