texts: Can I replace "but" with "while" in this sentence?

texts:
As I was reading a sample essay in preparation for my upcoming exam, I wondered if I can change the conjunction in this sentence to make it sound more right and more logical - I think the two clauses are things happening at the same time instead of something contrasting with the former.

  I do not think that either nature or nurture is the major influence on a person, but that both have powerful effects.


texts:
Please explain the differences between using 'will' and 'would' in the examples below:

  There is a possibility he would win.

Versus

  There is a possibility he will win.

And

  There is still a chance that he will arrive before 7.

Versus

  There is still a chance that he would arrive before 7.

Both are very common but my take on it is that "will” suggests a much stronger/greater probability or future likelihood compared to "would".
Please offer yours.


texts:
This sentence sounds quite incorrect:

The Bahamas, series of islands surrounding the USA,  are beneficial to China's economy.

It seems that we need an article after the first comma; a quantifier or a demonstrative adjective seems to suffice as well.

The Bahamas, a series of islands surrounding the USA,  are beneficial to China's economy.
The Bahamas, 700 islands surrounding the USA,  are beneficial to China's economy.
The Bahamas, that series of islands surrounding the USA,  are beneficial to China's economy.

But sometimes it seems that the form of my first incorrect example is permissible (as well as those three variants):

Batman, protector of Gothman City, is a good guy.

Likewise, in “America, home of the free, is the land of the brave,” we could insert “the” or “a” or “one” before “home.”
I'm confused. When is it okay to begin an substantive appositive with a noun?


texts:
I would like to combine these two sentences.

  Have significant experience of managing office and warehouse.

  Have experience of managing people at office and warehouse.

Can I use and to do that?

  Significant experience of managing office and warehouse, and managing
  people in them.


texts: Difference between "measurement" and "measuring"

texts: What is the difference between the nouns measurement and measuring? Can I say the measurement has stopped the same way I can say the measuring has stopped?


texts: Is there a name for someone that accepts a risk and then complains when it occurs?

texts:
Example:

Frank is going to buy a house

The real estate developer, Jim, warns him, there's a 30% chance your house will drop a lot in value in the next year.

Frank buys the house.

The value of his house drops a lot in the next year.

Frank tries to sue Jim.

You would call Frank a...


texts: Usage of "East Indian" to distinguish from "Native American"

texts:
I know someone who uses the term "East Indian" to refer to people from India, or whose ancestors are from India, lest they be misunderstood to mean Native American.

This struck me as unusual and confusing, and I am curious if others use the term this way.  If I referred to someone as "East Indian," would you assume that the person was from India, from the eastern part of India, from somewhere like Indonesia -- or would you just be confused (like me) and ask for clarification? Is there another, better way of saying "Indian from India"?


texts:
Is this a correct use of namely:

  We will investigate two different research questions:
  1. Is there a correlation between age and income?
  2. Does university education lead to higher income?

  From the first two question, a third one arises namely: does higher income lead to more happiness?


texts: Should I say “no food In this event” or “no food at this event”?

texts: Is this with correct grammar: no food served in this event? Should it be “at this event”?


texts:
I would like a verb that would express the idea of making something succeed.

Example: I [my-verb] the unit tests.

Writing "I made the unit tests succeed." is not what I'm looking for.


texts:
I have heard many people over use the word 'prideful' in sentences that tend to have a negative connotation. Many times, however, the sentence structure tends to sound awkward. Is there a set of rules maybe to use when deciding when to use 'proud' or 'prideful'... Or am I overthinking this one?

SAMPLE SENTENCE

  In many cases, these people are very prideful.

or

  In many cases, these people are very proud.


texts:
In Italian, we use "rapporto bancario" as a generic word for any "banking relationship" you have with your bank, like a banking account, a mortgage, a loan, you name it.

Is "banking relationship" a correct translation?


texts: 'One out of three people thinks' or 'one out of three people think'?

texts:
Could someone please explain to me which of these sentences is correct and why?

  Only one out of three respondents (29%) thinks otherwise.
  Only one out of three respondents (29%) think otherwise.

I understand that the subject of this sentence is singular, and therefore, theoretically, the verb should be singular, but this just doesn’t sound right.

Could someone please help?


texts:
This is actually a part of a coding problem, where I suggested a log4j logging mechanism where logs like the following were printed.

execution of blah started at: 2018-03-10 08:34:53

And one review I got included the following:

"We need to consider logging with timing as an "Aspect""

What does this mean?

The complete comment was "This code is a brute force logging and does not fit into correct engineering practice. We need to consider logging with timing as an "Aspect"".


texts: Describing someone who seeks to broaden their knowledge in multiple areas

texts:
Polymath seems to refer to someone who has a vast knowledge from multiple areas.

So, what would be a word to describe someone who seeks to broaden their experience and knowledge in multiple areas? Namely through hobbies, entertainment and traveling.


texts: When noun phrase take the role of participial phrase, what name do you call it?

texts:
The only marked event of the afternoon was, that I saw the girl with
  whom I had conversed in the verandah, dismissed in disgrace by Miss
  Scatcherd from a history class, and sent to stand in the middle of the
  large schoolroom.  The punishment seemed to me in a high degree
  ignominious, especially for so great a girl—she looked thirteen or
  upwards.  I expected she would show signs of great distress and shame;
  but to my surprise she neither wept nor blushed. Composed, though
  grave, she stood, the central mark of all eyes. (Jane Eyre)

I guess ‘composed’ has the function of participial phrase; ‘the central mark of all eyes’ has the same function. When noun phrase take the same role as participial phrase, what name do you call it?


texts: I need a word in English that means "from complexity to singularity" or "from complexity to simplicity"?

texts: I'm looking for either a word or a phrase meaning "from many to one" or "from complexity to singularity".


texts: "Worst possibly imaginable thing" : Is this gramatically correct?

texts: "Worst possibly imaginable thing"- my teacher kept repeating this over and over. It somehow doesn't sound good to me. Is it just me or is it really incorrect? If yes, I seek an explanation as to why.


texts:
All the textbooks I have ever come across during the course of my studying English emphasize that future tense should not be used in conditional clauses.
For example,

If it rains in the evening, we will not go for a walk. (if it will rain in the evening...)
We decided to go for a walk if it didn't rain in the evening. (...if it wouldn't rain in the evening)

However, in the following sentence I'm really inclined to use the future tense.

Don't implement this feature if it will significantly increase the complexity of the user interface.

According to all the rules I know of, the future tense is illegal here. However, my gut feeling tells me that the sentence is correct. If I am wrong, the question ends here. Otherwise please read on. I find the last example different from my first two because:

In the first examples we must wait and see if the condition is true, and then make a decision accordingly, whereas in the last example, we must actually analyze/predict/forecast the future in order to make the decision in the present.
(might be irrelevant) In my first language - Armenian - where we have a special mood for conditions, the translation of the third sentence actually uses indicative, whereas the first two use that special mood (the conditional mood, as it were).

Since the second would-be principle is easier for me to experiment with, I noticed that every time a condition uses the indicative mood in my language, I'm inclined to use the future tense in English. As another example:

I will give you the money if it will make you happier.

Am I imagining things or are my examples of the future tense in the conditional clause valid? If they are valid, what rule would you suggest to distinguish the cases when it's OK?  (I do realize that translating a sentence to another language and analyzing the translation doesn't really count as a rule).


texts: Was your fender "stove-in" after your car was hit by that truck?

texts:
Is stove-in — smashed inward — an archaic expression?

Is it a regional expression? I was speaking with someone from my hometown (Salem, MA), and he used the word during our conversation. Made me think about regional language quirks.

Any ideas out there?


texts: general approaches in learning the subtle (or not so subtle) differences of words

texts:
What is the best way to learn the subtle (or not so subtle) difference in words?

For example, most dictionaries will tell me that both 'replete with' and 'fraught with' mean 'full of.'  But are they really the same?

Another example is the question I asked before about 'subside' and 'dissipate.' I looked up a few dictionaries but could not find a ton of helpful information, but people here are able to give very in-depth answers.

I am just wondering how people get the subtle shades of the meanings and how do I get those.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks.


texts:
Here's an example of a common swapping that happens when people want to sound profound:

The clothes don't make the man
It's the man that makes the clothes

What is this form of swapping called?


texts:
The sentence, "A younger me sat outside," though colloquially acceptable appears to be contrary to the rules of English pronomial declension. However, the allegedly more correct sentence "A younger I sat outside" seems jarringly wrong.

Is there citation for the former in formal prose, or the latter at all? Do any style guides comment on the issue? Perhaps the pronoun takes on a more abstract, conceptual definition of the self that is conveyed only by "me" and not by "I."


texts:
"Cannon to the right of them,
Cannon to the left of them,
Cannon in front of them."

Years ago, when I was introduced to "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (Tennyson, 1854) our teacher pointed out the repeated use of the word "cannon", like a refrain, was a figure of speech. He went on to give other examples, of which my mind retained only this:

Victory at all costs,
victory in spite of all terror,
victory however long and hard the road may be.   (Winston Churchill, June 1940)


texts:
I have been looking for this in the internet for a while now.
I recently read another article about Nuking Hurricanes

Please see the [sic] in this quote below

  Could Hurricane Carla have been broken up, or greatly modified, or its
  course turned back to sea, by nuclear bombs?,” asked an editorial in
  the Longview Daily News. “The suggestion that man-made explosions may
  effect [sic] hurricanes cannot be dismissed with the same degree of
  certainty on the basis of energy comparisons as was possible with
  earlier atomic weapons.


texts: What type of phrase is the highlighted part in the following sentence?


texts:
In older manuscripts, sometimes somebody says, "Tut! Tut!"

