texts: "robustest" Why do all grammar software underline this word?

texts:
I wrote a sentence like the following using the word "robustest". But many grammar software started showing typos. The word exists in the dictionary. Why is this happening? I came across it in an article I wrote using American English. Thank you for your valuable feedback.

Finally, classifier models are produced. Performance tests are performed on models and the robustest model is tried to be synthesized.


texts: should I use "is" or "are" in this phrase?

texts:
I'm glad at least one of us are thinking.

should I use are or is in the phrase above?


texts:
It____(rain) frequently in London.
This is the sentence that I am confused with. I have been told that with 'permanent' ideas comes simple present and with 'temporary ' ideas comes present continuous. So is it wrong if I wrote :it is raining frequently in London? I wrote this keeping in mind that raining is not a permanent thing. Is there something I am missing?


texts: How to describe in a resume that a person left college because of the age limit for immigration?

texts:
I studied for two years in a university towards a bachelor's degree and then left because my parents and I had to immigrate to another country before I turn 21 (the age limit for an immigrant's child). Now I have to write my resume to apply for jobs. I have decided to include this college experience in my resume.

How can I describe it without using words like "drop out" or "discontinue"? How should I include a brief description of my reason for leaving college?

My draft for this part of the resume goes like this:

Sept 2008 – May 2010
XXXXX University
Completed four semesters toward Bachelor of Arts in XXXXXX
(Non-academic leave because of the age limit for immigration to the XXX))


texts: Can “supposed to” be used to mean “considered to”?

texts:
I have a question regarding expressions like these:

The new Al Pacino movie is supposed to be a good movie.
Asians are not supposed to be good ball players.
Whale is supposed to be the smartest animal on Earth.

Are supposed to and considered to identical in meaning, or do they have different meanings altogether?


texts: Difference between "help + [infinitive]" with and without "to"

texts:
Englishgrammar.org has an article discussing cases where an infinitive does not use the word "to."  One case is with many causative verbs like "make" and "let."

  I want the water to run

  *I want the water run

  I make the water run.

  *I make the water to run.

It is also the case with "perception" verbs.

  I see the water run.

  I hear the water run.

The site describes "help" as a special case that can be followed by an infinitive either with or without "to."

  She helps me stand.

  She helps me to stand.

My question, essentially, is why "help" is a special case that can either ellipse the "to" or not, and what the semantic implications of that choice are?

My hunch is that since one category of other verbs that do not require a "to" infinitive are causative, the choice of whether or not to include "to" has a semantic bearing on whether the subject in the sentence is perceived as a causal agent.

So in the example, "she helps me [to] stand," we would infer from the inclusion of "to" that the subject (she) is less of a causal agent than when "to" is excluded.

It seems possible that there are no broadly applicable implications from the inclusion or exclusion of "to" in an infinitive following "help," that perhaps it is an aberration by way of etymology or coincidence, but I've been unable to find sources that analyze the case beyond identifying it as an outlier.


texts: the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth?

texts: How would you explain a meaning in the details?


texts:
Fowler says to avoid -ion words to describe a state or quality and to instead choose -ness words for this purpose. -ion should describe a process or action.

Yet he writes:

  So far as the words are used with overlapping meanings, preciseness is
  differentiated by implying the importance of precision is exaggerated.
  Preciseness rather than precision is the attribute of a precisian.

So what does this mean? Merriam-Webster also seems to say that preciseness carries "so strong implication of severity or strictness", and gives an example as "there was a certain amount of preciseness about the young man".

What do you think is the best choice? By ear, I was just going to replace preciseness with precision.


texts: Archetype in which a person sees he had the objective with him all along

texts: Is there a name for the plot archetype in which the hero goes on a quest, only to realize in the end that he had the objective with him to start with? Is this a recognized archetype?


texts: Difference between 'everything to me' & 'everything for me'

texts:
I am confused between

  she's everything to me

and

  she's everything for me

Can anyone explain which one should i use.


texts: I understand the words glimpse and insight, but what is the meaning of the whole idiom a glimpse of insight?


texts:
I have a question.
The word quite has two meanings, very and not very.
How can I distinguish between them?


texts: Past participles in the English language usually end with -ed, but slain is one exception. Why can't we have just slayed rather than that and slain, too? And why can't slain be its very own verb?


texts: I need a word for a restaurant that was used in Middle Ages, close to 1200 if possible.


texts: Is it proper to state percentages greater than 100%?

texts: Technically, "percent" should mean "for every hundred".  So, I would think that it's perfectly fine to say "150%".  However, in common usage, people rarely say percentages greater than a hundred.  Is there an official grammarical rule for this?


texts:
In order to ask What should be done? or What should we do? using an infinitival clause, you can readily say What's to be done? or What to do?.

(1) What's to do?

But I've heard (1) used in the same sense, which looks similar, at first blush, to either What's to be done? or What to do? but may well be syntactically different from either of those.
(A) Is (1) contemporary and legitimate, albeit less common than the other alternatives?
(B) Here are some of the constructions I think are similar to (1) in that the verb be functions as something other than a linking verb. Please see if they really are similar ones.

(2) What's to eat?
(3) What's to tell?
(4) Who's to blame?
(5) What's not to like?
(6) The guardrail is to prevent vehicles from driving off the road.

Edit: One way to find coherence among all of these is that you can insert the dummy "there" right after "is" and make their meanings more apparent.
Edit: As for (6), however, I'm not quite sure whether the there in The guardrail is there to prevent vehicles from driving off the road. would be a locative adverb (as opposed to here) or the dummy there (as in There's a book on the desk.)


texts: What is the word for someone that uses other people?

texts:
What is the word that describes a person who uses other people, generally for personal gain, without anything given in return? Maybe through blatancy or through manipulation. I was using extortionist, but I know that's not correct.
To further explain; someone who keeps a relationship only for the benefits it provides.


texts: complicated / complex and possible modifiers

texts:
A text I wrote (well, translated actually) contained the phrase:

"the question is highly complex".

After more than a year (!) it's been returned to me with some corrections, and the phrase above has been corrected to "vastly complicated". My first instinct was that this is not right. But I checked on google and found that "vastly complicated" DOES occur but I notice two things about the results:

1) it is attributive i.e. it occurs before the noun rather than as the predicate of the sentence,

2) in all of the finds the word "vastly" seems also to relate to the "vastness" of the noun, not just to the amount of complexity (or complicatedness).

....vastly complicated plot...

....vastly complicated orchestra...

I'm aware that technically complex and complicated also differ in meaning, (complex meaning made of more than one part) but in this particular text I consider that irrelevant. More importantly, complicated has a negative connotation that complex does not. And in my text, the "question" is not treated as negative - indeed it's very interesting and the essayist spends 36 pages answering it.

So my final question is, which would you vote for? The question is highly complex? or The question is vastly complicated?


texts: Hypothetical term for existence at every point in time

texts:
Assuming that time zero was the big bang and "time" before that did not exist, what is the term to describe something that has existed since "time" began and will continue till "time" ends. I understand that realistically we might never use this term. (Big bang is just a reference, I just wanted to refer to the "beginning of time")

We have terms like omnipresent and omniscient, for place and knowledge/information, but what about time?

Do eternal or sempiternal correctly define it? Is there a word like omnichronos?


texts: How to group the words in following sentence

texts:
Shall I group the words as "the cause of [mankind before the sages]" or "[the cause of mankind] before the sages" in the following sentence? Why?

  I shall therefore maintain with confidence the cause of mankind before the sages, who invite me to stand up in its defence;

This sentence comes from A Discourse Upon the Origin and the Foundation of the Inequality among Mankind


texts:
Which of the titular phrase is the correct one? I find usages for both of them.

  Well-formedness is the quality of a clause, word, or other linguistic element that conforms to the grammar of the language of which it is a part.

and

  ...within the final applicative expression, to check the well-formness of French negative construction.


texts: Is there a word for the back and forth movement of the waters on a beach?

texts:
I tried to look it up around on reserve dictionaries and via google, but couldn't quite find a word that fitted what I meant to say. Essentially, is there a word that encompasses both the actions of the water approaching the bank and receding from it ?

Sample sentence:

  It wouldn't be a constant pool to pull from, rather a [insert desired word here].


texts: Is it possible to have second-order collective nouns?

texts:
More out of curiosity than out of need, I was just wondering whether it would be possible to have a second-order collective noun for something, e.g.:

  One crow becomes
  Several crows becomes
  A murder of crows becomes
  Several murders of crows becomes
  ???

No harm done if that's the biggest it can get (a plural of a collective noun). But if it's possible to have something on a larger scale than that, then I'd love to be enlightened!

P.S. I'm not even sure that this would be useful in any way, beyond communicating that there really are a lot of crows!! So if you can think of a useful purpose for a second-order collective noun, it would also be nice to hear that.


texts: Whats the meaning of the phrase "Whats not to like"?

texts: Can you please explain some of the usages as well?


texts: How would I punctuate/capitalize quotes without speaker tags?

texts:
If I have a sentence like this:

  Statements such as "It's not a problem," or "It's no big deal" are unrealistic.

How exactly should I punctuate it?  Would I capitalize the I in "it's"? Does the comma belong in the first phrase (It's not a problem,)? Should there be any punctuation within the quotes that are in the middle of a sentence?


texts:
I'd like to ask about the sentence below from Conan Dolye's Sussex Vampire.

Faithfully yours,
MORRISON, MORRISON, AND DODD.
per E.J.C.

