texts:
According to dictionary:

adjective
    well known for some bad quality or deed.

But sometimes I see news or people say:

infamous [person]
infamous [movie]
...

and I checked these person or movie don't have bad manners or bad quality at all, and it sounds to me "infamous" in these cases more positive (or I am wrong). So should I understand "infamous" with a negative meaning?

EDIT: For example, one video went viral about a dad having an interview at home and his toddler broke into the room, it was funny, and the event was harmless (I guess). And now I am reading this article:
It’s Been Exactly 12 Months Since The Infamous BBC Dad On-Air Blooper. If according to dictionary, then it means bad deed. But this event went viral and peope loved it.


texts: What's the word for someone who opposes a generally established opinion?

texts:
I'm looking for a noun to describe someone who's against something. For example:

He's one of those people who oppose the idea of...

I know you can simply say "He's against the idea of", but I was wondering if there was any noun that I could use in this particular scenario. I thought about simply using the word opponent but isn't it more suitable in perhaps a competitive game context?


texts: What do you call activities you do to keep your curiosity alive?

texts:
Is there a single word for activities which you engage in to keep your curiosity or interest in a certain field alive?

I mean is there some word that conveys the idea that the series of activities was intentionally and purposefully undertaken to stay interested in a certain area.


texts: Proper word for non-sequitur asides in TV and Film

texts:
The TV show Family Guy very often, usually multiple times per episode, will cut away from the main plot to show a weird flashback or just a miniature story that is completely unrelated to the main plot even when it's framed as having been a flashback. Family Guy isn't the only show/movie that does things like this it just seems to be the one that does it the most often.

Now, I don't know where I picked the term up from, but for the longest time, I've been referring to these asides as mise-en-scenes. But I'd just recently looked up a bunch of different definitions for that word, and it doesn't seem to quite fit. (edit: it seems this section is confusing people. I'm not asking what mise-en-scene means, I'm asking what the word for the thing I've described in the first paragraph is)

But then, what is the proper term for these?


texts: "cut" vs "cuts" in "His truck cut slowly across the field."

texts:
Consider the following two sentences. Intuitively they both sound grammatically correct. However, semantically it feels like there is something different but I can't quite figure out.

What is the formal explanation for the difference?

First:

  His truck cut slowly across the field.

Second:

  His truck cuts slowly across the field.


texts: Looking for the inverse -- not the opposite -- of "zero-sum game"

texts:
If I have 5 dollars, and I exchange them for your banana, that's a zero-sum game.

If I have a candle, and I use it to light yours, that is not a zero-sum game. It could be said to be the opposite of a zero-sum game, and I'd like to know if there's a more apt description.

Now, what if there's some really infectious disease? Eradicating it in one case curbs the macro-epidemic, and spreading it to another is likely to cause an exponential rise.

This seems to me the inverse of a zero-sum game. How is it this concept best generically referred to?


texts:
Is the use of "not" in this sentence correct or not?

Don't communicate until the phone line is not fully secured.

Kindly advise.


texts: Difference between 'How come I know' and 'How can I know'

texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences?
Or are they the same?

  How come I know what you study?

  How can I know what you study?


texts:
For example, in novels, or poems, if I happen to make some kind of imperative towards the sun, or third-person things as such, how should I do?

For instance, when I want the sun to rise. Is it:

  Rise, the sun!

But I've never heard such sentence, so I doubt it's right.


texts: "The more..., the less..." sentence with the same verb

texts:
I'm kinda ok with basic "The more..., the less..." type of sentences, like

  The more you think about it, the less likely you are to take action,

but what if I want to say next:

  The more repetitive this action becomes, the less sincere it... er... becomes?

Something is wrong here. Replacing "becomes" with "is" in any or both parts doesn't make it better I think. Or should I give up on this and paraphrase it as "Repetitiveness of this action makes it less sincere"?

This particular sentence is not very important but I would come up to this question anyway sooner or later because I often say things in that way in my native language.


texts:
below is a question from Manhattan gmat.

Why are these considered wrong:

"the winner was determined through a coin toss"

and

"the winner was determined from a coin toss".

I cannot make out what exactly and why!


texts: Is there a term for unconsciously using a wrong word when speaking because you were otherwise looking at, listening to, or thinking about that word?

texts: As a contrived example, you might be looking at the book "1984" when someone ask you when you were born, so you answer "1984" by mistake.  You do, of course, know when you were born.  You just had a little neurolinguistic slip.  So, is there a word that perfectly describes that situation — or perhaps the word?  It is not a "malapropism" or any such failure to know what is correct; it is just an ephemeral "slip" of the brain.


texts:
I'm reviewing a book for a friend.  He wrote the sentence, "Tom Smith relays the following anecdote about the his baby's first exposure to the zoo:"

Then the page breaks and the anecdote is on the next page.  Is it ok to have a colon at the end of a page like that?


texts:
The following sentence seems incorrect to me, because the adjective timely is being used as an adverb:

  Payments not received timely will be returned and additional interest
  will be due.

That said, does timely even have an adverbial form? Timelyly?


texts: What word could describe the movement of a parked car inside which a couple is making out?

texts: "The car moved up and down", seems too simple. Maybe "sway", but it seems soft to me.


texts:
I’ve seen many works in which the phrase “small but obvious” is used. I understand and acknowledge the fact that it is, essentially, perfectly fine to simply use these precise words; however, I was wondering if there was a single word which accurately sums up the meaning of the phrase. I could swear that I’ve heard a term like it before, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was.

I’ve already done a quick search on Google, but the entire first page of engine results were—primarily—synonyms and definitions of both “obvious” and “non-obvious”, through six links to online thesauri and dictionaries, respectively.

The other four referred me to online books, via Google Books; Systema Porifera: A Guide to the Classification of Sponges, Mammals of South America, Volume 2: Rodents, Vascular Flora of the Southeastern United States: Asteraceae, and The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study.

. . . I’ve decided that I’ll most likely be best off in the long run if I simply avoid the content suggestions on the next pages.

Anyway! Just in case a provided example would make answering this easier, then this is the context in which I’m going to use it:

  His breathing quickened, a [small yet obvious] change that hadn’t gone unnoticed by his friend.

Any feedback is appreciated, and comments are always welcome! Thanks for the help, everyone!


texts:
A pet peeve of mine is that a colleague at work keeps pronouncing "height" the same as the word "hate" whenever he speaks English. I corrected him once, but he keeps using his pronunciation. We have been working together for years now and it's a funny little thing that I keep to myself because I don't want to be obnoxious.

Now recently I saw someone on TV pronouncing the word as "hate" as well, so that got me thinking: Is there a native dialect in the English language that pronounces the word "height" as "hate" or very closely to that? I'm explicitly not looking for non-native speakers' accents.

Edit: To clarify, we are both Germans and need to switch to English for certain meetings. This question is not about me trying to correct my colleague's language but rather for me to find out whether there are actually native speakers pronouncing that word as part of their local dialect.


texts: Adjectives that can describe both a flavour and a personality

texts:
I am trying to write a sentence to show the similarity between the taste of a cuisine and the people's characters, such as
Influenced by the custom and culture, the local cuisine is as bland as the native people.
Are there any other adjectives that can be used to describe both a taste/flavour and a personality?


texts:
I guess I've just heard something like This is humiliating beyond belief is what this is on Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" [s03e05, around 17 min. mark]. Can anyone analyze the structure for me? Shouldn't it  be Humiliating beyond belief is what this is?

Or did I mishear it?


texts: How should I transform "Jane has just broken her leg" into a question starting with "Who" and whose answer is "Jane"?

texts:
How should I transform this sentence into a question?

Jane has just broken her leg.

How do I form a question from that sentence so that it starts with who and whose answer is Jane?

Q: Who__________?
A: Jane.

Is it all right to ask it this way:

Who has just broken his or her leg?


texts: What does it mean when someone says "take it easy" and another one replies "easy your uncle Fred's ass"? Does it mean " F*ck you"?


texts:
Why are there inconsistencies in the pronunciation of the consonants of the alphabet? For example: 'b' is pronounced like 'bee' but 'm' is pronounced as 'em' rather than 'me'. The pronunciation of 'h' matches nothing and 'j' and 'k' are orphaned twins.

In Turkish (the only other language I have any knowledge of), the consonants are consistently sounded as if they have an 'e' appended.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Henry Adam’s use of punctuation, “:—”

I've seen a couple of times, ":-" occurring where I could expect just a colon to occur, perhaps preceding a list.

When is it correct to use ":-"?

What is it called?

Am I simply wrong and think I remember seeing this, when in actual fact I didn't?


texts: What is the origin of "Panama schedule"?

texts: "Panama schedule" describes an alternating 2-2-3 shift plan with 12-hour shifts over a period of 14 days, common in the military and some industries. What is the origin of this phrase?


texts: What does this mean: "Avoid oral calcium, dairy products, shark cartilage & exercise during the medication."

texts:
I found this behind a medicine. At first thought, the sentence looks like it suggests avoiding exercise during the medication. However, I remember reading somewhere that in US English, when there is a list of items, the last item is NOT preceded by "and" unlike in British English.  E.g.:

  American English: "item1, item2, item3 are the items in this list."
  British English : "item1, item2 and item3 are the items in this list."

This being an American medicine, should I infer that I should avoid oral calcium, dairy products and shark cartilage, and do exercise during the medication?

I know it sounds trivial, but something like this on a medicine, I better get the facts right.

And for the record: The medicine is not for me. I was asked this question and was wondering myself.

Edit: The original text was "Avoid oral calcium, dairy products, shark cartilage & exercise during the cleanse". I had to change "during the cleanse" to "during the medication" to give the question's title sufficient context.


texts: What is wrong with mixing “taller” and “tallest” like this?

texts:
Although the towers appear identical, the west tower is the tallest, standing 16 feet taller than the east tower.

What might be wrong? Does it have to do with comparative and superlative degrees?


texts: Usage of she and her according to grammar

texts:
No one but her ever made a perfect score on the test.
Why we use her and not she?


texts: Passive form of a sentence that has "promise to [verb]"

texts:
Sentence:

  The manufacturer promises to repair or replace the product if
  necessary within warranty period

I want to convert the above sentence into passive. Is either of the following sentences the correct passive form?