Was this actually pronounced as written (as if referring to the famous King of Egypt)?


texts: What does "two-meal" mean in "There's nothing that could get him away from that two-meal town."?

texts:
It's a quote from the movie "The Godfather II", Tom and Frankie's scene:

Frankie: Did my brother go back?
Tom: Yeah, don't worry.
Frankie: He's ten time tougher than me-- my brother. He's old fashioned.
Tom: He didn't want to go out for dinner. He just wanted to go straight home.
Frankie: That's my brother. There's nothing that could get him away from that two-meal town. He could have been big here, could've had his own family.

English is not my native language, BTW. I think "two-meal" is an adjective to "town", but I can't understand its meaning.


texts: Is it possible to describe something with a question?

texts: On the of chance this being possible examples please.


texts: What is a word for when someone speaks or answers you using single words like "yes", "okay", or "probably", but your questions are sensible enough to base a conversation on?


texts: Where did the "three fingered salute" come from?

texts:
Where did the phrase "three-fingered salute", meaning to press CTRL-ALT-DELETE on the keyboard, come from?

As the "two-fingered salute" appears to be a mainly British gesture, I suspect the three-fingered variety is British too. But suspicion isn't evidence.


texts: "Importance of ＿ to" or "Importance of ＿ for"?

texts: Which is correct: "the importance of money for someone" or "the importance of money to someone"?


texts: Are there any differences between mad and angry and when should you use one instead of the other?


texts:
When discussing solutions in the field of Bioinformatics, should they be called "bioinformatic solutions" or "bioinformatics solutions"? My logic (as a non-native speaker) kind of prefers the first one, while the latter seems to be used more widely, for example in a somewhat similar case of "software" instead of "solutions": List of open-source bioinformatics software.

Or can both be correct, "bioinformatics" as a noun, and "bioinformatic" as an adjective?

Of course this could probably be circumvented by rephrasing, but here I'm really after this specific usage.


texts: Is it still diacope if the words have different inflections?

texts:
"They will laugh, indeed they will laugh, at his parchment and his wax." ―Edmund Burke
"With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder." ―William Shakespeare

I know the first sentence is an example of diacope, but what about the second? Can feeding and feeder be considered diacope even though the words have different inflections?


texts: A noun to describe character sequences between words

texts:
I'm creating a formal system in which a sentence can be formed by four types of sequences of characters:

Words
Prefixes
Suffixes
Sequences in between words

What noun would you use to describe a sequence of characters between words?

I initially thought of "spaces" but that didn't seem appropriate as you could form sentences like cat->scratch, and -> is definitely not a space.

A friend of mine suggested "delimiters" but here -> doesn't delimit anything. Now we're both out of nouns.


texts: What is the story behind "Get off my lawn"?

texts:
Often when someone wants to make a point that they are really experienced in the field they say something along the lines of, "I've been in this line of work for as long as your age, get off my lawn you kittens" or they'd name an antique computer's name and say "My first program was on PDP-11, get off my lawn" (When they want to say I'm a very experienced programmer).

What is the connection of owning a lawn and being very experienced and where do kittens fit in? What is the history of this phrase?


texts:
I came across this sentence in a newspaper:

  Five minutes from the end I didn't think we could win this game.We deserved to win this
  championship.

I am confused as to why he uses from the end. I think it should be before the end, or can they be used interchangeably?


texts: What does "The black spot is under the plate" mean?

texts:
Simon Jenkins, in The Guardian online newspaper, writes:

  How can the British Tommy, the jolly
  tar or the air ace confront the
  dreaded foreigner, when a defence
  secretary cannot say boo to George
  Osborne? Be a man, Fox, they cry. The
  black spot is under the plate. The
  pistol is in the gents.

I googled for the exact phrase, and the only hit is this article. Googling for "black spot under plate" just gets me a lot of stuff about toenails. What on earth could he mean?


texts:
Which preposition would be more suited in this sentence: "I'm a new employee...", with, for or at?
Is there any difference between "I'm a new employee for Company XXX" and "I'm a new employee with Company XXX"?


texts: Shortest question to ask when you want to know whether the one you talk to is the eldest, second, third...or youngest child in his/her family.

texts:
I’ve always been asked by my Filipino friends how I should say the Filipino question “Pang-ilan ka sa magkakapatid?” in English.

You ask that question when you want to know whether someone is the eldest, second, third...or youngest child in the family. What’s the shortest way to ask such question without necessarily mentioning choices (eldest, second, etc.) as the Filipino question also does not mention the choices?


texts: Is this "that" a conjunction, or something else?

texts:
I believe the following sentence requires a verb after the word "statement", but I have been told that it does not. Please advise:

  We will enroll you unless you sign a statement that you do not want us to.

I want to put, "saying" or "indicating" after "statement. Which is correct?


texts: Does the choice of "of/to" after "ascent" mean anything about the process?

texts:
Taking a look at the Corpus of Contemporary American English, there seems to be an about equal number of ascent of versus ascent to. Examples from the corpus:

[...]an expedition in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first American ascent of Everest.

The ascent to Mountain Lake Lodge is a slow, winding seven miles.

I was wondering whether there is a sense or "process" when using the preposition to, meaning an ascent that is perhaps not completed, whereas ascent of would be preferred when referring to the actual conquest of a mountain.


texts: APA: Paper in past tense but is/was verb confusion for alive author

texts:
I want to state, "One advocate for the issues based teaching style is/was Brian Schultz."

He is alive, but my paper is in past tense. What do I do?


texts: Can commoner be used as an adjective? I thought it was a noun. Can we say something is commoner?

texts: I thought "commoner" is 'a person not of royal birth', but saw "commoner" used instead of "more common".  Is this correct?


texts:
I'm translating a movie (Honeymoon) into Turkish, which is my native language. In this movie, a woman goes into a restaurant in her hometown and says: "I've been building up the maple beans here for years." What does she mean by that? Did she used to eat maple beans there or stock them?

Another example: A man is playing a dice game, I don't know what it is. And the woman  joins him saying "trade you." What does it mean? How can I translate that?

Thanks already for the one who is kind enough to reply my post.

Peace.


texts: What's the meaning of "piqueur" and "game" in the following context?

texts:
In the grey dawn the game was turned and the branch broken by our best piqueur. A rare day's hunting lies before us.

Google says piqueur is a French word means whipper in English. But I still can't understand the words piqueur  and game here.

I find in old English , game has the meaning of wild animals or birds that people hunt for sport or food. It's uncountable. Probably it's correct for this context.

[Edit]
More specific context of this sentence are:

  And then, if he lived near to a cover, there would be the more hares and rabbits to eat out his harvest, and the more hunters to tramper it down. My lord has a new horn from England. He has laid out seven francs in decorating it with silver and gold, and fitting it with a silken leash to hang about his shoulder. The hounds have been on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Mesmer, or Saint Hubert in the Ardennesm, or some other holy intercessor who has made a speciality of the health of hunting-dogs. In the grey dawn the game was turned and the branch broken by our best piqueur. A rare day's hunting lies before us. Wind a jolly flourish, sound the bien-aller with all your lungs. Jacques must stand by, hat in hand, while the quarry and hound and huntsman sweep across his field, and a year's sparing and labouring is as though it had not been.——The Essential Travel Writings, Robert Louis Stevenson


texts: One word for the thing that other things depend on?

texts: If a have a sentence: "A depends on B", then I can describe A as a "dependent" (adj.). How can I describe B with one adjective?


texts:
I've read conflicting information regarding the meaning of the idiomatic phrase "take the cake".

I am quite confused, because based on one source it means something is exceedingly good and according to another - exceedingly bad.

Could someone shed some light on which of the two is the actual/prevalent meaning of the phrase?

For example which of the two uses sounds more natural? "He drank all the milk and left the empty bottle in the fridge! That really takes the cake!" or "Thanks for all the help! You really take the cake!"


texts: average across vs average among vs. average over

texts:
I want to express that I take a mean over answers in a questionnaire. This is usually indicated as answers for specific items. Lets assume I have three items with the values 1, 2, and 3. The mean across/among/over the items would be 2.

What is the correct preposition here


texts: Difference between "calculus" and "calculi"

texts:
What is the difference between calculus and calculi?

Both of these words are used to identify formal languages in computer science (e.g. π-calculus, λ-calculus, process calculi).


texts: Two parenthesized sentences in direct sequence

texts:
Is it permissible/good style to have two parenthesized sentences in direct sequence, such as in the following example?

  However, this could lead to problems with A (for given B) (though not necessarily affecting C).

I can think of no arguments either for or against such a practice, but for some reason I've always avoided it.


texts: What does the noun "rosy" mean in these lyrics?

texts:
What does the noun "rosy" mean in the first line of this song ?

Well there's a ring around the moon a ring around the rosy
A ring around my socks that keep my feet so cozy
Well I'm a single woman and I don't need many things
So why don't my poor little finger got a ring
...


texts: What is the meaning of the expression "that's all you had to say"?

texts:
In the movie Pulp Fiction, there is a scene where Jules talks on the phone with Marcellus Wallace because he needs help with getting rid of the body of Marvin.

Toward the end of the phone call, they say:

  Marcellus: You ain't got no problem, Jules. I'm on the m***** f*****. Go back in there and chill them n*****s out, and wait for the Wolf, who should be coming directly.
  Jules: You're sending the Wolf?
  Marcellus: You feel better, m***** f*****?
  Jules: Sh*t, N***gro, that's all you had to say.

Scene Link on YouTube

I thought of two possible meanings for that:

1.) Is that all you had to say? (sarcasm) It's like it's not good, but in fact, it is VERY GOOD!

2.) That's all you had to say. (from the beginning)

Which one is right?


texts: The meaning of though in the end of this sentence

texts:
I was reading the declaration that Michael Jackson´s daugther posted about her smoking cigarettes these past days, outside a restaurant. And she wrote a sentence like this:

"Sure as hell beats everything else in my past though".

I get that when she refers to " sure as hell beats everything else in my past", she means that the action of smoking isn´t the worst thing she has done in her life. But I would like to understand what "though"means in the end of the sentece of hers.