This is from the letter Sherlock Holmes got from a (some kind of) law firm. Can anyone tell me what this "per E.J.C." in the last part means?
If this "per" means like "through", then does this "E.J.C." represent someone's name (person in charge)? If so, why wouldn't this person spell out their name instead of the abbreviated form? If it's  a formal letter using such term as "Faithfully, yours". Does that mean this person is in such terms as Holmes will easily tell by who he got the letter from with only those initials?
Or, does this E.J.C mean the name of a mail company that sent this message to Holmes or something?
Or Is this the abbreviated name for some medium I don't know?  If that is the case, Is this "per" working in the same way as in "by ship, by car"?
Can someone elaborate this for me? Thanks.


texts: A word for "something you want to know only to regret knowing it once you do"

texts: Is there a word to describe "a piece of information that you only want to know until you know it, then you regret you ever asked about it"?


texts: "The _______________ passage of Time": a word that means unhalting, steady

texts: What is a word that can be used to describe the slow yet unstoppable progress of time? Something like (but not exactly) inevitable. I remember reading this phrase in a book but the exact word evades my memory.


texts: Should I use a suspended hyphen here? "A group of five-to-nine-year-olds did it," or a "A group of five- to nine-year-olds did it"?

texts:
The title pretty much sums it up. Which of the following sentences is correct?
"A group of five-to-nine-year-olds did it."
"A group of five- to nine-year-olds did it."
Moreover, would it change anything if the numbers were bigger, meaning that I'd have to use them as numerals (following the Chicago Manual of Style, which states you should use numerals for numbers over a hundred)? For instance:
"A group of ninety-nine-to-101-year-olds did it."
"A group of ninety-nine- to 101-year-olds did it."
On a related note, would simply exchanging the "to" for an en-dash solve the problem? As in:
"A group of five–nine-year-olds did it" or "A group of ninety-nine—101-year-olds did it"? (Using an en-dash between the numbers and an hyphen between the numbers and the nouns and between the nouns themselves.)


texts:
The OED states that the verb "impinge" is intransitive. However, example sentences such as the following have (as I see it) the verb taking a direct object (highlighted in bold):

Several factors impinge on market efficiency.
The proposed fencing would impinge on a public bridleway.

In the above sentences, is the verb not transitive?


texts:
The animals will have an affect over your life.

The animals will have an effect over your life.


texts:
A relation is often considered to be a more general case of a property

I don't fully understand. Is it to say a relation is a case of a property ? then what's a more general case?


texts: how do write: It is what it is. ? Without the indefinite it

texts:
How do you write

  It is what it is.

without the indefinite it?


texts: "Hope this email finds you" or "Hope this email find you"

texts:
Which one is correct?

Hope this email finds you well

With an s after find, or

Hope this email find you well


texts: What is the meaning of 'bouts', in this phrase?

texts:
I'm having a hard time trying to understand the word 'bouts'in the following verse of a WWE(world wrestling entertainment)theme:

(...)
Bouts so false never ever gonna lose
(...)

Also, is it working as a verb here?


texts: Is “non-view” versus view a received English word?

texts:
I found the phrase, “views and non-views” in the following sentence of the New Yorker article (October 15) titled “Are Debates Good for Republican,” which was written by its senior editor, Amy Davidson on recent Republican candidate debates live telecasted from Las Vegas:

  The wheel (of Republican candidates debates) always seems to have stopped and settled on Mitt Romney; and then it is spinning again, along with our heads, and we are watching videos of Herman Cain in a white robe singing a song about pizza that seems taken from the last episode of “Lost.” The song has the virtue of being less discordant than Cain’s foreign-policy views, or non-views, but only barely.

I think "non-view" is used as an antithesis to “view,” and I guess it means absence of a solid view. However, when I tried to get clearer idea of “non-view” from dictionaries, no dictionary including Cambridge Dictionary, Merriam-Webster and other online dictionaries carries the word, “non-view(s)".

Are “non-view(s)" and “views and non-views” well-received English word and phrase? Does "non-views" stand alone without "views"?

I know “non” as a prefex to be used as in nonbank, non-stop, non-politic, but feel somewhat odd when it comes out as “non-views” just like "non-comment" and "non-answer" as against "no comments" and "no answer." Why the writer doesn’t plainly say “Cain’s foreign-policy views or lack (or absence) of views”?


texts: Difference between "on a global scale" and "at the global scale"

texts:
In the two sentences below, do "on a global scale" and "at the global scale" mean the same? Can the phrases be used interchangeably?

(1)

  Our collaborative team is strategically positioned to market this
  ground-breaking, multiple-patented product on a global scale.

(2)

  The company has started the production effort needed to successfully
  deliver a land cover product at the global scale.


texts: What's the adjective for the Republic of Ireland (Eire)?

texts:
What's the adjective for the country of Ireland (Eire in Irish) that specifically excludes Northern Ireland? For example when referring to the accent of people from the the Republic of Ireland but not to Ulster.

Ireland is geographically the whole island and politically consists of two countries:

in the north is Northern Ireland, or Ulster
in the south is Ireland, or the Republic of Ireland, and Eire in Irish

Language Log lists only "Irish" as the adjective to refer to the Republic of Ireland. For Ulster, "Northern Irish" is sometimes used as the adjective but "Northern Ireland" is 10 times more common (plus "British" is sometimes used).

You could write "Southern Irish" but I think this is wrong because it suggests the name of the Republic is "Southern Ireland", which it is not.

I think "southern Irish" is better as it doesn't make this suggestion, although it leaves some ambiguity: it could instead refer to the south of the geographical island of Ireland (just the southern parts of the Republic of Ireland).

Is capitalised "Southern Irish" in any way offensive to Irish people? Is "southern Irish" any better? Or is this just a matter of style?

Of course, there may be no simple, unabiguously clear adjective; the whole subject of the overlapping political and geographical names of Ireland and Britain is complicated as is clear from Language Log and Wikipedia, as are distinctions between British and Irish/Scottish/Welsh/English.


texts: Is it incorrect to say "The song sold a copy"?

texts:
Is it not incorrect to say "The song sold a copy," for example. A copy of what?
 And how does a song sell anything? It's just a song.

Here are two examples I found on two different Wikipedia pages. I was just wondering if this was an error or not. I see it very frequently.

  -Ammar Malik songs have sold over 50 million copies worldwide in total.

  -By 1997, the song had sold 11 million copies.


texts: One word for new item or second hand item

texts: I am creating a select box where one has to say whether the product is new or old. I wanted one word for my label. Any suggestions will highly be appreciated


texts: "Things are N1, N2, N3" or "Things are with N1, N2, N3"?

texts:
I wrote a sentence in my article:

  The most important things are: practicability, simplicity

however my friend told me that the sentence should be:

  The most important things are with practicability, simplicity

which one is correct?


texts:
What’s the meaning of cross in this sentence:

  She had a very stern face and Harry’s first thought was that this was not someone to cross.


texts:
More specifically, what could be the verb when you blank out due to tension? To be more elaborate, the tension could stop the wiring in your brain causing you to be confounded.

e.g. The interviewer's poker face just made me ______, I haven't answered anything at all and I don't think I have made it through the interview!


texts: Order of the "had" clause in conditional perfect

texts:
I know that I can use "had" to construct a conditional perfect:

  Had it not rained yesterday, we would have finished painting the walls.

But is it grammatically correct to reverse the order of the clauses, like this?

  We would have finished painting the walls, had it not rained yesterday.


texts: Can someone help with these two GRE verbal questions?

texts:
Requirement: fill the blank with two words choosen from this list, each word should give the sentence the same meaning.

  Modern agricultural practices have been extremely successful in increasing the productivity of major food crops, yet despite heavy use of pesticides, __ losses to diseases and insect pests are sustained each year.

  A. incongruous B. reasonable C. significant D. considerable E. equitable F. fortuitous

My guess: D, E

  The judge's standing in the legal community, though shaken by phony allegations of wrongdoing, emerged, at long last, __.

  A. unqualified B. undiminished C. undecided D. undamaged E. unresolved F. unprincipled

My guess:　B, D

It would be great if you could give the answer, as well as explain why made the choice.


texts: What is the word/phrase that is used for 'that is all you get'?

texts:
For example,

"Guess vegetables are ____ for me since my mom banned any sort of meat in the house."

I was thinking of the phrase 'in stock' but I would like to know if there are any other phrases or synonyms for it.


texts: What is the use of the double L in Llama and double A in Aardvark?

texts: Always wanted a clear explanation as to why these animals had double letters at the beginning of the spelling. What’s up with that?


texts: What other words are like "independence" in British English where you replace the 'a' with an 'e'?


texts: One word for the type of smile which suggests "I’ve got you! Now you can’t escape!"

texts:
Is there one word for the type of smile which shows the following type of emotion:

  I’ve got you! Now you can’t escape!

For example, a detective smiles this way on finding an irrefutable piece of evidence that will convict a notorious criminal.


texts: Which punctuation is correct in this case (colon, semicolon, or period)?

texts:
Inside the alley I found myself cornered by unpleasant sights: walls
covered with cracks and peeling paint, storm drains clogged with moss,
dumpsters overflowing with bags, cans, and rotten trash.
Inside the alley I found myself cornered by unpleasant sights: walls
covered with cracks and peeling paint; storm drains clogged with moss;
dumpsters overflowing with bags, cans, and rotten trash.
Inside the alley I found myself cornered by unpleasant sights. Walls
covered with cracks and peeling paint. Storm drains clogged with moss.
Dumpsters overflowing with bags, cans, and rotten trash.

Or maybe the three of them are orthographically correct in their respective contexts?
EDIT (based on dockeryZ's answer):
I think second example is right, regardless of the context. Explanation: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon.


texts: In what conditions should a pronoun use forms of singular they?

texts:
Are there grammatical errors in the following sentences? Semantically, one of them seems not right.

Someone parked their cars at the entrance.
The scientist dedicated themselves to the research.


texts:
I find the word 'spitballing' very interesting. I am curious to know how this word originated. What is the logic behind the use of this word to mean "tossing around ideas?"

Oxford English Dictionary provides a citation that seems to imply that the term originated in the film industry.

  I'm just thinking out loud... Spitballing we call it in the movie business.

Harry Kurnitz · Invasion of privacy · 1956.

Prior to that meaning, spitball could mean either a spittle-ball thrown as a projectile by a schoolchild or an illegal baseball pitch altered by using spit or some other sticky substance.