The product was promised by the manufacturer to repair or replace if necessary within warranty period
The product was promised to be repaired or replaced if necessary
within warranty period by the manufacturer

I feel like sentence 2 is the right one, but that is my feeling as I am not sure.

For sentence 1, I only changed "promise" to passive form while for sentence 2, I changed all of "promise," "repair" and "replace" into passive form.

So, can you tell me what is the right way to change the above sentence to passive form?


texts:
What should i do?
 or
What shall i do?

Which is correct.
Note: Im poor in English. So araised this question. I didnt get any proper answer for this question..
Give me proper answer with reason.


texts: When should 'viz.' be followed by a comma?

texts: Some Latin abbreviations as 'i.e.' and 'e.g.' are always followed by a comma. For the Latin abbreviation 'viz.', sometimes it is followed by a comma, sometimes it is not. What is the rule for inserting or not inserting a comma just after 'viz.' ?


texts: Word or phrase that means "a hard decision but one that is beneficial/worthwhile"

texts: Title, looking for a word like this for a reflection of my life I guess, really want to emphasize that it is difficult to make such a decision but at the end of the day it's going to benefit you


texts: "Data source types" vs. "types of data sources"

texts:
Is there any difference in meaning between "Many different data source types" and "Many different types of data sources"?

I have no strong understanding on the use of "of".


texts:
In the famous song Every Breath You Take by The Police, Sting sings:

  Since you've gone I been lost without a trace…

I admit that I am not some expert in English Grammar, but this "I been" sounds a little bit strange to me. Shouldn’t it be "I’ve been"? And consequently, the beginning of the sentence changed into "Since you’d gone…"?


texts:
Specifically, I'm wondering about the definition about relationships:

  of, relating to, or having a close relationship in which there is no romance or sex.

Is "platonic" generally appropriate?

It seems useful to describe non-romantic relationships, but most definitions emphasize the nonsexual part of the definition. Would it be appropriate to use in places where nonsexual would not be?


texts:
Where can I learn about the English rules for noun phrases in which a modifying noun is semantically plural? We say "Horse trainer," not "horses trainer", even though there is usually more than one horse.

In some rare cases, however, the plural noun is used. I vaguely recall Steven Pinker saying something about such cases -- perhaps it involves phrases where the plural noun is irregular or takes on its own lexemic status.

I'd appreciate a summary of this and a pointer to an article.


texts: Is it ever possible to use a comma after an essential clause?

texts:
Forgive me if my use of terminology isn't quite right...

I'm editing this sentence:

  This is a serious problem that ranges from elementary school teachers to adjunct professors such as here, and deserves far more attention than it receives.

The segment "that ranges from teachers to professors such as here" plays the role of what I believe is an essential clause. From what I've read, you generally use no comma after an essential clause, as in this example:

  The man [who ordered the pizza] tried to pay with a foreign currency.

versus with a nonessential clause:

  Mr Brown, [who ordered the pizza], tried to pay with a foreign currency.

Which ARE placed between commas. So, my question is: CAN you use a comma after an essential clause, as in the my above sentence? Or am I required to remove the comma?

The reason I fell into this rabbit hole at all was I at first thought the second clause was a fragment and added a subject, but then I realized it didn't SOUND bad the way it had been... and got super curious!

Let me know if I'm mistaken at all, and thanks in advance.

SECOND UPDATE

Actually, now that I think of it, I'm certain this question no longer has to do with restrictive vs non-restrictive clauses, and rather has to do with the grammar of this sentence:

  This is a serious problem, and deserves far more attention than it receives.

Assuming this sentence is grammatically correct, I'm now more confident that the answer I've marked is the correct explanation.


texts: Phrase or word for concept of incorporation of individual preferences into single final product

texts: What phrase or word suggestions come to mind for the concept of selecting a group of individual preferences to be incorporated into the production of a single finished product?  For instance, when buying a new car, one would determine a list of individual preferences of color, equipment, accessories, etc. to be incorporated within the car that will be purchased.


texts: Is there a grammatical name for the third-person 'you'?

texts:
I've had this conversation several times in my life, where I use a second-person pronoun when actually using the third-person:

"If you were dressed up as a clown at night holding black balloons, I would be suspicious too!"
"I would never dress like a clown."

Or exempting the 'if' from the sentence:

"You choose to join the organization, then you're responsible for that organization's beliefs and policies."
"I am not a member of that organization"

It's actually hard to come up with examples for this off the top of my head. The point is that I use 'you' as a third person pronoun because it's hypothetical, but it's taken literally, and I want to be able to tell the person I'm talking to what the name of the grammatical construct is so that he or she doesn't misunderstand me.


texts:
The German noun "Ansatz" is widely used (at least) in physics and, less frequently, in math texts in English. I have seen it always in singular though and now I must use its (English) plural. The German plural of this word is "Ansätze".

Which of the following plural forms is the right one for the Germanism "Ansatz"?

Ansatzs (perhaps the expected one)
Ansätze (too exaggerated?)
other unexpected, like "these Ansatz are..." (unchanged)


texts: When was the word "chillax" first used? I'm sure it would have risen from TV or movies.


texts: How are aspirated letters different from silent letters when pronouncing a word?


texts: Changing a quotation so that the original is recognised, but has been given a new meaning

texts:
I didn't know how to phrase my title to make it meaningful to anyone, and I can't really explain it now, so I shall use an example:

The opening phrase on the DSGB website is "It's counting, Jim, but not as we know it". This comes from the Star Trek quote "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it". What is it called when someone does this (mainly for comedic effect)?


texts: "I am going to have to", "I have to", and "I will have to"

texts:
What is the difference between these two:

I am going to have to see you sometime.
I have to see you sometime.

When would you use the first one?

On that note, how is . . .

I will have to see you sometime.

. . . any different from the two sentences previously mentioned?


texts: spelling of "layed off" as in "lay off from a job

texts:
I am writing a resume. I am stuck on how to spell a word.
In a case of loosing a job due to a lay off, is it spelled "layed" or "laid?"

Thank you,
Barbara


texts: Is there a term for when visual negative-space and positive-space are switched

texts:
I think this is a term in the perception/cognition area of words.

I recently saw this visual illusion.
I don't recall the last time that I've seen this 'flipping' (to be punny) of what is negative-space and what is positive-space.

Is there a word for this flipping/breaking of what is defined as one things vs. its opposite?

Context

In my mind, this is analogous to the theatrical term of "breaking the fourth wall".


texts: Collective noun "police" — singular or plural?

texts:
A newspaper ran this headline today:

  Police crack down on IAC protesters.

Isn't the following more appropriate?

  Police cracks down on IAC protesters.


texts: He has only laid down for an hour today?

texts:
I would like to express that a person has only reclined for an hour so far today.  Is it correct to say:

  He has only laid down for an hour so far today.

or is it perhaps:

  He has only lay down for an hour so far today.


texts:
This seems like a simple question but I'm stuck.  I'm writing about Millennials and want to reference their background.  Which is correct (and why)?  Below is the sentence and (because it may be relevant to the answer) it's lead in:

To understand what Millennials want, let’s look at how they are different from us – including how their up-bringing differed from that of prior generations.  More Millenials came (or come?) from families where both parents were actively involved in their up-bringing.


texts: Is the '- etum' suffix exclusive to tree plantations?

texts:
I was familiar with the word 'arboretum', a plantation of trees for ornamental or scientific purposes, but not with 'pinetum' which I heard for the first time yesterday. Then I discovered 'coniferetum'.

The OED tells me of the -etum suffix :

  Forming nouns denoting a collection or plantation of plants

I cannot remember any other English words carrying the same suffix and I would be interested to learn why there is this speciality in English.


texts: What's the difference between "paltry" and "meager"? Any connotations?


texts: Origin of fag (meaning a cigarette in British English)

texts:
Aside from the offensive meaning, colloquial British English uses the term fag to indicate a cigarette.

James has gone outside for a fag

In my googling, I thought perhaps this originates from one of the possible meanings of faggot:

a bundle of sticks, twigs, or branches bound together and used as fuel, a fascine, a torch, etc.
dictionary.reference.com

In a very loose sense, this definition could be applied to a cigarette. It's a collection of materials (tar, tobacco, etc) bound together for burning.
The origin from Etymonline indicates:

1888, probably from fag "loose piece, last remnant of cloth" (late 14c., as in fag-end "extreme end, loose piece," 1610s)

This appears to be speculative, and doesn't necessarily explain why this definition fell into common usage to indicate a cigarette. I'm looking for something more concrete indicating what caused it to be used in this context.
What is the origin of this meaning of the word?


texts: Swapping first letters of different words

texts: What is it called when you swap the first letters of two words?, for example - red truck is what is intended...instead ted ruck is what comes out.


texts: Why is this a correct sentence? Her uncle prefers that she speak with him personally

texts: An native English speaker said the correct grammar should be ... 'she speak,' rather than ...'she speaks.' What is the grammar rule?


texts: Absence of "and" between two relative pronoun clauses

texts:
When you are anxious, the perceived threat potential of stimuli related to your anxiety can rise. Thus, things you typically encounter that might not usually trigger fear now do so.

I find the bold part weird. The grammar structure seems to be (that) you typically encounter and that might not usually trigger fear now modifying things as relative clauses.

Don't you need and between two clauses? Could anyone tell me how it is possible to omit "and" there? (in grammar).


texts: Are idioms impervious to grammatical rules?

texts:
I heard someone on the radio this morning who was talking about some interest rate say, "[such and such an interest rate] will remain at one point two percent, in other words: low."

Since "low" is one word, that would seem to make the phrase, "in other words: low" sound incorrect.  However, "in other words" is a well-established idiom.  Does that make it impervious to grammatical rules, or should he have said "...in another word: low"?


texts: How do you quote a passage that has used '[sic]' mistakenly?

texts:
The usage of '[sic]' is well defined for quoting a passage that you believe has an error in it: nearest to the mistake you place '[sic]' within the quotes. For example, suppose I write a letter from I to you. This last sentence of mine is counter to most norms of English writing (it's wrong), so in quoting it someone would naturally want to write:

  ...suppose I write a letter from I [sic] to you.

