texts: What does "Backing forward or backing back" in Hillary Rodham Clinton’s comment mean?

texts:
I found the phrase backing forward or backing back in Secretary State Hillary Clinton’s remark on the Sunday Show, which was quoted in today’s Washington Post as follows.

  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton continued making the rounds on the Sunday shows to discuss the fast-evolving situation in Egypt. "This is a complex, very difficult situation," said Clinton, "We do not want to send any message about backing forward or backing back."

What does backing forward or backing back mean? Does it mean keep positive support to Mubarak regime or Withdraw support to Mubarak regime, or simply mean move back and fro, or move back further on U.S. policy toward Egypt?


texts: What is the subject in the sentence “It is you who doesn’t listen” and why?

texts: “You don’t listen,” not “you doesn’t listen.” Why is it grammatically correct to use the singular verb phrase “does not” when it should agree with the always-plural second person pronoun “you”? Perhaps it is really, “It is you who don’t listen.”


texts:
The phrase "giving 110 percent" is as pervasive in motivational speeches and sports movies as the ubiquitous scene in all submarine movies where they go past "maximum crush depth."

I'd guess this language of "110 percent" comes from efficiency or productivity calculations.  But when and how did that specific phrase or idea of "giving 110%" become popular in English usage?  Is there a particular reason it's "110%" (and not some other random number bigger than 100%)?


texts:
In the Quentin Tarantino film, Kill Bill 2, there is a scene between Bill and Budd where Budd says

  I don't dodge guilt, and I don't jew out of paying my comeuppance

at around 2:28 in this clip. My question is what is the meaning of the verb, jew, in this context? The only fitting definition I found was from Urban Dictionary,

  to renege on an agreement

but I wanted to get a confirmation and perhaps more background on how the verb is used this way since I haven't normally heard the word in this kind of dialogue. Another definition I found was

  to bargain sharply with

from Dictionary.com. Although I believe that this definition is less appropriate than the Urban Dictionary definition, it could still fit into this setting.


texts: What part of speech is 'pooped' in "I am pooped"

texts:
I have a wager that 'pooped' in "I am pooped" is not an adjective; however the betting party contends that it is an adjective since "it describes the state of the subject, I".

The other party also cites the wictionary entry for pooped as evidence.

I have found evidence that pooped is used as a verb, such as this CMU automated grammar parser; however the grammar parser concedes it is guessing at the part of speech (note the [!]) in the output...

++++Time                                          0.00 seconds (59.77 total)
Found 1 linkage (1 with no P.P. violations)
  Unique linkage. cost vector = (UNUSED=0 DIS=0 AND=0 LEN=3)

 +-SX-+---Pv--+
 |    |       |
I.p am.v pooped[!].v

Constituent tree:

(S (NP I)
   (VP am
       (VP pooped)))

Could someone explain the part of speech that 'pooped' is above, as well as the rationale for choosing this response?


texts: Name for a type of idiom with two things joined (like "raining cats and dogs", "bread and butter")

texts:
I had heard, a number of years ago, that there is a name for an type of idiomatic expression in which two things are joined to refer to one thing.

An example of this would be “raining cats and dogs”. This does not mean that cats is a metaphor for one type of rain, and dogs another, but rather that the combined terms form a joint expression with a single referent.

Likewise, “bread and butter” could be used similarly, e.g., “they should waste their time trying to sell frozen steaks; jewelry is QVC’s bread and butter”.

Is there a name for the specific type of idiomatic expression?


texts: What "appear to be " means in the given sentence

texts:
Today, while reading a newspaper I came across a sentence that has been baffling me since:

  The woman, who identified herself as Bhavna and appeared to be in her 20s, ....

What does appeared to be in her 20s mean in the above sentence?**


texts:
I'm reading The Little Prince and there is a phrase:

"Is this warfare between the sheep and the flowers not important?"

Is it correct to exchange warfare for war?
When to use war instead of warfare? Is there a difference?


texts: what's the grammar structure of "ought to"

texts:
I've seen many explanations that just treat ought to as a whole which equals should. but how to explain the function/role of each word separately?
for example:

I ought to go now.

which role does to act there?

where to is just part of the to-infinitive to go (as a mere infinitive marker, no meaning)
if so, why to-infinitive marker is required after ought, but not after should?

to is part of the phrase ought to, if so what's its function/role at all?

I have similar questions in understanding auxiliaries like have to and used to also, so how to understand this kind of structure correctly?


texts: Difference between a gerund acting as subject and an infinitive acting as a subject?

texts: I am wondering whether there is any difference between a gerund acting as subject and an infinitive acting as a subject.


texts: What's the right word for something that doesn't sum to 100%?

texts:
Suppose I have a pie chart with segments that don't sum to 100%.  Would I call this a "partial" pie chart?  An "incomplete" pie chart?  Is there a better word to use for this?

Thanks!


texts:
I'm looking for an adjective that can be used in an exchange like this:

  Me: I have a gift for you.
  Other: Is it the gift of happiness?
  Me: I was thinking of something much more _____.

The blank would be a word that means something directly, explicitly, physically felt, like a kiss. The word "visceral" comes to mind, but that's:

  relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect. — Oxford Dictionaries

  felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body. — Merriam Webster

which is not quite what I'm looking for.


texts: Vis-à-vis is a word on the spelling bee list, but I'm not sure how to say the accented "a" when spelling it out loud.  Can you please help?


texts:
"You can __ only if __."
"Only if __ can you __."

Why does the word order change to "can you" in the latter sentence?


texts: Word or term for an argument that is inherently true

texts:
What do you call an argument/position that is impossible to counter because it depends on undefined adjectives/adverbs?
Examples:

Good websites are the ones that are effectively designed.
Well managed businesses rarely go out of business.

It's similar to tautology, but I'm not sure that's correct.


texts: What's a word that means rapid obedience?

texts:
I'm looking for something that means the kind of obedience you'd see from a bird in a Skinner cage. It's not "brainwashed", because I don't care about the person changing his beliefs.

Here's the context:

  "You will look at me when I speak to you, boy."

  He slowly looked up at her, obedient but not ______"

I'm plugging it with "tractable" for now, but I don't think it's quite what I'm after. I'm trying to get across that he's not compelled to obey, he just finds it expedient in this context.


texts: Administer the patient the drug? Administer the patient with the drug?

texts:
Does the verb “administer”, as in to give a drug, work like the verb “give” or like the verb “provide”?

Which of the following is better: 1 or 2?

  Patients are administered the drug.

Like “Patients are given the drug”

  Patients are administered with the drug.

Like “Hotel guests are provided with extra pillows.”

“patients are administered”
300,000 Google hits

"patients are administered with"
157,000 Google hits


texts: Are "considering that" and "given that" equivalents?

texts:
I realized that in my academic writing I am using considering that and given that interchangeable. Here is an example:

  Considering that there was ABC, this finding was expected.

Or,

  Given that there was ABC, this finding was expected.

I wonder if these two sentences actually mean different things.


texts: What is the name of this rhetorical device involving a change of word order?

texts:
In the quote below, the two occurrences of again are in different positions in their respective clauses.

  "Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which
  what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made
  clean." Dag Hammarskjold

Compare this with:

  "Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which
  what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made
  clean again."

What is the name of this rhetorical device?

Thank you.


texts:
Definition of nugatory given by the Oxford Dictionary:

  Of no value or importance

Short and simple. So it is basically the same as useless, right? If so, then why is there a need to use it? Why don't we just use useless directly? It seems that the existence of the word nugatory is ... nugatory. In my knowledge, there is no a single word that has an exactly meaning or nuance to another word. There must be a niche market of the word to exist.

So what is the niche market for nugatory?


texts: Is "It is supposed to do smth in case of..." correct?

texts:
Writing documentation I want to describe an action which a user is expected to do in case of some situation. Is it correct to say it the next way: "It is supposed to do ... in case of ...", where "it" doesn't point a subject directly, but only means the generic expectation from any who will read the documentation?
Additionally if it is correct, would negation form "it is supposed NOT to do ..." be correct?
Can "supposed" in these cases be replaced with "expected"?
What about "it may not be acceptable to do ..."?


texts: Is it widely accepted to use ‘gridiron’ as a verb and gerund?

texts:
Time magazine (September 30) carries the article titled “Christie to Watch Football” followed by the lead copy:
“Garden Stater in no rush to decide, will mull while gridironing this weekend. AP finally weighs in: Christie "reconsidering" his decision not to run.  ”

From the headline, it is easily to understood that ‘gridironing’ refers to watching football game. But as I checked both of Cambridge Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Dictionary and others on line, there was no mention of ‘gridiron’ as a verb.

Merriam Webster defines ‘gridiron’ as the noun meaning;

a gated iron utensil for broiling flesh and fish over coals.
An openwork frame on which vessels are placed for examination, cleaning, and repairs.
A football field.

Cambridge Dictionary defines it simply;

noun. a field painted with lines for American football.

I know people use nouns as verbs very often today. Even we Japanese say ‘I baseballed yesterday.’ ‘Let’s movie today,’ ‘I forgot to breakfast this morning,' by omitting do, take, play to shorten the sentence. But is it right to use ‘gridiron’ in the verb or gerund form which no dictionary (as far as I checked) provides as used in the Time article?
Can we substitute most nouns (not saying every noun) for verb / gerund, like 'I'm philosophying today,''The doctor coughed while surgerying.'?


texts: "Not the same as" vs. "not the same like"

texts:
"Not the same as" and "not the same like" sound both strange to me (non-native speaker). Google finds both versions. Are both okay?

Is this phrasing used anyway or would people go for "different than/to"?


texts:
I am confused: Please listen to the audio file from google here

This can't be right, can it?


texts: Phrase for 'grey literature' in context of data

texts:
Grey literature, in a nutshell, are all kinds of publications that - as far as I understand - are not properly published. This includes mainly reports of institutions or companies, or manuals, personal correspondance, ... The aspect I am focussing on is this:

  Grey literature often has no proper license statement attached to it, making it unclear whether, and to what extent its contents may be cited, reproduced or shared.

