texts: Can an -ing or -ed clause be seen as a relative clause?

texts:
I'm confused with reducing clauses. I need help to understand reducing clauses in English.
For example:

  The amount of goods transported by train totaled about 70 tonnes.

I think the full sentence may be 2 kinds below:

  The amount of goods that were transported by train totaled about 70 tonnes.

or ( Ing or -ed clause)

  The amount of goods were transported by train, and the amount of goods totaled about 70 tonnes.

Can anybody explain this kind of sentence clearly for me?


texts: My four-year-old recently got a pet frog. When he named it, he said, "θæn" (note: that is IPA, "θæn" sounds just like the word "than" but it has an unvoiced first consonant). I'm not sure how to notate this into English though. My wife suggested we just go with "Than", but to me, that's the common, "ðæn". I was thinking perhaps "Thann", but that looks like it should be "θɑn". Is there already a word which is pronounced θæn? If not, what would an English spelling look like?


texts: If someone is currently doing an activity, is it wrong to say they were doing that activity?

texts:
If you are currently doing an activity, then a moment ago you were doing that activity.

So if I am doing something, is is grammatically correct to say I was doing it or do I have to use the present tense until I stop doing an activity?

An example:

   I am living.

   Yesterday, I was living.

   Therefore, I was living.

So, basically, is the conclusion in the example grammatically correct?


texts: What's the usual meaning of "monkey business"?

texts:
"Monkey business" seems to be a widely used idiom. I looked it up on Wiktionary and I found two main possible meanings, one stressing the silliness of an activity:

  (US, slang) Wasting time, or effort, on some foolish project. / An
  activity that is considered silly, or stupid, or time-wasting.

the other one questioning its morality:

  (idiomatic) An activity that may be considered illegal, questionable,
  or a vice, but not felonious.

The Free Dictionary seems to favor the latter meaning.

Without any context that could help clarify the exact meaning, which of the two characterizations is usually understood?


texts: Which of the following sentences sounds most formal?

texts:
1 - The president travels to Belo Horizonte tomorrow.
2 The president is going to travel to Belo Horizonte tomorrow.
3 The president is traveling to Belo Horizonte tomorrow.
4 The president will travel to Belo Horizonte tomorrow.


texts: Does putting a how before an independent clause make it dependent?

texts:
I'm wondering if putting a "how" before an independent clause somehow makes it dependent.

Example: John questioned societal norms, and how those norms affected the students.

or

Example: John questioned societal norms and how those norms affected the students.

Both "John questioned societal norms" and "those norms affected the students" are independent clauses, right? Yet when I read "how those norms affected the students", I don't think it's an independent clause (meaning a comma is necessary).


texts: Stressed syllables in "ostentatious" and "adventurous"

texts:
I have been confused by the accented syllables in the words "ostentatious" and "adventurous". Although both of them have the same number of syllables, they are accented on different syllables. And both are adjectives. I am trying to find a rule that determines where to put the accent on a word.
Adventurous:  US  /ədˈven.tʃɚ.əs/
UK  /ədˈven.tʃər.əs/
Ostentatious: US  /ˌɑː.stənˈteɪ.ʃəs/
UK  /ˌɒs.tenˈteɪ.ʃəs/
As you can see both have different syllables accented.
Is it because their nouns have accent on the same syllables?
Ostentation and adventure??


texts: What is the definitonal difference between the verb form of intrigue and interest?

texts:
Currently, they look exactly synonymous. I'd like to know their differences, no matter how small.

Intrigue:

  Arouse the curiosity or interest of; fascinate.

Interest:

  Excite the curiosity or attention of (someone).

Example sentence:

  That movie poster intrigued/interested me.


texts: what do you call a person who does everything for wealth or only cares about being wealthy

texts:
I am trying to describe a Shakespeare character. I need a word for a person who does everything for wealth or who only cares about being wealthy.

How would I use the word I need in a sentence?  This person is (insert the word here)


texts: What does plate mean in "we're running you in two plates"?

texts:
I find the following line in Tom Stoppard’s play The Invention of Love. Mark Pattison, Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, is speaking to entering students in the 1860s:

  . . . if you have come up to Oxford with the idea of getting knowledge, you must give that up at once. We have bought you, and we’re running you in two plates, Mods and the Finals.

I can find no definition for plate in the OED (subscription online version) that seems to fit this case.


texts:
For most folks, PhD means "Doctor of Philosophy".
But, for Jorge Cham, it means "Piled Higher and Deeper".
Can you explain  to me the title of that comic book?


texts: How can I properly reword: "This particular "X" is not unique in this regard."

texts: Editing an essay, I recently found myself stuck trying to rewrite the sentence: "This particular journal publication is not unique in this regard."  It "sounds wrong" to use the word "this" twice in this manner.  Is there a simple fix?


texts: If you see this name how do you pronounce it?

texts:
My name is Tomas without the "H" (Thomas)

If you see this name how do you pronounce it ??

Thank you


texts: "by winning" vs "by her winning" or "of her win"

texts:
I have a dilema, here's a little excerpt:

  Anna, an accomplished classical musician, was encouraged by her
  winning the prestigious award .... plans to launch a new album.

Sounds really wrong. Is this correct prose?


texts: A Grammatical Question From A Text by Shakespeare- I couldn't understand- Please help

texts:
In Shakespeare's' As You Like It I have came across a challenging sentence. Without further ado, I am directly quoting the text:

for call you that keeping for a gentleman of my birth that differs not
from the stalling of an ox?

Unfortunately, I understand nothing from this. Why there is "you" after "call"? Where is "that" in "that differs not from" linked to?
Please help me to understand it. I mean I want to understand it in terms of structure. Putting the words in their normal places and without changing them how this sentence would say?
For those who want to see the context, here is the much more connected version:

He (my big brother Oliver) keeps my brother Jaques at school, and report speaks goldenly of
his profit. For my part, he keeps me rustically at home, or, to speak
more properly, stays me here at home unkept; for call you that
"keeping" for a gentleman of my birth, that differs not from the
stalling of an ox?

Moreover, to make helping easier for those who willing to help I am putting the vocabulary notes here:
report speaks.... propit: Rumor has it that Jaques is flourishing as a student.
profit: proficiency
stays: detains
unkept: uncared for, neglected
gentleman of my birth: i.e., the son of a knight
stalling: lodging in a stall; rendering unable to proceed


texts:
When one says "Do you want a cup of coffee?" he can mean:

either an informative question — "Do you feel a desire to a cup of coffee?",
or a polite offer — "I can make you a cup of coffee if you want".

What is the general name of this type of ambiguity?

I think it should be either semantic ambiguity or pragmatic ambiguity, however the examples I found for both of these types, for example this one,  are unlike the above case.

Better references will be appreciated.


texts:
Why the complete name of British philosopher McTaggart, i.e. John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart, has such an strange form?

Edit: Considering @Lawrence concerns, I should note that, although strangeness is a somehow subjective matter, but it's objectively based on the lack of similar cases. In this case, I have never seen a compound proper name with a repeated part. I guess the two McTaggarts refer to two different persons (ex., the philosopher and his father). This theory may be confirmed/rejected by historical notes; or at least by providing more examples, one may reduce its degree of strangeness to non natives!


texts: Difference between "formatting" and "styling" when used with documents

texts:
For example one may say:

"This document is well formatted" or "This document is well styled" - What are the differences here, if any?

What about the task: "formatting" or "styling", are these usable in this context or should I use another word?


texts: Can a compound modifier include a verb or be a sentence?

texts:
Recently, my significant other and I were sharing our reactions to an image of someone who looked much older than they actually were on social media. We were texting each other.
I captioned the picture with ‘middle-aged-mum vibes’ (obviously, the noun phrase ‘middle-aged mum’ was pre-modifying ‘vibes’ here).
In jest, she responded with ‘[h]ad-a-kid-too-early vibes’.
I've taught my significant other about compound modifiers in the past, and I wasn't sure if this was in line with what I knew. I rarely saw compound modifiers with verbs in (and I don't really count gerunds in this case, since they technically function as nouns). I usually only see hyphenated compound modifiers with nouns, prepositions and co-ordinating conjunctions. I told her that I felt it would be a better option to use inverted commas instead.
I am curious as to whether a compound modifier with a word like an auxiliary verb is permissible, maybe even with a few examples. Some clarification would be much appreciated.


texts: If voice during phone conversation become gibberish, how to ask a person to repeat last words? I'm living in Cyprus and all local people when speak English just use 'tell me' for this. It this a correct way?


texts: Is there a word for the spot between the two eyebrows?

texts:
Is there a word for the spot between the two eyebrows (right above the nose,
but below the forehead)?


texts: What is the meaning of this complicated sentence?

texts:
So, the sentence is:

We are an exercise in cognitive dissonance.

The context is that of someone who holds two or more contradictory beliefs at the same time.

My question is what does it mean to be "an exercise" in this sentence?


texts: Which is right "reblogable" or "rebloggable"?

texts:
Which word is right for something that is worthy of reblogging?

On urbandictionary.com there seem to be similar definition for both words.


texts: Is 'white' an adverb in "the lamp will flash white"?

texts:
What is the role of 'white' in the following sentence?

  The lamp on the machine will flash white when you restart it.

It seems like it is an adverb here, but is it possible to use colours as adverbs?


texts:
It seems that both "theism" and "deism" take their roots in Classical words for "god." Is there an etymological explanation for why they have such different meanings?

I wasn't able to find anything beyond the fact that "theism" is an earlier word whereas "deism," according to Wiktionary, comes from French.


texts: There is a word in Russian that means some physical exercises during onу minute on a lesson at school, kindergarten, etc. Exercises are ususally simple(move left, clap in hands, look up, etc.). Its verbatim translation is minute of physical culture. Are there any word in English like that?


texts: I just had a nasty hiccup attack, and I want to know if there's a synonym for this nasty phenomena.


texts: Is it incorrect to say, 'Give me it' ?  I am told that it is and one should always say, 'Give it me'?


texts: What does “playground” mean in an informatics educational context?

texts:
What does “playground” mean when people use this word in articles or tutorials?

