texts: What do you call a single "shot" or "explosion" in a firework?

texts:
I am organizing a support event for a firework display.

If someone buys a 2000円 ticket, it will pay for another "firework unit" being launched in the sky.

In Japanese we say "一発", but is there an equivalent word in English?


texts: "Damage to the undercarriage; damage caused by water"

texts:
Does this phrase mean that damages to the undercarriage caused by water is not covered, OR  does it mean damage to the undercarriage is not covered regardless of the cause, and that damage to the undercarriage is ALSO not covered if it is damaged by water?

This is the source of the text:

  THE FOLLOWING ARE SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED FROM THE OPERATION OF SUPER WAIVERS:

  Damage to the undercarriage; damage caused by water
  Damage due to driver negligence, where the vehicle was driven by an unauthorized driver or where the
  driver’s license was invalid or endorsed & where the rental agreement was not properly extended or the
  standard terms and conditions of rental were breached.
  Damage or loss where incidents/accidents are not properly reported.
  Damage or loss where the incident/accident happened outside South African borders where the vehicle
  was taken outside the borders of South Africa without the suppliers’ prior written consent.
  Damage or loss where the vehicle was driven on unsuitable roads for the type of vehicle (When we refer to
  “unsuitable roads”, we define this as roads where for example only 4x4s can drive so that customers don't
  deliberately abuse vehicles)
  Loss of Keys


texts: How can I translate the French expression "travailler en alternance" to English?

texts:
I am looking to translate the expression

  travailler en alternance

into English.

I have found several answers on the internet but none seems to match my use case.

I am still at school and I am working part time on school project to learn and part time for a company. The French phrase expresses this arrangement of part-time work and part-time study. I am looking for a professional word that can be used in formal text.

edit: Sorry, my English is far from good so the question was not clear. I will try to clarify it a little. I think there is some kind of misunderstanding for the meaning of the expression "formation en alternance".

In the French school system there is a type of course that need you to find a company and work but you still go to school from time to time.

Exemple: One week at the company followed by one week at school.

This is why I dont think internship would fit here because we can translate it with the French word "Stage" which mean

  A long period during which the student will work for a company frequently during vacations time or at the end of his course.

opposed to a course en alternance in which the student will really spend  half of his time at the company and the other half at school.

Sample text: I have been (travailler en alternance) throughout my course. It has given me an appreciation for the profession beyond the purely academic.


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards"? Is it a reference to some game of sports I am not familiar with (as a continental European)?


texts: What is it called when there is an inferred context, but no direct mention of it?

texts:
Is there a name for when a comment or statement has an inferred context, but there is no mention of that context in the comment or statement itself?

For instance, if someone said:

  "Remember when people warned against a female president because she
  might be irrational, vindictive, and prone to mood swings?"

The inferred context is that this is against Trump, and it is implied that he is irrational, vindictive, and prone to mood swings. However none of these connections are made in the question itself.

Many people will used this type of statement in arguments and/or debates, and then fall back on "Well I didn't actually say that, you just heard it that way." when what they actually meant was perfectly clear.

Is there a name for this type of inferred connection or context?

P.S. any political statements used in this question are for reference purposes only, and do not express my views, and do no warrant discussion.


texts: Which is right: "It's me/I they want!" & "Who/Whom is it you asked?"?

texts:
The questions I have are in the title. Which is right, subject or object pronoun?

It's seems the first, "It's me/I they want!," is a reworking of "Subject + Verb + Object" to "Object + Subject + Verb" with a "dummy" subject attached. However, this sentence can also be written, "It is I whom they want." On purely grammatical terms, I believe this is correct, though you might lose a few friends talking this way.

Additionally, the "Who/Whom is it you asked?" can reasonably be answered, "It is she whom you asked." What's going on here? And which form of pronoun should guide statements/questions like these?

Thank you!


texts: Given that ekphrasis means, according to the Poetry Foundation, "an ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art", is there a term to describe the 'opposite' where a visual artist depicts a work of verbal art?


texts: Was “ain’t” at one time acceptable in “proper” English?

texts: I contend the word ain’t is a useful contraction of am not. Ain’t I correct in thinking that in the early 1800s, Bostonians thought of ain’t as an acceptable word without stigmatization?


texts: Word for excessive positive interest that becomes a burden?

texts:
Example: Josh is so interested in mathematics that he sits for hours and hours working on the problems. He forgets to eat. He lost weight, he doesn't clean the house and doesn't even notice what's going on because all he wants to do is his work.

There is a slang expression

  workaholic

that doesn't include the negative side-effects of obsessive work with something that actually produces results but also has very negative side-effects.

Example: Henry likes computer programming so much that software development is all he wants to do. He has no social life and he speaks of advanced computer science with non-technicians so that he doesn't get understood. It takes a Ph D in computer science to understand what Henry is talking about and he is only 14 years old.


texts: What is the difference between "human," "human being", and "humankind"?


texts:
If I spell doing as doin' then how should I spell doings?
Would it simply be doin's?


texts: GoT: "..You ought dress more warmly, Gared." -- why not `ought to dress`?

texts:
Reading Game of Thrones, Prologue,

...You ought dress more warmly, Gared.

(More context here: Genius.com)
Why not "ought to dress"?
Is it a kind of archaic form?


texts:
An antecedent refers to an earlier noun to derive its meaning, for example,

  Taylor likes his pizza hot.

Here, his derives its meaning from Taylor.

What is the anaphora or inverse of the antecedent? (I am looking for a grammatical category paired with antecedent). It might be a pronoun or a proform, these don't seem to be the inverse of antecedent.

It is not a postcedent, in which the pronoun precedes what it refers to.


texts:
I am trying to make sense of this statement:

  So in common parlance reality still means reality, but includes the
  assumption that perception is an accurate indicator of reality,
  a known falsehood and actually conceded by everyone.

What does it mean to say, "reality still means reality"?  How can 'reality' be a 'known falsehood'?  What exactly is 'conceded by everyone'?  What do you think this sentence really means?

Note that this is a question about grammar, not philosophy.


texts: What’s a good alternative to “The devil is in the details” that avoids mentioning the devil?

texts:
Which would be a suitable alternative for the common idiom “The devil is in the details”, without the use of the word devil?

  No detail is too small.

or

  It’s in the details.

Alternative answers are welcome too!


texts:
I'm looking at a sentence on the side of a box of Imperfect Produce (TM.)  It reads:

"1 in 5 fruits and veggies grown in the U.S. don't meet the strict cosmetic standards of grocery stores, often causing them to go to waste."

My issue is with the verb "don't."  I would have used "doesn't."  Is there any sense in which "don't" can be correct here?  I can see getting confused here, since "fruits", "veggies", "standards", and "stores" are all plural and floating about.  But still, "1" is the subject.

I thought perhaps that the construction "1 in 5" was somehow collectively plural, since they don't really mean just one plant, but 1 fifth of all the plants, so it's really a lot of veggies they're talking about.  I don't think so, but this is my question:  Can this construction be correct?  I note that later in the sentence "them" appears, so at least in the author's head, he's talking about lots of plants.

FYI, Imperfect Produce gathers up these ugly plants and will deliver them to my door at a cost less than the sexy plants available at the HEB.  So I have a number of these boxes sitting around my house, displaying the offending sentence.


texts: What are buildings used for recreation and lounging near marinas called? Something like a club house but only for private use

texts: What are buildings used for recreation and lounging, near marinas called? Something like a club house but only for private use. Generally owned by very wealthy people with yachts. The words coming to my mind are "lounge" and "outhouse", but I'm thinking of something on a grander scale.


texts:
I've been reading a sentence as follows

  The man carried the parcel in a funny way, he was actually making a game out of carrying the parcel.

I first thought the meaning is "Doing something in a funny, amusing way". But it was written at the starting of the sentence. Then, I found nothing so good on the web. I know the meaning of make game of. Please help.


texts: What are some other terms like 'drop in' to describe a class that students can attend without the pressure of commitment?


texts: Any idea about this 'ul' glyph from 1580's book on orthography?

texts:
Second row, all the way to the right. Does this glyph have a name? I am unfamiliar with it and had never come across it before.
Page 21 in Bullokars Booke at large, for the amendment of orthographie for English speech ..
by Bullokar, William, fl. 1586

https://archive.org/stream/bullokarsbookeat00bull#page/21/mode/1up

I might be able to find the answer in the book, but the gothic/blackletter takes me a while to figure out.


texts: Forked tongue and silver tongue mean the same thing?

texts: What is the difference between Forked tongue and silver tongue person?


texts: Is “a choice between one of two options” grammatically correct?

texts:
In:

  a choice between one of two options

I would like to know if this is correct grammatically. I came across it in a scientific paper. I think the “one of ” part should be removed. Am I correct?


texts:
I recently attended a conference where the presenter was using a whiteboard marker to explain and most of the times the items he drew or wrote on the board were not visible due to the lack of ink in the marker. I just interrupted and asked him to use a bright colored marker so that the items are visible.

One of my colleagues corrected me saying that I should have asked for "dark color" instead of bright color.

Having said that, I am really confused on the contextual usages of bright and dark and I would be really grateful if someone clears this for me.


texts: Why is ‘Caucasian’ derived from the Caucasus?

texts:
Why did the word 'Caucasian' come from the Caucasus, if people from there tend not to be Caucasian?

The Greater Caucasus Range, running northwest to southeast between the Black and Caspian Seas, is the traditional line of demarcation between the continents of Europe and Asia. Linguistically, culturally, and even ecologically diverse, the Caucasus area is home to more than 50 ethnic groups and is one of 34 "biodiversity hotspots" (areas with significant, threatened biodiversity) in the world.
Source: Ancestry

Googling didn't give me a good answer


texts: Keep a diary, take a diary, write a diary?

texts:
What is the appropriate verb for the word "diary," if I want to express the process of recording personal experiences every day? (Maybe not in an actually book but typing them in a computer.)

