texts: Another way to say "will particpate in?"

texts:
I'm trying to say that someone will be participating in a golf event.

Steve Jones **will be participating in the PGA..... **


texts:
Sometimes I adjective my verbs (as opposed to verbing my nouns), making up a new word in the process:

  Friday nights are unwindy nights

(unwindy night ~= night for unwinding)

If I do this, is there any case for "dangling" the y off of the end of the verb like so:

  Friday nights are unwind-y nights

or is that more confusing?


texts: What's correct in my sentence: those or them?

texts:
I am writing my project and I am stuck on this sentence:

  The task is to find domain walls and draw THEM/THOSE using different colors depending on the angle between adjacent domains.

I would write THEM, but MS Word keeps correcting it to "those". Which one is correct?


texts:
What is the grammatically correct way to say the following sentence?

  "I have come away with a new found respect for the author..."

or

  "I have come away with a newly found respect for the author..."


texts: What is the opposite of a stage whisper?

texts:
So a stage whisper is defined as (American Heritage Dictionary):

  The conventional whisper of an actor, intended to be heard by the audience but supposedly inaudible to others on stage.
  A whisper that can be or is intended to be overheard.

Is there any good description of the opposite? For example, if I'm in a crowded place, and I mock-yell under my breath so that only I or a single friend am actually aware of it, how could we describe that?


texts:
on September 29 2014
in September 29 2014

I know with months, we should use in, and with days, we should use on. However I find the American way in writing the month before the day in dates to be confusing. Should we use on here because we are referring to a day or should we use in because it immediately precedes a month? On seems more appropriate to me here, but since I am not a native speaker I thought I should ask.


texts:
Is it correct to use is rather than are in this question?

  Where is my mother and father?

Grammatically, it should be where are my mother and father? but, for some strange reason, I think I would use where is my mother and father? and I can't explain why that is.  Perhaps, I used this structure before while growing up, without knowing all of the grammar "rules"; if there is an explanation for it, that would be great.


texts: Word or phrase for a sudden change of day to night

texts:
I am looking for a word of phrase that would describe the abrupt change of day to night, similar to what you can witness closer to the Earth's equator. The phrase will be used for a name of a tune.
Something that comes to my mind is in the lines of:

night's break in
barging of night

but I am unable to find this exact wording used anywhere


texts: Writing a personal narrative and wondering if this application of present tense mixes with most of the sentence, which is in past tense

texts:
This sentence doesn't sound all that right, but at the same time I think it is.

  I grabbed underwear, a tee with red sleeves and khaki shorts and
  headed for the master bathroom, which houses the only tub I want to
  take a shower in, which I then did after locking the door and
  grabbing soap.

The event I'm writing about was literally last week, and because of that all of my habits apparent in the writing still stick with me. Is that [the bold words] the proper application of present tense within past tense?


texts: Quoting poor English in a news article? I don't often see "[sic]"

texts:
I don't stumble upon "[sic]" as I read newspapers.  I think it's safe to assume that plenty of those who are quoted in articles have botched their grammar more often than not.  Here's what I'm asking:

Are grammatical errors overlooked in the editing process when it comes to quotes?  Are they fixed and the errors are swept under the table?

I've seen some related questions asked here on this forum, but they didn't answer my questions adequately.


texts: Can "abscond" be used as a transitive verb?

texts:
BACKGROUND
All the online dictionaries that I've consulted, Oxford, Merriam-Webster, etc, list "abscond" as an intransitive verb, a verb that does not take an object. Not unless with the help of a preposition such as "with" and "from". Here are the intransitive uses of the verb as shown in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, :

She absconded (=escaped) from every children’s home they placed her in.
He absconded (=left secretly) with the company funds.

That said, I was reading this Huffington Post article on grammar titled "Getting Grammatical: What's the Big Deal With the Passive Voice?" by David Kudler, an "expert" on writing, I guess.
There, I came across this use of "abscond" in the passive voice:

These folks loved the passive voice, for the same reason that less-experienced writers everywhere do: they thought that, because it’s more complicated, it would sound more sophisticated or official. In fact, the opposite is the case. My students would write things like The suspect was apprehended by this officer instead of I arrested her or The vehicle which had been absconded with was pursued by me in my police vehicle instead of I followed the stolen Ford Taurus in my police car. Honest to goodness -- they really did write this stuff. If you were a jury or a supervisor, which would you find clearer and more effective?

(Boldface mine.)
In context, I don't think the author intended the example sentence having abscond to be ungrammatical, because he wanted it to be grammatical but less clear and less effective than the active-voice counterpart.
At first, I thought that the passive was possible here because the phrase "abscond with" acted as a single unit and took the object "which". So I thought that "with" there might not be left out.
But then, I did some research and, to my surprise, found both AmE and BrE uses of "abscond" in the passive voice without "with" or "from" following it.

A separate investigation into how the children were absconded Sept. 19 from Forestdale Child Agency in Queens during a supervised visit is still continuing. (From CBS New York, "Mom Accused Of Abducting 8 Children Tells Her Side Of The Story")
However, Stella McCartney (recipient of the Red Carpet Award) and 40-year-old Stella Tennant (a worthy Model of the Year whose three-decade career has just enjoyed one of its busiest years) had gone missing in action, lost somewhere on the journey from the ceremony to the party. By the time we located them (no, McCartney hadn't been absconded by the rock-and-roll set: "My days of running off with Kate Moss are over," she promised), dinner had been served. (From Telegraph, "British Fashion Award 2011: Fashion's most talented line-up in a generation")

QUESTIONS

(1) In the first use of the word (Huffington Post), is "with" obligatory?
(2) I don't know if the latter two uses are simply editing mistakes wherein the editor mistakenly omitted "with". Or are these simply legitimate uses that have yet to show up in some of the dictionaries that I consulted?


texts: What did "pop a cap" mean, other than "shoot someone," in the 19th century?

texts:
Popping a cap

Green's Dictionary of Slang defines "pop a cap" as:

  to fire a weapon; to shoot someone.

In recent uses, the slang meaning is clear, and often extended to "pop a cap (in somebody's ass)."  For example in this citation from 2000:

  F.X. Toole Rope Burns 165: If some fool of whatever color was coming to kill him, he’d pop a cap in his ass in a heartbeat.

The two earliest attested dates provided in GDoS are 1865 and 1953.  The 1953 citation clearly carries the same meaning, "to shoot someone."

  ‘Death Row’ in D. Wepman et al. Life 118: I popped four caps through his chest with my piece.

The 1865 citation, at first glance, seems to carry the same meaning:

  in B.L. Ridley Battles and Sketches of the Army of Tennessee 454: My men halloo out: ‘Lie down, Mr. Govan, Mr. Bate is now gwine to pop a cap’.

Strange early uses

Looking through early uses of "pop a cap," I found some strange instances that made me wonder if they actually are referring to something other than firing a gun, or shooting someone.  These two stood out in particular.  First, from 1874:

  A son of Col. Thomas, a little fellow of about seven years, had gone over to the Institute, and while there was a boy of thirteen or fourteen years of age, who had a shot gun in his hands, pointed it at the little fellow and pulled the trigger.  It was his intention to pop a cap at him, having no idea that the gun was loaded.

The Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, North Carolina)03 Mar 1874, Tue

In this first example, the phrasing suggests that the shooter had not intended to actually fire a bullet, but rather only to "pop a cap at him."

From 1888:

  After Dixie was played Governor Gordon was called for by the crowd and came forward to acknowledge the compliment.  He said the gun was loaded for to-morrow, and he would not discharge it to-night.  "Well, then, pop a cap," said a voice in the crowd.  The Governor said it was already popped, and thanked them again for the serenade.

The Critic (Washington, District of Columbia)05 Oct 1888, Fri

Once again, this text suggests that "popping a cap" is an alternative of sorts to shooting, or "discharging" a gun.  Furthermore, the phrase "it was already popped," while possibly meant as a joke, seems to make the context even stranger.

Questions

In these early uses from the 19th century, including the early attestation provided in GDoS and the two example clippings above, what is meant by "pop a cap?"  Does it still refer to firing a gun in all cases?  Does it mean something different in the two cases mentioned above?

Finally, if "pop a cap" meant something else in the 19th century, how did it evolve into the 20th century meaning, referring simply to shooting somebody (or something)?


texts: I'm designing an interface of a web-based application and want to let users increase their credit amount online in one of its sections. What is a label for this action? Is there a technical banking term for it, or should I use a simple term like credit increase?


texts:
I have a question regarding the sentence below.

  Before the guards can move to block your path, you hear "Let him
  speak."

Is this direct speech? And do I need a comma after hear? The word hear confuses me a bit because it is not a standard dialogue tag like "she said" or "he asked." Help?

PS. Should I have italicized "she said" and "he said" instead of putting quotation marks around them? I know I am supposed to italicize words that are referred to as words. What about phrases?


texts:
Does it make sense to say the following?

  Yesterday I wore an umbrella and a coat.


texts: "Being open minded" vs. "the quality of being open minded"

texts:
One of the most essential characteristics that all good leaders share is being open minded.
  One of the most essential characteristics that all good leaders share is the quality of being open minded.

Both variations of this sentence sound awkward, I am not sure why. Can someone tell me if they are both awkward, pick which one is better or suggest an improvement?


texts:
I am using the world caveats as follows:

However, there are three major caveats in using these data sets.

The meaning - there are 3 major drawbacks/flaws that a researcher might encounter if he or she uses these data sets.

However, this is where I am confused. My internal meaning of the statement is: well these data sets are good, and people use them but in using them, they also tend to overlook these flaws that are inherent to them and that will propagate in the research they do if the use this data set.

Is my usage correct? Are there any more prudent words that fit the context better? The setting of the document is strictly academic.


texts: Type of definition "around a central point" with vague boundaries

texts:
Some time ago, I read somewhere how traditional definitions fail in real world since they define precise boundaries depending on whether something follows certain condition or not; however, real world is full of edge cases where an object might seem to satisfy two (near) exclusive definitions.