Google suggested that the word came to be about in 1950.

I can't find a reputable source on its origin, nor can I find corroborating evidence for or against a film industry connection.


texts:
The passage below comes from The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster.

  It [=the studio apartment] was a dingy one-closet cell with a metal
  shower in the bathroom, a pair of windows that looked out on a brick
  wall, and a pint-sized kitchenette that featured a bar refrigerator
  and a two-burner gas stove.

I want to know the meaning of the ‘one-closet cell.’
It seems to mean the studio apartment is a cell the size of a closet, that is very small.
Am I right?


texts: Why is "positive" chosen as the opposite of "normative", as in "positive statement"?

texts:
I understand that the phrase "positive statement" means, when opposed to normative statement (like in economics), statements that describe facts without indicating (dis)approval, thus that are objective. For example This chair is blue is positive, while It'd be better if this chair were blue is normative. (Edit: please note that this has nothing to do with its being true or not. In this context, "This chair is blue" is treated as a positive statement regardless of the colour of the chair.)

I don't quite understand why the word "positive" is chosen in this phrase. When I refer to an English thesaurus, I get affirmative, favourable, constructive, optimistic, certain, sure, etc. as synonyms,  but none of them seem to fit in this context.

Which meaning of positive makes this word suitable to be used in contrast to normative statement?

Edit: as @Mitch pointed out, these seem to be technical meanings. Let me provide more context below.

I (non-native speaker) encountered the usages of "positive statement: in my introductory economics class, and according to the professor, they are terms mostly used in the context of philosophy of science and in economics. page titled "Introduction to Environmental Economics and Policy" in  soas.ac.uk provides similar usage. Quating:

  Normative statements derive from an opinion or a point of view. Thus the words 'should', 'ought to' or 'it is better to' frequently occur. The validity of normative statements can never be tested. Positive statements, on the other hand, can be tested, at least in theory, if not always in practice.

In the lecture I'm receiving, other usages of this "positive" includes positive exclusion of markets vs normative exclusion of markets, where the former means "markets are not capable of this" and the latter means "We don't want markets to do this".


texts: Where did the term 'moral fiber' come from?

texts:
I was reading a novel that used the term moral fiber - defined as strength of character - the other day and it occurred to me that it was a somewhat strange conjunction of terms.  It sort of conjured up images of 'the stuff morality is made of'; but morality being an intangible idea it's not usually made up of tangible fibers…

I found myself wondering how it originated.


texts: Distributive adjectives in sentences with non-count nouns

texts:
In the following sentence:

"Wall and roof thickness are always considered when repairing a chimney."

The sentence refers to the thickness of both the wall and the roof. Is the sentence above correct (i.e., even though "thickness" is singular and "are" is plural") or should the non-count noun "thickness" be repeated to match the plural verb "are"?

i.e., "Wall thickness and roof thickness are always considered when repairing a chimney."

Is there a rule regarding constructions like these? Hopefully, someone can help. Thanks!


texts:
So I just discovered iff thinking it was a typo. But after looking it up and reading other answers on here it is a valid contraction of words if and only if. Much like XOR in a mathematical domain.

How is if and only if different from if when used in a sentance?

Does if not already imply a condition that must be met before fulfilling some clause. It's like without iff regular if implied if or maybe.

Similar to XOR I would assume this word/representation be reserved for logical expression. However dictionary.com is giving examples of use in English:

  I could like her better, iff she was better to my young lady.

  Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9) Samuel Richardson


texts:
I'm not sure if this is something only Americans say, but it has confused me for a long time. If someone is asked a question why do some people respond with something like, "No, yes it was"? What does "no" at the beginning mean? It seems like a contradiction.

For example:

  I'm not sure if I answered your question or not.
  No, yeah, that makes more sense, now!


texts:
Would it be

  Without patrons such as yourselves, we could not have this event.

OR

  Without patrons such as you, we could not have this event.


texts: The income tax is becoming higher than cat's back. What's the meaning of this sentence?

texts:
It's from a novel of 1938 by E.C. Bentley's Genuine Tarbard.
Now the expression of 'cat's back' seems not to be in use any more.
However, what's the meaning of this 'cat's back'?


texts: What is a song played at the end of a movie called?

texts:
At the end of some movies, there is a song to be played. Is there any word to call these songs?

As an example "My Heart Will Go On" from Celine Dion at the of Titanic.


texts: I'm looking for a word that decribes the different types of dashes in the image

texts:
In the image below, the green dashes represent having a percentage of something while the gray dashes represent not having that percentage. I might say, there are three active segments and three inactive segments. This is for technical documentation so conciseness is desired. There was a related question I saw about a word that describes the intervening spaces, and interstice was suggested, so hoping there is a word for this.

  The credits progress bar should be divided into ______ for which some are green and some gray indicating amounts earned or not earned respectively.

Of course the word segment springs to mind, but thought there might be something else.


texts: What's the word for a man's bedroom or private room -- as opposed to boudoir, which is a woman's bedroom or private room? If one doesn't exist in common English usage, what would be a French loanword? Or possibly a loanword from another language?


texts: Can someone explain the grammar in "…his breath was stopped."?

texts:
Why does Steinbeck, when describing an old man's death, say "his breath was stopped" rather than "his breath had stopped"?

The context and full sentence below:

  Grampa seemed to be struggling; all his muscles twitched. And suddenly he jarred as though under a heavy blow. He lay still and his  breath was stopped. Casy looked down at the old man's face and saw that it was turning a blackish purple.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Is this an example of the simple past passive voice?


texts: What word would you use to describe a craft person?

texts:
Is there such a word as Craftor or Crafter?
I am creating a poster for a craft show. I want to say, Crafters and Vendors needed, but I don't think Crafter is a word.


texts: Singular vs. plural when the subject has multiple objects in it

texts:
This is a question about deciding singular vs. plural verb where the subject contains multiple objects in it. Let me set the context first.
I have a mathematical problem where I need to find a solution to a problem. A single solution is a collection of three functions I need to find. For examples, the functions f(x) = 1, g(x) = 2x + 1 and h(x) = 3x + 2 may form a single solution. Similarly, the functions f(x) = x + 1, g(x) = 2x and h(x) = 0 may form yet another solution.
Now after solving the problem I find that there is only solution to the problem. Which of the following ways is the right way to express this thought?

The functions f(x) = 1, g(x) = 2x and h(x) = x + 2 is the only solution to the given problem.
The functions f(x) = 1, g(x) = 2x, h(x) = x + 2 is the only solution to the given problem.
The functions f(x) = 1, g(x) = 2x and h(x) = x + 2 are the only solutions to the given problem.

Option 3 sounds grammatically correct to me but sounds mathematically incorrect to me because the functions f(x), g(x) and h(x) are not three different solutions I have found to the problem. Those 3 functions together constitute a single solution to the given problem.
So is option 1 or option 2 correct? If none of the options are correct, what is a correct way to express this thought?


texts: What is the situation called when we remember something suddenly which we forgot before

texts: Sometimes it happens that we try so hard to recall something that we know, but we can’t come up with that word (maybe it is on our finger tip or maybe not), and we remember it suddenly in the middle of doing other work. What is this situation called?


texts: What is the origin of the word "whitewash" in the context of sports?

texts:
The term whitewash is used in sports to describe a situation where the opponents are beaten in a series of matches failing to register a single win.

Merriam-Webster defines it as :-

  to hold (an opponent) scoreless in a game or contest

What is the history of the word when used in sports? Is there some racist undertone to the term?


texts: What word best describes a small store that sells only glasses (spectacles)?

texts:
What word would or combination of words would best describe a small store, in which only glasses (spectacles) are sold?

Here are some of my guesses, but I think they are all wrong:

Eye ware
Glass Shop
Glasses Shop
Glass Store
Glasses Store
Optics Store
(What's your option?)

I need it for two cases: one is for a sign on that store, the other one is for this sentence:

"Two years earlier she had worked in a (small) ______."

It is very possible that there are different words (or combination of words) for these two different cases.

Please, remember that only glasses are being sold in that store/shop.


texts: can i use born and raised in a sentence?

texts:
Is this line correct?
As i born and raised in Dhaka that's why Dhaka has always been a special land for me.
Or should i say this in another way?


texts: Do two of the same uncountable nouns joined by "and" use "is" or "are"?

texts:
I am wondering if I should use "was" or "were" in the following sentence, which is from a scientific paper.

"Field data (4000 points) and gradient data (three projections) WAS/WERE sent to the PC."

I think "were" sounds correct, but data is uncountable and usually uses "was". Does using "and" mean I have to refer to the subject of the sentence as plural even if the nouns themselves are uncountable/collective nouns?

EDIT:
In other words, if I have two sub-types of the same collective noun (data), do I have to treat the subject of the sentence as plural? Or does combining two instances with the same collective noun yield a subject that is singular?

Thanks.


texts: Is there a name for a place that sells nuts?

texts: Is there a name for a store that mainly sells nuts and seeds? Like this one:


texts:
The first line of this news story says:

  Call it space grave robbery for a cause: imagine scavenging defunct communication satellites for their valuable parts and recycling them to build brand new ones for cheap.

I've heard people use that "for cheap" construction before, but thought it was dialectal (mid-to-northern English). I was surprised to see it in an NZ publication.

Why does that almost pass grammatical muster, whereas "for expensive" (for example) really stinks?


texts: What's the counterpart term for "vassalage"?

texts:
Vassalage is the noun for having mutual obligations with a social superior in a feudal state, more or less.

What's the noun for this relationship going the other way? That is, if vassalage describes the relationship from the vassal's perspective, is there a word to describe the relationship from the lord's perspective?


texts: What does the word "analogue" mean here?

texts:
I read a text about advantages of email in marketing. Kindly explain what does that sentence mean:

  Many in digital talk about email almost as it were analogue (tired and old hat).

