texts: Why are some adjectives placed after a noun?

texts:
How would you explain these words: Corporate America, Revenue Canada, ServiceOntario, etc.?

Edit: To clarify my question, why is corporate America more popular than American corporate or American companies, Revenue Canada instead of Canada Revenue [Agency] and ServiceOntario instead of Ontario Services?


texts: What is the meaning of phrase "He is worth a packet of potato-meal"?

texts:
I've stumbled upon it in Flann O`Brien's book "Third Policeman" and cannot figure out the meaning of the chip packet phrase.
The context:

  I had never seen the old man but knew all about him. He had spent a long life of fifty years in the cattle trade and now lived in
  retirement in a big house three miles away. He still did large
  business through agents and the people said that he carried no less
  than three thousand pounds with him every time he hobbled to the
  village to lodge his money. Little as I knew of social proprieties at
  the time, I would not dream of asking him for assistance.

  ‘He is worth a packet of potato-meal,’ Divney said.

  ‘I do not think we should look for charity,’ I answered.


texts: English word for taking a derogatory term and owning it with pride

texts:
E.g. "geek" or "queer" were originally meant as an insulting term, but were taken by the recipients as titles of pride.

Is there a term for this phenomenon?


texts:
Two heroes are available.

  Hero #1: Please, send me an URL to that site.
    Here #2: Go to www.bla.bla. Is it true that you look for?

Is the phrase "Is it true that you look for" correct?

How else could I say this?


texts: Why is the verb form "releases" used in this long sentence?

texts:
An LED needs to be a diode, specifically because the way the charge
  carriers recombine in the forward-biased diode junction releases the
  correct amount of energy to create photons in the visible range.

The word 'releases' in the sentence throws me off, but I'm not sure if it's an error in the sentence or on my part.

How I would write it:

  An LED needs to be a diode, specifically because of the way the charge
  carriers, recombined in the forward-biased diode junction, release the
  correct amount of energy to create photons in the visible range.


texts:
The normal way to pronounce a date such as "22 August" or "22/8" in British English is "the twenty-second of August."

My question is, do the pronunciations "twenty-two August" and "twenty-two eight" occur as well, and, if so, are they common?


texts: "The Tengwar are an artificial script..."

texts:
Reading up on Tolkien's Tengwar, I stumbled upon this sentence introducing its Wikipedia article:

  The Tengwar are an artificial script created by J. R. R. Tolkien

For me, mixing plural Tengwar with singular script makes this an awkward sentence, and I'm not entirely sure how it's even a correct one. I would rather have written "The Tengwar are artificial scripts...".


texts: Fractions and Hyphens \ how to understand?

texts:
One page tells : Fractions are written out in words. They are hyphenated only when they come right in front of a noun, called a “direct” adjective.
Another page tells : Do Not Use Hyphens with Numbers Used as Quantifiers When the number is a quantifier to a noun, do not use a hyphen.   ?
I see when it comes before a noun = it is both quantifier and adjective
examples:
The journey takes one and three-quarter hours.
The journey takes twenty-three and a quarter hours. ( the fraction does not come before the noun to say it is adjective)
On the other hand, consider the following example in the same page :

It is a two-hour journey.
It is a two-and-a-half-hour journey.
It is a twenty-three-and-a-quarter-hour journey.
It is a 23.25-hour journey.
It is a one-and-three-quarter-hour journey.

I agree with the last five examples because all fractions come before the word noun ( journey) describing what journey we are telling about distinguishing it from other journeys.
Suppose I have the following question:
Rewrite the following sentences, adding hyphens where needed.
The report shows that two thirds of the population are under fifty five years
of age.
Is ( two thirds ) in the above example = noun   ? Is it adjective ?
They said when the fraction is a noun don't hyphenate, but the opposite I see, they hyphenate.. ?
So, which rule to follow  ?
Once fraction comes before a noun = no doubt = adjective modifying the noun
But, how the rule is when it comes after the noun or comes in front but is followed by ( of + noun ) ?  examples : two-thirds of people \ of the population  etc..


texts:
On Stack Exchange we can upvote comments, answers, and questions.

Is it correct to say that

I put an upvote on a question.
There are four upvotes for this answer.
I made cast an upvote on your post.

Which is the correct preposition?


texts: Can last names be shortened just as first names?

texts:
I know first names are usually shortened in verbal communication for reasons that I am not clear about. For example, Andrew becomes Andy.

But is it also the case for last names? If yes, what is the reason? Is it polite or impolite? For example, if I am correct, I heard once that Robinson is shortened to Robin by a third person in the US.


texts: The meaning of 'option' in 'like hell's own option'

texts:
More from Thomas Harris:

  The coffee mugs had the thick rims that dribble down the sides. Starling watched Inelle
  Corey walk heavily away like hell's own option and drank half a cup with her napkin
  tucked under her chin.

What does like hell's own option mean? FWIW, this conversation between Clarice Starling and Inelle Corey has a religious (Christian) undercurrent to it. Also, Starling is a southern gal.


texts:
Mr. Duane told me at the Funeral of our late virtuous and able President1 that he, Mr. Duane, had accustomed him self to read the Year Books. Mr. De Lancey who was C[hief] J[ustice] of N. York he said advised him to it, as the best Method of imbibing the Spirit of the Law. De Lancey told him that he had translated a Pile of Cases from the Year Books, altho he was a very lazy Man.

  Duane says that Jefferson is the greatest Rubber off of Dust that he has met with, that he has learned French, Italian, Spanish and wants to learn German.
  Duane says, he has no Curiosity at all—not the least Inclination to see a City or a Building &c.

  Diary of John Adams, Volume 2, 1775

Does the dust refer to the layer of dust that accumulates on books that nobody reads, i.e dusty volumes?  One could be a sweeper or someone who dusts or brushes off something.

But why Rubber off of dust?  Does one rub off dust?
It is something I cannot get my head around.


texts:
There are 4 types of abbreviations I know for "versus":

v
v.
vs
vs.

I generally use the last one in the list, but I want to stick to one and use only that one. Which one is more proper (or more prevalent), and why?

Extra question: Which one should be preferred in scientific papers?


texts:
Let’s say I’ve written an article that contains an argument or analysis, and I want to ask someone to check it for consistency.
I want to use the word ‘consistency’ here (rather than other variations of the word).
So I’d ask the person:
“Is there consistency to what I wrote?”

Or, alternatively:
“Is there consistency in what I wrote?”

Are either of these okay, or is one more clear or more correct?


texts:
In soccer, players often exaggerate their injuries to make their opponent look more guilty.

I've also seen this on TV shows with a hostile police officer, saying things like "Whoa whoa whoa, calm down, sir." after the person with whom they are speaking says something innocent.

The idea is exaggerating a response to make it seem like there was aggression that would have merited such a response.

Is there a succint term or phrase for that?


texts:
The next big thing is a common set phrase meaning:

  the new rage; the latest fad or trend, esp. in a particular field. - Flat-panel televisions are the next big thing.

Ngram shows that the expression became popular from the early '90s but earlier usages date from the first decades of the 20th century as in:

The Mid-Pacific Magazine 1926

  After that, the next big thing as Lord Northcliffe would say, I want to see the new five ton clock, which was to be erected on the skyscraper of the Colgate Soap Company in New Jersey.

and from The National Underwriter 1933:

  Why did I take out life insurance? In the first place I was compelled to save through it, and that is one of the big assets of life insurance. The next big thing is protection.

So, where does this expression come from? Was it a slogan of some early advertising campaign for instance?

What made it popular from the early '90s? Was it the rise of tech devices and their quick evolution?


texts: Function of a specific phrase in a sentence

texts:
In the following sentence, what is the function of "not, as one might assume, in English"? For example, is it some type of clause that modifies "wrote"?

The Irish author Samuel Beckett originally wrote his most famous play, Waiting for Godot, in French, not, as one might assume, in English.


texts: 'To take something into account' vs. 'to take something into consideration'

texts:
OALD defines the expressions as follows:

to take something into account: to consider particular facts,
circumstances, etc. when making a decision about something
to take something into consideration: to think about and include a
particular thing or fact when you are forming an opinion or making a
decision

While they mean roughly the same thing, the word consideration being marked as formal leads me to believe that the difference between the two is purely stylistic.
Am I right in thinking that the difference is just a matter of style? Please clarify that one for me.


texts: What are the replacements for "i.e." and what are their differences?

texts: I can think of "that is to say", "in other words", "put differently". And I'd like to know if there are any subtle differences in the usage of these synonyms. Can they always be used interchangeably regardless of the context?


texts: "cost incurred before" vs "cost incurred until"?

texts:
I am wondering which of the following is correct/preferable:

  We need to take into account the cost incurred until action is finally
  taken.

vs

  We need to account for the cost incurred before action is finally
  taken.

For a bit of context: this passage refers to an hypothetical scenario where someone procrastinates until they finally address the issue at hand. The sentence wants to draw attention to the fact that there are costs associated with this delay in taking action.


texts: Why isn’t “hermeticity” easily found in the dictionaries?

texts:
The word hermeticity as (for the lack of better definition, hence the question) “the quality of being hermetic” (not to be confused with mathematical hermiticity, which is also absent from the general dictionaries) seems to be widely used in technical literature. Yet, I am having hard time finding a bona fide definition in any decent dictionary or encyclopædia available on-line. Britannica acknowledges its existence, and via OneLook I only got one reference to the translation from German Hermetizität. OED, Cambridge and M-W turn up nothing.

It could be the case that the use of the suffix -ity to form “nouns denoting quality or condition” is sufficient, but why, for instance, have plasticity if I can get the definition “the quality of being easily shaped or moulded” from the definition of plastic: “(of substances or materials) easily shaped or moulded”  (all quotes from OED)? Why not the same treatment of hermeticity?

It can be presumed that such word might appear in unabridged dictionary, but then again, why this term (in all forms, such as hermetic) is not more widely used? From my experience people prefer using the terms water- or air-tight, but hermetic works better both as a general term, and in situations when saying “air-tight liquid hydrogen container” is as semantically wrong as it is technically non-descriptive (it may be air- or water-tight, but not liquid hydrogen-tight).