The solution to this problem was to define things not in terms of boundaries but in terms of central points which will correspond with objects that follow the definitions precisely. The farther you go from the central point, objects will follow the definition less rigidly. Thus, the edge cases will be somewhere midway the two central points.

It's been a few years and now, I can't seem to find what this second type definition is called (neither do I remember where I read this). Any ideas what is this concept called?


texts: When to use that's and when to use it's?

texts:
I feel am not good with using that's and it's in a sentence. Can anyone please help me, when to use the former one and when the latter?

For example, what will come here, that's the least I could do for you or it's the least I could do for you.

I just don't understand the difference.

Are these two different in british and american english?


texts: Is it correct that I say"I touch on the book" or just "I touch the book" Sometimes I come across "touch on" in some abstract meaning, what is the difference?


texts: Word for crossing the bottom of a valley

texts:
To refer to the highest point on a hill, one might use the word "crest":

  He walked up to the crest of the hill, and surveyed his surroundings.

On the other hand, one might also use "crest" as a verb to describe the action of crossing over the top of that hill:

  She looked around as she crested the hill.

I feel as if there should be an equivalent noun/verb pairing to refer specifically to the action of crossing through the bottom of a valley, but I have been unable to find any reference to such a word. Does one even exist?

Examples of base nouns I've considered:

Valley
Trough
Depression
Saddle
Channel
Draw
Dale
Dell
Vale
Glen


texts: why is googling the definition of "aviance" so difficult?

texts:
I was just checking on the spelling of "aviance". However, google is giving me very surprising results. Please type "aviance", "aviance definition", and "what does aviance mean" into the google search engine to see what I mean.

The "aviance of a restaurant" is pretty common phrase to say. "Aviance" sounds French, so I could understand why English dictionaries do not have a definition for it. But, a broad google search turns-up nothing regarding "aviance" meaning "atmosphere". I mean, "aviance" is not that simple of a word, so I would have expected that non-native speakers would have asked tons of questions about its meaning, and usage. But, there is nothing. What is going on?


texts: Is there a term for my Grandparent's Cousin? As in, "My grandparent's cousin is my _____"

texts:
Just doing some family research, and I came across a relative we'll call "Bob". I'm looking for a term to be able to easily refer to my relation to Bob, like "Bob is my Grand-Uncle" or something similar.

He is the Cousin of my Grandfather, and I'm wondering if there's a specific kinship term for him.


texts: the use of both to show emphasis and experimentalist and theoretician communities

texts:
In your opinion is both superfluous in the following sentence?

  Efforts from both experimentalist and theoretician communities, started to increase over the last decades in order to turn the hydrogen energy from a possible solution to a reality.

I used both, even if it seems superfluous, to show emphasis that, although at the beginning  of hydrogen energy research, most of researches were experimentalists, it turns out in the last decades that theoreticians are interested in such fields as well.

A second doubt I have is if the expression "experimentalist and theoretician communities" is correct in the way I'm  using it. I've read many times expressions like: "Each session, devoted to a kind of spectroscopy, will include invited contributions from both experimentalists and theoreticians" or "time-scale motions remains a challenge to experimentalists and theoreticians alike". But in my sentence I'd like to make clear that  theoreticians and experimentalist working in different fields, as for example catalysis, electrochemistry and computational chemistry, are now given attention to hydrogen energy.  That's why I used communities.

In you opinion, does it make sense?


texts: Verb for screencast (presented, instructed, performed)

texts:
I recently taught in a class and captured a video from my screen (aka screencast)

Now I want to add a text to introduce myself (who was the teacher)

Which verb to use? Perform(ed), tutor(ed), instruct(ed)?


texts:
I found the word in Heinlein's "Friday":

I apologized, saying that there was no excuse for me to be sleepy since it was still early evening by the zone where I had started the day.
Janet said pishantosh, that being sleepy had nothing to do with clocks and time zones -- gentlemen, we are going to bed. She led me away.

I think, I can grasp the meaning from the above context, but I'm surprised, search-engines return nothing useful for it. What does the word actually mean and where is it coming from?


texts: Inversion in English: "In no realm of life has..."

texts:
I'm a regular on your site and learning English. I read the newspaper on a regular basis.
Today I have come across this underlined sentence in the newspaper, it  sounds bit  odd to me.

"IN NO REALM OF LIFE HAS THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC WREAKED AS MUCH VISIBLE UPHEAVAL AS EDUCATION"

Here "HAS" is not immediately followed by "WREAKED". I suppose it's an example of "inversion". Is that right?


texts:
In this sentence, "Over the years, they’d built snow forts
together and leaped off backyard sheds together" what does "leap off" mean?


texts: I don't like him any; you can't fool me any. "Any"?

texts:
What's the function of "any" in the title? Is it simply a synonym of "at all"? Why is its use so limited? For instance, we don't go here at all doesn't translate well to we don't go here any for me.

Is it specific to judgments of value? (like, care for, enjoy, etc.)


texts:
Whence did the verbs 'square' and 'cube', in the sense (if there exist others) of 'to the second power' and 'to the third power' respectively, originate? There is some degree of similarity between the verbs and the nouns, but not really a great deal, seems more of an evocative relation.

While not strictly applicable to this site, more for a sense of the age of the terms, do any other Romantic or Germanic languages use the same constructions for their powers?

And finally, given the pattern, is there any precedent at all for tesseract or one of the myriad other words for a 4-cube being used to indicate the fourth power? This may be too esoteric, but it is, strictly speaking, English usage, so it probably belongs here more than the math board.


texts: Is a semicolon the right punctuation in this sentence?

texts:
This is for a cover letter. Please help!

"I speak Spanish; I have a working familiarity with French and I am currently teaching myself Arabic."


texts: Comma before quote marks around article title?

texts:
I'm thinking about making a headline. I know you would use a comma here:

  Professor Bill Bick then told me, "There will be more jobs when the
  economy recovers."

What about here?

  Read Professor Bill Bick's article, "Why There Will be More Jobs When
  the Economy Recovers."

Are commas used before article titles that are quoted?


texts: What does “have the avocados” for anchorman work mean?

texts:
New Yorker (November 6) carries an excerpt from legendary anchorman Ron Burgundy’s book, “Let me off at the top,” which includes the following sentence referring to his experience in Gauntlet, the anchorman training camp in Pennsylvania in his early days:

  “The main goal of the Gauntlet was to test if you had the avocados for
  anchorman work. Could you hold your liquor? Could you tell the
  difference between bespoke and off-the-rack suits? Could you seduce
  women through a camera lens? Test after test of skills. - - - On and
  on for two, sometimes two and a half hours a day!”

Any English dictionary provides definition of avocado as a fruit, but none of Cambridge, Oxford and Merriam Webster includes ‘have the avocados’ as an idiom.

Then, I found the following explanation of ‘avocado’ in www.todayifoundout.com:

  “The word Avocado comes from an Aztec word “ahuácatl” meaning
  testicle. It is thought that the reference is either due to the
  avocado’s shape or the fact that it was considered to possess
  aphrodisiac qualities by the Aztecs.”

This led me to interpret “have the avocados” as “have guts, or characteristic qualities.” Am I right?

Is “have the avocados” the common idiom that can be used in writing, and speak in public?

Addendom:

I checked Google Ngram Viewer.
“Have balls” was current already in circ.1840 at the incidence level of 0.0000017063%. The use of the word had dwindled down to 0.0000004812% level in 1950, and then started to pick up to 0.0000016024% in 2008.

The usage of ‘have avocados” emerged around 1920, and the usage rose to 0.00000007% level in 2008, but is still low by 2 digits as compared with “have balls.”

With regard to “have the avocados” as used by Ron Burgundy, Ngram Viewer responded me “Ngrams not found [have the avocados]. The Ngram Viewer is case sensitive. Check your capitalization!”


texts: What word or phrase describes the quality of an assertion to be inbetween a fact and an opinion?

texts:
I'm looking for a word or phrase that describes a statement that is neither a scientific fact nor an opinion. Google defines opinion as "a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge" but I'm looking for something that is based, at least indirectly, on knowledge.

For example, if I believe it is pointless to brush teeth in the morning since no food has been eaten since the previous night, what would this statement be called? I don't think it's a scientific fact since no studies or experiments have been made to prove it, but I don't think it would be called an opinion either, because it is at least logical. Would it be correct to call it a philosophy?

Another example I came across is as follows: one person was arguing that if a person (i.e. a hacker) was trying to guess the password to something, nothing is known about which order or which passwords they would try. Therefore, having minimum requirements for passwords is pointless (e.g. "8h4fhA" may seem like a more complex password than "apple", but technically there's no guarantee a hacker wouldn't test "8h4fhA" first). Would this be an opinion or fact or something else? While the premise seems true and the conclusion logically follows, I personally disagree; for example, it seems much more likely a person would guess "password" (or something easy) than "8h4fhA".

Another good example is deciding which car to buy. It's a matter of opinion which car is better than others but at the same time there are facts and reviews that can back up claims so it's not purely opinion.

A general example is when experts in an area disagree on a subject, for example if eating cheese before going to bed helps sleep. If one scientist claims that it does, should this be referred to as his opinion since there are other scientists and studies done that show that it does not?


texts: Is "baggage" as "portable military equipment" a technical or an old-fashioned term?

texts: According to dictionaries, one of the meanings of "baggage" is "an army's portable equipment". But I wonder if it is a technical or an old-fashioned term. I'm not sure if native speakers are generally familiar with this meaning of the word.


texts: How can I convert this sentence from first person to third person

texts:
I'm writing an academic paper and need some help writing this sentence in third person.

This is what I want to say in third person (currently in first person):

  The kitchen was assigned to a different engineer, while I was assigned the
  living room.

I was thinking the third person would look like this? :

  The kitchen was assigned to a different engineer, while he was assigned the
  living room.

Any advice would be appreciated.


texts:
Its a word or phrase that means to stick something onto the end of some other thing, for convenience or even secretly maybe?

An example is I'm going to run errands downtown and when finished will "tailgate" it with dinner in my favourite restaurant there.