Suppose though that I do something else, suppose I write a letter from me to you. This follows accepted grammatical practice (it's correct grammar). But then further suppose that someone thinks you should use 'I' instead of 'me'. And they quote it thus:

  ...suppose I write a letter from me [sic] to you.

The '[sic]' has been mistakenly used.

But how do you quote the passage I just wrote? Would it be:

  "...suppose I write a letter from me [sic] to you." [sic]

or

  "...suppose I write a letter from me [sic] [sic] to you."

or

  "...suppose I write a letter from me [sic [sic]] to you."

None of these sound right to me: the first because it doesn't point out where the error is, the second because you can't tell (for either '[sic]') if you're using '[sic]' or it is part of the thing quoted, and for the third example...well, that might be a way to mark the error, but surely the mechanics of '[sic]' could have been designed better to begin with.

So which of these three, or something else entirely, should be used for quoting a passage where '[sic]' is used wrongly?


texts:
I got stumped when trying to write the opposite of "putting my foot down".
 As an example i'll give some context. I said: "In these instances I always put my foot down, but you make me X", where X should be the opposite, i.e. something like "lift my foot back up" or "act in a way contrary to my usual firm behavior in these situations"...

What should X be? (it does not have to be an idiom, but one would be preferable)


texts: Verb consistency of tense in extended passage

texts:
I read this answer on Quora. I wanted to ask about verb consistency because the writer is jumping from past continuous to present then present continuous.

How is doing that valid?

  I was in an Uber just last night. My girlfriend and I were going to a bar to meet friends for drinks and celebrate a birthday. The guy pulls up and my girlfriend is finishing her drink and says to him, “Don’t worry. It’s empty.” He smiles and says, “Don’t worry, it’s Vegas. You’re allowed to have fun!” We get in the car and he starts driving.


texts: Why do people say 'this' instead of 'a', especially in spoken discourse?

texts: For example, some people might say "I saw this man just now..." instead of "I saw a man just now...".


texts: Single word for program planning,attending and describing the experience

texts:
When set of artists combine, plan, produce and market a program there are various terms to refer this activity. e.g Production, Staging.

When a set of friends make a plan to attend a program (say, to attend a movie/drama/watch a game), really attend that and then discuss/share things about that program, is there a single English word to describe their whole activity?

I can think of 'enjoyment', 'entertainment' etc, but I don't think they really describe the situation I describe above.


texts: Is “feel positively about...” grammatically correct?

texts: Saying “I feel positively about...” to praise something sounds more natural than “feel positive” to me. It’s strange that we usually say “we feel...” with an adjective but here we’re using an adverb. Can someone explain this please?


texts: Is there an unkindly way to say thank you?

texts:
Are you not already being kind by saying thank you to begin with?  I read the comments on this site What's the deal with thank you kindly?, and I guess that I am still pretty confused as to the meaning of this.

Obviously, if someone says "Thank you" in a very sarcastic manner then they aren't intending to be kind, but I mean in the general sense of showing gratitude to someone for something, is there a way to do this unkindly?  If there isn't a way, then why would someone say, "Thank you kindly"?


texts: A word for something that is "whole unto itself"

texts:
I'm looking for a single word, if it exists, to convey the meaning that a concept represents a whole unto itself, so that, even when divided, the results of such division are again whole entities of the same category by themselves.

Examples of this are

a hole
a scream
a cloud

Counterexamples of this are

an apple
a picture of you and your ex together

I don't much mind the category of the word as long it conveys this specific meaning, it can be and adjective, a noun or else. Thank you for your time.


texts: What are some phrases used to notify the speaker that you're still listening?

texts: My employer often contacts me on chat and explains me what the next project is about. He does most of the talking, I just sometimes ask questions and throw in the occasional "okay" and "sure". These words get awkwardly repetitive in longer conversations and I'm looking for some other terms of acknowledgement.


texts: Is there a widely accepted past participle for "stride"?

texts:
Yesterday I intended to stride.
Today I strode.
Now I have...

...stridden?
...strid?
...strode?
...strided?

I'm assuming (though I could be wrong) that "stridden" is the "technically" correct option, but it sounds quite odd to me (presumably because it's so uncommon) when I actually try to use it in a sentence.

Is there a more commonly used alternative, that won't sound so jarring?


texts:
There's a family of jokes where Person A asks where he can "get scrod" (meaning the fish), and Person B interprets "scrod" as being some obscure conjugation of the verb "to screw".

Has "scrod" ever actully been used as a conjugation of "to screw"?


texts: The difinition of mind that  parts of individual feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons is a common presence in dictionaries，however,what it stand for？Brain？


texts: I'm looking for a secular alternative to the term cardinal sin as used to describe a significant act that goes against established knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Any ideas?


texts: Make something great out of a bad situation

texts:
I'm looking for an expression similar to "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." This phrase means to make the best out of a bad situation. I am looking for a phrase for when someone did do something great out of a bad situation. I think it goes something like "Was given sh** and made < something wonderful >."

To add a few more details, the situation in particular I'm thinking of is a person who works for an organization that has not been doing well (financial troubles, staff turnover, lots of infighting). They have continually been doing excellent things despite the bad situation. However, they are not necessarily responsible for fixing the problems themselves (to say, the problems haven't been fixed yet) - they have just done a good job of working with/around them.


texts:
What does “the tightening job market” mean?
At first, I assumed it meant very hard for the jobseekers to get a job
but it seems like the opposite meaning in this context.
Please help me.

ZARROLI: Mortensen says he pays well above minimum wage, and he's willing to train people. And he says not having enough workers actually costs him business. He can't serve as many customers as he'd like. The United States has been in a period of almost historic job growth. The unemployment rate is at a very low 4.1 percent. Economist Dean Baker, of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, says the tightening labor market is beginning to provide real benefits for workers.
DEAN BAKER: We've actually seen some wage growth at the middle and the bottom of the income ladder, and that's a huge, huge deal.
ZARROLI: And Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama, says the U.S. has almost achieved that elusive goal of having a full-employment economy.
JASON FURMAN: If you look at the labor market employment data, it really looks like we're there.
ZARROLI: But Furman says he is puzzled by the pace of wage growth. Wages spiked up at an annual rate of 2.9 percent last month. But if the job market were really tight, he says, they'd be even higher.

This is from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2018/02/09/584640337/despite-tumultuous-stock-market-some-economists-say-inflation-threat-is-exaggera
Thank you so much.


texts: A word for something bad that is beautiful

texts: Is there a word for something that is bad, sad or tragic, but is also beautiful in some way. Or the ABILITY to see beauty in such circumstances?


texts:
I'm not sure how to punctuate this sentence in an essay I'm writing. I'm pretty sure a semicolon goes somewhere, and it certainly feels like I don't have enough commas. Please include with your answer how to punctuate similar sentences in the future, thank you!

Veterinarians suspected that the animals had died from the disease called "blackleg," however this diagnosis did not explain the condition of the bodies.


texts: Remove something from a place to another place (Grammatically correct?)

texts:
Remove already has the definition of taking something away from somewhere so I am not sure if it will be redundant to say "from a place...to another place".
Can you please help?
Thanks!


texts: Who vs whom in "Who is the right person to turn to?

texts:
Take the sentence:

  Who is the right person to turn to?

I'm not sure whether who or whom should be used in this position.


texts: Usage of 'USED TO' : part 2.different than existing question

texts:
Another question about used to does exist here. But this question is slightly different. It concerns with two types.

Which is more appropriate?

First, doing or do?

Second, were or did?

Which of the following types of usage is/are correct?

  ----Were you used to doing this

  or----Were you used to do this?

  ----Did you use to....

  or ---Were you used to... (as above)

Please give a detailed explanation.


texts: What's the correct present passive form of "to lead"?

texts:
There are plenty of examples of the present active form ("Dave leads the team") and the past tense ("Dave led the team"), though I can't find any which clarify the spelling when phrased as "The team, lead by Dave, did stuff".

It's the last case I'm trying to understand. I think it should be "lead" (since it's a present tense), yet I would pronounce it "led" (i.e: with a short vowel sound).

(Meta: I'm not sure what to call this tense, hence the slightly clumsy question; it might be "present perfect", though I'm not sure. Clarification on that would also be welcome!)


texts:
In Collin's dictionary, to sow your wild oats mean

  If a young person sows their wild oats, they behave in a rather uncontrolled way, especially by having a lot of sexual relationships.

What is the meaning behind the expression “sow wild oats”?
Where did it come from? Why was “wild oats” chosen?


texts: "Table of Contents" vs. "Table of Content"

texts:
If I ask an English speaker to spell out TOC, I would expect it to be "Table of Contents" with an 's'.

But I not much but sometimes do see "Table of Content" without an 's' in some books. Is this simply a matter or choice? or are there any other reason or special meaning for using the singular form?


texts: What does "play in" mean in this sentence?

texts:
In the book Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers (Google Books Link) the following sentence occurs:

  The designers envision several futuristic worlds to prototype for and play in.

What is the meaning of the phrase "play in" in this context?


texts: In solfège, can you pronounce "sol" like "so"?

texts:
From the dictionaries, it seems like at least in American English, "sol" (as in "do, re, mi, fa, sol") is always pronounced "sole," but there's a spelling variation "so" is pronounced "so".

Oxford (or whatever dictionary Google sources): /sōl/
Merriam-Webster: /sōl/, or less commonly so /sō/
dictionary.com: /sohl/; also, so

So it seems like if you want to say /soʊ/, you have to spell it like "so"; and if see "sol", you have to say /soʊl/.

This seems strange, though, since I've almost always heard it pronounced like "so", but "sol" is still a pretty common spelling.

For instance, in these two pretty popular songs, it's pronounced "so" (but then again, the lyrics don't write it as "sol"):

The Sound of Music - Do Re Mi: "sew, a needle pulling thread"
blackbear - do re mi ft. Gucci Mane: "do, re, mi, fa, so fuckin' done with you, girl"

So are the dictionaries correct and "sol" = /soʊl/ and "so" = /soʊ/, or is pronouncing "sol" as /soʊ/ okay?