Does the author compare it with tired and old hat? Then what is "digital"?


texts: What do native English speakers call chips/fries that are no longer crispy?

texts: I am looking for a term commonly used to describe chips (BrE)/fries (AmE) that are no longer crispy, and need to be re-fried to give them back their crispiness and proper taste. It should be quite a simple word to find, but I cannot find one.


texts: "Question and Answers" equivalent when it's not a question

texts:
There is a common phrase, "Questions and Answers", also known as Q&A.

If you have a viewpoint. opinion, idea, statement, or a thought etc., what phrase would represent it and the response the best? In other words, the equivalent to "Questions and Answers" when referring to opinions, thoughts, ideas, etc., is what?

Some possible combinations I have thought of are "Viewpoints and Reactions", and "Opinions and Responses". There are probably others, but I am searching for the most proper. Also, in my opinion, "Comments and Feedback" seem too similar to "Questions and Answers".


texts: A word for the tipping level of a bottle

texts: Is there a word for the level at which a bottle needs to be filled such that if even a drop of additional liquid were in that bottle and that bottle were placed on its side on a perfectly horizontal surface with its lid removed then that additional drop of liquid will spill out.  If that additional drop were not put into the bottle then nothing would spill out?


texts: Give back your home work or get back your homework?

texts:
My teacher is an international and I heard that he said "let me get back your homework to you".
Is it correct? or he should have said "let me give back your homework to you"?
I am a Teacher Assistance, and one of my student said that "I haven't got my papers back"?
Why both sentences uses get?
Did I hear wrongly?
I want to use this sentence if it is correct.

1- Let me give back your homework to you. (Correct or incorrect).
2- I haven't got my papers back. (Correct or incorrect).
3- Let me get back your homework to you. (Correct or incorrect).
4- Let me get your homework back to you. (Correct or incorrect).

If I have heard something wrongly, please correct me.


texts: I am defining an object called pth homology group and I am not sure whether I am allowed to write pth instead of p-th as the latter seems to be more widely used. Is it grammatically wrong to use pth in academic writing? (Note that the document is written in LaTeX where p is typeset in "math mode" and it thus appears slanted (italic type).)


texts: How to say "a man who has a good reputation"

texts:
Despite its hole-in-the-wall appearance, its bartender/owner, Gene Stewart, is ____.

In that blank, I want something like "a man of mild reputation". I entertained the thought of using "the talk of the town" but I think it is too strong.


texts:
If someone asked you where you bought something, you could say,

  I got it at Walmart.

but what if instead of referring to a store you were referring to a city?

Would you say,

  I got it at Chicago.

or

  I got it in Chicago.

Somehow when referring to a city, using "in" instead of "at" seems more appropriate. Am I right? Why is that?


texts:
What is the proper way to use "to scale" in this sentence?

  This drawing is to scale.

I want to indicate that the drawing is an accurate representation, where the length of objects in the drawing is proportional to their lengths in reality.

But the wording "is to scale" seems awkward for some reason. ("is" and "to" aren't usually adjacent words)


texts: "at once" ambiguous between simultanous and immediate

texts:
I have a statement that uses "at once". It is supposed to mean "in one sweep" but the longer I look at it, the more it sounds to me like "immediately". What would you suggest? Keep it or change it?

  Consider a range of possibilities, where all metadata blocks are
  either allocated in one continuous range (called an extent), are
  divided into subsets, or are divided into individual blocks. First
  approach we shall call the extent approach and it requires that all
  blocks are read from a continuous area on disk at once and after
  changes are made all blocks are stored to another continuous area at
  once. Last approach we shall call block approach. It is prevalent in
  modern filesystems. Space is allocated eagerly and non-preemptively,
  one block at a time eventually leading to fragmentation of metadata.

For comparison, here is a different fragment from same document:

  Consider a hybrid or rather a transitional approach. Initially all
  entries are loaded from one extent, kept in memory in entirety and the
  whole time, and occasionally stored to disk as one extent. If at some
  point amount of entries grows over a certain threshold, a transition
  to a B-tree representation is commenced, all entries (already in
  memory) are relocated into tree nodes and stored to disk in one
  sweep. The threshold can be chosen low enough so storing entire
  dictionary
  in one sweep is faster than analogous B-tree operation (few disk seeks). After transition, operations are carried out on the B-tree
  representation. If changes are being accumulated over some period of
  time then comparison is even more favorable. Intents (patches) can be
  stored to disk to persist individual operations instead of storing the
  entire dictionary every time. Intents are described in a later chapter
  on fsync.


texts: Usage of commas and colon in sentence containing lists, and additional clauses

texts:
I've used this site to my benefit in the past, and now I have my own question. I have looked through some of the answers (although I admit not every one as I am short on time) and cannot find what I am looking for. Could someone help me regarding punctuation of my sentence?

  I find an airplane's symbolic freedom appealing: whether it is soaring through the sky; industriously filling and disgorging passengers; or exultantly defying gravity on take-off, it remains independent and far-reaching in all of its manoeuvres.

Is this correct British English or do I need to change the colon to a comma? Also how is that last tacked on bit?


texts: What's the word for luck in gamers vocabulary?

texts:
You know sometimes gamers use this word when they describe a person having a tremendous amount of luck in a game esp an FPS game like counter strike. It's not "coincidence" or "lucky" but there is something else. The vocabulary class might be an urban one like "smurfing", etc..

Like out of a sudden, a player could become really good when the rest of his games weren't.


texts: When two things are so related it is situationally useful to think of them as one thing

texts:
My line of work is abstract - I could name some items, but it would not help.
So, I have two nouns.  They have a parent-child relationship. But lately I realize that it is sometimes unhelpful to treat these items as though they are separate. That is, the child's allowable behaviors are tightly controlled by the parent's.
'associated' and 'coupled' are too weak
'parasitic' has a negative connotation
'master/slave' ehhh no.
'major/minor' maybe but doesn't really imply behavior, and this is all about behavior.
And I need a word that describes the child item, and a word for the parent too.  I could call the child node 'dependent' but then the parent node would be called ???


texts: How do students respond to the "roll call" and how do you pronounce it?

texts:
I have two questions.

In the UK, to do (or is it read?) a roll call is commonly referred to as "calling out the register". It's been so long since I was a child that I'm not absolutely sure how students responded. I think it was "Present, miss/sir"

I also seem to remember students just raising their hands. Are there different responses in the rest of the English speaking world?

Secondly, I am experiencing difficulty in pronouncing roll call. I can say each word separately without any trouble but when I join the two together it sounds as if I'm saying "rolkol"; "rolekol" or "rol kol" I've looked in wiktionary and TFD but neither have the pronunciation. Should I pronounce roll in "roll call" as /rəʊl/ or /roʊl/?

EDIT

It seems responding to the roll call with "present" has become dated both in the UK and the US whether it holds true for Canada and Australia is unknown. Apparently, British students responded with "Yes, miss/sir" until the 70s but now the simple, "Here" is heard on both sides of the Atlantic. The Longman Contemporary English Dictionary, claims that call/take the register is old fashioned in the UK, but I wonder if that really is the case, and whether in the US "calling the roll" is becoming dated as suggested by the Google Ngram chart in @bib's answer.


texts: "We're booking your holiday" v.s. "we're booking in your holiday"

texts:
I'm writing a page loading message for a holiday website. After the customer enters their payment details and clicks the 'pay now' button, it takes a few minutes to process the booking so we're showing this loading message to let them know of the system status.

The loading message reads: "Please wait, we're booking in your holiday."

This message sounds a bit odd but I can't quite figure out if there's something wrong with my grammar or tone.

The alternative is: "Please wait, we're booking your holiday."

Which is more appropriate for this context, and why.


texts: Is it right to say "my sandals are broken"?

texts:
I think the verb form broken is only used for fragile things.
Can I use it in connection with something that is not fragile, like sandals, shoes or clothes?

If it's not possible, what shall I use in its place?


texts: Are commas properly used in "He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches."?

texts: George Bernard Shaw said, "He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches." Are commas properly used in these sentences? In my mind, the comma in each sentence improperly separates the noun ("he") from the verbs ("does" and "teaches"). The other phrases ("who can" and "who cannot") are dependent clauses that could theoretically be removed.


texts:
Think of Star Trek's quote:

  “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” (or “the one”)

In the context of Star Trek, does the many/few refer to a specific group of many/few beings or many/few beings in general?

If it's the former, can the same phrase refer to the latter in a different context?

If it's the latter, can the same phrase refer to the former in a different context?


texts: word that describes someone who gives everything away before they die?

texts: Requesting a word or something for a story please. it can be 1-3 words maximum, I have no ideas on what to describe it as.


texts: What is the difference between "Bobsled" and "Bobsleigh"? Can they be used interchangeably? Which one is used more widely?


texts: Most often heard in radio and television interviews. On hearing someone stubbed their toe on a bathroom door, interviewer asks "Really, that must have been terrible, how did you cope with that?" - not sarcasm though.


texts:
I have a question around the use of single and double quote. To the best of my knowledge, single quote is used to invite attention to a specific word in a sentence or to enclose double quotes within a sentence, whereas double quote is used to set off a direct speech from the sentence.
Is my understand right?
Kind regards


texts: Ways to refers to two people who were about to marry or just married

texts:
I wrote the following:

  A bright red carpet ran all the way from the entrance to right beneath
  the altar. Enclosing it on both sides, were two rows of long
  benches—each of them with a tiny ribbon shaped as a wedding dress.
  Together they looked like a gathering of ancient souls; spirits who
  had come from the past to congratulate the newly committed lovers.

  “And now you may kiss the bride,” the priest finally said. The groom
  nodded, and then turned to look at his new wife.

Are newly committed lovers and new wife good enough for those passages? Or is there a better way to refer to the bride and the groom? (I don't want to use couple because I already used it too many times).


texts:
Which one sounds more natural in this situation ?