I think, the usage frequency angle is important in this question. It seems strange to me that this term (again, in all forms) is not widely understood (or used) amongst English-speakers (again, from my limited experience), while, for example, any graduate of a Russian public grade school who took a science class (i.e. any) would understand this borrowed word, even though there are native equivalents for air- and water-tight.


texts:
I am writing letter of confirmation and I don`t know how to avoid repetition of word information in these sentences:

Thank you for this information.
I am writing to confirm that I received information about travel support.


texts: looking forward to our tennis battle? can I say this way?

texts:
I am sending an email to a friend/mentor. We have the same interest in tennis and during our past conversation, we said we would like to play together one day.

Is it ok to say "I am looking forward to our tennis battle"? anything wrong with the wording?


texts: Is it normative to use "even" in the sense of "too", "also"?

texts: My colleagues often use "even" as in "Even I was thinking about that" instead of "I also was thinking about that". This usage seems to be widespread in India. Is it accepted elsewhere?


texts:
What adjective describes somebody who is quiet and obeys all the rules? For example,

"Xiaoli is a very (adj.) student because she doesn't smoke or drink, gets good grades, and always does her homework ahead of time".

The word that comes to mind is obedient, but I think this word has the negative connotation in the way that a servant would "obey" his master. I'm looking for an entirely positive adjective.

A possible antonym to my word might be wild, which you might use to describe someone who parties all night, gets drunk, etc.


texts: In the scientific papers it is very common to see words like abstract, summary and conclusion. What is the difference between those words and how we can use them correctly?


texts:
In reported speech we generally back shift the tense. But why in news articles do I often see that this guideline is violated?                                                                For example:

  a) - The president said that he wants support from other countries to combat terrorism.

Don't you think that 'wants' should be back shifted to 'wanted'?

  b) - Secretary said that she has faced many hurdles in her life.

Don't you think that here 'had faced' should be used instead?

P.S. My question concerns reported speech in news articles.


texts: "In the third person" or "in third person"

texts:
Which is more correct?

  He's talking in the third person.

  He's talking in third person.

Does it matter?


texts: Hypernym for "interpolation" and "extrapolation"

texts:
Interpolation typically means modeling the values of some curve inside the given data, and extrapolation — outside the given data. For example, if I know the temperature on Monday and Wednesday, and ask for what it was on Tuesday — this is interpolation. If I ask for what it was on Sunday before or Thursday after, it is extrapolation.

I am looking for a word that would encompass both. I thought of modeling, but is there perhaps something better?


texts: Using articles before titles beginning with articles

texts:
What are the rules for the use of articles before titles beginning with articles? Which of the following sentences is correct?

I went to the The New York Times office this morning.
I went to The New York Times office this morning.
I went to the New York Times office this morning.
I am reading a The New York Times article.
I am reading a New York Times article.

Are "the The" and "a The" grammatical? If not, which is the article that should be dropped? Or is it simply a question of style?

According to Google, there are 90.3 million instances of "the The New York Times" on the Internet including 340,000 hits within the nytimes.com domain. I'm sure that there are plenty of false positives, but there are genuine cases too such as in the following sentence:

  Writers from the The New York Times Dining section share Thanksgiving memories.


texts: Is there a U.S. equivalent or version of the Plain English Campaign?

texts: I recently found out about the Plain English Campaign, a UK-based movement for simplification of document language. They advocate the use of plain English in  corporate-to-consumer and state-to-citizen communications. There was a TED talk about it but I was not able to find any similar association in the U.S. - Can anybody help out?


texts: What did Trump mean when he said that the US is like a "piggy bank"?

texts:
Trump's statement at the G7 summit on June 9, 2018:

  “It’s going to stop,” he said, “or we’ll stop trading with them. And
  that’s a very profitable answer, if we have to do it.” He added,
  “We’re like the piggy bank that everybody’s robbing — and that
  ends.”
  Trump Refuses to Sign G-7

I understand that a piggy bank is a child's bank made in the form of a pig.

But what does it mean in that statement?


texts: How to describe someone who "tells the truth" with no respect for others' feelings?

texts:
I have a friend who just keeps "telling the truth", e.g when he thinks the joke you've just told is stupid, he will say so right after you've finished telling it, paying no respect to people's feelings.

How should I describe him ?


texts:
Here's the sentence given in my book:

  Beyond that I know nothing.

Shouldn't this be the following?

  Beyond that, I know nothing.

If I'm wrong, could you please explain the precise rules? As far as I know, subordinating conjunctions that begin a sentence with a dependent clause require a comma after. Is "beyond" acting as a subordinating conjunction and "that" as a dependent clause here?

I'm confused.


texts:
I'm looking for a word that can describe the differentiation between urban and suburban localities.

Wikipedia lists them as "different types of developed settlements" so I thought about calling it settlement type but I'm hoping there might be something more straightforward and accessible.

If possible, a single word would be ideal. Otherwise, two words is fine, as long as they're not too long.  It's going to be part of a title for a PowerPoint slide.


texts: What do you call the area or place where employees clock in or out?

texts:
What do you call the area or place in a company or factory where employees or workers clock in or out everyday?

I have found that in some hospitals nurses clock in or out at the nurse station. But I'm looking for a general word or term for referring to this area or place (if any).

I want to complete this sentence:

  I think I have lost/ left my key at the ... when I was clocking in today.


texts: “It never truly sunk in, ...”: Sunk or sank?

texts:
I just began reading The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need by Susan Thurman. On the first page of the Introduction chapter, the author wrote

  “Maybe all that talk in English class about parts of speech and dangling participles never truly sunk in, ...”

I’ve researched the differences between sunk and sank: sunk is the past participle of sink, and sank is the past tense. However, I still cannot tell whether the usage of sunk in the aforementioned excerpt is correct. This is likely because my understanding of past participles and past tenses is not sophisticated enough.

I would greatly appreciate it if people would please take the time to clarify this and provide an explanation.


texts: Why is the J in "hallelujah" not pronounced as /dʒ/, but as /j/?

texts:
Here are some similar words in that they are spelled with <י> in the Hebrew they come from, and which are pronounced as /j/ in Hebrew, and which are pronounced as /dʒ/ in English:

Jehovah
Jah
Jeremy
Judah
Jacob

I think that's expected, since there must have been some kind of sound change in English, also affecting the words "John", "just", "juvenile", "injury", "prejudice", etc. For some reason, this sound change must have not affected the word "Hallelujah", despite its being at least as old a loan as some of the other examples.


texts:
Further,as from 1 January 1958 or the earliest practicable date thereafter, contracting parties shall cease to grant either directly or indirectly any form of subsidy on the export of any product other than a primary product WHICH subsidy results in the sale of such product for export at a price lower than the comparable price charged for the like product to buyers in the domestic market.

It's an official WTO article.
I'm confused of the WHICH here. I thought it should be a WHOSE. Is it an adjective clause?


texts:
I'm looking for a new job and want to let the recruiters know that my current employer issued a visa that allows me to work in the US. So which sentence should I use?

I'm working on a H1 visa

I'm working under a H1 visa

I'm working with a H1 visa


texts: What is the masculine equivalent for a bus matron?

texts: Is there a masculine equivalent for matron (as a bus matron)?


texts: Word for someone who wants to know all (not pantomath)

texts:
This question has already been asked somewhat, "Word for someone who wants to know everything about everything" The best definition given was pantomath, the problem with pantomath is that it means someone who knows all (along with wants to know all), while I'm looking for a word that describes someone who wants to know all or wants to become omniscient, a pantomath, etc.

John is a(n) (insert word) he's always telling me he wants to learn everything he can.


texts: What does the expression "to stick the finger high in the air" mean? It is used in the text about politics.


texts: When are commas not necessary in a list?

texts:
Can somebody please help me by explaining or providing a reference which explains the punctuation in the following sentences.

  We prefer no article when we are thinking about unlimited numbers or
  quantities or not thinking about numbers/quantities at all.

  “I read romance and fantasy and write science fiction.”

Where should I put commas in the above sentences? They have the following structure: X [A and/or B] and/or Y. Second and/or links words (X and Y) that are unrelated to A and B. Will the punctuation rule here be the same for both and and or conjunctions?

PS I can't think of a proper title for this question – maybe somebody can edit it.


texts: What do you call someone who you show a game to and then they binge plays the game until they are better than you?

texts:
My so called "friend " likes to play video games a lot. We like to play Roblox (We aren't 5 yr olds). So one day I found this awesome game called RoBeats and I loved to play it. One day I got so good I was able to get A+s On level 7 levels. One day I showed him the game and we played for a while. I eventually got bored and went to bed. When I woke up he was STILL playing the game. This kept going on for days and seeing him online playing the game. One day I decided to play with him and he was WAY better than me. Do you have a name for a person like this?  It would be used like:

  You're still playing?  You're such a ______.


texts:
What does the term "duck-quacking" mean?
Context:

Expect the casino industry to go all in on DFS as well, positioned as it is, with its savvy, resources and movement toward online casino gambling.
There can be little doubt of this duck-quacking. The business model of DFS totally mimics the pari-mutuel pool of racetracks and even in some ways, casino gambling.

Source: SeekingAlpha.com, about halfway into article.


texts: What is this formal (perhaps old-fashioned) actual-state-of-affairs use of 'should' called?

texts:
Here are three examples of the kind of thing I have in mind:

“That he should do such a thing is terrible!”
“That this should be the case is regrettable.”
“That such a thing should happen is a blot on justice.”

In these examples, the ‘should’ is clearly not playing a commendatory role. Nor is it referring to purely hypothetical states of affairs, as in a conditional sentence (e.g., “Should such a thing occur, it would be terrible”). Instead, the ‘should’ is used in a construction that introduces an actual state of affairs, which in these examples is then negatively evaluated. (Of course, one could do the same thing with a positive evaluation—e.g., “That he should do such a thing is wonderful!”—but then you might mistakenly think the ‘should’ is commendatory.)
Does anyone know how grammarians or usage experts refer to this use of ‘should’? Ideally, I’d like a term I could plug into Google for further research. Thanks!


texts: What do you call a disk drive that is not solid state?

texts:
I tried searching for things like opposite of solid-state, but most of what I've found suggest things like liquid-state. I'm pretty sure a drive that is not solid-state contains no liquid to speak of.