When working with data from various sources, a similar problem can occur. I tentatively introduced the term grey data for that, but I would like to know: Are you aware of a more common term for this kind of data without clear publication status/usage rights?

Edit (trying to clarify):
I am not looking for a in any sense legally "correct" term, but for a phrase that conveys the idea that between open data and confidential data there is a large spectrum of data that is available/released/.., but without an
easily recognisable or ambiguous legal status (at least for a legal layperson). One example: the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has been releasing a list of installed power plant capacity on their homepage. However, there is no statement attached for which purposes and under which conditions this dataset may or may not be used. Only through finding its additional release on govdata.de one can find a clear usage licence (here: DL-DE BY).


texts: "I would have a car, which would ALLOW me to take myself from point A to point B faster"

texts:
Is there such a sentence with "s" ("which allows me to ....")?

I'm talking about myself, it means I'm talking in first person (singular)


texts:
I said: "Tomorrow will be our one-to-one meeting with Mr.XYZ."

My friend: "OK, one-on-one."

Which is correct?

  One-to-one

Or

  One-on-one


texts: "pre-" and "post-", but what about "suf-"?

texts:
Is there a prefix related to “suf-” the way “pre-” is related to “post-”?

In my opinion, “pre-” seems to mean leading, “post-” means bringing up the rear (like a post script). “suf-” would seem to have more of the idea of a caboose (the end of something), and as such, maybe there isn't something related that has the idea of beginning.


texts: Should "tablet" be capitalized in a school essay?

texts: Should "tablet" be capitalized? Such as: "The last ten years has brought us smartphones, tablets, 3-D visual entertainment..." etc.


texts:
I understand that "did" is past tense and "do" is present tense, but if you see a video of someone dancing a strange dance online, what is more correct to say:

"I didn't realize people still did this."

or

"I didn't realize people still do this."

The second seems more correct to me but the first sounds more correct.


texts: What is the word or term used to describe a person who intentionally ignores a rule/regulation/order

texts:
There is a girl in my lab who, despite having been corrected numerous times in the past, continues to disregard the lab procedures regarding chain of command. She constantly goes over supervisors' heads, stepping far out of line and creating somewhat major problems.

She is a snobbish type with an aura of undeserved superiority and arrogance that borders on a personality disorder and, if I were better read, I would have a much grander metaphoric comparison for her inflated sense of self worth. She is unwilling, or simply unable, to admit her mistakes and has an excuse or response at the ready for any and every question/action/accusation that comes her way.

Anyway, she did it again this morning and I have been obsessed over finding a word that accurately describes this behavior of intentionally ignoring and disregarding her position and the rules set forth. I feel like it's on the tip of my tongue and that I know the word, but just can't remember.

Any ideas?


texts: Verb to describe fluid pouring out in portions?

texts: Is there a verb to describe fluid that pours out in portions? I mean, not a constant flow but partial. For example, gush, pour etc. mean a constant flow. But is there something consecutive? The only word that comes to my mind is squirt but it depicts a small amount of fluid. Is there a verb for a bigger portions?


texts: Punctuation after titles in quotation marks?

texts:
I’m working on a book that cites the titles of many short poems, customarily set inside quotation marks.  The quotation marks serve to identify the poem as a single entity rather than to indicate any sort of dialog.  So I’m wondering if it is preferable to put commas and periods after such titles:

  “Old Poem” was written ten years before “New Poem”.

I've looked around and the usual rule is that in American usage the quotation marks always come after the punctuation.  One source gave an exception for single letters or numbers as in the following:

  A common algebraic variable is 'X'.

The logic of putting a period (or comma) after the quotation marks in the math example, and similarly with poem titles, seems very strong to me.  Is there any reason American usage handles quotation marks the same way for direct speech compared with other uses?  Should I defy convention and go with logic?  Seeing the punctuation inside the quotation marks strongly implies quoted speech to my eyes.


texts: The function of 'of' in this sentence: visualization is of far more importance

texts: Personally, I think it comes down  to indicating that visualization is something that has much more importance", but I'm not sure about it.


texts: What does one call the noun a preposition relates to its object?

texts:
With minimal research online one can easily find that a prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and an object. Most online and paper resources will describe a preposition as a word that describes the relationship between two nouns/noun phrases.

For example

The cat is behind the table.

OR

The cat behind the table was eating the leftovers.

I know that you refer to behind as the preposition, the table as the object of the preposition, but am confused as to if there is a word to describe the relationship between behind and the cat. I am looking for a word for that specific relationship, not simply that in the first example, the cat is the subject of the sentence.


texts: Is single usage of "personality" in "Multiple Personality" jargon or correct English?

texts:
Should not the "personality" have been pluralized in "Multiple Personality Disorder"?

Is the single usage of "personality" with prepending "multiple" a professional jargon or it is the correct English usage?


texts: On quadrants, quintants, sextants, octants, nonants, etc

texts:
I have searched the internet for how to form the following words, but have been unable to find an authoritative source. They are obviously formed with latinate prefixes, but if you look at the lists here, the sandhi/morphotactics are not straightforward.

With regard to words describing equally divided parts of a plane, how are the following words formed, and do I even have them right?

4 - quadrant
5 - quintant
6 - sextant
7 - septant                               ???
8 - octant
9 - nonant
10 - decant/decimant                      ???
16 - sedecimant                           ???
64 - sexagesim quadrant                   ???
100 - centant/centasimant                 ???
400 - quadringentant/quadringentesimant   ???


texts: Should "the" and "a" agree in the same sentence?

texts:
Example:

  She lowered her pen to the blank page and wrote the first
  verse—followed by a second one.

In this case, I used the first and then a at the end. Is this grammatically correct?


texts: What does "If Machiavelli were a hacker, he'd have worked for the CSSG" mean

texts:
Machiavelli is a top guy in the "political science" field and Google shows CSSG as Computer Science Study Group. What does this quote mean?

  If Machiavelli were a hacker, he'd have worked for the CSSG.


texts:
Are there any synonyms for bitter-sweet? I've tried having a look on online thesauri, but haven't had much luck in finding anything suitable.

The context I wish to use this in:
I have described something (the proliferation of data) in text as having both positive and negative attributes, and would like to state that something else, similarly, possesses this 'bitter-sweet' characteristic.

I don't want to use 'bitter-sweet', however, because it doesn't sound serious or formal enough in the context I am using it in, if that makes sense. Is there another word that describes something as having both beneficial and disadvantageous features?


texts: Do I need a comma when I want to write "Good morning John"?

texts: Which of the following is right? "Good morning John"? or "Good morning, John"?


texts: What does the term "chalkiest" mean in the context of Fantasy Football?

texts:
In reading recaps of Fantasy Football player performances tonight, I came across this statement:

  Williams got the start in place of LeSean McCoy (hamstring) and was the chalkiest play of the week in DFS [Daily Fantasy Sports].

What does "chalkiest" mean in this context?


texts:
What does the word "hacky" means and what is the differences between the words "hack" and "hacky"

For example: "I found a hacky solution"

Is this means the solution is awful or means cheating but solves anyway?


texts: What is the best antonym for "approach"?

texts:
Which single word is the best antonym for "approach", where "approach" might be used in these sentences:

The speaker approached the podium.
The shopper approached the booth.

The word would mean "to move away from".


texts: Which is correct "A huge unattractive block of flats" or "An unattractive huge block of flats". What is the word "huge" - an opinion or a size?


texts: Here in Pittsburgh, we have lots of "Let's go Steelers!" (and some diehards who also say "Let's go Bucs!", but they're dying out). What does that phrase even imply? I assume it's similar to "Go Steelers", which I'm also not sure of the implications. "Go Steelers... to victory!" is a very strange way to phrase the sentence. Does anyone know where this phrase comes from?


texts: Word or phrase for the act of defending someone who is generally despised

texts:
This is my first post in StackExchange. Please do tell if I made any mistakes.

I'm looking for a phrase or word that fits this situation:

A person (referred as X below) in a community, presumably having some sort of power, takes an approach that the vast majority of the community disagrees.
Another person (Y) tries to defend X but is frowned upon by the others.

One of them commented:

  "Stop ______, Y. It's disgusting. We all despise X and nobody here should be with him."

Some words like "defending", "convoying" might do, but I wish to use a phrase that adds an obviously negative sense to the context.
Is there a phrase or word that applies for the person's comment?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


texts:
She was a little, brown, thin, almost skinny, woman, with big, rolling, violet-blue eyes, and the sweetest manners in the world. You had only to mention her name at afternoon teas for every woman in the room to rise up and call her not blessed.

("Three and—an extra", Rudyard Kipling)

I am particularly worried about 'not' in the sentence; Is 'not' redundant, here? As per my limited understanding, people are fond of her and hence bless her occasionally.

I feel it should be - "...and call her blessed."


texts:
Recently in an episode of 'House of cards' they bring up the joke

  "Two freshmen girls are moving into their dorm room together. One of them's from Georgia, one of them's from Connecticut. The girl from Connecticut's helping her mother put up curtains. Girl from Georgia turns to them and says, "Hi. Where y'all from?" Girl from Connecticut says, "We're from a place where we know not to end a sentence with a preposition." The girl from Georgia says, "Oh, beg my pardon. Where y'all from...cunt?"

Now, i suppose the punchline has something to do with the not-preposition, but what i don't get is why the Connecticut girl even considers that a sentence cannot end with a preposition?
Is there any reason for stating that prepositions can't be on the end of a sentence? And if not, what is the punchline of this joke?

If this joke's punchline is not pertaining to English language or if this is not a grammatical joke, i'm sorry and will remove the question.


texts: Is there any countable noun which is a synonym of 'rating'?

texts:
What noun can be used to describe how many times something has been rated?

For voting, you can say "one vote" or "two votes".

For liking (Facebook), you can say "one like" or "two likes".

For rating, I don't think someone would say "one rate" or "two rates".