Putin: Obama you're late again !   tell me why

Obama: I have no excuse ( excuses ? )


texts: What's the meaning of the "rather as though" in this example?

texts:
As I was reading on the Internet, I came across this:

  Even if they want to have it, they can't. It is rather as though, over an immense range of intellectual experience, a whole group was tone-deaf.

I was wondering what's the meaning of "rather as though" (in bold) in this phrase.


texts: What's the origin of "it's the same banana"?

texts: I've come across the phrase in sources translated into English from Tagalog, and am wondering if it originated in the Philippines and passed into American English during the U.S. colonial period? A related question: is its US use associated with any particular generation or occupational setting (e.g. WWII vets)?


texts: The User Name and/or Password are OR is incorrect

texts:
Which of the following would be correct:

The User Name and/or Password are incorrect.
The User Name and/or Password is incorrect.

Or neither?

Thanks!


texts: Hypernym for "customer," "supplier", "manufacturer"

texts:
I need an abstraction for the above terms.

In financial services, counterparty is often used.

Another hypernym could be account (although this sounds more like a bank account, or user/login account).

Also third-party account (although I've never heard of this one).

Which would be the correct way and/or most descriptive term?

My reason for asking is that I am designing a new database schema and want a base name from which these three types will inherit.

All of these people "transact" in business, and that's what they have in common.


texts: The choice of [no article/a] hotel was perfect

texts:
Intuitively, it seems that articles are not necessary here.

  The choice of hotel was perfect.

Nonetheless, I can't find a logical way to explain why omitting articles for a countable noun is grammatical. Is it?


texts: Etymology of "midsummer" — why is the first day of summer called "middle of summer"?

texts:
I always found it strange that the day which marks the beginning of the season of summer is called "mid-summer", which I understand would mean "middle of summer". While midsummer is on the summer solstice (June 20–21), the actual middle of summer would be about August 6, no?

So why is the first day of summer called midsummer?


texts: Is there a word to designate grammatical constructions such as "all the more since" or "as long as"?

texts:
Do philologists have a single word to refer to grammatical constructions such as all the more since or as long as, or is 'grammatical construction' the most compact way to refer to those kinds of structures?

This is going to sound a bit vague, but what I'm referring to is unchangeable combinations of words that do some heavy grammatical lifting within a sentence. Please don't laugh.


texts: Tools that help with acronyms and jargon in software requirement documents

texts:
Are there any tools that would help with comprehension of technical documents that contain a mix of domain specific and company specific acronyms and jargon?

A tool that is functionally similar to the automatic acronym expansion done by Wikileaks in their Afgan War Diary (as seen at http://213.251.145.96/id/310B4FC4-2F89-4653-A546-1AD5D55BD9F7/) but ideally supports PDF or Microsoft Word documents. The list of acronyms and jargon and their expanded text could be provided in a separate file.


texts:
According to all dictionaries I can see and everyday use by native speakers, this is the correct way:

  On the one hand, it's larger; on the other hand, it's more expensive.

What makes no sense to me instinctively is the use of the first the. What is the one hand? Shouldn't it be just one hand?

Is this a grammatically valid construct I just don't understand, or is it an idiom that has changed to improve the presentation of the comparison described? It arguably sounds better with the additional the.


texts: What does "shoot somebody a smile" mean?

texts: Is it like the expression "shoot somebody a glance" in that it means to smile at someone briefly? I couldn't really find a dictionary explanation, but I've definitely seen the phrase before. Thanks in advance!


texts: Is "Everyone's a loser" a grammatically correct sentence? Can you use "everyone's" as "everyone is" instead of just a possessive term?


texts: "Memoirs" in book title - singular or plural verb?

texts:
I'm editing an article about the Battle of Agincourt. The author quotes his source as follows:

  The Memoires de Pierre de Fenin place the battle "between Maisoncelles and Agincourt".

"Memoires" [memoirs] is obviously plural, but the title refers to a single book. So I'm a little confused over the verb agreement.

Pierre de Fenin's memoirs place...
The book/source/author places...
The Memoires de Pierre de Fenin place/places...???

Any input appreciated!


texts: Can you use an article in front of the word "software"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Why don’t we use the indefinite article with ‘software’?

Can you say "a software" or "the software"? E.g.

  That is how you use the software.


texts: What is the accepted typography for latin phrases?

texts:
In an academic article, i'm using a lot of latin phrases both abbreviated (i.e., e.g., etc.) and spelt out (de facto, in situ...). I know that in certain languages, the most commonly accepted form is to write the latin phrases in italics.
What is the standard for English ? Should I set all the latin phrases in italics? Only the spelt out forms?


texts: Can I use the word "ensure" to guarantee something negative to someone?

texts:
Can I use the word "ensure" to say that something guarantees the negative effects to something/somebody, or is there any other suggestion?

For example:

  The design of our work ensures high-grade security  for both software
  and hardware attackers.

In this sentence, the attacker does not benefit from our design but tampered with it.

I think I should use the ensure with other preposition such as against, but not sure.

Could you recommend another word instead of the ensure or correct preposition?


texts: Difference between conjunctions and prepositions

texts:
Conjunctions are usually defined as words that join words, clauses or sentences together.
Prepositions are defined as expressing relations between parts of a sentence.

However, by expressing relations prepositions also join parts.
On the other hand, most conjunctions do in fact also express a relation. The only one that seemingly doesn't is and, although "being in a group" is also an information... just that we see it as the default. It can't be argued though that "but" does indeed express something quite different than "and" in the following example.

  Thomas calls Maria and/but he is in a hurry.

So... with conjunctions also relating and prepositions also joining... what is the difference?

Is there a definition that clearly excludes the other group without naming specific words?

I have searched the web quite a it but all I could find was stuff like this

  "The FANBOYS are conjunctions, the others are prepositions"

This is not what I am looking for. I want a definition that leads to those 2 groups.


texts:
What does the phrase "lead on" mean and how would it be used in idiomatic English?

I came across the phrase in a text describing a user interface test, which talked about avoiding bias by "avoiding leading users on". I do understand the meaning here, but I'm interested in what the expression means more generally and how it would be used in other sentences.


texts: Word describing "information authored and presented as if kept current"

texts:
Not expecting an exact match but would like to see what my best options are.

There's a class of written artifacts that is understood to be "frozen" at a point in time, based on the way it is authored and presented. For example, a newspaper is understood to be representative of information true at approximately the time of publish, based on the fact that it is marked with a date and it is printed on a medium that cannot be later modified. Many digital documents can also belong to this class if they indicate they are a "memo" or "status update", which are understood to be unchanging once they are authored, even though technically they could continue to be edited since they are digital files. This type of artifact can be described as "historical", as they represent a point in history, even if that point in history was just yesterday.

There's another class of written artifacts that sets the expectation that it is current, again based on the way it is authored and presented. For example, the online documentation about the Stack Exchange platform is expected to be reflective of the actual Stack Exchange service at the time I access the documentation. This class of artifacts is often digital but doesn't necessarily have to be. For example, the announcement sign outside a fast food restaurant is expected to be representative of the sales happening at that restaurant at the time I read the sign. Importantly, this information isn't necessarily correct: Maybe the Stack Exchange writers or the restaurant owners forgot to make needed updates to what's written. I am tempted to call this class of written artifact "current", though as just noted they might in fact not be actually currently true. What's essential is that they imply they are current, regardless of whether that ends up being the case.

Some other words I've been weighing include authoritative, maintained, upkept, contemporary, and present. I'm thinking an adjective would be ideal, but if there's a noun that encompasses this, that would be great too. Also fine to suggest new words derived from existing words with affixes.


texts:
when wanting to inform someone of some future event, in which way would you say it, and what are the differences, if any?

(you will) be notified (...)
(you will) get notified (...)


texts:
I notice that some words have the same prefix but are pronounced differently; for example: precision, preference, prescription, etc.

Are there rules about pronunciation that you apply when you find a word you don’t know how to pronounce, or do you refer to the dictionary?


texts: Word meaning "extra added length" in woodworking

texts:
In Slovenian, we have a nice word for this called "nadmera" (literally "above measurement/dimension").

This usage is for woodworking, and it arises when working with solid wood. To simplify, it has a rough cut and the final cut: The rough cut's dimensions are the final cut's dimensions plus the "extra added length".

If there is no such word, what would be an equivalent, perhaps something like "rough cut extra"?


texts:
I have three books and CDs.

Does this mean I have three books and three CDs? Or are there three items in total? Are both possible?

I am asking for a native speaker's opinion.


texts: What's the origin and popularity of the word "boss" in the context of referring to the person you're talking with?

texts:
In a video game called "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines", a character called "Gorgeous Gary Golden", always refers to the player as "boss". Here are some examples from that first dialogue:

  "We're having a wrap up party for The Misfits about forty years late.
  Cast and crew only, boss."

  "How do you know I'm even here, boss?"

  "I'm over here, boss! Wait, maybe I'm over here! Or maybe I'm behind
  you, with a hatchet in my hand..."

  "I don't know, boss. You tell me. After all, I didn't crash your
  party."

  "You don't say. Wake up, boss! Who do you think you're dealing with?"

  "Because I like the sound of my own voice... It's not everyday we get
  visitors, boss!"

Not living in a country where English is the native language, this sounded odd to me. The player is just meeting him for the first time, and he doesn't have any relationship with Gary that would justify him being treated as a boss. It's also not a compliment either, since Gary doesn't really care for him.

I'm guessing it's just his way of talking with people. Maybe this expression is popular somewhere, or maybe it's a throwback to an expression that was popular before. I also checked some online dictionaries, but they don't mention anything about this usage of the word boss.

My question is this: Is this an expression related with a certain place and/or time, or do you think this is a only a random quirk of this character and so isn't a reflection of anything historical?


texts: What does “flustrated” mean, and is it a word?

texts:
What does the flustrated mean? Is it even a word? I am using Lingea Lexicon and it doesn’t know this word, but the Internet is full of it.