Merriam-Webster suggests me to use "keep a diary". But when I searched the phrases with Google, there were about 700,000 results for "keep a diary," about 1.6 million results for "take a diary," and about 1.2 million results for "write a diary." Which one is more correct? Or are they actually interchangeable? Or are they all correct but they have different meanings?


texts:
I came across the following sentence:

  Kiran is Kishore's uncle, whose paternal grandfather has only two children.

I am not clear which person whose is referring to - Kiran or Kishore  and why?


texts: What is the difference between "mincing" and "grinding"?

texts:
What, if any, are essential differences between mincing and grinding?

I tend to associate mincing with soft foods (other materials?) such as meat. In particular, Merriam
Webster has the following (for the transitive verb):

  a : to cut or chop into very small pieces
  b :  to subdivide minutely; especially : to damage by cutting up
  :  to utter or pronounce with affectation
  a: archaic :  minimize
  b :  to restrain (words) within the bounds of decorum

Here 3.a points out the etymology and maybe the technique of mincing, while 3.b suggest metaphorical usage (mince one's words).

Grinding might connote harder materials, such as pepper or nuts. Again from MW (transitive verb):

  to reduce to powder or small fragments by friction (as with the teeth)
  to press together and move with a rotating or back-and-forth motion—see bruxism

Etymonline gives OE grindan "to rub together, grate, scrape" and earlier roots with the same meaning.

Apparently, one can also grind beef, for example.

Is there any difference in the technique of mincing and grinding different materials? Or in the intensity of crushing? In the accompanying sounds? (Hopefully grinding one's teeth is mainly about the sound, not producing anything.)

Or is it just a matter of collocation — mince is customary with some materials, grind with other materials?


texts: Usage of comma- why did they use comma here?

texts:
can you please tell why author used comma in the following sentence? If it was necessary, can you please explain why?  I got this line from a book about art theory

"One of the main problems facing Gombrich when he started his scholarly
career was the uncritical acceptance of the idea that the figurative artist produced images of what he saw , with the qualification that through historical time and across cultures people have seen differently"

If you can give an example of similar usage of comma that would be really helpful. Thanks


texts: “I have been travelling” or “I had been...” or “I was...”?

texts:
My teacher asked me where had I been because I was very late.

What would be the best answer?

I have been travelling from my hometown to here, so I have came late
I had been travelling from…
I was in travel / travelling from…

(Note: that morning I was in my hometown where is far away from my university .. so it took me 1.5hr to come to my class)


texts:
Let's say I have a document that is attached to an e-mail. Is there a short way to express "The e-mail this document is attached to"? Something like "the carrier e-mail", but not so strange sounding...

Basically I'm looking for a term that is similar in meaning to the hypothetical "attachee" (as in someone who attends an event being called an attendee). Does such a term exist?


texts: When did the phrase "first moon party" come about?

texts: I had never heard the term "first moon party" until I watched this video, which has gone viral over the past 2 weeks.  Was the phrase just recently coined by HelloFlo's ad, or has the phrase been in use prior to that to refer to a celebration of a girl's first period? (assuming that people even have celebrations for a girl's first period...)


texts:
At first, I thought it just meant an "order", yet it didn't make much sense in the context it was in.

I was watching a historical TV show, in which a powerful man, an ally of the King (not really an ally, but more of a follower whom the King needs), was telling the King of a near attack of the enemy. He told the King to "speak his decree, and it will be done". The King replied "there's no need for decrees, nor sermons to rouse. We march, before they do".
Then, the ally asked the king to let him lead the assault, if not, he will abandon the King. The King was furious, he told him that he doesn't need him, and banished him. Then, the ally told the King that while the King marches to the enemy, he will march towards their true capital, and defend it. Then the King said: "No one asked you to make a decree, yet you do so here before my throne?"

From my understanding, the word decree means, as stated by The Oxford English Dictionary:

  1 An official order that has the force of law

  1.2 A judgement or decision of certain law courts, especially in matrimonial cases.

I've also checked several other dictionaries, they basically give the same definitions. My problem is that none of the given definitions fits in any of the two sentences.
Look at the first sentence, the King said "we march", which is an order (or would at least require him to make orders in order to march), but that was right after he said "there is no need for decrees". If so, the King must think that a decree is different than a simple order. After that, look at the second sentence, the King accused his ally of "making a decree", but the ally did not make any decrees\orders (by my understanding). And if he did, it wasn't official, the whole conversation took place in the same place, the King's court. So, if something the ally said was a decree, then the King's statement must also be a decree; they were said in the same manner, and in the same place.

This is the script for the scene I speak of, if anyone wants to read it themselves:

  (Kaidu): The Cricket Minister comes this way.
  His troops are mobilizing.
  War is upon us once again.
  Speak your decree, cousin.
  It will be done.
  (The Khan): There's no need for decrees.
  Or sermons to rouse.
  We march before they do.
  Go.
  (Kaidu): By your will, Sire.
  And by the House of ÃgÃdei, I will lead your tumens.
  (The Khan): Praises, cousin.
  You will ride with our tumens and my sons.
  I name you commander of 1,000 men.
  But I lead this assault.
  You ride with the House of Kublai.
  (Kaidu): I am grateful for the honor, Khagan.
  But hear me, please, cousin.
  Twice my men and horses have ridden under your banner.
  Twice my men and two sons have fallen to the Chinese.
  If I do not lead this next assault my men will return north, and I with them.
  (The Khan's Son): Lord Kaidu, there's no need to rush.
  (The Khan): Let him rush.
  Let him rush home to be king of his ger village.
  King of nomads and sheep.
  (Kaidu): You mock nomads? You mock Genghis? I mock cowards, no one else.
  Confer with your astrologers, cousin.
  Confer with your Chinese monks, your Taoist priests.
  Look to your Muslim imams and all your prophets.
  How goes the Latin's construction project? My understanding from our engineers-- (The Khan): My engineers! (Kaidu) My understanding from your engineers is that it is a gamble.
  - A fool's gamble! -
  (The Khan's Son): Mind your treason!
  (Kaidu): Know this! As you lead your sons back into the jaws of Sidao's China I will march north to Karakorum to defend the true Mongol capital.
  (The Khan): No one asked you to make a decree, yet you do so here before the throne of the Khan of Khans? I do not need your horses, Kaidu! I do not need your House of ÃgÃdei! Leave here.
  You are forever banished.


texts: Other phrases for "burst through the door"

texts: I'm writing a story and I want my character to burst through the door, not literally through the door, however, I didn't want to use the phrase "burst through the door" but am stuck as to another phrase or perhaps verb to use instead. Any suggestions?


texts: Sometimes I use the phrase "back in the old days". I was recently in a class where the trainer kept using the phrase "olden days." Which usage is acceptable?


texts:
How should "undoes" be pronounced in the following sentence?

  The git revert command undoes a committed snapshot.

Should it be pronounced as "un + does" (/ʌn'dʌz/) or as "undo + es" (ʌn'duːz)? I think the latter one sounds fine here. But if pronouncing as /ʌnˈduːz/ is fine, why is "does" not pronounced /duːz/?


texts: What is the meaning: splash about and splash around?

texts:
I'm reading “Alice in Wonderland” and found some idiom "splashing about in the pool", but cannot understand why is used about preposition. In the Internet I have found "splash around" and became more confused.

  The children splashed about in the pool.
  They splashed around for an hour.


texts: If I say that someone was mean to me, does that imply that they were conscious of it?

texts:
The dictionary doesn't help me with an answer. It gives me other words which may or may not require intent.
mean (adjective)
unkind, spiteful, or unfair.

To be spiteful requires intent, to be unfair does not. Also, to be unkind requires intent. The phrase 'to be unkind' assumes you're aware of the consequences of your action, which requires intent.
A few questions to unravel my query:

Can I be mean to someone who I don't know exists?
Can I be mean to someone who I am affecting indirectly?
Is intent a requisite in being mean to someone?
If someone didn't intend to hurt someone, is it fair to say that they were mean?

I understand that people use the word in both ways, in both scenarios. Moreover, sometimes scenarios are subjective. Is there a right way to use the word mean? What did the word 'mean' mean originally? What's a better word to use?


texts: Synonyms for "get out of doing something"

texts: I would like to know some synonyms or phrases, or just other ways of expressing getting out of doing something, as in avoiding doing something.


texts: How to indicate that I've exceeded my planned spending for some time period, but am not completely lacking money

texts:
I split my funds into weeks, and so when I've spent all of that week's money I have to tell people I can't be buying things unless needed. Often in casual conversation this comes out as "I don't have any money". However, this is somewhere between giving the wrong impression and simply wrong. I do have money, but it's been allocated to other things. What is a short phrase to describe this?

Bonus points: Also convey that I will have more money available at a later date.


texts: What does this "after deadly shooting" mean?

texts:
The showdown came after the fatal shooting of a campus police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

So is the police officer dead or did he shoot someone else dead?


texts: What is the difference between "take notes" and "make notes"?

texts:
Most dictionaries simply say that to take/make notes means to write notes.

Is there anything more to this simple definition?


texts: Is "spilled milk" a 1600's era euphemism regarding rejected intercourse?

texts:
Motivation:
My daughters love and admire the character of Molly Bannaky and her descendant Benjamin Bannaker:
https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2008/07/molly-welsh-banneker.html
The impact of Benjamin Bannaker on the ideology of Thomas Jefferson is arguably profound and its impact on the world through Jefferson are spectacular.  I think Molly and her grandson Benjamin are amazing people.
Fact:
In her background she was convicted in a court for spilling milk, allegedly that of an obstinate cow, and for it she was sentenced to 7 years of indentured servitude.  She was not hanged for theft because she was literate and thus was able to defend herself in court.
https://katedolan.com/molly-bannaky-the-amazing-woman-who-may-have-existed/
My problem with it:
Given basic human sustenance, that sounds like a very comparatively severe punishment for a relatively smaller crime.
Speculation on my part:
She was a young reproduction-age female servant, so it seems more anthropologically sound to imagine the sons of the owner wanted to have their way with her as opposed to shipping her to the other side of the world.  It seems more plausible that either she was used as an example to cause other potential victims to comply, or that she was the preferred target and rejected with some brutality the advances of a highly-ranked suitor.  The "Spilled milk" being reason for indure in a court suggests someone was willing to say it happened in a recordable way, perhaps the suitor or their parents.  If the brutality were enough to anger them that would be reasonable.  Several writings call the cow "obstinate" but given her life-story Molly is also obstinate (in several very commendable ways), and so the cow who kicked to cause the milk to spill could have been Molly herself.  She could have kicked (and critically, in reproductive terms, wounded) someone trying to treat her like a cow.
Evidence:
I don't know much about 1600's literature, except that the King James bible came out in the early 1600's and likely used the language of the time.
In Genesis 38:9 it uses the verb spilling to refer to something criminal and worthy of death that was done to the male component of reproduction.
The culture did not change in the 1800's era as rapidly then as it does now,  and the following seems to imply something similar.