What's the right word in this case?


texts: Alternative to "schizoid" without the connotations of obsolete or pseudoscientific psychological theories

texts:
I'm looking for a word to use to describe the idea that a certain religion is fundamentally not one religion but a conglomeration of two different things, i.e., that it fundamentally has never had a unified or coherent character. "Fractured" seems OK, but seems too weak, and seems to imply that there was something that was originally unified and coherent but then split apart. "Schizoid" seems closer to the meaning I want, e.g., in the King Crimson song "21st century schizoid man." However, it seems to be bound up with lots of obsolete, pseudoscientific, or pop-cultural ideas about mental illness.
Sample sentence:

Religion X is fundamentally schizoid in character, having begun its existence as an amalgam of different teachings that focused on different subjects of interest.

Is there a better word to express this idea, one that doesn't have the undesired pseudoscientific connotations and doesn't suggest a splitting of something that was originally a unified whole? Roget's thesaurus has an entry for "schism," which seems to consist of a lot words for splitting something initially unified.  A word like "amalgam" doesn't seem quite like what I want, since, e.g., a dental amalgam functions really well at its job, and is a desirable thing. I'm happy with either a noun or an adjective.


texts: Which dash should be used to indicate "None", "No Answer", or "Not Applicable"?

texts:
Consider the following overview of an individual's profile:

  Name: John Smith
  Age: 29
  Marital status: Single
  Spouse's Name: -

The dash given as "Spouse's Name" indicates that there is no name, because there is no spouse.  What is the correct character to use for this dash?


texts: A word/phrase means "a small amount" (of a color)

texts:
I am looking for a quantifier means "a small amount”, similar to but more advanced than "a little bit", for the sentence:

  The northern lights are neon green mixed with _______ purple.

Merriam-Webster lists words like:

  smidgen, driblet, skosh, scruple, iota, etc.

Not sure which one fits the said context best. Need some help. Thanks.

EDIT:
To give you more context, here is the picture of what I want to describe.
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/dragon-aurora-dancing-over-iceland-captured-stunning-photo-ncna974656
The first picture, largely neon green with a little purplish at the edge.


texts: Are there any words in English that have a plural with a separate derivation?

texts:
There are some irregular plurals in English (child/children, goose/geese), but all of the ones I know of share the same root word.

In some languages, there are some irregular pairs where the singular form does not have the same root as the plural form, such as in Russian (год/лет, человек/люди).

Are there any such irregular plurals in English?


texts: How to say "influenza vaccine injection" in oral English?

texts: Is there any word replace "influenza vaccine injection" in oral English?


texts: Have we invented a universally accepted name for image + text on it?

texts:
These days in social networks we see a new medium emerging (which I think did not exist before, at least not in this scale):

Images with a relavent text on it.

Examples can be seen in this site:

http://FunnyAnd.com

I can't find a word to describe them. Do we have a word for this art/medium?


texts:
It will be communicated to you later.

or

It will be communicated to you later on.

Please tell me which is correct or better expression.


texts: Would it be a mistake to use the word "gay" in business or academical writings?

texts:
This is a post by NiceTryDad on instagram.

  Son: "What does the word "gay" mean?"
  Me: "It means happy."
  Son: "Oh, are you gay?"
  Me: "No, son, I have a wife."

Later then, I googled up the meaning of the word "gay". And I found that it has some meanings in its older use, like having or showing a merry, lively mood, and also bright or showy. And also, this site explains:

  Gay meaning ‘homosexual’ became established in the 1960s as the term preferred by homosexual men to describe themselves. It is now the standard accepted term throughout the English-speaking world. As a result, the centuries-old other senses of gay meaning either ‘carefree’ or ‘bright and showy’ have more or less dropped out of natural use. The word gay cannot be readily used today in these older senses without arousing a sense of double entendre, despite concerted attempts by some to keep them alive. Gay in its modern sense typically refers to men (lesbian being the standard term for homosexual women) but in some contexts it can be used of both men and women

I know that that post was just a joke, but I'm wondering if I can use the word gay to indicate that someone's happy in business or academical writings. Since people would always refer it to its modern sense (homosexuality).


texts:
What does the phrase to get stuffed mean in the following passage taken from my IELTS reading exercise?

  One of London Zoo’s recent advertisements caused me some irritation,
  so patently did it distort reality. Headlined “Without zoos you might
  as well tell these animals to get stuffed”, it was bordered with
  illustrations of several endangered species and went on to extol the
  myth that without zoos like London Zoo these animals “will almost
  certainly disappear forever”. With the zoo world’s rather mediocre
  record on conservation, one might be forgiven for being slightly
  sceptical about such an advertisement.


texts:
I want to combine "A helps B to Verb1." and "A helps C to Verb2." into one sentence.

However, "A helps B Verb1." and "A helps C Verb2." are also correct sentences. ("to" can be omitted.)

So, my question is: Are there any incorrect sentences among the following?

"A helps B to Verb1 and helps C to Verb2."
"A helps B to Verb1 and C to Verb2."
"A helps B Verb1 and C Verb2."

Here are examples.

This test will help students to find their talents and it will help their parents to understand them.
This test will help students to find their talents and their parents to understand them.
This test will help students find their talents and their parents understand them.


texts:
What if there is more than one judgement?
eg.

comfortable, cheap armchair
bright sunny day

can we say,

cheap, comfortable armchair
sunny bright day

Can the order be changed?


texts: Is it grammatical to say that something is "covered with some animal", implying it is that animal's skin?

texts:
I'd like to know if it is grammatical to describe something as covered with "an animal", implying that the cover is that animal's skin, hide, etc.
I've found examples for an alligator's skin:

[The watch] has a thick rubber strap, covered with alligator and very
much in keeping with the brand’s philosophy of fusion. (source).
[The loafers have] a vamp covered with Alligator. (source)
The first [Chatelaine] is sterling, covered with alligator. (source)

But are these grammatical?


texts: "high-end clientele" is to "low-end clientele" as "carriage trade" is to what?

texts:
Is there a phrase in English that works as a direct antonym to the idiomatic carriage trade, that is, the wealthy patrons of a store, restaurant, hotel, etc.; the elite clientele?

  carriage trade: [mass noun] North American informal
  The wealthy clientele of a business:
  determined to pursue the carriage trade, she quickly established an old-girl network (Source: ODO)

  carriage: A wheeled vehicle, especially a four-wheeled horse-drawn passenger vehicle, often of an elegant design. (Source: AHD)


texts: Does the word, ‘peruse’ have a single meaning of ‘attentive reading,’ or double, contradicting meanings of ‘attentive’ and ‘cursory’ reading?

texts:
I’m confused to find opposite definitions in the same word, ‘peruse’ in Readers English Japanese Dictionary published by a leading foreign language dictionary publisher in Japan.
It defines ‘peruse’ as:

  vt.

  Read carefully and attentively. Examine carefully.
  Read cursorily, quickly.

As I thought ‘read carefully’ and ‘read cursorily’ are contradicting definition, I checked OALED. It defines ‘peruse’ singly as:

  vt. to read sth. especially in a careful way.

Oxford Online English Dictionary single-mindedly defines ‘peruse’ as:

  read (something), typically in a thorough or careful way:
  examine carefully or at length:

with a specific note:

  Note that peruse means ‘read’, typically with an implication of
  thoroughness and care. It does not mean ‘read through quickly; glance
  over’, as in documents will be perused rather than analyzed
  thoroughly.

Cambridge Online English Dictionary similarly define ‘peruse’ as:

  to read through something, especially in order to find the part you are interested in:

However, Merriam-Webster English Dictionary comes with dual meanings of ‘attentive reading’ and ‘cursory reading, or skimming.’

  a: to examine or consider with attention and in detail.

  b: to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner.

Obviously, both Oxford (including OAELD) and Cambridge English Dictionary give a single meaning of ‘attentive reading,’ and both Merriam-Webster and Readers Dictionary give dual meanings of “attentive and casual reading.”

What is the absolute interpretation of the meaning of ‘peruse’? If it has a single meaning - only attentive reading -, there’s no problem. But if it has dual meanings as seen in Merriam-Webster and Readers Dictionary, how can I find which way the word is used in mutually conflicting meanings of ‘deep-reading’ and ‘quick-reading’ in the context?

In other word, how can I tell whether the sender wants me to make a thorough and meticulous study of his writing, or to have just a quick run-through when he sends it to me with a note, “for your perusal?”

Addendum:

I checked American English dictionaries at hand, which again come in both a single and dual definition(s).

Oxford American English Dictionary (1980) defines ‘peruse’ singly as to read or examine printed material, especially with great care.

Webster’s New World Basic Dictionary of American English (1998) defines the word separately as;
1. to read through carefully as in peruse report on employment.

2 to read in a casual way as in peruse the Sunday paper.

In net, four English dictionaries provide a single definition purporting ‘attentive reading,’ and three other dictionaries provide dual meanings of ‘attentive’ and ‘cursory’ reading.
However, all three Oxford brand dictionaries adopt uniformly a single ‘attentive reading’ interpretation.


texts: pronoun order where subject and object are equal

texts:
Is the following sentence correct? Does it sound awkward?

It wasn't long before he and Dolores were locking eyes.


texts: What is the proper way of making a conditional statement with question marks?

texts:
Say I make a conditional statement, or an either/or statement,

  1) Do I eat the bananas? Or do I eat the apples?

  2) Do I eat the bananas, or do I eat the apples?

Is it right to add the second question mark like in option 1? How do I punctuate a sentence like this?


texts: What is a word for a mean kind of happy?

texts: What's a word for an emotion that's akin to happiness but felt by someone so mean that you doubt they're capable of true happiness?  As "smirk" is to "smile", this word is to "happy".


texts:
Situation: A character responds in a vaguely insulted, but not offended tone to a question.

I can't think of anything else and vaguely insulted doesn't seem quite right.


texts: Please identify the independent clause/s in this sentence

texts:
I am trying to understand where the independent clause/s are in the following sentence:

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

It is more complex than the ones I have been working with so far.

Thank you.


texts: "For dragons are fire made flesh, and fire is power."

texts:
This quote is from "A Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Two"
 By George R.R. Martin.

This is the full quote:

  "They shall come day and night to see the wonder that has been born again into the world, and when they see they shall lust. For dragons are fire made flesh, and fire is power."