For example, there is an article with this title: "Kotlin Playground" (Kotlin is a programming language and this is an article for teaching Kotlin)

And there is a sample project for teaching a concept with this name:
 "androidx-savedstate-playground"

A related word I have seen used in relation to coding and IT is “sandbox”. However it seems to me that this is used rather differently, not in a particularly educational context. Are they the same?


texts: Adverbial modifier with the insertion of comma

texts:
I was studying about participles and one site a guy asked the following question:

How would the meaning of the following sentences differ from each other?

1. The beach, located on the far side of the river, is known for its beauty.

2. The beach located on the far side of the river is known for its beauty.

The author of the blog post replies back by saying that that in the first sentence "located" is acting as an adverbial modifier while in the second one it is acting as a "noun modifier" and hence the second sentence is correct.

I can't understand how the insertion of a comma makes the word "located" an adverbial modifier. Kindly help me understand it.


texts: What is the word for "a road that vanishes into the distance"?

texts:
I am looking for a word that would describe the image of a road that vanishes into the distance. I am fairly confident that there is such a single word since I remember a long time ago finding it and using it somewhere to see similar pictures. I still have the pictures, but not the word.

At first I thought the word might be vista, but it doesn't ring any bells... perhaps there is a more specific word for this case.


texts: Can this subject be implied or does it need to be explicit?

texts:
My colleague and I had a heated debate this morning over the following sentence:

  "Developed by moms for moms to foster, our product provides the perfect blend of comfort and functionality."

The intention being that moms built the product and are also in charge of growing the product.

My colleague insisted that "to foster" is not proper without a noun after, so the sentence should read:

  "Developed by moms for moms to foster a growing experience, our product provides the perfect blend of comfort and functionality."

Save us from our own debate, fellow grammarists!  Which is [more] correct?


texts: English word for “fine under the circumstances”

texts:
I’m looking for a single English word that means “fine, considering the circumstances”. I find I could use it a lot these days, in responding to people asking how I’m doing.

  I’m doing ___ (fineunderthecurcumstances).


texts: What's a less obscure word for "sinecure"?

texts:
I'm writing a message which will go out to a global community, so I want to keep the vocabulary relatively straightforward. I'm describing a job which previously has been a little vaguely-defined, but which going forward is expected to be significantly more meaningful, both in responsibilities and impact.

In my draft, I wrote that the position is a serious one, "not a sinecure". However, this only really helpful if someone already knows this (relatively obscure, I think) word. I can, of course, explain more, but I was hoping for some thing succinct. The thesaurus is not helping here; is there another word or short phrase which concisely expresses the same or similar meaning?


texts: Just laid on you another triple-golden sweep

texts:
I'm trying to understand what does this sentence mean:

  Hey, Johnny Holiday just laid on you another triple-golden sweep from
  golden-weekend time at KXLA, in Ames, lowa.

This sentence is said on the radio without any further context around it. I've tried to gather some information and found out that Johnny Holiday is a vocalist. Except for that this sentence doesn't make much sense to me (I'm not a native speaker) in any of its parts. I know this is a pretty broad question, could you please enlighten me on the possible meaning of it? Expecially the "laid on you a sweep" part.

Thanks in advance!


texts: Does "none the more..." mean "far from (being)..." in American English?

texts:
I'm familiar with the somewhat colloquial turn of phrase  "nowhere near as ... as" / "not anywhere near as ... as" to say "far from being as ... as".
However, I'm a little less familiar with the idiom "none the more …" meaning, I gather, "far ... from being".
And so, I wish someone would tell me whether the expression "none the more ..." is safe to use interchangeably with "far from ..." in formal and not so informal contexts, or definitely belongs to informal, colloquial usage and, as such, should be best avoided in formal style.
E.g.:

They only half believed us and were none the more friendly... [source]
... to my taste, it was none the more becoming for being fitted over broken stayed-bones... [source]
... the individual returns home poorer and none the healthier. [source]


texts: How to write previous surname when married?

texts:
What is the correct way of writing previous surname when married?
E.g. John Johnson (former Davis)
Is it correct to use 'former' or should it be 'previous' or any other word, or just '(Davis)' without any preceding word?

Than you.


texts: I remember an english word (but cannot find it), which means to encircle a person by other (non-friendly) persons

texts:
It has a meaning of

surround (by unfriendly persons)
encircle (by unfriendly persons)
usher
corner
hassle
crowd
sandwich (a person)
accompany

Help!
How can I find this next time? I tried thesaurus but was unsuccessful.


texts: Is "as if" considered a cliche when used in place of "like"?

texts:
I'm playing around with AutoCrit trying to improve something and I was looking at its cliche report.  My most flagged one is the phrase "as if".  But I use it like this:

  The whole thing seemed as if it would give way at any moment.

Is this still considered cliche or bad form? I get why the retort "As if!" would be.


texts: How dangerous is the acceptance of common usage on traditional English?

texts:
I mean how far should we flow on with the current called "common usage"?

Is there a fear that the real English is going do disappear someday?

By the way, as for me, I like common English myself. :)


texts:
A passage from Arthur Clarke, 2010: Odyssey Two:

  Floyd often wondered what Marion would have thought of his strange and beautiful home on the edge of the Pacific. She had never liked the sea, but the sea had won in the end.

Does this mean Marion stop unliking sea?


texts: Is the usage of "speaks to" new? Is it American?

texts:
Two examples from Google:

  Doris McCarthy exhibit speaks to the
  artist as lover of life

and

  A scribble that speaks to wild nature
  of art

Is this use of 'speaks to' new?  I seem to have only started to hear it about a year ago, and now I hear it everywhere. Is it American?


texts: Can "How is it coming along?" be an expression of greeting?

texts:
I know that this expression has the meaning "How is it progressing?"

What I'd like to know is, can this expression also have the meaning "What's up?" or "How is it going?"

Thank you.


texts: How do I politely say I have used my mouth while drinking water from a bottle?

texts:
Is there a one word substitute for the scenario below, and what is the politest way of saying it to another person or colleague?

  I drink water from my bottle by touching my mouth

When someone wants to drink water from my bottle, I need to inform him/her in a polite way that I drank it by touching it with my mouth.

This is because some people are concerned about this thing, and I don't want to embarrass them.


texts:
If I'm traveling and enjoying it, I might be on a vacation, trip, adventure, or excursion.

But what if the journey is difficult, annoying, and altogether unpleasant? I'm thinking of trek, but that seems to imply difficult yet perhaps exciting. I'm looking for a word which represents the kind of travel that's a necessary but annoying chore.

For example, this might be used to describe a business trip which involves lots of boring meetings in a country where you can't stand the weather, or spending a day transferring between buses in order to meet a defense attorney.


texts: What is the difference between "deterrent" and "adversity"?

texts:
This question has baffled me for a long time, as I think they both mean "something that put somebody off doing something". Then I came across a sentence

  "Numerous adversities have prevented us from going to the lakeside
  again this year."

I wonder whether deterrent would make sense there (instead of adversities).

OALD explain "deterrent is something that deters sb" then "The high price of the service could deter people from seeking advice." Is that mean "The high price of the service" prevent people from...? Then can I say "Numerous deterrents  have prevented us from going..."?


texts: Which term is better: "electric circuit" or "electrical circuit"?

texts: Which is the proper term to use when talking about circuits in physics—"electrical circuit" or "electric circuit"?


texts: Is the sentence "Queueing is so thoughtful of you." grammatically correct?

texts:
In the following two blog posts ("Illiteracy in Singapore - the Land Transport Authority" and "LTA's illiterate poster") the author accused the poster depicted below of being evidence of illiteracy in Singapore, which I take to mean that there's something grammatically incorrect with it. How so?

The second post actually includes a bit of a response to this question, but his explanation is quite confusing. The blog poster said it had nothing to do with the singular verb, or "the issue of concord" in his words.

Anyone knowledgeable enough about grammar to decode this chunk of text?

  What makes the sentence ungrammatical is its utter meaninglessness. Since the copulative verb links the subject and the subject complement, the introduction of an unrelated clause in lieu of the subject complement renders the sentence an absurdity that has no meaning. One cannot ignore the grammatical function of the copula, The addition of a prop or dummy subject is of course one possibility that is available to a writer in a sea of possible variations.


texts:
Consider the following two sentences:

Why can I not open the door?

and

Why can not I open the door?

Which is more common? What's the subtle difference between them?


texts: How could I spell out Pope Francis’s "Who am I to judge?" remark on gay priests?

texts:
A New York Times article from July 29, 2013 introduced Pope Francis’s remark on gay priests which he made aboard the papal airplane on the way back from his first foreign trip, to Brazil.

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who
am I to judge?” Francis told reporters, speaking in Italian but using
the English word “gay.”

Pope said this in Italian. Is "Who am I to judge?" a right translation? Couldn't it be "Whom am I to judge?" or "Who am I if I were to judge?" How could I spell out this phrase?
P.S. Ross Douthat provided full text of Pope’s remark including “Who am I to judge.” in NYT Jul 30 issue:

“A gay person who is seeking God, who is of good will - well, who am I
to judge him? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very
well. It says one must not marginalize these persons, they must be
integrated into society. The problem isn’t this orientation — we must
be like brothers and sisters. The problem is something else, the
problem is lobbying either for this orientation or a political lobby
or a Masonic lobby.”

I was under the impression that “Who am I to judge” was just a clip from a short Q&A between the pope and reporters aboard the papal plane, but it was a part of a well-structured discourse. It seems I made a premature post, without checking the full context of Pope’s message. Now the meaning is pretty clear to me.


texts: Word/ phrase for : 'to uplift/ enhance one's mental level/ creativity/ knowledge'

texts: I'm looking out for a word   or a short phrase(<15 chars.) that somewhat conveys : 'to uplift/ enhance one's mental level/ creativity/ knowledge/ skills'. 'To take one's mental level to the next level & transform oneself into more intelligent being'. Simplest & shorter words/phrases are more preferable.


texts: Use of noun vs. adjective in store signs

texts:
I saw the following on a store sign in a foreign country.
EXCELLENCE IN HAND DRIP COFFEE

Isn't it better to use adjective as in
EXCELLENT HAND DRIP COFFEE
?


texts:
Some speakers reject the following:

It took me $300 to have the car fixed.

But they accept the following:

It will take nearly $650,000 to restore this house.