There are a number of literature elements that discretely communicated horrible events, such as "The Yellow Wallpaper" from 1892 being a euphemised description of an assault from the victims perspective.  The toadstools get violent meaning when considered to be reproductive organs.  Impo the wallpaper is not insane at all, it is just sending a coded message describing a hideous set of experiences.  It was not unknown to encrypt a hidden message using metaphor or symbolism.
Question:
I can't imagine the cost in prosecuting and lost value in losing a servant being worthwhile for literal spilled milk, although it was done by land-owners in 1690's England and thus is not my cultural values or economy, so is there any evidence that "Spilled Milk" is used as a euphemism for something relating to sexual assault or violent rejection of a "suitor"?
Places that I have looked:
This site (link) says the term came into documented usage in the mid 1600's the term was "shed".  In that vernacular the shed is also applied to blood as a term for murder.
This link says it means " lament a disaster or a loss that can not be undone" but as an idiom, the actual disaster is not the literal spilling of literal milk.


texts: Singular word that ends in 's' seems to be rare, not counting proper nouns. So far I only know lens. Is there other example?


texts: Use of word “HOW” for exclamation or praise

texts:
Can I use the word “how” for praise in this way:

  How they move!

I want to say that how beautifully they move. Is this a correct sentence?


texts: Is it correct to write "..., so..."? Is it formal to use "so" in writing?

texts:
Is it correct to write "..., so..."?
e.g.

You are handsome, so you are appreciated.

Is it correct to use "so" in formal writing? If not, what are the alternatives?


texts: Descriptive word very pleasantly surprised?

texts: What would be a single word to describe a very pleasantly surprised reaction?


texts: the future-existence of a currently "nonexisted" object

texts:
I'm trying to convey the idea of the existence of a determined future object that does not yet exist.

In other words,

  the future existence of a currently non-existing object.

I don't think simply using the word existence for it is right since for now the object does not exist. It is only coming into existence in the future.

So is there a more technical term to express the future existence (or "coming-existence") of a currently non-existing object?


texts: Is it correct to say, "Jamie and I look forward to seeing you and Kate on Friday?"

texts: Pronouns can be so confusing.  Is this appropriate or is there a preferred structure other than this?


texts:
What are the differences in meaning and usage between posteriori and posterior?

Particularly in probability, statistics and logic, when should I use which?

For example, why are "max a posteriori" and "posterior distributions"?


texts: I wrote in an essay: 'We now have licence to move beyond [an idea].' Grammarly flagged this up, saying that I should add an article before 'licence'. Is this true, or is 'licence' interchangeable with 'permission' or 'freedom' in this context?


texts:
;prominent individuals of both political parties, Society hostesses, well-known dramatic authors and novelists, and distinguished aeroplanists were dimly recognizable in that doomed throng; noted lights of the musical-comedy stage flickered wanly in the shades of the Inferno, smiling still from force of habit, but with the fearsome smiling rage of baffled effort.

The above 'lights' could be understood as 'A prominent or distinguished person; a luminary' as described in a dictionary?


texts: If one is accustomed to doing something, it's often said in English that they are "used" to doing it.  However, why do we use "used" in this way?  It doesn't seem to bear much relation to the simple past tense of "use"; does it nevertheless originate from the word "use" or a different word which has come to be spelt the same as the past tense of "use"?


texts: Formal substituion of "along this line of thinking"?

texts:
I am writing a scientific paper, where I need to express "along this line of thinking". The scenario is

  Existing literature suggests that A is rather likely to cause B. Along this
  line of thinking, Smith et al. explored those "unlikely" cases where A
  did not cause B.


texts:
We are blessed with a baby girl. We got many congratulations, wishes and blessings through mail and SMS.

In my reply, I've mentioned

  The little angel is blessed by your wishes

Is this a right phrase?


texts:
Should I use "a millennium" or "a thousand years"? Here is my context:

  Another consequence of PET plastic is that it can take about a millennium to biodegrade.

Or

  Another consequence of PET plastic is that it can take about a thousand years to biodegrade.

This is in a formal essay.


texts: outpointing (to point out an error or errors)

texts:
I'm hearing (and seeing in print) the word "outpointing" used a lot lately to mean "pointing out an error."

Example: "Thanks for outpointing. The error has been corrected."

I thought "outpointing" was strictly used to mean "to score more points than one's opponent."

Is it okay to use it to mean "to point out an error", as in "Thanks for outpointing"?

Thank you.


texts: Does "What did you get up to?" make sense?

texts:
Someone texted me the following

  What did you get up to?

And when I asked what that meant, told me it meant What are you doing tonight?. Now to me that doesn't make any sense, but I'm not a native speaker. The other person is. Before I entrench myself in an argument, I want to make sure I'm right. Does that make sense?


texts:
I am not native English. My question regards the conditional form of the verb have to, must. I was wondering if I could use in interchangeable way the expressions "If I were to have" and "If I should have" and "If I would have".
Thank you for your help.
Massi


texts: What is the difference between "news" and "news stories"?

texts:
We did a test in class, and I saw this sentence below.

  Read the text and cross out the extra word (maximum one per line).

  some of the lines are correct
  if the line is correct put a √ at the end of the line.

  …
  safe. Many children feel scared because of
  news stories of child murders. Children
  feel safer because of their parents always know where they are.

I crossed out the word "stories" but my teacher marked it incorrect, so I expostulated with him.

Maybe for him, these two words looked the same, but I argued that "you can not know for sure what an American or a British would choose."

So, in order to end the dispute, I'd like to find out what native speakers think about it.

What is the difference between “news” and “news stories”?
Are they interchangeable? Shouldn't have I crossed out “stories”?


texts: Friends. I am confused. If semi, demi and hemi all have the meaning of "half" then how to know which should be used with this or that word? There is hemisphere and semicircle and demicycle. Will it be a mistake to say semicycle, hemicircle or demisphere? Are they interchangable? I guess there should be a strict difference between the three. And can they be used with adverbs and verbs?


texts: "it" for a transitive verb, like a dummy pronoun?

texts:
Is the following sentence correct?

  We refine it when we can revisit a vertex.

The "it" refers to nothing (it seems to be the dummy pronoun), but the sentence seems correct to me.  I think "it" is needed, because "refine" is a transitive verb.  What I want to say in this sentence is that we refine the circumstances when we can revisit a vertex.

Is there some grammar rule that would back my claim that the sentence is correct?

Thanks!


texts:
In the following sentence, should Americana be capitalized?

  Here's a list of great Americana books.

It looks so weird when written lowercase.


texts:
The following is part of the conversation between a detective and Nick in the movie "Gone Girl":

  Detective: “What do you do now for work?”

  Nick: “My sister and I own The Bar downtown.”

  Detective: “Oh, The Bar? Love the name. Very meta.”

  Nick: “Thanks.”

What does "very meta" mean?


texts:
Is this sentence correct:

  Categorization could help them out with concentration and to get better results.

Complete paragraph:

  Due to fact that prerequisite conditions and educational needs are not the same for each pupil, categorization could help them out with concentration and to get better results. However that is not completely positive. For example, the opportunity to become familiar with any kinds of behavior seemed missed out on this solution.


texts:
When writing about grades, does the percentage need an article?
"Jenny earned an 87% in the AP Psychology course." Or just
"Jenny earned 87% in the AP Psychology course."
My thinking is, you would use an article if you used the letter grade.
"Jenny earned a B in the AP Psychology course."

Your help is appreciated.


texts: Why do people say “no offense” when starting a sentence?

texts:
English is my second language and I mainly learn it from shows like modern family and the bigbang theory.

I know what “no offense” means, but I don’t think I fully understand its usage. I’ve seen many people saying it before they say something insulting. But does including “no offense” make the statement less offensive? I don’t really get why people use it...


texts: Is the following sentence grammatically correct (street lights casting)?

texts:
"... illuminated by the lined up street lights casting soft hues against the black."

Is it necessary to add an auxiliary verb between the words 'street lights' and 'casting'?

Another question, I've read somewhere else on the Internet of the phrase 'casting soft hues against the black' and I decided to put it in my sentence as what I've grasped so far it means 'the street lights are lightning the dark, causing one color of lights in a pitch black space'. What does it actually mean in the perspective of the English native?

Thank you!


texts: The word integrity meaning wholeness seems to come from the word integer which, roughly speaking, refers to whole numbers. Why does integrity also mean honesty?


texts: Wording for inheritance, heredity in programming

texts:
I have objects which are related in two ways:

Mother-child relation I called inheritance or heredity. It means that everything defined in the mother object gets inherited to the child.
Language translation relation is similar, there is a object holding the english language, and objects with another language - which may contain a translation.
That one I called i18n, for internationalization.

What I am looking for is how to name those properly? I believe inheritance is correct for the mother-child. But the i18n - well it does not imply a relation as such. At first I was going to call it inheriti18n .. but I don't like it.

I hope there exist be some meangingfull terms for this, that my synonym search did not find.