Is this separating a full sentence into two? What kind of usage is this?

Was it supposed to be like this:

  "They shall come day and night to see the wonder that has been born again into the world, and when they see they shall lust for dragons that are fire made flesh, and fire is power."

Additionaly:

Is there an inversion here? If yes, what kind of inversion technique is this?

Also, "fire made flesh" is a phrase made with past participle deverbal adjective. Hence, Can we say:

  Dragons are fire made flesh.

or/and

  Dragons have fire made flesh.

Then, we go back to the beginning again, why is "for" there? Was it supposed to be part of the previous sentence?

Are these structures only used by authors? Do you have any other examples like this?


texts: Which should I use, infinitive or participle?

texts:
I found this description in Wikipedia on infinitive.

  As a modifier of a noun or adjective. This may relate to the meaning of the noun or adjective ("a request to see someone"; "keen to get on"), or it may form a type of non-finite relative clause, like in "the man to save us"; "the method to use"; "nice to listen to".

I've got a question about "the man to save us."
Why is "to save us" used, not "saving us"?
If I said "the man saving us" instead of "the man to save us", would it mean other thing?
Thank you.

【Addtion】:
for example, there are these contexts:

"He must be the man (to save us/saving us) from cruelty."
"He is the man (to save us/saving us) although he's also in a difficult situation."

I created those sentences, so they might be awkward, but please answer which is suitable.
My guess is that in the first sentence, "to save us" is suitable, and in the second, "saving us" is suitable.


texts: Nouns as predicates vs nouns as subjects

texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences:

John is my friend.
and
My friend is John.

similar to those two sentences are

My favorite show is Opera.
Opera is my favorite show.


texts: What category of adjectives is this? i.e. adjectives entirely unlike their nouns

texts:
Consider the noun "Jupiter", either the Roman god or the giant gaseous planet in our Solar System.

The adjective is "jovian", entirely unrelated.

Is this a distinct class of adjectives? I suspect there are many more examples.

EDIT: Is it possible that "Jupiter" does not have an adjective? "Jupiterian"?

In most studies for astrophysics I've seen, the go-to adjective is "Jovian"....


texts:
I have sentence.

  Algorithm is classified as a probabilistic algorithms, which is used
  for solving [name of problem] problems.

Can I say: "Algorithm is classified as a probabilistic algorithms. One is used for
solving [name of problem] problem" ?


texts: How far down the ancestry line do you call a person your "cousin"?

texts: Should individuals on your family tree, 8 or 9 generations, still be called cousins? After aunts & uncles, should you call all individuals on a family tree "cousins"?


texts: I'm writing a statement of events that happened between me and my ex. It needs to be written formally but I don't how to write the following words in that way: "blowjob" and "eating her out." Thanks for any help you can offer!


texts: Is there a term to describe speech that has a hidden meaning but is not sarcastic?

texts:
I want to describe how someone is saying something but hidden behind their words they are blaming the person they are talking to. It's kind of like sarcasm but not quite as strong. With sarcasm the meaning is obvious and it's meant to hurt. With the situation I'm describing it's not really about cutting down the other person and making yourself feel smart, more like blaming them for something that went wrong and feeling sorry at the same time. The speaker isn't really trying to hit the listener with the hidden meaning, but with just a tiny bit of effort the listener can infer the extra meaning in the speaker's words.

If sarcasm doesn't describe this, then what does? What words or phrases can be used?


texts:
I have read a "pursue" word meaning here https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/pursue?q=pursue, but I can't understand the second meaning, especially one of its examples.
The meaning described there is:
to continue to discuss, find out about or be involved in something

And there is example below:
 to pursue an agenda/a strategy/a claim

What does the "to pursue an agenda" mean in the context of the world definition mentioned above?
To continue to discuss an agenda?
To continue to find out about agenda?
To continue to be involved in an agenda?
I'm not sure about correctness of all of these interpretations. I tried to turn on imagination, but I can't figure out the relationship of this word's description and the example given


texts: Difference between "eat rice" and "have rice"

texts:
Consider the following 2 questions:

  Do you eat rice for breakfast in the morning?
  Do you have rice for breakfast in the morning?

My questions are:

Are both questions acceptable? If they are, are there any difference in meaning?


texts: What is the appropriate usage of "symmetrical" and "symmetric" (using the geometrical adjectival definition of both terms)? Are they synonymous?


texts: Can I list countable nouns to be done after "do much"?

texts:
Examples:

I can't do much for that.
There is too much to be done.

At first I assumed there is an omitted noun after "much"? But the possible applicable nouns I knew, such as "works", or "anti-measures", are countable. So if one of them is the omitted noun, the phrase should be "do many" instead.
So I thought "much" should be an adverb modifying the verb "do". But in this case, the construction "too much to be done" seemed strange, and I'm not exactly sure whether it is grammatical.
Looking up at the dictionary, it says that "much" is also a noun itself, which should be the case in these examples. But still, I can't seem to get rid of the implications of the two above explanations.
The question
If it continues to say exactly how much is to be done, it's likely it would list something countable, say task A and task B. So in this example:

There is too much to be done, such as task A and task B.

Is it correct, and natural to native speakers?
Under my first understanding of "do much", the adjective "much" doesn't match the noun "task". Under my second understanding, the listed tasks sound unrelated to "much to be done". Both of them seemed weird to me.
And this expression hides the problem a bit:

There is too much to be done, such as doing task A and task B.

But to me it's likely just an unnecessary obfuscation.
And if it is wrong or not natural, how to express this idea correctly?


texts: What is the current, popular equivalent of "So be it!"?

texts:
That nice exclamation expressing resignation seems rather old fashioned, right? The Beatles sang "let it be" 60 years ago, is this still current?
What do you say nowadays in this context, is there any common or slang equivalent ?


texts: In what sort of rhyme do matching consonants precede last stressed vowels?

texts:
Is there a term for the sort of rhyme or near-rhyme that subsists between such words as repose and propose? For these seem to me less truly to rhyme than, say, vision and decision. In the latter pair, the matching of sound begins with the vowel of the last stressed syllable, but in the former, the preceding consonants match as well, leading to a kind of over-rhyme.

OED notes:

  Rhyme, strictly speaking, is regarded as extending to the last stressed vowel and any sounds following it.

There is also an intermediate sort of case, such as grate and demonstrate, where the r sounds immediately preceding the last stressed vowel of each do match but they are parts of different consonant clusters.

I had thought the term was degenerate rhyme, but a Google search for that turned up only Isaac Watts’s line about Milton as a “noble hater of degenerate rhyme.” (Apparently  Watts’s acquaintance with Milton’s poetry did not include “L’Allegro,” “Il Penseroso,” or any of the sonnets.)

I did check Does a word rhyme with itself? on this board and it was no real help.


texts: I want to know a sentence meaning (between "")

texts: Well, no. Not something dangerous, like an electric shock. I mean experiencing a sudden and unpleasant change from "what you have been used to"


texts: term for the finalizing dialogue used when ending phone conversation

texts: How do you term the finalizing dialogue used when ending a phone conversation.Particularly with a loved one like a close immediate family member,Partener &/or offspring.


texts:
Is the expression “strong medicine” idiomatic?

I am referring to drugs that contain a high concentration of chemicals and are used  for soothing severe pains or treating severe diseases. A drug whose dosage of chemicals is higher compared to your average over-the-counter drugs.

Can I say the following:

  You need some strong medicine to take away the pain
  I want to ask my doctor for some strong medicine

Is there perhaps a more idiomatic expression used in the US or in the UK?


texts:
I've read in a book that I should "use the subjective case if the pronoun is the
complement of the linking verb to be".

That is the following sentences are correct:

They believed that the thief was I. /
Hey, it's I. /
Yes, this is she. Who's calling?

OK, a rule is a rule. I don't mind using it, but I have a question for native speakers:

Is this way to say it heard in everyday speech? Will it sound deliberate/unnatural if I use it?


texts:
At the beginning of 1807, based on information gathered
  from Burr’s correspondence allegedly showing that he had begun preparations for a large-scale
  military expedition, the former vice president was arrested in Louisiana and indicted on the charge of
  “wickedly devising and intending ♦ the peace and tranquility of the same United States to disturb and to stir, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion and war against the said United States”

Source: 5th last para, this graciously helpful, detailed answer:

  In the Burr indictment, it seems to have been done to keep certain words and phrases close to each other for increased effect. It clusters the infinitives together without risking an object separating them. To disturb and to stir certainly belong together like that, but if you had put the object of disturb after the verb, [1.] you would have an unsightly wedge driven between the related infinitives — or [2.] you would have driven an unsightly wedge between the related verbs; your choice. :)

1. Please correct me, but I am guessing that the relative infinitives are to disturb and to stir, move, and excite?

2. What'd be the unsightly wedge caused by moving to disturb to the lozenge?
Which are the related verbs?


texts: A word for "the act of driving something into a success"

texts:
Suppose that a major achievement for a company has been done thanks to me. Now then, let's have me saying this:

  The last project was a success. Now there is a new project, and I am
  eager to [make it a success] as well.

I am looking for a word or phrase that denotes "the act of driving something into a success".


texts: Word for 'internal uniformity of an object'

texts:
I'm looking to convey the internal uniformity and indivisibility of an object.

I like that monolithic means both 'uniform' and 'indivisible,' but I don't want to imply 'large size.'

Homogeneity implies that the object is composed of other smaller objects. I don't want to do that either.


texts: Has the expression "powered by", as used in website or softwares, a positive connotation?

texts:
This question is a spin-off of this one in Portuguese SE. In that question, the OP wanted to know how to translate to Portuguese the expression powered by as used in websites or softwares when another company provides part of its functionality.

Personally, as a foreigner learning English, powered by seems to me as a positive way to say that, for instance, company XYZ is providing web hosting or the search engine for my website. It sounds to me like the website is proud to have such company offer me it's services.