The difference is that the former has an indirect object, whereas the latter does not.

Do you think 'take' in the sense of 'cost' cannot take an indirect object?


texts: What word would be used to describe someone who has grown up with something?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that could be used to describe someone as being comfortable with something (in this case technology) due to having grown up in a world with it. I know the term digital-native is thrown around a lot but am looking for something akin to this but in a single word.

I've also thought along the lines of 'familiar' but didn't quite seem to fit. Anyone else got any better ideas?


texts: What is a word for somebody who lies to themselves

texts:
I feel like the fact that people lie to themselves about things can tell you a lot about that person but I just can't put my finger on a single word that I'd use to describe them. In fact, not just describe them, but truly convey that they lie to themselves.

  Example of a person who lies to themself: "I will do all my work
  tomorrow, I swear."


texts: "to complete X to Y" OR "into Y" OR both wrong

texts:
If I finish something and the object gets transformed into something else during this process, can this be expressed in english by a sentence similar to the following one?

I have completed my plan into/to a solution to the problem. (by adding some further steps that final manage to get the thing done)

Is into or to correct or does the formulation not work at all?


texts:
What's the appropriate way of integrating the expression "full stop" into a written sentence?

For example:

  The USS Enterprise isn't just a great "Galaxy Class" starship, it's a great starship - full stop.


texts: "love- and commitment-minded" hyphenation before "and"

texts:
If the meaning I'm aiming for is "love-minded and commitment-minded", but I want the sentence to feel smoother, is the following correct?

  Those behaviors are hallmarks of narcissists and men who aren’t love- and commitment-minded.

(Note that a hyphen immediately follows "love".)

I haven't been able to find examples of sentences written this way, so I don't know why my impulse was to write it this way.

Is it correct to have a hyphen dangling like that when the next part of the sentence contains another hyphenated word such that the reader could assume that its ending is meant to be used for the first case too?


texts: Is there a term for the "due-ness" of something?

texts:
I have something that can be one of the three states:  current, due, and overdue.

Is there a specific term that describes the set comprised of those states, one that evokes the nature of the states?  For example, status is a word that will work, but it doesn't really invoke the specific concept of "due-ness".    I would like to use it instead of status in a sentence like:  The status of item X is current.


texts: Are "pity" and "contempt" compatible sentiments?

texts:
The Mayor of Rio is reported as saying that he had both pity and contempt for the US athletes who made a false report to police about having been robbed, after they had committed an act of vandalism.

Are pity and contempt compatible? Can one have genuine pity for someone one holds in contempt?


texts:
How many phones have you lost in total?
I've lost 2 in 2 months, at this rate I could be catching you up!"

In particular I've used the past simple in the first sentence. The second sentence uses the past continuous (I have lost) although I'm unsure about the last part (I could be catching).
Any suggestions on how these 2 sentences could be rephrased?


texts:
I am confuse on following sentence. which one is correct and why?

My parents are retired
or
My parents were retired

would appreciate if someone help me to clear this confusion.

Thanks


texts:
Inside their house, approval should NEITHER be given, EXCEPT in very
  special circumstances, for the ITEM A, or for ITEM B, NOR for ITEM C,
  or for ITEM D

Is the following accurate?

Approval should not be given to Item C, Item D
Approval should be given to Item A, Item B


texts: use of present simple vs present continuous

texts:
Which of these is correct ?

"The day of my visit approaches"

"The day of my visit is approaching"

Thank you!


texts: Pronunciation of the name, " Leonhard Euler "

texts:
In almost every source I know, Euler has been pronounced as /ˈȯi-lər/ . Nevertheless, in a number of books translated to other languages, it is mentioned as: /ˈjuːlər/ . I doubt in it incorrectness, but have not found any source to prove it. Is this pronunciation correct or not?

Furthermore, pronouncing the word Leonhard, are we supposed to say the h letter, too?

-
Thank you in advance


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What's the rule for using “who” or “whom”?

"The negative may be insecurity, in lieu of an absolute authority whom can to confirm your beliefs."

This is the sentence. I am unsure whether to use who, or whom.

Thanks


texts: What would you call a person who is self-righteous, brags about her/his moral values and is imposing when it comes to her/his ideas?

texts:
I want to describe, in a phrase, a number of traits in a person.

I'm looking to describe a self-righteous, pious person who cannot stop bragging about her/his moral values while trying to impose her/his ideas on to those with whom she/he talks frequently. One may imagine such a person to also have related characteristics such as being highly assuming and judgmental. The main things I want to describe are the person's bragging and imposing nature. I thought of 'self-righteous bragger' but I don't think it covers it all, especially, the imposing part (or can it be said that a self-righteous person is also imposing?). 'Self-righteous imposing bragger' also doesn't sound right. Can you suggest better ways to describe all these traits in another phrase?


texts:
Is there a difference in Haptic Feedback and Force Feedback?

I use it in the context of a surface, e. g. a touch device, that vibrates or moves quickly if it is touched or pressed with a force that is larger than a specific force threshold.


texts: Is there a single word for " the first thing to consider is"?

texts: Is there a single word or idiom for " the first thing to consider is"?


texts: Can "what" mean " what role" in this sentence?

texts:
I'd like to know if "what" could convey the meaning of "what role" in the sentence below as "what role others expect from us" is mentioned.

As a flight attendant, my uniform can imply both what role others expect from me and what I should play


texts: Meaning of "more wood behind fewer arrows"?

texts:
What does the phrase "more wood behind fewer arrows" mean?

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/google-gets-serious-winds-down-google-labs/52848?tag=nl.e539


texts: What if there is an apostrophe in a quote, and that quote is in a quote?

texts:
I’m writing a passage with quotes from a book, but that quote has an apostrophe. What do I do if the situation is this?:

“Yes, yes, I’ll tell you,” said John.

Around that should be another pair of quotation marks, because that is the quote I’m putting inside my essay.

The other questions only show a quote in a quote, not apostrophe in a quote in a quote.

This is confusing...


texts: "My wife and I's seafood collaboration dinner"

texts:
I just stumbled upon a Reddit post titled:

  My wife and I's seafood collaboration dinner. How does it look?

Sure enough, the top comment immediately points out that it should be "my wife's and my". However, a cross-post to the Grammar subreddit produced the following comment:

  It's fine as it is written. "my wife and I" is a noun phrase, functioning as a subjective pronoun in the singular and made possessive with the apostrophe. It is exactly the same as "our".

  It seems weird because you would never use "I's" on its own but it is not on its own here - it is part of a noun phrase.

That's a rather intriguing argument. Does it hold any water?


texts:
I was reading a comic book and ran into this phrase. Is there any difference between 'spill the beans' and 'spill the metaphorical beans'? here is the context.

Talk show host: "But seriously, Reed. Spill the metaphorical beans. What gives with Attilan?"
Reed: "Well, Attilan's a riddle wrapped up in an enigma inside a conundrum. I can say that they are a very remarkable people"

Would that mean "Tell me what you think about this in metaphorical manner"? I want to make sure what the difference is. Can anybody help me to understand?


texts: Position of prepositions in questions and clauses

texts:
I would like to know if there is any rule to know where prepositions should be placed in questions or clauses.
For example, I have heard many sentences and some of them put the preposition in the start and others in the end, but I don't know if there's any rule for this or any recommendation.

Where are you from?
Who are you talking to?
To whom are you talking?
He's the person I was speaking to.
He's the person to whom I was speaking.
This is the place from where you should start.


texts: Is this participle clause sentence correct?

texts:
How do you think about this sentence? Is it ok grammatically?

Having been in shape, I go to gym twice a week.

`


texts:
My question is that should we say I have experience in war or I have experience on war?
Please, clear the fog in my head. Thanks


texts: Should a pan of brownies really be called "brownies" if uncut and in one piece?

texts:
I have never heard anyone call a pan of brownies anything other than a "pan of brownies".

Thinking about this, I realized that there is nothing plural about a pan of brownies.  Is it just that everyone assumes it will be cut and refers to it as such?


texts:
I was reading a satirical article in the New Yorker, "College Essay"
by Christopher Buckley, and came across the following statement:

  It was a seventeenth-century English-person John Donne who wrote, “No man is an island.” An excellent statement, but it is also true that “No woman is also an island.”

Now, leaving aside the satire and references to Poets, I want to concentrate on these two lines:

  "No man is an island"
  "No woman is also an island"

The writer is trying to say that neither men nor women are islands, but due to the improper placement of "also", the meaning changes into something funny, or atleast there is some oddness.

(1) What exactly is the unintended funny meaning or oddness ?
(2) How could the second line be stated to mean that neither men nor women are islands, while retaining the structure ?

Here, it is ok:

  "Man is an animal"
  "Woman is also an animal"

But if negation is involved, how to say it grammatically, while retaining the structure ?

I think this works:

  "No man is an island"
  "No woman is an island either"


texts: Employing comparative forms without explicit comparison

texts:
To highlight our company's benefits, we write short statements like "3 times less rate" or "3 times lower rate". Are these correct? Or do such forms require comparison to something else—for instance, "lower than standard rate"?

Similarly, if we use the phrase "[a competitor] spends n dollars, we spend half as much", can we end on half as much without appending a second 'as' phrase?


texts: Why does U sound like W in words like "penguin"?

texts: A semivowel is a vowel that acts like a consonant (including only W and Y and yet U sounds like W sound in words such as penguin, sanguine, but not in guide. Can anyone tell me why?


texts:
Is there a more specific verb that describes creating rope than "make"? E.g. braid or weave or is the verb choice specific to the type of rope that is being made?

Is there a word for a person that makes rope other than "rope maker", e.g. as a cooper is to barrel making?


texts: what is the adjectival form of the word "noun?"

texts:
What is the adjectival form of the word 'noun'?

Every result I get is for the adjectival form of a noun, not the word 'noun' itself.


texts: I come across some phrases such as “best avoided,” or “better avoided.” I understand what it means, but don’t know how this phrase was made. What grammatical structure is in this? I thought this phrase is short for “is best (when it is) avoided,” but this underatanding is just based on my rudimentary grammar. Could anyone help me with this?


texts: Does the term "Brotherhood" imply that all members are males?

texts:
I'm writing a story that has a secret society or gang called "The Brotherhood", and I want to know if this term implies that all members are males (because of the term "Brother").