I have a Product parent, the product has childs - its subproducts.
Each product- being parent or child, can have translations. Those translations from the parent can be passed down to childs.


texts: In a paper, I am describing subsets of data, but I'm not sure if I should describe these in the past or present tense. Should I use "In the data, there were 56 vowels and 50 consonants." or "In the data, there are 56 vowels and 50 consonants."?


texts: Is there any generic word describing household activities such as doing dishes and mopping floors? I feel the word chore implies a burden and am looking for something more natural.


texts: What is the general term for "greater than or equal to" and "less than or equal to"?

texts:
We call this equation:

A = B

We call this inequality:

A > B
A < B

What do we call this:

A ≥ B
A ≤ B

?


texts: In cricket and football is it alright to refer to women as men?

texts:
I noticed when I was watching the match between England and Mexico in the Women's Football World Cup the other night, that the commentator would refer to a situation where the attacking side 'had a man over'. I also heard of one referring to a possibility of having to play 'a man-short up front'.

In Women's Cricket, they still have 'batsmen', 'last-man-in', and no doubt 'night-watchmen'. Somebody has to field at 'third man' etc.

Is this alright? Or are the commentary teams guilty of misogyny?

When is it ok to refer to a woman as a man, and when should she be a woman or a person?


texts: thou/you and art/are In Shakespeare's sonnets

texts: Is there a consistent application of any distinction between the forms of the words thou and you, and art and are in Shakespeare's sonnets? Is he simply following a convention regarding formality in diction, or can a case be made that he is trying to create something more in terms of meaning by his choice in a specific case?


texts: Is it correct to say "this book is worth the acquisition"?

texts: Can you please advise whether or not grammatically and meaningfully correct to say "this book is worth the acquisition" when you find a book relevant and want to buy.


texts:
As a noun, a bear is a type of carnivore. As a verb, to bear means to support or produce.

I wonder how the two meanings finally ended up in one single word. Is there any connection between the two meanings which I don’t know yet?


texts: Computer Science: When we say spawn a process, why use spawn?

texts:
In many docs, such as in http server. We often see "spawn xx processes".

The definition of spawn as a verb is

1.

  (of a fish, frog, mollusk, crustacean, etc.) release or deposit eggs.

  "the fish spawn among fine-leaved plants"

  (of a fish, frog, etc.) be laid as eggs.

2.

  of a person) produce (offspring).

  "why had she married a man who could spawn a boy like that?"

  produce or generate, especially in large numbers.

  "the decade spawned a bewildering variety of books on the forces"

  synonyms: give rise to, bring about, occasion, generate, engender, originate; More

  COMPUTING

  generate (a dependent or subordinate computer process).

Why not use "spawn" but not "product" or "generate"?

wiki: Spawn_(computing)


texts:
What does whoopty-skippy-do mean?

Because if that's your plan then whoopty-skippy-do, sign me up!" Tito appeared, leaning over the hood. “My ears are burning. I hope you're not talking about me,"...
Source: Turbo Junior Novelization, Simon & Schuster


texts: What are possible semantics of participle constructions?

texts:
Consider a  participle constrution

  A being B, C happens.

What are the possible semantic relations between the parts?
Which of them is/are the most likely one(s)?
And can one even be sure which relation is intended without looking at context, in other words guessing? (as is the case with abl.abs. in Latin)

I suppose, we can have mere parataxis

  A is B. C happens.

and certainly causal relation

  Because A is B, C happens.

(or is it just consecutive

  A is B, so that C happens.

?)

I wonder if other relations are possible / wide-spread such as  temporal

  As long as A is B, C happens

conditional

  If A is B, then C happens

or even concessive

  Although A is B, C happens

or ...?


texts: A word/phrase for "providing all other conditions hold"

texts:
Is there a phrase or expression to be used instead of "providing all other conditions hold" in the following context?

There are a sec of conditions, x among them, that are required to hold for our purpose. But, providing all other conditions hold, feature A compensates for x.


texts:
I got some email from a stranger that contains:

  I hope this email finds you well.

So what does "find you well" means here? Does it mean "Are you well" or "The email find the right guy"? I'm a little confused here.


texts: How do we interpret these lines from 'Ulysses'?

texts:
What do these lines from Ulysses, by Tennyson, mean exactly? What is a sinking star? How does the simile work in the first line? This summary calls the phrase ambiguous.

To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.


texts:
In a Catholic mass, this phrase is said:

  Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

As a non-native English speaker, I find the use of should a bit odd. Notice the subjunctive is also used in other languages, for instance, Latin:

  Dómine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo et sanábitur ánima mea.

and Spanish:

  Señor, no soy digno de que entres en mi casa, pero una palabra tuya bastará para sanarme

However, "should" sounds too strong for me. In Spanish (my native language), should is said as "deber" or "tener" (so "should enter" can be translated as "debas entrar"), which is much stronger that the term actually used in Spanish ("entres").

I imagine the use of "should" is correct, but I don't understand exactly why. To me, a softer "might" sounds better. Can anyone explain?


texts:
A quote by Dr. Johnson goes

  "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man."

The phrase "make a beast of himself" appears to have the definition of "to behave like a beast", in the same way as how "make a ... of himself" would function in the idiom "make a fool of himself".

Here is my question: is it appropriate to use the expression "make a ... of himself" be used in all cases to mean "to behave like a ..."? (e.g. He makes a coward of himself.)


texts: What is a word for a person who constantly speaks negatively?

texts:
Any situation, any time; this person has always something negative to say about it.

It should be a noun or an adjective to describe a person who is a damp cloud walking over every sunshine situations at the cubicle, hoping to drench other people with his miserable comments.

I considered "sourpuss" but would prefer something more important sounding, like "misogynist."


texts: Do we use "the" when referring to United Kingdom?

texts: Do we always have to use "the" before "United Kingdom" (or "UK")?


texts: English folk saying or proverb involving the number four (of people)?

texts: We have: "it takes two to tango", "two is company; three is a crowd", etc... Are there any similar sayings that refer to four people?


texts: I've noticed that sometimes family members are referred to in a weird way(to me) in speech. For example, instead of "I will talk to my mum" or "Give this to your dad", I often hear "I'll talk to mum" and "Give this to dad" instead (no, whoever that talked like this surely isn't my sibling). After asking a friend of mine how his daughter was (she was in hospital), he replied "Daughter is doing well"(again, not my daughter in any sense of the word). Both of these examples sound very awkward to me. I'm wondering if this usage is related to "the wife" (instead of "my wife") or using "sir" or "miss" in third person ("miss asked me to tell you...")? What other people do you refer to in this way?


texts: As I understand it a "commissionaire" is only used in British English (or so says the dictionary), but then what is the American English alternative?


texts: Is it okay to say "conduction of medical camp"(as in carry out/hold an event). I know that the noun of 'conduct' is 'conduct'. However, I have seen the word 'conduction' being used in this context very often. Is it acceptable?


texts: "Five things to do for free" vs "Five free things to do" vs "Free five things to do"

texts:
I'm having a dilemma writing a slogan for my website.

Website features articles of 5 free items to in specific locations.

Which of the following taglines sounds most professional and British english?

"Five things to do for free"
"Five free things to do"
"Free five things to do"


texts: Is there a term that describes a sentence that states one thing but means the opposite?

texts:
The poem I am studying has this line:

  yes, how quaint and curious war is

I want a word to describe this for an essay on it. Would it be juxtaposition or oxymoron, or something else? It, in a way, has a hidden meaning.


texts: The Greeks I've met say something that to my ears sounds like 'Elatha'.


texts: What word best describes someone who likes to do everything on his own?

texts: This doesn’t mean that they are unsociable or always keep everything secret. They just love to do things by themselves to feel as if they don’t need anyone else doing this for them. Is there any word or phrase that can interpret this full meaning?


texts: Please arrive at the venue not earlier than 15 minutes before the commencement of the interview.


texts: Single word request: practice based on non-strict criteria

texts:
Context:
Clinical decision making is highly varying, as there are no strict criteria between operative and nonoperative management.
How to say this with one academically suitable word?

Clinical decision making is loose/slipshod


texts: Is there a thesaurus which indicates the language of origin of each word?

texts:
I would be interested in using a sort of etymological thesaurus. Imagine a normal thesaurus, but with each word in an entry somehow marked to indicate whether it comes ultimately from Latin, German, Norse, Welsh, Irish, etc.

Perhaps this could be done with little icons, or typographical style (Romance words in serif, naturally, Germanic words in sans, Norse in rune-flavoured small caps, Irish in Gaelic script, onomatopoeias and neologisms in Comic Sans). Different but related origins could be conflated or distinguished to some extent (upright serif for Old French, italic serif for Italian and Latin).

Does such a thing exist?

Mostly, I would find this interesting rather than useful. But occasionally, I feel the urge to use a good solid Anglo-Saxon word for something, rather than something French, and this would be the tool for the job. In particular, since I work as a computer programmer, I often find myself needing to name something (a variable, a class, a computer, whatever), and the ability to pick words of different origins for different kinds of things (perhaps Romance for identity classes, Germanic for value classes) would be, if not exactly useful, exactly the kind of pointlessly arch thing which I delight in inflicting on my colleagues.


texts:
In the book I'm reading, Michael Connelly's Echo Park from 2006, the main character, Harry Bosch, an LAPD detective, is getting drunk on vodka and ice after he's learnt that he made a very costly mistake in an investigation 12 years before.  He calls his former partner to let him know about it, hangs up and there follows this bit in the novel:

  He got up off the floor and hung the phone on the wall.  Before returning to the back deck he educated the ice in his glass once more with vodka.  (p.89)

I've checked for meanings of educate that could account for its use here, but I couldn't find any. I wonder what it means.

Here are the other passages involving the vodka and ice before the one that baffled me:

He was drinking vodka sprinkled liberally over ice, the first time he'd gone with hard liquor since coming back on the job the year before. (p.85)
He shook the ice and vodka and took another deep drink until he finished the glass.  How could anything so cold burn so intensely hot on the way down?  He walked back inside the house to put more vodka on the ice.  (p.85)
Bosch shook his glass and took a drink before answering.  The ice tumbled against his mouth, and vodka spilled down his cheek.  He wiped it with the sleeve of his jacket and then brought the phone back to his mouth.  (p.86)


texts: When is it acceptable to use Internet abbreviations such as “u” or “r”?

texts:
In my business communication over Internet text messengers, for example Google Talk or Skype, I see that many people often use shorten words like u instead of you, r instead of are and the like.