Another example, I'm going to the library to work on my business pitch and will "tailgate" it with writing another chapter of my novel


texts: Is it possible to get real property from the phrase "real and tangible personal property"?

texts:
My understanding from the research that I have done on the phrase "real and tangible personal property is has follows:

Real and tangible are adjectives
and is a conjunction that puts together  words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical function
personal property is a compound word defined by Websters as a noun meaning personalty
that this phrase could be written as "real and tangible personalty" which would have the same meaning. That the only way I could see this written to mean real property is to say: "real property and tangible personal property" If you made real a noun and tangible personal property a noun you still could not come up with "real property" as real could be a Spanish coin.
I also do not believe this is legal question, as it is written in the Michigan constitution, which was ratified by the people at large not a group of attorneys.


texts: Using ellipsis to indicate a pause in conversation

texts:
Wikipedia has a sentence in its article on ellipsis:

  In reported speech, the ellipsis is sometimes used to represent an intentional silence, perhaps indicating irritation, dismay, shock or disgust. This usage is more common amongst younger, Internet-savvy generations.[citation needed]

I can find plenty of random internet articles making a similar statement, but is there an actual authoritative grammar source that says this is grammatically correct?  Is it just something the "Internet-savvy generations" have invented?

Here is an example from a story:

  She swallowed hard.  "I'm afraid, Mark.  Maybe if you might... talk to him?"

Here the ellipsis is indicating a verbal hesitation in the quote rather than the typical use of indicating an omission.


texts:
When helping an Italian speaker with her written homework, a cover letter,  I told her to change the expression nowadays to that of today. Her original sentence was the following:

  I would be delighted to work for your company, as it is one of the most important software companies nowadays.

She asked why it was better to change that expression. I said it didn't sound "right". She looked at me quizzically, so I mumbled something about it being a question of register and collocation but frankly, I'm not sure.

I had better add that she wants to sit the Cambridge English exam Advanced, CAE, so I was wondering whether an examiner would look unfavourably on the expression.

Moreover, I would like to know if nowadays is considered a compound word? Until today,  I thought it was made up of three words; now, a and days. But etymonline tells me that it was originally two words: now and adayes. Adayes used to mean "during the day", which I think is lovely and I wish it would make a comeback.
In any case, did the hyphenated form, now-adayes ever existed?

I know there is a similar question on ELU to this one, "Nowadays" vs "today" but it hasn't really answered any of my questions.


texts: How do they differ "slight change" and "slight rearrange"? When some slight change can be possible, is it ok to be used "slight rearrange"? Is there any big difference between them?


texts: What is a way to say "as you _____ mentioned" where _____ is meant to convey that the person correctly predicted / foreshadowed your response?


texts:
Consider the sentence

  The attack resulted in Robert breaking his ankle.

Is resulted in correct here? What about resulted on, would it be correct here or in any other sentence? what other word can be used here (in, to, ...)?

According to Google search results, resulted in is much more frequently used.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Data source types” vs. “types of data sources”

Please can you tell me that what the difference is between "types of data" and "data types". Are they the same?

For example, do these sentences have the same meaning?

This method can be used for different types of data.
This method can be used for different data types.


texts:
The sentence I'm trying to figure out is:

  Unfortunately, the distance, etc are impediment-y enough for me

Is it a typo or a neologism?

Edit: a little bit more of context:

  Unfortunately, the distance, etc are impediment-y enough for me [to continue/have/consider this relationship]


texts: What can I use for plural-you? Should I use "you all"?

texts:
It used to be the case that for the second person singular we would use "thou" and for second person plural we would use "you". These days, the "thou"s have been replaced with "you" except perhaps in the Southern USA.

Now, what if I want to emphasize that I'm addressing the plural rather than the singular? e.g. when talking to a person who's also representing a group? Would it sound super-weird if I said: "Pleased to make you all's acquaintance" instead of "Pleased to make your acquaintance"? Is there another way to say that?

Edit: The register of this phrase would be somewhat informal, almost tongue-in-cheek, within a formal encounter with the representative of the group.


texts: Collective name for prefix and suffix of a word

texts:
Is there a term that can be used to refer to both the prefix and suffix of a word?

For example, unenjoyable. I'm looking for a collective word that described BOTH un and able.


texts:
I know I can use a subordinate clause as an object of a sentence.

I don't know who is that person.

Can I put this object at the beginning of that sentence

who is that person, I don't know.


texts: Two different relative pronouns within the same sentence

texts:
I came across my course-mate's writing, and find a sentence rather disturbing. Thus, I am writing to seek advice regarding the correctness of that sentence as follows:

  If possible, ignore acronyms and other jargon, which renders the title complicated to readers who may not familiarize with the topic.

My main question here is whether it is wrong to have two relative pronouns (in this case, which and who) used in the same sentence as shown above.


texts: Word for someone who is an incompetent intermediary?

texts:
I'm looking for a single word that would be used to describe someone who is an incompetent intermediary. To be more specific I would like to describe someone whom it is necessary to communicate knowledge through, however this person doesn't have the proper skill set to understand or further communicate the knowledge accurately and effectively.

As a hypothetical example, consider a scenario where an engineer communicates technical knowledge with a program manager, who then attempts to communicate that knowledge with a customer. However, because the program manager lacks technical prowess, the relayed message is distorted to the point being mostly or completely wrong. What word would one use to describe the program manager? Preferably I would like to find a non-pejorative term.

Edit I would also be interested in any phrases that describe such a person.


texts: What's another way of saying "frontest"?

texts: I'm trying to come up with a phrase that could replace "frontest" in "Look at that man in the frontest row," as frontest is not officially correct grammar. I know I can say "Look at that man in the farthest back row," but I can't figure out a decent way to imply the opposite.


texts: About the AmE expression "pound the pavement"

texts:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines the idiomatic  expression “pound the pavement”  as:

(US
Slang)
to walk the streets, as in looking for work.

and according to  The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms , the expression echoes a similar expression “pound the beat” most often used referring to cops.

Walk the streets, especially in search of employment. For example, He was fired last year and he's been pounding the pavement ever since. A similar usage is pound a beat, meaning "to walk a particular route over and over"; it is nearly always applied to a police officer. [Early 1900s]

while Green’s Dictionary of Slang mentions a possibly earlier usage which refers to “prostitution”:

pound the pavement (v.):

[19C+] (US Und., also pound the blocks, walk the pavement, ...pave, trudge the street) to work as a street prostitute; thus pavement-pounding adj., street-walking; thus pavement pounder under pavement n.

Questions:

Was the “prostitution” sense of the expression the original  one from which all other variants derive?

Did the “looking for a job” sense develop from the “prostitution job” sense?

and most of all,

What’s the main  meaning of the expression nowadays? Given that the “prostitution” is not cited by other main dictionaries, does it mean that the expression is no longer used in that respect?

(As a side note, in Italian the literal equivalent expression “battere il marciapiede” is  used  to strictly refer to prostitutes.)


texts:
Which of these sentences is correct?

  The accent with which I speak
  The accent which I speak with

Are they not the same?

While we are on the topic, I would greatly appreciate if you would tell me which one of the following sentences is correct and if the wrong one is not said at all.

  They are a very proud people
  They are very proud people
  Cancer cells help invade
  Cancer cells help to invade
  Oxygen has a higher electronegativity
  Oxygen has higher electronegativity


texts:
I was wondering if the following sentence makes sense by not using any relative pronouns for the clause:

  I had been volunteering for Red Cross, a non-profit
  organization which provides blood, during the last
  year of high school

Is that correct? Thanks!

EDIT:

What I mean is if my sentence is correct by saying "... Red Cross, a not-for-profit organization ...", instead of saying "... Red Cross, which is a not-for-profit organization ..."


texts: Semantically, how does 'before' differ from 'till'?

texts:
till {prep. [here]  conj., and adv.}

  Etymology: [..] Probably originally a noun * til = Old English till fixed point, station [...]
  hence the const. with genitive: prop. ‘with the limit or goal of (the place or time named)’.  [...]
  To the same root belong Old English til adjective ‘to the purpose, serviceable, good’ [...]

  II. Of time.
  [5] b. After a negative, denoting the continuance of the negative condition up to the time indicated (and implying its cessation then); thus nearly equivalent to before.  Cf. B. 1b.

OED's use of the adverb nearly above, implies difference(s) between till and before. So what are these semantic drifts?
Please expose and explain them.

Etymologically, till means: TO some fixed point or station. So this 'TO' can be interpreted as approximation to the fixed point/station, without knowing whether the fixed point is attained. Which meanings of before, does this interpretation of till neglect?


texts: How to describe the rhetorical technique of dismissing the question?

texts:
I seek an elegant term for argument or technique of rhetoric that takes the form of dismising the question, instead of responding to the argument.

I first assumed that this would be a fallacy of logic; I have looked at various articles, including Wikipedia's list of fallacies, and on several prior E.SE questions, but I'm not finding something that seems to capture this; I don't (yet) think I'm being too picky. :)

I don't think it's exactly any of these somewhat related topics:

avoiding the question, or shifting issues, or red herring;
posing different questions, such as Straw-man, or its opposite;
not quite ad hominem, because the question, not the poser thereof, is being attacked/dismissed.

The two parts, in sum:

Is there an elegant name for the act of dismissing a question as a rhetorical technique?
(in terms of its usage) Should that argument be considered logical fallacy?


texts: How to use "distinguish" in this sentence

texts:
I wrote a sentence as follows:

  Being able to do X distinguishes me between a programmer who works with code and a system engineer who is capable of designing a revolutionary system like Google and Facebook.

What I meant by the above sentence is "X makes a system engineer who is better than a programmer who does coding for a living".

Does my sentence convey the intended meaning? Is this a correct use of the word "distinguish"? Feel free to suggest any other alternatives.


texts: Why do we say "talk about the telephone" but "talk about televison"?

texts:
Teachers and native speakers :)
I was doing exercises about passive, came across these two sentences:
"When was the telephone invented?"
and
"When was television invented?" (without "the")
And we say "the history of television" not "the history of the television"
We use "the" when we talk about instruments, telephone but not television.
Why is that?


texts: As I understand it, quarantine is used to describe the isolation of the infected to prevent spread of infection. However, I'm looking for a word for the isolation of the healthy to avoid infection.


texts:
What is the difference between usage of inside and on the inside?