Would this name still make sense if the story included female characters involved with The Brotherhood?

EDIT:

I will try to clarify:

The term 'guys' is translated to "fiúk" or "srácok" in the Hungarian language, which all means "boys". But in English you can use 'guys' for females too.  So in the translation the 'both sexes' meaning became lost. That is why I need to know if 'Brotherhood' can be used for a group that includes both males and females. In Hungarian 'Brotherhood' translated to 'testvériség' which is a sexless term. 'testvér' could be male or female too. But I would like to know if it is true for the English  language too with this term?


texts:
It might not be the typical way to say this, but is it incorrect or does it sound really awkward?

  Thank you all for the birthday wishes, by postcard or through other means.

Or does it necessarily have to be:

  Thank you all for the birthday wishes, through postcards or other means.


texts: What is "at the last" referring to in this sentence written by H.P. Lovecraft?

texts:
This is quoted directly from H.P. Lovecraft's short story, "The Dreams in the Witch-House":

  Nor was any spot in that city more steeped in macabre memory than the gable room which harbored him--for it was this house and this room which had likewise harbored old Keziah Mason, whose flight from Salem Gaol at the last no one was ever able to explain.

Can someone explain what "...at the last..." is referring to in this instance?

Here is the full paragraph:

  He was in the changeless, legend-haunted city of Arkham, with its clustering gambrel roofs that sway and sag over attics where witches hid from the King’s men in the dark, olden days of the Province. Nor was any spot in that city more steeped in macabre memory than the gable room which harboured him—for it was this house and this room which had likewise harboured old Keziah Mason, whose flight from Salem Gaol at the last no one was ever able to explain. That was in 1692—the gaoler had gone mad and babbled of a small, white-fanged furry thing which scuttled out of Keziah’s cell, and not even Cotton Mather could explain the curves and angles smeared on the grey stone walls with some red, sticky fluid.


texts:
I'm watching an Asian movie that has a couple of English dialogues, and there are two guys who (in the movie plot) are Korean but live in Hong Kong. A man, supposedly a boss, wants to give them the task to retrieve a truck containing 20 million dollars located somewhere in Korea.
When the "boss" gets to meet the two Korean guys he says the following sentence:

I don't know what the hell it is with you people from the peninsula, you, uh... have an air about you.

Not much context around this more than what I stated.
Does that mean "to put on airs"? I tried googling for it but I'm out of luck.


texts: Is "should" ever used as past tense of "shall"?

texts:
Looking at the dictionary, I read that should has origin as past tense of shall. In  the modern English, is should ever used as past tense of shall?

  ORIGIN Old English sceolde: past of shall.


texts:
Is this correct grammar?
“Last year my wife and I clocked up twenty years here in this town”


texts: Is it correct to use: 'to cooperate in a group/team' as a synonym for 'to work in a team'?

texts: If it is not correct, can you suggest how to say 'to work in a team' in any other way?


texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
"In spite of the toughness, what I focus on is 'to carry' on and 'fight' until I win."
Which one is correct :
What I focus on is to carry on ...
My focus is to carry on ...


texts:
I'm using "spec" as abbreviation for "specification" in the name of my program.
The name of the program is "MeteorSpec".

My concern is that this abbreviation can be understood as "speculation". Are my fears true?


texts: Punctuating a sentence which is a question followed by statement

texts:
Which is best?

Do we need to walk to the supermarket, as we have a car?

OR

Do we need to walk to the supermarket, as we have a car.


texts:
Does anyone have a single word for one who organises a market?

Eg: NYSE Euronext Inc. is the ___________ behind NYSE and many other prominent financial markets.


texts: English equivalent of 'стерпится - слюбится'?

texts:
Are there any proverbs in the English-speaking world that are close in their meaning to the Russian proverb "стерпится - слюбится"?

Meaning of the proverb: if you do something unpleasant at first for a long enough period of time, you will actually end up liking it.


texts:
I've heard expressions such as "He's had his picadillos" or "The Picadillos of his youth".

But I can't seem to find any definitions on google (Maybe I'm just spelling it wrong? haha), only examples of forum-members, and the like, using the phrases in abstract context that I am unable to extrapolate a definition.


texts:
Is there a way to use earthquake as a verb, i.e.:

It started earthquaking...

What's the proper way to express earthquake as a verb?


texts: Is there a backward 'Z' in American English?

texts:
In footage which I was not able to capture, recently, an American documentary presented an alphabet for teaching to children with a backward 'Z'. That is, the letter was like an 'S' with straight lines.

Was this a mistake or is the backward Z actually used in American English or American dialect ?

The only references I can find are a Stack Exchange question about representing a backward Z as a mathematical symbol and a Wikipedia article (citing no sources) which, tantalisingly, suggests it is part of the ancient Latin alphabet.


texts: Is "It's better I go to your place" a proper grammatical usage of "Had better"?

texts:
I was unable to find anything on the "It is better/best + pronoun +verb" on the Internet. Could it be because it is not used?

My question is: what follows the pronoun in the "It's better/best + pronoun" construct.

It's better (if I?) I went to your place.
It's better I go to your place.

I would me more than thankful if someone could point me towards a source explaining this or if they could explain it to me. Thank you.


texts:
Drawing an equivalence between X and Y is a standard English expression which runs into problems when X and/or Y is itself a comma-delimited list.

  Slave_jed, "slavery", in BDSM terms,
  really should be written in inverted
  commas. It's a completely different
  thing to real slavery. Drawing an
  equivalence between torture, false
  imprisonment, and rape on the one hand
  and a sexual kink on the other is
  highly insulting.

In the quote above, I framed X and Y with on the one hand and on the other. Is this the best way to fix this or is there a more elegant phrasing I could have used?


texts: I wonder  if this sentence "I m the most recent fan here" is correct? I mean if the word "recent" can describe a person?


texts: Does "This blows!" (it's bad) derive from "This sucks!"?

texts:
The origin of blow = suck, be bad/unpleasant recently came up in comments to this ELL question.

I'd always assumed it was a standard slang "meaning reversal" from suck. But a few minutes on Google failed to confirm this for me, and in that ELL link, Feral Oink credibly suggests it's from blow chunks - to be very bad, inadequate, unpleasant, or miserable; to thoroughly suck.

Does anyone know when and why the usage arose?


texts:
I have seen different prepositions after "Good luck". Example:

  Good luck on/with/for your new job

Could you explain the possible differences of usage or meaning? Thank you.


texts: Is there a a specific word for a book with a sarcastic theme? I am thinking of writing a book on the world of magic of witches and warlocks but in reality it is making fun of their beliefs. For example the section on herbs and potions deal with the recreationsal drugs man takes daily in life. Enslaving the apprentice deals with regular trials of working under a boss or company etc. Just wondering if there is a specific word for this type of book so I can research it more....


texts: "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single minute before starting to improve the world." --- is this grammatically incorrect?

texts: It was a quote from Anne Frank. The sentence structure looks a little off, especially the "need wait" part.


texts: What is the difference between 'curricula' and 'curriculum'? Both appear to have the same definition. Are they used in the same context?


texts:
"We feel discomfort in their absence, but not because their absence results directly in physical discomfort; nor would a taste not trained to discriminate between the conventionally good and the conventionally bad take offence at their omission."

I'm kind of confusing in reading this sentence since there is 'not' in the nor clause.
Is it safe to change the underlined sentence as 'a taste trained to discriminate between the conventionally good and the conventionally bad would take offence at their omission.'?


texts: What is the meaning of the phrase "small town charm"?

texts:
For example:

  Don’t let his small town charm fool you: Tim knows this stuff inside and out. I learned a ton from this book and I know you will too.

I encountered these sentences in a book, I can guess the meaning of the phrase literally. Thanks for giving me a more detailed explanation!


texts: Proper way to address a very small group that includes both sexes

texts:
What is the proper way to address a light email/message to a small group of 2-or-3 people, where the group includes both sexes?  I normally just use the term "guys" as in "Hey guys" or "Good morning guys".

However, I'm wondering if I'm alienating the female(s) in the group.  With a larger group, I would just use the term "all" as in "Good morning all", but that seems strange when I'm only writing to a couple of people.

Any alternatives?


texts: Meaning in Thoreau's Walden: 'whether it cannot be improved as well as not.'

texts:
I'm having a hard time parsing this phrase from H.D. Thoreau's Walden, chapter I, Economy:

  I would fain say something, not so much concerning the Chinese and Sandwich Islanders as you who read these pages, who are said to live[1] in New England; something about your condition, especially your outward condition or circumstances in this world[2], in this town, what it is, whether it is necessary that it be as bad as it is, whether it cannot be improved as well as not[3].

(http://www.gutenberg.org/files/205/205-h/205-h.htm)

My main question refers to [3]: when he says whether it cannot be improved as well as not, does he mean it in the sense of I wonder if it's possible that you just might be able to improve your condition as easy as it is to not improve it? I'm confused about his usage of as well, which can mean as easily or can mean and.

Secondary questions:
[1] are said to live = I'm told that's where my readers live, or They call the place you live New England?
[2] is it (outward condition) or (circumstances in the world), or outward (condition or circumstances) in this world?

Thank you!


texts: What does "in place" mean in the sentence "Can you do this in place?"

texts:
I have a problem  from  Cracking the coding interview book. Description is the following:
 "Given an image represented by an NxN matrix, where each pixel in the image is 4     bytes, write a method to rotate the image by 90 degrees. Can you do this in place?"

I can't understand what is meant by "in place" in the last sentence. How is it "in place"?


texts:
Before the abbreviation of country name is definite article required?
for example USA .
He arrived in USA.
Is the sentence correct?
Should we use 'the USA'?


texts: What's the difference between 'allow' and 'allow for'?

texts:
To be precise, I know that allow means to permit, and allow for is more like to make something possible, to enable, to make a provision for, but I'm still in doubt when I have to decide whether to use the preposition for or not.

For example, in the sentence taken from Google Dictionary entry used to explain usage of allow:

  They agreed to a ceasefire to allow talks with the government.