How appropriate is usage of such words in contemporary communication? Is it used in emails also? Should we avoid it as much as possible?


texts: ‘disambiguate’ something unto something?

texts: If x is initially ambiguous between y and z, can one disambiguate x unto y? or is there a semantically and syntactically similar, more idiomatic, expression?


texts:
I have found sentences in some contexts which surprisingly use "is" and "been" together:

He is been watching too much television lately.
She is been feeling a little depressed.
The compiler is been failed to compile the code.

Why are these not:

He has been watching too much television lately.
She has been feeling a little depressed.
The compiler has failed to compile the code.

A similar use is found in the first sentence of this answer on StackOverflow. That was my question about Java Server Pages (JSP). Do the first group of sentences add some extra meaning, or they are just used in a fashionable manner, or something else involved?

Finally, I once saw this:

The work is been being done by someone else.

I was taken aback by this sentence. I found it totally dramatic—it appears to be in the "present perfect continuous tense", which shouldn't have passive construction according to any grammar rules I know.

When are such constructions used? I'm a resident of India and don't really understand them.


texts: Is the beach of an island considered a shore?

texts: If not, what is it called? I'd like to know because I am making a literary comment on this word and I need its exact definition.


texts: What is the word for the high-pitched "sex sound" a woman makes?

texts:
The other day I was texting someone and I was talking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wanted to say it's cute when she makes that [high-pitched sex sound a woman makes] sound when she's fighting. And I just couldn't find the right word to use that made sense.

It's easy to make the sound, and everyone knows what it is. Is there really not a word that accurately describes it? It's not a moan or a groan as far as I understand those words.

Here's an example: http://www.soundsnap.com/node/45537 (WARNING: these are sex sounds and NSFW. It's just audio, no pictures.)

The sound I'm referring to is the second and third one she makes (maybe just a little shorter than her examples).


texts: Usage of the word "curious" in the meaning of peculiar: always correct or only as 'artistic' form?

texts:
To me the word "curious" would be something you can be i.e.

  I am curious what tomorrow will bring

I recently read a text of a student I was supervising which used it as follows

  A curious phenomenon is ...

With which he meant to say that the phenomenon was peculiar, odd or strange.

The only other case I have ever seen this is in the movie title: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", but that might be 'artistic freedom' (since Curious Case has the nice C.. C..). My question is: is the usage of the word "curious" in the meaning of peculiar correct?


texts: Word for an experience or entity that is enjoyable with repeated exposure, but not interesting or unpleasant if experienced once or a few times?

texts:
I've seen

  Age like wine

to describe this phenomenon, but I'm thinking that there's a single word or a more concise and descriptive phrase for this. I'd appreciate any help.


texts: Say thank you to multiple professors and doctors

texts:
I come up with the following three options to say thank you, but am not satisfied with any of them.

Option 1:

  I would like to thank the members of my PhD committee, Prof. A, Prof. B, Prof. C,
  Prof. D and Dr. E for...

Remark: Repetition of Prof.

Option 2:

  I would like to thank the members of my PhD committee, Professors A,
  B, C, D and Dr. E for...

Remark: Inconsistency between titles: Professor (non abbreviated) vs Dr. (abbreviated).

Option 3:

  I would like to thank the members of my PhD committee, Professors A,
  B, C, D and Doctor E for...

Remark: Doctor E seems unusual to me, as Dr. E is somebody who holds a PhD and not a medical doctor.

Does anybody has better suggestions please?

Thank you very much for your help!


texts: A short word for elementary yet interesting

texts:
What can be a one word for something which is not very advanced but is still interesting and elegant? I would be using this word in context for some math article I want to write.

Shorter and accurate words would be preferred. Thanks :)


texts:
I'm looking for a word that is the opposite of "adaptable." I would like to say "unadaptable,"  but that's not a real word according to my dictionary. So, what's the best word out there for not-able-to-change?

Update: I'm embarrassed to admit I was accidentally searching the Mac's built-in thesaurus, not dictionary, when I checked to see if unadaptable was a word. My bad! I'll still award Jasper the answer for pointing out my obvious oversight.

Update 2:

To respond to the various calls for clarification, I'm specifically using this word in a report talking about the development of certain kinds of subdivisions, especially very homogenous single-family subdivisions in outer ring suburban areas. In my report I'm referring to a neighborhood that can change at the micro-level, ie. it can improve or deteriorate, but it cannot change what it is: ie. the infrastructure pattern is not capable of supporting a different land use, and it is not economically feasible to retrofit the infrastructure, therefore the nature of the subdivision cannot be changed, while the condition of the subdivision (if it is deteriorating) may cause people to wish that it could be changed.

So, with that in mind:

Why not immutable?" Immutable is a great word, but I understand it's connotation to mean "permanent, unchanging", in the sense that something simply is not subject to change, not that it might like to change but cannot.
Why not "inflexible?" Inflexible connotes being "unwilling" to change, or perhaps being able to be changed (or reshaped / bent) but only slowly and with much resistance.

So, in this situation I am looking for an adjective that describes an inability to adapt to changing market conditions by shifting from one land use to another. In this case I specifically use the word "adaptable" in many places to describe the opposite, and given the context I think "unadaptable" will be better understood than any of the other suggestions, even though I am aware of (and agree with) the comments about it's status as a rarely used and therefore imperfect choice.

Thank you all for the feedback!


texts: Is obligation related to responsibility?

texts: the definition of responsibility states: "the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone." we had a debate today and someone said that responsibility is related to obligation, so is it really?


texts:
Which one of each is correct?

A1 - He asked a simple question about the use of articles.
vs
A2 - He asked a simple question about use of articles.

B1 - All universities in Vancouver are amazing.
vs
B2 - All of the universities in Vancouver are amazing.


texts:
Does "whether or not I should..." sound awkward? How would you say it then?

For example:

"He stood me up three times in a row," said Alice angrily. "Now I wonder whether or not I should go out with him at all!"


texts: Why "two-element Boolean algebra" not "two-elements Boolean algebra"? The number of elements (two) is plural, but the word "element" is singular. This looks like a discrepancy for me.


texts: Is the following sentence grammatically correct? ( I am however concerned about global warming and the environment, and am wondering...)

texts:
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?

"I am however concerned about global warming and the environment, and am wondering if those who are familiar with the subject could share their knowledge."

Specifically, I am wondering about the use of the word "and" in this sentence.

I'm also wondering if I should instead say

"I am however concerned about global warming, the environment, and am wondering if those who are familiar with the subject could share their knowledge."

This doesn't sound correct at all, but it agrees with my current understanding of how one should write this sentence.


texts: Phrase for apologizing to a stranger when messaging him unexpectedly?

texts:
I'm looking for a word or a phrase to use when I start talking to/chatting with someone expert in some field, he doesn't know me or know me a little, but we never chatted with each other.
I want to ask him a question related to the field he is experienced at.
it's like:

  Excuse me for jumping over you inbox , but I think you are
  the best one who can help me in this...

but I don't think "jumping over" is the correct phrase, as I invented it


texts: Is there any etymological relation between "a-hunting" and "ajar"?

texts:
While reading this question I recalled hearing the phrase like to go a-hunting on several occasions when someone stylized their speech to sound old-time'y and now I started wondering if there is any relation to other words, like:

afloat, ajar, apart,
abroad, aback,
afoot, aboard, afield,
aback, afore, afront,
etc.

While I have little or no idea about their individual etymologies and overall evolution of the language, I perceive this class of words as description of state formed by "a"+attribute where the attribute is more-or-less related to the state (pretty direct relation in afore or afloat, but no so obvious in others like ajar or along, if we even consider the latter to fit in this class as well).

Then we have to go a-hunting. Hunting itself may here be perceived as a noun describing an action, and in that form it would form sort of state description: the person went and is-hunting, or as form of desire/necessity: the person went in-order-to-hunt, with the latter being related to the state-of-being-hunting as well.

My questions are:

were afloat, abroad, etc written (or spoken) a-broad, a-float at some point of time?
at the time when to go a-hunting was used, was something like to be a-hunting also used?
is it just a coincidence, or is there any evolutionary relation between forms like afloat and a-hunting?


texts: Figurative origin of "the kiss of death"

texts:
The idiomatic expression the kiss of death refers to:

  a fatal or destructive relationship or action; as in
  The support of the outlawed group was the kiss of death to the candidate. (Origin 1945-1950)

(Random House Dictionary)

Etymonline confirms the date of origin as 1944 an the Billboard as the possible source:

  Kiss of death in figurative sense "thing that signifies impending failure" is from 1944 (Billboard, Oct. 21), ultimately in reference to Judas's kiss in Gethsemane (Matthew xxvi.48-50).

The following site makes an interesting assumption about the  origin suggesting that it comes  from a Mafia custom which was popularized in movies (but it doesn't cite sources):

  From the fabled Mafia practice. A kiss from the Don meant curtains for the receiver.
  No doubt popularized in this country by Mafia movies, but the practice goes back much, much further, at least to Roman days. And let's not forget Judas kissing Jesus's cheek to identify him to the guards.

(www.englishforstudents.com)

Questions:

Did  the the figurative usage of the expression "the kiss of death" really originate in Mafia movies of the forties?
What does the 1944 Billboard citation refer to?


texts:
In the episode "Duet for solo bicycle" -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCnc8hUPuPU&t=4m22s

Albert Arkwright says - "No need to get all Vanessa about it."

  00:04:00 I made progress last night with the aid of some C--Cyprus sherry.
  00:04:04 She's still sticking to her principles, but only just!
  00:04:10 G--G--Granville, did you warm that pot?
  00:04:13 No, I warmed that one over there!
  00:04:16 You always ask me that every meal time. You say, "G--G--Granville, did you warm that pot?"
  00:04:22 -- I always warm the pot. -- No need to get all Vanessa about it!
  00:04:30 -- Have we got to have bacon again? -- You like bacon.

