texts: Is there a synonym for the word "revive" other than "resurrect/raise from death"?

texts:
Imagine a person lying down on the floor, dead. A moment later he/she breaths again. Is there any other word to describe this scene other than "revived" or "resurrected" or "raised from death"?

The reasons I'm looking for another words are, I already used "revive" in my writing and resurrect/raise from death gives me a negative feeling like the character becomes a zombie.

I want to describe a miraculous incident but it's not a powerful moment like a dragon or a sorcerer raising from death, just a human being starts to breath again. It's a spontaneous happening without any external help like medical intervention. He simply comes back to life without resuscitation.


texts: A word that means suffering great loss if failed but highly profitable if successful?

texts:
This is a task that'll bring you back a great profit if successful but may also end you up with heavy loss even your life. I have been thinking whether there is one word or a phrase or some self invented compound word to substitute for the long attributive clause.

I have found a sentence:

  The cave that you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek.

So how about : This is a treasure-holding-but-you-fear-to-enter-cave task ??


texts:
Is there a generic term for a "needle gauge", examples being tachometers, speedometers.

Example picture

This is specifically a tachometer which measures RPM, but I'm looking for a word/words that indicate that it is a device which has a needle rotating around the center point, indicating some value being measured on the outside of the circle.


texts:
The sentence in question is as follows: "are these alcohol shakes or something else?"
I want to correct it to "are these alcohol shakes, or is it something else?", but I can't update the post title, and I want to believe that I didn't make an incredibly stupid grammatical mistake


texts: situations in which simple present and present continuous are interchangeable?

texts:
I sometimes encounter situations in which I'm not sure whether to use simple present or present continuous, and sometimes I think both would be correct.

Here's an example:

The Cambodian government is refusing to improve working conditions and enforce local labor law.

or/and

The Cambodian government refuses to improve working conditions and enforce local labor law.

And another one:

Are they taking us for a ride? Because they are making us believe that we are rich and wealthy because we can buy a lot.

or/and

Do they take us for a ride? Because they make us believe that we are rich and wealthy because we can buy a lot.

And a third one:

Fast fashion is having a massive impact in developing countries.

or/and

Fast fashion has a massive impact in developing countries.


texts:
What is I'm having in grammar terms? Is it something near the present, the near future? As in I'm having a party tomorrow?

Example (not about the near future),

  I'm having trouble coming up with a reliable method of comparing sets of data.

Couldn't it be the following simpler version without any change in meaning?

  I have trouble coming up with a reliable method of comparing sets of data.


texts:
His case, though, was rejected by the Court of Appeal, which suggested
  that practical and policy reasons militated against allowing him to recover damages. Lord
  Justice Stuart-Smith said:

    In my judgment both as a matter of principle and policy the court should not
    extend the duty to those who are mere bystanders or witnesses of horrific events
    unless there is a sufficient degree of proximity, which requires both nearness in
    time and place and a close relationship of love and affection between plaintiff and
    victim.

Would someone please explain how to determine which definition of duty applies here?
I can't distinguish. Definition 1 looks correct, if I consider duty as 'responsibility of the law'. Yet Definition 3 looks right too, if duty = payment (in the form of damages) ?

Source: P95, How the Law Works, Gary Slapper


texts:
This is Konrad.
He has a dog.
Hence, it's Konrad's dog.

This is someone else.
He has a cat.

Hence it's someone else's cat.
Hence it's someone's else cat.
Hence it's someones else cat.
Hence it's someone elses cat.

I know that I can say "it's a cat of someone else" or "it's a cat belonging to someone else" but that dodges the issue, not answering the question.


texts: "Where are you now at?" — grammatically correct?

texts:
Should I say "Where are you at now?" or "Where are you now at?"
Which is grammatically correct? And is there any difference in meaning between the two?


texts: Is there any synonym for "Ordeal" which has a positive connotation?

texts:
The word "Ordeal" as defined by google is "a very unpleasant and prolonged experience".
I need a word that does not have this negative connotation attached to it.


texts: Phrase for that which is the object of much love and hate

texts: Looking for a phrase/expression to describe something which is so popular that it is loved/hated by many people. Examples: Google, the USA, Bill Gates I guess. I am thinking of "monolith?" I want to emphasize the fact that the thing in question continues to exist despite being controversial. Anything come to mind?


texts: I'd like to know what's the singular term of music, is it muse?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb “help”: with or without “to”?
  “Help rule out” vs. “help to rule out”

I've seen the verb "help" be used transitively and intransitively - in the latter case, followed by the preposition "to" - in various sentences.  For example, these should have identical meaning:

  I'll help you do it. / I'll help you to do it.
  Jim helps run the shop. / Jim helps to run the shop.

Should it be used intransitively in this way, though?  If we have a transitive version, doesn't it make sense to use that instead if we're using this verb with an infinitive?  It also seems to me that using "help" intransitively in this way can lead to ambiguity; for example:

  It helps to buy holidays.

... could mean that some previously stated thing helps with the process of buying holidays, or that buying holidays - in general - helps something.  What would be the more likely meaning of the above sentence?


texts: Does one "douse" or "dowse" a spotlight or projector?

texts:
A recent SMS conversation has prompted me to question my use of "dowse", "dowsing", and so on in relation to lighting instruments and projection equipment. I do not remember from where I got this habit, but I do know that I've had it a while.

I looked up "dowse" in Wiktionary, though, and there is no mention whatsoever of anything related to extinguishing or putting out. Merriam-Webster says it's a variant of "douse", though, and Google says that "douse" is a synonym—but Thesaurus.com doesn't even know the word "dowse", and other sites I've looked at make no mention of it in their synonym lists for "douse".

I guess I've confused myself through research at this point. It seems like the more unusual word "dowse" would fit in a theatrical or film production context, where jargon is extremely common (I should know), but I do want to make sure I'm using the word correctly.


texts: Do you think I should use a comma before not submitted? Predicate ellipsis?

texts:
In this text:

  " ... then the file is considered unworkable and must be unclaimed not submitted."

Do you think I should use a comma before not submitted?


texts: What is the meaning of "breaking" in tv show "breaking bad"

texts: Searched wiktionary but seems none of the explanations in it makes sense.


texts:
"it could be rain yesterday" or "it could have been rained yesterday"
Which one is correct? When we talk about a past event, actually didn't happen.


texts: If I have a list after a single gerund, do I use "is" or "are"?

texts:
Below is my sentence.  I'm pretty sure the word "knowing" is a gerund, but please correct me if I'm wrong.  I assumed that the only subject is "knowing" and that the linking verb should be "is", but grammarly flagged it.  Is the sentence correct?  Is grammarly wrong?

"I have found that knowing how to effectively manage and organize paperwork, requests, and deadlines is the only way in which to get the job done effectively."

Is grammarly reading the sentence like this?:  "I have found that knowing how to effectively manage and organize paperwork, knowing how to effectively manage and organize requests, and knowing how to effectively manage and organize deadlines are the only ways in which to get the job done effectively."  It seems like in this sentence, it clearly needs "are" for a linking verb (even though it's obviously a cumbersome sentence that nobody would write).

Is my original sentence correct???


texts:
I feel competitive with other parents

This is a quote from a parent workshop. The parents are asked to indicate how well they relate to some statements, the quote being one of them.
I check https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/competitive#:~:text=%3A%20of%20or%20relating%20to%20a,to%20compete%20successfully%20with%20others and see that competitive has two possible meanings here:
Does competitive here mean the "I" feel that myself is in a competition with other parents?
Or does it mean "I" am desiring to compete with or even win over other parents?


texts:
I'm trying to remember a word that means showing strong opinion for; where someone has to make a choice between two opposite things.

For example, say you have to choose what your favorite fruit is, apples or oranges, and in this sense, lets say apples and oranges are total opposites. There are people who strongly agree / favor with apples and people who strongly agree / favor oranges. Inherently, these people strongly disagree / oppose with the opposite choice.
It might also be just a single object and there are people who like it and some who don't

(1) What would the person be described as when they feel that strong, opinionated way?

(2) And what is the word that describes this situation, in which one must decide between two opposites?


texts:
What's the right word to indicate a type of education based on memorizing facts or a superficial understanding of things, without real insight or critical mind development?

In my native language (Italian) we have expressions like "nozionismo" or "educazione nozionistica" or "didattica nozionistica". But, after I looked in the dictionary, it seems to me that the word "notion" in this case is a "false friend". In fact, "nozione" seems different from "notion", which is rather like an opinion.


texts:
My current understanding of the em-dash is that it can be used in place of parentheses or commas to provide emphasis, e.g.

"Tom, who was a very nice person, walked slowly across the grass."

"Tom (who was a very nice person) walked slowly across the grass."

"Tom — who was a very nice person — walked slowly across the grass."

My colleague has asked me to proof-read some work and has used an em-dash to open the side-comment and a comma to close it. To continue the above example

"Tom — who was a very nice person, walked slowly across the grass."

This seems intuitively wrong to me, and I cannot recall ever seeing this in anything I have read. However, after going through many related questions on this SE and Google, I cannot definitively say that it is incorrect usage and was hoping someone here would be able to clarify.


texts: What does Megyn Kelly “dished about” her battle with sb. and “spilled dirt about” her colleagues mean?

texts:
Vanity Fair (May 17) carried an article titled, “Megyn Kelly calls out Fox News colleagues for not supporting her.” There was the following line:

  Appearing on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live — a nightly talk show
  hosted by Andy Cohen — Kelly dished about her months-long battle with
  the candidate and spilled dirt about her Fox News colleagues.

Though I can find an idiom, “dish the dirt,” meaning spreading a rumor in an English dictionary at hand, I cannot find the entries of both idioms of “dish about” and “spill dirt” in either Oxford or Cambridge English Dictionary.

I guess “dish out” means to reveal, and “spill dirt” means to criticize, but I’m not sure.