I would like to know if native English speakers feel the same way or powered by sounds like a neutral way to say the same thing.


texts: Term for past, present, and future classification of nouns

texts:
In a software program, I assign contracts a temporal classification as a past, current, or future agreement.  I need a descriptive term for this classification and "temporal classification" seems awkward.  I considered "age," but that word has too many duration-related connotations.  I have thought about calling this classification the agreement's "era."

In grammar, "tense" is a verb's temporal classification.  Is there an appropriate word to use in describing a noun's temporal status or classification as past, present, or future?


texts: What is another way to say "working on"?

texts:
I don't want to repeat "working" in the following sentence:

  We are working on a working arrangement.


texts: If I end a sentence with initials do I add a second period?

texts:
If a sentence has someone's initials as the last word, do I add a second period?

Example:

And that was the last they saw of T.J.

or

And that was the last they saw of T.J..


texts: Most concise way to describe people of multiple nationalities, not family origins

texts:
A problem I'm having is finding a concise way to differentiate between when people are a citizen of one country but have family origins in another, and dual citizens. For example, is there an easy way to distinguish between an American citizen who has French origins, and someone who is a dual citizen of both countries?

Obviously 'French-American' comes to mind, but Wikipedia, for example, says it means both:

  French Americans or Franco-Americans (French: Franco-Américains) are citizens or nationals of the United States who identify themselves with having full or partial French or French Canadian heritage, ethnicity, and/or ancestral ties. Members of this group are also those who have declared allegiance either informally or formally to France or French Canada and the United States of America. People with dual citizenship of both France and the United States are commonly referred to as French-Americans.

This could happen with any two nationalities (i.e. British-Italian, Irish-American, etc.)

What is the most concise way to describe someone as having two nationalities while avoiding the possible confusion of it being misinterpreted as speaking of family origins?


texts: Why does the verb sometimes change when we go from declarative to interrogative?

texts:
I have noticed this error in non-native speakers more and more recently**, but I don't know how to explain it, i.e., I don't know what this phenomenon is called nor what the rule is. An example:

Does this work?

becomes

Yes, that works.

Note the change from work to works. I think generally this happens when we go from declarative to interrogative but I'm not sure. It also doesn't seem to happen to the first person:

Do I run every morning? Yes, I run every morning.

Does he run every morning? Yes, he runs every morning.

**The error is when people do not do this, e.g., "Yes, that work."


texts: How would you correct the following sentences?

texts:
How would you correct the following sentences.( Formal)

Thank you in advance.

"I’d like to schedule a day-trip to you company in order to meet with you and  Ms. Jones for the interview possibly on Tuesday , Nov 28th, anytime after 2 PM or Monday, Dec 1st, between 10 AM to 11 AM."


texts: What is the word for showing affection for a certain team just for the sake of it?

texts: I like a football team or show support for them purely because when I was being raised, everyone around me used to like that team. So I like them but its not like I care if they win or lose. Is there a word for that in English?


texts: What's the rules for using figure captions?

texts:
For example, I have the following situation:

An/The example of a password is shown in Figure 1.

a picture goes here

Figure 1 - An/The example of a password

What article should I use? Should I say "The example" or "An example"? The question is not about articles, it's more about figure captions and what I should use.

From this article I see that it may be omitted.


texts:
I read a blog post and found the sentence "The exchange rate is boring."

Can I use the adjective 'boring' for the word 'rate'?
If possible, what will it[boring] mean in the above sentence?


texts: How does American English distinguish between sharing a flat and a room?

texts:
Today I learnt that in American English, roommate can mean two people who share the same apartment unit but have different bedrooms, as well as people who share the same bedroom.

How do people using American English distinguish between the two scenarios?

(In case people think I'm joking about unrelated people sharing bedrooms, unfortunately not. For example, the Australian classifieds website Gumtree has different categories for flatshare and roomshare. Most of the time, we don't live in caravans in industrial parks)


texts: Is it better to say "I learned" or "I have learned English from a very young age"?


texts: Is there a fallacy which describes incorrectly correlating the consequences of a decision to the quality of the decision?

texts:
EG say a sports team makes a terrible trade and loses their best player. Player then gets injured on new team. That injury doesn't make the decision to trade a good one...
I feel like there is a fallacy or some false logic for this... just on the tip of my tongue... but I'm drawing a blank, and so is everyone I've asked (including some English majors).
Update 1:
I should include more examples:

Bob is a college student who decides to stay up all night partying even though he has a midterm early the next morning. This is clearly a bad decision. However while at the party he meets Joe. Joe has an idea for a business, and after talking with Bob, the two of them start a business, and make millions of dollars. Just because Bob's decision to party all night resulted in making millions of dollars, it does not make the decision a good one.

George is broke, he has enough money to buy food for the day, but instead George decides to feed his gambling addiction, and buy a lottery ticket. This is clearly a bad decision. However George ends up winning the lottery, and has enough money to never go hungry again. Just because George's decision to buy a lottery ticket instead of food resulted in making millions of dollars, it does not mean that the decision he made to buy the ticket when he did with the knowledge he had was a good decision.

John is late to work, but decides to stop for a nice long breakfast at a diner on the way. This is clearly a bad decision, because his boss has made it clear to him that he will be fired if he is ever late again. While at the diner, John meets Emily. Emily and John fall madly in love with each other, and make each other more happy than either of them could imagine. They live happily ever after. Despite the ultimately positive outcome of John's decision, based on what he knew at the time the decision to stop for breakfast was still a bad decision.


texts: "If he gets killed" - does the "get" here represents the passive?

texts:
I know that the "get" word has so many meanings and I try to figure out what function it has in the sentence:

  "If he gets killed"

I know "get" can be used to create a passive (so without, would it be "if he is killed"?)
Or is it the change of state/condition?


texts:
Are the following sentences correct with the word "could" to mean possibility?

Peter could be in the garden now.

Peter could be working in the garden now.

Peter could go fishing every day. I have met him at the river many times.

I am not sure about the last sentence. The first and second appear correct to me.

Thank you very much.


texts:
Is there a difference between pretension and pretentiousness? Merriam-Webster gives the latter as one possible definition of the former.

Is one more recent than the other? Is there any reason to use one rather than the other when both seem appropriate?


texts: What's the proper way to say "overlooking something due to appearance change"?

texts:
I'm having a "brain-fart" on how to grammatically and otherwise correct (proper) way of saying "to be oblivious to" or "to overlook something familiar" because of a recent appearance change.

For ex: My boyfriend's dirty work belt went through the laundry, and because it was no longer dirty, and looked brand new again, he totally overlooked it, and was oblivious to it being on top of the dresser.

I know there's another way to say that the right way, but can't remember it.


texts: Etymology of "Cowboy" as a bad workman / builder?

texts:
Where did the word "Cowboy" come from in reference to a builder/tradesman who produces shoddy work or overcharges for the same?

I honestly can't remember hearing the word used in this context before the TV show, Father Ted, and after that it was everywhere!


texts: Insider knowledge vs. insider's knowledge vs. inside knowledge

texts:
What is the difference between these three phrases:

To have insider's knowledge about something.
To have inside knowledge about something.
To have insider knowledge about something.


texts: Can "who" as a relative pronoun sometimes be omitted?

texts:
Somebody once observed two things:

people often omit the relative pronoun "who" or "whom" to avoid having to worry about which is grammatically correct
however, in all cases where it can be omitted, it is "whom".

But look at this sentence:

  I have a friend I hope will come.

Would you consider this to be grammatical, and therefore a counterexample to the latter point?


texts: I'm trying to look for this word that describes this sensation that you sometimes get on your body most commonly on the lower limbs when it's stayed in the same position or put under pressure for a lengthy period of time. The sensation feels like a cramp in a sense that it has that paralysing effect, but it is not painful at all unlike a cramp. It feels like a mass of tingles in comparison for a lack of a better word, but it doesn't have that sensation of many small sharp points pushing into it like tingles. It goes away on its own after a couple of minutes, while unpleasant it's not painful whatsoever. What do you call this sensation?


texts: Difference between "supposedly" and "supposably"

texts:
What is the difference between supposedly and supposably? Both are real words but seem to have confusingly similar definitions.

  Supposably: Capable of being supposed : conceivable

  Supposedly: According to what is generally assumed or believed


texts:
I've heard more and more people saying "A is N times less than B" in many contexts.   I even saw in a news journal (forgot whether it was Time or Newsweek), "The object was 3 times closer than the moon".

I cannot bring my self to say this.  It just seems wrong.   If "2 times closer" or "5 times slower" mans "half as fast" or "a fifth as fast", then why not just say that?   Besides to me it seems logically that "A is 5 times less than B" ought to mean "A = B - 5*A".

I also speak French, and the French say this all the time (in French and in English).

QUESTION.  Has this horrible formulation become common place, and we just need to accept it and start using it?   Or is it still regarded as ambiguous and should be avoided in scientific writing?

(this question is related to Meaning of “x is 35 times less than y" but it different because it asks a different question.)


texts: Problem with backshift in reporting clauses

texts:
This is the subject that's been bugging me for quite some time now, even though I believe I've managed to grasp the entire reported speech pretty well.

If I want to repeat to someone what I previously said about my opinion on swimming, I could go either with #1:

  I said I didn't like to swim.

if I didn't want to emphasize anything, or with #2,

  I said I don't like to swim.

if I want to make it clear that my not liking to swim still holds true.

What I can't understand is why I have to switch tenses back if I'm talking about things like:

  He didn't know California was on the West Coast.

It's obvious that California hasn't moved a single inch, so why can't I express it by saying:

  He didn't know California is on the West Coast.

Similarly, is such shifting required in every utterance of such meaning? For example:

  I told you it was impossible to fly.

It's obvious that no matter how hard I tried I still wouldn't be able to fly. So can't I say "is impossible" (#7) in this case?

  I told you it is impossible to fly.


texts:
Can I use a relative clause ("that is lying on the table") in between a noun phrase ("The book") and its essential appositive ("an English dictionary") as in:

The book that is lying on the table an English dictionary has 300 pages.


texts: How can "that" refer to a word when there are some other words between them

texts:
For example,

The translator has to use expressions in the target text (that are different from those in the source text).