Thank you, folks.


texts: What is the correct way to write birth day greetings?

texts: What is the correct way to write birthday greetings “Happy birth day” or we can write “Wish you a Happy Birth Anniversary” to living person?


texts: "Because of our doing something ..." - Is this correct English?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  When is a gerund supposed to be preceded by a possessive pronoun?

I am a German mathematician. In some research papers I find grammatical constructions like the one in the title, e.g.:

"Because of our ignoring the boundary conditions, the following analysis is easier."

I wonder whether this is grammatically and stylistically correct English. I know there are some original constructs in "mathematical English", so if it is not standard grammar, it might very well be an import from another language.

Can you help me?


texts:
I recently had a debate with a friend about whether "littlest" was a word.  I took the stance that it was not.  I find now that basically every time I make such a claim these days someone can hold up a phone with some web dictionary "proving me wrong".

My question is: When is it appropriate to use this word as opposed to smallest or some similar option?


texts: Is "grounds" ever used for things other than coffee?

texts:
I've never seen the word grounds (meaning sediment/dregs; definition 12 only) used to describe anything other than coffee; are there any other usages of grounds of that meaning, or has it become a coffee-word?

  12.  grounds, dregs or sediment: coffee grounds.


texts:
There is at least one distributor interested. ("at least" means "a minimum of")

At least there is one distributor interested. ("at least" means "fortunately, happily")

Are the explanations correct?

When my teacher taught me about focus adverb, she explained, "The position of the adverbs can change the meaning of the sentence." And she showed these sentences as the examples. But I could not find the difference between these two sentences.


texts: What is an English equivalent of the Chinese noun 心眼?

texts:
Looking for an English equivalent of the Chinese noun 心眼 if there is any, or the best way to describe it.
If someones has 心眼, then you can say they are sly.

But, what do they have if they are sly?

To try and describe the word's meaning, it is a noun that means something like figurative 'brains', 'sneaky' or 'trickery'. If someone is said to have bad 心眼, it means they can think up trickery and be evil to deliberately sabotage someone, or at least to work a situation to their advantage/avoid being disadvantaged. 心眼 on it's own doesn't necessarily have to be evil, it can also mean being able to protect oneself. For example:

Say you are going to a party out of necessity but you don't really want to go. In Chinese, if you had 'a little 心眼'(多一点心眼), you can say you still have things to do, and leave early.
An example of bad 心眼 could be where a person deliberately runs late when they need to give another person a ride, or fixing a deck of cards before a game so that when it is dealt, specific cards to to a specific person. Or, here's an example everyone should be able to understand, Cinderella's stepmother and sisters had a lot of bad 心眼 when they said Cinderella can go to the ball if she gets all the work done AND sews her own clothes, but then purposely give her a lot of work so she can't get everything done on time. (On the surface it looks like they were kind to let her go but in reality it was a set up).
If a person has no 心眼, it means they are too naive and easy to take advantage of. In English, you can say they have no brains.

What I want to do is, rather than having to say "A person is sly" in the nominative case, I want to say "A person has no ___" in the accusative case (I believe they are in the right cases, please correct if this is wrong).

Another example:

In the movie "Mrs Doubtfire", Daniel secretly changed the numbers on the ad that his wife, Miranda, put in the paper looking for a nanny, so that only he knew the real number and no one else would be able to call. In Chinese, you would say he 耍 (which sort of means to play, do or implemented) a 心眼. Can I say in English, he played a trick where trick is the noun? This sounds very juvenile though.


texts: Alternatives to "break a butterfly on a wheel"

texts:
The phrase "to break a butterfly on a wheel" is very evocative, but I can't bring myself to use it: I find the "wheel" too disturbing.

So: what are some good alternatives?

(For those who are unfamiliar with this expression, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable defines it as "to employ superabundant effort in the accomplishment of a small matter". [link])


texts:
What basically is the difference (if any) between these two expressions - of sorts and (a) sort of

He would wear a coat of sorts.
He would wear a sort of coat.


texts: thyself = yourself, what is the equivalent of *others*?

texts:
Is there a Shakespeare style of saying others?
Example:

Know yourself, know others
Know thyself, know ____

By others I mean other people in general. Could be an intended group but not enemy.


texts: Using 'would' to talk about past with examples

texts:
The following are sentences,

I would take the dogs out on a walk.
I would have took the dogs out on a walk.
I would took the dogs out on a walk.

I understood them as follows:

Possible action to be taken in future.
You imagine something happening in past but it didn't.
An action that was happened in past especially more often.

Is my understanding correct?


texts: Is the "and" in bold needed in the following sentence?

texts: Instead of sitting home, sick, and doing nothing, I might as well just write an article and call it a day.


texts: Is there any alternative for "You're welcome" in actual talks?

texts:
I've heard that it's quite awkward to say "You're welcome" in actual talks.
Is there any alternative for this sentence?


texts: "Ideal" vs "archetype" vs "role model" vs "prototype"

texts:
While learning synonyms, I encountered these words. I'm trying to understand the nuances between them.

From my understanding:-

Role model is someone whom you admire or try to emulate (generally a living being)
Prototype is an original model from which copies are made.

However, I don't fully grasp the difference between archetype and ideal.

From my understanding, archetype refers to a perfect example of a particular person or thing. So does ideal.

For example, to complete the sentence: "Every classical heroine is always chaste and serves as a(n) __  for women, who are expected to emulate her, which of the above-mentioned words fits best?

Please point out where I went wrong.


texts:
Is it acceptable to write: A person can develop their talent. or a person can develop their uniqueness?
In this case the person is used as a general term, not a specific person.


texts: "Why are you asking?" versus "Why do you ask?"

texts:
Why are you asking Tom? He does not know the answer. Ask me instead!

versus

  No, I have not seen Tom for quite some time. Why do you ask?

Is it correct? And if it is, why the difference? Is it not in both cases a single action ('ask') happening at or around the time of speaking?

I guess that the answer is to do with the fact that, in the first sentence, the pupil knows why the teacher is asking Tom, (in order to get an answer, which goes without saying), whereas in the second sentence, I do not know the reason the person who asked me whether I had seen Tom lately did so.

The difference here would be parallel to the difference between Present Perfect Simple –'I have repaired the car.' – where the emphasis is on the result of the action, and Present Perfect Continuous – 'There is grease on my hands because I have been repairing the car.' – where the emphasis is on the action itself, is more descriptive, and we do not know whether the result, getting the car repaired, has been achieved or not.


texts: Making someone unable to do something . .

texts:
What would be a good verb for conveying the meaning of "making unable". For example, it can fill the following blank:
high prices .....  us to buy anything.


texts: "I was more talking along the lines of..."?

texts:
Can 'more' be used before a present participle?

I'm wondering if this usage is grammatically correct, because I remember it being used in such a way but can't find any instances using google. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

  I was more using it in the sense of blah blah blah.

or

  I was more talking along the lines of...

If it is incorrect, is there another alternative that can get the same meaning across?


texts: Difference between allusion and connotation (in english literature)

texts:
I am not sure if it's just my imagination (because I can't find any comparison of the terms in literary theory dictionaries) but these seem very close terms?

Can you explain any overlap and differences?


texts:
She would start applying to law schools soon and she wanted to know
  what the law looked like in action.

According to Princeton Review, this sentence is incorrect and to fix it, a comma should be added before and. But why?


texts:
I am reasonably certain that once, glancing over a long list of English idioms, I saw an idiom that I now remember as "walk on a branch" and cannot find anywhere, so my memory must be wrong.

The listed meaning was "to give it a long shot", "to make a not-necessarily-educated guess", the implication being that it is similar to stepping on a tree's branch that may crack under you foot.

I cannot look this idiom up anywhere, to the point where I am starting to doubt it even existed.

It was not:

walk on eggshells
walk on thin ice
walk the plank

Does it exist, and if so, what is it?


texts: I am writing a summary for last year and I have just realized that I do not know what tense to use in the following situation: Since 2009 I have been developing a computer program. As I am describing what I was working on last year, what tense should I use? I think I cannot use simple past tense because I am still working on that. I also think I cannot use present perfect because the description will relate to period of time that passed. Could anyone help me on this? Thank you


texts:
Which sentence below is correct?

  Ben received a pay rise.
  Ben received a pay raise.


texts:
I was reading an article and came across to the following sentence.
Rock fulgurites, found almost exclusively on the peaks of mountains, appear as a thin crust on the surface of rocks.
What I couldn’t understand was why the words 'surface' and 'crust' are singular. As it says the peaks of mountains, I thought these two words should be plural. Can someone explain why they are singular?


texts: Physical object, carried by a person, that represents an encumbrance

texts:
I believe a word currently exists that is used as a metaphor to mean something similar to, "a person is (willingly?) carrying a physical object, but there is no benefit to carrying (or transporting) the object and the carrying of the object is a significant burden to the person."

The meaning of this word/metaphor is closely related to the albatross metaphor from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In the poem, the mariner does not literally have the albatross hanging from his neck, however, even though he feels as if it were hanging from his neck. If the word I am looking for actually exists (and is not a mistaken memory of mine), the object/metaphor will be something that the person literally carries or holds.

I mistakenly believed that "lodestone" had this meaning, but I looked up the word and discovered that it merely means a magnetic stone. Oops: I am glad I checked.

I am not looking for words or phrases that are similar to shackles, ball and chain, hobbled, or Sisyphean task. The defects of those phrases involve one or more of the following: the condition is involuntary, the condition cannot be reversed or abandoned, it does not involve a physical object that is literally carried by the person.

Possible conclusions

The word exists.
In the tradition of misheard song lyrics, I believe that Jimi Hendrix would like to take a break and kiss this guy.
There is a word or phrase that is close to what I believe exists, but not exactly what I believe exists.
A motorcycle does not have doors.


texts:
These types of “approaches to research are really useful when either
people don’t care about what you’re asking, or they post-rationalise
to a degree that basically starts to make no sense,” says Smith. “So
when you’re asking people about different packaging variations on a
bottle of bleach, nobody really cares. And then you ask people in a
group setting, and you listen to somebody who sounds as though they’ve
got a bit of gravitas, they’ll go with that opinion, because they
didn’t really have one in the first place.”