What does the last line - Kelly dished about her months-long battle with the candidate and spilled dirt about her Fox News colleagues – mean? Are both “dish about” and “spill dirt” popular tropes?


texts: Verb describing using a Taser on someone?

texts:
I've seen 3 versions of the verb used in media:

tazing
tasing
tasering

Which one would be the most correct?


texts: Verbs with interchanged subject and object

texts:
For some verbs we can find another (not necessarily unique) verb which has the same meaning except that it corresponds the subject and the object in the opposite direction.  For example, if I say “our group comprises 10 people”, the same can be expressed by saying that “10 people constitute our group”.

How do linguists refer to such pairs of “opposite” verbs, and how do I find them (except maybe by searching for dictionary definitions that begin with “to be”)?


texts: Use "will" or "would" in the following sentence?

texts:
The following dialogue is part of a TOEIC test I am editing:

W: Good afternoon, sir. What seems to be the problem?
M: Well, all of my joints are aching, and I think I have a fever.
W: Have you registered at the front desk?
M: Yes, I have. And they sent me here.
W: Okay. Please give me your health insurance card and wait outside until your name is called.

The following is a question asked about the dialogue:

What would the man likely receive right after being called?

The answer is, "A temperature examination."

I feel that "would" should be changed to "will" as we are asking about a prediction, even if the text isn't about a "real" situation.  I also feel that the word "likely" is used which to me is asking for the prediction use of "will."

My question: Is "would" acceptable?


texts: Should “megafauna” take a plural verb or a singular one?

texts:
I know megafauna is not a very common word, while fauna is more so. Fauna is singular, defined as a group of animals. ex. "The African fauna is diverse".
Megafauna is the word defining all animals with body mass larger than a certain threshold (45kg, 100kg, etc), so in theory is still a group.
Following this logic, megafauna should be singular.
However in many prominent scientific publications, for example some articles in Science and Nature, you find megafauna used in the plural form. ex. "Megafauna are a major draw for tourists" or "megafauna are imperiled".
Checking online some dictionaries define it as plural and singular. Are these scientists grammatically "wrong" by using megafauna as a plural noun, or are they simply setting the standard for how a word should be used since language evolves and they are the most expert on the subject?


texts: Overlap when joining multiple similar subjects

texts:
This question stems from a maths problem that I was checking for a tutor. The problem asked:

"2 students are in the soccer team, 3 students are in the volleyball team, and 1 student is in both soccer and volleyball team. How many students are in only the soccer team?"

The tutor intended for the answer to be one, but I argued that it should be two, because the part of the statement that says "2 students are in the soccer team..." implies that the two students being referred to does not appear anywhere else in the statement. I gave the example that if I were to visit a restaurant and order "1 burger, 1 steak, and 1 burger and steak.", I would almost certainly receive two burgers and two steaks in total.

In general, I suggested that when using the conjunction "and" to join multiple similar subjects, it is implied that the subjects do not overlap. However, I couldn't find anything to support or deny this. Am I wrong?


texts: Examples of nested parentheses in contemporary / classical literature?

texts:
Looking at the answers to questions around whether it is acceptable to use nested parentheses:

Is it acceptable to nest parentheses? and
(Parentheses (inside parentheses))

it seems that nested parentheses are considered acceptable in terms of grammar rules, but are not a practice that is highly recommended (unless intentionally trying to create some effect from it).
While reading about nested parentheses, I tried to think of cases I'd come across in my own reading, and could not think of any cases at all.
The answers give only one example of nested parentheses by a popular author (William Faulkner).
Given the apparent rarity of nested parentheses, I am curious to know of any examples of nested parentheses in any high profile, classical literature (particularly from outside of the domains of science and math, where they may be more common).


texts:
I organized (I didn't clean it) my boss's office the other day and I was wondering what would be the best thing to write on the invoice to charge him for my services.

Since I didn't really "clean" his office, meaning I didn't have a wet cloth in my hands and started wiping everything down and moping the floor I'm now caught in uncertainty for what to say. Should I put it down as:

Office organization?
Or
Office cleanup?

Isn't cleaning up and organizing the same thing? If it is, does it make organization and cleanup the same too? Please help.

English as a second language problems.


texts: What does “for Mr. Spicer, The Mooch was a bridge too far” mean?

texts:
New York Times (July 21) reported the resignation of Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary under the headline, “We’ll miss you, Sean Spicer.” It follows:

  Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, has resigned. But first,
  he slammed the door in an ABC News reporter’s face. Reports indicate
  that Mr. Spicer quit because President Trump had appointed Anthony
  Scaramucci White House communications director. After all that’s
  happened in the last six months, for Mr. Spicer, The Mooch was a
  bridge too far.

From TheNewYorkTimes.com
.

Oxford online Dictionary defines “mooch” as a noun;

(British) an instance of loitering in a bored or listless manner.
(North American) a beggar or scrounger.

But neither of them seems to apply to “the Mooch” in the above quote. What does “The Mooch was a bridge too far” mean?


texts: A positive word for self-doubt in a dubious belief system

texts:
I'm looking for a positive word or phrase - though ideally, a single word - that suggests that old dubious beliefs are being re-examined and questioned. "Self-doubt", has a negative connotation and I would like this to indicate a sort of personal growth.

For example, it could describe someone who used to be paranoid and believe that everyone was conspiring against them learning to become more trusting.


texts:
Liam is very ill. (English Syntax and Argumentation, Bas Aarts)

Traditional Grammar says ‘very ill’ as a subject complement.
And the book says ‘very ill’ as a complement for verb be.

Do I have to accept the remark as ‘Liam is’ can’t complete a sentence,
so the verb needs a complement. Or the complement modifies the verb?


texts:
In the context of golf, what does "rolling draw" mean?

I do not having an example sentence unfortunately, but other words in the same context include Walker Cup, Forecaddies, Niblick, Fairway bunkers, and Greens.

I've tried both Google and Wikipedia without any luck.


texts: Appositive OK in loose construction / as postmodifier?

texts:
I'm wondering about this kind of sentence:

The girl would regularly steamroll the boys, the diva of her class.

The typical rule for appositives is that because they are adjectival they should go right before or after the noun they modify. But I get the sense that they can vaguely and sort of adverbially modify the entire clause, explaining the circumstances of the clause. I feel like the above sentence is correct.
These examples may make it clearer where I get this sense:

The girl would regularly steamroll the boys, diva that she was.

The girl would regularly steamroll the boys, being the diva of her class.

My thought is, obviously the boys are not the diva of her class, so the original sentence should work even without the other stuff. Agree or disagree?


texts: Present perfect continuous for finished actions

texts:
Since present perfect continuous is used to talk about an activity that has finished, but whose results are visible now, can I use it for an action like these two ones;

'I have been living in Los Angeles.'

'I have been living in Los Angeles my whole life.'

Meaning that both actions are   finished actions, as I have relocated recently to another location and the result of my relocation is obvious.

If present perfect continuous doesn't show that these two actions above are finished actions, then in what cases does present perfect continuous express that the action has finished?

Thanks


texts:
As an American, and a particularly myopic one, I am a bit confused to the language that I speak. I understand that we were once a colony of England, where English was/is spoken, but do we in the present still speak English? Or, since the language has evolved so much (on our part) can it be considered that we Americans speak American English.

I understand the root is the same (Angle/Germanic), but again, and after visiting England for periods of time, specifics in language are so different that a lot of words have entirely different meanings. Even, in some cases, syntax is different. I am just wondering if it is correct to say that I (we) still speak English?


texts: Is there a -onym term for a genericised trademarks?

texts:
In UK English we use genericised trademarks in everyday speech, e.g.:

Could you hoover the carpet, please?
I've googled him
Was that your car they just announced on the tannoy?

I seem to recall there being a fancy, academic word for this "type" of word e.g. a something-onym.
Is there?


texts: Should "thirst" be pluralized in the phrase "quench their thirst(s)"?

texts:
I am unsure of whether or not I should be using "thirst" or "thirsts" in this sentence:

  When Moses led the people out of Egypt and into the desert, didn’t the Lord command Moses to strike a rock so that water would flow and quench their thirst?

Do I pluralize thirst because it is had by multiple people, or do I keep it singular because they only thirst for a single thing (water)?


texts:
Rush Limbaugh’s “wrong choice of word” is causing a big fuss. And I was puzzled to find the following statement of Limbaugh from www.rushlimbaugh.com that was made 4 days ago:

  The reaction that they are having to what I said yesterday about Susan Fluke -- or Sandra Fluke, whatever her ... Look, at least I didn't call her "a woman driver," and I'll tell you this, you people on the left: I'll happily buy her all the aspirin she wants.

and the quote of Limbaugh in www.doonesbury.com:

  We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch. [...] Absolutely hilarious... Look, at least I didn't call her 'a woman driver.' — Limbaugh, on uproar over his comments

Limbaugh called the Georgetown law student a slut and a prostitute, but he at least didn’t call her a woman driver. What's wrong with woman driver? Why is "a woman driver" bracketed? It sounds like the word, “a woman driver” is more insulting than calling a woman a slut and prostitute.

Does “woman driver” have a special meaning other than female driver?


texts: What is an office that keeps records of marriages and divorces called?

texts: What is an office that keeps records of marriages and divorces called in English? I guess Civil registry is the general term, but what's the specific word for the above mentioned office?


texts: term for a brand run by a company without direct acknowledgment?

texts:
The classic example of this in my mind is the relationship between Lexus and Toyota. At least in the United States, Lexus is not presented as "Lexus... by Toyota". From a newcomer's perspective, it is a fully independent entity.

For Toyota, Lexus was targeted at a specific market segment, sales to which might have been adversely impacted by using the Toyota name.

The term I thought of for this was "house brand", but googling suggests that term's meaning is generally confined to supermarket generics like "Sam's Choice".

Can someone please help me properly name this brand relationship?


texts: How to put "done from both opposite sides" in one word?

texts:
Suppose I'm developing a method of covering a symmetric object with a coating. Commonly you'd have to put the coating on the front of the object, rotate it, and do the back. My method processes both sides at the same time. I need a single word to describe it:

The novel method of _____ coating provides a 120% efficiency increase.

I was thinking about bilateral, the definition states that it means something "located on opposite sides of an axis" - will it be clear enough? The word needs to not hint not only at the fact of doing something at opposing locations, but also with mirrored alignments.


texts: Should "Project Manager" be capitalized?

texts:
I am pretty sure it shouldn't, but want to make sure that I am doing this correctly in a proposal that I am working on.