Is there a one word antonym for the use of solid-state in this context?


texts: Can we use "what the heck" in formal contexts to denote a more friendly environment?

texts:
I see in many movies bad words are censored or simply replaced by a beep sound. But the expression what the heck is not censored and you can hear it clearly.

You can also see that this expression is used in many conversations on online forums and Q&A websites. It seems to me that this expression is used widely enough to not to be considered that bad anymore.

Am I right?

Also I see a new trend in small free service-based websites which tend to use more vernacular language like:

  Guys, don't let us think of what you want to send. Just do it right, right?

and this expression seems to be used more and more. My question is, am I right about what I think of it? Can I use this expression to denote a more user-friendly website?

Update: The main question here is, can I use this expression in a website, magazine, newspaper, or any indirect written media without offending readers or users?


texts:
Is mandation a valid word? If it is, then what are its proper uses?

I have heard people using this as a synonym to mandate; however, I am not exactly sure that it is a valid word.


texts: Phrase that refers to all the events in a person's life?

texts:
I'm looking for a phrase that I think goes like "Life [Phrase]". It means something like "The whole sequence of events of a person's life"?

For example,

  College, then Marriage, then Kids, then [Phrase]

And I remember it being used as a news article title:

  "Modern Life [Phrase]-s are changing, girls are having kids before marriage, etc."

I don't think its "Life Schedule" or "Life Plan".

However, I don't think that the news article would say that the "Modern Life [Phrase]-s" are 'changing', but more that they are 'broken'.

It feels like a psychological term that means

  The plan that you have, of the events that you want in your life, and what order you want them to be in and how old you are at that point.


texts: Can this sentence work without 'that'? If yes, why?

texts: And given (that) the Nord wasn't a thing when the 8-series was launched, we could see the OnePlus 9 phones get pricier than that.


texts: What is a tone word to describe how someone may feel like they do not belong?

texts: I have world literature homework, and i have to discuss a shift in tone. A character is feeling like she doesn't belong to any cultural group... help?


texts: "Preventing them to wrap" vs "Preventing them from wrapping"

texts:
I've found on StackOverflow an old answer written by me, in which I've used the first form.
Reading it now, it sounds weird and wrong;
I am inclined to think that the second form is the only one correct, but googling "preventing it to" and "preventing it from" there are 300.000+ results for the first and 700.000+ results for the second!
The 300k+ results for the first form seem way too much for a completely wrong form, hence I've decided to ask here.

EDIT: The original sentence is:

Add white-space: nowrap; to your .layout style declaration.
This will do exactly what you need, preventing divs to wrap.


texts: "Personal Use Program" or "Personal-Use Program"?

texts:
Help me settle a discussion on this topic. Everywhere I look, within my company's internal documents as well as documents from other companies, a "personal use" program is not hyphenated. A colleague of mine believes it should be hyphenated, and is under that impression thanks to the AP Style Guide's rule on compound modifiers used as an adjective:

  "When a compound modifier — two or more words that express a single
  concept — precedes a noun, use hyphens to link all the words in the
  compound except the adverb very and all adverbs that end in -ly: a
  first-quarter touchdown, a bluish-green dress, a full-time job, a
  well-known man, a better-qualified woman, a know-it-all attitude, a
  very good time, an easily remembered rule."

This seems like a "substitute teacher" issue to me. "Personal" is an adjective and "use" is a noun. That would make this a compound noun and not require a hyphen, right? Or sort of right?

Can someone clear this up for me?


texts: Which word has the same pronuncation as the word "may"?

texts: What is the homophone of the word may? I can't find one real dictionary of homophones, nor is there an answer through Google.


texts: Idiom for a person being kind to someone who doesn't deserve it

texts: I am looking for an idiom that expresses the instance of a person being kind to someone who doesn't deserve it.


texts: I would like to learn about phrasal verbs and idioms in English.Which book(s) would you recommend for them?


texts:
I came across the following lines:

  Make no mistake: the setting matters. There are many ways to listen to
  Indian classical music-in the private, somewhat sterile perfection
  of the CDs and DVDs we play at home. But I happen to think music
  sounds best outside.

At first I thought, sterile here meant "pure", but then I stumbled upon another meaning of sterile: "lacking imagination, creativity, or vitality".

I want to go with the latter definition, because here the author is against CDs and DVDs and prefers outside, but I am not sure. What does "sterile perfection" mean in this context?


texts: As descriptive grammar is defined, if I say, for example, 'I postpone to play soccer' meaning 'I postpone playing soccer,' and a listener knows what it means, so communication is achieved, then I make a rule on this, is it grammatical?


texts: Object complement adjective, or direct object, or?

texts:
Jill painted the kitchen rosey red.

In this sentence, would red be considered an object complement adjective?  If so, what do I do with rosey, since I cannot have an adjective modifying another adjective?  I think it is a stretch to say that rosey is an adverb modifying red, answering the question, "What degree red?"

Is this actually a S-Vt-IO-DO?  Something substantive (red) is being applied to/for the kitchen. Can someone shed some light on this?


texts: Is the term “professional” justifiably reduced to “being paid to do something”?

texts:
I very often hear people call themselves professional at something they haven’t been doing long.

On the rare occasions that I ask them how they feel able to qualify themselves as professional, the general answer is “because I am paid to do it”.

Given that the term professional is so similar to professor — somebody who knows their topic inside out — is it really OK to apply the term professional so trivially?

Can anybody give me an explanation of where the term professional came from and how it should be used today?


texts:
Normally to frame somebody means

  3 informal produce false evidence against (an innocent person) so that they appear guilty

Now what in case of a cautious criminal who took care to hide/remove the evidence of their crimes, and now someone in the know returns the evidence to its place, replaces false records with real ones, restores removed clues etc., so that the authorities can find the criminal rightfully guilty?

Does that still count as framing?

If not, is there a name for this kind of activity?


texts: What tense should be used when looking at an old photo?

texts:
Commenting on a photo which was taken a few years back:

Question:

  Is this you?

Should I reply:

  Yes, this is a few years back.

or:

  Yes, this was a few years back.

Which of the above is correct: is or was?


texts: In what context/scenarios can I use the phrase 'in that'?

texts:
What is actually the use of the phrase 'in that'?

For instance,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgQVj4iMm8Y&t=135s

2:15 in this video.

  Russel Crowe is delightfully paradoxical in that he is a huge d**k with a small p***s.

P.S. Sorry for the bad language in the video. But, I couldn't find any better example.


texts: What exactly would you be doing / would you have been doing in the new job?

texts: I don´t understand the difference between both sentences. What can I ask my friend about her new job?


texts:
'The antler dance', 'locking horns', 'butting heads': I don't think these are exactly the right way to describe what I'm thinking of.

What is it called when two men, both fairly dominant in their everyday lives, meet for the first time, maybe at a social event, maybe accompanied by their wives, and the men have a session of questioning and boasting to see which of them has higher status?

It's fairly subtle; nobody's raising his voice, losing his temper or swinging punches. Their wives probably notice what's going on (and 'hear the testosterone bubbling', as they say). The men may not even realize they're engaged in some sort of challenge or duel, and it may not stop the men becoming friends afterwards.

What's the right phrase for this?


texts: An idiom expressing the circularity of tool making

texts: Is there an idiom or a proverb like "in order to make a knife you need to use another knife", or, better, "in order to make a sharp knife you need to use a duller knife", expressing the fact that tools are made with the aid of similar, less refined, tools?


texts:
I was reading this sentence and was a bit confused because it has two possible meanings:

  But I want to terminate the session as soon as user closes the browser using Ajax.
            — Source (scroll down to second reply)

Does he mean that he wants to close the browser by using Ajax,

or that he wants to terminate the session by using Ajax?

Is the sentence grammatically incorrect, or is it my mistake that I see more than one meaning? How could I rewrite the sentence to make it obvious?


texts: What does "you can't gaffa the gaffa" mean? Saw a t-shirt with such print and couldn't translate correctly


texts: Daniel Craig's accent in Knives Out trailer (Southern, RP, different?)

texts:
What is his accent in this trailer?

https://youtu.be/sL-9Khv7wa4?t=71

https://youtu.be/sL-9Khv7wa4?t=86

Would you call it Southern? I'd say it's a mix of RP and Southern at best. He seems to have retained many typical British features, yet I'm no expert when it comes to American accents.

Supposedly he based his accent on Shelby Foote, but they don't appear all that similar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZC3gwUOz54


texts: Does prepare relate in any way to the prefix 'pre' (meaning 'before')?

texts:
Specifically, the phrase prepare in advance sounds redundant, as if to say pre-prepare. What is a better phrase to say "make ready beforehand" in the context of putting some ingredients together beforehand?
An example: Combining dry ingredients necessary to make biscuits beforehand, and in a larger quantity, keeping the dry mix in reserve. Later, when making a batch of biscuits, use the prepared-in-advance mix with wet ingredients to make one batch of biscuits.
Is there a better phrase for prepared in advance?


texts:
When somebody is going through a difficult life situation, people will commonly say, "We're pulling for you."

Where did this term come from? It sounds rather strange!


texts: A word or term for driver /car taking no passengers

texts:
I need a term or a single word in traditional English or modern English which specifies "a car which has nothing but the driver & empty seats"
Please help.


texts: Is the usage of "in your humble opinion" correct?

texts:
We use "in my humble opinion" to express humility. But I even see usage of "in your humble opinion" to ask for others' opinions. What does it mean?

I see the usage in the original message here, considering the person being asked is a great scientist in the field.