From the context I guessed the meaning as something in the lines of "diva", etc.

What's the story behind the usage?


texts: Who knows what a carnival diver is? I heard it in the song "On a Tuesday in Amsterdam" by Counting Crows and I came across two references on the internet. What can it be?


texts: Vans or cars which sell breakfast, what is this called?

texts:
I was doing some translating from Chinese to English.

I don't know what English native speakers call them.

Please give me a hand.


texts: As the common definition runs, an intransitive verb doesn't need an object as in "I run in the street." But my question is why some verbs are labeled intransitive, and at the same time,they take a preposition followed by an object: For example, agonize plus over/about and then an object:She agonized about what she should do. Why shouldn't we call it a transitive verb? Other examples: apologize to, object to


texts: "I am done" or "I have finished" or "I am finished" or "I finish"

texts:
I was trying to say the following and got bewildered with the different choices.

  I have "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my list. I will write you about it when I am finished reading it.

  I have "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my list. I will write you about it when I have finished reading it.

  I have "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my list. I will write you about it when I am done reading it.

  I have "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my list. I will write you about it when I finish reading it.

I am not sure which one to pick. I am confused with the exact meanings of these various choices. Could someone also shed some light on what meanings the different tenses convey in a context like this.


texts:
Here is the sentence:

  Courtney Love and the Cobain estate tapped Morgen to make a film examining the life of the late Nirvana frontman, and the project has started to come together after five years of planning.

I am not sure whether I understand to the emphasized part of the sentence. Will somebody help me? Does it mean that Cobain’s items from legacy have inspired the director?


texts: What do you call a person who collects recipes, ingredients or other cooking related materials? Is there a name for classifications like this (like taxonomy etc.)?


texts: What is it called when someone makes your point for you?

texts:
Ok, so what is it called if you are talking to someone and you say

  you: I know this will sound mean, but I don’t like talking to most people because they aren’t enough like me (a geek, or weird) to understand what I am saying or get my references.
  your friend: I understand your point.
  you: See!  You just made my point for me!

What is that called when that person does that (in that specific situation, if possible)


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the difference between “horrify” and “terrify”?

Since I am not a native English speaker, I always have trouble figuring out when to use "horrible" instead of "terrible" in both spoken and written English.

According to American Heritage Dictionary, Horrible means:

  adj. Arousing or tending to arouse horror; dreadful: "War is beyond all words horrible” (Winston S. Churchill).
      adj. Very unpleasant; disagreeable.

and Terrible means:

  adj. Causing great fear or alarm; dreadful: a terrible bolt of lightning; a terrible curse.
      adj. Extremely formidable: terrible responsibilities.
      adj. Extreme in extent or degree; intense: "the life for which he had paid so terrible a price” (Leslie Fiedler).
      adj. Unpleasant; disagreeable: had a terrible time at the party; terrible food.
      adj. Very bad: a terrible actor.

Since their secondary meaning is Unpleasant, disagreeable, are there any rules around when these words should be used, or can they be used interchangeably?


texts:
Their mistakes is what saved Snowden because otherwise he would be in prison now.

Source: The Putin Interviews by Oliver Stone

imho 'is' refers  to the noun 'what' that is from the right side of the verb 'to be' that is quite unusual for me. Why does this verb take a form regardless of the noun that precedes it? Is it possible to use 'are' in this case?

ps
I've seen the similar topic - Referring to a plural noun as singular?
But it didn't help me to understand the usage


texts:
Someone changed a sentence in a Wikipedia article from

These cassettes became associated with genres like Gipsy rhumba, light
music and joke tapes.

to

These cassettes became associated with genres such as Gipsy rhumba,
light music and joke tapes.

To me it feels wrong, but I cannot pinpoint what exactly is wrong. If "genres" had an additional qualifier that would need to be expounded, like "unpretentious", or "low-brow", or "mass-market", then "such as" variant would work for me:

These cassettes became associated with unpretentious genres such as Gipsy rhumba,
light music and joke tapes.

Am I not getting something here?


texts: Why does "that" sound odd to me after "said" in these sentences with "as" and "like"?

texts:
You said that he would come to the party.
He came to the party, as you said that he would.
He came to the party, just as you said that he would.
He came to the party, just like you said that he would.

To me, the word that seems progressively less acceptable in the sentences above. It sounds unobjectionable in the first sentence ("You said that he would come to the party"), but it sounds pretty bad to me in the fourth sentence, and also in the third sentence. I can't decide whether it sounds acceptable in the second sentence. In contrast, all of the sentences sound fine to me when that is omitted: "...as you said he would," "just as you said he would," "...just like you said he would."

Are my acceptability judgements of these sentences shared by others? If so, why is this? I can't figure out why the use of the word like before the clause starting with "you said..." should change the acceptability of the use of that before the clause "he would".


texts: Why is a dog that has been saved from the pound called a rescue dog instead of a rescued dog?


texts: Using source as a verb to mean "to provide a citation"

texts:
Recently on the meta for English.se, I used the following sentence:

  Personally, I think we should source answers if possible, but this is also sensitive to the level of the asker.

My question relates to whether this usage of source as a verb is as one person responded "a rather lazy and hence unclear phrase?"

The other person suggested that it could admit two interpretations:

  we should provide sources in answers

OR

  we should seek answers

google defines source as a verb as follows:

  obtain from a particular source.

I learned to use source in the way I describe in the midst of university teaching. Specifically, we often say regarding claims that are not original to a student or that state data without a citation -- "you need to source this."

Is something in my usage odd, incorrect, or lazy?


texts: Is there a sentence containing every letter without repeating?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Shortest pangram

Does anyone know of a coherent sentence that contains every letter in the alphabet without repeating any?


texts: "The bill, please" or just "Bill, please"?

texts:
Which short way of asking for a bill is correct?

  Bill, please!
  The bill, please!


texts: When using the singular pronoun "they", should the verb be in the 3rd person singular or the 3rd person plural?

texts:
A person who has perfectly good relations with their father, who loves
  their father, and has a great respect for them, can never shout at him
  like that.

  A person who have perfectly good relations with their father, who love
  their father, and have a great respect for them, can never shout at
  him like that.

Which one's correct?


texts:
I'm wondering if there's a good word to indicate something like an "underground lake"? Preferably it would have a connotation of something deep, dark, isolated, murky, mysterious, and a bit archaic.

For example, a writer in the Lovecraftian tradition might wish to say something like:

  The fish-men lived for ages in their underground lake, long forgotten by the upper world.


texts: What is the person with whom you share the same interests?

texts:
What do you call a person with whom you share the same interests and hobbies?
Example

  I am looking for my ______ with whom I can watch movies for hours


texts: Is there a word or phrase to describe the situation like looking for one's glasses, where accomplishing the objective would make the task easier to complete in the first place? Is it just irony?


texts: "Enough rights" or "sufficient permissions"

texts:
Are both following sentences OK? What is better to use in a software in context of users accessing a server?

"You do not have enough rights to do something"
"You do not have sufficient permissions to do something"

Maybe something else?

Thanks!


texts: When I write Powerpoint slides, I usually use title case for slide headers. I am a little unsure as to how to include e-commerce in headers. Wikipedia stylizes it as "E-commerce" which seems inelegant. Any guidance on how to use hyphenated words in titles?


texts: How does it make sense to 'edify saints'?

texts:
This example sentence is under the definition proper:

  Some are called to sow, others to reap some are eminently qualified to awaken sinners, others to edify saints.

Don't saints, by definition, outshine and transcend the need  to be "Instruct[ed] or improve[d] (someone) morally or intellectually" ?

Original Source: Miscellanies of Rev Thomas E Peck, 1895


texts: What is the origin of the phrase "to cut someone down to size"?

texts: I am wondering how the phrase "to cut someone down to size" came to mean what it does. I'm not sure if it is true but I read somewhere that the origin of the phrase goes back to the Middle English story of King Arthur cutting off a giant's legs at the knees. Also, I don't know how common the phrase is in American English.


texts: "Check if you haven't" or "check if you have" left anything behind?

texts:
This might be trivial but it didn't sound right to me when I thought about it, so I decided to ask.

An automated message I've heard says "please check if you haven't left anything behind". It sounded funny to me because it gave me the impression as if they meant "you should leave something behind" if taken literally, or "if you haven't left anything behind, do leave something"

Obviously this isn't what they MEANT, and the point is understandable, but I'm asking if it's a misuse and if they should've said "please check if you have left anything behind"

Or does it not matter either way?


texts: What is the word denoting the crime of taking advantage of person under one's authority, sexual or otherwise?

texts:
It's a common legal term that has just slipped my mind, and I can't seem to find a reference for it.
Thank you.


texts:
I had someone send me a piece recently that include a few quotes from an interview. The structure was (between the lines, items in parenthesis my addition):

Here are a few quotes that support my position from person x:

"quote 1 from a person" (partial sentence)

"quote 2 list here" (partial sentence, separate from quote 1)

This means to me that ....

My question is that in the proper way to show this. Are the two quotes fine to be shown like this, or would you separate them with an ellipsis with one set of quotation marks? If they are part of the same or different paragraph, does it matter? Can they be inline in the paragraph

Or is this just a stylistic decision for the author/editor?


texts:
I own 3 houses. I spend 40% of my time in house A, 35% in house B, and 25% in house C.

Can I say that I spend most of my time in house A? Or do I have to spend more than 50% of my time in house A to be able to say that?

If the former is true, it means that I spend most of the time in house A, but at the same time I spend most of the time (60%) outside house A. How can this be?

If the latter is true, how do I say in simple words that I spend the largest part of my time (which is still < 50%) in house A?

Or another example:
China is the most populous country in the world: about 19% of all people live there. Can I say that most people live in China?

Edit:
This question is not the same as this one (Is “most” equivalent to “a majority of”?). In my question I ask how to refer to the largest part of something when it's smaller than 50%. It's been established that the word "most" does not apply here because it generally means "more than half".