Should job titles like "Project Manager" ever be capitalized, and if so when?

In particular I am concerned about capitalization in sentences like this where the title refers to a specific person, not the role in general.

  "The Project Manager will
  evaluate the alternatives and offer a
  solution."

I'm a lot more certain that it should NOT be capitalized in sentences like this.

  "A project manager is the person who
  manages the budget and deliverable for
  a project."


texts: Can a man made object be named arbitrarily without reason

texts: I had a debate with a friend on how things made artificially are named. My friend proposed that all man made things are named with a reason/proper meaning. I disagreed saying not all things made by man need to have a name which can have a history or meaning to it. I gave an example of the word "quark" as a proof. Are there words for man made things which one can prove has no reason to it and was "made-up" arbitrarily.


texts: Where and/or when is the term "flight ticket" used?

texts:
On a forum I frequent some users were complaining about a question using the turn of phrase "flight ticket" as something no English speaker would ever say.

I disagreed because it sounds like something I've heard plenty of times, even though I usually say "plane ticket" myself.

But I'm not sure in which regions of the English speaking world, or in which era or age group it's preferred.

Google Ngrams tells me "flight ticket" is more popular than "aeroplane ticket" but less popular than "airplane ticket", "air ticket", and "plane ticket"... but I couldn't figure out much more about the history or demographics of the phrase.


texts: Are both "You can do no worse than" and "You can do worse than" accepted?

texts:
I came across "You can do no worse than" in the following article:

  You can do no worse than follow the regular updates that ESA astronaut
  Luca Parmitano is posting in his blog as he conducts his Volare
  mission on the ISS. He has provided fascinating, first-hand reports on
  life in space, handling fear, the mishap during his spacewalk and much
  else (Luca also has a Facebook page).

Logically, I would have expected You could do worse than [x].

Is "You can do no worse than" commonly accepted in everyday conversation, like I could care less which is bemoaned in Weird Al Yankovic's Word Crimes?


texts: Is it correct to write *lay in* in this sentence?

texts:
The secrets to paragraph writing lay in four essential elements, which when used correctly, can make a okay paragraph into a great paragraph.

I think lay in should be corrected to lie in, but I am not sure.. please tell me if this sentence is correct..


texts:
The pronunciation of blood is  \'bləd\ while words such as moon and spoon (with double 'o') are pronounced as \ˈmün\ and \ˈspün.

Why isn't blood pronounced like \ˈblüd\ ?


texts:
What does "Staking his position on" mean?
What can "use value" and "exchange value" mean here?
Does "fete" mean festival?

  Context:

  Staking his position on the city as the place in which use value is
  potentially preserved, resisting its subordination to exchange value
  –‘an urban reality for “users” and not for capitalist speculators’, as
  he puts it– Lefebvre outlines his desire to ‘restitute the fete by
  changing daily life’.


texts: Word to describe when someone describes something in too much detail

texts: In American psycho the main character describes how he kills and what he does when he kills in so much detail.


texts:
After reading usage-and-meaning-of-the-word-rather, I had a thought if I could replace rather with "little bit" (it's still in doubt by the way).
What I've known so far (correct me if I'm wrong), rather is used to compare different things like:

it's rather blue than green

or in other words

it's more blue than green.

That's what I know. I tried to find some sentences using "rather" and replaced it with "little bit". Let's see these examples:

It was a rather difficult question. -> It was a little bit
difficult question.
I've always rather liked Charlie. -> I've always little bit
liked Charlie.
The rules are rather complicated. -> The rules are little bit
complicated.

Does it make sense?


texts:
Recently, I watched an interview where the interviewee said "No choice, no problem". I tried googling but didn't come across anything useful.

I suspect it means that if you have no choice then there is no problem - as opposed to having choice which can cause problems.

So, what does it mean?

Thanks!

Here is the link to the interview. The pertinent information related to the phrase starts at 44:27 and phrase is used around 44:55.


texts: I'm Looking For A Word Like Deepity But To Describe Writing That Misses Its Intent

texts:
A few months ago, I read a review of some political writer's book on either the Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New York Times or somewhere like that, that described the author's attempt to seem profound but failing in one word. I hadn't seen the word before or if I had it didn't occur to me. I searched for its meaning and if I recall correctly it was akin to "deepity" in that the author was trying to be profound but wasn't. It didn't relate to one sentence or statement like a deepity does, though. It was more about the content of the book itself and especially its ending. Another way I remember it is that, the author was deliberately trying to frame the ending in a profound or philosophically-reflective manner and failed to execute it, basically falling flat.

I've deleted my browser history since then. It was an adjective. I remember seeing it and thinking they meant a different word because I had to look it up. I want to say it started with a "b" or a "p" but I could be wrong.


texts:
Many times on this site have I heard something described as a 'peeve'. My sense is that this is American.

Although the verb, usually in the passive - he was peeved because he had been given the wrong change, and refused to visit the shop again - exists in Britain, I have seldom heard it used as a noun.

The usual term in Britain I would have said was a 'gripe'. Is a 'peeve' the same thing as a 'gripe'?

Nonetheless I think both expressions are over-the-top for the examples which sometimes appear here. I would tend to call most of them 'pet dislikes'. I think 'peeve' or 'gripe' places too strong a negative sense upon them. A normal healthy mind has likes and dislikes. Dislikes do not have to be justified. In most English-speaking lands people are free to state their preferences.


texts: Can "precise" be used as a verb? Was it ever used much as a verb?

texts:
I found this in
the writings of 19th century economist Francis Ysidro Edgeworth:

  To precise the ideas ...

Was "precise" ever used much as a verb?
Can and should we use it as a verb today?

Research findings:

préciser means to clarify in French.
In English we use verbs such as specify and detail
to mean what the French mean by préciser.
  — provided by David Handelman,
supplemented by Drew
It turns out that F Y Edgeworth’s mother was Catalan,
his father died when he was two
and he was educated at home in Ireland up to entering university.
Not having much knowledge of Spanish
I wonder whether ‘to precise’ is an Anglicisation
of a Spanish, or possibly Catalan, verb.
It’s also worth noting that the ultimate root of precise
is a Latin verb even though we use it only as an adjective.
      — provided by BoldBen


texts:
The original text in the source is as follows:

  "there is a psychological need for... [a] sense-making narrative" (Rosen 2008: xix).

I would like to quote this line in a paper I'm writing. Do I need to do anything to indicate that the author of my source (not Rosen and not me) added the word [a], or can I leave it as is? Unfortunately, I'm using a Google Preview version of my source and don't have access to the full Rosen citation, let alone the Rosen source.


texts: Does using "Their watch is ended" over "Their watch has ended" change the meaning of the sentence?

texts:
I've been watching this little HBO show by the name of Game of Thones. Perhaps you  have heard of it. In the most recent episode the following line is used (and also happens to be the title of the episode):

  Now their watch is ended

This sounds foreign to my ear. I would be inclined to say "Their watch has ended".

Is there a subtlety in the English language that alters the meaning of the sentence by changing "is" to "has" and vice versa in the context of a simple sentence such as the above?


texts:
As AD = Anno Domini/year of our lord
and BC = Before Christ,
BCE = Before Common Era,
CE = Common Era.
What does common era mean?


texts:
I was looking through the original text of a popular nursery rhyme “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book when noticed an expression whose meaning I can’t understand: “Yes, marry, have I”.

What does that expression mean? And speaking in general, does this text from the book issued in 1744 look archaic for modern English native speakers?


texts:
Often in spoken English, I see one sentence or phrase "set up" another much like an interjection.  For example:

  I forgot to ask.  Did you find that book I told you about?

How do you generally punctuate this?  I've seen a comma used for this, but I that's only correct if it can be argued that I forgot to ask is a proper interjection (can it be?).

Should I use a colon?  Semi-colon?  Does it matter?


texts: Synonym of déjà vu that fits the scenario described here

texts:
déjà vu is a French word, & deja vu is its borrowed version.

Is there a synonym for it in English that I can use in the conversation given below?

(For instance 'per se' is Latin, but it has many one-word synonyms. )

Please consider this conversation

"It can't be Deja vu, you have never met the man before," he yelled at me

"It was Deja vu. I swear it! I have definitely met him before. From the moment I saw him, I knew he was going to attack! " I exclaimed as the felling chilled my gut.

"Technically speaking, it is called ____" he shouted

"Really? Am I going mad? Is my mind tricking me?'

"I actually don't know" he smiled.


texts:
I've seen the word succonded used on several websites, but can't find a definition anywhere.  I believe it may have to do with "being assigned to".  Can anybody point me to a dictionary definition – nothing seems to surface!

Examples phrases off Google search:

  The war came along, Marconi was succonded to the effort, and my  granddaddy went to work

  Dr. Dominic Otieno the DSWT veterinary
  officer succonded by KWS treating the
  Zebra

  Try and find people in your business
  who can be succonded to your project

  Senoir lawyers will be succonded to
  serve night courts


texts: Use of 'Ort' for the food left uneaten on my plate

texts:
Ort means - A scrap or remainder of food from a meal. Where meal means any of the regular occasions in a day when a reasonably large amount of food is eaten. as per dictionary. This is what is causing me confusion as what I want to convey is not about the whole meal, I just want to write a sentence which talks only about the uneaten food on my plate.

So my question is - Can I use 'ort' for the food which was left uneaten on my plate?


texts: Etiquette of using the wrong sign-off in a formal letter?

texts:
I just sent a formal business correspondence to a company via email. The letter starts with "To Whom It May Concern", but I rather clumsily used the wrong sign-off (Yours sincerely). How much of a breach in etiquette is this? Will it make my whole letter seem unprofessional? The company in question is based in the UK.