I hope "that" can refer to expressions, but I feel it will refer to "the target text" if I put "that" after "the target text".
I guess I can say something like

The translator has to use expressions different from those in the source text in the target text

but I feel it sounds very awkward.
In this case, how can "that" refer to "expressions"?


texts: I don't know which I to choose: "however" or "though"

texts:
... beneficial vitamins may be, they mustn't be taken excessively.

I know I can fill in the blank with "however", but I can't understand why "though" cannot be used.

I know both are quite similar, but I guess there is a specific difference that I can't see.


texts: Is there an idiom for "making a puerile excuse"?

texts:
In Italian there is a juicy idiom when somebody gives a risible explanation: knowing that children can delude themselves and try to deceive others when playing hide-and-seek,

they say: "...  hide oneself behind one['s] finger".
Is there a set phrase (I mean one everybody recognizes as such) in English? Can you think of anything more appropriate than "making puerile excuse[s]---"?
That is the nearest I could find, but I fear is not a set phrase:

We cannot hide behind the puerile excuse of 'since we can't be perfect,
we should not even begin'. That's little more than NRA-speak for don't
.

The child in the picture is playing hide-and-seek, he is deluding himself he can't be caught; a finger is even smaller than a post.


texts:
In response to someone sneezing there are a few possible phrases you can say as a form of polite acknowledgement:

"God bless you"
"Gesundheit"

And others.
But with a fart you laugh, deride or come up with something clever to say on the spot.
Is there a commonly known polite word or phrase that says "I acknowledge your flatulence" similar to things said after sneezing?


texts:
When you stick your tongue outside of your mouth and gently blow, it makes a common sound to indicate "whatever!" or "I don't like your answer/response" or "Yes, you are smarter than I am."

What is the name of this sound and how do you spell the sound?


texts: What's the difference between "that will be $200" and "that would be $200"?

texts: When you are negotiating prices with your customer, you might say "that's $200," "that'll be $200," or "that would be $200." Are there any differences among them?


texts: The use of question formation in non-question phrases?

texts:
I have read the following text some time ago:

  [...]
    Only here can you enjoy dazzling entertainment, get the thrill
  of your life on the exciting rides, and be face-to-face with some of
  the most fascinating creatures on Earth.
  [...]

Is Only here can you correct? I mean, it's not a question but it is formatted as it was. If it's correct, how, where and when can I use it?


texts:
Which is correct in the following instance - "adrenaline-filled" or "adrenaline-fuelled"?

  A surfing trip is often an adrenaline-filled/fuelled holiday.


texts:
When skipping part of the sentence or paragraph in a direct quote, it is common to use the ellipsis (...)

There are two ways of misunderstanding a poem ... the other to praise it for qualities that it does not possess.

How should the ellipses (skipped part of the quote) be spoken when read out loud or simply during conversation?
Would the reading simply continue without any acknowledgement of the ellipses? If so, in cases where it is important to acknowledge the presence of the skipped part, is there any established norm, or verbal cue to help communicate that part of the quote was skipped?


texts: Where do you place 'please' in a sentence to sound the most polite?

texts:
An interesting thing just came up at my work place which I did not really know.

We got this text that says something like "Insert a flash drive, please." in the English version. Here I was wondering, isn't it more correct/polite to say "Please insert a flash drive."?

So my 2 questions are:
Are both of these valid? Which one would be more polite in terms of displaying them to a customer?


texts: Is there a term for when we're okay with criticism from "one of our own."

texts:
If you think about within a family, for example, everyone might talk very negatively with a specific criticism about a certain family member and all is good. But then the moment that family member's coworker or neighbor down the street states the same exact criticism everyone gets super angry.  The same concept applies to a city, or maybe a singer's fan base.

Basically the concept is if you're one of us you can criticize us with impunity. Otherwise you'll get your butt handed to you.

Is there a term for this?


texts: What adverb, typical of AmEng, coincides most with the BrEng meaning of "quite" [=to a noticeable or partial extent]?

texts:
As long as -- seemingly -- the adverb "quite" in AmEng idiomatically carries an emphatic sense to it -- pretty much similar to saying "completely" or "absolutely" as in, "That girl looks quite pretty!" -- what adverb (or phrase, or grammatical construction) would Americans typically use -- in speech and writing -- that would coincide most with the chiefly BrEng meaning of "quite" [=to a noticeable or a partial degree]?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Quite?s=t
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Pretty?s=t
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Rather?s=t
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Fairly?s=t
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Somewhat?s=t
Would they more likely say something like:

That girl looks somewhat pretty.

That girl looks rather pretty.

That girl looks fairly pretty.

That girl looks not too [...].

That girl looks pretty to some degree (or extent, or point).

Etc.

Or, would they rather use a "-ly" ending adverb and say:

That girl looks moderately pretty.

That girl looks passably pretty.

That girl looks partially pretty.

Etc.

In informal contexts, would they more likely say something like:

That girl looks sort of/kind of (sorta/kinda) pretty.

That girl looks some pretty.

That girl doesn't look too [...].

Etc.

Consider the phrase, "That girl looks...pretty" merely as an example. The adverb (or phrase, or construction" should also work with other examples of BrEng "quite", e.g. "I'm quite well".


texts:
There seems to be some ambiguity between the connotation and definition of a word / word group / phrase.

The dictionary entry seems to be that a definition is more of a primary description of a word whereas connotation seems to be more of an alternative meaning or implication.

Further, despite the dictionary entry, I feel like I hear them used synonymously both on this site and in "real life."

So, long question short, what constitutes a definition and what constitutes a connotation?


texts:
Inside a piece of text, I have a word in another language. I'd like to keep it that way, and add a translator's note with the translation to English. What is the common practice of doing that?

I'd prefer to do it inline. I'm thinking of something like this:

  word (TN: translation of word)

But I haven't seen this notation used anywhere.


texts:
What is the most common non-literal use of the expression "chugging away"? I've heard it in the context of:

The machine is switched on and *chugging away*.


texts: Newspaper vocabulary for news positioning

texts:
I'm looking for a term that In Brazilian Portuguese we call "diagramming", which is used to characterize the work of positioning news in a newspaper, setting image places and text flow of a page. In our case, this is done in Adobe InDesign.

The desired use is for a web application of similar behavior, where users will be able to schedule news for different positions and sections of a website.


texts: What's the difference between a fable and a parable?

texts: Does either imply a lesson, or a fantastical setting?


texts:
I know that French is a romance language and my family's culture is Latin,
When my grandmother was alive and younger she was able to choose Latin American in the United States census,
My question is what happened when our family crossed the border from Quebec into the United States and started speaking English are we suddenly no longer Latin?
This is insulting!


texts:
The structure "...no sooner...than..." is reported to be used only
in past tense, yet I wonder whether it is OK to use it to describe a daily habit.
For example:

  Every day, as soon as I return home, I turn on the computer to post some messages.

Is it Ok to say:

  I have no sooner returned home every day than I turn on the computer to post some messages.

Or the structure can only be used in past tense.

Please explain in detail, thanks very much!


texts: A verb meaning to have something pointed "inserted" on one's leg?

texts:
Example:

  The bird [...] its beak on my arm.

I thought about stab but I think it sounds weird applied to a bird's beak.

What other verb can I use?


texts: Is there a word for an obsolete phrase that is still used? Such as "dial the number"?

texts: "Tape a TV show" "Film at 11" "Roll down the window" "Dial 911" etc., etc. Thanks!


texts: What's the meaning of 'one after the other' in this sentence

texts:
An illness to which man is prone to any age, claimed the one who was one after the other abbot, officer, scholar, writer, banker, con artist, magician, infantryman, spy, diplomat, but always claiming his Venetian origins.

I think it equals 'among', am I correct?


texts:
I'm trying to describe an event that has affected large numbers out of separate populations. For example: "In the past, oil spills have affected [large numbers out of populations] of birds".

The word that occurred to me was "swaths", but that doesn't appear to be right.

Any suggestions?


texts:
"The aim would be to block investment in only the most sensitive industries, such as defence, police it rigorously in important ones, such as technology, and otherwise step back."
What does "otherwise step back" imply here?


texts: Should I fix typos/grammatical errors in quotation?

texts: When writing papers, I meet typos/grammatical errors in quotations now and then. Should I correct them, or leave them as they are?


texts: A word that means "in its designed environment"

texts: I've considered the use of "in-situ," which may be the best match.  In-situ seems to have a shade of meaning connoting an original location, where I am looking for something more along the lines of "Where it was meant to be."


texts: How to pronounce the resolution 1280×800 in English?

texts: How do I say "1280 × 800" in English? I'm not sure how to pronounce the "×" between the numbers. I'm talking about screen resolutions.


texts: What's the differences between "Is he taking part in the play?" and "Does he take part in the play?"

texts: I want to know the differences between "Is he taking part in the play?" and "Does he take part in the play?" Are they both grammatically correct? Thanks.


texts:
Examples:

  It is important to me.
  It will be good for you.
  This sounds stupid to me.
  I'll make it comfortable for you.
  I'll make it available to you.

Any rules here, dear native speakers, or do we, non-native speakers, just have to memorize all individual cases?


texts: Can anyone confirm if the hyphen or dash is longer? Which one is longer than the other and which one is the shorter?


texts: We have "best friends" and "close friends", because you give first importance to them. Like that, what should I call an enemy who is first enemy? I.e. you want to hurt him most then the rest of your enemies. What should we call them?


texts:
Is there an adjective form for the noun testosterone? A word to fill the blanks in:

  All of the team’s members are muscly men. It’s a ______ team.

I’d rather not have a phrase if I can help it.

EDIT: To clarify, in this example, the team contains of all men who are strong, aggressive as usually associated with having (too much) testosterone. Or at least they think they do. Actually they're just jerks-slash-bullies. Also, they gave this name to themselves, so maybe there's a bit of boasting in there.

EDIT 2: Since it looks like my example above is somewhat misleading from my intentions covered in my first Edit, here's a revised example:

  We are all strong, muscly men. We are the _______ team.