For instance is there any difference in the following phrases:

condensation on the  inside of the window
condensation                inside the window

Maybe there are some situations where I can’t interchange them?

EDIT:

Brain comments helps a lot to understand the difference. I'll add one more example for clarification, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Cameras will be on the inside the room
Cameras will be inside the room

First example means that cameras are going to be fixed on the walls inside the room, the second tells that they are going to be inside rooms, but can be just standing on a leg.


texts: Does "malefic rune", possible typo from "tune" in the context?

texts:
I have been reading a story by Robert Bloch - The feast in the Abbey. I just cannot see how the "rune" can be correct in the following:

As I thus mused there fell upon my ears the sounds  of sonorous
chanting that swelled symphonically from  somewhere far below. Its
measured cadence rose and  fell solemnly as if it were borne from a
distance incredible to human ears. It was subtly disturbing; I
could distinguish neither words nor phrases that I  knew, but the
potent rhythm bewildered me. It welled, a malefic rune, fraught with
insidious, strange  suggestion.

Should not "tune" make sense? However, all references I found read truly "rune", but again all could be using the same, corrupted OCR...
Thanks a lot


texts: Word for when something you are searching for is right next to you

texts:
I suddenly remember that I have to call someone with my mobile phone, but then I think "where is it?" right before I notice that the phone is sitting next to my hand. I feel "wow, lucky"...

Is there an English word for a situation where the thing I am searching for is just next to my hand?


texts:
I want to combine the following two sentences :

Don't compare yourself to your friends.
You were better than your friends in the past.

I thought about saying :
Don't compare yourself to your friends whom you were better than.
But this sentence is very odd .Im not it even makes any sense. Can someone please tell me what is the correct form. Thank you


texts: Can any verb's present and past participles be used as adjectives?

texts: Verbs' present and past participles can be used as adjectives, such as "devastating" and "devastated". Does this rule apply to all verbs or some verbs?


texts: Concerning the usage of "eyeballs" in place of "viewers"

texts:
I read, in an article in Psychology Today, the following:

  There are pornographers who do constantly seek out "new, harder themes"--Evil Angel has purportedly found great success with anal gaping videos--but this is a way of attracting and temporarily monopolizing the small minority of individuals who are true novelty seekers. PornHub and RedTube aren't losing eyeballs to such sites: novelty seekers never went to the vanilla tube sites to begin with.

and:

  If the tube sites are losing eyeballs at all, it's to cam sites.

It's pretty clear that "losing eyeballs" here is referring to a decrease in the amount of viewers; in other words, "eyeballs" is referring to "viewers".

It is the first time that I see this term used. Perhaps this is because I do not regularly read articles under the themes "websites", "television" or any place where "eyeballs" might come in handy for an author.

I would like to know several things: first, whether or not "eyeballs" is (to a certain degree) commonly used to refer to "viewers". Second, if it is common, how is it used? Can one say: "gaining eyeballs", for instance? Third, for what kind of viewable objects is the term used? e.g. is it exclusively used for internet viewers? Last, and most importantly, does the term imply something negative/positive about the viewer themselves, or is it just purely a replacement of the term "viewer"?


texts: Is the term 'at least' okay to use here?

texts:
I am a little confused about using the term 'at least'. Please see the sentence below and let me know if I have used this term appropriately or if there is a better alternative. Would it okay if I remove the brackets and add a comma before 'at least'. In fact, would a comma be even necessary?
Here is the sentence:

There is nothing solid in Creation (at least not in the way we humans understand).


texts: How can we distinguish "uptalk" from a real question?

texts:
uptalk or high rising terminals is an intonation pattern where declarative statements occur with yes/no question intonation.

  "It is used when the speaker is establishing common ground with the listener as the basis for the conversation, and when the speaker is seeking silent affirmation or some factor that would otherwise require explanation before the conversation could continue."
   - - (J.K.Chambers, Language Myths, Penguin Books, 1998.)

e.g. Our high-school class is doing an experiment on genetics?

  Uptalk has spread to virtually all English speaking countries in the world and its uses have spread to contexts where the pragmatics are not quite so clear:

e.g. "Hello, my name is Christopher?"

I've never come into contact with someone who uses that pattern of speech. For this reason I ask: is it possible to distinguish uptalk from a real question or is the intonation used identical?


texts: Which one can use first, which or where in the sentence?

texts:
Can we say following sentence:

  Let (T, F) be a locally constant function which defined on Example 1, where
  T:X---->R.

or we have to say

  Let (T,F) be a locally constant function where T:X---->R, which defined on
  Example 1.

Also, which is correct, "on Example" or "in Example"?


texts: Is there a word that describes a difference in hierarchy?

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes that there is a hierarchical difference between two objects that are of a different rank. For example, if object A is "School" and object B is "Student", then B is below A in the data hierarchy. Can this be described with a single word or short phrase?

  Sample Sentence: "Two entities are _______ in the hierarchy"


texts: What do you call someone who is ungrateful, only sees things negatively and never acknowledges you

texts:
I am a team player and like to contribute.

When asked to take on a task. I always say yes and I never get a thank you. He never provides all the details to what he wants and then asks why I didn’t do it a certain way. He always asks for feedback and comments and then when provided he ignores the suggestion and picks on an irrelevant statement and never acknowledges your suggestion.

Example: I was sure if SUE should be the one to do the job so I looked into it. I found out that she is allowed or acceptable. So how do you feel about this execution process? A, then B, then C. HIS RESPONSE: “We never said that she couldn't do the job. We said that she is not held responsible”. ...... never even acknowledging my suggestion. In a sum, I replied and said that if he had no comments on my suggestion that he asked for, that I apologized for wasting his time. I never heard back from him. This is an ongoing thing. A person can say cat and he swore you said dog.


texts: How would one conjugate "to be" in southern middle english?

texts: Present tense.  In particular, how would it have been in London in the mid-14th century?


texts: Is there any specific term for someone who has lost something? The person who finds something can be called a finder but what about the person who has lost something? What should the appropriate term be?


texts: How to use of "the" with some equations?

texts:
I am thinking which one you should use

A

  Lorem ipsun which is the Wigner-Ville transform.

B

  Lorem ipsun which is Wigner-Ville transform.

Some says that the first but I like the last one because it is shorter and because the first letter of the transform is capital.

Should use the article the in the above example?

I have had an idea that if the first letter is uppercase, then you do not need the, because of the following other example

AA - right according to my teacher

  Here in Equation (11) and Figure (2).

BB - wrong according to my teacher

  Here in the Equation (11) and the Figure (7).


texts: What is the origin of "A cat in hell's chance"

texts:
What is the origin of the phrase: "A cat in hell's chance"?

I understand it to mean "not a chance", but it seems a very curious saying and I wonder how it originated.

  e.g.

  Bob: Do you think Liverpool will win the title this season.

  Geoff: Not a cat in hell's chance.


texts:
Today I saw a proverb introduced in a book. The writer said, " "The omelette is already cooked"means it is too late to change what has already been done. I think the phrase is similar to "there is no use crying over spilled milk".

I googled the phrase and however no page about this phrase has existed. I looked the word up in Cambridge Dictionaries Online and it has the entry "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs", but not the one abovementioned.

Can some native English speakers be so kind to say whether "The omelette is already cooked" really existed?


texts:
For the following sentences:

  He threw the book at the floor.
  He threw the book on the floor.

I know the book hit the floor in both sentences but which one is more commonly used and also what's the difference between 'at' and 'on'? Do we acknowledge the exact position from 'at'?


texts: What is the difference between American and British pronunciations of "world" and "girl"?

texts: I can definitely hear a distinct difference but I am not sure if it is from the long vowel or from the "r".


texts: Is there a named category for nouns that are not 'agent nouns'?

texts:
Please note that this question is not about the 'opposite' of an agent noun, or the 'passive noun' corresponding to an agent noun.

My question is: if we could split the set of all nouns into two sets, and one of them were that of agent nouns, what would the remaining set be called? Is there a name for such nouns? Would 'non-agent noun' be appropriate?

Thanks,


texts: Is there some institute that can create a word which would mean 'he or she', or indeed any other word?

texts:
New words are constantly being invented in science and technology, and after a while people start to use them.

Along similar lines, would it not be much less hassle to use an invented word instead of 'he or she' or 'he/she'? (If we use 'they', we are using a plural pronoun.)

Meanwhile, my question also concerns the question of whether such an institute exists, not just whether a good substitute for the expression 'he or she' is possible.


texts: How to parse "let there be light," "may grace and peace be multiplied to you," etc

texts:
Working on a natural language parser and I realized I don't have much a firm handle on how to come at sentences such as the following:

"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3 KJV).

"May grace and peace be multiplied to you" (1 Peter 1:2 HCSB).

These both seem to convey some sense of desiring something to be [done], so I don't think "let" or "may" can quite qualify as auxiliaries.  Any thoughts?


texts: "Obscene yourself" (literally) in Hemingway's "For Whom The Bell Tolls"

texts:
I am reading Hemingway's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" (an edition from 1960). Throughout the book, strong words and obscenities are replaced literally by the term "obscenity" or similar. For example (emphasis added):

  “My transmission is smashed,” the driver, who was bent over
  by the rear of his truck, said.

  “Obscene your transmission. Go ahead, I say.”

  “They do not go ahead when the differential is smashed,” the
  driver told h’m and bent down again.

  “Get thyself pulled then, get ahead so that we can get this other
  obscenity off the road.”

My question is, at what point are the actual swearwords (that I believe should be there, but I may be wrong) replaced by these "euphemisms"?

Does Hemingway want us to believe that the people actually use the word "obscenity" literally, as above?

Does he self-censor in order to make the book more elaborated, distance the reader from the actions he desribes? Note that other parts of the language are very old-seeming or elaborate (I am no native speaker), as in "thou", "thyself", etc.