I find myself getting mad at people for using it both in English and in my own  language (Czech), because if it actually has a meaning, I am afraid that those who use it doesn't even know it and use it with the meaning of frustrated, which is wrong.

I dug into it a while back, which only deepened my opinion about people who use it; see Urban Dictionary: flustrated.


texts: What word describes putting oneself in reach of the law

texts:
The title isn’t great and I couldn’t think of something more appropriate.

I'm looking for a work that can be used to indicate that the next phrase may put the writer at risk of being within the reach of the law.

The context might be something like:

  At the risk of {something} myself, I have to confess, I always steal the table sauce at restaurants

The word that came to mind was “inditing” “indicting” but searching for the meaning of the word, it seems to mean something different than I imagined.


texts:
In a text I'm translating, I've come across the concept of a market train. To my misinformed understanding, market trains might be those trains that carry crates and boxes for commercial purposes, but this doesn't seem to be the case (despite the train having a freight engine).

Rather, the carriages (we're talking a WW2 era train here) are meant to transport a large number of people from the main town to a satellite town which is called a "market destination" - a place where everybody in town has an aunt or a cousin.

What does "market" mean in this context? How else can I call this kind of train?

The text comes from an obscure roleplaying game manual published this century and inspired by a book by Alan Furst called The Polish Officer. The game is set in Poland around the day when the Germans invaded Warsaw.

I see in comments about market-day trains and to be true there's this passage in the manual:

  They are market coaches for carrying people out of the city on Sundays and holidays

and:

  [It] will look like an innocent market train, the sort that putters between cities on week-ends making every stop on the line.


texts:
I'm hoping for clarification on some fantasy-based terminology. I've read a number of websites that refer both to "orcs" and"orks", occasionally in the same sentence! Previously, I had only ever seen the term "orc" in fantasy writing.

From what limited information on the topic I've been able to find, "orks" seems to be a term for an orc-like creature in the Warhammer 40K series.

What I want to know is does the term "ork" apply exclusively to the character in the Warhammer 40K universe or does it also represent something else? Can "ork" and "orc" be used interchangeably? If does only apply to Warhammer, should it be considered a proper noun and capitalized at all times?


texts:
Hey, im new here.

In forum, i saw a Non-English stranger commented a text which is in stranger's native language (not English) that someone doesn't know of it, someone informally commented "Sorry i don't speak orangutan language" after the Non-English stranger commented it.

Help me, what's the meaning of Orangutan language. Is it means "gibberish", or others?

Thanks if answered it.


texts: Can a question "ask" or "request," or is this an action that only humans can do?

texts:
Is it appropriate to say, for instance:

This question asks for advice.
This question asks about dogs.
These questions request help.

Or are the acts of asking & requesting actions that only humans can do?


texts: A term in English for when you "clink" (?) or touch glasses together

texts:
I was out for a meal with a few Spanish friends of mine and at one stage during the evening we all "clinked" (?) or touch our glasses together.  This is something that is usually done after someone makes a toast.

I was then asked what the term for this was in English and I didn't know.  There is a term in Spanish for this, but I am not aware of one in English.

I have asked a few people and some people have suggested "A toast" but I do not believe this is the case.

Can anyone help me with what this is called?


texts: Origin of the phrase, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."

texts: The meaning is clear, but where did this phrase originate? Was it always such a gruesome reference?


texts: English equivalent for Polish phrase meaning doing something fast and poor quality

texts:
The meaning of Polish 'doing something on knees' or 'on a knee' is completely different than English:
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/on-your-knees

It is rather a metaphor to a student who instead of doing his homework properly at the home, he did it in hurry, supported his notebook on knees and did it in a short break between classes.

In other words it means doing something in hurry, usually resulting in poor quality and unsophisticated enough.

Some usage:

  Who designed this building? Looks like some architect 'made it on a knee'...

Or nowadays according to software engineering:

  There are lots of bugs in this application! They came short on deadlines and 'wrote it on their knees' even without unit tests...

My question is, is there an English equivalent (in idiom or phrase) which preserves this meaning better?

Edit

After reading some answers I realized that my examples were a little bit misleading.

In reality, the phrase does not carry itself any negative connotations about the 'author'. Rather poor quality of his job results.

The only negative connotations about author we can only deduce from the quality of his job: 'He did his job inaccurately so we can assume that he may be inaccurate.' or 'You Will Know Them by Their Fruits' sort of thing.


texts: "Caldoniafied" In General Use in the 1980s?

texts: I am curious about the word "Caldoniafied" meaning, roughly, hard headed, and presumably coming from the song entitled "Caldonia"  ("Caldonia, Caldonia, what makes your big head so hard?". )Louis Jordan had a big hit with it, and BB King still sings it. This word was used by my Brooklyn landlady in the 1980s. Was it in general use at this time?  Also, was it a huge insult? I am writing a novel set at this time and wanted to use it as a light term. Google doesn't have much about it.


texts: Is the phrase "collaborative skills" appropriate/correct in this context?

texts:
If one were to suggest that they had

  "...strong documentation, collaborative, and communication skills."

My first thought is that it's a bit more awkward than saying "...collaboration...skills".

It seems that collaborative is and adjective, and a misfit for that sentence. But is this an inappropriate usage of the word "collaborative"?


texts: Is there any difference between "as before" and "as like before"?

texts:
Suppose, in an English language written exam, there is a question which asks to write a Formal report comparing two maps (which are given in the question paper). (note: I have attached the maps here. please check).

Both the maps are for SAME island, showing past and present condition of the island.
While writing the report, in the first paragraph I have written about what things were on the island in the past. I have written -

  There were some trees on both sides of the island.

I also have written some other things in the first paragraph. In total 2-3 sentences in the first paragraph.

In the 2nd paragraph, I have written about all the things/improvements which can be seen from the present map of the island.

In the 2nd paragraph, I talked about the houses, pear, swimming area, foothpath etc. After that I talked about trees like this -

  The trees on the right portion are still there as before.

By "as before", I meant "as/like in the previous(past) map" .

Someone told me that, "as before" is WRONG. The correct usage is "as like before". --

  The trees on the right portion are still there as like before.

I am not sure which one is correct?


texts:
What is the difference, if any, among forego, forbear, and forsake?

In the thesaurus,
1. forsake is listed in the entry for synonyms of forego, but forbear is not listed in forego.
2. neither forego nor forbear is listed in the entry for forsake.
3. neither forego nor forsake is listed in the entry for forbear.

Please help me clarify the relationship and differences between these three words.

Thank you,
Kevin C.


texts: Can two prepositions be used one after the other?

texts:
I am in doubt about my sentence. I am trying to describe around 73% accuracy that can be obtained using a mentioned method. So, I have written:

  The study of Sen et al (2012) has shown that a tree canopy can be
  detected with about 73% overall accuracy.

Can I use with about together, one after the other?


texts: What do raptivity and  "And lead raptivity captive" mean?


texts: What is difference between "using" and "by using"?

texts:
Sometimes both "using" and "by using" seem to have the same meaning. Am I wrong? For example, compare the sentences below:

"On-screen keyboards allow people with mobility impairments to type data using a joystick or a pointing device."
"On-screen keyboards allow people with mobility impairments to type data by using a joystick or a pointing device."

Both sentences use "using" for the same purpose, don't  they? And their meanings are the same, aren't they?


texts: What's the difference between the meaning of "banner" and the meaning of "flag"?


texts: The more...the more structure with normal clause?

texts:
The more they sing, their burden lightens and their love deepens

As you can see, the first clause applied "the more" structure, but the second one didn't. Is it acceptable and grammatically correct to write a sentence like this? Thank.


texts: Can anyone explain this sentence meaning in simple English?

texts:
Sentence is AngularJS is what
HTML would have been had it been designed for building web applications.

What this sentence try to explain? and what is the use of have been had it been in this sentence?


texts: Conditional: “…if he makes a wrong statement.”

texts:
The members of the opposition party in the parliament shout upon the minister if he makes a wrong statement.

According to me: if + simple present clause, + future clause.
So "The members of the opposition party in parliament will shout…"

But the book says the only error is ‘upon’ and should be replaced with ‘at’!


texts: Can I use the Perfect tenses (Present Perfect Progressive and Future Perfect Simple) in the conditional sentences?

texts:
If this mystery hasn't been being tried to be kept secret since the Gods left the planet, it will have been revealed by now.

Is the usage of the Present Perfect Progressive Passive and the Future Perfect Passive possible here?


texts:
Where does the expression "ta" come from?

Wikipedia has only this to say:

  "ta!", slang, Exclam. Thank you! {Informal}, an expression of gratitude

but no additional information or links about its genesis.

I have only ever heard it from englishmen and -women. Is it used anywhere else in the world? How did it come about? What is its history?


texts: let you know a couple of facts OR bring couple of facts to your notice

texts:
Which of the following is more appropriate / polite?

I would like to bring a couple of facts (or things?) to your notice.
OR
I would like to let you know a couple of facts.

Please advise.


texts: Baseball metaphor, equivalent to 'lay your body on the line'

texts:
The English expression 'you need to be prepared to lay your body on the line' is a football metaphor, referring to the potentially painful act of lying down on the goal line to prevent a goal being scored against you.

I have heard there is an American expression which means almost the same thing involving baseball. Can anyone please remind me?


texts: First usage of the word "baby" to mean fetus or any synonym of fetus

texts:
Does anyone know of a source that would indicate the first (give or take) usage of the word "baby" to mean fetus or any synonym of fetus? Every reference I've found thus far points to the usual meanings, but none indicate this particular usage. Even so, "fetus" is listed as an alternate definition in the few dictionaries I've checked.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!


texts: Adjectives for silent/loud and light/heavy weaponry

texts:
I am designing a simple video game set in a steampunk world where player will be able to get weapons in four different variations:

silent and light
loud and light
silent and heavy
loud and heavy

I am trying to come up with some adjective prefixes or suffixes to distinguish between them. Selection of weapon types is going to be quite wast, ranging from knives and bows to assault rifles and rocket launchers, so I would love to have adjectives usable with any kind of weapon. For now I have these ideas:

silent and light - sneaky, ...
loud and light   - agile, nimble
silent and heavy - ...
loud and heavy   - brute, ...