I Googled the phrase, failing to find a definition as an idiom.


texts:
I read this sentence on BBC News,

  He was among those beaten by police during the infamous Selma-Montgomery voting rights march of 1965.

link: http://archive.is/Wlslv#selection-1355.147-1355.192

As dictionaries I read suggested, Infamous is used for

  having an extremely bad reputation

or

  deserving of or causing an evil reputation

It seems to me, the word infamous only can be used to describe a event caused by the bad people, so in this BBC News article, it is the attack on the march being bad (infamous) and the march itself organised by civil rights activists to express a good will is not.

I just lost here, can someone explain it to me why they use infamous here?


texts:
"How might people consider about their career?"
Is it trying to ask what factors people may consider about their future career?


texts: Can there be a better word for commonplace observations?

texts:
On Facebook, one will find numerous pages like "I hate it when people leave my room and leave the door open" or "When a teacher points at me I look back only to find that it is ME".

Can there be a good word to reflect this broad category. I was thinking of Daily happenings, Common observations but I can't find a pleasant to sound word or phrase to represent them.


texts: If we use "fairy" in our band name, will people think of sprites or gay men?

texts:
Seems like a really weird question but here's what it's about:

Me and my band are currently searching for a bandname which seems to be very hard. We recently (finally) found one name that we all liked at first:

  Shoot a fairy

Which refers to an annoying fairy in a video game.

But today our superstar heavy metal guitar guy came around and found some translation on a German translation website which says that fairy can be translated to "Schwuchtel" which is an offensive word for male homosexuals.

So my question is, would the word fairy be understood by native english speakers as such an offensive word. And would the term "Shoot a fairy" therefor be understood as a call to kill homosexuals and if yes how common is this word for use as an insult.

So would you (or an native english speaker) think that a band with that name hates homosexual people?


texts:
I'm curious about the difference 'the' makes in the following:

Before the hurricane hit, [the] residents were evacuated to a safe town.

I suspect that the 'the'-less version is compatible with a continuation like the following:

...But still a few (residents) chose to remain.

Is the version with the definite article compatible with such a continuation?


texts:
(Disclaimer: not only I tried googling the answer, I also asked native english speakers, but they couldn't give me a definitive answer).

Basically, In one of my conversations, I said the following sentence:

  They haven't contributed much to the world aside zealotness.

Then I got confused, and I realized I don't know what is the "derivative" for this word.

hot -> heat
serious -> seriousness
zealot -> ???

Google remotely suggests zealousness, but it seems that this word actually backs-up the word "zealous" and not "zealot".

So, Is there an actual idiomatic way of saying "zealotness"


texts:
Does the term ground zero always connote destruction or other negative things?

If a city is described as ground zero for the insurance industry, does it
imply insurance is no longer thriving in that city?

If a book series is called Ground Zero, what image comes into your mind?

I'd appreciate your responses.


texts: A question regardig anaphoric reference to time

texts:
I have a simple question regarding anaphoric reference to time.

ex) How is the weather in New York next Monday?

and for the next sentence I want to make an anaphoric reference to Monday.

say the next sentence was:

(assuming weather is good) Remind me to make an appointment with my doctor on Monday.

In this sentence, what would be an appropriate anapahora for Monday?


texts:
If I was to live and avoid terrible deficits, I would have to have urgent surgery.

Is this grammatically correct? Shouldn't it be "If I were"? Most importantly, what is the grammar rule governing this concept?


texts:
I want some help with my question about the meaning of  “deep roll of blue at the tops”:

  "The men were dressed in blue, of the same shade as their hats, and wore well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the tops." (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Chapter 2 - Describing the Munchkins)

Which part is the "top"? Is the roll like a curl over the toes? Or it could be also a cuff at the top of the shank, where the top of a boot will hit on the leg?


texts: To 'confirm' or to 'affirm' a finding, anecdotally?

texts:
I just saw this come across my Twitter feed:

  RT @hackernewsbot: Your Commute Is
  Killing You...
  http://www.slate.com/id/2295603/pagenum/all/
  My two + hours every day confirm
  this...

That made me question for a moment if affirm would be preferred here? They seem like very similar words, and from the definitions I viewed I could make an argument either way.


texts:
For years with 4 digits, usually we write it this way:

  George was born in the year 1732.

  or

  George was born in 1732.

What about years with three, two, or even one digit?

Are these examples still valid?

George was born in the year 732.
George was born in 732.
George was born in the year 32.
George was born in 32.
George was born in the year 2.
George was born in 2.


texts:
The sentence below comes from Longman dictionary.

The stall took £25 on Saturday.
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/take

I don't know the meaning of STALL in ths context.
I check out a dictionary but there's so many meanings that I can't not specify exactly which meaning corresponds to this sentence in question.


texts:
Usually, "Yes," "No," and "Leave me alone" were the only utterances anyone could get out of me.

Should yes, no, and leave be capitalized here?

thanks


texts: one word for a sentiment close to ignorant or illiterate

texts:
I want a word to describe people who despite of their education and economic status and apparent sophistication, are lacking of even the most basic level of critical thinking. People who will just readily accept whatever is the norm.

EDIT: I am looking for a noun. adjective suggestions are also welcome


texts: Can anyone make it very easy to understand for me what the rules are on using punctuation before the word 'that'?


texts: Why is it “knife” in the idiom, “Before you can say knife” though there are many shorter words than knife?

texts:
I saw the phrase, ‘before you can say Dow-Jones Index’ in the following sentence of JefferyArcher’s novel, “Not a penny more, Not a penny less.”

Scotland Yard’s Fraud Squad Detective Inspector, Clifford Smith tells young Oxford's visiting Mathematics professor, Stephen Bradley who fell a victim to a large scale investment fraud, being coaxed by his Harvard school mate:

“I’m sorry to say that we can hardly ever recover the money, even if we produce enough evidence to nail the villains. They have it all stashed away all over the world before you can say Dow-Jones Index.

I guess “Dow-Jones Index” here is Archer’s version of “before you can say knife (or Jack Robinson),” but I’m curious to know;

1) Can we coin and use as many variation of “before you can say X” in our conversation as Archer did?

2) Is there a standard or best received pattern of “before you can say X”? Is it “before you can say knife”?

3) What is the origin of “before you can say knife”? Why it should be the “knife,” not gun, sword, Tom, Jon, any other words that represent for brevity?


texts: Any word for "made by combining parts of many things"?

texts:
Is there any word in the English language that can be used to describe something made by combining parts of many things?

Here are a bunch of more things as requested by some from comments.

I need an adjective. I am describing a programming language that has features from many other existing languages. The sentence I want to use it is on the lines of:

In short, this language is a ____ of {names of other languages}

(I know I could use this language has a combination of features from ..., but this (to me) seems to fit in better...)

PS: It would be great if I could even use the word as the name of the language (so even nouns will do), if it's catchy.. :)


texts: What objects can be classified as anonymous?

texts:
While answering and commenting on another question I discovered that I am apparently thinking about anonymity differently than everyone else who responded. There are two questions stemming from that discussion, this is the first:
What words can fill the gap in this sentence?

[Word] is anonymous.

The examples I seem to find acceptable:

The writer is anonymous.
The paper was anonymous.
The call was anonymous.

Should I be saying:

The paper was written anonymously.
The call was made anonymously.


texts: Which is correct - I like buying or I like to buy

texts:
Which is correct?
I like buying new gadgets.
or
I like to buy new gadgets.

If both are correct then what is the difference between them?


texts: The negative connotation of the word desert

texts:
From the BBC: ‘Racist’ far-right party Britain First horrifies in BBC documentary

What does the word desert mean in the negative form? I am not sure about the intended meaning in the following sentence:

  We Want Our Country Back followed the “patriotic” organisation as it fought to have Islam banned in the UK. In one scene, deputy leader Jayda Fransen says, “Where there are Muslims there is radicalisation”, and in another, members shout, “Go back to the desert” from a car.

What do they mean by "Go back to the desert"?


texts: Using or arguing a biased opinion as fact

texts:
I'm fairly sure there is a word or phrase to describe arguing emotively from an extreme, or biased, point of view as if your view is fact, but I can't remember what it may be. (I am wanting to use this word or phrase in a reply, I promise it is not a crossword clue.)

Any hints?


texts: Co-pay vs copartnership: Prefix hyphenation in AmE

texts: In AmE, we tend to close up prefixes like co-, re-, pre-, post-, etc. unless the first letter of the main word is the same vowel as the last letter of the prefix. But I see some exceptions like preemtive that defy the rule (I should convince myself that the vowel e is an exception). While I understand why we use a hyphen for re-sign to differentiate it from resign, I don’t understand the logic behind co-pay. Is there any material of authority that helps a non-native speaker like me to understand which are the words that should be closed up (say, whether co-utilize should be closed up)?


texts:
I am reading Murray's Microbiology book and thinking what how you understand the use of semicolons:

  [Mycobacteria cell wall is a complex, lipid-rich.] It is responsible for many of the characteristic properties of
  the bacteria (eg acid-fastness; slow growth, resistance to detergents,
  common antibacterial antibiotics, and the host immune response;
  antigenicity).

Are slow growth, resistance to detergents, common antibacterial antibiotics and the host immune response somehow related?

Then, I do not understand why they use the last semicolon, just below the word antigenicity.

How do you read the sentence inside the brackets which has many semicolons?


texts:
Greek "Pathos" means "disease" or "suffering". In that sense "Psychopath" means "a person with an antisocial personality disorder". Originating from the same root "Osteopath" means "A therapist who manipulates the skeleton and muscles". Shouldn't it mean "Suffering of Skeleton and muscle"? And, Shouldn't "A therapist who manipulates the skeleton and muscles" be represented by "Osteopathologist"?

Greek "Logos" means "Science". Biology = "Study of living beings". Zoology= "Study of animals". Then why "Study of plants" is represented by "Botany". It should be "Botanology". Isn't it?

So, what are the explanations about the two words (1) Osteopath and (2) Botany?


texts: Is 'disinstruct' or 'de-instruct' legitimate usage?

texts:
When you engage a lawyer or an estate agent, for example, you instruct them. What is the most appropriate word to use when you decide you've had enough and want to get rid of them? There are several good contenders but 'dis-instruct' would seem most appropriate - and yet I'm unable to find this word in any of the common reference dictionaries. Is it a legitimate word?