(If this isn't broadening the question too much, I'd also like to ask whether "sole" or "so" is the more usual pronunciation.)


texts: Is there a verb or word for when someone says you should do something, but then ridicules you when you do it or say you are going to. I don't know if this is ineffable, also please don't say contradict.


texts:
I was reading this sentence and thought it ambiguous:

The trees must have grown since he died because they were no longer young when I first saw them.

This could mean:

1) The trees were already old when I first saw them.

2) The trees were not as young as when I first saw them.

Option 1 seems to be obviously grammatically correct one. The reason I thought option 2 might be correct is because of the logical coherence between the two causes connected by "because"--the trees have grown because they were young last time but they are not young at the moment, hence the grown.

This might seem a rather minute question, but I would really appreciate your clarification. Thanks!


texts: Can the word God be colloquially replaced with f***?

texts:
I stumbled across these lyrics from "Enter Shikari - The Last Garrison":

  Head's up and thank fuck you're still alive!

It sounds like that there was "God" replaced with "fuck". It even sounds surprisingly similar. Another example I often hear is:

  For fuck's sake

which also obviously replaces "God" with "fuck".

This made me wonder if it is really a common slang thing to replace "God" with "fuck"?


texts: When I'm writing a text and want to ask the reader to pay close attention to a point, should I write "Please note" or "Please notice"? Is there any difference?


texts:
Here is the documents needed.
  Here are the documents needed.

Which is grammatically correct and why? My guess would be the second one because of the plural form.


texts:
"Johnny is not tall and fat."

Which of the two does the above sentence mean?

Johnny is not tall and not fat.
Johnny is not tall, but he is fat.


texts: I understand the meaning of both words, but I can't figure out what the expression means.


texts: Is "driving the reins" used as a deliberately erroneous phrase?

texts:
In her blog post introducing Blog Overflow, the estimable Rebecca Chernoff committed the following, uh, sentence:

  Have someone driving the reigns.

After cringing (read: screaming in pain) and posting a comment to gently point out the error (read: ranting and raving), I started having second thoughts. Clearly, Rebecca knows how to write. Clearly, she knows what reign means, and that reins are the agents, not the objects, of driving. So maybe this is a deliberate mistake, something along the lines of "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon" or (somewhat controversially) "Could care less".

Is this/can this be interpreted as a deliberate mashup of "holding the reins" and "driving the car" and "reigning"?


texts:
What's the plural of "chewing gum"?

Hearing "do you have any chewing gums?" sounds wrong; I would say "do you have any chewing gum?", but looking it up, there seems to be a bit of confusion on Google. Some results indicate that "chewing gums" is the plural form of "chewing gum", while others say that "chewing gum" is an uncountable noun, and has the same plural as the singlar form.


texts: What does "lobsters crawling out of my ears" mean?

texts:
I saw it in an email conversation at work (we work with americans). Someone sent this:

  I asked if there was more information we could get through [...] and I was rebuffed as though I had lobsters crawling out of my ears

I googled it but there weren't any definitions, just instances where someone said it so I assume it's not defined anywhere on the Internet.


texts: Alternatives to the phrase 'I was like..'

texts:
In recent times I have encountered the phrase ‘I was like…’ a lot. Examples include

  He told me something, and I was like dude really?
  I was going along the street, and suddenly something happened, and I was like WTF!

Is this a correct form of English? If not what do you think is a more refined way of conveying the same meaning and feeling.


texts: Word meaning for phenomenon where one issue is incorrectly believed to be tied to another

texts:
I work in IT and we run into a common issue where whenever we announce that we have done something like adding a new feature to a program, updating servers or what have you... users start coming forward with lists of problems they have that they think are related to the changes.

For example we announced this morning that last night we turned on a feature to automate a process of sending out several different email notices to customers. This afternoon I got called into an emergency meeting about the new email "thing" being "all messed up". It turns out one user on the billing team received a standard email send reject notice from a customers email server because their mailbox was full and not accepting emails. Obviously in no way related to what we did but they had a panic attack and thought it was.

So long winded description but what i'm looking for is if there is some word or phrase for this phenomenon.


texts: How to say we provide a synopsis here for details refer to other work in formal academic writing

texts:
We provide here a synopsis of the measurement process, for an in-depth
  description, please refer to XYZ.

I'm not a native speaker. How do I write that as the first sentence of a chapter in an academic, technical paper?

Also, do I use the word "please" or omit it in formal, technical writing? As in "for an in-depth discussion, please refer to XYZ".


texts: What does it mean transport in network program

texts:
All, I just read the book Netty in action. A word Transport is mentioned in the book like below.

NIO is used in this example because it’s currently the most widely used transport,
thanks to its scalability and thoroughgoing asynchrony. But a different transport
implementation could be used as well. If you wished to use the OIO transport in your
server, you’d specify OioServerSocketChannel and OioEventLoopGroup. We’ll explore
transports in greater detail in chapter 4.

What does it mean the Transport? Thanks.


texts: Avoiding ambiguity of "more" + complex comparative

texts:
As hours flew by, we kept building more and more sophisticated fireworks than I'd planned.

At best this is a garden path sentence. Without the "...than I'd planned" it gets completely ambiguous and with wrong primary meaning different than intended.

Most people will read that as increasingly sophisticated.

My intention is to say both greater number and higher sophistication.

Is there a consistent recipe for neat rephrasing of this kind of sentences not to come out with "more and more [adj]" interpreted as "increasingly [adj]" but instead separating that into count and comparative, when the adjective has no '-er' comparative form?


texts: Origin of "you lot" and other plural forms of "you"

texts:
I've often heard the phrase "you lot" in British programs on PBS, e.g. "Oi! You lot! Shift y'selves" or thereabouts, and have sometimes wondered about its origin and how it gained currency.  It seems both elegant (short, easily understood, and accurately expressing plural of "you") and crude (on PBS, only heard in broad comedy) or perhaps colloquial.  Its use seems to have sharply increased ca. 1960.

Why the increase, or is it an artifact of the corpus?

Are "you lot", "you-all" and "you guys" (as mentioned in the middle of Wikipedia on "you") cognates? Is there a more appropriate term for the group?


texts: Word for someone who remains calm (and taunts) in arguments

texts:
Is there a word that describes someone who remains calm in arguments, even when the other side is extremely angry? For example, someone who smiles and replies to angry remarks? I thought of taunting, but it doesn't suit the situation I'm thinking of.
Example sentence: He was            even when the English teacher yelled at him, making the teacher extremely angry.
Note: It shouldn't mean calm, but more like taunting or sneering, in a calm way.


texts: Single word for someone who speaks confidently, potentially falsely without data, backup or despite counter evidence

texts:
I'm searching for an adjective to describe someone who emphatically makes claims without sufficient knowledge or factual basis. Someone who essentially sounds like or plays the expert, without the expertise. Could be a noun as well maybe?

EX: I can't help but question his statements, despite his (conclusive) bravado.
EX: I can't help but question his statements, he is a (blank)
EX: I can't help but question his statements, he is by reputation (inarguable).

I thought of these not sure...

assertive
indisputable
unarguable
conclusive
vehement


texts:
"John was walking at grade and slipped on a patch of ice. When John slipped he did not fall to grade as he caught himself with his right hand [...]"

Does "at grade" mean "on an uneven/inclined surface", or "on a slope" ?


texts: I'm writing a text that includes Death personified (e.g., "The Seventh Seal" - Bergman; Doktor Faustus - Mann) He speaks in early modern English from the time of Chaucer. I'd like to know how he would say 'hello'.


texts: Is there an English word for the Japanese オブジェ?

texts:
The Japanese word オブジェ means something like “avant-garde sculpture”, it does not apply to things like classical sculptures or 18th century busts. Most modern art sculptures are called オブジェ by Japanese people. I am not totally sure オブジェ is always art, as a decorative interior dead tree with no further processing can also be an オブジェ.

I can't find an equivalent word in English, is there any?

Google Images might give you a better idea of what it is used for.
Strangely, the word actually comes from the French “objet”.


texts: Why is the term "isn't it?" so predominant in Indian English?

texts:
I apologize in advance if I am ignorantly and incorrectly assigning this to Indian English. When I was in medical school, I had a number of professors who were native to India.

Being a school predominantly made up of American English speakers we noticed that the Indian English speakers used the term "isn't it?" with a noticeable frequency.  (I hesitated to put a ? at the end because it wasn't phrased as a question per se.)

In fact, for many of them it was practically a punctuation mark to every sentence.  And, there did not seem to be any agreement of pluralization or tense. (e.g. "The students went to a party.  Isn't it?")

Presumably, they use the phrase "isn't it?" in the same way that speaker of American English would use "you see" or "don't you agree?"

My question that has nagged me for years, why would this construct come to predominate in Indian English?  It doesn't strike me as a particularly British English import.  Is it a direct translation of a common phrasing in Hindi or one of the many languages of the sub-continent?


texts: What does Maugham mean by "his spaghetti were"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Was the usage "Spaghetti were" ever acceptable or common?

[Following up from, but not a duplicate of, this question by another user, which was unresolved…]

Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence contains an unusual (perhaps even unique) usage of English that I'm hoping some native speaker can shed light on. Here is the sentence in bold, with some surrounding sentences for context. Dirk Stroeve has previously been described as "a painter, but a very bad one". The narrator says:

  In the evenings I went to see my
  friends.  I looked in often on the
  Stroeves, and sometimes shared their
  modest fare.  Dirk Stroeve flattered
  himself on his skill in cooking
  Italian dishes, and I confess that
  his spaghetti were very much
  better than his pictures.  It was a
  dinner for a King when he brought in a
  huge dish of it, succulent with
  tomatoes, and we ate it together with
  the good household bread and a bottle
  of red wine.  I grew more intimate
  with Blanche Stroeve…

Since spaghetti is (almost?) always used in English in the singular as an uncountable (mass) noun, this is unusual. What is the right interpretation of this sentence?