I would highly appreciate any help and suggestions, especially for silent and heavy variation. Of course it is desirable for words to "go together" and not look like being out of theme.

P. S. Sorry for my English, I am not a native speaker and am trying my best.


texts: What does "lift their skirts ... and grab the eyeglasses right off someone's face" mean?

texts:
From Gavin De Becker, The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence (1998):

"That's true," she said. "Every day I have to predict what the kids will do, and I succeed for reasons I can't explain." After a thoughtful pauses she added: " But I can't predict the behavior of adults."
This is interesting, because the range of behavior children might engage in is far, far greater than it is for adults. Few adults will suddenly throw something across the room and then break into uncontrolled laughter. Few women will, without apparent reason, lift their skirts above their heads or reach over to the next desk at work and grab the eyeglasses right off someone's face.
Few adults will pour paint on the floor and then smear it around with their feet. Yet each of these behaviors is familiar to substitute teachers.

What is the meaning of the sentence placed in bold?


texts: Punctuation with "The question is..." '.', '?' or ' "... ?" '

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Position of question mark when sentence doesn't end with question

Take this statement for example:

  That's not the question. The question is what was Colonel Mustard doing in the bedroom with the revolver.

or

  That's not the question. The question is what was Colonel Mustard doing in the bedroom with the revolver?

or

  That's not the question. The question is "what was Colonel Mustard doing in the bedroom with the revolver?"


texts: Which preposition should one choose when having two adjectives that require different prepositions and different verb forms in a comparative?

texts:
unwilling to + infinitive and incapable of + ing form. Which one is the right sentence?

The ruling class is incapable more than unwilling to pursue the public interest.

vs

The ruling class is incapable more than unwilling of pursuing the public interest.


texts: Slight difference in the meaning I cannot understand

texts:
I am working on a text regarding quality of computational systems. I am following an ISO standard where I found:

  Verification Process is to confirm that each software work product
  and/or service of a process or project properly reflects the specified
  requirements.

And

  Validation Process is to confirm that the requirements for a specific
  intended use of the software work product are fulfilled.

I cannot spot the difference. The former checks whether it reflects requirements, the latter whether it fulfilled requirements. I would say that reflect requirement is like follow them=fulfill? Obviously not.
Thanks


texts: What's a good word for "to turn into a library"?

texts:
I'm looking for a single word to describe the act of making something into a software library.

Software libraries are collections of code with a well-defined interface, such that it is easy to integrate the library with other software. Making libraries is a common activity in software development. The actions involved are not well defined though; sometimes it is to extract a portion of a bigger software package into a form easily used by other software, sometimes it is to agglomerate a set of disparate pieces of software to use a common interface. Since the activity is defined by its end result, I was thinking of the made-up words librify and librarify (since the -ify suffix seems to fit), but I see these words are very uncommon.

Is there an existing word that fits this definition? Perhaps one not in a dictionary but commonly used or well understood by the target audience?


texts: Can the verb "defenestrate" be applied to someone jumping out of the window?

texts:
I have only ever seen the word defenestrate`used in relation to the act of throwing someone else out of the window. But would this verb be appropriate when referring to someone doing it themselves?
I do not see any etymological reason not to use it in such a way, and yet I've never seen it be used in this fashion.
For instance, if I were to disembark a bus through the window, could it be said, that I "defenestrated myself"? Or does the word imply sinister\criminal nature of the act?
I've seen mentions of an extremely rare usage of the word autodefenestration, but I feel like it is a bit of idiosyncratic solution.


texts: Is this an illogical comparison and if so how to fix it.

texts:
The sentence is:

I want to build machines that benefit others in the same way my mother’s life has been bettered.


texts: What would you call this fenced training area for horses?

texts: What would you call this fenced area used for training horses?


texts: Is there a word for "one who decides (something)"?

texts: "Decider" is not the word I am looking for. It is used only in context of a game. Can anyone help me with a word for "one who decides (something)", in general context?


texts: "Backward" versus "backwards" -- is there any difference?

texts: The dictionaries I've looked in don't distinguish between these two words, backward and backwards (at least when used as adverbs). Is there some real historical, grammatical or regional difference between them?


texts: "a patient who is" or "a patient whom is"?

texts:
I am still very confused on when to use who and whom, I understand the idea these sentences are correct:

  He is the person who won the competition.
  That is the person whom I went on holiday with.

But what would be correct in the following sentence:

  This image shows a patient who is... or whom is?

Would it be who because the patient is the subject, or is it?


texts:
Does "portmanteau" only refer to single words like spork or turducken? If so what would be the term for multiple phrases combined together on a common word or words?

For example:

If I wanted to call someone from this site we'd have to "Stack Exchange numbers"

or

The velocity of ones vehicle when trying to make it through a yellow light might be "stoplight speed" (this just uses a compound word)


texts:
I am not sure which one is grammatically correct. It could be both or none. Could you select which sentence would be grammatically correct?
The only difference between the sentences is even to vs. to even:

Students over the age of 16 who are considering to be employed by business companies should be incredibly concerned; it is extremely difficult to even get an opportunity for an interview.

Students over the age of 16 who are considering to be employed by business companies should be incredibly concerned; it is extremely difficult even to get an opportunity for an interview.


texts:
I am not able to frame a question, but here is the situation: in your family your father is doubting your knowledge and he is asking you very simple questions.

I want to reply him by saying why would I not know such a simple thing.
It is very easy. So is this sentence grammatically correct?

  "Why would I not know?"

I want to understand the grammar behind this. This is the only question I want to answer. I have already tried but not been able to portray it.


texts: What do you call it when people mix truth and lies?

texts:
A common tactic in the deliberate spread of misinformation such as is common in chain emails, is to state something true and easily proven in order to gain the reader's trust, then follow it with a lie that the trusting reader will not bother to verify.

An example is the Obamacare/dhimmitude email, which correctly defines the term "dhimmitude" as a Muslim tax on non-muslims, and encourages the reader to "Google it." Then the email claims that the word appears in the Obamacare law, which it doesn't. But the email gets passed around anyway, because people never bother to check.

So my question is, is there a name for this tactic?


texts: The intransitive "to fail" becomes the adjective "failed"

texts:
My native language is English. My second-best language used to be German (though you need not know German to answer, for my questions are about English), so I am now noticing what seems to be a weird pattern.

In English, one can say either of these:

  The day has come.
  The day is come.

In English, the "has" form of the present perfect would probably be the more common, but both are recognized. In German, the "is" form of the present perfect would be the more common for "to come," and indeed is mandatory for "to come" as far as I remember.

My first question: In English, can one optionally use the "is" form of the present perfect for any intransitive verb? Or does there exist there a list of specific, recognized verbs for which the "is" form is recognized? (Or am I confused? Is the "is" form in English not even a present perfect?)

So far, so good. I do not yet know the answer to the first question (one hopes that you can explain), but, meanwhile, try this:

  The attack has failed. [right]
  The attack is failed. [wrong? unidiomatic?]
  The failing attack had been planned by the division's staff. [right]
  The failed attack had been planned by the division's staff. [right!?]

My second question: What is going on here? Normally, only transitive verbs are inflected as participles for use as adjectives, are they not? Is not the reason for this rule (for I believe that it is a rule) that only transitive verbs have objects, as

  The lifeguard saved the swimmer.
  The saved swimmer thanked the lifeguard.

But the aforementioned "failed" is intransitive. So, how can "failed" possibly work as an adjective?

And does this have something to do with the earlier mentioned present-perfect pattern of "The day is come"?


texts: Is it correct to say "he has got hurt for 5 minutes" and "it has got tangled for 5 minutes"?

texts:
To describe events which began in the past which continue to the present.
I know that
"he has been hurt for 5 minutes" and "it has been tangled for 5 minutes" are correct
but what if we use the verb "get" which means "to become", then can we say
"he has been getting hurt for 5 minutes" and "it has been getting tangled for 5 minutes", RIGHT?
but sometimes people use the present perfect instead of the present perfect continuous to express the duration.
For example, instead of saying "I have been working here for 5 years", they will say "I have worked here for 5 years".
If that is the case, then can we say
"he has got hurt for 5 minutes" and "it has got tangled for 5 minutes"?
But if we say like that then people may think "has got" means "has" and they think the above 2 sentences are not correct.
For example, "I have got a car" means "I have a car"
But again, American says "he has gotten" not "he has got", so they may say the spelling is not correct. It should be
"he has gotten hurt for 5 minutes" and "it has gotten tangled for 5 minutes"?
This is VERY CONFUSING.


texts: can anyone explain why there is 'up' in 'what are you up to?

texts:
could you explain
the usage of 'up' in 'what are you up to'?
I know what that phrase means but
I don't really get what 'up' means in that phrase

does it have similar meaning as
up next, or up for auction?


texts: Words similar to "vainly"/"in vain" meaning it is pointless to even try do do something

texts:
I'm reading a poem which contains the lines "How vainly men themselves amaze / to win the palm, the oak, the bays". This got me wondering about words like "vainly" or "in vain" not meaning:

"doing something to no avail"

but:

"there being no point in even attempting something because it couldn't possibly produce the desired outcome"

Is the second one actually a different meaning or is it just a question of context? Are there any words which mean specifically the second? All I can think of right now is "pointlessly".


texts: How did the pronunciation of the word "derby" evolve?

texts:
Brits say "dar-bee" for both the town and the race, but Americans pronounce it as it's spelled.

Did Brits used to say "der-bee" too and that's why it's spelled that way but they changed over time?

Was it always pronounced like in the UK but American pronunciation followed the spelling for some odd reason?