I would really appreciate some help!:)


texts:
Which preposition should I use with the idiom "stake a claim"? I thought it was "in," but apparently "on" also exists and some online dictionaries have "to" too.
For example:

Many homesteaders moved west to stake their claim in/on/to the Nebraska territory.
Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans immigrate to the U.S. every year, seeking to stake their claim in/on/to American soil and lead a better life.


texts: In English, how do we use the polite form of address to somebody?

texts: In French (my mother language), in order to be polite, we use "vous" (the second person of plurial) when we talk to another person who deserves respect (a boss, a teacher, etc.) and "tu" for a close friend, a child, etc.). How do we do the same  thing in English since there is only "you" for second person of singular and of plurial?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “At” or “in” the office?

I am a little confused about which preposition should be used here as in the title. I prefer to use in office. But how about the other one? Are both correct or not?


texts: Can any one understand this "Historical share of calls by incident type for each station by time blocks."


texts:
In the NP "mines in wartime", "in wartime" modifies the head "mines".

that nice tall man from Canada whom you met

"from Canada" modifies "man".
But why is the prepositional phrase "of Education" a complement to "Ministry" in "the Ministry of Education"?
How can I tell if a prepositional phrase is a complement to a noun or a modifier? And how are these two different?


texts: Word to describe someone that has posted "proof"

texts:
Pretend locks cannot be picked.

What would be a word to describe someone that has spent a long time writing an article full of absolute nonsense which they think is correct, believing for some reason that they are right, and influencing people due to the formal/professional way the article/blog/post etc... is wrote?

Assume it's nonsense as it is something stupid like putting a screwdriver into a lock and twisting it will open the lock. Except even in the information they post they do not successfully open the lock, despite a 10 page report with stupid information such as "you here cracks that means the lock is weak and about to open".

They might open lock in the end with the key, but my point is everything about what they have said is horse s**t to put this clearly.

Thank you.


texts: What do "leaps of faith" and "get the best of somebody" mean?

texts:
I came across these two phrases when reading The Da Vinci Code.

  Why not-if we're assuming the Church was able to uncover the identities of the Priory members, then certainly they could have learned of their plans. And even if they don't have the exact date, their superstitions may be getting the best of them.

  "Here is perhaps the best-known tome," Teabing said, pulling a tattered hardcover from the stack and handing it to her. The cover read:

  HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL
  The Acclaimed International Bestseller

  Sophie glanced up. "An international bestseller? I've never heard of it."
  "You were young. This caused quite a stir back in the nineteen eighties. To my taste, the authors made some dubious leaps of faith in their analysis, but their fundamental premise is sound, and to their credit, they finally brought the idea of Christ's bloodline into the mainstream".

I looked up these terms, but I still don't understand their contextual meanings.

What do they mean in their respective contexts?


texts: What is the difference in usage between "sports meet" and "sports meeting"?

texts: In the past I had only heard the term "sports meet" and I assume it is American English. Recently, though, I have heard some English language learners call it "sports meeting." Is that British English?


texts: What might be the name of the educational stages prior to the university?

texts:
What could one call the educational stages prior to university?
I know that there are the primary, elementary and secondary levels of education. But is there a hypernym for just the aforementioned three types of education?


texts: When we look at a particular community we have a sort of opinion about the people of that community . There are sevaral things which sort of generalise people from a community or caste like whether they are introverts,extroverts,fun loving,drink too much, high on life and even their skin tone etc.What do you call a person who is different from the people in his community ?


texts: Does "exotic" have any connotations of sexiness?

texts:
Part of a (possibly offensive or at least cringe-worthy) ad says

  "We have to go out accompanied and what is better than dating a beautiful exotic Latina woman here in Colombia, right?"

From a prescriptivist and etymological perspective, I assume "exotic" ought not to have any connotations of sexiness, since it's just derived from the Ancient Greek for foreign. And there's plenty of uses of "exotic" that have nothing to do with sexiness, for example cane toads being introduced to Australia from other countries.

But from a real world, descriptivist perspective, does "exotic" have any connotations of sexiness?

Wiktionary says that exotic means "Foreign, especially in an exciting way.". I suspect, but can't prove, that the main way a woman can be exciting to some men is by being sexy.

In at least American English (but probably not as much in Australian English), Exotic dancer is a euphemism for a stripper / pole dancer / belly dancer (I suspect some belly dancers would take issue with this!). William Safire notes the similarity between the words "exotic" and "erotic" (which is to do with sex), but notes that there isn't really such a phrase as "erotic dancer". I don't know whether "exotic dancer" has influenced what people interpret the word "exotic" by itself as meaning.

Does the word "exotic" have any connotations of sexiness?


texts: When I'm referencing a undefined person, when should I use "she" or "he"?

texts: This is something I realized in some text I read (books and articles), I don't identify it when speaking to people. When a pronoun is used replacing an undefined person sometimes "he" is used (I would say most of the time) and others "she" is used. Like in the sentence "The user is very clever, she found an error.", in formal Portuguese writing the pronouns for undefined person are always masculin, is it optional for English?


texts:
Balaclava is hyphenated as:

bal-a-cla-va, according to the online edition of Merriam-Webster
ba-la-clava,  according to the 1989 printed fourth edition of Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, p. 77

Which one is correct in British English? If there is a difference with the American English, which one is correct in American English?


texts: A word's different meanings in a sentence

texts:
The image of God is one thing, and that which is contemplated in the image is another.

I'm not sure but it seems the two "image" in the sentence have different meanings from each other. in my opinion one means 'visual appearance' and the other 'impression'. Am I understanding rightly?


texts: Parallelism between gerunds and common nouns

texts:
Is this sentence parallel even though the noun "being honest" is a gerund and the noun "deception" is not?

"Living a life of being honest to yourself is better than living a life of deception.


texts: Take a call - meaning in the following context

texts:
Context:

  Friend 1: Why don't you go for a second opinion. Its hightime.
  Friend 2: Yes, right, I got to take a call on that.

Here is the usage "take a call" right instead of "I have to a take a decision"?

Also,

  Friend 2: Yes, right, I got to make a call on that.

Here is the usage "make a call" right instead of "I have to a take a decision"?

Which is the right usage? Please clarify.


texts:
Apart from the difference between forget it and forget about it, what do you forget and what do you forget about?

Do you forget a face, someone's birthday or your date who is waiting for you?

Do you forget about your keys or the money you borrowed your friend? What are the criteria for which is/are acceptable?

In the M-W Learner's Dictionary is found the following, by Peter Sokolowski:

  [W]hat's the difference between forget and forget about?

  Forget about is used with a couple specific senses of forget. In the following senses, the use of about is optional.

  When forget is used to mean "to stop thinking or caring about
  (someone)":

  He was once a famous actor, but now most people have forgotten (about) him.
  You shouldn't forget (about) your old friends.

  When forget is used to mean "to stop thinking or caring about (something) on
  purpose":

  We need to forget (about) our differences and learn to get along.
  “I'm sorry I'm late.” “That's OK. Forget (about) it.” [=don't worry about it]
  Forget about finding a way to escape—there's no way out of here.
  I had almost forgotten about my car accident last year.

  About can add some emphasis when something specific is forgotten, but sometimes the structure of the sentence changes:

  I forgot to pay the bill. = I forgot about paying the bill.

But can anyone add other details to the different usages?


texts: From where does it look like a "frog" to you?

texts:
Our teacher (she teaches psychology), was telling us about the ink-blot test (used to tell a person's personality). She was asking a girl (who volunteered) a few questions.  She said that "it looked like a frog to her". So our teacher asked:

  From where does it look like a frog to you? (She's asking exactly what part of that ink-blot appears to her as a frog)

Is the use of "from where" natural or should it be "where does it look like a frog to you"?


texts: Why is it that there is no apostrophe in "United States Supreme Court"?

texts: You can say "The cats of Mary" or "Mary's cats". But the alternative to "Supreme Court of the United States", that is, "United States Supreme Court" is written without an apostrophe. Why?


texts: What is a word that describes a random word presented in a conversation?

texts: For example, if two people are discussing cows & dairy farming & one person mentions carpet. Is there a word for this? Maybe a literary term?


texts:
Nouns can modify nouns: cat food, coffee cup, gold ring, laser surgery, flood insurance. It seems to me there are even cases where a noun sounds better than the corresponding adjective: sociology papers sounds a bit better than sociological papers.

Some noun-noun combinations don’t work. You wouldn't say America gangsters or measurement spoons or greed crimes. If you spilled water on your keyboard you probably wouldn't call it a keyboard spill or even a water spill.

Are there rules that tell which combinations are acceptable?


texts: Is it common to use "where" after "a time" as a relative?

texts:
I heard the following comment of Mr. Marco Rubio about Mr. Donald Trump on CBS’s “Face the Nation” in a clip in February 29th AP Radio News:

“There is never gonna be a time where the Republican Party rallies
around and says you have to get out or anyone has to get out for
purposes of rallying around Donald Trump. Donald Trump is not
Republican Conservative. Donald Trump is trying to pull off the
biggest scam in American political history.”

I thought I misheard “There is never gonna be a time where –“ for “There is never gonna be a time when –“ at first, because I was in understanding that time should be trailed by “when” as a relative noun or adverb.
An English Japanese dictionary at hand (Readers English Japanese Dictionary published by Kenkyusha) provides “where” singly as a relative to refer the ‘place.’
However, my lookup of the following two sources endorsed that I heard it right:

Here is what is never going to happen in this race. There's never
going to be a time where the Republican Party rallies around and says
you have to get out or anyone has to get out for purposes of rallying
around Donald..
- Source
“Here is what is never going to happen,” Rubio continued. “There's
never going to be a time where the Republican Party rallies around and
says you have to get out or anyone has to ...
 - Source Link

Is it common, at least not uncommon to use “where” after “time” as a relative?


texts:
I think the possessive form of course is course's, but it keeps appearing with a red squiggly underline in my Google Doc. Either the dictionary used by Google Docs is incomplete or I'm wrong. I'm thinking it's the latter.

So, what is the possessive form of course?


texts: Is this the correct use of commas in a list?

texts:
This is a teacher-run, flexible, inclusive, event.

OR

This is a teacher-run, flexible, inclusive event.