I'd like to know whether bolded 'then' mean 'afterward' or not.
If not what do you think it means?


texts: Word for something that has been developed to a high degree

texts:
What is a word (noun, preferably) for something, e.g. an idea, or technology, or any other concept that has been worked on (probably by many different sources) and evolved/developed to the point that it's now very advanced.

e.g.

"In the last 20 years or so, the Internet has become a XXXX"


texts:
Which one correct? and if both are correct please explain me the meanings.
I heard the phrase which says:
I was rough on you.
And it made me think because I've always said "rough with you" instead.
Thanks in advance


texts: Can I use "they'd" as in "they'd many cars"?

texts: I'm writing a poem so perhaps it doesn't matter, but I also want to know if you'd easily understand what I mean.


texts: Is the usage "multiple logistic regression analysis" correct?

texts:
I encountered a manuscript where the author writes:

Risk associations for metabolic syndrome and diabetes were analyzed using multiple logistic regression analyses..."

In this case, is the usage regression analyses correct? Isn't the word multiple logistic regression self-sufficient? I felt it was inaccurate to use analyzed twice in the same sentence.


texts: Should a comma, a semicolon, or a dash be used before 'trust me' at the end of a sentence?

texts:
For formal writing, which one is technically correct?

I don't give a damn, trust me. (Is this a comma splice?)
I don't give a damn; trust me.
(Should a semicolon be used?)
I don't give a damn — trust me.
(Could a dash be used?)

Thank you.


texts: single word for improving little by little

texts:
I'm trying to remember a word which means "improve little by little", I'm not sure if it's just dialect where I'm from or if it's a proper word. Hopefully you guys can throw a few words at me.

  If you practice guitar everyday you will ________, and eventually be a master.


texts: Appropriate Synonym for 'accelerated' in thesis title

texts:
I have the following thesis title:

  On the acceleration of X Methods: superfast Y Solver for Z

My thesis goal and reached objective is "Improving X and using it into Y, which becomes very fast".

I believe it conveys the major information of my thesis, meaning that I have developed an acceleration protocol for this particular solver. This solver has now become VERY fast (more than exponentially), and I want to convey this information.

However, I am not happy with the 'superfast' part, I find it a bit comic-like but it's the only word that I could think of that fits in this title formulation.

I tried to find synonyms or single-word expressions for

'accelerated' (can't use this, repetition)
'very fast' (not keen on using adverbs by describing a solver)
'augmented' (not contains the acceleration part)

All in all, I think there is a better word than 'superfast'.

EDIT:

This is the synonym research  I've conducted:

'accelerated' -> 'sped up', 'hastened up' (ugly)
'very fast' -> 'agile', 'nimble', 'quick', 'swift', 'rapid' (still not convinced, because it applies to a solver, a program, that has been tuned to be amazingly fast)
'augmented' -> 'boost', 'enhance', 'improve', 'upgrade' (improved, too generic)


texts: Etymology of "mortgage" and "deed". Are they both related to "death"?

texts:
I read something that said the word deed was related to the word dead, deed being the document signifying ownership of a house and dead being no longer alive.

The article didn’t elaborate but after reading that I thought about it and concluded mortgage could be related to mortuary assuming the first assertion is true.  Any information about this would be interesting.


texts: Is this usage of "all" considered archaic?

texts:
I was writing, and this happened:

  It was a beautiful afternoon in mid-autumn, all chill air and dazzling sunlight.

Is X, all Y considered archaic? I use this construction occasionally, but it seems slightly purple if not actually downright old-fashioned. Then again, the more I speak with people from other areas, the more I realise why people call New England speech quaint!

For some reason I associate this usage of all with the use of full as an adverb meaning fully or the embodiment of; to me, X, all Y implies X is wholly given to or characterised by Y.

Chaucer provides the first example that comes to mind of the use of full I've mentioned:

  Bifel that in that sesoun, on a day,
  In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay
  Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage
  To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
  ...

That is, with full(y) devout heart/spirit. Thoughts?


texts: Why do we say "in range" but "out of range"?

texts:
Is is the pair of expressions "in range" and "out of range" just an idiomatic outlier?

Maybe not, as you can put something "in the list" or take it "out of the list".

But I can think of other in/out pairs which seem to be more symmetric:

She's gone out / she's gone in
My paperwork goes from the "in box" to the "out box"
Go "in the door" or "out the door"
Inside vs outside (or indoors / outdoors) [granted, these are compound]

So what's the rule that governs the use of "out of" vs just plain "out"? (If any)


texts: Word for pretending as though you have done right?

texts:
What is the word or expression for when someone acts as though something is on the up and up, even though they know they are exploiting or abusing a system for their own benefit. For example, imagine there is an "activist" judge who uses a jaded interpretation of the law to rule against a large corporation he doesn't like, and we have the sentence:

  Judge Clancy's cynical and self-serving interpretation of the
  Wildlife Act threatens to put our company out of business.

Here I have used the word "cynical" but that is not exactly right. We have sort of the idea of crocodile tears where someone pretends to be normal, but has a hidden agenda.

I think the right word may be "disengenuous", but am not sure.


texts: What does "the height of inhumanity" mean in the context?

texts:
Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory
  which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in
  ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because one grudges the
  outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the
  height of inhumanity.

The paragraph above is taken from The Art of War. I have a hard time understanding what "to remain in ignorance..., is the height of inhumanity" means.


texts:
are both phrases correct? E.g.
She set a trap up for her brothet-in-law.
He set up a trap in secret.


texts: Why do we use "accessible to" instead of "accessible from"?

texts:
I wonder why we use "accessible to" as a meaning of "can be accessed from", for example, "How to Make Your Blog Accessible to Blind Reader".

It makes more sense to me when using 'accessible from'. Is it wrong to use 'accessible from'?


texts:
I don't want to use the word competitors in a business context, can I use the word  "contemporaries".

For example,

  Our business stands out from its contemporaries.


texts: Use of word "Greetings" instead of morning and evening

texts:
I have a query regarding the use of word only "Greetings" instead of good morning or good evening in the email.

As we will be working in different time zones and we will not be sure when the recipient will check the email.

So what you suggest whether using the word only "greetings" is better instead of using Good morning or Good evening?


texts:
In two different emails, I have seen "thank you" placed in quotes.

The first was a response to an email notice regarding an address change:

  “Thanks” for the e mail, I updated our system.

And the second was a response to a purchase order:

  "Thank you" for the order, we will ship (1) case on Thursday.

Why would someone use quotes in such a fashion?

Normally I would assume sarcasm, but it seems a bit rude (and therefore unlikely in a business email) sarcastically thanking someone for an order.


texts:
Why do Americans 'tell' you Good Morning? Isn't it a greeting rather than information?

This is a quote from a book I am currently reading,

  "She went through to the kitchen to tell her children good morning before leaving for work"

This isn't the first time I have heard this and wondered if anyone could explain why "tell" might be used rather than wish.


texts:
She: I had an awesome time yesterday.
He: Haha. I'm glad you have!

Did I use the wrong word? Is it suppose to be had?


texts:
What should we use when someone is injured?

  Are you hurt?

Or it should be

  Did you get hurt?

I felt using the second one as improper. Please correct me.


texts: What's the correct usage of "agree some days" vs. "agree on some days"?

texts:
"However, workers and employers can agree longer holidays".

I have searched online. I also referred to two reference books : the blue book of grammar and grammar rules. I don't see a usage as of the sentence above.

This sentence feels and looks quite odd to me. Shouldn't it be "agree on holidays"?

PS: Full paragraph is quoted from Cambridge IELTS 8 : general reading test A
ISBN : 878-1-107-62613-3

  "Workers who qualify are entitled to no fewer than 4 weeks of paid
  holiday per year, and public holidays (normally eight days in England
  and Wales) count towards this. However, workers and employers can
  agree longer holidays."


texts: What's the meaning of "on notice" and "under advisement"?

texts: Can someone please give a clear definition and distinction of these terms, as when a public figure is asked a difficult question and says: "I'll take that on notice" or "I'll take that under advisement."


texts: Is it correct to say "will call once I get back"?

texts: Is it correct to say "I will call you once I get back"?


texts: What's the term that refers to the old belief that kings/leaders are born superior and are bound by nature to lead?

texts:
I vaguely recall coming across a term in one of my past world history classes that refers to an ideology which stipulates that monarchs are destined from birth to lead and that they descend from greatness, or that they are naturally superior to others.

The best terms I can come up with to describe what I'm thinking of are natural sovereignty and sovereign destiny, but neither of these bring up relevant information in google. I'm positive there's a technical term for this, but I can't remember what exactly it is.

Here's a relevant example in literature, taken from The Count of Monte Cristo, which may help:

  But the kings of modern times, restrained by the limits of mere
  probability, have neither courage nor desire. They fear the ear
  that hears their orders, and the eye that scrutinizes their actions.
  Formerly they believed themselves sprung from Jupiter,
  and shielded by their birth; but nowadays they are not
  inviolable.


texts: Is the sentence "I want to take a rest" wrong?

texts:
I heard that we should use "I want to rest" instead of "I want to take a rest."

I also heard that "I want to take a rest" is not a sentence a native speaker would use.
Is that correct? Should we prefer "I want to rest" to " I want to take a rest"?

Could you please confirm if this is true, and explain “why”.


texts: Trouble with second conditionals (with “could”)

texts:
I would do B if you could do A.

This is a statement which has been bothering me for quite a while. I come across such statements often and, to me, they make no sense. Could is the subjunctive of can — it is often used to express possibility (or anything else along those lines). Sometimes, could is also used as the "past form of can". Now, the second conditional is used to express unreal(istic) situations in the present, we construct it using the simple past form of the verb at hand and instigate a would in the "response sentence".