"His spaghetti" is parallel to "his omelettes". That is, it refers to the many occasions he cooked spaghetti, and means something like "his spaghetti dishes were better than his pictures". (The OED entry for 'spaghetti' has "1. a. A variety of pasta made in long thin strings. Occas., a dish of spaghetti.")
As in the original Italian usage, "spaghetti" in the plural here refers to multiple strands of spaghetti or pieces of spaghetti.
Something else.

(I am partial to (1.) myself, but this interpretation was described by another user as "unlikely" and "completely absurd", so I'm trying to know for sure.)


texts: Does "establish" imply a chronological ordering?

texts:
The context is actually mathematics, and providing a proof for a particular fact.

If one says "... which was established by Smith." does this have the connotation that Smith was the first to do it?

Similarly, if we say "... whose proof establishes that..." does it mean it was the first proof to do so?

My personal interpretation is that in the first sentence it implies he was the first, but not for the second sentence.  What is the correct version in English?

(Also, if it had already been established, wouldn't you say reestablish for the second time?)


texts:
Can "Monsta" be a correct slang word or abbreviation for "Monster"?

Sounds good and cute to me but as a non-native speaker I don't understand if it's actually a word that natives may use (maybe kids?).


texts: Are “rescind”, “repeal”, and “annul” perfect synonyms?

texts:
What are the best places to use these three verbs:

rescind
repeal
annul

Are these all exactly similar in meaning, or are they supposed to be used for different purposes?


texts:
Which is the correct form?

Collaborative Unified Modelling Language design tool for software development teams
Collaborative Unified Modelling Language designing tool for software development teams


texts: Why the zero article in "in daily life" and "became pointless talking"?

texts:
A Japanese friend sent this:

  IDOBATAKAIGI - いどばたかいぎ - 井戸端会議 - Have you ever heard of "IDOBATAKAIGI"? Initially, it meant a short chat among house wives in a daily life. And now it became a pointless talking.

I replied with these corrections:

"in a daily life" → "in daily life"
"became a pointless" → "became pointless"

But I'm not sure why. I want to explain the reason we don't use "a" in that context, but we do for "it meant a short chat".


texts: Which locality (if any) uses "at the roundabout, take the second exit"

texts:
I'm a regular user of Google Maps on Android and use the directions feature with voice directions. Here in New Zealand, roundabouts are common.
Google maps uses the following directions for "classic" "plus shaped" roundabouts with 4 roads converging at roughly 90 degrees angle each. The voice instructions don't match local language use (I'll contrast what I think is common local use in brackets):

At the roundabout, take the first exit (turn left in the roundabout) - the local road code requires you to indicate left for this
At the roundabout, take the second exit ( go straight through the roundabout)
At the roundabout, take the third exit (turn right in the roundabout) - the local road code requires you to indicate right for this
(I think I recall) At the roundabout, take the 4th exit (do a U-turn in the roundabout)

Even if a roundabout had 5 or more roads converging, I believe people would say "go slight/half-left, left/hard left, slight/half right, right/hard right in the roundabout.
Is the language used in Google Maps Voice directions common in any english speaking locality? If yes, where?


texts: "Neither A nor B is" vs. "A and B are not"

texts:
Consider the following sentences:

John and Mary are not tall.
Neither John nor Mary is tall

Is the first one acceptable (especially in formal writing), or should I always use the second?

Update: I don't think this question is a duplicate of Controversy over verb choice in "neither you nor I {is/am/are} in control". In particular, this question is not about which verb to use in the neither/nor sentence but about whether the other (first) sentence is acceptable. To be sure, the doubt is whether it is correct to use a compound subject (John and Mary) to talk about features that are essentially individual (John is not tall and Mary is not tall).


texts: Is "radius" a sub-category of "diameter"?

texts:
The question sounds a bit cumbersome, but it arises from this description of a product:

  Outer Diameter: 78.74mm (radius)

If the word "radius" is a sub-category of "diameter", then the description is correct and clear. But if not, then the description is false and kind of ambiguous since you don't exactly know if 78.74mm is the diameter or the radius.


texts: is there anything wrong with "from my perspective"

texts: Is the expression "from my perspective" good English? I was always under the impression that "perspective" refers to what someone else can see (i.e. a third person), and that if you wanted to refer to what you yourself can see you should say "in my view". What do you think?


texts: How to understand these verses from the poem "The road not taken" by Robert Frost

texts:
I actually have two questions regarding this poem:

  The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

  Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
      And sorry I could not travel both
      And be one traveler, long I stood
      And looked down one as far as I could
      To where it bent in the undergrowth;

  Then took the other, as just as fair,
      And having perhaps the better claim,
      Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
      Though as for that the passing there
      Had worn them really about the same,

  And both that morning equally lay
      In leaves no step had trodden black.
      Oh, I kept the first for another day!
      Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
      I doubted if I should ever come back.

  I shall be telling this with a sigh
      Somewhere ages and ages hence:
      Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
      I took the one less traveled by,
      And that has made all the difference.

I'm not a native speaker so I have trouble understanding a particular verse from this poem:

  In leaves no step had trodden black.

The second question is broader. In the show Orange is the New Black, the protagonist says that the idea of the poem as a whole is that both roads are the same. I fail to see that: is the last verse supposed to be ironic?

  And that has made all the difference.


texts:
I see on some sites that "candidate" is used as a verb.
Example:

  I am candidating for this position.

But I find it only listed as a noun by Lexico and Cambridge Dictionary.

Can this word be used as a verb?


texts: Is 'a day' as used by this author to mean 'a full, busy, tiring day' a typical English expression or archaic / regional usage?

texts:
In Prelude by Katherine Mansfield, a character says:

  The worst is over already. The servant girl and I have simply slaved all day, and ever since mother came she has worked like a horse, too. We have never sat down for a moment. We have had a day.

My question concerns the use of 'a day' in the last sentence, where it seemingly refers to a 'full, busy, tiring day'.

I saw related topics here:

What does “a day's work” mean?

“Call it a day” — is it positive?

but in those cases, 'a day' is meaningful even if it's used neutrally and doesn't refer to a full and busy day.

In the above example, however, a neutral interpretation makes the sentence inconsequential, so it seems explicitly to refer to a long and tiring day.

Is 'a day' as used by this author to apparently mean 'a full, busy, tiring day' a typical English expression or an example of archaic / regional usage?


texts:
Litter adversely affects the environment. Be it littering along the
  road, on the streets or by the litter bins, toxic materials or
  chemicals in the litter can be blown or washed into rivers, or oceans and eventually pollutes the waterways.

How can I understand these sentence properly, I do not really get the highlighted part "be it". is it the same meaning as whether?


texts: It might be a silly question but personal pronouns should refer to people, isn't it?


texts:
What would you call someone who loves music? For example, a person who loves books is called a bibliophile. Someone who loves movies is called a cinephile.

I am trying to write a character description - Matthew, a cinephile, bibliophile and a (word that indicates music-lover and preferably ends in -phile).


texts: "[They] rowed. And also they rowed." Can this make sense?

texts:
In The Open Boat by Stephen Crane I stumbled across the following:

[The] captain gently and carefully waved the gull away. After it had been discouraged from the pursuit the captain breathed easier on account of his hair, and others breathed easier because the bird struck their minds at this time as being somewhow grewsome [sic] and ominous.
In the meantime the oiler and the correspondent rowed. And also they rowed.
They sat together in the same seat, and each rowed an oar. Then the oiler took both oars; then the correspondent took both oars; then the oiler; then the correspondent. They rowed and they rowed.

Although Crane likes semantic redundancies to heighten drama, whichever way I turn this simple (2nd) phrase, since there are no other people they could possibly refer to, it does not make sense to me. Can anyone help?


texts:
I'd need your help to understand if the phrase "Have been" can live as standalone phrase without the "to" in front of it  (es: to have been)
It is part of a longer phrase that say : ["being here and now" or just "have been"] wich should in some way ask to the hypothetical listener / reader the following: is my "being here and now" as a person more important or is what I "have been" the past more important?
The whole thing is part of a lyric.


texts: What is the difference in the usage and meaning of ‘prohibit’ and ‘bar’？

texts: Is there any difference between ‘prohibit’ and ‘bar’ when the two words are used to express the meaning ‘to stop officially from doing sth’?


texts: Is there a single word that means "strange object"?

texts:
As stated by title, I was wondering if there's any noun that means "strange object".

For example, it would be something like this:

  He found many [xxx] in the abandoned house.


texts: Meaning of "phoenix" in "Japan was a phoenix destroyed by the war"

texts:
An excerpt from the transcript of a lecture:

  And after that MacArthur stayed in Japan for six years working with the Emperor Hirohito and the new Japanese government, building its government and rebuilding the country. And as we know, Japan was a phoenix destroyed by the war and now, 70 years later, one of the most economically powerful countries in the world.

I can't understand what the word phoenix means in this context.


texts: Is this a signature or a sentence that requires punctuation?

texts: Is a period needed at the closing of a greeting card that reads: "Happy holidays from John Smith and the Smith Realty family"?


texts: What is the purpose of "just" as a hedging expression?

texts:
In sentences such as:

If someone calls you, could you just..
Could you just help me..

Is the just acting as a hedging expression used to reduce the force of the interrogative sentence?


texts: A sentence from Oliver Twist and its meaning

texts:
Saw this in his book a few days, would someone help me find clarity in its meaning?
"brass can do better than the gold what has stood the fire"
Here is the full context:

The man ran upstairs. Nancy remained, pale and almost breathless, listening with quivering lip to the very audible expressions of scorn, of which the chaste housemaids were very prolific; and of which they became still more so, when the man returned, and said the young woman was to walk upstairs.
‘It’s no good being proper in this world,’ said the first housemaid.
‘Brass can do better than the gold what has stood the fire,’ said the second.


texts: What's the proper verb to describe quantitative research?

texts:
What would be the proper verb for an action that measures with numbers something that used to be measured qualitatively? I mean the verb for converting quality to quantity.

For example:

  Fornel (the verb that I search for)s customer satisfaction for the
  first time.