Which of these should I be using and what is the grammatical reason for this? Thank you!


texts: Syntactical definition of 'commander' in 'Commander, Fleet Activities [USN base]'

texts:
What is the syntactical definition of the word 'commander' in e.g. 'Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka'?
I always figured it was the Commander of Fleet Activities Yokosuka, i.e. the commanding officer in charge of the US Navy base, but the commanding officer of Yokosuka is introduced as "Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka's Commanding Officer, Captain [name]".


texts:
Obviously, em dash can be used like a colon and commas. Could you please tell me if em dash is used correctly in the following sentences or not? Which one do you prefer?
I want to say: John and I traveled to the place of John's birth.

1- In high summer two years ago, my foster brother (John) and I made a sentimental journey to the place of his birth—Armenia.

2- In high summer two years ago, John—my foster brother—and I made a sentimental journey to the place of his birth—Armenia.

3- In high summer two years ago, John—my foster brother—and I made a sentimental journey to the place of his birth, Armenia.


texts: "downhill from there" - help to understand this joke

texts:
I watch this interesting clip today (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FLsWif6-Jfg), but I don't really understand the joke that he makes, which is:

A: We're going to mountain-climbing tomorrow, but I don't think you should climb to fast.

B: You don't think I should climb to fast? Why do you say that?

A: Well if you peak too soon, there will be all downhill from there.

Could you please help me to understand what makes people laugh in this joke? I think it must be funny, but I can't really get it.

Thanks


texts: How to avoid a preposition at the end of a relative clause

texts:
In this example:

  I am adverting to (noun, eg letter), the reception of which I am asking/tentative about.

How can I recast this sentence, and preserve this syntax, without the "empty preposition" about dangling at the end?

To wit, I do not wish to rewrite the subordinate (relative) clause as another sentence (as follows):

I am adverting to (noun, eg letter) and I'm tentative about its reception.


texts: English equivalent for the Persian proverb "The mountain just gave birth to a mouse"

texts:
I'm looking for an idiom or expression to describe a well-known person/ organization/ politician/ government  whose achievements in a given situation are smaller than what they had claimed or promised to be.

We Iranians have a proverb that literally means

  The (roaring) mountain just gave birth to a mouse!

Its  etymology is like this:

Once a volcanic mountain started roaring, hissing, and bursting bubbles. The people were waiting to see what would happen after all those huge roarings and loud booms. Finally, the volcano activity stopped and the people saw just a tiny mouse came out of there! (rather than a monster that was expected to come). So they said mockingly:

  "Heh! After all those huge roarings, the (big) mountain just gave birth to a (tiny) mouse!"

Notes:

The (roaring) mountain -symbol for an apparently big(=important) and
strong person-here is figured like a woman who is screaming and
shouting while is delivering her baby.
We use this proverb for mocking an important person/organization/ government, etc
ironically when they have used broad advertisements or have spent much money or resources over doing something noticeable, but the result/ achievement is less noticeable than it was claimed or promised to be.

Is there any equivalent for this Persian proverb?

I just found "much ado about nothing"; would it convey the same connotation?


texts:
If I say:

  Answer the third/fourth/fifth one.

With one being used to avoid repeating the word question, is it grammatically correct or incorrect?

If it is grammatically correct, is the use of the word one optional here?


texts: To have something same as someone's or someone?

texts:
I have the same car as my father.
I have the same car as my father's. (as I am talking about my father's car)

I want to say my father and I have the same kind of car. which of these two structures are grammatically correct?


texts:
I am not sure whether the best form when speaking of my spouse in everyday English is "the wife" or "my wife".

I commonly read "the wife" (or "the girlfriend") in reference to the author's significant other, so it appears to be idiomatic at least in American English. However, the women are not part of the group addressed, and I don't know how they would react to it.

Is "the wife" impolite or even derogatory?
If not, which form is better?


texts:
The following is a sentence from The Summing Up by Somerset Maugham.

  For my part I do not think I am any better or any worse than most people, but I know that if I set down every action in my life and every thought that has crossed my mind the world would consider me a monster of depravity.

It seems to me that 'set' in the if-clause is in the past-form because
the if-clause represents a hypothetical condition. Then I think 'has' should be 'had' for the same reason. Am I wrong?


texts: When do you leave a space in a paragraph and when do you not?

texts:
I am not fully sure if this is the right place for this question but I am guessing has something to do with structure and usage so hopefully it is alright here. Apologies if not.

I am getting confused when I write long reports and essays about when I should be writing paragraphs with a space separating and when I should have them following one another without a space.

I have been putting a space when it looks like too much of a wall of text but I am finding that paragraphs without spaces between them, look a bit weird.

Is it just when you start talking about something completely different that you should put a space, or should they follow on, too? Should the space even be there or is it just something people do?


texts:
Generally, if some object is nested, it is in a hierarchy level below another object. For example:

* Layer 1
  - Layer2

"Layer 2 is nested in Layer 1". What do I call it, if I would "de-nest" Layer 2?
Like:

* Layer 1
* Layer 2

  I have ... Layer 2.

"De-nesting" sounds made up. "To place beside" would describe it, but I would prefer a similar short and snappy verb like "to nest".


texts: Is there a hidden condition in this context?

texts:
I went through a FAQ on a website regarding an offer where it mentioned customers using a particular credit card can get a 10% discount. The minimum limit to get the discount is Rs. 6000.

1. What is the offer?
Get 10% cashback on the site (website and mobile) and 15% cashback on
the app on successful single transaction net of refunds on purchases
of Rs. 6000 and above from 1st to 5th Oct 2016. Cancelled items/orders
will not be eligible for cashback. Additionally get 5% Cashback (in
the form of reward points) on XXX Bank Debit cards, max up to Rs.
500.Detailed T&C for extra 5% cashback here < link >
4. What is the minimum transaction size for the cashback for the duration of the event (1st to 5th Oct '16)?
The minimum transaction size for the cashback duration is Rs. 6000 in a single transaction net of refunds and cancellations.

Here when they say "single transaction", I think they mean the offer is not applicable if you make more than one transaction that makes Rs. 6000.
That's not a problem, but could anybody tell me if it also means that the offer is valid only on "one" transaction (and it is not applicable if you try to make more than one transaction)?
Please note that I am not asking a business related question. I just had a debate with my brother and there were some silly arguments. I am just trying to know if the offer page has all details and request the company to update their page.
Thank you!


texts: What is the word for the plastic cover you so often see protecting products?

texts:
I wondered what's the appropriate term for the hard plastic cover one so often sees protecting certain products. I took a photo in order to visualise my meaning:

Thank you for your help!


texts:
What is the difference between "only for as long as" and "only if"?

Examples:

  A coral reef will continues to exist only for as long as it can expand at a faster rate than it is being destroyed.
  Annual subscription options allow you to commit to a contract only for as long as you need it.
  Children are admitted only if accompanied by an adult.
  The lawyer is paid only if he wins.

I am learning toward "only for as long as". It seems like that there is no difference between "only for as long as" and "only if". Is it right? If so, which one is more well-used expression?

This is the first time I post questions here! So, if there is some problem in this question, please comment to me.


texts: Is "Suppose X were true , then Y would hold" correct?

texts:
In mathematical writing, we often see the following construction, that I'm prone to overuse:

  Suppose statement X is true.  Then Y holds.

I'm questioning:

The validity of the sequence "suppose, then".  Should "then" be used only with "if" and the likes?
The grammar mood used.  Should this read as follows?

  Suppose statement X were true. Then Y would hold.


texts: How can I rephrase these two sentences for a more natural flow?

texts:
How can I rephrase the two sentences in italics, so that it sounds and flows more naturally and doesn't sound awkward. The sentence before it are given for some context.

But neither systems perform well in the high-dimensional, continuous and partially observable real state spaces (e.g. of sensory experiences).
Latest research highlights the role of episodic memory in such cases, suggesting the possibility of episodic RL being a potential solution to these problems. I believe, the desire to realize an artificial agent that performs well in the real-world learning conditions will drive the next frontiers of research in RL and my career goal is to work towards that objective and ultimately build an agent that closely resembles human intelligence.

Thanks a lot.


texts: I found many people like to use "literally" in their sentences . Is that a kind of emphasize? How can I use this word?


texts:
So I was writing a biography and my teacher (Who is not an English teacher, he is a math teacher) made several marks on my paper for my use of would. For example, I wrote,

"He would publish his first mathematical paper at the age of eighteen."

My teacher said I should have used published instead of would publish. He also said in class that since it is a biography that takes place in the past that this wasn't the correct use of past tense. I don't think he is right and I feel that this issue is more a stylistic difference. However, I am unsure as well so any help would be appreciated. I will put some more example below too.

1) me-> "One year later he went on to earn his Ph.D..."
him-> should have been earned and I should've got rid of went on to

2) me-> "He would be associated with the project until 1955."
him-> should have been was and not would be

3) me-> "Von Neumann would go on to write, "[boring qoute]"
him-> should have been went and not would go

4)
me-> "Between 1927-1930 Von Neumann would teach Mathematics at University of Berlin."
him-> should have been taught and not would teach


texts: Is there a single word for a "unit of time"?

texts: If I were to have a text box for someone to enter an integer and dropdown list from which my user would select day(s), hour(s), minute(s) or second(s), is there a single word that would describe what is selected in the dropdown list.  The best I can think of is "time unit", but was hoping for a single word to describe an arbitrary unit of time.


texts: Why do these verbs take bare infinitives?

texts:
[a] It makes the tree grow. [b] I never heard him speak.

I’m wondering why causative and sense verbs (make, hear) license bare infinitives for their complement, instead of taking to infinitives? What semantic difference is there between bare and to infinitives?

I glimpse a clue that this adjective complement is “more immediately or directly visible (CGEL,p.263)” in ‘she looked happy’ than in ‘she looked to be happy’; to infinitives have meaning of modality, change, and potentiality (CGEL, pp.174, 1242, 1243). And I guess those verbs would take bare infinitives to denote concurrence of matrices and complements' actions. But I’ve not found any accounts of this. Why do they license bare infinitives?

(I've read the difference between their taking infinitive and gerund, in ELL and CGEL (p.1236-7): the verbs have the "whole event" of the infinitives and "a segment of" the gerund.)


texts: Prepositions: "The confusing widgets of language"

texts:
The title is adapted from an article in THE WEEK, written by  James Harbeck. Well worth reading if you ask me.