I'm not sure what I would use in this example — maybe even allow for.


texts: What is the difference between "demented" and "deranged"?

texts: Criminals who trophy their victims are the most demented/deranged.


texts: What is the name given to organisation that hosts other organisations?

texts: There are many businesses that hosts other related or unrelated business as part of their service. Example a plaza/shopping mall will have various stores, owned and operated by others, a university may host other organisations such as book stores, restaurants, computer stores etc. The University of Technology, Jamaica has an organisation/business called the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), that is a business incubator. TIC itself hosts various businesses not relating to the University. All these hosted businesses uses the address and name of their host as part of their own address.What name is given to these type of businesses that play hosts to other businesses?


texts: Single word for "Not yet fixed" or "Not yet corrected"

texts:
Unremedied seems to be a single word in M-W, but doesn't seem to be well recognized English word.

I'm looking to find a word that basically conveys, "this infraction is not yet corrected", where "not yet corrected" is the magic word you provide.


texts: Looking for a word that describes mental retardation in computer programmers

texts:
So I started writing a new blog post titled "My personal struggle with mental retardation" about how impossible it is for me to think in the simplest terms and come up with the simplest solution to a given computer programming problem.

No matter what I do, I can't help but overcomplicate almost every piece of code/application I write. My mind automatically jumps to thoughts of 'OK, I'll need to write this, this, this, and this, and I'll need to make sure to use a repository and MVVM patterns, utilize this and that library' etc. An hour of coding later and it's already spiraling out of control with features & settings that don't need to be there.

The blog post starts out reading like I have actual clinical mental retardation but then goes into the various mental processes that I went through this past week.

So I was wondering if there is an actual word directed specifically at computer programmers that implies a type of mental retardation related to their inability to "think" in simple terms and their propensity to jump ahead and overcomplicate / self sabotage their work without even realizing it.

If there is no such word… well that's your cue to help me come up with one! :P


texts: Is "calling" a gerund in "calling bell"?

texts:
In the phrase "calling bell", the word "calling" acts as what? Is it a gerund? Or is it an adjective?
If so then what kind of adjective? Similar phrases might be "revolving door", or "racing pigeon", etc. I understand that the *ing word describes the following noun, but I'm not exactly sure about its grammatical properties.


texts: How to best describe: all law, primary/secondary legislation, etc - with "laws", "acts", "statutes", "ordinances", etc?

texts:
I'm writing software that needs to have the following categories of law for a non-English speaking country:

(a) all laws

(b) primary country-wide legislation (passed by parliament)

(c) secondary country-wide legislation (issued by the executive on authorization from primary legislation)

(d) non-binding statements of parliament

(e) local legislation

(f) court verdicts

I normally use English when writing code, so would like to give these things generic English names, not specific to any country like US or UK.

Is this the best hierarchy for these:

(a) laws: all laws

(b) statutes: primary country-wide legislation (passed by parliament)

(c) ordinances: secondary country-wide legislation (issued by the executive on authorization from primary legislation)

(d) resolutions: non-binding statements of parliament

(e) local laws: local legislation

(f) verdicts: court verdicts

The bits I wonder about in particular are:

Should I use acts instead of statutes? My feeling is that acts is less specific, i.e. there's more risk that someone may hear acts and think of secondary legislation too.
Should I use acts for all laws?
Should I use one of: judgements, decrees, sentences instead of verdicts?

I understand there's no clear-cut and standardized divisions here, but am curious whether my general sense of this seems right.


texts:
The word "not" is an adverb. I am trying to clarify what it modifies.

1: Consider the sentence: "The person is not smart".

Is "not" modifying "is" or "smart"? How can I tell?

According to the Stanford Parser, the parse tree is:

(ROOT
  (S
    (NP (DT That) (NN person))
    (VP (VBZ is) (RB not)
      (ADJP (JJ smart)))
    (. .)))

2: Consider a second sentence: "That figure is not a person".

Is "not" modifying "a person"? If so, then "not" would be an adjective, yes?

(ROOT
  (S
    (NP (DT That) (NN figure))
    (VP (VBZ is) (RB not)
      (NP (DT a) (NN person)))
    (. .)))

In both cases, it looks like "not" is only  modifying the verb.


texts: Correct place for comma when two verbs are connected by a conjunction

texts:
He sets his alarm but, when the morning comes, fails to wake up.
Marcie exercises everyday and, in doing so, improves her health.

What is the correct place for the commas in the above sentences? Is it after or before the conjunction? Are the commas even necessary?


texts:
The energy source on Voyager2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart, but rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

What is the main verb of the clause followed by the coordinating conjunction but?


texts:
I’ve heard somebody say:

  All what is needed is …

I thought the correct way to phrase it was:

  All that is needed is …

However, thinking about it more, the former doesn’t sound too incorrect, albeit a bit odd. Is the former grammatically correct? Am I alone in thinking the latter sounds more natural?


texts: Is this phrase used anywhere in real world "too startled to say something"

texts:
I got this question in one of my mock tests for an exam.

Click on the image to enlarge

She was too startled at first saying something, but finally she blurted out the truth.

The website correctly points out that to say must be used in the place of saying. But I feel that something should also be replaced with anything. I feel that we need an extra word (probably adjective) after something and before the comma for the sentence to be correct.

She was too startled to say something smart, but finally blurted out the truth.

Even that doesn't sit well with the second part of the sentence.
Using anything feels much better. Am I wrong?


texts: What does 'that she thought away' mean in this poem?

texts:
I can't understand the italicized part of the following poem, My Mother at Sixty-six by Kamala Das:

  Driving from my parent’s
  home to Cochin last Friday
  morning, I saw my mother,
  beside me,
  doze, open mouthed, her face
  ashen like that
  of a corpse and realised with
  pain
  that she thought away, and
  looked but soon
  put that thought away, and
  looked out at young
  trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
  out of their homes,


texts: "In such a case" doesn't sound right. Is it necessary to use "a" ? Is it wrong if one omits it?


texts: Word to describe rebellion against one's god

texts: This is in the context of mythology, where the subject or the creation of a god tries to overthrow, challenge or directly assails the god.


texts: How is an Annexure different from an Appendix?

texts:
I am reviewing a rather large(~150 page) design document and I feel that some sections are more descriptive and overloaded with jargon. However, modifying those sections seem to dilute the point being emphasized.

Thus, I have decided to suggest the original author to abbreviate/modify some of the technical jargon and move them to a different section. The author will be required to

expand the jargon, and
explain the pertinent business context.

However, I can't decide between an Annexure and an Appendix. In my case, which one do I suggest to the original author?

Any help or suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks


texts: Is "august public official" considered an idiom, and has august always been used to refer to public officials?

texts:
Reading this article they referred to Justice Scalia as an "august public official." The phrase is also used in the book "Parade's End" by Ford Madox Ford on page 423. I can't seem to find the definition anywhere online, so what does the term "august public official" mean?

EDIT

As has been pointed out to me "august" can simply mean respected. In this case though, is "august public official" considered an idiom, and is the term always used for public figures? It looks like from the history of the word "august" coming potentially from the "augurs" that the answer might be yes, august has always been used to refer to public officials.


texts: How there are so many dialects of English in England?

texts: I was just wondering how there are so many variations of dialects in England, which isn't really a very large country, they have Brummie, Yorkie, Cockney, the one in Liverpool, I don't know what's the name for that and etc. etc. So how did these counties acquire their distinct accents? I'm looking for definitive answer and if possible with some compelling historical evidence.


texts: Can the word "agitate" be used in a positive connotation?

texts:
I came across this multiple choice question, and it's bothering me. I want to be sure before i bring it up with my teacher. Question is below:

Replace the underlined word or phrase(i quoted since i cant find the underline option) without changing the basic meaning or cause grammatical error.

This monument image was designed to "stir up" emotions of awe and respect, but could scarcely evoke feelings of warmth and affection.

A)regulate B)agitate C)tangle D)teem

The provided correct answer is A. The provided explanation is that agitate can mean to move or to stir. I'm pretty sure when used with any emotion the word agitate only have negative meanings. can someone confirm or give an example? My only concern is regarding the usage of the word "agitate". The multiple choice dont need to have an answer.


texts: which is correct while using "as" singly

texts:
Here it's supposed to be "as...as" clause but it is without context can anyone help me thanks in advance
Nikkie is a lively person ---- sister.
a)as her b)as is her c)so


texts: How do unisex names come about in English?

texts:
TL;DR
How do unisex names develop amidst, or out of, gendered ones in English (and other languages)?
Detail
In English, many (most?) names have a gender assignment of male or female. However, some are considered unisex (e.g., ‘Sam’, ‘Alex’, less contemporary examples such as ‘Evelyn’). Assuming that English generally moves from more-gendered to less-gendered rather than the other way around, I am wondering what the mechanism by which certain names are deemed unisex (or come to lose their gender exclusivity) whilst others do not.
I've come up with a few theories, but none of them entirely convince.

Someone notable bucks the trend and inspires others, e.g. the increasing popularity of ‘Rory’ for girls following Gilmore Girls. However I could only really find one example of this.

There's some linguistic/phonemic/morphlogical reason for the male-female allocation, and unisex names bridge this in a way that makes them intuitively unisex to native speakers. However, the fact that natively-English names (in true English fashion) don't seem to follow any consistent rules (e.g., ending in ‘-a’ or ‘-o’ to denote gender as in ‘Roberto’/‘Roberta’), and that certain names have different genders in other languages (e.g., ‘Andrea’ being a male name in Italian), seem to suggest that this isn't the case.

Perhaps, following on from the ‘Andrea’ example, encountering other cultures with differently-gendered names (or similar names, or false friends) led to a reduction in gender-association with those names in English. However, that evidently hasn't worked in the case of ‘Andrea’, and foreign names from further afield than Continental Europe seem to bear too little resemblance to English names.

Many unisex names are diminutive versions of gendered names (e.g., ‘Sam’ for ‘Samuel’/‘Samantha’), and as a result they must have come into existence referring to both genders initially (i.e., they are additively, rather than subtractively, unisex). Being colloquial would presumably also allow such names to develop and spread more rapidly than formal, traditional ones, in which case progressive societal/cultural influence may be more pronounced on them. This seems the most convincing explanation I've come up with, although doesn't account for many non-nickname unisex names and also doesn't seem to consistently apply to nicknames (e.g., ‘Andy’ is short for ‘Andrew’, but never ‘Andrea’ in my experience).


texts: I'm trying to teach Non-English kids the alphabet. What is a good list of words starting with A-Z?

texts:
I am writing a small software program to teach non-English-speaking kids English Alphabets from A to Z. Is there any list of simple English words which begin with each letter?