Or is this actual censorship that was imposed by the publishers or editors, given that the book is originally from 1940 (my edition is from 1960)?


texts: Does the apparently ungrammatical "States Parties"  in international agreements come from French grammar where "States" would be the noun and "Parties" the adjective agreeing with its plural noun?


texts: Quotation marks around first definition of a term and its parenthesized abbreviation

texts:
Suppose a document is using the term "Internet Protocol" for the first time, along with its abbreviation, "IP".  For example:

  Rar rar rar... "Internet Protocol (IP)".

Are there any guidelines as to whether the quotation marks should go around both the full term and its abbreviation, or just the term itself?

i.e. rather than what is shown above, is it preferable to use:

  Rar rar rar... "Internet Protocol" (IP).

As a follow on question, does the advice change when terms are italicized instead of quoted?  For example:

  Rar rar rar...Internet Protocol (IP).

versus:

  Rar rar rar...Internet Protocol (IP).


texts:
What is the earliest attestation of its existence?
Did it originate from "crowd" or "crue"(increase)?
How was it coined?
Etymonline says:

Crew(n.) = mid-15c., "group of soldiers sent as reinforcements" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French crue, creue "an increase, recruit, military reinforcement," from fem. past participle of creistre "to grow," from Latin crescere "to arise, grow" (from PIE root *ker- (2) "to grow").

"Crew" in this 1658 dictionary, The New World Of English Words.

Crew = Company, gang; as A Crew of Rogues,

1756 -- This dictionary says probably from the Anglo-Saxon "crud"(crowd).

CREW. [probably from crud, Saxon.]

A company of people allocated for any Purpose.
The company of a ship.
It is now generally used in a bad sense.

1911--- "Crew", in Encyclopedia Britannica Vol. 7.

CREW (sometimes explained as a sea term of Scandinavian origin, cf. O. Icel. kru, a swarm or crowd, but now regarded as a shortened form of accrue, accrewe, used in the 16th century in the sense of a reinforcement, O. Fr. acreue, from accroitre, to grow, increase), a band or body of men associated for a definite purpose, a gang who jointly carry out a particular piece of work, and especially those who man a ship, exclusive of the captain, and sometimes also of the officers.

1641 = Crew as Company? Jovial crew or beggars.
Was "crew" and "beggars" interchangeable?


texts: Is there an English word for adopting a new habit?

texts:
For example:
I have started reading comics. This is the new habit I have adopted.
So I want to tell people "hey, comics is my <that English word>"


texts:
Why do people use "skies" instead of "sky" (when, indeed, we only have one sky)?

Reach for the sky/skies!

and

I'm glad to finally see some blue skies.
I'm glad to finally see a blue sky.


texts: The concept of "undoing a registration" is widely used in my line of work. While most dictionaries define unregister as the proper verb for it, several widely used and highly considered sources also use the verb deregister. Do both verbs exist? Are they synonyms? Is there a slight difference in their meaning?


texts: .... form the foundation of a child’s development throughout their growing up.

texts: Can I use the above structure...  i.e. 'throughout their growing up'


texts: Correct use of adjectival forms for countries

texts: I sometimes proofread documents for my (Dutch) supervisor. When he refers to something that comes from the Netherlands he would, for example, write: the Netherlands windmills as opposed to the Dutch windmills. I have sometimes seen this weird form written elsewhere, but I was wondering if this is really a correct way of saying this.


texts:
Could anyone please tell me what "as I go" means?

Like in the following context:

  I will fill it out as I go.


texts:
I'm doing the Cambridge Upper-intermediate English course and there is a lection on "go xxx" phrasal verbs.

Go ahead - to start to do something
Go on - to start operating / to continue or move to the next thing

I don't really understand when to use "go on" and when to use "go ahead" meaning to start something if there is any difference?

Go off - to stop liking or being interested in someone or something
Go for - to like or admire

Could you give me example sentences, please? Are these phrases often used? I have never seen the first one hold this meaning. I know its meaning to be "(of a warning device) to start to ring loudly or make a loud noise". As for the second one, I know it like "Go for it" or "Take it" or thing like that.


texts: 'logical errors' or 'logistical errors'?

texts:
I am reading a novel which has lots of those lol, where some of the events do not make sense at all.

Should I call them logical errors? or logistical errors?


texts:
After searching google for the meaning of Transparent lies, I could only find examples, but not the definition.

So, what does Transparent lies mean?


texts: What does"...pays to get colicky animals." mean in this context?

texts:
From Ahmad Shah, "Four Years in Tibet" (1906):

  The crude beginnings of certain sort of veterinary knowledge are also there. Cattle are dosed in the nose; in the case of horses and bulls, the medicine is inserted in the right nostril;... The cure for colic is hard and swift riding, so that it no doubt pays to get colicky animals.

It looks like a kind of homeopathic treatment is in play here, but how does one  put it in plain language that would make sense and the reader can understand the outcome of such a treatment?


texts: Why do we use the word “second” to mean the 60th part of a minute?

texts: In English, we use the word “second” to refer to two things that don’t seem to be related.  “Second” means both “the rank after first” and the 60th part of a minute.  It’s the same in Spanish, but I’m not aware of other languages with the same pairing of meanings.  “Second” as the unit of time is the newer usage, since we’ve only been measuring time that finely for a few hundred years.  How did we come to use the word that way?


texts: Is this passive voice and if so, how do I change to active?

texts: Women no longer were restricted under the control of their husbands and were able to go in pursuit for their own happiness.


texts: Etymology of circumfix present continuous (a-fly-ing)

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the story behind “a-” prefix / suffix?

I'm writing an introductory lecture on morphology and as a familiar example of circumfixes I found (on Wikipedia, but it's since been removed it seems) the a-fly-ing form of the present continuous from older English, which is nice and familiar.

But I got to thinking: Where does that a come from? My other familiar example, the German perfect participle (ge-spiel-t), I know (a derivational prefix in common Germanic). But the a- in the present continuous, I have no clue. Does anyone know where this comes from?


texts: Dot me up and don't let me wake up paralyzed meaning

texts:
when I was watching Bucket List by starring jack Nicholson and my favorite actor Morgan Freeman, I heard a strange phrase that i couldn't explain that for me.
at the first dot me up
00:08:57  Okay, Dr. Eldridge will be in in a minute to dot you up, okay?

00:09:02  Dot me up.

Script The Bucket List Page 10

and then here Nicholson had a severe health problem and he was talking to one of his most important employees and he says

00:09:16  Thomas...

00:09:19  [WHISPERS] ...don't let me wake up paralyzed.

Can anyone tell me what these two phrases mean?


texts: How to analyze lightly varying senses of adjective *very*

texts:
Use of very as an adjective is (in my experience) most frequently attested in phrases like

  ...the very person I was looking for.

To use adjective very with the indefinite article sounds quite bizarre in this case:

  ?...a very person I was looking for.

But consider this sentence, where indefinite a is used:

  Visualizing a very transformation of the master-slave relation, Thomas presses further: the slave is brother to the master, even doubly a brother.

OED treats the two uses as separate senses of the word, with the following definitions:

  (first use):      With limitation (usually expressed by the or a possessive) to particular instances

  (second use): Really or truly entitled to the name or designation

Here are two respective examples quoted in OED:

  What would you say to me now, and I were your verie, verie Rosalind? (1616)
  Thence we went into Queen Mary's room, and saw that beautiful portrait—that very queen and very woman. (1857)

Clearly, the difference in meaning between the two senses is quite light, and it seems to me like a kind of difference which is recurrent enough to have its own term. What is the proper term? Are there other English words having similarly related pairs of senses? And lastly, is OED jumping the gun in treating these as two senses? Could the difference in meaning instead be due to the choice of determiner?


texts: What does 'The Thick End Of' mean, and why?

texts:
I came across this phrase around 20 years ago, and have always understood it to mean 'most of'. I might complain about having to pay "the thick end of £4" for a coffee, when it cost somewhere between £3.00 and £3.99. That meaning sounds fairly obvious to me. I'm in the UK.

Imagine my surprise when I used it in company recently, and it was interpretted differently. That a "journey would take the thick end of 9 hours" was received as not as the "around 8 hours 45 minutes" that I meant, but as "over 9 hours, possibly a lot over". Is this reasonable?

I have looked on the net, and the best I can come up with was this (right at the bottom, References in classic literature) which has many examples, but still no definition.

Can anyone find a published definition, an argument for what the interpretation should be, or at least moral support for my interpretation?


texts:
what's the meaning of "To make the larger point"

e.g.

  To make the larger point, this chapter initiates a detailed study of types of
  commercial and political alliance making that are impossible to generalize.


texts: Is there a good secular equivalent of "God be With you"?

texts: A co-worker is leaving for an urgent emergency trip home.  No details, but sounds like a family member is very ill and might die.  So "have fun" and even "hope it goes well" are out...there's no chance it's going to be fun, and unlikely to end well.  But I'd like to be supportive. "God be with you" would suit for its broad supportive-ness  and no expectations of fun and prizes, but neither of us ever use religious language in our conversations,  so it feels fake to me to bring God into it.   Any thoughts?


texts: What is the meaning of "being on birth control"?

texts: I read about it all over the place and they say it is a way of preventing pregnancy using contraceptives like condoms, pills, etc. However, in a YouTube video, I heard someone recommending condom use to a guy, saying "Even if your girlfriend is on birth control, I still recommend using a condom." Does this mean that colloquially, US people use birth control to specifically mean contraceptive pills?


texts: What is a word for giving an answer that's not incorrect, but leaves out a bunch of information?

texts:
So in my story a girl is hitchhiking east to live with her boyfriend. One of the drivers she's hitching a ride with is asking her why she's going east.

"Willow decided she didn’t want to tell him that she was going to live
with her dorky boyfriend, so she decided on something more ___ / she decided to give a more __ answer"
'Moving,' she answered tersely.