Edit 2:
Elon Musk knows the word 'plurality', but the other guy doesn't: Video


texts: What does "in the name of..." actually mean?

texts:
Whats the meaning of the phrase; "In the name of"? For example : whatever you ask in my name, Ask in my name.

Oxford actually has an entry for the phrase, but it doesn't seem to match how it's used in prayers, as that's not for emphasis. And even this doesn't explain why it's emphatic.

  (in the name of Christ/God/heaven etc.) Used for emphasis:
  what in the name of God do you think you’re doing?


texts: What is the general difference between the words 'rest' and 'remainder'?


texts:
Is "Put the way forward " common in native English? I searched google book and read it from non-native writers.

For example,  "These papers put the way forward to solve it far more eloquently than I could."

Is there another alternative for it with this meaning?


texts: Meaning of "Of all" at the beginning of a paragraph

texts:
I want to know the exact meaning of "Of all".

For example, in a paper the author in the first paragraph explained some methods and at the beginning of paragraph 2, he started with:

  "Of all the above methods, ...  "

and explains another method. My questions:

  1: What is the exact meaning of "Of all" at the beginning of the paragraph?
  2: Is it suitable for use in scientific papers?


texts:
Not limited to X, the issue also affects Y.

What could substitute "not limited to" other than not restricted to/bounded to?

I overused these words and looking for simple substitutes.


texts: Can an infinitive noun phrase be used as the subject of a question?

texts:
It is fine to say:

  To get the details is very important

But is it OK to say:

  Is to get the details very important?


texts: What does “as of” mean in this sentence?

texts: The ocean threw its water over the island with the roar as of many voices.


texts:
We all know proper nouns refer to a specific person, place, organization, ect. Are names that do not refer to specific entities still considered proper nouns such as Samantha in the example below? If not, is there a term for nouns that are normally proper but are not when used in a general sense?

  Samantha is a feminine given name. (Source)


texts: What is the past tense of the verb "bode"?

texts:
I refer to the verb bode, meaning "to be a portent of a particular outcome" as in a sentence such as her success bodes well for the future.

Most often I see the past in the form of her success in London 2012 did bode well for Rio 2016.

But I cannot find a past form of boded in any dictionary, including the OED. Does it exist?


texts:
Which is the correct usage?

 1. I don't know how did it go wrong.
 2. I don't know how it went wrong.

Similarly it happen in the following cases also

 1. He doesn't know where she is.
 2. He doesn't know where is she.

Is there any alternate way to express the same?


texts: How to separate two phrases in a grammatically correct way?

texts:
In all stackexchange sites, there is an edit summary field provided when you try to edit a question or an answer. I find myself frequently writing there the following:

"edited title, added a tag"

or

"edited title, added two tags and edited body for clarity"

Here are my concerns:

Are the above two statements grammatically correct?
Should I replace the comma with a semicolon?
Are there any fullstops required in any of the two statements?


texts: Can one use 'self' as substitute for 'myself' in 'a trip for my wife and self'? I have noticed that using 'myself' there raises other grammatical issues strictly related with the so_called "Toff's error", which I want to avoid!


texts: What is the difference between (i) "varieties of choice" and (ii) "variety of choices" ? Does the location of singular or plural in a sentence affect the entire meaning of a sentence ?


texts: "Please call me (on/at/in) the day of delivery". Which is correct?


texts:
"The accident happened on 1st April causing many casualties." or "The accident that happened on 1st April caused many casualties."

I was just wondering if the modifier in the sentence could be in an ing-form, if not how can explain why not?


texts: What's the difference between "image" and "glyph"?

texts:
What is the difference in meaning between image and glyph?
Both terms are used in programming IDE to represent a picture that will be drawn. I'm confused since sometimes these terms used alongside each other, obviously meaning slightly different things.

EDIT: Terms were taken from Delphi VCL and DevExpress components.


texts: Making a small 'optimization' which instead actually leads to disaster

texts:
Say you finish building a house. You think one of the nails isn't needed, so you pull it out. The house collapses. You took a huge risk for minor, trivial gains, and it didn't pay off.

What is a way to express this concept? I am looking for a phrase. Or a quote, or sentence, or something similar which would clearly express this.


texts: "Now is the time to" or "Now is time to" – Which is correct?

texts:
Which of the following two phrases is correct?

  Now is the time to
  Now is time to

Or are both of them correct? And if so is "Now is the time to" more formal?


texts:
I read the following in a book and I couldn't understand the mix of tenses. Is it related to some sort of conditional statements, requests, etc? Can't we simply say: 'Don't you think we go to London?' A thorough explanation would be greatly appreciated.

Don't you think we went to London?
Don't you think we went a little further?


texts: When writing large numbers, should a comma be inserted?

texts:
I know that it is common to write the number 'ten thousand' as a numeral with a comma delimiting the 10 and the 000 like so: 10, 000

However, I have never seen a comma used for numbers less than 10,000, such as 8000 where, I assume using a comma would look like: 8,000.

Are there any rules relating to when a comma should be inserted into a numeral?

N.b. I live in the UK, so answers pertaining to UK English are preferred.


texts: Annoyed that new way to do something is broken and have to go back to perfectly good old way

texts: Is there a name for that annoyed (yet slightly ashamed for being annoyed) feeling you get when the new and improved way of doing something breaks for some reason and you have to go back to doing it the old way, which worked perfectly well for many years and wasn't really that bad?


texts: Should I use the possessive apostrophe or an attribute noun on a business card?

texts:
I have designed some stationary items (such as letterhead and business card) for a website/brand (XYZ.Com for instance), and I need help to choose the correct sentence among those below:

  The XYZ.Com's Corporate Identity Set
  The XYZ.Com Corporate Identity Set
  The Corporate Identity Set of XYZ.Com

I guess neither of the sentences above is correct, the correct sentence would be something like "XYZ.Com Corporate Identity". Right?

The second question is, should I replace the noun "set" with "pack/package"?


texts: What would be a good way to describe computational power that is too large or requires too long of a time?

texts:
I would essentially like communicate that solving a problem, if done through this method, would take way too long to be realistic or practical. This is a common occurrence in computer science where you can solve a problem, but your solution takes too long. I feel like

this problem requires infeasible computational resources

is essentially what I'd like to say. But I'm not sure if

this problem requires infeasibly large computational resources

is more appropriate. Does anyone have any better suggestions than these? Or do any one of these sound better for any reason?
A side question: "unfeasibly large" brings up over 300,000 search results, whereas "infeasibly large" only brings up 15,000. They both seem correct, according to an earlier question, but is there really a preference?


texts: I am looking for a word which meaning is the opposite of "usage". The context is the use of devices of any sort. The best I've come up with so far is to look at the situation from the devices perspective and consider "usage periods" and "inactivity periods".


texts: An expression with the meaning of "don't care" and "do not make a ceremony of"

texts:
I wanted to explain to a seller on online auction to pack the item with care because it can be damaged in transit. I looked for the right expression to say that our postal workers sometimes don't care much about packages (at least here in Russia).

In my native language, which is Russian, we use expression like "ne tseremonitsya" (не церемониться). Which is "do not make a ceremony of smth".

The online dictionary gave me examples like:

  make no bones of...
  handle without gloves
  deal shortly
  pull no punches
  didn't mince matters with ...

Could you please assist me in finding a good expression?


texts: In Walden did Thoreau use the term "animal products" in our modern sense?

texts:
In Chapter "Winter animals" Thoreau writes in a very eloquent way about partridges and hares. But then he sounds a bit rough and rude. The last paragraph of the chapter starts with:

  What is a country without rabbits and partridges?
  They are among the most simple and indigenous animal
  products; ancient and venerable families known to antiquity
  as to modern times; of the very hue and substance
  of Nature, nearest allied to leaves and to the ground,—and
  to one another; it is either winged or it is legged.

Webster's Dictionary defines an animal product as "a product made from animal material"

Does he really name hares and partridges "animal products" in today's contemporary meaning? How one should understand the phrase properly?


texts: Is there a proverb in English of killing people as killing animals?

texts: What I mean is killing people regardless of who they are. We kill animals for food and that we almost forget the sense of living. Can I say something like "killing people as the way we kill animals"?


texts: Formal/informal word for "something which is hard to deal with"?

texts: Is there any formal/informal word which possibly reflects the meaning of "something which is hard to deal with"?


texts:
Both these sentences contain two verbs (correct me if I'm wrong) that are in the past perfect tense. I'd like to ask how do they occur in chronological order.
Though my question is related to the one posted here: Two past perfect verbs in the same sentence even though sequence is indicated, having the 3rd verb helped helps establishing that order, which makes it irrelevant in these two cases above (again, correct me if I'm wrong).

The Red Cross workers had not expected the refugees from the flooded plain to be as desperate and as undernourished as those whom they had seen earlier in the week.

Because negotiations had reached a deadlock, some of the delegates had begun to mutter about breaking off the talks.


texts: Is there any difference between a syllabic R /ɹ̩/ and r-colored vowel /ɚ/?

texts:
So I have seen that both of them can form a syllable on their own but I don't know the difference between them.
/ɹ̩/
it is a syllabic R and can form a syllable on its own as in [ˈdɔːɾɹ̩] ("daughter" in Chicago accent)
/ɚ/
it is an r-colored vowel and can form a syllable for example in [ˈdɑ̟ˑɾɚ] (Standard US pronunciation of "daughter")
I also read the answer to this question (Difference between IPA ɚ, ɹ, and ɝ) but didn't understand.


texts: His words transcend ‘time’ or ‘times’ - Which is right?

texts:
His words transcend times, thoughts, ages and all boundaries.

In the above example, I am confused whether it should be time or times.
 Should it be the following?

  His words transcend time, thoughts, ages and all boundaries

Please clear my confusion.
Thank you.


texts:
My question is whether the second was is necessary or optional, and why?

  As my condition stabilized, I was transferred to a different wing of the Hospital, and was gradually weaned off of the medication.


texts:
I don't care about what they say.