I can say that he used a quantitative approach or something like this, but I would like to somehow express that he did it for the first time in a quantitative manner.
A verb like digitize for example defines making digits from a picture or videos, so I think in English there should be a verb that fits my question.


texts: What preposition should I use for "head over heels"

texts:
I am confused about the preposition I should use with

  "I was head over heels for her"

I was thinking of using "for". but is this correct?


texts: IPA, Accents, and dictionaries, British and American Phonetics

texts:
As a non native english speaker, I'm trying to work on my accent. I've taken a lot of bad habits so I'm trying to go back to the fundamentals meaning learning phonetics. But they seem very imprecise to me. For example the word hand.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hand

Here the UK seems to pronounce the æ like it's really a single sound and the USA pronounce it more like two sounds: starting like hen then joing the ~ha sound. With such a big emphasis on the hen sound that if the word were pronounced quicker I think I would have heard it as hen with a d.

Now if I trust what I hear here, the USA seems to be right.

But this pronunciation seems to be very, very inconsistent. The word cat (same phonetics):

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cat

Here we have the same kind of pronunciation variation but "reversed". The USA cat is closer to the UK's than the USA hand but we can still hear a little hen sound at the beginning.

Now, worse : trap

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/trap

Here the UK and the USA are strongly agreeing on disagreeing with the IPA pronunciation of æ pronunciation I linked before.

So, why two clearly different pronunciations have the same phonetics symbols ?

Why the same phonetic symbol can be pronounced so differently from a word to another within the same "accent" ?

Are phonetics simply unreliable and should only be used to know roughly how a word should be pronounced ?

Would the most effective method to be sure I pronounce a word correctly be to search on internet for video or audio samples of people pronoucing them in context ?


texts: Word that refers to objects found in kitchens

texts:
What refers to tools common to the kitchen? For example utensils, plates, bowls, cups, cutting boards etc. At first I thought "kitchen appliances" but usually the phrase refers to electronic devices exclusively.

EDIT: I should add that food should definitely not be included by the word's definition.


texts:
A Brazilian friend speaks English very well, but has a very unique habit: it seems often that she needs to use "for" but she instead uses "to", and vice-versa.
For instance:

The present is to Thomas. (should be "for")
Say hello for your wife. (should be "to")

I have tried looking in the dictionary to specifically determine which definitions she's confusing, and it seems that she's mixing up using "to" as a consequence and "for" to indicate a purpose.
How can I help her find a way of remembering to use them correctly?
Edit: We recently ran into a better example:

You started working on a fix to that problem. (should be "for")


texts: On the usage of commas with nonessential clauses near the end of a sentence

texts:
How would you punctuate the following?

  A decent if long novel.

As is.
A decent, if long, novel.
A decent, if long novel.

I feel uncomfortable leaving the "novel" dangling at the end of the sentence, and also think I'm littering the sentence with superfluous punctuation. However, if one  eliminates the last comma, why not finish the job and remove the first one too?


texts: English equivalent of the Malayalam saying "don't stab/poke the dead body"?

texts:
ശവത്തിൽ കുത്തരുത് (śavattil kuttarut)

is a Malayalam saying that in literal translation means "Don't stab/poke the dead body". The meaning would be something like: don't humiliate a person when he is at the bottom end.


texts: measure of quantity: a hundred of bricks

texts:
According to the entry of "hundred" in the OED

  Only in measures of quantity, the structure is a hundred of
  bricks.

What does measure of quantity mean here, especially as opposed to a hundred bricks?


texts:
RSVP literally means "Please respond", however it seems to have turned itself into a noun in common usage:

"What's your RSVP for the party?"
"I'm attending"

Is it acceptable to refer to a person's attendance status as their RSVP ?


texts:
And no matter what the fancy-product pushers may have you believe, there's nothing you can do to prevent this.

This is about  striae gravidarum during pregnancy. I searched the Internet and it says pusher means someone who tries to make someone to buy something. What does it mean above? Please tell me.


texts: Why abbreviation for "Definition" as "Def^n" (math context)

texts: I've seen in math and physics lectures delivered in English, that people use to abreviate the commonly very used word "Definition" by "Def n"(Def superscript n). What's the meaning of this n? That is, which sequence of letters of phonemes does this n stand for? And, which other words can be abbreviated in the same way? (I've seen more, I just forgot which)


texts:
When will we use 'a same', instead of 'the same'? Is it grammatical to say:

We wore a same hat yesterday.
We talked to a same teacher everyday.


texts:
Is there such a word phrase called officiating speech or is it an official speech? The speech is delivered in order to officiate a ceremony. I've heard of inaugural speeches, though. I'm not sure if an inaugural speech means to officiate a ceremony or an event.

Many thanks


texts: Meaning and use of "would have to be" in this sentence

texts:
I'm a beginner of English and really appreciate that you can help me learn more. I noticed a sentence:

  I think all the girls in the anime are awesome, but my favorites would have to be Nozomi and Umi!

I'm really confused about the usage of would have to be. What's the difference between “my favorites would have to be (somebody)” and “my favorites are (somebody)”?


texts:
What adjective is common for a lamp that is turned on in contrast with a lamp that is turned off?

In fact, I try to find two antonym adjectives that are often used before lamp, when it gives light and when it is switched off.


texts: Where do I put the period when I'm quoting?

texts:
If I quote someone, the quote ends in a period, and I end the sentence with the quote, where do I put the period? Inside the quotation marks or outside the quotation marks? I'm tempted to put a period inside the quotation marks and a period outside the quotation marks, but I know that's wrong (and it also looks stupid).
Update: I use British English rules for quotation marks. I could find advice for American grammar, but not British.


texts: What is the history of the use of the word Judaize?

texts:
When studying some old Christian history I came across something interesting so I asked it on Christianity.SE: Why did the council of Laodicea condemn “Judaizing” Sabbath rest?

One of the answers claims:

  It [Judaize] was a phrase that originated in the council of Laodicea.

So I first want to know if this is true. I next want to know what the history of the word is. I'm pretty sure the council was not in English, so why would the translators choose the word Judaize?

I see a potential for this being off-topic because a proper answer will include a look at the original word used in the council. I will gladly accept help to edit this question.


texts: What is the struture used in this sentence "Keep your both feet flat on the floor, not pulled back under your chair"

texts:
I saw these two sentences:

Keep your both feet flat on the floor, not pulled back under your chair.
Do you lead a sedentary life, slumped in a chair all day?

What I don't understand is why they use "pulled" and "slumped". Can I explain them like this:

Keep your both feet flat on the floor which are not pulled back under your chair.

Do you lead a sedentary life which is slumped in a chair all day?


texts: What is the difference between lengthen and elongate in this context?

texts:
What is the difference between lengthen and elongate in this context (in 23)?
According to the answer key, it is "lengthen". However, why can't we use elongate as well?

My research (these are the Cambridge Dictionary definitions):
lengthen
elongate

I believe both can work in this context, however, the authors of this CAE trainer seem to disagree.


texts: What is the difference in meaning between "I play" and "I do play"?

texts:
What is the difference between I play and I do play?

For example:

If someone were to ask to me, do you play soccer?


texts: The usage of had been vs would have been

texts:
I have already looked at other examples, but am somehow struggling with my own (e.g., here: Would have been... vs. Had been ) The phrase I am concerned with:

As we earlier explained, we had expected item 9's pattern to be opposite of item 2's pattern, meaning that negative correlations between the two items had been logical.

Small context: in an earlier section I explained about a phenomenon I here refer to. The reason I use 'had expected', is because our expectation was before writing the piece of text. Now, I am unsure if the part of 'had been logical' is correctly used here. It feels weird to me, so I am thinking of using 'would have been' instead.

Your help will be appreciated.


texts: Difference between past and present perfect

texts:
What is the difference between in the meaning :

I have never wanted to cook
I never wanted to cook

I have always wanted to do that
I always wanted to do that

Is it possible that we use the second one to say both in U.S?

Thanks


texts:
Imagine a wonderful person, who does the nicest things for other people and is almost completely selfless, but that person is insecure and only focuses on their faults. They conveniently always forget all the good things they constantly do, and only seem to think about their flaws. They are either completely oblivious to their good traits or don't count them as high as their faults.

Is there a word for this kind of person?


texts: Indirect/Direct speech, Is/was: Another thing I wanted to ask is to whom I should submit

texts:
I am completely at a loss here.
I know it's the basics, but do I say:

  Another thing I wanted to ask is to whom I should submit the paper

or

  Another thing I wanted to ask is to whom should I submit the paper

and that with or without a comma?

I would not use "was" because it doesn't sound natural to me, since I am supposed to send the document now, but please give your opinion on that as well. Thanks for your time!


texts: Passive or active: blood pressure was elevated or blood pressure elevated?

texts:
Which of these is the correct usage?

  Blood pressure was elevated to X.

OR

  Blood pressure elevated to X.


texts: "Fresh off of" or "Fresh off" in the idiom?

texts: If I wanted to say something like "Fresh off of the jolt after ...", would it be better written as "Fresh off the jolt after..."?


texts: Is "kudos" given someone for past events only — or does near-future work, too?

texts: Is kudos to be used to wish somebody for only an event that happened to them in the past, or can you also use kudos for an event which is going to happen in the near future?


texts: Enable (positive connotation) - Enabler (negative connotation). Why?

texts:
I am writing a speech about people having people in their lives who are catalysts for them to propel them to something positive in their lives.
These people enable others to be something better than they had been before.

Unfortunately, I cannot use the word "enabler" to describe those persons with one word, because the word "enabler" is defined as someone who enables drug abuse in someone else.

Does anyone know of a better word for enabler?

And, what gave the word "enabler" such a negative connotation in first place, especially since the verb generally is positive?


texts: Punctuation with "and thus" in the middle of a sentence

texts:
I was wondering if I have to place a comma before and after "and thus". Usually, this is followed by a comma, but in this sentence, I think one comma before it is enough. Right?