I'm thinking "general" or "vague", but I don't know if they're exactly describing what I'm looking for. I'm not 100% sure a phrase would work here, but I could always rework the sentence if it fits the best. I need an adjective.


texts: Grammatical category - derivational and inflectional morphology

texts:
I am taking a linguistics course and got confused at the meaning of grammatical category. I saw it being used to describe the difference between these two terms: Derivational morphology and inflectional morphology.

Inflectional morphology: no change in the grammatical category (e.g. give, given,
gave, gives )

Derivational morphology: change in category (e.g. process, processing, processable, processor,
processabilty)

1) Are verbs, adjectives, etc in different grammatical categories ? Are these what the categories are about ?

2) How does adding -ing to process change its category ? It it because process has multiple meanings to it ? And adding -ing turns it into a verb ?

3) What about adding -ing to give to make it into giving ? They are both still verbs.

EDIT: Okay I think I understand now. Derivational morphemes can change the grammatical category of a word; it does not always change it. I was under the impression that derivational morphemes must change the grammatical category of a word. Is this correct ?


texts: Is "one moment... while on the other" correct?

texts:
Is the following expression properly written, or does it need some improvement to make the right sense:

One moment she was acting all calm and quiet, while on the other she started being outrageously loud and noisy.

I'm very eager to know the correct usage of "one moment... while on the other" like expression in a sentence. I could be mistakenly using it with the wrong set of words, so please help me rectify this.


texts: Differences beetween past perfect continuous and past continuous

texts:
I would like to know the difference between past perfect continuous and past continuous in these examples:

We were playing tennis when it started raining.
We had been playing tennis when it started raining.


texts:
If Molière had given himself up to his abyss, Pascal — with his — would look like a journalist.

E. M. Cioran, All Gall is Divided

What does ''give up'' means here? Does it mean that Molière decided to look upon his abyss, like take his abyss into consideration? Could someone ''translate'' this for me in a less equivocal manner?


texts: Meaning of "cavorting with various women"

texts: I've heard of the expression cavorting with various women. Apparently, Google says the original expression is cavorting with the enemy, but I take that the  definition is slightly different then. What is the meaning of this expression?


texts: What is the origin of using the letters 'ZZZ' to symbolize a person sleeping?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How did the letter Z become to be associated with sleeping/snoring?

In old cartoons and even now in other such media, often the letters 'zzz' are used to indicate that a person is sleeping. What is the origin of this? It seems that the sound that someone makes when they are snoring isn't zzz at all, but rather, as a friend put it, a series of rolling rrrrrs.


texts: Shoud I use a new line after Hi (someone's name) in e-mail?

texts:
In an e-mail, suppose we start with Hi John. Should I follow with

  Hi John, some content (i)

or

  Hi John,
  some content (ii)

Is there any etiquette behind choice (i) vs (ii)?


texts: "recognised by _ as _" or "recognised as _ by _"

texts:
Which is correct ordering of descriptors between "as" and "by" with regards to "being recognised"?

Example sentences:

  IEEE 754 has been recognised as de facto standard by all programmers.

or

  IEEE 754 has been recognised by all programmers as de facto standard.


texts:
Do I need "the" before the name of my university in the header?

Header:

  Politechnika Wroclawska - name of university in my language

  (the Wroclaw University of Technology) - translated name of university in the brackets

This header is contained in the official document.


texts:
Is this sentence grammatically correct?

The medium of instruction for the entire course is English

I am confused if the sentence above is grammatically correct or not.

Thanks.


texts: Question regarding Melissa-Harris Perry and the meaning of the word "hard"

texts:
Last year, Melissa Harris-Perry, a liberal TV commentator, was famously quoted as saying that a person (in this case a Republican lawmaker) should perhaps not be allowed to be said to be a "hard worker" if he didn't do "hard work". The specific reference was to slavery and to the type of work that slaves once did. Mike Rowe, of "Dirty Jobs", among others critized her along political lines, but failed to mention that the word "hard" has different meanings depending upon how it is used.

Am I correct that Melissa was simply confusing "hard", the adverb, with "hard" the adjective? As I understand it, A "hard worker" is someone who works dilligently or industriously, usually over a long duration. This is the definition of the word when it is used as an adverb. On the other hand, "hard work", where the word is used as an adjective, describes work that is physically demanding or difficult, strenuous, or taxing, i.e "slave labor"

I just thought I would ask for a more expert opinion, and I have wondered if Melissa ever received comments or backlash from english language experts. The buzz following her remark was mostly political, but aside from all that, wasn't this just as much about grammar as it was about politics?

Hard workers do not necessarily do hard work!


texts:
In computer science, you should have a username or a user name or a user-name and a password to be able to log into the system.

Which one is the correct spelling?


texts: Explanation on when the possessive should be used instead of an attributive noun

texts:
How would you explain to a person who is learning English, and whose native language does not have attributive nouns, when the possessive should be used instead of an attributive noun?

In particular, how would you explain it referring to the following list of sentences?

Today's news is bad
This week's schedule has been changed
Tomorrow's lunch will be at the French restaurant
This year's report will be communicated in the reunion room
Last summer's vacations were memorable
Last year's meetings were a complete disaster


texts:
When is it appropriate to use certified vs certificated?

If a person has been trained in X skill and has acquired that skill, is that person certified or certificated?

For me, certified sounds more of a product or food while certificated sounds like formal education.

If it helps, the word I use will help to describe a person that can now do X job because they now have the knowledge and skills required for the job, but it is not something as formal as gaining a qualification from a university or something like that, indeed, it's a training of 16 - 32 days.


texts: Why were some guns such as the Thompson submachine gun nicknamed 'chicago piano'?

texts:
It's a 1920s gangster/mob thing, to keep your submachine gun in some kind of case resembling an instrument, so I can understand why they were called other nicknames like 'Chicago Typewriter' (typewriters came in such a case) but I am not sure why the word 'piano' applies.
I've done some googling and although many pages say it was a nickname, I can't really find any evidence as to why. Is it the shape? The sound? The way it looks?
I wonder if anyone could shed some light on this.


texts: What's the meaning of "making a rake" in the following context?

texts:
In a scene from a movie, someone approaches an Irish farmer, who is stacking piles of peat, and says:

"Your father was a great man for making a rake. Even the great storm of '05 never knocked his rake."

Does the word "rake" here mean the same "gardening tool with a row of metal teeth at the end"? I think these words have something to do with those piles of peat, but I'm not sure. The words about the storm confused me even more. Any ideas?


texts: 'In the event of fire' or 'in the event of a fire'?

texts:
In the event of fire,...
  In the event of a fire,...

I see both variants ondifferent Web pages and I cannot understand which is correct.

Could you please explain it to me.


texts: Word for theories that can neither be proven nor disproven scientifically

texts: I'm afraid I know nothing about philosophy. However, for a part of my course I'm currently studying the mind body problem. Many of the theories I come across can neither be proven nor disproven by scientific means. Is there a word to describe this phenomenon?


texts: What are some words I could use to call someone who is not good at work?

texts:
I asked this question because the other question on workplace.se. I realized that "enemy" is not the right word to express my idea.

I was working with that person for about a year. He was bad at work and never followed the rules or standards. I didn't like him because of his performance, not because of his personality.

What are some words I could use to call him?


texts: A word like propaganda but maybe not quite

texts:
I'm wondering if there's a word to describe a situation when something is described in such a way that it sounds "inspirational" and "amazing", but once you strip off the marketing and think about how the idea would interact with the real world, you quickly see how bad it is.

For example, let's say someone comes up with a solution to the world's energy problems and all they need to do is let children have more fun and play with this power machine like it is a toy. The resultant reality is of course that child labor is what we're really talking about here.

Perhaps to even say this in a very crude way — it's like being given a treat that looks like a small ball of chocolate, but once you bite down you realize that it was something very nasty coated in chocolate.

Marketing and PR departments mask these things all the time, I really want a word that describes this complex topic so I don't have to re-introduce what I'm saying in such an elaborate way.


texts: Is "can exceed up to X" some form of colloquialism?

texts:
I ran into a sign that said "Fines can exceed up to $500".  I have no idea what this means.  Is the fine capped at $500? or can it exceed $500?  In an attempt to understand what is going on I ran a Google search for "can exceed up to" and found many other examples of it; even a Neurosurgery site contains it in their paperwork:

  DUE TO THE COMPLEX NATURE OF MANY OF OUR PATIENT’S MEDICAL PROBLEMS WAIT TIMES CAN EXCEED UP TO 1 HOUR OR MORE OF YOUR SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING IN THIS MATTER.

This one feels even more odd since you can't exceed an unbounded amount (1 or more) nor does "up to" make sense since there is no upward bound.


texts: Specific AmE term for chiefly BrE "workmate" other than "fellow worker", "coworker", and "colleague"

texts:
Is there a close synonym in modern day AmE for what is referred to in BrE as a workmate?

Aside from being current, I wish I could get a term that is idiomatic with no space or hyphen, that would sit somewhere between "coworker" and "work pal" on the intimacy scale, and that would come right after "fellow worker" on the formality one.

  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workmate

  !http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Mate?s=t

Please consider this ngram source


texts: Aren't answers to questions dependent clauses? How do you punctuate one after the question?

texts:
For example, which one(s) is correct:

Why did the chicken cross the road?  To get to the other side.
Why did the chicken cross the road:  to get to the other side.
Why did the chicken cross the road?--To get to the other side.

Please put any other ways to construct this sequence.


texts: the different usage of Health and Healthy

texts:
.......care has provided us with amenities

a)health

b)healthy

I am a bit confused but I think that we should use (healthy) because it is an adjective for (care) and thus a verb can can be brought after them. also, (health care) as whole is used to describe something, so a name must come after it.
What is the correct answer supposed to be?


texts:
See you!
See you later!

Is there any nuance by adding later or not?


texts: Why is "t" sometimes pronounced like "d" in American English?

texts:
Why, in American English, is the word Italy is pronounced /ˈɪdəli/ and not /ˈɪtəli/?
What is the rule that is followed in the pronunciation of Italy to make the letter t pronounced like a d? Why is the same rule not followed for Italian, which is pronounced /əˈtæljən/ or /ɪˈtæljən/?


texts: Is it correct and/or acceptable to say someone happened down the street?

texts: As in, they walked/came down the street.


texts: "Fast" vs "Quickly" vs "Speedy" vs "Rapidly"

texts:
A similar question has been asked.