I don't particularly like prepositions. They are small, seemingly insignificant things that meddle with my writing. Living "abroad" so many years has resulted in me double questioning  the validity of certain phrases and expressions.

The term, asserting, is one such example.

Which preposition fits best? The ones below all sound plausible, albeit the last one is probably an L2 (2nd language) interference. Nonetheless, which preposition should I choose with "asserting"?

  By asserting that the red pill would reveal how deep the rabbit hole was, Morpheus implied there was  only one reality.
  In asserting that the red pill...
  On asserting that the red pill...

Looking at Google Ngrams doesn't help much, although I suppose it's safe to eliminate "on asserting" but why?


texts: When it come to bicycle tyres, what does "cheerful", "sprightlier" mean?

texts:
The usage of those words can be found in this review of a certain make of bicycle tyres. Unable to understand what the author is trying to say using those adjectives, since they are usually used to describe human personality or mood, but never came across such usage for inanimate objects.

I've to admit that my exposure to Queen's English, is fairly limited, and I was struggling to to use "tyre" instead of "tire".


texts:
I couldn't find this question on here, and I've tried scouring the Internet, but to no avail. It's quite possible I'm just not searching with the appropriate keywords.

The question is regarding comma use in a sentence such as this:

  I'm going out tonight, and, if you come along with me, we'll have a nice time.

Upon reduction, I (insubordinate) + C (conjunction) + S (subordinate) + I is the sentence structure. In my line of work, I commonly see I,CS,I. To me this seems incorrect. My belief is it should be I,C,S,I as above, unless the S is sufficiently small to allow for I,CSI.

Can anyone clarify this for me?

EDIT: Because the initial example was not the greatest, I've provided another to illustrate.

  We're funding 5,500 to his Roth IRA, and, once we receive her permission, we'll be doing the same to hers.

Of note is the S is in no way nonessential, yet I feel all commas are necessary here. The second comma seems required with the inverted clause order


texts: Can someone tell me if this sentence contains a comma splice?

texts:
My friend and I have been arguing about whether the construction of this sentence is correct. Here is the sentence in question:
I love all of those books, some would say too much.
He argued that this is a comma splice, as it technically reads, "I love all of those books, some would say [that I love them] too much."
However, I argued that it's correct, or at least widely accepted usage, since it's a more succinct way of saying, "I love all of those books—too much, some would say." The "some would say too much" is supposed to read as an "afterthought," if that makes sense.
In any case, (he and I both agreed) the em dash would work best here: "I love all of those books—some would say too much."
But is the comma case (the original sentence, bolded) incorrect? Any thoughts?


texts: What do you call the adjectives between transitive verbs and objects?

texts:
I carefully pried open her mouth. (The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s
  Bag)

When intransitive verbs are followed by adjectives, they seem to call these adjectives as subjective complements or adjuncts. But the example has transitive verb [pried] before an adjective [open]. In this case, does this adjective be called an adjunct?


texts:
Stephen King (author of "The Shining") in his book "On Writing", writes:

  American grammar doesn`t have the
  sturdiness of British grammar (a
  British advertising man with a proper
  education can make magazine copy for
  ribbed condoms sound like the Magna
  goddam Carta), but it has its own
  scruffy charm

I'm interested to know what King means by "sturdiness" here. Can anyone give some examples or more insight into what exactly King is talking about?


texts: Where did the “&” character come from, and why is it here?

texts:
I’m sorry if this was asked a million times before, but neither Google nor the ELU site has helped me out.

I’m wondering:

What’s the reason behind introducing this character?
What’s the difference between it and and?


texts: Did "white" in "decent white folk" originally refer to race?

texts:
Nowadays, the "white" in "decent white folk" can refer to race. But did it always refer to race, or did it have another meaning?

I tried looking at Google NGrams, but it has very few hits.


texts: In need of accurate translations for "discount"

texts:
I’m writing a program for point of sales work. Thus, in my code, I need to
name things (in English) related to concerns like "Store", "Sales",
"Price", etc.
I’m now writing code related to "Discount" concepts. The thing I’m
currently struggling on is that I have three similar but different
concepts with three different names in French, with loose English translations provided for each:

rabais – Diminution du prix d’un bien ou d’un service sur un prix préalablement proposé ou facturé.  [~ Reduction in the previously provided or invoiced price of a good or service. ~]
remise – Diminution de prix accordée sur un achat par un commerçant : Une remise de 5 %.  [~ Price cut granted by a merchant for a purchase: a discount of 5%. ~].
escompte – Réduction consentie par un commerçant à l’acheteur qui paie comptant ou au débiteur qui s’acquitte de sa dette avant l’échéance.  [~ (Price) reduction granted by a merchant to the buyer who pays cash or to the debtor who pays off his debt early. ~]

Not being a native English speaker, I can’t find an accurate translation
for each of these words. I only found discount or rebate but I don’t
really know to which of these concept it best applies.
Does someone know more accurate English translations for each of these
distinct but related terms?

If it helps, this site (in French) contains a very precise
description of the differences between these concepts. Here
are excerpts:

L’escompte
L’escompte est une réduction financière accordée en cas de règlement
comptant. En d’autres termes, c’est la somme déduite à un débiteur
qui acquitte sa dette avant l’échéance. [...]

Le rabis
En comptabilité, le rabais est une réduction commerciale
exceptionnelle du prix de vente accordée au client pour un défaut de
qualité des produits de conformité de la commande aux caractéristiques
prédéfinies ou d’un retard de livraison. [...]

La remise
Une remise est une réduction commerciale habituelle accordée en fonction
des quantités achetées, dans le cadre d’une opération promotionnelle
ou suivant la qualité du client. Généralement, ces remises sont
accordées aux clients qui achètent des quantités importantes [...]

La ristourne
La ristourne est une réduction de prix accordée sur le montant global
des ventes faites avec un même tiers-client ou fournisseur pendant
une période déterminée (mois, trimestre, semestre, etc.). Elle se
calcule alors sur le chiffre d’affaires réalisé avec le client durant
la période retenue, en général la fin de l’année. [...]


texts: Origin of "quarters" in the sense of living area

texts:
I was explaining to my son that HQ stood for "headquarters," when he surprised me by dividing the word into "head" and "quarters."  I had never considered this word thusly before, but it's obvious to me now: the quarters for the head. But then as I explained that "quarters" was another word for a building or room, I realized how little it fits.

We discussed it over our lunch circle, and came up with some theories:

It originally cost a quarter to rent a room.
Military bases were divided into four parts, each of which contained some buildings for particular functions.
Rented space was paid by the quarter (in the annual sense).

Doing some research, this is what we found:

An explanation of give no quarter  says that quarter developed from a fourth part of something, progressing from sky and space, to compass directions, to cities and towns, and that
"there was a parallel development on a domestic scale and a part of a house also became called a quarter" but it sheds no light on how that came to be. So it remains plausible that "quarters" might be related to dividing a house into four parts, similar to #2.

This discussion of quarter supports the idea that "quarters" comes from dividing a house into four parts, but also mentions "quarter days" which are days of the year "on which it is usually contracted that rents should be paid and houses or lands entered upon or quitted."  This lends some plausibility to #3.

But then there is this blog article that states unequivocally and unsourced-ly that the origin is none of the above, but in fact derives from a French word which means "separate from."

How did "quarters" come to mean housing or accommodation?


texts:
This is easiest to explain with examples:

Examples

1a: Shouting and cursing shows that you are rude.
1b: Shouting and cursing show that you are rude.
2a: Hitting the target and splitting the arrow shows that he is an
accomplished archer.
2b: Hitting the target and splitting the arrow show that he is an
accomplished archer.

In cases like this, is "show" or "shows" correct?? If they are both correct, is there any difference in the meaning conveyed? Are there times where one or the other would be more appropriate or effective?


texts:
I just came across an article that used the phrase "chip away at."
But my question is that I actually don't understand that sentence

As I'm not familiar with this phrase and not good at grammar either, I'm not sure if the author means: Davidai's made the compromise that he would satisfy the wanderlust
or
he would reduce the frequency of travelling?
I'm lost, can someone help me with this?


texts:
I've been searching for the answer for quite a long time and I'm still confused about these sentences:

A. I have school tomorrow. (it would mean it is scheduled)

B. I'm having school tomorrow. (?)

C. I'm going to have school tomorrow. (it looks like I will have)

Can example B mean that usually I don't have school tomorrow but it's been decided by my school that the classes will take place? Can I use Present Continuous in that case?


texts: Saying that refers to not going overboard in solving a problem when a simple solution exists

texts:
So I know I've heard this saying in American English before but I just can't quite find the original.

I have come up with several made up variations like:

I don't send the Navy (or whole army, or a battalion) when all you need is a diplomat.
Don't buy the whole cow when all you need is milk.

What's the more commonly heard saying/phrase for this of expression?


texts: Is the expression "What is the time on your side?" appropriate?

texts:
I want to inform place A, where I have applied for a job, that I have received a job offer from place B. My attempt is "[...] I take this opportunity to let you know that I have received an offer from place B. I have few days to decide and I was wondering what is the time on your side"

Question: is the expression "what is the time on your side" appropriate to investigate whether place A has already taken a decision or whether it could consider to take a decision on my application quicker (without putting too much pressure)? If it is not, which expression would you suggest?


texts: Meaning and use of “while so be as” in this context

texts:
I guess it roughly means "as long as". But I don't understand the grammar.

I don’t know how long I may live, or how soon I may die; but I know
that if I was capsized, any night, in a gale of wind in Yarmouth Roads
here, and was to see the town-lights shining for the last time over
the rollers as I couldn’t make no head against, I could go down
quieter for thinking ‘There’s a man ashore there, iron-true to my
little Em’ly, God bless her, and no wrong can touch my Em’ly while so
be as that man lives!’” (David Copperfield)


texts: Is the verb have in the infinitive "to have breakfast" an auxiliary verb?

texts: Is the verb "have" in the infinitive above an auxiliary smilar to the auxiliary verb "have" used to form the perfect tense?


texts: Why is "folks" commonly used as a gender-neutral term for "people" when "people" is already gender-neutral?

texts:
Lately, I've been noticing a lot of people using folks (sometimes spelled folx) instead of people. This seems especially prevalent among left-leaning sources that pride themselves on inclusion.