For example Apple for "A", Black or Blue or Blackboard for "B", Zebra for "Z", Snake for "S", etc?

Is there any book for teaching the English alphabet to non-English-speaking kids so I can borrow a list of words for every letter?

I found this list, But some words seem strange and unfamiliar to kindergarten kids. Do you have a better recommendation?

A - Apple
B - Ball
C - Cat
D - Dog
E - Egg
F - Fan
G - Goat
H - Hand
I - Indian
J - Jam
K - King
L - Lamp
M - Man
N - Nurse
O - Owl
P - Pizza
Q - Queen
R - Rail
S - Sun
T - Tiger
U - Umbrella
V - Vase
W - Woman
X - Box
Y - Yard
Z - Zoo


texts:
Which alternative is correct (or better to use, if both are correct)

  Every American, Australian, and Canadian speak English

or

  Every American, every Australian, and every Canadian speak English

That is, should one place the word "every" before each object, or is it sufficient to place it once at the beginning of the sentence?


texts: Does anyone pronounce the verb “perfect” as they would the adjective?

texts: Is there anyone who pronounces the verb perfect as they would the adjective? For instance, would anyone say “I need to p[schwa]r-fikt my project”?


texts:
"The cat crawls from one end of the table to the other, entering at the one end and exiting at the other"

I am researching a speech, and part of the talk is about saying things in a concise manner.

In Afrikaans, we have a saying "Die kat kruip onderdeur die tafel." Roughly translated to English, it means "The cat crawls from one end of the table to the other, entering at the one end and exiting at the other" which in itself is not 100% correct, because the Afrikaans version implies that the cat was not under the table in the first place.

I can think of "The cat passes underneath the table" and that is as close as I can get, but the meaning of the word "passes" means it can roll, dart, crawl or even hoola-hoop from the one end to the other, so it does not really mean the same thing.

I would really feel like a fool if I go and do my speech, and a member from the audience chimes up with the correct version. How can I say the English version of this phrase shorter and/or more accurately?


texts: How to punctuate a question containing two sentences

texts:
In the following

  Does this mean that the wood needs to fit inside of a ten by ten
  square, and if we go beyond this, we start stacking a new layer of
  wood? Then at the very end of our calculations, we add 4 inches to
  each side to account for packaging?

Since this is all one long question, should the first question mark be a question mark, a period, or a semicolon?


texts: Hypernym for "radio button" and "checkbox"?

texts:
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since I'm coding a shared css class for radio buttons and checkboxes, I would like to word it with the appropriate hypernym.

Kind regards


texts:
Is it possible for noun "information" to take on content clause as below?

"I have some information that there is a guy with a gun in the building."

"I have some information that a girl was cheating on you with the another boy."

Thank you!


texts:
Which of the following sentences has correct comma usage?

a) They themselves can state their feelings.
b) They themselves, can state their feelings.
c) They, themselves, can state their feelings.


texts:
The closing decades of an artist’s life do not generally make the biographer’s heart beat faster, but Claude Monet is one of a handful of painters who bucks the pattern of an irrelevant old age. While it’s true that by the time he was 73 he had accumulated all the usual dragging baggage – outhouses full of fancy cars, a taste for expensive wine and a sprawl of dependants – it was also now that he produced career-defining work. More specifically, he produced what he called his Grande Décoration, consisting of those eight giant waterlily murals that curve around the Orangerie des Tuileries in Paris.
Could you help me understand the meaning of highlighted words in this context?
Thanks in advance.


texts: What's the difference between something that it is "connected" and "interconnected?"

texts:
I always thought that inter means that the elements I'm talking about has a relation with another one. The word "connected" already has this meaning.
So when I read "interconnected" I think about: "something attach-idly joined to another"

I would appreciate if someone can explain this to me.


texts:
Can I use "similar to" at the beginning of a sentence?

For example, Similar to the proof showing x=1, we have y=1.

Or I should say "it is similar to the proof showing x=1, we have y=1".


texts: I thought the phrase "till soon" was a correct alternative to "see you soon", but after searching online it doesn't seem to be. I've used it quite frequently, so now I'm wondering, how weird will this have sounded to a native speaker?


texts: What does “Somebody is too much in one’s head” mean in contrast to “Somebody is in over one’s head”?

texts:
There was the article titled “Thunder Road” in New York Times’ (January 11) that began with the following sentence

“I have learned two things covering politics. One, first impressions
are often right. John Edwards is slick. Hillary Clinton is expedient.
W. was in over his head. Barack Obama is too much in his head. Chris
Christie can be a bully.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/dowd-thunder-road.html?hp&rref=opinion

What does “Someone is too much in his head” imply in contrast to “Somebody is in over one’s head”? Does it mean he is smart, but lacks the power to fulfill his promises and plans?
We call a person who is intelectual but lacks action and power to execute “Atamadekkachi -頭でっかち –  man with a too big head’ in Japanese. Is someone ‘being too much in his head’ equivalent to “Atamadekkachi"?


texts: Is it possible to say "I take myself with a grain of salt?"

texts: Does the phrase  "I take myself with a grain of salt?" mean "I think about myself sceptically"? Or it doesn't? Either the first phrase have no sense at all?


texts: I have a question... Say people kidnapped you and then you escaped a little while later. You run away and they are chasing you currently. Are they still your captors, or are they now something else?


texts:
Is there a single word that refers to the type of word that the words dawn, morning, afternoon, evening, ect are?

I'm looking for something more specific than 'time.'


texts:
Does anybody know the rule in grammar that describes what the two verbs, "sleep" and "charge" have in common?

Can "put to charge" be a valid part of some sentence? like "I put my phone to charge". I feel like it should be valid but still feels sounds/weird.


texts:
The two words have a pretty similar meaning of 'malicious trick' or 'deception scheme'. My impression is that 'hoax' is more formal on one hand and more wicked, less playful on the other hand.

Surely there are many contexts in which they are not likely to be interchangeable. I'd like to hear what are the native-speakers' impressions on the subtle differences between the two terms

In particular, what would you choose in:

  "UFO stories are probably the greatest/biggest hoax ever played on mankind"

.

Do you use the verb 'to play' with 'hoax'? What are the most usual alternatives, is 'perpetrate' too formal?


texts:
Google defines pithy as "(of language or style) terse and vigorously expressive."

However from the meaning of pith with respect to fruits, the word doesn't seem to contain the attribute of being terse. i.e. when describing a sentence or exposition as pithy I would be figuratively saying it contains a lot of pith/meat.

So I'm wondering if being terse or succinct is a connotation of pithy, or is it not necessary. Can a long sentence or exposition that has substance be called pithy?


texts: How did 'pretty' semantically shift from 'beautiful' to 'not a few, considerable'?

texts:
Etymonline and OED don't expound what semantic notions underlie beauty and momentousness.

  Connection between Old English and Middle English words is uncertain, but if they are the same, meaning had shifted by c. 1400 to "manly, gallant," and later moved via "attractive, skillfully made," to "fine," to "beautiful in a slight way" (mid-15c.). Ironical use from 1530s. For sense evolution, compare nice, silly. Also used of bees (c. 1400). "After the OE. period the word is unknown till the 15th c., when it becomes all at once frequent in various senses, none identical with the OE., though derivable from it" [OED].

  Meaning "not a few, considerable" is from late 15c. With a sense of "moderately," qualifying adjectives and adverbs, since 1560s.


texts:
Why is this definition used to refer to the specific business  shown in the extract below, and what is its literal meaning?

The island's idiosyncratic “junket” system helps to bring rich Chinese to Macau. Junkets are middlemen who lend high-rollers money, arrange accommodation and are paid around 40% of the casinos' take in return. […]  A government official who has embezzled state funds, for example, may arrange to gamble in Macau through a junket. When he arrives, his chips are waiting for him. When he cashes out, his winnings are paid in Hong Kong dollars, which he can stash in a bank in Hong Kong or take farther afield.
From The Economist


texts: What is the sign, used in documentation, that means illegible--in the same fashion as [sic]?

texts: For example, if you're transcribing something into a digital format and a segment is too illegible to be transcribed, what parenthetical element should you put in that segment? I remember that there is such a sign, but I can't find a reference for it.


texts: I have seen both usages, and want to learn how to choose the appropriate option.


texts:
Is there a single word for an unfamiliar situation or a better way of wording this?
If a situation is unfamiliar to you.


texts: "Childish", "puerile" and "juvenile" which is more derogative?

texts:
In order to scorn someone's behaviour, excuse etc., we can define it as childish or puerile, juvenile. In my register, they are graded down in that order. Is it right, or is there any difference in meaning or connotation?

Eg.,

  "That was a rather childish/ puerile excuse."


texts:
Can you say "you'll hurt me more if you wouldn't."

If the person wouldn't do this thing they talk about now, in the future it will hurt the person more- you know for a fact that it'll hurt.

Another example: if you wouldn't take care of this now it will get worse


texts: Is asking someone if they are a Zionist considered offensive? Is it equivalent to asking someone about their religious or political affiliations?


texts:
Is there a word that represents the act of writing a phrase on something? In this case, I'm trying to advertise a club by "engraving" or "inking" ping pong balls with a phrase such as "Join this club."

Engraving is close, but you can't engrave ping pong balls, and "inking" is close but doesn't sound right.


texts: What's the term given to names with "The" in the middle of them, for example; "Robert The Red" or "James The Great"?


texts: Which is the more etymologically accurate form, "cyberocracy" or "cybercracy"?

texts: In bibliographical sources, the term "cyberocracy" is the one used mostly but it makes more sense to me the term "cybercracy". So I would like to know which of the two is more accurate etymologically.


texts:
What's the meaning of p2's comment?

  P1: My gf is a doctor and she makes twice as much as I do. F-k I feel like a weird mother f-ker. She makes all the bling at home. I only make around 42k a year as a fund accountant :(. Although she owes a sh-t ton in loans and I'm debt free.