However, is it possible to give (general) differences in usage of  fast, quickly, speedy  and rapidly?

And with respect to the top answer: Are quick and fast absolutely interchangeable?


texts: Feeling rather bogeyed, I'm looking for some fore-closure to this query — help!


texts: Subject verb agreement with collective nouns

texts:
In this sentence, which verb is correct?

(Is/Are) staff given discounts on supplies?


texts: Name for a reader who does not comprehend

texts: Is there a word for a person who uses words that they don't understand. Or a name for the usage of words that one does not comprehend? For example, I'm trying to describe a woman leading a training class who could read really well in English - very loud, pronunciation was good - but when someone asked her what "voyeurism" meant, she had no idea and admitted she'd read the word "a thousand times" and will "look it up one day".


texts:
If the meaning of regards is best wishes, would not best regards (used to express friendliness in greetings, especially at the end of letters) a pleonasm, in the context of letters?

  Best regards,
  kiamlaluno

  Best best wishes,
  kiamlaluno


texts: Italics or quotes in reporting a Voicemail message in a fiction novel

texts: In a work of fiction, I have quoted a Voicemail message received. Should that message be in italics, and if so, with or without quotes?


texts: Looking for a word/phrase that means childishly self-centered?

texts: I am looking for a word or phrase to describe someone who thinks their own problems should supersede everyone else's, and who is childish about it, too boot.


texts: “All X-related things” / “All things X-related” / “All things X related”?

texts:
My French origins (probably?) would have me intuitively write “all X-related things”, but it seems usage favours the construct “all things X-related”, or even without a hyphen: “all things X related” (see Google results for “all related things”).

So, are any of these incorrect? Which one would be best?

(If that's any help, I want to say “software engineer with a passion for all things user related”. Also in this particular case, should I write “users related” instead?)

Thanks!


texts: "Quench thirst" vs. "still thirst" when "thirst" is used figuratively

texts: Do I say "quenched my thirst" or "stilled my thirst" when I speak of something that I desire and not actual thirst? E.g. a thirst for a new car or something.


texts: I named my company Higher Standard Service, is this proper english?

texts: So i named my company Higher Standard Service because our company motto is to provide a higher standard "of" service. I want to be sure that by leaving out the "of" in the company name i don not sound silly.


texts:
I'm looking for a term to describe a person who is skilled in handicraft. Specifically, I have a friend who leaves me amazed with every drawing, painting, fimo figure, friendship bracelet, sculpture, model of the Millennium Falcon in a bottle or anything else conjured by her own fingers, and I'm looking for a term to describe this aspect of her.
I don't really like "craftswoman". The closest I got is "artisan", but I'm looking for more options to see if there's something that fits better.


texts: Usage of "p." versus "pp." versus "pg." to denote page numbers and page ranges

texts: At the risk of saying something foolish, I won't attempt to answer the question myself. I understand that all three synchronically more or less equivalent and substitutable, but it would be quite nice to know the traditional usage notes on the abbreviations.


texts:
I saw a western where one of the characters had been shot multiple times, miles from help and was clearly dying. He was speaking to the shooter and said something like "You've killed me".

Is it correct English to say this?

i.e. Do you have to be actually dead to have been "killed", or is dying enough.


texts:
I wrote a poem a few years ago and which I showed someone recently and which he liked. He asked me what metre I wrote it in, and I told him, I wasn't thinking of metre when I wrote it.
Q. But that made me curious, is there a metre to my poem?
The poem is part of the prologue of a play I'm writing, as one can tell by the stage directions.

Solon walks onto a spotlit stage, everything else is in darkness. He turns and looks straight at the audience and speaks:
SOLON:
I have come here from that other world where Hades has established his kingdom apart from all the other gods and which he alone rules.
I am Solon, Law-Giver of Athens!
Call no man happy until he is dead and passed to the world below. Men are born to perish but some dare to think that their deeds will live on.
When I was a young man, Athens had grown choleric, gout-ridden, rancourous. Petty men stood as petty tyrants lording it over the citizens, the assemblies and the agora.
When I was older, the citizens made a delegation to my house and asked that I cut the canker out. I stood between the men of the valleys, the men of the hills, and those of the coast. And those that had much and those that had little. I made myself a mighty shield of Athens so that Athens may prosper and that none suffer unjustly.
Let no man call Solon unjust!
I cut out the canker so that the healthy flesh could grow and the sweet sap rise. I treated the common and the uncommon alike, taking their true measure, framing Athenian laws out of their span. And out of just laws, Athens rose to splendour, as did my name. Everywhere Solon's name was proclaimed.
But now that Athen's lamp burns high and bright, a shining city upon a hill, Athens is in danger of a fall.
O, Pallas Athena, immortal goddess, lover of nocturnal solitudes and who delights in the deer, I call on thee. Thy city and thy temples may fall, thy altars abandoned and thy priests and priestesses sold.
Hear me, O much honoured goddess, shining in the dark sky. Key-bearer of the universe, ruler, nymph and nursemaid who haunts the hills.
Implacable goddess, huntress. I am a son of earth and stars. Cast thy favour on thy faithful son and thy faithful city.
Great Perikles has anointed Athens with a silver diadem and your temple shines like a pearl in a silver band. Now, great Perikles has now fallen and all of Athens mourns but not warlike Sparta.
They sent no condolences nor delegation. They wolfishly eye Athens, Athens that did repulse the vast Persian horde that did threaten all of Attica with Xerxes yoke
Now Sparta makes sport of her and would possess and rule her - richest prize of proud Attica.
Sparta, a tyrannous city and a barborous people, who make slaves of their citizens. They will break Athenian law and custom, abandon all measure, turn our citizens to slaves, and slaves to dogs and bend and lash thy backs with their savage whips.
O Athens, my shining city! Wouldst thou turn slave to Sparta? Wouldst thou turn womanish and seek a master? I feel it may come. Look rather to thy better natures.
Citizens, soldiers, and law-givers of Athens! Fall ye not into conspiratorial whispers and dark plots. Censor thyselves! Perikles may be dead but Athens still lives! He was a friend to all democrats, nay, he loved them. He did thee much honour. You have heard him speak and cannot now deny or dishonour him - if you do you dishonour yourselves!
Solon says, Athenians! Hearken to thyselves and to thy laws! I will now take leave of this place but remain watchful.
[exit Solon]


texts:
Sentence reads "computer programming skills is a must, particularly with Language A and Language B"
I'm fairly certain this should say the programming skills ARE a must, on account of skills being a plural. However, I had the thought that the skills are one requirement, so should in fact be referred to in the singular...
Any thoughts?


texts: A designation for a person who simplifies things for others

texts: I am looking out for a formal word to be used as a designation for a person who simplifies things at work by automating everything.


texts: What is the origin of xox used to mean kisses and hugs?


texts: I asked someone how their day is going. They responded "Hello and it's going lol" how do i respond to that? or was that a way of saying dont bother me?


texts:
When people say "Everything happens for a reason" it sounds like that "reason" is in the future. Is my interpretation wrong?

If not, how do I clearly state that "Everything happens due to cause and effect" in a more simple way? Hence it would stick to people's minds easily.

Clarification on the opening question:
People are using it to convey the meaning of "Everything happens for some purpose"


texts: What does "couldn't have cared less" mean?

texts:
I look up the dictionary that it means It doesn't matter to me for couldn't care less . However, I can't get *couldn't have cared less* Thanks.

A: How long have you been divorced?

B: Two years since it's been final, but it hadn't been good for years.
Honestly, we stuck it out for the kids, who couldn't have cared less.


texts: Someone Selective About Sharing Information / Knowledge for Exclusive Use

texts:
What do you call a person who is selective about sharing information/knowledge with others because he/she wants the exclusive/private use of that information/knowledge to his/her own benefit/credit.

For instance, a epicurean who doesn't freely share their latest/greatest finds (i.e., restaurants, where they got their clothes, shoes, accessories, and other products from, etc.), and who will only share with certain people he/she is fond of or wants to impress. He/she doesn't want others to copy or take credit for the privileged/valuable information/knowledge attained.

Thank you!


texts:
Is this usage of "felt" properly?
Ex: I felt as if he was about to say "I love you".


texts: Idiom request for describing someone who just makes frustrating or disappointing remarks

texts:
I'm looking for an idiom or expression that means someone just makes frustrating or disappointing remarks.
Maybe some of you have watched the TV cartoon 'The adventures of Gulliver' in which there was as a character named "Glum". He was all the time pessimistic about everything and used statements like:

"We'll never make it"; "We'll never get out of here alive"; and "We're doomed."

I want to use that idiom or expression in examples like this:

Husband: After getting my promotion, I will take you to a fantastic trip.
Wife: Oh, stop talking nonsense! I know It won't never happen, it's impossible you get a promotion.
Husband: You remind me of 'Glum'! All the time _____ (i.e. acting like Glum, just having a gloomy outlook on everything). Please stop using such remarks and be a little optimistic!

I have found wet blanket for describing such people.
PS:
We Iranians use an expression that literally says "to read a frustrating or disappointing verse".
So in above example, the husband might reply like this:

Hey Glum, the only thing you know is reading a frustrating/ disappointing verse!

(Sometimes we call these people 'Glum'.)


texts: What is the term that means "how a noun and verb match"?

texts:
What is the word (I believe it starts with a "C") which means that a noun and a verb go together, e.g.: you can:

hold a meeting
start a meeting
end a meeting

but it would be odd to say that you:

make a meeting
create a meeting
do a meeting

etc.

I learned the word a long time ago in a linguistics class I took, it's something like "correlate" or "conjugate" but I can't remember it.


texts: I would like to ask if I can say: People live from farming and animal husbandry. Would you rather say people live "off" farming?


texts: Is this grammatically correct? “Thinking of you and I”

texts:
http://vaadin.com/ makes a tool for User Interfaces (UI). Their tag line is “Thinking of U and I.” A play on words, I suppose, for UI, and “you and I.” It bothers me, though, because I think both pronouns should be in the objective case, i.e., “you” and “me.”