In the sentence above, they phrase what they say, is presumably the complement of the preposition about, and the preposition phrase about what they say is presumably the complement of the verb care.

I am interested in the following sentence

  I don't care what they say.

My question here is: Is what they say the direct object of the verb care. If so, why and if not, why not? What evidence do we have either way.


texts: Punctuation of reported speech within direct speech

texts:
I've got a fiction 'speech within speech' situation, and I'd like opinions on how to handle the internal final punctuation -- inside or outside the quotes. This is British English.

Example: The character says:

[Statement A]

"Oh no, he always brings that up, ‘Just like the last time, it’ll be,’ he says, never lets me touch a drop."

Problem: in British English that comma after "be" would go outside the final single quote mark if it wasn't direct speech, ie., if an omniscient narrator says:

[Statement B]

John was liable to say "Just like last time, it'll be", or something like that, which annoyed her.

So, in the first example, A, does my character qualify as a surrogate omniscient narrator? In which case the comma should go outside the single quote? Or does the interior quote qualify as a reporting direct speech, in which case the comma stands as I've rendered it, inside the single quote?


texts:
I tried to google it, but it seemed to be lack of sensible answer. So, I ask you questions:

What is a meaning of suffix "nip" in "Catnip"? and Where is it come from?


texts: What's "Blumenthal" as an adjective (UK)

texts:
I'm an American reading a series of humorous kitchen-gadget reviews in The Guardian, and the author describes a particular food dehydrator as something that "makes you feel just a little bit Blumenthal".[1] Since it's a common last name, searching is mostly noise. I can't see anything about the top hits on Google or wikipedia for Blumenthals that make sense. Is there a Brit out there that can educate me?

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jul/08/kitchen-gadgets-review-food-dehydrator (at heading "Why?")


texts: What words typically collocate with "quite"?

texts: The word quite is often confusing to non-native speakers. Can you give me a list of words that typically collocate with quite when the meaning is 'extreme'?


texts: Must have been going through and Could have been going through

texts:
I was doing grammar exercise, I don't understand why should I use must have been rather than could have been, is it because he suffered from a Long illness and he'll die anyway, so I should put must here?
Can someone help me with it I'm kind of confused.


texts: "parameterized by" vs. "parameterized with"

texts:
Assuming that you are writing American English, which preposition follows "parameterized" in the following example: by or with? Why?

Our model of programs is parameterized by/with the deliberately abstract concepts of integers, registers, stack, and heap.

If you feel you need to write "parametrized", dropping one "e", please do so.


texts: Has the Tangier island accent truly remained unchanged since the Elizabethan period?

texts:
I'm not sure how well known Tangier Island is outside the Chesapeake region. To make a long story short, Tangier Island is an isolated fishing community in the Chesapeake bay. It has been mostly isolated for hundreds of years. You constantly hear that the accent has remained unchanged since the 17th century. This accent is often cited as an example of what an Elizabethan accent would sound like.

My question is — without audio recordings, how can one make conclusions about how the accent has changed? What do we truly know about the Elizabethan accent that we can use to infer that the Tangier accent is very close? Is it actually close or has it just evolved down its own line?


texts:
I am Chinese and I have an interview in English over the phone.
Just what I am wondering is what I'd better call the interviewer?
The interviewer is female in her early 30's.
Do you think calling her name will be ok? Or do I have to call her madam?


texts: Ing form as infinitive at the beginning of a sentence

texts:
Is it possible to use the ing form as infinitive at the beginning of a sentence?

E.g. learning extracurricular Software to improve personal training.

This is a sentence I put in brackets in my curriculum vitae.
If possible, attach references of accreditate sources where you picked up the rule.

Thank you for your time.


texts: "We are American" or "We are Americans"? The singular vs. the plural form?

texts:
Which expression is more idiomatic or correct:

We are American
We are Americans

Should I use American in the singular or in the plural form? And why?


texts: What is the function of should in this sentence?

texts:
“It’s up to employees to make the case, post-virus, that their employers should invest in additional training and skills"

I thought but couldn't find an exact function.


texts: Extending Using the definite article before a country/state name , why is the definite article placed in front of rivers but not lakes?


texts: Should I use 'on' or 'for' in these sentences?

texts: If I called the ER about a patient of whom a doctor is taking care, should I say, 'may I speak to the doctor on the patient name John? I have a result on this patient?" or should I use for, "may i speak to the doctor for the patient name John? I have a result for this patient?" Thank you.


texts: It is not ... but ... (correct structure)

texts:
Is it correct to say:

The factor that prevents data from altering is not 'X', but 'Y' and
'Z'.

Or as alternative:

The factor that prevents data from altering is not 'X', but rather 'Y' and
'Z'.

The purpose is to say that they are 'Y' and 'Z' which can prevent data from altering, and not 'X'.
Note: 'X', 'Y' and 'Z' can be replaced by any word (as a factor).


texts:
Is there a way to talk about a robber like this?

In Swedish there is a metonym for robber: "rånarhand", lit "robbers's hand".
And you could use it as: "not safe from robber's hand"

Is there a similar expression in English? I've tried to google it but I can only find people chopping off burglars' hands ...


texts: phrase request: describe authorship which overruns logical stopping points and/or fails to omit extraneous ideas

texts:
How can I describe authorship where the author often oversteps logical stopping points, or where the author introduces superfluous, tangentially related content?

Here are some more details to describe the situation I am referring to.

Suppose there is a true statement about the relationship between A and B which is what the author wants to express. Now suppose there is another true relationship between B and C which is true but has little or no relevance to the topic at hand. The type of author I have in mind would slide smoothly from A to B to C in a single sentence or paragraph regardless of the damage it does to the cohesion of the paragraph.

In short, I guess you could say such an author has a penchant for adding fifth-wheel ideas.

Some bad alternatives crossed my mind.

It is kind of like "logorrhea," except it's not about verbosity, it's about ideas. Apparently "idearrhea" already exists (informally) but does not really have the connotation I'm interested in. The type of author I have in mind is capable of writing clear individual statements, but they apparently have trouble evaluating what to mention and what to omit.

I think this word or phrase would be useful because I think it is a common affliction in poor student writing. A student writing for a prompt may write the entire document in one pass, spewing ideas down onto the page as they came into mind. If the student then didn't proofread for clarity of presentation of ideas, I can easily imagine this pattern of awkward chains emerging.


texts: Word for “puts pressure” around an object (intransitive verb)

texts:
Example:

The noose around his neck ________ even more.

or

The noose around his neck increasingly ________.

Compresses perfectly conveys the meaning of exerting pressure, however, it is a transitive verb and would not fit in any of the sentences. Same for constricts.
Smothers is not what I'm looking for because it’s limited to the example of a noose but I want a word that would work more generally, e.g., in the case of a handcuff around a wrist.
Tightens is the best word I could think of. However, it doesn’t perfectly convey the meaning of exerting pressure, because, in this case, it would be  reflexive (the noose tightens — the noose is both the subject and implied object of the action), while I prefer a word which clearly implies that the pressure is being put on the neck or wrist.


texts:
Get in the question means derive, of course. But welcome to the question anyway.

Unusually, it appears that the adjective arrived first and raunch is a back-formation from raunchy.

However, ODO says

  1930s: of unknown origin.

and OED isn't a great deal more forthcoming

  Etymology:  Origin unknown.
  Perhaps compare English regional (west midland and south-western) raunch to eat greedily, devour, to tear up, to snatch greedily, and also the related adjective raunch (of vegetables) green, uncooked (see Eng. Dial. Dict. at raunch v. and adj.).
  In early use frequently in U.S. military aviation.

Their earliest citation is from a 1937 novel, I wanted Wings, apparently published in New York — which may justify "U.S. military aviation", but seems hardly likely to involve English regional dialects. And its usage there,

  You're gigged, Mister. Raunchy shoeshine. Raunchy brass. Raunchy haircut. Raunchy shave.

might be related to an early definition, "Inept, slipshod, slovenly; esp. unkempt, shabby, dirty," [OED] but that shifted fairly quickly to its current meaning, " Energetically earthy and unrefined; sexually explicit or provocative; lewd, bawdy, suggestive" [OED, 1943 citation].

So where does raunchy come from? I had thought it might be vaguely onomatopoeic, like pwhoar!, but that sexually-charged usage appears to be  derived from the earlier "slovenly", which isn't so far from "sluttish".

Raunchy certainly isn't slang now, although I suppose it may have been between the Wars. But even slang has some sort of cultural reference to create it. What was it for raunchy?


texts:
Have no idea is a phrase appears many times in the book We have no idea: A guide to the unknown universe, for example in the title, or in this sentence:

  It's the biggest chunk of reality, and we almost have no idea what it is

My question is: What does the phrase "have no idea" mean? Can we understand it literally that people haven't got any idea about something or it means that people don't know about something?

I know that it's quite confusing and may be trivial question, but I'm translate from English to my native language, so I have to find the most exact words to describe that phrase, so please help me.

Thanks.


texts:
When should I use from?

Example:

His company suffered a setback.
Vs
His company suffered from a setback.

She suffered from a heart attack.
Vs
She suffered a heart attack

I realise that sometimes either is ok but are there any rules?


texts: "Trawling through" or "trolling through"

texts:
There are quite a few discussions online about whether one can "trawl through" or "troll through", looking for something. From what I can see, both are fishing terms so both are legitimate in particular contexts.

What I was hoping was to clarify which of the two specifically means "work hard", as in: "I had to [trawl/troll] through lots of archives to find what I wanted". A guide I'm reading has the following phrase, which I suspect is used incorrectly:
"without trolling through each script to find all the files they call"

Thanks.


texts:
What does it mean (from famous song Somebody to love of Jefferson Airplane):

  When the garden flowers, baby, are dead yes
  And your mind, your mind is so full of red

Especially "mind full of red". Is it common expression in English?


texts: "Supposing Jane ______ with us, what would you do?"

texts:
In this sentence:

  Supposing Jane ______ with us, what would you do?

The available options for filling in that blank were:

would come
came
will come
has come
is coming

Could I know which is correct?