  P2: "I'm debt free."
  Game. Set. Match.


texts: What is/are the synonym/s for 'to move to sit closer to someone'?

texts:
I have a couple of things in mind, but I'm not sure if they can be applied to sitting position.

For example, if I'm sitting on the other end of the couch, and then I move to sit closer to someone else, then I ______ closer.

Things I thought of were shuffle, huddle, snuggle. Are they all correct in this particular situation? Are there any other possible variants?

There's also a phrasal verb on the tip of my tongue, "______ up".

Thanks!


texts:
The meaning of the term I'm looking for is something to the effect of:

  the feeling that one person's gestalt leaves in another person's psyche

Or, to say the same thing in a clearer (thanks to the comments) way:

  the feeling left in one's psyche by another person's gestalt

This quote from the show House should help make the concept's meaning clear:

  You're abrasive and annoying and come on way too strong, like... vindaloo curry. When you're crazy about curry, that's fine, but no matter how much you love curry, you have too much of it, it takes the roof of your mouth off. And then you never want to see curry for a really, really long time... but you wake up one day and you think... god I really miss curry.

The speaker is attempting to convey the feeling that the protagonist's gestalt has in her psyche (by drawing an analogy to vindaloo curry). She is attempting to communicate the protagonist's... what???

Words, phrases, or idioms preferred.


texts:
Is "crease up a paper" an idiomatically correct expression for the action of taking a piece of paper in your hands and pressing it into a ball? The action you would do, for example, if rejecting something you have written on a paper, before throwing it into the trash can.

Are there other idiomatic expressions for the same thing, and when would they be used? Is there a word for the result of this action – the "ball" of paper?

Edit: The title now reflects the correct expression.


texts: A word for the "urge" to point out others' minor mistakes, not to define this phenomenon

texts:
The words "nitpicking" and "pedantic" actually define this phenomenon of pointing out others' minor mistakes. I have only this urge to do the nitpicking; I don't necessarily point out that petty mistake but I really have this urge to do the nitpicking and give a damn care to the exasperated sighs.

So, is there a good word for this "urge to do the nitpicking"?

Again, I am not asking for words that define this nitpicking phenomenon, just the urge to uphold it.

Edit (choosing the answer):

I kind of liked the phrase obsessive-compulsive corrector suggested by GMB below... its only shortcoming being its being sort of a medical jargon (as well as a phrase).

Then I rediscovered the term twitch, which relates broadly to my urge.

Ermanen came up with probably the best answer — censorious. At first, I didn't like the word, since it described me as a person who finds fault in almost everything. But I guess I can soften it — "I am just a little bit of censorious."


texts: Semi-colon, comma, or two separate sentences?

texts:
Which of these is correct:

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Thanks; I appreciate it.


texts: I need help with selecting correct title for technical article

texts:
I am a technical writer, tasked with producing a tutorial on PHP programming. In the latest work on the series, I've titled my article:
"An Overview of PHP Data Types and Variable Concepts"

The editorial team is asking whether the title should be "...Variable Concepts" or "...Variables Concepts". Which title would be correct both technically and grammatically?

Note: There are multiple types of "data" and multiple types of "variables" in the PHP Programming language.


texts: is there a word or phrase meaning "to falsely believe one's opinion/feedback is being considered"?

texts:
Here is an example: In a conversation, one is asked their opinion regarding a decision, but the decision has already been made—so the individual being asked is led to believe (falsely) that their opinion might have an impact on the outcome.

  "Jane [falsely believed her opinion was considered] when her boss asked her who she thought was the best candidate for a job; however, she was not aware that her boss had already selected a candidate to hire."

Or perhaps there is a word meaning "to believe one's opinion is being considered" and the proper use would be to add "falsely" before that word.


texts: What is the best word to describe a thing is large, complicated and intelligent?

texts: I am writing a description for our product to present in a small demonstration next week. I've built a system that serves people to save time and utilize/optimize their work. I intend to write about that system like "a large, complicated and intelligent system", but I feel it's quite non-sense, rough and not attractive much to people. Can anyone suggest me a word, or term to let people think about it not only smart, helpful, insightful but also large and complicated? (Because our 10 man team has built it for over 1.5 year).  Thank you so much.


texts: Explaining the comparative form of "numb"

texts:
The most common definition I have of numb is:

"Deprived of the power of sensation."
"Deprived of feeling or responsiveness."

These definitions show up in nearly the same form in multiple dictionaries, yet I see comparative and superlative forms "number" and "numbest" listed as well. I understand numb to mean complete deprivation of feeling, and so here's my question.

I had a student write the sentence: His fingers got number the longer he stayed outside. She asked if it was correct (because the spelling looked funny to her; it looked like number, as in "the number seven"), and I told her that numb didn't need a comparative form because it implied complete lack of sensation. I told her she could phrase a sentence His fingers slowly became numb... to signify that he was getting colder, but that she should not use numb in a comparative or superlative sense. Can somebody explain to me the reasoning for the comparative and superlative forms of this word. As well, I have the same problem with "wet, wetter, wettest."


texts: "In my spare time" vs. "on my spare time"

texts:
E.g., "On my spare time I'm working on an essay" or "In my spare time I'm working on an essay".

Which is correct? Both in/on are prepositions, but "in my spare time" sounds more idiomatic to me. A friend corrected me, and now I'm curious.

Which is correct (or are both)?.


texts: Why do people use "I hear that..." when talking about the past?

texts:
I often see that people write ‘I hear that…’ meaning the past. For example:

  I hear that Sally has won in lottery.

(If I remember correctly it is used in English Grammar in use by Cambridge University)

Why is it used? Shouldn’t be ‘I heard that…’ when we mean the past?


texts:
Could we say "sheds some important insights"?

E.g. The discussion sheds some important insights for optimizing an HTML parser

If this is not appropriate, what is a nice way to express the same idea?


texts: Confusion about usage of tenses with 'during'

texts:
Please look at the following

a) During the last year, two shops have been built in the city centre of town.

Can anyone please tell me why has present perfect been used and why not simple past?

b) During the last year, two shops were built in the city centre of town.

What is the difference between the a) and b) ?

Please explain to me clearly, as it is really confusing me.

Thank you.


texts: What is the right description of the word "squeaky" in "squeaky clean"?

texts:
Is squeaky in "squeaky clean" an onomatopoeia? Is there a right word to describe this word, other than simply an "adjective"? It's something that uses the description of a sound as an adjective.

This word is simply a form of "imagery". However, I'm still not sure how I would go about describing this word. "An adjective eliciting imagery"? Is that actually describing onomatopaeia?


texts: Using "subway" as name for London Underground?

texts:
Here in America, I was taught in the mid-60s by disc jockeys playing the Petula Clark song that in the UK "subway" means a pedestrian tunnel beneath a street, not an urban rail transit system. But on today's rerun of "The Saint", an episode set in London, a character with a British accent says to Mr. Templar, "She committed suicide. She stepped off a subway platform right in front of a train." This episode is in color, meaning it was made around 1968-69.

So can subway be used for the Tube  as well?


texts:
I'm looking for a single word in English that means something akin to "one who searches"  or "one who searches for meaning."  I am hoping for a rustic/obscure word (not a commonly used word), but not a word that's tricky to pronounce.

It could be a verb as in 'searching for meaning' in hard circumstances, for example:

  She _____ after her son's death.

or it could be a noun, as in 'one who searches for anything/everything' as in:

  If she wasn't searching for the meaning of life, then she was searching for the answer to why we look away from the poor, or why lovers break up, or even why one of her old socks always disappeared in the dryer. Yes, indeed, she was a ____.

(Okay that example is hockey, but you get my drift....)


texts:
How can I express that an explanation is clear, considering the intrinsic difficulty of the topic? I mean that the explanation might not be easy to understand, if the subject matter is intrinsically hard, but a superlatively adjectivy explanation is one that is as clear as it can get. Someone who frequently produces such explanations could be said to have good teaching skills.
What's a good word to substitute for adjectivy?

The word that comes to my mind is the French word “pédagogique”, which a dictionary describes as meaning roughly “as coming from a good teacher”. Unfortunately the corresponding English word has negative connotations instead.


texts:
I'm wondering where the phrase originates.

  Who's 'she', the cat's mother?

  (idiomatic, somewhat dated, Britain, New England)
  A rebuke especially directed towards children for having referred to a woman as "she", instead of using her name or an appropriately respectful title.

  "She's coming on the trip with us too!"
  "Who's 'she', the cat's mother?"
  "Sorry, gran is coming with us too."
  — wiktionary

From grammarphobia.com, etc., can see it goes back to at least 1897 but I'm having problems finding the origin.

I see various discussions on Yahoo, Word Origins but so far nothing authorative.

  Here are the OED’s citations for such reprimands, which date from the late 19th century:

  “Don’t call your mamma ‘she.’ ‘She’ is a cat” (from The Beth Book, by Frances Macfall, writing as Sarah Grand, 1897).

  “ ‘Who’s She?’ demanded Nurse. ‘She’s the cat’s
  mother’ ” (from Compton Mackenzie’s novel Sinister Street, 1913).
  — grammarphobia.com

EDIT.
One 100% unsubstantiated theory I read was she was short for she-cat, so particularly unsuitable for referring to female elders within earshot, but who knows if this has any truth!

  And where did the cat come from? Well, a male cat is a tom; a female cat is a she, or more often, a she-cat. So, 'she' is for cats. (And Not Your Mother!)
  — everything2.com


texts: what is the word for person who always helps family but never helps friends?

texts: I know one guy who always helps his own family and relatives but he never ever helps his friends. How to call that person ?


texts: Does 'fever' share an etymology with 'fervent, fervid, or fervour'?

texts:
The ODO entry for 'fervent' recommends to:

  Compare with fervid and fervour.

I did read Etymonline's entry for 'fever' which doesn't explicitly answer this, but I think that I'd need to know rare linguistic variants to compare the etymologies and 'read between the lines' ?

Footnote: This article on the 'fiery' US TV series 'House of Cards'  inspired this question.


texts: "Many of them [adjective]" vs "many of which are [adjective]"

texts:
I encountered this sentence in a book:

"Scattered across the North American continent were about 500 different groups, many of them nomadic."