Now, does this could then indeed relate to the capability and not to possibility of someone doing A? And, furthermore, isn't the condition fulfilled only by the fact there exists this capability (or possibility)? That's the part that makes no sense for me.

You don't actually have to "do A", you just must have the possibility/capability to "do A", for the if clause to return true and make the speaker "do B".

  I would do B if you did A.

does the proper job of the original idea that the speaker intended.

And since the second conditional indeed is used for unreal situations in the present, why do we so often use it to express conditions to other people?

Wouldn't it be more prudent to actually state a requirement in the present, which deals with "real situations":

  I will do B if you do A.

What's the difference?


texts: Word meaning to 'beat to the punch' or to act to mitigate they're anticipated is going to happen

texts:
There's a word that's escaping me at the moment.

For example, if a politician has sent some risque texts to his intern, and he knows that she's going to take them to the media, he might call a media conference and announce that he's been acting inappropriately and resign, before she does, as to mitigate the fallout.


texts: "It is considered not good practice." vs "It is not considered good practice"?

texts:
I was wondering if it is more correct to say:

  "It is considered not good practice to ..."

or

  "It is not considered good practice to ..."

And the whole sentence that I'm trying to build should read something like this:

  "It is considered not good practice to having only the team of specialists maintaining the 'Continuous Integration' system.

Re-Edit------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
without 'to' in the sentence

  "It is considered not good practice having only the team of specialists maintaining the 'Continuous Integration' system."


texts: A person who is obsessed with British culture is an Anglophile.  Is there a word for a person who is obsessed with American culture (that is, the United States)?


texts:
I’ve constructed this headline:

  “Opera Mini to become the default browser on Microsoft’s (ex Nokia’s) feature phones”

So, the phones in question used to be produced by Nokia, but Microsoft has since retired the Nokia brand and will start releasing their phones under its own name. Is “Microsoft’s (ex Nokia’s)” a valid expression for conveying this.


texts: Whether to use "as" or "to" after the phrase "a similar, if not the same"

texts:
X has a similar, if not the same, function as Y.
{or}: X has a similar, if not the same, function to Y.

I'm leaning towards using "as", since the word "same" is placed closer. Then again, if you consider the phrase "if not the same" to be of secondary importance, the word "similar" may well be the one given precedence.


texts: How to rephrase "cream flavoured cream"?

texts: I saw this on my wafers the other day: "Wafers with cream flavoured cream". This sounds horribly recursive to my ear. How can you rephrase it or use a synonym without losing the original meaning?


texts: someone who just cares and follows where his own interests to?

texts:
What do you call someone who just cares about his own interests, doesn't look people up out of love or care or to check up on them. But just feigning to do while he panders mostly indirectly to end up asking for a favour for his own interest. He acts on the outside like he's supportive and loyal but in truth he only cares about his own interests.

The word in my language stems from the word interest. I can't happen to find that in English. Hoping you can approximate me to a reasonable answer.

Any suggestions are welcome, phrases anything.


texts: Does "does not achieve x and y" equal "achieve neither x nor y"?

texts:
Consider the following three statements:

"If Tenant does not achieve x and y then Tenant may terminate the lease."
"If Tenant achieves neither x nor y then Tenant may terminate the lease."
"If Tenant fails to achieve both x and y then Tenant may terminate the lease."

The goal is to only allow Tenant to terminate the lease if they fail at x and fail at y.The situation we want to avoid is Tenant succeeding at one but failing at the other, and therefore claiming "I did not achieve x and y, I only achieved x. Therefore, since I did not achieve both x and y, I may terminate the lease."

Sentence #1 is the current wording in the lease. I am arguing that it needs to be changed to sentence #2, as that is the only wording where no counterargument could be made that achieving one or the other is grounds for lease termination. I am not sure if sentence #3 works or not, but it seems less bulletproof than sentence #2 to me.

Which sentence(s), if any, achieve the stated goal?


texts:
Is the following construct (grammatically) correct?

Swiss mathematician and physicist Leonhard Euler's contribution to number theory was [...]

It sounds clumsy to me; however, this rewrite sounds pedantic:

Leonhard Euler was a mathematician and physicist. His contribution to number theory was [...]


texts: Ownership by other people, but not a collective

texts:
How do we write the possessive form for "people?"  For instance, let's say that I manage money for other people.  The people are individuals, here, not a collective (a people).

Which is correct, and why?

  I manage other people's money.

or

  I manage other peoples' money.

Edit 1

I suppose the fine line would show itself if I were to say,

  I manage a people's money.

Then "people" becomes a singular collective.  This is not the case for my question.  In general, 's seems to be used in singular possessive cases and s' in plural possessive cases.  "People," as used here, is a true plural, which would imply the use of s', but that looks odd.


texts: Will some parents be offended when being asked, "Is it male or female?"

texts:
If I ask the parent about a baby's gender, will it be impolite or not appropriate to say, "Is it male or female?"

Is there any subtle difference, in terms of politeness, among

"Is it a boy or girl?"
"Is it he or she?"
"is it male or female?"


texts:
I'm not sure if I'm asking the right question, but i need an adjective to describe myself in my resume.
I'm trying to tell that I have solid experience on my field but not just in a couple of topics, neither in a subject. I'm someone who have experienced any relevant subjects on my field. I feel like i can use "wholly" but at the end that doesn't sound right.
What should I call myself?


texts: Sentences which could be read as meaning its opposite as well

texts:
I recently saw this headline on the Granuaid front page: Havelange 'paid millions in bribes'

In this case, Havelange received the bribes, but the headline still works. It struck me that its naive meaning would be the opposite i.e. Havelange umm.. paid the bribes to someone else.

Is there a term for this sort of double-loading where a sentence could represent a proposition and also its converse? Any other examples?

Thanks.


texts:
I know that there are certain times to use "that" (for restricting the noun) and certain times to use "which" (for adding information).

How about "that which"?:

Truth is that which conforms to reality.

"That" is here a demonstrative pronoun, but it seems that this usage of which is incorrect.

Is this okay?

If it's not correct, how could I restate that sentence?


texts: adjectives to distinguish between one-off attributes and multiply-defined attributes

texts:
I need a pair of adjectives (or adjectival phrase) to distinguish between two types of data associated with a thing. On the one hand are attributes that occur only once, and can be defined as a 1:1 relationship between a label and  its content; on the other are sets of attributes that can recur, and are really lists of things, each entry of which has its own set of attributes.

That’s not at all clear, so to make it concrete, consider a car. There are certain attributes that exist only once: its vehicle identification number, its year, its manufacturer (e.g. “Toyota”), its model designation (“Corolla”). That’s the first category.

On the other hand, the car’s maintenance record is a list of events. For example, if the car was taken in for an oil change (maintenance activity) on January 2, 2015 (date) at Mac’s garage (servicer); and taken in for a headlight replacement (maintenance activity) on March 8, 2015 (date) at Cars-R-Us (servicer). You have two maintenance events. That’s an example of the second category, where there can be more than one.

There can be multiple things in the second category, too. I’ve already given an example of maintenance events, but another might be ownership. It could have, say, 4 or 5 owners during its lifetime.

So I’m looking for a good adjective to distinguish between those one-of-a-kind attributes; and those attributes that can occur multiple times.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  “Should” vs. “Shall” vs. “Will” vs. “Must”

  Shall I upload the pictures?

I'm not sure how to start this sentence. If I offer someone to do something (like uploading pictures as in the example above, or closing the door), how do I say this?


texts: Is there another way of saying someone messed up your hair in a jokey matter?

texts: You like in the movies where there’s a guy who messes up a boy hair and say stuff like “you little rascal”?


texts: 'I wanted to ask (you) if' vs 'Can I ask (you) if'

texts: I was told recently that the first variant is rude (mainly, because of the word 'wanted'). So I should use the second one. Is it true? Or are both the options okay? Thank you.


texts: I have seen this used with other words besides "large" and "small".  What other words can be used? Can this structure be used more generally with other adjectives?


texts: Does a civil servant always represent an employee who works for a government (government employee)?


texts: Is it okay to use Present Perfect and Past Simple inside the same sentence?

texts:
Is it okay to describe two actions, one in Present Perfect and one in the Past Simple, inside the same sentence and with the same time indicator?

For example:

  During this summer she has become very sensitive and was often seen
  crying.

The time indicator here is: During this summer

The first action is: has become sensitive

The second action is: was seen crying

EDIT:

or should I stick to using Present Perfect for both actions?:

  During this summer she has become very sensitive and has often been seen
  crying.


texts: Is there a word that means "having to do with genre" or "with respect to genre"?

texts:
I'm trying to write a paper about artistic genres and adaptation, and it would be many times easier if I knew a word that meant "having to do with genre." I'd thought of using the word "generic," saying things like "generic transformation" to mean "transformation that takes place with regard to genre." But I know that "generic" means "having to do with genus," not "having to do with genre." Any chance there's another word I could use? Alternatively, is it actually acceptable to use "generic" in this way?

Thanks!


texts:
I came upon this letter when reading a book, I couldn't find its name on the internet, you can imagine how hard it is to search about it.

What is the name of the letter that follows "sample space"?

I know it's not really an English question, but I think this site is best fit for the question than say, the mathematics site.


texts:
The drawing depicts two well dressed kings, their gowns and accessories indicating their wealth and power.

I believe the comma is used correctly.


texts: What do you call an either or question that has no either or or answer?

texts:
Is there a word to describe this type of question?
The answer to this question is yes to both, so they can't be opposing questions. Washington is above Oregon and Oregon is above California. There has got to be a name for a question like this?