Google Ngram yielded the following, but only for 'dis - instruct'. All other possible constructions of this word flatlined.

Ngram

Other possible constructions are uninstruct (although as back-formation of uninstructed there is potential for misinterpretation) and de-instruct.


texts: what is an Irish greeting to be said to someone in the evening?

texts: Is there an alternative phrase for greeting someone in the evening a la Top of the morning to you?


texts:
Where the animals live? Where do the animals live?

I like to know which sentence is correct or more correct? Why do is not in both sentence?

Please help me understand it.


texts: Which of several or’d-together subjects should the verb agree with?

texts:
There are instances when I have difficulties with the agreement between the subject and the predicate.  Which of these should I say:

Neither you nor I am to blame
Neither you nor I are to blame.


texts:
The structure used is strange for me :

It will be but a pitiful plastiche

What does " It will be but " means?
And the phrase pitiful plastiche is negative, isnt it?


texts: What's the difference between ‘old-fashioned’, ‘obsolete’ and ‘antiquated’?

texts: What's the difference between 'old-fashioned', 'obsolete' and 'antiquated'?for an example,an old-fashioned steam train was not in use any more.could i say 'an obsolete steam train' or 'an antiquated steam train'? Thanks a lot.


texts: "Return" and "come back" as intransitive verbs

texts:
Does "return" imply a longer absence than "be back" -- in analogy with "Batman returns (after a ten-year absence) -- in such a way that it would sound sort of awkward or weird to say of someone that he or she has just returned from a quick break to the bathroom?

In the same logic, would it sound pretty much the same sense-wise if Schwarzenegger as the Terminator uttered "I'll return" instead of his iconic line "I'll be back"?

Also, can intransitive "return" be used for things in the same manner as "be back" or "come back", in such a way that it's acceptable to say that an item has returned, or will or might return in stock, for sale, or into fashion -- or even to say that it has simply returned, period (without any specification as to the source or destination)?


texts: with/without "-ed" for the compound adjectives formed by "adj.+noun"?

texts:
Among tons of "adj.+noun" compound adjectives, some of them end with "-ed", e.g. open-minded, double-sided, big-headed, some without, e.g. present-day, rear-view, deep-sea. I've also seen the usage of both cross-eye and cross-eyed.
Is there any rule for forming these kind of adjectives? If not, does that mean when we want to create a new one, we can go either way?

Thanks.


texts:
When is it appropriate to use "titled" vs. "entitled"?  For example, which is the correct word to use in the following sentence?

  I really liked the conclusion to
  rands’ latest blog post entitled “How
  to Run a Meeting”.


texts: Does the adjective "swell" have anything to do with the noun/verb "swell"?

texts:
Dictionary.com:

  swell
  1. to grow in bulk, as by the absorption of moisture or the processes of growth.

The other verb meanings and the noun meanings all tend toward the same underlying concept of this first definition.

But as an adjective, the meaning of the word becomes completely different:

  26. (of things) stylish; elegant: a swell hotel.
  27. (of persons) fashionably dressed or socially prominent.
  28. first-rate; fine: a swell party.

Also, one of the noun meanings is dandy, which doesn't to my mind tie in very well to "growing in bulk".

Whence came this disconnect?


texts: Word similar to 'insidious' or 'pernicious', with a non-negative connotation

texts:
I'm looking to describe an effect caused by using a particular construction in English, and the fact that it affects the listener and the whole of their thought processes without the listener being aware of it. The words insidious or pernicious would almost do, but these have negative connotations. The effect here is neither positive or negative.

  The use of (x) has a(n) _____ effect on our mental processes.

That sentence requires an adjective, but an adverb would do just as well :

  The use of (x)  affects our mental processes _____ .

So, a quick recap. Ideally the word would:

convey that the process is silent and unnoticed by the speaker
convey that it spreads through and affects all of the speaker's thought processes
not have any particularly negative or positive connotation


texts: In terror, his body ... "curled up" or "squirmed" or "coiled" or ...?

texts:
I am describing somebody who in his memory re-experiences a terrible event (say, an air raid), and his body bends / gets twisted. Would one say his body is...

curled up?
coiled?
squirmed?
[something else]?

  In terror, his body ______

What would be the subtle differences between these three words (or more suggestions)?


texts: What do you call a daughter with the same name as her mother? Is there a female equivalent for 'junior' in the english language?


texts:
In my book, there's a sentence:

  You have waaaaay too much time on your hands and you'd like to impress the pretty girl next door with your deep and profound knowledge of MySQL's internals.
  emphasis mine

Although this sentence has a clear meaning without the word "waaaaay", I am curious about this word. What does it mean?


texts:
Recently I have heard both of the following sentences:

The previous mayor was a woman, wasn't she?
The mayor is male, isn't it?

These seem to me to bear a gender contradiction here; "the mayor" and "the previous mayor" are both non-gendered rôles, but the people whom I overheard in the pub were quite happily talking about these differently gendered situations, having lived in Britain all their lives.
All I can think is that this is some sort of colloquialism, or there is a difference between "is male" and "a woman".
Are either of these thoughts valid, and is there a genuine grammatical rule here or is it just a confusion caused by the current heatwave in the UK?
============================
Edit: By the sounds of it this was all a product of a good evening's drink and unusually hot weather. The response appears to have been as I would naturally say, that the usage of it was merely a slip of the tongue and that one should use he instead.


texts: What is the difference between "equal" and "equitable"?

texts:
I read a presentation note today mentioning that "space is divided equitably between each cell nucleus".

Would it make any difference if it was "equally" instead of "equitably"? Or are the two identical in usage?


texts: "If this isn't flying, I don't know what is." Is this sentence correct?

texts:
If this isn't flying, I don't know what is.

The meaning I'm trying to achieve is that

  If this isn't flying, I don't know what else would be

Instead of

  If this isn't flying, I don't know what it is

Since, in this, it makes people think I'm referring to the object referred to by this

Thanks to The Photon for pointing the error out in my interpretation.


texts:
I have a few people around me that are really loud eaters.  I'm not telling them to be quiet while eating, of course - these aren't my children, but I digress.

What the the word for the sounds made when eating?


texts: How many syllables does "orange" have, and what regional dialects show a difference in that number?

texts:
It seems whenever orange is spoken, it is spoken as one syllable. But it appears to be two.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary transcribes the pronunciation of orange as follows:

  \ˈär-inj, ˈär(-ə)nj; chiefly Northern & Midland ˈȯr-inj, ˈȯr(-ə)nj\

So, does this mean it could it be either? If so, I am interested in knowing if any regional varieties of English have been established to pronounce orange one way or the other, and if so which regions and how do they pronounce it.

Being from central Alabama and having family in central Illinois, I almost exclusively hear "arnj" (IL) and "ornj" (AL). I have heard some people in AL pronounce it "orenj", but they say it quickly so it comes off as "ornj".


texts: How did the meaning of 'drone' come to be so broad?

texts:
Ten years ago, the word "drone" was either used to refer to drone bees or the experimental technology that was autonomous military UAVs.

Five years ago, it was increasingly used simply to add flair to the name of an autonomous flying object (e.g. A.R. Drone). It was also used to refer to military UAVs in general.

Recently, the news has used the blanket term "drone" to basically refer to any man-made object that is remotely controlled, does not touch the ground for more than five seconds, and can fly to any arbitrary target, rather than a specific term such as "RC aircraft" or "FPV (first-person view)-capable plane".

How did the meaning of the word transform so quickly? Is it simply due to the misuse of the word by the press?


texts:
I can never win.

Or

  I can't ever win.

Can these be used interchangeably? Is there a case where one would work and the other wouldn't?


texts: What does this phrase mean: "His set shoulders"?

texts: What does the adjective set refer to in this case? What would be a synonym for it?


texts: What would you call someone that you ask for directions?

texts: I'm driving around and I stop to ask someone for directions to my destination, is there an English word for that person?


texts: Use of gender-specific and gender-neutral words together

texts:
These are sample sentences we usually come across:

  This is a husband's provision for his spouse.
  This is a wife's provision for her spouse.

One may find a similar sentence reading "A husband’s (or wife’s) provision for a spouse after separation or divorce" at http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/alimony

"Husband" and "wife" are gender-specific words, while "spouse" is a gender-neutral word. Logic says that when a gender-specific word "husband" or "wife" is used in a sentence, the opposite of that word in the sentence should also be gender-specific (and should not be a gender-neutral word). If so, then how could one use gender-specific and gender-neutral words together in the sentences like the ones cited above? Or, how could there be a sentence like the one cited at the link provided above?

To me, the correct sentences would be:

  This is a husband's provision for his wife.
  This is a wife's provision for her  husband.

Or, one could perhaps also say:

  This is a spouse's provision for the other spouse.
  This is a spouse's provision for the other.

I admit that I may be wrong. Can someone shed some light?


texts:
The virus is mutations constantly, and each time, there's a new lottery ticket. And once in a while, it really, whatever number appears they get the winning ticket placed randomly found the right set of mutations that allows them to invade the human body.

I think there has to be comma between randomly and found. That makes subject They take two verbs, get and found. But I am not sure with my thoughts.
Plus, what is the usage of "it" in this sentence? I think this it refers to lottery ticket at front but I can't find any verbs in here so I just get confused.


texts:
Which is correct?

  Please notify me for any changes in your address.
  Please notify me of any changes in your address.


texts: When did the rules change for hyphenating the word "service." It should be hyphenated after the v. example: serv - ice.


texts:
I am teaching about participial phrases these days, and all examples I am able to find online have the phrases paired with simple tenses. For example:

  Removing his glasses, Kent Clark quickly put on his cape.

  Running up to the boy, the dog hopes that he will have a treat.

  Eaten by mosquitos, we wished that we have stayed at home.

I seldom see participial phrases paired with a continuous tense, thus I want to know if there's a rule to this.

For example:

  Watching the crime happening, I was calling the police for help.