Should the last clause be replaced with "many of which were nomadic"? I could find nothing with a quick Google search.


texts: When referring to a singular drink of Starbucks would it be a 'starbuck' or a 'starbucks'?

texts: When just talking about one coffee cup from Starbucks, you can refer to it as a Starbuck's drink but when you only call it like a 'Starbucks' would it be with or without the s.


texts: What is the difference between an echelon and a rank?

texts:
I am talking in terms of military ranks and structures.

Throughout various sources, I see the two words being used interchangeably, but I cannot still see any clear distinction between the two.

From Cambridge Dictionary:

  echelon

  a particular level or group of people within an organization such as an army or company:

  These salary increases will affect only the highest echelons of local government.

  the upper echelons of society

Here "particular level or group" to me sounds like it refers to certain ranks of that military group.

I also saw this (Collins Dictionary):

  An echelon in an organization or society is a level or rank in it.

So in some sense it seems to me that they are used interchangeably.


texts: What is the difference in meaning between a "variable" and a "parameter" in a given equation?

texts: Especially in mathematical usage, do variable and parameter mean the same thing? If not, can you explain the difference in meaning and usage?


texts:
Is there a word (or a phrase at least) that means to love in a hating way (hatefully, execrably) ?

There is "Love–hate relationship" but it is more like a psychological term. I'm looking for a "noun" or "verb" mainly.


texts: How are least, lowest, and fewest used differently?

texts:
I recently wanted to ask "What is the lowest number of people?" Then I questioned whether either "What is the least number of people?" or "What is the fewest number of people?" is a superior alternative.

My guess is that the "fewest number" option is the best, grammatically speaking. Is it? In what ways are the words least, lowest, and fewest used differently?

Thank you!


texts:
I'm trying to explain to someone why you can't say:

  In the heat of the moment Frank forgot to offer Beth a seat

I may even be wrong, but shouldn't you positively do something in the heat of the moment rather than nothing?

Please help out, and many thanks.


texts: What do you call culturally specific virtues?

texts:
I am writing a paragraph but I am not happy where I refer to "culturally specific virtues". Virtues are seen as almost universally positive human characteristics but a few are seen by some cultures as negative.

What do you call a cultural specific virtues that are not virtues universally but can be negative dependent on the culture/country you are in?

From Merriam Webster virtue meaning is

  a : conformity to a standard of right : morality
  b : a particular moral excellence
  2 : a beneficial quality or power of a thing
  3 : manly strength or courage : valor
  4 : a commendable quality or trait :merit
  5 : a capacity to act : potency
  6 : chastity especially in a woman

I wouldn't say chastity is a virtue anymore as some cultures see it as positive e.g. Middle eastern and other cultures see it as positive. In Western society it has  negative connotations e.g. loser, inexperienced.

In the move Gladiator Commodus says the following:

  "You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance. As I read the list, I knew I had none of them. But I have other virtues, father. Ambition. That can be a virtue when it drives us to excel. Resourcefulness, courage, perhaps not on the battlefield, but... there are many forms of courage. Devotion, to my family and to you. But none of my virtues were on your list. Even then it was as if you didn't want me for your son..."

Ambition is seen as negative in some cultures where that society values equality but seen as a positive trait in cultures.


texts: Referring pronoun in multiple clauses sentence

texts:
"I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little
  hand, his father’s finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his
  life."
      - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927-2014)

The word 'him' here at the last clause refer to the baby or father?


texts: What is that feeling one gets when they are about to sneeze?

texts:
You know you have a sneeze coming, and you do that, haah haaah, the nose gets this odd feeling but the sneeze doesn't happen.

What's this feeling/thing called?


texts:
I am wondering if there is a symbol or glyph to represent the conjunct "and/or". I doubt there is a formal, de jure symbol (i.e., found in any manual of style or dictionary), but I cannot even find any references to de facto usages, nor even invented symbols for it.

Is the virgule the only symbol for it? Is there no other shorthand to represent the concept? Is that sufficient to capture the full meaning (either one or both) of the pair? (If so, I find it peculiar that the virgule is already present in "and/or", and yet can take the place of the whole construct.)

There are a couple of questions regarding "and/or" here, and some of them come peripherally close, but none of them quite touch on this issue.


texts: In a combination of two vowels (such as "ae"), what rule determines if the first ("a") or second ("e") is silent?

texts:
In a combination of two vowels (such as "ae"), what English rule determines if the first ("a") or second ("e") is silent?

For example, in the word "praetor", the vowel "a" is silent but in the word "maelstrom" the vowel "e" is silent.


texts: Should I repeat the person's name in the following cases?

texts:
John's mother forbade me to come to John's funeral.
John's mother forbade me to come to his funeral.
Could John's mother have been right? Could I have been the one responsible for John's death?
Could John's mother have been right? Could I have been the one responsible for his death?

Which version is more common among native English speaker? The second cases prevent repetition, but at the same time they read as if his is a pronoun belonging to the mother. Maybe I'm mistaken?
(Now that I think of it, the last example doesn't read as if his belongs to the mother. Maybe because they are separate sentences. I'm not very sure.)


texts: Which definition is more used for "determine"?

texts:
I've seen "determine" used for two completely different meanings:

Zeus' mood will determine tomorrow's weather. (determine = control, dictate)

The weather forecaster will determine tomorrow's weather. (determine = forecast, predict)

Are these meanings used equally often, or is one much more common than the other?


texts: Architectual or other word meaning "at the base/foundation of" or makes up the "lower boundary of"?

texts:
This might be a little confusing, but is there a word, similar to "bounded by" (which refers to all sides) or "flanked by" (which refers to left and right sides), but meaning the "lower boundary of" or "the base/foundation of"?

For example, I want to write this:

"He looked at the lobby which [blanked] the ten story building."

Where [blanked] acts like "flanked" but on the bottom/foundation of.

Of course I can say, "He looked at the lobby which was at the base of the ten story building." or "He looked at the lobby at the base of the ten story building." but that sounds wordy or inelegant.

Thanks!


texts: Is “Love did compose” personification, or is it something else?

texts:
In Andrew Marvell’s poem ‘The Fair Singer’ he writes that love did compose:

  To make a final conquest of all me,
  Love did compose so sweet an enemy,
  In whom both beauties to my death agree,
  Joining themselves in fatal harmony;
  That while she with her eyes my heart does bind,
  She with her voice might captivate my mind.

I am unsure what the term is for giving human traits to an abstract thing such as love, fear, and such. Is it personification or something else?


texts:
Is it correct to use between or among in the following sentence?
Plus, should it be no offset  or no offsets?

  In the current application, it is assumed that the origins of the lasers have no offset(s) between (among) them.

It should be pointed out that there are more than two lasers.


texts: I'm looking for this word that means showing understanding or assent but may be faux assent

texts:
The word had been used with "nodding [such-ly]".  If I remember correctly, the person I heard this from was describing one of the attributes you needed to be a manager was to be able to listen to someone and "nod" this way, maybe rubbing your chin with your hand or something to signal to that person that you are listening (even if you're not).

There is even a Wikipedia article about this word, but I cannot remember it at all.

At 58-y.o., this is one of the few times i hear a new word i never heard before (and look it up). Unfortunately, i forgot it right after.


texts:
Is the first sentence a run-on?  Should the second sentence use ":" instead of ";"?

  Here's giving you the courtesy of informing you, beforehand, that
  Rahul, a new housemate, will be moving in this week. He appears to be
  a very calm guy; staid and easygoing.


texts: What to say when someone says, "What's up?"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is an appropriate response to “what’s up” greeting?
  Response to “What's up?” in various conversations

I recently came back from US, Over there I noticed people say What's Up all the time, and even in movies and shows that I watch. But when someone said that to me I was like "What I am supposed to say" I am just sitting here doing nothing, so I always said hesitantly "Nothing". I am one of people who are always doing nothing, so It was really a pain. So what is it that is supposed to be said when someone says?


texts:
Is it appropriate to say See you there if I won't be there myself?

For example, I say to my colleague:

  See you at the concert!

I won't be at this concert, but I can watch it on TV and so see the colleague.

Or I'm saying to my friend:

  See you on the football field!

I won't play,  but I will be on stands watching my friend.


texts: “My birthday is not even for 3 days.” - what does this sentence mean?

texts:
My birthday is not even for 3 days.

This sentence is from a movie. How is it interpreted for native speakers?

As I know, the preposition "for" usually if time is related means during.
So I thought that the duration of birthday is 3 days. but in reality,
it is impossible that a birthday is more than one day.

Others say that the meaning of above sentence is like three days away from the moment speaker is telling.

I want to know a general approach to the interpretation in detail.

Please, help me.


texts:
Can "lessen" be interchangeably used with "reduce"?

The government is implementing its new policy to reduce unemployment rate.

Is it okay to use "lessen" instead of using "reduce"?

Could "lessen" be used when we're talking about rates?


texts:
What is the pronunciation of mutinous?
I looked at the pronunciation reported in a dictionary, which uses /ˈmjutn=əs/ as American English IPA transcription, but I don't understand which sound should be associated with /=/. I have already seen /ː/ used in British English IPA, but it is the first time I see /=/.


texts:
Cut to the chase: While listening to the record 2.0 Boys by Slaughterhouse I've noticed that Joell Ortiz and Joe Budden pronounce such sequence of sounds — namely "I don't know" around 1:55 and "I don't need" in 3:21, respectively — as indicated.

Could somebody clarify the issue technically, in phonetic terms?

You can hear the song here.


texts: Does the construction "X is not as Y as Z" imply that X is less Y than Z, or just not equivalent?

texts:
For example, if I say "pop tarts are not as delicious as sushi" does that necessarily imply that I think pop tarts are less delicious than sushi or just that they have a different level of deliciousness?  Could it imply that I think pop tarts are, in fact, more delicious than sushi?

Thanks for any comments you have.


texts: Term for "pretending outrage to escape a conversation"

texts:
I'm looking for a term that describes when a person is pretending to be offended in order to end a confrontation. The key here is that the offense is perceived only because the person wishes to use it as leverage to leave the discussion.

Below is a poor example, but it's the best generic one I can come up with:

  A: [Does action].

  B: I think it's mean when you do [action].

  A: You called me mean! We're done here.