"Is Washington above Oregon or is Oregon above California?"


texts: Did Old English (Anglo-Saxon) use contractions?

texts: German uses contractions a lot, including im (in+dem) and zum (zu+dem) to name a few. As an Old English learner, I wanted to know if there were any attested similarities. My research hereto has yielded no results.


texts: Should I use 'that' 'which' or 'who' in this sentence?

texts:
Boys don't play    with dolls    that
  they know    for a long time,    unless
  they see another boys
      playing with them.

Well it means that boys sometimes boys are not interested in a girl they know for a while until they discover the girl has someone.

In this sentence, dolls is a symbol for girls. I'm a bit confused if I should use that, which or who?

(by the way, should use 'until' instead of 'unless'?)


texts:
What the phrase "save with" means?

Context: "He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and sneer" from Sherlock Holmes.


texts:
I hate to swear, i.e to say "fuck you" or whatsoever of those words. However sometimes I get angry and I wish there are words that could be a polite replacement for those swearing. I wish there's a polite way to say "That was so fucking hard". I want to express such a frustration or so with a polite word but with the same strength of expression. & I actually wonder what would a good author use as a way to make such a strong expression.

So my questions:

1 - what words could I use to swear in a polite way?

2- how would a good author swear in a good book?


texts:
I'm often confused by the meaning of two nouns in a row.

Specifically, I came across this word in a TV show:

  Demon Hunter

Without looking at the context of the show, I feel like this word can mean either "A hunter who hunts demon" OR "A demon who is also a hunter". Which one is the right one?

Similarly, words like:

  Child abuser

Most people would understand it as "a person who abuses a child", but why can't it mean "an abuser who happens to be just a child"?


texts: Is there a word for someone who speaks before they think

texts: Well as the title says, is there a word for a person who talks before they think? And if it is, whats the word and what's the antonym? I need to know this for to characters in a novel. Thank you in advance.


texts:
According to Oxford Learner's, Wiktionary, and  Cambridge dictionaries, “culture shock" is both countable and uncountable, but I've never seen or heard the word used in a way which shows it to be uncountable.

Could you please illustrate in which contexts it could be uncountable?

Regards,


texts: What is more commonly used in US? "Cum Laude" or "With Honors"?

texts: I understand that the terms Cum Laude and With Honors are interchangeable, but which one is better understood in US and more commonly used?


texts: Is "prevented for preparing for something" grammatical?

texts:
I just read this article in British dialect about Brexit and was bothered by the clause

  The ultimate reason for this case was that the Referendum Act 2015 was silent on what the consequences would be for one outcome in a vote which could only have two outcomes. This echoes the lack of progress towards Brexit by a government whose civil servants were prevented for preparing for the possibility of a Leave vote.

I'm familiar with "prevent from doing" and "prevent doing" but not "prevent for doing." Is this a simple mistake? Here's a related question.
My friend who is an academic writer and British medical research doctor says the phrase seems grammatical to him. That's why I ask.


texts: The meaning of ETA - to origin or to destination?

texts:
I'm writing an application with the embedded Uber taxi app functionality. In short, when the user points to a point near his or her location in our app, a Uber button appears, with the following text:

Go there with Uber in 5 minutes

The exact time varies, of course.

Now, there are two ways to understand this:

An Uber vehicle will be at your location (the origin) in 5 minutes
An Uber vehicle can take you from your location to the destination, and the trip would last 5 minutes.

What's the natural way a native English speaker would interpret this message? Is there an elegant way to disambiguate the message (in both directions)?


texts: what is the verb for giving false promises one is unlikely to fulfill?

texts: say I want something from someone and I promise to give him something in return when I actually don't have it, what's the appropriate verb to use in that case?


texts:
I am trying to form a sentence about the American Dream, but cannot find a particular word.

The American Dream is belief that hard work and ... can achieve prosperity and [...]

Prosperity/wealth means to have a lot or be content with money.

What would be the parallel to this for love? A word which describes one's content with the amount of love he or she has. (Being in love with you who want, satisfied with your love life, etc.)


texts: "Where will I be," "where will I get to," "what place will I reach": What's the best way to ask?

texts:
What's the most natural way to complete this question (the person asking this question wants to know the name of a place)?

  If I keep going south from here, […]?


texts: What's the name of the fallacy for evaluating a complex issue by extrapolating only one variable?

texts:
For e.g

"He is a man - therefore he has male privilege".

Yet the man could be in a wheelchair, suicidal, have a terminal illness. All of which get overlooked if you only look through the prism of just "gender".  After evaluation of more than one variable, it is apparent he has inferior privilege.

What is the name for this fallacy of evaluating using only a limited amount of variables?


texts: Word choice: complement of 'Budgeted', but not 'Filled'

texts:
I am trying to figure out a good word to use as a complement to budgeted. I've used filled before, and I would like to avoid using it again if possible.

Context: I am making a simple over/under budget table, with columns labeled budgeted and "x".


texts: Correct usage of replacing cuss words with symbols

texts:
I've noticed that symbols (i.e. #, $, %, !, *, etc.) are commonly used to filter profanity/foul language.

Just out of curiosity, is there a specific way to do this.  I've noticed sometimes there isn't a specific number of symbols but normally the number of symbols correspond to the number of letters in the cuss word. E.g.:

  Wow dude, you are such an &#%-hole!

So, with that all in mind:

What symbols are acceptable for doing this?
Are there patterns or specific methods for this?  (Specific patterns for certain words)
Other rules that may pertain to the situation.


texts: is using "to not" acceptible in this context?

texts:
I was asked to combine sentences in my English and I wrote:

The mouse moves at night to not risk daylight raid on the pantry.

is using (to not) acceptable as a way to combine the two sentences?

Sorry for my English.


texts: A process with multiple possible roots/causes

texts:
How do you call a process/phenomenon that can have multiple causes? For example, a disease can result from many factors (not necessarily their interplay but instead when different causes manifest in different age/genetic groups). I am seeking for a noun (if not, an adjective), primarily in the context of studying such a phenomenon (a "nightmare" doesn't work) - a "multiroot", a "bundle" but more scientific.

Example:

The mechanism of the process is still debated and may be a
multiroot (=multiple mechanisms can operate simultaneously to cause
the process).


texts:
When I check the etymology of erogenous in OED, it is mentioned that it is incorrectly formed (along with erogenic).
Etymology of erogenous from OED:

formed as erogenic adj. + -ous suffix.
Both words are incorrectly formed.

Etymology of erogenic from OED:

< Greek ἔρως sexual love + -genic comb. form: after French érogénique.

Etymonline explains as below:

"inducing erotic sensation or sexual desire," 1889, from Greek eros "sexual love" (see Eros) + -genous "producing." A slightly earlier variant was erogenic (1887), from French érogénique.

I thought it might be something to do with the suffixes -genous and -ous, but the usage of them makes sense unless I'm missing something.

-genous: word-forming element meaning "generating, producing, yielding;" see -gen + -ous. In modern formations, making adjectives corresponding to words in -gen.
-ous: word-forming element making adjectives from nouns, meaning "having, full of, having to do with, doing, inclined to," from Old French -ous, -eux, from Latin -osus
-genic: word-forming element meaning "producing, pertaining to generation;" see -gen + -ic.
[Etymonline]

Etymonline mentions as inducing erotic sensation but it doesn't seem like a big leap if we say producing erotic sensation because of the suffix -genous. Although, it might require stimulation as the phrase erogenous zone suggests.
Additionally, another similar word indigenous is directly from Latin but it is formed with the suffix -ous also.

late Latin indigenus born in a country, native ( < indigena a native: see indigene adj. and n.) + -ous suffix. [OED]

After all, I'm still not sure why erogenous and erogenic are mentioned as incorrectly formed. Is it related to the suffixes or the early usage of the word?
We also have érogénique in French and erógeno in Spanish. Are they incorrectly formed also?


texts: What's the opposite of "bootstrap" (in business)?

texts:
When starting a project or business, there are two extreme approaches. One is where you do everything yourself without external help: learn the techniques yourself, develop your own tools, providing your own capital. The other extreme would be to find as much external help as you can: consulting/hiring domain experts, using COTS solutions, looking for investors/partners.

Compared to the former, the latter tends to have less risk (for the founders), more capital cost, less retention of knowledge, less equity/control. The former, in certain forms, is sometimes called "bootstrapping". What would the latter be called?

Update: I think I've mislead folks due to poorly presenting this question as a straight-forward antonym request for bootstrap. Bootstrap has a specific meaning in finance, pertaining to the acquisition of capital without taking on external liabilities or equity. I'd like to know what's the opposite of a more general approach to growing a project or business, one which is better covered in this article: "Ben & Jerry's vs Amazon".

Here are some examples which better illustrate the dichotomy:

Hiring consultants instead of employees
Leasing a pre-furnished office space instead of building a new one
Contracting out your IT management to a firm instead of growing in-house staff

I think mainly it's a money vs. time payoff but there are other side effects such as expertise, culture and so on.


texts:
I faced this sentence in a book:

  Ann Trason had expected to be in front, but an eight-minute mile right out of the box was just nuts.

Would you please help me with the meaning? Specially, I can't understand the use of "out of the box."


texts: Why is "a lot" written as two words even though "ahead" is written as one word?

texts:
So I know "alot" should be written "a lot" and I have seen this amusing post on the treatment: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co.nz/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

However, why is a word like "ahead" OK? Surely they are doing the same thing, aren't they?

I have read the question
Why is writing "alot" such a common mistake? but it doesn't answer my question.

Why is "ahead" a valid word and "alot" not?

Any information would be appreciated.


texts:
Whether we use "come back" or "go back" usually has to do with position and perspective. The general rule is that we use "go back" when there is movement away from the speaker and "come back" when there is movement toward the speaker. However I have encountered a situation where the rule does not really work. Here is a bit of context, I am in the UK and my friend is currently abroad for a week. When I ask her "Have you done xxx yet?" She answers "I will do it when I go back". Even though my friend is abroad, I'd expect her to say "I'll do it when I come back".