Hopefully now it's clearer that it's a name the team gave themselves, it's a bit boastful, and most importantly, it's a single word.


texts: Is there a term describing the motion Mel Brooks makes with his hand here in a scene from Robin Hood - Men in Tights.


texts: Where does “sport” meaning “wear” come from?

texts:
To sport something to have or wear something in a proud way:

to sport a beard,

she was sporting a T-shirt with the company's logo on it. (OLD)

The etymology of sport as a verb doesn’t appear to refer to the above usage:

c. 1400, "to take pleasure, to amuse oneself," from Old French desporter, deporter "to divert, amuse, please, play; to seek amusement," literally "carry away" (the mind from serious matters).

and the only later connotation I could find of sport as a noun that seems somewhat related is:

Sense of "stylish man" is from 1861, American English, probably because they lived by gambling and betting on races. (Etymonline)

Questions:
A) Where does the above connotation come from?
B) Is it a recent slang usage or  does it have an older origin?


texts:
He told me that when he was in London he met nice people.

What is the grammatical function of "when he was in London"? Is it embedded subordinate clause ?
 Thanks in advance


texts: Translation for "btw verlegd" (NL) for EU business - meaning VAT moved?

texts: For our website I need a translation for the expression "BTW verlegd" (Nederlands / Dutch). When a company (seller) in the EU sells something to a foreign EU company (foreign buyer), the VAT can be moved over. The seller doesn't calculate VAT, so in effect it's VAT free. The foreign company has to pay VAT in its own country, but maybe a lower percentage or maybe it can deduct it somehow. I'm not sure how that works out, but that is not what this question is about.


texts: What does unicorn mean in the following context?

texts:
The Black Adder s01e03 - The Archbishop.
In the epilogue, Sister Sara asked the Mother Superior,

So presumably you won't be needing the unicorn tonight?

followed by a laughing track. Is she talking about the mythical creature or the carriage and what does the context mean accordingly?
Brief synopsis of the story:

The series is a sitcom set in medieval England. Prince Edmund (Black Adder) is made Archbishop of Canterbury after the
previous Archbishop is murdered by his father (the King). Almost
immediately, some drunken Knights come to murder him too because of a
misunderstanding of an overheard conversation.
Black Adder and his companions escape into the nunnery and
dress up as nuns to evade them. The knights follow them into the
nunnery and also dress up as nuns to be more subtle. The two groups
encounter each other and fight. They are soon disturbed and stopped by the Mother Superior who discovers their identities.
Black Adder tells the Mother Superior it was all a sordid sexual role-play and gets excommunicated so that he never has to be the archbishop again (and thus won't get murdered - at least not for that reason). The epilogue is the Mother Superior talking to Sister Sara. It is as follows:
Mother Superior: Alas the corruption of the world
Sister Sara: Yes alas Mother Superior
Mother Superior: I am tired and weiry. You may leave me now.
Sister Sara: Very well
[turns to leave]
Mother Superior: Alas
Sister Sara: So presumably you won't be needing the unicorn tonight?
Mother Superior: No... No not tonight


texts:
There are two sentences. I do not know which is better in grammar. Is there any difference?

Vegetables are good for health, which can be found in many areas in this country.
Vegetables are good for health and can be found in many areas in this country.


texts: How do I use an ellipsis on a page turn?

texts:
Is it acceptable to use two ellipses in a row over a page turn? For example:

  He jumped ...

(Page turn)

  ... and landed.

By the way, this is in the context of a children's picture book.


texts: How do I refer to a swear word without saying it?

texts: What is the correct way to indicate a specific swear word without actually writing it? Such as H--- instead of "hell."


texts: Word for the separation of two parties in writing?

texts: In The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape divides the demons from the angels in his arguments. He describes them and then describes "our" ideals. What is the name for this? To split two groups apart and to create an enemy?


texts: Using 'certainly' at the end of a sentence — what is the correct punctuation and what is the construction called?

texts:
Consider this construction:

  Certainly, I will see you tomorrow.

The word 'certainly' constitutes an introductory phrase, and the appropriate punctuation to use is a comma. (AFAIK).

Now, consider this one:

  I will see you tomorrow, certainly.

Is this acceptable? If so, what is the name of the construction? Is a comma correct?


texts: "To be subject to" vs. "to be subjected to"

texts:
I read an article from Toronto Star today which stated:

  TTC workers are subject to alcohol and drug testing.

A later paragraph of the same article repeated it, except it used subjected to instead of subject to.

I have rarely seen the use of subjected to before. Is it legitimate in English as well? Why didn’t the author just keep it consistent by using subject to throughout the article? Does using varieties of forms enrich the expressions within an article?


texts: Name for the literary device contrasting synonyms with different connotations?

texts:
I’m thinking in terms of phrases like:

  You may be [one connotation of denotation x] but you’re not [contrasting connotation of denotation x].

Two examples are:

  He may have been your father, but he wasn't your daddy.

from Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which contrasts two different words meaning male parent: father meaning a biological parent, and daddy meaning a father figure responsible for upbringing.

  Just because you’re correct, it doesn’t mean you’re right.

which contrasts factual correctness with moral rightness.

What I’m wondering is: does this kind of literary device have a name? Something less clunkier than ‘that thing Yondu said in GoTG2’? If not, does anyone have a suggestion how to call it?


texts: difference between "hypocritical" and "projection"

texts:
The term "hypocritical" is used when person A criticizes person B's  behavior/traits, when A is known to have done the same behavior/possess the same traits.

I also see the term "projection" get used in this context. If person A accuses person B of some behavior/trait that they themselves have, this is sometimes referred to as "projection", but usually in cases where A seems "unaware".

Does the difference between "hypocritical" or "projection" lie on whether person A is aware of their own actions?


texts: I have a friend who is using "acknowledge" when someone asks him to confirm something. Usually I observe people using "Okay, noted." but I never see anyone using "Acknowledge". Therefore I want to check that it is okay to use "Acknowledge" instead of "Okay, noted." in response to an email?


texts: What to call a "string with things attached"?

texts:
There are a number of idioms around the string, that carry the idea that if one pulls it, other things will (or will not) come with it:

with (no) strings attached
pulling strings
have the world on the string
string together

Conversely, is there an idiom to describe this metaphoric string (contract clause, pressure tactic, discovery) that leads to other things?

This clause in the contract is the --- that you should watch for.
This discovery is the --- that will lead to many other ones.


texts:
The word brainwashing, which has existed in English since circa 1950, may have had its origins in the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1948. It involved the use of extreme methods, the process known as re-education in camps etc.

I think most people would agree, the word is heavily over-used in western society. But there are a lot of organisations, particularly religious ones, which apply a form of subtle pressure, and a well-honed condensed rationale, which is presented, sometimes to young and inexperienced people, offering the possibilities of some form of utopian thinking, or lifestyle.

Sometimes organisations are said, exaggeratedly, to be guilty of brainwashing. But it is a considerable exaggeration.

Is there another word, short of brainwashing which refers to organisational gaining control over people's thinking and belief systems?


texts:
I'm looking for a term for the kinds of films (or books or radio shows, etc) that include Indiana Jones, National Treasure, The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Sahara, Treasure Island, City Slickers II, and other "clue-following" stories.

This genre normally features a protagonist who embarks upon a search for an item or place, often picking up the trail of a predecessor on the same search.  They use a book, map, or other set of clues, and the bulk of the story centers on the protagonist deciphering each clue in turn, ultimately reaching their goal or finding the sought-after item or treasure.

The closest I've come to a name for this genre is "Questing," but that ends up sounding like Lord of the Rings.  Can anyone give me a term for stories like this?


texts: How was "ben't" used, and when did it cease to be used?

texts:
In Jane Austen's The Watsons, the maid of the titular family utters the following sentence:

  "Please, ma'am, master wants to know why he ben't to have his dinner?"

I have never encountered ben't before, and haven't been able to find much information about it through preliminary research. This source, as well as a few others I encountered, states that ben't is among the first negative contractions attested in written English, in the 1600s, but gives no clue as to when its usage ended, nor what exactly it was used for. Given that The Watsons was written in 1805 and published in 1871, the form was evidently still recognized in the 19th century.

So, my question has several parts:

What exactly does ben't mean - how did its usage differ from isn't, aren't, etc? (In the example above, it sounds as though it would be interchangeable with isn't.)
When did ben't become archaic/obsolete?
Were there some dialects of English in which ben't was more commonly used than others? (I ask this because in the Austen example, it's the maid who uses ben't, which leads me to hypothesize that maybe - at least by the 19th century - it was only used in some nonstandard dialect, or a lower speech register, or something of that kind.)


texts:
I find myself struggling to find a single non-hyphenated word that expresses the state between empty and full, assuming the container started off empty.

I want to emphasize on the state of being 'not-full'. So I am not allowed to use 'nonempty'.

The word can't be 'depleted' because it assumes a container that was once full, and now has 'lessened' and became nonempty or empty. The word I am looking for should assume a container that started off empty, and now is half-full.

Example context:

We add the grains to a _____ silo.
I put the box in a _____ warehouse.
He parked the car in a _____ car park.

The closest word I can think of is 'unfull' but it isn't really a word. Is there a single non-hyphenated word that can express such state?


texts: Is there a name for misusing a word (e.g., saying "Provincially, yes")?

texts:
I read a mail in which someone replied to the question "Will he be attending the party?" by saying "Provincially, yes".

Provincial means "of or concerning the regions outside the capital city of a country, especially when regarded as unsophisticated or narrow-minded", but neither the natural nor the pejorative meaning seems to fit here.

What was meant? And is there a name for abusing the language in this way?


texts:
The slogan

Cheat legal!

used by the Australian company SKINS has bugged me every since I saw their advertisement on TV. Only recently, I realized that there is a chance that it may actually be grammatically correct. Namely, it might be comparable to expressions such as "forget healthy" or "ignore stupid".
Is legal indeed an object rather than an adjective in the above phrase?


texts: What nouns describe the relationship between tiers?

texts:
For example, in the majority of football (soccer) leagues, you'll have a number of tiers such as the first division, second division, third, etc. At the end of each season the few top teams in the second division are promoted to the first division, and the few bottom teams in the first division are relegated to the second division.