Some examples:

"What Cis Folk Have In Common With Trans Folk" (an article from everydayfeminism.com)
"‘Hidden Meaning’ In Paul McCartney’s Hit Holiday Song Is Freaking Folks Out" (an article from huffpost.com)
"Her braids stood in defiance to a society that actively singles out, disciplines, and asks Black folks to cut their hair... (an article from slate.com)

This newly widespread usage of folks seems unusual given that the word until recently was seen in a fairly negative light. Both President Obama and President Bush were criticized for using it in speeches on serious topics, and it was typically dismissed as too informal or colloquial. I feel like it also was associated more with Southern redneck stereotypes (much like ain't and y'all) rather than being "mainstream."

One reason I've seen for the usage of folks is to replace guys as a gender-neutral term for a group of people. An Atlantic article, "The Problem with 'Hey Guys'", describes people consciously choosing to replace guys with the gender-neutral folks (it also mentions y'all), and says that folks is preferable to people because people is "too often pushy and impersonal."

However, this is just in the context of using it as a second-person plural pronoun. I can see how addressing a group as "you people" would be frowned upon, given the negative implications of that term, but many of the recent uses of folks do not use it as a form of address, but rather as a third-person replacement of "people." (All three of the examples I cited above use it this way.) In these instances, is there any different connotation in using folks instead of people?

Has folks gained a connotation that makes it a more inclusive gender-neutral term for people than people?


texts: can a deliberative body "resolve on" a matter?

texts:
I have been seeing phrases "The board of directors resolved on the budget." but have never heard, and in dictionaries have not found, a combination of "resolve" with preposition "on" to refer to the topic that a body must make a decision on.

The OED says to resolve in this sense generally takes an object clause, such as "The Committee resolved that it accepts the chairman's proposal." or "The shareholders resolved to go forward with the takeover bid." But when the actual tenor of the decision is not stated, only the topic on which a resolution must be passed, is it correct to use "resolve on"?


texts: Should I use capital letter in scientific tests for refering sections? I.e. Section 1.2 or section 1.2?

texts:
The question is simple, should I write

"In this section..." or "In this Section"

"In this chapter..." or "In this Chapter"

?


texts: What does "person dumb" mean in following sentence?

texts:
It was odd that Apple even offered him a job. During his eight years at Adobe, most recently as chief technology officer, he was best known as the only person dumb enough to publicly fight Steve Jobs over the iPhone’s lack of support for Flash videos.
Wired Magazine, iPhone Killer: The Secret History of the Apple Watch; undated

How do I interpret person dumb in this quote?


texts: Naming a chat group with The Lee or Lee's

texts:
I want to start a WhatsApp group and I don't know which of the following names is grammatically correct:

Lee Family

The Lee Family

Lee's Family

The Lee's Family.


texts: "semi transparent", what is used in between?

texts:
How do you write the word semi transparent (meaning partially transparent)?

semitransparent
semi-transparent
semi transparent

I found each of them on the Internet and none of them in my English dictionary.


texts: Use of the word "wrong" in causal learning exercises

texts:
I am an "event learning" consultant and practitioner and have been since 1974.

When something goes "wrong" -- an injury, explosion, loss of revenue, etc. high hazard industries are required to learn from them.

Almost all events of these sorts can be traced to people who did something "wrong," IN RETROSPECT.  That is, I'm NOT talking about intentional harm, or morally or ethically "wrong" here.  I AM talking about, in retrospect, "I should not have flown my drone in those high wind conditions because it ended up crashing my drone."

I'm trying to use "retrospection" to get people to realize what they DID, and then get them to acknowledge that whatever they did was "wrong."  "I flew my drone in high wind conditions, and in retrospect I acknowledge this was wrong."

There are parts of our behavior that are"wrong" in the sense that they will either harm us or other people -- even though we are not aware of them at the time.

But in using the word "wrong," I am getting a lot of push-back these days from people thinking "it's a finger pointing exercise."  Far from that, we're asking individual people to look at themselves as part of an incident and SELF-ADMIT what they did that contributed to an incident.

I need to know the kinds of things I do that are "wrong," so that I can change those kinds of things.

So again, can anyone thing of a better word to use instead of:

Who did what WRONG?  A word that does not imply morally or ethically "bad?"

Thank you


texts: What is the meaning of "mark" in this (probably archaic) usage?

texts:
In the script for Stanley Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon, which is set in Europe in the late 1700s, there's a use of the word "mark" that I didn't understand.

        CAPTAIN GROGAN
Well, if it must be, it must.  For a
young fellow, you are the most
bloodthirsty I ever saw.  No
officer, bearing His Majesty's
commission, can receive a glass of
wine on his nose, without resenting
it -- fight you must, and Best is a
huge, strong fellow.

        RODERICK
He'll give the better mark.  I am
not afraid of him.

How is the word mark being used above? Is this an archaic use from the 1700s?


texts:
Why, the past tense verb, was is used to mention that he was an English poet?

I agree that he is not alive now. But I am so much confused about this usage.

Let me explain in detail. Assume that I am at Shakespeare's House. If he was I alive I would have said, 'Shakespeare is here.' But since he is not alive, the correct usage will be 'Shakespeare was here.' In these examples, it is very clear. He is not alive. It is impossible (not believing in any supernatural happenings) for Shakespeare to be there at his house. So usage of the verb was is clear.

In the case of mentioning him as an English poet. Even if he is not alive, he is still considered as a poet. Just because he is not alive it doesn't mean that he is not an English poet anymore, right? Why are we using was instead of is?

May be the verbs is, are, was, were, etc. are not related to the person being alive or dead. Kindly clear my confusion in this part. Waiting in desperation.


texts:
I wrote the following sentence in my journal article:

  The performance of the new and existing methods are compared.

Then MS Word indicated that I had used 'are' in the aforementioned sentence incorrectly.
Is the above sentence incorrect?
If so, which is the correct sentence?

  The performances of the new and existing methods are compared.

or:

  The performance of the new and existing methods is compared.


texts: Are there any nice synonyms for flavour?

texts:
I did some research, and found several synonyms for flavour, including:

  Taste, savor, tang, seasoning, tastiness, tang, relish, bite, piquancy, pungency, spice, spiciness, and zest

However, many of these aren't too helpful, because the context is for yoghurt.

By the way, one other little question: is it correct English to say the context is for yoghurt?


texts: Why is the plural of "quiz" spelled with double Z?

texts: The plural of "quiz" is spelled with double "z" while the plural of "box" (and sometimes "bus") is spelled with a single last consonant. Why is it so? Is this the general rule to double the last consonant to keep the syllable closed?


texts: A term for ads masquerading as independent journalism

texts: There's a Russian word "джинса" (here's an article in Russian if one wonders) for articles that feel like ads (and most probably are de-facto hidden ads indeed) but not officially marked as such. My question is, apart from the term "hidden ad", is there a specific English term for this?


texts: commas in "They are sweet, not sour, grapes"

texts: In the sentence "They are sweet, not sour, grapes.", is the second comma correct, incorrect, or optional?


texts: Word for a rare astronomic event usable as metaphor for rare life situations

texts:
Just curious to know if there is a single word in English to refer to a rare (significant) astronomic event occurrence of which is very rare or probably periodical but takes too many years to repeat itself. Also please note I am not an astronomy guy at all. To exemplify how I  would like to use this term if there was one I would  write (ironically):

  It only occurs once in a thousand years like a rare astronomic event [here goes the word/idiom] that a lady gets attracted to me and shows interest, but I ruin the opportunity (to approach her) stupidly and have to wait another thousand years!


texts: What's the difference between Have you ever tried canoeing? Did you ever try canoeing?

texts: Is ever appropriate to use in past simple questions?  Is there a difference in present perfect questions using ever meaning a time period up to now and the past simple use of ever in a question?  If there is a difference in meaning what is it please?


texts: Is the phrase "fitting (someone) in (to a schedule)" alright to use or is there a better way to say this?

texts:
fit (someone) in (to a schedule)

Is this phrase useful for scheduling meetings and appointments. When you're talking to someone with a busy schedule, you may have to ask them to "fit you in". "Fitting you in" means fitting you into their schedule. You can imagine a schedule book with each meeting or appointment taking up a block of time. If the person has enough room to add your appointment between two other appointments, then you say that they could "fit you in".

I guess it's an idiom, but it doesn't seem as though this is the best way to ask for someone to "pencil you in."


texts:
How would you translate "Ich bin etwas durch den Wind" into English?

"Durch den Wind sein" means having scattered or not fully coherent thoughts, not having full presence of mind (Geistesgegenwart), and seeming distracted or not fully awake. It's the state of mind that can occur after experiencing something traumatizing or when being stressed out.

I was wondering if there was an English word or idiom that captures all those different facets of the German one.

Edit (context for translation):

I'm sorry I didn't call you, I've been a little [something] lately and forgot.


texts: Words for political without party affiliation?

texts:
I'm struggling to find the right word to describe a campaign I'm starting.

I want to influence public policy around an agenda in a party neutral manner.

Apolitical and non-political feel wrong. The cultural bias is British English.

Update
I'm aiming to be as socially inclusive as possible, so some of the great suggestions so far have the wrong nuance.


texts: What is the correct usage? I know you sit 'on' a sofa/couch. What about chair?


texts: What is being referred to by the words "that amount"

texts:
"John has 12,000 in cash, and his sugar mommy gave him 8,000. He then decides to spend half that amount to 'insert action here'."
What amount is the problem referring to? Does it refer to the article preceding that, which would be 8,000? Or would it be referring to the entire amount?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Comma before last item in a list

Is it correct to write:

  a,b, or c
  a,b, and c

Is the comma used after b correct?


texts: What's a concise verb for "to say frankly"

texts:
I'm trying to avoid using an adverb in the following sentence:

  When people asked him where the money was going, he [said frankly], "a good cause".