Neither of us is a native speaker so I'd like to understand what form is correct and why.

Another situation that I can think of is the followong one:

I text my flatmate: "hey mate, you forgot your wallet at home"

I'd expect him to reply "Thanks, I am coming back!" even though the movement is away from the speaker (i.e. my flatmate). However, he'd definitely call his boss to say "I'll be late because I have to go back home to take my wallet that I forgot".

I am unable to explain to my friend when "come back" or "go back" should be used. Could anyone please help?

Thanks


texts: Is there a concise phraseology for when somebody dives their nose evermore into books until the book eats them whole?  Sort of like the lesson telling that you can sometimes be too well-read in life.


texts:
I know for a fact that "few" represents plurality. I also know "a" before a word represents singularity.

But then why is "a few" always considered as plural? Is there any exception to this or just idiomatic? I just wanna know the meaning of adding "a" if it is not to explain the next following word as a single entity.

"A few men do like that" (Plural and considered "correct")

"A few men does like that"(Singular but considered an abomination)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Is transcription OK here? If not please bust it

texts:
Thank you for your warm and kind support.

This is the continue of the previous question, and I didn't know even the common word "match up" could be a jargon.

This question is equivalent with the transcription. How hard I tried, I can not grasp what he is talking about. However, since the transcription is not basically off topic here, kindly bust it if it perfectly fits with your criteria.

The video is here

Will someone help me what he is saying from 2:06~

"um Philadelphia. Philadelphia, is for me? pretty? MB unknown images? just a different kind of talent other than John Walls...

Thank you in advance even if this is busted.


texts:
Context (New York Times),

  Despite all the sartorial trappings, guests dressed like any in your typical off-the-rack hotel. On a recent Monday, there were F.I.T. parents in the slate-gray lobby, and suits trading airport stories in the elevator. There’s a chatty cocktail scene at the lobby bar, but Rare, the fiery orange dining room, was desolate.


texts: "Is he" versus "Isn't he" as Question Tags

texts:
This question ends with is he:

  He is seldom absent, is he?

Shouldn't it be isn't he? Please explain.


texts: Can you say more than four 'and' words in a row?

texts:
If I was describing to a shop sign image creator a Fish and Chip shop sign by its individual symbols, I might say to the shop sign image creator:

Please can I have the symbols for: fish, 'fish' and and, '&' and chips, 'chips'?

That conversational sentence contains four 'and' words in a row albeit by using the word 'and' instead of 'ampersand' to say the symbol '&'. Can more than four 'and' words in a row exist in a conversational sentence?


texts:
So I just saw this quote:

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in the corner crying."

Is the comma here needed? And if so, why?


texts: Ask + Parenthetical remark (with or without “to”?)

texts:
Be the next line of dialogue:
‘Edward, how can this be possible?’ Vicky asked, not so much (to) Edward but (to) herself, and then left.
Is this sentence grammatically correct with or without “to”?
I’d be very grateful to anyone helping me to settle this question.


texts: Word for the superclass of buttons, zippers, and pegs?

texts:
I’m looking for a word which describes all of buttons, zippers, and pegs — or any objects used to secure clothing, such as on the face of a t-shirt or jacket.

I’ve considered using seal and connector, but they seem out of place in the context of clothing.  I’m not looking for a specialized word specifically for these things, but something which they appropriately fall under.

(It will be the name of a parameter in the description of an item of clothing in a program which can have one of the values listed above.)


texts:
I was looking for a phrase that conveys the opposite meaning of leaps and bounds.
 For e.g,

  unlike suiteM, which can be learnt in leaps and bound in just a day, the learning of  suiteE occurs in bits and pieces.

The opposite of leaps and bounds would replace bits and pieces .


texts: Can I use hyphens after two separate words, using "and" as a connector?

texts:
I'm writing a Cover Letter and I'm including the following sentence:

"Furthermore, I have a passion for dealing with- and meeting- new people."

I recall an English professor suggesting something like this because, here, the "with" and the "meeting" both relate directly to "new people."

Is this correct? Or should I just stick with commas and get on with my life (as below)?

"Furthermore, I have a passion for dealing with, and meeting, new people." <-- seems weird.

Thanks for your help!


texts:
While writing an essay, I felt the need to write two "her"s simultaneously:

  Jane had taken the book from Ann five months ago, and hence felt the need to return her her book as soon as possible.

Yes, the second her is indeed a possessive adjective, but still, does this sentence sound grammatically correct?


texts: Word for something whose name is not revealed in a novel?

texts:
I'm writing as essay and I wish to introduce the 'father' character, by using an adjective to describe the nature of his role/name. In this book, the father is always referred to as just 'father', and his name is never revealed.

Ie: "In the novel, the ________ father..."

Is there a word for this?


texts:
Over on Politics.Meta.SE a comment by user Guest271314 asserts a repugnant etymology:

  ...You cannot expect readers to parse when you are engaging in direct communication or "colloquially" speaking. For example, "cheaper by the dozen" is a "colloquial" English term that actually refers to plantation owners forcing prisoners of war to impregnate their mother, resulting in a "dozen" "cheap" children with severe birth defects.
  – guest271314 Jan 17 at 18:59

On the other hand, Google Ngram has nothing from the 19th century that remotely suggests such an origin.  Its earliest Ngram usage is from The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, March 1844, and refers to copies of a Masonic handbook for sale.

What is the origin of the phrase "cheaper by the dozen"?


texts: Can you use the phrase 'string of letters' in a non-coding context?

texts: I am writing a report and need to describe a word in terms of its letters (not one particular word, the concept of a word in general). I considered writing that a word is a string of letters, but wasn't sure if this was bad english in a non-coding context. If it is bad english, are there any other ways I could use to do this?


texts: A secondary, possibly incorrect usage of “offline”?

texts:
When someone means to say that they got something from online, is it proper usage to say “I got that offline”? For instance, someone pulled an article from a website once and told me that they got it offline; that is, so to say, off of online. I feel that saying something was gotten “offline” is an incorrect usage. Is there any validity to using “offline” as a way to say “off of the internet?”

(Also, I could not find any definition matching such a usage in the dictionary.)


texts: I'd like to know why 'naive'  is pronounced ny-eve but is spelt naive.  Where is the ny part coming from?  'na-' isn't pronounced  ny, and if the ny part is nai-, then there is only -ve left.  This is about pronunciation


texts:
"I have never thought he was a thief"

"I have never thought he is a thief."

Why do we use past tense "was a thief" instead of present "is a thief"?

[Edit - We would expect tense matching between 'have' and 'is'-- both are present tense. Yet the idiom is to use 'was' -- chasly]

Thank you!


texts: Noun or phrase similar to clone with positive connotation?

texts:
I'm searching for a noun (a single word if possible) or phrase that conveys that one thing functions the same as another externally, even though the internals may differ.

Nouns such as copy, a clone, duplicate, or substitute capture only part of my meaning. Additionally, these words often have a negative connotation; they imply that the thing is derived and possibly inferior. But I don't want to imply that the other thing is derived or merely copied.

What might be some good words or phrases that give a positive connotation, perhaps giving a sense of rethinking, "re-invention", or possibly renewal? I don't need the word to necessarily signify that the new thing is alive, but I want to avoid implying that it is 'lesser'.

Here is an example sentence:

  LEG, a recent upstart in the electronics industry, has released the Tintium line of microprocessors, a [?] of Intel's Pentium line of processors. It behaves identically, but since it uses tin-arsenide for its substrate, the chips offer better reliability, especially for interstellar applications. The chip design is open source; several industry experts claim its internals are simpler and more efficient than the Pentium.

And another:

  After losing his biological leg, Alan sought the services of Biocraft LLC, who custom designed and attached a [?] of his original limb. The company says it will outlast the natural leg.


texts:
In the play Macbeth, Macbeth was king, and he was asking Lady Macbeth a question:

  Macbeth: What is the night?
  Lady Macbeth: At odds with the morning, which is which.

In Lady Macbeth's reply, I couldn't quite understand what "which is which" meant.  What does it actually mean?


texts:
Adverbs, adverbial phrases, or devices of any sort that are used to add force or emphasis to the meaning are called "intensifiers." I wonder if there is a name for phrases that caste some doubt on the accuracy of a given statement, or lessen its force. Anything that gives that effect of "take what I am saying (or what's being said) with a grain of salt"

The examples I have in mind are: "I guess", "I think," "methinketh," ect. when used at the end of a sentence.

Thank you

P.S: I should add that I know the phrases "speech fillers" or "speech disfluency." They do not capture the sense I have explained above, because they usually result from too much thinking during speech, an uneasy flow of ideas, lack of confidence or lack of fluency. And this is not quite what I am looking for.


texts: How to describe "thread safety" in the context of child processes?

texts:
I'm writing a software application that spawns several child processes in order to process tasks concurrently.

Each child process has access to shared data structures, and it is very important that the processes don't interfere with each other when accessing/modifying these structures.

If the application used threads instead of processes to achieve concurrency, then we would describe this consideration as thread safety:

  A piece of code is thread-safe if it manipulates shared data structures only in a manner that guarantees safe execution by multiple threads at the same time.

(source: Wikipedia)

However, since this application uses processes instead of threads, what term should I use instead of "thread safety"?


texts: What is a possible name of a course that teaches parity?

texts: (I know, it sounds weird). So "parity," in Maths, is the fact of being even or odd. Let's say if there was an academic course that teaches you about parity, what should be its (one-word) name? Paritiology? Paritism?


texts: Word Request: A word that would describe how seconds (or other unit) relate to minutes (or other unit)

texts:
For example, if I had the sentence: A minutes ______ are seconds. What word would work here? It would also fit in the sentences below.

A byte's _____ are bits.
A byte is split up by eight ______ called bits.
Tom asked "what is the ______ for a yard? Billy answered "A yard's ______ is called a foot."