What would the second division be refered to from the first division, and visa versa?

I don't think parent/child necessarily makes sense, as this to my mind indicates some level of succession and timing, such as the parenting occuring before the child, where as in this context they are potentially conceived and occur at the same time.

EDIT:

To clarify I'm looking for the noun, such as:

The first division is the parent of the second division.
The second division is the child of the first division.


texts: Is there a difference between must and may in limiting phrases?

texts:
I have a question about term of use in online contracts

I see often the term
" you may only have one account"

is it as stronger as
"you must only have one account"?

is it possible consider " you may only have one account" more like a suggestion than a strict obligation?


texts: "Vegetable garden" instead of "garden" in a translation

texts:
A Croat author wrote

  The garden was the mirror of familiy pride, where everything was planted, from flowers to edible fruits.

A British English native translated it into English like this:

  The vegetable garden was the mirror of familiy pride, where everything was planted, from flowers to edible fruits.

My question is, why vegetable?


texts:
I'm listening (and watching) for some English podcasts, and sometimes I'm confused about pronunciation. Say, this one contains the phrase at the end: "I felt a moment of glory when I got high exam results this year". The woman pronounced "this year" like thish year, but I've never heard about such a way to pronounce it.

From the beginning of another podcast, there is a phrase "keep my feet on the ground". The woman pronounces "ground" like graind. Similarly, I've never heard that before.

How do people usually pronounce these words?


texts: What is the noun to describe whether a word is subject or object?

texts:
Just as "number" describes whether a noun is singular or plural, is there a noun that describes whether a pronoun is subject or object? For example:

  The number of the first-person pronoun "I" is singular.

  The __ of the first-person pronoun "I" is subject.


texts: single word request for a person who gets the job done

texts:
I'm writing a SOP for university entrance and I'm on the closing statement.
I want to describe myself as someone who gets their job done properly with responsibility...help!

Written in a context as in:

  I now have a strong desire to become a person who is a challenger, inspirer, and a _____.

Actually I guess it doesn't exactly have to be a single word, just fit for that blank.


texts: Is there any difference between "a few relatives" and "a few relations"?

texts:
In the following sentence I prefer saying relatives but I am unable to explain why.

It's going to be a small wedding. Only a few friends and relatives
have been invited

On doing research I found that both nouns can be collocated after the following adjectives; distant, blood, and close.
We also have the phrase:

Friends and relations 307,000 results
Friends and relatives 1,210,000 results

Judging from the Google Ngram graph below it looks like the former was more commonly used in BrEng and is becoming increasingly rare.

I can't even say that friends and relations is an old fashioned BrEng expression because according to CDO (set at American English) for relation it offers this example of usage:

On our trip, we visited friends and relations on both sides of the family.

In TFD relation is defined thus;

n. 2. The connection of people by blood or marriage; kinship. 3. A person connected to another by blood or marriage; a relative.
Relative n. One related by kinship, common origin, or marriage.

Is there any difference in usage? Are both terms interchangeable? Are relatives and relations, truly synonymous when referring to family members?
EDIT
I would like to expand my question and ask:

What is the difference between relations and relatives when talking about family?
Is relations a word that is becoming out-of-date, or as @WS2 commented, is it the "downmarket" version of relatives in BrEng?
Does the term relatives sound more intimate and meaningful compared to relations as suggested by @Kris?


texts: When shortening the title of a book, should it be prefaced by a definite article?

texts:
I am writing a research paper which is concerned with Euler's book 'Introductio in analysin infinitorum'. May I refer to it as "the 'Introductio'"? And would it be wrong to simply refer to it as "Introductio"? Somehow the latter sounds wrong to me. Maybe it is because there are lots of "introductios" and therefore I feel the need to disambiguate using a definite article.
Also, to further generalise the question, is it the same if the title is given in English e.g. 'Introduction to the analysis of the infinite'? And can the same rules be generalised to similar book titles e.g. 'Foundations of Differential Calculus', 'Principia Mathematica'?


texts: What method of counting puts Twelfth Night on January 6th?

texts:
I know English has (or at least had) some strange usages of eve and night, but I still can’t figure out how December 25th and 12 can be combined to come up with January 6th.

(This stems from my annual rant about the twelve days of Christmas, namely that despite what modern commerce would have you believe, they come after the 25th, not before.)


texts: Meaning of "handbags" in the context of a fight

texts:
Apparently a tussle between two English footballers was described by an official spokesperson as

  'I was there. There was no punches thrown. There was a lot of noise.
  Samir was talking in French, Manu wasn’t. They didn’t touch. It was
  handbags. There were words and that happens after most games,' he
  said.

Is this a BrE usage?


texts: A word for not knowing an appropriate word

texts: What is a word to represent a situation in which we feel short of word to be able to express what we want to or what we are feeling .


texts: what's the difference between a hyphen, a dash and a minus sign?

texts:
hyphen(-), dash(—), minus(-)

What do I use when? and does it really matter? And what's their origin, why did people think they needed another very similar sign?


texts: Can the acronym "R.N.A." be used at the end of an e-mail?

texts:
There was the following statement in New York Time’s (June 1) article titled, “Sabbath Gasbags, Speak up.” - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/opinion/sunday/sabbath-gasbags-speak-up.html?hp

  “My luck has been no better when I try to slip in a practical phrase
  like R.N.A. Placed at the end of a letter, R.N.A. means Reply Not
  Anticipated: you can reply if you want to, but the other person
  involved in this interchange is perfectly happy with things as they
  stand. R.N.A. didn’t catch on even after the advent of the Internet.
  When I put those initials at the bottom of e-mails, people tended to
  write back, “What does R.N.A. mean?” In other words, their response to
  Reply Not Anticipated was to reply.”

I concur with the author, Calvin Trillin’s take of the word, R.N.A. as a practical phrase, and am tempted to slip it in my e-mails, provided the word is “communicable” to internet users, many of whom cannot be bothered to respond.

What is the currency of R.N.A. actually? Can I say this is an English word, not my coinage, when I’m asked by my Anglophile mail recipients?

Does the word exist or had been used anywhere before the advent of Internet, as the author admits “It didn’t catch on even after the advent of the Internet.”? If not, are there any shorter forms to say ‘Responce not required’ in the same way as ‘Bye’ and  ‘S.V.P.’?


texts: Can "should" be used to mean "if" and used to mean "would" in the same sentence?

texts:
It's grammatical to use "should" like "if":

  Should you need me, call.
  I'll be available should she ask for me.
  Should my mother call, let her know I'll be back shortly.

It's also grammatical to use "should" for "would":

  If you call me, I should hope that I answer.
  When I ask you a question, I should expect that you not lie to me.
  Were you not to seize this opportunity, I should think you mad.

HOWEVER, is it grammatical to use both of these grammatical conventions at the same time?  In a conditional sentence, can "should" be used in both the protasis and the apodosis?

Examples:

  Should you desire to go, I should hope you do. (If you desire to go, I would hope you do.)
  Should he come, I should like to meet him. (If he comes, I'd like to    meet him.)
  We should expect a call from you should there be any problem. (We would expect a call from you if there's any problem.)


texts: I'm currently working on an English project and I have chosen to rewrite a story (Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad) in a biblical, King James style. I have done a large amount of reading but I do sometimes get confused, especially on certain sentence structures. Do you have any tips on grammar, vocabulary, or sentence structure that will help me make my writing seem more authentic?


texts: Is there any term for a person who has changed his name? For example, there was a man who was named "Jacob" when he was born, but when he reached the age of 18 he decided to change his name to "Joseph". Is there any term for this kind of person? Or at least for this kind of practice?


texts:
This well-renowned saying was celebrated in the 70's and 80's in London West End.

But what is its origin? What roots in popular culture has this phrase?


texts:
Suppose I want to say

  Stay up-to-date with/on technology news

Do I use with or on?


texts: Why the word "mind" can be used as a verb, synonym of "pay attention to"? It has the same etymology of the "mind" (centre of thought, feelings, brain) noun? When it is better to use "mind" in place of "pay attention to" (or similar phrases)?


texts: Which one is it really: hear hear or here here? Where does the saying really come from?


texts: "it is become" v.s. "it becomes", which one is correct?

texts: According to my knowledge, "become" is a verb, so it should be "it becomes a habit....". however, I see a lot of "it is become a habit...". I am wondering why "is become" is correct?


texts: Word or idiom to describe someone who always tries to inflate his skills/properties/experiences when talking with others?

texts:
Is there a word or idiom to describe someone who is always trying to create a good impression when talking about himself? Someone who is always trying to show that he is better than others even if he is not.

For example, when you talk to someone about a trip to an amazing place and then the person you are chatting with says that he went on a better trip than yours, that you bought a great car but this person's is better... and so on.


texts: Using "of" after a coordinating conjuction

texts:
How should I say this?

  The color of the chair and the table ...
  The color of the chair and of the table ...

Why should that option be used (apart from being the correct one)?


texts:
in our field (mathematics) it is somewhat standard to write things like

  " In Chapter 4 we show that ..." "The experiments we have conducted (meaning: me, together with my collaborators)

or:

  " With this equation we get ..." (meaning: You, the reader, can follow my thoughts)

So who is meant by "we"?


texts: Can you ask *Who* feeds the calves? If the answer is going to be "Their mother", which is obviously the cow i.e. an animal

texts:
Question: Who feeds the calves?
Answer: Their mother, the cow.

Since the answer is going to be "Their mother", which is obviously the cow i.e. an animal, shouldn't the question be What feeds the calves?


texts: Difference between elegancy and elegance

texts:
I recently saw someone use the word "elegancy" for the first time in forever, and it set me wondering about (and wandering about) why the synonym "elegance" appears to be the preferred noun.  I searched the web for some kind of standard treatment of the difference, and I could find none.  A [structurally] similar pair of nouns, "lenience" vs. "leniency", seems to find the "-y" ending to be favored.

Are there standard phrases where "elegancy" would be the preferred usage (similar to how judicial applications seem to strongly favor "leniency")?