Is this possible we use the past continuous for the clause, or we must use the simple past tense?


texts:
I've encountered the phrases "lying through his teeth" and "lying". Both have been used in similar contexts to (at least what I understand) as similar definitions. What is the meaning of the idiom of "to lie through one's teeth" and how is this different from just regular lying? Does lying through your teeth mean you lie while smiling?

Related, but not a duplicate. The answer there only tells the difference between "lying through his teeth vs lying in his teeth". My question is unique because I am asking about the difference in the usage of lying through his teeth vs lying in similar context, while the related question only addresses the origin of the phrase.


texts: Many people in Vietnam pronounce the vowel "e" in "check" as "é" in "écouter" (French), is that correct?


texts: Etiquette in diplomatic use of the English language (pronunciation of names)

texts:
Does anyone know what the etiquette and usages are when two heads of state, both non-native English speakers, talk to each other in English during an official meeting?

E.g. when an Italian head of state meets officially a non-English head of state and mentions an historic Italian figure like Michelangelo during their conversation in English, would he have to pronounce the word 'Michelangelo' the Italian way or the English way?


texts: What is the appropriate word for these? -> one day, one month, one year and so on

texts:
I want to know the most appropriate word for these.

one day
two days
three days
one month
two months
three months
one year
two years
three years

The context where these appears is that they are options users of a website can select from a menu to check the data of their weight for the certain range of time.

What's came up in my head is the following.

period
date range
duration

Is there right one in the above list?


texts: Why does this comma belong in this sentence, particularly in the place it is?

texts:
"There was something oppressive in this kind and gentle, but at the same time sly and cunning, glance; people were helpless under the spell of the powerful will which could
be felt in his whole being."

Why would it particularly be in the place before glance and after cunning "..and cunning, glance;"

It seems as if it shouldn't be there. To me that is. But what do I know? Or technically would this form would be correct? --> "To me that is, but what do i know?" or "To me that is..but what do i know?"

I think I may need to brush up on my mechanics.

Thank you in advance.


texts: Suitable verb form in the past tense sentence

texts:
There's the next sentence: "I saw Mr Brown ..... the building at two o'clock."

Which option would be the most appropriate to put in and why ? I really want to put in "was leaving", but there's no such option.

leave / to leave / having left


texts: Translation suggestion for the name of a book

texts:
I'm not a native English speaker, and trying to translate the name of a book into English. It's a book about how to travel by bike, and the name I can come up with is An alternative way to travel -- by bike, which doesn't look like a book name at all. The name should inlcude two ideas:

It's an ALTERNATIVE way of traveling, since by-car is more common than by-bike when traveling. Kind of a new, unconventional way.
It's BY BIKE


texts: The thing on wheels in which we place stuff, luggage? Detachable from vehicles

texts:
The word just doesn't seem to want to get back into my brain.

I can't even put a picture of it, seeing as I don't know what to search for. Its like an extension boot, open-air, not covered. It's attached to the vehicle by a hook or something similar. It has to be open-air though. Something not as big as a trailer house.

Also, I'm getting slight hints of such a... device being seen in a Charlie Brown Comic?


texts: Word to describe a group of people helping each other based on kinship

texts:
I'm having trouble finding an accurate word for a group of people that look after each other based on a mutual kinship/ association. Let's say that X is currently looking for a job, so they decide to reach out to Y to help them based on that mutual kinship. There's a strong connection that makes Y help X, even if they don't know each other at all.

The word "Network" doesn't seem to convey the meaning I'm looking at.


texts: What does 'handle' mean in this sentence: but there was no handle to what he said

texts:
I need some help with handle.

The following passage was written by Joseph Wolf, a German artist who specialized in natural history illustration.

  I used to go to see Livingstone at Sloane Street; and he would propose
  subjects; but there was no handle to what he said. He had a thing in
  his mind that couldn't be illustrated. I couldn't make pictures of
  what he thought would be the best subjects. I didn't feel the
  inspiration to work with Livingstone.

At the time, he was drawing illustrations for David Livingstone. Livingstone described scenes he saw in Africa with words, Wolf was trying to draw from it. I can feel Wolf was not happy with Livingstone, but I have no idea what 'handle' means here. Some help would be great!


texts: A word for the area right in front of a door?

texts: I'm trying to find a word that is specific to the area right in front of a door, especially the outside area of a door. The word entrance is too broad, because that could be inside or outside. I need to specify outside.


texts: Is this sentence grammatically irrefutable?

texts:
I am ameliorating my perspicaciousness about Computer Science by diving into its chasmic insight.

Is the above sentence grammatically correct?


texts: What is the correct word for Step siblings?

texts:
I'm creating a list of family members:

Biological, Justin, 5/20/1981
Biological, John,   1/20/1987
Adopted,    Jane,   8/12/1989
Step,       Doug,   12/1/1979

When listing out the type of sibling, the word step seems odd. I've always used it as step-brother or step-sister but never on its own. Is there a better choice of word to use?


texts:
Can someone please explain me the difference between touched by pity and touched with pity along-with reference sentences.
This search shows that both forms are used, but I couldn't make out the difference between the usage of the two phrases.
For example:
Usage of touched by pity:

Then the knight is in a predicament, as he thinks and ponders over the question: whether to present to her the head she asks him to cut off, or whether he shall allow himself to be touched by pity for him.
The apostle, touched by pity in the man's voice, and the plight of his handicap, looked straight at him

Usage of touched with pity:

A stone seeing this was touched with pity, and, wishing to help the cock, he laid himself across the stream.
who still remembered how much his countrymen were indebted to Columbus ; and was touched with pity for the man who had performed such great actions.


texts:
"let's make a robot ___ creates a copy of itself"
What would be the right word to use here? That or which?


texts:
Any differences between the following two sentences?

"I bet you are tired after a hard day at work."
"You must be tired after a hard day at work."


texts: What phrase is used for computer scan distortion like in funhouse mirrors?

texts:
The Google Books computer optical scan of page 92 of With the yacht and camera in eastern waters, by the 9th Earl of Cavan, exhibits some distortion, probably due to page motion during scan.  What is this kind of distortion called, or how is it referred to?

Edit 1: (Pursuant to Eduardo's comments) Scrolling down to page 98 one can see what appears to be part of the page-flipper device raising the left-hand page, causing it to crease along the line at edge of distortion.


texts:
Dictionary definitions of `bonny' admit to chiefly British (or even Scots), but give no further hint of the possible tinges of this word. Bonny (adj.) means attractive, fair; fine, excellent [M-W].

Perhaps I perceive it as slightly archaic, hence this post. Is this word (still) functioning in the meaning given, and what are the caveats of its usage? Is it the teensiest bit pretentious, or otherwise out of the ordinary? If not, what might be typical usage?

(I know about bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond. I know about blithe and bonny ladies. I know about one wife or another being `very bonny, thank you'. These, and a perhaps a few other titbits I acquired somewhere, more or less defined the word for me, and I'm finding it difficult to shift away.)


texts: Van Gogh goes or Van Gogh coughs? Is there a commonly accepted British English pronunciation?

texts:
The question changed during the formulation from

  What is the correct 'British English' pronunciation of Van Gogh?

to

  Is there such a thing as a 'correct' English pronunciation of a Dutch
  name -- specifically of Van Gogh? Failing that, is there at least a
  commonly accepted convention? For personal usage I'm interested in
  'British English' variants including Irish English, but extra padding concerning US variants
  would not go amiss.

Wikipedia gives the correct Dutch IPA pronunciation as  [ˈvɪnsɛnt ˈʋɪləm vɑŋ ˈɣɔx] and even has an audio file of same.

The solution might be to use the correct Dutch pronunciation, but it doesn't sit naturally with me. This answer on the ELU site made me think there might not be a definitive answer.

  Another consideration is that there is often no one established
  “correct” pronunciation for foreign names in English. Usually for
  famous or well-known people, some kind of conventional pronunciation
  is established over time, but what that pronunciation will be is not
  always predictable. Some people try to pronunce names as close to the
  original language as they can. This means that it would be difficult
  to figure out how to spell these names if it was based on how English
  speakers pronounce them

Google wasn't as helpful as I thought it would be. Several sites gave the correct Dutch pronunciation and noted that English native speakers (both sides of the Atlantic) pronounced it incorrectly. But then I found an ever so British perspective

  Something that drives British people absolutely bonkers is hearing an
  American "mispronounce" the name of Dutch post-impressionist Vincent
  van Gogh. Pangs of rage fill up the collective consciousness as the
  nation retorts in one voice: "it's VAN-GOFF, not VAN-GO!"

Though  not a big fan of the style of the piece, as an Irish English-speaker this is also the pronunciation I use.
So can I assume in British and Irish English usage that Van Gogh rhymes with cough??


texts: How do I quote nonconsecutive lines from a poem?

texts: I'm writing an analysis of a poem and want to quote nonconsecutive lines. Is there a specific way to do this, or would I just use an ellipsis and no slash?


texts: I've been wracking my brain trying to remember a word for a try-hard, pleb artist! It starts with a "d", if I remember correctly, and I'm sorry if the details aren't enough and such. You know, even the definition of this supposed "d" word I can't remember, I'm also quite hazy with. Though I think the general gist of it is mildly derogatory but in a "stating the facts" kinda way. An artist that can't be great or masquerading to be great or something... Starts with a "d" I think... Oof! Any suggestions? Answers?


texts:
Which of the following is correct? If both are acceptable which is preferred?

Our product lets you manage all of your stuff in one easy place.
Our product lets you manage all of your stuff in one, easy place.


texts:
Is the sentence correct
" We don't need a parliament.Build a temple where the building stands."
or will it be
" We don't need a parliament.Build a temple where the building sits."
Will it depend on the height of building or something?


texts: What verb tenses are commonly used in conversational English?

texts:
I have been learning the English language for five months. I have learned some basic verb tenses such as simple present, present continuous, simple past, past continuous, present perfect and present perfect continuous.

There are quite a few tenses that I haven't learned yet such as past perfect, past perfect continuous, future continuous, future perfect, future perfect continuous and future in the past.