Is it borrowed from some other language so there's a disconnect between the spelling and the UK pronunciation?


texts: Should I use "a" or "the" for "issue" when I first mention it in a paragraph? Do I need article for "selectivity"?

texts:
I am writing a technical report and need some help for verifying the very first sentence:
"This report presents an effective approach to mitigating the prolonged issue of the insufficient wet etching selectivity between metal and oxide."
For the first the, should I use "a" instead?
For the second the, can I omit it? Does "selectivity" require an article?
Many thanks in advance!


texts: A word for authorship of song’s music, but not lyrics?

texts:
I am developing a website for a singer-songwriter. Among other sections, the website has a section for songs where the singer-songwriter has set his music on others’ poetry. (Unlike the majority of his songs where he is the author of both music and lyrics.) I look for a “keyword” that will mark this section in URLs, labels, directory names and other technical contexts, like http://www.example.com/songs/this_word/.

An appropriate English word is needed for I am worrying about both the visitors that will see this word in URLs and search engines that may stumble upon an inappropriate word.

Update. After receiving some helpful answers and comments, I came to a conclusion that actually I look for a word for “…on other people’s lyrics”, or “…on somebody else’s lyrics”. Important is not that a person is a composer (for the website’s visitors, he is by default), but that he is not the author of the lyrics (what is exceptional for this section only).


texts: The concept of being too obsessed with honour

texts:
I'm looking for a word that refers to excessive or extreme obsession with fairness, discipline, chivalry, and respect. Note that this is the concept, rather than a person who embraces it.

An equivalent for honesty would be candor, for safety: cowardice.


texts: Noun to express the frustration of being behind a small group of cars that's driving more slowly than necessary

texts:
Sometimes when driving around town I'll encounter a small clog of slow-moving traffic driving slower than the speed limit, where I simply can't pass them. There's no traffic jam, accident, road construction, funeral procession, ulterior motives, etc, they're simply a random convergence of Sunday drivers. The only thing to do is wait until one of them turns.

I'm looking for a noun to describe the frustrating situation of being stuck behind them. It should work in the sentence "Well this is going to be a(n) ____________". Please don't suggest anything profane or indecent.

So far I've come up with "long haul", but I'm not sure the connotations are right, and I'm hoping for something that reveals more frustration than that.

EDIT: I'm looking for something that indicates both slowness and frustration and not just frustration alone, my mistake for not being more clear. Even better if it's somehow driving/transportation/movement related.


texts:
If something is hypothetical, then does it imply that it hasn't happened in reality (so far)?
If so,
Context:
Person A does something, let's say "x".
1 hour later
Person A: "Hypothetically speaking, if I did "x", what would you do to me?" Does this imply that the person did not do "x" in the past? If so, isn't this person lying?
Person B: "I would be very mad if you did "x"."


texts: What is the meaning of "silver-lined ashtrays"?

texts:
I'm reading a book (Small Change: Money Mishaps and How to Avoid Them
by Dan Ariely and Jeff Kreisler) and see this sentence:

  At a car dealership, we get offered add-on options like leather seats and sunroofs, tire insurance, silver-lined ashtrays, and the useless pitch of the stereotypical car salesman: undercoating.

I have searched through the internet and found nothing associated with these words. What is the meaning of them?


texts:
For example in the following sentences, who is the doer and how can we be sure?

Swimming is good for him. -- If I swim, is it good for him?

Being elected president was a shock to him.

Having read the book once before makes me more prepared.

Being heavily committed to a course of action is likely to make an executive miss signs of incipient trouble.


texts: What does "shortening" mean? Is it different from "abbreviation"?

texts: What does shortening mean? Is it different from abbreviation? I checked the dictionary, but I don't get the difference clearly.


texts: Which of these is correct: "Sheila is now in Facebook" or "Sheila is now on Facebook"?

texts: Can I also use in when referring to someone who is already a member of Facebook?


texts:
I am preparing a presentation to pitch for an 'idea' that I think should be implemented in my team. The problem is that it is not something new and it is not my brainchild. Several implementations of the same 'idea' in one form or the other have been carried out elsewhere.

I need help in pitching it. What do I call it in my presentation in text and/or orally.

PS: The idea is about building a software tool.


texts: Word for "person living with in-laws" or "feeling awkward and inadequate"

texts:
Is there a word for a Person living with in-law parents, by which I mean, a man or a woman who got married and moved to his or her parents in laws' house, in English ?

There is a word for it in my native tongue, which is specifically used to express a constant feeling of discomfort caused by social inadequacy.

I would like to know a suitable synonym for the word itself or the expression.

(For search indexing purposes, the word is: içgüveyisi)


texts: Word for officially and legally confirm a decision

texts:
If a decision or proposal is presented there might be some instance that needs to take the final and official or legal decision. This last "decision" is mostly a confirmation to make it have effect.

Is there a word for this latter "decision"?

"Confirm" is too weak since that sounds like the decision was already taken in full. "Decide" does not feel right since the latter decision is "upping" the decision to official status.


texts:
Recently, in a magazine, I read the following line:

  It's been an eventful year and boy, has it flown past!

My question is, what does the word "boy" mean here? Is it an idiom? What is its usage?


texts: Is there a good word for "Assuming that"

texts:
I would like to replace the bolded portion with one word.

"Assuming that one believes Hong Kong should have democracy, is civil disobedience a just and effective means of achieving it?

The word "insofar" seems to get close, but I don't think it quite nails it. Or does it?


texts: what is the meaning of 'there are worse ways doing this than that'

texts:
what is the meaning of

  There are worse ways doing this than that.

For example:

  There are worse ways spending this evening than coming to the meeting.

Does this mean coming to the meeting isn't that bad?

  There are worse ways to die than drowning.

Does this mean drowning isn't the worst thing? Or the other way round?


texts: What does `attested to` mean in a legal document?

texts:
What does attested to mean in a legal context?

  "...are reviewed on a quarterly basis and attested to by
  <authority-figure>"


texts: A word for admiration for someone who has a trait you don't have

texts:
I'm looking for a word that expresses a sense of professional commendment, and a touch of personal jealousy, though in a wholesome sense, for someone having a personality trait that you don't have.

Here's an example sentence:

  Bob, to my great [admiration], kept a cool head and friendly tone throughout. Here was a man who had stolen from him, ruined his career and marriage, and Bob listened with a sympathetic ear as the man told him of his personal struggles.


texts: Non gender-specific alternative to "layman"

texts:
Is layman a gender specific term, or can it be used like (college) freshman?

Is it still appropriate to use, or has it been superseded by some other term?

Specific to IT, it seems more appropriate to say user instead of layman.  However, are the two equivalent, or are there any subtle differences?


texts:
I have recently been shown that "Slay" can also mean "Entertain", however this seems rather odd to me.

  "You slay me, you really do."

I have two main questions:

In what reasonable context would it make sense to use it this way?
Where and when did this usage originate?


texts: What are some of the better English reference grammars?

texts: What is your favorite English reference grammar, particularly in terms of accuracy and completeness? Please note: I am not asking for usage guides. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the best ones?


texts: Of the difference between zeugma and syllepsis

texts:
I am confused about what is the relative meaning of zeugma compared to syllepsis, both in its current meaning and possibly in former understandings of these words.

The New Oxford American Dictionary has:

  zeugma
  a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (e.g., John and his license expired last week) or to two others of which it semantically suits only one (e.g., with weeping eyes and hearts).

  syllepsis
  a figure of speech in which a word is applied to two others in different senses (e.g., caught the train and a bad cold) or to two others of which it grammatically suits only one (e.g., neither they nor it is working).

According to this, there is some overlap, though zeugma is more about semantics and syllepsis about grammar. Online sources on this issue conflict, with some insisting one the difference (“not to be confused with zeugma”) and others stating that the two have merged.

Can someone offer a clear view of the differences, present or past, between these terms?


texts: What is the English word an overly skinny person?

texts: In Russian there is a jargon word "дрищ" (~ dreeshch) that usually (depending on the context) means either diarrhea or an extremely lean, usually undermuscled person, something like the one on the picture below (not necessarily undermuscled this severely). Is there an analogous word in English?


texts: What do you call a part of a statement which gives away a bias?

texts:
In describing a previous rule change, one could write:

"The school administration updated their rules last week to say that red is no longer a color."

but many times (mostly in the news), they will add something such as "quietly", implying deception, or with other words, more than one mental image for the same statement.
My description is off, but I'm hoping someone knows what I'm referring to, and can help me identify what this device would be called.

Ex1. "The school board last week, quietly passed a rule stating that red is no longer a color".

Ex2. "The ranking member stated, without evidence, that red seemed to imply emotion rather than a visual cue".

Both of these statements could have been written without the bold word.


texts: What are reasons to omit quotation marks in dialogue?

texts:
While writing a short memoir for a college course, I wrote the dialogue without quotation marks, the biggest reason being that I do not like how clunky it looks in Times New Roman. I do not mind it with other fonts, but when I look at it in Times New Roman, it just feels like it is affecting the mood of the piece. Instead, I am separating dialogue into their own line as the speaker switches. I did not worry until another student in the peer review wrote quotation marks around all of my dialogue.

This assignment is the closest to creative writing that I will have in this class, so if I do decide not to use quotation marks, I want to be able to defend that choice to  my professor.

So what are reasons that writers will omit quotation marks from dialogue?


texts: Is “troop” unique among English words in meaning both a group and an individual member of that kind of group?

texts:
The term "troop" can mean a group of soldiers, or it can mean an individual soldier (perhaps in this usage it was originally short for "trooper").

In fact, in modern usage, the plural "troops" almost always refers, not to multiple groups, but to multiple individuals. "Obama's surge sent 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan" means 30,000 soldiers, not 30,000 troop-sized groups of soldiers.

Are there any other nouns like that in English, where it can refer to either a group or an individual member of that kind of group? I'd be especially interested in hearing of examples where the plural form of the noun almost always refers to individuals (not groups) in modern usage.