Is “Thinking of you and I” grammatically correct?


texts: Idiom for asking for someone's knowledge of something

texts:
I am wondering if there is a word for requesting or requested someone's knowledge of something.
This came up in a conversation I was having about car insurance. I had to explain to them that my question did not directly affect me, but I would just like to get to know whatever information or insight they had on the topic.
I guess the closest examples I can think of are insight and understanding. But I feel as though both of those give the feeling that there is a secret or not well known portion of the topic. Such as something that would be directly specific to them, rather than universally accepted facts.


texts: Can Latin phrases be regarded as English adverbs?

texts:
A task is to reveal and mark all adverbs in a passage. The passage, which is written in English, contains a few Latin phrases, such as apriori,  defacto, etc.

Can this sort of Latin phrases, given they are functioning in a sentence as adverbial modifiers, be regarded as  adverbs in English?


texts: How do you show someone is crying in dialogue? (as in, is there an onomatopoeia that can show crying well? I ask because "(insert dialogue)..sniffle..(insert dialogue)..snifle..", does show that the effects of crying are playing a role in the dialogue but is there a better, or cooler onomatopoeia that could be used?) Also, is there a single word or phrase to say that someone is slowly stopping crying?


texts: Is there a term for the point in time when a product can begin to use itself?

texts:
I know there is the term "dogfooding" and have even found other variations on the phrase "... eat our own dog food":

"drinking our own champaign"
"eating our own cooking"
"ice cream our customers like to eat"

These all refer to the act of doing it; after the fact and not necessarily the point in time when it becomes a possibility. This question is looking for a term to define that point in time.

If we were to - temporarily - use the term "inception point" to refer to that point in time, a usage example could be:

  "When will our widget-factory project reach the inception point?"


texts: When using title case, should "hands-on" be capitalized like this: "Hands-On"? Or like this: "Hands-on"?


texts:
Nurses, therapists, and others in similar caring roles often use "we" when talking to patients.

  How are we doing today?

I'm looking for the grammatical/technical name of this mode of speaking, and especially a reference on it that I can link to.

I believe I have heard it called either "clinical we" or "therapeutic we," but I can't find resources when Googling for those terms.


texts: I am a non-native English speaker from India. I would like to know the usage of "Like anything" when you want to emphasize something you want to say. For example, "He beat him like anything", "She laughs at me like anything". Do native speakers use this kind of language when they want to intensify their sentences? Out of all, is it correct to use "Like anything"? Can someone please shed some light on this. Thank you in advance.


texts: Using present perfect in recent past question?

texts:
The recent water crisis in Johannesburg ____ global attention.

A) gained
B) has gained

I think both of the answers are correct. Because it's talking about the recent past then has gained can be used. But the water crisis is no more relevant as it is not continuing in the current time. So gained can be used.
Can someone please explain which answer is correct and explain it. Thank you!


texts: Origin of the phrase 'redress the balance'

texts: It seems to me that the word 'redress' is seldom used without the word 'balance', so I was thinking that the phrase "redress the balance" might have origins in some trade or other, but I can't find out much about it after much (well, a bit of) googling.  Can anybody shed any light on it at all, or does it not really count as a phrase on its own – is that just what we have all decided to say when we want to convey something like 'make things fair again'?


texts:
You do everything around here?
Yes.
I'm going to cut the deal.

Why isn't the phrase just "you do everything here"?
I know cut and deal, but it doesn't seem not mean "cut the deal" or "cancel the deal;" it means "make the deal."
For many times, I know each word of a sentence, but I still cannot understand the sentence. This is my feel about English.


texts: Is "I should be in by 11.00 AM" grammaticaly correct?

texts: Today I got an e-mail from a guy I had a meeting. He was late and he wrote me "I should be in by 11". I understood what he meant but I wonder is this sentence grammatically correct or not ? I never saw such a usage for "in" and using "in" and "by" together seems to me a little bit suspicious.


texts: Correct usage of the word 'storage' or 'storing'?

texts:
Which is the correct sentence? And why?

Those who want more and more storing space for their content can understand the importance of portable storing solutions.

Those who want more and more storage space for their content can understand the importance of portable storing solutions.


texts: Difference between "pull over" and "pull away"

texts: What is the difference between pull over and pull away? I am still trying to get used to American English. It seems like if I do not understand the driving vocabulary I am going to fail in the driving test.


texts:
Example sentence for the scenario I have in mind:

  We will bring the necessities that most people take for granted such
  as...

Is "that" better left omitted, or would omitting "that" create a grammatically incorrect sentence?


texts: Why is the word "engineering" used in "social engineering"?

texts: The word "engineering" is usually used for something constructive and innovative, for example, mechanical engineering, software engineering, aerospace engineering. But "social engineering" denotes something malicious, why is it so?


texts: Word that categorizes this set of words: {forewords, preface, prologue, chapter, author's note, etc}

texts:
I am looking for a singular word that categorizes this set of words: {forewords, preface, prologue, chapter, author's note, etc}

The best I can come up with right now is Section Heading which is obviously not one word.


texts:
Which of the following is grammatically correct

              A life blessed by God

                     or

               A life blest by God

My research just gets me more confused.


texts: Generic, catch-all term for "power user"?

texts:
I'm stumped labeling a class of characters who use unconventional weapons and tactics for self-defense / combat. Since I'm looking for a title, a noun would be preferred. However, I can see utility in a fitting adjective used to describe the classification rather than a title if it’s more apt.

When I say "power user" I mean any kind of spell caster (be it magical or technological), shapeshifter (werewolf or doppelgänger), or superhero, mutant, or even the force wielding half of a Jedi.

Can anyone offer any label, title, or adjectve which could fit for any of these types of characters?

Example sentence:

  When I say _______, I mean any kind of spell caster (be it magical or technological), shapeshifter (werewolf or doppelgänger), or superhero, mutant, or even the force wielding half of a Jedi.

Examples of coinciding classes:

Marksman: a person proficient in ranged weaponry, such as bows and guns.
Fighter: a person proficient in melee combat and weaponry, such as martial arts and daggers.
Sentinel: a person proficient with shields and deflecting stacks directed at himself and others.
Saboteur: a person proficient with stealth and explosives.
"power-user": a person proficient in the use of advanced technology, the supernatural, occult, or schools of magic.


texts:
The following quotes all seem to contain agreement errors between their subjects and predicates:

  A total of five youths were arrested in both incidents.

Shouldn't it be "A total . . . was"? The sense is plural overall, but the subject is the singular "total." The object of the preposition is "five youths." Nonetheless, the verb should be the singular "was," agreed?

  Early returns from rural areas indicated that support from the Communists remain strong.

Shouldn't it be ". . . support . . . remains strong"?

  A group of neighborhood volunteers are identifying these houses and forcing owners to fix them up or tear them down.

Shouldn't it be "A group . . . is"?

  The council's actions, concluding more than six hours of testimony on the matter, effectively nullifies a city hearings officer's decision.

Shouldn't it be "The council's actions . . . nullify"?


texts:
Context

I am involved in playing a video game that has roots in Japan. Sometimes I feel the language chosen suffers from translation issues. This game has chosen to use the word "Imperil" to mean that you take an action to make an enemy weak to an element such as fire or ice. I originally had to look up the meaning of imperil because I didn't know what it meant (link).

  verb: put at risk of being harmed, injured, or destroyed.

It makes sense to me that this is the right word. But, the community around the game uses the word in a way that feels like nails on a chalkboard to me. They say: I imperiled him with fire.

Examples

The following are examples from the online community that feel wrong to me.

I imperiled him with fire.
I want to imperil him with fire.
My sword has the ability to imperil fire.
You can imperil him with fire.
You can use fire imperil to make him weaker.

My Thoughts

Using examples of the word imperil from various online dictionaries I found on the web I came up with the following, which seem better, but I am still unsure if they are correct.

I imperiled his resistance to fire.
I want to imperil his resistance to fire.
My sword has the ability to imperil his resistance to fire.
You can imperil his resistance to fire.
You can use fire imperilment to make him weaker.

Questions

Perhaps, it is that I am uncomfortable only because it is a new word. But, I just wanted to come here to see if I could get some clarity on usage and grammar.

Is there anything wrong with the grammar of these original examples?
Are these correct usages for imperil?
Would these refinements be any better?


texts: Is the "really" in "I don't really know" necessary?

texts: I know that one can have a  greater or lesser amount of surety (i.e. "I'm not really sure"), but don't you either know or not know something?  Are there degrees of knowledge?  I hear this phrase often from reporters and news correspondents: "We don't really know..."  I think that this is a way to avoid saying "We don't know", which sounds more blunt, but is more precise.


texts:
I recently heard a friend refer to a wasp as a “jasper” I’ve never heard of this before, and haven’t been able to find anyone else who uses this term.

Is this usage of the word “jasper” meaning wasp commonplace anywhere, and if so where does it come from?

They’re from Somerset if that helps at all.


texts: What's the adjectival form of "sauce" as "salty" is to "salt"?

texts: Saucy has a totally different meaning. When I describe food having too much sauce, I would like to use an adjective, however salty is not really applicable here.


texts: Idiom for describing an unintended benefit

texts: I am looking for an idiom to describe an unintended benefit that results due to an action taken.


texts: Looking for a word or phrase to describe "out of sthg"

texts:
How do you say when a source contains water, but it no longer has its water supplies? So if I pump out the remaining water it will be dry, but it is not dry now.

The same can happen for example by a mine, we can see that this one will be the last lode, and after that we have to close the mine, since we will be out of minerals.

Another example is money, we lost our job and we have some spare money which we know will run out soon. So we are out of money source, but not yet out of money.

Is there any special word, phrase to describe these conditions?

(I currently use dry and exhausted by the source, so I am looking for a better word than exhausted by that example, if that is possible.)