"accepted theories can provide satisfactory results, and thus, experiments can be avoided."


texts: Alternative for "as high as" for an academic text

texts:
I am writing a scientific paper that was sent to a language revision (proofreading) service. Unfortunately, the whole process runs via a web portal so that it is not possible for me the reply to the proofreader. For the sentence (simplified version)

  A is ten times as high as B.

a revision was suggested:

  A is ten times higher than B.

However in my opinion, the first sentence means A = 10 x B, whereas the second sentence means A = 10 x B + B (or A - B = 10 x B). Thus, the correct version would be:

  A is nine times higher than B.

Questions

Is as high as appropriate for academic texts?
If not, what is an alternative?
(Am I wrong with my opinion described above?), edit: answered here

Context

The sentence is from a paper on air pollution. A and B refer to concentrations of air pollutants at two distinct locations.


texts:
To the experienced eye, racial types have a physiognomy which is
  unmistakable on mere inspection. But you cannot transfer the
  experienced eye. You can only express personal conviction and back it
  up with measurements.

The above is a part of "Percival Bland's Proxy" by Austin R. Freeman, which is
kind of medico-legal detective novel.

The word 'transfer' in the above sentence seems to be used in different context, other than normal meaning of 'moving one place to another or similar situation'.

Could you help me out?


texts:
can someone explain this rule to me, please?

  A few collective nouns  (public,infantry etc) occur in the singular, but are followed as a rule by a plural verb, though a singular verb is also possible. This is about agreement of subject and predicate


texts:
When something is normal to a plane, is it also inclined with respect to that plane?
Or does incline imply a non 90 degree angle to something?

  The flow is normal to the plate.
  The plate is inclined with respect to the flow.

Is it clear from the 2nd sentence that the plate is not normal to the flow?


texts: “passf***ingport” is it a bad use of interjection?

texts:
I was just having a little conversation with a few friends, and I used the word ‘passfuckingport’ out of nowhere. I am not sure what it sparked - my Western friends where alright with it, but one of my Middle Eastern friends mentioned that it was disrespectful to the ladies of the group and that it was impolite.

It was in no way my intention to disrespect anyone; neither was the remark directed at any one in particular, and I do have questions about whether it is really disrespectful among close friends to say something like that, or if I should I refrain from using such words in the future.

I am also wondering if I got the English right.

My question for EL&U is this:

  'Passfuckingport'

  Is this incorrect use of an interjection or word combination?


texts: What is the name of this squiggle symbol?

texts:
I came across a strange symbol while reading the report on the ALGOL 58 programming language (p. 19):

I am referring to the squiggle that appears repeated three times after some semicolons and commas in the above clipping. It somewhat resembles a tilde ~, but it is clearly a distinct symbol, since a normal tilde appears next to the delta.
Was this mark an ad-hoc invention or is it an established symbol? Does it have a recognisable name? What is its Unicode code point, if one exists?
(I don’t think there is a separate site for typography questions, but I did see that questions about typographical marks seem to be accepted here.)


texts:
What is the exact meaning of evenly in phrases such as:

  Users are evenly distributed between these types

or

  Users were split roughly evenly among these categories

does it mean on the same level?


texts: What is the difference between "Drop in" and "pop in"

texts: In British English do "drop in to see someone" and "pop in to see someone" have different meanings?


texts: Is "surroundings" a plural noun or a mass noun that just happens to take the form of a plural?

texts:
I personally interpret “surroundings” as at least a plural-only noun but possibly just a noun whose plural form is much more common than its singular form in modern usage.

But on a forum I frequent, a user is claiming that it's actually a mass (uncountable) noun.

I admit that this one is a bit harder to analyse than other words I've thought about, so I'd like to see the thoughts of the English language experts here.


texts: In school we learn that if you want to express someone is consuming drugs you say they are taking drugs. In some rap songs however, the phrase doing drugs is used. Is there a difference in meaning between those two phrases or are they similar?


texts: Is rephrased sentence for "subject to" correct?

texts:
I originally had "Changes which a Product shall be subject to as part of its life cycle", but felt that using "subject to" was bad form and rephrased the sentence as follows:

  Changes to which a Product shall be subject as part of its life cycle.

Is the above correct?  Somehow, "subject to" sounds better, although it may be wrong.  I feel separating the two words leads to loss of the meaning.

PS: How would I tag this question?


texts: What is a good synonym for "badass" that would be usable in a high school setting?

texts:
I'm looking for a better way to say "orchestral brass musicians are badass" that doesn't use any words that could be considered profanity.

(If you're not sure what I mean by orchestral brass musicians, as far as I'm concerned they're the equivalent of Samuel L. Jackson.)


texts: Past perfect progressive/continuous tense in the passive voice

texts:
Here's the hypothetical situation ...

Our CEO (Joe) was coming to visit our office from out of town, and he wanted to see a report that we had been preparing for him. At the time of his visit, various organizations had been working on the preparation of the report for a month, and it still wasn't finished. I don't want to say who was working on the report, so I want to refer to the preparation using the passive voice.

So, could I say ...

  At the time of Joe's visit, the report had been being prepared for a month

That sounds very strange, to me.

Obviously I could avoid the problem by saying

  At the time of Joe's visit, the report had been under preparation for a month

but I'm interested to know if the first version, with the passive voice, is even correct English.


texts: Is the past tense correct in "Did you know Fred was a doctor?"

texts:
Possible Duplicates:
  He didn't know where New Jersey was…
  Tense change: previous actions on something that's currently true

My wife and I were disagreeing about this today:

  Did you know Fred was a doctor?
  Did you know Fred is a doctor?

I was arguing for (1) based on what seemed to "sound right."  My wife claimed that, since Fred is currently alive and still practicing medicine, present tense should be used.  However, we agreed that the negation of these sentences uses was:

  I didn't know Fred was a doctor.

Here I think everyone would agree that is would sound wrong!

So which is correct between (1) and (2)? And why? Is this some kind of subjunctive?


texts: "Barts and The London NHS Trust" - Is there a standard way to abbreviate it?

texts:
Barts and The London NHS Trust

Suppose you have a document where you need to reference this trust many times. This includes references in table cells, so it is not a good idea to use the official name due to its length.
Is there a standard way to handle such cases?


texts: Plural noun or singular noun + possessive

texts:
When the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868 —150 years ago this Monday — it closed the door on schemes that aimed to make the U.S. a white man’s country. (source)

I wonder why it is not "a white men's country". We often speak of men's clothes and men's room. Consider:

  This is the only large dogs' shelter in the area.
  This is the only large dog's shelter in the area.

Which one sounds more natural or idiomatic?


texts:
Heard this phrase in Frank Sinatra's song.

Just say the words and we'll beat the birds Down to Acapulco Bay

Just wonder what that means. I have rough idea, just to go to Acapulco Bay. Want to understand exact flavor of it.


texts: 'were there in the area' or 'were in the area'

texts:
I know that 'there' in the beginning of a sentence is called dummy subject but can it also be used somewhere else in the sentence?  I came across this sentence "As the reports confirm that armed Taliban were there in the area, we strongly condemn the use of civilians and their homes as shields by the Taliban, as well as we do not accept the conduct of any airstrike on residential areas under any name and for any purpose whatsoever," Mr. Karzai said.

I want to know what purpose there  serves in this  sentence.  Can I rewrite it as the following ,'As the reports confirm that armed Taliban were  in the area...' ? I am  eagerly waiting for your answer.


texts: What is the first known Japanese loan word that entered the English language?

texts:
I would like to ask here a similar question I have asked in the Spanish language stack. It is known that nowadays the English language has a lot a words of Japanese origin. But what was the first one to made its way into an English dictionary? What are the first English texts that use these words as part of the English language without having to explain them?

In Spanish we have both biombo (English: 'folding screen', imported from the Portuguese language, which imported it from Japanese byóbu, composed of byó 'protection' and bu 'wind') and catana (English: 'katana', from Japanese katana). Both are registered in texts from the 17th century and found in dictionaries from the 17th and early 18th centuries.

I have been trying to find some Japanese loan words in English texts using Ngram Viewer, narrowing the search between the years 1500 and 1800, with no luck so far as everything I find are false positives. One candidate I've got is typhoon which I thought it came from Japanese 台風 taifuu, but the etymology dictionaries say that it comes from Greek typhon and was influenced by Chinese taaifung.

Finally it seems that I have found a good candidate: the word soy is considered to come from from Dutch soya and Japanese 醤油 shōyu and, according to the Merriam-Webster, its first known use in English is from 1679. Etymonline says:

  Etymology reflects Dutch presence in Japan before English and American merchants began to trade there.


texts:
I am searching for hypernyms to summarise and differentiate between two groups words describing possible movement directions in a 2D space.

up, down, left, right
up-left, up-right, down-left, down-right

The criteria for the hypernyms are - in order of importance: 1) Discriminative, 2) Descriptive and 3) Concise/brief

The hierarchy I came up with so far looks like:

               Direction
              /         \
 Simple direction     Composite direction
     (group 1)              (group 2)

While simple/composite work reasonably well to differentiate between the two groups they aren't very descriptive of the group they represent. This made me wonder about better terms.


texts: Single word meaning "freshness duration"

texts: I'm looking for a word that encapsulates the phrases "freshness duration" or "duration until something is stale".


texts: Nor did he let go of the advantages of a cloak and dagger man malgré lui , wearing the cloak for his master and preserving the dagger for his servants

texts:
They [his superiors] liked his diffidence when he apologized for the company he kept, his insincerity when he defended the vagaries of his subordinates, his flexibility when formulating new commitments. Nor did he let go of the advantages of a cloak and dagger man malgré lui, wearing the cloak for his master and preserving the dagger for his servants.

Source: Call for the Dead by John Le Carre

I understand that malgré lui means "in spite of oneself" but am having difficulty understanding it in this context. He did not let go of the benefits of being mysterious (cloak and dagger?) in spite of himself?

Does the last part ("wearing the cloak...preserving the dagger") refer to his duality in dealing with his superiors and subordinates respectively?

Does "Preserving the dagger" refer to his willingness to backstab his underlings whenever he can?