I have spoken with some teachers and they told me that not all tenses are used in conversational English. I want to know which ones are commonly used in conversational English.

Simple Present
Present Continuous
Simple Past
Past Continuous
Present Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect
Past Perfect Continuous
Simple Future
Future Continuous
Future Perfect
Future Perfect Continuous
Future in the Past


texts: Is there a single word for "Evoking Ambivalence"?

texts:
Is there a single adjective to describe something that causes one to feel ambivalence? For example, in the context of the exchange below, is there a single-word response Bob could give that would express the same idea?

Alice: How was Eve's new play?
Bob: I'm ambivalent towards it.

I thought it might be correct to simply describe the play itself as "ambivalent," but after consulting several online dictionaries this seems not to be the case.

Curate's Egg, introduced by FumbleFingers in the comments, is more or less the idea I'm trying to express - simultaneously bad and good. I would still prefer a single adjective if possible.


texts: Placing the object of an infinitive before it instead of after it

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

Would someone please affirm the position of to disturb in the passage cited above? Am I right in thinking that it can equally be planted at ♦, as one might in contemporary English?

If correct, what’s this stylistic placement called? Also, what are its advantages or disadvantages? I find it more onerous and less lucid; I had to reread it to determine the infinitive.

Source: page 54 of America on Trial, by Alan Dershowitz


texts: Why is it "two column" and not "two columns"?

texts:
Recently, during conversation, a colleague and I were debating why it's common to see "one column, two column", and not "one column, two columns".

There are several other words like this, where their singular is used instead of their plural.

Examples of its usage:

That building is held up by 2 columns
That building has a 2 column layout        <------- Why is this not columns?

Why is it so?


texts:
What is the correct usage of who/whom after the first person pronoun "I"?

  I ___ am most concerned, was not consulted.

I think it should be who, but I am not sure.


texts: Gender specific language for one in a series of occurrences: does it imply something about the other occurrences?

texts:
A recent radio headline was

Another member of the Canadian Armed Forces has taken his own life. This is the fourth suicide this week.

The presence of the word another somehow left me with the impression that the sentence meant all the suicides, or even all the Armed Forces members, are male. I happen to know that neither of those constraints is true. I also suspect the radio headline writer didn't intend to suggest that. Had the headline been:

A member of the Canadian Armed Forces has taken his own life. This is the fourth suicide this week.

... then I would not have drawn the same conclusions. I know how to write this sentence without implying anything about the gender of the latest soldier (use they/their, change verbs to eliminate any need for a possessive pronoun, etc) but I am curious about why saying another, and thus referring to a series of events, has (for me) the effect of blurring that possessive pronoun back so that it somehow applies to the whole series.
Am I the only person who is influenced by another like this? How do these sound?

Another student has missed his deadline for applying
Another farmer has put her farm up for sale

If another has this effect, does it have a name? I would probably avoid the effect by omitting another where there was a second sentence (as in the radio headline) to carry that information, and keeping it but rewording the rest to avoid possessive pronouns when there wasn't. But am I just being overly careful?


texts:
He has given the hen for the egg.

Is this a valid English proverb or idiom? If not, what is the relevant one?


texts: how to use "in" and "on" different things

texts:
There is a really big confusion in me when it comes to using "in" and "on". If I am describing a position of an object I know how the two words differ, but when it comes to other things it really confuses.

e.g

  in photo or on photo
  in website or on website
  in phone or on phone
  in the movie or on the movie
  in his account or on his account

How do we figure out which is the word to use in such occasions? What are the rules to get them right?


texts: What is the correct way to write the word "back-end"?

texts:
Back-end and front-end are common technical terms nowadays. Traditionally, they are written with a hyphen "back-end". Is there a rule in the English language that dictates this to be a correct way to write term, that signifies general single something? Or did it just "stick" that way?

Clarification 1:
The proposed answer that discusses when to hyphenate assumes back-end as a compound word. I don't think it is and this am asking this question. Compound words like on-the-fly are comprised of possible standalone words that are all required to describe the phenomenon or thing in question.

Backend is a synonym to server-side, which really is a compound word. Backend is a singularization of server-side, not a compound itself.

I understand that I may have a logical "gap" somewhere in this line, the reason why I asked is to help me clarify this.


texts: Can anyone tell me the name of these sentences?

texts:
I am a chinese student and one of my friend, a chinese, wrote sentences like this:

Just a little above me, he was fighting with all his might.

On the summit of the mountain, he cried with joy.

He was pretty certain that these sentences were correct but I am not so sure. I've heard sentences like His eyes bright, he talked vigorously or Her coat barely on her shoulder, she dashed out of her house, but I have never seen sentences like the ones my friend wrote, the ones with no subject in the front. Can anyone tell me the name of the sentences my friend wrote? And if possible, can you also tell me if the name of the sentences I wrote is verbless clause?

Thanks.


texts: How often do you use 'nowadays' vs 'these days' in your dialect?

texts:
I would say that in South Africa, nowadays is rather quaint; something that perhaps Boomers and older or second language speakers would use. Unfortunately, I cautioned a student nearly a year ago against using it for this reason and I'm now doubting my advice.

Anecdotal confirmation from my career English teaching Boomer mother is that nowadays has fallen out of use in South Africa and googling "south africa" nowadays returns zero results including nowadays being used explicitly with the synonym today being substituted in the results. Saffers would probably use either these days or today in that order of preference instead of nowadays.

So my question is, how prevalent is nowadays amongst Yanks, Brits, Canucks, Aussies, and Kiwis? I'm seeing it all over the internet now because my attention is on it and it makes me cringe that I perhaps gave the wrong advice.


texts: Usage differences between 'exit' and 'egress'?

texts: Are they perfectly interchangeable? Dictionary definitions seems to agree.


texts: I have actually never related both words together, but coincidentally, I realized that in germen, "art = Kunst" and "artificial = künstlich", namely people do relate both concepts together. So how is the word artificial derived from art, although they have quite different meaning?


texts: "Both the earth and the moon do not shine by their own light[s]"

texts:
Both the earth and the moon do not shine by their own light/lights.

Which is grammatical, the singular, the plural, or both?


texts:
I had originally thought that the word riparian meant having to do with rivers, but it appears that it actually means only having to do with river banks. Is there a word that more exactly means having to do with rivers. For example,

  The darters (family: Percidae) such as the blackside darter live a
  riparian existence, relying on the environment of fast moving waters
  to protect them from other fish.


texts: Here is a quote: "x Consulting Group provides senior consultants to evaluate, architect and design stable and effective solutions and networks".  What more is it that the consultants are doing that is not already captured by evaluating and designing?


texts:
 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (AHDEL), Fifth Edition (© 2011)1, lists one of the meanings of 'pussy' as:

  (Chiefly British) Sweetheart; dear. Used as a term of endearment.

  However, I have not come across this sense of the word in books I have read or other dictionaries. I have checked Oxford Dictionaries Online, the Collins English Dictionary — Complete and Unabridged, 12th edition (© 2014) 1, and the Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. This sense of the word 'pussy' is also not found in the prior fourth edition of the AHDEL (© 2000). It seems like an odd addition, especially given this more common sense of the word, which is also found in the AHDEL Fifth Edition:

  Offensive Slang A woman, or women, viewed as a source of sexual gratification.

  Is the endearing sense of 'pussy' actually used in past or present times? If so, what kind of literature is it most commonly found in?

1These editions and dates can presently be verified at The Free Dictionary by Farlex.


texts:
While learning English, I often found myself embarrassed in the erratic usage of English articles. Would you mind if I ask a question about it?

When we're introducing a person in an article, which one should I use between:

  "Tom Cruise, an American actor well known for ..."

and

  "Tom Cruise, American actor well ..."?

Also, I would like to know should I always put "the" in the following sentence:

  "Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States"

or can I just leave the sentence without it.

If there was a point I used incorrect English, feel free to fix it. I would really appreciate your answer.


texts:
Here are lines from "Richard III":

  Farewell. The leisure and the fearful time

  Cuts off the ceremonious vows of love

  And ample interchange of sweet discourse

  Which so long sundered friends should dwell upon.

Not just these lines, but the entire monologue scans perfectly. Except for the line that contains the word "ceremonious." Which, according to today's dictionaries, has five syllables. For the line to scan properly, it should be four.

This is, perhaps, the opposite of the "ambitious" thing (the word oft-repeated in Antony's monologue in "Julius Caesar": "But Brutus says he was ambitious." For the line properly to scan, it requires one more syllable. The one hypothesis I ran across somewhere stated that back in Shakespeare's time, the word ambitious was pronounced "am-bi-shey-es," providing that necessary extra syllable).

Has "ceremonious" undergone the ... uh ... reverse transformation? Was it pronounced "ce-re-mon-yes" or something like that back in Shakespeare's day?


texts:
I'm looking for a word or phrase that encompasses the following series of events:

Something is a great deal.
Many people see that it is a good deal and buy it, invest in it, or similar.
So many people do so that it becomes a bad deal.

One mechanism by which this might happen:
It's a good deal because it draws on a shared, finite, but abundant and mostly untapped resource, perhaps a natural resource or a fixed amount of money. When many people pursue the deal, that resource gets depleted or stretched thin, causing it to be a mediocre or bad (net loss) deal. Perhaps just the last people in lose out, but because of the exponential growth of the knowledge of the deal, that's half the people involved. Or perhaps everyone, even the earlier adopters, lose out.
Examples: (but ignore the part of speech)

The CD class action settlement would send up to $20 to everyone who opted in the class. But so many people did, that it was a << phrase >>; my check was for 37 cents.
In a << phrase >>, after the traffic reporter said the I-495 had light traffic, so many people shifted their routes to it that traffic got snarled.
This place is awesome, except for the crowds.


texts:
Which one of the following statements is grammatically correct?

All that act would do is speed up the process of bringing justice to the victims
All that act would do is to speed up the process of bringing justice to the victims

If both are grammatically sound, please explain the difference between them.