I think you get the idea of the word (or short phrase) that would work here.


texts: Is Standard American Accent an old British Accent before 17th century?

texts:
I heard that American accent is like British accent before 17th Century.

About 17th century, in Britain, there was a movement of changing the accent, which creates a new Standard British accent (like the one you hear in BBC news). Meanwhile, the American still uses the old English accent from old British accent (the British one before 17th Century).

For example, see the Sound "R" like in "Far". The American curls the tongue, while the British does not. Before 17th century, the American & British have the same or similar accent. It's only different after the movement of changing in Britain in 17th century.

Is that true?

I personally feel that the American accent is more natural.


texts: Expression from "Lord of the Flies" that I cannot understand

texts:
All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat.

English is my second language, my first language is Spanish.

I don't understand this sentence at all. Please explain.


texts:
I need help, I'm writing something and I'm having trouble figuring out if encased should have an "in" in front of it or if it should just be "encased" Here's the sentence:
Her cerulean eyes looked into mine, fear encased in them.
How should encased be used?


texts: A word sounding like "weatherall" to refer to "someone who doesn’t have the courage"

texts:
I was talking to someone and used the sentence:

  He doesn't have the weatherall to go sky-diving.

What I meant was that he doesn't have the courage, or the “cojones”, but I'm not sure what word was trying to come out of my mouth. I feel like I'm going crazy and a similar sounding/meaning word doesn't even exist at this point.

Possibly (but unlikely) it might be a part of a regional dialect (I'm from rural Australia – we just love messing up English), or a bastardization of “weather” (the verb obviously)?


texts:
We need to evidence the agreement with these forms.

Is this usage predominantly American?


texts: In place names, do the words qualifying the place act as an adjective?

texts:
If you have a place name such as “The Sierra Nevada Mountains”, does Sierra Nevada act as an adjective? My guess is yes, since they qualify the noun mountains, e.g.: “Which mountains? The Sierra Nevada mountains.” (analogous to “Which dress? The red dress.”)

Likewise for places derived from that such as “The Sierra Nevada Lodge” — does Sierra Nevada act as an adjective there as well?


texts: Term that describes an incomplete comparison

texts: What is the term for a dichotomous statement like, "The two side of the issue are the fish should be protected, or it should not."  That is, the other side of the issue is not fully explained, it's just alluded to by reference to the first side.


texts: What is the term for a person with same first and last name?

texts: What is it called when a person has the exact same first and last name (and same spelling), whether named by parents or as a result of marriage? For example, Thomas Thomas.


texts: What is the comparative and superlative for little?


texts: Idiom for doing something intentionally despite knowing the outcome might be bad

texts:
Is there any idiom for doing something intentionally despite knowing the outcome might be bad, or an expression for a person who does such a thing?

For example, I know that if I ask someone a particular question, I might not bear the disturbing answer, but I still ask the question. Is there any idiom for this kind of act where you know the answer wouldn't make you happy but you're still asking the question?

In Urdu/Hindi, there is something similar, the translation of which would be "having insect". To make a sentence out of it, it would sound something like:

  "He has insect that's why he went to cinema"

It means that the person knew going to cinema would generate some negative outcome but he still did.


texts: What do you call a word with vowels removed?

texts:
What do you call a word with vowels removed as a form of abbreviation? Often, when using this form of abbreviation, the initial vowel is kept intact.

Example:
asterisk -> astrsk

This is sometimes informally known as disemvowelling, but I'm looking for a more technical term.


texts: Is "Jack of all trades, master of none" really just a part of a longer proverb?

texts:
This post on 9GAG claims that the actual proverbs read:

Curiosity killed the cat. > Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. [FAKE, the second part was actually added later]
Blood is thicker than water. > The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. [UNKNOWN, this has been asked here already, but no answers were accepted]
Jack of all trades, master of none. > Jack of all trades, master of none, but better than a master of one.
Great minds think alike. > Great minds think alike, but fools rarely differ. [FAKE, the second part was also just added to the original proverb]

As you can see, at least 2 of these claims are fake. Regarding the Jack of all Trades proverb, what is its origin?


texts: Why use the plural form for a single person?

texts:
Being a non-English native, I'm surprised when I read people who use a plural form when they're clearly talking about a single person.

Here are two excerpts from a software I used to work on, written by a former Irish co-worker:

  ... a supervisor must assign it to themselves and deal with it.

and:

  This supervisor has no restaurants assigned to them.

I would have written the following sentences instead:

  ... a supervisor must assign it to himself and deal with it.

and:

  This supervisor has no restaurants assigned to him.

Is the plural form correct English, and if so, is the plural preferred over the singular form?


texts: Does the use of "port" for one side of ship relate to the word "port" meaning harbour?

texts:
In this travel.se question, the words port and starboard are mentioned, and one answer says:

  I would say it is convention that ships dock such that the Port is on the left, from which the term for the side gets its name ("The side of where the Port is").

That never occurred to me before. Is there any basis to it?


texts: What does “Beyoncé was outed for lip-synching” mean?

texts:
I’m interested in the usage of “out” as a verb in the phrase “She was outed for lip-synching” in the following paragraph of Time Magazine’s (February 5) article titled, “A lesson in crisis communication from Beyoncé.”

  "As the story goes, without any introduction or explanation, the singer
  entered the room, asked the press representatives to stand, and belted
  out the national anthem in its entirety. In that moment, Beyoncé put
  to rest any lingering image and reputation damage suffered when she
  was outed for lip-synching the very same song at President Barack
  Obama’s recent inauguration. Her swift and transparent response in
  front of the right audience at exactly the right time is a textbook
  lesson for any entrepreneur facing a crisis."

-I liked the last line in particular.

From the context of the quoted sentence, I surmise “be outed for” means “be revealed / exposed to be.”
But when I checked English dictionaries on line, Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘Out’ only as preposition and adverb, Merriam-Webster defines it only as adverb. Oxford Dictionary provides definitions of ‘Out’ as verb as well as adverb, preposition, and noun to mean;

[with object]
1. knock (someone) out.
2. (informal) reveal the homosexuality of (a prominent person).
3. (West Indian) extinguish
4. (dated) expel, reject, or dismiss

None of the above three dictionaries includes the definition of ‘out’ in the meaning of plain exposure or disclosure.

The Wisdoms English Japanese dictionary at hand also gives definitions of ‘out’ as verb, but in connection with homosexuals - coming-out:

vt. (1)(in the form of be out) being disclosed to be a homosexual. (2) extinguish (fire). (3) expel.
vi. (1) go out. (2)(accompanying will) emerge. become overt.

What does “be outed for” exactly mean in the above quote? Is it a popular idiom to mean something hidden / embarrassing becomes open / public?

Can I say "She is outed for having an affair with the actor,"
or “The country X is outed for finishing preparation for launching a missile with nuclear head” as a casual way of saying?


texts: Can the facts literally speak for themselves?

texts:
Can the facts literally speak for themselves, or is that phrase figurative? I'm unsure, because I'm not sure whether 'speak' or 'speak for' always involves speech.

In the OED entry for 'speak' (subscription required) (there is no entry for the idiom):

  a. fig. Of things: To be expressive or significant; to make some revelation or disclosure.

This is figurative. However, 15a seems to cover it

  a. To indicate, denote, or betoken; to reveal, make known.
  1856   R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits iii. 40
  The solidity of the
  structures..speaks the industry of ages

But that is transitive, and I think that there's no direct object in that phrase.

However, there is also an entry to "speak for"

  To indicate; to betoken.

  1832   Philol. Museum I. 335   The great mass of evidence that speaks for an intimate affinity between the Pelasgians and the Hellenes.

So it could be literal, but says something slightly weird, that the facts indicate or are in some sense a sign of themselves, perhaps their being facts.


texts:
How can I give someone permission to do something, go along with their plan even if I do not have the authority to tell them to do so or stop them from doing so anyway.

"You have my permission ..." sounds like the other person needs to ask me first.


texts:
I am translating a novel, and I am confused about which preposition is the better choice.  This is the scene: A woman suddenly feels a vibration, which is from her cellphone in her purse. Should I write

  She feels a vibration in her purse

or

  She feels a vibration from her purse

?


texts: Verb for pressing upper and lower lips together?

texts:
There are some people that would call it to bite, but it is wrong because you don't use the teeth.

Is there a verb or idiom for pressing with the lips?

Something like this:


texts: I'm trying to write something using the "imperative mood". Would it be okay if I used the word "should"?


texts:
In a paper I recently wrote about Dr. Martin Luther King, jr., I used the sentence:

As a black man in the '40s, it was almost unheard of to go to
college.

Someone suggested to me that this sentence contained a dangling modifier or an error of that nature. My sentence does seem to be quite similar to an example of a dangling modifier from Purdue:

Without knowing his name, it was difficult to introduce him.
Who didn't know his name? This sentence says that "it" didn't know his name. To revise, decide who was trying to introduce him. The revision might look something like this:
Because Maria did not know his name, it was difficult to introduce him."

Yet, I'm not quite convinced that this sentence is incorrect. Please clarify whether or not this is truly an error, and if it is, please offer some possible alternatives.


texts: Do I need one or more commas in this sentence?

texts:
May I suggest that you keep on searching Asda or better yet go back to Primark.

It looks as if at least one comma is needed here. I was thinking:

  May I suggest that you keep on searching Asda or, better yet, go back to Primark.

Are commas necessary?


texts: What's a nice way to say "fool's errand"?

texts: I have a situation in which i want to say that a particular task i just completed was rather silly, a fool's errand, but i need to phrase it in such a way as it doesn't insult the management team that gave me the task --as they regard it, currently, as vital.


texts:
elite means

a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society.

What is a word for a member of elite?


texts: "Skills that are useful" or "skills those are useful"?

texts:
I am used to using the phrase that is a lot, for example: "I have a skill that is useful in this situation". What if I use a plural form? What is the correct sentence of the following two?

  I have some skills that are useful in this situation.
  I have some skills those are useful in this situation.