I'm hoping there's a synonym for "said" that elicits feelings of terseness and simplicity in the speaker's voice, but I can't think of one.


texts:
What is the difference between inherent and innate?  I did a quick google but I would like a more concrete comparison and examples.

This initially came up from trying to decide on the correct description when talking about the nature of humanity (good/bad)  inherently good/bad verses innately good/bad.  I feel like inherently sounds better but I don't know why and need more information for the future.

Found this but it isn't quite what I want:  Is there a subtle difference between "inherent" and "intrinsic"?


texts: What's this usage of comma, separating of a list of independent clauses?

texts:
This is a sentence from the book "The Brothers Karamazov" (page 8):

He spent a disorderly adolescence and youth: he never finished high school; later he landed in some military school, then turned up in the
Caucasus, was promoted, fought a duel, was broken to the ranks,
promoted again, led a wild life, and spent, comparatively, a great
deal of money.

I am totally lost in these commas living in the middle because from my analysis, things are like this: all the separations are a list of something for the giveaway of the last ", and", but I don't understand what are these separations exactly are. Are they independent clauses delibarately missing the subject "he" or something else?


texts:
I was reading some essays the other day written in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in which the phrase Near East (meaning Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, etc) recurred quite frequently. It then occurred to me that I hadn't heard that name recently, as it seems to have been replaced by Middle East.

So I wonder: when, and why, did the Near East become the Middle East? It hasn't moved, after all.


texts:
I'm making a chat application and when the user chooses to delete someone I need to show a confirmation window, but I'm unsure which to use.

Option 1

  Are you sure you want to delete? You will no longer see this person in your Contacts.

Option 2

  Are you sure you want to delete? You will no longer see this person on your Contacts.

Is one more correct or more often used than the other?


texts: Is there a verb for attacking someone's mind (psychic damage)?

texts:
In gaming nomenclature, when you use fire damage, you burn. When you use cold damage, you freeze. When you use holy damage, you smite. And so on.

What's a good verb for using psychic damage, i.e., making a psychic or mental attack on someone? For the purposes of this question, assume that you are doing something to invade another's mind for a wide variety of possible (negative) effects.


texts:
I quoted this paragraph from internet which is about what is MVC(the pattern of Model-View-Controller).

  I don't find it terribly useful to think of MVC as a pattern because
  it contains quite a few different ideas. Different people reading
  about MVC in different places take different ideas from it and
  describe these as 'MVC'. If this doesn't cause enough confusion you
  then get the effect of misunderstandings of MVC that develop through a
  system of Chinese whispers.

I just can't figure out what is the last sentence meaning . I know the game of Chinese whispers. What is the author trying to express? Thanks.


texts: What has this tree done, with respect to the fence (picture)?

texts:
I have pondered my neighbour's tree for some time, unable to think of a suitable verb to describe what the tree has done.

I would like to make this into a card, with a caption. And the point I want to make would be that in life one must often cope with obstacles, not by demolishing them betimes, not by avoiding them, not by compromising oneself in respect of them but . . .

. . .  in the way the tree has done.

Is there a single verb that expresses how the tree has accommodated to the fence or has cohabited with the fence which would also convey that the tree has not allowed the fence to hinder its living progress in any way ?

My caption would read something like :

  In life one must _________ obstacles not fight them.


texts: "in a brisk pace" vs "with a brisk pace" vs "at a brisk pace"

texts:
He walked at a brisk pace. This is the standard usage, I get it.
If I want to describe the pacing of a story, can I say he wrote his lifestory with a brisk pace?
Also, is in a brisk pace acceptable?


texts: Is this grammatically correct? If it's not then what's the correct way to say it?

texts: Every supernatural thing that has happened to me came from the enemy.


texts: Can you use word 'these' as a subject of a sentence that directly followed by a verb?

texts:
Today we came across a sentence that goes like this:

  Many physical objects constitute the IoT. These send data, share information and/or remotely control and manage a device or process.

My question here is is it correct to say 'these send'? Can you put a verb directly after 'these'? The sentence seems a little bit strange to me, but my friends think it's okay to say this. It sounds more right if it's:

  They send ....

BR,
ZZ


texts: What does "somebody plays things close to the vest" mean?

texts:
I heard this phrase in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and also found it online by googling it.

What does the phrase mean?


texts:
I wrote "She suggested me to go shopping." Why is it wrong?

Can we say one of the following sentences?

She suggested going shopping.
She suggested that we to go shopping.

How would you correct my original sentence?


texts: Capitalization of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

texts:
An epithetical question:  Should ALL of Rudolph "the red-nosed reindeer" be capitalized?  Why or why not, and where do we draw the line?
This was inspired by some seasonal discussion on this question on ELL that led me to question my assumptions.  Clearly, as the title of a work it should be capitalized.  My question is whether we should capitalize the whole thing when speaking about Rudolph.  Is his name Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (a la Eric the Red, Gandalf the Gray, Jabba the Hutt) or is it simply a descriptor?
My gut feeling is that since it's a pretty unique identifier it would function more like a name or title, but that feels pretty flimsy.  I looked at the lyrics for the eponymous song and it would appear that others do refer to him by that name:

Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You'll go down in history"

...but I suspect that whether those last two lines are a quotation from the reindeer or an assertion by the narrator could be debated (based on presence or absence of enclosing quotation marks in different versions).  This same intuition about uniqueness tells me that Frosty is "just a snowman" since there are lots of snowmen, but I'm not appositive.


texts: What does it mean by "You look like a horse when you laugh down your nose like that"?

texts: What does it mean by ""You look like a horse when you laugh down your nose?"? I'm studying English watching Skins 7 but I don't understand the context. Could someone please explain? Thank you in advance.


texts: Parsing: "This judge's conclusion" -- "this judge," "this conclusion," either?

texts:
What is the normal way to parse the following types of phrases?

A. [this X]'s Y

or

B. this [X's Y]

  This man's opinion

  This girl's idea

  This judge's conclusion

  This politician's position

I feel that A is by far more natural, and B would be quite odd, but I'm looking for confirmation and explanation, because I have been told, to my surprise, that parsing as B is perfectly normal.

Is A or B more natural?

If so, why? Syntax?

Are there cases when B is the proper parsing? In what types of cases?


texts: What is the difference between off vs. from? For example, I fall from the car or I fall off the car?


texts: What is "Oki-doki" or "Oki-dokie" or "Okay-dokay"

texts:
Okay, since now we know what is the origin of OK (I like the Oll Korrect version), I have another question about it's relative:

What is an "Oki-doki" or "Oki-dokie" or "Okay-dokay"?
What is the correct spelling? Where did it come from?


texts: The rule for the pronoun use after the comma

texts:
I am always confused whether I can leave the pronoun in or out after the comma.

Michael, Anthony, Scarlet, and Bill combed half the parking lot, but (do I need a pronoun they) couldn’t find the magician.

Is there a general rule on this?  My tendency is to put "they" in this sentence.  Other times I don't want to put a pronoun.


texts: Word for a room with washing machines in it?

texts:
I'm looking for the word for a room, part of an apartment house, that would be used to do laundry. In Germany there are sometimes these "tenants' laundromats" – and also in Scandinavia I have seen rooms shared by the tenants, usually equipped with a couple of washing machines. Sometimes there is also a drying room, where you can hang the laundry.
Any pointers appreciated! Thanks!


texts:
•   I hope you weren’t shocked by / at what I said.
•   I was shocked by / at  what I saw. I’d never seen anything like it before.


texts: Why is Lord Alfred Tennyson often written as Alfred Lord Tennyson? This occurs with and without a comma after Alfred: Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Alfred Lord Tennyson. Should Lord precede the entire name, and not just the last name?


texts:
Is there any traditional manner of reference to a particular part of a page?
p. 55, above, p. 30, below, p. 39, middle?
Has it been customary to use Latin for this?
(Cf. German: oben, unten, mitte.)


texts: "Obey, or be banished from the party" vs "Obey or be banished from the party"

texts: Which of these is correct? I assumed it was the first given the conjuction, noun (the party) and predicate (be banished), but saw the latter used..


texts: What does "Dusted off the old rig" stand for? Man write this when we say about old mobile.


texts: How to describe something that is very likely happening immediately?

texts:
How should I describe something that will very likely happen right away?
For example, would it be it correct to say, "It is about to rain"?


texts: Expression for "Introducing an idea, logicaly supported by a previous one."

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I've been racking my brain, but I can't remember the phrase.

For example, when you express an idea, and now you want to express another one, which can be logically supported by the arguments of the first one. I think it's looks similar to: "Bouncing of that [idea]...", "Following up on that [idea]...".

Here's how it would look in a sentence:

"Scientist from Harvard have discovered the yumm particle which confirms the existence of space monkeys, horses, [100 other things]. [Phrase] I would argue that the whole Darvin's theory is false."

Does anyone how the phrase goes?

EDIT: It could replace the "that reminds me" in the next sentence:

We went out last night and had a great time. That reminds me do you want go with us next time?


texts: No matches found or No matches were found

texts: I'd like to know which of this two expression is grammatically correct to show in a message in a website, when the users filter and there's no data returned from the server.


texts:
"At one end of the street" vs. "At the one end of the street"

Which phrase is more correct?
or
Are they both correct only the meaning is slightly different?
or
Are both fine meaning the same?

assuming that it's part of the following context: "You'll find the street easily. There's a school at (the) one end of it. There's a hospital at the other end."


texts: Meaning of "e'er" in this sentence (sentences that start with e'er/ever)?

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I am reading "Tristram Shandy" and as a non-native English speaker struggling very much to grasp the meaning of some sentences. Can someone help me with understanding the meaning of the following sentences, both of which start with "e'er"?

. . . and just got time enough to the boat to save my passage;—and e’er I had sailed a hundred yards, the Rhône and the Saôn met together, and carried me down merrily betwixt them.
. . .e’er twice twelve months are pass’d and gone, thou mayest grow out like a pumkin, and lose thy shapes——

I understand that "e'er" means "ever." Do they mean something like "if ever"?
Thank you for your help!