And why do his superiors like his insincerity, diffidence, and flexibility?


texts: Several questions regarding a passage by Robert Boyle

texts:
Robert Boyle once wrote in one of his papers:

That, then, which I chiefly aim at is to make it probable to you by experiments (which I think hath not yet been done) that almost all sorts of qualities, most of which have been by the Schools either left unexplicated, or generally referred  to  I  know not what incomprehensible substantial forms, may be produced mechanically - I mean by such corporeal agents as do not appear either to work otherwise than by virtue of the motion, size, figure, and contrivance, of their own parts
-- Selected Philosophical Papers of Robert Boyle [On Google Books]

I have several difficulties regarding the meaning and grammar of above-mentioned passage:
The best way I can understand I know not is as a parenthetical phrase. Is that correct? Why not I don't know? Even so I could not make a proper sense of the sentence. There should be something referring in the phrase generally referred to I know not what incomprehensible substantial forms to the outer which, but here it seems that there is no such reference.
In the next sentence we read such corporal agents as do not .... I think there is a subject omitted in this case: such corporal agents as that which do not .... Is that correct? Is there a general rule regarding this omission?


texts: How do you parse 'by this which is said'? (1654 UK)

texts:
Preface: I first encountered the following on p 83, Philosophy: A Complete Introduction (2012) by Prof Sharon Kaye (MA PhD in Philosophy, U. Toronto). I already tried, but do not see a modern paraphrase by, Early Modern Texts.
Source: Of Liberty and Necessity (1654), § 30, by Thomas Hobbes

  § 30.  [...]  [1.] So that whereas it is out of controversy that of voluntary actions the will is the necessary cause, and [2.] by this which [3.] is said the will is also caused by other things whereof [4.] it disposes not, it follows that voluntary actions have all of them necessary causes and therefore are necessitated.

How do you parse by this which? Is this one Constituent (Prepositional Phrase) with by as the head? Or are these two Constituents: 1 Prepositional Phrase by this + 1 Relative Pronoun which?
What is the subject of is said?  I am inferring that (the entire subordinate clause) 1; but even in 1600s English syntax, did [3.] not need a dummy pronoun 'it', because Subordinate Clauses cannot themselves say anything?
Please advise if my interpretation of 4 is incorrect: 'the will arranges/controls/resolves'.


texts: I have a confusion about "Did I make you understand?"

texts:
Consider that I have explained something to others and I want to make sure that they completely understand. So, Can I use the question here, "Did I make you understand?"

Is it incorrect or correct?


texts:
rat

  (...)

  rats, Slang . (an exclamation of disappointment, disgust, or
  disbelief.)

(source: dictionary.reference.com)

Where does this meaning/usage of "rat" come from?


texts: A word for the property of being either prefix or postfix

texts:
I'm looking for a word that describes the property of an operator being prefix or postfix, so I can write 'In expression x++, the _____ of ++ is "postfix"'.

I thought of using 'fixity', but that seems to be about operator associativity (at least that's what I managed to gather from usage of 'fixity' in this context; the other, non-technical, definition of 'fixity' makes searching for the technical one pretty difficult).


texts: Does word ‘shampoo’ in this sentence mean 'hair'?

texts:
One day at the salon, the stylist offers to give you a small trim with
  your shampoo, like the lovely model in the magazine.

I've just read the above sentence,from book Breakfast at Tiffany's, the word 'shampoo' confused me a lot. It seems that here in the sentence, 'a small trim with your shampoo' means that the stylist will cut the writer's hair. But I've googled that the world 'shampoo' is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair.

How should we understand this sentence here?

Does it mean that the stylist will cut the hair of 'you' and also wash the hair with Shampoo?


texts:
I need to have my English students read a pie chart containing information about jobs. One of the questions I wrote is:

  "What job don't students like very much?"

(They are expected to read the chart and say "doctor," which was voted by two students only).

Now, is that question grammatically correct? I just find it awkward. I know there are more natural options, but that is the wording I need for non-native 6th graders. Thanks in advance! I apologize if you find this question too silly.


texts:
“I am really ticked off,” Marchionne said. (Bloomberg News).

The Phrase Finder sees no relationship between the outdated BrE and the current AmE  meanings of tick off:

  The 'chastised' meaning is of UK military origin and dates from the early 20th century and is now rather outmoded. It is usually applied to a child or subordinate.
  The more recent American meaning of 'annoyed' is unrelated and dates from around the 1960s; for example, this piece from The Charleston Gazette, April 1969:

  "The letter that really ticked me off was the one from the wife who said she felt like a prostitute."

but according to Etymonline the AmE usage is from the early '70s:

  Meaning "to annoy" is recorded by 1971.

Tick, as a stand-alone verb,  does not convey  meanings related to being irritated or annoyed, so:

where does the AmE usage of tick off come from?
what is a close  idiomatic BrE equivalent expression ?


texts:
Which of these is preferable in a formal essay?

He thinks that the King will fall ill.
He thinks the King will fall ill.

This can be extended to other words, like knows, predicts, or concludes. But what troubles me is that there seems to be no accepted answer for all words.
For example, it sounds more natural to write

He predicts that it will rain today.

than without "that".
But it also sounds more natural to write

He thinks it will rain today.

than with "that".


texts:
I was wondering if this question is accepted grammatically:

  "Whom would you offer the ride?"

Some people say that the preposition 'to' should be added in this sentence:

"To whom would you offer the ride?"

or,

"Whom would you offer the ride to?"

Could anyone please help me?

Thanks in advance,
Oodo


texts: What Would Be a Word to Mean "Suggest the expectation of (something)"?

texts:
For example, if someone makes a comment such as: "I hope your journey back went well", there is an implication that a response is expected even if a question wasn't directly asked. The sort of context I am thinking of would be:

  Her comment elicited a response.

or

  Her comment incited a response.

Neither is quite satisfactory as the former suggests as response was actually given (which may not be the case and the latter has connotations of violence or unpleasantness. However, I hope the sort of intention is clear.

Another example might be:

  His warning look [indicated the expectation of] agreement.

I realise this is a very specific question but I am sure there is a word for this!

Other words I have thought of but don't quite match what I am thinking of:

Necessitated or Behoved.


texts: A phrase for "flip the bozo bit" for generic situations

texts:
I've only recently heard of flip the bozo bit in the last six months or so, and I find it very useful to understand that aspect of human behaviour (deciding that someone's an idiot and never worth listening to again, even if they're actually making a lot of sense or are objectively correct). However, there are other very similar situations where it would be useful to have a generic phrase, such as in an online game where Player A accuses Player B of cheating, and all evidence is treated as confirming that Player B is indeed cheating, whereas a different player who has not "flipped the cheating bit" on Player B would view the evidence objectively.
Another example is in The Life of Brian, where a mob decides that Brian is the Messiah, even though he tries to convince them he isn't:

Brian: I'm not the Messiah! Will you please listen? I am not the Messiah, do you understand? Honestly!
Girl: Only the true Messiah denies His divinity.
Brian: What? Well, what sort of chance does that give me? All right! I am the Messiah!
Followers: He is! He is the Messiah!
Arthur: I say you are Lord, and I should know. I've followed a few.

The mob have "flipped" Brian's "Messiah bit", and refuse to believe that he isn't. If he says he isn't the Messiah, that's proof that he is the Messiah. If he says he is the Messiah, that's also proof that he is the Messiah!
You could say things like "Keep an open mind", "Don't prejudge", etc., but they're not as strong as the original and don't get to the heart of the behaviour.
Is there a generic phrase for an auto-confirming belief/behaviour that's almost impossible to get out of that retains the strength of the original phrase?
Instead of:

Don't flip the bozo bit on people.
Don't _____ people.


texts: Word meaning "interchangeable with other parts."

texts:
Need

I'm looking for a phrase or word that basically means interchangeable with other parts.

Background

I'm working on a proposal in which I'm describing a technical solution that consists of several parts which can be connected to other technical solutions (kind of like a connector set).  I think there's a good word for this, but I can't seem to remember what that word is.  I almost feel like it's on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't come up with a single word (or concise phrase might do).  Thanks.


texts: Would 'the dead' be considered an object or person?

texts:
Here is the piece of text that I'm trying to figure out:

  Eventually, she stood up with weak legs and trembling arms that held a bundle of unresponding flesh and walked slowly towards the room that would lead her to the basement, the location where they disposed of the dead, who be eventually taken by their relatives and friends to be placed six feet under.

-I don't know whether to put "who" or "which" in "...The location where they disposed of the dead, ???? be eventually taken..."

Please help.

P.s. If you see grammar mistakes in the given text, please tell me. I'm pretty young and nearly have little to no experience in writing, so pardon my lack of knowledge.

Thank you for your time,

Totos Samali


texts: In this sentence, "could" what meaning does it have?

texts:
"I sought only to open your eyes to the world we could create together."

In this phrase, does "could" refer to the past or is it a possibility about something that could happen in the future? The verb "sought" creates some confusion because that is the past tense and I don't know if that therefore makes "could" also in past or if "could" can mean a possibility.  What exactly does this "could" mean?


texts:
I am looking for a word for an arbitrary collection of rooms.
They might be all rooms on floor 2, all the bedrooms, or all rooms in a building.
The best I have currently is "Room Collection", but that of course, is not a word.


texts: Word for "personal reason for not being able to do something"

texts: If a person wants to do something but he is not able to do that due to some personal reason, what is the exact word for that reason?


texts: Word for someone who wants to find a single word to describe a relatively obscure concept, and posts such questions on internet boards?

texts: As the title suggests, I'm looking for a word for someone who wants to find a single word to describe a relatively obscure concept, and posts such questions on internet boards.  If I'm informed of such a word (or even a short phrase to the same effect), I'll be able to communicate more clearly, concisely, and precisely in the internet fora that I frequent.


texts:
I find some people do things to show others they are something which they truly not are but only in superficial side.
For example, a newbie movie freak will start putting all the "top 50" movies of all time posters in his/her room to show others he/she is a big movie enthusiast but you can clearly see he has not done his own research.

Hope you understand.
Please suggest a word to describe this behaviour.

In sports terms someone could be called a gloryhunter if he/she starts supporting already championship winning team without being a deep big fan.