Cheers


texts: What is the English word describing a long thin loaf of French bread, which crust is appetisingly golden and crunchy, and the bread inside is light and fluffy?


texts: "They want nobody's sympathy" vs "They don't want anyone's sympathy"

texts:
Which is better?

They want nobody's sympathy.

Or

They don't want anyone's sympathy.

I know both are grammatically correct, but I think they should be used for different occasions. One means something slightly different. Am I right?
Also, is there any word like 'no-one'?


texts: Term for figure of speech in: 'Life is awesome, I confess'

texts:
I am listening to Lana del Rey's song where she begins with:

  Life is awesome, I confess

Using confess this way; I found it rather funny, like a play on words, and if that's the case, hope to know if there's any actual literary technique regarding this.

Genius says just this about it:

  She has to confess her awesomeness because it's in spite of some other songs where she sings about the pitfalls of her career or her general 'summertime sadness.'

Also, in my quick googling I dug up a similar expression from The Great Outdoors:

  Well, nobody ever accused you of having a grand vision

I'm sure there must be more of such usages, but I'm not sure how to actually look for them, even with a bit of Google Fu I already graduated in.

What is this usage called? Sarcasm, tongue in cheek, play on words? Or is there an actual literary device about this?


texts: A phenomenon where job titles are indiscriminately given

texts:
We working in a company where we have a situation wherein numbers of some of the department's pretty inept and incompetent managements are unscrupulously awarding their subordinates (mostly out of nepotism, cronyism or flat out ethnic favoritism) therefore a similar officer in our front line department gets a title say after 2-3 years but these departments who are suppose rather support departments like Learning and development, procurement, cost control departments get doled out high classed job titles such as team leader engineer, snr team leader engineer, lead team leader engineer or lead team leader engineer which in itself are irrational. However we stay as engineer and snr. engineers for long.

Of course with job title their benefit band perks also increase.

Bottom line is our top management and HR turn blind eye to this and it is departmental decision.

Question is what is nearest term for this unscrupulous phenomenon of upgrading with themselves higher titles called.


texts: Milder synonyms of "honored" in the "I'm honored" sense

texts:
What are some synonyms of honor in the sense that honored is used in I am honored? I'm looking for a milder synonym specifically but this question can serve as a compendium of sorts for all synonyms in this sense.

There is fortunate but it signifies having something or getting something lasting, usually from the past and not necessarily with anyone else's actions involved.

There is privileged which is similar to honored but if anything it's stronger. Also, it cannot directly replace because it's used when what I'm getting has some lasting value.

If the President decides to thank me by sending me a letter, that would be an 'honor' but not a 'privilege'.

What I'm looking for is the word to use when my kind but not "important" neighbor decides to thank me by sending me a letter. 'honored' would be a very strong word to say in that case.

There's humbled too but I think it is, if anything, as strong as honored.


texts: Double present perfect in a compound sentence

texts:
I have two questions concerning the use of the present perfect tense twice in a compound sentence:

  a. He has accused John of the crime and provided evidence for it.
   b. He has accused John of the crime and has provided evidence for it.

As far as I know, the two sentences are grammatically correct, but while the first has an implied meaning that the evidence was provided at the same time as the accusation or shortly afterward and generally portrays them as two actions forming a united whole, the second has an implied meaning that the two actions are separate and have occurred at different times.
Is all this correct?
If there is a temporal adverb in the sentence, is it still correct to use both constructions?
For example:

  a. He has accused John of the crime and provided evidence shortly thereafter.
  b. He has accused John of the crime and has provided evidence shortly thereafter.


texts: How can you distinguish between different meanings of the verb "to know" in English?

texts:
I work in an industrial setting.  Today I had a conversation with my coworkers in which we discussed that another group knew that our group has requirements that they were not going to meet based on their current work plan.  Even though this group has told us they know we have requirements for them, they do not seem to be actively working towards satisfying them.  I wanted to make a pithy comment to describe this conflict between their statements and their actions but could only come up with clumsy language.

The situation reminded me of French in which there are two distinct words that both translate as know in English: savoir and connaître.  The first of these describes an academic learning whereas the second describes a familiarity.

For example, a new immigrant to London might study for the cabbie exam and know the streets of London very well, in this case, the verb savoir would be appropriate to describe his knowledge.  But, only after actually driving on the streets for some time would it be appropriate to say he knows them in the sense of connaître.

So, is there any short way to describe these two distinct forms of knowledge in English?


texts: Is responding 'maybe' to an opinion or statement of fact rude?

texts:
When telling someone a statement of fact (i.e. something you know, without a doubt to be true), if they respond "maybe", which to me suggests the possibility that you are wrong, is this rude?

Likewise, if you offer an opinion, and the usual response to your opinions from a particular person is also "maybe", again intrinsically questioning your opinion, is this rude?


texts: What word describes random unfitting accusations

texts:
I really dont know how to describe this. Im having a discussion with someone, I was sharing information that I found on a topic. Randomly im called out as being rude when nowhere was there evidence of rudeness exchanged. This person seems to have a history of claiming people have a problem or are being rude out of the random blue.

Is there a word to describe these random accusations that dont connect to anything?


texts: When people say "some" and a number, like "some 50,000 people", is there any implication that the number is big or surprising?

texts:
I'm a native English speaker, and my whole life I've felt like when people say 'some' plus a number, there is some implication that the number is big or surprising, but I can't find any mention of this in any definition anywhere. Still, I can't shake that feeling.
For example, on the bbc website today:
"Prof John Edmunds said cases were now "increasing exponentially". Some 2,948 UK cases were recorded on Monday, according to government data."
If 'some' just means approximately, why would someone say 'some 2,948' cases? Surely if you were going to give an approximation, you would say 'some 2,950' or 'some 3000'?
I feel like 'some' is used like this quite often. "They were expecting a handful of people to show up, but in the end there was a crowd of some 400 people".
Maybe it's just that there tends to be a correlation between the times when you would use an approximation and the times when there is an unexpectedly large number, but I feel like there's more than that, an actual implication in the word 'some'.
Can anyone help? Thanks!


texts:
From Aljazeera News:

  Saudi Arabia's foreign minister has said the kingdom is ready "to take necessary measures if needed" over Yemen's political crisis, after denouncing Iran's alleged role in the turmoil as an "act of aggression."

Can I use on in the place of over? For example: Saudi Arabia's foreign minister has said the kingdom is ready "to take necessary measures if needed" on Yemen's political crisis.


texts: Is “U.S.” in “U.S.-China trade” a noun or adjective?

texts: In the work I am writing, I am using “United States” for noun and “U.S.” for adjective. I was a bit confused whether the U.S. in the phrase U.S.-China trade is a noun or adjective. I didn’t get conclusive results from my Google search. Please help me with this.


texts:
If, for example, a sound or signal is amplified depending on its frequency, would it be rather correct to write

a frequency-dependently amplified tone,

a frequency-dependently-amplified tone, or

a frequency dependently amplified tone?

I use the adjective frequency-dependent (with a hyphen) but somehow using the hyphen in the adverb strikes me as odd.

I am aware of the fact that none of this might be an elegant formulation, but, unfortunately, in some cases I can't avoid using it.


texts: What is the etymology of the Baseball term “meat hand”?

texts:
The term is used to signify the non gloved hand of the pitcher.  I've only ever heard it used relative to the pitcher.

For example, “On the bunt the pitcher used his meat hand instead of gloving the ball to get the out at first.”

For a third baseman someone would just say that he “palmed the ball to get the out”.

So it's obvious what the term means, but is there any way to understand how that originated?  First use, what (or who) made it popular - etc.  And perhaps why it only applies to a pitcher.


texts:
From An Apology For Idlers, by Stevenson:

  And yet you see merchants who go and labour themselves into a great
  fortune and thence into the bankruptcy court; scribblers who keep
  scribbling at little articles until their temper is a cross to all who
  come about them, as though Pharaoh should set the Israelites to make a
  pin instead of a pyramid: and fine young men who work themselves into
  a decline, and are driven off in a hearse with white plumes upon it.

I don't understand how scribblers are related to a Pharaoh and why pin instead of a pyramid; seems like an unrelated bit of text. If the results of their scribblings would be perfect, some "Pharaoh" will erect a pin in their honor? O_o

The thought of Pharaoh demanding Israelites to manufacture one pin is strange. I tried to scan googlebooks, but the meaning is not clarified. One footnote merely explains who the Pharaohs were and directs the reader to the Book of Exodus for the history of their relations with Israelites.


texts: Describing a person who prefers older (not new) or vintage things

texts: Is there a word or phrase that refers to a person who prefers older (not new)or vintage things?


texts: What do you call getting accolades for doing something trivial?

texts:
Is there a name, phrase or term for the feeling of getting accolades, appreciation or respect for something that you consider to be trivial relative to other things you have done?

For example, what you feel when your simple answer to a trivial beginner question on Stack Overflow is your highest scoring answer.

I guess the feeling is of some frustration mixed with the ridiculousness of the situation. As if the "wrong" thing is being appreciated.


texts: What is the word for "to go back (of time)"?

texts:
What’s the word for “to go back” of time? I’m trying to say that time cannot go back.  For example:

  I wish I were a child again, but time does not “go back”.


texts: Difference between "stranded" and "waylaid"

texts:
What's the difference between "stranded passengers" and "waylaid passengers"?

EDIT:

I got waylaid passengers from here

  Passengers were reportedly kept in the plane on the tarmac for an
  extended period, without air conditioning, before being allowed into
  the terminal. The airline then told the waylaid passengers that they
  would be shuttled by bus five hours north to Dallas, because Spirit
  does not operate a flight between Houston and Ft. Lauderdale.

If you read the article, you won't get any slightest idea that the passengers were being attacked or ambushed or anything close to being waylaid.


texts: What to reply to a person saying "Good Morning" when my time zone is different?

texts: When I'm talking to a person in opposite time zone and the person greets with "Good morning" or Good evening/afternoon as per his time, is it ok to reply "Good afternoon" (as per my time-zone) when he said "Good Morning", and similarly replying as per my time zone, at other times?